Consumer Tech News (Oct 21 - Oct 25): Legal Actions and Major Restructuring

Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones and the New York Post have initiated legal proceedings against Jeff Bezos-backed AI firm Perplexity, alleging unauthorized use of their content and redirection of traffic to its platforms.

Entertainment Updates

In a significant development, the Walt Disney Company (DIS) has stopped offering subscriptions to services like Hulu and Disney+ through the Apple Inc. (AAPL) App Store. This move is aimed at avoiding the in-app purchase fees imposed by Apple.

Additionally, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) has decided to close its AAA game studio located in Southern California, known as Team Blue. This shift marks a considerable change in Netflix's ambitions within the gaming sector.

Gaming News

Meanwhile, ahead of the much-anticipated release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Activision has unveiled a new initiative focused on anti-cheat measures. This program aims to eliminate cheaters from the game within one hour of their first match.

In other game news, Insomniac Games has announced that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will not be receiving any further story content, effectively dashing fans' hopes for potential downloadable content (DLC).

Furthermore, Tencent Holding Ltd. (TCEHY) is preparing to launch a global open beta for Delta Force: Hawk Ops on PC starting December 5.

Technology and Smartphones

On the tech front, QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) recently introduced its latest high-end smartphone system on chip (SoC), the Snapdragon 8 Elite. This new chip features an advanced Oryon CPU and enhanced AI capabilities.

However, QUALCOMM finds itself in a precarious situation as Arm Holdings plc (ARM) has threatened to cancel its chip design license, giving the semiconductor giant 60 days' notice to react.

Additionally, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) has rolled out a new AI model, Llama-3.1-Nemotron-70B-Instruct, which reportedly outperforms its competitors in various benchmark tests.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani participated in a discussion with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang in Mumbai, where the latter addressed the Nvidia AI Summit. They discussed India's booming IT industry, noting that 200,000 IT professionals have been trained in AI in recent years.

In a surprising incident, ByteDance Ltd. dismissed an intern for reportedly disrupting the training of one of its AI models.

Apple's Adjustments in Product Lines

In other news, Apple Inc. (AAPL) is reportedly downsizing its production plans for the Vision Pro headset, which is priced at $3,500. Instead, the company is directing its attention to developing a more affordable model set to launch in 2025.

Artificial Intelligence Developments

On the AI front, OpenAI competitor Anthropic has announced upgrades to its AI model Claude 3.5 along with the introduction of a new model, Claude 3.5 Haiku. This latest model features innovative abilities that enable it to interact with computers more naturally.

In a separate development, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, Inc. (CRM), publicly criticized Microsoft for rebranding its Copilot system as “agents.”

Lastly, Character.AI issued an apology following a tragic incident involving the suicide of a 14-year-old boy who had interacted with their chatbot. The company has recognized the seriousness of the situation and announced plans to implement safety updates on their platform.

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Apple, Gaming, Netflix