Your daily tech news digest – 10 biggest stories (July 27, 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 Oppo Find X getting destroyed, Samsung’s Note9 teasers and Apple-mocking ads, Google Assistant powered displays, and lots of other useful and impactful news stories.

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

Samsung’s Apple-mocking ad campaign continues

The South Korean company has released three more ads that take dig at Apple and Apple products. See for yourself:

https://youtu.be/h3RwxpahHo0

https://youtu.be/QyDo4wmQ0HQ

https://youtu.be/FPhetlu3f2g

Watch Oppo Find X getting JerryRigEverything treatment

Popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything – known for carrying out durability tests for smartphones, destroying them in the process – has outed a video for Oppo’s new Find X (which arrived last month with a jaw dropping design).

See how the device performs:

Facebook talks about its content reviewers

Facebook is running a series dubbed Hard Questions wherein the company says it’s addressing the impact of their products on society. The latest post in this series talks about content reviewers, those who review flagged content for compliance with Facebook’s content guidelines.

From details on what content reviewers do to what challenges they face to why they have been not much talked about, Facebook explains it all. And finally, the company offers more details about them.

More info here.

Samsung outs Note9 teasers

After a lot of rumors and leaks, the official teaser campaign for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note9 has kicked off. The company has outed three video teasers. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/qljRd9u1UqE

https://youtu.be/Y-37lkw_uaQ

https://youtu.be/16i8TH6lxmo

More info here.

Telegram gets a useful new feature

Popular secure messaging service Telegram has received a new feature as part of its latest update. The feature is called Passport, and it lets you securely store your identification information as well as securely share the info with other apps and services.

Here’s how the company explains the functionality:

a unified authorization method for services that require personal identification. Upload your documents once, then instantly share your data with services that require real-world ID (finance, ICOs, etc.)

More info here.

Google Assistant powered smart displays available today

First smart displays featuring Google Assistant will go on sale in the US today. Lenovo has become the first company to launch such displays.

With the Google Assistant built in, the Lenovo Smart Display brings you the best of Google services, including Maps, YouTube, Calendar, Duo and Photos, in a visual and helpful way. It’s easy to set up, so you can immediately enjoy your favorite entertainment, control your smart home, stay in touch with friends and family, and manage your day with simple voice commands and touch gestures

More info here and here.

Major Bluetooth vulnerability found, affects almost all devices

Researchers have found a new Bluetooth vulnerability that allows a hacker (who is in range) to intercept all data that’s being transferred.

Specifically, devices with Intel, Qualcomm, or Broadcom SoCs are vulnerable. This means not only phones (both Android and iOS), but tablets and PCs are also affected by the vulnerability.

More info here.

Apple’s Q2 smartwatch shipment figure stood at 3.5 million

Apple managed to ship a total of 3.5 million smartwatches last quarter. This translates into an year-on-year rise of 30 percent. However, the company’s share of the smartphone market fell was 34%, down from 43% in last quarter.

More info here.

Google disallows crypto miners on Play Store

Google’s Play Store policy has been updated, and one of the key takeaways is the search giant is no longer allowing crypto miners on its app marketplace.

It’s worth mentioning that crypto miner managing apps are still allowed. In addition to this changes, there are some other changes as well that have come into effect with the updated privacy policy.

More info here and here.

IBM’s supercomputer Watson offered incorrect Cancer treatment suggestions

According to documents from an internal IBM presentation, the company’s supercomputer Watson gave incorrect and unsafe suggestions for treatment of Cancer. The supercomputer was not being used in a real-time scenario though.

Specifically, docs reveal that during testing, Watson suggested drugs (to a bleeding cancer patient) that would have worsened the situation. An IBM spokesperson said the machine is still in learning phase.

More info here.

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