Qualcomm made big announcement this week. The company just unveiled its new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and even if you don’t keep a particularly close eye on the smartphone chipset world, it’s something that’s worth getting excited about. Qualcomm is promising substantial performance and efficiency improvements over last year’s already excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is great news for next year’s slate of flagship Android phones.
But there’s more to the Snapdragon 8 Elite than it being more powerful and more efficient. It also has the potential to substantially change the way we use the cameras on our phones. How so? I talked to Judd Heape, VP of product management at Qualcomm, to better understand it myself, and I came away significantly more excited about the immediate (and faraway) future of our smartphone cameras.
A big part of the Snapdragon 8 Elite is what Qualcomm calls its “AI ISP.” An ISP (image signal processor) is a standard component of every smartphone chip, including Snapdragon ones, and is what facilities image processing on your phone’s camera. For the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the AI ISP has a much tighter connection to the NPU (neural processing unit) than any other Snapdragon chip before it. That may sound like a lot of technical jargon, but it essentially means that critical camera features should run much better than before.
What kind of camera features? One of the most exciting is how the AI ISP should improve auto white balance. Why is that a big deal? “One of the things that cameras get wrong a lot based upon very complex lighting, like lighting an interior versus exterior at the same time, if you’re outdoors in a parking lot and the lights are very orange … that sort of thing,” Heape said. “Your skin tone can get really messed up really easily because of that, and that’s a failure of auto white balance.”
Because this new ISP has a tighter connection to the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s NPU, it can “generate proper skin tone no matter what the lighting condition is.” The really exciting thing is that these auto white balance improvements don’t just happen after you’ve taken a photo. You see those enhancements in real time through the viewfinder, so the image you see as you’re taking a picture is what you’ll get.
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Another promising change is that the new ISP consumes less power. “The power consumption also of the ISP has gone down due to the new architecture,” Heape said. “So, in really interesting use cases, like 4K 60 fps HDR video recording, the ISP consumes 25% less power … which means that you’ll have less thermal problems when you’re trying to shoot videos.” Speaking of video, the new ISP also improves Qualcomm’s “temporal noise filters.” Those filters look at more video frames than before so “the video that you’ll shoot is a lot cleaner than it used to be. It was good before but it’s even better now.”
Are these flashy AI camera features like the Google Pixel 9’s Add Me mode or the numerous camera/photo editing tools in Galaxy AI? No. But are they ones that could legitimately result in better photos and videos for any phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite? Absolutely. And that’s the type of AI camera enhancements I want to see more of.
Beyond immediate enhancements coming with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Heape also shared a few insights about what the greater future of smartphone cameras may look like — and what he, as someone who works closely on this stuff at Qualcomm — wants to see more of.
While talking about the auto white balance improvements and seeing those enhancements through the viewfinder in real time, Heape admitted that “the industry needs to drive toward that. What you see is what you get is really important. It gives the photographer confidence … OEMs need to concentrate on that.”
Heape was also asked about his “dream application” for Qualcomm’s ISP advancements and what he was most excited to see smartphone companies do with it in the next few years — and I thought his answer was fascinating. As he explained, Heape is interested in “reducing the cost and complexity of the camera system.”
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“I think we can get away with two cameras instead of three in some cases … which reduces the processing and power … plus using AI for super resolution and using AI to augment capabilities in lowlight.” When asked to look even further ahead about how he’d like to see AI used to further improve the smartphone camera experience compared to what we have today, Heape said he wants to see a world where your camera gets to know you.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
“Your camera getting to know you, and know what you like, and know the edits you tend to make and the shots you like to take … basically training your camera. Learning what kind of shots you like and the composition and the camera getting to know you over time and then making those adjustments for you the more images you shoot. I think that’s kind of where we need to get to next … kind of like having the Copilot PC, if you will, for your camera.”
As someone who’s felt pretty unimpressed with existing AI camera tools, I really hope Heape’s ideal camera future is the one we’re headed toward — one where AI is working in the background and giving you better photos and videos without you having to think about it. I don’t particularly care about (or want) AI features that alter my photos into something they aren’t. I want my phone to take the best picture possible without me needing to think about it too much, and talking with Heape, that sounds like the future he wants to see, too.
Ever since smartphone brands and chip manufacturers started going all in on AI over the last couple of years, I’ve found it difficult to get truly excited about almost any of it. We’ve seen cool tech demos and a few cool features here and there, but nothing that I’ve felt has genuinely changed how we use our phones — particularly when it comes to the camera.
While it remains to be seen just how well the Snapdragon 8 Elite and its new ISP actually perform in the real world — and whether the camera future Heape describes is the one we’re actually headed toward — I will admit that I’m genuinely curious and hopeful about all of it. I firmly believe that the best use of AI is having it work in the background and allowing you to use your phone as you normally would but making it better. Give me better white balance and video recording any day of the week over wonky image generator tools. It really feels like that’s the direction Qualcomm is headed, and if that’s the future we can look forward to with smartphone cameras, count me in.
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Midjourney, the hit AI image generation startup founded and run by former Magic Leap engineer David Holz, is wowing users with a new feature unveiled last night: AI image editing.
As a good portion of Midjourney’s 20 million+ users (including some of us at VentureBeat) likely know, Midjourney previously allowed users to upload their own images gathered outside of the service to its alpha web interface and/or Discord server to serve as a reference for its AI image generator diffusion models — the latest one being Midjourney 6.1. After receiving an uploaded reference image, the Midjourney AI model is able generate new images based on the user’s provided file.
However, this reference feature didn’t actually make any alterations to the source image — merely using it as a kind of loose starting point.
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Now, with Midjourney’s new “Edit” feature, users can upload any image of their choosing and actually edit sections of it with AI, or change the style and texture of it from the source to something totally different, such as turning a vintage photograph into anime — while preserving most of the image’s subjects and objects and spatial relationships.
It even works on doodles and hand drawings that the submits, turning scribbles into full art pieces in seconds.
Midjourney posted a video demo showing how to use the new features which we’ve embedded below:
VentureBeat uses Midjourney and other AI tools to create content for our website, social channels and other formats.
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Note that despite its popularity, Midjourney is one of several AI companies being sued by a class action of human artists for alleged copyright infringement due to its scraping of human-created works without express permission, authorization, consent, or compensation to train its models. The case remains in court for now.
The Midjourney Image Editor only appears to be restricted to its latest AI model, Midjourney 6.1, which makes sense.
In a message to Midjourney’s Discord community, Holz wrote that: “All of these things are very new, and we want to give the community and human moderation staff time to ease into it gently…”
As a consequence, the new Midjourney Editor feature is for now restricted to users who have generated more than 10,000 images with the service, those with annual paid memberships, and those who have been a subscriber for a year or more.
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However, if you fit those criteria, you can use the new Midjourney Image Editor by following the directions below.
How to find and start using Midjourney’s Image Editor
The new Midjourney Image Editor is only available on the alpha web interface, available at alpha.midjourney.com.
Once there and signed in, the qualifying user should see a new button along the left sidebar menu about halfway down with an icon showing a small pencil on a pad. Hovering over will show that it reads “Edit” (or the text will automatically display on its own persistently if your browser window is wide enough).
Clicking on this should pull up the new Editor screen, which should prompt the user with two major options “Edit from URL” and “Edit Uploaded Image.”
The latter requires the user to have a file saved on their machine, whereas the former can accept a wide range of images hosted on various websites such as Wikimedia Commons, if the user simply pastes in the correct link to the web-hosted image. For purposes of this article, I included a URL to the following image of a concept car from Wikimedia Commons.
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Once a copy of the file is uploaded to Midjourney via the URL or the user’s own file repository, the image should appear in the middle of the new editor screen like so:
You’ll note there are a wide variety of options and various buttons on the left inner sidebar menu that users can select to modify the image with Midjourney 6.1, including “1. Erase” which allows the user to remove and paint over portions of the image with AI using a brush and a text prompt, “2. Move/Resize” which allows the user to move the image around the virtual canvas and extend its edges with new matching AI imagery, and “3. Restore” which is the inverse of Erase and lets the user retain any portions of the source image that they accidentally painted over with the Erase brush.
The user can control the brush size with a slider on the left sidebar as well as the “scale” of the image, zooming in or out, and the aspect ratio itself with more presets below that.
There’s also a “Suggest Prompt” button which Midjourney explains via a helpful hover over text is designed to aid the user in generating a prompt describing the image they’ve just uploaded — in case they want to alter that prompt or use it to generate a whole new similar image. The suggested prompt text should automatically appear in the prompt entry box/bar at the top of the screen.
Looking at our concept car example, I went ahead and used the Erase brush tool on the driver and used the text prompt entry bar at the top of the Midjourney web interface to replace the driver with a “flaming skeleton driving.” After I typed my text prompt in the top entry bar/box, I hit the button marked “Submit Edit” or enter on my keyboard to apply the changes.
As with Midjourney’s raw image generator, the Editor creates four versions automatically for each text prompt — visible on the right sidebar under the “Submit” button.
Here is the best result from my experiment:
The user can then choose to keep making new changes to this resulting image, upscale with Midjourney’s build in upscaler via a button below, or download it as is.
Retexturing turns images into new adaptations in different styles
In addition, the discerning reader and Midjourney user will note there was also another whole set of options for the Editor found by clicking the tab marked “Retexture” on the left sidebar.
As Midjourney itself explains in the left sidebar after licking this option: “Retexture will change the contents of the input image while trying to preserve the original structure. For good results, avoid using prompts that are incompatible with the general structure of the image.”
As you’ll see in the above screenshot I’ve embedded, the Rexture screen has far less going on than the regular Edit screen. In fact, basically the only option is to use the prompt text entry bar/box at the top of the screen to spell out what kind of retexturing you want done to the source image you/the user provided.
After entering this, the user can hit “Submit Rexture” and viola, Midjourney will use AI to apply the new texture and adapt the image according to the user’s prompt, again generating four versions for them to choose from.
In my case, I tried a bunch of different styles including anime, cave painting, colored sand, grotesque ooze, and cyberpunk styles, among others. See some of the retexturing examples I received below. One cautionary note in my limited tests so far — the retexturing feature does appear to warp and remove some detail from the resulting source image, as well as gender swap the subjects and add extraneous new details as well. However, this is part of the fun with using Midjourney or other generative AI creative tools — seeing what the model spits out based on your guidance!
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Warm reception among AI image creators on X
The AI image and art community on the social network X applauded Midjourney’s new editor — which had been rumored for several weeks. Already, some of the leading AI creators have tried it out and posted their examples, many of which are impressive. Here’s a sampling:
If you’re a Midjourney user who meets the criteria outlined above, go ahead and log in and try it out! Let me know your thoughts: carl.franzen@venturebeat.com. Midjourney has also been open about its plans to launch a 3D or video editor, which may come later this year.
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The latest addition to the dating app scene is Cheers, a newly launched matchmaking app available to users in New York City. Founded by former Instagram engineer, Sahil Ahuja, Cheers sets itself apart by offering friend-matchmaking and social posting features to facilitate new connections.
Cheers (where almost everybody knows your name) puts a twist on the familiar mechanics of dating apps. Users can swipe through profiles and engage in direct messaging, all while leveraging their existing friend network to play matchmaker, letting users swipe on behalf of their friends, share profiles, and ask for introductions, removing the awkwardness of meeting potential matches online.
Additionally, Cheers incorporates social media features such as photo sharing, letting users post as many images as they want, rather than being limited to the six or so photos that most dating apps allow. Ahuja believes that adding unlimited images, featured on a Instagram-style profile, will enhance the user experience, making the dating app more like a social platform. It also helps with the vetting process, since a potential match may be tagged in one of their friend’s photos.
Ahuja told TechCrunch, “I’ve talked to a lot of women who have felt that that’s actually something that is really beneficial for them because if they see people on there with a friend, it validates this is a legit person. They’re not sketchy. It’d be okay to go out with them in real life.”
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Image Credits:Cheers
Ahuja worked at Instagram for four years before venturing into the startup world to begin his web3 company, Soho, which was sold to Sound last year. It has always been his dream to build Cheers, but he wanted to work at Instagram first to enhance his skills. In a way, Instagram is its own dating app. More and more users have turned to the app to “slide into the DMs” of their latest crush.
The idea of a friend matchmaking app is not a new . Tinder attempted this in 2023 with “Tinder Matchmaker,” and Bumble has its “Recommend to a Friend” feature. Startups like Loop and Wingman also operate on the same principle.
Although friend matchmaking isn’t new, Cheers reflects the changing behavior of online daters, who are gravitating toward making more authentic connections. What better way to guarantee they’ll find a decent match than by relying on close friends who know them best?
Unlike the distant connections users may follow on Instagram or Facebook, Cheers takes a more personal approach. It requires users to exclusively invite individuals from their contact list, emphasizing a more intentional way of connecting. By restricting users to viewing only three matches per day, the app promotes deliberate and purposeful dating interactions, putting the user’s experience at the forefront.
Image Credits:Cheers
As many dating appsexperiment with AI, Cheers is utilizing ChatGPT to suggest which photos to post and generate captions. It also uses AI to help users set up profiles. However, the app prohibits AI-generated profile images.
Currently, Ahuja is working alone on Cheers and is focused on improving the app before promoting it in new markets or hiring anyone. He plans to add paid features in the future but wants to wait until Cheers has reached 5,000 users.
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The app has garnered 150 signups so far, and new users need an invitation from friends to join. It’s currently only available on iOS.
Razer has announced a new version of its Barracuda X wireless gaming headset that adds a glowing Razer logo and a ring of color-changing LEDs outlining each earcup. The new Barracuda X Chroma headphones are now available for preorder in a black or white colorway for $129.99 and are expected to ship in late October or early November.
As with other Razer headphones featuring RGB LEDs, the Barracuda X Chroma’s accent lighting can be customized through the Razer Chroma Studio desktop app or the Razer Audio mobile app. The headphones feature six zones that can be set to one of 16.8 million colors to match the motif of a gaming room or other hardware, or you can choose from preset effects, including lighting that corresponds to “over 300 games.”
The Barracuda X Chroma’s microphone is removable.Image: Razer
The Barracuda X Chroma can wirelessly connect to devices over Bluetooth or using Razer’s 2.4GHz HyperSpeed connection for reduced lag. The company says the headphone’s battery life has been boosted to up to 70 hours with a 2.4GHz connection and the lighting turned off, but that’s halved to just 35 hours with the RGB LEDs running. A 15-minute charge will provide around six hours of playtime, but when using Bluetooth, battery life will potentially be even longer.
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The Barracuda X Chroma are available in either a white or black colorway.Image: Razer
Other features include memory foam cushions on swiveling earcups, 40mm drivers, a detachable HyperClear cardioid microphone on an adjustable arm, and a mute button with a volume dial integrated into the left earcup. At 285 grams, the headphones are also slightly heavier than the original Barracuda X which weighed in at 250 grams.
The Barracuda X Chroma are compatible with PCs, Macs, Nintendo Switch, Sony Playstation, Steam Deck, and Android and iOS mobile devices. But like their predecessor, they still don’t support the Xbox’s wireless protocol.
Apple’s highly anticipated M4 MacBook Air models are rumored to be in production for launch in 2025, with the brand’s M4 Mac Studio reportedly now being pushed back and becoming a secondary focus.
This rumor comes from well-known Apple hardware leaker Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, months after Apple’s reveal of the brand-new M4 chip, which delivers a dramatic jump in performance across multiple devices – the original announcement showcased the power of the new chip, which we further discuss in our M4 iPad Pro review, improving on the M3’s 10-core GPU and introducing a new CPU with 10 cores.
The new leak suggests that the M4 chip could be present within upcoming new Mac mini and Mac Studio models, but the MacBook Air may be the sole focus for now going into 2025. Apple reportedly has no plans to change the design of the MacBook Air models, with the M4 chip being the primary upgrade.
So what’s the schedule?
As reported by Gurman, Apple had originally planned to work on the enhanced Mac Studio alongside the aforementioned M4 MacBook Air in early 2025. This schedule has apparently now changed to a period between March and June next year – if Gurman is correct, this would be after the expected launch of the MacBook Air M4 models.
Considering the dropping sales of Mac devices, it’s no surprise to see Apple stepping up production of updated MacBook Air models for early next year – if the M4 iPad Pro is anything to go by, then anyone getting their hands on the upcoming laptops should expect substantial performance improvements over the M3 MacBook Air.
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The unannounced M4 MacBook Pro is also expected to be unveiled at some point, with a potential reveal in the coming days – though this is only based on different leaks from Gurman. We expect Apple to also reveal new M4 Max chips alongside the upcoming MacBook Pro models, which we anticipate will offer a significant improvement over the M3 Max.
After successfully completing SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and the rest of the crew returned to Earth on Sunday.
SpaceX’s capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida’s Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.
This was the first privately funded spacewalk mission. The mission was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis pulled off a spacewalk while orbiting nearly 460 miles (740 kilometres) above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometres) following Tuesday’s liftoff.
Isaacman became the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965, and Gillis the 265th.
Until now, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts through government-funded missions.
During Thursday’s commercial spacewalk, the Dragon capsule’s hatch was open barely a half-hour. Isaacman emerged only up to his waist to briefly test SpaceX’s brand-new spacesuit followed by Gillis, who was knee-high as she flexed her arms and legs for several minutes.
“From here Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman after the spacewalk.
This was Isaacman’s second chartered flight with SpaceX, with two more still remaining under the Polaris Dawn Mission.
So far about 263 people have conducted a spacewalk representing 12 countries.
Netflix’s television slate has been excellent in October. Outer Banks season 4 returned earlier this month, while The Diplomat season 2 returns on October 31. Reality fans were happy to see Love Is Blind season 7 return to Netflix. Make sure to tune into the finale on October 30 for an in-depth breakdown of all the drama.
On the movie side, Netflix will ramp up its Oscars slate in November and December with Emilia Pérez and The Piano Lesson. However, the end of October means several movies will be departing Netflix for the foreseeable future. Make sure to watch these movies before the month ends. Our recommendation includes a delightful A24 love story, a family-friendly adventure, and a dazzling musical.
A24 is now one of the most well-respected distributors in Hollywood. In 2013, A24 was in its initial stages as an independent entertainment company that embraced originality and empowered filmmakers. One of the first films it released was The Spectacular Now, James Ponsoldt’s charming coming-of-age movie from the writers of 500 Days of Summer.
For Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), there is no tomorrow. Sutter is a popular high school senior who loves to drink, party, and have a good time. His girlfriend, Cassidy Roy (Brie Larson), breaks up with him, thinking they have no future together. After getting drunk to soothe the pain, Sutter wakes up on the lawn of Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), his kind and quiet classmate.
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The Spectacular Now Official Trailer #1 (2013) – Shailene Woodley Movie HD
The two begin an unexpected relationship that grows into a romance. The Spectacular Now is an effective love story about two teens scared of their respective futures and how they rely on each other to face their own fears. It’s refreshing, heartfelt, and honest.
No actor in the last 50 years had more energy and on-screen zaniness than Robin Williams. Whether his movies were good or bad, the late comedian always turned in a memorable performance. Though mostly known for comedy, Williams’ charisma and liveliness were perfect for Jumanji, the dark fantasy adventure film about a magical board game.
In 1969, teenager Alan Parrish plays Jumanji, a dice-roll game featuring cryptic messages on a crystal ball. Unfortunately for Alan, his turn costs him his freedom, as he’s sucked into the game. Twenty-six years later, siblings Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) restart Jumanji and free Alan from the game.
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However, Alan’s return brings the jungle’s fiercest predators, including lions and killer bugs, out of the game. The only way to stop the madness is to win. Jumanji is perfect for your next family movie night, especially if you’re craving an adventure.
It’s been nearly eight years since La La Land, and the ending remains as perfect and beautiful as ever. Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning musical stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as Mia and Sebastian, two artists looking for big breaks. Mia dreams of becoming an actress but spends her days working as a barista on the Warner Bros. backlot. Sebastian is an aspiring jazz musician who wants to stop playing terrible cover songs at parties and open his own club.
Their struggles bring them closer together, kicking off a whirlwind romance where they genuinely love each other. However, what happens when they lose sight of their dreams? Are Mia and Sebastian willing to sacrifice their love to achieve their goals? Backed by spectacular music and riveting performances, La La Land is an uplifting musical that gives hope to the dreamers.
When you’re hanging out at the pearly gates, don’t worry because Longfellow Deeds will bring the beers. Adam Sandler brings his sweet and lovable charm to Mr. Deeds, a 2002 comedy with an unexpected romance. Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) is the nicest guy in the small town of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire. This pizzeria owner’s life turns upside down when he discovers he is the great-nephew of Preston Blake (Harve Presnell), a recently deceased billionaire who leaves his fortune to his last living relative, Deeds.
Thrust into the spotlight, Deeds leaves his small town for the bright lights of New York City to settle this issue. Meanwhile, Babe Bennett is a tabloid reporter who sees Deeds’ story as her big break. To get closer to Deeds, she disguises herself as a humble school nurse named Pam Dawson. The small-town schtick works on Deeds. What Babe didn’t plan for is her falling in love with Deeds.
The Expendables is an unapologetic machismo film that embraces old-school action. Listen to this lineup of legends: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. If that doesn’t scream action, then what does?
If you need an elite group of fighters to get something done, you hire the Expendables. Led by Barney Ross (Stallone), the Expendables are tasked with overthrowing a Latin American dictator. However, the group realizes they’ve been double-crossed, which puts their lives in danger. With their mission compromised, the Expendables choose to do what they do best: go out with a fight.
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