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Apple’s much-anticipated mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, is now available for pre-order in the US through the company’s website and all its stores across the country. Interested buyers may want to take note that they have to scan their face with an iPhone or iPad using Face ID when they pre-order to make sure they’re getting a precise band fit. The company designed the Vision Pro with a modular system so that users can customize it to fit them perfectly — it will, after all, set them back at least $3,499 for the version with 256GB of storage. 

People who need vision correction also have the option to add Zeiss optical inserts when they pre-order so that they won’t need to wear their glasses inside the headset anymore. They can get reader inserts for $99 and prescription inserts for $149, though they have to provide an updated official prescription with their order to be able to purchase them.

The company’s mixed reality headset is powered by visionOS, which users can control via gestures with their eyes and hands or with voice commands through Siri. Apple placed a lot of emphasis on its entertainment features when it officially introduced the device and said that it will support more than a million apps from the iOS and iPadOS ecosystems, along with apps especially made for its platform. 

Some popular services like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify won’t be available for download at launch, but early adopters will still have access to a number of entertainment apps, including Disney+, Max, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+. Users will be able to place their apps anywhere in a 3D environment and, in Disney+’s case, be able to watch shows against a special immersive background like the Avengers Tower. They’ll also be able to access their Mac on the headset, so they can work or do what they usually do on a laptop on a mixed reality device instead. The Apple Vision Pro will start shipping on February 2. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-vision-pro-pre-orders-are-now-open-130056024.html?src=rss 

The long-running dispute between the European Commission and Apple over the use of its payment technology could soon come to an end. The Commission has officially announced Apple’s plan to open up its Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology, used for tap-and-go payments, to third-party mobile wallet providers. Rumors of Apple’s proposal first surfaced in December 2023.

The Commission opened an investigation into Apple in 2020 over potentially restricting rival mobile wallet pay developers’ access to necessary technology, thus eliminating Apple Pay’s competition. Two years later, it announced charges against Apple for allegedly violating the European Union’s antitrust laws, which, if proven, could leave Apple with a massive bill.

Apple’s proposal compromises on its previous assertions that third parties could negatively impact security. If approved, Apple would, among other things, allow third parties to APIs with NFC functionality — no fee or use of Apple Pay or wallet required. This shift would include access to technology that keeps payment information secure. Apple would apply this to any developers and iOS users registered in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, people outside the EEA might still be able to use third-party apps. Apple also claims it will call upon an independent reviewer in disputed instances where the company denied NFC access. All suggested changes and prior press releases on the case are available here.

As expected, the European Commission has not rushed to accept Apple’s proposed commitments. Instead, it has laid them out and requested feedback from Apple’s rivals (and any other interested entities) on whether the laid-out changes are acceptable.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-offers-to-open-up-nfc-payments-to-rival-companies-in-eu-antitrust-case-130528339.html?src=rss 

The tech world isn’t taking any breaks after CES! This week, Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by Senior Writer Sam Rutherford to discuss Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event, where it debuted the Galaxy S24 smartphone line. They don’t look very different from last year, but they’re packing a load of AI smarts. Also, Cherlynn finally got to try out the Apple Vision Pro and tells us all about her spatial computing journey. While it was a mostly eye-opening experience, the headset also hurt Cherlynn’s head and forced her to confront one of nature’s most terrifying creatures: A butterfly.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

Topics

Samsung’s Galaxy AI event: S24 line, 7 years of support for new phones, and a Galaxy Ring teaser – 1:05

Cherlynn’s Apple Vision Pro hands-on experience – 34:42

Apple is selling Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 again with blood oxygen feature disabled – 1:03:05

Apple finally allows links to third party websites for purchases – 1:04:57

Google throws support behind right to repair bill – 1:06:19

OpenAI laid out its misinformation strategy for a busy 2024 election year – 1:07:58

Cold temperatures in Chicago led to a lot of dead Teslas – 1:09:44

Pop culture picks – 1:16:50

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Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Sam Rutherford
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-samsung-galaxy-s24-apple-vision-pro-133055516.html?src=rss 

X (formerly Twitter) rolled out audio and video calling for iOS users back in October 2023. Now, the feature is coming to Android, with an engineer at X, @enriquebrgn, sharing the news in a post: “Audio and video calls on X slowly rolling out for Android users today! Update your app and call your mother.” 

Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, first announced video chat on the platform last August as part of her and owner Elon Musk’s plan to create an “everything” app. Of course, the perks that come along with their grand plan, including placing audio and video calls, are primarily available only to premium subscribers. However, any users can receive calls, whether or not they help fund Musk’s dreams (which will cost you $8 per month or $84 annually). 

If WhatsApp, Zoom, Teams and more are enough for you, it’s easy to turn calls off on X. Go into settings and click privacy and safety, then direct messages. There, you’ll see an option that says enable audio and video calling, which you can make sure is switched off. Alternatively, you can control who can call you on X. Limits include people in your address book, verified users and people you follow. These restrictions can be helpful to avoid unwanted calls, as the person on the other end of the line doesn’t need your phone number to contact you. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-introduces-audio-and-video-calls-for-android-users-104015500.html?src=rss 

When the earliest users of Apple’s Vision Pro get their headsets in February, they’ll find a few of the most popular entertainment apps missing from its system’s app store. According to Bloomberg, Google’s YouTube and Spotify don’t have any plans to develop an application for visionOS, the device’s platform, at the moment. A YouTube representative also told the publication that it’s not going to make its iPad app available for download on the headset for now. “YouTube users will be able to use YouTube in Safari on the Vision Pro at launch,” the spokesperson said. As for Spotify, a source told the publication that it doesn’t intend to make its iPad app downloadable on the Vision Pro, as well. 

As MacStories noted in a report listing popular apps that will be compatible with the headset at launch, apps for the iPhone and iPad will automatically show up on the device’s store by default. Developers have to opt out of making their apps downloadable on the Vision Pro. It’s unclear why YouTube and Spotify have chosen not to make their apps available on the headset, but they’re not the only ones. Bloomberg previously reported that Netflix won’t be releasing a dedicated app for the Vision Pro either. In addition, Netflix told the publication that subscribers will have to access its service from a browser on the device, which means its iPad app won’t be downloadable. Based on MacStories‘ report, Meta’ Instagram and Facebook might also be missing from the Vision Pro’s app store. 

These companies may have chosen to wait and see whether it’s worth dedicating resources towards creating a dedicated app for the $3,500 headset. They may also be worried about having to deal with potential issues that Vision Pro users could encounter if they use the iPad versions of the apps on a device that’s from a totally different category. That said, the first Vision Pro users will still have a lot of entertainment apps to choose from, including Disney+, which is giving users access to special immersive environments that can serve as backdrops for its shows. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-vision-pro-wont-have-access-to-youtube-and-spotify-apps-at-launch-083434306.html?src=rss 

The Rabbit R1 launch at CES left many questions unanswered, but earlier today, the brand finally shed light on which LLM (large language model) will be powering the device’s interaction with us mere mortals. The AI provider in question is none other than Perplexity, a San Francisco-based startup with ambitions to overtake Google in the AI space, which is no wonder that it has already received investments from the likes of NVIDIA and Jeff Bezos.

Perplexity will be providing up-to-date search results via Rabbit’s $199 orange brick — without the need of any subscription. That said, the first 100,000 R1 buyers will receive one year of Perplexity Pro subscription — normally costing $200 — for free. This advanced service adds file upload support, a daily quota of over 300 complex queries and the ability to switch to other AI models (GPT-4, Claude 2.1 or Gemini), though these don’t necessarily apply to the R1’s use case.

The Rabbit R1, designed by Teenage Engineering, features a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a scroll wheel, two mics, a speaker, a rotational camera and a “Push-to-Talk” button. By leveraging its Large Action Model (LAM), this dedicated gadget can perform tasks like booking rides, finding recipes based on the ingredients you have, identifying people and objects (including items in, say, your fridge), or just fact checking — which we now know will rely on Perplexity’s real-time search engine. The R1 is available for pre-order now ahead of shipment in March or April.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-rabbit-r1-will-offer-up-to-date-answers-powered-by-perplexitys-ai-031313883.html?src=rss