Your daily tech news digest – 10 biggest stories (July 23, 2018)

This is our daily digest series, wherein we bring to you a curated list of top 10 technology news from around the world.

In today’s edition, you’ll read about world’s cheapest car going off shelves, Facebook working on satellites, HomePod getting calling feature, and lots of other useful and impactful news stories.

So without any further ado, here’s the list:

Snapcash, Snapchat’s payment service, is shutting down

Bad news for users of Snapcash. Snapchat is pulling the plug on the peer-to-peer payments service next month (August 30, specifically). Initially, code spotted in Snapchat’s Android app made it amply clear that Snapcash is being expired, following which the company officially confirmed the development.

https://youtu.be/kBwjxBmMszQ

As for the reason behind the move, reports say the payments service has seen low legitimate usage. While it was originally aimed at paying friends (making it easy to split shopping, dinner, and cab bills), the service is largely being used as a method to pay for explicit content (including personal photos and videos).

More info here.

Report: Apple’s HomePod to get support for phone calls

According to a new report, HomePod, which is Apple’s answer to Google Home and Amazon Alexa, will get phone call support.

Specifically, users will be able to use the smart speaker to place an outgoing call as well receive an incoming call. Of course, the feature will rely on your phone’s cellular connection.

The iOS 12 update will include this capability as well some other useful features, including Find My iPhone command for Siri and ability to set multiple timers.

More info here.

Sony announces smartphone camera sensor with highest pixel count

Sony has announced an image sensor (for smartphone cameras) that the Japanse company says features industry’s highest of 48 effective megapixels.

The new product achieved a world-first*3 ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 μm, making it possible to pack 48 effective megapixels*2 onto a 1/2-type (8.0 mm diagonal) unit, thereby supporting enhanced imaging on smartphone cameras

More info here.

Samsung upcoming wireless charger capable to charging two devices in parallel

Yes, Samsung looks to be taking aim at Apple with its upcoming wireless charger. Freshly leaked images show the device will be capable to charging two device – either two phones or one phone and one watch – at once.

More info here.

Future smartphones could have a small hole for camera in display

First it was bezels, then came the notch, and now – if you go by new rumors – front camera on future smartphones would be in the form of a small hole in display.

According to a Korean media outlet, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei is already working on such a design (being referred to as camera ‘island’).

More info here and here.

Uber and Lyft drivers live streaming rides is a trend, and is legal at many places

News of an Uber and Lyft driver live streaming his passengers without consent is everywhere today. Jason Gargac operates in Missouri with a $3,000 camera fitted in his car, live streaming everything inside the car on Twitch.

If you think he committed a crime and should be arrested, that’s not the case. What he did (and many other drivers have been doing) is completely legal, at least in Missouri. To learn what all he live streamed and exactly why he did so, head here.

Second gen Google Pixelbook tipped for this year

Looks like this year’s Pixel event will not only see Google unveiling a pair of smartphones and a smartwatch, but a refreshed Pixelbook as well.

As for specs and pricing, nothing is known at the moment. However, as for availability, tipster Evan Blass says shipments will begin before this year’s end.

Facebook confirms working on Internet satellite

Facebook wants to bring everyone in this world online, and to achieve this, the company is willing to do anything (at least seems so). According to Wired, the company has confirmed that it’s working on a project that aims to put a satellite in Earth’s orbit to provide Internet.

Dubbed Athena, the project would “efficiently provide broadband access to unserved and underserved areas throughout the world,” the company says in an application submitted to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

More info here.

Push for AI to explain its decisions

You use Google lens to identify things, and more often that not, it seems cool. But think about a scenario wherein you could ask the software to explain its decision. Yes, that’s the next wave of AI projects, and US DARPA is pushing for these projects.

More info here.

Tata Nano, world’s cheapest car, to soon be a thing of past

To take away any surprise that the headline may have brought to you, Tata manufactured just one Nano unit last month. So it seems a logical step for the company to cease production of the world’s cheapest car.

Image credit: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via getty Images

Tata Nano was unveiled back in 2008, and sales for the car will stop next year if demand continues like the way it currently is, the company has confirmed.

More info here.

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