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Boston Dynamics’ freaky new robot can clean your kitchen

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This robot is a total neat freak.
This robot is a total neat freak.
Photo: Boston Dynamics

Alphabet-owned Boston Dynamics robots are ready to invade your kitchen.

The company unveiled its newest robot, SpotMini, an all-electric version of its Spot robot. Taking some design cues from its bigger sibling that weighs 160 lbs, SpotMini is a simplified model that is smaller and lighter, allowing it to roam your house with more dexterity than Boston Dynamics’ previous bots.

It’s a total neat freak and can clean your house, too, thanks to an elongated neck extension:

Spotify is first music streamer to reach 100 million users

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Spotify
Spotify is the largest music streamer in the world.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify now has more active users than any other music streaming service on the planet, but when it comes to paid subscribers, it looks like growth has stalled.

The Swedish music streaming service revealed today that it now has 100 million active users — up from the 75 million it had last year — however its paid subscribers total hasn’t budged since March.

Apple loses to Facebook and Google as top talent attractor

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Employees love working at Apple.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is one of the top 5 companies in the U.S. when it comes to attracting and keeping talent, but its rivals Facebook and Google are even better.

LinkedIn has come out with its first ever Top Attractors list based on insights from tracking billions of data points of its 433 million members and discovered that in the employee perks arm race, few can top Google.

Tony Fadell is leaving the Nest

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Fadell
From the sound of things, Nest CEO Tony Fadell learned quite a bit from working with Steve Jobs.
Photo: Nest

Nest co-founder and CEO Tony Fadell revealed today that he’s taking flight and leaving the company he created.

The godfather of the iPod hit a grand slam with the launch of his smart-thermostat company that was bought by Google, but it appears he’s ready to call it quits just six years into Nest’s run.

Google’s ‘big red button’ kills AI before it can kill us

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GoogleDeepMind-Logotype-Vertical_Black
Google won't let the robots take over.
Photo: Google

Google’s DeepMind team has been working with scientists to create a way in which humans can kill artificial intelligence agents before they can turn on us.

It’s a concern many have as the AI systems being developed by tech giants become more intelligent and more capable — but Google has us covered.

Google can now locate your lost iOS devices

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Screen Shot 2016-06-02 at 16.34.39
Thanks, Google!
Photo: Google

So you forgot to activate Find My iPhone when setting up your new iOS device, and now you’ve lost it. Fear not, because thanks to Google, you have a backup service.

Simply type “I lost my phone” into Google Search and you’ll be able to locate all the devices connected to your account.

Facebook Messenger may soon add end-to-end encryption

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Facebook messaging apps
Messenger is finally getting encryption.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook plans to tighten security on its popular Messenger platform this summer, but it won’t be turned on for all users by default.

Messenger will add a new end-to-end encryption feature that prevents hackers and the government from being able to read your text messages. Facebook won’t be able to read your messages either though, and that will seriously hurt its ability to make bots great if you decide to opt-in to better security.

Google kills its first Apple TV competitor

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The Nexus Player is no longer available.
The Nexus Player is no longer available.
Photo: Google

Google has again given up on competing with the Apple TV and other set-top boxes after discontinuing the Nexus Player. The Asus-made device is no longer available from the Google Store — but this doesn’t mean Android TV is dead.

Apple is already working on charging stations for iCar

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

The Apple Car isn’t expected to hit the road until 2020 at the earliest, but Apple’s engineers are already laying the foundation for one of the most challenging aspect of electric vehicles: keeping them charged up.

Apple appears to be preparing the ground work for its charging infrastructure, according to a new report claiming the company is scooping up engineers that specialize in electric charing stations.

Can Siri catch up with the do-it-all Google Assistant? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Siri's slipping, but can it come back?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

At its I/O conference in California this week, Google gave us a preview of the new Google Assistant that’s coming later this year. It’s like Siri, only it’s vastly more intelligent. It does everything you want a digital assistant to do and more.

FNF-bugAnd just like a lot of Google services, Assistant will be available on iOS — not only in the official Google app, but also inside the new Allo messenger. It will be competing with Apple’s AI in its own backyard, and the Cupertino company should be worried about that.

But can Siri catch up, or have Apple’s rivals now too far ahead in artificial intelligence? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over digital assistants.

10 things you should know about Google’s Gboard keyboard

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gboard
Gboard is probably the best third-party keyboard on iOS.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Google now offers its very own keyboard for iOS, and it’s awesome. It’s packed full of useful features like glide typing and built-in search, and it has a clean and simple design that’s a pleasure to type on. It’s probably the best third-party keyboard on iPhone.

But there are 10 things you should know about Gboard before you get set up.

Android Wear 2.0 plays catch up with Apple Watch

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You can add third-party complications to your favorite face in Wear 2.0.
Photo: Google

Google today gave us a glimpse at its upcoming Android Wear 2.0 update, which is going to make your smartwatch even smarter. It’s the biggest update to the wearable platform so far, with brand new features and big improvements — some of which were snagged from Apple Watch.

Google says hello to Allo, goodbye to Hangouts

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"'Allo, guvna!" Google's new messaging app is obviously British.
Photo: Google

Watch out Facebook Messenger, Google is taking another stab at messaging with its newly revealed app called Allo.

Does the world really need another messaging app? Probably not. But Google is hoping that it has finally created the perfect mix of features that will make you ditch Snapchat and Facebook.

Google Home is the intelligent assistant that does it all

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Google Assistant will also power Google Home.
Google Home is coming later this year, and it looks amazing.
Photo: Google

Google is already helping you with everyday tasks on your smartphone, and now it’s coming to your home. With the new Google Home speaker, you get an intelligent digital assistant that’s there for you whenever you need it — and you’ll be amazed at what it can do.

Watch today’s Google I/O keynote right here!

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Google-IO-banner
Will Google I/O give Apple anything to worry about?
Photo: Google

Google is kicking off its I/O developer conference at 10 a.m. PT today, and it’s going to give us a great look at some of the things Apple will be competing with over the next 12 months.

If you’re interested in keeping up, you can watch the whole thing live right here.

New Apple TV loses to Roku in U.S.

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apple tv and siri remote
The Apple TV had a surge of sales last year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The fourth generation Apple TV experienced the largest increase in unit sales last year among streaming media players but it hasn’t been good enough to supplant Roku as the top streamer in the U.S. 

Apple TV’s biggest weakness appears to be its price point. New research shows that smaller stick streamers made up half of last year’s sales and Apple’s competition reaped the rewards.

Google Chrome will swap Flash for HTML5 this fall

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Google-Chrome
Slowly but surely Flash is dying.
Photo: Apple

Google is finally stepping up its bid to kill Flash content. Later this year, its Chrome browser will default to HTML5 wherever possible, using Flash only as a last resort.

The move should make Chrome speedier and more stable — and better on battery life when used on a MacBook.

Google I/O iPhone app is perfect for switch-hitting coders

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Google-IO-iPhone
I/O on iPhone.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you’re an iPhone user who loves Google, or you just like to keep up with the competition, then you’ll be pleased to know there’s now an official iPhone app for next week’s Google I/O conference.

You can use it to keep track of events, navigate your way around if you’re going to be there, and to watch the keynote and sessions live if you’ve been following from home.

Apple stock slide wipes out two years of gains

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iphone stocks app
Apple stock keeps on falling.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s share price continues to fall following its disappointing earnings call last month, wiping out all the gains it has made since 2014.

The slump, which is now at a new 52-week low, even gave Alphabet the chance to overtake — if only for a little while.