Michael Simon, staff writer for PC World, discusses Apple's 11.3 iOS announcement, as well as the HomePod which is now available for pre-order. He also explores what China's first ever annual decline in phone shipments could mean.
Simon says iOS 11.3 will finally allow users to check the health of their batteries, a growing issue for customers. The iOS 11.3 will also offer new Animojis. Apple says the update is due out this spring.
Simon also discusses Apple's new HomePod, now available for pre-order. While the company has a loyal following of people who will definitely purchase the product, he doesn't see most people paying $349 when Amazon's Echo is just $99. Concerning China's decline in phone shipments, Simon says Americans will always buy new phones for new features, but China is a different market and Apple will need to learn how to adjust.
Earlier this week, crypto investors who got in on a 'Squid Game'-inspired coin were shocked when the asset turned out to be part of a scam. The people involved made off with close to $3 million after the Netflix-inspired coin's valuation went from $0.01 to $3,000 and back down to $0 within several days. CoinDesk Anchor Christine Lee joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the pump-and-dump scheme, how investors can be on the lookout for similar scams, and what crypto platform Binance is doing to investigate the incident.
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
Sian Morson, founder and editor of The Blkchain, talks about the challenges digital artists of color face getting opportunities to advance their careers and ways NFTs are redistributing wealth.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.