Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is building ~75M 5G iPhones for later this year, along with two new Apple Watch versions, iPad Air with edge-to-edge screen, and smaller HomePod — - Headphones, new Watch models, iPad Air, smaller HomePod coming — Supply chain, consumer interest hold up in pandemic, recession
Monday, August 31, 2020
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Walmart unveils its new membership service Walmart+, launching Sept. 15 for $98 per year, will offer free, unlimited same-day delivery, fuel discounts, and more — Walmart today officially unveiled its new membership service and Amazon Prime rival, which it's calling “Walmart+.”
Thomas Macaulay / The Next Web:
Stanford launches Cable TV News Analyzer, a free AI-powered online service for querying the screen time of public figures or specific topics on cable TV news — A new AI-powered tool can show you how much screen time different public figures and topics are getting on TV.
Allison Schiff / AdExchanger:
Google quietly updates its AdMob Help Center with iOS 14 information, says it will use Apple's ATT API for triggering the IDFA opt-in notice — Like all companies invested in the mobile ecosystem, Google is getting ready for iOS 14. But the company is playing its cards close to the vest.
Katy Stech Ferek / Wall Street Journal:
US hotel operator MCR Development to buy StayNTouch, a cloud platform for hotels, for $46M, after Trump said StayNTouch's Chinese owners threaten US security — MCR Development's planned acquisition comes after Trump said ownership of StayNTouch by Beijing Shiji Information Technology threatens U.S. security
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Reinvent Technology Partners, a new SPAC formed by Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus and hedge fund manager Michael Thompson, have filed for a $600M IPO — Reinvent Technology Partners, a new special purpose acquisition company formed by famed investor and serial entrepreneur Reid Hoffman …
New York Times:
Facebook warns it will block Australian users and news organizations from sharing news stories on Facebook and Instagram if the ACCC's proposal passes — The move, a response to pressure to pay publishers when their stories are posted on the social network, could add to internet silos springing up around the world.
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Twitter now shows quote tweet counts directly under tweets, rebranding “Retweets with comments” as “Quote Tweets” — Twitter has been testing a new way to let users easily find quote tweets by separating them from regular retweets. The company confirmed today …
Bloomberg:
Sources: SEC, FINRA are probing Robinhood's handling of March outage; in H1 2020, FTC received over 3x more complaints about Robinhood than rivals like Schwab — - Agencies flooded with complaints; SEC examining March outage — Robinhood Markets has catapulted ahead of its online brokerage rivals …
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Source: Coinbase is exploring the use of blockchain-based tokens as part of its IPO; waiting for regulatory approval may push its IPO announcement to mid-2021 — Coinbase announced on Monday that prominent venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is joining its board, alongside Gokul Rajaram …
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple says App Store policy changes, including not delaying bug fix updates over guideline violations and letting developers challenge guidelines, are now live — Back in June at WWDC, Apple announced several changes to its handling of App Store review, noting that it would in most cases …
Reuters:
Survey of 1,349 US adults finds 40% support Trump's threatened ban on TikTok if a US buyer cannot be found, with responses split along party lines — WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forty percent of Americans back President Donald Trump's threat to ban videosharing app TikTok if it is not sold …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 732G, a “follow-on” to the Pixel 4a's 730G chip that launched in April 2019, with a claimed 15% improvement in graphics rendering — The Snapdragon 730G got a high-profile launch with the Pixel 4a earlier this month.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
FAA says it has given Amazon permission to operate its Prime Air delivery drones; Amazon began testing the fleet in 2013, aiming to make deliveries in 30 mins — - Amazon on Monday received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones.
Max Willens / Digiday:
As Pages eligible for Facebook's in-stream ads grow, some brands say its brand safety tools lag behind YouTube, as Facebook focuses on increasing ad inventory — Ad buyers are getting nervous about how crowded Facebook's in-stream video program has grown lately.
Monica Chin / The Verge:
Lenovo announces a new flagship laptop line, the Yoga 9: convertible 14" and 15" Yoga 9i starts at $1,399, while non-convertible Yoga Slim 9i starts at $1,599 — A slim device with a leather cover — Lenovo has announced a new flagship consumer laptop line, the Yoga 9 series.
Jules Wang / Android Police:
Lenovo unveils two new tablets: $130 Smart Tab M10, shipping in October, and $499 Tab P11 Pro, shipping in November, both with Android 10 — Android tablets might have long become passé, but there are people out there that want them. Some of those people might not even want to turn …
Monica Chin / The Verge:
Google launches Kids Space, a mode for Android tablets with kid-friendly features and content as well as parental controls, coming first to Lenovo's new tablets — It's coming to Lenovo tablets first — Google has announced Kids Space, a new mode for Android tablets that includes kid-friendly features …
Bloomberg:
Tech IPOs could raise $57B+ this year, the highest since 1999, as Ant Group aims to raise $30B+ in its October IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai — - Ant's $30 billion gambit caps an unusual year for tech debuts — Investors are piling into tech despite global uncertainty
CNBC:
Sources: TikTok has chosen a buyer for its US, New Zealand, and Australian businesses, expected to be for $20B-$30B, and could announce as soon as Tuesday — (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) — TikTok has chosen a bidder for its U.S., New Zealand and Australian businesses …
Erin Griffith / New York Times:
Employees at equity management service Carta, most of them women, say they were belittled, excluded from meetings, and punished if they voiced their concerns — Current and former workers at Carta, a hot Silicon Valley fintech company, said they were belittled, excluded and punished if they spoke up.
Emiko Terazono / Financial Times:
Dealroom: VC investment in farm automation startups is up 40% year-to-date, amid a shortage of agricultural workers during the pandemic — Shortage of agricultural workers behind 40 per cent rise in funding for sector start-ups — The coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of agricultural workers …
Alnoor Peermohamed / The Economic Times:
Eruditus, which partners with top-tier universities to offer courses globally, raises $113M Series D from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and others — Eruditus partners with top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, India, and China to bring professional education to a global audience.
Akhil Arora / NDTV Gadgets 360:
Netflix says it is offering free access to select original content to non-subscribers, on Android and web, with a 30-second skippable ad for Netflix — Available on Android and computer browsers globally. — Snapchat — HIGHLIGHTS — Netflix is offering limited free access …