Merry Christmas, Spotify employees! 17% of you are getting an exit package from Spotify Claus. Techcrunch.com reports that it’s the third round of layoffs this year as the streaming platform moves to become ‘both productive and efficient.’ The CEO and Founder, Daniel Ek calls it ‘right sizing,’ and partly blames slow economic growth and rising capital costs. He did point out that Spotify had significantly increased investment in the business in 2020 and 2021. His statement is little consolation to the almost 1400 folks who will be having a blue Christmas after getting the pink slip. 

New leaks appear to show the Samsung Galaxy S24 joining Apple in using Titanium..as well as a new flattened screen design. According to theverge.com, there will also be on-device AI software to translate messaging apps in real time in over a dozen languages. The top line S24 Ultra will have an upgraded 50MP 5X telephoto camera, too, plus a bigger battery. The Samsung Galaxy line may drop in January instead of the usual February, but no firm date yet…stay tuned. 

In a new spin…ok, sorry about the terrible pun…on electric vehicle motors, Hyundai and Kia are working on a Uni Wheel design. Motors in wheels is a concept that was tried years ago, but it increases the ‘unsprung weight’…not a good thing…and was abandoned. Now, arstechnica.com says the two Korean makers (which are really just Hyundai…it absorbed Kia a few years ago) think they have a way to minimize the main issue with the system…that being the motor experiences all the bumps and shocks as the wheel. Up to now, car makers hadn’t figured out how to connect up the motors to the power system…but now they have a CV joint, driveshaft, and reduction gear that will work with a wide range of motion. Moving the motors to the wheels frees up space in the undercarriage of the cars to make room for bigger batteries. The motor-in-wheel system works with wheel sizes ranging from 4 inches like a scooter up to 25 inches. No word on when…or if, the Uni Wheel system will get into production.

As reported here and elsewhere, Apple and Goldman Sachs are splitting the sheets next year…so Apple is talking to other potential financial partners. Bloomberg is reporting that Chase has emerged as a possible partner. Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, points out that Apple already parks some $60 billion of its cash hoard with Chase, and that they were an early and successful Apple Pay partner. Since they are already involved with the MasterCard network, it would be a pretty seamless transition compared to switching to Visa or AmEx. A big draw for Apple…they could get into the 60 some countries where Chase operates…particularly the United Kingdom. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.