Hello friends, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter rounding up the most important tech news of the past few days. It is our humble opinion that there is no better place to learn about industry happenings, whether you are a news junkie or simply among those interested in technology.
In this edition of WiR, we cover Apple’s iPhone announcements and other related announcements, the MGM hack and the return of Tesla’s Cybertruck with a refreshed interior. Also on the agenda is payment processor Square facing an outage, as California considers a ban on self-driving trucks and troubled packaging startup Flexport CEO, former Amazon consumer chief Dave Clark.
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Apple unveils the iPhone 15: Apple held a packed press conference on Tuesday, and among the highlights were two new iPhones: the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Both feature USB-C connectors, a move partly spurred by EU legislation. There are other new features too, including a titanium case (on the Pro) and a haptic “action button” that replaces the mute switch on previous-generation iPhones.
Extended iCloud storage plans: In other Apple news, the company announced during a press conference on Tuesday that it is adding 6TB and 12TB storage options to iCloud+, its cloud storage subscription. (Pricing has not been announced, unfortunately.) Amanda points out that while the average consumer won’t need that much space, the new plans could be useful to photographers and filmmakers, who are set to get major camera upgrades with the iPhone 15. .
USB 3 speeds on iPhone, with: The main advantage of the iPhone 15 Pro is its USB 3 speeds, transferring files at up to 10Gbps. But as Evan says, the owners won’t take these things out of the box. Apple ships a USB 2.0 cable with a Type-C port; Users will have to use an “optional USB 3” cable to unlock higher data speeds. But hey, at least the iPhone 15 Pro’s new “spatial video” mode won’t require any aftermarket accessories.
MGM Big Data Breach: It’s been a bad week for casinos. In the wake of reports that Caesars paid a multi-million dollar ransom to a cybercrime group, MGM Resorts, the hotel and casino giant, has confirmed that a “cybersecurity issue” is to blame for an ongoing outage affecting systems at the company’s Las Vegas properties. According to reports on social media, the incident led to a service outage that affected ATMs and slot machines at MGM casinos in Las Vegas, and forced hotel restaurants to accept cash-only payments.
Cybertruck gets a redesign: The Tesla Cybertruck – which has been the subject of repeated delays – has been spotted in the wild with an updated interior. New images shared by Tesla watchers The Kilowatts depict a Cybertruck with what appears to be a different wheel and center console than we saw in May. But as Harry wrote, it’s not clear whether this particular vehicle reflects what the Cybertruck will look like once Tesla is finally able to deliver it en masse.
Flexport strikes again: Two days after the abrupt departure of former Amazon executive Dave Clark as Flexport’s CEO, Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s founder, said publicly that the company would cancel dozens of job offers and look to lease office space while Flexport tries to control costs and get “its home in order.” “
California is considering banning self-driving trucks: In a blow to the self-driving trucking industry, the California Senate passed a bill, AB 316, on Monday that would require a trained human safety operator to be present any time a heavy-duty self-driving vehicle is operating on public roads in the state — effectively banning autonomous trucks. Complete driving. Of course, AB 316 still needs Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature before it becomes law, which is uncertain given Newsom’s reputation for being friendly to the tech industry.
Square discontinuity solved: If you didn’t catch it last week, Square restored its services after a day-long outage that left small business owners unable to process payments. The Block-owned company was, as of last Friday morning on the US West Coast, experiencing a long-term outage that had knocked out its services since the previous afternoon.
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Do you need a podcast to while away the long hours, whether it’s commuting from work or unwinding after a long and stressful work week? Don’t worry – we’ll connect you.
justice He brought Tim De Chant, chief climate correspondent at TechCrunch+, on the show to talk climate tech, hardware breakthroughs, and why we have a full stage this year at Disrupt, TechCrunch’s flagship conference, focused on sustainability.
In this week’s episode of is foundMeanwhile, the crew interviewed Jaleh Bisharat, co-founder and CEO of NakedPoppy, an e-commerce site that helps people find the shades of makeup that best suit them and offers a marketplace for “clean” natural beauty products. Bisharat spoke about her personal journey towards launching the company after a long career in marketing for companies such as Amazon and Eventbrite.
And Chain reaction Recap of the panel that Jacqueline moderated live at the Avalanche House event held in Seoul, South Korea, during Korea Blockchain Week. The panel focused on the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the web3 enterprise, and included speakers such as Dan Sun, director of startup success for web3 APAC at Google Cloud, and Gagan Mac, chief product officer and senior director of web3 services at Circle.
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TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and polls – which you know about if you’re already a subscriber. If not, consider subscribing. Here are some highlights from this week:
Antitrust and Generative AI: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is aggressively strengthening antitrust enforcement. How could this impact the generative AI market? Two guest contributors from international law firm Perkins Cole investigate.
High Instacart rating: Alex writes about Instacart’s IPO, noting that the startup could sell up to $616 million of its stock — a total of 22 million shares. With a debut stock price of between $26 and $28 per share, Instacart will be close to “decacorn” status.
FinTech Accounts: Some fintech companies weather the macroeconomic storm better than others and see an end in sight. In particular, startups using AI to combat money laundering and fraud appear to be enjoying tailwinds, Anna said.
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