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| Welcome to Inside Tech! Today's issue covers: - Roku will lay off 10% of its workforce to cut costs.
- Apple could raise the prices of iPhone 15 Pro models.
- Google tentatively settles Play Store lawsuit.
We also invite you to participate in our Question of the Week: If you could choose any daily task for an AI to handle for you, what would it be and why? If you find this newsletter useful, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | Roku is cutting 10% of its workforce, or approximately 300 employees, to help reduce operating costs, according to an SEC filing made today. This marks the third round of layoffs for the streaming software company within a year. More: - Roku said most of the workforce reductions will be complete by the end of Q4 2023.
- In addition to layoffs, Roku said it will consolidate office space, cut external expenses, and implement a hiring freeze.
- It also plans to remove certain undisclosed licensed content that was accessible on its Roku Channel service.
- As a result of these changes, Roku adjusted its Q3 revenue estimate to $835-875M, up from around $815M.
Zoom out: - The staff reductions reflect the company's profit struggles, attributed to sluggish TV advertising revenue.
- In Q2 2023, Roku reported a net loss of $107.6M, down from $112.3M a year ago.
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| 2 | | Apple's next-gen iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max could see a hefty price hike, possibly $100 more than their predecessors, according to estimates. Apple's premium model strategy appears to be effective, with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max being the top two most shipped smartphones in the first half of this year. Apple's challenge with the upcoming iPhone 15 launch is to convince customers that the Pro features justify a higher price. 
Background: The iPhone 15 Pro variants are expected to feature new titanium chassis, improved processors, and advanced camera technology. Despite a global slowdown in smartphone demand, Apple has ordered 80 to 90 million iPhone 15 units, a decrease from the previous year's 90 to 100 million for the iPhone 14. The iPhone 15 Pro Max leads in terms of orders, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15, and iPhone 15 Plus. Why it matters: Apple's success in driving consumers toward premium models has boosted its revenue and profit despite flat device sales. Nonetheless, some analysts foresee potential limits to its strategy, hinting that the Pro models may have maxed out their market saturation. Q: Do you believe the upgrades for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max justify a price increase? Join the conversation here. | | | |
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| 3 | | Google has tentatively settled a class action lawsuit accusing the company of overcharging customers through its U.S. Play Store. If approved by a judge, the settlement would allow Google to avoid a lengthy trial. More: - More than 30 states brought the lawsuit representing 21 million consumers in 2021.
- The plaintiffs argued that Google's abused its market dominance on Android app distribution through its Play store.
- The undisclosed payment amount by Google could potentially be revealed during an Oct. 12 hearing.
- Attorneys for Utah's attorney general, the plaintiffs, and Google have asked the judge to cancel a trial set for Nov. 6.
Zoom out: - Epic Games and Match Group have also sued Google over the same accusations.
- That trial is set for November.
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| 4 | | Long-term partners Apple and Arm have signed a new chip technology deal that extends beyond 2040, as disclosed in Arm's IPO filing this week. Arm's hardware underpins Apple's custom silicon processors in all its devices, including iPhones, iPads, and the Apple Watch. More: - Arm, the UK-based semiconductor designer, licenses its computing architecture to Apple and others, forming the basis for 95% of the world's smartphones.
- Arm recently filed for a $52B IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which also revealed a new undisclosed long-term agreement with Apple.
- Notably, Apple, AMD, Google, Intel, Nvidia, Samsung, and TSMC have expressed interest in collectively investing up to $735M in Arm shares as they aim to gain influence over the company's management.
Zoom out: - Arm was formed as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer, and VLSI Technology in 1990.
- Apple's "Newton" handheld computer, released in 1993, used an Arm-based chip.
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| 5 | | Comcast and Disney agreed to accelerate discussions about Hulu's future ownership, moving the deadline to late September 2023 from January 2024. Comcast owns one-third of Hulu and plans to sell its stake to Disney, which owns the remaining two-thirds. More: - Comcast CEO Brian Roberts announced at an investor conference that an appraisal process will begin in about 30 days.
- In 2019, the companies reached a deal that set Hulu's floor valuation at $27.5B, a figure that Roberts believes has increased significantly since then.
- The $27.5B was a "hypothetical" set when Disney "had control of the company," Roberts said.
- He said both companies "wanted to get this behind us," so they reached a deal last week to accelerate the timeline
- Goldman Sachs has been included in the appraisal process.
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| 6 | Zoom now offers its AI assistant, rebranded as "AI Companion," for free to paying platform users. It's an enhanced version of Zoom's intelligent assistant, which is becoming a central feature of the platform. More: - The assistant can compose messages, create meeting summaries, offer in-meeting summaries on demand, generate automated meeting summaries for hosts, and draft messages based on chat threads.
- To power the AI companion, users can select their preferred large language model (Zoom, Meta, OpenAI, or Anthropic).
- Zoom has also introduced a new "Notes" feature within Zoom Meetings, allowing users to collaborate on text documents before, during, and after video calls.
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- China has reportedly banned the use of iPhones and other foreign devices by central government officials.
- Microsoft is adding generative AI functions to its OneDrive cloud storage service.
- Tesla's Shanghai unit has sued Bingling Intelligent Technology, a Chinese business with headquarters in Changzhou, for allegedly violating trade secrets and engaging in unfair competition.
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Term of the Day Cost of goods sold (COGS): COGS refers to the direct costs of producing or acquiring the goods that a company sells to its customers. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE TECH LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | 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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