There was a lot going on in the tech world last week, with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai hinting at more layoffs in a memo to employees, while Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai was deeply impressed by the launch of its new Rabbit R1 AI assistant. Here’s a round-up of the week’s top tech news stories.
1) Galaxy S24 series launch:
Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S24 series at the Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17. The latest generation of flagship smartphones are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and come with support for up to 7 years of software updates.
The company has now also confirmed the official pricing of these smartphones in India, with the base variant of the Galaxy S24 starting at ₹79,999.
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2) Satya Nadella praises Rabbit R1 AI assistant:
Much like the rest of the tech community, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was smitten with the idea of Rabbit R1, the AI assistant unveiled at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week. In fact, Nadella was so impressed with Rabbit R1 that he compared the AI assistant’s launch presentation to Steve Jobs’ highly acclaimed presentation of the original iPhone in 2007.
Speaking about the Rabbit R1 in an interaction with Bloomberg, Nadella said, “I think CES this year was very interesting. I thought I thought the demo of the Rabbit OS and the device was fantastic. I think I must say, after Jobs and the launch of iPhone, probably one of the most impressive presentations I’ve seen of capturing the vision of what is possible going forward for what is an agent-centric Operating System (OS) interface.”
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3) ChatGPT comes to classrooms:
OpenAI has partnered with Arizona State University to bring ChatGPT into the classroom. The new collaboration will bring the capabilities of ChatGPT Enterprise to higher education and set a new precedent for how universities can improve learning, creativity and student outcomes, Arizona State University said in a release.
ASU Chief Information Officer Lev Gonick while speaking about use of ChatGPT in classrooms said, “Research shows that nearly two-thirds of organizations are already actively exploring the integration of AI… By providing access to advanced AI capabilities, these tools are leveling the playing field, allowing individuals and organizations — regardless of size or resources — to harness the power of AI for creative and innovative endeavors.”
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4) YouTube, Spotify and Netflix won’t launch a dedicated Apple Vision Pro app:
YouTube and Spotify have joined Netflix among the companies that won’t offer a dedicated app for the Apple Vision Pro. The latest news means that the Apple Vision Pro will be without access to some of the most popular streaming apps when it launches on February 2.
A statement by a YouTube spokesperson quoted by Bloomberg noted, “YouTube users will be able to use YouTube in Safari on the Vision Pro at launch.” Furthermore, the Bloomberg report noted that YouTube also won’t allow its iPad app to work on the Apple Vision Pro.
“Our members will be able to enjoy Netflix on the web browser on the Vision Pro, similar to how our members can enjoy Netflix on Macs,” a Netflix spokesperson had told Bloomberg.
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5) Sundar Pichai’s warns about more layoffs:
Alphabet-owned Google will reportedly sack more employees in the current calendar year, CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in a memo.
Google CEO told his staff that the job cuts will focus “on removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas”.
In the upcoming rounds of layoffs, the company looks to adopt artificial intelligence software and automation to lighten workloads. Google, which is trying to close the gap with Microsoft in the AI race, last month unveiled its long-awaited Gemini model.
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6) iPhone 16 may come with a new dedicated camera button:
Tim Cook-led Apple is reportedly working on a new button on prototypes of the upcoming iPhone 16 to help people quickly take pictures and videos while holding the device horizontally, according to a report by The Information. The report, which cites two sources close to the matter, says that the camera button could be located on the bottom right of the phone, meaning it would be directly under the index finger when taking photos and videos in landscape mode.
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7) Sam Altman in talks to raise billions of dollars for new AI chip manufacturing venture:
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been talking to a number of potential investors in a bid to raise billions of dollars to set up a chip-making company, according to a report by Bloomberg. The 38-year-old entrepreneur is said to be looking to set up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors.
Notably, building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility would require tens of billions of dollars in funding, and creating a network of such facilities will take years, Bloomberg reported.
Among the top people Altman has spoken to about funding the new venture are the UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Softbank.
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