Social media apps tend to offer the convenience of their very own camera tools, but on the flip side, these are limited by the few shooting options. Understanding our modern-day pain point, Samsung has teamed up with Instagram and Snap to integrate some of its handy native camera features into their apps, in order to up our social media game via the brand new Galaxy S24 series smartphones — namely the titanium-framed S24 Ultra with its 200-megapixel main shooter. Specifically, you'll be able to leverage Samsung's "Super HDR" option, upgraded "Nightography" power and video stabilization within Instagram and Snapchat's in-app cameras. The only caveat here is that for video stabilization, you'll need to have it enabled in the native camera settings first.
Samsung's collaboration with Instagram goes deeper, offering upgraded editing, uploading and viewing experiences tailored to its devices. These also include the ability to create Instagram stories directly from motion photos. With their Super HDR capabilities, the Galaxy S24 devices are also the first to receive HDR photo support on Instagram — likely marking the first of many more apps to potentially support this vibrant display format in the near future.
With its new AI capabilities playing a big role in the Galaxy S24 lineup's camera systems, it's no wonder that Samsung is pushing its camera integration into the two popular social media platforms. Still, you'll probably want to stick to the native camera app and editing tools for maximum versatility — especially when it comes to the more AI-specific tools like "Edit Suggestion," "Generative Edit" (network connection required) and "Instant Slow-mo."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-and-snapchat-can-use-samsung-galaxy-s24s-native-camera-features-070121743.html?src=rss
Following Google's recent rounds of layoffs affecting over a thousand jobs, CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly told remaining employees to expect further downsizing later this year. According to The Verge, Pichai sent out an internal memo on Wednesday, in which he stated that "to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted." Google confirmed to Engadget that this email was sent out.
The exec explained that the latest "role eliminations" are about "removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas." which is just another way of packaging the situation. What's a little more reassuring, perhaps, is Pichai saying that these won't match the scale of some 12,000 job cuts around this time last year, and that not every team will be affected. But numbers are all relative, of course.
Google isn't the only notable tech company that has already made redundancies at the beginning of 2024. Earlier this month, the industry also saw Discord, Meta, Amazon, Twitch, Humane AI, Unity and Duolingo making similar moves at various scales. Here's hoping that LinkedIn's timely launch of its AI-powered "Job Collections" feature will help those impacted quickly land a new post.
Update, January 18 2024, 10:27AM ET: This story has been updated with Google's response.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-ceo-says-more-layoffs-expected-throughout-the-year-in-internal-memo-044016588.html?src=rss
If you own a copy of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition or Minecraft: Education Edition, you can now grab a free expansion pack based on the BBC's Planet Earth III. Much like the previous Frozen Planet II experience, this new wildlife documentary DLC lets players explore five scenarios through the lens of animals — arctic wolves, ocelots, musk oxen, leopards, Cape fur seals, great white sharks, impalas and more.
Basically, be the hunter or be hunted; you get to play both sides on locations ranging from the Arctic tundra to the Okavango Delta. In the case of the lily-trotter, you're either the father protecting your chicks from crocodiles, or you're one of the chicks following your father's signals. There's also an activity involving the fascinating interaction between unlikely insect allies: the tree hopper and the stingless bee, with the latter in charge of shooing ants and assassin bugs away from the tree hoppers' nest.
A new addition to this educational experience is the "BBC Planet Earth Field Station," which is set in the heart of a pixelated jungle. This serves as a portal to the five biomes, with extra goodies including sound boards, animal facts and a cinematics album. Upon the completion of each activity (which can be repeated), you'll receive rewards that can be used to decorate the hub or dress up your avatar.
With the game reaching its 15th anniversary this year, Minecraft has become the best-selling video game of all time, reaching over 300 million copies sold as of October last year. There's also a movie adaptation in the works, reportedly starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa when it comes out in April 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/minecraft-x-planet-earth-iii-is-the-least-offensive-corpo-collab-of-the-year-040438095.html?src=rss
As the US gears up for the 2024 presidential election, OpenAI shares its plans on suppressing misinformation related to elections worldwide, with a focus set on boosting the transparency around the origin of information. One such highlight is the use of cryptography — as standardized by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity — to encode the provenance of images generated by DALL-E 3. This will allow the platform to better detect AI-generated images using a provenance classifier, in order to help voters assess the reliability of certain content.
This approach is similar to, if not better than, DeepMind's SynthID for digitally watermark AI-generated images and audio, as part of Google's own election content strategy published last month. Meta's AI image generator also adds an invisible watermark to its content, though the company has yet to share its readiness on tackling election-related misinformation.
OpenAI says it will soon work with journalists, researchers and platforms for feedback on its provenance classifier. Along the same theme, ChatGPT users will start to see real-time news from around the world complete with attribution and links. They'll also be directed to CanIVote.org, the official online source on US voting, when they ask procedural questions like where to vote or how to vote.
Additionally, OpenAI reiterates its current policies on shutting down impersonation attempts in the form of deepfakes and chatbots, as well as content made to distort the voting process or to discourage people from voting. The company also forbids applications built for political campaigning, and when necessary, its new GPTs allow users to report potential violations.
OpenAI says learnings from these early measures, if successful at all (and that's a very big "if"), will help it roll out similar strategies across the globe. The firm will have more related announcements in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-lays-out-its-misinformation-strategy-ahead-of-2024-elections-022549912.html?src=rss
One of the missing pieces of puzzle for VR is scent, but at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Japanese startup Aromajoin showed off a wearable that may be up to the task. Simply dubbed Aroma Shooter Wearable, this neckband houses six replaceable scent cartridges, and it's controlled by a mobile device or PC over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or USB. The product is still in its early days, and the Kyoto-based company is targeting developers and business clients, who can pick from a library of "hundreds" of scents — or even custom scents from, say, fragrance brands — to suit their needs.
In Aromajoin's demo, a video player app was programmed to cycle through those six scents — lavender, blueberry, shampoo, caramel, smoke and fresh cut grass — to match the six scenes in the short clip. Even though I was watching what was otherwise a regular video on an iPad, the scent definitely boosted the immersion, and I can imagine this making an even bigger impact when paired with VR.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
For the purpose of CES, Aromajoin only had one demo on hand, but the app did show how one could program any video clip to trigger certain cartridges — yes, you can have multiple scents at any instance — at certain times. You can also adjust the intensity of each scent, which came in handy as I found the grass smell to be a bit too strong at first. As for the neckband itself, it weighs around 300 grams, but I didn't feel much burden thanks to its ergonomic shape around my collarbone area.
Aromajoin plans to launch its Aroma Shooter Wearable via crowdfunding this May, with shipment expected by the end of this year. Target price for the device is around $350, with each scent cartridge likely to cost around $30. Each cartridge should last for around 3,000 shots or up to three months, though this depends on the intensity and the nature of each mixture.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Aromajoin also applied the same video demo to a larger setup dubbed Aroma Speaker 60, which is aimed at retailers, cinemas and VR arcades. As the model name implies, this pair of tower can be equipped with up to 60 scents, with each of the 10 magazines housing six scents, thus supporting a wider range of scenes or use cases. The Aroma Speaker 60 will also be launched via crowdfunding, but expect it to cost a lot more than its neckband counterpart.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-aroma-shooter-wearable-blasts-scents-while-you-watch-videos-180006793.html?src=rss
It's been a while since we saw over-the-air wireless charging demos from the likes of Oppo and Xiaomi, so CES 2024 caught us by surprise when we came across a new one from another Chinese mobile brand, Infinix. This "AirCharge" tech uses low-frequency magnetic resonance to deliver up to 7.5W of power wirelessly, and this works across a distance of up to 20cm (7.87 inches) — doubling that of Oppo's previous demo — and at angles of up to 60 degrees. To be specific, you get somewhere between 1W and 5W over a distance of 10cm (3.94 inches) to 20cm for a single device.
Infinix believes that this use case is ideal for users who want to keep their phones charged while gaming or watching videos, without having a cable getting in the way of either hand. With this improved charging distance, you can also install the AirCharge pad to underneath a table, and then you'll have yourself a stealthy charging area. Before that, though, Infinix will need to figure out a way to avoid accidentally heating up metallic objects nearby. There are foreign object detection methods for existing "2D" wireless charging solutions, but it's more complex when the charging space goes from "2D" to "3D."
Another safety measure to keep in mind is for the case of a sudden drop in distance between the phone and the charging pad — it's not good to abruptly crank up the voltage on a device like that. As such, Infinix has already implemented (and patented) an over-voltage protection circuit on both ends of the chain. The company doesn't have a time frame for launching AirCharge on a mass production device just yet, but it hopes to eventually use this tech to push for an industrial standard on over-the-air wireless charging.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Infinix also showed off its "E-Color Shift Technology," which uses E Ink's Prism 3 to let you change the color patterns on the back of your phone. This feature supports eight basic colors, which are then expanded by multiple levels of shades, and this can be implemented onto a pattern with over 100 customizable areas. As is the case with conventional E Ink displays, once this Prism 3 panel has been refreshed, the new color pattern remains without consuming power.
Once the company figures out how to tackle the challenges related to thermal performance and thickness, it hopes to bring this funky feature to consumer devices within a year or two. By which point, you'll be able to customize the color pattern through an app — which we didn't get to see, as our demo used dummy phones instead. Even Lenovo is considering this display tech for decorating its laptop lids.
Last but not least, Infinix teased its "Extreme-Temp Battery" tech for users who have to brave the cold. While conventional lithium ion batteries will have their capacities drastically reduced or even get damaged in low temperatures, Infinix's solid state battery will continue to operate even at a temperature as low as -40°C or -40°F. Similarly, when measured at -20°C or -4°F, Infinix's solution will apparently have a 50- to 300-percent boost in endurance time compared to others. We may see this battery tech on an Infinix phone as soon as the second half of 2025.
Update, January 14 2024, 3:46AM ET: This story has been updated with the correct power output of AirCharge.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/infinix-brought-wireless-charging-tech-to-ces-that-can-juice-up-your-devices-from-eight-inches-away-183059546.html?src=rss
Nowadays, there are already plenty of choices when it comes to pet trackers, and some can even monitor heart rate, but apparently none could detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) until now. At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, GPS tracker specialist Invoxia unveiled the Minitailz, the world's first pet tracker that can keep an eye out for early heart disease symptoms on your cats or dogs. Together with other vital stats and activity log, the companion app then uses conversational generative AI to generate easy-to-read reports on your pets.
According to the French company, Minitailz is able to track respiratory and heart vitals with an accuracy of 97 to 99 percent, thanks to its advanced biometric sensors combined with AI. Using deep learning algorithms, the set of data is then used to spot digital biomarkers that indicate stress, aging and pathologies. The device can also differentiate the types of movements, such as walks, runs and zoomies, as well as alerting you when your pets wander beyond your preset geofences.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
The Minitailz module houses a built-in SIM card for LTE-M connectivity, which enables real-time tracking in conjunction with GPS. This can be attached to any pet collar, which is an advantage over many competing devices that are stuck inside a physical neckband, according to Invoxia.
The Minitailz is already available for dogs via Invoxia's website for $99, followed by a cat version due in March for the same price. You'll also need to buy a subscription starting from $8.30 per month.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-dog-tracker-from-invoxia-can-also-detect-your-pets-abnormal-heart-rhythms-160021010.html?src=rss
Realme, a sister brand of Oppo and OnePlus, made its CES debut this year in Las Vegas by unveiling a new mid-range phone with a photography twist. The Realme 12 Pro+, due to launch later this month, is apparently the first in its price segment to not only offer a 3x periscope telephoto lens with optical stabilization, but also one with a relatively larger sensor to improve low-light performance. The candybar is the work of Swiss luxury watch designer Ollivier Savéo, complete with a golden fluted bezel surrounding a stunning polished sunburst dial, garnished with a 3D jubilee bracelet over vegan leather — in blue or white.
The periscope zoom camera here is powered by a 64-megapixel OmniVision OV64B, which comes in at half an inch large. Realme says compared to the 3x zoom camera on the iPhone 15 Pro (12 megapixels) and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (10 megapixels), the Realme 12 Pro+'s sensor is at least over 2.6 times as large, thus enabling over 1.8 times the amount of light it takes in. In other words, telephoto cameras don't get much love on mainstream flagship phones. The comparison photos we saw at the launch event were very convincing, with Realme's preserving an impressive amount of detail even at full crop, but we'll obviously wait for our own hands-on later.
With such improvements, this mid-range phone can stick to its periscope camera even in darker environments, while other phones with conventional 3x telephoto cameras (read: smaller sensors) would automatically switch to its main camera and rely on digital zoom instead. But of course, there's still a limit as to how dark this camera can handle; you'll want a flagship-level 3x periscope zoom camera with an even bigger sensor for something more impressive, namely the 1/1.56-inch sensor on the likes of Realme's GT5 Pro, Oppo's Find X7 Ultra and apparently the OnePlus 12 as well.
The Realme 12 Pro+ also packs a decent 50-megapixel main camera, which features a 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX890 sensor (as seen on the OnePlus 11), f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization. This phone also packs a 0.6x ultra-wide camera, though Realme stopped short at sharing further information. Likewise, the Chinese brand wouldn't share which Qualcomm mid-range processor is powering this device, but it's custom made to enable Realme's "MasterShot Algorithm" computational photography capabilities here. This is what enables RAW processing which, until now, is largely exclusive to flagship smartphones, meaning even mid-range devices will be able to leverage more editing options in the near future.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
The rest of the Realme 12 Pro+ — including the remaining specs and pricing — is still under wraps. Even though the brand isn't present in most locations of our readership, Realme's aggressive growth in recent years should be influential enough to set a benchmark for mid-range phones of 2024. Perhaps this will also put pressure on the likes of Apple and Samsung to vastly improve essential features on their own flagships.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-realme-12-pro-is-the-first-mid-range-device-with-a-3x-periscope-zoom-camera-233636358.html?src=rss
Years ago, some genius decided to build Las Vegas in the middle of a desert, so for me, any sight of unique humidifying tech at CES is a much welcomed sight. It just so happened that a Korean company showcased a device dubbed Moss Air which, as the name implies, uses real moss to purify air. It's also built with a humidifying feature that can shoot outwards or rehydrate the plant internally. In short, you're getting an air-purifying humidifier that doubles as a mesmerizing miniature foggy terrarium on your desktop.
According to Mosslab, the startup behind this device, not only does the moss convert carbon dioxide back into oxygen, but it's also effective at removing fine dust from the air. Better yet, the plant can apparently break harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds) down into sugars as food. Strictly speaking, though, it's actually the bacteria in the moss that's responsible for this process, according to a research conducted by the University of Toronto.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
The Moss Air consists of an LED-lit compartment under a removable transparent cover, which lets you easily install or replace the moss panel. At the top, you can block the exhaust port with the included magnetic ball to toggle terrarium mode, in which it fogs up the moss over 60-second periods every three hours. If you need to humidify your surroundings, simply slide the ball across to let it mist outwards.
With its 1,600mAh battery, the Moss Air can run for up to about eight hours on a single charge, or until it runs out of water in its 400ml tank — you can pull it out from the bottom to refill, or to replace the paper filter (three included). Of course, you can also use this device while its plugged in (via USB-C), but having a built-in battery means you get to carry your pet moss around.
Moss Air will be launching on Amazon by the end of January 2024, and you'll get to pick between black and white. This product is asking for $99 which seems a little steep for what it does, but at least there was a demand for it when it was priced at $79 on Kickstarter and Indiegogo earlier.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-moss-terrarium-doubles-as-an-air-purifier-and-humidifier-214557108.html?src=rss
Even though Apple didn't have an official presence at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the trade show still had a whole area dominated by mixed reality tech. One of the most popular booths there was none other than Xreal (formerly Nreal), which decided to ride on the Apple Vision Pro hype train and unveil its latest AR glasses, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra, in Las Vegas. The Chinese firm claims that its latest headset makes "an affordable alternative to" the likes of the $3,499 Vision Pro, though it's currently priced at $699 — a tad more than the $499 Meta Quest 3 — as Xreal attempts to lure developers into its ecosystem.
Unlike the rest of the Xreal Air 2 series, the Air 2 Ultra finally brings back 6DoF (six-degree-of-freedom) tracking — a first since the Nreal Light. In other words, you can physically walk around a virtual space, rather than being stuck in one spot. The 6DoF tracking is mainly handled by the two front-facing 3D environment sensors which, according to Xreal founder and CEO Chi Xu, are an advancement over prior models, and are less physically obtrusive compared to the ones on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. As with the Light, the Air 2 Ultra also supports hand tracking for interacting with virtual objects directly.
There's also a slight upgrade in the display department, featuring a wider 52-degree field of view — up from 46 degrees on the Air 2 and Air 2 Pro. It should otherwise be the same Sony micro OLED panels with a crisp 1080p resolution for each eye, along with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a brightness of up to 500 nits. Likewise, the Air 2 Ultra inherited the electrochromic dimming feature from the Pro, which offers two shade levels to minimize distraction from the outside world.
Given the extra hardware for 6DoF and hand tracking, it's no surprise that the Air 2 Ultra weighs slightly more than the Air 2 Pro — 80 grams versus 75 grams, but it still looks like a pair of regular sunglasses, and I definitely wouldn't mind wearing them in public. Xreal did its best to minimize the weight gain using a titanium frame, and obviously, these glasses still require an external power source — a smartphone or a PC — via USB-C. I had a total hands-on time of around 20 minutes, and at no point did I feel any discomfort, though there's no telling if that would be the case if I kept on going for the rest of the day.
Photo by Joel Chokkattu / Engadget
Given the lack of third-party apps at the moment (I do miss the Angry Birds demo on the Nreal Light), Xreal could only offer a concept demo to show off the Air 2 Ultra's 6DoF experience. This mainly involved a massive virtual desktop showing multimedia players, or a social media window showing the latest messages from my made-up friends, or a personal 3D cinema with a library of three movies. To the left, there was a vertical slider for changing colors on a smart light bar in the real world. I was also given three AR hexagonal discs: one for toggling between work profile and casual profile, one for switching between the casual modes (contacts, social and movie) and one for displaying a virtual pet.
The overall room tracking worked smoothly, even as I walked up to the large 3D avatars on my right, but things got a little trickier when it came to hand interaction. The hand tracking alone seemed fine (at least according to the skeletons rendered over my hands), but I struggled to pinch the light bar's color slider — it ended up at the wrong hue on several occasions. The interaction with the AR cardboard discs was also laggy at times, though I did enjoy being able to bring my virtual pet on one of the discs up close — I couldn't pick a favorite between the dung beetle and the fiddler crab.
Photo by Joel Chokkattu / Engadget
In response to the technical issues I ran into, Xreal's Xu pointed out that his team had been experiencing the same since the show floor opened. Our demo unit also crashed once, but it was fine after a reboot on the smartphone — an Oppo Find X5, which got worryingly warm right before it gave up. This goes to show that the Air 2 Ultra performance is only as good as the computational device it's attached to.
Speaking of which, Xreal says these glasses are also compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S23, along with Apple's iPhone 15 and any Windows or Mac machine that can run the company's Nebula environment. Xreal is also developing a dedicated companion device to go with the Air 2 Ultra, though there's no word on specs nor time frame.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Considering the show floor hiccups, it's only fair to revisit the Xreal Air 2 Ultra in a less chaotic environment later — especially when more developers are on board after it starts shipping in March. Still, we wouldn't go as far as agreeing with Xreal's implication that its AR glasses can totally replace Apple's Vision Pro, as only the latter — and any VR headset, for that matter — is able to offer a completely immersive experience. It'll ultimately boil down to the range of apps on each platform, but if you're looking for something that you wouldn't mind wearing for prolonged periods, then the Air 2 Ultra would most likely be the better choice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xreal-air-2-ultra-hands-on-next-gen-ar-glasses-in-need-of-killer-apps-203943588.html?src=rss