 |
|
|
|||||
Black Friday is set to soak the world in glorious deals, but why wait until later in the month? Some of these deals are already live. For instance, the M2 MacBook Air is available via Amazon for just $749. The regular price is $1,000, so this is a discount of 25 percent. It even boasts 16GB of RAM. This model easily made our list of the best MacBooks, even with the presence of the newer M3 MacBook Air. Here are the takeaways. This laptop, obviously, includes Apples proprietary M2 8-core CPU, which is more than fast enough for basic tasks and fine for even many advanced tasks, like music-making. We called it "Apple's near-perfect Mac" in our official review. This is not the bare-bones standard model, as it comes with 16GB of RAM. Most versions ship with 8GB of RAM. The multitasking bona-fides are strong with this one. The M2 MacBook Air also ships with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and support for the P3 wide color gamut. Its thin and light. Its a MacBook Air. This thing weighs around 2.7 pounds. The battery life is solid, at around 18 hours of use per charge. The four-speaker sound system can get surprisingly loud, so headphones are not a requirement when watching random YouTube videos or listening to music. So whats the downside? There isnt one. Not really. This isnt the M3 MacBook Air, so those looking for the latest and greatest model may be let down. The model does only ship with a 256GB solid state drive, but its easy enough to plug in an external. Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-m2-macbook-air-with-16gb-of-ram-drops-to-749-ahead-of-black-friday-161500053.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Google now offers a dedicated Gemini AI app on iPhone. First spotted by MacRumors, the free software is available to download in Australia, India, the US and the UK following a soft launch in the Philippines earlier this week. Before today, iPhone users could access Gemini through the Google app, though there were some notable limitations. For instance, the dedicated app includes Googles Gemini Live feature, which allows users to interact with the AI agent from their iPhones Dynamic Island and Lock Screen. As a result, you dont need to have the app open on your phones screen to use Gemini. The software is free to download though a Gemini Advanced subscription is necessary to use every available feature. Gemini Advanced is included in Googles One AI Premium plan, which starts at $19 per month. The app is compatible with iPhones running iOS 16 and later, meaning people with older devices such as the iPhone 8 and iPhone X can use the AI agent. Ill note here that the oldest iPhone that can run Apple Intelligence is the iPhone 15 Pro. Of course, thats not exactly a fair comparison; Apple designed its suite of AI features to rely primarily on on-device processing, and when a query requires more computational horsepower, it goes through the companys Private Cloud Compute framework. Either way, its not surprising to see Google bring a dedicated Gemini app to iPhone. Ahead of WWDC 2024, Apple had reportedly been in talks with the company to integrate the AI agent directly into its devices.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-now-offers-a-standalone-gemini-app-on-iphone-160025513.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
The executive arm of the European Union isnt shying away from slapping major tech companies with hefty fines. The European Commission has fined Meta 797.12 million ($842 million) for violating antitrust regulations. The EC says that by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers, Meta abused its dominant positions" in the social networking space. Regulators determined that all Facebook users are regularly exposed to Marketplace, even if they dont want to be. To that end, the link between the two services gives Meta a substantial distribution advantage which competitors cannot match. In addition, the EC found that third-party classified ads services that advertised on the likes of Facebook and Instagram were subject to unfair trading conditions. This allows Meta to use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace, regulators contended. The fine was determined based on the duration and extent of the infringement, as well as Metas revenue. The Commission also told Meta to end the practice and avoid repeating such conduct or trying something similar. Meta said it will appeal the ruling. This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services and shields large incumbent companies from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, that meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways, it claimed. The company is trying to appease European regulators on other fronts. The EC said in the preliminary findings of an ongoing investigation that Meta violated the Digital Markets Act with its approach to an ad-free subscription, as it required EU users to consent to highly targeted advertising or pay to avoid it. This week, Meta lowered the monthly subscription fee and said it would offer an advertising option that won't use as much of a user's data, though this will include some unskippable ads.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-fines-meta-842-million-in-a-facebook-marketplace-antitrust-case-154111594.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||