Technologies

My Dog and I Put Gemini’s New Navigation Features to the Test

For people who commute by bike or rely on walking directions while traveling, being able to ask quick questions without breaking stride could be a real level-up.

If you’re constantly on the move — like navigating an unfamiliar city while traveling or, if you’re like me, squeezing in a few dog walks between meetings every work day — Google just made Maps more useful and hands-off. Gemini in navigation, previously limited to driving, is now available for walking and cycling.

Google describes Gemini in navigation as «like talking to a friend in the passenger seat,» and that idea translates surprisingly well when you’re on foot or on a bike, too. Instead of tapping at your phone, you can now ask conversational questions out loud while navigating and get real-time, context-aware answers based on Google Maps’ data.

Cyclists get hands-free assistance designed to keep them focused and safe on the road. While navigating, you can ask practical questions, such as, «What’s my ETA?» or, «When’s my next meeting?» without taking your hands off the handlebars. If you’re running late, Gemini can help with quick tasks like sending a message. For instance, just say, «Text Sarah I’m 10 minutes behind,» and it’ll take care of the rest.

For walkers, meanwhile, Gemini effectively doubles as a personal tour guide. While exploring a new city, you can ask questions like, «What neighborhood am I in?» or, «What are the top-rated restaurants nearby?» Gemini will surface recommendations along your current route, pulling from Maps’ up-to-date local information.

I tried this feature out for myself on my regular afternoon walk with my dog, Holden (whom I shamelessly try to write about whenever feasible). He’s very calm and low-energy — the benefit of adopting an older dog — and has always been great on the leash. So great, in fact, that I was pondering if he really even needs to be leashed at all. This dog is like Velcro. He’s not going anywhere.

I went about half a mile away from my home before pulling up Google Maps. I entered my home address just to have the navigation feature running, and asked, «Is it illegal to walk a dog without a leash in Florida?» Gemini gave me a thorough answer about how the state of Florida doesn’t have a statewide leash law, but instead leaves leash regulations to individual counties and municipalities to decide. I then asked, «Is it illegal to walk an off-leash dog in St. Petersburg?»

Turns out, it is indeed illegal — so that idea was quickly dashed — but Gemini did give me some solid recommendations for off-leash dog parks and beaches in my city. Fort De Soto Park dog beach it is.

While not groundbreaking, the hands-free and conversational aspects were surprisingly useful, especially since I always have one hand occupied with a Labrador. I also appreciated how the answers were thorough enough to fully satisfy my question while succinct enough not to lose my interest. I can genuinely see how this tool could come in handy in a slew of different use cases, from checking the menu of a nearby restaurant to asking for the best coffee shops while exploring Amsterdam — as long as you don’t mind looking a little goofy talking to your phone aloud.

Gemini in navigation for walking and cycling is live worldwide on iOS, wherever Gemini is available.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know