Google Messages might finally support sending high quality photos over RCS

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Google Messages might finally support sending high quality photos over RCS
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Google Messages and RCS (Rich Communication Services), the next step in SMS messaging (a greatly enhanced step, if you ask me), is going to get even better with Google’s future improvement

The enhancement has to do with the way Google Messages handles images sent through the app – people have been complaining for a while now that the pictures are getting excessively compressed.

For example, users are reporting that Google Messages over RCS shrunk a 50MP/6MB image down to just a 1.9MP/147kB shadow of its former self. That’s a lot of data lost, which equates to a worse quality. Not fun!

That’s a pity, since RCS makes the default messaging app into a social media-like experience similar to WhatsApp, allowing users not only to send photos, videos, GIFs, and various other files, but RCS also supports end-to-end encryption, read receipts, and typing indicators.

A change is going to come rather sooner than later, though: Google is apparently going to address the issue. According to the report, Google is finally going to increase the image compression limit.

The analysis discovered code strings suggesting that users could soon send images up to 8,192 pixels wide and tall with JPEG quality set to 100. If the “Send Photos Faster” option is enabled, images will be compressed to 2,408 pixels with JPEG quality reduced to 90. Currently, this option compresses images to 1,600 pixels, significantly affecting their quality.

This issue isn’t inherent to RCS, as other apps like Samsung Messages also use RCS without such limitations. The problem lies with Google, and if the company implements this change, users will notice a significant improvement in image quality sent through Google Messages. This change might be influenced by Apple’s decision to support RCS in its Messages app with iOS 18, as Google has frequently urged Apple to adopt RCS.

Speaking of Apple and RCS…


After a public campaign that stretches back in time, Apple finally caved in to the peer pressure from Google to bring RCS to the iPhone and iOS.

Starting last month, with the release of iOS 18 developer beta 2, some iPhone users in the US gained the ability to message Android users via RCS. To utilize RCS, US iPhone users need to be on iOS 18 beta 2 or later and subscribe to Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T.

Recently, Apple released iOS 18 developer beta 3, expanding RCS support to iPhone users in Canada, France, Germany, and Spain, provided they use compatible carriers such as Videotron, Telus Mobility, Bell, Telefonica, SFR, and O2.

By the final release of iOS 18 in September, not all carriers will support RCS. However, those that do will enable iPhone users to send and receive high-quality media with Android users, avoiding the low-resolution limitations of SMS and MMS. The Messages app will indicate RCS use with “RCS Message” in the text field when chatting with Android users, while iMessage conversations will continue to show blue text bubbles.


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Google will soon remove certain apps from the Play Store

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Google will soon remove certain apps from the Play Store
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Google is getting ready to clean up the Play Store by getting rid of apps that are considered to be risky and low-quality. The goal is to improve the experience of Android users. Google says that it is updating its Spam and Minimum Functionality policy effective August 31st. Google says that it won’t allow apps that crash, force close, freeze, or function abnormally. In addition, Google wants the Play Store to be full of apps that are engaging, stable, and responsive. Apps that are designed to do nothing are not allowed in the Play Store.

Other examples include apps that install but don’t load. Apps that load but are not responsive could also find themselves getting kicked out of the Play Store. By taking a big broom to sweep out the Play Store, it is likely that some apps that appear to be legitimate get the boot along with the non-functional and crashing titles. Back in 2020, when it also went through the Play Store with a fine tooth comb, Google removed a couple of apps with millions of installs each. But both apps violated Google’s spam and minimum functionality policy.

Google says that an example of apps with limited functionality and content includes those that are static without app-specific functionalities. Such apps could end up getting removed from the Play Store and Google cites as specific examples text only or PDF file apps. Apps with very little content that do not engage with the user are also ripe to be removed. You want a specific example? A single wallpaper app fits that description. Remember, Google is looking to remove apps that are designed to do nothing or have no function and merely take up space in the Play Store and, if downloaded, on your phone as well.

Google will remove apps that install but won't load. | Image credit-Android Police - Google will soon remove certain apps from the Play Store

Google will remove apps that install but won’t load. | Image credit-Android Police

We’ve all installed apps that ended up failing to live up to our expectations but that isn’t what Google is looking to fix here. Google wants to make sure that every app you install on your Android phone loads and runs after you’ve installed it. And apps that don’t have a function could end up being used as a downloader to disseminate malware on an Android phone. Under this scenario, an app is installed but doesn’t have any functionality. Since it doesn’t contain malware, it gets past Google’s security screenings. Then the attacker’s server loads up the app with malware that ends up doing things in the background that could steal your personal data putting your financial accounts at risk.

Again, the new policy rules take effect on August 31st so we could see fewer apps in the Play Store on and after that date as Google looks to clean up its app storefront.


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Instagram Notes brings expiring comments for Reels and posts

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Instagram Notes brings expiring comments for Reels and posts
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Instagram is getting Notes for Reels and feed posts, a feature to leave comments expiring and more private. Meta just officially announced the release of the feature, but it is not yet available to everyone. This “Notes” feature is different from the one that lets you set comments or thoughts on your profile picture from the Inbox tab.

A while ago, Instagram announced “Notes” as a feature to leave comments about whatever you’re thinking. Later, Notes allowed you to add photos and short videos taken from the cameras. After sharing a Note, it will appear facing your profile picture, and your contacts can reply to it. However, the new feature to leave a Note in Reels and posts works a little differently.

You can now leave expiring comments on Instagram Reels and posts using Notes

Notes for Instagram Reels and posts is a way to leave expiring comments where you can express your thoughts or feelings to a more limited audience. It allows you to manage privacy options, being able to choose whether they are visible to your mutual followers or to your contacts on your Close Friends list. So, it is a way to maintain the reach of your comments within a certain circle of people.

Notes will be automatically deleted after three days, although you can delete them at any time. This is another difference compared to the original Notes which vanish in just 24 hours. The Notes appear in the form of a “mini sticker” in the lower left area of the Reel or post. By tapping there, all the notes visible to you will be shown according to your privacy settings.

As usual with new Instagram features, Notes for Reels and posts have not reached all users. You may have to wait a few days (or even weeks) to be able to use it. However, the rollout started today.

instagram notes reels posts
Source: Meta

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Some U.S. Netflix subscribers will have to pick a new plan

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Some U.S. Netflix subscribers will have to pick a new plan
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This could end up creating a new global NATO alliance: Netflix A’int giving us enough Television Options. But we digress. After the removal of the $11.99 plan, U.S. subscribers can choose from the following Netflix pricing options:

  • Standard with ads-$6.99 per month subscription with ads. Videos stream in Standard Definition on two devices at a time and download on two supported devices.
  • Standard Plan-$15.49 per month subscription with no ads. Videos stream in Standard HD video. Download videos on two supported devices and for $7.99 you can add a member who doesn’t live near you.
  • Premium Plan-$22.49 per month subscription with no ads. Video Stream in Ultra HD (4K) on four devices at one time and download on six supported devices. There is an option to add up to two extra members who don’t live near you for $7.99 each.
Netflix says that subscribers in the U.S. and France currently subscribed to the $11.99 per month basic plan will have to pick a new plan. These subscribers should start receiving an email from Netflix as soon as today. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, citing the $6.99 plan, said that Netflix remains “a very strong offering for our members.”
Streaming is now far and away the most popular way to watch television in the U.S. | Image credit-Netflix - Some U.S. Netflix subscribers will have to pick a new plan

Streaming is now far and away the most popular way to watch television in the U.S. | Image credit-Netflix

For the second calendar quarter of 2024, Netflix revenue rose nearly 17% year-over-year to $9.56 billion. Net income rose 44% on an annual basis to $2.15 billion and earnings per share grew 48% to $4.88. Netflix now has 277.65 million paid streaming subscribers globally. Despite the strong report, Netflix shares declined $4.42 to $643.04 due to forecasts for the current quarter that are not as spectacular as the results from last quarter.

During the second quarter, Netflix attracted its largest live audience ever for The Roast of Tom Brady and streamed hits such as Bridgerton Season 3, Baby Reindeer, Queen of Tears, and The Great Indian Kapil Show. Popular films viewed during the second quarter included Under Paris, Atlas and Hit Man.


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Apple refutes using YouTube subtitles to train “Apple Intelligence”

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Apple refutes using YouTube subtitles to train “Apple Intelligence”
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Apple has refuted allegations about scraping YouTube subtitles to train “Apple Intelligence”. However, the iPhone maker hasn’t categorically claimed YouTube transcripts aren’t a part of its Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI).

Apple relied on OpenELM Data, not EleutherAI, to train its AI

According to an investigation by Proof News, several big companies used transcripts of YouTube videos to train their AI engines. The observations and claims were co-published with Wired.

The investigation claimed Apple, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Salesforce were among several tech companies that used YouTube subtitles or video transcripts in multiple languages. Technically speaking, the report claimed these companies relied upon a large dataset from the nonprofit EleutherAI called The Pile, which, in turn, has YouTube subtitles.

According to the report, 173,536 YouTube videos from more than 48,000 YouTube channels were part of the dataset. Apple has now clarified how it utilized content from OpenELM to train its AI.

Apple Intelligence doesn’t have YouTube subtitles as training material?

It is interesting to note that Apple hasn’t specifically refuted that Apple Intelligence contains YouTube subtitles data. Instead, the company has reportedly claimed that it respects the rights of creators and publishers. Additionally, the company mentioned it offers websites the ability to opt out of their data being used to train Apple Intelligence.

It appears Apple is suggesting that it relied on OpenELM, not EleutherAI’s dataset, to build Apple Intelligence. However, in a research paper on OpenELM (PDF), researchers admitted that they trained it on Pile data.

Apple stressed that it trains its AI models, “Using high-quality data that includes licensed data from publishers, stock images, and some publicly available data from the web.” However, datasets from OpenELM are intended for research purposes only, claimed the company.

Apple has further stated that OpenELM is not used to power AI features in any Apple devices. Moreover, the company implied that it doesn’t intend to build future versions of the model.

YouTube video subtitles are not intended to be a public resource even if they are available in the public domain. YouTube has stated that using the platform’s video content to train AI — including transcripts — would violate the platform’s terms.

Some reports suggest Apple could be trying to shield itself from legal troubles by relying on third-party datasets to train its AI engine. However, unless YouTube or its parent company thoroughly analyzes the datasets, it would be difficult to draw a decisive conclusion.


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Google Messages may finally allow users to send high-quality images over RCS

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Google Messages may finally allow users to send high-quality images over RCS
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Google has boosted its first-party messaging app with the help of RCS (Rich Communication Services) for a long time now. RCS, being an alternative to the traditional SMS service allows a better messaging experience. But, the company hasn’t made the most of it yet as users have complained about over-compressed images sent via Google Messages.

The messaging protocol lets the default messaging app replicate the experience of social apps like WhatsApp. It allows users to send high-quality photos, videos, GIFs, and other various types of files. RCS also brings end-to-end encryption to the table and offers other features like read receipts and typing indicators.

Google Messages’ users may soon be able to send high-quality images over RCS

Although RCS is capable of all the great things discussed above, its current implementation in the Google Messages app falls short in one major area. Despite having RCS capabilities, Google Messages heavily compresses the image quality, barring users from sending high-quality images. This eventually spoils the entire messaging experience at large. However, Google is reportedly working to fix it.

Yesterday, Android Authority posted a detailed APK teardown report of the latest Google Messages app hinting at a welcoming change. Per the report, Google is working on raising the image compression ceiling for a better texting experience.

The publication spotted code strings which could allow you to send images up to 8,192 pixels wide and tall, with the JPEG quality set to 100. However, if you enable the “Send Photos Faster” option, the images will compress to 2,408 pixels reducing JPEG quality to 90. Currently, enabling this option compresses images to 1,600 pixels while heavily tampering with its details.

Oddly, Google implemented this limitation, it doesn’t have to do anything with RCS

It is worth noting that this limitation is not associated with RCS. Other messaging apps such as Samsung Messages also utilize RCS protocol but don’t have this sort of limitation. If you have to blame anyone for this, it has to be Google. If Google chooses to proceed with this change, you can see a visible difference in the image quality you would send over the Google Messages app.

There is no exact reason why Google decided to put this sort of odd limitation. But, it is now changing the same for good. However, we can’t rule out the possibility that Apple’s decision to officially bring RCS support to the Messages app with iOS 18 could have influenced this change. After all, it is Google who always called out Apple to support RCS from time to time.

More recently, GSMA announced a major update for RCS which could bridge the messaging gap between Android and iPhone. Also, the fact that Google is fixing the image compression limitation, Android users would cherish cross-device texting and sharing high-quality images with their friends having iPhones. All that said, there’s no word on the rollout timeline yet.


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Samsung to power its Galaxy Tab S10 series with Dimensity 9300 Plus

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Samsung to power its Galaxy Tab S10 series with Dimensity 9300 Plus
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The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series tablets could be powered by Dimensity 9300 Plus chipset. The South Korean tech giant may be ditching the tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs (System on a Chip).

Entire Samsung Galaxy S10 series getting Dimensity 9300 Plus?

Samsung has remained loyal to Qualcomm and steadfastly preferred the latter’s flagship offerings for its smartphones and tablets. However, moving forward, Samsung could expand its horizons and move beyond Exynos and Snapdragon SoCs.

According to reliable tipster Ice Universe, Samsung is switching to MediaTek SoCs for the upcoming Galaxy-branded tablets. Specifically speaking, the entire Galaxy Tab S10 series could pack a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 plus chip.

Samsung hasn’t officially announced the series yet. However, some rumors suggest the company won’t offer a “base” model of the Galaxy S10 tablet. This makes Ice Universe’s claim even more interesting.

It is important to note that such rumors have routinely appeared in the past. However, Samsung kept on proving them wrong. While the exact reason to avoid MediaTek SoCs isn’t clear, several experts suggest Samsung intends to steadfastly position its tablets in the premium category.

MediaTek has been steadily improving its offerings. However, despite significant gains in terms of efficiency and processing power, the company’s chipsets are still majorly considered for budget and mid-range category smartphones and tablets.

Will Dimensity 9300 Plus match a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC?

It appears Samsung may be shifting to MediaTek primarily due to rising costs. However, it is also possible that the company is looking to expand or diversify its supply chain.

Samsung could have embedded its Exynos chipsets in the Galaxy Tab S10 series. However, the company’s chipsets still haven’t comfortably beaten Qualcomm’s flagship SoCs. Opting for Dimensity chips could adversely impact Exynos especially when Samsung is reportedly readying Exynos 2500, a flagship-grade SoC.

MediaTek has officially announced the Dimensity 9300 Plus SoC. It is a flagship octa-core chipset capable of hitting 3.4GHz. It supports LPDDR5T/LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 + MCQ storage.

The MediaTek NPU 790 packaged inside the Dimensity 9300 Plus supports Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). There’s a 12-core GPU onboard which claims to support up to 4K gaming at high frame rates with hardware-accelerated raytracing. Some of the other notable features include support for Wi-Fi 7, 5G, and Bluetooth 5.4.


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Google teases ‘Pixel 9 Pro Fold’, a “foldable for the Gemini era”

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Google teases ‘Pixel 9 Pro Fold’, a “foldable for the Gemini era”
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Earlier this morning Google officially put out its first teaser for the Pixel 9 Pro, and now the company has just officially teased the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Formerly suspected to be the Pixel Fold 2, Google is now confirming what the name will be for its second foldable smartphone. The Pixel Fold 2 will in fact not be the name, and instead Google is keeping to a theme here.

While the name ‘Pixel 9 Pro’ makes sense, given it’ll be the 9th generation of Pixel flagships, this will only be Google’s second foldable, which is in an entirely different device category. That being said, it seems clear that Google wants continuity with its upcoming phones this year. Hence the decision to label everything so far with the “Pixel 9” in front of it.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is “a foldable phone for the Gemini era”

Google has been going hard on AI with its latest devices and current computing advancements. And these recent teasers only make that more and more evident. Google says in its teaser description on YouTube that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a foldable phone for the Gemini era. Suggesting that Gemini features and Gemini, in general, will be heavily backed into the device in numerous ways.

One such way in particular seems to be the ability for users to bring up Gemini right on the device natively and ask it to do stuff. In Google’s teaser, Google asks Gemini to “write a breakup letter” that starts with the phrase “Dear Old Phone.” It’s an obvious joke about users moving from their old device to Google’s fancy new foldable. But it’s also very likely a glimpse at what sorts of integration Gemini is going to have on this generation of Pixel devices.

Google also shares a date of August 13 just like with the Pixel 9 Pro. Confirming that its next slate of phones will be fully revealed officially on this date.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was already leaked earlier this week

Google’s teaser isn’t the first time the new foldable has popped up. Earlier this week, pictures of the device surfaced via the Taiwan National Communications Commission website. Parts of the device were different as it wasn’t a consumer-ready version of the phone. But this was really just the Google “G” that you see on the back of every Pixel. Other aspects of the design appear to be what you’ll get when Google begins to sell this device later this year. Save for perhaps the color in the leak.

Google also now has the landing page up for “a whole new era of phones,” the Pixel 9 series powered by Gemini including the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, where more details are sure to pour in over the coming weeks.


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OpenAI released a new model that free users will love

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OpenAI released a new model that free users will love
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Right now, Microsoft-backed OpenAI has a selection of LLMs to power your ChatGPT experience. Well, the company just released a cheaper version of its flagship AI model. Named GPT-4o Mini, this model costs much less to use, and it might be a boon for ChatGPT’s largest user base.

In case you don’t know, OpenAI has several models like GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o. The third one on the list is the latest and most powerful model that the company has. It’s available to all users, but people who are paying will have the most access to the model. It’s multi-modal and it can understand live video.

If you want to know more about this model, we have Everything You Need To Know About GPT-4o. It answers all of the important questions about it.

OpenAI released GPT-4o Mini

When it comes to using a model, cost matters a lot. Every time you send a query and get a response, it costs money. This cost applies to GPT-4o mini model costs 60% less than GPT-3.5 Turbo. That’s a massive reduction in cost. So, if you’re using this model, you will see some major cost savings.

When it comes to the performance, this model definitely has some chops. It’s important to note that this is only from one benchmarking system. On the MMLU (Massive Multitask Language Understanding) test, GPT-4o scored 88.7%, and GPT-4o Mini was a bit behind with 82%.

GPT-4o Mini scored higher than 3.5 Turbo, which scored 70%. That’s important to know because GPT-4o mini is meant to be the replacement for 3.5 Turbo. That’s right! Free users are getting access to a more powerful model. Paid users saw models like GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, but free users haven’t seen too many changes over the past nearly two years.

At this point, we don’t know everything that was stripped away from GPT-4o to make this Mini version. We know that it can currently only take text and images as input. It will eventually gain the ability to understand audio and video some time down the road.

GPT-3.5 Turbo isn’t going away altogether. Users will still be able to access it through the API.


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The final Android 15 Beta is now rolling out

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The final Android 15 Beta is now rolling out
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Today, Google announced that it is starting to roll out Android 15 Beta 4, which is scheduled to be the final beta for Android 15. The next update we see should be the stable build which could come as soon as next month. It’d be a good guess to say that it’s coming on August 13 at the Google event.

This is the second Platform Stability release, which Google says “developer APIs and all app-facing behaviors are now final”. Though, Google could still release some patches for this beta, as we’ve seen with just about every beta so far for Android 15. Google also mentions that Android 15 removes the legacy PNG-based emoji font file. Back in Android 13, Google moved to a vector-based file, but did keep the old version around for a while, for compatibility reasons of course.

There is still quite a long list of “known issues” with this beta, which is surprising since it is the final one scheduled for Android 15.

Expect Android 15 to launch next month with Pixel 9

While we don’t know for sure, we do expect that the stable version of Android 15 will launch next month around the time of the Pixel 9 announcement. While Google hasn’t really kept the new version of Android for the new Pixels for quite some time now, it would be surprising to see Google announce four new Pixel devices on Android 15, when it’s not yet available.

Google could end up doing it similar to Apple with the iPhone. Where it announces the iPhone, pre-orders open that Friday, the following Monday the new version of iOS is available to everyone, with new iPhones shipping that Friday. At this Made By Google event, we’re expecting the company to launch the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, as well as a few Pixel Watch 3 models.


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