General Motors spent the past several years explaining why Apple CarPlay and Android Auto needed to disappear from its future vehicles. Now the company is introducing a new infotainment architecture in the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 that does something rather revolutionary: it gives customers GM’s native software and the smartphone interfaces they already like.

Imagine that.

The new interface integrates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto inside a large card alongside native functions such as trailering information and vehicle status. Drivers can use phone projection without abandoning the deeper vehicle controls GM has been trying to protect. GM calls it the “best of both worlds,” which is suspiciously close to what customers were asking for before this entire argument started.

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So Did GM Reverse Course?

Partially.

In 2023, GM announced that new EVs would begin dropping CarPlay and Android Auto, starting with the Chevrolet Blazer EV. The company argued that tighter integration between navigation, charging, battery management and other vehicle systems would produce a better experience than bouncing between GM software and a projected phone interface. Reuters also noted that controlling the platform could give GM greater access to vehicle and charging data. 

The strategy expanded rhetorically in 2025. CEO Mary Barra said GM expected smartphone projection eventually to disappear as major new models moved to the company’s centralized software architecture, although GM subsequently clarified that gas-powered vehicles would retain CarPlay and Android Auto “for the foreseeable future.” 

Now GM is launching its next-generation interface on two of its most important redesigned vehicles and CarPlay is still sitting right there.

That qualifies as a meaningful change in direction, even if GM has not announced that CarPlay is returning across its EV lineup.

Why Did GM Change Its Mind?

GM is not being particularly mysterious about this part.

Executive Director of Software Product Management Michael Wahlstrom says infotainment ranks among the top three purchase drivers for new-car buyers, while GM’s customer research found people struggling with buried controls and too many steps. More revealingly, Wahlstrom says customers “really like CarPlay and Android Auto” and wanted their simplicity while retaining quick access to vehicle functions. 

The stupid part of GM’s original strategy was not wanting better native software. EV routing, battery preconditioning, Super Cruise, trailering and vehicle diagnostics all benefit from deep integration.

The mistake was treating that integration as an either/or proposition.

The 2027 trucks demonstrate that GM can control the important vehicle functions while allowing CarPlay or Android Auto to coexist beside them. It apparently required several years of customer complaints to discover the technological concept known as “both.”

Which GM Vehicles Get CarPlay?

The picture is now considerably messier than GM’s original strategy suggested.

GM explicitly confirms CarPlay and Android Auto for the new Silverado and Sierra, while Cadillac’s current 2027 Lyriq specifications also list wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto alongside Google built-in. 

Meanwhile, Chevrolet explicitly says the 2026 Equinox EV does not support either platform, GMC says the same about the Sierra EV, and Cadillac confirms that the Escalade IQ relies on Google built-in instead. 

Existing GM vehicles that already support CarPlay are not scheduled to lose it through some sinister overnight software update.

The Bottom Line

GM was correct that modern vehicles need deeply integrated software. Where it went sideways was assuming customers should surrender something they already liked in order to get it.

The redesigned 2027 Silverado and Sierra offer the far more sensible solution: let GM handle Super Cruise, towing, cameras, vehicle status and other native functions while CarPlay or Android Auto handles the phone experience. GM gets its software platform; customers keep their apps, messages, music and familiar navigation.

This is not yet a full surrender. Several GM EVs still lack smartphone projection, and the company has not announced a wholesale reversal of its EV policy.

But after years of insisting that the future required choosing between GM’s software and your phone, GM has built a system proving that choice was never necessary in the first place.

Better late than software-defined stubbornness.

For more information: news.gm.com

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The new system will benefit professional multi-camera shoots for sports and more.

Apple executives have been talking in detail about the iPhone 18 Pro’s 2nm A20 Pro processor, but also how it was intentionally designed alongside so many other elements to provide greater speed and efficiency.

The A20 Pro processor in the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo is the most capable chip ever in any iPhone. Each generation is of course better than the last, but this is the first to be made to a 2-nanometer design, and the result is a 20% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU.

Apple chiefs, though, say that the 2nm processor is only part of what has been done to make the new iPhones perform better, stay cooler, and be better suited for AI work. Speaking on “The Circuit” podcast, Apple Silicon and product marketing chiefs Tom Boger, Kaiann Drance, and Sri Santhanam also detailed the side-mounted DRAM, the MCM-style packaging, and the increased neural engine count as key to the new processor.

But then even as they get into technical issues, they also step back to talk about how Apple benefits from doing everything itself.

“We’re not a merchant silicon vendor,” said Kaiann Drance, Vice President of iPhone Marketing. “You know, we’re really building the solutions for our own product experiences.”

What that means, according to each of these executives, is that Apple has the benefit of developing Systems on a Chip (SoC) alongside its whole hardware development effort.

“Sometimes when we build a new SoC, people talk about the process technology node, but it’s more than just that,” said Sri Santhanam, vice president of silicon engineering. “We optimise, obviously, with process in mind, but architecture, design, implementation, packaging, the entire system, the vertical stack, really is what makes our SoC shine.”

There was a difference with the 2nm process, though, as Santhanam said that its higher transistor density meant “we had some tailwind”. It let Apple double the neural engine, add extra GPU cores, and extra memory channels.

At the same time, the silicon team has the constraint of working within the physical dimensions of the iPhone and what this means for thermal issues. With the A20 Pro, Drance said that “we were able then to put the chip right on the vapor chamber to allow us to get the best sustained performance throughout.”

As part of the A20 Pro design, there were also heat benefits from moving DRAM from the top of the SOC to the side. This also helped connect it to the vapor chamber cooling system.

That move did, though, “increase the X/Y footprint of the device,” said Santhanam, “but we work closely with our system partners to make sure we could accommodate that in the main logic board design.”

Designing ahead

Naturally none of the Apple executives discussed future products, but they did talk about how they have to keep plans in mind. Drance described it as giving the processor headroom for future use cases in general, but also having to be more specific.

She said that they have to make decisions about, for instance, memory bandwidth, years in advance. That’s to enable technologies such as camera or AI features that they know will be coming, even if they can’t know when.

The speed and performance increase of A20 processor does back up Apple’s claims of benefiting from its long-standing efforts to develop hardware and software together. Moving from Intel to its own Apple Silicon has been key to this, and has shown huge performance benefits on the Mac as well.

I’d wager most American coffee-drinkers have sampled a Keurig brew. If you don’t already own one of the single-serve coffee makers, perhaps your aunt shared a cup during the holidays, or there’s one in the office break room. Intuitive to use, easy to maintain and long-lasting, the appliance offers terrific practicality. Simply pop in a pre-bought coffee pod, hit a button and watch a cup pour out.     

Courtesy of The Milk Pod, such easy extraction now extends to dairy, too. Compatible with Keurig brewers, these single-serve capsules produce rich-textured milk with a single push. Impressively, the pods are shelf-stable for 15 months and don’t even require refrigeration. Currently available in three classic coffee flavors — plain, vanilla and caramel—they’re made with milk powder and natural ingredients. Rather than just hot milk, the dairy’s composition turns out frothy, yielding a latte-like consistency. It’s an intriguing addition to Keurig’s already expansive pod selection.  

Coffee and milk, all at the press of a button

Unlike a milk frother or steam wand, the pods require minimal instruction. They insert right into the K-Cup slot, no adjustment necessary. The Milk Pods entail no specialized setup; I was already sampling the dairy only minutes after opening the box.

As I brewed with Milk Pods one morning after the next, the initial ease continued. It’s recommended to brew the milk before the coffee, both to a six-ounce size, so the two liquids fit into a standard mug.  As long as I didn’t accidentally press the wrong volume (my Keurig offers 6-, 8- and 10-ounce settings), I couldn’t make any mistakes. 

Read more: I Brewed 50 K-Cups. These Are the 5 Best

Really, the only slight annoyance with the setup is the constant need to refill the water. My Keurig has a 30-ounce water tank, which means I need to top it up at half capacity. During only the second round of coffee, the brewer pinged me to take the reservoir to the sink, an upkeep that didn’t take much effort. Functionality-wise, the pods are remarkably easy. Pouring cold dairy out of the fridge is the easiest milk-integration technique. It’s hard to imagine a more consumer-friendly system.

Convenience is cool and all, but how do the pods taste?

From dozens of seasonal K-Cups to various brand partnerships, Keurig capsules number in the hundreds. I sampled the Milk Pods with a generic brand of K-Cup from a local grocery store. Filled with dark-roasted coffee, the capsule brewed into a strong, lightly bitter-tasting brew – exactly the kind of flavor profile I’d dilute with milk. My chosen K-Cup wasn’t espresso-style, so the consistency resembled drip coffee.

Still, all three Milk Pods added a pleasant thickness to my Keurig coffee. The plain capsule lent the coffee a neutral creaminess, reminiscent of a latte, but nevertheless distinguishable from standard milk. The mouthfeel and taste reminded me of creamer, albeit with a more natural dairy character. Unlike the satisfying micro-bubbles in freshly steamed dairy, I picked up a smidge of powdery solids on my tongue. The cup wasn’t disappointing, but I still prefer the frothiness of fresh milk.

The bolder character of the flavored pods made the dehydrated downside less noticeable. I preferred the caramel of the two, which offered a complex nutty bitterness that paired well with my coffee. Sweet yet not saccharine, the pod reminded me of a well-made caramel candy. The vanilla capsule overpowered my coffee more, yielding a strong vanilla-syrup-like flavor. I could see this pod pairing better with other K-Cups, perhaps elevated even further in an iced latte. Overall, I found the Milk Pods pretty impressive for a shelf-stable product, but not quite cafe-quality.

In favor of shelf stability

Comparing the Milk Pods with fresh dairy reveals some differences, but you also have to consider convenience. The year-long durability, combined with no need for refrigeration, makes the pod worth stocking, even if it’s not a daily option.

Over several weeks of trialing the capsules, I left town and came back. The Milk Pods meant I didn’t need to worry about a carton left spoiling in the fridge. Plus, the morning after I returned, I didn’t need a bleary-eyed shopping run for my morning latte, either. I’d be happy to come across Milk Pods in a setting like an Airbnb or hotel. Given the self-contained ease of use, the pods align well with Keurig’s ecosystem. I could also see myself brewing the milk into a K-Cup of black tea or hot chocolate, making it a versatile Keurig option.

Thinking about cost

Consumed day to day, coffee costs add up. A hot latte from a cafe averages well over $5, and even home-brewing can dent the grocery budget. A K-Cup capsule and a Milk Pod cost $1 each, for an affordable $2 drink. Especially since you can buy a Keurig K-Mini machine for as little as $50, switching to this setup can save you money on coffee out in under a month. Plus, a Keurig requires minimal expertise, so you won’t need to learn how to make coffee.

Still, with a bit more effort, you can find better-priced coffee and milk options. On average, a gallon of milk retails for $4.30, with 21 six-ounce servings of dairy — that’s just over 20 cents per cup. You will need to steam the milk yourself. Handily, though, Keurig sells a $9.50 frother for the task. Fresh milk takes more effort — but to my taste, the flavor and texture are better. Not to mention, warming fresh dairy yourself lets you try out alternative milks as well as milks with varied fat compositions. Want a touch of sweetness in your cup? You can always grab a bottle of syrup and mix in a pump or two.

I wouldn’t switch to Keurig brewers specifically for this milk product, but Milk Pods are a convenient option and may be worth buying if you already use a Keurig. They’d also be handy to have on hand when you’ve run out of milk but are too bleary-eyed to make a morning run to the market.

Voice AI has emerged as one of the hottest sectors in AI, with investors pouring in billions of dollars to serve use cases ranging from automating customer support and sales calls to creating meeting notetakers and developing AI smart glasses that use voice as the primary interaction surface.

Meanwhile, AI labs are quickly releasing models, and hardware makers are trying to create the best experience for consumers to interact with devices.

All of this new technology needs testing and a feedback loop for improvement. An Iceland-based startup, Treble, is positioning itself to be at the center of the voice AI industry by creating a simulation platform that can cater to model makers, robotics companies, and consumer hardware makers.

The company, founded in 2020 by acoustic engineers Finnur Pind and Jesper Pedersen, has raised $18 million in an extension of its Series A funding led by Paladin Capital Group, with participation from existing investors KOMPAS VC, Frumtak Ventures, EIC, and Omega ehf. It received an investment of $12 million in 2024, bringing its total raise to date to over $40 million. The startup counts Amazon and Logitech as customers.

Treble has a few verticals related to simulation and data. For voice AI companies, it has a synthetic data generation platform that could be used for speech enhancement, noise suppression, and model training. It also evaluates voice AI models in different conditions to provide feedback to labs. Earlier this year, it partnered with Hugging Face to launch a benchmark for speech recognition models across different realistic conditions.

“Audio AI is really a data challenge, and this is where the most opportunities to enable next-generation models and hardware lie. To date, pretty much all sound-related AI has been made from recordings and data scraped from the internet. We believe that accurate physics simulation can be an alternative way to create data for sound,” Pind told TechCrunch.

The startup also focuses on hardware design and testing from a voice perspective. For instance, it works with headphone and speaker companies for virtual prototyping to help them understand how their product might sound. It could also test how a smart speaker can understand commands based on the positioning of the speaker. Lately, Treble has ventured into providing simulation testing for smart glasses and AI devices.

Pind said that the company is excited to work on wearables that could enhance hearing for users.

“I’m really excited about the next generation of these devices like headphones and smart glasses that can enable [a feature like] superhuman hearing. That’s an area where you can really just hear better in challenging acoustic environments. Maybe you are in a restaurant, and you only want to hear people within two meters of range, or you are in a seminar, and want to mute people around you,” he said.

Treble aims to increase its focus in the physical AI space, including robotics, automotive, and drone companies, to enable sound-based functions for them through testing and simulation.

Francois Ruether, VP of Paladin Capital Group, told TechCrunch that Treble’s platform, which simulates different models and devices, stands out; the platform’s importance will increase as it gets involved in more areas.

“Our thesis is that, as more products depend on understanding sound, this infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable across voice AI, wearables, robotics, and physical AI. Customers retain ownership of their models, products, and development workflows, while benefiting from a shared foundation of a simulation-native acoustic infrastructure layer,” Ruether said.

Photo credit: The Kyza
Khyzyl Saleem stretched Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N into a Group B-inspired rally car that looks ready to leave the tarmac and start hunting special stages. Saleem produced the renders for Hyundai USA as a follow-up to last month’s Baja Santa Fe concept, packing the already angular N hatch with period-correct 1980s rally aggression and a bodykit that completely changes its proportions.

Saleem rebuilt the nose around a deep carbon-fiber splitter that extends well forward, and he put more LED lighting across a massively vented hood. Ultra-wide fender extensions flare out over the wheels and conceal cooling intakes designed to feed whatever powertrain is housed behind the cabin. Those arches transform the relatively tall manufacturing IONIQ 5 N into a low, planted machine that Saleem calls huge.

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Flying buttresses rise from the back fenders to reach the C-pillars, resembling the Lancia Delta S4. IONIQ 5’s greenhouse already had subtle Delta proportions, so the additional building feels like a logical expansion rather than decoration. Lexan windows and a visible roll cage complete the particular stage treatment.

The main version’s tail features a massive rear wing and matching diffuser. Saleem also created a second take with a smaller wing and bronze paint, which looks like a road-legal homologation special. Both are mounted on five-spoke black alloy wheels. A third Instagram set features a wingless black treatment that Saleem refers to as Birmingham spec, a cleaner look he prefers.

Saleem favors the idea of running a roaring turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder from Hyundai’s current WRC i20 N Rally1 cars, positioned midship if packaging allows. A rotary is his second preference. Current Rally1 rules limit that turbo four to around 375 horsepower after the hybrid system is removed, which is far less than the 641 horsepower previously produced by the stock dual-motor Ioniq 5 N. Hyundai never competed in Group B, but has raced in the WRC since the Accent program in 2000, winning manufacturers’ titles with the i20 in 2019 and 2020, and a drivers’ title with Thierry Neuville in 2025.

Saleem created the concept using 3ds Max and Corona. For the time being, the Group B IONIQ 5 N remains on screen, but the widebody stance and period features create a compelling case for what a Hyundai rally monster from that era may have looked like.
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