Technologies

Samsung’s One UI 6 Update Gives Galaxy Phones an AI Camera Boost

Samsung’s new update provides a glimpse at how it will incorporate AI into the cameras of its Galaxy phones.

Samsung’s One UI 6 update will bring a bevy of new camera features to Galaxy phones, some of which are powered by AI.

The update, which is based on Google’s broader Android 14 software, is said to have begun rolling out to certain countries in Europe and will be arriving in the US in the coming weeks. The launch comes as AI is beginning to play a larger role in smartphones, as recent announcements from Google and Qualcomm have indicated.

Samsung appears to be taking a page from Apple and Google when it comes to certain camera-related features in One UI 6. For example, a feature called AI Image Clipping will let Galaxy users cut certain objects out of a photo and turn them into stickers that can be placed on other photos. Apple has a similar feature in its recently launched iOS 17 iPhone update. A GIF within Samsung’s press release also shows the sticker being resized after it’s been pasted onto another image, which is somewhat reminiscent of Google’s Magic Editor tool for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Samsung is also building on its Galaxy Enhance-X app, an existing app with extra photo-editing tools, like the ability to sharpen older photos similar to Google’s Photo Unblur. With One UI 6, that app will get new capabilities such as Sky Guide, which uses AI to identify constellations and stars after taking a photo of the night sky.

You’ll also be able to apply Samsung’s Single Take feature in Enhance-X to videos and images with motion that you’ve already captured. Single Take is a camera mode on Samsung phones that lets you capture multiple images at a time in different styles by tapping the shutter button once. In Enhance-X, it sounds like your phone will be able to extract the best stills and clips from existing images using Single Take. Other features coming to the app include the ability to sharpen blurriness from a smudged camera lens in photos and turn regular videos into slow motion clips by generating extra frames.

A photo of Samsung's Enhance-X app showing Single Take

Aside from these AI-powered features, the company is hoping to make using the camera more convenient. The update should improve document scanning, and you’ll be able to switch to a higher resolution shooting mode more easily in the camera app. If you have frequent camera modes that you prefer, such as panorama or portrait, you’ll also be able to save them directly to the home screen as widgets. Samsung is also updating the editing tools layout in the camera app and adding undo and redo buttons for toggling between edits.

Samsung’s One UI 6 update is another sign that smartphone makers are seeking new ways to incorporate AI into current and future products. AI has played an important role in smartphones for years when it comes to features like voice recognition, language translation and object recognition in photos. But the boom in generative artificial intelligence, or AI that can create content based on prompts, following the success of ChatGPT, has fueled greater interest in AI.

Qualcomm designed its next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone chip around AI use cases and applications. The AI-powered photo-editing features in the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are the biggest factors that separate them from last year’s Pixel 7 family. And Apple is said to be developing new AI features for iOS 18, according to Bloomberg. Now, we’re getting a sense of how Samsung will incorporate AI into its Galaxy phones with One UI 6.

Samsung’s new software, launched in beta for the Galaxy S23 in August, and social media posts spotted by 9to5Google and Android Authority suggest the software has launched in parts of Europe. A Samsung spokesperson told CNET it will come to US devices in the coming weeks.

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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Dec. 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 27.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s pretty long for a Mini Crossword, and some of the clues are tricky. The answer to 10-Across is not an expression I use, for sure. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Fashionable
Answer: HIP

4A clue: Product sold on «The Office»
Answer: PAPER

6A clue: One writing a performance review
Answer: MANAGER

8A clue: With 5-Down, redundant synonym of «outcome»
Answer: END

9A clue: Quiet ___ mouse
Answer: ASA

10A clue: Gives constant compliments, in slang
Answer: GASESUP

12A clue: Ski mountain bump
Answer: MOGUL

13A clue: Uneasy feeling
Answer: ANGST

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Personally involved
Answer: HANDSON

2D clue: Hoppy beer, for short
Answer: IPA

3D clue: Mythical horse whose name is an anagram of 10-Across
Answer: PEGASUS

4D clue: Last word in the palindromic sentence «A man, a plan, a canal …»
Answer: PANAMA

5D clue: See 8-Across
Answer: RESULT

6D clue: Ryan of «When Harry Met Sally …»
Answer: MEG

7D clue: Genre for Playboi Carti and Cardi B
Answer: RAP

11D clue: Something in an Easter basket
Answer: EGG

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 27, #460

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 27, No. 460.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a real challenge. That purple category wants you to hunt out something related in four different words, and it’s a toughie. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Something you save.

Green group hint: An Olympic sport.

Blue group hint: Toronto pitchers.

Purple group hint: Think about the alphabet and look for something hidden.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Memento.

Green group: Types of wrestling.

Blue group: Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award.

Purple group: Ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is memento. The four answers are collectible, keepsake, memorabilia and souvenir.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is types of wrestling. The four answers are arm, freestyle, Greco-Roman and sumo.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award. The four answers are Clemens, Halladay, Hentgen and Ray.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet. The four answers are batter’s eye (I), blue jay (J), golf tee (T) and pool cue (Q).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 27, #1,652

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 27, No. 1,652.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle came together pretty quickly for me this time. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.