Month: March 2023

The technology behind the world’s most talked about artificial intelligence (AI) system, ChatGPT, is being added to its most ubiquitous work software, Microsoft 365.

Microsoft is calling the system Copilot and says it will be embedded into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said it would “fundamentally change the way we work.”

However, the firm admitted Copilot would sometimes make mistakes.

The functions of Copilot include:

Summarising the key discussion points of a conversation held on meeting software, Teams, and providing recaps for someone who joins late or misses the whole event
Creating PowerPoint presentations, including images, from prompts
Drafting emails
Analysing long email threads and documents
Creating summaries and graphs of data on Excel spreadsheets
Chat GPT has captured the world’s attention with its ability to quickly provide human-like responses to questions, even very complicated or abstract ones.

However, those replies are sometimes inaccurate or provide completely invented information.

While the tech being deployed by Microsoft in Office365 is not simply ChatGPT itself, it is based on the same language-learning model.

The firm acknowledged that Copilot may also sometimes be “usefully wrong”.

“We all want to focus on the 20% of our work that really matters, but 80% of our time is consumed with busy work that bogs us down. Copilot lightens the load,” the tech giant said in a statement.

It has not yet revealed roll-out details.

On Tuesday, OpenAI launched GPT4, un updated version of the model which powers ChatGPT. Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in the firm.

OpenAI said GPT4 had “more advanced reasoning skills” than ChatGPT – but warned that it may still be prone to sharing disinformation.

ChatGPT is a big runner in the worldwide AI chatbot race.

Google – whose lucrative search business could be threatened by ChatGPT – has launched a rival called Bard.

Meta has its own chatbot, named Blenderbot, and in China, the tech giant Baidu has released a more advanced version of its chatbot Ernie, also known as Wenxin Yiyan.

Make no mistake, this is a significant milestone for generational AI and, more importantly, for the world of work.

Bringing the powers behind ChatGPT to the humble Word, Excel and PowerPoint programmes, quite possibly the most used work programmes in most offices, plonks it directly in the daily lives of millions of workers.

I know people have been using ChatGPT to help them do their jobs – to write computer code, speeches, website copy. Students are using it to help them with their homework.

But most of us have been having fun, getting it to write poems, songs, jokes. I asked an audience at a live event recently who had tried ChatGPT. Most hands shot up. But most went back down immediately when I asked who was using it professionally.

Putting Copilot into Office365 is a real game-changer. Imagine instead of summarising that long dull report for your client meeting, you just get a chatbot to do it for you in a few seconds. But why stop there – do you even need to be at the meeting at all? Just get Copilot to recap it for you and send you the notes of it afterwards.

Watching a demo of it creating a stylish PowerPoint presentation in moments was really quite heartwarming for anyone familiar with the phrase “death by PowerPoint”.

Microsoft would argue that this frees up your time to do other jobs. But what if Copilot has one day beaten you to those things as well?

Electronics giant Samsung says it plans to invest around 300tn won ($230.8bn; £189.6bn) over 20 years in the South Korea government’s push to develop a mega semiconductor hub in the country.

This will be put towards building five chip factories, the firm told the BBC.

Samsung is the world’s biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and TVs.

Under the official plan, companies in high-tech industries will be offered incentives like expanded tax breaks and infrastructure support.

“The mega cluster will be the key base of our semiconductor ecosystem,” South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said it planned to secure around 550tn won in private-sector investment and “leap forward as a leading country in the middle of fierce global competition over advanced industries”.

South Korea’s move comes as “major players are ramping up efforts to boost onshore manufacturing in the semiconductor sector,” Paul Triolo from the global advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group told the BBC.

“It wants to emulate to some degree Taiwan’s clustering effect, where the trifecta of science parks… form a massive cluster that has attracted numerous other companies, both upstream and downstream in the supply chain,” he said.

Semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware, are at the centre of a bitter dispute between the US and China.

In October, Washington announced that it would require licences for companies exporting chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they are made in the world.

Last week, the Netherlands said it also planned to put restrictions on its “most advanced” microchip technology exports to protect national security.

Around the same time, South Korea’s trade ministry raised concerns over the US policy on semiconductors.

The ministry said the Chips Act “could deepen business uncertainties, violate companies’ management and technology rights as well as make the United States less attractive as an investment option”.

China has frequently called the US a “tech hegemony” in response to export controls imposed by Washington.

South Korea is home to other major microprocessor manufacturers such as SK Hynix.

This voice command feature is only available on iOS 16.

Siri has leveled up over the years from just placing calls and sending texts with your voice. One of Apple’s latest additions to the Siri command list, hidden within iOS 16, is something I’ve wanted to do with just my voice for years.

You can finally use your voice to restart your iPhone.

Prior to this feature, the only way to power cycle my device was to do it manually, obviously. It’s not a particularly difficult task, but when I’m in a rush, it’s nice to use my voice for more involved things.

Thanks to iOS 16, if you ever have any issues and need to quickly reboot your device, you can do it with just your voice. Here’s how.

You should also check out these 11 hidden iOS 16 features for your iPhone and everything you need to understand your iPhone’s latest software update.

Restart your iPhone using this simple voice command
As long as you have the “Hey Siri” feature enabled, which constantly listens for the two-letter command, you can say the following to restart your iPhone:

First, say “Hey Siri” to activate Siri.
Next, say “Restart iPhone.”
And last, say “Yes” when Siri prompts you to confirm.
Your iPhone will then restart. You’ll need to enter your passcode to unlock your screen.

You can also use this new feature on the iPad, but you’ll need to be running at least iPadOS 16.1.

If you don’t have “Hey Siri” enabled, you can go to Settings > Siri & Search and toggle on Listen for “Hey Siri.” If you don’t want your iPhone listening for this command all the time, you can always just activate Siri by holding down on the side button for a second, although this does defeat the whole hands-free aspect of restarting your iPhone.

The tech giant touts its latest updates for Pixel phones and the Pixel Watch.

Google on Monday laid out updates coming to its Pixel phones and the Pixel Watch, including bringing some useful camera tools to more devices.

In its first feature drop of 2023, Google said faster Night Sight — its feature for taking low-light photos — is coming to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro after launching on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro last year. The company also reminded people that its Magic Eraser tool for removing unwanted objects from images is now available on all Pixel phones.

Google said people will be able to further customize audio and visuals on the Pixel Watch in the “coming weeks,” including new “color correction and grayscale modes” to meet a wider range of display preferences. The company also called out fall detection on the Pixel Watch, which Google said last month has been tested to tell the difference between a hard fall and exercise movements.

Google also highlighted expanded availability of Direct My Call — a feature that lets you see phone menu options ahead of time for toll-free calls — to the Pixel 4A and newer, as well as a feature that shares timers set on Nest smart home devices to Pixel phones, and lets you stop them without having to unlock your phone.

Just in time for spring, Apple drops a new color for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus.

Apple reminds us that spring is around the corner with a new color for iPhone 14 and 14 Plus: yellow. As has been the case for the past few years, Apple dropped a new color for the iPhone in March. In 2021, we got the purple iPhone 12. Last spring, we got a green iPhone 13 and an alpine green iPhone 13 Pro. And this year it’s yellow. Sadly, Apple decided to leave the Pro models out of the new color party.

There are now six colors to choose from: yellow, purple, blue, starlight, midnight and Product Red. If you follow Apple closely, you know that the old rainbow Apple logo was made up of six colors. Coincidence? I think not. The new yellow has a soft, pastel tone to it.

While the new finish is exciting, the yellow iPhone 14 is identical to the models that launched in September. It runs iOS 16, has an A15 Bionic chip, Emergency SOS via Satellite, Car Crash Detection and cameras similar to those of the iPhone 13 Pro (aside from the telephoto). In fact, we are halfway through the iPhone’s annual upgrade cycle, with the rumored iPhone 15 expected to launch in September.

Unlike with last year’s iPhone 13 color drop, Apple did not announce a new version of the iPhone SE. In fact there are rumors that the SE is dead, while some say a new version of Apple’s cheapest phone might still be on the way in 2024.

The new yellow iPhone 14 and 14 Plus is available to preorder and will be in stores starting Tuesday. Most people are likely to put a case on their iPhone 14 no matter which color the phone is. If that’s you, Apple also launched a new yellow silicone case, too.

A leaker says sensor issues have pushed back implementation.

The dream of getting an iPhone without a notch seemed set for next year, which is when an Apple analyst predicted we’d get all the components needed for Face ID to be relocated under the display. Now a leaker says we may have to wait until 2025.

The main line of flagship iPhones relies on a collection of sensors, including an infrared camera and infrared projector, that work in concert with a front-facing camera sitting under the iPhone’s notch to enable Face ID. Under-display Face ID has been “pushed at least a year to 2025 or later,” noted leaker Ross Young tweeted, adding that sensor issues caused the delay.

Since Young didn’t elaborate on what those sensor issues are, it’s unclear what’s holding Apple back from putting everything under the display.

Though iPhones haven’t gotten rid of the notch yet, Apple has shrunk the wide black band at the top of its premium phones in recent years. The higher-end iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max packed a new feature — Dynamic Island — that partially hid and repurposed the notch space to use as a miniature control panel for media and apps.

The ZTE Axon 20 5G released in 2020 became the world’s first phone with an under-display front camera, but the selfies it took were underwhelming. More premium Android phones have started using under-display cameras, however, including the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 4, as well as the RedMagic 7S Pro.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Public beta testers can try new emoji, changes to Apple Podcasts, and more.

Apple released iOS 16.4 beta 3 to public beta testers Wednesday, about a week after the company released the second iOS 16.4 public beta. This third beta means the wide unveiling of iOS 16.4 is probably close at hand. Beta testers can now try out new iOS features, like new emoji and updates to Apple Books.

These features are available only to people who are a part of Apple’s Beta Software Program. New iOS features can be fun, but we recommend downloading a beta only onto something other than your primary phone, just in case the new software causes issues. Apple provides beta testers with an app called Feedback. The app lets testers notify Apple of any issues in the new software so the problem can be addressed before general release.

Here are some of the new features testers can find in the iOS 16.4 betas.

Apple ID and beta software updates
Text that reads You can sign in with a different Apple ID that is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program or the Apple Developer Program
The latest beta lets you sign into another Apple ID to access other beta software.

Zach McAuliffe/CNET
With the third iOS 16.4 beta, developers and beta testers can check whether their Apple ID is associated with the developer beta, public beta or both. If you have a different Apple ID, like one for your job, that has access to beta updates, iOS 16.4 beta 3 also lets you switch to that account from your device.

Apple Books updates
The iOS 16.4 beta 2 update brings the page-turn curl animation back to Apple Books, after it was removed in a previous iOS update. Before, when you turned a page in an e-book on your iPhone, the page would slide to one side of your screen or it would vanish and be replaced by the next page. Beta testers can still choose these other page-turn animations in addition to the curl animation.

With iOS 16.4 beta 3, a new popup appears when you open Apple Books for the first time after downloading the update. It lets you know you can change your page-turn animation, theme and more.

31 new emoji
The first iOS 16.4 beta software brought 31 new emoji to your iOS device. The new emoji include a new smiley; new animals, like a moose and a goose; and new heart colors, like pink and light blue.

9 of the new emoji, arranged in a grid on a pink background: peapod, hair pick, goose, hand, smiley, gray heart, maracas, donkey, wifi signal
Some of the new emoji released in the first iOS 16.4 beta.

Patrick Holland/CNET
The new emoji all come from Unicode’s September 2022 recommendation list, Emoji 15.0.

Apple Podcasts updates
The first beta brought a few changes to how you navigate Apple Podcasts. Now you can access podcast channels you subscribe to in your Library. You can also use Up Next to resume podcast episodes you’ve started, start episodes you’ve saved and remove episodes you want to skip.

Preview Mastodon links in Messages
Apple’s first iOS 16.4 beta enabled rich previews of Mastodon links in Messages. That’s good because Mastodon saw a 400% increase in the rate of new accounts in December, so you might be receiving Mastodon links in Messages.

Music app changes
The Kid Cudi album Man On the Moon artwork with the track list below
A small banner appears at the bottom of the screen when you choose to play a song next in Apple Music in the frst iOS 16.4 beta.

Zach McAuliffe/CNET
The Music interface has been slightly modified in the first iOS 16.4 beta. When you add a song to your queue, a small banner appears near the bottom of your screen instead of a full-screen pop-up.

See who and what is covered under AppleCare
Starting with iOS 16.4 beta 1, you could go to Settings to check who and what devices are covered on your AppleCare plan. With iOS 16.4 beta 2, this menu will show you a small icon next to each device that’s covered under AppleCare.

Focus Mode, Shortcuts and always-on display
If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, iOS 16.4 beta 1 lets you enable or disable the always-on display option with certain Focus Modes. A new option in Shortcuts called Set Always on Display was also added, in addition to new Lock Screen and Set VPN actions.

New Apple Wallet widgets
You can add three new order-tracking widgets for Apple Wallet to your home screen with the first iOS 16.4 beta. Each widget displays your tracking information on active orders, but the widgets are different sizes: small, medium and large.

More accessibility options
The first beta update added a new accessibility option, too. The new option is called Dim Flashing Lights, and it can be found in the Motion menu in Settings. The option’s description says video content that depicts repeated flashing or strobing lights will automatically be dimmed. Video timelines will also show when flashing lights will occur.

New keyboards, Siri voices and language updates
The first iOS 16.4 beta added keyboards for the Choctaw and Chickasaw languages, and there are new Siri voices for Arabic and Hebrew. Language updates have also come to Korean, Ukrainian, Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu.

There’s no word on when iOS 16.4 will be released to the general public. There’s no guarantee these beta features will be released with iOS 16.4, or that these will be the only features released with the update.

If your computer’s screen isn’t enough, use your iPad as a secondary display.

Even if you have a large Mac screen, it may not always be enough. Many people invest in a second monitor to get some breathing room when they’re gaming, streaming and multitasking. However, if you don’t want to spend money on another device that takes up space, you may not have to — with an iPad, you can get dual displays for free.

As long as you have a Mac and iPad that are compatible, you can quickly and easily connect the two Apple devices and use the iPad as an extra display for your Mac computer. Using Sidecar, which comes built-in to supported devices, you can either extend your MacOS desktop or just mirror it onto your iPad, equipped with touchscreen controls to seamlessly use the two devices together. Here’s what you need to know.

In the market for an iPad? Here is a list of the best iPad choices for 2023 and the best deals on iPads.

Requirements to use your iPad as a second display
As mentioned above, both of your devices need to support Sidecar, which is the feature that allows you to use your iPad as a second monitor for your Mac. For your Mac, you must be running MacOS Catalina or later and it has to be one of the following models:

MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
MacBook (2016 or later)
MacBook Air (2018 or later)
iMac (2017 or later and Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
iMac Pro
Mac Mini (2018 or later)
Mac Pro (2019 or later)
Mac Studio
And for your iPad, it must be running iPadOS 13 or later and be one of the following models:

iPad Pro
iPad (6th generation or later)
iPad Mini (5th generation or later)
iPad Air (3rd generation or later)
It’s best to update your devices to the latest software available to avoid any issues. Also, both devices must be logged in to the same Apple ID account, using two-factor authentication.

If you plan on going wireless, the two devices must be within 30 feet of one another. You can also use your USB to connect the two devices, with the advantage of being able to also charge your iPad while it’s in use as a second monitor.

Share your entire Mac desktop to your iPad
Depending on what software update you have on your computer, sharing your computer desktop to your tablet may vary. If you’re running MacOS Big Sur or later, click the Display icon in the menu bar at the top right. In the menu that appears, choose your iPad.

If you’re on MacOS Catalina, you’ll instead click on the AirPlay icon in the menu bar and then select your iPad. If for some reason you don’t see the AirPlay icon, click the Apple menu in the top right and go to System Preferences > Displays and check Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available.

Once your Mac and iPad are connected, you have several options to choose from that appear in the Display/AirPlay menu:

Mirror Built-in Retina Display: Mirror your exact desktop to your iPad. This will shift your computer desktop to look more like your iPad.
Use As Separate Display: Use the iPad as an extension to your desktop. To use your iPad display, drag any window or files from your Mac computer to the right of your screen, which will take you to the tablet. To go back to your computer, simply drag your cursor back to where you came from.
Share only one Mac window to your iPad
Alternatively, you can quickly share a window instead of dragging it over to your iPad. For example, you could share your web browser in Safari or what you’ve jotted down in your Notes. To do this, simply hover your mouse cursor over the green full-screen button that appears on the top left of most windows. After a second of hovering, you should see an option that says “Move to iPad,” which will share that window to your tablet. You can share multiple windows, in succession, to your iPad.

Using the sidebar controls, gestures and Touch Bar on your iPad
Once your screen is shared over to your iPad, a set of controls will appear on the left side of your iPad, which are sidebar controls you’ll commonly see on your Mac. That includes, from top to bottom:

Menu bar: Show or hide menu bar when in full-screen
Dock: Show or hide dock
Command: Double-tap to lock key
Option: Double-tap to lock key
Control: Double-tap to lock key
Shift: Double-tap to lock key
Undo: Undo last action
Keyboard: Show or hide keyboard
Disconnect: Disconnect iPad from Mac
In addition to these Mac controls, you can also use a number of swipe gestures to control certain things on the second monitor (you won’t be able to use the touchscreen as usual though). That includes swiping with two fingers to scroll, pinching in with three fingers to copy, swiping left with three fingers to undo and more.

And finally, you may also be able to use the Touch Bar, if the application on your iPad is compatible. For instance, if you move Safari over to the iPad, you’ll see Touch Bar controls to go back and forward, use the search bar, flip between tabs and open a new tab. In Messages, you would see controls to create a new text, send an emoji and predictive text. The Touch Bar may not appear for every app you use on your iPad.

If you don’t want to use the Sidebar or Touch Bar controls, you can also get rid of them. On your Mac, click on the Display icon in the menu bar, and underneath your connected iPad, you should see Hide SideBar and Hide Touch Bar. Click on either or both options to hide the controls from your iPad.

Using your iPad while connected to your Mac
Even if you’re using your iPad as a second monitor, you can still swipe up to exit the Sidecar application and use your iPad as usual. In your dock, you’ll see a blue icon with two monitors on it — this is Sidecar. To go back to using your iPad as a second monitor, tap on the Sidecar app icon in the dock.

If you’re interested in learning more about what your iPad is capable of, check out how to declutter your iPad dock by removing this annoying feature and nine things to do immediately after you get a new iPad.

This laptop’s screen grows taller with the double-tap of a button.

Motorola has already impressed us with its rollable concept phone at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but parent company Lenovo is getting in on flexible displays too with its mind-boggling concept laptop featuring a screen that grows taller at the double-tap of a button.

Having seen it in person, it’s almost like magic.

Seen on its stand at the mobile trade show, the concept device appears mostly as a regular laptop with a keyboard, trackpad and 12.7-inch display. That display is flexible, however, and actually slides in and out of the body of the laptop. A double-tap of a button on the side and the full length of the screen begins to slowly work its way out, resulting in a much larger 15.3-inch display with an 8:9 aspect ratio.

This tall screen format could be great for working professionals because it offers a lot more real estate for scrolling down web pages or for working on large documents or spreadsheets.

It’s similar in principle to the tech used in Motorola’s rolling concept phone, which also features an extendable screen that provides a larger surface for watching 16:9 videos. Like the phone, Lenovo’s laptop is purely a proof of concept and there are no plans to put it into production or even to use the technology on future devices.

However, with clearly a lot of time, effort and money gone into the development of this laptop, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if we see this tech in some form on sale a few product generations down the line.

You might not have known this video feature even existed.

I’d like to think I’m pretty good with a Mac. I mean, I’ve consistently used one for over a decade. Yet there always seems to be a noteworthy feature I find out about later than everyone else — like Safari’s somewhat hidden Picture-in-Picture mode, also known as PiP.

Suppose there’s a video playing in your web browser. Whether it’s on YouTube or even CNET, you can enable PiP to create a floating window of that video and move it around your screen, so you can surf the web and visit other websites while you watch. There are several ways to enable PiP, which I’ll show you below.

PiP is one of the more underrated features on the Mac. Want to learn more about others? Check out these underrated Command keyboard shortcuts on MacOS and the hidden Hello screensaver. You should also read about 10 Mac tips and tricks you probably didn’t know about.

Safari’s PiP button is hidden in the address bar
If a video is playing in Safari, go to the address bar at the top of the window, right-click the blue audio button on the right of the website address and click Enter Picture in Picture. The video will then automatically move to a floating window.

The floating window playing the video will appear above all other open applications, including Safari, and will snap into any of the four corners of your desktop. You can adjust the size by hovering the mouse over the window’s borders and corners and then clicking and dragging to make it bigger or smaller.

The window also has two buttons: One to pause/play the video and the other to snap the floating window back into the web browser. You can also just close the floating window with the X button on the top left.

There are two other ways to enable Picture in Picture on MacOS
If you don’t see the blue audio button in the address bar or have multiple videos playing in Safari, there are two other ways to use Picture in Picture.

The first is by clicking the PiP button in the video’s playback controls. Not every video player will have the PiP button, so you’re limited in use. The PiP button appears as two rectangles with an arrow pointing from one to the other, but you can also just hover your mouse over the various buttons to find the Open Picture in Picture mode option.

If you don’t see a PiP button, you can right-click the video and see if you get an Enter Picture in Picture option. On YouTube, you have to right-click twice to get the correct menu, but you may only need to right-click once on other websites to find the PiP setting.