Samsung says it’s Trifold smartphone is expected sometime this year, and Dr. Niki talks about Colossal's plans to genetically engineer moa birds. [23:06]
Starring Jason Howell, Huyen Tue Dao, Tom Merritt and Dr. Niki.
JASON: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, July 10, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.
HUYEN: Today Dr. Niki tells us about Colossal's plans to genetically engineer fowl, and Veo 3 brings image-to-video to Gemini!
I’m Jason Howell,
I’m Huyen Tue Dao
JASON: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
BIG STORY
Google adds Photo-to-Video Feature to Gemini and It's Actually Mind-Blowing
JASON: Google announced this morning a new feature for its Gemini Veo 3 platform that allows users to turn still images into eight-second 720p video clips complete with sound from within the Gemini app on the web. Sometime within the next week, Google expects to roll out this capability to iOS and Android. The tool is currently available to paid Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers. Paid users will be able to generate up to three images per day with no rollover for unused credits. All content created this way will show a visible Veo watermark along with an invisible SynthID digital watermark. Google has not announced whether it will bring it to free users at this time.
Google also shared that users have created more than 40 million videos within the Gemini app and Flow tool since release seven weeks ago.
Our friend and co-host on the Android Faithful podcast Ron Richards got an early peek at the new feature and wrote about it on the Android Faithful site. He took photos from his time at yesterday's Galaxy Unpacked event and turned them into full-blown video clips.
HUYEN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to
Tim Deputy
Brandon Brooks
Jony Hernandez
JASON: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
BRIEFS
Samsung says its trifold phone should launch ‘this year’
HUYEN: The one big thing missing from yesterday's Samsung Unpacked event was any sort of official mention of the company's rumored trifold smartphone. TM Roh, head of Samsung's Device Experience division told The Korea Times that the company expects to launch that device sometime later this year. He acknowledged that a final name hasn't been picked yet and that the company is focusing on perfecting the product. Another Samsung executive told Android Authority that the company is looking deeply into whether there is demand for the new form factor, and what its purpose might be in the marketplace.
Grok 4 is live — here’s what makes it Elon Musk’s most advanced AI yet
Elon Musk’s xAI launches Grok 4 alongside a $300 monthly subscription
JASON: Elon Musk and crew unveiled Grok 4, a new version of xAI's controversial AI model that has been trained on the company's Colossus supercomputer. The new model promises “scientist-grade reasoning” and introduces multimodal capabilities that handle text and images with video coming in a future release. It features Grok 4 Code for developers, real-time web access via DeepSearch, and a voice assistant. Grok 4 is also being tuned to understand internet memes and slang with high accuracy.
Musk also announced the launch of SuperGrokHeavy, a $300-per-month AI subscription plan. The “multi-agent version” of Grok unleashes many agents to work on a single problem simultaneously with work comparison on the other end that xAI claims outperformed Gemini 2.5 Pro by an order of magnitude. The upgraded service will also eventually offer a video-generation model and an AI-coding model in the coming months.
Meta Poached Apple’s Pang With Pay Package Over $200 Million
HUYEN: We already knew that Apple lost Ruoming Pang, leader of Apple's AI models team, to Meta for an exorbitant amount of money. Now Bloomberg has sources detailing that Pang accepted an offer in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars “over a several year period.” Apple reportedly didn't offer to match the offer, especially considering the fact that the amount would surpass what its CEO Tim Cook earns. Neither Meta nor Apple responded for comment.
Google Maps comes to Garmin smartwatches
JASON: Garmin smartwatches now provide Google Maps support on their watches, synced up to the Maps app on Android devices. Currently, iOS is unsupported. The Google Maps app needs to be installed from Garmin's Connect IQ Store and once run, the watch will sync with the app on the smartphone and vibrate for every new direction in a given route along with showing directions on the watch display. Garmin says that fitness-tracking capabilities will work uninterrupted while Google Maps runs in the background on their devices.
You can own the GameStop stapler that broke Nintendo Switch 2 consoles
HUYEN: GameStop made headlines during the Nintendo Switch 2 launch week when employees stapled receipts to the boxes of sold consoles that rendered the devices inside damaged as a result. GameStop has given replacement units to the impacted buyers and is going one step further by auctioning off the stapler that caused the chaos in the first place. Proceeds for the auction will be directed to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. The top bid on eBay at the time of this recording sits around $110,000, but don't worry. You won't just get the stapler—you'll also win the first fully boxed Switch 2 that was damaged by it! The auction ends next Wednesday.
Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome
JASON: OpenAI is reportedly working on a new browser to challenge Google Chrome, according to Reuters sources. The browser, which aims to keep web browsing locked into a chat-style experience, might launch in the coming weeks, sources say. Just yesterday, Perplexity launched its agent-based browser Comet, applying further pressure on Google in a space it’s dominated for years.
Report: Apple M4, more comfortable strap will headline first major Vision Pro update
HUYEN: Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that a new version of the Vision Pro could arrive sometime this year and, when it does, expect an updated Apple M4 processor to be inside with improvements to the headset's image-signal processor and video-encoding and decoding capabilities. Apple is also working to make the headband more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Don't expect major changes to the device design, though the use of the M4 chip could signal a marginal drop in price for the expensive headset. Gurman says a broader redesign of the Vision Pro could come sometime later in 2027 with significant weight reductions.
MLB will test its robot umpire system at the next All-Star Game
JASON: Major League Baseball will use its automated ball-strike system as a challenge option during the All-Star Game. This gives team pitchers, catchers, and hitters a total of two attempts during the game to contest an umpire's call with the help of computer-vision technology. If the ABS system agrees with the umpire's call, the challenge is failed. If the system determines a different call, the team is able to accept the new ruling. The MLB has not yet committed to making this system permanent for regular-season games.
HUYEN: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper.
IN DEPTH
JASON: What do Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings have in common? A Colossal bad handle on genetic engineering. Dr. Niki explains. [TRT 7:20]
PROMO
HUYEN: What do YOU want to hear us talk about on the show? One way to let us know is in our subreddit. Submit stories and vote on them at www.reddit.com/r/DailyTechNewsShow/
HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND
JASON: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Andrew is helping us understand.
HUYEN: DTNS crew,
The conversation around the Pixel 6a's battery reminded me of one of my favorite new features on Pixel phones: charging optimization that lets you limit charging to 80% and provides passthrough power after that. Charging from 80-100 % is where most of the battery wear happens. I've been using the feature on my phone since it came out. Where I used to average 30 chargings per month on my phone, now I average less than 10. When I am traveling and know I'll be away from my charger for a whole day, I switch the setting back, but it's made for a much easier day, since I'm not juggling unplugging and re-plugging trying not to over-charge the device.
Thanks,
Andrew
JASON: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com
JASON: Thanks to Dr. Niki and Andrew 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
Share this post