| Here’s a look at today's tech briefing: - TikTok sues U.S. government over potential ban.
- Apple debuts latest iPads.
- Google unveils Pixel 8a phone.
- Xbox shuts down four studios.
- Nintendo to announce Switch successor by April 2025.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | TikTok filed a lawsuit to block the U.S. law that would ban the app unless sold to another company. TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, argue that the law violates First Amendment free speech protections. More: - The law, signed by President Biden last month, gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban.
- TikTok's lawsuit argues divestiture "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally."
- It claims the law will force the shutdown of TikTok, silencing its 170 million U.S. users.
- China's government has also said it won't allow TikTok To sell its video-recommendation engine, the suit said.
Zoom out: - Biden signed the TikTok law as part of a $95B Ukraine-Israel aid package.
- Lawmakers worry China could access TikTok's U.S. data, spread propaganda, or spy via the app.
- The law will ban app stores from offering TikTok and bar hosting services from supporting it unless TikTok sells within nine months, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress.
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| 2 | | Apple today debuted the latest versions of its iPad Pro and iPad Air. The new iPads are Apple's first since October 2022, marking the longest time without an update. The tablets are available for pre-order and launch in stores next week. iPad Pro: - The latest iPad Pro has Apple's new custom M4 processor, an "outrageously powerful chip for AI," the company said.
- The M4 contains a faster neural engine to power AI software.
- This includes real-time audio captions and a feature to identify objects in photos and videos.
- The iPad Pro starts at $1,300 for the 13-inch model and $1,000 for the 11-inch, Apple's thinnest iPad yet.
Other announcements: - The new iPad Air comes in 11-inch ($600) and 13-inch ($800) designs. It features Apple's M2 chip, with a GPU and neural engine that's 50% faster than its predecessor.
- Apple also unveiled a Magic Keyboard ($300) that pairs new iPads with a keyboard and trackpad, making them laptop-like.
- The Apple Pencil Pro ($129), its updated stylus, supports haptic feedback and a new squeeze function to bring up a menu.
Zoom out: - The company will debut more AI tools for iPads and iPhones at its June Worldwide Developers Conference
- The updates could help fuel iPad sales after Apple reported a 17% drop in iPad revenue last quarter.
- Apple predicts double-digit growth for its iPad business in the June quarter.
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| 3 | | Google unveiled its latest budget Pixel smartphone for pre-orders. The Pixel 8a releases May 14 with a brighter screen, higher refresh rate, and new generative AI photo and video tools. More: - At $499, the Pixel 8a is cheaper than last year's $699 Pixel 8 and $999 Pixel 8 Pro.
- The budget phone incorporates AI tools from the Pixel 8 series, such as Magic Editor, Circle to Search, Best Take, and Real Tone in Video.
- It can run Google's mobile-optimized AI model, Gemini Nano.
- The 8a features an "Actua" OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, up from the Pixel 7a's 90Hz.
- It retains 128GB of storage, with a new 256GB version available for the first time.
Zoom out: - Google also cut the price of the 128GB Pixel Tablet to $399, $100 less than its launch price, excluding the Charging Speaker Dock.
- The announcements come before Google's I/O event on May 14, when it will announce new AI and Android features.
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| 4 | | Microsoft's Xbox is closing four studios acquired through its 2021 purchase of ZeniMax, Bethesda's parent company. The studios are Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Studios, and Roundhouse Games. Xbox Game Studios' Matt Booty confirmed some employees will be laid off but did not specify how many. More: - The team at Roundhouse Games will be folded into ZeniMax Online Studios, known for The Elder Scrolls Online.
- Microsoft will shutter Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog, based in Canada, and Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks, headquartered in Tokyo.
- Xbox said it's halting development on Arkane Austin's Redfall, last year's major flop, and will compensate players who pre-bought unreleased content.
Zoom out: - According to Booty, the "reprioritization of titles and resources" allows Xbox to invest in its game portfolio and new IP.
- Microsoft disclosed in a January memo that it would lay off 1,900 employees from its gaming teams.
- The cuts came several months after Microsoft finalized its $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard, known for "Call of Duty" and "Diablo."
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| 5 | | Nintendo said it will announce the successor to its Switch console by April 2025. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said on X that the next-generation Switch will be announced "within this fiscal year," which ends March 31, 2025. More: - Furukawa confirmed there will be no mention of a Switch successor in June's Nintendo Direct.
- The event will instead reveal new Switch games for the latter half of 2024.
- Nintendo announced the first-gen console, then codename "NX," in 2015.
- The Switch was officially released in most markets on March 3, 2017.
Zoom out: - Nintendo also released its earnings report Tuesday, projecting a 39% drop in net profit for the current fiscal year.
- The company sold 15.7 million Switch units in the year ended March 2024, down from 17.97 million the previous year.
- It expects to sell 13.5 million units this year.
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| 6 | | British self-driving startup Wayve raised $1.05B in funding, making it Europe's largest AI funding round. SoftBank Group led the Series C round, with participation from Nvidia and Microsoft. More: - Wayve is building a self-learning rather than ruled-based system for autonomous vehicles.
- Its AI system can learn while driving, allowing it to navigate new locations and road scenarios without pre-programming.
- The company is in talks to sell its self-driving model to car manufacturers rather than equip it in its own fleet.
- The new funding will support Wayve's global expansion, staff and computing, and product development for assisted and fully automated driving.
Zoom out: - U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal "anchors the U.K.'s position as an AI superpower."
- Last year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Wayve's CEO took a test ride of a Wayve-equipped autonomous vehicle in London.
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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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