Feel like you’ve missed all the tech news buzz this week! Don’t fret, we have you covered! From NYT AI Recipes to Readwise Ebooks and more, stay connected with our weekly wrap-up. Check out what you may have missed from across the web in this week’s blog below!
NYT Cooking Tests AI-Powered Recipe Modifications
Home cooks now have a new way to personalize recipes in the NYT Cooking app. An AI-powered NYT feature can suggest ingredient substitutions, adjust serving sizes, recommend equipment changes, and tailor cooking instructions to a user’s needs. The system is designed to make practical adjustments rather than rewrite a NYT recipe from scratch. Likewise, this includes changing when a softer ingredient should be added during cooking. Customized versions remain private to the user and cannot be published or shared through the app. The feature is currently available to NYT Cooking subscribers on iOS. Of course, broader availability is planned as the Times continues testing how AI fits into its NYT recipe platform.
Amazon Expands Alexa Into a More Capable Shopping Assistant
Online shopping is becoming more hands-off as Amazon adds new list, registry, and customer-service features to Alexa for Shopping. Users can now create and edit grocery lists, manage gift registries, move items between lists, and check which products remain unpurchased. The assistant can also compare products, monitor prices, set alerts, and automatically buy eligible items when they fall below a chosen price. New service tools allow customers to update delivery instructions, review unfamiliar charges, track refunds, and modify recurring deliveries without navigating through several menus. The rollout gives Amazon a stronger first-party AI shopping experience as it continues limiting how outside agents interact with its marketplace.
Apple Finally Embraces the Touchscreen MacBook
More than 15 years of resistance came to an end this week when Apple officially introduced its first touchscreen MacBook Pro. The new model features a tandem OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits of brightness, and a touch sensor integrated directly into the screen. Apple also replaced the familiar notch with a hole-punch camera area and redesigned the chassis to weigh as little as three pounds. Prices start at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version, with both powered by M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. The launch marks a notable reversal for a company whose executives spent years arguing that touchscreen laptops blurred the line between tablets and traditional computers.
Readwise Takes Aim at Kindle With Its Own Ebook Store
A new beta platform from Readwise is attempting to combine ebook reading, social discovery, and reading analytics in one place. Readwise Books lets users buy titles, track reading time and pace, share progress, write reviews, and discover recommendations through a social feed. The company has secured agreements with all five major U.S. publishers, giving it a broad catalog and the ability to compete more directly with Kindle and Kobo on price and availability. Limited Kindle integration allows users to bring some existing reading activity into the platform, although Readwise acknowledges that switching ecosystems will take time. The company hopes its stronger note syncing, social features, and customizable reading experience can attract readers looking for something more interactive than a traditional ebook store.
Meta Quietly Launches an AI Pet Journal
A cozy new experiment from Meta turns personal journaling into a conversation with a virtual pet. Waddle World is a free 16-bit app where users talk to an AI-powered creature. The creature can listen, remember details, respond to conversations, and create small doodles inspired by what it hears. The experience also includes low-pressure mini activities such as word games and grocery stacking. Additionally, there are no streaks or competitive scoring to maintain. Meta describes the app as a “daily journal disguised as a pet.” Of course, this positions the app as a more playful alternative to traditional diary apps. Waddle World is currently limited to select markets. Meta has not yet confirmed whether the app will expand to the United States.
Firefox’s Smart Window Can Fill Out Forms for You
Browser automation is getting more practical with an update to Mozilla’s AI-powered Smart Window experience. The new form-filling feature can pull relevant information from open tabs. This includes a LinkedIn profile or online portfolio and uses it to populate fields on another webpage. That could make tasks like job applications, account registrations, and other repetitive online forms considerably faster. Smart Window is also gaining broader monitoring capabilities. Current updates allow users to keep track of changes on webpages without repeatedly checking them manually. Mozilla’s approach shows how browser-based AI is shifting. Likewise, taking browsers from answering questions toward completing more of the tedious work people already do online.