GoKawiil
Tech News
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple considered building a shortened Apple Pencil for its upcoming iPhone Ultra but abandoned the idea. Gurman cites three reasons: awkward ergonomics from side-mounting, tension with Steve Jobs' original stance against styluses, and the risk of the pencil scratching the display.
Reports indicate Apple is preparing for a leadership transition, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus positioned as the likely successor to CEO Tim Cook. Cook transformed Apple into a $5 trillion company largely through operational and supply chain excellence rather than product breakthroughs. Ternus would face pressure to reinvigorate the company's innovation pipeline in a way reminiscent of the Steve Jobs era.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple internally explored a shorter, stubbier Apple Pencil variant designed to magnetically attach to the side of its upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra. The accessory reportedly ran into design problems, including awkward handling and the risk of scratching the phone's delicate inner foldable display. Gurman says the concept is unlikely to be unveiled at Apple's event next month.
RR Auction closed bidding on an 8th-grade science project Steve Jobs built in 1968 exploring the silicon-controlled rectifier, which included two demonstration circuits and a 10-page report. The item, kept for decades by his stepbrother John Chovanec at the Apple Garage property, sold for $34,375 as part of a larger Apple 50th Anniversary auction.
Labor unions are increasingly pushing back against data-center construction, warning politicians who support these projects that they risk losing union backing. The move signals that blue-collar workforce concerns are becoming a central point of contention in the broader public backlash against data-center expansion.
Governor Josh Shapiro has pursued a strategy aimed at attracting artificial intelligence investment and jobs to Pennsylvania while simultaneously working to shield electricity ratepayers and nearby communities from the costs and disruptions data centers can bring. The approach seeks to balance economic development ambitions with consumer protection and local concerns as AI infrastructure expands rapidly across the country.
A Stanford study finds that AI's disruption of the job market falls hardest on entry-level workers whose roles depend on formal, documented, codifiable skills. In contrast, experienced employees whose jobs rely on tacit, practice-based expertise have actually seen employment gains, according to the report cited by Ars Technica.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a podcast interview that AI has not yet had a transformative breakthrough moment comparable to the iPhone's impact on smartphones, despite having the underlying technology in place. He also acknowledged struggling with a lesson from Steve Jobs' Apple playbook: saying no to good ideas to focus resources on great ones, and admitted he was too optimistic about how fast AI would reshape the economy.