Apple is laying off 614 employees in California after abandoning its electric car project.
According to the WARN notice posted by California, Apple notified the affected employees on March 28 and the changes will go into effect on May 27.
Affected employees worked at eight locations in Santa Clara, roughly 45 miles south of San Francisco.
The company first started working on its car project, known internally as “Project Titan,” in 2014, and told employees that it was cancelling it on February 27.
Bloomberg reported at the time that some remaining employees who were working on the car project would be shifted to Apple’s generative AI projects.
Oculus’ Rift prototype felt like just such a device when it first crossed my radar more than a decade ago.
“After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences.
Should anyone doubt the company’s commitment to the concept, it rebranded itself as “Meta”, killing off the Oculus brand the same afternoon.
In spite of the $500 billion rebrand, Zuckerberg and co. never did a particularly good job defining the metaverse.
That’s roughly 21x the price it paid for Oculus, not adjusting for inflation.
A subsequent update has made them more palatable and truer to life, and Apple says it’s continuing to work on the 3D captures.
The company on Tuesday debuted “spatial” Personas for Vision Pro headsets running visionOS 1.1 or later.
From there, users can select the spatial persona option, which utilizes the Vision Pro’s on-board sensors to place the Persona in the room with them.
Spatial audio, meanwhile, further places them at a specific point in space relative to the Vision Pro user.
Vision Pro users will continue doing business in the uncanny valley for the foreseeable future.
As a result, we’re beginning to see what an app store ecosystem could look like when other developers are allowed to compete with the default iPhone App Store.
One notable case in point is the AltStore, an alternative app store that’s preparing to take advantage of the DMA to launch an updated version of its app marketplace in the EU, with plans to support Patreon-backed apps.
To comply with the new European law, Apple is introducing APIs and frameworks that allow developers to distribute apps independently of the App Store.
“It all works virtually the same as the App Store now,” Testut says.
In the screenshots he shared, the AltStore looks much like a modern-day app store, with categories like Games, Lifestyle and Utilities, as well as buttons to download its free apps, as on Apple’s App Store.
Google hints that Apple is set to support RCS by this fallGoogle briefly showed a section on the new Google Messages page claiming that Apple is set to roll out Rich Communication Services (RCS) support for iPhones this fall.
This indicates that the iPhone maker is likely to extend RCS support in with the upcoming iOS 18 update.
“Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024.
Last November, Apple confirmed that it was working on adding support for RCS.
Google’s partial reveal about the RCS compatibility timeline for iPhones comes as the U.S. Department of Justice is starting a legal battle against Apple over the Cupertino-based company’s monopolistic practices.
Indeed, with numbers hovering around 20% globally, it’s difficult to make the case that the company is dominating the competition the way Microsoft did Apple a quarter-century ago.
Apple suggests, however, that the DOJ’s suggestion that its “share of the entire U.S. smartphone market exceeds 65%” is misleading, as it refers to revenue rather than units sold.
It’s here the DOJ suggests that Apple commands 70% of the “performance” smartphone market.
Today, only Samsung and Google remain as meaningful competitors in the U.S. performance smartphone market.
Even Cupertino’s highly paid legal team would struggle to make the case that Apple Watch owners aren’t hamstrung by its iOS exclusivity.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1596 into law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in a growing list of states embracing a right to repair for citizens.
The bill’s coauthors Janeen Sollman and Representative Courtney Neron took inspiration from California’s Senate Bill 244, which passed toward the tail end of 2023.
The iPhone maker, which had previously issued an unprecedented open letter in favor of the California bill, has said that it is mostly in favor of Oregon’s bill, with the above caveat.
We entertained many of the changes that Apple brought forward that are in the California bill.
“By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the Right to Repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running.
Robinhood’s new credit card was revealed Tuesday, and though it’s only available for Robinhood Gold members, the Gold Card does have a feature that’s spurring headlines: the ability to invest cash back bonuses into investments.
But what gives with tech companies getting into the consumer credit game?
You could argue that Robinhood’s choice to offer a card is just an extension of its already-expanding portfolio of financial products.
But Apple also has a card, recall.
And the tech giant is getting deeper into the realm of personal finance as time goes along.
Robinhood’s new credit card goes after Apple Card with ability to invest cash-back perksEight months after acquiring credit card startup X1 for $95 million, Robinhood announced today the launch of its new Gold Card, with a list of features that could even give Apple Card users envy.
Apple, for instance, offers 3% cash back on all purchases made at Apple, and on purchases made at select merchants when using the Apple Card with Apple Pay.
In general, purchases made on Apple Card with Apple Pay earn users 2% back.
It’s why we started Robinhood…” Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev said in a written statement.
“Today’s announcements…bring us one step closer to the goal of giving everyone better access to the financial system.”Robinhood Gold Card, explained:What are the requirements to apply for a Robinhood Gold Card?
Eight months after acquiring credit card startup X1 for $95 million, Robinhood announced today the launch of its new Gold Card, with a list of features that could even give Apple Card users envy.
However, it will only be available for Robinhood Gold members, which costs $5 a month, or $50 annually.
Apple, for instance, offers 3% cash back on all purchases made at Apple, and on purchases made at select merchants when using the Apple Card with Apple Pay.
The new credit card is part of Robinhood’s evolving business model and offerings over the years.
Gold Membership, a requirement to get the Gold Card, increases the eligible match to up to 3% match.
