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| Welcome to today's Inside Tech newsletter! Here are the top stories: - Unity CEO John Riccitiello has stepped down following a controversial pricing change.
- Sony unveiled a sleeker PS5 model.
- Global PC shipments fell again in Q3 2023.
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Unity CEO John Riccitiello stepped down on Monday following a controversial pricing change that angered software developers. Unity specializes in selling game development tools. Riccitiello, who served as CEO for nine years, has announced his immediate retirement from the company, including stepping down from his roles as chairman and president. More: - James Whitehurst, former Red Hat CEO, will serve as interim CEO.
- While no reason was given for Riccitiello's departure, it came after the company unveiled a new pricing scheme that was largely unpopular among developers.
- The revised pricing model would have charged developers extra for each game download, a change that many believed would result in significantly higher costs. Riccitiello advocated for the change.
- Following a backlash, Unity later adjusted its pricing model to a flat 2.5% of a game's revenue, among other changes.
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| 2 | | Sony has unveiled a sleeker and more compact PlayStation 5 console set to launch this November. The new PS5 will become the only model available once the current inventory of the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition models has sold out. More: - The new form factor, informally referred to as the PS5 Slim, is 30% smaller in volume and 18% to 24% lighter than its predecessors.
- The new PS5 has a detachable disc drive, dual USB-C ports in the front, and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.
- In the U.S., the new model is priced at $499.99, including the drive. The Blu-ray disc drive is also separately for $79.99.
Zoom out: - The model will be available in the U.S. starting this November and at direct.playstation.com.
- Sales will expand globally in the months after, Sony said.
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| 3 | | Global PC shipments continued declining during Q3 2023, falling by 7.6% YoY to 68.2 million PCs shipped, according to IDC's latest Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. 
What the numbers show: While most of the top 5 vendors faced double-digit declines in the quarter, Apple's larger decrease was attributed to unfavorable year-over-year comparisons following the company's recovery from a COVID-related production halt in 2022. The bigger picture: Despite the decrease, the PC industry is slowly recovering, with expectations of sales growth in the second half of 2024 thanks to a device refresh cycle and Windows 10 end of support, according to Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. Meanwhile, generative AI technology is poised to revolutionize the PC industry, allowing for deeper user personalization and improved data privacy and sovereignty, said Linn Huang, research VP of Devices & Displays at IDC. With the upcoming launch of more AI PC devices next year, Huang said IDC expects a significant bump in PC selling prices. | | | |
| 4 | | Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X/Twitter, has canceled her appearance at the upcoming Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference. In a statement sent to the WSJ, X said Yaccarino and her team need to stay "fully focused on X platform safety" due to the ongoing global crisis, likely referencing the Israel-Palestine conflict. More: - Yaccarino's cancellation comes after her controversial interview at the Vox Code Conference last month.
- In the interview marking her 100 days as CEO of X, she evaded questions and struggled to defend owner Elon Musk.
- Yaccarino also struggled with questions about X's product lineup and user numbers, and became defensive when interviewer Julia Boorstin questioned X's structure, asking if she was "CEO in name only."
- "Not nice," Yaccarino responded, later adding, "I don't care what the structure is at Meta, but who wouldn't want Elon Musk sitting by their side running product?"
- On a more positive note, Yaccarino said X could turn a profit in early 2024. She said 1,500 advertisers had returned to the platform in the last 12 weeks, with 90% of the top 100 advertisers coming back.
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| 5 | | Writers Guild of America (WGA) union members voted overwhelmingly to approve a new labor contract with Hollywood studios, shaping compensation and AI protections for the next three years. The agreement creates a framework for the use of artificial intelligence technology in scriptwriting. More: - Per the contract, writers can use AI in their work as long as they have studio consent.
- AI-created material also cannot be used to "undermine a writer's credit or separated rights." AI also cannot write or rewrite literary material.
- A provision gives the WGA the authority to challenge the use of writers' works in training AI software.
Zoom out: - 99% of WGA members, or 8,435 out of 8,525, approved the new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
- The contract, which lasts until May 2026, will include boosted initial and residual pay for high-budget streaming projects.
- Most writers' minimum pay will rise 5% immediately, followed by another 4% in May 2024 and 3.5% in May 2025.
- The AMPTP is now working to negotiate a fair contract with SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union, which has been on strike since July.
Q: Do you think the WGA contract strikes a fair balance between AI and human creativity, or should there be stricter AI limitations? Join the conversation here. | | | |
| 6 | | In September, ChatGPT's mobile app set new records with 15.6 million installs and almost $4.6M in revenue, although the growth rate dropped from over 30% in July and August to 20% in September. OpenAI released the popular chatbot app for iPhones in May and for Android in July. More: - The mobile app's gross revenue in June was $2.1M, increasing to $2.74M in July, $3.81M in August, and a peak of $4.58M in September, per Appfigures data.
- In September, 15.6 million installs occurred, with 9 million from Google Play and 6.6 million from Apple's App Store.
- The app now boasts approximately 52.2 million downloads.
Zoom out: - According to TechCrunch, ChatGPT subscriptions, priced at $20 per month, may be nearing market saturation. The paid service offers priority access during peak times, faster responses, and other perks, though users can still access ChatGPT for free.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is an editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters, with a career spanning journalism since 2007. She has written for publications including The Arizona Republic and USA Today and authored a book on the solar industry in 2016. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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