Apple’s Image Playground doesn’t suck anymore
TechCrunch AI6 days agoReleaseApple announced improvements to Image Playground at WWDC 2026, positioning the iPhone’s built-in AI image generator as a more capable tool. The update emphasizes natural-language photo transformations, multi-person image use, flexible output dimensions, and integrations across lock screens, iMessage backgrounds, and contact posters. TechCrunch has not tested it yet, but the presentation suggests Apple Intelligence apps may become more practical.
Google’s Dreambeans will turn your life into a cartoon
TechCrunch AI11 days agoNew ToolTechCrunch reports that Google’s Dreambeans is a new AI tool with an unusually quirky name. Its core idea is to turn a user’s life into cartoon-like, AI-illustrated stories. Based on the provided article text, Dreambeans builds those curated stories from personal data in the user’s Google account, raising both consumer-content possibilities and privacy questions.
As browser wars heat up, top Chrome and Safari alternatives in 2026
TechCrunch AI15 days agoCommentaryTechCrunch frames 2026’s browser competition around alternatives to Chrome and Safari. The roundup covers AI-centric browsers like Perplexity Comet, Dia, Opera Neon, OpenAI Atlas, and Aside, alongside privacy-focused options such as Brave, DuckDuckGo, Ladybird, and Vivaldi. It also highlights niche products including Opera Air, SigmaOS, and Zen Browser, showing how browsers are becoming AI assistants, productivity hubs, privacy layers, and wellness-oriented tools.
I Tried Amazon’s Bee Wearable and Am Both Intrigued and Slightly Creeped Out
TechCrunch AI21 days agoHardwareTechCrunch reviewed Amazon's new "Bee" AI wearable, highlighting its potential for seamless ambient computing. While the device offers impressive convenience by constantly listening and assisting, it also triggers significant privacy concerns. Like previous AI pins and pendants, Bee forces users to balance the benefits of an always-on assistant against the anxiety of constant surveillance.