Products & Apps

Smart glasses dominated this year’s Meta Connect, from product demonstrations to the devices worn by staff and attendees. Meta is expanding the category beyond cameras with audio, AI agents, and accessibility features.

Microsoft has officially unveiled a redesigned Copilot app that combines chat, coding, and long-running agents in one interface. The company is positioning it less as a chatbot and more as an AI work layer for Microsoft 365 customers.

Meta is introducing Horizon Create, a mobile app, and Horizon Studio, a browser-based tool that let users build 2D and 3D games with AI prompts. The company also wants those games to be discovered and played directly through Facebook and Instagram.

CapCut is bringing AI video generation and conventional editing into one workflow through CapCut Hub and CapCut Assistant. The update focuses on turning generated clips into editable production assets rather than treating generation as the final step.

Anthropic is bringing document and presentation creation into Claude chats with the beta launches of Docs and Slides. It is also combining regular chats and Cowork into a single “one Claude” experience.

Apple has released its 2026 operating-system updates, led by a context-aware Siri AI that can understand screens, search personal history, and interact with supported apps. macOS Golden Gate is also the final macOS release to include Rosetta support.

Instagram users are once again reporting that ordinary edits and original photos are being labeled as AI content, while some fully generated images escape detection. The confusion highlights the limits and opacity of Meta’s current labeling system.

Google is rolling out Gmail Live, Docs Live, and Keep Live, giving users a conversational way to search email, shape documents, and capture notes. The features are arriving on mobile in English, with access depending on the app, platform, and Google AI plan.

Amazon is adding a verification feature to Alexa for Shopping that can help customers determine whether an email, text, or phone call really came from the company. The assistant compares the message with Amazon’s records and only confirms it when it is completely certain.

Linkdaze combines shared calendars, chores, meal planning and shopping lists on a touchscreen designed for the whole household. Its main features do not require a recurring subscription.

LinkedIn says more than one million people have used its “Seems like AI slop” feedback option since it launched in July. The company also claims that posts it classifies as AI slop are receiving 40% fewer views than they did a few weeks earlier.

OpenAI has introduced an Apple Messages plug-in that lets ChatGPT search, analyze, edit, draft, and send texts after user authorization. The integration promises a smoother messaging workflow, but also raises questions about device permissions, storage, and automated sending.

Meta is rolling out Pocket, an experimental app that lets users create and share interactive games with AI prompts. The app follows a quiet test in Brazil and builds on the team behind Gizmo.

OpenAI’s first hardware project with former Apple design chief Jony Ive is reportedly a display-free, battery-powered smart speaker. The device is said to be doughnut-shaped, roughly the size of a hockey puck, and aimed at voice-first AI interaction.

Sam Altman’s suggestion that parents use ChatGPT Work to generate a school-run podcast drew swift mockery online. The backlash highlights how sensitive AI becomes when it moves from productivity into family life.

Snapchat is changing Spotlight recommendations so that only videos made by real people are eligible for promotion and rewards. The company is not banning AI outright, but it is drawing a line between AI-assisted creation and fully synthetic content.

Apple is considering letting heavy Siri AI users buy additional compute through iCloud+, according to comments from Tim Cook cited by TechCrunch. The plan is not final, but it points to a broader shift in how consumer AI assistants may be priced.

Tim Cook suggested that Apple may let users buy higher usage levels for Apple Intelligence and the upcoming Siri AI through iCloud Plus. The move would tie Apple’s AI ambitions more directly to its subscription business.

LinkedIn is giving users a direct way to flag posts that feel inauthentic or overly AI-generated, while also changing how its systems rank low-quality content.

LinkedIn is rolling out a new way for users to flag posts that look like low-quality AI-generated content. It is also replacing its AI post-writing feature with a more limited proofreading tool.

Microsoft says it is bringing Copilot’s chat, coding, collaboration, and agentic capabilities into one broader app experience this year. The move signals a shift from AI as a feature layer to AI as a central work hub.