Daily Tech & GNSS News Digest - January 30, 2026

Big Tech earnings week concluded with Apple delivering record iPhone sales while Tesla signaled a dramatic pivot away from traditional EVs toward AI and robotics. Meanwhile, Google unveiled agentic browsing features for Chrome and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic intensified scrutiny of autonomous vehicles and AI platforms.

Tech News

Apple Reports Record-Breaking iPhone Quarter

Apple delivered a stunning Q1 FY2026, posting revenue of $143.8 billion and net profit of $42.1 billion. iPhone sales reached $85.3 billion, a 23% year-over-year increase marking Apple’s highest iPhone revenue for any quarter since the device launched in 2007.

CEO Tim Cook called the demand “simply staggering,” with particular strength in China where sales surged 38% to $25.53 billion. Cook noted the company set “an all-time record for upgraders in mainland China” while also seeing double-digit growth in customers switching from Android devices.

Despite the blowout results, questions persist about Apple’s AI strategy. The company announced it acquired Q.AI, an Israeli audio AI startup, for close to $2 billion—its second-largest acquisition after Beats. Apple’s revamped Siri, powered by Google’s Gemini, remains delayed until later this year due to quality issues.

Tesla Pivots to AI with $20 Billion Spending Plan

Tesla reported Q4 profits plunged 61% to $840 million as the EV maker unveiled a dramatic strategic shift. The company will spend more than $20 billion in 2026 on AI, self-driving technology, and robotics—more than double last year’s $8.5 billion and nearly twice what Wall Street expected.

A key component is Tesla’s $2 billion investment in Elon Musk’s xAI startup as part of its $20 billion financing round. CFO Vaibhav Taneja noted that xAI’s Grok chatbot is already integrated across Tesla’s fleet. Musk also confirmed Tesla plans to discontinue the Model S and Model X to free factory space for producing 1 million Optimus humanoid robots annually.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service will expand from Austin to seven additional U.S. cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. Shares fell 3.5% as investors digested the massive spending plans alongside the company’s lowest annual profit since the pandemic.

Google Chrome Gets Gemini AI Agent Features

Google announced major updates to Chrome, including a persistent Gemini side panel and “auto browse” capabilities that can perform web tasks autonomously. Built on Gemini 3, the agentic features let users delegate multi-step tasks like researching travel options or coordinating purchases across multiple sites.

Chrome will also support Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard co-developed with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, and Target that enables AI agents to complete transactions on users’ behalf. Auto browse is initially available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S., with the system designed to pause and request confirmation before completing sensitive actions.

Additional Headlines

Perplexity-Microsoft $750M Deal: AI search startup Perplexity signed a three-year, $750 million agreement to use Microsoft Azure’s Foundry service, diversifying from longtime partner AWS amid an ongoing lawsuit with Amazon.
Waymo Under Investigation: NHTSA opened a probe after a Waymo robotaxi struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school on January 23. Waymo claims its system detected the child and reduced speed from 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact.
EU Investigates X Over Grok: The European Commission launched a formal investigation into X under the Digital Services Act, focusing on risks from Grok’s image generation, including sexually explicit content and potential CSAM. X faces fines of up to 6% of global revenue.
YouTube Battles AI Slop: CEO Neal Mohan said combating low-quality “AI slop” is a top priority for 2026, as the platform works to safeguard the video ecosystem while embracing AI tools.

GNSS News

Trimble announced on January 6 that its RTX and ProPoint Go positioning technologies will power navigation and driver-assistance systems in the Lucid Gravity electric SUV. The system enables centimeter-level accuracy even in tunnels, parking garages, and dense urban environments where standard GPS often fails.

By fusing satellite correction data with six-axis inertial sensor inputs, the Lucid Gravity becomes the first EV to feature a resilient positioning engine capable of maintaining continuous lane-level accuracy through signal outages. The technology enhances navigation, hands-free driving assist, range estimation through precise altitude data, and fleet tracking.

Olivier Casabianca, Trimble’s VP of advanced positioning, stated: “We aren’t just helping the car find the road; we are enabling it to drive with resilience and reliability in the most challenging environments on earth.” The feature ships standard on new Gravity vehicles and will be delivered via OTA update to existing owners.

ANELLO Aerial INS Targets GPS-Denied Aviation

ANELLO Photonics launched the Aerial INS at CES 2026, a compact inertial navigation system built around its Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG) technology. The system is purpose-built for demanding aerial platforms including BVLOS UAS, ISR aircraft, and heavy-lift cargo drones.

The Aerial INS delivers <0.5 deg/hr unaided heading drift and maintains over 98% navigation accuracy without cameras or fiber-optic cables, even through GNSS jamming, spoofing, or occlusion. Integration features include dual triple-frequency all-constellation GNSS receivers ready for RTK/PPP corrections.

Production shipments begin Q2/2026. Firestorm CEO Dan Magy called the technology “a game changer for warfighters,” emphasizing its ability to navigate GPS-denied environments in small, lightweight form factors.

Key Takeaways

AI Infrastructure Dominates Earnings: From Apple’s $2B Q.AI acquisition to Tesla’s $20B spending pivot to Meta and Microsoft’s massive capex, Big Tech is betting 2026 is the year AI investments must scale dramatically.
Autonomous Vehicle Scrutiny Intensifies: Waymo’s NHTSA investigation and Tesla’s robotaxi expansion plans highlight the regulatory and safety challenges facing the self-driving industry.
GNSS Enables Autonomous Everything: Trimble’s Lucid integration and ANELLO’s anti-jam INS demonstrate how precision positioning is becoming essential infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, drones, and robotics.