updates

Today the folks at Apple made final the iOS 13 BETA release for the public, allowing pretty much anyone to take a peek on their own iPhone. This means users of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, XR, 8, 8 Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 6s, and 6s Plus will be able to download the software immediately, if they do so dare. There's also a new iPadOS 13 (iOS 13 for the iPad, that is to say) out and available right now, too - in Beta form.

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Wyze has released a free firmware update that brings a Person Detection feature to the company's existing Wyze Cam v2 (the cube-shaped model), as well as the tower-shaped and motorized Wyze Cam Pan. The new feature is powered by artificial intelligence under a partnership with Xnor.ai, making it possible to add the new ability without requiring a hardware upgrade.

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This week the folks at Samsung released a software update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. This update was just over 700MB in size and included Security Patch Level: June 1, 2019. In addition to the standard device stability improvements and bug fixes, Samsung delivered significantly improved camera performance, along with the first implementation of Night Mode.

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This morning Google released their Android Q Beta 4 update for all devices in their Beta program. This system package is made primarily for app developers, but can be downloaded by anyone with a Google Pixel smartphone. This version of the Beta allows a couple of new devices that weren't part of the program before: Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL.

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With the update to the latest version of iOS on your iPhone, there'll be a new option to block spam calls. This action blocks robocalls, spam, and basically any other sort of phone call you know you wont want to answer, automatically. This system apparently uses "Siri intelligence" to work - but don't worry, it'll work just fine!

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Over the past week we've been keeping up with the relatively few issues OnePlus 7 Pro users had with software right out the box. In the mix is an "optimized" Double Tap to Wake and Ambient Display - both of which had some tiny issues (at least with SOME users) in the first week since release. There's also a set of improvements for the camera.

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Plex on Apple TV has been updated with new audio features that makes it far more appealing to audiophiles and other discerning music lovers. With the new software version comes support for direct playback of high-quality audio, including FLAC and AAC, as well as gapless transitions, soft pauses, and more. As well, Plex has refined some controls on iOS and previewed its new Web desktop and TV designs.

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We live in a cruel world, a world where people find joy in spoiling story endings for others on the internet. They see a movie on release day (or worse yet, pirate a movie), turn around and spew the ending of said movie on the web. Today I've been shown a tool that could mitigate internet-based spoilers in a big way. Let me turn your attention toward Redact It.

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Phones like the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 6 will get a new set of features in an update that'll make them more like OnePlus 7. The OnePlus 7/Pro has a set of features like Zen Mode and Screen Recorder that push the already-excellent phone into the "so many features that I'll probably never use them all" zone. That's a good place to be, especially for people that already own a OnePlus phone.

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The latest Android update made it clear: Smartphones are, at last, getting smart. The intelligence we've craved for the past decade is essentially on our doorstep. This might be the most significant several years in the history of mobile smart devices. But most people won't even notice. It'll be through updates like the one we're talking about today that smartphones finally, truly, start to earn their name.

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The security of the software that runs on your smartphone is the most important element in the device. Without a fully updated and secure smartphone, all could potentially be lost, or worse. This week Google made it clear that they intend to take hold of Android security at the root. This initiative goes by the name of Project Mainline.

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A report this week suggests a number of new iOS feature updates in the very near future, one of which is radical. Of course anyone could point to any of the features and call them radical if they did so choose, but for me, the double-screen feature could be life-changing. Imagine being able to use any device to display and control any computer - that's within our grasp.

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