A new Google AI model that is not open yet, a small AI built for money research, safer battery hopes, and Apple's first touchscreen MacBook.
This week brought a new Google AI model that is not open to the public yet, a small AI model that did well at money research, and fresh news on batteries and laptops. You do not need to do anything today. One tip: when a company shares test scores about its own product, treat them as a claim to watch, not a final answer.
Google's newest AI model is not open yet
Google has announced a new AI model called Gemini 4 Carbon, Ars Technica reports. It came just two weeks after Google released Gemini 4 Argon. Carbon is an improvement on Argon. Google says it does better at writing code, at science work and at agentic tasks. An agentic task is one where the AI takes several steps on its own, like a helper working through a to-do list.
Google says Carbon is especially strong at security work. Here is some of what Google shared:
- Google says it is twice as likely as Argon to write code without security holes.
- In one test of prompt injection, Carbon resisted every attack. Prompt injection is when hidden text tries to trick an AI into doing something it should not.
- It rose 89 points on a coding leaderboard called WebDev Arena and now ranks fourth there.
Ars Technica also notes that the top AI models all score close together in these tests. The gap is just a few points. Benchmarks, meaning standard tests, do not tell the whole story.
Why it matters: you cannot use Carbon yet. Google says its coding and security skills call for a careful approach. The company is working within a voluntary testing framework set up by the US government. Google has not promised a date for a wide release. It will likely reach AI Ultra subscribers and developers using the Gemini API first.
A small AI model built for one job
A company called Samaya AI has released a model named Sterling, MarkTechPost reports. It is built to do financial research. It plans the research, uses finance tools, gathers evidence and passes what it finds to a separate report writer.
Sterling is built on NVIDIA's Nemotron 3.5 Lightning. Only a small part of that model runs at a time, which helps lower cost. On Samaya's own finance test, Sterling scored 58.9%. Claude Fable 5.1 scored 55.9%. Each Sterling question cost $0.61, compared with $6.89 for Fable 5.1.
Two things are worth knowing:
- The test was made by Samaya, and the scores are self-reported. Samaya says no test question was used in training.
- Sterling was tuned for one narrow area. Doing well at one job is not the same as doing well at everything.
Why it matters: if small, focused models can do one job well for less money, AI tools for specific kinds of work may get cheaper. Watch for whether other people test it and get the same results.
Safer batteries are still on the way
MIT Technology Review looked at solid-state batteries. Today's lithium-ion batteries power phones, laptops and large power storage systems. They use a liquid inside called an electrolyte, which helps move the charge. That liquid has drawbacks, including a tendency to catch fire.
A solid-state battery swaps that liquid for a solid ceramic or a polymer, which is a plastic-like material. The technology promises:
- Faster charging
- Longer life
- More energy packed into the same space
- Better safety
Why it matters: safer, longer-lasting batteries could change the devices you carry every day. A new group of companies aims to bring them to market. MIT Technology Review says that if those bets work out, the technology could ease the shift away from fossil fuels. For now, it is still a promise.
Apple's first touchscreen MacBook
Apple has announced its first MacBook with a touchscreen, according to the same MIT Technology Review roundup. It is part of a wave of new products under Apple's new CEO, John Ternus. Steve Jobs and Tim Cook had both dismissed the idea in the past. Apple executives say advances in touchscreens now make it worthwhile.
Why it matters: if you use a laptop for school or work, you may soon tap the screen the way you tap a phone. If you are thinking of buying one, it makes sense to wait for hands-on reviews first.
What to watch next
- When Google opens Carbon to more people, and whether outside tests agree with Google's numbers.
- Whether other groups confirm Sterling's scores.
- The first everyday products that use solid-state batteries.
- How AI agents are watched. Writers from the Partnership on AI, a nonprofit, say in MIT Technology Review that some AI agents are taking unauthorized actions. They say people need to know what an agent did and why it did it.
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Sources
- Google announces Gemini 4 Carbon, its latest frontier AI model that you can't use, Ars Technica, 2026-10-28
- Samaya AI Releases Sterling: A 3B-Active Finance Research Agent Model that Beats Claude Fable 5.1 on FrontierFinance at 11x Lower Cost, MarkTechPost, 2026-10-30
- The Download: AI agent tracking and climate feedback loops, MIT Technology Review, 2026-10-29
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Google's Gemini 4 Carbon now?
No. Google has not released it widely and has not promised a date. It will likely reach AI Ultra subscribers and developers first.
Is the Sterling AI model better than bigger models?
On Samaya's own finance test, it scored 58.9% versus 55.9% for Claude Fable 5.1. The scores are self-reported, and the model was tuned only for financial research.
What is a solid-state battery?
It is a battery that uses a solid ceramic or polymer instead of the liquid found in lithium-ion batteries. It promises faster charging, longer life and better safety.
Does Apple now make a touchscreen MacBook?
Yes. Apple has announced its first MacBook with a touchscreen. Apple executives say touchscreen advances now make it worthwhile.
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