Technologies

Google Flooded the Internet With AI News. Where’s Apple?

Apple hasn’t publicly entered the generative AI race yet. But there’s a good chance we’ll see the technology baked into its upcoming software.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the term «generative AI» at least a handful of times now, perhaps thanks to the wildly popular ChatGPT service. The AI-powered chatbot’s success didn’t just shine a spotlight on OpenAI, the creator behind it, but it also catalyzed an AI arms race in the tech industry – a race from which Apple has been noticeably absent.

Earlier this month, Google made a flurry of AI-related announcements at its annual developer conference, including a new AI-infused version of search and Bard, its AI-powered chatbot, which is being rolled out across the world. It’s not just Google. Before that, Microsoft built generative AI into its suite of long-established productivity apps like Word, PowerPoint and Outlook in a move that’s changing how more than a billion people work. In February, Meta released its own sophisticated AI model, which has many of the same capabilities at ChatGPT and Bard, as open-source software for public use.

But what about Apple?

The short answer: Even though AI technology is hardly new to Apple, the iPhone maker still remains missing – at least publicly – from the current generative AI gold rush.

«We’re in the heart of the generative AI hype cycle, and there are major new developments weekly, » Avi Greengart, analyst at Techsponential, told CNET. «Apple can afford to be deliberate in how it applies new technologies to fit its ecosystem.»

ChatGPT on iPhones — OpenAI recently dropped a ChatGPT app for the iPhone. The new app, which is free, gives you a way to take OpenAI’s AI chatbot on the go.

Theodore Liggians/CNET

Apple’s wait-and-see approach

Apple has typically adopted a wait-and-see approach around emerging technology, and that has often worked for the tech giant. For instance, the iPad wasn’t the first-ever tablet, but for many, including CNET editors, it is the best tablet. A more recent example on the hardware side is foldable phones. Apple is the only major holdout, with Google beating it to the punch. The search giant launched its inaugural foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, at its developer conference in May – and it hasn’t been making phones for as long as Apple. There are rumors, however, that a foldable iPhone, possibly known as the iPhone Flip, could go to market in 2025.

Based on remarks from CEO Tim Cook, it seems like Apple may be taking a similar approach with generative AI. «I do think it’s very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things,» Cook said in response to a question related to generative AI on Apple’s earnings call in May. «And there’s a number of issues that need to be sorted. … AI is being talked about in a number of different places. But the potential is certainly very interesting.»

However, with a fast-developing AI technology, Apple could risk falling far behind its rivals. For all Apple’s business success, it has lagged in specific categories. For instance, its HomePod smart speaker didn’t hit the market until years after the Amazon Echo and Google Home, which have a far higher market share than Apple in the smart speaker category.

When it comes to the topic of AI, Apple isn’t alone in adopting a cautious approach. It’s also coming from the technology’s own backers – including the founder and CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, who has concerns ranging from election disinformation to mass jobs displacement.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at a Microsoft Bing press event — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman describes Microsoft’s AI partnership at a Bing search engine press event.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Last Tuesday, speaking before a Senate subcommittee, Altman said he’s «eager» for artificial intelligence to be regulated. He also spoke about the promise of artificial intelligence and discussed its potential harms. «If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,» he said.

Altman’s comments followed calls by a group of AI researchers and tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, to pause development of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 over concerns about runaway risks without sufficient guardrails. Geoffrey Hinton, credited as the «godfather of AI,» resigned from Google in May so that he could freely share his concerns about the technology he helped create, which he says could cause the world serious harm.

Does generative AI fit into Apple’s business?

Although Apple hasn’t publicly entered the generative AI fight, a recent 9to5Mac report said that the iPhone maker is working on an upgrade to Siri, one that could improve the virtual assistant’s conversational abilities via ChatGPT-like AI concepts. Apple didn’t reply to a request for comment.

While Apple hasn’t publicly discussed any plans for generative AI-based products, Cook did discuss the company’s focus on AI during its May earnings call. He cited AI-powered features like fall and crash detection, which are both available on the latest iPhones and Apple Watches.

«We view AI as huge,» he said. «We’ll continue weaving it into our products on a very thoughtful basis.»

AI is far from a brand new concept to Apple. Siri, which was released 12 years ago, uses speech recognition and machine learning to understand a query and serve up an answer. In recent months, Apple debuted camera enhancements such as photographic styles and the ability to cut and paste a subject from an image, both of which depend on AI.

In addition, Apple’s Macs and MacBooks, which now run on Apple-designed M1 and M2 chips, have dedicated neural engines with 16 cores, which are aimed at AI and machine learning tasks. Apple says AI performance is 40% faster than with its old Intel chips.

«You can expect that AI performance will become more and more important as more developers figure it out,» wrote CNET’s Stephen Shankland in a January article detailing Apple’s M2 chipset.

But as Greengart highlights, it would make sense for Apple to bring the tech to certain products that extend beyond Siri as well as its current AI-powered offerings.

«Apple likes to position itself as being at the intersection of technology and liberal arts,» Greengart told CNET in an email. «Generative AI would fit nicely into tools and software that Apple provides for artistic and personal expression; that could include anything from GarageBand to photo editing to email across iPhones, iPads, and Mac.»

However, a chatbot in the vein of OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard is likely not in the books for Apple. The underlying technology behind those chatbots, known as large language models, has a high resource requirement for development. That means significant investment in the form of computing resources, human talent and power, rendering it a possibility for huge enterprises with vast resources. While Apple presumably has those resources, it’ll have to be a worthwhile investment for the iPhone maker.

All eyes on WWDC

After Google devoted a considerable amount of air time to generative AI at its conference this month, all eyes are on Apple and what it might reveal at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. Apple executives could offer more clues on how the iPhone maker views generative AI and how it fits into the broader business. At WWDC, Apple typically introduces new software for the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and so on, and it’s possible that Apple could bake more AI into those updates.

Ahead of the conference, Apple previewed a slew of accessibility software features expected to make their way to its upcoming iOS 17 mobile operating system. One of the noteworthy drops is called Personal Voice. It uses on-device machine learning to allow users at risk of speech loss to replicate a voice after about 15 minutes of training. The phone can then speak aloud typed-out phrases, and it’s compatible with FaceTime and phone calls in a feature that could be a form of generative AI for voice.

More likely to take center stage, however, is Apple’s highly anticipated mixed reality headset, which would mark the company’s first entry into a new hardware category since 2015. According to a January Bloomberg report, it’ll cost around $3,000, run on Apple’s latest M2 chipset, boast eye- and hand-tracking systems, and feature a digital crown that lets users switch between AR and VR modes. It’s also probable that Apple will take advantage of fast-developing AI technology for its latest device as well.

«We need to keep in mind that generative AI is not only about generating text but also other types of content like graphics,» Will Wong, of market researcher International Data, told CNET. «Thus, it will be an area that is favorable for Apple to look into, especially if there is an AR/VR headset that comes into its product portfolio.»

Technologies

I’ve Seen It With My Own Eyes: The Robots Are Here and Walking Among Us

The «physical AI» boom has created a world of opportunity for robot makers, and they’re not holding back.

It’s been 24 years since CNET first published an article with the headline The robots are coming. It’s a phrase I’ve repeated in my own writing over the years — mostly in jest. But now in 2026, for the first time, I feel confident in declaring that the robots have finally arrived.

I kicked off this year, as I often do, wandering the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and its hotel-based outposts on the lookout for the technology set to define the next 12 months. CES has always been a hotbed of activity for robots, but more often than not, a robot that makes a flashy Vegas debut doesn’t go on to have a rich, meaningful career in the wider world.

In fact, as cute as they often are and as fun as they can be to interact with on the show floor, most robots I’ve seen at CES over the years amount to little more than gimmicks. They either come back year after year with no notable improvements or are never seen or heard from again.

In more than a decade of covering the show, I’ve been waiting for a shift to occur. In 2026, I finally witnessed it. From Hyundai unveiling the final product version of the Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robot in its press conference to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s focus on «physical AI» during his keynote, a sea change was evident this year in how people were talking about robots.

«We’ve had this dream of having robots everywhere for decades and decades,» Rev Lebaredian, Nvidia’s vice president of Omniverse and simulation told me on the sidelines of the chipmaker’s vast exhibition at the glamorous Fontainebleau Hotel. «It’s been in sci-fi as long as we can remember.»

Throughout the show, I felt like I was watching that sci-fi vision come to life. Everywhere I went, I was stumbling upon robot demos (some of which will be entering the market this year) drawing crowds, like the people lining up outside Hyundai’s booth to see the new Atlas in action.

So what’s changed? Until now, «we didn’t have the technology to create the brain of a robot,» Lebaredian said.

AI has unlocked our ability to apply algorithms to language, and it’s being applied to the physical world, changing everything for robots and those who make them.

The physical AI revolution

What truly makes a robot a robot? Rewind to CES 2017: I spent my time at the show asking every robotics expert that question, sparked by the proliferation of autonomous vehicles, drones and intelligent smart home devices.

This exercise predated the emergence of generative AI and models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but already I could see that by integrating voice assistants into their products, companies were beginning to blur the boundaries of what could be considered robotics.

Not only has the tech evolved since that time, but so has the language we use to talk about it. At CES 2026, the main topic of conversation seemed to be «physical AI.» It’s an umbrella term that can encompass everything from self-driving cars to robots.

«If you have any physical embodiments, where AI is not only used to perceive the environment, but actually to take decisions and actions that interact with the environment around it … then it’s physical AI,» Ahmed Sadek, head of physical AI and vice president of engineering at chipmaker Qualcomm told me.

Autonomous vehicles have been the easiest expression of physical AI to build so far, according to Lebaredian, simply because their main challenge is to dodge objects rather than interact with them. «Avoiding touching things is a lot easier than manipulating things,» he said.

Still, the development of self-driving vehicles has done much of the heavy lifting on the hardware, setting the stage for robot development to accelerate at a rapid pace now that the software required to build a brain is catching up.

For Nvidia, which worked on the new Atlas robot with Boston Dynamics, and Qualcomm, which announced its latest robotics platform at CES, these developments present a huge opportunity.

But that opportunity also extends to start-ups. Featured prominently at the CES 2026 booth of German automotive company Schaeffler was the year-and-a-half-old British company Humanoid, demonstrating the capabilities of its robot HMND 01.

The wheeled robot was built in just seven months Artem Sokolov, Humanoid’s CEO, told me, as we watch it sort car parts with its pincerlike hands. «We built our bipedal one for service and household much faster — in five months,» Sokolov added.

Humanoid’s speed can be accounted for by the AI boom plus an influx of talent recruited from top robotics companies, said Sokolov. The company has already signed around 25,000 preorders for HMND 01 and completed pilots with six Fortune 500 companies, he said.

This momentum extends to the next generation of Humanoid’s robots, where Sokolov doesn’t foresee any real bottlenecks. The main factors dictating the pace will be improvements in AI models and making the hardware more reliable and cost effective.

Humanoid hype hits its peak

Humanoid the company might have the rights to the name, but the concept of humanoids is a wider domain.

By the end of last year, the commercialization of humanoid robots had entered an «explosive phase of growth,» with a 508% year-on-year increase in global market revenue to $440 million, according to a report released by IDC this month.

At CES, Qualcomm’s robot demonstration showed how its latest platform could be adapted across different forms, including a robotic arm that could assemble a sandwich. But it was the humanoids at its booth that caused everyone to pull out their phones and start filming.

«Our vision is that if you have any embodiment, any mechatronic system, our platform should be able to transform it to a continuously learning intelligent robot,» said Qualcomm’s Sadek. But, he added, the major benefit of the humanoid form is its «flexibility.»

Some in the robotics world have criticized the focus on humanoids, due to their replication of our own limitations. It’s a notion that Lebaredian disagrees with, pointing out that we’ve designed our world around us and that robots need to be able to operate within it.

«There are many tasks that are dull, dangerous and dirty — they call it the three Ds — that are being done by humans today, that we have labor shortages for and that this technology can potentially go help us with,» he said.

We already have many specialist robots working in factories around the world, Lebaredian added. With their combination of arms, legs and mobility, humanoids are «largely a superset of all of the other kinds of robots» and, as such, are perfect for the more general-purpose work we need help with.

The hype around robots — and humanoids in particular — at CES this year felt intense. Even Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter acknowledged this in a Q&A with reporters moments after he unveiled the new Atlas on stage.

But it’s not just hype, Playter insisted, because Boston Dynamics is already demonstrating that they can put thousands of robots in the market. «That is not an indication of a hype cycle, but actually an indication of an emerging industry,» he said.

A huge amount of money is being poured into a rapidly growing number of robotics start-ups. The rate of this investment is a signal that the tech is ready to go, according to Nvidia’s Lebaredian.

«It’s because, fundamentally, the experts, people who understand this stuff, now believe, technically, it’s all possible,» he said. «We’ve switched from a scientific problem of discovery to an engineering problem.»

Robot evolution: From industry to home

From what I observed at the show, this engineering «problem» is one that many companies have already solved. Robots such as Atlas and HMND 01 have crossed the threshold from prototype to factory ready. The question for many of us will be as to when will these robots be ready for our homes.

Playter has openly talked about Boston Dynamics’ ambitions in this regard. He sees Atlas evolving into a home robot — but not yet. Some newer entrants to the robotics market — 1X, Sunday Robotics and Humanoid among them — are keen to get their robots into people’s homes in the next couple of years. Playter cautions against this approach.

«Companies are advertising that they want to go right to the home,» he said. «We think that’s the wrong strategy.»

The reasons he listed are twofold: pricing and safety. Playter echoed a sentiment I’ve heard elsewhere: that the first real use for home humanoid robots will be to carry out care duties for disabled and elderly populations. Perhaps in 20 years, you will have a robot carry you in and out of bed, but relying on one to do so when you’re in a vulnerable state poses «critical safety issue,» he said.

Putting robots in factories first allows people to work closely with them while keeping a safe distance, allowing those safety kinks to be ironed out. The deployment of robots at scale in industrial settings will also lead to mass manufacturing of components that will, at some point, make robots affordable for the rest of us, said Playter (unlike 1X’s $20,000 Neo robot, for example).

Still, he imagines the business model will be «robots as a service,» even when they do first enter our homes. Elder care itself is a big industry with real money being spent that could present Boston Dynamics with a market opportunity as Atlas takes its first steps beyond the factory floor.

«I spent a lot of money … with my mom in specialty care the last few years,» he said. «Having robots that can preserve autonomy and dignity at home, I think people will actually spend money — maybe $20K a year.»

The first «care» robots are more likely to be companion robots. This year at the CES, Tombot announced that its robotic labrador, Jennie, who first charmed me back at the show in 2020, is finally ready to go on sale. It served as yet another signal to me that the robots are ready to lead lives beyond the convention center walls.

Unlike in previous years, I left Vegas confident that I’ll be seeing more of this year’s cohort of CES robots in the future. Maybe not in my home just yet, but it’s time to prepare for a world in which robots will increasingly walk among us.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 29, #1685

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 29, No. 1,685.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle was a tough one for me. I never seem to guess three of the letters in this word. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel and one sometimes vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with F.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with Y.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a pastry that breaks apart easily.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is FLAKY.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 28, No. 1684 was CRUEL.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 24, No. 1680: CLIFF

Jan. 25, No. 1681: STRUT

Jan. 26, No. 1682: FREAK

Jan. 27, No. 1683: DUSKY

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 29 #697

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 29, No. 697.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a bit of a puzzler until you realize the theme. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Talk of the town.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: What a legend.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

ROIL, CLAIM, RARE, HELP, PEAR, PEARS, MORE, COIN, SPEAR, SPEARS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: