| Here’s a look at today's tech briefing: - Apple reports 10% drop in iPhone sales, record stock buyback.
- Tesla plans to expand charger network despite layoffs.
- U.S. EV tax credits cover only 22 vehicles.
- Google opposes Epic demands for app store reforms.
- Tech job cuts down from 2023.
- Instagram Stories lets creators unblur content via DMs.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | Apple's revenue fell by 4% last quarter, with iPhone sales dropping by 10%. Apple's shares still increased over 7% Friday after the company announced a record stock buyback and promises of sales growth for the quarter. More: - Apple approved an additional $110B in share repurchases, its largest ever.
- For the March quarter, iPhone sales fell nearly 10% to $45.96B and Apple's overall sales fell 4% to to $90.8B, which still beat analysts' forecasts.
- CEO Tim Cook said sales would have grown last quarter if not for a tough comparison with the previous year.
- Last year's fiscal Q2 sales benefited from $5B in delayed iPhone 14 sales, he explained.
What's next: - For the current quarter, Apple expects overall sales growth in the "low single digits."
- The company forecasts double-digit YoY growth for iPad sales, which fell 17% last quarter.
- Apple will introduce upgraded iPads on May 7, ending an 18-month gap for new models.
- Cook also said that generative AI holds a "great opportunity" for most Apple products, but not within the next quarter.
- Apple is expected to tease AI features for iPhones and more at its developer conference in June.
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| 2 | | Tesla still plans to expand its EV charger network despite laying off most of the team behind it. According to Elon Musk, Tesla will grow its Supercharger network but "at a slower pace for new locations," with more focus on reliability and the "expansion of existing locations." More: - Tesla laid off most of its 500-person Supercharging team earlier this week.
- The cuts shocked the auto industry, raising concerns about non-Tesla EVs connecting to the charging network.
- Almost all major automakers in North America are adopting Tesla's connector technology, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), allowing their vehicles to use Superchargers.
- With the charging team gone, it's unclear how Tesla will meet its goal to double the network's size by the end of this year.
Zoom out: - Tesla had accepted $17M in federal charging grants before the layoffs.
- The automaker dominates with around 65% of fast-charging plugs in the U.S.
- There have been reports of increasingly long lines at some Superchargers, which is expected to grow with more EV makers switching to Tesla's NACS.
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| 3 | | The Biden administration issued the final rules for the Inflation Reduction Act's EV tax credits. Only 22 EV models now qualify for the credits, which range from $3,750 to $7,500 for new EVs, and $4,000 for used ones. The updated rules still disqualify most vehicles if they have Chinese-sourced materials, but allow for some exemptions including for graphite. More: - The rules don't allow tax breaks for vehicles with battery components or critical minerals sourced from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
- However, the final rules grant a two-year exemption for low-value and hard-to-trace minerals like graphite, unlike the draft rules.
- Automakers can buy Chinese graphite until 2027 and still qualify for the subsidies.
- The rules also solidify a provision letting buyers immediately use the credits rather than waiting until tax filing.
Zoom out: - Out of 114 EV models in the U.S., only 13 qualify for the full $7,500 credit and nine for the half credit.
- Those eligible for the full credit include Ford's F-150 Lightning, Volkswagen's ID.4, and Tesla's Model Y.
- The number is not expected to change soon. The exact number of vehicles eligible for the new credits won't be determined until 2025, when the foreign sourcing rules take effect.
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| 4 | | Google is opposing Epic Games' demands for major reforms to the Google Play Store, arguing that they go beyond a court ruling favoring Epic. "Fortnite" maker Epic won its antitrust lawsuit against Google in December. The game publisher later submitted demands to open up the Play Store to competitors. More: - Epic's proposed changes include allowing third-party app stores, including its own, on Google Play for six years.
- Google argued against the demands in a new court filing.
- Google claims Epic's changes would hinder its ability to compete in the mobile market, hurting Android users and developers.
- The demands would require the court to micromanage its business, according to Google.
- Its filing asserts that the changes would favor Epic at the expense of other developers and OEMs.
Zoom out: - A hearing on the matter is set for Thursday, May 23.
- Epic Games originally sued Google in 2020, accusing the company of abusing its power to protect its app store from competition.
- Google is challenging the resultant December court decision, which sided with Epic.
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| 5 | | Tech job cuts this year are noticeably down from 2023, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The U.S. tech industry still leads in the number of jobs cut so far this year. Tech eliminated 47,436 jobs from January through April, down 58% from last year's 113,944. 
What the numbers show: April saw a total of 64,789 job cuts across U.S. employers, a drop from March's 90,000 and slightly down from the 66,995 cuts in April 2023. The tech industry experienced 4,994 job cuts in April, down from 11,553 the year before. More: Artificial intelligence was responsible for 800 job cuts by U.S.-based employers in April, according to Challenger. The outplacement firm said companies eliminated positions to focus on AI development or because the technology replaced certain tasks and roles. AI-related layoffs were still much lower than those due to market conditions, closures, restructurings, and cost-cutting. | | | |
| 6 | | Instagram announced new Stories features, including a "Reveal" offering that blurs content until the viewer sends a DM to the creator. The feature is expected to boost engagement for Stories, which allows users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. More: - To use Reveal, creators can tap the stickers icon, add a hint, and post the blurred image.
- Only a user's friends can view the content after they send them a DM.
- Another new feature, Frames, transforms photos into virtual polaroids viewable by shaking the phone.
- In addition, Instagram's new "Add Yours Music" sticker lets users share mood-matching songs and prompt followers to share theirs.
Zoom out: - Instagram launched Stories in 2016 to compete with Snapchat.
- Stories reached 200 million daily active users in a year and now claims over 500 million daily active users.
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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 publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Beth Duckett | |
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