Technologies

Google I/O Announcements: The Latest AI Upgrades Coming to Gemini, XR and More

From its new Project Aura XR glasses to Chrome’s wants-to-be-more-helpful AI mode, Gemini Live and new Flow generative video tool, Google puts AI everywhere.

As you’d expect, this year’s Google I/O developer’s conference focused almost exclusively on AI — where the company’s Gemini AI platform stands, where it’s going and how much it’s going to cost you now for its new AI Ultra subscription plan (spoiler: $250 per month). Meanwhile, a new Flow app expands the company’s video-generation toolset, and its Android XR glasses make their debut.

Plus, all AI usage and performance numbers are up! (Given that a new 42.5-exaflop Ironwood Tensor processing unit is coming to Google Cloud later this year, they’ll continue to rise.)

Google’s Project Aura, a developer kit for Android XR that includes new AR glasses from Xreal, is the company’s next step in the company’s roadmap toward glasses-based, AI-driven extended reality. CNET’s Scott Stein goes in-depth in an exclusive interview with Shahram Izadi, Google’s VP and GM for Android XR about that future. And headset-based Project Moohan, developed in conjunction with Samsung, is now available, and Google’s working with Samsung to extend beyond headsets.

For a play-by-play of the event, you can read the archive of our live blog.

Google already held a separate event for Android, where it launched Android 16, debuting its new Material 3 Expressive interface, updates to security and an update on Gemini integration and features.

A lot of the whizzy new AI features are only available via one of its subscription levels. AI Pro is just a rebranding of Google’s $20-per-month Gemini Advanced plan (adding some new features), but Google AI Ultra is a pricier new option — $250 per month, with half off the first three months for the moment — that provides access to the latest, spiffiest and least usage-limited of all its tools and models, as well as a prototype for managing AI agents and the 30 terabytes of storage you’re going to need to store it all. They’re both available today.

Google also wants to make your automation sound smarter with Personalized Smart Replies, which makes your generated answers sound more like you, as well as plowing through pieces of information on your device to provide relevant information. It’ll be in Gmail this summer for subscribers. Eventually, it’ll be everywhere.

Also, it includes lots of better models, better coding tools and other details on developer-friendly things you expect from a developer conference. The announcement included its conversational Gemini Live, formerly part of Project Astra, its interactive, agentic, voice AI, kitchen sink AI app. (As Managing Editor Patrick Holland says, «Astra is a rehearsal of features that, when they’re ready for the spotlight, get added to Gemini Live.») And for researchers, NotebookLM incorporates Gemini Live to improve its… everything.

It’s available now in the US.

Chrome AI Mode

People (that is, those over 18) who pony up for the subscriptions, plus users on the Chrome Beta, Dev and Canary tracks, will be able to try out the company’s expanded Gemini integration with Chrome — summary, research and agentic chat based on the contents of your screen, somewhat like Gemini Live does for phones (which, by the way, is available for free on Android and iOS as of today). But the Chrome version is more suited to the type of things you do at a computer rather than a phone. (Microsoft already does this with Copilot in its own Edge browser.)

Eventually, Google plans for Gemini in Chrome to be capable of synthesizing using multiple tabs and voice navigation.

The company is also expanding how you can interact with its AI Overviews in Google Search as part of AI Mode, with interactions with AI Overviews and more agentic shopping help. It’s a new tab with search, or on the search bar, and it’s available now. It includes deeper searches, Personal Context — which uses all the information it knows about you, and that’s a lot — to make suggestions and customize replies.

The company detailed its new AI Mode for shopping, which has an improved conversational shopping experience, a checkout that monitors for the best pricing, and an updated «try on» interface that lets you upload a photo of yourself rather than modeling it on a generic body.

Google plans to launch it soon, though the updated «try on» feature is now available in the US via Search Labs.

Google Beam

Formerly known as Project Starline, Google Beam is the updated version of the company’s 3D videoconferencing, now with AI. It uses a six-camera array to capture all angles of you, which the AI then stitches together, uses head tracking to follow your movements, and sends at up to 60 frames per second.

The platform uses a light field display that doesn’t require wearing any special equipment, but that technology also tends to be sensitive to off-angle viewing. HP is an old hand in the large-scale scanning biz, including 3D scanning, so the partnership with Google isn’t a big surprise.

Flow and other generative creative tools

Google Flow is a new tool that builds on Imagen 4 and Veo 3 to perform tasks like creating AI video clips and stitching them into longer sequences, or extending them, with a single prompt while keeping them consistent from scene to scene. It also provides editing tools like camera controls. It’s available as part of Gemini AI Ultra.

Imagen 4 image generation is more detailed, with improved tonality and better text and typography. And it’s faster. Meanwhile, Veo 3, also available today, has a better understanding of physics and native audio generation — sound effects, background sounds and dialogue.

Of course, all this is available under the AI Pro plan. Google’s Synth ID gen AI detection tool is also available today.

Technologies

Google Discover Gains Follow Button and Expands Content Sources

Google’s personalized news feed will feature a wider variety of content in the coming weeks.

Google Discover, Google’s personalized news feed, has largely remained the same since its introduction in 2018, but it’s now receiving some new and helpful features.

On Wednesday, Google announced that Discover will soon expand the type of content found within the feed and allow you to follow publications and creators. You can find Google Discover in the Google app, and it will be built into the home screens of some Android phones.

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

Instead of just seeing a list of web pages to visit on your feed, you’ll soon see a mix of web articles, YouTube videos and social media posts from X and Instagram, effectively widening the net of content shown in Discover.

Along with expanding content from more sources, Google Discover is allowing users to follow specific publishers and content creators using a «follow» button at the top right of each content card.

Google says that tapping the publication’s or creator’s name will open a new page previewing the content that’s typically shared before you choose to follow the outlet. From our testing across multiple phones so far, it appears the feature is still rolling out.

Your Google Discover feed should now allow you to follow content creators. A more diversified mix of content will roll out over the coming weeks.

Technologies

New Bill Aims to Block Both Online Adult Content and VPNs: How Your VPN Could Be Affected

A proposed bill in Michigan has a broad reach that covers everything from adult AI content to manga and even depictions of transgender people. It includes a VPN ban to avoid workarounds.

If you live in Michigan, you might not be able to legally use a VPN soon if a new bill is passed into law. On Sept. 11, Michigan Republican representatives proposed far-reaching legislation banning adult internet content.

The bill, called the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act and advanced by six Republican representatives, would ban a wide variety of adult content online, ranging from ASMR and adult manga to AI content and any depiction of transgender people. It also seeks to ban all use of VPNs, foreign or US-produced.

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

VPNs, or virtual private networks, are software suites often used as workarounds to avoid similar content bans that have passed in states like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the UK. VPNs can be purchased with subscriptions or downloaded and are also built into some browsers and Wi-Fi routers.

But Michigan’s bill would charge internet service providers with detecting and blocking VPN use, as well as banning the sale of VPNs in the state. Associated fines would be up to $500,000.

What the ban could mean for VPNs

Unlike some laws banning access to adult content, this Michigan bill is comprehensive. It applies to all residents of Michigan, adults or children, targets an extensive range of content and includes language that could ban not only VPNs but any method of bypassing internet filters or restrictions.

That could spell trouble for VPN owners and other internet users who leverage these tools to improve their privacy, protect their identities online, prevent ISPs from gathering data about them or increase their device safety when browsing on public Wi-Fi.

Read more: CNET Survey: 47% of Americans Use VPNs for Privacy. That Number Could Rise. Here’s Why

Bills like these could have unintended side effects. John Perrino, Senior Policy and Advocacy Expert for the nonprofit Internet Society, mentioned to CNET that adult content laws like this could interfere with what kind of music people can stream, the sexual health forums and articles they can access and even important news involving sexual topics that they may want to read.

«Additionally, state age verification laws are difficult for smaller services to comply with, hurting competition and an open internet,» Perrino said.

The Anticorruption of Public Morals Act has not passed the Michigan House of Representatives committee or been voted on by the Michigan Senate, and it’s not clear how much support the bill has beyond the six Republican representatives who have proposed it. As we’ve seen with state legislation in the past, sometimes bills like these can serve as templates for other representatives who may want to propose similar laws in their own states.

Could VPNs still get around bans like these?

Could VPNs still get around this type of ban? That’s a complex question that this bill doesn’t really address.

«From a technical standpoint, ISPs can attempt to distinguish VPN traffic using deep packet inspection, or they can block known VPN IP addresses,» said NordVPN privacy advocate Laura Tyrylyte. «However, deploying them effectively requires big investments and ongoing maintenance, making large-scale VPN blocking both costly and complex.»

Also, VPNs have ways around deep packet inspection and other methods.

«Some VPNs offer obfuscation — which tries to disguise VPN traffic as standard web traffic — using dedicated servers or custom VPN protocols, like NordVPN’s NordWhisper or Proton VPN’s Stealth,» said CNET senior editor Moe Long. «But note that obfuscation isn’t foolproof.»

There are also no-log features offered by many VPNs to guarantee they don’t keep a record of your activity, and no-log audits from third parties like Deloitte that — well, try to guarantee the guarantee. VPNs can even use server tricks, such as RAM-only servers that automatically reboot to erase data after every browsing session.

If you’re seriously concerned about your data privacy, you can look for features like these in a VPN and see if they are right for you. Changes like these, even on the state level, are one reason we pay close attention to how specific VPNs work during our testing, and recommend the right VPNs for the job, from speedy browsing to privacy while traveling.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 19 #565

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 19, No. 565.

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.

Do you drink your coffee black? If so, today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a puzzler. 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: Pour it on.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Wow, no cow.

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:

NONE, CONE, RICER, SHEW, FAIR, FAIRY, DRAY, YARD, MILK, CASH, DONE, DRAM, MADAM

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: