Tag Archives: Software

iPhone 15 stuck on the Apple logo during setup? Here’s how to fix it

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If you’re setting up a new iPhone 15 today, you might run into some problems. As first reported by 9to5Mac, the new models (including standard and pro variants) can get stuck in a boot loop where they may freeze on the Apple logo when transferring apps and data to the new model. Although Apple says the setup process should prompt you to install iOS 17.0.2, which fixes the problem, some users (including one Engadget staff member) have reported that it failed to do that. Here’s what to do.

First, if your iPhone 15 setup prompts you to install iOS 17.0.2 before reaching the data-transfer step, you’re good to go: That means Apple’s hotfix worked as planned, and you don’t need to worry about any special instructions. Accept the update, wait for it to install and complete the process. But you’ll need to hop on a computer if it doesn’t prompt you to update.

Computer workaround

Start by plugging your iPhone into a Mac or Windows PC using its supplied (or any compatible) USB-C cable. Then, put the phone in recovery mode using the following button combinations: While it’s still plugged in, quickly press the iPhone’s volume up button, then the volume down button. Immediately after, press and hold the phone’s side (power / sleep) button until your handset displays the image below of a computer and cable. (If you don’t see it, try the button combinations again without pausing.)

Image of an iPhone with a recovery mode graphic (cable pointing upward towards a laptop) on its screen. Gray background.
Apple

Next, Mac users can open Finder and select their iPhone from the sidebar. Windows users will need to open iTunes. (If you don’t already have it, you can download it from here.)

After opening Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows), it will ask if you want to restore or update your phone. Choose “Restore,” and it will install the new software. (Apple notes that if your iPhone restarts while your Mac or PC downloads the update, you’ll need to wait for the update to complete before repeating the recovery mode button combination from paragraph three.)

After your Mac or PC completes the software restore, you should be able to unplug your iPhone and follow the prompts on its screen to set it up and transfer your data as usual.

Workaround without a computer

If you’re on the go or otherwise don’t have access to a computer, there’s an alternate method that may take a little longer. After powering up the phone, select the option to set it up as a new iPhone instead of transferring apps and data from your old model or iCloud. Then, after it takes you to a clean Home Screen for the first time, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update, and install the iOS 17.0.2 update.

After the update completes, head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, and choose “Erase All Content and Settings” at the bottom of the screen. After it completes the factory reset, the setup process should allow you to transfer your existing content from iCloud or your old handset.

Once you’ve set up your new phone, you can check out Engadget’s iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max review and iOS 17 preview to brush up on all your new features.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/iphone-15-stuck-on-the-apple-logo-during-setup-heres-how-to-fix-it-210049112.html?src=rss

How to track your moods in watchOS 10

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Apple’s watchOS 10 officially became available on September 18, and it brings a new feature in the Mindfulness app that gives you the option of logging your feelings and moods directly on your watch face. These updates will be available if you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer model. Here’s how to navigate that new feature.

Mindfulness app
Malak Saleh

How to log your mood

When you open the Mindfulness app, tap “State of Mind” and then “Get Started” to begin the logging process. From there, you can either log a “momentary emotion” to input how you feel at that instant, or a “daily mood” to report how you felt overall that day.

Mood logging
Malak Saleh

Using the watch’s Digital Crown, you can scroll through seven abstract images with corresponding emotional valences ranging from "very pleasant" to "very unpleasant." Once you select an emotion, you can opt for more logging and go into greater detail about the feelings you’re experiencing (including what's having the biggest effect on you) by selecting options from a drop-down menu.

Mood logging -- very pleasant
Malak Saleh

How to view your mood logs

Over time you can keep tabs on your daily logging activity in the Health app under the “Mental Wellbeing” tab. Using a paired iPhone, click “State of Mind” and then open “Show in Charts.” From this page, you can view the type of entries for daily moods or momentary emotions. You also have the option to view lifestyle factors associated with these entries to learn how your moods may correlate with variables like time spent in the sun, sleep trends, and exercise habits.

Logged
Malak Saleh

Additionally, specific assessments for depression and anxiety are now accessible in the Health app. You can also export PDFs of personal health reports if you ever need to share logs with a medical professional. You’ll need to open the Health app and click the “Sharing tab” at the bottom of the screen. From there you can choose to “Share with someone,” such as a contact, or “Share with your doctor.” 

If you want to share with your doctor, you can search for specific hospital systems to connect your health data and keep tabs on clinical records. For example, if you were a client at “Green Primary Care” in Huntsville, Alabama, you could directly connect to the patient portal, get secure access to health records, and also share your personal health data with a care team – this is where building a habit of logging daily moods may be helpful for a provider to get a fuller picture on the state of your mental health.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-track-your-moods-in-watchos-10-190011516.html?src=rss

Microsoft’s big Windows 11 update drops on September 26 with Copilot AI baked in

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Microsoft is releasing a big Windows 11 update next week, on September 26. The catchily-named 23H2 is packed with some real game changing features, along with a whole bunch of quality of life improvements. The update arrives just in time for the launch of the just-announced Surface Laptop Go 3 and the Surface Laptop Studio 2.

The big news here is the inclusion of the new AI-powered Windows Copilot feature. This toolset already exists as part of the Edge browser, but now it’ll be natively implemented in Windows, which allows for some nifty use cases. This native implementation means that Copilot is available in nearly every aspect of the operating system, from Powerpoint to Teams and beyond.

You’ll be able to use Copilot, for instance, to craft text messages using calendar data, explore navigation options in Outlook, generate Spotify playlists and more. This is generative AI so Copilot will also shop for items based solely on a photo, remove photo backgrounds and access the Bing Image Creator, which will soon be based on the vastly-improved Dall-E 3. Bing Chat is also now a native feature that exists in the sidebar.

AI isn’t the only game in town, as this is also a traditional OS update with the usual quality of life improvements. There’s finally native support for RAR and 7-zip file formats, so you can get rid of those third-party archiving apps. The File Explorer has been completely redesigned to increase efficiency, with large file thumbnails and a carousel interface, and the Paint app underwent a similar transformation, with a new dark mode and forthcoming transparency layers. There’s a redesigned volume mixer and updated RGB lighting controls called Dynamic Lighting. The latter toolset uses the open HID LampArray standard and many of the big names in gaming PCs and accessories have vowed to support this effort, such as Acer, Asus, HP, Razer and Logitech, among others.

Windows 11 Passkey feature.
Microsoft

Some current Windows 11 features have received minor updates here. The passkey experience has been optimized and moving your data to a new PC has been streamlined, thanks to an official Windows Backup software suite. Additionally, voice controls have been expanded and the photos app boasts some new editing options.

Finally, there’s the just-announced Ink Anywhere feature. This intriguing toolset is exclusively for stylus users interacting with a touchscreen PC or hybrid device. Ink Anywhere lets you draw on the screen in any text box anywhere within the operating system. The OS converts the handwriting to text and uses it in a number of innovative ways. This is useful for instantaneously uploading notes, but the system also uses AI to automatically answer queries, with Microsoft showing off the tool being used to complete a handwritten math problem.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-latest-windows-11-update-drops-on-september-26-163553126.html?src=rss

Windows’ Copilot AI starts rolling out September 26

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Despite it nominally being a Surface-centric keynote, Microsoft sure spent a lot of time talking about AI during its annual event on Thursday. "We believe it has the potential to help you be more knowledgeable, more productive, more creative, more connected to the people and things around you," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the assembled crowd of reporters. "We think there's also an opportunity beyond work and life to have one experience that works across your entire life." 

To that end, Microsoft announced that its Copilot AI, which currently exists in various iterations in the Edge browser, Microsoft 365 platform and Windows, will be bundled into a single, unified and ubiquitous generative AI assistant across all of Microsoft's products — from Powerpoint to Teams.

"It's kind of like your PC now it's kind of becoming your CP. We believe Copilot will fundamentally transform the relationship with technology and user in a new era of personal computing, the age of Copilots," Nadella said. He also noted that the new AI will also have the "power to harness all your work data and intelligence," inferring that the system will be tunable to a customer's personal data silo.

One example of that provided during the event would be using Copilot on your laptop to pull data from your phone. You can ask Copilot to find your flight information, which it can pull from your phone's text messages or Bing Chat history (or wherever the data might be hiding), and then subsequently upsell you on stage plays happening during your trip and assist you with those ticket purchases. Remember, the point of all of this exists specifically to get you to buy more stuff. 

The updated AI will offer a number of features and functions that we've already seen in other rival systems, like being able to shop for clothing based on a picture of them with Microsoft Shopping with AI, a la Google Lens, or have it summarize the contents of complicated email chains, a la ChatGPT. "Now you can copy, paste and do," Carmen Zlateff, VP of Product Management, told the crowd. What's more, the existing Bing Image Creator is scheduled to be upgraded to the new DALL-E 3 model soon.

A demo video played during the event also showed people using the AI to organize their desktop windows, generate Spotify playlists and remove photo backgrounds on command, similar to Google's Magic Eraser. One handy feature, especially for those of you with school-aged kids, is the new Windows Ink Anywhere. With the Surface's stylus in hand you'll be able to write in any textbox across the Windows OS. As my colleague Devindra Hardawar explained in our liveblog, "With math, you can write complex equations into the field and get a solution. You can also use your pen to snip a photo of a math problem, which pushes Copilot to solve it." The system will even be able to explain its reasoning in solving those equations.

It will roll out on September 26, "informed by what you're doing on your PC," Yusuf Mehdi, CVP Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, said on stage. The AI will arrive as part of the new Windows 11 release, which Medhi confirmed will "have over 150 new features and be the biggest update since it was first released."

Microsoft has been at the forefront of the generative AI revolution since the debut of ChatGPT last November. The company has spent years and millions of dollars in R&D working on the technology, including purchasing GitHub in 2019 and dramatically expanding its ongoing partnership with OpenAI that past January.

Follow all of the news live from Microsoft’s 2023 Surface event right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-copilot-ai-starts-rolling-out-september-26-143148644.html?src=rss

Fujifilm’s Instax Pal is a tiny digital camera that lets you print later

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With its latest Instax camera, Fujifilm has separated the camera from the printer. The Instax Pal is a tiny palm-sized 4.9-megapixel (MP) camera that takes digital photos, then lets you print them to the bundled Instax Mini Link 2 printer with a variety of effects via the new Instax Pal app. Designed for users 13 and up, the idea is to "capture life's spontaneous moments for photo printing," the company says. 

The camera is automatic, but aperture and shutter settings cover a wide range of shooting conditions, from interior to exterior. It's equipped with a wide angle lens and flash, and lets you shoot in a variety of ways. You can capture images by pushing the large shutter button on the back, or trigger it remotely using the Pal app. It supports interval shooting to capture scenes with 3, 6, 11 or 21 continuous images at three-second intervals. 

Fujifilm's Instax Pal camera lets you shoot digitally and print physical photos
Fujifilm

There's a detachable ring for use as a finger strap, simple viewfinder (lol) or a camera stand for remote shooting. Other features include a speaker for audio prompts, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD card slot (the internal memory can hold 50 images) and even a screw mount for a tripod. 

Via Bluetooth, the Instax Pal app gives you a view through the camera's lens for composing images and triggering the shutter. Images are then automatically copied to the app. You can adjust the exposure by +/- 2 EV and choose two between two quality settings, Rich mode (vivid, with more detail) and Natural mode. When you're ready to print, there's a bundle of effects that includes sepia, cool, vivid and soft, along with controls for brightness, contrast, rotate, crop, text, stickers, emojis and more. 

Fujifilm's Instax Pal camera lets you shoot digitally and print physical photos
Fujifilm

Printing from the app is possible, but unfortunately requires a second Fujifilm app for the printer. It lets you print Instax Mini pictures (2.13 x 3.4 inches) in about 15 seconds, with a 1.5-minute development time. Quality is about the same as you'd get with an Instax Mini camera like the SQ40, since the process is the same — the only difference is that the Pal's camera is separated from the printer. The advantage to the second app is that you can also print photos from your smartphone's camera reel. 

Photos can also be sent to friends via the Pal app, or posted to social media — all fitting for a camera marketed to teens. The only challenge is that it isn't cheap. The Instax Pal bundle arrives in late October (along with the app) for $200, while the new Soft Lavender Instax film designed for the bundle is $15.75 for a 10 pack (regular Instax film is about $13 for a ten pack). If you only need physical photos, other Instax Mini models are far cheaper at less than $100 — but the Pal does support both physical and digital photos, while giving you a smartphone printer to boot. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fujifilms-instax-pal-is-a-tiny-digital-camera-that-lets-you-print-later-091509085.html?src=rss

The next DALL-E will be able to generate results within ChatGPT

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OpenAI is gearing up to roll out the third version of DALL-E, its text-to-image AI system, which reportedly improves its predecessor's capabilities and can generate results within the ChatGPT app. The company demonstrated how the new iteration integrates with ChatGPT to The Verge, and it showed the publication how users can ask the chatbot to write a lengthy and detailed prompt the image AI can use. 

OpenAI told Axios that DALL-E 3 is "significantly better" at being able to grasp a user's intention, especially if the prompt is long and detailed. If a user can't articulate what they want in a way that can maximize the image generator's abilities, then ChatGPT can help them write a comprehensive prompt for it. In the demo to The Verge, DALL-E produced four results for a prompt asking for a ramen restaurant logo in the mountains within ChatGPT. 

DALL-E 3 was also designed to be better at creating elements its predecessors and other AI generators are having trouble with, such as depictions of hands and texts in images. And it's supposed to have better security measures — the company said it trained the new DALL-E ignore certain words in prompts that could lead to explicit or hateful images.

In addition, OpenAI has implemented measures that could prevent future potential lawsuits. The current version of DALL-E can generate images in the style of living artists, but the next version was designed to decline requests asking it to mimic their work. Artists will also be able to submit work they own through a form on the website and ask for it to be removed.

OpenAI plans to release DALL-E 3 next month to ChatGPT Plus and enterprise customers. The new image generator will then make its way to OpenAI's research labs and API customers sometime this fall, but the company has yet to announce its general public availability. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-next-dall-e-will-be-able-to-generate-results-within-chatgpt-063833672.html?src=rss

Fitbit’s radically redesigned app is ready for public consumption

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Fitbit’s redesign is finally here. Google just announced that the comprehensive refresh starts rolling out today after existing as a beta build since August. The update simplifies the experience by splitting everything up into three tabs. There’s the Today tab, the Coach tab and the You tab, with each offering unique metrics and access to activities.

The Today tab boasts a fully customizable set of daily stats and metrics for easy perusal. Though called “Today,” it also provides access to health trends over the past month or year. The Coach tab is all about motivation, with curated lists of mindfulness sessions, workouts and more. The You tab is where you access achievement badges and related progress metrics. Google says that all of this information is kept private and won’t be leveraged for ads data.

The refresh doesn’t change what’s free and what’s only available to paying subscribers, so your basic fitness flow will remain the same, but the app’s visual language is markedly different, and there are some new features. Google encourages Fitbit users to use the new app to track physical activity with or without a dedicated device, as the update improves integration with smartphone sensors for more accurate step counts. The company also touts new privacy controls and increased customization options within the Today tab.

The update begins a global launch today for both iOS and Android platforms. This is a major release, however, so it could take a few days before the redesigned app hits your inbox. The redesign couldn’t arrive at a better time, as Fitbit sunsetted a number of features earlier this year, including open groups, adventures and challenges. While these features haven’t exactly returned with this refresh, the Coach tab will feature daily challenges and scenarios similar to what was previously available, and the You tab provides access to achievement badges.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-radically-redesigned-app-is-ready-for-public-consumption-171433809.html?src=rss

MS Paint just got two killer features for a ’90s graphics editor

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After 38 years, Microsoft is updating its Paint App with support for image transparency and layers. For most of us, MS Paint brings waves of nostalgia and memories of spending hours trying to be Picasso. Back then, you had a pencil, brushes, a handful of colors and not much else. Now, it seems Microsoft is beefing up its app to make it more useful for slightly more advanced image editing. In a blog post, Dave Grochocki, Principal Product Manager for Windows Inbox Apps, announced the new features and "exciting" new possibilities.

"When you combine layers, transparency, and other tools in Paint, you can create exciting new images and artwork! For example, when combined with the new background removal feature, you can quickly create interesting layered compositions," Grochocki said.

To get started, you'll need to click on the new layer option in the toolbar and that will open a panel on the side of the canvas. From there, you can hide, duplicate, merge or delete layers — much like you can do in other, more robust photo editing software. As of right now, the update is only available to users who are signed up to receive Windows Insider software builds. The features are not currently available to all Windows users, but are likely to be rolled out soon.

While it isn't the most groundbreaking thing, people who are still using MS Paint will find these features useful. And it's likely Microsoft will continue to update its Paint app, since the company has made it clear: MS Paint is here to stay.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ms-paint-just-got-two-killer-features-for-a-90s-graphics-editor-202341195.html?src=rss

iOS 17 is now available

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iOS 17 is here. Apple has made the annual update available to all users on eligible devices, meaning you can install it right now without bothering with beta programs. The 2023 iPhone software update includes significant updates to Messages, FaceTime, the keyboard and more.

You can install iOS 17 on any iPhone from 2018 or later. Once you know your device is eligible, you can head to Settings > General > About > Software Update to manually initiate the download and installation.

This year’s iOS upgrade includes audio message transcriptions and a rethinking of the Messages app. (iMessage apps and other tools now live behind a plus button next to the text entry field.) FaceTime adds video voicemails, and you can even take calls on an Apple TV, using an iPhone or iPad as the camera. StandBy mode is a new feature that turns your handset into a smart display when it’s charging and positioned horizontally. Meanwhile, NameDrop lets you quickly exchange contact info with new friends by tapping your devices together, and a new inline predictive text feature lets the keyboard predict and (optionally) finish your sentences for you.

You can read more about the new features in Engadget’s full iOS 17 preview. For more details on installing the update, you can read our tutorial.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ios-17-is-now-available-171458248.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Apple preps software update to address iPhone 12 radiation concerns

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Apple is prepping a software update for the three-year-old iPhone 12s after French regulators alleged the phone exceeds proper radiation levels. France stopped selling the smartphone after recommendations from the country’s radiation watchdog (ANFR).

The software update won’t adjust radiation levels but will “accommodate the protocol used by French regulators.” (I am not sure how that works, either.) Apple believes the software patch will be enough to allow the iPhone 12s to sail through future radiation tests, saying it looks forward “to the iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France.”

Belgium and Denmark don’t have the same worries as France. Belgian minister for digitalization, Mathieu Michel, said local tests were “reassuring” and recommended against a suspension on sales. Denmark’s Safety Authority followed suit, suggesting it had no concerns regarding the iPhone 12’s radiation levels.

— Mat Smith

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The biggest stories you might have missed

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The Morning After: The iPhone 15 kills off Lightning. Plus, AI-generated Coke

The week’s biggest news meets Engadget’s lens.

Our spin-off video series continues to let Mat do his thing, whether that’s throwing his iPhone at the camera, complaining about ’00s movies or writing about himself in third person. Our short-but-sweet edition this week covers iPhone 15, the return of movie rentals (kind of), and Sony’s Aibo dogs getting a second chance. There’s a new video every Saturday morning.

Watch it here.

Spider-Man 2 is following Sony’s sequel playbook

A two-hour demo showed off new tricks.

TMA
Sony

How do you outdo a well-received open-world game with its sequel? Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham played two hours of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at a press event earlier this week, and it seems the answer is go bigger. That’s the same tactic used by Sony’s cadre of development teams for The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War.

Because the world of New York in this game is almost twice as big as the original, with the addition of Brooklyn and Queens, finding new ways for players to get around was a major focus for developer Insomniac. Enter the web wings, a tool for gliding around the city, catching wind tunnels and updrafts that sling you at high speed. It’s not meant to replace the core web-slinging mechanic but augment it. And gliding seems to be the new having a horse in video game trends.

Continue reading.

Meta starts testing Horizon Worlds on mobile and the web

A small number of mobile and web users can now access Meta’s metaverse.

Meta has announced Super Rumble, the first game out of its in-house studio Ouro Interactive, is now available to a small number of mobile users through the Meta Quest app on Android. It’s also making its way to the app on iOS devices in the coming weeks. When Meta launched the first-person shooter, it said Super Rumble would be one of the first worlds available when its new app came out. It also said the game will feature cross-platform play on mobile, the web or a VR headset.

Continue reading.

Engadget Podcast: iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 hands-on

We also dive into our review of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6.

This week, Cherlynn gives us her on-the-ground thoughts from Apple’s iPhone 15 launch event. It turns out the iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium case is noticeably lighter. (Which we hope was the point.) Engadget’s Malak Saleh also joins to discuss her review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Dyson’s ridiculous Zone air filter mask/headphones.

Listen here

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-preps-software-update-to-address-iphone-12-radiation-concerns-111610283.html?src=rss