Issue 4b: Apple Event, Data & Takeovers
A 10 min summary of the world of tech.
Focus: Apple Event
Apple should have launched iPhone and I would not have mentioned it. But the announcements it made today clarify its thinking and strategy.
The Bundle:
Apple in the past has launched subscriptions for Music, TV+, News, Arcade, iCloud. Now comes the bundle ‘Apple One’ with iCloud storage driving the sale (like Amazon Prime Delivery) and other services getting a big shot in the arm as they are bundled together. Starting at $14.95, most will end up $19.95 family or $29.95 premier plan. Link
The Gateway:
What’s the new gateway to the Apple ecosystem? Apple Watch focusing on health and achieving big technological gains is going to be the next entry point for newbies. It adds measurement of blood oxygen levels (SpO2) to its arsenal of ECG and heart rate tracking and plans to add Fitness+ digital service. Though you still cannot link it with an Android phone, you can add your child’s and parent’s devices to your iPhone. Link
The Leader:
Apple extends its lead on the tablet market with yet another good iPad at $329 and greater iPad Air at $599 which is almost Pro capable. It’s been 10 years since its launch and it sold 500 Mn devices till now. Apple loves the iPad for some reason with so frequent updates. Link
Big Tech:
Nvidia to buy Arm for $40 Billion from Softbank:
There are so many people unhappy with this deal. Arm’s designs are used by Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm among others and Nvidia competes with all of them in certain areas. China would also not want such IP led company to be in hands of an American Company. Nvidia wants to combine Arms low power capabilities to push into DataCenter chipsets where Intel dominates, and even IoT and Smart Mobility ecosystems essentially becoming the foundation (chips) of the future. Link
TikTok is not sold:
A recent FT report claims that TikTok will separate from ByteDance to TikTok Global which will be based out of the US. Oracle will be a minority investor to this new entity and Bytedance will continue to be majority-owner. Oracle will host it in US data-centers and own US operations. So this whole exercise is just a cloud provider switch led by the president with no tech or ownership transfer. Objectively India gained more by outright banning TikTok. Link
Google expands rules for auto-complete:
Responding to false and disinformation online, Google will no longer auto-complete your search if it includes election or candidate-specific misinformation. It already excludes violence, sexually explicit, and hateful predictions against individuals or groups. Users can still type and search, but at least Google won’t auto-complete and give an impression to a user that the prediction was probably true. Link
Facebook launches Campus:
Facebook is piloting a student-only Facebook experience on their app where you do all the things you used to do before your family added you as a friend and you dropped FB for the cooler kids (Insta) on the block. A dedicated space for you to connect, chat, create groups, and participate in events by verifying your campus email. Link
Ex-employee accuses FB of not doing enough:
A data scientist wrote a 6600-word internal memo accusing the company of not allocating enough resources, not having enough oversight, and not prioritizing non-PR related civic concerns in its fight against manipulation and misinformation. Read about the power tech & companies can have over civic/political life here
US Govt agencies buying data to potentially convict you:
Instead of relying on court-sanctioned data requests, government agencies in US are buying data from private companies that aggregate data from various apps that sell your location and other data. Link
Interesting Tech:
And …
