Spotify is a music streaming staple at this point. Everyone has heard of it and most of us have used it at some point in our lives. Heck, most of us probably even have it installed on some of the best smartphones around.
The app’s popularity is growing, even despite the presence of competition such as Apple Music, Amazon Prime and Google’s YouTube Music. But if that is the case, why are we seeing reports like this one from the Wall Street Journal, which comments on the fact that Spotify is losing money?
That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are losing subscribers, though. In fact, the report details that the first quarter of 2023 has been one of the strongest for Spotify in years. Subscriber count has grown to 515 million (a 22% increase), so what gives?
Well, it might be more so a case of “what takes”.
Spotify’s selection of artists is impressive, even in 2023. | Image credit – PhoneArena
Spotify, as a company, reported a loss of $248 million for the very same quarter and save a handful of examples, this seems to be a trend. And Spotify’s execs very much have this coming every time, but despite that the company’s goals continue to be growth and innovation, instead of financial stability.
That being said, this time around, it is sort of ironic. After all, this very quarter, Spotify laid off 6% of its staff — about 600 employees — in an attempt to save some money. Well, we can’t say how much the company actually saved, but with this overall context, it sounds like the company was trying to lose less money instead.
So, what can be the reason for this? Well, sustainability is a thing. Unlike Apple, Google and Amazon, who are offering music streaming as part of their overall ecosystems, Spotify relies solely on its singular service in order to stay afloat.
Sure, the company is expanding into podcasts and audiobooks in limited regions, but will that change anything? Only time will tell. Hopefully, the company’s continuous efforts to improve will result in a more financially stable year… Eventually.
Threat actors are actively taking advantage of critical vulnerabilities present in the PaperCut MF/NG print management software.
This exploitation aims to plant Atera remote management software onto the targeted servers to gain control over them. From more than 70,000 companies globally, it has over 100 million active users.
The vulnerabilities affecting the PaperCut MF/NG print management software are tracked as follows:-
Remote threat actors can exploit these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access and execute arbitrary code on PaperCut servers that have been compromised.
These flaws can be exploited without user interaction and are relatively easy to carry out, granting the attacker SYSTEM privileges. Recently, in the Shodan search engine, it has been observed that around 1700 PaperCut servers were exposed to the internet.
PoC Exploit Code
PaperCut MF and PaperCut NG versions 20.1.7, 21.2.11, and 22.0.9, and later releases, have addressed both vulnerabilities.
That’s why security experts strongly advise users to upgrade to any of these patched versions to mitigate the risks associated with these flaws.
Horizon3 has recently released technical information, and a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2023-27350.
Attackers can leverage this exploit to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary code on PaperCut servers that have not been patched.
By misusing the ‘Scripting’ feature for printers, the RCE exploit enables cybercriminals to achieve remote code execution.
Although Huntress has developed a PoC exploit to illustrate the danger associated with the ongoing attacks, they have not made it publicly available.
Currently, unpatched PaperCut servers are under attack, and the exploit code developed by Horizon3 is expected to be adopted by other threat actors for launching similar attacks in the future.
The CVE-2023-27350 vulnerability has been included in the list of actively exploited vulnerabilities by CISA.
Not only that, but even CISA has directed all federal agencies to secure their systems within the next three weeks, by May 12, 2023, to prevent further exploitation.
To prevent remote exploitation of the PaperCut servers, Huntress urged administrators to immediately implement the necessary security measures that cannot currently patch their PaperCut servers.
During the analysis, experts at Horizon3 identified a JAR that contains the SetupCompleted class in:-
In the SetupCompleted flow, the session of the anonymous user is unintentionally authenticated due to an error in the code.
While this function is triggered only after a user’s password is validated via a login process. In web applications, this type of vulnerability is dubbed:-
Huntress revealed that among the Windows machines with PaperCut installed in the customer environments they safeguard, approximately 1,000 were identified.
As per their observation, nearly 900 of those machines were still unpatched, and only one had been patched among the three macOS machines they monitored.
Organizations using PaperCut must ensure they have installed either PaperCut MF or NG versions 20.1.7, 21.2.11, or 22.0.9 to prevent exploitation.
Roborock has silently become one of the best robot vacuum makers in the world. Starting off as a company that made robot vacuums for Xiaomi and then branching out into making its own under its own name. These days, most reviewers (including ourselves) would recommend a Roborock robot vacuum over almost any other robot vacuum on the market.
As Roborock’s portfolio has grown, it has become a bit tougher to figure out which robot vacuum is the best for you. And should you spend $700 on the top-of-the-line Roborock vacuum, or maybe spend around $300 for a cheaper one. Well, we’re here to help, with our list of the best Roborock robot vacuums. We’ve tested the majority of these, so we do know first-hand, how good (or bad) these robot vacuums are.
Best Roborock Robot Vacuums
Roborock essentially has two lines of robot vacuums. There is the E series which is your cheaper robot vacuums and mostly uses a gyroscope system to map out your home. Then there is the S series which uses LiDAR to map out your home. The S series is generally more expensive, and also offers more features, as well as more suction.
This is the newest robot vacuum from Roborock and it’s the best one yet. We reviewed it pretty recently and it was an amazing robot vacuum. This one boosts the suction up to 6000Pa. That’s nearly 3x any other robot vacuum (besides the S7 MaxV). It now comes with dual rubber brushes, allowing it to get closer to the ground and pick up more dirt and debries. Along with the sonic mop.
It also comes with the Ultra dock, which will allow the robot vacuum to empty the dustbin, as well as clean the mop and refill the water tank.
The Roborock S7 MaxV is the latest robot vacuum from the company, and it kind of merges the S7 and the S6 MaxV together to form the ultimate robot vacuum. It offers up the Sonic Mopping and VibraRise that debuted on the S7, for some really great cleaning. And Roborock also has a new cleaner that you can use with the mop to actually clean your floors with soap and water.
It also added the stereo cameras and ReactiveAI 2.0. Which allows the S7 MaxV to avoid obstacles, like cables, cords, scales, shoes and even pet waste. It can also be used to spy on your kids or pets when you’re not home. Which is rather unique. Roborock also more than doubled the suction power on the S7 MaxV, to 5,100Pa. So it’s plenty powerful for everything you might need.
At CES 2021, Roborock announced the S7, and it brings a lot of really cool features along with it.
With the Roborock S7, you’re getting a new mop that is going to vibrate more, making it easier to get dried messes off of the floor. Additionally, it uses VibraRise technology to completely lift the mop off of the floor when it is on carpet, or headed back to the dock.
Roborock has also improved the suction on the S7, with 2500Pa. That is as strong as the S6 MaxV listed below.
It’s a great all-around robot vacuum, and the best that Roborock has made to-date. And you can read our review here.
Roborock has also launched the S7+ which is a bundled version of the S7. Which also comes with the auto-empty dock.
The Roborock S6 Maxv is hands-down the best robot vacuum on the market today, and it’s not even the most expensive.
With the Roborock S6 Maxv, there are a few features that really make it stand out from the crowd. First up is the stereo camera on the front. This camera is used to help the S6 Maxv avoid obstacles like cords, shoes, scales and even dog poop. It also works with the LiDAR setup on the S6 Maxv to better map out your home.
It also sports some pretty powerful suction. We’re looking at 2500Pa, which is about 25% more than its predecessor and the rest of the market. So that it is not going to leave any dirt, dust or other debris on the floor.
Most people want to spend as little as possible on something like a vacuum, but also want it to work well. And the Roborock S4 fits that bill. It’s under $300 right now, but still offers a really great experience.
It uses LiDAR to map out your home still, so it can clean everywhere without missing any spots. It offers some pretty powerful suction at 2000Pa, that’s strong enough to pick up AA batteries.
Roborock also includes the ability to do selective cleaning, so you can choose to clean a specific area, and not the entire house. Or set no-go zones.
With the Roborock S4, you’re going to get about two and a half hours of cleaning time. Before you need to recharge it. Which is pretty nice. Finally, it is compatible with the Roborock app, for automated cleaning and ability to use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
The Roborock S6 Pure is one of the more high-end robot vacuums from Roborock. It uses a precision LiDAR navigation and a Z-shape cleaning route. This makes sure that it does not miss any spots, and gives it a detailed map of your home. This also allows it to do individual room and spot cleaning. The S6 Pure also offers up multi-floor mapping, , and you can also use No-Go Zones for the robot vacuum.
It boasts 2000Pa suction, and automatic carpet boost. So it’ll use more suction when it is in a room that has carpet, which is where you’ll need the extra boost anyways.
Additionally, the S6 Pure does mopping too. With a 180ml adjustable water tank included. That’s enough to clean up to 1610 square-feet of home.
Similar to almost every other S series Roborock robot vacuum on this best of list, the S6 does offer up LiDAR navigation and does map out your home. It uses the mapping to know where it needs to clean and where it has already cleaned.
The Roborock S6 also boasts 2000Pa of suction, which is really great for those that have pets or kids that routinely make a mess. As you’re able to easily clean up after them without lifting a finger.
With the Roborock App, you will be able to control when and where the S6 will clean. As well as connect it to either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant (or both), so you can use your voice to control it.
The Roborock E4 is a bit different from the other robot vacuums on this best list. For one, it doesn’t use LiDAR. It uses a gyroscope system, which you can see is at the front of the top of the robot vacuum. It’s not as precise as the S series vacuums on this list, but it does a good job. Still allows for mapping and cleans in a Z-shaped pattern.
Surprisingly, it does still boast 2000Pa suction with automatic carpet boost. So you can get up all of the hair, dust and dirt that might be on your floors. It also as a 5200mAh capacity battery, which can clean up to 2152 square-feet. That’s going to be enough power to clean most people’s home in one go around.
It does still work with the Roborock app with support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant too.
Much like the Roborock E4, the E35 also uses a dual-gyro system, that will track where it needs to clean and map out your home.
It also has a pretty large battery, around 5200mAh, which is going to offer around 2.5 hours of cleaning time. There is also pretty good suction here, rated at 2000Pa as well.
Now this is an older Roborock vacuum, so it uses the Xiaomi Mi Home app instead of the Roborock app. The functionality is the same, you just won’t get to use the shiny new Roborock app unfortunately.
The S4 Max is the newest robot vacuum from Roborock, having been released in October 2020.
With the S4 Max, you’re getting the LiDAR navigation that you’d expect on the S series. But where Roborock cut corners to make this cheaper, is removing the mopping module. So this is purely a robot vacuum. It does also still boast 2000Pa for suction. Allowing it to pick up everything up off of your floors.
It works with the Roborock App as you might expect. And it does also support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice assistants. The app allows you to schedule when to start cleaning, as well as having it start cleaning, where to clean and much more. It also lets you know when it’s time to replace the filter, and clean the brushes and sensors. Which is a really nice touch.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 15 lineup (which includes the iPhone 15 Pro) in September. And you can check out our entire preview of the upcoming phones here. But what new features are coming to the iPhone 15 Pro this year? Well, we have rounded up five of the biggest features coming to the iPhone 15 Pro later this year.
While these are all based on rumors, a lot of them are very likely to be accurate, like the new A17 Bionic chipset. Since the iPhone 14 Pro came with the A16 Bionic, it’s pretty easy to say that it will be the A17 Bionic this year.
Thinner bezels
This is a feature that we see on just about every new phone. But Apple seems to be taking it to the extreme this year. According to a few tipsters, the iPhone 15 Pro is going to sport bezels that are just 1.51mm thick. That would break the record for the thinnest bezels on any smartphone.
Now the real question is, would this result in a larger screen, and/or potentially change the aspect ratio of the display. It’s unclear at this time. But thinner bezels should mean for an overall smaller footprint for the Pro Max version.
3nm A17 Bionic Chipset
Of course, the chipset in the iPhone 15 Pro is going to be the A17 Bionic, but will it be a 3nm chipset? Many leaks and rumors are pointing to this being the case. Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro which is running the A16 Bionic, is on a 4nm process. So making the A17 Bionic even smaller could spell better performance, with better battery life. Two things we love to hear.
If it is a 3nm chipset (which the M3 for Mac is also rumored to be a 3nm process), it’s likely coming from TSMC. Which has stated that the chipset would use about 35% less energy, while also providing even better performance. It’ll also likely add some better performance for photography and of course battery life. The processor is a big part in whether battery life is good or not.
New Action button
There’s been a lot of talk, this cycle, about Apple removing the mute switch. A feature that has been available since the very first iPhone. It’s something that iPhone users use quite often actually. But it appears now that Apple might actually be turning it into an Action Button. Similar to what is available on the Apple Watch Ultra.
This comes from the tipster analyst941 on Twitter. The Action Button could be used for a few different things, like force-restarting the iPhone, turning it off, adjusting the focus and capturing photos in the camera app and other things. If it’s anything like the Action Button on the Apple Watch Ultra, you would be able to map it to other apps and features. Which could be cool to have a shortcut to quickly jump into the camera.
Apparently, the original plan here was to have the iPhone 15 Pro go with solid-state buttons. However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that technical issues have forced Apple to ditch that idea for this upcoming iPhone release.
Periscope Lens
Despite upgrading the main camera on the Pro models with the iPhone 14 last year, Apple is rumored to be upgrading another camera lens with the iPhone 15 Pro. It’s rumored to be getting a Periscope Lens, which would likely replace the telephoto lens on the current camera setup.
Currently, Apple provides a 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro, but with a Periscope Lens, that could jump to 5x or more likely, 10x. That would help them compete with the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro, but not quite up to the zoom levels of the Galaxy S23 Ultra – which can do up to 100x.
It’s likely that Apple could include this on the Pro Max version only. Apple did something similar with the iPhone 12, where it got all new cameras, but only on the Pro Max model. And with the iPhone 13 series, all models got the upgraded camera sensors.
USB-C finally
Thanks to the European Union, Apple is going to be adding USB-C to the iPhone, finally. But it’s not all good news. There are some, very few, rumors of the USB-C port only being for European models. This is fairly unlikely, as that means Apple would need to make two totally different iPhones for different regions of the world.
The other bad news is that transfer speeds may not be as fast as they should be. There are conflicting rumors here that the iPhone 15 lineup would use USB-C with USB 2.0 standards. Making the transfer speeds about the same as Lightning is currently. While other rumors state that the Pro models would get USB 3.2, which would offer much faster transfer speeds.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I transferred files from a phone over a USB cable. So those transfer speeds aren’t super important, most likely. But hopefully, Apple will increase the charging speeds. 15W is looking mighty slow in 2023.
So, picture this: you are chilling with your smartphone, which is one of the best phones around, because you are just stylish like that. Your phone is new, so you trust that it can stay safe from malware on its own.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, YouTube Music — which you’ve got installed on your smartphone — rings you up with a notification, stating:
“Your preview ends soon”
What is a preview? Is your subscription ending early because of some sort of change in recurring payment dates?! Did YouTube Music try to charge you without any valid reason?! How many paid days of service did you lose because of this?
Or did Google make an oopsie and send possibly thousands of users a false notification, alarming them for no reason? Spoilers: Yes. Yes it did.
The spooky notifications itself, ladies and gentlemen!
As 9to5Google details, Google somehow sent a notification to existing premium YouTube subscribers, both on iOS and Android. Given that the app has more than 80 million active subscribers worldwide, we can only hope that it wasn’t sent out to all of them.When the notification was selected, it led users to the “Get Music Premium” page, which is precisely where users could confirm their subscription status. And in most cases, the page absolutely confirmed that everything was in order. If users select their profile from the top left, they could also verify their billing date too, just in case. And guess what: it was not changed.
As of now, the Big G hasn’t commented on the situation, but we’re likely to not get any comment at all. This was probably just a minor mishap with a major impact, though little consequence. Or a test for en-masse notifications, which was triggered in a very wrong, yet slightly amusing way.
Either way, after you check and verify that your YouTube Music subscription is properly set up, you shouldn’t have anything else to worry about. Unless your phone is haunted, in which case you should check this guide to see if it’s safe to dip in holy water.
The print management software firm PaperCut has recently alerted users about two severe vulnerabilities that allow remote attacks. US CISA has also confirmed active exploitation for one of these vulnerabilities.
CISA Alerts About PaperCut MF/NG Vulnerabilities
PaperCut has recently issued an emergency update for its users, rolling out patches for two severe vulnerabilities.
As described in its advisory, PaperCut has disclosed two different vulnerabilities affecting its print management software. Besides elaborating on the flaws, the firm also confirmed active exploitation of one of these vulnerabilities, as alerted by Trend Micro.
Regarding the flaws, the first of these is a remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2023–27350) that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to target PaperCut Application Server. The flaw received a critical severity rating with a CVSS score of 9.8. PaperCut hasn’t disclosed more details about this vulnerability as it confirmed its active exploitation based on the reports from Trend Micro.
The second issue (CVE-2023–27351) also allows remote attacks from an unauthenticated adversary to steal sensitive information stored in PaperCut MF or NG. That includes usernames, email addresses, full names, card numbers, and department or office details of the users. This vulnerability received a high-severity rating with a CVSS score of 8.2. Thankfully, the bug received a patch before exploitation.
Following this emergency disclosure, the cybersecurity firm also shared a detailed analysis of the attacks exploiting the RCE flaw.
According to their report, the attacks seemingly target around 1800 vulnerable PaperCut servers, which the attackers abuse to spawn RMM tools like Atero and Syncro on the target devices for persistent access. They have also shared a PoC for the flaw.
While the exact identity of the threat actors exploiting this vulnerability remains veiled, Huntress researchers suspect Russian threat actors behind it. Briefly, while not directly linked, they somehow find Truebot malware related to this activity, which eventually leads back to the Cl0p ransomware and Silence entities.
PaperCut has released the patches for both vulnerabilities in the MF and NG software with versions 20.1.7, 21.2.11, and 22.0.9, respectively.
While the firm urges deploying the updates, it also advised some precautionary measures for the systems where an immediate update is not possible. These mitigations include blocking inbound traffic from external IPs to the web management ports 9191 and 9192, blocking all incoming traffic to the web management portal on the firewall to the server to prevent lateral movement of potential attackers, and applying an allow list.
This is a huge deal since it shows how useful Lockdown Mode can be, even against exploits developed by one of the world’s most notorious commercial spyware producers.
Pegasus spyware, developed by NSO Group, has featured in many news stories, after being found to have been used against journalists, politicians, State Department employees, embassy workers, and activists.
We talked about Pegasus infections in our podcast Lock and Code, which can be listened to in full here:
As Pegasus has become publicly scrutinized, NSO Group has expanded its product line. Citizen Lab found several new zero-click chains that it was able to tie to the NSO group with high confidence.
The report describes three of them in detail:
PWNYOURHOME: An iOS 15 and iOS 16 zero-click exploit which involves the HomeKit functionality built into iPhones and works even if the victim has never configured a “Home” inside HomeKit.
FINDMYPWN: An iOS 15 zero-day, zero-click exploit which is associated with the iPhone’s built-in Find My functionality.
LATENTIMAGE: An iOS 15 zero-click exploit which is also believed to use the iPhone’s Find My feature.
The use of multiple attack surfaces can be handled in two very different ways. You can play a game of whack a mole and patch the vulnerabilities as they get uncovered, which is certainly necessary and common practice, but it has the disadvantage of being responsive rather than preventive. And the report also stipulates that NSO is getting better at hiding itself and its traces on infected devices, which makes it harder to find and analyze the exploits they used.
The other way of minimizing the risk of exploits is to build with security in mind. Think of design decisions like memory safe programming languages, and sandboxing applications so a vulnerability in one does not lead to a compromised device and stays limited to the app. But also features like Apple’s Lockdown Mode which puts an iPhone into a state where it is more difficult to attack.
Lockdown Mode is available for iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura. It is designed to provide a safer environment for users that are at a higher risk.
You could say it was introduced with Pegasus in mind. And although Apple refers to Lockdown Mode as “an extreme, optional protection,” the limitations don’t actually sound particularly difficult to live with.
Messages: Most message attachment types other than images are blocked and some features, like link previews, are unavailable.
Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.
Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, are blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.
Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.
Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM), while Lockdown Mode is turned on. A device that was enrolled in Mobile Device Management before Lockdown Mode is enabled remains managed. System administrators can install and remove configuration profiles on that device.
Even though it’s very good news that Lockdown Mode proved it was able to notify a target about an ongoing attack, there are some caveats. The Citizen Lab report also mentions that NSO may have figured out a way to correct the notification issue, since Citizen Lab has had no new reports about it. NSO could have done this, for example, by fingerprinting Lockdown Mode. And since Lockdown Mode is not available for iOS 15 it only provides protection against the PWNYOURHOME exploit. The others didn’t work on iOS 16 anyway.
Enabling Lockdown mode
So, how do you turn on Lockdown Mode? If you consider yourself a target for commercial spyware or are willing to live with some minor inconveniences for a higher level of security, here’s what you can do.
Under Security, tap Lockdown Mode and tap Turn On Lockdown Mode
Tap Turn On Lockdown Mode
Tap Turn On & Restart, then enter your device passcode.
And you’re all set. If you feel that the limitations are a bit too strict for your convenience, don’t turn it off immediately because there are ways to exclude apps or websites from Lockdown Mode. While your device is in Lockdown Mode, you can exclude an app or website in Safari from being impacted and limited. Exclude only trusted apps or websites and only if necessary.
To exclude a website while browsing: Tap the Page Settings button , then tap Website Settings. Then turn off Lockdown Mode.
To exclude an app or edit your excluded websites:
Open the Settings app
Tap Privacy & Security
Under Security, tap Lockdown Mode
Tap Configure Web Browsing
Exclude websites or apps from Lockdown Mode on iPhone
To exclude an app, turn that app off in the menu. Only apps that you have opened since enabling Lockdown Mode and which have limited functionality appear on this list.
To edit your excluded websites, tap Excluded Safari Websites > Edit.
We don’t just report on iOS security—we provide it
There are contradicting reports about the return of Samsung‘s Exynos chips to its Galaxy S series flagships. Some say next year’s Galaxy S24 lineup will ship with the Exynos 2400 processor in some markets, while others say the company will equip its next-gen flagships with a Snapdragon chipset globally. A new rumor passed along on Twitter has now given a fresh twist to this saga. According to tipster @RGcloudS, only the base Galaxy S24 may come with an Exynos chip.
The tipster isn’t 100 percent sure about this information, but an industry source has told them that Samsung could ship the smaller Galaxy S24 model with the Exynos 2400 processor in select markets. In other areas, it will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, which would be a Samsung-exclusive overclocked version of Qualcomm’s next-gen flagship processor. This year’s Galaxy S23 series uses a similar overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
The Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra, meanwhile, will use the new Snapdragon processor globally. The idea is to show the world that Samsung has fixed the Exynos issues. By only using the Exynos 2400 on the base Galaxy S24, the company isn’t risking the sales of its next-gen Ultra flagship, which usually attracts more crowd. At the same time, it will also be able to give a demo of its improved chip fabrication process. Samsung may also make the base model cheaper to drive sales.
An Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 may be a tough sell
In a welcome change, Samsung shipped the Galaxy S23 series with a Snapdragon processor globally this year. This change was appreciated by fans and experts alike, as Exynos processors that the company used in its flagships in some markets in the past have always had performance and power efficiency issues. The 2023 models brought a massive leap in battery life and everyday performance over their respective predecessors.
Considering this, it seems a no-brainer for Samsung to stick to this Snapdragon exclusivity for the Galaxy S24 series. However, the company has other ideas. It doesn’t want to spend more money on purchasing Qualcomm processors while its semiconductor division that makes Exynos chips suffer from declining demand. The Korean firm is now mulling going back to Exynos next year, even if that means taking a hit to sales of the base Galaxy S24 model.
That said, early rumors about the Exynos 2400 have been promising. Samsung is expected to offer a ten-core CPU setup and a much-improved GPU based on AMD’s RDNA2 technology. Hopefully, the company has left behind all the Exynos woes and will start afresh with the Exynos 2400. It eventually plans to make custom processors for Galaxy flagships. But ahead of that, Samsung needs to regain the reputation it lost over the years by offering underperforming Exynos chips.
We’ve been seeing a ton of conflicting rumors regarding the upcoming iPhones thus far. Yesterday, a rumor claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a brand new main camera sensor (Sony’s IMX903 sensor), but a new rumor claims that it won’t.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max may not get a new main camera sensor after all
To bring you some perspective. Yesterday’s information got shared by Ice Universe, a well-known tipster. He specifically mentioned the iPhone 15 Pro Max, not the regular ‘Pro’ model, though he did not elaborate on that.
Now, a different tipster. Revegnus, claims that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will not have a new main camera sensor. He says that the phone will stick with the same main camera the iPhone 14 Pro series uses, the Sony IMX803.
Revegnus made things even more confusing in the comments
He claims that the Sony IM903 is in Apple’s plans, but for the iPhone 16 Pro. He probably meant the iPhone 16 Pro series, so both models. What’s even more confusing is his comment. One of his followers wrote “Ice says 15PM uses imx 903?”, and Revegnus simply said “yes”, without giving out an explanation.
Is it possible he made a mistake in his original tweet, and wanted to write ‘iPhone 15 Pro’ instead of ‘iPhone 15 Pro Max’? Or perhaps he just acknowledged that Ice Universe has the wrong info by saying “yes” in the comments? It’s anyone’s guess.
It has been almost a day at this point, since Revegnus tweeted out the rumor, and shared his comment. He did not ping back to elaborate on what he wanted to say, so… yes, it’s quite confusing at this point.
iPhone-related rumors are all over the place
First, we had the saga with the iPhone SE 4, then the saga with the iPhone 15 Pro series’ solid-state buttons, and now this. Either Apple is pushing out fake info to confuse tipsters, or some of them have really poor sources.
We’ll get more info regarding this moving forward, while all iPhone 15 models are expected to launch in September.
It’s the era of artificial intelligence! After ChatGPT made headlines with its powers to write, draw and code, other companies started to integrate the powerful AI into their services. (By the way, check out our poll: “Do you think AI language models (ChatGPT, Bard) are the future of information search?” and see how we’re doomed).Back to the news story! Snapchat reported on its annual partner summit, held in its hometown of Santa Monica, California (story featured in Time), that the Snapchat+ premium service grew by 3 million users in the past year.
The most interesting part is that 1 million of these premium users (paying $3,99 monthly) came in the past 11 weeks, right after Snapchat+ integrated My AI, an artificial intelligence model powered by ChatGPT.
“What we essentially see is that when we release new features, that gets more people excited about signing up or trying Snapchat+. We definitely saw some nice momentum with My AI,” said Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel.
Snapchat will soon be opening the My AI feature to all users, according to what the company said last Wednesday. Which is a bold move, given the extra money that My AI has generated since its debut in Snapchat+.
My AI can do most of the things ChatGPT can, including writing content, answering questions, and leading basic conversations.
image courtesy of Citizen Lab
