Tag: pivots
Tapbot shuts down Tweetbot as it pivots to Mastodon
Now that Twitter has confirmed it’s banning third-party clients, some of the most prominent alternatives are going away. Tapbots has shut down work on Tweetbot, one of the more popular iOS apps, as Twitter rendered it non-functional “in a blink of an eye.” The developer is instead pivoting to Ivory, an app for the open social platform Mastodon. While it’s limited to an invitation-only test for now, Tapbots hopes to make the software “better than Tweetbot ever could be.”
This isn’t the only major Twitter app developer calling it quits. The Iconfactory has pulled Twitterrific from the iOS and macOS App Stores, and blasted the Musk-era Twitter as a company it “no longer recognize[s] as trustworthy.” Android users, meanwhile, can’t count on apps like Matteo Villa’s Fenix (it’s no longer available on Google Play) or Luke Klinker’s Talon (which the creator warns “will cease to work”).
The shutdowns follow roughly a week of disruption and unclear messaging. Numerous third-party apps suddenly stopped working around the evening of January 12th, with leaks suggesting it was intentional. Twitter later acknowledged it was breaking these apps, allegedly to enforce “long-standing” developer rules. The social media giant then quietly updated its developer agreement to formally ban unofficial clients.
Third-party Twitter clients generally haven’t played a major role in recent years. In 2018, Sensor Tower determined that 6 million users had installed alternatives versus 560 million for the official Android and iOS apps. However, the ban doesn’t help Twitter’s bid to keep users and protect its bottom line. Third-party app users downloaded their software of choice precisely because they’re active and want features that the official apps don’t offer (such as more powerful media previews and searches). Twitter’s policy risks alienating those users who hate the first-party app.
Microsoft pivots to foldable screens, ditches its initial Surface Duo 3 plans
Boundary Layer pivots from container ships to hydrofoiling personal watercraft
Boundary Layer, which was gunning for local air freight, and announced a slew of launch partners earlier this year, today announced a shift in strategy, with some high-performance foiling personal watercraft. Think low-flying SeaDoo, and you’ve got the right idea. The new product is called Valo, and will be able to carry a couple of […]
Boundary Layer pivots from container ships to hydrofoiling personal watercraft by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch
Apple Pivots to Samsung for iPhone Memory Chips Following US Trade Ban Against Chinese Suppliers
Apple originally intended to buy 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) for use in iPhones sold in the Chinese market as early as this year, with the possibility of eventually purchasing up to 40% of the chips needed for all iPhones.
However, last month those plans were put on hold when YMTC and 30 other Chinese entities were added to an “Unverified” list of companies that U.S. officials have been unable to inspect, and the supplier is widely expected to be blacklisted in early December for trade restrictions.
U.S. companies are prohibited from sharing any design, technologies, documents or specifications to companies on the Unverified List without a license. Companies who cannot provide the necessary information within 60 days can be added to the U.S. export control blacklist. YMTC is also being investigated by the U.S. Commerce Department over whether it violated Washington’s export controls by selling chips to Huawei, which is already blacklisted.
As a result of the restrictions, Apple will now use Samsung Electronics as an alternative supplier starting in 2023, according to supply chain sources cited in the report.
Samsung, long the main supplier of DRAM chips for iPhones, is set to start next year supplying NAND flash for iOS devices from its plant in China’s Xian plant, which now contributes 40% of the Korean vendor’s total 3D NAND flash capacity, ranging from 128 to 176 layers, the sources said.
Unlike its rivals, Samsung has not imposed production cuts in response to sluggish NAND flash market demand, likely partly due to its entry into the Apple supply chain. Moreover, the Korean manufacturer is thought to be able to afford quote cuts and output increases, which has further strengthened its competitiveness.
The export controls on China imposed by the Biden administration are an effort to slow the country’s technological and military advances by cutting off Beijing’s supplies from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.
This article, “Apple Pivots to Samsung for iPhone Memory Chips Following US Trade Ban Against Chinese Suppliers” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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