The Verge – Page 12

Meta rolls out live AI, translations, and Shazam to its smart glasses

Meta just announced three new features are rolling out to its Ray-Ban smart glasses: live AI, live translations, and Shazam. Both live AI and live translation are limited to members of Meta’s Early Access Program, while Shazam support is available for all users in the US and Canada.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/16/24322628/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-live-ai-translation-shazam

Apple’s foldable iPad could be like ‘two iPad Pros side-by-side’

Gurman says a foldable iPhone is still in the works, though he doesn’t expect that “before 2026 at the earliest,” as other rumors have said. He also says information from his sources lines up with an alleged Apple internal display roadmap that made the rounds recently, tipping the 18.8-inch foldable iPad and Apple’s plans to release OLED MacBook Pros in 2026, followed by a MacBook Air OLED update in 2027.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/15/24321659/apple-foldable-18-8-inch-ipad-invisible-crease-rumor

Airbnb’s anti-party tech is cracking down on ‘unauthorized’ get togethers

Airbnb describes its anti-party technology as machine learning tools to identify and block risky bookings. The tech will be rolled out globally, but Airbnb specifically called out the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Puerto Rico, Spain, and New Zealand. It assesses things like trip length, when the reservation is being made, and how far the booking is from your current location.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/13/24320345/airbnb-anti-party-tech-new-years-eve

Samsung’s One UI 7 looks rather iOS-y.

The upcoming redesign teased in a (seemingly premature) video found on Samsung’s Spanish website shows off smoother animations and a revamped Quick Panel, with quick settings now packed in bubbles — just like on iOS. The pill-shaped live activities feature also shares some similarities with Apple’s Dynamic Island.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/29/24308683/samsungs-one-ui-7-looks-rather-ios-y

Microsoft is killing off its Xbox One-era Avatars in January

image via theverge.com

Microsoft is shutting down the Xbox Avatar Editor app, reports PureXbox. The Xbox Avatar FAQ says that “due to low engagement and our shift in focus towards delivering other player experiences,” it’s discontinuing the editor as of January 9th, 2025.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/26/24306394/xbox-avatar-editor-discontinued

Strava’s API debacle highlights the messiness of fitness data

There are dozens of fitness apps and wearables, and Strava’s new rules will make it harder to get all that data in one place. The reality is many smaller fitness apps and wearable makers don’t have the resources to strike up direct data integrations with the thousands of other fitness apps and devices on the market. It’s much easier for everyone to use Strava’s API and call it a day. And unlike Apple’s HealthKit API or Google’s Health Connect, Strava is platform-agnostic.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/22/24303124/strava-fitness-data-wearables