Yelp just released a substantial app update with more than 20 new features, and several of these tools are packed with, wait for it, AI. The biggest news for regular users is the addition of summaries of business automatically written by AI, which Yelp says will help people find the perfect restaurant or service to meet their needs.
There’s also new visuals for the home feed and revamped search experience, which the company says will also help users find that perfect dinner spot. This home feed incorporates AI to provide more relevant content to users and will also display images from nearby restaurants that match previous user queries, in addition to videos posted by local businesses.
The AI tomfoolery extends to business users. The app now offers business owners “AI-powered smart budgets” to optimize ad spending. There’s also new data insights available for business owners that deliver “valuable market and competitive” information.
Yelp
Yelp’s expanding the Recognitions feature to encourage user engagement. Now, users can earn official kudos by regularly reviewing certain types of foods. You can nab one of these coveted digital trophies by reviewing three restaurants that offer the same type of cuisine in one year. You’ll find these credentials in the Achievements section on the app.
The update’s only available on iOS for now, but Yelp says an Android version will be released in the coming months. This isn’t the first time the service has dipped its toes into the wading pool of AI. Back in April, the company announced it was integrating AI and natural language models to improve search.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yelps-new-ai-features-include-auto-generated-business-summaries-among-other-updates-120010725.html?src=rss
Gogoro is best known for its battery swapping tech, but its new scooter may be one of the quickest and highest-tech models available. The flagship Pulse can accelerate from 0 to 32MPH in just 3.05 seconds thanks to the company's "Hypercore" tech that delivers 378nm of torque to the back wheel. At the same time, it's fitted with a 10.25 HD touch display that offers turn-by-turn navigation and more.
The first thing that stands out with the Pulse is the new angular and modern design that differs from past models that were more on the retro side. It also has the benefit of reducing non-essential drag and using airflow to cool the electric motor, according to Gogoro.
The new 9kW Hyper Drive powertrain features a new hybrid water and air dual-cooling system, allowing the H1 motor to hit up to 11,000 RPM. And while it boosts performance, it's also supposed to reduce energy consumption, the company wrote.
Gogoro
It uses an active-matrix lighting system with 13 separate LED units. Each of those actively switch on to adapt to the rider's speed, turns and even weather conditions, presumably to improve visibility in traffic. As you drive it faster, the active-matrix headlights also extend further down the road and the active-corner lighting "provides wider bands of light aimed in the direction of each turn," Gogoro says.
The 10.25-inch panoramic touch display is something you don't see on too many scooters. Along with the turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic information, it comes with a new iQ Touch HD system that display battery swap locations, speeds, power levels and more, while letting you select from different ride modes. Gogoro claims it's the first two-wheeled vehicle to be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon QWM2290 digital chassis.
Riders will be able to unlock and start the Pulse using their iPhone by adding the scooter key to their Apple Wallet. You'll also be able to use Apple's Find My feature to locate the scooter if it's stolen or lost.
Gogoro is based in Taiwan, and now operates in nine markets including India, The Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Israel. The company has yet to announce a price for the Pulse, but it'll start shipping in Taiwan in late Q2 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gogoros-new-flagship-pulse-is-a-sporty-high-tech-scooter-102014298.html?src=rss
Gogoro is best known for its battery swapping tech, but its new scooter may be one of the quickest and highest-tech models available. The flagship Pulse can accelerate from 0 to 32MPH in just 3.05 seconds thanks to the company's "Hypercore" tech that delivers 378nm of torque to the back wheel. At the same time, it's fitted with a 10.25 HD touch display that offers turn-by-turn navigation and more.
The first thing that stands out with the Pulse is the new angular and modern design that differs from past models that were more on the retro side. It also has the benefit of reducing non-essential drag and using airflow to cool the electric motor, according to Gogoro.
The new 9kW Hyper Drive powertrain features a new hybrid water and air dual-cooling system, allowing the H1 motor to hit up to 11,000 RPM. And while it boosts performance, it's also supposed to reduce energy consumption, the company wrote.
Gogoro
It uses an active-matrix lighting system with 13 separate LED units. Each of those actively switch on to adapt to the rider's speed, turns and even weather conditions, presumably to improve visibility in traffic. As you drive it faster, the active-matrix headlights also extend further down the road and the active-corner lighting "provides wider bands of light aimed in the direction of each turn," Gogoro says.
The 10.25-inch panoramic touch display is something you don't see on too many scooters. Along with the turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic information, it comes with a new iQ Touch HD system that display battery swap locations, speeds, power levels and more, while letting you select from different ride modes. Gogoro claims it's the first two-wheeled vehicle to be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon QWM2290 digital chassis.
Riders will be able to unlock and start the Pulse using their iPhone by adding the scooter key to their Apple Wallet. You'll also be able to use Apple's Find My feature to locate the scooter if it's stolen or lost.
Gogoro is based in Taiwan, and now operates in nine markets including India, The Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Israel. The company has yet to announce a price for the Pulse, but it'll start shipping in Taiwan in late Q2 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gogoros-new-flagship-pulse-is-a-sporty-high-tech-scooter-102014298.html?src=rss
Japan is an innovative country that leads the way on many technological fronts. But the wheels of bureaucracy often turn incredibly slowly there. So much so, that the government still requires businesses to provide information on floppy disks and CD-ROMs when they submit certain official documents.
That's starting to change. Back in 2022, Minister of Digital Affairs Taro Kono urged various branches of the government to stop requiring businesses to submit information on outdated forms of physical media. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is one of the first to make the switch. "Under the current law, there are many provisions stipulating the use of specific recording media such as floppy disks regarding application and notification methods," METI said last week, according to The Register.
After this calendar year, METI will no longer require businesses to submit data on floppy disks under 34 ordinances. The same goes for CD-ROMs when it comes to an unspecified number of procedures. There's still quite some way to go before businesses can stop using either format entirely, however.
Kono's staff identified some 1,900 protocols across several government departments that still require the likes of floppy disks, CD-ROMs and even MiniDiscs. The physical media requirements even applied to key industries such as utility suppliers, mining operations and aircraft and weapons manufacturers.
There are a couple of main reasons why there's a push to stop using floppy disks, as SoraNews24 points out. One major factor is that floppy disks can be hard to come by. Sony, the last major manufacturer, stopped selling them in 2011. Another is that some data types just won't fit on a floppy disk. A single photo can easily be larger than the format's 1.4MB storage capacity.
There are some other industries that still rely on floppy disks. Some older planes need them for avionics, as do and some aging medical devices. It also took the US government until 2019 to stop using floppy disks to coordinate nuclear weapon launches.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/japan-will-no-longer-require-floppy-disks-for-submitting-some-official-documents-212048844.html?src=rss
Japan is an innovative country that leads the way on many technological fronts. But the wheels of bureaucracy often turn incredibly slowly there. So much so, that the government still requires businesses to provide information on floppy disks and CD-ROMs when they submit certain official documents.
That's starting to change. Back in 2022, Minister of Digital Affairs Taro Kono urged various branches of the government to stop requiring businesses to submit information on outdated forms of physical media. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is one of the first to make the switch. "Under the current law, there are many provisions stipulating the use of specific recording media such as floppy disks regarding application and notification methods," METI said last week, according to The Register.
After this calendar year, METI will no longer require businesses to submit data on floppy disks under 34 ordinances. The same goes for CD-ROMs when it comes to an unspecified number of procedures. There's still quite some way to go before businesses can stop using either format entirely, however.
Kono's staff identified some 1,900 protocols across several government departments that still require the likes of floppy disks, CD-ROMs and even MiniDiscs. The physical media requirements even applied to key industries such as utility suppliers, mining operations and aircraft and weapons manufacturers.
There are a couple of main reasons why there's a push to stop using floppy disks, as SoraNews24 points out. One major factor is that floppy disks can be hard to come by. Sony, the last major manufacturer, stopped selling them in 2011. Another is that some data types just won't fit on a floppy disk. A single photo can easily be larger than the format's 1.4MB storage capacity.
There are some other industries that still rely on floppy disks. Some older planes need them for avionics, as do and some aging medical devices. It also took the US government until 2019 to stop using floppy disks to coordinate nuclear weapon launches.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/japan-will-no-longer-require-floppy-disks-for-submitting-some-official-documents-212048844.html?src=rss
Embracer Group, the Swedish holding company undergoing restructuring, has reportedly canceled a Deus Ex game. Bloombergsays developers had been working on the unannounced title for two years. Neither Embracer nor developer Eidos addressed the reported cancellation specifically, but they confirmed they were laying off 97 employees at Deus Ex developer Eidos Montreal.
Eidos will reportedly focus instead on “an original franchise.” Bloomberg’s sources say the Deus Ex game was scheduled to start production later this year. The franchise’s most recent mainline installment was 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Embracer says the restructuring phase will run until the end of March. The company claims it will provide regular updates on the process, including when it publishes its next quarterly report on February 15.
Alongside the alleged Deus Ex cancellation, Eidos confirmed it let go of 97 employees from development teams, administration and support services. “The global economic context, the challenges of our industry and the comprehensive restructuring announced by Embracer have finally impacted our studio,” Eidos wrote in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-new-deus-ex-game-was-reportedly-canceled-amid-embracers-crisis-194919207.html?src=rss
Embracer Group, the Swedish holding company undergoing restructuring, has reportedly canceled a Deus Ex game. Bloombergsays developers had been working on the unannounced title for two years. Neither Embracer nor developer Eidos addressed the reported cancellation specifically, but they confirmed they were laying off 97 employees at Deus Ex developer Eidos Montreal.
Eidos will reportedly focus instead on “an original franchise.” Bloomberg’s sources say the Deus Ex game was scheduled to start production later this year. The franchise’s most recent mainline installment was 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Embracer says the restructuring phase will run until the end of March. The company claims it will provide regular updates on the process, including when it publishes its next quarterly report on February 15.
Alongside the alleged Deus Ex cancellation, Eidos confirmed it let go of 97 employees from development teams, administration and support services. “The global economic context, the challenges of our industry and the comprehensive restructuring announced by Embracer have finally impacted our studio,” Eidos wrote in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-new-deus-ex-game-was-reportedly-canceled-amid-embracers-crisis-194919207.html?src=rss
For nearly a decade the Galaxy Note was the undisputed king of Android phones. But when the OG phablet line was retired in 2020, that title passed on to the Ultra. While the hardware inside the most expensive Galaxy S model is as dominant as ever, over the past few years, the software in Google phones has begun to outshine anything available from Samsung. But armed with a new suite of AI-powered features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra (S24U) got exactly what it needed to maintain its spot atop the Android battlefield.
Design and display: Now with titanium
There are three main areas of improvement to the S24 Ultra: design, cameras and all of Samsung’s new AI tools. The biggest change to its build is the switch to a new titanium frame, which follows what Apple did for the iPhone 15 Pro last fall. So no points for originality. But more importantly, because the previous Ultra featured an aluminum chassis, there’s not a major change in weight either, with the S24U coming in at 232 grams (just two grams lighter than the S23 Ultra).
Some other subtle changes are a new matte finish and an upgrade to Corning’s Gorilla Armor in front and back (instead of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 like on the regular S24/S24+). Another benefit of Corning’s latest hardened glass is that it has improved anti-reflective properties, so while it doesn’t totally eliminate glare, it does make it appear less harsh without impacting the display's color saturation. And despite the previous model having slim bezels, Samsung reduced the borders around the display again by 42 percent, which is most noticeable along the top and bottom.
The display itself proves, once again, that Samsung makes the best mobile screens on the market. You still get a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a variable 120Hz rate, except now it’s even brighter with a peak of 2,600 nits (up from 1,750 nits). And if that’s not enough, the phone’s improved Vision Booster adds an additional 300 nits of perceived brightness, so movies, games, and everything else always looks good no matter where you are.
Performance: Setting a new bar for speed
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Inside, the S24 Ultra features a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm and it’s a powerhouse. In Geekebench 6, we saw multi-core scores that were 30 to 35 percent higher than last year’s chip. This makes everything from games to switching between apps feel super snappy. The addition of a 92 percent larger vapor chamber also meant the S24 UItra never got above lukewarm even under sustained loads. Samsung also increased the phone’s RAM to 12GB for every config, unlike the S23U which started at 8GB base. Storage remains the same with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options.
Cameras: A more usable 5x optical zoom
Three of the S24 Ultra’s four cameras are largely unchanged from its predecessor, including its 200-MP main sensor, 10-MP ultra-wide and 12-MP telephoto shooter with a 3x optical zoom. The main upgrade is swapping out the old 10x lens for a 5x optical zoom with a higher-res 50-MP sensor, which Samsung says reflects 5x being the most widely used focal length aside from the main cam. While this move might seem like a loss in terms of reach, the sensor’s increased resolution allows the phone to crop in providing what Samsung calls a “10x optical quality zoom” that’s surprisingly sharp.
In photos of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty from across the water, the S24U produced rich, detailed pics that were just as good as what we got from a Pixel 8 Pro. And while images taken at 10X were a touch softer than similar shots taken by an S23 Ultra, they weren’t far off.
In general the S24U captured gorgeous pics in all sorts of conditions. You’ll still notice Samsung’s super-saturated colors and penchant for slightly warmer hues, but in most cases that just adds an extra sense of vibrancy. Samsung also has a habit of going a bit overboard on sharpening, though it’s not a major distraction. Even in low light the S24U’s Night Mode largely kept up with Google’s Night Sight, which is no small feat.
Software: Samsung’s big push into AI
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Aside from its new hardware, the biggest addition to the S24 Ultra is Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, which are an entire suite of tools that fall into three main categories: text and translation, photography and editing, and search.
There’s an interpreter mode for in-person conversations along with a live translation feature that you can use during calls. Both are good enough to use in a pinch while traveling, but some things like word choice and pacing may be a bit off. The experience can also feel a bit clunky, especially when you’re on the phone and have to wait so the AI can catch up.
Next, you have Chat Assist which can check spelling, grammar andadjust the tone of messages. Admittedly, the social and emojify options are a bit gimmicky, but I genuinely appreciate the polite and professional choices, as they can help prevent a text or email from sounding combative.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
In the Notes app, the S24U can also summarize, auto-format, spellcheck or translate a file, which is nice, but not exactly groundbreaking. A lot of these features are already available from other services like ChatGPT or Bard. That said, these improvements may be the biggest upgrades to the S24 Ultra’s S-Pen, which is otherwise largely unchanged.
Out of Samsung’s text-based tools, my favorite is the transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app. It makes grabbing quotes from interviews super simple, though I noticed that Samsung’s UX doesn’t feel quite as polished or streamlined as what you get from Google. For example, the Pixel Recorder lets you see the transcript in real-time, while on the Ultra, you have to record a convo and then hit the AI icon to generate a chat log when you’re done.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The AI can also suggest edits for images like automatically remastering images (which is similar to the Auto Tone feature in Photoshop) or removing distracting elements like shadows and reflections. You can see these options by hitting the Info icon in the gallery app, which makes them super easy to access and might be the fastest way to improve your photos. The S24 Ultra can also create slow-mo clips from existing footage, just by tapping and holding on a video while it’s playing. This triggers the phone’s AI to generate new frames based on the fps of the recording (i.e. from 30 fps to 120 fps) on the fly and the results are surprisingly smooth.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, there are Generative AI edits that allow you to reframe shots, move subjects around or delete them entirely, while the phone fills in the blanks. It’s a simple but effective process that sidesteps the need for Photoshop in a lot of cases. That said, if you look close you may notice areas where Samsung’s AI misses more details than the Pixel 8’s Magic Editor, which is a trend I noticed across a lot of Samsung’s AI features.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
All of the new tools generally function as expected, but things don’t feel quite as streamlined or polished as a lot of Google’s alternatives. In the Notes app, there’s a word limit for auto-formatting, summarizing and more, which limits you to about three or four paragraphs at a time. That means if you have a medium-sized doc, you’re gonna have to tackle it in chunks, which gets tedious pretty quickly. And sometimes if you try to highlight areas of a photo to remove reflections, the phone will smooth over the entire area and paint over the details.
In other situations, the AI will suggest edits that don’t make sense, like trying to turn a short motion photo into a timelapse. It’s possible this was my fault for importing a photo taken by another device, but I feel like the phone ought to know better. The AI is meant to work on any photo, regardless of where it came from. Even moving subjects around in a pic can get wonky depending on the shot and what you’re trying to do. And every now and then, the phone will suggest you remaster a photo, only for it to tell you that there’s nothing to fix. As a photographer, that’s a great feeling. But at the same time, why am I being told there are things to fix if that’s not actually the case? But, this is Samsung’s first big push into AI-assisted features, so it shouldn't be a shock to see a handful of hiccups.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Rounding out the S24’s kit is Circle to Search, which is the one new AI feature that relies on help from the cloud instead of taking place on-device. It’s essentially a combination of traditional text-based queries and visual search tools like Google Lens but without the need for a standalone app. The neat thing is that it can analyze images from the web or objects in photos you’ve taken yourself, which makes it pretty versatile. But Google recently announced that Circle to Search is coming to Pixel phones too, so it’s not like this is an exclusive feather in Samsung’s cap.
Battery Life: Nearing two days of juice
Between the power efficiency gains from its new processor and a large 5,000 mAh battery, the S24 Ultra delivered truly impressive longevity. On our local video rundown test, it lasted 24 hours and 19 minutes, which is up more than four hours compared to last year. And in the real world, its battery life was even more impressive. The S24U often had more than 50 percent left after 24 hours. So depending on your usage, it’s possible for this phone to last two days without recharging.
Wrap-up
At this point, you'd be forgiven for being fed up with companies trying to push AI into everything. But if you just think about these as software upgrades meant to make your phone more useful, Samsung’s push into machine learning makes a lot more sense. The S23U was already a great phone and on the S24 Ultra, we’re getting the same (though somewhat plain) design, but with a tougher titanium frame, a much faster chip, a brighter display and even longer battery life. Samsung also tweaked its main telephoto lens to provide a more useful focal length but without a major decrease in reach or quality.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But the big thing is that, with its Galaxy AI suite, Samsung finally has an answer to the sophisticated features that were previously only available from the Pixel family. Sure, the S24’s tools aren’t quite as polished as Google’s offerings, but they get you 80 to 90 percent of the way there. And as a complement to what is more or less a top-to-bottom list of best-in-class smartphone hardware, it feels like Samsung is using AI to shore up one of the few remaining weaknesses of its flagship handset. Particularly now that the company is following in Google’s footsteps and increasing software support from six to seven years of OS and security updates.
However, the Ultra’s biggest sticking point — its price — remains an issue. With the S24U starting at $1,300, it costs $100 more than the outgoing model. I’m also disappointed that Samsung didn’t adopt Qi 2. It’s frustrating to see all the major OEMs, including Apple, agree on a wireless charging standard only to have the biggest phone maker in the world drag its feet. Qi 2 got approved last year and we may not see it on a high-end Samsung handset until 2025.
While harnessing AI might not be a super exciting development now that everyone and their grandmother is trying to shoehorn it into everything, it does make the S24 Ultra a more powerful and well-rounded handset. And when you tack that onto a phone that already had a lead in hardware, you end with a pretty commanding device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/galaxy-s24-ultra-review-samsungs-ai-reinforcements-have-arrived-specs-price-191508062.html?src=rss
For nearly a decade the Galaxy Note was the undisputed king of Android phones. But when the OG phablet line was retired in 2020, that title passed on to the Ultra. While the hardware inside the most expensive Galaxy S model is as dominant as ever, over the past few years, the software in Google phones has begun to outshine anything available from Samsung. But armed with a new suite of AI-powered features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra (S24U) got exactly what it needed to maintain its spot atop the Android battlefield.
Design and display: Now with titanium
There are three main areas of improvement to the S24 Ultra: design, cameras and all of Samsung’s new AI tools. The biggest change to its build is the switch to a new titanium frame, which follows what Apple did for the iPhone 15 Pro last fall. So no points for originality. But more importantly, because the previous Ultra featured an aluminum chassis, there’s not a major change in weight either, with the S24U coming in at 232 grams (just two grams lighter than the S23 Ultra).
Some other subtle changes are a new matte finish and an upgrade to Corning’s Gorilla Armor in front and back (instead of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 like on the regular S24/S24+). Another benefit of Corning’s latest hardened glass is that it has improved anti-reflective properties, so while it doesn’t totally eliminate glare, it does make it appear less harsh without impacting the display's color saturation. And despite the previous model having slim bezels, Samsung reduced the borders around the display again by 42 percent, which is most noticeable along the top and bottom.
The display itself proves, once again, that Samsung makes the best mobile screens on the market. You still get a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a variable 120Hz rate, except now it’s even brighter with a peak of 2,600 nits (up from 1,750 nits). And if that’s not enough, the phone’s improved Vision Booster adds an additional 300 nits of perceived brightness, so movies, games, and everything else always looks good no matter where you are.
Performance: Setting a new bar for speed
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Inside, the S24 Ultra features a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm and it’s a powerhouse. In Geekebench 6, we saw multi-core scores that were 30 to 35 percent higher than last year’s chip. This makes everything from games to switching between apps feel super snappy. The addition of a 92 percent larger vapor chamber also meant the S24 UItra never got above lukewarm even under sustained loads. Samsung also increased the phone’s RAM to 12GB for every config, unlike the S23U which started at 8GB base. Storage remains the same with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options.
Cameras: A more usable 5x optical zoom
Three of the S24 Ultra’s four cameras are largely unchanged from its predecessor, including its 200-MP main sensor, 10-MP ultra-wide and 12-MP telephoto shooter with a 3x optical zoom. The main upgrade is swapping out the old 10x lens for a 5x optical zoom with a higher-res 50-MP sensor, which Samsung says reflects 5x being the most widely used focal length aside from the main cam. While this move might seem like a loss in terms of reach, the sensor’s increased resolution allows the phone to crop in providing what Samsung calls a “10x optical quality zoom” that’s surprisingly sharp.
In photos of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty from across the water, the S24U produced rich, detailed pics that were just as good as what we got from a Pixel 8 Pro. And while images taken at 10X were a touch softer than similar shots taken by an S23 Ultra, they weren’t far off.
In general the S24U captured gorgeous pics in all sorts of conditions. You’ll still notice Samsung’s super-saturated colors and penchant for slightly warmer hues, but in most cases that just adds an extra sense of vibrancy. Samsung also has a habit of going a bit overboard on sharpening, though it’s not a major distraction. Even in low light the S24U’s Night Mode largely kept up with Google’s Night Sight, which is no small feat.
Software: Samsung’s big push into AI
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Aside from its new hardware, the biggest addition to the S24 Ultra is Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, which are an entire suite of tools that fall into three main categories: text and translation, photography and editing, and search.
There’s an interpreter mode for in-person conversations along with a live translation feature that you can use during calls. Both are good enough to use in a pinch while traveling, but some things like word choice and pacing may be a bit off. The experience can also feel a bit clunky, especially when you’re on the phone and have to wait so the AI can catch up.
Next, you have Chat Assist which can check spelling, grammar andadjust the tone of messages. Admittedly, the social and emojify options are a bit gimmicky, but I genuinely appreciate the polite and professional choices, as they can help prevent a text or email from sounding combative.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
In the Notes app, the S24U can also summarize, auto-format, spellcheck or translate a file, which is nice, but not exactly groundbreaking. A lot of these features are already available from other services like ChatGPT or Bard. That said, these improvements may be the biggest upgrades to the S24 Ultra’s S-Pen, which is otherwise largely unchanged.
Out of Samsung’s text-based tools, my favorite is the transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app. It makes grabbing quotes from interviews super simple, though I noticed that Samsung’s UX doesn’t feel quite as polished or streamlined as what you get from Google. For example, the Pixel Recorder lets you see the transcript in real-time, while on the Ultra, you have to record a convo and then hit the AI icon to generate a chat log when you’re done.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The AI can also suggest edits for images like automatically remastering images (which is similar to the Auto Tone feature in Photoshop) or removing distracting elements like shadows and reflections. You can see these options by hitting the Info icon in the gallery app, which makes them super easy to access and might be the fastest way to improve your photos. The S24 Ultra can also create slow-mo clips from existing footage, just by tapping and holding on a video while it’s playing. This triggers the phone’s AI to generate new frames based on the fps of the recording (i.e. from 30 fps to 120 fps) on the fly and the results are surprisingly smooth.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, there are Generative AI edits that allow you to reframe shots, move subjects around or delete them entirely, while the phone fills in the blanks. It’s a simple but effective process that sidesteps the need for Photoshop in a lot of cases. That said, if you look close you may notice areas where Samsung’s AI misses more details than the Pixel 8’s Magic Editor, which is a trend I noticed across a lot of Samsung’s AI features.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
All of the new tools generally function as expected, but things don’t feel quite as streamlined or polished as a lot of Google’s alternatives. In the Notes app, there’s a word limit for auto-formatting, summarizing and more, which limits you to about three or four paragraphs at a time. That means if you have a medium-sized doc, you’re gonna have to tackle it in chunks, which gets tedious pretty quickly. And sometimes if you try to highlight areas of a photo to remove reflections, the phone will smooth over the entire area and paint over the details.
In other situations, the AI will suggest edits that don’t make sense, like trying to turn a short motion photo into a timelapse. It’s possible this was my fault for importing a photo taken by another device, but I feel like the phone ought to know better. The AI is meant to work on any photo, regardless of where it came from. Even moving subjects around in a pic can get wonky depending on the shot and what you’re trying to do. And every now and then, the phone will suggest you remaster a photo, only for it to tell you that there’s nothing to fix. As a photographer, that’s a great feeling. But at the same time, why am I being told there are things to fix if that’s not actually the case? But, this is Samsung’s first big push into AI-assisted features, so it shouldn't be a shock to see a handful of hiccups.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Rounding out the S24’s kit is Circle to Search, which is the one new AI feature that relies on help from the cloud instead of taking place on-device. It’s essentially a combination of traditional text-based queries and visual search tools like Google Lens but without the need for a standalone app. The neat thing is that it can analyze images from the web or objects in photos you’ve taken yourself, which makes it pretty versatile. But Google recently announced that Circle to Search is coming to Pixel phones too, so it’s not like this is an exclusive feather in Samsung’s cap.
Battery Life: Nearing two days of juice
Between the power efficiency gains from its new processor and a large 5,000 mAh battery, the S24 Ultra delivered truly impressive longevity. On our local video rundown test, it lasted 24 hours and 19 minutes, which is up more than four hours compared to last year. And in the real world, its battery life was even more impressive. The S24U often had more than 50 percent left after 24 hours. So depending on your usage, it’s possible for this phone to last two days without recharging.
Wrap-up
At this point, you'd be forgiven for being fed up with companies trying to push AI into everything. But if you just think about these as software upgrades meant to make your phone more useful, Samsung’s push into machine learning makes a lot more sense. The S23U was already a great phone and on the S24 Ultra, we’re getting the same (though somewhat plain) design, but with a tougher titanium frame, a much faster chip, a brighter display and even longer battery life. Samsung also tweaked its main telephoto lens to provide a more useful focal length but without a major decrease in reach or quality.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But the big thing is that, with its Galaxy AI suite, Samsung finally has an answer to the sophisticated features that were previously only available from the Pixel family. Sure, the S24’s tools aren’t quite as polished as Google’s offerings, but they get you 80 to 90 percent of the way there. And as a complement to what is more or less a top-to-bottom list of best-in-class smartphone hardware, it feels like Samsung is using AI to shore up one of the few remaining weaknesses of its flagship handset. Particularly now that the company is following in Google’s footsteps and increasing software support from six to seven years of OS and security updates.
However, the Ultra’s biggest sticking point — its price — remains an issue. With the S24U starting at $1,300, it costs $100 more than the outgoing model. I’m also disappointed that Samsung didn’t adopt Qi 2. It’s frustrating to see all the major OEMs, including Apple, agree on a wireless charging standard only to have the biggest phone maker in the world drag its feet. Qi 2 got approved last year and we may not see it on a high-end Samsung handset until 2025.
While harnessing AI might not be a super exciting development now that everyone and their grandmother is trying to shoehorn it into everything, it does make the S24 Ultra a more powerful and well-rounded handset. And when you tack that onto a phone that already had a lead in hardware, you end with a pretty commanding device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/galaxy-s24-ultra-review-samsungs-ai-reinforcements-have-arrived-specs-price-191508062.html?src=rss
The Apple Vision Pro will be missing some major native apps at the outset, including Netflix, Spotify and YouTube. One notable app to which users of the mixed-reality headset will have access when it debuts later this week is Zoom, which will support the Vision Pro's Persona feature.
Vision Pro users will be able to create digital versions of themselves. If you have said Persona, others on a Zoom or FaceTime call will be able to see your facial expressions and hand movements via your avatar. So while you may not be using a traditional webcam, other folks might notice your persona cringing at one of your boss' bad jokes.
According to Zoom, the app's spatial experience can be "scaled to the perfect size," so it shouldn't seem like you're miles away from someone's Persona. Although Vision Pro users will be represented as a Persona (if they choose to be), those joining the call from other devices will be represented as a floating tile.
Zoom will be one of the first major third-party apps to use this tech. Apple said Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex are getting in on the party too. The company claims that it only takes a few minutes to set up a Persona with a Vision Pro.
There are more features coming to Zoom's app this spring. You'll be able to share 3D object files and view these in a virtual space through Vision Pro. Team Chat is also coming to the app, as is a tool called real-world pinning. Zoom says you'll be able to use this to pin five meeting participants anywhere in the virtual space and have the option of removing their background. The company suggests this will help Vision Pro users "feel more connected to the people in the meeting."
While Zoom might not be the most exciting app for those who are picking up a Vision Pro primarily for entertainment purposes, it's interesting to see what third-party companies are starting to do with the tech. A Zoom call might not be too much different from a FaceTime chat out of the gate, but the addition of features like 3D object sharing could make it a more intriguing prospect for mixed-reality use.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/zooms-apple-vision-pro-app-will-let-people-see-your-facial-expressions-via-an-avatar-184536273.html?src=rss