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Tech giants face shrinking employees, Google CEO: Hard times need to be more entrepreneurial and hungry

An internal memo sent by Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday said the company will “slow down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year.” In the face of economic uncertainty, Pichai asked employees to “be more entrepreneurial.”

Pichai said the uncertain global economic outlook has been his top concern. Like all companies, Google is not immune to economic headwinds. However, Google has never seen these types of challenges as obstacles, but as opportunities to deepen the company’s focus and long-term investment.

In this economic climate, Pichai asks employees to demonstrate greater entrepreneurship, greater urgency, sharper focus and greater hunger than in good times. In some cases, Google needs to consolidate where investments overlap and simplify the process. In other cases, this means pausing development and redeploying resources to higher priority areas.

He also said that Google isn’t freezing hiring outright, but that the company will be slowing hiring for the rest of the year given its hiring progress so far this year. For the rest of 2022 and into 2023, Google will focus its hiring on engineering, technology and other key roles, and ensure the company is hiring the best talent that aligns with long-term priorities.

Due to capacity constraints, Tesla’s Berlin factory temporarily only produces black and white Model Y

Tesla’s new Berlin Gigafactory can only produce Model Y electric cars in black or white, and European customers who want to order Model Y in other colors will need to wait until March next year for delivery.

Earlier, when Ford planned to start producing the Model T, it had a similar strategy. Henry Ford told his team: “Any customer can paint a car any color he wants, as long as it’s black.”

According to foreign media reports, Tesla’s Berlin factory currently only produces the Model Y electric SUV in black or white.

Due to capacity constraints, Tesla’s Berlin factory temporarily only produces black and white Model Y

European customers who want to order the Model Y in a different color will have to wait for the electric car produced at the Shanghai Gigafactory, with deliveries starting as early as March 2023, the report said. If Tesla customers choose to order the Model Y in black or white, they can expect to receive the car in October of this year.

Problems have been reported in the paint shop at Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory since March, which is why the Berlin Gigafactory can currently only produce the Model Y in black or white.

Due to the continuous increase in production and the production bottleneck caused by the limited capacity of the factory’s paint shop, Tesla had to close the Berlin Gigafactory for two weeks in July this year in order to optimize the production process. Production doubled.

After optimizing the factory’s production process, Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory will resume operations in three shifts, with the body only needing to stay in each production workshop for 45 seconds, instead of 90 seconds as before. These adjustments will also apply to the paint shop.

Tesla delivered 254,695 electric vehicles globally in the second quarter, matching Wall Street analysts’ estimates.

Tesla still expects its global annual production to increase by 50% this year, much of which will come from capacity growth at its Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany, and Austin, in the United States. But analysts reportedly believe the two plants together produced only about 6,000 vehicles in the second quarter.

Apple’s iPhone 14 Max at risk of delays as production falls behind schedule

Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), an authoritative consultancy in the global display field, said in a report today that production of Apple’s new 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max this year is behind schedule.

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro design is based on multiple leaks (Image credit: CONCEPTSIPHONE)

He said that based on supply chain data throughout August, Apple’s iPhone 14 Max still lags behind the iPhone 14 Pro Max in panel volume, and is “far behind.”

He went on to say that this year Apple has more than triple the supply of the iPhone 14 Pro Max as the iPhone 14 Max.

Apple’s iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max will allegedly share the same 6.7-inch screen, although the panel itself will be different (the iPhone 14 Max doesn’t support Apple’s adaptive refresh rate technology), only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone The 14 Pro Max will enjoy ProMotion; in addition, the iPhone 14 Max will continue to use the unrecognizable “bangs” screen, but the iPhone 14 Pro Max will use the “Pro limited” “exclamation mark” punch-hole design.

IT House reported that the Nikkei Asian Review said in May that the production plan for the iPhone 14 Max had been delayed due to supply chain restrictions. But then Ming-Chi Kuo reported that while production of the iPhone 14 Max was behind schedule, the situation was “still under control.”

According to Ross Young’s report, the supply chain situation seems to have deteriorated after May. Of course, it may also be that Apple deliberately chose to prioritize Pro Max orders.

After all, in a two-month period, a lot of things can change drastically. If the iPhone 14 Max panel supply is as poor as Ross Young said, it means that the device may be delayed or severely limited (early launch).

Judging from the currently known information, the new iPhone 14 Max this year features a large screen and long battery life. Once released, it is expected to become the hottest model, although it may be more expensive than the “non-Pro” price in everyone’s mind. Much higher.

Apple ends collaboration with former chief designer Jonathan Ivey

Jony Ive left Apple in 2019, but he founded LoveForm Design, which continues to serve Apple as a consultant, and his partnership with Apple is now over.

Ive has helped Apple design important products such as the iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple retail stores. In June 2019, Ive left Apple to create his own design company. Since then, Ive has assisted Apple in designing the 24-inch iMac and contributed wisdom to the Apple Car.

Ive left with a multi-year contract with Apple worth more than $100 million. According to the terms, Apple will be LoveFrom’s main customer, and if Apple thinks a project is competitive, Ive will not be able to take orders.

Now it’s time for Apple and Ive to renew their contract, but the two sides announced their separation. Some Apple executives are said to be unhappy with the high fees paid to Ive, and executives are frustrated that some designers have left Apple for LoveFrom. Ive has his own appeal, and he wants to be free to choose customers without having to clarify his work to Apple.

There are rumors that Ive left because Apple paid more and more attention to operations and neglected design. Cook’s lack of interest in the product development process and the growing preference of boards for people with financial and operational backgrounds over technical talent irked Ive.

After Ive left, the Apple design team was handed over to Jeff Williams, industrial design by Evans Hankey, and software design by Alan Dye in charge. Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak is also said to have some say in product design choices.

Domestic CPU leading enterprise! Loongson Zhongke listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board

Loongson Zhongke opened at 96.28 yuan per share, an increase of 60.31%. After the opening bell, the stock price of Loongson Zhongke declined. As of the writing of Core East and West, the share price of Loongson Zhongke was 89.33 yuan per share, an increase of 48.73%, and the total market value was 35.8 billion yuan.

Domestic CPU leading enterprise! Loongson Zhongke was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and the opening price rose by more than 60%

Godson Zhongke originated from the “Godson” project started in 2001 by the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was established in 2008 and began to market in 2010. “Godson” is one of the earliest general-purpose processor series developed in China. It has been supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Academy of Sciences, the 863 Program, the 973 Program, the Natural Science Foundation, and the Nuclear High-Tech Major Project.

According to the prospectus, Loongson Zhongke’s products are mainly aimed at industrial control and informatization chips, which are applied in the field of key information infrastructure and are gradually expanding to the commercial market. At present, Loongson Zhongke has basically completed the technical “supplementary course” and formed its own instruction set, LoongArch. Its general-purpose processor performance has approached the level of mainstream products in the commercial market, and the operating system has become mature and stable.

During the reporting period, the revenue of Loongson Zhongke achieved rapid growth. From 2019 to 2021, its revenue was 486 million yuan, 1.082 billion yuan and 1.201 billion yuan respectively.

The controlling shareholder of buy ios app reviews Godson Zhongke is Tiantong Xinyuan Company, and the actual controllers are Hu Weiwu, chairman and general manager of Godson Zhongke, and Jin Hong and his wife, investment director.

In this IPO, Loongson Zhongke plans to raise 3.512 billion yuan, which will be used for three projects: “R&D and industrialization of advanced process chips”, “R&D of high-performance general-purpose graphics processor chips and systems” and “Supplementary working capital”. After the subscription, Loongson Zhongke raised a total of 24.62 yuan, a difference of more than 1 billion yuan from the expected fundraising.

Fundraising of Loongson Zhongke Plan

▲ The fundraising situation of Godson China Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

It started from the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but it was necessary to “clean up the academy-style poison”
Godson Zhongke originated from the “Godson” project of the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. According to Hu Weiwu, chairman and general manager of Loongson Zhongke, not long after he graduated from his doctorate, he was full of enthusiasm and felt that a big country like China could not have its own CPU, so he began to develop CPUs by himself.

However, the development of the “Godson” project has not been smooth sailing.

During the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” period, there was also a “Hanxin fraud” incident in the domestic chip industry, and the reputation of “Godson”, which was also supported by state funds, was also implicated. In 2005, Zhang Fuxin, Wu Shaogang, Hu Mingchang and others from “Godson” went to Changshu to build an industrialization base. When no one was using it, they started with the whole machine and promoted 150,000 sets of Godson educational computers for primary and secondary schools in Jiangsu.

In 2009, the “Godson” team began to organize enterprises, and few people were interested. Hu Weiwu laughed at himself: “I’m just like Don Quixote. He takes a spear and calls him Godson. He wants to fight two windmills, one is Intel and the other is Arm.” Industrial Development Investment Corporation (Beijing Industrial Investment) came to invest.

Hu Weiwu, Chairman and General Manager of Loongson Zhongke

▲ Hu Weiwu, Chairman and General Manager of Loongson Zhongke

The chairman of BIT went to the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and said bluntly that he knew that investing in Godson would definitely cost him, but he had to invest even if he lost, because this is a political task. Beijing Industrial Investment invested 100 million yuan, which led private capital to invest 100 million yuan, which became the first financing of Loongson Zhongke.

In 2010, the “Godson” team transformed into a market-oriented operation. Hu Weiwu mentioned that a researcher like himself started a business from a “negative number”, because he had read too many papers and national project guides, and it was necessary to eliminate the “academic” poison.

To this end, Hu Weiwu set several basic principles, one of which is: the Godson team will not judge the national award or report to the academician. In 2009 and 2011, the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences voted to select Hu Weiwu as an academician, but he rejected it because “China does not lack academicians, but it lacks a company like Intel.”

In 2013, Loongson Zhongke carried out the transformation of management, market and R&D, and clarified the policy of “taking innovation and development as the theme, industrial development as the main line, and ecological construction as the goal”. In 2015, the sales revenue of Loongson Zhongke exceeded 100 million yuan for the first time and achieved breakeven for the first time.

It is reported that in 2016, CDH Capital led the B round of financing of Loongson Zhongke. In 2017 and 2019, Loongson Zhongke completed the C and D rounds of financing respectively. The C round investors include Linzhi Dingfu, CDH Investment, etc. The D round lead investor is the Guoxin Science and Technology Innovation Fund.

In the market practice, Godson Zhongke finally clarified the two market directions of industrial control and informatization. Its industrial control chips are oriented to embedded special equipment, industrial control and terminals, etc.; the information technology chips are oriented to desktops and servers.

So far, Loongson Zhongke has launched Loongson 1 series, Loongson 2 series and Loongson 3 series products. Loongson 1 and Loongson 2 are mainly for industrial control applications, while Loongson 3 is mainly for information applications.

Loongson Server CPU Roadmap

▲ Loongson server CPU roadmap

The average annual revenue growth is 57%, and the net profit in 2021 will exceed 200 million
During the reporting period, due to the formation of technical core competitiveness and the continuous improvement of the industrial environment, Loongson Zhongke’s revenue continued to grow during the period from 2019 to 2021, with an average annual compound growth rate of 57.28%.

In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the revenue of Godson Zhongke was 486 million yuan, 1.082 billion yuan and 1.201 billion yuan respectively. Its net profit also rose from 192 million yuan in 2019 to 237 million yuan in 2021, and its net profit in 2020 was 72.23 million yuan.

Changes in revenue and net profit of Loongson Zhongke from 2019 to 2021

▲ Loongson Zhongke’s 2019-2021 revenue and net profit changes

In the three years from 2019 to 2021, the annual R&D investment of Loongson Zhongke was 78.2139 million yuan, 208 million yuan and 322 million yuan, accounting for 16.11%, 19.26% and 26.78% of the annual revenue respectively.

During the reporting period, the main business income of Loongson Zhongke can be divided into industrial control chips, information chips and solutions according to products. Informatization chips are the main source of income of Loongson Zhongke, and the revenue of this business will account for more than 50% from 2019 to 2021.

Apple AirPods Max Beta to Enable LC3 Codec

Apple recently made available new AirPods beta firmware, rolling out alongside iOS 16, macOS 13 Beta, and more.

Apple AirPods Max Beta Enables LC3 Codec, AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Headphones Expected to Support Bluetooth LE Audio Technology

Now, a developer has confirmed that the AirPods Max beta has added support for a higher-quality Bluetooth codec, which should at least improve the quality of voice calls on Apple’s high-end earphones, and provide an early preview of the AirPods Pro 2’s best features.

Twitter user @George discovered that the LC3 codec can be enabled via the AirPods Max beta firmware. The LC3 codec is Bluetooth’s future LE low energy and high quality codec that will be coming to headphones soon.

Apple AirPods Max Beta Enables LC3 Codec, AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Headphones Expected to Support Bluetooth LE Audio Technology

The Low Complexity Communication Codec (LC3 for short) will be able to transmit at much lower bit rates without degrading Bluetooth audio quality.

The LC3 codec will improve audio calls, but the true potential of this technology will require Bluetooth 5.2 and a new generation of AirPods hardware.

AirPods Pro 2 will support LE audio technology
The LC3 codec will improve audio calling, efficiency and stability for Bluetooth devices, but the requirements to take full advantage of the standard will include Bluetooth 5.2, which is not currently supported by AirPods at the hardware level.

Apple AirPods Max Beta Enables LC3 Codec, AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Headphones Expected to Support Bluetooth LE Audio Technology

9to5 Mac sources have confirmed that the next-generation AirPods Pro 2 (codenamed B698) will feature the new H1 chip, a technology Apple’s in-house developed audio chip can handle.

Additionally, the iOS 16 references reveal that it will support the LC3 codec and LE low-power audio. In terms of LE audio support, a senior engineer at Apple is heavily involved in developing this new standard.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier this year that the audio experience of the AirPods Pro 2 will be greatly improved.

With support for Bluetooth 5.2 and LC3, Apple will be able to get rid of the AirPods out of sync when the user wears them, and thanks to the LE standard, battery life will be improved, while focusing on buy ios installs efficiency and stability.

Notably, just after the WWDC22 keynote, the Bluetooth Association released Auracast broadcast audio technology (also known as Augmented Reality Audio Broadcast), which will improve the existing experience on AirPods while unlocking new possibilities.

For example, with Auracast, users can listen to songs, watch movies, and more while connecting more sets of wireless headphones at the same time. Currently, users can only connect up to two sets of AirPods from the same source.

Rumors about upcoming AirPods and ‘lossless Bluetooth’
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple’s new AirPods Pro 2 will still feature a Lightning charging port. Additionally, rumors talk about a new form factor design and health and fitness tracking features. Apple has predicted that AirPods will complement Apple Watch health tracking capabilities by providing additional data points in the future.

Apple Apple Music student subscription increases in price in US, Canada and UK

Apple last month quietly raised prices on Apple Music student plans in countries including South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Israel. Now, Apple is adjusting the price of Apple Music student subscriptions in the US, Canada, and the UK.

Apple Apple Music student subscription increases in price in US, Canada and UK

Apple Music student subscription users in the United States are now priced at $5.99 per month (about 40.13 yuan). Previously, the same plan cost $4.99 per month. In the UK, the price of an Apple Music student subscription has increased from £4.99 to £5.99 per month.

The web version of Apple Music archived on June 21 still shows the old prices from the US, Canada and UK sites, suggesting that Apple has increased the price of Apple Music student subscriptions in the past 48 hours buy app reviews. Apple has not officially announced a confirmation of the price increase.

In the United States, the cost of an Apple Music personal subscription is $9.99 per month (about 66.93 yuan) – currently unchanged (the national version of the personal subscription is 10 yuan / month). A family subscription for up to six people costs $14.99 a month, while an Apple Music voice subscription costs $4.99 a month. Eligible students can subscribe to Apple Music at a discounted price through the UNiDAYS program.

All Apple Music subscriptions have full access to the platform’s song catalog across devices, except for Apple Music voice subscriptions that only use Siri on Apple devices. Notably, the Apple TV+ subscription includes the Apple Music student subscription at no extra cost, which Apple says is a limited-time offer.

Following Southeast Asian countries, Hon Hai plans to produce electric vehicles in India

According to Taiwanese media “Economic Daily”, it is reported that Hon Hai is considering producing electric vehicles in India. This is not only a part of the decentralized global layout, extending its Asian manufacturing supply chain beyond mainland China, but also the further expansion of Hon Hai’s electric vehicle layout in India after Gogoro, which assisted the alliance last year, established a production line in India.

According to reports, Hon Hai’s Foxconn iDPBG Zhengzhou plant sent more than 20 cadres to Hon Hai’s India plant around the Dragon Boat Festival to impart experience and strengthen the layout of the Indian supply chain. Since the Zhengzhou plant is the largest production base for iPhones, it is expected that Hon Hai is strengthening its mass production capacity for iPhones made in India. At present, it seems that Hon Hai is not only interested in manufacturing iPhones in India, but also has a high interest in manufacturing electric vehicles.

According to the “India Economic Times” report, sources said that in addition to Vietnam, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, Hon Hai’s electric vehicle company Honghua Advanced is considering producing electric vehicles in India. At present, Hon Hai has a wholly-owned factory near Chennai, India, producing iPhones, and a subsidiary, Bharat FIH, which mainly produces mobile phones for Chinese brands such as Xiaomi. Hon Hai is also interested in products other than mobile phones, the people added.

The “India Economic Times” quoted sources as saying that the Tamil Nadu government hopes that Hon Hai can expand investment. “They have expressed interest in electric vehicle manufacturing, so we told them that Tamil Nadu is a good place to go.” Another government official with knowledge of the matter said that Hon Hai is also concerned about the potential demand for electric vehicles in the Indian market; “Hon Hai did not plan to manufacture in India at first, but recently Hon Hai has been studying the Indian auto market, and is considering entering India, Vietnam and Indonesia to serve other The market expands the manufacturing base.”

Sales of electric passenger cars in India jumped 1.5-fold to 17,800 in 2022, data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA) showed, underscoring the country’s strong demand for electric vehicles. It is worth mentioning that the Investment Promotion Council of Thailand announced this month that it has approved the establishment of a joint venture between Hon Hai and the National Petroleum Corporation of Thailand (PTT) to establish an electric vehicle company, which is worth 36.1 billion baht (about 1.04 billion US dollars).

Masayoshi Son bets on ARM listing, can SoftBank take this to boost stock prices

SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly said today that he was thankful that regulators around the world had rejected SoftBank’s sale of British chip designer ARM to Nvidia, as the company now hopes to use ARM’s listing to boost its share price .

“ARM is the cutting-edge engine of the information revolution,” Son said at the annual shareholder meeting. “It is the core of the SoftBank Group’s core.”

A large part of Son’s speech that day was devoted to ARM, the company that dominates the global semiconductor design industry, explaining how the company is gradually gaining market share in areas such as cloud computing and automotive. “ARM will drive all kinds of information revolutions, not just the smartphone revolution,” he said.

That’s in stark contrast to SoftBank’s shareholder meetings over the past few years. At previous shareholder meetings, Masayoshi Son spent a lot of time explaining the Vision Fund. This also reflects the major changes in the global technology market to a certain extent.

SoftBank posted its biggest ever loss in the fiscal year ended March, with a net loss of 1.7 trillion yen ($12.6 billion) for the year as the valuations of the tech stocks it invested in shrunk. The previous year saw a record net profit of 5 trillion yen.

Global IPOs have fallen by more than 50% this year as inflation concerns weigh on investment in tech stocks. Several SoftBank-backed companies, including Chinese drone maker Jifei Technology and Israeli trading platform eToro, have either written down their assets or delayed plans to go public.

After SoftBank announced results last month, Son said he would slow down the pace of investment.

ARM, acquired by SoftBank for $31 billion in 2016, is now SoftBank’s best hope. SoftBank’s revenue rose 35% year-on-year in the fiscal year ended March, helped by growth in shipments of 5G smartphones and telecom equipment. Son is also working to clear IPO hurdles, and said in May that was his main concern in the near term. ARM’s joint venture in China recently resolved a key management issue that had plagued it for two years.

SoftBank has high hopes for a smooth ARM IPO, taking out an $8 billion loan by pledging ARM shares.

Sun Zhengyi said that in order to control market risks, SoftBank will control the ratio of net debt to net asset value below 25%, and the cash on hand is enough to pay for bonds due in two years. “Because of the uncertainty in the market right now,” he said, “our cash position is much higher than usual.”

Tesla’s U.S. models have significantly raised prices, with a maximum increase of about 40,000 yuan

According to Electrek, Tesla has significantly raised the price of its full line of electric vehicles in the United States, some models have increased by as much as $6,000.

In 2021, Tesla’s models will increase in price almost every month. Tesla slowed the frequency of its electric vehicle price increases in early 2022. The last major price increase was in March 2022, followed by a long-term increase in April. There was a small price hike for battery-powered models, but now Tesla is starting to increase prices significantly again.

Today, Tesla updated the online configurator on the US official website, once again raising the price of its entire range of models. Among them, the Tesla Model 3 is the one with the smallest price increase among all the cars. Only the Model 3 long-range version has increased in price, from $54,490 to $57,990, a price increase of $3,500.

The Tesla Model Y has seen an even bigger price hike, with both versions going up, with the long-range version from $62,990 to $65,990 and the performance version from $67,990 to $69,990. Tesla also now sells the Model Y Standard Range, a new version made in Texas, but Tesla hasn’t sold it through its online configurator and is currently only buy ios reviews available to local Model Y buyers in Texas.

The Tesla Model S also got a big price hike today, following a massive $5,000 price hike a few months ago. The Model S Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Long Range Edition is priced from $99,990 to $104,990 after today’s price increase. The price of the Plaid version remains the same at $135,990.

Like the Model S, the Model X saw a big price hike earlier this year, and now it’s raising prices again. The price of the Model X Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Long Range Edition has risen by as much as $6,000 from $114,990 to $120,990. Like the Model S, the Model X Plaid’s price remains unchanged for the time being at $138,990.

As usual, Tesla did not disclose the reason behind these price increases, but speculation is because of increased raw material prices and logistics costs.

In addition, IT Home has learned that Tesla has a large backlog of orders, and new orders for several models will not be delivered 6 to 12 months from now. So Tesla has to try and forecast cost increases before and after producing these vehicles 6 to 12 months from now, or maybe Tesla just wants to improve its gross margin.

IT House found that the current price of Tesla’s official website in China has not been adjusted. It is worth mentioning that some netizens recently broke the news that Tesla will reduce the terminal price of entry-level models, and the rear-wheel drive version of the domestic Model 3 with a range of 556 kilometers will be reduced from the current price of 279,900 yuan to 219,900 yuan. In response, Tesla China responded, “(The rumor is) false news.”