Google has confirmed the Pixel Fold, its first foldable smartphone, with video teasers on both YouTube and Twitter. The company was to reveal the Pixel Fold , but leaks ruined that surprise. The device has a vertical hinge that unfolds into a tablet-like 7.6-inch display. There’s also an exterior screen, measuring 5.8 inches.
Rumors suggest the price could be around $1,700, fetching a premium far beyond Google’s flagship Pixels. However, I could be convinced – if the foldable can deliver a rumored 24-hour battery life. Expect to hear everything you need to make up your mind on May 10th, which is next Wednesday.
– Mat Smith
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It has received approval to expand the Vegas Loop even further.
The Boring Company (TBC) is expanding its tunnel network underneath Las Vegas by 25 miles, which will add 18 new stations to its original plan. According to TechCrunch, the commissioners voted 6-to-1 after TBC’s lawyer, Stephanie Allen, assured them that the company and not the taxpayers will be funding the project entirely. Currently, the Vegas Loop is still just about 2 miles long with five stops around the Las Vegas Convention Center.
It comes hours before VP Harris meets with Silicon Valley leaders about AI risks.
The Biden Administration announced Thursday that it plans to put $140 million into launching seven new AI R&D centers. It will form a part of the National Science Foundation, extracting commitments from leading AI companies to participate in a “public evaluation” of their AI systems. Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House yesterday for what was set to be, according to an official, “a frank discussion about the risks we see in current and near-term AI development.”
It’s also adding rich media answers, conversation histories, and more.
Three months after debuting its revamped search engine, Microsoft announced it’s now moving into open preview. You’ll still need to sign in to Bing on the Edge browser (or the Bing mobile apps) to use the chatbot, but at least you no longer have to deal with a waitlist. Microsoft is also rolling out several new features to celebrate this new phase of Bing (powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4). It can go beyond mere text responses to deliver charts, graphs and rich formatting. Its image generator also supports more than 100 languages.
Some indie classics have joined the service, such as ‘Limbo’ and ‘Getting Over It.’
Apple has added another 20 new and classic titles to its Arcade service. Among the additions is an exclusive co-op Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. TMNT Splintered Fate is a roguelike brawler, so it’ll be different every time you play – you can even combine the turtles’ attacks with randomized powerups. Also new is What The Car?, the latest title from What the Golf? and What The Bat? studio Triband. This time, you’ll control a car and participate in races. Expect some absurd twists. To start with: the car has legs.
Earth will eventually meet the same end.
K. Miller/R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)
This is not an epic end-of-Avengers CGI attack, but a star consuming one of its orbiting planets as it turns into a red giant. The star, about 12,000 light-years away, close to the Aquila constellation, became 100 times brighter over 10 days. It’s believed that the Earth and other inner Solar System planets will face a similar demise when the Sun dies – roughly 5 billion years from now. Er, happy Friday!
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