Techmeme: Through its custom silicon, integrated sensors, design-led focus on user experience, and broad ecosystem, Apple is a decade ahead of rivals in wearables (Neil Cybart/Above Avalon)

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May 31, 2021, 10:25 AM

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Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech:

Intel unveils a refresh of its 11th-Gen Tiger Lake-U chips aimed at laptops and debuts a 5G modem developed with MediaTek that supports 5G on slower, sub-6 GHz — Due to the global pandemic, this year's annual Computex event in Taiwan is being held virtually, but all the big-name companies …

More: The Verge, PCMag, Windows Central, Engadget, TNW, SemiAccurate, The Register, Intel, PCWorld, CNX Software, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Tom's Hardware, XDA Developers, and Laptop Mag

Tweets: @tomwarren, @pcmag, and @anandtech. Thanks:@iancutress

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Instagram's algorithm will now rank original and reposted content equally amid employee concerns about suppression of pro-Palestinian voices — Social media app will promote viral posts and original content equally — Instagram is changing its app to show more viral and current affairs …

More: Washington Post, Politico, BBC, The Verge, NBC News, Insider, NBC News, and Engadget

Tweets: @epro, @ggreenwald, @mairavz, @reprashida, @themuslimvibe, @faizapatelbcj, @ggreenwald, @kenroth, and @lizzadwoskin

Bloomberg:

Apple releases its supplier responsibility report for 2020, saying there was a reduction in major violations of its code of conduct and no cases of child labor — - Annual responsibility report covers labor, energy, Covid-19 — Apple stopped providing specific addresses for facilities

More: Apple, iThinkDifferent, 9to5Mac, iMore, MacRumors, Patently Apple, iPhone in Canada Blog, and AppleInsider. Tweets: @refsrc

Andreas Kolbe / The Daily Dot:

The Wikimedia Foundation is financially healthy and nearing a $100M endowment target five years ahead of schedule, yet fundraising appeals imply it's struggling — The site is way richer than it wants you to know. — The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), the non-profit that owns Wikipedia …

More: Telegraph. Tweets: @nixcraft, @kaepora, @iansherr, @sub8u, @davidcovucci, @marcan42, @sentdex, @wikiland, @andreworlowski, @wikiland, and @andreworlowski

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Xiaomi demos fully charging a 4,000mAh battery in eight minutes over a 200W “HyperCharge” system or in 15 minutes with 120W wireless charging — New ‘world records’ in wired and wireless charging — Xiaomi has shown off its latest fast charging tech demo …

Kellie Mejdrich / Politico:

As big financial industry players like Fidelity Investments push SEC to approve Bitcoin-linked ETFs, crypto lobbying efforts meet resistance from US lawmakers — A strong push by Wall Street to open up access to Bitcoin investment is meeting resistance from a bipartisan group of lawmakers …

Tweets: @pinboard, @ryannegri, @pinboard, @marcan42, @pinboard, @zachary, @tante, @taylorlorenz, @max_hodak, @davecraige, @joemccann, @jonahblank, @sarahjamielewis, and @pinboard

Neil Cybart / Above Avalon:

Through its custom silicon, integrated sensors, design-led focus on user experience, and broad ecosystem, Apple is a decade ahead of rivals in wearables — Last week, Apple quietly unveiled one of the more remarkable pieces of technology that has been developed in the past few years.

More: androidauthority.com, Daring Fireball, and iPhone Hacks

Tweets: @neilcybart, @scobleizer, @greengart, and @greengart

Matt Stoller / BIG:

Via Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, and its Buy Box algorithm, Amazon forces third party Marketplace sellers to keep prices high for consumers across the web — A new antitrust case shows that Prime inflates prices across the board, using the false promise of ‘free shipping’ that is anything but free.

More: The Overspill, Adafruit Industries, and Daring Fireball

Tweets: @andrewgiambrone, @matthewstoller, @moiragweigel, @shahidforchange, @jonastics, @acrossthecurve, @jamessurowiecki, @can, @stevesi, @hkanji, @matthewstoller, @matthewstoller, and @matthewstoller

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:

Chipper Cash, which provides cross-border payments services in Africa and says it has 4M users, raises $100M Series C led by SVB Capital — Fintech in Africa is a goldmine. Investors are betting big on startups offering a plethora of services from payments and lending to neobanks …

More: Finextra, Techpoint Africa, and WeeTracker

Tweets: @sarthakgh, @okassim, and @mwiyas

Tyler Sonnemaker / Insider:

Court docs detail Google's user location data collection, efforts to make popular privacy settings harder to find, pressure on partners like LG to do the same — - Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private, according to newly unredacted court documents.

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu:

Stockholm-based digital healthcare provider Doktor.se raises €50M and says it is planning an IPO in Q1 2022 — Stockholm-based digital healthcare platform Doktor has raised €50 million in a new investment round that saw participation from Consensus Asset Management, Norron …

More: Silicon Canals and EU-Startups

Michael Corkery / New York Times:

Some residents worry the warehouse boom in PA's Lehigh Valley, driven by its proximity to NY and e-commerce, is putting long-term economic well-being at risk — Huge facilities have sprouted up in and around the Lehigh Valley, fueled by the astonishing growth of e-commerce.

Tweets: @willwbloom, @nytimesbusiness, @hal_coi, @nytimes, and @paulpage

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:

Sources: WaPo's layoffs may narrow its scope to topics of expertise and reader interest based on digital traffic, with politics and video becoming more central

New York Times:

Don Lemon was taken into custody on Thursday night on charges that he violated federal law during a protest at a church in Minnesota, says his lawyer

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Ahead of contract talks between SAG-AFTRA and studios beginning February 9, negotiators consider ideas such as an AI “tax” on studios that use synthetic actors

More News

Pieter Haeck / Politico:

Euroconsumers, a group of EU consumer agencies, partners with Facebook after settling a lawsuit with Facebook in April over alleged illegal user data harvesting

More: Euroconsumers. Tweets: @politicoeurope and @nicholasvinocur

Fast Company:

During the pandemic, electronic health record provider Epic quickly rolled out a non-peer reviewed AI-powered tool for triaging patients across US hospitals

Tweets: @fastcompany

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India's largest independent e-commerce logistics startup Delhivery has raised $277M led by Fidelity, valuing the startup at ~$3B

More: The Economic Times, TechCircle, Entrackr, Inc42 Media, and Moneycontrol

Aidan Moher / Wired:

Amid a boom in retro gaming, enthusiasts are scouring online marketplaces for old CRTs, as modern displays can't replicate the unique characteristics of CRTs

Tweets: @wired, @marshacollier, @echoplex420247, @verygooster, @whelpmaurice, @tyschalter, @adribbleofink, @adribbleofink, @kenley_k, @finishingmycof1, and @b3ttyoops

Anne Stych / The Business Journals:

Hello Heart, a heart health management app employers can offer their employees as a benefit, raises $45M Series C led by IVP and says its business is up 3X YoY

Source: helloheart.com. More: VatorNews and medcitynews.com

South China Morning Post:

Meituan reports Q1 revenue of $5.8B, up 120.9% YoY, and a loss of $752M; CEO says Meituan is reviewing its business practices amid China's antitrust probe

Source: PR Newswire. More: Bloomberg, Bloomberg, and PingWest

Earlier Picks

Packy McCormick / Not Boring:

A bull case for Ethereum, which is the backbone and a settlement layer of a decentralized internet that continues to grow as DeFi and NFTs explode in popularity

More: The Irrelevant Investor, Coinmonks, and Crypto Briefing

Tweets: @gavinsbaker, @glynmoody, @packym, @mdudas, @mdudas, and @cnyari

Jim Dallke / Chicago Business Journal:

Relativity, which helps law firms analyze large datasets, acquires Text IQ, an AI startup that helps businesses identify sensitive data, reportedly for $100M+

Source: PR Newswire. More: Chicago Business, Artificial Lawyer, Reuters, TechRepublic, and VentureBeat

Tweets: @techrepublic and @therealsjr

Faris Mokhtar / Bloomberg:

Tech companies took up 22% of new office space in Singapore between 2015-2020, up from 8% between 2004-2014, led by Amazon, as financial firms reduced workspace

Tweets: @business

Doc Searls Weblog:

Apple's claims about respecting privacy aren't fully serious, as the iPhone default doesn't disallow apps from tracking users, instead expecting users to do so

More: Daring Fireball, Pixel Envy, and Protocol

Tweets: @modestproposal1, @hjarche, @itsjeffhiggins, @dsearls, and @jason_kint

Nora Caplan-Bricker / New Yorker:

Despite a wave of complaints, pushback from top universities, lawsuits, and accusations of bias, Proctorio's client list grew over 500% from 2019 to 2021

Tweets: @hirragilani, @drewharwell, @ct_bergstrom, @newyorker, @ncaplanbricker, @jessifer, @bonstewart, @jofrhwld, @krystafauria, @newyorker, @fennelaurora, @shorterpearson, @benwolfevision, @cayneletizia, @autumm, @jessifer, @hypervisible, and @hypervisible

BuzzFeed News:

Venmo will now let users control the visibility of their friends list, following a report in which Biden's Venmo account and connections were easily found

More: TechRadar, SlashGear, Insider, MUO, Gizmodo, Engadget, and Newser

Tweets: @wongmjane, @swiftonsecurity, @eff, @eff, @lamarrwilson, @laszlobock, @rmac18, @johnwilson, @antumbral, @katienotopoulos, @bascule, @authoridad, @rmac18, @wongmjane, @rmac18, and @carnage4life