Apps

Google launched the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro at a hardware event this morning. Temperature sensor, off-device video processing, and improved photo editing are highlights. Both have substantially improved AI features thanks to Google Assistant. Google Assistant can summarize, read aloud, and translate web pages on the Pixel 8 …

Stanford biology graduate and two-time entrepreneur Cyrus Khajvandi struggled to balance scientific research with his daily workload. Khajvandi developed an AI platform to summarize and answer questions about documents, particularly scientific studies, after realizing he wasn’t alone and AI technology was becoming more accessible. Former Labelbox founder Dan Rasmuson became …

Meta-owned Twitter rival Threads now allows account switching without logging out. The social networking app announced Thursday that users can swap accounts on its mobile apps by long pressing the bottom right profile icon. After the long press, tap “Add profile” to create a new profile. Switching between work and …

Prepare for another encryption battle: After parliament approved its Online Safety Bill yesterday, the U.K. government is pressuring Meta not to roll out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on Facebook Messenger and Instagram unless it applies unspecified “safety measures” that the Home Secretary said should allow law enforcement to continue to detect …

On Wednesday, Substack announced a Home experience redesign for its mobile app to improve discovery and engagement. A new top-of-screen reading queue makes it easier to swipe right between posts in the app. The queue lets you quickly share posts in a note or on other social media platforms. The …

For paid users, X, formerly Twitter, has implemented government ID-based account verification to prevent impersonation and provide “prioritized support.” Social media partner Au10tix provides identity verification solutions from Israel. The ID verification pop-up says the Au10tix can store this data for 30 days. X’s verification support page says ID verification …

An X challenger named itself T2 at launch to compete with Twitter, but that name is no longer used. The company announced on its platform that the X competitor will be called “Pebble.” Pebble users received a brief explanation for the name change: “A pebble is something small and unassuming. …

One of the most popular post-Twitter apps reached a milestone on Tuesday. Bluesky strategy and operations manager Rose Wang posted a screenshot on X, formerly Twitter. The X competitor famously only allowed app access through a waitlist and user invitations, keeping the platform’s population small as it scaled. https://x.com/iamrosewang/status/1701735196679356887?s=20 Bluesky …

We braved the press scrum to show you the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. USB-C is the big news across the line. Since Apple introduced the Lightning port exactly 11 years ago, a refresh was overdue. Add to that recent EU legislation to universalize USB-C and the fact that …

After months of testing, TikTok Shop launched in the U.S., where it has over 150 million users. The rollout includes a dedicated shop tab on the home screen, live video shopping, shoppable ads, and creator affiliate programs. TikTok began testing its U.S. e-commerce initiative last November. Over the last few …