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Elon Musk Rebrands Twitter to ‘X,’ ChatGPT for Android Is Now Available, and Samsung Launches Two New Folding Smartphones
The latest from the world of tech
Not Just Product
July 29, 2023
👋Hi, welcome to Not Just Product Weekly Round-up!
Every Saturday, in this quick and insightful edition, we bring you the latest updates from the world of tech, consumer electronics, and gadgets.
We've curated this round-up to provide you with a concentrated dose of valuable information and insights.
So, let's dive in and explore the fascinating world of tech together!
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Discover what's inside this week's round-up:
Elon Musk renames Twitter to ‘X,’ changes logo 🐦
ChatGPT for Android is now available 🤖
Microsoft’s Bing Chat comes to Chrome & Safari 💬
Threads adds chronological feed as Twitter burns 🔥
Samsung launches 2 new folding smartphones 📱
Netflix unveils magenta light: AI green-screen revolution 🎬
Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon launches open-source mapping 🗺️
Elon Musk renames Twitter to ‘X,’ changes logo
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, announced a sweeping rebrand of the platform, changing its famous bird logo to an "X." He plans to gradually remove all references to birds and bid adieu to the Twitter brand.
The domain X.com now redirects to Twitter's homepage. The transition to X aligns with Musk's vision to turn the platform into an "everything app" centered around audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking, powered by artificial intelligence.
Musk shared that tweets will now be called "x's," but the concept of retweets should be rethought. The letter "X" holds significance for Musk, as it is featured in other business ventures like SpaceX and xAI.
ChatGPT for Android is now available
Image credit: Rolf van Root on Unsplash
OpenAI has released the ChatGPT for Android app, now available in the Google Play Store. It was launched a few months after the iOS app, starting in the US, India, Bangladesh, and Brazil, with further countries following in a staged rollout.
As of July 27th, the Android ChatGPT app is also available in Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, the UK, and South Korea.
The launch of the Android app comes after drops in web traffic and app installations for June.
OpenAI's GPT-4 model powers both ChatGPT and Bing AI chatbot, while Google's Bard AI remains web-based.
Microsoft’s Bing Chat comes to Chrome & Safari
Image credit: Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash
Microsoft's AI chatbot, Bing Chat, is expanding to non-Microsoft browsers like Google Chrome and Apple's Safari. Previously, it was only available within Microsoft products. The expansion is currently being tested with selected users.
The Bing Chat experience is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 model, but users have reported some limitations in other browsers compared to the original version.
Bing Chat in Chrome supports only five messages per conversation and limits the character count to 2,000, as opposed to 30 messages and 3,000 characters in Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft has not confirmed the details or provided further information about the differences between the versions.
Threads adds chronological feed as Twitter burns
Image credit: Meta
Meta's app, Threads, is adding a chronological feed of posts from the people you follow, making it a more viable destination for real-time information compared to Twitter.
Users can switch between the For You and Following feed by tapping the Threads logo or home icon.
Mark Zuckerberg announced the rollout of the chronological feed and mentioned that Threads now supports translations for posts in different languages.
Meta has also introduced other features like improved filtering of notifications, a new follow button, and a way to approve follow requests at once for private accounts.
More features are expected, including the ability to post to Threads from the web, direct messages, improved accessibility, better search, and a TweetDeck-like way to manage Threads posts.
Samsung launches 2 new folding smartphones
Image credit: Samsung
Samsung has launched two new folding smartphones, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Fold 5, with improved features like more rigid hinges and brighter displays.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a clamshell-style folding handset with a larger cover display and a slimmer design, while the Galaxy Fold 5 has a 7.6-inch display, reduced thickness, and an under-display front camera.
The launch comes as Samsung aims to double down on folding devices to compete with rivals in the growing foldable phone market.
Samsung also introduced a new tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9, and two new smartwatches, the Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic.
Netflix unveils magenta light: AI green-screen revolution
Image credit: Netflix
Netflix has unveiled Magenta Light, an AI-powered green-screen filming method that replaces traditional green screens with magenta LED lights.
It simplifies the visual effects process, allowing filmmakers to easily remove backgrounds and add virtual environments. Magenta Light benefits filmmakers, reduces costs and fosters creativity.
The technology marks a significant leap forward for the film industry, enabling budget-friendly and immersive productions. And as it evolves, Magenta Light could impact other fields like advertising and gaming.
The future of filmmaking looks captivating and accessible with this revolutionary technology.
Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon launches open-source mapping
Image credit: Tamas Tuzes-Katai on Unsplash
Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and TomTom have launched the Overture Maps Foundation to challenge Google Maps and Apple Maps.
They released their first open map dataset, allowing third-party developers to create their own mapping or navigation products.
The dataset includes over 59 million places of interest, transportation networks, and administrative boundaries.
This initiative aims to provide a cost-effective and standardized way for developers to build mapping apps and services.
With this move, they pose a potential threat to Google and Apple's dominance in the mapping industry.
In case you missed our most recent articles, here are some must-reads from previous newsletters:
Wrapping Up This Week's Tech Buzz!
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