Amazon and Perplexity have kicked off the great AI web browser fight

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

Amazon doesn’t want to be a part of Perplexity’s AI-powered shopping experience. In a post on Tuesday, the ecommerce giant says it has “repeatedly requested” that Perplexity stop allowing its Comet AI browser to buy products for customers, which Perplexity has responded to by accusing Amazon of “bullying.”

https://www.theverge.com/news/813755/amazon-perplexity-ai-shopping-agent-block

Affinity’s image-editing apps go “freemium” in first major post-Canva update

image via arstechnica.com
image via arstechnica.com

When graphic design platform-provider Canva bought the Affinity image-editing and publishing apps early last year, we had some major questions about how the companies’ priorities and products would mesh. This week, Canva gave us definitive answers to all of those questions: a brand-new unified Affinity app that melds the Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps into a single piece of software called “Affinity by Canva” that is free to use with a Canva user account, but which gates generative AI features behind Canva’s existing paid subscription plans ($120 a year for individuals).

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/canvas-new-affinity-app-is-free-to-use-but-locks-ai-features-behind-a-subscription/

NPM flooded with malicious packages downloaded more than 86,000 times

image via arstechnica.com
image via arstechnica.com

Attackers are exploiting a major weakness that has allowed them access to the NPM code repository with more than 100 credential-stealing packages since August, mostly without detection. Anyone who regularly downloads packages from NPM should check the Koi post for a list of indicators that their system has been compromised through PhantomRaven. These indicators can be used in system scans to determine whether they’ve been targeted.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/10/npm-flooded-with-malicious-packages-downloaded-more-than-86000-times/

Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

AI writing aid Grammarly is now part of Superhuman, alongside Coda, Superhuman Mail, and a new AI assistant called Superhuman Go. The new Superhuman suite, including all those tools, will be available starting today for everyone with a paid Grammarly Pro subscription. After the company’s rebranding, the standalone writing tool Grammarly still exists, but it’s taking a backseat as Superhuman shifts its focus to offering an AI agent-powered work platform that works in every tab of your browser and knows enough about what’s going on to offer useful suggestions.

https://www.theverge.com/news/808472/grammarly-superhuman-ai-rebrand-relaunch

Photoshop and Premiere Pro’s new AI tools can instantly edit more of your work

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

Adobe has kicked off its annual Max event, giving us a first look at new and upcoming generative AI tools launching for the company’s Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Lightroom Creative Cloud apps. These include updates to Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature that aim to give creators more control over adding, removing or modifying content, and tools that can automate some of the more time-consuming elements of editing photos and videos.

https://www.theverge.com/news/807811/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-premiere-pro-ai-max-2025

Adobe’s SLR-Like Camera App Adds iPhone 17 Support, But There’s a Catch

image via pcmag.com
image via pcmag.com

If you've got an iPhone 17 and have been waiting to try Adobe's Project Indigo app for photography, there's good news. After long delays over hardware compatibility issues, Adobe has found a workaround to offer partial support. Project Indigo rolled out in June and uses computational photography to offer SLR-like results for iPhone users. For photography nerds, the app offers more manual control over focus, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, and more.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/adobes-slr-like-camera-app-adds-iphone-17-support-but-theres-a-catch