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 Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update.
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Apple's iOS 26.4 beta adds AI-generated Apple Music playlists, early testing for encrypted RCS messaging and a new setting to tone down brighter visual effects.
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Ever since making the jump to the Nintendo Switch, there's something that's bugged me about practically every modern Pokémon game, a feeling that has only intensified after spending countless hours in Pokopia. For titles based in big, open worlds and filled with adorable polygonal characters and lovely music, why is nearly every pokémon still saddled with a call that sounds like a dial-up internet connection?
As someone who played Pokémon Red and Blue at launch, I'm very aware that the origin of these sounds is tied directly back to those original titles on Game Boy, which was powered by an 8-bit SM83 processor from Sharp. Back then, it was a herculean challenge to fit the entire game into a single 512KB cartridge. So as a way to save space, the voice (or cry as they are more commonly known) of each of the original 151 Pokémon came from just 38 base cries, which then had their pitch or duration modified to create more unique sounds.
Naturally, this
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 Chalk up a win for creative artists against AI companies. On Wednesday, the UK government abandoned its previous position on copyrighted works. It's currently working on a data bill that, if unaltered, would have allowed AI companies like Google and OpenAI to train models on copyrighted materials without consent. Artists and other copyright holders would only have been offered a mere opt-out clause.
After significant backlash, the UK backed off from that position. "We have listened," Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said on Wednesday. However, the government's new stance is, well, not a stance at all. It currently "no longer has a preferred option" about how to handle the issue.
Still, backpedaling from its previous position is viewed as a win for artists. UK Music CEO Tom Kiehl described the decision as "a major victory," while promising to work with the government on the next steps.
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 Apple today seeded the release candidate version of upcoming iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming a week after Apple provided the fourth betas. The release candidate represents the final version of iOS 26.4 that will be provided to the public if no additional bugs are found.
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 With iOS 26.4, Apple has made a small but useful change to the way that Family Sharing works. Each adult member of the family can now use their own payment method for purchases, rather than being forced to share a payment method.
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