Halo is reportedly staying at 343 Industries, but the franchise's direction is unclear amidst layoffs and a pivot away from Halo's Slipspace engine.
In a report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the studio's leadership overhaul, mass layoffs, and other big changes are causing 343 to essentially hit the reset button on the franchise. The report also claims that at least 95 people were laid off from 343 as a part of this month's mass layoffs at Microsoft, and that 343 was not working on new missions for Halo Infinite's story over the last year.
After the layoffs, rumors started circulating claiming that Microsoft could pass Halo development to another studio entirely. According to today's report, Halo is staying put, despite concerns over the studio's ability to develop new Halo games after the big hit to the staff.
However, it would seem that big changes are still in store for the franchise. Namely, Halo is said to be pivoting to Unreal Engine, leaving the controversial Slipspace engine behind. Development challenges posed by Slipspace are reportedly holding back two Infinite multiplayer modes that are nearly finished: Extraction and Assault.
The reports of the engine swap come after years of rumors surrounding 343, Slipspace, and Unreal Engine. The pivot will reportedly begin with the Halo project codenamed Tatanka, which has been rumored for quite some time. This game is in co-development at 343 and Certain Affinity, and began as a Halo battle royale, but the game may now evolve in different directions. Future Halo games will also explore using Unreal Engine.
343 isn't preparing any additional story content for Halo Infinite's campaign, the report claims. Rather, developers have spent the last year working on Unreal Engine prototypes while pitching ideas for new Halo games. Many of the developers working on these projects were laid off this month, as 343 isn't actively working on any new story content.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
When Apple updated the HomePod mini to 16.3, they added the ability to access the long-hidden humidity and temperature sensors concealed within the speakers. The sensors unlock a number of possibilities within HomeKit, including some great smart home automations you can set up to make your home a bit more comfortable.
HomePod mini temperature and humidity sensors
The sensors aren’t quite perfect. It takes some time to calibrate, and they aren’t the most accurate sensors on the market. Apple notes that playing music at high volumes from the device will further reduce the accuracy. In my experience, though, it’s been consistent with other temperature sensors, and it’s a nice addition to the normally $100 smart home speaker that doesn’t cost anything extra. Both the humidity and temperature sensors are exposed within HomeKit to run automations when a specific temperature or humidity is exceeded. The first and simplest automation I set up was just to turn on a fan to circulate air if it was too warm where the HomePod was located.
HomePod mini is better than ever [Video]
Using HomePod’s sensors in HomeKit
With your phone and HomePod both updated to 16.3, setting up a temperature-based automation is incredibly easy. Just head over to the automation section of the Home app and create a new automation. Choose “A Sensor Detects Something,” select the temperature sensor in the HomePod, and then choose the temperature you want to trigger the automation. You then just select which smart device you want to turn on. This could be a standing or overhead fan, but I selected my ACs fan so that if it got too warm in one part of the house, it would circulate the air throughout the house.
If you want to go through a bit more setup, you can even use the temperature of the HomePod itself to control your AC unit. Why would you want to do this? Well, if you have a single zone AC unit, then just one spot could be controlling the temperature of the house. This can work great, but the temperature can vary a great deal from one room to the next, especially if you have a multilevel home. There are some first-party sensors you can use to seamlessly control the temperature, but some creative automations can control your thermostat from the HomePods sensor exclusively.
You can use one automation to turn on the AC and set the temperature several degrees lower than desired to ensure it will cool the whole house low enough. You can then set a second automation to turn off the AC once the temperature in the HomePod reaches your desired temperature. The AC control is a bit of a hacky solution, but there are plenty of other automations you can set up from those sensors – whether you have it open your blinds if it gets a bit too cold or turn on a humidifier based on the humidity.
9to5Mac’s Take
Of course, there are plenty of options for relatively low-cost temperature sensors, and nobody should buy a HomePod mini exclusively for the sensors. But a HomePod mini or Apple TV is already an essential piece to any HomeKit-based smart home, serving as a Home Hub to let automations run and allow you to control your smart home devices when you aren’t on your local network – in addition to being a pretty good smart speaker. Whether you’re just starting to build out your HomeKit smart home or you already have a HomePod in every room of the house, the software update could both save you the money of buying a sensor and the trouble of dealing with changing batteries – it’s always great when software updates add features to products you already bought. You can regularly pick up a refurbished HomePod on eBay for less than $70.
Article From & Read More ( HomePod mini keeps getting smarter, here’s how to unlock its potential [Video] - 9to5Mac )
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The accessories and videoconferencing company is partnering with Steelcase on a new product to make virtual conversations better.
A render of Project Ghost.
Image: Logitech
Logitech, perhaps known best for its personal computer accessories like the webcam I have used (and loved!) for nearly every workday for three years, is revealing an ambitious new prototype on Tuesday: an elaborately designed video chat booth it calls “Project Ghost” that’s designed to be a better space to have virtual conversations.
I understand if that description might make you think of Google’s Project Starline, another conceptualvideo chat booth. When Logitech first told me about Project Ghost, that’s where my mind went. And the core idea is similar: you’ll be able to sit in a booth and talk to a lifelike projection of another person who is in another place in a way that approximates an in-person conversation.
But unlike Project Starline, which relies on an elaborate array of sensors and cameras to create a hologram-like projection, Project Ghost uses videoconferencing technology Logitech already sells, pulls a trick like what you might know from a teleprompter to create the projection, and packs that all into a booth designed by office furniture maker Steelcase to create a potentially more comfortable experience for conversations.
I haven’t tried Project Ghost or seen it in real life, but based on the renders, the booth seems cozy. You’ll sit in a comfortable-looking chair with a side table to place your phone or computer. While sitting in the chair, you’ll look into what’s essentially a box that houses the display, camera, microphone, and speakers, but the box is framed by slatted wood that gives the whole thing a modern look.
The actual Logitech equipment included is the same as what you’d get with its Rally system (check this Rally Plus page for those details, though Project Ghost only comes with one speaker instead of two). That means it’s certified for popular videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
Another view of Project Ghost.
Image: Logitech
To create the projection of the person you’re talking to, Logitech places a special type of glass at an angle between a standard display, which, as I mentioned above, is the same technique you might have seen used with teleprompters. You might also know this technique as the Pepper’s Ghost effect, which was used for things like the dancing ghosts in Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride and Tupac’s posthumous Coachella appearance.
And with Project Ghost, part of the trick is that Logitech puts the camera directly behind the special piece of glass. That way, the booth creates the illusion of eye contact, which could go a long way toward making chats in Project Ghost feel more like real-life conversations. Project Starline also created the illusion of eye contact when I tried it in October, and it went a long way in making the conversation not feel like the virtual Zoom calls we’re all tired of at this point.
Sketches from Logitech showing how the Project Ghost display is set up.
Image: Logitech
That said, when I tried Project Starline, I observed that if you or the person you were talking to moved away from the center of the contraption, the projection could fall apart. I’m worried that could be the case here, but Logitech is confident that Project Ghost has a much wider margin of error. “So if I’m seated slightly off to the side, the experience is still solid,” Alex Mooney, manager of alliances and go-to-market for Logitech, said in a briefing ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.
With Starline, I also didn’t observe any latency, but with Project Ghost, that could be an issue. Rishi Kumar, Logitech’s director of alliances and go-to-market for its video collaboration group, says that Project Ghost has zero added latency from what you experience on a Teams, Zoom, or Meet call, but those platforms typically have at least a hint of latency.
Again, I haven’t tried Project Ghost, so I can’t tell you how well it works in reality. But Project Ghost is apparently a real thing, as Logitech and Steelcase will be showing a live demo today at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference this week in Barcelona, Spain. For the demo, there will be a unit at the show and a unit at Steelcase’s office in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and at a closed event, people in Barcelona will be to have conversations with those in Grand Rapids. There will also be an open house at Steelcase’s WorkLife Center in Barcelona on Thursday, where people can check it out.
The goal is to release Project Ghost within a year, but Logitech and Steelcase want to use these showings to determine whether or not they need to iterate further on it. “The next couple of days are going to be very telling for us, as we’re able to invite a lot of customers who’ve never seen [Project Ghost] before to just sit down and experience it for the first time,” Mooney said. “That feedback will inform whether we are ready, in which case we want to move very fast, or whether we need to do another design iteration before releasing.”
As for how much it might cost, Logitech and Steelcase aren’t going into specifics, but they did give me a clue of where you might start to form a ballpark. “We are not looking to just do some crazy markup and make zillions of dollars off of this,” Kumar said. “It’s going to be sold as a combination of what you’d expect to pay for video conferencing technology for a room, plus what you’d expect to pay for furniture of this nature.” Mooney said that the MSRP for the Rally system used in Project Ghost is $2,099, so tack on furniture prices to get an idea of the potential cost. (I wonder if it will be in the ballpark of those nice-looking phone booths for offices; these ones from Room start at $4,495, for example.)
Yes, that likely means the final version of Project Ghost will cost thousands of dollars. But it’s likely more for use in an office than a home. Kumar even mentioned how it could be adopted for things like virtual care, counseling, and education.
Logitech and Google aren’t the only companies exploring a better way to improve virtual presence from the Zoom calls we’re all tired of. Meta is investing billions into VR headsets and its virtual Horizon spaces for work and play. And Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset will reportedly be able to recreate somebody’s face and body while you’re talking on a FaceTime call.
While all of these ideas strive to make virtual communication feel more like real life, they all require expensive technology that might have bigger hoops to jump through than just turning on the camera on your laptop or phone. But if Logitech’s Project Ghost becomes a real thing, perhaps every once in a while, you’ll at least be able to settle into a cozy chair for your next meeting.
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The Samsung S23 is set to be unveiled during Samsung's Unpacked event on Wednesday, Feb. 1, but an AT&T store in Atlanta didn't get the memo. On Monday, the Brookhaven store's website posted images of the phone, as well as a description of its features and colors ahead of its official launch.
The Samsung S23 appears to come in green, cream, lavender and a grayish/black Phantom color. It features an "automatic adaptive 6.6-inch display" and a 50-megapixel camera with "Advance Nightography." It's also water-resistant, with a battery that "powers your day," wireless fast charging and noise cancellation.
The new S23 is reportedly 5.76 by 2.79 by 0.30 inches and weighs 5.93 ounces. The AT&T page also listed a "shop now" button that didn't work. The page was taken down around 11:20 a.m. ET.
Samsung should be announcing the entire S23 lineup during its event on Wednesday. Along with the Galaxy S23, the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra. The event will be held in person in San Francisco and streamed online.
AT&T didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Samsung declined to comment.
Imagine if this OnePlus 10 Pro could fold.Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
OnePlus could be the next major Android brand with a foldable smartphone. A circulating leak from the Chinese patent offices indicates the company may already be laying the groundwork to offer an alternative for U.S. users.
A trademark listing discovered through the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) shows a company —Shenzhen Oneplus Technology— filing two patent applications for a “OnePlus V Flip” and a “OnePlus V Fold,” respectively. Yes, you would be correct in thinking they sound exactly like the corresponding Samsung versions of each device. They probably fold the same, too.
I accessed the patent through a link provided by 9to5Google, which has a screenshot of the listing on its site. Twitter user Mukul Sharma initially spotted the names of the smartphones. The pre-Elon verified account notes that internal testing of at least one of the mentioned foldables has begun at the OnePlus headquarters.
Rumors of the OnePlus foldables aren’t new. They’ve been circulating more heavily since last summer, especially after OnePlus’s co-founder, Pete Lau, tweeted a look at a hinging mechanism. It was unclear at the time whether it was for a OnePlus device or a smartphone for its parent company, Oppo.
Oppo has a foldable smartphone circulating overseas. The Find N2 launched in December, and it’s reviewing pretty well in other markets. It’s a bit shorter than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4, which it takes after, and has a slightly different aspect ratio. CNET says it’s somewhat squarish compared to the Z Fold 4's relative rectangularity. It would be no surprise to see Oppo attempt a similar form factor under the OnePlus moniker since it’s already an established brand in North America.
OnePlus also has the added benefit of being known as an affordable flagship brand. It’s managed to keep the OnePlus 10 Pro and 10T under the $900 mark, eventually dropping the 10 Pro down to under $600 for similar specifications stuffed into Samsung’s Galaxy s22 devices.
Folding phones will likely remain pricey until they become more common. Samsung’s current batch of foldables are too expensive, even with the cheapest foldable coming in at $1,000. It would be an excellent addition to the current folding smartphone portfolio to have something with a more accessible price point compared to Samsung’s Flip and Fold. That said, don’t expect too much of a discount. The Find N2 starts at $1,512 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space, which is almost $300 less than the Z Fold 4.
There’s no word on whether any of this is official yet. OnePlus’s foldable smartphones are still just a rumor. But it sure is nice to think of a time when folding smartphones won’t cost as much as a mid-range laptop. Some older options like the rebooted Motorola Razr are already hitting steep sales, but even that still debuted at $1,500.
According to software firm Dr.Web (via BleepingComputer) a new category of activity-tracking apps has appeared on the Google Play Store generating over 20 million downloads. What makes these three tracking apps so appealing to Android users? They bill themselves as health trackers and pedometers that give you incentive to get into shape by promising to pay out cash rewards to those who reach certain goals.
Do not install these three apps; they are still listed in the Google Play Store
The report from Dr.Web points out that these rewards are often impossible to receive as users must accumulate a large number of rewards before being forced to watch dozens of commercials in order to cash out. After watching all of those ads, users were advised to watch even more to "speed up" the rewards process. The report states that even after all that "the apps did not verify any of the payment-related data provided by users, so the chances of receiving any of the money promised from these apps are extremely small."
Three apps mentioned in the report remain in the Google Play Store. They are:
Lucky Step – Walking Tracker with 10 million downloads.
WalkingJoy with 5 million downloads.
Lucky Habit: health tracker with 5 million downloads.
All three apps connect with the same command & control server. Such servers are usually used by attackers to send directions to systems infected by malware. With all three apps communicating with the same remote server, it is apparent that they have the same developer. It is also pointed out that earlier versions of the Lucky Step-Walking Tracker falsely said that users had the option of converting their rewards into gift cards for various online stores.
Remember, these crooked developers make money when you view their ads. The more ads you watch, the more money they make.
Do not install these three apps on your Android device
The Lucky Step-Walking Tracker app was eventually updated and the functionality that would convert rewards into cash was removed and the interface elements that would be tapped to make this conversion disappeared. All previously accumulated rewards instantly became worthless.
The one thing you can do to protect yourself from installing malicious apps
If you're a long-time PhoneArena reader, you know that we tell you to read the comments section before installing an app from a developer that you're not familiar with-even if the app is listed in the Play Store. That is where you will find red flags that can warn you to stay away from a certain app. For example, two comments written by a pair of unlucky Android device users who installed the Lucky Step - Walking Tracker app contained plenty of red flags.
These two comments from the listing for the Lucky Star app contain enough red flags to keep you from installing it
One comment came from a user who gave the app two stars (!!??!!) while stating that it is "Mostly ad junkie, there is really no benefit to the app...every time you unlock the phone it throws a full-screen ad at you...when I have an alarm going off it overrides that display and will not allow me to get to [the] alarm screen unless I first interact with it. It is just a scam designed to get as much of your data possible while feeding repeatedly ads just so they can make money off of you."
This is how these three apps trick you into watching dozens and dozens of ads
A second comment gives the app one star and says, "Also, there are a lot of annoying ads that you have to watch to get a few coins. This app is a real scam and garbage and a waste of time and effort."
We just punched up these apps in the Google Play Store so if you see them, do not install any of the three on your Android devices. Also, if you've already installed any of the three, uninstall them immediately.
Here's one more malicious app that you need to avoid
Dr.Web's report also mentioned a fitness app called FitStar that creates a customized weight-loss plan for 29 rubles (equivalent to 41 U.S. cents). However, what those subscribing didn't know was that the program they were signing up for was good for only one day. At the end of the trial, subscribers were automatically signed up for four days of service for an additional 980 rubles (equivalent to $13.86). Full access to the program cost 7,000 rubles ($98.98) and the app continued to automatically extend users' subscriptions every four days.
This app is also still listed in the Google Play Store. Comments for this app note that if you install it, the icon doesn't show up on your phone's list of installed apps making it hard to uninstall. The same review also notes that "The app is trying from the start to get into either Facebook or Google data..."
Don't put your phone or your wallet at risk. Stay away from all of the apps mentioned in Dr.Web's report.
Article From & Read More ( Avoid these three scammy apps still listed in the Play Store (20 million+ installs) - PhoneArena )
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Technology
A new 30-second clip from the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie has just been released, and it focused on the character of Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogan.
In the clip, we see Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) drop into an arena filled with 'Question Mark' boxes. His first tussle with DK ends with him getting a savage beat-down, but Mario then bumps a box and becomes 'Cat Mario' – only to receive further scorn from Donkey Kong, the character he first faced back in 1981.
The film – a collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination – arrives in North American moving picture houses on April 7th this year. However, it will be shown in some regions earlier than that date.
We've already seen a lot of the movie's tie-in toys, thanks to a few leaks.
Back in November, Google announced that Gmail would directly show package and delivery tracking in your inbox. If this feature isn’t live yet, you can manually enable it in Gmail settings.
This new Gmail package tracking shows when a delivery is arriving directly in the inbox view underneath an email. There’s a truck icon and “Arriving [date]” in green.
Additionally, Gmail has redesigned the information that appears when you open a message. It’s now housed in a card with Dynamic Color used for the background. In the top-left corner you get an image preview, name, and delivery date (“From the carrier”) again. You might also see a store-specific “Order number” with the ability to quickly copy. Underneath that is an order timeline with shortcuts to “Track package” on the web and “Order details.”
Compared to the previous design, you actually see less information with “Items” truncated if you have multiple items.
When this feature was announced in early November, Google said it was rolling out on Android and iOS in the coming weeks. Once available, there’d be a “Track your packages in Gmail” card at the top of your inbox.
For those that haven’t been prompted by the card, you can (on Android) open Gmail Settings from the navigation drawer > select your email address > scroll to “General” > Package tracking — “Google will share tracking numbers for your packages with shipping carriers. You’ll get status updates here in Gmail.”
On iOS, open the redesigned settings and scroll to “Data privacy” near the bottom.
You can disable it if you prefer the old view, while Google plans to “proactively show a delay label and bring the email to the top of your inbox” in the coming months. It’s also coming to Gmail on the web.
Can you feel it? This coming Wednesday, February 1st, Samsung will hold the latest Unpacked event and that means the company will unveil the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Just about all of the hardware specs have been leaked as has the pricing in the U.S., Europe, and some other markets. Germany's WinFuture has been the source of some leaks and has done it again.
This time, the online publication has leaked the One UI 5.1 changelist for the Galaxy S23 series. One UI is the Samsung interface that moves tappable elements to the bottom of the screen. This makes them more easily reachable for those with small hands who are using a large-screened phone one-handed.
WinFuture originally published the changelist in German but we used the translation feature available with the Microsoft Edge browser to translate it into English. The One UI 5.1 update will eventually find its way to other handsets besides the Galaxy S23 series (including the Galaxy S22 series). However, one feature called "AI Restoration" will reportedly be found only on the Galaxy S23 line. This sounds like it could be similar to the Photo Unblur feature for the Pixel 7 series. Photo Unblur fixes old, blurry photos in the Google Photos app even those that were taken using another camera.
The leaked and translated One UI 5.1 changelist is as follows:
Camera:
Changing the hue for a selfie just got easier.
Easily change the hue of your selfies using the "Effects" button on the side of the screen.
Quick access to Expert RAW
Expert RAW app allows you to capture high-quality images without processing or compression, perfect for those who want to edit their photos later. Accessing Expert RAW is now easier from the Advanced menu.
Gallery:
Shared Family Album
With Shared Family Album, sharing photos with your family is easier than ever. Gallery recommends photos that you can add to your shared family album by recognizing the faces of your family members. Plus, you get 5GB of storage per family member (up to 6 people).
Improved handling
Processing automatically removes shadows and reflections to make your photos look great. You can also recreate GIFs for better resolution and clarity.
Convenient display of information
When you swipe up when viewing an image or video in your gallery, you can see at a glance when and where the image was taken, on which device, where it's stored, and more.
Search has become more powerful
You can now search for more than one person or item at a time. You can even search for people without tagging their names by simply clicking on their faces.
Choose a location to save screenshots
Now you can save screenshots and screen captures to a folder of your choice by setting it up in the advanced features.
Samsung promotes the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+
AR Zone and AR Emoji:
Use 3 emojis in AR emoji camera
Take funny photos and videos with friends (up to 3 people) in mask mode. You can replace your friends' faces with other characters by clicking on the emoji.
Layout and editing improvements in AR Doodles
The brushes are now available on AR Doodle's main screen for faster access. You can also resize and move drawings after they are created, and the new Eraser tool lets you delete only a portion of your drawings without deleting them completely.
Widgets:
New battery widget
The new battery widget allows you to check the battery level of your Galaxy devices. Right from the home screen, you can see how much battery your smartphone, Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Watch and other supported devices have left.
Intuitive weather widget
The new illustration style and a summary of current weather conditions make it easy to know the weather information, whether it's sunny, cloudy, raining or snowing.
Modes and scenarios:
Different wallpapers depending on the mode
Set different wallpapers on the lock screen and home screen depending on your current activity. Choose a background for work, one for sports, and more when setting different modes.
Additional conditions and actions for scenarios
Run scripts automatically when you turn on airplane mode or mobile hotspot. Scripts can now open some apps, adjust left/right audio balance, and more. With new actions, you can now control Quick Share and touch sensitivity, as well as change the ringtone and font style.Connectivity:
Collaborate in Samsung Notes
Create a shared note that multiple people can edit at once. Write a report with colleagues, take notes for a study group, or draw a picture with a friend. The possibilities are endless.
Inviting to shared apps made easy
Now you can easily invite people to shared albums, notes, and calendars using a link that can be shared through apps like messenger, email, and social networks.
Advanced multiple control between Galaxy Book and smartphone
Now you can use your Galaxy Book's mouse, keyboard, or trackpad not only with your Galaxy tablet, but also with your Galaxy smartphone. You can easily copy and paste text and drag and drop images from one device to another as if they were the same device. (1)
Media output for Wi-Fi speakers
If you still want to listen to music on Wi-Fi speakers via Spotify Connect and Chromecast built-in, just open Media Output from the Quick Access Toolbar, not the Music apps. (2)
Continue browsing on your PC
If you browse the web with Samsung Internet on your smartphone and then continue browsing on your PC, you can find the websites you have opened on your smartphone and continue browsing them using the PC browser. (3)
Samsung DeX:
Improved multitasking in DeX
In split screen mode, you can now drag the splitter in the center of the screen to resize both windows. You can also align a window to one of the corners so that it occupies a quarter of the screen.Settings:
Recruitment suggestions
Suggestions now appear at the top of the settings screen, letting you know about useful features to try or settings that need your attention so you can turn them on or try them right away.
Samsung Internet:
Improved search
You can now search for folder names in bookmarks or group names in tabs. Improved search logic allows you to find what you're looking for, even if something is misspelled.
Setup Wizard:
Faster and easier initial setup of your new Galaxy
When you switch from a Galaxy or other Android device to a new Galaxy, just scan the QR code on your old device to automatically transfer your Wi-Fi networks, Samsung account, and Google account to the new device without typing anything. (4)
Weather:
Detailed weather information at a glance
Useful weather information is now displayed on the main screen of the Weather app. You can check severe weather alerts, daily weather reports, hourly precipitation, and color temperature graphs.
Calls:
Bixby text calls
Use Bixby text calls to automatically answer calls and figure out the purpose of the call. You can see what the caller is saying in a text chat, and you can tap or type answers that are read out loud to the caller. Bixby text calls are only available in English and Korean.
Some of the more interesting changes include the addition of a battery widget as both iPhone and Pixel handsets already have one available. We like the ability to use a QR code to move over your Wi-Fi information from an older Galaxy phone to a new one. And with One UI 5.1, if you use the Samsung Internet app on your phone, any pages you open on the phone will appear on your PC browser.
Time is running out! Reserve your Galaxy S23 pre-order now!
The new features that you are looking forward to will probably differ. Or as they say, your mileage may vary.
Article From & Read More ( Leaked One UI 5.1 changelist reveals new features coming first to the Galaxy S23 line - PhoneArena )
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Scientists have created a tiny robotic system that can transition from solid to liquid and back again, bringing a bit of classic sci-fi lore to life while they're at it.
It's been 30 years since killer liquid metal robots entered our nightmares courtesy of 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That movie's shape-shifting T-1000 robot could seemingly overcome any obstacle while turning parts of itself into weapons at will.
The specter of Skynet and the robot apocalypse have haunted us ever since, and now an international team of researchers has finally given us a real-world version of a T-1000, although with more altruistic aims.
The team says it was inspired not by Hollywood, but by the humble sea cucumber, which can transition between soft and rigid body states.
"Giving robots the ability to switch between liquid and solid states endows them with more functionality," says Chengfeng Pan, an engineer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong who led the study.
As if to gesture at Terminator-inspired night terrors, Pan and colleagues demonstrate this increased functionality by placing one of their miniature robots in a simulated jail cell and showing how it might escape.
It can be a little tough to see what's going on in the video above, but basically the robot melts itself down to a liquid, flows between the bars and into a waiting mold where it cools, reforms itself and then pops back up. Granted, this escapee is a little less terrifying than a T-1000 since it needs a mold at the ready to reconstitute itself, but it's still enough to agitate any Luddite.
The demonstration is part of a study published Wednesday in the journal Matter.
Senior author Carmel Majidi from Carnegie Mellon University said magnets make all of this futuristic phase transitioning possible.
"The magnetic particles here have two roles... One is that they make the material responsive to an alternating magnetic field, so you can, through induction, heat up the material and cause the phase change. But the magnetic particles also give the robots mobility and the ability to move in response to the magnetic field."
The particles are embedded in gallium, which is a metal with a very low melting point of just 86 degrees Fahrenheit (about 30 Celsius), creating a substance that flows more like water than other phase-changing materials, which are more viscous.
In tests, the mini robots were able to jump over obstacles, scale walls, split in half and re-merge all while being magnetically controlled.
"Now, we're pushing this material system in more practical ways to solve some very specific medical and engineering problems," said Pan.
In other demonstrations, the robots were used to solder circuits, to deliver medication and clear a foreign object from a model stomach.
The researchers envision the system being able to conduct repairs in hard-to-reach spaces and serving as a "universal screw," which melts into a screw socket and solidifies with no actual screwing required.
The team is particularly excited about the potential medical uses.
"Future work should further explore how these robots could be used within a biomedical context," said Majidi. "What we're showing are just one-off demonstrations, proofs of concept, but much more study will be required to delve into how this could actually be used for drug delivery or for removing foreign objects."
Hopefully the list of foreign objects that need removal won't ever include weaponized miniature melting robots, as they might prove difficult to track down and extract.
The next time you find yourself needing to send a text while stuck in the middle of nowhere, you may be able to look to the sky, where low-Earth satellites can help send an SOS, no matter what device you have.
Last year, Apple became the first tech company to offer new satellite texting capabilities to its devices, introducing it with the iPhone 14 as a system to call for help in emergencies. The idea is easy enough: Point your phone at the sky, line it up with a satellite passing overhead and send a text to authorities. You can even send GPS data too.
Now, other companies are poised to jump on board, making satellite texting a new frontier for the phone world.
"I think 2023 is certainly shaping up to be the year of mobile satellite connectivity," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at research firm Techsponential. "Everyone's doing it. Everyone is doing it differently."
Sadly, it's not as easy as adding a satellite texting app and an extra satellite radio to the phone. Low Earth-orbiting satellite systems cost money to run and maintain, just like cellular internet and phone systems do. Apple has said it'll give iPhone owners free access to emergency services for two years after they buy their device, but it hasn't said what happens after. Other satellite texting systems haven't launched yet and seem likely to charge users for the privilege.
There's no debate about whether this technology can be useful. We've already heard stories of people's lives being saved because of it. The question is whether people are willing to pay for it. And if not, will satellite texting be just another fad, like 3D TV?
Currently, satellite tech on our phones is only for emergencies and only in expensive smartphones like Apple's iPhone 14, which starts at $799. That makes the technology a nice-to-have feature that the broader population of phone owners won't have access to for some time. Those that do may never end up in a dire situation without signal when the feature would come in handy -- a group that IDC research director Nabila Popal counts herself among. "I can't remember the last time I didn't have cell service," Popal said.
Given satellite texting's niche use, Popal doesn't believe having it will sway consumers into buying one phone over another. It will certainly appeal to backcountry hikers, desert drag racers and remote truckers who plan to head beyond cell networks. But, for everyone else, it's not an important enough feature to rush out to buy.
Instead, it's more like one more feather in the cap of modern smartphones, which have already bundled together so many other technologies we used to have to carry separately in our bags, like cameras and handheld video games.
For its Snapdragon Satellite feature, Qualcomm went with satellite communications provider Iridium, which has a constellation of 66 orbiting satellites with global coverage.
Iridium
The current state of satellite texting
Satellite phones have been around for decades, showing up in films as far back as Steven Seagal's 1992 classic military thriller Under Siege whenever someone needs to make calls from the middle of the ocean. A satellite phone also played a critical role in getting people off dinosaur-infested island in 2001's Jurassic Park III.
"Where's the phone? Get the phone!" yells veteran dino survivor Alan Grant as it nearly slides off a boat and into a river during a Spinosaurus attack. (Spoilers, he grabs it at the last minute and is able to signal for help.)
The real-life versions aren't as exciting, but they can be just as helpful. They use networks of dozens of satellites orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes or so to relay phone signals to the ground. The first of these systems was Iridium, which launched its service in 1998 and a dozen other satellite networks have survived by offering connectivity to frequent travelers, but the prospect became popular recently after Elon Musk's rocket startup SpaceX borrowed the idea to surround the globe with internet coverage through its Starlink program.
You can still get satellite phone coverage by purchasing a bulky, nearly $900 feature phone and paying a premium of at least $50 for 5 minutes of call time for service from companies that own a private network of satellites. But phone makers are building in the capability to use those orbital networks to send emergency texts because smartphone radios have gotten good enough to communicate with satellites directly, instead of relying on a separate -- and often large -- antenna.
Phone radios have "gotten so good now that you can build satellite connectivity into a phone without needing an external antenna," said Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
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Among mainstream smartphone makers, Apple was the first with its iPhone 14 line. The company partnered with GlobalStar, which has limited coverage of the US, Europe, Australia and limited parts of South America. Apple only activates this feature in a handful of countries in those continents, and it only works for emergency text messages made outside (it won't reach deep within buildings), but the company pledged that new iPhone 14 owners get two years of service included when they buy the phone.
Earlier this month, Qualcomm revealed a new feature coming in Android phones that will let users send and receive text messages through satellites. It uses the Iridium network and Qualcomm says it will have global coverage, which is more than Apple's services says.
The service, called Snapdragon Satellite, will only be for emergencies to start but will eventually be able to exchange messages socially and even use data, likely as part of a premium service. It's not available yet and will come in phones launching in the second half of 2023 that use Qualcomm's latest premium chips, though the company is leaving it up to phonemakers whether to have the service at all in their phones or if they should charge for the privilege. That leaves lots of unknowns.
And there are smaller players with their own niche devices, like Bullitt, which announced its Motorola-branded rugged phone powered by a MediaTek chipset at CES 2023 that will launch in the first quarter of 2023 for an undisclosed price tag. Bullitt promises two-way satellite texting through connectivity partner Skylo, which leases time on existing satellite constellations. Huawei actually launched its Mate 50 series of phones with satellite texting through China's BeiDou satellite network a day ahead of Apple's iPhone 14 debuted, though Huawei's reach has diminished over the years.
More individual phones coming out with their own ideas of satellite texting will likely follow, and the big US carriers have all selected their own satellite partners to eventually offer mobile service beyond their networks' edges, though none has a firm launch date yet.
Everyone's in on the race because they can see the potential value of providing satellite safety nets as a service, analysts say. Apple could easily add it alongside its subscription services, like the $7 per month Apple TV Plus, $10 per month Apple Music Plus or $17 Apple One bundle. Carriers could use it to sweeten the deal for the priciest subscription plans, betting that the risk-averse among us are willing to pay extra for peace of mind. "It's hard to overstate how important telling someone you're out of gas in the middle of the Gobi Desert or Death Valley or the Adirondacks is," Techsponential's Greengart said.
The text message interface of Apple's Emergency SOS feature.
Kevin Heinz/CNET
Is it a bad thing to be the new phone trend?
Of course, the phone industry doesn't have the best track record with new technologies. Analysts broadly consider the last couple years of transition to 5G wireless to have been a letdown, particularly because coverage has been spotty and speeds are sometimes as slow as the 4G LTE service we've had for years.
Satellite texting could be even more finicky than 5G was, particularly because it depends on the availability of satellites and the yet-untested strain of having many people relaying help requests through them.
Still, early signs seem promising. At CES 2023, Qualcomm took journalists outside Las Vegas to test its Snapdragon Satellite feature, and it worked. CNET phone editor Patrick Holland tested Apple's Emergency SOS feature on his iPhone 14 and found that it worked -- in fact, anyone can try it out without sending an emergency message thanks to a demo mode in the phone's settings.
This seems like the next frontier -- to use satellites to bolster mobile networks and keep people in contact. Even if most people will never have the misfortune to need it, the feature still acts as a safety net, helping the more adventurous phone users who wander beyond cell towers or disaster survivors after mobile networks fail.
Some iPhone 14 owners have reportedly been saved already thanks to the feature, including one man stranded when traveling by snow machine in Alaska above the Arctic Circle. In another case, a couple tumbled down into a deep canyon in a Los Angeles forest and used an iPhone to send for help. In less than 30 minutes, they were rescued. Without the iPhone's satellite texting feature, emergency services wouldn't have been contacted, and "nobody would have known to look for them," Los Angeles County Sheriff Sgt. John Gilbert told The Los Angeles Times.
We've come a long way from needing to buy big, clunky satellite phones if we want to venture safely beyond the range of cell networks. Pretty soon, many smartphones will be able to call for help, whether you've taken a wrong turn in the wilderness or been attacked by dinosaurs on a remote island that you should have just stayed away from.
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