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The Morning After: The X TV app wobbles onto your big screen

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The X TV app — teased earlier this year — is out in beta on Amazon Fire TVs, Google TVs and some LG sets. The short teaser video included in the beta app announcement shows a typical-looking streaming video interface sewn into what looks like Google’s version of the X app. There are rows of links to videos for the very small number of original videos on the platform, like content from SpaceX, Tesla and… Tucker Carlson. Naturally, there might (should?) be a bigger range of video once it gets out of beta, but if you’re not a Musk fan, you’re probably long divorced from X anyhow.

— Mat Smith

How to watch the new iPhone 16 unveiling at the September Apple event

Instagram Stories are getting comments

Bluesky added 2 million new users in a week following Brazil’s X ban

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Strangely missing from last month's Google Pixel launch event, Android 15’s source code is finally out. Android 15 will be available on select Pixel models soon, with support for phones from Samsung, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus and Oppo coming in the next few months. Some of the more interesting features include smart volume adjustment and improved split-screen app access.

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TMA
Engadget

Google’s second foldable has arrived. The Pixel 9 Pro fold has refined hardware, superior cameras and a long-lasting battery. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal display has an almost square 1:1 aspect ratio, 8 inches wide diagonally, larger than its predecessor’s 7.6-inch panel. Google just needs to iron out a few software quirks — something we’re saying about most foldable.

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Developer Firewalk Studios says it’s taking Concord offline on September 6, just two weeks after its release, to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.” You can no longer buy Concord digitally, and Sony will refund everyone who bought the $40 game. Game director Ryan Ellis wrote on the PlayStation Blog that the team recognized “aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended.” There are lots of reasons Concord didn’t take off, from its so-so gameplay and lack of captivating characters to heavyweight competition from other free-to-play team shooters, think Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone and Sony’s own Destiny 2.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-the-x-tv-app-wobbles-onto-your-big-screen-111502220.html?src=rss

Microsoft brings 5G to its latest Surface Pros for Business

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If you want a new Surface Pro with 5G, you'll have to order it through Microsoft's commercial store for business customers. Today, the company announced that 5G versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Pro (Copilot+) for Business will be available on September 26. Last month, Microsoft also kicked off pre-orders for the Wi-Fi Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business, which will both start shipping on September 10th. And before you ask, yes these are pretty much the same devices Microsoft launched for consumers in June. The difference now is that IT workers will be able to buy them in bulk via the company's enterprise resellers.

Still, the 5G news could be compelling for anyone who wants instant internet access while travelling around the US. And, at the very least, both the 5G-equipped Surface Pros for Business will be far more capable than the ill-fated Surface Pro 9. That machine was powered by a slow Qualcomm chip and also didn't have the advantage of Microsoft's recent Windows on Arm upgrades, which includes a faster emulator for older apps. It's just a shame that, once again, Microsoft is stuck with an older Intel chip — the Surface Pro 10 for Business still runs the first Core Ultra chips, not the newly-announced Core Ultra 200V.

In other Surface news, Microsoft is also launching a new full-sized Surface Keyboard with a Copilot key on October 11. Surely this will make some corporate drone happy.

The Copilot+ Surface Pro for Business system will cost $1,400 with a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, while the Surface Pro 10 for Business will run you $1,800 with a Core Ultra 135 and the same specs. It's a good thing those machines have 5G, because you won't be storing much video on those paltry SSDs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsoft-brings-5g-to-its-latest-surface-pros-for-business-110033856.html?src=rss

Cheaper Copilot+ PCs are coming with Qualcomm’s 8-core Snapdragon X Plus chip

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Qualcomm is moving to make AI PCs more affordable. Following the company’s 12-core Snapdragon X Elite and 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, it unveiled a toned-down eight-core version of the Snapdragon X Plus on Wednesday. The chip includes the same Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU) from the higher-end variants, capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for powerful on-device AI.

The 4nm AI-focused chip has a custom Qualcomm Orion CPU built for “mainstream” (i.e., cheaper) Copilot+ PCs. Its eight cores can reach speeds of up to 3.2GHz, with single-core performance at up to 3.4GHz. Qualcomm says it enables days-long battery life in laptops.

The chip includes an integrated Adreno GPU, which supports up to three 4K 60Hz monitors or two 5K 60Hz displays. It supports an internal display of up to UHD 120Hz with HDR10.

The chart below shows how the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core’s specs compare to other AI chips in the line:

A chart showing different Snapdragon X AI chips
Qualcomm

“Copilot+ PCs, powered exclusively today by Snapdragon X Series platforms, launched the new generation in personal computing, made possible by our groundbreaking NPU,” Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon wrote in a press release. “We are now bringing these transformative AI experiences, along with best-in-class performance and unprecedented battery life, to more users worldwide with Snapdragon X Plus 8-core. We’re proud to be working with our global OEM partners to restore performance leadership to the Windows ecosystem.”

The first PCs with the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus include laptops from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and others. They’ll be available starting today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/cheaper-copilot-pcs-are-coming-with-qualcomms-8-core-snapdragon-x-plus-chip-110013598.html?src=rss

Dell brings Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus to Inspiron and Latitude laptops

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Dell revealed details for new models in its Inspiron and Latitude laptop lines at IFA 2024. The company announced in May that it would be powering several of its new devices with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus, and now we have more information about how those processors will work in Dell's collection of Copilot+ PCs.

The Inspiron 14 and the Latitude 5455 can have either the 8-core or 10-core Snapdragon X Plus processors. The 10-core option has clock speeds up to 3.4GHz while the newly announced 8-core goes up to 3.24 GHz. Both versions have the same NPU for AI tasks, which offers up to 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) in machine learning performance in support of Microsoft's Copilot AI platform.

Dell Inspiron 14
Inspiron 14
Dell

Both 14-inch laptops are equipped with Qualcomm's Adreno GPUs. The machines have 16:10 FHD+ displays with a 1920x1200 resolution. Dell also highlighted "up to 27 hours" of battery life for the Latitude 5455, which will be available starting September 24, although it hasn't shared pricing information yet. The Inspiron 14 will also be available on September 24 and will retail for $899 in the US.

Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon X Plus line earlier this year. It's a lower-end series than the Snapdragon X Elite, but it still promises enough power to handle the increasing number of AI tasks being asked of modern computers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/dell-brings-qualcomms-snapdragon-x-plus-to-inspiron-and-latitude-laptops-110009714.html?src=rss

Lyft’s new price lock feature caps the cost of rides, even during peak hours

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Lyft is rolling out a new price lock feature that caps the cost of rides, in an attempt to solve the problem of cost unpredictability for those who rely on the platform for daily commutes. The company says this tool will even work during peak hours, when rides are usually at their most expensive. There are, however, some caveats.

First of all, there’s a required monthly subscription price to use this service, though it’s only $3 per month. There’s also a curious lack of details regarding how exactly the cap works. Does it just average past rides and exclude peak pricing? Is there a limit to just how much can be capped? We reached out to Lyft and will update this post if we hear anything.

The feature in action.
Lyft

One thing is certain. Lyft is planning on this feature being a hit. It has suggested that commuters will take 40 percent more rides once the price lock tool becomes commonplace. However, it's worth noting that Lyft is the one that sets the prices in the first place, so it caused the instability that this tool sets out to solve. 

There’s also a promotion to advertise the price lock mechanism: 100 customers who are starting new jobs will receive free “first day” rides. This will be handled via LinkedIn. Just 100 rides? That seems pretty stingy for a company as large as Lyft, but what do I know?

This isn’t the first time Lyft has tried its hand at a subscription-based service. The company’s Pink subscription service has been an on-again/off-again thing for years. This is more or less a bundle of add-ons at this point. Pink stopped offering ride discounts but began offering perks like free priority pickups and three free cancellations per month. This program is still live, at $10 per month or $100 per year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/lyfts-new-price-lock-feature-caps-the-cost-of-rides-even-during-peak-hours-100014522.html?src=rss

DTS built an AI-powered system to make dialog sound clearer

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One of the great universal annoyances of life is that TV explosions and soundtracks are always mega-loud, while dialogue is quieter than a church mouse. This is especially true of modern action movies and TV shows that seem to have been mixed primarily to make our walls shake while remaining mostly indiscernible.

So we dive into the settings. We adjust soundbar placement. We turn on the subtitles. We do it all. Some of this helps, but never enough. DTS is trying to solve this problem once and for all with some well-placed AI. The company just announced its DTS Clear Dialogue feature, which is an “AI-powered solution designed to enhance the clarity of spoken dialogue on TVs.”

DTS says the AI algorithm identifies and boosts dialogue in audio streams, thus eliminating the aforementioned problems. The system also allows for personalized audio settings, as one person’s “perfect” is another’s “please make it stop.”

This is an on-device toolset, meaning it’ll eventually get adopted by TV manufacturers. DTS hasn’t announced any partnerships yet, but the company’s tech is usually adopted by all of the bigwigs, like Sony, Hisense, Philips, LG and Vizio, among others. We’ll be on the lookout for the first televisions that incorporate this feature. For now, the company’s demoing the service at the IFA tech conference in Berlin.

DTS has partnerships in place with content providers, bringing theater-grade audio to home releases. It’s recently teamed up with Disney to enhance the sound of MCU movies and to provide an IMAX-like experience. Boy, could those MCU flicks use a bit of that AI-enhanced dialogue magic the company’s promising.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/dts-built-an-ai-powered-system-to-make-dialog-sound-clearer-080032541.html?src=rss

DraftKings gets slapped with fine for online slots that paid zilch

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DraftKings and White Hat Gaming must pay the state of Connecticut a total of $22,500 in fines after its online slot machine failed to issue players a win for a whole week. NBC News reported that the state’s Department of Consumer Protection uncovered the non-paying slot machine and issued the fines.

The sports betting and gambling website received a $19,000 fine and White Hat Gaming received a $3,500 fine. The website promised its players that its Deal or No Deal Banker’s Bonanza online slot machine would pay out 95 cents for every dollar it took from players. However, a Department of Consumer Protections report found that the slot machine didn’t pay out one red cent from August 15-21 last year. A total of 522 players put almost $24,000 into the machine for more than 20,569 spins during the period the machine refused to pay out any winnings.

An improperly loaded file caused the machine to glitch and refuse to let players win the advertised amount. Once the faulty file was located and identified as the cause of the glitch, DraftKings and White Hat Gaming relaunched the game on August 22, 2023.

The report also found that DraftKings and White Hat Gaming did not disclose the faulty machine to state officials until the Consumer Protections department requested the information last year. One player told the gaming website that they played “a couple hundred spins” at 20 cents per spin and the machine never paid out a “single winning spin or partial win,” according to the report. DraftKings officials responded to several complaints with messages like “I understand it can be frustrating to have a bit of a cold streak, but I can assure you there is nothing wrong with the game itself.”

The slot machine continued to withhold its winnings for another week until White Hat Gaming identified the glitch and repaired the software a second time. White Hat also says in the state’s report that all customers received refunds “without any notification from DraftKings,” according to the report.

A spokesperson for the Department of Consumer Protection also told NBC News that White Hat Gaming “responded swiftly” to investigators’ inquiries. However, DraftKings’ response “was not satisfactory” hence the higher fine.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/draftkings-gets-slapped-with-fine-for-online-slots-that-paid-zilch-222651632.html?src=rss

The X TV app is out now and yes, it really sucks

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X has entered the streaming wars, sort of. Owner Elon Musk announced that the X TV app — teased earlier this year — is available now for some Amazon Fire TVs, Google TVs and some LG panels.

If your TV doesn’t fit into one of those categories, don’t fret. You’re not missing anything.

The short teaser video included in the beta app announcement shows what appears to be the Google version of the app with a typical looking streaming video interface. There are rows of links to videos for the very small number of original shows on the platform like right-wing dog whistler Tucker Carlson and accounts for SpaceX and Tesla. However, the actual app (or at least the version for Amazon Fire TVs) looks nothing like the video and offers even less in terms of content.

Currently, the X TV app is just a video delivery system for the X app. You’ll need an X account to log in and it just sends you to a curated list of X videos that are already on the platform. However, what appear to be the default recommendations are truly hideous to anyone not of the same political mind as Musk.

The X TV app offers some truly horrible recommendations for videos.
Danny Gallagher

I used a burner account that wasn't following many users, and the videos the X TV app offered me on first viewing includes a Megyn Kelly video accusing Tim Walz of committing “stolen valor,” a report from right-wing social media influencer Andy Ngo and Carlson’s fawning interview with historian Darryl Cooper who performs some revisionist history by calling Winston Churchill “the chief villain of the Second World War.”

X TV's video library is reflective of its users; after years of skewing liberal, its most active userbase is now conservative fans ready for whatever red meat X dangles over them. The videos on show may entertain those users, and Musk’s fan club may fawn over finally having a streaming app on smart TVs, but even if you’re in that demo, it’s a disappointingly barebones app compared to rivals like Rumble. 

So far, X's efforts to attract top-tier talent have been rocky, at best. While Khloé Kardashian announced a video podcast deal on X earlier this year, Musk bungled the launch of Don Lemon's planned show so badly that Lemon is suing him. Other participants in X's video plans include the WWE and sports commentator Jim Rome, not to mention Tucker Carlson friend and deplorable human being Tulsi Gabbard. 

If for some reason you still want to try this mess out, Musk tweeted earlier today that X "will soon be available on all home TV screens." Not exactly the most detailed proclamation, but when has he ever mislead people before? So while compatible devices are limited at the moment, we're sure it'll be more widely available before long.

Update: September 4, 2024, 3:45PM ET: This story has been updated with more details on celebrities using X video as well as details on when X TV might come to more devices. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-x-tv-app-is-out-now-and-yes-it-really-sucks-204931559.html?src=rss

Copilot+ features are coming in November to AI PCs powered by Intel and AMD’s latest chips

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Qualcomm’s exclusivity period on Copilot+ PCs is winding down. Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday that Intel’s new 200V processors and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips will add Copilot+ AI capabilities beginning in November.

Copilot+ PCs include features like Live Captions (real-time subtitle generation, including translations), Cocreator in Paint (prompt-based image generation), Windows Studio Effects image editing (background blurring, eye contact adjustment and auto-framing) and AI tools in Photos. Of particular interest to gamers is Auto Super Resolution, an Nvidia DLSS competitor that upscales graphical resolution and refresh rates in real time without stunting performance.

The AI PCs will also eventually include Recall, Microsoft’s searchable timeline of PC activity. This feature was delayed to enhance security after an initial blowback. (Who’d have thought a history of everything you do on your PC might need to be locked down as tightly as possible?) The company said the revised Recall would start rolling out to beta testers in October.

Chart showing
Intel

Intel’s 200V series processors, revealed today, include a powerful neural processing unit (NPU) that supports up to 48 TOPS (tera operations per second) for locally processed AI models and tools. With up to 32GB of onboard memory, the 200V is “the most efficient x86 processor ever,” according to Intel, with 50 percent lower on-package power consumption.

Microsoft’s Windows and devices lead, Pavan Davuluri, confirmed that Intel’s new chips will support Copilot+. “All designs featuring Intel Core Ultra 200V series processors and running the latest version of Windows are eligible to receive Copilot+ PC features as a free update starting in November,” Davuluri said onstage at Intel’s IFA launch event in Germany.

Meanwhile, according to a Windows blog post, AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips, revealed earlier this summer, will also receive Copilot+ features in November. The NPUs in AMD’s chips can reach up to 50 TOPS for AI performance and have 16 percent faster overall performance than their predecessors.

The first Copilot+ PCs arrived in June, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip. The initial batch of Arm-based PCs include laptops and 2-in-1s from Microsoft, Acer, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Asus and Dell.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/copilot-features-are-coming-to-ai-pcs-powered-by-intel-and-amds-latest-chips-190707475.html?src=rss

Instagram Stories are getting comments

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Instagram is rolling out comments for Stories. Previously, the short-lived Stories could only be replied to in direct messages. This new feature offers a more visible way for users to interact with their friends' posts. The original poster will not receive the comments in a DM; a rep from Meta said that "comments live only on your Story."

Story comments can be turned on or off for any individual post. If enabled, comments can be seen by anyone following an account, but only mutuals can leave comments. As with the Story post type, the comments will disappear after 24 hours. Small profile images of the commenters will appear at the bottom of a person's Story icon, so you'll know there are comments attached before you tap to view the post.

People can still choose to respond to Stories with a DM if the user has their account set to accept those messages. There's also an option to send a DM in response to a Story comment, which you can do by swiping left on the text and tapping the DM icon.

Instagram has been giving users more ways to snazz up their Stories. The posts can be created with customizable templates, get an AI-generated background or use a growing number of interactive stickers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-stories-are-getting-comments-183051677.html?src=rss