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Ever wish your digital ad blocker could work offline too? This in-development AR glasses software could do just that, and it could be one of the first apps I download when I get a pair.AR glasses – be they from Snap, Meta, Google and its Android XR partners, or one of the other brands pursuing this field – are increasingly looking like they’ll be the next big thing in tech, but one fear I’ve heard from some is they’ll give our tech a new avenue for blasting ads in front of our faces.We’ll be bombarded by inescapable banners and pop-ups – a frustrating experience which sounds like prime material for a Futurama episode.Thankfully, one AR software developer has created a tool that goes in the opposite direction by blocking adverts wherever they appear.🚫🕶️ I've been building an XR app for a real-world ad blocker using Snap @Spectacles. It uses Gemini to detect and block ads in the environment.It’s still early and experimental, but it’s exciting to imagine a future where you control the physical content you see. pic.twitter.com/ySkFfF6rxSJune 19, 2025Stijn Spanhove took to social media to show off an “early and experimental” build of the app, but even at this early stage, it already offers some impressive features.As you’d expect, when switched on, the app can obscure large sign ads, covering them up with a red blocker and a brief description of what’s underneath, such as “Bol. billboard” – but it can also hide adverts in newspapers, and logos on soda cans and cereal boxes.For now, however, the blocker isn’t perfect.I’d argue the big red blocker is more distracting than an advertisement, and it can take a moment to appear, though there is some great spatial awareness as the blocker does a good job of floating in place as the AR glasses wearer moves their head around.That said, with AR glasses still some time away from their consumer debut, there’s plenty of time for these kinks to be worked out.As Spanhove highlighted, AR glasses will enable us to control the content we see in both the digital and virtual world, and while it’s reasonable to be concerned about how this feature could be abused, it’s always nice to be reminded that plenty of app makers will be responsible with the power AR unlocks.You might also likeThe limited edition Xbox Meta Quest 3S is the best VR headset deal I’ve seen in 2025 – here’s whyI adore my Meta Ray-Bans, but these new Oakley smart glasses are making me jealousThese Rokid Max 2 glasses have a feature every pair of AR smart glasses needs to have

Meta is adding a new Message Summaries feature to WhatsApp that uses AI to summarize unread messages in a few bullet points. The feature is built on the Private Processing technique Meta announced at Llamacon in April, and claims to let AI work with content in WhatsApp without exposing any of it to Meta itself.

Once the feature appears in your app, you just tap on the onscreen banner over your unread messages with that says "Summarize privately" to receive a summary from Meta AI. The Message Summaries feature is rolling out to WhatsApp users in the US chatting in English first, but Meta says it hopes to "bring it to other languages and countries later this year."

The company pitches summaries as an easier way to catch-up on what you missed if you haven't checked your phone or you're just in too many chats. AI is by no means foolproof at even simple tasks like this — Apple's trouble with notification summaries was only a few months ago — but the tool could be appealing to people in particularly large and active chats.

The real novelty of the summaries is how Meta claims to be deploying them without walking back the private nature of WhatsApp chats. The company has a blog post and whitepaper digging into the details of how Private Processing works, but on first blush it sounds similar to Private Cloud Compute, the method Apple uses to call on more demanding AI features without exposing its users' data. Using end-to-end encryption and a secure cloud environment, WhatsApp messages can be processed without data being accessed while its happening, or saved after the fact.

Importantly, all of this is still optional. Summaries won't be provided without you asking for them first, and the feature is disabled by default. Meta also says you can exclude chats from being shared with the company's AI via the Advanced Chat Privacy feature.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ai-powered-chat-summaries-are-coming-to-whatsapp-191201240.html?src=rss

de next-RAP8 SBC may be tiny in size, but pushes boundaries in robotics and industrial hardware designNot your average single-board computer, this one runs Intel Core i7 and LPDDR5x memoryAdd-on modules unlock AI and storage power, but complexity holds it back for officesAAEON has introduced the de next-RAP8, a single-board computer that combines 13th Gen Intel Core processors with a compact footprint of just 84mm x 55mm.This makes it similar in size to the Raspberry Pi 5, yet it includes components typically reserved for much larger systems.The board is available with the Intel Core i3-1315UE, i5-1335UE, or i7-1365UE, each running at 15W.Designed for robotics and industrial systemsThe biggest model delivers up to 10 cores and 12 threads, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory and integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics.These specifications suggest the board could handle lightweight multitasking and media processing, although performance would still be constrained by thermal limits and the lack of a discrete GPU.While it delivers more performance than typical embedded systems, its layout and expansion capabilities do not match the flexibility expected from workstation PCs.Its connectivity includes dual Intel RJ-45 Ethernet ports supporting 2.5GbE and 1GbE, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 1.2a output, and a 12V DC jack.Additional features are accessible through a 40-pin header, which supports 8-bit GPIO, USB 2.0, and RS-232/422/485 interfaces. There is also optional support for SMBus/I2C.These features suggest the board is intended for integration into custom hardware systems, including drones and robotics platforms.Further expansion is available via an M.2 2280 M-Key slot for Wi-Fi, 4G, or storage modules, and an FPC connector offering PCIe x4 Gen 3.AAEON’s own adapter cards, such as the PER-T642 and PER-R41P, extend functionality to include AI acceleration and additional storage or graphics capture capabilities.The de next-RAP8 is well suited for specialized devices built for robotics, drones, kiosks, and other industrial systems that require custom integration in space-constrained setups.However, the need for add-on cards adds complexity that typical office setups don’t require, making it unsuitable as a business PC, which should offer built-in features and better scalability.Via TechPowerUpYou might also likeWe’ve listed the best processors for your buildCheck out the best Raspberry Pi distros available right nowThis mega DDoS attack broke all records - huge 37.4TB bombardment in 45 seconds

After I finished my Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review, I put it back in its box and slid my SIM card right back into the Google Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel isn’t the fastest phone, and it doesn’t have the best battery life, but it is the Android phone I most love to use, especially as my daily work and productivity device.The Pixel’s performance problem is realWhen I say the Pixel 9 Pro isn’t the fastest, I have the data to prove it. On paper, it gets crushed by the titans of the phone world: the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. In Future Labs tests, the Google Pixel 9 Pro’s Tensor G5 chip came in far behind.For processing, the Google Tensor G5 chipset can’t compare to the Apple A18 Pro or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite platform, upclocked just for Samsung Galaxy S phones.Future Labs Benchmark PerformanceGeekbench 6.3 Single-Core / Multi-CoreAdobe Premiere Rush custom test (min:sec)3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited Overall / Frame RateFuture Labs battery rundown test (hrs:min:sec)Google Pixel 9 Pro XL1,929 / 4,747Could not complete2,557 / 15.31 fps14:06:37Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max3,386 / 8,30621:003,822 / 22.9 fps17:35:30Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra3,031 / 9,82952:405,912 / 35.4 fps18:35:39The Pixel 9 Pro’s Geekbench multi-core score of 4,794 is less than half of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 9,829. You have to go back to the iPhone 13 Pro from 2021 to find an iPhone that scores as low as today’s fastest Google Pixel.In practical tests, the Pixel 9 Pro had problems. The Adobe Premiere Rush video test repeatedly crashed our Pixel 9 Pro devices. The less-powerful Pixel 9, using the same processor, eventually finished the task in one hour and 18 minutes. The iPhone 16 Pro Max did it in 21 minutes.Galaxy S25 Ultra (left) next to an iPhone 16 Pro Max (right) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)On gaming benchmarks, the Pixel 9 Pro was unimpressive. On the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme test, the Pixel could only produce 15 frames per second, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra managed a fluid 35 fps.The story is the same for battery life. The Pixel 9 Pro XL lasted only 14 hours in our rundown tests, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max pushed past 17.5 hours, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra lasted more than 18.5 hours. Oh, and both of those phones charge faster, too.The Pixel’s performance problem really doesn’t matteriPhone 16 Pro (left), Pixel 9 Pro XL (center), Galaxy S25 Ultra (right) (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)And yet, with all of those shortcomings, I’m using a Pixel 9 Pro Fold right now and will happily go back to my standard Pixel 9 Pro until the next model arrives. Why? Because today’s flagship smartphones are too powerful for their own good, and phone makers haven’t even figured out what to do with all that power.Forget the benchmarks. The latest Pixel 9 Pro design feels fantastic, with or without a case. It takes photos with incredibly accurate color and nails low-light shots every time. Google’s "Circle to Search" and AI vision features make it easy to answer the question “What is that!?” – one of the most common questions in my life. The experience of using the phone is simply more pleasant.The Pixel 9 Pro is a smarter smartphone(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)You can’t even say faster phones are better at AI. The Pixel 9 Pro is the most effective and compatible smartphone for mobile AI features, even though it’s the slowest of the bunch. While Apple’s AI is a perpetual question mark and Samsung has largely ceded its best work to Google, the Pixel has some AI features that are actually useful and don’t make me feel like a traitor to my creative profession.The Pixel does a great job screening calls or even making them on my behalf. I’ve had the phone book haircuts and make restaurant reservations, and if it didn’t do these things for me, I’d probably forget.More importantly, I use the Pixel constantly to transcribe meetings, interviews, or even a talk with my kid’s orthodontist. It does the best job of making a useful transcript that’s easy to navigate alongside the actual voice recording.An elegant experience for less money(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)The Pixel interface is polished, pleasant, and doesn't get in my way. It doesn’t try to copy Apple’s iOS, but it would feel familiar to iPhone users because it’s such an intuitive interface. While the battery life isn’t a record-setter, it always lasts me a full day, and a few minutes of charging while I’m driving or in the shower gives me more than enough power.Best of all is the price. The Pixel 9 Pro XL starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,349, which is already cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It also goes on sale more often; I saw it drop to $849 last holiday season, a discount you’ll never see on a flagship iPhone.What race are you trying to win?The Google Pixel 9 Pro proves that the spec sheet isn't the whole story. It loses every benchmark battle but wins the war for my daily attention. It’s a device built around practical intelligence, not brute force. In a world of overpowered phones, the Pixel 9 Pro is a phone that feels like it’s actually working for me, not the other way around.You might also like...The best Android phones 2025: top performing and most affordableWhat’s your favorite Android phone of all time? Let us knowI review regular phones for a living, but switching to a foldable has changed the way I use Android

The Trump Organization announced a cellular brand earlier this summer, and its main selling point for Trump Mobile was that its T1 smartphone was "made in the USA." It seemed highly unlikely that those claims about the phone were possible. Now, the website for the device has removed all language indicating that it was manufactured in the US. Instead, there is broader language such as "designed with American values in mind" and "Premium Performance. Proudly American."

The Verge also noticed that some of the specs for the ostentatious gold smartphone have changed. The listed screen size has shrunk from 6.78 inches to 6.25 inches, and there's no longer any information about RAM. The phone is also offering a more general "later this year" availability time frame rather than promising to arrive in September. Despite walking back the loud promises made about the device, it seems unlikely the changes will matter to anybody who wants to buy this thing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/trump-mobile-drops-its-made-in-the-usa-claims-193917169.html?src=rss