Today's tech news: Xiaomi's first electric car, Apple's never-ending beef with authorities and more | Technology News

Big tech companies ('FAAMNG' companies) such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google have suspended hiring in India amid the global economic slowdown. The number of active job openings at these companies has fallen by 90% in 2023 compared to last year, according to data collected for ET by staffing specialist Xpheno. Employment in India's technology industry has taken a big hit as revenue growth slows and customers take a cautious approach.

Apple has resumed sales of its latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra models in the United States after a federal court temporarily lifted a ban imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission. The ban was issued earlier this month when Apple was found to have infringed a patent from medical device maker Masimo related to blood oxygen monitoring technology used in the watch. Apple is currently allowed to sell the watch until a final ruling is handed down on January 12th.

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has entered the electric vehicle market with the launch of the electric sedan SU7. Accelerating from 0-100kmh in just 2.78 seconds, this EV is faster than the Porsche Taycan Turbo S off the line. Xiaomi has big ambitions in the EV field and aims to break into the top five car manufacturers in the world. With features such as seamless connectivity with Xiaomi mobile phones and accessories, the company brings its technological expertise to the automotive market.

Google scientists have created VideoPoet, a new AI model that can generate high-quality videos from text, image, or audio input. VideoPoet is the first large-scale language model that can process multimodal input and generate creative video content without special training. Built on a new decoder-only architecture, his VideoPoet represents a breakthrough in AI's ability to produce realistic, consistent video that matches its input. Although concerns about content moderation remain, VideoPoet demonstrates rapid advances in multimodal AI.

Apple is facing increased scrutiny from Indian authorities after it sent spyware alerts to Indian journalists and opposition figures. Indian officials reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the warning and asked Apple to provide a different explanation, likely to avoid government involvement. Apple's notice warns that these devices may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers. Security and privacy are key selling points for Apple, and the incident highlights the challenges tech companies face when balancing user protection with government demands.