We’re less than a month away from the next Made by Google event, and we may already know what one of the marquee announcements will look like. TikTok user pixo_unpacking (via YTechB) posted videos over the weekend of apparent pre-production samples of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 XL.
The phones in the video have different backs: a glossy finish on the standard Pixel 9’s rear and a matte one on the larger Pixel XL’s. 9to5Google notes that they appear to include rear-panel etchings Google uses for prototypes, although they’re mostly covered in the clips by labels.
Based on the video, the Pixel 9 appears to have two cameras, while the Pixel 9 XL has three. In addition, Google seems to have changed the camera visor into an elongated oval. It appears to be quite the protrusion, as evidenced by the video’s sections showing the two phones together.
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Google sent out invites last month to the August 13 event. Although (unsurprisingly) devoid of details, it promised to “showcase the best of Google AI, Android software and the Pixel portfolio of devices.” The event will be at Google’s Mountain View headquarters instead of the typical New York City setting for Pixel launches.
In addition to the Pixel 9 series, we expect a next-generation Pixel Fold, a new Tensor chip and a third-generation Pixel Watch. (And a possible Pixel Buds appearance.) Of course, since this is 2024 and no company can hold an event without an almost comical obsession with AI, we’re practically guaranteed to hear more about new Google AI features — like the rumored Pixie AI assistant. In addition, the phones could include iPhone-like emergency satellite messaging.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alleged-pixel-9-and-pixel-9-xl-leak-shows-a-redesigned-camera-bar-205144133.html?src=rss
Microsoft’s new AI system ‘SpreadsheetLLM’ unlocks insights from spreadsheets, boosting enterprise productivity
Microsoft’s SpreadsheetLLM AI system enhances spreadsheet data analysis, improving enterprise efficiency and enabling AI-powered insights.
Elon Musk confirms the Tesla Robotaxi event has been delayed to October
Elon Musk confirmed on Monday that Tesla’s robotaxi event scheduled for August has been delayed to October. The CEO replied on X (the former Twitter, which he owns) to a user’s post that he “requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things.”
Musk’s X post appears to echo what Bloomberg reported last week. The publication claimed on July 11 that delaying the event would give Tesla more time to build additional prototypes. It added that the company had communicated the delay internally and that the design team was told to “rework certain elements of the car,” which sounds like Musk’s order to change the front design.
The CEO said in early April that the company would unveil the Tesla Robotaxi on August 8. The teaser came on the same day Reuters reported that Tesla was pulling the plug on a planned $25,000 budget model (often casually referred to externally as the Model 2) in favor of a full-court push for robotaxis. Musk claimed Reuters was “lying” without listing any specific points of contention.
A few weeks later, Tesla cut “more than 10 percent” of the company’s over 140,000 personnel (at the time). Two weeks after word of the layoffs broke, the EV maker let go of two senior executives as Musk warned staff that “we need to be absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction.” In what sounded like a threat, he added, “While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so.”
Tesla delivered nearly seven percent fewer vehicles in the first half of 2024 and produced nearly 15 percent fewer in the second quarter than in the same period in 2023.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elon-musk-confirms-the-tesla-robotaxi-event-has-been-delayed-to-october-184519959.html?src=rss
YouTube Music’s latest features include ‘hum to search’ and AI-generated conversational radio
YouTube Music is rolling out some fun new features, including the expansion of the “hum to search” tool that has been in beta for Android users since March. The company says this tool allows users to “search the YouTube Music catalog of over 100 million official songs” by using natural sound.
All you have to do is tap “search” and look for the waveform icon. Then it’s up to you. The tool lets people hum the song, sing the song or even play the song on another instrument. The feature is rolling out to YouTube music subscribers on both iOS and Android.
It’s also been working on something called AI-generated conversational radio. This isn’t a platform in which AI DJs take jobs away from Wolfman Jack or whatever. Rather, it’s a tool that lets people use natural conversation to describe the type of radio station they want to listen to. The algorithm will take in that information and create some tailor-made radio. This is sort of like Spotify’s AI DJ from a while back, but the conversational element should make the algorithm zero in on your exact tastes as described.
The bad news? It’s only available to select subscribers at this point, as it’s in a testing phase. If successful, it should roll out to more users in the coming months. After all, YouTube first announced the “hum to search” tool in March and its already becoming widely available.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-musics-latest-features-include-hum-to-search-and-ai-generated-conversational-radio-175153746.html?src=rss
The Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
The person who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a rally on Saturday had a Discord account — though it was rarely used — according to the company.
“Discord removed the account according to our off-platform behavior policy and we are assisting law enforcement in their investigation,” Clint Smith, chief legal officer of Discord, said in an emailed statement. “The suspect’s account was rarely utilized, has not been used in months, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views, but with the investigation ongoing, we are not able to share any additional information at this time.” Discord didn’t respond to The Verge’s questions about how it traced the account and what communities the account was part of.
Little is known about the shooter’s motives for the attack or his activities online. Though screenshots of fake accounts have been floating around social media, so far, nobody has turned up much information. The Associated Press reported that the shooter was wearing a T-shirt associated with the popular firearm YouTube channel DemolitionRanch. YouTube did not immediately respond to questions about whether it had traced any activity to the shooter.
Voting records show the shooter was a registered Republican in Pennsylvania, a state that requires voters to register with a major party to vote in primary elections. On the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, a person who shares the same name and address as the gunman donated $15 to a progressive political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission data. (The address associated with the donation in the FEC database lists the donor’s city as Pittsburgh instead of Bethel Park, the suburb that the shooter reportedly resided in. But according to Google Maps, it doesn’t appear as though that street address actually exists in Pittsburgh.)
Perpetrators of other violent attacks in the past have sometimes discussed their plans online, including on private Discord servers. Such was the case in 2022, when a white gunman opened fire in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, with the intention of targeting Black people. The killer had planned and documented the attack on Discord for months leading up to the shooting; on the day of the attack, he livestreamed the events on Twitch, and clips of the violence then spread across other platforms.
A gunman who attacked an Iowa high school in January of this year also posted on Discord about his plans leading up to the shooting. The alleged shooter also reportedly posted content on TikTok shortly before the attack, according to NBC News.
TikTok did not immediately respond to questions about whether the company had traced any user accounts to the Trump rally shooter. Meta also did not respond to questions.
The best Prime Day deals under $25
Amazon Prime Day is a chance for Prime members to pick up all sorts of things on sale, and while most of the discounts aren’t worth your time, those on gadgets actually can be. Prime Day deals have discounted plenty of our favorites in the past, and this year is shaping up to be no different.
If any of the items on your list happen to be tech or tech related, Engadget has you covered. We’ve scoured Amazon to find the Prime Day deals on tech and gadgets that you can get this year. And the good news is that not all of the discounts are on high-priced items. Yes, you can actually pick up good tech during this sale without spending a fortune. These are the best Prime Day deals under $25 we could fine for 2024.
As a reminder (and for the uninitiated): Engadget treats tech deals with the same care as we would “regular” tech news. When we scour the web for deals, we’re looking not only for the best prices possible, but also the best products as well. Our goal with our deals coverage, especially surrounding events like Amazon Prime Day, is to surface only the best deals we can find on the gadgets we’ve tested and rated highly, or that we’ve used and know to be worth your money.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-prime-day-deals-under-25-154512385.html?src=rss
Prime Day deals include $200 off the Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop
Amazon Prime Day may technically be two days long, but the discounts actually start before that. As it happens, just before Prime Day gets underway on July 16, we’ve spotted a decent discount on a Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop. This model (we’ll get into the specs in a second) is available for a record low price of $2,500. That’s $200 off the regular price of $2,700.
This version of the laptop has a 14-inch QHD+ 240Hz HDR display. Combine that with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU and 32GB of DDR5 RAM and most games should look and run very nicely on this system. There’s a respectable volume of storage too as it has a 1TB SSD.
We gave the latest Razer Blade 14 a score of 85 in our review. While we feel that it’s pricey (this sale will take some of the sting out of that) and the lack of an SD card reader is a disappointment, it’s a great gaming laptop overall. It has a great build, strong performance and better-than-anticipated battery life (it ran for a shade under seven hours in our testing). We liked the bright, high-refresh-rate display too and a built-in webcam shutter is always welcome.
In fact, the Razer Blade 14 is our current pick for the best high-end laptop for gaming and school. The blend of power and portability is tough to beat, especially when you factor in Razer’s typically robust build quality.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-200-off-the-razer-blade-14-gaming-laptop-145218018.html?src=rss
Apple’s M3 MacBook Air laptops are $200 off for Prime Day
No matter how you swing it, Apple’s computers are expensive, making sales crucial in the pursuit of taking one home. Fortunately, Amazon Prime Day is basically here, and it has brought a new all-time low price on Apple’s 13-inch 2024 MacBook Air with an M3 chip.
Our choice of best MacBook overall is down to $899 from $1,099 — an 18 percent discount. This sale is available for the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM and no AppleCare+ included.
Apple’s 2024 MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display that can support one billion different colors. We gave it a 90 in our review thanks to offers like a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three mics and up to 18 hours of battery life. The M3 chip makes it a faster device, with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU. It also supports dual external displays — though the MacBook must be closed.
If you’re in the market for a larger screen, check out the sale on the 15-inch version of Apple’s M3-equipped 2024 MacBook Air. This model is also on sale, dropping to $1,099 from $1,299 — a 15 percent discount. It weighs an extra half a pound, but with a 15.2-inch screen, the additional space might be worth some weight. Plus, it offers six speakers, compared to the 13-inch’s four.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-m3-macbook-air-laptops-are-200-off-for-prime-day-134232937.html?src=rss
Prime Day deals slash $125 off the Dyson Airwrap
The Dyson Airwrap is one of the most popular pieces of beauty tech as of late, so much so that it can be hard to get your hands on it because it frequently goes in and out of stock. But right now you can snag an Amazon-exclusive bundle for $125 off thanks to Prime Day deals. Normally priced at $675, this bundle is now on sale for $550 for Prime Day.
In addition to the Airwrap and its storage case, the bundle includes six attachments: two long barrels, three brushes and the Coanda smoothing dryer, plus a filter cleaning brush, a detangling comb and another storage bag. That’s enough to achieve a bunch of different hairstyles with one tool, and you get a couple of ways to store the machine when you’re not using it or when you need to travel with it.
For the uninitiated, the Dyson Airwrap gained popularity due to the fact that it doesn’t use extreme heat to style hair. It instead uses the Coanda effect, which describes airflow’s tendency to follow a curved surface, to wrap, dry and style hair all at once. How you do so specific depends on the attachment you’re using, be it a barrel or a brush.
The Airwrap does use heat, to be clear, but Dyson claims the device intelligently monitors heat to keep it at the optimal temperature. It should never go above 302 degrees Fahrenheit, and that should be less damaging for your hair as opposed to using standard hot tools.
If history is any indication, the Airwrap could quickly go out of stock during a sale event like Prime Day. While $550 is still a lot to spend on any gadget, now is a good time to buy this bundle if you’ve had your eye on the beauty tool for a while.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-slash-125-off-the-dyson-airwrap-123503600.html?src=rss
The Best Kindle to Buy in 2024
Here’s how Amazon’s ebook readers stack up—and which one might be right for you.