Hey folks!

We’ve been telling you about the search engine wars heating up lately — Google this, Safari that. Well, it seems like the drama isn’t cooling down anytime soon. In fact, it’s just getting juicier. OpenAI, the brains behind ChatGPT, has big dreams.¹ And guess what, it’s eyeing your browser next!

Yup!

It isn’t happy with just spicing up web searches. It now wants to cook up a full-blown web browser. And this won’t be your typical browser. It could be as AI-driven as it gets, with ChatGPT integrated to fetch web info on demand. Think of it as combining AI brainpower with the convenience of a browser that actually gets you.

And what could be the impact if this turns up?

Well, Google’s comfy position at the top might be at risk. Right now, Chrome owns a whopping 90% of the search and browser market. But with OpenAI stepping into the game, it could shake things up big time. Wall Street’s already feeling jittery with Alphabet’s stock taking a dip. Plus, OpenAI’s cosying up with big players like Apple and Samsung. If those relations deepen, Google’s grip might loosen, especially with the US Department of Justice suggesting it should sell Chrome.

Now, it makes us think what could change majorly if OpenAI did launch an AI-powered browser…

Ads: Google’s empire runs on ads tailored to your every click. But if OpenAI is the one gathering your data, does Google still know what you’re craving?

Data use: Can browsers be “smarter” without monopolising data? OpenAI seems to be suggesting a new way—maybe fairer—to collect and use data.

Power shift: Could we see a world where Google’s grip finally loosens? Where AI-first browsers give us options we never knew we wanted?

But hey, this doesn’t mean we’re uninstalling Chrome right away. Because OpenAI’s got the brains, sure, but Google’s ad network is a beast. It’s not something that’ll topple overnight. Google’s already pushing back, saying that the DOJ order would “jeopardise America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.” Dramatic much?

Still, it’s fun to think about a world where the browsing game gets a refresh. Maybe in a few years, we’ll all be using something other than Chrome, and it’ll make us rethink how we find stuff online.

Here's a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵

CO2 by Prateek Kuhad

Thanks for this lovely rec, Zahra Ejaz!

Ready to roll?

What caught our eye this week 👀

CCI hits WhatsApp. Will your privacy come at a cost?

Imagine waking up to new year morning in 2021 just to find that WhatsApp had left you with an ultimatum: accept our new privacy policy or lose access. No questions, no options to opt out.²

And even if switching apps was a consideration, convincing all your friends and contacts to migrate to a new platform was daunting. This is what’s known as the network effect—everyone sticks around because everyone else is already there. For most Indians, the choice was obvious: click “Accept” and move on, without really knowing how much of our personal lives we were handing over to Meta (WhatsApp’s parent company), all in the name of convenience.

But the Competition Commission of India (CCI) didn’t see eye to eye with Meta.

This week, they fined Meta ₹213 crores for anti-competitive practices tied to that 2021 update.³ They also prohibited WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for ads for the next five years. Plus, WhatsApp must clearly inform users which data is shared and provide an opt-out option in its settings tab.

Now, this ruling could shake Meta’s strategy in India.

How?

Well, Meta thrives on user data to serve personalised ads and generate revenue. “Free” has always been the name of its game – for data as well as use cases.

And restricting this data flow could hurt their cash flows. In Europe, Meta offered a paid plan for those wanting privacy, and people surprisingly paid up.⁴ It’s an intriguing trade-off: buy a semblance of privacy or keep using the service for free, but with targeted ads.

But is this really a win-win, or just a new way for Meta to profit off our need for control?

Let’s turn to India and think... Would we really pay for WhatsApp after years of using them for free? In a country where “free” reigns supreme, that’s a tough ask, right? Sure, privacy may hold value, but paying out of pocket for it is a whole different story.

So yeah, the CCI’s intervention might push WhatsApp to rethink its strategy.

Infographic 📊

This Day in Financial History 📜

23rd of November 1992 ― IBM unveils the first smartphone!

On this day, IBM introduced the world to the first-ever smartphone: the IBM Simon.

It all started with a bold vision—IBM wanted to put the power of a computer in your pocket. And with Simon, they did just that.

Simon what? Allow us to explain.

See, back in 1992, the term "smartphone" didn’t even exist. But looking at its features, people later recognised it as the first true smartphone. And branded as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a Personal Communicator, Simon was far ahead of its time.

Side note: Ericsson’s R380, which came much later, was the first phone marketed as a “smartphone”.⁵

In addition to its calling capabilities through a cellular connection, Simon was equipped with smartphone-like features ahead of its time. It featured a touchscreen that could be used with a stylus. And while there was no App Store or Play Store back then, Simon came preloaded with a suite of applications like a calendar, calculator, world clock, on-screen QWERTY keyboard, address book, fax sender, notepad, sketch pad, and even a to-do list.⁶

There was no web browser, but it supported paging and could send and receive emails. And the real game-changer? You could sketch on the screen with the stylus and fax your drawings. Pretty futuristic for the 90s, yeah?

Simon even made its way into pop culture, featuring in the Hollywood film The Net and, more recently, in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind.

But Simon had its drawbacks. The battery lasted just an hour, and it was out of reach for most people at $1,100 (over $2,400 today).⁷ Unsurprisingly, only 50,000 units sold between 1994 and 1995 before IBM pulled the plug. And as time passed, flip phones took over in the mid-90s, followed by Nokia’s dominance in the early 2000s. And eventually, we got the internet-powered smartphones that you might be reading this on.

But undoubtedly, Simon laid the foundation for the sleek, powerful mobile devices we can’t imagine living without.

Readers Recommend 🗒️

This week our reader Thomas Kuriakose is back with another recommendation. He suggests watching My Octopus Teacher, a Netflix documentary that showcases an unlikely friendship between the filmmaker and an octopus living in a South African underwater forest. As the animal reveals the mysteries of her world, the filmmaker embarks on a journey of learning and discovery.

Thanks for the rec, Thomas!

Finshots Weekly Quiz 🧩

It’s time to announce the winners of our last two weekly quizzes. And the winners are…🥁

Akash. Congratulations! Keep an eye on your inbox and we’ll get in touch with you soon to send over your Finshots merch. And for the rest of you, we’ve moved the quiz to our weekly wrapup. So make sure you answer all the questions correctly by 12 noon on November 30, 2024 (Saturday) and tune in here next week to check if you got lucky.

Anyway, that’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Sunday!

Until then, don’t forget to tell us what you thought of today’s newsletter. And send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations. We’ll feature them in the newsletter! Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).

🖖🏽

Don’t forget to share this edition on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and X.

Sources: Reuters [1], The Indian Express [2], CCI [3], CNN [4], Mobile Phone Museum [5], TIME [6], CNBC TV18 [7]

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