Techmeme
February 9, 2021, 3:15 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon is developing a wall-mounted Echo device with a large touchscreen that serves as a smart home control panel, video chat device, and media player  —  - Lab126 unit developing new device with touchscreen and Alexa  — Product to be thinner than Echo Show, come with video chat
Mishaal Rahman / XDA Developers:
Leaked images purportedly show mockups of Android 12, including major UI changes, a privacy indicator, conversation widget, new themes, and more  —  Google is set to release its next major version of Android — Android 12 — later this year, following a series of Developer Previews and Betas …
Bloomberg:
A look at how Tim Cook has transformed Apple after Jobs into a more diversified company and successfully deflected political pressure  —  Trade war?  Pfft.  Trump?  Please.  Antitrust?  Zuck's prob.  (Ditto privacy.)  Revenue?  Endless.
Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:
Reddit raises $250M+ Series E led by Vy Capital at a $6B valuation, doubling in value since its last funding round in February 2019  —  Its WallStreetBets community played a prominent role in recent stock-trading frenzy  —  Reddit Inc. doubled its valuation to $6 billion in a new round …
Nate Lanxon / Bloomberg:
London-based Nothing, a consumer electronics startup from a OnePlus co-founder working on wireless headphones, raises $15M from GV  —  - Nothing will release headphones, other products this year  — GV backs startup's ‘Series A’ funding round with $15 million
Financial Times:
Researchers estimate that the NHS contact tracing app has prevented the transmissions of ~600K coronavirus infections in England and Wales  —  Study finds link in areas of England and Wales between high app usage and lower case numbers  —  The NHS contact-tracing app has prevented …
Matthew Gault / VICE:
Researchers: flaws in how some browsers cache favicons can lead to website visitors being tracked, even if they are in incognito mode or use script blockers  —  // Favicons can break through incognito mode, VPNs, and Pi-holes to track your movement online  —  Favicons are one of those things …
Bloomberg:
Industry executives warn of severe shortages of chips for phones and game consoles, amid excessive stockpiling of chips by companies like Huawei and Apple  —  - The dearth of supply is deepening as Apple, China hoard chips  — Worsening crunch could impact sectors well beyond automaking
Konrad Krasuski / Bloomberg:
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt says it was hit by another ransomware attack, possibly leaking source code for upcoming games; stock drops as much as 6.3%  —  - Ransom note claims hacker obtained source codes of some games  — Attack doesn't appear to include gamers' data, CD Projekt says
Shara Tibken / CNET:
Qualcomm unveils next-gen X65 5G modem, likely to appear in phones in 2022, and says it can download data at 10Gpbs speeds and has a better battery life  —  Qualcomm's new modem is here, it's blazing fast and it's not just for phones .  The Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System can download data …
Ashley Gold / Axios:
Survey of 1,000 registered US voters: 44% strongly agree and 41% somewhat agree that social media plays a role in radicalizing people  —  A majority of Americans think social media “has played a role in radicalizing people,” according to a new poll from Accountable Tech and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner shared exclusively with Axios.
Foeke Postma / bellingcat:
Investigation reveals how Instagram influencers are enabling animal abuse for clicks by using services that promote Dubai's underground animal trade  —  The monkey squirms while a woman holds it up with one hand and records it without speaking.  The TikTok video is brief and has no description …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Mighty Buildings, which aims to build homes with 3D printing tech and robotics, raises $40M Series B co-led by Khosla Ventures and Zeno Ventures  —  Once upon a time, the idea of 3D-printed homes felt like a thing of the future.  —  But as housing gets less and less affordable …
Financial Times:
EU lawmakers are considering regulations that would force Facebook and Google to pay for news content on their platforms, echoing a similar move in Australia  —  Move by MEPs would strengthen hand of publishers against Google and Facebook  —  EU lawmakers overseeing new digital regulation …

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Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:
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Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:
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Chance Miller / 9to5Mac: