Tech Digest daily roundup: iPhone 13 numbers slashed due to chip shortage
Apple’s shares dropped on Tuesday following reports it could slash its iPhone 13 production targets due to the ongoing global computer chip shortage. The electronic giant had expected to make 90 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2021, reported Bloomberg. However, Apple was now having to tell its partners that the total will be lower by as many as 10 million units, sources told the business magazine. Semiconductor manufacturers Broadcom and Texas Instruments were also down 1%, as sources said they were struggling to deliver enough chips to Apple in time. BBC
Rumors had initially indicated that the new AirPods would ship alongside the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7 announcement last month, but the new earphones failed to materialize. AirPods are best equipped with the iPhone and Apple Watch, adding fuel to speculation their release was somewhat imminent. Now, as Apple has confirmed its likely last event of the year for this coming Monday, October 18, all the indications suggest that new AirPods will also be announced alongside redesigned MacBook Pros. Weibo leaker @PandaIsBald, which accurately reported the launch of the baseline ninth-generation iPad for Apple’s last event, has claimed that alongside “M1X” Macs, the third-generation AirPods with an updated design will also be announced. Mac Rumors
A new app will enable the public to access dozens of Government services, such as changing a driving licence, from one place for the first time, it has been announced. Stephen Barclay the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has unveiled plans for a Gov.uk app which will verify a user’s identity using facial recognition or fingerprint scanning tools already available on smartphones. The app will merge the nearly 200 ways people can currently create a Gov.uk account into a single log-in process, the Cabinet Office said, and will allow people to access more than 300 Government services directly. Evening Standard
Antisemitism is “rife” across social media, with young people exposed to hateful content via platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, new research says. A report by campaign group Hope Not Hate found that antisemitism is being widely spread through a rise in conspiracy theories online, which spiked during the pandemic. Google searches for a conspiracy theory which claims a secret global elite is controlling world events reached their highest level for 15 years in March 2020. And a forum on message board site Reddit dedicated to conspiracies, many containing antisemitic tropes, grew by 500,000 users between February and November 2020. Sky News
With phones and TVs updated at least annually, a six-year wait for a product can feel like a lifetime in the consumer tech world. It has been that long since Bowers & Wilkins launched the excellent Zeppelin Wireless, but today – you guessed it – the company is launching a brand-new iteration of the iconic, long-spanning wireless speaker. The brand-new Zeppelin marks a return to its simplest moniker for its 2021 resurrection, following its ‘Zeppelin Air‘ and ‘Zeppelin Wireless’ predecessors in 2011 and 2015 respectively. What HiFi
Amazon has ditched plans to bring all workers back to the office three days per week, instead leaving it up to department leaders to decide how often staff should be present. Andy Jassy, chief executive, has torn up plans introduced under Amazon’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, who stepped down from the helm in July. Amazon has been grappling with returning its staff to the office, initially planning for a return from September, then pushing the date back to January 2022. Mr Jassy said Amazon will now delegate the decision to its directors, leaders of business lines at a local level, who will choose which staff members need to be in the office and how often. Telegraph
