News/Mobile
AI image showdown: Apple Image Playground vs Google Pixel Studio
AI image generation competition heats up: Apple's Image Playground and Google's Pixel Studio go head-to-head in a test of their capabilities, revealing strengths and limitations in the evolving landscape of mobile AI image generation. Apple's Image Playground, part of the iOS 18.2 public beta, is now available for early access on iPhone devices, marking Apple's entry into the mobile AI image generation space. Google's Pixel Studio, available on the new Pixel 9 phones, has already established itself in this domain, setting the stage for a competitive comparison. Test methodology and scope: The comparison focused on the accuracy and quality of...
read Nov 10, 2024Why the founder of Foursquare thinks the future of AR is in your ears
AI-powered audio guidance represents a significant evolution in how we might navigate and experience cities, with new startups exploring ways to deliver location-based information directly through earbuds rather than screens. The innovation at hand: Hopscotch Labs is developing Beebot, an iPhone app that combines AI technology with AirPods to create an audio-based city navigation and discovery experience. The app delivers location-relevant information through audio as users move through urban environments, eliminating the need to constantly check phone screens By leveraging AI models from OpenAI and Claude, Beebop generates and filters content to provide contextual information about surroundings The technology may...
read Nov 9, 2024How Apple is monetizing AI without have to charge users directly
Apple's AI monetization strategy: Apple has found a clever way to monetize its new Apple Intelligence features without directly charging users, leveraging its partnerships with third-party AI companies. Apple Intelligence, launched recently with more features coming in iOS 18.2, is offered to users for free. The latest iOS 18.2 beta reveals a new 'Upgrade to ChatGPT Plus' option in the Settings app, indicating Apple's strategy to profit from partner subscriptions. This approach allows Apple to maintain its free AI offerings while potentially earning a cut from premium subscriptions to third-party AI services. The role of services revenue: Apple's focus on...
read Nov 8, 2024Google Pixel 9 packs a lot of AI features and is on sale
The Pixel 9: Google's latest flagship smartphone: Google's Pixel 9 offers an updated design, improved performance, and AI-powered features at a competitive price point of $649 (currently on sale from $799). The Pixel 9 features a 6.3-inch Actua OLED display with a 2424x1080 resolution and 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, capable of reaching up to 2,700 nits of brightness. Powered by the new Tensor G4 processor, 12GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage, the Pixel 9 delivers responsive performance. The device sports a 50MP main camera and a new 48MP ultra-wide camera, producing high-quality photos and videos. Design and...
read Nov 8, 2024Google’s call screening feature may soon come with AI replies
AI-powered call screening on the horizon: Google is reportedly developing an "AI Replies" feature for its Phone app's call-screening function, potentially revolutionizing how users interact with incoming calls. The new feature, discovered in a line of code by 9to5Google, is expected to generate smart replies based on the caller's response to the initial screening. This development builds upon Google's existing call-screening feature, which was widely introduced with Android 12 and allows users to filter calls using Google Assistant. Evolution of call screening technology: Google has been steadily enhancing its call-screening capabilities to provide users with more efficient and context-aware options...
read Nov 7, 2024The iOS 18.2 beta is live — here’s what’s inside (and what’s coming next)
Apple's AI push gains momentum: iOS 18.2 public beta introduces a range of new Apple Intelligence features, signaling the company's commitment to AI-driven innovation in its mobile ecosystem. The update brings deeper integration of Apple Intelligence across the iPhone's core functionalities, enhancing productivity, creativity, and user experience. Key features include a more conversational Siri with ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence for the iPhone 16 series, and advanced image manipulation tools. Some highly anticipated features, such as Image Playground and Genmoji, are currently waitlisted, indicating a phased rollout approach. Enhanced Siri capabilities: The integration of ChatGPT into Siri marks a significant upgrade...
read Nov 7, 2024OnePlus 12 receives Android 15 update without AI features
Android 15 arrives on OnePlus 12: OnePlus has begun rolling out the stable version of Android 15 for its flagship OnePlus 12 smartphone, making it one of the first non-Pixel devices to receive the update globally. Rapid deployment and availability: The update is being released ahead of schedule, with the stable version launching just days after the Open Beta was announced for European users. The rollout is occurring in multiple regions simultaneously, including the European Union, North America, India, and for global variants of the OnePlus 12. OnePlus states that the update will reach users in "batches" throughout the week,...
read Nov 6, 2024How to use Apple’s Visual Intelligence to count calories
Visual AI calorie counting: A new approach to mindful eating: Apple's Visual Intelligence feature offers a novel way to track calorie intake using smartphone cameras and AI analysis. Amanda Caswell, a writer and tech enthusiast, decided to experiment with Apple's Visual Intelligence to count calories in preparation for the holiday season and upcoming New Year's resolutions. The AI-powered tool analyzes food images captured by the user's smartphone camera and provides estimated calorie counts. This method aims to help users make more informed dietary choices without feeling overly restricted. How it works: A step-by-step guide to using Visual Intelligence for calorie...
read Nov 6, 2024Samsung unveils AI assistant Bixby, but you can’t use it unless you’re in China
Samsung unveils AI-powered 'Next-generation Bixby' in China: The tech giant has quietly launched an updated version of its voice assistant, Bixby, with advanced AI capabilities for select Galaxy devices in the Chinese market. The new Bixby was introduced alongside the release of the Galaxy W25 and W25 Flip, region-exclusive variants of Samsung's foldable devices in China. This update marks a significant advancement for Bixby, which was notably absent from Samsung's Galaxy AI suite of features launched earlier this year. Key features of 'Next-generation Bixby': Samsung has highlighted four main enhancements to its AI assistant, focusing on multimodal interactions and improved...
read Nov 6, 2024Apple’s Visual Intelligence rivals Google Lens — here’s how to use it
Apple's latest AI innovation: Visual Intelligence, a feature of iOS 18.2 developer beta, brings Google Lens-like functionality to iPhone 16 models, enhancing the way users interact with their surroundings through their device's camera. Key features and functionality: Visual Intelligence allows users to perform a variety of tasks using their iPhone's camera, including object description, price lookup, and business information retrieval. The feature utilizes ChatGPT to provide detailed descriptions of captured images and can answer follow-up questions. Visual Intelligence can extract important information like email addresses and phone numbers from images. Users can opt to use Google search instead of ChatGPT...
read Nov 5, 2024ChatGPT Plus upgrade now available on iOS app
Apple enhances AI capabilities with ChatGPT Plus integration: iOS 18.2 developer beta 2 introduces a direct upgrade option for ChatGPT Plus within the Settings app, expanding Apple's AI ecosystem. The new feature allows users to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus without needing a separate OpenAI account or subscription outside of Apple's ecosystem. This integration is part of Apple's expanding Apple Intelligence suite, which already offered ChatGPT's free version in the initial iOS 18.2 beta release. The upgrade option is available in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT, along with usage limit tracking for free ChatGPT users. ChatGPT Plus benefits:...
read Nov 5, 2024iOS 18.2 update may arrive earlier than expected and include these new AI features
Apple's AI push accelerates: iOS 18.2, featuring significant Apple Intelligence enhancements, is set to arrive earlier than anticipated, potentially in early December. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that iOS 18.2 could be released as soon as the week of December 2, barring any unexpected delays. The update is expected to bring a host of new AI features to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, building on the initial AI capabilities introduced in iOS 18.1. This accelerated release schedule underscores Apple's commitment to rapidly integrating AI technologies into its ecosystem. Key AI features in iOS 18.2: The upcoming update is slated to introduce several...
read Nov 5, 2024OnePlus just released OxygenOS 15, an AI-powered OS that improves multitasking
The evolution of smartphone operating systems: OnePlus has introduced OxygenOS 15, a new operating system that aims to redefine user experience through AI-powered features, enhanced multitasking capabilities, and an intuitive design. OxygenOS 15 incorporates parallel processing, allowing users to switch between multiple apps without experiencing lag or performance issues. The new OS introduces OnePlus AI, a suite of artificial intelligence tools designed to simplify tasks and boost productivity. OnePlus OneTake, a novel feature, enables users to capture multiple photos and videos simultaneously, enhancing content creation capabilities. Parallel Processing: A game-changer for multitasking: OxygenOS 15 introduces an industry-first innovation that significantly...
read Nov 3, 2024Recent leak suggests Samsung may steal one of Apple’s best AI features
Samsung's AI-powered notification summary: Samsung is reportedly introducing a new feature in its latest One UI 7 beta that bears a striking resemblance to Apple's notification summary feature, part of the Apple Intelligence suite. The new Samsung feature, dubbed "AI notification," is currently available only in Korean but is expected to support English and other languages when the stable version of One UI 7 is released. Leaker chunvn8888 shared information about this feature on X (formerly Twitter), revealing Samsung's foray into AI-powered notification management. Like Apple's version, Samsung's feature is designed to summarize notifications when there are two or more...
read Nov 2, 2024Hugging Face launches powerful small AI models to run on smartphones
Breakthrough in compact AI models: Hugging Face has released SmolLM2, a new family of small but powerful language models designed to run efficiently on smartphones and edge devices. Key features and capabilities: SmolLM2 comes in three sizes – 135M, 360M, and 1.7B parameters – offering impressive performance while requiring significantly fewer computational resources than larger models. The 1.7B parameter version outperforms Meta's Llama 1B model on several key benchmarks. SmolLM2 shows significant improvements over its predecessor in instruction following, knowledge, reasoning, and mathematics. The largest variant was trained on 11 trillion tokens using a diverse dataset combination, including FineWeb-Edu and...
read Nov 2, 2024How Google is tweaking its Play Store to boost user engagement and revenue
Google Play Store Updates: Enhancing User Engagement and Developer Tools: Google has announced several changes to its Play Store aimed at increasing user engagement and providing developers with new tools to promote their apps and generate revenue. The most prominent change is the introduction of full-screen playback for app portrait videos, which has shown significant improvements in user engagement during testing: Watch time increased by 7% Video completion count rose by 9% Conversions improved by 5% Google is also introducing personalized search query recommendations, though the exact factors influencing these suggestions remain unclear. Users will have more control over their...
read Oct 31, 2024Google to add AI-powered weather app to Pixel phones within 2024
New Pixel Weather App on the Horizon: Google is set to release a dedicated weather application for Pixel smartphones in 2024, addressing a longstanding gap in its Android offerings. The new Weather app will be available for Pixel 6 and newer models running Android 15, with a gradual rollout already underway. This development marks a significant shift for Google, which had previously relied on limited weather widgets and third-party applications to provide weather information on Android devices. Key Features and AI Integration: The new Weather app combines traditional forecasting with artificial intelligence to offer a more comprehensive and personalized experience....
read Oct 31, 2024Google to bring AI-generated stickers to Android keyboards
Pixel Studio AI-generated stickers coming to Gboard: Google is preparing to integrate AI-generated stickers created in Pixel Studio with its Gboard keyboard app, potentially offering users a new way to express themselves in digital communications. Key features and developments: Pixel Studio, an AI-powered tool available on Pixel 9 devices, allows users to create various types of art, including stickers. Recent APK teardown of Gboard version 14.8.02.686567880-beta-arm64-v8a reveals new text strings referencing Pixel Studio stickers. The integration is referred to internally as the "MythWeaver" sticker pack. Implementation details: While the feature is not yet functional, it's expected that Pixel Studio stickers...
read Oct 31, 2024Google Maps will use Gemini AI to answer queries about new restaurants
AI-powered enhancements to Google Maps: Google is rolling out significant updates to its Maps application, leveraging artificial intelligence to provide users with more intuitive and informative search experiences. Google Maps will now utilize the Gemini AI model to generate "inspirational collections" based on descriptive queries, such as "things to do with friends at night." The AI will categorize locations into relevant groups, like "speakeasies" or places with "live music," while still maintaining traditional search results below these collections. Users can tap on specific locations to access AI-generated summaries of user reviews and ask questions about the place, with Gemini providing...
read Oct 31, 2024Apple Intelligence 101: Key features and capabilities
Apple's AI revolution: Apple has unveiled its new artificial intelligence feature set, Apple Intelligence, marking a significant leap in the company's AI capabilities across its ecosystem of devices. Apple Intelligence was first previewed at WWDC in June 2024, with initial features launching in iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. The rollout of additional features is planned to continue throughout 2024 and 2025, indicating a phased approach to introducing AI capabilities. Key features available now: Apple Intelligence introduces a range of AI tools designed to enhance user productivity and experience across various applications. Writing Tools offer proofreading, rewriting, and...
read Oct 30, 2024Google reportedly working on AI feature to answer Google Play questions
Google Play Store's AI-powered Q&A feature in development: Google is reportedly working on a new "Ask a question" feature for the Google Play Store that could utilize artificial intelligence to answer user queries about apps. The potential feature was discovered in an APK teardown of Google Play Store version 43.3.32-31, which revealed new strings related to AI-generated responses. This AI-powered Q&A system would complement the existing AI-generated FAQs already present in the Play Store, potentially offering more personalized and specific answers to user inquiries. The feature is expected to be accessible on individual app listing pages and in search results,...
read Oct 30, 2024T-Mobile unveils ambitious roadmap with emphasis on AI at investor event
T-Mobile's strategic vision and growth trajectory: T-Mobile recently held its Capital Markets Day in San Francisco, showcasing its past successes and outlining ambitious plans for future growth, with a strong emphasis on leveraging AI and expanding its network capabilities. The company highlighted its impressive performance over the past three years, including adding more than 12 million post-paid net customers and exceeding synergy savings projections from the Sprint merger. T-Mobile's market capitalization has increased by nearly 50% over the past three years, reflecting strong financial results and investor confidence. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and fiber expansion: T-Mobile is aggressively pursuing growth...
read Oct 29, 2024Having trouble accessing Apple’s new AI features? Try this
Apple's AI features arrive with iOS 18.1: The latest iOS update introduces a suite of AI tools, but users need to take an extra step to access them. Apple has released iOS 18.1, which includes new AI features under the "Apple Intelligence" umbrella. Users must join a waitlist and explicitly activate Apple Intelligence in their settings to access these features. The waitlist process is quick, typically taking only minutes for users to gain access. How to activate Apple Intelligence: Users need to navigate through specific settings to enable the new AI features on their devices. Go to Settings > Apple...
read Oct 29, 2024Apple Intelligence update: How good did Siri really get?
Apple's Siri gets an AI upgrade: Apple has released iOS 18.1, bringing significant improvements to Siri through the integration of Apple Intelligence, although the digital assistant still falls short of competing with advanced AI chatbots. The new Siri features a redesigned visual interface, appearing as a multi-colored neon glow around the screen edges instead of the previous pulsing ball. Users can now interact with Siri by pressing the lock button or using a new text-to-Siri option. Key improvements in the new Siri: Apple Intelligence has enhanced Siri's capabilities in several areas, making it more user-friendly and responsive. Siri can now...
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