Eliana Willis

Kerry Wan/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysAt $899, the iPhone 16 Plus More

June Wan/ZDNETWhether you are an iOS or Android user, Google Photos is a great photo storage and sharing service with features such as Magic Editor and Ask Photos. However, one very basic feature was missing until this week — a photo flip option. First spotted by Android Police, users can now flip or mirror their photos from the Google Photos app. Although that may sound like a fundamental feature, the basic edit functions only allowed users to crop, rotate, or adjust a picture’s aspect ratio before this update. Also: Gemini Live is finally hitting Android phones – how to access it for freeSome helpful instances of mirroring an image include taking a selfie on an iPhone, which is automatically set to invert your selfie camera, keeping the real orientation of the photo. This is a personal pet peeve of mine because I generally want my selfies to look like what I see in the mirror. However, I can’t get myself to turn on the “mirror font camera” setting because, sometimes, having the actual orientation is better.  More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETPhone accessory brand Anker is issuing a recall for three of its power banks: the 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K), the Power Bank pack, and the MagGo Power Bank. The impacted power banks sport model numbers A1642, A1647, and A1652, respectively. Also: The best power banks you can buy: Expert testedAccording to the recall notice, these devices “may pose a fire risk.” The lithium-ion batteries inside reportedly have a “manufacturing defect” that could cause the power banks to overheat and melt components. Because of the high temperatures, the hardware may begin to smoke and fumes from lithium-ion batteries are toxic.Anker states the battery defect is only present on a batch of products sold “from January 3, 2024, to September 17, 2024”. Although only “a small number of batteries” are affected, the company is asking customers to enroll in its Recall program “out of an abundance of caution.”  More

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETiPhone owners eager to check out Apple Intelligence can now download a public beta of iOS 18.1. Packed with Apple’s first round of AI-powered features, the new release was previously available only for developers but is now ready for the general public.That’s the good news. So what’s the bad news?Also: 6 AI features iPhone users can expect first on iOS 18 (and what’s coming later)Well, you’ll need the right type of iPhone to try out Apple Intelligence. For now, that means either an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. Starting tomorrow, though, anyone who snags one of the four new iPhone 16 models will also be able to install iOS 18.1 and take Apple’s AI for a spin.Though Apple plans to release Apple Intelligence in stages, you will find an array of AI features in iOS 18.1. Writing tools will help you rewrite, proofread, and summarize text in Mail, Notes, and other supported apps. New photo tools will help you search for photos using natural language, while a Clean Up Tool will try to seamlessly remove unwanted elements from an image. More

John Lund/Getty Images Even the smartest AI models are prone to hallucinations, which can be amusing when provoked. May I remind you of glue pizza? However, if you try to induce hallucinations in OpenAI’s advanced o1 reasoning models, you may lose access to the model altogether.  OpenAI unveiled its o1 models last week, which were […] More

Nina Raemont/ZDNETOpen earbuds have become my recent audio obsession because of how magical the technology feels. You can simultaneously listen to your music while also listening to the sounds and environment you’re in. Open earbuds feel different than bone conduction headphones, which offer aware listening but compromise audio quality and volume. The cool thing about open earbuds is that they offer both great audio quality and awareness. My favorite open-ear earbuds are the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, which I consider a great alternative to bone-conduction headphones. They’re ideal for outdoor runners looking to enjoy amazing music while staying aware of their environment. Also: Why I run with these Bose earbuds instead of bone-conduction headphonesThe Ultra Open More

Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysMojawa’s Run Plus More