💻 OpenAI launches Codex for Windows

Good Morning! OpenAI just released the Codex app for Windows, bringing its AI coding agents directly to the world’s largest developer platform after massive demand. Plus, you will learn how to instantly fix that over-smoothed, fake plastic skin on your AI photos.

Plus, in today’s AI newsletter:

• OpenAI Launches Codex App for Windows

• Apple Launches $599 MacBook Neo

• NotebookLM Launches Cinematic Video Overviews

• How to Fix Plastic AI Skin and Generate Realistic Textures

• 4 new AI tools worth trying

AI NEWS

💻 OpenAI Launches Codex App for Windows

OpenAI has expanded its Codex coding assistant to Windows after the Mac version surpassed 1M downloads in its first week. The app helps developers build software faster by running multiple AI agents that can automate tasks, connect tools, and assist across entire projects.

• AI agents can run coding tasks asynchronously across projects and automate repetitive development work

• Developers can guide, review, and step into agent workflows without losing context

• New OS-level sandbox lets agents safely run inside Windows with restricted tokens and file permissions

• Works directly with tools like PowerShell, avoiding the need for virtual machines or WSL

AI coding assistants are quickly evolving from simple autocomplete tools into full development agents. By bringing Codex directly to Windows, OpenAI is making agent-powered software development accessible to millions more developers.

AI HARDWARE

🍏 Apple Launches $599 MacBook Neo

Apple introduced the MacBook Neo, a budget-friendly laptop designed to compete with Chromebooks and low-end Windows machines. Despite the lower price, it still features Apple’s aluminum design, long battery life, and built-in support for Apple Intelligence.

• Powered by the A18 Pro chip with a 16-core Neural Engine for AI features

• 13-inch Liquid Retina display, Dolby Atmos speakers, and a 1080p webcam

• Up to 16 hours of battery life in a lightweight 2.7-pound aluminum body

• Starts at $599 (256GB) or $699 (512GB with Touch ID) with preorders open now

Apple rarely competes in the budget laptop market. By launching a $599 MacBook with Apple Intelligence support, the company is targeting students and Chromebook users while expanding the entry point into its ecosystem.

AI TOOLS

🎬 NotebookLM Launches Cinematic Video Overviews

Google is upgrading NotebookLM’s video features with Cinematic Video Overviews, a new system that transforms your research materials into fully structured, animated videos with AI acting as a creative director.

• Uses a combination of Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3 to generate animations and rich visuals

• AI acts as a “creative director,” deciding narrative structure, visuals, and storytelling style

• Creates immersive videos directly from your uploaded sources and research notes

• Rolling out now in English for Google AI Ultra users on web and mobile

This pushes AI beyond summarizing documents to automatically producing polished educational videos. Tools like this could redefine how people learn, present research, and create content from raw information.

HOW TO AI

🗂️ How to Fix Plastic AI Skin and Generate Realistic Textures

In this tutorial, you will learn how to instantly fix that over-smoothed, fake plastic skin on your AI photos. Using two free tools, you can easily add natural, photorealistic skin textures to your images without ever needing to open Photoshop.

🧰 Who is This For

• Content creators building a Quiet Sugar aesthetic who need soft yet realistic models

• Founders and marketers scaling their X accounts with high-quality AI visuals

• AI researchers exploring the cutting edge of ComfyUI image enhancements

• Anyone who wants their AI-generated photos to look like actual human beings

STEP 1: Load Your Image into Naughty AI

Head over to the Nordy AI platform and sign in using your Google account. Now locate the search bar at the top and search for "AI skin" in their library and click to open the easy app result you’ll see. Then you’ll see the option to open this app directly in ComfyUI. Once you open app in ComfyUI, zoom in slightly on the interface, click on direct upload, and drop in your overly smooth AI photo.

STEP 2: Process the ComfyUI Workflow

Once your image is uploaded, simply hit run to start the processing. It takes about 24 seconds for the workflow to generate the new textures. When it's done, zoom out to locate the final node, click the three dots on the result, and save your incredibly natural-looking image to your computer.

STEP 3: Try Higgsfield for a Fast Web Alternative

If you want a simpler web interface instead of a node setup, go to Higgsfiel.ai and sign in with Google to claim your 10 free daily credits. Click on the edit menu, select the skin enhancer tool, and upload the AI image you want to fix.

STEP 4: Select Your Texture and Enhance

You will see options for soft, realistic, and imperfect skin. Choose the realistic option for the most natural, human look. Click enhance, which uses just 4 of your daily credits, wait a few seconds for the render to complete, and hit download to save your hyper-realistic final asset.

Google announces an Android app store program and lower developer fees to resolve Epic's antitrust litigation and comply with new rules in Europe and elsewhere.

Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and others sign a pledge at the White House to bear the cost of new electricity generation to power their data centers.

Jensen Huang says Nvidia's recent $30B investment in OpenAI “might be the last time” it invests in the company, because OpenAI is “going to go public”.

⚡ Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Google’s fastest and cheapest Gemini 3 model for heavy developer workloads.

💼 Claude Cowork: Anthropic’s team AI platform with plug-ins

🧠 GPT-5.3 Instant: The latest default ChatGPT model with fewer refusals and fewer hallucinations.

🎥 Replit Animation: Turn text prompts into animated videos

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Thanks for making it to the end! I put my heart into every email I send, I hope you are enjoying it. Let me know your thoughts so I can make the next one even better!

See you tomorrow :)

- Dr. Alvaro Cintas