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| Here are today's top tech stories: - Samsung to unveil its Galaxy S24 smartphones.
- Xerox to lay off 15% of workforce.
- Barclays cuts Apple's stock rating.
- Pornhub parent company blocks access in North Carolina, Montana.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Samsung confirmed it will host its annual Unpacked event on January 17, when it's expected to unveil the new Galaxy S24 flagship smartphone series. The event will take place in person at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, and live-streamed online across Samsung's channels, including YouTube. More: - While Samsung has remained tight-lipped about the event's specifics, the company typically launches new Galaxy smartphone models at Unpacked.
- This year's event is expected to reveal the Galaxy S24 and possibly new laptop models.
- The new phones are expected to include on-device AI capabilities, such as text generation, and camera upgrades.
- The S24 Ultra smartphone could feature a titanium design, rivaling the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max.
- Samsung's "pre-reserve" program allows early sign-ups and offers a $50 discount for pre-orders placed before January 16, with official pre-orders starting immediately after the event.
- The livestream begins at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on January 17.
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| 2 | | Xerox said it will undergo a 15% workforce reduction in Q1 2024 as part of a new organizational and operating model. Xerox's headcount was about 20,500 at the end of 2022, meaning the layoffs will likely affect more than 3,000 employees. More: - The digital printing company plans to prioritize IT and digital services and boost its core print business. As a result, Xerox has formed a new global business-services unit.
- The restructuring, termed a "reinvention" by CEO Steven Bandrowczak, also includes a new executive team.
- John Bruno has been appointed as president and COO to oversee the alignment of the company's print, IT, and digital services businesses.
- Louis Pastor, who currently serves as Xerox's chief transformation officer, will be in charge of the newly established global business services organization.
Zoom out: - Despite a profitable Q3 2023, Xerox's growth has stalled in recent years.
- In 2022, the company generated $7.1B in revenue, slightly higher than $7.06B in 2021 and $7.02B in 2020, the same year Xerox abandoned its $35B hostile takeover of HP due to the pandemic.
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| 3 | | Apple's shares fell 4% on Tuesday following a Barclays downgrade due to poor iPhone 15 sales, especially in China, and regulatory concerns that could curb Apple's services growth. Barclays analyst Tim Long predicts continued hardware sales struggles for Apple, including for the upcoming iPhone 16, due to persistently weak demand in China, market saturation, and users' reluctance to upgrade. 
What happened: Apple shares closed 3.58% lower on Tuesday after Barclays downgraded Apple's stock to an "underweight" rating from "equal weight" and trimmed its price target to $160 from $161. What it means: Weak iPhone 15 sales, especially in China, hint at sluggish iPhone 16 and overall hardware sales, amid reports of China informally banning state employees from using iPhones, Long wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. Meanwhile, Apple's services growth faces risks from regulatory scrutiny in the EU and elsewhere. Services, Apple's most profitable business, includes subscriptions, warranties, licensing fees, and Apple Pay. Barclays expects it could take a hit amid intensifying investigations into app stores and Google's payments to Apple for default search status. The bigger picture: Apple, part of the "Magnificent Seven" mega-cap tech stocks, saw its shares rise 48% last year, significantly contributing to the S&P 500's gains in 2023. However, the drop on Tuesday negatively impacted the broader market, leading to declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. | | | |
| 4 | | Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and other adult sites, has restricted access in North Carolina and Montana in response to new age verification laws in the states. The company is protesting after the states' laws that took effect January 1, forcing adult websites to require government IDs from visitors. More: - Rather than comply with the laws, which require age verification through third-party or digitized identification, Aylo has decided to block access to its sites in the states.
- The company, while not against age-gating content, favors device identifiers for verification and opposes the methods mandated under the new laws.
- A message displayed by Aylo's sites claims few adult sites can "compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place."
Zoom out: - Louisiana, Utah, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Virginia have enacted similar laws in the past year, prompting Aylo to block access in those states.
- Other adult websites use third-party providers for age authentication.
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| 5 | | Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched its first batch of Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities. The move aims to expand connectivity beyond traditional cell signals. T-Mobile has said it would use the satellites to give its mobile users network access in parts of the U.S. More: - Of the 21 satellites launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 2, six are equipped with 4G LTE device connectivity.
- Initial tests will utilize T-Mobile's cellular spectrum, with partnerships in other countries like Australia, Canada, and Japan.
- Starlink's service will initially offer text messaging, with plans for voice and data coverage by possibly 2025, pending licensing.
- SpaceX has said it plans to deploy 840 direct-to-cell satellites over the next few months.
Zoom out: - Other companies like AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global are also developing similar space-based cellular networks.
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| 6 | | Microsoft Copilot, the company's AI-powered chatbot, is now available as an app for iPhones and iPads. Like OpenAI's ChatGPT app, Microsoft's app can draft and summarize text, as well as create images via DALL-E 3 integration. More: - The Copilot app offers free access to OpenAI's latest GPT-4, unlike the free version of web ChatGPT, which uses GPT-3.5.
- Both the iOS and iPadOS versions are now downloadable from the Apple App Store. Microsoft released the Android app for Copilot last week.
- In November, Microsoft rebranded its Bing chat interface to Copilot, transitioning away from the branding across Bing, Microsoft Edge, and Windows 11. Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise are now simply named "Copilot."
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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