Tech – Page 16

Apple gives EU users App Store options in attempt to avoid massive fines

App Store, Apple, dma, EU, syndication, Tech / Mike M. / June 27, 2025

Apple is changing its App Store policies in the EU in a last-minute attempt to avoid a series of escalating fines from Brussels.

The $3 trillion iPhone maker will allow developers in the bloc to offer apps designed for the iOS operating system in places other than Apple’s App Store, the company said.

Apple has been negotiating for two months with the European Commission after being fined €500 million for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the landmark legislation designed to curtail the power of Big Tech groups.

Throughout the process, Apple has accused the commission of moving the goalposts on what the company needs to do to comply with the EU’s digital rule book.

Apple announced the measures on Thursday, the deadline for the company to comply with the bloc’s rules in order to avoid new levies. The financial penalties can escalate over time and reach up to 5 percent of average daily worldwide revenue.

Still, an Apple spokesperson said that “the European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store. We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal.”

In a reaction to the changes, a European Commission spokesperson said that “the commission will now assess these new business terms for DMA compliance.”

The spokesperson added that “the commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps.”

The decision on the new fines under the Digital Markets Act comes as Brussels and Washington near a July 9 deadline to agree on a trade deal.

The EU’s rules on Big Tech are a flashpoint between Brussels and US President Donald Trump. But commission leaders have indicated they would not change their rule book as a part of trade negotiations with the US.

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Google begins rolling out AI search in YouTube

AI, ai search, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Tech, youtube / DJ Henderson / June 26, 2025

Over the past year, Google has transformed its web search experience with AI, driving toward a zero-click experience. Now, the same AI focus is coming to YouTube, and Premium subscribers can get a preview of the new search regime. Select searches on the video platform will now produce an AI-generated results carousel with a collection of relevant videos. Even if you don’t pay for YouTube, AI is still coming for you with an expansion of Google’s video chatbot.

Google says the new AI search feature, which appears at the top of the results page, will include multiple videos, along with an AI summary of each. You can tap the video thumbnails to begin playing them right from the carousel. The summary is intended to extract the information most relevant to your search query, so you may not even have to watch the videos.

The AI results carousel is only a test right now, and it’s limited to YouTube Premium subscribers. If you’re paying for Premium, you can enable the feature on YouTube’s experimental page. While the feature is entirely opt-in, that probably won’t last long. Like AI Overviews in search, this feature will take precedence over organic search results and get people interacting with Google’s AI, and that’s the driving force behind most of the company’s decisions lately.

It’s not hard to see where this feature could lead because we’ve seen the same thing play out in general web search. By putting AI-generated content at the top of search results, Google will reduce the number of videos people click to watch. The carousel gives you the relevant parts of the video along with a summary, but the video page is another tap away. Rather than opening videos, commenting, subscribing, and otherwise interacting with creators, some users will just peruse the AI carousel. That could make it harder for channels to grow and earn revenue from their content—the same content Google will feed into Gemini to generate the AI carousel.

Google begins rolling out AI search in YouTube Read More »

After a week, Trump Mobile drops claim that Trump phone is “made in the USA”

Policy, Tech, trump mobile, trump phone / 9u50fv / June 26, 2025

The Trump phone was announced last week with a claim that the device would be made entirely in America, and people were rightly skeptical. Trump Mobile’s $500 T1 Phone “is a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier,” the Trump Organization said in a press release.

But with electronics supply chain experts casting doubt on the feasibility of designing and building an American-made phone in a short span of time, Trump Mobile’s website doesn’t currently promise an American-made phone. The website says the T1 is “designed with American values in mind,” that it is “brought to life right here in the USA,” and that there are “American hands behind every device.”

The Trump Mobile website previously said, “Our MADE IN THE USA ‘T1 Phone’ is available for pre-order now.” The phone was initially supposed to be available in August, but the date was changed to September, and now the website simply says it will be available “later this year.”

The Verge pointed out the website’s vague claims in an article today. “One of the phone’s main selling points was that it was to be made in America,” but “sometime in the last several days, the Trump Mobile site appears to have been scrubbed of all language indicating the phone is to be made in the USA,” the article said, adding that the website previously had a “huge banner on the homepage that says the T1 is ‘MADE IN THE USA.'”

When contacted by Ars today, a Trump Mobile spokesperson said, “The T1 phones are proudly being made in America. Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate. We’re excited to launch the phones later this year.” Trump Mobile did not explain why it removed the “made in the USA” claim from its website. We also contacted the Trump organization and will update this article if we get a response.

After a week, Trump Mobile drops claim that Trump phone is “made in the USA” Read More »

Google’s spotty Find Hub network could get better thanks to a small setup tweak

android, bluetooth trackers, Google, Tech / Mike M. / June 26, 2025

Bluetooth trackers have existed for quite a while, but Apple made them worthwhile when it enlisted every iPhone to support AirTags. The tracking was so reliable that Apple had to add anti-stalking features. And although there are just as many Android phones out there, Google’s version of mobile device tracking, known as Find Hub, has been comparatively spotty. Now, Google is about to offer users a choice that could fix Bluetooth tracking on Android.

According to a report from Android Authority, Google is preparing to add a new screen to the Android setup process. This change, integrated with Play Services version 25.24, has yet to roll out widely, but it will allow anyone setting up an Android phone to choose a more effective method of tracking that will bolster Google’s network. This is included in the Play Services changelog as, “You can now configure Find Hub when setting up your phone, allowing the device to be located remotely.”

Trackable devices like AirTags and earbuds work by broadcasting a Bluetooth LE identifier, which phones in the area can see. Our always-online smartphones then report the approximate location of that signal, and with enough reports, the owner can pinpoint the tag. Perhaps wary of the privacy implications, Google rolled out its Find Hub network (previously Find My Device) with harsh restrictions on where device finding would work.

By default, Find Hub only works in busy areas where multiple phones can contribute to narrowing down the location. That’s suboptimal if you actually want to find things. The setting to allow finding in all areas is buried several menus deep in the system settings where no one is going to see it. Currently, the settings for Find Hub are under the security menu of your phone, but the patch may vary from one device to the next. For Pixels, it’s under Security > Device finders > Find Hub > Find your offline devices. Yeah, not exactly discoverable.

Google’s spotty Find Hub network could get better thanks to a small setup tweak Read More »

Gemini CLI is a free, open source coding agent that brings AI to your terminal

AI, Gemini, Google, Google Gemini, Tech, Terminal, vibe coding / Mike M. / June 25, 2025

Some developers prefer to live in the command line interface (CLI), eschewing the flashy graphics and file management features of IDEs. Google’s latest AI tool is for those terminal lovers. It’s called Gemini CLI, and it shares a lot with Gemini Code Assist, but it works in your terminal environment instead of integrating with an IDE. And perhaps best of all, it’s free and open source.

Gemini CLI plugs into Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most advanced model for coding and simulated reasoning. It can create and modify code for you right inside the terminal, but you can also call on other Google models to generate images or videos without leaving the security of your terminal cocoon. It’s essentially vibe coding from the command line.

This tool is fully open source, so developers can inspect the code and help to improve it. The openness extends to how you configure the AI agent. It supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) and bundled extensions, allowing you to customize your terminal as you see fit. You can even include your own system prompts—Gemini CLI relies on GEMINI.md files, which you can use to tweak the model for different tasks or teams.

Now that Gemini 2.5 Pro is generally available, Gemini Code Assist has been upgraded to use the same technology as Gemini CLI. Code Assist integrates with IDEs like VS Code for those times when you need a more feature-rich environment. The new agent mode in Code Assist allows you to give the AI more general instructions, like “Add support for dark mode to my application” or “Build my project and fix any errors.”

Gemini CLI is a free, open source coding agent that brings AI to your terminal Read More »

Philips Hue bulbs will be even more expensive in July. And it may not end there.

Philips, philips hue, signify, Smart Home, Tech / 9u50fv / June 25, 2025

Philips is upping the prices of its popular and already-expensive Hue series of smart lighting products starting July 1. The company is blaming tariffs for the changes and has suggested that prices could go up even higher after the initial bump in July.

Philips started informing its customers via an email marketing message earlier this month that prices would go up and urged people to buy Hue lighting sooner rather than later.

In a statement to the Hueblog website, Philips’ parent company, Signify, explained why people in the US will pay more for Hue products soon:

Signify will increase prices on our Philips Hue portfolio in the US, effective July 1, 2025, as a direct result of tariffs. We remain committed to providing consumers with high-quality products and features that make smart lighting extraordinary.

Signify didn’t confirm how much Hue products would cost after June but noted that more changes could follow.

“Signify reserves the right to modify prices based on new or additional tariffs becoming effective in the future,” the company told Hueblog.

As noted by Hueblog, some Hue products are already more expensive in the US than in other geographies. The Hue Smart Button, which came out this month, costs $33, compared to 22 euros in Europe and $25 for its predecessor. The Hue Play wall washer is $220 in the US, compared to 200 euros in Europe. Typically, Hue’s products have “converted euro prices almost 1-to-1,” Hueblog reported.

Philips Hue bulbs will be even more expensive in July. And it may not end there. Read More »

Data-recovery firm tests $28, 500GB HDD from Amazon and gets surprising results

hdd, SSD, Storage, Tech / Shannon Garcia / June 25, 2025

Ars was unable to confirm if UnionSine and Toshiba have any formal business relationship. UnionSine’s website says that its full company name is Shenzhen Union Integrity Technology Co., Ltd., a Shenzhen-based company launched in 2014 with “more than 50 employees.” It doesn’t list Toshiba as a partner. Toshiba also doesn’t mention any collaboration with UnionSine on its website. Neither company responded to requests for comment ahead of publication. Interestingly, there’s at least one account of someone finding a Western Digital drive inside their UnionSine HDD’s enclosure.

Rymko said that Secure Data Recovery couldn’t confirm if the Toshiba drive was refurbished but also emphasized the drive’s nearly 10 years of age:

Our internal data indicates that the average lifespan of a drive is approximately three-to-five years, depending on the brand, capacity, and other factors. Our data found that the average ‘power-on’ hours of failed drives was about two years and 10 months. With the right tools, the ‘power-on hours’ data can be reset. This could mean the drive may last a few years; I can’t say for sure.

There are better storage options

Rymko told me that UnionSine “seem[s] like a legitimate company” and noted that Secure Data Recovery has recovered data from UnionSine drives before. He also said that for $28, “the drive performs well and provides good value;” it also “meets expectations for speed and reliability.” Still, he has some concerns about long-term use:

We haven’t identified any major issues with this device, but as with any budget drive, long-term durability and sustained performance under heavy use are potential concerns to watch for. It’s always a good idea to back up important data regularly.

But there are still reasons to look elsewhere for storage.

For one, UnionSine doesn’t have a clearly posted warranty policy for its HDDs. As Rymko mentioned, the long-term durability of its drive is dubious, making the lack of a clear warranty concerning.

Further, there are bigger and roomier storage options than a 500GB HDD. If you’re opting for an HDD over an SSD to save money, it can be prudent to put at least some of those savings toward more storage space. A roomier HDD will cost more, but the price-per-GB may not differ much, depending on the drive.

When storing valued files, you can rest easier by following the 3-2-1 backup rule and by buying from a reputable brand with a solid warranty. Losing important data is frustrating enough, and that frustration is exacerbated when a company doesn’t take accountability for a potentially faulty device.

Data-recovery firm tests $28, 500GB HDD from Amazon and gets surprising results Read More »

Microsoft extends free Windows 10 security updates into 2026, with strings attached

Tech, Windows 10, windows 10 22h2, windows 11 24h2 / Beth Washington / June 24, 2025

Freeupdates

It’s worth noting that both the Windows Backup and Microsoft Rewards methods for getting these updates require the use of a Microsoft Account, something Microsoft has been pushing with slowly increasing intensity in Windows 11. Windows 10 pushed Microsoft Account usage in various ways, too, but it was generally easier to create and sign in with a local account; for those people, the “free” update offer seems like another effort from Microsoft to bring them into the fold.

The Windows Backup option seems intended to ease the migration to a new Windows 11 PC when the time comes. The company may be offering a short reprieve for Windows 10 users, but the goal is still to shift them to Windows 11 eventually.

“To help make your move to a Windows 11 PC, as simple and secure as possible, we recommend using Windows Backup—built right into Windows 10,” writes Microsoft Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Medhi in Microsoft’s blog post. “It’s an easy way to help you safely and securely transfer your data, personal files, and most settings and applications, so everything’s ready for you the moment you sign in.”

People with existing Microsoft Accounts who don’t want to use Windows Backup may already have the 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points you would need to enroll in the ESU program; my Microsoft account has 3,411 points attached to it for some reason despite an 18-month expiration window and even though I’ve never taken any intentional steps toward earning any. Users creating a new account for the first time can accumulate that many points fairly trivially over the course of a few days, including by downloading the Bing app and doing various kinds of Bing searches.

We have asked Microsoft several logistical questions about the ESU program enrollment. If you reset or totally reinstall Windows 10 on the same PC, is that PC automatically enrolled in the ESU program, or will users need to enroll again? If you temporarily enable Windows Backup to access the ESU program but then stop using Windows Backup, will your PC keep receiving the updates? And if you have multiple PCs, do you need to enable Windows Backup or spend the 1,000 Rewards points on each of them individually to join the ESU program? We’ll update this article if we get answers to any or all of these questions.

Microsoft extends free Windows 10 security updates into 2026, with strings attached Read More »

Google’s new robotics AI can run without the cloud and still tie your shoes

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Gemini, gemini robotics, Google, Tech / Shannon Garcia / June 24, 2025

We sometimes call chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT “robots,” but generative AI is also playing a growing role in real, physical robots. After announcing Gemini Robotics earlier this year, Google DeepMind has now revealed a new on-device VLA (vision language action) model to control robots. Unlike the previous release, there’s no cloud component, allowing robots to operate with full autonomy.

Carolina Parada, head of robotics at Google DeepMind, says this approach to AI robotics could make robots more reliable in challenging situations. This is also the first version of Google’s robotics model that developers can tune for their specific uses.

Robotics is a unique problem for AI because, not only does the robot exist in the physical world, but it also changes its environment. Whether you’re having it move blocks around or tie your shoes, it’s hard to predict every eventuality a robot might encounter. The traditional approach of training a robot on action with reinforcement was very slow, but generative AI allows for much greater generalization.

“It’s drawing from Gemini’s multimodal world understanding in order to do a completely new task,” explains Carolina Parada. “What that enables is in that same way Gemini can produce text, write poetry, just summarize an article, you can also write code, and you can also generate images. It also can generate robot actions.”

General robots, no cloud needed

In the previous Gemini Robotics release (which is still the “best” version of Google’s robotics tech), the platforms ran a hybrid system with a small model on the robot and a larger one running in the cloud. You’ve probably watched chatbots “think” for measurable seconds as they generate an output, but robots need to react quickly. If you tell the robot to pick up and move an object, you don’t want it to pause while each step is generated. The local model allows quick adaptation, while the server-based model can help with complex reasoning tasks. Google DeepMind is now unleashing the local model as a standalone VLA, and it’s surprisingly robust.

Google’s new robotics AI can run without the cloud and still tie your shoes Read More »

Google rolls out Street View time travel to celebrate 20 years of Google Earth

Google, Google Earth, Tech / DJ Henderson / June 24, 2025

After 20 years, being able to look at any corner of the planet in Google Earth doesn’t seem that impressive, but it was a revolution in 2005. Google Earth has gone through a lot of changes in that time, and Google has some more lined up for the service’s 20th anniversary. Soon, Google Earth will help you travel back in time with historic Street View integration, and pro users will get some new “AI-driven insights”—of course Google can’t update a product without adding at least a little AI.

Google Earth began its life as a clunky desktop client, but that didn’t stop it from being downloaded 100 million times in the first week. Today, Google Earth is available on the web, in mobile apps, and in the Google Earth Pro desktop app. However you access Earth, you’ll find a blast from the past.

For the service’s 20th anniversary, Google was inspired by a social media trend from last year in which people shared historical images of locations in Google Maps. Now, Google Earth is getting a “time travel” interface where you can see historical Street View images from almost any location.

Google Earth historical — Historical Street View images will be added to Google Earth. Credit: Google

While this part isn’t new, Google is also using the 20th anniversary as an opportunity to surface its 3D timelapse feature. These animations use satellite data to show how an area has changed from a higher vantage point. They’re just as cool as when they were announced in 2021.

Google rolls out Street View time travel to celebrate 20 years of Google Earth Read More »

Longer commercial breaks lower the value of ad-based streaming subscriptions

ads, max, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / 9u50fv / June 20, 2025

But that old promise to HBO Max subscribers hasn’t carried over to Max, even though WBD is renaming Max to HBO Max this summer. As PCWorld noted, Max has been showing ads during HBO original content like The Last of Us. The publication reported seeing three ad breaks during the show in addition to ads before the show started.

Ars Technica reached out to WBD for comment about these changes but didn’t receive a response ahead of publication.

Depleting value

With numerous streaming services launching over the past few years, many streaming customers have been pushed to subscribe to multiple streaming services to have access to all of the shows and movies that they want. Streaming providers also regularly increase subscription fees and implement password crackdowns, and ad-based subscriptions were supposed to offer a cheaper way to stream.

Streaming providers forcing subscribers to watch more commercials risk depleting the value of ad-based streaming tiers. Online, for example, people are questioning the value of their ad-based Max subscriptions, which start at $10 per month, compared to $17/month for ad-free Max.

“I don’t how it could be worse. I watched several HBO documentaries, and they already had more adverts than Pluto TV [a free, ad-supported streaming service]. The kids programs for Cartoon Network started out with few adverts, but they have been loading up on adverts,” a Reddit user said in response to Max showing more ads.

Another Reddit user said that “if [Max] has ads, it shouldn’t be $10/month.”

Beyond Max, PCWorld cited MediaRadar data finding that Disney+ shows over 5.3 minutes of ads per hour, and Hulu shows over seven minutes of commercials hourly.

Such lengthy commercial breaks can extend past a convenient snack or bathroom break and force subscribers to consider the value of their time and how much time they want to allocate to get through a 22-minute program, for example.

With linear TV reportedly showing 13 to 16 minutes of commercials per hour, though, streaming providers still have space to show even more ads while still claiming that they show fewer ads than alternatives.

Longer commercial breaks lower the value of ad-based streaming subscriptions Read More »

Smart TV OS owners face “constant conflict” between privacy, advertiser demands

ads, privacy, samsung, Software, streaming, Tech, TVs / DJ Henderson / June 19, 2025

DENVER—Most smart TV operating system (OS) owners are in the ad sales business now. Software providers for budget and premium TVs are honing their ad skills, which requires advancing their ability to collect user data. This is creating an “inherent conflict” within the industry, Takashi Nakano, VP of content and programming at Samsung TV Plus, said at the StreamTV Show in Denver last week.

During a panel at StreamTV Insider’s conference entitled “CTV OS Leader Roundtable: From Drivers to Engagement and Content Strategy,” Nakano acknowledged the opposing needs of advertisers and smart TV users, who are calling for a reasonable amount of data privacy.

“Do you want your data sold out there and everyone to know exactly what you’ve been watching … the answer is generally no,” the Samsung executive said. “Yet, advertisers want all of this data. They wanna know exactly what you ate for breakfast.”

Nakano also suggested that the owners of OSes targeting smart TVs and other streaming hardware, like streaming sticks, are inundated with user data that may not actually be that useful or imperative to collect:

I think that there’s inherent conflict in the ad ecosystem supplying so much data. … We’re fortunate to have all that data, but we’re also like, ‘Do we really want to give it all, and hand it all out?’ There’s a constant conflict around that, right? So how do we create an ecosystem where we can serve ads that are pretty good? Maybe it’s not perfect …

Today, connected TV (CTV) OSes are largely built around not just gathering user data, but also creating ways to collect new types of information about viewers in order to deliver more relevant, impactful ads. LG, for example, recently announced that its smart TV OS, webOS, will use a new AI model that informs ad placement based on viewers’ emotions and personal beliefs.

Smart TV OS owners face “constant conflict” between privacy, advertiser demands Read More »