Amazon is having a big sale on Apple Series 7 Watches right now, with the highlight being a new low price of $300 on the 41mm green aluminum model with a clover sports band ($99 off). Other available colors (starlight, midnight, blue and red) are also on sale at the previous all-time-low price of $329, while the 45mm models are marked down to $359 ($70 off) in multiple colors.
The Series 7 wasn't a massive update from the Series 6, but there are some nice improvements. Chief among those is a larger screen that makes it easier to see notifications, messages and other information displayed in complications. It's also the first IP6X dust resistant Apple Watch, so it's more durable than past models. And it supports fast charging, allowing you to get 10 percent power in just 10 minutes and a full charge in under an hour.
Other capabilities carry over from the Series 6, like the always-on display, built-in GPS, ECG and blood oxygen measurement capabilities, fall detection, trackable workout support and more. The biggest drawback with the current model is mediocre sleep tracking — it only tells you how long you slept, which is a lot less information than you get from rival Fitbit or Garmin devices. It's also not a great idea for Android users, but if you're on iPhone, Apple Watch is still the best wearable out there, by far.
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Bird, the rental service for electric scooters, is one of the latest companies in the tech industry to lay off quite a big percentage of its workforce. According to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs across the tech space, the company plans to let 23 percent of its staff go. As TechCrunch notes, Bird has 600 employees, which means around 138 people are losing their jobs if they haven't yet. Based on LinkedIn posts seen by the publication, layoffs have already started, and people are already on the lookout for new opportunities.
Bird has confirmed its decision to TechCrunch and said that the move will affect staff across divisions and regions — even people in senior managerial positions aren't safe. A spokesperson explained:
"While the need for and access to micro-electric vehicle transportation has never been greater, macro economic trends impacting everyone have resulted in an acceleration of our path to profitability. This path required us to reduce our cost structure in a way that allows us to responsibly and sustainably expand our service beyond the more than 400 cities we operate in today as climate action has never been more paramount. In addition to eliminating all non-critical third party spend, we also unfortunately had to depart with a number of team members who passionately helped create a new industry and paved the way for more eco-friendly transportation."
The company first dropped hints that layoffs are on the horizon when it reported its first quarter earnings in May. Back then, it said it plans to "streamline and consolidate its resourcing against its core business." A source told TechCrunch that Bird went on a hiring spree as recently as this March and April, and they think that those offers would be reversed. All laid off employees that the publication talked to thus far were given a minimum severance of three weeks with three weeks of healthcare — and they get to keep their laptops.
A previous report by TechCrunch based on data from Layoffs.fyi puts the number of tech workers that had lost their jobs last month at 15,000. Some of the companies that laid off employees in May are Bose, Cameo and Carvana, which did so via Zoom. Even PayPal isn't immune to the global economic downturn and has been letting personnel go after its growth showed signs of slowing down.
Panasonic recently launched the GH6 with internal ProRes recording and other nice pro features, but one thing missing was any RAW video recording. However, its next firmware version 2.0 upgrade coming on July 5th will address that with external ProRes RAW output, the company announced. You'll be able to record 12-bit 5.7K RAW video at up to 60 fps and C4K (4,096 x 2,160) at an impressive 120 fps to Atomos Ninja V/V+ recorders.
It'll also support RAW 5.8K and 4.4K 4:3 anamorphic resolutions at up to 30 fps and 60 fps, respectively. If you're recording V-Log video, you'll be able to download a lookup table to install on the Ninja V/V+ to better preview footage.
All of that is enabled by the GH6's HDMI 2.1 port that supports higher resolutions and frame rates than previous models. Atomos has also gradually updated the Ninja V to support higher resolutions and speeds, while the Ninja V+ supported up to 8K ProRes RAW from launch.
Panasonic
Along with the ProRes RAW external recording, the update will introduce a raft of new internal recording formats. Right now the GH6 can only record 5.7K 30p ProRes/ProRes HQ video, but the upgrade will allow for C4K and Full HD ProRes and ProRes HQ video at up to 60 fps. As before, all ProRes video must be recorded to the CFexpress card slot. There's no sign of UHD ProRes internal recording (3,840 x 2,160), so hopefully that'll come at a later time.
With CFexpress, Panasonic might have been able to support RAW video recording internally. However, it may have been dissuaded by RED's patent on the technology — RED recently sued Nikon over its use of internal RAW recording on the Z9, for example. Atomos, however, has already partnered with RED to license it's technology.
There’s a big day coming up on which you’re kinda obliged to buy gifts to thank a parent for raising you. Obviously, you want to buy them something cool and techy, since that’s pretty much what every person is looking for these days. For that special person in your life, irrespective of their gender, we’ve put together a list of the best tech gift ideas you could buy.
The list ranges from the best audio and video gear through to the best gadgets to help them keep an eye on their health. And whoever put the list together (and I’m sure they’re really cool) also threw in some tips on how to find cutting-edge gear for less. Especially since so many of last year’s flagship gadgets are still around as lower-cost options for 2022.
Microsoft has announced a second generation of its Surface Laptop Go, and we’ve got our hands on it for a sneak peek. The new base model costs $50 more than its predecessor, but it looks like the extra cash has gone on some much-needed upgrades. Crucially, Microsoft has added an 11th-generation Intel CPU and a new SSD, dropping the eMMC storage found on its predecessor. Those tweaks should improve performance well beyond the original, and the inclusion of a (slightly) better webcam and (slightly) better speakers are similarly pleasing. Sadly, Microsoft didn’t want to raise the price any higher, so you’re still left with a 1,536 x 1,024 PixelSense display, although for $600, can you really grouse too loudly?
This has good intentions, but the implementation will be interesting.
The European Union has, for years, been trying to tackle the problem of e-waste by enforcing a common charger standard for mobile devices. Now, the bloc has reached a deal to make USB-C the standard for all “small and medium-sized portable electronic devices.” Buyers will also be able to specify if they want a charger added when they purchase a new piece of gear, such as smartphones, tablets, earbuds, cameras, headphones, portable game consoles and speakers. Laptops, meanwhile, will be subject to the same rules, but not for a while yet. Of course, the ramifications of this are vast, so it’s incredibly important the EU nails the fine details, especially given the range of amperages – from 5W to 240W – one standard is expected to deliver.
Volocopter, the German makers of a would-be drone taxi of the future, has reached another milestone toward running passenger flights. The four-seater VTOL drone, the VoloConnect, has begun making test flights to prove the airworthiness of the prototype. Each trip has, so far, been fairly short, but engineers are confident the maneuvers and aerodynamics of the vehicle are solid. The company still expects to begin some limited passenger service by 2024, with the larger suburb-to-city VoloConnect due to start flying in 2026. We’ll believe it when we see it, ideally at a safe distance, or while riding our own preferred suburb-to-city mode of transport: a train.
Investors believe Gemini wasn’t adequately protecting user security.
Gemini, the Winklevoss Twins’ crypto exchange, was hacked back in February leading to the loss of $36 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now, retirement savings firm IRA Financial Trust has sued the company, saying it failed to do enough to protect people’s cash. It alleges Gemini didn't put the proper safeguards in place initially and was slow to freeze accounts to prevent the mass withdrawal. It marks another bump in the road for the Winklevoss’ outfit, which recently laid off 10 percent of its staff after the value of crypto began to slide.
Lyft drivers don't have to worry about being fully replaced by the company's autonomous vehicles just yet. Company president John Zimmer told CNBC that Lyft intends to operate a hybrid network at first, with a fleet that's largely comprised of non-autonomous cars. "[J]ust like what happened with phones, you didn't have 3G go to 4G go to 5G on separate networks," Zimmer explained."You still needed to be able to make a 3G call when 4G wasn't available." And similar to when LTE was new and mobile users mostly had to connect to the internet via 3G, Lyft passengers will also largely have to rely on rideshare drivers.
Zimmer envisions a network wherein autonomous vehicles will only be taking five percent of all trips at first, with rideshare drivers taking the lion's share of the rides booked through the platform. Lyft plans to scale up its autonomous rides with its partners, though, so those percentages will keep shifting in the future. The company has been testing self-driving rides in Las Vegas since at least 2018 with its partner Motional, which is a joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai. In 2020, Lyft announced that it intends to bring fully driverless cars to multiple US cities by 2023.
Lyft also has an existing partnership with Ford, and they're currently testing the latter's Argo-AI powered cars — with no human safety driver behind the wheel — on Miami and Austin roads. In addition, the company teamed up with Waymo to pick up customers in the metro Phoenix area back in 2019.
In a month's time, we'll finally get to meet Nothing's first handset. The company has announced that its unveiling its second device, the Nothing phone (1), at an event on July 12th at 4PM BST/11AM EST. "It's our first smartphone, and our most important product," Nothing said in its announcement. "The real start of Nothing's journey. To make tech fun again. And an invitation to unlearn everything the industry has taught us."
Nothing was formed by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei who departed his original company before it merged with Oppo. Given Pei's background, it doesn't exactly come as a surprise for Nothing to release a phone. However, it wasn't until reports came out that Pei was showing off a smartphone to industry executives at Mobile World Congress this year that the idea of Nothing launching its own phone became something real and not just something we'd expect the company to do in the future.
Nothing eventually confirmed that it's unveiling its own handset this summer and that it will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. It will run on Nothing OS, a modified version of Android that the company says "captures the best features" of the OS and distills it "to just the essentials." The platform's interface will feature "bespoke" fonts, colors, design elements and sounds, as well.
Nothing will introduce Phone (1) to the public at a live event in London, which will be livestreamed on its website. You can RSVP for the online stream right here.
In protest of France's content streaming rules, Disney has announced that its animated holiday film Strange World (aka Avalonia) will go straight to Disney+ and not appear in theaters in the country. It also gave a strong statement to Deadline decrying France's so-called chronologie des medias rules.
"Strange World will be available to all Disney+ subscribers in France, foregoing a French cinematic release. While we support French cinema — and have for decades — the new, cumbersome media chronology is anti-consumer, ignoring how behavior has evolved over the last several years and puts us at increased risk for piracy. We will continue to make decisions on a film-by-film basis and according to each market’s unique conditions," a company spokesperson said.
France's laws force studios like Disney to wait 17 months before they can release movies to Disney+ after a theatrical release, following a four month purchase and exclusive six-month Canal+ window. Disney+ can then only keep it for five months, as it goes to free-to-air channels like TF1 and France 2 for a 14-month period. Once that window ends (36 months after the theatrical release), it reverts back to Disney+.
Minister of Culture
Prior to a new law implemented earlier this year, the situation actually used to be worse for streaming channels, with release windows much longer. Disney has protested because the new rules favor Netflix, giving it a shorter 15-month window before films can revert to its streaming service. It has also said that the laws don't take into account the new reality of how content is consumed in the COVID-19 era.
"We believe that the media chronology is not consumer friendly, nor does it establish a balanced or proportionate framework between the various players in the French audiovisual ecosystem. This is especially frustrating as we have been increasing our investment in the creation of original French content while also supporting French cinema through our theatrical releases," Disney said at the time. (Engadget has reached out to France's media regulator for comment.)
France's Ministry of Culture and regulatory body CNC juggle the needs of theater chains, studios, streaming services and consumers. At the same time, they're trying to encourage local production and original French content in general. That has been effective of late, with numerous productions like Emily in France shot in the country. At the same time, original French series like Netflix's Lupin and Call My Agent have become hits in the US and elsewhere around the world.
Alex Kipman, the lead developer of Microsoft HoloLens, is leaving the company, according to Insider. His departure comes after the same publication reported allegations that he engaged in inappropriate touching and comments towards female employees. He also reportedly fostered a culture that diminished women's contributions. After Kipman told his team about his resignation, Microsoft cloud and AI VP Scott Guthrie announced a reorganization that would split the HoloLens group. In an email that's also viewed by GeekWire, Guthrie said that the HoloLens hardware teams are joining joining the Windows + Devices group under Panos Panay. Meanwhile, the software teams are joining the Experiences + Devices division under Jeff Teper.
Guthrie also wrote that he and Kipman have been talking about the team's path going forward over the past few months and that they had "mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities." Kipman will apparently help with the team transitions over the next two months before leaving Microsoft entirely.
In the previous Insider piece that reported on allegations against Kipman, a source said he watched what was essentially VR porn in the office in front of his employees. A former executive also told the publication that they had witnessed him behave inappropriately towards women more than once. He recalled an incident wherein Kipman allegedly kept massaging a female employee's shoulders even after she kept shrugging her shoulders to get him to stop. Managers were reportedly telling employees not to leave women alone around him. Eventually, 25 people got together to compile a report about the bad experiences they had with the executive.
Microsoft didn't confirm or deny the allegations to Insider, but the company told the publication that "every reported claim [it] receive[s] is investigated, and for every claim found substantiated there is clear action taken."
Amazon made an appeal to its third-party sellers to oppose a Senate antitrust reform bill aimed at helping their businesses. In a post on Amazon’s internal forum for third-party merchants, the company’s vice president of worldwide selling partner services Dharmesh Mehta urged sellers to oppose The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992), and asked them to contact their senators.
"As we have noted in previous communications to you throughout the past year, Congress is considering legislation, including S. 2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, that could jeopardize Amazon’s ability to operate a marketplace service and, as a result, your business’s ability to sell in our store," wrote Mehta.
Just under 500 sellers have responded to Mehta’s post since Thursday, many of them unconvinced by Amazon’s claim that the Senate bill will harm their businesses. “The bill jeopardizes the way Amazon wants to operate. It would not jeopardize marketplaces. Amazon, get your own house in order before asking us as sellers to defend you,” wrote one seller.
“I am personally sick of the condescending posts by Amazon management directed at us. We are not morons and know how to read and think for ourselves,” wrote another seller.
Mehta’s attempt to recruit Amazon’s third-party sellers into unpaid lobbyists follows a wider push by the company against The American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Last week, a public-facing post by Amazon’s VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman warned of potentially degraded Prime membership benefits for customers if the bill passes into law; similar to Mehta, Huseman also suggested anti-trust action might "make it difficult to justify the risk of Amazon offering a marketplace in which selling partners can participate."
The Senate bill contains provisions intended to prevent tech giants like Amazon and Google from giving their own services preferential treatment, thus putting other businesses at a disadvantage. Amazon over the years has been accused of using a number of tactics to put third-party merchants at a disadvantage, including using sales data on third-party products to develop its own competing products and prioritizing products that use Prime shipping in search results.
Trade groups funded by Big Tech have spent millions in ads that frame the bill as an “innovation killer” and harmful to small businesses, reported the Washington Post. The ads run primarily in states represented by vulnerable Senate Democrats, in an effort to amp up pressure from their own constituents. The Senate is expected to vote on the S.2992 sometime this summer. The House Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill last year, but it has yet to be scheduled for a floor vote.
IBM will begin an “orderly” wind-down of its operations in Russia, according to a memo from CEO Arvind Krishna that was released publicly today. The company suspended business operations in the country back in March, joining a wave of other Western companies that chose to either halt sales or pull out of Russia completely following its invasion of Ukraine. Despite no longer doing business in Russia, IBM kept paying its Russia-based employees. But US sanctions on Russian banks have made it harder for the company to pay its Russia-based workforce, Reutersreported last month.
The wind-down means that IBM will also terminate the employment of its Russia-based workforce. “This process will commence today and result in the separation of our local workforce. Our colleagues in Russia have, through no fault of their own, endured months of stress and uncertainty. We recognize that this news is difficult, and I want to assure them that IBM will continue to stand by them and take all reasonable steps to provide support and make their transition as orderly as possible,” wrote Krishna in the memo.
The company told investors that no longer doing business with Russia will have very little impact on its bottom line. “Russia is a very de minimis part of IBM,” the company’s finance head Jim Kavanaugh said during a first-quarter earnings call in April. Russia accounted for roughly 0.5 percent of IBM’s total revenue last year, or $300 million out of its total revenue of $57.4 billion.
IBM has a number of high-profile customers in Russia, including federal banks, energy companies and Russian Railways. The company even held its Think Summit in Moscow back in 2019, where it highlighted its many Russian clients. But since March, the company has stopped providing “goods, parts, software, services, consulting and technology” to Russian companies, according to Reuters.
