Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion bid for AI darling OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of investors led by Musk’s xAI submitted an unsolicited offer to the company’s board of directors on Monday. It’s a bid for the non-profit that controls OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
OpenAI is not a traditional company, and the non-profit structure Sam Altman and others at the company want it to get away from may, in fact, protect it from Musk’s offer.
There’s further drama around all this: Musk had sued OpenAI and Sam Altman for allegedly ditching its non-profit mission .
An OpenAI spokesperson pointed Engadget to an X post from CEO Sam Altman that said, “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk’s purchase of Twitter was a heady lump of money that didn’t lead to a typical ROI. It did, however, help him attach himself to President Trump’s successful bid for office.
— Mat Smith
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It’s the first Civ game to get a VR port.
In a bid to demolish my social life, Civilization VII is getting a VR port, exclusive to Meta’s most recent headsets. Meta and developer Firaxis Games announced last weekend that it will land on Meta Quest 3 and 3S in spring 2025. Apparently, “players are transported to an ornate museum as they look out onto a vista personalized to their leader; in mixed reality, the Command Table adapts to its placement in a player’s physical space.” Civilization VII is available now for Advanced Access buyers on PC and consoles, but reviews haven’t exactly set the world on fire. (Then again, that’s how I sometimes play Civ games…)
A new entry-level phone could land later this month.
Apple could finally unveil a new iPhone SE. According to Bloomberg, the company will announce its latest lower-cost model as soon as this week before it goes on sale later this month. The last iPhone SE was released in 2022.
Last week, an X user who goes by Majin Bu posted a video of a device that’s supposedly Apple’s upcoming low-cost iPhone model. That model had a camera notch at the top, which Apple had removed from its latest phones in favor of its Dynamic Island design. It’s also expected to have a USB-C port. The last SE iPhone cost $429, but that was two years ago — the new model may cost a bit more.
A focused flagship with no AI fat.
Instead of focusing on AI, the OnePlus 13 packs a bunch of top-of-the-line components into an attractive chassis. And we mean great specs: a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 4,500-nit screen and 6,000mAh battery, all for $100 less than a base Galaxy S25+. Camera quality could be better, though.
Second time’s the charm.
If not the world, how about a pellet grill? Weber’s second pellet grill is more versatile than the original SmokeFire. With reliable cooking performance and a much-improved display, the grill is definitely more dependable than its predecessor.
It’s not back in app stores, yet.
In a tweet, the TikTok Policy account has announced the service has made Android Package Kits available for download through its official website. Companies don’t typically endorse sideloading as it opens up the opportunity for bad actors and security wobbles if you use a bad source for your apps. The Apple App Store and the Google Play Store are still required to remove the app unless they want to get slapped with a $5,000 fine for every user in the US who downloads it.
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