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Vodafone has demonstrated the capabilities of a new satellite network by making what it calls the "world's first" satellite video call, albeit with some caveats. The company used partner AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites specifically designed to transmit 4G/5G mobile broadband signals from space. That technology will give users broadband cellular capability with any 4G/5G smartphone in remote areas lacking traditional mobile coverage. In its demonstration, Vodafone Group's chief executive Margherita Della Valle explained that the BlueBird satellites can connect directly with a regular smartphone, then transmit the signal back to Vodafone's terrestrial network via a satellite link. She then took a call from an engineer in a remote mountain region of Wales, a "nought spot" with no cellular coverage. The quality was a bit low-res and had substantial lag, but was decent otherwise. AST SpaceMobile's five BlueBird satellites have onboard communications arrays that give off-the-shelf smartphones the same voice, data and video speeds as a broadband tower, up to 120 megabits per second. Once operational, the satellites will provide "non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States and in select markets globally." That will allow cell users to communicate even in areas with limited broadband tower coverage, like rural communities or national parks. SpaceX's Starlink has already made a satellite video call using a regular mobile phone, so Vodafone hedged its claim substantially. Specifically, the company said it made the "world's first space video call from an area of no coverage using a standard mobile phone and commercial satellites built to offer a full mobile broadband experience." T-Mobile is working on a similar US network in partnership with Starlink's Direct-to-Cell service, but it will be limited to text messages at first. It's also possible right now to connect to dedicated satellite phone networks using specific iPhone and Google Pixel models that have custom modems but that's limited to low-data communications like SMS messages and emergency alerts. Vodafone's network, by contrast, would allow a full-fat broadband cellular experience when it launches in Europe, likely by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, AT&T, Verizon and AST SpaceMobile will begin testing in the US this spring, but no launch date (or pricing) for stateside service has been announced yet. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/vodafone-demonstrates-worlds-first-satellite-video-call-with-a-standard-mobile-phone-134509766.html?src=rss
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You'll finally be able to download all the episodes in an entire season on Netflix with just one tap if you're on iOS. The streaming service introduced the capability on Android years ago, but it remained a "much-requested" feature for users on iPhone and iPad until now. It's not unusual for Netflix to give Android users access to a certain capability first it took a year for Smart Downloads, which automatically deletes downloaded episodes you've already seen and then downloads the next one in a series, to be available on iOS. "We've heard that downloading episodes one-by-one has been a pain point for iOS members something we're now addressing with this rollout," a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. It's certainly great to have if you like stocking up on shows you can watch for long flights or cross-country road trips. The option to download entire seasons is available for all the shows currently on the streaming service. To download multiple episodes all at once, find the button for the new feature next to the Share option on the series' page in the Netflix app. While tapping the button will download all the episodes in a season automatically, you can still manage individual episodes under the Downloads section in the My Netflix tab. Netflix This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-finally-lets-ios-users-download-an-entire-season-with-one-tap-133025196.html?src=rss
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Microsoft is closely associated with OpenAI's ChatGPT AI model, but the software giant has no qualms about playing the field. Microsoft announced that it's bringing the DeepSeek-R1 AI model to Copilot+ PCs soon, starting with Snapdragon X devices and following later with Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 9 PCs. The DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-1.5B model will arrive "soon" on Microsoft AI Tookit for developers, with more powerful 7B and 14B variants coming later. The 1.5B (base) model isn't powerful compared to the higher-tier 32B and 70B models, but MIcrosoft points out that the models are "NPU-optimized" for Copilot+ PCs. The minimum configuration for such computers is 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and an NPU with at least 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second). "These optimized models let developers build and deploy AI-powered applications that run efficiently on-device, taking full advantage of the powerful NPUs in Copilot+ PCs," Microsoft wrote. It added that it implemented systems to take advantage of low-bit processing to ensure the R1 models could run locally on NPU hardware. At the same time, Microsoft is bringing DeepSeek's R1 model to its Azure AI Foundry platform, The Verge reported. It joins other AI models on that service, including GPT-4, Mistral AI, Meta-Llama 3 and others. That comes as a bit of a surprise, given that Microsoft is reportedly probing whether DeepSeek used OpenAI's technology in an unauthorized manner. AI pundits have also expressed concerns about privacy issues around China-based DeepSeek, something that Microsoft addressed in a Marketplace Community post. "DeepSeek R1 has undergone rigorous red teaming and safety evaluations, including automated assessments of model behavior and extensive security reviews to mitigate potential risks," wrote Microsoft senior product marketing manager, Justin Royal. DeepSeek shook up the AI world with its R1 model, which doesn't require nearly as much computing power as competing models. That spooked markets yesterday, causing a selloff in chip giant NVIDIA and other AI-adjacent stocks. OpenAI, which has been sued by multiple newspapers and publishers around the world for copyright infringement, recently accused DeepSeek and other Chinese AI startups of "distilling" its models. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/deepseek-is-coming-to-windows-copilot-pcs-130041096.html?src=rss
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