Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.
In today's Techpresso:
📹 OpenAI unveils Sora 2 and a social app
🏠 Google unveils Gemini for Home
⚖️ Apple asks judge to toss Musk’s lawsuit over ChatGPT on iPhone
🎯 Meta will use your AI chats for targeted ads
📉 Epic Games says Apple’s new install process cuts user drop-offs by 60%
🔒 UK government renews push for Apple backdoor access
🎁 + 17 other news you might like
🔮 + 6 handpicked research papers and tools
📹 OpenAI unveils Sora 2 and a social app LINK
OpenAI released its new Sora 2 model, an audio and video generator which creates more realistic clips because it better follows the laws of physics, like a basketball properly rebounding.
The company also launched a social app with a feature called “cameos” that lets you upload a recording of yourself and then drop your own likeness into any generated scenes.
This Sora platform allows users to share their “cameos” with friends, giving them permission to include a person's likeness in videos showing multiple people interacting together in a clip.
🏠 Google unveils Gemini for Home LINK
Google unveiled Gemini for Home, a revamped app with Gemini intelligence that loads camera feeds 70 percent faster and experiences 80 percent fewer crashes for improved speed and reliability.
Gemini will interpret video streams from connected cameras to power features like AI-enhanced notifications with activity descriptions and the Home Brief tool, which summarizes everything that happens each day.
Google’s new Home subscription will retain the same price as the old Nest subs but is set to include more AI features, although some of the Gemini functions will be free.
⚖️ Apple asks judge to toss Musk’s lawsuit over ChatGPT on iPhone LINK
Apple filed a motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit from xAI and X, arguing the claim of an illegal scheme to control the AI market is based on pure speculation.
The company’s lawyers stated it intends to partner with other generative AI chatbots, framing the OpenAI integration as a starting point to undermine the monopoly accusation.
The filing contends that antitrust laws do not compel it to work with every available AI chatbot, letting it first consider their quality, safety, and technical feasibility.
🎯 Meta will use your AI chats for targeted ads LINK
Starting December 16, Meta will use information from your interactions with Meta AI to deliver targeted ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, with no option to opt out.
This new data collection policy extends beyond chatbot conversations to include voice recordings and visuals from Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, as well as its AI-video feed, Vibes, for advertising.
The company says it will not use sensitive topics like health or politics for advertising, and the policy change applies globally except in the UK, European Union, and South Korea.
📉 Epic Games says Apple’s new install process cuts user drop-offs by 60% LINK
Epic Games reported that user drop-offs for its marketplace install process fell from 65 percent to just 25 percent after Apple introduced a new workflow with iOS 18.6.
The updated system, required by the Digital Markets Act, replaces multiple “scare screens” with a single notice explaining differences from the official App Store and how data is handled.
The company noted that its new 25 percent drop rate on iPhones is now much closer to the abandonment figures it observes when people install its game store on Windows or macOS.
🔒 UK government renews push for Apple backdoor access LINK
The UK Home Office issued a new order demanding Apple create a way for officials to access the encrypted iCloud backups belonging specifically to the country's own citizens.
To avoid previous diplomatic problems with the US, this updated request specifies that the backdoor access mandate should only apply to data from British nationals, not users worldwide.
The government's push uses the Investigatory Powers Act, which grants the authority to secretly issue Technical Capability Notices compelling Apple to break its end-to-end encryption for data access.
Other news you might like
- Disney sends cease and desist to Character.ai over unauthorized use of its charactersLINK
- Leaked unboxing video reveals unannounced M5 iPad Pro in fullLINK
- OpenAI ropes in Samsung, SK Hynix to source memory chips for StargateLINK
- Taiwan says 'will not agree' to making 50% of its chips in USLINK
- Imgur pulls out of UK after data regulator warns of finesLINK
- Arm loses licensing dispute with QualcommLINK
- Microsoft is giving Copilot AI faces you can chat withLINK
- Amazon unveils new AI-powered Ring, Echo, Kindle devices for Alexa+LINK
- Stripe’s new tool can make stablecoins ‘with just a few lines of code’LINK
- Meta reportedly acquires startup Rivos to accelerate work on its in-house AI chipsLINK
- Former OpenAI and DeepMind researchers raise whopping $300M seed to automate scienceLINK
- California’s newly signed AI law just gave Big Tech exactly what it wantedLINK
- Elon Musk announces ‘Grokipedia’ as Wikipedia alternative from xAILINK
- Amazon's device division is charting a new course to beat Apple at AI devicesLINK
- Venmo and PayPal users will finally be able to send money to each otherLINK
- Designing agentic loopsLINK
- Humans extend forgiveness to machines just as they do to people, study revealsLINK
Latest research and tools
CDC File Transfer: a tool for quickly syncing files from Windows to another computer by only sending the parts of a file that have changed, which speeds up large updates like game builds.LINK
Introduction to Multi-Armed Bandits (2019): this paper explains a set of algorithms for making decisions that balance choosing the best known option with exploring new ones to find a potentially better reward.LINK
High-resolution efficient image generation from WiFi Mapping: a system can efficiently generate high-resolution images of people inside a room by using WiFi signals.LINK
Electron Lag Detector: a script that finds Mac apps running on an old version of Electron known to cause system-wide performance issues.LINK
Minimal PWA: provides the smallest set of files and configuration needed to make a web application installable on both Android and iOS devices.LINK
Basic Dialects, IDEs, and Tutorials: a collection of learning materials about programming languages and development tools.LINK
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