Fri. 08/23 – The Bolt Saga

Messages between Android and iOS are about to be encrypted. A new XR headset from HTC and new Spectacles from Snap. A big movie studio has signed up to use AI. Neuralink has implants for blindness. And why I’m kinda NOT gonna do a review roundup of the new iPhones.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:RCS texts on the iPhone aren’t encrypted now, but that could change (The Verge)Here’s how green bubbles are getting upgraded in iOS (The Verge)HTC Vive's Focus Vision is a $999 stab at high-end VR and mixed reality (Engadget)Snap’s new Spectacles inch closer to compelling AR (The Verge)Instagram, Facing Pressure Over Child Safety Online, Unveils Sweeping Changes (NYTimes)Lionsgate, Studio Behind ‘John Wick,’ Signs Deal With AI Startup Runway (WSJ)Musk's Neuralink gets FDA's breakthrough device tag for 'Blindsight' implant (Reuters)Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Intel announces a bunch of ways its hoping to turn its business around sooner rather than later. Is OpenAI about to have its chat bots query you? The whole TikTok divestment case is coming to a head right now. And speaking of turn arounds, darn if Netflix didn’t pull ITS turnaround off perfectly. Hollywood, not so much.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Intel stock jumps on plan to turn foundry business into subsidiary and allow for outside funding (CNBC)Intel to Make Custom AI Chip for Amazon, Delay German Plant (Bloomberg)EssilorLuxottica extends smart glasses partnership with Meta (Reuters)OpenAI Says It's Fixed Issue Where ChatGPT Appeared to Be Messaging Users Unprompted (Futurism)TikTok is about to get its day in court (The Verge)Judges Show Some Skepticism of TikTok’s Fight Against Potential U.S. Ban (NYTimes)How Netflix won the streaming wars (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bunch of Apple stories today. FDA approval for sleep apnea detection for the watch. Signs of poor pre-order sales for the phone. And a quick review of the new Airpods. Also, how did Intel lose out on making the chips for the next gen Playstation. And are dating apps responsible for income inequality?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/registerLinks:Apple Watch sleep apnea detection gets FDA approval (TechCrunch)iPhone 16 first weekend pre-order analysis: estimated total sales of about 37 million units; Pro series demand lower than expected (Ming-Chi Kuo)France picks Sejourne as nominee for EU Commission after Breton clash (Reuters)Slack now lets users add AI agents from Asana, Cohere, Adobe, Workday and more (VentureBeat)Exclusive: How Intel lost the Sony PlayStation business (Reuters)Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations (The Verge)Online Dating Caused a Rise in US Income Inequality, Research Paper Shows (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first of the Strawberry models is here. YC plans to have four cohorts a year, but each one is getting smaller. Waymo is already ready to expand to more pretty big markets. And in the long reads, a deep dive look into the options Intel has at this point in time.Sponsors:HensonShaving.com/ride code rideLinks:OpenAI releases o1, its first model with ‘reasoning’ abilities (The Verge)Notes on OpenAI’s new o1 chain-of-thought models (Simon Willison's Weblog)OpenAI's new models 'instrumentally faked alignment' (TransformerNews)Apple AirPods Pro granted FDA approval to serve as hearing aids (TechCrunch)Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator to Double Number of Cohorts Per Year (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Intel Has Only Tough Options After Its Long and Stinging Fall From Grace (Bloomberg)Link to the twitter poll about adsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As expected, OpenAI is in talks for a new capital raise at a $150B valuation. More layoffs in Microsoft’s gaming division. More holes poked in our creaking internet infrastructure. The tiny SpaceX competitor who’s stock has been soaring lately. And a look at what Apple’s recent AirPods announcement could do to the hearing aid industry.Links:OpenAI Fundraising Set to Vault Startup’s Valuation to $150 Billion (Bloomberg)The AI Spending Spree, in Charts (WSJ)Microsoft Lays Off Another 650 Staff From Its Video Game Workforce, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Sends Memo to Staff (IGN)Rogue WHOIS server gives researcher superpowers no one should ever have (ArsTechnica)Adam Neumann’s Climate Company Is Issuing Refunds After Failing To Launch Crypto Token (Forbes)SpaceX’s Tiny Rival Soars 1,300%. Now Comes the Satellite Launch (Bloomberg)Apple turning AirPods into hearing aids underscores effort to crack massive health market (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mistral goes multimodal for the first time. Meta admits to scraping the data of every adult Australian. The details on the new PS5 Pro. Wouldn’t it be wild if, through stablecoins, crypto BECOMES the banking system instead of replacing it. And a weird mystery in AI land.Sponsors:Promevo.com/techmemeLinks:Mistral releases Pixtral 12B, its first multimodal model (TechCrunch)Facebook admits to scraping every Australian adult user's public photos and posts to train AI, with no opt-out option (ABC News)The $700 PS5 Pro doesn’t come with a disc drive (The Verge)Exclusive Hands-On: I Played Sony's All-New PS5 Pro (CNET)Americans used record 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2023 (Reuters)Payments in Singapore With Stablecoins Rise to Almost $1 Billion (Bloomberg)Reflection 70B model maker breaks silence amid fraud accusations (VentureBeat)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple loses its longest standing regulatory battle in the EU. Some drips and drabs from yesterday’s iPhone event. Would a phone you can fold three times be more enticing than a phone that folds two times? And are we about to see that new Strawberry AI model from OpenAI by the end of the month?Sponsors:Timeline.com/rideLinks:Apple must pay 13 billion euros in back taxes, EU’s top court rules (CNBC)iPhone 16 battery life: How much better is it? (9to5Mac)Huawei launches $2,800 trifold phone hours after Apple debuts iPhone 16 (CNBC)Oracle’s Missteps in Cloud Computing Are Paying Dividends in AI (WSJ)New Details on OpenAI’s Strawberry; Apple’s Siri Makeover; Larry Ellison Doubles Down on Data Centers (The Information)Audible to Start Generating AI Voice Replicas of Select Audiobook Narrators (Bloomberg)JPMorgan Plans to Report Customers Who Exploited TikTok ‘Glitch’ to Authorities (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from today’s iPhone event. It IS interesting the degree to which Elon’s various businesses have potential synergy. The Times digs into the content on Telegram and says, it ain’t pretty. And e-bikes seem to be back. In London, at least, anyway.Links:Apple Announces iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max with Larger Displays, New Camera Control, and More (MacRumors)Apple announces iPhone 16: camera button, new colors, AI features (9to5Mac)AirPods Pro 2 adds ‘clinical grade’ hearing aid feature (9to5Mac)Musk’s xAI Has Discussed Deal for Share of Future Tesla Revenue (WSJ)How Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists (NYTimes)London e-bike boom leads to clashes with councils (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pavel Durov speaks, and Telegram blinks, both for the first time since the French arrest. Are XR glasses tethered to smartphones the next big product category? What if your smartphone could cure your vision problems? And in the longreads, if Waymo is about to scale, what, exactly, is the business model, long-term?Links:Pavel Durov: Telegram founder says France arrest is ‘misguided’ (The Guardian)Exclusive: Qualcomm explores acquiring pieces of Intel chip-design business (Reuters)Qualcomm says it’s working on mixed reality smart glasses with Samsung and Google (CNBC)Review: Honor Magic V3 (Wired)Exclusive: Honor's latest devices use AI to try to reverse nearsightedness (Android Central)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Waymo’s Robot Taxis Are Almost Mainstream. Can They Now Turn a Profit? (NYTimes)When the Bitcoin Scammers Came for Me (The Atlantic)Among the Idlers (Curbed)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The DOJ says it has taken down a big election influence campaign allegedly directed by Russia. The Internet Archive loses a big case. Android 15 is here. And two really interesting new gadgets, one I probably need to buy and one I want to buy but probably won’t.Sponsors:LinkedIn.com/rideLinks:Biden administration announces major actions to tackle Russian efforts to influence 2024 election (CNN)The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case (Wired)Android 15 will be available on supported Pixel devices in the coming weeks (TechCrunch)DJI Neo hands-on: A powerful and lightweight $200 drone (Engadget)The Remarkable Paper Pro is as outrageous as it is luxurious (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.