Consumer Tech News (Feb 10-Feb 14): Major Developments in AI and Earnings Reports

The United States and the United Kingdom have chosen not to sign a global AI safety declaration during the AI Action Summit held in Paris. This decision is a departure from previous AI summits where both countries had backed similar agreements.

Earnings Results

Lyft Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT) has reported impressive earnings for the fourth quarter, generating $1.6 billion in revenue, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.56 billion. The company also achieved a net income of $61.7 million, in contrast to a loss of $26.3 million in the same quarter last year.

Technology Updates

Elon Musk's X has come to an agreement for a $10 million settlement in a lawsuit initiated by former President Donald Trump.

T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is offering all users free access to its satellite-to-cell beta service, which is powered by SpaceX's Starlink.

Tubi is providing a free live stream of Super Bowl LIX. However, reports indicate that users attempting to cast the stream to their TVs via Chromecast (Google Cast) are experiencing issues.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has announced that its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2025, will be held on May 20-21 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.

Smartphone News

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has released updates for iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. These updates address a vulnerability that could disable USB Restricted Mode on locked devices.

Furthermore, Apple is ramping up recruitment for its home robotics division. In his latest newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman mentioned that Apple has listed several job openings for robotics specialists recently.

In a unique marketing strategy, Apple played a significant role in Super Bowl LIX without directly promoting its products. YouTuber and reviewer Nikias Molina referred to this move as “discretely genius.”

Additionally, Apple has made a curious adjustment on its Maps app, changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, following an executive order from former President Donald Trump.

Apple also introduced a new purchase migration feature that allows users to combine purchases from a secondary account into their primary account.

In China, Huawei Technologies has taken an unconventional approach to boost smartwatch sales by registering them as medical devices.

Artificial Intelligence Developments

Actor Hank Azaria, known for voicing many characters on “The Simpsons,” tested an AI system to replicate his voice, but the results did not meet expectations.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has seen a surge in web traffic, surpassing both Elon Musk’s X and Yahoo, making it the sixth most-visited website globally as of January 2025.

According to a report from Jeff Bezos-supported Anthropic, AI adoption is rapidly increasing in the fields of software development and technical writing, while jobs requiring physical labor remain largely unchanged.

Despite claims from Musk's legal team, OpenAI’s board has not officially received his proposed takeover bid of $97.4 billion.

Lastly, OpenAI is planning to streamline its offerings by phasing out its standalone ‘o3' model, as announced by CEO Sam Altman.

AI, Earnings, Tech, Robotics, Lawsuit