MacworldIts no secret that Apple has been working on its own cellular modem. However, Apple hasnt said anything about its modem development since announcing that it bought Intels model division over five years ago. But after rumors that the project might not ever happen, a recent report by Bloombergs Mark Gurman says the modem will finally debut in the iPhone SE in the spring of next year.The roadmap for the modem suggests it will eventually make its way into the iPad, Apple Watch, and the other iPhone models that already have modems. But it may expand beyond those obvious devicesGurman reports that Apple is investigating the possibility of putting the modem inside the MacBook for the first time. It sounds like its likely still years away, but its exciting nonetheless. When on the road, MacBook users have forever been saddled with less-than-ideal options. You can tether from your iPhone if you have a supported carrier and plan or connect to a public hotspot that may or may not be secure. A 5G modem opens up a world of possibilities. In many areas, 5G speeds are just as fast or faster than public Wi-Fi, and a built-in cellular connection is inherently more secure than public Wi-Fi.According to Gurman, a cellular MacBook wont happen before 2026, because Apple will use a later-generation modem that supports faster speeds. Apples first modem, the one that will be in the new iPhone SE, will have some performance limitations, such as no support for mmWave and a maximum speed of 4Gbps.Gurman doesnt report on which MacBook models will have the modem, but we can assume it will be available in at least the MacBook Pro models if not the entire line. Apple will probably take an approach thats similar to the iPad and Apple Watch, where cellular connectivity is optional and costs extra. But for a lot of users, that extra cost will be well worth it.

Microsofts Copilot Vision feature is now available for users to test in a limited preview.Built natively into Microsofts Edge browser, Copilot Vision analyzes and understands the contents of web pages you visit. You can then ask the AI assistant for information and guidance about what appears on screen.It is a new way to invite AI along with you as you navigate the web, tucked neatly into the bottom of your Edge browser whenever you want to ask for help, the Copilot team said in ablog postFriday.Its almost like having a second set of eyes as you browse, just turn on Copilot Vision to instantly scan, analyze, and offer insights based on what it sees.The feature, which is opt-in, will function only on select websites to begin with.Copilot Vision wasannounced as part of an overhaul to make the consumer Copilot more of a personal AI assistant. This also included the introduction of Copilot Voice, with four voice options aimed at enabling more natural interactions.Increasingly, generative AI assistants are becoming multi-modal (language, vision and voice) and have personalities that can be configured by the consumers, Jason Wong, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner, said about the Copilot redesign at the time. We will see even more anthropomorphism of AI in the coming year.Copilot Vision is rolling out to a limited number of Copilot Pro customers in the US via Copilot Labs. Copilot Pro costs $20 per month.On Friday, Microsoft alsoannounced an expanded preview for Windows Recall, its searchable timeline tool. Having made Recall available to Windows Insiders on Copilot+ PCs running Qualcomms Snapdragon processors, Microsoft has now expanded access to devices with AMD and Intel chips.

It might not be the biggest-selling or most expensive product in Apples basket, but a very important part of Apples future will be defined bythe upcoming iPhone SEupgrade in 2025. Thats because it is expected to bring in a new Apple-made 5G modem, impressive camera improvements, and support for Apple Intelligence. And all of those will require more memory and a much faster processor.To recap recent claims, heres what we expect for the iPhone SE 4:An Apple-made 5G modemApple has been working on its own 5G modem for years and has spent billions on the task.Bloombergtells us the company is almost ready to go with its own home-developed modem, though will continueusing Qualcomm modemsin some devices for a while yet, in part because they support mmWave, which the new Apple modems allegedly do not. Apples first modems will appear in the iPhone SE4 and iPhone 17 Air. The good thing is that the new modem will enable Apple to make thinner devices; the bad news is it might deliver reduced download speeds in comparison to Qualcomm modems on some networks. The plan is to deploy Apple modems across all iPhones and iPads by around 2028 and we might also see 5G arrive in Macs, at long last.And a better cameraOne report claims the iPhone SE 4 will include a single-lens 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth front camera. Thats a big improvement on the current model, which offers just a 12-megapixel rear camera and a measly 7-megapixel front camera. These improvements should make for better photography and videoconferencing, and hints at good support for camera-driven object recognition using Apple Intelligence. The phone is also expected tosupport FaceIDand to host a6.1-inch OLED display.Apple IntelligenceThat the fourth-generation iPhone SE will support Apple Intelligence isnt surprising, as on its current path all Apples hardware is expected to integrate AI to some extent. What that means in hardware terms is that the new iPhone will have a higher-capacity battery (because running large language models is thirsty work), 8GB of memory, and a faster processor. That almost certainly means an A18 chip, as fielding an A17 processor would date the product even before it even joined the race. For Apple Intelligence to truly succeed, Apple needs to invest in growing the size of the ecosystem, which is why it makes sense to go for the A18. We shall see, of course.Made in India?There are a handful of additional improvements, including a built-in eSIM, USB-C, and a better battery. Much of the reporting suggests the company will roll out its lowest-price iPhone sometimearound March 2025, which itself means mass production has probably begun. We dont yet know whether they will bemanufactured in India, particularly if Apple wants to keep the price at around $500 or below.It seems possible.After all, rumor has it that Applehopes to manufacturearound25% of all its smartphonesin India by the end of 2025. Its also true that Indias traditionally value-conscious consumers are increasingly prepared to invest in pro smartphones, despite which there is a massive market of people who dont have these devices yet; market penetration is around 40%.With the economy growing fast, the idea of introducing a lower cost but powerful India-made iPhones equipped with a powerful processor and support for AI could resonate quite strongly in India, where Apples efforts to build market are already having a positive impact. A range of cool colors and a Made in India label on the box could help Apple convince some of those who dont yet have smartphones to ready their Rupees for an AAPL stock-saving smartphone sale. And even if that doesnt happen, the device itself could prove critical to the companys 2025 efforts in that market.What about the modem?The 5G modem is, of course, the big Apple story here. Bloomberg has claimed Apple is working on three models at the moment: the first to be introduced in the iPhone SE that lacks mmWave support, a second that does enjoy such support, and a third Pro modem that answers or exceeds what the best available 5G chips can do.The thing is, 5G isnt the only story in town. Apple continues to makebig investmentsin satellite communications, as recently confirmed in a series of investor reports from itspreferred network supplier, GlobalStar. The company already offers a range of satellite-based services in several nations through that partnership, and its reasonable to expect whatever 5G chips Apple comes up with to continue andenhance support for these life-saving services.Apples whole widget approach when it comes to communication services pretty much demands its network of space satellites and accompanying smartphone modems singfrom the same hymn sheet, and it will be interesting to see if thesong remains the sameonce they do. I think this connection (along with the ability to maintain current price points by swapping out Qualcomm kit for something else) will remain two strategic imperatives for Apple through 2028. Is it possible Apples AI servers will reduce the environmental impact of using them by being based in and cooled by space? Thats a very long shot, of course, but feasibility studies to do just that have already taken place.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, andMeWe.

MIT Technology ReviewsHow Toseries helps you get things done.Today, OpenAI released its video generation model Sora to the public. The announcement comes on the fifth day of the companys shipmas event, a 12-day marathon of tech releases and demos. Heres what you should knowand how you can use the video model right now.What is Sora?Sora is a powerful AI video generation model that can create videos from text prompts, animate images, or remix videos in new styles. OpenAI first previewed the model back in February, but today is the first time the company is releasing it for broader use.Whats new about this release?The core function of Soracreating impressive videos with simple promptsremains similar to what was previewed in February, but OpenAI worked to make the model faster and cheaper ahead of this wider release. There are a few new features, and two stand out.One is called Storyboard. With it, you can create multiple AI-generated videos and then assemble them together on a timeline, much the way you would with conventional video editors like Adobe Premiere Pro.The second is a feed that functions as a sort of creative gallery. Users can post their Sora-generated videos to the feed, see the prompts behind certain videos, tweak them, and generally get inspiration, OpenAI says.How much can you do with it?You can generate videos from text prompts, change the style of videos and change elements with a tool called Remix, and assemble multiple clips together with Storyboard. Sora also provides preset styles you can apply to your videos, like moody film noir or cardboard and papercraft, which gives a stop-motion feel. You can also trim and loop the videos that you make.Who can use it?To generate videos with Sora, youll need to subscribe to one of OpenAIs premium planseither ChatGPT Plus ($20 per month) or ChatGPT Pro ($200 per month). Both subscriptions include access to other OpenAI products as well. Users with ChatGPT Plus can generate videos as long as five seconds with a resolution up to 720p. This plan lets you create 50 videos per month.Users with a ChatGPT Pro subscription can generate longer, higher-resolution videos, capped at a resolution of 1080p and a duration of 20 seconds. They can also have Sora generate up to five variations of a video at once from a single prompt, making it possible to review options faster. Pro users are limited to 500 videos per month but can also create unlimited relaxed videos, which are not generated in the moment but rather queued for when site traffic is low.Both subscription levels make it possible to create videos in three aspect ratios: vertical, horizontal, and square.If you dont have a subscription, youll be limited to viewing the feed of Sora-generated videos.OpenAI is starting its global launch of Sora today, but it will take longer to launch in most of Europe, the company said.OPENAIWhere can I access it?OpenAI has broken Sora out from ChatGPT. To access it, go to Sora.com and log in with your ChatGPT Plus or Pro account. (MIT Technology Review was unable to access the site at press timea note on the site indicated that signups were paused because they were currently experiencing heavy traffic.)Howd we get here?A number of things have happened since OpenAI first unveiled Sora back in February. Other tech companies have also launched video generation tools, like Meta Movie Gen and Google Veo. Theres also been plenty of backlash. For example, artists who had early access to experiment with Sora leaked the tool to protest the way OpenAI has trained it on artists work without compensation.Whats next?As with any new release of a model, it remains to be seen what steps OpenAI has taken to keep Sora from being used for nefarious, illegal, or unethical purposes, like the creation of deepfakes. On the question of moderation and safety, an OpenAI employee said they might not get it perfect on day one. Another looming question is how much computing capacity and energy Sora will use up every time it creates a video. Generating a video uses much more computing time, and therefore energy, than generating a typical text response in a tool like ChatGPT. The AI boom has already been an energy hog, presenting a challenge to tech companies aiming to rein in their emissions, and the wide availability of Sora and other video models like it has the potential to make that problem worse.

This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.The worlds next big environmental problem could come from spaceIn September, a unique chase took place in the skies above Easter Island. From a rented jet, a team of researchers captured a satellites last moments as it fell out of space and blazed into ash across the sky, using cameras and scientific equipment. Their hope was to gather priceless insights into the physical and chemical processes that occur when satellites burn up as they fall to Earth at the end of their missions.This kind of study is growing more urgent. The number of satellites in the sky is rapidly risingwith a tenfold increase forecast by the end of the decade. Letting these satellites burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their lives helps keep the quantity of space junk to a minimum. But doing so deposits satellite ash in the Earths atmosphere. This metallic ash could potentially alter the climate, and we dont yet know how serious the problem is likely to be.Read the full story.Tereza PultarovaOpenAIs 12 days of shipmas tell us a lot about the AI arms raceLast week, OpenAI announced what it calls the 12 days of OpenAI, or 12 days of shipmas. On December 4, CEO Sam Altman took to X to announce that the company would be doing 12 days of openai. each weekday, we will have a livestream with a launch or demo, some big ones and some stocking stuffers.The company will livestream about new products every morning for 12 business days in a row during December. Its an impressive-sounding (and media-savvy) schedule, to be sure. But it also speaks to how tight the race between the AI bigs has become, and also how much OpenAI is scrambling to build more revenue.Read the full story.Mat HonanThis story originally appeared in The Debrief with Mat Honan, our weekly take on whats really going on behind the biggest tech headlines. The story is subscriber-only sonab a subscriptiontoo, if you havent already! Or you cansign upto the newsletter for free to get the next edition in your inbox on Friday.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 The USDA is launching a national program to test milk for bird fluA full nine months after the current outbreak was first detected in dairy cows. (STAT)+The risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising.(MIT Technology Review)2 Heres what sets OpenAIs new models apartTheyre shifting from predicting to reasoning, which could be a huge deal. (The Atlantic$)+Regardless of whether capabilities are slowing, AIs impact is only poised to grow.(Vox)+It may be comforting to dismiss AI as hypebut it misses the point.(Platformer)3 A federal appeals court has upheld the US TikTok banBut what happens next is anyones guess. (WSJ$)+Whether TikTok is banned or not, the actions against it have had a big impact.(MIT Technology Review)4 Top internet sleuths are sitting out the hunt for the UnitedHealthcare CEO killerIn fact, some are even criticizing people who are trying to help. (NBC)+Why so many Americans are at best indifferent to this particular murder.(New Yorker$)5 Schools are attempting to stop teens self-harming before they even tryThe AI tools theyre adopting could be doing far more damage than help, though. (NYT$)6 China is building its own Starlink systemThe Qianfan constellation could eventually grow to nearly 14,000 satellites. (The Economist$)+The end of the ISS will usher in a more commercialized future in space. (The Verge)7 This was an exciting year for superconductorsSuperconductivitythe flow of electric current with no resistancewas discovered in three new materials. (Quanta$)8 Meet the worlds least productive programmersIt seems a small minority of disillusioned ghost engineers do pretty much no work at all. (WP$)9 Why people are turning their backs on dating appsTheres a large degree of fatigue, and a feeling that theyre somehow detached from reality. (The Guardian)10 Fake snacks are racking up millions of views on InstagramTheres even a word for this trend: snackfishing. (Wired$)Quote of the dayI think Twitter and now X is like a crack addiction for him, though. He is clearly chasing a particular hit all the time and he has ended up self-radicalising himself with the platform he has purchased.A former Twitter employee in London tellsThe Guardianhow Elon Musk has changed since he purchased the platform.The big storyHow electricity could help tackle a surprising climate villainSublime SystemsBOB OCONNORJanuary 2024Cement is used to build everything from roads and buildings to dams and basement floors. But its also a climate threat. Cement production accounts for more than 7% of global carbon dioxide emissionsmore than sectors like aviation, shipping, or landfills.One solution to this climate catastrophe might be coursing through the pipes at Sublime Systems. The startup is developing an entirely new way to make cement. Instead of heating crushed-up rocks in lava-hot kilns, Sublimes technology zaps them in water with electricity, kicking off chemical reactions that form the main ingredients in its cement.But it faces huge challenges: competing with established industry players, and persuading builders to use its materials in the first place.Read the full story.Casey CrownhartWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet em at me.)+ Who will be theLord of Misrulein your household this Christmas?+ PeoplesWikipediabrowsing data always makes for interesting reading.+ Wait, so weve been mispronouncingthese wordsall along? (Apart from espresso, cmon)+ TheMuppet Christmas Carolmight just be the greatest festive film.

Apple's M4 iPad Pro is in high demand, and despite Christmas being more than two weeks away, ship times are slipping. We've rounded up the top markdowns, with savings up to $300 off.Save up to $300 on Apple's M4 iPad Pro - Image credit: PeanutsApple's latest M4 iPad Pro is heavily discounted as retailers compete for your business with last-minute deals knocking up to $300 off 11-inch and 13-inch models. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple has issued its second release candidates of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, visionOS 2.2, and tvOS 18.2 for testing, as the eventual public release gets closer.Examples of Apple Intelligence at work. The second RC round takes place after the first, which came out on December 5. This time around, the second RC versions are of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, visionOS 2.2, and tvOS 18.2, but not watchOS 11.2.The second RC builds of iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 share build number 22c151. RC 2 of the macOS Sequoia 15.2 build is 24C100. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Plans for what would become the tallest skyscraper in the United StatesArchitects Orange (AO)s proposed Legends Tower for Oklahoma Cityare now facing an impediment after being labeled as a potential aviation danger in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from a group called the Oklahoma City Airport Trust.According to KOCO News, "The airport trust also said the proposed tower changes the departure procedures for both Will Rogers International Airport and Wiley Post Airport, creates issues with airspace and will have a negative impact on other aviation sites like Tinker Air Force Base and Max Westheimer Airport."(Developer Scott Matteson also related to them: "Were waiting for the full report from the FAA, which we are supposed to get by the end of this month.")