Step right up, Tech Insiders!

Today's center-ring attractions: robots that lace your sneakers without phoning the mothership, a screen-free gizmo from OpenAI that wants to unglue your eyeballs, and malware that thinks your photo roll is a buffet.

Hold onto your popcorn.

Here's what you need to know today:

Google's Gemini Robots Just Went Rogue

Offline bots are here. What could possibly go wrong?

Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Robotics On-Device, a slimmed-down vision-language-action model that runs locally on bi-arm robots—no cloud tether needed.

The company's Carolina Parada says the system can adapt to new tasks with only 50–100 demonstrations, thanks to Gemini's multimodal chops. Early tests show it is only slightly less accurate than the larger hybrid setup. Yet, it reacts faster, making it ideal for latency-sensitive jobs like folding a shirt or navigating a cluttered workspace.

Developers can customize the model using new tools and test tasks in a simulator called MuJoCo. Google says going offline boosts privacy in places like hospitals, but now the safety features are up to whoever builds the robot. After all, nobody wants a robot waving a bread knife around.

Gemini Robotics still trails the core Gemini road map by one version, so an even beefier on-device release could follow when Gemini 2.5 trickles down.

Why it matters: If small, affordable robots can execute complex motions without cloud latency, everything from warehouse pick-and-place to in-home assistance gets more reliable—and harder for your Wi-Fi outage to ruin. Plus, your robot won't leak your living-room selfies to the data center. Nice.

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Insider Intel

Inside OpenAI's Screen‑Free AI Gadget

Court filings over a trademark spat with audio startup iyO spilled new details about OpenAI's first hardware.

Codenamed only by whispers, the prototype is reportedly pocket-sized, senses its surroundings, and rethinks computing so that it is "less socially disruptive than the iPhone," according to Jony Ive.

Despite buying headphone maker io for $6.5 billion, OpenAI says v1 won't be an in‑ear bud, a phone, or a pair of glasses. Analyst Ming‑Chi Kuo now expects a screen‑free pendant that hangs around your neck (think Humane AI Pin) with ambient sensors and voice I/O, while court filings maintain it isn't technically a "wearable" in the classic sense.

Internal emails reveal that the team tested over 30 headsets, amassed 3D ear-scan databases, and even considered desktop form factors before settling on, well, we still don't know.

Sam Altman told staff the device should be as indispensable as a phone, yet steer users away from screens. With launch timelines "at least a year out," the firm has time to fine‑tune and to lawyer up as iyO pushes for damages.

It’s not a wearable. It’s just... always on, always listening. Relax.

Flash Bytes

Security Alerts

Fake Job Listings Drain $500 Million

Fraudsters cloned a genuine Socure job listing, interviewed applicants on fake Microsoft Teams accounts, and tricked one victim into buying $8,000 in Apple gift cards before the checks bounced.

FTC data show employment scams have tripled since 2020, with fresh grads and return‑to‑work parents prime targets. Socure now posts its legit hiring process online and urges job boards to vet listings, but don't expect the same from other companies.

While this scam's emails were full of typos, experts warn that generative AI could soon craft flawless offer letters and fake HR chats, erasing those easy red flags.

SparkKitty Sneaks Into App Stores, Steals Every Photo

Kaspersky has linked a new iOS and Android malware strain to the earlier SparkCat spyware, this time found on both Google Play and Apple's App Store.

Once permissions are granted, SparkKitty uploads your entire photo gallery and then applies OCR to each image to sniff out crypto‑wallet seed phrases. Apple and Google have yanked known apps, but unofficial clones still circulate.

Word of advice: Storing recovery phrases as screenshots is like hiding your house key under a neon-painted rock labeled "KEY."

Industry Shakeups

Xbox Faces Another 'Major' Layoff Wave Next Week

Xbox has had a bruising two‑generation run, and its subscription‑first pivot keeps coming with pink slips. Next week's wider Microsoft layoffs will carve deeply into Xbox for the fourth time in 18 months.

Managers have already warned staff about possible closures of European distribution hubs, stacking these fresh cuts atop May's 6,000 Microsoft‑wide layoffs (hundreds of which quietly hit Xbox). Last year saw 1,900 layoffs at Activision Blizzard and the spring shutdowns of studios like Tango Gameworks.

Insiders say leadership is tightening margins after the $69 billion Activision buy while sketching a Windows‑powered, next‑gen Xbox road map. Expect more consolidation and fewer experimental titles, as Microsoft bets on massive franchises and cloud gaming to justify its spending.

Meanwhile, a limited‑edition Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition VR headset, built in partnership with Meta, just hit retail shelves, adding a rare spot of good news for fans.

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