Weekly Tech Wrap: OpenAI launches Google search rival, Apple Maps comes to web and more

Weekly Tech Wrap: In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to miss some of the biggest news stories of the week. But fear not, we’ve got you covered (at least on the technology front) with a list of the top 5 tech-related news stories of the week. There’s a lot to unpack in this week’s tech roundup: OpenAI launched its Google search rival, Meta unveiled its new and most powerful language model yet, Google backtracked on its promise to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, and more. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top 5 tech stories of the week.

1) OpenAI launches Google Search rival:

After months of rumours, Sam Altman led startup OpenAI finally unveiled a search engine competitor to Google called SearchGPT. The new feature is currently in the ‘prototype’ stage and is only available via a waiting list, but it is expected to be rolled out to all users in the future.

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In a blogpost about new search feature, OpenAI wrote, “We’re testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

SearchGPT start page is akin to Google and we get a message reading, “what are you looking for?” After entering the search query, though, you get a direct answer much like Perplexity or Google’s disgraced AI overviews feature.

2) Meta introduces latest language model to take on GPT-4o:

Meta announced its latest open-source language model, Llama 3.1 405B, which is said to rival the likes of GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in human evaluations and benchmakers. The new model comes with a context window of 128k tokens and is said to offer new use case cases like synthetic data generation and model distillation.

3) Apple Maps comes to web:

Tech giant Apple has unveiled the public beta of Apple Maps on the web, allowing global users to access the service directly from their browsers. The new web-based Apple Maps can be accessed through both Chrome and Safari browsers, bringing driving and walking directions, gas station information, and comprehensive place details directly to users’ desktops.

Reportedly, users can now get driving and walking directions, search for various places, and view detailed information such as photos, operating hours, ratings, and reviews, all from their browser. This web-based iteration of Apple Maps aims to deliver a robust navigation tool without the necessity of a dedicated app.

Moreover, users can directly order food from the place card within Maps, adding an extra layer of convenience. The curated Guides feature assists users in finding recommended restaurants, shopping venues, and points of interest in various cities, making it a valuable tool for both daily use and travel navigation.

4) Google goes back on decision to remove third party cookies in Chrome:

In a significant policy shift, Google announced on Monday that it will no longer proceed with its plan to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser. Instead, the tech giant will introduce a new system that allows users to select their tracking preferences across Google’s search products. This new approach is designed to give users greater control over their browsing data, according to Anthony Chavez, Google’s Vice President of Privacy Sandbox, who detailed the changes in a blog post.

“Rather than phasing out third-party cookies, we are developing a new experience in Chrome that enables users to make informed decisions about their tracking preferences,” Chavez wrote. “These choices will be applicable throughout their web browsing and can be adjusted at any time.”

5) Elon Musk’s X will now allow users to disable replies to posts:

Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) will soon introduce a new feature that will allow users to disable links in replies to their posts. While the feature hasn’t been officially announced and there’s no confirmation as to why it was made, the most likely scenario is that it’s an attempt to combat the plague of spam bots on the platform, that typically leave self-promotional links in reply to people’s posts.

The first was first spotted by independent app researcher Nima Owji and later confirmed by X’s senior director for security engineering, Christopher Stanley, in response to a post. Replying to a post about the new feature, Stanley said: “My team built this.”