Gadgets

Apple announces iCloud+ with privacy-focused features

Apple announces iCloud+ with privacy-focused features

Apple is rolling out some updates to iCloud under the name iCloud+. The company is announcing those features at its developer conference. Existing paid iCloud users are going to get those iCloud+ features for the same monthly subscription price. In Safari, Apple is going to launch a new privacy feature called Private Relay. It sounds […]

Apple releases torrent of updates, and Wall Street yawns

Apple releases torrent of updates, and Wall Street yawns

Today’s WWDC keynote from Apple covered a huge range of updates. From a new macOS to a refreshed watchOS to a new iOS, better privacy controls, FaceTime updates, and even iCloud+, there was something for everyone in the laundry list of new code. Apple’s keynote was essentially what happens when the big tech companies get […]

Huawei officially launches HarmonyOS for smartphones

Huawei officially launches HarmonyOS for smartphones

Think you’re living in a hyper-connected world? Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS wants to eliminate delays and gaps in user experience when you move from one device onto another by adding interoperability to all devices, regardless of the system that powers them. Two years after Huawei was added to the U.S. entity list that banned the Chinese […]

Kabuto releases a larger version of its smart suitcase

Kabuto releases a larger version of its smart suitcase

Kabuto, the French startup that designs and sells smart suitcases, is releasing a new suitcase today. Called the Kabuto Trunk, this is the company’s biggest suitcase to date. Unlike smart suitcases from other brands, this isn’t just a suitcase with a battery in it. In particular, there’s a fingerprint reader located at the top of […]

US removes Xiaomi’s designation as a Communist Chinese Military Company

US removes Xiaomi’s designation as a Communist Chinese Military Company

Xiaomi, one of China’s high-profile tech firms that fell in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, has been removed from a U.S. government blacklist that designated it as a Communist Chinese Military Company. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has vacated the Department of Defence’s designation of Xiaomi as a CCMC in […]

Deep Science: Robots, meet world

Deep Science: Robots, meet world

Research papers come out far too frequently for anyone to read them all. That’s especially true in the field of machine learning, which now affects (and produces papers in) practically every industry and company. This column aims to collect some of the most relevant recent discoveries and papers — particularly in, but not limited to, […]

Google is making a 3D, life-size video calling booth

Google is making a 3D, life-size video calling booth

Google is working on a video calling booth that uses 3D imagery on a 3D display to create a lifelike image of the people on both sides. While it’s still experimental, “Project Starline” builds on years of research and acquisitions, and could be the core of a more personal-feeling video meeting in the near future. […]

Apple Watch gets a motion-controlled cursor with ‘Assistive Touch’

Apple Watch gets a motion-controlled cursor with ‘Assistive Touch’

Tapping the tiny screen of the Apple Watch with precision has a certain level of fundamental difficulty, but for some people with disabilities it’s genuinely impossible. Apple has remedied this with a new mode called “Assistive Touch” that detects hand gestures to control a cursor and navigate that way. The feature was announced as part […]

Everything Google announced at I/O today

Everything Google announced at I/O today

This year’s I/O event from Google was heavy on the “we’re building something cool” and light on the “here’s something you can use or buy tomorrow.” But there were also some interesting surprises from the semi-live event held in and around the company’s Mountain View campus. Read on for all the interesting bits. Android 12 […]