Tag Archives: author_name|Sarah Fielding

The Samsung Wallet can now hold your house keys

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Samsung's newest feature turns your phone into your house keys. The company has created the Digital Home Key, a feature inside of the Samsung Wallet that should let you unlock any compatible smart door with your phone. The Samsung Wallet already offered digital car keys. 

"As we continue to evolve Samsung Wallet, delivering trusted mobile experiences remains at the core of our innovation," Woncheol Chai, EVP and head of Digital Wallet Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. "Through close collaboration with our partners and in alignment with the Aliro standard, Digital Home Key brings the same level of security and ease Samsung Galaxy users expect from Samsung Wallet to their homes."

Created by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Samsung calls Aliro an "industry-standardized communication protocol." The Digital Home Key will also get support from smart lock brands like Nuki and Schlage. It's also designed to meet EAL6+ security certification. 

According to Samsung, you'll also need biometrics or a PIN to use the Digital Home Key. You should be able to remotely manage or remove the tool through Samsung Find if you lose your phone.

Samsung is rolling out the Digital Home Key in select regions starting this month. It plans to expand its range as compatible smart lock brands become available in more locations. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/the-samsung-wallet-can-now-hold-your-house-keys-142944132.html?src=rss

Sony faces a $2.7 billion antitrust lawsuit in the UK

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Another major antitrust lawsuit has launched in the UK. This time its against Sony, which could be on the hook for almost £2 billion ($2.7 billion) for overcharging PlayStation users. 

A class action case for about 12.2 million users argues that Sony "occupies a dominant position in relation to the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content and that it has been unfairly charging its UK customers too much for digital games and in-game content purchased through the PlayStation Store."

It argues that Sony "has a near monopoly" on add-on content and digital games through the PlayStation store, allowing it to set the prices and take a 30 percent commission.

The class action encompasses anyone in the UK who owned a PlayStation console and purchased digital games or made in-game purchases through the PlayStation store between August 19, 2016 and February 12, 2026. It's being run as an opt-out lawsuit, so anyone meeting the criteria can qualify without taking any action. If the lawsuit is successful then each person could receive about £162 ($217). 

Sony has argued that allowing downloads from third-party stores could bring security and privacy risks, according to the Financial Times. It further states that the digital sales commission makes up profits lost for selling their consoles with minimal profit. 

This lawsuit follows the success of a similar class action decided in October. The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal found that Apple had been abusing its dominant market position and overcharging App Store users. In December, Apple filed an appeal against the £1.5 billion ($2 billion) fine. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sony-faces-a-27-billion-antitrust-lawsuit-in-the-uk-114113889.html?src=rss

YouTube’s Premium Lite tier gets background play and downloads

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YouTube is adding new features to its Premium Lite plan. The tier will offer background play and downloads for the mostly ad-free plan. The update comes a year after YouTube first launched the lower-cost plan.

The Premium Lite tier is notable because for $8 per month you get most videos ad-free, emphasis on most. Currently, it still uses ads for YouTube music (along with random other videos), but the new update is bringing more Premium tier features without the $14 per month price tag.

As a Lite user, you will be able to use background play on most videos. Notably, this announcement comes less than a month after Google cracked down on free workarounds to access background play on YouTube. "Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members. While some non-Premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers in certain scenarios, we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all our platforms," Google told Android Authority. Now, it's for Premium Lite users as well.

YouTube Premium Lite users are also getting access to downloads. They can watch — here it comes again — most videos offline. These new features will roll out starting today and in the coming weeks to Premium Lite subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtubes-premium-lite-tier-gets-background-play-and-downloads-170051755.html?src=rss

Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot gets the green light at Hulu

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Good news for all Ryan Coogler fans: The Sinners director is bringing back a beloved TV show. Hulu has officially green lit a pilot of Coogler's X-Files reboot, a project three years in the making, Deadline reports. Coogler has a five-year exclusive television deal with Disney, Hulu's parent company. 

Coogler is directing and writing the pilot episode, with Jennifer Yale coming on as showrunner. She previously held the role on The Copenhagen Test. Actress Danielle Deadwyler, known for roles in Till and The Harder They Fall, has signed on as co-lead. 

The show will follow the original storyline of two FBI agents who bond as they work on cases around paranormal and unexplained phenomena. No confirmation has come over whether former stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny will have any role in the reboot. 

The news came on Sunday, the same day Coogler won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners. Coogler made history this year with a record 16 Oscar nominations for Sinners, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Coogler also wrote and directed Creed, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ryan-cooglers-x-files-reboot-gets-the-green-light-at-hulu-140735536.html?src=rss

Amazon Games is winding down King of Meat

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King of Meat's reign is ending. The game will end service on April 9, less than a year after its October 2025 debut. The Amazon Games-published title will be playable until that date, but will then be taken entirely offline. 

"Despite the creativity and innovation Glowmade brought to King of Meat, the game has unfortunately not found the audience we hoped for," the announcement read. 

Developer Glowmade had high hopes for King of Meat, its debut game, but it fell starkly short of expectations. The developer wanted a concurrent player count of at least 100,000, but peaked at 320, according to Insider Gaming. The game had a multi-million dollar marketing budget that included a video on MrBeast's YouTube channel and custom-wrapped London buses. The company even made a pilot for an animated TV show. Here at Engadget, we were so-so on a preview version of the game. 

December brought voluntary redundancies to Glowmade after previous assurances to staff. Anyone who has purchased King of Meat will be able to get a refund through their purchase platform and, in most cases, these refunds should process automatically by April 9. 

While it seems that King of Meat struggled to reach its audience, Amazon has a history of pulling games that are popular. Last fall, Amazon Games announced it would wind down support for New World: Aeternum, which first debuted in 2021. The news came as the division faced layoffs, but just that week the game had reached almost 50,000 concurrent players on Steam. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-games-is-winding-down-king-of-meat-113049172.html?src=rss

Snapchat is rolling out creator subscriptions

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Snapchat is taking a page out of Meta's handbook. The social media platform has announced it will launch creator subscriptions for users. Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook currently offer a similar feature. 

On Snapchat, creator subscriptions will give users access to exclusive content across Snaps and Stories. They will also get priority replies and go ad-free on stories. Snapchat pitches the new feature as great way to give creators "freedom to experiment" and "build a recurring income stream" — all good things for keeping people on your platform. 

Creators can choose exactly how much they want to charge subscribers per month. They can spread these figures out across Snapchat's recommended tiers. 

Snapchat creator subscriptions.
Snap

Starting February 23, select US-based Snapchat creators will be able to offer subscriptions. In the US, iOS users should then be able to subscribe to their accounts. The feature should expand to Canada, France, and the UK in the coming weeks. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/snapchat-is-rolling-out-creator-subscriptions-152114731.html?src=rss

Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 is up to $300 off

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Apple released its new 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 in October with little fanfare. But, despite the underselling, we found the device to be a great upgrade to its predecessor and the best MacBook for creatives. Now, you can find out for yourself with less of a strain on your wallet, thanks to a big sale. 

Currently, B&H has discounts available for a variety of configurations. The cheapest option is the MacBook Pro M5 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD. It's available in Space Black and Silver for $1,499, down from $1,599 — the lowest price we've seen for it. There's also a deal on the 24GB of RAM option, but the best savings are $300 off the model with 32GB of RAM and either 512GB ($1,699) or 1TB ($1,899). 

We gave the 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M5 a 92 in our October review. We were impressed with how much faster — up to 60 percent — the GPU is than with the M4. It has a 10-core GPU, 10-core CPU and 16 Neural Engine cores. Beyond that, it has an extensive battery life, lasting 34 hours and 30 minutes while playing a looping HD video. It also has an excellent design, great keyboard and an extensive port selection.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-14-inch-macbook-pro-m5-is-up-to-300-off-131743149.html?src=rss

EU launches second investigation into Grok’s nonconsensual image generation

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X is facing yet another investigation into Grok's reported creation of nonconsensual sexual images on the platform. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has announced an inquiry into X regarding the harmful, intimate images and processing of EU and EEA individuals' personal data — including children.

In an 11-day period, X generated about three million sexualized images, an estimated 23,000 of which were of children. British nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) announced the results of its December 29 to January 9 review last month.  

Critically, the investigation will determine whether X has broken GDPR laws. "The DPC has been engaging with XIUC since media reports first emerged a number of weeks ago concerning the alleged ability of X users to prompt the @Grok account on X to generate sexualised images of real people, including children," DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said, referring to X using the full title X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC). 

Doyle continued: "As the Lead Supervisory Authority for XIUC across the EU/EEA, the DPC has commenced a large-scale inquiry which will examine XIUC’s compliance with some of their fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand."

The DPC's probe could have repercussions for X across the EU, while also building on similar probes in the bloc. In January, the European Commission launched an investigation into whether X has violated the Digital Services Act. It's looking into if X has properly "assessed and mitigated" Grok's risks on X, including the spread of illegal content such as the AI-generation nonconsensual sexually explicit images. Once again this includes those of children — this disturbing point can't be emphasized too much. 

X claimed in mid-January that it was preventing Grok from editing photos of real people to give them revealing clothing. However, this seems far from the truth. Earlier this month, a male reporter found Grok would still put him in revealing clothing and even added visible genitalia. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-launches-second-investigation-into-groks-nonconsensual-image-generation-113239967.html?src=rss

The Vatican introduces an AI-assisted live translation service

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The Vatican is leaning into AI. AI-assisted live translations are being introduced for Holy Mass attendees — the holy masses if you will. The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican has teamed up with Translated, a language service provider, to create live translations in 60 languages. 

"Saint Peter’s Basilica has, for centuries, welcomed the faithful from every nation and tongue. In making available a tool that helps many to understand the words of the liturgy, we wish to serve the mission that defines the centre of the Catholic Church, universal by its very vocation," Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, O.F.M. Conv., Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, said in a statement. "I am very happy with the collaboration with Translated. In this centenary year, we look to the future with prudence and discernment, confident that human ingenuity, when guided by faith, may become an instrument of communion."

Visitors to the Vatican will have the option to scan a QR code. They will then have access to live audio and text translations of the liturgy. It doesn't require an app and should work right on a web page.

The technology stems from Lara, a translation AI tool Translated launched in 2024. Translated claims that Lara works with the "sensitivity of over 500,000 native-speaking professional translators." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-vatican-introduces-an-ai-assisted-live-translation-service-163014907.html?src=rss

ByteDance promises to tighten up its new AI video generator after viral Cruise vs. Pitt clip

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ByteDance released Seedance 2.0 less than a week ago and enraged artists everywhere with a viral clip AI-generated clip of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting. Unsurprisingly, the AI video-making tool has reportedly already received multiple cease-and-desist letters around copyright infringement. Now, it appears ByteDance is going to curb the new media generator's use of prohibited content. 

In a statement to the BBC, ByteDance said, "We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users." It added that the company "respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0." However, when pressed for more information on exactly how they would do this, ByteDance didn't respond. 

ByteDance's vague pledge follows a cease-and-desist letter from the Walt Disney Company on Friday. Disney claimed that Seedance 2.0 uses "a pirated library of Disney's copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney's coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art." Disney included example videos that included its copyrighted characters, such as Spider-Man and Darth Vader. 

Paramount Skydance has also reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance to stop Seedance 2.0 from using its materials, according to the BBC. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/bytedance-promises-to-tighten-up-its-new-ai-video-generator-after-viral-cruise-vs-pitt-clip-112941384.html?src=rss