X (formerly Twitter) launched its own AI chatbot dubbed Grok late last year. X now says that your data, such as your posts on X, interactions with Grok, and more, can be used to train Grok for fine-tuning purposes. What’s unacceptable is that the setting is turned on by default and isn’t easily accessible from the X App so the user could turn it off. Here’s how you can do that and opt out of data sharing with xAI for training Grok.
The setting was first discovered by keen eyed users on X. One of the users wrote in a post, “Twitter just activated a setting by default for everyone that gives them the right to use your data to train grok. They never announced it. You can disable this using the web but it’s hidden. You can’t disable using the mobile app.”
As for the description of the setting, it reads, “To continuously improve your experience, we may utilize your X posts as well as your user interactions, inputs and results with Grok for training and fine-tuning purposes. This also means that your interactions, inputs, and results may also be shared with our service provider xAl for these purposes.”
Then there’s a checkmark next to the setting that can be unchecked to opt out of data sharing with xAI so your data can’t be used to train Grok. Here’s how you can do so:
Step 1: Go to X.com and login with your account.
Step 2: Tap on settings icon (the last icon with three dots in a circle).
Step 3: Now tap on Settings & Privacy.
Step 4: Click on Privacy & Safety and scroll to the bottom, then tap on Grok.
Step 5: Uncheck the “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning” setting.
These are the steps to disallow xAI from using your data to train Grok. Keep in mind that the setting is only available on the web version of X for now and not in the mobile apps on both iOS and Android.
Samsung India has announced the launch of new WindFree ACs in the Chilled Water Indoor category. This new range of Samsung ACs features the WindFree and 360-degree Bladeless Technology in Chilled Water-based Cassette Units. They are “designed to offer a superior cooling experience without the discomfort of direct cold draft for the user.”
Samsung WindFree ACs: India Price, Availability
The three variants of Samsung chilled water fan coil units are available for purchase from Samsung’s network of registered offline partners across India starting Rs 35,000 for the smallest capacity unit.
Samsung WindFree ACs: Features
The chilled water-based cassette units allow users to set a desired temperature, and the WindFree cooling technology gently disperses cool air up to 15,000 micro-air holes at wind speed of 0.15m/sec. In addition, the advanced airflow system cools rooms faster while operating quietly, according to Samsung, while generating only 24 dB(A) of sound at its lowest level, making it ideal for bedrooms, studies, and baby rooms.
The new Fan coil unit WindFree ACs are connected to a Central Chilled Water System using water pipes and associated valves. These Hydronic Fan Coil Units circulate hot or cold water through coils to heat or cool large spaces. These units can be used with Samsung Air-cooled Chillers or any third-party air-cooled and water-cooled chillers.
The three variants of the ACs include 1 Way Cassette, 4 Way Cassette, and 360-degree Chilled Water Cassette. The 1 Way cassette model is designed to cool large areas quickly and efficiently with its auto swing feature. Its big blade sends air over a much larger and wider area while auto swing distributes air in every direction. The 1 Way Cassettes have a slim design.
It has a height of only 135mm and can fit into a small ceiling space of just 155mm. Hence, it provides a suitable and effective solution for cooling and heating a wide range of locations where space is limited. In addition, its compact design means it blends discretely into interiors of all types and styles.
The 4 way cassette model offers enhanced cooling performance with a large blade design that directs air precisely to chosen spots, preventing air from dispersing. The 360-degree water cassette sports a circular design that complements modern architectural interiors, dispersing air uniformly in all directions without cold drafts. With the bladeless technology in this Samsung WindFree AC, there’s no blade to block the airflow, allowing it to expel up to 25 percent more air and spreads it farther.
One UI 6.1.1 is the latest version of One UI Samsung has to offer and also comes pre-loaded on its latest foldables, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. We were able to identify a new feature in One UI 6.1.1 where you can directly enter the split screen mode from a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window.
The Mobile Indian spotted the feature on a Galaxy Z Flip 6 running the latest build of One UI 6.1.1 with the June 2024 security patch. Through the new feature, Samsung allows you to enter split screen mode through a PiP window opened from any app, be it Chrome, YouTube, VLC media player, or any other which supports the PiP functionality.
Once the App opens in a PiP Window, it’ll show you a split screen button next to the ‘enlarge’ button. Once you tap on the split screen button, you are presented with all the apps on your phone so you can open the second app of your choice in the bottom/top half of the phone. This allows for greater convenience to those who prefer working on apps with the split screen mode turned on.
Galaxy Z Flip 6 on One UI 6.1.1 (left), Galaxy S23 Ultra on One UI 6.1 (right)
In previous versions of One UI, the split screen button shown in the screenshot above wasn’t available. We also checked the same with a PiP window from the YouTube app on a Galaxy S23 Ultra running the latest build with July 2024 patch but the said button was nowhere to be found.
There’s no information on whether the Split Screen button in PiP Windows would remain exclusive to the foldables running One UI 6.1.1 or it would become available on all devices that are confirmed to receive the update. On the other hand, Samsung has confirmed which Galaxy AI features from One UI 6.1.1 will be available on previous Galaxy flagship models.
Google Gemini has received a huge upgrade for those who are on the free tier of the AI chatbot service. Gemini is now being upgraded to Gemini 1.5 Flash AI model by Google that is being touted to bring “across-the-board improvements.” Additionally, Gemini access to Teens is also set to expand in the coming week.
Gemini 1.5 Flash for Unpaid Users
Google announced the Gemini upgrade via a blog post, where it says that with Gemini 1.5 Flash, you’ll notice general improvements in quality and latency, with especially noticeable enhancements in reasoning and image understanding. In addition, it is also quadrupling Gemini’s context window to 32K tokens, allowing users to have longer back-and-forth conversations and ask Gemini more complex questions — all free of charge.
To get the most out of the larger context window, Google will soon add the ability to upload files via Google Drive or directly from your device, which has been available in Gemini Advanced. That means you’ll be able to do things like upload your economics study guide and ask Gemini to create practice questions. ChatGPT also offers a similar functionality via its App on Android and iOS. “Gemini will also soon be able to analyze data files for you, allowing you to uncover insights and visualize them through charts and graphics,” said Google in a blog post.
Gemini 1.5 Flash is now available to all Gemini users on both web and mobile, in more than 40 languages and over 230 countries and territories, including India.
Link to related content in Gemini’s responses
Starting today for English language prompts in certain countries, you can further access additional information on topics directly within Gemini’s responses through links for related content. You’ll have to click on the chip at the end of a paragraph to see websites where you can dive deeper on a certain topic. This isn’t limited to websites, where Google explains that in Gemini’s response references information found using the Gmail extension, you’ll also see inline links to relevant emails.
Starting today, Google is also gradually rolling out Gemini in Google Messages to the European Economic Area (EEA), UK and Switzerland, with the ability to chat in newly added languages like French, Polish and Spanish. It is also rolling out the Gemini mobile app to more countries, so more people around the world can get help from Gemini on the go.
Expanded access to Gemini for Teens
In the coming week, the company will expand Gemini access to teenagers globally, in over 40 languages. Teens who meet the minimum age requirement to manage their own Google Account will be able to access Gemini to do things like better understand school subjects, prepare for university or get help with creative projects.
There’s quite little left which we do not know about the upcoming Pixel 9 series, which included the AI-based software features. However, a new leak changes that too, as it showcases the promo and marketing materials for the Google Pixel 9 series which includes the software features and the AI features we’d be seeing on the devices. Here’s what you can expect.
The leak comes from 91mobiles, who has access to the marketing materials of the Pixel 9 series. The leak also shows all the four colours of the upcoming Pixel 9 devices, including what appear to be gold, grey, black, and pink. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold could be made available in only two colours, gold and black.
As for the software features, the Pixel 9 series will have the circle to search feature where you can tap and hold on the navigation bar and then circle anything on your screen to search for more information about it. Further, the Pixel 9 series will come with a free year of Gemini Advanced access, something that was also confirmed via leaks earlier this month.
Then, it will also have access to Magic Editor, allowing you to enhance your old, as well as the new photos you click on your Pixel 9 series devices. Gemini would also be built in, allowing you to access it from any screen and then ask it questions in real-time. There’s a new feature dubbed Pixel screenshots, which “helps you save info that you want to remember later – like events, places and more.”
It is essentially a toned down version of Microsoft’s Recall feature, where you can take a screenshot of, say, a showpiece you want to give someone and attribute it to the person you want to give it to. Then, you can open Pixel screenshots later to recall the piece of information you may have forgotten, like in this case, the gift you’d want to give.
Next up, Crisis Alerts and SOS Emergency features that could be a part of the Personal safety app. It will allow you to send alerts for a nearby fire or flood, and as per the screenshots, the features will also help prevent scams, phishing, and malware attacks.
Additionally, as expected, Google promises seven years of security updates and major OS upgrades for the whole Pixel 9 series smartphone lineup in the leaked promo materials.
OpenAI has announced the launch of its own AI search engine dubbed SearchGPT. The new search engine will compete with the likes of the existing ones, such as Google’s and also Microsoft’s Bing. However, SearchGPT cannot be accessed by the general public as of now. The first mention of a search engine being in works at OpenAI came via a leak months back.
Announced via a blog post, SearchGPT is currently a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of OpenAI’s AI models with information from the web to give users “fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”
The company is launching SearchGPT to a small group of users and publishers to get feedback. While this prototype is temporary, OpenAI plans to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future.
As for the features of SearchGPT, it will quickly and directly respond to your questions with up-to-date information from the web while giving you clear links to relevant sources, according to the company.
In addition, users will be able to ask follow-up questions, like you would in a conversation with a person, with the shared context building with each query.
“We hope to help users discover publisher sites and experiences, while bringing more choice to search,” said OpenAI.
Additionally, OpenAI says that SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches. Responses from SearchGPT will have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from and can quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links.
In addition to launching the SearchGPT prototype, OpenAI is also launching a way for publishers to manage how they appear in SearchGPT, so publishers have more choices. Importantly, SearchGPT is about search and is separate from training OpenAI’s generative AI foundation models. Sites can be surfaced in search results even if they opt out of generative AI training.
This development comes at a time when both Google and Microsoft have also been pushing into the AI search space. While Google was under a lot of heat due to its AI Overviewes fiasco, Microsoft just announced something similar for its Bing search engine yesterday.
HMD launched the Crest series smartphones in India earlier today but the brand is all set to launch another new smartphone in India by August end, dubbed HMD Skyline, the company confirmed to The Mobile Indian. HMD Skyline was launched in global markets earlier last week.
HMD Skyline: India Launch, Price Range
Ravi Kunwar, VP, HMD India, confirmed the HMD Skyline India launch and said to The Mobile Indian, “Skyline will be launching in the country by August end.” Additionally, the Indian price range for the smartphone was also confirmed, indicating that the device might be priced between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000.
This will position the HMD Skyline against smartphones such as Reno 12 series, Homor 200 5G, Realme GT 6T, OnePlus Nord 4, iQOO Neo 9 Pro, and more. The said price segment is already crowded in the country and it would be interesting to see how HMD Skyline would make a place for itself in this range.
HMD Skyline: Specifications
The HMD Skyline sports an FHD+ 6.55-inch pOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, up to 1000 nits brightness, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 Processor under the hood. It gets up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB of storage which is expandable up to 512GB.
There’s a triple rear camera system, including a 108MP primary sensor with Hybrid OIS+EIS, LED flash, along with a 13MP ultra-wide angle camera, and a 50MP telephoto camera with 50mm portrait mode, 4Kvideo capture, and OZO Spatial Audio capture with wind-noise cancellation. There’s a 50MP sensor on the front with Autofocus support for selfies.
The handset is backed up by a 4600mAh battery with 33W fast wired charging support, 15W Qi2 wireless charging support, and 5W reverse wireless charging as well. The device runs on Android 14 and will receive 2 major OS updates and 3 years of security patches.
For connectivity, you get 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/A-GPS, Galileo L1/L5 dual-band, GLONASS, BDS, USB Type-C port, and NFC. The device is further IP54 rated and also gets stereo speakers for audio playback. It gets a side-facing fingerprint sensor for biometrics.
HMD today announced the launch of its latest smartphones, the HMD Crest and HMD Crest Max in India. The two new devices come with a 50MP selfie camera along with a Unisoc Processor under the hood. Both the devices also have a 5000mAh battery. They mainly differ in terms of the rear cameras, RAM, and storage.
HMD Crest, HMD Crest Max: Price, Availability
HMD Crest (6GB + 128GB) & HMD Crest Max (8GB + 256GB) will be available on Amazon India priced at Rs 14,499 and Rs 16,499 respectively. However, the HMD Crest & Crest Max will be available at a special introductory price of Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999, respectively. soon during the Great Freedom sale on Amazon Specials.
HMD Crest will come in three colours, Midnight Blue, Royal Pink & Lush Lilac. HMD Crest Max will also be available in three colours, Deep Purple, Royal Pink & Aqua Green. Sales of the devices starts during the Amazon Great Freedom sale with Midnight Blue & Deep purple colour available for HMD Crest & HMD Crest Max, respectively. HMD Crest & HMD Crest Max will also be available on HMD.com.
HMD Crest, HMD Crest Max: Specifications
The HMD Crest, Crest Max sport a 6.67-inch FHD+ OLED display with a full-HD+ resolution, a 60Hz Refresh Rate. The HMD Crest series will draw power from a Unisoc T760 5G processor.
The devices get 6GB, and 8GB RAM options with 128GB and 256GB storage options. The HMD Crest Max sports triple rear cameras with a 64MP primary sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide angle sensor, and 2MP macro sensor.
The HMD Crest sports a 50MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor at the back. Both of them come with a 50MP sensor on the front.
They are backed by a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. Connectivity options available on the devices include 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v5.1, along with a USB-C port and a 3.5 mm audio jack. They are IP52 rated and get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Google Maps, today announced a range of new features in India, designed to make journeys more efficient and sustainable, powered by AI and local partnerships. These innovations in Maps, as per Google, address unique mobility needs of India, including navigating narrow roads, flyover indication, locating EV charging stations, and booking metro tickets in collaboration with ONDC and Namma Yatri.
Callouts for Narrow Roads
One of the first new features in Google Maps for India is narrow roads detection, where using AI, Google Maps will notify the user of narrow roads in their navigation path. Google developed an AI model specifically for Indian roads that incorporates multiple signals – satellite imagery, Street View, and other information like road types, distance between buildings, paved sections, etc. to estimate road widths at scale.
“Using these road width estimates, we’ve fine-tuned our existing AI routing algorithms to help four wheelers avoid narrow roads whenever possible, without significantly impacting travel time or distance,” said Google. As a result, clear callouts in Maps Directions and Navigation screens will alert you of narrow sections on your route, so that you can proceed cautiously or choose an alternative route.
“The diversity of road types in India, makes this a complex challenge, and we won’t always get it right. But we’re committed to continuously learning and improving the feature based on what we see in the real world and listening to user feedback,” Google added.
The feature is starting to roll out on Android devices this week in eight cities: Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati. Google will bring this to iOS and more cities soon.
Flyover Indication
Google is also introducing the Flyover indication feature in Maps for India where it will call out flyovers along your recommended route. This feature helps you anticipate upcoming flyovers and prepare ahead of time to get onto the flyover. This is a much-needed and requested feature specifically in India due to how the roads are designed in the country. Because of that, people often used to get confused whether they should take the flyover or not.
Starting this week, you’ll see these flyover callouts in 40 cities across India for both four-wheeler and two-wheeler active navigation on Android apps and Android Auto. iOS and CarPlay support will be coming soon.
Google will further soon be making these features available to developers through the Google Maps Platform Routes API. This means they can seamlessly integrate narrow road and flyover callouts into their own apps and services, creating even better location-based experiences for their users in India.
EV Charging Stations in Google Maps, Google Search
Google has partnered with leading EV charging providers in India – ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam, and Statiq – to add authoritative information for over 8,000 charging stations, representing a significant portion of available charging stations in India. With the help of it, you can easily find detailed information of EV chargers, including plug types (including those for two-wheelers) and real-time availability.
You can even filter by your specific charger type and check if the station is open before you head over. “This marks the first time we are launching EV charging stations for two-wheelers on Google Maps, and India is the first country to get this feature,” said Google.
Metro ticket bookings powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri in Two New Cities
Google announced this feature back in December last year, where it allowed booking metro tickets via Google Maps, powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri. Now, the feature is going live in Kochi and Chennai. Now, when you search for public transport directions in these two cities, you’ll start seeing a new booking option for the metro leg of your trip. With a simple tap, you’ll be guided through the booking and payment process, powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri, eliminating the need to wait in line at the station.
This feature will expand to more cities soon.
Easier reporting of incidents
Google allows its community to report incidents on Maps, such as construction or accidents that may take place in their respective routes. Whether there’s ongoing construction or a traffic mishap on your route, you can now report it with just a few taps, making it easy and less distracting. You can even confirm others’ reports with a single tap which helps increase confidence in these user reported incidents. This update is available in India on Google Maps across all platforms – Android, iOS, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay.
Curated lists of favourite spots
Finally, Google has collaborated with local experts like NDTV Food and MagicPin who have curated lists for ten major cities and tourist spots: Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur, offering insider tips and recommendations for the best places to eat, drink, and explore. Now, when users search for these places on Google Maps, they’ll find lists like “Best Ocean-View Cafes in Goa,” or “Top Breakfast Spots in Mumbai,”or “Best shops to get Sandesh in Kolkata”.
HP India has announced the launch of two new laptops in the country, including the EliteBook Ultra and the OmniBook X, both of which are HP’s first duo of Copilot+ AI laptops. Both laptops are designed and engineered around the Snapdragon® X Elite processor. Here’s what else the two laptops have to offer.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q: Price, Availability, Specs
The HP Elitebook Ultra is available in HP World Stores and HP Online stores at a starting price of Rs 1,69,934 in Atmospheric blue colour in India.
As for its specs, the HP EliteBook Ultra AI PC features a 14-inch, 2.2K (2240 x 1400) IPS display which supports touch input, 300 nits brightness, and 100% sRGB coverage. The laptop is powered by the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 Processor with Qualcomm Adreno GPU.
It comes with up to 32GB LPDDR5x-8400 MHz RAM and up to 512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD. In addition, it features Audio by Poly Studio, boasting dual stereo speakers with discrete amplifiers, dual array microphones. There’s a 5MP IR camera for biometrics.
It also sports a full-size backlit keyboard coupled with an HP Imagepad offering multi-touch support. It packs a 59Wh battery, a 65W Type-C adapter. For connectivity, it gets Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, 2x USB-C, 1x USB-A, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. The laptop runs on Windows 11 Pro and is TCO Certified and ENERGY STAR certified as well.
The HP OmniBook X is available in HP World Stores and HP Online stores at a starting price of Rs. 1,39,999in Meteor Silver colour.
The HP OmniBook X AI PC sports a 14-inch, 2.2K (2240 x 1400) multitouch IPS display with Gorilla Glass NBT protection, 300 nits brightness, 16:10 aspect ratio, and 100% sRGB coverage. It is equipped with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 processor coupled with a Qualcomm Adreno GPU, 16 GB of onboard LPDDR5 RAM, and 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD.
For privacy, you get a Mic mute key, Camera privacy shutter, and Trusted Platform Module (Firmware TPM) support. It packs a 3-cell 59Wh battery and a 65W Type-C adapter. Connectivity options on the laptop include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, 1 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, and a headphone/microphone combo port.
The machines includes a 5MP IR camera with noise reduction, along with dual array digital microphones, dual speakers, and a full-size backlit keyboard. It runs on Windows 11 Home and is EPEAT Gold registered.
