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Huawei P50 series to debut on July 29

It’ll run on HarmonyOS

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Huawei recently confirmed that it would be unveiling the flagship P50 series this month. Now the brand has finally revealed the launch date — July 29. Via a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Huawei CEO Richard Yu has confirmed that launch date.

According to Yu, the Huawei P50 series will usher in a new era of mobile photography. Yu’s post reads, “The road forward has no end, this time we surpass ourselves in the field of imaging again. On July 29th, the # HuaweiP50# series will soon release a new mobile imaging technology pioneered in the industry. The new era of mobile imaging will set sail, so stay tuned!”

While details about the specs of the Huawei P50 are still scarce, there are several rumors suggesting it will opt for the 1-inch Sony camera we seen on Leica’s first smartphone. Additionally, the Huawei P50 is also rumored to opt for the Kirin 9000 SoC but could switch to the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform once chip production issues are resolved.

The Snapdragon chipset that could power the phone is expected to be a 4G-only one since the US sanctions limit 5G component supplies to Huawei.

Huawei P-Series

The P-series bears many records in terms of smartphone photography, and the new P50 series shall continue the legacy. The P40 series was launched in March 2020. Hence a successor is much needed. The Chinese phone maker was severely affected by American sanctions, which limited its scope of doing transactions with American counterparts.

The restrictions mean that Huawei-branded phones cannot ship with Google Play Services. To bridge the gap, Huawei’s AppGallery is used. While specs are still scarce at this point, we know the P50 series will arrive with HarmonyOS 2.0. The operating system is expected to gradually end the company’s dependence on third parties. With no 5G support and a still-developing app store, it remains to be seen how Huawei can make a successful pivot.

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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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