6 best robotic pool cleaners

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In the fast-paced digitally-focused and app-driven world that we live in, cleaning your pool and keeping it safe isn’t as cumbersome or time-consuming as it used to be.
In that spirit, we’ve shortlisted five of the best robotic pool cleaners money can buy in 2024!

1. Beatbot AquaSense Pro

Beatbot AquaSense Pro

The Beatbot AquaSense Pro is the world’s first all-in-one intelligent pool cleaning robot.
Let’s face it. Older technologies often lack the intelligence or power to clean the entire pool, get stuck and fall back down when climbing the walls, and many feature unsightly and frustrating chords. AquaSense Pro fixes these challenges with past technologies by delivering comprehensive 5-in-1 pool cleaning floor, walls, waterline, surface, and water clarification. Its ability to evaluate and produce the right dosage of cleaning agents for water clarification provides unmatched water clarity. Beatbot AquaSense Pro features many industry-first technologies to bring pool care up to modern expectations. Powered by Beatbot OS (the robot’s brain), to help it actively see and think unlike other pool cleaning devices, it features 20 sensors including ultrasonic sensors and dual gyroscopes to help it find and avoid obstacles and path planning to ensure efficient cleaning with no missed areas.

AquaSense Pro is also a significant leap forward in power and convenience, with 9 motors, 4 brushes, and 2 filters, Beatbot AquaSense Pro is a powerhouse. Its Industry-First NonaDrive™ 9 Motor System, paired with front and back brush sets, doubles performance and offers variable speeds for precision control. The two ultra-fine filtration filters (up to 150 µm) efficiently capture debris. The Beatbot smart app provides pool visualization, path visualization, five different cleaning modes for convenience, and records to monitor recent cleaning data. The device is completely cordless and propels itself back to its dock at the water surface. Filter cleaning is also very easy as it releases water on the way to the dock to make it very light for retrieval. Finally, AquaSense Pro is a safe choice for any pool owner. It’s very durable and has been awarded comprehensive safety and environmental certifications, packaged with a two-year warranty for peace of mind, all making it our top choice in January 2024.

This model is on Pre-sale now. You can get it for $1699 now with a discount.

2. Dolphin Explorer E70

Dolphin Explorer E70

Elevate your pool maintenance with the Dolphin Explorer E70 Robotic Pool Cleaner, equipped with advanced features for efficiency and convenience. Seamlessly manage your Dolphin anytime, anywhere through the MyDolphin Plus Mobile app. The Dolphin Explorer E70 excels in waterline scrubbing on vertical surfaces, ensuring a spotless waterline.

Experience intensified cleaning power with the Super Scrub feature, providing a thorough and comprehensive cleaning of pool surfaces. The Pickup Mode adds convenience, allowing the Dolphin Explorer E70 to wait at the pool edge for quick and easy removal. Embrace a new era of control and effectiveness in pool cleaning with the Dolphin Explorer E70 Robotic Pool Cleaner. $1999 on Amazon.com.

3. Dolphin Liberty 300

Dolphin Liberty 300

The Liberty 300 is Dolphin’s first robotic pool cleaner powered entirely by a battery. It’s light and compact design makes it great for all kinds of pools. It can track all pool surfaces with excellent grip, along with an active front brush, navigation system and advanced scanning software which round off the package nicely at $1,249.

The new cordless design features impressive agility and inductive charging. The Magnetic-Connect system allows for easy snap-in-place and walk-away charging, while an Eco Mode allows you to keep your pool clean throughout the week with relatively shorter cleaning cycles. A Cycle Selector is included to let you choose between floor and wall cleaning or floor-only cleaning. Convenient!

Dolphin has always been a product synonymous with reliability and service, and the Liberty 300 is no different, only this time, it’s cordless! The powerful and intensive scrubbing system as well as the robust filtration system make it a worthy buy to consider in 2024. $1249 on Amazon.com.

4. Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus

Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus

Dolphin’s Nautilus CC Plus has been one of the most talked about robotic pool cleaners of 2023 and 2024, namely because it can clean pools rather quickly, even if they are up to 50 feet long! What’s surprising though that it is very lightweight to use and remove from the pool, given its cleaning capacity.

The Nautilus CC Plus can be best described as a powerful and efficient robotic pool cleaning tool with a durable housing wrapped around it. Even though it has been primarily designed for in-ground pools, some users have reported that it works fine when cleaning above-ground pools too.

It’s very easy to set up – just turn it on and drop it into your pool – it’ll work its magic. Priced between $800 and $850, depending on where you buy it from, we’d say it’s not a bad buy at all to consider this year. $849 on Amazon.

5. Polaris 9650IQ Sport

Polaris 9650IQ Sport

The Polaris 9650iQ Sport, although a tad expensive at just under $1,500 (on Amazon), is an innovative piece of machinery, offering all-around superb cleaning performance, and sturdy construction. It’s quite easy to use and maintain, and comes with a user-friendly app.

The multiple programming options, including the smart home features like Wi-Fi connectivity lets you control your robotic pool cleaner from your smartphone, no matter where you are.

Boasting a slick and sturdy design, it measures 16.9 x 18.9 x 10.6 inches, weighing just 21 lbs. The powerful 4-wheel drive system helps you navigate your pool’s bottom and sides, while a pair of front-mounted rubber brushes help to dislodge dirt. The attached debris canister is very easy to remove, clean, and maintain, and you never end up getting your hands dirty.

Preparing the Polaris 9650iQ Sport is quick and easy – the caddy assembly shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to set up. Just assemble it, download the iAquaLink app and you’re good to go!$1399 on Amazon.com.

6. Aiper Seagull Pro

Aiper Seagull Pro

The Aiper Seagull Pro offers a fully cordless robotic vacuuming system which makes pool cleaning super-easy.

Coming in with an MSRP of $899, it offers a quad-motor system, 3 cleaning modes with control dial, WavePath navigation technology, the ability to charge fully in just 90 minutes and more. Its powerful suction, efficient routing, long run time, and high capacity filter basket make it one of the bestselling robotic pool cleaners this year.

Unboxing and setup is really easy too – no apps need to be installed, just choose the desired cleaning mode through the top-mounted dial, and that’s it. $718 on Amazon.


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Google to step away from Samsung for future Tensor & AI chips

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According to a new report coming from China, Google made a rather major change when it comes to its future chips. Google has decided to take a step back from Samsung for future Tensor and AI chips. Not the ones coming this year, though. More on that later.

Google is about to step away from Samsung for future Tensor & AI chips

This information comes from Taiwan Economic Daily, and it claims Google is looking for alternative semiconductor suppliers for its “Tensor” chips. The company allegedly approached Taiwanese companies in the process.

The name ‘KYEC’ was mentioned in the report, as the company allegedly secured a portion of Google’s orders. Google also invested in KYEC’s facilities in Taiwan in order for the manufacturing process to run smoothly. Process testing is expected to kick off mid-year.

Why is Samsung even mentioned here? Well, because the company was the sole supplier of Google’s Tensor chips thus far. Google is rumored to use TSMC’s N3E process for the Tensor G5, though, so taking a step back from Samsung may not be all that surprising.

Google is allegedly collaborating with KYEC, a Taiwanese company

Now, I also mentioned AI chips in the title. Well, in addition to Tensor chips, Google is expected to collaborate with KYEC for its AI chips too. It’s a bit surprising Google didn’t immediately go for TSMC, also a Taiwanese company, but went for KYEC, a far less-known name.

Needless to say, this collaboration can highly benefit KYEC. On the opposite side, KYEC will likely provide Google with plenty of freedom when it comes to chip designs, and that’s probably what Google wants.

The Tensor G4 next year will be a completely different product

Just to be perfectly clear, however, don’t expect any of what we talked about here to reflect on the Tensor G4. The Tensor G4 will fuel the Google Pixel 9 series later this year. That chip will almost certainly be provided solely by Samsung, as were the previous three.

The real change will come with the Tensor G5. Previous rumors/reports suggested it, and so does the new one. So, look for those changes in Q4 2025, not Q4 2024.


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Hollyland intros LARK M2, a lighweight wireless lavalier microphone

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Hollyland introduced the LARK M2, its new ‘top level’ consumer-grade wireless lavalier microphone. This product is very lightweight, by the way, it weighs only 9 grams. Needless to say, that alone makes it stand out.

The Hollyland LARK M2 is a truly lightweight wireless lavalier microphone

Such weight wouldn’t be a surprise if it were a tiny wired microphone, but it definitely is considering it’s wireless. Hollyland hopes to market this to filmmakers, vloggers, and podcasters.

It’s not only very light but also very small, so you can attach it to your clothes without a problem. It’s also rather unintrusive considering its size. The best of all, you’re not getting horrible battery life either, despite this thing’s size and weight.

Hollyland says that LARK M2 can provide you with up to 10 hours of recording. It can be fully recharged in 1.5 hours once it’s empty. The ‘camera version’ of the LARK M2 provides a total operation time of up to 40 hours, while the ‘mobile version’ up to 30 hours with the charging case.

You can easily connect this thing to your phone, computer, and more

You can easily connect this microphone to your Android or iOS device. The same goes for cameras, action cameras, computers, and so on. It’s a very versatile product, as you’d expect.

The Hollyland LARK M2 comes with high-gain LDS (Laser Direct Structuring) antenna. That antenna reduces signal blockage caused by the human body, says the company. It’s supposed to provide “stable, uninterrupted audio transmission”. Hollyland says you can get up to 300 meters of range (line of sight) with this microphone.

The LARK M2 is equipped with environmental noise cancellation (ENC), which you can adjust to your preference. You can do that via the LarkSound app, with ease. You’ll also be updating the LARK M2 via that app.

It offers “studio-grade” Hi-Fi sound quality

Having said that, the microphone system Hollyland used features studio-grade 48kHz/24bit Hi-Fi sound quality. It also offers a single-to-noise ratio of 70dB, and a maximum sound pressure level of 115dB. You can easily switch between mono and stereo modes also.

The Hollyland LARK M2 comes in four versions. Those versions are: Mobile (LIghtning), Mobile (USB-C), Camera, and Combo Version. You’ll get a number of accessories in each package, such as windscreens for outdoor recording, cable connectors, and more.

The Hollyland LARK M2 is already available. You can get it from Amazon, or through “local distributors”. The Mobile (Lightning) and Mobile (USB-C) versions are priced at $149 and $139, respectively. The Camera Version costs $159, while the Combo Version will set you back $179. If you’re interested, the purchase link is included below.

Buy the Hollyland LARK M2 (Amazon)


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In major App Store change, Apple lets developers link to outside payment platforms in the U.S.

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Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear Apple’s appeal related to the Epic v. Apple court case. That means Apple now has to follow the ruling of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers who ruled in 2021 that Apple would have to allow developers to send their customers a link that would take them to a third-party platform to pay for in-app purchases and subscriptions.
Apple previously prevented developers from disseminating such a link since it would allow them to avoid paying Apple its 30% cut of in-app purchases. But with the judge’s ruling taking effect, Apple has changed its App Store Guidelines in the U.S. so that it complies with the results of the Epic v. Apple trial. Developers will be allowed to link to alternative payment platforms as long as the app also offers payments through Apple’s in-app payment platform.
In the App Store Review Guidelines under section 3.1.1(a), Apple writes “Developers may apply for an entitlement to provide a link in their app to a website the developer owns or maintains responsibility for in order to purchase such items….In accordance with the entitlement agreement, the link may inform users about where and how to purchase those in-app purchase items, and the fact that such items may be available for a comparatively lower price.

The entitlement is limited to use only in the iOS or iPadOS App Store on the United States storefront. In all other storefronts, apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.”


Don’t worry about Apple missing out on the so-called Apple Tax. Apple will still be entitled to a slightly smaller 27% slice of the revenue generated by an in-app purchase if an outside payment platform is used to process an in-app purchase. That drops to 12% if the developer belongs to the App Store Small Business Program.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose lawsuit against Apple came after its popular Fortnite game was kicked out of the App Store (and the Google Play Store) for offering a link to its own in-app payment platform inside the game, was not happy with the changes announced by Apple. In a tweet, Sweeney called the 27% cut that Apple receives on payments processed by a third-party platform “anti-competitive” and plans to “contest the bad-faith compliance plan in District Court.”

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Google very likely to rebrand Assistant to Bard ahead of release

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Google is likely to replace the Assistant moniker with Bard before it launches the digital assistant later this year. Officially unveiled back in October during the Pixel 8 event, Assistant with Bard is scheduled for release in 2024.

However, Google plans to remove “Assistant” from the name and simply call it “Bard.” The fine folks at 9to5google have decompiled the latest version of the Google app and found that the app’s greeting screen has been changed from “Hi! I’m Assistant with Bard” to “Hi! I’m Bard.”

Not only that, but nearly all mentions of Assistant with bard have been replaced with just Bard. And since Google is now calling Bard a digital assistant rather than another version of Assistant, it’s pretty clear that the search giant is going for a rebrand ahead of launch.

The problem is that Bard is still an “experimental AI assistant,” while Google Assistant is an established product that’s being improved all the time. The decision to remove many good Assistant features last week was probably one of the steps Google needed to take before completely replacing Assistant with Bard.

This suggests that Bard will not come with all the features Assistant offered, although Google might promise to add many of them over the coming months. Clearly, it will take some time before Bard moves from the “experimental” status to a stable one, but it looks like Google is determined to make it work.

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Google makes stunning admission in new Incognito mode disclaimer

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When Google Chrome’s Incognito mode is enabled on your phone, it means that none of your browsing history or information entered into forms can be seen by someone who has access to your device or shares the device with you. So if you have been looking online to buy a present for a relative, the sites you visited cannot be discovered. 

Google is about to settle a class-action suit that involved Incognito mode for $5 billion and it accused Google of committing privacy violations. Now, the company is revising the disclaimer that appears when Incognito mode is used on Chrome to allow Android users, Windows users, and others to understand that their personal data can still be collected by Google and others even when browsing the web in Incognito mode.

Google has made a key change to the first paragraph of the Incognito mode disclaimer

That Google and others can still collect your data while you’re in Incognito mode isn’t made clear with the current warning. And just because you have Incognito mode enabled, you can still be tracked by websites or internet service providers. According to MSPoweruser, in the unstable Chrome Canary beta app (which is updated nightly), Google made some changes to the first paragraph of the aforementioned disclaimer that appears when you enable Incognito mode.

The current disclaimer starts by saying, “You’ve Gone Incognito. Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads, bookmarks, and reading list items will be saved.” The revised version found on Chrome Canary reads, “You’ve Gone Incognito. Others who use this device won’t see your activity so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google. Downloads, bookmarks, and reading list items will be saved.”

Let’s look at the changes in the paragraph again. The current disclaimer says, “Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved.” The revised version on Chrome Canary reads, “Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google. Downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved.”

Follow these directions in order to enable Incognito mode on your Android device.

The revised disclaimer is admitting that enabling Incognito mode won’t change how your data is collected by the sites you visit and by Google and that’s a rather stunning admission. While the current disclaimer doesn’t mention it, the revised version makes it clear that enabling Incognito mode doesn’t make you invisible to third-party trackers and Google. 

Had Google made this clear before, perhaps it wouldn’t have settled the previously mentioned class-action suit for $5 billion since the suit accused Google of using analytics, cookies, and other tools to track their browsing histories along with device data, and the content of webpages visited even with Incognito Mode enabled. Now, Google is making it clear that this kind of activity takes place when Incognito mode is enabled.

To use Incognito mode, when you have the Chrome app open, tap on the three-dot icon (on Android) in the top right of the screen, or the profile icon (on iOS) on the right side of the search field and tap on New Incognito tab. From that point forward, use the Chrome browser like you usually would. When your browsing session is over, you can tap to disable the Incognito mode.

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LG confirms release of an XR device as early as next year

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The race in the extended reality (XR) market is heating up as LG Electronics plans to join the competition with the release of an XR device as early as next year.

The announcement comes as LG aims to make an entry into the XR market, following in the footsteps of tech giants like Apple and Samsung Electronics. CEO Cho Joo-wan revealed the company’s XR plans during a press interaction at CES 2024.

LG Electronics has been actively working on XR device development, establishing a dedicated ‘XR Business Department’ within the HE Business Division (the division that makes TVs) this year. LG intended to accelerate development as the XR business gained visibility, Cho explained.

XR encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), is gaining renewed attention, especially with recent developments like Apple’s pre-sales of the XR headset ‘Vision Pro‘.

LG previously demonstrated a StreamVR prototype, although, it never came out

It turns out that LG has some sort of experience with this product category. While LG’s history in VR has been relatively short-lived with previous attempts like a smartphone-tethered headset in 2016 and a PC-tethered SteamVR prototype in 2017, the company is gearing up for a fresh XR venture.

A previous report from ETNews (in Korean) suggested that the upcoming XR device from LG might leverage the recently announced Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform. According to Qualcomm, multiple upcoming XR devices including Samsung’s Google-powered headset and Sony’s ‘special content creation tool‘ have already adopted the chipset.

A South Korean media outlet SBS Biz previously reported about Meta engaging in talks with LG for sourcing OLED microdisplays for its own XR devices. So the company already has at least one key component for the XR product that matches the requirement.

Presence Research expects the global XR market to grow substantially in the near future, with projections indicating a rise from $41.56 billion in 2022 to $859.35 billion in 2030.


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Next Snapdragon 7 Plus to inch midrange phones closer to flagships

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The next iteration of Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 7 Plus processor (presumably Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3) is expected to bring a “huge upgrade,” according to a recent Weibo post from Digital Chat Station. The leaker suggests that the upcoming Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 will adopt the architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. If true, it may bring significant improvement over its predecessor.

The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, launched last year, already represented a substantial performance boost for mid-range smartphones, sharing the same CPU cores as the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 from 2022. Now, with the anticipation of the Gen 3, users can expect another notable enhancement.

Digital Chat Station specifically mentions that the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 will incorporate the architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The latter is Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor for 2024. This setup includes a Cortex-X4 big core, five Cortex-A720 medium cores, and two Cortex-A520 little cores.

The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 may use downclocked version of the cores from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

While the details regarding clock speeds remain unclear, it’s worth noting that the previous Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 experienced certain downgrades compared to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 it replicated. These included lower CPU clock speeds and other feature reductions. For instance, the 7 Plus Gen 2 featured the Adreno 725 GPU instead of the Adreno 730 found on the latter.

Despite the impressive capabilities of the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, it had limited adoption, featuring only in a select few devices from Xiaomi and Realme. None of these devices were available in the US either. With the promising upgrades expected in the Gen 3 variant, there is hope for broader adoption among mid-range smartphones, potentially expanding its availability to a wider range of users.


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Meta to limit kid’s access to sensitive content on its apps

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Meta and its subset social platforms  Instagram and Facebook have been a target of public criticism over children’s safety and exposing them to unpleasant content for a while. However, in recent years, the firm has taken some good steps to limit kids’ exposure to sensitive content by adding various settings and options for both kids and parents.

But the latest addition to Meta’s safety procedure aims to keep suicide and eating disorder content away from teenagers even more. According to Androidcentral, Meta announced a new set of privacy and safety policies on Tuesday in order to show more age-appropriate content to teenagers. The new policy will apply to all under 18 users on Instagram and Facebook. Meanwhile, a global rollout might take a few months.

Teen Instagram and Facebook users have more restricted access to self-harm and eating disorder content

As per the company’s blog post, content with self-harm and eating disorder materials will be removed from user’s Instagram and Facebook feeds. Both platforms have already limited kids’s access to such content on Reels and Explore. However, the restriction is now expanding to Feed and Stories. Meta says it will restrict the content even if it’s shared by someone the user follows.

Additionally, if an underage user posts about dealing with self-harm and eating disorders, the company would refer them to expert organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Meta added the new policy is in line with expert guidance. Also, they’ll continue to hide more search results related to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders on Instagram.

Another change is to the recommendation settings for teens. Meta now automatically puts users under 18 into the most restrictive content control setting on Instagram and Facebook. The company previously applied this policy to newly registered users. However, it’s now expanding it to all underage users, regardless of their sign-up period.

The settings aim to limit teenager’s access to sensitive content on Search and Explore. As a side note, the setting is known as “Sensitive Content Control” on Instagram and “Reduce” on Facebook. Finally, Meta said it sends users notifications to inform them of the latest privacy settings.


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Leaked Galaxy S24 promo video shows off AI features in action

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The Samsung Galaxy S24 is poised to come with some nifty AI features using Samsung‘s rumored ‘Galaxy AI’ technology, and some of those features have just been shown off in a leaked promo video.

We’ve seen some of these AI features before. Both on other devices and in other leaks pertaining to the Galaxy S24 series. But with regards to the Galaxy S24 series, this would be the first time we’ve seen the features shown in-use. Earlier this month, Samsung announced reservations for its upcoming phones and it teased some of the features there. But again, those teasers didn’t show the features being used.

This recently leaked ad, courtesy of @MysteryLupin and @VideoArchiveAS, shows how the features will work. This includes some of the AI camera features that allow users to shrink, delete, and move objects in a photo after it’s been taken. It’s the same kind of capability that we discussed in our exclusive report from last week. You’ll be able to snap a photo, then in post-processing, you can edit the photo by shrinking or enlarging objects and moving them around. All you have to do is draw a circle around the object. Simple enough, right? The ad shows a handful of other features too.

Galaxy AI promo video shows features like live translate

Live translation is nothing new. Google Translate offers it on phones through the official Translate app if you hold the camera up to something you want to be translated. You simply have to set the languages first, and the languages need to support the live translation. There are more than a few devices outside of smartphones that promise live translation as well. Samsung’s Galaxy AI will have a live translation feature that lets you speak a foreign language on the spot and understand responses.

Here’s how it appears to work in the ad. The Galaxy S24 user is on a call with a taxi company to find an item that was left behind. They speak English, while the person on the other end speaks Spanish. Both the user’s English responses and the taxi company’s Spanish responses are translated appropriately. This is a feature that could come in very useful for travelers. But in general, it could even be useful in everyday life if you live in a larger city that’s ethnically diverse.

There is no doubt going to be more AI features shown off in future ads. And Samsung may just show some off during Galaxy Unpacked tomorrow.


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