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MrBeast says AI could threaten creators' livelihoods, calling it 'scary times' for the industry | TechCrunch As Sora tops the App Store, MrBeast says AI could threaten creators' ability to make money.

MrBeast says AI could threaten creators’ livelihoods, calling it ‘scary times’ for the industry

Adobe predicts AI-assisted online shopping to grow 520% during the 2025 U.S. holiday season | TechCrunch AI-assisted online shopping is still booming, new U.S. holiday e-commerce forecast shows.

Adobe predicts AI-assisted online shopping to grow 520% during the 2025 U.S. holiday season

Google's Gemini AI app could soon be getting a big makeover | TechCrunch The company is seemingly experimenting with a new user interface that would shift the app from having a chatbot-style look and feel to one offering a scrollable feed with suggested prompts accompanied by eye-catching photos.

Google’s Gemini AI app could soon be getting a big makeover

Threads takes on X with new communities feature | TechCrunch The idea, explains Meta, is to give users dedicated spaces within the app where they can delve deeper into conversations on topics that matter to them.

Threads takes on X with new communities feature

Meta unveils communities on Threads, starting with 100+ dedicated spaces for casual conversations around topics like basketball, television, and K-pop music (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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Appfigures: Sora saw 56K iOS installs on its first day, on par with Grok but ahead of Claude and Copilot; ChatGPT and Gemini each had ~80K installs on day one (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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OpenAI's Sora soars to No. 3 on the U.S. App Store | TechCrunch Sora becomes the No. 3 US app after 164K downloads in 2 days, making the AI video app an early hit.

OpenAI’s Sora soars to No. 3 on the U.S. App Store

Amazon now lets Prime members add items to upcoming orders with one tap | TechCrunch Amazon's new "Add to today's delivery" button makes it easier for Prime members to buy more and tack on items to existing orders.

Amazon now lets Prime members add items to upcoming orders with one tap

Instagram head says company is not using your microphone to listen to you (with AI data, it won't need to) | TechCrunch The idea that Meta would secretly turn on the microphones on users' phones to record their conversations is an age-old conspiracy theory -- and one that the company has disputed before.

Instagram head says company is not using your microphone to listen to you (with AI data, it won’t need to)

Spotify now lets you exclude tracks from your taste profile, improving recommendations | TechCrunch Spotify lets you take more control over your recommendations by excluding tracks from influencing your taste profile.

Spotify now lets you exclude tracks from your taste profile

Google reveals its Gemini-powered smart home lineup and AI strategy | TechCrunch Google brings Gemini to the smart home with new devices, AI for existing customers and more.

Google reveals its Gemini-powered smart home lineup and AI strategy

Google teases its new Gemini-powered Google Home speaker, coming in spring 2026 | TechCrunch The somewhat delayed timing of the launch gives the company time to ensure the new Gemini functionality reaches its other Google Home customers on older devices and gives them time to work out the kinks.

Google teases its new Gemini-powered Google Home speaker, coming in spring 2026

Google unveils AI-powered Nest indoor and outdoor cameras, and a new doorbell | TechCrunch Google's new Nest cameras and doorbell are getting a Gemini upgrade.

Google unveils AI-powered Nest indoor and outdoor cameras, and a new doorbell

Google's Home app, a command center for the smart home, gets a Gemini upgrade | TechCrunch Google redesigns its Home app for better usability and adds Gemini-powered features.

Google’s Home app, a command center for the smart home, gets a Gemini upgrade

PayPal's Honey to integrate with ChatGPT and other AIs for shopping assistance | TechCrunch PayPal's Honey will now with with ChatGPT to find shopping deals.

PayPal’s Honey to integrate with ChatGPT and other AIs for shopping assistance

Alexa+ comes to new Fire TV devices with AI-powered conversations | TechCrunch Amazon announced new Fire TV devices, 4K Stick and Alexa+ AI features for TV viewers.

Alexa+ comes to new Fire TV devices with AI-powered conversations

Amazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its Al, Alexa+ | TechCrunch Amazon debuts new devices, the Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11, powered by AI.

Amazon unveils new Echo devices, powered by its Al, Alexa+

Bluesky rolls out age verification for users in Ohio | TechCrunch Users in Ohio will have to verify their age to use Bluesky's social network as of Monday.

Bluesky rolls out age verification for users in Ohio

Exclusive: Neon takes down app after exposing users' phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts Call recording app Neon was one of the top-ranked iPhone apps, but was pulled offline after a security bug allowed any logged-in user to access the call recordings and transcripts of any other user.

Viral call-recording app Neon goes dark after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts

Spotify to label AI music, filter spam and more in AI policy change | TechCrunch Spotify is launching a music spam filter, labeling AI tracks, and clarifying its rules around AI voice clones.

Spotify to label AI music, filter spam and more in AI policy change

Threads is developing a tool that lets you 'tag' its algorithm to configure your feed | TechCrunch Threads is developing a new feature that would let users control what they see by 'tagging' the algorithm.

Threads is developing a tool that lets you ‘tag’ its algorithm to configure your feed

Spotify updates its AI policy, including adopting the upcoming DDEX standard to label and identify AI music and rolling out a new music spam filter (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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Neon, which pays users to record their phone calls and sells that audio data to AI companies for training, becomes the #2 social app on the US App Store (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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Neon, the No. 2 social app on the Apple App Store, pays users to record their phone calls and sells data to AI firms | TechCrunch A new call recording app is gaining traction for offering to pay users for voice data from calls, which is sold to AI companies.

Neon, the No. 2 social app on the Apple App Store, pays users to record their phone calls and sells data to AI firms

How to customize your iPhone Home Screen for iOS 26's Liquid Glass | TechCrunch Tips and tricks for customizing your iPhone with iOS 26's Liquid Glass.

How to customize your iPhone Home Screen for iOS 26’s Liquid Glass

Google launches an AI-powered mood board app, Mixboard | TechCrunch Google's Nano Banana AI model can now be used to help you brainstorm ideas and make collages with Mixboard.

Google launches an AI-powered mood board app, Mixboard

Google's AI Mode arrives in Spanish globally | TechCrunch Google's AI Mode is now available to Spanish-speaking users worldwide.

Google’s AI Mode arrives in Spanish globally

Dedicated mobile apps for vibe coding have so far failed to gain traction | TechCrunch An analysis of mobile apps offering vibe coding tools shows few have found traction.

Dedicated mobile apps for vibe coding have so far failed to gain traction

Google Photos users on Android can now edit their photos by talking to or texting the AI | TechCrunch The feature is designed to make it easier to edit photos without having to understand which editing tools to use or where they can be found in the app.

Google Photos users on Android can now edit their photos by talking to or texting the AI