Techmeme
August 12, 2020, 11:15 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft is launching its Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone on September 10 for $1,399, with preorders starting today in the US  —  Microsoft is launching its Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone on September 10th, priced from $1,399.  After months of Microsoft executives teasing …
Scott Stein / CNET:
Hands-on with a non-functioning Surface Duo prototype, which has two 5.6-inch OLED screens forming a 8.1-inch display, bound together by a unique hinge  —  Inside a little white box in front of me is a gadget that looks like a little book.  The Microsoft Windows logo is embossed on top.
James Vincent / The Verge:
Twitter launches API v2, the first complete rebuild of its API since 2012, in a bid to improve relations with third-party developers  —  Wooing developers with a new API  —  Twitter is making it easier for businesses, academics, and third-party developers to build on its platform with the launch of its API v2 today.
New York Times:
Hands-on with Instagram's Reels: confusing, frustrating, impossible to navigate, and lacking TikTok's editing features  —  TikTok might not be winning over President Trump, but it sure beats its Instagram copycat for making and sharing short videos.  —  Millions of people have used …
Nancy Scola / Politico:
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and others partner to scenario-plan for the last three months before US Election Day, including slow election results  —  Google, Facebook, Twitter and other major social media companies are working together to scenario-plan for the last three months …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says it will likely need to shut down for several months in California if it is forced to re-classify drivers as employees  —  - Uber would likely shut down temporarily for several months if a court does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers …
Abrar Al-Heeti / CNET:
Canalys: 31.9M smartphones shipped to the US in Q2, down 5% YoY; Apple shipped 15M iPhones to the US, up 10% YoY, and Samsung shipped 7.4M units, down 1% YoY  —  Vendors shipped nearly 32 million smartphones in the US in the second quarter, according to a Canalys report.
Nathan DiCamillo / CoinDesk:
Coinbase says it will offer fiat loans to US retail customers, backed by as much as 30% of a customer's bitcoin holdings, in 17 states this fall  —  Coinbase will allow U.S. retail customers to borrow fiat loans against as much as 30% of their bitcoin holdings in the fall, the San Francisco-based exchange announced Wednesday.
Debby Wu / Bloomberg:
Foxconn says it plans to split supply chain between the Chinese and US markets as trade ties fracture and declares that China's time as world's factory is over  —  - Hon Hai planning separate supply lines for the two big markets  — Company's earnings outperformed expectations but warns on Q3
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Cisco reports Q4 revenue of $12.2B, down 9% YoY, net revenue of $2.6B, up 19% YoY, says more than half its revenue is from software and services; stock down 6%+  —  Cisco posted better-than-expected Q4 results, with product sales declining and services revenue flat year-over-year.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Airbnb reported Q2 revenue of $335M, down from $842M in Q1 and over $1B in Q2 2019, as its adjusted loss rose to $400M, up from $341M in Q1  —  - Home share site also records a wider loss in second quarter  — A stock listing is back on track with recent travel rebound
Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology:
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google launches new tools to make developing Android apps on Chrome OS easier, including a new ChromeOS.dev resource website and a native Android Emulator  —  Google today launched ChromeOS.dev, a new site that aims to help developers get started with building Android apps for the company's Linux-based operating system.
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Lyft reports Q2 revenue of $339M, above expectations but down 61% YoY, as active riders drop 60% YoY to 8.7M; revenue per active rider was $39.06, down 2% YoY  —  - Ride-hailing company Lyft reported results for the period ending June 30, 2020, its first full quarter during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
QAnon followers are hijacking #SaveTheChildren, an anti-human-trafficking movement, and joining parenting Facebook Groups in order to gain new followers  —  Fans of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are clogging anti-trafficking hotlines, infiltrating Facebook groups and raising false fears about child exploitation.
Robert Burnson / Bloomberg:
After a $650M settlement in a biometric data collection case last month, Facebook faces a new suit alleging Instagram collects biometric data without consent  —  Facebook Inc. is facing new allegations that it illegally harvests the biometric data of users, this time in a lawsuit that targets the company's photo-sharing app Instagram.
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
London-based Habito, which offers mortgages online, raises £35M Series C led by Augmentum Fintech, SBI Group and mojo.capital  —  Habito, the London startup that has spent the last few years moving the mortgage process online, including offering its own mortgages beyond acting as a broker …
More: FinSMEs

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