On Wednesday, Samsung begun its beta program for One UI Watch 5. So owners of the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will be able to take the new software for a spin, ahead of the final release in a few months.
The beta program is only available in the US and South Korea right now, but that could expand to more markets in the future. Now, to sign up for the beta, you will need to open up the Samsung Members app and sign up. You should see a banner at the top of the app when you open it, to join the program.
The first beta for One UI Watch 5 is pretty large, coming in at 1.7GB. But that is very normal for a beta of a new version of an operating system. Keep in mind that before you can install it, you will need to have the watch charged to at least 30%. It’s a good idea to put it on the charger while it updates, so the battery isn’t almost dead once it finishes.
What’s new in One UI Watch 5?
So what exactly is new with One UI Watch 5? Well, this update focuses on three major areas. That’s Sleep, Fitness and Safety. It will be able to now automatically record your cycling sessions. It can also easily access your medical information when it detects a fall.
One UI Watch 5 also brings in some customizability for watch faces. That includes making it easier to add watch faces and tiles, and also the option to set multiple pictures as the watch face background. Samsung has also made it possible to have up to 20 timers running at the same time. Kinda ironic that this comes the same week that Apple finally allows multiple timers on iOS and watchOS.
This is just the first beta, so it’s likely we’ll see even more features coming in the next few betas, before the final release. Which we are unsure when that might be, but if we had to guess, likely around August, when the Galaxy Watch 6 gets into consumers hands.
While many criticize Apple’s approach to reviewing every app and app update that hits the App Store, there’s good reason for it. Protecting users from malicious apps. And it appears that from 2020 to 2022, Apple has rejected roughly 958,000 apps.
These are apps that were trying to obtain to much sensitive data, or violate user privacy in any other way. Privacy is something that Apple takes very seriously, so this should come as no surprise. We also see a lot of malware apps on Android, and countless lists of apps that people need to uninstall immediately. That’s not so much the case on iOS.
Apple prevented more than $5B in fraudulent transactions since 2020
While these apps are often times looking to grab information from users, and potentially sell it. Often times they are also looking to grab money from these users. And Apple has said that it has prevented more than $5 billion in fraudulent transactions since 2020. It has also blocked millions of stolen credit cards from transacting.
Why do hackers use apps to get this information? Well, apps do generated a ton of important data that can be easily collected and monetized by developers. This includes your location, what other apps you have on your phone and open periodically, and so much more.
Now, on Android, Google does welcome third-party app stores. That’s not the case on Apple’s iOS, at least not yet. That will be changing thanks to the EU. But as we can see here, Apple’s walled-garden approach does work for protecting its customers from malicious developers. Don’t forget that Apple also takes a 30% commission on every purchase in the App Store, and that includes in-app purchases.
So criticize Apple’s reviewing policy for apps and app updates all you want, it does save users a lot of headaches. When it comes to dealing with developers with malicious intent.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms. What started out as a photo-sharing outlet turned into a fully-fledged social hub, with chat and call support. Still though, the platform has a long way to go in terms of features. But Meta is quite familiar with expanding properties, so there is always something interesting cooking.This time around, we’ve got a rather unexpected feature: an AI chatbot. The rise of ChatGPT has opened the floodgates, and after Microsoft and Google showcased what they’ve been working on, it now feels like everyone else is just playing catch-up.
And, interestingly enough, Instagram may be looking to join the race. This one came from a developer through Twitter, who shared a screenshot that seems to be teasing the new feature called “Chat with an AI”.
#Instagram is working on bringing AI Agents (Bots ) to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience
️ AI Agents will be able to answer questions and give advice. You’ll be able to choose from 30 different personalities. pic.twitter.com/4eWLBbvs8w
So, after examining the shared screenshot, it would appear that this bot may be different from the rest. While “answering questions” is pretty general, “find the best way to express yourself” sounds like the AI will be able to help users reach more followers and grow on the platform.
Or we may be reading into it too much and it might just mean that the AI will be able to help you smart-compose messages, just as Bard is capable of drafting up emails for you. Which is still pretty cool, but it isn’t exactly groundbreaking.
The other interesting bit here is the mention of “over 30 personalities”. AI, by nature, is capable of analyzing, understanding and then imitating numerous styles of expression, so this isn’t anything novel. Ultimately, it may have something to do with helping users find the right tone for their online persona.
Overall, this is a pretty expected set of features, phrased in a more interesting way. But that may be a good thing. After all, these are the capabilities, with which AI has had the most experience up until now, so this might translate into a bit more safety.
All that being said though, let’s keep in mind that this is just a screenshot on Twitter as of now. Instagram hasn’t come forward with an official announcement — or comment — so only time will tell if this is even a real concept. But it turns out that it is, in a way, it only makes sense.
SpinOk malware has been found in multiple Android apps that have been downloaded more than 30 million times.
The malware-riddled apps were found on the Google Play store, following an investigation by cyber security company CloudSEK. Following their investigation, the research team found that 193 apps on the Google Play store were infected with malware, 43 of which were active within the last week.
SpinOk malware was first discovered by cyber security software company Dr Web in May 2023. Distributed as an advertisement software development kit (SDK), the Trojan malware actually acts as spyware. Dr Web found in May that the malware was present in apps that had been downloaded more than 421 million times.
SpinOk malware is particularly malicious as it poses as a legitimate SDK for minigames with daily rewards. This entices both developers to download and use the kit on their apps and victims to download and run the malware frequently.
Once on a device, SpinOk malware is able to steal private data including images, files and videos on the device and send it to a private server. It can also hijack payments to cryptocurrency wallets and steal payment card details and login credentials. This can have a devastating impact on victims, as hackers may have access to personal or private images, documents and may steal their identities or money.
SpinOk malware was able to infect so many apps as it was distributed via a SDK-based supply chain attack. Software developers likely downloaded the SDK without knowing about the Trojan malicious software held within it.
The Google Play store has said it is taking “appropriate action on apps that violate [its] policies”.
It seems like the OnePlus Fold will be announced in the first half of August in New York. This information comes from Yogesh Brar, a tipster, who partnered up with Pricebaba to share the info.
The OnePlus Fold is tipped to be announced in August in New York
Now, do note that Yogesh Brar doesn’t have the very best track record when it comes to leaks, so take this info with a grain of salt. The OnePlus Fold was promised to arrive in Q3 this year, so it’s easily possible this info is true, though.
This will become the company’s very first foldable smartphone. We’re still not sure it’ll be called the OnePlus Fold, but we’ll stick with that naming for now. OnePlus did trademark the OnePlus V Fold name too, so that’s also a possibility.
This handset will launch in New York, it seems, but it will be available globally. The phone is expected to make its way to Europe and Asia, in addition to being available in the US.
The OnePlus Fold could be a global variant of the OPPO Find N3
Now, the OnePlus Fold is tipped to resemble the OPPO Find N3 quite a bit. In fact, there’s a chance it will be a rebranded OPPO Find N3, based on rumors. The OPPO Find N3 is also expected to arrive in August, but launch in China. The OnePlus Fold could be a global version of that phone, in a way.
The OnePlus Fold is rumored to feature an 8-inch main display, and a 6.5-inch secondary panel. The main display will offer a QHD+ resolution, while the second display will ship with a fullHD+ resolution.
It will include two 120Hz displays, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC & 80W charging
Both of these displays are expected to offer a 120Hz refresh rate. Both of them are also expected to be OLED panels, and flat at the same time.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will fuel the device, almost certainly. You can also expect LPDDR5X RAM to be on offer, and UFS 4.0 flash storage as well. Android 13 will come pre-installed on the device, along with OnePlus’ OxygenOS.
A 4,800mAh battery was mentioned in rumors, and the same goes for 80W wired charging. The phone will include a charger in the box, by the way. A 50-megapixel main camera is rumored, as is a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit, and a 32-megapixel periscope camera.
On June 5 Apple officially announced its mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Apple is mostly positioning this as an AR headset, but it is capable of doing full VR and can act as a VR headset for certain features should you wish it.
The Apple Vision Pro has been suspected, hinted at, and rumored for quite some time now. Although a name was never really known. After a long time of speculation, the headset is real and Apple has begun to show it to the public. There’s a lot that the Apple Vision Pro seems capable of doing. So we thought it best to put together a breakdown of everything you need to know about Apple’s first dive into the AR/VR space.
What is Apple Vision Pro?
Apple Vision Pro is a mixed reality headset. Although Apple is marketing it as an augmented reality headset. However, as mentioned above it does have the capability to swap between AR and VR. Which makes it mixed reality. Apple officially unveiled the headset at its WWDC23 conference on June 5.
How much will the headset cost?
Apple is setting the price on this fairly steep. Well over what the cost would be for any other headset that offers a similar set of functions. Officially the price is set at $3,499.
There are a few things to take into account here. One, Apple is likely not going to be selling a ton of these in its first wave of the release. The higher price tag could also help to deter people who aren’t almost completely certain they want and will use this thing. At $3,499, the majority of anyone buying the headset is most likely going to use it quite a bit. So even if there are bugs or it has a less than full-featured launch, buyers will still probably be ok with it to some degree.
What Apple probably doesn’t want is to sell hundreds of thousands or millions of these things right away. Especially for first-gen tech in a space like AR and VR where people are still not adopting the tech as quickly as they do smartphones, PCs, and game consoles.
Another thing to consider is that anyone looking for an AR or VR headset has many different options that are less expensive. Sony’s PS VR2 (with a PS5), the Quest 3, Quest 2, Valve Index, Quest Pro, and every Vive headset are all cheaper.
Is this headset for gaming?
Yes and no. You can use this headset for gaming and Apple even made a point to highlight that fact during the keynote segment about Vision Pro. There will be over 100 games from Apple Arcade available to play on the headset at launch. Such as NBA 2K23. You can even use game controllers like the DualSense to play games on this headset.
However, the headset is much less about gaming and more about linking you to your Apple ecosystem. Access to your apps, your entertainment, your experiences, and your games. Think of it like an extension of your iPhone and Mac products. Where you can experience all of the content that’s available on those devices in a whole new, immersive way.
For headsets that are much more focused on gaming, look to the PS VR2, Quest 2 and 3, and Valve Index.
How do you control the headset?
Apple CEO Tim Cook said you control it with the “most natural and intuitive tools” that you know. What he means is you control the headset with your hands, eyes, and voice. Let’s clear things up a little bit more though.
Technically you use your hands and eyes to control many AR/VR headsets these days. They either all come with controllers or they have controllers as well as eye tracking. The Apple Vision Pro has absolutely no controllers, and never will. Apple integrated quite a few eye tracking cameras on the inside of the headset to do just what they were intended to do. Track your eyes. When you look at an app or piece of content, the cameras track that movement and highlight that content.
You then use your hands to select the content by tapping your fingers together. The finger tap, or pinch if you prefer, is how you more or less select everything. But there’s also still one more way to control the headset. Your voice.
You can dictate pretty much anything just by speaking to the headset and having Siri process your requests.
Is Apple Vision Pro a standalone headset?
Apple Vision Pro is a standalone headset. Which means you do not have to plug it into your phone, PC, or tablet.
All of that aside, the Vision Pro handles all of the computing inside its own containment. It’s running on an M2 chip that handles all of the graphics and computing, and it’s paired with Apple’s all-new R1 chip that handles real-time processing for the 12 camera sensors. It also has embedded speakers so you don’t need headphones or earbuds. In short it’s designed to handle everything without you needing any extra hardware.
What sort of apps will be available for the headset?
At the moment the only apps that would be available if the headset were available today, are a smaller collection of Apple’s own apps. That being said, the headset won’t be available until early next year. And part of the reason why is so developers have some time to get apps up and running for this platform.
Apple has already announced that Disney Plus will be available on the platform at launch. So expect other big brands to have their apps available at launch as well. Vision Pro runs on its own new operating system that Apple calls VisionOS. So it will take some time for developers to get content ready for it.
What’s the battery life like?
Unfortunately, the battery life isn’t all that great. Apple says it can last two hours with the included battery bank, which must be plugged into the headset to actually use it. This is because the headset is already going to be a heavy setup due to all the metal and glass material used to make it. So Apple made the battery external, and it plugs into the headset on the side. You can then slide the battery bank into your pocket or have it laying on your couch, chair, or desk next to you.
You can also plug the headset into a wall through a USB-C port on the battery bank if you want to use it for as long as you want.
What are the specs?
You might be wondering what the specs are of the headset, and that’s understandable given the price you would pay to get one. So here’s what you’re looking at. It uses a 4K micro-OLED display for each eye. It also two main camera sensors, two downward-facing camera sensors, two side-facing camera sensors, two infrared illuminators, a LiDAR scanner, and a TrueDepth camera sensors all on the outside of the headset. These track your hands and what’s happening around the headset.
On the inside, there’s also four infrared cameras and a bunch of LED illuminators for tracking your eyes. There’s a display on the outside for projecting your eyes to anybody who might be trying to talk to you. Lens adjustment is fully automatic, and there’s a total pixel count of 23 million pixels. It’s also got six microphones and uses OpticID for authentication.
Additionally, you can switch between AR and VR using the digital crown button on the side of the headset. As for audio, Apple doesn’t dive into specifics too much but it says the Vision Pro comes with audio pods, with one positioned on each side and each containing two audio drivers. These provide spatial audio for your content. You can also personalize the spatial audio if you have an iPhone with a TrueDepth Face ID sensor. On top of all that, the speakers use what apple calls Audio Ray Tracing.
Apple says the headset will scan your space to “precisely match sound to your room.”
What are the Apple Vision Pro features?
There are quite a few features available that Apple displayed during its presentation for the headset. EyeSight is one such feature, which uses the inside tracking sensors. It’s meant to give other people in the room a visual cue about what you’re doing.
The headset supports FaceTime and other Apple content like Safari, iCloud and more. And eventually content from other apps with its own fully baked app store.
As mentioned earlier it’s capable of hand and eye tracking to support controlling the headset and navigating through its user interface. And it fully supports voice dictation should you want to simply ask the headset to do something.
Plus, the headset, Apple says, is completely secure with the implementation of OpticID. Which is basically Apple’s version of a fingerprint scanner for your eyes to unlock the headset. OpticID is also used for authorization of Apple Pay purchases.
What is the headset made of?
The headset uses a single piece of three-dimensionally formed laminated glass, which is polished so it “acts as a lens for the embedded cameras.” This glass “flows” into the custom aluminum alloy frame. The modular light seal attaches to the frame magnetically, and the headband is made of a 3D knitted fabric that is meant to provide breathability and cushioning while allowing it to stretch for a comfortable fit.
There are also ocular inserts Apple made with Zeiss that can be attached on the inside. These also attach magnetically. Which makes for an easy way to pop them in and out when needed. This could be especially useful for people who are sharing the headset in a single household.
When will Apple Vision Pro be available?
Apple hasn’t set a specific date for launch yet. But on the official product landing page for it, Apple says it will be available in early 2024. So it will still be a while before you can actually buy one. Assuming you’re even interested in buying one in the first place. Of course, if you’re here reading about the headset then you are least intrigued by Apple Vision Pro and may be considering one.
Smart compose is already available in Gmail and Google Docs for quite some time, so it was just a matter of time before Chat was going to get it too. The machine-learning feature is meant to make writing messages faster and easier by suggesting relevant contextual phares as users type. On top of that, it will completely eliminate spelling errors and any grammatical issues.
Starting today, Google Chat users will benefit from smart compose, although this feature is only available in five languages for the moment: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. It’s also important to mention that smart compose will be ON by default, but it can be disabled by unchecking “Enable predictive suggestions as you compose a message on web and desktop.” This particular setting can be found under smart compose within Chat settings.To make use of the smart compose feature, simply hit the Tab key one the keyboard to accept a suggestion suitable for your message. Keep in mind that Google will be rolling out smart compose over the next 15 days, although it might take longer than that to be visible to everyone.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will launch next month, and it seems like Xiaomi is working on a clamshell foldable of its own. This information comes from Digital Chat Station, a well-known tipster.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is set to get a “light & thin” rival from Xiaomi
He went to Weibo to confirm that Xiaomi is working on such a device, and he also mentioned that it will be “light and thin”. That’s basically all the information that the tipster shared at this point.
We don’t know when exactly will this phone launch, but it’ll hopefully arrive before the end of the year. As a reminder, this will be Xiaomi’s very first clamshell foldable smartphone, actually.
The company did release two generations of a book-style foldable. The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold and Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 launched in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 is expected to arrive this year.
The Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 will likely launch in August, while the clamshell foldable is still a mystery
The Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 launched at the end of August last year. Could the MIX Fold 3 arrive in August this year? Well, that’s certainly a possibility, and there’s even a chance that the MIX Flip will arrive alongside it. Nothing is set in stone yet, though.
The thing is, both the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold and Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 were exclusive to China. They launched in China, and remained exclusive for that market. Xiaomi opted not to launch them globally.
Could things change with the Xiaomi MIX Fold 3? Well, we certainly hope so. Xiaomi would bring much-needed competition to the global foldable smartphone market. The same goes for the company’s upcoming clamshell foldable, by the way.
We’ll likely get more information in the coming weeks/months, so stay tuned for that. The book-style foldable is certainly coming later this year, Xiaomi’s third-gen one. While the clamshell foldable is still a mystery.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is like any tool; it’s only constructive if used correctly. So far, AI shows a lot of promise for good in the future, however, there’s a lot of destructive potential as well. One example would be scams. Knowing how to avoid AI scams is an increasingly important skill to have nowadays.
So, with AI scams on the rise, how do you identify and avoid them? Well, this is what we’re going to discuss in this article. We will go over some skills you should learn to keep you, your data, and your finances safe online.
What are AI scams?
Scams have existed on the internet for years, but AI-generated scams are a relatively new concept. These are scams that people can quickly create using AI tools to develop websites, advertising copy, and images.
Like other scams, AI scams have the intent to steal information from you. It will attempt to gather information like your email address, contacts, phone number, home address, banking credentials, or other information.
With data like this, they can wreak all sorts of havoc. For instance, scammers can steal your contacts, and send phishing emails/calls to your contacts to send them to malicious websites that will steal their information. Other scams will bring you to malicious websites that will hack your computer, steal your information, and break into any accounts that you have. This is just to name a few of the terrible scams that are out there.
How to avoid AI scams
When it comes to identifying AI scams, this task is getting harder as time goes on. One thing you want to look for is an obvious AI-generated image. Identifying AI-generated images is an important skill all its own.
Check for AI-generated images
Look for the classic towels in an AI-generated image like uncanny facial features, finer details that disappear into nothingness, and let’s not forget those good old janky hands. Now, if you spot an AI-generated image in an advertisement, that’s not a surefire tell pointing to it being a scam. However, this will press you to look further.
Check the company website
If you see an advertisement from a company, check out the company’s website. If it does not have a website, then that might be a red flag. Check the company’s social media pages if there’s no website.
If the company does have a website, look through it and make sure that it’s well-made. The sad fact about this is that there are entire AI-generated websites. So, if a company is using AI to make the images and advertising copy for its scam, then there’s a chance that it will use the technology to make its website as well.
Read the text very carefully, look at all the images, go through all the pages, etc. Look for any aspects that don’t seem like an actual human made them. For the time being, there are some tells that let you know that a website is AI-generated.
Check the company’s age
Next, try and find out how old the company is. Sure, brand-new companies can be legitimate. However, if you are spotting clearly AI-generated content, and the company is only a few months old, that can be a major red flag. It’s best to trust companies that have a track record.
Look at the links/email addresses
Not all AI scams are masked as original companies. There are some scammers who masquerade as existing companies with a well-established track record. You’re more likely to trust Amazon or Google than you are to trust a new and obscure company.
This next step isn’t only for AI scams; it could be applied to all types of scams. Scammers will use email addresses and URLs that are similar to those of legitimate companies. They’ll do whatever they can to make them look like they’re from the actual companies. Maybe a name is spelled using a zero rather than the letter “O”. Maybe it will use an abbreviation of the company’s name.
In any case, if you receive an email from a company asking you to go to a specific site, you’ll want to check the email address and make sure that it matches up with emails you would get from that company.
The only emails you will get from Google will have “@google.com” at the end. It will not be any different. The only emails from Amazon you will get will have “@amazon” at the end. If you see any differences, then you should not trust that email or text message.
Also, most companies will not ask you to send payment or banking information through text, email, or phone calls. If they ask you for that, then it’s most likely a scam.
Research the company
If you checked everything above, and you still have your doubts, then make sure you research the company. Do a quick online search on the company and see what turns up. If the company is a bad egg, then you will definitely see information pointing to it.
There are tons of websites that delve into and review companies to let you know if they are legitimate or not. Make sure you read several reviews on the company. Obviously, if you see a bunch of websites saying that the company is a scam, then you’ll want to pass it up.
PSA
It’s extremely important to know how to identify and avoid AI scams. Artificial intelligence is becoming more intelligent, and human beings must too. Clicking on the wrong link, downloading the wrong file, or putting information into the wrong website can turn your world upside down. Taking a minute to check for the tells of an AI scam can help you avoid all of that.
Android doesn’t only power some of the best phones out there. It is quite the versatile operating system, with numerous lightweight or performance-oriented variants. But sometimes, all you need is an app like Android Auto, which is fully capable of mirroring entire features from the Android phone in your pocket.The app recently became updated with a major overhaul. The update was dubbed “Coolwalk” and it brought a lot of cool new features such as split screen, a quick launcher for recent apps and some Material You-inspired UI refinements.
But it also brought bugs and instability. And some may call that a tradition at this point, and issues like this prominent one, where users randomly get disconnected from Android Auto, is exactly the reason why.
Just some of the things that Android Auto can do. When it works, that is.
9to5Google reported that users on Reddit started sharing about these issues on the Google subreddit and it seems that there are two major manifestations of this bug:
Looking for Android Auto, which you can troubleshoot by rolling back to Android Auto 9.3
Random disconnects post-connection, which some users managed to fix by switching to a Motorola MA1 wireless adapter
In other words, some users can’t connect to Android Auto at all, while others get randomly disconnected without any valid reason.
The first one is pretty easy to spot: there’s a notification on the user’s screen stating “Looking for Android Auto”, which indicates that the phone is trying to establish a connection. Then — shock and awe — that just never happens.
The second one is quite more random, though. You connect successfully, use Android Auto for a while and then — at random points — the connection becomes lost. Users with wired connections seem to be most impacted by this one, so if you are among them: try switching to wireless, if you can.
While it’s fun to say that Android Auto is usually buggy, we can also wrap-up the tradition with another statement: Google doesn’t leave its users hanging for a long time. A fix is always coming, so you just have to wait for it to roll out. Until then, we hope that the troubleshooting tips listed above can help you out.
