A new “empathic voice interface” launched today by Hume AI, a New York–based startup, makes it possible to add a range of emotionally expressive voices, plus an emotionally attuned ear, to large language models from Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, and OpenAI—portending an era when AI helpers may more routinely get all gushy on us. “We… Continue reading This New Tech Puts AI In Touch with Its Emotions—and Yours
Author: Wired Magazine
The Best iPhone 15 Cases (2024), Tested and Reviewed
I am often surrounded by dozens of phone cases, and many of them are perfectly fine! They just don’t stand out, or they have one quirk I don’t like. That’s what you’ll find below. You might enjoy them more than I do. OtterBox Figura MagSafe Case for $50: These tie-dye phone cases are super rad.… Continue reading The Best iPhone 15 Cases (2024), Tested and Reviewed
Sony’s $700 PlayStation 5 Pro Is Finally Coming in November
Sony’s PlayStation 5 mid-cycle upgrade, the PS5 Pro, is coming November 7. Lead PlayStation architect Mark Cerny revealed the console today during a brief video presentation. “Simply put, it’s the most powerful console we’ve ever built,” Cerny said of the $700 device. It’s been four years since the PlayStation 5’s launch. Although Sony released slimmer… Continue reading Sony’s $700 PlayStation 5 Pro Is Finally Coming in November
This iPhone ‘Supercycle’ May Not Be So Super
Some of these features won’t be available until next year, but Apple’s push to add artificial intelligence to the iPhone is still likely to drive a boom in sales, optimistic analysts say. Whereas in years past the iPhone’s hardware upgrades were the big draw, now the lure is how Apple’s hardware, like its custom chips,… Continue reading This iPhone ‘Supercycle’ May Not Be So Super
Where Is CarPlay 2?
For lots of smartphone owners, Apple is the conduit to the internet. Since 2022, Apple has made it clear that it wants to be the same for lots of drivers, too. That’s when the company announced “next-generation” CarPlay 2, which is set to extend CarPlay’s convenient phone-mirroring technology beyond a vehicle’s central infotainment screen to… Continue reading Where Is CarPlay 2?
The Apple Watch Series 10 Has a Whole New Look
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch, the top-selling rectangular wearable that can be seen on the wrists of millions of iPhone owners. As befits a landmark anniversary, this year’s flagship Apple Watch 10 has gotten an updated design that is much thinner and lighter than the previous Watch Series 9, along… Continue reading The Apple Watch Series 10 Has a Whole New Look
Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Go Big or Go Home
It is a little crazy to think about where Google’s Wear OS operating system was three years ago, and how far it has come since. The user interface wasn’t silky smooth, there were hardly any first-party apps (nor third-party apps), and the health and fitness tracking features were not as robust nor as reliable as… Continue reading Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Go Big or Go Home
Boeing Starliner Returns Home to an Uncertain Future
Until now, NASA has paid Boeing roughly $2.7 billion of the $4.6 billion total potential value of its commercial crew contract, according to Finch. The Starliner contract NASA awarded Boeing in 2014 originally had a maximum value of $4.2 billion, but contract modifications since 2014 have added $400 million to the deal. Most of the… Continue reading Boeing Starliner Returns Home to an Uncertain Future
What Cancún’s Tourists Don’t See Is a Sprawling Concrete Jungle
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish. The wide mowed lawns and leafy trees, the sports fields shining under their illuminated lights, the bouncy castles in the children’s play areas—especially the bouncy castles—are what Celia Pérez Godínez envies. These are the trappings of the wealthy neighborhood she travels… Continue reading What Cancún’s Tourists Don’t See Is a Sprawling Concrete Jungle
Here’s What Right-Wing Influencers Actually Talked About in Tenet Media Videos Allegedly Financed by Russia
In hundreds of videos since taken down by YouTube, right-wing influencers working for Tenet Media—a company the US Department of Justice alleges was financed and guided by a state-backed Russian news network—showed interest in a highly specific set of topics, according to a WIRED analysis. Using closed captioning of the videos we downloaded before the… Continue reading Here’s What Right-Wing Influencers Actually Talked About in Tenet Media Videos Allegedly Financed by Russia