Techmeme
October 28, 2019, 5:15 PM

Top News

Reuters:
Sources: Alphabet has made an offer to buy wearable device maker Fitbit; Fitbit's stock closes up 30% on the news  —  (Reuters) - Google owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) has made an offer to acquire U.S. wearable device maker Fitbit Inc (FIT.N), as it eyes a slice of the crowded market …
Apple:
Apple unveils AirPods Pro, with active noise cancellation, transparency mode, silicone ear tip design, and water resistance, coming October 30 for $249  —  All-New Design Features Active Noise Cancellation for Immersive Sound  —  Cupertino, California — Apple today announced AirPods Pro …
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Sources: over 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter visible on an internal forum that says letting politicians lie in ads is “a threat” to the company  —  In an open letter, the social network's employees said letting politicians post false claims in ads was “a threat” to the company.
Alphabet:
Alphabet reports Q3 revenue of $40.5B, up 20% YoY, operating income of $9.2B, up from $8.6B YoY, and net income of $7.1B, down from $9.1B YoY  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - October 28, 2019 - Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
How Ben Shapiro's massively popular right-wing site The Daily Wire gets promoted in an inauthentic, coordinated manner by 14 Facebook pages followed by millions  —  The Daily Wire, the right-wing website founded by pundit Ben Shapiro, is a cesspool of misogyny, bigotry, and misinformation.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on new smart home products with a new team headed by Andreas Gal, the former Mozilla CTO and co-founder of Apple-acquired Silk Labs  —  The iPhone maker's effort in smart-home devices trails rivals.  A new team wants to change that.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple releases iOS and iPadOS 13.2 with 230+ new emoji, Deep Fusion for iPhone 11, a way to opt out of sending Apple voice dictation and Siri recordings, more  —  Apple today released iOS 13.2, the second major update to the iOS and iPadOS 13 operating systems.
Hugh Son / CNBC:
Uber unveils Uber Money, a division for efforts like digital wallets and upgraded debit and credit cards, focusing at first on getting 4M drivers a bank account  —  - The ride company announces a new division called Uber Money, which includes a digital wallet and upgraded debit and credit cards.
Angus Crawford / BBC:
Instagram bans drawings and memes related to self-harm or suicide  —  Instagram has pledged to remove images, drawings and even cartoons showing methods of self-harm or suicide.  —  The move is its latest response to the public outcry over the death of British teenager Molly Russell.
Spotify:
Spotify Q3: paid subs rose 31% YoY to 113M; MAUs grew 30% YoY to 248M; revenue up 28% YoY to €1.73B; net income of €241M, up from €43M in Q3 '18; stock up 14%+  —  NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)— Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) today reported financial results for the third fiscal quarter …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
FCC proposes rules requiring telcos remove Huawei and ZTE equipment, in two draft orders slated to be voted on at a meeting on November 19  —  The Federal Communications Commission said it will move ahead with proposals to ban telecommunications giants from using Huawei and ZTE networking equipment …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Nvidia unveils new $149 Shield TV and $199 Shield TV Pro with a faster Tegra X1+ processor, AI-based 4K upscaling, Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Atmos support  —  Nvidia has a new family of Android TV-based streaming devices, as tipped early via a couple of leaks from online stores.

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Khari Johnson / VentureBeat: