⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 238th edition here with Google accused of ripping off ChatGPT, Apple’s WWDC invites, more Twitter drama, and a Galaxy Z Flip 4 competitor coming soon, plus woolly mammoth meatballs, a dating sim that does your taxes (really), and a GPT-4 vs Bard rap battle.

😛 If you’re reading this on our site: Pinch, punch, first of the month, and no return. I wonder what April Fools’ jokes the internet will have in store for us this year! If you’re reading the email in your inbox, April Fools’ Day has been and gone, and we’ve hopefully all survived it for another year…

Popular news this week

Google:

• Google is accused of ripping off OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but the company has denied these claims.
• Android 14 will make PIN peeping difficult with this simple change.
• Google’s spam prevention on Android could be great, but it’s missing one obvious trick. Can you guess what it is?
• Pixel’s Adaptive Charging feature may have dropped the alarm requirement, will now be activated by your usage cycle.
• Google shut down Fitbit Challenges and Adventures on Tuesday, but users will still be able to create closed groups and compete with friends.
• And Google introduces new ‘Perspectives’ feature coming to Search.
• Google’s ADT partnership also has a new home security product to show for it.
• Also, AI-powered hand-raising gesture is coming to Google Meets.
• Plus: Google Photos update brings new movie editor feature to Chromebooks.

Samsung:

• Exynos-powered Samsung phones to get Wi-Fi calling vulnerability fix soon.
• Plus Samsung Galaxy S23 series gets massive camera update.

OnePlus:

• OPPO and OnePlus reportedly exiting UK and Europe (Update: OnePlus responds) — plus more mixed messages from company.
• OnePlus 11 Jupiter Rock version launched: This model is out of this world.

Apple:

• Apple sends out WWDC invites for June 5, hints at mixed reality launch.
• But will we actually see the mixed reality headset at WWDC after production schedule is pushed back due to worries about recreating that “iPhone moment”?
• ‘Reality-dial,’ ‘Copresence’ app — Apple execs spill the beans on new headset.
• Change my mind: Apple has the best smart home platform (at least for now).
• Is Apple Pay Later a new reason for Android users to jump platforms?
• Plus: It’s taken ages, but iPhone-toting customers can finally use 5G on Google Fi.
• And you can now try the Galaxy S23 on your iPhone (kind of).

Nothing:

• The Nothing Phone 2 might be here sooner rather than later as phone’s model number spotted in certification listing.

Microsoft:

• Good news: The Windows snipping tool flaw we reported on last week is now fixed on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
• And Windows 12 might take a page out of Android’s update playbook.
• Plus: The new Microsoft Teams is here with big performance improvements and UI changes.

Social media:

• In another bruise to the company’s arm, pieces of Twitter’s source code were leaked online.
• Also, Twitter will remove verification ticks from people who don’t pay $8/month from April 1.
• And Twitter wants you to pay if you want to be seen and heard on the platform.
• Tweet replies have also stopped showing who users are replying to.
• Plus: Twitter says source code was leaked on GitHub, now it’s trying to find the culprit.
• And France is next in a long line of countries banning TikTok from government devices.
• Finally: Facebook is finally letting users opt out of tracking, but there’s a catch.

Space:

• Astronomers stunned by brightest gamma ray burst ever recorded.
• And Nokia’s sending 4G internet to the Moon: Working in collaboration with Intuitive Machines and NASA, the project could help boost comms during future missions.
• Meanwhile, Webb telescope just started peering at the fascinating TRAPPIST planets — could any be suitable for life?
• Finally: How to see rare “planetary parade” with five planets lined up.

AI:

• Microsoft claims that GPT-4 shows ‘sparks’ of general intelligence, which goes against OpenAI’s initial statements.
• Meanwhile, no surprise here, as Microsoft’s Bing Chat is getting ads.
• And Microsoft is letting its generative AI loose on cybersecurity.
• From brain waves, this AI can sketch what you’re picturing.
• New Chat GPT plugins can order groceries, book travel, and make restaurant reservations for some users.

Elsewhere: 

• Smartphone brands could get their Arm twisted: Pricier phones coming?
• Vivo X Fold 2 launch could be as soon as next month: The big question is whether this will actually come to global markets, and it looks like there aren’t any plans for that yet. Speaking of, the phone looks slim in its unboxing video.
• HUAWEI’s bringing its latest Google-free waterproof foldable flagship to Europe, plus the P60 series, too, launching May 9.
• And looks like a new Galaxy Z Flip 4 competitor is coming soon from a brand that’s never made a clamshell phone before.
• Elsewhere, T-Mobile customers can now use Alexa to make hands-free calls.
• And an Android app from China executed zero-day exploit on millions of devices.
• Long hair, don’t care: Squeeze controls are awesome on wireless earbuds.
• Collapsed Silicon Valley Bank is getting a new buyer — First Citizens BancShares.
• The happiest country in the world wants to fly you in for a free masterclass: Apply before the April 2 closing date.
• Also this week: The swagged-out pope is an AI fake — and an early glimpse of a new reality where it could be difficult to distinguish fake from reality.
• Plus: MIT scientists twist apart more than 1,000 Oreos in search for perfect method.

Movies/TV

• Check out this week’s best new streaming movies, including smart British romcom Rye Lane and Apple TV Plus original film Tetris.
• Bored with Netflix? Check out these 10 hidden gems you’ll love.
• John Wick 4 kicked off its run at the box office with the franchise’s best first weekend to date, racking up $73.5 million during its opening.
• Some sad news: British TV presenter and comedian Paul O’Grady, known for his drag queen persona, Lily Savage, died on Tuesday, aged 67: Here’s a look back at his life in pictures.
• With Amazon Alexa’s future in peril, Fire TVs offer a glimmer of hope.
• Elsewhere, Scott Pilgrim anime series is ‘imminent’ with entire cast returning, confirms Edgar Wright.
• Could this be a case for Mulder and Scully? Ryan Coogler to develop ‘X-Files’ reboot, Chris Carter says.
• Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin to make new horror thriller Thaw.
• Finally: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ ‘Lower Decks’ renewed at Paramount+, set summer premieres.

Gaming: 

• Lenovo confirms it has shut down its Legion gaming phone business.
• ASUS ROG Phone 7 specs leaked — it’s not all great news.
• Meanwhile, E3 2023 is canceled, but does the gaming industry really need the expo?
• PSA: Nintendo shut down the 3DS and Wii U storefronts on Monday.
• A ten-minute gameplay preview for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom revealed all the ways players can interact with the environment — how much do we want this game?!
• Will we see a Nintendo Switch 2? Here’s everything we know so far.
• Elsewhere, The Last Of Us is now on PC, but this port is full of glitches, and Naughty Dog drops second hotfix.
• AI bots listen in on the toxic world of videogame voice chat.
• Plus: Reviews of city-builder that’s not a city-builder Terra Nil are in: Kotaku calls it “the ultimate form of video game escapism,” while Eurogamer says, “…it’s trickier than it appears, but utterly committed to its environmental vision, taking the genre — and every level — to new places.”
• Finally: TechCrunch played the anime dating sim that does your taxes, and it actually works.

Reviews

• I used Apple Fitness Plus for 7 days: Here’s my honest review (Android Authority).
• OnePlus 11 vs Google Pixel 7: Which phone should you buy? (Android Authority).
• Sonos One SL Review: “Drops the voice assistants, keeps the awesome sound quality” (Trusted Reviews).
• Roku Plus Series TV review: better than you may expect — “An undeniable value, but leaves room for improvement” (Digital Trends).
• Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Review: “Still the best Windows tablet and keyboard combo” (Trusted Reviews).

Features

• In the AI era, Microsoft is the new Google and vice versa: “One company is lagging behind rivals and facing antitrust scrutiny, the other is Microsoft” (Android Authority).
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs Machine Learning (ML): What’s the difference? (Android Authority).
• In sudden alarm, tech doyens call for a pause on ChatGPT: “Tech luminaries, renowned scientists, and Elon Musk warn of an ‘out-of-control race’ to develop and deploy ever-more-powerful AI systems” (Wired).
• Review: We put ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard to the test — “We designed trials to compare our chatbot overlords from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. They’re smart, they’re interactive—and they’re pretty little liars” (Wired).
• Harvard geneticists create an organism that is immune to all viruses (Freethink).

Weekly Wonder

Fancy some woolly mammoth meatballs? Hmm, we’re not sure either, and no, this doesn’t appear to be an April Fool joke.

A food company in Australia claims to have made a meatball from the long-extinct woolly mammoth (h/t Morning Brew).

• Vow specializes in “growing” unconventional meat in labs.
• The idea is to reduce animal agriculture’s impact on the planet, offering an alternative choice to animal slaughter.
• It seems like the mammoth was chosen to “start a conversation” and create marketing buzz.
• Tim Noakesmith, the co-founder of Vow, said, “We chose the woolly mammoth because it’s a symbol of diversity loss and a symbol of climate change.”
• Vow used the DNA sequence of a mammoth’s muscle protein combined with elephant DNA.
• The resulting combo was inserted into a sheep muscle cell, grown alongside more sheep genes to create 400 grams of meat.
• Sadly this delicacy won’t be available at your local Ikea — or restaurant — anytime soon. Actually, we’re not so sure that’s sad news.
• And nobody’s tasted the mammoth meatball yet, so the jury’s still out on the flavor.
• Watch this space though, as Vow’s targeting restaurants in Singapore with Japanese quail, its first cultivated meat product, later this year.

Tech Calendar

• April 13 @ 8 AM EDT: ROG Phone 7 launches
• May 5: Hogwarts Legacy lands on PS4 and Xbox
• May 9: HUAWEI Mate X3 and P60 series Europe launch
• May 10: Google I/O 2023
• June 5: Apple WWDC (Reality One or Reality Pro mixed-reality headset?)
• June 11: Xbox Games Showcase

Tech Tweet of the Week

Something extra

Check out this teeny-tiny tortoise, the tortoise son of Mr. Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise from Houston Zoo. He’s one of three brothers named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño, and he’s special as this breed of tortoise rarely reproduces (h/t: Morning Brew).

Have a wonderful week!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.