Rogers and Microsoft partner for Azure Programmable Connectivity 5G developer platform

Photo: Microsoft

Rogers and Microsoft have joined forces to announce an exclusive Canadian partnership for the private preview of Azure Programmable Connectivity. This new solution is for developers to build 5G network-aware applications.

Through this platform and partnership, select developers specializing in business and enterprise applications will gain secure access to location-based API on Rogers' national 5G network. Rogers and Microsoft want to create apps that can offer business solutions for purposes like improving the supply chain in the manufacturing and retail sectors. 

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Redmi introduces 300W fast-charging tech

Screenshot: Redmi

If you thought your phone was charging fast enough, Xiaomi subsidiary Redmi pushes the envelope of fast-charging technology further with 300W support. It comes just four months since the brand surpassed the 200W threshold. With charging speeds like these, your phone can go from 0% to 100% in under five minutes. In the video from the company, the brand used a modified Redmi Note 12 Discovery with a 4,100mAh battery in a controlled environment. 

It took roughly two minutes and 11 seconds to reach 50%, and shy five minutes, it reached 100%. As GSMArena pointed out though, the test only reached 290W for around three seconds. But of course, 300W is the theoretical maximum, and the device will still cap it out for safety reasons. The adapter itself comes with Double GaN technology with "more than 50 safety protections" while maintaining a small size.

Microsoft Phone Link update brings iMessage support to Windows PCs

Screenshot: Microsoft

While Apple users don't typically use Windows devices, those users who do will get the option to use iMessage right from their PCs. But it'll be on a limited capacity, of course. A preview of this new feature is available to Windows Insiders now. You can use the Microsoft Phone Link app to send and receive messages through iMessage, make or receive calls, and see your notifications. 

Microsoft uses Bluetooth to link Windows devices to iPhones. As mentioned, there are limitations., including the inability to send pictures or join group messages. You won't be able to view the full message history, either. Only the messages sent or received through Phone Link will be visible. It might seem like the feature is too rudimentary, but this is the first time Microsoft supports calls and messages from iPhones, making it a step in the right direction. Microsoft has started testing the feature out with a small group of users, but it plans to increase this number over time.

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Snapchat launches a ChatGPT-powered My AI chatbot

Image: Snap

Snapchat gets an in-app chatbot powered by the latest version of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The My AI chatbot will be pinned to the app's chat tab above the conversations with friends. It's coming first to Snapchat Plus subscribers, with the eventual goal of bringing it to all of Snapchat's 750 million monthly users. It isn't designed to be a search engine. Instead, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel envisions it as another service you can chat with daily aside from your friends and family.

As The Verge noted, My AI seems like the fast mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT but inside Snapchat. But it is a more restricted version, with Snap training the chatbot to adhere to its trust and safety guidelines. It will not give responses that include swearing, sexually explicit content, violence, or opinions on hot-button topics like politics. It's also taken out the option to write academic essays. Snap plans to keep tuning My AI as more people use it.