August 14, 2024 | View in browser

🖥 Less invasive AI screenshots
📱 Google's dud of a launch event
🎧 Smarter noise-canceling buds
🦸‍♂️ What's coming next for the MCU

⚙ SteamOS on the ROG Ally?

Image: Google

When Microsoft attempted to capture interest in the AI boom with its Recall feature, it was slammed and then the company backpedaled over its intrusive nature. A feature that automatically took screenshots of whatever was happening on a device every few seconds was not something that the public was happy with -- and neither were regulators.

Now Google is taking a swing at a similar AI tool, but without the automatic taking of screenshots. Instead, it will help to search and categorize the screenshots that you decide to take yourself. That makes it a handy use of AI without the uncomfortable privacy invasion, and the details of the new tool have generally been well-received.

Image: Google

There used to be a time when Google's phone releases were big, exciting events. But at the Made by Google event held this week, the phones and hardware were barely present. There was a smattering of information about the Pixel 9, a brief introduction to the Pixel Watch 4, and the Pixels Buds Pro 2 were shown off.

But the main thrust of the event was all about AI, with Google focusing on its Gemini chatbot. Watching someone chat with Gemini was "awkward and cringe-inducing," according to our senior mobile writer Andy Boxall, and the event was a disappointment overall as it said so little about the hardware of the new releases.

Image: Google

Despite Google's endless chatter about AI, the company does still make solid hardware, as the launch of its new Pixel Buds Pro 2 shows. The buds will go on sale starting next month for $229, offering a range of improvements over the previous generation, including a smaller size and lighter weight.

But the standout feature is the improved noise canceling using Google's Tensor A1 chip. They should cancel twice as much noise in the mid-frequency ranges as the original. The noise canceling also adapts to your environment, and there's a conversation detection feature to turn off the noise canceling when you're speaking.

Image: Robert Downey Jr. / Instagram

The Marvel Cinematic Universe might have made itself relevant again with its headline-grabbing casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, but plenty of people are tiring of the superhero parade. Still, if you can't get enough of Marvel, you'll be happy to hear that updates to the plans for the MCU's Phase 5 and Phase 6 were announced at Disney's D23 event this week.

There's the WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along coming later this year and the Ironheart series debuting next year. And Charlie Cox will return in Daredevil: Born Again, also in 2025. As for movies, there's new info about (yet another) Fantastic Four movie and a rumored release date of November 2025 for the Blade reboot.

Image: Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Since the Steam Deck made its splashy debut, Valve has made no secret of its big ambitions for the SteamOS software. The company has long aimed for SteamOS to support a range of devices beyond Valve's own hardware, and now a new SteamOS release note shows that goal is alive and well.

Valve has confirmed it will eventually support the ROG Ally, and potentially other handheld gaming devices as well. It probably won't happen any time soon, but Valve designer Lawrence Yang told The Verge that the company is “making steady progress” on making SteamOS available to other devices.

Image: Digital Trends

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