Google has been working to update how it handles text-to-speech (TTS) in Chrome on Android for a few months now. The feature was first noticed in beta in January, but now appears to be rolling out to more users with Chrome 125. Though it is still not fully ready just yet, 9to5Google reports, you can already enable it if you don't already have it.
Previously, to have your smartphone read webpages to you, you’d normally have to rely on Google Assistant on Android and Siri (plus Safari) on iPhone. While the new Listen to Page feature doesn’t appear to be coming to iOS anytime soon, it’s still nice to see Google baking this accessibility feature into Chrome itself.
9to5Google says that the new function appears to work on most text-heavy websites. However, you’ll need to wait for the page to fully load and then access the option from the three dot menu at the top of Chrome. If you don’t see the feature listed, just activate it through the Chrome flag chrome://flags/#read-aloud. Enter the bold text into the URL bar, press enter to access the settings, and turn it on.
On top of reading webpages to you, the feature also comes with various controls, including options for playback speed as well as the ability to highlight text and turn on auto-scroll. Google has also included several voice options, including selections for U.S., U.K., Indian, and Australian English voices. There are also several different pitches available to provide a more warm, calm, bright, or peaceful tone.
The control bar for the TTS feature will remain docked even if you open additional tabs, and playback will continue if you lock your device. However, if you close the browser—or even push it to the background for any reason—the reading will end. The feature also appears to be available in Chrome Custom Tabs, and it can be set as a toolbar shortcut to help avoid scrolling through the menu looking for it.
As it hasn’t officially rolled out (any access you might have right now is a preview), the feature is likely still being worked on in some fashion. As such, Google may make more changes—or even add new features—before fully releasing it. If you'd rather wait for the full release, Google’s Reading mode app remains a great alternative.
When it comes to cloud storage, there are a lot of options to pick from. One of the most well-known and popular is Google Drive, and that’s because it’s included for free whenever you sign up for a Gmail account. But over the past couple of years, some enticing new contenders have entered the ring.
One of the most promising is Proton Drive, a privacy-first cloud storage option that uses complete end-to-end encryption while putting full control of who can access your data directly in your hands. It’s a nice change of pace, but can it really stand up to the titan that is Google’s cloud storage service, and is it a good alternative if you're trying to quit Google for good? Here’s how the two compare.
Credit: Proton AG
Storage space and pricing
One of the most enticing things about Google Drive is the free 15GB of storage space it gives you just for signing up. That’s a good chunk of space for backing up photos, emails, and other things—though keep in mind that attachments and other data tied to your email account do count toward your storage.
Proton Drive also offers a completely free option, though it tops off at 5GB, a notable difference from what Google offers. It’s easy to write Proton off because of that missing 10GB, but the competitor does have strengths elsewhere.
Both services also offer more “premium” storage options via monthly subscriptions. Google’s cheapest monthly plan, which is called Google One, is $1.99 a month and gets you 100GB of data, while Proton Drive’s cheapest option is $4.99 a month for 200GB. That’s another pretty big difference between what you’re paying and what you’re getting, so Google does still pull ahead on pure economy.
There are, of course, more expensive options. Google offers plans up to 20TB for $99 a month, while Proton tops out at 3TB for $29.99 a month. If you want more than that, you’ll need to look into the business plans for each service.
With storage and pricing in mind, Google does tend to offer a bit more bang for your buck. But note that Proton’s 3TB plan is technically the family version of Proton Unlimited, which means you can invite multiple people to take advantage of that data, plus you'll get the rest of Proton's services thrown in.
Sharing and features
Cloud storage is great for keeping track of all your personal documents, photos, videos, and so on. But it’s also a great way to share those items with your friends and family. Both Proton Drive and Google Drive make it easy to share those items with the people who matter.
In Google Drive, sharing options let you share either to individual Google accounts or to a list of accounts. You can also select whether people can edit or just view the shared content, and even share through a URL.
Proton also offers these same features, but layers on various extras. For instance, the service allows users to create “timed sharing links” that expire after a set amount of time, allowing you to give people temporary file access. You can even set up password-protected files, something Google Drive still does not do.
Both Google Drive and Proton Drive offer the option to audit your files to see who has downloaded them. This can help you keep track of where your files are going and who has been given access—helpful you’ve shared a publicly accessible link. Both services also offer apps on all the major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. That means you can easily keep up with your files no matter what system you're using.
Overall, both services offer similar functionality for sharing files with others, and they both support the same types of files as well. The addition of timed sharing links does make Proton Drive a bit more appealing for those who want granular sharing control, but both services allow you to lock content at any time, restricting anyone from accessing it even if it was shared with them previously.
Credit: Proton AG
Privacy
This is the real difference between Google Drive and Proton Drive. Ultimately, it’s hard to beat Google Drive because of just how convenient it is. It’s tied to your Google account, you get 15GB for free, and most of the Google One plans are fairly affordable.
Proton Drive, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive and a bit stingier with the amount of storage space you get. However, Proton Drive takes your privacy a lot more seriously than Google does.
That isn’t to say that Google Drive isn’t secure. Google says that it uses end-to-end encryption to protect your files whenever they are in transit and at rest. However, it stores the keys needed to decrypt those files within its own servers, giving it access to your data should the tech giant ever need it.
Proton Drive, on the other hand, does not keep any access to your data. It is completely encrypted, giving only you and the people that you select access to the data. This provides a higher level of security and means that you can rest easy, knowing that nobody is going to be able to get access to your data through illegitimate means. Proton is also based out of Switzerland, which has some of the best security laws in the world at time of writing.
At the end of the day, Google Drive is perfectly fine for casually storing your documents, photos, and videos. But it doesn’t offer nearly the same level of privacy that Proton Drive does. Its extra premium is the price you pay for the peace of mind that comes with using Proton’s services. So, if you’re choosing between the two, it ultimately comes down to what you find more important—privacy or cost.
The answer, for me, is pretty clear. Privacy is king in this day and age, and Proton makes it easier to protect my personal information without having to jump through a lot of extra hoops. But for you, the answer might not be so easy to decide on, especially since some of Proton's features are still rolling out to its various apps. At any rate, because both services have free options, there's nothing stopping you from making use of one for some file and the other for the rest.
It’s been almost four months since Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to start allowing third-party app stores on European iPhones. While the DMA hasn’t quite helped make these alternative app stores available everywhere, they are a step towards a more open ecosystem. But what exactly do these alternative app stores offer? What led to the DMA and why aren’t we seeing more alternative app stores already? Here’s what you need to know.
How we got here
All of this started when the European Union decided to investigate Apple, Meta, and tons of other big tech companies (including Google) for gatekeeping various aspects of their app stores and data usage. For Apple, a lot of it came down to the controversy that companies like Epic Games helped rile up following the removal of Fortnite from the App Store in 2020. For others, it was down to more particular issues. But let’s focus on Apple for now.
The European Union wanted to figure out if Apple was locking down certain parts of its services—like access to user devices through the App Store and even iMessage—for legitimate reasons. One of the most important reasons that Apple kept citing was “user safety and privacy,” but ultimately, that wasn’t enough for the EU.
This ultimately means that developers don’t have to rely on going through the strict process of putting their apps on the official Apple App Store in order for it to be available on iPhone—at least for EU users. Anyone outside of the EU will still have to download apps through the official App Store, and there's no guarantee that will change anytime soon.
This is potentially good news for indie developers, as Apple takes a set percentage of all the purchases made from in-app purchases when an app is downloaded from the App Store. Theoretically, being able to have their app in a third-party store—or even available through side-loading—gives them a way to bypass that cut and keep more of profits. This was a major part of Epic Games’ argument during the whole Apple vs Epic fiasco a few years ago, although Epic hasn't been happy with Apple's method of implementing third-party app stores, which still comes with hidden fees.
Are these third-party app stores worth checking out?
This is the real crux of the situation here. While we continue to see new alternate app stores released, including a new one that just launched this month, many of them don’t have a lot of apps yet. And, as I’ve mentioned several times already, they aren’t available to anyone outside of the EU—so the user base is already scaled down a lot from the overall number of iPhone users in the world.
Additionally, most of the alternate app stores released thus far aren't exceptionally diverse in terms of what they have to offer. One recently released store, Aptoide, offers a freemium-type structure. But it only carries games, and at the time of writing, it has less than 10 basic games on the service. Other popular options, like Altstore, offer far more apps, including the option for anyone to release apps through unique URL "sources." But, that "anyone can release anything" openness also makes it a bit of a breeding ground for possible bad actors to try to find a way in.
There's also the fact that Apple has a bit of a high buy-in for developers that want to launch a third-party app store, and many of those are pushing that charge over onto their customers through monthly subscription charges. This is the basis of MacPaw's Setapp Mobile, which is still in beta (and is slightly different from the existing Setapp service). It is one of the more highly anticipated options out there, but not everyone is going to be willing to pay a monthly subscription when they can just download things from Apple's official App Store for free.
Of course, other app stores are expected to launch in the future. We know that Epic Games is working on a new Epic Games Store app, which it will use to release games and other apps, including Fortnite. But we don't have a lot of details about how it will work, or when it will be available.
Ultimately, we're still really early in the timeline to determine the usefulness of these app stores. There's still a lot of room for them to grow, and while they might not seem all that worthwhile right now, that could change exponentially in the future as more third-party stores become available, and as already established stores find their preferred methods.
Are alternate app stores safe?
Another thing to keep in mind is the safety standards surrounding these app stores. Anyone who tries to install an alternate app store will find that Apple has made it exceptionally annoying to install these third-party marketplaces, with your device often requiring you to go through multiple confirmation pages before it actually installs. That makes sure you know what you're getting into—third-party apps bypass all of the "safety" guidelines that Apple has in place within the App Store—but it also means the experience is extremely off-putting.
It’s an intentional move by Apple that some may take as a scare tactic to push users away from utilizing third-party app stores. It could also just be taken as Apple doing its due diligence to warn the general public, who might not be as tech-savvy about the dangers of side-loaded or third-party apps.
That doesn't necessarily make these alternative app stores unsafe, but like anything, you need to be careful what you download and what kind of access you give these apps. Also, pay attention to the permissions that apps require (even ones downloaded from the official App Store), and if an app store doesn't offer any information on that, try to do your own research to see just how trustworthy an app is before blindly downloading it.
The June Pixel Feature Drop update has officially begun rolling out to Pixel users around the world. This month’s Feature Drop includes a slew of new updates for the Pixel 8 series—all the way from the 8 Pro to the cheaper 8a—as well as updates for the Pixel Watch 2 and even some older Pixel devices. Here’s what you can expect from this month’s big update.
First and foremost, it’s time to talk about Gemini. While Google has gone back and forth about Gemini’s availability on Pixel 8in the past, the company’s latest claims that it would indeed come to the base Pixel 8 and the even cheaper Pixel 8a have finally come to fruition. We’ve already shown you how to enable Gemini on Pixel 8 and 8a—it’s enabled by default on the 8 Pro, so you don’t have to do anything extra. With the June Feature Drop, some Gemini Nano features are finally launching, starting with Summarize in Recorder—which can now detect and export transcripts of recordings into text files or even Google Docs.
Google has also added support for DisplayPort on all three Pixel 8s, allowing users to connect their phones to a second display via USB-C cable. This means you can now showcase your favorite movies or videos on the big screen, and some have speculated it could mean a desktop mode is in the works, too, which could resemble Samsung DeX, which allows you to turn your phone or tablet into a desktop computer in a way.
Another big feature—and one that I hope we’ll see added to other phones in the future—is Reverse Phone Number Lookup. Now, whenever an unknown number hits your recent call log, you can simply tap on it a couple of times, and Google will automatically perform a Google Search to look up the number and try to provide you with more information about it. It isn’t foolproof by any means, but it’s something I’m surprised we haven’t seen in phones already.
We already knew Google was making big changes to its Find My Device network, including making the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a detectable even when powered off. Now, Google has officially made the feature available, which could be enough to justify downloading the update on its own.
On the camera side of things, Pixel devices from the Pixel 6 up to the Pixel Tablet will now be able to automatically identify the best moment for your photo to be captured in HDR+ just with a single shutter press. This is just another way that Google continues to set its camera apart from other smartphone cameras.
The tech giant has also added manual lens picking on the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Fold, allowing you to manually touch which camera you want to use at any given time. This should make it easier for photo-savvy users to customize their shots, instead of relying on Google to determine which camera is best.
Finally, Google has rolled out a new Google Home Favorites widget, giving you customizable smart home controls directly on your smartphone or tablet. Additionally, the company has brought Doorbell notifications to the Pixel Tablet when it's docked in hub mode, giving you a better view of who is at your door.
That's all the big changes coming to tablets and phones, but it's not everything. There's also new features for Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. Perhaps the biggest additions are Car Crash Detection and Bicycle Fall Detection on the Pixel Watch 2. These will allow the watch to detect if you’ve fallen or been in a car crash and then will ask if you’re okay before calling emergency services or contacts.
Google Wallet has also received a minor upgrade on Pixel Watch, as Paypal has officially arrived for it. This, of course, isn’t just a Pixel-only thing, as Google announced the online payment service would be joining Google Wallet across Wear OS last month.
The last big feature coming to Pixel Watch is a new update for Google Home. This brings a new watch face complication and Wear OS tile to the watch. This should give you more control over your various smart home items. Again, this isn’t a Pixel-only thing, as the feature was previously available on other Wear OS devices. This is, however, the first time it’ll appear on Pixel Watch.
Apple showed off a lot of new and exciting features for iOS 18 at WWDC this week, including a look at how its its higher-end devices will use AI. One of Apple's most exciting AI features is actually something I’ve wanted baked into iOS for a long time: call recording.
Before iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence—as Apple is calling its AI—you had to rely on third-party apps like Recordator and TapeACall to record phone calls on iPhone. These usually required some extra steps to get things moving, and often required a subscription to take full advantage of each app's various functions. However, with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, that will soon change.
Callers on an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max will now get access to built-in live call recording in the Phone app this fall. The feature will be available as a button from the call menu, and everyone on the line will be advised of the recording as soon as it starts.
Not only will the feature record your call, but it’ll also automatically create a transcription of the call after it ends, giving you two ways to go over your discussion. Everything is stored directly on your device, too, so you won’t have to worry about paying for any extra apps or jumping through any additional loops to ensure security.
The downside here is that, because of the AI integration needed for the transcription feature to work, this will only work on the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and any future AI-compatible iPhone models, so users on the regular iPhone 15 (or older devices) won’t get access to these new features.
At launch, Apple says transcriptions will only support English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and Portuguese. It’s possible more languages could arrive further down the line, though. The first iOS 18 beta is currently available to test, but it doesn’t include any of the new AI-driven features that are expected to arrive this fall. You’ll have to wait until later this summer to try those features, including the new live call recording and transcriptions.
This week, Apple took to the virtual stage to show off all the new features coming to iOS 18 when it releases this fall. While most of the company's WWDC presentation was spent showing off Apple Intelligence—the company’s take on AI—there are tons of other little updates that Apple has made along the way.
There are, of course, a stunning amount of small and noteworthy changes being made in iOS 18—too many to highlight in a single article—and there will probably be more in future beta releases, too. For now, though, I wanted to highlight a few really cool and sometimes subtle changes and features that Apple didn’t spend much time on, so that you have a better idea of what to expect out of iOS 18 when it hits your iPhone later this year.
Expanding bezels
One of the most noticiable changes that iOS 18 beta users have picked up on is the appearance of new haptic-like “puffs” along the bezels of the iPhone. These puffs appear whenever you press the Volume or Power buttons, and some have speculated they could point toward Apple’s possible plans to have a completely “buttonless” iPhone in the future.
It’s a small detail, but it does add some nice dynamic animation to the screen when you’re interacting with it. Though, its definitely one of those “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of changes.
You can change apps to widgets right from the home screen
The home screen is getting a major overhaul in iOS 18, and a lot of that starts with basic customization like letting you move icons around wherever you want, hiding labels, and even being able to change the color and theme of the icons themselves.
But, one thing Apple didn’t talk about during its WWDC presentation is the fact that you can now turn any app icon into a widget (assuming it has a widget associated with it) just by long-pressing and then selecting one of the widget options from the popup.
It’s a great way to make customizing your home screen even easier, and I can definitely see folks getting a lot of usage out of this one when they start reorganizing their home screens after iOS 18 goes public.
You can now share “Sign-in with Apple” logins with Groups
Sign-in with Apple has been one of the easiest ways for Apple users to sign into different apps and websites for a long while now. However, because you’re using your Apple info to sign in, you couldn’t really share that information with anyone on another iPhone before.
That’s changing now, though, as Apple’s new Passwords app will allow you to share Sign-in with Apple logins to others using the Group share functionality. It still takes a little work to make it happen, but it’s nice to know that we can finally share those specific logins with family as needed.
Share Wi-Fi networks using QR codes
Another plus for the new Passwords app is the ability to generate and share QR codes for wireless networks. This will make sharing your wireless network with visiting friends and family much easier, as you can just generate the QR code and then send it over to the people who need it.
And, since the QR code is store in Apple’s Passwords app, you should be able to access it across all of your devices, too.
Reminders and labels appear in Calendar
Apple is also giving the Calendar a much-needed facelift by adding labels for events and even Reminders to Monthly and Daily views. This makes it easy to see what you have going on at any given time, though the smaller text can definitely be harder to read in some cases.
Still, it’s nice to see this addition to the Calendar, especially with Reminders now appearing in the Calendar view. You can even complete those Reminders from there, too.
Pinch to zoom in the Calendar app
Another very handy change to the Calendar that Apple didn’t highlight during its presentation is the ability to pinch in and out on the Calendar to adjust the zoom level. This allows you to zoom in on the various events you have going on.
You can zoom all the way out to a full month view without any of the details, and then slowly zoom in to see more details as you go. You can’t zoom all the way to the daily view just yet, but maybe that’s something Apple will add down the line.
Apps now have their own page in Settings
This change is going to either be a pro or a con, depending on how you like your iPhone Settings app. Personally, I think it’s a good move. But others might not be as convinced. That’s because Apple has now moved all of the individual Apps that used to be listed under the main Settings page on your iPhone to a new section called Apps.
The obvious pro here is that it cleans up that initial screen and makes it easier to know exactly where you need to go to find access to apps, especially since they are now alphabetized, too. However, some may find the addition of more taps to get to those settings annoying. Either way, the change is here for now. We’ll have to wait to see if Apple changes it throughout the rest of the iOS 18 beta.
More control over Flashlight brightness and width on newer iPhones
I use the flashlight on my iPhone a lot—almost daily, in fact. Because of that, the addition of new Flashlight controls in iOS 18 is a welcome change. The new controls are part of the Dynamic Island, which means they’ll likely only be visible on iPhone 14 Pro and newer, as older devices don’t offer that hardware component. It is possible that Apple might make a control box for older phones, though.
The new controls allow the option to change how bright the flashlight is, and on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, you can even control how wide of a spread the light emits.
A new Power button in the Control Center
Finally, the last change I want to highlight today is the addition of a new Power button in the newly designed Control Center. Yes, you can still turn off your iPhone using the tried and true Power + Volume Down. But, if like me, you sometimes forget whether you should press Volume Down or Volume Up, you can now pull down the Control Center and tap a little Power icon at the top right of the screen.
This will bring up the Power off slider, allowing you to turn off your iPhone. it’s worth noting that you don’t get access to the other options that holding Power + Volume Down provides, though that could change in later versions of the iOS 18 beta.
Follow Lifehacker's ongoing coverage of WWDC 2024.
Every year, Apple brings new features to its various operating systems, and this year looks to be a particularly interesting one for the iPad. During WWDC 2024, the tech giant revealed several new features, including a few AI-powered ones, which will be coming to the iPad with the release of iPadOS 18 later this year.
Starting off, iPadOS 18 will get a lot of the customization features that we already saw revealed with iOS 18, like more control over your home screen design and more individual control over how your Control Center looks. But one of the most sought-after features coming to iPad is a seemingly simple one: a calculator app.
Apple isn’t just bringing a regular old calculator to class, of course. The company has been working on various AI features—which it is calling Apple Intelligence—to create new functionality that works seamlessly with the iPad and Apple Pencil. A core part of these comes into play with the Calculator, which also works hand-in-hand with a new function called Math Notes.
Credit: Apple
With Math Notes, you can take notes about math on your iPad using the Apple Pencil, and as you input information into various math problems and equations, the page will update. This allows users to write out mathematical expressions and then see them instantly solved in their own handwriting. You can even change the various parts of the equation to see the answer change in real-time, at least based on what we’ve seen from Apple’s debut at WWDC.
Math Notes is built directly into the new Calculator app on the iPad, so you can input the information that you want to see and then quickly convert it to handwritten information. The Calculator also comes with a built-in History, which keeps track of previous calculations so you can look at them again later if needed.
I use my iPad and Apple Pencil as one of my primary note-taking methods, and while I’ve gotten better at writing on the iPad over the years, my handwriting is far from pretty, and erasing things can sometimes be difficult. It looks like Apple is trying to improve all of that, though, as it introduced a new Smart Script feature, which can take handwritten notes and clean them up to make them “fluid, flexible, and easier to read.” The goal here is that the machine learning behind Smart Script will still keep the handwriting similar to your own, so it still feels like you’re writing it all out.
Credit: Apple
Apple has also updated how you can erase things using the Apple Pencil. With iPadOS 18, you’ll be able to erase parts of a paragraph and then watch as the system automatically refits the content to fill the new space. This will all be available directly in the Notes app, which is also getting some enhancements to the way you type text, too, with new organization options for notes contents, the ability to collapse sections under headings and subheadings, and even the option to select from five new highlighter colors to make text stand out.
Other areas that Apple has redesigned include a new tab bar that floats above applications to help complement the sidebar in various apps like Apple TV +. This is meant to make things easier to navigate, Apple says, and should unlock a “new way to customize in-app experiences.” The redesigned Photos app also appears in iPadOS 18, as expected, giving you an even bigger canvas to explore how Apple has changed things up.
Messages on iPadOS 18 will also get the new Send Later option, which allows you to schedule text messages to people directly in the Messages app. This will include the newly redesigned Tapbacks, emoji reactions, and stickers, too. All of the new Safari-related features expected in macOS Sequoia will also make the jump to iPadOS 18, including Highlights, the new Reader experience, and summaries of long articles. The updated Passwords app will also be on iPad, giving you access to wifi passwords, app and web passwords, as well as verification codes and security alerts across multiple devices.
Credit: Apple
SharePlay is also getting an update to include more options for drawing on your screen, allowing you to point out specific points and even ask for permission to remotely control a device. Game Mode will offer more immersive Personalized Spatial Audio, as well as support for upcoming titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Apple Maps, Reminders, and Calendar are all getting updates, too, to make these apps more accessible and useful for users. And Accessibility features like Eye Tracking and Vocal Shortcuts will be front and center in the update when it releases this fall.
Privacy controls like hidden apps and locked content will also make the jump to iPad with the next Apple tablet update, including more ways to manage which Bluetooth devices can access your device, as well as what information they can access on it. And for users with an iPad powered by an M-series chip, new Apple Intelligence features like Rewrite, Proofread, and Image Playground will also be available later this year.
(Follow Lifehacker's ongoing coverage of WWDC 2024 here.)
The newest update for watchOS is coming, and bringing a lot of new features to your wrist. Many of the most significant features have to do with monitoring your health, as Apple is aiming to give you new ways to keep tabs on how your body is doing.
Vitals is a new health monitoring app
These updates include a new app called Vitals, which will give you an overview of your vital statistics in the moment and over time. You’ll be able to review your health metrics like heart rate and sleep data directly in the app, and track how things have been going over the past few days, weeks, or months.
Training Load helps you plan your workouts
Apple Watches running watchOS 11 will also let you take advantage of a new feature called Training Load. This feature gives you more control over how you measure your training routine and how it might affect your overall recovery. It looks at data like your pace, heart rate, and elevation and then combines all of that with your height and weight to estimate your training effort with a score of 1-10.
You can even adjust this score based on how you feel you did. Your watch will establish a 28-day training load, and then average out the effort ratings and duration of user workouts throughout that period to provide a detailed data set.
Apple says all of this can help you better calculate how your workouts are going, which should be helpful for wearers training for competitive events like marathons, to help ensure they aren’t under- or overtraining. Apple will also allow users to pause their activity rings or even adjust them from day to day to help create a more customized activity tracker, without losing the rewards you’ve built up by closing your rings in the past.
More fitness features
Custom workouts will now support pool swims, providing options for sets of work and recovery, as well as haptic signals, to help you keep up with your current interval changes. Pregnant users will also be able to use the Apple Watch to keep up with more health-related information, with more additional options appearing in iOS 18's Health app.
Use you watch to live translate
Apple also briefly showed off a new live translation feature in watchOS 11. It seems to work similarly to the AI-powered translators on Android phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but the tech giant didn’t go too in-depth on what it would be capable of, beyond sharing that it will support 20 languages, and will appear in Smart Stack when you're traveling.
A smarter Smart Stack
Speaking of, Apple has updated Smart Stack to give it a new series of more intelligent features that appear when you need them—like information about incoming storms before they actually start. Smart Stack can also now suggest widgets you might find useful, like the new Photos, Distance, and Shazam widgets. Live Activities will also now appear within your Smart Stack, giving you up-to-date information about your online orders and other time-sensitive data.
Credit: Apple
Check In with friends and family
Apple’s previously launched Check In feature will also come to Apple Watch with watchOS 11, allowing you to touch base with friends and family, for example to let them know you've arrived home safely after an event. This is a great safety feature, and it pairs nicely with the new turn-by-turn hiking navigation watchOS will also offer, which will work even when your iPhone isn't nearby.
More versatile Double Taps
The tech company is also expanding the API for its Double Tap gesture, allowing more apps and features to take advantage of the functionality, which originally launched on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra Watch 2. Double Tap will now work for scrolling through any app, like Calendar, Messages, Weather, and more.
Tap to Cash for payments
With the arrival of watchOS 11, sending money through Apple Cash will also become easier, with Tap to Cash, which allows you to hold your Apple Watch near another Apple Watch or iPhone to send money directly to that device, without having to share your phone number.
Integrate with Apple Intelligence
Users who have their Apple Watch connected to an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max powered by Apple Intelligence will also be able to access summarized notifications right from their wrist. Apple hasn't shared an exact release date for these AI-powered features, but they are expected to begin testing this summer.
Other upgrades
Finally, watchOS 11 with include newly redesigned versions of the Photos face, as well as enhanced ticketing features for concerts and events. Now, when you attend an event your watch can activate a live activity and automatically display information like your seat number.
Using a Microsoft account with Windows 11 is the best way to access all of its features, including Microsoft Copilot, OneDrive, and more. But some people just don’t want to use a Microsoft account and have all of their data connected to the cloud, and that’s fine. If you’re one of those people, or if you just plan to give the PC you’re setting up to a friend, you can follow these steps to use a local account instead.
How to set up a local account on Windows 11
One of the best and easiest ways to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account used to be by putting in a fake email address. When you did that, Microsoft would kick you to a screen to create a local account. While the company seems to have patched that trick in its most recent updates, there are still a few other ways to break through the Microsoft account requirement.
Unfortunately, most of the other options for setting up a local account require jumping through a lot of hoops, like using Rufus to set up an entirely new Windows ISO and then configuring it to work the way you want it to. While a longer workaround, this method is handy because you can customize other things, like whether Windows 11 checks for the various requirements Microsoft has set for it.
Use Rufus
To start, you'll want to download a Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft's website. You'll also need to install Rufus, a free third-party tool for creating bootable USB drives, and you'll need a USB drive with at least 8GB of free space. Make sure to back up any data on it beforehand as it will be erased in process.
Once everything is downloaded, connect the USB drive, then open Rufus. Select the USB drive in the control panel, then select the Windows 11 ISO you downloaded, and click Start. You should see a pop-up asking if you want to customize your Windows installation. Select Yes, then check these options:
Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 (only needed if you're installing on an unsupported PC)
Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account
Create a local account with username
Disable data collection (Skip privacy questions)
Let Rufus do its thing, then move the USB drive to the computer that you need to set up. Turn on the power once the USB drive is plugged in, then press F11 or DEL to bring up the boot menu. Select Boot from Drive, then follow the instructions that appear on-screen, which should allow you to install Windows 11 without any of the Microsoft account requirements. If you want more in-depth instructions on how to go through this process, you can check out our guide on how to upgrade an unsupported PC to Windows 11.
Trick Windows into letting you set up a local account
If you already have Windows installed, though, then using Rufus is going to be a bit of a pain. There is another method you can try, but it can be hit or miss. During your Windows 11's device setup, you'll need to press Shift + F10, then enter the command OOBE/BYPASSNRO and press Enter. This should force the system to reboot, and, once it does, you should see an I don't have internet option when you get to the network selection point of Windows setup. From here, Windows should allow you to create a local account, since you need internet to connect a Microsoft account here. Keep in mind this method has always been finicky, and Microsoft could patch it out at any point. They may even force you to turn your local account into an online account from Settings > “Your profile name” > Your Info > Sign in with an online account.
If all else fails, there are other ways to customize how you install Windows 11, like creating a fully customized Windows 11 install using Tiny11Builder. This option will not only let you install Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, but strips away all other bloatware and junk as well. It's a lot more in-depth, though, and should only be undertaken by folks who are confident navigating the multitude of steps required to pull it off.
Disconnect your Microsoft account from the cloud
If you already have Windows 11 installed with a Microsoft account, you're not out of luck. In fact, you can change it to a local account and disconnect your Microsoft account from the cloud. That way, you'll be able to access Microsoft account info you had saved previously, but your PC itself won't be locked to that account. Head to Settings >Account > YourInfo > Signin withalocalaccountinstead, enter a password for the new account, then confirm.
What features do I miss out on when I use a local account?
One of the key reasons that Microsoft tries to get you to sign up for an online account is because of all the various features it offers. Now, I’m not going to go on a tirade about how these features tie into privacy standards, because like any online account, these features are intended to collect some data for you to help Microsoft in some way—whether that’s ads, training up Copilot, or just improving the features overall.
That being said, here’s a list of some key Windows 11 features you’ll miss out on if you don’t sign up for an online account:
Copilot access
OneDrive syncing
The Microsoft Store
Restoring Windows from backups saved to OneDrive
Personalization syncing
Whether these features matter to you or not is personal, of course. But, if you want to get the most out of Windows 11 and all the things Microsoft is adding to it, you’ll probably want to sign up for an online account instead.
One of the ways that Microsoft is pushing AI in Windows 11 is through a new feature called Recall. Available on Copilot+ PCs only, the feature essentially takes screenshots of your display every few seconds, allowing you to search through the images with AI to “recall” specific information. It sounds useful, but also dangerous: If you don’t want Windows to record virtually everything you do on your PC, you can actually turn the feature off.
Why you may want to disable Recall
Recall sounds like a cool feature on paper, but there are legitimate security concerns for all users. While the feature does save screenshots and their information on-device, that ultimately will not stop bad actors from accessing those snapshots should they somehow break into your system. The screenshots are encrypted when your computer is locked, but you decrypt them when logging in, so if someone breaks into your computer—either locally with your credentials or remotely with software—they can access and steal your Recall information.
Effectively, you're storing a treasure trove of nearly everything you do on your PC, including uncovered passwords, financial data, sensitive company information, and private messages. While there are some limits to what Recall captures, including any apps and sites you choose to block, you leave yourself open to data theft for anything private you happen to do on your computer. You can learn more about Recall's massive security risks here.
How to turn off Recall
If you want to take advantage of the other AI features that Microsoft offers with a Copilot+ PC, but aren’t exactly happy about the operating system recording all your activity, you can turn off Recall by heading into Settings > Privacy& security > Recall& snapshots. From here, toggle the Savesnapshots option to off. This will stop Windows from saving these snapshots to your system. If you already have screenshots you want to remove, you can use the Delete snapshots feature below this option.
Credit: Microsoft
You don't have to turn off Recall to make it a bit safer to use, however: From this same settings page, you can choose certain apps and websites for Recall to avoid going forward. However, Microsoft notes these filters will only work in supported browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome. On the flip side, you can disable Recall for entire browsers, if you like.
The tech company also says that Recall won't save data from private browsing activity when using Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, or other Chromium-based browsers, and content protected by digital rights management (DRM) will not be captured by Recall, either.
Microsoft says it will explain the new feature when you set up a Copilot+ PC for the first time, and will give users the option to open Recall settings following set up to manage and disable the feature. However, it'd be nice if you could disable Recall from the get-go: You shouldn't have to dig into your settings after the fact to turn it off.
The PlayStation VR2 PC adapter is set to release on August 7, with a retail price of $59.99. It will be available at select retailers and via direct.playstation.com where applicable. To use the connector, you’ll also need a compatible Displayport 1.4 cable, as well as Windows 10 or Windows 11. There are a few other requirements, listed below:
PS VR2 PC minimum requirements
Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11 (both 64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5-7600 / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 (Zen 2 or later architecture is required)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or later (Turing or later architecture is required), AMD Radeon RX 5500XT or later / AMD Radeon RX 6500XT or later
DisplayPort: DisplayPort 1.4 (must have a standard DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort output port)
USB: For direct connection
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 or later. More information on supported Bluetooth adapters will be shared closer to launch.
This move opens the door to a vast library of SteamVR games. In addition, Sony's May State of Play announced new PS VR2 games coming to PS5. Of note is the stellar-looking (pun intended) Alien: Rogue Incursion, which is also coming to PC, giving Sony headset owners new freedom in which platform to pick.
Note that the PS VR2 won't have access to all of its features when connected to a PC. Most notably, features like headset feedback, HDR, eye tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback are unavailable when playing PC games. Other features, like 4K visuals, the PS VR2’s 110-degree field of view, finger touch detection, and see-through view, will all be available. Sony also says that 3D audio will work on PS VR2 when connected to a PC, but it will use SteamVR’s audio technology instead of the PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D Audiotech.
While the PS VR2 is a wired headset, its built-in halo style strap, redesigned controllers, and ability to also work on console should make it a compelling choice in the PC landscape.
Starting on June 26, Meta will reportedly update its privacy policy to allow its AI to be trained on your data. The news began circulating on social media after Meta sent out emails and notifications to users in the U.K. and E.U. to advise them of the change, as well as give them a chance to opt-out of the data collection. One UK-based user named Phillip Bloom shared the notification publicly, giving everyone a heads up about the impending changes, which also appear to be slated to affect Instagram users, too.
Meta says private messages won’t be included in the training data, and the company emphasized in its emails and notifications that every user (in a protected region) has the “right to object” to their data being used. Once enacted, the new policy will automatically start pulling information from affected types of content. To avoid the company pulling from your content, you can attempt to opt out right now by heading over to this Facebook support page. Keep in mind that this page will only load if you're in the E.U., U.K., or one of the other areas where Meta has to offer an opt-out by law.
If you're in the U.S. or other places, you can opt out of some third-party data usages, though as with anything like this, whether or not Meta decides to honor your opt-out is entirely another issue. Because of that, I highly recommend putting as much detail as possible in your claim, just to avoid any possible rejection of your opt out.
How to opt out of contributing your data to Meta's AI (E.U. and U.K. only)
If you're in the E.U. or U.K., or any other location that might have strict enough data laws for Meta to offer an opt-out, click on the support page linked above, then fill out the form and submit it. You'll need to select your country and explain your reasoning for opting out in a text box, and below that, you'll optionally be able to provide additional information.
You should receive a response about whether or not Meta will honor your request to opt out of having your data used. Be prepared to fight—some users are reporting their requests are being denied, though in countries protected by legislation like the E.U.'s GDPR, Meta should have to honor your request.
There are also some caveats to consider. While the opt-out covers you, there's no guarantee that it will cover your posts if they are shared by friends or family members who haven't opted out of data usage for AI training. As such, make sure any family that has Facebook or other Meta services also opts out if they are able to.
This move really isn’t all that surprising, considering Meta has slowly been moving towards offering more AI on its platforms. As such, the use of user data—especially across Meta services—was always a likely outcome. There’s too much data there for the company to turn down as training material for its various AI projects.
Unfortunately, Fast Company and Business Insider say that Meta has already begun mining user data in the U.S. As more companies turn to AI services, it's going to become more and more important to carefully read all terms and conditions in user agreements to ensure there aren't any hidden statements giving the company access to your data for AI training purposes.
Google garnered quite a bit of backlash when it previously suggested the Pixel 8 wouldn’t get Gemini Nano, thus disallowing its base smartphone from on-device AI features. However, it recently went back on that decision, saying that it would actually bring AI features to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a after all. Now, reports indicate that Gemini Nano may soon be rolling out to the Pixel 8. The AI features themselves don't seem to be available just yet, but the option to enable them is, so it's a good idea to lay that groundwork now before the features actually roll out.
While many updates to your device might automatically have new features enabled by default, the Pixel 8's Gemini Nano features need to be enabled. That’s because the features that Nano will offer weren’t technically activated on the device’s chip just yet. To get around this, Google has now added a toggle that will turn on Gemini, but you’ll have to access the Android AICore features on your phone to set it up.
How to activate Gemini on Pixel 8
To activate Gemini on Pixel 8, you’ll first need to enable developer settings. To do this, navigate to Settings > AboutPhone and find the build number in the list (it’s down near the bottom).
Tap the build number seven times. You should see a popup saying that developer mode has been enabled.
To activate Gemini on Pixel 8, navigate to Settings > System > Developeroptions > AICoreSettings.
If you have the toggle available on your phone, it should appear as an option in the list that reads Enableon-deviceGeminifeatures.
Tap the toggle to turn it on, and boom, you’ve activated Gemini features.
So what does that do exactly? Unfortunately, right now, it doesn’t really do anything. Google hasn’t released any of the on-device Gemini features to the Pixel 8, so we’ll need to wait for Google to add them to the device in a future Android Feature Drop—speaking of, Google just dropped eight new features in May’s feature drop.
Until the Gemini features actually release, this toggle doesn’t appear to do anything. But, having it enabled will prepare your device for any future feature releases ahead of time.
This week, security research group Zscaler reported they had discovered over 90 malicious Android apps available on the Play Store. The apps had been installed more than 5.5 million times collectively, and many were part of the ongoing Anatsa malware campaign, which has targeted more than 650 apps tied to financial institutions.
As of February of 2024, Anatsa infected at least 150,000 devices via several decoy apps, many of which are marketed as productivity software. While we don't know the identities of most of the apps involved in this latest attack, we do know about two: PDF Reader & File Manager, as well as QR Reader & File Manager. At the time of Zscaler’s investigation, the two apps had garnered over 70,000 installs between them.
How these malicious apps infect your phone
Despite Google’s review process for apps applying to the Play Store, malware campaigns like Anatsa are sneaky, and can utilize a multi-stage payload loading mechanism to help them evade these reviews. In other words, the app masquerade as legitimate, and only start a stealthy infection once installed on the user's device.
You might think you're downloading a PDF reader, but once installed and opened, the "dropper" app will connect to a C2 server and retrieve the configurations and essential strings that it needs. It will then download a DEX file containing the malicious code and activate it on your device. From there, the Anatsa payload URL is downloaded through a configuration file, and that DEX file installs the malware payload, completing the process and infecting your phone.
Luckily, all identified apps have been removed from the Play Store, and their developers have been banned. However, that won't delete these apps from your smartphone if you downloaded them. If you have either of these two apps on your phone, uninstall them immediately. You should also change the passcodes of any banking apps that you might have used on your phone to avoid your accounts being accessed by the threat actors behind Anatsa.
How to avoid malware apps
While malicious developers can be tricky with their attacks, there are some tips you can follow to determine if an app on the Play Store is legitimate. The first is to really pay attention to the app's listing: Look at its name, the description, and its images: Does everything match with the service the developers are advertising? Is the copy well written, or is it riddled with mistakes? The less professional the page appears, the more likely it is to be a fake.
Only download apps from publishers you can trust. This is especially true if you’re downloading a popular app, as malware apps sometimes impersonate high-profile apps on phones and other devices. Double-check the developer behind the app to make sure they're who they purport to be.
You should also check the requirements and permissions that the app asks for. Anything that asks for accessibility should usually be avoided, as this is one of the main ways that malware groups bypass the security parameters placed on many newer devices. Other permissions to look out for include apps asking for access to your contact list and SMS. If a PDF reader wants your contacts, that's a big red flag.
Read through the reviews for the app, as well. Watch out for apps that don't have many ratings, or ones where all the reviews seem suspiciously positive.
The app's support email address can also be telling. Many malware apps will have a random Gmail account (or other free email account) tied to their support email. While not every app will have a professional email listed for support, you can usually tell if something might be sketchy based on the information that the group provides.
Unfortunately, there’s no surefire way to avoid malware apps unless you don’t install apps at all. But, if you’re mindful of the apps that you’re installing and pay attention to the permissions, developer, and other important information, you can usually pick up on whether or not an app is sketchy.
OpenAI continues to expand the options available to free ChatGPT users. The company started by making its newest model, GPT-4o, generally free to all users—though there are limitations unless you pay—and now it has expanded the accessibility of major 4o features by removing the paywalls on file uploads, vision (which can use your camera for input), and GPTs (or custom chatbots). Browse, data analysis, and memory, also formerly paywalled features, were already available to free users in a similarly limited capacity.
OpenAI has been clear about its plans to expand the offerings that its free users can take advantage of since it first revealed GPT-4o a few weeks back, and it has made good on those promises so far. With these changes, it makes paying for ChatGPT Plus even less important for many, which is surprisingly a good thing for OpenAI. More users means more usage testing—something that will only help improve the models running ChatGPT.
There will, of course, still be usage limits on the free version of ChatGPT. Once you reach those limits, you’ll be kicked back to GPT 3.5, as OpenAI hasn’t made GPT 4 or GPT 4 Turbo accessible in the free tier. Despite that, some paid users are not exactly happy with the change, with many wondering what the point of ChatGPT Plus is supposed to be now.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers still get access to the ability to make their own GPTs, and based on everything we know so far, Plus users are the only ones who will get 4o's upcoming voice-activated mode, though that could certainly change in the future.
Giving more people access to ChatGPT’s best features brings the chatbot in line with one of its biggest competitors, Claude, which allows free users access to the latest version of its AI model (albeit it through a less powerful version of that model).
Everyday laptops are everywhere, all at once. No, really. If you’re looking for a laptop that can tackle your everyday tasks—whether that’s work or personal business—then you have a lot of options to pick from. But not all of them are good or even really worth it, so it can be hard to find the best one for your needs. Enter the new Asus Vivobook S16 OLED, a 16-inch laptop designed to be your everyday device, whether you’re a student, businessperson, or just looking for a solid all-around machine to browse the web and take care of your daily projects.
I’ve been using the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED as my daily driver for the past two weeks, and like most of Asus’ newer laptops, I’ve been really impressed with what it can do. It’s sleek, weighs in at just over 3 pounds (roughly the same weight as my normal daily driver, a MacBook Air 15-inch), and it offers a ton of performance, not to mention that brilliant 3.2K, 120Hz OLED display, which really just makes things pop.
Specs and performance
Credit: Joshua Hawkins
There are a few different variations of the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED, including Intel models, but the version that Asus sent me included an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS chip (which includes Radeon 780M Graphics), 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1 TB SSD. It’s a solid configuration that didn’t leave me wanting for more. the Ryzen 9 8945HS is a fantastic processor, especially for everyday tasks, and the integrated graphics are more than enough for basic work and personal usage, plus some light gaming on the side.
Anecdotally, performance as a whole was always snappy, and I never felt like the laptop was being bogged down, even when I had multiple Chrome tabs open, as well as the different Office applications needed to do my daily work. I even tried running a few games (Hades and other lightweight indies) on the system and found that they played fairly well, considering the lack of a discreet graphics card. Of course, if you really want to play games on your laptop, I recommend picking up a gaming laptop — perhaps the Asus Zephyrus G16, which I previously reviewed. I had to make a lot of sacrifices to get Red Dead Redemption 2 to run, and even then it frequently dipped below 30 fps.
I didn’t put the laptop through the normal slew of benchmarks that I’d use for a high-end gaming laptop, but I did try to bog it down with different apps like Photoshop, Premiere, and even After Effects running simultaneously. The Vivobook S16 OLED handled it all like a champ without any major slowdowns, and it was even able to export a 3-minute test video at 4K in just over an hour and twenty minutes. Depending on the video you’re exporting, of course, that rendering and exporting time may differ.
Here’s a look at the different ports the Vivobook S16 OLED offers:
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C for display / power delivery
2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C for display / power delivery
1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
Micro SD card reader
The Vivobook S16 OLED is also one of the first Asus laptops to include the Copilot button, which you can mostly ignore if you don’t care about using Microsoft’s entry-level AI features. If you do use it, there aren’t any of the nifty AI additions that Microsoft showed off for its Copilot+ PCs, but the Vivobook S16 OLED doesn’t need AI to make it stand out from other competitors. It’s just a solid laptop through and through, but more importantly, it's sleek.
Looks and feel
It's so light you can easily hold it in one hand.Credit: Joshua Hawkins
Perhaps one of my favorite things about the Vivobook S16 OLED is the fact that Asus hasn’t gone out of its way to make this device stand out. It’s pretty simple as far as laptops go, with a slick all-metal body and a simple logo printed across the lid.
It’s a very understated design compared to the other Asus offerings I’ve checked out this year, and that really called to my love for minimalism and simplicity. That all-metal body also means an extremely lightweight and thin design, which feels great to carry around despite the laptop sporting a large, 16-inch display.
The trackpad and keyboard are solid, too, with the trackpad expanding up a good bit of the actual body of the laptop, giving you plenty of room to work. The keyboard and trackpad are both Ergosense, which means they’re designed to give you optimal ergonomics without sacrificing any of the benefits you’d get from a high-end typing and trackpad experience.
The backlit chiclet keyboard feels good to type on — almost as good as my MacBook Air's — and the addition of the numpad is handy, though it does feel a bit cramped. Using the laptop on your lap, a countertop, or anywhere you might need to take your work from is easy thanks to the lighter weight of the laptop (3.31 pounds), too.
Fitting so many keys onto the laptop without taking up an enormous amount of room is no easy feat, but Asus has put together a decent combination of keys to give you all the necessities.
Display and battery life
The OLED display shines in both bright and dark environments.Credit: Joshua Hawkins
If you’re working on a laptop, then you want to have plenty of room to do everything you need to do on it. The Asus Vivobook S16 OLED doesn’t want for screen space, as its large, 16-inch, 3.2K (3,200 x 2,000) Lumina OLED display provides a striking color balance with a beautifully large canvas that gives you plenty of room for juggling apps. The peak brightness of 600 nits is also enough for multiple types of work environments, and I never found myself worrying too much about glare.
The addition, the side-mounted HDMI connector and display capable USB-C ports mean you can also expand your display if needed, giving you even more room to be productive. I found that this display is easily one of the best I’ve seen on a laptop this year, and it made working and watching movies very enjoyable. The colors in movies like Dune: Part Two popped, from the bright sandy desert vistas to the darker cavern scenes. I also tried playing a few lower-end games on the machine, and it did a surprisingly good job of handling itself, so long as I was willing to go to a much lower resolution than the native 3,200 x 2,000.
With such a beautiful display attached and a powerful chip like the Ryzen 9 8945HS, you might not expect more than a few hours of battery life from the Vivobook S16 OLED. During my testing, I was often able to go the entire workday—and some into the evening—without having to plug in the laptop. That's roughly eight to nine hours, depending on the day. It also comes equipped with various Asus software to help manage the battery and keep it at peak health, so you won’t have to worry about overcharging it if you follow the instructions on the notifications that pop up.
The bottom line
The Asus Vivobook S16 OLED is a great all-around laptop for work, personal projects, and school. It’s lightweight design makes it a great option for people who travel a lot, or if you just have to commute to work every day and want an easy-to-carry laptop.
The powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS and integrated graphics in the model I got were more than enough for anything you might throw at it during your normal day-to-day (but don’t expect it to hold up to high-end gaming). The configuration of the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED I tested is available now on Asus' website for $999.
With big exclusives like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Helldivers 2 already out, it’s almost time to see what PlayStation has in store for the rest of the year. Sony has officially announced when it next State of Play livestream will take place, and it’s coming a lot sooner than you might expect.
Sony took to X (formerly Twitter) and the PlayStation Blog to share that the next State of Play will premiere tomorrow, Thursday, May 30. The event will kick off at 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. BST). The show is expected to last more than 30 minutes, though Sony hasn't shared an exact event timeline. However, the PlayStation parent company said that it will showcase updates for 14 different PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 titles, including PlayStation Studios games set for release this year.
You can tune into the latest State of Play on PlayStation’s YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok channels, respectively. It is unclear exactly what PlayStation will highlight with its time slot, though there have been rumors and leaks about a new Astro Bot game. It’s also possible we could learn more about the PlayStation 5 Pro, which has generated a ton of rumors these past few months.
Considering that PlayStation recently appointed two new CEOs, Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino, this State of Play will hopefully give us some idea of the company’s strategy for the rest of the year. In the comments section for the State of Play announcement, fans are expressing hopes for new information regarding Insomniac's Wolverine game as well as PS VR2 support for PC.
Make sure to tune into the event tomorrow, especially if you’re excited about anything that PlayStation has in the works. I’ll certainly be watching to see what Sony has in store for gamers in 2024.
YouTube has been steadily trying out ways to stop ad blockers from working on its site. From big pop-ups shaming your ad blocker use to actually blocking videos, the Google-owned website has been pushing out new measures to try to curb the use of third-party apps such as AdBlock Plus. Now, it seems YouTube has taken another drastic step in this war, by skipping to the end of videos for some users with ad blockers installed.
On Monday, Reddit user u/SDHD4K posted a video of YouTube's latest attempt to thwart ad blockers, demonstrating how the video they chose to watch simply skips to the end with Adblock Plus enabled. Other comments in the thread confirmed the issue was happening on their end, too, while others claimed YouTube was muting videos when their ad blocker was enabled. Some comments in the Reddit thread dismissed the problem, saying that the AdBlock Plus team will likely have the issue fixed in a matter of hours.
If this latest YouTube change sounds annoying, that’s kind of the point. The company wants to make the experience of using ad blockers so annoying that you’ll disable them, and choose to either deal with the ads or pay for Premium. Fortunately for those who don’t want to sit through long, un-skippable ads to watch a short video, there are some alternatives out there.
Based on the user complaints here, most of these issues seem to be directed at programs like AdBlock or AdBlock Plus (no relation). Users running alternatives such as uBlock Origin have reported no issues at all. Some users have been swapping from AdBlock or even installing browsers like Brave—which has a built-in ad blocker—to help avoid these issues. It isn’t a foolproof plan by any means, but if you’re running into this problem, then you might want to try swapping things up and seeing where it gets you. It is possible this issue could also be an unintended behavior on YouTube’s part, but without any official word from the site, that one is hard to prove.
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