Gemini For Android Will Soon Allow File Uploads Of Any Type
If you’re using Google Gemini on your Android phone, it can currently only accept image uploads, but other file types are on the horizon.
TalkAndroid
Rabbit R1 hands-on: Already more fun and accessible than the Humane AI Pin
At CES this January, startup Rabbit unveiled its first device, just in time for the end of the year of the rabbit according to the lunar calendar. It’s a cute little orange square that was positioned as a “pocket companion that moves AI from words to action.” In other words, it’s basically a dedicated AI machine that acts kind of like a walkie talkie to a virtual assistant.
Sound familiar? You’re probably thinking of the Humane AI Pin, which was announced last year and started shipping this month. I awarded it a score of 50 (out of 100) earlier this month, while outlets like Wired and The Verge gave it similarly low marks of 4 out of 10.
The people at Rabbit have been paying close attention to the aftermath of the Humane AI Pin launch and reviews. It was evident in founder and CEO Jesse Lyu's address at an unboxing event at the TWA hotel in New York last night, where the company showed off the Rabbit R1 and eager early adopters listened rapturously before picking up their pre-orders. Engadget's sample unit is on its way to Devindra Hardawar, who will be tackling this review. But I was in attendance last night to check out units at the event that industry peers were unboxing (thanks to Max Weinbach for the assistance!).
What is the Rabbit R1?
As a refresher, the Rabbit R1 is a bright orange square, co-engineered by Teenage Engineering and Rabbit. It has a 2.88-inch color display built in, an 8-megapixel camera that can face both ways and a scroll wheel reminiscent of the crank on the Playdate. The latter, by the way, is a compact gaming handheld that was also designed by Teenage Engineering, and the Rabbit R1 shares its adorable retro aesthetic. Again, like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1 is supposed to be your portal to an AI-powered assistant and operating system. However, there are a few key differences, which Lyu covered extensively at the launch event last night.
Rabbit R1 vs Humane AI Pin
Let's get this out of the way: The Rabbit R1 already looks a lot more appealing than the Humane AI Pin. First of all, it costs $ 199 — less than a third of the AI Pin's $ 700. Humane also requires a monthly $ 24 subscription fee or its device will be rendered basically useless. Rabbit, as Lyu repeatedly reiterated all night, does not require such a fee. You'll just be responsible for your own cellular service (4G LTE only, no 5G), and can bring your own SIM card or just default to good old Wi-Fi. There, you'll also find the USB-C charging port.
The R1's advantages over the Pin don't end there. By virtue of its integrated screen (instead of a wonky, albeit intriguing projector), the orange square is more versatile and a lot easier to interact with. You can use the wheel to scroll through elements and press the button on the right side to confirm a choice. You could also tap the screen or push down a button to start talking to the software.
Now, I haven’t taken a photo with the device myself, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of images I saw on its screen. Maybe my expectations were pretty low, but when reviewers in a media room were setting up their devices by using the onboard cameras to scan QR codes, I found the images on the screens clear and impressively vibrant. Users won’t just be capturing photos, videos and QR codes with the Rabbit R1, by the way. It also has a Vision feature like the Humane AI Pin that will analyze an image you take and tell you what’s in it. In Lyu’s demo, the R1 told him that it saw a crowd of people at “an event or concert venue.”
We’ll have to wait till Devindra actually takes some pictures with our R1 unit and downloads them from the web-based portal that Rabbit cleverly calls the Rabbit Hole. Its name for camera-based features is Rabbit Eye, which is just kind of delightful. In fact, another thing that distinguishes Rabbit from Humane is the former’s personality. The R1 just oozes character. From the witty feature names to the retro aesthetic to the onscreen animation and the fact that the AI will actually make (cheesy) jokes, Rabbit and Teenage Engineering have developed something that’s got a lot more flavor than Humane’s almost clinical appearance and approach.
Of all the things Lyu took shots at Humane about last night, though, talk of the R1’s thermal performance or the AI Pin’s heat issues was conspicuously absent. To be clear, the R1 is slightly bigger than the Humane device, and it uses an octa-core MediaTek MT6765 processor, compared to the AI Pin’s Snapdragon chip. There’s no indication at the moment that the Rabbit device will run as hot as Humane’s Pin, but I’ve been burned (metaphorically) before and remain cautious.
I am also slightly concerned about the R1’s glossy plastic build. It looks nice and feels lighter than expected, weighing just 115 grams or about a quarter of a pound. The scroll wheel moved smoothly when I pushed it up and down, and there were no physical grooves or notches, unlike the rotating hinge on Samsung’s Galaxy watches. The camera housing lay flush with the rest of the R1’s case, and in general the unit felt refined and finished.
Most of my other impressions of the Rabbit R1 come from Lyu’s onstage demos, where I was surprised by how quickly his device responded to his queries. He was able to type on the R1’s screen and tilted it so that the controls sat below the display instead of to its right. That way, there was enough room for an onscreen keyboard that Lyu said was the same width as the one on the original iPhone.
What’s next for the Rabbit R1?
Rabbit also drew attention for its so-called Large Action Model (LAM), which acts as an interpreter to convert popular apps like Spotify or Doordash into interfaces that work on the R1’s simple-looking operating system. Lyu also showed off some of these at the event last night, but I’d much rather wait for us to test these out for ourselves.
Lyu made many promises to the audience, seeming to acknowledge that the R1 might not be fully featured when it arrives in their hands. Even on the company’s website, there’s a list of features that are planned, in the works or being explored. For one thing, an alarm is coming this summer, along with a calendar, contacts app, GPS support, memory recall and more. Throughout his speech, Lyu repeated the phrase “we’re gonna work on” amid veiled references to Humane (for instance, emphasizing that Rabbit doesn’t require an additional subscription fee). Ultimately, Lyu said “we just keep adding value to this thing,” in reference to a roadmap of upcoming features.
Hopefully, Lyu and his team are able to deliver on the promises they’ve made. I’m already very intrigued by a “teach mode” he teased, which is basically a way to generate macros by recording an action on the R1, and letting it learn what you want to do when you tell it something. Rabbit’s approach certainly seems more tailored to tinkerers and enthusiasts, whereas Humane’s is ambitious and yet closed off. This feels like Google and Apple all over again, except whether the AI device race will ever reach the same scale remains to be seen.
Last night’s event also made it clear what Rabbit wants us to think. It was hosted at the TWA hotel, which itself used to be the head house of the TWA Flight Center. The entire place is an homage to retro vibes, and the entry to Rabbit’s event was lined with display cases containing gadgets like a Pokedex, a Sony Watchman, a Motorola pager, Game Boy Color and more. Every glass box I walked by made me squeal, bringing up a pleasant sense memory that also resurfaced when I played with the R1. It didn't feel good in that it's premium or durable; it felt good because it reminded me of my childhood.
Whether Rabbit is successful with the R1 depends on how you define success. The company has already sold more than 100,000 units this quarter and looks poised to sell at least one more (I’m already whipping out my credit card). I remain skeptical about the usefulness of AI devices, but, in large part due to its price and ability to work with third-party apps at launch, Rabbit has already succeeded in making me feel like Alice entering Wonderland.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-hands-on-already-more-fun-and-accessible-than-the-humane-ai-pin-163622560.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The Morning After: Senate passes the bill that could ban TikTok
The Senate approved a measure that will require ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, in a vote of 79 to 18. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act next goes to President Biden. The president has already said he’ll sign the bill into law. (Yes, as predicted, I'm writing about this again.)
TikTok has faced the ire of US politicians for a few years now, but this bill has picked up support across both political parties. It sailed through the House of Representatives before being approved (bundled with a package for foreign aid) by the Senate on Tuesday.
The bill states that TikTok would have up to 12 months to divest from its parent company ByteDance, or face a ban in US app stores and web hosting services. The company, naturally, has protested this push, calling the bill unconstitutional and vowing to mount a legal challenge if the bill is signed into law. If it does so, it could bounce around courts for years before any eventual ban, if the company declines to sell. A few years is a long time in social media. Ask Snap, or worse, Vine.
And who would buy TikTok? While many major tech companies might love to grab the social network’s engaged young audience, many politicians would balk at making a Big Tech company even bigger. Steve Mnuchin, who was Treasury secretary in the Trump administration, told CNBC he was putting together an investor group. What could go wrong?
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
X, for some reason, has a TV app now
The best travel gear for graduates
Adobe Photoshop’s latest beta makes AI-generated images from simple text prompts
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
Microsoft’s new lightweight AI model can run on smartphones
It can supposedly respond similarly to models 10 times its size.
Microsoft has unveiled its latest light AI model, called the Phi-3 Mini, for smartphones and other local devices. The aim is to provide a cheaper alternative to cloud-powered large language models (LLMs), allowing smaller organizations to adopt AI, with presumably lower energy burdens and without heady processing costs. According to Microsoft, the new model handily outperforms its previous Phi-2 small model and is on par with larger models like Llama 2. In fact, the company says the Phi-3 Mini responds close to the level of a model 10 times its size. The trick is apparently in the data Microsoft used to train its tiny model.
Tesla teases its ride-hailing app ahead of robotaxi unveiling
The feature would be available in the Tesla app ‘in the future.’
Tesla teased ride-hailing features coming to its app ahead of an August robotaxi unveiling. The company released mock-ups of the upcoming feature, which showed the ability to “summon” a ride from the Tesla app. The company has been promising self-driving taxi services for years. Tesla didn’t offer many details, but it seems to have Uber-like functionality and the ability to remotely set the car’s temperature before arrival.
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses get improved AI smarts that don’t require a subscription
Take that, Humane.
After a few months of testing, Meta is bringing multimodal AI to its smart glasses. Multimodal AI means the system can process multiple types of information, including photos, videos, text and audio. You might have seen feature showcases of AI-connected devices that can view what a device is looking at and offer extra information — that kind of thing. Meta also announced hands-free video call integration with WhatsApp and Messenger and a few more frame designs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-senate-passes-the-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-111556543.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Apple is about to do the unthinkable to its iPads
Since its release in 2010, the iPad has been missing one critical yet extremely basic feature. Now, it looks like that’s finally changing in 2024.
Digital Trends
The world’s leading AI companies pledge to protect the safety of children online
Leading artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta and others have jointly pledged to prevent their AI tools from being used to exploit children and generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The initiative was led by child-safety group Thorn and All Tech Is Human, a non-profit focused on responsible tech.
The pledges from AI companies, Thorn said, “set a groundbreaking precedent for the industry and represent a significant leap in efforts to defend children from sexual abuse as a feature with generative AI unfolds.” The goal of the initiative is to prevent the creation of sexually explicit material involving children and take it off social media platforms and search engines. More than 104 million files of suspected child sexual abuse material were reported in the US in 2023 alone, Thorn says. In the absence of collective action, generative AI is poised to make this problem worse and overwhelm law enforcement agencies that are already struggling to identify genuine victims.
On Tuesday, Thorn and All Tech Is Human released a new paper titled “Safety by Design for Generative AI: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse” that outlines strategies and lays out recommendations for companies that build AI tools, search engines, social media platforms, hosting companies and developers to take steps to prevent generative AI from being used to harm children.
One of the recommendations, for instance, asks companies to choose data sets used to train AI models carefully and avoid ones only only containing instances of CSAM but also adult sexual content altogether because of generative AI’s propensity to combine the two concepts. Thorn is also asking social media platforms and search engines to remove links to websites and apps that let people “nudity” images of children, thus creating new AI-generated child sexual abuse material online. A flood of AI-generated CSAM, according to the paper, will make identifying genuine victims of child sexual abuse more difficult by increasing the “haystack problem” — an reference to the amount of content that law enforcement agencies must current sift through.
“This project was intended to make abundantly clear that you don’t need to throw up your hands,” Thorn’s vice president of data science Rebecca Portnoff told the Wall Street Journal. “We want to be able to change the course of this technology to where the existing harms of this technology get cut off at the knees.”
Some companies, Portnoff said, had already agreed to separate images, video and audio that involved children from data sets containing adult content to prevent their models from combining the two. Others also add watermarks to identify AI-generated content, but the method isn’t foolproof — watermarks and metadata can be easily removed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-worlds-leading-ai-companies-pledge-to-protect-the-safety-of-children-online-213558797.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Something Leaks From Nothing; Breach Reveals Email Addresses
If you’re a member of the Nothing Community, the company’s online forum, your email address might just have been leaked online.
TalkAndroid
Is the Oura Ring waterproof?
The Oura Ring is a powerful wearable device, allowing you to track your sleep patterns, wellness, and more. But is it waterproof? It’s time to find out.
Digital Trends
Honor 200 Lite Details Leak Ahead Of Launch
Honor has revealed the launch date of its upcoming 200 Lite smartphone, along with official images. Take a look at what the phone will look like!
TalkAndroid
5 phones you should buy instead of the iPhone 15
Thinking about buying the iPhone 15? Wait! Here are five other alternatives you should consider instead.
Digital Trends
Tinder is making it easier to share date details with family and friends
Tinder has revealed a feature that both helps users share their excitement about a date with loved ones and acts as a safety tool. The Share My Date feature lets users share details about a planned date with a single link.
The URL can point to details including the location, date and time of the rendezvous along with a photo of your match and a link to their profile. The page can include some notes too. You can edit your date plans so those you share that link with have the most up-to-date info. Dates can be set in the app up to 30 days in advance. For those lucky folks out there who have a bunch of matches they make IRL plans with, you can create an unlimited number of dates and share those with your loved ones.
Tinder says that around 51 percent of users under 30 already share date details with their friends, while 19 percent of users do so with their mom. It's always a good idea to let someone know where and when you're going on a date and details about the person you're meeting up with, just to be safe. Share My Date could simplify the process a bit. Back in 2020, Match.com debuted a date check-in feature that let users send details about their date to emergency contacts if things weren't going well.
Tinder will roll out Share My Date over the coming months. It'll be available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, India, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, Netherlands, Italy, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tinder-is-making-it-easier-to-share-date-details-with-family-and-friends-040105977.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Google Gemini To Support Third-Party Music Streaming Apps
Google Gemini is about to take a little more from Google Assistant, and will soon be able to support requests related to third-party music streaming apps.
TalkAndroid
This Android phone is a surprisingly great buy at $100
One of the rare phone deals that lets you take home a new phone for just $ 100, don’t miss this deal on the Motorola Moto G smartphone.
Digital Trends
Tesla cuts Model Y, X and S prices in the US and says it’s ending the referral program
Another round of price cuts has shaved $ 2,000 off the starting prices of Tesla’s Model Y, Model X and Model S for buyers in the US, Reuters reports. The company’s North America branch posted on X about the change to the Model Y on Friday night, at the same time announcing that Tesla is ditching its referral program benefits in all markets. According to Tesla, the “current referral program benefits will end after April 30.”
Tesla’s Model Y now starts at $ 42,990 for the rear-wheel drive base model, $ 47,990 for the Model Y Long Range or $ 51,490 for the Model Y Performance. The base Model S has dropped to $ 72,990 while the Model S Plaid now starts at $ 87,990. The Model X starts at $ 77,990 (base) or $ 92,990 (Plaid). The changes come during a rocky few weeks for the company, which just issued a recall for Cybertrucks over possible issues with the accelerator pedal, reportedly laid off 10 percent of its employees and reported a decline in deliveries for the first quarter.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-cuts-model-y-x-and-s-prices-in-the-us-and-says-its-ending-the-referral-program-172311662.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Pixel 9 Pro Leaked Images Reveal Tweaked Design
Live images of the alleged Google Pixel 9 Pro prototype have leaked, confirming previously rendered designs that suggest its smaller size.
TalkAndroid
House votes in favor of bill that could ban TikTok, sending it onward to Senate
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could either see TikTok banned in the country or force its sale. A revised version of the bill, which previously passed the House in March but later stalled in Senate, was roped in with a foreign aid package this time around, likely meaning it will now be treated as a higher priority item. The bill originally gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell the app if it’s passed into law or TikTok would be banned from US app stores. Under the revised version, ByteDance would have up to a year to divest.
The bill passed with a vote of 360-58 in the House, according to AP. It’ll now move on to the Senate, which could vote on it in just a matter of days. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said today that the Senate is working to reach an agreement on when the next vote will be for the foreign aid package that the TikTok bill is attached to, but it is expected to happen this coming Tuesday. President Joe Biden has previously said he would support the bill if Congress passes it.
The bill paints TikTok as a national security threat due to its ties to China. There are roughly 170 million US users on the app, at least according to TikTok, and ByteDance isn’t expected to let them go without a fight. In a statement posted on X earlier this week, the TikTok Policy account said such a law would “trample the free speech rights” of these users, “devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $ 24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually.” Critics of the bill have also argued that banning TikTok would do little in the way of actually protecting Americans’ data.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-sending-it-onward-to-senate-185140206.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Microsoft’s AI tool can turn photos into realistic videos of people talking and singing
Microsoft Research Asia has unveiled a new experimental AI tool called VASA-1 that can take a still image of a person — or the drawing of one — and an existing audio file to create a lifelike talking face out of them in real time. It has the ability to generate facial expressions and head motions for an existing still image and the appropriate lip movements to match a speech or a song. The researchers uploaded a ton of examples on the project page, and the results look good enough that they could fool people into thinking that they’re real.
While the lip and head motions in the examples could still look a bit robotic and out of sync upon closer inspection, it’s still clear that the technology could be misused to easily and quickly create deepfake videos of real people. The researchers themselves are aware of that potential and have decided not to release “an online demo, API, product, additional implementation details, or any related offerings” until they’re sure that their technology “will be used responsibly and in accordance with proper regulations.” They didn’t, however, say whether they’re planning to implement certain safeguards to prevent bad actors from using them for nefarious purposes, such as to create deepfake porn or misinformation campaigns.
The researchers believe their technology has a ton of benefits despite its potential for misuse. They said it can be used to enhance educational equity, as well as to improve accessibility for those with communication challenges, perhaps by giving them access to an avatar that can communicate for them. It can also provide companionship and therapeutic support for those who need it, they said, insinuating the VASA-1 could be used in programs that offer access to AI characters people can talk to.
According to the paper published with the announcement, VASA-1 was trained on the VoxCeleb2 Dataset, which contains “over 1 million utterances for 6,112 celebrities” that were extracted from YouTube videos. Even though the tool was trained on real faces, it also works on artistic photos like the Mona Lisa, which the researchers amusingly combined with an audio file of Anne Hathaway’s viral rendition of Lil Wayne’s Paparazzi. It’s so delightful, it’s worth a watch, even if you’re doubting what good a technology like this can do.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-ai-tool-can-turn-photos-into-realistic-videos-of-people-talking-and-singing-070052240.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
One of Tesla’s biggest competitors is making a phone
Polestar, which has dreams of toppling Tesla one day, is making a gorgeous phone that will live as part of its connected electric car ecosystem.
Digital Trends
Baldur’s Gate 3 developer confirms it won’t make the sequel
The developer behind the popular, award-winning and slightly bawdy Baldur's Gate 3 confirmed that it won't be doing Baldur's Gate 4 — but it does have other irons in the fire.
"We won't be introducing any major new narrative content to the story of Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3) or its origin characters and companions, nor will we be making expansions or Baldur’s Gate 4," Larian Studio wrote in a community update on Steam. "We’re currently working on two new projects and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store."
Larian promised more news about the new games "later down the line," but did give a hint about the style. "Know that even as our focus turns to these new games, the sensibilities that brought you Baldur’s Gate 3 are alive and well here at the Larian castle. I don’t know if we’re going to pull it off, but looking at our narrative, visual and gameplay plans, I think what we’re working on now will be our best work ever."
Baldur's Gate 3 has been praised for its breadth, character development, puzzles, combat, D&D fidelity and, of course, intimate relationships. It sold around 15 million copies, far exceeding the expectations of the studio, while pretty much sweeping game accolades over the last year. Namely, it took game of the year prizes at The Game Awards, The Steam Awards, D.I.C.E. awards, Streamer Awards, Hugo Awards, GLAAD Media Awards and others.
Director Swen Vincke previously revealed that the studio dropped plans for BG3 DLC and a sequel, partly due to constraints imposed by the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition mechanics. Still, there's no question of a sequel for the Hasbro-owned property. "We've done our job. It's a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. So let's pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy," he added.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baldurs-gate-3-developer-confirms-it-wont-make-the-sequel-091930642.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Huawei P Series Officially Refreshes With The Pura 70 Series
Huawei’s P series of smartphones has been rebranded to the Pura series, with the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, Pura 70 Pro+, and the Pura 70 Ultra at the pinnacle.
TalkAndroid
Netflix is done telling us how many people use Netflix
Netflix will stop disclosing the number of people who signed up for its service, as well as the revenue it generates from each subscriber from next year, the company announced on Thursday. It will focus, instead, on highlighting revenue growth and the amount of time spent on its platform.
“In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential,” the company said in a letter to shareholders. “But now we’re generating very substantial profit and free cash flow.”
Netflix revealed that the service added 9.33 million subscribers over the last few months, bringing the total number of paying households worldwide to nearly 270 million. Despite its decision to stop reporting user numbers each quarter, Netflix said that the company will “announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them,” which means we’ll probably hear about it when it crosses 300 million.
Netflix estimates that more than half a billion people around the world watch TV shows and movies through its service, an audience it is now figuring out how to squeeze even more money out of through new pricing tiers, a crackdown on password-sharing, and showing ads. Over the last few years, it has also steadily added games like the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, Hades, Dead Cells, Braid, and more, to its catalog.
Subscriber metrics are an important signal to Wall Street because they show how quickly a company is growing. But Netflix’s move to stop reporting these is something that we’ve seen from other companies before. In February, Meta announced that it would no longer break out the number of daily and monthly Facebook users each quarter but only reveal how many people collectively used Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. In 2018, Apple, too, stopped reporting the number of iPhones, iPads, and Macs it sold each quarter, choosing to focus, instead, on how much money it made in each category.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-is-done-telling-us-how-many-people-use-netflix-215149971.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
There’s Something Exciting About Heineken’s Boring Phone
Heineken and Bodega collaborates with modern day Nokia-brand owner for the most ‘exciting’ feature phone yet.
TalkAndroid
Amazon Fire HD 10 and Fire Max 11 prices slashed… for now
The Amazon Fire HD 10 and the Amazon Fire Max 11, two affordable tablets, are currently even cheaper from Amazon, but only if you complete your purchase now.
Digital Trends
Comcast Launches NOW: A Cheap Internet, TV, and Mobile Brand
Comcast’s new sub-brand, NOW, will provide cheaper option if you’re looking for an internet, mobile, or TV service provider.
TalkAndroid
iPhone SE 4: news, rumored price, release date, and more
The iPhone SE is a great option for those who want an iPhone on a budget. But what’s coming next for the iPhone SE? Here’s everything we know.
Digital Trends
Take-Two plans to lay off 5 percent of its employees by the end of 2024
Take-Two Interactive plans to lay off 5 percent of its workforce, or about 600 employees, by the end of the year, as reported in an SEC filing Tuesday. The studio is also canceling several in-development projects. These moves are expected to cost $ 160 million to $ 200 million to implement, and should result in $ 165 million in annual savings for Take-Two.
As the owner of Grand Theft Auto and the parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, Zynga and Gearbox, Take-Two is a juggernaut in the video game industry. It reported $ 5.3 billion in revenue in 2023, a nearly $ 2 billion increase over the previous year. Just a few weeks ago, Take-Two agreed to purchase Gearbox, the studio responsible for Borderlands, for $ 460 million. The company is preparing to release Grand Theft Auto VI in 2025, a move that should bring in billions on its own.
Take-Two instituted a round of layoffs in 2023 across Private Division — the indie label behind Kerbal Space Program, The Outer Worlds and Rollerdrome — and other in-house studios.
An estimated 8,800 people in the video game industry have lost their jobs in 2024 so far, and a total of 10,500 industry employees were laid off in 2023. These are, depressingly, record–breaking figures. Sony laid off about 900 people at PlayStation in February; Microsoft fired about 1,900 workers across its gaming division in January; Riot Games let go more than 500 people that same month — and these are just some of the most recent AAA layoffs. Take-Two is now at the head of this list.
Take-Two executives have been hinting at a "significant cost reduction program" coming this year, but before today, they deflected questions about mass layoffs. In March, CEO Strauss Zelnick said on an investor call, "The hardest thing to do is to lay off colleagues and we have no current plans."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/take-two-plans-to-lay-off-5-percent-of-its-employees-by-the-end-of-2024-235903990.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
HMD’s first phones just leaked, and I’m mighty disappointed
HMD teased us with some peppy designs earlier this year. But fresh leaks revealing its new Pulse phones simply hurt my heart.
Digital Trends
Pixel 9 To Get Emergency Satellite Connectivity
Google is about to introduce satellite connectivity on its upcoming smartphones, starting with the Pixel 9. Here’s how it will work:
TalkAndroid
Something strange might happen to the Google Pixel Fold 2
Google Pixel Fold 2? Maybe not. A new rumor suggests Google is considering a different name for this year’s foldable phone, and it’s an odd one.
Digital Trends
Inside Stellar Data Recovery For Android – An Android Recovery Software
When it comes to recovering important data or chats from your smartphone, Stellar Data Recovery for Android offers a user-friendly experience.
TalkAndroid
This crazy headband uses music and brainwaves to make you a better athlete
The Alphabeats headband combines your choice of music with an EEG brainwave readout to help train your brain to function in its optimal state.
Digital Trends
The best wireless workout headphones for 2024
Setting the mood with the right music can make working out easier and more enjoyable. Wireless workout headphones give you the freedom to do any kind of exercise you prefer, be it weight-lifting or skateboarding, untethered and in your own little world with your audio of choice. But if you plan on sweating or doing anything more vigorous than a brisk walk with your headphones, there are things to consider like water resistance, battery life and overall comfort. And if you want just one pair that you can use in and out of the gym, the decision can quickly get complicated. At Engadget, we’ve tested a bunch of fitness-ready headphones and earbuds to come up with our top picks, plus some advice to consider before you pick up a pair.
What to look for in workout headphones
Design
Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that this guide focuses on wireless earbuds. While you could wear over-ear or on-ear headphones during a workout, most of the best headphones available now do not have the same level of durability. Water and dust resistance, particularly the former, is important for any audio gear you plan on sweating with or taking outdoors, and that’s more prevalent in the wireless earbuds world.
Most earbuds have one of three designs: in-ear, in-ear with hook or open-ear. The first two are the most popular. In-ears are arguably the most common, while those with hooks promise better security and fit since they have an appendage that curls around the top of your ear. Open-ear designs don’t stick into your ear canal, but rather sit just outside of it. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while also listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who don’t like the intrusiveness of in-ear buds.
Water resistance and dust protection
Even if a pair of buds aren’t marketed specifically as workout headphones, a sturdy, water-resistant design will, by default, make them suitable for exercise. To avoid repetition, here’s a quick primer on durability, or ingression protection (IP) ratings. The first digit you’ll see after the “IP” refers to protection from dust and other potential intrusions, measured on a scale from 1 to 6. The second refers to water resistance or even waterproofing, in the best cases. The ratings for water resistance are ranked on a scale of 1 to 9; higher numbers mean more protection, while the letter “X” means the device is not rated for protection in that regard.
All of the earbuds we tested for this guide have at least an IPX4 rating, which means there’s no dust protection, but the buds can withstand splashes from any direction and are sweat resistant, but probably shouldn’t be submerged. For a detailed breakdown of all the possible permutations, check out this guide published by a supplier called The Enclosure Company.
Active noise cancellation and transparency mode
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is becoming standard on wireless earbuds, at least those above a certain price point. If you’re looking for a pair of buds that can be your workout companion and serve you outside of the gym, too, noise cancelation is a good feature to have. It makes the buds more versatile, allowing you to block out the dull roar of your home or office so you can focus, or give you some solitude during a busy commute.
But an earbud’s ability to block out the world goes hand-in-hand with its ability to open things back up should you need it. Many ANC earbuds also support some sort of “transparency mode,” or various levels of noise reduction. This is important for running headphones because exercising outdoors, alongside busy streets, can be dangerous. You probably don’t want to be totally oblivious to what’s going on around you when you’re running outside; adjusting noise cancelation levels to increase your awareness will help with that. Stronger noise cancelation might be more appealing to those doing more indoor training if they want to block out the dull roar of a gym or the guy exaggeratingly lifting weights next to you.
Battery life
All of the earbuds we tested have a battery life of six to eight hours. In general, that’s what you can expect from this space, with a few outliers that can get up to 15 hours of life on a charge. Even the low end of the spectrum should be good enough for most athletes and gym junkies, but it’ll be handy to keep the buds’ charging case on you if you think you’ll get close to using up all their juice during a single session.
You’ll get an average of 20 to 28 extra hours of battery out of most charging cases and all of the earbuds we tested had holders that provided at least an extra 15 hours. This will dictate how often you actually have to charge the device — as in physically connect the case with earbuds inside to a charging cable, or set it on a wireless charger to power up.
How we test
In testing wireless workout headphones, I wear them during every bit of exercise I do — be it a casual walk around the block, a brisk morning run or a challenging weight-lifting session. I’m looking for comfort arguably most of all, because you should never be fussing with your earbuds when you should be focusing on working out. In the same vein, I’m cognizant of if they get loose during fast movements or slippery when I’m sweating. I also use the earbuds when not exercising to take calls and listen to music throughout the day. Many people will want just one pair of earbuds that they can use while exercising and just doing everyday things, so I evaluate each pair on their ability to be comfortable and provide a good listening experience in multiple different activities.
While I am also evaluating sound quality, I’m admittedly not an audio expert. My colleague Billy Steele holds that title at Engadget, and you’ll find much more detailed information about audio quality for some of our top picks in his reviews and buying guides. Here, however, I will make note of related issues if they stood out (i.e. if a pair of earbuds had noticeably strong bass out of the box, weak highs, etc). Most of the wireless workout headphones we tested work with companion apps that have adjustable EQ settings, so you’ll be able to tweak sound profiles to your liking in most cases.
Others wireless workout headphones we tested
Apple AirPods Pro
The Apple AirPods Pro have an IP54 rating, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. While that’s more dust protection than many other earbuds we tested, it’s the same level of water resistance that most exercise-specific competitors have. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer many of the same features and conveniences (namely good transparency mode and the H1 chip), with a design that’s more appropriate for working out.
Beats Powerbeats Pro
The Powerbeats Pro are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $ 50 more than the Fit Pro (although they often hover around $ 180) and don’t offer any significant upgrades or additional features aside from their design. They’re also quite old at this point (launched in 2019) and it appears Beats is putting more effort into upgrading and updating its newer models rather than this model.
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro
The Soundcore AeroFit Pro is Anker’s version of the Shokz OpenFit, but I found it to be less secure and not as comfortable as the latter. The actual earbuds on the AeroFit Pro are noticeably bulkier than those on the OpenFit, which caused them to shift and move much more when I was wearing them during exercise. They never fell off my ears completely, but I spent more time adjusting them than I did enjoying them.
JBL Endurance Peak 3
The most noteworthy thing about the Endurance Peak 3 is that they have the same IP68-rating that the Jabra Elite 8 Active do, but they only cost $ 100. But, while you get the same protection here, you’ll have to sacrifice in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 didn’t blow me away when it came to sound quality or comfort (the hook is more rigid than those on my favorite buds of a similar style) and their charging case is massive compared to most competitors.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-wireless-workout-headphones-191517835.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
ZTE’s New Axon 60 Ultra Is Great, But You Truly Can’t Buy It
The ZTE Axon 60 Ultra is a beast of a smartphone, and it goes big on everything, from the screen to the battery. Problem is, you won’t be able to buy it.
TalkAndroid
The new Blink Mini 2 home security camera is on sale for only $30 right now
The Blink Mini 2 home security camera was only announced a month ago, and it’s already on sale. The camera is 25 percent off in both colors — black and white — in a deal on Amazon, bringing the already budget-friendly system down to just $ 30. The Blink Mini 2 can be used indoors or outdoors, offers HD footage in the daytime or at night and has an LED spotlight. It can be paired with one of Amazon’s smart displays for Alexa voice controls. The camera is a plug-in device, though, so you’ll need to place it somewhere with an outlet.
You’ll also need to pick up the weather-resistant power adapter if you intend to put it outside. A bundle including that adapter is on sale as well, shaving $ 10 off its normal price of $ 50. Amazon-owned Blink announced the Mini 2 camera in March, touting improvements to image quality and the option for HD night view in color thanks to its spotlight. The camera also has motion detection and two-way audio, so you can hear what’s going on and, if you want, let whoever’s on the other side hear you too.
With the Blink subscription, you can get additional features out of the Mini 2. That includes smart notifications, like person detection, the ability to stream up to 90 minutes of live video and cloud storage for event clips. If you already own a Blink Video Doorbell, the Mini 2 camera can be used with that system to work as a chime when someone rings the doorbell. In the box you’ll get one camera, a mounting kit and stand, and one USB-C cable and power adapter for indoor use.
Purchasing the Mini 2 will get you a 30-day free trial of the Blink Subscription Plan, too. If you plan on keeping it after that, it’ll cost $ 3 per month per device. You can also opt to pay $ 10 per month to cover an unlimited amount of devices if you have a multi-camera setup.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-blink-mini-2-home-security-camera-is-on-sale-for-only-30-right-now-144843425.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Bluesky now allows heads of state to join the platform
Now that Bluesky has opened itself up to the public and introduced some new moderation options, the team’s decided it’s finally time to allow world leaders on board, too. A post from the official Bluesky account on Friday notified users, “By the way… we lifted our ‘no heads of state’ policy.” The policy has been in place for the last year as Bluesky worked through all the early growing pains of being a budding social network.
Bluesky remained an invite-only platform from its launch in February 2023 until February of this year, when it finally ditched the waitlist. Bluesky had said last May that it wasn’t ready for heads of state to join, and even asked users to give its support team notice “before you invite prominent figures.” It’s since grown to more than 5 million users, gaining roughly a million alone in the day after it stopped requiring invite codes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bluesky-now-allows-heads-of-state-to-join-the-platform-202700504.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
UK App Developers Take Apple To Court For $1 Billion
Apple’s App Store is currently the only place to download apps for an iPhone and it lets the tech giant enforce any profit sharing cut they want. That looks set to change.
TalkAndroid
Our favorite Sony wireless earbuds are on sale for a record-low price
If you’ve been eyeing Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds but were put off by the steep price tag, now would be the perfect time to pick up a set. The premium earbuds, normally $ 300, are down to a record low price of $ 230 on Amazon, for a savings of $ 70. This deal only applies to the earbuds in black. The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds were released in summer 2023 and brought major upgrades over the previous model. They boast the best noise cancellation and call quality of Sony’s earbuds lineup, and have built-in Alexa support.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are our top pick for the best earbuds for this year. They’re more comfortable than the WF-1000XM4s, being 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter for a much better fit. The charging case, too, is more compact than its predecessor. In terms of sound quality, they further improve upon the already impressive capabilities of the 1000X line. The speakers are slightly larger than the previous model’s, and their Dynamic Driver X drivers make for rich, clear sound and bassier bass. Sony WF-1000XM5 scored an 87 in our review last year.
The earbuds offer Adaptive Sound Control, which will automatically adjust your noise cancellation settings to work best for the environment you’re in or activity you’re doing. You may want active noise cancellation on when you’re working from home, but switch to transparency mode when you’re going out for a run. You’ll need to enable location services for this feature using Sony’s Headphones Connect app.
The app allows for other types of customization as well, like changing the controls assigned to the touch sensors on the earbuds. Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds also support multipoint Bluetooth connections, which means you can pair them with two devices at the same time. There’s a Speak-to-Chat mode that pauses audio when it senses you’ve started a conversation, and an equalizer in the app where you can adjust your sound settings.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/our-favorite-sony-wireless-earbuds-are-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-145310563.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 deals: Get the foldable for free
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a great foldable phone that looks super stylish and is speedy too. We’ve got all the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 deals here.
Digital Trends
Tesla halves the price of its Full Self Driving (Supervised) subscription to $99 per month
The price of a monthly subscription to Tesla's (kind-of) self-driving software has just been cut in half. Tesla's Full Self Driving (Supervised) subscription now costs $ 99 per month, a reduction from the previous standard of $ 199.
Tesla instituted the $ 199 monthly upgrade fee in 2021, back when its self-driving system was still in beta. It costs $ 12,000 to add Full Self Driving (Supervised) — full name, every time — to a Tesla outright, so at the current rate, it'll take 10 years for the subscription to lose its value. As far as installment plans go, this one seems like a solid deal. To be fair, so was the $ 199 rate, which gave (self-)drivers five years before hitting $ 12,000 in fees.
You can now subscribe to FSD (Supervised) for $ 99/month in the UShttps://t.co/0IwC9GC0aF
Upgrades > Software Upgrades > Subscribe
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 12, 2024
Tesla is doing what it can to make its EVs (and its stock) more attractive following a rough financial quarter to kick off 2024. For the first time since 2020, Tesla EV shipments fell year-over-year and they dipped significantly compared with the previous quarter. In the first months of 2024, Tesla deliveries were down eight percent yearly and down 20 percent over the final quarter of 2023. Analysts expected Tesla to ship 449,080 EVs in Q1 2024, but it delivered just 386,810.
The company offered a free trial of Full Self Driving (Supervised), which does not make the vehicle autonomous, to Tesla drivers at the end of 2023, seemingly in an attempt to boost its bottom line before reporting came due. As of March 2024, Tesla salespeople in North America are required to demonstrate Full Self Driving (Supervised) to anyone buying a vehicle. The prices of all Model Y vehicles also rose by $ 1,000 on April 1.
Tesla hasn't shared shipment numbers for the Cybertruck, which started rolling out late last year. The company is preparing to release a "next-generation low-cost" EV in 2025. Probably.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-halves-the-price-of-its-full-self-driving-supervised-subscription-to-99-per-month-215321467.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Here’s every color that will be available for the Google Pixel 8a
The Google Pixel 8a has leaked again, this time revealing all four of the phone’s colors. And they’re … interesting, to say the least.
Digital Trends
T-Mobile’s Smart Equality Program Now Extends To Flagships
T-Mobile wants to make it easier for you to buy the best phones.
TalkAndroid
OnePlus and Oppo Phones Will Get Gemini Ultra Later in 2024
Flagship phones from Oppo and OnePlus look set to adopt the Google Gemini Ultra model on their devices, and to be the first to do so.
TalkAndroid
Yale unveils its first retrofit smartlock and keypad
Yale is making it easier to go key-free with a smart lock system that can be retrofitted onto most existing deadbolts. You won't need to replace existing hardware with the Yale Approach Lock with Wi-Fi. It's an interior-only smart lock that Yale says takes just 10 minutes or so to install and you'll only need a screwdriver to help you get the job done. It also has a fairly slim profile as it will sit just 1.6 inches off the door.
Once the smart lock is installed, you'll be able to use features like Auto-Lock and Auto-Unlock. If you're away from home and want to let in a friend to water the plants or check on your pets, you can unlock the door remotely via the Yale Access app. What's more, the Yale Approach is renter-friendly. It sits on the back of most standard deadbolts and you (and your landlord) can keep using the same keys. In addition, Yale Approach works with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings. Matter support will be added later.
Also new is the Yale Keypad, which is compatible with the Yale Approach, several of the company's other products and many August smart locks. Using the one-touch locking feature, you can lock the door and unlock it with a personalized code. You can provide guests with unique access codes. The backlit keypad is also IPX5-rated for weather resistance and you can place it anywhere within the lock's Bluetooth range. Yale plans to release a version later this year that will let you unlock the door with your fingerprint.
Both items are available now in the US from Yale's and August's websites. The Yale Approach, which is available in black suede or silver, costs $ 130, while the Yale Keypad is $ 70. A bundle is available for $ 180. The devices will hit Amazon and other retailers soon. They'll also be available in Canada through Amazon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yale-unveils-its-first-retrofit-smartlock-and-keypad-165842682.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Walmart Has A 4K Google TV Box In The Pipeline
Walmart could soon launch the pro variant of the Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box with better specs. Here’s what to expect.
TalkAndroid