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Apple rumored to be announcing major Siri updates at WWDC 2023
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Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference for this year – WWDC 2023 – gets underway tomorrow, June 5. We've already heard plenty of rumors about what to expect, and it would seem that Apple's digital assistant Siri is in line for some major updates too.

According to well-known Apple tipster Mark Gurman (via MacRumors), there's a possibility that Apple will announce that the “hey Siri” phrase used to trigger Siri on iPhones and other devices is being shortened to simply “Siri”.

While this might not sound major from a user perspective, it has apparently required a significant amount of engineering work: accurately recognizing a single word rather than two words is a lot trickier, and Apple's AI engines have been updated to cope.

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Gurman first suggested this update was on the way back in November, though at the time it wasn't clear exactly when “hey Siri” would become simply “Siri”. Deeper Siri integrations with third-party apps and a better understanding of context have also been rumored.

At the moment, Google Assistant still requires a “hey Google” wake up command, though you can disable it for certain quick commands, and there has been talk of further changes here. As for Amazon Alexa, just an “Alexa” command is enough to get started.

We're expecting a whole host of software and hardware announcements at WWDC 2023 this year, including all the news about iOS 17 and a big reveal for the Apple VR headset – and of course you'll be able to read all about it here on TechRadar.

Analysis: expect yet more AI

Amidst the flurry of generative AI updates we've had in recent months, it's easy to forget that digital assistants like Siri have been around for many years now, with AI models leveraged to recognize and interpret voice commands from users.

At Google I/O 2023, Google seemed keen to remind everyone that it has a lot of artificial intelligence tools to show off, and the company has since been busy pushing more AI into more of its products – such as Google Messages.

We can probably expect the same from Apple at WWDC 2023: a look back at the AI that it's already been using, and a look forward to new innovations on the way. Siri, based on tech Apple acquired in 2010, is likely to play a big part in those new innovations.

AI is a hot topic at the moment, and we know that Apple isn't going to want to miss out or fall behind, whether that's with Siri or any of its other software: Google, OpenAI, Microsoft and others have set the pace, and Apple needs to catch up.

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Gmail is adding more AI to help you find important emails faster
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AI seems to be everywhere at the moment, and Google is building the tech into its products faster than most. Gmail is the latest Google app to get an injection of artificial intelligence, to improve search results on mobile.

“When searching in Gmail, machine learning models will use the search term, most recent emails and other relevant factors to show you the results that best match your search query,” Google explains in a blog post (via Android Central).

“These results will now appear at the top of the list in a dedicated section, followed by all results sorted by recency,” the post continues. In other words, AI will (in theory) pick out the best matches for your search, and put them at the top of the list.

Years of AI

This is coming to the Gmail apps for Android and iOS, and should be rolling out for everyone now. As yet, there's no word on whether or not the same feature will be making an appearance in the desktop web interface for Gmail.

AI has been built into Gmail for years of course, with features like Smart Reply composing short automated replies for you. In recent months, Google has been pushing more advanced, generative AI as a way of composing your emails.

More AI features are heading to search on the web too, while development on the ChatGPT rival Google Bard continues at a steady pace. We can expect plenty more announcements like this one in the months and years ahead.

Analysis: AI needs to be useful

Google and other tech companies seem to have no qualms about pushing out AI features as quickly as they possibly can at the moment, which is what tends to happen in a competitive, emerging field when several players are trying to get out in front.

However, we'd query just how useful all of this AI is going to end up being. Sure, having the option to generate text messages in the style of Shakespeare is quite fun – but wouldn't most people prefer to use their own words from their own heads when keeping up conversations with friends and family?

Even something like Gmail search isn't a complete win for AI. What are the “relevant factors” that the app is using to pick the top results? Are they reliable? Sometimes it feels like the old manual methods of labels and stars are the best ways to keep on top of thousands of emails taking up room in Gmail.

In an age where we're relying on algorithms for everything from choosing our movie recommendations to writing our books, there's still a lot to be said for human creativity and curation, which might be slower but can be a whole lot more useful and engaging.

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Microsoft says it’s curtains for Cortana in Windows 11 (and 10) – but that’s no surprise
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Microsoft has announced that it’s killing off Cortana, at least in Windows, where the assistant will be dropped in the not-so-distant future.

Windows Central reported on Microsoft’s revelation that the Cortana app will no longer be supported in Windows late in 2023 (as tipped by @Perbylund on Twitter).

However, the aged assistant will still remain in other Microsoft services, including various bits of Microsoft Teams and Outlook mobile, so Cortana hasn’t entirely been binned.

As for Windows 11, though, you won’t be needing Cortana anyway, because as Microsoft reminds us, the operating system already has elements in place to replace the digital assistant.

For voice controls, there’s now a comprehensive Voice Access feature which Microsoft has been beavering away honing considerably of late.

And for queries and assistance, naturally there’s the new Bing AI (ChatGPT-powered bot) on tap, plus there’s something bigger in the pipeline – Copilot.

In case you missed it (somehow), Microsoft recently revealed it’s bringing Copilot to Windows 11 to sit at the heart of the operating system, offering help with whatever you’re doing.

Analysis: An inevitable move from Microsoft

While Copilot isn’t here yet, the AI will be far more extensive in terms of its scope than Cortana. When it comes to assistance with doing stuff in Windows 11, it’ll not just tell you about useful features for any given task, but offer to automatically enable them if needed. Copilot can also summarize a Word document, for example, Bing AI-style, and its far more wide-ranging skills and utility make Cortana irrelevant as a result.

Just on that basis, it’s no surprise to see Microsoft giving Cortana the elbow from Windows. Indeed, with Cortana getting cut off late in 2023, that perhaps is a further suggestion that this is when Copilot will step up to be incorporated in Windows 11 – perhaps with the 23H2 update? We know Copilot will be in Windows 11 preview builds this month (or at least that’s what Microsoft has told us), so it seems everything is all lining up.

Although there’s always a chance that Copilot is such a big feature addition, Microsoft may want to save it for next-gen Windows (Windows 12, maybe) which is set to arrive next year (rumor has it).

Whatever the case, Cortana is not exactly going to be missed outside a niche of users, at least in Windows, anyway. As a digital assistant, rather than being an all-rounder, Microsoft had already angled Cortana more to business-related use (hence Cortana remaining in Teams and so forth after being ditched from Windows). So, none of this is a shock, and it just makes sense for Microsoft to eject Cortana with Copilot now incoming for Windows 11.

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Google Assistant ends Notes support for third parties, paving the way for other AIs
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Google giveth and taketh away as the tech giant will roll back Google Assistant’s Note & List integration for third-party apps on June 20. 

This means that moving forward it will no longer be possible to create or edit notes or lists via Assistant voice commands outside of first-party software like Google Keep. People first caught wind of this update from affected third parties like AnyList which sent a notice to its users informing them of the changes. The developers understand “the loss of this feature [will be] frustrating” for many and they’re currently communicating with Google to get everything straightened out. They hope one day their app will regain Google Assistant support. However, at the time of this writing, AnyList had nothing more to share.

Amazon Alexa and Siri will still support third-party integration so you do have some options available (Be sure to check out our smart speaker guide if you plan on making the jump).

As you can probably easily imagine, people aren’t happy. A thread on the Google Home Subreddit, for example, is filled to the brim with people frustrated at the sudden shutdown. Online reports pointed out it is still possible to export old notes from third-party apps via Google Takeout. We highly recommend exporting your files now before it’s too late. 

Analysis: the diminishing Google Assistant?

As jarring as the news may be, it isn’t coming out of nowhere as the company has been making a lot of disruptive changes to Google Assistant. Back in June 2022, the company announced it would be ending Assistant’s Conversational Actions for third-party developers on June 13, 2023. And more recently, Google “ended software support for third-party smart displays from Lenovo, JBL, [as well as] LG”, effectively killing off that part of its business. But the question is why?

It could be because Google is shifting its focus away from Assistant towards generative AI. The company did recently open the doors of its Search Generative Experience to testers, but it’s hard to say with total certainty. 2023 has certainly been a weird year for Assistant. 2022 saw the AI get some sizable updates like Quick Phrases, but this year, Google saw fit to shut down crucial support in key areas.

We reached out to Google to see if it would like to make a statement about the sudden shutdown of the Notes & List support. Hopefully, the company can shed some light on the matter. This story will be updated at a later time. If the current course continues, we may see a new Assistant headstone in the Google Graveyard before long.  

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There’s a new Gmail verification scam; here’s how to avoid getting caught up in it
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There’s a new Gmail scam making the rounds online as bad actors are taking advantage of the service’s recently launched verification system. 

Back at the beginning of May, Google introduced blue checkmark verification in order to combat internet scams like phishing attacks. Companies and organizations can apply to the program to verify their identity, and upon approval, Gmail will display the aforementioned blue checkmark next to the brand logo. What was supposed to be a way to protect people is instead, in some instances, being used to go after them. Cybersecurity engineer Chris Plummer posted on Twitter an image of a spoofed email claiming to officially be from UPS. The scammer apparently somehow got past Google’s own safeguards.

Bug exploit

Identifying the fake email was easy enough to do. Plummer shows the header sporting an email address consisting of mostly random letters and numbers ending in a UPS URL. However, hovering over the checkmark displays a window stating the message is coming from a legitimate source.

It’s unknown how the bad actor got around the security checks. Plummer claims there’s a bug in Gmail that scammers are exploiting to trick the platform’s “authoritative stamp of approval”. From there, the bad actors hop through multiple domains before zeroing in on their target.

Initially, when he reported the problem to Google, the company reportedly hand-waved it away saying the system was working as intended. But in the days since Plummer’s discovery, the tech giant made an about-face and announced it is currently working on a fix.

How to not get scammed

Since we don’t know when the patch will roll out, it makes sense to protect yourself until then. TechRadar has a couple of guides on how to avoid online phishing scams and how to protect your inbox. We strongly recommend reading both to get a full understanding, but here are some pieces of advice to get you started.

First, double-check the header. If you see a bunch of random letters, numbers, and symbols in the email address, that’s your first clue that something is fishy.

Secondly, double-check the spelling in the header. Some scammers will replace certain characters with a lookalike to trick people. For example, the letter “O” will be replaced with the number “0” or the capital “I” with a lowercase “l” (that's an “L”). Gmail’s default font can make this tough to discern. 

Be wary of any emails urging you to share your financial information, whether updating your account details or a refund offer you didn’t ask for. 

Of course, don’t click on any links or attachments you don’t recognize.

Also, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best identity theft protection apps for June 2023 to better safeguard your personal details. 

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Google Wallet’s latest update lets you save more than just your money
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Google Wallet just got a lot more useful thanks to a sizable update that focuses on meeting users’ everyday needs.

The update comes alongside Google's big June feature drop and adds three new features to the ID, credit card, and ticket-management app. Chief among them is the official launch of state ID and driver’s license support for people living in Maryland. We first saw the ID support late last year when the beta rolled out. From the looks of it, the requirements are still the same: you need to have a “phone running Android 8.0 or later,” plus the device lock must be enabled. 

Those digital ID cards can also be used at TSA PreCheck lines at certain airports to speed up the screening process. The full list can be found on the official TSA website.  In the coming months, digital ID support should be rolling out to residents of Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia.

Moving down the list, users will be able to digitize passes that contain either “a barcode or QR code” simply by taking a photo of it. You’ll be able to upload things like gym membership cards, transit tickets sporting a QR code, and parking passes. Additionally, Google Messages will now be able to directly upload a received boarding pass or train ticket to Wallet. However, RCS (Rich Communication Services) must be enabled first. The newfound Messages support is seeing a limited rollout as it’ll only work with “Vietnam Airlines and Renfe, Spain’s leading train operator.” No word on whether or not the feature will expand to work with other travel businesses. 

Future plans

The work isn’t over yet as Google plans on growing the Wallet app even further. The company states it’s currently working with American health insurance company Humana on “developing a digital version of [the latter’s] insurance card”. Because it would contain sensitive information, this type of pass will require card owners to verify themselves before adding or using the data. People can use either biometrics, a PIN, “or other methods.” For UK users, there are plans to allow residents a way to “save their National Insurance Number” onto Wallet via the HMRC app.

Later this year, the tech giant states it’ll introduce support for “corporate badges… giving employees convenient and secure access to buildings” at their workplace. Speaking of access, Google Wallet is slated to release to more countries “in the next few weeks” although it’s unknown where exactly. We reached out to Google for clarification on launch windows for other regions and future updates. This story will be updated if we hear back.

With all this talk about traveling, you may be thinking about planning your next vacation. Be sure to check out TechRadar’s guide on the best travel and weather apps for Android if you need some help.

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Nvidia’s latest AI model could revolutionize games development
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AI could be about to make 3D modeling in a whole lot quicker and easier, if Nvidia has its way. 

Fresh from the company’s research lab, Neuralangelo is an AI model that transforms 2D video clips into “extremely high fidelity” 3D structures. 

“Creative professionals can then import these 3D objects into design applications, editing them further for use in art, video game development, robotics, and industrial digital twins,” the company explained in its latest paper.

Real-world high-fidelity 

Using videos as reference points is hardly anything new – even when you do throw relatively new and experimental AI into the mix. But, as Nvidia notes in its latest paper, “current methods struggle to recover detailed structures of real-world scenes.” In other words, they can replicate objects and scenes, but it won't feel lifelike. 

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And it’s that high fidelity Neuralangelo is promising to deliver. According to Nvidia Research, the minds behind the model, it's able to vividly recreate the textures of different materials, like glass, marble, and even roof shingling. The model has also proved capable of reconstructing building interiors and exteriors.

“The 3D reconstruction capabilities Neuralangelo offers will be a huge benefit to creators, helping them recreate the real world in the digital world,” said Ming-Yu Liu, senior director of research and one of the paper's co-authors.

Neuralangelo’s applications in art and games development are already clear: think of the vast cityscapes of Grand Theft Auto, the real-world historical setting of Assassin’s Creed. Whole virtual towns could soon be realized based on videos recorded on a smartphone. But it’s only a matter of time before AI models like these also form a core part of all the best architecture software and best landscape design software, if it really can streamline real-life reconstructions.

In a demo released by the company, results were admittedly impressive: highly detailed AI renderings of Michelangelo's David based on video footage that lived up to boasts of “detailed large-scale scene reconstruction from RGB video.” But we're still a way off from dropping AI 3D models straight into projects without requiring some finishing touches.

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Microsoft gives one of its oldest apps dark mode in Windows 11
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Microsoft is further improving the Paint app in Windows 11, with new changes coming through in testing including a dark mode.

The new version of Paint (11.2304.17.0) is rolling out to testers in both Canary and Dev channels (and the latter just got a new preview of Windows 11, as you may have seen, with a nifty change allowing for viewing smartphone photos on the desktop).

As mentioned, one of the big tweaks for Paint here is the addition of a dark mode, and the app will automatically use it if you’ve turned on dark mode in Windows 11’s settings. (Note that you can turn off the option to automatically switch, mind).

Microsoft Paint Dark Mode

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Another useful change comes with zoom controls. Microsoft has given users a higher level of fine-tuning with the zoom slider, and you can set a custom zoom value if needed. On top of this, a ‘fit to screen’ option is now present which will do just that – zoom to match the size of the app window.

In the blog post describing all the changes, Microsoft further tells us that it has overhauled ‘Image Property’ dialog boxes to match Windows 11’s modern design, and fit with the new backdrop for the Paint client.

Finally, we’re informed that there have been “many accessibility and usability improvements” to dialog panels throughout the app, with better access key support (keyboard presses for interface controls, rather than having to use a mouse) and keyboard shortcuts in general.

Analysis: Could bigger changes be in the pipeline?

Accessibility has been a major focus for Microsoft with Windows 11 for some time now, and again and again, we’re seeing either small tweaks or larger feature introductions coming through for the OS. Good stuff.

The dark mode looks smart and is another piece of the puzzle for those wanting this option throughout Windows 11, wherever they’re working.

Paint remains a popular app, so it’s not surprising to see Microsoft continuing to improve the software. Folks want more though (don’t they always), and we’re still seeing calls for layers to be introduced to the app.

If you remember, the addition of layers is something we’ve seen (in the early stages) from the modding community, and recently an innovative Paint hack brought in the ability to create simple animations.

Maybe – just maybe – those are features we might see Microsoft officially working on in the future. Who knows, stranger things have happened, and the software giant certainly appears keen to keep on motoring ahead with Paint improvements.

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Windows 11 gets ability to view phone photos… just as Apple cans a similar feature for Macs
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Windows 11 has just got a new preview version in the Dev channel which adds some smart features, principally the ability to view your phone photos right on the desktop.

As you may recall, a big project in testing right now for Windows 11 is the revamp of File Explorer, part of which is the addition of a photo gallery feature. What Microsoft has done here is to introduce a new button that lets users add their phone photos to the gallery.

Click the ‘Add Phone Photos’ button and you’ll be given a QR code to scan with your smartphone, then you can set up the device to pipe photos across and view those mobile snaps in Windows 11’s photo gallery.

There’s other work on File Explorer elsewhere in preview build 23471, including some bug fixes, and another feature introduction – the ability to pop tabs out of windows (or merge them back), as you can with a web browser.

Note that the latter feature is an incremental rollout, so not every Windows Insider will see it yet. Microsoft did announce, though, that every tester in the Dev channel will now have the photo gallery in File Explorer (which has been a phased rollout, too, but one that’s now finished).

For the full details of all the fixes and tinkering in preview build 23471, as ever you can immerse yourself in Microsoft’s lengthy blog post.

Analysis: Microsoft adds while Apple takes away

The further work on File Explorer is welcome, and particularly the functionality allowing you to view phone photos right there on the Windows 11 desktop with a minimum of hassle.

There’s some interesting timing here – though no doubt coincidental – as well, in that as Microsoft is introducing this new feature, Apple has just announced that its My Photo Stream offering is being shuttered. (It’s now effectively on the chopping block, and will be shut down at the end of July).

Now, that might be an old service, and one not used much anymore, but it’ll still be something of a blow when it finally shuts it doors for the diehard set of niche Mac owners who still use My Photo Stream to view their phone photos on the desktop.

Of course, as Apple points out, My Photo Stream has been long been superseded by ‌iCloud Photos‌, and you should turn that on instead. But some folks haven’t set up iCloud Photos‌ because they don’t want to (enjoying just seeing recent snaps automatically on their Mac, courtesy of Photo Stream, without having to sync an entire – possibly huge – photo library to iCloud).

There’s also the fact that ‌iCloud Photos‌ requires payment (beyond the 5GB that you get free, a rather measly allowance these days), and some aren’t happy about that, either – and the apparent financial motive for Apple to make this move.

At any rate, whatever your view of how redundant or pointless My Photo Stream is at this point – indeed, you may never even have heard of it – the fact remains that Apple is taking away one path for easily viewing your phone photos on the desktop (that at least some folks still use), while Microsoft is going in the opposite direction and adding one.

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Microsoft is finally making Edge a much more secure place to surf the web
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Keeping safe online is about to get a lot easier for Edge users thanks to a major security update from Microsoft.

The software giant has revealed it is working on an upgrade for its web browser that will bring “enhanced security” as a default for users everywhere.

This includes adding additional operating system and hardware protections for Edge that the company says, when combined, will help provide “defense in depth”, making it more difficult than ever before for a malicious site to use an unpatched vulnerability to write to executable memory and attack an end user.

Edge enhanced security

Going forward, users will now see an additional banner with the words “added security” in the URL navigation bar in Edge, instantly letting you know you have extra protection for that specific site.

“Microsoft Edge is adding enhanced security protections to provide an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and visiting unfamiliar sites,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

“The web platform is designed to give you a rich browsing experience using powerful technologies like JavaScript. On the other hand, that power can translate to more exposure when you visit a malicious site. With enhanced security mode, Microsoft Edge helps reduce the risk of an attack by automatically applying more conservative security settings on unfamiliar sites and adapts over time as you continue to browse.”

More security for Edge

Users will be able to create exceptions for certain trusted websites, where enhanced security can either be disabled or enabled permanently. Enterprise admins can also configure for certain websites to be blocked or allowed, 

In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company noted enhanced security mode is being turned on by default to “Balanced” mode for x64 Windows, x64 macOS, x64 Linux, and ARM64 systems.

The update is still listed as being “in development” for the time being, but has a scheduled rollout start date of July 2023, when users across the globe will be able to access it.

Recent Statcounter figures show that Microsoft's ongoing efforts to push users towards Edge may not be having the desired effect. Its most recent report found that Edge had lost its second place in the global browser market to Apple's Safari offering, which now claims 11.87% of users, compared to Edge's 11% – although both trail far behind runaway leader Google Chrome (66.13%).

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