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Microsoft Bing AI Chat Widgets: How to Get Them on iOS and Android

SwiftKey now also has the capacity to compose text for you using AI.

Microsoft launched artificial intelligence-powered search on Bing 100 days ago, celebrating the milestone with a few updates to the system this week. One of those is adding a chatbot widget for phone screens across both iOS and Android.

«We’re launching a new Bing Chat widget,» Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday. «Soon, you’ll be able to click the Bing icon to land directly in the new Bing Chat experience, or click the microphone icon to verbally ask a question.»

Microsoft in February unveiled Bing search powered by the large language tech behind ChatGPT, calling its search engine an  «AI-powered co-pilot for the web.» Search results began incorporating info from OpenAI as well as Bing adding a chat window to help you with things like making shopping lists, summarizing PDFs, generating LinkedIn posts and giving advice to your queries.

The Bing AI chatbot was opened to everyone with a Microsoft account in early May, though it was limited to the Edge browser on computers, phones and tablets and the Bing app. From this week, you’ll be able to use Bing AI chat without a Microsoft account, though you’ll be limited to just five chat turns per session (signing in gives you 20 turns with the chatbot).

Tuesday’s news means it’s now available as a widget, too. 

Microsoft also announced it has brought AI-powered Bing to the Compose feature in the SwiftKey keyboard, «which will now draft text for you according to the parameters you suggest — not just the subject matter but also the message tone, format and length.»

It’s additionally improved the quality of chats in other languages than English and added the ability to continue your chatbot conversation between your mobile device and your desktop.

How to add the Bing widget to your Android phone

  1. Download the Bing Chat app.
  2. On your home screen, touch and hold on an empty space until your home screen zooms out.
  3. Tap Widgets.
  4. Scroll through the list or use the search function to find the Bing AI chat widget.
  5. Touch and hold on the widget.
  6. Slide it to where you want to place it on the Home screen.
  7. Lift your finger, and the widget will be in place.

How to add the Bing widget to your iPhone

  1. Download the Bing Chat app.
  2. On your home screen, touch and hold an empty space until your apps jiggle.
  3. Tap the add (+) button, located in the upper left corner.
  4. Select the Bing AI chat widget.
  5. Choose the size you want the widget to be.
  6. Tap Add Widget.
  7. Tap Done.

After Microsoft introduced the Bing AI chatbot in February, rival Google followed with AI Bard in March. CNET has broken down ChatGPT as well as Bing and Google Bard to work out which is the most helpful chatbot.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage. 

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

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Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

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Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.

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