ICYMI: The 7 Biggest News Stories of the Week, From the Best Smartphone for Eclipse Photography to Android Find My Device
Technology. Technology never changes. Well… okay… technology changes a lot β exciting new gadgets are released every day β but one constant in the space is the relentless pace at which hardware and software updates are rolled out (and we really wanted a Fallout making reference because the new show is fantastic, more on that below).
It’s a flurry that we know can be a struggle to keep up with. So if you feel like you’re missing out on this week’s biggest news and want to get back in the loop, we’ve rounded up the top seven tech stories from the last seven days in this one article to help you out.
Below are quick summaries of the latest developments in technology, including major Google Photos AI updates, our Fallout thoughts, and which phone is best for eclipse photography. Let’s get into it.
7. We launched a new podcast!
Of course, the biggest tech news story of the week is that we have a new podcast β very creatively called the Ny Breaking Podcast. We’ve microphoned all the tech chats we’d have on Zoom, Slack, and at our desks β so you can expect more of the insightful, first-person experience content we give you on the site in a new one on audio and video based format.
In our first episode, we’ll give you a recap of the tech year so far β covering the highlights of CES 2024 and AI β and show you a demo of the Apple Vision Pro. The show is presented by our editor at Large Lance Ulanoff, with Josephine Watson (Managing Editor, Lifestyle), Alex Walker-Todd (Senior Phones Editor) and Matt Evans (Fitness, Wellness and Wearables Editor) also lending their expertise. And as an added bonus we were joined by Tom, The Tech Chapter.
It’s available to listen to now YouTube And Spotifyand it should appear in other podcast feeds in the coming days!
6. Windows 11 has been upgraded
Microsoft really wants you to upgrade to Windows 11 – with Reddit users reportedly seeing intrusive warning screens advising them to download the latest Windows operating system on their Windows 10 machines. To help convince you to make the change, there’s a new Windows update with some interesting new features.
These include the Photos app getting a version of Google’s AI-powered Magic Eraser, and Nearby Sharing getting speed and reliability upgrades. Copilot also has some improvements you can try out now, such as plugin support for third-party services.
That said, Copilot also got a downgrade for some users, as Windows Insiders say the AI ββhelper will now automatically launch on startup in Windows 11 preview builds β which many say is frustrating.
5. We saw how well smartphones captured the eclipse
Everyone thinks their flagship smartphone is the best and people especially have an opinion about the cameras. Large editor Lance Ulanoff has tried and tested many of these phones and their camera arrays, so he decided to put them to the ultimate celestial test: the American solar eclipse.
It was a great show β even if New York City didn’t get a total shot β and a great showcase for the optical zoom capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The only rule was no digital zoom.
The photos, which only worked because we used three tripods and an eclipse glasses lens as a filter, were much better than we expected. You might be surprised which phone did the best.
4. Spotify’s playlist creation AI brought the party
Spotify has been steadily integrating more AI into its music streaming platform and has now released a playlist creation bot for all Premium subscribers in the UK and Australia.
It’s currently in beta β read: it’s a bit rough around the edges β but the idea is that you give the AI ββa prompt like ‘hard beats that will help me ace my next workout’ or ‘relaxing music to help me during allergy seasonβ and a selection of songs are spit out.
There are some prompt limitations, for example you can’t create playlists for current events, for brands, or use offensive language, but you can have a lot of fun with the tool. And if all isn’t going quite right, you can add follow-up cues like “more death metal” or “less upbeat” to narrow down the selection. And of course you can also immediately delete songs you hate.
3. Google gave away its Magic Editor β sort of
Google’s impressive AI image editing software, Magic Editor, is currently exclusive to paying Google One subscribers and owners of Google Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro phones, but this week Google announced that all Google Photos users will have access starting May 15 will have to get the tool for free.
Magic Editor lets you erase annoyances in your shot, move your subjects, intelligently adjust exposure, and defocus your photos to make your favorite photos look even better. All you need is Google Photos and a smartphone with at least 3 GB of RAM and running Android 8.0 / iOS 15 or higher.
Unfortunately, the free version only lets you save 10 edited images per month, but if you like the service you can pay for Google One or buy a Pixel phone to remove the limitation.
2. Fallout blew us away
Prime Video is highly anticipated Fallout show released this week, continuing the golden age of video game adaptations we’ve seen via Netflix in recent years Castlevania And ArcaneHBOs The last of us, and even the big screen takes on Sonic and Mario.
We watched the first four episodes and found the ambitious adaptation to be nothing short of “atomically entertaining” with a “satisfying mix of commitment to source material and narrative originality.” Sure, there are a few bumps in the road, but these imperfections do little to detract from the shine of what is another fantastic video game-to-TV adaptation.
If you want to check it out for yourself, you can binge the entire eight-episode first season on Prime Video right now.
1. Google launched its version of Apple’s Find My network
Android fans have been waiting for more than a year for Google’s rebooted Find My Device network β and this week it’s finally here. The feature, which is rolling out globally starting in the US and Canada, works much the same way as Apple’s Find My network. Because it anonymously piggybacks millions of Android devices around the world, the network can show you exactly where your lost phone is even when it’s offline.
If you have a Google Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro, the network will even help you find your phone when it’s turned off. We’ve also just seen the arrival of the first Find My Device-compatible trackers, courtesy of Chipolo and Pebblebee, that can be attached to your wallet, keys or luggage. We might also attach one to our cat, just to thwart his hide-and-seek plans.