Tech News Weekly (Audio)

This week on Tech News Weekly, Jason and Mikah unpack Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro, improvements to Google's AI chatbot Bard, Microsoft's massive gaming leaks, and Amazon's latest product announcements.

• Gizmodo's Florence Ion joins to share her review of Apple's iPhone 15 Pro with its new titanium chassis and 'tetraprism' telephoto camera. She discusses how it compares to Android flagships like the Pixel 7 Pro, especially in build quality, premiumness, and integration between Apple devices.


• Google made improvements to its AI chatbot Bard after a rocky debut, integrating it with services like Maps, YouTube, and Gmail for a more assistant-like experience. Hugh Langley of Business Insider explains the new features and how Bard aims to avoid the pitfalls of other generative chatbots.


• A massive leak reveals Microsoft's gaming roadmap and plans through 2028, including new mid-gen Xbox console refreshes and internal docs weighing buying Nintendo and Valve. Sam Machkovech analyzes the revelations and their potential fallout.


• Amazon held a more muted product launch than past years. Updates include Alexa powered by a new large language model, Echo Frames smart glasses 2.0 with better style, the wall-mountable Echo Hub for smart home control, and a new high-end WiFi 7 Eero Pro router.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Florence Ion, Hugh Langley, and Sam Machkovech

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Game developers using the Unity Engine are crying afoul over Unity's pricing structure. Why are cars the worst product category for user privacy? A cyberattack shut down MGM Resorts for some time. And why the U.S. government is blasting Google for paying $10 billion a year to cut out search rivals.

• Unity has updated its pricing structure, leading many within the gaming & developer community to grow frustrated with the game engine. Kyle Orland of Ars Technica stops by the show to explain what happened.


• Misha Rykov of the Mozilla Foundation joins the show to discuss the Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included guide and why cars are not the best product for a user's security and privacy.


• Jason Howell shares how a cyberattack against MGM Resorts shut down its services for a period of time.


• And Mikah Sargent talks about the U.S. government's anti-trial against Google as the company is taken to trial over its monopolistic grasp on online searching.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Kyle Orland and Misha Rykov

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Apple is reportedly spending millions on developing its own generative AI system. Dan Moren talks about what we can expect to get announced at the upcoming Apple event on September 12th. And is the idea behind Rotten Tomatoes rotten? Mikah talks about how PR firms are gaming Rotten Tomatoes' review scores through movie "critics."

• Wayne Ma of The Information joins the show to talk with Mikah Sargent about Apple quietly developing its own large language model for the past few years, aiming to use AI to understand user intent rather than for entertainment.


• Mikah talks about the EU naming six big tech companies as gatekeepers under its new Digital Markets Act and details the criteria and implications of this new act, including potential steep fines for non-compliance.


• Dan Moren of Six Colors stops by to preview Apple's upcoming September 12th event, where new iPhones are expected to be revealed with USB-C ports and other potential devices that may be announced.


• Finally, Mikah discusses an article from Vulture on how PR firms are gaming Rotten Tomatoes' review scores through obscure critics many may have never heard of.

Host: Mikah Sargent

Guests: Wayne Ma and Dan Moren

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The latest advancements in EV battery technology. What is the potential impact of new child safety laws for the open internet? Facebook has finally introduced legs into its Meta Avatars! And AI is starting to be used in Call of Duty to help monitor in-game voice chats.

• Sam Abuelsamid joins the show to talk about lithium iron phosphate batteries making their way to US EV vehicles and how the technology behind these batteries differs from those in current US EV vehicles.


• Mikah talks about introducing new state laws that require age verification for pornographic and social media websites and the real impact these laws can have on the open internet.


• Jason is excited that 'legs' have finally been added to Meta Avatars! He talks about how they look in Meta's VR and how it has a long way to go.


• Finally, Mikah shares that Activision is bringing AI to Call of Duty through a partnership with Modulate to detect toxic behavior in its voice chat.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guest: Sam Abuelsamid

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The "Book3" AI training dataset and fair use in AI. How hackers can easily steal your personal information for just $15. Jason Howell reviews the Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 5. 

• Kyle Barr of Gizmodo joins the show to talk "Book3", an AI training dataset taken offline recently, and how this information was used to train AI systems that raises concerns about copyright and fair use in AI training.


• Joseph Cox of the recently launched 404Media shares how hackers can steal someone's identity easily through credit headers from a credit bureau for just fifteen dollars.


• Finally, Jason Howell spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 5, and he shares his review and thoughts on the latest iteration of the folding device.

Host: Jason Howell

Guests: Kyle Barr and Joseph Cox

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