This week, the tech industry saw Meta get hit with a legal order to sell off Giphy just two years after buying the platform for an estimated $400 million USD. The company will now collaborate with the UK’s antitrust authority to divest its ownership of Giphy effective immediately.
Elsewhere in tech, Nvidia “unlaunched” its 12GB RTX 4080 GPU after testers reported that the chip wasn’t quite up to par, while Apple rolled out the new M2 chip to its iPad Pro lineup.
Below, Hypebeast has rounded up the top tech stories of the week so you can stay up to date on trends in the industry.
Nvidia Quietly “Unlaunched” Its 12GB RTX 4080 GPU
Nvidia
Nvidia quietly pulled the 12GB RTX 4080 graphics card from its forthcoming 40 Series. As the only card under $1,000 USD, at $899 USD, the 12GB RTX 4080 was introduced as a comparably cheaper alternative to the $1,199 USD 16GB RTX 4080.
Testers, however, felt that while the two cards shared the “4080” label, the 12GB version was too underperforming to comprise the same line, leading to Nvidia shuttering the 12GB. The 16GB will now be the cheapest card available when the series launches on November 16.
A Court Has Ordered Meta To Sell GIF Database Giphy
Jakub Porzycki/Nurphoto/Getty Images
An investigation carried out by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has culminated in Meta being ordered to sell off the GIF database Giphy. The order arrives just two years after Meta acquired Giphy with the intention of making it easier for Facebook and Instagram users to find and share GIFs.
The CMA concluded that Meta violated antitrust protections by snapping up Giphy, which ultimately resulted in a “substantial lessening of competition” in the UK market. While Meta appealed the November 2021 ruling, the CMA has stood by its decision. A Meta spokesperson said that the company plans to cooperate with the CMA to divest Giphy.
Apple Announced a New iPad Pro Featuring an M2 Chip
Apple
Apple has shared that it’ll be bringing the M2 chip to its newest flagship tablet, the iPad Pro. The M2 made its debut in this year’s Macbook Air and Macbook Pro lineup, and will now be replacing the M1 in both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions of the Pro.
The M2 comes with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, granting users better performance, graphics and significantly quicker loading times. Aside from the chip upgrade, there don’t seem to be any changes to the tablet aesthetically speaking.
Joe Rogan and Steve Jobs Had a 20-Minute Chat in an AI-Powered Podcast
Justin Sullivan/Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images
While a conversation between Joe Rogan and the late Steve Jobs is no longer possible, podcast.ai has engineered the next best thing. A podcast generated entirely by AI hears Rogan and Jobs talk about technology, faith and even drugs. The AI technology isn’t seamless but makes for an interesting 20-minute listen.
An Unopened First-Generation Apple iPhone From 2007 Was Auctioned Off for $39,000 USD
Medianews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
A first-generation iPhone in “exceptional condition” sold at auction for $39,000 USD. Put up by LCG Auctions, the 8GB iPhone, which was still sealed in its box, started at $2,500 USD but bids quickly grew higher as the auction came further to closing.
wazup.