Amazon confirms delivery drones for UK, Tesla profits sink
Amazon will relaunch its delivery drones in the UK next year, the shopping giant has confirmed. The company said it will begin using the unmanned, airborne vehicles for distributing goods from some of its same-day delivery sites – one of which will be in the UK.No location has yet been revealed. It’s part of the expansion of the drones within the retail side of the business, which will also be rolled out in Italy and a third state in the US, on top of California and Texas, where the drones already operate. Sky News
Amazon is experimenting with a humanoid robot as the technology company increasingly seeks to automate its warehouses. It has started testing Digit, a two-legged robot that can grasp and lift items, at facilities this week. The device is first being used to shift empty tote boxes. The company’s ambitious drive to integrate robotics across its sprawling operation has sparked fears about the effect on its workforce of almost 1.5 million humans. Tye Brady, the chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, claimed that – although it will render some jobs redundant – the deployment of robots would create new ones. The Guardian
Major online firms including Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia and Tripadvisor have united to fight fake reviews. The group, which also includes workplace review site Glassdoor and review platform Trustpilot, will share information on deterring fraudsters. It follows concern that chatbot-like AI systems are being used to write bogus online reviews for profit. Fake reviews can damage a company’s reputation and lead consumers to buy poor-value products and services. A recent government report found that bogus reviews of products alone could cost UK consumers around £312m each year. BBC
Electric car maker Tesla’s profits took a dive in the third quarter, according to an earnings call on Wednesday in which the company’s chief Elon Musk blamed staff working from home for being “detached from reality”. Tesla’s profits in Q3 of 2023 have plunged by over 40 per cent compared to the gains it made in the same period last year after the company slashed its car prices by around 25 per cent in an attempt to compete with other EV makers. The EV manufacturer reported a net profit of about $1.9bn for the time between July through September, a 44 percent drop from the $3.3bn in the same three-month period last year. Independent
WhatsApp users with two accounts will soon be able to switch between them on a single phone. Writing on Facebook today, CEO of WhatsApp owner Meta Mark Zuckerberg announced the new feature enabling two accounts to be logged in at once. ‘Switch between two accounts on WhatsApp – soon you’ll be able to have two WhatsApp accounts on one phone within the app,’ he said Until now, users with more than one account, such as a personal WhatsApp and work profile, have needed to use two phones. Metro
After a wave of user feedback, Fitbit is detailing some improvements it plans to make to its redesigned mobile app. According to a Fitbit blog post, the company states that “Steps streak” will soon make a return to the app. If this is unfamiliar, it’s because this feature was previously only available for iOS users. However, after the outcry, Fitbit will return the feature and introduce it for the first time to Android owners. This should help getting those steps in feel a little more rewarding — and the ones you’ve already tallied will be taken into account, too. Android Central
