Apple Continues Moving Assembly from China; Expedia’s AI Assisted Travel Planning; Best Buy Expands Recycling Program; Tesla Worker Takes Reduced Racism Payout

Apple is continuing to try to cut reliance on China, and as part of that quest, Cupertino is expected to triple iPhone production in India this year…with some iPhone 15 models possibly being built there for export around the world by the end of the year. Appleinsider.com reports that Apple is shooting for 25% of all iPhone production to come from their facilities in India. Last year, Apple made more than 6.5 million phones in India. Right now, it looks like the Pro models will continue to be made in China…partly due to raw material availability. Stainless steel frames for the Pro models, aluminum ones for the regular iPhone 15 models built in India. Apple is also working on moving Apple Watch and iPad production to India. 

Everyone wants to get on the ChatGPT bandwagon. Now, Expedia is adding a ChatGPT planning tool. According to geekwire.com, Expedia claims that it will offer a new “travel planning experience.” One of the ways Expedia is trying to differentiate its ChatGPT implementation is by automatically saving hotels discussed during a chat session to a “trip” in the app to make it easier to book a stay. This capability will expand later to other forms of reservations, including flights and rental cars. Hold tight…this could either turn out great, or be a disaster. One tech reporter gave it a try, and the feature didn’t save his preferred hotel, but another one. That could really suck on booking flights!

Best Buy has been running an electronics recycling program in store for a while now. The big box store has announced they are adding a mail-in option. Engadget.com says now, Best Buy will sell you a box. They come in 2 sizes….it’s $23 for a small 9x5x3 inch box and up to 6 pounds, or $30 for a medium box…that’s 18/14/4 inches and up to 15 pounds of recycled devices. Best Buy says you can either drop off at a UPS store or schedule a pick up. the big box store claims to be the US’ “largest retail collector of e-waste.” You can also schedule a home pickup up…that runs $200…but is really of home theaters and other heavy appliances. Your best bet? Drop the e-waste off at one of the stores for free.

A former Tesla worker turned down a $15 million payout in a racial discrimination suit. That hasn’t worked out well. Now, after a trial, Owen Diaz has been awarded $3 million in punitive damages and $175,000 in compensatory damages. Arstechnica.com notes that in the first trial, the award was $137 million, which a judge cut to $15 million last April. Diaz went for a new trial, and came up short. Diaz, who is black, ran a freight elevator at Tesla’s Fremont factory. Sometimes, you just need to take the money and run.

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