Techmeme
July 31, 2019, 3:25 PM

Top News

Cho Mu-Hyun / ZDNet:
Samsung posts Q2 operating profit of ~$5.6B, down 56% YoY, on revenue of ~$47.4B, down 4% YoY, after profits from its chip and mobile businesses declined YoY  —  Samsung expects “persistent uncertainties” in the memory business for the remainder of the year but will pursue an aggressive investment plan in the second half.
Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:
Spotify reports 108M paying subscribers in Q2, up 31% YoY, and an operating loss of €3M on revenue of €1.67B, up 31% YoY  —  Spotify closed its second calendar quarter this year with 108m paying subscribers and 232m total Monthly Active Users (MAUs).
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Apple joins Google, Facebook, and Twitter in the open-source Data Transfer Project, will develop interoperable systems to bring data in and out of iCloud  —  Just over a year after its official launch, the Data Transfer Project is announcing a new set of partners and features.
Alex Heath / The Information:
Sources: Facebook is working on a new TV device that can stream video and make video calls using its Portal tech, and has approached Netflix, Disney, and others  —  Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney and other media companies about putting their streaming services on a new Facebook device …
Wall Street Journal:
Four major broadcast networks sue Locast, which is funded by AT&T, to try to stop it from freely retransmitting the signals of their local TV stations  —  CBS, ABC, NBCU and Fox say AT&T-funded Locast is retransmitting their signals without permission and in violation of copyright law
Megan Scudellari / IEEE Spectrum:
Researchers from UCSF and Facebook Reality Labs have successfully decoded question-and-answer dialogue from brain signals in real time, via brain implants  —  The project is the first to decode question-and-answer speech from brain signals in real time  —  In 2017, Facebook's Mark Chevillet …
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Lightricks, which makes the popular selfie editing app Facetune, raises $135M Series C led by Goldman Sachs at a post-money valuation of $1B  —  Facetune, a photo editing app that empowers users to cover their gray hairs, refine their jaw lines, and reshape their noses …
Anna Baydakova / CoinDesk:
Sources: Chinese importers in Russia buy ~$30M worth of tether, a USD pegged crypto coin, every day, to send large sums of money back home  —  The Takeaway  —  Chinese importers in Russia are buying up to $30 million a day of tether (USDT) from Moscow's over-the-counter trading desks.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google says its Titan security keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK, expanding beyond the US  —  Google today announced that its Titan Security Key kits are now available in Canada, France, Japan and the UK.  Until now, these keys, which come in a kit with a Bluetooth key …
More: 9to5Google and ZDNet
Apple:
Apple reports Q3 revenue of $53.8B, up 1% YoY, record Services revenue of $11.5B, up from $10.2B YoY, iPhone revenue of $26B, down from $29.5B YoY; stock up 4%+  —  Company Revenue Sets June Quarter Record Services Revenue Reaches New All-Time High  —  Apple today announced financial results …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Samsung announces Galaxy Tab S6, its most high-end Android tablet, with a 10.5-inch OLED display and Snapdragon 855, coming September 6 for $649+  —  Thinner, lighter, and faster than the Tab S4  —  Samsung has officially announced the new Galaxy Tab S6, a high-end Android tablet that's designed …
Sarah Scoles / The Verge:
Newly-released documents on Sentient, the NRO's ambitious analysis tool meant to guide spy satellites to areas of interest, raise more questions than answers  —  Meet the classified artificial brain being developed by US intelligence programs  —  At the final session of the 2019 Space Symposium …
Raymond Zhong / New York Times:
Trump's ongoing trade war with China has been a boon for Vietnam, as some tech companies, like Apple and Nintendo, consider shifting production there  —  Samsung already assembles half of its handsets in the country, which got a big lift from U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.  Now Apple is homing in.

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
SignalFire:
SignalFire raises another $1 billion to back applied AI startups  —  We build AI too.  It tracks 650M tech employees so we can help companies with recruiting and GTM across enterprise, infra, healthcare, security, and consumer.
Zoho:
How to turn employees into your brand's biggest supporters  —  Turning your employees into your brand's biggest advocates is one of the most powerful ways to grow your brand.  When employees feel connected to your mission …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
Is Google Breaking Up? + Seasteading Is Back + Tool Time
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Blake Scholl (Founder and CEO, Boom Supersonic) on Why Supersonic Flight Failed & How Boom is Bringing it Back
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
BG2 Pod:
Tariffs, Free Trade, Export Controls, H20 & Rare Earth Ban
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
Founders need prenups, too
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
The AI Coding Wars Are Upon Us
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:25 PM ET, July 31, 2019.

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

Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:

Earlier Picks

Rani Molla / Vox:
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post: