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Google’s next flagship smartphone will feature an AI-powered camera that can automatically alter the expression on someone’s face, according to a leaked video. The Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro, which are set to be unveiled on 4 October, have already been partially revealed by the US tech firm, which has a habit of teasing its devices before the official release date. The latest promo video, posted by reliable leaker Kamila Wojciechowska, shows Pixel 8 users radically adjusting the appearance of photo subjects “with a tap”. “Reimagine an image with Magic Editor from Google Photos,” the video states. “It’ll make you wonder, can a phone be made of magic? Nope, it’s AI.” The video generated excitement among Pixel owners on social media, though some expressed concern about the camera’s abilities. “I am sold on the Pixel 8 series,” one user of X, formerly Twitter, posted. “The head swap kinda creepy though.” Similar to Apple with its latest iPhone 15 series, the tech giant is expected to place a major emphasis on the phone’s camera, with other leaks and rumours surrounding Google’s next Pixel devices suggesting both versions will feature a 50 megapixel main camera, together with a 10.5 megapixel front camera. The Pixel 8 Pro will feature an additional rear camera that offers telephoto capabilities and 5x optical zoom. Key specs have also been leaked, most notably the inclusion of a Tensor G3 chipset that will enable better processing power. The price for the standard version is expected to be £699 in the UK and $699 in the US, while the premium version will cost £999 in the UK and $899 in the US. Anyone who pre-orders the Pixel 8 Pro will also receive a free Pixel Watch 2. Google does not comment on leaks or rumours about unreleased products. Read More 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity Pixel 6 pre-order: How to get Google’s new phone Google Pixel 6 release date revealed for ‘iPhone killer’ Google Pixel buds A-series review: AirPods for the Android crowd

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Apple is to adopt a messaging standard that will make texting between an iPhone and an Android device a better experience. The US technology giant has confirmed it will adopt the rich communication services (RCS) “later next year”. RCS is considered an industry standard for messaging and allows users to send and receive high-quality photos and videos, chat over wifi as well as mobile data and users are able to see when messages have been read – a range of features that currently do not exist or work to the same standard when messaging between an iPhone and Android. Until now, Apple has focused on its own messaging system – iMessage – which allows for seamless communication between iPhone handsets. Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS Apple spokesperson Adopting RCS alongside iMessage will likely make the experience of chatting to an Android user from an iPhone closer to the iMessage experience. In a statement given to industry news site 9to5Mac, Apple said: “Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. “We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS.” The announcement of the proposed change also comes as EU regulators have continued to pressure Apple to make iMessage more interoperable with other services under its new Digital Services Act – legislation designed to rein in tech giants, improve competition and ultimately provide better, more accessible services for consumers. Earlier this week, smartphone maker Nothing also revealed its Android phones would begin to support iMessage via a new app. Read More ICO seeks permission to appeal against Clearview AI tribunal ruling Users of iPhones can now check bank balance from Wallet app VR tool aims to help rail passengers spot and safely tackle sexual harassment

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Stocks climbed as Wall Street prepared for an upcoming update on inflation that will hopefully show a smaller increase in pain for everyone

Amazon says it will soon start using drones to drop packages into people’s gardens from the air in the UK. Customers will be able to make orders and then have Amazon load their packages into autonomous aircraft at its fulfilment centres, the company said. Those drones will then fly to their house, and drop the package into the garden from the air, doing so within 60 minutes, it said. For customers, the drones will be offered alongside the usual set of delivery options, and for no extra price. The deliveries are intended to sit alongside traditional deliveries for when people want small items such as suncream or Fire Sticks quickly, Amazon said. The drones should be launched from new locations by the end of 2024, Amazon said as part of a host of announcements for its plans for Prime Air, its drone delivery arm. It also announced a new drone, which it calls the MK30, which it says is quieter and able to operate in more diverse conditions, such as light rain. Like the existing drones, those new ones are capable of carrying one, 5lb package in a dedicated storage container built into the drone. The package is then ejected out of that container when the drone arrives at the delivery point, which will generally be in customers’ gardens. Amazon stressed that it had looked to build the drones with safety features such as the ability to spot any obstacles, seemingly in an attempt to allay concerns about the danger they may pose, especially in suburban areas. The drone includes technology that will stop deliveries if it spots a pet in the drop-off area, for instance. The drones then fly themselves back to their base, and land vertically just as they take off, on the stands from which they are launched. They can then have their batteries swapped for the next launch. Amazon has already launched drone delivery in two locations in the US, in Texas and California. It says those projects have delivered “thousands” of packages in the last 12 months since those projects launched. But it will now launch a similar scheme in the UK, as well as in Italy and at another US location, by the end of 2024. It has not said exactly where those drones will fly from, but suggested that it will do so soon. The drones will be able to fly out to about 12 kilometres from their base, which will be located in one of the UK’s fulfilment centres. The location has been chosen and will be announced in a “couple of months”, he said. The company intends to expand the rollout after that, however, with Amazon’s head of Prime Air telling The Independent that there is a “mapped-out plan” to open more facilities over time. “This is not a market test,” he said. That is part of a plan to increase deliveries from thousands now to hundreds of millions by the end of the decade. “Our vision for a successful delivery solution for our customers, who really want their packages faster, is to be able to deliver 500 million packages by the end of the decade to customers in highly-populated, dense urban areas,” Mr Carbon said. Mr Carbon said that Amazon had chosen the UK for its next expansion in recognition of its aerospace heritage, as well as Amazon’s large footprint in the country and high demand from customers. He also said that Prime Air had a “great legacy” in the country, with the first ever successful Amazon drone delivery happening in Cambridge in 2016, though its operations have been scaled back in the country since. Showing off Amazon’s work on drones to reporters in Seattle, Mr Carbon said that much of the recent work had gone into safety features, and he said the new drones were certified in the same way as traditional planes. Amazon’s current drones are twice as safe as driving to a physical store to pick up an item, he said, and the upcoming MK30 is “two orders of magnitude” safer than making that journey. He suggested that part of the reason for expanding the drone network was to reduce the number of cars making deliveries in busy cities, as well as reducing the need for panicked and potentially unsafe journeys to shops when people need ultra-fast deliveries. But he also said that there was “absolutely” a demand for such quick deliveries from customers. It was clear that customers “want stuff fast”, he said. Amazon is “committed to taking technology, finding technology, developing technology” to make the experience of deliveries better in response, he said. Amazon has not said how much the drone project has cost in the more than a decade it has been in operation. It also would not say exactly how many drones are in its fleet, or give any information the economics of the flights, such as how many deliveries would be required for it to be profitable. But he did stress that the new rollout is “not about proving that you can deliver a package by drone” and is not a pilot or a test scheme, but a real rollout of the technology with a view to making it widespread. He did say however that it would “start slow” to increase the chances of success. The UK has its own regulatory framework, and Amazon said it had been working with regulators and the government to ensure the drones are ready to launch by the end of next year. But it also comes with its own challenges, such as dense urban areas, fewer gardens and less use of the grid system that can make US neighbourhoods easier to map. Mr Carbon said that Amazon had designed the drone and the other systems that support its journeys to be able to do so in a range of different environments. The drone “has been designed to cope with where our customers are”, he said. Amazon was unable to say what restrictions it expected regulators to put on the drones’ flights, such as weather they would be allowed to cross roads and whether someone would need to have sight of it at all times. It said that it was working on technologies to give the drones more capabilities – such as the ability to autonomously spot and avoid obstacles – with the hope that those would allow for less restrictions. UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority suggested that Amazon’s work would lead to changes such as the ability for commercial flights to operate without being watched by their pilot. “Exploring the options of how drones can be safely and successfully incorporated into more of the UK’s airspace is key,” Frederic Laugere, head of innovation advisory services at the UK Civil Aviation Authority. “It is vital that projects such as this take place to feed into the overall knowledge and experiences that will soon enable drones to be operating beyond the line of sight of their pilot on a day-to-day basis, while also still allowing safe and equitable use of the air by other users.” The new locations are just one part of a plan to bring the deliveries to “as many Amazon customers as our technology can safely enable”, Amazon said in its announcement. It plans to “soon” launch from “new cities, countries, and continents”, it said. 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