Month: August 2024
Amazon’s new Alexa voice assistant will use Claude AI
The new version of the voice assistant, dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” is expected to launch in October and require a subscription fee. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
The improved version of Alexa that Amazon’s expected to release this year will primarily be powered by Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence model, according to Reuters. The publication reports that initial versions of Amazon’s smarter, subscription-based voice assistant that used the company’s own AI proved insufficient, often struggling with words and responding to user prompts.
Amazon’s minority stake in Anthropic is currently under investigation by the UK’s competition regulators. The company invested $4 billion into the startup last year with the promise that Amazon customers will get early access to the company’s AI tech.
The development of the new Alexa technology, dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” has been rife with issues since it was announced last September, according to Fortune. Mihail Eric, a former machine learning scientist for Alexa AI, also said on X that the division was “riddled with technical and bureaucratic problems.” Meanwhile, Amazon’s currently dated but market-leading voice assistant is facing greater competition from challengers like OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT, Google Gemini’s voice chat mode, and even Siri’s upcoming Apple Intelligence update.
The new Alexa built around Claude reportedly performs better than the version powered by Amazon’s in-house AI models.
“Amazon uses many different technologies to power Alexa,” the company told Reuters. “When it comes to machine learning models, we start with those built by Amazon, but we have used, and will continue to use, a variety of different models — including (Amazon AI model) Titan and future Amazon models, as well as those from partners — to build the best experience for customers.”
Following release delays, Remarkable Alexa will reportedly arrive sometime in mid-October. Expected features include daily AI-generated news summaries, a child-focused chatbot, and conversational shopping tools, according to a report from The Washington Post earlier this week. Reuters reported back in June that Amazon was considering placing the new Alexa behind a $5 to $10 monthly subscription in a bid to make the assistant profitable but would keep the current “Classic Alexa” offering available as a free-to-use service.
A demo of the new Alexa will be presented during Amazon’s annual devices and services event, according to Reuters, which is typically held in September.
The new version of the voice assistant, dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” is expected to launch in October and require a subscription fee. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
The improved version of Alexa that Amazon’s expected to release this year will primarily be powered by Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence model, according to Reuters. The publication reports that initial versions of Amazon’s smarter, subscription-based voice assistant that used the company’s own AI proved insufficient, often struggling with words and responding to user prompts.
Amazon’s minority stake in Anthropic is currently under investigation by the UK’s competition regulators. The company invested $4 billion into the startup last year with the promise that Amazon customers will get early access to the company’s AI tech.
The development of the new Alexa technology, dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” has been rife with issues since it was announced last September, according to Fortune. Mihail Eric, a former machine learning scientist for Alexa AI, also said on X that the division was “riddled with technical and bureaucratic problems.” Meanwhile, Amazon’s currently dated but market-leading voice assistant is facing greater competition from challengers like OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT, Google Gemini’s voice chat mode, and even Siri’s upcoming Apple Intelligence update.
The new Alexa built around Claude reportedly performs better than the version powered by Amazon’s in-house AI models.
“Amazon uses many different technologies to power Alexa,” the company told Reuters. “When it comes to machine learning models, we start with those built by Amazon, but we have used, and will continue to use, a variety of different models — including (Amazon AI model) Titan and future Amazon models, as well as those from partners — to build the best experience for customers.”
Following release delays, Remarkable Alexa will reportedly arrive sometime in mid-October. Expected features include daily AI-generated news summaries, a child-focused chatbot, and conversational shopping tools, according to a report from The Washington Post earlier this week. Reuters reported back in June that Amazon was considering placing the new Alexa behind a $5 to $10 monthly subscription in a bid to make the assistant profitable but would keep the current “Classic Alexa” offering available as a free-to-use service.
A demo of the new Alexa will be presented during Amazon’s annual devices and services event, according to Reuters, which is typically held in September.
Princess Zelda draws a sword in Echoes of Wisdom’s new trailer
Nintendo
Our first couple of looks at Echoes of Wisdom made it seem like Zelda would be fighting to save Hyrule with just her wits and new magic powers, but the game’s latest trailer is all about the princess’ skills with a blade.
Though Princess Zelda will wield a mystical staff that basically summons monsters and conjures useful items, she also has a straight up sword in Echoes of Wisdom’s newest trailer that highlights a new game mechanic. After finding the blade, Zelda will gain the ability to shift into a very Link-like swordfighter form that’s timed to a magical energy gauge. In her swordfighter form, Zelda seems to be a bit more nimble and able to block enemy attacks with a shield, but she can only maintain the form for a limited amount of time before needing to refill her magic with mysterious energy found throughout the game.
While Zelda’s new form will give players a way to hack and slash their way through enemies, the new trailer really spotlights how sword fighting is just one of the skills you’re meant to cleverly deploy while exploring the world. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom hits the Switch on September 26th, 2024.
Nintendo
Our first couple of looks at Echoes of Wisdom made it seem like Zelda would be fighting to save Hyrule with just her wits and new magic powers, but the game’s latest trailer is all about the princess’ skills with a blade.
Though Princess Zelda will wield a mystical staff that basically summons monsters and conjures useful items, she also has a straight up sword in Echoes of Wisdom’s newest trailer that highlights a new game mechanic. After finding the blade, Zelda will gain the ability to shift into a very Link-like swordfighter form that’s timed to a magical energy gauge. In her swordfighter form, Zelda seems to be a bit more nimble and able to block enemy attacks with a shield, but she can only maintain the form for a limited amount of time before needing to refill her magic with mysterious energy found throughout the game.
While Zelda’s new form will give players a way to hack and slash their way through enemies, the new trailer really spotlights how sword fighting is just one of the skills you’re meant to cleverly deploy while exploring the world. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom hits the Switch on September 26th, 2024.
iOS 18 is bringing live sports scores to your iPhone lock screen
iOS 18 and watchOS 11 will bring live sports scores to iPhone and Apple Watch lock screens through the free Apple Sports app.
iOS 18 and watchOS 11 will bring live sports scores to the iPhone and Apple Watch lock screen, Apple has announced ahead of the company’s major product event on September 9.
The news will come as a welcome boost for iPhone or Apple Watch-using NFL fans, as the football season is due to begin on September 5 with the title-holding Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Baltimore Ravens.
For soccer fans, Apple has also confirmed that the Champions League and Europa League will be making their way to the Apple Sports app in September. These competitions will join the NFL and 14 other football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer leagues in being lock screen-compatible.
In a press release, Apple detailed how a free update to the Apple Sports app in iOS 18 and watchOS 11 will bring a number of new features – most prominently the ability to check live scores without unlocking your device.
(Image credit: Apple)
The score cards, delivered via Apple’s Live Activities feature, will also include short play-by-play updates, and you’ll be able to track multiple games at the same time.
As ZDNET reports, the update will also bring these features to the top 25 American college football teams, with this list updated weekly.
The update brings drop-down navigation for the main scorecard views, which Apple says will speed up switching between the My Leagues, My Teams, and favorited leagues feeds. Additionally, an improved search function for matches in leagues outside of the ones you already follow is on the way.
Apple Sports is available in the US, UK, and Canada, with no signs that Apple is looking to add more countries any time soon.
(Image credit: Apple)
The Apple Sports app provides scores, updates, and betting data for these leagues for the duration of their respective seasons. Live betting odds can be turned off at any time in settings.
Apple TV owners hoping for live scores on the big screen will be disappointed, though – the press release’s small print confirms that Live Activities will not be available on Apple TV with the introduction of iOS 18.
Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 16 lineup and Apple Watch Series 10 at the company’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event on September 9. For details on how to watch the iPhone 16 launch event and what we’re expecting to see, check out our dedicated Apple Event page and more general iPhone coverage.
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Intel Panther Lake laptop chips could get top-end CPUs to rival AMD Strix Halo – and they could change budget gaming laptops forever
Will discrete laptop graphics cards soon be a thing of the past? Quite possibly, if Intel and AMD’s plans come to fruition.
Intel could have top-end laptop processor ‘Halo’ variants inbound for next year, packing highly performant integrated graphics to rival AMD’s Strix Point Halo – super-beefy APUs also due in 2025 – and both of these ranges could be used to drive the best budget gaming laptops just as effectively as a lower-end discrete GPU.
VideoCardz reports (via Wccftech) that rumors have come through on Weibo (grab some handfuls of salt) from Lenovo China’s product manager, claiming that Intel is indeed working on such high-end laptop chips.
We’ve also recently been treated to leaks around possible Arrow Lake Halo CPUs on mobile, but these new details suggest we won’t get such silicon quite as soon as Intel’s next-gen range.
We’re told that Intel’s Halo product is definitely coming, but that it will debut with Panther Lake, the following generation after Arrow Lake. This is a mobile-only series of CPUs expected to arrive later in 2025 (it’ll follow up Lunar Lake, in fact – which will debut alongside Arrow Lake).
The theory is that Arrow Lake Halo was originally planned – indeed rumors around this idea go back a couple of years – but Intel has now canceled it, and delayed the implementation of a Strix Point Halo rival to Panther Lake. The idea is still on the boil, then, just not for early 2025, but late next year – if this chatter is on the money, that is.
(Image credit: Future)
Analysis: Celestial graphics for Halo chips?
Purely from the point of view of Intel having a lot on its plate right now – with getting Arrow Lake desktop out (and mobile), and Lunar Lake on laptops to boot, while also dealing with firefighting those current-gen and last-gen instability woes – it makes some sense for Team Blue to push back any attempt at a Strix Point Halo rival. Arc GPUs seemingly falling somewhat behind schedule – second-gen Battlemage is still yet to emerge, but may not be too far off now – may also come into play in this respect.
After all, Strix Point Halo isn’t expected to arrive until next year, though admittedly early on most likely – and Panther Lake is also due in 2025, so it’s not like transferring a Halo series to Intel’s Arrow/Lunar Lake successor is putting Team Blue massively behind its rival. Plus, Panther Lake will offer the opportunity to use more powerful third-gen Arc Celestial graphics, too.
If this is how it pans out, 2025 could be a massive year for budget gaming laptops with the arrival of AMD Strix Halo and Intel Panther Lake Halo. We’ve already heard how powerful Strix Halo will be, and the rumor is that Panther Lake Halo will carry a similar graphics tile to that found with the (seemingly canned) Arrow Lake Halo – a monster integrated GPU packing 320 Execution Units or 20 Xe Cores.
To give you some perspective on that, Intel’s Arc A580, its mid-range first-gen Alchemist discrete graphics card, packs 24 Xe Cores. So, the Panther Lake integrated solution will theoretically come close to that core count, plus it’ll be two full generations ahead (it’ll be third-gen graphics, as mentioned).
Gaming laptops will be able to use these AMD and Intel Halo chips to avoid having a discrete GPU, therefore becoming relatively more affordable at the more modest end of the notebook spectrum. Okay, so the Halo CPUs themselves won’t be cheap, but they’ll certainly be cheaper than having to fork out to put a processor and separate lower-end GPU in a budget laptop.
Indeed, the power of the integrated GPUs in both AMD and Intel’s Halo products (if the latter comes to fruition) could make lower-end laptop graphics cards pretty much obsolete. This is the way things are headed in the future, it seems, and we might arrive at that point in the notebook world sooner than you think.
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Jaguar I-Pace fire risk leads to recall, instructions to park outdoors
The problem is similar to one that affected the Chevrolet Bolt in 2021.
Enlarge / Jaguar sourced the I-Pace’s battery cells from LG Energy Solutions. But now there’s a problem with some of them. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
The Jaguar I-Pace deserves more credit. When it debuted in 2018, it was one of only two electric vehicles on sale that could offer Tesla-rivaling range. The other was the much more plebeian Chevrolet Bolt, which was cheaper but nowhere near as luxurious, nor as enjoyable to drive. Now, some I-Pace and Bolt owners have something else in common, as Jaguar issues a recall for some model-year 2019 I-Paces due to a fire risk, probably caused by badly folded battery anode tabs.
The problem doesn’t affect all I-Paces, just those built between January 9, 2018, and March 14, 2019—2,760 cars in total in the US. To date, three fires have been reported following software updates, which Jaguar’s recall report says does not provide “an appropriate level of protection for the 2019MY vehicles in the US.”
Although Jaguar’s investigation is still ongoing, it says that its battery supplier (LG Energy Solutions) is inspecting some battery modules that were identified by diagnostic software as “having characteristics of a folded anode tab.” In 2021, problems with LG batteries—in this case folded separators and torn anode tabs—resulted in Chevrolet recalling every Bolt on the road and replacing their batteries under warranty, at a cost of more than $1.8 billion.
All the news on Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
French authorities arrested Durov as part of an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram. The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has sparked questions about the messaging app’s future — and the precedent prosecution could set. On August 24th, French authorities took Durov into custody near Paris as part of an “ongoing judicial investigation” into criminal activity on the platform, which is known for its lax moderation policies.
A French judge later charged Durov with enabling illicit transactions, complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material, and refusing to cooperate with authorities, among other offenses. Although he has been released under judicial supervision, Durov has been barred from leaving France while the authorities continue their investigation.
If you want to keep up with the news surrounding Durov’s arrest, you can follow along below.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
French authorities arrested Durov as part of an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram.
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has sparked questions about the messaging app’s future — and the precedent prosecution could set. On August 24th, French authorities took Durov into custody near Paris as part of an “ongoing judicial investigation” into criminal activity on the platform, which is known for its lax moderation policies.
A French judge later charged Durov with enabling illicit transactions, complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material, and refusing to cooperate with authorities, among other offenses. Although he has been released under judicial supervision, Durov has been barred from leaving France while the authorities continue their investigation.
If you want to keep up with the news surrounding Durov’s arrest, you can follow along below.
You can now upload additional types of documents to Gemini AI
Paid Gemini customers can upload new text and data files directly into the chatbot for additional context.
In a welcome update for office workers seeking productivity boosts, Google Workspace has announced its Gemini AI platform will now support even more document types.
The company confirmed that text files, including TXT, DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, DOT, DOTX, HWP, HWPX, and data files, such as XLS, XLSX, CSV, TSV, as well as its own Google Docs and Google Sheets formats.
Paying users with a Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, or Education Premium license will be among the first to benefit from the update. Google has not indicated whether the free version of Gemini will eventually get wider document support.
Gemini supports more upload types
By uploading documents to support prompts, users can give the AI chatbot additional context to provide a more personalized answer. Though the service’s main rival, ChatGPT, supports a variety of file uploads, Gemini currently only supports image uploads for free users.
For files uploaded directly from Google Drive, users must be owners or have the correct permissions to use them in Gemini.
IT admins must enable support for Google Drive integration by toggling on Workspace extensions in the Gemini settings, however local file upload will be supported by default for eligible accounts.
Each file must be less than 100MB in size, and a maximum of 10 files may be uploaded in a single prompt.
With the rollout starting on August 27, all eligible accounts should now have access to the handy tool.
Moreover, by paying for an upgraded Gemini account such as Gemini Business, employees get access to Google’s generative AI functionality across more interfaces, including directly within core Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets and Meet. Paid plans also unlock access to more advanced models, with the free consumer-facing version limited to 1.5 Flash.
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