Techmeme
March 22, 2021, 5:10 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple's HomePod mini has a sensor, currently disabled, that measures temperature and humidity; Apple is working on speakers with screens and cameras  —  Apple Inc.'s HomePod mini speaker launched last November with new features such as a home intercom system.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Judge certifies a class action suit against Apple that claims it knew for years that MacBooks' butterfly keyboards were flawed and small fixes were insufficient  —  The suit says Apple knew its thinner keyboard was rotten  —  A judge has certified a class action suit against Apple for its fragile butterfly keyboard design.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says it will begin a limited reopening of its Redmond HQ on March 29 and plans a future focus on hybrid workplaces  —  Microsoft is letting some employees back into the office  —  Microsoft is planning to start reopening its Redmond, Seattle headquarters later this month.
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch:
Spark Capital decides to “sever all ties” with Dispo after claims of sexual assault against a former Vlog Squad member; David Dobrik departs from Dispo  —  Dobrik departs from Dispo board and leaves company  —  Venture capital firm Spark Capital has decided to ‘sever all ties’ with Dispo …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Long time Google VP Caesar Sengupta, who was in charge of Next Billion Users, Google Pay, and oversaw Chrome OS, is leaving the company after 15 years  —  One big focus for Google today is making products for what it dubs the Next Billion Users in countries just coming online.
Nikkei Asia:
Sources: Samsung plans to release new Galaxy Z Flip and Fold phones this year and is working on a double-folding phone to be unveiled as early as this year  —  South Korean tech titan is working on new double-hinged model  —  TAIPEI/SEOUL — Samsung Electronics is betting heavily on foldable smartphones …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Biden announces his intent to nominate Lina Khan, a legal scholar and leading voice in the growing tech antitrust movement, to serve as an FTC commissioner  —  Khan brought Big Tech scrutiny mainstream  —  President Joe Biden has announced his intent to nominate Lina Khan …
Andy Day / Fstoppers:
Instead of convincing people merely to buy things that they don't need, NFTs are convincing them to buy imaginary optimism based on a mass enchantment and FOMO  —  Photographers, filmmakers, and digital artists are falling over themselves to mint NFTs in a get-rich-quick scheme …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
NLRB docs show it filed a federal complaint against Amazon after a probe found Amazon illegally questioned and threatened a leader of Amazon walkouts in Queens  —  The state of New York is also suing Amazon for alleged health and safety violations at the same Queens warehouse where workers led the first COVID-19-related walkouts.
More: CNET and Insider
Yang Jie / Wall Street Journal:
Japanese chip maker Renesas says a fire at one its plants has halted production for at least a month, impacting automakers, and estimates losses at $160M/month  —  Shares of Toyota, Nissan and Honda fell Monday  —  TOKYO—A fire at a factory of one of the world's leading auto chip makers …
Reuters:
ByteDance says its Nuverse video game unit has acquired Shanghai-based gaming studio Moonton Technology, sources say for around $4B  —  (Reuters) - ByteDance said on Monday its video games unit Nuverse has agreed to acquire Shanghai-based gaming studio Moonton Technology, as it seeks to further expand into the video games business.

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Benedict Evans:
Axios:
Ronn Blitzer / Fox News: