Paul Stenhouse: Google and Apple Maps changes to Gulf of America, Apple's expected to launch a new phone, and Meta's layoffs

The Gulf of America is official  

President Trump ordered it to be changed in official government documents on Wednesday, which has prompted Google Maps and Apple Maps to make the change too. 

Google said it made the change in line with its "longstanding policy" of reflecting name changes updated in official US government sources, but, the change is only for US users. It'll still be the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico and the rest of the world will get Gulf of America in brackets.  

Google has had to turn off reviews on that location though, because internet users have bombarded it with one star reviews and comments. 

Microsoft's Bing Maps are yet to update it.  

 

Apple is expected to launch a new low-end phone next week  

CEO Tim Cook teased the launch saying it'll be an opportunity to see the “newest member of the family”. 

It's widely expected to be the new version of the iPhone SE, whose current model is the only remaining iPhone with a physical home button. It's expected to get the A18 chip, which is in the current iPhone 16, and will debut the Apple's new homegrown modem.  

 
  
Meta's laid off thousands of people this week  

They've cut 5% of their workforce, which is up to as many as 3,600 people. They have publicly said they're targeting staff who aren’t meeting expectations, to make way for strong AI talent. This is now the third time they've started the year with layoffs. 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from Newstalk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Twenty one to eleven, non news talk. Z'd be well,
the Golf of America is official. President Trump ordered it
to be changed in official government documentation earlier this week.
That means that Google Maps and Apple Maps have followed
along in our textbook posting houses here with the details.
Caldi Paul.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yes, they say they're doing it because of long standing policy.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Jack.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
They say that they always try to match the official
US government sources. But interestingly, the change is only for
those folks who are in the United States. They're the
only ones who are going to see Golf of America.
In Mexico, it's still going to see Golf of Mexico,
and in the rest of the world it's going to
say Golf of Mexico with Golf of America in some brackets.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Right. It's yeah, obviously a real pressing issue. I've seen
all of these divisions this week where people have gone
and looked at maps and tried to work out how
much of Mexico's Exclusive Economic Zone covers the or how
much of the Golf of Mexico slash America is covered
by the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone. How much is cubas

(01:18):
and how much is America's And I haven't yet seen
one divide that suggests that America can claim the most
of that space. But anyway, we just go.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
If you put an S on the end the Gulf
of America's.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Maybe that's the way to solve this diplomatic yes.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yea, hey, Apple's expected to launch a new low end
phone this week.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yes they are. It's expected to be the new version
of the iPhone S. So it's actually the last phone
that still has the physical home button.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
That was on the area original.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
iPhone, right, it changed a bit of a time, it
got a touch ID and things like that, but it's
the only one that still has it, So that whole
look is going to be gone. Assuming it's going to
be just like the other iPhones now where it's you know,
a swif path and things like that on your screen.
But also expected to get the latest and greatest eighteen

(02:13):
chip as it's known, which is also in the iPhone
sixteen currently, and it's going to get something brand new.
Jacket's going to get Apple's own modem. So Apple was
using other people's chips and then started making their own
and had huge success with that. By the way, now
they're going away and they're getting rid of the old
modems that they used to buy from suppliers and they're

(02:36):
doing that themselves too.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
And so it's expected that that will be the very
first time that gets to be connected to the internet.
Tim Cook's teased by launched by saying it was an
opportunity to see the newest member of the family. So
it could be something bigger. That seems to suggest something. Yeah,
but I think most of the analysts think it will
be the new iPhone.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
The thing is with theesse that people love it. People
who like people really love it. You know, you've got
all the topping bells and whistles, ten cameras on the
back iPhone. But this is the the ses, the cheapest
model and really reliable. Eh yeah yeah yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
And the other one that people it's it's maybe another
it's a divide, but I'm one of those people. I
don't want my phone to keep getting bigger. I'd actually
quite like it to be small. And the minis the
iPhone was an IPHONEC Mini. I can't remember the naming commens,
but they did a smaller iPhone and that was really
popular with a big group of people. Small a small

(03:34):
group of people, I guess, but those who had it
loved it, didn't want a genormous phone in their pocket.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah. Now, Meta has been enjoying pretty stellar performance in
the stock market recently, but they've laid off thousands of
people this week.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, they did well, they did. This is now their
third year in a row that they've done these sort
of beginning of the year cuts. This was another five
percent of their workforce, so if you do the numbers,
it's up to about as many as three thousand, six
hundred people. What's different about this one is the other
ones were part of their sort of year of Efficiency,
as they call it, where they really were trying to,

(04:08):
you know, cut some of the costs out of the business,
which as you as you say, did incredible things for
its top price. This one, though, they publicly said, is
to get rid of staff who weren't meeting expectations, right,
which if you got cut is one of those five percent.
That's a little bit of a dagger, that.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
Very much so.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
Yeah, and for everybody to kind of know that, which
may not even be true as to why these people
are being let go, because they also say it's to
make way for strong AI talents, so you would have
to assume that they're maybe going to rejig some investment
rather than just get rid of terrible people. But no,
not to not a nice way to start the year,
and especially when you've got that headline along with you

(04:48):
as well.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah yeah, hey, thanks Paul, appreciate it. As always. That
is our Textbert Paul Steinhouse.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
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