September 29, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

🤖 Are OpenAI and Jony Ive cooking up a new gadget?

🚓 Criminals discover it's best not to mess with a delivery robot

📱 Apple's FineWoven case seems like a misstep

UP FIRST

OpenAI and Jony Ive discuss making 'iPhone of AI'

There's also a chance that tech giant SoftBank could back it

Apple’s former design guru Jony Ive is reported to be in advanced talks with prominent AI startup OpenAI to create what’s being dubbed “the iPhone of artificial intelligence.”

The project to develop what would be OpenAI’s first consumer device could even be bankrolled to the tune of $1 billion by Japanese tech giant SoftBank, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday.

While there’s little information about what form the device might take and what it might do, the suggestion appears to be that it would offer an intuitive way of interacting with AI, with grand ambitions to mirror the iPhone’s success in bringing mobile computing to the masses.

However, while the FT describes the discussions as “serious,” no deal to proceed with the ambitious project has yet been inked ...

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Criminals discover it's best not to mess with a delivery robot

Footage from a sidewalk delivery robot led to the arrest of the two people who tried to steal it, but that's only half the story

Two suspects were arrested in Los Angeles after they tried to steal a meal-delivery robot operated by Serve Robotics.

Notably, the pair was tracked down using footage captured by the robot itself.

The video was handed to LAPD officers who then went about examining it to identify the two men.

But the story has taken a twist after a report by 404Media raised concerns that footage captured by the robot’s navigation camera could be supplied to the LAPD, with the robot effectively operating as a surveillance camera. Internal emails seen by the news site also suggest that the LAPD and Serve have been in close contact.

The LAPD said the case was a one-off and the tech company insists it would never let video from its robots be used for surveillance, but the case nevertheless does raise issues around how footage from this type of delivery robot is being used by the companies that deploy them.

TECH ACCESSORIES

Apple's FineWoven iPhone case seems like a misstep

Plenty of people have been complaining about the quality of the new case

It’s been a whole week, and the reputation of Apple’s new FineWoven iPhone case isn’t getting any better.

In the days after the new-style fabric case hit the market along with the iPhone 15, many customers were quick to complain that the FineWoven product picked up scuffs and marks way too easily.

Apple’s move toward FineWoven accessories – a lineup that includes iPhone cases, MagSafe wallets, AirTag key rings, and Apple Watch bands – and away from leather ones form part of ongoing efforts to become more carbon neutral.

But with the sub-par case costing a hefty $59, many are wondering how exactly Apple went about testing the accessory before putting it on the market.

Perhaps we're heading toward the first instance of a third-party manufacturer making a case to protect a case …

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