&w=3840&q=100)
Google rolls out Pixel Drop with improved Gemini app experience: What's new
The Pixel Drop aims to enhance both creativity and accessibility across supported Pixel devices.
AI video creation in Gemini app
Google has introduced a new AI video generation tool in the Gemini app. Pixel users can now upload images directly from their camera roll, type a prompt to describe a scene, and let the AI create animated videos based on the input. The feature transforms still images into dynamic visuals, powered by Google's generative AI.
Announcing the feature on X (formerly Twitter), Google said: 'With our latest #PixelDrop, you can now upload images directly from your camera roll, enter a prompt to describe a scene, and let Gemini bring it all to life.'
Pixel VIPs widget for key contacts
The new Pixel VIPs widget helps users stay connected with their closest contacts. It shows live location updates, upcoming events, and recent calls or messages, including from WhatsApp, on the home screen. It aims to centralise important updates from key people in one accessible view.
Creative tools with AI and personalisation
Pixel Studio, available exclusively on Pixel 9 devices, enables users to generate visuals using Google's Imagen 3 model. Whether it's memes, posters, or digital art, users can quickly create high-quality images on-device, without needing design skills.
Pixel Drop also adds tools to personalise content with stickers, captions, and creative elements. For example, users can turn personal photos into stickers or add event-specific details to visuals. These can be shared instantly via Gboard, allowing for one-tap sharing in chats, social posts, or emails.
LE Audio support for hearing aids
Pixel devices now support LE Audio, enhancing the functionality of compatible hearing aids. Users can take calls directly through their hearing aids and adjust key settings like ambient volume and sound presets from within the phone's settings—no need for a separate app. This integration is aimed at improving accessibility and audio clarity on the go.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
NotebookLM's new Video Overviews feature is like YouTube for your notes
Google has been consistently adding new features to NotebookLM, its AI research tool and thinking tool that helps users understand and simplify complex content. Last year, the company introduced a new feature called 'Audio Overviews', which turns notes into a podcast with AI hosts. In a blog post, Google announced that it is rolling out the much-anticipated Video Overviews feature for NotebookLM users, which it says offers 'a helpful visual aid to understand a complex concept.' Initially announced earlier this year at Google I/O, Video Overviews will appear in the form of narrated slides. The tech giant says users can think of them as a visual alternative to Audio Overviews, where the 'AI host creates visuals to help illustrate points while also pulling in images, diagrams, quotes and numbers' from sources. Similar to Audio Overviews, Google says users have the option to customise Video Overviews by telling it about topics you want to focus on, mentioning your learning goals and describing the target audience. Moreover, you can also ask questions like 'I know nothing about this topic; help me understand the diagrams in the paper' or 'Ï'm already an expert on X and my team works on Y: focus on Z.' The new feature is currently available in English, but Google says support for more languages is already underway. Google also announced some new features for NotebookLM Studio, which now allows users to create and store multiple studio outputs of the same type in a single notebook. What it means is that now you will be able to create different sets of Audio Overviews in various languages, tailor them for different roles and even create outputs like Mind Maps and Video Overviews which focus on different chapters and topics. Another change coming to NotebookLM is that now you will be able to multitask within the app's Studio panel. For example, you can listen to an Audio Overview while working on a Mind Map or reviewing a study guide. However, these updated Studio features will be rolling out to users in the next few weeks, so you might have to wait some time before being able to use them.


Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
AI-startup Anthropic nears funding round at $170 billion valuation
Anthropic is nearing a funding round led by Iconiq Capital that would value the company at $170 billion, injecting fresh capital needed to stay competitive with OpenAI, Bloomberg and CNBC reported Wednesday. The new funding round would more than double Anthropic's current valuation of $61.5 billion. The AI company is expected to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Anthropic's upcoming valuation could reach $150 billion, following talks with a number of investors in the Middle East. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was previously seen as reluctant to raise funding from Middle Eastern investors but has since changed course. Its biggest rival, Sam Altman's OpenAI, has also turned to the Middle East for funding in recent months. OpenAI was valued at $300 billion earlier this year and is in the process of raising billions of dollars from investors led by SoftBank. The San Francisco-based AI company is also working with Emirati firm G42 to build a massive data center in Abu Dhabi, signs that AI startups increasingly rely on Middle Eastern funding to fasten model development and outpace competitors. Anthropic competes with OpenAI, Google, Meta, Elon Musk's xAI, and other major tech companies to develop AI models capable of generating text, code, images, and videos that can be scaled and deployed. So far, OpenAI is leading the race with its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, which has over 500 million weekly users. However, Anthropic's Claude is emerging as a major player in coding and is increasingly being adopted by developers and software engineers. There is a race in Silicon Valley to develop the best general-purpose AI model; however, AI startups are increasingly focusing on specialised models. The industry is anticipating the release of GPT-5, OpenAI's next model, which has been in the works for months and is expected to launch in August this year. Neither Anthropic nor OpenAI are profitable, with both startups using funding to cover the massive costs of compute power needed to train AI models. Anthropic is backed by Amazon and Google.

The Hindu
40 minutes ago
- The Hindu
'Marathon at F1 speed': China bids to lap U.S. in AI leadership
Beyond dancing robots and eager-to-help digital avatars, Shanghai's World AI Conference saw China stake its claim to global artificial intelligence leadership and frame itself as a clear alternative to the United States. Assumptions that the U.S. was far ahead in the fast-moving field were upended this year when Chinese start-up DeepSeek unveiled a chatbot that matched top American systems for an apparent fraction of the cost. With AI now at the forefront of the superpowers' tech race, the World AI Conference (WAIC) that ended Tuesday saw China set out its case to take charge on shaping its global governance too. China, the United States and other major economies are "engaged in a marathon at Formula One speed", said Steven Hai, assistant professor of tech innovation at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. "Which country will attain the upper hand can only be assessed dynamically over the course of development." China and the United States dominate the AI sector, only 10 to 15% of models developed in recent years were built without either's participation, according to Epoch AI, a non-profit research institute. While U.S. companies like Google and OpenAI are still industry-leading, the institute labelled 78% of Chinese models "state-of-the-art" compared to 70% of models built with American participation. Beijing's stated aim is to become the world's leading AI "innovation centre" by 2030. "Now China is neck-and-neck with the United States in terms of core tech, that play (for global leadership) is more relevant than ever," said Tom Nunlist, associate director for tech and data policy at Trivium China. "With a solid AI offering and the U.S. turning inward, the question is will Beijing's vision gain greater global traction?" In May, Microsoft's Brad Smith told the U.S. Senate that "the number-one factor" in the tech race "is whose technology is most broadly adopted in the rest of the world". China's offer is technical and economical. "One of the biggest differences (with the US sector) is that most of the leading models in China... are open-weight and open-source," former Google CEO Eric Schmidt told an audience at WAIC. That means they can be adapted by other countries to fit their own needs, said George Chen, partner at Washington-based policy consultancy The Asia Group. "We already see some countries like Mongolia, Kazakhstan, even Pakistan are trying to adopt the DeepSeek model to build their own," he said. "China has a chance to win in the aspect of sovereign AI to export its model to those countries." The comparative low cost of Chinese technology software but also hardware, for example through firms like Huawei, will be a big factor, especially for developing countries, Chen added. On Monday another Chinese start-up, Zhipu, announced its new AI model, also open-source, would cost less than DeepSeek to use. In June, OpenAI accused Zhipu of having close ties with Chinese authorities and noted it was working with governments and state-owned firms across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. "The goal is to lock Chinese systems and standards into emerging markets before U.S. or European rivals can," it said. Washington has moved to protect its lead in AI, expanding efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China in recent years. "While limiting China's share of the global AI hardware market, (these measures) have accelerated indigenous innovation and led Chinese firms to exploit regulatory loopholes," said assistant professor Hai, referring to "rife" smuggling and circumvention. Other challenges to homegrown firms include the closed nature of the Chinese internet, and "general issues of trust when it comes to using Chinese tech", Trivium's Nunlist said. At WAIC, China sought to present itself as a responsible power. Premier Li Qiang emphasised the risks of AI and pledged to share technology with other nations, especially developing ones. His remarks contrasted sharply with U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive low-regulation "AI Action Plan" launched just days before and explicitly aimed at cementing U.S. dominance in the field. China released its own action plan at WAIC, following a meeting attended by delegates from dozens of countries. Li also announced the establishment of a China-led organisation for international AI cooperation. However, China's foreign ministry did not respond to a request from AFP for details on the set-up of the organisation, including any international participants, and several foreign delegates said they had not been briefed on the announcement beforehand. Analyst Grace Shao wrote it was clear AI was still in its "infancy stage". "You can sense that vibrant energy but also the immaturity of the space," she wrote on Substack. "There just shouldn't be a definitive conclusion on who is 'winning' yet."