Emily Forlini of PCMag joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly! Microsoft launched its fall feature drop for Copilot, including a new AI avatar called Mico. Amazon is making headlines with its robotic automation efforts and also unveiled new AR smart glasses for delivery drivers. Jason Howell stops by to discuss Samsung's new Galaxy XR headset, their answer to Apple's Vision Pro.

• Emily discusses Microsoft's new AI avatar Mico, introduced as part of Copilot's fall feature drop with 12 new features, including group project tools and health Q&A. Emily and Mikah debate whether anyone actually wants 'real talk' with a chatbot.
• Mikah covers Amazon's continued automation push, replacing warehouse positions with robots as the company expands its use of robotics throughout its logistics operations. Emily weighs in with her inside knowledge on what this means for real workers.
• Jason Howell joins to talk about Samsung's new $1,799 Galaxy XR headset positioning itself as a direct competitor to Apple's Vision Pro. He explains why built-in Gemini AI makes it special and why smart glasses might ultimately beat big VR headsets.
• Mikah dives into Amazon's new AR smart glasses designed for delivery drivers, featuring hands-free navigation, package scanning, hazard detection, and automatic proof-of-delivery photo capture—all displayed directly in the driver's field of view.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Emily Forlini

Guest: Jason Howell

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Will iRobot's new Roomba's bring the company back to the forefront of robotic vacuums? What to know about Amazon's change of handling voice recordings through Alexa devices. Two new PebbleOS watches are available for pre-order! And the lowdown on the new Pixel 9a smartphone that Google recently announced.

• Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of The Verge joins Mikah Sargent this week! Jennifer talks about the new Roombas that iRobot has unveiled but is unimpressed by the lack of innovation in these new robotic vacuums.
• Do you have Alexa devices in your household? Be aware of some of the new changes Amazon is making to how Echo devices handle voice recordings.
• Two new Pebble watches are available for pre-order after Google open-sourced PebbleOS in January of this year!
• And friend of the network, Jason Howell, talks with Mikah about Google's newly announced Pixel 9a phone.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Jason Howell

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Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins us this week! Did OpenAI's Sora video generation model train on gaming and streaming content? A judge ruled that Automattic is to stop blocking WP Engine's access to WordPress.org. And Image Playground, Genmoji, and more generative AI features now available within Apple Intelligence.

• Amanda talks about how OpenAI's Sora video generation model is supposedly training on video games and streaming content.
• Mikah shares how WP Engine won an injunction against Automattic, owner of WordPress, and that Automattic must stop blocking WP Engine's access to WordPress.org's resources.
• Jason Howell stops by to share his time recently with Android XR, Google's new AI-powered OS that brings the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality experience to devices such as headsets and glasses.
• And Image Playground and Genmoji arrives to Apple Intelligence, and Mikah demonstrates these new features, which are now available to users.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling

Guest: Jason Howell

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