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iPhone Ultra

Is the iPhone Ultra worth the wait?

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Apple may unveil a new, more costly iPhone tier to its lineup named “Ultra.” According to the rumour, the new iPhone tier will be introduced alongside the iPhone 16 series in 2024 and would sit above the Pro Max and Pro iPhone models.

The brand has previously used the term “Ultra” to distinguish between its top-tier smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra, and the most advanced M1 processor. According to the source, Apple has internally contemplated releasing an Ultra model iPhone.

iPhone Ultra
Image Source: macworld.com

However, other than pricing, it is currently unclear how the Ultra model would vary from the Pro and Pro Max models. CEO Tim Cook reportedly stated in Apple’s earnings release last week that he thinks customers will shell out more for a better model.

According to one speculation relating to the iPhone 15 Ultra, Apple may use a new titanium alloy exterior, a feature that was initially expected for the iPhone 14 Pro range but didn’t materialise.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

This rumour gained credence after tipster Leaks According to ApplePro, the iPhone 15 Ultra’s chassis will be made of titanium, while another leak purportedly showed the material up close on a sample iPhone.Titanium is as robust as stainless steel but is lighter, thus this would result in a more robust phone that may still be lightweight.

The only issue is that, given the increased cost of titanium, this could result in an increase in the cost of the iPhone 15 Ultra. The titanium body, however, was recently depicted on the Pro and Ultra iPhone 15 editions in a depiction of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Thus, perhaps this update won’t be an Ultra-only feature.

According to ShrimpApplePro, the iPhone 15 Ultra’s back panel may have curved edges, which is another odd potential modification. The resulting iPhone would look drastically different and, presumably, feel more pleasant to carry.

But according to the most recent reports from LeaksApplePro, Apple may continue to use the flat-back design it currently uses because to supply chain concerns and wireless charging design limitations.

This fall, the company is anticipated to launch the iPhone 15 series. There are rumours regarding what might be in the new phones, despite the fact that not much is revealed about the new lineup. According to one report, all upcoming iPhone models would incorporate USB-C connections for charging.

Also Read: Why Did The iPhone 14 Plus End Up Being A Failure?

In 2022, the European Union decided that starting in 2024, USB-C would be the standard charging port for all smartphones. Another speculation regarding the iPhone 15 is an increase in price for all smartphone models. The current range of US pricing for the iPhone 14 variants is $829 to $1,599.

The greatest time to purchase a new smartphone is when users actually need one. If your iPhone is beginning to show its age, you’ll want to give the iPhone 15 a serious look, regardless of what the iPhone Ultra might be hiding in the wings.

Immersive View

Google has rolled out Immersive View for Maps across five cities

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Immersive View for Google Maps has become available in five cities in the world, following its debut last year all over hundreds of excellent landmarks.

It integrates huge amounts of Street View as well as aerial pictures, letting people glide over neighbourhoods and afterwards drop back down to floor level for a deeper inspection at points of interest. The experience is equivalent to Google Earth, but there is the ability to explore in greater depth in Street View.

Immersive View
Image Source: cnet.com

Immersive View was first officially confirmed in May 2021 & grew to include 250 worldwide landmarks in September of the year before, which include Tokyo Tower as well as the Acropolis of Athens.

Also Read: Google will blur explicit images in search by default

The feature is now accessible in London, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, as well as Tokyo, also with Indoor Live View functionality broadening to thousands of airports, shopping malls and train stations.

Interactive View can be utilized to make trips to exhibitions, parks, and perhaps activities by virtually gliding atop black and white building structures to find entry points, verify near the area traffic as well as parking, and determine which regions are likely to draw the most throngs of people. A time slider is also available for viewing a destination at various times of day and under various weather conditions.

Users searching for near area eateries or food outlets can just use New interactive View to develop immersive walkthroughs by morphing pictures with neural radiance fields, NeRF, which is an AI-Based advanced technique and by mapping colour & light from numerous still photographs from widely different angles, it develops a three-Dimensional constructed spectacle.

Also Read: Twitter to start charging developers for API access

With the help of NeRF, Google can “accurately recreate the full context of a place including its lighting, the texture of materials and what’s in the background,” according to a blog post. “All of this allows you to see if a bar’s moody lighting is the right vibe for a date night or if the views at a cafe make it the ideal spot for lunch with friends.”

Source: engadget.com

In the meantime, Search On google has Live View, as well as Indoor Live View, which will be expanded to even more places in the following months. The firm also offered a quick glimpse at its forthcoming Search chatbot known as Bard.

1Password

1Password will soon skip passwords in favor of passkeys

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Starting this summer, the password vault 1Password will allow you to safeguard your password vault with a passkey, embracing a new authentication technique that is intended to be as simple to utilize as passwords but much more secure.

When it relates to creating and memorizing the tens or hundreds of passwords we use every day, password managers are fantastic. However, a single password might be a vulnerability for a hacker attempting to access all of your accounts.

1Password
Image Source: engadget.com

Chief Product Officer of 1Password, Steve Won noted, “For passkeys to be the way forward, it’s not enough for them to replace some of your passwords,” They have to be able to replace all passwords — including the one you use to unlock 1Password.”

With the support of the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance, a business alliance, Apple, Microsoft, and Google developed passkeys. Passkeys employ a method similar to hardware security keys, the most secure login technique available, but they are made to be simpler to use when authenticating into an app or service.

Also Read: Google will blur explicit images in search by default

One must have a device like a smartphone or a computer that is registered with the application or service in order to utilize passkeys. The second authentication step that the device does will probably be a biometric scan of one’s face or fingerprint. Advocates of passkeys contend that they will be as user-friendly as passwords while being significantly safer.

Their benefits include blocking phishing attacks because they can’t be used on fake websites meant to trick users into providing personal information.

Even if someone steals their master password, 1Password has an additional authentication safeguard called a secret key required to access this password on a new device, so it’s not necessarily a catastrophe. Passkeys, however, are superior and “a win-win for both security and usability,” according to Won.

Passkey support was added to iOS by Apple in 2022, and Google added it to Chrome in 2022. This year, Google is introducing it to Android.

The majority of users probably create, save, and sync passkeys using Google or Apple password managers, but Dashlane, a competitor of 1Password, began beta-testing passkey functionality for logging in to passkey-supporting websites and applications in September.

With 1Password’s method, users may extend passkey authentication to some other trusted device utilizing already-existing passkey QR code functionality after they set it up on one device, such as their phone.

Also Read: Salesforce’s Bret Taylor to Start AI Firm With Departing Google VP

The growing security problems related to conventional passwords are the driving force behind the use of passkey technology. They can be hacked or otherwise exposed in data breaches, giving attackers access to personal data, and they are vulnerable to phishing attacks.

Even if users presently sign in to one 1Password account utilizing biometrics like Face ID or fingerprint scanners, the company reminds users that while these sign-on features may be more secure, they are ultimately still dependent on the passwords they are attached to.

Google

Google will blur explicit images in search by default

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In the following months, Search engine giant, Google, will introduce a brand new SafeSearch blurring functionality available by default to all consumers.

The filter is designed to safeguard individuals as well as their households from accidentally having to experience explicit images and videos on Search. The search engine giant says it’s launching the function on 7 February to commemorate Safer Internet Day.

Google
Image Source: canadatoday.news

A new setting, rolling out “in the coming months,” “will blur explicit imagery if it appears in Search results when SafeSearch filtering isn’t turned on,” writes Google’s Jen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of Core Systems & Experiences. “This setting will be the new default for people who don’t already have the SafeSearch filter turned on, with the option to adjust settings at any time.”

Source: arstechnica.com

The option will shortly become the latest default for users who are not yet using the SafeSearch filter enabled. As a result, if explicit imagery shows up on results pages, Google will distort it.

Also Read: Google announces Bard A.I. in response to ChatGPT

Explicit sexual content such as violence, pornography, and gore are examples of explicit results. Google mentions that users can change the configuration at any moment. Previous to this development, the filter had already been enabled by default for registered members under the age of 18.

When the setting would become the default, Google would then inform you that SafeSearch blurring has been enabled. If users get brought near a graphic image, users can view it by simply clicking the “view image” button.

Alternatively, you can change the filter as well as turn it off entirely by selecting the “manage setting” toggle. Users can, for instance, choose the “filter” option to assist in filtering explicit pictures, text, & links.

Alternatively, you can select “off,” which also means you’ll see all useful results for your request, regardless of whether they’re explicit.

Also Read: Can ChatGPT assist Microsoft in dethroning Google Search?

It is important to note that SafeSearch just works on results from Google searches and will not restrict explicit content found on other browsers or webpages that you visit directly. Google as well observes that, even though SafeSearch isn’t perfect, it does help extract explicit material in Google’s search results for all of your inquiries, including pictures, videos, as well as websites.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk to unveil Tesla’s ‘Master Plan 3.’ What to expect for us?

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Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he will unveil the eagerly anticipated Master Plan 3 on March 1 at the company’s investor day.

Tesla announced it will discuss its next-generation vehicle platforms at the forthcoming investor day, which will be held at its gigafactory in Texas. Elon Musk has said that these platforms would result in a car that costs around half as much as Tesla’s current vehicle underpinnings. The session will be broadcasted live.

Elon Musk
Image Source: hypebeast.com

The company said that some retail and institutional investors will be welcome to attend in person. According to the company, investors will be able to tour its manufacturing facility and speak with members of the leadership team about issues such as the company’s long-term expansion goals, its generation 3 platform, and capital allocation.

Also Read: Tesla is getting cheaper. Is it a good move by Elon Musk?

Musk originally made vague promises to increase Tesla operations to “extreme size” in his Master Plan 3 hints from last March. He also touched on issues like AI and said that his other companies, SpaceX and The Boring Company, would be a part of this next phase of the plan.

On Wednesday, there was a new update. He tweeted, “Master Plan 3, the path to a fully sustainable energy future for Earth will be presented on March 1.”

In 2006, Musk published a blog entry on Tesla’s website explaining what he referred to as the Master Plan. The four-step approach began with the development of a high-priced, low-volume vehicle, and then used the proceeds to fund the creation of a medium-volume, lower-priced car.

An affordable, high-volume car would be produced with the money made from the medium-volume car. The plan concluded with the phrase “provide solar power.”

Part two, or Part Deux, was introduced in 2016 with the goal to “create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage,” expand Tesla’s EV product line to include all key market segments, and provide self-driving technology that is ten times safer than manual.

Also Read: Why is Meta shutting down Echo VR?

The plan also claimed that owners will be able to use ride-sharing to leverage self-driving technology and profit from their unused vehicles. In part two, Tesla did not check off all the boxes. The Cybertruck, which is apparently a part of the strategy to extend the EV line of products, has not yet been released.

Despite the branding, its advanced driver-aid technology does not drive itself, so owners cannot convert their cars into money-making robot axis. Musk appears to be prepared to continue with Part 3 anyway.

Last year, Tesla shares experienced their worst yearly performance as a result of Musk selling Tesla shares to pay for his acquisition of Twitter and other shareholders losing faith in his commitment to the automaker, whose sales growth fell short of expectations.

chatgpt

Can ChatGPT assist Microsoft in dethroning Google Search?

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By incorporating ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, Microsoft is hoping to unseat Google as the dominant search engine. That is stated in a recent report from The Information, but will the risk be worthwhile?

Despite ChatGPT’s recent November 2022 launch, its uncanny realism has caused it to become popular among both the general population and artificial intelligence experts.

chatgpt
Image Source: bdtechtalks.com

Users have been utilizing it to write articles, create code, and create musical scores since they can enter any prompt they can imagine and get back something that closely resembles human-generated writing.

According to the Information, the Redmond-based corporation is attempting to introduce a new edition of Bing that uses ChatGPT technology to respond to user questions.

Also Read: Microsoft Considers $10 Billion Investment in ChatGPT Creator

Interestingly, the report asserts that this may be accomplished in a manner distinct from the standard list of links and text excerpts that users receive from any search engine presently.

Though the specifics of Bing’s AI-powered search results are still unknown, they most likely won’t significantly differ from current practices given that ChatGPT isn’t intended to be a search engine.

According to StatCounter, Google currently holds a nearly insurmountable lead among search engines, devouring 92.5% of the worldwide market. With only 3% of the market, Bing is mired in second place, making Google’s dominance glaringly obvious. Google is allegedly still concerned.

According to a December 2022 New York Times article, Google management had issued a “code red” alert in reaction to the release of ChatGPT because it posed a threat to the company’s hegemony and revenue.

And ChatGPT isn’t the sole AI that might put Google’s position as the industry leader in danger. There are also additional contenders for the title of best AI, including Google’s own LaMDA and BlenderBot from Meta.

Microsoft has included AI in its offerings in the past, in addition to ChatGPT. The corporation declared in 2022 that it would integrate the DALL-E 2 picture bot into its Designer application and Image Creator tool in Bing.

Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI, the company that created both DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT, leading to the development of both of these connections. Microsoft will consider its investment success if it ultimately manages to topple Google from its lofty heights.

Also Read: China’s Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March

ChatGPT is an OpenAI project that is built on top of the GPT-3 autocomplete text generator.ChatGPT is an OpenAI project that is built on top of the GPT-3 autocomplete text generator. On OpenAI, a demo of the chatbot was made accessible in late November (login required).

In addition to producing AI-generated material like music and poems, ChatGPT can accurately answer trivia questions. The AI’s capacity to assist with code debugging is another characteristic that might make it the perfect GitHub Copilot companion.

However, there are numerous reports claiming that ChatGPT frequently provides incorrect but plausible replies. Stack Overflow briefly banned the chatbot last month as a result of this uncertainty.