According to Mark Gurman, Apple is very close to finalizing an agreement with OpenAI. While how ChatGPT would be implemented remains unclear, this deal would enable Apple to integrate AI features into iOS 18.

Sources close to Apple say that negotiations with OpenAI are progressing well. Apple wanted to reach an agreement with other artificial intelligence companies during this process. Most importantly, according to Bloomberg, there are talks with Google about licensing the Gemini chatbot. However, it has not reached an agreement so far.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook has previously said that he personally uses ChatGPT. However, he emphasized that some concerns need to be addressed before implementing such technologies into Apple's ecosystem.

Meanwhile, recent rumors are surfacing that iOS 18 will include AI transcription and summarization. This feature will see the primary benefit within Notes and Voice Memos. The feature will be in real-time and system-wide within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15.

The introduction of AI power into Apple's ecosystem has been a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' given the progress that has been made by its competitors, such as Microsoft with Copilot and Google with Gemini.

Apple's annual WWDC, scheduled for June 2024, is anticipated to be the stage for unveiling these new AI features. Apple will share more information about WWDC 24 in the coming weeks.

On the other hand, OpenAI did announce it will be streaming some announcements on May 13 related to ChatGPT and GPT-4 updates. However, Sam Altman later posted a message on his X account that stated a search engine would not be among those announcements, nor would it be something related to GPT-5.

Source: Bloomberg

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As reported by Apple Insider, the feature will be in real-time and system-wide within iOS 18, iPadOS 18 as well as on macOS 15. This feature will see the primary benefit within Notes and Voice Memos. However given the launch of transcribed audio within Podcasts in iOS 17.4 it wouldn't be a surprise for it to have a benefit there as well.

Notes will look to receive the biggest update however, with this coming alongside in-app audio recording which could make the app one of the flag bearers when Apple announces the next version of its operating systems. This is expected to happen at WWDC in June 2024 but is never a guarantee, but given historical trends this is highly likely.

The introduction of AI power into Apple's ecosystem has been a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' given the progress that has been made by its competitors such as Microsoft with Copilot and Google with Gemini. Both products are being positioned front and center by these companies in a bid to show that they are at the forefront of the AI development race, with Microsoft going so far as to include a Copilot button on newer Windows-compatible keyboards and computers.

Other updates expected to be included in these newest updates include improvements to the Calendar and the Calculator apps, with the latter expected to come to the iPad for the first time in its 14-year history.

Source: Apple Insider

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Now, a fresh leak of the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra has popped up online, courtesy of Dealntech, which reveals important details of the device, including the color options, storage options, and, more importantly, the price of the device in Europe.

The images shared by Dealntech seem to be from an Italian retailer. According to the leaked images, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra could cost €1,200 (roughly $1292) in Europe. The price mentioned is for the alleged Motorola Razr 50 Ultra 12GB RAM and 512 GB storage variant. This also suggests that the foldable could be offered with 512GB of onboard storage and a 12GB RAM option.

image via Dealntech

Last year's Motorola Razr 40 Ultra was also launched at the same price tag in Europe, however, the pricing was for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model. By the looks of it, the leaks suggest that the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is a better deal, costing the same as last year's model but with more RAM and storage.

Another crucial piece of information that the leaks have revealed is the different color options for the foldable. The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is speculated to come in three colors: Pantone-certified Peach Fuzz, Blue, and Green.

Details about the specifications of the device are still under wraps, but according to an earlier leak, the phone might look quite similar to the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra. The leaks show a punch hole in the front display housing the selfie camera, with a dual-camera setup on the back.

The cover display on the front could be a big one, similar to last year's model. So far, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra has appeared with two different model numbers, XT-24510-3 and XT-2451, on two different listings.

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The Microsoft-owned coding depository service GitHub officially launched its GitHub Copilot Chat generative AI chatbot for developers and organizations in late December 2023. However, that service was limited to PCs and the web. This week, GitHub revealed that GitHub Copilot Chat is now available on its mobile apps for iOS and Android.

In a blog post, GitHub stated:

With GitHub Copilot Chat natively integrated with GitHub Mobile, developers can access their AI coding assistant to get answers for all their coding questions, or even repositories and knowledge bases, from anywhere they use mobile devices.

Developers who have a GitHub account can now download the iOS or the Android GitHub app and sign into their account. They will then need to get a GitHub Copilot Individual license if they don't have one already, and that can be done directly in the mobile apps. Developers who access the service via a GitHub Copilot Business or GitHub Copilot Enterprise license can ask their admins to enable GitHub Copilot Chat on their mobile apps.

In addition to using GitHub Copilot Chat to get answers to questions about coding, it also allows developers to have "conversations" with over 100,000+ public repositories. GitHub says this will give developers more information on a number of different ways to code on their projects.

GitHub offers individual users access to its Copilot service for $10 a month or $100 a year, with a free trial. GitHub Business subscribers pay $19 a month per user for Copilot. In February, GitHub Copilot Enterprise officially launched for its enterprise customers. It's priced at $39 a month per person.

In late April, a technical preview version of GitHub Copilot Workspace was revealed. It will add native access to Copilot in a developer environment so that they can write code with its assistance while still being able to fully control all aspects of their project. So far, there's no info on when it will become generally available.

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Apple's latest iPad Air, now in two sizes. The Magic Keyboard accessory is the same one that you use with older iPad Airs and Pros, though they can use the new Apple Pencil Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

Apple has a new lineup of iPad Pro and Air models for the first time in well over a year. Most people would probably be hard-pressed to tell the new ones from the old ones just by looking at them, but after hands-on sessions with both sizes of both tablets, the small details (especially for the Pros) all add up to a noticeably refined iPad experience.

iPad Airs: Bigger is better

But let's begin with the new Airs since there's a bit less to talk about. The 11-inch iPad Air (technically the sixth-generation model) is mostly the same as the previous-generation A14 and M1 models, design-wise, with identical physical dimensions and weight. It's still the same slim-bezel design Apple introduced with the 2018 iPad Pro, just with a 60 Hz LCD display panel and Touch ID on the power button rather than Face ID.

 

So when Apple says the device has been "redesigned," the company is mainly referring to the fact that the webcam is now mounted on the long edge of the tablet rather than the short edge. This makes its positioning more laptop-y when it's docked to the Magic Keyboard or some other keyboard.

 

The most welcome change to the Air is the introduction of a 13-inch model (blessedly, no longer "12.9 inches"). It looks like the old 12.9-inch iPad Pro design from circa 2018 but with the simpler single-lens 12 MP camera and the Touch ID button rather than the Face ID sensor.

With the iPad Pro and the Air next to each other, it's clear which has the superior screen—the 120 Hz refresh rate of ProMotion and the infinite contrast of OLED are definitely major points in the Pro's favor. But if you're just looking for a big screen for watching videos, reading books, or playing games, or if you're just looking for a general-use laptop replacement tablet, Apple is still using a great 60 Hz LCD panel here. And the $799 price tag is considerably lower than any of Apple's past 12.9-inch iPad Pros.

 

Like the 15-inch MacBook Air, it's a way for people to get a bigger screen without paying for advanced screen technologies or faster processors if they don't want or need them. It's hard to find a downside to that, as long as you're OK with iPadOS' differences and restrictions relative to macOS.

iPad Pro: Stunning screen, surprisingly light

The first thing I noticed when I got my hands on the new iPad Pro was the size and weight rather than the screen (though I think it was the opposite for my Ars colleague Samuel Axon, whose dislike of LCD display technology is a frequent topic of conversation in the Ars Orbiting HQ). The 13-inch model, in particular, is about a fifth of a pound lighter than the old 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which you definitely feel if you're holding the tablet in one hand and an Apple Pencil in the other.

 

On the topic of the screen, though, it really does look very good in person. Apple's hands-on corral for the media was in a well-lit but still indoor space, which probably isn't the perfect environment for appreciating the brightness of Apple's layered OLED displays. But it's definitely a notable improvement over the mini LED technology in older 12.9-inch iPad Pro screens, which improved on typical LCD displays but still exhibited light bloom. That's even more true of the 11-inch iPad Pro, which was saddled with lesser screen tech in previous generations but now benefits from the exact same screen as the 13-inch model.

 

There's not a ton to be said about the new Magic Keyboard accessory, which, like the tablet itself, is a little thinner and lighter than the old one but has the same key switches and so feels mostly familiar. The added function row is nice, as is the somewhat larger trackpad, and the metal wrist rest makes it feel even more like an oddball MacBook Air than the old Magic Keyboard.

 

The worst thing about the Magic Keyboard is still its price; the device adds $299 to the 11-inch Pro and $349 to the 13-inch Pro. If you intend to use either as a laptop replacement, that automatically boosts the base price up to $1,300 and $1,650, and that's before you even consider any storage upgrades. It's an amount you'll want to pay only if you're truly all-in on the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement.

 

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One note about the "nano-texture glass," a specific type of display etching that Apple does to give some of its glassy displays a matte finish. It only adds $100 to the total cost of either iPad Pro, but it's also only available with the 1TB or 2TB storage capacities. The base price for a Pro with nano-texture glass is effectively $1,699 for the 11-inch and $1,999 for the 13-inch.

 

Something we didn't really get to appreciate in our hands-on session was the M4 chip—when you're just zipping between productivity apps and scribbling with the Pencil, the M4 doesn't feel appreciably different from the M1 in my 5th-generation iPad Air. The chip did easily handle the tightly controlled demos of the new Final Cut and Logic Pro apps that Apple demonstrated—but we didn't get to see how those apps would run on an iPad with an M1 or M2 in it, so it's difficult to say how much faster the M4 will feel in daily use even if you're really pushing the hardware. We'll do some more comparisons in our full review.

Apple Pencil Pro: Subtle refinements

The new Apple Pencil Pro only works with the M2 iPad Airs and M4 iPad Pros, so users of older Airs and Pros can't upgrade to get any of the new features (the second-generation Apple Pencil also won't work with the new tablets, according to Apple's site, so if you replace your tablet, you need to replace your Pencil, too).

 

If you get one of the new iPads, drawing with the new Pencil is improved in subtle but interesting ways. Squeezing the Pencil now triggers a radial menu for pen and color selection, the same toolbox that is currently tucked away at the bottom of the screen on older iPads. (Apps can create their own custom radial menus for this, too.) Gentle haptic feedback triggers when you squeeze the Pencil Pro to let you know you did it right.

 

You'll also feel some bumps of haptic feedback when you're using the new radial undo and redo controls, activated by holding down the Pencil Pro on either button. A circular menu appears onscreen, and you can slide the Pencil backward on the wheel to undo multiple things at once or forward to redo the things you just did. This is handy for quickly undoing errant brushstrokes or entire words you want to delete.

The other major refinement Apple showed off was the way that your pen tip would spin around with the Pencil Pro as you twirl it in your fingers, making it easier to change the angle of your lines (of Apple's built-in pen tips, it was most noticeable when using the highlighter tip). The Pencil now casts a "shadow" on the screen when it's close enough, showing you exactly what you're about to draw as you roll the Pencil around in your hand.

 

It is a little frustrating that Apple now sells three separate, similar-looking Apple Pencil models that are all compatible with a different list of models, plus the first-generation Lightning-equipped Apple Pencil for older iPads. (The first-gen Apple Pencil works with the $349 iPad via a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter, but just get the $79 USB-C Apple Pencil instead.)

 

The $79 USB-C Apple Pencil is easy enough to figure out—it's the cheaper option with fewer features, and it works with all post-2018 iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro models, including the new ones introduced today. As for the others, buy the Pencil Pro for the new M2 iPad Air or M4 iPad Pro. Buy the second-generation Apple Pencil for anything else. Both cost the same $129, despite one having "Pro" in its name, so the one you want depends entirely on the tablet you're buying it for.

 

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For potential buyers, the best part is that the 2022 lineup with the M2 processor is still available in various retailers, so expect some discounts on them until stock clears. With that in mind, if you wonder what the difference is between the iPad Pro 2022 and the iPad Pro 2024, here is our list of everything new in the iPad Pro 2024 lineup:

• Tandem OLED displays (two OLED panels fused together for one brighter display) with up to 1,600 nits brightness (HDR)
• Improved Adaptive Pro Motion with 10-120Hz refresh rate
• Optional configuration with nano-texture glass for reduced glare and reflection (comes with a polishing cloth in the box)
• Significantly thinner chassis (5.1mm)
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• The new 10-core M4 chip
• 256GB base configuration instead of 128GB
• Only one rear-facing 12MP wide camera

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• The front-facing camera is now on the longer side of the tablet for more natural video calls
• No physical SIM slot in Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations
• Four microphones instead of five
• A bigger battery in the 11-inch variant and a smaller battery in the 13-inch variant
• No charging brick in some countries
• New Space Black Color
• Both variants are now $200 more expensive

And here are the detailed specs:

The iPad Pro 2024 lineup is now available for preorder on the official Apple website. Availability begins May 15.

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Apple's newest iPad Pro puts an M4 chip inside a thinner frame and is available in new 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, while also upgrading the screens on both to "tandem" OLED displays for more brightness.

 

Compared to the last iPad Pro, released in early 2022, Apple is highlighting how thin and light these new Pros are. The 11-inch model is 5.3 mm thick and weighs less than a pound, while the 13-inch is 5.1 mm, which Apple says is its thinnest product ever, at 1.28 pounds.

 

The tandem OLED design, dubbed Ultra Retina XDR, delivers 1000 nits at full-screen brightness, and 1600 nits at peak HDR, equivalent to a high-end Samsung TV. The screens are "nano-texture glass," which is essentially a matte display finish.

What's really big is the inclusion of an M4 chip, built from a second-generation 3-nanometer process. It's the first time the iPad Pro has included a new Apple chip ahead of other devices. Apple is touting a 50 percent improvement over M2 performance and can deliver the same performance as M2 at half the power, or one-quarter the power in certain scenarios. Notably, the new iPad Air uses the M2; this year's lineup puts more of a gap between the use cases and price/performance points of the various iPads, even if there is still some cross-over.

 

The chip's neural engine got a very specific call-out; it's capable of 38 trillion operations per second, and Apple says it's the most powerful (consumer-level) AI computer sold.

 

The new iPad Pros get a 12 megapixel camera, along with LIDAR scanners and an adaptive flash that improves document scanning. Finally, the "selfie"/conferencing camera moves to the landscape position on the iPad Pro, making that ultra-wide 12MP camera far more useful and the iPad-as-laptop experience a good deal better. On that note, there are new Magic Keyboards, Smart Folios, and an Apple Pencil Pro available soon to attach to these new models.

 

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999, and the 13-inch starts at $1,299, with 256GB storage to start. They're both available for order today, with delivery next week.

 

This is a developing story and this post will be updated.

 

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Now, the leaked real-life images courtesy of tipster Sudhanshu Ambhore (via 91Mobiles) showcase the alleged Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, also known as the Motorola Razr Plus (2024). The images appear to be of another certification and give us a peek into some of the design elements of the device.

According to the images, there aren't many significant changes made by Motorola on the Razr 50 Ultra, and it looks more or less the same as the previous model. It has a large outer screen with two cameras on, looking like big open eyes, which we have already seen in the Razr 40 Ultra.

The publication claims that the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra could launch in three colors, i.e., Blue, Orange, and Green. The back panel of the device shows the Razr logo prominently. On the front, there is a punch-hole housing a selfie camera on the main display.

Reportedly, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra will have 12GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. One interesting thing highlighted by the report is that the phone was spotted with model number XT-24510-3, which is vastly different from the BIS and EEC certification, where it was spotted with model number XT2453-1. One reason could be that the model number XT-24510-3 could be for a different region or storage model.

The phone bears the codename 'Gory,' which is similar to an earlier report from January, where the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra was spotted with the same codename. Moreover, since the phone has picked up BIS certification, we can expect Motorola to launch the Razr 50 Ultra in India at some point in time.

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Commenting on the news, Canalys Research Manager Himani Mukka, said:

“The tablet industry has had a positive start to 2024, and the rest of the year should bring further relief after a difficult 2023. Despite the extended period of cautious consumer spending on tablets, vendors have remained ambitious. New market entrants have kept investing in the category while the traditional heavyweights are delivering on innovation to excite customers and drive new use cases.”

Ever since tablets were made popular in their current form factor by the launch of the iPad, they have barely changed. According to Canalys, however, we will see more foldable designs and tablets that support eye-wear-free 3D content viewing which could help make these devices more popular with consumers.

Regarding the players in the market, Apple held onto its top spot with 35.6% of the market share but it actually declined 13.9% year-over-year. The following companies were Samsung (20.2%), Huawei (8.1%), Lenovo (6.3%), and Amazon (6.1%). Interestingly, Huawei performed the best with an annual growth of 70.2%, despite all the pressure it is under from Western governments. The company which suffered the most was Amazon, which saw a decline of 18.2%.

Apple’s tablet shipment hit seems to be in line with what’s going on with its smartphones. Neowin reported just a week or so ago that Apple’s phone shipments slumped by 16% during the first quarter. Notably, Apple’s shipments have held up relatively well over the last few years while others struggled.

Ever since the launch of the first iPad, tablets have found themselves sandwiched between smartphones and computers. Without a keyboard, you’re not going to be particularly productive with a tablet and at the same time you have your phone for leisure so for many people it’s a struggle seeing where tablets fit into their lives.

Source: Canalys

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According to analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities (via 9To5Google), Apple could let go of the iPhone 17 Plus model and could introduce a new iPhone 17 Slim variant, suggesting that Cupertino has significant plans for its next-gen iPhones.

Analyst Jeff claimed that the 2026 iPhone 17 Slim could come with a 6.6-inch display and, more importantly, could sport a different design. The devices are alleged to come with front-facing camera improvements and a smaller Dynamic Island (a punch-hole, maybe?).

As per the rumor, the iPhone 17 lineup would then consist of an iPhone 17, an iPhone 17 Slim, an iPhone 17 Pro, and an iPhone 17 Pro Max. Allegedly, the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Slim, and iPhone 17 Pro would use an aluminum frame, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max would be manufactured using the more durable titanium frame.

Analyst Jeff also claims that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Slim could see a RAM boost. Rumors suggest that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Slim could come with 8GB of RAM, while the Pro models could come with 12GB of RAM. The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could come with an advanced A19 Pro chipset, while the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Slim could be powered by an A18 or A19 processor.

Various reports suggest that the iPhone Plus models aren't a hit among the masses and are considered a commercial failure. This is why Apple might be reworking its strategy and could introduce a new iPhone 17 Slim phone and replace the Plus model.

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In the Android world, multiple smartphone brands are manufacturing folding phones. Samsung, Motorola, and OPPO are some of the big names in this category. When we talk about Apple, there has been a wave of rumors about a folding iPhone, but nothing concrete has surfaced online. Now, the latest patent leak shows Apple's folding iPhone with an innovative hinge mechanism.

Apple's patent filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last October has surfaced online (via Patently Apple), showing a novel hinge design for the folding iPhone. The folding iPhone design bears a resemblance to the flip-style clamshell foldable similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series.

However, the novel hinge mechanism that Apple is rumored to be considering for its folding iPhone has a greater range of motion. According to the leaked patent images, the hinge potentially allows the device to fold both ways, i.e., inwards and outwards. This will be a one-of-a-kind device on the market if it ever debuts. Notably, there have been rumors that a folding iPhone could launch in 2026.

According to the leaked patent images, the folding mechanism applies to a broad set of devices including phones, tablets, laptops, and other portable devices. But the patent allegedly hints that if Apple were to bring a foldable iPhone, then they could consider a clamshell design over a folding boo-like style for their first folding iPhone.

The patent image also shows that the hinge would come with synchronization gear plates with interlocked teeth, allowing for "synchronized rotational movement between the left and right halves of the hinge."

Do note that a patent doesn't confirm or guarantee a product release. Apple, like other manufacturers, files multiple patents each year. But only a fraction of those patents get converted into a real-life product. So, a folding iPhone might be launched in the future, or it will stay as a patent for some more time. Notably, there have been rumors that a folding iPhone could launch in 2026.

Let us know your thoughts on a folding iPhone, and would you consider a folding iPhone if it ever gets launched?

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However, a new tip on X (formerly Twitter) from reliable tipster Roland Quandt suggests that Samsung may power its 2026 flagships with an in-house GPU. The company's 2025 flagships, i.e., the Galaxy S25 series, will continue to use the Exynos chipset, specifically the Exynos 2500 (S5E9955), featuring an AMD GPU. Here's what the post reads:

Umm... so there's S5E9945 right? (Exynos 2400)
And then there's S5E9955, which follows after that.
Exynos 2400 has an AMD GPU. The follow-up will have AMD GPU, too, it seems.

 

After that, in 2026, Samsung seems to aim for the release of a next-gen flagship SoC feat it's own GPU.

Samsung's Xclipse GPU, built in collaboration with AMD, powers the existing Exynos 2200 and Exynos 2400. But in 2026, Samsung may take a new step in its GPU strategy and may ship the 2026 flagships with its own GPU. Samsung is rumored to be developing a custom graphics processing unit tailored specially for the Galaxy flagship devices after the decent success of the Exynos 2400 SoC.

As the tipster has coined 2026 for the release date of Samsung's own GPU, it remains to be seen if Exynos will continue to power Samsung flagships or if Samsung may re-brand Exynos as a Galaxy-exclusive chipset.

Samsung's Galaxy S25 series that will launch next year will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 for Galaxy and Exynos 2500, which will be developed on a 3nm process. Later in 2026, Samsung will debut the Galaxy S26 series, and markets like the US and Canada may most likely get the Snapdragon-powered devices, while Europe, Asia, and Africa may get Samsung's chip powered by the in-house GPU.

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Now a fresh leak reveals how Apple's AI efforts will transform most of its core or first-party applications with iOS 18. In a detailed leak, Apple Insider has revealed that AI-powered upgrades that Apple is planning will be applied across all its core apps, including Safari, Spotlight Search, Siri, Mail, and Messages.

These AI-powered features will elevate the user experience while preserving the one thing Apple has been known for, i.e., privacy. Correlating with the previous news of AI features running locally on an iPhone, Apple's major feature in its AI arsenal is a lightning-fast, on-device complete sentence response generation feature.

Reportedly called 'Ajax' LLM, Apple's framework will analyze the text input at fast speeds and will offer multiple responses ranked by accuracy and relevancy. The Ajax LLM's feature of analyzing keywords and phrases at lightning speed will be a key element for producing text summaries for not only Safari but for Messages as well.

Apple's upcoming Safari 18 update is also expected to introduce a new 'Intelligent Search' feature. This would allow users to generate concise summaries of web pages quickly and easily. Apple's AI model also features remarkable integration with the apps, allowing it to pull information from saved contacts and calendars to craft contextually correct responses, which will also benefit Siri.

However, do note that higher-level tasks like creative text generation and in-depth response generation could still rely on cloud processing, which aligns with previous news where it was reported that Apple is currently eyeing a partnership with OpenAI and Google to bring AI features to iPhones.

Apple Insider further notes that Apple is still developing its AI models to cut down on the dependency on cloud-based processing, showing a clear dedication to user privacy. This would ensure that private user information remains protected. Apple is expected to unveil these AI features at the WWDC event later this year.

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According to the latest report, the Sony Xperia 1 VI could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. The leaks suggest that the phone could sport a triple-camera setup with a 16mm ultrawide, a 24mm main camera, and an improved 85-170mm telephoto camera, which would offer up to 7X zoom.

The point to note here is that according to the leaks, the zoom camera on the alleged Sony Xperia 1 VI goes further than the zoom camera on the Xperia 1 V, which maxes out at 125mm. However, the other camera specifications are identical to those of the Xperia 1 V. The leaks claim that the Xperia 1 VI will support macro photography from the main camera, and the image quality will match the quality of 'full-sized cameras.'

One of the prominent changes is speculated to happen on the software side. After years of having multiple camera apps, this time around, if we go by the latest leaks, Sony will move over to just a single camera app, allegedly inspired by the Sony Alpha cameras.

The Xperia 1 VI will also be equipped with the Alpha series camera's "human pose estimation technology," allowing the user to pinpoint focus on a subject, even if it is facing away. Also, it is rumored that Sony will include a new 'Video Creator' app to help simplify video production.

The display size is rumored to be 19.5:9, and the OLED panel will be 1.5x brighter than the Xperia 1 V panel. The touch sampling rate is 240 Hz, and under the hood, the phone will be powered by a 5,000 mAh battery, with support for wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Good news for audiophiles: the leak suggests that the Xperia 1 VI will keep the 3.5mm audio jack around, and its speakers will be as good as before, if not better. As per the leaked renders, the phone could come with a frosted textured glass back and will be available in black and platinum silver color options.

In select regions, Sony will give you a year of Sony Pictures movie streaming on the purchase of Xperia 1 VI, along with five movie titles, remastered with IMAX video and DTS sound, optimized and ready for the phone.

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When Apple CEO Tim Cook and a bunch of his deputies take the virtual stage next week to announce new iPads, they’re going to spend a lot of time talking about specs. If the rumors are true, we’re going to get new iPad Pros with OLED screens and thinner bodies, new Airs with faster chips and a correctly placed front camera, and a couple of new accessories. Before they even launch, I feel confident telling you these are the best iPads ever. But after all these years, I still don’t know how to tell you whether you should want an iPad. Or what you’d want to do with it. 

 

This has been true forever, of course. The iPad is the jack-of-all-trades in Apple’s lineup, a terrific device in many ways that still feels increasingly redundant now that so many people have big phones and long-lasting laptops. Apple seems to have spent the last decade-plus enamored with the idea of the iPad as a shapeshifter — a device that can be exactly what you need at any given time. The company loves that the iPad’s use case is hard to pin down, that it means different things to different people. It’s a fun, good, ambitious idea: The One Gadget To Rule Them All. The way to make that happen, though, is not to upgrade the chips or move the buttons or redesign the rounded corners. It’s to focus less on the iPad itself and more on the things you attach to it.

 

There’s a chance that accessories might be the star of the show next week. Just look at the surprisingly unsubtle invite to the “Let Loose” event: usually there are tea leaves to read and we’re left trying to decipher vague shapes, but this time, there’s just an Apple Pencil front and center. Reports have indicated that we’re likely to see a new Pencil at the event, with interchangeable magnetic tips for different uses and a new “squeeze” gesture for quickly adding objects to your artwork.

 

Focusing on the Pencil makes a certain kind of niche sense: the iPad is nothing if not a big touchscreen, and it’s the only Apple device that you can draw and write on in this way. Apple’s AI researchers have been working on tools to help artists and animators with their work and on a system for making art in tandem with an AI model — you prompt, it creates; you edit, it refines. For anyone who does this kind of visual art, a super-powered Pencil could be incredibly compelling.

 

The “Let Loose” event is clearly about the Pencil.

Image: Apple

 

Apple is also rumored to be launching a new Magic Keyboard that makes the iPad even more laptop-like. The new model will apparently be made of aluminum and will have a bigger trackpad. (It hopefully will also stop randomly just falling apart.) A better keyboard won’t immediately make the iPad a great laptop, but I’m not sure a great laptop is what Apple is trying to build. It already has a bunch of those! I’m not really on the “put macOS on the iPad, you cowards” train, either. The MacBook is great. I think the iPad’s modular potential is actually much bigger. 

 

If Apple wants to get there, it needs more accessories — so, so many more accessories. The iPad is a screen and a processor, and everything else should be an add-on for whenever you need it. Give the gamers a controller and an external GPU. Give the music lovers a speaker dock, and give the smart home fanatics a bunch of buttons that connect to various devices. The photographers need lenses; the spreadsheeters need a keyboard with function keys. The Pencil and the Magic Keyboard are a start, but Apple needs to do much more. The company needs to spend less time worrying about the iPad itself — a device famous for how long it lasts and that hardly anyone is using to its full potential — and more time on how to make it more than just a tablet. (Plus, bonus for Apple: it’s going to be a lot easier to get people to buy accessories than to convince them to upgrade their iPad when they don’t need to.)

 

The ultra-modular vision for the iPad is enticing, and I hope Apple continues to lean into it, but it’s near impossible to pull off. Just ask Essential how it went trying to build a device and an accessory ecosystem. Or ask Google. Or Asus. Or Fairphone or Samsung or Motorola or Blocks or Phonebloks or any of the other companies that never pulled it off. It requires building software that can be all things to all people all the time and hardware that is beautiful, thin, light, long-lasting, and totally remixable. I’m not even sure it’s possible to do all of that, but I know the iPad and iPadOS ain’t it.

 

The problem with the iPad’s all-in-one approach so far is that you can’t just build a device that’s sort of okay at everything and hope that’s enough. The sort-of-okay device already exists — it’s your smartphone! The iPad has to be more than that: more flexible, more powerful, more long-lasting, more useful. That’s hard to build into a device, but Apple’s actually done a pretty good job. The harder part is building the ecosystem — and building the software that can support it. You need something that is at once for power users and newbies, for tinkerers and simpletons, for people who love keyboard shortcuts and the people who would prefer to never type again. 

 

You can’t just build a device that’s sort of okay at everything and hope that’s enough

 

Ultimately, the biggest problem for Apple might just be math. The current iPad Pro starts at $799, which is already more expensive than some MacBook Air models. Want cellular connectivity so you can use the iPad anywhere? That’s another $200, but a good modular gadget needs it. The current-gen Pencil is another $129; the Magic Keyboard, another $299. (I don’t yet know what the new models will cost, but Apple’s not really in the habit of making things cheaper.) That’s $1,328 for the full iPad experience, and we’ve only scratched the surface of what this device could do with the right accessories and app support. And so far, when Apple does introduce new accessories, it has mostly just made things more confusing.

 

Where does all of this leave Apple? Stuck. The iPad is great, it’s a smashing success, it’s a terrific device, I love the iPad, but the iPad seems to be stuck in an endless upgrade loop without ever actually getting better. I suspect we’re going to see a lot of iPadOS-related news at WWDC next month — that’s where Apple tends to do its software talking, and all signs point to a huge focus on AI. The iPad could be a natural place to bring a lot of AI features, particularly in image and video editing. As for next week’s announcement, though, we’re likely to hear an awful lot about OLED screens and chip upgrades. But pay attention to all the devices in the iPad’s universe that aren’t the iPad itself. If Apple wants to make its tablet into the world-beating device it could be, it’s going to need to accessorize.

 

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These changes include the ability to download apps from websites, install and use third-party app marketplaces, and also includes prompts to set default applications for key services such as web browsing (something that Microsoft has had to do in the past). Apple has included safeguards within any app that is available on the platforms, which requires a baseline security and privacy review prior to running on the OS to ensure that it still has some element of control over what can and cannot run on its hardware.

Given the implementation method for iPhones being limited to those within the EU (and the feature disabling after a set amount of time outside the region), it's expected that the implementation on iPadOS will be consistent as there are a lot of similarities between the two platforms which shared the same iOS branding until iPadOS 13.1 in 2019.

With WWDC 2024 coming soon from June 10 to 14, 2024, the expectation is that the next version of both iOS and iPadOS will be announced with first betas to follow shortly after that. These would be iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 respectively, with the newest versions rumoured to run generative AI features among other updates across the board. Additionally, there are new iPad models expected to be announced at the "Let Loose" iPad event on May 7, 2024, which are rumoured to include OLED panels and an AI-capable M4 chip.

Source: MacRumors

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Today's blog post announces that if you sign up for a Copilot Pro subscription at $20 a month, you will be able to access the Copilot generative AI assistant in the Outlook mobile apps. Copilot can be used to coach people on how to write an effective email or you can ask it to just create a draft from scratch based on a few text prompts.

Microsoft has also announced that the classic Outlook for Windows app now supports the Copilot Summarize feature, which can make a brief summary of a long email thread. The classic Outlook app also supports Copilot coaching, and Microsoft plans to add the draft feature to the app in the coming months.

In addition, Outlook for the web, the new Outlook for Windows app, and Outlook mobile apps now show the sender's name, their full email address, and the subject line of emails that are sent to the Junk Mail file. Microsoft stated:

This simple change helps people make better decisions on if they should open the mail or delete it instead of having to hover over the sender's name or open the message.

This improvement will be added to the Mac Outlook app later in May. Speaking of the Junk Mail file, all Outlook apps will now show a pop-up warning message when users check their Junk Mail section. It will inform them that links in those emails will not work unless the user specifically asks to visit those links.

Finally, Microsoft has started rolling out support for IMAP accounts in the new Outlook for Windows app with support for POP email accounts to be added in the coming weeks.

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While the Pixel 8a is speculated to launch at the upcoming Google I/O event on May 14, it seems like we won't have to wait for the actual launch event to know about the features Pixel 8a will come with. Android Headlines has leaked a set of Pixel 8a advertisements that showcase some notable secrets of the Pixel 8a.

According to the leaked ads, the Pixel 8a will pack an 'AI-mazing' camera on the phone, which will bundle features such as Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser, and Night Sight. Both Best Take and Night Sight aren't new features for the Pixel 8a; however. The Audio Magic Eraser is a feature that was added last fall to the Pixel 8 series and is a great addition to the mid-range Google phone.

There are other features that the ads showcase, such as screening calls with Call Assist, getting a summary of emails on the spot, and Circle to Search. Also, the ads have revealed the specifications of the device, and as expected, the Google Pixel 8a is powered by the Tensor G3 chipset, the same processor that powers the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro.

Google has also mentioned fast charging but hasn't mentioned how many watts of fast charging is supported. Interestingly, the ads mention support for Google One VPN, which is something that is going away in June. It is possible that these ads were made before the decision to kill Google One was taken, or it's just that Google One will be promoted till its last breath.

Furthermore, the leaked ads also mention that the Pixel 8a is IP67 dust and water-resistant. One thing that Google has highlighted is that the Pixel 8a will get seven years of 'security updates', instead of just updates. So, the update policy may not be the same as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, as we are expecting.

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The first enhancement you’ll see in this update is the speed with which comments load. If the user clicks the comments button of a post on the homepage, they will be taken directly to the top of the comments making it easier to get into the discussion.

Next up is the ability to keep the post context in view while reading the comments thanks to a collapsible bar at the top of the discussion. This bar will be shown if you go to the post page and scroll down to the comments. Tapping on the bar will enlarge the post for a closer look.

Finally, Reddit now has consistent conversations no matter the post type. In the new update, you will experience a new unified media player, immersive transitions, and consistent gestures. To get to the conversations, just swipe up, to reach new content, just swipe left.

Reddit said that it had been working with Redditors to test out these changes to find out what works and what doesn’t. By working with the community to introduce new changes, it could mean that there is less push back from users after changes are deployed.

If you cast your mind back to the start of the 2010’s Digg, a spiritual predecessor to Reddit, introduced a major overhaul of its website which really damaged its reputation and led to a user exodus. This is why Reddit has to be careful about introducing changes and ensure they’re popular with the community first.

Reddit has also announced this week that in the coming years it plans to invest in advertising and organic shopping solutions opening up more opportunities for ecommerce brands. Ads in its platform could help it increase revenues and make it more attractive to investors now that its stocks are public.

Source: Reddit

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Passkeys can be used with Face ID or Touch ID on Apple devices, and they are more secure than traditional passwords because they are uniquely generated for every account by the user's device and are less vulnerable to phishing, as they eliminate the need to create and type a passcode. Based on FIDO Authentication, passkeys are proven to be resistant to threats of phishing, credential stuffing, and other remote attacks. Passkeys that are managed by phone or computer operating systems are automatically synced between the user’s devices via a cloud-based service.

WhatsApp is not the only app implementing passkey support, many apps, including Google and Amazon, are starting to adopt this technology as well. WhatsApp had first announced support for passkeys a year ago, but only the Android counterpart of the chat application got support for it. The accelerated support and launch for passkeys could also be due to the regulations set forth by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that went live last year in May.

The platform has also been developing a new option to let users transfer files offline with nearby people, an in-app dialer, and there's also an iPad app in the works.

While the rollout will take time to reach everyone, WhatsApp says that you will see the option to set passkeys under Settings > Account > Passkeys.

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In a fresh tip from China, Chinese leakster Digital Chat Station on Weibo shared some crucial information about the purported OnePlus 13. According to the leak, the OnePlus 13 is speculated to come with the same screen size as the OnePlus 12. The leak notes that the alleged OnePlus 13 will pack a 6.8-inch 2K LTPO 'micro-curved' screen. For comparison's sake, the OnePlus 12 comes with a 6.82-inch display.

The leak also suggests that the purported OnePlus 13 would be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, which is yet to be announced. It is speculated that the OnePlus 13 could be the second phone to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, as the first rights to launch the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 phone are still with Xiaomi. It is expected to launch the Xiaomi 15 smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor in China before it is launched globally.

The Digital Chat Station also suggested that the OnePlus 13 could pack a periscope camera (allegedly a 3x camera). The leak further says that the phone will come with a new design. Notably, OnePlus has been using the same design for the past few years, which may have worked in their favor, but the company might be thinking otherwise.

Given that it is early days, we recommend that you take any information with a grain of salt. Needless to say, the OnePlus 13 will have top-tier specifications, and Hasselblad will be tweaking those cameras.

OnePlus is one of the few manufacturers that still includes a charging brick as standard in-box stuff. It'd be fascinating to see whether the tradition continues this year.

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This release comes after the Phi-2 model, introduced in December 2023, was surpassed in performance by models such as Meta's Llama-3 family. In the face of increased competition, Microsoft Research has applied newer techniques to its curriculum learning approach.

The new 3.8 billion parameter model improves on the previous Phi-2 model while using significantly fewer resources than larger language models. At just 3.8 billion parameters, Phi-3 Mini outperforms both Meta's 8 billion parameter Llama and OpenAI's 3.5 billion parameter GPT-3, according to Microsoft's own benchmarks.

We introduce phi-3-mini, a 3.8 billion parameter language model trained on 3.3 trillion tokens, whose overall performance, as measured by both academic benchmarks and internal testing, rivals that of models such as Mixtral 8x7B and GPT-3.5 (e.g., phi-3-mini achieves 69% on MMLU and 8.38 on MT-bench), despite being small enough to be deployed on a phone.

 

We also provide some initial parameter-scaling results with a 7B and 14B models trained for 4.8T tokens, called phi-3-small and phi-3-medium, both significantly more capable than phi-3-mini (e.g., respectively 75% and 78% on MMLU, and 8.7 and 8.9 on MT-bench).

Due to its smaller size, the Phi-3 family is optimized for low-power devices compared to larger models. Microsoft Vice President Eric Boyd said (via The Verge) that the new model is capable of advanced natural language processing directly on a smartphone. This makes Phi-3 Mini well-suited for novel applications that require AI assistance anywhere.

While Phi-3 Mini outperforms competitors in its weight class, it cannot match the breadth of knowledge of massive models trained on the Internet. However, Boyd notes that smaller, high-quality models tend to perform better because internal datasets are often more limited in scale.

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