📺 TikTok quietly launches a new app

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☀️ On this day: On January 17, 1976, Canada and NASA launched the Communications Technology Satellite (Hermes), one of the most advanced communications satellites of its time. Hermes played a crucial role in developing modern satellite broadcasting, data transmission, and telecommunications technology, influencing how information is shared globally today.

What’s happening:

• 📺 TikTok quietly launches microdrama app PineDrama

• 💸 OpenAI launches cheaper ChatGPT subscription worldwide

• 🤝 OpenAI declined Apple role to build its own AI products

• 🧑‍💻 Meta moves away from VR meetings and workplace headsets

• 🚗 US warns Canada about Chinese electric cars

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

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Hand-picked news:

📺 TikTok quietly launches microdrama app PineDrama ↗️LINK

• TikTok has quietly launched PineDrama, a standalone microdrama app in the US and Brazil that offers one minute episodic fictional shows across genres like romance, thriller, and family, first reported by Business Insider.

• PineDrama is available on iOS and Android, free and currently ad free, with features like Discover and Trending tabs, vertical recommendations, watch history, favorites, comments, and a full screen viewing mode.

• The launch builds on TikTok Minis and positions TikTok against microdrama rivals like ReelShort and DramaBox as the category accelerates toward an estimated $26 billion in annual revenue by 2030, succeeding where short form efforts like Quibi previously failed.

💸 OpenAI launches cheaper ChatGPT subscription worldwide ↗️LINK

• OpenAI is expanding its low cost ChatGPT Go subscription to the US and globally after strong adoption in India and more than 170 other countries, positioning it between the free tier and the $20 per month Plus plan.

• Priced at $8 per month, ChatGPT Go offers roughly 10x more messages, file uploads, and image generation than the free tier, along with greater access to the fast GPT 5.2 Instant model, though OpenAI did not disclose exact usage limits.

• Go users will get larger memory and context windows than free users and should expect ads to appear soon in the US, while Plus and higher tier subscriptions will remain ad free.

🤝 OpenAI declined Apple role to build its own AI products ↗️LINK

• A source told the Financial Times that OpenAI decided not to become a custom model provider for Apple last fall, choosing instead to focus on building its own AI devices, which Apple may have viewed as a competitive threat.

• Apple expanded its partnership with Google, integrating Gemini more deeply into Siri and relegating ChatGPT to a fallback option, despite Apple saying the multibillion dollar Google cloud deal would not affect its OpenAI agreement.

• The Apple partnership failed to bring OpenAI meaningful revenue or traffic, leaving Gemini to handle most everyday iPhone interactions while ChatGPT is used only for more complex or optional requests.

🧑‍💻 Meta moves away from VR meetings and workplace headsets ↗️LINK

• Meta announced it will discontinue Meta Horizon Workrooms as a standalone app on Feb. 16, 2026, framing the move as part of a broader shift toward making Meta Horizon a general social platform with productivity tools.

• Launched in August 2021, Horizon Workrooms struggled with adoption because it required employees to wear an Oculus Quest headset, making VR meetings impractical and unpopular even inside Meta, where staff were given headsets for free.

• Meta is also ending sales of enterprise Quest headsets in early 2026, underscoring its retreat from workplace VR just days after laying off more than 1,000 metaverse employees as the company refocuses on AI.

🚗 US warns Canada about Chinese electric cars ↗️LINK

• Trump administration officials said Canada will regret allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into its market, stressing the cars will not be permitted to enter the United States, according to comments from US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

• Canada imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EVs in 2024 but recently agreed to limited imports, raising concerns in United States that the move could help China gain a foothold in North America despite ongoing trade restrictions.

• US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called the decision problematic but said it would not disrupt US auto exports to Canada, while lawmakers from both parties continue to oppose Chinese vehicles over trade, labor, and cybersecurity concerns.

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Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you think we’re in an AI bubble similar to past tech booms?

• A) Yes, a correction is coming - 58% 🏆

• B) No, this is different - 42%

Reader’s opinion:

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ElevenLabs: Free AI voice generator app designed for content creators, influencers and professionals.

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