Brave launches its privacy-focused AI assistant on Android

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Brave launches its privacy-focused AI assistant on Android
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Privacy-focused browser Brave has extended the availability of its built-in AI assistant, Leo, to Android devices. Leo, which first launched on desktop browsers in November 2023, allows users to interact with an AI directly from the browser’s address bar or on web pages without having to switch interfaces.

The addition of Leo to Android brings all of its capabilities to mobile, allowing users to get help, information, and tasks from their phone or tablet. According to the latest blog post, Android users can now use Leo to create summaries of web pages or videos. They can get translations of pages between English and other languages, including French, German, Italian and Spanish. The AI assistant can also help plan travel itineraries, cook recipes, write code, and more.

Brave says AI assistant Leo protects user privacy

Brave says users won’t have to wait until they’re back at their computer to get help from an AI. The company claims that early adoption of Leo on the desktop has been strong, and they’re hoping to see similar usage on the growing Android platform.

The standard AI model that powers Leo conversations is Mixtral 8x7B. This model is known for its multilingual capabilities and features like code generation. Brave claims it also shows strong performance in benchmarks while reducing bias compared to other large language models.

brave ai assistant leo android

For those who want higher usage limits for Leo, a premium subscription is available for $14.99 per month. The subscription provides access to up to 5 devices running Android, Linux, MacOS and Windows linked to a single Brave account.

The Opera browser made a similar move last year. In June, the company announced that its Aria AI assistant would be rolled out to all Android users. The feature is available for free and is based on OpenAI’s GPT model.

To learn more about Brave Leo, you can visit the main product page or check out Leo’s product roadmap.


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Meta collaborates with LG to ramp up the development of XR devices

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Meta collaborates with LG to ramp up the development of XR devices
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LG Electronics and Meta Platforms, Inc. are set to embark on an expanded strategic collaboration, aiming to revolutionize extended reality (XR) experiences.

This collaboration announced recently, seeks to leverage the strengths of both companies to drive innovation in the XR domain. Extended reality (XR) technologies encompass metaverse, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). IEEE highlights these technologies as one of the core growth areas for 2024.

Meta’s collaboration with LG aims to pioneer next-generation XR experiences

By uniting Meta’s platform with LG’s content and service capabilities from its TV business, the collaboration aims to pioneer next-generation XR experiences, entering a new era in customer interaction and immersion.

The collaboration between LG and Meta represents a significant milestone in the XR landscape. LG’s CEO, William Cho, and Meta’s Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently convened at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, to discuss business strategies and considerations for next-gen XR device development. Cho “expressed a keen interest” in Meta’s development of devices like the Meta Quest 3 and the Ray-Ban Meta smart glassed. He especially particularly focuses on Meta’s large language models and their potential for on-device AI integration.

LG envisions a distinctive ecosystem in the XR domain, combining Meta’s platform with its own content and service capabilities. It paves the way for an unparalleled XR experience.

XR devices have the potential to surpass smartphones in terms of immersion in the near future

XR devices offer the potential to surpass the limitations of mobile screens in terms of immersion and intuitiveness. Notably, this product category is often recognized as next-generation personal devices. Wearable devices, in particular, hold promise in broadening customer interactions. This collaboration with Meta aligns with LG’s strategy of concentrating resources on promising future areas. It also leads to innovations in customer experiences within the virtual space.

LG’s Future Vision 2030 outlines its long-term goal of evolving into a Smart Life Solution Company. It involves both seamlessly connecting and expanding customer experiences across various domains. As part of this vision, the company established a dedicated XR business within the Home Entertainment Company to accelerate the pursuit of ventures in the virtual space arena. With Meta’s expertise and LG’s commitment to innovation, the collaboration is likely to accelerate changes in the XR landscape. The partnership will in turn contribute to LG’s promise to the market and its customers.

As CEO Cho affirms, 2024 will be the year in which LG accelerates these changes, striving to fulfill its promise of Future Vision 2030.


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Peek behind the curtain and see some Nothing Phone (2a) prototypes

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Peek behind the curtain and see some Nothing Phone (2a) prototypes
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The Nothing Phone (2a) is right around the corner. The company already showed off the back side of the phone during MWC 2024 and shared an official unboxing video of the device. Now you can also check out a bunch of Nothing Phone (2a) prototypes, thanks to Nothing’s collab with the Wallpaper magazine.

Check out the Nothing Phone (2a) prototypes

If you check out the gallery below the article, you’ll spot a bunch of prototypes across a number of images. It seems like Nothing also considered some prototypes that resemble the Nothing Phone (2) quite a bit before it settled on a new design.

Fun fact, the design Nothing opted for is actually a design that the original Nothing Phone was supposed to use. Well, close to it. That much was revealed in yesterday’s official unboxing video.

Nothing’s design director, Adam Bates, talked to folks over at the Wallpaper magazine. He said the following: “We want to be a company that does things differently”. He said that Nothing is “looking to find how Nothing expresses itself in all these different areas”.

This handset will be more affordable than the Nothing Phone (2)

The Nothing Phone (2a) will be more affordable than the Nothing Phone (2). The device will use a “high-density polycarbonate rear”, along with “triple anti-fingerprint coating”. As a reminder, the Nothing Phone (2) has a glass backplate.

The polycarbonate back on the Nothing Phone (2a) will be curved, it will curve into the frame under a rather steep angle. It is also said that the circuitry, on the inside, is arranged on a 100-percent recycled aluminum midframe.

The phone’s cameras will be horizontally aligned, with a circle along them. Around those cameras, you’ll spot three Glyph light panels, which are all in different shapes and sizes.

This smartphone will be fueled by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, that much has been confirmed by Nothing. The device is coming on March 5, that’s when its official launch will take place.


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NVIDIA’s RTX 5090 GPU may see huge boost over RTX 4090

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NVIDIA’s RTX 5090 GPU may see huge boost over RTX 4090
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The rumor mill is spinning up again surrounding the next generation of NVIDIA’s graphics cards, and the latest suggests that the GeForce RTX 5090 may end up with a huge speed boost over its predecessor. The GeForce RTX 4090 GPU is already a blazing-fast card. So it might be hard to imagine right now how much faster the next “90” model GPU could really be. It’s worth keeping in mind though that NVIDIA doesn’t really release GPUs that don’t have at least some improvements to make them worth buying.

Some releases do feature a big boost in performance compared to previous years. For instance, the RTX 4090 saw a pretty big boost in performance when compared to the RTX 3090 in both Timespy and Port Royal tests from 3D Mark, according to testing done by Digital Trends. NVIDIA’s own benchmark graphs also show some notable improvements on performance. All this being said, it would be unlikely for the GeForce RTX 5090 to come out with little improvements. It is going to be NVIDIA’s flagship after all. So how much faster is the GeForce RTX 5090 going to be?

GeForce RTX 4090 Performance vs GeForce RTX 3090 Ti

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 could see a 70% speed boost over the GeForce RTX 4090

It’s tough to say right now since all of these are just rumors. However, if the details end up being accurate then the GeForce RTX 5090 sounds like it could see a big uptick in performance over the current flagship GPU. YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead recently discussed the details of NVIDIA’s upcoming graphics card on the Broken Silicon podcast, and it’s being rumored that the GPU will potentially deliver a huge 70% boost in performance. Even as powerful as the GeForce RTX 4090 is, a 70% speed increase is leagues ahead of what the current card delivers.

This big of a boost has been speculated before. Techradar points out that previous rumors pegged the upcoming GPU as being twice as fast as the current model. It’s still unclear if the rumors are true. But any way you slice it, this is going to be a powerful card. Powerful enough that you should have no issues cranking graphics settings to max on anything available.

NVIDIA might save its most powerful cards for AI purposes

The GeForce RTX 5090 is shaping up to be a beast of a GPU if data is accurate. But NVIDIA might have even more powerful cards that it’s working on. Part of the rumor about the speed boost says that the company might save its most powerful offerings for AI purposes. And given that NVIDIA is now valued at $2 trillion because of its AI chips, it would be easy to understand why. Numerous companies are now using NVIDIA’s chips for their own projects. And NVIDIA more than likely wants to keep that gravy train rolling. But it couldn’t necessarily do that if it was selling its most powerful hardware to consumers too.


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Google could spice up your calls with ‘Audiomojis’

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Google could spice up your calls with ‘Audiomojis’
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Emojis are a fun way to add a nice emotional pop to your messages. However, what if you could add them to your phone calls? Well, Google is looking to do something similar to this with what it calls Audiomojis. We are still learning what Audiomojis are, but a new report states that Google wants to bring them to its first-party phone app.

Google, as always, is hard at work adding new features to its products in order to make them better. For example, today, Google announced new features for Chrome that could make searching much better. These features are rolling out today.

Google is working on Audiomojis for the Google Phone app

Right now, this feature could be in the very early stages of production. So, you will want to take this news cautiously. There’s no guarantee that Google will launch this feature to the public.

So, you’re talking to her friend on the phone, and they say the cheesiest dad joke you’ve ever heard. Wouldn’t you want to add a nice laughing sound effect? Or, if you are about to share some exciting news, don’t you think that a drum roll sound effect will be perfect? Well, this is the thinking behind Audiomojis.

Discovered in the latest beta version of the Google Phone app (version 124), Audiomojis are short audio sound effects that you could play during a voice call on the Google Phone app. The term Audiomoji is rather odd, but it does make sense. An emoji is a bit of media that adds just a bit to the messages you are sending. Audiomojis can do the same thing. A short sound effect could be useful when trying to make a point.

The number of Audiomojis available at launch will be vastly dwarfed by the number of existing visual emojis. According to the report, Google could be working on launching this feature with only six sounds. These sounds are drum roll, sad, applause, party pooper, laugh, and poop.

Even though these are audio clips, the Audiomojis could also come with a visual aspect as well. Google May accompany the Audiomojis with short animations as well. Below is an example of one possible animation.

Drum roll audiomoji GIF

At this point, at this point, Google is still testing this feature. There’s no telling when the company is going to officially bring it to the public. In any case, it will still be interesting to see this feature in action.


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A Paramount+ and Peacock merger could give Netflix a run for its money

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A Paramount+ and Peacock merger could give Netflix a run for its money
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According to rumors, Paramount+ and Peacock are in talks about a potential merger. If that happens, then both of their libraries will be merged. According to a new report, if Peacock and Paramount+ were to merge, their library would give Netflix and run for its money

Right now, the streaming and entertainment industry is in a bit of a weird spot. Years ago, each media company presented its own content. Now, companies are merging left and right and offering combined catalogs of content to stream. For example, HBO Max and Discovery+ merged their content while Disney+ and Hulu are in the process of doing the same. Also, Amazon bought MGM, so its content is available through Prime Video. This could lead to a future where the entire entertainment industry is very streamlined with only a few services actually streaming content.

A merger between Peacock and Paramount+ could give Netflix a run for its money

Paramount+ has been making its way up the ranks of video streaming services. It offers content from Paramount’s collection of properties like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, and more. Lately, we’ve been following rumors that it is planning to merge with Peacock, another notable streaming service. Both services have been battling to be the top one on the market, but that honor belongs to Netflix. However, it doesn’t mean that these two streaming services don’t have a massive amount of content.

According to Reelgood, a hub to sign up for and watch content from several streaming services, if Peacock and Paramount+ were to merge, the content library could surpass Netflix in one key area. That area would be in movies. Currently, there are 4,082 movies on Netflix; Paramount+ and Peacock combined will total 5,296 movies. It’s important to know that this includes Paramount+ with Showtime.

However, while that is the case, the merged streaming services would still fall short when it comes to shows. However, the gap in TV shows is less substantial than the gap in movies. Netflix has 2,275 TV shows compared to the 2075 shows between Peacock and Paramount+. So, if you are a big movie watcher, then Peacock and Paramount+’s collection might be for you. However, if you are more into TV shows, then Netflix will continue to be your cup of tea. However, we are still going to have to wait to see if the two streaming services are going to actually merge.


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First signs of WhatsApp third party chat support appear in latest beta

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First signs of WhatsApp third party chat support appear in latest beta
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WhatsApp, the popular messaging app, is gearing up to open its doors to other messaging platforms. This has been in the works for some time now, but thanks to some evidence found in the latest beta version of the app, we now have more information on how the feature will work and how far along it is in its progress.The need for WhatsApp to add this functionality comes in direct response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to break down barriers between tech giants and increase competition in the digital space. WhatsApp’s upcoming “chat interoperability” feature will allow users in the European Union to connect with contacts across different messaging apps, even if those contacts don’t use WhatsApp themselves.Wabetainfo discovered the feature, which is currently in development and not available to users, in WhatsApp Android beta version 2.24.5.18. As per the screenshot uncovered (shown below), a new section will be introduced to the app. There, users can choose to enable interoperability, granting them the power to seamlessly exchange messages beyond WhatsApp’s ecosystem.
First signs of WhatsApp third party chat support appear in latest beta

WhatsApp “Third-party chats” feature splash screen | Image credit: Wabetainfo

While end-to-end encryption will be maintained, different messaging apps may use varying encryption protocols, leading to a separate inbox for these external chats. Because of this, WhatsApp is advising users to exercise caution when using chat interoperability.In addition to encryption compatibility concerns, cross-platform communication could potentially increase exposure to spam and scams. Every app has its own privacy policies, potentially handling your data differently than WhatsApp would.

Regardless of these hurdles to overcome, this move by WhatsApp is a major win for consumers in the EU. It promotes greater choice and flexibility in how they connect with others online.

It is not yet known if these changes in the app will apply globally or only in the EU. However, while the feature is completely optional, it signifies a positive shift towards interconnectedness in the messaging app landscape.


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Google is bringing back the camera feature you probably never use

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Google is bringing back the camera feature you probably never use
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Over a decade ago, Google introduced the Photo Sphere mode. It’s a mode that allows you to create 360° images by stitching together a ton of pictures. It’s like having a 360-degree camera without having a 360° camera. Well, Google took the feature away with the launch of the Pixel 8 phones for some reason. Now, according to a new report, Google is reviving Photo Sphere.

Photo Sphere predates many of the smartphone camera gimmicks that we’ve seen over the years. Given Google’s track record for discontinuing products like there’s no tomorrow, it’s surprising that it has stuck around for so long. The feature requires you to stand still and take separate images while rotating the camera around. This included taking pictures above you and below you. The app would then stitch all the pictures together to create one 360° image. The technology has, undoubtedly, gotten better over the years. However, the results always varied a lot.

Google is reviving Photo Sphere after taking it away

At this point, we’re not certain how many people are still using this feature. Honestly, many of us had forgotten about his existence. In any case, a fun feature is a fun feature. For some reason, Google got rid of the Photo Sphere feature with the launch of the Pixel 8 (Review) and Pixel 8 Pro (Review). So, the update removed the feature from older Pixel devices that supported the feature, and it never made it to the Pixel 8 phones.

However, some people are reporting that the Photo Sphere feature has made a return. A user on Reddit posted that version 9.2.113.60477888.19 of the Google camera app brings this feature back to life. There is a bit of a catch, though. Photo Sphere is only returning for a phone that previously supported it. This includes the entire line of Pixel devices that launched before the Pixel 8 series. So, if you own a Pixel 8 phone, you will not be able to experience it. In any case, it’s still good news for people who loved and used the feature in the past.


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Google Chrome rolls out update to improve your web search suggestions

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Google Chrome rolls out update to improve your web search suggestions
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Google Chrome is rolling out a new update to make web searches on mobile and desktop easier. The update includes three new tweaks to search suggestions that are designed to help you find what you’re looking for more quickly and efficiently.

On Android and iOS, Chrome will now make it easier to find products online. When you search for a product on Google, Chrome will now show you images of similar products that match even a partial search query. In the below example, when searching for “bohemian table,” but only typing “bohemian tab,” you will see several suggestions come up for anything that starts with that partial query. This should help in cases where you are not exactly sure what you are searching for but have an idea where to start, like in this case, where you are clearly looking for something bohemian-inspired.

Image Credit: Google

Also on Chrome for Android and iOS, a new improvement is rolling out that will allow your phone to display search suggestions even if you have a bad network connection and even if you are in Incognito Mode. Google says this is thanks to improved on-device capabilities in Chrome. This feature is especially useful for users who may have limited internet access or are concerned about their privacy. On the desktop, Chrome can now provide you with search suggestions based on what other people are looking for. When you start typing a query into the search bar, Chrome will show you a list of popular searches that are related to your query.
 

Image Credit: Google  

By providing search suggestions based on popular searches, Chrome ensures that users can still easily find relevant information even under challenging circumstances. This can help you find the information you’re looking for more quickly, and it can also help you discover new information that you may not have been aware of. All of these changes should start showing up for you in Chrome starting today.

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Viber introduces chat folders for better organization of chats

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Viber introduces chat folders for better organization of chats
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Rakuten-owned encrypted instant messaging app Viber has added chat folders. These customizable folders allow users to organize their conversations into groups for more streamlined communication. The new feature is available with the latest update for the app on Android and iOS.

Viber adds chat folders for streamlined communication

Chat folders allow you to group multiple conversations of a particular type for easier access. You can create separate chat folders for family members, colleagues, friends, and more. This way, your chats won’t be mixed up. Work chats will remain in a different group than family conversations.

This isn’t a new concept as chat folders are already available on some messaging apps, including Telegram. Viber is now joining this bandwagon. According to an official press release from Rakuten, Viber users can create up to five chat folders with custom names. This is in addition to an ‘All’ tab where you will find all of your chats, including those added to custom folders.

Folders will appear as separate chips on the top of the Chats screen. You should be able to swipe left or right to switch between the folders or tap on a chip to directly jump to it. Rakuten says you can assign the same chat to multiple folders. This will come in handy if your friend is also your colleague. Along with individual conversations, you can add group chats, channels, and communities to folders.

There is no limit to the number of chats you can add to a folder. However, Viber doesn’t allow you to add hidden chats, messages from Viber Pay, businesses, and customer interactions to folders. You can rename a folder whenever you want. Viber shows separate unread badges for each folder to indicate the number of unread chats within that folder. You can mark all chats within a folder as read at once.

The new feature is now rolling out to users

Chat folders on Viber will be available with version 22.0 and above of the app. Once you receive it, you will be introduced to the new feature on the home screen (provided you have more than ten chats on Viber). You can also activate and manage chat folders by going to More on the main chat screen and then selecting Manage Folders.

Rakuten says it could take up to two months for chat folders to reach all Viber users globally. You can check for updates for the app from the Google Play Store on your Android smartphone or the Apple App Store on your iPhone. “Our latest feature is here to elevate conversations and preserve meaningful connections by unlocking time-saving potential and embracing the advantage of simplicity,” said Ofir Eyal, Rakuten Viber’s CEO.


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