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Amazon and Google continue to list gun accessories despite ban

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After being alerted of the Post‘s reporting, representatives for Amazon and Google have claimed that the items in question are no longer on the site. Still, the fight to remove such listings appears to be a game of whack-a-mole for tech giants.

A quick search by Engadget of “gun magazine” today on Google Shopping unearthed a kit that adjusts the height of a rife magazine and pistol magazine. Both appeared to violate Google’s ban, which extends to “any part that is essential to, or enhances the functionality of a gun” as well as items that appear to be guns. When contacted by Engadget, a Google spokesperson confirmed the items were in violation of the company’s policy and were removed. The company said other items flagged by Engadget, such as a magazine carrier and a toy-sized replica of an AK-47, didn’t violate their policy. Google, which has banned weapons-related listings since 2012, prohibits parts that are “essential to or enhance the functionality” of a gun, such as stocks, clips, scopes and conversion kits.

“Our hearts go out to the victims of gun violence. The sale of weapons, guns, and certain gun parts is strictly prohibited on Google Shopping. As soon as we found policy-violating results, we removed them and are working to prevent these instances from reoccurring,” wrote a Google spokesman in a statement.

Other online merchants are struggling to keep firearms merchandise off their platforms. An investigation by the Los Angeles Times today found listings for vintage AK-47s, pistol grips, enhanced AR-15 charging handles and other banned merchandise on EBay. Unless ecommerce companies take more aggressive action in policing such dangerous merchandise, it seems inevitable that they’ll keep cropping up.

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Instagram removes ad partner that tracked millions of users’ locations

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The company didn’t collect any private information. However, it still resulted in detailed profiles of users that it didn’t have permission to generate and could make people uncomfortable, such as targeted ads and surprise comments from location owners. Facebook’s rules specifically prohibit relying on “automated means” to collect data without its explicit approval, and it doesn’t even offer Stories through its official developer framework.

Moreover, BI alleged that Hyp3r flaunted Facebook’s privacy changes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. While it publicly welcomed restrictions on location tools and other features, it privately developed a system that could circumvent Facebook’s restrictions and scoop up Instagram location info regardless. The firm supposedly went on to reverse-engineer an Instagram framework that had been shut down after the Cambridge Analytica affair.

In a statement, Hyp3r chief Carlos Garcia maintained that its marketing system was “compliant with consumer privacy regulations and social network Terms of Services.” He also maintained that the company never viewed private content, although that’s not entirely true when the company could view Stories after the usual 24-hour period. Facebook certainly disagrees — a spokesperson said Hyp3r’s behavior was “not sanctioned” and “violate[d] our policies.”

Facebook has also taken steps to prevent similar data scraping. On top of a cease-and-desist request to Hyp3r, it’s requiring logins for access to location pages and fixing the security lapse (apparently linked to a publicly available JSON package).

While the move is likely to be welcome to privacy advocates, it also illustrates some possible shortcomings in Facebook’s policies. The social site had included Hyp3r as part of its list of trusted Marketing Partners. While Instagram regularly reviews those partners to ensure they’re honoring the rules, it might not have been paying close attention to Hyp3r’s behavior despite the marketer publicly advertising its behavior. Simply put, it might have slipped through the cracks.

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Google’s Pixel 4 could have an extra-fast OLED screen

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There might also be more camera tricks in store. It’s no secret that the Pixel 4 line will have dual rear cameras (a 12MP standard shooter and a 16MP telephoto, according to this leak), but the sources also talk of work on a “DSLR-like attachment” for the phones. It’s not certain if this is simply an add-on lens or something more sophisticated.

Both Pixels will reportedly have stereo speakers as well as Google Assistant features that are (initially, at least) exclusive to the lineup. Other specs are relatively familiar. The two would run on Snapdragon 855 chips with 6GB of RAM, carry at least 64GB of storage and ditch the display notch for the sake of both the gesture radar and face detection sensors.

There’s a chance Google might confirm the 90Hz display soon given that it has been willing to tease Pixel 4 features as they leak. If it’s real, it further reflects the sharp change in strategy for the Pixel line. As a rule, Pixel phones haven’t had much more than their cameras and software to help distinguish them from the pack. A Pixel 4 with a 90Hz display, secure face detection and hands-off gestures would be another story. While you’ve seen variants of those features before, having them all in one device could make the Pixel more alluring even if you don’t particularly care about Google’s usual software tricks.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 event by the numbers

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Get a load of this absolute unit. This thing’s big enough to bludgeon an NYC subway rat and not even get your hands wet. Its AMOLED screen spans 6.8 inches, its Snapdragon processor draws on 12GB of RAM, its battery, a chunky 4,300 mAh. So yes, you will pay through the nose. Get your hanky ready and blow out $1,100 ($1,200 if you want to future proof it against 5G) .

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50 percent of this headline is fantastic news. The other 50 percent is terrible news. I leave it to you to decide which is which.

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23 hours, that’s how long Samsung’s new clamshell laptop is rated to last on a single charge. The company also tossed in a pair of USB-C ports, a headphone jack (squee!) and a 13-inch touchscreen for literally less than what their phone costs.

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The S Pen has learned a number of new tricks since its debut with the Galaxy Note 9. Back in the day it was little more than a stylus with some light remote control capabilities. But this new iteration is another beast entirely, capable of activating shortcuts and special commands simply by wiggling the S Pen at the screen.

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If your hands have ever been compared to those of a Sasquatch, or at least a Wookie, your best bet is to pony up for the added screen space of the Galaxy Note 10+. But, if you are a normal-sized adult with normal-sized adult hands and don’t mind slightly lower display and processor performance, give the normal-sized adult Galaxy Note 10 a gander.

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All the important news from Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 event

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At its Galaxy Unpacked event today in Brooklyn, Samsung unveiled the latest additions to its Galaxy Note lineup — the Note 10 and Note 10+. Unlike prior Note releases, Samsung’s phone comes in two sizes to suit user preferences. The Note 10’s display is 6.3 inches and the Note 10+, with a display that measures at a whopping 6.8 inches, is Samsung’s largest phone screen to date.

Samsung President and CEO DJ Koh in the keynote made the point that future innovations wouldn’t be just about devices — but also new services and ecosystems. That being said, as devices the Note 10 and Note 10+ hold up on their own. Both are packed with features and improvements not seen before in its predecessors, as well as a few significant omissions: Neither have the Bixby button or a headphone jack. The larger Note 10 has four cameras on the back, including one specifically for AR video and drawing. Note 10’s stylus, the S Pen, got a significant upgrade — including a 6-axis sensor that lets users take pictures, zoom in and switch camera perspective with a gesture.

Priced at $949, the Note 10 comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The Note 10+ starts at $1,099 with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, or you can spend $100 more to get 512GB of storage. They’re available in a prismatic color range; Aura Glow, Aura White and Aura Black. Both phones are available to pre-order today, and will be available for sale on August 23rd. Here’s a rundown of all the major announcements from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event today.

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The most stylish Snapdragon laptop yet

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Samsung kept things pretty minimal with the Galaxy Book S. There’s only a single USB-C port on the right edge, while another USB-C slot and a headphone jack are all you’ll find on the left. Tucked under this pair of ports is a SIM card slot that also has a spot for a microSD card.

This is also the first system we’ve seen actually using the made-for-PC Snapdragon 8cx chipset that Qualcomm announced in December. Lenovo announced a 5G laptop in May that also uses the same CPU, but that felt more like a prototype than a fully ready product. The Snapdragon 8cx promises performance and battery boosts that is meant to rival an Intel U-series option on speed. As for runtime, Samsung estimates the Galaxy Book S will last 23 hours on a charge, though it didn’t clarify what sort of use that would be. That seems in line with other Snapdragon PCs that, in my experience, lasted about the 20 or so hours that their makers promised.

That battery estimate seems reasonable in part because the Book S’ 13-inch screen runs at just full HD. It was smooth enough in my testing, and I was able to pinch and zoom or scroll through a website easily. The trackpad was similarly responsive, though I wish the keyboard had more travel. I’m not going to complain too much though, it’s hard to squeeze in more depth on a laptop this thin.

This story is developing, please refresh for updates.

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AR Doodle draws ‘sticky’ animations on your Galaxy Note 10 selfies

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To use AR Doodle, the user first takes a picture or video of the subject, then adds lettering and other effects to the scene. The Note 10 tracks where all of the effects are “pinned” in the local space, enabling the doodles to repopulate if the user leaves the room and then returns. The app also offers facial recognition, so anything you draw around your subject’s head will reappear the next time they’re in frame. And since individual effects and animations remain fixed in their relative positions, you’ll be able to see them from different angles simply by walking around the room.

AR Doodle should be good for a laugh or two with your friends but as Engadget reporter Cherlynn Low notes from the press conference, “This seems like a fun feature, but not something I’m particularly aching to try.”

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 is a tiny bit smaller and costs less than before

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As the many, many leaks indicated, the Note 10 is a refinement on its predecessor, with smaller than ever bezels and a center-aligned camera hole on the front that make for a pretty striking impression. It’s subjective, but I feel like the center camera hole just looks better than the off-center one found on the Galaxy S10 line.

The smaller of the two Galaxy Note 10 models still packs in a 6.3-inch screen, so it’s not exactly small (just one-tenth of an inch smaller than last year’s model). But with the bezels reduced even further, this feels like a more compact Note than before. However, the Note 10 takes a surprising step back in terms of screen resolution: the panel runs at 2,280 x 1,080, basically an extended 1080p screen since we’re all about the extra-tall display these days. That’s down from the quad HD display found in last year’s model. For a device geared towards those who want the biggest and best they can get, it’s a surprising change.

Moving beyond the display, the Note 10 features a refined S Pen that includes an accelerometer and gyroscope for the first time (well, outside the Galaxy Tab S6 that was just announced last week). That means the Note 10 detects gestures like flicking in addition to the button presses and drawing on the actual screen. It sounds like a classic Samsung gimmick, but it enables some neat features like jumping between cameras or switching between shooting modes, using the pen like a Harry Potter wand. The S Pen also can now automatically convert handwriting to digital text and let you export it into whatever format or file type you need, including Microsoft Word.

Circling back to the cameras, it’s a similar setup to what you’ll find on the Galaxy S10+. The three shooters on the back include an “ultra wide” 16-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture; a standard 12-megapixel option with f/1.5 and f/2.2 aperture options and optical image stabilization; and a telephoto 12-megapixel camera with OIS and an f/2.1 aperture. The front camera, meanwhile, clocks in at 10 megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture and an 80-degree field of view. Beyond those specs, Samsung’s low-light Night Mode is included here and works on the front camera as well as the rear. On the Galaxy S10 line, where it was first introduced, it only worked with the rear cameras.

While Samsung may have cut some corners on the display, relatively speaking, the internals here are as powerful as you’d expect from a Samsung flagship. As is often the case with Samsung’s phones, processors vary by region, but the company’s spec sheet claims we’re looking at 64-bit, octa-core processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. That processor is also Samsung’s first 7-nanometer chip, for those keeping track. The battery is also massive, at 3,500 mAh, and Samsung says a quick charge of 30 minutes gets you enough power to “last through the day.” We’ll have to put that claim to the test, to be sure, but at least you can rest easy knowing fast charging is on board here.

Oh yeah, there’s no headphone jack this year, and the Note 10 is running Android 9 Pie; as usual, you’ll probably wait months before it is upgraded to Android Q. But hey, on the plus side, the Bixby button is gone!

As you probably guessed, the Galaxy Note 10 isn’t going to come cheap: it starts at $949 in the US. Carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) and Xfinity Mobile will all have the phone in stores and online as of August 23rd. Other retailers including Best Buy, Amazon, Target, Walmart and more will sell the phone, as well — if you’re looking for an unlocked version, they’ll probably be your best bet.

Speaking of carriers, it’s worth noting that while the larger Galaxy Note 10+ will have a 5G model (that’s exclusive to Verizon in the US, at least initially), the smaller version sticks squarely in the present with LTE connectivity. If you want to be on the bleeding edge in every way possible, you’ll need to step up to the big boy.

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Beyond Meat comes to Subway in the form of a meatball

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There’s no mention of whether or not the Beyond Meat-based sub will carry a premium over its regular counterparts.

In many ways, this is just the latest phase of a rapidly growing market for plant-based meat substitutes. Now that Beyond and Impossible burgers are increasingly commonplace, the companies are expanding into other categories where their meat-alikes might work, whether it’s meatballs, pizza or sausage. It may just be a question of choosing the meat replacement that tickles your fancy, rather than scrambling to find one in the first place.

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Watch Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Unpacked event here at 4PM ET

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As ever, you can expect full coverage of Unpacked right here on Engadget. Along with ongoing updates, you can check out our live blog to get a better understanding of what Samsung announces as it happens. You can also watch Unpacked below when it all goes down at 4PM ET/1PM PT. We’ll embed the stream once it’s available.

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