Google is adding real-time captions to Gemini Live. After ending a Gemini Live session, you already get a text transcript of the conversation. Google is now adding captions so you can read Gemini’s responses in real-time. The top-right corner of the fullscreen Gemini Live interface is gaining a transcript button. (Google is using the same rectangular icon as Android’s Live Caption capability.) Tapping presents a translucent overlay at the center of the screen. At the moment, Gemini Live does not let you start a conversation if the volume is muted or too low. There might be occasions where you can briefly speak to your phone, but can’t have audio playing out loud (like when you are without headphones). The new transcript allows you to go Live in those situations, while some prefer reading instead of listening to responses. For other people, this will be faster. The upcoming Search Live, which is also powered by Project Astra, has a prominent “Transcript” button in the UI to read responses as they come in. Captions started rolling out to Gemini Live on Android earlier this week with more reports today, but it’s not yet widely available.
Apple debuts new user design experience Liquid Glass, which will bring greater focus to content, deliver a new level of quality to controls and keep users more attuned to what’s happening on screen “harmonizing” the user experience across all devices
Apple previewed a slick new software design and powerful software updates, including new features coming to its next-generation operating systems across devices that will receive a unified version 26. The new design features a new material called Liquid Glass, which creates a translucent effect similar to water that sits atop the display, refracting content below it and allowing colors to flow through. The company says this will bring greater focus to content, deliver a new level of quality to controls and keep users more attuned to what’s happening on screen. The new design extends across Apple’s entire device ecosystem, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Ventura 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. The company said the idea was to “harmonize” the user experience across all devices so they could expect every device to look and feel the same. It will affect buttons, switches, sliders, text and media in the user interface and shift dynamically according to user needs. Controls, toolbars and navigation within apps have been redesigned with rounded corners and they “float above” content so that they stay out of the way and avoid interrupting content. They also shift into thoughtful groupings, allowing users to find the controls they need. The Preview app, which originally comes from macOS, is coming to iPadOS 26. Preview is a dedicated app for creating a quick sketch, as well as viewing, editing and marking up PDFs and images with Apple Pencil or by touch.
Xactus integrates flood compliance solution with ICE’s mortgage servicing system, to receive automated flood zone determination updates directly into their systems
Logitech’s new Flip Folio makes it easier than ever to turn your iPad into a comfortable, portable workstation. Logitech’s new Flip Folio fuses portability with adaptability. Its case combines a Bluetooth keyboard with a magnetic folio, making it perfect for anyone who wants the freedom to work the way they like. This is especially great if you want to place your iPad on a higher surface than your keyboard to reduce neck strain while working. Logitech also gives you the option to work in portrait mode — perfect for Pages projects. The kickstand adjusts to multiple angles, allowing you to find the perfect position for writing, watching videos, making FaceTime calls, and more. When it’s time to pack up, the Bluetooth keyboard magnetically attaches to the Folio, making it a breeze to stash it in a bag or carry it with a single hand. Unlike Apple’s Magic Keyboard, there’s no passive charging; in fact, there’s no charging at all. The included Bluetooth keyboard is powered by four replaceable coin cell batteries, which Logitech says should last for two years, assuming two hours of daily use.
NiCE-Snowflake partnership to enable enterprises to operationalize customer interaction data at scale through seamless, secure sharing of CX data across the front, middle and back office
NiCE announced a strategic collaboration with Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, to unlock the full value of customer interaction data by enabling seamless, secure data sharing across the front, middle and back office through Snowflake Secure Data Sharing. This collaboration combines NiCE CXone Mpower’s AI for customer service automation with Snowflake’s easy, connected, and trusted platform, enabling joint customers to seamlessly access and update data to automate customer service at scale. By working with Snowflake, the two companies will be able to deliver immediate value for customers and unlock new opportunities across the enterprise landscape. NiCE selected Snowflake for its ability to power secure, governed data collaboration and its shared commitment to eliminating operational silos. As a core component of every CXone Mpower bundle, Snowflake provides the foundation for the CXone Mpower data lake, centralizing all interaction data from across the platform and enabling that data to be merged with associated data beyond the front office. This extends the depth and breadth of CXone Mpower, enabling customers to leverage reporting, dashboarding, analytics and AI, from a single, trusted and ecosystem-wide source of truth. By expanding the reach of CX data into middle and back-office systems, organizations will be able to automate processes such as service fulfillment, billing, claims handling, and account updates, dramatically improving speed, accuracy, and efficiency. Customers can leverage CXone Mpower’s built-in integration with Snowflake to securely share and activate customer interaction data across their enterprise, either as part of their current CXone Mpower bundle or through expanded enterprise automation initiatives. With CXone Mpower analyzing hundreds of customer attributes per interaction, Snowflake provides the secure, scalable foundation to store, share, and activate this rich data across the enterprise. This collaboration empowers enterprises to operationalize interaction data at scale, integrate it seamlessly into enterprise ecosystems, and accelerate the development of AI-driven CX innovations.
Headless browser platform Browserbase can automate webpage interactions and spin up thousands of browsers in a fraction of a second by combining traditional scripts with AI agents in the same workflow
Browserbase Inc., a startup focused on automating tasks that involve interacting with webpages, has closed a $40 million funding round. Browserbase provides a so-called headless browser specifically designed to automate webpage interactions. According to the company, it’s optimized for use by scripts and artificial intelligence agents. The browser is available through a serverless platform that removes the need for customers to manage the underlying infrastructure. According to Browserbase, its platform can spin up thousands of browsers in a fraction of a second. Each instance is assigned four virtual central processing units to ensure that web page interactions are completed quickly. To further boost performance, the platform hosts browsers in data centers around the world. Developers can send requests to a web server from the nearest data center to reduce latency. The platform is compatible with Puppeteer and Selenium, two popular open-source tools for creating browser automation scripts. As a result, developers don’t have to change their existing scripts to use the software. There’s also support for Browserbase’s own Stagehand automation tool, which it touts as a more capable alternative to Puppeteer and Selenium. It allows developers to combine traditional scripts with AI agents in the same workflow. Agents are used when adaptability is needed while scripts automate tasks that require a high degree of reliability.
Project Nemo’s report shows 32% of people with a learning disability don’t have a bank account in their own name and 61% say banks don’t always meet their needs
Project Nemo, a not-for-profit initiative, has released a report revealing the financial exclusion of adults with a learning disability. The report, ‘Safe Spending for Adults with a Learning Disability: A Call to Action for Financial Services’, highlights the challenges faced by these individuals in managing their finances. The study found that 87% of adults with a learning disability and their supporters resort to informal workarounds, often without disclosed statutory authority. The report also revealed that 32% of people with a learning disability don’t have a bank account in their own name and 61% say banks don’t always meet their needs. The report highlights the difficulty of making, receiving, and managing payments for the 1.5 million people in the UK living with a learning disability. The research explored a range of potential money management features to aid safer spending for adults with a learning disability, and identified that: To aid independent user understanding, any features should use clear and simple language, supported by visual explanations where possible; The ability to customise to suit individual needs is critical to success of any products built for this community; Notifications or settings that give supporters oversight of spending and the opportunity to intercept risky purchases provide reassurance for both supporters and users and have potential to enable greater independence.; Accessible and specialist customer support must be available to boost confidence and support longer term independence goals; Priority features for products built for this community include saving pots, the option to turn on a Calm Mode that reduces overwhelm, and wearable alternatives to payment cards.
Google’s new AI screen-selection tool for Chromebook Plus devices explains complex text and NotebookLM and lets users select text and quickly add an event to the calendar
Google’s adding a slew of AI features to its productivity-focused Chromebook Plus line of devices, including a screen-selection tool for search and text capture, a tool that explains complex text, and NotebookLM. The new screen-selection tool works similarly to Google Lens and the “Circle to search” feature in Chrome on smartphones: long-press the launcher button or use the screenshot tool to select what is on your screen, and Google will instantly search for it. The tool also lets you select text and quickly add an event to the calendar. Users can now access Google’s AI image-generation features with the quick insert key, as well as AI-powered writing tools. The new “Simplify” feature lets you use AI to explain, simplify, or summarize any text you have selected. Google’s also giving all new Chromebook Plus users one year’s subscription to the Google AI Pro plan, which includes access to the Gemini app; video editing tool Flow; image-to-video creation tool Whisk; Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and Chrome; and 2TB of storage. Alongside these features, Google is launching two exclusive AI features for Lenovo’s new Chromebook Plus 14: One uses AI to recommend tab and document organization, while the second lets users edit images using the Gallery app to remove backgrounds or make stickers. Lenovo’s new Chromebook comes with an OLED touch screen and runs on an ARM-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra chip.
SECU’s integration of MANTL’s deposit origination tech to enable onboarding of members on any device or channel through over 85% automation of application decisions, including KYC, AML, Bank Secrecy Act, product service ordering, funding, and core booking
State Employees’ Credit Union of Maryland (SECU), a $5.7B credit union with 23 financial centers across Maryland, has partnered with MANTL, an Alkami solution team, to improve its in-branch and online account opening processes for businesses and retail members. The partnership will allow SECU to open new member accounts on any banking channel, at any time, demonstrating SECU’s commitment to providing the best possible banking experiences. SECU will leverage MANTL’s Consumer Deposit Origination to transform the online account opening experience and streamline the in-branch experience for members and employees. The Business Deposit Origination will allow SECU to better attract, serve, and deepen relationships with businesses across its target markets. By integrating MANTL with its core processing system, SECU will automate over 85% of application decisions, including Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, product service ordering, funding, and core booking.
Over 2/3rd of Gen Z respondents are memorizing card numbers to make online shopping easier, while 20% of baby boomers are doing so to specifically avoid using digital wallets
A survey from Western & Southern Financial Group found that nearly a third of Americans surveyed have memorized at least one debit or credit card number. What’s more, 20% of respondents who know their card numbers spend more than $500 per month online, compared to just 13% of those who haven’t. They also carry, on average, 10% more debt than non-memorizers. The survey found a significant generation gap, with almost half of respondents who memorize their card numbers falling into the millennial group. Overall, more than a third of millennials have memorized at least one card number. The reasons people gave for memorizing their numbers also varied across generations. More than two-thirds of Gen Z respondents said they did so to make online shopping easier, while, 20% of baby boomers memorized their card numbers specifically to avoid using digital wallets. Gen Z was also the most likely to feel that knowing their card numbers led to more impulse buying and overspending. In contrast, a third of the baby boomers were the most likely to report that memorizing their card numbers had improved their financial discipline. There is some evidence that memorization goes hand in hand with responsible behavior. A total of 70% of memorizers checked their credit card or bank statements at least weekly, compared to 61% of non-memorizers. However, impulse buying was also slightly more common among memorizers. Roughly 26% made unplanned purchases, compared to 23% of non-memorizers. Memorizers were also somewhat more likely to shop when stressed.
Gmail’s new ‘Manage subscriptions’ page lists out email addresses and names for your email subscriptions and allows users to unsubscribe from email subscriptions with a single clickout
Gmail is rolling out a handy new “Manage subscriptions” page that allows users to unsubscribe from email subscriptions with a single tap, though it appears to only be on Android so far. A notice in the app shows to inform users of the new option, with a “Manage subscriptions” button in the overflow menu. The new page, which was previously spotted just over a year ago, lists out email addresses and names for your email subscriptions. It also shows how many emails were sent “recently.” A button to the right side of the display then allows users to quickly unsubscribe from emails from that sender. In our testing so far, this generally works in a single click, though a small number of the ones we tried did pop up a browsing window to complete the process. Google adds that it “can take senders a few days to stop sending messages” after you use the unsubscribe shortcut.