All You Need To Know About TikTok, Its Algorithm, and the US-China Deal

A central question in TikTok's potential shutdown saga has been whether the popular social video platform would keep its algorithm - the secret sauce that powers its addictive video feed - after it's divested from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

Now, it seems that it can. Wang Jingtao, deputy director of China's Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, told reporters in Madrid on Monday that there was consensus on the authorization of "the use of intellectual property rights such as (TikTok's) algorithm" — a main sticking point in the deal.

The sides also agreed on entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security, he said. But while China has agreed that a divested TikTok could use its algorithm, it's uncertain how that would work.

Little is known about the actual deal being negotiated, including which companies are involved and whether the United States would have a stake in TikTok. Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative, said both sides have reached "basic framework consensus" to properly address TikTok-related issues in a cooperative manner, reduce investment barriers, and promote related economic and trade cooperation. The two sides now have until December 16 to work out the details, following the latest deadline extension by the Trump administration.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press conference this week after the latest round of trade talks between the world's top two economies concluded in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak on Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He said the objective of the deal would be to shift to American ownership.

He did not disclose the terms of the deal, saying that it is between two private parties, but added that "the commercial terms have been agreed upon."

Oracle Corp. has been floated as a likely buyer for the platform. Representatives of the company did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Monday and Tuesday.

In Madrid, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the team was "very focused on TikTok and making sure that it was a deal that is fair for the Chinese," but also "completely respects U.S. national security concerns."

The sides also agreed on entrusting a partner with handling U.S. user data and content security, he said.

At arguments in the Supreme Court in January, a lawyer for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. told the justices how difficult it would be to complete a deal that complies with the TikTok law, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful.

American officials have previously warned the algorithm that drives what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

TikTok has said that the U.S. never presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its U.S. platform.

The House Select Committee on China says any deal between Beijing and Washington must comply with a law requiring TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the U.S.

"It wouldn't be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can't be any shared algorithm with ByteDance," said a committee spokesperson.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the committee's ranking Democrat, said he wants information on the ownership structure.

"Underpinning all of our concerns is the Chinese Communist Party's access to American data," he said. The social media platform needs user data to determine what to show users, and Krishnamoorthi said he would be open to discussions if the app is protected from Beijing's infiltration.

Although he has no clear legal basis to do so, Trump has continued to extend the deadline for TikTok to avoid a ban in the U.S. The latest extension came on Tuesday, a day before the previous deadline was set to expire.

This gives his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership.

It is unclear how many times Trump can keep extending the ban as the government continues to try to negotiate a deal for TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance. While there is no clear legal basis for the extensions, so far, there have been no legal challenges against the administration. Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. He said in January that he has a "warm spot for TikTok."

TikTok did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Tuesday.

For now, TikTok continues to function for its 170 million users in the U.S. Tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle were persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump's Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them.

Americans are even more closely divided on what to do about TikTok than they were two years ago.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren't sure.

According to the report, among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about 8 in 10 cited concerns over users' data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision.

Read More

YouTube announces expanded set of tools for creators in latest AI initiative

YouTube is introducing a series of AI-powered tools aimed at reducing creators' workloads.

At its annual Made On YouTube event, the video platform introduced a new AI "creative partner" called Ask Studio, which can provide personalized summaries of things like how a video is performing or what commenters are saying.

Our vision is for Ask Studio to become the ultimate creative partner for every Creator — a trusted companion that Creators turn to first," YouTube wrote in an announcement. "It will provide personalized and actionable strategic insights based on knowledge of you as a Creator, your channel, and how YouTube works.

The announcement comes as social media companies continue to aggressively lean into the AI boom, throwing AI agents and in-platform chatbots at users while integrating more AI-powered tools for creators.

Many creators have been experimenting with various AI tools for years, including ones rolled out by YouTube last year , to help them improve their videos.

But the Google-owned video platform came under fire earlier this year from a handful of creators who expressed concerns that YouTube was making subtle changes to their videos using AI without their permission or knowledge. In response, the platform said it would offer creators the ability to opt-out of the platform’s recent enhancements to some Shorts

On Tuesday, YouTube said it plans to offer creators an AI feature that will ideate potential future videos, coming up with a title, description and AI-generated thumbnail for each, along with a possible video hook and narrative outline. The company added that it will pull from past audience behavior to inform creators on specific reasons for its suggestions.

The company is also expanding on existing features such as automatic dubbing and deepfake detection.

In the coming months, YouTube announced, new lip sync technology should make dubbed languages better match creators' mouth movements. The feature is designed to localize YouTube's content across 20 languages, using AI instead of the human translators and voice actors that some creators traditionally relied on.

Meanwhile, YouTube's tool detecting unauthorized uses of creators' likenesses is now in an open beta for members of the YouTube Partner Program. First announced in December, this likeness detection tool is the platform's response to the growing prevalence of nonconsensual AI-generated deepfakes, often of celebrities or influencers promoting products, that have flooded the internet in recent years.

As for live streams on the platform, YouTube says its new AI-powered highlights will automatically find and clip the "most compelling" moments from each stream to turn into Shorts that creators can then share.

Other features announced Tuesday include expanded A/B testing options for newly uploaded videos and the option to add up to five collaborators to one video.

More AI tools are coming to content creation on the platform as well for YouTube Shorts.

Google's Veo 3 video generator, which will allow creators to turn text prompts into video Shorts, has begun its rollout, and the company is now experimenting with an AI video editor that "transforms your raw footage into a compelling first draft." The platform says it will also start testing a new speech-to-song tool that can remix dialogue into "catchy soundtracks."

This article was originally published on newsrealtime

Read More

Apple no longer innovates -- it waits. And with AI, anyone playing it safe will get left behind.

Apple's struggles represent a fundamental misreading of the AI revolution.

Apple sits in an unprecedented position: It's a company worth more than $3 trillion that's somehow missing the most transformative technological shift since the internet.

While rivals race ahead in artificial intelligence (AI), the iPhone maker is stuck in neutral, watching its market leadership erode with each passing quarter.

A solution might be on the way, but don't hold your breath. Apple is reportedly preparing an AI product blitz That would give a new shine to its device lineup — with robots that include a lifelike version of Siri, a smart speaker with a screen, a new operating system and major home security services.

But is Apple too late?

Skepticism runs deep about Apple's AI makeover after previous efforts with Siri, Apple Intelligence, and Apple Vision Pro largely fizzled. But a determined Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, insists the company "must win in AI" and restore its innovation edge, according to a Bloomberg report. And last week, Bloomberg reported that Apple is considering using Alphabet's Gemini. to create an AI-powered Siri program .

Meanwhile, stock investors are rewarding Apple's rivals — Nvidia Microsoft Alphabet and Meta Platforms — for their aggressive AI investments.

Apple continues to rely on stock buybacks as its primary growth strategy. It's a defensive playbook when the moment demands bold offensive moves.

Apple's struggles represent a fundamental misreading of the AI revolution. While competitors pour resources into large-language models, autonomous systems and AI-powered services, Apple continues to rely on stock buybacks — to the tune of $704 billion over the past decade — as its primary growth strategy. It's a defensive playbook when the moment demands bold offensive moves.

One such move, a pledge by the company to invest $600 billion into U.S. operations over the next four years, promises a boost in manufacturing. But will we ever see it done? Is it a legitimate strategy or one of the empty commitments Apple has been making for some time?

In the meantime, a talent exodus speaks volumes about Apple's internal dysfunction around AI. The company lost its fourth top AI researcher to Meta this year, joining a broader brain drain that should alarm both investors and customers. When your brightest minds are fleeing to competitors, it signals deeper cultural and strategic problems that go beyond any single product cycle.

Every quarter Apple delays meaningful AI investment, the gap widens.

Perhaps most telling is Siri's continued mediocrity. After more than a decade of development, Apple's virtual assistant remains laughably behind OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Assistant, and other AI alternatives. Getting Siri to "not suck," as one analyst bluntly put it, now seems highly improbable given Apple's track record. This isn't just a product failure, but a symbol of organizational complacency.

Read: Is Apple making the same mistakes BlackBerry did? Here's how it can change course.

The AI revolution differs fundamentally from previous tech cycles. Unlike the mobile transition, where Apple could observe, learn and then leapfrog competitors with superior execution, AI advantages compound rapidly. Companies with early leads in data, talent and infrastructure create moats that become increasingly difficult to bridge. Every quarter Apple delays meaningful AI investment, the gap widens.

Consider the operating leverage dynamics at play. AI is inherently deflationary, benefiting companies that can spread development costs across massive user bases and infrastructure. Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft and Alphabet understand this, which is why they're being rewarded for aggressive capital expenditure. Apple's traditionally conservative approach of waiting to perfect products before launch could prove catastrophic in a field where speed and scale determine winners.

Apple's entire ecosystem assumes the smartphone will remain our primary device, but that assumption is increasingly looking vulnerable.

The smartphone-centric worldview that built Apple's empire may be under threat. Meta's bet on mixed-reality glasses as the next primary computing device isn't far-fetched when viewed through an AI lens. OpenAI is working with iPhone designer Jony Ive on a hardware project of its own.

If ambient intelligence becomes the norm — and users interact with AI through voice, gesture, and environmental sensors — the iPhone's touch screen interface could seem quaint. Apple's entire ecosystem assumes the smartphone will remain our primary device, but that assumption looks increasingly vulnerable.

Some argue that Apple's massive installed base of 2.2 billion users provides enough runway to catch up. This misses the point. Network effects in AI favor platforms that continuously learn from user interactions. Google search processes billions of queries every day, Meta's algorithms analyze social interactions, and Microsoft's Copilot learns from workplace productivity patterns. Apple's devices generate data, but the company lacks the AI infrastructure to derive competitive advantages from it.

The path forward requires dramatic action. Industry observers have called for Apple to acquire Perplexity, the AI search startup A partnership with Google's Gemini makes sense, as does bringing outside AI talent to Apple's management ranks. Any of these moves would be a departure from Apple's traditional playbook — and that's precisely why they're necessary.

Cook's recent acknowledgment that AI is "as big as the internet" ironically highlights the problem. By the time Apple's leadership recognized the internet's importance, competitors had already built dominant positions. The same pattern threatens to repeat with AI.

Apple remains a formidable cash machine with remarkably loyal customers. But loyalty has limits, especially when competitors offer genuinely superior capabilities. The company that revolutionized personal computing, music and mobile phones now risks becoming the next cautionary tale — a once-dominant player that missed the new wave.

The AI transformation is happening faster than previous technological shifts. Apple's tradition of careful observation and delayed but superior execution won't work this time. The question isn't whether Apple will eventually embrace AI. It's whether that embrace will come too late to matter.

Daniel Newman is the CEO of the Futurum Group, which has provided or provided research, analysis, advising and/or consulting to ServiceNow, Intel, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon.com, IBM, AMD and other technology companies. Neither he nor the firm has any positions in any of the companies mentioned. Follow him on X @danielnewmanUV .

Also read: Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft share this one thing — and it'll keep the stocks fired up

More: Suze Orman reveals her favorite stock right now and the investing mistake that shaped her strategy

Read More

OnePlus Nord 5 Review: Who Is It For?

The OnePlus Nord is one of the most popular mid-range smartphone lineups. Recently, the brand debuted the fifth-generation model , appropriately named the OnePlus Nord 5 .

The latest phone in the series gets a complete overhaul. It looks entirely different from the OnePlus Nord 4 and features updated specifications for about the same price.

So if you are in the market for a smartphone under ₹35,000 or €500, should you buy the OnePlus Nord 5? Who is this product aimed at? Let's find out in our review.

Disclosure: OnePlus India sent us a unit of the Nord 5 for review. As usual, the opinions stated here are the author's alone. The brand had no editorial input or early access to this article.

Back to a conventional design

The OnePlus Nord 4 was one of the more uniquely designed smartphones ever released. To date, it is the only 5G phone with a metal unibody construction. It also featured a distinctive glass window, reminiscent of early-generation Google Pixel devices.

The latest Nord 5, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. It adopts a more conventional design, with the cameras now aligned vertically, similar to older Nord models.

The frame is now plastic; however, the front and back are protected by glass. The rear panel of the "Marble Sands" variant looks stunning and adds significant character. In comparison, while the "Dry Ice" and "Phantom Grey" colors are good, they feel more ordinary.

This design change is a clear indication that OnePlus is targeting a wider, more mainstream audience with the Nord 5.

A bit faster, but is it better?

The OnePlus Nord 4 was already a fast device, so it appears the brand decided not to upgrade much in this regard. The Nord 5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC, which is essentially an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 found in the Nord 4.

However, the display is now larger, brighter, and faster. The Nord 5 features a 6.83-inch 1.5K (2800 x 1272 pixels) OLED screen with a peak brightness of 1400 nits (in auto-brightness mode) and a 144Hz refresh rate. The increased brightness in direct sunlight is a visible differentiator between the two phones.

There's a catch, though. The handset's panel operates at 120Hz for the most part. It can achieve 144Hz in only three games (BGMI, CoD: Mobile, and Free Fire Max) at the time of this review.

OnePlus advertises the device for gaming, highlighting its 7300mm² cooling system. While it performs well in games, there are better options in this price range, such as the Poco F7 and iQOO Neo 10. Both of these smartphones are significantly more powerful, equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip and UFS 4.1 storage.

So, if your priority is purely gaming, the other two phones may offer a better experience. That said, this doesn't make the Nord 5 a bad choice, as it is still a very capable device.

Upgraded cameras deliver

The OnePlus Nord 5 comes with upgraded main and selfie cameras. The main sensor is a 50MP Sony Lytia LYT-700, while the front-facing unit is a 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 with autofocus. Both of these cameras produce noticeably better pictures and videos than those on the Nord 4.

Photos from the main camera are detailed and offer good dynamic range. It performs well even in low light, considering the phone's price. Similarly, the autofocus-enabled selfie camera delivers pleasing results. Both of these cameras are also capable of recording video in 4K at 60fps.

Unfortunately, the 8MP ultrawide unit is less impressive. It is merely average in daylight and struggles in low-light conditions. Video recording on this sensor is also limited to 1080p at 30fps. On a positive note, its autofocus does allow it to capture macro shots.

A notable omission, however, is a dedicated telephoto camera, a feature found on competitors like the Motorola Edge 60 Pro .

The daily experience

The OnePlus Nord 5 is equipped with a 6,800mAh battery. However, its endurance is only slightly better than that of the Nord 4, which has a smaller 5,500mAh battery.

Surprisingly, OnePlus has reduced the charging speed from 100W to 80W on the latest model. This change, combined with the larger single-cell battery, means the Nord 5 takes about an hour to achieve a full charge. In contrast, the Nord 4 accomplishes this in under 30 minutes.

On a more positive note, the dual stereo speakers now distort less at higher volumes. The phone also retains the snappy under-display fingerprint sensor and the handy IR blaster. However, the vibration motor is a noticeable downgrade.

The software experience is excellent. OxygenOS 15 remains one of the best Android skins, which I would personally rank second only to Samsung’s One UI 7. The new AI features, however, deliver mixed results.

Finally, the newly introduced "Plus Key" is a constant annoyance as it is highly prone to accidental clicks. The brand should have retained the classic alert slider.

Verdict: Who should buy it?

In my OnePlus Nord 4 review, I mentioned that the device it made sense for most people in India . I cannot say the same with as much confidence for the OnePlus Nord 5, as the competition has caught up.

The shift to a mainstream design indicates that the brand is targeting a wider, more general audience. Furthermore, in press briefings, OnePlus clearly positioned the Nord 5 as an answer to Samsung's Galaxy A56 rather than to devices from fellow Chinese brands.

In that context, the Nord 5 offers more value than the Galaxy A56 , which is not only more expensive but also lags behind in many aspects. Therefore, the handset remains a strong recommendation for consumers in Europe.

However, in India, the market is flooded with numerous compelling options, as we have discussed. Therefore, the decision comes down to personal preference.

The OnePlus Nord 5 is a good phone with noticeable upgrades over its predecessor. It is a well-rounded product catering to consumers who simply want a reliable, no-fuss smartphone in the sub-₹35,000 price range.

For more daily updates, please visit our News Section .

Stay ahead in tech! Join our Telegram community and sign up for our daily newsletter of top stories!

The post OnePlus Nord 5 Review: Who Is It For? appeared first on newsrealtime .

Read More