In our busy lives, it’s hard to keep up with all the important news happening throughout the week. But fear not, we bring you our weekly tech roundup, where we take a look at the major events that made waves in the tech world. In this week’s tech roundup, Apple finally gave a glimpse of its iOS 18 AI features with a new developer beta, Google announced new AI features for Chrome, Nothing launched the Phone 2a Plus in India, and more.
Top tech news of the week:
1) Apple rolls out AI features with iOS 18.1 developer beta:
Apple rolled out its latest developer beta update earlier this week, bringing a host of new AI-powered features to iPhoneiPad and Mac. Users running iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Developer Beta can now enjoy enhanced features like Siri contextual recognition, automatic movie creation in the Photos app, and advanced writing tools, while Safari has been updated with the AI-powered Summary feature, which provides concise summaries of web pages and articles.
2) DMRC allows using WhatsApp to recharge metro smart card:
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has upgraded its ticketing system on WhatsApp to allow users to recharge their Metro smart card directly from the Meta-owned app. Users can make the payment by choosing their preferred methods like UPI, debit cards and credit cards.
The new service is powered by PeLocal and is available for all lines in the Delhi NCR region, including the Gurugram Rapid Metro.
3) Reddit CEO Steve Huffman ends free data scraping, demands payment from Microsoft and other tech giants
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced the end of free data scraping on the platform and is now requiring Microsoft and other tech companies to pay to access Reddit data.
According to The Verge, Huffman stressed the importance of these agreements to maintain control over Reddit’s data and ensure its responsible use. Without such agreements, Reddit cannot monitor how its data is presented or used, which could lead to potential abuses.
“Without these agreements, we have no say or knowledge over how our data is displayed and what it is used for, which now puts us in a position where we are blocking people who have not been willing to agree to how we would like our data to be used or not used,” Huffman said in an interview with The Verge.
4) Nothing Phone 2a Plus launched in India:
London-based smartphone maker Nothing has launched its mid-range smartphone, Nothing 2a Plus Phone in India this week. The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G SoC, which features a 4nm octa-core chipset paired with a Mali-G610 MC4 GPU. Users can choose between 8GB and 12GB RAM configurations, with storage options capped at 256GB.
One of the most notable features of this phone is its dual 50MP rear camera. The primary camera uses a Samsung GN9 sensor with optical and electronic image stabilization, capable of 10x digital zoom. The secondary camera, equipped with a Samsung JN1 sensor, offers a wide 114-degree field of view. Selfie lovers will appreciate the 50MP front camera, a significant upgrade over the 32MP sensor on the Nothing Phone (2a).
5) Google unveils new AI features for Chrome:
Google has unveiled three cutting-edge AI features aimed at improving its Chrome browser, leveraging Google’s latest AI advancements and Gemini models.
First, Google Lens is now integrated into the Chrome browser, giving users the ability to search for visual content directly from their screen with a simple drag and drop. Chrome users can highlight any part of a webpage, whether it’s text or images, to find visually similar results.
These searches can be refined based on color, brand, and various other details, with the ability to ask follow-up questions for deeper exploration of a topic. A new feature called Tab Compare will allow users to view AI-generated product summaries across multiple tabs in a consolidated view. This is particularly useful for comparing reviews, prices, and other product details when making purchasing decisions.
Additionally, Google is rolling out a natural language search feature for Chrome’s browsing history, the post added. The feature lets users locate previously visited websites using conversational phrases like “What was the ice cream parlor I visited last week?” The optional feature, which can be turned on or off in Chrome’s settings, does not include incognito mode data.
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Published: Aug 04, 2024, 02:54 PM IST
