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August 25, 2020, 2:10 PM
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The Verge:
Judge denies Epic's motion to restore Fortnite to the App Store but orders Apple to not block Unreal Engine; full hearing scheduled for September 28  —  Epic Games won a temporary restraining order against Apple, at least in part  —  Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part.
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo plans to launch an upgraded Switch in 2021, possibly with 4K graphics, more computing power, and a lineup of new games  —  - Strong lineup of Nintendo games set to accompany new hardware  — Update would make the Switch Nintendo's most enduring console
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to open an online store in India next month and is planning two retail stores there next year, first in Mumbai and then in Bangalore  —  - Online store comes a year after India eases rules on retail  — IPhone maker also plans a second physical outlet in India
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google rolls out Chrome 85 with 10% faster page load times, collapsible tab groups, a PDF editor, and more  —  Following version 84's release on Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS, the next release of Google's browser is rolling out today.  Chrome 85 sees faster page loads …
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Microsoft adds an audio transcription feature to Word's web version for Office 365 that will work with prerecorded or live audio  —  The tech giant adds a new feature to the web version of Microsoft Word allowing people to record and upload audio for transcription.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Facebook is testing a Shop section in its app in the US, while Instagram expands Live Shopping to more sellers in the US  —  Facebook is announcing a number of new e-commerce features both within the main Facebook app and on Instagram.  —  The pandemic has forced many businesses to shift online …
Bill Gurley / Above the Crowd:
The rise in SPACs is leading to improved terms for targeted companies and an overall lower cost of capital, as company underpricing in traditional IPOs worsens  —  If you are looking past or through Covid — and why not, all of Wall Street is — the topic du jour in Silicon Valley is Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Mozilla rolls out Firefox 79 for Android with Enhanced Tracking Protection, a new UI, its own mobile browser engine GeckoView, improved privacy mode, and more  —  After more than a year of development, Mozilla today launched Firefox 79 for Android, branded Firefox Daylight.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Fitbit unveils $330 Sense smartwatch with ECG and a sensor for detecting stress, and $230 Versa 3 with GPS and Google Assistant, both shipping in late September  —  Even as Google's $2.1 billion acquisition hangs over Fitbit, the wearables company today announced three new devices.
Rishi Iyengar / CNN:
Facebook, after complying with a Thai government request to block a 1M+ member group critical of the Thai monarchy, says it plans legal action to challenge it  —  (CNN Business)Facebook said it is planning legal action against Thailand's demand that forced the company to block a group deemed critical of the country's monarchy.
James Vincent / The Verge:
iRobot is updating its Roomba vacuum cleaners with AI-based software that will add specific spot-cleaning, event-based automation, and more  —  To help Roombas know when and where to clean  —  iRobot is announcing what it's calling the biggest software upgrade to its robot vacuum cleaners since …
Paul Mozur / New York Times:
Emboldened by Hong Kong's new security law, police are targeting the social media accounts of media executives, pro-democracy politicians, and activists  —  Under a new national security law, the police are targeting the social media accounts of executives, politicians and activists.
Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:
TSMC says its 3nm process will hit volume production in 2022, and 5nm N5 chips, which should ship in products this year, will use 30% less power than the N7  —  At TSMC's annual Technology Symposium, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer detailed characteristics of its future 3nm process node …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Level Home unveils Level Touch, a $329 HomeKit-enabled smart lock that can be unlocked with a touch or included NFC access cards  —  The new Level Touch builds on the work started by the Bolt  —  Level is a relatively new company in the smart home scene, but today it's announcing its second product of the year: the Level Touch.
Pranob Mehrotra / XDA Developers:
Samsung adds the ability, off by default, to find offline devices with its Find My Mobile tool, using other people's nearby Galaxy devices to help locate them  —  Samsung's Find My Mobile app is designed to help you remotely locate your device, back up data to Samsung Cloud, delete local data …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, two top investors in ByteDance, are key drivers in Oracle's bid for TikTok; Twitter's bid has made little headway  —  Investment firms with large existing stakes in ByteDance pursue deal for app's U.S. operations, as potential alternative to Microsoft
New York Times:
TikTok sues the Trump administration in federal court, arguing Trump's EO deprived it of due process
CNBC:
Ant Group files for IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, reporting $3.2B profit in H1 2020, up 1,000% YoY, and revenue of $10.48B, up 38% YoY  —  - Ant Group, which is still controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, reported a more than 1,000% jump in profits in the first half of 2020 from the same period last year.
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Apple acquires Spaces, a location-based VR startup that recently pivoted to videoconferencing  —  Spaces, a VR startup that got its start as a DreamWorks Animation project, has been acquired by Apple, Protocol has learned.  —  Apple confirmed the acquisition after this story was first published.
Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:
MURAL, which offers a whiteboard-like digital environment for users to collaborate and brainstorm, raises $118M Series B led by Insight Partners  —  This morning MURAL announced that it has raised $118 million in an outsized Series B. The visual collaboration startup provides a whiteboard …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:10 PM ET, August 25, 2020.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Sara Fischer / Axios:
CalMatters, a nonprofit focused on CA politics and policy, acquires tech news nonprofit The Markup; CalMatters has ~$12.5M in funding and The Markup has $5M

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Essence magazine's parent, Sundial Media Group, agrees to buy Refinery29 from Vice Media and names former Vice COO Cory Haik as CEO of Refinery29

New York Times:
Sources: Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo discussed a joint all-cash offer for Paramount, which is still in an exclusive negotiation window with Skydance

More News

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
UK-based MelodyVR, which creates immersive live music for VR headsets and phones, acquires Rhapsody International, owner of Napster, from RealNetworks for $70M

Earlier Picks

Financial Times:
Sources: key ministries in India including its telecom department have indicated that local telcos should avoid using Huawei gear, but a formal ban is unlikely
John Koetsier / Forbes:
Security research firm Snyk alleges that Chinese ad network Mintegral committed ad click fraud via its SDK across billions of installs of 1,200+ iOS apps
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