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Google Maps AI upgrades could solve your EV charging headaches
It’s a big day for Google Maps. First, the 3D buildings layer is rolling out to all Android users after months of waiting. And now we’re learning the app is expanding its eco-friendly features by introducing new ways to find EV charging stations and "lower-carbon travel alternatives”. The former, according to the announcement, aims to help electric vehicle owners map out those long road trips for the summer.
First, text summaries will appear in Google Maps describing the exact location of a nearby charging station. The tool utilizes artificial intelligence to take “helpful information from user reviews” to build directions below the name of a charger. As the company explains, you'll see step-by-step instructions telling you to drive down into an underground parking lot, follow the signs, and turn right just before you exit to find a station.
The company explains that since it sources from the community, generated summaries are “accurate and up-to-date”. To continue feeding the feature, reviews for charging stations will ask for extra details from the type of plug you used to how long you spent waiting.
While driving in your EV, Google Maps will highlight nearby chargers on your car's dashboard display. Indicators provide the name of the station, how many ports are open at a given time, and the ports' charging speeds.
Lastly, Google Maps will recommend the best charging locations for people taking multi-stop trips. The suggestions it makes depend on your EV’s battery level. For example, if the car is fully charged, the app will point out stations nearer your destination rather than the ones closer to you.
Everything you see here is scheduled to roll out within the coming months, but their availability differs. Review summaries will be available on the mobile app while the charging station indicators and suggestions will be exclusive to vehicles with built-in Google software.
The other half of the patch will see Google Maps make “public transit or walking suggestions” below driving routes – so long as travel times are “practical.” It won’t recommend you hop on a bus if it takes longer to go from point A to point B. This feature is receiving a limited rollout as it’s only being released for around 15 cities around the world including London, Paris, and Sydney.
Google Search is also getting a travel-centric update. The search engine began adding information for long-distance train routes into results back in 2022. Moving forward, these details will include schedules and ticket prices with a purchase link on the side. What’s more, long-distance bus routes are going to be present too.
The new train data on Search is now available across 38 countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Spain. The bus route info, on the other hand, is seeing a more limited release as it'll only show up in 15 global regions, including the United States, France, and Germany.
Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the 10 things you didn't know Google Maps could do if you want to learn about all the neat tricks.
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YouTube can stream 8K videos to your Meta Quest 3 – even though its displays aren’t 8K
Following news that Meta’s Quest 3’s getting some big mixed reality upgrades including an AI that can recognize furniture and improved passthrough quality, there’s yet another improvement on the way this time for one of my favorite Quest apps: YouTube.
That’s because the VR version of the video-sharing platform now supports 8K video playback on Quest 3 – up from the previous max of 4K.
To turn it on make sure you’re running YouTube VR app version 1.54 or later, then boot up a video that supports 8K, tap on the gear icon, and where it says Quality you want to change the resolution to 4320p – or 4320p60 if you want 8K at 60fps instead of the usual 30fps. If 4320p isn’t an option in this list unfortunately the video you want to watch isn’t streaming in 8K.
There are a few extra caveats. First, you’ll want a strong internet connection, because even if the video supports 8K playback you’ll struggle to stream it over weak WiFi – unless you like waiting for it to buffer. Oh, and one other important detail; the Quest 3 doesn’t have 8K displays. But that's not as big a problem as it might seem.
Method in the 8K madnessThe Quest 3 has two displays (one for each eye) that boast 2,064 x 2,208 pixels each; 8K resolution is 7,680 × 4,320 pixels. Even if we combine the two displays they still boast only just over 25% as many pixels as an 8K display.
So is 8K streaming pointless? Well, not entirely.
For flat YouTube videos, playing them in 8K probably is worthless on Quest hardware. The only advantage you might find is that you’ll be seeing a downscaled video – the opposite of upscaled, where a higher resolution source is played at a lower resolution – which can sometimes lead to a more detailed image than simply streaming a video at the lower resolution.
The real improvement can be found instead with immersive 360-degree videos.
To explain things simply: when you see a flat video you see the whole resolution in that 16:9 frame. In 360 videos the resolution is spread across a much larger image, and you only see portions of that image based on where you’re looking. That’s why – if you’ve watched 360 videos in VR – 4K content can look more like HD, and HD content can look like blurry messes.
By bumping things up to 8K you’ll find that immersive 3D video should look a lot more crisp – as the sections you’re looking at are now effectively 4K. So while you're not seeing 8K, you're still getting a higher resolution.
This update may also be a good future-proofing update for the next Meta hardware. With rumors that a Meta Quest Pro 2 could up the display game for Quest hardware, there’s a chance that it'll get closer to having actual 8K displays, though we’ll have to wait and see.
You might also likeHaven’t activated Windows 10 or 11 yet? Your Microsoft Edge settings may soon be blocked off entirely
Users with an unactivated version of Windows 11 (or Windows 10) may need to start considering activating their operating system - as it looks like Microsoft could start cracking down again, starting with the Edge web browser.
According to Windows Report, the change is currently contained to Edge Canary, a build of Edge that Windows Insiders have access to to try out and test potential upcoming changes, and it seems Insiders have spotted a lockdown on Microsoft Edge settings.
The browser is still likely to work on unactivated Windows, and normally you can use Windows 10 and 11 without having to activate your license key - but with limitations. People using unactivated Windows are likely to have a prompt to activate pop up often in their settings and have limitations with their personalization options.
While this is inconvenient, it does at least allow people to use their machines without activating Windows 10 or 11 - a far cry from previous Windows releases which would not let you install the operating system without a valid product key. However, if this change to how Edge runs does make it past the Insiders stage of development you may find all your settings regarding Microsoft Edge locked entirely, presumably until you activate your version of Windows.
Cruel but fair?Why would Microsoft want to take such a harsh approach to getting people to activate their operating system? Without activation, you are very likely to miss out on security updates, protect yourself from viruses and cyber threats, and be bothered consistently by pop-ups. Activation also proves that you paid for that version of Windows and that it is legitimate.
With all the new AI advancements stuffed into Microsoft Edge, there are probably a lot more people using Edge now than before, and this could just be a good opportunity to force as many people as possible to activate their Windows by threatening to tamper with their newly boosted, feature-filled web browser.
I can appreciate why the tech giant would want to prompt people to make their devices more secure by activating them, while also making sure people aren’t using pirated or ‘cracked’ versions of its software.
Hopefully, if we do see this development make it out to a public release Microsoft will give users time to activate their operating systems, rather than just taking everything away first and expecting users to figure it out later.
You might also like...Meta’s recent Quest 3 update includes a secret AI upgrade for mixed reality
Meta’s VR headsets recently received update v64, which according to Meta added several improvements to their software – such as better-quality mixed-reality passthrough in the case of the Meta Quest 3 (though I didn’t see a massive difference after installing the update on my headset).
It’s now been discovered (first by Twitter user @Squashi9) that the update also included another upgrade for Meta’s hardware, with Space Scan, the Quest 3’s room scanning feature, getting a major buff thanks to AI.
The Quest 3’s Space Scan is different to its regular boundary scan, which sets up your safe play space for VR. Instead, Space Scan maps out your room for mixed-reality experiences, marking out walls, floors, and ceilings so that experiences are correctly calibrated.
You also have the option to add and label furniture, but you had to do this part manually until update v64 rolled out. Now, when you do a room scan your Quest 3 will automatically highlight and label furniture – and based on my tests it works flawlessly.
Annoyingly, the headset wouldn’t let me take screenshots of the process, so you’ll have to trust me when I say that every piece of furniture was not only picked up by the scan and correctly marked out, it was also labelled accurately – it even picked up on my windows and doors, which I wasn’t expecting.
The only mistake I spotted was that a chair I have in my living room was designated a 'couch', though this seems to be more an issue with Meta’s lack of more specific labels than with Space Scan’s ability to detect what type of object each item of furniture is.
Post by @edwardrichardmiller View on ThreadsThis feature isn’t a complete surprise, as Reality Labs showed a version of it off on Threads in March. What is surprising, however, is how quickly it’s been rolled out after being unveiled – though I’m not complaining, considering how well it works and how easy it makes scanning your room.
So what?Adding furniture has a use for MR and VR apps. Tables can be used by apps like Horizon Workrooms as designated desks, while sitting down in or getting up from a designated couch will change your VR experience between a standing or seated mode.
Meanwhile, some apps can use the detected doors, windows, walls, and furniture such as a bookshelf to adjust how mixed-reality experiences interact with your space.
With Meta making it less tedious to add these data points, app developers have more of a reason to take furniture into account when designing VR and MR experiences, which should lead to them feeling more immersive.
This also gives Meta a leg up over the Apple Vision Pro, as it’s not yet able to create a room scan that’s as detailed as the one found on Meta’s hardware – though until software starts to take real advantage of this feature it’s not that big a deal.
We’ll have to wait and see what comes of this improvement, but if you’ve already made a space scan or two on your Quest 3 you might want to redo them, as the new scans should be a lot more accurate.
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Google adds biometric verification to Play Store to keep your in-store wallet safe
Google has been emailing Android users about an update to the Play Store allowing you to enable biometric verification for purchases. We got the message over the weekend buried in our inbox. It states users can set fingerprint or facial recognition on the digital storefront as long as they have a mobile device that supports the technology. Once set up, “you’ll be asked to verify it’s you with biometrics” every time you buy something on the platform.
We can confirm the update is live as it appeared on our phone. To turn it on, open the Play Store app then tap Settings near the bottom. Expand Purchase Verification and toggle the switch to activate Biometric Verification. The storefront will then ask you to type in your password to confirm the setting change.
It’s important to mention that the final step will change within the coming weeks. According to the email, Google will let users use biometrics instead of requiring them to enter their account password.
The purpose of this feature is to seemingly provide an extra layer of safety to protect yourself against unauthorized transactions in case your phone is ever compromised. You don’t have to use a password anymore, although you will always have the option.
There are a few minor details you should know regarding the feature.
At a glance, it seems the biometric verification will primarily live on the Play Store. We attempted to purchase an ebook and were met with a fingerprint reader to authenticate our identity before checkout. Then we discovered the security feature will appear on third-party apps, but its presence on them varies.
We purchased items for the game Arknights on our Android phone to see if a biometric verification reader popped up. It didn’t. The checkout went through without any hindrance. However, when we signed up for a three-month trial on Amazon Music, a Play Store message showed up asking if we would like to enable biometrics for future purchases.
This leads us to believe that some apps will support the new verification method while others won’t. It may depend on whether or not a developer decides to support the security fixture on their product.
Do note this has been our personal experience with the tool. It may operate differently for you. Google didn’t provide much information in their email or Play Store Help page. Of course, we reached out to the tech giant for clarification and will update the story if we learn anything new.
If you're looking for a great new app to download, be sure to check out the best 10 Android apps of 2023 according to Google.
You might also likeA big WhatsApp update will soon make it easier to find your chats – here's how
Meta is making it much easier to locate chatrooms on WhatsApp by introducing four new filters to the service's inbox. This may seem like a small, inconsequential update on the surface. After all, filters already exist on the platform, how much can four more really help? In this case, each one will help you cut through all the chaos of an active WhatsApp inbox.
As Meta points out, the new tools will make fast and simple the chore of “finding the right conversation” especially as Meta continues launching new features and the app becomes more bloated over time.
These filters will show up as bubbles above the chat list on the WhatsApp home page. “All” is the default setting letting you view an inbox without any filters enabled. “Unread” highlights all of your unread messages. Chats that have yet to be responded to will have an indicator next to them on the right.
There's “Groups,” which apparently was a “highly requested feature.” This allows you to see all of the group chats you’re currently a part of. Plus, ongoing conversations from Community subgroups will appear under the filter as well.
Finally, there is “Contacts." The X post doesn’t describe what this filter does, however it did show up months ago on a past WhatsApp beta. WABetaInfo in their coverage says the Contacts filter lets you find messages from people on your contacts list while blocking spam from unknown numbers.
introducing Chat Filters, a new way to organize your chats filter by Unread, Contacts, Groups, or All pic.twitter.com/6kpB6JUx4aApril 16, 2024
See more Potential future updateThe patch is currently rolling out “and will be available to everyone” within the coming weeks on mobile. No word if it’ll make its way to the desktop version of WhatsApp.
There may be more filters on the way. Back in February 2024, hints found in an old WhatsApp beta indicate Meta was, at one point, working on a Favorites filter for friends or family you frequently interact with. What's more, users might even receive the ability to create custom tags that "suit their preferences.” It’s unknown if either of these are still under development, but they are something to look forward to on WhatsApp.
Be sure to join TechRadar's official WhatsApp channel to get our latest articles and reviews on your smartphone.
You might also likeThe Microsoft Store gets a turbo boost in new update, promising speedier and sleeker performance
The Microsoft Store app has reportedly got a major performance upgrade that’s now available to all users. It doesn’t look like it brings any new features, but it does promise improved performance for the app.
The new and improved version was initially released through the Windows Insider Program in early April. The Windows Insider Program is a testing community run by Microsoft that allows interested Windows users and experts to try versions of the operating system and new features that Microsoft is working on. The new version of the Microsoft Store is now available in the 'Stable Channel' of the Windows Insider Program, the last round of testing before something is deployed in the Windows Update app for all users - which suggests that it could soon roll out to everyone.
Rudy Huyn, a principal architect at Microsoft, publicized the changes in a series of posts on X, detailing the changes made in Microsoft Store version 22403 compared to its predecessor. He explains that product pages will load up to 40% faster in the newer version, the ‘Buy’ button will appear up to 1.5 times faster on average thanks to licensing optimizations, and a launch screen that appears more smoothly thanks to a modified splash screen.
Product pages are now loading ~40% faster on average. (2/5) pic.twitter.com/iDAi3BOqKGApril 3, 2024
See moreWe have also optimized how the application manages entitlement and licensing, resulting in the "Buy" button being displayed approximately 1.5 times faster. (3/5) pic.twitter.com/9iLOq7X2D1April 3, 2024
See moreLast the team changed how the application launches and manages the splash screen, resulting in a smoother launch experience. (4/5)https://t.co/BByoWVMfqg pic.twitter.com/AuLRGIcOyqApril 3, 2024
See more How to make sure you have the latest Microsoft StoreUsers running suitable versions of Windows can usually expect the Microsoft Store app to download this update on its own and update itself, but you can speed up the process if this doesn’t happen by opening the Microsoft Store app on your PC and clicking the profile icon which can be found in the top-right corner of the app. This should open a menu, and you need to click on ‘Settings’. If you scroll all the way down in the Settings screen, you should see a section with the ‘About’ heading. In the top-right corner of this section, you should see the version of the app that your system is running.
If this doesn’t say ‘Version 22403…” then you can go to the ‘Library’ section of your Microsoft Store, which can be found in the navigation ribbon (mine runs vertically on the left-hand side of the app and the Library icon is towards the bottom). You can then select ‘Get updates’ which should prompt the update process.
The Microsoft Store isn’t the most popular of app stores out there – Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store see a lot more use. This is largely due to factors like its sluggish performance and comparative lack of apps. Changes like this are important steps if Microsoft wants to compete or even attract users of other systems, not to mention the fact that users want software and products that work well first and foremost.
App stores have become an industry standard for downloading and installing apps, and it would do Microsoft well to make the Microsoft Store a Windows highlight instead of being a sore spot, since the marketplace has historically been pretty poor compared to its rivals. Hopefully, Microsoft continues in this direction and users will feel a tangible improvement in their Microsoft Store app experience, expanding the choice of apps users can install and pursuing improvement in smoothing out its processes.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...The latest macOS Ventura update has left owners of old Macs stranded in a sea of problems, raising a chorus of complaints
Users of macOS Ventura, the predecessor to macOS Sonoma (the latest operating system for modern Macs and MacBooks), have discovered some problems after installing the newest update, macOS Ventura 13.6.6. The update was released on March 25 alongside Sonoma version 14.4.1. Apparently, those looking to upgrade macOS Ventura were met with firmware-related issues (firmware refers to software components that bridge a device’s hardware and software).
Ventura is the last macOS system that many older Mac models can run, as macOS Sonoma only supports Macs and MacBooks from 2018 onwards (the iMac Pro from 2017 is also supported), so updates for the older operating system are especially important for security and functionality reasons.
Since the update's release, users have taken to websites like Apple’s community forums to express their dissatisfaction with Ventura 13.6.6. GottaBeMobile has cataloged a number of these posts which discuss issues including Wi-Fi connectivity issues, email problems, Time Machine backup issues, issues with users’ displays, noticeable lag in the user interface (UI), problems with external accessories, issues with both first-party apps (apps by Apple) and third-party apps such as Microsoft Teams, and more. According to GottaBeMobile, this is just a selection and part of a larger number of problems that users are facing with Ventura 13.6.6.
GottaBeMobile checked for itself how Ventura 13.6.6 runs after its release on a 2017 MacBook Pro, confirming other users’ reports of frustration-inducting lag in the UI.
Now, affected users are hoping to see another update for Ventura that will put things right, but this could take some weeks. Until then, users will have to try solutions suggested by others, such as turning Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and off, restarting the device, and others. However, if these issues are caused by a fundamental problem with the Ventura update, these solutions may only be temporary.
Apple is currently developing and testing new software versions for a range of its products, including Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, and others, which are expected to be released in May, or possibly at WWDC, its software-centric conference in June.
It’s likely we’ll see macOS 15, the follow-up to macOS 14 Sonoma, at WWDC, and macOS Ventura may get an update around this time to fix those problems.
As Apple presumably sees Ventura as a legacy operating system, it’s unlikely to make a big song and dance over any update (especially if it's to fix embarrassing bugs) when it would rather show off the latest version of macOS.
I hope that Apple hears user feedback, as it’s pretty loud and clear, and takes time to fix Ventura. I understand that much like its peers, Apple is keen to push for users to update to newer hardware and software, but in this economic climate, that might not be possible for many people. In the meantime, it should make sure that customers who can’t upgrade to the latest version of macOS are still looked after.
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Windows 11 Moment 5 update reportedly causes a ‘white screen of doom’ along with installation failures
Windows 11 users are now receiving the Moment 5 update, which began rolling out a week ago, but some folks have sadly been hit by some frustrating glitches – including a ‘white screen’ crash.
Windows Latest picked up on a few problems with the April cumulative update for Windows 11, including some folks getting installation failures.
This is a long-running gremlin in the works whereby the update process falls over and doesn’t install, producing an error that is essentially meaningless garbage. (Or as Microsoft calls it, a stop error code – a hexadecimal string such as ‘0x800705b9’ which is one of the codes spotted in this instance).
That gives you no clue as to how to resolve the problem, and trying to install again results in the same crash happening with the Moment 5 update. About all you can do is sit tight and hope Microsoft resolves the issue, for now, or try upgrading via the Media Creation Tool. (Which we wouldn’t recommend to anyone but the more tech-savvy readers out there – if you don’t know what this tool is, best to steer clear on balance).
The other major stumbling block with this April update is a problem that sounds like the white equivalent of the famed Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) whereby the PC is locked up and needs to be rebooted to get back to normal.
Windows Latest describes what they encountered, which is after installing Moment 5 successfully, they got stuck on a white screen. This looks like some kind of setup screen, or indeed one of the panels trying to push you to do something post-update – like finishing setting up Windows or your Microsoft Account – except it’s blank (save for a couple of tiny icons).
The website notes that they were able to boot to the desktop after disconnecting the internet, and fortunately for Windows Latest, the white screen didn’t return after that.
There’s also evidence of this issue on Reddit and this thread on Microsoft’s Answers.com help forum, where some folks are saying this white screen keeps coming back.
So, while Windows Latest found it was an issue that went away swiftly, others apparently aren’t so lucky. So we’re calling this the ‘white screen of doom’ as it appears to be persistent at least for some, which must be a real pain.
What’s interesting to note is that one of the affected people on Answers.com states: “The only thing working for me atm is to start the computer without internet and I don’t get the white screen.” Somebody else replies that they tried this and it worked.
Windows Latest also observes disconnecting from the internet worked to sidestep the white screen, so this is definitely something you should give a whirl if you’re affected by this problem.
This lends some credibility to the idea that this is some kind of nag panel, and it’s failing to pipe through the content from Microsoft’s servers, perhaps – and when you pull the plug on the internet, it stops trying and finally loads the desktop. (That’s purely wild guesswork, mind you).
It’s also worth noting that on the above Reddit thread, there are some consistent mentions of problems with PCs resuming from sleep (or monitors turning back on after waking the system). So that might be one to watch out for, too.
Hopefully, Microsoft is looking into the reports of these problems and will be on hand with some official advice soon enough. We’ve reached out to the company and will update this article with any response to the apparent problems with the April update. Currently, the official support document from Microsoft lists no known issues with Moment 5.
You might also likeWatch this: Adobe shows how OpenAI's Sora will change Premiere Pro and video editing forever
OpenAI's Sora gave us a glimpse earlier this year of how generative AI is going to change video editing – and now Adobe has shown off how that's going to play out by previewing of some fascinating new Premiere Pro tools.
The new AI-powered features, powered by Adobe Firefly, effectively bring the kinds of tricks we've seen from Google's photo-focused Magic Editor – erasing unwanted objects, adding objects and extending scenes – to video. And while it isn't the first piece of software to do that, seeing these tools in an industry standard app that's used by professionals is significant.
For a glimpse of what's coming "this year" to Premiere Pro and other video editing apps, check out the video below. In a new Generative panel, there's a new 'add object' option that lets you type in an object you want to add to the scene. This appears to be for static objects, rather than things like a galloping horse, but it looks handy for b-roll and backgrounds.
Arguably even more helpful is 'object removal', which uses Firefly's AI-based smart masking to help you quickly select an object to remove then make it vanish with a click. Alternatively, you can just combine the two tools to, for example, swap the watch that someone's wearing for a non-branded alternative.
One of the most powerful new AI-powered features in photo editing is extending backgrounds – called Generative Fill in Photoshop – and Premiere Pro will soon have a similar feature for video. Rather than extending the frame's size, Generative Extend will let you add frames to a video to help you, for example, pause on your character's face for a little longer.
While Adobe hasn't given these tools a firm release date, only revealing that they're coming "later this year", it certainly looks like they'll change Premiere Pro workflows in a several major ways. But the bigger AI video change could be yet to come...
Will Adobe really plug into OpenAI's Sora?
The biggest Premiere Pro announcement, and also the most nebulous one, was Adobe's preview of third-party models for the editing app. In short, Adobe is planning to let you plug generative AI video tools including OpenAI's Sora, Runway and Pika Labs into Premiere Pro to sprinkle your videos with their effects.
In theory, that sounds great. Adobe showed an example of OpenAI's Sora generating b-roll with a text-to-video prompt, and Pika powering Generative Extend. But these "early examples" of Adobe's "research exploration" with its "friends" from the likes of OpenAI are still clouded in uncertainty.
Firstly, Adobe hasn't committed to launching the third-party plug-ins in the same way as its own Firefly-powered tools. That shows it's really only testing the waters with this part of the Premiere Pro preview. Also, the integration sits a little uneasily with Adobe's current stance on generative AI tools.
Adobe has sought to set itself apart from the likes of Midjourney and Stable Diffusion by highlighting that Adobe Firefly is only trained on Adobe Stock image library, which is apparently free of commercial, branded and trademark imagery. “We’re using hundreds of millions of assets, all trained and moderated to have no IP,” Adobe's VP of Generative AI, Alexandru Costin, told us earlier this year.
Yet a new report from Bloomberg claims that Firefly was partially trained on images generated by Midjourney (with Adobe suggesting that could account for 5% of Firefly's training data). And these previews of new alliances with generative video AI models, which are similarly opaque when it comes to their training data, again sits uneasily with Adobe's stance.
Adobe's potential get-out here is Content Credentials, a kind of nutrition label that's also coming to Premiere Pro and will add watermarks to clarify when AI was used in a video and with which model. Whether or not this is enough for Adobe to balance making a commercially-friendly pro video editor with keeping up in the AI race remains to be seen.
You might also likeWindows 11 24H2 isn’t even here yet but Microsoft is already working on its follow-up that could pave the way for Windows 12
Microsoft is already working away at what could be the first Moment update to follow the big Windows 11 24H2 update.
Currently, work is ongoing with finishing the 24H2 update which lands later this year – most likely it’ll roll out from September – but Microsoft is already looking past that upgrade to the first Moment update it’ll deliver for that release, likely early in 2025. (Assuming the Moment name is kept, and we’ll come back to that).
Windows 11 version 24H2's first "Moment" is already underway, stumbled upon this internal flight earlierBuild 26120.383, it really is just an EKB on top of 26100 pic.twitter.com/zRVseaW2c4April 15, 2024
See moreThis is according to a respected Microsoft leaker, Albacore on X (formerly Twitter), who as noted in the above post stumbled upon an internal flight – a preview version just being tested within Microsoft currently – which is the first Moment for 24H2. (Add your own scattering of seasoning here, naturally).
As probably hasn’t escaped your attention if you’re a Windows 11 user, Microsoft just released the fifth Moment update for Windows 11 23H2, which comes with some handy new features.
Analysis: The bigger update picture – and potential road to Windows 12As a quick refresher, Moment updates are sizeable feature drops, though not nearly as big as the annual upgrades for Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2 and so on). Essentially, Moments offer a way for Microsoft to continue to drip feed features between the major ‘H2’ annual versions of Windows 11.
With the first Moment update for 24H2 seemingly already under development, this seems a strong indication that Microsoft will continue with this scheme of things for Windows 11 updates going forward.
As Albacore discusses in the thread of the above post on X, it is possible that Microsoft might change the name ‘Moment’ to something else, but the underlying principle of these small-to-medium sized upgrades – outside the cadence of the big annual updates – should remain in place for Windows 11 as we progress down the road with the OS.
Before too long, though, that road will lead to Windows 12 – or whatever next-gen Windows ends up being called, with it quite possibly turning up in 2025, when Windows 10 exits stage left – and after that, the update delivery philosophy could change again.
Perhaps there’s a heightened chance of this, too, when you consider that Windows is under a new chief – Pavan Davuluri has taken the reins of the OS, as Mikhail Parakhin (who was heading up Windows previously) is off doing other things at Microsoft as of last month.
Traditionally, Microsoft has operated under this kind of scheme of smaller drip-fed updates outside of large feature drops – though not always. Before Windows 11 arrived, you may recall that Microsoft used a twice-yearly update scheme with Windows 10, so no new features were introduced between those upgrades. That left some pretty sizeable gaps of six months or so where nothing happened with the desktop OS feature-wise (except minor tweaks here and there).
We were never keen on that idea, but we don’t think Microsoft will return to that way of working – we’re taking this as a positive sign that Moments, or their equivalent, will be around for a good time yet, and hopefully with Windows 12 going forward, when it eventually rolls into town.
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A new Gmail feature could soon make it way easier to manage your subscriptions
Google is reportedly working on a new way to help users bring order to their messy Gmail accounts on mobile. Initially discovered by industry expert AssembleDebug, a “Manage Subscriptions” section will be added to the app’s sidebar menu, housing all of the newsletters and promotions you receive. Tapping the option takes you to a “Subscriptions'” page displaying all of the mailing lists you are currently subscribed to. Tech news site PiunikaWeb states the window shows you messages based on criteria you specify.
It’s unknown exactly what that criteria may entail, however AssembleDebug found strings of code for the feature, providing insight into how it could work. There seems to filters that let you highlight certain mailing lists according to how many messages they send out “per quarter.” You can single out groups sending “less than 10,” “between 10 to 20,” or more than 20 emails within a time period. Alongside the entries will be the logo of the mailing list with an unsubscribe button.
So, maybe every three months or so, you’ll be able to check out who mails out the most newsletters. At least, that’s the idea. Without an official word, it’s hard to say for sure although we may not have to wait for long to learn more.
Just around the cornerSeveral users over on Reddit claim to have run into Manage Subscription on their Gmail accounts on mobile. Multiple people state they encountered a blue window announcing the section, but when they went over to check it out, the page was totally blank. Nothing happened. Another poster said clicking on the message only took them to a screen with an endlessly loading page.
PiunikaWeb theorizes that perhaps Google “accidentally enabled” the feature on their servers, but didn’t properly release the patch. It may be in this weird limbo where people can see the section, though it doesn’t do anything. We didn’t encounter it on our Gmail accounts. So it is possible its sudden appearance on a handful of account really was an accident.
What it does show is the update could be almost ready for a launch. It may just need a bit more time in the oven. Manage Subscription will be a welcome inclusion to all of the other recent Gmail updates like the more prominent unsubscribe button, if and when it does roll out. Speaking from personal experience, it’ll be extremely helpful in organizing the chaos known as the Primary tab.
While we have you, check out TechRadar's list of the best Android phones for 2024.
You might also likePimax’s new VR headset can swap between QLED and OLED displays – but the Vision Pro beats it in one important way
Pimax has unveiled two new VR headsets with the top of the line Pimax Crystal Super seemingly set to put the best VR headsets to shame – even the Apple Vision Pro – with some phenomenal specs. It also has one of most unique display features we’ve ever seen: you can swap between an OLED and QLED display engine to get the most out of your virtual experience.
Are you playing a frightening horror adventure that has you exploring dark spaces filled with monsters? Then an OLED screen’s excellent dark contrast will be just what you need. If you’re instead kicking back with a vibrant VR social app then you could swap in the QLED screen to be dazzled by the colors it can produce.
No matter which screen type you choose, the Pimax Crystal Super will deliver 29.5 million pixels across its dual, 3,840 x 3,840 pixels per eye displays, each with 200 nits of brightness. The QLED display system has a max refresh rate of 120Hz and uses glass aspheric lenses, while the OLED one has a 90Hz max refresh rate and uses less bulky pancake lenses.
You’ll also find neat features like eye-tracking, dynamic foveated rendering, and inside-out tracking – so there’s no need for lighthouses.
As you'd expect, this swappable display design doesn’t come cheap. If you want a Pimax Crystal Super with both the OLED and QLED display engines you’ll be paying $2,399 (around £1,925 / AU$3,700) for the headset. Alternatively if you’d rather get just one type of display the QLED model will set you back $1,799 (around £1,450 / AU$2,800 ) while the OLED version costs $1,999 (around £1,600 / AU$3,100).
No precise release date has been given yet but Pimax estimates the Crystal super will launch in Q4 2024 (so October, November or December).
If this is all still too much to pay for a VR headset – especially one that requires you to have a similarly high-end PC gaming rig so you can get the most out of your headset’s capabilities – or you want a headset that’ll arrive sooner, you could instead opt for the Crystal Light.
The crystal light boasts less sharp displays – boasting just 2,880 x 2,880 pixels per eye – though its QLED screen can get up to 120Hz. However, it uses aspheric lenses so will be bulkier than headsets using pancake lenses, and it lacks eye-tracking, and dynamic foveated rendering capabilities.
The upshot is it’s a heck of a lot cheaper starting at just $699 (around £550 / AU$1,100) and it should launch in May according to Pimax.
As impressive as these news Pimax headsets sound, I'm disappointed that they’re locked into the PCVR ecosystem, and aren’t at least adopting Pimax’s own wireless tech.
Analysis: Several steps forward, several steps backA big issue with PCVR headsets are the cables that tether you to a PC – or a console in the case of PSVR 2 – that limit your movement, and that you can catch yourself on as your flail about in virtual reality.
However, as we’ve seen from the displays in Pimax’s headset, the advantage of PCVR is you can enjoy a super high level of graphics and performance that outshines standalone devices – like the Meta Quest 3 and even Apple Vision Pro (provided you have a great PC, that is).
This is where a wireless module can come in like the Pimax Crystal 60G Airlink device as they allow you to enjoy PCVR without being tethered. We’ve known that this device has been coming for a while – it was demoed at CES 2024 already – but we finally know exactly what the Crystal 60G can do with official specs straight from Pimax.
Specifically it boasts wireless PCVR with a 2,880 x 2,880 pixel resolution per eye, 90Hz max refresh rate, and “ultra low latency” – though exactly what this means hasn’t been revealed.
Unfortunately, neither of Pimax’s new headsets – the Crystal Super or Crystal Light – will support the 60G Airlink module.
What’s more, they strip out the batteries and Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset that the base Pimax Crystal headset included, which allowed it to support both wireless PCVR and a standalone VR experience.
To this end, you might find the base Crystal model is the better option for you – or a non-Pimax model like a Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro – thanks to the versatility offered by a standalone headset. Not only are you freer to use the headset wherever you want but also, with the exception of the Vision Pro, you can very easily use these headsets for wireless VR and for wired PCVR – giving you the best of both worlds.
This versatility is one of the reasons why Quest headsets have been topping the Steam VR usage charts for years.
Considering how impressive Pimax’s machines are I’d love for it to have kept pushing into the world of standalone VR. Improving its software catalogue or partnering with a company with a great VR OS to jumpstart its app store – ideally the amazing Quest ecosystem, though are others out there from the likes of HTC – would also have been great.
I’ll have to try the latest Pimax headset out for myself before giving my final verdict, but as it stands I don’t think these are VR gadgets I can see most people using – nor do I think most people should use them. Which is a real shame because otherwise I feel Pimax’s machines could be a slam dunk on pricey competitors like the Vision Pro – for now, though, I feel relative newcomer Apple has Pimax’s Crystal Super beat, on paper.
You might also likeHumane AI Pin review roundup: an undercooked flop that's way ahead of its time
The Humane AI Pin is a fascinating little device for gadget fans. If you missed its reveal in November 2023, it's a tiny wearable computer with a built-in AI assistant, camera, and a little projector that blasts its UI onto your hand. Unfortunately, it's also pretty terrible, according to the internet's first reviews, which have landed in the past few days.
It's rare for tech reviews, from both traditional media and YouTubers, to be so unanimous in their criticism of a much-hyped product. "The worst product I've ever reviewed... for now" concluded Marques Brownlee. Ouch. Meanwhile, Engadget branded it "the solution to none of technology's problems", while The Verge simply said that the AI Pin was "not even close".
Naturally, these scathing verdicts create some added fascination about a $699 device that also requires a $ 24-a-month subscription. Yet few of the reviews think the AI Pin is completely without merit. Many praise its hardware design, which is solid aluminum and clips to your chest thanks to a magnetic 'battery booster' that goes inside your clothing. On the few occasions that it did work seamlessly, it also gave reviewers a little glimpse of a refreshingly screen-less future.
But beyond the specific features – many of which don't seem to work reliably enough yet – the most interesting thing about these Humane AI Pin reviews is their broad conclusions about AI gadgets. In short, our phones aren't going anywhere for a long time, and, as Bloomberg's review concluded, "the AI device revolution isn't going to kill the smartphone". We haven't yet reviewed the Rabbit R1, but that will probably hold true for a while yet.
This doesn't mean that the Humane AI Pin isn't a fascinating (if deeply flawed device) today. Here are all of the internet's thoughts on the boldest tech launch since the Apple Vision Pro...
Humane AI Pin: the key reviews Marques Brownlee: "The worst product I've ever reviewed...for now"Despite the scathing headline, Marques Brownlee's report on his time with the AI Pin is typically fair and even-handed. Unfortunately, he simply couldn't find many positives, aside from the design. "The build of this thing is actually impressive", he says of the solid, aluminum gadget. Unfortunately, it's also "bad at almost everything it does".
That list includes answering your voice queries, where it's either painfully slow (given most requests go to the cloud) or "just wrong all the time". The battery life was also strangely inconsistent, and the device was worryingly warm a lot of time. But the fundamental issue, a theme across most of the reviews, is that everything the AI Pin does, a "modern smartphone does better and faster". Without connecting to your smartphone or offering any apps, the AI Pin is strangely adrift.
The Good- Solid build quality
- Translation feature has promise
- Impressive engineering
- Too slow at giving answers
- Poor, inconsistent battery life
- Overheating issues
- Wrong all the time
- No apps
Tech YouTuber Arun Maini, AKA Mrwhosetheboss, was clearly conflicted in his review between the "small twinges of something magical" he could see in the Humane AI Pin and the unworkable reality of using it. "As of right now, the Human Pin is an incredibly poor proposition" he concluded.
As other reviews noted, it all goes downhill after you see the hardware. The price (which works out at $1,700 over two years, when you factor in the subscription, accessories, and taxes), slow responses to voice requests, lack of integration with existing phone apps, and impractical projector interface were all black marks.
As Maini notes, a more sensible setup would surely be for the AI Pin to connect to your phone – like the best smartwatches – rather than act as a standalone device. All of this led him to conclude that he can't see "a single angle from which it makes sense".
The Good- Construction is top-notch
- No wake words needed
- Vision feature is satisfying
- Too expensive
- Requests take too long
- Doesn't talk to existing apps
- Projector not bright enough
CNET's hands-on review of the AI Pin contains a nice nod to the Star Trek Communicator badge that the pin is seemingly inspired by, but that's one of the few moments of levity in a review that cautions you "definitely not" consider buying it in its current form.
The video is more of a whistlestop tour of the AI Pin's features – including the built-in camera for taking photos and 15-second videos – than a real deep-dive into living with it. But there are lots of useful real-world examples of using the wearable, including its promising translation feature and uncut takes of how long it often takes to respond.
There are also some familiar conclusions; overheating, the laser display not being bright enough in daylight, underwhelming AI features, and the hand-tracking interface being frustrating and worse than on a VR headset. In short, it's frustrating and CNET said there are times when the AI Pin has driven it crazy.
The Good- Sleek design
- Well-conceived accessories
- Decent battery life
- Overheating issues
- Too frustrating for everyday use
- Can't connect to your phone
- AI is unreliable
Frequent bouts of hysterical laughter aren't usually a good sign for a tech review –and sure enough, The Verge found that the AI Pin's promise is completely undermined by its unreliability and its "single biggest problem – it is so, so slow".
Cue a 13-second wait for it to mis-identify the Brooklyn Bridge and other unintentionally hilarious gaffes. The Verge actually still came away "sort of impressed" by the AI Pin's technology, including the fact that it doesn't need a wake word and promises a world where you can sometimes leave your phone at home.
It also concluded that the Pin "might still be the future, or something like it", with its camera-based descriptions of real-world objects being "easily the most futuristic thing" about the device. But it's also a "$700 gamble" and the damning conclusion is that a cell-connected Apple Watch is a much more capable and functional device, while being a lot cheaper.
The Good- Sturdy and nicely made
- No wake word needed
- Many features not yet available
- Very slow at responding
- Doesn't always work
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is an Apple reporter who notes that Humane's co-founders are former Apple staffers who worked on the iPhone and iPad, which gave them a leg-up when it came to investment. But despite its promising backstory, he concludes that the AI Pin's "fundamental design and interface are fatally flawed".
Gurman's conclusion is that the bugs and slow response times aren't the AI Pin's main problem. Instead, the voice control and laser projection system make it "a nonstarter for most people". He notes that smart speaker and voice assistant hype has died down because they're not a "practical user interface".
So while Gurman concludes, like most of the early reviews, that Humane deserves credit for creating something new and building a system that "aggregate data from several AI engines", the concept is ultimately doomed to failure and is "never going to work".
What next for the Humane AI Pin?
Understandably, Humane has defended its new gadget from the wave of scathing reviews. Ken Kocienda, the company's Head of Product Engineering and the inventor of the iPhone's autocorrect, posted a lengthy statement on X (formerly Twitter) about why he's a "happy AI Pin user" and why his "intuition tells me that we are on track".
Kocienda admits that the AI Pin can be "frustrating sometimes", but apparently no more than a laptop or smartphone. That isn't the conclusion from the internet's first reviews from multiple sources, but the Humane designer also blames the social media landscape for encouraging "hot takes" and encouraging people to "jump on the skepticism bandwagon".
So what next for the AI Pin? Humane does have a roadmap for new features, with timers, gesture unlock, photo sharing via SMS, and more coming in software version 1.2, which is scheduled for "Summer". Other features like number sharing, visual shopping, and an SDK for apps are also in the pipeline, but don't yet have a date.
As it stands, the current consensus for the Humane AI Pin is that it's simply too ambitious for its form factor and current technology – including the problem that AI tends to 'hallucinate' or confidently give incorrect answers. For now, the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and Rabbit R1 look like more promising examples of AI gadgets, but we'll be keeping an eye on AI Pin to see if it can overcome its inauspicious start.
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