Techmeme
August 26, 2020, 11:15 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to add AR content to Apple TV+ next year, as a form of bonus content akin to director commentaries, ahead of an AR headset in 2022  —  - Company plans to add AR-based bonus content to original video  — Apple seeks to make AR more mainstream ahead of headset launch
Ari Levy / CNBC:
In a letter from Palantir's S-1, CEO Alex Karp says Silicon Valley's “engineering elite” don't know “how society should be organized or what justice requires”  —  KEY POINTS  — In Palantir's filing to go public on Tuesday, CEO Alex Karp said Silicon Valley engineers …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Palantir files S-1 for its public market listing, confirming a net loss of $580M in 2019 on $742.6M in revenue; intends to debut with a direct listing  —  - The data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel is going public after 16 years.  —  Data analytics company Palantir Technologies …
New York Times:
How Microsoft's talks with TikTok ballooned from a small investment into a big, messy, closely watched political soap opera after Trump's intervention  —  Neither side wanted a big deal.  But what began as talks about a small investment ballooned with interventions from President Trump.
Kate Cox / Ars Technica:
Unsealed court docs: Google engineers admitted knowing and discussing that the company's location privacy app settings were confusing and could be misleading  —  Users could make change, but it was “difficult enough that people won't,” one employee wrote.  —  Newly unsealed and partially …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
White House announces $1B+ investment to create 12 research institutes focused on AI and quantum computing  —  The White House today detailed the establishment of 12 new research institutes focused on AI and quantum information science.  Agencies including the National Science Foundation …
Richard Lai / Engadget:
Hands-on with the ~$950 ASUS ZenFone 7 Pro, which has a flippable camera, Snapdragon 865 Plus, 6.67" 90Hz AMOLED display, and a 5,000mAh battery  —  ASUS has been taking a cautious approach to its new phones, at a time when rivals continue to churn out a mix of flagship and midrange devices.
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Facebook says it will unify its AR/VR teams into a group called Facebook Reality Labs, renames Oculus Connect event to Facebook Connect, to be held on Sept. 16  —  Facebook is moving further away from the Oculus brand.  —  The company says it is changing the name of their augmented reality …
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 …
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
As content moderators started working from home, YouTube's reliance on automation resulted in double the video removals; Facebook saw removals steeply decline  —  When YouTube sent content moderators home in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it dramatically expanded its use of automated filters …
Frank Chaparro / The Block:
Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has acquired crypto price tracking app Blockfolio for $150M, in the form of equity, FTX's native token, and cash  —  Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has acquired popular crypto price tracking app Blockfolio for $150 million in one of the largest acquisition deals in the digital asset space this year.
Patrick O'Neill / MIT Technology Review:
Human rights advocates file a court petition against Israeli phone hacking firm Cellebrite to stop exports to Hong Kong, say tools are used against dissidents  —  Human rights advocates filed a new court petition against the Israeli phone hacking company Cellebrite, urging Israel's ministry …
Katie Abel / Footwear News:
Tony Hsieh is stepping down as Zappos CEO after 21 years at the helm; COO Kedar Deshpande will succeed him at the Amazon-owned company  —  Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is stepping down after 21 years at the helm.  —  Kedar Deshpande, COO at the company, has assumed the role of CEO, according to an internal email obtained by FN.
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Gartner: global smartphone sales in Q2 dropped 20.4% YoY, similar to Q1's 20% drop; Samsung and Huawei virtually tie for top spot, after Samsung drops 27% YoY  —  The last couple of years have been tough on the smartphone industry, as sales plateaued and eventually eroded.
Olaf Storbeck / Financial Times:
Interviews and documents reveal Wirecard's desperate effort to cover up fraud, hoodwink its auditors, and a plan to take over Deutsche Bank in its final months  —  Executives at the German payments group hatched a plan to buy Deutsche Bank while desperately trying to cover their tracks

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Jordan Novet / CNBC:
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The Verge: