It was never going to last. Ever since it was launched this week, the Beeper Mini app, which let Android users get iMessage text support, was expected to be in trouble as soon as it caught Apple's attention. And catch Apple's attention it has. Yesterday, the entire Beeper platform appeared to be on the fritz, resulting in speculation that the iPhone maker had been shutting down the iMessage workarounds. As of this morning, Beeper Mini was still posting on X (formerly Twitter) that it was working on and potentially fixing the outage, but with an announcement from Apple today, all that may be for naught.
"We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage," Apple said. "These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make updates in the future to protect our users."
Though Apple does not mention any apps by name, it stands to reason that, given the timing of Beeper Mini's launch and recent troubles, that this refers to the loophole the platform was using.
Beeper's method sent users' texts to Apple's servers before moving on to their intended recipients, and was thought up by a high-school student. Would-be messengers wouldn't even need an Apple ID to access iMessage via Beeper Mini, though the Android app did offer end-to-end encryption for conversations between those on both operating systems.
Apple also said today that it's unable to verify that messages sent through unauthorized means that pose as having valid credentials can maintain end-to-end encryption. Beeper had anticipated that this workaround might one day be shut down, and it looks like the Android-iOS messaging divide remains intact. For now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-confirms-it-has-blocked-imessage-exploit-012015485.html?src=rss
It was never going to last. Ever since it was launched this week, the Beeper Mini app, which let Android users get iMessage text support, was expected to be in trouble as soon as it caught Apple's attention. And catch Apple's attention it has. Yesterday, the entire Beeper platform appeared to be on the fritz, resulting in speculation that the iPhone maker had been shutting down the iMessage workarounds. As of this morning, Beeper Mini was still posting on X (formerly Twitter) that it was working on and potentially fixing the outage, but with an announcement from Apple today, all that may be for naught.
"We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage," Apple said. "These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make updates in the future to protect our users."
Though Apple does not mention any apps by name, it stands to reason that, given the timing of Beeper Mini's launch and recent troubles, that this refers to the loophole the platform was using.
Beeper's method sent users' texts to Apple's servers before moving on to their intended recipients, and was thought up by a high-school student. Would-be messengers wouldn't even need an Apple ID to access iMessage via Beeper Mini, though the Android app did offer end-to-end encryption for conversations between those on both operating systems.
Apple also said today that it's unable to verify that messages sent through unauthorized means that pose as having valid credentials can maintain end-to-end encryption. Beeper had anticipated that this workaround might one day be shut down, and it looks like the Android-iOS messaging divide remains intact. For now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-confirms-it-has-blocked-imessage-exploit-012015485.html?src=rss
The Beeper Mini team has apparently been working around the clock to resolve the outage affecting the new “iMessage on Android” app, and says a fix is “very close.” And once the fix rolls out, users’ seven-day free trials will be reset so they can start over fresh. Beeper Mini was released earlier this week, and seemed an especially promising entrant due to its unique approach to bridging the iMessage-Android gap. The app, reportedly the result of a 16-year-old’s work to reverse-engineer iMessage, routes messages directly through Apple’s own servers, making it more secure than some of the other options out there.
But, only days after its release, Beeper Mini users on Friday found that they could no longer send and receive messages, sparking questions about whether Apple intervened and put a stop to it. In an update posted on social media, the team said it’s deregistered users’ phone numbers from iMessage while it works to fix the issue. That may not be the end of the immediate headaches caused by the outage, though. “Annoyingly, the iPhone Messages app ‘remembers’ that you were a blue bubble for 6-24 hours before falling back to SMS,” the Beeper Mini team wrote, “so it’s possible that some messages will not be delivered during this period.”
Beeper Mini - fix coming soon
Our fix for Beeper Mini is still in the works. It’s very close, and just a matter of a bit more time and effort.
In the meantime, we have deregistered your phone numbers from iMessage so your friends can still text you. Sorry, you’re temporarily a…
While Beeper says a fix is coming soon, it may still have a greater struggle ahead if Apple actually was behind the shutdown. The chat app costs $2 a month after the seven-day free trial and offers end-to-end encryption for messages sent between Android and iMessage users. In a statement to Engadget yesterday, Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky said, “If it's Apple, then I think the biggest question is — if Apple truly cares about the privacy and security of their own iPhone users, why would they try to kill a service that enables iPhones to send encrypted chats to Android users?”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beeper-mini-team-says-a-fix-is-coming-soon-and-promises-to-extend-users-free-trials-171310651.html?src=rss
Beeper Mini, the chat app that reverse-engineered Apple’s iMessage for Android, is having problems. 9to5Googlereported Friday the entire Beeper platform is seemingly broken right now, leading to the obvious speculation that Apple has stomped on the bootleg iMessage workaround. Beeper posted on X that it’s “investigating reports that sending/receiving is not working in Beeper Mini.”
Engadget contacted Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky by email to ask whether the outage could have been triggered on Apple’s end, and he suggested it’s possible. “We had overwhelming interest and excitement in Beeper Mini this week!” Migicovsky wrote to Engadget. “As I tweeted, Beeper Mini is experiencing an outage — sending and receiving is not working right now.”
“If it's Apple, then I think the biggest question is — if Apple truly cares about the privacy and security of their own iPhone users, why would they try to kill a service that enables iPhones to send encrypted chats to Android users?” the founder and former Pebble CEO wrote to Engadget. “With their announcement of RCS support, it's clear that Apple knows they have a gaping hole here. Beeper Mini is here today and works great. Why force iPhone users back to sending unencrypted SMS when they chat with friends on Android?”
Investigating reports that sending/receiving is not working in Beeper Mini 🔎
Beeper’s crafty solution — surprisingly — seemed to work well. The app automatically scans for messages from iMessage users and changes them to blue bubbles, apparently routing them through Apple’s servers. The wizardry is the product of a 16-year-old high school student, who reverse-engineered it by jailbreaking iPhones and digging into them to learn how iOS handles iMessages. It even included end-to-end encryption between iPhones and Android phones.
Migicovsky described the service to Engadget’s Richard Lai earlier this week as a “scale-up.” The original (pre-mini) Beeper depended on a Mac mini server farm to relay chats through Apple’s system. Whether Beeper Mini is going the way of the dodo (or the Sunbird), we’ll have to wait and see.
Update, December 8, 2023, 4:59 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a comment Migicovsky made to Engadget.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beeper-minis-imessage-integration-is-on-the-fritz-211712651.html?src=rss
Apple built more iPhone 15s in India than any past model and it plans to continue that trend. The company will shift a quarter of its iPhone production — more than 50 million phones — to the nation within the next two to three years, The Wall Street Journal reported. China would still remain the largest iPhone supplier by a good margin, though.
Foxconn and other Apple suppliers reportedly believe that the push into India has been proceeding well, so they're setting the stage for future expansion. The company proceeded slowly at first due to infrastructure problems and powerful unions that have helped set more restrictive labor rules — pushing back against 12-hour work days, for example.
India's commerce minister said at the beginning of 2023 that Apple planned to build 25 percent of its phones in the nation, but there was never any timeframe attached to that. Two to three years would represent a fairly dramatic ramp-up, considering that the iPhone 15 marked the first time it had released a model made in India on launch day.
It's also been known that Apple contractor Foxconn would manufacture more iPhone 15s than past models its facility in Tamil Nadu, India. It's part of Apple's plan to diversify manufacturing in the face of supply chain risks due to tensions between the US and China. Foxconn is currently building a plant in the southern Karnataka state expected to open in April 2024, and has another megaplant on the drawing board as well, according to the WSJ's sources.
To date, Apple has only built a small percentage of its iPhones in India, and production previously lagged behind China by up to nine months. That changed with the iPhone 14, which started manufacturing the same month as in China, and iPhone 15s built in India were available in stores at launch.
Relations between US and China are delicate at the moment, with the US recently taking measures to block access to advanced technology in the nation. Apple continues to stress the nation's importance, though, with CEO Tim Cook having traveled there twice in 2023. Apple also sells a large number of phones in China, accounting for about 19 percent of its total revenue — while stressing that all phones in sold China through authorized channels are also built in China and use local suppliers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-plans-to-build-more-than-50-million-phones-in-india-within-three-years-101756528.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
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
Ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities last Sunday, Apple released a short film that showcased its Personal Voice accessibility feature, which debuted earlier this year in iOS 17. Personal Voice allows users to create digital versions of their voice to use on calls, supported apps and Apple’s own Live Speech tool.
For those who are at risk of permanently losing their voice due to conditions like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS and vocal cord paralysis, not sounding like yourself can be yet another form of identity loss. Being able to create a copy of your voice while you’re still able might help alleviate the feeling that you’ll never feel like yourself again, or that your loved ones won’t know what you sound like.
All iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma users can create a personal voice in case you need it in the future — whether temporarily or for long-term use. I found the process (on my iPhone 14 Pro) pretty straightforward and was surprisingly satisfied with my voice. Here’s how you can set up your own Personal Voice, as long as you’ve upgraded to iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma (on Macs with Apple Silicon).
Before you start the process, make sure you have a window of about 30 minutes. You’ll be asked to record 150 sentences, and depending on how quickly you speak, it could take some time. You should also find a quiet place with minimal background sound and get comfortable. It’s also worth having a cup of water nearby and making sure your phone has at least 30 percent of battery.
How to set up Personal Voice on iPhone
When you’re ready, go to the Personal Voice menu by opening Settings and finding Accessibility > Personal Voice (under Speech). Select Create A Personal Voice, and Apple will give you a summary of what to expect. Hit Continue, and you’ll see instructions like “Find a quiet place” and “Take your time.”
Importantly, one of the tips is to “Speak naturally.” Apple encourages users to “read aloud at a consistent volume, as if you’re having a conversation.” After you tap Continue on this page, there is one final step where your phone uses its microphone to analyze the level of background noise, before you can finally start reading prompts.
The layout for the recording process is fairly intuitive. Hit the big red record button at the bottom, and read out the words in the middle of the page. Below the record button, you can choose from “Continuous Recording” or “Stop at each phrase.”
Screenshot
In the latter mode, you’ll have to tap a button each time you’ve recorded a phrase, while Continuous is a more hands-free experience that relies on the phone to know when you’re done talking. For those with speech impairments or who read slowly, the continuous mode could feel too stressful. Though it happened just once for me, the fact that the iPhone tried to skip ahead to the next phrase before I was ready was enough for me to feel like I needed to be quick with my reactions.
Personal Voice on iOS 17: First impressions
Still, for the most part the system was accurate at recognizing when I was done talking, and offered enough of a pause that I could tap the redo button before moving to the next sentence. The prompts mostly consisted of historical and geographical information, with the occasional expressive exclamation thrown in. There’s a fairly diverse selection of phrases, ranging from simple questions like “Can you ask them if they’re using that chair?” to forceful statements like “Come back inside right now!” or “Ouch! That is really hot!”
I found myself trying to be more exaggerated when reading those particular sentences, since I didn’t want my resulting personal voice to be too robotic. But it was exactly when I was doing that when I realized the problem inherent to the process. No matter how well I performed or acted, there would always be an element of artifice in the recordings. Even when I did my best to pretend like something was really hot and hurt me, it still wasn’t a genuine reaction. And there’s definitely a difference between how I sound when narrating sentences and having a chat with my friends.
That’s not a ding on Apple or Personal Voice, but simply an observation to say that there is a limit to how well my verbal self can be replicated. When you’re done with all 150 sentences, Apple explains that the process “may need to complete overnight.” It recommends that you charge and lock your iPhone, and your Personal Voice “will be generated only while iPhone is charging and locked” and that you’ll be alerted when it’s ready to use. It’s worth noting that in this time, Apple is training neural networks fully on the device to generate text-to-speech models and not in the cloud.
Screenshot
In my testing, after 20 minutes of putting down my iPhone, only 4 percent of progress was made. Twenty more minutes later, the Personal Voice was only 6 percent done. So this is definitely something you’ll need to allocate hours, if not a whole night, for. If you’re not ready to abandon your device for that long, you can still use your phone — just know that it will delay the process.
When your Personal Voice is ready, you’ll get a notification and can then head to settings to try it out. On the same page where you started the creation process, you’ll see options to share your voice across devices, as well as to allow apps to request to use it. The former stores a copy of your voice in iCloud for use in your other devices. Your data will be end-to-end encrypted in the transfer, and the recordings you made will only be stored on the phone you used to create it, but you can export your clips in case you want to keep a copy elsewhere.
How to listen to and use Personal Voice
You can name your Personal Voice and create another if you prefer (you can generate up to three). To listen to the voice you’ve created, go back to the Speech part of the accessibility settings, and select Live Speech. Turn it on, choose your new creation under Voices and triple click your power button. Type something into the box and hit Send. You can decide if you like what you hear and whether you need to make a new Personal Voice.
At first, I didn’t think mine sounded expressive enough, when I tried things like “How is the weather today?” But after a few days, I started entering phrases like “Terrence is a monster” and it definitely felt a little more like me. Still robotic, but it felt like there was just enough Cherlynn in the voice that my manager would know it was me calling him names.
With concerns around deepfakes and AI-generated content at an all-time high this year, perhaps a bit of artifice in a computer-generated voice isn’t such a bad thing. I certainly wouldn’t want someone to grab my phone and record my digital voice saying things I would never utter in real life. Finding a way to give people a sense of self and improve accessibility while working with all the limits and caveats that currently exist around identity and technology is a delicate balance, and one that I’m heartened to see Apple at least attempt with Personal Voice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-use-personal-voice-on-iphone-with-ios-17-193002021.html?src=rss
Google is bringing Gemini, the new large language model it just introduced, to Android, beginning with the Pixel 8 Pro. The company’s flagship smartphone will run Gemini Nano, a version of the model built specifically to run locally on smaller devices, Google announced in a blog post. The Pixel 8 Pro is powered by the Google Tensor G3 chip designed to speed up AI performance.
This lets the Pixel 8 Pro add several smarts to existing features. The phone’s Recorder app, for instance, has a Summarize feature that currently needs a network connection to give you a summary of recorded conversations, interviews, and presentations. But thanks to Gemini Nano, the phone will now be able to provide a summary without needing a connection at all.
Gemini smarts will also power Gboard’s Smart Reply feature. Gboard will suggest high-quality responses to messages and be aware of context in conversations. The feature is currently available as a developer preview and needs to be enabled in settings. However, it only works with WhatsApp currently and will come to more apps next year.
“Gemini Nano running on Pixel 8 Pro offers several advantages by design, helping prevent sensitive data from leaving the phone, as well as offering the ability to use features without a network connection,” wrote Brian Rakowski, Google Pixel’s vice president of product management.
As part of today’s AI push, Google is upgrading Bard, the company’s ChatGPT rival, with Gemini as well, so you should see significant improvements when using the Pixel’s Assistant with Bard experience. Google is also rolling out a handful of AI-powered productivity and customization updates on other Pixel devices, including the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Watch, although it isn’t immediately clear what they are.
Google
Gemini Nano is the smallest version of Google's large language model, while Gemini Pro is a larger model that will power not just Bard but other Google services like Search, Ads and Chrome, among others. Gemini Ultra, Google's beefiest model, will arrive in 2024 and will be used to further AI development.
Although today’s updates are focused on the Pixel 8 Pro, Google spoke today about AI Core, an Android 14 service that allows developers to access AI features like Nano. Google says AI Core is designed run on “new ML hardware like the latest Google Tensor TPU and NPUs in flagship Qualcomm Technologies, Samsung S.LSI and MediaTek silicon.” The company adds that “additional devices and silicon partners will be announced in the coming months.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-gemini-ai-is-coming-to-android-150025984.html?src=rss