Techmeme
April 22, 2021, 1:15 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to include upgrades to notifications, Lock Screen, and iMessage, a redesigned iPad Home Screen, and more privacy protections  —  - New privacy tools, updates to iMessage app also planned  — Company to show software updates at June developer conference
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple AirTags hands-on: work very well with a thoughtfully designed system, beautiful with a plastic body that serves as a speaker, but get scuffed easily  —  They work super well, and they're one more thing keeping you on the iPhone  —  I was starting to get really worried that I wouldn't find my friend.
Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
Apple executives detail privacy and anti-stalking protections built into AirTags and insist they are designed just to track items, not people or pets  —  Apple's “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday offered a bonanza of new hardware announcements, including some unexpected ones.
Financial Times:
Sources: Apple plans to expand its ad business and add a second ad slot in the App Store search page even as it introduces privacy rules crippling ads by rivals  —  New privacy rules deal a huge blow to how the mobile advertising industry works  —  Apple will expand its advertising business …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Files from REvil, which is extorting Apple supplier Quanta, appear to confirm new MacBook Pros with MagSafe, USB-C, HDMI, SD card slot, and no Touch Bar  —  Schematics stolen from Apple supplier Quanta Computer outline Apple's plans for the next-generation MacBook Pro models that are expected in 2021 …
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee:
Recording of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing to examine competition in app stores, with testimony from Apple, Google, Spotify, Tile, and others  —  Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights.  Mr. Kyle Andeer Chief Compliance Officer Apple Cupertino …
Bloomberg:
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Productboard, which helps product managers prioritize what to build next, raises $72M Series C led by Tiger Global, bringing its total raised to $137M+  —  Join Transform 2021 this July 12-16.  Register fo r the AI event of the year.  —  Productboard, a startup developing a DevOps orchestration system …
More: Insider
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS slashes FTC's power to seek monetary awards in court, banning a tool that it used to fine tech and other companies engaged in unfair business practices  —  - Ruling eliminates tool agency had used to collect billions  — Unanimous decision is a triumph for business trade groups
Jabari Young / CNBC:
Overtime, which distributes original sports content on social media platforms like Snapchat, raises $80M Series C from Bezos Expeditions, Drake, and others  —  - Overtime raised $80 million in a Series C with investors including Bezos Expeditions, Drake and NBA stars including Devin Booker, Trae Young and Klay Thompson.
Cody Godwin / BBC:
UK's Met Office and Microsoft plan to build a weather forecasting supercomputer in the UK for more detailed weather models, better local forecasts, and more  —  The Met Office is working with Microsoft to build a weather forecasting supercomputer in the UK.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Signal's CEO says he analyzed a Cellebrite device, used to extract data from phones, that fell off a truck, and it is full of easily exploitable security flaws  —  One of the biggest encrypted chat apps in the world just showed how a device used to decrypt messages can be hacked and tampered with.
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
AfterShip, which lets online sellers track packages across different carriers, raises $66M Series B led by Tiger Global, following a $1M Series A in 2014  —  AfterShip launched in 2012 to help online sellers track packages across different carriers, but since then it has built a suite …
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Twitter rolls out the option to upload and view 4K images on Android and iOS to all users, after testing the feature earlier this year  —  Twitter finally fixes its low-res picture problem  —  Get ready for Twitter to start looking a whole lot crisper — starting today …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Kandji, which offers automated tools for onboarding and updating Apple devices remotely, raises $60M Series B led by Felicis Ventures  —  During the pandemic, having an automated solution for onboarding and updating Apple devices remotely has been essential, and today Kandji …
BuzzFeed News:
An internal Facebook report found it failed to take appropriate action against Stop the Steal groups before Capitol riot, saying it should “do better next time”  —  Last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of a House of Representatives committee that his company …
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Outlier.org, which offers affordable intro-level college courses online, raises $30M Series B led by GV, bringing its total raised to $46M  —  Outlier.org — a startup offering intro-level college courses online and at a relatively affordable price — is announcing that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding.

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