The Weekly Authority: 💬 Bard’s surprise public beta

⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 237th edition here with Bard’s surprise public beta, not one but two new phones from HUAWEI, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor leaks, the latest on the TikTok ban, and a weird and wonderful Jack Daniel’s story.

🎮 I finally cashed in some credit I had at a local game store and got myself a copy of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, after playing the amazing demo on Switch earlier in the week. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I can’t wait!

HUAWEI:

• HUAWEI drops a foldable: Mate X3 announced with a 7.85-inch 120Hz internal folding screen and another 120Hz 6.4-inch FHD+ curved front display, IPX8 rating, Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, and 4,800mAh battery with 66W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging.
• And HUAWEI P60 series announced: One for the photography enthusiasts with its triple rear camera system with 48MP primary shooter, 40MP 3.5X periscope shooter with RYYB color filter, and 13MP ultrawide lens.

• In case you missed last week’s sad news: Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ star, dies at 60.
• Speaking of, Mashable‘s John Wick: Chapter 4 review is in, and it may be the best John Wick movie yet.
• The Last of Us’ famous ending was almost changed for the show (Spoiler alert if you haven’t watched the finale yet!)
• Season 2 of Yellowjackets is here, with new episodes streamingly weekly on Fridays, and Mashable‘s got some burning questions before you start watching.
• Love Rick and Morty? Here are some similar shows to check out for your weekend binge.
• We’ve also got this week’s best new streaming movies, from M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin to anime-musical Inu-Oh.
• Also: Paramount to remake Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo,’ Robert Downey Jr. eyes lead role.
• And we saw a trailer for Big Shark, Tommy Wiseau’s follow-up to The Room.
• Plus: Apple to spend $1 billion a year on films to break into cinemas.
• Finally: If you loved Wednesday, here are some of the best Jenna Ortega movies and TV shows, plus where to stream them.

Weekly Wonder

It’s been a weird week, so we thought we’d share three of the weirdest stories from it, right here.

🎥 The Writers Guild of America considers letting AI write Hollywood scripts

This isn’t as bad as it sounds!

• Variety reported on news that the Writers Guild of America proposes allowing AI to write scripts for movies, as long as writers retain credit.
• Effectively, this means encouraging writers to use tools like ChatGPT to help with script writing, without needing to share credits with AI.
• It may also see studios handing writers scripts already generated by AI, where the writer’s job is to edit and polish the script, and they’ll retain full credit.
• It’s all about the industry treating AI as a tool, not a writer in itself.
• However, it remains to be seen whether the AMPTP will be receptive to the idea

💩 Jack Daniel’s takes a poop joke to SCOTUS

Whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s claimed a squeaky dog toy violated its trademark (h/t Morning Brew).

• The “Bad Spaniels” dog toy from VIP Products bears quite the resemblance to an iconic whiskey bottle.
• On the front, rather than saying “Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey,” it says “Old No. 2 on your Tennessee carpet.”
• Jack Daniel’s claims this confuses customers due to the similarity to the real product, and that the toy associates its “fine whiskey with dog poop.”
• After the district court initially sided with the whiskey brand, an appeals court ruled that, since the toy was a parody, enforcing the trademark could run afoul of the First Amendment, so VIP Products can continue making the toy.

Tech Calendar

• April 13 @ 8 AM EDT: ROG Phone 7 launches
• May 5: Hogwarts Legacy lands on PS4 and Xbox
• May 10: Google I/O 2023
• June 11: Xbox Games Showcase
• June 13-16: E3 2023

Tech Tweet of the Week

Destiny 2 players gathered in-game last weekend to pay tribute to actor Lance Reddick, shortly after news of his death.

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.