THE DECODER

Google has launched Firebase Studio, a new cloud-based development environment that puts AI at the center of app creation. The platform expands Firebase's existing toolkit by adding AI workspaces where developers can build complete applications, from mobile apps to websites, using conversational AI. Firebase Studio connects various services, platforms, and interfaces to automatically generate multiple components: user interfaces, backend systems, frontend code, mobile applications, API schemas, and data connections - along with the underlying program logic. Beyond offering a traditional code editor, Firebase Studio includes a prototype agent that developers can control entirely through natural language or visual inputs like diagrams and UI sketches. The system then constructs applications independently based on these specifications.

OpenAI is planning to release three new AI models: GPT-4.1, o3, and o4 mini, according to a report from The Verge citing sources familiar with the company’s roadmap. GPT-4.1 is described as an upgraded version of GPT-4o, the multimodal model introduced last year that processes text, audio, and images in real time. In addition to the full model, OpenAI is expected to offer two smaller variants: GPT-4.1 mini and GPT-4.1 nano. The company is also preparing to launch the full version of the o3 reasoning model, along with a compact variant called o4 mini, which might be released first. References to these models have already been discovered in an updated web version of ChatGPT.