Hands-on with Mercedes-Benz's Drive Pilot, the first and only Level 3 system approved for sale in the US and EU, available only on freeways mapped by Mercedes (Daniel Golson/The Verge)

Daniel Golson / The Verge:
Hands-on with Mercedes-Benz's Drive Pilot, the first and only Level 3 system approved for sale in the US and EU, available only on freeways mapped by Mercedes  —  Drive Pilot is a Level 3 autonomous system, meaning you can take your hands off the wheel and — more notably — eyes off the road during certain conditions.

Itel S23+, itel P55 Power 5G smartphones launched in India: Price, specs and more

Itel has unveiled two new affordable smartphones, the itel S23+ and itel P55 Power, with 5G connectivity and MediaTek chipsets. The itel S23+ is priced at Rs 13,999 and features a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 8GB+256GB storage, a 50MP main camera, and a 32MP selfie shooter. The itel P55 Power comes in two variants, priced at Rs 9,699 and Rs 9,999, and offers a MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset, up to 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 50MP dual rear camera. Itel aims to make 5G technology accessible and affordable for the masses in India. https://ift.tt/GVvgmjz

Researchers say X removed the ability for users to report election misinformation, a feature launched in the US, Australia, and some other countries in 2021 (Byron Kaye/Reuters)

Byron Kaye / Reuters:
Researchers say X removed the ability for users to report election misinformation, a feature launched in the US, Australia, and some other countries in 2021  —  Elon Musk's X, formerly called Twitter, disabled a feature that let users report misinformation about elections …

China releases a list of 26 app stores, including from Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi, that comply with its new rules; Apple's App Store is not on the list (Josh Ye/Reuters)

Josh Ye / Reuters:
China releases a list of 26 app stores, including from Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi, that comply with its new rules; Apple's App Store is not on the list  —  China's cyberspace regulator released on Wednesday names of the first batch of mobile app stores that have completed filing business details …

Xiaomi 13T, 13T Pro smartphones with Leica camera, fast charging support launched

Xiaomi has launched its latest flagship smartphones, the Xiaomi 13T and Xiaomi 13T Pro, in Europe. The devices feature Leica co-engineered triple rear cameras, MediaTek chipsets, and a 5000 mAh battery. The Xiaomi 13T starts at 649 Euros, while the Xiaomi 13T Pro starts at 799 Euros. The smartphones are available in Alpine Blue, Meadow Green, and Black color options. They come with a 6.67-inch 1.5K AMOLED display, up to 16GB of RAM, and run on Android 13 with MIUI 14. They also have IP68 rating and support fast charging. https://ift.tt/Sdnxy6X

How to disable Chrome's new targeted ad tracking feature

Google introduced a new targeted ad tracking system in Chrome, which has raised concerns among privacy advocates. This system aims to curate user interests based on browsing history, replacing third-party cookies. If you want to disable this feature, follow the below step-by-step guide. https://ift.tt/On9lTNZ

Sources: French authorities received a software update from Apple that turns down the strength of the radio on iPhone 12's cellular modem and are reviewing it (Elizabeth Pineau/Reuters)

Elizabeth Pineau / Reuters:
Sources: French authorities received a software update from Apple that turns down the strength of the radio on iPhone 12's cellular modem and are reviewing it  —  French authorities have received a software update from Apple (AAPL.O) for its iPhone 12 and are reviewing it …

San Diego-based edge AI chip maker Kneron raised a $49M series B extension, after raising a $48M series B in October 2022, bringing its total funding to $190M (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
San Diego-based edge AI chip maker Kneron raised a $49M series B extension, after raising a $48M series B in October 2022, bringing its total funding to $190M  —  Kneron, which is developing AI chips to power self-driving cars, among other autonomous machines, today announced that it raised $49 million …

Here’s when Samsung may launch Galaxy S24 smartphone series

Samsung is expected to launch its flagship smartphone series, the Galaxy S24, on January 18. The series will consist of three models: Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumored to feature a 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED LTPO display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It may also come with a Titanium frame, a 200MP primary camera, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and a 5000mAh battery with 45W charging. The phone will run on Android 14 with One UI 6. https://ift.tt/uqhw0UR

Lava launches Blaze Pro 5G: Price, specifications and more

Lava has introduced its new smartphone, the Blaze Pro 5G, which features a 5000mAh battery and a 50MP main camera. The device boasts a 6.78-inch display and claims to have a bloat-free operating system. It is priced at Rs 12,499 and will be available for purchase from October 3 with a one-year warranty. The Blaze Pro 5G comes with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1080x2460 resolution, and is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6020 processor. It also offers expandable storage, fast charging, and a free service at home for customers. https://ift.tt/LEgDGBI

Spotify partners with OpenAI to launch an AI-powered voice translation feature that reproduces podcasts in other languages using the podcaster's own voice (Amrita Khalid/The Verge)

Amrita Khalid / The Verge:
Spotify partners with OpenAI to launch an AI-powered voice translation feature that reproduces podcasts in other languages using the podcaster's own voice  —  What if podcasters could flip a switch and instantly speak another language?  That's the premise behind Spotify's …

OpenAI rolls out an update to let Plus and Enterprise users prompt ChatGPT using voice commands or by uploading an image, available for other users "soon after" (David Pierce/The Verge)

David Pierce / The Verge:
OpenAI rolls out an update to let Plus and Enterprise users prompt ChatGPT using voice commands or by uploading an image, available for other users “soon after”  —  Most of OpenAI's changes to ChatGPT involve what the AI-powered bot can do: questions it can answer, information it can access, improved underlying models.

EU blocks Booking.com's €1.63B acquisition of Etraveli, saying Booking failed to allay concerns that the deal bolsters its dominance in the hotel OTA market (Foo Yun Chee/Reuters)

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
EU blocks Booking.com's €1.63B acquisition of Etraveli, saying Booking failed to allay concerns that the deal bolsters its dominance in the hotel OTA market  —  Booking Holdings' (BKNG.O) proposed 1.63-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) purchase of Swedish peer ETraveli Group was blocked …

How to unfollow a WhatsApp Channel

WhatsApp has launched its Channels feature in India, allowing users to receive personalized updates. The feature serves as a broadcasting tool for administrators to share various content. WhatsApp is also developing a searchable directory for users to discover channels based on their interests. Users can join channels through invitation links and can unfollow them at any time to stop receiving notifications and updates. https://ift.tt/pbMe7Uj

A profile of Hank Asher, the "father of data fusion" who died in 2013 after initiating a vast shift in privacy norms through his data mining software companies (McKenzie Funk/New York Times)

McKenzie Funk / New York Times:
A profile of Hank Asher, the “father of data fusion” who died in 2013 after initiating a vast shift in privacy norms through his data mining software companies  —  Hank Asher was a drug smuggler with a head for numbers — until he figured out how to turn Americans' private information into a big business.