Android is coming for Windows and Mac Now - DTNS 5111

Google has plans for full desktop PCs based on Android and running on Qualcomm. And Major League Baseball will use robot umpires next year.

Starring Tom Merritt and Sarah Lane.

TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for Wednesday, September 24, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories, and help each other understand.

SARAH: Today, Google teases a partnership with Qualcomm which could see laptops competing with Apple Silicon, and Windows on Arm.

I’m Tom Merritt,

I’m Sarah Lane.

Tom: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.

[[BIG STORY]]
[[SOLO story of the day. Basic details, monitor commentary and sound when possible.]]

Google says more on desktop Android, Qualcomm 'excited'
Google is coming for Microsoft's lunch with new Android PCs | Windows Central

TOM: At Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon spoke with Google’s SVP of Platforms & Devices Rick Osterloh about a version of Android being built for PCs.

Osterloh commented on Google's plans to rebuild ChromeOS on an Android foundation. "We are building together a common technical foundation for our products on PCs and desktop computing systems.

This is another way that we can leverage all of the great work we’re doing together on our AI stack, our full stack, bringing Gemini models, bringing the assistant, bringing all of our application and developer community into the PC domain."

This would “accelerate the pace of AI innovation at the core of ChromeOS, simplify engineering efforts, and help different devices like phones and accessories work better together with Chromebooks.”

Amon added, "I’ve seen it. It’s incredible. I think it delivers on the vision of conversions in mobile and PC. And I can’t wait to have one."

Chromebooks have not typically run on Qualcomm chips, so that clearly is about to change. It also seemed that there might be an Android-first version of a desktop OS in addition to ChromeOS.

ChromeOS has been very successful in educational settings, but is limited. It seems like Google not only wants to make it more capable, aka, add Gemini, but it also may look to offer more powerful PCs than Chromebooks. That would probably be a category of PC similar to what MacOS has become on its own Arm processors, or Windows for Arm aka Copilot+.

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There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.

[[BRIEFS]]
[[3-9 more solo reads with sound to complete the day in tech news. These are informational with minor commentary.]]

The Science Behind Scratchgate and What It Means for Repairing the iPhone 17 Pro - iFixit
iFixit puts a microscope on the iPhone 17 Pro scratch problem | The Verge
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max has a hidden upgrade that most people seem to have missed - NotebookCheck.net News
iOS 26.1 beta suggests iPhones will soon support third-party smartwatches

SARAH: We’ve finally settled on the main complaint about iPhone 17, and it is.. scratches. Specifically, multiple users have complained of scratches appearing around the camera on the anodized aluminum casing of the iPhone 17 Pros. iFixit published an interview with Professor of Mechanical Engineering, David Niebhur, to explain it. He thinks the sharp edge of the camera bump means the anodization process of the aluminum isn't as even. If Apple had a more gradual curve there, you probably wouldn't see the scratches as much. He recommends getting a case if you want to avoid scratches.

In brighter news, users are also reporting that the LED flash on the iPhone 17 Pro Max appears to be stronger and sharper for better flash and a better flashlight. And Macworld found some code in iOS 26.1 beta that references "notification Forwarding," which could mean interoperability with third-party smart watches.

Man arrested in connection with cyber-attack on airports

TOM: The UK's National Crime Agency arrested a man in his forties in West Sussex as part of its investigation into a cyber attack on Collins Aerospace's baggage and check-in software. The software used by multiple airlines across Europe failed this week, causing delays as they had to switch to pen and paper to tag bags and issue boarding passes. Collins believes it may be up to a week before its system is back online, meaning manual workarounds continue as do delays.

YouTube will reinstate accounts banned for spreading misinformation | TechCrunch

SARAH: Alphabet sent a letter to US Representative Jim Jordan on Tuesday saying "YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the Company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect.” Representative Jordan had subpoenaed Alphabet as he investigates whether the president "coerced or colluded" with Alphabet to censor speech.

Pocket Casts is showing ads to people who paid for an ad-free app | The Verge

TOM: PocketCasts podcast app users who bought a lifetime ad-free subscription, and are still very much alive, have been shown ads on the app with a message to pay a subscription to remove them. CEO Matt Mullenweg said “Anyone who has ever paid for Pocket Casts, even before Automattic acquired it, should not see ads.” He says this happened because of a bug and will be fixed. In 2019, after switching to a free model with subscription for added features, Pocketcasts offered users who had previously paid for the app a lifetime ad-free subscription. The lifetime memberships were rebranded as Pocket Casts Champion" in August of 2024.

Major League Baseball will adopt an automated challenge system in 2026

SARAH: Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it will introduce an Automated Ball Strike, or ABS, system next season. The system, which has been tested outside of the regular season, uses a dozen cameras to record pitches and determine if they were inside the strike zone or not. In 2026, human umpires will still make the calls, but the pitcher, batter, or catcher can challenge the call. Each team gets two challenges and gets to keep them if they overturn the umpire's call.

AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity

TOM: Recently, we mentioned a study from MIT Media Lab that found that 95% of organizations see no measurable productivity increase from generative tech. BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab collaborated on a study to find out why. And they blame it on what they call Workslop. Basically, "AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task." Not all employees, maybe not even most, but enough are using LLMs without checking its work or refining prompts. That causes more work down the line as co-workers have to try to interpret it, correct it or redo it entirely. "Of 1,150 U.S.-based full-time employees across industries, 40% report having received workslop in the last month." Employees reported spending an average of one hour and 56 minutes dealing with each instance of workslop.

Spotify now directly integrates with DJ software

SARAH: Spotify just announced that it integrates with DJ software like rekordbox, Serato, and djay. That means DJs can access the entire Spotify library from within their Desktop DJ software. Spotify supported third-party DJ software until 2020, but discontinued support because of rights issues with music providers. Which it apparently has now resolved.

TOM: And finally, a few quick headlines that are just good to know if you want to understand the news in the future.

Alibaba Shares Soar After Hiking AI Budget Past $50 Billion - Bloomberg
Alibaba to offer Nvidia's physical AI development tools in its AI platform | TechCrunch
Qwen3-VL: Sharper Vision, Deeper Thought, Broader Action

TOM: Alibaba announced it will spend more than $4 trillion over the next five years to ramp up its AI efforts. An increase from its previous $53 billion three-year plan. Alibaba also announced its new Qwen3-VL model, which it says matches or exceeds Gemini 2.5 Pro. And Alibaba will integrate Nvidia’s development tools for robotics, self-driving cars, and connected spaces into its Cloud Platform for AI.

Logitech launches a new Solar-powered slim wireless keyboard for Mac users - 9to5Mac

SARAH: Logitech launched its $99 Signature Slim Solar+ K980 keyboard, which can charge entirely from solar, even while indoors. And it can last 4 months without the lights on.

Pixel 10 Pro XL: New DxOMark analysis finds Google's latest flagship has the best smartphone display of all time - NotebookCheck.net News

TOM: DxOMark ranks the Pixel 10 Pro XL display as the best smartphone display of all time. It excels by reducing eyestrain and dropping to a mere 4 nits in a completely dark environment.

Walmart’s India Payments App PhonePe Files for $1.5 Billion IPO - Bloomberg

SARAH: PhonePe is India's largest payments provider and has filed its first round of documents for an IPO. PhonePe has more than 610 million registered users.

Trump administration proposes overhauling H-1B visa process for higher-paid workers

TOM: The US Department of Homeland Security announced a proposal to change the H-1B visa program in the US to give weight to jobs with higher wages. When applications exceed 85,000, applicants would get more entries in the lottery if they were in a higher wage category.

[[PROMO]]

TOM: We do live streams! Catch them by becoming a subscriber at youtube.com/dailytechnewsshow.

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[[HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND]]
[[Short missives from people with experience. Could be written email or pre-recorded from the person.]]

SARAH: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today, Milton has some info on energy sources for tech companies building data centers.

TOM: MIlton writes:
During your Tuesday show, you said you didn't believe there was enough
fossil fuel in the US to power all the gigawatts of new AI servers.

Unfortunately, that's not true. It takes 7.42 cubic feet of natural gas
to generate one KWH of electricity. That's 7,420,000 cubic feet per GWH.
Multiply that by 24 * 365.25 hours per year, and it comes out to 65
billion cubic feet of natural gas to run one gigawatt AI server farm for
a year.

That's a lot, until you look at how much /proven/ natural gas reserves
there are in the US. Right now, there are 600 trillion cubic feet of
proven natural gas reserves in the US. That's enough to run a gigawatt
AI server for 9,224 years. Even a hundred gigawatt AI servers could run
for 92 years.

…

Natural gas is actually the quickest way to create a new
gigawatt of electric power; it takes about two years starting from
scratch. Nuclear and renewables take longer.

US EIA FAQ on electricity from natural gas
US EIA natural gas reserves
Guardian coverage: Elon Musk’s xAI Memphis project

[[DISCUSS]]

SARAH: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com

TOM: Thanks to Martin for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for the Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/dtns