Tech Digest daily roundup: Baby Tesla electric car to target VW ID.3
Tesla ends 2022 without delivering either its much-delayed Cybertruck or the new Roadster – but the company is already putting fresh focus on the development of a smaller, cheaper model that could play a bigger role in EV adoption. Rumours of a vehicle positioned beneath the current entry point, the Model 3, have been swirling for some time…. And now Musk appears to have decided that the time is right to push for greater affordability. At a recent financial results briefing, he told analysts: “You can guess what we’re working on, which is the next-generation vehicle that will be about half the cost of the Model 3 and Y platform.” Auto Express
Apple has been given an official deadline to swap the lightning charging port on new iPhones to USB-C. The company has reluctantly confirmed it will comply with the EU directive, which will require all smartphones, tablets, cameras, and other small devices to adopt the same standard. While the bloc said the move would reduce e-waste and be pro-consumer, Apple argued it would stifle innovation…The official rules on USB-C have now been published by the European Commission, setting an almost two-year deadline of 28 December 2024 for all portable devices to comply. Sky News
Samsung will get some competition in the foldable phone market segment next year from Google. The maker of the Android OS plans to release its first foldable phone in 2023, and more leaks are starting to paint a clearer picture of what device Google will use to compete with the foldable market leader, Samsung. After the alleged Pixel Fold popped up in an online benchmark a couple of days ago, a new set of renders emerged to reveal the foldable phone’s design from all angles. In addition, some display specifications and dimensions have also surfaced. (via @OnLeaks / Howtoisolve) Sammobile
Apple is launching a host of new privacy and security features aimed at protecting the data of people using its devices. It will now offer end-to-end encryption for almost all of the data that users store in iCloud, its online storage service. And it will add new ways of ensuring that people are really only speaking with who they intend to on iMessage.The new tools are intended to make it harder for hackers, spies and governments to be able to access people’s sensitive and private information. Independent
Amazon’s new ad verification program will pay users $2 a month – if they make available what ads they see on their smartphone. Currently, the scheme is only available to UK and US members of the Amazon Shopper Panel, a rewards program that already lets users hand over third-party shopping receipts in exchange for perks. Those with the Amazon Shopper Panel app will see a setting to opt-in to the ad verification service, informing users that it will “collect and use information about where and when you see ads from Amazon, for example the app or website where you viewed the ad and the time of day you viewed it.” Tech Radar
Cleaners at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco have told the BBC they were sacked without severance pay. One of them told the BBC a member of Elon Musk’s team had said their jobs would be replaced by robots. A California state senator said Mr Musk was treating the former staff “like garbage”. San Francisco’s city attorney, David Chiu, said he’s investigating if Mr Musk broke the law. Twitter has not responded to a BBC request for comment. “Elon Musk has had a long history of flouting labour laws,” Mr Chiu told the BBC. BBC
