Apple has just wrapped up its Worldwide Developer Conference in California, unveiling a brand new MacBook Air with the M2 chip, iOS 16 and even its own version of a buy now, pay later scheme to help you purchase all of the latest tech
In what is the iPhone’s most substantial operational revamp since the introduction of the iPhone X users will now be able to select a customised lock screen to suit their day.
While a ‘work’ lock screen might pin emails and turn off social media notifications, a weekend lock screen could actually mute communications from your job, and prioritise different apps.
Apple’s head of software engineering says the redesign allows ‘an incredible set of new personalisation features, making the experience feel incredibly ‘you’.
This release comes just months before Apple is expected to release its iPhone 14, which will have these new features and is rumoured to have an ‘always-on’ display.
In its buy now, pay later offering, the tech giant will allow consumers to take out an interest-free four-month loan on payments made with its Apple Pay service, but unfortunately it’s limited to the U.S. for now.
A redesigned MacBook Air will see a new MagSafe charging port, and a design similar to the current MacBook Pro computers.
Apple has also introduced more customisable watch faces, an enhanced Workout app, sleep stages and an all-new Medications app.
Now sporting a High Definition camera, it will operate through an M2 chip, which is 40 per cent faster than the previous generation.
When it comes to iOS 16, there’s one feature that stands out above the rest.
Users can expect a Messages app that allows the editing or the recall of texts sent impulsively or by mistake.
The dictation service has been revamped, and live text will now work with video, with users able to copy and paste text from paused footage.
In Apple Maps, you will now be able to add multiple stops to a route, while a new “shared photo library” will allow families and groups of people to bundle all pictures taken together in one shared library.
Finally, a new feature called “Safety Check” will help people leaving abusive relationships terminate device access given to other people with just one click.
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A creative-minded individual, William has a passion for broadcast journalism and reporting on global politics and international affairs.
The Future of Life Institute fears there may be potential risks to society
Elon Musk and a group of leading A.I. experts are calling for a six-month pause on developing systems, more powerful than OpenAI latest version of GPT-4.
The Future of Life Institute fears there may be potential risks to society.
In an open letter signed by some of the biggest and influential minds in tech, the Institute wants the pause so frameworks can be constructed to better handle A.I.
“Powerful A.I. systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable,” the open letter said.
British computer scientist Stewart Russell is a signatory to the open letter, and he explains what is occurring in the sector that scares him.
“With what is gestating in computer and research labs, is for general purpose A.I,” Russell declared recently. “A.I. that can do anything that the human mind can be turned to.
“Because of the enormous advantages machines have over humans, I expect general purpose A.I. will far exceed human capabilities in almost every dimension.”
Alibaba shares have soared as company executives announce a business shake-up
It’s been a good day for investors in Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
Shares in the company soared as executives announced a plan to break the business into parts.
Alibaba’s commerce leader says he will split the $220 billion empire into six individual units.
The major restructuring is the company’s biggest in 24 years.
Alibaba shares gained more than 14 per cent in New York and were up 13 per cent in Hong Kong.
The move follows reports Alibaba founder Jack Ma resurfaced in China this week after a long absence.
The units will have their own chief executives and boards of directors.
They will be allowed to raise capital and seek stock market listings.
Alibaba says the units will “capture opportunities in their respective markets and industries, thereby unlocking the value of Alibaba Group’s respective businesses”.
“The market is the best litmus test, and each business group and company can pursue independent fundraising and IPOs when they are ready,” says chief executive Daniel Zhang. #trending #featured
Controversial facial recognition has been used a million times by police to help track criminals
As facial recognition becomes more prominent, the founder of tech firm Clearview says his company has run nearly a million searches for U.S. police.
It’s also been revealed the company has scraped 30 billion images from platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, taken without users’ permissions.
The company has been fined numerous times in Europe and countries like Australia for breaches of privacy laws.
In the U.S., critics say the use of Clearview by authorities puts everyone into a “police line-up”.
The company’s high-tech system allows law enforcement to upload a photo of a face and find matches in a database comprising of billions of images it has collected.
It then provides links to where matching images appear online.
The tool is considered to be one of the world’s most powerful and accurate.
While the company is banned from selling its services to most U.S. companies, there is an exemption for police.