Tech News
Shazam for Android now recognizes music played through headphones – TechCrunch

Shazam, the Apple-owned app that helps users identify songs playing around them, can now recognize songs you’re listening to through your headphones when using an Android phone or tablet.
Acquired by Apple for $400 million last year, the company introduced a feature called ‘Pop-Up Shazam’ to its Android app this week that, when enabled, works with any other Android app to track and identify songs playing externally or internally on the phone.
It’s a feature that many users have requested for years. Prior to this, when a user would chance upon a music track in say a YouTube video, they only had two inconvenient ways to shazam the song. They could either unplug the earphones from the phone and let the audio play through the built-in speakers, or draw an earpiece close to the mic of the phone.
The new feature enables Shazam to track the audio signal beaming off of other apps, thereby not completely relying on just output from the surrounding and a phone’s speaker. The app is tapping the audio signal by using a persistent notification that floats around and could be dragged — like the ones from Facebook Messenger — and can be activated by a single tap.
In our test, the feature worked as advertised through both wired and wireless earphones (amusingly, Apple’s AirPods) and on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube apps. iPhone users hoping to use a similar feature will likely have to patiently wait as persistent notification isn’t something that Apple’s mobile operating system currently supports. Apple could potentially find an alternative workaround in the future.
Google has taken a shot at audio recognition in recent years, too, after it introduced a ‘Now Playing’ feature in its Pixel 3 series smartphone last year. If enabled, the phone actively looks for songs playing in the surrounding, identifies them and keeps a log.
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Tech News
How To Stop Random People From Requesting Your Location On Google Maps

If someone was able to request your Google Maps location, they either lucked out and guessed your Gmail address or found it on one of your social media accounts. In any case, you ought to review all the places online that you may have shared your Google email address or the phone number associated with Google Maps. Consider removing these details from public view or using a different email address and phone number if sharing your contact information cannot be avoid. Alternatively, if you have the option, set your accounts and personal information to only be viewable by those you approve to be connected with.
It is important to note that only people who share their location with you should have the ability to request you for yours. If you received an email notification requesting access to your whereabouts, you probably also received a notification email letting you know that the person shared theirs with you. They will be required to show you their email address and profile photo. While these two things can easily be faked, at the very least, if you have to, you’ll be able confirm with friends and family that the accounts indeed belong to them and are not fakes.
Tech News
A Capable, Complicated Answer To Going Electric

Regular Sorento ownership starts at $30,090 (plus $1,325 destination), with Kia’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine. Step up to the Sorento Hybrid, however, and Kia adds electrification and takes away engine capacity. Priced from $36,690 (plus destination), there’s a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine that — with the assistance of an electric motor — nudges up power while also improving fuel economy.
In fact, you get 227 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, reasonable if not excessive, compared to the non-hybrid’s 191 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque. Rather than the continuously variable transmission we’re used to seeing in mild hybrids, Kia instead relies on a six-speed automatic. The non-hybrid Sorento gets two more gears in its auto.
With both engines, front-wheel drive is standard on the lower trims and all-wheel drive is an option. Kia’s system has a center-locking differential, too, though it’s hard to imagine Sorento owners venturing too far off-road with their SUVs. It’s a $2,300 upgrade on the Sorento Hybrid EX and standard on the Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige (from $42,490 plus destination).
Tech News
Google Pixel 8 Pro Gets A Serious Upgrade: Here’s What’s New

The front camera doesn’t change from the previous model, and clicks selfies at 10.5MP with a 95-degrees-wide field of view. Unlike the rear cameras, aperture values also remain the same on the front camera. But even with the same underlying hardware, the Pixel 8 Pro can now click sharper selfies thanks to the valuable addition of autofocus.
Speaking of other improvements, the Pixel 8 Pro gets better video recording capabilities with improved HDR+ recording, powered by what Google calls “Video Boost.” The Pixel 8 Pro is also the first to extend Night Sight to videos. In addition, the Tensor G3 chip has been reported to bring support for AV1 encoding at resolutions up to 4K at 60fps.
That means the Pixel 8 Pro will be more efficient at compressing raw video footage to web-compliant formats without much loss in quality. Further, the Audio Magic Eraser will eliminate distracting background noise and unwanted sounds from the audio.
Besides video, the Pixel 8 Pro also gets a horde of software features for photography. First, as previewed at Google I/O 2023, Magic Eraser is expanding new AI-based editing features that can create and fill portions of an image, and this tool is now called “Magic Editor.” Secondly, “Best Take” will help you fix or replace any unpleasant parts of a photo, ensuring you always have the best possible pictures.
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