Share Snapchat’s parent company plans to lay off 16% of its employees, around 1,000 people, citing “rapid advancements in artificial intelligence”, the social media company told staff on Wednesday in an internal memo. The staff reduction is part of a wave of tech industry layoffs in the past year, with many firms blaming AI for the cuts. Snap Inc’s layoffs follow demands last month from Irenic Capital Management, an activist investor whose portfolio manager wrote a letter to the Snap Inc CEO, Evan Spiegel, calling on him to reduce costs and headcount while criticizing the company’s current strategy. Guardian Google says it is expanding its policies to crack down on websites which trap users with “back button hijacking”. Back button hijacking is when a website interferes with a browser so the back button no longer takes users to the previous page, instead often keeping them on the site or presenting unsolicited ads. In a blog post the tech giant behind the Chrome browser said it had seen a “rise of this type of behaviour” which had led it to act. From 15 June the tactic will be deemed a “malicious practice”, meaning sites which continue to adopt it may be down-ranked or even removed from Google Search results. BBC Amazon has taken the wraps off a new Fire TV Stick HD that it says is its slimmest yet. At $34.99, the device offers a design that Amazon says is 30 percent thinner than the previous generation, along with the ability to power it directly through your TV’s USB port. The new design eliminates the need to use the Fire TV Stick HD with a separate wall adapter, making it easier to travel with. The Verge Amazon.com said on Tuesday it will acquire Globalstar in ​an $11.57 billion deal, bolstering its fledgling satellite business as it tries to catch up with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Tech companies are pouring billions of ‌dollars into capturing the lucrative market for satellite-based connectivity, but it will be a tall order to match Starlink’s 10,000-unit-strong network. Through the deal, Amazon adds Globalstar’s two dozen satellites to its existing network of more than 200. Reuters We’ve already seen renders of the alleged Xperia 1 VIII with its redesigned camera island, and we now have an FCC listing, which comes a fair bit earlier than the one for its predecessor did last year. The listing contains the PY7-30515Z model number, which is presumably the Xperia 1 VIII. While it does not feature images of the device, we do get confirmation for several key features. The upcoming flagship Xperia will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack and will feature wireless charging. GSM Arena GoPro has crammed its iconic stabilization and durability into three cameras with one-inch sensors – and one of them is a mirrorless camera. The GoPro Mission 1 series evolves the action camera giant’s lineup into the next generation using 50MP, 8K60p one-inch sensors inside the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro action cameras and the Mission 1 Pro ILS mirrorless cinema camera. All three cameras use the same sensor – a one-inch sensor with a Quad Bayer design capable of taking up to 50MP stills – and the new GP3 processor. Digital Camera World For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv Share this: