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 Just ahead of the launch of the AirPods Max 2, Apple has released new firmware for the headphones. The updated firmware is version number 8E251.
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Screenshots promoting "Instagram Plus" have been spotted by users in the Philippines and Mexico in recent days. According to social media consultant Matt Navarra, a subscription to Instagram Plus includes several Story-focused features not otherwise available to Instagram users. This includes the ability to create multiple audiences for Stories posts, search the list of people who have viewed your Story, extend Stories longer than 24 hours and create "spotlight" Stories. It also mentions something called "super hearts" for reacting to Stories.
A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the test to Engadget, saying that Instagram Plus is currently available in "a few countries." The spokesperson added that "preview" would allow people to see some of another user's Story without "showing up as a viewer". There's nothing quite like paying to be sneakier on social media.
The idea, as we've seen so far, seems closely modeled after Snapchat , which also offers bonus features to the app's power users. Launched in 2022, the service has now become a significant driver of non-advertising revenue for the company.
- Mat Smith
The other big stories (and deals) this morning
This Frankenstein PlayStation PCB reads games from microSD and has HDMI output
How to use Apple's Playlist Playground to make AI-generated mixes
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 Apple accidentally started rolling out Apple Intelligence features in China before receiving regulatory approval, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
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Samsung today unveiled the Exynos 2200, its latest flagship chipset that will power Galaxy S22 smartphones in certain regions. The new platform is based on 4nm EUV process technology and comes with a custom GPU called Xclipse.
It is based on the AMD RDNA2 architecture and as such is a "single hybrid graphics processor" that offers advanced features such as ray tracing and variable rate shading on mobile devices, the first smartphone chip to do so. Ray tracing is a technology that simulates how light behaves in real life, calculating the motion and color of objects as light rays bounce off surfaces.
The hardware-accelerated feature offers realistic effects and immersive graphics, making playing games that support these features as great as it looks. Variable rate shading is another technology implemented in PC and console games. Develope
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