Meta has announced that it is opening up Quest’s operating system to third party companies, giving them the opportunity to build headsets of their own. Engadget.com says that you might think of this as following the Android model with mobile phones and tablets, where many makers can build the hardware…as opposed to Apple’s closed system where only Apple makes the hardware and the software. The OS is getting rebranded as ‘Meta Horizon OS.’ There are already a couple of makers diving into using the OS…ASUS’s Republic of Gaming Brand is working on new ‘performance gaming’ headsets, while Lenovo is building headsets for  “productivity, learning and entertainment.” Hopefully, the Lenovo headsets will be better than the last time out…Lenovo also built the poorly-received Oculus Rift S. Meta says they are also working on a limited edition Xbox ‘inspired’ Quest Headset. 

Amazon is dropping drone deliveries to Lockeford, CA. The company had been running test deliveries there for a decade…making it one of the longest running test sites. According to cnbc.com, Amazon intends to open up drone deliveries to part of Phoenix later this year, and to more cities in the US by 2025. Amazon is working with the FAA to get permission to do drone delivery west of Phoenix. They continue with tests in College Station, TX. 

First quarter smartphone sales in China were barely up year over year…only 1.5%. Macrumors.com notes that Apple iPhone sales there dropped by 19.1%, with most of the missed sales going to Huawei, which had a huge 69.7% growth in sales year to year. A lot of that is due to their launch of the Mate 60 series. Some analysts think new color options and the addition of AI features may help Apple to pick up some of what it lost this Fall. 

In the wake of a rough first quarter, Tesla continues to slash things…first staff, then car prices, now the cost of the so-called Full Self Driving product. Mashable.com reports that they have slashed FSD from $12,000 to $8,000. The monthly subscription to FSD has also been cut…in half to $99 a month. The car maker has also dropped its ‘Enhanced Autopilot’ package, leaving only the ‘Basic Autopilot’ or the still pricy Full Self Driving package. 

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