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The famous messaging app WhatsApp undergoes various updates to keep up with user trends, adding value to the app.
1-Transfer chat without Google drive:
Technology news: Another improvement currently being worked on is the ability to transfer WhatsApp chat history between Android phones without the use of Google Drive. Using this technologically advanced alternative, users will find it much easier to transfer their chat history from one phone to another. When it’s ready, users can transfer their chats to Android by going to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat transfer to Android, scanning the QR code, and then following the on-screen instructions.
2.View once text:
The view once text feature allows users to send a message that will be automatically deleted once read by the receiver. This feature improves the security of confidential information. This feature is only applicable to text-based messages and not to audio, video, or image-based messages.
3.Bookmark feature in disappearing chats:
WhatsApp is working on a bookmark icon. It appears in the message bubble of the disappearing messages, indicating that they will not disappear from the chat. The feature is under development on Android. WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo said the feature would distinguish saved messages from regular messages that disappear in chat.
4.Multiple chats selection on WhatsApp desktop:
WhatsApp is also working on the desktop version of the app, adding some quality-of-life features. Revealed at the end of 2022, the Company is working on WhatsApp new feature that will allow users to select multiple chats at once on the desktop app, making it easy to mute them or mark them as read or unread. This feature is still being developed and will be released in a future update.
5.Security updates – 6-digit code login:
WhatsApp is testing a new verification option on the Android app with a small group of beta testers. This extra layer of security requires users to enter a code when attempting to log in to WhatsApp on a secondary device via companion mode. Users can expect a public release of this feature.
Fabin Rasheed, co-creator of a poet-artist bot, explains why AI in art is laden with possibilities
Fabin Rasheed, co-creator of a poet-artist bot, explains why AI in art is laden with possibilities
Artificial intelligence-generated artworks have been a subject of intrigue and debate in the creative world for a while now. The arrival of tools such as Dall. E 2, Stable Diffusion and Mid journey, which can generate art within seconds of a text prompt being fed in, has only made this question more pronounced: “Does AI-generated work qualify as art?” Fabin Rasheed, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, who has been creating complex, layered artworks using AI, tells Veenu Sandhu why he thinks this is yet another expression of human creativity.
Rasheed’s latest work, titled “The Dreamcatcher”, was displayed at the Museum of the Future, an exhibition space in Dubai that showcases futuristic ideas, products, and services, on November 18. He is also the co-creator of arguably the first AI poet-artist, named Auria Kathi, living completely in the cloud. Auria Kathi has been described as “a robot, a machine, a piece of code which creates art regularly and posts on Instagram and keeps creating engagement”.
Edited excerpts of the interview:
What inspired you to create AI-based artwork?
The fact that these works could create hitherto impossible connections in creativity is what inspired me to begin with AI-based works. The possibility of augmenting human creativity with highly advanced technology to initiate new creative expressions has always given me a sense of wonder.
Could you tell us more about Auria Kathi, “the first artificially intelligent poet-artist” that you have created?
Auria Kathi was a social media experiment that I created with my friend Sleeba Paul in 2018 to investigate the question: “What if there is a non-human artist that exists among us in the digital world?”
Auria was essentially an autonomous bot, which posted generated poetry and art to social media automatically for one year (January 2019-December 2019). These poetry and artworks were generated using machine learning algorithms trained on a collection of haikus and digital art. (The creators even gave Auria Kathi a generic ‘generated’ face; her ‘works’ can be found at http://www.instagram.com/auriakathi/)
The bot also styled the works based on a “mood” before it was posted to social media. The question that drove us to explore this work took us to the heart of where one of the biggest art and cultural revolutions, the Renaissance, happened: we were invited to exhibit the work at the Florence Biennale 2019. Furthermore, this was exhibited at NeurIPS, one of the primary conferences in artificial intelligence worldwide.
Have you used platforms/tools such as DALL.E 2 and Stable Diffusion as well to create art?
Yes, I do use Dall.E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Mid journey in some of my works.
How does AI work to allow for the artwork to be created? What existing sources does it draw from?
This question really depends on the AI model that is used. For example, Dall.E converts text prompts into a corresponding image equivalent using a model called CLIP. CLIP essentially is trained on a dataset of image-caption combinations to link textual semantics to visual representations.
Is there a risk of the very same artwork being created if, say, two people punch in the very same text at the very same moment? Does AI-based art promise the uniqueness intrinsic to art?
As far as I know, there is a randomizer applied to models like Dall.E, which ensures that no two images are the same for the same text prompt. Having said that, I have seen cases where some images look similar, but not necessarily the same.
To respond to your subsequent inquiry, the uniqueness of workmanship is essentially a reminder of human imagination, as indicated by me. Regardless of whether we are utilizing computer-based intelligence models, we would be “arranging” or choosing which explicit picture to utilize. That truly would rely upon our own human characteristics, which in all actuality do deliver uniqueness to these manifestations.
In your experience, in what ways does AI allow for greater expression of creativity?
Historically, with the invention of a new tool, there have always been new forms of expression have come up, which expand human creativity. In the same way, I feel, AI could be used (at least in its current state) as a tool or a helper to augment or enhance human creative expressions.
I generally say that innovativeness is steady and the apparatuses, mediums and all the other things are the factors. The manner in which we truly utilize these computer-based intelligence models pushes the limits.
For instance, a few days ago I showed one of my works at the Gallery Representing things to come in Dubai, which was a 3D generative model that was made in view of my brainwaves and a photo of my psyche. To get this “photo”, I basically went into a hypnagogic state
Christie’s was the first major auction house to sell an AI-created artwork. Is there a market for art so created? Have you, personally, been able to sell your AI-based art?
Yes, there is a market for AI art, especially through NFTs (non-fungible tokens). I have sold many AI works in the past. For example, one of the works that I created with my wife Ashna Sahir, called “Humachine Imaginarium”, was an early exploration into what a language model like GPT3 visualizes. This sold for $15,000 two years back.
Is artificial intelligence set to become art’s next medium? Or is it just something that has novelty value?
I see AI as a natural progression of human evolution. And I feel in the near future, AI will be so ubiquitous that every digital (and many physical) works will have some or a lot of AI intervention in them. We wouldn’t actually refer to it as “Computer-based intelligence workmanship” later on, taking into account the speed at which simulated intelligence is turning into a piece of our lives.
American tech giant Apple is introducing a true power-saving mode for the Apple Watch in the latest watchOS 9 update, extending the watch’s battery life when necessary
American tech giant Apple is introducing a true power-saving mode for the Apple Watch in the latest watchOS 9 updates, extending the watch’s battery life when necessary.
As per GSM Field, this mode can be initiated physically through the Control community or the settings menu. It likewise prompts the client when there’s a 10 percent battery charge left. It switches off consequently once it arrives at 80% on the charger.
The battery-saving mode switches off the additional requesting elements, for example, AoD, pulse warnings, arrhythmia following, pulse, and blood oxygen estimations. Exercise updates are additionally switched off.
Surely, if a user needs a certain app that requires data or a Wi-Fi connection, the system will re-enable those. And if the watch stays within the phone’s connection range, it will postpone notifications and deliver them every hour.
Of course, the overall performance of the watch in the new battery-saving mode will also be reduced, so animations and navigation as a whole won’t feel as smooth, as per GSM Arena.
The Nothing Ear (stick) is essentially the half-in-ear version of the Nothing ear (1). There, however, is more about these wireless earbuds than meets the eye
The Nothing Ear (stick) is essentially the half-in-ear version of the Nothing ear 1. There, however, is more about these wireless earbuds than meets the eye
Nothing’s rather impressive hype and marketing push has made a lot of people sit up and take notice of the brand, and it feels even more monumental when you realize that the company has launched just three major products so far. Subsequent to hopping into the cell phone business incredibly with the Nothing Telephone 1, the brand established via Carl Pei, has now sent off its second sets of genuine remote headphones. The Nothing Ear Stick is evaluated at Rs. 8,499 in India, and truly looks and feels very noteworthy for a couple of headphones in this cost portion.
That said, there is a lot more to a pair of truly wireless earphones than design, and the Nothing Ear Stick does have some considerable drawbacks as a result of this seemingly single-minded focus of making the earphones look and feel unique. How do these earphones fare on the whole? Find out in this review.
Design
The new Nothing Ear Stick comes with an intriguing design. Rather, it is more precise to say that the earbuds case has something new to offer. The Ear Stick case is modeled on a typical tube of lipstick. The earbuds swing into view when you turn the tube’s base while holding up the top. The casing can be spun endlessly in either direction to open and close the case. However, one disadvantage is that the case can accumulate dust if not completely sealed.
A red plastic module that holds the USB-C charging connector is housed at the lower part of the case, which is moreover made of straightforward plastic. There is a silver button close to it that obviously juts from the case’s principal body. This permits the mini headphones to coordinate with your cell phone.
The case’s rounded plan allows it to stand upstanding. Simultaneously, there is a gamble of the case moving away when kept evenly.
Despite having a smaller volume than, for instance, the Ear 1 case, it is bulkier and protrudes further from your pocket. We thought this would be a little uncomfortable for travelers.
Earbuds
The new Ear Stick takes over from the previously launched Nothing Ear 1. The Ear Stick uses the older half-in-ear style similar to the AirPods, whilst the Ear 1 had a more typical in-ear design. This implies that they are outer to your ear trench instead of squeezing inside. In present times, this is odd – particularly while checking the opposition out. While evaluating the headphones we found that the half-in-ear style makes it badly designed to wear when you are running or working out, as they feel somewhat free.
Both the left and right earbuds come with a touch sensor that lets you skip tracks forward and backward, adjust the volume up and down, and activate the voice assistant on the phone.
Connectivity
The new Nothing Ear Stick comes with SBC and AAC codecs over Bluetooth 5.2 and is easy to pair by switching on the Bluetooth mode on your phone. To make the earbuds visible, one needs to hold down the silver power button. For better connectivity and features, one can install the Nothing X app from the Play Store.
The company has improved the Nothing X app as it now comes with a slightly revised look and some extra functions. One can view the battery percentage for the case and the earbuds on the main screen. Moreover, one can get to the control settings or the adjuster mode. The Ear Stick’s equaliser option offers a three-band custom EQ in addition to four presets. There is no option to entirely turn off the EQ and one needs to select one of the presets available.
Sound Quality
After using in-ear earbuds, switching to a half-in-ear design feels a little offbeat. The Ear Stick has a midrange frequency, and the sound quality feels overly bright and forceful. This causes the overall tone to occasionally seem rather shrill and reedy, along with the absence of a fleshed-out low-end. The bass level can be considered average as it does not impress us. Considering the price of the earbuds, we could say that the sound quality is lively and detailed.
While listening to music, there are constant disturbances from the outside environment. This is good when you are walking on the road but overall, it is very distracting.
Call Quality
The voice quality is fairly good for phone calls as the new Nothing Ear Stick comes with a decent microphone. The headphones battle to keep up with voice clearness in loud areas, for example, close to a running fixture, and a lot of foundation sound holes through.
Battery
The Nothing Ear Stick is reported to have seven hours of nonstop audio playback. During our review, we were able to use it for five to six hours on a single charge. The company also claims that a 10-minute charge will allow for two hours of playback. This claim turned out to be fairly accurate during our review period, as the earbuds played for almost two hours.
Verdict
Despite the recent price hike, the Nothing Ear (1) white variant at Rs 7,299 is cheaper than the Nothing Ear (stick). The former offers in-ear design, ANC, and wireless charging. In direct comparison, therefore, the Nothing Ear (1) seems to be a better pick. Outside the Nothing ecosystem, both Nothing wireless earbuds pale in comparison with peers such as Samsung Galaxy Buds2 (Rs 6,999). That said, the unconventional but striking design of the Nothing Ear (stick) is the only factor to consider these earbuds.
The new feature in Apple’s iOS 16 will make it simple for iPhone users to distinguish between spam messages and helpful ones
The new feature in Apple’s iOS 16 will make it simple for iPhone users to distinguish between spam messages and helpful ones.
According to Mashable, the technological behemoth improved the SMS filters by adding 12 additional filters for spam communications. This update was made specifically for Indian iPhone owners.
There will be 12 sub-categories, according to a study, including warnings for credit or debit cards, bill payment, finances, government services, network providers, healthcare, and online orders. There will also be the currently in place ones, including Transactions and Promotions.
Additionally, users will be able to easily and quickly add movie or train tickets to their Apple Wallet accounts or calendars from their communications.
This new software upgrade from Apple reportedly rolls out to the general public in September and includes a multitude of capabilities.
The business has made numerous improvements to iOS 16 including the lock screen widgets, alerts, and more, making it a completely revamped upgrade. Within 15 minutes, users will be able to amend the texts they have sent over iMessage, as reported by Mashable.
The final public release of iOS 16 will likely occur in September along with the debut of the iPhone 14 series, the following flagship smartphone lineup. The update is presently available for beta testing.
With an aim to help creators engage more with their audience, platform Instagram has announced that it is rolling out new features, including 90 seconds Reels
With an aim to help creators engage more with their audience, the photo-sharing platform Instagram has announced that it is rolling out new features, including 90 seconds Reels.
The Meta-owned platform said that it is now extending the length of Reels up to 90 seconds, which will help users express their most authentic selves on Reels.
“You will have more time to share more about yourself, film extra behind-the-scenes clips, dig deeper into the nuances of your content, or whatever else you want to do with that extra time,” the company said in a blogpost.
Instagram also said that users can now import their own audio directly within Instagram Reels.
“Use the import audio feature to add commentary or background noise from any video that is at least five seconds long on your camera roll,” the company said.
“Make sure that you like how your voice sounds in the recording because others might use it in their reels, too!” it added.
A new feature also lets creators poll their audience on what should happen in their next video so that they can help shape the storyline themselves.
The Meta-owned platform said that it has recently launched Templates, which allows users to easily create a reel using another one as a template. It pre-loads the audio and clip placeholders, so all users have to do is add and trim their unique clips.
“We will continue to invest in building new ways for you to connect with your audience and entertain on Reels. We can’t wait to see what you come up with and the creative ways you use these new tools!” the company said.
An alleged prototype of Google’s upcoming Pixel 7 smartphone has been offered on eBay, giving the audience a sneak peek at the device months before its official release.
An alleged prototype of Google’s upcoming Pixel 7 smartphone has been offered on eBay, giving the audience a sneak peek at the device months before its official release.
According to The Verge, the tech giant just revealed the phone a few weeks ago at Google I/O, and the prototype matches up with what the company has already shown.
The distinctive camera bar is back, and this year it is an aluminium bar with cutouts for the cameras. And the alleged prototype’s casing is a deep black that looks just like one of the colours Google showed off at I/O.
The eBay listing includes a few photos of the front, back, and sides of the device, though there is not much to see that users cannot already spot on Google’s official renders.
A photo of the phone turned on shows it has 128GB of storage, which suggests Google will once again be offering a 128GB model as an option for the final phone.
A screenshot showed that the smartphone’s model is GVU6C, the report said.
According to 9to5Google, the tool will help Google Assistant get “better at recognising your frequent words and names”
Google Assistant will soon recognise your voice as the company is working on a personalised speech recognition feature.
According to 9to5Google, the tool will help Google Assistant get “better at recognising your frequent words and names.”
The “Personalised speech recognition” feature will appear in Google Assistant settings.
The feature description reads: “Store audio recordings on this device to help Google Assistant get better at recognising what you say. Audio stays on this device and can be deleted any time by turning off personalised speech recognition”.
The upcoming feature looks to expand AT and ML-based improvements beyond “Hey Google” to your actual Assistant commands, “especially those with names (using your voice to message contacts) and frequently spoken words”.
It’s still not clear when this capability will launch.
The feature will allow more advanced recognition of commands and contact names.
Owing to privacy concerns, Google will give users an option in settings to opt out of the personalised speech recognition if they don’t want their voice to be stored.
The virtual assistant software application can now also warn users when they need to change their password, and can even help them change it.
The company had said the new experience would roll out gradually, but it is only about now that more than a handful of users have started to get it on their devices.
Realme GT Neo 3 5G is a good performance-centric smartphone, but not an all-rounder. Though capable in every respect, it is exceptional in none
Expanding its line of premium smartphones in India, Realme recently launched the Realme GT Neo 3 5G 150W. The smartphone boasts industry-leading 150W fast charging tech, GT racing inspired twin-strip design on the back cover, 10-bit AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate, dual stereo speakers, MediaTek Dimensity 8100 system-on-chip, and a flagship grade imaging system backed by 50-megapixel primary camera sensor. Touted by the Chinese maker as a performance-centric smartphone, the Realme GT Neo 3 5G 150W (priced at Rs 42,999) seems to be a value proposition in its segment. Is it? Let’s find out:
Design
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G comes in three colour options – nitro blue, sprint white, and asphalt black. The former two colours have a racing inspired twin-stripe design on the back cover, which looks bold without being loud. If you like minimal, there is an asphalt black colour option that is devoid of any fancy theme by design. The sprint white (review unit) colour variant has an anti-glare back cover made of glass. It feels smooth and soft to touch and does not accrue smudges easily. It is, however, not resistant to scratches due to lack of any protection on it. Likewise, the plastic frame coloured in black looks neat but is not durable and is easily scratched. The choice of construction material might not be the best, but it makes the phone lightweight and, therefore, comfortable to hold and operate. Moreover, there is protection where it matters the most, display that is. The phone has Gorilla Glass 5 on the front for protection against everyday abuses. In terms of design, the GT Neo 3 is the first Realme smartphone to sport a centre-aligned punch-hole for the front camera.
Display and audio
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G has a 6.7-inch fullHD+ 10-bit AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate, made of E4 material. The screen is bright, vivid, and smooth. Its enhanced refresh rate improves everyday experience by rendering smoothly the user interface elements, transitions, and animations. The benefit of enhanced refresh rate extends to gaming performance and, together with a dedicated chip for frame rate interpolation, delivers a wholesome experience in supported games. The display is good for watching videos too and supports HDR10+ high dynamic range format. Complementing the screen is the dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. The speakers are loud, clear, and balanced. That said, the display and audio are in sync with the performance-centric utility of the Realme GT Neo 3 5G.
Camera
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G has a triple-camera set-up on the back, featuring a 50-megapixel primary sensor (Sony IMX766) with optical image stabilisation (OIS) paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, the phone has a 16MP camera sensor.
Of the three cameras on the back, the primary 50MP sensor works wonders but the other two are mediocre at best. Speaking of primary camera, it takes detailed shots with good colours, modest dynamic range, and decent highlights and shadow details.
In low light, thanks to OIS, it works well. The ultra-wide-angle camera sensor captures a good amount of details but shows distortion on the edges. Unlike the primary sensor, the ultra-wide-angle sensor struggles in low-light conditions. Its low-light performance, however, lifts marginally through the phone’s built-in night mode. The macro camera is there for novelty. It is not bad, but difficult to use due to fixed focus. As for the front camera, it works well for both regular shots and portraits.
As for the videos, the Realme GT Neo 3 5G can do up to 4K at 60 fps from the primary sensor, 1080p at 30fps from ultra-wide-angle, and 1080p at 30fps from the front camera. The videos recorded by the primary sensor look good but the ultra-wide-sensor disappoints here as well. Videos recorded from the front camera look fine but the sensor’s narrow frame of view (FoV) makes it less suitable for anything other than recording self.
Performance
Though a performance-centric smartphone, the real life experience using the Realme GT 2 Pro 5G is a mixed bag. It is primarily because the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 is a new chip and not optimised for a lot of things. For example, a commonly played graphic-intensive gaming title ‘Battlegrounds Mobile India’ runs at HD graphics and does not support HDR graphics and ultra frame rates. Nevertheless, the phone works well in everyday use, even when used for power tasks. In its current form, it does not make the most out of its capable chip but is expected to get better with future software updates. Speaking of future updates, the GT Neo 3 5G will get at least two major Android upgrades and security updates for two years.
Interface
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G boots Android 12 operating system-based Realme UI 3.0 interface. The interface lacks any sort of content (themes, icons, transitions, etc) to complement its GT racing inspired design, which is surprising. Nevertheless, the Realme UI 3 is optimised and has no snags. Therefore, it works fine and seems polished. On the downside, there are many bloatware apps preinstalled, including some that cannot be uninstalled from the system.
Battery and charging
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G 150W is powered by a 4,500 mAh battery, which keeps the show going for more than a day on normal usage. The battery runs out of power quickly when used extensively for power-and-graphic intensive workloads. Thankfully, the phone ships with a 150W fast-charging adaptor, which takes about 20 minutes to charge the phone’s completely drained out battery to 100 per cent.
Verdict
The Realme GT Neo 3 5G is a good performance-centric smartphone, but not an all-rounder. It is a smartphone with something in store for everyone. Though capable in every respect, it is exceptional in none. In comparison, the Xiaomi 11T Pro (review) offers a whole lot more and it costs about the same as the GT Neo 3 5G.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, also plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia
TikTok has been conducting tests so users can play games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam, part of plans for a major push into gaming, four people familiar with the matter said.
Featuring games on its platform would boost advertising revenue as well as the number of time users spend on the app – one of the world’s most popular with more than 1 billion monthly active users.
Boasting a tech-savvy population with 70 percent of its citizens under the age of 35, Vietnam is an attractive market for social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta Platforms’s Facebook, and Alphabet’s YouTube and Google.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, also plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia, the people said.
That move could come as early as the third quarter, said two of them. The sources declined to be identified as the information has yet to be publicly disclosed.
A TikTok representative said the company has tested bringing HTML5 games, a common form of minigame, to its app through tie-ups with third-party game developers and studios such as Zynga. But it declined to comment on its plans for Vietnam or its broader gaming ambitions.
“We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” the representative said.
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