Tech This Week: WhatsApp introduces Avatars, Google Pixel’s feature drop and more

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of avatars on WhatsApp. The update will let WhatsApp users create a personalized avatar and use it as their profile photo. Described as a digital version of you, these avatars can be created from billions of combinations of different hairstyles, facial features, and outfits.

Users can go to the stickers option in the chat and create their avatars. read more.

Microsoft executive Phil Spencer shared an exciting update for the gaming community that the hugely popular Call of Duty game franchise could become available on Nintendo's Switch console. Spencer said that this will happen only if Microsoft’s acquisition of developer Activision Blizzard goes through. The tech giant is in the process of buying Activision Blizzard, and the $69-billion purchase is yet to be finalized as it is being examined by antitrust authorities, as per an AFP report. read more.

Earlier in the week, Google dropped its scheduled software update but this time it wasn’t just for the Pixel smartphones (starting from the Pixel 4a) but for the Pixel Watch too.

In one of the biggest feature drops, Google introduced key new features on the Pixel devices such as the ability to review security and privacy settings, risk levels, and other information all in one place.

After the update, the Pixel Recorder will now include speaker labels, transcribe a conversation in English (only in Pixel 6 or newer devices), identify and label each speaker, and insert line breaks when the speaker changes.

Other features include Clear calling on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, Grammar Check in French, Live Translate, powerful on-device search on the Pixel 4a and later, and Voice Message Transcription on the Pixel 4a and newer phones.

The Pixel Watch is getting the Fitbit Sleep Profile feature, and the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are getting cough and snore detection among other features.

Multinational cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks on Tuesday announced a medical IoT (internet of things) security suite based on the 'zero trust' philosophy. This is a cybersecurity approach that entails continuous verification of every user and device.

The update comes in the wake of one of the biggest cyberattacks on India’s premier hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. The hospital network is recovering from a cyberattack in which the hospital’s servers were breached and patient data was uploaded for sale on the dark web. read more.