While many in the United States celebrated the 4th of July and had vacations this week, news continued to march forward. Meta rolled out its Twitter competitor Threads, OpenAI paused Bing's integration with ChatGPT, and an independent developer rolled out an update to the Android 13 on Surface Duo project.
To help you catch up on all the biggest news of the week, I've rounded up the latest trending topics in the world of Microsoft and Windows.
ChatGPT pauses Bing integration
ChatGPT recently gained the ability to integrate with Bing. But even more recently, OpenAI paused the integration because people were using it to bypass paywalls. Searching for a website while using Bing through ChatGPT would show the entire text of a webpage, even if that page required a subscription. Early this week, OpenAI announced that it had paused the integration:
As of July 3, 2023, we’ve disabled the Browse with Bing beta feature out of an abundance of caution while we fix this in order to do right by content owners. We are working to bring the beta back as quickly as possible, and appreciate your understanding!
OpenAI
Presumably, OpenAI will sort out the behavior and roll out the integration again in the near future. The Bing integration is only in beta, so some bumps in the road are expected.
While you wait for ChatGPT to gain access to Bing, you can play around with a third-party version of Clippy powered by ChatGPT.
Threads by Instagram
Threads is a new app by Instagram that aims to compete with Twitter. With Elon Musk running Twitter into the ground, a social media gap is growing by the day. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, decided to fill the void.
The rollout of Threads was accelerated due to the opportunity presented by Twitter's stumbles. As a result, Threads is rather barebones right now. It lacks tags, trending pages, and even a way to only view people you follow.
Even with the limited feature set, Threads exploded in terms of users and usage. The app already has over 70 million users. That number would likely have been higher if Threads was allowed in the EU, but that's not the case at the moment, likely because of privacy concerns.
Threads is available on Android and iOS, but it doesn't have a web client or Windows app yet. You can, however, use Threads on your PC by installing its Android app.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, shared several features that are on the way to Threads. While you wait for those to roll out, make sure to follow us!
Android 13 on Surface Duo
Microsoft hasn't shipped a major update to Surface Duo in almost a year. That means the foldable still runs Android 12L despite the fact that many devices run Android 13 and are getting ready for Android 14. To help close the growing gap, a former Microsoft developer has a project that ports Android 13 onto Surface Duo.
Thai Nguyen first released a test build for Android 13 on Surface Duo earlier this month. Nguyen has since shipped an update to the project that makes the Surface Duo more usable when running Android 13. Here are the changes in the latest build.
- Remove displaymask feature so apps stop trying to load Surface Duo config and crash.
- Add option to disable Hinge Gap in Settings.
- Add support for foldable device states. - Split screen divider matches hinge size
While this is an unofficial project, it's nice to see someone support the Surface Duo. Microsoft doesn't seem interested in doing so.
Apple Vision Pro potential flop
Apple Vision Pro made the headlines this year when its virtual augmented reality experience was shown off to the world. Apple's headset has some things in common with Microsoft HoloLens, but it is more focused on everyday computing and entertainment than 3-D objects and augmenting reality. A report this week indicated that Apple may not be able to deliver the one million Vision Pro headsets it promised by 2024.
The complicated design of the headset making it difficult to source supplies appears to be the main issue. Apple only got enough components to make between 130,000 and 150,000 units, according to Ars Technica.
With Apple Vision Pro costing $3,500, it's difficult to envision it becoming a major success among average consumers. We'll have to see if those with deeper pockets will sport the headset.
Reviews & Editorials
Each we our experts take a close look at the best laptops, games, gadgets, and accessories. Over the past few days our team sat in and reviewed a lovely gaming chair from Anda Seat, ran the Layers of Fear remake through its paces, and tried a carrying case for the ROG Ally from WaterField.
- WaterField CitySlicker and Pouch review: The BEST ROG Ally carrying cases
- Kaiser Frontier XL review: Gaming chair perfection has never felt so good
- Layers of Fear (2023) Xbox review — A mostly good remake of a mostly good horror series
- SIHOO Doro-C300 office chair review: Incredible comfort, incredible price
Deals
We hunt for the best tech deals every week, but we put in extra effort over the last seven days since so many retailers had 4th of July sales. Additionally, with Amazon Prime Day running next week, companies are eager to share discounts early.
Laptops, SSDs, TVs, and many other gadgets are on sale this week. It's shaping up to be a month full of discounts.
In addition to the specific spotlight deals below, make sure to check out our deals hubs that will be updated throughout Prime Day. All of the devices listed are on sale through Amazon but we also include other retailers, some of which provide even better discounts!
Here are all of the best deals we covered this week, plus some older deals that are still going.
Note: Some deals have changed since we covered them initially and may change in the future. All of the discounts are live and as listed at the time of publication.
