Apple hires Tesla’s head of electric powertrains

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Apple might have scaled back its team that’s responsible for its self-driving car project, but it doesn’t seem like the company is giving up on the segment. In fact, a recent hire might mean they’re bucking down on it. Apple just hired Michael Schwekutsch, Tesla’s vice president for overseeing electric powertrains. He is now Apple’s senior director of Engineering at the Special Project Group, which is the division in charge of driverless cars. As expected, no one has mentioned what he’ll be doing in the company, but his background does tell us a bit of why Apple has taken him onboard.

Schwekutsch has a lot of experience working with electric drivetrains, and it isn’t limited to his work with Tesla. He’s worked on cars like the second-generation Roadster, the Semi, BMW i8, Fiat 500e, and Porsche 918 Spyder, among other EVs and hybrids. It’s expected he might continue on that path with Apple. But we won’t know for sure. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for any updates.

Source: Engadget

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MLB games streaming on Facebook are down to 6 this season

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From 25 games exclusively aired on Facebook last year, this year only six Major League Baseball games will be streamed on Facebook Watch. It’ll be available in the US (except for regions where the games air on local stations) and several international markets. With this new one-year deal, Facebook and MLB haven’t said which games will be streamed, but these will be a one per month affair. They also promised there will still be recaps of every game and weekly recaps for each team. The MLB network will also produce dedicated Watch broadcasts that offer “interactive and social elements.”

"We look forward to testing a new model for live games, which should help the league continue to reach a younger and more global audience," Rob Shaw, Facebook's sports partnerships lead for leagues and media, told Morning Consult. According to Facebook, the games streamed on the service reaches an average viewership that’s almost 20 years younger than the usual MLB TV audience.

Sony rumoured to be cutting its smartphone division in half by 2020

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It isn’t exactly a secret that Sony’s smartphone business isn’t doing so well. And it seems that’ll affect the structure of the company’s mobile division. Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sony is reportedly planning to cut half of its smartphone workforce by 2020. The layoffs could leave as many as 2,000 people without a job. However, it’s expected that Sony might transfer some of these workers to other divisions. This won’t be the first time Sony has done this. They laid off 2,000 employees back in 2009 after closing four facilities where smartphones were produced. It then took out 1,000 more jobs in 2015 due to underwhelming earnings.

Source: Engadget