 |
|
|
|||||
Apple has lined up its first event of the year. Already! Its taking place in New York City on March 4 at 9AM ET, but the company hasnt confirmed if it will stream the media event. It seems likely the event will be mainly iPads and MacBooks so business as usual. However, it could include new entry-level MacBooks in a fresh array of colors. I think thats what everyones reading into the lemon-and-lime tinged invitation. Im very much up for a return of the colorful Mac. The first Mac I ever used was one of those bubbly orange iMacs, interning at a video-game magazine. Yes, a magazine. Were also expecting a 2026 MacBook Air and refreshed 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips also breaking cover. Is it too early for an iPhone 17e? Perhaps. Well be reporting from the event. And for those asking about yesterday's newsletter, thanks for your continued support and we'll have more to say soon. Mat Smith The other big stories (and deals) this morning Metas metaverse is going mobile-first Meta reportedly plans to release a smartwatch this year Ring could be planning to expand Search Party feature beyond dogs Netflixs first MMA livestream is coming in May Rousey v. Carano. Netflix is streaming its very first live MMA fight on May 16. The combatants are Ronda Rousey, (last match 2016) and Gina Carano (2009). The streamer has had to pluck fighters out of retirement because more contemporary stars are under contract with various promotional entities. The featherweight bout will take place inside a hexagon cage and stream globally hopefully, Netflix can keep its stream up. The fight is co-hosted by Most Valuable Productions, Jake Pauls production company. Because of course it is. Continue reading. The Pixel 10a is your next midrange Android phone It launches March 5. Engadget The worst-kept secret in value-for-money phones remains Googles Pixel A series. In recent years, the Android phone series has offered a great balance of specs, hardware design and software features that embarrass most phones in the same price point. Its camera performance is often better than devices that cost several hundred dollars more. Its more of the same with the Pixel 10a. For $500, you get a 6.3-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,000 nits of peak brightness, 8GB of RAM and a 48MP main camera, paired with a 13MP ultra-wide. Also: No. Camera. Bump. Innovation for $500, right there. Continue reading. Dysons tiny PencilVac gets turned into a floorwasher This is the PencilWash. Engadget I wont shut up about floor cleaning. Im 41. Dyson has crunched its wet-floor tech into the same cylindrical profile of its Penac. I like the size, but how does it clean? Ill hold judgment till Ive tried it. $600 is a lot more than a mop. Yes, I know thats not the point. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-122534537.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Bixby isnt typically part of the conversation when it comes to virtual assistants for mobile devices, but Samsung is clearly hoping that you would use it more. The company has launched the latest version of Bixby with the new One UI 8.5 beta, and it has been tweaked to work as a conversational agent. Samsung says youll now be able to talk to it and give it tasks using natural language, like how youd talk to other people or, these days, to chatbots. You dont have to remember exact commands or names for specific settings. You can just describe what you want to happen, such as I dont want the screen to time out while Im still looking at it. Bixby will then automatically turn on the Keep Screen on While Viewing setting. If you ask it a question, such as Why is my phone screen always on when its inside my pocket, it could provide several solutions you can choose from. In addition, the assistant can now access new and up-to-date information on the web. You do searches without opening a browser, and Bixby will display web results right within its interface. At the moment, the updated Bixby is only available in Samsungs home country of Korea, as well as in Germany, India, Poland, the UK and the US, but company will roll it out more widely in the future. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-updates-bixby-to-become-more-conversational-112649179.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its "AI-powered, multi-layer protections" are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps. Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly, it added. The company also blocked 160 million spam ratings, preventing an average 0.5-star rating drop for apps targeted by review bombing. Finally, Google stopped 255,000 apps from gaining excessive access to sensitive user data in 2025, down from 1.3 million the year before. Meanwhile, Google Play Protect, the company's Android defense system, sniffed out over 27 million new malicious apps, either warning users or preventing them from running. The company added that Play Protect's enhanced fraud protection now covers 2.8 billion Android devices in 185 markets and blocked 266 million risky "side-loading" installation attempts. "Initiatives like developer verification, mandatory pre-review checks, and testing requirements have raised the bar for the Google Play ecosystem, significantly reducing the paths for bad actors to enter," the company said its blog. "This year, well continue to invest in AI-driven defenses to stay ahead of emerging threats and equip Android developers with the tools they need to build apps safely." Google has steadfastly justified its relatively high fees on app purchases and subscriptions by touting its investments in app safety. However, its Play store has been under pressure from regulators in Europe and other regions that claim it amounts to a monopoly. Last year, the company changed its fee structure for developers using alternative payment channels, but EU regulators recently claimed the company still isn't complying with Digital Markets Act regulations. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-play-used-ai-to-help-block-175-million-bad-apps-in-2025-102208054.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||