US investigates Google’s ad tech business, Apple to launch new iPad following iPhone 16
The US government is taking aim at the engine of Google’s immense wealth – its extremely lucrative ad tech business. A trial beginning on Monday will hear the Department of Justice’s case that the search engine’s parent company Alphabet illegally operates a monopoly in the market. The company earned more than $200 billion, external (£152bn) last year through the placing and selling of ads seen by internet users. Alphabet has argued its success is due to the “effectiveness” of its services – but prosecutors say it has used its market dominance to stifle rivals. BBC
The launch of the iPhone 16 is less than 24 hours away, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple‘s Glowtime event won’t be its last major unveiling of the year – more announcements are expected in October. We’ve already been teased by the potential arrival of a redesigned Mac mini, as well the possibility of seeing M4-powered MacBooks, but now Gurman expects an October reveal of a new iPad model as well. Tech Radar
Elon Musk is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027, according to a new global wealth report. Musk, 53, is currently the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $251bn (£191bn), according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. However, according to Informa Connect Academy’s findings, his wealth has been growing at an average rate of 110% a year. It means that – providing his wealth continues to grow at the same rate – he could reach the trillionaire mark within the next three years, according to the findings. Sky News
Huawei will introduce its first tri-folding smartphone called Mate XT on September 10. The company recently dropped a video teaser showing us the rear side of the Mate XT. Now, we are looking at the Huawei Mate XT’s official image, which shows us the smartphone’s tri-folding, dual-hinge design. You can check it below.
This image was shared on Huawei’s online store, which revealed the Mate XT will have 16GB/512GB and 16GB/1TB memory configurations. Huawei is also taking pre-orders for the Mate XT until September 19, with sales beginning the next day. GSM Arena
Northvolt will cut a large number of jobs and sell or seek partners for its energy storage and materials businesses as Europe’s leading battery hope aims to survive by refocusing on its struggling first gigafactory in northern Sweden. The Swedish manufacturer, which has raised more capital at $15bn than any other unlisted European start-up, has been heavily delayed by problems at its factory just below the Arctic Circle as well as suffering from European carmakers slowing their plans to move to electric vehicles. FT.com
Astro Bot is set to receive DLC with more yet-to-be-revealed VIP bots, though the game’s credits hint towards which characters we may see. The free DLC will arrive this year, confirmed Team Asobi’s Nicolas Doucet in an interview with Quest Daily, but it will be “small” and focus on speedruns following its popularity in Astro’s Playroom. Leaderboards will be included. What’s more, “some characters that we didn’t include yet will appear,” said Doucet. Eurogamer
