Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge In November of 2020, Google — which had offered unlimited storage for what it called “high quality” (read: compressed) photos — announced that, as of June 1st, 2021, “unlimited” was being changed to “up to 15GB on your Google account.” Since then, photo and video storage has counted against your total of 15 free gigs on a Google account, along with your Gmail, Google Drive files, and other stored data. Once you hit that 15GB threshold, you have to buy into the Google One service to increase your storage capacity. You can, of course, simply pay for Google One (plans start at 100GB for $1.99 a month). But it’s a good idea to check out your alternatives. Below are some of the main photo storage services available to you, along with their... Continue reading…

The Verge’s Alex Heath wearing a Quest 3S. Meta finally announced the very heavily leaked Quest 3S VR headset, and the leaks were right: it’s a $299.99 headset that looks like a mix of the Quest 2 and Quest 3. But now that the specs are official, I can tell you that it’s a lot closer to the Quest 3 than expected for a refresh that’s almost half the price. If you don’t have a Quest headset already, the 3S is potentially a very compelling purchase. The Quest 3S offers the same mixed reality features and performance as the Quest 3 — it even has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip — meaning you can play all of the same games and experiences on either device. The Quest 3S uses the same Touch Plus controllers as the Quest 3. And the Quest 3S is actually rated for a higher... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta is discontinuing the Quest Pro, its high-end VR headset launched in 2022 that we said “isn’t very good.” The company plans to sell its remaining Quest Pro headsets through the end of the year or “until they’re gone, whichever comes first,” according to a blog post. Meta’s post didn’t specify why it’s moving on from the Quest Pro so soon, but it’s clear the headset wasn’t well received. My colleague Adi Robertson rated the headset a 4, finding that the device was heavy and uncomfortable and that its professional-focused Workrooms experience was “basically a matter of luck.” At launch, the Quest Pro was also jaw-droppingly expensive at $1,499. Meta permanently dropped the price to $999 just months after launch, but that was still a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Just two months after releasing its last big AI model, Meta is back with a major update: its first open-source model capable of processing both images and text. The new model, Llama 3.2, could allow developers to create more advanced AI applications, like augmented reality apps that provide real-time understanding of video, visual search engines that sort images based on content, or document analysis that summarizes long chunks of text for you. Meta says it’s going to be easy for developers to get the new model up and running. Developers will have to do little except add this “new multimodality and be able to show Llama images and have it communicate,” Ahmad Al-Dahle, vice president of generative AI at Meta, told The Verge. Other AI... Continue reading…

Image: Meta If you think avoiding AI-generated images is difficult as it is, Facebook and Instagram are now going to put them directly into your feeds. At the Meta Connect event on Wednesday, the company announced that it’s testing a new feature that creates AI-generated content for you “based on your interests or current trends” — including some that incorporate your face. When you come across an “Imagined for You” image in your feed, you’ll see options to share the image or generate a new picture in real time. One example (embedded below) shows several AI-generated images of “an enchanted realm, where magic fills the air.” But others could contain your face... which I’d imagine will be a bit creepy to stumble upon as you scroll. G... Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta is adding conversational voices by celebrities to its AI chatbot in Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. The company announced at its Connect event today that you can now talk to Meta AI and hear it respond in one of several voices, including celebrity soundalikes such as Awkwafina, John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristen Bell, and the only one I truly care about: Dame Judi Dench. Meta’s AI voices, ft. Judi Dench, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristen Bell These celebrity voices will only be available to US users of Meta’s apps to start. And if you prefer a voice that is a little more mundane, you can also pick from non-celeb voices with names like “Aspen,” “Atlas,” or “Clover.” Google and OpenAI also now offer similar conversational... Continue reading…

The MX Ink is available to buy now following its announcement back in June. | Image: Logitech Logitech has released a pen-shaped Meta Quest controller that makes it easier to draw, sculpt, and manipulate objects in mixed reality environments. After initially being announced back in June, the $129.99 Logitech MX Ink stylus is available to buy starting today and can be paired with the Meta Quest 3S, Quest 3, and Quest 2 headsets via the Meta Quest app. The MX Ink should feel more comfortable and natural to use across 2D and 3D creative software compared to much bulkier Quest controllers, especially for artists who are more accustomed to working on traditional drawing tablets. It’ll be down to developers to make their apps compatible with the stylus, with support already announced for Open Brush, Gravity Sketch, and Adobe Substance... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are already one of the best cracks at AI hardware to date. Now, Meta is pushing out a series of software updates, along with a new transparent Ray-Ban style, that bring the smart glasses closer to actually feeling smart. The company announced several updates to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses at its Connect conference on Wednesday, introducing new features like “Reminders,” which has the glasses take a photo of what you’re looking at and remind you about it later through a notification on your phone. You’ll also be able to scan QR codes and call phone numbers you’re looking at directly from the glasses. The Meta Ray-Bans can already translate a handful of languages from still images. Now, the company says it’s... Continue reading…

Orion is an impressive demo of AR glasses, but can Mark Zuckerberg beat everyone else to the next big platform? Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Meta’s CEO on his first pair of AR glasses, partnering with Ray-Ban, why he’s done with politics, and more. Continue reading…