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iOS 16.3: The New Features That Just Landed on Your iPhone

Support for the next-generation HomePod and security keys for Apple ID are some of the new features.

Apple’s iOS 16.3 update is available now, and it brings new features, bug fixes and security updates to your iPhone. The update was released alongside updates for other Apple software, too, like iPadOS, Safari and previous versions of iOS. The latest iOS update arrives about a month after the release of iOS 16.2.

Here are the new features landing on your iPhone with iOS 16.3.

Support for the second-gen HomePod

Apple’s iOS 16.3 software will support the second-generation HomePod, which is set to be released on Feb. 3 for $299 ( 299, AU$479). Apple announced the release of the new HomePod four days before the latest iOS software was made available.

New Unity wallpaper for Black History Month

The latest iOS update includes a new iPhone wallpaper as part of Apple’s Black Unity Collection. The collection celebrates Black History Month with a special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, a mosaic watch face and the new iPhone wallpaper. Apple also plans to release a selection of Black History Month content for Apple TV, Fitness Plus, Music, Maps, Books, Podcasts and the App Store as part of the collection.

New ways to use Emergency SOS via satellite

Emergency SOS via satellite was introduced at Apple’s event in September. In iOS 16.3, the Call with Hold option has been replaced with Call with Hold and Release. If you enable Call with Hold and Release, you can hold the side button and a volume button to initiate a countdown and an alarm. After the countdown, you release the buttons and your iPhone will call emergency services on its own. Before with Call with Hold, pressing the side button and a volume button would first bring up the Emergency SOS call slider. If you continued to hold the buttons, a countdown started and an alarm would go off. After the countdown ended, your phone would make an emergency call.

There’s also an option to Call Quietly in Emergency SOS. By enabling this option, when you try to make an emergency SOS call, your phone won’t start flashing or making an alarm sound.

Security keys come to Apple ID

Users can now use third-party security keys instead of two-factor authentication for their Apple ID.

Security keys are a lot like keys to your home. You still use passwords, but this extra layer of security can help protect you against phishing scams and hackers.

«Hardware security keys are very, very secure,» Diya Jolly, chief product officer of authentication service company Okta, told CNET’s Stephen Shankland.

Apple’s security keys feature only works with FIDO Alliance-certified security keys.

Here is the list of new features and changes included in iOS 16.3.

  • New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month.
  • Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process on new devices.
  • Support for HomePod (second generation).
  • Emergency SOS calls now require holding the side button with the up or down volume button and then releasing in order to prevent inadvertent emergency calls.
  • Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards.
  • Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen.
  • Fixes an issue where horizontal lines may temporarily appear while waking up iPhone 14 Pro Max.
  • Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status.
  • Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
  • Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly.

For more iOS 16 news, see what new features were added in iOS 16.2 and iOS 16.1. Here’s how you can sign up to test Apple’s iOS beta software, too.

Technologies

ChatGPT Ads Coming Soon for Free and New $8 Go Tier Users

OpenAI says that it won’t serve ads based on sensitive topics like mental health or politics.

OpenAI has announced that it’s testing ads for its free tier and new $8-per-month Go memberships, and the ads will be based on a user’s current conversation.

OpenAI says the ads will be clearly marked and appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers «when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.»

Meanwhile, the company says the new Go tier enables 10 times as many messages, file uploads, and image creations as the free tier, and also remembers more details about you over time. The new $8 Go tier joins ChatGPT Plus at $ 20 per month and ChatGPT Pro at $ 200 per month.


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The company says it won’t show ads on «sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics.» It also said it won’t show ads to users who tell the chatbot they are under 18 or to users the system predicts are minors. Furthermore, the company says it will keep individual conversations private from advertisers and never sell user data to advertisers.

The company also says that users can turn off personalization and can clear the data used for ads at any time. 

Last week, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT Health service, which enables users to upload their health data. However, privacy experts warned that the company wasn’t covered by a health provider’s privacy protections.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

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Technologies

How to Use Double XP Tokens in Black Ops 7 and Warzone

Double XP is a must, whether you’re grinding Black Ops 7 prestiges or leveling up your Warzone weapons. Here’s how to use your shiny new double XP tokens.

If you’re looking for your next hit of double experience in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, you’re not alone. While developer Treyarch frequently runs double XP weekends for the most recent Call of Duty game, not every player can take advantage of the full event.

When the weekend is over, players are often left looking for ways to keep the speedy XP gain they grew accustomed to. The solution is double XP tokens, which can help gamers level up their player level, weapon levels and battle pass tiers twice as fast.

Many players have an ample supply of Black Ops 7 double XP tokens, thanks to the carryover from previous Call of Duty games. But if you’re a new player, you might feel like you’re falling behind on leveling during Black Ops 7 Season 1 Reloaded. If you know where to look, there are giveaways and promotions that will help you get a head start in the latest Call of Duty game.

With more unlockable guns and melee weapons to catch up on than ever before, and the introduction of the new XP-based Warzone Armory, players will be benefiting from double weapon XP across their entire Call of Duty account.

If you don’t know how to get more double XP tokens to keep leveling up quickly after double XP weekends, we’re here to help. Here’s every way you can use double XP tokens in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 right now.

Can you use double XP tokens on Double XP Weekend?

Black Ops 7 and Warzone players aren’t able to activate double XP tokens during a double XP weekend. When attempting to open the double XP token menu to activate your tokens, they’ll be grayed out and unable to be interacted with for the duration of the event.

Any double XP time that players had activated before the double XP weekend will be frozen and will reactivate once the universal double XP boost comes to an end.

How to earn free XP tokens in Black Ops 7

Most of the ways to earn Black Ops 7’s double XP tokens involve microtransactions or external marketing campaigns, but there are still some ways to earn the boosts without spending a single cent.

Multiplayer prestige

While there are no double XP tokens available for reaching new prestiges in Black Ops 7, there’s still a roundabout way to earn double XP tokens by prestiging your Black Ops 6 account.

Reaching max rank and choosing to prestige your account is the most reliable way to earn double XP tokens in Black Ops 6. Each time you enter a new prestige level, you’ll be rewarded with a 1-hour token for double player XP. Since there are 10 player prestige levels, you can gain a maximum of 10 hours’ worth of double XP tokens through the prestige system — these tokens are automatically carried forward to Black Ops 7, where you can use them in the multiplayer, zombies and Endgame modes.

Seasonal battle pass

As Black Ops 7 enters Season 1 Reloaded, we know that the battle pass will offer double player XP and double weapon XP tokens on multiple unlockable tiers. The premium battle pass requires a Call of Duty point investment from players, but there are double XP tokens on free battle pass tiers that anyone can earn by just playing the game.

Giveaways through official channels

Occasionally, codes for double XP tokens are shared on official Call of Duty communication channels. The best social media account to watch is the Call of Duty X account, which usually runs giveaways before big Black Ops 7 update announcements. It’s worth keeping an eye on Call of Duty’s social media pages to spot future double XP token giveaways.

Paying for XP tokens in Black Ops 7

Opening your wallet and shelling out some cash is the quickest way to nab some double XP tokens to level up your Call of Duty gameplay. These are the most reliable ways to secure some tokens for your account.

Microtransactions

Double XP tokens are included in certain purchasable bundles in Black Ops 7. Bundles contain player and weapon skins, but also include a variety of double player XP and double weapon XP tokens that you can activate as you play Black Ops 7 game modes.

External promotions

Call of Duty is partnered with external brands, including Monster Energy and Little Caesars, which can bring special campaigns to Black Ops 7 players. Buying products from these brands and redeeming reward codes allows gamers to earn Call of Duty Points, exclusive operator skins, weapon skins, weapon blueprints, weapon vinyls, calling cards and emblems. Most importantly, you’ll have a chance to earn double XP tokens to use in the multiplayer and zombies modes in Black Ops 7. There’s currently a Monster Energy promotion running for Black Ops 7 — we’ve included the details below.

How to earn Black Ops 7 double XP tokens now

Monster Energy has partnered with Call of Duty to put together a promotion that will look very familiar to Black Ops 6 fans. Specially marked cans of Monster Energy include codes that unlock Black Ops 7 rewards, including operator skins, weapon blueprints, decals and sweet, sweet double XP tokens. Here’s the order in which you’ll earn Call of Duty Black Ops 7 rewards by redeeming Monster Energy codes.

  • Energy Flash decal and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the first code.

  • Peacekeeper MK1 Hyper Green weapon blueprint and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the second code.
  • Green Fury operator skin and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the third code.
  • VS Recon Green Thunder weapon blueprint and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the fourth code.
  • Daylight Ripper operator skin and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the fifth code.

There are no unique cosmetic rewards to be gained after redeeming the first five codes, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. Every subsequent code redemption unlocks an additional 15-minute double XP token to use on your Black Ops 7 account. These promotional codes must be used by March 31 in order to provide the rewards listed above.

When in doubt, use your Black Ops 6 double XP tokens

Black Ops 7 players are able to use any double XP tokens and GobbleGums they kept from Black Ops 6 — so take advantage of that carry forward and utilize these tokens now.

Double XP tokens don’t necessarily carry over forever — Modern Warfare 3 double XP tokens never properly carried over to Black Ops 6 and were only accessible through a Warzone activation loophole. No skins and cosmetics carried over from Black Ops 6 to Black Ops 7. It’s entirely up to Activision whether you’ll keep your double XP tokens for the next Call of Duty game that comes out.

It might be worth using your hoard of Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 double XP tokens early and often, just in case they don’t carry over to the next game in the series.

Black Ops 7 double XP token FAQs

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 17, #481

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 17, No. 481.

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 tough one. The blue group is a bit funny, once you recognize the connection. 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: Leading the pack.

Green group hint: Football division.

Blue group hint: Like Bridges or Goldblum.

Purple group hint: Blast off.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: In No. 1 position.

Green group: AFC East teams.

Blue group: Jeffs.

Purple group: Rockets.

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 in No. 1 position. The four answers are first, front, lead and pole.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is AFC East teams. The four answers are Buffalo, Miami, New England and New York.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jeffs. The four answers are Bagwell, Kent, Saturday and Van Gundy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Rockets. The four answers are Clemens, Houston, Richard and Toledo.


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