Author: Geek Planet

After nearly 30 conversations with a variety of executives attending Possible last week in Miami, a few topics bubbled to the surface, from a cooling of the merger and acquisition market to the opportunities and challenges of retail media, to the power of sports to unify a divided country and world. These conversations were captured at Digiday’s studio at Possible (Digiday is a media partner of the conference), and the following is a sampling of interviews. For any not here, please visit Possible’s YouTube channel which featured all the interviews. Christopher Vollmer, managing director at MediaLink, said the M&A market…

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have trained a human-like robot named Emo to lip-sync speech and songs by studying online videos, showing how machines can now learn complex human behaviour simply by observing it. Emo is not a full humanoid body but a highly realistic robotic face built to explore how humans communicate. The face is covered with silicone skin and driven by 26 independently controlled facial motors that move the lips, jaw, and cheeks. These motors allow Emo to form detailed mouth shapes that cover 24 consonants and 16 vowels, which is critical for natural speech and singing. The goal…

Google is rolling out its March 2026 Pixel Drop, and this one leans heavily into practical AI. Rather than flashy overhauls, the update sharpens tools Pixel users already rely on, while broader Android updates improve how devices connect and solve everyday problems. As usual, the Pixel Drop targets supported Pixel phones first, but several features extend across the wider Android ecosystem. The theme this time is clear: less novelty, more context-aware help. AI gets more proactive on Pixel One of the biggest refinements comes to Circle to Search. The feature, which lets users circle text or objects on-screen to look…

There’s a shift happening in the display advertising space: Marketers are using and spending more on email this year than programmatic ads — a first for the channel. This is according to Digiday+ Research surveys conducted among marketing professionals annually in the first quarter. Digiday’s survey found that display ads (including email and programmatic ads) are marketers’ second most-used marketing channel this year. Seventy-nine percent of marketer pros told Digiday in Q1 that they currently use display ads (following social media, which 92% of marketers use). That 79% is significant, and it’s an increase over Q1 last year, when 72%…

There’s new leadership at the industry’s top agency trade association. Starting today, Justin Thomas-Copeland will succeed Marla Kaplowitz as the 4As’ CEO. Throughout this month, Thomas-Copeland will work alongside Kaplowitz, who has been CEO of the 4A’s for the last eight years, to transition the leadership of the association before her departure at the end of the month. Prior to taking the top leadership role at the 4A’s, Thomas-Copeland founded and ran the marketing consultancy Kindrd Global. Before that, he was the CEO of DDB in North America, global CEO of Omnicom’s healthcare agency OPMG Health and president and CEO…

The Galaxy S26 Ultra just landed, Samsung’s most capable phone yet — and it’s walking straight into a fight with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which has been quietly making Apple fans very smug since last September. One runs Android, one runs iOS, both cost over a thousand dollars, and exactly one of them is right for you. Here’s how to figure out which. Price and availability The S26 Ultra is $1,300 for 256GB and $1,800 if you want the 1TB with 16GB RAM. The base S26 and S26+ both got $100 pricier this year — the Ultra somehow escaped…

As tariffs drive up the cost of imported goods, Amazon shoppers appear to be increasingly curious about one thing: where their products are made. According to new data from e-commerce analytics firm SmartScout, discovery-oriented searches like “made in USA products only” have surged 220% year over year. Similarly, “made in America products only” is up 130%, while more specific terms like “American flag made in America” have jumped 250%. Jason Boyce, a veteran Amazon merchant who now runs Avenue7Media, a consulting business for sellers, also said his agency is seeing five times the search volume for “made in the USA”…

Along with the Galaxy S24 lineup, Samsung launched Galaxy AI, a useful suite of AI-based features for Samsung’s flagship users. At the launch, the Korean giant said that both the on-device and cloud-based AI tools will remain complementary “through 2025.” However, the company has reportedly changed the footnotes on the official Galaxy AI landing page, opening the door to charging for some, if not all, AI features. “Galaxy AI basic features provided by Samsung are free,” the updated footnote reads (via Android Authority). Paid ‘Enhanced’ features could be on the horizon But what are the “basic” Galaxy AI features? Per…

Most of us carry a tiny surveillance device in our pockets, which we call a smartphone. If that bothers you, your options have historically been limited. Buy a Google Pixel, install GrapheneOS, and accept the irony of running a privacy OS on Google hardware.  Motorola just made that calculus a lot simpler. At MWC 2026, the company announced a long-term partnership with the GrapheneOS Foundation, making it the first non-Pixel manufacturer to officially support the privacy-hardened OS. So what is GrapheneOS? GrapheneOS is a privacy and security-focused mobile OS, developed as a non-profit open source project. Think of it as…

Apple’s first big hardware launch of the year could be the new MacBook Pro(s), powered by the purported M5 Pro and the M5 Max chips. According to a Macworld report, the Cupertino giant could unveil the new MacBook Pro models with the Creator Studio. For those catching up, Creator Studio is Apple’s latest service that bundles the company’s pro-grade creative apps, including Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro (along with four others), in a monthly subscription that costs $12.99. It will be available via the App Store from January 28, 2026. Creator Studio could set the stage for the new…