Threads is preparing a feature that allows users to delete a Threads account without also deleting their Instagram account, as reported by TechCrunch. This comes straight from Meta’s chief privacy officer Michael Protti. He stated at last week’s TechCrunch Disrupt event that the feature would be ready for primetime by December.

What’s the holdup? This is a more difficult process than it seems to the layperson. Threads was built on top of Instagram so the two are linked like two kids in a trenchcoat pretending to be a grown up. Protti said the difficulty to separate the two accounts led the company to develop alternative tools to minimize frustration, like the ability to deactivate accounts or to set them to private. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said back in July that the company was experimenting with methods to decouple the platforms and it looks like the devs finally figured it out.

Last week, web developer Alessandro Paluzzi managed to peek behind Meta’s code curtain and found early versions of the forthcoming update, noting that these beta builds block users from opening a new Threads handle with the same Instagram account for 120 days after they participate in the deletion process. Things tend to change as experimental software prepares for an official release, so we don’t know if that 120 days thing is set in stone.

Protti also confirmed that Meta is still working on integrating Threads with the sprawling fediverse. For the uninitiated, the fediverse is a collection of social networks that, while separate, can communicate with one another. Mastodon is the most well-known example of this type of network. He says the company’s trying to iron out some bugs, citing an issue where a Threads post heads to another server and is then deleted by the original author, while remaining on the secondary server.

Threads certainly has some engagement issues, but Meta’s been pretty consistent about pumping out updates that address user concerns. The company recently added keyword search and a robust web app, among other upgrades. Mosseri recently chronicled upcoming Threads features on an Instagram Stories post, stating that the company’s working on introducing improved account recommendations, an edit button for posts and more. 

While music producers typically have a favorite digital audio workstation (DAW), most creators are forced to swap between software suites to better suit different workflows and plugin options. This is easier said than done. You have to download the audio stems from one DAW and upload them to the next, and that’s just the first step. There’s more to worry about, like mix levels, plugin settings, virtual instruments and so much more. Industry veterans PreSonus and Bitwig have teamed up to try to solve these problems.

The companies have just announced a new file format intended for easy swapping between DAWs. The DAWproject file format will only be supported by Bitwig Studio 5.0.9 and PreSonus Studio One 6.5 for now, but it could theoretically be adopted by other companies in the future. Bitwig and Presonus are calling this a DAW-agnostic platform and stress that they’ve taken steps to make the technology as open to other companies as possible.

DAWproject files go much further than simple audio WAV data. The format keeps track of all relevant information across every track and channel in the entire project. This includes time data, audio information, automation, MIDI notes and plugin settings. All you have to do is save the song as a DAWproject file in one DAW and open it in another. That’s really it. The time data and automation stuff is really interesting, as this includes fades, time warping, transposition and other chores that are really annoying to re-do over and over again.

There are some limitations, as you can only transfer between Bitwig Studio and PreSonus Studio One until other software applications get on board. Also, your plugins must already be installed in both DAWs to instantly transfer settings. Luckily, both DAWs support the VST plugin format, so there shouldn’t be an issue there.

Apple has a limited version of this technology, as you can open up projects created in GarageBand right in Logic Pro X and maintain settings. The reverse, however, isn’t true, due to Logic Pro X being a much more robust application than GarageBand. Beyond that, this is the first universal project standard, well, ever. Here’s to hoping more popular DAWs like Protools, Ableton and Logic Pro X adopt this standard, or any standard, in the near future.

This isn’t Bitwig’s first foray into the world of open-source audio. The company recently teamed-up with virtual instrument experts U-he to create CLAP, an open-source plugin format. DAWproject files are available for use starting today, so long as you use Bitwig Studio or PreSonus Studio One.

The Google Podcasts app is heading to a farm upstate run by Marc Maron and Sarah Koenig, as the service is shuttering next year. The app has been around since 2018, but it never approached the kind of mass adoption enjoyed by rivals Overcast, Spotify and the recently-improved Apple Podcasts. In other words, don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it.

The entire service is being folded into YouTube and its companion app YouTube Music. This is for good reason, as YouTube's already a popular destination for podcast fans. According to statistics provided by Edison Research and published by Variety, YouTube services 23 percent of podcast listeners in the US. Google Podcasts, on the other hand, accounts for just four percent of listeners, despite having podcasts right in the name. It’s easier to pick up stakes and head to the where the fish are instead of trying to lure the fish to a random podcast app that nobody knows about.

YouTube announced that 2024 will see a significant increase in its “investment in the podcast experience,” right after parent company Alphabet puts the kibosh on Google’s dedicated app. It looks like YouTube Music will receive the lion’s share of these investments, with forthcoming “robust creation and analytics tools” in addition to streamlined RSS uploads for podcasters.

The company promises to also expand the ability to listen to podcasts in more locations, stating they’ll be available “everywhere YouTube Music listeners are already consuming their favorite content — in the background, in the car, offline and more.” Additionally, new “YouTube-only” tools and capabilities will be coming to podcasts on YouTube Music, though Google remains cagey on the specifics.

As for current Google Podcasts users, there’s going to be a “simple migration tool” to help with the transition to YouTube Music. You’ll also be able to manually add podcast RSS feeds to your YouTube Music library. The company even announced options for adding current podcast subscriptions to rival platforms, if you just want to start fresh. Google's still gathering feedback regarding the migration process, so some of these features are liable to change before next year.

This isn’t the first big move YouTube Music has made this year to shore up some of those sweet, sweet podcast dollars. Back in April, the app launched the ability to watch and listen to podcasts without requiring a paid subscription, though you’ll still have to suffer through endless ads for Better Help. Podcasts on YouTube Music are already full-featured, with offline downloads, background play and the ability to switch between audio and visual content on smart speakers.

The well-reviewed Beats Studio Buds + earbuds have fallen to an all-time low price of $100, beating a previous record discount by a whopping $30. All told, that’s a 40 percent discount, as the MSRP for these earbuds is $170. You can only access this deal at Amazon-owned Woot for the next five days or until the stock flies away into the loving arms of happy customers.

We gave these earbuds a score of 84 in our review and a primary ding was the price increase over the previous version, which this sale more than makes up for. Otherwise, the Beats Studio Buds + earbuds are a marked improvement over the previous gen, with larger microphones, acoustic vents added to the front and side and a 16 percent increase in battery life. The control button has also been moved to limit accidental presses during use.

All of these improvements combine to create a stellar pair of earbuds with top-notch sound quality and active noise canceling technology. Like many modern personal audio devices, there’s also a robust transparency mode so you can adjust the level of ambient noise you hear. The company’s custom acoustic platform has been designed to provide immersive sound when listening to music or when taking calls.

This Beats product ships with four pairs of silicone tips to suit different ear canal sizes, all while maintaining a comfortable seal. They are IPX4 rated for sweat and water-resistance, in addition to offering Bluetooth support and the capacity for spatial audio.

These earbuds are only four months old, so a refresh is still a ways off. It’s practically unheard of to get a discount this steep so early in the lifespan of a product, so take advantage if you need a new pair of buds. Remember, the Woot sale ends in five days or when the stock runs out, and the latter is likely to happen before the former.

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The Meta Connect 2023 VR showcase event starts tomorrow and there are a couple of ways to watch it. It’s streaming live on Facebook, which is to be expected, but you can also access the showcase from Meta’s Horizon Worlds app with a Quest VR headset. The event itself is a two-day affair, but the keynote address starts on September 27 at 1 PM ET.

This should be a big one for Meta, as the Quest 3 headset is just around the corner. We’ll likely get an official release date, which is currently described as sometime toward the end of the year. The original Quest 3 announcement was also light on certain hardware specs, so expect announcements on RAM, CPU, battery life, lenses and more.

Here’s what we already know. The Quest 3 will cost $500 and feature full-color passthrough, with Mark Zuckerberg calling it "the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality.” It’ll also boast redesigned ergonomic controllers, a more comfortable form factor when compared to the Quest 2, and a significant reduction in both weight and size.

Of course, any console is only as good as its games and experiences. We already know that the Quest 3 will be backwards compatible, so you’ll have access to every single title published for the Quest 2 and the OG model, but Zuckerberg and company are sure to announce plenty of new games exclusive to the forthcoming platform. It has already revealed some cross-platform titles, like Assassin’s Creed: Nexus VR and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, so we should get information on pricing and availability. There’s also a game based on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things launching sometime before the holidays.

The VR wars are starting to heat up, as the Quest 3 releases just a couple of months before Apple’s long-awaited Vision Pro headset. The massive price gap between the two, however, makes the Quest 3 much more affordable for regular people.

It’s the year 2023, so anything that can get an injection of AI will get an injection of AI. However, I doubt many people had the board game Pictionary on their artificial intelligence bingo card. Mattel just surprised us all and announced a new version of the game, Pictionary Vs. AI. It’s the brand’s first title to “incorporate AI technology” and marks the company’s “first major leap into the category.”

This isn’t a video game. It’s an actual analog board game with an AI-enhanced refresh. The difference between this and traditional Pictionary is that here everyone works to stump the artificial intelligence, instead of each other. You get a clue from a card, just like the regular game, and draw on the included whiteboard, just like the regular game. That’s where the similarities end.

The drawing is sent to a smartphone where it’s analyzed by a proprietary AI. This algorithm attempts to guess what you drew. Everyone else tries to predict whether or not the AI will be successful at guessing your attempt at an ice cream sundae that really looks like a sad, melty mountain. You make your predictions after seeing the source drawings, which should lead to some hilarious situations. Mattel says that “fun and laughter are sure to ensue with all drawings good and bad.”

Pictionary Vs. AI releases on October 2 and costs $25, which seems like a decent enough value. It ships with four whiteboards, a simple smartphone stand, a game board, game pieces, some pens and, of course, a stack of clue cards.

This may be one of the first board games to incorporate AI, but there are many analog titles with a digital twist. Mattel hasn’t announced if they’d be bringing this technology to other IPs in its stable, like UNO or Apples to Apples.

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo has completely redefined herself with her new album GUTS, drawing on the kind of punky guitar growl that defined so many successful musical acts in the 1990s. She’s also teaming up with mega-corporation Sony to release a pair of limited-edition earbuds that draw on the basic design of the company’s successful LinkBuds S line.

These are basically a color swap of the standard LinkBuds S, with a “unique violet marble pattern” the company says was designed by the Grammy-winner herself. Rodrigo backs up this claim, stating she was “so excited” to help create “a limited edition LinkBuds S in the color violet,” going on to say that she “can’t wait for my fans to experience GUTS in this way.”

While deferring to a large multinational corporation isn’t exactly in the spirit of the music Rodrigo drew from on her latest album, there’s one cool techy tidbit here. These earbuds can access custom equalizer settings tuned by Rodrigo and producer Daniel Nigro. These settings offer an “optimal listening” experience of her two albums on major streaming services.

As with all LinkBuds S models, the new Rodrigo-flavored earbuds offer robust active noise-canceling tech, 360-degree spatial sound support, LDAC 3 for high-resolution audio and a transparency mode adjusts for ambient noise. The earbuds are also environmentally-friendly, more or less, as many components were manufactured using recycled plastic materials from automobile parts and reclaimed water bottles.

The LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo cost $200 and preorders start today directly from Sony and via a number of authorized dealers. This isn’t the first high-profile team-up between Rodrigo and a large company in support of GUTS. Back in April, she partnered with Meta’s Instagram to advertise a feature that allowed users to add music to slideshows.

Meta’s planning on unleashing a swarm of personality-driven AI chatbots to attract young users to its various platforms, as originally reported by The Wall Street Journal. The first of these bots could launch as early as this week, with rumors persisting that one will get announced during Meta’s Connect conference on Wednesday.

It looks like these bots won’t be tied to a particular platform under Meta’s umbrella and should launch on a variety of social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp. WSJ says that Meta employees have been testing the generative bots for a while. The bots are being released to increase chat engagement, but some may offer productivity tools like coding and the like.

These AI chatbots are stuffed with personality to keep the young (and young at heart) entertained. Specifics remain vague, but WSJ got a look at some internal documents that detail an AI called “Bob the Robot” that’s loosely based on Bender from Futurama. This bot is a self-described “sassmaster general” with the internal documents referring to it as a “sassy robot that taps into the type of farcical humor that is resonating with young people.” As a note, Futurama premiered almost 25 years ago, long before many of those farcical humor-loving young people were even born.

There’s also a bot called “Alvin the Alien” that reportedly pries users for personal information in its quest to understand humans. “Your species holds fascination for me,” an internal report has it saying. “Share your experiences, thoughts and emotions! I hunger for understanding.” One employee noted in the memo that users “might fear this character” as it seems like it’s “purposefully designed to collect personal information.” The company has been famously squeaky-clean regarding privacy violations in the past, so this should cause no concern.

Meta’s been trying to court younger users for a while now, particularly since the meteoric rise of TikTok. The app has overtaken Instagram in recent years and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants that marketshare back, telling investors during a conference call in 2021 that the company would retool its “teams to make serving young adults their North Star rather than optimizing for the larger number of older people.” So it looks like there won’t be a chatbot that complains about participation trophies or Bud Light or whatever.

WSJ suggests that dozens of these chatbots are on the way, referred to internally as Gen AI Personas. They’ll also pop up in metaverse applications in addition to standard social media services. Reports also indicate that Meta’s prepping a toolset for celebrities to allow them to create their own AI chatbots to interact with fans.

Of course, Meta’s not the first social media company to court youngsters with personality-filled chatbots. Amazon's prepping an Alexa-powered voice chat service for kids. Snap also launched the My AI service back in February and it has been used by over 150 million people since that release. Despite the success, My AI has run into some troubling issues for a product intended for children. For instance, it has chatted about alcohol and sex with users and even randomly started posting photos without consent. We’ll have to wait and see if “Bob the Robot” and his cohorts start behaving badly when they launch.

Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya is leaving PlatinumGames, after helping to found the company back in 2006 when it was called Seeds Inc. Kamiya was recently promoted to VP, so this move comes as a slight surprise. He recently said on social media that it was "by no means an easy decision to make."

Kamiya still has a couple of weeks on his post, as he officially exits the company on October 12. As for the why of it all, he wrote that the move “came after a lot of consideration based on my own beliefs," but didn't offer further explanation. He says he’s still going to make games in his “Hideki Kamiya way”, but hasn’t announced if he’s heading to another company, starting his own or even just planning to tinker away in a garage somewhere. He’s only 52, so a complete retirement is highly unlikely.

Kamiya’s mark on gaming is massive. Most recently, he was the supervising director of the critically-acclaimed Bayonetta 3. During his more than 15 years at PlatinumGames, Kamiya worked on classics like the original Bayonetta, the Wii U and Switch cult hit The Wonderful 101 and the action-heavy Astral Chain, among others. He was staffed at Capcom and its spin-off studio Clover before founding PlatinumGames, helming Resident Evil 2, Viewtiful Joe and Ōkami.

Kamiya has been hard at work these past few years on a superhero title internally referred to as Project GG. He was lead director on the “heroic” game and the company has marketed it as a conclusion to his superhero trilogy, joining Viewtiful Joe and the Wonderful 101. PlatinumGames hasn’t announced if the game’s still coming or if it will poof into vaporware with Kamiya’s departure.

Now that iOS 17 is out in the wild, consumers are getting hands-on time with many just-released iPhone features. One of the neater inclusions is the brand-new StandBy mode. This toolset transforms your lock screen into a myriad of useful widgets, like alarm clocks, picture frames and more.

What is StandBy?

StandBy is a new feature that shipped with iOS 17. It lets you change up your lock screen to access a number of widgets. This can be highly useful when the phone’s tethered to a charging dock or when you just want to take a quick glance at something without having to unlock your sparkly iPhone. There are a number of available widgets for this mode, including alarm clocks, picture frames, Siri, windows for incoming calls and large notification boxes. Third-party apps have been quick to offer support for StandBy, so tomorrow likely brings a host of new options.

How to use StandBy

Getting started with StandBy is extremely simple. Connect your iPhone to a charger and set it down on its side, as the widgets are designed to take advantage of this orientation. Keep the phone stationary and press the side button to activate StandBy. Once activated, swipe left and right to switch between the various widgets, photos, clocks and other display options. Once you choose your favorite, scroll up or down to access adjustment options. For instance, swiping up when the alarm clock is on the screen will change the design.

Apple

If your phone has an always-on display, your StandBy widgets will run without interruption. For older phones, you’ll have to tap the screen when you want to see what’s going on. The iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max all boast an always-on screen. If you’re worried about the bright screen interrupting your sleep, just turn on Night Mode and the display will automatically adjust to low ambient light, covering everything in a non-intrusive red tint.

How to turn off StandBy

Done staring lovingly at an alarm clock? Turn StandBy off by heading to settings and then look for StandBy as an option. Once you open that, just click it to the off position like you would Bluetooth or WiFi.

How to customize available widgets

The default widget when you first launch StandBy is the alarm clock, and there are several more first-party options available by swiping left and right. However, there’s a simple way to customize the available widgets, allowing you to delete some from the stack and add others.

Apple

To start this process, just long press on any widget while StandBy mode is activated. Once the phone unlocks via Face ID, you’ll see the entire stack of widgets in the center of the screen in a jiggle mode reminiscent of when you delete apps. Look for the “+” icon in the top left of the screen to add widgets. Each widget will have a “-” attached to the thumbnail icon. Click on that to delete the widget from your stack.