Apple-Yellow iPhone Reveal; Free Microsoft Outlook for Macs; Tesla Chops Model S & X Prices; Meta- More Layoffs This Week

Apple has released a new color for iPhones. The new yellow color will only be available on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, though…not on either of the Pro models. Apple has been dropping a new color on us in the Spring for several years. Theverge.com reports that you can preorder the yellow iPhone starting this Friday the 10th, and they will be available on March 14th. They also just unveiled new spring-themed Watch band colors and silicone iPhone cases…a nice way to hypo sales half a year before the new iPhone models and Watch models come out. 

Microsoft is making available a new heavy-duty alternative to the Apple Mail app on Macs…their own Outlook is now free to use on the Mac, without buying the full Office Suite or subscribing to Microsoft 365. According to engadget.com, the move will not only be a good compliment to Outlook for iOS…enabling you to start a draft on an iOS device and polish up and send the email on a Mac, but you can pour your other email accounts into it for a unified mailbox. The Apple Mail app does that already, of course, except without Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft should pick up some new users just based on this alone. It’s a hassle having to check multiple email accounts. I can check all of mine through Apple Mail right now…EXCEPT for company Outlook. 

Tesla had already cut prices on the Model 3 and Model Y…by as much as $15,000. Now, TechCrunch.com notes that the EV maker has chopped prices on the more pricy Model S and Model X. The Model S Plaid has been chopped from $119,990 to $109,990 for example…a $10 grand savings. The Model S all-wheel drive has been cut from $94,990 down to $89,990. The Model X all-wheel drive drops a bit over 9% from $109,990 to $99,990. It should boost sales a bit for Tesla, but even with the cuts, neither of the high line models will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax incentive. You can get that federal money on both the Model 3 and Model Y IF you act before the end of this month!

No details yet, but Meta plans another mass layoff by the end of this week. Bloomberg reports that this follows on the heels of a 13% staff reduction last November. The social media company continues to tighten things down in response to lower ad sales as the pandemic continues to wind down. They are apparently leaving the cuts up to middle managers and department heads. This round of layoffs isn’t expect to be as many as the 11,000 who got the chop in November, but is widely thought to number several thousand. 

I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.