This week things were a little quieter as we await the reveal of Samsung Unpacked next week, but that’s not to say it was dull.
YouTube went down, Apple teased its next product event, and Discord rivals crashed under the weight of new users fleeing to their platforms.
7. The Discord exodus started
Discord has inadvertently tarnished its reputation over the past week with an announcement that it will introduce its strict age verification plans for its users globally following the UK’s updated Online Safety Act. This unsurprisingly sparked outrage among Discord users, who fled to several alternative social platforms, so much so that it caused server capacity issues for one in particular, Stoat.
It comes after a slew of users have taken to opting out of the platform’s Nitro service, with many wanting to force Discord to rethink its strategy. Unfortunately, Discord has yet to make any adjustments to its verification plans set for March, and has only issued an update to its initial press release that provides additional ‘clarification’ for those plans.
6. We tested the strangest e-bike yet
AI really is finding its way into everything, as this week we tested Acer’s ebii 20 – an e-bike with AI features aimed at improving the rider’s experience.
There’s something to be said for the safety protection and AI pedal assist, but the hub motor lacks the power most would expect from an e-bike in this price range.
It also has poor weight distribution and made some annoying ticking and white noise noises while we were testing it – probably because we didn’t fit the bike with a SIM card – leading to frustrations that meant we could only award it three and a half stars in our review.
5. Movie studios fought back against AI clones
Netflix and Paramount may be fighting over which of them will buy Warner Bros., but for now the trio and some other Hollywood studios like Disney are allies in pushing back on Seedance 2.0 — a new AI video generator from ByteDance (the TikTok owner).
That’s because they all claim that the platform is using their characters and IP without permission.
Several Seedance videos have gone viral recently, including one featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a fight scene, with dialogue in which Pitt accuses Cruise of killing Jeffrey Epstein – with the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) calling the video “unacceptable.”
The Chinese company has since said it will take steps “to prevent users’ unauthorized use of intellectual property and similarity.”
4. We dissected the new Game of Thrones trailer
Fortunately, this week we didn’t need artificial intelligence to get excited about a major entertainment property when the trailer for House of the Dragon Season 3 dropped.
With last season’s finale hinting that the Targaryen civil war will finally take center stage this season, its first teaser, which you can see above, is a thoroughly explosive one.
Unfortunately, the only thing we’re still missing is an official release date. It’s coming sometime in June, but exactly when is still a mystery for now.
3. Ring defended his leaked plan to “reset crime”
Privacy has been a huge theme this week – and Discord (see above) wasn’t the only company to shoot itself in the foot. Ring also had to defend itself against accusations that it plans to create an opt-out system that borders on mass surveillance.
A leaked email from Ring founder Jamie Siminoff added fuel to a controversy sparked by the company’s Super Bowl ad for its ‘Search Party’ feature. This feature is designed to help lost dogs, but the email said it could lead to a “future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods”.
That understandably didn’t go down too well with privacy advocates — but Ring told us it’s standing, despite the backlash.
2. YouTube went down in a very rare outage
We’re pretty used to outages on X, which went down twice this week — but seeing YouTube go offline is a more panic-inducing rarity. Well, the unfortunate incident happened on Tuesday night when YouTube gave millions of people a taste of what life was like before 2006.
The 90-minute outage affected all parts of YouTube — from the website and app to YouTube Music and TV — and was caused by an innocent “issue with our recommendation system,” according to Google. The experience made many realize how dependent they have become on the video-sharing site, which is so culturally significant that it is now an exhibition at London’s V&A museum.
1. Apple announced a big event in March
We might be currently gearing up for Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked next week, but because we don’t want to be left out of the conversation, Apple has teased a showcase for March 4 – and it could be a doozy.
As always, the company is tight-lipped about what product launches we can see at the event, with nothing specifically mentioned in the press inviting itself; however, there are suggestions from leaks and speculation that it will have a wide range of products to announce.
This could include new MacBook Pros, the iPhone 17e, a new iPad Air and possibly a new Mac Studio. We’ll have to wait and see what’s announced, but if you’re an Apple fan looking to upgrade your tech, you might want to wait a week or so to see what Apple has up its sleeves.
