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💡 Get your daily fix of innovation, gadgets, AI, cybersecurity, and the tech shaping tomorrow. Technology Daily keeps you in the loop with smart, snappy updates—perfect for busy founders, engineers, and curious minds alike.
Welcome to Technology Daily, your source for the latest in tech news. I'm your host, and today we're covering the biggest stories making waves in the world of technology.
Let's dive right in with our top story. Apple is making some significant changes to comply with Europe's Digital Markets Act. Starting with iOS 26.3, Apple devices will support third-party proximity pairing and notifications, but here's the catch – only in Europe. This means users in the EU will soon be able to pair Sony headphones with their iPhones just as easily as AirPods, using a simple one-tap process. Third-party smartwatches will also be able to receive iPhone notifications, though you can only forward notifications to one device at a time. While this is a step toward a more interconnected digital ecosystem, Apple appears to be doing the bare minimum required by regulators, and in some cases has removed features in Europe that remain available elsewhere.
Speaking of regulatory compliance, the Federal Communications Commission has added foreign-made drones to its Covered List, effectively banning the import of new models into the United States. The decision impacts major manufacturers like DJI, the Chinese drone maker that dominates the consumer market. The ban doesn't affect drones already purchased or models already approved for sale – those can continue to be used and sold. FCC Chair Brendan Carr clarified that the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security can allow specific models to be sold if they determine they pose no security threat. DJI has expressed disappointment with the decision, maintaining that concerns about their data security haven't been grounded in evidence.
In artificial intelligence news, OpenAI is giving users more control over ChatGPT's personality. The latest update allows users to adjust specific characteristics like warmth, enthusiasm, and even emoji use in the chatbot's responses. This comes after users complained that recent updates made ChatGPT sound less conversational and friendly. You can find these new customization options in the Personalization settings, where you can choose between more, less, or default levels for each characteristic. These options join previously added choices like Professional, Candid, and Quirky base styles.
Now for some concerning news about the streaming world. Anna's Archive, an open-source search engine for shadow libraries, claims to have scraped Spotify's entire music library. The group says they've acquired metadata for around 256 million tracks, totaling nearly 300 terabytes of data. They're calling it the largest music metadata database publicly available and plan to release it in stages, ordered by popularity. Spotify has responded by saying they've identified and disabled the accounts that engaged in this unlawful scraping and have implemented new safeguards. This raises serious questions about copyright protection and the security of streaming platforms.
In gaming news, there's been a shake-up at the Indie Game Awards. The ceremony has stripped the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of two major awards, including Game of the Year, after it was confirmed the developers used generative AI during production. While the AI-generated assets were reportedly only placeholders that were later removed, a few made it into the final game. The awards ceremony has strict rules prohibiting any use of generative AI, so the decision was clear-cut. Blue Prince now takes the Game of the Year title, while Sorry We're Closed gets Debut Game.
Moving to transportation technology, Waymo's self-driving taxis encountered a significant problem during a San Francisco power outage. When a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation knocked out traffic lights across the city, several Waymo vehicles were left stranded at intersections with their hazard lights on. Waymo temporarily suspended ride-hailing services and explained that while their system is designed to treat non-functional signals as four-way stops, the scale of the outage caused vehicles to remain stationary longer than usual. The incident has revealed a notable vulnerability in autonomous driving systems' ability to handle widespread infrastructure failures.
And in corporate news, the streaming wars are heating up with a fresh twist. Paramount has updated its $108 billion offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, now including an irrevocable personal guarantee from Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder and Skydance backer. The guarantee equals $40.4 billion, addressing Warner Bros. Discovery's concerns about the financing of the deal. This comes after WBD had already accepted an $82.7 billion offer from Netflix. The drama continues, with Paramount's offer set to expire on January 21, 2026.
Looking ahead, the tech industry's biggest annual event, CES, is just around the corner. The show kicks off in early January with major press conferences from Samsung, LG, Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. We're expecting announcements about new processors, advanced display technologies, and robotics innovations. Samsung is expanding its Micro RGB TV lineup, while Sony may unveil new display technology that promises brighter, more accurate colors. On the computing side, Intel's Panther Lake chips and AMD's new Ryzen processors are set to make their debuts.
In research and development news, physicists have achieved something remarkable using ultracold atoms and laser light. They've recreated the behavior of a Josephson junction, an essential component of quantum computers and voltage standards. This breakthrough reveals a deep universality in quantum physics and makes previously elusive microscopic effects visible for the first time. It's a significant step forward in our understanding of quantum systems.
Before we wrap up, a quick note about online shopping. With the holidays approaching, Instacart has announced it's ending all price testing on its platform. This comes after a study revealed that some customers were seeing higher prices than others, and the FTC said it would investigate. While Instacart maintained these were short-term randomized tests meant to invest in lower prices, the company has decided to discontinue the practice entirely. Retailers will still set their own prices, which may vary by location, but Instacart will no longer support any item price testing services.
That's it for today's Technology Daily. From AI advancements to regulatory changes, autonomous vehicles to streaming controversies, the tech world never stops evolving. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time with more of the latest technology news.