Global AI-glasses shipments jump 263% year over year in the first half of 2026, with Meta controlling about 94% of display-less models through new Ray-Ban Meta variants and lower-priced Meta Glasses.
Americans are turning sharply against data centers as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott imposes a statewide moratorium on new facilities, with 54% now calling them mostly bad for the environment and six in 10 uncomfortable with one operating nearby.
Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, an on-device AI platform for earbuds, smart glasses, watches and pins that it says doubles AI capability while using 40% less power and can run multiple AI agents at once.
Google rolls out Gemini Connected Apps, enabling users to manage work projects, create assets and plan workouts inside Gemini through integrations including Airtable, Adobe, Peloton, Webflow and Zoho.
Anthropic says nearly 950 Claude agents uncover a previously uncharacterized CRISPR-like enzyme system in bacteriophages after analyzing DNA data for 21 hours, though its function and practical uses remain unknown.
Basecamp Research raises a $140 million Series C to train AI models for designing therapeutics, beginning with in vivo cell therapy, in a round led by S32 with Nvidia’s NVentures and Anthropic’s Anthology Fund participating.
Google DeepMind adds private persistent cloud memory to Private AI Compute, letting AI retain context across devices through encrypted per-user databases whose decryption keys stay only on users’ personal devices, even as Google publishes verifiable server-software records and an independent security audit.
OpenAI brings ChatGPT Voice to ChatGPT Work and Codex on web and mobile, letting Pro and Plus users create documents, decks, spreadsheets and websites by voice, as Meta’s Muse agent reportedly tops 500,000 users in its first week.
Meta launches $349 camera-free Ray-Ban Audio glasses shipping October 13 with music, calls and AI features, alongside a $149 FDA-cleared Hearing Enhancement mode that turns compatible glasses into over-the-counter hearing aids.
YouTube launches Custom Feeds and expands Ask YouTube shopping tools, letting viewers save interest-specific homepage tabs and ask product questions—including voice queries on TVs, comparison tables and follow-ups—directly from video watch pages.