YouTube‘s new CEO, Neal Mohan, outlined the 2023 priorities for Google’s massive video service in a letter Wednesday, calling out how he wants to explore the creative opportunities of generative artificial intelligence while setting “thoughtful guardrails” for it.
“The power of AI is just beginning to emerge in ways that will reinvent video and make the seemingly impossible possible,” Mohan wrote in the letter, adding that the company is “taking the time” to develop these AI features with safeguards in place. “Stay tuned in the coming months as we roll out tools for creators as well as the protections to embrace this technology responsibly.”
This kind of annual letter of priorities was a tradition of Mohan’s predecessor and mentor, Susan Wojcicki, who announced she was stepping down as YouTube’s CEO about two weeks earlier.
“As we think through our product roadmap, we’re not just planning for the next few years. This is a critical moment in the creation of digital video, and we’re imagining what the future of creation will look like,” Mohan wrote. He said he’s aiming to give creators more formats for creativity and additional ways to make money.
Among the new stats noted in the letter, Mohan pointed out:
YouTube has captioned more than 6 billion videos.
More than 1 billion viewers daily are watching videos with captions enabled.
YouTube generated 2 billion views of gaming-related content last year.
6 million viewers paid for YouTube channel memberships in December, a 20% increase from a year earlier.
Mohan also said that Shorts, YouTube’s TikTok rival, would roll out a creation tool this year that lets you record a side-by-side with both Shorts and regular YouTube videos to share reactions. He reiterated that Shorts are averaging 50 billion daily views and said that the number of YouTube channels that uploaded Shorts daily grew 80% last year. (Last year was also the first full year that the Shorts format was available globally.)
He called out TVs as a continuing area of growth, as well as a newer focus on podcasts, such as a plan to integrate RSS to give podcasters another way to upload their shows to YouTube and to let podcast listeners have another listening option.
On Wednesday, Mohan noted in his letter that YouTube would continue to push its stance to policymakers, including debates related to possible changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the US, European proposals that may limit political speech and Bill C-11 in Canada.
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.
There are plenty of cheap phones on the market, but if you’re looking for a great phone on a limited budget, Apple’s third-gen iPhone SE is certainly the most affordable way to get an iPhone. And right now you can get your hands on one for even less than usual at Woot, where refurbished iPhone SE models are on sale from as little as $300. That’s a $129 savings compared with a brand-new model from the Apple Store, though the sale is only available through March 31 while supplies last.
These refurbished models are rated grade A, which means your item will have no visible scratches or blemishes and come with a minimum battery health of 95%. Plus your purchase is backed by a 90-day Woot limited warranty.
Released in 2022, the latest iPhone SE is equipped with 5G technology and Apple’s A15 Bionic chip — that’s the same chip from Apple’s iPhone 13. That means this phone is faster than its predecessors. Plus, it gets up to 15 hours of video playback. This phone has the classic iPhone design, with a home button equipped with Touch ID and a 4.7-inch LCD display. And it has both a 12-megapixel rear camera, which can capture video in 4K, and a 7-megapixel front-facing camera, too. It’s rated IP67 splash-, dust- and water-resistant, and it has upgraded glass for a little more durability. You can grab the iPhone SE with either 64GB or 128GB of storage to suit your needs and budget.
CNET’s Patrick Holland said in his iPhone SE (2022) review that “the iPhone SE is your cheapest admission ticket to Apple’s ecosystem” and called it “an incredible value for what you get,” referring to the $429 starting list price. With this refurb, you’ll be getting all those features at an even better price.
The Mac Mini is one of our favorite desktop PCs and continues to be the cheapest way to get in on the Mac ecosystem. And right now, Amazon is making the Mac Mini even more affordable with $50 off 2023 models, dropping the entry-level machine down to a record low of $549. B&H is matching the deals, too.
If you’re already set up with a display and a keyboard and mouse you like, the recently released Mac Mini could make for the perfect desktop upgrade with plug-and-play connectivity and easy-to-use MacOS software. The 2023 Mac Mini M2 is available in a few different configurations at Amazon, all of which are discounted.
The entry-level M2 model with a 256GB SSD is down to $549, from $599, or you can opt for a 512GB SSD for $749, down from $799. Each features Apple’s M2 chip with its eight-core CPU, 10-core GPU and 8GB of RAM. You’ll also benefit from two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI, Wi-Fi 6E and gigabit Ethernet. For day-to-day use as a home office or family computer, this machine is plenty powerful and has great connectivity, plus the option of an upgraded SSD can give you more space for storing family photos and videos.
Unfortunately, the more powerful M2 Pro-equipped Mac Mini model isn’t seeing the same price break right now, though it has been as much as $49 off in recent weeks.
Shopping for a new computer?
Use the CNET Shopping extension to compare prices of your favorite models at different retailers or add promo codes to your cart with a single click.
Every main numbered Final Fantasy game tells a new story in a fresh universe, giving each upcoming entry a powerful mystique. That sense is particularly strong with Final Fantasy XVI, which has been teased with spectacular, overwhelming trailers since 2020.
The PS5 exclusive lands on June 22, and developer Square Enix lifted the curtain at a New York City preview event with a playable demo build of the game earlier this month. Acting as producer is Naoki Yoshida (AKA Yoshi-P), the charismatic figure credited with reviving massively multiplayer online RPG Final Fantasy XIV. He and his team gave us a primer on the story and world before letting us try out the game for the first time.
World at war
This RPG takes place in Valisthea, a world divided into six nations that depend on giant magic crystals — one of Final Fantasy’s recurring elements — for energy. As the game kicks off, this energy is badly depleted and conflict is brewing between Valisthea’s nations.
It’s more of a cold war due to the existence of Dominants — humans with the power to summon massive magical creatures known as Eikons. Like the dragons in Games of Thrones, the Eikons are basically this world’s weapons of mass destruction. Except all the nations have them, and they act as a deterrent to open war.
You play as Clive Rosfield, whose younger brother Joshua has control of the powerful Phoenix summon. After tragedy strikes, Clive is bound to another fiery Eikon, Ifrit, and goes on a quest for vengeance. This causes Eikons to battle each other for the first time, throwing off Valisthea’s delicate political balance and creating lots of collateral damage.
The Phoenix Eikon is central to the game’s epic tale.
Square Enix
Clive’s journey will take him through Valisthea’s seven nations — which are divided into segmented open areas rather than one big open world — with a shifting party of AI-controlled allies as backup (there wasn’t much exploration in the preview section though). You’ll also be able to dive into the history of Valisthea as much as you wish, Localization Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox told CNET.
“We have a character that gathers lore; he will tell you about what’s going on in the game — characters, places, history, things like that,” said Koji Fox, whose previous Final Fantasy projects include IX and XIV. “It doesn’t affect the story, it doesn’t affect gameplay, but for those players that want to go deep and find out what happened 200 years ago, why these countries hate each other, you can go and do that.”
Dominating the Dominants
The playable section of our demo saw Clive and his ally Cidolfus Telamon (this game’s Cid, a recurring name in the series) making their way up a dark tower on the hunt for Benedikta Harman, a spy for a rival nation. Cid is the Dominant of lightning-summoning Ramuh, while Benedikta is linked to terrifying wind elemental Garuda.
Cid has beautifully styled hair and his voice will likely sound familiar — he’s voiced by Ralph Ineson, who appeared in Game of Thrones, Chernobyl and Willow and infuses his character with awesome gravitas. The fiery Benedikta is easily the most striking character design in the preview, and you know she’s a baddy because drops the f-bomb.
Benedikta is a pretty intense rival for Clive.
Square Enix
These Dominants humanize the political conflict, and their differing statuses within their own kingdoms hint at the varying cultures and attitudes across this world. This section occurs a few hours into the game, though there’s also a tutorial where you play as a young, fresh-faced Clive to learn the basics of combat.
The dingy tower wasn’t exactly a visual showcase for the first PS5 Final Fantasy, which will let you choose between performance and fidelity modes in the finished game. However, this location did offer plenty of opportunities to explore the game’s real-time combat system as goons leapt out at every turn. Unlike Final Fantasy VII Remake, you don’t control your entire party directly — only Clive and his faithful canine companion Torgal (whom you can pet).
Tailoring your battles
Basic combat fits neatly in the action-RPG mold, with Clive able to employ a mixture of melee attacks, magic, dodging and blocking. Final Fantasy XVI’s battles move much more quickly than those old games though, and combat director Ryota Suzuki drew on his experience developing lightning-fast action game Devil May Cry 5 for this series evolution.
“The most important thing for Final Fantasy XVI was to make a system that is accessible to lots of different types of playing styles; more technical, stylish and for players that are not too into action,” Suzuki said via translator. “So we didn’t want it to be overwhelming.”
Torgal is an exceptionally good dog and useful in a fight.
Square Enix
Adding to Final Fantasy XVI’s accessibility are the “Timely” accessories, which you can equip to simplify certain aspects of combat. These can let you pull off Clive’s most impressive combos by tapping the same button (instead of learning specific inputs), allow for easier dodging and make doggo pal Torgal battle automatically.
You can tailor this element based on which ones you equip, giving you a chance to get comfortable with different parts of the combat system at your own pace. The attack one had the most obvious impact, since unequipping it reduced Clive’s attacks from visually stunning Devil May Cry-style aerial ballets to basic thrusts and chops — you’ll have to learn a bunch of combos to achieve his most stylish moves normally.
Elemental Eikons
Your magical combat abilities are defined by the Eikon you have equipped, with Phoenix’s fire, Titan’s earth and Garuda’s wind were available in the demo, but it seems like Clive absorbs or copies these from other Dominants as he encounters them (it’s likely Garuda’s powers were unlocked early for the demo version). Earning experience lets you unlock or improve Clive’s elemental skills.
You can channel Eikons to employ elemental attacks in battle.
Square Enix
You can also switch between Eikons in battle, essentially allowing Clive to change character classes on the fly. It’s an evolution of the beloved job system that debuted in 1992’s Final Fantasy V, in which you assigned roles to characters and they learn those job-specific abilities through leveling up.
“It was my wish to take that job system and somehow replace jobs with Eikons, and recreate that system in a full action setting,” game director Hiroshi Takai, who worked on the fifth entry in the series, said through a translator.
“Making it something that’s very customizable and individual to each player … the Clive they have at the end and the palette they use in that final battle is different for every single person.”
Garuda is awesome looking throughout the intense boss battle.
Square Enix
Flipping between these elemental powers became increasingly natural as the demo progressed, with the mixture of these and the satisfying dodge system making the boss battle against Benedikta and her Eikon a joy to play. The smooth transitions between gameplay and cutscenes peppered the experience with that classic Final Fantasy melodrama without pulling control away for too long.
Battle of the titans
The final section of the demo took place a few hours further into the game, with Ifrit going up against Benedikta’s Garuda in an epic Godzilla vs Kong-style confrontation. It’s the kind of sequence that would have been a cutscene in older Final Fantasy games, but XVI makes it completely playable and extremely fun.
This battle felt completely different to normal combat, conveying an awesome sense of primordial power as the Eikons lay waste to an isolated part of Valisthea. Ifrit employs a mixture of beefy melee moves and fiery blasts against Garuda’s quick slashes and wind-based attacks. Projectiles also neutralize each other, which is a particularly cool touch.
The Eikons are a force of nature, and their clashes make a huge mess.
Square Enix
The developers noted that the gameplay of these Eikon clashes will vary, hinting that you’ll have to battle each one differently depending on their elemental prowess, unique attributes and Clive’s relationship with the character who’s controlling them.
Even with the shift toward action-oriented battles, Final Fantasy XVI looks set to be an emotional roller coaster in the series’ grand tradition. Speaking through a translator, producer Naoki Yoshida wants players to feel thrilled and hopeful by the time they’re done with the game.
“When those end credits roll and the players experience the whole story, I want them to feel that they can move toward tomorrow, no matter what happened today,” he said.
Google Fi, the tech company’s mobile virtual network operator, once based its service on three different carrier networks for subscribers to hop between in search of the best signal. While that dropped to two after the T-Mobile and Sprint merger combined networks, now that’s been limited to one after Google reportedly dropped US Cellular as an official network.
Google Fi’s support had supposedly told users that US Cellular was going away last week, according to a Reddit post. Google Fi Google Fi users can still tap into US Cellular’s network, but only while roaming, which users still won’t be charged for, a Google representative told 9to5Google.
Still, having US Cellular available will be helpful in areas that T-Mobile’s network doesn’t cover.
Neither US Cellular nor Google immediately responded to requests for comment.
Your iPhone is a handy pocket computer that lets you take the internet virtually anywhere you go, and just like every other piece of tech, it benefits from a little routine maintenance. Even browsing on the latest iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models might start to feel sluggish over time. Keep your iPhone’s browsers moving as fast as possible by clearing your cache every month — it only takes a few seconds.
Whether you use Chrome, Safari or other browsers on your iPhone, your cache builds up digital clutter over time. Clearing your cache gives the browser a new start, which can speed up your web surfing, even on iOS 16.3.1. (And if you’re trying to get your phone to run faster, try managing your iPhone’s storage.)
Your browser cache acts like a digital shortcut — it stores website data so your browser has a head start the next time you load up that page. In the short term, that helps speed up the process. But over time, the data stored in your cache can become outdated and no longer match what the site actually needs. If that happens, pages will load slower, and the formatting might be wrong.
That’s why clearing your cache can help: It gives sites a fresh start in your browser and frees up some space in your storage.
Website cookies are similar, except they store information about user data, rather than data on the website itself. Clearing your cookies gives you a chance to reset those preferences, which could improve your browsing experience. Note that clearing your cache and cookies will log you out of sites, which means you’ll have to log into them again and reset any preferences. But the upfront investment of that time can lead to a smoother experience down the road, and it can be a useful fix if you’ve recently changed settings that aren’t being applied properly.
Here are step-by-step guides on how to clear your cache on your iPhone based on the browser you use.
How to clear your iPhone cache in Safari
Safari is the default browser on iPhones, and you can clear your Safari cache in a few short steps. Starting with iOS 11, following this process will affect all devices signed in to your iCloud account. As a result, all your devices’ caches will be cleared, and you’ll need to sign in to everything the next time you use them. Here’s what to do.
1.Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Select Safari from the list of apps.
3. Go to Clear History and Website Data.
4. Choose Clear History and Data in the pop-up box.
Chrome is another popular browser for iPhone users. The overall process for clearing your Chrome cache requires a few more steps, and you’ll need to do things through the Chrome browser itself. Here’s how.
1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Select the three dots in the bottom right to open more options.
3. Scroll across the top and select Settings.
4. Select Privacy and Security in the next menu.
5. Then select Clear Browsing Data to open up one last menu.
6. Select the intended time range at the top of the menu (anywhere from Last Hour to All Time).
7.Make sure that Cookies, Site Data is selected, along with Cached Images and Files. Finally, hit Clear Browsing Data at the bottom of the screen.
If you’re a Firefox devotee, don’t worry. Clearing the cache on your iPhone is pretty straightforward. Just follow these steps.
1. Click the hamburger menu in the bottom right corner to open up options.
2. Choose Settings at the bottom of the menu.
3. Select Data Management in the Privacy section.
4. You can select Website Data to clear data for individual sites, or select Clear Private Data at the bottom of the screen to clear data from all selected fields.
Clearing your cache removes the website data your phone stored locally to prevent having to download that data upon each new visit. The data in your cache builds over time and can end up slowing things down if it becomes too bulky or out of date. (My phone had about 150MB of data stored in Chrome when I checked.) Clearing that data gives sites a fresh start, which may fix some loading errors and speed up your browser. However, clearing your cache also signs you out of pages, so be prepared to sign in to everything again.
How often do I need to clear my cache?
Most people only need to clear their caches once every month or two. That’s generally the point when your browser will build up a cache large enough to start slowing things down. If you frequent a large number of sites, you should err on the side of clearing your cache more often.
Google said Tuesday that it had tackled a bug that had been crashing some Pixel phones when people tried loading a 4K YouTube clip from the movie Alien.
Some Pixel users complained Monday on the Google Pixel subreddit about the peculiar bug taking down their Google Pixel 7, Pixel 6 or 6A device. Some folks said loading the clip via the official YouTube app instantly crashed their phone but that their device worked normally on reboot. Others said they ran into network connectivity issues and had to reboot their phone again. Those with older Pixel devices didn’t seem to be running into the issue.
Google said the problem has been addressed and that it’ll deploy a full fix in March.
Recent CNET testing showed that the video isn’t crashing phones. In earlier tests, CNET staffers found that Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 devices that were up to date crashed immediately when loading the YouTube video. An out-of-date Pixel 7 on build version TD1A.220804.031 and YouTube version 17.17.37 didn’t crash.
The nature of the problem, which was reported earlier by Gizmodo, isn’t exactly clear. The three-minute clip from Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien involves the protagonist Ripley communicating with Dallas, captain of the Nostromo, as he navigates through the spaceship. The clip was posted two years ago and plays fine on other devices.
Bizarre device crashes seemingly triggered by benign bits of media don’t happen all that often. The last notable instance included a “cursed” wallpaper from 2020 that would crash Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Nokia and Xiaomi phones. An investigation by YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss explained how a single pixel caused the phones to run into a boot loop error.
A text message from 2017 was able to freeze iPhones on certain older versions of iOS 10. Another random bit of crashing involved Janet Jackson’s 1989 song Rhythm Nation and how it apparently tanked certain mid-2000s laptops, according to a Microsoft developer. Usually, in these instances, software developers are quick to fix the issue in future updates.
Now that the PSVR 2 has been officially released, third-party manufacturers will be developing accessories as fast as possible. While the current slate of accessories are thin on the ground, there are some good ones if you know where to look.
Sony obviously has its own branded accessories, like the soon-to-be-available Sense charging dock, but many other manufacturers offer the same kind of gear at more reasonable prices. As I said, it is still early days, so we will keep this list updated as new accessories become available.
If, like me, you aren’t a fan of sticking things in your ears, you need a better alternative than the headset that comes in box. The Pulse 3D headphones are specially designed to fit over the PSVR 2 and offer 3D audio from the PS5. They sound great and look great, too.
This stand doubles as a charging dock for your Sense controllers in the same way as the official dock. The front LEDs show you when your controllers are charged, and the headset fits neatly on top. Having a stand like this is a great way to keep your gaming area free from clutter.
Available for preorder, this sleek charging dock is designed to charge your PSVR controllers without the need to clog up your PS5 USB ports. It uses two small USB-C adapters that help them charge via the dock so you will always have power when you need it.
While you may not take your PSVR 2 and PS5 to a lot of other places, a carrying case is still a good investment. Most stands don’t really protect the headset or keep it free from dust. This case is impact resistant and sealable so your PSVR 2 can be safely stowed away when not in use.
Keeping your lenses clean is not a big job, but it is an important one. Even the smallest smudges can break immersion and, in rare cases make you lose focus and also could cause nausea. A nice cloth will help buff away any oils that might get on your lenses from your hands or eyelashes so you can focus on the stunning visuals on the PSVR 2.
You’re receiving price alerts for Koala Lens Cleaning Cloth | Japanese Microfiber Glasses and Screen Cleaner | Safe for All Multi-Coated Eyeglass and Camera Lenses (Pack of 6)
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters used his first public speaking engagement since taking on the role in January to make it clear that the company doesn’t want to be forced to contribute to the costs of building out internet infrastructure in Europe.
Internet service providers in the region are complaining about being forced to bear all the costs of providing the technology required by data-hungry internet companies such as Apple and Netflix. As a result, the European Commission is now mulling rules that would require streaming services to pay a “fair and proportionate contribution” towards infrastructure costs.
But speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, Peters said that taxing entertainment companies to subsidize ISPs would have a “significant adverse effect” on their ability to invest in content. This, he added, would hurt the local creative communities around Europe.
Peters emphasized in his speech the extent to which Netflix sees these creative communities as important partners, leaning on the success of the Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front, which was made in Germany, and other popular shows and films, such as Elite from Spain and The Crown from the UK.
The ongoing argument between streaming services and ISPs is being referred to in Europe as the battle over fair share between Big Telco and Big Tech. The concern from ISPs is that sustained traffic growth driven by Netflix and its rivals as they continue to make ever-higher numbers of shows and movies will put untold pressure on their networks, which the ISPs will have to pay to upgrade. Entertainment companies such as Netflix are reluctant to pay for what they view as bringing more value and more customers to those operators.
Peters acknowledged that investment was necessary, but he argued that Netflix has invested $60 billion, which amounts to around 50% of its revenue, in content over the past five years. The company has played its part by creating “better, more varied content, leading to more people willing to pay for better broadband services,” he said. He also outlined the other initiatives Netflix invests in to nurture talent and fund content delivery networks in countries around the world.
On Monday at MWC, European Commissioner Thierry Breton made a speech in which he said he felt that the idea of Big Tech versus Big Telcos was too binary, especially as they should all be striving to achieve giant leaps in connectivity together. Peters said he agreed with Breton’s assessment and that he remembers having the same conversations and hearing operators express similar worries in Europe 10 years ago. What ended up happening, he said, was that growing internet usage only served to create more opportunity for everyone.
“A much better approach is for entertainment companies and operators to focus on what we both do best and through that create a rising tide that will lift all boats,” said Peters. “For Netflix, that means continue to invest in and improve the quality and the variety of the stories that we offer.”
