Google's Android XR wearable platform to get fashionable boost with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster

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Google is stepping up its smart glasses game with a focus on style, announcing partnerships with eyewear giants Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for its Android XR platform. The move revealed at the company's I/O developer conference signals a clear strategy to create smart glasses that consumers will actually want to wear, echoing the approach taken by Meta with its successful Ray-Ban smart glasses.

The collaborations highlight Google's commitment to aesthetics this time around. Warby Parker, known for its trendy and accessible eyewear, suggests a focus on versatile, everyday designs. Meanwhile, the partnership with Gentle Monster, a popular Korean brand favoured by celebrities and Gen Z for its bold and edgy styles, indicates that Android XR will also cater to more fashion-forward consumers.

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Gemini's colours appear on Nest speakers, signalling potential assistant takeover

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Google's artificial assistant, Gemini, is starting to show its true colours on Nest smart speakers. Some Reddit users and 9to5Google report seeing a blue-and-purple gradient on their Nest Audio devices, replacing the usual white LEDs.

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Google launches Gemini app for iPad

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Google brought its Gemini app to the iPad and is now available on the Apple App Store in countries where Gemini is available. The app supports the iPad's Split View so you can run a different app alongside it. Google launched a native Gemini app for the iPhone in November 2024.

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Google pays Samsung an 'enormous sum' for preinstalling Gemini

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The Google Gemini push on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series you've seen comes with a significant payday for the South Korean smartphone maker. Testimony from Google's ongoing antitrust trial in the US revealed that the search giant is paying an "enormous sum" as fixed monthly payments as part of a two-year deal between Google and Samsung. The latter also gets a share of Gemini subscription revenue.

For this unspecified amount, Samsung has sidelined its Bixby assistant to make Gemini the default artificial intelligence assistant in its flagship series. Internal documents from Google also revealed that it was considering more restrictive agreements with its partners, requiring them to preinstall Gemini alongside Search and Chrome.

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