Gemini is officially available on Google TVs, now that the TCL QM9K series TVs are out in stores. At the moment, they’re the only television models that feature Google’s AI assistant, but Gemini will be available on more devices later this year. Google says it will make its way to the Google TV Streamer, Walmart’s onn 4K Pro streaming device, certain Hisense TV models and more TCL TVs. The company also intends to add more Gemini capabilities for televisions in the future.

Google introduced Gemini integration for TVs when it presented an early look at new software and hardware upgrades coming to the product category at CES in January. If you’ve ever used a Google-powered streaming device or television, you’d know that they already have Google Assistant that you can use for search. But Gemini on TV, like its counterpart everywhere else, enables free-flowing conversations using natural language. You can activate it with a “Hey, Google” or by pressing the mic button on the remote. 

The company says you can ask Gemini to find you something to watch based on your preferences. For example, you can say: “Find me something to watch with my wife. I like dramas, but she likes lighthearted comedies.” You can also ask it to summarize the events in the previous season of a show you’re watching if you need a refresher before you start the next one. You can also ask Gemini to show you reviews for a particular show, or even ask it vague questions, such as “What’s the new hospital drama everyone’s talking about?” 

You’re not just limited to asking questions about TV shows and movies, either. When Google demonstrated the AI assistant at CES, a company rep asked Gemini on TV to “explain the solar system to a third grader.” The AI assistant did, and it also suggested relevant YouTube videos. You can ask it questions if you’re learning a new skill, as well as recipes, to get answers with video suggestions you can follow. And after it’s done answering your first query, you can make follow-up questions for clarity and more information. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-arrives-on-google-tv-160003839.html?src=rss

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Folks are finally starting to get their iPhone 17s, and now that the new phones are in the hands of people who don’t work for Apple, flaws are starting to come to light. Specifically, durability testers are saying that you might want to slap a case on your new phone.

Most notably, it turns out that the iPhone 17 Pro has a major flaw with its camera bump. While the lenses themselves are fine, the edges on the raised camera “plateau” (as Apple is calling it) can apparently get scuffed just by hanging out in the same bag or pocket as household items like coins or keys. That’s according to testing by reliable YouTube reviewer Zack Nelson, or JerryRigEverything, who bemoaned Apple’s decision to avoid adding a chamfer or other protective barrier around the camera bump.

“I think it was intentional,” the YouTuber says in his video. “So it looks cooler.”

According to Nelson, the scratches probably have to do with Apple’s decision to move back to anodized aluminum for this model, as opposed to the titanium the company started using with the iPhone 15 Pro. Aluminum provides better cooling, and strong scratch resistance anywhere that the anodizing process adheres to, but the catch is that without chamfers, those corners tend to get missed during the anodizing bath.

For instance, when Nelson tried to scratch the flat parts of the plateau (as well as the rest of the back of the phone), it only produced dust that could be easily wiped off, good as new. But those camera plateau corners remained permanently chipped, even after wiping.

This follows a similar report from Bloomberg, which noted that display models of both the blue iPhone 17 Pro and black iPhone Air seemed especially prone to scratches, as well as posts from users, pointing out scratches across all colors and multiple models of the new iPhones, especially after being attached to MagSafe accessories. While it’s possible that some of these scratches could be wiped away, as shown in Nelson’s video, those around the corners look particularly nasty, and I’m not just talking about the camera plateau.

How to stop scratches on your iPhone 17

While it’s certainly not ideal that your bare iPhone could be susceptible to scratches, there is a simple solution—slap a case on it. That’ll hide your fancy Apple branding, sure, but it will also ensure your phone doesn’t take the brunt of your keys or loose quarters, and add a barrier around those camera plateau edges. 

This year, Apple has three case options, including a clear plastic, silicone, and a new fabric style case called TechWoven. In testing by YouTuber Arun Maini, or Mrwhosetheboss, the clear case was easily susceptible to scratches by simple household objects, but all other options held up well. That’s a relief for anyone who was burned by Apple’s previous fabric case, FineWoven, which also had its own scratch-related drama when it debuted alongside the iPhone 15 line.

Alternatively, you could go third-party. In that case, you’ve got plenty of options. Lifehacker sister publication CNET has praised Otterbox in the past, which I can also attest to by personal experience. For a more premium look, you could also go for Nomad’s leather cases, which I can also give a personal recommendation to.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has been under fire for several days now for pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air “indefinitely,” with Disney+’s cancellation page actually crashing a couple of times from all the traffic as people rushed to make their displeasure known. So what better time for the studio to release the first teaser trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, a feature film spinoff from its megahit Star Wars series The Mandalorian? Grogu and Mando, together again on an exciting space adventure, will certainly be a crowd-pleaser.

Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) won viewers’ hearts from the moment he first appeared onscreen in the first season of The Mandalorian, and the relationship between the little green creature and his father-figure bounty hunter has only gotten stronger. With the 2023 Hollywood strikes delaying production on S4 of the series, director Jon Favreau got the green light to make this spinoff film.

Per the official logline:

Read full article

Comments

Subscribing to an online service is often as easy as a click of a button. Is it illegal if it takes a maze of clicks to cancel? That issue is at the heart of a civil trial beginning this week that will scrutinize the tactics Amazon uses to entice consumers to sign up for its signature Prime service — and to steer them away from leaving. WSJ: The Federal Trade Commission alleges the online giant has duped nearly 40 million customers, in violation of consumer-protection laws. It is seeking civil penalties, refunds to consumers and a court order prohibiting Amazon from using subscription practices that could confuse or deceive customers. The case, which will unfold in a Seattle courtroom, is a top test of the agency’s enforcement campaign against allegedly deceptive digital subscription practices.

Amazon’s Prime membership, the largest paid subscription program in the world with at least 200 million users, has helped the company become an integral part of consumers’ shopping habits. The FTC, which sued Amazon in 2023, alleges the company tricked people into signing up for the service without their knowledge or consent, including by obscuring details about billing and the terms of free trials. It says Amazon created a labyrinth to make it hard to cancel, which the company dubbed “Iliad,” a reference to Homer’s epic about the long, arduous Trojan War. The FTC says Amazon required customers to navigate four webpages and chose from 15 options to cancel a Prime membership. The company streamlined the process in April 2023, ahead of the filing of the criminal complaint.

The FTC won an initial pretrial victory last week when a federal judge ruled that Amazon did violate consumer-protection laws by taking Prime members’ billing information before disclosing the terms of the membership. But he said jurors still would have to consider whether the customers gave their consent to enroll and whether Amazon provided a simple cancellation mechanism.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Major U.S. corporations are mandating more office time but seeing minimal compliance changes. Companies now require 12% more in-office days than in early 2024, according to Work Forward data tracking 9,000 employers. Yet Americans continue working from home approximately 25% of the time, unchanged from 2023, Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom’s monthly survey of 10,000 Americans shows.

The New York Times ordered opinion and newsroom staff to four days weekly starting November. Microsoft mandates three days beginning February for Pacific Northwest employees. Paramount and NBCUniversal gave staff ultimatums: commit to five and four days respectively or take buyouts. Amazon faced desk and parking shortages after its full-time mandate, temporarily backpedaling in Houston and New York. Nearly half of senior managers would accept pay cuts to work remotely, a BambooHR survey of 1,500 salaried employees found.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Disney, a company that definitely isn’t dealing with a major crisis right now, has released a trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu. The movie follows on from the events of Disney+ series The Mandalorian — a show that director Jon Favreau created — and the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. It’s set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026.

The 94-second clip doesn’t offer much in the way of plot details, though it does show Sigourney Weaver as a fighter pilot and Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta (Jeremy Allen White). Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu battle against bots and beasts, and the pair blows up an AT-AT. I’m sure there’s nothing to be read into seeing a lumbering giant attempting to traverse a precarious path only to fail spectacularly at this specific moment in Disney’s history.

The trailer does make it seem like the movie will retain the adventurous spirit and humor of The Mandalorian, with Grogu getting to be as cute as ever. In a fun beat, the diminutive creature uses the Force to try to steal a snack from Weaver’s character, only to be denied.

The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the first Star Wars movie to hit theaters in over six years. Star Wars: Starfighter is slated to arrive a year later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/disneys-mandalorian-and-grogu-trailer-shows-the-fall-of-a-lumbering-giant-141515618.html?src=rss