Techmeme
September 13, 2023, 12:45 PM

Top News

Jez Corden / Windows Central:
Unity announces fees based on a game's installations and the developer's plan tier, starting on January 1, 2024, joining Unreal Engine, which has similar fees  —  By Jez Corden Contributions from Zachary Boddy last updated  —  Unity joins Unreal Engine with a per-install fee.  —  What you need to know
More: Axios, 404 Media, The Verge, Thurrott, Game Developer, GamesIndustry.biz, insert credit, Unity Forum, Game Developer, AppleInsider, The Guardian, Video Games Chronicle, VentureBeat, Nintendo World Report Updates, AIN.Capital, TrueAchievements, Neowin, TheGamer, PC Gamer, Wccftech, Push Square, Mashable, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Gamereactor UK, and TechRadar
Justine Calma / The Verge:
Apple's environmental announcements, including its first carbon-neutral products, are progress but may act as a red herring to distract from its overall impact  —  Apple announced its first-ever carbon-neutral products today, but don't get too excited about what that means for the planet.
Reuters:
After France ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12 due to radiation levels, Apple says the device was certified by multiple bodies as radiation compliant  —  Apple said on Wednesday its iPhone 12 model was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards …
David Pierce / The Verge:
Apple announces the 6.1" iPhone 15 Pro and 6.7" iPhone 15 Pro Max, with Grade 5 titanium in four finishes, a 3nm A17 Pro, a customizable Action Button, and more  —  Apple just announced its new high-end iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.  It's made of titanium, it has an Action button …
Peter Cohen / AppleInsider:
Reuters:
The US SEC says the creator of Stoner Cats NFTs, which raised $8.2M, agreed to pay a $1M fine for an unregistered offering and plans to return investors' money  —  The creator of the popular Stoner Cats animated web series will pay a $1 million civil fine to settle U.S. Securities …
Tim Starks / Washington Post:
Researchers: the iPhone of Meduza owner Galina Timchenko was infected with Pegasus in Germany, the first known case of the tool being used against a Russian  —  Unclear is who planted the spyware while the founder of the Meduza news outlet was in Germany  —  The iPhone of a prominent Russian …
Tom Ivan / Video Games Chronicle:
Sony releases a PS5 software update that adds support for Dolby Atmos HDMI devices, assigning a second controller as an “assist controller”, and up to 8TB SSDs  —  Sony has rolled out a major PlayStation 5 system software update globally.  —  It introduces a number of new features …
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Apple does not plan to sell its new AirPods Pro USB-C charging case as a standalone product; users instead need to buy a new $249 pair that come with the case  —  Apple on Tuesday made second-generation AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case available to order, but unlike its move to wireless charging cases …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sean Michael Kerner / VentureBeat:
Stability AI announces its text-to-audio tool Stable Audio, which can generate 20, 45-second tracks per month for free or 500, 90-second tracks for $12/month  —  What comes after building generative AI technology for image and code generation?  For Stability AI, it's text-to-audio generation.
Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:
Apple hikes the prices of the iPhone 15 lineup in China, Japan, India, and other markets, keeps prices flat in the US, and cuts prices in the UK by £50 to £100  —  - Apple hiked the prices of its latest iPhones in some of its key markets including China, Japan and India, even as it kept them the same in the U.S.
Philip Glamann / Bloomberg:
China cites “many media reports about some security incidents concerning Apple phones”, after the government reportedly told its agencies to ban iPhones at work  —  - Beijing makes its first comments since reports of iPhone ban  — The government attaches ‘great importance’ to security
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
The US Army says Microsoft's improved HoloLens-based goggles passed their first round of intensive testing by soldiers, ahead of a make-or-break 2025 evaluation  —  - Army places a new order for goggles based on HoloLens device  — The new contract paves the way for rigorous testing in 2025
Forums: r/hardware
New York Times:
A recap of the first day of US et al v. Google, as the DOJ argues that the company illegally protected its internet search monopoly via smartphone maker deals  —  In opening statements for the government's first monopoly trial of the modern internet era, Google defended itself and said people had many choices for online search.
Wall Street Journal:
Documents: Starlink reported $1.4B in revenue in 2022, up from $222M in 2021, falling short of Elon Musk's 2015 projections, as some question its future growth  —  Revenue at satellite-internet business has jumped but fallen short of Elon Musk's financial projections
Bloomberg:
Since releasing Final Fantasy XVI in June 2023 to mixed reviews, Tokyo-based Square Enix shed ~$2B in market value and its new CEO faces skepticism about growth  —  - Square Enix is heavily reliant on hit series to drive sales  — New CEO faces skepticism about company's growth prospects
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Telegram adds the crypto wallet TON Space to its Wallet bot and plans to give the tool to all Telegram users, minus some countries like the US, in November 2023  —  - Telegram has integrated The Open Network-based crypto wallet “TON Space.”  — The wallet will be rolled out globally beginning in November.
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Ex-FaZe Clan staff describe mismanagement at the creator collective as its valuation falls from $725M during its 2022 SPAC merger to ~$15M; FaZe fired its CEO  —  The board fired CEO Lee Trink following a steep decline in the shares  —  Three months after its July 2022 debut on the Nasdaq …
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Symantec: Chinese cyberespionage group Redfly used the ShadowPad trojan to hack a national electricity grid company in Asia from February 28 to August 3, 2023  —  An espionage threat group tracked as ‘Redfly’ hacked a national electricity grid organization in Asia and quietly maintained access to the breached network for six months.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
WhatsApp rolls out Channels to users in 150+ countries, after introducing the broadcasting feature in June 2023 in Colombia and Singapore, and adds improvements  —  WhatsApp is rolling out its new Channels feature to more users.  The messaging app announced on Wednesday that it's expanding …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Adobe makes Firefly generally and commercially available in Creative Cloud and other services, and announces “generative credits” to charge for Firefly access  —  176 days after launching its Firefly generative AI models into beta, Adobe today announced that Firefly is now generally …

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Earlier Picks

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