Tech Roundup: Apple WWDC 2023, Reddit API Pricing Uproar & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Apple unveils its long-awaited Vision Pro mixed reality headset (aka "spatial computer"), its first major product in a decade, for US$ 3,499, as questions remain about the need for embedding VR in everyday life; to be available early next year and run on a new operating system called visionOS, requiring that third-party developers come on board to make native apps for the platform.
• Apple debuts a 15-inch variant of MacBook Air for US$ 1,299; announces iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17 and macOS Sonoma with interactive widgets, improved autocorrect, Spotlight Siri Suggestions and video conferencing experiences, support for user profiles and web apps in Safari, as well as updates to incoming phone calls and Messages (including custom stickers) and the ability to easily share contact information using NameDrop.
• Apple launches a new encrypted app called Journal that allows users to "reflect and practice gratitude through journaling"; adds passkey support, live voicemail transcription, options to log daily moods in the Health app and activate Siri by simply saying "Siri" instead of "Hey Siri."
• Apple brings lock screen customisations and the Health app to iPadOS 17; reveals the M2 Ultra chip with 24-core CPU alongside the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro, adds the option to share an AirTag with another person, and makes iOS 17 and developer betas free for registered developers.
• Google announces passkeys on Workspace accounts in open beta, letting employees at over 9 million organisations sign in without a password; comes as 1Password launches a passkey public beta for Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox and Brave.
• Apple acquires Los Angeles-based Mira, which makes AR headsets for companies like Ninentdo and the U.S. military, for an undisclosed sum; debuts a new Game Porting Toolkit that is designed to make it easier and faster for developers to bring their PC games to macOS.
• Google rolls out Smart Compose for Chat on the web, allowing users to auto-complete sentences, and updates the Google Meet picture-in-picture experience to be more engaging and feature-rich; updates Google Recorder for the web to support file editing, introduces biometric authentication on Chrome for desktop when auto-filling passwords and the ability to import passwords from other browsers as a CSV file, and begins migrating Assistant and Calendar reminders to Google Tasks.
• Google Cloud partners with Priceline and Mayo Clinic to help develop AI chatbots for planning trips and finding patient data; adds more Indian languages to its services and says it's developing an AI model that would be able to handle more than 100 Indian languages across speech and text.
• Reddit creates an exemption from its unpopular new usage-based API pricing terms for "select developers of non-commercial apps that address accessibility needs," as the company sticks to its guns; popular third-party Reddit apps Apollo, RIF, Sync and Reddplant to discontinue their offerings in light of the exorbitant pricing changes.
• The new API terms, which cost US$ 0.24 per 1,000 API calls for apps that require higher usage limits and limit access to mature content, are set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. It's also positioned as a way to limit access to its forums, which have become a training ground for large language models.
• Meta-owned Instagram's algorithms connect and promote accounts that facilitate and sell child sexual abuse material, a new investigation has found; company says that it has "set up an internal task force" to investigate and address these claims. (The development also follows a report from The Guardian that Meta is struggling to prevent criminals from using its platforms to buy and sell children for sex.)
  
• Amazon is reportedly planning to introduce an ad-supported tier to its Prime Video platform.
• Automattic launches Jetpack AI Assistant for WordPress and Jetpack-powered sites, letting users generate content and translate text into 12 languages.
• Vimeo announces plans to end support for its Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV and Roku apps on June 27, 2023, saying casting will give users a "better ongoing experience."
• Meta says it intends to add generative AI text, image, and video tools to its products, such as Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram; debuts Channels in WhatsApp as a way to "receive important updates from people and organisations" and updates Notes on Instagram with music clip and translation features.
• Music streamer Spotify begins testing an 'offline mix' that will "save a mix of your recently played songs for when the vibe is high, but your connection is low."
• Disney's Hotstar plans to offer free streaming of cricket tournaments in India on mobile devices, following JioCinema's recent success with a similar strategy.
• Meta launches MusicGen, an open-source AI model that can generate short pieces of music using text prompts (similar to Google's MusicLM) that can optionally be aligned to an existing melody.
• Microsoft adds voice mode to Bing Chat on desktop, letting users ask questions using their voice in English, Japanese, French, German and Mandarin; raises Bing Chat's chat limit from 20 to 30 per session.