A week's worth of tech news that takes you 5 minutes to read

Welcome to this week's Sunday Download! What we do is simple: we break down a week's worth of tech news in 5 minutes or less so you can stay informed and up to date.

This week we'll cover Big Tech, mobility, AI and Machine learning, fintech, futuristic tech, and everything in between.

In return, we ask that you share it with a friend or colleague instead of keeping the Smartology goodness all to yourself. While greed may be good on Wall Street, sharing is caring here at Smartology. 🤝

Lots of stuff to go through this week, so let's not waste any (more) time. Highlights of this week's issue include:

• Everything you need to know from Apple’s WWDC 2023

• Hacks on hacks

• Meta keeps the AI wars alive

Total read time: 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Let's goooooo! 🚀

WWDC 2023: Stuff you need to know

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2023) is an annual event in which Apple showcases everything it has coming out in the next year. Here are the highlights so you don’t have to spend all your time looking stuff up:

1. Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s long-awaited entry into the VR/AR headset space. High praise and an even higher price point ($3500). Click here to read about a user that took a 30 minute test drive and wrote a phenomenal review.

2. A new MacBook Air: It’s going to be 15”, in the event you’re one of those “size matters” types. Other than that, very minor changes from the 13” model.

3. Upgraded Mac Studio: Upgrading their chip sets to the M2 Ultra line for faster processing.

4. New Mac Pro: Also getting the M2 Ultra chips and expected to cost around $7,000.

5. MacOS Sonoma: The latest OS for Mac Desktops and MacBooks shows off new capabilities focused on widgets and multi-tasking functionality.

6. iOS 17: Coming in the fall of 2023 and will feature things like Standby Mode, a new Journal app, a check-in feature so you can tell family and friends you made it safely to your destination without having to type the 6 letters “I’m here”, and it’ll start using learning models to give you more accurate (and uncensored) predictive text language (no more ducking around). Head down to the “Rapid Fire” section for more.

7. watchOS 10: Basically, just updated widgets and the ability to watch video messages on your watch.

WhatsApp goes social

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is introducing a broadcast-based messaging feature called Channels on the popular messaging app. Similar to an update on Instagram, this feature aims to provide more conversational avenues for WhatsApp's 2 billion users. Unlike Instagram, Channel messages on WhatsApp will appear in a separate tab called Updates. The focus is on facilitating channels for organizations like NGOs, medical research institutions, and fact-checking bodies, rather than individual creators. Admins can send text, media, and polls, but users cannot reply to these one-way conversations.

WhatsApp plans to create a directory for users to find different channels, but admins can choose to disable discoverability. The feature is currently being launched in Colombia and Singapore with selected partners, including the International Rescue Committee, the World Health Organization, and notable sports teams.

How will they make money with it? Great question. Meta is considering monetizing Channels by exploring payment services for businesses and the ability to promote them in the directory.

More Meta

In a blatant refusal to be left out of the AI conversation, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced various AI technologies in development, including AI chatbots for Messenger and WhatsApp, AI stickers, and photo editing tools for Instagram Stories. Meta also revealed plans for an internal AI hackathon focused on generative AI. The company aims to leverage AI across its platforms and explore chat experiences, visual creation tools, and AI agents for smart glasses. The consumer-facing AI tools are expected to be released later this year.

Google killing the WFH buzz

Google is pressuring employees to return to the office by making in-person attendance part of performance reviews. The company believes that working from the office fosters better connections and collaboration among employees. Google currently follows a hybrid work policy but expects employees to be present in the office for at least three days a week.

This is the end result of investing millions of dollars into nap-pods and actual physical slides. The move comes after Google's plans for a massive office campus in San Jose were put on hold amid the shift to remote work during the pandemic.

Sequoia’s split sends a warning to all VC firms with ties to China

Sequoia Capital, a prominent venture capital firm that has stakes in the likes of DoorDash, Zoom, Apple, 23andMe, Okta, and about 400 others, has announced its plan to split into three separate entities representing its India, China, and US units. The move is a response to the increasing political tensions between the US and China and the scrutiny faced by Sequoia's China investments. It is seen as a concession to distance Silicon Valley from China, particularly due to a looming executive order that could restrict US investments in foreign entities.

Sequoia's split aims to insulate itself from inevitable regulations but also highlights the growing risks associated in tech companies having ties to China. The split comes at a time when investments in Chinese startups have lost their allure, with Beijing cracking down on tech companies and US tech leaders criticizing firms supporting Chinese companies. The move reflects the sensitivity surrounding US-China relations and the need for venture capital firms to navigate political complexities.

More HIPPA, More Problems

Half a million people had their personal and health information stolen during a ransomware attack on Intellihartx, a Tennessee-based company. The attack targeted its vendor, Fortra, and resulted in the theft of patient names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical billing and insurance information, diagnoses, and medication details. The attack was part of a larger mass ransomware attack on Fortra's GoAnywhere file-transfer software, impacting numerous companies and organizations. The Clop ransomware group claimed responsibility, prompting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue a warning about the group targeting the healthcare industry. Clop has also targeted other file transfer tool vendors in recent attacks.

Other victims of the attack of Fortra include AvidXchange, Saks Fifth Avenue, healthcare call center provider ITx Companies, digital financier Hatch Bank, security giant Rubrik, and the City of Toronto (yes, the whole city).

Self-driving Benz-o

Mercedes-Benz has been granted a permit by California regulators to sell or lease vehicles equipped with a conditional automated driving system. The permit allows the use of the branded Drive Pilot system on designated highways in California, including Interstate 15, under certain conditions without the active control of a human driver. The system enables hands-off and eyes-off driving, allowing drivers to engage in activities like watching videos or texting.

Mercedes-Benz is the first company authorized to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system to the public in California.

The Drive Pilot system utilizes sensors and software to handle driving tasks within specific parameters. It operates at speeds up to 40 miles per hour on certain highways during daylight hours and has various restrictions and safety requirements imposed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

AI sales funnel updates

Salesforce and Google Cloud have formed a strategic partnership to enable businesses to leverage data and AI. The collaboration will integrate products and services such as Salesforce's Data Cloud and Google's BigQuery and Vertex AI. It aims to democratize AI, allowing customers to choose the AI tools they prefer.

The partnership builds upon a previous agreement between the two companies and focuses on data sharing, analytics, and AI-infused customer service and marketing tools. The integration will provide companies with unified customer profiles and streamlined model development processes and will be available from October 2023.

Rapid Fire

• Shell EV Charging stations hacked

• Spotify officially testing an offline mix

• Baracuda urging customers to rip and replace equipment that was hacked

• AI is changing the way we recruit and hire. How can we adjust?

• Scam texts cost consumers $330 million in 2022

• A bunch of iOS 17 features that they didn’t announce on stage

• Amazon in talks to offer free (or cheap) mobile service to Prime members

• Uber bringing its “car share” service to North America

• All the AI terms you need to know

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