Lawsuits, Fees, Layoffs, and Promos

They are building AI into toilets now; CES was a clown show. But we put our business hats on and find the bright side.

Plus, Epic's major loss to Apple that just rolled in, and where we think the next fight will be, and how developers can get ahead of it.

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• 📻 Boost with Fountain.FM — Fountain 1.0 is out with a new UI, upgrades, and super simple Strike integration for easy Boosts.
• Mark Gurman on X — The Vision Pro virtual keyboard is a complete write-off at least in 1.0. You have to poke each key one finger at a time like you did before you learned how to type. There is no magical in-air typing. You can also look at a character and pinch. You’ll want a Bluetooth keyboard.
• Here's How Vision Pro Demos Will Work at Apple Stores — In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said each demo will last around 20 to 25 minutes. After a calibration process, he said the customer will view still photos, panoramas, spatial photos, and spatial videos in the Photos app. Next, he said customers will learn how to position multiple app windows and scroll through pages in Safari. Then, they will view immersive 3D content, including movie clips, sports, and a tightrope scene.
• Epic’s California injunction against Apple’s anti-steering rule takes effect as Supreme Court denies both parties’ petitions — The most important question, however, is whether the United States Department of Justice, which is reportedly readying a major antitrust case against Apple, and/or other private parties are now going to sue Apple over the App Store monopoly, potentially with stronger expert testimony (which is not even the only way in which they could benefit form the lessons learned from Epic Games v. Apple).
• gamesfray on X🧵1/4 — The #EpicGames v. #Apple judgment is now FINAL. The Supreme Court has denied either party's petition for review.

  This means the anti-anti-steering injunction that Epic won under California Unfair Competition Law enters into force. Apple wanted to prevent or delay that.

  🧵1/4

• App Store to Be 'Split in Two' Ahead of EU iPhone Sideloading Deadline — Apple is apparently planning to roll out adjustments to comply with the new legal requirements in the coming weeks, including splitting off the ‌App Store‌ in the EU from the rest of the world. The deadline for Apple to comply with the DMA is March 7, so the company has just over seven weeks to enact the changes.
• Google confirms it just laid off around a thousand employees — Or more than a thousand? Depends on the definition of “few”.
• Google announces another round of layoffs - YouTube
• Vic 🌮 on X — It's January 11 and the following companies have done layoffs so far.
• Layoffs.fyi — Tech Layoff Tracker and Startup Layoff Lists.
• Discord lays off 17 percent of employees — In an internal memo, CEO Jason Citron said the company grew headcount too quickly over the past few years.
• Apple to Shutter 121-Person San Diego AI Team in Reorganization — Apple Inc. is shutting a 121-person team related to artificial intelligence operations in San Diego, leaving many employees at risk of termination, according to people familiar with the matter.
• At CES, everything was AI, even when it wasn’t — But as more companies rebrand anything involving algorithms as AI, how are we meant to separate the chaff from the wheat?
• AI Briefing: What marketing and tech experts noticed at CES 2024 — Unsurprisingly in Las Vegas last week, AI was inarguably one of the hot topics. Major brands and startups alike spent the week touting new AI chatbots for everything from cars and bikes to smart TVs and personal devices.
• A high-tech, no touch throne: Kohler's smart toilet - YouTube