Guillermo Proupín - Softonic English

Year’s Breakthrough: Artificial Intelligence Embeds Itself in Our Mobile Devices

It’s a fact. Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay. It’s gradually taking up more space in applications we use every day like Microsoft Paint, in more specialized ones like Adobe Express, and gradually in every aspect of our lives. It’s slowly being integrated into our mobile devices, and it’s not uncommon to read news about new and enhanced features through artificial intelligence. This time, Meta will introduce its own generative artificial intelligence into next-generation Samsung and OnePlus phones, according to recent agreements signed with Qualcomm and Mediatek.

Meta’s response to ChatGPT

At the moment, generative artificial intelligences suffer from a weakness: they are hosted on remote servers, which makes them extremely expensive to operate. Thus Mediatek and Qualcomm will link in future generations of their chips with Llama 2, Meta’s AI. In this way this artificial intelligence could act natively in smartphones of the next cycle, greatly reducing the economic and computational barrier of access that many developers suffer in this field.

This is not free. It is part of a strategy by Meta according to which it would be encouraging developers to adapt to its artificial intelligence and move away from ChatGPT. In fact, Meta is trying to spark interest in this sector to use its language model for artificial intelligence by releasing the code completely free of charge. Although, always be warned, some expert actors are concerned that opening the code gates blithely could lead to security loopholes that are exploited by actors for not particularly good purposes.

But what does this mean for the general public? The end result of such an integration could lead to virtual assistants that could advise the user based on any data collected through the smartphone. It sounds like a big security breach, but in principle these assistants would also protect people’s digital hygiene during the use of their devices.

OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Enterprise Edition: Taking AI Conversations to the Business World

ChatGPT is one of the most famous generative artificial intelligences in the world, and although this type of technology in general, and OpenAI’s proposal in particular, has faced criticism from many, it has come to change our understanding of the world as well as most job roles. With a multitude of tools starting to incorporate generative AI, such as Adobe Express or potentially even Microsoft Paint, ChatGPT is gearing up to have an enterprise version in the near future. This has been detailed in their blog.

Countless Improvements for One of the Best Chatbots

OpenAI understands the enterprise market very well, so their proposal is based on three main pillars: security, speed, and responsiveness. Many companies are concerned that their use of ChatGPT could be compromising to privacy or company data in some way, a concern that also extends to the potential use of this data to feed and train ChatGPT. The solution that OpenAI has found is remarkably simple: the data managed by ChatGPT for businesses will not be used to train the bot, just as OpenAI will not have any access to this information, staying within the company’s internal circuit.

Response speed has been tackled on two fronts: one avenue seeks to achieve faster conversation speeds, allowing ChatGPT to provide responses in less time, while on the other hand, it relies on an unlimited number of simultaneous conversations. However, it’s important to always understand “unlimited” as a very high number, always tied to the hardware that supports this application.

Improving responses, or greater intelligence of this Chatbot, is perhaps the most contentious point. To achieve this, various analysis tools are being designed that the machine can internalize and use to perform better. Additionally, companies have the capacity to train ChatGPT (only for their purposes) based on their needs.

In this way, OpenAI enters the competition for the future of artificial intelligence, a battle that could culminate in a transformation of office productivity as we know it.

Unprecedented Day One Patch for ‘Starfield’ Packs More Content Than Skyrim

Starfield is one of the most anticipated games of the year and undoubtedly the flagship title for the Xbox system in 2023. For over a year, it has been surrounded by controversies regarding its performance and due to its delay. However, since the extended gameplay that Bethesda showcased during the Starfield Direct, this situation seems to have taken a complete turnaround. The community is gradually embracing the game with more excitement, and in the past month, the enthusiasm among the community has been continuously growing. One of the key factors is the incredible improvement in quality that the game has demonstrated in recent months, pushing the Creation Engine, the graphic engine of Skyrim, to unforeseen limits.

Despite Bethesda’s attempts to control the flow of information, content leaks have been inevitable from some sources. However, this doesn’t seem to have caused significant harm, and the community is increasingly showing more support for the game. This commitment is shared by Bethesda and Xbox, as they are pouring numerous fixes into a day one patch that will weigh around 15 gigabytes, almost 10% more than the pre-download weight of the game and even more than the full game weight of Skyrim, also developed by Bethesda.

Despite the space it occupies, it has been observed that the patch mainly addresses graphical errors or glitches that don’t significantly impact the gameplay experience, such as textures loading improperly or occasional issues causing characters’ hair to disappear. The game’s stability has also been improved, which is always necessary in large-scale games. Additionally, some more significant issues have been addressed, including a bug that made companions levitate or a certain delay on the initial screen.

Starfield could potentially arrive on Steam Deck on day one

It’s normal for a game of this scale, with such a variety of systems, to experience some errors that need to be addressed, and it’s commendable that Bethesda is working on optimizing their offering for the launch. This could potentially enable the game to be playable on platforms like Steam Deck or ROG Ally, as suggested by some leaks. However, I would approach this information cautiously, as even if it becomes playable, it might be a bit rough on PCs that don’t meet its minimum requirements, especially in its early moments.

Gaming Landscape Transformed: HONOR’s Influence on the Future of Mobile Gaming

Although it has not yet been officially announced, there are some things we are already learning about the new and promising foldable smartphone from HONOR, the HONOR Magic V2. This device has turned out to be lighter than many other smartphones and has even been crowned as the world’s lightest foldable, being 19 grams lighter than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 5 and even weighing less than the iPhone 14, although at this point, we might as well start comparing it to the iPhone 15.

This lightweight design has been achieved thanks to an improvement in device cooling and new, lighter, and premium materials, allowing for a sizable 5,000mAh battery to be compacted into just 2.7 millimeters of thickness, making it the thinnest battery any foldable has had so far. However, its merits go far beyond this, and its foldable screen aims to change the way we understand this technology.

A foldable designed for gaming

With a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 and a RAM capacity that is still unknown (though it might be around 12 gigabytes), the HONOR Magic V2 boasts considerable processing power that it can leverage to run the most demanding smartphone games (and even unexpectedly demanding emulated ones). Thanks to its weight and ergonomics, it’s also very comfortable to hold for gaming.

But that’s not all – HONOR has introduced a feature that might seem trivial, yet could be incredibly useful for many users: Parallel Space. This feature provides the phone with extra space to run two games simultaneously, independently. This means you could play games like Horus Heresy and Hearthstone at the same time or engage in two management games without needing to close one of them.

As for the release date, the tradition of silence often accompanies revolutionary devices, but we won’t be in the dark for long: on September 1st, its official announcement will take place during the IFA event in Berlin. At that point, we’ll have answers and more insights into the new gaming revolution – or whether the hype is a bit exaggerated.

Android 14 Beta 5.2 Update Resolves Pixel Fold’s Glitches and Problems

The issues are inherent in new versions of almost all software, and while Android 14 looks promising, it’s far from perfect (at least for now). However, Google is making a great effort to ensure that bugs and other errors are resolved as soon as possible. In this case, it comes with nine different fixes for Pixel devices.

Errors corrected in many scenarios.

Firstly, issues causing the phone to hang during restart have been resolved, although details are not provided.

Issues that could disrupt connectivity for devices using ENDC (Dual Connectivity – E-UTRAN New Radio) when these devices connected on low-frequency 5G bands have been resolved.

An issue on Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet where the fingerprint biometric sensor stopped responding in certain specific cases has been fixed. Similarly, a problem with incomplete tracking data in the Perfetto app has also been addressed.

A problem affecting calls has been fixed, resolving the flickering that could occur when viewing or tapping on an ongoing call notification.

A problem leading to System UI crashing after using the fingerprint sensor has been resolved.

Flickering experienced by foldable devices when being unfolded has been addressed.

An issue exclusively related to Pixel Tablet has been fixed, where at times a colored bar would appear or start blinking after unlocking. This correction seems to have been quite significant for the user experience.

Also related to Pixel Tablet, a problem causing incorrect sounds to play when connected or disconnected has been fixed. We don’t know what sound played when, but it seems this could have been quite bothersome.

If you also want to participate in the Android Beta, you can do so through almost any Pixel device or the Android Emulator. If you prefer to wait for the stable version, it will be available soon, and it’s likely to be available on several Samsung devices as well.

Samsung’s Latest Fold 5 Model Triumphs Over Key Foldable Challenges

Foldable smartphones are still far from becoming the future of telecommunications, although more and more brands like Motorola are venturing into this market, which is, until now, quite niche. These devices come with many problems associated with material fatigue, especially in their screens, but also in the (usually cables) that pass through the hinge. However, this is not their only problem, and for many users, there’s a persistent issue: battery life. Samsung hasn’t been able to escape this problem with its Galaxy Z Fold devices, and even with the Fold 4, we found ourselves unable to make it through the day without resorting to a second backup device. Fortunately, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 seems to have been able to overcome this hurdle to some extent.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn’t change much, but it does change what’s necessary

We discussed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 a few days ago, and it has been accused at times of being not very ambitious, with minimal significant changes in its construction compared to the previous edition and only using a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8. However, it seems that this improvement has greatly enhanced the performance of the 4,400mAh battery, which, as I mentioned, has not changed between generations.

Both devices have the same screen specifications and share most of their components. However, the Fold 5 boasts a 30 to 40% increase in battery life compared to its previous version. This allows it to last throughout the day with regular use and significantly endure prolonged intensive usage. In fact, 9to5Google analyst Ben Schoom mentioned on the platform that he was “playing on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 for the entirety of a two-hour flight earlier this week and only used around 20% of the battery.”

This development indicates that we are getting closer to considering foldable smartphones as a solid alternative that is gradually integrating into the global market, although we are still far from fully realizing this.

WhatsApp’s Silent Revolution: Anonymous Group Creation Now Possible

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging tool today, and it could almost be said that it is present in every smartphone in the world. It incorporates multiple utilities ranging from pure text to sending multimedia elements, recording voice notes in real time, video notes, calls and other chat functions are complemented by the possibility of setting up broadcast channels and chat groups, the latter being one of the most used tools in the application. However, until now it had a small handicap: giving it a name was mandatory. With this new update that is now a thing of the past.

WhatsApp DOWNLOAD

Naming WhatsApp groups has always been one of the most tedious tasks that accompany the application. While we sometimes come up with ingenious names, a group of friends to organize a Saturday get-together (or any informal meeting) does not require such displays. Meta has understood this and from now on groups may not have names.

All about WhatsApp nameless groups

These WhatsApp groups have a small limitation: they cannot be formed by more than six people. It does not seem too strict a limitation, and it is not too difficult to create one, although it has some particularities that were not present in the groups as we knew them. For example, the process of creating the group is not that it is similar but, directly, it is the same: you open your WhatsApp application, press the icon of the three dots at the top right and select “create new group”. That’s where the magic begins.

Normally the application would ask you to create a group with a name, but as long as you do not select more than six participants you will see this field marked as “optional”, so you do not necessarily have to fill it in. Once created, the name of the participants will be assigned automatically, although we do not know if it is the name of each user’s profile or the one assigned by the person creating the group.

WhatsApp DOWNLOAD

No other functionality of the group has been altered, so this version remains fully functional and is perfect for a temporary group that you will end up deleting shortly after creating.

Realme’s Game-Changer: The Unexpected Debut of the 11x 5G

It’s that time of the year when the competition between the big companies heats up and the new products for next year start to emerge. Samsung has already begun to prepare the ground for the Galaxy S24 while other brands, such as Motorola, are creating their own path with fascinating experiences. This time it is the turn of Realme, which comes to feed its 11 series with the 11x 5G, an entry-level handset with a continuity in its exterior design but with a lot to be happy about inside.

What Realme brings us

6.72 inches of screen at 120Hz refresh rate is the first thing we can look at when we have the performance sheet in hand, although it is quite noticeable during use, also reaching a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels, a little longer than FullHD. We are also going to run into a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+, a new addition from the company that without being very powerful can get to perform quite well for moderately demanding uses, which are complemented by up to 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 or 256 gigabytes of storage space. This is quite an interesting configuration for its segment, especially considering the approximate price of 165 euros that manages this terminal.

The rear system is composed of a 64-megapixel f/1.8 main camera and a 2-megapixel secondary camera for depth. The front camera is 8 megapixels, which is not ideal but sufficient considering its price range, and records video in FullHD at 30 frames per second.

In addition to all this, the Realme 11x 5G incorporates a 5000mAh battery with 33 watts fast charging, which should offer more than enough autonomy to reach the end of the day with this device as long as you keep a normal use of it.

Asus Paves the Way for Intel’s Next Gen: Motherboard Refresh Underway

Although Asus is a company that stands out for its gaming solutions such as ROG or other laptops designed for artistic activities, this brand has always focused on the development of components and has not been bad at it. In fact, some of our favorite motherboards for both AMD and Intel configurations belong to this brand. However, no solution lasts forever, and with the next generation of Intel processors, Asus has decided to finally make the leap to an improved socket, more friendly to the latest solutions than the LGA1700 that debuted with the Intel 12 generation.

Everything new from ROG Z790

Asus is not satisfied with just improving its sockets, and of the three boards it has chosen to upgrade, the two with the highest performance are going to come up against a myriad of improvements: Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero and Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II will see their connectivity greatly increased, as they will have WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5. 4, plus 60-watt Quick Charge 4+ ports and some very interesting upgraded heatsinks for the SSD storage drives, so that they heat up to a lesser extent. They also expand their RAM capacity to 192 gigabytes and a few other tidbits.

The little sister, Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Pro WiFi, which by the way is also a very interesting board, has slightly more discreet improvements: it maintains the same RAM capacity, PCIe ports, SSD ports and connectivity, incorporating fast charging via USB-C of just 30 watts. However, it improves some of its connectors, such as a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 line. Although we could not expect it to reach the level of the highest range, it is true that we would have expected some major changes; however, it is an affordable board designed as a mid-budget solution that can be expanded through expansion cards.

Apart from this, Asus knows that the new processors will imply a higher power consumption, so their power supply connection has been modified and all of them will have to have a 24-pin ATX connector. The prices of these new configurations are also yet to be known, but we will surely find out very soon.

Minecraft Teams Up with Disney to Recreate the Magic

Minecraft is one of the most significant IPs in the world of video games, largely due to the vast possibilities it offers to players and its minimal rules that essentially govern the entire gameplay. But this success isn’t solely due to its potentially infinite content, but also to a series of constant partnerships and updates that have kept it fresh throughout its years of existence. Some of its collaborations have included Power Rangers, Doctor Who, and Stranger Things, although this time it’s Disney’s turn. Although, to be fair, it’s not the first time either.

Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition DOWNLOAD

Minecraft’s collaborations usually follow the same pattern: they add a few skins to the game, create maps, and occasionally include some exclusive items that can only be used through DLC. Minecraft had previously collaborated with Disney in both Star Wars and Lightyear, as well as with Walt Disney’s World. However, even with all that, this adventure, which will cost $7.99 as a DLC, feels different and entirely new. In this collaboration, players can meet Ariel, Simba, and many other classic Disney movie characters, as well as explore various settings from their films.

This allows us to explore the Snow White forest, Aladdin’s Agrabah castle, The Lion King’s savannah, or the mazes from Alice in Wonderland, all within Minecraft. Players can do this through a unique map that offers detailed reproductions of the settings from these movies and more. They can even encounter some of the most popular villains in their cubical form, such as Jafar, Ursula, and the Evil Queen (Snow White’s stepmother).

Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition DOWNLOAD

While this amazing Minecraft crossover is being prepared, the game continues to work on its updates and content improvements, getting ready for all the new content awaiting players in the coming months, including another DLC featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.