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February 6, 2018, 2:45 PM
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Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Nilay Patel / The Verge: |
Apple HomePod review: looks great, has best-in-class sound for $349 and above, but voice controls only work with Apple Music, no third-party service support — It sounds amazing. Is that enough? — Photography by James Bareham; Video by Phil Esposito, Becca Farsace, Andrew Marino, and William Joel
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TechCrunch, The Loop, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNET, BuzzFeed, Om Malik, USA Today, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Telegraph, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, CNBC, iMore, Macworld, Business Insider, MacRumors, BGR, Stratechery, What Hi-Fi?, Variety, MacDailyNews, TechSpot, iPhone in Canada Blog, PYMNTS.com, RAIN News, AppAdvice.com, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, hypebot, New York Magazine, Digg, iDownloadBlog.com, SlashGear, The Mac Observer, iPhone Hacks, 512 Pixels, and Digital Trends
Tweets: @mkbhd, @joannastern, @reckless, @om, @jyarow, @bxchen, @mkbhd, @vladsavov, @buzzfeednews, @davemark, @benbajarin, @bzamayo, @alexhern, @alexhern, @ampressman, and @jonfortt
| Ben Lovejoy / 9to5Mac: |
HomePod review roundup: Siri is very limited, despite integration with iCloud and iPhone, recognizing few commands and not being able to tell voices apart — Apple seeded HomePod review units to a number of websites, embargoed for today, and the first reviews are landing. — There are quibbles.
More:
The Loop, The Independent, Pocket-lint, AppleInsider, and InvestorPlace
Tweets: @marcoarment, @benbajarin, @marcoarment, @stevekovach, @drbarnard, and @verge
| Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: |
Apple's Shazam takeover triggers competition review by the European Commission, following request by seven European countries — The European Commission has announced a review of Apple's acquisition of music discovery service Shazam — agreeing to a request made by several countries to weigh competition concerns.| TechCrunch: |
In email snafu, Apple appears to be sending some developers, who are using Search Ads Basic, ad spend and install details for other developers' apps — Feb 6, 2018, 11:41 amFeb 6, 2018, 2:37 pm — An issue at Apple appears to be resulting in app developers getting emails of ad spend …
More:
AppleInsider, iPhone in Canada Blog, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, and 9to5Mac
Tweets: @stroughtonsmith, @louisdhauwe, and @renefouquet
| Reuters: |
In letter to US lawmakers, Apple says it sees “strong demand” for replacement iPhone batteries and is considering refunding consumers who paid full price — WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has seen “strong demand” for replacement iPhone batteries … | Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge: |
Amazon says it will begin removing lock screen ads on its discounted Prime Exclusive Phone program on February 7 but will reportedly raise phones' prices by $20 — New devices will drop the ads starting tomorrow — Amazon has announced that starting tomorrow, February 7th …
More:
Android Authority, Digital Trends, Engadget, CNET, ZDNet, GeekWire, Android Police, Fortune, 9to5Google, and The Next Web
| Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat: |
IDC: quarterly tablet shipments down 7.9% YoY, the 13th straight quarter of decline; Amazon sells ~7.7M tablets in Q4, overtaking Samsung for second place — The tablet market has now declined year-over-year for 13 quarters straight. Q4 2017 saw a 7.9 percent year-over-year decline … | Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Data management startup Rubrik acquires Datos IO, which specializes in backing up NoSQL data; deal estimated at $45M+ based on Datos IO's earlier funding — Rubrik, the enterprise startup that provides data backup and recovery services across cloud and on-premise environments … | Eric Zimmerman / The Keyword: |
Google begins rolling out ability to book flights and hotels directly from search results — Planning a trip involves lots of searching for flights, hotels, things to do, itineraries and more. The process is often cumbersome because we have to use multiple tools to gather everything we need—especially on a mobile phone.
More:
The Verge, 9to5Google, and PhoneDog.com
| Stephen Shankland / CNET: |
Google brings AR stickers to its Motion Stills app for Android, which does not require ARCore-compatible smartphone or high-end specs — Want to plop a 3D T. rex into a video of your hand? The Motion Stills app for Android phones now lets you do that with a rough-and-ready technique.
More:
Google Research Blog and TechCrunch
| Casey Newton / The Verge: |
A pollster Facebook hired in April '17, who quit after 6 months, says his role was to gauge public opinion of Zuckerberg, his appearances, speeches amid US tour — Why Tavis McGinn quit after six months — Tavis McGinn applied for a job at Facebook last year hoping to work in market research.
Tweets: @dhh, @caseynewton, and @caseynewton
| Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica: |
A deep look at Lightning and how it may mitigate Bitcoin's scaling problem by creating a new protocol level on top of Bitcoin to make payments faster, cheaper — The Lightning network could enable much cheaper and faster bitcoin payments. — Three startups are getting ready to launch …
Tweets: @jonjones, @csuwildcat, and @binarybits
| Adi Robertson / The Verge: |
Patreon is launching its Snapchat Stories-like photo and video feed for artists as a feature called Lens in its mobile app, after announcing it last year — Patreon has launched a new feature that it announced last year: a Snapchat Stories-like feed where artists can share pictures and video with patrons.
More:
TechCrunch, Android Police, Engadget, and Variety
| Brian Fung / Washington Post: |
US regulators say they lack power over cryptocurrency exchanges, citing ease of price manipulation on unregulated exchanges, view ICOs as securities offerings — Two of the nation's top financial regulators said Tuesday that Congress may need to grant them new powers if they are to protect consumers … | Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Home design platform Houzz acquires IvyMark, which raised ~$3M and offers a platform for interior and home designers; sources say deal is worth $30M-$40M — Houzz, the platform now valued at $4 billion where people plan and help find people to complete home design projects … Sponsor Posts
Google:
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Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack — Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Shopify's new AI commerce stack — Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review — As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People. Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review — As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People. Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.Featured Podcasts
Hard Fork:
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Big Technology Podcast:
Sam Altman: How OpenAI Wins, AI Buildout Logic, IPO in 2026?
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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Lenny's Podcast:
The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
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