Tesla cuts prices again, Apple ‘suspends vegan phone case sales’

Chris Price News
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Tesla has cut its prices again in a number of major markets – including the US, China and Germany – as the electric car giant run by multi-billionaire Elon Musk faces falling sales. The move comes after it reported a sharp fall in its global vehicle deliveries in the first three months of this year. A price war has been intensifying between electric vehicle (EV) makers, with particularly fierce competition coming from Chinese firms. Tesla is due to report financial results for the first quarter of 2024 after the US market close on Tuesday. BBC

TikTok could be banned in the US if the social media app’s Chinese owner doesn’t sell its stake after the House of Representatives voted in support of the measure. The TikTok legislation was included in a US foreign policy package which saw representatives approve sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraine, as well as money for Israel and Taiwan. The package will now go to the US Senate, where it is likely to be passed on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok legislation once it reaches his desk. Sky News 


Apple has reportedly suspended production of vegan phone cases it started selling less than a year ago. The tech giant is said to have stopped making its FineWoven cases and watch straps following complaints that the £59 cases would become easily scratched and worn out. Apple introduced the material, a “microtwill” made up of recycled textiles and other fibres, last September when it announced that it would no longer produce leather accessories as part of an environmental push. Telegraph 

The internet has reacted strongly to an artificial intelligence-generated video of the famous subject of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting singing along to a rap that actor Anne Hathaway wrote and performed. The polarizing clip, which has elicited reactions online ranging from humor to horror, is one of the tricks of Microsoft’s new AI technology called VASA-1. The technology is able to generate lifelike talking faces of virtual characters using a single image and speech audio clip. Time 

 

Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
 
Huawei just announced its latest phones, the Pura 70 range. There are plenty of updates and improvements, including a retractable zoom lens, but the company also introduced a key communications feature: Satellite+ will allow images to be sent by satellite when there’s no cellular connectivity. This is a first for a regular phone, and follows on from last fall’s announcement of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro which was also a world first, in that case the first to enable satellite phone calls. That capability is also on the new Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. Forbes 
 
The Google Wallet app has undergone a few changes over the last several weeks. Last month, the app added an extra layer of verification for transit payments. Not much later, Google began asking Wallet users on Android phones to re-verify their identity after three minutes, regardless of whether the phone was in use or not. It now looks like this phenomenon could also spread to Wear OS devices, at least based on multiple user reports on Reddit. According to a Reddit user (via 9to5Google), their Wear OS smartwatch is now requesting a PIN while initiating a tap-to-pay transaction. Android Police 
Chris Price
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