Tech Boys

A mystery AI image editor named "nano banana" recently rose to the top of LMArena, the most popular AI leaderboard. The model easily bested its opponents in the arena, which lets users test AI models head-to-head. Now, Google DeepMind has revealed that nano banana is actually the alias for Gemini 2.5 Flash Image . Before the big reveal, Googlers did drop some hints: This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Now that the model has been officially rolled out, Google DeepMind said that Gemini will be better at editing your images. Products like this move us a step closer to a post-Photoshop world. Instead of learning the technical ins and outs of photo editing software, which can take years to master, AI image editors will make it possible for anyone to edit an image with just a few simple voice or text prompts — in theory. The Google DeepMind team says this model has been trained to make subjects more consistent across various edits of ...

That angry green bird just might get angrier. Google is using Gemini AI to increase the power of Google Translate . Now, Translate allows users to practice new languages by creating personalized listening and speaking practice sessions in their preferred language. Sounds a little bit like Duolingo without its iconic mascot. "Whether you're an early learner looking to begin practicing conversation or an advanced speaker looking to brush up on vocabulary for an upcoming trip, Translate can now create tailored listening and speaking practice sessions just for you," Matt Sheets, a product manager at Google, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday . "These interactive practices are generated on-the-fly and intelligently adapt to your skill level." SEE ALSO: Google and Duolingo think AI can change the way we learn languages. Are they right? It's pretty simple to get started. Open the Google Translate app, select "practice," set your skill level and g...

Forty percent. That's how much Tesla's European sales declined in July compared to the year before. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the lobbying group for the automobile industry in the EU, released new data on Thursday showing that Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is continuing to face a steep decline in sales. In total, just 8,837 Tesla vehicles were registered across Europe in July 2025. That figure includes the European Union, as well as the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Furthermore, Tesla's drop in sales is not the result of a broader decline across the larger EV market either. In fact, sales of electric vehicles as a whole actually went up in the EU. For example, Tesla's biggest Chinese rival BYD saw 13,503 new vehicle registrations in July. That's a monthly surge of 225 percent compared to the year before, as CNBC reported . This also marks Tesla's seventh month in a row of declining sales . Te...

Google's annual refresh of its Pixel line is always a treat. The Pixel hardware is lovely, and the visor on the back is quickly becoming an iconic look. (For Star Trek fans, it's giving major Geordi LaForge vibes.) The software offers one of my favorite user interfaces in the Android world, and it comes with a ton of goodies to play with besides. Anecdotally, I have seen more and more Pixel phones out "in the wild" in 2025, and not just among my fellow tech-nerd friends. The market share isn't there yet, but it's certainly climbing. This year's Pixel 10 Pro refresh doesn't have as much new as previous years, and not all of the new features are necessarily welcome. Google made some choices with this phone that aren't landing for me, and that is not a reference to having Jimmy Fallon host the Made by Google event . Overall, this has been a really fun phone to play with, largely because of the aforementioned camera bump on the back. Google promis...

Notorious and controversial imageboards 4chan and Kiwi Farms are taking the UK government to task in U.S. federal court, filing suit against the country’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) over the controversial Online Safety Act (OSA). The lawsuit , filed on Wednesday, August 27, follows earlier threats made by the site’s legal counsel , Preston Byrne. Byrne warned that the platforms would challenge Ofcom’s attempts to levy fines and penalties under the OSA. Their goal is clear: to have U.S. courts recognize the UK’s sweeping internet law as unenforceable on American companies that operate entirely outside the UK. SEE ALSO: YouTube will begin using AI for age verification next week Since taking effect on July 25, the OSA has introduced broad age verification requirements that force UK citizens to provide proof of age to access even mainstream platforms like YouTube and Spotify. The law, billed as protecting children from "harmful" content like pornography, has inste...

TL;DR: Live stream Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup for free on ITVX . Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN . The pick of the games in the second round of the EFL Cup has to be Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United. The Mariners are unbeaten in the league this season, but they'll face their toughest test against Manchester United , still seeking their first win of the year. Rubem Amorim's side will obviously be favorites to progress, but you never know in the cup. If you want to watch Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need. When is Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United? Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup starts at 8 p.m. GMT on Aug. 27 . This fixture takes place at Blundell Park. How to watch Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United for free Grimsby Town vs. Manchester Unitedl in the EFL Cup is available to live stream for free o...

We're now just two weeks away from the Apple iPhone 17 event . Themed "Awe dropping" this year, it'll be livestreamed on YouTube at 1PM ET from Cupertino. We'll also have Engadget staff reporting and liveblogging from the event. This year is shaking up to be a departure from recent events, with the strong possibility of an all-new superthin iPhone expected to join the company's lineup. Also on tap could be new Apple Watch models — including the first truly new Ultra model in two years — and (maybe) the long-awaited AirPods Pro 3. But toggling back to phones: Apple's iPhone family will likely welcome a new member this year. The iPhone Air is expected to be roughly 5.55 mm thick. That bests the thinnest model so far, which was 2014's iPhone 6 , at 6.9 mm. And they've only gotten chunkier since then. (The iPhone 16 Pro has a depth of 8.25 mm.) So, the Air would stand out from its peers in that respect. It would also give Apple a direct rival to S...

As Google and Apple duke it out during "yearly phone reveal" season, Samsung is biding its time before releasing its next flagship phone. The company traditionally waits until February for its Galaxy Unpacked showcase , which means we’re still six months away from the official Galaxy S26 lineup. But thanks to leaks, we already have an early look at what’s coming — and Samsung mobile fans might not love what they’re hearing. The biggest disappointment centers on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to multiple reports , Samsung is sticking with the same 5,000 mAh battery it’s been using for years. If true, that would make it the sixth consecutive Ultra to ship without a bump in battery capacity. The only silver lining is that leaks suggest the phone could finally support 65W fast charging, an upgrade from the current 45W limit. SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Then there’s the design. Samsung made waves (and ruffled feathers) with the rounde...

Anthropic has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by a group of authors for an undisclosed sum. The move means the company will avoid a potentially more costly ruling if the case regarding its use of copyright materials to train artificial intelligence tools had moved forward. In June, Judge William Alsup handed down a mixed result in the case, ruling that Anthropic's move to train LLMs on copyrighted materials constituted fair use. However the company's illegal and unpaid acquisition of those copyrighted materials was deemed available for the authors to pursue as a piracy case. With statutory damages for piracy beginning at $750 per infringed work and a library of pirated works estimated to number about 7 million, Anthropic could have been on the hook for billions of dollars. Litigation around AI and copyright is still shaking out, with no clear precedents emerging yet. This also isn't Anthropic's first foray into negotiating with creatives after using their wo...

Elon Musk threatened to sue Apple for favoring ChatGPT over Grok in the App Store — and now he has. On Monday, Musk's AI company xAI officially filed a lawsuit against Apple as well as ChatGPT creator OpenAI over the two companies' business partnership. Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google . "This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created: artificial intelligence," reads the opening of xAI's lawsuit. "Working in tandem, Defendants Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing," the suit continues. xAI's issue with Apple and OpenAI xAI's suit claims that Apple boosts ChatGPT in the Apple App Store to the detriment of competing AI apps, like xAI's Grok. "Apple has taken further steps to ...

The next season of Overwatch 2 will bring more than the usual new hero and battle pass to the team shooter. Blizzard announced that Season 18 will introduce a new take on the progression system. As they currently stand, the progression numbers feel pretty divorced from the gameplay; this revamp introduces new ways to display your prowess to teammates and foes in matches as well as some welcome changes to how you see and equip your rewards.  The new Progression 2.0 system has overhauled the visual side. For starters, there will be new portrait frames that increase in fanciness every 20 levels, capping at level 60. These Ascended borders will be displayed when you pick your hero for a match. Between the different Ascended frames, players will unlock five tiers of hero badges that also display in Hero Select under your portrait.  Overwatch 2 Hero Badges Blizzard In addition to the new flash, the Hero Select screen will show your allies a card with your top heroes on it. ...

Perplexity is launching a new revenue-sharing plan for publishers that will pay them every time its AI assistants use an article to answer a question, The Wall Street Journal reports . Perplexity is launching the plan (and partially paying for it) with a new Comet Plus subscription that gives subscribers access "to premium content from a group of trusted publishers and journalists." Comet Plus costs $5 per month, and based on Perplexity's description, it's primarily designed to account for the actions its Comet Agent (included in the Comet browser ) takes on websites, which aren't considered in existing publisher deals. "When you ask Perplexity to synthesize recent coverage of an industry trend, that's indexed traffic," the company writes. "When Comet Assistant scans your calendar and suggests articles relevant to your day’s meetings, that's agent traffic." The company's existing Publisher Program , which counts publications...

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