Tag Archives: Technology & Electronics

Samsung is marketing Galaxy Z Flip phones as police bodycams

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A new blog post from Samsung highlights how its Galaxy Z Flip series devices are being adopted by law enforcement. The line of foldable mobile devices was part of a pilot program at the Kimberling City Police and the Indian Point Police in Missouri two years ago to test how the electronics could improve the forces' daily operations. According to Samsung, the program was the first time a foldable device was used by police as a bodycam. After the end of the pilot program, two more police departments signed on to use the Flip devices as bodycams. The solutions from those pilot tests are also being extended to 25 metro police departments in five states.

The Flip devices used for the police testing were customized in a collaboration with Visual Labs, a company that repurposes mobile devices for use as body and dash cameras. The modifications, like remapping the volume button to start the camera, were intended to make it easier and faster to begin recording in the field, according to Samsung.

It's a surprising use case for Samsung to emphasize for its US audience. The Verge picked up on the blog post and was also quick to cite an investigation from ProPublica and The New York Times that demonstrated how local policies can negate the positive value of bodycams, either delaying or preventing footage from being released.

That said, Samsung is hardly the only tech company that has gotten involved with making its products part of law enforcement. Amazon-owned smart doorbell company Ring had (and reversed) policies of how and what footage it would share with officers. There are also broader stories still unfolding around how law enforcement are using technologies such as facial recognition and drones.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-is-marketing-galaxy-z-flip-phones-as-police-bodycams-233310531.html?src=rss

This vacuum robot dog can find and suck up trash with its feet

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Cigarette butts pose a huge risk to the world’s oceans and can be a pain to clean up by hand especially on public spaces like beaches. A group of Italian scientists have built a quadruped robot that can identify litter and pick up the smaller bits with its leg mounted vacuums.

VERO, the vacuum equipped quadruped robot, is a four-legged device designed to look for and clean up litter on a variety of terrains. VERO was designed and built by a team of researchers from the Dynamic Legged Systems lab at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, according to USA Today.

The group published a paper back in April on VERO’s development and effectiveness in the Journal of Field Robotics. The research paper states that cigarette butts are a serious concern. Discarded butts release toxic chemicals and microplastics into the ocean as they break down. It’s also the “second most common undisposed waste worldwide, in terrains that are hard to reach for wheeled and tracked robots.”

VERO is designed for picking up this common type of small litter. An operator sets up a field target for the robot to traverse. Then it slowly walks the entire length of the target while identifying litter with a special neural network and onboard cameras. The quadruped robot has a “convolutional neural network for litter detection” that can target litter and pick it up with one of four leg mounted vacuums, according to IEEE Spectrum.

Cleaning up beaches also can be a challenge because the sand makes it hard to lug wheeled trash bins or heavy receptacles over the terrain. The researchers conducted tests on “six different outdoor” scenarios to show VERO’s proficiency at navigating difficult terrain. It can steady itself while picking up trash with an Intel RealSense depth camera mounted on its chin.

The robot didn’t get every piece of trash in its initial test but it still picked up 90 percent of the cigarette butts identified in testing. That’s 90 percent less waste that ends up in the ocean.

There don’t seem to be any plans to implement VERO just yet. The researchers say VERO’s design could be programmed and engineered to do other tasks like spraying crops, looking for weaknesses in infrastructure and helping with construction projects.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-vacuum-robot-dog-can-find-and-suck-up-trash-with-its-feet-203952526.html?src=rss

Spotify lyrics are back for free users

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Spotify users who don't pay for a subscription can once again see lyrics for any song they listen to on the service. Back in May, the company began a wider rollout of a test that it initiated last fall, requiring a paid subscription to see lyrics to any track. Free users could still follow along with the words, but only for three songs a month. Now, Spotify is removing the restriction so free users can see all the lyrics they need to with no cap on viewing them. 

“At Spotify, we’re always testing and iterating. This means availability of our features can vary across tiers and between markets and devices," a Spotify spokesperson told Engadget. "Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding Lyrics availability for Spotify Free users so more people can enjoy viewing more lyrics, globally.”

As you might expect, the initial move to cap access to lyrics for free users drew backlash earlier this year. Perhaps Spotify thought doing so was a way to push people to its revised subscription tiers that start at $11 a month for music streaming. CEO Daniel Ek explained during the company's most recent earnings call this month that plans were in motion to improve what's offered to free users. It seems that list of updates included bringing back full access to lyrics. 

"We are prioritizing enhancements in our free product pipeline that based on existing performance in certain markets," Ek said on the call. "Further additional improvements will be integrated into our free experience in the coming months."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-lyrics-are-back-for-free-users-175200293.html?src=rss

Apple’s AirPods Pro are on sale for $180 right now

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Apple’s AirPods Pro high-end earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $180. That’s a discount of nearly 30 percent and nearly matches a record-low price. This deal is for the most-recent second-generation device.

There’s a reason why these earbuds are the crown jewel of Apple’s lineup. They are just that good. The AirPods Pro easily made our list of the best wireless earbuds. We called them a “huge improvement over the previous models” and called out the stellar sound quality and active noise cancellation. The transparency mode is more natural-sounding than rival products and the new swipe gesture works better than one would think.

We also heaped praise in our official review on the included charging case. We loved the built-in speaker, which helps locate the earbuds and alerts users to a low battery. The battery life is on-point, with six hours for the earbuds and 30 hours with repeated trips to the charging case. There’s multipoint connectivity, IPX4 water-resistance and a simulated spatial audio. Did we mention they also sound fantastic, particularly for earbuds?

On the downside, Apple loves money. The case features a lanyard loop, for instance, but it’ll cost you $13 to get an official lanyard. The original price is also extremely high, at $250, though this deal alleviates some of that frustration.

These aren’t the only Apple earbuds currently on sale via Amazon. The regular third-gen AirPods are available for $130, instead of $170. Also, the second-gen OG AirPods are available for just $70, which is one heck of a deal.

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/apples-airpods-pro-are-on-sale-for-180-right-now-150952950.html?src=rss

You can snag an Anker 10K MagSafe power bank now for $32

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It's the middle of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere, which means many of us are getting out and about to make the most of the warm weather. But there's little worse than finding yourself mid-hike or with several more acts to go at a festival only to find your phone is out of juice. To help you stay in touch with friends and share envy-inducing photos on Instagram, you might need a portable charger, and a solid Anker options is currently on sale.

The Anker 334 MagGo Battery with a 10,000mAh capacity is 21 percent off at $31.49. It typically costs $40.

This model is a strong choice for iPhone users as it's MagSafe-compatible. According to Anker, you'll be able to charge an iPhone 15 Pro 1.7 times over and an iPhone 15 Pro Max 1.2 times thanks to its decently sized battery. The company also suggests that the power bank could add up to 22 hours of video playback time to an iPhone 14.

The power bank delivers 7.5W of wireless charging. It's unlikely to easily budge from the back of your iPhone as it has 10N of magnetic force, which is more than Apple's own MagSafe charger.

On the downside, you'll need a compatible device to use this. The Anker 334 MagGo Battery only works with the iPhone 12 and later models. If you have a case that isn't MagSafe-compatible, you'll need to remove that first too. In addition, wireless charging is slower than simply plugging your phone in, but that's perhaps less of a concern when you're off camping for a weekend.

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/you-can-snag-an-anker-10k-magsafe-power-bank-now-for-32-143426995.html?src=rss

Apple’s M2 MacBook Air drops back down to a record low of $799

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Our pick for the best budget MacBook is back at its all-time low price. Right now, you can get the 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip for its Prime Day price of $799, down from $999. The deal is available on the 256GB models in Silver, Space Gray or Starlight, but doesn't include AppleCare+.

We dubbed this MacBook Air a "near-perfect Mac" when it debuted in 2022, giving it a 96 in our review. Some of the features that stood out to us included the M2 chip, which has eight CPU cores and up to 10 GPU cores. Apple might be up to the M4 chip now, but if you're looking for a device that can do all the basics without struggling, then an M2 is plenty strong enough. 

Apple's 2022 MacBook Air also offers a Liquid Retina Display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. The entire device is also slimmer and sleeker than its predecessor. Plus, it has a quad-speaker system, compatibility with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio and a three-mic array.

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/apples-m2-macbook-air-drops-back-down-to-a-record-low-of-799-135526109.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Mark Zuckerberg is surprisingly angry about closed platforms

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In a fireside chat on Monday between NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the SIGGRAPH 2024, the latter dropped the f-bomb. After exchanging leather jackets (apparently two billionaires can’t get custom-made jackets that fit), the two talked about the future of AI, chatbots and open large language models.

Zuckerberg launched into a lengthy rant about his frustrations with “closed” ecosystems, like Apple’s App Store. None of that is new — the Meta founder has been feuding with Apple for years.

Zuckerberg, decked out in the aforementioned leather jacket and chain, said: “There have been too many things that I’ve tried to build and have been told ‘nah, you can’t really build that’ by the platform provider that, at some level, I’m just like, ‘nah, fuck that.’”

It’s the latest public step along his rebrand/ midlife crisis/bit of both. MMA training, “Carthage must die” tees and rebellious banter all have more than a whiff of Succession’s Kendall Roy.

— Mat Smith

Border agents can’t search cellphones of NYC visitors without a warrant, court rules

Instagram creators can now make AI doppelgangers to chat with their followers

Google’s first cross-device sharing features for Android now rolling out

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It’s always fun to do a 180 on a newsletter from the day before. Apple’s long-awaited take on artificial intelligence is, well, rolling out. Whoops.

The developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 just dropped, and they include some of the first Apple Intelligence features. If you have Apple developer accounts, you can update software and go into settings to see a new option for Apple Intelligence. There, you’ll have to join a waitlist, but it shouldn’t take longer than a few hours.

The update includes writing tools for proofreading, rewriting or summarizing text. You’ll also gain the ability to create Memories in the redesigned Photos app, as well as transcribe live calls in the Phone app. Features not yet available are Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, Cleanup in Photos and upgraded Siri.

Continue reading.

TMA
Engadget

Now there’s more foldable competition than ever, how does Samsung’s latest flip-phone fare? While Z Flip 6’s design has remained largely the same, Samsung made several under-the-hood upgrades this year, with improved battery life and cameras. It makes the best case yet for mainstream foldables, but the company could do more, especially in using the secondary front screen. That said, the new AI features are a lot of fun.

Continue reading.

TMA
Sony

Sony announced a themed PS5 DualSense controller to coincide with its incoming Astro Bot game. The game, like the VR title before it, taps into all the tricks and features of the DualSense controller, so the collab is a no-brainer in a lot of ways. It costs $80 and ships September 6, the same day as the game.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-mark-zuckerberg-is-surprisingly-angry-about-closed-platforms-115711926.html?src=rss

Apple Intelligence is here, as part of the iOS 18.1 developer beta

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Don't call it AI, but Apple's long-awaited take on artificial intelligence is finally rolling out today. Well, in limited form, anyway. The developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 just dropped, and they include some of the first Apple Intelligence features available to a broader, public group of testers. To be clear, this isn't the full release that was rumored to be delayed till October. These updates are part of an early preview for developers to test.

Starting today, those with Apple developer accounts will be able to update their software and go into their settings to see a new option for Apple Intelligence. There, you'll have to join a waitlist, though it shouldn't take longer than a few hours for you to gain access to the new features. 

It's important to note that you have to have either an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to use the new Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, or an iPad or Mac with an M1 chip or newer for the iPadOS 18.1 preview. If your device and Siri's languages are not set to US English, you'll have to change them both to that before you can access the Apple Intelligence setting.

You'll also be running software that might be unstable or buggy, so be sure to back up your device before installing the developer beta.

Once you've been granted access, Apple will deliver a notification to your device. The new stuff you'll be able to play with in this version of the beta include writing tools for proofreading, rewriting or summarizing text. You'll also gain the ability to create Memories in the redesigned Photos app, as well as transcribe live calls in the Phone app (or audio in Notes). Apple Intelligence can produce summaries of those clips.

Part of the redesigned Siri is also available, including the new glowing borders, the ability to type to the assistant and it being able to understand requests even if you've stuttered or interrupted yourself mid-speech. 

Features that aren't yet available are Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, Cleanup in Photos and the personal context and in-app actions for Siri. More should arrive in future betas, and as a reminder the full, general release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is expected later this year. Apple Intelligence features are slated to roll out in 2024 and over the course of the next year.

Update, July 29 2024, 5:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include more details around what Apple Intelligence features are available in the developer beta, as well as required language settings.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-intelligence-is-here-as-part-of-the-ios-181-developer-beta-170836131.html?src=rss

Apple Intelligence is here, as part of the iOS 18.1 developer beta

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Don't call it AI, but Apple's long-awaited take on artificial intelligence is finally rolling out today. Well, in limited form, anyway. The developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 just dropped, and they include some of the first Apple Intelligence features available to a broader, public group of testers. To be clear, this isn't the full release that was rumored to be delayed till October. These updates are part of an early preview for developers to test.

Starting today, those with Apple developer accounts will be able to update their software and go into their settings to see a new option for Apple Intelligence. There, you'll have to join a waitlist, though it shouldn't take longer than a few hours for you to gain access to the new features. 

It's important to note that you have to have either an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to use the new Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, or an iPad or Mac with an M1 chip or newer for the iPadOS 18.1 preview. You'll also be running software that might be unstable or buggy, so be sure to back up your device before installing the developer beta.

Once you've been granted access, Apple will deliver a notification to your device. The new stuff you'll be able to play with in this version of the beta include writing tools for proofreading, rewriting or summarizing text. You'll also gain the ability to create Memories in the redesigned Photos app, as well as some of the updated Siri, including typing to the assistant and it being able to understand if you've stuttered. 

Features that aren't yet available are Genmoji, ChatGPT integration and the personal context and in-app actions for Siri. More should arrive in future betas, and as a reminder the full, general release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is expected to take place later this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-intelligence-is-here-as-part-of-the-ios-181-developer-beta-170836131.html?src=rss

The new Astro Bot PS5 controller is pretty dang adorable

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Sony’s currently prepping a Mario-like adventure game for PS5 that’s inspired by its cute little Astro Bot mascot character. That title arrives on September 6 and looks like an absolute blast. Taking a page from Nintendo, the company also just announced a themed DualSense controller to commemorate the release. It's pretty dang adorable.

The Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense wireless controller is an homage to the titular bucket of bolts, who made his first appearance in a collection of VR minigames released back in 2013. Sony calls the controller a “true work of art” and it's easy to see why. This thing is certainly purdy. There are a pair of robotic peepers right on the touchpad. The handles and buttons feature Astro Bot’s signature blue accent.

The company has also explained how the upcoming 3D platformer takes advantage of the DualSense controller’s many features. The developer has increased the number of textures that players can feel through the controller via haptic feedback. The adaptive trigger response has been refined to take advantage of the protagonist’s new powers. Sony describes being able to ‘feel the thruster rattling” when using a jetpack, as an example.

It says that every new power up in the game “has been given that same special treatment.” This includes the Dual Speeder gadget, which quite literally turns the controller into a motion-controlled spaceship. These new features are for all DualSense gamepads, and not just the one that looks like a robot.

The themed controller costs $80 and ships the very same day as the game, on September 6. We played a demo of Astro Bot back in June and came away impressed. We said it “feels fantastic” and that the whole thing is “infused with childlike joy.” Mario had better look out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-astro-bot-ps5-controller-is-pretty-dang-adorable-152727280.html?src=rss