Google’s Pixel smartphones have long been known for their great camera systems, but in recent years the company has taken to juicing its imaging platform with artificial intelligence features that expand its capabilities. Taking a photo is no longer just about tapping a shutter button and getting a nice picture. Now there are ways to erase undesirable objects, move subjects in your photos and let AI fill in the background, and even remove annoying sounds like sirens from videos. This year’s Pixel 9 series goes even further with more generative AI capabilities that can alter, improve, and generally goose your photos.

Google says it has completely rebuilt the Pixel 9 series’ HDR+ pipeline—the image processing algorithm that ensures your photos have the right levels of contrast, exposure, colors, and shadows. But new features like Add Me, Reimagine, Autoframe, and Zoom Enhance go past the capture stage and make it easier for anyone to perform tasks that previously required a little technical know-how in a photo-editing app. Here’s the breakdown.

And for a deep dive on how these features were developed, read my exclusive interview with members of Google’s Pixel camera team.

Add Me

You’ve probably been in a situation where you want to take a selfie with your partner or family in front of a subject, like the Eiffel Tower, but someone has to take the picture, right? Instead of handing your $1,000 phone to a stranger, Add Me accomplishes the same task.

This is a special mode in the Pixel 9 phones that first asks you to scan the surrounding area briefly. Then you’ll snap a picture of your loved one in front of the subject, and then swap places. When they take over photo-capture duties, they’ll see a faded-out image of themselves in the camera preview, and the camera app will suggest a place for the second person to stand. Once they press the shutter button, it’ll superimpose the images so it appears as if both people were standing right next to each other, even when they weren’t.

It worked well in my brief testing, and naturally, I tried to see if I could duplicate myself. This worked once, but every other attempt failed. That’s because Google says it was not designed for the same person to show up twice. Maybe if you change your shirt or try to look different enough, it might do the trick. I’ll need to do more testing to see how well it works when you want to put your hand around another person’s shoulder.

Reimagine in Magic Editor

Reimagine is the latest addition to Google’s Magic Editor, which currently lets you move subjects around a photo or erase objects. This new tool lets you select an area of a photo and then a text prompt pops up, where you can type in what you want to see as your end result. This can be anything ranging from turning the photo from daytime to nighttime, adding stormy clouds, or, like I tried, adding a UFO over the Empire State Building.

A new game from Valve appears to be on the horizon. Thousands of players have received invites to a game called Deadlock, a team-based shooter with multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) elements. While Valve has yet to formally announce it, screenshots, gameplay, and even playtimes are already popping up online.

As of this writing, Valve hasn’t said one way or the other whether the game is theirs. It also doesn’t seem like any effort has been made to remove Deadlock from Steam, where more than 15,000 people were playing it on Tuesday, according to SteamDB. The all-time peak, reached on Monday, was 18,254 players.

It’s unclear how long Deadlock has been available to play, though one user on the game’s subreddit claims they’ve been playing for months. Screenshots and gameplay footage on platforms like X and YouTube have been floating around for days.

Despite Valve’s silence (the company did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment), the mystery could prove a boon for the game. The developer behind critically acclaimed hits like Half-Life, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, Valve is notoriously secretive, often in ways that only help fuel hype for its titles. Players have been waiting on the follow-up to Half-Life 2 for nearly two decades, with little to no information from the company.

According to The Verge, which published a hands-on preview of Deadlock, it’s a 6v6 shooter reminiscent of Blizzard’s Overwatch. “Your team of heroes attempts to dominate a map by slowly wearing down the opposing team and pushing them back,” Sean Hollister wrote in his preview. “But you’re also leading an army of NPC grunts down four different lanes to destroy the opposing team’s stationary defenses, a little like Dota 2 or other MOBA games.”

Hollister has since been banned from the game, presumably for his writeup. One game-launch pop-up he shared in his piece warns that the game is still in “early development” and asks players to “not share anything about the game with anyone.” (Hollister says he was able to circumvent agreeing to this by hitting the Escape key.)

Online, some gamers got upset with The Verge for reporting on the title, which currently requires an invite to play, but it only seems to have increased interest in it—whatever it ends up being.

When, and will, Deadlock be available in a wider release? That remains a mystery.

For the launch of its new Pixel phones, Google looked to YouTube stars to bring the heat. An online After Party breathed new life into the brand’s snooze-y “Made by Google” keynote by featuring a who’s who of YouTube talent.

Amelia Dimoldenberg (of “Chicken Shop Date” fame), drag superstars Trixie Mattel and Monét X Change, Hot Ones’ Sean Evans, science guy Mark Rober, and more all showed up and out to hawk the brand’s newest phone models and features.

Keke Palmer hosted the affair, making a quick appearance on stage during the keynote (dressed, cleverly, in two-piece Balmain suit that perfectly matched the brand new Peony-colored Pixel 9) to invite viewers to stream the After Show.

The first After Show act was a version of Evans’ uber-popular Hot Ones series. Replacing A-list stars in the hot seat was Google SVP Rick Osterloh. Then Dimoldenberg interviewed the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, who had jumped on stage during the keynote to demo the Pixel’s Add Me feature. Ever the style icon, Butler wore the primary-colored Noogler hat given to new Google employees during their orientation as a rite of passage.

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Then came Mattel and X Change, who tried out the Add Me feature over cocktails. Next, Dimoldenberg returned with an interview with tech enthusiast Taylor Lloyd. Google Product Manager Kenny Sulaimon played with puppies in a segment obviously based on Buzzfeed’s long-running “Celebs Play With Puppies” series, though the brand was not credited.

And it went on from there: Jimmy Butler and Google Marketing VP Daryl Butler (of no relation) joined Complex’s Joe La Puma on his Sneaker Shopping show, another YouTube hit. Back to Dimoldenberg, now interviewing science creator Mark Rober. Actor/influencer Joe Ando of “can I make you a dress” fame made Palmer a canary-yellow dress. The party ended with a performance by The Beaches.

All this transpired in a mere 30 minutes, a tightly orchestrated corporate parade that not only showed off Google’s phones but showcased the modern stars and series YouTube would consider its modern greatest hits.

Throughout, Palmer played the perfect host. Clad in another chic two-piece set — this time matching the Pixel 9’s Wintergreen hue — Palmer reminded viewers throughout the stream, “This event is sponsored by Google and all participants are paid for their endorsement.”

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for August 14’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT’s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

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Yellow: Messed up

Green: Types of flowers

Blue: Bee activities

Purple: Yankees

Here are today’s Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections #430 is…

What is the answer to Connections today

Blunder: BOO-BOO, FLUB, GAFFE, GOOF

Flowers: DAISY, JASMINE, PETUNIA, POPPY

Things Bees Do: BUZZ, DANCE, POLLINATE, STING

First Names of Yankees Legends: BABE, LOU, MICKEY, YOGI

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday’s Connections.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Oh hey there! If you’re here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we’re serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today’s answer.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for August 14’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle’s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

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Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Edge of the sea.

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter S.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

SHORE.

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

I leave ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode on while writing this article as an ambient AI companion. Occasionally, I’ll ask it to provide a synonym for an overused word, or some encouragement. Around half an hour in, the chatbot interrupts our silence and starts speaking to me in Spanish, unprompted. I giggle a bit and ask what’s going on. “Just a little switch up? Gotta keep things interesting,” says ChatGPT, now back in English.

While testing Advanced Voice Mode as part of the early alpha, my interactions with ChatGPT’s new audio feature were entertaining, messy, and surprisingly varied, though it’s worth noting that the features I had access to were only half of what OpenAI demonstrated when it launched the GPT-4o model in May. The vision aspect we saw in the livestreamed demo is now scheduled for a later release, and the enhanced Sky voice, which Her actor Scarlett Johanssen pushed back on, has been removed from Advanced Voice Mode and is no longer an option for users.

So, what’s the current vibe? Right now, Advanced Voice Mode feels reminiscent of when the original text-based ChatGPT dropped, late in 2022. Sometimes it leads to unimpressive dead ends or devolves into empty AI platitudes. But other times the low-latency conversations click in a way that Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa never have for me, and I feel compelled to keep chatting out of enjoyment. It’s the kind of AI tool you’ll show your relatives during the holidays for a laugh.

OpenAI gave a few WIRED reporters access to the feature a week after the initial announcement but pulled it the next morning, citing safety concerns. Two months later, OpenAI soft-launched Advanced Voice Mode to a small group of users and released GPT-4o’s system card, a technical document that outlines red-teaming efforts, what the company considers to be safety risks, and mitigation steps the company has taken to reduce harm.

Curious to give it a go yourself? Here’s what you need to know about the larger rollout of Advanced Voice Mode, and my first impressions of ChatGPT’s new voice feature, to help you get started.

So, When’s the Full Rollout?

OpenAI released an audio-only Advanced Voice Mode to some ChatGPT Plus users at the end of July, and the alpha group still seems relatively small. The company plans to enable it for all subscribers sometime this fall. Niko Felix, a spokesperson for OpenAI, shared no additional details when asked about the release timeline.

Screen and video sharing were a core part of the original demo, but they are not available in this alpha test. OpenAI plans to add those aspects eventually, but it’s also not clear when that will happen.

If you’re a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, you’ll receive an email from OpenAI when the Advanced Voice Mode is available to you. After it’s on your account, you can switch between Standard and Advanced at the top of the app’s screen when ChatGPT’s voice mode is open. I was able to test the alpha version on an iPhone as well as a Galaxy Fold.

My First Impressions of ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode

Within the very first hour of speaking with it, I learned that I love interrupting ChatGPT. It’s not how you would talk with a human, but having the new ability to cut off ChatGPT mid-sentence and request a different version of the output feels like a dynamic improvement and a standout feature.

Early adopters who were excited by the original demos may be frustrated to get access to a version of Advanced Voice Mode that’s restricted with more guardrails than anticipated. For example, although generative AI singing was a key component of the launch demos, with whispered lullabies and multiple voices attempting to harmonize, AI serenades are absent from the alpha version.

TL;DR: Scan documents, photos, and more on the go with permanent access to iScanner for your iPhone/iPad on sale for just £23.33 through September 3.

If you’ve ever had to scan something while away from your home printer/scanner (if you even have one nowadays), you know snapping a photo with your iPhone/iPad camera is just not the same. Plus, it only saves as an image file and proves impossible to work with. 

With iScanner, you’ll basically have a portable scanner with you anywhere you go. Through September 3, pay £23.33 (reg. £155.64) just once to access iScanner for life.

Simply open the app, point your phone toward the document you’d like to scan, and snap. Its AI-powered features detect the borders of the document and automatically fix any curves and straighten the paper out. It’s able to identify over 20 languages, and export in PDF, JPG, DOC, XLS, PPT, or TXT.

You can edit scans using color correction and noise-removing features, sign your scans manually or add a signature, mark up documents, cover or blur text you don’t need to be seen, add text on forms, or autofill documents using custom templates.

Use the file manager with folders and drag-and-drop, protect your confidential scans by locking folders and files with a PIN, merge several documents into one or split a file by pages, number your document pages, insert footers, and add watermarks. You can even scan documents with multiple pages, solve math problems and complex equations, measure object length and calculate its area, count objects that are alike, and read any QR code.

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Until September 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT, get a lifetime subscription to the iScanner app for your iPhone/iPad on sale for £23.33.

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