The first week of April has been a relatively quiet one in tech, with few huge announcements or April Fools pranks to grab our attention.
However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t hear any good (or bad) news. This week was heavy on rumours – especially regarding Google and Apple. Google was reported to be considering charging a subscription price for its Search AI tech, while we learnt that Apple might be working on an in-home robot designed to follow users around the house.
In news, OpenAI stopped making an account mandatory to access ChatGPT, Google agreed to destroy data collected via Incognito Mode and Meta informed developers that the OG Meta Quest would be obsolete by the end of the month.
Keep reading to learn who we named our winner and loser this week.
Winner: Google
Google is our winner this week after the company announced an update to its Circle to Search smartphone feature that is sure to prove handy for anyone travelling abroad or looking to learn a new language.
Circle to Search can now be used to translate any text on your screen from one language to another. This means that you can directly translate images, PDFs, lyrics, and more simply by long pressing the home button or navigation bar and tapping the translate icon.
Google has incorporated Google Translate into Circle to Search to reduce the number of steps it takes to reach its translation technology. Before this update, you’d need to save, screenshot or take a photo of any text you wish to translate and move over to the Google Lens app to complete the process. Now, you can access the same technology from any app in a flash with the press of a button.
Circle to Search translations will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, with the Pixel 6, 7, and 8 and Samsung Galaxy S23 and S24 series’ on the list. Other devices set to receive Circle to Search include a range of foldables and tablets from both Google and Samsung.
Don’t fret if you don’t own any of these devices – you can continue to upload images and screenshots to Google Translate using the Google Lens app. This update will simply streamline the process for those using a compatible device, creating a new compelling reason to pick up a Google or Samsung phone.
Loser: Disney
Our loser this week is Disney after the company revealed a timeline for when it’ll start cracking down on password sharing on Disney Plus.
In an interview on Tuesday, CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that Disney will kick off the process of ending password sharing in June. Disney will begin with a small number of countries and expand later down the line, with the goal being to tackle all subscribers suspected of sharing Disney Plus accounts by September of this year.
“In June, we’ll be launching our first real foray into password-sharing, just a few countries in a few markets”, stated Iger in the interview. “But then it will grow significantly with a full rollout in September”.
Disney has yet to confirm whether it’ll introduce a Netflix-style extra member fee in an attempt to appease disgruntled users unhappy with the idea of paying for the full account price. However, Disney has explored solutions that would allow paying subscribers to continue sharing their accounts in the past.
Regardless, it seems that anyone sharing an account with a friend or family member will be forced to pay for their access by the end of 2024 or risk losing Disney Plus and any half-streamed shows altogether.
