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| 1 | | What happened: As expected, Apple unveiled its first-ever VR/AR headset on Monday, marking its first major hardware reveal in over eight years. Details: Described as a "spatial computer" that blends digital content with the real world, Apple's Vision Pro headset starts at $3,499 and will go on sale in U.S. retail stores early next year. Standout features: The ski-goggle-like device operates without controllers, utilizing the user's hands, eyes, and voice for control. It boasts five sensors, 12 cameras, dual 4K displays, and the option of an external battery pack or another outside power source. Powered by an M2 chip and a new R1 chip, the headset also has an EyeSight system that shows the wearer's eyes to the outside world or hides them when in full VR mode. Additionally, it scans the user's face to create a highly realistic avatar. iPhone and iPad apps can run in the headset's operating system, called visionOS, which will have its own dedicated App Store. 
Credit: Apple Quotable: The Vision Pro is considered Apple CEO Tim Cook's signature addition to the company's product line. "It's the first Apple product you look through, and not at," Cook said. Why it matters: The unveiling comes shortly after Meta, Apple's main competitor in the VR market, introduced the Quest 3 VR headset, which has less advanced features but is priced at a more affordable $499. The Vision Pro will start at $3,499, more than three times the cost of the priciest headset in Meta's lineup. Analysts note that Apple may encounter challenges in attracting buyers, as many consumers are hesitant to spend over $700 on a basic VR headset 
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| 2 | | Apple revealed many more products and updates during Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference. Here's what else was announced: - The 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple's biggest consumer laptop and the world's thinnest 15-inch laptop.
- An updated Mac Pro desktop tower with a new M2 Ultra chip.
- iOS 17 for iPhone, which has a new AirDrop feature, a new native journaling app, updated AI-powered autocorrect, a standby view for a full-screen nightstand experience, and more.
- iPadOS 17 for iPad, offering a more customizable Home Screen, a new Health app and an improved Notes app, and upgraded widgets.
- FaceTime for Apple TV through tvOS 17, macOS Sonoma for Mac, and watchOS 10.
Image: 15‑inch MacBook Air. Credit: Apple | | | |
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| 3 | | Linda Yaccarino, the new CEO of Twitter, has officially started in the new role. In a tweet on Monday, the ex-NBCUniversal advertising chief confirmed her first day on the job. She replaces Elon Musk, who took over as CEO when he acquired Twitter for $44B in October. More: - Yaccarino, formerly NBCU's chair of global advertising and partnerships, takes over at a critical time as Twitter aims to revive its declining ad revenue and repair its relationships with brands.
- According to The New York Times, Twitter's U.S. ad revenue plummeted by 59% to $88M in the five weeks from April 1 compared to the previous year.
- Recent Sensor Tower data revealed that only 43% of Twitter's top 1,000 advertisers prior to Musk's acquisition were still active on the platform as of April.
- During a recent Twitter Spaces session, Musk claimed that "half our advertising" vanished, attributing it to the pressure from advertisers in Europe and North America who he believes are trying to push Twitter into bankruptcy.
- As the owner of Twitter, Musk will still have major control over the company, even without the CEO title. He is transitioning to the roles of executive chairman and CTO, overseeing product, software, and systems operations.
Zoom out: - Additionally, Yaccarino has hired Joe Benarroch, one of her trusted advisers at NBCUniversal, to take on a senior business operations role at Twitter.
- Her takeover comes just days after the resignation of Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, who oversaw content moderation on the platform.
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| 4 | | A day after suing crypto giant Binance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, accusing the largest U.S. crypto exchange of violating securities law by failing to register with the agency. The SEC's action confirms its view that most crypto products are securities and should comply with U.S. laws. Chair Gary Gensler is now actively pursuing jurisdiction over the crypto markets, which he referred to as a "Wild West" of investing, arguing that they undermine trust and overall capital markets. More: - In its complaint filed Tuesday in NY federal court, the SEC alleges that Coincase, since at least 2019, has generated billions of dollars as a middleman in crypto transactions without complying with disclosure requirements aimed at protecting investors.
- The SEC alleges that Coinbase facilitated the sale of 13 crypto assets, including Solana, Polygon, and Cardano, that should be registered as securities.
- According to the civil complaint, Coinbase's primary brokerage, exchange, and staking programs are in violation of securities laws.
- In response, Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal made the case that clear rules are needed for the digital asset industry rather than the SEC's "enforcement-only approach," which is hurting economic competitiveness in the U.S.
Zoom out: - Coinbase, established in 2012, has claimed over 108 million customers and held $130B worth of customer crypto assets and funds as of March.
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| 5 | | Microsoft has agreed to pay $20M to settle a claim by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it illegally collected and retained data of underage Xbox users without parents' consent. The company was accused of violating the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. More: - According to the FTC, Microsoft illegally gathered and held onto the personal data of users under the age of 13 who signed up for an Xbox account.
- Microsoft attributed the issue to a "data retention glitch" and committed to strengthening its systems.
- Under the settlement, the company will delete any children's data collected without parental consent and notify third-party video game publishers about the data if users are underage.
- In a blog post, the company outlined changes it's already made, including updating its account creation process to require date of birth first.
- The order requires federal court approval before it can take effect.
Zoom out: - Microsoft's Minecraft has been particularly popular among young people. It claims over 141 million active players worldwide.
- Other companies, such as Amazon, Google, and TikTok, have also faced FTC penalties for collecting children's data without parental consent.
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| 6 | | Zoom has introduced new generative AI-powered meeting summaries and AI chat compose. These features are part of Zoom IQ, the AI smart companion for the meeting platform. More: - The meeting summaries automatically generate recaps of meetings, even for sessions that users may have missed.
- These recaps can be shared on Zoom Team Chat.
- Additionally, Zoom's IQ assistant already generates meeting highlights and chapters.
- Another feature, AI Chat compose, utilizes generative AI to draft chat messages and provide responses to colleagues based on context and tone.
- While Zoom uses user data to train its AI models, it allows users to opt out of data sharing.
- In comparison, Microsoft Teams Premium offers an add-on for intelligent meeting recaps powered by AI.
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- British deep tech VC firm IQ Capital secured $200M in capital commitments toward its fourth fund.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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