It seems that US users wonβt be alone in missing out on Oppoβs latest and greatest foldable, as the company has now confirmed that the Find N5 wonβt be launching in Europe.
moreβ¦Weβve had Pixel phones leak in the back of rideshares and various forms of public transit, but the latest pre-release look at the Pixel 9a comes from a separate leak about the Galaxy S25 Edge.
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Today, Apple has unsigned watchOS 11.4 beta 1 for all Apple Watch Series 6 models, meaning it is no longer possible for those users to test out the new beta. This news comes from Aaron Perris on X. Theyβve also unsigned iOS and iPadOS 18.4 beta 1 for some iPhones and iPads.
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Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.4 yesterday, which users have since discovered contains support for robot vacuums in the Apple Home appΒ throughΒ Matter.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, Smart Home Centre confirmed the functionality using a Switchbot S10, which offers its own beta support for Matter. (Switchbot first added Matter robot vacuum support last year, but it required a hub and was kind of a hack.) Apple Home screenshots shared in the story show the robot vacuumβs Home widget (complete with a little robot vacuum glyph) along with a control screen featuring a start / stop button, options for choosing between βVacuumβ and βVacuum and Mop,β selections for operating modes like βQuietβ or βDeep Clean.β Thereβs also a βSend to Dockβ option, although Smart Home Centre notes that this only paused the S10.
Robot vacuums in the new iOS beta can also be added to automations and scenes. You can see how all of it works in the outletβs video below.
Apple was expected to add Matter support for robot vacuum cleaners last year, but that didnβt materialize. Few robot vacuum companies offer Matter support at the moment, and some of those are still waiting on a firmware update to enable it. Robot vacuum makers have confirmed to us that these models will support Matter:
Some of the other changes users have spotted in the first developer beta for iOS 18.4 include the addition of an ambient music Control Center option, a new βsketchβ style option in Image Playground, Apple Intelligence-powered Priority Notifications, and the ability to set a default translation app. More changes could be coming, as this is only the first beta for a release that had been expected to begin Siriβs big upgrade, a shift that may still be more than a month away.
Debates over AI benchmarks β and how theyβre reported by AI labs β are spilling out into public view. This week, an OpenAI employee accused Elon Muskβs AI company, xAI, of publishing misleading benchmark results for its latest AI model, Grok 3. One of the co-founders of xAI, Igor Babushkin, insisted that the company was [β¦]
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South Korean game development studio Pixelity says itβs working on a series of XR games based on Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the first one will be released next year. In an emailed announcement, the studio said itβs planning a trilogy βbased on the world and events of all 26 episodesβ of the beloved anime.
We donβt have much in the way of details just yet, but Pixelity says, βPlayers will experience the narrative through the eyes of an original character, exploring the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion, taking on quests, and engaging in thrilling battles β all while following the timeline and key events of the anime.β The trilogy will offer βinteractive and cooperative gameplay with familiar characters.β The developer hasnβt revealed what platforms the games will be available on.
Pixelity has previously made games for the Meta Quest family of headsets, as well as Pico and other platforms. It also recently launched a couple of titles for Apple Vision Pro, Shooting Break and Rolling Buddy.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/an-xr-game-trilogy-based-on-neon-genesis-evangelion-is-in-the-works-222629986.html?src=rss
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Following the extended long-press and boosted vibration, Googleβs next update for Circle to Search is a transparent navigation bar for Search results.Β
moreβ¦The National Institute of Standards and Technology could fire as many as 500 staffers, according to multiple reports β cuts that further threaten a fledgling AI safety organization. Axios reported this week that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, both part of NIST, would be βguttedβ by layoffs targeting probationary employees [β¦]
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Itβs not every day that we get to see a glimpse of what a mysterious space plane is up to in orbit. This week, the US Space Force shared a picture it says was snapped last year by the X-37B, showing Earth in the distance and a bit of the craft itself. X-37B launched on its seventh mission at the end of 2023, though not much is known about what that mission entails. Its previous flight, which wrapped up in 2022, set a new endurance record for the space plane, logging 908 days in orbit.
There isn't too much information to glean from the photo, but it does offer a rare look at X-37B in space. βAn X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024,β the Space Force wrote on X.
One thing we have been told about the current mission is that it marks the first time the Boeing-made X-37B has tried out a maneuver known as aerobraking, or a more fuel-efficient method of changing orbit through βa series of passes using the drag of Earth's atmosphere.β The Space Force said back in October that the vehicle had begun the process, and the latest update indicates it was successful. βThe X-37B executed a series of first-of-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel,β the Space Force noted. It's unknown how much longer the mission is expected to go on.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/the-secretive-x-37b-space-plane-snapped-this-picture-of-earth-from-orbit-204803146.html?src=rss
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The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. Itβs a rare medium thatβs nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut [β¦]
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Welcome toΒ Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If youβre a developer and would like your app featured, getΒ in contact.
Finma is a financial management app for your iPhone. It has a focus on user privacy and doesnβt require a connection to your bank account. It also features beautiful charts and many useful features to give you a better financial picture.
moreβ¦The new Major League Soccer season kicks off tonight, with LAFC vs Minnesota as the first game starting now. You can watch the entire leagueβs games through MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, live and on-demand.
MLS Season Pass costs $99 for the full season, or at a discounted $79 price for Apple TV+ subscribers. Watch all of the regular season and playoff games with no blackouts or regional restrictions, and share one subscription with up to six people using Apple Family Sharing.
moreβ¦Weβve all been there. A favorite item is suddenly unavailable for purchase. Couldnβt the manufacturer have given you advance warning? Whether owing to low sales, changing habits, production costs, or even because something is a little wrong with your favorite product (shh), discontinued items are part of life. In a weekend piece, the New York [β¦]
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There are so many people here that nobody can tell where the end of the line is. New people arrive, ask if thereΓ’ΒΒs a line, shuffle into a blob of bodies idling and waiting for someone to give them instructions. The hallway is horribly warm Γ’ΒΒ unclear if itΓ’ΒΒs from the bodies or the heat Γ’ΒΒ and itΓ’ΒΒs a little smelly, which could just be me but I donΓ’ΒΒt think it is. I estimate between 100 and 150 people are hanging around, waiting for 2:15PM to roll around, their anticipation building. This is not a club with a strict bouncer, though it feels like it. This is the Luigi Mangione hearing.
The hearing is a relatively minor pre-trial status update, but for the people most tapped in, there is a lot riding on it Γ’ΒΒ the Luigi info-drip has been a bit dry lately. Court dates for the 26 year old accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December keep getting pushed back. Mangione, who is currently being held in federal custody in a Brooklyn jail, has not made a public appearance since before Christmas. (Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson in December outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, and has pleaded not guilty.) On TikTok, commenters regularly complain th …
When 5G debuted with the lineup, Apple introduced a sneaky new pricing tactic. Apple would list iPhones as βstarting at $799β, but that price would require you to activate with one of the major US carriers at the point of purchase. If you wanted an unlocked iPhone, the actual starting price point was $829.
iPhone 16e gets rid of this annoying upcharge.
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