Thus far, AI devices like the Rabbit R1 and the Humane Ai pin have been all hype, no substance. The gadgets largely failed on their promises as true AI companions, but even if they didn't suffer consistent glitches from a rushed-to-market strategy, they still have a fundamental flaw: Why do I need a separate device for AI when I can do basically everything advertised with a smartphone?
It's a tough sell, and it's made me quite skeptical of AI hardware taking off in any meaningful way. I imagine anyone interested in AI is more likely to download the ChatGPT app and ask it about the world around them rather than drop hundreds of dollars on a standalone device. If you have an iPhone, however, you may soon be forgetting about an AI app altogether.
Siri might be the AI assistant we've been promised
Although Apple has been totally late to the AI party, it might be working on something that actually succeeds where Rabbit and Humane failed: According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is planning on a big overhaul to Siri for a later version of iOS 18: While rumors previously suggested Apple was working on making interactions with Siri more natural, the latest leaks suggest the company is giving Siri the power to control "hundreds" of features within Apple apps: You say what you want the assistant to do (e.g. crop this photo) and it will. If true, it's a huge leap from using Siri to set alarms and check the weather.
Gurman says Apple had to essentially rewire Siri for this feature, integrating the assistant with LLMs for all its AI processing. He says Apple is planning on making Siri a major showcase at WWDC, demoing how the new AI assistant can open documents, move notes to specific folders, manage your email, and create a summary for an article you're reading. At this point, AI Siri reportedly handles one command at a time, but Apple wants to roll out an update that lets you stack commands as well. Theoretically, you could eventually ask Siri to perform multiple functions across apps. Apple also plans to start with its own apps, so Siri wouldn't be able to interact this way within Instagram or YouTube—at least not yet.
It also won't be ready for some time: Although iOS 18 is likely to drop in the fall, Gurman thinks AI Siri won't be here until at least next year. Other than that, though, we don't know much else about this change at this time. But the idea that you can ask Siri to do anything on your smartphone is intriguing: In Messages, you could say "Hey Siri, react with a heart on David's last message." In Notes, you could say "Hey Siri, invite Sarah and Michael to collaborate on this note." If Apple has found a way to make virtually every feature in iOS Siri-friendly, that could be a game changer.
In fact, it could turn Siri (and, to a greater extent, your iPhone) into the AI assistant companies are struggling to sell the public on. Imagine a future when you can point your iPhone at a subject and ask Siri to tell you more about it. Then, maybe you ask Siri to take a photo of the subject, crop it, and email it to a friend, complete with the summary you just learned about. Maybe you're scrolling through a complex article, and you ask Siri to summarize it for you. In this ideal version of AI Siri, you don't need a Rabbit R1 or a Humane Ai Pin: You just need Apple's latest and greatest iPhone. Not only will Siri do everything these AI devices say they can, it'll also do everything else you normally do on your iPhone. Win-win.
The iPhone is the other side of the coin, though: These features are power intensive, so Apple is rumored to be figuring out which features can be run on-device, and which need to be run in the cloud. The more features Apple outsources to the cloud, the greater the security risk, although some rumors say the company is working on making even cloud-based AI features secure as well. But Apple will likely keep AI-powered Siri features running on-device, which means you might need at least an iPhone 15 Pro to run it.
The truth is, we won't know exactly what AI features Apple is cooking up until they hit the stage in June. If Gurman's sources are to be believed, however, Apple's delayed AI strategy might just work out in its favor.
Generative AI applications like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot are known as chatbots, since you're meant to talk to them. So, I guess it's only natural that chat apps would want to add chatbots to their platforms—whether or not users actually, you know, use them.
Telegram is the latest such app to add a chatbot to its array of features. Its chatbot of choice? Copilot. While Copilot has landed on other Microsoft-owned platforms before, Telegram is among the first third-party apps to offer Copilot functionality directly, although it certainly isn't obvious if you open the app today.
When I first learned about Telegram's Copilot integration, I fired up the app and was met with a whole lot of nothing. That isn't totally unusual for new features, as they usually roll out gradually to users over time. However, as it turns out, accessing Copilot in Telegram is a little convoluted. You actually need to search for Copilot by its Telegram username, @CopilotOfficialBot. Don't just search for "Copilot," as you'll find an assortment of unauthorized options. I don't advise chatting with any random bot you find on Telegram, certainly not any masquerading as the real deal.
You can also access it from Microsoft's "Copilot for Telegram" site. You'll want to open the link on the device you use Telegram on, as when you select "Try now," it'll redirect to Telegram.
Whichever way you pull up the Copilot bot, you'll end up in a new chat with Copilot. A splash screen informs you that Copilot in Telegram is in beta, and invites you to hit "Start" to use the bot. Once you do, you're warned about the risks of using AI. (Hallucinations happen all the time, after all.) In order to proceed, hit "I Accept." You can start sending messages without accepting, but the bot will just respond with the original prompt to accept, so if you want to get anywhere you will need to agree to the terms.
Credit: Lifehacker
From here, you'll need to verify the phone number you use with Telegram. Hit "Send my mobile number," then hit "OK" on the pop-up to share your phone number with Copilot. You don't need to wait for a verification text: Once you share your number, you're good to go.
From here, it's Copilot, but in Telegram. You can ask the bot questions and queries for a variety of subjects and tasks, and the bot will respond in kind. This version of the bot is connected to the internet, so it can look up real-time information for you, but you can't use Copilot's image generator here. If you try, the bot will redirect you to the main Copilot site, the iOS app, or the Android app.
There's isn't much here that's particularly Telegram-related, other than a function that will share an invite to your friends to try Copilot. You also only have 30 "turns" per day, so just keep that in mind before you get too carried away with chatting.
At the end of the day, this seems to be a play by Microsoft to get Copilot in the hands of more users. Maybe you wouldn't download the Copilot app yourself, but if you're an avid Telegram user, you may be curious enough to try using the bot in between conversations. I suspect this won't be the last Copilot integration we see from Microsoft, as the company continues to expand its AI strategy.
It's no secret that Apple is working on AI features that will roll out with iOS 18 and macOS 15. When you update your iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year, you may find a more natural-sounding Siri, or be able to generate emojis based on whatever you're talking about in Messages. Pretty cool—but how will Apple protect your data while the AI processes all these nifty new features?
While reports suggest Apple will be running many of these features on-device, at least with its newer products, rumors also say the company is planning on outsourcing much of the processing to the cloud. That's not atypical from the rest of the industry: Most AI processing right now is happening in the cloud, simply because AI processing is intense. It's why companies continue to push the capabilities of their NPUs (or neural processing units), which are specialized processors that exclusively handle AI functions. Apple has been using NPUs for years, but made a big show of touting the new M4 chip's beefy NPUs earlier this year, while Microsoft started a new AI-PC standard with its Copilot+ PC line.
Running AI on-device is more secure
Of course, whether or not your AI features are running on your phone or in the cloud probably doesn't matter to you, so long as the feature is working as it should. The issue, however, is that running these features on-device provides an inherently more secure experience. By pushing the processing to the cloud, companies risk exposing user data to anyone with access, especially when the service doing the processing needs to decrypt user data first. Exposure risks include the employees of the company in question, but also bad actors that may try to break into the company's cloud servers and scrape whatever customer information they can find.
This is already an issue with services like ChatGPT, and why I advise not to share any personal information with most cloud-based AI services: Your conversations are not private, and are all being fed to these servers, both for storage and to train the AI model. Companies with an investment in user privacy, like Apple, prefer to use on-device solutions whenever possible, since they can demonstrate that keeping user data isolated to their phone, tablet, or computer keeps it out of anyone else's hands.
How Apple will use 'Secure Enclave' to protect AI data
While newer Apple hardware should be powerful enough to run the AI features the company is cooking up, for older devices, or for features that are too power intensive, it may be forced to turn to cloud-based servers in order to offer those features at all. However, if a report from The Information and cited by Android Authority is accurate, the company may have found a solution: the Secure Enclave.
The Secure Enclave is already part of the hardware of most Apple products in use today. It's a part of the SoC (System on a Chip) that is kept separate from the processor, and its job is to store your most sensitive information, like your encryption keys and biometric data. That way, if the main processor is ever compromised, the Secure Enclave ensures bad actors can't access its data.
According to The Information, Apple is working on an AI-cloud solution that would send all AI user data to the Secure Enclaves of M2 Ultra and M4 Macs running in its server farms. There, those server Macs could process the request while preserving encryption, then send the results back to the user. In theory, this process would keep user data safe while also giving older devices access to Apple's latest AI features.
We won't know for sure whether this is Apple's plan until they reveal what they're working on at WWDC, if at all. If Apple stays hush-hush about how it will protect AI user data, we may never know exactly. But seeing as Apple touts itself as a company that cares about user privacy, the approach (or any approach that ensures cloud-based data is end-to-end encrypted) would make a lot of sense.
New features are the best part of any software update, but surprise new features are even better. Google just announced a new feature drop today, complete with eight new features to try on your Android device. Surprisingly, these features don't have too much to do with AI, Google's big focus right now. Seeing as its AI Overviews project is going quite poorly, it's almost refreshing to see a handful of traditionally useful features coming to Android.
You can now edit your sent messages
Google is finally rolling out the ability to edit your RCS messages after you've sent them. You have 15 minutes after sending a message to make any changes. To find the option, long-press on the message. Google didn't clarify whether there was a limit to the number of times you could change a message before that 15 minute timer expired, but the change puts the company in line with other messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp.
New Emoji Kitchen combinations
Emoji Kitchen is a feature that lets you combine compatible emojis together to create something brand new. (For example, a winking emoji and a ghost emoji become a winking ghost.) Google is now releasing new combinations for the feature, but they haven't listed all possible combos just yet. In the press release, they highlight only one combination, headphones and disco ball, as a way to "get ready for festival season." Presumably, there are more to discover, however.
Switch between devices during a Google Meet call
Going forward, you'll be able to jump between your connected devices while on a Google Meet call. To do so, tap the Cast button and swap from, say, your web browser to your Android phone or tablet. This is a great feature for those of us who need to leave our desktops during a meeting, but want to keep up with the call. It's also great for the opposite: If someone calls you on your phone while you're out and about, but you're still chatting when you get back home, you can switch to your computer and wrap up the call from your desk.
Join your hotspot without the password
Google is rolling out "instant hotspot," which will let you connect your Android tablet or Chromebook to your phone's hotspot without needing to punch in the password each time. It's a small but welcome change that should make connecting to your hotspot feel a bit more like connecting to a known wifi network. (Even if you still have to choose to connect to your hotspot each time.)
Google Home Favorites widget
The Google Home Favorites widget is now available on the home screen for those who sign up for Public Preview. With it, you can control smart devices from your phone's home screen without needing to open the Google Home app first. I can see this being particularly convenient for quick actions, like turning smart lights on and off, or checking in on stats for devices like smart thermostats.
Google Home Favorites on Wear OS
In addition, Google is making a Google Home Favorites tile and complication (essentially a feature on the watch face) for your Wear OS smartwatch. So, same deal as above, just on your watch, if you'd prefer to adjust your smart home devices from your wrist.
PayPal is now on Google Wallet on Wear OS
In an update to Google Wallet, PayPal is now an option when paying for something with your Wear OS smartwatch, at least if you're in the U.S. or Germany.
Digital car keys
Google is taking this moment to roll out digital car keys on Android, starting with "select MINI models," and extending to select Mercedes-Benz and Polestar models at a later date. When you have a car that supports the feature, you'll be able to lock, unlock, or start your car with your phone, as well as share digital car keys with trusted contacts. Digital car keys, like those on iOS, are a slow-growing technology for a myriad of reasons, including cybersecurity and a lack of standardization. The more companies like Google embrace the tech, the likelier it is auto manufacturers will want to add the feature to their cars.
Ticketmaster just had a massive data breach—if the hackers behind the attack are to be believed. According to HackRead, the ShinyHunters hacking group is claiming it hacked Ticketmaster, stealing 1.3TB of data from 560 million users. The hacking group posted the data on Breach Forums (a site ShinyHunters owns), offering all of its loot for $500,000 for a buyer willing to pay.
The reported data set includes personal information such as first and last names, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of credit and debit cards, card expiration dates, and customer fraud data. However, it also includes Ticketmaster account information as well, such as ticket sales, event information, and orders.
ShinyHunters says it has reached out to Ticketmaster regarding the hack, but that the company has not yet commented.
What to know about the lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation
This Ticketmaster hack comes just days after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, accusing parent company Live Nation Entertainment of engaging in monopolistic practices and behaviors. Live Nation Entertainment stems from a 2010 merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, and since then, the DOJ claims the company has blocked venues from using other ticket companies through anti-competitive means.
The Justice Department believes Live Nation Entertainment's stronghold on the events industry has resulted in both inflated ticket prices and a worse experience for consumers. Ticketmaster could not handle demand for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ticket sales back in 2022, for example, which lead some to wonder if more competition would have incentivized a better customer experience even among historic demand.
This legal battle will likely extend for some time, but it's an interesting backdrop for these breach allegations. If ShinyHunters really did breach Ticketmaster and steal the data of over 500 million users, it's a bad look at a bad time for the company. Plenty of companies are targets of data breaches these days, but when the government claims you're engaging in monopolistic activities, and you lose the data for over half a billion users, it doesn't put you in the best light.
What Ticketmaster users should do now
Unfortunately, there's not much to do at this point, as Ticketmaster has not yet publicly commented on the breach. We don't even know if it happened, so there's no official steps to take yet.
That said, there are some things you can do to keep yourself protected in general. First, it might not be a bad time to change your Ticketmaster password. It's not clear if this was part of the hack, but resetting your password is a good way to keep bad actors out of your account.
You may also want to start using a credit monitoring service, such as Equifax or Experian, to make sure you aren't the victim of fraud. If ShinyHunters really did steal this information, it may make it possible for other bad actors to steal your identity. These services can alert you to any fraudulent behavior, and walk you through how to respond.
As the rest of the tech world scrambles to add as many AI features as possible to every product and service imaginable, Apple has kept quiet. In the eighteen months since OpenAI changed the game with the launch of ChatGPT, Apple has yet to roll out any substantial AI features to the iPhone, iPad, or Mac, even as Microsoft, Google, and Meta have seemed focused on nothing else.
But if the rumors are to be believed, that's changing this year, as Apple is expected to release new AI features for iOS 18 and macOS 15 at WWDC in June. There have been murmurs about the trillion-dollar company's AI plans for months now, and the hints keep on coming. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a reputable track record of reporting on Apple rumors, the company is planning an AI approach that isn't quite as flashy as some of the competition's efforts. Instead, Apple will roll out AI features that integrate with the apps iPhone and Mac users already know and use, such as Photos, Notes, and Safari. The initiative is known as "Project Greymatter." AppleInsider also confirms as much, and reports on a handful of additional AI features.
As a bit of an AI skeptic, I like this plan. It allows Apple to enter into the AI space while offering AI-powered features people might actually use, rather than wasting resources on "revolutionary" AI capabilities that most users will ignore once the novelty wears off.
How Apple plans to power its AI features
Whatever Apple ends up announcing this year, its AI features will need to be powered by...something. Your iPhone or Mac likely already has an NPU (neural processing unit), which is a part of the hardware specifically designed for running AI tasks. (Apple already does have some AI features, including Live Text, which uses the NPU to handle processing.) The company made a big deal about the NPU in the M4 chip in the new iPad Pros, which, once added to the new line of Macs, will likely power many of Apple's upcoming AI features.
However, not all features are ideal for on-device processing, especially for older iPhones and Macs. Gurman predicts that most of Apple's features will be able to run locally on devices made in roughly the last year. If your iPhone, iPad, or Mac is pretty new, the hardware should keep up. However, for older devices, or any features that are particularly power hungry, Apple is planning to outsource that processing power to the cloud.
Apple has reportedly been in talks with both OpenAI and Google to lease those companies' cloud-based AI processing to run some of its new features, but it's not clear whether (or when) those deals will materialize. Gurman says Apple plans to run some cloud-based features from server farms with M2 Ultra chips. If Apple can manage to handle the cloud processing on its own, I'm sure that's preferable to signing a deal with a competitor. We'll likely see how Apple's grand AI plan is coming together at WWDC.
Speaking of plans, here are the AI features Apple is rumored to be revealing in June:
Generative AI emojis
Emojis are a huge part of any iOS or macOS update (we may have already seen a handful of new emojis heading for a future version of iOS 18 and macOS 15). However, Gurman suggests Apple is working on a feature that will create a unique emoji with generative AI based on what you're currently typing. That sounds genuinely fun and useful, if done well. While there are a ton of emoji to choose from already, if nothing fits your particular mood, perhaps an icon created from whatever you're actively talking about with a friend will be a better choice. Over on Android, users have had "Emoji Kitchen," which lets you combine certain emoji to create something brand new, for a few years now. Apple seems poised to offer an effective iteration on that idea.
Building off this idea, AppleInsider says Apple is working on something called "Generative Playground," which allows users to create and edit AI-generated images. Perhaps the emojis are just one part of this experience.
Siri, powered by AI
I don't know about you, but I've never been too thrilled with Siri. The smart assistant frequently fails to follow through on my requests, whether because it misunderstands my query, or just ignores me altogether. For some reason, it's especially bad on macOS, to the point where I don't bother trying to use Siri at all on my MacBook. If Apple can find to supercharge Siri with AI, or at least make it reliable, that sounds great to me.
We learned about the possibility of Apple integrating AI with Siri earlier this month, based on info leaked to The New York Times by an unnamed source. Gurman's recent report suggests Apple is planning on making interactions with Siri "more natural-sounding," and while it's possible the company will outsource that work to Google or OpenAI, Gurman says the company wants to use its own in-house large language models (LLM). There may even be a specialized AI Siri in the the works for the Apple Watch.
That doesn't mean Apple is turning Siri into a chatbot—at least not according to Gurman, who reports that Apple wants to find a partner that can provide a chatbot for the company's platforms in time for WWDC, without Apple having to build one itself. Right now, it appears the company has sided with OpenAI over Google, so we may see ChatGPT on the iPhone this year.
According to AppleInsider, Apple plans to make other AI changes to Siri as well, including the ability to ask Siri on one device to control media playback on another device. (For example, asking Siri from your iPhone to pause a show on your Apple TV.)
Intelligent Search in Safari
Earlier this month, we learned Apple has at least one AI feature planned for Safari: Intelligent Search. This feature reportedly scans any given web page and highlights keywords and phrases in order to build a generative AI summary of this site. While Gurman says Apple is working on improved Safari web search, we don't know too much more about how Intelligent Search will work just yet.
AI in Spotlight search
Speaking of better search, Apple may use AI to make on-device search in Spotlight more useful. The feature always gives me mixed results, so I'd love if generative AI could not only speed up my searches, but also return more relevant results.
AI-powered accessibility features
Apple recently announced a handful of new accessibility features coming "later this year," which is almost certainly code for "coming in iOS 18 and macOS 15." While not all of these features are powered by AI, at least two that are seem really interesting. First, Apple is using AI to allow users to control their iPhone and iPad with just their eyes, without the need for external hardware. There's also "Listen for Atypical Speech," which uses on-device AI to learn and identify your particular speech patterns.
Automatic replies to messages
As of last year, iOS and macOS will suggest words and phrases as you type, to help you finish your sentences faster. (This feature is not to be confused with the three predictive text options in Messages that have been around for years now.) With iOS 18 and macOS 15, Apple may roll out automatic replies as well. This means that when you receive an email or a text message, the app may suggest a full reply based on whatever you're responding to. Soon, we may all be communicating with single button taps. (Hmm, do I want to tap the response that says "Sounds good: I'll meet you there," or "Sorry, I can't. Raincheck!")
Notes gets an AI overhaul
AppleInsider's sources say Notes will be quite changed by AI: In iOS 18 and macOS 15, you'll be able to record audio directly in a note, and the AI will transcribe that recording as well. Apple already transcribes voice messages sent in the Messages app (quite quickly, in my experience), so utilizing AI to transcribe recordings in Notes only makes sense. Gurman suggests Voice Memos will also get this transcription feature.
In addition, AppleInsider says the Notes app will also get something called Math Notes, which can recognize math notation and answer math-related questions. As you write out your equations, "Keyboard Math Predictions" can suggest ways to autocomplete the notation. I don't have much use for complex math these days, but I imagine these changes could make the Notes app popular with students.
Smart recaps
Gurman says one of Apple's big focuses is "smart recaps," or AI-generated summaries of information you may have missed while not looking at your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, including notifications, messages, web pages, articles, notes, and more. iOS already has a notification summary feature, but these smart recaps sound more involved.
AppleInsider backs this claim up, and in fact goes so far as to suggest a working name: Greymatter Catch Up. According to the outlet, you'll be able to pull up these AI-generated summaries from Siri as well.
Photo retouching
AppleInsider also confirms another Gurman leak: AI is coming to the Photos app. While Gurman simply says Apple plans to use its AI tools for "photo retouching," AppleInsider says the feature will allow you to select objects to remove from photos, similar to other AI photo editing tools on the market now.
It's not clear if there are more AI editing tools in the pipeline, though. The company has already built an AI image editor that takes in natural language prompts to perform edits; it's possible it will incorporate some of those features into an AI photo "enhancer" for the Photos app on iOS and macOS.
Google Maps Street View changed the game for digital exploration: Anywhere Google's cameras have been, you can check out for yourself, without ever needing to leave your house. Of course, if you're uncomfortable with your house appearing on Street View, you don't need to sit back and let the other explorers of the internet spy on your home. Whether you're famous, or you just value your privacy, Google lets you blur your house on Street View, although it isn't obvious how to do so.
A word of warning before proceeding: Requesting Google to blur your house on Street View is permanent. The company will not reverse this censorship once it goes through, so make sure you really want to blur your house before going through with the request. In addition, please only ask Google to blur your house: If you do it to someone else's house, they won't be able to undo the blur either.
Step one: Pull up your house on Google Maps. You can simply type and enter your address into the search bar, then click on the Street View image that appears at the bottom of the left-hand menu. Alternatively, you can click the icon of the person in the bottom-right corner of the window to activate Street View, then click on your part of the street to load up your home.
Either way, once you have your house pulled up on Street View, click the three dots next to the address, then choose Report a problem. Alternatively, you can click the Report a problem button in the bottom-right corner of the Street View window. This will pull up Google Maps' "Report Inappropriate Street View" form for your specific address. If for some reason the address or the image are not of your home, restart the process so you don't blur someone else's house.
Here, you can adjust the exact amount of blur you want to add to the image. You can zoom in and out with the + and - buttons to control the window size for the blur, or drag around the map to adjust the location of the window.
Below this, you'll need to choose what element of the photo you want to blur. You can choose from a face, a car/license plate, or a "different object," but in this case, choose My home. You can skip over the "Report image quality" section. Next, enter your email address, as Google requires you to attach it to your request, then complete the reCAPTCHA to prove you're not a robot. We don't want ChatGPT blurring all our homes, after all.
Full disclosure: This is not my house.Credit: Jake Peterson
There's no telling exactly how long this process will take, or if Google will contact you at the email address you provided for more information. But assuming everything is working as intended, Google will eventually blur your home from Street View.
If you happened to catch my advice on Tuesday to update Chrome as soon as possible, it might come as a surprise to see me repeating myself just three days later. Nevertheless, it really is time to update Chrome again, as Google has disclosed yet another zero-day vulnerability impacting its popular browser.
The company announced the update in a post on its Chrome Releases site on Thursday: The new version numbers are 125.0.6422.112/.113 for Windows and Mac, and 125.0.6422.112 for Linux. No matter which platform you use, this update patches one single security flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-5274. CVE-2024-5274 is a type confusion flaw—a vulnerability where your code doesn't check the type of the object it is processing. When this lack of oversight occurs, it can lead to the code processing the wrong data, which bad actors can take advantage of to run their own code in the process. That, of course, isn't good.
The greater issue, however, is that this vulnerability is a zero-day: Google confirmed it is aware there is an active exploit for the flaw in the wild, which means someone somewhere not only knows of the existence of the vulnerability, but they've actively taken advantage of it.
It's good that Google has a patch available for the public to protect against this vulnerability, but there's a concerning trend emerging here: CVE-2024-5274 is the fourth zero-day vulnerability Google has patched this month, and the eighth in 2024. Security vulnerabilities are an inevitability with software (cracks in the system will always, eventually, be discovered), but it's imperative that developers and the researchers they work with discover the flaws before malicious users do, especially with major programs like Chrome. When companies like Google discover and patch flaws after they've been discovered and exploited by bad actors, it puts all users at risk.
Hopefully, it'll be a while before we hear about another zero-day affecting Chrome. Until then, it's best to update your browser ASAP. Remember: Any time Chrome has a security patch, it affects all Chromium-based browsers, including Edge, Brave, and Opera.
How to update Chrome to patch this zero-day
To update Chrome, click the three dots in the top-right corner of your browser window, then navigate to Help > About Google Chrome. Allow Chrome to search for a new update, then follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.
YouTube, haven't you ever heard the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Why, of all things to change on your platform, did you go messing with your site's UI? The video player is now squished into the top-left corner with a bloated suggested videos feed below it, while the description and comments are scrunched into the right third of the page. It's giving "graphic design is my passion."
No one is happy about the change, but YouTube doesn't seem to care. Unlike other types of changes the site rolls out, the new layout appears mostly permanent. There's no option to revert to the old look, or to opt-out of experimental designs. If you open YouTube and see the new UI, that's the one you're stuck with. (That said, one Redditor claims their layout reverted on its own after four weeks.)
While YouTube seems content to make the change a fixture for more and more users, those users aren't going down without a fight. The internet, of course, doesn't like to be told what to do, and finds a way around these forced changes.
In a post on r/YouTube last month, Redditor Chaski1212 shared a workaround: Chaski1212 wrote a block of code that reverts all of YouTube changes back to the old UI, and it seems to actually work. While I don't have the new layout on any of my Google Accounts yet, plenty of Redditors have shared that the code brings back the old layout on their accounts, so it appears like this is a solid solution for now.
How to bring back the old YouTube layout
First, you'll need to install uBlock Origin in your browser. This is an extension that can block a host of different elements on webpages while you browse (namely, ads). However, you can set filters in uBlock Origin for advanced adjustments. This is where Chaski1212's code comes into play.
Once you have uBlock Origin installed in your browser (it works with Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera), open the extension and click the three gears to open the dashboard. Here, click My Filters, and paste the following:
This jumble of code should tell uBlock Origin to fix just about everything wrong with your YouTube player. If I ever see my YouTube UI change, I'll be instantly reaching for this code. Let's just hope YouTube doesn't find a way around this hack—or, better yet, gives up on this redesign altogether.
Who doesn't love new emojis? Sure, we all use the classics, but can you imagine digital life without Melting Face or Salute Face? (I certainly can't.) So, when you hear about new emojis in the works, it's always good news.
Before we get too carried away, these emojis aren't ready for primetime just yet. Instead, it turns out the Unicode Consortium, the organization which maintains the Unicode standard, has released a short list of new emoji candidates for Unicode 16. This list contains seven new emoji and one new flag, and, if approved, will be included with the rest of the Unicode 16 standard in a future version of iOS and Android. In all likelihood, a version of iOS 18 and a version of Android 15 will get the following emojis:
Face With Bags Under Eyes
Fingerprint
Leafless Tree
Root Vegetable
Harp
Shovel
Splatter
Flag: Sark
I imagine, among these eight, the "face with bags under eyes" will get the most use. Even Unicode's interpretation of the emoji is fun, so I look forward to what designers for Apple, Google, Samsung, and other companies make of it. As for Sark, it's a tiny, autonomous, car-free island located between England and France. I'm happy its population of 562 will soon have an emoji of their flag.
As these eight emojis are heading into the Unicode 16 beta, it's not clear when we'll actually see them both accepted and on platforms like iOS and Android. The beta itself lasts through July 2. The last time we got an emoji update was back in January: Those of us on iOS got six new emoji with iOS 17.4, including Head Shaking Horizontally, Head Shaking Vertically, Phoenix, Lime, Brown Mushroom, and Broken Chain. Truth be told, I'm not sure I've used a single one of those since they launched. (I guess I don't shake my head enough.)
We take the search function for granted—when it goes well. If you search for a particular email, photo, or document on your PC, and it pops right up, you don't think twice about it. But if you spend 10 minutes scouring your hard drive looking for that one file, you lose your mind. That's where Microsoft hopes its new Recall feature can help—even if it comes with some major security risks.
What is Recall?
Recall, at its core, is simple: The feature quietly takes screenshots of what you're doing on your PC throughout your session. Whenever you perform a search with Recall, it pulls from all these screenshots to find relevant moments in your PC activity history that might be what you're looking for, stitching them together into a scrollable timeline. For example, if you're looking for a slideshow you were crafting for work, searching for it may pull up the times you were working on it in PowerPoint, as well as the presentation you gave with it. The same goes for an image: If you're looking for the photo of your dog at the park, you may see it from the time you opened it in your photos library, but also in the messaging app you used to send the photos to friends and family.
Recall associates these screenshots with the active app, as well: As you scroll through your timeline, not only can you see which window you were looking at it with, Recall will tell you which app was running and when. So if you know you want the PowerPoint session itself from February, you can skip over any screenshots from Teams.
While it's certainly a novel feature, Microsoft wasn't the first to launch a feature like this. Rewind offers a similar experience over on macOS, recording all your activity (including transcribing your audio) in order to make everything you do on your Mac searchable. Of course, the big difference here is Recall is a Microsoft-built feature, while Rewind is only offered by a third-party developer on macOS.
You also won't be able to use Recall on any PC, even if its running Windows 11. Instead, this is a Copilot+ PC-exclusive, Microsoft's new AI-powered PC standard. These machines are equipped with the Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite chips, which have a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) for handling local AI processes. Unless you have one of these new machines, like the new Surface Pro or Surface Laptop, you won't be able to try Recall when it launches.
Is Recall safe to use?
The answer, from Microsoft's perspective, is yes. Because it only runs on Copilot+ PCs, Recall is entirely handled on-device, with no processing outsourced to the cloud. That means everything, from the AI processing to the screenshots themselves, happen on your PC. Microsoft says the screenshots used for Recall are encrypted on your PC, too, even from other profiles on the machine: If you lock your PC, your Recall screenshots are locked, too.
Plus, you have control over which apps and websites Recall takes screenshots for. If you don't want Recall to take screenshots when you use WhatsApp, you can tell it not to. You can choose to pause Recall for periods of time as well, and delete either recently taken screenshots, or all screenshots stored on your device. InPrivate browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge, as well as DRM content, like Netflix shows and movies, will also not be recorded. (Your secrets really are safe with InPrivate browsing, I guess.)
However, while Microsoft is all about the security of Recall, it isn't necessarily foolproof. For one, Recall takes screenshots of almost everything you do on your PC (assuming you haven't adjusted these settings yourself). That means it won't stop taking screenshots when you enter or access sensitive information like passwords, your social security number, or banking data: If you can see it on-screen, chances are Recall is recording it. While it's great that these screenshots are encrypted when you lock your device, if someone does manage to break into your PC, they'll be able to access your entire Recall history, including this sensitive information. It seems like an unforced error to let a potential hacker open Recall, search "Bank of America" or "Turbo Tax," and watch as you from the past enters all the relevant credentials and private information in for them.
In fact, the feature is already under government scrutiny. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), a U.K. data watchdog, has contacted Microsoft for more information about Recall. The watchdog says all companies must "rigorously assess and mitigate risks to peoples' rights and freedoms" before they offer a new product for consumers. As it's still early days (Microsoft only just announced the feature two days prior to this inquiry), it's not clear what the watchdog will make of it, nor is it clear if other government agencies will launch their own investigations here.
For the average Windows 11 user, Recall probably isn't going to get them into trouble, or at least put them at a substantially greater risk than they already put themselves in. Do you have a picture of your social security card in your photos library? Do you keep all your passwords in a Word doc? (Please don't do this.) But it's important to understand exactly what you're agreeing to before enabling the feature. Whether it's a hacker that wants to break into your financial accounts, or a nosy friend snooping around your PC, you are making it easy for anyone with your computer's password to search your entire PC activity.
If you do want to try Recall, and any other Copilot+ PC-exclusive features, you can preorder one of Microsoft new Surface devices below:
Attention, Chrome users: It's time to update your browser. Google dropped an update on Wednesday for Chrome on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and while that "Update" button in the corner of your browser window can be all too easy to ignore, you really shouldn't.
Chrome 125 includes patches for nine security vulnerabilities. While all security flaws are important to fix as soon as possible, one of the vulnerabilities in particular is of the most concern: This flaw is tracked as CVE-2024-4947, a "Type Confusion in V8," which occurs when a piece of code doesn't verify the object it's being passed to. In other words, the wrong functions end up attached to the wrong code, which bad actors can take advantage of to potentially run their own code on your device.
While that type of flaw is bad enough, it wouldn't necessarily be singled out like this on its own. What makes CVE-2024-4947 so nasty is that it's a zero-day, a flaw that has an active exploit out in the wild. That means bad actors somewhere not only know about the vulnerability, they've used it to hack into something. Tech companies like Google rarely give us more information than this related to zero-days, but when you see a flaw identified as such, it should send off warning signs in your head to update your stuff as soon as possible.
To make matters worse, this is the third zero-day vulnerability affecting Chrome that Google has identified this month. On May 9, Google released an update for the desktop Chrome app to patch CVE-2024-4671, a use-after-free vulnerability where a program does not clear a pointer to memory after using it. Then, on May 13, Google released a subsequent update patching CVE-2024-4761, an out of bounds write vulnerability that could allow bad actors to access data they should not be able to.
The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added all three flaws to their Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Federal agencies have until June 10 to update their Chrome browsers, which is quite a generous amount of time. If I were you, I'd update right now.
How to update Google Chrome
To update Google Chrome, click the "Update" button if preset. If not, click the three dots in the top right of the window, then go to Help > About Google Chrome. Let Chrome check for updates, then, when the update is preset, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.
When you think of a computer that's both powerful and efficient, you might think first of a MacBook. However, think about a computer that's made to work with AI tools, and Apple's machine probably falls to the bottom of the list. (Provided you can even name a computer made for AI in the first place.)
There's an opportunity, then, for Apple's competition to not just solidify its laptops as more powerful and efficient than the MacBook for most tasks, but to make them stand out for having the tech necessary to power the latest AI features. That's the target Microsoft is trying to hit with its just announced line of Copilot+ PCs.
Copilot+ PCs, powered by Qualcomm
"Copilot+ PCs" is Microsoft's name for a new wave of AI-powered machines coming from companies like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, not to mention Microsoft's own Surface lineup. (More on that below.) Many of these machines, including the new Surfaces, are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus, Arm-based chips that Microsoft and other OEMs hope will convince users to move away from Apple. The Plus has a 10-core CPU, while the Elite has a 12-core CPU. Depending on the model, your Snapdragon X could have a 3.8 TFLOP GPU, or a 4.6 TFLOP GPU.
The big benefit of adding the Snapdragon X to the mix, at least in Microsoft's view, is the chip's NPU (neural processing unit), which is responsible for AI computing processes. Whether you get the Plus or the Elite, you get a 45 TOPS NPU (TOPS standard for trillions of operations per second), which Qualcomm says can run over 13 billion parameters on-device.
It's not just the chipset being pushed here, it's Windows 11 itself. Microsoft says it has rebuilt the OS' architecture around maximizing the CPU, GPU, and now, NPU. Now that the chips are Arm-based, they can run the ever growing list of Arm64-based apps. Microsoft naturally highlighted the apps in its own Microsoft 365 offering, including Teams, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel, but also apps like Chrome, Spotify, Zoom, and WhatsApp. Microsoft has also partnered with companies like Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom and Express), and apps like DaVinci Resolve Studio and djay Pro.
They went after Apple explicitly: Microsoft says their Copilot+ PCs outperform the 15-inch MacBook Air by up to 58% in sustained multithreaded performance. They also did a live demo showing how a new Surface Laptop can process a Photoshop project faster than an M3 MacBook Air:
Microsoft showed off how this capability might be used. For example, using GPT-4o, you can supposedly enlist the help of AI as you navigate a video game. Here's a demo from the event, where Copilot (powered by GPT-4o) talks the demonstrator through a round of Minecraft:
Recall is a new Windows 11 feature for Copilot+ PCs that aims to improve the search experience on your computer. When you search for something with Recall, rather than see a list of files, folders, and apps, you see screenshots of related materials in a timeline. It's as if Microsoft has recorded all of the activity you do on your PC, and is using AI to pull up still images from apps that match the keywords in your query.
Recall works for finding emails, photos, websites, and anything else you may have done or created on your computer. Microsoft says all snapshots are stored locally on your PC, so none of your activities are ever shared to the cloud or outside your machine.
Oh, and Microsoft is selling new Surface laptops too
While many OEMs have new Copilot+ PC laptops in the offing, Microsoft announced two new Surface laptops as part of its rollout of the tech: Surface Laptop, and Surface Pro. Both machines run the Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips, and so come with all the Copilot+ PC perks, but they differ in final design and execution.
The Surface Laptop has a new design with thinner bezels and a haptic touchpad, and comes in either a 13.8-inch display, or a 15-inch display, both with 120Hz refresh rates. Microsoft says this machine gets up to 20 hours of local video playback (not streaming, mind you) on the 13.8-inch, and 22 hours on the 15.8-inch, and supports Wi-Fi 7. As its name implies, this is a laptop, so while it has a touchscreen, it's not detachable. It's available for pre-order now, and starts at $999.99 (13.8-inch) and $1,299.99 (15-inch). If you want the Snapdragon X Elite on the 13.8-inch, that'll increase the price to $1,399.99, making it $100 more than the 15-inch that comes with the Elite already.
If you're looking for a machine with a detachable tablet, that's the Surface Pro. The latest 2-in-1 Surface comes in an optional 13-inch OLED configuration, with an ultrawide camera, two USB-4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and support for outputting to up to three external 4K displays. Notably, you can actually replace many of the parts of the Surface Pro, including the motherboard, battery, and cameras. (What year is this?) Finally, the new Surface Flex Keyboard actually works while detached, so you don't need to physically connect it to the display in order to type.
This is a fascinating time for the personal computing market. While Microsoft has always brought together different OEMs under the same PC umbrella, they're now talking about these different machines as if they're all one family, the same way Apple always has. Microsoft didn't say the new Surfaces outperformed the MacBook; rather, they said the Copilot+ PCs as a whole do. They're standardizing the hardware and the software for this moment, to market their machines as the best on the market for power, efficiency, and AI.
Of course, as with every new tech announcement, we won't really know how these machines hold up until reviewers start testing them in unbiased environments. Plus, next month, we should see a slew of new AI announcements from Apple at WWDC, so the situation is going to change fast. Buckle up, people.
When you delete a photo from your iPhone, you expect it to be gone for good. But that's not what users running iOS 17.5 experienced: After the update, some users found their deleted photos were unexpectedly returning from the grave, with no clear reason why. Understandably, people were concerned (they did delete these photos, after all).
Whatever the cause of the bug, there's now at least a positive development to report: Today, Apple released iOS 17.5.1, with one note in the changelog: "This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted."
How to stop deleted photos from reappearing on your iPhone
If these release notes are to be believed, once installed, iOS 17.5.1 will stop any deleted photos from reappearing in your library. That's great news, if perhaps not entirely comforting. With no overt explanation for why this happened in the first place, who's to say it won't happen again?
As a reminder, when you delete a photo on from your iPhone, it doesn't go away immediately. Instead, it hides itself from your Photos library, and ends up in a password or Face ID protected "Recently Deleted" folder for 30 days. You have the month to reverse your decision, and pull it back into your library. However, after those 30 days are up, iOS will permanently delete the photo from your library. (You also have the option to manually erase it from this folder at any time during that month.)
It's possible some of the photos that reappeared because of this bug were pulled from the Recently Deleted folder. But when it comes to photos that were definitely deleted, there are other possible explanations. After all, any digital file is not typically destroyed immediately after being deleted. Technically, the information—whether a text file or a racy photo—remains on the disc until the system needs that space to store new information, at which point the original data is overwritten. Perhaps iOS mistakenly retrieved this data before it was overwritten? Hard to say, and Apple isn't telling us.
While there are no guarantees we are free of a bug like this reoccurring, Apple does say this latest update fixes the issue. So if you want to keep deleted photos from reappearing in your Photos library, updating to iOS 17.5.1 is your best bet.
How to update your iPhone to stop deleted photos from reappearing
To update your iPhone to iOS 17.5.1, open Settings > General > Software Update, then follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the update.
The big tech story last week was GPT-4o, the newest model from OpenAI. GPT-4o is more than a simple ChatGPT upgrade, however. The headlining feature is the new version of Voice Mode powered by GPT-4o, which essentially turns ChatGPT into Samantha, the smart assistant from 2013's Her (even if "she" no longer sounds like ScarJo). While the demos showing off Voice Mode understandably went viral, one other piece of GPT-4o news was at least as significant: The newest model, including the futuristic and dystopian Voice Mode, will be offered to all users for free.
This is a first for OpenAI. While you've always been able to access some ChatGPT services for free, paying for ChatGPT Plus upgraded the experience considerably. In the past, the subscription came with access to the latest and greatest models that free users couldn't access, as well as other perks, such as ChatGPT Plugins and their successor, GPTs.
Now, however, OpenAI seems to be leveling the playing field for everyone, offering many of Plus' formerly exclusive features to free users.It feels like there must be a catch—and there kind of is—but even still, free users have never been able to access so much ChatGPT before, to the point that it's probably not worth paying $20 for ChatGPT Plus anymore.
What a free ChatGPT account gets you
Whether you make a free ChatGPT account, or log in with the same account you've had since 2022, you now have (or will soon have) access to the GPT-4o model. It may be enabled by default, or you may need to switch to it manually. (On mobile or desktop, select the model name at the top of the screen (i.e. ChatGPT 3.5) and make sure GPT-4o is selected.)
Once selected, you have access to the same GPT-4o model that paid users do. OpenAI says it's better than previous models at understanding the images you upload, and will have improved responses and insights in turn. In addition, while you should see about the same performance when dealing with English text with GPT-4o versus previous models, OpenAI says it's much better at processing non-English texts. (Check out some anecdotal evidence to see how much faster GPT-4o can be in comparison to GPT-4.)
More features and faster performance
This is a big deal, since the previous models, GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, were not available in the free tier. (That said, you could previously access GPT-4 Turbo using Copilot.) But it'll be an ever bigger deal down the line, once OpenAI does roll out the new GPT-4o Voice Mode—while Plus users will get Voice Mode first, free users will also receive it in the near future.
But even before Voice Mode gets here, free users have a slew of new features to try. With the new model, you now have access to data analysis, file uploads, vision, and web browsing, features tied to GPT-4o. GPT-3.5 can't read uploads, view photos and videos, or search the web, so this is the first time these options are available to users who don't pay for OpenAI's services.
In addition, the free plan now comes with access to GPTs and the GPT Store. GPTs are custom-built versions of ChatGPT that specialize in a particular skill or service. This feature was previously a Plus-exclusive, but now free users can browse the GPT store for bots that specialize in everything from translation to meal-prepping. Plus, they can make their own GPTs if they don't find what they're looking for. Memory is another paid exclusive turned free—now, ChatGPT will remember past conversations for free users too, so a new chat will no longer be the total blank slate it used to be.
Why pay for ChatGPT at all?
If you're really serious about GPT-4o, the answer is simple: message limits. OpenAI says that paid users will have five times the message limits for GPT-4o than free users, but isn't specific about what the message limits actually are for either plan. If Reddit is to be believed, however, free users may only have anywhere from 10 to 16 messages every three hours using GPT-4o. That's not much, especially if you frequently chat with OpenAI's chatbot. Once you hit that limit, you'll need to drop back down to the GPT-3.5 model, which isn't bad, but will likely feel much more limited compared to the latest model.
But it's not just better performance you lose out on during these periods of downtime: GPT-4o is what gives free users access to data analysis, file uploads, vision, and web browsing. When you run out of messages with GPT-4o, you also run out of chances to use these features, until your message limit resets in three hours.
That's not to say that paid users have unlimited access to these features: As of May 13th of this year, Plus can send 80 messages every three hours on GPT-4o, and 40 messages every three hours on GPT-4. (Why the discrepancy? GPT-4o is actually 50% cheaper than GPT-4.) While it's not like paying $20 per month will give you uninterrupted access to GPT-4o and GPT-4, you certainly will have more time with these models and their features than free users.
That will likely apply to the new Voice Mode when it drops, as well. You may find yourself running out of messages quickly while chatting with the model on the free tier, while paid users can extend their conversations by perhaps as much as 800%.
Most users will be fine with the free tier
In a way, this new approach from open AI adds a sort of "ChatGPT Plus demo" to the free tier: At any time, you can switch over to the best that OpenAI has to offer, and see what life is like on the other side. If you only use ChatGPT for short bursts, this may work for you. You can ask a question that requires a web search, upload a photo and ask ChatGPT something about it, and have the model run an analysis on a data set for you, then close out of the app without having paid a dime. But if you need to do these things frequently enough that you hit those message limits, you may be tempted to reach for your credit card.
In my view, though, most of us will be able to get by without having to pay for ChatGPT anymore: For most simple tasks, GPT-3.5 is still useful enough, while GPT-4o can help with more complicated or multimodal requests. Plus, if you really need a faster GPT model in a pinch, there's always Copilot.
It’s stressful to hand your unlocked phone to someone else—you never know what’s going to happen. Maybe they’ll stick to the single photo of your dog you’re trying to show them, or maybe they’ll see a private message you’d rather keep to your eyes only. While many messaging apps can’t help with that, WhatsApp can: “Chat Lock” allows you to hide any chat you want and keep it safe from prying eyes.
Chat Lock works exactly as you think it does: When you lock a chat, it hides it from anyone who happens to be looking at your WhatsApp. Not only that, it blocks notification previews for that chat as well. That means you’ll need to check in on those chats from time to time to see exactly what was sent, but you’re not at risk of someone seeing an embarrassing or compromising notification from one of them either.
You can lock any chat, including individual conversations as well as group threads. The feature pairs nicely with WhatsApp’s Screen Lock feature, which requires secondary authentication before opening the app in the first place.
How to lock any chat in WhatsApp
To start, tap the chat in question, then tap the name of the chat at the top. Here, you’ll see the new “Chat lock” option: Once you tap it, you’ll need to authenticate yourself to complete the lock. This will be how you unlock the chat in the future: If your phone uses a fingerprint scanner, you’ll scan your fingerprint. If it uses Face ID, you’ll use a face scan. You can also use a PIN if you prefer.
Once you lock a chat, it moves to a new “Locked chats” folder tucked away in the main screen. Tap this folder, authenticate yourself, and you’ll be able to access any chats you locked.
How to sync Chat Lock between linked devices
For the past year, Chat Lock's one major flaw was that it only worked on your primary device. When switching to a linked device to pick up your WhatsApp conversations, you'd find all threads out in the open, including the ones you locked on your main device.
That's changing: According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently beta testing the ability to access Chat Lock across linked devices. This feature works as of WhatsApp beta version 2.24.11.9: If you enroll your Google Account in the WhatsApp beta program here, you'll be able to download the latest beta versions as if you were simply updating the app.
Once you have the latest beta version of WhatsApp installed, you should see the "Locked chats" folder appear on all linked devices. However, in order to access them on other devices, you'll need to set up a "secret code" on your primary device. If you don't do this, you'll receive an alert telling you as much when tapping on the folder on your link devices.
To set up the secret code for locked chats, go to WhatsApp on your primary phone, open "Locked chats," then tap the three dots in the top right and choose Chat lock settings. Here, tap Secret code, then set up your code. Once set, you should be able to punch this code in on linked devices to access your locked chats.
Credit: Jake Peterson
Eventually, WhatsApp will likely roll this feature out to all users. For now, however, it's limited to beta testers, so stay on the beta if you want to continue keeping your locked chats secure on other devices.
So, you just set up a brand new Apple Watch. Apple’s popular wearable is an awesome extension of your iPhone, and it comes packed with features that span health, fitness, communication, and entertainment. But before you dive into all of those fun and exciting options, there are 10 things you should probably do first to maximize your watch straight out of the box.
By default, your Apple Watch’s sound is turned on. At first, it’s fun to listen to all the unique chimes and tones that Apple put into its wearable. After a while, though, it might become irritating, especially if you do have a lot of notifications. (More on this later.) If you’re someone who usually keeps their iPhone on silent, you might want to consider the same for the watch.
To mute your watch, just wake it up, swipe up from the bottom, then tap the alarm bell icon in Control Center. To simply lower the volume, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics on the watch or in the Watch app, then use the volume icons to adjust accordingly. You can also access "Silent Mode" to mute notifications from here, if you want.
Set up your watch to unlock your Mac
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
If you have a Mac, especially a Mac without Touch ID, you’ll want to set this feature up. Whenever you wake up your Mac, whether by lifting up your MacBook’s lid or by pressing a key on your iMac, it’ll unlock right away, so long as your Apple Watch is unlocked on your wrist. For more info, check out this walkthrough from Lifehacker writer Khamosh Pathak.
Turn off notifications for apps you don’t want
Credit: Jake Peterson
The Apple Watch ships with a lot of notifications by default, especially if you have a lot of notifications set up on your iPhone. Luckily, it’s easy enough to manage these notifications specifically on the watch.
Open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to Settings > Notifications. Here, go through all apps and disable notifications for any you no longer wish to see. Tailoring this experience is key to fully enjoying your Apple Watch: If you don’t want to see any more breathing reminders, but you do want to see your Messenger alerts, you’ll be happy you took the time here.
If there are apps from your iPhone on your watch that you don’t want there, just get rid of them! If you told your watch to download all available apps from your iPhone, you might have way more options than you really need. Deleting these apps will make finding the apps you do want to use much easier, since there won’t be a sea of irrelevant options every time you open the app view.
You can remove apps from your Apple Watch by long-pressing on an app on your watch and tapping the (X) that appears, just like on your iPhone. Alternatively, you can open the Watch app, scroll down to the list of installed apps, tap the app you want to remove, and hit the toggle on Show App on Apple Watch to confirm.
Set up cellular (if you have a cellular Apple Watch)
Credit: Jake Peterson
If you have a cellular Apple Watch, it won’t simply give you free cellular connectivity out of the box. Instead, you’ll need to buy a cellular plan through your carrier. You can initiate this process from Settings > Cellular on the watch, or through your iPhone’s Watch app.
Aren’t sure if you have a cellular Apple Watch? There are two easy ways to tell: You’ll only see the Cellular settings page in the Watch app if you have a connected cellular watch. In addition, the red ring on the cellular watch’s crown is a dead giveaway.
For the longest time, Apple didn't have a native sleeping-tracking feature for the watch. If you wanted to track your sleep with your Apple Watch, you were forced to use a third-party app instead. These days, you can track your sleep habits using built-in tools, but they need to be set up first. You can learn more about it in Lifehacker Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki's guide here.
Save some battery
Credit: Jake Peterson
If you have a newer Apple Watch, it likely comes with an Always On display. With it, you can quickly glance at your watch to tell the time, look for new notifications, or read data from your watch face without having to wake up the watch at all. While this feature is awesome, it does put a strain on the battery. To maximize your battery life, consider disabling it by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On.
I'd also recommend disabling Background App Refresh as well from General > Background App Refresh. While this feature can be helpful for keeping your various Apple Watch apps up to date with the latest content, it's another battery hog. You're probably better off just loading up the apps when you're interested in seeing what's new. You can go here for more Apple Watch battery-saving tips.
Learn the gestures
Your Apple Watch is a touch-screen device, but doesn't operate exactly like your iPhone. Here's how to navigate watchOS:
Quick-press Crown: Open app view
Long-press Crown: Activate Siri
Quick-press Side button: Pull up Control Center
Long-press Side button: Expanded menu, including Power, Medical ID, Compass Backtrack, and Emergency SOS
Swipe down from top of watch face: Notification Center
Swipe up from bottom of watch face: Widget view
Long-press watch face: Switch and customize watch faces
Cover watch face with palm: Put watch to sleep/mute notifications
There's also a gesture new to Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 called "double-tap": Whenever there's an action you need to tap on your watch face say, to, turn off a timer or answer a call, you can double tap your index finger against your thumb to act as a button press. Even if you don't have one of these watches, however, you can set up something similar through Accessibility settings.
Calibrate it
If you wanted an Apple Watch for fitness, you might have already recorded an exercise or two with it. However, it’s possible that those exercises weren’t recorded as accurately as they could be.
Apple doesn’t advertise it very clearly, but the Apple Watch actually needs to be calibrated in order to record the best and most accurate workouts. It’s not an intensive process—essentially, it boils down to a 20-minute outdoor walk or run in an open, flat environment—but without that calibration, your data might be a bit skewed.
While you're calibrating your workouts, make sure Fall Detection is at least enabled when you're exercising, if not all the time. The feature can contact emergency services on your behalf if the watch detects that you've fallen.
Charge it
If this is still day one using your new Apple Watch, and you haven’t yet, give that battery some juice. Most tech ships with a partially discharged battery, and the Apple Watch is no exception. If you want it to last the rest of the day, or even track your sleep on the first night, put it on the charger for a while. If you have a Series 7 or newer, you can take advantage of quick charging to fill up fast. For fast charging, you just need:
Twitter changed its name to "X" back in July of 2023. But while the site has taken the past 10 months to slowly adjust to its new name and logo, two things have remained constant: All of us still call it "Twitter," and the site's URL is still twitter.com.
It seems the times really are a-changin' though: As of today, twitter.com is officially x.com. Elon Musk confirmed the transition in a post (formerly known as a "tweet") on X (formerly known as Twitter):
But while Musk says "All core systems are now on X.com," it doesn't appear to be the case for everyone. For example, when I fire up twitter.com out of pure, unwavering habit, the site loads right up without redirecting. For me, it's still Twitter, even if in URL only. (The X logo is still very much fixed to the top of the page, which I suppose is at least better than Doge.)
On the flip side, if I type in the new x.com domain, it loads up just fine as well. It even makes a big deal about me visiting x.com itself, with a banner thanking me for checking out the new URL. It seems like the site really wants to encourage me to continue visiting x.com rather than twitter.com, even though the latter should automatically redirect to the former.
I'm sure once X's skeleton crew figures out how to force Twitter URLs to be X URLs, that will be that, until the site runs out of money and folds. I, for one, think typing x.com is not only stupid, it feels like I'm about to visit a very different kind of site—which, at this point, might be true, considering the types of bots that plague X as of late.
The Nintendo Switch 2 rumor mill seems to have been churning almost since the Switch originally launched, yet for the last seven years, Nintendo has been mostly silent on the issue. The company did recently break its silence on its plan for its newest console, but, surprise: It still didn't reveal much.
With a lack of any official intel, it's easy to dismiss any new claims as mere speculation. Still, I think some Switch 2 rumors are more solid than others, and may actually give us a glimpse into what Nintendo has planned for what is possibly the most anticipated new console in years.
Nintendo confirms the Switch 2's existence
The best rumors aren't rumors at all: On Tuesday, May 7, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa posted on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the company would, "make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year."
That doesn't tell us much, but it is the first time the company has publicly acknowledged the existence of the Switch 2. Plus, we now have some timeline for some official Switch news: By the end of this fiscal year, we'll get at least a glimpse into what Nintendo is planning for its newest console.
If the original Switch is any indicator, we may get quite a bit of information on the initial announcement: The Switch's first reveal video showed off its now-famous ability to "switch" from TV to handheld mode, as well as its ease as a portable multiplayer machine. Hopefully, any Switch 2 news offers us at least the same level of insight.
Rumors with a bit of credibility
Last month, writer Ramón Varela dropped a breakout piece for Spanish outlet Vandal that included several claims that hadn't circulated before. Those claims were then corroborated and expanded upon by Mobapad, a company that makes Switch controllers and accessories.
While all rumors should be taken with a grain of salt (and a massive one at that), there is reason to put stock in Vandal's reporting. The outlet's piece on the "Switch Pro" in 2021 actually got many of the details correct, for what turned out to be the Switch OLED. While Vandal was incorrect in predicting the Switch OLED would output 4K when connected to a TV, it accurately reported Nintendo would increase the display size without increasing the size of the console, and that the company would use an OLED panel for the display rather than an LCD. It also correctly claimed the upgraded stand would resemble a Microsoft Surface's stand, and that the dock would have USB 3.0 ports, as well as an ethernet port.
That's not to say you can expect every claim in Vandal's latest report to be true. But it's good to know the rumors aren't coming from a source with zero credibility, and it certainly helps that a Switch accessory maker can back some of them up.
Old Joy-Cons, new connections
The rail design of the current Switch Joy-Cons is iconic: You align the Joy-Con's rail with the corresponding rail on the Switch, then slide and click it into place (hence, the Switch's famous "click" sound effect).
For the Switch 2, it seems likely Nintendo is sticking with a similar Joy-Con design, which makes sense: Detachable controllers are a fun way to make a portable console instantly multiplayer—although I hope they've figured out a way to prevent stick drift going forward. However, one big difference is the new Joy-Cons may connect with magnets, rather than by rail. Vandal doesn't share many details about how this magnetic tech actually works, but Mobapad says they're made with "magnetic suction" and use an electrical current. Perhaps there's some type of locking mechanism that clicks into place once the magnets do, similar to the locking system in the current Switch.
In any case, switching to a magnetic connection rather from a rails option would likely mean your old Joy-Cons wouldn't be fully compatible with the Switch 2, unless Nintendo or a third-party made magnetic rail attachments for them. That said, Mobapad believes the current Joy-Cons will be compatible at least via Bluetooth, and both outlets think the existing Pro Controller will be as well.
Mobapad also says the Joy-Con buttons are getting an upgrade. The SL and SR buttons are supposedly going to be metal, and Nintendo is adding a third button to each of the Joy-Cons. In addition, there will be a new function button below the HOME button on the right controller.
Vandal says that the latest rumors don't definitively say one way or another whether the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with original Switch games, but report that manufacturers "believe and assume" that the console will be backwards compatible.
I'm with the manufacturers here: If Switch 2 isn't backwards compatible, that sounds like a disaster for Nintendo. The Switch was the first Nintendo console since the GameCube that wasn't backwards compatible with the generation before it. (It would've been difficult to fit a Wii U disc in the Switch's cartridge slot anyway.) But seeing as the Switch 2 is a likely spiritual successor to the OG Switch, it would be silly to expect customers to upgrade to the latest console generation without an option to play their existing Switch library.
Nintendo, you already made us buy all the best Wii U games as Switch ports. Please don't make us do it again.
Beefier hardware
Specifics on hardware specs are still pretty hard to come by in the Switch 2 rumor mill, but we do know the Nvidia is likely to be involved. An unnamed source told Reuters back in February that Nintendo was planning to use a custom Nvidia chip for the Switch 2, while a previous Vandal report indicates Nintendo is planning to use an Nvidia chip based on the GeForce RTX 30 series. If rumors are to be believed, this chip is known as the T239, a customized version of the existing T234 chip.
Vandal believes the hardware will support DLSS (deep learning super scaling), which uses AI to create upscaled frames, and that the Switch 2 will support ray tracing, a modern lighting technique that produces realistic lighting environments. These changes, plus a rumored 4K output, would definitely put the Switch 2 well above the original in the graphics department. And if outlet Centro LEAKS is to be believed, the Switch could also launch with 12GB of RAM. (Centro corroborates many of Vandal's leaks, as well.)
Even if we had the exact hardware specs in-hand, we wouldn't know for sure how powerful the Switch 2 really could be. That's because Nintendo will likely underclock the chip to balance the system's power with its portability, as it does the current Switch. If Nintendo allowed us to use the SoC's full potential, it would likely drain the battery too quickly and overheat the system. You can overclock your Switch, improving performance in demanding games like Tears of the Kingdom, but it isn't recommended.
All that to say, it's safe to assume the Switch 2 will increase the graphical performance of the current Switch, but the difference will not necessarily be seismic, especially if you're coming from a Sony or Microsoft console, or even the possible PS5 Pro. But Nintendo has never prioritized having the best quality graphics: As long as the next-generation of Nintendo's IP looks and plays great, and there continues to be support from third-party developers on the platform, the Switch 2 will do what it's supposed to.
Games should look good in handheld mode, too: Mobapad says the system will come with an 8-inch display, larger than even the 7-inch display on the Switch OLED. and 1080p resolution. All current Switches have a 720p display, so even though the Switch 2 won't run at 4K in handheld mode, it should look crisper than anything we've seen so far. That said, many outlets, including Centro, believe the Switch 2's display will be LCD, not OLED. That's a bit surprising:
The Switch 2 is likely not coming this year
If you're waiting to pick up an OLED Switch because you think the Switch 2 is right around the corner, you might be waiting a while longer. Vandal and other sources believe Nintendo is planning on a early 2025 launch, which would put the gap between console generations at eight years. That would track with Furukawa's promise of an announcement by end of this fiscal year.
Vandal says that accessory manufacturers believe Nintendo is waiting until they have a larger catalog of games for the Switch 2 before launch, which isn't a bad strategy: Nintendo launched the 3DS without enough killer games, and it tanked the handheld's first year. (It was also too expensive, but that's a story for another day.)
Whatever's Nintendo's reasoning for holding off on the Switch 2, it likely won't be on shelves in the immediate future, or in time for the holidays. If you've been holding out, you're missing out on a lot of great games, so unless you're OK waiting up to another year, you may want to pick up a Switch.
Android 15 is in the works over at Google HQ, and there are plenty of changes to look forward to. But in my view, the best part of future Android updates aren't some flashy new features: Instead, I'm most excited for these new security features that should make everybody's Android phones safer.
Private space
"Private space" is a new security feature in Android 15 that lets you hide apps containing sensitive information from view of the home screen or app drawer. This is an awesome change: Whether you're handing your unlocked phone to a friend, or someone cracks your PIN and goes snooping through your apps, any programs you designate to the private space will be hidden from view.
This is a great idea for financial apps, like banking and money-transfer apps, but also for apps containing private information. Perhaps you want to keep certain messaging apps out of sight, or a particular files app from your public screen.
Even better, notifications from apps you place in your private space are hidden as well. That way, no one will see when someone has sent you a message if that messaging app is in private space, nor will they see any alerts from your bank.
By default, private space lives at the bottom of the app drawer, but you can choose to hide it from view entirely as well. Either way, you can set a new PIN for private space that's separate from your phone's passcode. That way, even if someone breaks into your Android, they won't know the PIN for private space, and all the apps therein will be protected.
Theft Detection Lock
I have to say, Google really upped the ante with Theft Detection Lock: This feature can detect when someone takes your Android out of your hand, and either runs, bikes, or drives away with it. Google actually worked to figure out each "common motion associated with theft" in order to build that sense in Android.
Once your Android does detect a theft, it locks itself right up. For the most part, thieves need your Android unlocked in order to access the phone and its data. Unless they were sly enough to spot your PIN before taking the phone, a locked phone is essentially useless.
If a thief does manage to take your phone without detection, Android has some other tools this year: If the thief disconnects the phone from the internet, theft protection may kick in and lock the phone. If they fail to enter your PIN too many times when trying to access sensitive settings, the phone will also lock.
This one isn't an Android 15 exclusive, either: As long as you're running Android 10 or newer, you can access it.
Authentication lock, à la Apple
Google is adding one of Apple's best security features to Android this year: authentication lock. This security measure ensures that even if a thief is able to force a factory reset on your stolen Android, they won't be able to proceed with set up without providing the credentials for the Google Account connected to the device. (Now that Android has authentication lock, by the way, there may be a rise in a common scam on stolen phones and devices. Don't fall for it.)
Extra security steps, à la Apple
Google is also adding another great Apple security feature to Android: When you disable Find My Device or extend the time before your screen automatically locks, Android will require your phone's passcode or biometric authentication before proceeding. In addition, "enhanced authentication" requires biometric authentication when you try to change "critical settings" on your Google Account or device. That includes when changing your PIN, disabling theft protections, or trying to access your passkeys from a new location.
It's similar to Apple's Stolen Device Protection, which requires a Face ID or Touch ID scan when accessing certain sensitive settings.
Remote Lock in Find My Device
Let's say your phone is stolen, and you can't remember your Google Account password in order to lock the phone via Find My Device. Google's new Remote Lock feature lets you lock your phone by providing your phone number and authenticating yourself on another trusted device. From here, you can remotely reset your phone if you want to ensure no one can access its data. This feature will be available on Android 10 and newer later this year.
All eyes are on Apple's WWDC event next month. That's when the company will no doubt show off their latest operating system upgrades, including its late-to-the-party AI plans for iOS and macOS.
But AI doesn't just mean generative AI. Apple has more traditional features in the works for users to check out, some simply powered by AI. And as it happens, we just got a glimpse at a slew of upcoming iPhone and Mac features that fit that mold, specifically related to accessibility.
Apple unexpectedly announced a batch of these new accessibility features Wednesday. The company says these features are coming "later this year," which almost assuredly means they're shipping with iOS 18. Apple switches between using the language "AI" and "machine learning" to describe how these features work, but rest assured, the underlying tech is part of Apple's AI push this year.
Eye Tracking lets you control your iPhone with your eyes alone
Out of nowhere, Apple announced that both iPhone and iPad users will soon have the ability to control their devices with just their eyes. Apple says the front camera on either your phone or tablet will use AI to calibrate and set up the feature, as well as power it. Most impressive of all, you don't need any additional hardware to use it.
Once Eye Tracking is set up, you can navigate apps, use Dwell Controls to engage with elements, and replicate physical buttons, swipes, and gestures with your eye movements.
Music Haptics let you feel the beat through your iPhone
Apple added a new music feature for users who are deaf or hard of hearing: Music Haptics uses the Taptic Engine to play taps and complex vibrations along to the beat of the song. While it sounds like a great accessibility feature, it also seems like a great way to enhance the Apple Music experience for everyone. This feature works on "millions" of songs in Apple Music, but Apple has also included it as an API for developers to add to their apps.
Vocal Shortcuts and Listen for Atypical Speech
Vocal Shortcuts is a new feature that lets you assign actions to words or phrases. For example, you could set the word "Rings" to open your Apple Watch Activity Rings in Fitness. In addition, Listen for Atypical Speech uses on-device AI to learn your speech patterns, so your device will recognize the way you speak.
These features are designed for users with conditions such as cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or stroke—as these conditions affect speech.
Vehicle Motion Cues tries to prevent motion sickness
Apple wants to cure motion sickness. Vehicle Motion Cues places dots on your screen when your iPhone or iPad recognizes you're in a moving car. These dots will then move according to the direction of the vehicle: These moving dots may counter the effects of motion sickness, as Apple says research shows motion sickness happens when there's a conflict between what you're seeing and what you're feeling.
You can choose to have these Motion Cues appear automatically, or enable them manually from Control Center.
CarPlay gets some new accessibility features
Speaking of cars, CarPlay is getting a series of new accessibility features: Voice Control, which lets you control CarPlay with your voice; Color Filters, which lets you fine tune the color space of your CarPlay UI; and Sound Recognition, CarPlay will let you know when it detects sounds like car horns and sirens.
visionOS accessibility features
Remember Apple Vision Pro? That's still around, even if it isn't getting much attention lately. Still, Apple is working on some visionOS accessibility features, including Live Captions. These captions will work in conversations in-person and on FaceTime, as well as from audio in your apps. Apple is also adding new vision features like Reduce Transparency, Smart Invert, and Dim Flashing Lights, as well as support for Made for iPhone hearing devices and cochlear hearing processors.
New VoiceOver features
VoiceOver is getting new voices. Apple didn't say how many, or what they sounded like, but they're coming. In addition, the feature is getting a "flexible Voice Rotor," which lets you control how VoiceOver works, custom volume control, customizable VoiceOver keyboard shortcuts on macOS, and support for custom vocabularies and complicated words.
Magnifier
Apple's Magnifier doesn't get the love it deserves, but it is getting some new features. Coming soon, you'll get a new Reader Mode, as well as quick ways to launch Detection Mode with the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro.
Braille
There are some new Braille features as well: You'll have a new way to start and stay in Braille Screen Input, Japanese will be available, Dot Pad users have support for multi-line braille, and you'll have the ability to choose input and output tables.
Hover Typing
Hover Typing is a new feature that increases the size of the text whenever you're typing in a text field. Plus, you get to control the font and color.
Personal Voice is now available in Mandarin
Apple rolled out Personal Voice last year, an AI-powered feature that can replicate your voice during Live Speech. The feature is now available in Mandarin Chinese. In addition, you can now create a Personal Voice even if you have difficulty with reading full sentences out loud.
Speaking of Live Speech, the feature now comes with categories, and is compatible with Live Captions.
Virtual Trackpad
Apple is adding a virtual trackpad feature as part of AssistiveTouch, so one area of your iPhone or iPad can be used to move a cursor around the screen. I could see this being useful for anyone who wants a trackpad experience, especially on the larger iPads, but doesn't have a physical trackpad to use.
Switch Control
With Switch Control later this year, you can use your iPhone or iPads' camera to recognize finger-tap gestures as switches. Switch Control lets you use hardware to control your iPhone or iPad with switches, so this means you can gesture with your fingers in view of the camera to control on-screen elements.
During yesterday's big Google I/O keynote, Google talked about a handful of new AI features coming to Android, including a new change to Circle to Search, as well as AI-powered scam protections. One day later, Google has a trove of new Android 15 announcements, starting with the reveal that Android 15 beta 2 is now available.
Android 15 beta 2 is available on quite a few smartphones
Android betas traditionally start on Pixel, but with beta 2, many smartphone users can try out Android 15 early. The beta is now available on Pixel, iQOO, Lenovo, Nothing, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, Realme, Techno, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor. If you have a compatible smartphone, give the beta a shot if you want to try out these new features. (Just know beta software isn't finished, so there's the risk for bugs and lost data.)
Private space
Google calls "private space" a "digital safe within your phone," and for good reason. The feature lives at the bottom of your app drawer, and requires a second layer of authentication to access. From here, you can add whatever apps you want, so they don't appear on your home screen or in your app drawer. Think health, banking, or even certain messaging apps: Private space hides the app's icon, its data, and even its notifications. If you want, private space can be invisible altogether, although it's not clear where it'd live in this case.
Selected photos access
When you give an app partial access to your media, that means it can see only a select number of photos and videos from your library. Google is making it possible with Android 15 beta 2 to access only recently selected media. That way, apps that frequently ask for photos and videos can grab these items quickly, without you constantly having to adjust the permissions yourself.
One-time passwords are now hidden from notifications
This is a great security feature in Android 15: Malware tends to rely on OTP notifications to steal these codes and break into your accounts. Going forward, the codes will be hidden from most notifications, so you'll need to tap through to see what your OTP is. Google also says it's expanding the restricted settings that require user approval when installing apps from the web.
Screen sharing is more secure
When you share your screen in Android 15, the OS will automatically hide both notifications and OTPs. It will also hide the screen when you enter your password and credit card information, and soon, more phones will have the Pixel's ability to share a specific app's screen, rather than your entire screen at once. Plus, Google is adding a more obvious screen sharing icon that makes it easy to disable the share at any time.
Cellular security upgrades
Google will now warn you if your cellular network is unencrypted, which could let bad actors listen in on calls and read your SMS texts. Plus, Google will warn at-risk users, like journalists, if a false cellular base or surveillance tool is hijacking their location.
Updated multitasking on large screens
Google has been working on an optimized Android experience for tablets in recent years. With Android 15 beta 2, you can now pin the taskbar on-screen, so you can quickly access apps and split-screen app combinations.
Choose how you're addressed
Android will soon let you choose the gender you'd like to be addressed as, in gendered languages. Google tested this feature first in French, but it will soon be available in other gendered languages. You can choose from non-personalized, feminine, masculine, or neutral.
Saving items to Google Wallet from a photo
Android 15 is making adding passes to Google Wallet even easier: Google says you will soon be able to snap a picture of any pass—say, a ticket, gym membership, library card, etc. From here, Android can turn it into a digital pass that you can save to Google Wallet. It joins the ability to save digital items containing barcodes and QR codes.
AR content in Google Maps
Google is rolling out augmented reality content in Google Maps with Android 15: They're kicking things off with AR experiences for Singapore and Paris, and will presumably add more cities as they go. Google wants you to use AR content to learn more about a particular location, which has merit: If you can point your phone's camera at a building in the city you're visit and learn more about it, that's pretty neat (but might spark a bit of an existential crisis for tour guides).
Google built-in is expanding
Google says Google built-in is coming to more cars, such as the Acura ZDX and Ford Explorer. Built-in adds apps from your phone to your car's built-in display, and Google says developers are making more apps compatible with the service.
Plus, Google Cast is coming to cars with Android Automotive OS, beginning with Rivian in "coming months." You can beam videos from your device to the car's display, which sounds great for passengers and treacherous for the driver.
Google TV now has Gemini
Google TV now uses Gemini to suggest content for you to watch. This includes AI-generated descriptions based on your watch history and "actor preferences." Cool. A better use for this tech is in missing or untranslated descriptions: Any time the system runs into this situation, which may have left you stuck in the past, the AI fills in the gaps.
RCS is coming to Japan
Apple isn't the only one getting RCS support this year: Google says Japan is also getting the protocol. Details are light at this time, but soon, Android users in Japan will be able to take advantage of RCS's end-to-end encryption, high-res photo and videos, and functioning group chats. (That last one shouldn't be a "feature," but, well, here we are.)
Find My Device is expanding
Google's Find My Device service is a worthy competitor to Apple's Find My, harnessing the greater Android community to help locate your missing items. Later this month, Google says you'll be able to find things using trackers from Chipolo and Pebblebee. Later this year, companies like eufy, Jio, and Motorola will also join the Find My Device ecosystem.
Theft detection lock (coming later this year)
Here's one positive use for AI: Theft Detection Lock, arriving at some point later this year, will sense if your phone has been stolen by looking out for "theft motion." How exactly this works isn't obvious, but Google says if your phone detects that your phone has been snatched, and a thief tries to run, bike, or drive away, Android will lock itself down.
Real-time protection from fraud apps (coming later this year)
Fraud is a real problem on Android. While Google has protections in place to screen apps before they land on the Play Store, plenty of malicious apps still slip through the cracks. Google announced today that, later this year, Google Play Protect will use on-device AI to identify apps that may be fraudulent or engaging in phishing. Play Protect will report any suspicious behavior back to Google, and the company will either warn you or take down the app entirely.
Google says this feature is coming to Pixel, Oppo, Honor, Lenovo, OnePlus, Nothing, Transsion, and Sharp later this year.
Wear OS 5 changes
Google says Wear OS is about to get more energy efficient: Running an outdoor marathon will take up 20% less power than it does with Wear OS 4. Plus, your fitness apps will have data points like ground contact time, stride length, and vertical oscillation, which is a measure of how you move vertically which each stride of your run. (Full disclosure: I had to look that up.)
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