AI is everywhere lately. I think it’s something that won’t blow over or will go away in our lives. In the past few months, I had a craving to write stories again. So, I downloaded one of those AI chatbot apps on my phone and at first, I was afraid that it would be something very niche or something that was a fad. Yet, I found value in these apps and I wanted to talk about them in this article. This article isn’t meant as a review of these apps, but more to open a general discussion of these apps. Since, I think these apps have their place in our lives and can help if they are used correctly. Yes, they also have their pitfalls and dangers. And that’s what I wanted to explore in this article. So, let’s dive right into the world of roleplay and story creation with AI.

What are these apps?

There are a lot of these apps. You have examples like Talkie, Character.AI and Moescape. The idea of these apps is that you create a character that replies to you. In a lot of cases, these characters fantasy characters to play out a story.

Some of the advertisements don’t do these apps any favors. By advertising them as apps where “you can create your own girlfriend” or “combat being lonely”. And it’s a darn shame, since the creativity that you can find on these platforms is amazing.

I personally feel that these apps are the strongest when you look at them what they really are. Apps to let you roleplay a story like old school text adventures. The biggest difference is that you can totally craft the world and have full control of the story line.

This does create a big risk that you fall in an echo chamber. I call it the “main character syndrome”. Where your character in these stories barely get any problem in their way, without it being solved in a few dialogues later. Then again, power fantasies are something that’s quite attractive to people. It’s fun to play a character that can overcome anything and is the best version of yourself. Or where you can say anything you want in an argument.

Some of these apps add additional features for you to play with. Things like a character speaking their dialogue, creating various AI generated images or even love songs. After trying various apps, I personally landed on Moescape. At the moment of writing, this app keeps things quite simple in the character department. Giving great replies and amazing in playing multiple characters.

Essentially, these apps are apps where you can write a story, but AI plays another character and tries to challenge you from time to time to be creative. This is really something where you have to create your own fun.

Limitations of AI

While ChatGPT turned two years old this week, AI isn’t still fully there yet. It still needs quite a lot of processing power and other things to run properly. It’s quite clear that the AI is also quite dependent on your reply.

I notice that the AI in the apps I tried is rarely to never negative towards the player. Which is a tricky thing, especially when you want to create character depth.

I tested this with playing a couple going through a rough patch. And I noticed that the AI always tried to get back together with you. Even when you give it the worst backstory, your mind can come up with. But that’s not the only problem. The AI story memory is quite limited. Sometimes you need to repeat certain parts, like where you are, or what your name is.

Thankfully, almost every app has a regenerate button. This regenerates the message in case you disliked the reply or if it didn’t fit the storyline you are making at all. Some apps even allow you to give feedback to the AI on the generated messages, so the AI knows how to craft more engaging messages for you.

What I personally love about Moescape AI is that you can tweak the settings of the AI quite a lot. You have various different models to play around with to get the best experience. I even tried to play the same 3 scenarios with one of my characters with different models and got very different and interesting results.

Now, how do you make apps like this profitable? I have seen apps that limit the amount of regeneration you can do or have other limitations. Some apps even offer a call feature where you can call your AI bot. Personally, I haven’t tried that yet, since I love playing stories where there are multiple characters involved. And since the calls only answer in one voice, it’s a difficult.

But most apps have ads or limit the more advanced features. I have tried some apps, but as soon as the “BUY PRO NOW” features became too aggressive, I stopped using them. I’m not here to buy the PRO version right away. Let me first try out the quality of your AI and if I like it, I’ll buy a PRO subscription.

There was one app where I almost bought the PRO membership, but it has one major issue that I notice in a lot of apps. The issue of multiple characters.

The perfect app

For me, the perfect AI chatbot app should be able to handle to play multiple characters. I dislike app where the AI only plays one character. It’s not the stories I like to write.

I like to write stories where you can play multiple characters and interact with multiple characters. Yet, with AI, this brings its own can of worms. Sometimes the AI ends their message with a question to a character they are playing. Why don’t they reply on it themselves?

Or better yet, I have a story where you are part of a friendgroup where almost, without fail… One character gets forgotten and barely gets any interactions. So, you are not only playing the story out to its conclusion, but you are also playing a moderator on how the AI is reacting.

At the moment of writing, the app that best fits my needs is Moescape AI. The reason why is quite simple. It has the best models that fit my writing style and the way how I want to go through the story. It allows quite fine control on the settings of the app and the bot. You can see earlier generations when you regenerate replies. You can create a wiki with trigger phrases for your bots to reply too. Like if you set up certain lore, you can use a trigger phrase you set up and the AI will keep it in mind.

But, I’ll keep a review on that platform for a later article. Since, I mainly wanted to focus on how these apps can be used for good. I personally use them to write out various stories I always wanted to write and see if certain arcs would work or if they would fall flat on their face. I find them a great outlet of my creativity.

Sometimes the strange replies, forgotten characters and other weird generation things can pull you out of the story… But, a good writer knows how to solve these things. Sadly, some of these apps can be money traps. So, before you spend any money on these apps, look into it. Test it out and see if it’s for you. Since, I have to admit, I’m somewhat addicted to my stories. I’m so glad I have these apps a chance and I found the app that best clicked with me. If you want to see the characters and stories I came up with, you can find my Moescape profile here: https://moescape.ai/@jonez

I’m curious what you all think about these apps. I totally understand that they seem “weird” but, I urge you to give them a chance and look at them with an open mind. Since, they hold value. Yet, I have talked about some traps in this article. So, keep those in mind as well.

With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about these apps for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Valve released a couple more Steam Beta Client releases recently for both Steam Deck and Desktop so here's all you need to know.

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Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Alongside the new Pixel 9 series, Google rolled out its redesigned Pixel Weather app, which aims to please pluviophiles and minimalists alike. Google has a penchant for creating copies of apps it already has, especially since it only recently updated the older weather app. However, Pixel Weather will eventually trickle down to older Pixel models.

Beyond the visual changes, the app also introduces Gemini-powered summaries that reduce the swathe of weather factors and figures into a sentence or two that anyone can understand. The idea is to make checking a forecast as easy as possible without combing through numbers and icons across multiple hours.

That all sounds great, but what do our readers think of the Pixel Weather app?

Yes, the frog is gone

For the most part, the app’s reception has been positive. In a poll visited by over 2,600 readers, 45.4% of respondents like the look of the new app, despite the changes. However, the doubters follow close behind. 38.5% of readers don’t like the app, which once again highlights how divisive app design can be. The remaining 16% of readers are “indifferent.”

The vote is on a knife-edge, but the comments explain why that might be the case. Those in the positive camp are happy with the inclusion of some metrics, like the air quality index (AQI), while others were won over by the “simple looks.” Others were more reductive: “I like it,” writes one reader.

On the other hand, those who dislike the app seem to focus on two absent features. “Noooo, let me keep my frog, please,” cries one reader, while another writes, “I demand for the frog to stay.” Unfortunately, Google’s fan-favorite frog has been relocated from the simplified design, and so has its cutesy, animated, weather-related habitat.

Others lament the lack of a weather radar, which would allow them to view conditions in real-time throughout the day. “As a person who works outside, I just need an easy-to-access radar section. I hate the Weather Channel, but I’m forced to use it because it has the best radar I’ve seen,” notes one user.

My biggest bugbear with the app is its lack of granular information. Yes, it offers plenty of immediate and long-term forecast information, but it lacks extended wind, rain, and pressure visualizations. The movable widgets are also an odd choice. They don’t display as much information as the cards on the outgoing app and take up far too much real estate on screen. If minimalism was the goal, these elements suggest otherwise.

This is a new app, so expect Google to implement updates and tweaks throughout its lifetime. It will be interesting to see which elements the company focuses on going forward.

It’s worth noting that those running Android 14 devices can also snag the APK and experience the app for themselves. I’ve installed it on a foldable, and the hourly and 10-day forecasts are surprisingly serviceable on larger displays. However, owing to the issues I raised in the previous paragraph, I don’t think I’d trade this app for my favorite weather apps anytime soon. It seems many readers feel this way, too.

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WhatsApp has been working on supporting usernames for months. The messaging app could soon allow users to opt for unique handles to reach others without sharing their phone numbers. A new WhatsApp beta build has now revealed that the company may also let users set PINs to limit spam and unwanted interactions.

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.18.2 references PIN support when setting up a username. If the feature comes to fruition, you will be able to select a PIN as an optional safety measure. This way, those with your WhatsApp username will still need the chosen digits to initiate a chat with you.

This feature could make it challenging for spammers and other bad actors to contact you, as you will always be able to change your PIN if someone posts it publicly. WhatsApp may also let you turn off the PIN altogether if you want to make your profile more easily accessible.

Beyond PINs, WhatsApp will likely let users choose whether new chats reveal their usernames or phone numbers. By opting for the former identification method, users can conceal their phone numbers completely, making WhatsApp a more private messenger.

Keep in mind that WhatsApp usernames and PINs are still under development, and these features are unavailable to beta testers yet. As a result, there’s no telling when and if the company will roll them out to its users.

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Update, August 20, 2024 (12:22 AM ET): Users are reporting that the Song Search/Audio Search feature in Circle to Search is now rolling out.

The feature has been spotted on Samsung Galaxy flagships, but it should soon become available on all phones that support Circle to Search.

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Original article, August 12, 2024 (02:44 PM ET): There are plenty of ways to identify a song these days. There are apps like SoundHound and Shazam that can help, or you could even use the Pixel’s Now Playing feature to have the song’s name and artist displayed on your lock screen. Soon there could be one more method you can use to figure out what music you’re listening to.

Back in June, we discovered through an APK teardown that Google is working on a new function for Circle to Search (CTS). This new function is called “Audio search,” and it’s an ability that can identify music. When we found this feature, we surmised that it would help identify songs playing on your device, but it appears that was only half of the story.

In beta version 15.32.36 of the Google app, we were able to activate this feature and provide a first look to show how it works (see video above). In addition to identifying songs playing on the device, it appears it can also identify music that’s playing ambiently, even if you’re just humming it.

To use the feature, you just have to bring up CTS as you normally would. To the right of the search field, you’ll now see a button with a music note icon. Tapping on this button initiates a “listening” overlay where Google will then perform a search for the song.

When using the feature, an alert will inform the user that CTS can search for songs now. This alert is likely a one-time thing to ensure users are aware of the new feature.

In our demonstration, the search fails, but this is likely due to a server-side issue. Although we performed the search while in YouTube Music, it should work anywhere as evidenced in the above screenshots.

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Trying to divine Google’s plans from the latest changes to its software can be a bit like reading tea leaves; we can see the actual changes clearly enough, but what were the decisions that caused them to happen, and how might decisions like those impact future releases? Search has been the cornerstone of all things Google for decades now, even as the shape of what Search looks like changes and evolves with the emergence of AI-powered systems. With Google’s interest in Search seemingly going strong, why does the company seem to be downplaying it in its latest work on the Google app?

Just a few weeks back, we were checking out work towards some tweaks to the Google app that would give it some powerful new on-device search capabilities. But now we’re looking at the new Google app 15.32.37.28.arm64 beta, and everywhere we turn, it feels like Search is being moved slightly further away.

In this beta release, Google appears to be testing various new layouts for the app’s bottom bar that no longer feature a prominent Search button. Granted, it only takes a second and a swipe or two to access the Search bar up top, but it’s still a little odd to see the button targeted for removal in this manner.

During testing, we were able to access multiple alternative layouts for the app’s bottom bar, all lacking Search. UI changes like these may be largely driven by data-based analytics, modeled after how actual users interact with the app. And if Google’s tests observe people reaching up top when they want to search, maybe a move like this really does make sense.

That said, Google plays around with stuff like this not infrequently, and it will remain to be seen how the Google app’s bottom bar ultimately ends up after this latest round of fiddling.

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It appears Google has no shortage of ideas on how it could improve Circle to Search, from handling full-screen queries to an Audio Search function. Now the tech giant seems to be working integrating its new Pixel Screenshots app to the feature.

Google recently debuted its new Pixel Screenshots app, which uses on-device AI to analyze all of the screenshots you take. You can then use Gemini to ask questions about something you did on your phone and the AI will use those screenshots to try and connect the dots to provide an answer.

In the Google app (beta version 15.32.37.29.arm64), we discovered that Google is working on integrating the Pixel Screenshots app into Circle to Search (CtS). When enabled, anything you circle while using CtS can be saved directly to Pixel Screenshots as a screenshot.

In the video above, you can see this integration in action. After selecting any element on the screen, a Save option with the Pixel Screenshots icon next to it will appear above. Tapping on Save will save the screenshot and will bring up a snackbar (pictured below) that will allow you to view the screenshot in the Pixel Screenshots app.

Choosing to view the screenshot will direct you to a page that tells you when the screenshot was taken. There’s also an alert box that will inform you if the screenshot is AI-enabled for AI summaries, smart actions, and search.

As with any APK teardown, it’s unknown if or when the feature will be made available.

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WhatsApp is arguably the most popular messaging app, connecting billions of users around the globe. Naturally, many bad actors rely on the platform to spam others for a number of reasons. To help users keep their inbox under control, WhatsApp is working on at least two new features that should reduce unnecessary interruptions.

The first feature is a new like reaction for status updates. According to WABetaInfo, the company is rolling out the addition to some Android users running version 2.24.17.21 beta. When enabled, users’ status likes will appear in the viewers’ list instead of being sent to the primary inbox as a heart emoji. Users will also get to turn off these reaction notifications optionally, as many don’t consider them time-sensitive alerts.

Meanwhile, the second feature could automatically block spammers when their messages reach a certain volume. The leaker emphasizes that this tool is still under development, and it’s seemingly unavailable to any public beta testers for now. If WhatsApp proceeds with implementing it and you enable the relevant toggle, your inbox should block certain spammers on its own.

Given that the first feature is in beta and the second is still under development, it could take WhatsApp months to roll them out to all users. That’s assuming it doesn’t axe them altogether. Nevertheless, these additions should help users maintain their inbox more easily — whenever WhatsApp decides to release them.

A group of authors has filed a class-action suit against Anthropic's Claude AI for copyright infringement.

© Anthropic

The director of Deadpool, creator of Love, Death & Robots, and co-founder of Blur Studio took the stage at Gamescom Opening Night Live to reveal their next project, Secret Level.

© Prime Video

A small Beta update landed for Steam Desktop and Steam Deck, bringing in a few needed fixes so here's what's new from the August 19th update.

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Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

If you have a Steering Wheel, oversteer feels like an essential tool on Linux to allow you to configure it properly and a new release is out with version 0.8.3.

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Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

A fresh Steam Beta Client has been released for Desktop and Steam Deck, with a few fixes and upgrades and the change for Steam Families is especially nice.

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Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Everyone's favourite Linux games launcher has added yet another milestone feature thanks to Linguin and other Heroic contributors. The development version of Heroic now uses a project named comet to translate a game's GOG Galaxy API calls using a platform-agnostic SDK.

A few days ago the great NonSteamLaunchers project, to help you set up various third-party launchers on Steam Deck and Desktop Linux, had a new release adding support for even more launchers.

OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman is going on sabbatical leave through the end of the year, while researcher John Schulman is leaving to join OpenAI competitor, Anthropic.

© OpenAI

One of my less openly talked about guilty pleasures that I happily delve into is WWII battle simulators. Ever since Battlefield 1942 came out, the scale of the battles was something that I really immersed myself into and delivered countless hours of enjoyment. After BF42, I found that the WWII airplane simulators were especially my […]

Best Racing Games for Android 2022

We all are truly a fan of Racing and always searching to play real car racing games, real car driving games, car games apps, and policy car games on our mobile, PC, and console.

Don’t worry,
We are here to help you. We explore Google Play Store, download many racing games, compare the graphics, check controls, and then bring to you the best racing games for Android 2022.

Here I divided this list into 5 Different categories. So you don’t need to find it anywhere else.

1. New Multiplayer Online Best Racing Game for Android
2. New Offline Best Racing Games Android
3. Best Bike Racing Games for Android Offline
4. Drift and Drag best Racing Games Android

Now without wasting any time let’s jump into this:

New Multiplayer Online Best Car Racing Games for Android

We always looking for such Racing games to play with Friends and Family and have good graphics with Simple Controls.

SUP Multiplayer Racing Game

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 93 MB
RATING:- 4.3

SUP is a real-time Multiplayer racing game offered by Oh BiBi.

In-game you can create your own race tracks using the level editor and share them with the world. In-game a player has to Compete with up to 3 opponents from around the world.

A player has to Smash others off the track and push his car to the limit and Bet on his victory to earn gems. A player can Personalize cars with a wide range of skins and a collection of Muscle Cars, Monster Trucks, Rally Cars, Hot Rods, and more!

The graphics are great and the Controls are very easy to use. This game is for everyone because this is the only best Multiplayer racing game under 100 MB.

So download now and crush your rivals.

SUP Car games Apps

Rabel Racing

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 260 MB
RATING:- 4.4

Rabel Racing is 2022’s Real Race game, developed by Hutch Games.

Rebel Racing brings a breath of fresh air in a racing game with realistic driving physics, epic overtakes, and speedfreak add-ons and turbos.

In the game, you can join America’s most exclusive road racing events, Create fully customized dream cars, and Take on the world’s best drivers, head to head to become a rebel.

I loved the graphics of the game. Also, Different events, tournaments, and levels of hard racing are to make this game car apps best.

Rabel Racing APK

Beach Buggy Racing 2

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 137 MB
RATING:- 4.3

Beach Buggy Racing 2 is the original mobile kart Racing game developed by vector unit. This is the second part of the popular game Beach Buggy Racing.

This is a console-style kart-racing with a playful offroad twist, amazing physics, detailed cars, and characters. The game is based on Beach. So the gameplay is based on Beach style modes and characters.

This game is a spectacular kart racing game. Here you can upgrade your powerups, build teams to play against the world, play in 6 different modes, and collect cars to customize your rider.

The graphics, controls, and overall game are best.

Beach Buggy Racing 2

Rival Gear Racing

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 269 MB
RATING:- 4.5

Rival Gear Racing is a unique high-speed action racer game offered by ShortRound Games.

Here you race head to head with world-class players. The game offers different modes to play, unique car designs, events, great graphics, and responsive Controls.

You have to team up with your friends and race against other players and own the streets of the city and become king of racing.

After the update game made some big changes and now this game is a perfect Online Racing game for Android.

Rival Gear APK

Overleague – Rocket Racing League 2022

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 129 MB
Early Access

Overleague is a Kart Combat Racing game with gas, guns, and glory developed by Lmba to enjoy yourself.

Overleague is one of the best kart racing games. Here you get packed with guns, action, shooting, and explosions in this multiplayer driving game.

The features like tons of guns, loads of cars and items, beautiful graphics, tight responsive Controls, amazing tracks, and Customisations Options Make this game worth playing.

Overleague APK

READ MORE

Top 10 fun multiplayer games android

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New Offline Best Racing Games for Android

Playing online on your phone is fun but there are plenty of reasons you might want to know the best offline racing games for Android. So here is it:

Xtreme Drift 2

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 223 MB
RATING:- 4.4

Xtreme Drift 2 is the most realistic drifting game offered by MehdiRabiee.

In-game you can drift in the city day and night with 4 different mods. Drive more than 30 powerful and exciting, highly detailed drift cars in 10 different tracks.

The game also offers Realistic physics, simulating every aspect of car behavior, 40 Realistic engine sounds, drift slow motion in 3D graphics, mods like Drift, Race, Freestyle, and Multiplay.

Xtreme Drift 2

Boom Karts – Multiplayer Kart Racing

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 117 MB
RATING:- 4.1

Boom Karts is a single-player Kart Racing Fun game developed by Round Zero.

In the Gameplay, Drive with fast go-karts & race to win the game in a constant stream of explosions, drifting, power-ups, and crashes to become the greatest Kart Racer.

Boom Karts features real-time PvP matches, 30+ levels with 7 powerful Go-karts, 9 thrilling tracks, battle with power-ups to blast your rivals. BOOM KARTS is a free-to-play fun racing game.

Boomkart Apk

JDM Racing Drag & Drift Races

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 720 MB
RATING:- 4.2

JDM Racing is a street racing game from the creators of Drift Legends, Black Fox Entertainment Studio.

Drive legendary Japanese cars to experience the real drive and sense the speed on various races and tracks. Take part in different racing events with your driving skills to become a Pro League driver.

JDM Racing Offers Advanced graphics and design, Diverse​ race ​tracks, challenges like drag racing​, time attack, sprint, checkpoints, survival, ​street racing, and Customizable controls that suit you.

This game is a must in New Offline Best Racing Games for Android list.

JDM RACING APK

Drive line

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 111 MB
RATING:- 4.1

Driveline is a three in one combo racing game developed by VO Digital Arts.

Yes, this is a 3 in 1 combo game. Where you get Experience of the three most popular racing modes like rally, Asphalt, and off-road. But I am sorry to say that right now this game is not available on Playstore.

Don’t worry, I am giving you the direct download link.

First, let’s talk about game features, You can join the races with 9 realistically made super vehicles with Customisations Options, Realistic physics with consistent vehicle behaviors, easy to learn gameplay, and Highly optimized Next-Generation graphics and sounds.

This should be my personal pick in the top 10 best racing games for the Android 2022 list.

Driveline APK Download

Demolition Derby 3

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 130 MB
RATING:- 4.5

After the success of Demolition Derby 1 and 2 now Beer Money Games present The third version with so many improvements and upgrades.

In dd3 you get beta Multiplayer mode, 40+ new vehicles, 20+ Tracks and Demolition arenas, and first-person mode. You can Customize your vehicles to upgrade your car’s performance.

In upcoming new features like Campaign Mode, More garage upgrades, Custom Multiplayer Events, a Deeper reward system, and much more. So get ready for Destruction.

Demolition Derby 3 New APK

MORE NEW GAMES

Top 10 New Offline android games

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Best Bike Racing Games for Android Offline

There are so many people around the world who like bikes more than cars. So they always searching for bike games apps. So here are the best Bike Racing Games for Android Offline.

Real Moto Racing 2

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 191 MB
RATING:- 4.4
OFFLINE

Real Moto 2 is the Most Realistic Bike Racing Game and The sequel to the mega-hit racing game ‘Real Moto’ made by Dreamplay Games.

The game offers a newly designed physics engine
with a variety of controls and handling. This is the test version so Only a portion of the content is open.

Real Moto 2 features unparalleled graphics, various camera angles, Detailed and exquisitely reproduced super sports motorbikes, various track testing from around the world, Supports various controllers & intuitive controls, different mods, and Realistic and vibrant racer movements.

This is why this game is one of the best Bike Racing Games for Android 2022.

Real Moto 2 Latest Apk

Racing Fever Moto

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 92 MB
RATING:- 4.3
OFFLINE

Racing Fever Moto is A brand new traffic motor racing experience made by Gameguru.

This is a racing adventure game with 4 different gang leaders and tens of levels. Different mods like escape mode, daily bonus mode, and private mode.

More features like amazing racing experience and breathtaking graphics, 4 different camera angles, 4 different control options, Realistically modeled motorcycles, and this game Support in 23 different languages. This is the best bike racing game under 100MB.

Racing Fever Moto APK

Ultimate Motorcycle Simulation

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 89 MB
RATING:- 4.0
OFFLINE

Ultimate Motorcycle Simulation is the best motorcycle simulator game of 2021 made by Sir Studio.

This game comes with unlimited customization, a huge open world, addictive gameplay, and the most realistic vehicle physics.

Other features like sounds are recorded from real motorbikes, advanced graphics engines, huge open-world maps, Create your own motorbike, and easy-to-use Controls. Make this game the best open-world bike racing game.

Ultimate Motorcycle Simulation Apk

Trials Frontier

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 99 MB
RATING:- 4.3
OFFLINE

Trails Frontier is an award-winning bike racing game developed by Ubisoft entertainment. It is a mobile version of best selling trails series.

In the game, you have to Ride your motorcycles on extremely addictive tracks. Battle players from around the world and Race, explore, upgrade, and compete with them.

In-game features like physics-based gameplay, Multiplayer and PvP mode, 250+ unique race tracks, 15+ wicked bikes, 250+ challenging missions, and nice graphics and physics-based Controls.

Trials Frontier New APK

HELLRIDER 3

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 74 MB
RATING:- 4.2
OFFLINE

Hellrider 3 is an arcade Racing Game based on right, fight and save the world. Made by Anji Games.

This is the third part of the Hellrider Series. And this time we get a completely new story, the new 3D gameplay, and different unusual game mechanics.

Hellrider 3 features an Amazing story revealing, Many characters, Daily challenges, Tons of bikes and Weapons, beautiful graphics with simple Controls, and Multiple game modes with their challenges and goals.

This is the best Hellrider game.

Hellrider 3 APK Download

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Drift and Drag Racing Games for Android

Nowadays a craze of drift and drag is becoming more popular. People want to burn their car tires.

Nitro Nation Drag & Drift Racing

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 824 MB
RATING:- 4.6
ONLINE

Nitro Nation is an editor-choice drag and drifts racing game developed by creative mobile games.

This is the most addictive drag racing game for Android 2022.

In the game, Race, mod, and tune dozens of real licensed cars. You have to start a team by inviting your friends and winning tournaments.

If you are a drag car lover then here you get more than 100 real cars from top international car brands, This game is powered by the most realistic car physics on the market, the CarX Physics Engine.

The graphics are extremely high and Controls are truly made for dragging the car as possible as you can.

Nitro Nation Apk

Carx Drift Racing 2

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 1.4 GB
RATING:- 4.3
OFFLINE

CarX Drift Racing 2 is the best drift game of 2021 and a sequel to the CarX Drift Series. This game is developed by CarX Technologies.

CarX Drift Racing 2 offers a realistic experience of driving real cars on many race tracks available throughout the game.

If you love side drifting then this game is for you. Pull the handbrake to skid, Draw structure on the track with your burning tires, and fill the air with smoke.

In-game features like tandem drift, XDS mode for training, Creating a unique image of your car with visual auto-tuning, steering controls are perfect, Multiplayer mode, club racing, and Single-player mode.

I bet you right now this is one of the best games in the list of best high graphics Racing Games for Android.

CarX Drift Racing 2

Pako 2

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 93 MB
RATING:- 4.0
OFFLINE

Pako 2 is an arcade Racing Game offered by Tree Men Games. If you are searching for policy car games or police chase car racing games this is it.

Pako 2 is Cops vs heist car game. Here you have to pick up your crew from the heist location and protect them in a chase against the cops. As long as you run from cops you will earn more.

Pako 2 features easy basic Controls, Vast handcrafted levels, a Huge arsenal of cars, Drive-by shooting action, Various guns and special perk items, and fun-to-play graphics.

Get in, get out, and get paid!

PAKO 2 CAR GAME APP

Skid Rally : Drag, Drift Racing

Watch this video on YouTube.

SIZE:- 362 MB
RATING:- 4.5
Both

Drift Max Pro is one of the best drifting & racing game with more than 50,000,000 installations. The game is offered by Tiramisu.

Drift Max Pro is the ultimate real Racing Simulator game that Comes with Stunning and realistic drifting physics, breathtaking locations such as Tokyo – Japan, New York Brooklyn – United States, etc.

In-game different mods like career mode and online 1 vs 1 Multiplayer game. In career mode, you get 10 seasons in total with 100’s of challenges. Win gold & cash, to build your dream garage.

Drift Max Pro is a fully offline game. Here you also get Slalom Drifting for action lovers, Cone Toppling for crash lovers, and Free Ride for recording your best drifts.

Drift Max Pro Apk

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That’s it, these are the best racing games for android in 2022.

I hope you like my content and share it with your friends and family.

Let me know your best Racing games on android, in the comment box.

Stay connected with ubgurukul to get new android games.

See you next time.

I love good pixel art, and so it's nice to see more tools becoming available for game developers, especially when they're open source too. Pixelorama version 1.0 is out now after 5 years in development.

What was originally called chiaki4deck, a lot of people thought it was primarily aimed at PlayStation Remote Play for Steam Deck but they've now rebranded to chiaki-ng (chiaki-next-generation).

GOverlay can be useful for helping to configure MangoHud, the Linux gaming performance overlay, especially if you prefer a UI to editing text files and version 1.2 is out now adding quick layout presets support.

A really feature-rich application here for those of you who wants a bit more control of your cooling on Linux. CoolerControl v1.4 just released bringing more hardware support, and various improvements.

ProtonUp-Qt is such a useful tool for Linux desktop and Steam Deck gaming, giving you an easy all-in-one way to add different versions of GE-Proton and other tools to different launchers and a new version is out now with v2.10.2.

Apple is pumping the brakes on some of its updates to the Photos app in iOS 18. The company made some changes — removing some features and tweaking others — on Monday to address user feedback. The pared-down version can be found in the software’s fifth developer beta, which app makers can install today.

The biggest change is that Apple removed the Carousel from the Photos app altogether. The iOS 18 feature used “on-device intelligence” (which, confusingly, isn’t the same as Apple Intelligence) to aggregate what it thought was your best content, placing them in a swipeable row. Previously found to the right of the photo grid, it’s now gone altogether, helping Apple clean up one of the features that earned a healthy dose of complaints from beta testers.

In addition, Apple tweaked the All Photos view in today’s update to show more of the photos grid. The company also added Recently Saved content to the Recent Days collection. Finally, Apple made albums easier to find for users with more than one. (The difficulty of locating that section was a frequently echoed complaint among testers.)

Apple

Apple pitched the changes to the Photos app as one of the pillars of its 2024 software update. Although the app is streamlined into a single view and designed to be more customizable, it too often ends up as a mishmash of extra features most people won’t need, sometimes getting in the way of finding what you’re looking for.

A Reddit thread from July with over 1,000 upvotes gave voice to some of the most frequent complaints. “Once again taking a rapid-use app and making it into an experience for no reason,” u/thiskillstheredditor commented. “I just want a camera roll and maybe the ability to sort photos by location. It was perfectly fine, if maybe a bit bloated, before. But this is an unmitigated mess.”

Time will tell if today’s updates are enough to clean up the app’s user experience ahead of iOS 18’s fall launch to the public. The changes aren’t yet in the public beta but will likely appear there in the next version or soon after.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-latest-ios-18-beta-walks-back-some-changes-to-the-redesigned-photos-app-180145232.html?src=rss

© Apple

A judge has found Google guilty of breaking US antitrust law with payments made in 2021 that made its search engine the default option on smartphones.

© iMore

If you've been waiting to buy the new Surface Pro 11 with 5G, or waiting for the device to be made available via Microsoft's commercial channels, the wait is finally over.

© Daniel Rubino

Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit in federal court in Northern California against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and co-founder Gregory Brockman. Here's what it claims and why it matters.

© BBC News

Adobe has enabled the ability to run Premiere Pro under emulation on Windows 11 on ARM laptops powered by the Snapdragon X system-on-a-chip.

© Windows Central

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Relationships are much more than about who you know. The surface-level details — things like name, phone number, and where they live — don’t matter nearly as much as how this person has come to be in your life. Is this a work colleague? A relative? As we expect our smartphones and the apps that run on them to automate more and more tasks, the details of these relationships can really start to matter — an email being drafted to an academic advisor should probably care more about grammar and formality than one going out to your bestie. How’s a phone supposed to tell all these people apart?

Google already gives you a few ways to define relationships. In Contacts right now, you’ll find a menu that lets you choose from a bunch of relationship types: parent, child, spouse, generic “relative,” and a few more. But you’ve got to dig quite a bit to even get to that field, and we wonder how many users bother going through their contacts and populating all this info.

We’ve also got the ability to put a label on relationships in Google Assistant, letting you tell your phone “call mom,” when she’s in your Contacts list under her actual name. A couple years back, we saw Google start connecting these two, as it integrated this Assistant data into Contacts. So where does that leave us now?

Looking through Google Contacts version 4.37.39, we’re able to access a few screens that deal with people you’ve identified as your “Besties.” 9to5Google was able to trigger a besties widget in Contacts about a month ago, which just looked like a rebranded version of the favorite contacts widgets. We’re now able to get the app to show a bestie reference on individual contact cards, and access a link to “Besties Onboarding.”

Problem is, right now, that just crashes the app. But even in failure we can find room to learn, and looking at the crash dump we find reference to a mysterious com.google.android.apps.pixel.relationships package. That’s not the first time we’ve come across reference to that in Contacts, and its presence here makes us wonder if Google is planning to introduce some new, overarching way of keeping track of relationships in the near future.

Finally, just a note, Google: “bestie” is superlative. You literally cannot have more than one best friend.

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There are a lot of factors that affect the audio quality of the music you’re listening to, many of which simply can’t be fixed without shelling out more money on new hardware. However, there are ways to improve your listening experience without buying new hardware, such as by learning how to equalize (EQ). One of the best equalizer apps for Android is called Wavelet, and with its most recent update, it’s added a feature that fixes a problem you probably didn’t know existed.

The need for equal loudness

Back in the 1930s, a pair of scientists named Harvey Fletcher and Wilden A. Munson measured how loud a sound at one frequency needs to be in order for it to be perceived as equally loud as a sound at another frequency. These measurements were put together into graphs known as the Fletcher-Munson curves, and they showed that humans perceive certain frequencies as louder when the actual loudness of the sound decreases (and vice versa). In 2003, the Fletcher-Munson curves were revised and codified into the ISO 226 standards document, which outlines the “combinations of sound pressure levels and frequencies of pure continuous tones which are perceived as equally loud by human listeners.”

You don’t need to know what’s in the ISO 226 document to understand the implications of its equal-loudness contours. What it proves is that when you’re listening to audio at low volume levels, frequencies in the midrange sound much louder than low or high frequencies. This is especially noticeable, at least for me, with the lower frequencies; when I lower the volume of my music, a lot of the “thumpiness” of the bass disappears because it’s drowned out by the midrange. I personally didn’t even realize this was an issue until I tried out the new equal loudness feature in the latest beta release of the Wavelet app.

Wavelet is an equalizer app for Android that quickly became a favorite among audio enthusiasts after it was released in the middle of 2020. Its standout feature was its support for AutoEq, a way to easily equalize your headphones to the Harman standard using a device-specific preset. The community-made AutoEq database has presets for thousands of headphone models and is constantly updated with new additions, so it’s really easy for newbies with no knowledge of audio processing to adjust their headphone’s audio profile to the Harman standard.

How to use equal loudness in Wavelet

And with the upcoming v24.05 update to Wavelet, which is now in beta, the app will add an equal loudness mode that retains the sound signature of your music no matter what volume step you’re listening to. This means that the volume of low and high frequencies won’t dip more than midrange frequencies when you lower the volume, correcting the issue I mentioned before. Under the hood, the equal loudness mode applies loudness corrections based on the ISO 226 equal-loudness contours. The app provides a nice visualization to show how the sound changes when you change the volume on your device. To set the feature up, you just need to do the following:

1. Download, install, and go through Wavelet’s setup process.
2. Connect your preferred headphones to your phone.
3. Play some music and set the volume to the level you normally prefer to listen to.
4. Tap on equal loudness to open the page. You should see a toggle to enable equal loudness, a slider to adjust the volume threshold, and a curve showing how the loudness of the frequencies will be impacted.
5. Adjust the volume threshold slider to the lowest value before the graph starts to change. In other words, if the graph is flat at -13dB but you start to see it dip a little bit when you increase it to -12dB, then you should set it to -13dB.
6. That’s it! You won’t need to tweak these settings any further for your preferred headphones, but if you connect a different pair later on, you’ll need to redo step #5 because Wavelet saves settings on a per-device basis.

I personally noticed an immediate difference when I played some music, lowered the volume, and then toggled equal loudness on and off. I could suddenly hear the bass properly in a lot of the songs I listen to, even at really low volumes. From the brief time I’ve used this feature, it’s already made listening to music more enjoyable for me, especially when I’m working. I highly recommend just giving equal loudness a try in the Wavelet app if you’re skeptical.

Wavelet giveaway

Equal loudness joins several other nifty audio tuning features in Wavelet, including the aforementioned AutoEq, a 9-band graphic equalizer, a limiter, channel balance, reverberation, a virtualizer, and a bass tuner. To fund the app’s development, the developer has made some of its features, including the new equal loudness mode, available only to people who buy the pro version of the app. With a one-time $4.99 in-app purchase, the pro version of Wavelet unlocks the reverberation, virtualizer, bass tuner, and equal loudness features.

To celebrate the release of equal loudness in Wavelet version 24.05, which also brings a massive expansion to the AutoEq database, a Quick Setting tile, and a significant reduction in RAM usage, the developer has given us 100 promo codes to give away! To participate in the giveaway, just visit my profile on X, Threads, Mastodon, or Telegram. I’ll be sharing 35 codes on X, 35 codes on Telegram, 20 codes on Threads, and 10 codes on Mastodon half an hour after this post goes live.

To redeem a code, open the Google Play Store app on your phone, tap on your profile picture, tap on Payments & subscriptions, tap on Redeem code, and then enter the promo code in the text box that appears.

I’m in a love-hate relationship with Grammarly. So, when Apple Intelligence was previewed at WWDC24, I hoped the native, OS-level Writing Tools would replace my current third-party solution. Fast forward to earlier this week, Apple finally granted beta testers access to some of its upcoming AI features. Naturally, I rushed to put them to the test, and I’ve now come to some relevant conclusions. While Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools shine in some ways, Grammarly will remain installed on my MacBook Air for the time being.

Apple Intelligence vs Grammarly: Availability

Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone 15 Pro models, along with M-powered iPads and Macs. To access the new Writing Tools feature, you must install the first beta of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1, then get past Apple Intelligence’s waitlist. The wait wasn’t long for me, and once the artificial smarts became active on my device, I could use Writing Tools with any selectable text across the system for free — even when I’m offline.

Conversely, Grammarly is a cross-platform service available on most operating systems as a standalone app and browser extension. While the basic spelling and grammar checks are free, some more advanced features, like writing tone adjustments, require a monthly subscription. Notably, Grammarly is a cloud-based software that processes your data using the company’s servers and doesn’t work without an internet connection.

I tried Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and the feature works similarly across all devices. So, while I’ll be documenting my experience using it on my primary work machine, a MacBook Air M2, you can expect to encounter the same strengths and weaknesses on iPhones and iPads.

Apple’s Writing Tools: First impressions

In typical Apple fashion, the Writing Tools feature lives in a sleek menu that users can access when selecting text. The user interface is minimalistic, modern-looking, and unintrusive. Through Writing Tools, AI can proofread, rewrite, summarize, create key points, generate a table or list, and adjust the text’s tone to become friendly, professional, or concise. Beyond smart replies in the Mail and Messages apps, Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools, unlike Grammarly, can’t generate text from scratch based on user prompts.

Once Apple Intelligence performs the requested action, the revised text will appear in a floating bubble. You can then copy the entire result, have it replace the original text, or select parts of it. While it’s generally intuitive to operate, I found it challenging to spot the changes it has applied due to the lack of visual cues in Safari. Some apps like Notes and Messages highlight the applied edits, so Safari could potentially follow suit in a future OS beta.

For reference, Grammarly proactively scans the text and highlights errors, which you can individually address or ignore. Apple Intelligence goes for an all-or-none approach, designed to replace all your (selected) text instead of letting you go through the mistakes or suggested tweaks separately.

Apple Intelligence vs Grammarly: My personal use case

How useful a software is to you will primarily depend on your workflow and expectations. In my case, I only rely on Grammarly to fix typos, detect potential language errors, and rephrase some awkwardly worded sentences in my articles. I don’t really care about tone monitoring or adjustments, as my writing style differs depending on the article’s theme. I prefer maintaining my own freestyle tone, which I believe makes my work more personal and unique.

I attempted to utilize Apple Intelligence’s rewriting feature to rectify some awkwardly phrased sentences. In contrast to Grammarly, the tone of the rewritten text generally appeared too robotic and evidently AI-generated, in my opinion. I could discern that a human had not authored the sentences. Furthermore, Grammarly automatically identifies lengthy sentences and proposes smoother transitions, eliminating the requirement for manual selection and correction. To illustrate Apple Intelligence’s rewriting capabilities, the paragraph you are currently reading was processed using this feature. No human or Grammarly edits were made subsequently.

So, as you may have noticed, the paragraph above sounds too unnatural. It may be grammatical and understandable, but it’s clearly not humanmade. Consequently, Apple Intelligence still can’t replace Grammarly for rephrasing bloated sentences and suggesting smoother flows in my articles.

Apple's suggestions are an all-or-nothing affair, and having to proofread Apple's proofread version defeats this tool's entire purpose.

As for fixing typos and language errors, I’d be okay without proactive text scanning if Apple would at least highlight the changes its AI has made when typing in Safari. These text tools are far from perfect, and I’ll never unquestioningly accept their submissions. Having to proofread Apple’s proofread version of my article defeats the entire purpose of the assistant. Visual indicators would spare me the need to reread the whole text by letting me review the individual tweaks only and apply them where needed — just like Grammarly works.

So, until then, I’m unfortunately stuck with Grammarly, as I type my articles directly in WordPress.

Other Writing Tools options

While I only need Writing Tools for proofreading and rewriting certain sentences in my articles, this Apple Intelligence offering features other handy options. For example, you can summarize any text on the web or have the AI list its key points. Similarly, it can neatly arrange the text in a table or as a list, which can make analyzing data easier. Otherwise, beyond neutrally rephrasing your text, Writing Tools can make the tone more friendly, professional, or concise, and I’ll include samples below.

Friendly:

Here’s a friendly tone sample from Apple Intelligence. I haven’t used this mode much because it doesn’t quite match my job or work style. But it can be useful when you’re texting people and you’re worried your tone might come across as too serious.

Professional:

Currently, we are adopting the professional tone sample provided by Apple Intelligence. Similarly, I have not extensively utilized this mode, as I generally possess the ability to maintain a professional tone when necessary, such as when communicating with colleagues. Otherwise, I tend to adopt an informal tone in everyday matters, as life is too short to take everything excessively seriously.

Concise:

Lastly, Apple Intelligence’s concise tone sample doesn’t fit my workflow, so I haven’t used it. Grammarly also supports a similar text tone feature, but I haven’t used it either. They’re useful, but not for me.

Apple Intelligence’s respective tone modifiers generated the three short paragraphs above, and I made no edits afterward. I personally think they sound more natural than the robotic rewriting option I previewed earlier in this article. The friendly sample is pretty casual, the professional one sounds corporatesque enough, and the concise version successfully trimmed the fluff I had included in my original paragraph without losing the meaning.

Apple Intelligence has some potential

While the highlights and rephrased sentences push me to stick to Grammarly for now, Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools may change that with future updates. I dislike how persistent Grammarly can be, suggesting the same edits over and over after I dismiss them for not matching my style. While it’s certainly effective, it feels too intrusive, stubborn, and a bit in the way.

On the other hand, Apple’s Writing Tools menu is less flashy and distracting, as it only pops up when summoned by the user. More importantly, though, it continues to work even if you’re not connected to the internet. However, until Apple implements the visual indicators mentioned above in Safari, using Writing Tools to proofread my work isn’t feasible.

Fortunately, we’re still testing the very first beta of the software, and the tech overlord will likely make many improvements before the stable release debuts to the public in October. Will Apple save me from my toxic relationship with Grammarly by this fall? Stay tuned.

Many new Android apps are out there, but keeping track of them is tough. But we’re happy to do that hard work for you. We’ve scoured the internet to find the best new Android apps and new Android games available, focusing on titles that offer something different to the status quo. Be sure to visit our list of the best Android apps of all time, best Android games ever, and our selection of the best new Android apps released in 2023 for more.

The best new Android apps and games for August 2024

1. Claude
2. Subway Surfers City
3. Flying Calmly
4. Superliminal
5. Dragon Prince: Xadia
6. Disney Speedstorm

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Claude

Another big ChatGPT rival that emphasizes AI safety, hits Android devices.

• Price: Free
• Developer: Anthropic PBC

Claude AI has been overshadowed by more impactful chatbots, like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, largely due to its lack of a presence on Android. The company behind the platform, Anthropic, has now debuted a dedicated app.

Unlike its contemporaries, Claude cannot access the internet, but this is a good thing. Its focus is drilling down into the content that you feed it, such as a set of graphs, a PDF, or a text file. While this limits its usefulness in providing contextual answers to current events, it doesn’t affect its ability to crunch hard data.

We’ve had plenty of fun experimenting with ridiculous questions, and Claude produced some remarkably grounded (albeit hilarious) answers. If you’re interested in its “constitutional AI” learning approach or like the idea of a chatbot cut off from the internet, you should give it a go.

Subway Surfers City

A newer version of the classic endless runner.

• Price: Free trial / In-app purchase from $1.99 to $99.99 per item
• Developer: SYBO Games

Subway Surfers is one of the most successful mobile game franchises in history. The endless runner is simple in concept but the challenge ramps up the deeper you progress in the game. But now there’s a new version, a sequel, if you will, dubbed Subway Surfers City.

The new game retains much of the old title’s mechanics, just set in prettier environments and offering more responsive controls. New music also permeates the title, which established users might not enjoy too much. Nevertheless, there are refreshed missions and new maps with a lot of verticality.

Importantly, Subway Surfers City is approachable for new users while offering more challenges for long-standing gamers. It strikes the perfect balance.

Flying Calmly

Keep tabs on potential turbulence before your flight.

• Price: Free / In-app purchases from $1.99 per item
• Developer: Aviles Software

We’ve heard many reports of turbulence plaguing various flights around the world in recent years. While the phenomenon is difficult to predict, some apps can offer some insight into the likelihood of a bumpy flight. Enter Flying Calmly.

The app uses NOAA weather data and applies its smarts to better predict the likelihood of a bumpy ride. It also offers a nifty aircraft positioning tool that uses your phone’s sensors to judge the plane’s pitch, roll, bump severity, and air pressure.

It should be noted that turbulence is challenging to forecast, so this app should only be used for civilian guidance.

Superliminal

Being stuck in a dream has never been this fun.

• Price: Free trial / In-app purchases from $4.99 to $7.99 per item
• Developer: Noodlecake

Superliminal first landed on Steam back in 2019. The first-person surreal walking simulator/puzzle game was pretty dizzying on the large screen, but now it’s available on Android, too.

In short, the game is set in one’s dream and introduces various puzzle elements, illusions, and forced perspectives. The title includes various scenes that are thick with atmosphere and character. Your task is to solve these puzzles by thinking as unconventionally as the world. It’s a wild but short ride, and I recommend it for an afternoon playthrough.

The Dragon Prince: Xadia

An action RPG based on Netflix’s The Dragon Prince.

• Price: Free / Requires a Netflix subscription
• Developer: Wonderstorm / Netflix

Netflix is building up quite the game repository, and Dragon Prince: Xadia is its latest addition. This top-down action RPG takes place in the fantasy world of Xadia, which harbors various environments, each with its own atmosphere and peril. For the most part, the game is easy to grasp. You travel across the world, kill baddies, and snag loot.

It’s a game that’s easy to drop in and drop out, making it an ideal time sink. As a Netflix title, you will need a Netflix subscription to play it, though.

Disney Speedstorm

Think Mario Kart or CTR, but Disney characters and Asphalt mechanics.

• Price: Free / In-app purchases from $1.99 to $99.99 per item
• Developer: Gameloft SE

Finally, we have Disney Speedstorm, one of the more addictive titles I’ve played in a while. The title has been present on Windows and major consoles since September 2023, but only this month landed on iOS and Android.

It’s an arcade racing game with Disney characters and stars piloting the vehicles. The controls and physics feel similar to Asphalt, and each character boasts a unique set of strengths and skills. As you progress, you’ll unlock new characters with earned currency, keeping gameplay fresh.

Speedstorm will appeal to Disney and racing title fans — an interesting combo.

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Next time you're craving a chalupa supreme, you might not be ordering from a person. Taco Bell is expanding its program for using AI voice recognition in drive-thrus. After testing the technology in more than 100 locations in 13 states, the fast food chain's parent company aims to add voice-powered AI capabilities to hundreds more Taco Bell drive-thrus in the US by the end of the year.

"With over two years of fine tuning and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, we’re confident in its effectiveness in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction," said Lawrence Kim, chief innovation officer for Yum! Brands. The company also owns KFC and is currently testing Voice AI in five locations for that chain in Australia.

It sounds a little goofy, but in practice, this is an application of AI that people who aren't early adopters might encounter in the wild. There are lots of splashy headlines about chatbots that sound like celebrities, but this type of practical use case shows where and how voice AI might appear in a person's routine and workplace. The press release centers the employee experience as one of the reasons for pursuing the technology. "Tapping into AI gives us the ability to ease team members’ workloads, freeing them to focus on front-of-house hospitality. It also enables us to unlock new and meaningful ways to engage with our customers," Taco Bell Chief Digital & Technology Officer Dane Mathews said.

That's the positive side. On the negative side, there are still plenty of imperfections yet to be resolved in the tech. McDonald's ran a similar effort exploring drive-thrus powered by AI, but called off its program earlier this summer. Customers had encounters that were equal parts frustrating and hilarious with the AI ordering options during the testing phase. There's also a concern that if the kinks in these AI systems do get worked out, the easing of team members' workloads could turn into losing some team members' jobs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/taco-bell-will-add-voice-ai-ordering-to-hundreds-of-drive-thrus-this-year-141110768.html?src=rss

© REUTERS / Reuters

According to Statcounter, Windows 11 now holds 30.83% of the market share — the highest bar none since its launch.

© Daniel Rubino

Microsoft Developer Raymond Chen explains how the Blue Screen of Death error came to be by highlighting the three types written by different authors.

© Microsoft

As a photographer, you can find plenty of Android apps to up your editing game. But your options are limited if you want a third-party camera app to replace your phone's built-in app. There's a reason why third-party camera apps are so bad on Android. In April this year, Blackmagic known for its high-quality digital film cameras and DaVinci Resolve previewed the Blackmagic Camera for Android at NAB Las Vegas, promising to bring professional video controls to the best Android phones. Two months later, the app is now live on the Play Store.

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After debuting the Blackmagic Camera app on iOS last year, Blackmagic Design has finally brought its highly acclaimed professional video camera app to Android. The free app features complete manual controls to help you capture cinematic videos and packs a ton of useful features.

In a press release highlighting the launch, Blackmagic Design says the app is based on the same “operating system” as the company’s digital film cameras and gives Android users access to a wide range of professional tools. The app has a feature-rich HUD with quick access to important controls, along with status and record parameters, a histogram, focus peaking, levels, and frame guides.

Instagram, and social media as a whole, has an AI problem. Not only is the platform tagging real photos as created by AI, but it’s also using users’ creations to train its AI models. This, for an artist, is obviously worrying. In a world where generative AI is gathering momentum, and the lines between real and artificial are quickly blurring, it’s becoming more difficult for real artists to ply their trade. That’s where Cara steps in. The platform recently saw a surge in users, and I decided to give it a whirl, too.

What is Cara and who is it for?

Founded by photographer Jingna Zhang, Cara is a relatively new social network and app that aims to protect artistic integrity. Despite its focus on creators, Cara is available for all seeking out new and exciting artists or novel work. Like a digital art gallery, you don’t need to upload your own content to enjoy others’. You don’t even need an account if you browse online. I do love discovering new artists at markets and online, and I’ve found myself scrolling through the app much like I would Instagram or Reddit.

Its core tenet and principle draw is its stance on AI. The app currently prohibits generative AI works and implements safeguards to prevent AI models from scraping and training on data. In this sense, the platform appeals to those who want an authentic, AI-free portal to promote their work.

What Cara gets right

Cara also bills itself as a refuge from Instagram and other pro-AI social networks, but its design borrows heavily from the Meta app. This is a good thing, as the familiar UI streamlines the learning process. It took me a few minutes to familiarize myself with the app and with its home page.

The app is devoid of ads and puts the content first and foremost. It also provides plenty of options for users to browse and discover new work. I’m a huge fan of its Home Feed Settings option, which lets you choose in percentage increments what content you encounter on your home page. If you only want to see your friends’ artwork, you can do that. Want to see site-wide posts and a splash of your follower’s content? That’s possible too. All social networks could benefit from this quality-of-life toggle.

I can't recall encountering a social network with a more supportive environment.

The profile page layout is another bright spot and foregrounds the promotion of artists. Users can broadcast their stance on accepting freelance work, commissions, or full-time positions if eager eyes come looking. Links are allowed too, making it easy for potential clients to navigate directly to an artist’s storefront. I’ve bookmarked more than a handful of creators I plan to purchase work from in the future. This pocketing functionality, which is separate from likes, makes it a great way to remember specific pieces, too, be it for your own inspiration or later referral. Hashtags also work well, plugging directly into the search functionality.

I want to touch on my experience on Cara beyond the art itself, though. A core part of the platform is its community. Like every social network, it’s the people that make it what it is. Unlike Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), comments left on Cara posts are remarkably supportive. I haven’t yet encountered one toxic comment. Perhaps this is thanks to its core ethos, but Cara is largely devoid of political commentary, harassment, toxic remarks, and hateful echo chambers. I can’t recall encountering a social network with a more supportive environment.

As its a smaller, more condensed community, it encourages the discovery of art from artists you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. This makes it easier for smaller artists to garner a following, as opposed to Instagram where the sheer number of users and its algorithm may limit potential reach.

It’s not quite there, yet

As you’ve probably gathered, I love the idea of Cara. A place that fosters creativity and harbors a supportive net of users who all share the same love? Count me in. However, for all of its positives, Cara isn’t exempt from critique.

There are practical flaws. Even though Cara allows text posts up to 5,000 characters long, the platform’s current focus is visual art. Unfortunately, this makes it more inhospitable for other creative projects. Text posts aren’t as easy to search for as visual content, which makes finding poetry and short stories difficult. Users can post their poetry as an image to get around this, but it’s an extra step.

I found issues with image quality too, especially when zooming into images. Granted, there has to be some compression, but visual platforms should put visual fidelity first.

It's important to address the elephant in the room: what is Cara's trajectory?

Finally, it’s important to address the elephant in the room: what is Cara’s trajectory? It’s not a social media platform in the traditional sense. I feel the app has more in common with an art subreddit than Instagram. You won’t use it to keep up with a friends’ travel photos, see specific images from a place or event, or more general imagery from internet users. In this sense, don’t expect Cara to ever become a true Instagram alternative.

I worry about its feasibility. In its current guise, the platform appears to be unsustainable. In an interview with Wired, Zhang noted that the platform’s hosting bills are mounting. The small development outfit was considering implementing a subscription service, but this may inadvertently dissuade people from joining.

Cara may have too narrow a reach to be a truly viable social platform, but rapid growth also leaves it with unsolved issues. The platform no doubt strengthens artist-to-artist collaboration, but I doubt it’ll spawn an anti-AI social media revolution. I’m not sure if that’s what Cara or its creators want, either. The platform is designed for artists by artists, and this makes it inherently niche. But can Cara survive without casual users? Can digital art survive without casual browsers? I’m not so sure, but regardless, I enjoy drawing inspiration from the platform. I might even take up doodling again.

I’ve got a kid who’s got problems self regulating emotions. I could go into details but it boils down to hulk smash. One of the stories I do feel I can relate involves her first school kicking her out over 20 times (yes, illegal, I know now) as well as putting her with a teacher in a parking lot because the entire school could hear her screaming. Smart kid, emotional control lacking and at the age she’s at now it turning more self destructive.

But you rush to point out that an app isn’t a therapist and the two therapists who have tried and so far failed to help her control this agree. This is something we’re trying in addition.

I’m not sponsored by them, didn’t get the app for free, and expect nothing at the moment. Far as I know I have no PR ties with them but I have not investigated. We’re using it on a tablet I own and not a version they sell which based on reviews is not particularly good.

My wife bought it, or bought a subscription to it, I’m actually not sure at the moment how it works but we got a box with a pulse checking wristwatch and a squishy ball and some cards and basically I have no idea beyond that as once the app was up and going kiddo chugged along playing games and collecting items.

May 28, 2024

Day 1 has been uneventful other than my kid claims it’s her favorite game ever. Knowing her I suspect this was a ploy to just get screentime but we’ll see. Very little going on today to set her off.

I am of the idea this will not help personally. I would love to hold out hope an app could help but it seems a bit too simplistic of a solution.

Kid 1 who it was purchased for finds it neat, Kid 2 is going to try it later.

Kid 2 I decided to install it on a different tablet because part of Kid 1’s anger issues involve sharing her stuff, which I understand you give kid 2 anything and it comes back unpleasant. While Kid 1 has no issues letting her play and sharing the watch, the watchband they used almost caused a hulkout with Kid 1 attempting to help kid 2. Watch band is not multi-kid friendly.

May 31, 2024

At this point the two kids have fought over almost every aspect of this… who has the watchband, who has the best avatar, who played it first, and at least at the moment this has caused significantly more trouble than any gains. Some of this may be because we have one watch, but it reached the point I just had to tell the younger kid we got this for the older and in any cases all involved would probably rather Kid 1 use it.

June 1, 2024

After constant fighting both between the kids and with the watch to recognize and more trouble than it’s worth the tablet it was on was broken (appears to be stepped on) and that is that. I’m not getting another tablet to use it on, they are not using my tablet, and as such this is the end of the experiment.

I don’t think the tablet being stepped on was a result of Mightier, that probably was an accident. The kid who needs it doesn’t take care of her stuff so that’s simply the end as there will be no replacement.

I had it far shorter than I would have expected it to have any effect in, but what I did observe was a never level of fighting between my kids so there’s that. I would not have offered it to Kid 2 had I known the nonstop headache is was going to be.

Game looked cute

June 6, 2024

Evidently when my wife went to cancel the subscription they offered to send her a tablet it would work on for $10. She took the bait. We’re waiting on the tablet to arrive at this point.

While I am not sure if the game loss plays any factor in it or not, the amount of arguing has gone down markedly. We have also been taking them to activities any free time they have so that may be part of why it’s gone down though.

June 7, 2024

Tablet arrived yesterday – it’s an Android Go tablet slightly larger than the phones they have (that they don’t have this week(. I didn’t have anything to do with setting it up, my wife did, and then I noticed that all it would take is an accidental tap and they’re in her email.

Funny thing about the tablet is it does not have Mightier installed.

We are refraining from handing the tablet over until I remove my wife’s account and place the tablet under the control of one of the child accounts, which I will probably do later today. I would have today but forgot to bring it to work.

Tablet does not handle the USB-C chargers we use for all the phones… this does not bode well because the only tablets that don’t are pretty garbage. I will have to plug it in elsewhere, which yeah, something is cheap.

June 17, 2024

After removing Kim’s account and adding the kiddos we ran into a problem of it being unable to turn on location services, even though they were on. As this happened right after switching to a child’s managed account I found the location services in Family Link and enabled them for that device.

Finally with location services it was able to access Bluetooth and we went to try and play again and it refused to recognize her heart rate and at this point the frustration level was sufficient that stopping attempting to play this was necessitated.

I attempted later and managed to get my pulse picked up, we might give it another shot but honestly this is not working and it seems to mostly have the effect of making me increasingly annoyed.

Trying to play Mightier and a tablet branded Mighter and shipped by Mightier should not be a fight to get things working. Maybe a little note in the location permissions that if you’re on a child’s account you may need to modify some settings in Family Link… perhaps a warning to parents that whatever Google account you use is going to give your kid complete access to that account and maybe don’t use yours unless you want your kid to be in your email and with access to anything in the Play Store.

So, 10 days with not playing it since last update.

Starting Mightier with one of my kids, I’ll let you know how it goes here by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

OpenAI appointed Paul Nakasone, a retired US Army General and former National Security Administration (NSA), to its board.

© Microsoft Designer

Protecting your digital privacy with passwords is crucial for online security. While a reliable password manager helps, a two-factor authentication (2FA) app like Google Authenticator adds an extra layer of protection. However, you might get locked out of your accounts if your phone is lost or damaged. This guide shows you how to back up your Google Authenticator app so you dont have to worry about losing access to your online accounts.

Many of the new features coming to watchOS 11 are fitness-focused, with a new Training Load feature for the Activities app, pregnancy stats in Cycle Tracking and a brand new Vitals app. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday showcased all the things we can expect when the operating system update for Apple Watches hits this fall.  

The new app, Vitals, synthesizes data gathered overnight to give you a better understanding of your overall health. Apple Watch sensors will monitor details like heart rate, wrist temperature and respiration and combine that with data from the Apple Heart and Movement study so it can track changes over time and give you a heads up when things look outside their normal range. From what we've seen, Apple Watch batteries (outside of the Ultra model) don't quite make it through a night after a full day of use, so it'll be interesting to see how useful the new app will prove.  

The Activity app is getting a few new abilities, including Training Load that measures the intensity and duration of your workout to see how it's impacting you over time. Using data from GPS, sensor metrics like heart rate and pace, as well as your personal details like age and weight, the app will determine a rating for each workout from one (easy) to 10 (all out). And if you don't agree with the assessment, you can manually adjust it. In a post workout summary, you can see if you're training above your average or below it.  

The Workout app within the Apple Watch will now include a Check In button to let friends and family know when you're heading out and back home safe from a run.

Using your iPhone, you can set more customizations in the Activity app too. Now you can adjust your goals for the day of the week and set rest days while still hanging onto your streaks. The summary screen in the Fitness app on iPhone is customizable too. 

The Cycle Tracking app can now give you insights during pregnancy, showing applicable health data as it tracks the duration of your pregnancy. This includes a look at your heart rate, which typically rises during pregnancy, as well as a running timeline of the gestational age. Walking stability alerts during the third trimester can also help you avoid falling issues that sometimes arise. Mental health will also get some attention, with reminders to take a monthly assessments to keep you aware of issues that pregnancy and postpartum conditions can trigger, like depression.

Apple

Smart Stack — the rolling list of active app widgets you access by swiping up from the bottom of the screen — is getting some updates as well. Now instead of just active apps, the Smart Stack will include time sensitive widgets like precipitation alerts before it rains or the translate widget when traveling. That alerted us to the fact that the Translate app is coming to the Apple Watch, with translation support for 20 languages. Live Activities and Check In will come to the Smart Stack, too.

Apple is opening up access to the Smart Stack to third parties. So, for example, you'll see that your Uber is arriving in the widget carousel. Developers will have access to the Double Tap feature as well, for hands-free interaction with more apps. 

If you like the Photos watch face, there's good news here too. Machine learning models will help you find the best photos to feature by identifying and scoring the images of your friends and family based on facial expressions and image composition. It can even automatically crop and frame them for you.  

Almost as an afterthought, Apple also mentioned the advent of turn-by-turn directions for hiking and walking routes you created yourself. 

If you're itching to try out the new features for yourself, you can do so next month if you're part of Apple's beta software program. Developers gained access as of the announcement. And for regular folk, watchOS 11 will be available as a free software update this fall for Apple Watch Series 6 and newer. 

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watchos-11-includes-a-new-vitals-app-to-see-all-your-key-health-metrics-175600647.html?src=rss

© Apple

WWDC is always where we learn about the year's biggest updates to Apple's operating systems. Given that the iPhone is Apple's most important product, it's no surprise that iOS takes up a major chunk of the attention each June. WWDC 2024 is no exception, as Apple had a ton of new features and updates to go over, many of which concerned AI (or Apple Intelligence, as the company is calling it).

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is all over iOS 18, as well as iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Apple is using a blend of its own tech and capabilities powered by OpenAI (as was widely expected). ChatGPT will be integrated into Apple Intelligence too.

As part of this new era, Siri is getting a major overhaul. The voice assistant will be able to get much more done as it will be more deeply integrated into your apps and have more contextual awareness. You'll be able to use Siri for things like photo editing, rewriting emails and prioritizing notifications. There's the option to type your Siri commands as well, which is a nice accessibility upgrade.

The language models will be able to rewrite, proofread and summarize text for you in apps such as Mail, Notes, Safari, Pages and Keynote, as well as third-party apps. Image generation will be available too in sketch, illustration and animation styles — so you won't be able to generate realistic images using Apple's tech. Image generation is built into apps such as Notes, Freeform and Pages.

Apple

You'll be able to use natural language prompts to search for photos of certain people. There's also the promise of more intelligent search in the browser and (at long last!) transcriptions of calls and Voice Memos to catch up to a feature Pixel devices have had for a while.

Although Apple Intelligence will pull from your personal information to make sure the systems are applicable to you, it will be aware of your personal data without collecting it, according to Apple software engineering SVP Craig Federighi.

Apple is employing a blend of both on-device and cloud-based AI processing. Your iPhone will handle as much of the legwork locally as it can, with more complex operations being sent to Apple's processing centers. That raises some questions about privacy, one of Apple's central selling points to would-be customers (especially after Apple openly took digs at rivals that use cloud servers for data processing), but Federighi gave some answers to those. 

For one thing, the company has established something called Private Cloud Compute. Apple says the aim is to wield the power of the cloud for more advanced AI processing while making sure your iPhone data remains safe and secure.

To use these new features on iOS, you'll need a device that has at least an Apple A17 Pro chipset — in other words, an iPhone 15 Pro or one of this year's upcoming models. Apple Intelligence features will be available for free on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia this fall in US English.

Customization

Apple also focused on customization. You'll be able to make the home screen look more like your own vibe than ever. You'll be able to change the colors of app icons, which can automatically get a different look when you have Dark Mode enabled. Your apps won't need to be locked within a rigid grid anymore either. Your home screen can look almost as messy as you want.

Control Center is getting some big changes. You'll be able to access things like media playback and smart home controls from here. Developers will be able to take advantage of this and offer Control Center management for their apps too. It'll be possible to pin custom controls to the home screen for your most frequently used apps and functions (so you'll be able to switch out the flashlight control for something else, for instance). Custom controls can also be mapped to the physical action button as you see fit.

Messages

When it comes to Messages, there's another nice update in the form of scheduling. When you're catching up on things late at night, you'll be able to time a message to send in the morning, for instance. Those who use emoji reactions in Messages (aka Tapbacks) are getting a nice update too. You'll be able to choose from any emoji instead of the five basic reactions Apple has offered for years. 

Text effects (the little animations that show up when you type a certain phrase) are getting an upgrade as well. Meanwhile, Apple will offer satellite messaging support on iPhone 14 and later devices. That's a major update, especially for those who go off the grid often, as messaging will be more useful beyond emergencies. You'll be able to send and receive texts, emoji and Tapbacks via iMessage and SMS.

Apple

There's also a key AI-related change coming to the Messages app. Your iPhone will be able to generate custom emoji based on what you're writing. You might need a PhD in semiotics to decipher some of the "Genmoji" you receive.

There's one other big update for Messages in iOS 18: Apple will add support for RCS (Rich Communication Services) to Messages. RCS is a more advanced messaging protocol than SMS. It enables better media sharing, Wi-Fi messaging, group chats and, crucially, better security thanks to end-to-end encryption. It should allow for more secure, media-rich messaging between iPhone and Android devices.

Apple for years refused to support RCS in order to keep iMessage a walled garden. But after persistent pressure from Google — and more importantly, new EU laws coming into force — Apple promised to start supporting RCS sometime this year. Apple, which is never petty about anything ever, almost completely glossed over the addition of RCS in its the keynote, relegating it to a three-word mention.

Apps

The Photos app is getting is biggest redesign ever, Apple says. It's getting a visual overhaul and one of the key aims is to help you find your photos more easily (filtering out screenshots should be a breeze, for one thing). Your snaps will be organized around memorable moments. Apple Intelligence will power features like Clean Up, which is effectively Apple's version of Google's Magic Eraser tool.

The Mail app will soon be able to categorize emails — just like Gmail has for years. Apple will also organize emails by sender and make it easy to archive or delete every email you get from a certain company. This will be optional, so you can stick to a single inbox if you wish.

Maps, meanwhile, will offer more detailed topographic maps to bring the app more into line with the Apple Watch. This should be useful for planning routes while hiking. As for the Journal app, it will now show stats for things like a daily writing streak.

Wallet is getting a handy new feature that will allow you to send cash without having to exchange personal details. All you need to do is simply tap your phones together. This could be handy for splitting the bill after dinner with a new acquaintance. Tickets saved to Wallet can now include stadium details, recommended Apple Music playlists and other information.

Calendar can show events and tasks from Reminders app, while the Notes app can automatically solve any math equations you enter. The Home app will offer guest access 

Another welcome change is the introduction of a dedicated Passwords app. This will work across iOS, iPadOS, visionOS and macOS and make it easier to find saved passwords from iCloud Keychain. Even better, there will also be Windows support via the iCloud for Windows app. Hopefully, this will make it easier for everyone to use a password manager and have unique passwords for every single account — something we strongly recommend.

This being Apple, of course it has some new privacy controls for apps in iOS 18. You'll have the option to lock apps behind an authentication method (i.e., your PIN or Face ID) so that when you pass your iPhone to someone to show them your camera roll, they can't go snooping in your Messages. You can also hide apps — perhaps ones you use for dating — in a locked folder too. Elsewhere on the app privacy front, you'll be able to decide which of your contacts an app has access to instead of giving them absolutely everyone's phone numbers and personal information.

Elsewhere, Apple is bringing Game Mode to iPhone. This aims to boost performance by minimizing background activity, while controllers and AirPods should be more responsive. 

During an emergency call, dispatchers will be able to send a request to turn it into a video call or to share media from the camera roll. This, Apple suggests, can help first responders better prepare for an incident. The Health app, meanwhile, has been redesigned to make it easier to access vital info in an emergency.

On the accessibility front, users will be able to navigate their iPhone using eye tracking. You'll be able to set up a custom sound that will trigger tasks using the Vocal Shortcut feature, while Music Haptics aims to give those who are deaf or hard of hearing another way to experience music via the Taptic Engine.

A developer beta of iOS 18 is available today and a public version will roll out in July. As always, iOS 18 will roll out to all eligible iPhones this fall. 

If your device can run iOS 17, you'll be able to install iOS 18. The list of eligible devices includes the iPhone 11 and later lineups, along with iPhone Xs, Xs Max, Xr and the second-gen SE.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ios-18-gets-a-revamped-control-center-and-loads-of-home-screen-customization-options-172350046.html?src=rss

© Apple

Apple's macOS 15 update is called Sequoia. The 2024 Mac software, coming this fall, includes iPhone mirroring and notification, a new passwords app and Safari upgrades. Of course, it also includes Apple Intelligence. The new software was announced at Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote at Apple Park.

Like the company’s other 2024 updates, macOS Sequoia includes Apple Intelligence baked in — but only for Apple Silicon Macs with an M1 or newer chip. The system-wide writing tools will work in Mail, Notes, Pages and third-party apps. The AI composition features can rewrite text, proofread and summarize content.

Sequoia also includes Image Playground, Apple’s image generation tool. It lets you create “playful images” in several styles, including animations, illustrations and sketches. The feature is built into Apple’s core apps and has a standalone app.

Typing to Siri also arrives on the Mac in Sequoia, letting you switch between voice and text-based chats with the assistant. You can also use Apple Intelligence’s ChatGPT integration, which asks for user permission to send your requests to OpenAI’s bot.

iPhone mirroring lets you use your Mac to view, control and interact with your phone. It lets you access iOS apps and receive notifications from your nearby handset. Your iPhone screen stays locked in Standby mode (one of iOS 17’s updates) while you work on your computer.

Apple

macOS Sequoia also adds a new Windows-like snap window arrangement tool. Drag an app near the screen’s edge, and macOS will automatically suggest where to tile it. You can quickly place windows side by side or in corners. Sequoia will also include new keyboard and menu shortcuts to arrange tiles even faster.

Apple highlighted new video conferencing features in its WWDC keynote. Presenter Preview lets you see what you’re about to share with your call partner(s) before they see it, potentially saving folks some embarrassment. Meanwhile, Background Replacement (as its name implies) lets you swap out your real surroundings for built-in ones or your own photos in video calls.

1Password’s developers are likely squirming today with the introduction of Apple’s new Passwords app. Building on iCloud Keychain and the passwords previously buried in Safari’s settings (and system settings on iPhone and iPad), the standalone app will include all your saved credentials, verification codes and security alerts. It syncs across devices and will also appear on iOS, iPadOS, visionOS and even Windows (via iCloud for Windows).

Safari also gets some upgrades. These include Highlights, which automatically detect relevant info from webpages, and Summaries, which provide AI-fueled recaps of web content in a redesigned Reader mode.

macOS Sequoia has some gaming advancements, including improved Windows porting capabilities in Gameporting Toolkit 2. Apple said it will also be easier to port Mac games to iPad and iPhone, potentially giving developers an extra financial incentive to make or port titles for the Apple ecosystem.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/macos-sequoia-will-let-you-see-your-iphone-mirrored-on-your-macs-screen-180215857.html?src=rss

© Apple

Today's keynote for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference teased a lot of what users can expect later this year when all of its major software updates roll out to the public in the fall. Big changes coming to iOS 18, macOS Sequoia and watchOS 11 include RCS support, a new Passwords app, a revamped Calculator app for iPhone and iPad and a bunch of artificial intelligence (AI) infusions across the board thanks to the new "Apple Intelligence" system. If you weren't able to catch the news live, here's a rundown of everything announced at WWDC 2024.

Apple Intelligence

Apple

Apple revealed its plans to incorporate AI into its operating systems at WWDC this year. Dubbed "Apple Intelligence," this new generative AI system will appear in iOS and iPad 18 and macOS Sequoia in the form of (what Apple believes to be) practical tools that most people can use regularly. Those features include new writing tools that can help you rewrite, proofread and summarize things like emails and other messages, original emoji and image creation and more. Going hand-in-hand with original image generation is a new feature called Gemoji, which allows users to create their own unique emojis by typing in descriptions and requirements like "T-rex wearing a tutu on a surfboard."

Siri is getting an AI infusion now that it will be powered in part by large language models. In addition to asking Siri to delete an email or edit a photo, users will also be able to ask the virtual assistant to summarize articles and webpages in Safari and even extract personal information from a picture of an ID so it can fill out an online form for them. The company emphasized the importance of "personal context" with Apple Intelligence, which will enable things like using natural language to search for photos that contain only specific family members or friends.

Apple highlighted how most Apple Intelligence actions will be done on-device to make the system as privacy-focused as possible. For queries that cannot be done locally, the work will be sent to Apple's processing centers. The company also created Private Cloud Compute, a feature that's supposed to utilize the cloud for more advanced AI processing while also making sure your data remains secure.

OpenAI's ChatGPT is also integrated into Apple Intelligence, allowing users to give Apple permission to share their queries with ChatGPT "when it might be helpful." Examples provided include asking for menu ideas that incorporate specific ingredients, or asking for decor advice while providing a photo of a space that needs sprucing up. ChatGPT will also work with the AI writing tools coming to iOS and iPadOS 18 in a new Compose feature. ChatGPT integration with iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia will roll out later this year, and apparently Apple intends to add support for other AI models in the future — meaning its partnership with OpenAI isn't a long-term exclusive.

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

Apple

The next iPhone software update will roll out to users in the fall and, as expected, one of the biggest changes is support for Rich Communication Service, or RCS. The more-secure messaging protocol offers many improvements over SMS including end-to-end encryption, better media sharing and support for proper group chats. Apple previously stated it would adopt support for RCS in 2024 to comply with EU regulations, so it's unsurprising to see it mentioned in iOS 18's forthcoming features. Also new to Messages will be the ability to "tapback" reply using emojis and stickers, text formatting and effects and the ability to send messages via satellite.

iPhone users will have more control over their home screens in iOS 18 thanks to the fact that it will not be a locked grid system anymore. Users will be able to move app icons a more of a freestyle way, plus they'll be able to change app icon colors as well using a tint color picker. In terms of design and layout, this is one of the biggest changes to come to the iPhone's home screen in years and it gives iOS users similar features that Android users have had for a long time. In the same vein, Control Center will be updated in iOS 18 to include more customization options and will allow users to program quick controls form third-party apps in addition to the native options.

The Photos app is getting a big redesign in iOS 18, putting an emphasis on intelligently organized groups of photos that revolve around memories, trips and other big events. The new design ditches the old tabbed layout and will usher in a one-page design when you can view all of your photos individually, or view them by Collections. Users will also be able to filter out things like screenshots and receipts that would show up in a chronological format, but would otherwise mess up the a tightly curated group of vacation photos.

A couple of new privacy features stand out in iOS 18, namely the ability to lock and hide apps. For the former, users can lock an app so sensitive information stays behind a Face-ID or Touch-ID wall, preventing even those who you casually hand your iPhone to from seeing that information. Hiding an app, on the other hand, does exactly what you think: hides a program in a special hidden folder that others won't be able to see.

The Calculator app is getting a big overhaul in iOS 18, including improved unit conversions, a sidebar showing recent activity and integration with the Notes app. But what might be even more notable is the fact that the revamped Calculator app will not only be available on iPhones and Macs — it's coming to iPads for the first time as part of the iPadOS 18 update. Embedded within the iPadOS Calculator app is a new feature called Math Notes, which lets users write out math equations with the Apple Pencil and the app will solve many of them instantly.

iPadOS 18 will also feature a new Tab Bar, which looks similar to the Dynamic Island on iPhones. This bar makes it easier to access essential controls even when you're in apps, and depending on what you're doing, it can show up at the top of the screen or as a sidebar of sorts on the left of the display. The Notes app in iPadOS is getting another new feature called Smart Script, which will make users' handwriting more legible and less messy automatically.

macOS Sequoia

Apple

The next iteration of Apple's computer software will be called macOS Sequoia. In addition to many of the AI features also coming to iOS and iPadOS 18 as part of Apple Intelligence, the next macOS update will include iPhone mirroring, which lets users see and control their iPhone screen on a Mac screen. They'll be able to use their keyboard and trackpad to intact with the iPhone screen on their laptop, and they can even open iOS apps directly on their computers without picking up their iPhone at all.

A new Passwords app builds upon the technology of iCloud keychain to save all of users' passwords and login credentials across devices and platforms (it will be available on Windows in addition to iOS and iPadOS). Along with standard passwords, the new app can save passkeys, verification codes and more, and give users the ability to securely share passwords with others.

Other updates coming in macOS Sequoia include a snap window arrangement tool with accompanying keyboard and menu shortcuts, Presenter Preview, which lets you see what you're about to share with call partners before they see it, and gaming upgrades like improved Windows porting capabilities using Gameporting Toolkit 2. Users will also get access to Image Playground in macOS Sequoia, Apple's AI image generator built into Apple Intelligence. It provides the ability to create AI-generated images in different styles, including animation, illustration and sketch.

watchOS 11

Apple

The next software update for the Apple Watch includes two big changes: Training Load and a new Vitals app. Training Load in watchOS 11 essentially uses many of the health and fitness metrics collected during workout tracking to estimate your effort level each time. Each workout will receive a rating from one (easy) to ten (all out) that estimates how hard the user worked during that particular session.

The new Vitals app will show Apple Watch users how their vitals captured, including heart rate, compare to baseline measurements. This will hopefully allow users to better understand when something might be off and outside the "normal" range.

The Activity app on iPhone is also getting an update to accompany watchOS 11, and will allow users to customize the data they see on the homepage so they can put the most important stats to them front and center. Cycle Tracking will also get an update to include more detailed pregnancy insights, including gestational age and information about the user's health metrics that may related to pregnancy (like heart rate fluctuations). 

visionOS 2

Apple

Until now, Apple's Vision Pro headset has only been available in the US. That's changing soon as the company announced the device's rollout in additional countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK in the coming months. As far as the headset's software, visionOS goes, Apple announced that visionOS 2 will add spatial photos, which adds depth to images in the Photos app, new UI gesture controls and improved Mac screen mirroring with support for higher resolutions and display sizes.

AirPods Pro audio updates

Apple

Apple briefly mentioned some software updates coming to AirPods Pro, including improved Voice Isolation, which should help the buds better pick up a user’s voice in noise environments. A new Siri Interaction is coming to AirPods Pro as well: a silent head-nod will allow users to answer an incoming call without saying a word out loud to Siri, and contrast, a shake of the head will decline a call. These silent interactions will also be applicable to messages and notifications.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wwdc-2024-everything-apple-announced-today-including-ios-18-ai-with-apple-intelligence-and-more-184422477.html?src=rss

© Apple

The rumors are true. Apple is adding a dedicated passwords manager app to most of its operating systems. These include macOS, iPadOS, visionOS and iOS. It’ll even work on Windows by accessing the Passwords app via iCloud. That’s pretty neat. There are way too many passwords out there.

The first-party service is powered by iCloud Keychain and will compete with some heavy hitters in the space, like LastPass and 1Password. The simply-named Passwords app will be able to list various user logins and categorize them based on service type. For instance, banking passwords would be grouped differently than social media passwords. The app will also allow users to bypass manual password input by leveraging Face ID, Touch ID and autofill.

It’s worth noting that Apple already had a password manager, but it’s not exactly beloved and has been buried in the settings page. This new app, however, is quite a compelling option for those tied into the Apple ecosystem. The company didn’t say if the app was free or if it would require a monthly subscription.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-brings-a-full-featured-passwords-app-to-the-mac-iphone-ipad-and-windows-181607490.html?src=rss

© Apple

Apple’s iOS 18 update — which the company described as the "biggest ever" — will bring major changes for the Photos app. The company previewed the redesigned, which, among other things, automatically organizes all your photos around memorable moments like trips and events. 

The new version will ditch the app's current tabbed layout in favor of a single screen where you can view all your photos, albums and memories in one place. The familiar grid view of all your images will live at the top of the app, with intelligently organized “collections” below. 

Apple

Apple is also making the app smarter with its new collections, which will sort your photos into album-like views based things like on recent trips and the people you spend the most time with. The feature is a bit like the existing "memories" feature in photos, in that it groups like images together and can autoplay them when you want to revisit the moment. (Though, unlike memories, collections don't include sound effects and animations.) 

Photos is also more customizable with the ability to pin collections to a dedicated section of the app. And new filtering abilities will make it easier to look for specific types of pictures or weed out screenshots while browsing. 

The Photos app will also benefit from Apple's new AI abilities in iOS. Photos is getting AI-powered image editing with a new "Clean Up" editing tool that can remove background objects similar to Google's "magic eraser" feature. You'll also be able to create custom stories based on your photos with a new memories feature that allows you to type a description of the moment you want to capture. "Apple Intelligence will pick out the best photos and videos based on the description, craft a storyline with chapters based on themes identified from the photos, and arrange them into a movie with its own narrative arc," the company says. 

The new redesigned Photos app will be arriving with the iOS 18 update later this year. 

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-redesigned-the-photos-app-in-ios-18-to-intelligently-organize-your-memories-174959393.html?src=rss

© Apple

I’ve got a kid who’s got problems self regulating emotions. I could go into details but it boils down to hulk smash. One of the stories I do feel I can relate involves her first school kicking her out over 20 times (yes, illegal, I know now) as well as putting her with a teacher in a parking lot because the entire school could hear her screaming. Smart kid, emotional control lacking and at the age she’s at now it turning more self destructive.

But you rush to point out that an app isn’t a therapist and the two therapists who have tried and so far failed to help her control this agree. This is something we’re trying in addition.

I’m not sponsored by them, didn’t get the app for free, and expect nothing at the moment. Far as I know I have no PR ties with them but I have not investigated. We’re using it on a tablet I own and not a version they sell which based on reviews is not particularly good.

My wife bought it, or bought a subscription to it, I’m actually not sure at the moment how it works but we got a box with a pulse checking wristwatch and a squishy ball and some cards and basically I have no idea beyond that as once the app was up and going kiddo chugged along playing games and collecting items.

May 28, 2024

Day 1 has been uneventful other than my kid claims it’s her favorite game ever. Knowing her I suspect this was a ploy to just get screentime but we’ll see. Very little going on today to set her off.

I am of the idea this will not help personally. I would love to hold out hope an app could help but it seems a bit too simplistic of a solution.

Kid 1 who it was purchased for finds it neat, Kid 2 is going to try it later.

Kid 2 I decided to install it on a different tablet because part of Kid 1’s anger issues involve sharing her stuff, which I understand you give kid 2 anything and it comes back unpleasant. While Kid 1 has no issues letting her play and sharing the watch, the watchband they used almost caused a hulkout with Kid 1 attempting to help kid 2. Watch band is not multi-kid friendly.

May 31, 2024

At this point the two kids have fought over almost every aspect of this… who has the watchband, who has the best avatar, who played it first, and at least at the moment this has caused significantly more trouble than any gains. Some of this may be because we have one watch, but it reached the point I just had to tell the younger kid we got this for the older and in any cases all involved would probably rather Kid 1 use it.

June 1, 2024

After constant fighting both between the kids and with the watch to recognize and more trouble than it’s worth the tablet it was on was broken (appears to be stepped on) and that is that. I’m not getting another tablet to use it on, they are not using my tablet, and as such this is the end of the experiment.

I don’t think the tablet being stepped on was a result of Mightier, that probably was an accident. The kid who needs it doesn’t take care of her stuff so that’s simply the end as there will be no replacement.

I had it far shorter than I would have expected it to have any effect in, but what I did observe was a never level of fighting between my kids so there’s that. I would not have offered it to Kid 2 had I known the nonstop headache is was going to be.

Game looked cute

June 6, 2024

Evidently when my wife went to cancel the subscription they offered to send her a tablet it would work on for $10. She took the bait. We’re waiting on the tablet to arrive at this point.

While I am not sure if the game loss plays any factor in it or not, the amount of arguing has gone down markedly. We have also been taking them to activities any free time they have so that may be part of why it’s gone down though.

June 7, 2024

Tablet arrived yesterday – it’s an Android Go tablet slightly larger than the phones they have (that they don’t have this week(. I didn’t have anything to do with setting it up, my wife did, and then I noticed that all it would take is an accidental tap and they’re in her email.

Funny thing about the tablet is it does not have Mightier installed.

We are refraining from handing the tablet over until I remove my wife’s account and place the tablet under the control of one of the child accounts, which I will probably do later today. I would have today but forgot to bring it to work.

Tablet does not handle the USB-C chargers we use for all the phones… this does not bode well because the only tablets that don’t are pretty garbage. I will have to plug it in elsewhere, which yeah, something is cheap.

Starting Mightier with one of my kids, I’ll let you know how it goes here by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

The creators behind BASEDPolitics are suing over a measure meant to either ban TikTok or force its divestiture.

President Joe Biden signed the (highly unconstitutional) bill in April, and it already faces several legal challenges, including one filed by TikTok and one filed by eight TikTok content creators. Like those efforts, the BASEDPolitics suit focuses on the law's affront to free speech.

"We wanted to file a lawsuit that was specifically focused on free speech and the First Amendment from the creators' perspective, rather than some of the other, business-related concerns in other lawsuits," Brad Polumbo of BASEDPolitics tells me. "We also wanted to emphasize the political speech aspect, rather than other creators who are more in the mold of everyday 'influencers,' and show that right-leaning/non-liberal voices are being impacted by this as well."

Polumbo hopes the lawsuit will "help Republicans and conservatives see why this ban is inconsistent with the free speech values they say they care about."

TikTok Ban: Not Just Bad for Lifestyle Influencers or Leftists

BASEDPolitics is a nonprofit media organization run by Polumbo, Hannah Cox, and Jack Hunter. Its goal is to introduce young people "to the ideas of free market capitalism and individual liberty."

TikTok helps them reach audiences they likely wouldn't reach on other platforms, says Cox. "Both Brad and I have large platforms across social media, but TikTok offers a unique audience that can't be found elsewhere," she tells me. "Most on TikTok loathe Meta and X, so if they weren't on TikTok it's unlikely they'd engage meaningfully elsewhere. Their algorithm is also more open, and it enables us to reach many people who would never encounter us otherwise."

There's a popular perception that TikTok either isn't a place for political speech or is an asset only for left-leaning political speakers. But the BASEDPolitics team hasn't found this to be true at all.

"Anyone who thinks TikTok is all just frivolous content is probably not a user," says Polumbo. "There's substantive conversation happening on there on every issue under the sun, from religion to dating to politics." And while "TikTok is dominated by left-leaning content," it's also "a much more politically diverse ecosystem than many might think."

Their suit focuses not just on how a ban would negatively affect BASEDPolitics but on its larger repurcussions for civil liberties.

"We felt the need to stand up as individuals who are using TikTok to effectively fight back against the government and educate others on the principles of free market capitalism, individual rights, and limited government," says Cox, who sees all sorts of "incredible work being done on TikTok—both politically and non politically."

"People are pushing back on war…they're questioning our monetary system, they're highlighting injustices carried out by our government," she says. "Outside of politics, TikTok is now the top search engine for young people. They're getting mental health resources from therapists, DIY help from retired grandpas, nutrition information they can't get from their health insurance and pharmaceutical companies. The list is endless."

Propaganda Is Free Speech

BASEDPolitics is being represented by the Liberty Justice Center. The suit seeks a declaration that the anti-TikTok law—officially known as the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—is unconstitutional and a block on the U.S. Attorney General enforcing it.

The law makes it illegal for Americans to "access, maintain, or update" apps linked to "foreign adversaries," a category that the measure defines to include TikTok. TikTok will be banned if TikTok parent company ByteDance does not sell it by January 19, 2025. The law also allows the president to declare other apps off limits (or force their sale) if they're based out of any country declared a foreign adversary or if anyone based in these countries owns a fifth or more of the app.

"The Act violates the First Amendment because it bans all speech on TikTok—even though all, or nearly all, of that speech is constitutionally protected," the Liberty Justice Center states in a press release. "The lawsuit also argues that lawmakers' justifications for the ban—national security and protecting Americans from propaganda—cannot justify the infringement on users' First Amendment rights, because there is no evidence that TikTok threatens national security or that a complete ban is necessary to address whatever threat it might pose. Furthermore, the lawsuit argues, the First Amendment does not allow the government to suppress 'propaganda,' which is simply speech."

Cox elaborates on this point in a video about the lawsuit, noting that people act like TikTok is unique because it could be linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Yet "you have tons of state-owned media that is available in the U.S.," points out Cox, citing the BBC and Russia today as two examples.

In the U.S., we don't ban speech merely because another government—even one we find alarming—might endorse it. So even if some of the more speculative fears about China and TikTok are true, that should be no reason to ban it entirely.

Cox says this sort of thing is more befitting of "communist dystopias" such as North Korea.

There's been some (overhyped) concern about TikTok suppressing content that could offend Chinese authorities. But even if that's true, it wouldn't justify a ban either.

"As First Amendment supporters, we also support the legal right of TikTok as a private platform to ban or restrict whatever kinds of content it wants even if we personally resent their choices or think it's unfair," Polumbo adds.

Larger Anti-Speech and Anti-Tech Trends 

"If enacted, this would constitute one of the most egregious acts of censorship in modern American history," Cox and Polumbo write, placing the TikTok ban in the midst of larger anti-speech and anti-tech trends:

In the federal and state governments, both Republicans and Democrats have become increasingly anti-free speech in recent years. We've seen a plethora of bills that have sought to strip Americans and their businesses of their right to free expression, many of them presented as necessary to rein in "Big Tech." The TikTok ban is merely the latest iteration of this trend.

The truth is that government actors who want to preserve and expand their own power have a vital interest in taking over the tech industry. Of course the government has yet to see a thriving free market industry it doesn't want to get its hands on. But social media in particular poses a unique threat to the government—which has for decades been able to control the flow of information and the narrative on political issues via its cozy relationship with many in the mainstream media.

We've seen the Biden Administration seek to lasso social media in a similar fashion numerous times over the past couple of years thanks to the bombshell reports released under both the Twitter Files and the Facebook Files—not to mention the government-wide conspiracy to shadowban information on our own government's funding of the Wuhan lab….

The obvious point is that government officials do not want the American people to be able to freely share information, especially information that makes them look bad.

The bottom line, they suggest, is that "if they can control the flow of information, they can control you."

"Social media poses a unique threat to politicians and the government, and that's because for decades…the government could control the narrative, and they could control the narrative because they mostly control the mainstream media," says Cox in her video. "As social media has grown, they have lost more and more control of the narrative, because they are no longer the gatekeepers, and they don't control the gatekeepers anymore."

"Ultimately the war on Big Tech is a war on free speech and the government desperately trying to regain control of the narrative the [mainstream media] granted them for decades," she tells me.

The BASEDPolitics team also pushes back on the idea that this isn't really a ban because it gives ByteDance the option to sell. "In effect, the legislation is an outright ban on the app, because Bytedance, TikTok's parent company, is likely legally prohibited from selling the TikTok algorithm by China's export control laws," write Cox and Polumbo. "And, TikTok without its algorithm is not really TikTok at all."

You can read their full complaint here.

More Sex & Tech News

• Supreme Court decisions are coming soon—possibly this week—in two major cases concerning abortion. One of these cases prescriptions of the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone amd another concerns a Biden administration declaration regarding abortions as emergency care.

• Kaytlin Bailey and Yasmin Vafa debate whether it's OK to pay for sex.

• Antitrust warriors come for AI: The Federal Trade Commission is subpoenaing Microsoft over its deal with the artificial intelligence startup Inflection. Meanwhile, the Justice Departments "is poised to investigate Nvidia and its leading position in supplying the high-end semiconductors underpinning AI computing," Politico reports.

• "When a new technology arises, it matters greatly whether technocrats align themselves with dynamists or with reactionaries," Virginia Postrel tells Miller's Book Review. "We were lucky in the 1990s that both political parties included people with positive views of the emerging internet, including people with a dynamist understanding of its potential. The opposite is true today. Reactionaries are in ascendance in both parties, and technocrats are listening to them. Plus there are always businesses seeking to use regulation to hinder their competitors. The result is that instead of regarding AI as an exciting potential tool for enhancing human creativity and fostering prosperity, our public discourse tends to frame it as at best a job-destroyer and at worst the Terminator."

• A federal judge has rejected North Carolina's attempt to mandate that abortion pills must be taken in a doctor's office and that their prescription requires an in-person followup visit 72 hours after the medication is taken. The ruling means that women "can again take the medicine mifepristone at home and can obtain the medication from a pharmacy or by mail," WUNC reports.

• "Because 'misinformation' is overwhelmingly identified by focusing on information that contradicts the consensus judgements of experts and elites within society's leading knowledge-generating institutions, the focus on misinformation ignores how such institutions can themselves be deeply dysfunctional and problematic," writes Dan Williams in a very good (and lengthy) post at Conspicuous Cognition. "This includes science, intelligence agencies, mainstream media, and so on."

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The post 'If They Can Control the Flow of Information, They Can Control You': BASEDPolitics Sues To Stop TikTok Ban appeared first on Reason.com.

Android users have wondered if their compact phone could act as a wireless mouse in a pinch for over a decade. The moment our smartphones got slim enough to fit in our pockets, people started wondering if they could take the place of a Bluetooth mouse and save room, as well as some cash, when on the go. It can also be handy when your laptop trackpad suddenly shuts down.