Techmeme
April 20, 2021, 2:00 PM

Top News

Apple:
Livestream of Apple's “Spring Loaded” event  —  Apple Event - April 20, 2021.  This stream is best experienced on an iPhone 7 or later, iPad (5th generation or later), or iPod touch (7th generation) using Safari on iOS 12 or later; or a Mac using Safari on macOS Mojave 10.14 or later.
The Verge:
Live blog of Apple's event, where new iPads, AirPods, Apple TV, AirTags, and refreshed iMacs could be announced  —  iPads?  AirTags?  AirPods?  There could be a lot on tap today  —  Apple seemingly has a big backlog of products to announce.  We've been anticipating new iPad Pros …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple updates 11" and 12.9" iPad Pros with M1, 8-core GPU, Thunderbolt, up to 2TB storage, 5G, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and a miniLED screen on the 12.9" model  —  As part of the Apple event today, the company unveiled the new lineup of iPad Pro tablets.  The 2021 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro feature …
Hartley Charlton / MacRumors:
Apple updates iMac with M1, slimmer design with two small fans, seven colors, 1080p webcam, six speakers, beamforming three-mic array, and 24-inch 4.5K display  —  Apple has announced a new, redesigned 24-inch iMac, featuring an M1 chip, a range of color options, and an improved front-facing camera.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Apple refreshes Apple TV 4K with A12 Bionic, high frame rate HDR video, revamped remote with new click pad and buttons, coming in May for $179 and $199  —  Now with the A12 Bionic  —  Apple has just announced a new Apple TV streaming box, replacing the Apple TV 4K that came out in 2017.
Apple:
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Zac Bowden / Windows Central:
Sources: Microsoft is revamping its Store app on Windows 10 and will let devs submit unpackaged Win32 apps, use third-party commerce platforms in apps, and more  —  Microsoft wants to bring life back to the Store app on Windows 10.  —  What you need to know  — Microsoft is working on a new Store app for Windows 10.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Apple officially launches AirTags, an item tracker that works with Apple's Find My app, with one unit for $29 and four units for $99, launching April 30  —  The long-rumored trackers are now official  —  Apple is officially launching a Tile-like item tracker that will work with the company's software and services.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Venmo adds support for buying, holding, and selling four types of cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash  —  Venmo is adding support for cryptocurrency, starting today.  The company says it will begin to roll out the ability for Venmo's more than 70 million users to buy …
Saqib Shah / Engadget:
Amazon is opening a hair salon in London, where customers can try on virtual hair colors using an AR color bar and shop beauty products using QR codes  —  Amazon reinvented supermarket shopping with its  —  checkout-less Go stores, now the e-commerce giant is applying its tech prowess to hairdressing.
Charlie Osborne / ZDNet:
Internal Facebook emails, accidentally sent to a journalist, show its “long-term strategy” for data scraping incidents, framing it as a “broad industry issue”  —  More scraping incidents are “expected” in the future.  —  An internal email accidentally leaked by Facebook …
Wall Street Journal:
An in-depth look at the reasons behind the chip shortage, including focus on higher-margin, cutting-edge chips, and stockpiling due to US China trade tensions  —  Semiconductor producers are trying to increase output, but the small gains are unlikely to fix the shortfalls hampering production …
New York Times:
Governments around the world are moving to limit the power of tech companies with an urgency and breadth that no single industry had experienced before  —  Never before have so many countries, including China, moved with such vigor at the same time to limit the power of a single industry.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Chargebee, which helps enterprises with billing, subscriptions, revenue operations, and compliance, raises $125M at a $1.4B valuation  —  A startup that enables businesses to set up and manage their billing, subscription, revenue operations and compliance has become the newest firm to earn the much coveted unicorn status.

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Featured Podcasts

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
All about Interest Rates
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Training Data:
Google DeepMind's Logan Kilpatrick: Why the Model Eats the Harness
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Big Technology Podcast:
What Should An AI Device Look Like? — With Alex Himel
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Great Chat:
Founders dish on VC bad behavior (and bring receipts)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Mike Volpi from Hanabi Capital
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

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Earlier Picks

Rachel Levin / Outside Online:
Lauren Feiner / CNBC: