Meta just increased availability of its paid verification system, bringing the program to the UK. To the uninitiated, buying into Meta’s new program gives you a blue verification badge on Facebook and Instagram to indicate you are who you say you are. It’s (sort of) like modern Twitter blue checks.
Buying into the feature also gets you “proactive impersonation protection” and direct access to customer support. In the USA, this service costs $12 to $15 each month, depending on how you sign up. For UK residents, it costs £10 per month if you sign up on the web and £12 per month if you sign up on an iOS or Android device. The price disparity is to offset Apple and Google’s store fees and is another nod to Twitter.
Unlike Twitter, you need an official government ID to opt into the service. You also have to be older than 18 and have two-factor authentication enabled. Additionally, verified users can’t change their profile name, photo, username or date of birth without re-starting the entire verification process.
This feature is still in the testing phase. The beta version of this program begins rolling out for UK users today, but it’s a tiered release so it could take a few weeks before reaching your account. So far, Meta has tested its verification system in the US, Australia, New Zealand and, now, the UK. The company promises to expand the feature set as testing continues, stating that it’ll “continue to explore additional elements that create the most value for emerging creators.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-paid-verification-system-comes-to-the-uk-162523922.html?src=rss
After launching in North America and Taiwan, Logitech's unusual and relatively expensive G Cloud Gaming Handheld is coming to Europe, the company announced. It's now available in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, with special launch goodies like six months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
With a seven-inch 1080p touchscreen and gamepad controls, the Logitech G Cloud resembles handheld gaming devices like the Razer Edge and Ayaneo Air Pro, or even a smaller version of the Switch or Steam Deck. However, it only packs middling specs like a mid-range Qualcomm 720G SoC, 4GB or RAM and Bluetooth 5.1/WiFi 5. That's because it's specifically designed for cloud gaming from services like Xbox Game Pass and GeForce Now, and can also be used to stream console/PC games remotely.
Given the limited specs, the $350 price raised some eyebrows, though it normally retails for about $300. Since it shipped in December, Logitech has added a number of new features like virtual button mapping for touch-based mobile games, control customization settings and dead zones, and official support for Shadow PC. The latter service allows you to effectively "rent" a reasonably powerful PC starting at $30 per month and play games on it.
In any case, the G Cloud Gaming Handheld has apparently seen enough success for Logitech to bring it to territories outside North America. As mentioned, Logitech is throwing in up to six months of Xobx Game Pass Ultimate (depending on the country), along with a month of NVIDIA GeForce NOW Priority and a month of Shadow PC. It'll be available starting May 22nd for €359 / £329.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/logitechs-g-cloud-gaming-handheld-arrives-in-europe-141551128.html?src=rss
With Global Accessibility Awareness Day just days away, Apple is previewing a raft of new iOS features for cognitive accessibility, along with Live Speech, Personal Voice and more. The company said it worked in "deep collaboration" with community groups representing users with disabilities, and drew on "advances in hardware and software, including on-device machine learning" to make them work.
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" along with tools that can be customized by trusted supporters for each individual.
Apple
"For example, for users who prefer communicating visually, Messages includes an emoji-only keyboard and the option to record a video message to share with loved ones. Users and trusted supporters can also choose between a more visual, grid-based layout for their Home Screen and apps, or a row-based layout for users who prefer text," Apple wrote.
The aim is to break down technological barriers for people with cognitive disabilities. "The intellectual and developmental disability community is bursting with creativity, but technology often poses physical, visual, or knowledge barriers for these individuals," said The Arc's Katy Schmid in a statement. "To have a feature that provides a cognitively accessible experience on iPhone or iPad — that means more open doors to education, employment, safety, and autonomy. It means broadening worlds and expanding potential."
Another important new feature is Live Speech and Personal Voice for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Live Speech lets users type what they want to say and have it spoken out loud during phone and FaceTime calls or for in-person conversations. For users who can still speak but are at risk of losing their ability to do so due to a diagnosis of ALS or other conditions, there's the Personal Voice feature.
Apple
It lets them create a voice that sounds like their own by reading along with a randomized set of text prompts to record 15 minutes of audio on iPhone or iPad. It then uses on-device machine learning to keep user information private, and works with Live Speech so users can effectively speak with others using a version of their own voices. "If you can tell [your friends and family] you love them, in a voice that sounds like you, it makes all the difference in the world," said Team Gleason board member and ALS advocate Philip Green, who has had his own voice impacted by ALS.
Finally, Apple has introduced a Point and Speak function in the Magnifier to help users with vision disabilities interact with physical objects. "For example, while using a household appliance — such as a microwave — Point and Speak combines input from the Camera app, the LiDAR Scanner, and on-device machine learning to announce the text on each button as users move their finger across the keypad," it wrote. The feature is built into the Magnifier app on iPhone and iPad, and can be used with other Magnifier features like People Detection, Door Detection and others.
Along with the new functions, Apple is introducing new features, curated collections and more for Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Those include a SignTime launch in Germany, Italy, Spain and South Korea to connect Apple Store and Support customers with on-demand sign language interpreters, along with accessibility informative sessions at select Apple Store locations around the world. It's also offering podcasts, movies and more around the impact of accessible tech. The new Assistive Access and other features are set to roll out later this year, Apple said — for more, check out its press release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-assistive-access-simplifies-ios-16-for-people-with-cognitive-disabilities-120012723.html?src=rss
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.
Amazon has struck a deal with Embracer Group to release a massively multiplayer online (MMO) title based on the Lord of the Ringstrilogy 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.
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.
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.
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.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-this-company-will-give-you-a-free-tv-if-youre-willing-to-watch-non-stop-ads-112019031.html?src=rss
The Mac Mini M2 is the cheapest way to get Apple's latest processors, and now Amazon is has dropped them back to the lowest prices we've ever seen. You can buy the 256GB version for just $500 ($100 off the regular price), the 512GB model for $690 ($110 off) and the Mac Mini M2 Pro for $1,100 — all the best deals we've seen.
In our Engadget review, we gave the Mac Mini a solid score of 86, lauding the performance and classic aluminum design. It's tiny but mighty, with the M2 processor easily powerful enough for productivity chores and multitasking. The chip combines computing operations, like CPU, GPU, input/output interfaces and certain memory processes into one "system on a chip," allowing for faster processing speeds.
On top of that, you get killer connectivity, with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, HDMI 2.0 (with 4K 240Hz and 8K 60Hz output), two USB-A ports, a headphone jack and gigabit Ethernet (upgradeable to 10 gigabit). The M2 Pro model adds two additional USB-C ports, making it even more useful for creatives with a ton of accessories.
The Mac Mini M2 won't replace your gaming machine, but it can handle nearly everything else you throw at it. The Mac Mini M2 Pro, however, is powerful enough for just about any task including content creation, if you can afford it. We wouldn't recommend the overpriced storage or RAM upgrades, as the M2 is much more efficient with RAM than typical PCs. Still, if you're looking for a cheap but powerful Mac, this is the way to go.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-mac-mini-m2-falls-back-to-an-all-time-low-of-500-091518407.html?src=rss
Microsoft says iPhone support for its Phone Link app is now available for all Windows 11 users. Announced in February, Microsoft’s feature allows syncing calls, contacts and messages — including limited iMessage support — between an iPhone and PC.
Phone Link has been around (under various names) for Android-synced desktop features since 2015, but this is the first time it’s supported iPhones. Microsoft has deployed a phased launch, starting with select Windows Insider preview testers in late February. Then, the company began rolling out general availability last month, promising to support all Windows 11 users by mid-May. So, right on cue, it said today that everyone with a Windows PC and iPhone can now use the new feature.
🚨COOL, NEW FEATURE ALERT🚨 access your phone from your PC with Microsoft Phone Link! learn more: https://t.co/leOAsROEr1
Phone Link for iPhone has several limitations that Android phones don’t. First, although it supports iMessage syncing, it doesn’t work with group chats or sending images and videos. In addition, voice messages and iMessage apps won’t work. Still, it could serve as a handy built-in service to save you from switching between your computer and phone.
To get started, you’ll want to search for “Phone Link” in the Windows taskbar. After opening the app, you’ll still need to set up a few things on both devices. First, select iPhone as your device type, and use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code in the Phone Link app. The devices will pair over Bluetooth, and you’ll need to confirm several permissions on both iPhone and PC. It supports any iPhone running iOS 14.0 or later.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/iphone-syncing-for-windows-11-is-now-available-for-everyone-194114972.html?src=rss
Never mind free streaming services — one startup is giving the hardware away, too. 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 a thing.
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. There's a built-in five-driver sound bar as well. You're not stuck using the company's platform, as you'll still find three HDMI ports to plug in other media devices.
The reservations cover the first 500,000 TVs, which are expected to ship in the summer. Telly hasn't outlined full specs as we write this, but the set is estimated to be worth $1,000 at retail.
The strategy isn't surprising given Telly's leadership. Company chief Ilya Pozin co-founded Pluto TV, Paramount's free-to-watch service. He sees the free TV as making viewers an "equal part" of the ad system — you're benefiting as much as the corporations, Pozin claims.
Whether or not customers follow suit isn't clear. The ad-supported model might not thrill privacy-minded viewers who'd rather not share info. There's also just one size and configuration, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you want a larger or higher-quality screen. This is for viewers who'd rather not pay for a cut-rate TV (which may still have home screen ads) just to outfit their living room.
Telly's launch is part of a broader rush to offer free TV experiences. Amazon, Roku, Tubi and others all have ad-supported streaming channels, while Google TV is integrating many of those providers into its platform. The difference, of course, is the business model. Companies like Amazon and Roku see ad-supported TV as a way to spur hardware sales, while Telly is depending solely on those ads to turn a profit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/telly-will-give-you-a-free-tv-if-youll-watch-non-stop-ads-164319359.html?src=rss
The Apple Watch Ultra is is one of the best wearables for sports and outdoors enthusiasts thanks to the durable design and high-end features, but that $799 price tag can be hard to digest. If you've been waiting for a deal, now's the time to buy as it's on sale at Amazon for just $702 ($97 or 12 percent of) — the lowest price we've seen to date.
The Apple Watch Ultra is truly built for outdoor activity. It offers refined navigation and compass-based features, like the ability to set waypoints and ability to retrace your steps if you get lost. For scuba enthusiasts and others, there's a depth gauge and dive computer too. As such, it's the ideal wearable for hikers and divers.
Other features are geared toward endurance athletes, like the accurate route tracking and pace calculations that make use of a dual-frequency GPS. And Apple still includes the health features found in other Watch models too, like sleep tracking, temperature sensing and electrocardiogram readings, along with messaging, audio playback and Apple Pay. It offers a stellar 36 hours of battery life as well and up to 60 hours in low-power mode.
On the downside, the Apple Watch Ultra has a chunky (though rugged) case that you may not find comfortable to wear to bed. Moreover, the positioning of the action button is a little awkward, because it's right where many people will go to steady the Apple Watch Ultra with one finger while they press the digital crown or side button. Still, it garnered an excellent score of 85 in our review. That $702 price is a killer deal, but keep in mind that it's only offered on the model with the Ocean Yellow band.
If a Pixel phone is your daily driver, you may want to keep a charger nearby. An Engadget reader contacted us on Sunday to report that their Pixel 6 Pro has recently been overheating and excessively draining its battery. They suspect the culprit is the Google app and an update that began rolling out on May 12th.
“I haven't touched my phone in the past hour. It's just been on a standard wireless charger,” the reader says of a screenshot (seen below) they sent of their phone’s settings menu, showing the Google app burning through the 6 Pro’s battery in the background. “Still very hot, and if I didn't roll back to a different version, I wouldn't have a net increase on my phone's battery.”
Courtesy of Engadget reader
A visit to Reddit and the Google support forums shows other Pixel users are experiencing the same issue. “It just started yesterday. Massive battery usage from Google app and to a lesser degree Android System Intelligence. I just went through and did a factory reset, reinstalled most things and it's still happening,” one Reddit user wrote. “Beyond the battery not lasting the phone is getting really warm so I know it's harming the battery and potentially the CPU.”
Those who have tried contacting Google report the company’s support staff haven’t been very helpful. Some users say rolling back to an older version of the Google app hasn’t fixed the problem for them. “Actually ended up with an even older version from May 10, still draining the battery,” writes one Redditor. The reader who contacted us suspects the problem may be server-side. “Google app keeps wrecking the battery regardless of version, and I've rolled all the way back to May 1st,” they write. “I don't know how to see if the app is trying to call home or on a loop with something like that, but the symptoms remain the same.”
Google did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request. If the Google app is at fault here, it wouldn’t be the first time a software update has caused headaches for Pixel users. Last May, Google had to patch the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro after an earlier update caused the phones to produce much weaker haptic feedback. The year before the company paused the rollout of its December Pixel update after users found it was making their phones drop calls.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pixel-users-report-the-google-app-is-making-their-phones-overheat-193325112.html?src=rss
Meta has patched a Facebook bug that saw the social network send automatic friend requests when users would visit any profile. In a statement the company shared with The Daily Beast on Friday, Meta apologized for the glitch. “We fixed a bug related to a recent app update that caused some Facebook friend requests to be sent mistakenly,” a Meta spokesperson told the outlet. “We’ve stopped this from happening and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Fb is legit adding randoms if you click on their profile.
Predictably, the glitch generated equal amounts of amusement and confusion. Many quickly pointed out that the technical oversight temporarily made it impossible to “Facebook stalk” other users. More worryingly, some found that Facebook sent friend requests to people they were trying to block. Notably, news of the bug comes after Meta said it would lay off 10,000 employees. Mark Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency” will see the company reduce its workforce by at least 21,000 by the end of 2023.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-fixed-a-facebook-bug-that-sent-automatic-friend-requests-to-users-194753983.html?src=rss
