Photo by Sadman Sakib on Unsplash
Bluesky’s Photo-Sharing App Flashes Now Available on App Store
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Flashes, Bluesky’s new photo-sharing platform, released its 1.0.1 version on the App Store today. Flashes for Bluesky is free and available for download on iOS, while Android, and web users will have to wait longer.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Flashes, Bluesky’s new photo-sharing app, is now available for iOS.
- The app syncs with Bluesky and supports up to 4 photos per post and 1-minute videos.
- Flashes aims to compete with popular photo and video platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
“Welcome to Flashes, a native photo and video-focused app for the Bluesky social network!,” states the description on the App Store . “Flashes makes it easy to share stunning photos and videos while keeping full compatibility with Bluesky’s open ecosystem.”
Last week, Flashes shared a public announcement on Bluesky saying that the app was almost ready—the beta version still needed fixes—and inviting users to pre-order and get the app as soon as it was ready and released. Nearly 10,000 users quickly registered to be among the first ones to try the app.
Now that the app is ready for download, Flashes has warned about a few issues. “When creating a new account make sure you don’t re-use an email you have used with any other Bluesky account yet,” states a post on Bluesky, explaining that the signup process won’t work with a reused email but a fix is in development. Users are advised to use unique email addresses or add suffixes to Gmail handles as a workaround.
Bluesky announced Flashes in January , as a strategy to support users looking for Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Facebook alternatives. The new image-focused app supports photos primarily but also short videos.
The platform currently supports up to 4 photos per post and 1-min videos, but the developer expects to support longer videos and more photos in the near future.
Flashes is built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol, which means that it automatically synchronizes with Bluesky. Every post shared on Flashes will also appear on Bluesky for now, part of the future plan is to run Flashes on its own network—but as part of the fediverse ecosystem.
Photo by Jimmy Jin on Unsplash
Apple Announces $500 Billion Investment Plan To Boost U.S. Operations
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Apple announced that it will invest $500 billion in the United States over the next five years. The tech giant explained that the expansion plan includes building a new factory in Texas, developing facilities in multiple states to support domestic manufacturing, creating over 20,000 job positions, and accelerating AI development.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Apple will invest $500 billion in the U.S. over five years, creating 20,000 jobs and boosting AI development.
- The plan includes a new Texas factory, multiple facilities, a Michigan training academy, and expanded research funding.
- Analysts see Apple’s pledge as a political move amid U.S.-China trade tensions.
According to the press release, this represents the company’s “largest-ever spend commitment,” focusing on American manufacturing, workforce, and developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies.
“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
Apple will build a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, create an academy to train manufacturers in Michigan, and increase research investments to support new technologies.
The tech giant will also work with local suppliers to continue the development of their services and products such as Apple Intelligence infrastructure and data centers, corporate facilities, direct employment, and Apple TV+ productions.
According to Reuters, Apple’s big investment plan comes after Cook met President Donald Trump last week. The American President has implemented tariffs that could increase rates for Apple products built in China.
“This pledge represents a political gesture towards the Trump administration,” said Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Davidson, to Reuters. Luria explained that Apple already committed to investing around $150 billion every year. “Even without growing that spend very much, they would only need 3 to 4 years to meet their obligation.”
In 2018, during Trump’s first administration, Apple made a similar announcement of a $350 billion investment in the U.S. with a 5-year plan.
Other American companies have also committed to investing in the U.S. and developing advanced AI technology. OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and the White House recently announced a $500 billion investment to develop the Stargate Project .
