Techmeme
October 19, 2021, 4:00 PM

Top News

Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Google launches $599 Pixel 6, with 90Hz 6.4" display, and $899 Pixel 6 Pro, with 120Hz 6.7" display, both featuring an upgraded 50MP rear camera, coming Oct. 28  —  Google claims to finally be ready to take on Apple and Samsung  —  After many leaks, official teases, and months of waiting …
Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge:
A look at Pixel 6 and 6 Pro's cameras: main sensor takes in 150% more light, Real Tone can more accurately capture skin tones, Face Unblur, Magic Eraser, more  —  New cameras and sensors aim to put the Pixels back on top of mobile photography  —  Today at its Pixel Fall Launch event …
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Q&A with Google executives on the Pixel 6's new Tensor SoC, which has two big ARM Cortex-X1 cores, 2 medium cores, and 4 efficiency cores  —  Learn more about the Google Tensor from the people that designed it.  —  The Pixel 6 is official, with a wild new camera design, incredible pricing, and the new Android 12 OS.
Kris Holt / Engadget:
Google releases Android 12 to current Pixel devices, featuring Material You, revamped Quick Settings, and more  —  Just as Google kicks off its big Pixel 6 event, the company has finally started rolling out Android 12 on Pixel 3 and above.  The company released the first public beta …
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Google debuts a Pixel Pass plan starting at $45/month for a Pixel 6 plus an upgrade in two years, 200GB of Google One, Play Pass, YouTube Premium, and more  —  The rumors were true: Google has an answer to the Apple One bundle.  The company has introduced a Pixel Pass subscription that includes …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Following the Pixel 6 launch, the Google Store is having technical issues during preorders and frequently shows the new phones as sold out  —  The Pixel 6 is finally here and pre-orders are technically open, but unfortunately, the best place to buy a Pixel 6, the Google Store, is struggling to keep up with the launch.
Nikkei Asia:
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
MacBook Pro updates show Apple listened to pro users, who never warmed to the Touch Bar or lack of ports  —  - Apple's new MacBook Pro models, announced on Monday, conspicuously lack many of the least popular features from the 2016 design.  — They include ports for connecting cameras and displays …
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
Facebook starts testing its Novi wallet in the US and Guatemala, letting users trade the Paxos Dollar; Coinbase will provide custody services  —  Facebook's Novi wallet is ready to launch - but it won't be launching with the Diem (formerly Libra) stablecoin.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Facebook settles with DOJ over claims it discriminated by favoring temporary visa holders over US workers; Facebook will pay $4.75M and up to $9.5M for victims  —  - Facebook settled claims that it refused to recruit or hire U.S. workers for positions it set aside for temporary visa holders with the Department of Justice.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Instagram says this week it will add a “Collabs” feature to let users co-author Reels and posts, the ability to post from desktop browsers, and more  —  Desktop posting, new video effects, and fundraiser tweaks are also on the way  —  Instagram is kicking off a week of product reveals …
AJ Vicens / CyberScoop:
CrowdStrike details China-linked LightBasin, which has compromised 13 telecom companies since 2019, gaining access to subscriber info, call metadata, and more  —  An advanced network of digital spies with a nexus to Chinese interests has successfully compromised parts of the global telecommunications network …
Nicole Lee / Engadget:
Facebook Portal Go review: portable with decent ~6 hour battery life and good camera tracking, but too few apps and requires a Facebook or WhatsApp account  —  The main selling point of Facebook's line of Portal devices has always been its video chat capabilities.
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
An in-depth look at Google's moonshot plans to run entirely on clean energy by 2030, going beyond pledges by Apple, Amazon, and others  —  Sundar Pichai wants to head the first giant company run without emissions around the clock.  It will take far more than money to achieve
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Republic, which lets non-accredited investors buy startup stakes as tiny as $10, raises $150M Series B led by Valor Equity Partners, after March's $36M Series A  —  There's plenty of frustration in the world of startups over when a digital asset does and does not constitute a security …
Financial Times:
Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky says Tether has issued USDT in return for cryptocurrencies, calling into question Tether's claim that it only accepts USD  —  Stablecoin operator accepts crypto in return for some loans, big customer says  —  A major customer of Tether has said the company lends …
Andrés Engler / CoinDesk:
Element Finance, a decentralized finance fixed rate protocol, raises a $32M Series A led by Polychain Capital at a $320M valuation, says it has 9K+ active users  —  Element Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) fixed rate protocol, closed a $32 million Series A funding round at a $320 million valuation …
Eugene Kim / Insider:
Internal doc: Amazon held talks with Starbucks to put its cashierless tech in a co-branded coffee shop, at one point aiming for a Q4 2020 launch  —  - Amazon and Starbucks want to launch a new co-branded lounge that would put Amazon Go cashierless stores within a cafe.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Instacart acquires Caper AI, which offers cashierless checkout tech using smart shopping carts and computer vision, for about $350M in cash and stock  —  Instacart made its name by providing a way for consumers to bypass shopping in stores in person, by ordering items online and getting …
Reuters:
Wise reports Q2 revenue of £132.8M, up 25% YoY, as nearly 4M users transferred £18B, up 36% YoY  —  Money transfer company Wise Plc (WISEa.L) said on Tuesday that its revenue was 132.8 million pounds ($182.97 million) in the second quarter, a rise of 25% from the same period last year.

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Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE:
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