🌞 Good morning, and welcome to Friday’s Daily Authority. Paula here, covering for Nick. I’m still trying to decide whether to buy the Dead Space remake or wait for Hogwarts Legacy to come out next week. Dilemma! But first, all the day’s top tech headlines…

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Plus

OpenAI has announced it’s launching ChatGPT Plus, a paid version of its popular conversational AI chatbot.

• The new paid version will cost you $20 per month.
• Subscribers get guaranteed access to ChatGPT, even during peak times.
• You’ll also get a faster response than those using the free version.
• Plus, you’ll get access to new features and future improvements, great if you want to see how the chatbot is developing.
• You won’t be able to access the paid version outside the US for now though, as it’s currently only available to US customers.
• OpenAI plans to start inviting people from its waitlist in the coming weeks and will expand access to other countries and regions soon.
• Don’t worry though: You can still use ChatGPT for free, as the paid subscription is designed to support ongoing free access for as many people as possible.
• The company also plans to launch a ChatGPT AI in the near future and is also considering options for lower-cost plans, business plans, and data packs.
• If you haven’t yet tried ChatGPT or don’t have a clue what we’re talking about, check out our ChatGPT guide to get started!

Google takes on ChatGPT

It was only a matter of time before Google went head to head with ChatGPT as the conversational chatbot has become a real threat to Google Search.

• CNBC recently reported that Google was testing its own conversational chatbot, “Apprentice Bard.”
• And rumor has it that Google wants to integrate a bot like this into Search.
• Google has announced a Search event for next week, to talk about how it’s “using the power of AI to reimagine how people search for, explore and interact with information, making it more natural and intuitive than ever before to find what you need.”
• You can watch the livestream on YouTube at 8:30 AM ET on February 8.

Roundup

🎶 Google’s now rolling out a fix for the Pixel Buds A-Series pairing bug (Android Authority).

📱 Speaking of Google, its 2022 phones were its best-selling devices ever (Android Authority).💰

📷 Google may turn your Android phone into a plug-and-play USB webcam, no app needed, but it’s not clear when or if the feature will be released (Android Authority).

🔐 Senator urges Apple, Google to remove TikTok from app stores, calling the popular video-sharing app “an unacceptable threat to the national security of the United States” (Axios).

👏 Google Fi-nally enables eSIM support for Samsung Galaxy devices, including the S23 series (XDA Developers).

👀 Leaked Xperia 1 V image may give us our first look at Sony’s next flagship (Android Authority).

🎮 Sony’s latest PlayStation stats look good: The company sold 30 million PS5s from November 2020 through December 2022, while PlayStation Network has 112 million monthly active users (Sony, Axios Gaming).

📺 Get your weekend viewing inspo here with the best new streaming movies this week, including crime thriller Killing Them Softly, and erotic rom-com Secretary (Android Authority).

🎲 Cure weekend boredom with this game: Find the shortest path between two movies (h/t: The Hustle).

Friday fun

Yesterday was Groundhog Day, the day of the year when legendary weather watcher Punxsutawney Phil predicts whether spring will come early.

• Thousands gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania to see the famous groundhog emerge from his tree stump at dawn.
• According to local legend, if Phil sees his shadow, we can expect six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see it, spring will come early.
• Punxsutawney’s annual event originates from an ancient German legend about a furry rodent, and dates back to 1887.
• During that time, Phil has predicted more wintry weather over 100 times.
• The last two years’ forecasts have seen the tiny furry call for six more wintry weeks.
• Unfortunately, we can’t expect spring weather just yet this year, as Phil supposedly saw his shadow this year, too.
• But he’s not the only famous weather-predicting groundhog out there: NYC’s Staten Island Chuck was in action at Staten Island Zoo on Thursday, though he predicted an early spring.
• Canada has its own groundhog too, Fred la Marmotte, though sadly, he died before he could make this year’s prediction.
• If you missed Phil’s predictions, you can catch up with this video from CNN.
• Or, you could just watch Groundhog Day this weekend for a fix of Phil and Bill Murray.

Have a great weekend (and for Weekly Authority subscribers, I’ll see you soon!)

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.