Content creation experts Streamlabs has partnered with beleaguered social media platform X to offer a “seamless go-live experience”. This is part of X’s long-promised integration of game streaming to the site. To that end, it’ll allow X users to initiate streams without having to manually input stream keys and it’ll let those same users sign into the Streamlabs desktop app or the mobile app using social media credentials.
The system also integrates with X’s new live broadcast chat functionality, so you can monitor chat messages in the Streamlabs desktop add as you stream. The desktop app also lets you adjust monetization options on the fly, including custom alerts for tipping and overlays for branded content. Additionally, content creators have access to the Streamlabs merch store so they can hawk branded products while they stream. Creators using X will also have access to the company's line of widgets for increased engagement.
For regular users, this partnership will allow people to chat with their favorite streamers in real-time straight from X, though this feature looks to be paywalled behind one of those Blue subscriptions, or Premium or whatever it’s called these days. The one that gets you the universally-beloved blue check mark.
Of course, there’s the massive antisemitic elephant in the room. This is a strange time to announce a partnership with X, given Musk’s recent behavior and the ongoing exodus of advertisers from the social media platform. So far this exodus has included Apple, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers Discovery and others. It looks like Streamlabs, and by extension Logitech, has decided to buck trends and tie its horse to the X wagon. Still, new livestreaming tools are never a bad thing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/streamlabs-is-bringing-livestreaming-tools-to-x-175752692.html?src=rss
When Snapchat introduced the notion of “ephemeral data” to the masses a decade ago, self-destructive messaging really took off. There were tons of companies trying to cash in, from Meta-created Poke to Wickr, Confide, Hash and others. For the most part, all of those companies failed, but the idea has thrived. To that end, WhatsApp just introduced voice messages that automatically delete after being played.
The messaging app’s View Once feature already exists for photos and messages, but this is the first time it has been applied to voice messages. The interface is simple. Just select View Once and make a voice message. It’ll self-destruct after the recipient hears it. This is not only fun in a Mission Impossible sort of way, but actively enhances privacy in the case of audio recordings that mention sensitive topics. Hey, once in a while you have to give someone credit card details and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
There are some caveats, as no technology is foolproof. WhatsApp encourages users to only send View Once voice messages to people they trust, as there are ways to get around the ephemeral nature of the data. For instance, Android users can use the screen record function as they listen and anyone can use another camera or external microphone to capture the message.
The tool’s rolling out globally over the next few days, so it might be a bit before the update hits your box. WhatsApp has been making all sorts of improvements throughout the past year. Just last week, the platform introduced the ability to share photos in their original format, without compression. The app also recently added a tool that masks your IP address when making calls.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-adds-disappearing-voice-messages-to-its-roster-of-privacy-features-172813331.html?src=rss
When Snapchat introduced the notion of “ephemeral data” to the masses a decade ago, self-destructive messaging really took off. There were tons of companies trying to cash in, from Meta-created Poke to Wickr, Confide, Hash and others. For the most part, all of those companies failed, but the idea has thrived. To that end, WhatsApp just introduced voice messages that automatically delete after being played.
The messaging app’s View Once feature already exists for photos and messages, but this is the first time it has been applied to voice messages. The interface is simple. Just select View Once and make a voice message. It’ll self-destruct after the recipient hears it. This is not only fun in a Mission Impossible sort of way, but actively enhances privacy in the case of audio recordings that mention sensitive topics. Hey, once in a while you have to give someone credit card details and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
There are some caveats, as no technology is foolproof. WhatsApp encourages users to only send View Once voice messages to people they trust, as there are ways to get around the ephemeral nature of the data. For instance, Android users can use the screen record function as they listen and anyone can use another camera or external microphone to capture the message.
The tool’s rolling out globally over the next few days, so it might be a bit before the update hits your box. WhatsApp has been making all sorts of improvements throughout the past year. Just last week, the platform introduced the ability to share photos in their original format, without compression. The app also recently added a tool that masks your IP address when making calls.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-adds-disappearing-voice-messages-to-its-roster-of-privacy-features-172813331.html?src=rss
Cloud storage app Proton Drive is rolling out a new tool that automatically sends photos to a private cloud server, bringing the feature set closer to something like Google Drive. Not only does the software automatically sync and upload photos to its servers, but there’s a management tool that categorizes images based on when the photos were taken, which Proton calls “snapshots of your life.” All of these features are reserved for Android users.
All you have to do is download the update and enable photo uploads in the settings. Like all aspects of Proton Drive, the transfer will be end-to-end encrypted so you don’t have to worry about prying digital eyes. The encryption applies to the photo itself and any associated metadata.
As for revisiting the photos, the app lays them all out in a grid view, with preview options in a variety of file types, including panoramas, portraits, and even timelapse videos. It’s worth noting that Proton Drive already offered cloud storage for photos, but there wasn’t an automatic sync. Now there is. Android users rejoice, though the company has yet to announce an iOS version.
The update begins showing up today, but it’ll be a few days before everyone gets it. You know the drill. A 200GB Proton Drive subscription costs $5 per month, while a 500GB plan costs $13 each month. There’s a free tier, but it's only 1GB.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-drive-for-android-can-back-up-your-photos-to-a-private-cloud-server-edited-163116819.html?src=rss
Cloud storage app Proton Drive is rolling out a new tool that automatically sends photos to a private cloud server, bringing the feature set closer to something like Google Drive. Not only does the software automatically sync and upload photos to its servers, but there’s a management tool that categorizes images based on when the photos were taken, which Proton calls “snapshots of your life.” All of these features are reserved for Android users.
All you have to do is download the update and enable photo uploads in the settings. Like all aspects of Proton Drive, the transfer will be end-to-end encrypted so you don’t have to worry about prying digital eyes. The encryption applies to the photo itself and any associated metadata.
As for revisiting the photos, the app lays them all out in a grid view, with preview options in a variety of file types, including panoramas, portraits, and even timelapse videos. It’s worth noting that Proton Drive already offered cloud storage for photos, but there wasn’t an automatic sync. Now there is. Android users rejoice, though the company has yet to announce an iOS version.
The update begins showing up today, but it’ll be a few days before everyone gets it. You know the drill. A 200GB Proton Drive subscription costs $5 per month, while a 500GB plan costs $13 each month. There’s a free tier, but it's only 1GB.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-drive-for-android-can-back-up-your-photos-to-a-private-cloud-server-edited-163116819.html?src=rss
Truly great Android tablets are uncommon, but the Google Pixel Tablet stands out among them for its ability to function like a smart display. If you've been interested in picking one up, the 11-inch slate is back on sale for $399 at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Wellbots, and Google's online store. We've seen this $100 discount a couple of times over the past month, but it nevertheless matches the lowest price we've tracked. This deal applies to the 128GB versions of the device in each colorway; if you need more storage space, the 256GB models are also $100 off at $499. Google says the offer will run through December 17, and it comes as part of a wider range of Pixel device deals the company is running this week.
We note the Pixel Tablet in our tablet buying guide, and Engadget Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low gave the device a review score of 85 this past June. Taken purely as a tablet, it's not as pleasant as the top Android pick in our guide, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S9: It uses an LCD panel instead of OLED, the screen is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and Samsung's software experience is generally better-suited to multitasking and productivity. But for $350 or so less, the Pixel Tablet's 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display, Tensor G2 chip and 5,000mAh battery are still more than nice enough for video streaming, gaming, web browsing and other casual tablet tasks. Google says it'll support the device with OS updates through June 2026 (with security updates through June 2028), though, as with all Android tablets, some apps aren't as optimized for large screens here as they are on iPads.
What sets the Pixel Tablet apart is the dock that comes with it, which serves as both a charger and a dedicated speaker. When you pop the tablet onto that, it can go into a "Hub Mode" and work along the lines of a Nest Hub Max. It's not quite as seamless, but you can still use the Google Assistant to control certain smart home devices, cast video from a phone, showcase photos, stream music and the like. If you've been in the market for both a tablet and smart display anyway, this is a clever compromise, though you should still want the former first and foremost.
A few other Google devices we recommend are also on sale. The top Android picks in our guide to the best smartphones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, are down to $531 and $799, respectively. The former applies to a 256GB model and beats the deal we saw on Black Friday by $78. Beyond that, the 4K Chromecast has dropped back to $38, the entry-level Nest Thermostat is down to $90 and the Pixel Watch 2 is still down to a low of $300.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-pixel-tablet-falls-back-to-an-all-time-low-of-399-154549399.html?src=rss
Truly great Android tablets are uncommon, but the Google Pixel Tablet stands out among them for its ability to function like a smart display. If you've been interested in picking one up, the 11-inch slate is back on sale for $399 at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Wellbots, and Google's online store. We've seen this $100 discount a couple of times over the past month, but it nevertheless matches the lowest price we've tracked. This deal applies to the 128GB versions of the device in each colorway; if you need more storage space, the 256GB models are also $100 off at $499. Google says the offer will run through December 17, and it comes as part of a wider range of Pixel device deals the company is running this week.
We note the Pixel Tablet in our tablet buying guide, and Engadget Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low gave the device a review score of 85 this past June. Taken purely as a tablet, it's not as pleasant as the top Android pick in our guide, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S9: It uses an LCD panel instead of OLED, the screen is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and Samsung's software experience is generally better-suited to multitasking and productivity. But for $350 or so less, the Pixel Tablet's 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display, Tensor G2 chip and 5,000mAh battery are still more than nice enough for video streaming, gaming, web browsing and other casual tablet tasks. Google says it'll support the device with OS updates through June 2026 (with security updates through June 2028), though, as with all Android tablets, some apps aren't as optimized for large screens here as they are on iPads.
What sets the Pixel Tablet apart is the dock that comes with it, which serves as both a charger and a dedicated speaker. When you pop the tablet onto that, it can go into a "Hub Mode" and work along the lines of a Nest Hub Max. It's not quite as seamless, but you can still use the Google Assistant to control certain smart home devices, cast video from a phone, showcase photos, stream music and the like. If you've been in the market for both a tablet and smart display anyway, this is a clever compromise, though you should still want the former first and foremost.
A few other Google devices we recommend are also on sale. The top Android picks in our guide to the best smartphones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, are down to $531 and $799, respectively. The former applies to a 256GB model and beats the deal we saw on Black Friday by $78. Beyond that, the 4K Chromecast has dropped back to $38, the entry-level Nest Thermostat is down to $90 and the Pixel Watch 2 is still down to a low of $300.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-pixel-tablet-falls-back-to-an-all-time-low-of-399-154549399.html?src=rss
Google officially introduced its most capable large language model to date, Gemini. CEO Sundar Pichai said it’s the first of “a new generation of AI models, inspired by the way people understand and interact with the world.” Of course, it’s all very complex, but Google’s multimillion-dollar investment in AI has created a model more flexible than anything before it. Let’s break it down.
The system has been developed from the ground up as an integrated multimodal AI. As Engadget’s Andrew Tarantola puts it, “think of many foundational AI models as groups of smaller models all stacked together.” Gemini is trained to seamlessly understand and reason on all kinds of inputs, and this should make it pretty capable in the face of complex coding requests and even physics problems.
Gemini is being ‘made’ into three sizes: Nano, Pro and Ultra. Nano is on-device, and Pro will fold into Google’s chatbot, Bard. The improved Bard chatbot will be available in the same 170 countries and territories as the existing service. Gemini Pro apparently outscored the earlier model, which initially powered ChatGPT, called GPT-3.5, on six of eight AI benchmarks. However, there are no comparisons yet between OpenAI’s dominant chatbot running on GPT-4 and this new challenger.
Meanwhile, Gemini Ultra, which won’t be available until at least 2024, scored higher than any other model, including GPT-4 on some benchmark tests. However, this Ultra flavor reportedly requires additional testing before being cleared for release to “select customers, developers, partners and safety and responsibility experts” for further testing and feedback.
— Mat Smith
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The headphone industry isn’t known for its rapid evolution, which makes the arrival of the Creative’s Aurvana Ace headphones — the first wireless buds with MEMS drivers — notable. MEMS-based headphones need a small amount of “bias” power to work and while Singularity used a dedicated DAC with a specific xMEMS “mode,” Creative uses an amp “chip” that demonstrates, for the first time, consumer MEMS headphones in a wireless configuration. If MEMS is to catch on, it has to be compatible with true wireless headphones.
Foreign governments likely spy on your smartphone use, and now Senator Ron Wyden’s office is pushing for Apple and Google to reveal how exactly that works. Push notifications, the dings you get from apps calling your attention back to your phone, may be handed over from a company to government services if asked.
“Because Apple and Google deliver push notification data, they can be secretly compelled by governments to hand over this information,” Wyden wrote in the letter on Wednesday.
Apple claims it was suppressed from coming clean about this process, which is why Wyden’s letter specifically targets the Department of Justice. “In this case, the federal government prohibited us from sharing any information, and now this method has become public, we are updating our transparency reporting to detail these kinds of request,” Apple said in a statement to Engadget. Meanwhile, Google said it shared “the Senator’s commitment to keeping users informed about these requests.”
Scientists have developed a new implantable device that could change the way Type 1 diabetics receive insulin. The thread-like implant, or SHEATH (Subcutaneous Host-Enabled Alginate THread), is installed in a two-step process, which ultimately leads to the deployment of “islet devices,” derived from the cells that produce insulin in our bodies naturally. A 10-centimeter-long islet device secretes insulin through islet cells that form around it, while also receiving nutrients and oxygen from blood vessels to stay alive. Because the islet devices eventually need to be removed, the researchers are still working on ways to maximize the exchange of nutrients and oxygen in large-animal models — and eventually patients.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-googles-gemini-is-the-companys-answer-to-chatgpt-121531424.html?src=rss
When LG still made phones (sigh), at one point it tried to implement a "Hand ID" unlock gimmick on the G8 ThinQ, though in our experience, there was much room for improvement. For one, you'd have to turn on the screen first to toggle hand tracking. That was dumb. Fast forward to today, Realme is bringing a similar feature back to a new phone, the GT5 Pro, with support for some seemingly practical hand gestures.
Rather than using a time-of-flight camera and an infrared light, the Realme GT5 Pro utilizes its 32-megapixel selfie camera to detect your palm print. In the above demo, you can see how the screen wakes up automatically when the palm moves away from it. I highly doubt that the front camera stays on all the time, so I'm willing to bet that this is working in conjunction with an ultrasonic proximity sensor — most likely by Elliptic Labs, which is present on many Android handsets.
Realme said palm unlock is faster than face recognition, partly thanks to machine learning using over 10,000 models. The company even went as far as claiming that this security feature passed a penetration test involving over 10 million attacks. Still, the good-old under-display fingerprint reader is still there, so palm unlock is just an extra option — probably the most convenient for when you're cooking or driving.
Realme
Like the LG, the Realme GT5 Pro also supports several hand gestures. A pinch gesture would toggle the recent app list, and from there you can gently brush left or right to browse through the recent apps. Holding up your index finger will toggle cursor control, and hovering over a spot triggers a click. A three-finger palm gesture takes a screenshot. Flipping your palm around takes you back to the home screen. Pointing your thumb to the left toggles a "back" action. Finally, moving your palm towards the screen switches it off.
The phone itself is otherwise a standard flagship affair. It packs Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED panel from China's BOE (2,780 x 1,264, 144Hz, 4,500 nits), a generous 5,400mAh battery which supports 100W fast charging (12 minutes to 50 percent charge) or 50W wireless fast charging, USB-C 3.2, NFC, dual speakers and infrared remote. As part of its nine-layer thermal structure, Realme threw in a three-layer vapor-cooling chamber, which apparently has the industry's largest cooling surface area. The device is also rated with IP64 for dust and liquid protection.
Realme
Photography-wise, you get a 50-megapixel main camera (powered by a Sony LYT-808 sensor; as found on the OnePlus 12), an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and the same 50-megapixel, 3x periscopic telephoto camera (with a Sony IMX890) as the one on the Oppo Find X6 series. You can already tell the synergy between Realme, Oppo and OnePlus within the BBK family here.
The Realme GT5 Pro is available in China starting from 3,298 yuan or about $460 for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage model, and maxing out at 4,198 yuan or $590 for the 16GB RAM with 1TB storage model. Color options include black for the glass body, and orange or gold for the vegan leather options.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/realmes-gt5-pro-phone-can-unlock-itself-by-reading-your-palm-091320182.html?src=rss
It was reported in late November that Google Drive for desktop (v84.0.0.0-84.0.4.0) had a sync issue, which caused months or even years of files to disappear. If you were unfortunate enough to be part of this "small subset" of users, there's finally some good news. In the latest version of Drive for desktop app (version 85.0.13.0 or higher), you'll be able to access a file recovery tool via a few steps: go to the menu bar or system tray, click the Drive for desktop icon, press and hold the "Shift" key and click "Settings," and then you'll be able to hit "Recover from backups."
From there, you should see a notification saying "Recovery has started," and hopefully you'll get a "Recovery is complete" message after a while. You'll then find a new folder named "Google Drive Recovery" containing the unsynced files on your desktop.
Good luck, though, as Google doesn't expect this method to work for everyone. "If you’ve tried to run the recovery tool and are experiencing issues, submit feedback through the Drive for desktop app with the hashtag '#DFD84' and make sure to check the box to include diagnostic logs," the company said on the support page. There are also instructions for those who prefer trying with command line interface, Windows backup and Time Machine backup.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/updated-google-drive-for-desktop-offers-a-recovery-tool-for-missing-files-042758933.html?src=rss