Month: August 2024
iPhone 16 preorders could start soon – here’s when we think you’ll be able to buy it
This is our best estimate for when iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro preorders go live.
Apple has announced that its next major product showcase will take place on September 9, with an official reveal of the iPhone 16 lineup almost guaranteed.
Those looking to get their hands on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, or iPhone 16 Pro Max will no doubt be thinking about preorders – and helpfully we can look to previous years for an estimate of when iPhone 16 preorders could go online.
For context, the previous three iPhone generations have been announced mid-week, usually on a Tuesday, with preorders going live on the Friday of the same week.
With this year’s event taking place on Monday, September 9, we can fairly safely predict that preorders for the iPhone 16 lineup will be available on Friday, September 13.
We can also reasonably expect that Apple won’t stagger iPhone preorders, as this has only recently happened in the unique climate of 2020 during the pandemic. Our prediction therefore stands no matter which model you’re after.
A similar pattern follows for iPhone release dates, which we’ve covered in our roundup of the latest iPhone 16 release date predictions.
iPhone 16 preorder rumors
As established above, we believe that iPhone 16 preorders will go live on Friday, September 13 – and similar reports from The Independent, Forbes, and Tom’s Guide corroborate this prediction.
However, some rumors propose a slightly different date, such as a vague rumor stemming from German blog Macerkopf which suggests a preorder date of Thursday, September 12.
We don’t think this rumor holds any weight though – as MacRumors notes, the blog did not provide a source or any reason for the change from Friday to Thursday.
And while it is unusual for Apple to host an event on a Monday, it’s not the first time the company has strayed from hosting its September event on a Tuesday. The iPhone 14 was revealed on a Wednesday, with preorders available on the following Friday as usual.
As for how much the new lineup will cost, we predict that prices will remain stable from last year, with the base-model iPhone 16 starting at $799 / £799 / AU$1,499 – though reports from last year of increased production costs for the iPhone 16 suggest a price rise isn’t out of the question.
Apple is likely to officially confirm the preorder date at the time the iPhone 16 family is announced, so we don’t have to wait long to see if our prediction holds up.
As the Apple ‘It’s Glowtime’ event approaches, we’ll have all the latest coverage of the iPhone 16 and other expected products like the Apple Watch 10, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and iOS 18.
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Best Labor Day Deals Under $25: Save Serious Bucks on Everything From Tech to Outdoor Goods
Labor Day is right around the corner, but there some super hot and super cheap deals already in full swing.
Labor Day is right around the corner, but there some super hot and super cheap deals already in full swing.
Meta’s Oversight Board looks into anti-trans posts that the company won’t remove
Meta’s Oversight Board is looking at two anti-transgender posts shared in 2024 that were reported multiple times for hate speech, bullying and harassment. The first is a video shared on Facebook that shows a trans woman being confronted in the bathroom by another woman. The post misgenders the person as a man and questions why they should be allowed to use a women’s bathroom. The other case looks at a video posted on Instagram in which a transgender girl wins a women’s sporting competition, with some spectators audibly expressing their disapproval. The post also misgenders the athlete as a boy.
The company’s hate speech policy prohibits any direct attack on an individual due to their gender identity. Yet, in both instances, Meta left the post live after users reported them. Then, following individual appeals to the Board, Meta took another look under its Hate Speech and Bullying and Harassment policies and came to the same conclusion. It also told the Board that it would have left the Facebook post up regardless, as it’s newsworthy given that “transgender people’s access to bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity is the subject of considerable political debate in the United States.”
The user who appealed the Facebook post argued to the Board that Meta is allowing a transphobic post to remain on one of its platforms. The assertion for the Instagram post was that the attacks lobbied at the athlete violate Meta’s Community Standards.
The Board is now seeking public comments through September 12 on aspects such as Meta’s policies, the challenges of enforcing them and how the content of each post and accompanying video could be seen from a sociopolitical context. It’s combining these two cases “to assess whether Meta’s approach to moderating discussions around gender identity respects users’ freedom of expression and the rights of transgender and non-binary people.” Meta has 60 days to respond once the Board makes a recommendation.
This latest instance is part of a consistent pattern from Meta of violating trans rights and well-being. Last year, the Board ruled that Meta wrongly took down two Instagram posts of a transgender and non-binary couple with bare chests but covered nipples. Both posts discussed transgender healthcare and how they were raising money so one of them could afford gender-affirming surgery. Meta argued the posts violated its sexual solicitation policies after getting user reports and automatic system alerts. The couple then appealed to Meta and the Board, with Meta reversing their decision. The Board still looked into it and agreed that the posts should never have been removed.
Outside entities have also criticized Meta’s lack of protections. Early this year, LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD published a report outlining how Meta fails to enforce its own policies around anti-trans hate speech. The report showed dozens of clear examples demonstrating hate speech across Facebook, Instagram and Threads between June 2023 and March 2024, including anti-trans slurs, dehumanizing language and promotions of conversion therapy. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-oversight-board-looks-into-anti-trans-posts-that-the-company-wont-remove-135331089.html?src=rss
Meta’s Oversight Board is looking at two anti-transgender posts shared in 2024 that were reported multiple times for hate speech, bullying and harassment. The first is a video shared on Facebook that shows a trans woman being confronted in the bathroom by another woman. The post misgenders the person as a man and questions why they should be allowed to use a women’s bathroom. The other case looks at a video posted on Instagram in which a transgender girl wins a women’s sporting competition, with some spectators audibly expressing their disapproval. The post also misgenders the athlete as a boy.
The company’s hate speech policy prohibits any direct attack on an individual due to their gender identity. Yet, in both instances, Meta left the post live after users reported them. Then, following individual appeals to the Board, Meta took another look under its Hate Speech and Bullying and Harassment policies and came to the same conclusion. It also told the Board that it would have left the Facebook post up regardless, as it’s newsworthy given that “transgender people’s access to bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity is the subject of considerable political debate in the United States.”
The user who appealed the Facebook post argued to the Board that Meta is allowing a transphobic post to remain on one of its platforms. The assertion for the Instagram post was that the attacks lobbied at the athlete violate Meta’s Community Standards.
The Board is now seeking public comments through September 12 on aspects such as Meta’s policies, the challenges of enforcing them and how the content of each post and accompanying video could be seen from a sociopolitical context. It’s combining these two cases “to assess whether Meta’s approach to moderating discussions around gender identity respects users’ freedom of expression and the rights of transgender and non-binary people.” Meta has 60 days to respond once the Board makes a recommendation.
This latest instance is part of a consistent pattern from Meta of violating trans rights and well-being. Last year, the Board ruled that Meta wrongly took down two Instagram posts of a transgender and non-binary couple with bare chests but covered nipples. Both posts discussed transgender healthcare and how they were raising money so one of them could afford gender-affirming surgery. Meta argued the posts violated its sexual solicitation policies after getting user reports and automatic system alerts. The couple then appealed to Meta and the Board, with Meta reversing their decision. The Board still looked into it and agreed that the posts should never have been removed.
Outside entities have also criticized Meta’s lack of protections. Early this year, LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD published a report outlining how Meta fails to enforce its own policies around anti-trans hate speech. The report showed dozens of clear examples demonstrating hate speech across Facebook, Instagram and Threads between June 2023 and March 2024, including anti-trans slurs, dehumanizing language and promotions of conversion therapy.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-oversight-board-looks-into-anti-trans-posts-that-the-company-wont-remove-135331089.html?src=rss
‘There has to be a cost’: The Rings of Power season 2 stars tease how Khazad-dum’s storyline will ‘shift and change’ after the dwarven rings’ creation
The Rings of Power’s Durin IV and Disa actors open up on the division that’s been sown by Sauron and the plan to make rings for the Dwarf Lord.
The Rings of Power‘s Owain Arthur and Sophia Nomvete have teased how the dwarven rings will sow division throughout Khazad-dûm in season 2.
The actors, who play Prince Durin IV and Princess Disa in Amazon’s high fantasy prequel series, sat down with me to discuss all things dwarf-related ahead of The Rings of Power season 2‘s launch. Chief among my queries was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the impact that the forthcoming crafting of the seven rings for the Dwarf Lords will have on the duo, Durin’s father King Durin III (Peter Mullen), and their subterranean kingdom.
It sounds like they’ll prove to be as divisive as the three elven rings have been, too with the dwarfs’ immortal brethren taking a “huge risk” in using said magical artefacts in season 2. Indeed, we only catch a glimpse of the dwarven rings being forged towards the end of episode 2 of the popular Prime Video show’s second installment. However, given the differing opinions that Durin IV and Disa have already expressed to each other – and Sauron, who’s masquerading as Annatar this season – it appears that the seeds of his disunity could spell danger for Khazad-dûm as a whole.
King Durin will get his own ring of power in season 2 – and it’s sure to have a negative effect on him (Image credit: Amazon)
“He’s suspicious of Annatar,” Arthur said of Durin IV after his first encounter with Sauron’s alias and Celebrimbor’s plan to make more rings. “Annatar mentions Elrond, which was a big mistake on his part, because he probably wasn’t expecting Durin to be such good friends with an elf. That instantly lays the seed of suspicion.
“But it’s hearing about the rings and the deviousness of the plan that splits opinion. Durin doesn’t see them as a quick fix [for Khazad-dûm’s issues], but some people really trust them, and others acquire a thirst for them. It’s like being addicted to drugs in a sense, because of their apparent ability to cure problems, but that’s not the case with substance abuse, and it certainly isn’t here.”
The quandary that Khazad-dûm is there for all to see. As a by-product of Mount Doom’s creation in season 1 episode 6, a powerful earthquake hits The Lord of the Rings‘ famous dwarven realm, which destroys the race’s sun shafts that are vital to dwarven agriculture. As a result, their crops die and Khazad-dûm’s limited food reserves need to be used to sustain the population.
Oh, and let’s not forget that the two Durins have become estranged after an explosive falling out in season 1 episode 7. Oh, and then there’s the fact that Disa and her fellow resonators have seemingly lose their ability to ‘sing’ to the mountain – another crucial part of Dwarven culture that helps them expand into new areas that are ripe for excavation. That’s before we get onto the emergence of the Balrog known as Durin’s Bane, too, which will surely attack the kingdom before season 2’s final episode.
Are Khazad-dûm’s power couple preparing to face Durin’s Bane? We’ll find out soon enough (Image credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video)
“Their opinions [of the rings] shift and change,” Nomvete said. “For Durin, it’s all speculative, but Disa views them through rose tinted glasses because the dwarves are in crisis. This has to be the answer because it’s a magic pill that’ll solve everything. She’s lost her spark and pure part of her because she can’t sing to the mountain so, while I think her intentions come from a place of love, she becomes desperate. She can feel the pain within the city’s walls, which drives her to make some slightly dodgy decisions.
“But they [the rings] end up being like putting a dressing on a wound or papering over the cracks. I think Disa discovers that later on when she links things back to her voice. She thinks ‘Hold on, it took an absolute age to come up with this gift of resonating. These rings aren’t going to solve everything’. There has to be cause and effect. There has to be a cost and she starts to sense that the cost is not only great, but dark. That’s when things shift between Disa and Prince Durin, who starts to question why she’s waivering in her confidence of the rings.”
I’ll bring you more exclusives throughout one of the best Prime Video shows‘ second season run, including more from my chat with Owain and Sophia. In the meantime, read our spoiler-light review of The Rings of Power season 2‘s first three episodes, or check out even more exclusives from my interviews with its showrunners and other cast members.
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New Google Photos video editor tools could make the app ultra-useful for content creators
Google Photos is set to add four ultra-useful tools for streamlining video editing.
It’s no secret that Google Photos is getting a few upgrades for video content – at the start of August 2024, we reported on a number of updates set to hit the popular photo cloud storage app.
Code hidden within the update suggested that editing videos is set to become a lot easier, and included an improved UI and a speed increase/decrease option.
Now, thanks to a teardown by Android Authority, we have an even better idea what to expect from Google Photos’ enhanced video editor.
Video editing in Google Photos
Although not technically a video editing app, the ability to trim video content in Google Photos isn’t new – but it’s fair to say it’s pretty basic in design and functionality. According to the teardown of version 6.97 of the Android app, users can expect a much better experience, with more useful tools.
Originally known as Spotlights, the new editing tools have been renamed to Presets, with four key functions available.
Basic cut lets uses trim highlights of a video and enhance color
Slow Mo adds slow motion to parts of a video.
Track will track and zoom in on video subjects.
Zoom will increase or decrease magnification of an area.
These options are to be found when selecting a video and tapping Edit. From here, users will need to scroll across to the Preset option – unavailable in the current version of the app. Using the new tools, Android Authority explained that effects and duration is controlled via a simple slider.
So, we won’t be expecting anywhere near the levels of control found in the best video editing software we’ve reviewed – this isn’t a CapCut alternative, much less a replacement for Premiere Pro. But it could prove to be some of the best video editing software for beginners and content creators who need to cut clips fast. We just hope Google serves up a release date soon.
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OpenAI and Anthropic partner with US government on AI research
AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic have signed agreements with the U.S. government to advance research, testing, and evaluation of their artificial intelligence models, the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute said on Thursday. These landmark agreements come at a time when
The post OpenAI and Anthropic partner with US government on AI research first appeared on Tech Startups.
AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic have signed agreements with the U.S. government to advance research, testing, and evaluation of their artificial intelligence models, the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute said on Thursday. These landmark agreements come at a time when […]
The post OpenAI and Anthropic partner with US government on AI research first appeared on Tech Startups.
Blair Underwood reveals the piece of advice from Sidney Poitier that helped shape his career
Key advice from one acting legend to another as Blair Underwood recounts the key piece of advice he received from the great Sydney Poitier.
Key advice from one acting legend to another as Blair Underwood recounts the key piece of advice he received from the great Sydney Poitier.
Apple lays off employees working on Books and News
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