TechRadar

On the eve of yet another Apple event, one in which it introduces a collection of iPhone 16 handsets probably not hugely different from the year before, and the collective technology consumer leaps into buying action because, well, it's Apple, it's worth remembering that, perhaps, none of this would've been possible without an act of charity or calculation by Apple's once greatest rival: Microsoft. I was reminded of the era when Apple, its heyday in the rearview, was relegated to failed Newton Handhelds, poorly conceived partnerships with Bandai (Pippin game console/internet appliance), and near irrelevance. In the years after Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs was ousted and his return in early 1997, Apple watched its revenues tumble from a high of $11 billion to $7 billion. It saw its losses mounting to $125M in 1996. There was talk of a merger with Sun Microsystems, one that then Apple CEO Gilbert Amelio wouldn't confirm and that spokespeople denied. It was clear though that such talk was further hampering sales of Apple's then mostly lackluster Power Macintoshes and Powerbooks… #appleevent #apple #microsoft #iphone #tech

Not content to serve just beginners, HoverAI is flying into the pro space with two new foldable camera drones: the HoverAir X1 Pro and HoverAir X1 Pro Max. Both bring better cameras, more speed, more intelligence, and more flight time. The new drones combine the best of HoveAir X1's intelligence with up to 4K video shooting capability on the Pro model and up to 8K at 60fps on the X1 Pro Max. The original HoverAir X1, which is still available, shoots up to 2.7k. The cameras on the new drones sit on 2x-axis gimbals. Like the original HoverAir X1, the new drones unfold and can be flying within moments. The rotors are covered, which makes them good for flying indoors or outside… #hoverair #tech #drones

As Samsung’s first Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch Ultra launched in Paris at Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung’s health plans are coming into sharp focus. They are best described as ambitious and based on the realities of our changing global demographics, the limits of what people will use, and the current state of AI. Overseeing a heady mix of new health measures, conversational AI, and a pair of new wearables about to be tested in a market brimming with alternatives is Dr. Hon Pak, Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics, a dermatologist, and the man leading Samsung’s Health Team. He recognizes that perhaps the biggest challenge is guiding us on our healthcare journey... #ai #galaxyunpacked #health #tech #wearables

In the aftermath of a typically loud and boisterous Fourth of July celebration in the US, our feeds were filled with countless photos and videos of fireworks. They're all bright, brilliant, colorful, and sharp – and many were taken with the best smartphones. I've been photographing fireworks, or at least trying to, for nearly 20 years. Digital photography, with its endless supply of files in place of film, meant I could experiment with lenses, aperture settings, and shutter speeds to capture distant explosions and spectacular cascades of lights, usually in red, white, and blue. Most of my early success came from my Canon EOS Digital Rebel. I'd crank the IOS to 400, set my aperture at 5.6 to pull in as much light as possible, and give the shutter 8 seconds or more to capture the full effect… #iphone #apple #photography #tech #fireworks

Some day, there may be an Artificial Intelligence Olympics, where generative AIs face off to create the wildest images, videos, and hallucinative text responses. In the meantime, we have the real Olympics, starting July 26 in Paris, France. They will feature flesh and blood athletes, but behind the scenes will be AI chatting with athletes, chunking up highlight reels, and telling attendees which Olympic sport they're best equipped to compete in (at least in their fantasies). "Our big focus for these games, which makes sense as it's really the hot topic right now, is artificial intelligence, and so we are the official artificial intelligence platform provider for the Olympic Games," said Sarah Vickers, who leads Intel's Olympic and Paralympic Games Office. I spoke to Vickers just as she was about to fly off for Paris, where she'll spend the next two months overseeing more than 100 Intel employees building and integrating Intel's Olympics AI strategy… Intel Corporation #intel #olympics #technology #ai #artificialintelligence #sports

Is Gen Z really different from the rest of us? The alchemy of being born between 1997 and 2012 has delivered a generation of not exactly non-conformists but some seemingly disengaged youths. I mean, they must be disengaged because they see everything differently. Or is it more clearly? Jigsaw, which is part of Google and tasked with researching "threats to open societies," studied the increasingly influential Gen Z generation to understand how they consume information, what they trust and don't trust, and how they divine facts and truth, according to a detailed report in Business Insider. The results were startling to Google and Jigsaw, but I could've saved them time and trouble by detailing my ongoing research involving my Gen Z relation. My non-binary child is 26 and has been schooling me for years on what people their age do and don't do. I understand how they connect or do not connect with peers, gather information, reach consensus, and mostly not take action that they'd perceive as pointless anyway… #genz #socialmedia #tech

The squirrel parked itself in my bird feeder, greedily consuming every seed. I wished, not for the first or last time, that I could shout at the furry pet to get him off the perch and give my beloved feathered friends a chance at a snack. I ran out my back door and shooed the rodent who launched himself off my Bird Buddy and sent most of the seeds flying out onto the ground. Aside from the frustration that Bird Buddy, a smart bird feeder with a built-in camera that you can hang from a tree or screw into a perch, does not include a tiny speaker that could carry my voice from the app to right where the squirrel is staring into the camera, I love this gadget… #gadget #birdwatcher #birding #tech #smarthome

The new era of CoPilot+ PCs is upon us, bursting onto the scene at your local Best Buy with a bevy of laptops all designed to do AI tasks locally. To be clear, there are two classes of these new AI PCs. All have a new, almost indescribable Copilot keyboard button (it looks nothing like a copilot on an airplane), but only Copilot+ PCs with new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus chips are ready to perform a variety of local AI tricks and tasks. On June 18, 2024 – the official launch day – I subwayed downtown to a huge Best Buy to see, touch, and play with all those new Copilot+ PCs. There are a lot of them. Five manufacturers are rolling out these laptops, including Lenovo, Samsung, HP, Dell, and Microsoft… #aipc #ai #qualcomm #lenovo #dell #copilot #microsoft #windows