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GSM Arena
4 days ago
- GSM Arena
Apple AirPods to get new head gestures, camera control, and more
Apple is expected to announce its next-gen operating systems at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that kicks off on June 9. However, the Cupertino-based tech giant could also announce new features for the AirPods during the WWDC keynote. The folks at 9to5Mac report that Apple is working on five new features for the AirPods, including new head gestures, sleep auto-pause, camera control, Audio Mix, and improved pairing experience in shared iPads. Apple introduced head gestures for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 last year. These allow users to accept or decline Announce Calls and interact with or dismiss Announce Notifications without using their hands simply by nodding up and down or side-to-side. The new head gestures will extend the Conversation Awareness volume adjustment before returning the users to their original noise-control settings. Moreover, users might be able to use a head gesture to end a Conversation Awareness volume adjustment, which is currently done by pressing and holding on the AirPods' stem or swiping up on it. Apple AirPods Pro 2 Speaking of the AirPods' stem, the TWS will get the Camera Control feature, allowing users to take a picture with the paired iPhone or iPad's camera by clicking on the AirPods' stem. Next up is sleep auto-pause, which will use sleep detection to automatically pause music playback if the user falls asleep while wearing their AirPods. Further, we have Audio Mix, introduced by Apple last year alongside the iPhone 16 series. It separates background elements from speech with the help of machine learning and lets users choose from three voice options: In-frame, Studio, and Cinematic. The source claims that Apple is developing a similar "studio quality" mic mode for AirPods but didn't provide more details about it. Lastly, the source reports that Apple is working on a feature for AirPods to improve the pairing experience with shared iPads, which could be useful in classrooms where multiple students share a single device. "The goal is to streamline how AirPods connect to iPadOS in these settings, likely with less friction and fewer manual steps," says the source. We'll hear more about these features next week if Apple indeed plans to introduce them at WWDC. Source
Phone Arena
28-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Samsung launches One UI 8 Beta early – making up for One UI 7's chaos
Samsung has opened the One UI 8.0 Beta Program in South Korea, and other countries where the company does beta releases should follow suit soon. Just as reports indicated this month, Samsung is putting the pedal to the metal with the Android 16-based One UI 8 beta update. Now, the company has launched the One UI 8 beta for Galaxy S25 phones in South Korea, just as predicted earlier. Right now, One UI 8.0 Beta Program is open for the Galaxy S25 , the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra in South Korea, and should soon be released in other countries where the tech giant is usually releasing beta updates. The new software carries firmware version S9x8NKSU3ZYER and its size is around 3.3GB for the Galaxy S25 Ultra . It's possible the size to vary for other models from Samsung's flagship series. With the update, Galaxy S25 owners also receive the May 2025 security patch. Image Credit - SamMobile The beta update is expected to be available in Germany, the UK, and the US. One UI 8 doesn't offer a major UI redesign, unlike One UI 7. It's more of a refinement type of update, and there are dozens of improvements sprinkled across the board. To enroll in the One UI 8.0 Beta Program, users with an eligible phone (the Galaxy S25 series for now) should download the Samsung Members app, log into the app with their Samsung Account, and tap the One UI 8.0 Beta Program banner, which will be on the home page. Once you register, you get the update like any regular update from Settings, then Software update, then "Download and Install". The phone will restart after the installation is completed. Keep in mind though, that the software is in beta. This means there could be bugs or unexpected behavior, and you should install it on your device only if you're certain such things won't bother you. Nonetheless, it's amazing that this time Samsung is fixing its mistake with One UI 7 . Samsung fans had to wait months for One UI 7 and Android 15, and many people expressed their disappointment. Then, the official launch was delayed, started and stopped, and then restarted for some countries, while the initial schedule was revised. Now it seems the company doesn't want to repeat its previous mistakes and the beta is starting sooner than initially expected.
The Sun
22-05-2025
- The Sun
Google admits all Android TV viewers will soon see MORE pop-ups on telly apps in new ‘rating' plot
GOOGLE has admitted that Android TV viewers will receive pesky pop-ups as part of their viewing experience. The tech giant announced the move at the Google I/O 2025 conference on Tuesday. 1 The company has extended the Google Play In-App Review API to Google TV, allowing developers to trigger rating prompts in their apps. As a result, punters will receive pop-ups asking to rate and review apps while watching a movie or their favourite show. For those who wish not to take part, simply press on the "Not now" option in the pop-up or choose to rate it on your Android phone or tablet. If you select the "Rate on another device" option, it will send a Google Play Store notification on your Android phone to complete the review. BUTTON IT It comes after news that all new, future Google TV devices are set to feature a 'Free TV' button on the remote. Hitting the button will take viewers directly to a hub with 150 free TV channels. The channels require no subscription or app installation and can already be found in the 'Live' tab on Google TV devices. Google is making the change from this month, the company confirmed to Android Authority. That means any Google TV device made after April 2025 should include a 'Free TV' button that will take users directly to the 'Live' tab. It works the same as the branded buttons you see on other remotes, like the ones that take you straight to Netflix or Disney+. Google reveals 'Advanced Protection' for VIPs – and you can use it too And it's not just Google-branded devices that will benefit. Google TV is the software used on a number of different branded TVs, such as Sony and Hisense in the US, and TCL and Philips in the UK and Europe. The remote for these TVs will need to be modified to include the new button in the future. Some people in the US already have the Free TV button, such as owners of the Onn 4K Pro, which is a Google TV streaming gadget exclusive to Walmart. Free Ad-Support TV (FAST) channels have become increasingly popular, as households try to rein in their streaming spending. Households will spend, on average, an extra £144 this year on their standard-level subscriptions compared to 2020. The only catch, of course, is that they come with ads. But you'd get that with cable, and at a greater cost.
TechCrunch
20-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Google is launching a Gemini integration in Chrome
Google announced at Google I/O 2025 on Tuesday that it's launching a Gemini integration in Chrome. The tech giant says the new integration will give users access to a new AI browsing assistant that will help them quickly understand the context of a page and get tasks done. Gemini in Chrome will be accessible through typing or talking with Gemini Live. You can start chatting with the AI assistant by clicking the Gemini icon in the top right corner of your Chrome window. At launch, the integration will allow users to ask Gemini to clarify complex information on a page that they're visiting. It will also be able to summarize information. Image Credits:Google For example, you could open up a page that features a banana bread recipe and ask Gemini to make the recipe gluten free. Or, you could use Gemini to help you pick out the perfect plan for your bedroom depending on the lighting conditions. Another use case could be asking Gemini to create a pop quiz based on the topics covered in the webpage you're visiting. Starting Wednesday, Gemini in Chrome will begin rolling out on desktop to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. who use English as their Chrome language on Windows and macOS. It will also be available to Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary users. The idea behind the feature is to give users easy access to Gemini right in Chrome, since Google is likely looking for ways to get people to use Gemini instead of OpenAI's ChatGPT for these kinds of questions, inquiries, and summaries. Image Credits:Google In the future, Gemini in Chrome will be able to work across multiple tabs at once. This means that you could get Gemini to do things like compare two different sleeping bags that you have open on separate tabs. Gemini in Chrome will also be able to navigate websites on your behalf. For example, you could ask Gemini to scroll to a specific portion of a recipe with a single command. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Google says users can imagine Gemini in Chrome helping to automate more of their least favorite online tasks in the future, noting that it believes users will be able to turn 30-minute tasks into three-click journeys.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tencent says it has enough high-end chips to train AI for 'generations' even if the US cuts it off
Tencent's president Martin Lau says company has a "pretty strong stockpile of chips." Last month, Nvidia said the Trump administration imposed new chip export restrictions to China. Lau said Tencent has enough chips to train its AI models "for a few more generations going forward." The Chinese tech giant Tencent said it has a "pretty strong stockpile of chips" to tide it through America's chip sale restrictions. The company's president, Martin Lau, was speaking to investors during an earnings call on Wednesday when he was asked how Tencent would deal with US chip restrictions. Lau said "it's a very dynamic situation" that Tencent is managing, and it's trying to "figure out the right solution" to make sure its AI strategy "can still be executed." Lau told investors that Tencent can rely on a "pretty strong stockpile of chips that we acquired previously." Lau said the chips will be deployed to projects that can "generate immediate returns for us," such as in Tencent's advertising business. When it comes to training Tencent's large language models, Lau said the company will not need a large number of chips to improve its performance. This is because companies are starting to move away from the scaling law "which required continuous expansion of the training cluster," Lau said. "And now we can see even with a smaller cluster, you can actually achieve very good training results. And there's a lot of potential that we can get on the post-training side which do not necessarily meet very large clusters," Lau said. "So that actually helps us to look at our existing inventory of high-end chips and say we should have enough high-end chips to continue our training of models for a few more generations going forward," Lau added. Last month, Nvidia told investors in a regulatory filing that the Trump administration will be imposing new export licensing restrictions for chips being sold to China and other countries. The chip giant said it would incur a charge of up to $5.5 billion in inventory, purchase commitments, and reserves for its H20 chip in the first quarter, which ended on April 27. Nvidia designed the H20 chip based on the Biden administration's chip export restrictions. Analysts, however, have said the Trump administration's new restrictions will not slow down China's progress in AI. "Banning the H20 would make no sense as its performance is already well below Chinese alternatives; a ban would simply hand the Chinese AI market completely over to Huawei," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note to investors on April 23. Tencent did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
