Techmeme
April 22, 2021, 4:45 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
Steve Kovach / CNBC:
Report: Apple is working on upgrades to iMessage with the eventual goal of making it more like a social network, to better compete with WhatsApp  —  - Apple is working on enhancements to iMessage that will help it compete with the more robust social networking features in Facebook's products, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
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 …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Consumer Reports says it was “easily” able to trick Tesla's Autopilot system to operate without anyone in the driver's seat  —  Consumer Reports says, ‘Under no circumstance should anyone try this’  —  Consumer Reports said Thursday it was “easily” able to trick Tesla's Autopilot system …
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 …
Andy Robinson / VGC:
Sony confirms it is testing PlayStation Plus Video Pass, which lets PS Plus subscribers access over 20 movie and TV shows from Sony Pictures, in Poland  —  POLISH USERS HAVE ACCESS TO VIDEO CONTENT FROM TODAY; NO NEWS ON OTHER MARKETS YET  —  Sony Interactive Entertainment …
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
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.
Marty Swant / Forbes:
Atmosphere TV, a streaming service that provides audio-optional content supported by ads, raises $25M Series B from Valor Equity at a valuation of $275M  —  It's been more than a year since many Americans have sat inside a bar or restaurant, casually watching a silent TV play in the background.
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Sift, which uses AI to predict whether an attempted online transaction or interaction is authentic or fraudulent, raises $50M at a valuation of $1B+  —  With the increase of digital transacting over the past year, cybercriminals have been having a field day.
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.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap reports Q1 revenue of $770M, up 66% YoY, vs $743.8M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 280M, net loss of $287M, down from $306M YoY  —  - Snap's stock rose in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its first-quarter results despite beating Wall Street's expectations on earnings, revenue and user growth.
More: SNAP
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Intel reports Q1 revenue of $18.6B, flat YoY, vs. $17.90B est., Data Center Group revenue of $5.56B, down from $6.99B YoY, and PC unit volumes were up 38% YoY  —  - Intel's first-quarter earnings are the first with CEO Pat Gelsinger at the helm.  — He's already announced a turnaround …
More: Intel and ZDNet
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 …
Bloomberg:
During Senate hearing, Spotify and Match said Apple abuses its power over app developers, leveraging its user base; Spotify said the goal is to hurt rivals  —  - Spotify, Match, Tile blast Apple over fees, barriers to rivals  — Match lawyer says Apple told company: ‘You owe us every dime’
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Is AI just hype?  —  Find out how top enterprises use Tribe to get real business results.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
All new Zoho Workerly 2024  —  Staffing businesses around the world face a unique set of challenges when it comes to managing their temporary workforce.  With a constantly shifting job market and changing staffing needs …
Comprehensive.io:
Browse salary data from 3,000 startups for free  —  Click for FREE, immediate access to real-time compensation benchmarking data.  Paid version helps HR automate comp reviews and communicate total compensation to employees.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Henry Shukman, Lessons from an Authentic Zen Master
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Wed. 03/27 - Hulu Comes To Disney+; WWDC Gets A Date
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:45 PM ET, April 22, 2021.

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.

More News

Cody Godwin / BBC:

Earlier Picks

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Jason Snell / Macworld:
Wall Street Journal: