Weekly Tech Wrap: Nothing Phone 2a Becomes Official, Musk Vs OpenAI Catches Steam, More Top Technology News

From X planning to removing likes and retweets to Realme 12+ breaking cover, here are the biggest tech headlines from the week that was.

Nothing Phone 2a price starts at Rs 23,999.

Source : Nothing

Nothing Phone 2a breaks cover. Instagram and Facebook face mega outage. OpenAI vs Musk heats up. The world of technology was dominated by these headlines in the week that was. Take a look.

Nothing Phone 2a Now Official

Nothing on Tuesday unveiled its latest offering, the Nothing Phone 2a. Priced at Rs 23,999 for the 8GB + 128GB storage variant without any accompanying bank offers, the Nothing Phone 2a marks the most pocket-friendly smartphone from the Carl Pei-led brand to date. The company also introduced two other storage options for the phone. As part of a special promotion, the phone will be available at a discounted launch price of Rs 19,999 exclusively on Flipkart for a single day, starting March 12, as announced during the launch event held in New Delhi.

Notably, Nothing is committing to provide three years of significant Android updates and four years of security updates for the device, a feature seldom seen in this price range.

The Nothing Phone 2a boasts several enhancements over its predecessor, the Nothing Phone 1, including a 30 per cent improvement in battery life, 40 per cent better brightness, 30 per cent enhanced heat dissipation, and a 21 per cent reduction in bezel thickness, among other improvements.

Mega Meta Outage

Meta's social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, are currently experiencing a widespread service disruption, causing users nationwide to encounter difficulties accessing the platforms. This issue emerged late on Tuesday and prompted frustrated users to seek alternative social media outlets, particularly X (formerly Twitter), where they expressed their grievances humorously through memes. Even Elon Musk, the owner of X, joined in by making a jest at Meta.

Andy Stone, Meta's Communications Director, has acknowledged the problem and stated that a solution is being worked on. Fortunately, WhatsApp, another Meta-owned platform, seems unaffected at the moment.

According to reports from Downdetector, the service interruption began in India around 8:33 pm local time, with over 19,290 outage reports logged from across the country at the time of reporting.

By approximately 10 pm, Instagram and Facebook seemed to be operating normally again. Andy Stone attributed the disruption to a "technical issue," which was addressed promptly.

X To Remove Likes?

During his talk at the Morgan Stanley technology, media, and telecom conference, Elon Musk, the prominent tech figure, revealed plans for his social media endeavour, X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk indicated that X is considering removing the display of likes and repost counts from posts on the platform. Moreover, he mentioned that X is in the final stages of securing a money transmitter license in New York, and expects to obtain it in the coming months, as per media reports.

A well-known user of X, DogeDesigner, shared the information about the potential removal of like and repost counts from the feed, specifying that these metrics would still be accessible upon tapping into a post. In response, Musk, the head of X, confirmed the plans by stating, "definitely happening."

OpenAI Targets Musk

OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, has firmly denied accusations from Elon Musk, a co-founder of the organisation, regarding a departure from its original mission. In a recent blog post, OpenAI addressed Musk's claims, which emerged in the context of a lawsuit he filed against the organisation. 

Musk alleged that OpenAI had veered away from its initial goal of advancing artificial intelligence (AI) for the betterment of humanity, instead prioritising profit-driven objectives. OpenAI responded promptly, stating its intention to contest Musk's claims through legal channels.

OpenAI expressed disappointment over the situation, particularly given Musk's previous influence and inspiration. The organisation regretted the legal conflict and the deterioration of what was once a respected relationship.

Realme 12+ With Sony Cameras Launched

It seems that smartphone brands are increasingly adopting branded cameras as a trend, following the examples of Leica and Xiaomi, as well as Hasselblad and OnePlus. Realme has now joined this trend, introducing Sony LYT-600 branded cameras, which are claimed to be the first of their kind, in the Realme 12+. This model was unveiled alongside the standard Realme 12 in the country on Wednesday.

The Realme 12+ is available at a starting price of Rs 20,999 for the 8GB + 128GB storage variant, while the 8GB + 256GB storage model is priced at Rs 21,999.

That’s it from the world of tech headlines this week. Stay tuned to this space for more top stories next week.

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