Infinix has launched a new smartphone in the budget segment in India, called the infinix Hot 40i. The new Hot 40i comes with features such as a Unisoc processor, Android 13, a 5000mAh battery, and a 32-megapixel selfie sensor which is actually a first-in-segment feature. Here’s what else the device will have to offer.
Infinix Hot 40i: Price
Priced at Rs 9,999 and Rs 8,999 including bank offers, the Infinix Hot 40i will be available in 4 colour variants in India, such as Palm Blue, Starfall Green, Horizon Gold, and Starlit Black. It can be bought via Flipkart from February 21.
Infinix Hot 40i: Specifications
The Infinix Hot 40i sports a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate, an HD+ (1612 × 720 pixel) Resolution and a punch-hole notch.
Under the hood, the device is powered by an octa-core Unisoc T606. It sports up to 8GB of memory and up to 256GB of internal storage. The smartphone comes pre-loaded with Android 13.
The Infinix Hot 40i sports a dual-rear camera setup that consists of a 50MP primary shooter and an AI lens with an LED flash. There is also a 32MP front shooter which is supported by a dual LED flash setup.
It further packs a 5000mAh battery unit and 18W charging support. The device offers a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Connectivity options of the device include Dual-SIM, 4G, WiFI 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and a USB-C port for charging.
The device competes with the recently launched Moto G04 which comes with the same Chipset but has an EDGE in the software department, as it comes with Android 14 out of the box. It does lack behind in the storage department, though.
Honor debuted a new smartphone in India called the Honor X9b. The brand has positioned it right next to Poco’s contender, the Poco X6 Pro 5G launched last month in the country. Here’s a specifications comparison of the Honor X9b and the Poco X6 Pro 5G to help you decide which one’s more value for money.
Display
The Honor X9b gets a 6.78-inch 1.5K (1,200×2,652 pixels) curved AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the Poco handset gets a 6.67-inch 1.5K resolution AMOLED Display with a Refresh Rate of 120Hz, Dolby Vision, 12-bit colours, 1800 nits peak brightness and HDR10+ support.
While both have the same resolution, the Honor device has a curved display that might appeal to some due to the premium look. It is also much more durable as we tested the same during our review of the device. On the other hand, Poco’s display is much brighter and flat, which could be preferred by those who do not like curved panels due to the higher reflectivity.
Performance & Software
The Poco X6 Pro is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra SoC under the hood, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM. It comes with up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. On the other hand, the Honor X9b gets Qualcomm’s 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip, along with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
The Poco X6 Pro has an EDGE over the Honor X9b in terms of power as it not only sports a far more capable Chipset but also much faster RAM and storage that will surely make a difference in real-world performance. Software is always a subjective choice, and our review of the Honor device concluded that while it is smooth, it definitely loses out on some basic Android features. Feature-wise, we’ll give this win to the Poco X6 Pro as it also runs on the latest Android 14, while Honor’s handset runs on Android 13.
Battery & Cameras
The Honor X9b packs a 5800mAh cell with 35W fast charging, while Poco X6 Pro gets a 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging. Clearly, the X9b has a bigger battery, but the X6 Pro will charge much faster.
The Poco X6 Pro gets a 64-megapixel f/1.69 primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The smartphone also has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The Honor X9b has a 108-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.75 aperture, a 5-megapixel Wide-Angle camera with a f/2.2, and a 2-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture. On the front, it has a 16-megapixel camera for selfies and video chats.
While the sensor setup remains identical, we cannot confirm which one of them performs better in varying lighting conditions unless we use them side-by-side. As for Honor X9b, we saw in its review that the camera was underperforming in most conditions, making the experience less than ideal.
Verdict
If you are longing for durability along with a longer-lasting battery, the Honor X9b at Rs 25,999 is a decent buy, but as an overall package, the Poco X6 Pro at Rs 26,999 is the much better choice and offers a value that’s far better for just 1000 bucks more.
Apple and Meta are two leading consumer-facing technology giants in the world, and they are both competing for the future of mixed reality (MR) – a technology that blends virtual and physical worlds. Apple recently launched its Vision Pro, a high-end MR headset that costs $3,499 (approx Rs 2,90,000) and promises to deliver immersive and realistic experiences. Meta, on the other hand, has been in the MR market for longer and released its Quest 3 earlier last year, a more affordable and versatile MR headset that costs $499 (approx Rs 41,000) and offers a wide range of VR and AR apps.
Which headset is better? Well, that depends on your preferences and budget. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has already tried Vision Pro and expressed his opinion. In his view, the Quest 3 is not only a better value but also a superior product overall.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Zuckerberg compared the two headsets and highlighted the advantages of the Quest 3 over the Vision Pro, such as its lighter weight, wider field of view, better hand tracking, and more.
We performed a comparison between two headsets – the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest 3. Our analysis covered various aspects such as specs, price, developer connection, features, usability, looks, and software experience. Keep reading to learn more about our findings.
Look & Feel
Look and feel play an important role in MR headsets, considering they’ll be sitting on your face for the majority of the time, even when in public if you decide to wear them outside your home. Looks-wise, Apple Vision Pro beats the Quest 3, in our opinion, due to the glass front and a metal design, which makes it look more modern and premium.
However, feel-wise, the Quest 3 wins because it weighs lighter at 513 grams compared to the 600-650 grams weight of the Vision Pro. That’s because of the plastic Meta used in the making of the Quest 3, which not only makes it lighter but less prone to damage and scratches. The Vision Pro may look more premium, but the weight distribution isn’t handled as well as we have seen in multiple reviews on X. Also, the metal and glass design makes it heavy as well as more fragile.
As for the controller, you get two of them for each hand with Quest 3, but your hands are your controllers with the Apple Vision Pro. That makes the Vision Pro feel more futuristic and keeps your hands free so you can do other tasks as well while wearing it. However, there can be times when the hand tracking may not work perfectly, such as in low lighting conditions, while the controllers in the Quest 3 do not depend on the ambient lighting.
That is because the Vision Pro uses Sensors and cameras at the front to recognise your hand gestures, and low lighting conditions may hinder that process. Meta’s Touch Plus controllers have sensations enabled via TruTouch haptics. They also have better ergonomics, so your hands move more naturally whenever you use them.
Moreover, there’s a battery you have to carry around hanging from the Vision Pro, which you’ll need to keep in a pocket, while Quest 3 has the battery inside the headset itself, which makes for a more convenient and better overall design choice.
It’s worth noting that the Quest 3 offers accessories support, allowing you to choose from multiple first-party headbands and straps in different colours and styles. On the other hand, Apple only provides a single white coloured strap by default. Additionally, the Quest 3 offers a strap option that comes with a separate battery pack attached at the back of your head, providing up to 2 hours of extra playtime. In comparison, Apple also offers an external battery pack, but it has a wire, which can be inconvenient to carry around and is more expensive than the Quest 3’s strap.
Both the Quest 3 and Vision Pro sport the best specs they can offer. This includes a pair of M2 and R2 chips in the Vision Pro, while the Quest 3 sports the Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chipset. They both are available in multiple storage options and use pancake lenses.
However, a major difference lies in the type of display being used. The Quest 3 gets a 2064 x 2208 LCD display running at 120Hz, while the Vision Pro gets a 2160 x 3840 resolution Micro OLED display running at 100Hz. Clearly, the Vision Pro display is superior, offering a crisper resolution and a better dynamic range with more vivid colours. The better display will account for an enhanced viewing experience with movies.
On the other hand, as multiple reviews suggest online, along with Zuckerberg’s own, the Quest 3 has a better field-of-view compared to Vision Pro due to which you don’t see the edges of the display, which may be a distraction when you are looking left or right.
Both of them offer speakers attached to either side of the headsets and sport a battery life of up to 2 hours. While the comparison between batteries and how smooth the OS is on either cannot be done unless the headsets are used side-by-side, we can say that the Quest 3 does come close to Vision Pro in some areas despite being priced seven times less than it.
Meta was one of the largest companies that entered the MR segment before Apple. As a result, it has pumped a lot of money into the space to encourage developers to make apps compatible with VR-AR headsets, due to which it has a better developer connection. The App Library is huge for Meta Quest 3 compared to Vision Pro’s.
Not only apps but VR games library, which is a vital part of the whole experience, is also much better on Quest 3. On Apple Vision Pro, you do get access to games, but the optimisation remains far better on Meta Quest 3. Not only that, but it also has support for SteamVR along with Xbox Cloud Gaming, which opens up access to 500+ games, a number Vision Pro can nowhere come near to, at least as of now as it stands at nearly half of it. The shared experiences that Quest 3 can handle in the best possible manner aren’t really available on Vision Pro.
The whole software experience needs to be checked in the real world, but we know that the Vision Pro plays well with other Apple Products than Quest 3 due to obvious reasons. Features on both of them are unique and ample in quantity. Some of them work better on Vision Pro, and some work nicer on Quest 3. For instance, the Apple Vision Pro has a Persona feature that can allow for a real-world-like experience during FaceTime calls.
On Quest 3, there’s a feature called augments. It puts up interactive, spatially aware digital objects that come to life all around you. Imagine hanging your favourite piece of art on an accent wall or a weather augment on your desk that alerts you before the rain starts—and every time you put on your headset, these digital objects appear in the same places.
Overall, both of them have their own unique set of features and software tweaks, but we do have to appreciate that Quest 3 handles a good number of tasks Vision Pro can, and even does some tasks in a superior manner, such as gaming.
Price
To sum up, priced seven times less than Vision Pro, the Meta Quest 3 at $499 serves as one of the best entry points into the world of VR and AR to show the possibilities the future holds. Not only that, but it does some tasks much better than the $3500 Apple Vision Pro. The Apple Vision Pro, being the much more costly offering, has it’s benefits such as a more premium feel, a better viewing experience, tight integration with other Apple services and products (if you are into the Apple Ecosystem) and more. But in a market where the Meta Quest 3 exists, it becomes a little difficult to justify the pricing of the Apple Vision Pro.
Honor has just come up with a new smartphone in India called the Honor X9b. Positioned in the mid-range segment for Rs 25,999, the Honor X9b aims to offer a blend of durable build quality, premium looks, and a smooth experience that’s unmatchable by its competitors. After our initial impressions of the device, we put the Honor X9b to the test and found out whether it could stand strong against its competition or not.
Design & Display
The Honor X9b, as we previously mentioned in our first impressions, is built solidly and doesn’t compromise on design in any aspect. It feels as premium as a smartphone can in this segment. It is slim and durable, and the design is unique in some ways. We have seen smartphones in the past with a circular camera module at the center of the rear panel, but this one stands out.
With Honor X9b, the treatment given to the camera module is different, with two golden rings in the black shade and the whole module being gold in the orange shade. The device also doesn’t feel heavy in the hand at all. Despite being light and slim, Honor packed the device with a 5800mAh cell, which is very impressive.
There’s a single speaker at the bottom, which is a bummer, as it could have been a stereo setup. Moreover, the speaker’s sound quality is strictly average as it has a lot of echo with no bass at all. In fact, the stereo speakers on the Moto G24 Power (which cost Rs 8,999) we tested a couple of weeks ago had better quality and was louder. The Haptics on the Honor X9b are decent, similar to the Honor 90.
As for the display, this is what Honor boasts about the most amongst the other features of the handset. This is a 6.78-inch panel, which is actually one of the best we have seen in this price range. It gets bright enough outdoors while also reproducing contrasty images. The colours pop while the smoothness with 120Hz is appreciable. The in-display fingerprint sensor works without any issues as such. It would have been better if it was placed a little higher for comfortable accessibility, but you’d get used to it quickly.
Viewing angles also look impressive, and Honor claims that this is an anti-drop display with SGS 5-star Whole-device Drop Resistance Certification. Of course, we had to put it to the test, and Honor X9b passed with flying colours. Even when dropping it on the screen, it didn’t get a single scratch, let alone any cracks. The curves on the sides can sometimes be a little bothersome with reflections as the curvature is slightly higher but most of the time, it looks perfectly fine.
Performance & Software
With the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 at the helm of the smartphone, you cannot expect the Honor X9b to be the best at everything. However, it is quite impressive with daily usage scenarios, such as scrolling through social media, calling, browsing the web, etc. We didn’t notice any lags or the device getting hot during any circumstances. However, if you try to game heavily on it, it’ll start to slow down soon enough.
When we tested the Honor 90, we had a few complaints with the software where Magic OS 7.1 didn’t implement some of the basic Android notification features. Unfortunately, the same is the case with Magic OS 7.2 as well. It still doesn’t offer the ability to hide notification content on the lock screen.
However, the super aggressive battery management has been corrected, which earlier prevented the device from sending timely notifications from apps. Volume controls are still a mess, where you have to tap on the settings icon below the bar to adjust separate volumes for media, calls, etc. There’s not a lot of bloatware apart from Honor’s own apps, Netflix, WPS Office and Booking.com. These apps can all be uninstalled, except for Honor’s Proprietary apps, which can be disabled.
The user interface also seems to have a lot of iOS-inspired elements, such as the quick settings style, volume bar, etc. The animations are very well handled, and as a fact, they look similar to iOS, too. Animations in Magic OS 7.2 are non-linear, along with being fluid.
But once again, the device disappoints in a couple of more aspects, such as no monet theming system, which can grab the colours from your wallpaper and apply them to the system elements accordingly. It tried to make up for it by providing customisation options such as custom icons, a number of Always-on display styles, etc. Also, the device runs on Android 13 and not 14, compared to the competitors, who ship their devices with Android 14 out of the box.
Security-wise, it comes with the January 2024 security patch. The connectivity performance of the handset also remains optimum.
The Honor X9b packs a 5800mAh battery with 35W fast wired charging. The handset doesn’t ship with a charger in the box but offers a USB-A to USB-C cable. Thanks to its large battery capacity and decent optimisation, the Honor X9b can easily last for a day or even two, depending on your usage. During my use, I had around 35% left at the end of the day with more than 6 hours of screen-on time, which is quite impressive. I could even get it close to the 2-day mark with moderate use.
The charging time is decent but not the best, as it takes 1.5 hours from 10 to 100%. We charged the device with a 65W GaN charger, which could charge the device at full 35W speeds.
Cameras
The Honor X9b gets a triple camera system, including a 108MP f/1.75 primary lens, a 5MP ultra-wide f/2.2 sensor and a 2MP f/2.4 macro camera. The device is equipped with a 16MP f/2.45 selfie camera on the front.
The primary camera shoots photos that have an ample amount of detailing with sharpness and exposure levels on point. Even when you zoom in, you can notice the smaller details inside a photo. The colours, however, are towards the natural side and look a little faded in some areas.
The ultra-wide angle shots were a total disappointment. The colour shift over shots from the primary sensor was considerably high, with oversharpening, poor dynamic range and low detailing. The exposure levels were also not under control, and the overall look of the photo was sub-par when compared with the competition.
Selfies looked decent in terms of sharpness and detailing, but if you are in front of a bright background, it would often blow it out. Once again, the colours looked quite faded.
Night shots had decent colours, but the detailing and sharpness were completely off, even with Night mode on. Coming to photos shot in artificial lighting, the colours were again different from natural.
As for low light photos, these shots are barely usable. These photos are noisy and are too soft. Once again, the device struggles to handle colours while the shutter lag also increases in such lighting conditions.
Honor has launched two smartphones in India since its comeback last year, including the latest Honor X9b announcement. Alongside this, it launched the Choice Earbuds X5, which also marks the expansion of the brand’s ecosystem in India. Here’s our review of Honor Choice Earbuds X5, where we find out whether they are worth Rs 1,999 or not.
Design & Build
The Honor Choice Earbuds X5 adopts a simpler look and nothing too flashy. The case is cobble-shaped with a white light on the front and a USB-C port at the bottom. However, it was shocking to see that Honor doesn’t provide you with a USB-C cable in the box, which is quite a standard offering in the segment.
The case resembles the look of the AirPods Pro from Apple but with a slightly more rounded form factor. It’s made of plastic all around, with the lid being slightly flimsy when closed. However, it opens up and shuts with a spring mechanism, meaning it won’t close if you tilt down the case.
Opening up the case reveals the buds that also have an AirPod-like look. The stem, however, is flat, which also houses the touch controls. These can be used to play or pause a track or switch through ANC, Off, and Transparency modes. They work well without any issues.
The buds are also quite lightweight and comfortable to wear. They didn’t fall off even during workouts or while jogging, ensuring a snug fit. These are also IP54 rated, so a few splashes shouldn’t harm them either.
Put simply, the design is quite minimal in a world where earbuds from Noise, BoAt, and more brands exist that have a unique identity of their own.
The sound quality of the Choice Earbuds X5 depends on 10mm drivers, which sound decent with most songs. There’s a decent amount of bass, with mids taking over the high frequencies. The vocals, on the other hand, are clear to hear.
The treble in songs is overshadowed by the mid-frequencies due to which the audio sounds slightly muffled in some tracks. The instrument separation is average at best, and the mids dominate the overall sound signature.
The ANC can cancel up to 30dB of noise, which works to some extent. However, too loud noises can still go through. Overall, the ANC performance of the Nothing Ear 2 was far better. The transparency mode seems to be there for the sake of it because it doesn’t do much to amplify ambient sounds. It does give you slight awareness of your Surroundings but nothing close to some of the other earbuds we have used.
Calling performance via the mics is absolutely terrible. The other person couldn’t hear my voice at all when I was outside, where there was a lot of background noise. Even indoors, my voice sounded muffled and heavy, making it impossible to call while wearing these earbuds.
The connectivity performance via Bluetooth v5.3 remained optimum. Latency while gaming was also well handled and under control. There’s also a game mode that further improves the latency.
It also has app support via Honor AI Space, where you can adjust the settings according to your needs. It allows you to change touch controls, choose one out of the three equaliser modes available, update the buds, see battery levels and toggle through ANC modes. It’s quite a simple app with the usual set of functions.
As for battery backup, Honor claims you can get up to 35 hours of playtime with the case and up to 9 hours of continuous playback. With ANC ON, we could get above 5 hours of time, which is quite impressive. Without ANC, we could get close to Honor’s claimed numbers.
For a middle of the month refresh, PS Plus games catalog for February 2024 is now seeing more additions apart from Foamstars, Rollerdrome and more which were announced earlier this month. The new catalog includes famous titles such as Need For Speed Unbound, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and more, where all of them will be playable beginning February 20.
Available for both PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers, NFS Unbound will come to PS5 with both separate single and multiplayer campaigns. This latest edition in the Need for Speed franchise from Criterion Games delivers various types of gameplay such as Race against time, outsmart the cops, and the ability to take on weekly qualifiers to reach The Grand, Lakeshore’s ultimate street racing challenge.
The next title is “The Outer World: Spacer’s Choice Edition”. The Outer Worlds is a single-player, sci-fi RPG from the developer of Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas. Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the furthest edges of the galaxy, you awake decades later to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the far-flung Halcyon colony. It’ll also be available to both Extra and Premium subscribers on PS5 only.
Then there will be ‘Tales of Arise’ for both PS4 and PS5. The title is from Bandai Namco and comes as a new entry in the long-running ‘Tales’ series, featuring a diverse cast of characters, an intuitive and rewarding combat system, and a captivating story. The tale begins with two people born on different worlds, each looking to change their fate and create a new future.
Other games coming to PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers in February 2024 include:
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – PS4, PS5
LEGO Worlds – PS4
LEGO Jurassic World – PS4
Roguebook – PS4, PS5
Rogue Lords – PS4
Tales of Zestiria – PS4
There will be some games that will be available only to PlayStation Premium subscribers. These include:
Samsung debuted the Galaxy S24 series around a month ago, and since then, a lot of users have complained about how faded or bland the displays on the series look in comparison to previous flagships from the brand. Samsung has now announced an update that will fix the colour tone issue on the displays of the Galaxy S24 series.
”Based on your feedback, through an upcoming update, we aim to provide enhanced options and experiences across the device display and camera, enabled by advanced hardware and software integration efforts”, said Samsung.
The brand says that Galaxy users have varying preferences regarding their mobile device display, so it tuned the Galaxy S24 series’ display for a more natural and customisable viewing experience. Now, a new option under the display ‘Advanced settings’ of Galaxy S24 series will appear after the update, where you’ll be able to adjust the “Vividness” option for a more vibrant display.
Next, the update will also introduce enhancements across the camera experience, including upgrades to the device’s zoom functions, Portrait Mode, Nightography, rear camera video shooting capabilities and more.
With the upcoming update, Samsung says they have also improved communication on the Galaxy S24 series. By the looks of it, Samsung may have enhanced the AI capabilities that allow for translation in real-time to provide barrier-free communication for all.
The brand confirmed that the update will begin rolling out later this month.
Meanwhile, Samsung recently also rolled out an update for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Galaxy Buds FE that bring support for AI features to the buds when paired with a Galaxy S24 lineup smartphone. With the help of the Live Translate feature powered by Galaxy AI, users can see real-time call translation on the screen of the Galaxy S24 series while they are talking via Galaxy Buds. Additionally, the new set of Galaxy AI features includes the interpreter feature on the Galaxy S24 series, which can now provide a two-way, face-to-face interpretation through the Galaxy Buds interface.
Redmi has announced a new smartphone in India, called the Redmi A3. The new entry-level offering from the Xiaomi sub-brand which comes with a refreshed design over it’s predecessor, which is the Redmi A2 from last year. Here’s every detail you would want to know about the Redmi A3.
Redmi A3: Price, Availability
The Redmi A3 is priced at Rs 7,299 for the base 3GB + 64GB model, Rs 8,299 for the 4GB + 128GB model while the top-end 6GB + 128GB model costs Rs 9,299 in India. The phone will be available from Flipkart, Mi.com, Mi Home stores and retail stores starting from February 23rd. It can be availed in Olive Green, Lake Blue and Midnight Black shades.
Redmi A3: Specifications
Redmi A3 sports a 6.71-inch (1650 x 720 pixels) HD+ IPS LCD screen with 90Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass protection. This accounts for a bigger display along with a higher refresh rate than its predecessor.
It is powered by the MediaTek Helio G36 Processor paired with up to 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB eMMC 5.1 internal storage, which is expandable up to 1TB with microSD. The device will run on Android 13 (Go Edition) based MIUI. There’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for biometrics.
The handset has dual rear cameras, including a 8MP primary sensor plus a secondary sensor along with a 5MP front-facing camera. For connectivity, it should get Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS + GLONASS, a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm Headphone jack. Lastly, it’ll be backed up by a 5000mAh battery with 10W charging speeds.
The device is competing with the Itel P55 that also starts at Rs 7,499 and the Lava Yuva 3 which begins at Rs 6,799. The Lava Yuva 3 offers slightly faster 18W charging along with more RAM at a lower price than Redmi A3. The itel P55 on the other hand gets you more storage for Rs 200 more.
The European Commission has decided not to designate Apple’s iMessage and Microsoft’s Bing, Edge, and Advertising as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new regulation that aims to curb the power of large tech platforms in the EU. As a result, the companies won’t have to comply with DMA regulations with regards to these specific services.
Who Are Gatekeepers in DMA?
The DMA, which entered into force in November 2022, imposes a set of obligations and prohibitions on companies that are deemed to control access to core digital services, such as app stores, social networks, cloud computing, and online intermediation. These companies, called gatekeepers, are subject to fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover for non-compliance, and up to 20% for repeated infringements.
How Did Microsoft & Apple Dodge Gatekeeper Status For Specific Services?
The Commission had initially identified Apple and Microsoft as gatekeepers for several of their services, including iMessage, Bing, Edge, and Advertising, based on quantitative criteria such as number of users and revenue. However, after conducting an in-depth market investigation which has been ongoing since September 2023, the Commission concluded that these services do not qualify as gatekeepers, as they do not have a significant impact on the contestability and fairness of the digital markets.
“Following a thorough assessment of all arguments, taking into account input by relevant stakeholders, and after hearing the Digital Markets Advisory Committee, the Commission found that iMessage, Bing, EDGE and Microsoft Advertising do not qualify as gatekeeper services,” the EU’s press release read.
The decision means that Apple and Microsoft will not have to comply with the DMA requirements for these services, such as offering interoperability in iMessage with rival messaging apps, allowing users to change default browsers and search engines, and refraining from using data obtained from their platforms for advertising purposes.
The Commission stressed that the decision does not affect the gatekeeper designation of Apple and Microsoft for their other core platform services, such as iOS, Windows, Safari, App Store, Azure, and LinkedIn, which remain subject to the DMA rules.
This doesn’t mean that Apple doesn’t have to comply with DMA’s regulations as far as other of its services are concerned. Apple’s Safari browser, iOS operating system, and App Store still have to comply with DMA’s requirements by March 7th.
Meanwhile, Meta has had two of its messaging services including WhatsApp and Messenger being assigned the core platform services tag under the DMA, due to which it has been working to make them interoperable with third-party messaging platforms. It recently also confirmed that the interoperability functionality will first include text messages, images, voice messages, videos, and files sent from one person to another. This should theoretically allow users to chat with people on WhatsApp through third-party apps, like iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, and Signal, and vice versa.
However, it remains to be seen as to how many companies hop on board to support WhatsApp interoperability and accept Meta’s terms to do so. The firms will also have to prove to Meta that they stand in line with WhatsApp’s standards for security and privacy on their platform.
in a bid to one-up the other, Google and OpenAI are currently going head to head in the AI space by announcing new features for their respective chatbots. OpenAI has now announced that ChatGPT now supports the memories feature so it can remember things you tell it to and use those memories accordingly in the conversations you have with the chatbot.
What are Memories in ChatGPT?
According to OpenAI, remembering things saves you from repeating information and makes future conversations with ChatGPT more helpful. You’re in control of ChatGPT’s memory, where you can explicitly tell it to remember something, ask it what it remembers, and tell it to forget conversationally or through settings. You can also turn it off entirely.
Furthermore, memories in ChatGPT improve over time through a self-learning process. “ChatGPT’s memory will get better the more you use it, and you’ll start to notice the improvements over time”, said OpenAI. The company also gave a few examples of how memories work, including:
You’ve explained that you prefer meeting notes to have headlines, bullets and action items summarized at the bottom. ChatGPT remembers this and recaps meetings this way.
You’ve told ChatGPT you own a neighbourhood coffee shop. When brainstorming Messaging for a social post celebrating a new location, ChatGPT knows where to start.
You mention that you have a toddler and that she loves jellyfish. When you ask ChatGPT to help create her birthday card, it suggests a jellyfish wearing a party hat.
As a kindergarten teacher with 25 students, you prefer 50-minute lessons with follow-up activities. ChatGPT remembers this when helping you create lesson plans.
If you want ChatGPT to forget something, you’ll just have to tell it. You can also view and delete specific memories or clear all memories in settings. ChatGPT’s memories evolve with your interactions and aren’t linked to specific conversations. Deleting a chat doesn’t erase its memories; you must delete the memory itself if necessary.
OpenAI notes that it may use content that you provide to ChatGPT, including memories, to improve its models for everyone. If the user wants to, he/she can turn this off through your Data Controls, and the company won’t train on content from the ChatGPT Team and Enterprise customers.
There’s also a new temporary chats feature, where you can have a conversation without using memory. Such chats won’t appear in history, use memory, or be used to train OpenAI’s models. Aside from this, memories bring additional privacy and safety considerations, such as what type of information should be remembered and how it’s used.
For Enterprise and Team users, memory can be useful when using ChatGPT for work. It can learn your style and preferences and build upon past interactions. Finally, GPTs will have their own distinct memory where builders can enable memory for their GPTs, and these memories won’t be shared with builders.
Availability
The memories feature in ChatGPT is rolling out to a small portion of ChatGPT free and Plus users this week, while plans for a broader rollout will be shared soon.
