10 things in tech you need to know today

Apple

A new iPhone SE may be about to launch.

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.

1. Apple has begun designing and producing face shields to protect health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it plans to ship one million face shields per week.
   
2. People across the UK are burning cellphone masts in the baseless belief that 5G is linked to the coronavirus. A cellphone mast in Birmingham, England, is believed to have been set ablaze by anti-5G arsonists, and telecommunications engineers have been abused in the street by people who believe in the theory.
   
3. The New York City Department of Education is banning Zoom just weeks after students and teachers shifted to the video-conferencing platform. Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza announced on April 4 that security and privacy issues were behind the department's decision to ban the platform "as soon as possible."
4. Amazon is delaying Prime Day, its giant shopping extravaganza, until at least August. Amazon also expects to take a $100 million hit as a result of extra inventory it must sell at a discount.
   
5. Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, is pressuring employees to travel across the country to help launch a space tourism rocket, despite the coronavirus pandemic. According to The Verge, the company is currently considering whether it can transport employees from Washington to Texas in order to conduct the launch.
   
6. Facebook is getting a major redesign which the firm is describing as "New Facebook." Example design changes include less emphasis on the notifications tab, and Facebook Watch, Marketplace, and Groups take priority.
7. Amazon is to release its first original, big-budget video games in May. The video game industry has long been in Amazon's sights, with the tech giant also reported to be developing a cloud-based gaming service codenamed "Project Tempo."
8. Google has released aggregated location data from 131 countries show how people are moving around during the coronavirus pandemic. The data shows that visits to recreational and retail locations, grocery shops, transit stations, and workplaces have plummeted across Western countries.
9. Apple may be set to launch a new, cheap iPhone SE. According to 9to5Mac, Apple is ready to start accepting orders imminently for the new device.
10. Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates said his foundation will fund the construction of factories for seven coronavirus vaccine candidates, even though it will waste billions of dollars. Gates said the foundation would end up picking only one or two of the seven, meaning billions of dollars spent on manufacturing would be abandoned.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

You can also subscribe to this newsletter here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know.

NOW WATCH: How social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic looks from a satellite