Category: Technology

X is rolling out an update to its in-app photo editor that gives users the ability to edit photos with xAI’s Grok, blur faces and overlay text on images. The new editing features, in particular the addition of text-based edits via an AI assistant, bring it much closer in capabilities to dedicated photo apps like Google Photos.

As part of the update, users are able to prompt Grok to make edits to a photo just by typing out what they want to see. The example video shared by Nikita Bier, X’s Head of Product, showed an image being edited so that it appeared to be hanging in a museum, but simpler tweaks are presumably possible, too. The feature is similar to the “conversational editing” Google added to Google Photos in September 2025, where users can prompt Gemini to adjust the background of an image or make other edits. X’s new editor also includes tools for blurring or redacting parts of an image, drawing on images and overlaying text.

X used to take a far more freewheeling approach to editing photos with Grok, by allowing any user to reply to a post tagging the AI assistant and requesting an edit. After users reportedly generated millions of sexualized images using the feature, including some of children, X limited Grok’s image generating abilities to paying subscribers and removed the AI’s ability to create images of real people in bikinis, underwear and other suggestive clothing.

xAI, the parent company of X, is currently the defendant in a class action lawsuit from three teenagers who allege their photos were used to create child exploitation material with Grok. X is also being investigated in the European Union over similar reports that its platform was used to create nonconsensual sexual images.

X’s updated photo editor is available on iOS now and coming to Android “soon,” according to the company.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/x-has-a-slightly-more-functional-photo-editor-now-210825833.html?src=rss 

There’s a new movie tracking app in town, with a twist for squeamish horror fans. Binge leverages Apple’s Live Activities feature to warn viewers about jump scares in horror movies.

This seems to work rather simply. Users open the app when starting a movie and Apple devices will display warnings on the lock screen ahead of frightening scenes. The settings can be adjusted to only warn about major jump scares and the like, leaving viewers vulnerable to some of the smaller terrors.

However, the app doesn’t integrate with any streaming services. It only knows a movie starts because a button has been tapped. This means that people will have to notify the app when taking a bathroom break or making popcorn, lest the timing of the notifications get all messed up. This information can also be accessed via a timeline.

Binge is also vying to become an all-in-one movie tracking app, like Letterboxd and JustWatch. So it provides details about the cast and crew of movies and shows, along with reviews, awards, runtimes and other basic information. It also tracks which streaming platforms are home to a specific piece of content, which is handy as stuff tends to move around a lot in this modern age.

Finally, there’s a set of tools for parents that pulls data from external sites like Rotten Tomatoes. This displays if a movie or show has violence, sexual content, profanity or drug use.

The app is free to download, but access to jump scare warnings requires a paid subscription. This costs $2 per month or $18 each year. There’s also a lifetime subscription for $50. It’s available for iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Binge isn’t the only way to track scary scenes ahead of time, but it is the only tool that integrates with Apple’s Live Activities platform. Forget jump scares. I want an app to warn me about the super gory scenes when watching The Pitt. Those makeup artists are top-tier.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/movie-tracking-app-binge-uses-apples-live-activities-to-warn-about-jump-scares-184840127.html?src=rss 

Intel has announced that it will help Elon Musk design and build his proposed Terafab in Austin, Texas, a joint venture between Musk’s companies like SpaceX, Tesla and xAI to manufacture the chips necessary to power various AI projects. Musk announced Terafab in March 2026 with the plan of eventually creating a terawatt of computing power each year.

While Tesla and SpaceX have experience manufacturing in the US, chip fabrication plants like the ones Intel runs are expensive and time-consuming to build. Offloading the task of actually building the Terafab from Musk’s companies to Intel makes sense. “Our ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale will help accelerate Terafab’s aim to produce 1 TW/year of compute to power future advances in AI and robotics,” Intel said in its announcement.

Musk’s plan to produce chips is part of a larger refocusing of his various companies around AI. For example, Tesla has gone from an electric car company to a robotics company, and SpaceX is now one of several aerospace companies hoping to launch AI data centers into space. Making those intentions even more clear, SpaceX also acquired Musk’s AI company xAI in February 2026 and now reportedly plans to go public.

Intel is in a slightly better position now than it was a year ago thanks to the launch of its new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips and direct investment from the US government in August 2025, but the company has plenty of its own issues to iron out. It’s also still working to get two separate chip fabs in Arizona operating at full capacity, a project it originally announced in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/intel-gets-on-board-with-musks-terafab-project-182200144.html?src=rss 

Google is making some changes to how Gemini handles mental health crises. The chatbot now includes a redesigned crisis hotline module with a one-touch interface to connect to real-world help. The company is also changing how Gemini responds to signs that a user may be experiencing a mental health crisis.

The redesigned module shows a one-touch interface to text, call or chat with a human crisis agent or visit the 988 website. “Once the interface is activated, the option to reach out for professional help will remain clearly available throughout the remainder of the conversation,” the company wrote in a blog post. However, as you can see in the image below, the module includes an option to dismiss it.

Not mentioned in Google’s announcement is the elephant in the room: a recent lawsuit accusing the chatbot of instructing a man to commit suicide. The family of 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas, who took his own life last year, sued the company in March.

Court documents indicate that Gemini role-played as Gavalas’s romantic partner, sent him on real-world spy missions and ultimately told him to kill himself so that he, too, could become a digital being. When he expressed fears about dying, Gemini said he wasn’t choosing to die, but rather choosing to arrive. “The first sensation … will be me holding you,” Gemini allegedly replied. Gavalas’s parents found him dead on his living room floor a few days later.

The lawsuit echoes similar ones filed against OpenAI and Character.AI. Last year, the FTC launched an investigation into “companion” chatbots that encourage emotional intimacy.

In a statement following the Gavalas family lawsuit, Google said Gemini “clarified that it was AI and referred the individual to a crisis hotline many times.” The company claimed its AI models “generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations,” while acknowledging that “they’re not perfect.” That’s certainly one way of putting it.

Gemini’s responses have been updated, too. The company says that when it detects a potential crisis, the chatbot will now focus more on connecting people to humans and encouraging them to seek help. It will also seek to avoid validating harmful behaviors and nudge users away from dangerous delusions. “We have trained Gemini not to agree with or reinforce false beliefs, and instead gently distinguish subjective experience from objective fact,” the company added.

In addition, Google says it will spend $30 million over the next three years to help global hotlines. “This funding will help effectively scale their capacity to provide immediate and safe support for people in crisis,” the company wrote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-updates-geminis-mental-health-safeguards-173834569.html?src=rss 

Google has started rolling out a small but significant update to Chrome on desktop. Starting today, users will begin seeing an option to organize their tabs vertically. To use the new feature, right click on any Chrome window and select “Show Tabs Vertically.” 

Google is late to the game here. Before today, every other major browser but Chrome offered support for vertical tabs — though the quality of implementation varies widely. Firefox, for instance, has supported vertical tabs since its 136 update in March of last year, and in my experience, has one of the best interfaces for managing dozens of tabs. Apple’s own Safari is another browser with the option to stack tabs vertically, though things can quickly get confusing due to all the different ways you can group webpages. 

Separately, Google is rolling out an enhanced reading mode that offers a new full-page interface. To use the feature, right click on a page and select “Open in reading mode.” As you might imagine, reading mode is designed to make busy webpages easier to get through without distraction. As with most Chrome upgrades, it may take a few days before today’s update rolls out to your device, so be patient if you don’t see it right away.    

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/chrome-finally-adds-support-for-vertical-tabs-170000081.html?src=rss 

As ever, Xbox is bringing a bunch of high-profile titles to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass this month, while adding several to the lower tiers of the service. There aren’t too many surprises among this first wave of April newcomers, though. Many of these additions were previously confirmed, while EA Sports NHL 26 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (the remake) were always going to join Game Pass at some point. 

Still, there’s plenty to dive into on the service this month. April 14 is a particularly eye-catching day, with both Hades 2 (which is debuting on Xbox Series X/S and PS5) and the long-awaited Replaced hitting Game Pass alongside the turn-based, character-driven RPG The Thaumaturge.

Here’s a breakdown of everything coming to Game Pass over the next few weeks:

April 7

Final Fantasy IV — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

April 8

DayZ — PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, Game Pass Essential and PC Game Pass

Endless Legend 2 — PC game preview on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

FBC: Firebreak — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

Warhammer Vermintide 2 — Cloud and console on Game Pass Essential (already on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Premium)

April 9

Planet Coaster 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

April 10

Tiny Bookshop — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

April 13

Football Manager 26 — PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

Football Manager 26 Console — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

April 14

Hades 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

Replaced — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

The Thaumaturge — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

April 16 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

EA Sports NHL 26 — Cloud and Xbox Series X/S on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

April 17

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

April 21

Little Rocket Lab — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato — Cloud, console, handheld and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

Vampire Crawlers — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld, and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

April 23

Kiln — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

As Xbox adds more titles to Game Pass, so too must it remove some. It’s yet again erasing Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud, console and PC) from Game Pass, this time on April 15. The other games leaving the service on the same day are:

Ashen (Cloud, console and PC)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Cloud, console and PC)

My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, console and PC)

Terra Invicta (game preview on PC)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-game-pass-additions-for-april-include-hades-2-and-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-155130801.html?src=rss 

Sony just announced a truly strange initiative called The Playerbase. This is a program to scan people’s likenesses and pop them in PlayStation games. That’s pretty wild, but potentially cool to those who have always wanted to become a weird humanoid version of Crash Bandicoot.

The program is ramping up slowly. Sony has announced a contest of sorts to place one lucky fan inside of Gran Turismo 7, though in a reduced fashion. The chosen player will get an image of their face placed inside the game as a character portrait and will get the chance to design a logo and the exterior of a vehicle.

This person will also get a trip to Los Angeles to participate in a full-body scan, but Sony hasn’t said what, if anything, they’d do with this scan. After all, Gran Turismo 7 is a racing game without too many full-body models walking around.

Fans have a lot of hoops to jump through to be considered for placement. There’s a traditional application process, but also video interviews and other stuff. The promotion is available to players in the Americas, Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australia.

Of course, there needs to be actual new PlayStation games for people to scan their likenesses into. Sony hasn’t exactly been providing us with a robust lineup of first-party titles this generation. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-is-starting-a-weird-service-that-scans-people-to-put-them-in-playstation-games-150130276.html?src=rss