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| Welcome to Inside Tech! Here are today's top headlines: - Apple and Intel oppose India's new PC import curbs.
- Bitcoin's price falls to two-month low.
- iPhone 15 USB-C switch could bring faster charging speeds.
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p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Apple and Intel are among the U.S. tech companies to oppose India's new tech import restriction on computers and similar products. As of Nov. 1, laptops, tablets, and PCs are among the electronics that will require a special license to be imported into India, currently one of the fastest-growing markets for digital products. More: - India's IT minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has said the government wants to curb dependence on imports, ensure "trusted" hardware and systems, and boost domestic manufacturing of the electronics.
- In a letter sent this week to the U.S. Commerce Department and the Trade Representative, U.S. trade groups and companies like Apple urged the federal government to put pressure on India to reconsider the policy.
- According to the impacted companies, the new rule could "significantly" disrupt trade and hamper efforts to further integrate India into the world's supply chains.
- It will disrupt U.S. technology shipments to India and complicate business operations, they wrote.
Zoom out: - India's electronics imports, including PCs and tablets, amounted to $19.7B from April to June, a YoY increase of 6.25%.
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| 2 | | The price of Bitcoin fell below $26,000 on Thursday to levels not seen since June. As of Friday, the cryptocurrency was last trading at around $25,918, a decline of more than 8%. 
By the numbers: According to Coinglass data, crypto traders lost $1B in the last 24 hours due to liquidations, as digital-asset markets suffered one of their worst sell-offs of the year and bitcoin's price fell to a two-month low. Why it's happening: There are several factors believed to be driving the selloff. Investors are concerned about more interest rate hikes on the horizon. Thursday's bankruptcy filing by Chinese property giant Evergrande weighed on the market. There is also unease related to China's weakening economy, as well as speculation that China might devalue the yuan to stimulate its economy. SpaceX impact: Reports noted that the bitcoin crash occurred right after the publication of a WSJ article stating that Elon Musk's SpaceX wrote down the value of its bitcoin holdings by $373M in 2021 and 2022. According to XTB senior market analyst Hani Abuagla, the report triggered "a panicked reaction in the crypto market." | | | |
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| 3 | | The iPhone 15's expected transition from Lightning to USB-C could lead to faster charging speeds, according to 9to5Mac. Some iPhone 15 models will reportedly support up to 35W charging, higher than the iPhone 14's 25W and iPhone 14 Pro's max of 27W. More: - Reports suggest Apple will switch its proprietary Lightning port with USB-C on the iPhone 15 series.
- Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also believes the USB-C port could improve the iPhone's transfer and charging speeds.
- The improved speeds could be restricted to certain iPhone 15 models, possibly to incentivize customers to purchase the higher-priced Pro models.
Zoom out: - While much of the smartphone industry has embraced USB-C, Apple has maintained the Lightning port as its primary charging cable since the iPhone 5 in 2012.
- By Dec. 28, 2024, all newly sold phones within the EU must support USB-C for wired charging, forcing Apple to make the switch.
- The iPhone 15 launch event is predicted to occur on Sept. 12 or 13, 2023.
Q: Do you support the iPhone 15's rumored transition from Lightning to USB-C? Tell us what you think here. | | | |
| 4 | A new Pew Research Center survey shows that Americans' understanding of digital topics varies, with higher knowledge about major tech companies and less familiarity with artificial intelligence and federal privacy laws. The survey of over 5,100 U.S. adults in May covered topics like cybersecurity, deepfakes, and Facebook's name change. The findings: - About a quarter of respondents got at least seven of the nine questions right, though only 4% answered all correctly.
- In terms of cybersecurity, 87% could pick the most secure password, 67% understood the purpose of cookies, and 48% could identify two-factor authentication.
- In the tech giant category, 80% were aware that Elon Musk was running Tesla and Twitter as of April. Similarly, 77% knew Facebook had changed its parent name to Meta.
- However, only 42% knew what a deepfake is, and 32% understand the details of large language models.
- Even fewer - 23% - knew there is an absence of a national privacy law setting a standard for company data practices. 21% knew websites in the U.S. are barred from gathering personal data from minors under 13.
Source: Pew Research Center. | | | |
| 5 | | Microsoft sent out save-the-date invitations for a "special event" on Sept. 21, joining an already-packed lineup of fall tech events. While Microsoft didn't disclose details, reports said it could be the company's major fall hardware event, when it typically announces new devices, such as additions to the Surface series of touchscreen-based PCS, tablets, and interactive whiteboards. More upcoming tech events: - Apple's fall launch event is expected on September 12 or 13. The company will likely announce the iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and iOS 17.
- Amazon's rumored hardware event is scheduled for Sept. 20. The Devices & Services team is hosting an event, likely to launch new tech products, at Amazon's HQ2.
- Meta's Connect event on September 27-28 will include "an in-depth look at new Meta products," including the upcoming Quest 3 headset, as well as "the latest in AI and XR innovation."
- Google is expected to host its annual fall Pixel event for new hardware reveals, including the release of its flagship Pixel phones. The company hasn't provided a date yet.
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| 6 | | Mandiant, a Google-owned cybersecurity company, has found "numerous" instances of AI-generated content in political online influence campaigns over the past four years. The campaigns were led by groups linked to countries like Russia, China, Iran, and others. AI has not played a key role in any threats, and Mandiant expects AI use in "digital intrusions" to be limited in the short term. More: - According to Mandiant, the rise of generative AI can allow resource-constrained groups to create higher-quality content for large-scale influence campaigns.
- One example is Dragonbridge, the pro-China information campaign that has targeted pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters, U.S. midterm elections, and rare earth mining companies.
- Since 2019, Dragonbridge's growth has surged across 30 social platforms and 10 languages, according to Mandiant VP Sandra Joyce.
- Still, the effects of these types of campaigns have been limited. "They really haven't changed the course of the threat landscape just yet," Joyce told Reuters.
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- Starting next month, Twitch will allow streamers to block banned users from watching their streams.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is the curator and writer of the AI and Tech newsletters at Inside. With a career in journalism and editing that began in 2007, she has written for publications including USA Today, The Arizona Republic, Arizona Business Gazette, and more. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by NO ACCOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EDITOR | |
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