Welcome to another round of the World Tour.
Its long list of innovative features and upgrades apple The company announced this week at its annual conference for global developers, which included the launch of the new Vision Pro headset, and the company also announced the iOS 17 update for its Apple devices.
Although the sparkling innovation that hit the headlines, the Vision Pro headset is coming in an iOS 17 update, it will offer several “nice” features, such as a personalized call sticker, sleep mode, live voicemail and an improved sticker experience.
Also this week, Meta introduced WhatsApp Channels, a feature the social media giant says will help make the app a “private broadcast messaging product”.
Layoffs in the technology sector seem to be a trend that will not happen any time soon, even with the boom in artificial intelligence, which has even perpetuated it. This week, Reddit announced that it would be laying off around 5% of its workforce, or 90 employees, joining a list of tech companies that have cut jobs from corporate America.
Spotify also announced on Monday that it would lay off nearly 200 employees, or about 2% of its individual workforce, as part of an effort to change the way the streaming company approaches its partnership with “podcast pioneers in the world “.
Here is a summary of the newsletter
- Apple announces iOS 17 update
- Meta introduces WhatsApp Channels feature
- Reddit lays off 5% of its workforce
- Spotify has about 200 employees
- A venture capital company, Sequoia Capital is divided into three entities
Read also: Meta unveils Quest 3, its new virtual reality headset
Apple announces iOS 17 update
Although Apple’s Vision Pro headset grabbed headlines at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next Monday’s iOS 17 update coming later this year, several “nice” features, such as a sticker personalized call, sleep mode, live voicemail and enhanced sticker experience, will be available.
Apple’s iPhones are about to get a makeover with the introduction of iOS 17, aimed at boosting personalization and intuitiveness. The update introduces rich communication, simplified sharing and smart typing, allowing users to have more expressive interactions.
Some of the features of iOS 17 include the introduction of personalized stickers for contacts which display photos and memoji, the inclusion of live voicemail which provides instant transcription of voicemails and ensures instant access to spoken content . Facetime fans can now leave video messages as voicemails when the recipient is unavailable, while the messaging app includes search and text filters for voicemails.
But also, another benefit that comes with the new feature that Apple didn’t mention on stage for lack of time is that Apple is building on its computer vision prowess by introducing recipe search with iOS 17. Users will be able to tap Food on a photo and find similar recipes.
In addition, the company is also expanding its range Image cutting functionallowing users to lift objects from photos and videos. With the new update, Users can “search” for these objects To find more information about it. You can read more here.
Meta introduces WhatsApp Channels feature
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, introduced WhatsApp Channels on Thursday, a feature the social media giant said would help make the app a “private broadcast messaging product”.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement via his Instagram channel. Channels are described as separate from personal conversations and will be displayed in the new updates tab.
He described channels as a special feature that allows people to follow the people and organizations they care about. Zuckerberg said the feature is rolling out first in Singapore and Colombia and will roll out to everyone later this year.
Excerpts from the post:
Everyone, today we are announcing WhatsApp channels, which will allow you to privately follow the people and organizations you want to get updates from. WhatsApp channels are separate from your personal conversations and will appear in the new updates tab where over time you can find all the channels you want to follow.”
Users from Colombia and Singapore will be the first to access the channels. In the coming months, Meta will expand the tool’s availability to users in more countries, she said.
Reddit dedicates 5% of its workforce
Social media company Reddit is laying off nearly 90 employees and slowing hiring as it restructures key parts of its business. The company announced this week that it would lay off around 5% of its workforce, or 90 employees, joining a list of tech companies that have cut jobs at American companies.
Reddit, which spun off from magazine conglomerate Conde Nast in 2011, has recently seen a resurgence in popularity as WallStreetBets and other forums on its platform become a place for retail investors to speculate. on stocks.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the decision on Reddit on Tuesday, citing an email sent to employees by CEO Steve Hoffman.
Hoffman said the company would also reduce hiring for the rest of the year to about 100 people from an initial plan of 300, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Spotify has about 200 employees
Streaming company Spotify announced on Monday that it would lay off 200 people, or about 2% of its workforce, as part of a “pivot” at its podcasting unit, CNBC reports. He says it was part of an effort to change the way the streaming company approaches its partnership with “podcast pioneers around the world”.
Spotify’s global workforce reached 8,359 people in 2020, according to the SEC filing, with 4,332 of those employees in the United States.
Sahar Al-Habashi, Vice President of Spotify, made the announcement in a note to employees. Al-Habashi said those affected would receive “generous severance packages”.
Al-Habashi said “the core of a more cohesive proposal will allow us to better support the creator community.”
Spotify has spent huge sums of money growing its podcast unit over the past three years. Since 2020, Spotify has spent 493 million euros ($526 million) on four different podcast acquisitions, according to an SEC filing.
Sequoia Capital is divided into three entities
The world’s most famous venture capital firm is breaking up. The VC plans to split into three entities – Sequoia Capital in the United States and Europe, Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia, and HongShan in China – with the popular company splitting its Asian units from its parent company then that she navigates in an increasingly complex world. geopolitical aesthetic landscape.
Brian H/Getty Images; China Press Service/Getty Images; Marianne Ayala / Insider
Sequoia, known for its early investments in American technology companies like Airbnb, WhatsApp and Zoom in the United States, as well as global heavyweights like ByteDance and GoTo through its funds in China and India, is splitting into three very separate companies.
Sequoia’s global management confirmed the news in a letter to limited partners signed Tuesday morning by the company’s three executives, Roelof Botha, Neil Shen and Shailendra Singh. In separate interviews with ForbesThe three investment chiefs said the decision to spin off Sequoia’s global brand was an incremental discussion that has intensified in recent months.
They pointed to conflict between the funds’ startup portfolios, brand confusion as they diverged over strategies, and the increasing complexity of maintaining central regulatory compliance as factors – while acknowledging, but trying to downplay – a cooler geopolitical environment.
“Things seemed to be going in a direction where it was getting harder than easier,” Botha said. “This is not a retreat saying, ‘We failed the white flag.’ It’s more of a victory in the sense that we have these completely independent companies that can move forward. ”
