Even though Apple has yet to launch the iPhone 16, there are already several rumors about the iPhone 17 out there. It was earlier reported that the next-gen iPhone could be backed by the new processor from Apple’s primary chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Several other reports were doing rounds about Apple's planning to discontinue the Plus models after the launch of the iPhone 16 this year. Now, it is said that the iPhone 17 Slim will not only replace the Plus models but also be the most expensive smartphone of the series.

Recently, Jeff Pu forecasted that the iPhone 16 series would be the last series to see the launch of a Plus model. Now, a fresh report suggests that The Information gives more information about the iPhone 17, claiming that the iPhone 16 Plus will indeed be the last iteration of the Plus models. Instead of the iPhone 17 Plus, the company could launch the iPhone 17 Slim instead.

Also Read: iOS Bug Restoring Deleted Images; Is Apple Storing Private Data?

Apple Will Launch A Much Thinner iPhone 

The Information’s report suggests that as a replacement for the Plus model, the company will launch a “significantly thinner” phone than the current iPhones, filled with upgrades such as a revamped camera system. 

The report cited sources close to the matter talking about this ultra-thin iPhone debuting in 2025 as part of the iPhone 17 lineup. Internally referred to as D23, this model is said to be a major design overhaul, similar to the changes brought to the table with the iPhone X in 2017. With the iPhone X introducing FaceID, an OLED screen, and a glass back, the upcoming phone is said to feature a significantly thinner design and a smaller display cutout.

There have been rumors that the company could replace the Dynamic Island with a pinhole cutout, potentially starting with the iPhone 16 series. Besides, the camera is also said to be relocated to the center of the phone.

Also Read: Apple To Give iPhone, iPad Motion Sickness-Fighting Feature

iPhone 17 To Come With A Hefty Price Tag

The screen size of the standard version might fall between 6.12 inches and the iPhone 16 Pro Max can measure 6.69 inches. While the exact dimensions of the new thin iPhone are still a mystery, the current thinnest iPhone is the third-gen iPhone SE, which measures only 0.29 inches.

Moreover, the iPhone 17 Slim could carry a huge price tag compared to the Pro Max model. If this turns out to be true, the Slim models will be the top-tier phones next year. The company launched the Plus variant with the iPhone 14 lineup in 2022, catering to users who wish to use a larger screen without having to shell out a huge sum.

It’s a known fact that Google wants users to shell out money for its YouTube Premium subscription service. Beyond adding new and exclusive features to the paid tier, the platform has been making the free service more irritating for users, forcing them to subscribe.

Now, the video-streaming platform is hiding the countdown timer and grayed-out skip button when playing ads in its mobile app. The skip button now suddenly appears once a user has seen enough of the advertisement.

Also Read: YouTube Boosts Premium Service Subscription Prices In India

YouTube Forcing Free Tier Users To Subscribe

According to Android Police, YouTube for mobile is now hiding the countdown timer when playing ads for some users. The change was seemingly applied to push viewers to focus on the ads itself rather than when they skip it. So, instead of locking the skip button behind a visible timer, the button appears when users have seen a specific portion of the ad.

What’s interesting is that users can still estimate when a YouTube ad will become skippable through the yellow seek bar at the bottom of the video. This subtly gives them the needed information without distracting the users from the sponsored content.

Like most fresh youtube introductions, this change to how ads work on mobile seems to be a limited test. The company has yet to officially announce it, and not all users are seeing this change. Whether Google kills it or expands its availability to all users remains unclear.

Also Read: Google Messages Discreetly Discontinues YouTube PiP Support

YouTube Shorts Update Increases Video Length To 3 Minutes

YouTube recently launched a bunch of new features and changes to YouTube Shorts, which the company says will make short-form content more useful and engaging. In a blog post, YouTube announced that starting October 15, creators can upload Shorts that are up to three minutes long.

However, the change is only applicable to videos that are square or have a tall aspect ratio and any of the older videos won’t be affected. YouTube also brought some changes to its Shorts player, which it claims will help creators take center stage and allow viewers to focus on the content they love.

In the coming months, YouTube says creators will be able to tap into the vast universe of their favorite videos, and music videos and even pull from multiple clips on the platform. Speaking of YouTube mobile, users will now see the new Trends page for Shorts and get a preview of the Shorts’ comment section from the feed itself.

PlayStation India has unveiled two new audio accessories designed to upgrade the gaming experience for PlayStation 5 users. The new devices include the PULSE Explore wireless earbuds and the PULSE Elite wireless headset. Both products are set to hit major retailers across the country starting October 11, 2024, offering gamers advanced audio technology tailored for immersive gameplay.

The PULSE Explore wireless earbuds are designed to provide an exceptional audio experience whether at home or on the go. Packing planar magnetic drivers, these earbuds promise lifelike sound quality that enables players to hear every detail in their favorite games.

The inclusion of the PlayStation Link wireless connection offers a swift, lossless audio experience, eliminating any delays that could disrupt gameplay. Moreover, the earbuds are equipped with two hidden microphones that leverage AI-backed noise rejection tech, making sure that voice communications remain crystal clear, even in noisy environments.

Also Read: PS5 Pro Announced: Launch Date, Price, Specs, Games, and More

PULSE Explore And PULSE Elite Features

Battery life is a highlight of the PULSE Explore earbuds, with up to 5 hours of use on a single charge. The bundled charging case offers an extra 10 hours of battery backup. Priced at Rs 18,990, the package comes with earbuds, a PlayStation Link USB adapter, a charging case, six earbud tips for a customized fit, and a USB cable.

Moreover, PlayStation India has launched the PULSE Elite wireless headset, which aims to elevate the audio experience further. Like the earbuds, the headset is packed with planar magnetic drivers and uses the PlayStation Link wireless connection for sound quality.

Crafted for lengthy gaming sessions, the PULSE Elite headset offers an impressive 30-hour battery backup, backed with charging capabilities to minimize downtime. The headset comes at a price of Rs 12,990 and comes complete with essential accessories, including a PlayStation Link USB adapter, a PULSE Elite charging hanger, a mounting plate, and a USB cable.

Both the audio accessories will be available through various retailers, including Sony Center, Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit, Croma, Reliance, and Vijay Sales.

Also Read: Gamma PS1 Emulator For IOS Gets Better Audio And Multitap Support

Sony Reportedly Chose AMD Over Intel For Its PS6 Console

Intel’s bid was blocked because they did not agree on how much profit Intel would make from each chip it would design as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) handled the manufacturing process.

Apart from the recent embarrassment of crashing Raptor Lake CPUs, Intel has been a bystander in the AI chip boom and ceded manufacturing of some next-gen tech to TSMC as it tries to rebuild its capabilities. 

The chipmaking division also racked up $7 billion in losses last year, and recently, the company announced 15,000 layoffs. Meanwhile, its upcoming chip plant in Ohio has been delayed, although it did secure Microsoft as a customer for its advanced 18A chip process.

Meta seems to trying out something new with AI-driven video editing features, allowing advertisers to animate static images and extend the borders of video content. This new tool is aimed at providing brands more creative control and flexibility when creating ads for Instagram and Facebook, providing better ways to engage users with dynamic visuals.

Moreover, Meta has launched new AI-powered tools that enable advertisers to transform static images into dynamic videos. The AI can also expand existing videos by generating additional pixels, enlarging the content without compromising on the quality.

These features are being pushed to users in a gradual manner, with plans for wider availability in 2025. The tools aim to enhance creative options for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram.

Also Read: Threads To Soon Start Showing Instagram Comments

Meta Launches Its Text To Video Model

Facebook owner Meta on Friday revealed a new AI model dubbed Movie Gen that can produce realistic-looking videos using only text prompts. Meta’s announcement comes just 6 months after OpenAI took the AI industry by storm by unveiling its text-to-video generator, Sora.

Movie Gen is also capable of generating background music and sound effects that are synchronized with the video content. The AI tool can generate up to 16 seconds of video in different aspect ratios and up to 45 seconds of audio. The company also shared data from various blind tests where Movie Gen outperformed its other competitors in the segment, such as Runaway Gen 3, OpenAI’s Sora, and Kling 1.5.

Movie Gen can also create custom videos by using an image or video of a person to create a video that features that person in ‘rich visual detail’ while preserving human identity and movement. Meta claims that the new AI tool can be used to edit existing videos by adding different transitions or effects. In a video shared on the company’s blog, Movie Gen was able to add clothes to animals, change the background of the video, and add new elements.

Also Read: WhatsApp Users Can Now Tag Friends In Status Updates

Meta Won’t Tell Whether Ray-Ban Smart Glass Videos Are Private

Meta is reportedly staying mum on whether it is collecting video and image data from its AI wearable device Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to train its large language models (LLMs). The company announced a new real-time video feature for the device using which users can ask the AI to answer queries and ask for suggestions based on their surroundings.

The feature offers real-time video capability that enables Meta AI to “look” at the users’ surroundings and process that visual information to answer any query a user might have. For example, a user can ask it to identify a famous landmark. All of these functionalities require the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to take passive videos and images of the surroundings to understand the context. 

Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar’s popular open-world Western adventure, is finally coming to PC for the first time after it launched 14 years ago. Rockstar Games announced that both Red Dead Redemption and its zombie standalone title Undead Nightmare will be coming bundled to Steam, Epic Games Store, or the Rockstar Store on October 29.

Players will also get bonus content from the Game of the Year edition, although the company has yet to reveal specific details. The project comes from Rockstar and port and remaster studio Double Eleven. It’s not up for preorder yet, but users can wish-ist it on Steam.

Besides, Rockstar has added modern PC improvements: native 4K resolution at up to 144hz, ultrawide and super ultrawide monitor support, Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR support, DLSS frame generation, HDR10, and full mouse and keyboard compatibility. Users will be able to adjust the draw distance and shadow quality.

Also Read: Red Dead Redemption 2 Mod Discreetly Unlocks Free Downloads

PC Requirements To Play Red Dead Redemption

These changes will give players the same quality they’d get from its prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, which has been on PC since 2019. Unlike Red Dead Redemption 2, players won’t require the latest hardware to play the game. As per the Steam page, Rockstar recommends having an Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500X, 8 GB RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 2070 or AMD RX 5700 XT. Users also only need 12 GB of storage space.

While it’s great to be able to play the game on PC platforms at launch, it’s imperative to note that users will still need a Rockstar Games account to play, as per the Steam page. While Red Dead Redemption has been available to play on modern consoles thanks to backward compatibility on Xbox and a 2023 release to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, it had been absent on PC.

However, the PS4 and Switch ports didn’t come with any visual upgrades and still ran at 30 frames per second (fps), although Sony later added support for 60 fps with PlayStation 5.

Also Read: GTA 5 Story DLC Was Cut To Make Room For GTA Online

Rockstar Games Not Sure About GTA 6 Launch In 2025

Online rumors suggested that GTA 6 had already been internally delayed to 2026, but as per a former Rockstar Games lead, the studio doesn’t know whether the game will require more time in the oven until next summer.

Former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij has chimed in on the discourse to remind folks that "the decision to delay GTA 4 was made four months or so before the original release date. Any further and it's hard to make the call." The much-anticipated game has another year in prediction, so Vermeij says that Rockstar "is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish."

Google seems to be going all-cylinders on generative AI out of fear that missing out on the hype could damage its reputation in the search market. It's Gemini assistant and large language model form its key asset in the gen AI war, and thanks to its control over Android, it’s been able to get Geminin in front of a lot of users really fast.

Google is continuously experimenting with new ways to bring Gemini to more users, and its new experiment involves putting a dedicated button right on the Android lock screen. As of now, there are some ways to access the Gemini chatbot on Android. On most Android devices, users can long press the power button to invoke the default assistant, which is Google Assistant on older devices and Gemini on newer ones.

Users will also be able to invoke the default assistant by pressing and holding the home button or swiping up from the corner. Finally, users can say a wake-word phrase like “Hey Google” or “OK Google” to invoke the default assistant hands-free.

Also Read: Google Will Lock Your Android Smartphone If Stolen

Google’s AI Search Summaries Officially Showing Advertisements

Google has started rolling out ads in AI Overviews, which means users will now see product suggestions in some of their search engine’s AI-generated summaries. For instance, if a user is searching for a recipe, the AI-generated response will provide some tips along with products beneath a “sponsored” header. Google spokesperson Craig Ewer told The Verge they’ll only show up if a question has a “commercial angle.”

Google has been testing ads in AI Overviews since May but says it’s moving ahead with a full rollout because it helps people “quickly connect with relevant businesses, products, and services to take the next step at the exact moment they need them.”

As of now, ads are only coming to AI Overviews in the US on mobile. Microsoft similarly includes ads in its Copilot chatbot and recently changed how they surface in responses. Google is also making some tweaks to the formatting of AI Overviews. 

Also Read: YouTube Shorts Update Increases Video Length To 3 Minutes

Google Will Lock Your Android Smartphone If Stolen

Google has taken some serious measures against phone thefts. The company’s new “theft detection lock” ensures that personal data is safe and that the phone is of no use to the thief.

The new feature, currently being rolled out for Android users in the US, was spotted on the recently launched Xiaomi 14T Pro and was first reported by Mishaal Rahman on Threads. Google is rolling out three major components of theft-related features: theft detection lock, offline device lock, and remote lock.

The new theft detection lock feature leverages a machine learning model that is capable of detecting when a phone is snatched from a user’s hand and the thief runs away on foot or in a vehicle.