Welcome to the Techmeme Ride Home for Friday, September 6, 2024. I'm Brian McCulloch today, Pavel Durov speaks and Telegram blinks, both for the first time since the French arrest. Our XR glasses tethered to smartphones the next big product category, what if your smartphone could cure your vision problems, and in the long reads, if WAMO is about to scale, what exactly is the business model long term? Here's what you missed today in the world of tech.
Pavel Durov has spoken, calling his arrest by French authorities, misguided, and denying Telegram is in, quote, an arctic paradise in his first public comment since his detention, quoting the Guardian. The Russian-born multi-billionaire said the investigation into the app was surprising in that French authorities had access to a hotline he had helped set up,
and they could have contacted Telegram's EU representative at any time. If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself, he wrote. Using laws from the pre-smart phone, Irrad had charged a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach, end quote. Telegram,
he said, was not perfect, but he denied any abuse associated with the app. But the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of an arctic paradise are absolutely untrue, he wrote. We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day, end quote. Well, interestingly, without much fanfare, Telegram seems to have radically altered its stance on illegal use of its platform by letting users in private chats. Now, flag illegal content for review by moderators,
quoting CoinDesk. On Thursday night, the formerly freewheeling texting app extended its moderators reach to include private chats. For the first time users in private chats can, quote, flag illegal content for review, Telegram wrote in a change on its FAQ page. An older version of the same page said Telegram treated private groups as off limits. Earlier Thursday, Duraaf acknowledged in a Telegram post that the app's rapid growth, quote, made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform
and promised changes. From the struggling Intel file, sources are telling writers that Qualcomm has explored acquiring portions of Intel's design business, including Intel's client PC design business. So more signs than Intel is looking to burn anything that is flammable just to generate some cash quick. Quote, Intel's client PC design business is of significant interest to Qualcomm executives. One of the sources said, but they are looking at all of the company's design units.
Other pieces of Intel, such as the server segment, would make less sense for Qualcomm to acquire another source with knowledge of Qualcomm's operations said Qualcomm has not approached Intel about a potential acquisition in Intel spokesperson said Intel is, quote, deeply committed to our PC business. The spokesperson said the $184 billion Qualcomm, which is known for chips found in smart phones and counts Apple as a customer has been working on plans to buy pieces of Intel for months.
Qualcomm's interest and plans have not been finalized and could change according to the sources. Qualcomm generated $35.82 billion in overall revenue in its last fiscal year. Intel's board is set to meet next week to weigh a proposal from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and other executives on how to trim its operations in an attempt to save cash. Potential options include a sale of its programmable chip unit, Altara Reuters has reported.
More Qualcomm news CEO Cristiano Amman says the company is working with Samsung and Google on a mixed reality set of smart glasses linked to a smartphone. So it looks like those X-Real, NAY, and Real glasses have proven a new product segment
possibly. Quoting CNBC. Last year, Google Samsung and Qualcomm struck a partnership to develop mixed reality technology that refers to the combination of augmented and virtual reality, often involving digital images that are imposed over the real world in front of you. Amman's comments are among the first to shed light on the project. It's going to be a new product. It's going to be new experiences. Amman said discussing what will come out of the mixed reality partnership.
But what I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it. Amman said. The CEO reference Facebook parent Meta's Rayban smart glasses, which look like regular shades, but are wirelessly linked to a smartphone and have built-in camera. On top of that, they have a voice assistant powered by Meta's Lama Artificial Intelligence model.
Qualcomm has also made mixed reality a key target area as it diversifies its business beyond smartphones. The company has a chip called the Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 Design 4 smart glasses. Qualcomm has been touting the fact that its various chips across smartphones and PCs allow AI applications to run on the device rather than being processed in the cloud via the internet. AI is going to run on the device. It's going to run on the cloud. It's going to run some in the glass
and some in the phone. But at the end of the day, there's going to be whole new experiences. Amman said. Virtual and augmented reality headsets are still a smaller market than smartphones. The international data corporation expects 9.7 million VR and AR headsets to be shipped this year. Sharply lower than the forecast of 1.23 billion smartphones. Common complaints with AR and VR devices which have so far typically been large headsets are that they are not convenient
and are also at times uncomfortable to wear. A set of smart glasses could solve this bringing a stylish device to the mixed reality market. I think we need to get to the point that the glasses are going to be no different than wearing a regular glass or sunglasses. And then with that, we can get scale, Amman said. Details about the project involving the three players are still sparse
in an interview with Sam BC this year. TM Row, the head of Samsung's mobile division, said that the company would announce a new mixed reality platform within the year. This is likely to be a software product according to Row, though he declined to elaborate at the time. End quote. Smartphone maker honor recently released the Magic V3, a foldable phone that is thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and also thinner than an iPhone when it's unfolded flat. This is launching for
1699 pounds in the UK and 1999 Euro in the EU. Wired is actually giving it an 8 out of 10 in their review quote. The Honor Magic V3 is the best book style folding phone I have used. The Daring Design is impossibly slim and light. There are some interesting AI features and it ticks all the traditional flagship boxes with a versatile camera, long battery life and fast charging. Honor software has dragged its devices down in the past, but a few minor issues aside,
I had a better time with the Magic V3 than with the Magic 6 Pro. You won't find a slimmer folding phone than the Honor Magic V3. It is 9.2mm thick when folded and 4.4mm when open. To put that into context, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 12.1mm folded and 5.6mm open. The Pixel 9 Pro fold is 10.5mm and 5.1mm. Only the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 gets close at 9.5mm folded and 4.6mm open. These sound like tiny differences, but we hold our phones so often that even shaving a millimeter
or two helps the Magic V3 feel like a regular phone when folded. I do need to point out that no one includes enormous camera bumps in these measurements. The Honor Magic V3 is also relatively light at 226 grams compared to the 239 grams for the Z Fold 6 and 257 grams for the Pixel 9 Pro fold.
Hell, the iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 221 grams. You may assume that such a thin device would be fragile, but Honor was at pains to point out its durability, claiming its impact resistance is 40 times better than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and that the hinge is good for at least 500,000 folds. I can't speak to the accuracy of those claims yet. The Magic V3 also scores an IPX 8 rating, meaning it can be submerged, but has no dust protection like most folding phones.
The whole phone feels solid enough if I had to find fault. I'd say the plastic bezel around the inner screen gathers dirt and dust easily. Cool, but what's also interesting is this. Honor is also rolling out something called defocus tech on the Magic V3 and their Magic Pad 2 tablet. What does this do? Well, it helps you see better. Quoting Android Central to explain. Myopia or near-sightedness is a problem created when eyes grow longer in order to better focus
on objects that are arms length or closer to them. In a world where we're constantly looking at monitors or smartphones for long periods of time throughout the day, it's not hard to understand why this is a literal growing problem. But smartphone or monitor usage isn't going away in the modern age. Instead of just relying on glasses usage to fix the problem, honor is taking a 2-prong approach. The company just introduced the first near-work-induced transient Myopia reducing display
on both the Honor Magic V3 folding phone and the Honor Magic 2 tablet. These special displays use a combination of advanced OLED technology and AI scene understanding to recreate the effects of defocus incorporated multiple segments, DIMS or DIMS lenses which have scientifically proven to slow down the elongation of the eye. The technology works by separating colors and
keeping some in focus while defocusing others. There are also times when colors are changed or objects receive faint outlines that place them more or less in focus depending on the color used. It's similar to chromatic aberration, a lens effect that separates colors via a prism which can also be seen in 3D movies that provide artificial depth. In essence, it simulates the act of looking away from your device at a distant object helping to automate a process that most of us
forget to do. It's difficult to describe and even more difficult to understand unless you see it in action. And not everyone is convinced that this could be a one-stop shop solution. According to Babin Shah behavioral optometrist at Central Vision opticians, DIMS therapy, remember those are the physical defocus lenses that people can wear is generally only used in people up to age 21
and sees only a 1% success rate beyond that age. Any cyber security startup or anybody that knows a cyber security company just getting started that is listening to me right now, listen even more closely. Data Tribe has started accepting applications for its 2024 Challenge Program and Live Pitch event. The Data Tribe Challenge is a unique program to accelerate your cyber security startup,
workshop your messaging with startup veterans and meet potential investors and customers. Data Tribe will pick five finalists to join their program, receive coaching from their team of startup veterans, present at the live event and benefit from free promotion and press coverage. Finalists share $25,000 in prizes and all will receive the title of Data Tribe Challenge Finalist. It's very easy to apply. Just go to datatrib.com slash challenge to enter a short bit of company information and
upload your pitch. Data Tribe will be accepting submissions until September 27th and will announce five finalists on October 18th. Make sure to apply soon to do so. Just go to datatrib.com slash challenge. That's datatrib.com slash challenge. If you're a listener to this podcast, you can't help but be a fan of the Washington Post because I put for them almost every day. This episode is sponsored by the Washington Post who wants you to know right now you can go to WashingtonPost.com
slash ride and can subscribe for just 50 cents per week for your first year. As you've heard just in recent weeks, the Washington Post has been killing it on the whole tech giants versus regulators beat. Also, their continuing coverage of the dangers and wonders of breakthrough technological developments and the national conversation around artificial intelligence has been amazing.
We quote from the post all the time because they break tech news more than almost anybody and I pick them for the weekend long reads all the time because their in-depth coverage of even the nooks and crannies of tech news is on parallel. You can conveniently listen to articles in addition to reading them so you can catch up on the news during your commute with the election rapidly approaching. Now is the time to sign up for the Washington Post. Go to WashingtonPost.com
slash ride to subscribe for just 50 cents per week for your first year. That's 80% off their typical offer so this is truly a steal. Once again, that's washinimpost.com slash ride to subscribe for just 50 cents per week for your first year. Time for the weekend long reads suggestions. First up, as I've been saying, Waymo seems to be reaching a tipping point in terms of scaling its self-driving operations so that leads one to wonder what are the unit economics here.
Is there a good business here? Maybe even a great one. Quoting the New York Times. At this point, the fully autonomous driving industry is really just an industry of one. Waymo said John Crafick, a former chief executive officer of Waymo and a member of the Electric Vehicle Company Rivians Board. Waymo is charging prices similar to Ubers and Lifts but unlike those companies whose profit margins are slim at best, Waymo has to pay for its fleet along with real estate
for storage and recharging. The equipment on Waymo's fifth generation robot taxis, electric Jaguar, I-Pace vehicles cost as much as $100,000 to meet Reedolgov Waymo's Co-Chief executive said on a podcast in February. And while Waymo doesn't have to pay for drivers, it
employs technicians behind the scenes to monitor rides. Saswap Panagrahi, Waymo's chief product officer said in an interview that the company was betting that it's fixed costs like the expense of light art sensors and the number of human monitors it needs will decrease over time. Autonomous vehicle experts see a few different market fits for robot taxis, a handful of major cities like New York and Chicago where the demand for ridership is the most concentrated could
mimic Waymo's rollout in San Francisco. This would most likely include operating at major airports which have long been cash cows for Uber and Lyft. Waymo currently stewards passengers to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and is in talks to expand into San Francisco International Airport according to emails viewed by the New York Times. If we were to look at the greater New York area, you may not see service in Manhattan said William Riggs, a professor at the
University of San Francisco who studies autonomous vehicles. You may see a large propensity for profit in Hoboken or in Westchester County or even Long Island. There is also the long-term possibility that companies like Waymo ditch or outsource their fleets to focus on selling software and operating
systems to companies like Uber and quote. Then over at the Atlantic, Annie Lowry let herself be scammed, pig butchered to use the specific term, but she outlined how it worked in great details so that you can understand the subtle differences between the sophisticated pig butchering process
and the run of the mill misspelled email scans of your quote. I was enmeshed in a textbook pig butchering scam, the hallmark of which its horrifying name aside is a certain relaxed charm, no rush, no blunt ask for cash, just a lot of engaging and unthreatening messages, leading inexorably to an attempt to get me to start trading Bitcoin on a dedicated platform or to send it to an anonymous address. The scam had some plausibility to it. Mike Wilson really is an
investor, a famous investor. He's the chief investment officer of Morgan Stanley. His assistance name in the group chat is the name of a real Morgan Stanley employee easily found on LinkedIn, though the person's actual job is in internal operations. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed that neither was texting me, Morgan Stanley does not offer direct Bitcoin trading and does not
advise clients via WhatsApp. In addition to the real and realish people who seem to be participating in the chats, the Bitcoin prices posted in the group chat were up to date and the order forms looked convincingly professional. For weeks, nobody asked me for anything. It was difficult at times to tell what anyone wanted, let alone how they were going to get it. And then finally today, this is not tech, but this is one of the best New York stories in a while in terms of capturing
the spirit of New Yorkers and the city. New York City has a law that allows everyday citizens to report when trucks are idling their engines for long periods of time. The idea being trucks idling their engines all day causes pretty bad localized air pollution. So a whole subset of New Yorkers have made a habit and even a living going around the city reporting on idling trucks. Some make six figures a year collecting the fines and bounties for doing it. Who would be the type of person
who would do this? Well, if you've ever lived here, you kind of know the type, the urban, busy body, dear listener. Don't think I haven't considered doing this myself now and again over the years. But read the piece. It's just beautifully written in a sort of anthropological way, capturing people in this city, the spirit of the people dealing with the wilds of the city and
the bureaucracy and their fellow citizens themselves. Quote, when at a party I mentioned the idling program and my interlocutor turns out to be thoroughly acquainted with it yet not a participant yet, I discover he is the eponymous creator of the HBO show How To With John Wilson whose eccentric charm is grounded in exacting observed pathologically catalogued videos of New York City streets. If you are trying to picture the modal mail idling reporter and you are familiar with John Wilson,
you can stop trying to picture them. Although the CACP seems like a deceptively straightforward proposition recorded video, submit the video, wait for the DEP to issue a summons, wait to see if the fine gets paid, collect your reward. It is not. Once you have overcome the barriers that shield the program from the outside world, you discover fresh opacity with barriers within the
constantly changing rules and legal precedents. The variegated forms of city agency, Miss Mal and Non-Fesence, the clonkiness and creakiness of the DEP's complaint submission system, casual and frequent dabbling in the program isn't really an option. To use the system you must master the system and if you are a master of the system the only way to go is big time. Outside the Trader Joe's at City Point Mall we ride off in defeat to the taunts of a moving crew,
don't y'all want no more pictures they crew? You are not on the phone bro, a con ed worker shouts at Patrick, I'm leaving brother, I'm leaving right now, come on you got me already on monogu street so many times. Pleads a plumber, suck my two, says Amazon ambiguously but being a celebrity sometimes invites a friendlier response, pay me $10 and I'll turn it back on, teases a driver he's
never met before. What's up doc? Salutes another, well, salutes with, you know, vehicle operators are growing more alert by the day in our first hour out, a school bus driver shuts off after maybe spotting Patrick who then purchases phone insanely atop the back wheel of a whisper quiet double parked elevator repair van who's driver then pockets the phone. But when asked nicely gives it back with an innocent grin saying I thought it was mine. Patrick's phone has wound up in the trash
next to Barclays Center and seized by Amazon workers sometimes along with his bike. They eventually made their peace with Patrick or male Karen as they call him and had him guest star in a TikTok video. He cheerfully shares the resulting videos with the group with explanatory glosses such as I'm an idiot or everything seemed quiet and peaceful and then suddenly I was surrounded by eight people. It astonishes me that after two years of this he still has his original iPhone and his
original teeth. No weekend bonus episode this week and note that Monday's show will be a bit late because iPhone event of course talked you on Monday probably about three or so hours later than I usually do.