WhatsApp rolls out new shortcuts for group admins on iOS

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WhatsApp rolls out new shortcuts for group admins on iOS

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has reportedly rolled out some new shortcuts for group admins to quickly and easily perform actions for a certain group participant, on iOS.

The new shortcuts simplify interactions with group members as now the platform supports large groups of up to 1024 participants, reports WABetainfo.

The new update will help group admins quickly manage and communicate with such a large number of participants in private.

The feature is available for all users that install the latest update of WhatsApp for iOS from the App Store.

With the new update, the phone numbers are now highlighted in group events when group participants join or leave a group and group admins can easily interact with them.

If admins tap and hold a phone number, they can use new shortcuts that include the ability to quickly call and chat with participants in private and they can also add group participants to their contacts book and copy their phone numbers.

“This feature can save group admins a significant amount of time as they no longer need to navigate through the group info screen to find contact information,” the report said.

Meanwhile, last week, it was reported that the messaging platform was rolling out a new ‘voice status updates’ feature on the iOS beta, which will allow users to share voice notes via status updates.

WhatsApp rolling out voice status updates on iOS beta

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WhatsApp rolling out voice status updates on iOS beta

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new ‘voice status updates’ feature on iOS beta, which will allow users to share voice notes via status updates.

Selected beta testers can now share voice notes as status updates by accessing the new feature within the text status section, reports WABetaInfo.

The maximum recording time for a voice note is 30 seconds, and users also have the option to forward voice notes from their chats to status.

The platform also provides users more control over their voice recordings by offering the ability to discard a recording before sharing it.

Similar to images and videos, voice notes shared via status will automatically disappear after 24 hours and users can delete them for everyone at any time.

Moreover, the shared voice notes are end-to-end encrypted so only people whom users choose can listen to them.

The new feature is expected to be widely rolled out to more users over the coming weeks, the report said.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the messaging platform was rolling out the same feature on the Android beta.

Google’s R&D division ‘Area 120’ hit significantly in layoffs

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Google’s R&D division ‘Area 120’ hit significantly in layoffs

As Google’s parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees, its in-house research and development (R&D) division called Area 120 has also been significantly hit.

Area 120 has launched several products, like gaming platform GameSnacks, an AirTable rival called Tables, an AI-powered conversational ads platform AdLingo, video platforms Tangi and Shoploop, and more. The majority of the Area 120 team has been “winded down”, reports TechCrunch.

“Employees in the US who were affected have been notified [of layoffs at Area 120, but in other countries, this process will take longer, and is subject to local laws and practices,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

“Our managing partner of Area 120 remains at the company, a spokesperson added. According to earlier reports, the in-house R&D division had around 100 employees.

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday said that he is “deeply sorry” for reducing the workforce by approximately 12,000 roles, and takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here”.

In an email to employees, Pichai said the company has already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected by the layoffs.

“In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” he added.

The roles the company is eliminating cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels, and regions.

‘Deeply sorry’: Sundar Pichai after announcing 12K job cuts at Alphabet

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‘Deeply sorry’: Sundar Pichai after announcing 12K job cuts at Alphabet

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday said that he is “deeply sorry” for reducing the workforce by approximately 12,000 roles, and takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here”.

In an email to employees, Pichai said the company has already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected by the layoffs.

“In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” he added.

The roles the company is eliminating cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels, and regions.

In the US, Google will pay employees during the full notification period (minimum 60 days) and also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks’ salary, plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU (Google stock) vesting.

“While this transition won’t be easy, we’re going to support employees as they look for their next opportunity,” said Pichai.

Google will pay 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time to those impacted.

“We’ll be offering 6 months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected. Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices,” said Pichai.

The Google CEO said that these are important moments to “sharpen our focus, re-engineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities”.

The layoffs at Google’s parent company were expected amid the deepening funding winter that has hit companies of all sizes in the global slowdown and recession fears.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said earlier this week that the company will be “making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3 (third quarter)”.

More than 1,600 tech employees are being laid off per day on average in 2023 globally, including in India, and the sacking episodes have gained speed amid the global economic meltdown and recession fears.

Amazon announced laying off 18,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,000 in India.

Apple, Samsung making OLED screens for iPad Pro, MacBook Pro

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Apple, Samsung making OLED screens for iPad Pro, MacBook Pro

Apple and Samsung Display have reportedly started working together on OLED panel development for the upcoming iPad Pro and MacBook Pro devices, which are expected to be released next year or later.

The upcoming iPad Pro with an OLED screen is likely to release as soon as next year and might be available in 11.1-inch and 13-inch variants report SamMobile.

The first MacBook, most likely MacBook Air, with an OLED screen, is expected to be launched this year and might have a 13-inch display.

However, the MacBook Pro with an OLED screen is likely to be released in 2026 and is expected to come in 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes, similar to the current-generation high-end laptops.

Existing MacBook Pro uses a Mini-LED display, which offers higher all-screen brightness than OLED panels, but also suffers from blooming in dark screens, the report said.

Meanwhile, last month, it was reported that Samsung was prioritizing the development of special two-stack tandem OLED panels that will be used in certain iPad models in 2024.

Two-stack tandem OLED panels include two layers of pixels instead of one and this hybrid technology is likely to offer higher brightness and longer life than existing OLED panels which are used in smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, and laptops.

Google removes Smart Reply from Voice app on Android, iOS

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Google removes Smart Reply from Voice app on Android, iOS

Google has removed Smart Reply suggestions that appeared at the bottom of messages from the Voice app on Android and iOS.

The company introduced the feature last year in February. According to 9to5Google, this simple feature examined the most recently received message and suggested up to three contextual replies.

These pills would appear above the “Type a message” field with the Smart Reply immediately sending on tap.

Google Voice’s release notes on the Play Store and App Store confirm the removal: “Smart responses are no longer supported”, said the report.

Meanwhile, Google released the standalone “Switch Access” app on the Play Store, which was originally part of the Android Accessibility Suite.

The app allows users to interact with their Android device using one or more switches or a keyboard instead of the touchscreen.

“Control your phone or tablet using switches or the front camera. You can use switches to select items, scroll, enter text, and more. Switch Access can be helpful if you can’t interact directly with your device,” according to the Switch Access about page.

The app scans the items on users’ screens and highlights each item until they make a selection.

YouTube Music launching ‘Listening Room’ to get users’ feedback

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YouTube Music launching ‘Listening Room’ to get users’ feedback

Google-owned music streaming platform YouTube Music will be launching a “Listening Room” programme on Discord (an online voice, video, and text communication platform) in which the company’s product team will collaborate with a group of users to get regular feedback on specific features.

Under the program, users will get a free year of YouTube Music Premium, reports 9to5Google.

The requirements to be selected for the programme include — user needs to be a music lover, use YouTube Music as their primary music streaming service for a year, give regular feedback through conversations and polls on Discord, and agree to NOT share any information, i.e., taking screenshots, pictures, or recordings of conversations or early features with anyone outside of the Discord group.

Meanwhile, YouTube Music might soon allow users the ability to create a custom radio.

Currently, it already lets users customize their current queue by familiarity, genre, mood, energy level, and more directly from the Now Playing screen.

According to 9to5Google, some YouTube Music users are seeing “Create a radio” in the main feed as a part of a limited rollout.

An experience similar to YouTube Music’s initial setup process will appear next to allow users to “tune your music”.

Netflix to soon roll out paid password sharing

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Netflix to soon roll out paid password sharing

Streaming giant Netflix has announced that it will roll out its paid password sharing “more broadly” “later in” the first quarter (Q1) of this year.

“While our terms of use limit the use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly,” the company said in its earnings reports on Thursday.

“As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with,” it added.

After launching the paid password sharing, the streaming giant expects some “cancel reaction in each market” but it will eventually result in “improved overall revenue.”

The company also announced that Reed Hastings has stepped down as Netflix’s co-CEO and will now serve as an executive chairman, and Greg Peters has stepped up from COO to become Ted Sarandos’s co-CEO.

Meanwhile, last month, it was reported that Netflix was planning to put an end to its password sharing feature in early 2023.

The company had long been aware that password sharing is a problem that negatively affects its earnings, but the rise in subscriptions in 2020 led the streaming giant to avoid addressing the issue. Because of the revenue downfall last year and the platform’s first subscriber loss in 10 years, Hastings decided that it was time to take action on the issue.

In October last year, the streaming giant announced the ‘Profile Transfer’ feature to prevent password sharing that had been rolled out to all members globally.

WhatsApp working on feature to send pics in original quality

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WhatsApp working on feature to send pics in original quality

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to send photos in their original quality.

The platform is planning to integrate a new setting icon within the drawing tool header which will allow users to configure the quality of any photo, reports WABetaInfo.

The new feature will provide users more control over the quality of photos they are sending, especially when sending the photo in its original quality is necessary.

The ability to send photos with their original quality is currently under development and is expected to be released in a future update of the application, the report said.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the messaging platform was rolling out a new ‘voice status updates’ feature on the Android beta, which will allow users to share voice notes via status updates.

The company also provides users more control over their voice recordings by offering the ability to discard a recording before sharing it.

Twitter’s new developer rules ban 3rd party apps

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Twitter’s new developer rules ban 3rd party apps

Micro-blogging platform Twitter has quietly updated its “Developer Agreement” to ban third-party clients, almost a week after it blocked the apps’ access to its platform.

The new rules mentioned that users can not use Twitter’s application programming interface (API) or content to “create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications,” reports The Verge.

As of Thursday, the new rules went into effect.

The platform also defined “Twitter Applications” as the company’s “consumer-facing products, services, applications, websites, web pages, platforms, and other offerings, including without limitation, those offered via https://twitter.com and Twitter’s mobile applications.”

The rule update follows Twitter breaking several popular third-party Twitter applications, including Tweetbot and Twitterific, starting on January 12.

The developers of the third-party applications at the time claimed they had never received any information from the company regarding what was going on, the report said.

On Tuesday, the micro-blogging platform said, “Twitter is enforcing its long-standing API rules. That may result in some apps not working.”

Meanwhile, Twitter CEO Elon Musk last week said that Twitter’s “open source” algorithm will be revealed next month, as several people were unable to use third-party Twitter apps and faced issues with logging and accessing feeds.

“Transparency builds trust,” the Twitter CEO had posted.

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