Google has open sourced its privacy-focused age verification technology.
The company built Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZPK) into Google Wallet earlier this year, a technology that allows users to verify their age across different apps and platforms without linking it to their identity.
Google has now put the ZPK codebase on GitHub so developers can use it to build more private apps and tools. Countries in the EU can also use it to build digital wallets, which are set to launch next year.
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Digital Trends
32 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
Nothing Headphone 1 Review: A surprisingly good first-gen product
Nothing Headphone 1 MSRP $299.00 Score Details 'The Nothing Headphone 1 features the most unqiue design on a pair of headphones, but while it stands out for their design, it doesn't for the default sound profile or build quality. Despite this, it's an excellent first-generation product.' Pros Balanced sound that needs refining Striking design Fantastic battery life Rapid charging Comfortable for extended periods Excellent ANC Cons Default sound is below average Multipoint disabled by default Design won't be for everyone Concerns about durability Not the best overall sound 'Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.' If you like unique technology, there's a strong chance you've seen products from London-based Nothing. The company, co-founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has built a cult-like following with striking designs that were designed to stand out from the crowd. Recommended Videos Nothing has made earbuds before, but the Headphone 1 is the company's first foray into the world of over-ear headphones that Apple, Sony, and Bose normally dominate. In typical Nothing fashion, the Headphone 1 aims to provide ample sound in a strikingly different design at a price that still offers value for money. Does the Nothing Headphone 1 deliver on this goal? The answer, as always, is complicated. The Headphone 1 offers a refreshing design with helpful features but falls short of meeting the high standards when it comes to the things that truly matter. Nothing Headphone 1: design and comfort The Nothing Headphone 1 stands out with a design like no other pair of over-ear headphones. In typical Nothing fashion, it features an opaque design that is meant to resemble the internals of the headphones. This helps the Headphone 1 stand out compared to the more traditional-styled over-ear headphones offered by its key competitors. The design is most definitely polarizing, but whether you like it or not, it's bound to be a conversation starter and a way to stand out. Personally, the design has grown on me; I've put different generations of the Sony WH-1000XM6 series side by side and couldn't tell them apart, and that won't happen with these headphones. The design is also quite interesting in terms of comfort. The square ears feel surprisingly comfortable, and the design gives strong cassette tape vibes, which quickly grow on you. The Headphone 1 weighs 329 grams, which is heavier than its competitors, like the Sony XM6, which weighs 250 grams. The band across the top helps keep some of the weight off, but the Headphone 1 feels heavier than the competition on your head. However, this doesn't impact the comfort even with extended use. However, I do have reservations about the build. The glossy part of the body is made from plastic, so it doesn't necessarily feel the most premium. The key issue is the aluminum frame, and this is where the Headphone 1 will quickly disappoint you; it took just four days to blemish the frame despite keeping it in the included case when not in use. These are only slight blemishes, but I have concerns about the Headphone 1's overall durability. Nothing Headphone 1: app, controls, and personalization The Headphone 1 is probably the most thoughtful pair of headphones I've used in years. Instead of fiddling with touch controls that are anything but intuitive, the Headphone 1 uses analog triggers, such as a roller, a paddle, and a button, to help you navigate tracks and playlists or activate your Assistant. It's not just hardware, as Nothing put careful thought into controlling the Headphone 1. All of the necessary controls are on the right cup. There's a physical switch for power, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB-C port all at the bottom. There's also a roller for adjusting the volume and a paddle that can be used to swap tracks or even scrub through a track by holding the paddle in either direction. The app offers a range of additional options, including customizing noise cancellation, adjusting transparency modes, enabling head-tracked spatial audio, and fine-tuning the Bass Enhancer settings. If you choose to pair the Headphone 1 with the Nothing Phone 3, you'll control exclusive features — such as channel hopping between your different music apps and AI-based voice control — from within the app as well. Nothing Headphone 1: sound, ANC, calls, and transparency This is where the Nothing Headphone 1 begins to fall short. Out of the box, the default sound quality is slightly above average, but it doesn't compare to devices like the Sony XM6 or AirPods Max, which are both more expensive. The sound isn't terrible, but its price point suggests that the default sound profile should be better. The sound is well-balanced across different frequencies, so a song sounds as balanced as the artist intended it to be. The mid-range feels solid, the bass is impactful but not overpowering, and the treble delivers a reasonable sound. Yet, the key challenge is that the overall sound feels flatter than that of the competition, especially since the Ear 2 sounds much better and costs a third of the price. Launch the app, and you can customize the sound to suit your preferences. It's easy to share presets with your friends or the wider community as well. This is where you'll want to spend time tweaking the settings, as once you do — or find a preset — you'll get a richer sound experience that's far more in line with what I'd expect at this price. That's not to say the default sound is bad, but rather that it can be improved with customization. Then there's the transparency mode, which works fairly well, but your voice feels boomy to my ears. You can easily adjust noise cancellation levels in the app and switch between transparency and ANC modes using the roller button on the Headphone 1. As you switch between the different modes, you'll hear a specific sound. Activating ANC mode plays a short sucking and shutting sound, while you'll listen to an intake of breath when you activate transparency mode. I don't mind the former, but the intake of breath sounds strange to me, even after over 100 activations. Then there's the active noise cancellation (ANC), and thankfully, Nothing nailed it with the ANC on the Headphone 1. There are four different strength settings — Adaptive, High, Medium, and Low — and while I liked the isolation of the High mode, it's not ideal for situations where you may also want to hear what's happening in the background, such as in an office. I've found that the ANC is on par with the Sony WH-1000XM5, and the Headphone 1 is among the better headphones for blocking out the noise of a plane or train. It's not as good as premium headphones like the Sony XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra, but the Headphone 1 offers as good ANC as the best in its price point. Nothing Headphone 1: battery and charging Nothing promises that the Headphone 1 will achieve 35 hours of playback with ANC turned on and 80 hours with it turned off. These claims put the Headphone 1 above the Sony XM5, which lasts just over 30 hours. Although I've been unable to test it with ANC fully turned off, the battery life has been impressive with ANC enabled. In my sole full test so far, the Headphone 1 lasted 37 hours on a single charge with ANC enabled, with spatial audio and multipoint enabled. Both of these features draw a considerable amount of power, so the Headphone 1 will likely push closer to 40 hours with them disabled. Like every Nothing phone, the Headphone 1 also features fast charging, and this is where it shines. A full charge takes around two hours, which isn't particularly speedy, but it comes to life in just a few minutes. A quick five-minute charge is sufficient for 4 to 5 hours of playback with ANC turned off, while a 15-minute charge allows for 10 hours of playback with ANC turned on or just enough for a long-haul flight. I often find myself at the airport with no battery in my headphones, so I appreciate the rapid charging. It's become commonplace in the best phones, but more headphone makers need to follow Nothing's lead and make this commonplace amongst the best headphones. Nothing Headphone 1: price and availability The Nothing Ear 2 set a direction for Nothing in terms of positioning its products as offering excellent bang-for-your-buck and class-leading performance at its price point. The Nothing Headphone 1 was expected to follow suit, and it mostly achieves this, although some sound customization is required to achieve the desired effect. The Headphone 1 is available in two colors — Black and white — and retails for $299 in the US, £299 in the UK, and €299 in Europe. By comparison, its chief rivals are more expensive; the Sony WH-1000XM6 costs $450 (or £400), while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra costs a similar amount in the US. Against the landscape of its key competitors, the Nothing Headphone 1 offers good value for money; however, it isn't the most premium product and doesn't offer the best sound available. It is, however, the most unique pair of headphones I've ever tried, and they've grown on me the more I've used them. The Headphone 1 is a great first-generation product It's easy to forget that the Headphone 1 is a first-generation product, and at that, one from a company that hasn't been making headphones for too long. In this context, the Headphone 1 is very good, although you'll want to ensure you're happy with every compromise. Yes, I've concerns about durability, and you may need to modify the sound profile to achieve the best sound, but once you do, this is one of the best first-generation headphones I've used. Given that Nothing's second-generation products are vastly improved, I'm eager to see what the Headphone 2 could offer.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia (NVDA) Nears $4 Trillion as Huang Looks Beyond Chips -- Toward Robots
Nvidia (NVDA, Financials) isn't just the chip king anymore; it's turning its gaze toward something even bigger humanoid robots. As the company brushed up against a $3.89 trillion market cap this week, CEO Jensen Huang took the stage in Paris and said it plainly; robotics, he believes, could become the largest industry in the world. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NVDA. That might sound ambitious; then again, so did AI a few years ago and Nvidia now dominates that space too. At the VivaTech conference, Huang introduced AEON: a full-stack humanoid robot developed with Sweden's Hexagon (HXGBY, Financials). It's not a mock-up or sci-fi concept; it's built, operational, and aiming straight for real-world deployment. Forecasts are starting to catch up. Nvidia's robotics and automotive division brought in $1.7 billion in fiscal 2024; analysts now expect that number to hit $7.55 billion by the early 2030s. If AEON gains commercial ground and it might those projections could prove too modest. Earlier this year, things looked shakier. U.S. chip export curbs to China sparked some turbulence; Nvidia stock dipped, and traders got nervous. But the pause didn't last; the stock is now up 19% for the year and once again holds the crown as the world's most valuable public company. The bigger story? That crown might soon be gilded in robotics, not just silicon. There's also seasonality working in Nvidia's favor. Historically, Q3 tends to be quiet a 4% average gain. But Q4 is where things pop; Nvidia has averaged a 23% rally in the final quarter, according to Dow Jones data. That pattern, paired with the robotics momentum, could set the stage for a breakout into even higher valuation territory. Nvidia is already in a class of its own a company that not only scaled the AI summit, but may now have the tools to build entirely new mountains. Other tech giants are maturing; Nvidia still has untouched runways. Robotics may be the next trillion-dollar catalyst and Huang knows it. As of this week, Nvidia is just $50 billion shy of Microsoft's (MSFT, Financials) all-time market cap peak. That number could fall by next week; or even tomorrow. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Researchers discover mind-blowing method to give old smartphones new life: 'A new way of thinking about the old'
In a time when the average smartphone is replaced every two to three years, researchers in Estonia have found an innovative way to give old devices a meaningful second life — by turning them into tiny data centers. This new approach could reshape the way we think about electronics, pollution, and the digital systems that power our lives. It's a sustainable tech breakthrough that offers more than just a clever reuse — it has the potential to reduce electronic waste, save money, and unlock new possibilities for greener data processing. Every year, the world produces over 1.2 billion smartphones. Manufacturing them uses up energy and precious raw materials and contributes heavily to pollution. And while some of these phones are recycled, many end up in landfills — sometimes with their batteries still inside, leaking toxic chemicals into the environment. But the problem doesn't stop with waste. There's also growing demand for data centers — the massive facilities that store and process information for everything from email to AI. These centers are energy-intensive and expensive to build. At the University of Tartu's Institute of Computer Science, researchers have created a working prototype that turns old smartphones into mini data centers. The devices are deconstructed — their batteries removed and replaced with safer, external power sources — then mounted into 3D-printed holders and linked together. The whole setup costs just around €8 per phone, or about $9. Once connected, these upcycled phones can collect, store, and analyze data. One early test involved marine life monitoring. Instead of relying on a diver to manually capture footage, the underwater phone-powered center automatically identified and recorded sea creatures — all in real time. Another potential application? Urban environments. These smartphone clusters could be installed at bus stops to count passengers and help improve public transportation schedules. The research, published in IEEE Pervasive Computing, shows that with just a small investment, smartphones once considered "e-waste" can take on important new jobs — no cutting-edge chips or big budgets needed. And while consumer behavior shifts — like holding onto your phone longer — remain the most sustainable solution, innovations like this provide a smart, realistic way to reduce pollution and extend the usefulness of our devices. As Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing Huber Flores put it: "Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future." Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back Letting me trade for new stuff Making it as easy as possible Keeping my stuff out of landfills Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Right now, the data center prototype is still in its early stages. But researchers say future versions could be easier to assemble and adapt to more types of hardware. With further development, we could see these tiny data centers powering smart cities, community centers, and conservation projects — all using tech we already have. It's a small idea with big potential — and a reminder that sometimes, the smartest solution starts with what's already in our hands. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
