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Deputy prime minister’s ideas suggest deep divisions at top of UK government over economic policyView the full article

It should have been obvious that Google I/O 2025 would be jammed-packed, considering the company felt the need to hold a separate event to cover all of its Android news. But color me shocked that Google pulled off a nearly two hour-long presentation, full of announcements and reveals, mostly about AI. Not all AI announcements are equal, of course. Some of the news was geared towards enterprise users, and some towards developers. But many of the features discussed are on their way to consumers' devices too, some as soon as today. These are the updates I'm going to focus on here—you can expect to try out these features today, in the coming weeks, or at some point in the near future. Gemini Live is coming to the iPhoneEarlier this year, Google rolled out Gemini Live for all Android users via the Gemini app. The feature lets you share your camera feed or screen with Gemini, so it can help answer questions about what you're seeing. As of today, Google is now bringing the feature out to iPhones with the Gemini app as well. As long as you have the app, you can share your camera and screen with the AI, no matter what platform you're on. AI Mode is the future of Google SearchGoogle has been testing AI Mode in Search since March. The feature essentially turns Google Search into more of a Gemini experience, allowing you to stack multiple questions into one complex request. According to Google, it's AI can handle breaking down your query and searching the web for the most relevant sources. The result, in theory, is a complete report answering all aspects of your search, including links to sources and images. AI Mode is rolling out for all users—not just testers—over the coming weeks. But it's not just the AI Mode experience that Google has been testing. The company also announced new AI Mode features at I/O. Cram multiple searches into oneFirst, there's Deep Search, which multiplies the number of searches AI Mode typically would make for your query and generates an "expert-level fully-cited report" for you. I would still fact check it thoroughly, seeing as AI has a habit of hallucinating. AI Mode is also getting Gemini Live access, so you can share your screen or camera in Search. Use "Agent Mode" as a real world personal assistantProject Mariner is also coming to AI Mode. Google says you'll have access to "agentic capabilities," which basically means you can rely on the AI to complete tasks for you. For example, you'll be able to ask AI Mode to find you "affordable tickets for this Saturday’s Reds game in the lower level," and not only will the bot do the searching for you, it'll fill out the necessary forms. Google says that functionality will apply to event tickets, restaurant reservations, and local appointments. You can see that in action with Agent Mode, which will theoretically be able to execute complex tasks on your behalf. We don't know a lot about how that will work yet, but we do have a clear example from the Google I/O stage. During the presentation, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai tasked Gemini's Agent Mode with finding an apartment with in-unit laundry, keeping to a certain budget. Gemini then got to work, opening the browser, pulling up Zillow, searching for apartments, and booking a tour. AI Mode will pull from your previous search history in order to deliver you more relevant results. That includes results that apply to your whereabouts—say, local recommendations for an upcoming trip—as well as preferences (if you tend to book outdoor dining spots, AI Mode may recommend outdoor dining when you ask to find dinner reservations). New Gemini features coming to WorkspaceGoogle announced a number of new Gemini features at I/O, some of which are coming to Workspace. One of the features Google focused on most was Personalized smart replies in Gmail. While Gmail has an AI-powered smart reply feature already, this one goes a step further, and bases its responses on all of your Google data. The goal is to generate a reply that sounds like you wrote it, and includes all the questions or comments you might reasonably have for the email in question. In practice, I'm not sure why I'd want to let AI do all of my communicating for me, but the feature will be available later this year, and for paid subscribers first. If you use Google Meet with a paid plan, expect to see live speech translation start to roll out today. The feature automatically dubs over speakers on a call in a target language, like an instant universal translator. Let's say you speak English and your meeting partner speaks Spanish: You hear them begin to speak in Spanish, before an AI voice takes over with the English translation. 'Try it on'Google doesn't want you returning the clothes you order online anymore. The company announced a new feature called "try it on" that uses AI to show you what you'd look like wearing whatever clothing item you're thinking about buying. This isn't a mere concept, either: Google is rolling out "try it on" today to Google Search lab users. If you want to learn more about the feature and how to use it, check out our full guide. Android XRAs the rumors suggested, Google talked a bit about Android XR, the company's software experience for glasses and headsets. Most of the news it shared was previously announced, but we did see some interesting features in action. For example when using one of the future glasses with Android XR built in, you'll be able to access a subtle HUD that can show you everything from photos to messages to Google Maps. (Personally, the main draw here for me would be AR Google Maps while walking around a new city.) On stage, we also saw a live demo of speech translation, which Android XR overlaying an English translation on screen as two presenters spoke in different languages. While there's no true timeline on when you can try Android XR, Google's big news is that it is working with both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on making glasses with the service built in. Veo 3, Imagen 4, and FlowGoogle unveiled two new AI generation models at I/O this year: Imagen 4 (images) and Veo 3 (video). Imagen 4 now generates higher-quality images with more detail than Imagen 3, Google's previous image generation model. However, the company specifically noted Imagen 4's improvements with text generation. If you ask the model to generate a poster, for example, Google says that the text will be both accurate to the request, as well as stylistic. Google kicked off the show with videos generated by Veo 3, so it's safe to say the company is quite proud of its video generation model. While the results are crisp, colorful, and occasionally jam-packed with elements, it definitely still suffers from the usual quirks and issues with AI-generated video. But the bigger story here is "Flow," Google's new AI video editor. Flow uses Veo 3 to generate videos, which you can then assemble like any oother non-linear editor. You can use Imagen 4 to generate an element you want in a shot, then ask Flow to add it to the next clip. In addition to the ability to cut or expand a shot, you can control the camera movement of each shot independently. It's the most "impressive" this tech has seemed to me, but outside of a high-tech story board, I can't imagine the use for this. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I certainly don't want to watch AI-generated videos, even if they are created via tools similar to the ones human video creators use. Veo 3 is only available to Google AI Ultra subscribers, though Flow is available in limited capacity with Veo 2 to AI Pro subscribers. Two new Chrome featuresChrome users can look forward to two new features following Google I/O. First, Google is bringing Gemini directly to the browser—no need to open the Gemini site. Second, Chrome can now update your old passwords on your behalf. This feature is launching later this year, though you'll need to wait for the websites themselves to offer support. A new way to pay for AIFinally, Google is offering new subscriptions to access its AI features. Google AI Premium is now AI Pro, and remains largely the same, minus the new ability to access Flow and Gemini in Chrome. It still costs $20 per month. The new subscription is Google AI Ultra, which costs a whopping $250 a month. For that price, you get everything in Google AI Pro, but with the highest limits for all of the AI models, including Gemini, Flow, Whisk, and NotebookLM. You get access to Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think (the company's newest and most advanced reasoning model), Veo 3, Project Mariner, YouTube Premium, and 30TB of cloud storage. What a deal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Memorial Day sale is in full swing, and you can find more than just the usual appliances and tools on sale. There are discounts on many tech products for audiophiles as well, from Beats headphones, to the Sonos Arc Soundbar, and the beloved Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, which have dropped in price after the release of the WH-1000XM6. If you're looking for bargains on budget headphones and earbuds, I've rounded up the best ones that you can find under $100, whether you're looking for earbuds, bone conduction headsets, or open-ear, in-ear, or over-the-ear headphones. Here are the best deals I found. Bluetooth 5.3 Open-Ear, Mic, MP3 Mode Built-in 32GB, 10Hrs Playtime, IP68 Waterproof. FEICO Bone Conduction Headphones $49.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $83.92 Save $33.93 Get Deal Get Deal $49.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $83.92 Save $33.93 40H Play Bluetooth 5.4 Headphones with Smart Digital Display Design Fit Sports Running, Workout TOZO OpenEarRing Open Ear Headphones $29.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $30.00 Get Deal Get Deal $29.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $30.00 45H Playtime, Wireless Charging Case, IPX8 Waterproof Stereo Headphones in Ear Built in Mic Headset TOZO T10 Earbuds $18.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.99 Save $20.01 Get Deal Get Deal $18.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.99 Save $20.01 48hrs Play Back Sport Earphones with LED Display Over-Ear Buds with Earhooks Built-in Mic Headset fo bmanl Wireless Earbuds $25.48 at Amazon $49.99 Save $24.51 Get Deal Get Deal $25.48 at Amazon $49.99 Save $24.51 253H Battery, ENC Mic, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C Charging Case, IPX5 Waterproof, Noise Isolating TREBLAB X4 Earbuds $39.99 at Amazon $59.97 Save $19.98 Get Deal Get Deal $39.99 at Amazon $59.97 Save $19.98 Adjustable Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, Reduce Noise by Up to 98%, 50H Playtime, Hi-Res Soundcore by Anker Space A40 $44.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $35.01 Get Deal Get Deal $44.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $35.01 JBL Pure Bass Sound, Up to 30 hours of battery life, IP67 Waterproof and Dustproof, Ambient Aware & JBL Endurance Race TWS $49.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.95 Save $30.00 Get Deal Get Deal $49.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.95 Save $30.00 145H Battery, Waterproof & Sweatproof Bluetooth Earbuds, Mics for Calls TREBLAB X3 Pro $59.97 at Amazon $99.97 Save $40.00 Get Deal Get Deal $59.97 at Amazon $99.97 Save $40.00 60H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio Custom EQ via App Deep Bass Comfort Fit Ear Cups TOZO HT2 Headphones $33.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $26.00 Get Deal Get Deal $33.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $26.00 Signature-HD Sound, Deep Bass, 35H Battery, Comfortable, Foldable Over Ear. TREBLAB Z2 Headphones $89.92 at Amazon $129.97 Save $40.05 Get Deal Get Deal $89.92 at Amazon $129.97 Save $40.05 SEE 7 MORE Try bone conduction and open ear headphones at up to 50% offNot everyone can afford Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 headphones. If you're curious to see how bone conduction headphones feel before committing to a premium model, try the Feico Bone Conduction Headphones, which are $49.99 right now, down from $83.92. A fun feature: You can save MP3 songs directly to the headphones so you can listen to music underwater (Bluetooth signals can't penetrate water). Open-ear headphones are great for hearing your surroundings while your out and about. The Tozo OpenEarRing are now just $29.99 (originally $59.99), offering a lightweight option with 40 hours of battery. A range of earbuds at up to 51% off, including a pair with unheard of battery lifeIf you're looking to spend the least possible on a decent set of earbuds, consider the Tozo T10s, which are $18.98 (originally $38.99). Impressively at this price point, they include an IPX8 waterproof rating, stereo sound, and EQ presets in their companion app. Earhook earbuds are good if you prioritize a secure fit. The Bmanl Wireless Earbuds are $25.49 (originally $49.99) are comfortable to wear and can go 8 hours on a single charge (and up to 48 hours with the charging case). Speaking of battery life, if that's important to you, you will love the Trelab X4 earbuds, currently going for $39.99 (originally $59.97). I've never heard of any earbuds getting even close to 253 hours of juice, but somehow these IPX5 waterproof earbuds with noise isolation for calls pull that off, going for 11 hours between charges, plus another 242 hours from the charging case. Dang! I can vouch for the Soundcore by Anker Space A40, which I've used for a year—they have the best ANC I've experienced among all of the budget earbuds I've tested. You can get them for $44.98 (originally $79.99). JBL is a well-known brand for earbuds. Its sporty earbuds, the JBL Endurance Race TWS, are $49.95 (originally $79.95) and offer an IP67 waterproof rating, 30 hours of battery life, and an ambient aware feature so you can better hear your surroundings. The Trelab X3 Pro offer a good balance of great battery life (totaling 145 hours, including the charging case), a sporty design with earhooks and a waterproof rating, and good microphones for calls. You can get them for $59.97 (originally $99.97). These over-ear headphones are up to 43% offIt's not every day you can get over-ear headphones with ANC, 60 hours of battery, high-resolution audio, and a companion app with EQ presets for $33.99 (originally $59.99). You can get exactly that with the Tozo HT2 Headphones. If you want headphones from a more established brand, get the Trelab Z2 for $89.95 (originally $129.97). They're ANC, have 35 hours of battery, are foldable and come with a case, and include a bass-boosting mode. View the full article

Google announced a lot of new stuff today at I/O, but few things were more eye-watering than the company's new Google AI Ultra subscription. At $250 per month, it's by far the most expensive subscription Google has yet launched. So it makes sense it comes with everything. And I mean everything. For starters, subscribers at this tier get to use Gemini Ultra, which includes the new Veo 3 video generation model that can also generate sounds alongside video, to...some effect. This tier will also be the first to get access to the upcoming 2.5 Pro Deep Think reasoning model that Google says can "consider multiple hypotheses before responding." It also brings access to tools like Flow and Whisk that provide editing tools on top of Veo and Imagen's video and image-generating capabilities. Technically, these plans are part of the Google One subscription family, so they're not solely focused on AI features. On top of the above mentioned features, you'll also get 30TB of storage across all the services attached to your Google account (like Gmail, Photos, and Drive). Google has also thrown in a YouTube Premium individual subscription at this new, highest tier. This makes it the only Google One plan that includes ad-free YouTube (as well as YouTube Music). Sorry, folks who are only paying $150 for the Google One Premium subscription with 30TB of storage and only Gemini Pro access. Google's previous plan, Google AI Premium, is now Google AI Pro. It still costs $20 per month, and comes with the same perks it did before. Now, however, users have access to a limited version of Flow with Veo 2, as well as Gemini in Chrome. View the full article

Starting with the client for life concept, executives from Rocket and CMG Financial described what is happening at their nonbanks to achieve future success. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re looking for a compact speaker that won’t flake out on sound or durability, this refurbished Sony SRS-XB100 wireless Bluetooth speaker is worth a closer look. It's on sale right now for $34.99 at StackSocial (down from its original $59.99 price), and this Grade “A” refurbished unit arrives in like-new condition and ships free across the contiguous U.S. It’s not brand-new—those are going for around $48 on Amazon—but this version comes with barely noticeable wear, if any, and still delivers the same sound and features you'd expect. Physically, the XB100 is built for portability. It’s just 3 inches wide and stands 3.8 inches tall, weighing under 10 ounces, which is light enough to toss in a backpack, clip onto a bag, or dangle from your wrist using the included lanyard. It's available in black for this deal (with other colors like blue, orange, and gray also out there) and feels intentionally designed to tag along anywhere. On the audio front, you’re working with a modest two-watt driver and a passive bass radiator that somehow squeezes out clean mono sound with a little low-end punch. Don’t expect deep bass drops, obviously, but it holds its own for podcasts, acoustic tracks, or background music during a hike. Controls are intuitive and built right into the base—everything from power and volume to Bluetooth pairing and playback. It connects using Bluetooth 5.3 and supports AAC and SBC audio codecs, which is pretty decent at this price point. Android users get a little bonus with Google Fast Pair, which cuts down the setup time to basically nothing. It’s also IP67 rated, so it’s waterproof and dustproof—you can rinse it off after a beach day or bring it poolside without worry. And with an estimated battery life of up to 16 hours, it’s designed to go the distance on one charge, notes this PCMag review. View the full article

It's 2025, and Google is now bringing its own agentic AI feature to the Gemini app. While the company has discussed agentic AI prototypes before, it now seems ready to take them mainstream. At the Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google discussed how the new feature can go out on the web on its own and perform tasks for you. Just like OpenAI's Operator, it can take a prompt, make a checklist of things that need to be done, and then do them for you. According to Google, Agent Mode combines features like live web browsing and deep research with data integration from Google apps to accomplish its online tasks. The model is supposedly capable of executing multistep actions, start to finish, with minimal oversight from the user. Credit: Google We still don't know a lot about how exactly the feature will work, but Google gave us an example on stage. Here, Sundar Pichai asked Gemini to find a new apartment for rent within a limited budget, and with access to built-in laundry. Gemini then made a task list for things to do, like opening a browser, navigating to Zillow, searching for listings that match, and even booking a tour. All of this is possible because Google is using MCP in the background. Model Context Protocol (introduced by Anthropic) is a new industry-wide protocol that web developers and apps can use to integrate directly with AI tools. In this example, Google can search through Zillow and book a tour using the protocol, which is much more reliable than spinning up a web browser and asking AI to click some buttons for you. Agentic capabilities aren't only limited to the Gemini app's Agent Mode. Google is also bringing a more modest version of them to Chrome, and Google Search. For example, Agentic features in AI mode can help you search for game tickets in the background. Credit: Google According to Google, Agent mode will be coming soon to the US as an early preview for the new Google AI Ultra plan, which costs $250 per month. There's no word on wider availability yet. View the full article

Small businesses are always operating within the most narrow of margins. Every sale counts, and every team member needs to not only wear multiple hats but perform at the top of their game, as resources remain slim. Key to small business longevity is visibility. Small business owners must know what their staff is working on and maintain open lines of communication in case priorities need to be shifted on a dime. These efforts are far more straightforward when processes haven’t yet been formalized, but scale in difficulty as new pieces of technology get added to a company’s back office operations. A reliable piece of scheduling software, embedded in a small business’s tech stack early on, can ensure that the early days of a company’s life are productive ones. Managers can maintain visibility, employees can stay on task, and the beginnings of workflows can be laid. In fact, the key to maximizing scheduling software is to treat it as if it were hired as a slew of administrative assistants: Issues With Traditional Scheduling Methods It’s worth starting with a look at the early days of a company’s scheduling efforts and how these manual methods cause more inefficiencies than they solve. Here’s a classic example: A salesperson has a productive chat with a new prospect, who expresses interest in moving forward with a deal—after they receive answers to a few questions. Normally, this wouldn’t require much more than a quick conversation between the salesperson and someone within the company who can provide the information they need, or step in and talk to the customer directly. If a small business is going after one customer at a time, the above process sounds great: direct, no room for misinterpretation or for any information to be lost in the shuffle. Of course, the goal for any small business is to scale, and before long, sales folks may become overwhelmed with clients, and it would be understandable if a message or two were to fall off their radar. Any small business will tell you that it’s imperative that they nurture new leads right away, meaning that any delay in communication could cost the company a significant amount of capital or customer good will—not to mention the fact that salespeople would be adding a fair amount of stress to their already-stressful jobs of keeping a new business afloat. Then there’s the amount of repetitive work such a haphazard system would require. Salespeople would be doing all the scheduling themselves, which, without a central hub for communications, would require emails, phone calls, direct messages, and whatever else fits a customer’s preference. That’s time they could be spending sourcing new leads or laying groundwork for sustainable growth. Moreover, perhaps worst of all, manual methods are often accompanied by data siloes between departments and individuals within an organization.This rings especially true for companies whose employees operate in different time zones, as manual processes limit the amount of time there can be overlap, relegating some conversations for the following day when they’re likely to be forgotten. Benefits of Scheduling Software Organizations of any size stand to benefit from scheduling software, small companies most of all because their time is at a premium. The automation capabilities of modern scheduling software can support a small business as an administrative assistant might do. For starters, it takes employees out of the middle of this process. Once they enter their availability into their own calendars, the software is ready to accept customer meetings, providing a screen where these customers can view open appointment times and slot themselves within whatever’s convenient. The system would then add the meeting to everyone’s calendars and send reminders automatically, including sending any attachments or forms to peruse beforehand. Behind the scenes, booking software can provide a boon to employees by keeping them on target and enhancing their capacity for taking on work. Tasks can be assigned to internal employees based on the needs customers have expressed, giving these team members time to prepare responses or offering an opportunity for follow-up and additional touchpoints. Each employee can work within custom-built modules based on role, location, workload, or however else companies want to slice it, further unlocking their ability to find information quickly and provide better customer service. Scheduling software can also play the role of an IT specialist, extending its usability. For example, a company may not want every one of its employees to be granted access to every piece of information stored on a company’s server, which is where booking software’s customizable permission settings come into play. Each employee can receive an individual login that displays only what they need to know and keeps them from inadvertently messing up someone else’s work. The software can also monitor logins and locations, providing even more visibility into how and when operations are taking place. The above is of particular importance within the healthcare industry, where privacy is paramount and HIPAA compliance requirements hang over every company’s head. But all companies can benefit from a higher level of security, as cyber threats have become increasingly common and complicated while customers are beginning to demand higher standards for data privacy. With the right piece of booking software, small business owners won’t need to enlist an IT specialist to monitor the bigger picture and keep everything safe. Involving Customers Small businesses can also benefit from involving their customers in the booking process—within reason, of course. Potential customers want to feel like they are a priority and that the company is willing to cater to their needs. Consider how scheduling software can extend a white glove experience—personalization that makes customers feel welcomed and supported from day one. The booking process can be customized for look and feel, as well as the URL used and what’s contained in emails and text messages, including how often these reminders are sent. Plus, because so much information is getting transferred and shared behind-the-scenes, customers will receive prompt and comprehensive responses to inquiries they’ve made, reducing the amount of back-and-forth required. In fact, when small businesses take advantage of automated scheduling software, they shouldn’t require as many meetings to close a deal. Demonstrating respect for customers’ time is a sure-fire way for a company to ingratiate itself. Another meaningful way for small businesses to pull in customers is to run the company on a unified suite of apps. It doesn’t immediately sound like this decision would have much of an impact on CX, but the implications, while less obvious, are significant. Potential customers are often in the process of shopping around for the perfect tech vendor, and a company whose systems talk to each other is a big selling point for their bolstered security and communication capabilities. It can help a small business operate with the efficiency of a much larger one carrying more resources because efforts aren’t wasted trying to reconcile data across different applications. Not even a team of admins can accomplish this feat so flawlessly. Schedule for Success If the people at a small business are the heart of the company, scheduling software acts as the backbone, supporting all efforts almost invisibly—that is, until it’s gone. The faster a small business adopts this level of infrastructure, the sooner it can start focusing on growth, both in company size and the capabilities of its employees, as if they had employed a small army of administrative assistants. When everyone is operating at maximum efficiency, there’s no telling what’s next. This article, "Let Booking Software Be Your Virtual Assistant" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small businesses are always operating within the most narrow of margins. Every sale counts, and every team member needs to not only wear multiple hats but perform at the top of their game, as resources remain slim. Key to small business longevity is visibility. Small business owners must know what their staff is working on and maintain open lines of communication in case priorities need to be shifted on a dime. These efforts are far more straightforward when processes haven’t yet been formalized, but scale in difficulty as new pieces of technology get added to a company’s back office operations. A reliable piece of scheduling software, embedded in a small business’s tech stack early on, can ensure that the early days of a company’s life are productive ones. Managers can maintain visibility, employees can stay on task, and the beginnings of workflows can be laid. In fact, the key to maximizing scheduling software is to treat it as if it were hired as a slew of administrative assistants: Issues With Traditional Scheduling Methods It’s worth starting with a look at the early days of a company’s scheduling efforts and how these manual methods cause more inefficiencies than they solve. Here’s a classic example: A salesperson has a productive chat with a new prospect, who expresses interest in moving forward with a deal—after they receive answers to a few questions. Normally, this wouldn’t require much more than a quick conversation between the salesperson and someone within the company who can provide the information they need, or step in and talk to the customer directly. If a small business is going after one customer at a time, the above process sounds great: direct, no room for misinterpretation or for any information to be lost in the shuffle. Of course, the goal for any small business is to scale, and before long, sales folks may become overwhelmed with clients, and it would be understandable if a message or two were to fall off their radar. Any small business will tell you that it’s imperative that they nurture new leads right away, meaning that any delay in communication could cost the company a significant amount of capital or customer good will—not to mention the fact that salespeople would be adding a fair amount of stress to their already-stressful jobs of keeping a new business afloat. Then there’s the amount of repetitive work such a haphazard system would require. Salespeople would be doing all the scheduling themselves, which, without a central hub for communications, would require emails, phone calls, direct messages, and whatever else fits a customer’s preference. That’s time they could be spending sourcing new leads or laying groundwork for sustainable growth. Moreover, perhaps worst of all, manual methods are often accompanied by data siloes between departments and individuals within an organization.This rings especially true for companies whose employees operate in different time zones, as manual processes limit the amount of time there can be overlap, relegating some conversations for the following day when they’re likely to be forgotten. Benefits of Scheduling Software Organizations of any size stand to benefit from scheduling software, small companies most of all because their time is at a premium. The automation capabilities of modern scheduling software can support a small business as an administrative assistant might do. For starters, it takes employees out of the middle of this process. Once they enter their availability into their own calendars, the software is ready to accept customer meetings, providing a screen where these customers can view open appointment times and slot themselves within whatever’s convenient. The system would then add the meeting to everyone’s calendars and send reminders automatically, including sending any attachments or forms to peruse beforehand. Behind the scenes, booking software can provide a boon to employees by keeping them on target and enhancing their capacity for taking on work. Tasks can be assigned to internal employees based on the needs customers have expressed, giving these team members time to prepare responses or offering an opportunity for follow-up and additional touchpoints. Each employee can work within custom-built modules based on role, location, workload, or however else companies want to slice it, further unlocking their ability to find information quickly and provide better customer service. Scheduling software can also play the role of an IT specialist, extending its usability. For example, a company may not want every one of its employees to be granted access to every piece of information stored on a company’s server, which is where booking software’s customizable permission settings come into play. Each employee can receive an individual login that displays only what they need to know and keeps them from inadvertently messing up someone else’s work. The software can also monitor logins and locations, providing even more visibility into how and when operations are taking place. The above is of particular importance within the healthcare industry, where privacy is paramount and HIPAA compliance requirements hang over every company’s head. But all companies can benefit from a higher level of security, as cyber threats have become increasingly common and complicated while customers are beginning to demand higher standards for data privacy. With the right piece of booking software, small business owners won’t need to enlist an IT specialist to monitor the bigger picture and keep everything safe. Involving Customers Small businesses can also benefit from involving their customers in the booking process—within reason, of course. Potential customers want to feel like they are a priority and that the company is willing to cater to their needs. Consider how scheduling software can extend a white glove experience—personalization that makes customers feel welcomed and supported from day one. The booking process can be customized for look and feel, as well as the URL used and what’s contained in emails and text messages, including how often these reminders are sent. Plus, because so much information is getting transferred and shared behind-the-scenes, customers will receive prompt and comprehensive responses to inquiries they’ve made, reducing the amount of back-and-forth required. In fact, when small businesses take advantage of automated scheduling software, they shouldn’t require as many meetings to close a deal. Demonstrating respect for customers’ time is a sure-fire way for a company to ingratiate itself. Another meaningful way for small businesses to pull in customers is to run the company on a unified suite of apps. It doesn’t immediately sound like this decision would have much of an impact on CX, but the implications, while less obvious, are significant. Potential customers are often in the process of shopping around for the perfect tech vendor, and a company whose systems talk to each other is a big selling point for their bolstered security and communication capabilities. It can help a small business operate with the efficiency of a much larger one carrying more resources because efforts aren’t wasted trying to reconcile data across different applications. Not even a team of admins can accomplish this feat so flawlessly. Schedule for Success If the people at a small business are the heart of the company, scheduling software acts as the backbone, supporting all efforts almost invisibly—that is, until it’s gone. The faster a small business adopts this level of infrastructure, the sooner it can start focusing on growth, both in company size and the capabilities of its employees, as if they had employed a small army of administrative assistants. When everyone is operating at maximum efficiency, there’s no telling what’s next. This article, "Let Booking Software Be Your Virtual Assistant" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Even though the residential burglary rate has been dropping steadily in recent years (down 26% between 2019 and 2023), many of us still worry about being robbed or experiencing a home invasion. Alarm systems and other high-tech security are really effective—a study once found that 83% of criminals check for an alarm before selecting a house to rob—but they don’t actually stop someone from breaking into your home. If you want to prevent a determined criminal from getting inside in the first place, you don’t need to spend a fortune turning your house into some sort of smart home fortress—there are plenty of cheap, low-tech steps that will make it difficult for criminals to get into your safe space. Secure the garageIf your home has a garage with an automatic door, it almost certainly has a manual release mechanism designed to let you open the door from the inside during a power outage or malfunction. That’s an essential safety feature—but it can also be a vulnerability. As shown in this video, a patient and experienced thief can fish for that manual release, open the garage door, and gain access to your home that way. Securing the manual release is an easy way to make this a lot more difficult. There are two low-tech ways to do this: Install a garage shield. A garage shield is just a barrier installed between the manual release and the door, and simply (and effectively) prevents a coat hanger or other fishing tool from finding the manual release. You can DIY one of these with a piece of plywood if you’re relatively handy. Zip-tie the release. Most garage door manual release mechanisms can be held closed simply by threading a small zip-tie through the release. The zip-tie should be strong enough to resist the relatively weak pull of a fishing wire, but not strong enough to resist a hard yank on the release cord. You might want to test this a few times to ensure you can break the tie easily—the worst time to find out your manual release won’t work is during an active emergency. One more thing you should do to secure the garage? Use a keychain remote instead of one clipped to your car’s visor or sitting in the glovebox. A garage remote in your car is convenient for you and criminals, because they can break into your car to access the remote, then stroll into your house. If the garage remote is attached to your keys, it stays with you at all times, removing this invasion vector. Reinforce doors and windowsThe most vulnerable aspects of any home are the spots designed to allow entry of some sort—your doors and windows. Locks can be picked and glass can be broken, but a few simple, low-tech additions can enhance their resistance to intruders significantly: Reinforce door frames. One of the most effective ways to get through a locked door is simply battering it in or using a prybar to crack the frame. Reinforcing the door frame with a simple kit makes it a lot harder for thieves to do so. Use tamper-proof screws. If any screws are exposed on your door, replace them with tamper-proof versions to stop thieves from simply dismantling part or all of your door frame to gain entry. Add extra window locks. The locks that come with standard sash windows are fine, but not exactly unbeatable—plus, they’re either engaged or not, meaning your window is either closed or not. A hinged wedge lock can be positioned to allow the window to open enough to let some air flow into the room while preventing it from being opened far enough to grant entry, and can be swung open to allow normal use of the window. Consider foot locks and sliding locks. If you have sliders leading out to a patio or backyard, or sliding windows instead of sash windows, adding locks along the track is an easy way to reinforce them. It’s relatively easy to pry sliders off their tracks just enough to circumvent standard locking mechanisms, so a foot lock on a set of patio sliders or an adjustable security bar for a set of sliding windows will make it a lot more difficult to force entry. Secure air conditioners. If you have window AC units in your house, it’s almost trivial for thieves to push them in through the window itself to gain entry. You can (and should!) secure the unit to the window frame, and add window locks to ensure the sash can’t be moved from the outside. LandscapingSome straightforward landscaping and hardscaping choices can make it a lot more difficult for burglars to get inside: Keep entryways visible so thieves can’t work on your locks in privacy. Trim trees to prevent anyone from climbing up to your windows. Surround windows with thorny, painful plants. Don’t have a trellis or other ersatz ladder attached to your walls. And if you’ve got a dog or security system installed, adding a low-tech sign announcing them can be the first-line deterrent that makes thieves skip your house in the first place. Get a dogStudies have shown that dog ownership reduces the incidence of crime in various ways. A dog can be a deterrent, and can even drive off someone who successfully breaks in. And dog ownership in a neighborhood increases foot traffic and strengthens bonds between neighbors, making it more likely that someone will observe a break-in attempt and/or warn you about any suspicious activity they might spot. So, yes, getting a puppy will help keep people out of your house. View the full article

The Google I/O 2025 keynote was all about Gemini and AI. But it's nice to see that the Chrome desktop browser got some new updates and features, too. While Gemini has been available in every web browser so far, until now, it's still very much just been a website. Meanwhile, over on Android, the Gemini app integrates deeply into the ecosystem. Thankfully for AI fanatics, it can now do that in Chrome, too. Plus, Google is adding some quality-of-life upgrades to the password management system, as the browser can now change your passwords for you, automating one of the most tedious but important security tasks there is. Gemini comes to Chrome on desktop Starting tomorrow, Gemini AI in Chrome will start rolling out to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US, but only in English. Google is starting slow here. The first version will allow users to ask Gemini to clarify information that's on a web page, or to summarize a page. But in the future, Google plans to add more features, allowing Gemini to navigate websites on your behalf and access multiple tabs at once. Gemini will be available in the Chrome toolbar. Clicking the sparkling icon will bring up a floating window that you're free to move anywhere you like. According to a demo provided to The Verge, the Gemini feature can be used between two tabs simultaneously. In the demo, the user accessed Gemini on a shopping page, got a summary of the product, and asked it some questions. Then, when they switched to another tab, they used Gemini to compare a new product with the one in the old tab. Later in the year, Google says Gemini will work across more than two tabs, as well. Chrome can now change your outdated passwords for you Credit: Google Google really wants to help you fix your bad, leaked passwords. Currently, when you use Google Password Manager to sign into a website with a password that needs changing, Google will ask you if you want to change your password. What's new is a button called Change it for me. When you're using a compatible website, you can use this new feature to have Google change your password in the background for you. This new password will then be added to your Google Password Manager. There's no mention that it uses AI, and it's set to launch later this year, but there is a catch. That's that websites needs to be updated on the developer's end for the feature to work, so it'll take a while before you see widespread adoption. Google is urging developers to adapt to its system before the feature ships, though, so larger website will hopefully get on board before then. Also, while the password change itself is automatic, the feature will always ask for your consent first before it changes a password. View the full article

Whether you run recurring webinars in Seattle, Washington, a nail salon in Duluth, Minnesota, handling sales for an organization, or a barber shop in Atlanta, Georgia, scheduling appointments remains the core of your business. Despite this fact, many businesses continue to use emails and phone calls or something even more prehistoric to handle the most important aspect of their operations. “Businesses continue to rely on pen and paper to jot down details and schedule meetings, which really doesn’t help in scaling up,” says Surekha Jagadish, head of Marketing for Zoho Bookings. Zoho’s automated scheduling software offers a way to cut down on no-shows and integrate other software for payments, marketing, customer experience and more. But first, take a look at the alternatives. Scheduling Alternatives and Bottlenecks Writing down appointments on registers when customers stop by or call on the phone, seems easy enough. But this system requires you to dedicate a manager or receptionist to those duties. Or you need to ask employees to take out time to manage appointments, the time they should be using to serve customers. Consider our barber shop and nail salon examples.Imagine leaving someone with shaving cream all over their face or only one hand pedicured to go and deal with scheduling issues. The alternative involves leaving the customer who wants to schedule the appointment in a limbo while you finish with your current customer. Either choice divides your staff’s and your own attention. But even options like email or chat platforms like Whatsapp fall short. Consider when customers ask for appointments via emails or chat platforms, someone must take time to corral all those incoming requests. Surekha points out how all these scheduling systems: Leave your prospects without a clear response about whether the appointment is scheduled or not. Fail to capitalize on the moment your prospects are most motivated to schedule an appointment with your business. Lead to additional complications when prospects need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Lead to prospect frustration because of lack of a prompt response. Lead to additional work for you and your staff. Limit your appointment scheduling to business hours even though this may not be the period of peak customer interest. “These are all the challenges that come even when they use normal email, your WhatsAppor any chat platform to schedule appointments,” says Surekha “Because there is a lot of communication happening back and forth, and figuring out who’s available and who’s not.” How Zoho Bookings Addresses These Pain Points Fortunately, Zoho’s software engineers devised a solution to all these problems – plus some you may not have even considered. Visit Zoho Bookings for a view of how scheduling should be. Once you embed the booking page on your website, prospects use the intuitive dashboard above to schedule, reschedule or cancel their own appointments. Consider the problems this solves. Scheduling now takes up next to none of your staff’s time. Forget sending confirmation emails or returning phone calls to confirm appointments. Most importantly, prospects now schedule appointments when they are most motivated – perhaps immediately upon seeing a marketing message. And that happens even if your staff has already closed up shop for the day and gone home to be with their families. Prospects see their appointments have been scheduled. And when you and your staff check the next day, you know it too. But the tool offers much more than a simple online calendar and appointment scheduling platform. Zoho calls Bookings its end to end appointment scheduling software. This comes from the fact that Zoho Bookings handles the process from the time a prospect enters your business through the time services are delivered. And, this process extends to helping understand what the customer thought of your service and how they can be made a return customer. To accomplish all this, Zoho Bookings interacts with payment providers, CRMs and other solutions both inside and outside Zoho, where necessary. But first, take a look at how Zoho Bookings works – and how this helps a wide variety of businesses with their scheduling needs. Zoho Bookings: An Overview To begin with, Zoho Bookings offers a simple and intuitive way to set up your scheduling for various services and prompts you to add details specific to your business. First, fill in the required details in the screen below. You begin by adding your business name and website. You also add the preferred currency for your business. Then move on to a page where you will be asked for relevant details about your company. All the while, a progress bar shows the number of tasks you’ve completed – and those still needing completion to fully set up and get you meeting ready. The above page asks for the industry that best describes your business. Select from a variety of options including HR, sales, marketing, finance, and more. Then select the specific customer needs you will be addressing with your services. This is AI-generated based on the industry you select. For example, suppose you run a software as a service solution. You need to set up appointments to walk clients through account setup. You might select “customer support” and then “technical support” as shown above. On the other hand, if you offer personalized Zumba training and want to use Zoho Bookings to set up one-on-one tutorials, you might choose “fitness” and then “personalized service.” Cool, huh? Now, look how Zoho Bookings helps you set up your availability. This allows customers and clients to pick times that work best for them. In the screen above, first set your time zone. For instance, if your business calls the U.S home, you might set the time zone to Eastern Standard Time for New York City or Pacific Standard Time for San Francisco. Next set hours and days of availability. Do you and your staff limit availability to weekdays and standard office hours – say 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Or do you offer some availability to customers or clients after hours or on weekends? Whatever the case, Zoho Bookings allows you to effortlessly plug in your availability, allowing customers to simply choose a day and time that works for them. “So once the app is set up, we would create a one-on-one service relevant to the industry they choose so they can book a sample appointment and get started,” explains Yogesh S., Senior Product Manager for Zoho Bookings. Types of Booking Services In addition to setting the business availability , Zoho Bookings also permits you to offer various types of meetings to customers or clients. This allows you to further customize your appointment options based on your business needs. One-On-One First, Zoho Bookings offers One-On-One meetings. “The one-on-one meeting is the most widely used while schedulingmeetings,” Yogesh S. explains. This session allows a single host to meet with one participant virtually or in person. Consider again our Atlanta barber shop. Use the setup screens above to establish your regular hours. Customers access the application and set appointments based on your availability. Imagine other virtual and in person uses for the app. A local podiatrist offers patients a simple way to set up appointments, for example. Or a life coach presents the opportunity to set up virtual consultations. Group Booking The group booking feature allows a single host to offer multiple clients or customers the opportunity to sign up for a class or other group interaction. Remember our Seattle-based webinar presenter? Use Zoho Bookings to set up times when you will be available to present your webinars, that are scheduled repetitively. Interested participants then use the application to choose and schedule a time that fits their availability too. If you’re a university department head, think about the options of using group booking to set up – say – online Spanish or math classes for the summer semester. Collective Booking “The collective booking is the reverse of group booking,” Yogesh S. says. Here, Zoho Booking offers the option of multiple hosts and a single participant or customer. Think about how this booking option might work when setting up panel interviews for screening job applicants. Or use it to set up a board meeting or similar group discussion. Consider this option also when your sales team needs to meet with a customer or client for a product demo or other sales call. Resource This last option offers a simplified method of booking anything from conference rooms to equipment rental, says Zoho. Use the resource booking feature to schedule use of offices or meeting rooms at your coworking space. Or automate the scheduling of space at businesses and organizations ranging from bars to churches to banquet halls for special events. Other Features Of course, Zoho Bookings offers many other features as well. For example, on the Zoho Bookings landing page above, you see how businesses can create various services. Customers visiting your landing page schedule appointments based on the type of service they want. In the case of the hypothetical sales organization above, we see clients initially have the opportunity to schedule discovery calls where sales people learn about their needs. Another option involves a more general sales meeting. Switching to the healthcare sector, imagine a family medical practice offering appointments for complete physicals, wellness visits or follow-up visits, for instance. Above, Zoho Bookings also offers several methods of sharing links to its appointment page with clients and customers. Consulting businesses, as one example, routinely send emails to their lists. Zoho Bookings offers the opportunity for them to add a link for prospects to click through and sign up for a one-time consulting session. But the software also offers another choice. Whether you are promoting your services as a periodontist or a web designer, simply allow patients or clients to book appointments through an embedded widget on your site. The company also offers a white label option so that your scheduling page need not look like it comes from a separate provider. The customizable booking page allows you to incorporate your own branding elements so that your customers recieve a seamless experience. AI integration helps match your embedded scheduling widget with your site’s overall appearance and branding. Zoho says more options for getting clients to the booking page are on the way. The software also offers email, SMS and calendar invite notifications. These remind your customer or client of upcoming appointments and hopefully reduce the incidence of no-shows. Zoho Bookings also offers interaction with a raft of other services both native and from other providers. For example, the software integrates with Zoho Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. Integration with Zoho Meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer flexibility when setting up online meetings. The software also integrates with payment and CRM options. These services allow you to take payments for virtual appointments and to send followup email marketing in the hopes of turning clients who book a call into repeat customers, for example. A few interesting Zoho Bookings’ features, are an in-built calendar that can showcase staff availability across days and weeks. Businesses can pick and choose the timeslot they want to share with specific customers, with the ability to copy and paste these timeslots across all email providers. Staff will also be able to send notifications and reminders via WhatsApp to their clients, shortly. Zoho prices its Bookings service at $6 per user per month for its basic package and $9 per user per month for companies with up to three locations or departments. Additional workspaces for more teams or locations can be paid for as add ons. And Zoho offers custom plans based on a business’s specific needs. Final Thoughts With 14 million appointments already scheduled, Zoho Bookings enjoys the trust of 29,000 plus customers thus far, the company says. Large concentrations of these clients inhabit the healthcare and education sectors as well as real estate. But the software lends itself to businesses of all kinds. Since Zoho created Bookings to accommodate the needs of healthcare businesses as well, they also made the software HIPAA compliant. Among companies proudly relying on Bookings, Zoho counts Spaghetti Agency, a UK digital marketing firm. Prior to using Zoho Bookings, Spaghetti Agency complained of too much back and forth with clients delaying the scheduling of calls. After adopting Bookings, the company reports saved time scheduling thanks to customers being able to see real-time availability while setting up appointments. Whether you operate a medical office in Poughkeepsie, New York, an online sales team In Toronto, Ontario or a beauty salon in Detroit, Michigan, you need scheduling software that works for you. Stop wasting time taking calls by phone or email. Adopt a booking application you can customize to fit your business. Learn more about Zoho Bookings and the whole Zoho ecosystem today. This article, "Schedule For Success with Zoho Bookings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Whether you run recurring webinars in Seattle, Washington, a nail salon in Duluth, Minnesota, handling sales for an organization, or a barber shop in Atlanta, Georgia, scheduling appointments remains the core of your business. Despite this fact, many businesses continue to use emails and phone calls or something even more prehistoric to handle the most important aspect of their operations. “Businesses continue to rely on pen and paper to jot down details and schedule meetings, which really doesn’t help in scaling up,” says Surekha Jagadish, head of Marketing for Zoho Bookings. Zoho’s automated scheduling software offers a way to cut down on no-shows and integrate other software for payments, marketing, customer experience and more. But first, take a look at the alternatives. Scheduling Alternatives and Bottlenecks Writing down appointments on registers when customers stop by or call on the phone, seems easy enough. But this system requires you to dedicate a manager or receptionist to those duties. Or you need to ask employees to take out time to manage appointments, the time they should be using to serve customers. Consider our barber shop and nail salon examples.Imagine leaving someone with shaving cream all over their face or only one hand pedicured to go and deal with scheduling issues. The alternative involves leaving the customer who wants to schedule the appointment in a limbo while you finish with your current customer. Either choice divides your staff’s and your own attention. But even options like email or chat platforms like Whatsapp fall short. Consider when customers ask for appointments via emails or chat platforms, someone must take time to corral all those incoming requests. Surekha points out how all these scheduling systems: Leave your prospects without a clear response about whether the appointment is scheduled or not. Fail to capitalize on the moment your prospects are most motivated to schedule an appointment with your business. Lead to additional complications when prospects need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Lead to prospect frustration because of lack of a prompt response. Lead to additional work for you and your staff. Limit your appointment scheduling to business hours even though this may not be the period of peak customer interest. “These are all the challenges that come even when they use normal email, your WhatsAppor any chat platform to schedule appointments,” says Surekha “Because there is a lot of communication happening back and forth, and figuring out who’s available and who’s not.” How Zoho Bookings Addresses These Pain Points Fortunately, Zoho’s software engineers devised a solution to all these problems – plus some you may not have even considered. Visit Zoho Bookings for a view of how scheduling should be. Once you embed the booking page on your website, prospects use the intuitive dashboard above to schedule, reschedule or cancel their own appointments. Consider the problems this solves. Scheduling now takes up next to none of your staff’s time. Forget sending confirmation emails or returning phone calls to confirm appointments. Most importantly, prospects now schedule appointments when they are most motivated – perhaps immediately upon seeing a marketing message. And that happens even if your staff has already closed up shop for the day and gone home to be with their families. Prospects see their appointments have been scheduled. And when you and your staff check the next day, you know it too. But the tool offers much more than a simple online calendar and appointment scheduling platform. Zoho calls Bookings its end to end appointment scheduling software. This comes from the fact that Zoho Bookings handles the process from the time a prospect enters your business through the time services are delivered. And, this process extends to helping understand what the customer thought of your service and how they can be made a return customer. To accomplish all this, Zoho Bookings interacts with payment providers, CRMs and other solutions both inside and outside Zoho, where necessary. But first, take a look at how Zoho Bookings works – and how this helps a wide variety of businesses with their scheduling needs. Zoho Bookings: An Overview To begin with, Zoho Bookings offers a simple and intuitive way to set up your scheduling for various services and prompts you to add details specific to your business. First, fill in the required details in the screen below. You begin by adding your business name and website. You also add the preferred currency for your business. Then move on to a page where you will be asked for relevant details about your company. All the while, a progress bar shows the number of tasks you’ve completed – and those still needing completion to fully set up and get you meeting ready. The above page asks for the industry that best describes your business. Select from a variety of options including HR, sales, marketing, finance, and more. Then select the specific customer needs you will be addressing with your services. This is AI-generated based on the industry you select. For example, suppose you run a software as a service solution. You need to set up appointments to walk clients through account setup. You might select “customer support” and then “technical support” as shown above. On the other hand, if you offer personalized Zumba training and want to use Zoho Bookings to set up one-on-one tutorials, you might choose “fitness” and then “personalized service.” Cool, huh? Now, look how Zoho Bookings helps you set up your availability. This allows customers and clients to pick times that work best for them. In the screen above, first set your time zone. For instance, if your business calls the U.S home, you might set the time zone to Eastern Standard Time for New York City or Pacific Standard Time for San Francisco. Next set hours and days of availability. Do you and your staff limit availability to weekdays and standard office hours – say 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Or do you offer some availability to customers or clients after hours or on weekends? Whatever the case, Zoho Bookings allows you to effortlessly plug in your availability, allowing customers to simply choose a day and time that works for them. “So once the app is set up, we would create a one-on-one service relevant to the industry they choose so they can book a sample appointment and get started,” explains Yogesh S., Senior Product Manager for Zoho Bookings. Types of Booking Services In addition to setting the business availability , Zoho Bookings also permits you to offer various types of meetings to customers or clients. This allows you to further customize your appointment options based on your business needs. One-On-One First, Zoho Bookings offers One-On-One meetings. “The one-on-one meeting is the most widely used while schedulingmeetings,” Yogesh S. explains. This session allows a single host to meet with one participant virtually or in person. Consider again our Atlanta barber shop. Use the setup screens above to establish your regular hours. Customers access the application and set appointments based on your availability. Imagine other virtual and in person uses for the app. A local podiatrist offers patients a simple way to set up appointments, for example. Or a life coach presents the opportunity to set up virtual consultations. Group Booking The group booking feature allows a single host to offer multiple clients or customers the opportunity to sign up for a class or other group interaction. Remember our Seattle-based webinar presenter? Use Zoho Bookings to set up times when you will be available to present your webinars, that are scheduled repetitively. Interested participants then use the application to choose and schedule a time that fits their availability too. If you’re a university department head, think about the options of using group booking to set up – say – online Spanish or math classes for the summer semester. Collective Booking “The collective booking is the reverse of group booking,” Yogesh S. says. Here, Zoho Booking offers the option of multiple hosts and a single participant or customer. Think about how this booking option might work when setting up panel interviews for screening job applicants. Or use it to set up a board meeting or similar group discussion. Consider this option also when your sales team needs to meet with a customer or client for a product demo or other sales call. Resource This last option offers a simplified method of booking anything from conference rooms to equipment rental, says Zoho. Use the resource booking feature to schedule use of offices or meeting rooms at your coworking space. Or automate the scheduling of space at businesses and organizations ranging from bars to churches to banquet halls for special events. Other Features Of course, Zoho Bookings offers many other features as well. For example, on the Zoho Bookings landing page above, you see how businesses can create various services. Customers visiting your landing page schedule appointments based on the type of service they want. In the case of the hypothetical sales organization above, we see clients initially have the opportunity to schedule discovery calls where sales people learn about their needs. Another option involves a more general sales meeting. Switching to the healthcare sector, imagine a family medical practice offering appointments for complete physicals, wellness visits or follow-up visits, for instance. Above, Zoho Bookings also offers several methods of sharing links to its appointment page with clients and customers. Consulting businesses, as one example, routinely send emails to their lists. Zoho Bookings offers the opportunity for them to add a link for prospects to click through and sign up for a one-time consulting session. But the software also offers another choice. Whether you are promoting your services as a periodontist or a web designer, simply allow patients or clients to book appointments through an embedded widget on your site. The company also offers a white label option so that your scheduling page need not look like it comes from a separate provider. The customizable booking page allows you to incorporate your own branding elements so that your customers recieve a seamless experience. AI integration helps match your embedded scheduling widget with your site’s overall appearance and branding. Zoho says more options for getting clients to the booking page are on the way. The software also offers email, SMS and calendar invite notifications. These remind your customer or client of upcoming appointments and hopefully reduce the incidence of no-shows. Zoho Bookings also offers interaction with a raft of other services both native and from other providers. For example, the software integrates with Zoho Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. Integration with Zoho Meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer flexibility when setting up online meetings. The software also integrates with payment and CRM options. These services allow you to take payments for virtual appointments and to send followup email marketing in the hopes of turning clients who book a call into repeat customers, for example. A few interesting Zoho Bookings’ features, are an in-built calendar that can showcase staff availability across days and weeks. Businesses can pick and choose the timeslot they want to share with specific customers, with the ability to copy and paste these timeslots across all email providers. Staff will also be able to send notifications and reminders via WhatsApp to their clients, shortly. Zoho prices its Bookings service at $6 per user per month for its basic package and $9 per user per month for companies with up to three locations or departments. Additional workspaces for more teams or locations can be paid for as add ons. And Zoho offers custom plans based on a business’s specific needs. Final Thoughts With 14 million appointments already scheduled, Zoho Bookings enjoys the trust of 29,000 plus customers thus far, the company says. Large concentrations of these clients inhabit the healthcare and education sectors as well as real estate. But the software lends itself to businesses of all kinds. Since Zoho created Bookings to accommodate the needs of healthcare businesses as well, they also made the software HIPAA compliant. Among companies proudly relying on Bookings, Zoho counts Spaghetti Agency, a UK digital marketing firm. Prior to using Zoho Bookings, Spaghetti Agency complained of too much back and forth with clients delaying the scheduling of calls. After adopting Bookings, the company reports saved time scheduling thanks to customers being able to see real-time availability while setting up appointments. Whether you operate a medical office in Poughkeepsie, New York, an online sales team In Toronto, Ontario or a beauty salon in Detroit, Michigan, you need scheduling software that works for you. Stop wasting time taking calls by phone or email. Adopt a booking application you can customize to fit your business. Learn more about Zoho Bookings and the whole Zoho ecosystem today. This article, "Schedule For Success with Zoho Bookings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Adobe will be giving its priciest subscription tier an AI-first rebrand—and adding an even higher price tag. Adobe’s Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, which includes access to more than 20 Adobe apps, will soon be known as “Creative Cloud Pro,” the company announced last week. The renamed subscription plan will give users expanded access to Adobe’s AI-powered tools and apps, but for a price: For subscribers on an annual plan, the cost will increase from $59.99 to $69.99 monthly, or from $659.88 to $779.99 annually. Beginning on June 17th, any members of Creative Cloud All Apps will be automatically opted into Creative Cloud Pro. According to Adobe’s announcement of the plan, Creative Cloud Pro pricing will be effective at your next renewal on or after June 17. Currently, these changes are only rolling out in North America. This follows better-than-expected first quarter 2025 financial results for the software company, which reported a record revenue of $5.71 billion, equal to 10% year-over-year growth. Still, Adobe’s shares dropped after the report, as several experts and investors noted concerns that the company might be falling behind competitors with its AI efforts. Creative Cloud Pro appears to be the next step for Adobe to monetize its newly robust suite of AI tools by making them a mandatory investment for the company’s most dedicated users, even as it rolls out “made without generative AI” image labels. Here’s what to know about the new plan. What’s new on Creative Cloud Pro? To start, Creative Cloud Pro comes with all of the features that were included under the Creative All Apps umbrella. The plan includes a portfolio of more than 30,000 fonts, unlimited Creative Cloud libraries, millions of stock photos and videos, and 100GB of cloud storage. In addition to these perks, the upgraded plan will include several new AI features. First, users will gain unlimited access to “standard generative tools” like Photoshop’s Generative Fill, which can essentially “deep fake” anything within a composition, and Lightroom’s Generative Remove, which eliminates unwanted details in a photo. Creative Cloud Pro users will also have 4,000 monthly credits to use for Adobe’s class of “premium generative features,” like Premiere Pro’s Generative Extend, which uses AI to add frames to the beginning or end of any video. The rebranded subscription also includes the most recent Firefly app, which Adobe bills as its “one-stop shop for exploration and ideation with creative AI.” The app comes with Adobe’s new text-to-image generator Image Model 4, as well as its Firefly Video Model, which first entered public beta last month. Another feature called Firefly Boards allows teams to do some Pinterest-style moodboard brainstorming. For any Creative Cloud Pro users who have a different AI model of choice, they can also choose to import Google Imagen 3 and Veo 2, OpenAI image generation, or Flux 1.1 Pro into Firefly. More details on Creative Cloud Pro features are available here. How much will it cost for different kinds of users? Prices are set to rise across the board for all kinds of Creative Cloud All Apps users. For rolling subscribers (those not on an annual plan), prices will rise from $89.99 to $104.99. For teams, prices will jump from $89.99 to $99.99 per month. And for student and teacher plans, renewal prices are set to increase from $34.99 to $39.99 monthly. What if I don’t want to join this new plan? If you’re a current Creative Cloud All Apps user but don’t want to be automatically shuffled into Creative Cloud Pro, Adobe has created another subscription tier called “Creative Cloud Standard.” This tier is the same price as the former Creative Cloud All Apps ($54.99/month for annual users), but it comes with a bit less value. Whereas All Apps included 1,000 monthly credits for the aforementioned standard generative features, Creative Cloud Standard only includes 25 credits. It also limits access to premium features on mobile and web apps, and, of course, does not include premium generative features or Firefly. While Adobe’s webpage states that Creative Cloud Standard is “only available to existing customers,” an Adobe spokesperson clarified that new users can actually join this tier by contacting customer support. It’s a trade-off that essentially means you’ll be paying the same amount for a subscription with fewer bonuses, but it might be the option that makes the most sense for users who have no interest in Adobe’s AI features. On Reddit, plenty of users have already expressed displeasure with the new plan. It’s easy to see why. Adobe is automatically upgrading subscriptions to the more expensive Creative Cloud Pro tier, a UX pattern that makes it less likely for users to opt-out than if they had to make an active choice and tick a subscribe box, for instance. Both this and the Creative Cloud Standard journey for new users could be seen as dark patterns, which are UX pathways that manipulate users into taking actions that they may not have intended but are in the business interests of the company. The U.S. sued Adobe over its hard-to-cancel subscriptions last year. The goal of the auto upgrade, in combination with the decreased appeal of the Creative Cloud Standard tier due to its reduced features, seems to be to draw more daily active users into the company’s existing AI products. That’d be in close keeping with its recent focus on monetizing gen AI tools following its last earnings report, anyway, which was plagued with fears that Adobe isn’t staying ahead in the AI race. An Adobe spokesperson declined to comment on the reasoning behind the subscription tier rebrand and whether users will be personally notified before the change takes place. View the full article

Google I/O's 2025 keynote could have more reasonably been called The Google AI Show. Almost everything the company talked about was AI-powered, some of which is promised to arrive in the future, and some of which is available today. Features were spread across Google's whole range of products, but here are some of the ones you're actually likely to see. It's tough to talk about Gemini because it simultaneously refers to a set of models (like Gemini Flash, Gemini Pro, and Gemini Pro Deep Research), different versions of those models (the latest seems to be 2.5 for most of these), and different apps that these models are available through. There's the dedicated Gemini app, the voice assistant in things like Pixel phones and watches, as well as Gemini tools built into apps like Google Docs, Gmail, or Search. I'll do my best to specify which features are coming to what products, but keep in mind that sometimes Google tends to announce the same thing a few times. Agent Mode is coming to Gemini, Search, and moreThe Gemini app is getting a new Agent Mode that can perform tasks for you while you do something else. Google showed off an example of asking Gemini to find apartments in a city. The app then searches listings online, filters them by the criteria you set, and can offer to set up apartment tours for you. The most interesting aspect of this is that Google pitches this as a task you can have Gemini repeat regularly. So, for example, if you want Gemini to search for new apartments every week, the app can repeat the process, continuing with the information in previous iterations of the search. Agent Mode is similarly coming to Google Search for certain requests. Google uses the example of asking for tickets to an upcoming event. Google scours ticket listing sites, cross-references against your preferences, and presents the results. Gmail will pretend to be you when it replies to your emailsGmail has had smart replies for a while, but they can sound pretty generic (without intervention, anyway). It's a dead giveaway to your recipient that you're not really paying attention. To help you get away with quietly ghosting your friends, Gmail will soon be able to tailor its responses to you by referring to your past emails and even Drive documents. Google uses the example of a friend asking how you planned your recent vacation, a common thing we all email each other all the time. In this case, Gmail can draft a response based on your email history, with the advice you would be likely to give, and even write it how the AI thinks you would write it. Thought summaries will summarize how AI summarizes its thought processYes, you read that right. AI "reasoning" models typically work by taking your query, generating text that breaks it down into smaller parts, sending those parts to the AI again, then carrying out each step. That's a lot of instructions happening behind the scenes on your behalf. Usually, reasoning models (including Gemini) will have a little drop down to show you the steps it took in the interim. If even that is too much reading for you, Gemini will now summarize the summary of the thought process. In theory, this is to make it easier to understand why Gemini arrived at the answers it gives you. Native audio output will whisper to you (in your nightmares)This is technically a new feature of the Gemini API, which means developers can build on these tools in their apps. Native audio output will let developers generate natural-sounding speech. In its demo, Google showed off voices that could switch between multiple languages, which was pretty cool. What isn't so cool, however, is the model can also whisper. I do not yet know what the practical use-cases are for an AI-generated voice that can whisper, but I do know I won't be able to get it out of my head for a week. At best. Jules will fix your code's bugs in the background while you workLast year, Google announced Jules, a coding agent that can help you with your code, similar to Github's Copilot. Now, the public beta of Jules is available. Google says Jules can fix bugs while you're working on other tasks, bump dependency versions, and even provide an audio summary of the changes that it's made to your code. Google Search will let you virtually try on clothes while shopping onlineI'm not great at visualizing what a piece of clothing will look like on my particular body, so this new try-on feature might actually be useful. Google is launching a Search Labs experiment that lets you upload a full-length photo of yourself that Google will alter to show what the clothing will look like on you. The company is also integrating shopping tools that can buy items for you and even track for the best price. It will then be able to buy stuff for you via Google Pay, using your saved payment and shipping info. This one isn't available quite yet, and frankly we'd want to learn a little more about how the process works and how to prevent purchases you don't want before we'd recommend using it. New Veo and Imagen models will generate audio and videoVideo is, definitionally, a series of images played at a fast enough speed to convey a sense of motion. With that definition, I can confidently say that the demos of Google's new Veo 3 model does, in fact, show video. Whether that video is any good is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. Google seems to be betting on users finding the video generated by Veo 3 (and, by association, the images from Imagen 4) to be worthwhile, because the company is also building a video editing suite around it. Flow is a video editing tool that ostensibly lets editors extend and re-generate clips to get the right look. Google also says that Veo 3 can generate sounds to go along with its video. For example, in the owl scene linked above, Veo also generates forest sound effects. We'll have to see how it generates these elements (can you edit individual sounds distinctly, for example?) but for now the demos speak for themselves. Veo 3 is now available in the Gemini app for Ultra subscribers. View the full article

Sometimes you need to quickly convert an image, audio file, or video, so you search for an online tool. The problem: many online conversion tools aren't safe to use, putting you at risk from malware or mining your data. Vert isn't like that. This is an open source, browser-based tool that can convert the most common image, audio, video, and document formats. It isn't clogged with ads and you don't need to create an account to use it. More importantly: the tool works (almost)entirely in your browser, meaning your files are never actually uploaded anywhere (save for video files, as I'll explain below). I tested this by opening the website, turning off my WiFi, and converting a large batch of images and documents. It worked. Converting files without uploading them is great from a privacy perspective, but it's also faster—you're not waiting for files to transfer back and forth from your machine to a server. To get started with Vert, head to the website and add the files you need to covert by dragging them from your file manager or using the upload button. (The homepage lists all of the supported file types, if you're curious—there are more than five dozen of them.) Next, you can choose a format and run the conversion, then click the download button to grab the converted file. Credit: Justin Pot You can alternatively convert all of your files to a single format and grab them all in a single ZIP file. Note that this will only work if all files dropped into the tool are of the same type—that is, video, image, document, or audio files. A mix of images and videos can't all be converted at once, for example, because there's no one format you could convert them to. It's also worth noting that video files cannot be converted without uploading them to a server, mostly because of how resource intensive doing so in a browser would be. The tool will warn you before uploading anything. According to the website, videos are deleted from the server after you download your file or an hour after you upload them, whichever comes first. It's possible to set up your own server, if this really concerns you. I think Vert is a very easy to use tool. I tested it with an EPUB file and was able to make both a Word document and a website. I also tested it with various images, audio files, and videos—it all worked well, and quickly. There are a few caveats. PDF files are not supported, for importing or exporting. And some of my older Word documents resulted in error messages, which was odd but not entirely unexpected (the files in question were over 20 years old). Overall, though, this is a very handy tool—one well worth bookmarking. View the full article

There are some real-world use cases out there where AI could genuinely be a useful tool that doesn't just act as a shortcut to something you could do on your own. Case in point: Google's new 'try it on' feature, which allows you to see how various outfits look on your body over your phone or computer. The company announced the feature at Google I/O 2025, and it uses a photo you upload to generate images of you in different clothes. This feature is available via Google Search Labs starting today. How to use Google's 'try it on' featureTo try out this new feature, go to Google's Search Labs page, sign in to your account, and opt in to the "try on" experiment. The next time you're using Google to shop, you'll see a 'try it on' icon next to different product listings. Tap this to get started. Google will ask you to upload a full-length photo of yourself, and once you do, the AI will generate images of you wearing the outfits you're checking out. It's worth noting that this will work best if you upload a photo of you that's been shot in good lighting and while you're wearing fitted clothing. Otherwise, Google's AI's will have a hard time mapping out your body's proportions, which may distort the final results. Once you've seen how you look in various outfits, you can share those photos with others for their opinions, or go right ahead and buy the clothes you liked. The catch here is that you're relying on the product photos themselves to be accurate. No matter how good Google's AI is, it can't really show you how something will look on you if the listing has misleading or inaccurate photos. Ask Google's AI to track prices and buy products for youDuring a demo at Google I/O 2025 showing off the "try it on" feature, the company also revealed that you'' eventually be able to ask Google's AI to buy products for you. Once you've selected an outfit you like, you can ask Google's shopping AI to track its price. When it hits the price you're looking for, Google will send you an alert, and you can ask the AI to buy it for you using information in your Google Wallet (or you can buy it manually). Google is calling this feature "agentic checkout," and the company said it'll roll out in the coming months. View the full article

Discrepancies between servicer and investor systems have been rare recently but the dollar amounts involved magnify the impact, according to PMSI's CEO. View the full article

The last time we talked about 23andMe’s bankruptcy sale, we suggested you might want to delete your genetic data from the site, since we didn’t know who would end up owning it. Now, a buyer has been announced, and they’re promising to “prioritize the privacy, security and ethical use” of customer data and to keep offering the company’s services uninterrupted. This is all—probably—good news. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic, anyway. Regeneron will be 23andMe’s new owner23andMe’s new buyer, paying $256 million for the company’s assets, is Regeneron. Regeneron is a biotech company perhaps best known for developing an antibody treatment for COVID early in the pandemic. (Donald The President was given a dose when he first came down with the virus.) That treatment never made it all the way to market, but the company does market other antibody- and protein-based treatments for conditions like Ebola virus, genetic disorders, and cancers. Regeneron’s website states that they “are shaping the next frontier of medicine with data-powered insights from the Regeneron Genetics Center® and pioneering genetic medicine platforms, enabling us to identify innovative targets and complementary approaches to potentially treat or cure diseases.” That explains why they’re interested in 23andMe, since it provides a trove of genetic data. Many 23andMe users had also signed up to provide more of their personal medical information for research purposes (this was a separate thing that you would have had to opt in to provide). Regeneron says they plan to “continue all consumer genome services uninterrupted,” rather than shut down the company. Lemonaid health, also owned by 23andMe, is not included in the sale. What this means for your data and privacyImportantly, Regeneron says they will respect the company’s privacy policy (“and applicable laws”) and the 23andMe press release also says that Regeneron will not be making any changes to the privacy policy. The sale, which still needs to be approved by a bankruptcy court, will also include a court-appointed “consumer privacy ombudsman” whose job is to make sure that everyone’s data is treated appropriately. Regeneron says that they’re ready to work with this ombudsman and will detail all their privacy-related plans. While we don’t yet know what the future holds, this all has me tentatively optimistic. Yes, a corporation has your data and intends to profit from it; but that was also true of 23andMe in its heyday. The policies about privacy and consent that you agreed to when contributing your data will still be in effect. The 23andMe community seems to be cautiously optimistic. In a r/23andme Reddit thread about the sale, one redditor, who identifies themselves as an academic biomedical researcher, says “I would rather [Regeneron] have my data than an insurance provider or just random [venture capitalist].” Another redditor says, “So there really is not [a] best case scenario here, there's just ‘wait and see’ and bad. And this is more of a ‘wait and see’ than a bad.” And another says “I know people side eye big pharma (rightfully in most circumstances) but this is a much better outcome than many other situations.” View the full article

Months after OceanFirst Financial settled federal redlining allegations, it received the highest possible Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. CEO Christopher Maher said the bank made a "significant effort" to introduce its lending products to markets it had recently entered via acquisition. View the full article

At Google I/O 2025, the company announced that Gemini Live Camera and Screen Sharing is rolling out to iPhone starting today. This means that you'll be able to use your phone's camera to live stream a feed to Gemini, and have a conversation about with the AI agent about what it sees. This feature has been available on Android for some time, but it's coming to iPhone for the first time starting today. This could be useful for many things, such as showing Gemini a video of something in your neighborhood and asking it to identify the item. In theory, you could ask it to identify cars, trees, or important landmarks in your neighborhood, or ask it general knowledge questions about historical landmarks while you're on holiday. Unfortunately though, Google chose an unbelievably cringey video to demonstrate what the Gemini Live Camera can do. It featured a person being deliberately obtuse and asking exceptionally...dumb...questions to the AI, presumably to demonstrate that Gemini isn't a complete idiot (or, as Google said, that it's not afraid to tell you when you're wrong). They pointed the camera at a garbage truck while calling it a "convertible," but Gemini was able to clarify that it was indeed, a garbage truck. They repeated the same routine by calling a light pole a "tall skinny building" and a shadow "someone following" them. If you were to only go by the demo to figure out the extent of Gemini Live's Camera Sharing capabilities, it'd be pretty hard to know how it holds up to stress testing. Fortunately, there are much better examples of what you can do with Gemini Live Camera on the Android blog. You can ask Gemini Live for advice on a color palette for your home, gift ideas, and much more. As long as the AI doesn't hallucinate, this could a genuinely useful tool, since it also works with screen sharing, too. Just… don't ask it if your shadow is a real person. View the full article

Secretary of state defends Donald The President’s handling of call with Vladimir Putin View the full article

Google's Smart Replies are getting an AI-themed, and to me, slightly creepy update. At its Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google announced a new feature called Personalized Smart Replies. This feature uses Gemini AI, alongside the data in your Gmail and Google Drive, to reply to emails in a way that sounds like you. Google promises is can write like you would, using your tone and writing style, as learned by your Gmail history. With this new update, the Smart Replies option that shows up when you reply to an email will be a lot more powerful and a lot more contextual. On stage, Google CEO Sundar Pichai used planning a trip as an example. Let's say a friend emails you asking for details about a trip you two are going on. To manually collate everything you need to send, like your hotel stays, driving plans, rest stops, and restaurant recommendations would take a lot of time. Instead, you can use the Personalized Smart Replies feature, which has access to all your emails, your Google Maps location history, and your photos and files in Google Drive, to do the work for you. It can collate hotel bookings from your email, locations from Google Drive history, and present it all in an email that matches your writing style. According to an interview with The Verge, Google Workspace’s VP of product, Blake Barnes, says that the new Smart Replies feature will be available in English at first, on the web, Android, and iOS. It will roll out in Alpha in Google Labs in July, and will be available for public use in Q3 of this year. Unfortunately, it will be only available for paid subscribers at first. Barnes sees the feature eventually rolling out to all Gmail users, but there's no timeline for that yet. Of course, like with all AI, there's a risk that what Gemini generates might have elements of hallucination, so I'd recommend checking your replies before sending them. Plus, the feature will definitely need access to a lot of personal data to work. I'll keep an eye out for how to protect your data as the feature comes out, and update accordingly. View the full article

It's that time again, for Google to announce that real-time translation has come to one of its communication apps. This time, it's Google Meet, which can translate between English and Spanish as you speak in a video call. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's not the first time Google has announced something like this. Google Translate has had features that let you speak to someone in another language in real time for a while. For example, back in 2019, there was a real-time translation feature called Interpreter Mode built into Google Assistant. It's also been possible on Pixel phones for a while (and even Samsung phones). Most of these, however, have been either text-to-text, or speech-to-text. You can use the Google Translate app for a speech-to-speech experience, but like with Google Assistant's Interpreter Mode, that only works in person. So, what's different here? Well, during its I/O keynote, Google demoed two users in a video chat speaking in their native languages. Google Meet then translates and speaks the translation back in a relatively human-sounding voice. This new feature is available now for Google Workspace subscribers (plans start at $7/month), but unfortunately, it's not in the free version. On the plus side, additional languages are promised to start coming out in just a few weeks. While I haven't tested it out yet, it does seem to be a more convenient way to access a feature that you might otherwise have to hack together with another tab, or by opening your phone and holding it up to a speaker. Plus, it can be a bit more natural to hear translations spoken out for you, rather than having to rely on translated captions. I do wonder whether it can keep up with the natural speed and flow of a conversation, though—nobody likes to feel interrupted. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Motorola is set to release its latest wearable, the Moto Watch Fit, on May 22 with a price tag of $199 in the U.S. ($249 in Canada). The new smartwatch, which was initially unveiled alongside updated Razr flip phones last month, will be available through Motorola's official website at launch, with availability expanding to Amazon and Best Buy in the coming weeks. What to know about the Moto Watch FitUnlike most Android smartwatches on the market, the Moto Watch Fit runs on a proprietary operating system rather than Google's Wear OS. While this might raise some concerns for potential buyers wary of an untested system, there are a few features that could sway you in its direction. DesignThe Moto Watch Fit features a sleek design with a 1.9-inch OLED display housed in an aluminum frame. In terms of durability, the watch has 5ATM water resistance and IP68 ratings—meaning it should hold up for swimming and other water-based activities. At just 25 grams, the Moto Watch Fit offers a lightweight design that won't weigh you down during workouts or daily wear. (For comparison, most versions of the Apple Watch Series 10 sit around 30 grams). Impressive battery lifeWhere Motorola claims the watch truly stands out is its battery life. It says users can expect up to 16 days of use on a single charge and under normal conditions. However, something like constant GPS usage would naturally drain your battery much faster. However, the company promises a quick 5-minute charge can provides a full day of usage. The Watch Fit focuses on delivering reliable fitness tracking, making it best for someone prioritizing battery life and comfort over extensive app ecosystems. Limited smart featuresOn that note, it looks like the Moto Watch Fit does not support third-party apps and lacks smart assistant functionality. While this may be a dealbreaker users who want the full smartwatch experience, it's likely these limitations contribute to the device's extended battery life, not to mention it's price point—at under $200, it's one of the more affordable smartwatches. For context, the most popular versions of Galaxy, Google Pixel, or Apple watches will typically cost at least $299. So, if you're looking for heart rate monitoring, GPS tracking, and basic smartwatch functions, and you're tired of power-hungry options on the market that struggle to last even a week between charges, the Moto Watch Fit could be the right fit for you. View the full article