Good morning. It’s the middle of the week, and overnight, Apple held its big iPad event. Let’s get into the tech news.
1. Apple debuts a bunch of cool things
Apple debuted a bunch of cool things overnight at its ‘Let Loose’ event, with most of the attention devoted to the new iPad Pro and iPad Air. The company also debuted the new M4 chip, along with a refreshed Magic Keyboard, and the new Apple Pencil Pro. Quite a bit of the event was devoted to AI, particularly with the iPad Pro. Head over to our article to get all the news.
2. Nintendo confirms the Switch successor
Nintendo confirmed the successor to the Switch console last night in the most Nintendo way possible. In a tweet, the President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that the successor to the Nintendo Switch would be revealed within this fiscal year. “We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation,” the Tweet read.
3. Microsoft guts Bethesda-owned studios
Speaking of gaming, Microsoft is shuttering four Bethesda studios, which the company had acquired for $US7.5 billion back in 2021. Per Bloomberg, the studios include Alpha Dog Studios, Roundhouse Games, Tango Gameworks, and Arkane Austin. “These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades,” head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said in an email viewed by Bloomberg.
4. TikTok takes on the US government
TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government against its new law that would ban the social video app. Per AP, TikTok argues that the move singles out the platform unfairly, and is an attack on free speech. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide,” TikTok parent ByteDance wrote in its lawsuit.
5. Meta offering AI tools to advertisers
Per Reuters, Meta is offering its generative AI product suite to advertisers, so that they can automatically create ads with text overlayed. The tool is launching as a test, with ads to be shown on Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook, though labelling for AI-generated ads still being worked out by the company. Expect to see some weird as heck ads in the future.
BONUS ITEM: Tim’s got fresh kicks.
Nike made these exclusive “Made on iPad” Air Max 1 ’86s for Tim Cook to celebrate the launch of the new iPads pic.twitter.com/xNEqiFSDrz
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) May 7, 2024
Have a lovely day.
Image: Apple