Month: January 2018

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Just a few months ago Google and HTC announced a deal that would see HTC sell a big chunk of its phone division to Google for $1.1 billion. Today, Google announced the deal has closed, and the HTC employees are officially joining Google.

For HTC, the deal is a big cash infusion at a time when the company is struggling financially. WIth HTC burning through about $75 million each quarter, Google's money gives it over three years of money to burn at the current rate. The move should also cut costs for HTC: the 2,000 employees leaving for Google represent half of HTC's R&D group and 20 percent of its 10,000 employees. HTC claims it will continue to compete in the smartphone market, even with this huge of a staff cut.

For Google, the deal will bolster the hardware group, which was formed in 2016 under former Motorola CEO Rick Osterloh. The Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and Pixel 2 smartphone were a collaboration between Google and HTC, and these 2,000 HTC employees are the ones that made up the Pixel team inside HTC. Bringing the team in-house should give Google more control over the smartphone design process, presumably bringing more unity to the Pixel line and deeper integration of hardware and software.

Enlarge / The iPhone X's front-facing camera and TrueDepth sensor, used for Face ID. (credit: Samuel Axon)

Apple's $1,000 iPhone X has apparently proven to be a hard sell for many. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Apple will cut its planned production of its flagship iPhone through March by half, from the 40 million handsets originally planned to 20 million, due to "weaker-than-expected" demand.

In addition to cutting the number of handsets made, Apple also reportedly cut orders for components needed to make the iPhone X by 60 percent. Ars has reached out to Apple for further comment and will update if we hear back.

While Apple did not provide an official statement to The Wall Street Journal, a person familiar with the matter claims these types of cuts come when "things aren't selling well." We're only a few days away from Apple releasing its Q4 2017 earnings report on Thursday, which will likely reveal more information about iPhone sales through the end of last year. However, those sales will include numbers for iPhone 6, 7, and 8 models in addition to iPhone X sales numbers.

Enlarge / The booster on the launch pad in Florida for a launch attempt Tuesday first flew in May, 2017. (credit: SpaceX)

Wednesday update: SpaceX says is it pressing ahead with the GovSat-1 mission on Wednesday, with the launch window opening at 4:25pm. The company has evidently sorted the technical issues from Tuesday's scrubbed launch attempt, and weather conditions are much better today. Meteorologists give the launch a 90 percent chance of favorable weather, which is about as good as it gets.

Read below for more background on the launch, and to watch a webcast that will begin about 15 minutes before the launch window opens.

Tuesday 3:10pm Update: Per Bill Harwood, of CBS News, SpaceX scrubbed Tuesday's planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket to replace a transducer of some sort. The plan is try again Wednesday with same launch window, which opens at 4:25pm ET. Weather conditions should be better at that time as well.

Enlarge / You'll know it's a Waymo Pacifica Hybrid by the roof bar covered in sensors. (credit: FCA)

Waymo, the self-driving Google spin-off, is getting ready to seriously expand its operations. On Tuesday morning, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced it has signed an agreement to supply Waymo with "thousands" of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans. Originally, Waymo was testing in California with bespoke R&D vehicles, but made the switch to using Pacifica Hybrids in early 2017. Currently, Waymo operates a fleet of around 600 of these autonomous minivans; these are mostly in the Phoenix area, although it tests in a number of other locations including snowy Michigan and Atlanta.

"With the world’s first fleet of fully self-driving vehicles on the road, we’ve moved from research and development, to operations and deployment," said John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo. "The Pacifica Hybrid minivans offer a versatile interior and a comfortable ride experience, and these additional vehicles will help us scale."

This news confirms that the race to field—as opposed to just test—"level 4" autonomous vehicles (which will be geofenced) is now between Waymo and General Motors.

Enlarge / Those weather, reflection, and wave effects all come from the real-time version of Sea of Thieves. It looks that good in motion, too. (credit: Rare)

After years of teases and press-only demos, Microsoft and Rare's pirate-battling game Sea of Thieves has finally arrived in a form that looks like the online game we've been promised for so long. And, shiver our timbers, this week's closed beta test has honestly been promising—and sometimes danged good.

Moreover, it lets us get closer to describing this as a living, breathing online game, as opposed to the 15-minute pirate-on-pirate battle bursts we've seen at early preview events. Waddle on over with that peg-leg of yours, sit ye down, and let us tell you tales about Rare's new virtual seas—along with our hopes and concerns for the game going forward.

A pirate's life for ye?