Top Tech News Today: Two Top Executives Quitting X, Google Removes Gemini AI Ad From Olympics, More

Two key executives in X, formerly Twitter's media engineering team have stepped down from their positions.

Mark Kalman, who led the media engineering department, and his deputy, Melissa Merencillo, have both announced their resignations.

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Two Top Executives Quitting X

Two key executives in X, formerly Twitter's media engineering team have stepped down from their positions. Mark Kalman, who led the media engineering department, and his deputy, Melissa Merencillo, have both announced their resignations. The news was shared with colleagues through an internal Slack channel, according to The Verge. Interestingly, their departure coincides with a stock vesting date at X. An unnamed insider has suggested that this timing may not be coincidental, potentially indicating that the executives waited for their stock options to mature before leaving the company.

Google Removes Gemini AI Ad From Olympics

Google's recent Olympic advertising campaign met with significant criticism, leading to the removal of its contentious "Dear Sydney" commercial from Olympic broadcasts. The 60-second advertisement depicted a father attempting to compose a fan letter for his daughter to her Olympic hero, American track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. While the initial concept seemed to align with typical heartwarming Olympic advertisements, the execution took an unexpected turn. Instead of assisting his daughter in writing the letter herself, the father opted to use Google's AI tool, Gemini, to generate the message. He instructs Gemini to craft a letter expressing admiration for Sydney, mentioning his daughter's ambition to surpass her record, and concluding with a lighthearted "sorry, not sorry" quip.

Apple Shines In Q3, Breaks Revenue Record In India

Apple has hit a new milestone in its June quarter performance and reported a revenue of $85.8 billion, representing a 5 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth, exceeding projections. During the earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasised the company's strong global presence, noting that Apple set new quarterly revenue records in more than 25 countries, including major markets such as Canada, Mexico and several European nations like France, Germany and the UK, as well as emerging markets in Asia such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Oppo K12x 5G With Military-Grade Durability Goes On Sale In India

Oppo has officially released its newest K series smartphone, the Oppo K12x 5G, in India. This follows the device's initial unveiling earlier in the week. The new budget Oppo K12x 5G boasts military-grade durability as one of its key features. Buyers can choose between two colour options: Breeze Blue and Midnight Violet. The device comes in two configurations: 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM.

Instagram Threads App Surges to 200 Million Users

Meta-owned Instagram Threads app achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 200 million users, as announced by Adam Mosseri, a top company executive. This achievement closely follows company CEO Mark Zuckerberg's statement during the company's earnings call, where he mentioned that Threads was on the verge of reaching this user count.