Google Messages gets camera icon shortcut in its home screen

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Google Messages gets camera icon shortcut in its home screen
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In a recent update Google introduced a user interface (UI) tweak to its Messages app, aiming to simplify the process of sharing photos. This update prominently places a camera icon directly on the Google Messages home screen. It provides users with a quick and accessible way to initiate the photo-sharing process. The camera icon is positioned adjacent to the search icon on the top right of the app.

The camera icon in Google Messages’ home screen aims to make photo sharing more convenient

Previously, sending photos through Google Messages involved navigating to the conversation. Then users were to click on the ‘Add’ button or capture a photo separately in the camera app. Then they would be able to select it from the conversation.

In contrast, the newly introduced camera shortcut makes this process a bit faster and easier. It now allows the user to directly capture the photo from the app’s home screen.

Upon tapping the camera icon, the app seamlessly transitions to the camera app UI and viewfinder. Once you take the photo, Google Messages prompts you to select a recipient. Then it automatically attaches the photo to a new message for the recipient you choose. You still get the option to add additional text before sending it, notes PhoneArena.

However, this feature appears to have another scope for improvement. The ‘Select recipients’ prompt doesn’t yet provide the ‘New message’ option. That means you will have to start the chat first before you try to share photos directly from Messages’ home screen. Nonetheless, Google has seemingly focused on its ‘Messages’ app for a while now and this is also expected to be fixed in the near future.

Google continues to improve ‘Messages’ to keep up with the competition

The camera shortcut is part of the app’s ongoing efforts to introduce experimental features. These include an animated emoji, an updated voice recorder, and Google Account login capabilities for the web version.

The camera shortcut was initially in a limited rollout phase. However, it is now being widely deployed to Google Messages users. This new addition reflects Google’s commitment to continuously improving the Messages app’s functionality to keep up with alternatives like WhatsApp. It also ensures that people who have been using Google Messages don’t have to shift their usage to another unfamiliar app just to make use of available new features.


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Specs for AMD’s Ryzen 8000G AM5 APUs may have just leaked

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Specs for AMD’s Ryzen 8000G AM5 APUs may have just leaked
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The specifications for AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 8000G platform may have been leaked, according to a report from Sakhtafzarmag, an Iranian media outlet. The 8000G series is a family of desktop accelerated processing units (APUs), which is what AMD calls chips that have both CPU and GPU silicon on the same die. We don’t know much about the 8000G series this far, but we do know that they are based on Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2 APUs. Other than that, this latest leak would represent the first time clock speeds for the Ryzen 8000G platform have been revealed, if it pans out. However, the leak only covers CPU clock speeds, not iGPU speeds.

AMD’s 8000G chips are set to feature its Zen4 architecture for the CPU and RDNA3 architecture for the GPU. According to the leak, AMD will unveil a whopping 14 different versions of chips under the 8000G platform. There will be the standard G-series, which employ 65W chips. Then there is the GE series, which feature a much lower 35W power consumption. For power users, the PRO versions of the 8000G platform will have 65W, 45W, and 35W configurations.

Alleged specs for AMD’s 8000G series

Out of the lot, the best 8000G chip looks to be the Ryzen 7 8700G, and that chip offers eight cores and 16 threads. It uses the Phoenix 1 APU, per report, and can be boosted up to 5.1GHz with a base clock speed of 4.2GHz. These are considerable improvements over the prior 5000G series, and this means AMD’s desktop APUs will be noticeably faster than mobile versions of the company’s processors. This chipset will be as much as 500MHz faster than the 5000G series if the leaked clocked speeds in this report are accurate.

The Phoenix 2 chips will have less cores and threads, and also utilize Radeon 740M integrated graphics. Both the Ryzen 5 8500G and the Ryzen 3 8300G will use the Phoenix 2 APU. As such, these chips are both slower, with the 8500G running at a base clock speed of 3.55 GHz. It can be boosted to 5GHz, though. On the other hand, the 8300G runs at 3.45 GHz and can be boosted to 4.9GHz

The report also includes benchmarks for the 8000G series, but take them with a few grains of salt. The website only lists percentages on the graph, and there are no actual numbers for comparison. The benchmarks claim that the 8000G is up to 2.5 times faster than 5000G chips. The outlet allegedly tested the 8000G in a full benchmark suite. However, we won’t know whether these figures are accurate until they are corroborated. The site says the release date for these chips will be Jan. 31, 2024, with wider availability starting Feb. 11.


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Sony levels up with its in-camera authenticity testing

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Sony levels up with its in-camera authenticity testing
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Sony has completed the second round of testing its “in-camera” authenticity technology. The camera maker collaborated with the Associated Press and Camera Bits to build a tool that will help mainly news organizations identify manipulated images. It will be available on Sony Alpha 9 III, Alpha 1, and Alpha 7S III cameras via a firmware update. Sony has been working on this technology for several years, and it is now coming in Spring 2024.

Sony concludes the second round of in-camera authenticity testing

With its upcoming “in-camera” authenticity technology, Sony wants to take on manipulated media, including AI-generated media. It says this technology will bring a digital signature that will mark a “birth certificate for images.” These photos will store lots of metadata for images, including if they were edited at any time.

Neal Manowitz, Sony Electronics’ President and COO, explains that manipulated images not only harm photojournalists or news agency partners but society as a whole.

“Fake and manipulated images are a major concern for news organizations…they erode the public’s trust in factual, accurate imagery,” said David Ake, AP’s Director of Photography. Ake noted that AP is proud to work alongside Sony in this process.

It looks promising on camera, but would it come to phones too?

Sony hasn’t mentioned its plans to incorporate its in-camera authenticity technology into its flagship Xperia phones. Most likely, the Japanese tech major will launch its next flagship with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which boasts several AI advancements for image and video processing. It offers features like “photo expansion” where it smartly fills out a picture and “video object eraser”. The latter works as the name suggests, it can even remove individuals from a video.

Most importantly, Sony isn’t the first company to come up with this idea. Leica had unveiled the M11-P. Similar to the upcoming tech, its photos carry a Content Credential Label. It contains the time and date of when the photo was taken and if any potential edits have been made. But it costs an arm and a leg—a whopping $9000. In contrast, it is much more than Sony’s Alpha models.


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US Galaxy S20 phones receive Samsung’s November update

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US Galaxy S20 phones receive Samsung’s November update
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Samsung won’t update the Galaxy S20 series to Android 14 and One UI 6.0. The 2020 flagships will end their life on Android 13. However, the phones are still getting monthly security patches and will continue to receive those for at least a few more months. Samsung recently released the November security patch for the lineup in international markets. The US versions are now picking up the latest security update.

Samsung’s November security update reaches the Galaxy S20 in the US

As of this writing, the November SMR (Security Maintenance Release) is available for the factory-unlocked and Verizon units of the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra in the US. Unlocked units are picking up the update with the firmware build number HWK1 (last four characters). That for Verizon units is HWJ1. Despite different build numbers, it’s the same update. Samsung is pushing the latest security fixes with no additional changes.

The Korean behemoth previously revealed that this month’s SMR patches 65 security issues in Galaxy devices. At least five of those are critical Android OS vulnerabilities, Google confirmed. The lot also includes a few Galaxy-specific Exynos patches. Since the US versions of the Galaxy S20 trio shipped with the Snapdragon 865, the phones are safe from the Exynos vulnerabilities. Other issues may be present, though.

Installing this update will keep you safe from all of them. Samsung has already pushed these security patches to most other eligible Galaxy models, with many of them getting the security patch bundled with the One UI 6.0 update. A few picked up the patches through a separate update. If you’re using a Galaxy S20 model in the US, the latest security fixes will reach your phone soon. That is if you haven’t already installed it, of course.

You can check for new updates by navigating to Settings > Software update > Download and install on your phone. Since the 2020 Samsung flagships will no longer receive feature updates and will soon stop getting security patches too, you might want to upgrade to a newer model to stay protected from security flaws. The Korean form will launch the Galaxy S24 series in January 2024.

The Galaxy S24 lineup is less than two months away

Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 in February this year. However, next year, the company reportedly plans to unveil the Galaxy S24 series in January. It may host the Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17 in San Jose, USA. The devices are said to arrive in stores before the end of the month. The Korean firm will formally announce the dates in a few weeks.


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UPDATE: Google Drive has reportedly lost some user data (Google responds, investigating)

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UPDATE: Google Drive has reportedly lost some user data (Google responds, investigating)
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UPDATED: The Google Drive team has issued an update via the support community clearing up that this is affecting the desktop app and stating that they are currently investigating. Some advice was also offered, such as to not disconnect the account from the desktop app or delete the app data folder. The updated story continues below:
UPDATE: Google Drive has reportedly lost some user data (Google responds, investigating)
Google Drive, the widely used cloud storage service, is reportedly facing an issue that’s causing files to disappear for some users. Multiple reports have surfaced on the Google Support forum and other platforms, indicating that users are losing access to specific files stored on their Google Drive accounts.As reported by Android Police, the issue appears to be affecting files that were uploaded after May 2023, as reported by a South Korean user who discovered that all their files from that period had vanished from their Drive. The affected files are not visible in any folders, trash, or revisions. The user also clarified that their Drive has not been shared with anyone else, eliminating the possibility of accidental deletion or un-sharing.Additional reports from other Google Drive users have further confirmed the issue. One user reported losing crucial files, while another stated that they could only see folders and subfolders for some files, but not the files themselves.

The exact cause of the issue remains unclear, and it’s uncertain whether it affects the web version, app, or synced folders on computers. Users are advised to check all potential locations where their files might be accessible.

Google has not officially acknowledged the issue, however some users have shared via the Google Drive help forum that they have individually heard from Google Support. These users have been advised not to make any changes to their Google Drive while the investigation is ongoing by Product Engineers. They specifically cautioned against modifying the root/data folder on their devices.
Currently, the Google Workspace Status Dashboard lists Google Drive service to be fully operational with no issues reported. However, if you do find issues with missing files, your best bet at this point is to contact Google Support or sit tight as the currently opened cases are investigated. Additionally, exercise caution when using Google Drive and avoid making any changes that might jeopardize your files. Hopefully, Google will report back with an update and/or a resolution soon.

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Samsung keeps dual-CEO structure, doesn’t promote TM Roh to CEO

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Samsung keeps dual-CEO structure, doesn’t promote TM Roh to CEO
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Samsung has announced a leadership shuffle, promoting some executives and moving others to new roles. The company is keeping its dual-CEO structure with no change of personnel there. This means its mobile boss TM Roh isn’t promoted as the third co-CEO of the conglomerate.

Samsung decided not to promote TM Roh to CEO

TM Roh has led Samsung’s mobile division, aka Samsung MX, for the past few years. He is usually on the stage at Galaxy Unpacked events unveiling the latest flagships and foldables. We expect to see him in San Jose in January 2024, introducing the Galaxy S24 series. The company has stuck with him through the recent ups and downs in the business.

The unit has been doing better lately, leading to reports that Roh may get a promotion to CEO, serving Samsung as the third co-CEO. However, the Korean behemoth has decided not to do that and stick to its existing dual-CEO structure. That means Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun will remain the two Chief Executive Officers of the company.

Han, who is also a Vice Chairman at Samsung, will continue to head the DX Division—Device Experience unit encompassing Visual Display Business, Digital Appliances Business, Health & Medical Equipment Business, MX Business, and Networks Business. He is the head of the Home Appliances Division too. He is relinquishing his role as the head of the Visual Display Business (TV unit), though.

Samsung says Yong Seok-woo, who was previously the Vice President of the Visual Display Business, will now outright lead the unit as the President. Co-CEO Kyung, meanwhile, is taking up the role of SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) Director while continuing to lead the DS Division (Device Solutions or semiconductor unit). SAIT is the company’s research and development unit.

Samsung has established a Future Business Planning Group

Samsung’s latest leadership shuffling also sees Kim Won-kyung, who was the Head of the Global Public Affairs Team under the Management Support Office of the DX Division, promoted to the Head of Global Public Affairs for the whole company. Additionally, it has formed a Future Business Planning Group and appointed Jeon Young-hyun as its Vice Chairman and Head. Jeon was previously the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samsung SDI (battery unit).

According to the company, the Future Business Planning Group is a dedicated organization working on discovering new businesses and business opportunities “that can change the future industry landscape.” The businesses shouldn’t be an extension of the existing business, so Samsung is looking for ways to expand itself to new territories in the coming years. The firm will announce its lower-level executive shuffling soon.


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Google Pixel 8 Pro gets its first AI Core app update

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Google Pixel 8 Pro gets its first AI Core app update
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Pixel 8 Pro users are receiving an update today for a new Google app called AI Core. This background service is responsible for powering AI-driven features across Android, keeping those features up-to-date, and providing AI functionality to other apps.

As reported by 9to5Google, AI Core has been present on Pixel phones and tablets since the initial Android 14 update, but this is the first official update for the app. The update bumps the app version from 0.release.539035001 to 0.release.582652206 and is currently specific to Pixel 8 Pro devices on the stable and beta (QPR1 and QPR2) Android 14 builds. Unfortunately, it does not appear that this update is yet available for the Pixel 8 or older Pixel devices.

While you won’t interact with AI Core directly, it plays an important role in delivering AI-powered experiences on your Pixel 8 Pro. Running mostly as a background service, some of the features that AI Core helps power include automatic scene detection for your camera, enhanced Google Assistant responses, and more personalized recommendations. Many of these listed as the exclusive smart features of the Pixel 8 Pro that sets this smartphone aside from others.
Google Pixel 8 Pro gets its first AI Core app update

Pixel 8 Pro using AI features | Source – Phone Arena

In addition to the features mentioned above, AI Core is also responsible for managing the on-device AI models that power features like Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur. These models are constantly being updated to improve their performance, and AI Core ensures that your device has the latest models installed.

If you’re a Pixel 8 Pro user, definitely head over to the Google Play Store to apply this update, but you should also receive the AI Core update automatically within the next few days. With the AI Core update, your Pixel 8 Pro is equipped to deliver an even more seamless and intelligent user experience, powered by the latest AI advancements from Google.


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Multiple Vulnerabilities Found In ownCloud File Sharing App

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Multiple Vulnerabilities Found In ownCloud File Sharing App
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Numerous security vulnerabilities riddled the privacy of ownCloud users that the vendor patched recently. Exploiting these vulnerabilities could expose users’ passwords to potential adversaries.

ownCloud Vulnerabilities Risked User Accounts

According to the recent advisories, ownCloud addressed three different security vulnerabilities threatening platform security. These include:

  • Disclosure of credentials: This one is the most critical vulnerability among all three, achieving a CVSS score of 10. It affected the platform’s graphapi 0.2.0 – 0.3.0. As described, “the “graphapi” app relies on a third-party library that provides a URL.” Accessing this URL exposed the configuration details of the PHP environment, which may include sensitive data such as mail server credentials, license key, and ownCloud admin passwords. To mitigate this flaw, the service disabled the phpinfo function in the docker-containers. Nonetheless, it advised users to delete the “owncloud/apps/graphapi/vendor/microsoft/microsoft-graph/tests/GetPhpInfo.php” file to prevent unauthorized access.
  • WebDAV API Authentication Bypass: This high-severity vulnerability could allow an adversary to access, delete, or modify files without authentication. Exploiting the flaw merely required the attacker to know the victim’s username with the account’s default configuration (no signing-key configured). This vulnerability received a CVSS score of 9.8. It affected ownCloud core 10.6.0 – 10.13.0, which the platform addressed by denying pre-signed URLs for accounts with no signing-key configured.
  • Subdomain Validation Bypass: This high-severity issue achieved a CVSS score of 9, thus becoming the least severe of all three ownCloud vulnerabilities. It affected the oauth2 versions below 0.6.1. An attacker could exploit the flaw by sending a maliciously crafted redirect-URL to bypass the validation code and redirect callbacks to an attacker-controlled TLD. The service recommends disabling the “allow subdomains” option to avoid the flaw while addressing the matter by hardening the validation code.

ownCloud is an open-source file-sharing platform facilitating business users to share files without relying on third-party hosting. According to its website, ownCloud currently boasts over 500 enterprise customers and roughly 200 million users globally.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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Samsung Glasses trademark hints at a pair of smart glasses

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Samsung Glasses trademark hints at a pair of smart glasses
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Samsung is rumored to launch an XR (extended reality) headset next year. The company is developing the product in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm. It appears the Korean firm also has a pair of smart glasses in the pipeline. It recently filed a trademark application for Samsung Glasses.

Samsung registers a trademark for its upcoming smart glasses

The trademark application for Samsung Glasses was submitted to the UK Intellectual Property Office in August of this year. The Office approved and registered the trademark earlier this month. The moniker concerns a product in the following categories: virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) headsets, headphones, smartphones, and smart glasses.

As usual, the trademark application doesn’t reveal additional details. However, the moniker and product category give us an idea of what Samsung is cooking. It should be a pair of smart glasses encompassing VR, AR, and everything in between. The product may feature built-in speakers and microphones for music and calling capabilities. We might be looking at something akin to the Meta Smart Glass or even more advanced.

The Korean firm has showcased smart glasses in tech events on a few occasions in the past, so it may have been working on this product for several years now. It even filed trademark applications for “Galaxy Glasses” earlier this year. By the looks of it, Samsung is still evaluating the market for the product and taking its time to design it according to what consumers look for in smart glasses.

Unfortunately, with no other information available, it’s hard to tell what Samsung plans to offer with its Galaxy Glasses or Samsung Glasses. We may get to know more in the coming months as the company continues its development behind the scenes. The product may not be market-ready anytime soon, though. Or maybe the Korean behemoth plans to release it alongside the XR headset, time will tell.

Samsung’s “Infinite” XR headset may arrive in the second half of 2024

According to the Korean media, Samsung plans to launch its first XR headset in a limited quantity at the end of 2024. Codenamed “Infinite,” the product may be unveiled during the company’s second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, the event where it will debut the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 (the first event in January will bring the Galaxy S24 series). It plans to produce just 30,000 units of the headset initially, with the final production volume demanding on the market reception.


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