Amazon’s Rivian-made electric vans are now delivering in some US cities

Don’t be surprised if one of Rivian’s electric vans delivers your next Amazon order. Amazon has revealed that Rivian’s custom-made EVs are now delivering packages across the US. You’ll find them in numerous cities that include Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis. The company expects the vans to serve over 100 cities by the end of 2022, and still hopes to field 100,000 vehicles by 2030.

Amazon’s rollout hasn’t gone as smoothly as originally expected. It first started testing Rivian’s van in Los Angeles early last year, and hoped to use them in as many as 16 cities by the end of 2021. The expansion was relatively slow, however, with San Francisco as the most notable addition.

The Rivian cargo carrier is meant to help Amazon reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, but it also represents a technological upgrade. The bespoke vans are focused on safety, with greater visibility and a host of driver aids that include automatic emergency braking and highway assistance. They unsurprisingly make use of Alexa to help drivers check the weather and otherwise improve their rides.

The deployment could be important the finances of both companies. Amazon had a 20 percent stake in Rivian as of late 2021 — it stands to benefit when its automotive partner does. It’s also no secret that Rivian is cutting costs to pursue sustainable growth. It needs as much business as it can get, and a wider Amazon rollout could help its bottom line.

Facebook’s latest home feed focuses on recommended content

There’s increasing pressure on Meta to show more content in chronological order, and the company is responding — if not quite in the way you might have expected. Facebook has launched Home and Feeds tabs that simultaneously offer more control while giving the social network more opportunities to push recommendations. The Feeds tab shows posts from friends, groups and Pages in a linear timeline, but the Home tab uses Facebook’s discovery engine to recommend posts, Reels and other content, including from people you don’t follow.

The tabs will appear in the shortcut bar of Facebook’s Android and iOS apps starting today, and should roll out worldwide this week. The Home tab will open by default, but you can pin the Feeds tab to the shortcut bar to make sure it’s always available.

The social media giant has previously made concessions to people who prefer chronological viewing. In March of last year, it gave users quick access to a “Most Recent” setting for the News Feed. As The Vergenoted, though, this appears to be an effort to compete with TikTok’s recommendation-driven approach to videos without dropping the usual focus on friends and Pages. Meta lost daily Facebook users for the first time in the third quarter of 2021, and has struggled to return to its previously rapid growth. In theory, this shift toward recommendations will keep users coming back without alienating those who just want to interact with their friends.

Ford will use new battery tech to help it build 600,000 EVs per year

Ford is refining its plans to expand EV production, and it will partly lean on new battery materials to achieve those goals. The automaker now expects to hit a global production rate of 600,000 EVs per year by late 2023 thanks in part to lithium iron phosphate battery packs in some of its vehicles, starting with Mustang Mach-Es sold in North America (in 2023) and F-150 Lightnings (in early 2024). The chemistry will expand Ford’s capacity, allow for “many years” of use with little range loss, cut manufacturing costs and reduce the dependence on shortage-prone materials like nickel.

At that 600,000-EV rate, nearly half (270,000) of the vehicles produced will be Mustang Mach-Es destined for China, Europe and North America. The F-150 Lightning in North America will account for 150,000 EVs, while the rest include 150,000 electric Transit vans and 30,000 units of a still-unnamed European SUV. Ford said it has secured all the yearly battery capacity it needs to make this target, and 70 percent of the capacity it needs to reach a more ambitious objective of 2 million EVs per year by late 2026.

The news comes just hours after a report that Ford may cut up to 8,000 jobs to help fund its EV plans. The brand recently split into combustion and EV divisions to help with the electric transition, and has committed to spending $50 billion on electrification.

Ford had floated the 600,000-EV production target before. However, the battery developments and narrower timeframe paint a clearer picture of how that growth will take place. As it stands, there’s mounting pressure on the company to ramp up its manufacturing. It only built 27,140 EVs in 2021, and has a significant backlog — you can’t even place a standard retail order for the 2022 Mach-E “due to high demand.” To some extent, the improved scale is as much about catching up as it is preparing for an all-electric future.

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Apple’s latest iOS and macOS updates offer more control over live sports

Apple may be several weeks away from releasing iOS 16, macOS Ventura and other major updates, but that isn’t precluding one last hurrah for current-generation software. The company has released iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6 and macOS 12.5, all of which provide more control over live sports in the TV app. You can restart matches already in progress, and you’ll find typical playback options like pause, fast-forward and rewind.

The new software also fixes a Safari bug that could revert a tab to a previous page. You can expect the customary round of security patches (most of which fix holes allowing arbitrary code), including equivalents for older macOS versions like Big Sur and Catalina. Equally new watchOS 8.7 and tvOS 15.6 releases, meanwhile, deliver bug and security fixes to Apple Watch and Apple TV users alongside generic “improvements.”

The timing suggests these may be the last significant updates for existing software. Apple has historically shipped major versions of iOS, macOS and other software as soon as September, and there aren’t hints of iOS 15.7 or similar upgrades on the horizon. The company is shifting its priorities, and the modest changes in these latest updates reflect that changing focus.

DALL-E’s powerful AI image generator is now available in beta

You no longer have to be part of a small club to try OpenAI’s clever DALL-E image generator. The consortium has launched a beta that will make DALL-E available to 1 million people from a waitlist in the weeks ahead. If you get in, you’ll receive 50 free image credits in your first month and 15 every following month. Each credit offers four pictures based on one original prompt, or three if you offer an edit or variation prompt. A bundle of 115 credits is available for $15 if the freebies aren’t enough.

The beta also expands the usage rights to include commercial projects. You can print the images on shirts or children’s books, for instance. OpenAI will still reject DALL-E image uploads that include realistic faces, named content (like a specific person or venue) and “explicit” material, though. The consortium is still concerned that people might abuse the technology for misinformation, deepfakes and other harmful purposes. 

DALL-E garnered buzz thanks to its ability to generate eye-catching images based solely on a casual description. It doesn’t require that you provide every last detail. You can also tweak certain parts of an image to achieve an intended effect. It’s both a showcase for AI’s potential as well as a surprisingly capable creative tool — you don’t need to know the first thing about art to produce something special.

Repair your AirPods charging case with an unofficial 3D-printed kit

AirPods have a reputation for being unrepairable, but one engineer might have an unofficial workaround. Ken Pillonel (of USB-C iPhone fame) has created an open source repair kit for first- and second-generation AirPods models. If you’re comfortable cracking open the case, you can perform repairs (such as installing a fresh battery) and get back to business using a 3D-printed replacement part. Moreover, the kit will drag your AirPods into the modern era — it switches the charging port from Lightning to an EU-friendly USB-C connection.

Pillonel is publishing the necessary 3D printing and PCB (circuit board) files on his GitHub repository. He’s not sure about selling ready-made repair kits himself, but he’s open to the possibility.

This solution clearly isn’t for the faint of heart. You’ll need access to printing hardware, not to mention some technical know-how. To Pillonel, however, it’s worth the effort. In normal use, the AirPods charging case is destined to become e-waste if it either breaks or loses too much battery life. The DIY kit promises to keep your case useful for years to come, and offers connectivity you won’t get by ordering a case from Apple.

Netflix lost nearly 1 million subscribers last quarter

Netflix warned it might lose more subscribers in the second quarter of this year than it did in the first, and that prediction has come true — though it wasn’t as bad as feared. The streaming service said it lost nearly 1 million subscribers (970,000 to be exact) in Q2. That’s far more than the 200,000-member decline from Q1, but not as bleak as the 2 million Netflix was prepared to part with.

The company attributed the slightly rosier outcome to “better-than-expected” subscriber growth, particularly in areas like Asia-Pacific. The company still turned a $1.44 billion net profit despite the shrinking customer base and unfavorable foreign exchange values for the US dollar. Unfriendly exchange rates are a particularly difficult problem when nearly 60 percent of revenue comes from outside the country, Netflix said.

The media giant is expecting a turnaround for the third quarter, if a slow one. It’s now predicting that it will add a net 1 million subscribers. While that’s a far cry from the 4.4 million Netflix added a year earlier, it’s a decided improvement over the past six months. The strong start for Stranger Things 4 could help — the nostalgic show is now Netflix’s most watched season of English TV to date with over 1.3 billion hours of viewing.

Netflix’s recovery plan will sound familiar. The company is still pinning its hopes on a lower-priced ad-supported tier due in early 2023, and expects to launch it in a “handful of markets” where there’s already strong ad spending. The service also plans to fight account sharing, and is experimenting with ideas that include charging for additional homes. The finished sharing system could also roll out in 2023.

Microsoft helps speed up work on AI for autonomous drones and flying taxis

If autonomous drones and flying taxis are going to thrive, they’ll need AI that can handle a wide range of conditions — and Microsoft thinks it can help build that AI. The company has unveiled a Project AirSim platform that helps manufacturers create, train and test the algorithms guiding autonomous aircraft. The Azure-based technology has virtual vehicles fly millions of flights through detailed simulations in a matter of seconds, gauging their ability to handle different obstacles and weather conditions. A drone maker can quickly find out if their machine will avoid birds, or use too much battery power countering strong winds.

Developers can use trained AI “building blocks” to get started, so they won’t need vast amounts of technical know-how. Users can create custom 3D environments using Bing Maps, but they’ll also have access to a ready-made library of cities (such as New York City and London) and generic locations.

Project AirSim is currently available as a “limited” preview already in use at Airtonomy and Bell. Microsoft plans to expand the simulation with physics, weather and digital sensor replicas, including the option to bring custom physics models through a team-up with MathWorks. The team is also “actively engaged” with governments and standards groups, and envisions a day where AirSim could help certify autonomous aircraft by putting them through rigorous digital tests.

The initiative won’t address some of the biggest challenges of autonomous flying, including aircraft design and real-world testing. However, Microsoft is keen to note that its technology is flexible — it can help shape everything from delivery drones through to eVTOL taxis navigating dense cities. If all goes well, companies will spend more time deploying aircraft and less time working on basic features.