Google announced Thursday that it is making Gemini Live available in more than 40 languages, allowing global users (no longer just English speakers) to access the conversational AI feature, as well as enabling the full Gemini AI to connect with additional Google apps in more languages.
Gemini Live is Google’s answer to OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode or Meta’s Voice Interactions. The feature enables users to converse with the AI as if it were another person, eliminating the need for text-based prompts. Gemini Live made its debut in May during the company’s I/O 2024 event and was initially released for Gemini Advanced subscribers in August before being made available to all users (on Android, at least) in September.
Throughout that period, users could only speak with the AI in English. Starting today, users will be able to chat in French, German, Portuguese, Hindi, and Spanish, with the rest of the 40-plus languages being made available in the coming weeks.
To access the new languages, open the Google app on your Android device and click on your Profile picture at the top of the screen. From there select Settings > Google Assistant > Languages to choose the one (or two) that you want to use.
Google is also incorporating the Gemini model into more of its apps via Extensions. Similar to an API, this feature enables the Gemini app to interact with other apps and pull data from them, such as real-time flight information or location-based data, to provide the user with better and more accurate replies. Initially, Extensions only worked with a handful of Google apps, specifically, Gmail Maps and YouTube, then expanded access to Calendar, Tasks, Keep, and Utilities, though only in English.
“Over the coming weeks, you’ll be able to connect to new tools across different apps and in more languages, making it even easier to get things done,” Google’s announcement post reads. The company suggests that you can “have Gemini dig out that lasagna recipe sent to you in your Gmail, and ask it to add the ingredients to your shopping list in Keep.” Extensions is not currently compatible with Gemini Live.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.