Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his decision to scale back Meta’s content moderation policies in a Friday appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Zuckerberg faced widespread criticism for the decision, including from employees inside his own company. “Probably depends on who you ask,” said Zuckerberg when asked how Meta’s updates have been received. The key updates […]
Meta has reportedly ended diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that influenced staff hiring and training, as well as vendor decisions, effective immediately.
According to an internal memo viewed by Axios and verified by Ars, Meta's vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, told Meta employees that the shift was due to "legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing."
It's another move by Meta that some view as part of the company's larger effort to align with the incoming Trump administration's politics. In December, Donald Trump promised to crack down on DEI initiatives at companies and on college campuses, The Guardian reported.
In the wake of Meta’s decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and loosen content moderation policies, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have been on the rise. People who are angry with the decision accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of cozying up to the incoming Trump administration at the expense […]
Google searches for how to cancel and delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts have seen explosive rises in the U.S. since Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will end its third-party fact-checking system, loosen content moderation policies, and roll back previous limits to the amount of political content in user feeds. Critics see […]
The author (not pictured) just started her first full-time job post-college.
FG Trade Latin/Getty Images
I spent most of my life measuring success in grades.
After graduating from college, it was hard to adjust to a more arbitrary scale of achievement.
Now, I know that regularly redefining success is a necessary part of a fulfilling life.
When I was 7, I was identified as a "gifted kid." That label of promised potential followed me from elementary school enrichment programs to high school AP classes, eventually earning me a degree from a top university.
It's no surprise that I measured my worth in numbers and letters as (mostly) objective indicators of success. Everyone knows what a 4.0 GPA or an A+ means. From an early age, I knew that I wanted those high marks more than anything.
My constant focus on getting the grade, earning the leadership title, and landing the job didn't come without sacrifice. I said no to social engagements. I treated sleep like it was optional. The gym? Forget it. I figured that when I landed my dream job postgrad, it would all feel worth it. Finally, I would have achieved the ultimate goal.
But when I started my first "real" job, I found myself wondering, "Now what?" For the first time in my life, the next step wasn't obvious— talk about a quarter-life crisis. I knew I had to learn how to measure success in this new environment.
I let go of the metrics of the past
Starting my postgrad job meant accepting feedback on an arbitrary scale—one that I quickly learned is often affected by relationships, tenures, and titles.
My GPA didn't matter anymore, and neither did my obnoxious, eight-line-long college email signature. All of those club memberships and academic affiliations disappeared from relevance. I felt bitter at first. After all, I had worked so hard, and none of it seemed to matter.
But then I reframed my stance: None of it mattered — none of the little things, at least. My not-so-stellar neuroscience grade? Sleeping through three of my 8 a.m. poetry classes in a semester? Submitting a late Spanish essay? None of it prevented me from pursuing my goals.
This realization was incredibly freeing. Now, I know that small mistakes don't outweigh consistency. I don't have to measure my self-worth in the number of corrections on a paper or how many extracurriculars I participate in. I get to decide what success means to me. I can choose what to pursue and when to switch paths. Letting go of the numbers that once defined me meant that I was no longer held to someone else's idea of "good enough."
I learned to part ways with my ego
My first professional projects came with a harsh learning curve. What would have earned me an "A" in my college classes was met with a flurry of edits and comments.
At first, I was upset with my performance. I felt like I had failed. I mentioned my frustrations in passing to a much more experienced colleague, and he gave me some wonderful advice: "Separate your ego from your work," he said, "and you will be amazed at how quickly you improve."
As a creative working in tech, I had to get used to receiving feedback from all kinds of stakeholders. I don't just write essays for a professor anymore. I write blogs and social media posts that are read by customers, partners, and employees. Sometimes, this means my work is reviewed by 20 people or more before it's approved. That doesn't leave a lot of room for an unearned ego.
My current definition of success won't stay the same — and that's a good thing
Success might mean getting promoted — or it might not. Maybe it means discovering a new passion outside work. It might look like a commitment to health, exploring new places, or visiting friends and family. Achieving these goals might not make me better at my job, but I know they will make me a better person, friend, and partner.
My new goals might look hazy compared to old ones, and they will most likely shift as I progress in my career. I wish I had known that life is less structured after school and less linear, too.
Still, in the modern world of social media highlight reels, it can be difficult not to compare myself to my peers. Some days, I feel left out for not pursuing graduate school, and sometimes, I wonder if I picked the right college or even the right city.
Despite all this uncertainty, I'm grateful for one thing I do know: Leading a satisfying life requires redefining success at different stages. Shifting my goals doesn't make me a failure; it makes me human.
In a reply on Threads to a user's post criticizing Meta's influence and suggesting that people feel trapped on the platform, Zuckerberg struck a defiant tone.
"No – I'm counting on these changes actually making our platforms better," he wrote.
I think Community Notes will be more effective than fact-checkers, reducing the number of people whose accounts get mistakenly banned is good, people want to be able to discuss civic topics and make arguments that are in the mainstream of political discourse, etc. Some people may leave our platforms for virtue signaling, but I think the vast majority and many new users will find that these changes make the products better.
Zuckerberg's response to the Threads user named Mary-Frances Makichen, who has 253 followers and is a "Spiritual Director" and author according to their bio, came just one day after Meta announced it would replace its third-party fact-checking partnerships with a crowdsourced Community Notes system similar to the one used by X.
Mass departures from social media platforms for symbolic reasons are not unprecedented.
On Election Day in the US, more than a quarter million X users deleted their accounts in protest against owner Elon Musk's deepening ties to the Trump administration.
Zuckerberg, however, appears unfazed, betting that Community Notes will enhance Meta's user experience and attract new audiences rather than drive them away.
If you're a current or former Meta employee, contact this reporter from a nonwork device securely on Signal at +1-408-905-9124 or email him at [email protected].
Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko has spoken out about the significant moderation changes announced by Meta on Tuesday, which will see the social networking giant removing fact-checking across its apps in favor of a crowdsourced community notes feature, similar to X’s. The Mastodon founder, whose app competes with X and Meta’s X rival, Instagram Threads, called […]
Some people like listening to audiobooks at a faster pace.
Getty Images
An Audible ad has sparked a debate on TikTok over audiobook speed preferences.
Someone in the ad said that anyone who listens to audiobooks "real fast" is a "psychopath."
Critics argued the ad's tone was condescending, while others said taking offense was an overreaction.
An Audible advertisement has caused a stir on TikTok, upsetting some fans with the suggestion that there is a right — and wrong — way to listen to audiobooks.
Over the weekend, Audible released an ad promoting its narration speed feature in which celebrities, authors, and audiobook narrators were asked for their thoughts on the ideal listening speed.
Some said they liked to listen at 1.5 or above ("SNL" star Bowen Yang said 1.8). Others, however, were purists and thought the right pace was "the speed at which it was recorded."
While some viewers saw the video as lighthearted fun, others took offense and felt Audible was alienating its audience.
"I listened to your judgmental ad on 2x speed 🙄" one viewer commented. Another asked: "Is this rage bait??"
Some said they found the tone of the ad condescending, especially as consuming audiobooks and other media at a faster speed can be helpful for some people with ADHD.
"I'm used to running around. So when I watch TV or listen to podcasts, it's not that I am rushing the show; more that I'm avoiding the silences and long pauses in between, which can slow things down," Barlow said.
Stephanie Mitropoulos, who posts book reviews to her 88,000 followers on TikTok, made a video in response.
"They literally have a clip of someone saying that if you listen over one time speed, you are psychopathic," she said in her video, which amassed more than 300,000 views.
Mitropoulos said her preferred speed was somewhere around 1.85, and she knew of many other people who liked to listen to 1.5x or above.
She said she thought it was "absurd" to make such a flippant comment.
"Why would you even post that? Why would you put that out there? Why are we trying to shame people for listening at the speed that is most comfortable for them?" Mitropoulos said. "I don't spend $16 a month to be called a psychopath."
Many commenters echoed Mitropoulos's views, but others thought it was an overreaction.
In the comments under Auduble's original video, viewers have shared dismay that some were upset by it.
"This is what made people upset?" one person wrote. "This can't be it."
A TikToker called Emma Skies, who has 174,000 followers on her BookTok account, said in a video she feared society was "losing context" and taking the ad too seriously.
"Do we truly think that it's strange or anger-inducing or offensive that when a performer, an audiobook narrator, is asked, Hey, at what speed do you think your performance and your peers' performances are best consumed? And that that performer says, 'the speed at which I performed it'?" Skies said.
She felt the ad was intended as a joke and not meant to mock anyone — especially as Audible was promoting the speed function.
"Nobody cares. They're not going to stop you," she said. "There's a reason that that's an option on Audible."
In a message to Business Insider, Skies said her video was less about Audible and more about "encouraging people to keep in mind the context of any piece of media they see, even silly little ads."
Authors who are exclusively linked with Audible benefit from a higher rate of 40% — something Skies also took issue with.
"Audible Exclusives are hoarded not only from other retailers (as one might expect of a retailer exclusive), but also from being available to public libraries because of Amazon's monopolistic business practices," she said.
Amazon and Audible did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
i fear we are losing the ability to reason with context AND I think a lot of people forget that audiobook narration is, at its core, a performance. You know who doesn’t forget that? The performer! 💀 Why are people mad at performers who think their performances should be taken in at the speed that they performed it?? but lowkey if it really gets people riled up enough to not use audible I guess that’s a win? 😅 #audiobooks#audiobooktok#booktok#audible#booktoker
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company's platforms would prioritize speech and free expression.
Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg's plan to replace fact checkers with "community notes" is a familiar one.
A similar system of community moderation is already in place on Elon Musk's X.
On X, community notes let users add context to posts. Meta has said it seems to work well.
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will use "community notes" to moderate content on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram — but what exactly does that mean, and how has it worked on other platforms?
Meta said the feature would function much like it does on Elon Musk's platform, where certain contributors can add context to posts they think are misleading or need clarification. This type of user-generated moderation would largely replace Meta's human fact-checkers.
"We've seen this approach work on X — where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context and people across a diverse range of perspectives decide what sort of context is helpful for other users to see," Meta said in its announcement Tuesday.
So, will it be cool for Meta and its users? Here's a primer on "community notes" — how it came to be, and how it's been working so far on X:
How the 'community notes' feature was born
The idea of "community notes" first came about at Twitter in 2019, when a team of developers at the company, now called X, theorized that a crowdsourcing model could solve the main problems with content moderation. Keith Coleman, X's vice president of product who helped create the feature, told Asterisk magazine about its genesis in an interview this past November.
Coleman told the outlet that X's previous fact-checking procedures, run by human moderators, had three main problems: dedicated staff couldn't fact-check claims in users' posts fast enough, there were too many posts to monitor, and the general public didn't trust a Big Tech company to decide what was or wasn't misleading.
Coleman told Asterisk that his team developed a few prototypes and settled on one that allowed users to submit notes that could show up on a post.
"The idea was that if the notes were reasonable, people who saw the post would just read the notes and could come to their own conclusion," he said.
And in January 2021, the company launched a pilot program of the feature, then called "Birdwatch," just weeks after the January 6 Capitol riot. On its first day, the pilot program had 500 contributors.
Coleman told the outlet that for the first year or so of the pilot program — which showed community notes not directly on users' posts but on a separate "Birdwatch" website — the product was very basic, but over time, it evolved and performed much better than expected.
When Musk took over the platform in 2022, he expanded the program beyond the US, renamed it "community notes," and allowed more users to become contributors.
It's unclear how many users participate in community notes contributors. It's one of the platform's main sources of content moderation. X didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
How the community notes feature works on X
The community notes feature is set to roll out on Meta's Instagram, Facebook, and Threads platforms over the next few months, the company said in a statement shared with BI. Meta said the feature on its platforms would be similar to X's.
On X, community notes act as a crowd-sourced way for users themselves to moderate content without the company directly overseeing that process.
A select group of users who sign up as "contributors" can write a note adding context to any post that could be misleading or contain misinformation.
Then, other contributors can rate that note as helpful or not. Once enough contributors from different points of view vote on the note as helpful, then a public note gets added underneath the post in question.
For instance, here's an example of a community note attached to a recent X post:
X has made the complex ranking algorithm behind the feature transparent and open-source, and users can view it online and download the latest data.
X says that community notes "do not represent X's viewpoint and cannot be edited or modified by our teams," adding that a community-flagged post is only removed if it violates X's rules, terms of service, or privacy policies.
Similar to X, Meta said its community notes will be written and rated by contributing users. It said the company will not write notes or decide which ones show up. Also like X, Meta said that its community notes "will require agreement between people with a range of perspectives to help prevent biased ratings."
Facebook, Instagram, and Threads users can sign up now to be among the first contributors to the new tool.
"As we make the transition, we will get rid of our fact-checking control, stop demoting fact-checked content and, instead of overlaying full-screen interstitial warnings you have to click through before you can even see the post, we will use a much less obtrusive label indicating that there is additional information for those who want to see it," Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, said in Tuesday's statement.
Potential pros and cons of community notes
One possible issue with the feature is that by the time a note gets added to a potentially misleading post, the post may have already been widely viewed — spreading misinformation before it can be tamped down.
Another issue is that for a note to be added, contributors from across the political spectrum need to agree that a post is problematic or misleading, and in today's polarized political environment, concurring on facts has sometimes become increasingly difficult.
One possible advantage to the feature, though, is that the general public may be more likely to trust a consensus from their peers rather than an assessment handed down by a major corporation.
Maarten Schenk, cofounder and chief technology officer of Lead Stories, a fact-checking outlet, told the Poynter Institute that one benefit of X's community notes is that it doesn't use patronizing language.
"It avoids accusations or loaded language like 'This is false,'" Schenk told Poynter. "That feels very aggressive to a user."
And community notes can help combat misinformation in some ways. For example, researchers at the University of California, San Diego's Qualcomm Institute found in an April 2024 study that the X feature helped offset false health information in posts related to COVID-19. They also helped add accurate context.
In announcing the move, Zuckerberg said Meta's past content moderation practices have resulted in "too many mistakes" and "too much censorship." He said the new feature will prioritize free speech and help restore free expression on Meta's platforms.
Instagram Threads is developing new features that would bring its user experience more in line with that of X (formerly Twitter) and the social network Bluesky. The Meta-owned company is internally prototyping the ability to set a display name and add a cover image to profiles. A spokesperson for the company confirmed to TechCrunch on […]
As part of a significant overhaul of its content moderation policies announced on Tuesday, Meta admitted that its approach to limiting political content across its platforms had been “pretty blunt” and would now be addressed. The company said it would once again phase in political content into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, allowing people who want […]
Social network and X competitor Bluesky’s massive growth slowed in December in the U.S., after having surged from 9+ million in September to north of 20 million users in November. The slowdown is based on an analysis of web traffic and mobile app daily active users by analytics firm Similarweb, which found that Bluesky grew […]
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.
In the proposed class-action settlement—which comes after five years of litigation—Apple admitted to no wrongdoing. Instead, the settlement refers to "unintentional" Siri activations that occurred after the "Hey, Siri" feature was introduced in 2014, where recordings were apparently prompted without users ever saying the trigger words, "Hey, Siri."
Sometimes Siri would be inadvertently activated, a whistleblower told The Guardian, when an Apple Watch was raised and speech was detected. The only clue that users seemingly had of Siri's alleged spying was eerily accurate targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted (claims which remain disputed).
A survey found a political divide between Bluesky and Threads users.
Anna Barclay/Getty Images
A survey shows Bluesky users are more Democratic and politically engaged than Threads users.
Threads has 300 million monthly users, surpassing Bluesky's 24 million.
Bluesky allows users to add their own moderation policies.
A new survey revealed stark political and behavioral differences between users of rival social media platforms Bluesky and Meta-owned Threads.
Bluesky's user base skews heavily Democratic, with nearly half of its users identifying with the party, according to findings published earlier this month by CivicScience, a research and survey company. In contrast, only 34% of Threads users identified as either Democrat or Independent.
The study also found that Bluesky users are more politically engaged overall. And nearly three-quarters of them said that they experienced higher levels of stress postelection. In contrast, 33% of people who used Threads daily said that their stress levels decreased after Donald Trump's victory on November 5.
"With the surge of Bluesky coming so directly in the wake of the presidential election, it's not surprising that the user base is disproportionately more left-leaning than the user base of Threads," John Dick, CivicScience CEO and founder, told Business Insider.
The survey included 12,188 Threads users and 5,431 Bluesky users. This roughly mirrors the ratio of both platforms' user bases in the adult US population, as 18% of respondents reported using Threads daily, compared to 8% for Bluesky, CivicScience data found.
Both social networks experienced significant user growth following the US election, particularly as billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X, threw his weight behind Trump and actively promoted misinformation that reportedly garnered over 2 billion views.
Still, Threads seems to be eating Bluesky's lunch. Earlier this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the platform had more than 300 million monthly active users, compared to Bluesky's 24 million users at the beginning of this month.
Bluesky began life inside Twitter in 2019 as a project started under the company's former CEO, Jack Dorsey. Its goal was to give users more control over moderation. Bluesky has been an independent company since 2021 and is a decentralized social network.
Bluesky is powered by the "AT Protocol" (Authenticated Transfer Protocol), which means that while Bluesky operates the main server, anyone can create and run their own server that can work with Bluesky. This allows users to choose different providers while maintaining a unified social network experience. Crucially, this also means that users can add their own moderation policies on top of Bluesky's built-in moderation systems.
"The decentralized moderation policies of Bluesky, which allow for more proliferation of political content on the platform, could be exacerbating this phenomenon," said Dick of Bluesky's left-leaning user base, "as Democrats and liberals create a sort of tribal safe space for their views and conversations."
Beyond politics, the survey revealed an optimism gap between the two platforms regarding AI. Bluesky users appear to be significantly more bullish on the technology, with 62% believing that AI will have at least a somewhat positive impact on the quality of their lives over the next decade, compared to 51% of Threads users.
Overall, More Bluesky users are likely to use platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and X every day compared to Threads users who gravitate toward Facebook and Instagram, which are both owned by Meta.
The Joy-Cons on your Switch were pretty innovative when the system came out, but it’s been long enough that we know they don’t work for every use case. Luckily, it’s also been long enough that plenty of companies have come out with their own Switch controllers, meaning you have your pick of the litter when it comes to upgrading your gamepad experience. Whether you’re a casual player, love to marathon classic games or are ready to take your Switch skills to a professional tournament, there’s a Switch controller for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-nintendo-switch-controllers-160034389.html?src=rss
Tim Cook led Apple through a year of highs and lows in 2024.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Apple launched new products in 2024, including the Vision Pro and AI-powered iPhone 16.
It faced challenges in China with iPhone sales and antitrust issues in the US and Europe.
Apple also introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC, marking its entry into the GenAI market.
It's been an eventful year for Apple.
The tech giant launched a brand new hardware product, made its official entrance into generative artificial intelligence, and added a new iPhone generation — all in the span of 12 months.
It's also faced questions about CEO succession, challenges in one of its largest markets, and criticism about being behind in the AI arms race compared to some of the industry's fiercest players. Meantime, it's been under antitrust scrutiny from both US and EU authorities.
"2024 has been a year of notable highs and lows for Apple as it expanded into mixed reality and AI while navigating shifting consumer preferences and market dynamics," Jacob Bourne, tech analyst at Business Insider's sister company EMARKETER, said.
Apple got off to a rocky start this year. Its stock got two analyst downgrades in early January, with bankers citing worries about poor iPhone sales in China. Still, it celebrated wins in the services department of its business and partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to new iPhones. It explored new territory with the Apple Vision Pro and upgraded company staples, including iPads and AirPods.
Here's a look back at Apple's 2024.
There was trouble in China
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at a conference in Beijing, China in March 2024.
Fu Tian/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
Apple started 2024 with struggles in its important Greater China region — a trend that continued. Analysts called sales of the iPhone 15 in China "lackluster" as competitors like Huawei and Xiaomi stepped up their competition in the local smartphone market.
It showed throughout Apple's earnings in 2024. Although the company beat revenue estimates in its fiscal fourth-quarter, sales in China missed and dropped year over year.
Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook said there are "positive signs" in the region during the fiscal Q4 earnings call on October 31. Cook took frequent trips to China this year — at least three times, as of November — amid fears that Donald Trump's potential tariffs will affect the country that makes a majority of Apple's iPhones, AirPods, Macs, and iPads.
"China's just been a disappointment in '24, full stop," Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, said.
Apple launched the Vision Pro in February
Apple Vision Pro was met with weak demand, analysts previously told BI.
Anadolu/Getty Images
Apple launched its first headset, the Vision Pro, in February. The mixed reality device retails for $3,500, making it one of Apple's priciest products to date.
The headset was met with mixed reactions. Its uses are limited, and it was unclear if the tech was for gamers or professionals. Months after it released, Cook told The Wall Street Journal that the Vision Pro is for "people who want to have tomorrow's technology today."
"At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," Cook said. "Right now, it's an early-adopter product."
Apple is reportedly slowing down its Vision Pro production and is instead eyeing a more affordable version of the headset.
It was hit with a DOJ lawsuit in March
The US Department of Justice accused Apple of maintaining an illegal monopoly on the smartphone market in an antitrust lawsuit. The DOJ alleged the iPhone maker was involved in "delaying, degrading, or outright blocking" rival technology. Apple denied the allegations.
The suit said the company "repeatedly responded" to competitive threats by "making it harder or more expensive for its users and developers to leave than by making it more attractive for them to stay."
Apple asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit in August, saying the government's argument includes speculation. US District Court Judge Julien Xavier Neals will have to decide whether or not the case will go to trial.
Neals' decision could come as early as January, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Apple was fined about $2 billion related to its App Store and was subject to other competition concerns in the region.
Apple rolled out new iPads
iPads performed well for Apple in 2024.
Apple; Business Insider
As OpenAI, Google, and others announced updates and demonstrated the power of their new AI assistants, Apple introduced new iPads in May.
The latest iPad Pro models are the first to have OLED display; Cook and Co. unveiled them at Apple's "Let Loose" event. Cook said it was "the biggest day for iPad since its introduction."
Although the launch came as Apple watchers waited for a bigger AI announcement, iPads performed well for Apple in Q3.
Apple's official debut into the AI wars, which have escalated since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, was the "biggest story" of the year, William Kerwin, a technology analyst at Morningstar, said.
The hype around Apple Intelligence was instant. Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, said it would usher in a "golden upgrade cycle" for iPhones. Apple said it'd be a big part of the iOS 18 software update too, though Apple Intelligence is only available on iPhone 15 Pro models or later.
The company made some lofty promises at WWDC, and plans to deliver on them after the initial rollout in October and through 2025, although not all the features touted have launched yet. So far, US iPhone users have gotten access to "Writing Tools," AI-generated emojis, and ChatGPT through Siri. The company had been criticized for its late entry to the AI scene.
"They caught up by partnering and by adding AI to something only Apple can do," Munster said.
Meanwhile, the company is reportedly exploring ways it can bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese iPhone owners. Apple will have to partner with a local company if it wants to deliver AI to its most important international market.
The first AI iPhone launched
Finishes for the new iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple
Apple announced its first iPhone "built from the ground up to deliver Apple Intelligence" at its "Glowtime" event in September.
The company faced slowing iPhone sales in the quarters leading up to the launch; the new AI-enabled iPhone 16 was expected by some to be the boost it needed. It released without Apple Intelligence, though that was made available through a later iOS update. It did come with a new camera control button and some software updates.
The phones start at $999 for the iPhone 16 Pro and $1,199 for the Pro Max model. Although a golden upgrade cycle hasn't happened yet, analysts still have high expectations for the next year of iPhones.
"We believe iPhone 16 has kicked off a multi-year supercycle for Apple as the AI Revolution comes to the consumer," Ives said in an analyst note.
It scrapped some projects along the way
Among the new launches in 2024, Apple also axed some ideas that were said to be in the pipeline.
Bloomberg reported in December that Apple would no longer work on building a subscription service for iPhones. The team working to make iPhone ownership possible through monthly fees and annual upgrades was reassigned to other projects, according to the article.
The tech giant also shut down its buy now, pay later service, Apple Pay Later, in June, instead partnering with Klarna to bring its offering to Apple Pay, The Verge reported.
In April, Apple filed documents outlining that it planned to cut more than 600 employees working on projects related to screens and its electric car. Before that, the company reportedly told 2,000 employees that it would wind down its multi-year efforts to make an electric car.
Still, canceling the Apple Car to reassign talent to its Apple Intelligence efforts was part of a "one-two combo" that helped the company catch up in AI, Munster said.
Threads is introducing a new way to reshare photos and videos on its social network. Instead of quote-posting the original post and then adding commentary, Threads users will instead be able to click a new option, “Use media,” allowing them to just reshare the photo or video directly to a new post where they can […]
