Alongside a new soundbar and headphones, Sonos is announcing an updated app and some major changes to the underlying OS that powers all of its products. Forgive me for immediately delving into the recent past, but this is likely the biggest software update the company has announced since its absolutely disastrous app update in 2024. Without rehashing too much, Sonos rushed the app update out to enable functionality for its new Ace headphones, but it was missing a ton of key features and was extremely buggy. The cascading effects of this resulted in the dismissal of CEO Patrick Spence and a 2025 where the company didn't release any new products. We have to imagine that Sonos learned enough from the 2024 debacle to make sure things are locked up for the launch of Sonos 27 -- yup, the company is giving its OS annual version numbers going forward.

Mashable Voices Look Up Trending Now Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series These are the speakers you'll find in our homes and our backyards. Miller Kern is the Deputy Editor of Shopping and Reviews at Mashable, where she writes and edits reviews, roundups, deals, and news stories about tech products, including headphones, skincare devices, laptops, sex toys, e-readers, robot vacuums, and more. She's been covering all things shopping and tech, including shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, for Mashable since 2019. Miller can tell you which products are actually worth your money. She also explores trends in the shopping sphere, such as dupes and viral TikTok moments . Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable. Alex Bracetti is a freelance product reviewer and journalist covering gadgets and men's grooming products. An experienced consumer tech writer, he has bylines at Mashable, Complex, SPY.com, Thrillist, AskMen, CNN Underscored, and Tom's Guide. In addition to writing about the latest tech trends and gadgets, he's also covered men's fashion, sports, and gaming. For Mashable, he primarily covers headphones/wireless earbuds, party speakers, smartphones, and mobile accessories. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen With Google set to retire Assistant, and Gemini not exactly the replacement many of us want, Dicio is a solid option. Dicio is a solid replacement for Google Assistant. Dicio handles basic tasks very well (including hands-free calling). The free app's main drawback is that it does not work with Android Auto. I recently wrote about the problems Gemini has with reliably making hands-free calls .

The new Siri AI is conversational, omnipresent, and actually helpful. I'm outside hiking and testing a developer beta of Siri AI, Apple's revamped voice assistant, when fog engulfs the Golden Gate Bridge behind me. So, I pull out my iPhone and ask this new Siri where I can grab some fluffy pancakes nearby. A translucent orb at the top of the smartphone screen spins around a few times, then the voice assistant responds with a recommendation: a spot called Eats in the Inner Richmond. This version of Siri--conversational, omnipresent, actually helpful--has been long delayed.

Rivian is rolling out its AI-powered in-vehicle voice assistant with the automaker's latest software update. It will be available to all Rivian Gen 1 and Gen 2 owners paying for the company's Connect+ cellular subscription service, which costs $15 a month or $150 a year, or are in the middle of an active trial. The assistant will also be available on Rivian's upcoming R2 mid-size electric SUV that has recently started production . Rivian is expected to make the first deliveries of the R2 EV's most expensive variant later this spring and to offer its $45,000 base model in 2027. The automaker first announced Rivian Assistant at its inaugural Autonomy and AI day in December 2025, where it said that the assistant will orchestrate different models and choose the best one for the task.

Alexa+ has been rolling out to everyone with a Prime membership, even if you didn't ask for it. Here's how to change it back. If Alexa's in your home, you might've been one of many users this month who were suddenly moved from the original Alexa to the new AI-powered Alexa+ voice assistant . Amazon announced in early January during CES that it'd be rolling out the new assistant to all Alexa+ Early Access customers, and that turns out to also include all Prime members, even if you weren't on the Early Access list. Alexa+ is still in Early Access, as it has been since it launched in spring last year, meaning that the assistant isn't fully complete, nor is it requiring you to pay the $20 monthly fee if you don't have Prime.

Johansson was dragged into the AI debate after OpenAI's voice assistant used her vocal likeness, prompting the actor to say she was'angered' by the move. Johansson was dragged into the AI debate after OpenAI's voice assistant used her vocal likeness, prompting the actor to say she was'angered' by the move. Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, REM and Jodi Picoult are among hundreds of Hollywood stars, musicians and authors backing a new campaign accusing AI companies of "theft" of their work. The "Stealing Isn't Innovation" drive launched on Thursday with the support of approximately 800 creative professionals and bands. It adds: "Artists, writers, and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. There's barely a mention in Samsung's press kit, but booth attendants assured us Music Studio 5 & 7 speakers support Alexa, Google Assistant, and Bixby. Samsung has dabbled in the smart speaker space before, but the company's all-new Music Studio 5 and Music Studio 7 Wi-Fi speakers pose serious competition for the likes of Amazon, Apple, Bose, and Sonos--at least at the higher-end of the market. Unveiled this week at CES and planned for a March release, both models present a distinctively modern, "dot-faced" industrial design by noted French artist Erwan Bouroullec, along with some equally interesting features destined to set them apart from the pack. Initial shipments will be in black or white only.)

Here's how I cut down my family's reliance on Alexa. Until recently, my smart home setup was in chaos. After years of testing, buying, and upgrading to the latest smart home gadgets in an attempt to make my life easier, it became a bloated mess that was actually making it more complicated. My Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home apps were awash with dead devices, duplicates, and automations that simply didn't work. My Hue Bridge, trying desperately to tie it all together, was creaking at the seams.

Generative Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a transformative force in the automotive industry, enabling novel applications across vehicle design, manufacturing, autonomous driving, predictive maintenance, and in vehicle user experience. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of GenAI in automotive, highlighting enabling technologies such as Generative Adversarial Networks and Variational Autoencoders. Key opportunities include accelerating autonomous driving validation through synthetic data generation, optimizing component design, and enhancing human machine interaction via personalized and adaptive interfaces. At the same time, the paper identifies significant technical, ethical, and safety challenges, including computational demands, bias, intellectual property concerns, and adversarial robustness, that must be addressed for responsible deployment. A case study on Mercedes Benzs MBUX Virtual Assistant illustrates how GenAI powered voice systems deliver more natural, proactive, and personalized in car interactions compared to legacy rule based assistants. Through this review and case study, the paper outlines both the promise and limitations of GenAI integration in the automotive sector and presents directions for future research and development aimed at achieving safer, more efficient, and user centric mobility. Unlike prior reviews that focus solely on perception or manufacturing, this paper emphasizes generative AI in voice based HMI, bridging safety and user experience perspectives.