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Hey, friendly people, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch\u2019s regular newsletter that aggregates the top tech news over the past few days. It\u2019s our humble opinion that there\u2019s no better place to get caught up on the industry\u2019s happenings, whether you\u2019re a news junkie or simply among the tech-curious.<\/p>\n
In this edition of WiR, we cover Apple\u2019s iPhone and other related announcements, the MGM hack and Tesla\u2019s Cybertruck reemerging with an updated interior. Also on the agenda is payment processor Square facing an outage, California considering a ban on autonomous trucks and the tumultuous canning of supply chain startup Flexport\u2019s CEO, former Amazon consumer chief Dave Clark.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t already,\u00a0sign up here<\/a> to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday. Now, on to the news!<\/p>\n Apple unveils the iPhone 15:<\/a><\/strong> Apple had a jam-packed press conference on Tuesday, and among the highlights were two new iPhones: the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro<\/a>. Both feature USB-C connectors<\/a>, a move spurred in part by EU legislation. There are other new features, too, including a titanium body (on the Pro) and a haptic \u201caction button<\/a>\u201d that replaces the mute switch on previous-gen iPhones.<\/p>\n Expanded iCloud storage plans:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>In other Apple news, the company announced during Tuesday\u2019s presser that it\u2019s adding 6 TB and 12 TB storage options to iCloud+, its cloud storage subscription. (Pricing wasn\u2019t announced, unfortunately.) Amanda notes that, while the average consumer won\u2019t need that much space, the new plans could be useful for photographers and filmmakers, who are set to get big camera upgrades with the\u00a0iPhone 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n USB 3 speeds on iPhone, with a catch:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>A major benefit of the iPhone 15 Pro is USB 3 speeds \u2014 file transfers up to 10 gigabits per second. But as Ivan reports, owners won\u2019t get those out of the box. Apple\u2019s shipping a USB 2.0 cable with a type-C port; users will have to use \u201can optional USB 3\u201d cable to unlock the higher data speeds. But hey, at least the iPhone 15 Pro\u2019s new \u201cspatial video<\/a>\u201d mode won\u2019t require any aftermarket accessories.<\/p>\n MGM\u2019s big data breach:<\/a> <\/strong>It\u2019s been a bad week for casinos. Following reports that Caesars paid millions in ransom to a cybercrime group, hotel and casino giant MGM Resorts has confirmed a \u201ccybersecurity issue\u201d is to blame for an ongoing outage affecting systems at the company\u2019s Las Vegas properties. According to reports on social media, the incident has led to outages impacting ATM cash dispensers and slot machines at MGM\u2019s Las Vegas casinos, and forced hotel restaurants to accept cash-only payments.<\/p>\n Cybertruck gets a redesign:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Tesla\u2019s Cybertruck \u2014 the subject of frequent delays \u2014 has been spotted in the wild with an updated interior.\u00a0New photos shared by Tesla watchers The Kilowatts depict a Cybertruck with what appears to be a different wheel and center console than what we saw back in May. But as Harri writes, it\u2019s not clear whether this particular vehicle reflects how the Cybertruck will look once Tesla finally gets around to delivering them en masse.<\/p>\n Flexport strikes back: <\/strong><\/a>Two days after former Amazon executive Dave Clark\u2019s abrupt departure as CEO of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, Flexport\u2019s founder, said publicly that the company will rescind dozens of job offers and look to lease out office space as Flexport attempts to get costs under control and get \u201cits house in order.\u201d<\/p>\n California considers banning self-driving trucks:<\/a> <\/strong>In a blow to the autonomous trucking industry, the California Senate passed a bill, AB 316, on Monday that requires a trained human safety operator<\/a> to be present any time a self-driving, heavy-duty vehicle operates on public roads in the state \u2014 effectively banning fully autonomous trucks. Of course, AB 316 still needs to be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom before it becomes law, which isn\u2019t a sure thing given Newsom\u2019s reputation for being friendly to the tech industry.<\/p>\n Square outage resolved:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>If you didn\u2019t catch it last week, Square restored its services after a daylong outage left small business owners unable to process payments. The Block-owned company had, up until last Friday morning on the U.S. West Coast, been battling a prolonged outage that had downed its services since the afternoon the day prior.<\/p>\n Need a podcast to while away the hours, whether it\u2019s commuting from work or kicking back after a long and stressful workweek? Not to worry \u2014 we\u2019ll hook up you.<\/p>\n Equity<\/a> brought TechCrunch+ senior climate reporter Tim De Chant on the show to talk climate tech, hardware breakthroughs and why we have a whole stage this year at Disrupt, TechCrunch\u2019s flagship conference, focused on sustainability.<\/p>\n On this week\u2019s episode of Found<\/a>, meanwhile, the crew interviewed Jaleh Bisharat, the co-founder and CEO of NakedPoppy, an e-commerce site that helps people find the makeup shades best suited to them and offers a marketplace of \u201cclean\u201d natural beauty products. Bisharat talked about her personal journey toward launching the company after a long career working in marketing for companies such as Amazon and Eventbrite.<\/p>\n And Chain Reaction<\/a> recapped a panel that Jacquelyn moderated live at the Avalanche House event that took place in Seoul, South Korea, during Korea Blockchain Week. The panel focused on the biggest opportunities and challenges facing web3 enterprise, featuring speakers like Dan Sun, the startup success manager for web3 APAC lead at Google Cloud, and Gagan Mac, the head of product and senior director of web3 services at Circle.<\/p>\n TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys \u2014 which you know if you\u2019re already a subscriber. If you\u2019re not,\u00a0consider signing up<\/a>. Here are a few highlights from this week:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Antitrust and generative AI:<\/a> <\/strong>The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is making the case for aggressive antitrust enforcement. How could this affect the market for generative AI? Two guest contributors from Perkins Cole, the international law firm, investigate.<\/p>\n Instacart\u2019s sky-high valuation:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Alex writes about Instacart\u2019s IPO, noting that the startup could sell as much as $616 million of its stock \u2014 a total of 22 million shares. With a debut stock price at between $26 and $28 per share, Instacart will be close to \u201cdecacorn\u201d status.<\/p>\n Fintech\u2019s reckoning:<\/a> <\/strong>Some fintech companies are weathering the macroeconomic storm better than others and seeing an end in sight. In particular, startups using AI to fight money laundering and fraud seem to be enjoying tailwinds, Anna reports.<\/p>\n Join 10,000 startup leaders in San Francisco at TechCrunch Disrupt on September 19\u201321. Last-minute passes are still available. Save 15% with code WIR. Register now<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nMost read<\/h2>\n
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