Technology News: Tech Innovations: TikTok, Xiaomi, Gigabyte, Nikon, WhatsApp, YouTube, Salesforce Updates

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, petitioned a US court to quash a law banning the app in the US starting January 19, 2024, unless ByteDance divests the US assets of TikTok. ByteDance says divestiture is not possible, but such a law would be in violation of free speech rights and single out TikTok for a ban. The arguments in that case will be heard by the US Court of Appeals in September. A bill sponsored by the Biden administration would bar access by China to American user data under national security pretenses.

The latest smartphone to be available in the Indian market from Xiaomi is the 14 Civi, introduced at Rs 42,999. It is equipped with a smart design, a quad-curved AMOLED display, a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, its camera setup engineered in association with Leica, a 50MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 50MP telephoto. Dual 32MP cameras face front. Even without the rating for its IP and LTPO technology for its refresh rates, the 14 Civi puts up a pretty good fight against the competitive market by representing itself with its strong performance and high-quality images.

Gigabyte will launch in the Indian market the G6X and Aorus 16X gaming laptops, powered by the 13th-gen Intel Ultra HX Series processor and equipped with dedicated RTX 4070 graphics. The Aorus 16X is equipped with a 16-inch WQXGA display, featuring AI Nexus technology and available with multiple processor options, while the G6X uses a WUXGA display and AI assistant Copilot; it will be offered in dual configurations with RTX 4060/4050 GPS. In both models, consumers can expect WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and Dolby Audio. It will be available in India from next month, at a price starting from Rs 96,999 to Rs 1,89,999.

A new application, Butterflies, brings AI and social media together into a place where one makes AI characters living with other AI and human avatars. Quite unlike any traditional platforms, a chat about Butterflies' AI profiles surfing through content and creating AI pictures is quite plausible. While this development shows the growing use of AI in social media, it also brings to the limelight issues related to credibility and possible misuse through parody accounts. How AI will interlink with user interaction and experience remains in the dark as further integration happens within social media.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in making fake images, fuelling disinformation and political division, and is reportedly an existential crisis for camera makers. Japanese camera maker Nikon is said to now be working on a new technology that can authenticate images on its cameras—a tool of high importance in distinguishing genuine photos from AI-generated fakes. According to Sajjan Kumar, Nikon India Managing Director, the company is working on technology in association with one company for checking the authenticity and originality of pictures. The technology will verify whether a picture is clicked from a Nikon camera, it was announced here during the launch of Nikon's Z6 III camera in Delhi.

YouTube Music is now introducing an AI feature to optimize music search results using purely verbal prompts or voice commands. This new feature, labeled in the Android app version 7.06.53, is going to be a replacement for the current voice search function and it is currently in the experimental phase. It makes it easier for users to describe what kind of music video they are looking for or to ask for similar music. The "Hum to Search" feature will also allow users to find songs by humming or singing a melody. First available to a few Android users, access is likely to open up more broadly in the near future. The company also has on its roadmap AI-generated playlist covers and a new launch animation for its app.

WhatsApp upgrades video calls in challenge to Zoom and Google Meet. Changes to its Android beta app include AR filters, effects and adding custom backgrounds. Now, users could personalize calls with dynamic facial filters, a touch-up tool that smooths out skin, and a low-light mode that does just that for added visibility. WhatsApp also tests out digital avatars for privacy during video calls. These features are still in testing, so the more concrete for a launch timeline will be then, when they reach their public beta version.

To transform the Indian Banking System, Salesforce has announced Digital Lending for India, a solution powered by the Financial Services Cloud Platform. It is going to safely bring all customer banking data and financials together into one place. This reduces the cost pressure of legacy systems and lightens the heavy workload imposed by legacy systems. It uses India's digital public infrastructure but gives unique pre-build functionality designed to serve the country's lending ecosystem. These would embrace composite forms with mandatory fields of information from the borrower, and smooth verification steps, all for different products on their loan books. The entire process is done in full adherence to the regulations prescribed by the Indian system, as told by Deepak Pargaonkar, Salesforce's Vice President of Solution Engineering.