The Chinese industrial park housing Foxconn's most advanced iPhone factory entered a seven-day Covid lockdown on Wednesday. China's government ordered the lockdown, which could potentially slow down production and shipments of Apple's new iPhone 14. More: - The factory, the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant, is located in central China's Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, which is enacting “silent management measures" through Nov. 9 to counteract a new wave of Covid.
- The measures will temporarily restrict residents from leaving the zone and only allow approved vehicles on roads.
- Production at the plant remains “relatively stable with health and safety measures for employees being maintained," a Foxconn spokesperson told CNBC.
- Most of Foxconn's iPhone production occurs at the Zhengzhou plant, where it currently employs about 200,000 workers.
- Last week, CEO Tim Cook said Apple's iPhone 14 Pro, which has experienced high sales compared to the iPhone 14 Plus, is currently supply-constrained.
REUTERS 
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Twitter plans to raise the price of its Twitter Blue subscription service to $8 per month in the U.S., up from the current $5 per month, according to Elon Musk. The service is expected to include verification, the blue check mark that confirms the account holder's identity, which will no longer be free to some users. More: - The $8-per-month fee is lower than the $20 that was floated in some news reports earlier this week.
- Musk said Twitter Blue will add other perks beyond verification, including half as many ads, priority in replies, mentions, and searches, and the ability to post longer audio and videos.
- The ability for subscribers to bypass paywalls is expected at a later date.
- Musk claimed that giving priority to Twitter Blue users is "essential to defeat spam/scam."
- He said the price of the premium service will be “adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity."
- A rollout date hasn't been announced for the new pricing and perks, which comes as Musk seeks to monetize Twitter following his takeover of the company.
Related: - Meanwhile, Twitter's long-awaited edit button, which is currently available to some Twitter Blue subscribers, is expected to roll out to all users for free.
- Separately, Twitter has removed the ability for some employees to enforce content moderation rules and discipline user accounts that violate some hate speech and misinformation policies. The move precedes the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 8.
ENGADGET
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Some Uber users report receiving advertisements as push notifications on their phones even if they aren't interacting with the Uber app. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it has launched a limited test of the ads, which appear to be from Peloton and other brands. More: - The ads appeared shortly after Uber launched a new advertising division with plans for in-app ads.
- These include so-called “journey ads” that appear in the app while waiting for a vehicle, during the ride, and after the passenger arrives.
- Brands are able to “personalize” these ads to users based on their destination and travel histories.
- The ads as push notifications appear to be a surprise to some users. Uber did not say how many users are involved in the test or how long it could last.
- A spokesperson said users can always manage their mobile notification settings through the app's Privacy tab, allowing them to turn off the ads.
Note: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber. TECHCRUNCH
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A former Apple employee, Dhirendra Prasad, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the tech giant out of over $17M. Prasad admitted to "taking kickbacks, inflating invoices, stealing parts, and causing Apple to pay for items and services never received,” the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said on Tuesday. More: - Prasad, 52, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
- In a plea statement, Prasad admitted that he began defrauding Apple in 2011 as a buyer in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain department, where he worked until 2018.
- He said he inflated invoices, took kickbacks, and engaged in theft by stealing parts.
- Two co-conspirators, Don M. Baker and Robert Gary Hansen, previously admitted to their involvement in the schemes.
- Prasad's sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2023. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the fraud charges and five years for defrauding the U.S.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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 Google will remove its dedicated Street View app from app stores over the next several weeks and officially end support for the app on March 31, 2023. The Street View program will still live on in the Google Maps app and the Street View Studio web platform. More: - The standalone Street View application has been available for both Android and iOS since 2015.
- In addition to viewing locations on Google Maps with Street View, the app lets users contribute 360-degree imagery, called "photo spheres," from their phones or spherical cameras to improve Street View.
- Users will still be able to add Photo Spheres in Maps and publish 360-degree videos using Street View Studio.
- However, the dedicated app's Photo Paths feature, which allows users to submit 2D images of undocumented paths and roads, will be discontinued along with the app.
9TO5GOOGLE
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 Sony plans to release its next-generation PlayStation VR2 headset on Feb. 22 at a U.S. price point of $549.99. Some reports noted that the cost is higher than Sony's PlayStation 5 console, which is required to use the new virtual-reality headset. More: - The upgraded headset will have eye tracking, 3D audio, refresh rates of up to 120Hz, and a display resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels per eye.
- It comes with Sony's new Sense controllers that support haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, the same as Sony's DualSense controller.
- Sony says current PSVR games will not be compatible with the new headset. It did reveal 11 titles for the PSVR 2 that will launch in 2023.
- Pre-orders for the PlayStation VR2 will open on Nov. 15. The headset will cost £529.99 in the U.K., €599.99 in other parts of Europe, and ¥74,980 in Japan.
- Sony's original PlayStation VR headset, which works with the PlayStation 4, launched in 2016 for $399.99.
CNET
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 |  | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
Constructor is the company building revenue-driving on-site search and discovery solutions for digital merchandisers. | |
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