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Apple didn't reveal all of the Vision Pro features, these unannounced features may cost more
An industry analyst said Apple has a few unannounced features for its recently unveiled Vision Pro headset.
Apple dropped a bomb on the technology industry with the recent unveiling of the Vision Pro headset. The company showcased a multitude of impressive features and applications of the Vision Pro, such as eye-tracking technology to navigate menus, 4K+ displays in each eye, a VR/real-world bleed wheel, and the ability to watch movies on a cinema-size screen.
According to Wayne Ma, Apple didn't showcase all of the Vision Pro's features, and the list of unannounced features includes fitness and wellness apps, per former Apple employees that worked on the Vision Pro. Gizmochina states that Vision Pro was originally conceived as a product that was going to revolutionize fitness and health applications, with the eventual plan of collaborating with big sports brands such as Nike to offer exclusive content/experiences within Vision Pro.
Jim Ryan private emails show he doesn't think Call of Duty will be made exclusive to Xbox
BREAKING: Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan allegedly never thought Call of Duty would be excluded from PlayStation platforms, new evidence from Microsoft legal counsel submits.
In a recent evidentiary hearing regarding the FTC's preliminary injunction case, Microsoft legal counsel Beth Wilkinson reveals an email that alleges that Jim Ryan never really truly believed that Call of Duty would be withheld from PlayStation. The email was between Ryan and former Sony CEO Chris Deering, which is quoted:
"It is not an exclusivity play at all. They're thinking bigger than that, they have the cash the make these moves. I've spent a fair amount of time of Phil and Bobby and I'm pretty sure we'll continue to see COD on PlayStation for years to come," Ryan said, as quoted by Microsoft's legal counsel.
US debt climbs $572,000,000,000 in 2 weeks, total US debt tops China, Japan, UK's combined GDP
The numbers have been released regarding the United States national debt, and as of June 15, the total US debt has reached $32.03 trillion.
According to the FiscalData that was recently released, there was a $571 billion increase in debt from June 1, when the total was at $31.46 trillion, to June 15, its current total of $32.03 trillion.
DailyHodl points out that the total US debt now exceeds the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measurement used to determine the total value of the goods and services provided by a country, of China, United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany. Another way to look at it is every American household has a debt of approximately $244,000.
The Nothing Phone (2) could be more expensive than you thought
The Nothing Phone (2) is set to be officially unveiled properly during an event in London on July 11, and expectations are high for a phone that will signal the beginning of the company's smartphone presence in the United States. But anyone hoping for a budget option is set to be left disappointed.
That's because a new leak suggests that the Nnothing Phone (2) will sell for €729 (~$802) if you go for the base model with 256GB of storage. Upgrade that to the 512GB model and you'll pay €849 (~$934). That's according to a leak by French outlet Dealabs that was picked up by Android Authority, at least.
Interstingly, Nothing founder Carl Pei has tweeted about the leak, and he isn't happy. Asking "who leaked this?" and leaving it at that, Pei has left people in something of a quandary. Is Pei upset because the leak has outed his pricing plans a couple of weeks early? Or, just as likely, is the price nothing like the ones that we have seen today and he's simply venting his frustration at the fact that incorrect information is now being reported?
Continue reading: The Nothing Phone (2) could be more expensive than you thought (full post)
Android phones are accidentally calling emergency services and it needs to stop
Owners of Android phones updated to Android 12 are finding themselves in hot water thanks to a new emergency SOS feature that has a habit of misfiring.
According to reports by multiple authorities in the United Kingdom, emergency services around the country are experiencing unusually high numbers of accidental calls and it's thought that Android's latest emergency feature is to blame.
The feature was introduced in 2021 and is designed to help people more quickly and easily contact emergency services when they need them. That's done by pressing the power button five times in a row. Once the fifth button press is complete, the call to emergency services is placed. And it's that lack of any confirmation action that's tripping people up. Some phones are accidentally calling after being banged around in a bag or a pocket, it seems.
Mark Zuckerberg accepts Elon Musk's cage fight challenge, Vegas Octagon named as location
Elon Musk has challenged Meta and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, Zuckerberg has accepted, and a location has been mentioned.
The saga began when Musk said that he was "up for a cage fight" with Zuckerberg on a post that was discussing rumors that Meta is preparing to launch a Twitter-killer called "Threads". The rumors suggested that this new app was Meta's "response to Twitter" and would allow Instagram users to automatically migrate all their followers/user information, making the transition seamless.
Musk wrote, "I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options. At least it will be "sane". Was worried there for a moment 😅". Followed by, "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol", which sparked a response from Zuckerberg, who posted on his Instagram Story, the below image that says "Send me location". Musk promptly responded by writing, "Vegas Octagon" and explained that he has a special move called "the walrus" where he lays on top of his victim and "do nothing".
Intel Arc A380 GPU is barely more than $100 now - and a steal at that price
Intel's Arc A380 graphics card has hit an all-time low in terms of pricing, with a current offer at Newegg in the US that may prove very tempting to those looking for a truly cheap gaming GPU (where options are thin on the ground).
Hardware Unboxed tracks pricing on Newegg and in a new YouTube video, points out that the Arc A380 has sunk to $120 as of this month. Previously over the past couple of months, pricing was holding at the MSRP of $140 (though we have seen this GPU at $120 briefly before that).
In actual fact, Newegg has an offer on (that expires at the end of today, mind, while stocks last) for an extra 10% off certain GPUs, this A380 model included, meaning you can pick it up at even more of a bargain at $108 (using the mentioned code at checkout).
NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPUs listed with ridiculous pricing - but don't panic yet
Early glimpses of RTX 4060 pricing in Europe are somewhat alarming, but there are some big caveats here (fortunately).
German site PC Games Hardware spotted the RTX 4060 listings (via VideoCardz) at a Finnish retailer, Proshop.
That outlet has the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 listed (pre-release - the GPU will theoretically be on sale next week, if rumors are right) at €490-500. Yikes indeed.
Banging sounds detected by aircrafts looking for missing Titanic submarine, says US Coast Guard
During a press conference, the US Coast Guard announced that a "banging noise" was heard by Canadian aircraft. The source of the banging sound is currently unknown.
Reports indicate that on Wednesday, authorities detected these banging noises, which were coming from underwater within the OceanGate submersible search area. According to the US Coast Guard, these banging sounds came in 30-minute intervals, and efforts to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from have so far been unsuccessful. The data was sent to the US Navy for analysis, and unfortunately, the US Navy said the data was "inconclusive".
Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said, "The important piece is we're searching in the area where the noises were detected." Adding, "We don't know what they are, to be frank with you. We have to remain optimistic and hopeful." It should be noted that the five passengers aboard the submersible had 70 to 90 hours of oxygen left, which means the total oxygen supply could be spent on Thursday morning.
Instagram rolls out an update to Reels that takes a key advantage away from TikTok
TikTok has been dominating the short-form video content sector of the internet for quite some time, and other platforms such as YouTube and Meta are playing catch up.
Short-form content, clips that are between 0 and 3 minutes long, have become a cornerstone of the internet. These short videos were originally popularized by the now-extinct app Vine and now arguably solidified by ByteDance's TikTok. Social media platforms such as Meta responded to TikTok's popularity by rolling out their own versions, with Instagram Reels, and while Reels was immediately popular, it lacked some features that gave TikTok a unique edge.
However, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri posted that across the US, Instagram users will now be able to download reels that are shared by public accounts. Users can now do this by clicking on the Share icon and selecting the Download option.
Elon Musk responds to claims SpaceX is involved in the missing Titanic submarine
The world is patiently awaiting news of the OceanGate submarine and its five passengers that lost communication with the outside world as it plummeted to 12,500 feet below the surface to observe the Titanic wreck.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has been caught up in the news surrounding the missing submarine, with reports stating that the submarine used SpaceX's Starlink service to provide an internet connection while it was out at sea. The reports cited a tweet from OceanGate Expeditions that announced it was using Starlink to acquire an internet connection necessary "to make our #Titanic dive operations a success."
Musk responded to a tweet by Snopes that brought Musk's name into the ongoing situation by pointing out that he is the CEO of SpaceX, the company behind Starlink. Musk said in response to the tweet, "You can't even run a good psy op". Notably, many people thought that an inefficient Starlink connection was the reason why communications dropped out between the submarine and the research vessel it launched from.
AI has been taught to predict hit songs with an accuracy rate of 97%
A team of researchers have taught an artificial intelligence how to determine if a song will be a hit or not, paving the way for music streaming services such as Spotify to get a massive upgrade.
Determining if a song is going to be enjoyed by an individual or not before they listen to it almost seems impossible, but music streaming services are already attempting to do that by providing customers with a weekly or even daily batch of new music based on the music the customer has already listened to. Spotify's version of this is "Discover Weekly", which gives users a playlist of 30 songs every Monday.
While there can be some hidden gems among the new songs, music streaming platforms are looking to increase their accuracy, and US researchers may have the solution. According to reports, the researchers applied a machine-learning technique to the brain responses of 33 individuals between the ages of 18 and 57. The participants were equipped with Rhythm + PPG cardiac sensors, listened to 24 songs, and were asked about their preferences for each song.
Continue reading: AI has been taught to predict hit songs with an accuracy rate of 97% (full post)
Check out this amazing custom Diablo 4 PC built by NVIDIA GeForce, and you can win it
NVIDIA and Blizzard have partnered with GeForce Garage collaborator Ron Lee Christianson to create a pretty amazing one-of-a-kind custom Diablo IV PC that doubles as a shrine to Lilith - Blessed Mother.
The Lilith bust here is hand-crafted using source files from Blizzard, with modifications and adjustments made to create the stunning sculpture. The base is awesome, too, with sculpted laval rocks featuring some neat LED lighting taken from artificial fireplaces. There's leather, wood, a custom frame, and so much that if you were to look at the mod head-on simply, you probably wouldn't even think that it was, in fact, a gaming PC.
Turn it around, though, and it's a different story, and it's here where you'll see the components and motherboard cleverly mounted and supported. And it has the hardware to match the formidable and imposing Lilith. Here's the breakdown.
Microsoft is removing rarely used Folder Options in File Explorer on Windows 11
The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23481 aims to trim some fat regarding Folder Options in File Explorer. According to Microsoft, "many of these are legacy settings that have been around for ages and are not being regularly used by people on Windows 11." The changes aren't yet official but indicate that these features are part of a future update.
You can check out the list of items being removed below, with Microsoft noting that they aren't disappearing entirely - though they'll only be accessible via modifying registry settings. This means they're gone for most Windows 11 users, even those who might consider themselves advanced users of Microsoft's latest operating system.
One of the removed features is the ability to 'Show drive letters' it has sparked some discussion within the Windows community around these changes dumbing down Windows 11 for no good reason. Streamlining something like File Explorer is a great idea; reducing visual clutter and improving the UI/UX experience is always welcome - though not at the cost of accessing advanced features easily.
Galax HOF Extreme 50S PCIe 5.0 SSD revealed, 12.4 GB/s speeds and chunky cooling
A few months ago, we reported on the new GALAX HOF Extreme 50 PCIe Gen 5 SSD, which aimed to bring some of that high-end HOF (Hall of Fame) style to its SSD line-up. With sequential read speeds of up to 10 GB/s, the HOF Extreme 50 SSDs, available in 1TB and 2TB variants, also feature a large copper heatsink and active cooling via a tiny fan.
Having chunky cooling on a PCIe Gen 5 SSD is, unfortunately, the norm and not the exception, thanks in part to the impressive speeds you're getting. Keeping the hardware cool and free from throttling is a genuine concern, and GALAX's HOF cooling reportedly keeps temps within the 40 to 45 degree Celsius range.
But GALAX has a new flagship PCIe Gen 5 SSD coming, the GALAX HOF Extreme 50S PCIe 5 SSD. And it looks like it's got the same active cooling setup. If you're wondering what the difference is outside of an 'S' being slapped on at the end of '50', let's dig in.
NVIDIA DLSS 3 is now available as a Unreal Engine 5 plugin for game developers
NVIDIA DLSS 3 has been one of the most impressive bits of technology from the company's new GeForce RTX 40 Series of graphics cards, thanks to it leveraging the power of AI to generate new frames to boost perceived in-game performance.
It's also a combination of NVIDIA technologies, with the 3 in DLSS 3 all about combining the excellent DLSS Super Resolution AI upscaling technology that has been around for a few years now, with the brand-new Frame Generation exclusive to the GeForce RTX 40 Series and NVIDIA Reflex low-latency technology.
The groundbreaking technology makes real-time path tracing in Portal with RTX and Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive Mode possible - both are basically unplayable without the added magic of DLSS 3. The combination of tech and the advanced AI hardware in the GeForce RTX 40 Series (the Optical Flow Accelerator) gives us a look at the future of PC gaming.
GeForce RTX 4060 leaked benchmarks show up to a 20% performance boost over the RTX 3060
With the GeForce RTX 4060 launch next week, stay tuned for our full review; it was only a matter of time before benchmark results and other info started to pop up online. And with that, some results have shown up over at Geekbench with RTX 4060 numbers for OpenCL and Vulkan API tests (via Benchleaks).
Based on averages for the GeForce RTX 3060 in similar tests, it looks like the GeForce RTX 4060 is up to 20% faster than its Ampere-based predecessor. As these results only cover one specific system and configuration and are synthetic, it's probably best not to assume that this is what you should expect regarding actual in-game performance. Geekbench results are somewhat known for not correlating to in-game performance.
However, the up to 20% figure aligns with what NVIDIA shared when it announced the GeForce RTX 4060. So there's that.
Intel is no longer making Arc A770 16GB Limited Edition graphics cards
Intel has released a PCN or Product Change Notification for the Intel Arc A770 Limited Edition graphics card with 16GB of VRAM, effective June 20, 2023. This means that Intel will no longer be producing its high-end Intel Arc GPU, though it has confirmed to PC Gamer that it's "still producing silicon for AIBs."
So, the news affects Intel-produced Arc A770 GPUs, the models most associated with the line-up, and the best-selling Arc variants as per data found on Newegg. The good news is that Intel has partnered with companies like Acer and Sparkle to create Arc GPUs, with both companies launching or announcing that they have A770 models on the way.
Though the list of AIBs is much shorter than what you'd find for AMD or NVIDIA GPUs. Still, you can pick up the Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 16GB for USD 339.99 at Newegg, 15% off the MSRP of USD 399.99.
Continue reading: Intel is no longer making Arc A770 16GB Limited Edition graphics cards (full post)
Xbox Game Pass: Next stages in the service's evolution cycle
Xbox Game Pass is moving to the next phase in its value-oriented subscription model. Here's where Game Pass could go next.
Today reports broke out that Microsoft is raising the price of Game Pass in nearly all countries. Both the base Game Pass and Ultimate subscriptions are increasing to $10.99 and $16.99, respectively. This rise is well-timed in a number of ways. The price increase reflects the global economic situation and is a way to help offset rising costs of goods and services. Games aren't getting any cheaper to make, and 5-6 year development cycles are the new normal.
It's also an opportune time for Microsoft to raise Xbox Game Pass subscription prices ahead of the potential merger with Activision. Microsoft lawyers have told regulators that there are no plans to increase subscription costs if the merger is approved, ergo the pre-emptive hike. The merger has a termination date of July 18, and the price increase goes into effect July 6.
Continue reading: Xbox Game Pass: Next stages in the service's evolution cycle (full post)
Why Microsoft isn't increasing price of Xbox Game Pass on PC
Microsoft is raising the price of Xbox Game Pass on console, but PC isn't getting a price hike. Here's a big reason why.
Xbox Game Pass will soon rise by $1 for the base tier and $2 for Ultimate. The increase is only on consoles PC will remain the same. There's a key reason for this: Microsoft still hasn't secured enough PC gamers to meet a specific threshold.
Shortly after Microsoft legal counsel said that there were no plans to increase Game Pass subscription prices if the Activision merger were to close, Microsoft is apparently taking a pre-emptive strike to raise prices before the merger is either terminated or consummated. The Microsoft-Activision merger has a termination date of July 18, and the first price hike is set to start on July 6.
Continue reading: Why Microsoft isn't increasing price of Xbox Game Pass on PC (full post)






















