Innehållsförteckning för #705 från Techlife News

Tesla has firmly denied reports suggesting its board sought to replace CEO Elon Musk, with Chairwoman Robyn Denholm calling such claims “absolutely false” this week, as reported by Benzinga. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives supported this stance, asserting Musk will remain CEO for at least five years, citing his recent commitment to refocus on the company. For Tesla investors, employees, and industry observers, the rebuttal addresses concerns sparked by a Wall Street Journal article alleging the board contacted executive search firms in March 2025 to find a successor amid financial struggles and Musk’s political activities. The rumors emerged after Tesla reported a 71% profit drop to $409 million in Q1 2025, alongside a 45% stock decline earlier this year, driven by sales challenges and backlash over Musk’s role in the…

A U.K. Court of Appeal has ordered Apple to pay Texas-based Optis Cellular Technology LLC a lump sum of $502 million for infringing standards-essential 4G patents used in iPhones and cellular iPads, as reported this week. The ruling, part of a long-running legal battle since 2019, overturned a 2023 High Court decision awarding Optis $56.43 million, escalating Apple’s liability to cover global use from 2013 to 2027. For Apple customers, investors, and the tech industry, the decision highlights the contentious role of patent assertion entities like Optis, which acquire patents to pursue litigation, and Apple’s ongoing efforts to challenge such claims. Apple, which argued the royalty rates were excessive and not compliant with fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, expressed disappointment and plans to appeal, as stated by a company…

TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit are evolving from engagement hubs into powerful search tools. This transformation, driven by changing consumer behaviors and technological advancements, redefines how users discover information, products, and brands. With the rise of AI and platforms like X, it’s clear that Google’s time at the top could soon be up. THE RISE OF SOCIAL SEARCH According to Sprout Social, 41% of users leverage TikTok for search while 76% have discovered brands through social media. What’s more, the integration of artificial intelligence into social search is poised to disrupt traditional search engines like Google and Yahoo even further, with platforms like X.com emerging as potential leaders in this convergence of social, AI, and search functionalities. Social search has transformed platforms once known for entertainment into primary destinations for information…

Meta Platforms has released a standalone Meta AI app, intensifying competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, as announced this week. The app, unveiled at Meta’s LlamaCon event in Menlo Park, California, allows users to interact with the AI assistant independently of Meta’s existing platforms—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. For social media users, tech enthusiasts, and industry observers, this move strengthens Meta’s position in the artificial intelligence landscape, offering a dedicated tool for tasks like answering questions, generating images, and managing smart devices. Powered by Meta’s latest Llama 4 model, the app features a Discover feed showcasing user interactions with the assistant and includes voice conversation capabilities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with text-only access in 36 countries. Meta AI, launched in September 2023, has 700 million…

Microsoft President Brad Smith issued an urgent call this week, warning that the United States risks losing its edge to China in the race to develop quantum computers, a technology poised to reshape industries from cybersecurity to pharmaceuticals. Speaking to CNBC, Smith stressed that lagging behind could undermine U.S. economic competitiveness and national security, urging increased federal funding, workforce development, and supply chain fortification. For policymakers, technology leaders, and global investors, this plea highlights the critical stakes of quantum computing, a field driving innovation in the digital economy. Quantum computers, harnessing qubits that operate in multiple states simultaneously, offer computational power far beyond classical systems, capable of solving problems like molecular modeling or encryption cracking in minutes rather than millennia. The U.S. has long led quantum research, but China’s substantial…

Amazon successfully deployed its first 27 Project Kuiper internet satellites into low Earth orbit this week, marking the initial step in building a broadband network to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, according to a report from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the satellites were released at an altitude of 280 miles and are designed to ascend to 392 miles for operational use. For global consumers, businesses, and tech industry observers, this milestone signals Amazon’s entry into the satellite internet market, aiming to provide high-speed connectivity to underserved regions. Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative, plans to deploy 3,236 satellites to deliver broadband speeds up to 400 megabits per second, with some organizations accessing up to 1,000 megabits…

Tata Electronics has launched iPhone production at a new facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, marking a significant step in Apple’s strategy to diversify manufacturing away from China, where U.S. tariffs have disrupted operations. Announced this week, the plant began assembling older iPhone models on a single production line, with another Foxconn facility in Karnataka set to start shipping newer models, like the iPhone 16 series, by May. For Indian consumers, global markets, and tech industry observers, this development highlights India’s growing role as a key manufacturing hub, contributing 20% of Apple’s global iPhone output, up from 14% last year. Apple’s pivot follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which impose a 125% duty on Chinese goods, compared to a paused 26% rate on Indian imports. The Hosur plant, part of Tata’s…

Mercedes-Benz announced plans this week to expand production at its Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, plant, introducing a new vehicle in the core segment by 2027, as reported by al.com. The expansion reinforces the facility’s status as a key export hub, where it manufactured 260,000 SUVs in 2024, including the GLE, GLS, and EQS, with 60% shipped globally. For Alabama’s workforce, U.S. consumers, and the automotive industry, the move highlights Mercedes’ focus on strengthening its North American presence amid U.S. tariffs on foreign-built vehicles and parts. The Tuscaloosa plant, operational since 1997, has received over $7 billion in investments from Mercedes since 1993, employing more than 6,000 workers and supporting 60,000 supplier jobs, including 200 in Alabama. The Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and parts, combined with supply chain uncertainties,…

Alibaba Group has released Qwen 3, an upgraded version of its flagship artificial intelligence model, this week, featuring advanced capabilities to bolster its standing in China’s competitive AI landscape. The launch counters the rapid advancements of rivals like DeepSeek, which debuted cost-efficient models in January, and Baidu, which introduced its Ernie 4.5 Turbo and Ernie X1 Turbo models. For developers, businesses, and industry analysts, Qwen 3’s debut highlights Alibaba’s drive to deliver powerful AI tools for applications in healthcare, entertainment, and customer service. Qwen 3 comprises eight models, ranging from 0.6 billion to 235 billion parameters, trained on a dataset of over 36 trillion tokens, including textbooks and code snippets. Available under an open-source license on platforms like Hugging Face, it supports 119 languages and processes text, images, audio, and…

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced a lawsuit against TikTok Inc. and its parent company, ByteDance Inc., this week, accusing them of misleading parents about the platform’s safety for children and exploiting young users with harmful content. Filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, the complaint seeks to hold TikTok accountable for fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama’s youth, alleging violations of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. For parents, youth advocates, and social media regulators, the lawsuit highlights concerns about TikTok’s impact on minors and its data practices, intensifying scrutiny of the Chinese-owned platform. The suit claims TikTok’s algorithm is designed to addict children, exposing them to content promoting depression, eating disorders, self-harm, drug use, and dangerous viral challenges, while its safety features, like Kids Mode and Restricted Mode,…

OpenAI has launched an update to ChatGPT Search, introducing AI-powered shopping features that enable users to find and purchase products through conversational queries, as announced this week. The enhancement allows users to search for items across categories like fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics using natural language, delivering tailored recommendations with visual details and direct purchase links. For online shoppers, retailers, and technology observers, this development offers a new approach to e-commerce, leveraging ChatGPT’s capabilities to provide a streamlined, user-focused experience. The update, available to all ChatGPT users—Pro, Plus, Free, and logged-out—globally, processes queries like “find a summer dress under $50” to present curated product lists with images, pricing, and reviews. Unlike traditional search engines that rely on keyword matches and ads, ChatGPT Search prioritizes relevance, operating without sponsored listings.…

Pegatron, a major supplier to Apple, has warned that U.S. stores could face empty shelves within two months due to uncertainty surrounding tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, according to a statement reported this week. Pegatron’s chairman, T.H. Tung, highlighted the chaotic impact of fluctuating trade policies, which have disrupted supply chain decisions for retailers and manufacturers. For U.S. consumers, retailers, and the tech industry, this warning signals potential shortages of consumer electronics, including Apple products like iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, and Apple Watches, as companies adopt a cautious wait-and-see approach. The Trump administration’s tariffs, initially set at 145% on Chinese goods and later paused for some countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, have created confusion, with a 10% levy remaining on nearly all U.S. imports. Pegatron, Taiwan’s second-largest Apple assembler…

Apple has launched Snapshot, a new webpage designed to help users explore the work of popular artists, actors, and athletes across its media platforms, as announced this week. Accessible at snapshot.apple.com, Snapshot features a scrolling carousel showcasing 36 celebrities, including Billie Eilish, Brxad Pitt, and Lionel Messi, with links to their content on Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. For music fans, movie enthusiasts, and sports followers, the tool provides a centralized hub to discover content from their favorite personalities within Apple’s ecosystem. Each celebrity profile includes a brief biography, birth year, place of origin, and a curated selection of their music, films, shows, or podcast appearances. For example, Kendrick Lamar’s page highlights his albums on Apple Music, while Serena Williams’ profile links to her Apple TV documentary and…

Visa has introduced a program called Intelligent Commerce to allow artificial intelligence agents to make purchases using credit card credentials, as announced this week. The initiative enables AI agents to search for and buy items like clothing, groceries, or airline tickets based on user preferences and budgets. For consumers, retailers, and technology developers, the program positions Visa as a leader in AI-driven commerce, addressing payment barriers that have limited agent-based shopping. The San Francisco-based company is working with AI firms such as Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, Perplexity, and France’s Mistral to integrate their systems with Visa’s payment network. Pilot projects have started, with a broader rollout planned for 2026. Jack Forestell, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, noted the potential for significant impact, akin to the rise of e-commerce. With U.S.…

The market for secondhand smartphones is experiencing a surge in demand as new device prices climb, driven by global supply chain challenges, according to a recent report from CCS Insight, a U.K.-based tech research firm. This week’s analysis highlights the growing appeal of used iPhones and Android devices, which offer significant savings—15 to 50% less than new models—along with warranties and financing options. For budget-conscious consumers, retailers, and tech enthusiasts, this trend reflects a shift toward cost-effective alternatives in a market where new flagship phones, like the iPhone Pro Max, could see prices rise 29% from $1,200 to $1,550, per a UBS estimate. Apple dominates the secondhand market, holding a 60% global share, followed by Samsung at 17%, with smaller Chinese brands like Xiaomi filling the remainder. Platforms like Gazelle,…

Elon Musk’s XAI Holdings, a bold fusion of his artificial intelligence venture xAI and social media platform X, is negotiating to raise $20 billion in a funding round that could value the company at over $120 billion, according to a report published this week. This monumental effort, poised to rank among the largest startup capital raises ever, aims to propel xAI’s cutting-edge AI and enhance X’s global influence, positioning XAI Holdings as a transformative force in the digital economy. For investors, technology visionaries, and millions of platform users, these talks underscore Musk’s audacious plan to merge AI innovation with social media engagement, potentially revolutionizing how people connect and access information online. Formed through xAI’s acquisition of X in March 2025, XAI Holdings seeks to harness xAI’s advanced AI, exemplified by…

Meta’s WhatsApp has introduced a new system called Private Processing to enable AI features while preserving user privacy, mirroring Apple’s Private Cloud Compute approach, as announced this week. The system, designed to maintain the end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp chats, allows cloud-based AI tasks like message summarization without exposing user data to Meta or third parties. For WhatsApp’s global user base, privacy advocates, and tech industry observers, this development addresses concerns about AI integration in the encrypted messaging app, which has faced criticism for adding an unremovable AI chatbot. Private Processing uses a Confidential Virtual Machine within a Trusted Execution Environment, encrypting data end-to-end between the user’s device and the server. It employs stateless computation, erasing data after processing, and supports independent audits by security researchers to verify privacy claims. The…

Apple plans to introduce a significant memory bandwidth upgrade for the iPhone 18 series, set for release in 2026, incorporating 6-channel LPDDR5X memory to improve performance for Apple Intelligence features, according to a supply chain leak reported this week. The enhancement will support the increasing computational demands of AI-driven tasks, such as on-device processing for Siri and generative AI applications. For iPhone users, app developers, and industry analysts, this development highlights Apple’s efforts to optimize its AI capabilities. The 6-channel LPDDR5X memory will increase data transfer speeds between the CPU and memory, paired with the anticipated A20 chip using a 2-nanometer process. Apple’s collaboration with Samsung on advanced RAM packaging ensures compatibility with these AI demands. The upgrade addresses the growing storage and performance requirements of Apple Intelligence, positioning the…

Toyota Motor Corporation has signed a preliminary agreement with Waymo, a U.S. leader in autonomous driving technology, to explore joint development of self-driving car systems, as announced this week. The partnership focuses on creating a new autonomous vehicle platform and advancing technology for personally owned vehicles, positioning Japan’s largest automaker to strengthen its presence in the self-driving sector. For automakers, technology developers, and potential users, this collaboration highlights Toyota’s strategy to integrate advanced autonomous capabilities, leveraging Waymo’s expertise to enhance mobility and safety. The deal involves Toyota’s automotive-technology division, Woven, and aims to incorporate Waymo’s fully autonomous driving system, the Waymo Driver, into Toyota’s vehicles. Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has operated driverless ride-hailing services in cities like San Francisco and Phoenix since 2017, logging over 20 million autonomous miles.…