Good morning. It’s almost the weekend, and I’m so excited for it. For now, though, let’s get caught up on the tech news.
1. Peloton laying off staff, CEO quits
The Verge reports that fitness device and service company Peloton has announced another round of layoffs at the same time that its CEO is leaving the company. 15 per cent of the remaining Peloton team, about 400 team members internationally, will lose their jobs. “Hard as the decision has been to make additional headcount cuts, Peloton simply had no other way to bring its spending in line with its revenue,” CEO Barry McCarthy said.
2. Apple announces the greatest share buyback in history
Apple will buy back $US110 billion in company shares, as reported by Reuters, breaking its own record and setting the bar for the largest buyback in history. In quarterly results, Apple revenue fell four per cent, with iPhone revenue falling by 10.5 per cent. “We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we’re making significant investments,” CEO Tim Cook said. “We’re looking forward to sharing some very exciting things with our customers.”
3. Speaking of Apple
Apple said that it’s fixing a bug where alarms aren’t playing loud enough, or are simply not going off. Per The Guardian, Apple has acknowledge the issue, with it spread widely across TikTok. Apple hasn’t explained the reason for the problem, nor has indicated when a fix will be coming.
4. And speaking of TikTok
AP reports that Russian state-affiliated accounts are racking up more engagement in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election. Via data from Brookings, accounts spruiking Kremlin messages to both English and Spanish-speaking users have increased sharply, “The use of TikTok highlights a growing, but still not fully realized, avenue for Russia’s state-backed information apparatus to reach new, young audiences,” the report reads.
5. Audible gets cheaper in Australia
A new $8.99 Audible plan is being trialled in Australia. Per Engadget, the new plan won’t give users the full podcast access that the standard $16.45 plan offers, however, it does offer the same monthly audiobook credit. This credit doesn’t roll over into the next month, however.
BONUS ITEM: Awww.
It’s the climb. 🎵
— CSIRO (@CSIRO) May 2, 2024
Today is #WildKoalaDay, so we’re celebrating our native climbers. 🐨
We love koalas so much we developed a koala monitoring program. Find out more: https://t.co/lZTKysZOa5
This video was taken by koala-fied carers at Ballarat Wildlife Park. 🌳 pic.twitter.com/svPNtDXkZu
Have a lovely weekend, and TGIF.
Image: Peloton.