News/Mobile
Small Language Models are Making AI More Accessible and Environmentally Sustainable
The rise of small language models from OpenAI, Nvidia, and Hugging Face signals a major shift in the AI industry towards more accessible and efficient natural language processing capabilities. Small Wonders: How Compact AI Models are Changing Edge Computing; Hugging Face's SmolLM, designed to run directly on mobile devices, pushes AI processing to the edge, addressing critical issues of data privacy and latency: SmolLM comes in three sizes: 135 million, 360 million, and 1.7 billion parameters, enabling sophisticated AI-driven features on mobile devices with minimal latency and maximum privacy. Nvidia and Mistral AI's collaboration has produced Mistral-Nemo, a 12-billion parameter...
read Jul 19, 2024Google Teases AI-Powered Pixel 9 Pro, Confirming Leaks and Embracing Gemini Era
Google embraces leaks by officially teasing the Pixel 9 Pro, highlighting its AI capabilities powered by the Gemini model. Key details from the official teaser: Google has released a video on X (formerly Twitter) showcasing the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro, confirming earlier leaks and highlighting the phone's AI features: The teaser video emphasizes the phone being "built for the Gemini era," referring to Google's powerful AI model that surpasses GPT-4. It playfully suggests that the AI can even help users "let your old phone down easy" by generating a breakup letter, hinting at the phone's advanced AI capabilities. The video...
read Jul 18, 2024Google’s Gemini AI Now Accessible on Android Lock Screens
Google's Gemini AI chatbot can now be used on Android lock screens, allowing users to ask general questions without unlocking or touching their phones first. Key functionality and limitations: Users can now ask Gemini questions about topics like weather, math problems, or basic facts and trivia directly from their Android lock screen. Sensitive personal information will still require user verification and unlocking the phone, so Gemini won't be handing over private data to just anyone who asks. Enhancing convenience and usability: This update makes Gemini considerably more useful in everyday life by eliminating the need to manually unlock the phone...
read Jul 17, 2024Samsung’s ZFold 6 AI Turns Sketches into Photorealistic Images
Samsung's new Fold 6 features a powerful "sketch to image" AI tool that can turn rough sketches into photorealistic images. Key Features of Sketch to Image: The "sketch to image" tool on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 allows users to draw rough sketches on photos or blank note pages and uses generative AI to transform them into detailed images: Drawing on a blank note produces fun, cartoon-like results, such as goofy trucks or teddy bears with extra limbs, based on the user's doodle and chosen style like "3D cartoon" or "illustration". Sketching on an existing photo yields more troubling outcomes,...
read Jul 17, 2024Microsoft’s AI-Powered Designer Is Out of Preview And Available on iOS
Microsoft's AI-powered Designer app launches on iOS and Android, enabling users to create and edit images, designs, and more on the go. The app, which has been in preview for nearly a year, is now generally available with a range of AI-driven features. Key features and capabilities: Designer offers a comprehensive set of tools for creating and editing images and designs: Users can generate custom images, stickers, greeting cards, invitations, and more using AI-powered templates. The app includes an avatar creator, allowing users to design personalized avatars. Designer enables AI-driven image editing, such as restyling existing images, removing backgrounds, erasing...
read Jul 16, 2024Claude Challenges ChatGPT on Android In Anthropic’s Mobile AI Gambit
Anthropic has released its AI assistant Claude on Android, intensifying competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT and signaling a new phase in the mobile AI race. Mobile AI showdown: Claude's Android debut targets ChatGPT's dominance; The Android launch is a strategic move by Anthropic to rapidly scale its user base and challenge OpenAI's market leadership: With over 3 billion active Android users worldwide, Anthropic aims to close the gap with ChatGPT in terms of mobile accessibility and adoption. Anthropic's strict privacy policy of not using user interactions for model training could appeal to privacy-conscious users and enterprises, differentiating Claude in the competitive...
read Jul 16, 2024The Pixel 9 Pro May Include 1 Year of Google’s Premium AI Chatbot, For Free
The upcoming Google Pixel 9 Pro smartphone may come with a generous AI-focused gift for buyers - a year of free access to Gemini Advanced, Google's premium AI chatbot service. Key details from decompiled code: A deep dive into the code of the latest Google App beta revealed telling details about the Pixel 9 Pro's potential Gemini Advanced offer: A line of code explicitly states that the "Pixel Pro gives you access to a 1-year subscription to Gemini Advanced, our most capable AI model with priority access to new features, at no cost to you." In contrast, another code snippet...
read Jul 12, 2024Samsung Bets on Tailored AI to Regain Ground in China’s Smartphone Market
Samsung is developing AI features specifically for the Chinese market in a bid to regain lost market share, as it faces intense competition from local players like Huawei. Tailored AI development for China: Samsung's mobile chief, TM Roh, revealed that the company is creating a suite of artificial intelligence features called Galaxy AI with a focus on the Chinese market: Samsung aims to satisfy Chinese consumers by advancing mobile AI technology that caters to their specific needs and preferences. The company believes that developing AI features tailored for China will contribute to its recovery in the highly competitive Chinese smartphone...
read Jul 10, 2024Samsung’s New AI-Powered Galaxy Lineup Expands with Foldables, Wearables, and a Smart Ring
Samsung unveils new foldables, smartwatches, earbuds, and a smart ring at its July 2024 Galaxy Unpacked event, with a focus on AI features and ecosystem integration. Key product announcements: Samsung introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 foldable phones, Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra smartwatches, Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro earbuds, and the highly anticipated Galaxy Ring smart ring: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 feature minor updates, such as improved durability, brighter displays, and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, but come with higher starting prices of $1,899 and...
read Jul 8, 2024Samsung’s Upcoming Galaxy Unpacked Event Expected to Include Multiple Innovations
Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday promises exciting updates and releases, including foldables, AI advancements, and the highly-anticipated Galaxy Ring. Foldable phones take center stage: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are expected to be the main attraction, with leaked renders and specs giving a glimpse of what's to come: The Z Fold 6 is set to feature a more squared-off design, brighter screens, and slightly improved battery life, while maintaining the same 4,400mAh battery capacity as its predecessor. The Z Flip 6 may see fewer changes but is rumored to include a brighter screen, vapor chamber...
read Jul 8, 2024WhatsApp Introduces AI-Powered Image Analysis and Editing
The AI-powered messaging app WhatsApp is introducing new features that allow users to interact more collaboratively with AI, enabling them to send photos to Meta AI for analysis and editing. Key Takeaways: The latest WhatsApp beta version for Android includes a feature that allows users to send photos to Meta AI, ask questions about the images, and request edits using prompts. This development follows Meta's recent efforts to integrate more image-generation features into WhatsApp, such as a beta feature that uses Meta AI to create user avatars based on their photos. Enhancing User Experience through AI Integration: By incorporating AI-powered...
read Jul 8, 2024Is Apple’s OpenAI Partnership The iPhone Moment for AI?
Apple's partnership with OpenAI to bring advanced AI capabilities to its devices marks a significant milestone in the mainstream adoption of artificial intelligence, with the potential to transform how society interacts with technology in everyday life. Key Takeaways: Apple's integration of ChatGPT-style services into its mobile devices and computers could be a transformative "iPhone moment" for generative AI, making it accessible and useful to millions of users in their daily lives. This partnership has the potential to democratize and empower users through AI, but it also presents challenges related to environmental impact, AI hallucinations, privacy, and data security. Broader Implications:...
read Jul 4, 2024Apple’s AI Privacy Strategy and How It Stacks Up Against Android
Apple's AI privacy approach sets a new standard, while Android offers a "hybrid" model: Apple Intelligence introduces a unique AI architecture focused on on-device processing and a new Private Cloud Compute (PCC) system, aiming to protect user data even when leveraging cloud capabilities. In contrast, Android devices like Samsung's Galaxy range employ a "hybrid AI" approach, handling some processes locally but relying on the cloud for advanced features, potentially exposing data to more risks. Key differences between Apple's and Android's AI privacy strategies: Apple's PCC is designed to mask data origins and prevent access by anyone, including Apple, which the...
read Jul 3, 2024Iconic Actors Voice AI Audiobooks, Bringing Classics to Life in ElevenLabs Reader App
ElevenLabs enhances its AI storytelling app with the voices of iconic actors, creating immersive audio experiences that bring classic tales to life in a whole new way. Introducing ElevenLabs Reader: The company's iPhone app allows users to listen to any content using a vast library of AI-generated voices, including original, synthetic, cloned, and now iconic voices: The app, currently available in the U.S. and UK, lets users input text, links, or files and have them read aloud in the voice of their choice, even when the phone is locked. ElevenLabs Reader offers a wide range of storyteller voices suitable for...
read Jul 3, 2024Google AI for Pixel: Uniting AI Into Promising and Questionable Features
Google is reportedly uniting existing and new machine learning features into a collection called Google AI for Pixel, which may include both promising and questionable innovations in the anticipated Pixel 9 smartphone, according to an anonymous insider. Key features under the Google AI umbrella: The tech giant plans to bring together current and upcoming AI capabilities, with a focus on enhancing user experience while maintaining privacy: Circle to Search and the Gemini AI assistant will be moved under the Google AI collection. "Add Me" is a new feature that may enable users to add themselves to group photos they were...
read Jul 2, 2024Google Pixel 9’s AI Screenshot Feature: Balancing Convenience and Privacy Concerns
The Google Pixel 9 is set to introduce a new "Google AI" feature that could enhance screenshot search capabilities while being less invasive than Microsoft's controversial Recall tool: Key Differences from Microsoft Recall: Google's AI-powered screenshot feature will only process manually captured screenshots, making it less concerning than Microsoft's Recall, which automatically captures user activity: Microsoft delayed the rollout of Recall on Windows 11 after security experts raised privacy concerns about the feature's automatic data collection. Google's version will only use screenshots that users take themselves, potentially mitigating some of the privacy issues associated with Recall. Enhanced Screenshot Search and...
read Jun 28, 2024TikTok’s “Genie” AI Chatbot: Expanding Offerings Amid US Regulatory Challenges
TikTok is exploring the development of an AI chatbot called "Genie" as it seeks to expand its offerings and navigate regulatory challenges in the US. Key details from the trademark filing: TikTok's parent company ByteDance filed a US trademark application for "Genie" in May, revealing plans for an AI chatbot with capabilities beyond simple search recommendations: The chatbot is designed to simulate conversations, enable interaction between humans and AI, and generate human-like text and speech. This move signals TikTok's ambition to develop a full-fledged chatbot for the US market, going beyond its previous AI experiments like the Tako recommendation chatbot....
read Jun 27, 2024Some of the AI Mobile Apps Transforming Productivity and Creativity
The rise of AI-powered mobile apps is transforming the smartphone experience, with iPhone and Android users gaining access to advanced chatbots and generative AI capabilities right in their pockets. Key chatbot apps: Several prominent AI chatbot apps are now available on iOS and Android, offering users powerful language models and assistants on the go: Claude, an iOS app from Anthropic, provides an AI assistant that can help with data analysis, content generation, and general question-answering while maintaining conversational context. OpenAI's ChatGPT mobile app, available on both iOS and Android, gives users access to the popular chatbot along with custom GPT...
read Jun 26, 2024Hot Pink Razr Returns: Motorola’s AI-Powered Flip Phones Boast Upgraded Specs, Iconic Style
The iconic hot pink Motorola Razr is back, now with AI capabilities and a larger external screen, as the company celebrates the 20th anniversary of the original Razr flip phone. New Razr models and design: Motorola has launched two new folding flip phones - the Razr and Razr+ - with the latter featuring the return of the iconic Hot Pink color: The Razr+ has a 4-inch external screen (17% larger than last year's model), while the Razr gets a 3.6-inch screen (2.5 times larger than its predecessor). Both phones have a mix of vegan leather and suede designs in various...
read Jun 26, 2024Google’s August 13th Event: AI, Android, and Pixel 9 Unveiling Expected
Google's Pixel 9 event scheduled for August 13th promises a showcase of AI, Android, and new hardware, marking an earlier than usual launch for the tech giant. Key details of the upcoming event: Google has announced an in-person "Made by Google" event for August 13th, where the company is expected to unveil its latest offerings: The event will take place at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and will feature the "best of Google AI, Android software, and the Pixel portfolio of devices." A teaser video titled "AI... meet IX at Made by Google" further emphasizes the event's focus...
read Jun 26, 2024ElevenLabs Launches AI-Powered App, Turning Any Website into a Personalized Podcast Experience
ElevenLabs launches AI-powered iPhone app that converts any website into a podcast: The new ElevenLabs Reader app allows users to listen to any content, from novels to web pages, using the platform's extensive library of cloned and synthetic voices. The app, currently available for iPhone users in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., offers a 3-month free trial with near-unlimited generations and access to high-quality voices. Users can clone their own voice for a personalized listening experience, making it feel like they recorded the content themselves. ElevenLabs plans to expand the app to more countries, devices, and languages soon, with...
read Jun 21, 2024China’s ChatGPT Ban Threatens iPhone’s Future
Apple faces a significant obstacle in bringing AI-powered features to iPhones in China, as ChatGPT, which will be integrated into Siri, is banned in the country due to strict regulations on generative AI technology. Key challenges for Apple in China: Apple's reliance on ChatGPT for its upcoming AI features poses a major hurdle for the company in the Chinese market: China has rolled out guidelines requiring companies to seek approval before deploying generative AI models, and so far, only Chinese companies have been approved. Apple is reportedly seeking a Chinese AI partner ahead of the iPhone's expected September launch but...
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