New Nest Thermostat on its way with Project Soli in tow, FCC filing reveals

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Google is likely preparing for its Fall launch of new products, which typically include new smartwatches and smartphones. But this year, we might be in store for a new Nest Thermostat. A new FCC filing is showing off a new product from Google that is a bit of an interesting one. It shows that it has Project Soli – Google’s Radar project that was short-lived in the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Which has a lot of people wondering what it could actually be.

However, 9to5Google is connecting the dots that this is likely the new Nest Thermostat. This product has the model number GJPQ8U and it features WiFi as well as Bluetooth radios. Though interestingly, it also supports 2.4GHz and 60GHz, which are the same bands the last Nest Thermostat supported back in 2020.

For those that might have forgotten, Google has used Soli on a Nest Thermostat before. In fact, the current Nest Thermostat uses Soli to light up the display when you approach the thermostat. It was also used for Home and Away routines.

Unlikely to be a new smart display or smartwatch

Other products that this could have been is a smart display or a smartwatch. We have seen plenty of leaks of the Pixel Watch 3 last week, including a larger Pixel Watch 3 XL. But this is missing quite a few radios and other sensors that a smartwatch would need. That is also true for a smart display.

Another hint here is that the FCC label is laser etched onto the product. That is pretty rare for Nest Displays and smartwatches, but it is pretty common for smart home products like smart thermostats. This adds even more credit to this being a new Nest Thermostat.

Unfortunately, this is likely a refresh of the $129 Nest Thermostat from 2020 and not a new Nest Learning Thermostat. Which was first introduced in 2011, and the current model went on sale in 2015. So, needless to say, it’s time for a new one, Google. That thermostat is so old, Nest was an independent company when it came out.


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Qualcomm’s affordable Snapdragon X PCs set for Q4 2025 release

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Qualcomm’s affordable Snapdragon X PCs set for Q4 2025 release
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Qualcomm is preparing to launch the first PCs, powered by the Snapdragon X, tomorrow on June 18. Those gadgets promise quite a different level of performance and efficiency but come at a price targeted toward high-end users and professionals. But if you’re finally expecting more budget-friendly options, well, there’s a little good news with a bit of bad news on the horizon.

The promise of mainstream Snapdragon X PCs

Let’s start with the good news. A well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote something quite exciting the other day on Medium, pumping plenty of life and hope into many people. According to Kuo, Qualcomm is eyeing rather vigorously the extension of the Snapdragon X series with a “low-cost” processor code-named Canim. This new chipset will be fabricated on a 4nm TSMC process, making Snapdragon X technology dramatically democratized at $599 to $799. That’s much lower than the current Snapdragon X PCs that start at $1,000 or more, bringing high-performance computing to more mainstream levels for everyday users.

Wait a minute! There’s a twist

Now for the not-so-great news. According to Kuo, the Canim processor won’t launch until fourth-quarter 2025 at the earliest. If you’re looking for an instant fix, be prepared to be pretty patient and wait a good deal over a year before you see these more budget-friendly Snapdragon X-powered Windows devices hit your hands. There may, though, be some temporary relief in sight. High-end Snapdragon X PCs, which exist today, may drop in price later in the year to present an option for those seeking a faster alternative.

The power of Canim

Now, let’s get back to the good stuff. According to Kuo, the same report also mentioned details pertaining to the upcoming Canim processor. This new chip reportedly delivers the same impressive 40 TOPS AI performance as its more expensive siblings — the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus. Basically, this means that laptops sporting a Canim processor should probably come with a Copilot Plus moniker, which assures a host of advanced AI-driven features and seamless usage. Although at a slightly higher wait, the cheap ones will have to really wait, the future seems to hold a lot of potential by the ability of the Canim processor in bringing high-performance computing to a lot of people.

Speculation on sacrifices

While an affordable Canim processor will bridge the gap in AI’s, there could be a question as to what trade-offs Qualcomm may consider necessary to do this. Speculation includes potential slashes in CPU cores, a less powerful GPU, and probably dialed-back connectivity features down to support older Bluetooth and Wi-Fi standards. Other expectations are that mainstream laptops featuring Canim might ship with fewer I/O options, greatly impacting their versatility and expandability.


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WhatsApp rolling out feature that lets you set HD quality as the default for media

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WhatsApp rolling out feature that lets you set HD quality as the default for media
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Image credit — PhoneArena

WhatsApp, one of the most popular encrypted messaging apps, is gearing up for a significant update that could change the way users share media. The app is rolling out an HD quality default setting, a change that could make high-resolution images and videos the new norm.

This upcoming feature builds upon the app’s previous enhancements in media sharing. In August, WhatsApp introduced an HD image sharing option, followed shortly by HD video sharing. While HD doesn’t equate to uncompressed, it significantly improves the resolution of photos and videos compared to WhatsApp’s standard compression, which can often reduce media quality.

Previously, users had to rely on workarounds like attaching media as documents to bypass the compression, adding unnecessary steps to the sharing process. The new default setting eliminates the need for such workarounds, making sharing high-quality media seamless and intuitive.

According to reports from Android Police and beta users, the new default setting has been spotted in beta version 2.24.13.10 of the WhatsApp app. This suggests that the feature is in its final stages of testing and could be released globally soon. Users can check if they have the option in the app’s settings under Storage and data > Media upload quality.


While this feature is a welcome addition for many users, WhatsApp does caution that HD quality files can be significantly larger than standard quality files, potentially consuming more bandwidth and storage space. However, for users who prioritize image and video quality, this tradeoff might be worth it.

The introduction of an HD quality default setting aligns with WhatsApp’s continuous efforts to enhance its user experience and stay competitive. Looking ahead, it’s possible that WhatsApp will further expand its HD media features, however, there’s no official word on when or if these features will be implemented.


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Galaxy S25 Ultra might cost more and Samsung isn’t to blame

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Galaxy S25 Ultra might cost more and Samsung isn’t to blame
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The next generation of Android flagships, including Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, may cost more than their predecessors. Not because of inflation or economic conditions, but a price hike from Qualcomm. The chipmaker reportedly plans to charge about 30% more for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Android manufacturers may find it difficult to absorb the elevated cost and may pass it on to consumers.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra and other 2025 Snapdragon flagships may cost more

Last month, a noted industry insider claimed that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may see a significant price increase due to a higher wafer cost. Reputed TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has now shed more light on what’s going on behind the scenes. According to Kuo, a process node upgrade will add to the manufacturing cost of the next-gen Snapdragon flagship, forcing Qualcomm to increase its price.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (codename SM8650) used in Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, OnePlus 12, Xiaomi 14, and many other Android flagships this year is fabricated on TSMC’s 4nm process node. Its successor, i.e., Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (SM8750), upgrades to the more expensive 3nm (N3E) node. It’s the same process used for Apple’s A18 Pro chip for the iPhone 16 series and comes with cutting-edge technologies.

Kuo says this shift will increase the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s cost by 25-30% compared to the Gen 3. The latter is reportedly priced around $190–200, so the next-gen solution could cost as much as $260. If reports are true, Qualcomm increased the price of its current flagship chipset by a similar margin. Device makers may be unable to absorb the added cost for two consecutive years, increasing the prices of next-gen Android flagships.

This isn’t a given, though. Manufacturers could be exploring other ways to reduce the overall cost of materials. Some firms may also have room to cut their profit margin without severely impacting their finances. However, don’t be surprised if flagship Android phones cost more in 2025. Companies may try to justify the hike with improved AI processing capabilities brought by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s more powerful NPU.

The new Snapdragon arrives later this year

Qualcomm recently confirmed that the next Snapdragon Summit will take place between October 21-23 in Maui, Hawaii. The company will unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 at this event. The chip will enter mass production in the second half of the year and start shipping inside Android flagships from Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and other firms after the Snapdragon Summit. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series will debut in early 2025.


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Adobe Acrobat AI chatbot now enables multi-document analysis

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Adobe Acrobat AI chatbot now enables multi-document analysis
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After smartphone makers like Google and Samsung, Adobe also added artificial intelligence to Acrobat back in February, enabling you to find information more easily and efficiently. It offers you AI-generated summaries of your document and a chatbot that can answer your questions.

AI chatbot in Acrobat will soon be capable of multi-document analysis

Now the AI assistant is getting more useful with additional capabilities. Starting tomorrow, the AI-powered chatbot in Acrobat will offer multi-document analysis. It means the ability to analyze multiple documents at once. In practice, it can streamline research, and data analysis across various document types, including PDFs, Word, and PowerPoint files.

Adobe has integrated a conversational engine into Reader and Acrobat workflows. One of the features enabled through this addition is “Insights Across Documents.” It allows users to pull information from multiple documents and create cohesive content.

In addition to “Insights Across Documents”, Acrobat will also offer enhanced meeting transcript capabilities. It will help users automatically generate summaries of virtual meetings, highlighting main topics, key points, and action items. So all the participants will be able to stay informed even if they miss the meeting.

There will also be an AI-powered image generation feature going forward. The image generation model will reportedly be powered by the Adobe Firefly Image 3 Model.

Image-related features in Acrobat

The integration of an image model to Acrobat will offer two features “Edit Image in Acrobat” and “Generate Image in Acrobat.” As the name suggests, the first one will offer functionalities such as Generative Fill, Remove Background, Erase, and Crop. These functionalities will allow the user to easily edit the images in a document within Acrobat.

In addition to the image editing feature, the “Generate Image in Acrobat” will uplift the capability and the overall user experience of Acrobat to a whole new level. Users will be able to bring their imagination to reality with images within a document in Acrobat. According to Adobe, the generative image feature is designed to enhance documents with unique visuals quickly and effortlessly.

Their goal is to make it easier for users to create visually appealing content without needing extensive creative expertise. “With the new Firefly and AI Assistant capabilities in Acrobat, anyone can transform the information in their digital documents into actionable insights and visually compelling content – quickly and easily,” notes Abhigyan Modi, senior vice president of Adobe Document Cloud.


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Adobe Acrobat gets AI upgrade with generative image editing and enhanced document insights

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Adobe Acrobat gets AI upgrade with generative image editing and enhanced document insights
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Adobe is once again redefining how we interact with digital documents by introducing new AI innovations to Acrobat. In a press release, Adobe has announced that both Reader and Acrobat users will soon be able to generate and edit images directly within PDFs using simple text prompts. This significant capability is powered by Adobe’s Firefly Image 3 Model, marking the first time generative image features have been integrated into a PDF application.Additionally, an enhanced Acrobat AI Assistant — a conversational engine integrated into Reader and Acrobat workflows — will allow users to ask questions, gain insights, and even draft content from information across a variety of document types, including Word, PowerPoint, text files, and PDFs. Enhanced meeting transcript capabilities within the AI Assistant are also on the horizon.

Image credit — Adobe

This announcement highlights the significance of Adobe’s contributions as the inventor and innovator of PDF, emphasizing that generative AI is set to revolutionize the field once more. With Firefly and the AI Assistant working together, Adobe states that users will have the ability to transform information within their digital documents into actionable insights and visually engaging content effortlessly and efficiently.For the first time, Adobe Firefly’s generative AI image capabilities are being integrated into Acrobat. This technology offers significant advancements in image generation quality, prompt understanding, and new levels of detail and variety, expanding creative expression and ideation possibilities. Users will be able to enhance existing images or generate entirely new ones within their PDFs using simple text prompts, all without leaving Acrobat.

Acrobat AI Assistant’s new features are designed to streamline research, studying, data analysis, and meeting note review, tasks where information often spans multiple documents and file types. The AI Assistant can identify key themes, trends, and relationships across a group of selected documents, combining and formatting information from various sources into meaningful content.

What about user privacy?

Adobe claims that in an effort to prioritize user privacy and security, Adobe Firefly is trained on moderated, licensed Adobe Stock images and public domain images where copyright has expired, ensuring commercially safe content generation for both individuals and businesses. The company also reiterated its commitment to ethical AI development as outlined in its AI Ethics guidelines, which also govern the selection and integration of third-party LLMs (Large Language Models).
Additionally, Adobe says it explicitly prohibits third-party LLMs from training on Adobe customer data and maintains a strict policy against training its generative AI models on customer data. This is important to point out in light of recent controversies the company has been a part of involving the use of users’ creative content for the purposes of training AI, which Adobe has repeatedly clarified is not the case.To sum up, Adobe’s latest advancements in AI, particularly with Firefly’s integration into Acrobat and the enhanced AI Assistant, represent a significant step forward in how we interact with and utilize digital documents. These innovations promise to empower users with unprecedented creative control and streamline information extraction and utilization across diverse document types, all while promising to uphold ethical AI practices and safeguarding user data.

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Galaxy Tab S8 series discontinued in the US & more markets

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Galaxy Tab S8 series discontinued in the US & more markets
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Before the arrival of new generations of products, it is common for brands to stop selling older models. It seems that this is what Samsung is doing, as they have discontinued the Galaxy Tab S8 series. The company is currently working on the Galaxy Tab S10 series, which will arrive later this year. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab S9 series is still available.

Samsung had already shown signs of wanting to discontinue its 2022 flagship tablets. A few weeks ago, you could find some amazing deals for these devices on the company’s official website. The most premium model, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, was available for just $650. Considering its specs, it was one of the best options on the market.

Samsung is discontinuing the Galaxy Tab S8 series after stock cleaning

However, as of today, none of the Tab S8 deals are available. In fact, you can no longer buy any of these tablets on the company’s official website for the US. The sections dedicated to these devices are still live, including the “Buy” button. But you’ll get a message saying, “The device is no longer available for purchase on Samsung.com; however, please take a look at additional options in the Galaxy family.”

The Galaxy Tab S8 series has been discontinued on Samsung’s website in multiple countries. Such is the case in the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. That said, it is still available in some markets, such as the UK and India. It seems that there is still some stock left in those countries, and the tablets will be discontinued once they are sold out. It seems unlikely that the brand will be able to replenish the stock of these tablets.

Just because the Galaxy Tab S8 series is not available on Samsung’s website doesn’t mean you can’t get it anywhere. You may still be able to purchase it from third-party vendors. These devices are still very capable, especially the Ultra model. Plus, they still have a couple of years of big Android updates left after receiving One UI 6.1. So, if you were looking for a tablet, this may be the ideal time to try to find a good deal.


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YouTube now allows viewers to fact-check videos with notes

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YouTube now allows viewers to fact-check videos with notes
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YouTube announced a bunch of new experimental features at the end of last week, so it’s rather surprising to see the service making another announcement just a couple of days later.

Starting today, YouTube viewers can fact-check videos of their favorite creators by adding notes that offer relevant and easy-to-understand context. As per YouTube’s statement, the ability to add notes is meant to offer platform users a better understanding of what they’re watching.

For instance, added notes could clarify when a song is meant to be a parody, YouTube says. Also, a note added by a viewer can point out when a new version of a product being reviewed is available.

Last but not least, these notes are very useful when you want to let other viewers know when older footage is mistakenly (or on purpose) portrayed as a current event.

For the time being, the ability to add notes to a video is only available on mobile in the United States and in English language. It’s also important to mention that the pilot will be available to a limited number of eligible contributors.

Invitations will be sent via email or Creator Studio to those who meet the eligibility criteria, which also include having an active YouTube channel in good standing with the Community Guidelines. Here is how this note rating will work:

Notes will appear publicly under a video if they’re found to be broadly helpful. People will be asked whether they think a note is “helpful,” “somewhat helpful,” or “unhelpful” and why – for example, whether it cites high-quality sources or is written clearly and neutrally.

Finally, YouTube confirmed it will use a “bridging-based algorithm to consider these ratings and determine what notes are published.” This algorithm has been specifically designed to help identify notes that are helpful to a “broad audience across perspectives.”


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(Almost) everything you always wanted to know about cybersecurity, but were too afraid to ask, with Tjitske de Vries: Lock and Code S05E13

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(Almost) everything you always wanted to know about cybersecurity, but were too afraid to ask, with Tjitske de Vries: Lock and Code S05E13
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This week on the Lock and Code podcast…

🎶 Ready to know what Malwarebytes knows?
Ask us your questions and get some answers.
What is a passphrase and what makes it—what’s the word?
Strong? 🎶

Every day, countless readers, listeners, posters, and users ask us questions about some of the most commonly cited topics and terminology in cybersecurity. What are passkeys? Is it safer to use a website or an app? How can I stay safe from a ransomware attack? What is the dark web? And why can’t cybercriminals simply be caught and stopped?

For some cybersecurity experts, these questions may sound too “basic”—easily researched online and not worth the time or patience to answer. But those experts would be wrong.

In cybersecurity, so much of the work involves helping people take personal actions to stay safe online. That means it’s on cybersecurity companies and practitioners to provide clarity when the public is asking for it.  it’s on us to provide clarity. Without this type of guidance, people are less secure, scammers are more successful, and clumsy, fixable mistakes are rarely addressed.

This is why, this summer, Malwarebytes is working harder on meeting people where they are. For weeks, we’ve been collecting questions from our users about WiFi security, data privacy, app settings, device passcodes, and identity protection.

All of these questions—no matter their level of understanding—are appreciated, as they help the team at Malwarebytes understand where to improve its communication. In cybersecurity, it is critical to create an environment where, for every single person seeking help, it’s safe to ask. It’s safe to ask what’s on their mind, safe to ask what confuses them, and safe to ask what they might even find embarrassing.

Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we speak with Malwarebytes Product Marketing Manager Tjitske de Vries about the modern rules around passwords, the difficulties of stopping criminals on the dark web, and why online scams hurt people far beyond their financial repercussions.

“We had [an] 83-year-old man who was afraid to talk to his wife for three days because he had received… a sextortion scam… This is how they get people, and it’s horrible.”

Tune in today to listen to the full conversation.

Show notes and credits:

Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)

Listen up—Malwarebytes doesn’t just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.

Protect yourself from online attacks that threaten your identity, your files, your system, and your financial well-being with our exclusive offer for Malwarebytes Premium for Lock and Code listeners.


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Amazon Omni QLED TV Slashed to $429! (Save $170 on This 55-Inch Stunner)

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Amazon Omni QLED TV Slashed to $429! (Save $170 on This 55-Inch Stunner)
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Today, Amazon has its stunning Omni QLED Series 55-inch TV back on sale. It’s now on sale for just $429. That’s going to save you $170 off of its regular price. For its regular price of $599, this was already a really great deal; now that you can get it for just $429, this is an incredible deal and one you won’t want to miss.

This QLED TV is running on Fire TV. That means you’ll get access to all your favorite apps on this TV. That includes Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV and much more. There’s also Alexa support here, and that includes hands-free Alexa.

This TV has multiple ports, including an ethernet port, a cable/antenna port, a USB port, an IR emitter, a headphone port, an optical port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and one HDMI 2.1 port. This means that gamers who own PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X can easily connect their consoles to this TV using 4K120, which is excellent news.

This QLED TV from Amazon offers excellent viewing angles and color reproduction. Unlike LED TVs, the QLED technology does not use backlighting, so you won’t see grays where it should be black. Additionally, this TV features Dolby Vision IQ, which provides stunning visuals on the large screen. It also supports HLG and HDR10 standards.

I’ve enjoyed using this TV in my home, and while it’s not the best TV on the market, it is still a really good value.

Buy at Amazon


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