July 3, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of Hashtag Trending, hosted by Dr. Hamma Muhi, key topics covered include Microsoft's layoff of 9,000 employees affecting mainly the Xbox gaming division to streamline operations and focus on AI and cloud. The potential launch of Samsung's innovative tri-fold phone and updates on Apple's foldable iPhone highlights advancements in mobile technology. X (formerly Twitter) incorporates AI to draft community notes to combat misinformation, while Google proposes changes to its European search service to comply with EU antitrust regulations, potentially altering the online search experience.
00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome
00:32 Microsoft's Major Layoffs in the Gaming Sector
03:40 Samsung's Upcoming Foldable Phones
05:09 Apple's Foldable iPhone Plans
06:30 AI-Powered Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter)
09:59 Google's Antitrust Battle with the EU
13:50 Conclusion and Upcoming Special Episode
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Microsoft
cuts 9,000 jobs as it reshapes.
Its Xbox gaming business.
Foldable phones are finally becominga reality X. Formally Twitter will
allow AI to write community notesand EU antitrust pressure forces
(00:21):
Google to rethink search results.
Welcome to Hashtag Trending.
I'm your host, Dr. HammaMuhi, sitting in for Jim Love.
Microsoft is cutting roughly 4% of itsglobal workforce, about 9,000 jobs.
That brings the total number of layoffsto approximately 32,300 since 2023.
(00:49):
This time, it's the gaming sectorthat's feeling most of the impact.
Microsoft announced its largestround of layoffs in over two years,
impacting divisions across thecompany, but with a particularly heavy
emphasis on the Xbox gaming business.
This is the fourth major round oflayoffs at Xbox in the last two years.
(01:14):
What's behind these cuts?
Xbox Chief Phil Spencer, in a memoto staff wrote to position gaming
for enduring success and allow us tofocus on strategic growth areas we
will end or decrease work in certainareas of the businesses and follow.
(01:35):
Microsoft's lead in removinglayers of management to increase
agility and effectiveness.
One thought, untouchable.
Microsoft's gaming Division is nowunder the microscope as the company
pivots to position company and teamsfor success in a dynamic marketplace
(01:58):
According to a Microsoft spokesperson,actual changes inside the Xbox universe
include the cancellation of many gameprojects or a reduction in staff.
Spencer called these moves essentialto align company and teams for
success in a changing marketplace.
(02:19):
He emphasized the need to focuson strategic growth areas and to
eliminate layers of management toenhance agility and effectiveness.
Essentially, Microsoft wants to movefaster, cut costs, and put more resources
behind AI and cloud, even if it meanstough choices for its gaming business.
(02:42):
CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadellasaid this during the May, 2025
layoffs when he called the cuts arealignment to reposition Microsoft
around future priorities like AI It'simportant to note that Microsoft is
currently not struggling financially.
(03:03):
The company just posted a 13%jump in revenue and an 18%
increase in profit last quarter.
Xbox itself has seen year over yearrevenue growth, and Microsoft's stock is
up nearly 150% over the past five years.
(03:25):
But the tech industry ischanging and Microsoft has
to keep up with the industry.
Microsoft's move is a sign that eventhe biggest players aren't immune
to rapidly changing tech landscape.
All eyes are on Samsung's upcomingGalaxy Unpacked event on July nine.
(03:47):
Where the company is expected to unveilnot just the next generation Fold
Seven and Flip Seven, but somethingthat could truly change the game.
The Samsung tri-Fold phone, the tri-foldwill reportedly feature a massive 10
inch OLED display that folds twice.
(04:07):
This device can slip into your pocket,but unfolds to the size of a tablet.
Perfect for multitasking, gaming,or a content creation on the go.
The tri-fold is rumor to have aSnapdragon eight Elite chip, a camera
array similar to the fold seven andthe design that's both thin and light.
(04:28):
But Samsung has more news.
The new fold seven and flip seven are alsoexpected to get their biggest upgrades
yet with larger displays, improved batterylife and enhanced multitasking features.
The flip seven, for instance, couldsport a bigger cover screen, making it
a strong contender against Motorola's.
(04:50):
Latest Razor.
Ultra Samsung will start productionof the tri-fold in September
with a limited release in SouthKorea and China later this year.
The price is reported to bebetween 3030 500 USD, so it may
still be out of reach for most.
Apple has been watching the foldingscreen market and now multiple sources
(05:14):
now confirm that Apple's first foldableiPhone has entered prototype testing
with a launch expected as early as 2026,possibly alongside the iPhone 18 lineup.
The foldable iPhone is rumored to featurea Samsung made 7.8 inch ole display with
(05:36):
an under display camera, a side mountedtouch ID, and a nearly invisible crease.
Which solves one of the biggestcomplaints about existing foldables.
The device is expected tobe ultra slim around nine to
9.5 millimeters when folded.
And yes, it will also boast a highprice tag with reports predicting
(05:58):
a launch price between twenty onehundred and twenty three hundred USD.
The timing of this is not a coincidence.
The foldable market hasbeen slow to take off.
Just 1.5% of all smartphonessold last year were foldables
and growth has plateaued.
(06:18):
As manufacturers work out the kinkswith Samsung and Apple working out
those kinks, we could be closerto foldables being more common.
If you've been on X formally Twitterlately, you've probably seen community
notes pop up under viral posts.
Those little fact checks helpseparate what's real from what's not.
(06:44):
It's a feature that's grown inimportance, especially since Elon
Musk took the reins and other socialmedia platforms are copying that
like Meta, TikTok and YouTube.
But now X is taking things a step further.
They're letting AIchatbots draft those notes.
(07:04):
X is piloting a new system where AIbots, including its in-house, grop
chat bot and third party modelsconnected via API can generate
community notes for flagged posts.
These bots can respond to calls fornotes, draft context, and even site
(07:25):
sources just like a human contributor.
The goal of this change is to speedup the process and help tackle the
tidal wave of misinformation that hitsthe platform every day, especially
during breaking news or viral moments.
But AI isn't running the show alone.
(07:47):
Every AI generated note goesthrough the exact same review
process as a human written one.
Notes only go live if they're ratedhelpful by a diverse group of human
contributors, ensuring that nosingle viewpoint dominates and that
accuracy stays front and center.
(08:08):
The system is open source,transparent, and designed to prevent
bias or agenda driven moderation.
AI bots can't rate notes themselves.
They can only propose them.
That means the final say still restswith real people, not algorithms.
And before these bots get to writelive notes, they'll spend time in
(08:31):
test mode where only a small groupof reviewers can see their work.
Only after proving themselveswill they graduate to proposing
notes that could be published forall to see what's the advantage.
AI can churn through vast amountsof content, surfacing relevant
facts and context much fasterthan human volunteers alone.
(08:56):
This is important when misinformationcan go viral in minutes.
But there are risks as reported in aprevious episode of Hashtag Trending
AI models are known to hallucinateor make up information that sounds
convincing, but is not factually true.
There's also concern that aflood of AI generated notes could
(09:19):
overwhelm human reviewers, making itharder for them to catch mistakes.
There's always the challenge of ensuringthat AI doesn't inherit or amplify
existing biases or miss a culturalnuance that a human might catch.
X says it's rolling out this featureslowly, watching closely for problems
(09:41):
and keeping humans firmly in the loop.
The company is thinking that the rightblend of AI speed and human judgment can
make community notes more effective thanever, and maybe even suggest a method for
how social platforms fight misinformation.
Google is scrambling to avoid anothermassive antitrust fine from the
(10:04):
European Union, and the company'slatest proposal could change what you
see every time you use Google search.
The European Commission has beenturning up the heat on Google,
accusing the tech giant ofunfairly favoring its own services.
Think.
Google shopping, Google Hotels and Googleflights over those of its competitors.
(10:29):
In March, the EU formally chargedGoogle under the Digital Markets Act,
which is a new set of rules designedto reign in big tech and gives smaller
players a fighting chance in a lastditch effort to avoid a fine that could
reach 10% of its global annual revenue.
(10:49):
Google has offered up a new setof changes to how it displays
search results in Europe.
The company's latest proposal would adda new layer to your search experience.
Whenever you look up something like hotelsor flights, you'd see a special box at
the top of the results page dedicated towhat's called a vertical search service.
(11:15):
This box would highlight linksto specialized search engines,
as well as direct links tosuppliers like hotels, airlines,
restaurants, and transport services.
Beneath this vertical searchbox, Google would add another box
featuring free links to supplierslike direct booking options for hotels
(11:38):
or airlines organized by Google.
The idea is to give more visibility tocompetitors and direct suppliers without
making it look like Google is stillputting its own services front and center.
These changes could have a major impacton how businesses get found online.
(12:00):
If you are a hotel or airline, youmight see more direct traffic and
fewer customers rooted to Google's ownplatforms For consumers, it could mean
more choices, but also a different,possibly more cluttered search experience.
Google says it's already madehundreds of alterations to its
(12:22):
products to comply with the DMA,but the company is clearly worried.
A spokesperson warned that someof these changes could make things
worse for European users, citinghigher travel costs and a drop in
direct bookings for local businesses.
Since the new rules started rolling out.
(12:43):
Google's legal team is pushing for clearerguidance from regulators, arguing that the
rules are leading to worse online productsand experiences for Europeans, and asking
critics to provide concrete evidenceof both the costs and the benefits.
These changes are important for Google.
(13:03):
The EU has already hit the company withmulti-billion Euro fines in previous
antitrust cases, and the upcomingworkshop in Brussels on July 7th and
eighth will be a critical moment.
There Google will meet with competitorsand regulators to hash out whether these
(13:24):
new proposals go far enough or if anotherrecord breaking fine is on the way.
What's next?
I. If the EU isn't satisfied, Googlecould be staring down yet another
massive penalty, and we could see evenmore dramatic changes to how search
works in Europe and possibly beyond.
(13:50):
That's our show.
Let us know what youthink@technewsday.com.
Just use the contact usbutton on the website.
I'm Dr. Hamma Muhi.
This weekend we'll have a specialepisode on AI with Jim interviewing
Krish Banerjee, head of Canada'sdata and AI practice at Accenture.
(14:11):
Have a fantastic Friday.
Microsoft
cuts 9,000 jobs as it reshapes.
Its Xbox gaming business.
Foldable phones are finally becominga reality X. Formally Twitter will
allow AI to write community notesand EU antitrust pressure forces
(00:21):
Google to rethink search results.
Welcome to Hashtag Trending.
I'm your host, Dr. HammaMuhi, sitting in for Jim Love.
Microsoft is cutting roughly 4% of itsglobal workforce, about 9,000 jobs.
That brings the total number of layoffsto approximately 32,300 since 2023.
(00:49):
This time, it's the gaming sectorthat's feeling most of the impact.
Microsoft announced its largestround of layoffs in over two years,
impacting divisions across thecompany, but with a particularly heavy
emphasis on the Xbox gaming business.
This is the fourth major round oflayoffs at Xbox in the last two years.
(01:14):
What's behind these cuts?
Xbox Chief Phil Spencer, in a memoto staff wrote to position gaming
for enduring success and allow us tofocus on strategic growth areas we
will end or decrease work in certainareas of the businesses and follow.
(01:35):
Microsoft's lead in removinglayers of management to increase
agility and effectiveness.
One thought, untouchable.
Microsoft's gaming Division is nowunder the microscope as the company
pivots to position company and teamsfor success in a dynamic marketplace
(01:58):
According to a Microsoft spokesperson,actual changes inside the Xbox universe
include the cancellation of many gameprojects or a reduction in staff.
Spencer called these moves essentialto align company and teams for
success in a changing marketplace.
(02:19):
He emphasized the need to focuson strategic growth areas and to
eliminate layers of management toenhance agility and effectiveness.
Essentially, Microsoft wants to movefaster, cut costs, and put more resources
behind AI and cloud, even if it meanstough choices for its gaming business.
(02:42):
CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadellasaid this during the May, 2025
layoffs when he called the cuts arealignment to reposition Microsoft
around future priorities like AI It'simportant to note that Microsoft is
currently not struggling financially.
(03:03):
The company just posted a 13%jump in revenue and an 18%
increase in profit last quarter.
Xbox itself has seen year over yearrevenue growth, and Microsoft's stock is
up nearly 150% over the past five years.
(03:25):
But the tech industry ischanging and Microsoft has
to keep up with the industry.
Microsoft's move is a sign that eventhe biggest players aren't immune
to rapidly changing tech landscape.
All eyes are on Samsung's upcomingGalaxy Unpacked event on July nine.
(03:47):
Where the company is expected to unveilnot just the next generation Fold
Seven and Flip Seven, but somethingthat could truly change the game.
The Samsung tri-Fold phone, the tri-foldwill reportedly feature a massive 10
inch OLED display that folds twice.
(04:07):
This device can slip into your pocket,but unfolds to the size of a tablet.
Perfect for multitasking, gaming,or a content creation on the go.
The tri-fold is rumor to have aSnapdragon eight Elite chip, a camera
array similar to the fold seven andthe design that's both thin and light.
(04:28):
But Samsung has more news.
The new fold seven and flip seven are alsoexpected to get their biggest upgrades
yet with larger displays, improved batterylife and enhanced multitasking features.
The flip seven, for instance, couldsport a bigger cover screen, making it
a strong contender against Motorola's.
(04:50):
Latest Razor.
Ultra Samsung will start productionof the tri-fold in September
with a limited release in SouthKorea and China later this year.
The price is reported to bebetween 3030 500 USD, so it may
still be out of reach for most.
Apple has been watching the foldingscreen market and now multiple sources
(05:14):
now confirm that Apple's first foldableiPhone has entered prototype testing
with a launch expected as early as 2026,possibly alongside the iPhone 18 lineup.
The foldable iPhone is rumored to featurea Samsung made 7.8 inch ole display with
(05:36):
an under display camera, a side mountedtouch ID, and a nearly invisible crease.
Which solves one of the biggestcomplaints about existing foldables.
The device is expected tobe ultra slim around nine to
9.5 millimeters when folded.
And yes, it will also boast a highprice tag with reports predicting
(05:58):
a launch price between twenty onehundred and twenty three hundred USD.
The timing of this is not a coincidence.
The foldable market hasbeen slow to take off.
Just 1.5% of all smartphonessold last year were foldables
and growth has plateaued.
(06:18):
As manufacturers work out the kinkswith Samsung and Apple working out
those kinks, we could be closerto foldables being more common.
If you've been on X formally Twitterlately, you've probably seen community
notes pop up under viral posts.
Those little fact checks helpseparate what's real from what's not.
(06:44):
It's a feature that's grown inimportance, especially since Elon
Musk took the reins and other socialmedia platforms are copying that
like Meta, TikTok and YouTube.
But now X is taking things a step further.
They're letting AIchatbots draft those notes.
(07:04):
X is piloting a new system where AIbots, including its in-house, grop
chat bot and third party modelsconnected via API can generate
community notes for flagged posts.
These bots can respond to calls fornotes, draft context, and even site
(07:25):
sources just like a human contributor.
The goal of this change is to speedup the process and help tackle the
tidal wave of misinformation that hitsthe platform every day, especially
during breaking news or viral moments.
But AI isn't running the show alone.
(07:47):
Every AI generated note goesthrough the exact same review
process as a human written one.
Notes only go live if they're ratedhelpful by a diverse group of human
contributors, ensuring that nosingle viewpoint dominates and that
accuracy stays front and center.
(08:08):
The system is open source,transparent, and designed to prevent
bias or agenda driven moderation.
AI bots can't rate notes themselves.
They can only propose them.
That means the final say still restswith real people, not algorithms.
And before these bots get to writelive notes, they'll spend time in
(08:31):
test mode where only a small groupof reviewers can see their work.
Only after proving themselveswill they graduate to proposing
notes that could be published forall to see what's the advantage.
AI can churn through vast amountsof content, surfacing relevant
facts and context much fasterthan human volunteers alone.
(08:56):
This is important when misinformationcan go viral in minutes.
But there are risks as reported in aprevious episode of Hashtag Trending
AI models are known to hallucinateor make up information that sounds
convincing, but is not factually true.
There's also concern that aflood of AI generated notes could
(09:19):
overwhelm human reviewers, making itharder for them to catch mistakes.
There's always the challenge of ensuringthat AI doesn't inherit or amplify
existing biases or miss a culturalnuance that a human might catch.
X says it's rolling out this featureslowly, watching closely for problems
(09:41):
and keeping humans firmly in the loop.
The company is thinking that the rightblend of AI speed and human judgment can
make community notes more effective thanever, and maybe even suggest a method for
how social platforms fight misinformation.
Google is scrambling to avoid anothermassive antitrust fine from the
(10:04):
European Union, and the company'slatest proposal could change what you
see every time you use Google search.
The European Commission has beenturning up the heat on Google,
accusing the tech giant ofunfairly favoring its own services.
Think.
Google shopping, Google Hotels and Googleflights over those of its competitors.
(10:29):
In March, the EU formally chargedGoogle under the Digital Markets Act,
which is a new set of rules designedto reign in big tech and gives smaller
players a fighting chance in a lastditch effort to avoid a fine that could
reach 10% of its global annual revenue.
(10:49):
Google has offered up a new setof changes to how it displays
search results in Europe.
The company's latest proposal would adda new layer to your search experience.
Whenever you look up something like hotelsor flights, you'd see a special box at
the top of the results page dedicated towhat's called a vertical search service.
(11:15):
This box would highlight linksto specialized search engines,
as well as direct links tosuppliers like hotels, airlines,
restaurants, and transport services.
Beneath this vertical searchbox, Google would add another box
featuring free links to supplierslike direct booking options for hotels
(11:38):
or airlines organized by Google.
The idea is to give more visibility tocompetitors and direct suppliers without
making it look like Google is stillputting its own services front and center.
These changes could have a major impacton how businesses get found online.
(12:00):
If you are a hotel or airline, youmight see more direct traffic and
fewer customers rooted to Google's ownplatforms For consumers, it could mean
more choices, but also a different,possibly more cluttered search experience.
Google says it's already madehundreds of alterations to its
(12:22):
products to comply with the DMA,but the company is clearly worried.
A spokesperson warned that someof these changes could make things
worse for European users, citinghigher travel costs and a drop in
direct bookings for local businesses.
Since the new rules started rolling out.
(12:43):
Google's legal team is pushing for clearerguidance from regulators, arguing that the
rules are leading to worse online productsand experiences for Europeans, and asking
critics to provide concrete evidenceof both the costs and the benefits.
These changes are important for Google.
(13:03):
The EU has already hit the company withmulti-billion Euro fines in previous
antitrust cases, and the upcomingworkshop in Brussels on July 7th and
eighth will be a critical moment.
There Google will meet with competitorsand regulators to hash out whether these
(13:24):
new proposals go far enough or if anotherrecord breaking fine is on the way.
What's next?
I. If the EU isn't satisfied, Googlecould be staring down yet another
massive penalty, and we could see evenmore dramatic changes to how search
works in Europe and possibly beyond.
(13:50):
That's our show.
Let us know what youthink@technewsday.com.
Just use the contact usbutton on the website.
I'm Dr. Hamma Muhi.
This weekend we'll have a specialepisode on AI with Jim interviewing
Krish Banerjee, head of Canada'sdata and AI practice at Accenture.
(14:11):
Have a fantastic Friday.
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