Month: July 2024
The Google Pixel 9 could get one of Apple Intelligence’s coolest features before any iPhone
Google will reportedly bring AI-powered call recording and transcription to the Google Pixel 9 series.
Google looks set to unveil the Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold at its upcoming Made by Google launch event, and we’re now hearing that all four phones could launch with an iOS 18-style software feature.
According to Google tipster Dylan Roussel (via X), the Pixel 9 series will introduce Call Notes, a new AI-powered tool that lets you record and transcribe phone calls. Roussel makes no mention of call summarization in his X post, but given that the Pixel 8 Pro can already record, transcribe and provide summaries of real-life conversations via the Recorder app, we think it’s likely that Call Notes will bring the same three options to phone calls.
Interestingly, iOS 18 is set to bring similar functionality to compatible iPhones later this year, though Apple has confirmed that AI-powered call summarization will be limited to the best iPhones – namely the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 series – as part of the company’s Apple Intelligence suite.
Like Add Me? Wait until you hear about AI Call Notes (with call recording and transcription), redesigned Panorama mode, and other upcoming Pixel features 📞🌃July 27, 2024
In other words, Pixel 9 owners could benefit from a key Apple Intelligence feature before any iPhone users have had the chance to try it out. What’s more, with Apple Intelligence now reportedly delayed until iOS 18.1, the Pixel 9 and its siblings could continue to boast phone call transcription and summarization as exclusive features even after the initial launch of the iPhone 16 series.
AI-powered call summarization in Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Apple)
Incidentally, owners of the best Samsung phones have had access to a built-in phone call recording tool since Android 9, but there’s still no native method for transcribing and summarizing phone calls on Galaxy devices.
As for whether Google will bring this rumored Call Notes feature to previous-generation Pixel devices, we think it’s likely to do so, but only after the Pixel 9 series has enjoyed Call Notes as a timed exclusive tool.
Thankfully, we don’t have too long to wait until all is revealed. The Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold are set to be unveiled on August 14, and we’ll be on the ground at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California to bring you the latest Pixel-related announcements as they happen.
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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, episode 7: Who are Vermithor and Silverwing’s new riders?
In “House of the Dragon” Season 2, episode 7, Vermithor and Silverwing get new riders, Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. But who are they, and how are they related to the Targaryens?
Finding new dragonriders is no easy task, but in House of the Dragon Season 2, episode 7, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) proves it can be done — and all she needs is a couple dozen lowborn Targaryens to throw on the barbecue to make it happen.
In episode 6 Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) claimed Seasmoke as his dragon, and episode 7 welcomed two new dragonriders into the fold: Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) and Ulf the White (Tom Bennett), all three of whom Mashable’s Belen Edwards outlined as the most likely candidates a couple of weeks back.
But who exactly are Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White, and how are they related to the Targaryens?
‘House of the Dragon’ used a surprising piece of gym equipment to film dragon-riding scenes
Hugh Hammer is Vermithor’s new rider
Blacksmith Hugh Hammer has been on a rough ride in Season 2, but things are looking slightly better for him now that he’s claimed second-largest-dragon-after-Vhagar and certified bastard chomper Vermithor.
Hugh has popped up in a few episodes in Season 2, but he finally reveals his ancestry to his wife Kat (Ellora Torchia) in episode 7, when preparing to set out to Dragonstone after hearing Rhaenyra is searching for potential dragonriders. Hugh says he never knew his father, but that his mother worked in a pleasure house.
“She was granted more freedom than most ‘cuz of who she was,” he says. “She used to tell me I was no different to her brother’s boys: Viserys and Daemon.”
If we take a look at the old Targaryen family tree, this means that Hugh’s mother was the sister of Baelon Targaryen. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Daemon (Matt Smith) are his cousins.
Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO
Ulf the White is Silverwing’s new rider
Ulf is slightly more reluctant to head to Dragonstone, but he’s pretty much forced into it by his friends, who he’s spent years telling about his own Targaryen ancestry over many a wine.
“I’m the son of Baelon the Brave,” Ulf whispers in a tavern to his mates back in episode 3. “Bastard brother to Prince Daemon and the late King Viserys. Uncle to the one, true queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. The blood of the dragon runs through these veins and yes, men would take my head for it.”
Ulf isn’t exactly keen to put this heritage to the test, but makes the journey to Rhaenyra’s keep anyway for the trial. Fortunately, Silverwing – when Ulf bumps into them while fleeing Vermithor – seems more than happy to confirm his Targaryen blood, even if Ulf stepped on a precious dragon egg in the process.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
DJI Neo leaks suggest tiny, foldable drone could be small enough to fit in your pocket
Some new DJI leaks suggest it’s planning to launch a tiny drone called the Neo –here’s what we know so far.
DJI has big drone plans for the rest of 2024, according to rumors that have recently hinted at the arrival of a mid-range Air 3S and flagship DJI Mavic 4. But it may also be cooking up something completely new, with some intriguing new leaks pointing towards a pocketable drone called the DJI Neo.
A post from @DroneMood on X (formerly Twitter), which credited the reliable @Quadro_News for the information, has revealed an US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) registration label for the DJI Neo, alongside stills taken from a video (posted by @OsitaLV on July 25) that appear to show the tiny drone in flight.
According to some calculations from drones expert Weiliang Zhang based on this battery label, the Neo could weigh around 169g. With the DJI Mini 4 Pro weighing around 249g, that would make the Neo one of DJI’s lightest drones so far – if a little larger than the 80g Ryze Tello (which runs on DJI tech).
The leaked video shows a compact drone with a propellor cage, which suggest it’s designed to be safe for indoor flying. That cage would likely be removable, and if the Neo has a folding design, which most DJI drones so, it could well fit in your pocket.
Drone novo chegando: DJI Neo“Seguindo a regra usual de 30% para o peso do drone DJI, o peso estimado do Neo será de 169g. Vou chutar que é algo como o drone Hover com gaiola de hélice completa e compacto o suficiente para colocar no seu bolso quando dobrado.”Zhang estima o… pic.twitter.com/3W2qTwgd05July 26, 2024
It isn’t yet clear whether or not the DJI Neo is a flying selfie camera, like the HoverAir X1, or a cinewhoop drone that works with an FPV (first-person view) headset. Given that the person flying the drone in the leaked video doesn’t appear to be wearing a headset, a so-called ‘hover’ drone looks more likely at this stage.
A more recent post from DroneMood on X (formerly Twitter) highlighting what appears to be a premature Walmart listing also gives us a hint of possible pricing. That post suggests the DJI Neo Fly More Combo bundle (which typically includes two extra batteries, a charging hub and a shoulder bag) will cost $329 (which would likely convert to around £320 / AU$515). That’s a similar ballpark to the HoverAir X1, whose combo kit costs $399 / £395.
Ultimate flying selfie camera?
(Image credit: James Abbott)
We don’t yet know who the DJI Neo will be aimed at, but its potentially low price and tiny form factor could make it a potentially popular little drone – particularly if it crams in some of DJI’s automated flying smarts.
One possibility is that it might take on the likes of the HoverAir X1, which has snuck into our guide to the world’s best beginner drones. That drone weighs only 125g, and combines a two-axis gimbal and electronic image stabilization to good effect, although DJI has proven itself to be a leader in both of those areas. In theory, it could be significantly better than the failed Snap Pixy drone from 2022.
But elsewhere, DroneXL has speculated that the Neo could also be useful for first responders, giving personnel a quick view of a developing situation that could prove invaluable. Alongside DJI, this is something that the likes of Skydio and Brinc have targeted with their drones, and it could be another potential use case for the Neo.
Either way, the Neo looks like a fascinating little drone, and perhaps the spiritual successor to the DJI Spark, which was one of the company’s earliest drone offerings, and was similarly made for beginners who were on a budget. Given that FCC filings are typically followed official launches within a couple of months, we shouldn’t have to wait too long to see the Neo for real.
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Apple’s AI features face delays, rumors suggest launch will be in October
Apple’s new AI features will miss the initial launch of the iPhone and iPad software overhauls and will arrive later… Continue reading Apple’s AI features face delays, rumors suggest launch will be in October
The post Apple’s AI features face delays, rumors suggest launch will be in October appeared first on ReadWrite.
Apple’s new AI features will miss the initial launch of the iPhone and iPad software overhauls and will arrive later than planned.
On Sunday (July 28), Bloomberg reported that the iPhone maker is planning to roll out Apple Intelligence to customers as part of software updates coming in October, a month later than expected.
They said people familiar with the matter say the AI features will arrive a few weeks after the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 releases which have been planned for September.
The aim is for Apple Intelligence to be available for software developers for the first time for early testing as soon as this week. This will be through iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 betas.
It’s also believed that some of the more advanced Siri features will be absent from the delayed release, as a full rollout is now stretching into 2025.
This setback could be a minor blow for the company as they have been teasing its new features for some time now. It was at the Worldwide Developers Conference where the news was formally announced following months of circulating rumors.
The company hasn’t yet commented or responded to the claims reported by Bloomberg.
Apple AI: What is the upcoming Apple Intelligence?
Described as being a ‘personal intelligence system,’ the AI tool will be featured across Apple’s multiple platforms.
It includes new writing-related tools and allows for group threads to be shortened and summarized, along with help finding the right words when drafting messages and emails through the ‘smart reply’ feature.
Priority notifications will be implemented too, so you can choose what matters the most to you and have these appear at the top. These are then summarized, with the most important elements of a message being pulled out.
They have an image-like generator tool too, titled Genmoji. With this, people can sketch anything they like and have this turned into a related image.
Siri will have a makeover as well, with an all-new design as it becomes more integrated into the full experience. Product knowledge is set to improve, along with a greater understanding so the AI chatbot can reply with more accuracy.
Featured Image via Ideogram
The post Apple’s AI features face delays, rumors suggest launch will be in October appeared first on ReadWrite.
Apple Intelligence could be delayed – and it might even arrive too late for the iPhone 16
Apple Intelligence might not launch until iOS 18.1, which could be too late for the iPhone 16 release in September.
Apple’s iOS 18 public beta has launched, but there’s one rather glaring omisson: Apple Intelligence is nowhere to be seen. Try the beta today and you’ll notice that the artificial intelligence platform, which promises to take Apple’s devices to the next level capabilities-wise, is totally absent. Worse, it might not even arrive in time for the upcoming iPhone 16 debut in September.
In fact, Apple seems to be taking things a step backwards, and you can see the signs of this if you know where to look. For instance, as 9to5Mac has pointed out, the official Apple Intelligence landing page – created on June 10, the day of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote at which Apple Intelligence was announced – used to say that the feature would arrive “in an upcoming beta this summer.” Now, the page says it’s “coming in beta this fall.”
MacRumors, meanwhile, noticed that the iOS 18 beta 3 version of Apple’s Xcode simulator app contained an ‘Apple Intelligence & Siri’ section within its Settings app, but this has since been removed. It’s also been highlighted by others that a ‘Create New Emoji’ button – which would tap into Apple Intelligence’s generative AI abilities – briefly appeared in certain apps when switching to the keyboard’s emoji picker. Again, this is now absent.
The fact that these features and references to Apple Intelligence appeared and then disappeared just as quickly could mean nothing – Apple adds and removes features from its betas all the time. But it could also suggest that Apple might want to delay its AI platform as it puts the finishing touches on it – and that in turn might mean a delayed launch.
When will Apple Intelligence launch?
(Image credit: Apple)
If Apple Intelligence could be delayed past the full release of iOS 18, when might we see it? At this point, any guess is pure speculation, but as 9to5Mac has argued, there is past precedent which might offer up some clues.
Apple initially brought Stage Manager to the iOS 16 beta, but it was in such a troubled state that it got pushed back to iOS 16.1. That version launched as a beta in August, but the full version of iOS 16.1 didn’t see the light of day until October, a month after the iOS 16 release date.
Apple might decide to take a similar path with Apple Intelligence, letting beta testers try it out in August while saving it for regular users until October. Notably, that’s after the iPhone 16 lineup is set to launch in September. Still, it’s a suggestion endorsed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says developers could get to test Apple Intelligence as soon as this week, with the full release coming in October.
Given the potentially groundbreaking ways in which Apple Intelligence could shake up iOS, it’ll be disappointing to have to wait. But it makes sense to be patient – given its significance, Apple would rather launch a polished version of its AI than some half-baked attempt, and most users will probably (albeit begrudgingly) be on board with that.
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Synology BeeStation review: A great way to start getting real about backups
If you’re not ready for full-on NAS gear, consider this clever little drive.
Enlarge / In this handout image from Synology, a thoughtful worker uses BeeFiles on their MacBook and BeePhotos on their iPhone, always keeping their BeeStation close at hand. They might have important thoughts about the books “Island” or “DECO” to keep stored privately, redundantly, forever. (credit: Synology)
Dropbox is not backup. A portable hard drive is not backup. Real backup, experienced people have told me, starts with the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two types of storage (or devices), and one copy is remote.
And yet my data backup system remains precarious. I have tried many schemes, ranging from “pay for Google Drive space and just dump it all there” to “multi-platform rsync/crontab-based headless system I try to build out with help from StackExchange.” I try not to be the person in an informercial, insisting that there must be a better way, but when it comes to backing up music, photos, cloud-based email and files, settings, and more, I am indeed that person. There has to be a better way, and it can’t just be the heavy lift of setting up a Synology NAS, right?
Well, what if Synology itself knew that not everybody is ready to become a self-employed, single-client junior sysadmin? That’s how I think about the BeeStation ($220 as of this writing). It’s just enough backup to be way better than what most people think of as backup (praying that a giant corporation never loses or closes their account), but it’s still just one device. It can also create a pretty smooth ascent to full-on NAS if this little taste of self-directed storage spurs your ambitions.
Hackers bypass Google Workspace authentication to expose thousands of accounts
Attacks on Google Workspace started at least a month ago, and possibly even earlier than that.
Google’s cloud-based productivity platform had an authentication weakness that allowed hackers to impersonate other companies and log into third-party services, experts have warned.
As reported by KrebsOnSecurity, the vulnerability was discovered in the email verification process when creating a Google Workspace account.
Crooks were able to circumvent the verification, and log into third-party services that offered the “Sign in with Google” option for authentication.
Caught in the wild
“The tactic here was to create a specifically-constructed request by a bad actor to circumvent email verification during the signup process,” Anu Yamunan, director of abuse and safety protections at Google Workspace, told Krebs.
“The vector here is they would use one email address to try to sign in, and a completely different email address to verify a token. Once they were email verified, in some cases we have seen them access third party services using Google single sign-on.”
Google’s engineers also confirmed that the vulnerability was being abused in the wild, at least in the last couple of weeks:
“In the last few weeks, we identified a small-scale abuse campaign whereby bad actors circumvented the email verification step in our account creation flow for Email Verified (EV) Google Workspace accounts using a specially constructed request,” Google said. “These EV users could then be used to gain access to third-party applications using ‘Sign In with Google’.”
Google said it fixed the problem within 72 hours from discovering it, and added an extra layer of protection, for good measure. It also said that the abuse involved “a few thousand” accounts, and that it started in late June.
However, the comments left by readers on both TheHackerNews, and KrebsOnSecurity, suggest that the issue was present for a lot longer, Neowin reports. In fact, some people said they fell victim to the attack in early June 2024, which would mean hackers were abusing the flaw for at least two months before it was finally addressed.
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Apple Finalizes First Retail Union Contract With Maryland Store
Apple has reached a provisional agreement with its first unionized retail store in Towson, Maryland, marking a significant development in the company’s labor relations (via Bloomberg).
Apple has agreed to a tentative collective bargaining agreement with retail employees at its Towson store, the first of its kind for the company’s operations in the United States. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) announced the deal on Friday, detailing improvements in pay, work-life balance, and job security. This agreement is now pending a vote by the store’s approximately 85 employees on August 6.
The proposed three-year contract includes an average pay raise of 10%, with increases in starting pay for 80% of job classifications. The agreement aims to improve work-life balance through enhanced scheduling protections for both full-time and part-time employees. The deal also includes limits on the use of contracted employees, a new transparency and accountability procedure for disciplinary action, and an updated severance clause to provide financial protection in the event of layoffs. The tentative agreement maintains all current benefits and includes a commitment to negotiate any future additions.
The Towson Apple store made headlines in June 2022 when its employees voted to join IAM, becoming the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize. Since then, IAM CORE has been in negotiations with Apple management, with discussions starting in January 2023. Frustration over the slow pace of negotiations led to a strike authorization vote in May 2024. The Towson store agreement may set a precedent for labor negotiations at other Apple retail locations and could potentially influence unionization efforts across the company’s 271 U.S. stores. Tags: Bloomberg, United StatesThis article, “Apple Finalizes First Retail Union Contract With Maryland Store” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple has reached a provisional agreement with its first unionized retail store in Towson, Maryland, marking a significant development in the company’s labor relations (via Bloomberg).
Apple has agreed to a tentative collective bargaining agreement with retail employees at its Towson store, the first of its kind for the company’s operations in the United States. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) announced the deal on Friday, detailing improvements in pay, work-life balance, and job security. This agreement is now pending a vote by the store’s approximately 85 employees on August 6.
The proposed three-year contract includes an average pay raise of 10%, with increases in starting pay for 80% of job classifications. The agreement aims to improve work-life balance through enhanced scheduling protections for both full-time and part-time employees. The deal also includes limits on the use of contracted employees, a new transparency and accountability procedure for disciplinary action, and an updated severance clause to provide financial protection in the event of layoffs. The tentative agreement maintains all current benefits and includes a commitment to negotiate any future additions.
The Towson Apple store made headlines in June 2022 when its employees voted to join IAM, becoming the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize. Since then, IAM CORE has been in negotiations with Apple management, with discussions starting in January 2023. Frustration over the slow pace of negotiations led to a strike authorization vote in May 2024. The Towson store agreement may set a precedent for labor negotiations at other Apple retail locations and could potentially influence unionization efforts across the company’s 271 U.S. stores.
This article, “Apple Finalizes First Retail Union Contract With Maryland Store” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums