Samsung Electronics has agreed to acquire UK-based Oxford Semantic Technologies, a knowledge graph firm whose tech will help improve Samsung’s AI-equipped smartphones, TVs and home appliances. When combined with Samsung’s own on-device Galaxy AI, Oxford’s tech will allow “hyper-personalized” user experiences that keep data secure, Samsung said, adding that “knowledge graph technology stores information as an interconnected web of related ideas and process data in a manner similar to how humans acquire, remember, recall and reason over knowledge,” offering insight on “how people use a product or service.” Continue reading Samsung Buying Oxford Semantics to Boost AI Personalization

Suno, the AI text-to-music startup that along with AI music generator Udio is currently being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, has launched its long-awaited mobile app. Likened to a pocket-sized virtual music studio, it is available for free (with ads) to iOS users in the U.S. Suno says a global rollout is coming soon, as is a mobile app for Android. “Whether you’re a shower singer or a charting artist, we break barriers between you and the song you dream of making. No instrument needed, just imagination,” touts Suno’s landing page on Apple’s App Store. Continue reading Suno’s AI Music Generator Is Now Available for iOS Devices

Samsung announced eight new devices in Paris this morning during its latest Galaxy Unpacked event. The products — all featuring Galaxy AI — include new Samsung folding smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6; the Galaxy Watch7 smartwatch series in two sizes and a new Galaxy Watch Ultra; the Galaxy Buds3 and Galaxy Buds3 Pro wireless earbuds; and a $400 health-tracking smart ring called Galaxy Ring, marking a new product category for the company. The IP68 and 10 ATM water-resistant Galaxy Ring is a lightweight titanium ring that will be available later this year in nine size options in black, silver and gold finishes. Continue reading Samsung Reveals New Products at Galaxy Unpacked Event

San Francisco-based optics company Solos has debuted its latest smart glasses, the Solos AirGo Vision, which offer a camera that takes photos and provides computer vision, and integrates OpenAI’s GPT-4o. The AirGo Vision can provide real-time information using visual input, recognizing people, objects and places, and providing information such as directions or instructions. Both the camera and AI functionality are hands-free, making the AirGo Vision “especially convenient for visual progress and next steps on activities like cooking, home improvement projects, education and studies, and even shopping,” the company explains. Continue reading Solos AirGo Vision Smart Glasses Tout a Camera and GTP-4o

China’s Sneaki Design has a new smartphone camera technology called SwitchLens that makes it possible to use professional-quality interchangeable lenses with existing Android and iOS phones. It does this via a phone-mounting external camera unit that has its own one-inch CMOS sensor and coupling device for lenses built to the Micro Four Thirds (M43) open standard. The pro-sized sensor captures still images as 21MP in either the RAW or JPEG formats, and 60p MOV video at up to 4K. Existing M43 compatible lenses from manufacturers including Panasonic and Olympus work with SwitchLens, according to Sneaki Design. Continue reading SwitchLens Adds 1-Inch Sensor, M43 Lenses to Smartphones

After three years of development, the Alice Camera — which transforms smartphones into mirrorless photographic systems with a mount for interchangeable Micro Four Thirds (M43 or MFT) lenses — is taking preorders and will start shipping July 15, beginning in the UK. The Alice Camera leverages AI to produce “computational photography” that runs on-device in real time. The result, its makers say, is content that is “beautiful straight out of camera” and instantly ready to share. “Alice Camera transforms your phone into a content creation studio,” according to parent company, London-based Photogram Ltd. Continue reading Alice Camera Targets Mobile Creators with AI and M43 System

Synthesia, which uses AI to create business avatars for use in content such as training, presentation and customer service videos, has announced a major platform update. “Coming soon” with Synthesia 2.0 are full-body avatars that include hands capable of a wide range of motions. Users can animate motion using skeletal sequences on which the persona selected from the catalog can then be automatically mapped. Starting next month, the Nvidia-backed UK company will offer the ability to incorporate brand identity — including typography, colors and logos — into templated videos. A new translation tool automatically applies updates to all languages. Continue reading Lifelike AI Avatars to Get New Features with Synthesia Update

Snap Inc. teased a new on-device AI model capable of real-time filter creation in-app using Snapchat. At last week’s Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California, Snap co-founder and CTO Bobby Murphy explained that the model, which runs on smartphones, can re-render frames on the fly guided by text prompts. Snap’s unnamed prototype model “can instantly bring your imagination to life in AR,” Snap says, explaining “this early prototype makes it possible to type in an idea for a transformation and generate vivid AR experiences in real time.” Continue reading Snapchat Previews Instant AR Filters, GenAI Developer Tools

Nokia made what it claims is “the world’s first immersive voice and audio call” using cell phones, made possible by the new 3GPP Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec that lets consumers hear 3D spatial sound in real-time. The codec — which Nokia participated in crafting — is a major leap from today’s standard monophonic smartphone voice call experience and is part of the upcoming 5G Advanced standard. The innovation paves the way towards enhanced immersive spatial communications, extended reality and metaverse applications, says Nokia, explaining that it works across “any connected device,” including smartphones, tablets and PCs. Continue reading Nokia Makes the First-Ever 3D Spatial Audio Cell Phone Call

Lux, the company behind the popular photography app Halide, is releasing an iPhone video app called Kino that makes it easy to add professional cinematic looks using only a smartphone. Kino’s Instant Grade feature lets users apply from a selection of color grade presets with a few simple taps. It can also apply cinematic motion blur using AutoMotion, adjusting the crisp images the iPhone tries to capture by default to “the dreamlike feeling of a motion picture.” Designed for professionals, but straightforward enough for amateurs to use, Kino supports external hard drives and iCloud backup. Continue reading Lux Brings Cinematic Tools to iPhone Shooters with Kino App

Sonos, the company that helped launch the Wi-Fi speaker market is now branching into wireless over-ear headphones. The launch marks a much-anticipated and also inevitable move, considering the U.S. headset market was estimated to be almost $2.2 billion last year, nearly twice as large as the total for wireless speaker sales, according to market research firm Circana. Sonos Ace headphones have what is being called exceptional noise-cancellation and feature Bluetooth connectivity and a Wi-Fi chip so they can be used in conjunction with the Sonos soundbar for a personal home-theater experience. They ship June 5 for $449. Continue reading Sonos Rolls Out Its First Headphones, the $450 Bluetooth Ace

Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japan’s SoftBank, wants to transform the tech conglomerate’s Arm subsidiary into an AI powerhouse, and he is investing $64 billion (10 trillion yen) to implement the plan, which includes turning the UK-based unit into an AI chip supplier. Son announced that by spring 2025 Arm is expected to have its first prototype, followed by mass production by contract suppliers and commercial sales in the fall. Arm designs but does not manufacture circuitry, supplying what it calls “chip architecture” to customers including Nvidia and Qualcomm. Continue reading SoftBank’s Arm Plans to Supply AI Chips, Open Data Centers

Samsung Electronics grew net profit by more than 400 percent in Q1, to $4.91 billion, on revenue of about $52.3 billion, a nearly 13 percent increase year-over-year. The results were credited mainly to higher memory chip prices resulting from AI demand buoying the company’s semiconductor business. Solid performance in smartphones — with the launch of its Galaxy S24 series, the first to pack AI-optimized chips — supported the stellar performance. It was a dramatic rebound from 2023, when post-COVID economic fallout drove Samsung to a 15-year profit low and semiconductor losses of almost $11 billion. Continue reading Samsung Chip Rebound Sends Q1 Net Profit Up 400 Percent

Apple revealed its largest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the July-September period in 2020 during the pandemic, placing additional pressure on the tech giant to step up its artificial intelligence efforts. Apple iPhone sales for January-March dropped 10 percent year-over-year, as its top product faced increased competition from Huawei in China, Apple’s third-largest market. Apple’s quarterly revenue decreased 4 percent from the same period last year to $90.8 billion, marking the fifth dip in the past six quarters for the company. Apple’s $23.64 billion profit for the quarter represents a 2 percent reduction from last year. Still, Apple shares rose in after-market trading. Continue reading Apple’s Revenue Is Impacted by Pressure from Chinese Rivals

Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies continues to bounce back after taking an initial hit from U.S. sanctions resulting from the company being declared a national security threat in 2019. Year-over-year, net profit surged 564 percent to $2.7 billion in Q1, with revenue up 37 percent to $24.65 billion. It was the company’s fourth consecutive quarterly profit gain. Although Huawei doesn’t breakout performance for individual sectors, analysts estimate the company’s smartphone sales rose 70 percent, leading to further speculation the global firm is taking market share from rivals, particularly Apple in China. Continue reading Huawei Continues Financial Rebound Despite U.S. Sanctions