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Spotifys beta AI Playlist feature is now available for Premium users in the US, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. It lets you create and refine custom playlists using text prompts. It initially arrived in April in the UK and Australia. The company describes it as a tool to effortlessly turn your most creative ideas into playlists. Spotify provided several examples, including Upbeat folk music for a scenic fall road trip and 2000 era hype jams for the tailgate. If its initial results dont quite hit the mark, you can refine the playlist with further prompts, such as less peppy or hold the Nickelback. Spotify Spotify says the feature leans on personalization, choosing tracks it thinks youll like based on your listening habits. The company says the AI produces the best results with prompts about genre, mood or artists. But you can try topics like animals, activities, movie characters, colors and emojis, too. Premium subscribers will find AI Playlists in the Spotify mobile app. Navigate to Your Library, tap the + button and choose AI Playlist. Then, use the pop-up chat tool to start generating your custom tracklists.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/spotifys-ai-playlists-are-now-available-for-premium-users-in-the-us-130008423.html?src=rss
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Portable monitors have been around for years, but their importance skyrocketed during the pandemic. And with the continuation of remote and hybrid work positions, theyre going to be staples for the foreseeable future. But picking one isnt as simple as it seems. At this point, almost every major PC maker has its own take on travel-friendly displays, with prices ranging from as little as $100 to nearly $1,000. So to help sort through the confusion, I tested out a bunch of options to put together a short list of the best portable monitors on sale today. Things to consider before buying a portable monitor Before you start looking at specific products, its super important to think about how and where you plan on using a portable display. Larger panels are great for home use where you may only need to move it or put it away when you have company over. Meanwhile, smaller screens are great for travel and whipping out at a coffee shop or shared workspace. But if you go too small, you may be adding extra weight to your bag without providing a ton of extra utility. Its also important to consider your typical workload, as artists may get extra value out of monitors with higher brightness and wider color gamuts. Those who spend all day looking at spreadsheets wont get as much value from more vibrant displays. What to look for in a portable monitor Aside from price and the size of the screen, some of the most important specs in a portable monitor include panel type, brightness, refresh rate and connectivity. Most portable monitors use IPS LCD displays, which generally offer good viewing angles, strong brightness and good power efficiency. However, there are a few models sporting OLED screens that support wider color gamuts, which can be a major benefit for artists and content creators. Some budget models may use TN panels, as that can help cut costs and reduce energy consumption. That said, we generally try to stay away from those as they often have worse image quality compared to IPS screens. For brightness, 300 nits is the lowest we recommend anything less can make the monitor hard to use even in some indoor environments. Ideally, we look for screens that are closer to 350 or 400 nits and above. Connectivity is also important because if you cant easily hook your phone or laptop to a monitor, it becomes an oversized paperweight. Most travel displays include HDMI or USB-C ports (or both), which cover the large majority of devices. However, we also like models that support passthrough power over USB-C, which reduces the complexity of your setup and decreases the number of cords and adapters you have to carry around. Finally, most portable monitors feature 60Hz refresh rates, which is fine for most use cases. However, there are a handful of models that go up to 120Hz or even 240Hz. Panels that fast are especially good for gaming, especially for those planning to bring the console or gaming PC on the go. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-portable-monitor-120050851.html?src=rss
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Its the most powerful wearable tracking the most important organ in your body. Dr. Ramses Alcaide is explaining the electroencephalography (EEG) technology that his company Neurable uses to track activity with its brain-computer interface (BCI). Alcaide is the CEO and co-founder, and notes that a huge problem with EEG sensors is that they are often affixed to bulky, awkward-looking headsets not exactly something you want to wear out in public. And to him, thats why the technology hasnt yet created the type of impact that they could [on] the world. Sure, weve seen a variety of headbands over the last decade, but those add an additional device to your bag. Alcaide argues theres a better way to use EEG tech thats even less intrusive. Neurable began at the University of Michigan in 2011 where its technology was initially created. The overall platform is an AI system that combines filtering to increase and boost the signal of brain data. The company spun out in 2015 and has been working to bring its EEG-powered tech to smaller everyday devices, as Alcaide describes them. [It] took a lot of time, but what weve been able to do is take what was traditionally these large systems and bring it down to everyday devices using AI, he says. Devices like headphones, earbuds, helmets, AR glasses and more can be equipped with EEG sensors so that they can track neurodegenerative diseases and neurodivergence based on brain activity. For example, the ability to track Alzheimer's or ADHD before a person knows they even have it is part of the plan for Neurable. Right now though, the companys first step is one of those everyday wearables that can track decreases in focus to create what Alcaide calls good wellness hygiene. Billy Steele for Engadget The companys first device is the MW75 Neuro: a set of headphones built in collaboration with Master & Dynamic. Based on the existing MW75, this version has dry fabric EEG sensors in the ear pads, sending 12 EEG channels to the Neurable app for the software to do its AI analysis and signal processing. The app then interprets the data with high confidence and lab-level accuracy, according to the company. The Neurable app is where all the data is displayed for the MW75 Neuro. First, it essentially gamifies mental hygiene with focus tracking. You earn points for high (2), medium (2) and low (1) focus levels, accumulating points throughout the day. Youre then able to view comparisons week-to-week as well as individual session summaries with attention span graphs. During these periods, the system can prompt you to take a break when focus decreases, which Neurable says this should help with burnout to some degree. Of course, burnout isnt something thats easy to quantify, or even tangibly measure, since theres more than your focus or attention at play. The MW75 Neuro isnt just meant to keep you working. The company says monitoring your focus levels can assist you with gaming, meditation, reading and even decision-making. Noise cancellation can block out distractions during periods when you need to be locked in, which doesnt only apply to the office. Neurable says no matter the activity, its app provides the data necessary to recognize your performance over time and identity when you need to take breaks or maybe find a different environment in order to be productive. This is just scratching the iceberg, Alcaide explains. We're not claiming or diagnosing everything, [but] it really shows you a glimpse of the future that these everyday wearables can deliver on. Billy Steele for Engadget Of course, the MW75 Neuro is a set of noise-canceling headphones, which means youll get a host of audio features on top of the fancy brain tech. Master & Dynamic CEO Jonathan Levine told me that this version of the headphones has an identical industrial design to the regular MW75. 40mm Beryllium drivers carry M&Ds trademark warm sound profile and four microphones are employed for active noise cancellation (ANC) and calls. There are still a host of sound modes and you can customize the EQ and more inside the M&D Connect app. Besides the ear pads, there are some other changes on the MW75 Neuro. Neurables version supports Adaptive Transparency mode for starters, but the key difference is inside. The electronics were completely redesigned to add EEG processors that power the AI tech, including an ARM Cortex chip. Since the sensor-packed cushions on this model are fabric instead of leather, Levine says the variation does change the sound profile slightly. And during my testing I noticed that they arent quite as comfortable as those on the original model either. If you pre-order from Master & Dynamic, the company will throw in non-EEG leather ear pads for free. Theres a big hit to battery life, too. Neurable says the MW75 Neuro offers 10 hours of EEG tracking on a charge (8 hours with ANC on), compared to up to 28 hours with ANC on the regular version. I dont think youre going to use Neurables features for more than a few hours at a time, but you should know they do impact longevity. Once you start a focus session, a timer begins in the app and continues until you turn it off. Theres a button up top if you need to take a break, otherwise the headphones continue tracking your brainwaves until you tell them to stop. Theres also an indicator on the timer screen to let you know if the sensors are properly connected. A reliable connection ensures optimal EEG signal quality during the session. Neurable During my tests, I used the MW75 Neuro to track short focus sessions. Its nice that the whole system runs in the background without any distractions other than the break suggestions. Of course, youll have to think back to remember if any dips lined up when you look at the graph, but I felt like the apps prompts to take a break were well-timed and probably overdue. The software can give you voice or push notifications (or both), and the app provides a separate 10-minute timer for the so-called Brain Breaks. I dont have any lab-grade tech to thoroughly evaluate what Neurable is doing on these headphones from a tracking standpoint. And Ill admit that my short time with the MW75 Neuro isnt enough time to fully evaluate their utility. But, I can begin to see how they could help over time, especially for those of us who are incentivized by streaks and daily scores. I found it interesting to see how much time I spent in high and medium focus, as well as trying to recall if a text or Slack message may have caused me to stumble during a session. Neurable is actually working to help with that common distraction. The company is allowing developers to build apps for the MW75 Neuro, including one in the works that will automatically pause Spotify when you lose focus. To help with messages, the company is working on a chat integration that allows you to respond with head movements while remaining in the productivity zone. Alcaide argues that 90 percent of text messages can be responded to in a simple manner with a response created by ChatGPT, so the headphones accelerometer can be used to detect a nod or shake for automatic replies. This goes beyond what Apple is doing with Siri Interactions on AirPods since it helps facilitate an appropriate response. When the iPhone came out, a touchscreen was the interface, he continues. For [Neurable], its going to be the neural interface and the accelerometer. Its going to enable us to do a lot of the same things we do with our phone with our everyday wearable. The MW75 Neuro is available for pre-order today in the US in silver, onyx, navy and olive color options for $699. Neurable plans to make the headphones available in Europe and the UK in 2025 for 729 / 629. Thats a lot for a set of headphones, but the regular MW75 is $599, so theres only a $100 premium for Neurables tech. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/neurables-brainwave-tracking-master--dynamic-headphones-tell-you-when-to-take-a-break-120004736.html?src=rss
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