OpenAI has launched a free ChatGPT app for iOS. It’s the first official smartphone app for the chatbot, joining a crowded field of third-party mobile AI software which also taps into the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 APIs powering ChatGPT.

It also allows switching between standard and GPT-4 language models for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, as well as conversation history (synced from your the desktop if you sign in with the same account) and the ability to export data and delete or rename conversations. It’s only available in the US for now, but the company says it will expand to additional countries “in the coming weeks.” It’s pretty much the same experience as the website.

At the same time, there are reports some tech companies are wary of staff using AI chatbots. (It’s already happened. In early April, The Economist Koreareported three Samsung employees shared confidential information with ChatGPT.) Apple reportedly fears someone inadvertently leaking proprietary data while using ChatGPT. To prevent that scenario, the company has reportedly restricted the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools, such as GitHub's Copilot that can autocomplete code. The Wall Street Journal also says Apple is working on large language models of its own.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

Apple may have restricted employee use of ChatGPT due to privacy concerns

Peloton finally gets approved repair for treadmill line after 90 injuries and one death

The best cheap kitchen gadgets in 2023

Spacetop is an ‘augmented reality laptop’ for remote working on the go

Take-Two hints that 'Grand Theft Auto VI' could land as early as 2024

The company said it's releasing 'groundbreaking titles' for fiscal year 2025.

Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two, has shared its projections for the future along with its yearly earnings report. And apparently, it's gearing up for a year that will take the company “to even greater levels of success." The company expects the titles it's releasing in the fiscal year 2025 to help it achieve $8 billion in net bookings, or the net amount of products and services sold.

As IGN reported, Take-Two's net bookings for the previous fiscal year reached $5.3 billion. An almost $3 billion jump in net bookings is massive, and unless Take-Two is making another huge acquisition, GTA is really the only franchise that would enable it to achieve that goal. It’s also one of, if not the, biggest AAA game series in the world.

Continue reading.

Heinz Remix is the sauce dispenser of your dreams

If those dreams involve smoky mayo.

Heinz

Custom soda machines are old news. We need custom sauces, and Heinz is happy to humor us. Kraft Heinz has unveiled a Heinz Remix dispenser that lets you customize sauces through a touchscreen interface. You choose from base sauces and add one or more "enhancers" at your choice of intensity. You want a splash of ketchup with a strong jalapeño accent and a hint of mango? You got it. The company plans to test Heinz Remix at unspecified restaurants in late 2023 to early 2024.

Continue reading.

Sony's Project Leonardo PS5 peripheral is now the Access controller

More details on the PlayStation’s accessibility controller.

Sony

Sony first shared information about its customizable controller back in January under the name Project Leonardo, and now we’re getting the finer details. The controller can be laid flat, placed at various angles and it can be installed on a tripod or other custom mount. The announcement brings it one small, and long overdue, step closer to offering parity with Microsoft, which released the Xbox Adaptive Controller back in 2018. However, the Access controller still has no release date or price, with more details coming "in the months ahead."

Continue reading.

'Mortal Kombat 1' reboots the series on September 19th

A beta will be available in August.

The next Mortal Kombat game is Mortal Kombat 1, a "reborn" take on the series, which promises new fighting mechanics and game modes. While most details are under wraps, you'll see many well-known characters as well as Kameo Fighters to help you mid-battle. And yes, the gore remains intact. A $110 digital Premium Edition will offer early access to the game (September 14th), a Johnny Cage skin that resembles actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and early access to playable characters and Kameo Fighters when they arrive post-launch. This makes me furious. Because Van Damme played Guile in Street Fighter: The Movie. And I’m easily angered.

Continue reading.

In a striking move of innovation, Uber is opening a toll-free phone line (1-833-USE-UBER, so 1-833-873-8237) for scheduling immediate or future ride in English or Spanish – just like a typical taxi. It’s part of several new features, including group grocery shopping for people living at the same address and upgraded Uber Eats gifts, with the ability to attach a video message to your present.

In addition, Uber announced teen accounts with safety features. Uber says that only screened drivers who are experienced and highly rated will carry out trips with teen Uber users. Drivers will be able to opt out of such rides. Teen accounts have a series of built-in safety features, including audio recordings, RideCheck (which checks in with riders if the vehicle has stopped for a while) and the option to use a PIN to ensure young users are getting in the right car.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

Amazon unveils the $40 Echo Pop, its newest smart speaker

Sony's next PlayStation Showcase will take place on May 24th

US adults are spending less time on Twitter since Elon Musk took over

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes fails in bid to stay out of prison during appeal

Montana's governor signs bill banning TikTok

What we bought: Are touch-activated faucets smart or silly?

Nicolas Cage is coming to ‘Dead by Daylight’

Even if it doesn’t look much like him.

Dead by Daylight

Nicolas Cage will soon appear in Dead by Daylight. The actor will bring his delightful eccentricity and Billy Mays-style beard to the multiplayer survival game. Cage says in the appropriately campy teaser, “It can shape the fabric of reality, transforming everything you may think you know.” Cage will play himself in the role of a Survivor, according to Eurogamer.

Continue reading.

Logitech joins the growing list of companies with self-repair programs

It’s teaming up with iFixit to offer support for two popular mouse models.

iFixit

Logitech and iFixit announced a new partnership today to let customers repair their devices. iFixit will supply spare parts and out-of-warranty support for “select products” while developing guides for DIY repairs on Logitech gear. The program will kick off this summer in the US with support for two popular accessories: the Logitech MX Master and MX Anywhere mouse. iFixit says you can order parts a la carte or in kits with everything you need for a specific repair, including parts and tools.

Continue reading.

‘The New York Times’ built a standalone app for audio journalism

News subscribers can access the app on an iOS device.

The New York Times has launched a dedicated app for its audio projects: NYT Audio. Only available on iOS for now, it includes long-form audio as well as podcasts from the Athletic and Serial Productions, under one roof. The NYT first previewed the app back in 2021. It billed the software as a way to give its journalists more freedom to experiment outside of the limits imposed by platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Continue reading.

Beats Studio Buds + headphones review

A little bit better in every way.

Engadget

Beats has officially debuted its latest true wireless earbuds. That premature appearance was mostly accurate: The Studio Buds + have a familiar design with loads of improvements on the inside. Those upgrades include better battery life, retooled call performance and updated noise cancellation. There’s also a new transparent design option – in a blatant bid to get this Engadget newsletter editor to buy another pair of wireless buds. With the price increase, these have crept out of the midrange and are approaching premium status. They’re less obvious value than the original model, but that’s far from a dealbreaker. Check out the full review.

Continue reading.

Samsung and LG have a long-running rivalry, both Korean corporations, both make TVs, speakers, freezers, toothpaste (maybe?) and the rest. It’s a frosty relationship, with many trade shows revealing new TV products from both companies with nigh-on identical specifications and sizes. So it’s a bit of a shock to hear from Reuters​ that Samsung has inked a deal with LG to buy its white OLED (WOLED) TV panels.

The plan, according to the report, is for LG Display to supply two million panels next year, then three million and five million, respectively in 2025 and 2026. These high-end white OLED panels would be 77 and 83 inches, so they’re likely to be in Samsung’s most premium TVs.

Samsung could do with the OLED help: It has 6.1 percent of the OLED TV market, according to market research firm Omdia. LG Display's sibling LG Electronics is out in front with a 54.6 percent market share, while Sony has 26.1 percent. For the record, Sony also uses LG parts.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

After two years of updates, the HomePod mini is actually pretty good

Overwatch 2's long-awaited co-op story missions will go live in August

After layoffs and an AI scandal, CNET's staff is unionizing

Samsung updates its Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with enhanced ambient sound controls

DOJ charges Russian hacker linked to attacks against US law enforcement agencies

The best microSD cards in 2023

The best Xbox games for 2023

Apple's Assistive Access simplifies iOS 16 for people with cognitive disabilities

It also introduced new speech and vision accessibility features.

Apple

With Global Accessibility Awareness Day just days away, Apple has detailed a raft of new iOS features for cognitive accessibility. These include Live Speech, Personal Voice and more. ​​The biggest update is Assistive Access, designed to support users with cognitive disabilities. Essentially, it provides a custom, simplified experience for the phone, FaceTime, Messages, Camera, Photos and Music apps. That includes a "distinct interface with high contrast buttons and large text labels."

Continue reading.

A third former Apple employee has been charged with stealing self-driving car tech

'Large quantities' of Apple data was found at his home.

A federal court in the Northern District of California has unsealed charges against Weibao Wang, a former Apple software engineer. Wang started working at the company in 2016, developing hardware and software for autonomous systems — technology that could conceivably wind up in self-driving cars.

According to the indictment, in November 2017, Wang accepted a job with a US subsidiary of a Chinese company that was developing self-driving cars but waited more than four months to tell Apple he was quitting. After Wang left Apple in April 2018, the company found he "accessed large amounts of sensitive proprietary and confidential information" in the lead up to his departure, the Department of Justice said.

Continue reading.

YouTube’s recommendations are leading kids to gun videos, report says

Researchers posing as nine-year-olds were flooded with gun-related content.

YouTube’s recommendations are leading young kids to videos about school shootings and other gun-related content. According to the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a nonprofit watchdog, YouTube’s recommendation algorithm is “pushing boys interested in video games to scenes of school shootings, instructions on how to use and modify weapons” and other gun-centric content. As the report notes, several of the recommended videos appeared to violate YouTube’s own policies. Recommendations included videos of a young girl firing a gun and tutorials on converting handguns into “fully automatic” weapons and other modifications. Some of these videos were even monetized with ads.

Continue reading.

The best SSD for your PS5

And a step-by-step guide on how to upgrade.

Engadget

Has that Horizon: Forbidden West DLC put you at your PS5 storage limits? Need space for Final Fantasy XVI this summer? We’ve got you covered. Here are the best SSD expansion options – and how to install them. Yep, it’s a little more complicated than a plug-in USB drive.

Continue reading.

Startup Telly is now taking US reservations for free 55-inch 4K TVs that continuously display ads on part of a secondary screen. So long as you're willing to accept those ads (or tune them out) and share data, you won't have to pay for the TV.

As Telly explains, the smaller display also shows news, sports scores and other useful data. You won't have to interrupt a show just to stay in the know. The set has its own camera, microphone array, sensors and voice assistant, enabling video calls and motion-captured fitness apps. According to the image, this secondary screen would be a long, slender display that would live underneath the TV. The reservations cover the first 500,000 TVs, which are expected to ship in the summer. I’m not sold on the idea – I’m getting stressful flashbacks of struggling to turn off those screens in the back of New York taxis, addled by jetlag.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

iPhone syncing for Windows 11 is now available for everyone

James Webb telescope finds water around a comet in the main asteroid belt

The best iPhone accessories for 2023

The Apple Watch Ultra is almost $100 off right now

TCL's new 2023 TVs deliver high frame rate gaming at lower prices

The best smartwatches for 2023

Amazon is making a 'Lord of the Rings' MMO game

The creators of 'New World' are behind the project.

Amazon

Amazon has struck a deal with Embracer Group to release a massively multiplayer online (MMO) title based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Development is in the "early stages" at New World studio Amazon Games Orange County, which will ship the game for PCs and consoles at an unspecified date.

Continue reading.

Google will pay Texas $8 million to settle claims of 'deceptive' Pixel 4 ads

The payout comes after a deal with the federal government.

Google is still taking a financial hit over allegations it misled customers with Pixel 4 ads. The company has agreed to pay Texas $8 million to settle claims it paid radio hosts for "deceptive" testimonials about the Pixel 4 even though the DJs couldn't use the phone beforehand. The ads continued even though Google was aware it was breaking the law.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state settlement was important as Google has "significant influence," and no large company should expect "special treatment." The tech giant already reached a $9 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and six other states.

Continue reading.

The EU approves Microsoft's $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard takeover

The deal still faces an uphill battle in the US and the UK.

As expected, the European Union has rubberstamped Microsoft’s bid to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The European Commission (the EU's executive arm) said Microsoft will have to ensure full compliance with the commitments it has made to offer its games on other platforms, particularly cloud gaming services. Activision does not yet offer its titles on cloud gaming services. If Microsoft offered Activision games exclusively on its own cloud service, that could have impaired competition, the EU warned.

Continue reading.

Elon Musk loses appeal to tweet whatever he wants about Tesla

The SEC still wants a lawyer to approve some company-related posts.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A federal appeals court in Manhattan has rebuffed Elon Musk's claim that the 2018 consent decree with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an unfair "prior restraint" on his speech through Tesla tweets. The CEO has fought with the SEC in the years since settling back in 2018, and more recently has been calling for courts to undo the settlement. Musk claims the Commission pressured him to strike a deal and overstepped its authority. The pact violated free speech rights, Musk's side claimed. A judge denied a request to cancel the deal last April, prompting the appeal.

Continue reading.

On Thursday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk said he'd appointed someone to take over from him as CEO, and it didn't take long for that person's identity to be confirmed. Less than a day later, Musk confirmed NBCUniversal's head of ad sales, Linda Yaccarino, is taking on the job. Yaccarino is expected to start her new role in around six weeks and "will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design and new technology," Musk wrote.

Yaccarino is known for being an "industry advocate for finding better ways to measure the effectiveness of advertising," according to The Wall Street Journal. Yaccarino’s efforts at NBCU have included a close partnership with Twitter. This recently expanded for the 2024 Olympic Games, which will see Twitter host video from the event. Yaccarino tweeted at Musk around the time news emerged of the companies' renewed partnership. “Hey, @elonmusk, here’s an idea for our new partnership: Periscope for Paris 2024. Let’s just go hi-res first," Yaccarino wrote.

Is that what we can expect from the new boss? Periscope, resurrected?

– Mat Smith

https://www.engadget.com/elon-musk-names-nbcu-ad-exec-linda-yaccarino-new-twitter-ceo-155537363.html

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

Pixel users report the Google app is making their phones overheat

Hitting the Books: The downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried

'Elden Ring' has sold more than 20 million copies

Twitter limits access to some tweets in Turkey ahead of tightly contested election

Apple offers a free one-month trial of MLS Season Pass to new and returning subscribers

Engadget Podcast: Pixel Fold, Google I/O and 'Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom'

Google definitely doesn't want to be left behind with AI.

Engadget

It was a huge week for tech news: Google I/O happened, and we finally got a close look at the Pixel Fold and the company’s latest AI plans. Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham also joins the podcast to discuss his review of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made.

Continue reading.

PlayStation VR2 is finally available at retailers

It had been exclusive to Sony’s retail site since launch.

PlayStation VR2 is now widely available after a two-month stint of exclusivity at Sony’s Direct consumer storefront. The company revealed this would be happening last month but did not set an official date and didn’t say which retailers would offer the headset. Well, now we know. You can pick up the PSVR2 at Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy and other smaller retailers.

Continue reading.

Apple's M3 Pro chipset could feature 12 CPU cores

The first M3 chips will reportedly arrive later this year.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is testing an M3 chipset with a 12-core processor and 18-core GPU. He speculates the M3 variant Apple is testing is the base-level M3 Pro the company plans to release sometime next year. Notably, the M3 line is expected to take advantage of TSMC’s forthcoming 3nm node process. The move from 5nm to 3nm would appear to account for the increase in core density. Before we see the pro chip, however, we’d first expect Apple to reveal the standard M3 chip.

Continue reading.

How do you follow up one of the most well-regarded and critically acclaimed games of the last decade? Well, you keep a lot of things the same, but shake it up. The first few hours of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom take place entirely in the sky, but the game leads you through a handful of shrines to get a new set of abilities, just like you did on the Hyrule plateau in Breath of the Wild.

Now, there are islands in the sky and underground grottos to explore, assisted by some powerful new skills, including Fuse, which lets you stick objects to weapons and arrows to enhance them, and Ultrahand, where you can stick objects together to build basically anything you want, including vehicles. Read on for how this translates to the world of Zelda and Link – which is what I’m doing while I wait for my copy to land before the weekend.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

ASUS' ROG Ally handheld gaming PC starts at $600

Panasonic delays production of its next-generation Tesla batteries

Teenage Engineering's TP-7 field recorder costs an eye-watering $1,499

'Foundation' will return to Apple TV+ on July 14th

Elon Musk says a new Twitter CEO is starting in six weeks

He will be CTO and executive chair.

Musk has announced a replacement chief executive will start at Twitter in roughly six weeks. While he hasn't identified the new leader by name, he indicated he’d hired a woman for the role. Musk will stay on as executive chair and chief technical officer covering "product, software and sysops." Hours after Musk's announcement, The Wall Street Journal reported that NBCUniversal advertising exec Linda Yaccarino "is in talks" to take over the CEO role at Twitter. Yaccarino is known for being an "industry advocate for finding better ways to measure the effectiveness of advertising," according to The Journal. Sounds fun. Musk said in December he would honor the results of a poll he made, asking whether or not he should bow out. He said he would leave as soon as he found someone "foolish enough to take the job."

Continue reading.

Sony's Xperia I V phone is a photo and video powerhouse

It borrows camera features like Product Showcase from its Alpha series.

Sony

Sony is still making smartphones, and its latest is the flagship Xperia 1 V, for both photographers and vloggers. The Xperia 1 V has a new image sensor called Exmor T for Mobile, designed to be faster and work better with computational (AI) photography while offering "approximately double" the low-light performance of the Xperia 1 IV. For vloggers and content creators, it now features the same Product Showcase setting found on Sony's vlogging cameras, like the ZV-E1, which will keep items locked in focus while blurring out the background. The new sensor also promises improved skin tones, thanks to extra saturation available on the sensor. It also has a new voice priority mic near the rear camera. As with past Xperia models, the catch here is the price: The Xperia 1 V starts at $1,400.

Continue reading.

Disney+ and Hulu will merge into a single app later this year

But they’ll still be available as 'standalone options.'

A "one-app experience" that combines Disney+ and Hulu content will launch in late 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced during the company's latest earnings call. He said the company will continue offering Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, but combining services "is a logical progression." In addition to announcing the combined streaming app, Iger has also revealed Disney+ is getting another price increase after adding $3 on top of its ad-free streaming tier's monthly fee in December. He didn't say when the company is raising the service's prices, but when it does, the ad-free and ad-supported tiers will cost more than $11 and $8, respectively.

Continue reading.

Fairphone launches a fully repairable set of over-ear headphones

The Fairbuds XL are not buds, though.

Ten years since Fairphone launched its first repairable smartphone, now it's bringing its processes to wireless over-ear headphones. They’ll include active noise cancellation (ANC), multiple audio modes, two-point Bluetooth connection and a two-year warranty. The company says Fairbuds XL (these are not buds) use 100 percent recycled aluminum, 100 percent recycled tin in its solder paste and 80 percent recycled plastic. It added it has integrated Fairtrade Gold into its supply chain, and uses 100 percent vegan leather for both the ear cushions and headband.

Continue reading.

'Mouse' is a first-person shooter inspired by vintage Disney

Think 'Cuphead' with Tommy guns.

Mouse

Mouse is a shooter inspired by the style of 1930's cartoons from Disney and other studios. The (very) early footage shows barebones maps and gameplay mechanics, but if it gets close to the magic of Cuphead, it could be a lot of fun.

Continue reading.

Google’s big developer conference had a lot to get through. That included the Pixel Fold (more on that below), a new Pixel A-series phone for only $500, a tablet, Android 14, a faster, more sophisticated AI language model, and lots more tricks for AI chatbot Bard. Coming soon, Bard will be able to analyze images and integrate into Google apps, like Gmail and GDocs. And if you haven’t dabbled with Bard yet – no more waiting list.

Google

And while Google had media and analysts captive, it showed off its holographic meeting experience, Project Starline, two years after it first appeared. Google did not allow Engadget to take pictures or video of the setup – it’s difficult to capture holographs on camera anyway – but our impressions were of an uncanny experience. The prototype uses a light-field display that looked like a mesh window, with multiple cameras to get the visual data to generate the 3D model of the caller. It’s not perfect, but then the system is busy. Sound and images are broadcast to the cloud over WiFi, creating a 3D model of both callers, then sending it down to the light display.

The pitch may be the most realistic, detailed teleconferencing experience, but the tech is still far away from our homes and offices. And Google does like to kill its darlings when things aren’t working out. Will Project Starline survive?

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

May's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup includes 'Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart'

Roku unveils a $99 smart home monitoring system

Google Maps is expanding Immersive View to routes

Google's Bard AI is now available without a waitlist in 180 countries

Google Photos will use generative AI to straight-up change your images

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Battle of the foldable

Google Pixel Fold hands-on: A real rival for Samsung

Its first foldable phone is here. And expensive.

Engadget

While the $1,799 Pixel Fold is more expensive than reports suggested, its hardware is mostly what we expected. It sports a 5.8-inch external display and a wide 7.6-inch internal screen when it's opened. It has a new 9.5-megapixel external camera and an 8MP internal shooter, and its rear setup features a 48-megapixel main camera, a 10.8MP ultra-wide and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5X optical zoom. In a lot of ways, the Pixel Fold is like last year’s flagship Pixel 7 Pro, but foldable, with the same Tensor G2 processor.

Google apparently had to redesign a lot of components to make it into what is a pretty slender widescreen foldable. We got to see one in person (because we’re Engadget), and the screen has a wider aspect ratio than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series. The bezels are… chunkier too, but that hasn’t put us off too much. The company hasn’t confirmed a shipping date, but it’ll be "sometime next month." It’s offering pre-orders for the foldable if you’re already sold on the concept.

Continue reading.

Google Pixel Tablet hands-on

A $500 smart display with a detachable screen

Though it was initially teased at last year’s Google I/O, the Pixel Tablet is finally ready for purchase. You can now pre-order it for $499, and that includes the speaker base. The Pixel Tablet will likely spend most of its time in your home as a smart display, and you can buy additional docks for $120 each, so you can have stations in multiple rooms to feel like a millionaire.

The company doesn’t want you to think of this as a standalone $370 tablet. With an 11-inch screen, a rounded-rectangle shape and a mesh fabric covering the speaker base, the Pixel Tablet looks incredibly similar to the Nest Hub Max. When the tablet is docked, you can use it as an additional screen and Chromecast to it. Google said this is the first tablet with Chromecast built in, but to be clear, the feature is only available when the device is docked and in Hub Mode, not as a standalone slate.

Continue reading.

Scammers used AI-generated Frank Ocean songs to steal thousands of dollars

It follows the fake Drake and The Weeknd song that circulated last month.

Mario Anzuoni / reuters

More AI-generated music mimicking a famous artist has made the rounds — while making lots of money for the scammer passing it off as genuine. A collection of fake Frank Ocean songs sold for a reported $13,000 CAD ($9,722 in US dollars) last month on a music-leaking forum devoted to the Grammy-winning singer, according to Vice. The fact Ocean hasn’t released a new album since 2016 and recently teased an upcoming follow-up to Blond may have added to the eagerness to believe the songs were real.

Continue reading.

Vast and SpaceX plan to launch the first commercial space station in 2025

The duo will have to compete with Blue Origin and other big rivals.

Another company wants to launch the first commercial space station. Vast is partnering with SpaceX to launch its Haven-1 station as soon as August 2025. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry the platform to low Earth orbit, with a follow-up Vast-1 mission using Crew Dragon to bring four people to Haven-1 for up to 30 days. Vast is taking bookings for crew wanting to participate in scientific or philanthropic work. It’ll be racing against Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which doesn't expect to launch its Orbital Reef until the second half of the decade. Voyager, Lockheed Martin and Nanoracks don't expect to operate their Starlab facility before 2027.

Continue reading.

Google Pixel 7a review

It’s got everything you need and more for just $499.

Engadget

So maybe we had one piece of Google hardware a little early. With the Pixel 7a, Google seems to have nailed the balance between price and performance. We’re talking a Tensor G2 chip, a 90 Hz display, wireless charging and a higher-res rear cam, all starting at just $499. And when you factor in its design, the Pixel 7a delivers everything I like about the regular Pixel 7 for $100 less. I’ll say this: If you’ve got family members musing on buying a new Android phone, save yourself a headache and recommend the Pixel 7a. 

Continue reading.

Google’s revealed its latest Pixel A-series smartphone, and once again it’s pulled inspiration from last year’s flagship device, pairing it with friendlier pricing. The Pixel 7a ($499) is $50 more expensive than last year’s Pixel 6a, but the upgrades may be worth it, especially when it comes to imaging. The Pixel 7a has a glossy metallic finish on the camera bar that matches the rest of the Pixel 7 family and ditches the glass of its predecessor. The camera upgrades go beyond aesthetics, with a new 64-megapixel primary camera sensor (an upgrade from the 12.2-megapixel camera on the Pixel 6a) and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera with 120-degree field-of-view. It’s also worth noting that it’s a higher-resolution primary sensor than the main camera on the Pixel 7. 

That high-resolution sensor brings super-res zoom to the Pixel A series, using digital zoom on 64MP images to hone in your subject better. Optical zoom tops out at 2x magnification and you’ll still get Night Sight, Photo Unblur, and Long Exposure thanks to Google's camera app software. This is Long Exposure's first appearance on an A-series device.

Google

With a 6.1-inch screen, the Pixel 7a is smaller than the 6.3-inch Pixel 7 or 6.7-inch Pixel 7 Pro. However, it’s roughly equivalent to the iPhone 14, so it’s not a tiny phone. The OLED screen now tops out at 90Hz (another improvement since the 6a) and works with Google’s adaptive brightness feature, cranking up the nits when outdoors for improved legibility. You’ll even be able to make your manual adjustments, and Google says the algorithm will gradually learn your preferences. Several other Pixel software features are there too, including Clear Calling for reduced background noise, Direct My Call (you’ll be able to see menu options before you hear them) and voice message transcription – if you’ve received voice notes through the messages app.

The Pixel 7a also comes with Google’s homemade Tensor G2 chip, which should offer performance comparable to its pricier Pixel 7 siblings and be particularly nimble with all those machine learning tricks and image manipulation Google’s phones are best known for. Google also claims this is its most durable A-series phone too, with a combination of recycled aluminum, Corning Gorilla Glass display and water and dust IP67 protection.

Alongside 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, the Pixel 7a has a 4,385 mAh battery, supporting up to 18W fast charging and 7.5W wireless charging. Yes, in an unusual move, Google has decided to bring wireless charging to the A-series this year. Rounding out the spec sheet,

The Pixel 7a will launch in Charcoal, Sea, Snow and a Google Store-exclusive Coral color option.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

After selling 23 million Switches two years ago and 18 million in the last year, Nintendo expects demand for the aging console to continue to fall. It's forecasting sales of 15 million for next year and isn't even confident of that figure, according to its latest earnings report. "Sustaining the Switch’s sales momentum will be difficult in its seventh year," said president Shuntaro Furukawa in a call. "Our goal of selling 15 million units this fiscal year is a bit of a stretch." To achieve that, he added: "We try to not only put one system in every home but several in every home.” Well, at least the new Zelda game is just around the corner…

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

What to expect at Google I/O 2023

Pokémon developer Game Freak is partnering with Private Division on a new action franchise

Volvo’s compact electric SUV will be the EX30

Apple is bringing Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to iPad on May 23rd

The best travel gear for graduates

Spotify has reportedly removed tens of thousands of AI-generated songs

Universal Music claimed bots inflated the number of streams.

Spotify has reportedly pulled tens of thousands of tracks from generative AI company Boomy. It's said to have removed seven percent of the songs created by the startup's systems, which underscores the swift proliferation of AI-generated content on music streaming platforms. Universal Music reportedly told Spotify and other major services that it detected suspicious streaming activity on Boomy's songs, to glean more money from Spotify, which pays out on a per-listen basis.

Continue reading.

VanMoof simplifies things for its new, cheaper S4 and X4 e-bikes

Pick from a typical and step-through frame.

VanMoof

VanMoof is trying to deliver premium e-bike features and build quality for substantially less money. At $2,498, that’s $1,000 less than the company’s top-of-the-range S5 and X5 bikes, but that doesn’t make them exactly cheap. VanMoof co-founder Ties Carlier said in a press release this was an attempt at a “more simple, more accessible and more reliable” e-bike. One major simplification is the transition to adaptive motor support and a two-speed gear hub. The SX5 series had a three-speed gear system, and while it had a torque sensor to assist, adaptive motor support is new for these cheaper e-bikes. The company expects the range to be equivalent to both the SA5 and older SX3 e-bikes, 37-62 miles (60-150 km), depending on conditions and rider. Both the VanMoof S4 and X4 are available to pre-order now.

Continue reading.

Apple Watch Series 9 may finally get a new processor

The watches have used the same one since 2020.

The Apple Watch has effectively used the same processor since 2020's Series 6, but it's poised for a long-due upgrade. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims the Apple Watch Series 9 will use a truly "new processor." He believes the CPU in the S9 system-on-chip will be based on the A15 chip, which first appeared in the iPhone 13 family. Apple has historically introduced new Apple Watches in September, so it shouldn’t be too long a wait.

Continue reading.

Twitter is going to purge and archive inactive accounts

Elon Musk says it's important to 'free up abandoned handles.'

Twitter owner Elon Musk has warned the social network’s users they may see a drop in followers because the company is purging accounts that have "had no activity at all" for several years. Musk's announcement was quite vague, so we'll have to wait for Twitter to announce more specific rules, such as how long "several years" actually is. At the moment, though, the website has yet to update its inactive account policy page, which only states users need to log in every 30 days to keep their account active.

Continue reading.

WhatsApp begins testing Wear OS support

The beta lets you record voice messages or chat on Google-powered wearables.

WhatsApp is now testing an app for Wear OS 3 on devices like the Galaxy Watch 5, Pixel Watch and others. It has much of the functionality of the mobile versions, showing recent chats and contacts, while allowing you to send voice and text messages. WhatsApp offers a circular complication that shows unread messages on your watch's home page. There are also two tiles for contacts and voice messages to let you quickly access people or start a voice message recording. It's a significant release for Wear OS 3, with an ultra-popular app that most people have on their phones, in turn fulfilling Google's aim of getting more developers on the platform.

Continue reading.

A robot puppet rolled through San Francisco singing Vanessa Carlton hits

Only 951 miles to go!

YouTube

Twenty-one years after Vanessa Carlton released her debut single, ‘A Thousand Miles,’ a team of hobbyist roboticists has brought Carlton’s music back to the public ear — this time, to the streets of San Francisco, with an animatronic performer and, thankfully, a disco ball.

Continue reading.

Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social network, isn’t publicly available yet, but it’s already become one of the hottest Twitter alternatives. Grabbing an invite to the service, which has been in a closed beta for barely two months, has become a digital status symbol, with invite codes selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. The iOS app has been downloaded more than 375,000 times, according to analytics from data.ai – which is interesting considering the app only has about 65,000 users. Bluesky isn’t the first Twitter alternative to take off and see a surge in interest from former Twitter power users. Read on for a closer look at the latest attempt to replace Twitter in your life.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

The best mirrorless cameras for 2023

Qualcomm is buying auto-safety chipmaker Autotalks

Nacon’s MG-X Pro smartphone gamepad is comfortable but a little too basic

Samsung's Galaxy Watch will soon be able to alert wearers to irregular heart rhythms

The best fast chargers for 2023

JWST captures images of the first asteroid belts seen beyond the Solar System

The best VPN for 2023

Bank of Canada asks for public feedback about a national digital currency

Although it says ‘a digital Canadian dollar is not needed’ right now.

The Bank of Canada wants the public’s opinions on a potential digital Canadian dollar. Although the country’s central bank says a national digital currency isn’t yet needed, it wants to remain flexible and ready should that ever change. The bank cites the diminishing use of cash, potential competition with cryptocurrencies and national economic stability as reasons to prepare for the potential shift. “A digital Canadian dollar would ensure Canadians always have an official, safe and stable digital payment option issued by Canada’s central bank,” the bank says. But it also emphasized that, even if it eventually launched a national digital currency, it would still issue bank notes for anyone who wants them. “Cash isn’t going anywhere,” it unequivocally states.

Continue reading.

Watch the first trailer for Chris Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'

The movie focuses on the birth of the atomic bomb.

Universal

Universal has released a trailer for Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's biopic of the physicist who played a key role in developing and testing the first atomic bomb. While the team hopes nuclear weapons will end World War II and usher in a new era of peace, they're also worried about sparking an apocalyptic arms race. The adaptation of Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin's American Prometheus book stars Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) as its namesake scientist, with Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine.

Continue reading.

The Ayaneo Air Plus is the next would-be Steam Deck killer

Great hardware can't hide that this isn't a pure console experience.

Ayaneo, a relatively unknown player, has become one of the more prolific names in the handheld gaming PC world. Its newest handheld, the Air Plus, is the third iteration of Ayaneo’s Air series, and it has a choice of either AMD or Intel chipsets. The model we tested is the Ryzen 6800U processor, meaning it’s technically very similar to the Ayaneo 2 we reviewed a few months ago. The Air Plus is a shade smaller than a Nintendo Switch (albeit somewhat thicker), unlike the Ayaneo 2, which has a profile closer to the Steam Deck. While the entry-level 64GB Steam Deck will set you back $400, the base Ayaneo Air Plus costs $790 for early birds before it eventually retails for $979.

Continue reading.

Sony's latest portable party speaker also works with your TV

The SRS-XV800 lasts up to 25 hours and has karaoke features.

Sony

Sony's X-Series party speakers typically have a few tricks up their sleeves to power your gatherings. The company's latest model, the SRS-XV800, packs in a lot, but it also has an additional handy tool. Besides a built-in light show, karaoke mode and more, this speaker can connect to your TV through its optical port. Sony says you can expect up to 25 hours of battery life on the XV800, but that's with the customizable built-in light show turned off. This speaker may be portable, but it's also a beast. Sony added wheels and a handle, so you don't have to carry this behemoth when you need to move it.

Continue reading.