We also talk about Nintendo’s replaceable battery in Europe, some hope for energy storage, and an explanation of Apple’s smart glasses strategy as well.
Starring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter
TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, June 4th, 2026. We tell you what you need to know, give you the important context, and help each other understand.
JENN: Today, Google just released a powerful model you can run on laptops with 16GB of memory.
I’m Tom Merritt,
I’m Jenn Cutter.
TOM: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
“Google’s new Gemma 4 12B model is designed to run on any laptop with 16GB of RAM - Ars Technica” https://arstechnica.com/google/2026/06/googles-new-gemma-4-open-ai-model-is-sized-for-your-laptop/ “Google’s new open source Gemma 4 12B analyzes audio, video — and runs entirely locally on a typical 16GB enterprise laptop | VentureBeat” https://venturebeat.com/technology/googles-new-open-source-gemma-4-12b-analyzes-audio-video-and-runs-entirely-locally-on-a-typical-16gb-enterprise-laptop “Google AI Edge Gallery launches to macOS - 9to5Mac” https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/03/google-ai-edge-gallery-launches-to-macos-letting-mac-users-run-gemini-models-locally/
TOM: Google released Gemm 4 12B, a model that can run on any laptop with at least 16GB of RAM or VRAM.
Gemma models are released under the Apache 2.0 open source license.
Gemma 4 12B is more capable than the two Gemma 4 models previously released for mobile. But it can still be run locally without needing expensive hardware.
Gemma 4 12B has 11.95 billion parameters, with half the memory footprint of the higher model 26BMoE but benchmarks as almost as capable. And it has a rather large 256,000 token context window.
It can handle agentic workflows and multistep reasoning by using a new approach called Multi-Token Prediction drafters. That takes unused processing cycles to predict future tokens well enough to speed things up and make it more power efficient.
And it achieves multimodal audio and video input, without needing dedicated encoders to process input.
Venture Beat says it’s a great choice if you need strict data privacy, or cost savings or you have autonomous agents working with real-world inputs.
It is probably not the best choice if you need to access huge amounts of facts from a database regularly, or you need to ingest more than 30 seconds of audio or 60 seconds of video at a time.
You can try it through LM Studio, Google AI Edge Gallery and a few other places, or just download it from Kaggle or Hugging Face and run it locally. It takes up about 18 GB of space.
And just in time for Mac users, Google released AI Edge Gallery for MacOS so you can run Gemma models locally.
JENN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to Marcus Philip Shane Paul Boyer dlaser
TOM: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
“Nintendo to Launch Switch 2 Console With Replaceable Battery in the EU” https://www.thurrott.com/games/337015/nintendo-to-launch-switch-2-console-with-replaceable-battery-in-the-eu “Nintendo Will Launch A Switch 2 With Replaceable Batteries In The EU” https://www.engadget.com/2187237/nintendo-switch-2-replaceable-batteries-eu/
JENN: Nintendo posted on its website that it is implementing measures to comply with EU requirements for replaceable batteries, set to go into effect February 18th.
Nintendo Switch 2 models with replaceable batteries will have unique model numbers and the letters OSM on the package. Nintendo did not say when it would release the new model.
“Waymo’s spent robotaxi batteries will be used as grid storage | TechCrunch” https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/04/waymos-spent-robotaxi-batteries-will-be-used-as-grid-storage/ “Used Waymo robotaxi batteries become backup storage for power grids - Ars Technica” https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/used-waymo-robotaxi-batteries-become-backup-storage-for-power-grids/ “CATL expects energy storage to account for half of global sales by 2030 — TradingView News” https://www.tradingview.com/news/invezz:efc315410094b:0-catl-expects-energy-storage-to-account-for-half-of-global-sales-by-2030/ “Autonomous vehicles were supposed to cut traffic—what if they don’t? - Ars Technica” https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/robotaxis-dont-cut-traffic-any-more-than-ride-hailing-study-finds/
TOM: Waymo announced a”supply agreement” with energy storage company B2U to put old Waymo car batteries into grids to store energy in California and Texas. Waymo anticipates “hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity” will result, but didn’t get more specific than that. B2U, Redwood Materials and a few others are building businesses around recycling old EV batteries for energy storage.
Waymo is making more trips meaning it will go through more batteries faster. A study from MIT scientists published in the journal Transport Findings found Waymo rides are growing by about 15% a month.
It’s a growing market. The world’s largest battery maker, CATL in China, expects energy storage to make up half its global sales by 2030. Right now it’s at about 25%. Five years ago it was 2%. China is its largest energy storage market, followed by the US and then Europe.
“Apple kills off Vision Air, slims down glasses projects” https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/06/03/short-sighted-john-ternus-behind-apple-vision-project-refocuses
JENN: TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted on Wednesday that the Apple headset and glasses roadmap from a year ago has been reduced to two smart glasses models. An audio-oriented pair is expected by the end of next year, and full augmented reality glasses by 2030. Incoming CEO John Ternus made the calls before he was named as the successor.
TOM: It’s graduation season, and we’d like to congratulate our own graduate, Live With It! The show that reviews products we actually live with and use is becoming its own show with its own YouTube channel AND its own Patreon! To support Live With It as it spreads its wings and becomes its own show, head to patreon.com/livewithit.
TOM: And now, some quick headlines that are just good to know and might make you look smarter in the future.
“48 Hours With the Oura Ring 5: The New Gold Standard - CNET” https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/oura-ring-5-first-impressions-oura-struck-gold/ “Oura Ring 5 review: Thinner, lighter, better | TechCrunch” https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/04/oura-ring-5-review-thinner-lighter-better/
JENN: Reviews for the Oura Ring 5 are out, and reviewers generally praise the lighter, sleeker form factor as well as some of the health tracking improvements. The Oura Ring 5 starts at $400, shipping now.
“Shokz Says Its Clip-On OpenDots 2 Earbuds Focus On Improved Volume And Bass” https://www.engadget.com/2186840/shokz-says-its-opendots-2-earbuds-focus-on-improved-volume-and-bass/
TOM: Shokz - with a z - announced the OpenDots 2 clip-on flagship ear buds and the lighter, more fashionable Open Dots Air. The OpenDots 2 is $200, and the OpenDots Air is $130, both available now.
“Google Photos can now save your stickers on Android phones too - Android Authority” https://www.androidauthority.com/google-photos-android-saved-stickers-folder-collections-3674327/
JENN: Six months after it showed up on iOS, Google Photos for Android is getting the “Stickers” folder, which lets you reuse stickers without having to create them from scratch each time.
“Google Wallet App Will Soon Add Support for Digital IDs in Select EU Countries” https://www.thurrott.com/google/337018/google-wallet-app-will-soon-add-support-for-digital-ids-in-select-eu-countries
TOM: Google announced it will expand its support for Digital IDs in Google Wallet for Android this summer to several EU countries, and is also partnering with Sparkasse Bank in Europe for age verification without releasing other details like name, address or even specific birthdate.
“Apple Bringing App Store Age Verification to Texas as SB 2420 Takes Effect June 4 - MacRumors” https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/03/apple-app-store-texas-sb-2420/
JENN: Texas could use that, as Apple changed its app store rules there to comply with a state law that requires app stores to confirm if a user is younger or older than 18 when they create an account. Developers will have to adopt the Declared Age Range API and are responsible for implementing restrictions.
“Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission | TechCrunch” https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/04/apple-touts-1-4-trillion-in-app-store-billings-and-sales-90-without-a-commission/
TOM: Apple also announced its App Store revenue numbers ahead of WWDC. Apple made $1.4 trillion in sales possible for developers in 2025, and did not take commission from 90% of it since $1.1 trillion was from physical goods or services.
“Amazon unveils AI warehouse robot in €10 billion Europe push” https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/amazon-unveils-ai-warehouse-robot-115033989.html
JENN: Amazon announced the next generation of its Proteus autonomous warehouse robots, which can move beyond the loading dock to work in the entire facility. Workers will be able to direct the robots in natural language. Amazon will deploy the robots in its European warehouses and is also committed to adding 25,000 (twenty-five-thousand) human jobs there.
“Exclusive | Top AI CEOs Call for Law Protecting Against Biological Weapons - WSJ” https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/top-ai-ceos-call-for-law-protecting-against-biological-weapons-88f2f99f
TOM: Dozens of experts signed an open letter to the US Congress calling for laws to screening of synthetic DNA and RNA orders a legal requirement . OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis all signed the letter.
“SpaceX launches IPO website for retail investors as it seeks record $75 billion in public offering next week” https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/article/spacex-launches-ipo-website-for-retail-investors-as-it-seeks-record-75-billion-in-public-offering-next-week-213415729.html
JENN: SpaceX launched its IPO website at spacexipo.com, asking for $135 a share, which would raise $75 billion.
JENN: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared perspectives. Yesterday, Sarah was talking about this week’s episode of Live With It and was unsure how to refer to the Astro bot. Frozen Cusser has some insight
TOM: Frozen Cusser wrote In response to whether Sarah’s Amazon Astro is “a boy or a girl,” we know for sure that a robot is not non-binary. Happy Pride!
JENN: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com
TOM: Thanks to Frozen Cusser for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business, by becoming a patron, atPatreon.com/dtns
