Tangle Tech

Samsung’s mid-year Galaxy Unpacked launch for 2024 was a bit dull. The Galaxy Watch range didn’t see many improvements bar the introduction of the Ultra (which is really only intended for the most diehard fitness heads), and time was mostly devoted to the show stopping Galaxy Ring , an entirely new product category for the smartphone maker (one that I’m excited for in Australia, where it is still yet to launch). Combined with an extremely lukewarm year for the sixth generation Samsung foldables, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 arguably received the least love of all the new gadgets – but I’ve come to appreciate the phone for what it is beyond the obvious gimmick. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has existed in a weird space among Samsung’s premium phone lineup for some time now. Vertically foldable akin to trendsetting phones of the 2000s, the Z Flip’s only real drawcard is in the name – it’s fashion before function. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 makes a much better case for its existence, acting as a tablet-phone

Apple Intelligence’s release date is fast approaching, making it an exciting time to own one of the best iPhones . The AI tools are one of the major selling points of the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro , bringing features like proofreading and rewriting, summaries, and AI photo editing to iOS 18. That’s not all, however – iOS 18.1’s imminent launch and the arrival of AI on iPhone is just the beginning, with more Apple Intelligence features set to launch over the next year. So when is the Apple Intelligence release date? And is it actually a big deal? Or will consumers forget it even exists in just a few months’ time? Apple Intelligence release date (Image credit: Apple) Apple Intelligence is currently in testing via the iOS 18.1 public beta . This means we can expect to see Writing Tools, Clean Up, and Notification Summaries, to name just a few features, arrive in October with iOS 18.1’s official release. We’ve covered all the Apple Intelligence features , and when you

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues. What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers , Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too. SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. NYT Connections today (game #482) - today's words (Image credit: New York Times) Today's NYT Connections words are… JACUZZI BIKINI HANGER X-RAY Q-TIP TOOTHBRUSH G-STRING CHAPSTICK T-BONE XEROX HIPSTER SKIRT DRILL FILET SINK THONG NYT Connections today (game #482) - hint #1 - group hints What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups? Yellow: Beef bits Green: Hidden clothing Blue: Open wide

Meta has shared another contestant in the AI video race that's seemingly taken over much of the industry in recent months. The tech giant released a new model called Movie Gen, which, as the name indicates, generates movies. It's notably more comprehensive in its feature list than many others in its initial rollout, comparable to OpenAI's Sora model , which garnered so much attention upon its initial unveiling. That said, Movie Gen also shares with Sora a limitation on access to specific filmmakers partnering with Meta rather than a public rollout. Movie Gen is impressive based on the demonstrations of its ability to produce movies from text prompts, as seen above. The model can make 16-second videos and upscale them to 1080p resolution. The caveat is that the video comes out at 16 frames per second, a speed slower than any filming standard. For a more normal 24 fps, the film clip can't be more than 10 seconds long.  Movie Gen Action Still, 10 seconds can be plent

AI tools usually require cloud computing access to have enough power to run, but your future AI usage may end up not needing more than is available on your device if Qualcomm has its way. The tech giant has unveiled a new system called the Qualcomm AI Orchestrator aimed at integrating AI tools and experiences and keeping the process on your devices.  Qualcomm AI Orchestrator incorporates all of your AI usage, including what you do on your computer, mobile device, and even in your car. The orchestrator takes personal preferences and the surrounding context into account when running to make the best use of what various accessible AI apps and services can provide.  It's the individual adaptation aspect that stands out as the biggest appeal of the AI Orchestrator. The AI uses information on your device about your contacts, where you travel regularly, what you do in a day, and even your go-to apps to personalize the experience and make a personal knowledge graph. For instance, if you

Sometimes I look at my robot vacuum and wonder if it knows how much I like it. I do not ponder if it's staring back at me, thinking...well...who know what? If I owned an Ecovac robot vacuum, though, that might be all I was thinking about and, soon, throwing a blanket over its potentially rapacious camera. According to a new report and the work of long-time robot vacuum hackers, some Ecovac vacuums can, with some skill but no physical, access be hacked, giving would-be attackers access to all onboard systems and sensors, including the camera. It's a simple and somewhat unnerving tale: An ABC Australia news reporter, Julian Fell, followed up on reports that some Ecovac vacuums could be hacked and was soon, with the permission of an Ecovac owner, hacking a robot vacuum in the safety of his news site's offices. Not a hacker himself, Fell worked with Northeastern University Cybersecurity researcher Dennis Giese who (along with collaborators Braelynn Luedtke and Chris Anders

Google has streamlined a key feature of its Gemini AI assistant on Android devices, speeding up image sharing and editing, as spotted by Android Authority. The latest Gemini update lets you send images directly from other apps to Gemini instead of the more cumbersome setup that was in place before.  Now, if you have a picture in, for instance, Google Photos, that you want Gemini to look at in conjunction with a text prompt, you can submit it directly via Android's built-in share sheet as you would to send a text with the image attached. That's much easier than starting in the Gemini app, tapping on the upload image button, locating the image you want, and attaching it. And if your image is in the cloud, you would also need to download it to your device. It might not be more than a minute or even less, but if you want Gemini to explain a photo or use one to inform a new AI-generated image, that extra time and friction might put you off the idea.  It's not a total revolu

Tesla's bizarre-looking Cybertruck has suffered through yet another recall . It's a sign that not only is the truck a bit like an experiment on wheels, but that Tesla is increasingly no longer the standard bearer for our EV aspirations. "Elon Musk is the reason both cars in my driveway are electric. He’s also the reason neither of them are Teslas," wrote Firebird Music CEO Nathan Hubbard on Threads. The post encapsulates a growing sentiment among EV owners and EV curious: Tesla is not necessarily the electric car company that will own the future of the market it all but created. Post by @nathanchubbard View on Threads Look, I don't want to dive too deeply here into the unpleasant actions and social presence of Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk. Let's just say that the once inspiring entrepreneur has become, to put it lightly, a polarizing figure. It's not a good look for someone who wants to sell electric vehicles to everyone and not just those w

The number of phishing emails that masquerade as notifications from Microsoft services is skyrocketing, a new report from Check Point has warned. In the report, the researchers said that just in September, its service caught more than 5,000 such emails - and to make matters worse, the attackers have gotten extremely good at creating a legitimate-looking email. The usual suspects - spelling and grammar, color scheme, the email’s outline - all of these things have been brought to perfection: “The language is perfect. The style is familiar. The graphics look impeccable,” the researchers said. “So, what should organizations do?” Furthermore, these emails now come with copy-pasted Microsoft privacy policy statements, or links to Microsoft and Bing, all of which makes spotting the ruse with the naked eye almost impossible. Training and AI Ultimately, even the ‘sender’ field in the email looks believable now. Instead of the usual private, or unknown domains, these emails appear to be com

AI video creator Pika Labs has joined the recent rush of new and upgraded tools by releasing Pika 1.5, a revamped model with a bunch of new features. These visual effects, or “Pikaffects,” as the company refers to them, come about a year after the initial debut of Pika 1.0. The timing of the release, right after rival models like Runway Gen-3, Hotshot , and Luma Labs’ Dream Machine 1.5 , suggests the competition to dominate AI videos is far from over, even as people await a wider release of OpenAI” s Sora model .  Pika 1.5 ups the photorealism and gives more camera control to users, with some pretty impressive results. But the Pikaffects are definitely the showstopper tools, with bizarre changes to physics that seem to blend into the reality of the video even if they would be impossible to film in real life. A new button in the Pika interface opens up the list of options for what to do with objects in the video. So, you might want to see a dog inflate like a balloon and float away,

There’s an outside chance that Microsoft could once again enter the phone market, thanks to a patent popping up that shows a 360-degree folding phone design. Published on October 1 after being filed in February with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) , the patent shows what looks like a notebook-like phone that folds horizontally like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 . Like that phone, Microsoft’s one folds flat, with it sporting a cover display - though we can’t tell what size this is or indeed the main screen. As MSPoweruser reports, the patent shows that the folding device has slots in the cover glass layer and the backplate to facilitate an easy and smooth bending action in the display that avoids creases, which can blight even the best foldable phones . However, the thing that could make a prospective Microsoft folding phone stand apart from the likes of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the OnePlus Open is that it can fold both ways. This could make for a foldable phone t

Microsoft has released a major announcement outlining all the new experiences coming to its new Copilot+ PCs and Windows 11, hoping to convince people to see the practical benefits of its AI-powered efforts. We’ll have to see how these developments play out when they’re more widespread and in the hands of everyday users, but Microsoft still seems to be going full steam ahead to make AI tools and features commonplace (and to be one of the first to do it). Microsoft wants to use AI to assist you with everyday tasks like tracking down files and images, making them faster and easier. The idea is that you won’t even have to remember exact file and app names, but be able to describe the content in your own words and your device will be able to locate it. Copilot+ PCs are designed to have AI integrated, and Microsoft claims that it’s seeing substantial customer demand and interest. You can get Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11 from manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, a

Hackers can now steal people’s cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases, even when they are stored as an image file, experts have warned When a user sets up a new crypto wallet, they get a “seed phrase” - a set of 12 or 24 random words, which can later be used to restore the wallet in a new app or device (in case of loss or theft). Crooks that happen to steal a seed phrase can manage the money found in the wallet however they like. But when a person saves the seed phrase in an image file (for example, with a screenshot), it makes the criminals’ job that much harder. A highly potent threat Enter Rhadamanthys version 0.7.0, recently introduced and carrying new, important bells and whistles. Recorded Future's Insikt Group recently analyzed this new version and released an in-depth report, which states that the infostealer now comes with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, and allows for optical character recognition (OCR). Together, these two tools are called "Seed Phrase

It's a miracle that the free Internet lasted as long as it did. It's been nearly 30 years of mostly unfettered, free content access to everything from magazine articles and newspapers to videos and recipes. The steady devolution of the online advertising business made free online content an economic equation that no one could solve. If you need further evidence that your free internet is evaporating like snow on an early spring day, look at CNN.com. The popular online news platform, an arm of the still popular cable news network, is putting up a paywall . It won't block you from seeing all CNN.com posts but will limit the number you can see for free. It's unclear if that will be a few a day or a dozen per month. However, once you hit the limit, CNN.com will prompt you to subscribe for $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year. That's not a lot, and for all-you-can-eat access, some might consider it a bargain. Even so, it'll be an adjustment, especially for those who'