Microsoft recently announced a major update to its communities and GroupMe features on its free Teams app. In addition to more features that mirror a platform like Discord, Teams now supports AI-generated images in Communities, à la Midjourney.
The Communities feature has been a breakout hit for Microsoft Teams since its introduction in December 2022, and has been available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans, along with Teams Essentials accounts. Since then, many people have found the feature beneficial for local collaboration such as sharing projects, exchanging ideas, and pooling resources. According to user feedback, the feature allows collaborators to stay connected before, during, and after gatherings, Microsoft said.
Taking into consideration new functions, streamlined accessibility, bug fixes, and other user notes, Microsoft has rolled out an updated version of Communities for Microsoft Teams. These features will be available immediately for Windows 11 devices, as well as iOS and Android devices, for free. Here are some of the new features available on Communities.
In addition to the Communities updates, Microsoft has also announced its new features on GroupMe, which is a communication app centered on college and university campuses. GroupMe has seen a visual redesign, with new Topic chats meant for large group conversations. The ecosystem is focused on discovering new people. As it’s based on Microsoft Teams, you can make Teams calls without having to leave GroupMe.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.