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If you've been eyeing the Google Pixel 9a, now's a good time to pounce. That's because you can get a $100 gift card for free when you buy the flagship-quality midrange phone. In Engadget's review, Sam Rutherford deemed it "the best value of any Android phone. The $100 gift card bonus is live at Amazon, Best Buy and the Google Store. Each has pros and cons, but it makes the most sense to order from the retailer where you shop the most. The Pixel 9a is Google's entry point into the Pixel ecosystem. Its sub-flagship pricing masks a handset that, in many ways, rivals phones that cost twice as much. It has a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. We found it to be sharp, colorful and "one of the best displays in this price range. It uses the same Tensor G4 processor found in the more expensive Pixel 9 brethren. The only performance compromise you'll find is its 8GB of RAM vs. the 12GB in the standard Pixel 9. That will only reveal itself if you're heavy into multitasking or gaming. Given the $300 price discrepancy between it and the Pixel 9, it's hard to nitpick much about that. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Google's Pixel lineup is known for its camera prowess, and the 9a is no exception. It pairs a 48MP main camera with a 13MP ultra-wide lens. Although there's no telephoto, it compensates with AI-based Super Res Zoom that can achieve up to 8x digital zoom. The phone also has Google's Night Sight feature for sharp, balanced low-light photography. We found that the camera outperforms the $1,299 Galaxy S25 Ultra in color accuracy, detail and low-light performance. It's also competitive with the S25U in ultra-wide shots. The latter edges it out there (if only slightly) because of better color saturation. Still, we're talking about a $800 pricing discrepancy, so the fact that it's in the conversation is no small achievement. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The Pixel 9a's only drawbacks are its lower 8GB of RAM, slower charging speeds than flagships, its lack of optical zoom and its plastic backing (rather than glass). But for $499 essentially $399 if you usethat gift card forpurchases you'd make anyway this is a nice deal for a nearly flagship Android handset that made our list of the best smartphones.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-the-google-pixel-9a-with-100-store-credit-at-amazon-best-buy-and-the-google-store-164530159.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Pinterest is fighting back against the onslaught of AI slop that is increasingly clogging up its platform following complaints from users. From now on, youll be able to see when image Pins that appear in your feed have been either generated or modified using AI. When users click on an image Pin in close-up theyll see an AI modified label in the bottom left-hand corner. In a blog post published this week, Pinterest says it has been testing the new feature for several months, which involves analysing the metadata of an image to assess its source. It says its also developing classifiers that can automatically detect the whiff of generative AI even when metadata markers are absent. How successful it is in doing so will become clear as the new features roll out globally, and creators who suspect their content has been mislabelled will be able to appeal. Such mislabelling has been an ongoing issue for Meta, which was forced to adjust the wording of the AI labels it applied to uploaded photos on Facebook and Instagram after photographers complained they were being added to images that hadnt been created using AI. Apparently, even minimal use of the generative fill tool in Photoshop was enough to trigger a label. Thats something that Pinterest will likely want to look out for as it hones this new algorithm. In addition to the new labels, Pinterest says its experimenting with a feature that would allow users to filter out categories where AI modification or generation is particularly prevalent, such as beauty and art. By letting its users have more control over what appears on their feed, Pinterest is clearly hoping it can win back the growing number of disgruntled members in its community.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/pinterest-will-now-tell-you-when-youre-looking-at-ai-generated-content-163008812.html?src=rss
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Stanley Johnson is not a fan of needles. The 67-year-old Air Force veteran has endured his fair share of pokes over the years, but when it was decided that IV infusions would be the best course of action to treat his iron deficiency, going into that first session felt nerve-wracking. So he brought along whats become a staple in his personal anxiety toolkit: his Apple Vision Pro. Johnson has taken to using the immersive wellness app, Tripp, to ease his anxiety, and he says it was a big help in getting through his treatments, especially in the beginning. The app offers a number of relaxation and mindfulness experiences for AR/VR headsets and mobile, from guided meditation to calming soundscapes and breathwork. That first time, I was anxious, Johnson said. Id do the breathing exercises to put my mind into what environment Tripp puts me in. Then I started watching movies. When it comes to infusion therapy, the treatments can be long, the chairs uncomfortable and passing the time without a distraction is difficult. Watching a movie in the headset instead of looking at this little screen that they had up on the wall, Johnson said, is phenomenal. Its transportive. I can see it better than I can in a theater, he said. Thats one of the things that I realized when I started the IV infusions You have this IV thats in you for an hour, two hours might as well watch a movie, and pick the one that I want rather than one that's randomly up there, or the food channel or something like that. Since the inception of virtual and augmented reality devices, theres been interest in how the technology could be used in healthcare settings, both to improve patients experiences and as a training and enhanced visualization tool for medical practitioners. Studies going back to 2000 have investigated VRs potential to aid in stress reduction, pain management, physical therapy and more. But only in the last decade has it become feasible enough to explore in earnest, thanks to the rise of consumer VR headsets, a wave ushered in by the original Oculus Rift. Today, at-home VR, AR and mixed reality systems (and what Apple calls spatial computing) arent hard to come by. And with options like Metas $300 Quest 3S, its possible to get a decent VR setup for a relatively low cost. Not only can patients bring their own headsets, but some clinics and hospitals have already begun their own studies with this tech. In a trial conducted from late 2021 to 2023, the results of which were published recently in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, researchers recruited 90 patients who were receiving chemotherapy at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centers infusion clinic in Nashville and provided half of them with headsets for a 12-minute VR session during their treatment, while the other half served as the control group. Patients in the VR group were shown narrated tours of places such as Venice, Agra and the Ecuadorian Amazon. All participants recorded their stress levels, pain and mood before and after the sessions. Across the board, there was improvement in the study group versus the control group, said Cody Stansel, one of the studys authors. We saw that it positively impacted the patient's side effects. It reduced their stress levels. Generally, we didn't see patients that were experiencing a whole lot of pain, but there was still a reduction in the amount of pain they're experiencing, so we saw results from that as well It went really well, patients responded very favorably. In addition to the self-reported ratings the patients provided, the researchers measured their heart rates before and halfway through the 12-minute sessions, and found the measurements supported their feelings of reduced stress. The difference was significant between the control group and patients whod used VR, with heart rates among the latter group decreasing by an average of 6.6 beats per minute at the midway check, according to the paper. Crucially, the patients also reported whether theyd experienced cybersickness, the condition similar to motion sickness that VR induces in some people. What we found is patients didn't really experience any measurable motion sickness, Stansel said. All of the responses across the board were really low with that, but we were intentional when we chose the programming to choose ones that had a low motion sickness rating to begin with. We had chosen these tourism videos where they're basically just standing there, because we wanted to avoid any of that cancer patients, because of the chemotherapy and things, can be more prone to nausea, so we definitely didn't want to make anything worse if they're already experiencing that. According to the researchers, the findings suggest VR could be an effective and accessible distraction tool for patients undergoing treatments like chemotherapy. Even if patients dont bring their own devices, for a clinic, the cost of entry is low, a few hundred bucks to get started, Stansel notes. As long as you clean [the headsets] well and take care of them, theyll last quite a while. But the potential benefits alleviating stress and pain are great. Modern day virtual reality consumes so many of your senses that it's very easy to kind of temporarily forget about where you are and what you're going through, and so the patients are really just able to focus on the experience, Stansel said. It kind of takes their mind off all the other things they have going on. More research into the subject could shed light on VRs efficacy in providing relief for patients experiencing higher pain levels, or if other types of content would work better for certain situations. For patients already strapping into immersive virtual worlds to help them get through difficult days, though, its proven invaluable. On Reddit, Johnson shared a selfie of him wearing his Apple Vision Pro during an infusion, and other users chimed in to share where theyd brought their own headsets to pass the time: four-hour dialysis sessions; chemo; a hospital stay in the isolation ward. Whether a person is playing games, watching a movie or using an app to calm down, people need a distraction, something that they enjoy, Johnson said. Ultimately, if youre in that type of environment, you want to distract yourself from the pain.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/vr-is-helping-to-make-daunting-medical-treatments-more-bearable-for-patients-161505375.html?src=rss
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When Google debuted AI Mode at the start of March, the company promised to work quickly on bringing the feature to more users, and now it's doing exactly. Following a smaller expansion last month, the company says AI Mode is now available to all Labs users, with no wait list in place to limit access. As a reminder, AI Mode is a new chatbot that Google has built directly into Search. Labs, meanwhile, is a program you can sign up for to try out new Search features before they're widely available. With today's expansion, Google is also updating AI Mode to add new visual cards that will appear when you ask the chatbot for information related to places and products. "For local spots, like restaurants, salons and stores, you can quickly see info like ratings, reviews, and opening hours, and if youre looking for a product, youll see shoppable options with real-time prices (including the latest promotions), images, shipping details and local inventory," Google says of the new feature. Google On desktop, Google is also adding a search history tool, allowing users to revisit and continue previous conversations they've had with AI Mode. The idea here is to allow people to pick up on research they might have left unfinished. If you're not enrolled in Labs and live in the US, there's a chance you might see AI Mode appear in Search sometime in the coming weeks. Google says it's doing this because the response to the feature has been "incredibly positive," and it wants to collect additional feedback before a broader rollout. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-prepares-to-start-testing-ai-mode-with-regular-search-users-160027861.html?src=rss
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Apple has been ordered to pay a $502 million lump sum payment by UK courts for infringing on patents owned by Optis Cellular Technology LLC, based out of Texas. When you include interest and fees, Optis estimates the total sum to be in excess of $700 million. This particular company is not an aggrieved innovator, but instead what is referred to as a patent troll. Thats a company that buys up niche patents with the specific intent to seek damages for infringement from lucrative defendants like Apple, and its not their first time being awarded damages from the Cupertino giant. This lawsuit was originally filed through London courts in 2019 over patents governing cellular technology, including 4G, that Optis says was improperly used in iPads and iPhones. In 2023, Londons High Court ruled in Optis favor and ordered Apple to pay just over $56 million plus interest to settle the dispute, inclusive of past and future sales that featured the offending tech. Optis successfully argued that this was far too low a sum, leading to the half-a-billion-dollars in damages ordered today. The iPhone maker has found itself in court over patent infringements time and time again in the past not only with patent trolls, but also fellow industry stalwarts. The ability for enormous tech companies to (allegedly) infringe on design or utility patents and pay pennies on the dollar for the damage done years later seems to be a feature, not a bug. Apple has unsurprisingly responded by promising to appeal the court's decision, to which Optis insisted it will fight to defend its intellectual property. Optis provided Engadget with the following statement: "Were pleased the UK Court of Appeals has recognized and corrected a clearly flawed prior ruling and has made meaningful progress toward affirming the true value of our patents to Apple devices. In addition to ordering payment that exceeds $700 million with interest and fees, the Court has judged that 'Apples significant negotiating strength leads some parties to agree lower rates than would be agreed between a willing licensor/willing licensee' thereby gaining an unfair advantage. We will continue to ensure fair compensation for the Optis intellectual property that enables high-speed connectivity for millions of devices around the world." Update, May 1, 2025, 11:53AM ET: This story was updated with a statement from Optis and details about the total compensation inclusive of fees and interest. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-ordered-to-pay-502-million-to-optis-by-uk-courts-153053338.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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