Apple considers pricier iPhones to spur sales: Can an even more premium iPhone help increase sales? Apple seems to think so. Meanwhile, carriers are discounting its latest models in China by $100.
Tech feels chill amid hot economy: Dell, HP, and Lenovo layoffs contrast with the US job market’s strength. Tech could face the double whammy of an interest rate hike plus a consumer spending dip.
ES: EU, UK, and US antitrust approaches are aligning: Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of Activision could face tougher pushback now that various regulators are on the same page.
Slowing consumer demand rocks tech’s ivory tower: Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon turned in disappointing quarterly earnings. Expect further austerity measures, including layoffs, which could prove costly.
Adversarial relationship with China is bad for tech: Retaliation by Beijing shouldn’t surprise us as Biden eyes more tech sanctions and a US general starts preparing for war.
Alphabet leans on DeepMind for AI support: Google is scrambling to please investors and keep pace with Microsoft’s generative AI ambitions, but sacrificing safeguards might be a mistake longer term.
Search seems like a good bet for disruption—sooner rather than later.
Over the past year, retail has pushed further into healthcare for two reasons: more customers and more money. The usual suspects (e.g., CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid) are all making investments in their healthcare offerings, but Amazon is on their heels.
Pressure to drop TikTok from app stores intensifies: Following the removal of TikTok from various government and educational institutions, US senators are urging app stores to drop the controversial app.
Generative AI likely to have market stickiness: ChatGPT frenzy seems to be increasing as use cases proliferate beyond chatting. Compute costs could be a bigger risk than a market bubble.
Meta’s vow of efficiency marks renewed optimism: Meta shares rally after analysts upgrade stock due to Meta’s new, leaner direction. Meanwhile, the company continues to spend billions on an unrealized metaverse pivot.
Amazon adds ‘a thousand bots a day’: The ecommerce giant’s robotic fleet might surpass its human workforce. It’s part of an automation trend that could gain steam in a recession.
Twitter tries squeezing more money out of developers: Removing free API access might generate some cash but will also weaken users’ experience.
Retailers are adapting to the changing market by focusing on digital tactics that drive demand for in-store shopping to meet evolving customer needs and expectations. Here’s what you need to know.
Breaking down Amazon’s layoffs: Its 18,000 job cuts are spread across a variety of business units and locations and could indicate where Amazon plans to pull back on investment this year.
Samsung unpacks incremental upgrades: Galaxy smartphones aimed at filmmakers and low-light photographers, plus a slew of high-end notebook PCs, are not the products consumers are looking to buy today.
Year of the chatbot: Google’s Apprentice Bard is among many chatbots we’ll see released by the tech industry this year. Investors are excited, but performance and monetization are market hurdles.
Fed guarantees more tech layoffs: PayPal, HubSpot, and Splunk are the latest among tech to ax workers. With more interest rate hikes ahead, tech’s layoff game will continue.