Новости за 09.01.2022

Roblox may be enjoying success in many parts of the world, but it's currently in limbo in China. TechCrunch has learned Roblox temporarily shut down the Chinese version of its game platform, LuoBuLeSi, on December 8th for some "important transitory actions" needed to develop a future version. The company was shy on what those moves involved beyond the "data architecture," but a spokesperson said crafting the platform for China was an "iterative process."

Don't expect Apple to follow others into the metaverse. According to the latest newsletter from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has rejected the idea of a metaverse (in this case, an all-virtual world) for its long-rumored mixed reality headset. The very idea is "off limits," Gurman's sources claimed. The focus would be on short stints of communication, content viewing and gaming.

Meta is facing more scrutiny over its approach to child safety. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) told The Guardian in a statement that it was planning "further discussions" with Meta about the Quest 2 VR headset's compliance with a recently established children's code that priorities the "best interests" of young users. The watchdog wants to determine whether Meta's headset and VR services do enough to protect the privacy and data of kids.

Apple might use its now-customary spring event to update its most affordable smartphone. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed in his latest newsletter that Apple is expected to introduce a third-generation iPhone SE this spring through a virtual presentation "likely" happening in March or April. In an echo of past rumors, Gurman understood the new SE would still cling to the iPhone 8-era design but add 5G and a new processor — possibly the A15 from the iPhone 13, if Apple's history of using last year's high-end chip is any indication. Читать дальше...

The Mars Perseverance rover's sample collection has run into a snag. NASA reports the rover stopped caching samples after debris partly blocked the bit carousel (the device that stores drill bits and passes sample tubes for internal processing). The rover encountered the anomaly on December 29th, but the mission team had to wait until January 6th to send a command to extract the drill bit, undock the robot arm from the carousel and take images to verify what happened.