NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock rolls out across the US tomorrow, and NBC is still adding to the list of the devices that Peacock will stream on. Beginning July 20th, Peacock will be available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. Users will have access to the free, $5 and $10 subscription tiers, and Peacock will curate a row featuring available content.

“As we bring Peacock to our fans wherever they consume media, device partners like PlayStation are invaluable in giving people even more places to watch the programming they’ve come to enjoy,” said NBCUniversal content distribution chairman Matt Bond. “We look forward to Peacock being at the forefront of the PlayStation experience.”

LG’s certainly a fan of novelty phone features, and while it’s tried to steer clear of anything too gimmicky in this release, the “raindrop” camera design is definitely a standout, bringing together a 48-megapixel primary lens, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a 5-megapixel depth sensor in a unique pattern. There’s a 16-megapixel camera on the front.

There’s also a 4,300mAh battery and a headphone jack, plus “stereo speakers” that according to LG are complemented by AI software that controls volume and optimizes sound. The whole thing will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 5G, which suggests the device will be positioned in the upper-mid-range market. The Velvet is probably not intended to challenge the likes of the Galaxy S20 or iPhone 11 Pro, but rather offer a fancy design at a decent price (which is yet to be announced). This is particularly true if you’re big on looks — as well as black and white, the phone will also come in an ombre-like teal and sunset pink.

The CSAIL team has already put Emerald to use at an assisted living facility, where they used it to remotely monitor a COVID-19 patient. As the patient recovered, the system detected that her breathing rate decreased from 23 to 18 breaths per minute, her sleep improved and she was walking more quickly around her apartment.

“Given how Emerald can generate important health data without any patient contact, it could minimize the risk that doctors and nurses will catch the disease from their patients,” says Dr. Ipsit Vahia, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. That could be especially helpful in places like skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, where so many patients are at a high risk for contracting COVID-19.

BREAKING: this MIT wireless device has just been used by Boston doctors to monitor COVID-19 patients from a distance, to reduce the risk of contagion.
VIDEO: https://t.co/9g1kgNJ54u
(w/@McLeanHospital)#COVID19 #remotehealth #wireless pic.twitter.com/qNvSWBYgYu

— MIT CSAIL (@MIT_CSAIL) April 14, 2020

As the number of COVID-19 cases spike, Emerald could allow less severe patients to stay at home but remain under the supervision of healthcare providers. In the future, Emerald could be used to monitor other conditions, like anxiety, insomnia and sleep apnea. And along with telehealth, it could spur the shift toward tech-driven remote care.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is also powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 and notes a 6.78-inch 3168 x 1440 QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 48-megapixel quad camera system and a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Like its smaller counterpart, the Pro comes in two variants with 8GB/12GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage. The hefty 4510mAh battery with Warp Charge technology promises 50-percent charge in 30 minutes. It also comes with Android 10 as standard and can be unlocked with a fingerprint.

In the UK, the OnePlus 8 with 8GB of RAM will cost £599 ($573) and the 12GB model will cost £699 ($879). The OnePlus 8 Pro starts at £799 ($1,005), ramping up to £899 ($1,130) for the beefier model.

With this in mind, you’ll be able to watch today’s launch event with some prior knowledge of the devices on show, but there may still be some surprises in store. Watch the event live on YouTube at 8AM PT/11AM EST.

 

The kiosks are not able to save any data — they can only display it to an investigating officer. The only information the kiosks retain is details on how they have been used — by whom and at what times. The software is also able to segregate data based on type (such as messages or pictures) and date range, to help officers more quickly find what they’re looking for. Deputy chief constable Malcolm Graham said that “By quickly identifying devices which do and do not contain evidence, we can minimise the intrusion on people’s lives and provide a better service to the public.”

Police Scotland says it consulted a variety of groups and experts before commissioning the technology, and has given assurances that it will only examine a digital device where there is “a legal basis and where it is necessary, justified and proportionate to the incident or crime under investigation.” While the kiosks have the ability to bypass passwords and lockscreens, this will only be done after consultation with the police cybercrime unit. However, some critics have voiced concerns regarding data privacy and abuses of power — a growing narrative around the globe. The roll-out of the cyber kiosks – which will begin in Scotland on 20th January — comes only a few days after it emerged the FBI extracted data from a locked iPhone in the US, prompting fresh concerns over civil freedoms.

Apple is giving its standard response: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” But one Xnor.ai illustration, shared by GeekWire, shows a computer vision tool identifying objects in a photo using software on an iPhone. That might be the kind of capability we can look forward to.

According to GeekWire, Apple spent in the range of $200 million on Xnor.ai, which spun out of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, or AI2, created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. That’s about how much Apple spent on Turi, another AI startup the company acquired in 2016. In the past couple years, Apple has also purchased the self-driving startup Drive.ai, the privacy-focussed AI company Silk Labs and the voice-tech startup PullString.

Competitors like Google and Facebook use acquisitions to expand their AI talent and new technology fairly often. Facebook recently spent somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion on the neural monitoring startup CTRL-labs. And while Google may have the lead when it comes to AI, this Xnor.ai acquisition could give Apple, specifically the iPhone, a boost.

The algorithm was introduced in a study published in Nature Medicine in January 2019. It was trained on 44,959 patients and tested on 52,870 patients. In those initial tests, it showed 87.5 percent accuracy.

The algorithm is designed to work with Eko’s DUO digital stethoscope. The handheld device can be placed on the left side of a patient’s chest and collects both heart sounds and ECG data. The device could make gathering that ECG data easier during routine exams, and in the future, it could be used in telehealth settings. Patients might use the device at home, and the data, including the algorithm’s findings, would be sent to their healthcare provider.

The “breakthrough” designation indicates that the FDA sees the algorithm as a potential solution for an unmet medical need for a life-threatening disease. It will help accelerate the FDA’s regulatory review process. Though, it’s too soon to say if or when the algorithm will receive FDA clearance. If the algorithm is sold in the future, Mayo Clinic says it will use any revenue it receives to support patient care, education and research.

To take advantage of the change, make sure the Sonos app is updated. Under Settings, select Services and Add a Service under Music & Content. You’ll then be able to stream through the Sonos or Spotify apps, or you can start a playlist with Google Assistant on voice-enabled devices. Alexa does not yet work with Spotify Free.

This is undoubtedly a pre-holiday push to make Sonos speakers more appealing to the millions of people who use Spotify Free. Given how many users stream for free, it’s honestly surprising that Sonos did not support this before.

TiVo Plus will reportedly recommend shows across services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and YouTube — similar to Apple TV recommendations. It’s set to launch in October, and it will be free for US households that still own TiVo products. Then, early next year, TiVo will allegedly release a $50 dongle for Android TV. That will come with TiVo Plus and presumably other enticing features.

Behind the scenes, TiVo will split into two companies — one focused on patents and one on products. “We’re betting the future of the company on [this plan],” TiVo CEO Dave Shull told CNN. “But listen, if we’re wrong, we’ll adjust.”

The service comes with access to popular apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and HBO, plus music streaming from Amazon Music, Pandora and iHeartRadio. Comcast recently added NBC Sports Gold packages, and since the service is relatively new, we’ll likely continue to see additions like this.

Xfinity Flex is a lot like Roku, Apple TV or Fire TV, but there’s no up-front cost for the streaming device, which also comes with a voice remote. That might appeal to new cord cutters who aren’t as experienced with managing their own internet TV experiences and are more comfortable with longstanding services like Comcast. For Comcast, providing Xfinity Flex to all of its internet-only customers boosts its subscription numbers, and it’s likely hoping that internet-only customers will like Xfinity Flex so much that they’ll upgrade to Xfinity TV on X1, which, conveniently, they can do from the Xfinity Flex guide.