AI Tool Updates

Telecom operators have seen remarkable returns from using generative AI to automate network management, customer care and back-office operations. Most of that impact has been task‑based: automation th…

NVIDIA XR AI is now available in public beta, giving developers a framework for building multimodal AI agents for AR glasses and XR devices.

OpenAI acquired Ona, an AI coding assistant. GPT-5.5 Thinking added to ChatGPT Plus — extended reasoning mode now available at the $20/month tier with no extra charge.

Figma launched AI motion graphics and shader tools. Generate animated UI components and transitions directly in Figma — no After Effects needed for most use cases.

Open source video generation returned with major new models on Replicate. Free API tier available — run video generation models without a paid subscription for light usage.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 released as the new default model on all Claude plans. Extended thinking mode improved — more accurate on complex reasoning tasks. Free tier unchanged.

Cursor pricing updated. Free tier now includes more code completions per month. Pro plan structure adjusted. Best AI coding editor remains competitive against GitHub Copilot at $20/month.

Recraft V4 launched with design-grade image generation — typography, consistent brand styles, and product visuals. Strong competitor to Midjourney for commercial and marketing use cases.

Play.ht shut down. All accounts and voice clones no longer accessible. Users migrating to ElevenLabs (best quality), Murf (best for teams), or Speechify (best for listening).

Lovable Pro plan increased from $20/month to $25/month. No-code app builder still one of the best options for building full-stack apps without coding. Free tier unchanged.

Gemini 2.5 Pro set as the default model in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI. Strongest reasoning model in the Gemini family — now accessible on the free tier of AI Studio.

AI video generation with a free tier — 10 videos/month, no watermark. Quality comparable to Runway Gen-3. Now available globally after months of China-only access.

AI database summariser added to all paid plans. Automatically summarises rows in any database into a structured overview. Saves ~2 hours/week for teams using Notion for project management.

Gamma AI presentation builder increased free credits from 200 to 400 per month. Free tier now covers ~8 full presentations per month. Best free alternative to manual PowerPoint for most users.

Claude 4 series launched with extended context and improved reasoning. Free tier remains generous. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is now the recommended model for most writing and analysis tasks.

Runway Gen-4 launched. Free plan now includes 5 credits/month (was 3). Quality improvement is significant — portrait and realistic video quality much better than Gen-3.

Bolt.new updated free tier — increased monthly tokens significantly. Now one of the best free options for building full-stack apps without coding. Competes directly with Lovable.

ElevenLabs launched Conversational AI — real-time voice agents that can handle phone calls and customer support. Free tier includes limited testing. Major move into the AI agent space.

Perplexity increased free daily searches significantly. Free users now get more Pro searches per day. Best free research tool just got better — no subscription needed for most users.