The iPhone has grown predictable. Over the past seven years, it has generally looked the same, with incremental improvements to its cameras, processors and battery life.

But on Monday, Apple tried to turn the page on that predictability by introducing its first artificially intelligent iPhone.

The iPhone 16, which was unveiled in a prerecorded video at the company’s futuristic Silicon Valley campus, comes in four models that are designed to run the company’s generative artificial intelligence system, called Apple Intelligence. The company said that the phones will be able to sort messages, offer writing suggestions and use a more capable Siri virtual assistant.

In addition to announcing those changes to the iPhone, the company unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10, which has rounder corners and a larger, brighter display that is nearly 10% thinner. They also introduced a new AirPods Pro, capable of automatically reducing noise at concerts or near construction sites, and acting as professional grade hearing aids.

The iPhone 16 is debuting with fewer capabilities than the company marketed in June, when it announced its Apple Intelligence system. Starting next month, the phones will summarize notifications, offer writing recommendations and allow people to more quickly find photos. The AI also makes it possible to use the camera to identify specific types of flowers, plants or dog breeds.

Other capabilities will arrive over time, the company said, including Siri’s ability to field some requests related to personal information on the phone. Requests unrelated to personal information will be routed to ChatGPT.

Apple released four versions of the iPhone 16, all of which come with a new camera button. The entry level models, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, start at $799 and feature a faster processor, a more powerful camera and an “Action button” that can be programmed to automatically retrieve capabilities such as the phone’s flashlight. The higher-end models, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, start at $999 and feature a slightly larger display, a larger battery and the ability to capture studio-quality audio. They are available in stores Sept. 20.

— New York Times

Google advertising antitrust trial begins

One month after a judge declared Google’s search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant faces another antitrust lawsuit that threatens to break up the company, this time over its advertising technology.

The Justice Department, joined by a coalition of states, and Google each made opening statements Monday to a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., who will decide whether Google holds a monopoly over online advertising technology.

The regulators contend that Google built, acquired and maintains a monopoly over the technology that matches online publishers to advertisers. Dominance over the software on both the buy side and the sell side of the transaction enables Google to keep as much as 36 cents on the dollar when it brokers sales between publishers and advertisers, the government contends.

They allege that Google also controls the ad exchange market, which matches the buy side to the sell side.

Companies fined over whistleblower issues

Seven companies settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission over charges that they violated rules protecting whistleblowers who report potential misconduct.

The combined civil penalties for the seven companies totaled more than $3 million, the SEC said Monday.

Among other actions, the companies required employees to waive their right to potential whistleblower monetary awards, according to the SEC.

“This severely impedes would-be whistleblowers from reporting potential securities law violations to the SEC,” said Jason Burt, director of the SEC’s Denver office.

The companies and the civil penalties they agreed to settle include Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., $1,386,000; a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp., $399,750; AppFolio, Inc., $692,250; IDEX Corp., $75,000; LSB Industries, $156,000; Smart for Life, Inc. $19,500 and TransUnion, $312,000.

TransUnion said that it is already incorporating changes to better protect employees. Other companies did not reply to an email requesting comment.

Feds: $5.6B lost to crypto fraud last year

Americans were duped out of more than $5.6 billion last year through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency, the FBI said in a report released Monday that shows a 45% jump in losses from 2022.

The FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints in 2023 by victims of financial fraud involving bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies, according to the FBI. The most rampant scheme was investment fraud, which accounted for $3.96 billion of the losses.

“The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, the speed of irreversible transactions, and the ability to transfer value around the world make cryptocurrency an attractive vehicle for criminals, while creating challenges to recover stolen funds,” wrote Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division.

Scammers will often make contact through dating apps or social media to build trust over several weeks or months before suggesting cryptocurrency investing, the FBI said. Once the relationship is built, they convince the targets to use fake websites or apps to invest their money, sometimes even allowing the victims to withdraw small amounts of money early on to make it seem legitimate.

In some cases, those victims are then targeted by bogus businesses claiming they will help the victim recover the cryptocurrency they lost.

FBI officials say Americans of all ages can be a target of such scams, and should be extremely cautious when presented with investment opportunities.

— From news services