(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)

Apple embraces AI with iPhone 16 lineup

Apple charged into the artificial intelligence craze with a new iPhone 16 lineup that marks the company’s latest attempt to latch onto a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon. The company announced four different iPhone 16 models, all of which will come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI tools.

The AI features are designed to turn its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri into a smarter and more versatile sidekick, automate a wide range of tedious tasks and pull off other crowd-pleasing tricks, such as creating customised emojis within seconds. Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software update to iOS 18, the operating system that will power the iPhone 16.

Google defends second antitrust trial

Alphabet’s Google was accused of seeking to dominate all sides of online advertising technology by controlling competitors and customers, as the second antitrust trial began in the U.S. Prosecutors say Google has largely dominated the technological infrastructure that funds the flow of news and information on websites through more than 150,000 online ad sales every second.

Meanwhile, Google in its defense said the Justice Department and a coalition of states based their case on “ancient history” from a time when Google was still working on making its tools able to connect to competitors’. Google lead attorney Karen Dunn further compared the allegations to claims that Google defeated in the recent search monopoly case. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is pursuing cases against Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon.

Samsung India plant faces worker’s strike

Hundreds of workers at a Samsung Electronics plant in southern India went on an indefinite strike to demand higher wages, partly hitting production. The strike comes after Samsung Electronics’ biggest union in South Korea held a four-day strike in August demanding higher wages and bonuses after talks with management fell through.

Samsung employs under 2,000 workers at its Sriperumbudur plant near the city of Chennai which makes refrigerators and washing machines. Around half of the daily production was affected at the factory as many workers did not turn up for work, an industry source with direct knowledge said.