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X has entered the streaming wars, sort of. Owner Elon Musk announced that the X TV app — teased earlier this year — is available now for some Amazon Fire TVs, Google TVs and some LG panels.

If your TV doesn’t fit into one of those categories, don’t fret. You’re not missing anything.

The short teaser video included in the beta app announcement shows what appears to be the Google version of the app with a typical looking streaming video interface. There are rows of links to videos for the very small number of original shows on the platform like right-wing dog whistler Tucker Carlson and accounts for SpaceX and Tesla. However, the actual app (or at least the version for Amazon Fire TVs) looks nothing like the video and offers even less in terms of content.

Currently, the X TV app is just a video delivery system for the X app. You’ll need an X account to log in and it just sends you to a curated list of X videos that are already on the platform. However, what appear to be the default recommendations are truly hideous to anyone not of the same political mind as Musk.

Danny Gallagher

I used a burner account that wasn’t following many users, and the videos the X TV app offered me on first viewing includes a Megyn Kelly video accusing Tim Walz of committing “stolen valor,” a report from right-wing social media influencer Andy Ngo and Carlson’s fawning interview with historian Darryl Cooper who performs some revisionist history by calling Winston Churchill “the chief villain of the Second World War.”

X TV’s video library is reflective of its users; after years of skewing liberal, its most active userbase is now conservative fans ready for whatever red meat X dangles over them. The videos on show may entertain those users, and Musk’s fan club may fawn over finally having a streaming app on smart TVs, but even if you’re in that demo, it’s a disappointingly barebones app compared to rivals like Rumble. 

So far, X’s efforts to attract top-tier talent have been rocky, at best. While Khloé Kardashian announced a video podcast deal on X earlier this year, Musk bungled the launch of Don Lemon’s planned show so badly that Lemon is suing him. Other participants in X’s video plans include the WWE and sports commentator Jim Rome, not to mention Tucker Carlson friend and deplorable human being Tulsi Gabbard. 

If for some reason you still want to try this mess out, Musk tweeted earlier today that X “will soon be available on all home TV screens.” Not exactly the most detailed proclamation, but when has he ever mislead people before? So while compatible devices are limited at the moment, we’re sure it’ll be more widely available before long.

Update: September 4, 2024, 3:45PM ET: This story has been updated with more details on celebrities using X video as well as details on when X TV might come to more devices. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-x-tv-app-is-out-now-and-yes-it-really-sucks-204931559.html?src=rss

Online retailers like Temu and Shein are known for selling cheap products like baby clothes, kitchen gadgets and electronics. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants to know the true costs that foreign online retailers are cutting to sell these products at lower prices.

CPSC commissioners Peter Feldman and Douglas Dziak released a joint statement today calling for their staff to evaluate the operations of foreign e-commerce sites. The statement cites Shein and Temu as two online retail companies that “raise specific concerns.”

Recent news reports of “deadly baby and toddlers products” being sold on these platforms started to raise red flags at the CPSC. A recent report from The Information found several baby and children’s products on Shein deemed to be unsafe, such as children’s drawstring hoodies for sale that had been flagged by regulators as a strangulation risk. The fashion industry news site Fashion Dive found Temu selling children’s pajamas by brands that the CPSC ruled violated “the flammability standards for children’s sleepwear.”

A Shein spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that its customers’ safety remains their “top priority and we are investing millions of dollars to strengthen our compliance programs.” We’ve also reached out to Temu by email for the opportunity to respond to the CSPC claims.

The CSPC isn’t the first US government agency to scrutinize foreign e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu. Last year, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued a brief detailing the challenges presented by “Chinese ‘fast fashion’ platforms.” The Commission questioned these platforms’ alleged exploitations of trade loopholes and concerns about its sale of items that posed product safety risks, violated copyrights and trademarks and used forced labor to make and sell products.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-us-government-may-be-preparing-to-investigate-internet-retail-giants-like-shein-and-temu-193218089.html?src=rss

In a post on its own social network, Bluesky has revealed that it has added 2.6 million users over the past few days. That’s a lot of growth in such a short time for a platform that only has around 8.8 million users overall. In a blog post, the company said over 85 percent of the new users are Brazilian, which works out well in excess of 2 million. 

If you’ll recall, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes recently ordered the country’s internet service providers to block X after the website formerly known as Twitter refused to ban specific accounts accused of spreading disinformation. 

Moraes also ordered Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores and for people caught using VPN to access the website to be fined R$50,000 ($8,900). Brazil’s Supreme Court has just upheld the ban on X after its judges voted unanimously in favor of the measure, according to the BBC. X owner Elon Musk accused Moraes of destroying democracy “for political purposes.” The website also created a new profile called “Alexandre Files,” which it said would shine a light “on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes.”

After X became inaccessible in Brazil, users in the country found new homes elsewhere. Bluesky experienced a huge spike in the number of unique daily likes and posters, as well as in the number of unique followers, on the last days of August. While the website isn’t quite as robust as Twitter yet, it recently teased that its next major app updated will come with video features, which could help keep its new users around. 

Some other stats around Bluesky’s meteroric rise show the impact of this influx of people to the platform. Comparing a 96-hour period from August 30 to September 2 to a similar period a month earlier, engineer Jaz said likes on the platform had risen from 13 million to 104.6 million, follows grew from 1.4 million to 100.8 million, and reposts increased from 1.3 million to 11 million. Bluesky developer Paul Frazee warned that users may see outages and performance issues as the platform has “never seen traffic like this.”

Bluesky is a decentralized social network that was previously funded and was founded in 2019 by Twitter-founder Jack Dorsey. The website launched as an invite-only social network, but it finally opened to the public earlier this year. It also introduced new features most users would look for if they’re set on leaving X, including direct messaging. While DMs only worked between two users upon launch, the website promised to roll out group messaging, media support and end-to-end encryption “down the line.” Dorsey, however, exited the Bluesky board in May and later claimed that the website was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter.

Update, September 4, 3:10PM ET: This story was updated after publishing. A section in the original story which inferred that the influx of users was likely Brazilian in origin was replaced with a statistic from Bluesky published on September 4 which confirmed this to be true. At the same time, further details were added to the story on the rise of follows, likes and reposts on the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-added-over-2-million-brazilian-users-after-brazil-banned-elon-musks-x-140032042.html?src=rss

The American dream used to involve purchasing a home. As huge corporations buy up residential stock and wages lay stagnant, the new American dream is to scroll through Zillow and salivate at what could have been, if only we had been born into one of those families with money. To that end, Zillow just upped its AI game to make it easier to find a dream home that you’ll never be able to afford.

The popular real estate marketplace integrated some AI tools into its search feature last year, but it just released a fairly substantial software update that brings in more options. Users can now use natural language to find homes or rentals based on commute times or how far they are from schools or other points of interest.

Before conversational AI, people would have to use filters to come up with a list of appropriate domiciles. Now, you can just write “homes 20 min drive from Red Hook” and get some good listings. This should also be useful for areas with popular destinations. For instance, you could write “homes near Mall of America” instead of combing through every Minneapolis-adjacent listing.

Zillow

Today’s update also lets the AI algorithm search by cost, so you can add preferred pricing into the query. The AI-enhanced search already included the option to look for homes by ideal layout, location, style and condition. It’s the money and commute stuff that’s new. 

As with all things AI, Zillow’s tool is still a work in progress. It’ll be training itself as it’s being used so as to “better respond to search queries that use natural, human-like sentences.” You should also be on the lookout for hallucinations. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is. In any event, the update’s rolling out now to the iOS and Android apps, with website support coming soon.

The platform has never been shy about incorporating tech into its feature set. It introduced 3D virtual home tours a few years back. More recently, the company integrated with FaceTime’s SharePlay feature to allow for cooperative browsing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/zillow-enhanced-its-ai-search-feature-so-now-you-can-sadly-stare-at-even-more-overpriced-homes-183857996.html?src=rss

Growing up. It’s something we all do, and devices do too. While there’s been very little innovation in mainstream smartphones lately, foldable phones have been maturing over the last few years and finally seem to be coming into their own. It’s like they’re in the young adult phase of their lives, while the conventional “candybar” handset has largely been figured out. At least, on the outside, anyway.

If foldables are the products, then companies like Samsung and Google are the parents, and each of those two has taken a different approach. Samsung has been more experimental, letting its baby flail around in the playground, falling off swings and cracking its face. Google appears to have been more careful, perhaps sheltering its product before releasing it for the first time last year. And let’s not talk about the elephant in (or missing from) the room — Apple is probably waiting till its foldable is mature enough to skip straight to high school before exposing it to the world.

All that is to say the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like a glowed-up young adult, ready for reality. Though it would have been more apt to call this the Pixel Fold 2 (since it’s only Google’s second foldable), I can see why the company wants us to think of it as part of the 9-series. With the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the entire Pixel 9 lineup feels refined and well-equipped to take on the competition. And maybe even win our hearts.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s design

One of my favorite things about the Pixel foldable is its aspect ratio. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which my colleague Sam Rutherford has described as more like a skinny baton, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels more like a conventional phone when folded. In fact, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is so much an extension of the Pixel 9 series that its 6.3-inch external display is pretty much the same size as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro.

But because that panel is encased in a frame designed to house a hinge for the flexible internal screen, the Fold actually looks more similar in size to my iPhone 15 Pro Max. When I picked them both up, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold felt a bit heavier, but I guessed that it was probably close to the iPhone 14 Pro Max in weight. I was wrong — the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is actually 17 grams heavier than the iPhone 14 Pro Max and 36 grams more than the 15 Pro Max. More importantly, at 257 grams (9.06 ounces), the Pixel foldable is 18 grams heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

It may not be the lightest foldable around, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold certainly ranks among the thinnest. When open, its profile measures just 5.1mm (0.2 inches) thick, while Samsung’s Z Fold 6 is slightly thicker at 5.6mm.

Numbers alone don’t tell the entire story. Small dimensions look nice on paper, but the way the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels to hold is a significant part of its evolution. Last year’s model felt a little unfinished, with a bit of a duct-tape vibe to its construction. This time, the device feels solid, thanks to its “aerospace-grade high-strength aluminum alloy” and “matte back with satin metal frame.” The external screen and rear are covered with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, helping it be more scratch-resistant.

Of course, as is usually the case with foldables, durability is a concern and something that we can only gauge with time. The good news is, Sam recently published a durability report after a year with the original Pixel Fold, and the device not only withstood the wear and tear of daily life, but also survived being in the general vicinity of an active toddler for 12 whole months.

Some quick final notes on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s design: If you’re right-handed, you might appreciate that the bottom right corner of the phone (when folded) is slightly curved. It rests nicely against your palm and is marginally more enjoyable than the experience for those who are left-handed, who might not like the sharper angle of the bottom left corner. I used the Fold in both hands and didn’t find this a major issue, but our videographer Hayato Huseman did not like the design for left-handed use.

I also have a minor complaint that the device is hard to open without first getting a fingernail in between the two halves, but I expect this will get easier in time. More annoying is the slight creak every time I open the phone, but this got smoother over time. On occasion, there’s also a mildly concerning rattle when I shake the Fold, which is something my friend Julian Chokkattu at Wired brought to my attention, so it sounds like a problem that isn’t unique to our unit. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

I’ve asked Google if this is an issue with just our review samples or if it’s more widespread and according to the company “this is expected behavior that’s due to the telephoto camera VCM (voice coil motor). You will likely notice this on Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL as well.” I will say that I hear a similar (though less pronounced) sound when I shake my iPhone 15 Pro Max the same way, so this could just be the optical image stabilization system moving about.

A tale of two Pixel 9 Pro Fold displays

Gather up, aspect ratio nerds, have we got an adventure in intricate numbers for you! Though last year’s Pixel Fold had a 5.8-inch external display with an awkward 17.4:9 aspect ratio, this year’s model is much more intuitive. It’s the same 6.3-inch 20:9 screen as the standard Pixel 9, making it a more familiar size and shape. I’m a little bummed that it has the 1,080 x 2,424 resolution and 60-120Hz adaptive refresh rate of the base Pixel 9, as opposed to the sharper panel on the Pro (which goes down to 1Hz), but it’s not a huge problem.

Sam pointed out that there is the teeniest change in the Pixel Fold’s internal screen. The original was just under 5.875 inches wide when held in landscape, and while the new Pixel Fold’s interior display is the same size in the same orientation, in portrait mode it’s actually 5.625 inches wide. This means the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal display has an almost square 1:1 aspect ratio that’s 8 inches wide diagonally, which is larger than its predecessor’s 7.6-inch panel.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

This doesn’t dramatically improve things when you’re viewing widescreen content, and Sam would even call it a “very tiny downgrade” in that scenario. The new screen dimensions will make more of a difference when you’re gaming and multitasking than watching videos. The tweak appears to be more for compatibility, and I still had to live with empty space on either side of videos (in both portrait and landscape orientations) when I played YouTube clips in fullscreen mode.

I should point out that the internal display does actually go down to 1Hz, but has a lower pixel density thanks to its 2,076 x 2,152 resolution. I wasn’t ever blown away by either display, though, and merely found them perfunctory. They both go up to 2,700 nits of peak brightness, and are easy enough to read in sunlight, though the front screen can get up to 1,800 nits with HDR while the one inside only goes to 1,600 nits with HDR.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s cameras and photography features

Google’s original foldable already had better cameras than Samsung’s latest, offering a longer optical zoom, sharper pictures and superior low-light performance. So though it’s slightly disappointing that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold doesn’t come with many hardware upgrades, what it does bring is still greater than the Z Fold 6. In fact, Sam says the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the best cameras on any foldable you can buy in the US.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Google has kept the main sensor at 48 megapixels and upgraded the ultra-wide camera to enable macro focus. You’ll still find a 5x optical zoom on the telephoto camera, which is longer than the 3x option on Samsung’s Z Fold 6. What’s interesting is that with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google had to tweak its camera hardware to “fit our unique ultra thin architecture,” which is a fairly impressive engineering feat.

When it came down to actual pictures, the Pixel consistently outshot the Z Fold 6, with Sam going as far as to say it’s “generally a tier level higher.” Colors are brighter and more accurate, and the telephoto hardware makes a noticeable difference in zoomed-in shots. That’s even before using Google’s Zoom Enhance software, too. Given Samsung has been using the same sensor for the main camera for the last three years, that doesn’t seem surprising, but it’s certainly a shame that those who shelled out $1,900 for the Z Fold 6 are stuck with poorer specs here. It’s strange too, considering Samsung’s main sensor is a higher-res 50MP.

It’s worth noting that Google’s primary hardware update also gave the Pixel 9 Pro Fold more of an edge, since being able to use its ultra-wide camera as a macro shooter made its close-up shots better than Samsung’s. Plus, Google continues to lead in low-light photography, producing sharper, more vibrant and better exposed images than the Z Fold 6.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

In fact, software is where the Pixel cameras continue to shine. Google added new features like Add Me and Made You Look this year, with the latter being an exclusive to the Pro Fold. Makes sense, since that uses the internal and external screens. While you have the camera app open on the inside, tapping an icon above the shutter button lets you choose between dual screen, rear camera selfie or Made You Look. Selecting the last one brings up four options of different cartoon animations, and the respective character appears on the outside display. The chicken, or fish, or blob will dance around and make noises to get the attention of your subject. This is meant to work predominantly on children, though I imagine it’ll also pique the curiosity of cats and dogs.

After numerous rounds of testing with Made You Look, I mostly ended up with pictures of an adorable one-year-old looking largely confused, and not even really directly at the camera. With the way the phone’s screen and camera is set up, you won’t really get a shot of your subject looking into the lens, since the distracting character is next to it. My friend’s toddler took a while to warm up to the animation, too, appearing to like the fish the most. She did not catch on that the animal would do something different if she smiled, no matter how many times I tried patiently to explain the concept to her. Not surprising, since she was born only last year after all.

I found more success with an older audience. In fact, the older the subject, the more likely they were to be amused by Made You Look. It does feel a bit futile as a feature, since after a certain age kids mostly know to be aware of, if not to pose for a camera. The idea was good, the execution also sound, but it turns out maybe we should worry less about getting children to face the right way for photos and cherish the moments?

When you’re ready to edit your pictures, you’ll find the same suite of tools that are on the Pixel 9 Pro. That means things like Magic Editor, Reimagine and Autoframe are also available to spruce up your shots. I won’t retread ground we already covered in that review, but like we mentioned before, these generative-AI features are somewhat effective but occasionally problematic. I like using it to create more bushes or greenery in the background so I can center my friends in a candid photo, but find it concerning that Reimagine could be used to add “wrecks, disasters and corpses” to pictures, according to The Verge.

If you can stay away from the problematic AI tools, though, it’s heartening to see that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can deliver photos that are as good as the ones I got from my iPhone 15 Pro Max. After all, you’re paying $1,800, you should be getting flagship-level cameras.

Performance and in use

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Neither Sam nor I have had more than a week with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, so it’s a little too early to talk about longterm performance and daily use. In general, though, so far we’ve noticed the new Fold runs smoothly and coolly, just like the other Pixel 9 Pros. That’s largely thanks to the Tensor G4 processor and built-in vapor chamber, and of course, maybe I just haven’t had the Fold long enough but it never got too warm.

I enjoyed watching YouTube with Threads open next to it on the internal screen, and the larger canvas also made Instagram pictures easier to scrutinize. I wish more apps were compatible with the bigger format, though, since my recent favorite games like Fruit Merge don’t expand to the full width and instead sit in the middle, flanked by two bars of empty space.

It’s also strange that flexing the screen, which is supposed to automatically switch compatible apps into a half-and-half layout, only works in landscape mode. That means if you open YouTube, bend the Pixel 9 Pro Fold slightly and flip it so the rear camera is on the top left corner, you’ll see videos take up the top half of the display. The bottom portion is where the title, description, comments and other videos sit.

This layout is intuitive, and makes sense in the landscape orientation where the clip you’re watching is propped up for easier viewing. I just wish there was an equivalent when you’re holding the Fold in portrait mode that would make the comments take up the right half of the display instead of the awkward column it currently uses.

Sam’s experience with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 leads him to find Samsung’s taskbar “a touch better for power users,” since you can set it to always stick around no matter what app you’re on. This makes it easier to launch apps in splitscreen or just jump between tasks. It’s also worth noting that Google doesn’t support stylus input, while Samsung does, and the latter’s DeX multitasking software is handy for productivity. The Pixel Fold doesn’t have such an interface where apps appear in floating windows, though I do like when compatible apps display extra columns or sidebars when they’re on the bigger screen.

Still, these are generally minor quibbles that feel easy enough to solve with software updates you might receive over time. If you’re not a power user or itching to use a stylus with your foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a solid option over the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s battery life

The Pixel 9 series has been delivering seriously good results on our video rundown battery test and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is no exception. When running on just the external display, the Fold clocked 27 hours and 9 minutes, which is basically the same as what the standard Pixel 9 got. When using just the interior screen, the Fold lasted 23 hours and 22 minutes, which is impressive for how much larger the panel is.

Those numbers are about two to three hours better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which notched 25 hours and 19 minutes when folded and 20:07 when open. The new Pixel Fold also beat its predecessor and the OnePlus Open, as neither of those even passed the 20-hour mark on our test.

Wrap-up

Although the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is only Google’s second foldable device, it’s already come a long way. It both looks and feels better than before, with a size and shape that is more similar to a standard phone when closed. When open, the device is easy to hold and provides a roomier canvas for light multitasking and gaming. Plus, compared to its main competition in the US, the Pixel Fold 2 (spiritually anyway) has a superior camera game and longer battery life. It’s also $100 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, though it’s still pretty pricey at $1,800.

Google’s foldable line still has some quirks to work out, but that’s all part of growing up. For a device that’s only been around for two generations, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a solid foldable for anyone looking to dip their toe into flexible phones that can double as tablets.

Update, September 4, 2:20PM ET: This review was updated after publishing to include more testing of the Made You Look camera feature. These additional impressions have not affected the review score or our overall recommendation.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/pixel-9-pro-fold-review-a-grown-up-glowed-up-foldable-170043123.html?src=rss

A new ruling from Meta’s Oversight Board regarding the use of the phrase “From the River to the Sea” found that it does not violate the platforms’ policies on hate speech, violence and incitement or dangerous organizations and individuals. The board also said in its ruling that the three flagged cases that used the phrase highlight the need for greater access to Facebook’s Content Library for qualified researchers, civil society groups and journalists who previously had access to CrowdTangle.

The ruling looked at three pieces of Facebook content containing the phrase “From the River to the Sea,” a phrase considered by many to be pro-Palestinian that refers to the stretch of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The rallying cry is a politically charged one with different interpretations and meanings. Critics of the phrase like the Anti-Defamation League call it an “anti-semitic slogan commonly featured in anti-Israel campaigns.” Others like US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who the House censured last year for using the phrase in statements about the Israel-Gaza war, called it “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate,” according to the New York Times.

The Oversight Board ruled that the phrase itself is not a “standalone phrase” calling for violence against a group of people, the exclusion of a particular group of people or a blanket stance of support for Hamas. The board also said it’s “vital” that Meta’s platforms assess the context surrounding the use of the phrase while assessing content from its users.

“Because the phrase does not have a single meaning, a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways,” the ruling reads.

The board also raised concerns about Meta’s decision to shut down the CrowdTangle data analysis tool in August in its research on content and called for greater transparency regarding the new system. CrowdTangle was a free research tool used by news outlets, researchers and other groups to learn about the dissemination of information on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Meta replaced the tool with the Meta Content Library, a much more tightly controlled data examination system with stricter access rules. The Content Library restricts access to those who work with “a qualified academic institution or a qualified research institution” committed to “a not-for-profit endeavor,” according to Facebook’s guidelines.

The Oversight Board recommended that Meta onboard qualified researchers, groups and journalists within three weeks of submitting an application. The board also recommended that Meta “ensure its Content Library is a suitable replacement for CrowdTangle,” according to the ruling.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-oversight-board-says-phrase-from-the-river-to-the-sea-should-not-be-banned-174506090.html?src=rss