Apple will soon allow you to take back messages you didn’t really want to send. The upgraded Messages app in iOS 16 is getting a new “undo send” feature, as well as the ability to edit chats you’ve already sent and mark threads as unread. The new …
iOS 16 brings big updates to the lock screen
Ahead of its official release sometime later this fall Apple announced a number of exciting new features heading to iOS 16. One of the most important changes in iOS 16 is a revamped lock screen, which features a wide range of customization options…
Google’s latest Pixel feature drop includes a Teenage Engineering music app
Google’s newest Pixel feature drop is meant as much for spur-of-the-moment creativity as it is everyday conveniences. The company is rolling out a June feature update that, with a separate download, offers a free music-making tool from Teenage Engineering. The Pocket Operator for Pixel app (shown at middle) turns your videos into music and video “cut-ups” with a mix of sounds, patterns and visual effects. You’ll need a Pixel 5 or newer to get started, but It could be worth a try if you’d like to craft beats during your downtime.
The feature drop also lets you see imagery from your Nest Doorbell on your Pixel phone’s lock screen (pictured at left). You’ll know right away if it’s worth answering the door. And if you need to show proof of your COVID-19 shots, you can now take a screenshot of your digital vaccine card and create a shortcut for your home screen (right). This will only be available in Australia, Canada and the US, but could be helpful if you still need to show proof of vaccination to hop on a flight or enter a venue.
Other upgrades include a previously beta-only Conversation mode in the Sound Amplifier app (to enhance chats for people with hearing loss), a reminder to turn off your flashlight and (soon) air quality alerts for Australia, India and the US. You’ll also find a trio of new Pride-themed wallpapers from Yann Bastard, while skin tone-friendly image filters are now active in Google Photos.
The update starts rolling out today to Pixel 4 and later devices. You can also expect broader support for existing features, including Car Crash Detection in Canada as well as new languages in Messages’ chat translation (Dutch, Korean, Thai, Traditional Chinese and Turkish).
Google settles Photos facial recognition lawsuit for $100 million
Facebook isn’t the only one compensating Illinois residents over alleged privacy violations. The Vergenotes Google has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA) through Photos’ “Face Grouping” feature. The settlement will let you claim between $200 and $400 if you appeared in a picture on Photos between May 1st, 2015 and April 25th, 2022.
Google supposedly broke the law by collecting and analyzing faces without appropriate notice, asking for “informed” consent or sharing data retention policies with the public. Face Grouping is meant to help you find photos of given people by detecting faces and automatically organizing them into collections.
You have until September 24th to submit a claim, and can object to the settlement terms before August 10th. The final approval hearing is slated for September 28th.
We’ve asked Google for comment. In a statement to The Verge, the company defended Face Grouping by stressing that collections were only visible to you and can be disabled.
The settlement is relatively modest. In 2021, Facebook agreed to pay $650 million to settle a lawsuit over its defunct face-based Tag Suggestions feature. This might not be the last big payout in the near future, though. Snap is dealing with a class action suit over purportedly illegal collection of face and voice data for its augmented reality effects, and it might face a similar expense if the plaintiffs prevail.
Watch Apple’s WWDC 2022 keynote here at 1PM ET
It’s that time once again. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off today. As ever, the proceedings will commence with a keynote that will contain the majority of the biggest news. Apple has invited a small number of guests to attend the keynote at Apple Park, though most folks will need to tune in virtually. The event starts at 1PM ET and you can watch it below.
You’ll get your first proper look at features coming to iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, tvOS 16 and the next macOS. The updates should arrive later this year, though you can try the new OS versions early if you’re willing to install the various developer betas.
We have an inkling of what to expect from WWDC thanks to a melange of reports and leaks. Health, Messages, notifications and the lock screen are all said to be in line for updates on iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. Improved multitasking is believed to be on the way to iPad, while it’s expected that iOS will gain support for always-on displays ahead of that feature coming to some of the next-gen iPhones.
There are also rumblings that Apple will announce a refreshed MacBook Air running on an M2 processor. In any case, we won’t need to wait long to find out what Apple has in store.
Axon halts plans to make a drone equipped with a Taser
Axon has paused work on a project to build drones equipped with its Tasers. A majority of its artificial intelligence ethics board quit after the plan was announced last week.
Nine of the 12 members said in a resignation letter that, just a few weeks ago, the board voted 8-4 to recommend that Axon shouldn’t move forward with a pilot study for a Taser-equipped drone concept. “In that limited conception, the Taser-equipped drone was to be used only in situations in which it might avoid a police officer using a firearm, thereby potentially saving a life,” the nine board members wrote. They noted Axon might decline to follow that recommendation and were working on a report regarding measures the company should have in place were it to move forward.
The nine individuals said they were blindsided by an announcement from the company last Thursday — nine days after 19 elementary school students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas — about starting development of such a drone. It had an aim of “incapacitating an active shooter in less than 60 seconds.” Axon said it “asked the board to re-engage and consider issuing further guidance and feedback on this capability.”
Axon CEO Rick Smith suggested the drones could be deployed as a measure to prevent mass shootings. As Reuters notes, he envisioned drones being stationed in school hallways and having the ability to enter rooms through vents. The drone system, which Axon suggested might be ready as soon as 2024, would have cost schools around $1,000 per year.
The system would have tapped into security camera feeds to detect active shooter events using both human monitoring and artificial intelligence. While a human operator would have made the final decision on whether to fire a Taser, Axon planned to develop “targeting algorithms” to help them with “properly and safely aiming the device.”
“This type of surveillance undoubtedly will harm communities of color and others who are overpoliced, and likely well beyond that,” the resigning board members wrote. “The Taser-equipped drone also has no realistic chance of solving the mass shooting problem Axon now is prescribing it for, only distracting society from real solutions to a tragic problem. We all feel the desperate need to do something to address our epidemic of mass shootings. But Axon’s proposal to elevate a tech-and-policing response when there are far less harmful alternatives, is not the solution.”
Those board members said that before Axon made its announcement, they urged it to “pull back” on the plans. “But the company charged ahead in a way that struck many of us as trading on the tragedy of the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings,” they wrote. “Significantly for us, it bypassed Axon’s commitment to consult with the company’s own AI Ethics Board.”
Smith said that the goal of the announcement was to start a conversation about the use of drones equipped with Tasers as a possible solution. “I acknowledge that our passion for finding new solutions to stop mass shootings led us to move quickly,” Smith said in a statement. “However, in light of feedback, we are pausing work on this project and refocusing to further engage with key constituencies to fully explore the best path forward.”
The AI ethics board has had previous success in convincing Axon to change course. In 2019, the company said it wouldn’t use facial recognition in its police body cameras after the board expressed concern about the plan.
LastPass no longer requires a password to access your vault
Just because you use a password manager doesn’t mean you want to enter passwords every time you check that manager… and now, you don’t have to. LastPass has launched an option to access your vault using a passwordless sign-in — it’s the first password manager with this feature, the company claims. Grant permission through the LastPass Authenticator mobile app and you can update account info on the web without entering your master password.
The approach relies on FIDO-compliant password-free technology. The feature is available to both personal and business users. LastPass is also promising options beyond the Authenticator app in the future, such as relying on biometric scans or hardware security keys.
It may seem odd to rely on a phone app to check passwords on your PC, and LastPass already takes care of some headaches through its browser extension. Still, this promises to take more of the pain out of password managers. It might also convince you to use a stronger password for your vault knowing that you’ll only rarely need to type it in.
Elon Musk threatens to back out of Twitter deal over bot estimates (updated)
Elon Musk still isn’t happy with Twitter’s stance on bots and other fake accounts. As Bloombergreports, Musk has amended an SEC filing to claim Twitter is committing a “material breach” of merger terms by allegedly refusing to disclose enough information about bot spam and fake account data. The social network’s offer to provide additional info on its testing methods for bogus accounts is both inadequate and an attempt to “obfuscate and confuse” the situation, the Tesla chief said. In other words, he’s concerned Twitter is trying to hide the true scope of its bot problem.
Musk reportedly needs the data to both prepare for the Twitter acquisition and to improve his financing of the deal, according to the filing. He also maintained that he neither needs to explain his reasoning for the data nor agree to new conditions to access any info.
We’ve asked Twitter for comment. The company has routinely claimed that bots and fake accounts represent less than five percent of daily users, but hasn’t shared significantly more detail. Musk put his purchase “temporarily on hold” in mid-May as he sought to confirm that figure.
This isn’t the only obstacle Musk’s bid faces. Regulators in the European Union, for instance, have warned that the entrepreneur will still have to obey local content rules regardless of his desire to loosen Twitter’s policies. If Musk and Twitter remain at odds over bot data, however, the $44 billion purchase could fall apart before it’s even finalized.
Update 6/6 12:14PM ET: Twitter told Engadget in a statement that it has been and will still “cooperatively” share info with Musk in line with the agreement. You can read the full response below.
“Twitter has and will continue to cooperatively share information with Mr. Musk to consummate the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement. We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders. We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms.”
Xbox and Bethesda will host a second games showcase on June 14th
This weekend’s Xbox and Bethesda showcase won’t include all the news that’s fit to stream. Like it did last June, Microsoft will run a second event, which will include more trailers, discussions with developers and in-depth looks at some of the games featured in the main Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase.
Xbox Games Showcase Extended will take place on June 14th at 1PM ET. It will run for around 90 minutes and will be available in English, Latin America Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and French, and with live audio descriptions and American Sign Language. Support for more languages will be added later. You’ll be able to watch on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook.
Last year’s Xbox Games Showcase Extended offered additional details on the likes of Forza Horizon 5, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2,Microsoft Flight Simulator and some third-party games. We also learned about the return of Xbox Design Lab to help players customize their controllers.
The primary showcase is set for June 12 at 1PM ET. It’ll be on the same channels, as well as TikTok, Steam and Bilibili. Microsoft says the event will be available in 33 languages overall, though some may not be available until next week if the translations aren’t finished in time. English audio descriptions and ASL will help more fans enjoy the show.
Xbox notes it will stream the showcase in 1080p at 60 fps. A 4K version will be available on YouTube afterward. Meanwhile, Engadget will have coverage of all the biggest news from both events.
The best gifts for new dads
It’s hard to be a new parent even during the most idyllic times. So what can you do to help? How about gifting a new dad something to make their lives a bit easier. Maybe they just need a breather from the hellstorm of diapers and sleep training. Or pe…