ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode, which allows users to converse with the chatbot in real time, could soon gain the gift of sight, according to code discovered in the platform’s latest beta build. While OpenAI has not yet confirmed the specific release of the new feature, code in the ChatGPT v1.2024.317 beta build spotted by Android Authority suggests that the so-called “live camera” could be imminently forthcoming.
OpenAI had first shown off Advanced Voice Mode’s vision capabilities for ChatGPT in May, when the feature was first launched in alpha. During a demo posted at the time, the system was able to identify that it was looking at a dog through the phone’s camera feed, identify the dog based on past interactions, recognize the dog’s ball, and associate the dog’s relationship to the ball (i.e. playing fetch).
The feature was an immediate hit with alpha testers as well. X user Manuel Sainsily employed it to great effect in answering verbal questions about his new kitten based on the camera’s video feed.
Trying #ChatGPT’s new Advanced Voice Mode that just got released in Alpha. It feels like face-timing a super knowledgeable friend, which in this case was super helpful — reassuring us with our new kitten. It can answer questions in real-time and use the camera as input too! pic.twitter.com/Xx0HCAc4To
— Manuel Sainsily (@ManuVision) July 30, 2024
Advanced Voice Mode was subsequently released in beta to Plus and Enterprise subscribers in September, albeit without its additional visual capabilities. Of course, that didn’t stop users from going wild in testing the feature’s vocal limits. Advanced Voice, “offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions,” according to the company.
The addition of digital eyes would certainly set Advanced Voice Mode apart from OpenAI’s primary competitors Google and Meta, both of whom have in recent months introduced conversational features of their own.
Gemini Live may be able to speak more than 40 languages, but it cannot see the world around itself (at least until Project Astra gets off the ground) — nor can Meta’s Natural Voice Interactions, which debuted at the Connect 2024 event in September, use camera inputs.
OpenAI also announced today that Advanced Voice mode was now also available for paid ChatGPT Plus accounts on desktop. It was available exclusively on mobile for a bit, but can now be accessed right at your laptop or PC as well.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.