Declaration For The Future Of Internet, Musk To Cut Jobs At Twitter, Snapchat’s Drone & More: What Happened This Week?

Another week and another weekly tech news roundup. Elon Musk’s Twitter drama seems nowhere close to an end, but thankfully other things are going on too. Those being Elon Musk joking about buying Coca-Cola, some spicy iPhone 14 rumors, and a declaration on the future of the internet.

Let’s begin this week’s roundup with the big guns. The U.S., along with 60 other countries, has signed a Declaration for the Future of the Internet. This promising declaration is a proposed way forward for the internet, and more countries are expected to sign it. It promises global, affordable internet access, more privacy, and better-regulated data laws.

Weekly tech news roundup

Elon owns all of Twitter

It may be a high-drama takeover, but this is the first time something like this is happening to a social media platform. If Musk succeeds in taking over Twitter, it could be the first time we see a privately-owned social media platform. But there are certain reasons that may stop it from happening.

On the other hand, Musk’s tweets brought harassment upon some Twitter employees. While some are excited to work with the creator of Tesla and SpaceX, others are not so happy about the plan. The unhappy ones could get a reason to be dissatisfied since Mr. Musk reportedly wants to fire Twitter employees to cut costs.

Other than that, Twitter also entered damage control as CEO Parag Agrawal held a meeting to answer employee questions. Agrawal is urging employees to stick with Twitter after Mr. Musk takes over.

The curious case of the lost Pixel Watch

“A couple of drinks won’t do no harm,” said the guy who left the unreleased Pixel Watch at a restaurant. A Redditor got his hands on the watch, and the rest is history. We’ve now seen images of the Pixel Watch and how it’ll look on the wrist.

However, whoever left the alleged Pixel Watch didn’t leave the charger, so the finders weren’t able to turn it on. But the Redditor who posted about the watch claims he saw a Google logo on the boot screen before the watch’s battery died. So there’s a solid chance that it is indeed a Google Pixel Watch.

iPhone 14 and the not-so-shy camera upgrade

Apple recently announced its Q2 2022 earnings, where the iPhone 13 brought home a 5.5% YoY growth. The company has also started rolling out its self-service repair program, but the rental tool kit prices are so high that you’d rather walk into a service center than DIY repairs.

This year, Apple also shipped nearly a million made-in-India iPhones, and Tim Cook happily reported that more users are migrating from Android to iOS. However, something else is more notable in all this.

Mark Gurman has confirmed claims that the iPhone 14 will have a massive 48MP camera sensor. Several credible Apple leakers and analysts back the claim. Apple has always been shy of the megapixel game. However, the company also has a track record of optimizing features even if they’re late.

Today’s Android phones pack 108MP cameras, but Apple is sitting at a meager 12MP resolution. If Apple optimizes the cameras to house a 48MP sensor, it could mean a significant leap.

Play Store gets privacy labels, Android 14 names, and features

Google Play Store has been taking privacy seriously. Like App Store’s privacy labels, the Google Play Store is rolling out a privacy and security section where you can see what data an app is collecting. These labels are helpful if you care about your privacy and want to know how much data you’re sharing with an app.

We also now have a name for Android 14 ‘U.’ While Google ditched the dessert names with Android 10, it still uses them internally. Lines of code tell that Android 14 is named ‘upside-down cake.’ Reports claim exciting new features like screen resolution adjustment coming to Android 14.

Lastly, for those of you who are into custom ROMs, LineageOS 19 is now official. You can read the linked article to learn all about the latest build and its compatibility.

Meta opens a store, Snapchat drone, and Amazon Echo ads

Meta is having difficulty translating Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse vision into reality. After a relatively poor quarter, the company is slowing its pace because investors are nervous about the future. Amidst this, Meta has opened its first store in California, where you can try and buy the hardware you need to enjoy the Metaverse. All of this when Meta doesn’t even know how to treat your data.

Next up, Snapchat has launched Pixy, a photography drone that fits your palm. It is easy to own and operate and lets you perfect your Snap stories. While that’s about one drone, another drone-maker DJI has halted sales in Ukraine and Russia.

Lastly, a new study shows that Amazon is selling your Echo searchers to third-party advertisers. So you’re being tracked and shown ads. While you can opt out of it, Amazon has chosen to keep people enrolled by default.

Drinking seawater, Windows task manager, and the most dangerous Google searches

MIT has created a suitcase-sized desalination machine to make seawater drinkable. It needs no filters and needs only as much power as a smartphone charger. The creators even demonstrated that it can charge with a solar panel.

While the world would be at ease if seawater is made drinkable, Windows wants you to sit back and relax at the moment. Microsoft has added a dash of colors in the Windows task manager. It has also promised new features coming out soon. Another big news coming from Microsoft is the built-in VPN coming to Edge.

You may Google about these innovations, but be careful when you Google these searches. A Surfshark study has found that searching for ‘Finding Dory’ on Google can lead you to download malware. There’s more stuff to this list, and you can read it from the linked article.

Fourth weekly tech news roundup

There are some more noteworthy innovations that’ve happened in the last week. Colored E ink displays have made a ton of progress with the E ink Gallery 3 panels. The #LeavingTwitter was trending on Twitter right after the platform accepted Musk’s buyout offer.

Jack Dorsey also broke his silence and commented that he believes that “Elon is the solution” to Twitter’s problems. Rounding up, TikTok is the world’s most downloaded app, Meta says users are spending 20% of their total Instagram time on Reels, and Musk is hiring smartwatch engineers.

To round up the roundup, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) managed to block over 6,000 URLs in just 39 meetings. It isn’t efficient, but it shows ignorance by the Ministry’s committee. In a time when a declaration for the future of the internet is signed, such ignorance is much disappointing.

That’s all for this roundup. Start a discussion in the comments if you like a story in this weekly tech news roundup or have got something we may not have covered. Happy weekend!