The newest flagship phone from Oppo's Find series - X6 Pro - brings with it many records like the biggest periscope zoom or ultrawide camera sensors, but it also earned a top ranking in our best phone displays 2023 list as it one-ups Apple and Samsung at their own screen game with the brightest phone panel around.
These peak brightness numbers, however, are achieved when only a minuscule section of an OLED display is lit up at full power and displaying white, or in the situation when an OLED panel consumes the most energy. Moreover, outdoor visibility is a function of several other factors, too, such as screen coating and reflectance, or display contrast.
In reality, the typical brightness level that Apple advertises is 1000 nits max brightness with 1600 nits only when showing HDR content, while the 2000 nits peak brightness level is for sections of the display when the iPhone 14 Pro series is used outdoors under direct sunlight.
Ditto for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra whose maximum is 1200 when displaying HDR content, and 1750 nits outside under strong sunlight on automated brightness setting. Still, when we measured the Oppo Find X6 Pro typical display brightness, its numbers were indeed higher than what both the iPhone 14 Pro Max or the Galaxy S23 Ultra managed to muster:
Display measurements and quality
The brightest phone display
While the Oppo Find X6 Pro advertises humbler typical everyday brightness maximum indoors of 800 nits, which can rise to 1500 nits with HDR content, it can also rev up to the jaw-dropping 2500 nits under direct sunlight on automatic settings. This is a niche scenario, unless you live in a seaside town in warm climates and beachgoing comes as a second nature, that is.
Those who are out and about the whole day in the warm and sunny summer months would also appreciate squeezing any extra nit from their phone screen, so we did a quick improvised test outside to see how everyone's peak brightness claims hold up in reality.
We took the Oppo Find X6 Pro, Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra outdoors, and placed them under the rays of a bright afternoon sunshine. While it is hard to capture minute brightness increments with a camera, especially with all the sunshine blasting around, all three displays remained subjectively visible even in these harsh conditions.
Depending on the sunshine's angle it was either the Oppo Find X6 Pro or the Galaxy S23 Ultra that managed to rev up to the state of most visible phone screen outdoors in the sunlight. They also have colder, subjectively brighter display color temperature compared to the iPhone's yellowish whites.
Long story short, we've lately been witnessing a handful of phone displays that break the 1000 nits typical brightness threshold in our display tests which usually bodes great for their outdoor visibility in direct sunlight as you can see from the pictures here.
The Oppo Find X6 Pro, however, takes Samsung's latest LTPO3 OLED display generation and pushes the technology to achieve record phone screen brightness, while at the same time offering Apple's touch-sensitive dynamic refresh rate adjustments and per-unit wide-gamut color calibration at the factory, something that only an exclusive subset of phone makers troubles themselves with.
Article From & Read More ( Brightest phone displays test: Oppo Find X6 Pro vs Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max - PhoneArena )
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One of the headline features of this year’s iPhone lineup will be the iPhone 15 Pro Max periscope lens, allowing much greater optical zoom for the telephoto lens. It’s likely to allow at least 10x zoom, compared to the maximum 3x available on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
A new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple is paying supplier Largan just $4 for this lens, a sum which barely allows the supplier any profit margin at all …
Background
iPhones offer a combination of optical zoom and digital zoom. The latter crops the photo, so reduces resolution, while optical zoom produces a full-resolution telephoto image.
The greater the optical zoom you want from a lens, the longer the lens has to be. This poses problems for smartphones, whose depth limits the maximum possible length of a lens.
A periscope lens solves this problem. After the light enters the front element of the lens, a prism bends the light 90 degrees so that the rest of the lens assembly can be horizontal within the camera body. You can read a more detailed explanation here.
Kuo has previously said that the periscope lens will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. There have been conflicting reports about whether or not the feature will make it into the smaller iPhone 16 Pro next year.
iPhone 15 Pro periscope lens costs
While it’s unlikely that Kuo’s text should be taken literally, to mean zero profit, it does suggest that Largan’s margins on the lens are wafer-thin.
Largan is expected to be the sole lens supplier for this year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max periscope camera. The market may have overestimated the contribution of the periscope lens to Genius’s revenue and profit for 2H23–1H24.
The ASP for Largan’s shipped periscope camera lenses is around USD 4 (including the prisms), notably lower than the market consensus of USD 4.5–5 or higher. It is worth noting that the price of USD 4 means that Largan cannot profit from the periscope camera lens.
Apple’s orders for iPhone camera lenses have often been split between Largan and Genius, allowing the Cupertino company to play one off against the other to achieve the most competitive pricing. This year it seems Largan got all the orders, but apparently had to shave its price substantially to do so.
Kuo goes on to say that Genius will receive periscope lens for next year’s iPhone 16, driving the component cost even lower.
Article From & Read More ( iPhone 15 Pro Max periscope lens costs Apple just $4, thanks to tough negotiations - 9to5Mac )
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Microsoft (MSFT) stock rose Wednesday after the software giant added artificial intelligence technology to its cybersecurity offerings. MSFT stock returned to the buy zone of its recent breakout on the news.
X
On Tuesday, Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft Security Copilot, a new tool for enterprises to quickly detect and respond to threats and better understand the threat landscape.
Microsoft described Security Copilot as a "generative AI security product" that takes advantage of Microsoft's vast threat intelligence footprint. It said the AI assistant will help cybersecurity professionals keep ahead of threats.
Security Copilot is the latest example of Microsoft infusing its products with artificial intelligence following its partnership with OpenAI.
With the advance, Microsoft returned to the buy zone of its March 17 breakout from a flat base. MSFT stock has traded just in and out of the 5% buy zone, which runs from 276.86 to 290.70, according to IBD MarketSmith charts.
Earlier Wednesday, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Michael Turits reiterated his overweight, or buy, rating on MSFT stock and raised his price target to 316 from 270.
In a note to clients, Turits said Microsoft's early leadership in artificial intelligence is an opportunity to drive long-term growth for its Azure cloud infrastructure business. It also should boost sales for its applications and stand-alone AI services, he said.
Microsoft 'Best House' in 'Deteriorating Neighborhood'
JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy reiterated his overweight, or buy, rating on MSFT stock on Wednesday. He has a price target of 305 on Microsoft shares.
In a note to clients, Murphy said he was impressed by Microsoft's AI advancements in cybersecurity.
"We have consistently called out the strength of Microsoft's security portfolio evident in our survey work," Murphy said. "Security remains an underappreciated growth opportunity for Microsoft longer term, particularly given the depth of its AI models and massive volume of data signals."
Murphy noted that Microsoft stock has been pressured by slowing growth in its Azure business. But other cloud computing players are facing the same issue.
"We continue to see Microsoft as the best house in a temporarily deteriorating neighborhood, while the fundamental trends of modernization and automation remain intact long term," he said.
MSFT stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 94 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. That means Microsoft is in the top 6% of stocks on key fundamental and technical measures.
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iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year.
The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not explain how the Action button will work, but it will presumably be customizable like it is on the Apple Watch Ultra, allowing users to map the button to various system functions for convenient access.
Apple's exact implementation remains to be seen, but here are some potential functions that could be controlled by tapping the Action button:
Ring/Silent
Do Not Disturb
Flashlight
Low Power Mode
Light/Dark Mode
Lock Rotation
Show the Home Screen
Show the Lock Screen
Open Control Center
Open Notification Center
Open Camera
Screenshot
Screen Recording
Run a Shortcut
Toggle on Reachability
Show the App Switcher
Show the App Library
Shazam
VoiceOver
Magnifier
Background Sounds
Most of these functions can already be controlled with Back Tap, an accessibility feature introduced with iOS 14. Back Tap lets you double or triple tap the back of an iPhone to trigger a certain action, such as turning on the flashlight or taking a screenshot. The feature can be set up in the Settings app under Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap.
On the Apple Watch Ultra, the Action button can be mapped to these apps and features:
Workout
Stopwatch
Waypoint
Backtrack
Dive
Flashlight
Shortcut
It was already rumored that the mute switch would be replaced with a button on iPhone 15 Pro models, but an Action button was mostly logical speculation until now. The source claimed the Action button will continue to work for a period after an iPhone runs out of battery thanks to the inclusion of a new low-power chip.
In addition to an Action button, iPhone 15 Pro models are rumored to have a singular volume button that can adjust the volume both up and down. Both buttons are expected to have a solid-state design, meaning they will not physically move when pressed and instead provide haptic feedback from additional Taptic Engines to simulate the feeling of movement, similar to the Home button on the iPhone 7 and the latest iPhone SE.
Apple will likely unveil the iPhone 15 series in September as usual. These changes are only rumored for the Pro models, with the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models still expected to have a mute switch and two volume buttons.
Article From & Read More ( iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch - MacRumors )
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Microsoft is working on a new “modern” version of Windows with better security and faster updates, according toWindows Central. The initiative, called CorePC, would allow Windows to scale better for different devices while still supporting legacy apps.
CorePC would aim for many of the same goals as the scrapped Windows Core OS (including the also canceled Windows 10X), which Microsoft billed as a modular modernization of its OS. CorePC would use “state separation” and split Windows into multiple partitions, similar to iOS and Android. This could make it harder for malware to infect the system while making updates faster.
“The current version of Windows is not a state-separated platform, meaning the entire system is installed into a single writable partition,” explains Windows Central. “System files, user data, and program files are all stored in the same place. CorePC splits up the OS into multiple partitions, which is key to enabling faster OS updates. State separation also enables faster and more reliable system reset functionality, which is important for Chromebook compete devices in the education sector.”
CorePC would let Microsoft offer various editions of Windows for different hardware, supporting specific features and apps for each. For example, one educationally focused variant could have a light footprint like ChromeOS, running only the Edge browser, web apps, Office and emulated Android apps. Conversely, CorePC could also offer full-fledged versions of Windows that support all the current features and capabilities of the modern Windows 11 desktop. (A “Neon” compatibility layer would let the OS support legacy Windows apps.)
The company is also reportedly working on a version of CorePC to rival Apple Silicon, which the iPhone maker began shipping in new Macs more than two years ago. Microsoft’s “silicon-optimized” variant would enhance the operating system’s performance and capabilities when tied to specific hardware (like, theoretically, Surface devices running a particular class of chips).
Finally, Microsoft is (unsurprisingly) baking AI into the new project. Its plans include using artificial intelligence to analyze on-screen content and provide appropriate contextual cues. It sounds like a system-wide extension of the AI capabilities in upcoming versions of Office.
As for when you can get your hands on it, Microsoft is reportedly aiming to use CorePC for the next major version of Windows (presumably “Windows 12”), scheduled for 2024. But, of course, the company’s alleged plans could change between now and then.
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.
Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.
We don't yet know what's included in the betas, but Apple has delivered many of the promised features that were announced when iOS 16 was first unveiled. We are still waiting on the Apple Card Savings account and Apple Pay Later, a feature that Apple CEO Tim Cookrecently said was coming "soon."
When we learn what's included in the update, we'll share details.
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Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3. The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software Update....
For the past several months, we’ve assumed that the next iOS release would be light on features and heavy on performance improvements and bug fixes. But a new report says that might not be the case—in fact, iOS 17 might be the most exciting release in years.
According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Apple has pivoted from its initial strategy for iOS 17, which was originally “focused more on fixing bugs and improving performance than adding new features.” Now, he reports, Apple is all-in on new features, and iOS 17 is “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features” when it arrives this fall.
While he doesn’t divulge what those features could be, he claims that they are among the “most requested features” by iPhone users. It’s not hard to make a list of features we’ve wanted for years—multiple users, custom icons, multiple timers, multitasking, separate volume controls for media and calls, etc.—but Gurman says the features will be smaller ones since iOS 17 “lacks a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”
But it’s still an intriguing notion and makes the wait for iOS 17 that much more difficult. While Apple hasn’t officially announced the dates yet, it will show off the next version of iOS at the WWDC keynote this June ahead of its full release this fall. Gurman doesn’t mention whether iPadOS 17 and macOS 14, which will also debut at WWDC, will have the same strategy.
To follow along with the latest rumors, be sure to bookmark our iOS 17 superguide for all the news and rumors as they arrive.
Article From & Read More ( iOS 17 just got exciting with report that ‘most requested features' are on the way - Macworld )
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Technology
Some of Apple's top executives gathered in Cupertino, California, recently for a special demonstration of the company's unreleased AR/VR headset, according to a report from Bloomberg.
"The demonstrations were polished, glitzy and exciting," Mark Gurman, Bloomberg's Apple reporter, wrote.
Gurman noted that the demonstration took place in the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple's largest venue. According to Gurman, this might suggest the headset is close to a public unveiling.
The headset will have a starting price around $3,000, and it will have an external battery that'll need to be replaced after a few hours of use, Gurman wrote. The headset is also reportedly uncomfortable and would lack a standout app upon release.
According to the report, some Apple executives are aware of the challenges the headset and company might face, and they are trying to set realistic expectations. But executives expect interest in the headset to grow over time.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gurman also reported in his Power On newsletter that Apple's iOS 17 will likely be a larger release than expected. Initially, iOS 17 was thought to focus on bug fixes and performance improvements. But Gurman wrote that the goal of iOS 17 now will be to bring some of users' most requested features to iPhones.
Apple wasn't planning to release major updates with iOS 17, the next operating system for the iPhone, expected later this year. But according to a new report, the plan has changed.
Per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman(Opens in a new tab), iOS 17 is expected "to check off several of users’ most requested features." Following the release of iOS 16 — which came with flashy updates like editing or undo sending messages, a new lock screen with live updates, and batch photo editing — iOS 17 was initially intended to fine tune existing features and fix bugs, avoiding a replay of iOS's messy release.
But now, that strategy has changed, Gurman continued. Apple is reportedly including several "nice to have" features that will meet popular demand. Of course, the features included in iOS 17 (codenamed "Dawn") remain to be seen. But Apple fans aren't shy about what they want to see.
Frequently requested features include volume control for alarms and FaceTime, the ability to set multiple timers, and sideloading apps outside of the App Store. Since Apple recently released a Voice Isolation for regular calls, we might expect further updates and new features related to call quality. And ChatGPT's popularity as an AI assistant has everyone is wondering whether Siri will get a much-needed update.
iOS 17 is expected to be announced at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June (WWDC). Until then, keep manifesting your iOS 17 wishlist.
Microsoft is overhauling Teams to make it faster and easier to use. In a blog post published Monday, the company said Teams users can look forward to a redesigned app that is up to two times faster than the current release, with tasks like launching the program and joining video calls taking half as much time. The overhauled app also offers smoother scrolling while avoiding the use of placeholder assets. At the same time, Microsoft says the new Teams uses 50 percent less memory.
Separately, the company has redesigned the interface to reduce the number of clicks it takes to do things like manage your notifications, search for information and organize channels. It has also added more robust authentication, synchronization and notification systems to make jumping between different accounts and tenants easier.
Naturally, the new Teams will support AI features, starting with the intelligent recap and Copilot ones Microsoft announced earlier this year, and with more to come in the future. “We will use AI to take the work out of working together by getting you up to speed on what happened before you joined a meeting or chat and answering your questions all in the flow of the discussion,” the company said. “We’re only just beginning to see the potential of AI inside of Teams, and we will have lots more to share in the future.”
Not mentioned in Microsoft's blog post are the 3D avatars the company has been testing for more than a year. The company recently said it anticipates those will become publicly available sometime in May, so expect them to be part of the new Teams experience too.
A public preview of the new Teams is rolling out on Windows today, with general availability to follow sometime later this year. A Mac preview should arrive before the end of 2023 as well. If your organization uses Teams, your IT department will need to enroll you in the preview before you can try out the new experience. Notably, the redesigned app will ship with a toggle at the top that will allow you to switch between the two versions of Teams.
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is cruising back to Earth with a sample it collected from the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu. When its sample capsule parachutes down into the Utah desert on September 24, OSIRIS-REx will become the United States’ first-ever mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth.
After seven years in space, including a nail-biting touchdown on Bennu to gather dust and rocks, this intrepid mission is about to face one of its biggest challenges yet: deliver the asteroid sample to Earth while protecting it from heat, vibrations, and earthly contaminants.
“Once the sample capsule touches down, our team will be racing against the clock to recover it and get it to the safety of a temporary clean room,” said Mike Moreau, deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is cruising back to Earth with a sample it collected from the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu. When its sample capsule parachutes down into the Utah desert on Sept. 24, OSIRIS-REx will become the United States’ first-ever mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
So, over the next six months, the OSIRIS-REx team will practice and refine the procedures required to recover the sample in Utah and transport it to a new lab built for the material at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. There, scientists will unpack the sample, distribute up to a quarter of it to the OSIRIS-REx science team around the world for analysis, and curate the rest for other scientists to study, now and in future generations.
Flight dynamics engineers from NASA Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are reviewing the trajectory that will bring the spacecraft close to Earth. At Lockheed Martin in Denver, team members are keeping tabs on the spacecraft and preparing a group to recover the sample capsule. This summer, crews in Colorado and Utah will practice all of the steps to recover the capsule safely, while protecting it from contamination. At Johnson Space Center, the curation team is rehearsing their procedure to unpack and process the sample inside glove boxes. Meanwhile, members of the sample science team are preparing the investigations they will perform with the sample material once received.
The Bennu asteroid sample capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will parachute down into the Utah desert on September 24, 2023. Credit: NASA
“The OSIRIS-REx team has already performed amazing feats characterizing and sampling asteroid Bennu,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator from the University of Arizona, Tucson. “These accomplishments are the direct result of the extensive training and rehearsals that we performed every step of the way. We are bringing that level of discipline and dedication to this final phase of the flight operations.”
Asteroids are the ancient materials left over from the original era of planet formation and may contain molecular precursors to life. Scientists have learned a great deal from studying asteroid fragments that have naturally reached the ground as meteorites. But to understand whether asteroids played a role in delivering these compounds to Earth’s surface over 4 billion years ago, scientists need a pristine sample from space, free from terrestrial contaminants.
In addition, the most fragile rocks observed on Bennu probably would not have survived passage through Earth’s atmosphere as meteorites. “There are two things pervasive on Earth: water and biology,” said Dr. Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard. “Both can severely alter meteorites when they land on the ground and muddle the story told by the sample’s chemistry and mineralogy. A pristine sample could provide insights into the development of solar system.”
Members of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx curation team practice with a mock glove box at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The curation team will be among the first to see and handle the sample OSIRIS-REx is returning from asteroid Bennu. They are also responsible for storing and distributing the sample to science team members around the world. Most of the sample will be stored for future generations. Credit: NASA Johnson/Bill Stafford
On Sept. 24, as the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flies by Earth, it will release its sample return capsule, thereby ending its primary mission. The capsule, which is estimated to hold about a cup of Bennu’s material – 8.8 ounces +/- 3.6 ounces (250 grams +/- 101 grams) to be precise – will land within a 37-mile by 9-mile ellipse (59 km by 15 km) within Department of Defense property that is part of the Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Grounds.
OSIRIS-REx team members from NASA Goddard, KinetX, Lockheed Martin, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, are using computer models to test navigation plans in various weather, solar activity, and space debris scenarios to ensure that when the capsule enters Earth’s atmosphere at 10:41 a.m. ET (8:41 a.m. MT), it will touch down inside the targeted area 13 minutes later.
Recovery crews are responsible for securing the sample return capsule’s landing site and helicoptering it to a portable clean room located at the range. Additionally, crews will collect soil and air samples all around the landing capsule. These samples will help identify if any minute contaminants contacted the asteroid sample.
Once the capsule is inside the building with the portable clean room, members of the team will remove the heat shield, back shell, and other components to prepare the sample canister for transport to Houston.
The return to Earth of samples from asteroid Bennu will be the culmination of a more than 12-year effort by NASA and its mission partners but marks the beginning of a new phase of discovery as scientists from around the world will turn their attention to the analysis of this unique and precious material dating from the early formation of our solar system.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center oversees mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. The University of Arizona, Tucson, led by principal investigator Dante Lauretta, spearheads the science team, science observation planning, and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Colorado constructed the spacecraft and handles flight operations, while Goddard and KinetX Aerospace navigate the spacecraft. Sample curation, including processing upon Earth arrival, will occur at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. International collaborations include the Canadian Space Agency’s OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument and a partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 mission for asteroid sample science. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama on behalf of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
If you’re eager to get your hands on iOS 16.4, fret not — the wait is almost over. This week, Apple launched the release candidate for iOS 16.4, which has also gone through four beta versions. The fourth beta came out on March 16, which was only a week after the third beta, so it seems like the general public release is imminent within the coming days.
While this won’t be bringing huge, game-changing new features for your iPhone, there are some nice changes that we’re pleased to see — some of which are old features making a return, while others are quality-of-life improvements. And, of course, new emoji. Here’s a look at all of the biggest iOS 16.4 features coming soon to your iPhone!
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Apple Books brings back the page curl effect
If you’re an avid Apple Books user, then you may recall the old page curl effect, which was removed in a previous iOS update. Basically, when you would turn the page in an e-book, the app would mimic an actual book, so you would see the page slide from one side of the screen to the other. Since this was removed, the page would simply vanish and be replaced by the next page.
Anyone who likes skeuomorphic design will appreciate the return of the page curl. There are also other changes in Apple Books, so you can choose the page curl effect transition, themes, and more.
31 new emoji
Apple
One of the headliner features of iOS 16.4 is the arrival of 31 brand-new emojis. Some of these include pink (finally!) and light blue hearts, new animals like a moose and a goose, peas in a pod, maracas, a “talk to the hand” gesture, and a shaking face.
All of these new emoji are here thanks to Unicode 15.0, which was introduced in September 2022.
Push notifications from websites with Safari
If there’s a particular website that you follow regularly, and you don’t want to miss a beat, such as Digital Trends, then you can grant permission to get push notifications for websites.
Of course, you don’t want to be inundated with web push notifications, so this feature will only work with websites that you’ve saved to the home screen from Safari.
Always-on display options for Focus modes
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
Those who have the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max have Apple’s brand-new always-on display. If you use Focus modes, iOS 16.4 adds a new Focus mode filter for the always-on display settings. With this, you should be able to enable or disable the always-on display as you see fit when Focus is enabled.
In iOS 16, Apple added some new features to the Wallet app, which involve tracking certain online orders with the Shopify app. With iOS 16.4, Apple has added some new widgets that will display your tracking information, as long as where you ordered from supports Shopify. The widgets come in small, medium, and large sizes for your needs.
Mastodon link previews in Messages
Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends
As Elon Musk continues to ruin Twitter, many people have flocked over to the decentralized rival, Mastodon. Though Mastodon may be confusing for some, once you find the right app and UI for it, the network can rival that of Twitter.
With exponential growth in recent months, Mastodon links have been exchanged in Messages, but you wouldn’t get the neat preview of the post you would with Twitter. Apple is adding rich previews for Mastodon links in iOS 16.4, so you can see a preview of what the post is before actually clicking on it.
Improved Home app with HomeKit
Apple
Originally, iOS 16.2 brought a revamped Home app architecture, but that was eventually pulled because of bugginess. But it’s coming back in iOS 16.4, so HomeKit users have that to look forward to.
The new architecture was designed to improve the communication between any smart home accessories and your Apple devices. For example, if you use Philips Hue light bulbs, then you should expect better and more reliable connections with your iPhone that has iOS 16.4 running on it.
Easier beta opt-in from the Settings app
Some people may have trouble remembering if they’re registered in Apple’s public beta program, or perhaps they’re in the developer beta program. With iOS 16.4, Apple has made it easier to check if your current Apple ID is associated with either the developer beta, public beta, or both.
Those who may have a separate Apple ID for beta testing, such as for work, can even switch to that account right on the device to get the latest beta. It’s a lot easier to manage your beta testing Apple IDs, and that’s always a good thing.
See who (and what) is covered with AppleCare
When you have a lot of Apple devices, it can be hard to remember what you have AppleCare coverage for. This is even more true if you use Family Sharing and there are other people in your Family group. This is going to be easier to manage with iOS 16.4 as well.
With the latest iOS 16.4 release, you’ll be able to go right into Settings to check who and what is covered under AppleCare right now. Any devices that are under AppleCare will have an icon next to them for easy recognition.
Voice isolation for phone calls
iPhone 14 Plus (left) and iPhone SE (2022) (right)Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Voice isolation is a feature that has been available for video calls and other services, such as FaceTime. But iOS 16.4 is bringing voice isolation to cellular calls as well, which is a feature that has been missing for quite some time.
In fact, some people even just use FaceTime Audio when it’s an option just to make use of the voice isolation feature. But now that it’s coming to regular phone calls, you won’t need to do this workaround anymore.
Apple Music improvements
Apple Music listeners will enjoy the new, albeit small, modifications to the Apple Music app. First, there is an easier way to access your profile — a more prominent profile button now appears at the top. This will make it easier to get to your profile settings. Another change is when you add a song to your queue, now only a small banner pops up along the bottom, rather than taking up the entire screen.
A better Podcast app
Those who listen to podcasts on a regular basis may be using Apple’s own Podcasts app. There will be some notable improvements in iOS 16.4.
First, there will now be a devoted section for channels. With a channel, a content provider can have all of their various podcast offerings in a single place for the listener to peruse from. Up Next is getting some extra functionality by allowing users to touch and hold on a show’s artwork to remove it from the queue, as episodes that are saved to the library are automatically added. So now it will be easier to remove if you want to listen to it later.
The episode dashboard is now easier to understand, as the number of unplayed episodes will be at the top of each show page, as well as the Recently Updated section of your library.
OpenAI said it is initially rolling out the plugins to a small set of users to "study their real-world use and impact," before expanding to larger-scale access.
Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT can now retrieve information from online sources and interact with third-party websites via a new plugin feature introduced by its creator, OpenAI.
The plugin feature is still in its “limited” alpha phase and will only be available to a small set of users initially before rolling out to "larger-scale access. Users must add themselves to a waitlist in order to access the new feature on Chat GPT Plus, the firm said in a March 23 announcement.
Initially, there are only 11 plugins available. These plugins range from allowing users to check the scores of live sporting events to booking an international flight and purchasing food for home delivery. The firm added that it is “gradually rolling out plugins” so that it can assess its real-world use.
We’ve added initial support for ChatGPT plugins — a protocol for developers to build tools for ChatGPT, with safety as a core design principle. Deploying iteratively (starting with a small number of users & developers) to learn from contact with reality: https://t.co/ySek2oevodpic.twitter.com/S61MTpddOV
“Plugins are tools designed specifically for language models with safety as a core principle, and help ChatGPT access up-to-date information, run computations, or use third-party services,” said OpenAI.
Among the cohort of websites that are supported by the new plugin feature are e-commerce platforms Shopify, Klarna and Instacart and travel search engines Expedia and KAYAK.
With our new AI Plugin, a traveler can start a conversation with #ChatGPT to plan their next trip–complete with access to up-to-date information on the availability & price of flights, hotels, vacation rentals, activities, & car rentals across the world. https://t.co/cVgLL6qln9pic.twitter.com/YAIaj9zrEd
It also supports math computer Wolfram to carry out calculations, and Slack, one of the largest business messaging apps, according to the announcement.
A screenshot of the API on ChatGPT when connecting to third-party plugins. Source:OpenAI
Other apps include FiscalNote, Milo Family AI, OpenTable, Shop, Speak and Zapier.
How does it access the web?
ChatGPT utilizes the Bing API to search for information along with a text-based web browser to navigate results and interact with websites.
It is able to synthesize information across multiple sources to give a more grounded response. It also cites the sources it used so users can verify where ChatGPT derived its response from.
ChatGPT has a brand new plugin that uses the Bing API to access the current, up-to-date internet.
OpenAI said the plug-in capabilities came on the back of high demand from its user base since the firm launched ChatGPT on Nov. 30.
Mitchell Hashimoto, the founder of software firm HashiCorp and an early user of the ChatGPT plugin API told his 94,300 Twitter followers on March 23 that it is one of the most “impressive” computer applications he has ever used:
I've developed a lot of plugin systems, and the OpenAI ChatGPT plugin interface might be the damn craziest and most impressive approach I've ever seen in computing in my entire life.
Being able to use plugins that access the internet could improve one of ChatGPT’s arguably biggest shortfalls, as it is trained with data only up to September 2021 and does not have access to the internet to grab more recent information
The typical answer given when ChatGPT is asked a question requiring up-to-date data. Source: Open AI
Using the same version, Cointelegraph recently launched an experiment using GPT-4 to invest in cryptocurrencies using information fed from Cointelegraph Markets and a selection of Cointelegraph’s daily news, with the aim of understanding how it interprets news to make trading decisions.
We love what @jacksonfall has been doing with #HustleGPT so we’re doing our own crypto edition!
The lowdown: We’ve given #GPT4 a budget of $100. We’ve instructed it to make as much money as possible.
Can GPT-4 navigate the choppy crypto waters and stay green?
So far, the cryptocurrency portfolio is up 6.08% over seven days. It currently has an allocation consisting of 55% Bitcoin (BTC), 35% Ether (ETH), 5% Cardano (ADA) and 5% XRP (XRP).
