Apple is considering a more expensive iPhone “Ultra” that would slot in above the iPhone Pro, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He says the device could arrive as early as next year. Gurman also pointed to recent comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook. “The iPhone has become so integral [to] people’s lives,” he told analysts when asked if the increasing average price of the iPhone was sustainable. “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.”
Gurman hinted the iPhone Ultra could feature a faster processor, better camera hardware and an even larger display. “There also may be more future-forward features, such as finally dropping the charging port,” he adds. Apple already uses “Ultra” to tag its top M2 processors and Watches. Is the iPhone next?
– Mat Smith
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Tesla’s five-seat Model Y now qualifies for the new $7,500 federal tax credit
Models from Cadillac, Ford and VW are also eligible.
The Treasury Department has revised its classification standard to treat more vehicles as SUVs, raising the price threshold from $55,000 to $80,000 and making more EVs eligible for the full $7,500 credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. As Autoblog notes, that should cover five-seat versions of the Tesla Model Y (only the seven-seater qualified before) as well as the Cadillac Lyriq, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and VW’s ID.4. The Treasury expanded the classification using the public-oriented Fuel Economy Labeling standard rather than the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). This will help treat crossovers “consistently,” the department says.
Google’s February 8th event will focus on search and maps.
It may also shed some light on Google’s plans to rival ChatGPT.
Google has announced a streaming event called Live from Paris that will be all about “Search, Maps and beyond,” set to be broadcast on YouTube on Wednesday February 8th. “We’re reimagining how people search for, explore and interact with information, making it more natural and intuitive than ever before to find what you need,” the description reads.
Hopefully, the “beyond” part will shed more light on its plans for a ChatGPT rival. During Google’s earnings call last week, Pichai finally addressed Google’s own plans for an AI chat system. “In the coming weeks and months, we’ll make these language models available, starting with LaMDA, so that people can engage directly with them,” he said.
Pakistan blocks Wikipedia over ‘sacrilegious’ content
The country’s telecom authority previously degraded access to the site.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Wikipedia after slowing access to the website for 48 hours over content it considers sacrilegious. The telecom authority revealed on February 1st that it approached the website with a court order to remove “blasphemous” material from its website. After Wikipedia didn’t comply or appear before authorities, the PTA degraded access to the website for a couple of days and threatened to block it entirely if it didn’t comply with its demands. The agency didn’t publicly list the Wikipedia entries it doesn’t want people in Pakistan to see. In 2020, the PTA temporarily banned TikTok due to “immoral and indecent” material before the short-form video app promised to moderate clips. The Muslim-majority country has stringent blasphemy laws.
Electric truck maker Rivian is reportedly developing an e-bike
The company cut six percent of its workforce earlier this week.
According to reports, CEO RJ Scaringe told Rivian employees of the project during a company-wide meeting held on Friday. He said the startup had a “small group” of engineers working on a bike. This news comes in the same week the company announced layoffs that would affect six percent of its workforce – the second major restructuring Rivian has undertaken in less than a year. The company said the move was an effort to refocus itself on scaling production of its R1T and R1S EVs.