Category: Technology

You won’t have to wait long to earn bonuses for playing and buying PlayStation games. Sony now says its PlayStation Stars loyalty program debuts in the Americas on October 5th, while Australians and Europeans will have access October 13th. Stars is already active in Asia, including Japan. The program is free, although you will receive some benefits if you’re a PlayStation Plus member.

You currently have to access Stars through the PlayStation App on mobile devices if you want the “full” experience. You can sign up on the web, however, and Sony expects to reach PlayStation consoles in the future.

As previously explained, you earn rewards in PlayStation Stars by completing activities and campaigns ranging from the very basic (playing any game once a month) to the challenging (being one of the first to score a game’s platinum trophy in your region). You’ll earn loyalty points you can put toward your PlayStation Network wallet, digital collectibles (no, not NFTs) and certain products. You can also receive collectibles directly.

You can improve the number of rewards you get by advancing through trophy- and purchase-based status levels. However, you’ll have to top that up 13 months after the end of the calendar year when you reached them. If you reach level 2 this October, you’ll have until January 31st, 2024 to do something extending that status.

The strategy and its motivations aren’t new. As with Microsoft Points and Nintendo Gold Points, this gives you an incentive to keep coming back to your console — and spending money. Given that it’s free, though, it might be worth a try even if you only occasionally fire up your PS5.

 

Razer, Qualcomm and Verizon are working together on a 5G gaming handheld. The carrier teased the Razer Edge 5G at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas. Details on the device are sparse, but what we do know is that it will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G3x Gen 1. Announced in December, the chipset features an Adreno GPU capable of running Android games at 144 frames per second, with support for 10-bit HDR built-in. Additionally, it offers both 5G and WiFi 6E connectivity courtesy of the company’s FastConnect 6900 system.

At the end of last year, Qualcomm and Razer released a Developer Kit that was designed as a showcase of the G3x’s capabilities. The device featured a 120Hz, 6.65-inch OLED display, four-way speakers and built-in controls. If we had to take a guess, the Razer Edge 5G will hew closely to that prototype. In the teaser it shared today, Razer showed off enough of the Edge 5G to reveal it will feature a design that’s a tad more refined than the last Razer device to bear Edge branding.

According to Verizon, the Android handheld can play games locally, in addition to streaming them from the cloud and consoles. That puts the Razer Edge 5G in an interesting spot between Logitech’s G Cloud Gaming Handheld and Valve’s Steam Deck. The former is a dedicated cloud gaming device and costs $350, a hefty price for its limited capabilities. The Steam Deck is more expensive but can run games like Elden Ring, Stray and Hades natively. And if you already own those titles on Steam, you don’t have to pay for them again. What the Steam Deck doesn’t have is 5G connectivity, and that’s something that could make the Razer Edge 5G an interesting option when it’s released. Razer, Qualcomm and Verizon promised to share more information about their collaboration on October 15th at RazerCon.

 

A third-party Instagram app, called “The OG App,” which promised an ad-free feed more like the original Instagram experience, has been pulled from Apple’s App Store just one day after it officially launched. It’s not clear if Apple pulled the app at the request of Meta, but the social network confirmed it had taken “enforcement actions” against the service.

“This app violates our policies and we’re taking all appropriate enforcement actions,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson declined to elaborate on what those actions were, or if it had been in contact with Apple, but pointed to a blog post outlining Meta’s policies barring clone sites.

“A clone site is a third-party site that duplicates, in whole or in part, the content of an existing site,” Meta explains. On Twitter, the developers of The OG App said their entire team had been permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram as a result of their ties to the service.

“Users deserve the right to control what they consume, and OG will continue to defend and fight for that right,” Hardik Patil, on of the app’s founder’s told Engadget. He said he had received no direct communication from Meta.

The OG App had been in the works for more than a year, according toTechCrunch, which reported its initial launch. The app’s founders told the publication they wanted to provide a “cleaner” version of Instagram without advertising. The app featured customizable feeds without Reels, suggested posts and other newer features that have at times been controversial among longtime Instagram users. The Android version of the app is currently still available.

Meta’s policies have long barred third-party Instagram clients, and in recent years the company has filed a number of lawsuits against developers who break its rules, including those barring clone sites. At the same time, the company has also been accused of using those same policies to shut down legitimate researchers’ attempts to study the platform.

However, in this case, it seems the creators of the OG App were clearly breaking Instagram’s policies. The company doesn’t offer a public API for developers to build their own versions of Instagram, and on Twitter, The OG App said they had to “reverse engineer” the Android API. The app also raised privacy concerns about how the developers were protecting users’ account information.

Despite this, the app had already gained a lot of fans due to its more simplified — and ad-free — experience. Instagram has also been dealing with a backlash against its aggressive pushing of Reels and recommended content. The OG App said it had racked up more than 10,000 downloads before its removal from the App Store “because we listened to them and built what they wanted.”

 

While new gadgets tend to dominate Amazon’s annual Devices and Services Event, the company still has a few upgrades planned for its ubiquitous digital assistant. So here are all the fresh features and skills Amazon is planning to add to Alexa. 

For people trying to shop for a new outfit, the Echo Show is getting an AI-based skill that allows it to more easily search for clothes using a customer’s references or specific characteristics. For example, Amazon says you can ask things like “Alexa, show me the one-shoulder top.” Amazon explained the skill was created using the Alexa Teacher Model, which was trained using images and captions sourced from the company’s product database. 

In the car, Alexa is also getting a new Roadside Assistance feature that will connect you with an agent in case you need do something like calling a tow truck or get help changing a flat tire. On top of that, BMW is expanding its partnership with Amazon, with BMW announcing plans to build its next-generation voice assistant using the Alexa Custom Assistant solution. BMW’s goal is to support more natural language controls that are easy to use while driving. 

Alexa is also getting integration with the new Halo Rise, allowing it to do things like automatically turn off your lights when you get in bed or play your favorite song to help you wake up in the morning. Amazon will also be adding the Fire TV experience to the Echo Show 15, so users will be able to watch all their favorite shows or purchased content on a smaller screen. There’s also a new Alexa Voice Remote Pro for Fire TVs, that allows you to more easily switch between various inputs, control routines and use your voice to find the remote if you lose it thanks to the controller’s built-in speaker. 

Meanwhile for Disney fans, Amazon is adding a new “Hey Disney” command that gives anyone with a Kids+ subscription access to immersive entertainment experiences featuring big-name Disney characters. 

Follow all of the news from Amazon’s event right here!

 

Multisearch, a Google Lens feature that can search images and text simultaneously, will soon be more broadly available after arriving in the US as a beta earlier this year. Google says multisearch will expand to more than 70 languages in the coming months. The company made the announcement at an event focused on Search.

In addition, the Near Me feature, which Google unveiled at I/O back in May, will land in the US in English sometime this fall. This ties into multisearch, with the idea of making it easier for folks to find out more details about local businesses. 

Multisearch is largely about enabling people to point their camera at something and ask about it while they’re using the Google app. You could aim your phone at a store and request details about it, for instance, or ask about a screenshot of any unfamiliar item, like an item of clothing. You could also look up what a certain food item is called, like soup dumplings or laksa, and see what restaurants around you offer it.

Also on the Lens front, there will be some changes when it comes to augmented reality translations. Google is now employing the same artificial intelligence tech it uses for the Pixel 6’s Magic Eraser feature to make it appear like it’s replacing the original text, instead of superimposing the translation on top. The idea is to make translations look more seamless and natural.

Google is also adding shortcuts to the bottom of the search bar in its iOS app, so you’ll more easily find features like translating text with your camera, hum to search and translating text in screenshots.

 

Google may soon give you a feel for a city district before you’ve ever set foot in it. The company is introducing a “neighborhood vibe’ feature for Maps on Android and iOS that will help you learn what’s new and worth seeing in a particular area through info and imagery. You may discover a historic quarter full of landmarks and museums, or the hottest restaurants in the chic part of town.

The technology relies on a blend of AI with community contributions to Google Maps’ landscape, such as photos and reviews. If all goes well, the feature will evolve in sync with the neighborhood itself.

The vibe check will roll out to Maps users worldwide in the “coming months.” No, this won’t make you as knowledgeable as a resident. However, it might help you plan a vacation or move — instead of searching blindly for things to do, you’ll have a decent sense of what’s popular with locals.

 

If you recently traveled to a new city, there’s a good chance you used Maps to plan your trip. Google wants to make that process easier. Over the next few months, you can expect Google to expand the availability of its 3D “Immersive View” feature. As of today, you can use Maps to see photorealistic aerial views of more than 250 global landmarks, including Tokyo Tower and the Acropolis of Athens.

In Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, it’s also possible to see a preview of where Google plans to take the feature in the coming months and years. In those cities, Immersive View includes a timeline functionality, allowing you to see a simulation of how a popular landmark will look at a specific time of day. Additionally, Immersive View works in conjunction with Street View, so it’s possible to explore nearby restaurants and shops. The idea here is to take the guesswork out of planning to visit popular landmarks and tourist destinations.

Live View is also about to get an upgrade. In LA, New York, San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo, Google is adding search functionality to the augmented reality feature. Now, if you’re looking for an ATM, restroom or a place to sit down and grab a bite to eat, you can use Live View to point you in the right direction. Android and iOS users can expect the updated feature to arrive on their devices in the coming months. Last but not least, Google announced today it’s making its eco-friendly routing feature available to third-party developers. That should allow companies like Uber and Lyft to add the technology to their apps, helping their drivers create fewer emissions.

 

Google is shaking up Search in terms of both entering queries and how results are displayed, and you can expect to see the changes in the wild in the coming months. For instance, you may soon find it easier to get answers to questions before you finish writing them. When you start typing into the search box, Google will display badges with autocomplete suggestions, as well as related themes and categories. The goal, as ever, is to help you get to relevant results faster.

When it comes to search results, expect Google to place greater onus on videos, including more vertical clips. According to Google, this is in service of diversifying the types of content formats that users see in results. It builds on an approach centered around browsable, visual-first results and endless scrolling on mobile (where vertical videos thrive). You’ll see related topics as you scroll too. When you look up a city, you might see photos of landmarks, directions to get there, the current weather and tips for travelers. In addition, the search results may include videos from creators who have visited the city.

It could be easier for you to go down the rabbit hole on something you’re interested in too. Google detailed some “drill down” features that are based on a deep understanding of how people search. You’ll be able to add and remove related topics to see more detail or focus on the things you care about. You may discover things you weren’t aware of. Google used Oaxaca’s beaches and musical traditions as examples. That could help you find inspiration for planning trips, for instance.

This seems like an evolution of related searches. It’s described as a streamlined and unified approach to helping folks explore topics by organizing results in a more logical way. Ultimately, it’s all about simplifying Search and getting you the information you need (or didn’t know you need) more quickly.

 

At its Search On event today, Google unveiled several new ways to help people more easily find what they’re looking for. Some things can be trickier to locate than most, like a particular style of clothing or a certain fragrance. But when it comes to food that makes your mouth and eyes water, Google thinks it can help. Engadget spoke with vice president and general manager of Local Search Yul Kwon to learn how the company believes it can bring people to the dishes they’re craving.

Kwon’s lived many lives. You might remember him as the winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, but he’s also been a management consultant, a law practitioner and the owner of several Red Mango franchise locations in California. “I lost about 20 pounds during the show and when I came back, I was so hungry,” he said. “I basically just sat there and ate everything and anything I could get my hands on.”

His ravenous spiral led to a “40-pound weight swing,” which drove Kwon to find healthier alternatives to junk food and dessert. On a trip to Los Angeles, Kwon discovered frozen yogurt and was hooked. But the dearth of high quality frozen yogurt stores in the Bay Area at the time meant it was hard for him to find the tasty treat at home. Inspired, and driven by the desire to make an “unlimited supply of frozen yogurt for me to eat myself,” Kwon opened stores in downtown Palo Alto, San Carlos and San Jose. 

Over time, competition in the froyo business grew intense, as more and more stores opened to cater to growing demand. “At some point everyone and their grandma was opening a frozen yogurt store,” Kwon said. “A lot of the stores that opened were lower quality and lower cost and so they were not as healthy.”

Kwon said that amid this spike, it not only became became tough to differentiate his business from the competition, but the tools to reach and engage with customers just weren’t available. “It was harder to track new customers to get the word out, and we didn’t really have great tools to drive word of mouth or use technology to drive awareness.”

Eventually, the financial crisis of 2008 became the final straw and Kwon had to close his businesses. 

This is a story that’s all too familiar. Small, local businesses lacking the tools to reach larger audiences eventually have to cave to competition and shutter. Though services like GrubHub and DoorDash have made it easier for people to discover restaurants to order food from, they often charge high fees and offer businesses little control over how they’re presented. 

These days, companies turn to social media to reach would-be customers, and making an attractive profile can determine how successful you are. Skills that have little to do with running a restaurant, like photography and caption-writing, are now key to bringing in money. Though it’s not technically social media, Google Maps and Search results also play crucial parts in whether a business thrives or fails. If a restaurant’s Maps listing has a rating that’s lower than four stars, or if it doesn’t have a menu available for perusal, a potential diner can quickly be turned off. 

Updated digital menus and vibe checks

One of these potential roadblocks is fairly easy to solve. Not only does Google already provide a digital menu on most listings, it also groups user-submitted pictures of physical menus for easier reference. The company also announced today that it’s expanding its coverage of digital menus, “making them more visually rich and reliable. 

“We combine menu information provided by people and merchants, and found on restaurant websites that use open standards for data sharing,” Sophia Lin, the company’s general manager of Food and Search, wrote in a blog post. Google also uses image and language understanding technologies like its Multitask Unified Model to scrape available data and produce these menus, which will also showcase most popular dishes and call out different dietary options (starting with just vegetarian and vegan).

Just like Neighborhood Vibe that Google just announced for Maps, a new feature is also coming to Search to help capture and relay to users what makes a restaurant stand out. “Star ratings are helpful, but they don’t tell you everything about a restaurant,” Lin wrote. In the coming months, listings will show pictures and reviews that the company’s machine learning systems determined are representative of how a place feels. 

Identify and find specific dishes

Google also wants to help people find the exact food items they’re craving. “Our research shows 40 percent of people already have a dish in mind when they search for food,” Lin wrote. “So to help people find what they’re looking for, in the coming months you’ll be able to search for any dish and see the local places that offer it.”

Lin gave the example of soup dumplings, which she said is a family favorite. The new multisearch near me tool can not only identify the type of xiao long bao (the Chinese name for soup dumplings, or XLB for the well-informed) in a picture, but can also tell you where you can buy it near you. You can also get more specific with your search. 

According to Lin, “In the past, searching for soup dumplings near me would show a list of related restaurants. With our revamped experience, we’ll now show you the exact dish results you’ve been looking for. You can even narrow your search down to spicy dishes if you want a bit of a kick”

Of course, these new tools alone won’t help struggling small businesses thrive, but they do help users better understand what restaurants have to offer. 

When Kwon recounts his experiences running his Red Mango franchises, he feels on hindsight that “it was hard for people to really understand how we differed from other yogurt shops, It wasn’t any like one place that could go to to really help them find what they’re looking for.”

Kwon said he learned from that ordeal how hard it was to be successful as a small business and wanted to do something to help people in similar situations. He believes that building a set of tools that help small businesses succeed is how he can make a difference.

“Ultimately, technology can be the great equalizer.” he said. “It can be the thing that helps small businesses can change on an even playing field within the big guys.” While today’s announcements on their own don’t seem to specifically target local businesses trying to reach customers in their community, Kwon says the updates “help people connect and find the types of foods that they’re looking for,” which he said is part of helping build relationships between people and their communities.

I want to see Google do more to help and empower small local businesses trying to engage with their communities and customers, and though I’m underwhelmed by today’s announcements on that front, I am hopeful for more to come.  

 

You no longer need to join a queue to try OpenAI’s well-known image generator. The company has dropped the waiting list for the DALL-E beta, making the technology available to everyone. If you want to create art, you just have to sign up (if you can get past the authentication glitch that exists as we write this) and start describing the pieces you’d like to produce.

The wider release comes after OpenAI both expanded DALL-E’s features (such as “Outpainting” to expand beyond original image borders) and, importantly, some crucial safeguards. The firm claims it has “more robust” abilities to filter out policy-violating content, including some depictions of sexuality and violence. A developer framework currently in testing should also bring the AI picture maker to third-party apps.

This public debut comes without answers to some key questions. It’s not clear if AI-generated art is fair use or stolen, for instance — Getty Images and similar services have banned the material out of concern it might violate copyright. While this expansion will be welcome, it might test some legal limits.