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One of the biggest issues hanging over generative AI companies has to do with training data. What data (information of all kinds, from words to images to audio) have these companies collected from online and offline sources to feed into their large language models and train them so the chatbots they power can have a natural-language conversation with you?

Training data is the lifeblood of AI systems — it’s the data “culled from books, Wikipedia articles, news stories and other sources across the internet,” The New York Times’ Cade Metz and Stuart A. Thompson reported recently. “These chatbots learn their skills by analyzing enormous amounts of digital data,” Metz added in a podcast about an investigation he led for the paper.

The thing is, AI companies haven’t shared what’s in their set of training data or how they obtained that information, a fact that’s set off numerous copyright lawsuits, by authors, publishers and others, who say the big developers of gen AI tools have scraped the internet to grab their content without permission or compensation. And that’s why, Reuters reported, AI companies are now talking with copyright holders and quietly inking licensing deals for their content.

“The data land grab comes as makers of big generative AI ‘foundation’ models face increasing pressure to account for the massive amounts of content they feed into their systems, a process known as ‘training’ that requires intensive computing power and often takes months to complete,” Reuters said.

Against this backdrop comes the investigation by the Times, released this month, which alleges that the biggest tech companies building gen AI engines “bent and broke” their own rules to train their gen AI systems.

“We found that three major players in this race: OpenAI, Google and Meta — as they were locked into this competition to develop better and better artificial intelligence, they were willing to do almost anything to get their hands on this data, including ignoring, and in some cases, violating corporate rules and wading into a legal gray area as they gathered this data,” Metz said in the podcast.

(An important note: In December the Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging they used the paper’s copyrighted material without permission to train their AI systems. OpenAI and Microsoft are trying to have parts of the NYT lawsuit dismissed.)

In late 2021, OpenAI essentially “ran out of data,” Metz said in the podcast. “They had used just about all the respectable English language text on the internet to build this system … Wikipedia articles by the thousands, news articles, Reddit threads, digital books by the millions. We’re talking about hundreds of billions, even trillions, of words.” That, he added, includes copyrighted material.

After digesting printed words, the Times found, OpenAI collected audio files — books, podcasts and as many as 1 million hours of YouTube video — and then converted those files into text and fed the transcripts into its system, “going against YouTube’s terms of service” unnamed sources told the paper.

The Times also examined how Meta and Google trained their systems, and all three companies responded to the paper’s investigation:

“OpenAI said each one of of its A.I. models ‘has a unique data set that we curate to help their understanding of the world and remain globally competitive in research,’” the Times reported. “Google said that its A.I. models ‘are trained on some YouTube content,’ which was allowed under agreements with YouTube creators, and that the company did not use data from office apps outside of an experimental program. Meta said it had ‘made aggressive investments’ to integrate A.I. into its services and had billions of publicly shared images and videos from Instagram and Facebook for training its models.”

If you think this whole discussion is a bit wonky or too insider for you, think again. Copyright issues aside (and that’s a big aside), understanding what’s in the training data being used by these popular AI chatbots is important to understanding what biases or misinformation might be baked into those large language models, or LLMs. Since companies so far haven’t shared what training data they use, legislators are starting to propose bills that what would require AI companies to disclose information about what’s in their training set.

On a different note, if you’re interested in getting CNET’s expert take on AI products already on the market, including reviews of Microsoft’s Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, check out CNET’s AI Atlas, a new consumer hub that also offers news, how-tos, explainers and other resources to get you up to speed on gen AI. Plus, you can sign up at AI Atlas to get this column via email every week.

Here are the other doings in AI worth your attention.

Faking it with AI: A James Bond trailer and an AI beauty pageant

You know that saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”? This week’s example of that at play involves James Bond, actors Henry Cavill and Margot Robbie, and a little AI deepfakery.

I’m talking about a bogus trailer for a made-up James Bond film starring Cavill as 007 and Robbie as the latest “formidable Bond girl.” Called “Bond 26 – First Trailer” and posted on YouTube, the 90-second teaser features scenes from prior Cavill and Robbie flicks, including “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” and “Focus.” It’s racked up over 2.6 million views in five days, with The Hollywood Reporter saying the views are being “driven by a mix of fans enjoying it as a ‘what if’ effort, along with some being fooled by it.”

“Please note that this video is a concept trailer created solely for artistic and entertainment purposes,” creator KH Studio calls out to viewers in the YouTube notes.

“I have meticulously incorporated various effects, sound design, AI technologies, movie analytics, and other elements to bring my vision to life. Its purpose is purely artistic, aiming to entertain and engage with the YouTube community. My goal is to showcase my creativity and storytelling skills through this trailer. Thank you for your support, and let’s dive into the world of imagination.”

For what it’s worth, the comments suggest a huge appetite for Cavill to succeed Daniel Craig as Bond, James Bond. Cavill played Superman in the DC Comics series of films, as well as The Witcher in Netflix’s popular series. The Hollywood Reporter says there are unconfirmed reports that the latest actor to be considered for the British spy is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, along with Cavill, though he may be “too old” (he’s 40).

Bogus Bond isn’t the only AI movie fakery that’s garnered attention recently. This summer, tech company TCL is planning to release its first original feature, a short romance movie called “Next Stop Paris,” on its TCLTV Plus streaming platform.

“There’s just one slight hitch: TCL is using generative AI to make original content for its platform, and early signs do not bode well,” Engadget noted after watching the trailer for what it says TCL is calling “the first AI-powered love story.”

I watched the minute-long trailer on YouTube, too (only 120,000 views, so it seems like James Bond wins), and I have to agree with Engadget that, “While it’s not entirely fair to judge a film based on a trailer, the Next Stop Paris clip gives a terrible first impression” of both the flick and TCLTV Plus. “The look of the characters changes throughout … and they project all of the emotion of a pair of dead fish.” Watch and decide for yourself.

And there’s one more example of AI fakery that you might think is good, bad or just another sign that it’s the end of civilization as we know it: Organizers are working on the first beauty pageant featuring AI-generated contestants competing for the title of “Miss AI.”

“The competition is the first installment in a program of awards presented by the World AI Creator Awards (WAICA) and its inaugural partner, Fanvue, a subscription platform that hosts AI content,” People reported.

The awards are “dedicated to recognizing the achievements of AI creators around the world,” the WAICA says on its website. It adds that “contestants will be judged on their beauty, tech, and clout” — a reference to the engagement time each attracts. The creator who gets first place will receive $13,000.

OpenAI is the ‘most funded’ AI company in the world

OpenAI, creator of text-to-image generator Dall-E and the world’s most popular chatbot, ChatGPT, is also “the most funded AI company in the world, with $14 billion raised in funding rounds so far,” according to CB Insights and data presented by Stocklytics.

“CB Insight’s analysis of the 100 most promising AI startups shows that OpenAI raised over $14 billion in capital through partnerships with Microsoft and other investments, pushing valuation to a whopping $80 billion,” reads a post on the Stocklytics site. “This figure is even more impressive when compared to the capital raised by other most-funded AI companies. Statistics show that OpenAI alone raised more money than the seven other companies on the list, including Anthropic, Databricks, and Shield AI.”

No. 2 on the CB Insights–Stocklytics list is Anthropic, the creator of Claude, with $4.2 billion in funding. Big-data analysis platform Databricks ranked No. 3, with $4 billion, and Shield AI took fourth place, with $1 billion in funding. All the other most-funded AI companies have so far raised less $1 billion dollars, CB Insights said.

Its $80 billion valuation makes OpenAI the third most-valuable unicorn (a unicorn is any startup with a valuation of over $1 billion), behind TikTok owner ByteDance (which is valued around $268 billion) and Elon Musk’s SpaceX (valued at $180 billion as of December). In 2023, there were 95 companies on the global unicorn list — with 20% of them from the AI industry, CB Insights added.

Google’s $100 billion AI bet as it consolidates its teams

While I’m talking about AI and money, it’s worth noting that Google’s AI chief, Demis Hassabis, who runs the company’s DeepMind research arm, said this month that he expects the company to spend more than $100 billion to develop its AI technology.

Hassabis was responding to a question about Stargate, a US-based data center for AI that’s reportedly being built by OpenAI and Microsoft what would house “a supercomputer made up of millions of AI chips and cost up to $100 billion,” Quartz said, citing Bloomberg and others who’ve been speculating on Stargate.

Hassabis’ remark came just a few days before Google announced that all its AI teams will now report to DeepMind and Hassabis, according to an April 18 memo to the company written by Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Pichai, in a memo called “Building for our AI future” and posted to Google’s blog, said the change is aimed at simplifying “our structure” and improvising “velocity and execution.” That language is generally considered code for, “We need to move faster to beat our competitors.”

In the memo, Pichai also made a reference to the recent firing, noted by CNN, of 28 Google employees who criticized the company’s contract for cloud technology with Israel by protesting in its offices.

Google needs “to be more focused in how we work, collaborate, discuss and even disagree,” Pichai wrote. “We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that enables us to create amazing products and turn great ideas into action. That’s important to preserve. But ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”

Expert vs. AI: What’s the future of phones?

In our new short-video series pitting CNET’s expert reviewers against ChatGPT 3.5, Mobile Editor Patrick Holland asks about the future of smartphones. Holland believes the future of smartphones includes having these devices “become our personal platform for a truly smart personal assistant that can predict our needs, what we want it to do and be far more helpful than any phone today.”

ChatGPT also offers up some thoughts on AI, applications and sustainability, but Holland notes that ChatGPT “does feel like it’s offering a lot of jargon,” with the AI sounding more like what you might read in a phone maker’s press release. Gotta say, I agree.

By the way, Holland also took on ChatGPT in regard to foldable phones and whether they’re worth buying now — in case you’re in the market for a new phone.

Stanford AI Index says AI beats humans on some tasks, but not all

Stanford University released the seventh edition of its AI Index Report, and while it may seem daunting at 502 pages, researchers have summarized the top 10 takeaways (starting on page five) and they’re worth a read.

You’ll find data points on the challenges of AI, including an increase in AI awareness — and AI-related nervousness — in people around the world. There’s also an assessment that the top AI makers, including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, need to do a better job of reporting on the risks of their systems. But there are some good things happening too.

Here are my top three takeaways from their findings:

Humans matter
“AI beats humans on some tasks, but not on all. AI has surpassed human performance on several benchmarks, including some in image classification, visual reasoning, and English understanding. Yet it trails behind on more complex tasks like competition-level mathematics, visual commonsense reasoning and planning.”

AI can be your copilot
“The data is in: AI makes workers more productive and leads to higher quality work. In 2023, several studies assessed AI’s impact on labor, suggesting that AI enables workers to complete tasks more quickly and to improve the quality of their output. These studies also demonstrated AI’s potential to bridge the skill gap between low- and high-skilled workers. Still, other studies caution that using AI without proper oversight can lead to diminished performance.”

The US is ahead in AI innovation
“The United States leads China, the EU, and the U.K. as the leading source of top AI models. In 2023, 61 notable AI models originated from U.S.-based institutions, far outpacing the European Union’s 21 and China’s 15.”

In other research news worth noting, check out a succinct, seven-page paper on “The Recessionary Pressures of Generative AI: A Threat to Wellbeing.” It examines how gen AI will affect the economy, job prospects and ultimately societal well-being and offers suggestions for the policies we should consider to mitigate the negative effects of gen AI.

TL;DR: Let’s remember how to take care of humans as we move ahead into a world with gen AI, so people aren’t left behind.

“Governments need to act now to ensure that the march of innovation does not trample the livelihoods of the people; the backbone of our economy and prosperity of our nations,” said Jo-An Occhipinti, a professor at the University of Sydney who helped author the paper. “Secure, quality employment is the bedrock of societal strength, providing not just economic stability but also a source of shared purpose, connectedness, and psychological fulfillment that are important to our mental health and collective wellbeing.”

Editors’ note: CNET used an AI engine to help create several dozen stories, which are labeled accordingly. The note you’re reading is attached to articles that deal substantively with the topic of AI but are created entirely by our expert editors and writers. For more, see our AI policy.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning aren’t new to the iPhone; they’ve played an important role in the development of new features for years. Portrait Mode for the camera and the ability to copy and paste text from photos are both examples of such technologies at work behind the scenes.

But at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, we’re expecting to learn about how Apple could take that to the next level by potentially bringing generative AI to the iPhone.

Generative AI, or AI models trained on large volumes of data that create content in response to prompts, has exploded in popularity following the success of ChatGPT. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung and Amazon, among many others, have introduced generative AI into their biggest products over the past year. Apple, however, has been quiet about its plans for generative AI, although CEO Tim Cook teased updates for 2024.

“But we’ve got some things that we are incredibly excited about that we’ll be talking about later this year,” Cook said in response to a question about generative AI on an earnings call.

Between Cook’s comments, new research papers and the acquisition of AI startups, Apple is clearly on to something. Here’s what Apple’s AI plans for the iPhone might look like based on reports that have circulated in recent months.

Read more: Why the iPhone’s Home Screen Is in Need of a Shakeup

iOS 18 will likely be full of AI features

Apple’s next major iPhone operating system, which will probably be called iOS 18, is expected to introduce a ton of new AI features to the iPhone. It could be the most significant update since the original iPhone in Apple’s eyes, according to Bloomberg.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, has been tasked with implementing a bunch of new tools into iOS fueled by the company’s large language model, reports Bloomberg. It’s unclear precisely what that means for iOS 18, but the report says we could see improvements in the Messages app and Siri. What we won’t see is an Apple alternative to ChatGPT, Bloomberg also reports.

It’s also possible that Apple will wait until September to announce new AI features alongside its next-generation iPhone, expected to be called the iPhone 16. That’s what Bernstein analysts Toni Sacconaghi and Daniel Zhu predict, according to a research note reported by the financial news website Seeking Alpha.

“We expect most AI features to be unveiled with the iPhone in September, as opposed to at WWDC, consistent with other key software features like Dynamic Island, Siri and FaceTime, all of which were introduced at the time of phone launch,” the note said, per Seeking Alpha. “We see the timeline for AI features such as a multimodal Siri and an AI wellness coach as less clear.”

Samsung and Google have already provided a glimpse into how generative AI is changing smartphones. Both companies offer features that can rewrite text messages in a different tone before hitting the send button and photo editing tools that can refill blank spaces in a photo after moving an object. It’s possible Apple could take a similar approach, although we won’t know for sure until iOS 18 arrives.

Google could power some new AI features

Apple is reportedly in talks with Google and OpenAI about using their respective AI models to power certain upcoming iPhone features, according to reports from Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. These models would likely be used for AI features that must be processed in the cloud, reports Bloomberg. Apple is reportedly planning to use its own models for future software tools that can be processed on-device without requiring a cloud connection.

In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also reported that Apple’s first generative AI features for the iPhone will be processed on-device rather than in the cloud.

On-device AI is generally considered to be more secure and private since data doesn’t have to leave your device but typically requires more powerful processors. That’s why Siri is only capable of answering health-related questions on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, which run on the company’s newest smartwatch chips.

Based on the reports, it sounds like Apple is focusing its efforts on new AI models designed to run locally, while seeking a partner for cloud-based AI. That wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise; Apple prides itself on creating new features and technologies that take full advantage of how hardware and software work together. It’s much easier to do that when you don’t have to rely on a third-party for data processing.

It also wouldn’t be the first time Apple has partnered with another company on certain technologies and components. Google already pays Apple billions of dollars to be the default search engine on iPhones, for example, and Qualcomm supplies Apple with 5G modems for the iPhone.

Read more: Dreaming Big: Our Experts iOS 18 Wish List for Apple’s WWDC 2024

A smarter Siri

Siri seems like a natural area for Apple to apply any AI advancements, and reports from The Information and Bloomberg suggest it may do just that. The Information reported last year that Apple has doubled down on efforts to make Siri better at automating tasks. The report cites the ability to ask Siri to create GIFs from your last five photos and then share it as an example of the types of use cases Apple has in mind.

We won’t know what Apple’s plans are until it announces them. But automation features like those mentioned above would feel like a fitting evolution for Siri that builds on its existing Shortcuts functionality.

An AI App Store

Apple may launch a new AI App Store, according to Ben Reitzes, head of technology research at Melius Research, who spoke with CNBC.

“In June we should start to see them lay the groundwork for this new app store, for how it’s going to work with AI, how you can buy AI apps through the App Store, ” he said during the CNBC interview.

Read more: Best iPhone to buy in 2024

There are a lot of unanswered questions, such as whether this supposed AI app store would be for the iPhone, the Mac or all of Apple’s products. It’s also unclear if Reitzes is referring to a separate App Store entirely, or a new section in the current App Store focused on AI apps. The latter seems more in line with Apple’s usual approach. Either way, emphasizing AI in the App Store would be a testament to the technology’s importance from Apple’s perspective.

A new chip with more AI processing power

Apple’s next iPhone processor, presumably called the A18, is expected to offer better AI performance for the iPhone 16 lineup, according to Taiwanese news outlet Economic Daily News and analyst Jeff Pu, as MacRumors reported. AI has been a big area of focus for years, with Apple increasingly expanding the capabilities of the neural engine inside its A-series chips. But given that Apple is expected to develop new AI-powered iPhone features that rely on local processing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more significant upgrades.

Apple isn’t usually first to market with new product categories. Instead, it’s known for popularizing technologies, as it did with smartphones, smartwatches and tablets. Regardless of Apple’s approach, all eyes will be on the company to do the same with AI and generative AI.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

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You could say I’m an Apple fan; I have a MacBook, iPad, AirPods and an iPhone. Somehow, I’ve never used an Apple Watch. I wore a cellular Apple Watch Series 9 for a week to see if it could help me spend less time on my iPhone, and more time on self-care (check out the video above to see what my first week with the Apple Watch Series 9 looked like).

Before I started using the Series 9, my daily average iPhone screen time was nine hours and three minutes (i.e. much higher than I would’ve liked it to be). I’ve been trying to reduce that number. So last month, I replaced my iPhone 15 Pro Max with a Nokia flip phone and while that did lower my screen time, it also made me anxious. I would compare my iPhone to an adult pacifier that I subconsciously reach for when I’m stressed or bored. So cutting it out of my life was difficult for me (hence the anxiety that came with temporarily adopting the flip phone).

I wanted to try a cellular Apple Watch because it covers a lot of the key functions of my smartphone. You can use it to call, text, listen to music on Spotify, access your cards with Apple Pay and navigate with Maps, even if your iPhone isn’t around. So I was hoping it would make me use my 15 Pro Max less, without having to get rid of it entirely.

In light of that goal, after I set up my Apple Watch, I went on a walk without my smartphone. You’ll have to read to the end of this article to find out what my screen time was after my first week with the Series 9, but I will say, that initial walk without my 15 Pro Max was kind of life-changing.

The cellular Series 9 is a game-changer for outdoor walks

I usually bring my iPhone on walks to stay connected to friends and family and to listen to music. Using a Series 9 with cellular made me realize I don’t need my smartphone for those things; I can do them all on my watch. While it initially felt weird to leave my phone at home, I didn’t miss it once I was walking. I’ve actually come to prefer walks without my iPhone. I’m so much more present when I don’t even have the option to scroll on my socials. The 15 Pro Max is heavy, so it’s very nice to not have to carry it around.

Speaking into my watch on phone calls kind of makes me feel like a cool spy. I like to use my AirPods when I’m out in a noisy environment because it’s easier for me to hear the other person, and vice-versa.

Messaging on the Apple Watch isn’t my fave (but I still appreciate that I can do it at all)

The Series 9 has a new feature called Double Tap where you touch your pointer finger and thumb together twice on the hand you’re wearing your watch on. You can use it to do things like responding to a message or answering a call without touching the device. On my first day wearing the watch, my CNET colleague, Abrar Al-Heeti, sent me a Slack message to ask if I wanted to take a coffee break. I used Double Tap to reply with dictation.

Messaging is where I use Double Tap the most. Still, I don’t find myself making this gesture often, simply because I’m not used to it yet. Maybe that’ll change over time.

As you can see, I wasn’t great at dictation at first (I accidentally said “send” aloud so it was included in my response to Abrar). And although I’ve gotten better at it, I still don’t love using it. Dictation inserts a lot of periods, which makes my messages sound more serious than intended.

I also don’t love pecking at the keyboard to type because the Apple Watch screen is pretty tiny. I think the easiest way to compose a message is by continuously moving my finger from letter to letter on the keyboard. Even this method doesn’t always result in perfect messages, so I still prefer texting on my iPhone if it’s around. I appreciate that the Apple Watch allows me to see and reply to important messages even when my iPhone isn’t around. It’s also worth mentioning that I have a 41-millimeter Apple Watch because my wrist is small, but there’s a 45-millimeter option that’s probably easier to type on.

I love having Apple Pay, Spotify and Maps on my wrist

I really appreciate that the Apple Watch allows me to pay for stuff without having my wallet or phone with me. I also love that I can listen to music on Spotify. I do wish the watch version had a search bar. If I’m on my Apple Watch, I can only choose from songs in my library or songs Spotify recommends to me, but sometimes I want to listen to something totally random. (Yes, I’m team Spotify; sorry Apple Music.)

If you read my last story on my Nokia flip phone journey, you know I don’t have a great sense of direction. Having Maps on my Apple Watch was very helpful. I never got used to the haptics telling me when to turn, so I just read the instructions on-screen. That didn’t bother me: I was just happy to have those directions, especially when going for walks without my phone.

I had so much confidence in my cellular Apple Watch that I even went to a concert without my iPhone. While I was more present, I wouldn’t do that again. I briefly lost my friend in the crowd and it would have been so much easier to call and text her on my smartphone. I couldn’t type my messages to her as quickly as I would’ve liked to on that tiny screen. Because I forgot my AirPods, it was pretty hard for us to hear each other on a call above the noise of the crowd.

I get the hype around closing those Activity rings

I’ve been hearing my Apple Watch friends talk about closing their Activity rings for years, and now I get it. While I was very enthusiastic about getting active on my first day with the Series 9 watch, by day two, I was tired and didn’t want to leave the house. My watch encouraging me to close those rings inspired me to get up and walk anyway. Once I was walking, I didn’t regret it. The fresh air and movement did make me feel so much better.

While I already have workouts I like to follow on YouTube, I tried a Fitness+ core workout and loved the Apple Watch integration. I appreciated that when I started the Fitness+ video on my iPhone, it automatically began tracking the workout on my Apple Watch. I loved that I could pause the video (and workout) from my watch, too.

I really only use my Series 9 to see how close I am to closing my rings and, occasionally, how many steps I’ve taken. To a first-time smartwatch user like me, the breadth of data the Apple Watch tracks is impressive (e.g. flights climbed, humidity during an outdoor walk, etc). As I continue to incorporate fitness into my life, I’m interested to see if I’ll dig into this data more. While there are plenty of smartwatches out there that track the same stats as the Apple Watch (or more), the data I get with the Series 9 is still impressive to a newcomer like me.

I also liked the Mindfulness app, which encourages you to take a moment to breathe, reflect and record how you’re feeling. The activities are short, but they’re enough to take a beat and really check in with myself.

I even tried a 20-minute gratitude meditation through Fitness+. It was surprisingly hard; I kept getting distracted and having to bring myself back to the focus of the meditation. Afterwards, my mind felt so much clearer. I’ve been meaning to meditate for years, and the Apple Watch finally gave me the motivation to do it.

Once I realized movement and mindfulness were making me feel physically and mentally better, I was on a roll… At least, until the Monday scaries hit (and I didn’t wear my watch or leave the house). Did I close my Activity rings and practice mindfulness every day? Definitely not, but the Apple Watch did encourage me to do those things for the first time in a while, and for that, I’m grateful for this device. This watch has inspired me to continue incorporating these practices into my routine until they become a consistent part of it.

My newest pet peeve is forgetting to start my workout. The Apple Watch does have automatic workout detection that kicks in after a certain amount of time so you get credit towards your rings. During this challenge, I realized my walks start at a very leisurely pace, and it took about 30 minutes for the watch to detect I was working out. That’s a me-problem, not an Apple Watch issue, so I need to get better about starting those Outdoor Walk workouts as soon as I leave the house.

Sleep tracking makes me want to get closer to eight hours of shut-eye a night

I have insomnia and have never tried sleep tracking before. As such, I was very interested to see what my Apple Watch had to say about my sleep. I only tracked my slumber for three days and there are two reasons why. First, sleeping with a watch on is kind of uncomfortable. Second, sleep tracking doesn’t happen automatically. You have to do a few things first, including setting a Sleep Schedule and a Sleep Focus Mode in the Health app on your iPhone.

I didn’t realize this until halfway through my first week with the Apple Watch, which is my bad, so I missed some data. When I did track my sleep with the watch, I realized I wasn’t getting a full eight hours. I was close, but not quite there yet, which motivates me to keep working to improve my sleep patterns.

The Apple Watch tracks so much more than how many hours you slept. For example, you can see how much time you spend in Sleep Stages like REM sleep, deep sleep, etc. I’m excited to dive deeper into this data and examine my sleeping trends over time. The Apple Watch isn’t the only smartwatch with sleep tracking. Most modern smartwatches offer this, and can even measure the quality of your sleep, not just the quantity.

I normally put my watch on around 10:00am and after a busy day of calling, texting, listening to music, working out and navigating — often on my watch’s cellular connectivity — I’d be running low on battery by around 10 or 11pm. So I’d charge the watch for about 30 minutes before bed for sleep tracking. I’d juice it back to 100% while I was getting ready the next morning. The Apple Watch charges up pretty quickly from my laptop, so having to do it daily wasn’t a pain point for me. On days when I’m not relying as much on my watch’s cellular connectivity, I can wait about a day and a half before needing to plug it in again.

Thank you to my Apple Watch for encouraging me to take better care of myself

Did the Apple Watch reduce my screen time? Unfortunately, no. My screen time increased by 13% during my first week with my watch. How could that be? Well, while it lowered my screen time when I was out on walks (and at that concert), the Apple Watch didn’t change the way I interacted with my smartphone at home. I still have my iPhone next to me all day, and I’m still inclined to reach for it and scroll on social media (more specifically, TikTok) whenever I’m anxious or bored. To make progress towards decreasing my screen time, I’ll need to go straight to the source: my iPhone (and yes, TikTok).

Here’s the contrast: While the Apple Watch hasn’t reduced my iPhone screen time, it has transformed my relationship with self-care. It motivated me to consistently exercise and practice mindfulness for the first time in a long time. Now, I’m starting to incorporate these things into my routine and, ultimately, prioritize my physical and mental health so much more. That is huge for me.

I know that wearing an Apple Watch for a week only allows me to scratch the surface of what it can do. I’m still wearing it now (it’s been three weeks) and I’m learning more and more about how I like to use it each day. I’ve updated my watch face so I have easy access to my Activity rings, Spotify, my workouts, phone and messages since those are the things I currently use most. I just tested the Camera Remote app to frame selfies taken with my iPhone’s rear camera more easily (this is a game-changer if you haven’t tried it), and I ordered a new watch band that matches my gold jewelry. I can’t wait to see how the Apple Watch continues to become a part of my life as I keep wearing it.

April is wrapping up, but the month has yet to fork over some noteworthy new movies and TV shows. This week’s slate includes Dead Boy Detectives, a Netflix series that pairs teen ghosts and mysteries and another round of the red echidna Knuckles at Paramount Plus. You can also look out for new episodes of X-Men ’97 on Disney Plus (Wednesday) and The Sympathizer on Max (Sunday). There’s also the season finale of Shōgun at Hulu (Tuesday).

While Netflix previously announced in a tweet that the Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell-led rom-com Anyone but You would debut on Tuesday, that post has since been deleted, and Netflix did not respond to CNET’s requests for more information. Though the week may or may not bring that romance, you can count on the following titles to fill your streaming calendar.

Read more: You Should Keep All These Streaming Services in April

Best New Shows and Films on Streaming Services (April 22 to 28)

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Discord added a long-awaited feature earlier this month. Discord servers can now abandon voting bots and reaction-based voting systems in favor of polls.

Many social and messaging platforms — like Mastodon and Slack — have had polling functions for years, but this is the first time Discord has formally added the feature. Discord started as a voice chat service for gamers, so perhaps a polling function wasn’t as useful then. But now, the use of Discord has expanded beyond gaming, and servers who use the platform primarily for messaging will find a lot of value in the new feature.

Adding polls on Discord is easy. Here’s why you should consider using polls and what to know about voting using polls. And if you’re considering joining a server, here’s our complete guide to Discord and what to know about ads on Discord.

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Why you should use Discord polls

Polls can be an extremely useful tool for understanding your server. Polls are a quick, clean way for you to get a quick pulse from people in your servers. Before the new polls feature was introduced, the typical workaround was a reaction-based voting system — you would react to messages with specific emojis that indicated your agreement or vote for a specific option. But with large servers, reactions can get messy quickly and it would be harder to see or understand how people were actually voting.

For example, I’m part of my local writing group’s server, and polls could be really useful for helping plan what kind of activities we want to do. Before, we would respond with a pencil emoji for in-person writing sessions and a computer for virtual writing sprints. Now we can use polls and don’t have to worry about our votes somehow getting lost or overlooked.

If you use Discord primarily for gaming, polls can still be a useful tool. You might not need them while you’re in voice chat or streaming, but they can be useful for figuring out when your squad is available or settling debates about which game to fire up.

How to use polls on Discord

You can send polls in most places on Discord. If you have the ability to send messages in a channel, you’ll be able to create polls. If you can only view channels, you can vote in polls but not create your own.

Here’s how to create and send a Discord poll.

1. Open Discord and navigate to the server you want to send the poll to.
2. Click the plus sign (+) to the left of your message bar.
3. Click Poll.
4. Enter the poll name and options. You can add emoji, too.
5. Tap the arrow next to Duration to set how long it will be available.
6. Click Post in the upper right corner.

To vote in a poll, select the option you want and click Vote. You can’t vote anonymously, but you can change your vote until the poll closes. You can add up to ten answer choices.

If you don’t see the option to create a poll, don’t worry. Discord’s help page says the feature will take a couple of days to roll out to all users.

For more on gaming, check out all the titles you can access with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and the best PS5 headsets for 2024.

The NBA playoffs kicked off on Saturday, with the higher-seeded, home teams — the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Knicks and Nuggets — winning all four of their respective games. Four more games are on the docket today, starting with the Heat and Celtics at 1 p.m. ET and then continuing throughout the day.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the NBA playoffs.

What is the playoff schedule for today?

Here’s the schedule for today’s remaining games, and for the next few days (all times ET):

Sunday, April 21

• Heat vs. Celtics, 1 p.m. on ABC
• Mavericks vs. Clippers, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
• Pacers vs. Bucks, 7 p.m. on TNT
• Pelicans vs. Thunder, 9:30 p.m. on TNT

Monday, April 22

• Magic vs. Cavaliers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV (Cavaliers lead series 1-0)
• 76ers vs. Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT (Knicks lead series 1-0)
• Lakers vs. Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT (Nuggets lead series 1-0)

Tuesday, April 23

• Suns vs. Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
• Pacers vs. Bucks, 8:30 p.m. on NBA TV
• Mavericks vs. Clippers, 10 p.m. on TNT

Wednesday, April 24

• Heat vs. Celtics, 7 p.m. on TNT
• Pelicans vs. Thunder, 9:30 p.m. on TNT

What does the NBA playoff bracket look like?

The Boston Celtics earned the top spot in the East, and the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the defending champion Denver Nuggets for the top seed in the West. Here’s what the matchups look like for the 2024 NBA playoffs, which began today:

Eastern Conference

• No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 Miami Heat
• No. 2 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers
• No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
• No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando Magic

Western Conference

• No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
• No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers
• No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Phoenix Suns
• No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks

How to watch the NBA playoffs

The NBA playoffs will be shown across four channels: ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. You can watch the games with a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service.

Three of the five major services offer all four channels. Hulu with Live TV lacks NBA TV, which will show only a handful of playoff games. Fubo lacks TNT, which shows a big portion of the NBA playoffs, making Fubo a poor choice for hoops fans. You can also watch TNT broadcasts of playoff games with Max.

All the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime, and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

Best Buy’s 4-day members sale comes to an end tonight at 9:59 p.m. PT and there are plenty of items to choose from. Whether you need to update or furnish your home office, a new laptop, home and kitchen appliances, games and even certain kinds of medical devices, Best Buy members can score exclusive deals. Not a Best Buy member?

You can still snag a limited array of discounts or look into Best Buy’s Plus or Total membership packages, which are a great deal if you’re a tech geek. Here’s a preview of some of today’s available items.

Best Buy members have a multitude of options for laptop, tech, and appliance deals. Here’s a small sample of what you can find. You don’t need a membership to take part in these deals, but members get an additional discount on top of the savings listed.

• Gas grills, griddles, furniture, and outdoor seating: up to $1,000 off and a $100 promotional certificate for members
• Dyson V15 Detect extra cordless vacuum: $650 (save $150, members save an extra $50)
• Dyson Hot/Cool Autoreact HP7 air purifier: $480 (save $170, members save an extra $30)
• GE 250 Sq. Foot air conditioner: $370 (save $50, members save an extra $20)
• Apple MacBook Pro M3 chip, 16-inch, 18GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $2300 (save $200, members save an extra $100)
• Apple MacBook Pro M3 chip, 14-inch, 18GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Space Black: $2100 (save $200, members save an extra $100)
• Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro chip, 16-inch, 36GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Black: $2700 (save $200, members save an extra $100)
• Apple MacBook Pro M3 Max chip, 16-inch, 36GB RAM, 1TB, Silver: $3300 (save $200, members save an extra $100)
• Apple iPad Pro, 12.9-inch, 256GB SSD, Space Gray: $1250 (save $50, members save an extra $20)
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, 14.6-inch, 128GB SSD, Graphite: $700 (save $400, members save an extra $50)
• McAfee Total Protection, 5-device: $30 (save $75)
• KitchenAid 21.9 cu.ft French-door counter-depth refrigerator: $2250 (members only discount, save $1650 + $200 Best Buy gift card)

This is just a small sampling of deals you can find at Best Buy’s member sale, with some discounts available to non-members alike. Remember that it lasts until 9:59 p.m. PT today. You save on headphones, video games, gaming monitors and headsets, TVs kitchen appliances, and more.

In the meantime, it might be worth it to splurge on a Best Buy membership, which includes Plus and Total tiers so you can take advantage of future sales like this one.