OPINION: It’s been a busy week in the world of technology, with plenty of strong candidates for both our winners and losers.
Microsoft shared more details about its Copilot feature, while also unveiling some new laptops aimed squarely at businesses. And there have been plenty of fantastic deals thanks to Amazon’s Spring Deal Days event. There have also been numerous leaks and rumours, particularly surrounding the PS5 Pro and Google Pixel 8a.
And yet none of the above have qualified as our winner or loser this week. Instead, Nvidia and Apple have been awarded those accolades. Keep reading on to find out why.
Winner: Nvidia
This week Nvidia announced a new AI chip called the Blackwell B200, which the company claims is the most powerful chip in the world. However, with the price of the new GPU coming in at between $30K–$40K, it’s not something that the average person will be able to buy.
That said, while most individuals won’t be able to buy the B200 GPU that doesn’t mean you won’t be affected by its release. Nvidia says that companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft have already expressed interest in the chip.
We all make use of AI services daily, whether it’s using Google Search, or making use of Microsoft’s new Copilot feature. Thanks to the new performance ceiling offered by Nvidia’s new GPU, we could see significant advancements in AI services across the globe.
Nvidia’s advancements with AI technology recently helped it become the third most valuable company in the world. Now Nvidia has an even more powerful AI chip on the books, all signs point towards the company continuing this upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.
Loser: Apple
This week the US Department of Justice revealed that it plans to sue Apple for maintaining an illegal monopoly over the smartphone market.
DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter said in a statement, “For years, Apple responded to competitive threats by imposing a series of ‘Whac-A-Mole’ contractual rules and restrictions that have allowed Apple to extract higher prices from consumers, impose higher fees on developers and creators, and to throttle competitive alternatives from rival technologies.”
Apple has of course hit back, with spokesperson Fred Sainz claiming that the lawsuit “would set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.”
This isn’t the first time Apple has come under scrutiny for monopolistic tactics. The EU recently fined Apple £1.5 billion for breaking competition laws over music streaming.
Of course, the US Department of Justice’s case has only just been filed, so we won’t know the verdict for quite some time. The only clear thing is that this won’t be the last time we hear about this seismic allegation, and it will be very interesting to see how this could potentially impact Apple products further down the line.
