Today’s top tech news: Apple plans four new retail stores in India; Samsung planning job cuts; OpenAI rolls out Canvas interface

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Apple plans four new retail stores in India

Apple, the U.S. based iPhone maker, plans to open four new retail stores in India. The new Apple Stores will come up in Bengaluru, Pune and one in Delhi NCR region, and fourth one in Mumbai. Apple has also started manufacturing the entire iPhone 16 lineup, including iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, in India. The Made in India iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will soon be available for our local customers and for export to select countries across the world, it said.

“We’re thrilled to build our teams as we plan to open more stores in India, because we’re inspired by the creativity and passion of our customers across this country. We can’t wait for them to have even more opportunities to discover and shop for our amazing products and services, and connect with our extraordinary, knowledgeable team members,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s SVP, Retail.

Samsung planning job cuts

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it was planning to cut jobs in some of its Asian operations, after a report that one in ten posts in affected markets could be axed. The world’s largest memory chipmaker is modifying staffing levels in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, a company spokesman told AFP, adding that “the adjustments include job cuts”. The “routine workforce adjustments” are carried out “to improve operational efficiency,” said Samsung Electronics in a statement.

Samsung employs more than 267,800 workers, with more than half of its total workforce abroad. The cuts came after US chipmaker Intel announced in August that it would slash more than 15% of its workforce as it tries to streamline operations. In contrast, Samsung saw its fastest growth since 2010, with operating profits soaring in the second quarter to 10.44 trillion won, as chip prices rebounded and demand for generative AI continued to grow.

OpenAI rolls out Canvas interface

OpenAI introduced the early version of a new interface called Canvas, powered by its GPT-4o model, which will use generative AI to assist users who are working on long-form text or coding, by creating content from notes as well as fine-tuning the generated output. OpenAI said that GPT-4o was trained to “collaborate as a creative partner,” as it can automatically open a Canvas, make edits, and rewrite content. For coders, Canvas can make it easier to track changes, while it can help writers adjust the length of the content, change reading levels, carry out grammar checks, and even add emojis.

ChatGPT Plus and Team users globally will be able to access Canvas immediately, while Enterprise and Edu users are slated to get access next week. Canvas is in early beta, according to the company, which warned that errors and suboptimal performance were still possible when using the new offering.

Published - October 04, 2024 03:00 pm IST