The Best Spy Apps for Android in 2024
I Put Apple Image Playground To The Test, And It's Much Better Than I Expected
Image generation is one of the best ways to demonstrate the capabilities of artificial intelligence models, and Apple is launching an AI image app with Apple Intelligence. Image Playground is available in iOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2 betas and lets you create cartoon images from text.
I finally got access to Image Playground on an iPhone 15 Pro and a MacBook Air M2 after a week on the waiting list. While it can't create stunning, photorealistic images, it does a very good job of capturing a likeness and creating simple, fun-to-share pictures.
It is worth noting as well that, unlike high-profile image generators like Midjourney or Ideogram, the processing happens on the device, with no data being sent out to the cloud. This means it can use the images in your Photos library as a source to create comic versions of your family.
How I tested Image Playground
As someone who creates AI images daily and has been doing so for some time, I didn't have high expectations for Apple Image Playground. It was made clear from the start that the images would be cartoon-like and that all processing happens on a mobile device.
I am looking forward to trying Genmoji, as the concept of creating emojis in real-time is a fun diversion, and having it built into the device is great as it will work with existing applications. However, yet another image generator in a crowded space didn't initially excite me.
When I finally got access, I was pleasantly surprised. This is still beta software, so anything can change before the final release, but so far, my experience has been positive. Yes, it is cartoon-like, but it is brilliantly customizable, easy to use, and refreshingly different from other tools.
While you can use it to create a quick, fun image of a dog on the moon (my default first test prompt), its superpower lies in creating pictures of people. Because it is all running on-device and keeping data secure, it can use your photo library to fine-tune the model on specific faces.
Within a few minutes, I'd created a cartoon of my four-year-old son, turned him into a superhero, sent him to the moon, and then on a trip in a hot air balloon. I created a cartoon of myself with a top hat to send to my wife and put my eldest son in space.
How easy is Apple Image Playground to use?
I have used more or less every major AI image generator to some degree. I've even built my own AI image generators when I needed something for a specific purpose, such as comparing different models simultaneously. I've used mobile apps, desktop apps, and, most commonly, websites to create images from text or other images. Apple Intelligence Image Playground is one of the most intuitive I've tried.
It makes sense that it's easy to use because this isn't aimed at early adopters or people who make heavy use of AI tools. This is something that non-technical people will use to create a quick picture to send to a friend in a group chat. My parents are going to love this.
When you first open Image Playground, you're presented with a swirling icon and a text box where you can describe an image. You also have a selector where you can pick a person to use as the source for your image. This pulls in any tagged people from your photo library. You can also use an image not included in your photo library if you want to create something a little different, although there are strict guardrails in place.
For now, you can only use animation or illustration styles. This is in part because it's computationally cheaper to generate an image in those styles than it is to create a photorealistic picture. This may change in the future as the hardware improves and the models become more efficient.
This is very impressive for a first-version AI image generator from Apple.
Any changes you make to settings, such as selecting a different style or adding a new background, happen almost in real-time, which, considering the processing is all happening on the phone, is an impressive engineering achievement for Apple.
For every image you generate, you get a selection of choices — each a slightly different take on the prompt. This is quite common in AI image generators, and if you want to improve how the model responds to your request, you can up or downvote any of the presented options.
It works by layering. You start with a simple cartoon or illustration version of the person you selected, and then you can describe how you want it to look. If you're struggling for inspiration, there are some suggestions. These will be added as a bubble around the original image while it works out how to make it look. The final result is a fun square cartoon image you can share with friends and family.
Final Thoughts
This is very impressive for a first-version AI image generator from Apple. It isn't going to win any awards in terms of performance and capability, but that's not what it's for. This is AI image generation for everybody, not just those of us trying to push the technology to its limits.
It is also the first version, running securely on the device and trained ethically by Apple. It follows the trend that Apple has maintained with all Apple Intelligence rollouts — focusing on simplicity and core functionality to create tools that everybody can use.
I hope that one day, this will evolve into a fully functional image generator. It's already possible to run versions of Stable Diffusion and Flux on an iPhone, and they can create high-resolution photorealistic images (to a degree); it's just a case of waiting for Apple to be confident that its application can do that consistently and safely every time, as the bar is much higher when you're not targeting people like me who are focused on pushing the limits of the technology, even if it breaks a lot.
More from Tom's GuideWalmart Testing Lets Customers Access Locked-up Products By Using Phone App
The company logo is shown on the front of the building at a Walmart store in Illinois. Getty ImagesWalmart is testing a new process in some stores that allows customers to unlock security cases for merchandise using their smartphones.
If adopted by the retailer giant, the feature will eliminate the need for store associates to manually open them with a key.
According to MSN, the new feature aims to reduce theft while improving the shopping experience for customers.
Merchandise that is often commonly stolen by individuals include cold medicine, cosmetics, and detergent. In an effort to deter theft, Walmart has locked them up in a case that requires a key from store personnel to open it.
This new technology that involves using a mobile phone to open a case, is being tested with employees. If it is well-received by personnel, Walmart may eventually extend it to Walmart+ members.
According to MSN, traditional methods to stop theft have only ruined the shopping experience. Shoppers deemed the process of waiting for personnel to unlock a case as an inconvenience and staffers said it increased their workload.
Walmart continues to embrace technology to make the shopping experience more enjoyable. In fact, Walmart said it's betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) to fuel the future of shopping. Recently the company started offering AI to assist shoppers with want to buy this holiday season.
Retailers have found that using mobile technology and other security measures to combat rising theft has impacted sales and profits, said the news outlet.
Top 10 Software Testing Tools In 2024: Solutions For Quality Assurance And Automation
These testing tools are used for testing browsers to ensure the accuracy and performance of software products. The work of these tools is to check the performance of unit tests, it is used for further integration tests. Test. These tools are used to fulfil all the requirements of planned testing activities. These tools can also be used as software testing instruments for the private sector. Software testers come with various testing tools that evaluate the software's quality.
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Types of Software Tests:-In addition, in these tests, tests, the tools used are indicated accordingly. Two types of testing tools may be defined, namely:
1. Static Testing Tools:To work with the dynamic testing process, static testing tools shall be applied. The typical approach is used in the testing carried out with these instruments. The actual operation of the software is not tested in these tools. Tools. Some input and output are not required for this kind of tool.
Static test tools consist of
A-Flow Analyser
B-Path Tester
C-Coverage Analysis
D-Interface Analyzers
Flow analyzers help to see the flexibility of input and output;; path testers check the inconsistent code; coverage; coverage analysis assures a rational path; path; and interface analyzers check the consequences of passing variables.
2. Dynamic Testing Tools: The dynamic testing tools are used to carry out an asynchronous test process. The software is tested according to present or past data using these tools. The following dynamic test tools are available:
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Test driver: The test driver provides the input data to a module-under-test (MUT).
Testbed: shows the source code at the same time as the program being executed.
Emulators: The response facilities used to imitate parts of the system that are not yet developed are provided by emulator emulators.
Mutation analyzers are used to check the system's tolerance for errors to know if it is transmitting an error in a software program or not. Apart from this classification of testing tools, tools, there is another classification:
1. Test management tools
2. Automated testing tools
3. Performance testing tools
4. Cross-browser testing tools
5. Integration testing tools
6. Unit testing tools
7. Mobile testing tools
8. Gui testing tools
9. Bug–detecting tools
10. Security testing tools
Top 10 Software Testing Tools in 2024:- 1. BrowserStack Test ManagementBrowserStack Test Management is the latest software test management platform that offers a centralised test case repository with the best-in-class UI/UX. It integrates with other BrowserStack software testing tools like Live, Test Observability, Automation, and AppAutomate to perform the tests.
Features
TestComplete is developed by SmartBear Software. It is an automated functional testing tool that takes care of the quality of the application and does not compromise its flexibility.
Features
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3. LambdaTestIt is a cross-browser testing tool that helps with the evaluation of web application responses when they are accessed with various browsers.
Features
TestRail is a test management tool that helps streamline the process of software testing and getting visibility in the QA section. TestRail is used to manage, track, and organise software testing efforts by developers, testers, and team leads.
Features
It is also a test management app for Jira and is designed to help in planning, executing, and tracking quality assurance with traceability requirements.
Features
This is task management software, a smarter way to manage tasks, and it is more structured to plan, manage, and execute the tasks inside Jira.
Features
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7. SeleniumSelenium provides a playback tool for authoring tests across most web browsers without the need to learn a test scripting language.
Features
it is a GUI test automation framework for testing web applications, desktops, and mobile devices. To automate applications, it does not have any scripting language.
Features
TestProject is a test automation tool that helps users create automated tests for mobile and web software. It is added to popular frameworks such as Selenium and Apium.
Features
The Katalon Platform provides teams with a complete platform for managing quality, allowing easy and effective testing, implementation, and optimisation of the best digital experience on their platform.
Features
In this article, we discussed software testing tools and their unique features. This will help you find suitable software for you.
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