Furious Musk threatens to make iPhone and Android rivals
UPDATE – 12:57 AM, WEDNESDAY – 30 NOV 22
Hyderabad: Ever since Elon Musk walked into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters with a sink in hand, the popular microblogging site has changed dramatically. From mass layoffs of employees to Donald Trump’s return to the platform based on polls – every day for Musk is a new scenario unfolding.
The latest victim of his tweets is the US technology company Apple. Musk is now accusing Apple of advertising on Twitter. “Do they hate free speech in America?” he asked.
While Apple hasn’t made any official announcements, the ad cuts aren’t surprising, especially given Twitter’s turbulent environment.
However, Jordan, who describes himself as “running social media ads for Apple,” said on Twitter that the iPhone maker has slowed its ad spend because of “(a) lack of engagement, mostly bot impressions (b) negative impact on Twitter leadership lack of trust.”
Musk further said that Apple threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store. Outraged by this and encouraged by American commentator Liz Wheeler, he announced that if Google and Apple cut Twitter from their app stores, he would build a replacement phone.
While Apple and its CEO Tim Cook have not been as outspoken as Musk about the growing tension between the two companies, it cannot be said that the former will back down.
Technical News/Products
Amazon Food Academy to close in India
Yes, Amazon does have a food delivery line in India. The tech giant launched Amazon Food as a pilot project in May 2020 and their service is only available in Bengaluru.
However, this ambitious project will cease to exist as of December 29th as the company lays off staff ahead of the economic crisis.
In addition to Amazon Food, their online education service Amazon Academy will also cease service in August 2023.
iPhone 14 wait times set new highs
According to reports, the expected wait time for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max model smartphones is about 37 days. The delay was attributed to unrest at the company’s main assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China, also known as “iPhone City.”
The abrupt lockdown sparked violent protests by workers as China experienced a new wave of COVID-19 deaths.
Ireland fines Meta €265 million
Ireland’s data privacy watchdog has fined Facebook’s parent company Meta 265 million euros (roughly Rs 2,250 crore). The penalty is the result of an investigation into Facebook personal data made available online in April 2021.
Ireland, Meta’s main privacy watchdog in the EU, has 13 other investigations into the social media group.
Metaverse: Sony wearable captures motion
Sony’s latest attempt at a virtual and augmented reality-powered Metaverse is a milestone.
Their new Mocopi system consists of six wearable devices that can be worn on the user’s wrist, ankle, head and hip. These will track the user’s movements and will be used to animate the avatar in the metaverse.
The product is priced at 49,500 yen and is expected to be launched in the Japanese market in January 2023.
— Epsita Gunti and institutional input
