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Moto Z2 Play slims down, keeps modularity

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Last year’s Moto Z Play was the darling of Lenovo’s Z series. It had an incredibly efficient processor, one of the best battery lives out there, and compatibility with all Moto Mods. The Moto Z2 Play is the follow-up, but it doesn’t follow the same ideals.

To be specific, the meaty battery got cut down from 3510mAh to just 3000mAh. This is alarming for fans of the original Moto Z Play, since the overly slim profile and tiny battery of the flagship Moto Z didn’t bode well for its endurance. Don’t worry, the 3.5mm audio port is still around and it’s even thinner at 5.99mm now. Aside from that, everything else got upgraded.

A Snapdragon 626 processor joins the party, with a choice between 3GB or 4GB of memory and 32GB or 64GB of storage which you can expand using a microSD card. In order to preserve compatibility with the Mods, we get the same 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED screen sandwiched between the rather thick top and bottom bezels.

Without using the Hasselblad camera attachment, you only have a 12-megapixel camera at the back and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Its Android skin is still lightly painted on top of Nougat 7.1.1, and we mean that in a good way; near-stock Android is the best Android for us.

Nothing too special after listing all that, but again, the Mods are the real heroes here. All the ones we tried out in our first look video and full review are as compatible as ever. On top of those, Lenovo introduced four more: Moto Style Shells with wireless charging, the JBL SoundBoost 2, Moto TurboPower Pack, and Moto GamePad.

Here’s the catch: For now, the Moto Z2 Play will be exclusive to Verizon subscribers in the US. It’ll retail for $499, while all the new Mods cost $79 each, except for the updated Style Shells which are valued at $39.

SEE ALSO: 24 Hours in Puerto Galera: Moto M vs Vivo V5 Lite

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X’s AI accused Klay Thompson of vandalizing houses with bricks

AI thought joke posts were real

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Image source: Keith Allison, Wikimedia

Despite the ease that the technology promises, artificial intelligence still isn’t the most reliable thing you can depend on. Today’s models can still flub answers. Now, the pitfalls of AI are abundantly clear with a few mishaps on X. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson was just “accused” of a vandalism spree involving bricks.

Late Tuesday night, X presented an AI-generated news snippet. The article, posted soon after the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, reads: “Klay Thompson Accused in Bizarre Brick-Vandalism Spree.”

The snippet hilariously described an incident where Thompson supposedly vandalized houses in Sacramento with bricks. Thankfully, according to the snippet, no one was hurt. It even had a few sources for its claims below the news summary.

The sources, however, are just joke posts stemming from the recently concluded game. In that do-or-die game, Thompson put up a staggering 0 points on ten shot attempts, the most misses without a make by a Warrior since the ’68 season. Naturally, everyone joked that the Warriors guard just threw bricks all over Sacramento.

Now, X is currently experimenting with a new AI feature called Grok. The model collates trending topics and creates snippets of what’s happening for X users. However, it’s not exactly the smartest in determining real news from satiric ones. The feature notes as much, carrying a fine-print caveat warning users to “verify its outputs” because it’s an early feature and can make mistakes.

SEE ALSO: New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

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New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

Rolling out globally now

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New users on X might soon face a tough time on the platform. The social media website will likely start charging new accounts a small fee for the right to post on the platform.

Now, the fee isn’t a new one. Almost six months ago, the company tested the paid system in New Zealand and the Philippines. New users in those countries had to pay a dollar per year for the ability to post and reply to content.

As spotted by X Daily News on the same platform, the company might be ready to take the experiment to a larger market. New text strings have shown that the policy is rolling out worldwide.

The policy is designed to combat a wave of bots appearing on the platform. By preventing new accounts from creating posts, X hopes to stave off the standard behavior of bots these days. You might have noticed them as OnlyFans creators in unrelated posts, peddling NSFW content on their bio.

Though the global rollout was only just spotted, owner Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed the change. Replying to X Daily News, Musk says that it is “the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.” He says that the current breed of bots can easily bypass simple checks these days.

SEE ALSO: X will no longer let you hide your blue checkmark

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Pixel 9 series will reportedly come in four models

A newcomer and a familiar face

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Since its big reinvention, the Google Pixel flagship series subsisted on two main entries: a regular model and a Pro. Last year added a Pixel Fold to the list but kept it away from the main line, launching in May instead. Now, there’s a possibility that the Pixel family, starting with the Pixel 9 series, is growing both in number and closer to each other.

According to Android Authority, Google might launch four different models of the Pixel 9 series later this year. Besides the two traditional entries to the family, there will be two new ones coming this year.

The first new model you might see is the Pixel 9 Pro XL (what a mouthful). Despite the name, the model itself isn’t exactly new. The model is reportedly a successor to the Pixel 8 Pro but with a different name.

Which means that the new model is actually the Pixel 9 Pro. Yes, it’s confusing, but let’s break it down. Similar to Apple, Google might separate its lineup into a regular duo and a premium duo. That said, the Pixel 9 Pro will offer only a bite-sized upgrade to the regular Pixel 9. It’ll be the same size, too.

Since the Pixel 9 Pro XL will be the start of the Pro lineup, what model will it pair with? Well, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, of course. The Pixel Fold is apparently dead in name. Google might repackage the foldable as an official part of the Pixel 9 series and will launch alongside the main lineup later this fall.

SEE ALSO: Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Making Magic

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