The war rages on; Meta is still looking to compete with TikTok on the short-form video front. It’s been making Reels more of a priority, and this new change is evidence of that. According to Engadget, Facebook brought a revamped Video tab to the app that basically makes it resemble Instagram.
Before the whole TikTok tiff, Facebook focused on longer-form videos from its creators. Then, enter ByteDance’s video-sharing platform. It swooped in and poached users from Instagram (owned by Facebook owner Meta) and led to a significant drop in ad revenue. Since then, Mark Zuckerberg has been looking for ways to make Instagram the one-stop shop for short videos.
This is a tough job because it’s not only going against TikTok, but it’s also fighting YouTube Shorts and Snapchat’s Spotlight.
Facebook brought a new Video tab
Facebook revamped its hub for videos. It officially retired its Facebook Watch tab after about six years of service. When you access the tab, you’ll find a line of different buttons on the top to curate the videos on your screen. There’s one for live videos, Reels, Music videos, and creators you follow. When you open the tab, you’ll automatically be in the For You section.
In the ‘For You’ section, you’ll navigate a feed of videos that the algorithm thinks you like. This will be based on your Facebook activity. While there’s a Reels section, you’ll still see Reels mixed into your ‘For You’ feed. That should come as no surprise, however. You’ll still be able to interact with these videos just like other Facebook posts. You can “Like”, comment, react, and share them.
There’s also a search button on the top right of the screen. With it, you’re able to search for keywords and hashtags. When you summon the search bar, you’ll see recommended hashtags that you can discover as well.
This is a good addition for people who want a better video-watching experience while using Facebook.
The Threads app from Meta’s Instagram has been a massive success over the past few weeks. However, it is still struggling to take down Twitter, but it is a solid competitor. The success of this app however is restricted to certain areas as a result of governmental restrictions.
You might be wondering why these restrictions or laws against the use of the Threads app in the EU are in place. Well, the government in this region is concerned about its citizens’ privacy and how the app threatens it. Over the past few years, Meta has been a constant subject of consideration in lots of privacy concerns.
One region where it faces constant backlash regarding how it handles user data is the EU. For this reason, the Threads app is not available for users that live in the EU and its member states. Most people might suggest that users in this region use a VPN to access these services. That’s some fast and innovative thinking, well Meta thought of that first and is ready to help you waste your time.
Accessing the Threads app in the EU with a VPN is a complete waste of your time
Since the EU restricts usage of the Threads app in its region, a VPN might be a quick walkaround for most users. This is because a VPN is a tool to keep your location anonymous while you browse the internet. Browsing the internet with a VPN will mask your location to the website’s server, hence allowing you to avoid geo-blocking.
Lots of people in the EU use these services to access region-specific movies on streaming platforms. These same set of people might feel that a VPN would also grant them access to the Threads app. Meta, on the other hand, is blocking citizens of the EU from accessing this app even while using a VPN service.
How they get this done is very impressive yet a bit concerning. Since Meta owns platforms like Facebook and Instagram, users can log into either platform with the same details. This means that you can open an Instagram account with the details from your already existing Facebook account.
Also, to open a Threads account, you will need your Instagram account if you already have one. By doing this, your data across all three platforms is linked and accessible by Meta. This data includes your location, which can be got from your years of using Instagram and Facebook.
So if Meta finds that an account domicile in an EU member state logs into Threads using a VPN, it is automatically a red flag. Whether users in the EU try to access this service with or without a VPN, it is easy for Meta to block them. By actively blocking EU citizens from accessing this new platform, Meta might be protesting the EU’s decision to block the app over privacy concerns.
There are 44 countries in Europe, but the EU comprises 27 member states (countries) with 447 million citizens. By restricting the access of the Threads app via VPN to this mammoth crowd, Meta might be playing a wild card. However, having over 100 million users currently, the Threads app might be doing well without folks from the EU.
One good thing about social media platforms is that they give you the ability to mute and block certain words. Since there’s so much hate and prejudice in the world, this is a useful feature. Well, with a new platform comes the need to block those words all over again. Here’s how to hide posts on Threads based on certain words.
Doing this is pretty easy to do, so it won’t take you too long. After reading this article, feel free to check out some of our other content on this burgeoning platform. Android Headlines has news and How-To articles to get you started on this app on the right foot.
Before we start
At the time of writing this article, Threads is still very new, and there are features yet to come to the platform. If you’re looking to be one of the first to test out new features, you can join the beta program. At the time, the program is only available for Android users, but we expect it to make it to iOS eventually.
Just search for Threads on the Google Play Store and scroll down to the beta program section. There, you’ll see the Join button. It’ll take a few minutes for you to officially be added to the program. Once you’re added, you’ll then want to update the app.
If you’re using the beta software, just know that the experience may be less stable than if you’re using the stable version.
How to hide Threads posts based on certain posts
If you’re scrolling through your feed, and you’re not liking some of the words being passed around, then fixing it is an easy solution. The first thing you want to do is go to your settings. Tap on the Profile button on the bottom right corner of the screen. Right above your profile picture, tap on the hamburger-style menu.
When you tap on that button, you’ll be greeted by a familiar sight. This is reminiscent of the Instagram profile menu. Go down to the Privacy button. In that menu, tap on the Hidden Words button. In that menu, you’ll see some options. For starters, you’ll see the toggle to hide and unhide the words. So, if you don’t want to hide any words, you can simply toggle it off. It’s switched on by default.
The next section will let you choose which words you want to hide. Just like the top section, you’re able to switch this feature off if you so want. The very bottom option will allow you to type in the words that you don’t want to see.
In the text field, just type in the words that you don’t want to see. Make sure that you put a comma between the words so that the app knows to censor them separately.
More settings in Threads
So, you can now mute certain words that you see on the platform, but there are other settings that you can alter to make for a more comfortable threading experience. Let’s go over them. If the company adds more settings in the future, then the article will be updated accordingly.
Choose who can mention you
If you amass a bunch of followers on Threads, then you’ll expect a bunch of mentions. You’ll get a mention when someone makes a post and tags your profile by putting your username after the “@” symbol That could fill up your inbox and be a bother. There’s a setting that will let you choose who can mention you on the platform.
In order to do that, you’ll want to go back to the Privacy section. There, tap on the Mentions button. On the resulting page, you’ll have three options to choose from. The top option will allow any and all people to mention you.
The second option might be the most popular option for people who only want certain people to mention them. It will only allow someone to mention you if you follow them.
The last option will block everyone from mentioning you.
Mute an account
Features like these have become some of the most useful features on social media. Just like on other platforms, you’re able to mute and block people on Threads. These features can come in handy if there’s someone on the platform you don’t want to see posts from. They will become more useful when Threads eventually brings DMs.
If you don’t know the difference between muting and blocking, here’s a quick rundown. If you just don’t want an account’s content to show up on your timeline, you can mute it. You can either go to the account in question or go to one of its posts. Go to the upper-right corner and tap on the three-dot button.
There, you’ll see a panel pop up with some options. Tap on the Mute option. You’ll still be able to see their posts if you go to their profile, but they just won’t show up on your timeline.
Restrict an account
If you want to limit how a person can interact with you, then you can restrict the account. When you restrict an account, their posts won’t show up on your timeline, and you won’t see their comments either. Also, they won’t be able to see when you’re online.
You will restrict accounts in much the same way that you mute them. Go to the three-dot button on their profile. There, you’ll see the option to restrict them right under the Mute button. You can’t restrict an account through a post, however.
Block an account
If you just don’t want anything to do with an account, then you can completely block them. If you block an account, you won’t see any of their posts on your timeline, and you won’t see their posts on their profiles either.
Tap on the three-dot button on a post or profile, and you’ll see the Block button at the bottom in red text.
Unmuting/unrestricting/unblocking
Unmuting the account is the easiest to do of the three. Go to the profile of the person you want to unmute and press the three-dot button. Right where the Mute button was, you’ll see an Unmute button. Tap on it and you’re good to go.
Unrestricting an account is also pretty easy. Just go to the account that you restricted and tap on the three-dot menu on the upper right of the UI. There, you’ll see the Unrestrict button. If you want to see a list of the people you restricted, you won’t be able to do so in the Threads app. You’ll need to go to the Settings and Privacy section in the Instagram app.
Under that section, you’ll see a bunch of settings divided into categories. Scroll down to the How others can interact with you section. There, you’ll see the Restricted button. Tap on it, and you’ll see the list.
Lastly, unblocking accounts is quick and easy. In the Privacy section, scroll down the Blocked button. When you do that, it will take you right to the Blocked section in the Instagram app. It will show you a list of your blocked accounts with the option to unblock them. Simple as that!
Samsung has announced that its ViewFinity S9 5K monitor will be available in the US starting in August. Launched during CES 2023 in January, it is the company’s first monitor with a 5K resolution display. It succeeded last year’s ViewFinity S8, which has a 4K display.
Samsung ViewFinity S9 specs and features
The Samsung ViewFinity S9 (model number (S90PC) features a 27-inch flat LCS screen with a 5,120 x 2,880 pixels (5K) resolution. According to the company, the exceptional picture and text clarity offered by a sharper display helps enhance productivity as professionals don’t have to frequently zoom in to see content more cleanly. The Samsung Matte Display technology limits light reflection and glare on the screen.
The Korean firm has capped the refresh rate at 60Hz, while the typical peak brightness level remains at 600 nits. But a 99 percent DCI-P3 color gamut and 218 PPI (pixels per inch) pixel density ensures saturated and vivid colors with crisper details. It’s “perfect for those who rely on visual fidelity,” Samsung says. The display boasts a static contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a grey-to-grey (GtG) response time of 5ms.
The ViewFinity S9 includes one Thunderbolt 4, Mini DisplayPort, and USB Type-C port each. The Thunderbolt 4 port supports up to 90W of power input and offers up to 40 Gbps of data transfer speeds. The monitor ships with a detachable 4K SlimFit camera (3,840 x 2,160) in the box. It connects via a pogo pin and doesn’t require additional cables or equipment. It supports auto framing tokeep you in the shot even when you move around.
This monitor boasts Smart Calibration and supports Smart TV apps. When not at work, you can even use the display as an entertainment hub. You get a full TV experience with access to popular streaming apps. Samsung Gaming Hub lets you play online games as well. The device has built-in speakers with Adaptive Sound+, giving you an optimal audio experience. The monitor supports various stand types as well as wall mounts. It comes with a remote control and offers a vertical mode.
Price and availability
When Samsung first announced the ViewFinity S9 monitor in January, it skipped the price and availability details. The company simply said that the new monitor will be available this year. We finally have a more precise timeline and also know Samsung’s asking price. The Korean tech behemoth has priced the ViewFinity S9 at $1,599.99. It says the device will be available for purchase in August through its official website and select retailers nationwide.
One Punch Man is an anime sensation and it has a few games on the mobile market. However, Crunchyroll has partnered with Perfect World, and the team is creating a One Punch Man game for mobile and PC platforms.
If you’re unfamiliar with Perfect World, this is the company that brought us games like Persona 5: The Phantom X and Tower Of Fantasy. So, this studio has some game-developing chops. It’s going to be available for Android, iSO, and PC when it launches. We don’t know exactly when this game will hit the market. The company did tell us that it’s going to come later this year.
One Punch Man World will let you fight and explore
As you can guess, this game allows you to fight your way through the monsters that invade Z-City, following the plot of the anime. You’ll battle smaller monsters and giant beasts. The gameplay seems similar to that of Devil May Cry or the newer Final Fantasy games.
As you can also guess, you’ll be using popular characters from the anime to do battle. This will include characters like Genos, Puri Puri Prisoner, Smile Man, Lightning Max, and more. You’ll use their signature attacks from the anime to fight off the enemies.
The trailer shows us gameplay with these characters, but it doesn’t show us direct gameplay with the man of the hour, the titular One Punch Man. There’s a reason for that. The story behind One Punch Man (or Saitama) is that he can basically kill any monster with one punch. So, that might be why we don’t see any footage of him fighting enemies. We’re not 100% sure about what the game is going to do about him as a character.
Along with fighting enemies, you’ll be able to explore Z-City. There will be different activities and minigames. If you’re looking for some social interaction, you can join the Hero Association and team up with other players to fight off more monsters.
If you’re a fan of the anime, you’ll be able to play through a story mode that goes through the first season of the show. We don’t know if more seasons will be added, but that would be nice.
You can pre-register for the PC version of the game starting today.
Ever since its introduction in 2016, Google’s Gmailify has been a handy tool for users who want to use the company’s spam protection, automatic email sorting, and faster search without switching to a Google account. However, this integration is reportedly facing some major disruptions, leading to syncing problems and inconvenience for countless individuals.
The reports of the issue first surfaced on various Reddit and Google support forums, where users highlighted difficulties with Gmailify. And although users reported many issues, the primary concern seems to be the lack of timely syncing, with many experiencing significant delays between their email accounts and Gmail.
“I’ve had my Yahoo account linked with Gmail through Gmailify for years now, and for the past week or so, emails are only being synced once a day or so. I’ve tried deleting and re-adding my Yahoo account, I’ve tried manually clicking the ‘check mail now’ button and nothing happens,” said a Reddit user.
Furthermore, based on the numerous reports from affected users, attempting to re-establish the link between accounts was only a temporary fix, and the issue still persisted.
Google’s response
After receiving hundreds of reports on the Google support forums, a Product Expert acknowledged the bug and confirmed that it was a “known issue” and that the company was already working on a fix. And although this affirmation did offer some comfort to affected users, it has now been six days since the issue escalated, and there have been no further updates from Google’s team.
“I have added this thread to the escalation and shall post an update once I receive it from the concerned team,” stated the response from Google’s product expert.
Moreover, the lack of transparency is evident as the company has not listed the issue on the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, which is the go-to platform for checking ongoing service disruptions or issues.
The 3.6-inch Quick View external display on the Motorola Razr+ allows you to view nearly any app without having to open up the device. Think about what a great time saver that is. You can navigate to your destination using Google Maps without opening the clamshell foldable. You can also send or reply to a message thanks to the virtual QWERTY that can appear on the Quick View display.
Much has been said about the 3.4-inch external Cover Screen that will be found on the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5. The first iteration of the device had a 1.1-inch “ticker” and while it was hiked to 1.9 inches for the Flip 3 and Flip 4, it still was lacking. With other manufacturers offering larger external displays on their clamshell foldables such as Oppo (3.3 inches on the Find N2 Flip) and now Motorola, Samsung finally has added a larger external screen for its Flip line. But the big question is, will it be more useful?
As recently as last month, there were reports that Samsung and Google were working to optimize Google’s core apps like Maps, Messages, Gmail, YouTube, Google Search, and others so that they could work perfectly on the Cover Screen. But a press image of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 hints at limited capabilities for the external display. Based this image, the Cover Screen will offer a calendar widget, a QWERTY keyboard, a weather widget, a widget that shows the user’s call history, and a widget that reveals the current time and battery life percentage for the phone.
The Cover Screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could offer limited capabilities
Note that the image does not show any optimized Google apps. This doesn’t mean that Samsung won’t announce these apps on July 26th during the next Unpacked event, but for now, it doesn’t appear that the external screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will match the functionality of the Quick View display on the Razr+. We should note that Oppo has been criticized for not offering support for apps or a full keyboard on the Find N2 Flip’s large external display.
Reserve your Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 pre-order now!
It should be pointed out that the Cover Screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 resembles a folder due to the cutout necessary to accommodate the two cameras on the phone’s front panel. The device should be introduced on July 26th during the Samsung Unpacked event to be held in Seoul, South Korea. Besides the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung will announce the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic, and the Galaxy Tab S9 tablet line.
A few days after its launch, the Nothing Phone (2) is getting its first software update. It’s a substantial update containing several new features and improvements. Among other things, the company is fine-tuning the camera and the glyph interface, a key USP of the device.
This update for the Phone (2) brings Nothing OS v2.0.1, which is the latest version of the company’s Android 13-based custom software. The official changelog states that the device is getting a 2X zoom option for portrait shots. Samsung recently added a similar feature to its Galaxy S23 lineup.
The Phone (2) now supports motion capture even in the 50MP mode. The device features two 50MP cameras at the back, both of which use pixel binning to produce 12.5MP images. But if you want a higher-resolution motion photo, you can do that after installing this update on your new Nothing phone.
Nothing has also added a new watermark option and optimized the HDR performance of the cameras. Zoom photos between 4X and 10X magnification levels should come out better thanks to software improvements from the company. Image quality from third-party camera apps is getting improvements too. An improved stabilization algorithm for videos means you should get lag-free and more stable videos as well.
This Nothing Phone (2) update brings more improvements
Elsewhere, Nothing has introduced a Glyph Composer app for the Phone (2). It lets you create custom Glyph ringtones for the phone. The company has “reworked” default ringtones too. Moreover, those hundreds of tiny LED lights on the back of the device are getting some functional improvements, including a progress bar for your incoming Uber ride.
The Nothing Phone (2) also gains the ability to turn frequently used Quick Settings into home screen widgets for easy access. You can even add widgets to your lock screen of always-on display (AOD). On that note, Nothing has added four new wallpapers as well.
Additionally, this update brings improvements to the battery and charging performance in extreme conditions, Nothing also promises better wireless charging, improved face unlocking, and fingerprint enhancements. Last but not least, the update adds support for the one-handed mode to the Nothing Phone (2) and fixes bugs related to Quick Settings, NFC, and network functions (via).
If you have already got your hands on the Nothing Phone (2), this update should be available to you by now. You can check for it by navigating to Settings > System > System update on your phone. Those still waiting for the device’s delivery should get the update out of the box. The OTA (over-the-air) package weighs about 105MB.
The original iPhone was released in 2007, and surprisingly there are quite a few models out there that have never been opened. Even after 16 years, they are still sealed in plastic. Even YouTuber, MKBHD bought one at auction for around $40,000 and then unboxed it on YouTube. Which basically made that iPhone worthless right away.
Now, another original iPhone has been sold at auction, which makes Marques’ price that he paid look like pennies. This original iPhone was still sealed in its package with all of the original packaging and accessories. And it sold for $158,644. While the total bill came in at $190,372 when you include the buyer’s premium of $31,728. That goes entirely to the auction house.
For the record, that’s $95,000 more than the previous record for an original iPhone, that was sold at auction back in February.
Imagine paying over $190k for a phone with 4GB of storage
A big reason why this one went for so much, is because it is the 4GB model. That’s storage, not RAM. This variant was ditched just two months after the launch in 2007, due to poor sales. And instead kept with the 8GB model. With the iPhone 2G the following year, Apple added a 16GB model.
As you’d expect, the buyers identity has been kept a secret. So we’ll probably never know who bought it.
When the iPhone launched in 2007, it did not even have an App Store. Apple originally wanted everyone to build web apps for the iPhone. Though that quickly changed, and the second iPhone had an App Store, but it was still fairly small until the iPhone 3Gs came out. The original iPhone had a pretty small 3.5-inch display, a 2-megapixel camera without flash, and went on sale for $499. The 8GB model was $100 more for $599.
Apple collectors likely want to have one of these in their collection, but I’m sure many are not paying this much to get one into their collection.
With Facebook Watch discontinued, Meta is trying to improve the video capabilities of its social app. The same editing tools from Reels will be made available for all Facebook videos, while the Video tab is getting a long-overdue redesigned that makes it the central hub of everything related to videos on Facebook.Starting today, the Reels editing tools are coming to Feed to make it easier for users to create dynamic videos on Facebook. Previously available on Reels, audio, music and text layers are now available on Meta Business Suite for reels and for video on Feed.
Also, Facebook users will be able to speed up, reverse or replace their clips. With the new editing tools, it will also be possible to create the right sound for your video by adding music and audio clips, recording voiceovers and reducing unwanted noise.
Last but not least, Facebook users are getting the ability to upload HDR videos from their phones to Reels and for that video to play back in full HDR.
Previously known as Facebook Watch, the Video tab has just received a new look and many new functionalities. For starters, the Video tab now features new horizontal-scroll reels sections that highlight recommended reels.
If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, the redesigned Video tab is available as a shortcut bar at the bottom of the app. Android users will find the same Video tab as a shortcut at the top. Keep in mind that the tabs in the shortcut bar change based on the part of the app that’s used more frequently.
View and write comments on Instagram Reels
On the same Video tab, there’s a redesigned Explore section where you can find popular video topics. The Explore section can be accessed by tapping the search icon in the Video tab. According to Meta, the company is using a mix of human curation and machine learning to select topics and videos that are popular.
Another useful change introduced today is the ability to view and write comments on Instagram Reels without needing to switch between apps. And this appears to be just the beginning, Meta claims.
