Hashtag Trends Sept. 8 – Apple’s new device. New US technology restrictions on China. YouTube acquisition failure

Apple released new devices, US tech companies were banned from setting up advanced facilities in China, and Google’s acquisition of YouTube almost never materialized.

Welcome to hashtag trending. This is Samira Bulsara, your host on Thursday, September 8th.

Apple announced a number of new gadgets at yesterday’s special event. Kicking off the show was the new Apple Watch Series 8 with new low-power modes, more fitness and safety features, and longer battery life. In parallel, Apple also announced the rugged Apple Watch Ultra, designed for extreme sports. It has a titanium casing, advanced weather resistance and pathfinding capabilities. The event concludes with the long-awaited iPhone 14 series. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have larger displays and new camera sensors, but it was the iPhone 14 Pro that caught the eye. Not only is it powered by Apple’s latest and fastest A16 Bionic chip, it also features a reimagined notification tray called Dynamic Island, a brighter display and a 48MP main camera sensor.

Government-funded U.S. technology companies will be barred from establishing high-tech facilities in China for at least 10 years. The announcement came directly from the Biden administration in another move to secure the U.S. primacy as the world’s tech powerhouse, according to The Guardian. Tensions between To spur innovation and secure her chain of supply, the US government has announced major funding initiatives such as the Chip and Science Act. The purpose, according to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, is to prevent companies that receive government funding from undermining national security.

Google’s acquisition of YouTube in 2006 almost didn’t happen when YouTube’s then-CEO Chad Hurley caught Google employees sifting through YouTube’s sales. According to Business Insider, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt had to personally mediate the matter. Of course his efforts paid off and YouTube was eventually sold to Google for $1.65 billion. Today, the platform earns 15 times more than he did. In 2021 alone, YouTube grossed him $29 billion.

Electric vehicles have been seen as an important part of the solution to combat climate change. As nearly every major automaker shifts their business to battery-powered vehicles, one expert fears lithium supplies won’t keep up. Lithium is a key metal in making the batteries used in most electric vehicles today, as well as smartphones and laptops. Keith Phillips, CEO of Piedmont Lithium, said global lithium production would not be able to accommodate the aggressive transition. On average, an electric car requires about 10kg of metal. Australia, Chile and China are currently the world’s largest lithium producers.

Here’s all the tech news trending right now. Hashtag Trending is part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or Google Home Daily Briefing. Sign up for the Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the important news straight to your inbox every day. Also, check out the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which airs every Thursday morning. If you have any suggestions or tips, let us know in the comments or email us. Thanks for listening, I’m Samira Bulsara.