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| Welcome to the Inside Tech newsletter! Here are today's top stories: - India is now Apple’s fifth-largest iPhone market.
- Microsoft is in talks to extend the deadline for its takeover of Activision Blizzard.
- VanMoof, a prominent Dutch e-bike maker, has been declared bankrupt.
- Elon Musk's new Ai company aims to gain a deeper understanding of the universe.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | The news: India has made it into Apple's top five iPhone markets for the first time, surpassing both France and Germany, according to Counterpoint Research. What the numbers say: India experienced strong growth in iPhone sales during the second quarter of 2023, contributing close to 4% of overall iPhone sales, which is a 50% year-on-year increase. The country now ranks behind the U.K., Japan, China, and the U.S. in iPhone sales. The bigger picture: As part of its diversification strategy, Apple recently opened physical stores in Delhi and Mumbai, and has boosted manufacturing of iPhones in India. Despite the dominance of low-cost Android smartphones in India, the premium smartphone market has been growing, benefitting Apple, which shipped a record 6 million smartphones to the country last year. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analysts predict Apple's business in India could grow sevenfold to reach $40B within the next decade. 
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| 2 | | Microsoft is in talks to extend today's deadline for its $68.7B acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC's unsuccessful block attempt and the U.K. CMA's openness to new talks show positive regulatory momentum for the deal. However, progress won't be swift enough to meet the deadline, according to Bloomberg. More: - In their merger agreement, the companies agreed to set July 18 as the date at which either party could walk away.
- Microsoft has also agreed to pay Activision $3B if the acquisition is terminated.
- As a result, Microsoft wants an extension on the deadline to prevent Activision from abandoning the deal or entertaining offers from other buyers.
Zoom out: - Meanwhile, discussions in the U.K. are expected to take several days or weeks, with the CMA extending the decision deadline to August 29.
- The CMA, the final major regulator that could potentially block the acquisition, is concerned the deal would stifle competition and give gamers fewer options.
- Microsoft has made concessions, including deals to provide rivals Sony and Nintendo with access to Activision's "Call of Duty" games.
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| 3 | | Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof has been declared bankrupt by an Amsterdam court, which has appointed trustees to oversee a possible asset sale. VanMoof, known for its high-tech and sleek battery-powered bicycles, previously raised 100 million euros ($113M) for an international expansion as demand surged during the pandemic. More: - The bankruptcy applies only to VanMoof's Dutch entities, while its international units are not affected.
- Founded in 2009, the company has faced financial difficulties, with higher costs for selling and servicing its bikes.
- VanMoof told employees it's unable to pay salaries long-term, and provided a six-week notice period for work and final payments.
Zoom out: - Meanwhile, VanMoof had to close stores last week due to dissatisfied customers trying to return faulty bikes before the company's closure.
- Amsterdam police received complaints from customers who cited "theft" due to undelivered bikes or bikes left for repairs at closed VanMoof stores.
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| 4 | | Spain's antitrust watchdog, the CNMC, has fined Amazon and Apple a combined €194.1M ($218M) for colluding to restrict Apple resellers in Spain. The fines consist of approximately $161M for Apple and just under $57M for Amazon. More: - The penalties are related to anti-competitive clauses in contracts signed between the companies in 2018.
- In its findings, the CNMC said the contract clauses unreasonably restricted the number of Apple resellers on Amazon's marketplace in Spain.
- Amazon also limited the advertising opportunities for Apple's competitors on its site when customers searched for Apple products.
- According to the CNMC, over 90% of retailers using Amazon's marketplace to sell Apple products were affected.
- After the agreement between Apple and Amazon, the prices of Apple devices sold online rose in Spain.
Response: - Both Apple and Amazon plan to appeal the decision, arguing that their arrangement benefits Amazon's business model and consumers and combats counterfeit products.
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| 5 | | The U.S. government is launching a cybersecurity labeling program called the "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark" to help consumers identify secure IoT devices. The program will label a range of internet-connected devices for homes, including smart refrigerators, microwaves, TVs, climate control systems, and fitness trackers, that are considered safe. More: - Products must meet high cybersecurity standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is now seeking a national trademark for the label, which will feature a "shield" logo and a QR code for verification.
- The program is expected to launch next year, pending public feedback.
- Annual recertifications and third-party labs to verify the devices may also be involved.
Zoom out: - The initiative follows President Biden's executive order to introduce a label similar to "Energy Star" for tech products.
- Companies including Amazon, Best Buy, Cisco, Google, LG, Logitech, and Samsung have pledged to help by enhancing the cybersecurity of their IoT offerings.
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| 6 | Elon Musk's new AI company, xAI, aims to develop a beneficial AGI and explore concepts like dark matter, dark energy, aliens, and gravity. During a recent Twitter Spaces chat, Musk said his new AI venture will be able to compete with AI players such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. More: - Over 1.6 million listeners joined the chat to learn about xAI.
- Musk suggested that xAI's mission statement could be summarized as "What the hell is really going on?"
- The CEO expressed a desire for xAI to create a "good AGI" on par with human intelligence and gain a deeper understanding of the universe.
- Musk predicted that xAI will pave the way for the emergence of AGI by 2029 and presented two choices: being a spectator or a participant.
Zoom out: - While still in its early stages, xAI plans to closely collaborate with Musk's other ventures, Twitter and Tesla.
- The company intends to leverage Twitter data to train its AI models and may also work with Tesla to enhance self-driving car capabilities through AI software.
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- Meta will open-source its AI language model, LLaMA 2, making it free for commercial and research use. This puts it in competition with OpenAI's GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing.
- Apple has formed a new business division, the Vision Products Group, dedicated to advancing its plans for future mixed-reality headsets.
- Prominent writers such as Nora Roberts, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Margaret Atwood are urging AI companies like OpenAI and Meta to cease using their work without authorization or payment.
- Microsoft is launching Xbox Game Pass Core to replace its Xbox Live Gold subscription service. Existing members will auto-transfer to Game Pass Core on Sept. 14 at the same $9.99/month or $59.99/year rate.
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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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