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The week has been a mixed bag for Apple. First, it launched a new iPhone app for organizing events and being actually social; then, it had to contend with a third-party app store offering a porn app in the European Union. And theres nothing like an Apple-pornography headline to draw the eye. But first, Apple Invites, where you can host an unlimited number of events, each one limited to 100 participants. Its also possible to invite non-iPhone users. What?! You can use your own photos or backgrounds in the app as an image for the invite and even arrange a communal playlist through Apple Music. Of course, theres some Apple Intelligence shoehorned in. Image Playground is built into Invites to generate images for your events when there arent any appropriate photos. Engadget What about the future for existing invite apps, like Evite, Partiful, Luma and the rest? Well, all isnt lost: Only paid iCloud subscribers can create invites in the app and prices start there at 99 cents a month, while rival apps offer free basic event invites. Also, the web experience for non-iPhone people is pretty clunky and painful. At least for now. Meanwhile, a third-party app store called AltStore PAL announced a porn app called Hot Tub was now available to iOS users in the European Union. The marketplace described it as the first Apple-approved porn app which probably isnt entirely accurate. Its seemingly the first time a porn app has been available natively for the iPhone. Apple said it was deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids. And just to add further corporate spice: Longtime Apple App Store foe Epic gave the alternative app store a MegaGrant last year to help fund the core technology fees third-party app stores are required to pay Apple. Not that its directly affiliated with this adult entertainment portal. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to say, the Epic Games Store doesnt carry this app, doesnt carry any porn apps, and has never carried porn apps. Mat Smith Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! How to use Apple Invites to plan your next event The biggest tech stories you missed Reddit temporarily bans r/WhitePeopleTwitter after Elon Musk claimed it had broken the law Protecting the US from hackers apparently isn't in Trump's budget Sonos may release its long-rumored streaming box this year Oura Ring 4 long-term review It remains the smart ring to beat. Engadget Despite the appearance of rival smart rings from the likes of Samsung, the Oura Ring 4 remains the best option. It tracks your sleep, activity and stress levels, is comfortable to wear and looks, shock, like a regular ring. The battery life is admirable, lasting up to seven days, with new features including 24/7 heart rate tracking and temperature monitoring. However, these features are only available if you pay for a monthly subscription and that may remain the biggest caveat for this $349 ring. Continue reading. In 1996, IBMs Deep Blue beats Kasparov at chess The first chess win for a computer against a world champion. IBM This week, we go back 29 years. Back when we were barely saying artificial intelligence, let alone AI, on February 10, 1996, IBMs Deep Blue chess computer defeated fleshbag world champion Garry Kasparov. It marked the first time a computer beat a high-level opponent. However, Kasparov won the series 4-2. It wasnt until a year later that Deep Blue bested him in a rematch. Ask Engadget! AMA or AEA. Ask Mat, he's listening.Engadget Should I upload pictures of my children to the cloud? Is it safe? Whats the most reliable EV brand? Which streaming subscription should I drop, and why is it Prime Video? Were bringing back Ask Engadget, with an entirely new email address: askmat(AT)engadget.com. No personal questions, please. Ask Mat something!This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-133509185.html?src=rss
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Sports Interactive has officially cancelled Football Manager 25 after its release was delayed by months from the series' usual launch window. In its announcement, the developer said that it made the decision after an extensive discussion with Sega, its publisher, and that it's skipping this version to focus on the next installment instead. Football Manager is a football (or soccer) management SIM game series that typically gets a yearly release. The last one, Football Manager 2024, came out in 2023, and this particular installment was supposed to be released in November last year before it was pushed back to March 2025. The developer explained that it truly believed it would be able to reach the level of quality it was aiming for when it announced the March release date, but it encountered "challenges" that made it unable to reach its goal. Sports Interactive previously said that things were moving slower than it predicted to be able to produce the game it wanted. It was "rushing too much and in danger of compromising [its] usual standards," it added. It sounds like the company got close to being able to release the game, as "many areas" had hit its targets. However, the "overarching player experience and interface" are "not where [the company] need it to be." The developer promised "the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series" with Football Manager 25, and it would not be able to deliver on that if it pushes through with its plan to launch the game this March. It was also unwilling to move the release date again, since the next version is already scheduled for launch later this year. Those who've already pre-ordered the game will get a refund for their purchase. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/football-manager-25-has-been-cancelled-133053048.html?src=rss
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Meta has partnered with UNESCO on a new plan to improve translation and speech recognition AI, Techcrunch reported. As part of its Language Technology Partner Program, Meta is seeking collaborators willing to donate at least 10 hours of speech recordings with transcriptions, large written texts (200-plus sentences) and sets of translated sentences. The aim is to focus on "underserved languages, in support of UNESCO's work," Meta wrote in a blog post. So far, Meta and UNESCO have signed on the government of Nunavut, a northern Canadian territory. The aim is to develop translation systems for the Intuit languages used there, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. "Our efforts are especially focused on underserved languages, in support of UNESCOs work as part of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages," Meta said. As part of the program, Meta is releasing an open source translation benchmark called BOUQuET a standard test to evaluate performance of AI models that do translation. It'll be composed of sentences "carefully crafted by linguistic experts," and is seeking contributions on a dedicated site. Meta has taken a strong interest in AI translation for both text and speech, a logical move for a company that connects users around the world. Last year, it showed off a tool that uses AI to automatically dub Reels into other languages, complete with lip-sync, promising it would roll out to some creators videos in English and Spanish in the US first. The company has gradually expanded its Meta AI assistant around the world and it's now available in 43 countries and over a dozen languages. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-and-unesco-team-up-to-improve-translation-ai-130050762.html?src=rss
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