 CES 2022 organizers said they will not cancel the January trade show after AMD, OnePlus, and Microsoft became the latest companies to withdraw their in-person plans. The firms join T-Mobile, Google, Intel, and others that have shifted to a digital-only presence amid spiking coronavirus cases. CES will officially run from Jan. 5 through 8 in Las Vegas, with preshow events starting on Jan. 3. More: - Reports confirmed that OnePlus dropped its in-person CES plans but could still announce its OnePlus 10 Pro phone at the event.
- Microsoft, too, confirmed a virtual-only showing for its Microsoft Partner Innovation Experience and Automotive Press Kit.
- The Consumer Technology Association, which hosts CES, said it has added 60 new in-person exhibitors, many of them medium and smaller-sized companies, since mid-December.
- At that time, it counted 42 cancellations, less than 7% of its floor exhibitors.
- Analysts estimate that CES 2022 may only attract 20% to 25% of its typical in-person attendance. CES 2020, the last in-person event, drew 4,419 exhibitors and 171,268 attendees.
- The event schedule is available here.
CNET 
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"League of Legends" developer Riot Games agreed to pay $100M to settle a gender-based discrimination and harassment lawsuit. More than 2,000 female employees sued Riot in 2018 following reports of sexism, unfair treatment, and lower compensation and hiring opportunities than men. More: - The "Valorant" publisher will pay $80M to all current and former full-time women employees and temp contractors in California from Nov. 2014 to the present.
- Another $20M will go toward legal fees and other expenses. The company agreed to make its pay structure more transparent and fund inclusion and diversity programs.
- The Los Angeles Supreme Court still must approve the $100M settlement, which is higher than the proposed $10M that employees sought before two California agencies intervened in Jan. 2020.
- California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and Division of Labor Standards Enforcement argued that plaintiffs were entitled to $400M+ in potential back pay due to wage disparities.
- A court recently stopped the DFEH from intervening in a proposed $18M settlement involving similar claims at Activision Blizzard, where women have described a culture of sexual harassment.
VENTUREBEAT
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Apple re-opened some of its New York City stores in a limited capacity after facing backlash over their closures. On Monday, the company originally shuttered some stores temporarily due to rising COVID-19 cases. Customers can still pick up online orders at stores. More: - The company said it's testing workers regularly and will adjust its health policies depending on results.
- The closures originally affected at least 20 retail stores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Some stores didn't have enough healthy employees to remain open, according to reports.
- Last week, 50+ Apple workers held walkouts to demand improved working conditions, higher pay, additional sick leave, and more safety measures such as N95 masks.
- Apple recently abandoned its plans for office workers to return in February. It has yet to announce a new return-to-office date.
- Globally, the number of new daily COVID infections reached a record 1.44 million on Monday.
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed to keep businesses open as much as possible.
BARRON'S
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 Xiaomi unveiled its flagship 12 Series smartphones in China, one of the first phones to run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The company could introduce the Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro, and/or Xiaomi 12X in other global markets next year. More: - The base series 12 model has a 6.28-inch flexible OLED display with 2,400 × 1,080 resolution, Sony 50MP IMX766 camera, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Likewise, the 12 Pro has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip but a larger 6.73-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 3,200 x 1,440 and a single-cell 120W 4,600mAh battery.
- The Xiaomi 12X is more budget-oriented and uses a Snapdragon 870 SoC.
- The company also revealed its latest high-end smartwatch with a 1.43-inch AMOLED display and wireless noise-canceling headphones.
SLASHGEAR
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Apple has reportedly hired Meta Platforms' PR chief Andrea Schubert as it prepares to unveil a mixed-reality headset sometime in late 2022, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He noted that Apple's decision to hire Schubert "makes sense" given that Facebook parent Meta has been the market leader in VR headsets through its Oculus brand. More: - Schubert has been communications director for Meta's Reality Labs consumer hardware division since 2016, where she had led the company's AR, XR, Portal, and research communications teams.
- Her move to Apple signals that it may be gearing up to release its own headset with AR and VR capabilities sooner than later.
- The high-end device is expected to cost around $1,000, possibly more, and have two 8K displays and advanced 3D sensors capable of hand tracking.
Zoom-out: - The headset would mark Apple's first foray into VR and compete with Meta's Quest line.
- On Christmas Day, Oculus VR became the most popular app in Apple's App Store for the first time, showing how popular the VR devices are becoming.
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest $10B+ to help build the series of interconnected virtual worlds for socializing and gaming known as the "metaverse."
- Meta appears to be retiring the Oculus brand name and replacing it with Meta.
9TO5MAC
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Google can directly pay internet privacy advocacy groups to settle allegations that it illegally gathered private Wi-Fi data through its "Street View" vehicles, a U.S. appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel agreed that wouldn't be feasible to identify and pay each plaintiff in the $13M class-action settlement of nearly 60 million people. More: - The suit argued that Google invaded people's privacy and broke federal wiretapping laws by gathering people's data.
- Google began collecting people's personal Wi-Fi data, including emails, names, and passwords, via its "Street View" program in 2007.
- It later agreed to delete and stop collecting the data after facing multiple lawsuits. The company still takes panoramic photos of city streets through Street View.
- In one of those lawsuits, Google reached a $13M settlement that a court said can be doled out to nine internet privacy advocacy groups, including the ACLU and the Center for Digital Democracy.
- However, several state attorneys general and class members appealed the distribution method, saying it should go directly to members in the class settlement.
- The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco disagreed, upholding the settlement as is.
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- Tesla said it will update its software to prevent people from playing video games on touch screens while its vehicles are in motion.
- Apple and Vuzix partnered to combine Verizon's 5G network capabilities with Vuzix's latest smart glasses.
- Motorola's third-generation folding Razr is due out next year and promises a "more advanced" chip.
- Movana plans to release its fitness tracking Ring device in beta in the second half of 2022.
- Krafton banned the devices of people caught cheating in Battlegrounds Mobile India, the local version of PUBG Mobile.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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