Yesterday in an announcement blog post, AI company Anthropic unveiled Claude 4, its new generation of AI models consisting of Claude 4 Opus and Claude 4 Sonnet with a range of new abilities. Both Claude 4 models are hybrid models, which means they're capable of giving you short-and-quick answers or thinking longer on their responses with deeper reasoning. Claude 4 Opus is excellent at solving complex problems and at programming. The model can maintain its performance in long tasks over several hours with thousands of different steps. Meanwhile, Anthropic says Claude 4 Sonnet is a huge upgrade over Claude 3.7 Sonnet's abilities.

As of yesterday, Microsoft has begun rolling out a new update to Windows 11 Insiders on the Dev and Canary Channels. This update brings new AI features to Notepad, Paint, and the Snipping Tool. Notepad now has the ability to write text from scratch using generative AI, which is meant to aid you by quickly producing drafts based on your prompts and instructions. To use AI text generation, simply right-click anywhere in the document and select Write. Type in your instructions, then either click Keep Text or Discard on the results.

Google issued 100 announcements during its Google I/O developers conference this week, none of which involved the smart home. That apparent lack of enthusiasm for a topic close to our heart didn't dissuade TV and smart-appliance manufacturer Hisense from announcing plans to integrate new Google Home APIs into its own ConnectLife app, so that third-party smart home devices can be folded into that ecosystem. Hisense first announced that it would open its ConnectLife app to third-party products in December, 2024. Today, it announced it will incorporate the latest Google Home APIs into the app by the fall of 2025, Hisense says this will enable users to onboard a wide range of third-party smart home devices--including Matter and Works With Google Home-certified products--to create a more integrated smart home experience. Hisense cited two examples of how this would benefit ConnectLife users: "One-touch modes and customized automations can blend Hisense products with third-party devices to create intelligent home responses, such as air conditioners automatically adjusting based on third-party air quality sensors, or smart lights providing visual notifications when the Hisense refrigerator's VersaTemp drawer reaches the ideal temperature for chilling drinks."

Just a few years ago, getting a security camera to keep an eye on your kids or pets while you aren't home would've been pretty expensive. This tiny little thing can be placed anywhere inside your home, as long as it's close enough to an outlet for plugging in. Whether you're placing it on a bookcase shelf, near your TV, or on a nightstand, the Arlo Essential camera can capture most of any room thanks to its large 130-degree field of view and high-def 2560 1440 resolution. Even during the night, this camera will capture great-quality video, making it ideal for keeping an eye on your sleeping baby or watching out for burglars. Since it works with Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, and IFTTT, you can integrate the camera with your local smart home setup and do things like pull up the video feed on your smart screen.

The SwitchBot Hub 3 smart home controller is now available for purchase. The Matter-capable device is quite different than other smart home hubs we've tested, starting with its rotary knob that can adjust the target temperature on a smart thermostat, the brightness of smart lighting devices, or the volume level of a connected speaker. Another feature that makes the 120 controller so interesting is the USB-C cable that connects it to its power supply: The cable senses the ambient temperature and relative humidity in the room where the Hub 3 is installed. These readings are shown on the hub's display. We have a hands-on review of the all-new SwitchBot Ultra, which is also shipping today.

From game-changing text diffusion models and cutting-edge AR glasses to AI videos with sound and virtual clothing try-ons, there was plenty of amazing tech to see during Google's I/O keynote on Tuesday. The closest we got to a smart home shout-out was when a Google exec said that Gemini--the star of the show--is "coming to your watch, your car dashboard, even your TV." As Google puts its Google TV Streamer under the umbrella of smart home, we'll count that as a fleeting reference. Officially, Google has promised that Gemini is coming to Nest devices. Gemini on Nest speakers has been available on a public-preview basis for months now, and back in March, Google confirmed that a "new experience powered by Gemini" is coming to smart speakers and displays.

Microsoft has begun testing a new power-saving technology within Windows, as well as assigning AI actions to a right-click menu within File Explorer. Microsoft is also tweaking the way in which widgets are laid out, letting Copilot handle the decisions itself. Microsoft published the changes as part of the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4151 By testing these features, Microsoft doesn't necessarily have to commit to eventually rolling them out, although many appear to be under consideration for a more general release. Under the hood, Microsoft said that it's testing out what it calls User Interaction-Aware CPU Power Management, "an OS-level enhancement that helps reduce power consumption and extend your battery life."

TL;DR: Windows 11 Pro is down to 14.97 through June 1, its lowest price to date (reg. It's usually an afterthought, and that might be a mistake. Whether you're on Windows 10 or Windows 11 Home, upgrading to Windows 11 Pro may be the difference between an ordinary and an extraordinary gaming experience. Windows 11 Pro introduces DirectX 12 Ultimate, delivering higher frame rates, improved ray tracing, and lower latency for a smoother gaming experience. If you want faster load times and better graphics, this is your chance to optimize your rig.

Do you want allegedly useful "artificial intelligence" features in your face in every single service and tool you use, constantly, unceasingly, and demanding you pay more for it? The latest perpetrator is Adobe, who's now raising the price of its priciest Creative Cloud plans next month and justifying it by bundling in a bunch of generative AI tools. The Creative Cloud All Apps plan is being renamed Creative Cloud Pro, because apparently tools that cost hundreds of dollars a year and aren't available as full purchases aren't for "professionals" unless they're paying the maximum amount. If you're in the US, Canada, or Mexico, and if you're currently subscribed to All Apps, you'll be moved over to the Pro plan starting on June 17th… with a price bump from 60 per month to 70 per month for standard, yearly-subscribed users in the US. Month-to-month prices will jump from the already-sky-high 90 per month to 105 per month.

Otter is an AI-powered transcription service and app, and I use it every time I interview someone. Even in a group setting, it's the perfect tool for a journalist: it records and transcribes what people are saying, identifies the speaker, and allows me to click on the transcribed text and hear the recorded audio, just to check up on it. Otter even offers AI services, so I can see an AI-generated summary of the conversation and what needs to happen next. Yesterday, my wife complained that the secretary of a non-profit she volunteers at had quit, forcing her to record the minutes of a meeting. So, why should you use Otter?