🖥️ Tech giants unite against ARM, Musk's robotaxi flop, Intel faces China review
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, October 16. Today we are covering:
AMD, Intel, and a slew of tech companies are teaming up to fend off ARM chips
Chinese cyber association calls for review of Intel products sold in China
Amazon's Kindle Colorsoft is its first color ereader
Google adds new features for Pixel along with Android 15 rollout
Let’s dive in
AMD, Intel, and a slew of tech companies are teaming up to fend off ARM chips
By Allison Johnson via The Verge
AMD and Intel have formed an x86 Advisory Group to defend their market position against the rise of ARM chips, bringing together major tech players including Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
The group’s goal is to enhance compatibility, predictability, and consistency across x86 products, creating simplified architectural guidelines to standardize interfaces between AMD and Intel products.
The alliance comes as ARM-based chips, led by Apple's transition to Apple Silicon and Qualcomm's advances in ARM chips for Windows, pose a growing threat to x86’s dominance.
𝕏: AMD and Intel are teaming up to keep x86 alive. The two chip makers have helped create a new x86 Advisory Group that's designed to defend against ARM - Tom Warren (@tomwarren)
When a Robot Really Isn't a Robot
By Reyhan Harmanci via Bloomberg
Elon Musk's "robotaxi" reveal has faced significant criticism, as the product failed to meet public expectations, leading to widespread negative reactions.
In response to the backlash, SpaceX took a prominent role in supporting Musk, helping to shift the narrative and mitigate the fallout from the disappointing reveal.
This incident underscores ongoing challenges with Musk’s ambitious technological promises and the pressure to deliver innovative solutions that live up to the hype.
𝕏: Unbelievable lineup on Elon Inc this week: @KurtWagner8 interviews @kateconger @rmac18 on their new book. Plus: @danahull @lorengrush @EdLudlow talk about those remote controlled robotics. - Max Chafkin (@chafkin)
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Chinese cyber association calls for review of Intel products sold in China
By Eduardo Baptista via Reuters
China's Cybersecurity Association (CSAC) has called for a security review of Intel products, alleging that the U.S. chipmaker poses national security risks through vulnerabilities in its processors.
The CSAC claims Intel chips, including Xeon processors used in AI, are susceptible to backdoors and security flaws, possibly tied to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
A potential review by China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) could hurt Intel's revenue, as China accounted for over a quarter of the company's sales last year.
𝕏: Group linked to #China’s cyber watchdog calling for probe into @intel, state media say. Accuses $INTC of security flaws, backdoors, being “irresponsible” towards customers, engaging in actions that “harm China’s interests and threaten national security.” - Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv)
Amazon's Kindle Colorsoft is its first color ereader
By Mariella Moon via Engadget
Amazon has launched its first color ereader, the Kindle Colorsoft, designed to display books, comics, and images in "rich, paper-like color."
The device promises high contrast and resolution for both color and black-and-white reading experiences, with enhancements like nitrate LEDs to improve color clarity without washing out images.
The Kindle Colorsoft is available for pre-order at $280, with shipping starting on October 30, 2024.
𝕏: Amazon announced a few new Kindles this morning. The entry level Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite (I have one, it's really nice) are really nice improvements over the classic. The new Kindle Scribe looks great, adaptive flow of books to your writing is super cool. But man that Kindle Colorsoft… - Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach)
Google adds new features for Pixel along with Android 15 rollout
By Ivan Mehta via TechCrunch
Google has launched Android 15 for Pixel devices, introducing a private space feature for locking apps, theft protection measures, and support for satellite messaging.
The October Pixel drop brings improved low-light photography for Instagram, underwater photography capabilities for Pixel 9, and new Audio Magic Eraser tools for adjusting sound in videos.
Ecosystem updates include hands-free Gemini AI support for Pixel Buds, new screensaver options on the Pixel tablet, and seamless media transfer between Pixel phones and tablets.
𝕏: Today is the Android 15 update day...and I'm exhausted just reflecting on the past year I've spent meticulously digging into each developer preview and beta lol… - Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman)
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