Techmeme
May 6, 2020, 11:30 AM

Top News

Microsoft Devices Blog:
Microsoft announces $249 Surface Headphones 2 with better sound and battery, arriving on May 12, and says its Surface Buds will ship on the same day for $199  —  Available for preorder today, new Surface devices and accessories are designed to help you work, learn, connect and play from anywhere
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils Surface Go 2 with a bigger 10.5-inch display and more powerful Intel processors, available on May 12, starting at $399  —  The smaller Surface gets a big hardware bump  —  Microsoft's smallest Surface tablet is getting some important hardware upgrades today in the form of the Surface Go 2.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Microsoft debuts 13.5-inch and 15-inch Surface Book 3 laptops with 10th-gen quad-core Intel CPUs, new NVIDIA GPUs, available May 21 from $1,600 and $2,300  —  With the Surface Book 2, Microsoft proved it could take on the MacBook Pro directly with a powerful and genuinely innovative PC notebook.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Uber says it will lay off 3,700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, as it has been hit hard by the pandemic  —  Uber announced Wednesday that it will lay off 3,700 employees.  The cuts to its customer support and recruiting teams represent about 14% of its 26,900 employees, based on Uber's most recent headcount.
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
Letter from Brian Chesky to Airbnb employees says the company is laying off 1,900, or ~25% of its workforce, and expects a 2020 revenue decline of 50% YoY  —  Airbnb is laying off a quarter of its staff.  —  Airbnb, seen until recently as one of Silicon Valley's most financially secure unicorns, is laying off a quarter of its staff.
Ellen Hammett / Marketing Week:
Study: half of the money that brands invest in programmatic advertising never reaches online publishers; 15% of the money cannot be attributed at all  —  A new study by ISBA has found that half the money advertisers invest in programmatic advertising never reaches online publishers …
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Q&A with Steven Sinofsky on his upcoming memoir that chronicles his time at Microsoft, as he reflects on how the company fought the ILOVEYOU virus 20 years ago  —  On the 20th anniversary of the unleashing of the ILOVEYOU virus—which infected millions of PCs worldwide …
Bloomberg:
Spotify CEO expects Apple to “open up” its platform more to 3rd-party apps, after Spotify's antitrust complaint with the EU, but sees it as a long-term process  —  - Apple plans to let other music services integrate with HomePod  — Ek says ‘steps to go before’ Apple is open and fair platform
Hugh Langley / Business Insider:
Sources: Magic Leap is in talks to raise $100M in funding from a major health company after laying off around half of its workforce  —  - Magic Leap is turning to a “major” health care company to raise money, according to an internal memo obtained by The Information.
Shannon Liao / CNN:
Activision Blizzard CEO says people may turn to free mobile games during the pandemic, after the company beat Q1 expectations with sales of $1.52B, up 21% YoY  —  New York (CNN Business)While much of the economy is hurting during the pandemic, video games are thriving.
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Ring debuts an improved $99.99 entry-level doorbell with a $49 solar charger accessory, available June 3 and open for preorders now  —  It's basically a Video Doorbell 2 for half the price  —  Ring is relaunching its original Video Doorbell, first introduced in 2014, with features found …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Christine Hall / Crunchbase News:
Covariant, which builds AI-powered industrial robots, raises $40M Series B led by Index Ventures, bringing its total raised to $67M  —  Within all industries, companies are under pressure to deliver goods efficiently, fast and reliably, and especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in a way that keeps workers safe.

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