Tech News Today: Xiaomi’s first electric car, Apple’s endless beef with authorities, and more

The big tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, and Google (‘FAAMNG’ companies) have pressed pause on hiring in India amidst the global economic slowdown. Active job postings by these companies have dropped by 90% in 2023 compared to last year, according to data collected for ET by specialist staffing firm Xpheno. With revenue growth slowing down and clients adopting a cautious approach, the tech industry hiring in India has taken a big hit.

Apple has resumed sales of the latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra models in the US after a federal court temporarily lifted the ban imposed by the US International Trade Commission. The ban was issued earlier this month when Apple was found to have violated medical device maker Masimo's patents related to blood oxygen monitoring tech used in the watches. Apple is now allowed to sell the watches until a final ruling comes through on January 12.

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has made its foray into the electric vehicle market with the launch of the SU7 electric sedan. Capable of accelerating from 0-100kmh in just 2.78 seconds, the EV is faster off the line than even the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Xiaomi has big ambitions in the EV space and aims to break into the top 5 automakers globally. With features like seamless connectivity with Xiaomi phones and accessories, the company is bringing its tech expertise to the auto market.

Google scientists have created VideoPoet, a new AI model capable of generating high-quality videos from text, images or audio inputs. VideoPoet is the first large language model that can process multimodal inputs and generate creative video content without specific training. Built on a novel decoder-only architecture, VideoPoet represents a breakthrough in AI's ability to generate realistic and coherent videos that match the inputs. While concerns around content moderation remain, VideoPoet demonstrates the rapid progress in multimodal AI.

Apple is facing scrutiny from Indian authorities following spyware alerts it sent to journalists and opposition figures in the country. Indian officials have reportedly expressed unhappiness over the warnings and have asked Apple to provide alternative explanations, likely so as to not implicate the government. Apple's notifications warned that the devices may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers. With security and privacy being key selling points for Apple, the incident highlights the challenges tech firms face in balancing user protections against government demands.