Apple- iPad Style Chassis for iPhone 12; Tesla Still Plans Robotaxis This Year; Amazon to Hire 75,000 More; Big Tech Hiring Aggressively

Apple is still planning a Fall hardware release. As has been reported earlier, the 4 iPhone 12 models will have flattened stainless steel edges, as opposed to the present rounded ones. The top models will have LiDAR scanners like the top iPad. Appleinsider.com also reports that there will be a new HomePod, weighing in at about half the size of the present one…at a welcomed lower price point! The oft-rumored Air Tags? A new tip says they will be sold with a keychain and a leather sleeve. While the iPhones and the rest may be delayed past September due to the coronavirus, they are all still expected this Fall.

Paging Korben Dallas! Over the weekend, Elon Musk reasserted that Tesla still plans to have a million robotaxis on the pavement by the end of the year…pending regulatory approval. Electrek.co says once final approval is given, Tesla will push out an over-the-air software update that will activate ‘Full Self-driving Capability.’ If this seems improbable considering the disruption from the coronavirus pandemic, keep in mind that it wouldn’t be the first time Musk was overly optimistic about a timeline for Tesla feature releases! Don’t be surprised if it is mid or late 2021 before the robo fleet is actually on the road.

Amazon has tacked on 75,000 of the 100,000 employees they had expected to add in the last 4 weeks…due to increased demand from the coronavirus pandemic. According to techcrunch.com, the company now expects to add another 75,000 full and part time positions to the 100,000 previously announced. They have also bumped up the amount being poured into pay increases to over $500 million. Amazon says they are positioning some of the openings as an option for anyone seeking work “until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.” They are putting more into safety, after much outcry— rolling out temperature checks across fulfillment centers and Whole Foods stores, as well as distributing masks to employees and conducing daily audits of these practices. There have still been calls for brief, complete closures of distribution centers for deep cleaning after virus infected staffers have had to leave sick. No word that they intend to go that far, however.

Besides Amazon, other big tech firms are stating up, as they did during the last financial crisis. Businessinsider.com reports that Google, Apple, and Facebook are all looking to increase staff. All are looking for engineers, data scientists, cyber security experts, and designers. Facebook has said they will hire at least 10,000 new employees by the end of the year. All seem wide open to poaching employees from smaller startups or tech companies that aren’t as well heeled or are in shutdown mode.