Tech Buzz: Big Moves and New Gadgets

Tech news keeps rolling in, even during the holidays. Snapchat is getting close to a huge milestone: 1 billion users. Most of this growth is coming from places like India and Pakistan, where TikTok is banned and Android phones are popular. But in the U. S. and Europe, people are using Snapchat less. The company is still losing money, and its stock has dropped a lot. Evan Spiegel, the CEO, says they're at a turning point and are focusing on AR ads and smart glasses to turn things around. It's surprising they haven't figured out how to make more money with so many users. Meta, the company behind Facebook, has something new called WorldGen. It's a system that creates 3D environments from just a text description. These environments can be used in games and VR, but they have some limits, like no multi-floor spaces or smooth transitions between indoors and outdoors. Meta says it's just for research now, not for their Horizon Worlds platform. Warner Music has made a deal with Suno, an AI music generator. This is similar to deals made in the past with sampling and blank tapes. Suno will launch licensed models in 2026, letting Warner artists opt in to have their names, voices, and compositions used in AI-generated songs. Free users can stream and share, while paid users will have download limits. Sam Altman and Jony Ive, from OpenAI, showed off a prototype of their first hardware device. Ive described it as simple, beautiful, and playful, about the size of a phone and likely without a screen. They plan to ship it in under two years. Details about how it works and how much it will cost are still secret. Apple is adding new content to its Vision Pro headset, including experiences from Real Madrid and Red Bull. This is a small but important step for a headset that still doesn't have a lot of content. The new experiences will be available through the Apple TV app. Meta also has a new app called Hyperscape that lets people visit virtual spaces together. Up to eight people can explore these spaces, which are scans of real locations. The app is designed for families and friends who can't meet in person. Meta is also working on making the rendering smoother by moving it from the cloud to local hardware. Casio has introduced Moflin, an AI pet that reacts to touch, sound, and presence. It's priced at about $429 and is positioned as a smart companion that develops a unique personality over time. Pico, owned by ByteDance, is preparing a new mixed reality headset for 2026 to compete with Apple's Vision Pro. The device will use a self-developed display chip, giving Pico more control over optics and power. Details about price, resolution, and availability are still missing. The headset is expected to debut in China first. William Chyr, the creator of Manifold Garden, is working on a new game called Hotel Infinity. It's set in an endless hotel that folds back on itself and features gravity-bending puzzles. Chyr describes it as a long-term project focused on careful level design. There's no release date or platform list yet. Google has been testing its new Flow AI video generation workflow by helping artists create short films using only its tools.