Technologies

AI Is Going to Wrap Itself Around You, From Your Glasses to Your Car

In an exclusive in-car chat at the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire paints me a picture of a personal ecosystem of ambient AI.

Qualcomm’s Chief Marketing Officer Don McGuire and I are sitting inside a giant AI machine — the electric, sensor-packed 2025 Mercedes GLC. He’s telling me that cars will become «digital living spaces,» and I can see what he means. If I had to pick one car to live in, it would definitely be this one.

The car is a showcase of Mercedes’ partnership with Qualcomm, which has contributed its Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform to the car in order to create an immersive cockpit capable of AI-driven voice interactions. We sit back in our luxurious leather seats and watch a brief recap of McGuire speaking on stage at the company’s Snapdragon Summit via YouTube on the GLC’s giant infotainment screen. «Yes — I could quite happily hang out in here all day,» I think.

While we enjoy this digital living space on wheels stationed outside of the Summit conference halls on Maui, McGuire explains to me how the car — just like our phones, and just like the smart glasses and watches and rings we’re increasingly wearing — is set to become part of a personal ecosystem of ambient AI.

As the company that makes the chips that go inside everything from the top Android phones, to laptops, to wearables and yes, cars, Qualcomm is thinking several years down the line when it comes to AI. It’s been at the forefront of enabling AI agents that can process complex tasks, taking the initiative to suggest, predict and accomplish tasks on our behalf. Putting these agents inside cars, the thinking goes, would lift the burden on us, turning them into interactive havens of productivity, fun and relaxation.

«We can’t think of a more hands-free, natural-language, voice-interactive, agentic experience than a vehicle,» McGuire says.

Whether you’re driving, sitting in traffic, waiting for school pickup or just having a moment of downtime in your car, the combination of multiple screens, cameras and microphones means you can interact both with things inside and outside of the car, he adds.

You could request that an AI agent rearrange your schedule based on traffic predictions or ask it questions about a restaurant you see and allow it to book you a spot for your next date night if the reviews are good, for example.

When your AI car becomes your AI glasses

I’m interested to understand how exactly the car will seamlessly fit into the burgeoning ecosystem of AI-enabled devices. I ask McGuire how he envisions the car that we’re in will interact with another AI-driven piece of tech, such as the Oakley Meta smart glasses he’s sporting.

«We’ve had a little bit of a debate on this,» he tells me. His feeling is that if you’re walking down the street using your glasses to engage with an AI agent then you get into your car, the most obvious thing is for the car to take over that agentic experience from the glasses, as it has all of the sensors and cameras needed to understand everything going on around you.

«What we don’t want is confusion between the two, and I think the safer bet is to take the glasses off so you avoid distraction and you’re fully immersed in the driving experience,» he says. «It’s probably a safer, more intuitive experience if the car becomes your glasses.»

As with so many existing pieces of technology, AI does seem to be breathing new life into cars — giving us fresh ways to interact with them and elevating them beyond machines that get us from A to B.

One example that particularly impressed McGuire is the way BMW, in partnership with Qualcomm, has integrated symbiotic drive into the iX3, as announced earlier this month. The idea, he says, is «that driver’s assistance is not really linear, or it’s not really a stop-start, but it should be more fluid and it should move with you.»

If you need to take your hands off the steering wheel for a moment to take a bite of your burger or swat away a pesky insect, the car can take over on the fly and then hand control back to you when you’re fully back at the wheel.

AI is breathing new life into the familiar

With familiar products like glasses and cars evolving to take on more complex roles in our lives, I ask McGuire how we should be prepared for our devices to change. Not so long ago, he says, everything was a peripheral, with the phone at the center.

«Now those peripherals themselves are becoming smarter, and they’re gonna have capabilities to do things on their own, whether they’re still tethered or whether they’re not tethered,» he adds.

Headphones are another example of a product that once had a single use — to listen to audio — and are now, with the addition of Snapdragon Wear chips, gaining new skills and capabilities, including as conduits for interacting with AI. As the chips improve, more capabilities will be added allowing for more standalone experiences, says McGuire. «It gives these devices that were maybe unilaterally good for one function new life.»

He’s also excited by what could eventually be possible for AI devices. Like with cars and wearables, it will be driven by sensors, he says: «AI is going to be ambient in a lot of ways.» It might not even be called a «device» if it’s something woven into your clothing or worn on your person, he posits.

«There’s lots of ideas out there floating around,» he says. «You’ve got OpenAI and Johnny Ive working on stuff. You’ve got others.»

Glasses, while still at a nascent stage, will be a quickly growing product category, especially off the back of Meta’s success, he says. But McGuire still thinks there’s something beyond that will deliver on the promise of personal and ambient AI.

«The phone’s still the phone, the watch is still the watch,» he says, «but what is that thing that’s going to be next that creates a whole new scenario for you as you’re moving through your day and you happen to not have your phone with you?»

Qualcomm’s role in all of this is to push the boundaries of technology and build the platform for what will be possible, he adds. The company then works with partners to bring those platforms to life through the devices we all know and love now and those we will know and love in the future.

«Oftentimes we do reference designs to just give a flavor,» says McGuire. «Seeing is believing, for some people to spur that creativity. And then sometimes people bring ideas to us and then we help elaborate on those ideas.»

Mastering the AI learning curve

Future-facing concepts, especially where AI is involved, can sometimes feel a little too nebulous and overwhelming for people to wrap their heads around, I point out. McGuire acknowledges that there will be an adoption curve that will depend on the experience of using new technology being easy, fun and genuinely useful to people.

«The more you make it natural, the more you make it fluid and the more you make it personal and safe and private for the person… you’re going to reduce the barriers, which then drives the willingness to try,» he says.

Those using Meta’s glasses tend to enjoy the convenience and practicality of being able to listen to Spotify without headphones and capture pictures without getting their phones out, he adds. AI, he expects, will follow the same curve.

How you feel about AI probably differs based on where you are in the world, says McGuire. He fears there’s often misunderstandings about its different manifestations — from the personal (agentic, on-device experiences), to the physical (robotics), to enterprise and industry.

«AI is not just one thing,» he says. «The closer it is to the human where the data is actually generated, the more personal it can be, the more private it can be and the faster it can be.»

It’s an optimistic image — one in which AI not only serves us but impresses us.

I consider the car we’re in and imagine how it would feel to hand over to AI the many burdens and anxieties I often experiences while driving: timing; scheduling; weather conditions; pedestrian safety; cyclists; finding a podcast to listen to; wondering where I can stop for a decent coffee; remembering I haven’t replied to an important message; realizing I never made that reservation; fearing I’ll forget all of this by the time I get home.

I can envisage the feeling of relaxation that would come with driving a luxury SUV that could anticipate and assist me with my every whim. The barrier falls. I can confidently say, I am willing to try.

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.