TikTok is rolling out some direct message updates, including "highly requested" group chats. Owner ByteDance notes that group chats aren't available everywhere just yet, but those who do have access to the feature will be able to chat in groups of up to 32 people.
You can start a group chat in a couple of ways. From your inbox, you can tap the Chat button at the top of the screen or a name in the messages list and then the "More options..." button. You can then choose which friends you want to include and then tap "Start group chat."
The other method to start a group chat is by sharing a post with a bunch of people. When you have a video you'd like to chat about with more than one person, tap the Share button, then select "Create group chat." Pick the friends you want to send it to, add a message if you like, then start chatting with your buds about the video.
You can accept any group chat invites you receive via your inbox. You can only invite people you mutually follow to a group chat. As with regular DMs, group chats are not available to users aged between 13 and 15. As for 16- and 17-year-olds, they'll only be able to join a group chat if they have at least one mutual friend in there. If they create a group chat, they'll have to review and manually approve anyone new who joins.
TikTok is also bringing stickers to DMs. That gives folks another way to engage with each other visually. You can create and upload custom stickers for anyone to use.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-is-finally-rolling-out-group-chats-for-up-to-32-people-180056720.html?src=rss
Amazon has struck new deals that will give people the option to shop without having to leave TikTok or Pinterest, according to The Information. Users will be able to purchase items from the Amazon ads the pop up within either platform. Typically, clicking on an ad would take a buyer to Amazon's interface, but this deal will let them check out from within TikTok or Pinterest using the payment method and shipping address saved on their Amazon account.
The Information says it has seen screenshots of the ads, which show more information than usual, including items' prices, their estimated shipping times and whether they're eligible for Prime shipment. Take note that users will have to link their social media accounts to their Amazon profiles first before they're able to seamlessly shop from within their apps. "In-app shopping with Amazon is available for select products advertised on TikTok and sold by Amazon or by independent sellers in Amazon's store," a company spokesperson confirmed to the publication.
Amazon's new deals reportedly expand on its previous agreements with Meta and Snap under an initiative that's internally called Project Handshake. Similar to these newer arrangements, those previous deals made it possible for Snapchat and Instagram users to purchase items from within their apps. As The Information notes, though, it's not quite clear why TikTok has entered the agreement when it's been trying to grow its own shopping platform. TikTok brought live shopping to North America in 2022, and it added more relevant features, such as a dedicated shop tab and live stream shop buttons, last year. In addition to the fact that Amazon shopping could undercut sales on its own platform, TikTok could also end up getting banned in the US unless ByteDance, its parent company based in China, agrees to sell it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-and-pinterest-team-up-with-amazon-for-in-app-shopping-140004136.html?src=rss
Microsoft is teaming up with secretive data analytics company Palantir, which has been accused of (among other wretched acts) enabling the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to operate “as a domestic surveillance agency.” Bloombergreports that Palantir will integrate its products with Microsoft’s government cloud tools, including the Azure OpenAI service, “in a bid to sell software” to US defense agencies. Oh, joy.
The pair will reportedly focus on products for US defense workers to handle logistics, contracting and action planning. But given the secretive nature of Palantir’s work, those generic and seemingly non-threatening terms don’t necessarily say much.
Palantir’s software has been used to track and suppress dissent. The company was founded by Peter Thiel, who supports and funds far-right causes and has a political philosophy his biographer described as “bordering on fascism.” In Thiel’s Stanford classes and his book Zero to One, the Silicon Valley billionaire gushed over how much better companies are run than governments because they have a single decision-maker. “A dictator, basically,” Thiel’s biographer toldTime in 2021.
Thiel also wrote the words, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
In 2018, Palantir claimed in The New York Times that it doesn’t work with ICE’s deportation squad, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). This contradicted a report from The Intercept revealing a 2016 Homeland Security disclosure showing ERO used Palantir’s software to “gather information for both criminal and civil cases against immigrants.”
In 2020, Amnesty International warned about Palantir, “We could close our eyes and pretend that contrary to all the evidence, Palantir is a rights-respecting company or we can call this façade what it is: another company placing profit over people, no matter the human cost.”
Bloomberg reports that Palantir’s newest AI software requires a large language model. Now, in classified government environments, Palantir will combine its powers with those of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI, which includes GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo with Vision, GPT-4, GPT-3.5 and more.
What could possibly go wrong?
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-and-palantir-partner-to-sell-ai-to-government-agencies-171748773.html?src=rss
X, whose top executives have long railed against advertisers who fled the platform amid concerns over hate speech, is now also suing them. X has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and several of its members, including Mars, Unilever and CVS Health, CEO Linda Yaccarino said in an open letter shared on X.
According to Yaccarino, the group engaged in an “illegal boycott” of X. “The consequence - perhaps the intent - of this boycott was to seek to deprive X’s users, be they sports fans, gamers, journalists, activists, parents or political and corporate leaders, of the Global Town Square,” she wrote.
As Axiospoints out, GARM is part of the World Federation of Advertisers (which is also named in the lawsuit) and was created to come up with brand safety guidelines for online advertisers. The lawsuit alleges that the group “conspired, along with dozens of non-defendant co-conspirators, to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue from Twitter.”
GARM didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s not the first time X has filed a lawsuit against a group that Musk has accused of stoking an advertiser exodus from the platform. The company previously sued the Center Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an anti-hate group that published research showing that X failed to take down hateful posts shared by premium subscribers. That lawsuit was later dismissed by a judge who said X was trying to “punish” the group for sharing unflattering research. X is also suing Media Matters, a watchdog group that published a report showing X had displayed ads alongside anti-Semitic content.
“We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words,” Musk, who nearly a year ago publicly told advertisers to “go fuck themselves," wrote in a post on Tuesday. “Now, it is war.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/x-sues-advertisers-for-illegal-boycott-of-the-platform-173100888.html?src=rss
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series has always tempted me more than the Z Fold. Maybe it’s the flip-phone nostalgia taking hold; maybe it's the fact that I don’t want to watch video inside a square; maybe it's simply the Z Flip’s more palatable price.
The Z Flip series has launched in tandem with the Z Fold for several years, but often with specifications that put it around the bottom of each flagship family, including the traditionally shaped Galaxy S family. That changes this year, with Samsung addressing some of the Z Flip 5’s biggest shortcomings: battery life and middling cameras.
It’s a good thing too. As we mentioned in our Z Fold 6 review, there’s more foldable competition than ever. In fact, in the face of Motorola’s most recent foldables, while Samsung is doing something, is it enough?
Design and display
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
You’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference, visually, between the Z Flip 6 and last year’s Z Flip 5, with only some minor design changes. The upgraded camera array now has a metal edge around each lens, and the sides are flatter this year, in line with the design of other 2024 Galaxy devices. There’s alo a largely imperceptible reduction in thickness when the device is closed too, likely down to a newer hinge design. Compared to my year-old Z Flip 5, the crease seems once again even less visible this year.
While and display sizes and resolutions remain the same, the main screen on the Z Flip 6 tops out at 2,600 nits, compared to the 1,750 nits of the Z Flip 5's display. Samsung claims this is its brightest foldable display yet, and it’s more than enough to handle temperamental summer weather here in the UK. It’s another crisp, smooth, beautiful flexible AMOLED.
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
The Z Flip 6’s cover display is the same size, brightness and resolution as its predecessor. Does it look as good as the Moto Razr 50 Ultra? In my opinion, no, but there’s enough screen space to read notifications, frame your photos and even watch videos.
Also, if you’re worried about screen toughness on your new foldable, Samsung’s new Z Assurance program is worth noting. It offers a free one-time replacement of Samsung’s factory-installed screen protector on the Z Flip 6 and even a one-time discount on screen replacement if the very worst should happen.
When it comes to utility, despite more widget support (and space for more of them), the Z Flip 6’s Flex Window doesn’t do enough. Notifications are still a swipe away, and the expansive screen (introduced last year) offers enough space to take selfies with the device without unfolding it.
Samsung’s software innovations, like AI-powered translation, take advantage of the dual-screen Z Flip 6, showing both parties what’s being said. It’s generally pretty accurate, and combining audio and text should help reduce misunderstandings and mistranslations.
Galaxy AI powers new photography features tied to the cover display, too. AutoZoom takes at least some of the guesswork out of framing when setting up the Z Flip to take a timed photo or record video without direct supervision, and it works well, cramming in friends or cropping your surroundings to focus in on your group. Editing and modifying the Flex Window is still unnecessarily complicated. Other features are buried away in the Labs section of settings, and there are not enough widgets for a device on its fifth iteration. (Samsung never launched a Z Flip 2.)
But, when other flip foldables offer a truncated version of your home screen, and can (with mixed success) run most apps, some new widgets aren’t enough. Fortunately, Samsung’s Labs settings can run a handful of apps on the cover screen, including YouTube, Netflix, WhatsApp, and Google Maps. It’s a start, but if the cover display can handle streaming video, surely I could get a Kindle reading app, or a stripped-down version of Chrome. I wish Samsung had pushed it further. (There are some tools and apps to work around this, many Galaxy Z Flip users swear by Good Lock, but I don’t want to have to work around this constraint.)
The Z Flip 6 also gets a RAM upgrade this year, up to 12 gigs from 8GB last year. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and S24, it has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and I didn’t notice any performance issues during testing.
Cameras
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
The primary camera sensor on this year’s Z Flip has finally been upgraded to 50 megapixels, putting it on par with this year’s Galaxy S24. It’s better, sure, but doesn’t quite match the capabilities of leading camera phones like the Pixel 8 Pro, S24 Ultra, or iPhone 15 Pro.
Pitting the Z Flip 6 against the Z Flip 5, I was surprised how often the images pretty much matched each other. Predictably, if I chose to shoot on the Z Flip 6 in full 50-megapixel stills, that offered more fidelity than the Z Flip 5. If I shot in 12MP on the Z Flip 6, there often was little difference between the two foldables. The newer phone was less prone to blowing out an entire image when everything was brightly lit. At the same time, it’s more reliable in low-light situations, especially when you choose the 12MP setting, letting the phone process those extra pixels for a more detailed shot. The Z Flip 6 seemed more capable of pulling out finer detail, whether that was blades of grass or the soft outline of this patient dog.
A bigger benefit of that bigger sensor is that the Z Flip 6 can zoom in by cropping the 50MP image to a 12MP one. You can capture a nice image at 2x and even 4x zoom, without a dedicated telephoto lens.
Unsurprisingly, thanks to Samsung’s processing, the higher-resolution sensors in the Z Flip 6 perform better in low light than last year’s model. Samsung’s imaging processing occasionally got a little too aggressive, with clothing and skylines often marred by crinkly lines and artifacts. It’s not really a leap beyond the Z Flip 5’s cameras, but it wasn’t a terrible imaging setup in the first place. This form factor ensures that you’re using these high-resolution cameras for any selfies or video calls, meaning nothing else comes close in quality.
Galaxy AI features come to foldables
Samsung’s Galaxy AI software lands on its foldables this year, and the company continues adding and refining. Alongside Chat Assist for writing texts and emails, the fantastic Google Circle to Search is here, making it easier to investigate practically anything you’re looking at on your phone. It’s the camera features I’ve been most impressed with – and were pretty much the only Galaxy AI tricks I used with any regularity.
Samsung’s improved AI photo editing tools are easy to use and right where you need them to be. Once you open a photo, you tap on Samsung’s AI sparkle icon, and select objects by circling them. You can then delete your selection or move it into a better position and, with another tap of the AI button, let Samsung’s AI fill in the gaps.
In complete contrast to the laborious widget menus and settings for the front display, it’s so easy to use and does what you want it to. After your AI nips and tucks, there’s a ‘view original’ button to compare your images.
Then there’s Sketch to image, a delightful distraction. Making a few cursory lines, or attempt to draw something specific, and Galaxy AI will generate an object and apply it to your photo, often in a photo-realistic way. Sometimes, it even nails it.
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
Galaxy phones will add an “AI-generated content” watermark, but the bigger signs of AI objects and editing were scale (hi, giant goose), blurry outlines or the rules of physics.
I was surprised at how capable Sasmung’s image generation was. Sketching a ghost (successfully!) behind a mesh barrier generated my spook behind the barrier. It would also apply appropriate light shading and shadows for some uncannily accurate results. That dog picture earlier? There was no ball there. Also: multiple photorealistic white hats. It was a shame I couldn’t change the color of these items, or offer some text-based guidance to recognize my scribbles. It’s a gimmick, sure, but it’s a good one. I’m still using it a lot, days later. It’s a lot of fun.
Not all the AI features are that successful: Portrait Studio will automatically detect images of people and offer multiple AI-generated drawings/ sketches and 3D renders, all of which make me look like all the other white male tech journalists who wear glasses. Which is harsh, but fair.
Battery life: Better, not great
The Z Flip 6 packs a bigger 4,000mAh battery, and the Z Flip series’ biggest weakness has been lasting an entire day, especially under heavy use. The Z Flip 6 scrapes through here. Using it as my main phone, it always lasted through a day of heavy use, with around 10 percent left at around 10PM. I would still keep a charger on me, anxious that I might not make it through an evening.
On our video rundown test, it lasted over 13 hours of playback on the main screen. Sadly, the frustratingly slow charge speed is still here. The Z Flip 6 can charge up to 25W, and after years of higher charge rates, I felt it took its time to recharge. From empty, it took two hours to top up fully. For comparison, the S24 Ultra can charge at up to 45W, and the Pixel 8 Pro can charge at up to 40W. I think this would also be less of an issue if I weren’t worried about the Z Flip 6’s battery going the distance.
Foldables have typically taken lower power input over the years, likely due to how battery cells are arranged inside a foldable device. However, if the 2024 Motorola Razr+ can handle 45W, why can’t the Z Flip 6?
Wrap-up
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
Samsung’s Z Flip series remains the most realistic flagship option when pitted against the smartphone slab status quo. The latest model is satisfying to use and satisfying to fold away and slip into a pocket. The Z Flip 6 also has better cameras, improved battery life and comes with all the Galaxy AI features that are shaping up to be Samsung’s smartphone USP.
Perhaps this focus on AI meant that the cover display has barely evolved since last year’s Z Flip — especially frustrating when the Z Flip 6 costs $100 more than its predecessor. While you can tap into experimental features to enable YouTube playback and Google Maps access, it’s a little underwhelming, especially when rivals like Motorola have proved that more is possible on a foldable’s secondary screen.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-flip-6-review-a-slightly-better-foldable-aimed-at-everyone-120041523.html?src=rss
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series has always tempted me more than the Z Fold. Maybe it’s the flip-phone nostalgia taking hold; maybe it's the fact that I don’t want to watch video inside a square; maybe it's simply the Z Flip’s more palatable price.
The Z Flip series has launched in tandem with the Z Fold for several years, but often with specifications that put it around the bottom of each flagship family, including the traditionally shaped Galaxy S family. That changes this year, with Samsung addressing some of the Z Flip 5’s biggest shortcomings: battery life and middling cameras.
It’s a good thing too. As we mentioned in our Z Fold 6 review, there’s more foldable competition than ever. In fact, in the face of Motorola’s most recent foldables, while Samsung is doing something, is it enough?
Design and display
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
You’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference, visually, between the Z Flip 6 and last year’s Z Flip 5, with only some minor design changes. The upgraded camera array now has a metal edge around each lens, and the sides are flatter this year, in line with the design of other 2024 Galaxy devices. There’s alo a largely imperceptible reduction in thickness when the device is closed too, likely down to a newer hinge design. Compared to my year-old Z Flip 5, the crease seems once again even less visible this year.
While and display sizes and resolutions remain the same, the main screen on the Z Flip 6 tops out at 2,600 nits, compared to the 1,750 nits of the Z Flip 5's display. Samsung claims this is its brightest foldable display yet, and it’s more than enough to handle temperamental summer weather here in the UK. It’s another crisp, smooth, beautiful flexible AMOLED.
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
The Z Flip 6’s cover display is the same size, brightness and resolution as its predecessor. Does it look as good as the Moto Razr 50 Ultra? In my opinion, no, but there’s enough screen space to read notifications, frame your photos and even watch videos.
Also, if you’re worried about screen toughness on your new foldable, Samsung’s new Z Assurance program is worth noting. It offers a free one-time replacement of Samsung’s factory-installed screen protector on the Z Flip 6 and even a one-time discount on screen replacement if the very worst should happen.
When it comes to utility, despite more widget support (and space for more of them), the Z Flip 6’s Flex Window doesn’t do enough. Notifications are still a swipe away, and the expansive screen (introduced last year) offers enough space to take selfies with the device without unfolding it.
Samsung’s software innovations, like AI-powered translation, take advantage of the dual-screen Z Flip 6, showing both parties what’s being said. It’s generally pretty accurate, and combining audio and text should help reduce misunderstandings and mistranslations.
Galaxy AI powers new photography features tied to the cover display, too. AutoZoom takes at least some of the guesswork out of framing when setting up the Z Flip to take a timed photo or record video without direct supervision, and it works well, cramming in friends or cropping your surroundings to focus in on your group. Editing and modifying the Flex Window is still unnecessarily complicated. Other features are buried away in the Labs section of settings, and there are not enough widgets for a device on its fifth iteration. (Samsung never launched a Z Flip 2.)
But, when other flip foldables offer a truncated version of your home screen, and can (with mixed success) run most apps, some new widgets aren’t enough. Fortunately, Samsung’s Labs settings can run a handful of apps on the cover screen, including YouTube, Netflix, WhatsApp, and Google Maps. It’s a start, but if the cover display can handle streaming video, surely I could get a Kindle reading app, or a stripped-down version of Chrome. I wish Samsung had pushed it further. (There are some tools and apps to work around this, many Galaxy Z Flip users swear by Good Lock, but I don’t want to have to work around this constraint.)
The Z Flip 6 also gets a RAM upgrade this year, up to 12 gigs from 8GB last year. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and S24, it has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and I didn’t notice any performance issues during testing.
Cameras
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
The primary camera sensor on this year’s Z Flip has finally been upgraded to 50 megapixels, putting it on par with this year’s Galaxy S24. It’s better, sure, but doesn’t quite match the capabilities of leading camera phones like the Pixel 8 Pro, S24 Ultra, or iPhone 15 Pro.
Pitting the Z Flip 6 against the Z Flip 5, I was surprised how often the images pretty much matched each other. Predictably, if I chose to shoot on the Z Flip 6 in full 50-megapixel stills, that offered more fidelity than the Z Flip 5. If I shot in 12MP on the Z Flip 6, there often was little difference between the two foldables. The newer phone was less prone to blowing out an entire image when everything was brightly lit. At the same time, it’s more reliable in low-light situations, especially when you choose the 12MP setting, letting the phone process those extra pixels for a more detailed shot. The Z Flip 6 seemed more capable of pulling out finer detail, whether that was blades of grass or the soft outline of this patient dog.
A bigger benefit of that bigger sensor is that the Z Flip 6 can zoom in by cropping the 50MP image to a 12MP one. You can capture a nice image at 2x and even 4x zoom, without a dedicated telephoto lens.
Unsurprisingly, thanks to Samsung’s processing, the higher-resolution sensors in the Z Flip 6 perform better in low light than last year’s model. Samsung’s imaging processing occasionally got a little too aggressive, with clothing and skylines often marred by crinkly lines and artifacts. It’s not really a leap beyond the Z Flip 5’s cameras, but it wasn’t a terrible imaging setup in the first place. This form factor ensures that you’re using these high-resolution cameras for any selfies or video calls, meaning nothing else comes close in quality.
Galaxy AI features come to foldables
Samsung’s Galaxy AI software lands on its foldables this year, and the company continues adding and refining. Alongside Chat Assist for writing texts and emails, the fantastic Google Circle to Search is here, making it easier to investigate practically anything you’re looking at on your phone. It’s the camera features I’ve been most impressed with – and were pretty much the only Galaxy AI tricks I used with any regularity.
Samsung’s improved AI photo editing tools are easy to use and right where you need them to be. Once you open a photo, you tap on Samsung’s AI sparkle icon, and select objects by circling them. You can then delete your selection or move it into a better position and, with another tap of the AI button, let Samsung’s AI fill in the gaps.
In complete contrast to the laborious widget menus and settings for the front display, it’s so easy to use and does what you want it to. After your AI nips and tucks, there’s a ‘view original’ button to compare your images.
Then there’s Sketch to image, a delightful distraction. Making a few cursory lines, or attempt to draw something specific, and Galaxy AI will generate an object and apply it to your photo, often in a photo-realistic way. Sometimes, it even nails it.
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
Galaxy phones will add an “AI-generated content” watermark, but the bigger signs of AI objects and editing were scale (hi, giant goose), blurry outlines or the rules of physics.
I was surprised at how capable Sasmung’s image generation was. Sketching a ghost (successfully!) behind a mesh barrier generated my spook behind the barrier. It would also apply appropriate light shading and shadows for some uncannily accurate results. That dog picture earlier? There was no ball there. Also: multiple photorealistic white hats. It was a shame I couldn’t change the color of these items, or offer some text-based guidance to recognize my scribbles. It’s a gimmick, sure, but it’s a good one. I’m still using it a lot, days later. It’s a lot of fun.
Not all the AI features are that successful: Portrait Studio will automatically detect images of people and offer multiple AI-generated drawings/ sketches and 3D renders, all of which make me look like all the other white male tech journalists who wear glasses. Which is harsh, but fair.
Battery life: Better, not great
The Z Flip 6 packs a bigger 4,000mAh battery, and the Z Flip series’ biggest weakness has been lasting an entire day, especially under heavy use. The Z Flip 6 scrapes through here. Using it as my main phone, it always lasted through a day of heavy use, with around 10 percent left at around 10PM. I would still keep a charger on me, anxious that I might not make it through an evening.
On our video rundown test, it lasted over 13 hours of playback on the main screen. Sadly, the frustratingly slow charge speed is still here. The Z Flip 6 can charge up to 25W, and after years of higher charge rates, I felt it took its time to recharge. From empty, it took two hours to top up fully. For comparison, the S24 Ultra can charge at up to 45W, and the Pixel 8 Pro can charge at up to 40W. I think this would also be less of an issue if I weren’t worried about the Z Flip 6’s battery going the distance.
Foldables have typically taken lower power input over the years, likely due to how battery cells are arranged inside a foldable device. However, if the 2024 Motorola Razr+ can handle 45W, why can’t the Z Flip 6?
Wrap-up
Image by Mat Smith/Engadget
Samsung’s Z Flip series remains the most realistic flagship option when pitted against the smartphone slab status quo. The latest model is satisfying to use and satisfying to fold away and slip into a pocket. The Z Flip 6 also has better cameras, improved battery life and comes with all the Galaxy AI features that are shaping up to be Samsung’s smartphone USP.
Perhaps this focus on AI meant that the cover display has barely evolved since last year’s Z Flip — especially frustrating when the Z Flip 6 costs $100 more than its predecessor. While you can tap into experimental features to enable YouTube playback and Google Maps access, it’s a little underwhelming, especially when rivals like Motorola have proved that more is possible on a foldable’s secondary screen.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-flip-6-review-a-slightly-better-foldable-aimed-at-everyone-120041523.html?src=rss
Google is making its Gemini AI faster and more efficient across the board. You now have access to 1.5 Flash, its generative AI model designed to be able to generate responses more quickly and efficiently, even if you're not paying for Gemini Advanced. The company says you'll notice improvements in latency, as well as the tool's reasoning and image understanding, on both the web and mobile.
In addition, it's expanding the AI assistant's context window, so that you can have longer conversations with it and ask it more complex questions. In the near future, Google will also give you the ability to upload files to Gemini from Google Drive or from your device. If you give it access to your notes, for instance, it will be able to create a study guide or a practice exam for you. Plus, the assistant will be able to analyze data and make it easier to digest with graphics and charts.
As part of its work to reduce hallucinations, Google is now displaying links to related content if you ask it questions that require factual answers. It will display a "gray chip" at the end of a paragraph in its response that links to websites where you can read more about the topic. Those chips could even lead to your emails, if you've linked Gemini to your Gmail account. The feature is currently limited to select locations for English prompts only.
The company is making Gemini more accessible overall, as well. It has started gradually rolling out Gemini in Google Messages for Android devices in the European Economic Area (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), the UK and Switzerland. You'll now also be able to chat with Gemini in French, Polish and Spanish within the Messages app. Finally, Google is expanding access to Gemini's mobile app to more regions and is giving more teenagers the ability to use the AI tool. As long as you meet its minimum age requirement of 13, you'll be able to chat with the assistant. Google has even introduced a teen-specific onboarding process and an AI literacy guide, so you can get an idea on how to use the tool to accomplish your tasks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-gives-free-gemini-users-access-to-its-faster-lighter-15-flash-ai-model-160006705.html?src=rss
There's nothing quite like a summer in Montreal. After several brutal winter months, the city bursts to life and its residents make the very most of the warmer weather. Été (French for "summer") is a relaxing slice-of-life game that deftly captures the essence of Montreal at this time of year, warts and all.
You play as an artist who is spending the summer in La Metropole. The first order of business is to set up an easel in your apartment, which has little else but a mattress in it, no thanks to your somewhat brusk landlord. Once you have learned the basic controls, it's time to explore your new surroundings.
This version of Montreal is effectively your canvas. It's colorless at first, almost as if it's covered in snow. You can fill this world with watercolor, a little at a time. Developer Impossible pulls off a smart trick here as each object you color becomes a stamp that you can use in your paintings — your artist character is literally taking inspiration from the world around them.
I spent several hours ignoring the main missions and exploring the various levels, enjoying myself as I restored color to a market, alleyway, front yard and park. Just like moving into a new city or neighborhood, the more I explored (and colored in) the world around me, the easier it became to navigate. And as with much of life in this city, you do things at your own pace.
While the narrative is fairly paint-by-numbers, the characters of Été are surprisingly rich for such a short game (it would only take a few hours to beat by focusing on the main story). Montreal is a melting pot and the game does a deft job of reflecting that in its NPCs. The characters you encounter may be gruff, friendly or a mix of both, and you'll run into more than a few arguments.
Impossible
Talking to the people you encounter is a smart idea, since they'll often commission you to paint something for them with specific elements included. So if you've yet to find all the letters and symbols for an "I heart MTL" T-shirt, you'll need to hunt down and paint them first so you can use them as stamps. You have a lot of scope in how to create these commissioned pieces, as well as custom ones to hang in your apartment or sell at a cafe. You can use the money you earn to furnish your residence — something I didn't really bother with in my playthrough.
My favorite aspect of Été is just the brilliant job Impossible has done of distilling recognizable aspects of life in Montreal into an abstract world. Fairmount Bagel (the best bagel shop on the planet) is instantly recognizable, as is an approximation of a famous flower shop that has many, many bird cages dangling from the apartment balconies above it.
You'll run into kids playing hockey in an alleyway. You'll find someone making Canada Day decorations while complaining about a neighbor who's doing the same thing for Quebec's national holiday. The cafe culture, second-hand furniture stores and wonderful farmer's markets are all present and correct. Even the city's anti-capitalist movement gets its own subplot. Impossible has nailed much of what makes the city so special.
Impossible
Unfortunately, there are no festivals, even though the real Montreal has a ton running simultaneously at this time of year. Old Montreal — a historic, heavily European-influenced neighborhood by the river that's like catnip for tourists — is overlooked as well. But it would be tough for the developers to factor in everything that makes the city so great.
As someone who lives in Montreal, Été is a gorgeous reminder of what's right outside my doorstep. I should maybe go drink more of that in, even just to watch the world pass by from a terrasse as I paint the final few corners of this sumptuous fictional version of the same thing on my Steam Deck.
Été is out now on PC.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chill-painting-game-ete-beautifully-captures-summertime-in-montreal-152853036.html?src=rss
When Reddit said last month it would block unauthorized data scraping from its site, most of us assumed it was to tackle chatbot training. It turns out the site/service/fandom battleground also appears to be blocking search engines other than Brave and Google, the latter of which reportedly inked a deal earlier this year with Reddit worth $60 million annually.
A Reddit spokesperson told Engadget the empty search results are because these engines won’t agree to the company’s requirements for AI training. The company says it’s in discussions with several of them. Bing and DuckDuckGo both appear to be affected.
It’s been hard to accept Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price hike, especially given its recent lackluster game offerings. In an attempt to make up for it, it is adding a Call of Duty game. Unfortunately, it’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, one of the lowest-rated games in the series. Sorry, folks.
So you’re after a new phone. If you know you want an iPhone, your decision-making process is a bit easier. If you’re an Android person, you have a lot more options. At Engadget, we review phones a lot and have tested dozens over the years; so far for 2024, our top picks remain the same, with Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and Google’s Pixel 8 Pro topping our lists. Our recent refresh includes new picks for top foldable.
It was sent to those dealing with last week’s outage.
Last week’s CrowdStrike outage plunged many companies into a messy world of blue death screens. The cybersecurity company tried to apologize with an Uber Eats gift card. Unfortunately, when people tried to use it, the offer had been rescinded by the issuing party. CrowdStrike said Uber had flagged it as a fraud because of high use rates.
CrowdStrike blamed the global system outage on a boot loop bug that knocked out systems in banks, airports and even hospitals.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-reddit-is-blocking-ai-search-engines-that-dont-cough-up-for-access-111537431.html?src=rss
Wireless food probes are some the best grilling gear for keeping tabs on meat and other items while cooking. You don't have to dodge cords when you're flipping a steak or trying to wrap a brisket. Several companies make these, Traeger-owned Meater being one example, but existing products rely solely on Bluetooth and have ambient temperature sensors that may not be the most accurate. ThermoWorks, the company that's known for its Thermapen instant-read thermometers, has officially announced its take on the wireless meat probe: the RFX Meat.
Like ThermoWorks' more robust grill and smoker temperature-tracking devices, the RFX Meat uses radio technology to transmit data rather than Bluetooth. The company explains that its "patent-pending sub-GHz RFX wireless technology" provides a more reliable connection with up to 2,132 feet of direct line of sight range. When placed inside a grill or smoker, ThermoWorks promises up to 659 feet of range. Similar to the competition, the RFX Meat has four internal sensors that provide an accurate measure of food temps with 0.9-degree accuracy between 14 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit. This probe is also IP69K rated, so it's safe to use for deep frying and sous vide. Plus, it can withstand temperatures of up 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it well-suited for high-heat searing, and you can stick in in the dishwasher when you're done.
Since the RFX Meat utilizes radio frequency and not Bluetooth, you'll need a RFX Gateway receiver to use it. This small device sends cooking data to ThermoWorks Cloud when it's connected to WiFi, or it can be used offline with your phone via Bluetooth. Either way, you get timely updates on your phone to keep tabs on meat and other foods. And when the RFX Gateway is connected to WiFi, you can monitor what's on the grill or smoker from anywhere. The RFX Gateway is also capable of handling readings for up to 70 RFX Meat probes at once.
ThermoWorks
Most of these wireless probes come with a charging dock that doubles as a Bluetooth transmitter. RFX Meat resides in one of these (minus the Bluetooth), and ThermoWorks says you can get over 50 hours of use with a 10-minute charge. The dock uses a single AAA battery which should be enough for over 175 full charges, according to the company.
One thing the RFX Meat doesn't have is a built-in ambient temperature sensor. Meater's products, for example, have one situated at the far end of its wireless probes. But, ThermoWorks argues this component doesn't provide accurate readings. Due to the fact that it's close to cold meat at the start or in an evaporative cooling zone around food, a built-in ambient temperature sensor can't accurately keep tabs on the grill, according to the company. So, ThermoWorks devised a solution that uses a wired Pro-Series Air Probe from its other products that plugs into the RFX Gateway. Since this probe is only monitoring grill or smoker temps and can be placed out of the way, it's not as essential that it be wireless.
The RFX Meat starter kit is available for preorder today for $159. That price includes the RFX Meat probe, the RFX Gateway and a Pro-Series Air Probe. The same bundle with four RFX Meat probes is $349 and individual probes are $89. You can also purchase the RFX Gateway for $79, which comes with a Pro-Series Air Probe. ThermoWorks says it will start shipping the grilling devices on September 10th.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/thermoworks-rfx-meat-wireless-probe-uses-radio-waves-instead-of-bluetooth-to-monitor-food-on-the-grill-183446728.html?src=rss