Kanye West cannot stop making headlines ever since his divorce from Kim Kardashian. The ‘I am a God’ rapper was seen making outlandish comments against her ex-wife and then about her boyfriend when Kim started dating Pete Davidson. Kanye was seen calling Pete Davidson ‘Skete’ on several occasions on social media which sparked a slew of memes across the internet. Everything up until now was considered an amusing banter amongst Ye fans and other internet users (of course, not Kim) but things took a steep left turn when the rapper was seen making anti-semitic comments while making public or podcast appearances. The internet quickly turned its back on Kanye with platforms like Instagram and Twitter deleting some of Kanye’s hate-mongering posts and ultimately banning him from the platforms altogether. Now, Ye has yet again made headlines for a controversial reason as he has decided to acquire the right-wing social media platform, Parler.
Kanye Acquires Parler
Just shortly after Kanye West was banned from mainstream platforms for sharing anti-semitic posts, Kanye West has made a bid to purchase the right-wing friendly social media platform, Parler. West, who is now legally known as Ye will now be gaining control of Parler allowing him to share his unrestricted thoughts. In his official statement, Ye noted that “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves”
Parler was introduced back in August 2018 but it did not gain mainstream traction until 2020. The controversial platform was taken offline due to its connection with the US Capitol violence, but it quickly relaunched in a month. Ye and Parlement Technologies, who run Parler have not stated the exact price for which the former has acquired the platform.
Right now, there is no way to know whether Parler will be making its way to the mainstream climbing up the social media ladder already crowded with multiple platforms. Parler is currently collecting the crumbles left by platforms like Twitter and Instagram as people banned from those platforms usually make their way to platforms like Parler. However, the platform can soon become irrelevant as Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition could bring relaxation to its content moderation policy.
When it comes to Apple, we all expect the company to launch its products in a lavish style. Apple fanatics are presented with highly produced launch events each year. Be it the iPhone or MacBook launch, Apple makes sure that it presents the best launch event to leave a lasting impression. Well, it looks like that won’t be the case this time around with the launch of its speculated iPad Pro and MacBook M2 Pro lineup.
It was Bloomberg’s analyst Mark Gurman who suggested that Apple will be holding back on an in-person event for the new Macbooks, iPads, and Apple TVs, and instead just announce the devices via press releases. As we all know, September was pretty big for Apple as the ‘Far Out’ event introduced the new iPhone 14 lineup along with Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra, and 2nd Gen AirPods Pro. As an Apple fan myself, I was taken by surprise when news about the tech giant skipping the October event started doing rounds on the web. But I was then reminded that it won’t be the first time Apple opts for this release strategy. The tech giant occasionally announces major new products like AirPods Pro and AirPods Max via press releases, hence the move is not unprecedented. So, what are the new devices speculated to be launched by Apple in October?
Apple is expected to release the new iPad Pro with its powerful M2 processor. Besides the Pro model, the company is also expected to launch an entry-level iPad with a revamped design. Besides this, Apple is also expected to unveil three new Mac devices in 2022, and rumor mills had suggested it’ll be in October. The new Mac Mini and Mac Pro were also expected to be launched in October. While reports suggest that Apple has a whole slew of products to be launched in October, others reported that the company decided to skip an in-person event as the new products were not exciting enough to warrant one. None of these new products is a major departure for Apple as it will only be updating upon and building upon previously launched devices. The devices will get improved specifications as opposed to a complete revamp with a chip that was already announced back in June 2022. Hence, the decision to have a ‘soft launch of the new Apple hardware via press releases seems justified.
Now, let’s have a detailed look at all the speculated devices to be launched in October by Apple. Readers must note that the following information is based upon rumors and reports around the internet. Apple might or might not release the products listed below in October as some devices are expected to be launched in early 2023.
M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro
Apple is expected to launch a revised version of 2021 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro in October. It would be easy to assume that this new lineup will also come in the standard space gray and silver colors as new colors in the MacBook lineup would surely warrant an event. However, it was back in June when Apple made a darker aluminum finish MacBook called midnight. While this color was only available for the MacBook Air, it would be interesting to see it feature on the MacBook Pro lineup. Last year, Apple fans did not like that the USB-C MagSafe 3 cable only came in white/silver colors. The company had to then launch color-matching cables for space gray, starlight, and midnight variants of the MacBook. It is now expected that the new MacBook Pros will come bundled with color-matching cables.
Ultimately, the reason for this update is mainly internal. Apple introduced the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors back in October 2021 with the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros. The M2 was launched back in June with the MacBook Air. Hence, the same can now be expected from the MacBook Pro lineup with integrated MacBook M2 Pro and M2 Max.
iPad Pro
iPad has garnered a strong fanbase through the years with Apple bringing the tablet form factor to a whole new level! Now, iPads are as powerful as MacBooks with strong computing prowess and the comfort of portability. Hence, the anticipation of the iPad Pro 2022 model is at all-time high thanks to rumors suggesting that it will launch in October. Sure, Apple puts a lot of effort into making sure that its new products do not leak before release but it is hard to avoid leaks these days. So, what does the rumor mill suggests?
It has been reported on several portals dedicated to Apple news that the new Ipad pro model will come with wireless charging capabilities. Apple’s iPad charges via USB-C or Lightning, if the tech giant brings wireless charging to the iPad, it would bring it closer to the iPhone. All the newer iPhone models can be charged wirelessly, though the recent iPhone 14 Pro has been facing some issues with wireless charging due to its giant camera module. If the iPad enables wireless charging, the next step is arguably reverse wireless charging. This would allow you to charge your iPhone or AirPods by simply laying them on the back of your iPad, sounds interesting!
It won’t be outlandish to guess that the new iPad Pro will come with improved performance. According to several reports, the 2022 iPad pro will come with Apple’s new M2 processor on board. Other improvements include a better modem for enhanced 5G capabilities and an improved camera setup. One of the first details floating on the internet was that Apple will continue the same size for the iPad Pro 2022 as the 2021 model. There have also been reports which suggest that the new iPad Pro will be coming with the MagSafe charger. It is only about time we see the new products by Apple!
Tech giant Apple’s recently released iPhone 14 Plus is witnessing low traction. The newly released device is not up to the mark when it comes to demand as it has registered unexpectedly low sales. Apple fanatics and tech enthusiasts can easily pinpoint the reason behind the lack of sales for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. The devices were considerably overshadowed by the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max as they come with a revamped design and a newer fast chip.
iPhone 14 Plus sales disappoint
DigiTimes was the first portal to reveal that the iPhone 14 Plus sales have not kicked off as one would expect with the premium Apple device. People are leaning more toward the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. While there is a sharp difference between the sales performance of iPhone 14 Pro and non-pro devices, the overall shipment of the new devices is the same as those of the iPhone 13 lineup in the second half of 2021.
It is reported that if the sales of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus remain the same then Apple may cut out the orders of parts included in making those devices in the second half of October itself. If Apple decides to cut part orders more aggressively than expected then the total shipment of the iPhone 14 lineup could fall down more as compared to the iPhone 13 series last year. That is an alarming development considering the iPhone 14 Plus was seated by Apple between the sweet spot of the standard iPhone 14 and the 14 Pro models. The device was expected to make a big splash in the market with its larger form factor housing a vibrant 6.7-inch display. The device also offers the best battery life on an iPhone to this date with its large battery capacity.
The picture is quite clear here. Apple fanatics are ready to pay the higher price to get the Pro models if they offer good enough upgrades. The iPhone 14 Pro definitely has new things to offer to its users with the revamped notch ‘Dynamic Island’ design and the 48MP camera capacity. Looking at this development, it will be interesting to see if Apple continues the same trend of reserving specification bumps for the Pro models and the standard variants receive a few tweaks here and there. Looking at Apple’s history, it won’t be an outlandish assumption to make.
If canceling movies, shows, books, or fashion trends was not enough, the cancel culture has officially come for emojis. We spend a good part of our lives communicating with others on our phones and thus it was only about time that emojis would be targeted by the cancel culture. So, what is going on? It looks like Gen-Z is reportedly offended by the thumbs-up emoji. You read that right! the thumbs-up emoji. 👍 Let’s dive into this topic and see if the reason behind the emoji being deemed as ‘hostile’ makes any sense.
Gen-Z Vs Thumbs Up Emoji
A Reddit post made 10 months ago has now found the light in mainstream media. A Reddit poster took to the platform and confessed that they are not ‘adult enough’ to be comfortable with the thumbs-up emoji reaction. Many commentators jumped in and agreed with the post stating that the emoji indeed feels hostile.
One 24-year old commenter shared that the emoji is considered passive-aggresive for younger people. They added that it is super rude when someone just sends a thumbs-up reaction and that they had a weird time adjusting to their workplace as it is a norm to send the thumbs up emoji. Of course, people from the older generation did not agree with this. Older redditors were quick to jump in and say that the emoji refers to signal that an approval is made or some task is understood. It surely is a generational communication difference as I would be lying if I say that I haven’t used the thumbs up emoji as a passive-aggresive response.
The story is not just limited to a Reddit thread as a survey conducted by Perspectus Global also concluded with the same outcome. A research conducted with 2000 people ranging from 16 to 29 years old found that the thumbs up emoji makes you look old. There are also some other emojis which were deemed outdated in the survey. Check them out below –
Thumbs up 👍
Red heart ❤️ ️️
Ok hand 👌
Check mark ✔️
Poo 💩
Loudly Crying Face 😭
Monkey eye cover 🙈
Clapping hands 👏
Kiss mark 💋
Grimacing Face 😬
The poll furthermore found out that 78% people admitted to have using an emoji before without knowing it had a double meaning. So, which of the emojis have you used without knowing it meant something else?
It felt like for a while, everywhere you looked you were bombarded with metaverse-related content on the internet. Be it social media, digital news outlets, or your ‘Crypto-Bro’ friend, you could not miss out on the metaverse and everything around it even if you tried. So, what’s happening with the digital revolution which was touted to change the world as we experience it? Well, nothing much! One might ask what is happening with the metaverse these days only to find articles and discourse on the internet which do not lean towards the positive side. Now, it has been revealed that one of the high-budgeted metaverses, Decentraland, only had 38 daily active users!
Decentraland’s active users
I’ll come off clean here, I too had bought Decentraland’s crypto token, MANA, during its peak hype. I quickly sold the tokens off to shift to SHIBA INU and have been a SHIB loyalist ever since. Though I was skeptical about Decentraland’s ambitious metaverse ever becoming mainstream, this was not expected! DappRadar data aggregator recently released data that the Ethereum-based Decentraland only had 38 ‘active users’ over a period of 24 hours. This is a shockingly low number given the company’s market cap of a whopping $1.2 billion.
It is important to note that according to DappRadar, active users are counted based on unique wallet address’ interaction with Decentraland’s smart contract. This means that users making any purchase using SAND or MANA tokens in the platform only are counted as active users. People simply logging in to the metaverse to communicate with one another or roaming around the metaverse are not counted as active users. CoinDesk reached out to Sam Hamilton, the Creative Director at Decentraland, who clarified that DappRadar does not track the users in its entirety but only people who interact with their contracts. Sam added furthermore that there are currently 8,000 people on average in the Decentraland metaverse daily.
8,000 daily users off a $1.2 billion investment sounds…. tragic? This certainly does not prove whether or not the metaverse is the future. But we surely are off to a rocky start.
Fortnite’s parent company Epic Games Inc. is no stranger to controversies. It was not long ago when the company had made headlines when it slapped a lawsuit against Apple for anti-competitive behavior. Now, the company is going head to head against Google stating that the company paid off developers a hefty amount to prevent them from developing alternate app stores on the Android platform. Check out all the details about this new development below:
Epic Games sues Google
The charges root in Google’s Project Hug which was later renamed to ‘Apps and Games Velocity Program.’ To the unversed, Google has been alleged of spending millions of dollars to keep some Android developers on the Play Store. Epic Games filed a complaint last year, and the motion states that some of the agreements made by Google were intended to stop developers from launching competing app stores. By this, Epic Games has suggested that Google has violated the United States’ primary antitrust law known as the Sherman Act, which is a big allegation to slap on a company.
Google, on the other hand, has reportedly stated that it will be opposing the motion. A spokesperson from Google has stated that Epic is adding inaccurate claims to their failing lawsuits and that the company looks forward to setting the record straight in court. The spokesperson stated furthermore that the program Epic Games is fighting against is actually designed to give Android developers incentives and users early access whenever new content is launched. Google states that Android users already have access to alternate app stores thus Epic Games’ allegations have little merit.
The Epic-Google lawsuit has now been long-running. At its core, Epic is alleging that Google illegally forces app developers to use its payment processing system which charges a mandatory commission fee of up to 30%. Epic also sued Apple over a similar issue but ended up losing the first major round in court. The lawsuits certainly put light on anti-trust practices that possibly go around at big tech companies and how they can be tackled. However, Epic seems to be catching failures here with the tech giants coming up with strong opposing arguments about the same.
Google recently launched its highly anticipated Pixel 7 lineup. The new Pixel 7 and 7 Pto devices come with the face unlock feature which was missing from Google phones up till now. Besides the usual PIN, password, or pattern screen lock methods, people using the Pixel 7 devices can simply unlock the device using their faces. As the Pixel 7 received this feature, several reports started surfacing around the internet that the last-gen Pixel 6 pro will also be receiving this feature via software update. So, will the face unlock feature come soon to the Pixel 6 Pro? The answer is no.
No face unlock for the Pixel 6 Pro
According to Caschys Blog, Google Germany has now confirmed that the face unlock feature will not be trickling down to the Pixel 6 Pro or any older Pixel devices. This will marl the first time Google has officially declined the possibility of this feature coming to previous Pixel devices. The blog further down states that the meaning behind Google’s answer remains unclear. While it is possible that the company is not planning to roll out the face unlock feature to the Pixel 6 Pro now, it might do so in the future. All Pixel 6 pro users can do is hope!
This is a surprising development as several reports in the past have noted that the feature was indeed going to make its way to the Pixel 6 Pro. Many leaks and pieces of code present in the deep corners of Android had previously mentioned the face unlock feature for the Pixel 6 Pro. Since the device did not come equipped with the hardware capabilities to enable 3D face unlock, it was expected that Google would implement the 2D face unlock which was less secure. Well, now it looks like the Pixel 6 Pro ultimately will not be receiving this detail.
It is not a secret that in the past years, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing VR technology to make it mainstream. Meta surely believes that its metaverse is the next big breakthrough in technology that can allow our virtual lives to easily integrate with our real lives. While many feel skeptical about how mainstream the metaverse could become, Zuckerberg is doubling down on his vision to make it a success. Recently, at an online event held for developers, Meta Connect 2022, Mark revealed a new VR headset, the Quest Pro.
Quest Pro VR Headset
Meta has launched its new Quest Pro VR Headset which comes at a whopping price of $1499. This is almost four times the price of the company’s current headset the Quest 2 which starts at $399. The VR headset boasts thinner lenses, a curved battery, and also controllers equipped with self-track. The ‘Pro’ part of Meta’s new VR Headset is that it can allow users to see their real environment around the periphery of the screen. It comes with mixed capabilities, which means that digital content can be viewed overlaid in the real world.
Do you remember Google Lens which also had a similar functionality? Makes you think…
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also made an appearance at the event where he announced that the Office 365 platform will also be available on it. Meta has placed the mixed reality platform as not only a form of entertainment but also a work tool. Meta has also joined hands with Zoom to integrate its metaverse avatars into the video call platform. Meta Boss Mark Zuckerberg has touted the mixed reality approach to be the next major step for VR. The push for VR and the metaverse by the company is surely aggressive, however, the adoption of this new virtual world has been at a slower rate. The future of the metaverse depends upon how advanced the virtual world can get to stimulate people’s imaginations. My only reference point to the metaverse is the film Ready Player One, and we are nowhere near how good the technology was in that Spielberg flick!
Google’s latest launches the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro have become the talk of the town. The devices promise the best Android experience as they come straight from Google; the house of Android. The Pixel 7 lineup is also going head-to-head against the iPhone 14 lineup as they have launched just under a month apart. As one would expect from flagship devices, the Pixel 7 was also said on the internet to come with 4nm chips, which is standard for Samsung and Apple’s flagship devices. However, the truth is something else!
Google Pixel 7’s chip size
There were many articles floating around on the internet claiming that Google’s Tensor G2 chip is a 4nm chip. However, Android Authority has now jumped on and cleared out any doubts by reaching out to Google. A spokesperson from Google has told Android Authority that the chip is indeed based on 5nm. This might come as a shocker to tech enthusiasts who were expecting Google to keep up with all the latest hardware trends in the smartphone arena. Be it Apple’s latest A16 Bionic chipset or Samsung’s Exynos 2200 processor, both are based on 4nm form factors. Is this a big deal? for some yes, for others, not so much! The average user may not even care about the size of their mobile processor chip as long as the device provides good performance.
Even before Google’s confirmation about the Pixel 7 chipset size, there were a lot of hints that it was based on 5nm. There was a lack of a major clock-speed increase as the Tensor G2 runs at 2.85Ghz Arm Cortex-X1 cores. This is only a 50Hz increase from the original Tensor’s 2.80Ghz. One would expect a bigger bump in power from a new processor but that was not the case here.
WhatsApp has released a subscription service titled WhatsApp Premium and is currently available for beta business users. The instant messaging app has also been an effective way for businesses to communicate with its customers and the premium subscription is targetted only for business users. WhatsApp has not made an official statement about it yet so the pricing and the launch date of the same remains under the wraps. However, users who have enrolled in the beta program can take advantage of all the new features present in the new Premium model. The new plan was long under speculations and has only now been made available as a beta tester in some countries. A wider rollout is expected in some time. Check out the new features with WhatsApp Preimum service below:
WhatsApp Premium custom business links
The first feature in the WhatsApp Premium service is the business links. It is a short custom business link which is unique to a certain business. This link can be shared with customers to find the business’ landing page on WhatsApp thus making it easier to initiate a conversation. The link name is customizable and can be changed every 90 days. It expires once the subscription is cancelled. It is to be noted that once a custom link is expired, it may be claimed by another company. Any business having a custom link can make it easier for customers to reach out to them.
Multi-device connectivity
Another new feature under the WhatsApp Premium service is improved multi-device connectivity. Any business under WhatsApp Premium can use the same account on up to 10 devices simultaneously. This can prove helpful for businesses to form a chain of communication amongst multiple employees and the customer base. This feature can also allow Premium users to initiate video calls with max 32 participants.
The availability of WhatsApp Premium is currently scarce. It is currently available to only a certain business accounts under beta testing only. Details regarding its roll out in India have not yet surfaced on the internet. Users can unsubscribe from the service anytime they wish.
