YouTube has rolled out a series of new premium features aimed at podcast listeners, including an AI-powered playback tool that automatically adjusts listening speed and a new audio-focused mode for users on the move, as the Google-owned platform seeks to strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive podcast market.

The new features, announced on Thursday, May 28, are initially available to YouTube Premium subscribers on Android devices, with iOS support expected in the coming months.

The most prominent addition is “Auto Speed”, a feature that automatically adjusts playback speed depending on the content being consumed. YouTube said the tool is designed to accelerate slower speech segments while maintaining comprehension during information-dense portions of podcasts and videos.

On-the-go mode
YouTube also introduced “On-the-go Mode”, a simplified listening experience with streamlined playback controls aimed at commuters, runners and multitaskers. The feature makes it easier to access functions such as skipping forward and backwards while listening to podcasts, talk shows and other long-form content in the background, optimising YouTube for users who are physically on the move.

In addition, YouTube is expanding its AI-powered “Ask Music” recommendation tool to podcasts.

The feature enables YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium subscribers in select countries to request podcast suggestions based on genres, moods or shows they already enjoy, using natural language prompts.

Growing podcast audience
The rollout comes as YouTube continues to cement its position as one of the world’s largest podcast platforms. The company said YouTube Podcasts now attracts more than one billion monthly active viewers globally.

It also disclosed that YouTube Premium users watched more than 800 million hours of podcast content in April 2026 alone, highlighting growing demand for long-form audio and video programming on the platform.

The latest updates reflect YouTube’s broader effort to compete more directly with podcast-focused platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, while leveraging its strengths in video, discovery algorithms and creator ecosystems. Netflix is also investing heavily in video podcasts, intensifying competition for listener attention.

The introduction of AI-driven recommendations and adaptive listening tools signals a growing focus among streaming platforms on improving content discovery and retention.

YouTube did not indicate whether the new podcast features would eventually be extended beyond Premium subscribers.

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The US has carried out what it described as “self-defence strikes” on Iranian radar and drone command-and-control infrastructure following the reported shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone over international waters, marking the latest escalation in tensions across the Gulf region.

According to a statement posted by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on X, American forces targeted radar installations and drone command facilities in Goruk and on Qeshm Island over the weekend after Iran allegedly brought down a US MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). CENTCOM said US fighter aircraft subsequently destroyed Iranian air defence systems, a drone ground control station and two one-way attack drones that were assessed as threats to vessels transiting regional waters. No American personnel were injured in the operation, the statement further said.

The MQ-1 Predator, developed by General Atomics, is one of the most influential military drones ever deployed. The platform was originally designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions before evolving into an armed drone capable of carrying precision-guided weapons.

Equipped with advanced sensors, communications systems and Hellfire missiles, it can perform a wide range of missions including reconnaissance, close air support, combat search and rescue, convoy overwatch and target tracking.

A typical Predator system includes four aircraft, a ground control station, satellite communications links and support equipment. The aircraft is operated remotely by a pilot and sensor operator, either through line-of-sight or satellite communications for beyond-line-of-sight missions.

The drone carries a multi-spectral targeting system that combines infrared imaging, daylight and low-light cameras, laser designation and target illumination capabilities. Its ability to provide real-time video intelligence and conduct precision strikes has made it a key asset in military operations.

Designed for rapid deployment, the Predator can be transported globally and operated from relatively simple airfields. It can remain airborne for extended periods, providing persistent surveillance and strike capabilities while supporting military commanders across a range of operational environments.

According to the US Air Force, the aircraft can remain airborne for more than 20 hours and provide persistent surveillance over strategic areas, making it a key asset for maritime monitoring and military operations. Industry estimates have previously valued a single MQ-1 aircraft at approximately $4m to $5m, depending on mission configuration and payload.

President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran really wanted to make a deal with the US and that it would be a good one for Washington and its allies.

His post comes only hours after the US military said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted a US base in response, the latest in a series of exchanges amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war.

“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us,” Trump posted on Truth Social an hour after midnight.

However, Trump also said it was tougher for him to negotiate with Iran with all the political commentary surrounding the conflict.

“… it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively ‘chirping,’ at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end – It always does!”

Saudi Arabia said it successfully concluded the 1447 AH Hajj season after hosting more than 1.7 million pilgrims, citing the deployment of artificial intelligence, advanced healthcare technologies and large-scale logistics systems that helped deliver an epidemic-free pilgrimage, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The kingdom reported that 1,707,301 pilgrims performed Hajj this year, including around 1.54 million international visitors, while nearly 389,000 pilgrims completed pre-arrival procedures in their home countries through the Makkah Route Initiative.

Saudi authorities described the pilgrimage as a benchmark in crowd management and public health, supported by digital infrastructure and extensive transport networks.

The health sector provided more than 2.5 million services during the season and conducted 410 complex surgical procedures, including 33 open-heart operations, SPA reported.

Authorities also deployed medical robotics for specialised treatments, drones for medicine delivery, and wearable devices to monitor high-risk pilgrims remotely.

Saudi Arabia said no epidemic outbreaks were recorded during the pilgrimage despite ongoing global public health challenges.

To manage the movement of pilgrims, authorities used the AI-powered Sawaher platform, which relied on 16 algorithms and approximately 5,000 cameras to monitor and regulate crowd flows.

The five-storey Jamarat complex, capable of handling 300,000 pilgrims per hour, operated with 386 escalators across its 950-metre structure.

Public transport and municipal facilities

The Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro transported more than two million passengers during the pilgrimage, reducing reliance on buses and supporting the kingdom’s efforts to provide lower-emission transportation options, SPA said.

Infrastructure and municipal services were also expanded across the holy sites. More than 20,000 lighting units were installed on 5,000 towers in Arafat, while authorities planted 60,000 trees to improve shade and reduce heat exposure. Municipal teams removed more than 266,000 tonnes of waste from Makkah and the surrounding holy sites during the season.

Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology said it achieved weather forecasting accuracy of 98 per cent through the use of artificial intelligence and a network of 21 automated stations.

As pilgrims departed, authorities distributed around 1.9 million copies of the Holy Quran translated into 80 languages. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Program hosted 2,500 international pilgrims during the season.

Beyond Hajj operations, Saudi Arabia continued humanitarian assistance programmes in Yemen. SPA reported that the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) provided support, including fuel derivatives valued at $150m and launched a $3m protection programme with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), benefiting 44,722 displaced and refugee individuals.

The kingdom also highlighted developments in its economic diversification efforts, including strategic adjustments within its energy sector, notably Saudi Aramco’s transfer of its stake in PRefChem to PETRONAS.

According to SPA, the combination of digital technologies, healthcare innovations and logistical planning helped Saudi Arabia deliver what it described as a secure and smoothly managed pilgrimage season while supporting broader economic and humanitarian objectives.

Nvidia plans to work with humanoid robot makers in the US, Europe and South Korea in addition to China’s Unitree to build robots for researchers, according to the AI chip company’s executives.

After CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote address in Taiwan on Monday ahead of the Computex trade show, Nvidia announced that the company is working with China’s Unitree, a leading maker of humanoid robots, to provide a standardised version of Unitree’s H2 robot that can be used by academic researchers.

The robot’s body will come from Unitree, its hands will come from Singapore-headquartered Sharpa, and the computing brains of the device will come from Nvidia. Nvidia said that researchers at Stanford University and the University of California San Diego, among others, plan to use the machines.

Unitree, whose dancing robots were the centerpiece of China’s Spring Festival gala earlier this year, is pursuing a public listing in China.

But US lawmakers have alleged that Unitree has extensive ties to the Chinese government and military and have introduced a bill that would ban use of the firm’s robots by researchers who receive US government funding.

Nvidia executives told Reuters that the company plans to pursue more efforts like the Unitree one with robotics firms outside China. They did not name the partners in the US, South Korea and Europe and spoke on condition of anonymity as the plans are not public.

The Nvidia executives said the work with Unitree is aimed at improving the cybersecurity of the Unitree robots for researchers. For example, any software updates meant for the robot’s subsystems will have to flow through Nvidia’s chip, where the code can be checked for authenticity.

By directly integrating Nvidia’s ‘Blackwell’ chips with Unitree’s robot bodies, Nvidia, which plans to use the machines in its own research, will bring the same security features that it uses to protect data center servers, the executives said.

Those security technologies, known as secure boot and confidential computing, are aimed at ensuring the robots cannot run malicious code and that sensitive data cannot be moved off the robots without permission.