Apple Watch’s new AI features are normalizing the idea that technology is always listening

0:00This is TechCrunch. Hey there, I'm Travis Hoyam, one of the hosts of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing. Each weekday on Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, we talk through the business news you need to know and the story is moving stocks on Wall Street. On weekends, we play in personal finance strategies and dive into the industry shaping tomorrow and host the experts, authors and executives that understand them. Tuning for insights and a long-term perspective on investing and of course stock ideas, plenty of them. To quote a listener, it pays to listen. Check us out and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. We've got some new shiny iPhones, so of course, Apples making you pay more for older models. I'm Imran Chaken, this is your daily crunch. Apple added surprise and shine event on Wednesday unveiled its new iPhone 18 and its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. But amid all the attention on Apple's newest and most expensive devices, there's another

1:04change. You see, Apple is raising the price of its existing iPhone models by a hundred bucks. Starting today, customers will notice a price hike for existing models on Apple's online store, including starting prices for iPhone 16 at $799, iPhone 17, e at $699, iPhone 17 at $899, and the iPhone Air at $1,099. The price increases are even steeper in some international markets. In India, for example, prices have reportedly risen by around 20.5%. The company also discounted the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The strategy is, well, it's an unusual one for Apple. You see, traditionally, the arrival of a new generation of iPhones means older models become cheaper. However, the price hike wasn't entirely unexpected. You see, speculation had been building that Apple could raise prices as it introduced its next generation iPhones. One of the biggest pressures is a global shortage of memory and storage chips.

2:07Demand for those components has surged, as AI companies and cloud providers build out increasingly massive data centers. In a June interview with the Wall Street Journal, former Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that rising component costs could eventually force the company to rethink its pricing strategy. He said Apple could no longer fully absorb the rising costs of memory and storage chips. And well, about a week after those comments, the company raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineups. Another reason Apple may consider increasing iPhone prices is to remain competitive with rising prices from rivals like Samsung and Google. Additionally, Apple might feel that its new upgrade program, which allows customers to spread the cost of an iPhone through manageable monthly payments, could cushion the impact of a price hike, making it less notable to consumers. Google is making it easier to switch between password managers on Android. You see, on Thursday, Google introduced a new password manager switching experience on Android that doesn't require you to download CSV files when migrating to a new app.

3:12With a new feature, users will be able to move all of their passwords and even passkeys between apps seamlessly. To use the new system, users first open their new password manager app and choose to import or copy passwords from the old manager app. Android will detect manager apps on the device and coordinate transfer between both apps. Users can review the information being transferred and approve it in a few taps. Now because this method also supports passkey transfer, users won't need to set them up again when moving to a new password manager app. Plus, the company said that this averts the risk of exposing data from a CSV file. Google said the new experience is already available on select partners, as well as in Google's own password manager app. Bitwarden, one password, and Dashlane are currently supported, with more apps coming in the future. The password manager switching feature will be available on all devices running Android 8 or above. Apple is trying to get consumers to accept and even welcome a new reality.

4:14Your tech is always listening. At Wednesday's surprise and shine event where the company introduces its new hardware lineup, the real surprise turned out not to be the foldable iPhone, but how the privacy-sensitive tech giant has decided its watches will now be able to process live audio and transcribe what was said. Now, does this mean you're always being recorded if the person you're interacting with is wearing an Apple watch? Not exactly, though, it may make some people uncomfortable regardless. It also raises the question of whether consumers actually want this technology or if Apple forged ahead in this area because it was afraid that another company, such as OpenAI, would soon introduce a competitive AI device of its own. Audio intelligence seems to be a useful feature for the deaf or hard of hearing on its own. As it can alert Apple watchwares to sounds like sirens, alarm, doorbells, babies crying, and a whole bunch more, using on device AI. This can work even when the wearer's iPhone is not with them and, in some cases, could

5:16provide life-saving assistance such as when a firearm or carbon monoxide detector goes off. Now, it's doubtful anyone would take issue with this type of audio AI, while Apple's data protections may make these features more palatable to some, there's still the possibility that normalizing listening technology may not be the best move for a privacy-conscious company. The specially true given the broader consumer backlash against surveillance tech like flock cameras, AI data centers, and AI apps in general. Whether that's enough for consumers not to feel like the feature is creepy is another matter, either Apple has found the right balance between utility and privacy, or it's about to see some consumer backlash of its own. Before we wrap it up here is a look at the latest and start of business news all in about one minute with our friend, producer Dennis. Imran, thank you, and let's talk about Harvey. The legal AI startup that VCs can't get enough of has raised another $550 million in funding.

6:17This time, at a $15.5 billion valuation, the round was co-led by diffusion and light-speed venture partners and follows the previous $200 million round at an $11 billion valuation announced in March. And that was just a few months after an $8 billion valuation from a round in December. With this latest infusion of capital, the company has raised more than one and a half billion dollars total and nearly doubled its valuation in about nine months. And folks, that's your Daily Crunch. Today's stories were reported by Lauren Forreston Live in Mata, Sarah Perez, and more awesome TechCrunch Journalists. We'll see you here tomorrow, same tech time, same crunch channel, until then find us at TechCrunch.com.