capitalpulse.tech

Category: Artificial Intelligence

  • The 7-year-old Nvidia Shield TV is now $100 more expensive due to AI

    The 7-year-old Nvidia Shield TV is now $100 more expensive due to AI

    by: Ryan Whitwam | Ars Technica

    The era of generative AI has upended technology supply chains, and there is one ironclad rule in 2026: If it has memory or storage, it’s getting more expensive. Even devices with years-old tech inside are still apparently subject to that unwritten rule. Nvidia has just announced that the Shield TV Pro is getting $100 more expensive, effective immediately.

    The most recent version of the Shield streaming box debuted in 2019, running Android TV with AI upscaling and hardware decoding for almost any type of media. While it ran an aging Tegra X1+ processor, that was (and still is) fast for a TV media streamer. The device launched at $199.99, with a non-Pro variant at $149.99. The non-Pro Shield has since been discontinued, but the Shield TV Pro lives on at the new $299.99 price.

    Nvidia has confirmed that you can blame AI for the higher Shield TV pricing. “Starting October 2, SHIELD Pro will be priced at $299. The cost of components, including memory, has increased substantially across the industry,” a spokesperson told Ars.

    When we talked to Nvidia’s Andrew Bell earlier this year, he framed the Shield as a passion project, but it looks like passion projects still have to pay the bills at Nvidia. In that interview, Bell explained that Nvidia still actively manufactures the Shield and sells every unit it makes. Without a stockpile of pre-AI hardware to sell, new Shield TV units are subject to the same supply chain constraints as today’s smartphones and computers.

  • YouTube promises custom feeds and a lot more AI later this year

    YouTube promises custom feeds and a lot more AI later this year

    by: Ryan Whitwam | Ars Technica

    The annual Made on YouTube event has just wrapped up, offering an early look at the features you can expect to come to Google’s dominant online streaming platform in the coming months. Yes, there’s plenty of AI for both viewers and creators, but there’s also a handful of non-AI updates mixed in there, too.

    The design of YouTube’s homepage feed comes under fire often, but the platform is preparing to give you more options. With Custom Feeds, you’ll be able to add new tabs to the YouTube interface with content of your choice. To create a feed, just type a description and let YouTube populate the page. You can refine your description and rate video suggestions to tune the Custom Feed. Google says you’ll be able to save “multiple” feeds without specifying the exact number. This feature will roll out soon in the US for web, mobile, and TV users.

    Interacting on YouTube will also change later this year. The platform will finally add the option to post GIFs in comments, which has apparently been a common request for some time. The comment box will let you search for popular animated thumbnails and post them on both regular videos and YouTube Shorts. The YouTube direct messaging feature is also adding support for group chat, but it’s only going to be available in the US, UK, Singapore, Brazil, and some European countries to start.

    Credit: Google

    Credit: Google

    YouTube is probably going to nudge you to chat with a robot more often, too. The AI-powered Ask YouTube feature is not new, but it’s getting several new features that will make it more prominent across the platform. The AI will take on a conversational role in product review videos, allowing you to type or use voice commands to get more information about a product. In search, Ask YouTube may offer organized video recommendations and product comparison tables, too.

    The music version of this AI is also expanding. Ask Music is getting more prominent placement in the YouTube Music app, right at the top where search used to be (it recently moved to a tab at the bottom). Ask Music can create or edit playlists and tell you about an artist. It will also surface suggestions throughout the app, like when you’re creating a mix.