‘Samsungs Are iPhone Knockoffs,’ And Snoop Dogg Wants You To Buy The Dip: Weekly Roundup

Both these statements are not made by me but are among the biggest news from this week. This is a weekly tech news roundup, and it has some interesting things, so read on.

Starting with the one from the title, a senior Apple executive called Samsung phones a ‘poor copy’ of the iPhone. However, the statement comes in the context of when the iPhone was newly launched and everyone, including Samsung, raced to make touchscreen smartphones.

At the time, the exec recalls, Apple was pretty mad at the developments. Moving forward, Snoop Dogg showed faith in cryptocurrency and NFTs. Dogg said that the dip has ‘weeded out’ the bad apples, and the industry will rise again. But do let us know in the comments what you think about the crypto dip and its future.

AI is just a fancy gimmick

A new report from WSJ has quotes from several experts and claims that today’s AI is nothing but a fancy gimmick. The world has set its expectations of AI so high, that we even think an AI became sentient when it probably didn’t.

But calling it a gimmick might be oversimplifying things. AI may not be doing what it was expected to do by 2022, but it is big and working. For instance, this week itself, we reported on a new AI model that recognizes people from World War II photos.

Another AI model claims to detect crime a week before it ever happens. And this model is claimed to be 90% accurate. Combine these with user-focused, friendly AIs like Google Assistant, Siri, and even Tesla’s Autopilot, and it is way more than a gimmick.

Alien Communications Manager wanted

From sending exploration rovers to nudes in space, we’ve left a massive trail of breadcrumbs for aliens to find us. However, we have zero idea about what to do if they REALLY visit us. According to a British space researcher, the world doesn’t know who will greet the aliens and show them around.

An Australian Astronomer, Professor Fred Watson, claims that scientists have a checklist to verify whether the aliens are real. However, there are no plans in place on what to do if they are real aliens. This confusion has mostly to do with multiple countries, governments, and cultures.

There’s no real, singular leader of the world that can speak on behalf of everyone. But I leave it up to you dear reader. Do let us know in the comments if we should appoint an alien communications manager.

Meanwhile, this week NASA launched a rocket from Australia, which is a milestone. A Mars spacecraft also just received Windows 98 update for better performance. And Lastly, images from NASA show an ancient lake on Mars.

Modified Tesla gets owner almost killed

Well, it is not Tesla’s mistake. YouTuber Chillin’ with Chet decided to modify his Tesla Model S Plaid. It is a powerful car and the YouTuber wanted to exploit its full potential. So he stripped it down, made some changes here and there, and hit the racetrack.

However, his DIY race-ready Tesla didn’t have the right brake fluid so the brakes failed at 170mph, and the car crashed. Chet got away with a fracture and broken ribs, and he is lucky. So if you ever think of modding a Tesla, think harder.

While not everyone is buying a Tesla, the latest Steam Deck is selling like hot cakes. However, Valve also had to issue warnings against not modifying the steam deck. Users have been trying to replace SSDs, which can heat the Deck and cause it to die on you.

But if you do want to mod something, the M2 MacBook Pro might be in need of some. This is because it has a slower SSD compared to last year’s M1 MacBook Pro, which is awful.

FCC allows Starlink for planes, calls out TikTok

America’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given a green light to Starlink satellite internet on planes, boats, and trucks. So far, users needed a fixed dish to get Starlink signals, but now with mobile units allowed, Starlink users will be able to connect to the internet from anywhere.

While that’s good news for Starlink, in a separate letter, the FCC director called out TikTok for sending American users’ data to Beijing. The director even asked Google and Apple to take down TikTok from their respective app stores.

Nothing Phone (1), HTC Metaverse phone, and more

Coming to smartphones, the much-anticipated Nothing Phone (1) was teased again this week. The hype has now gone from being a “flagship killer” to a “fresh design approach.” The device is capable of handling casual gaming and everyday tasks but struggles with top-tier, graphic-intensive games.

You may find a great-looking mid-range device in the Nothing Phone (1), but there’s another interesting thing that just hit the market. The HTC Desire 22 Pro is a Metaverse-centered phone that comes under $500. It has built-in NFT functionalities and is compatible with the HTC Viveverse.

Samsung is also reportedly coming up with a new rugged phone, the Samsung XCover 6. So far, the phone is expected to be a mid-range rugged device with a 3.5mm jack and a removable battery for quick replacement.

However, if you’re looking for a massive discount on the iPhone 13, you could get one in Japan. The Japanese currency tanked against the dollar, giving an almost $200 discount on the iPhone. While tourists were quick to cash in the discount, Apple moved quickly too and reversed the tax benefits for tourists.

Twelfth weekly tech news roundup: What else

Tech is improving by the day, and there are some really cool developments to look forward to. For starters, Samsung has switched to a different material for its foldable phones, which could make future foldable affordable.

While affordable foldables are great news, Samsung has also started making smaller phone chips on a 3nm GAA process. In simple words, phone chips could become 16% smaller and 45% more power-efficient.

LG has also stepped into the EV market by purchasing AppleMango. Another interesting news from this week is a man finding his iPhone lost in a river 10 months ago. To his surprise, the iPhone survived.

That’s all about this weekly tech news roundup. For more news, videos, and cool tech developments, subscribe to our Telegram channel and follow Fossbytes on Facebook and Instagram.