Techmeme
August 18, 2020, 3:30 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Apple:
Apple renames Beats 1, its streaming radio station, Apple Music 1 and launches two new radio stations: Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country  —  Apple Music 1 and two new stations, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country, feature exclusive original shows from the world's top music hosts and artists
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Samsung Note20 Ultra review: has fast performance, multiday battery life, big display is great for streaming games, but camera bump is huge, and it's expensive  —  A refinement of the formula  —  Samsung has settled into a new routine for its Galaxy Note line of smartphones …
Michael Simon / PCWorld:
Samsung promises three generations of Android updates for many Galaxy S, Note, Foldable, and A series devices, rivaling Google's three year promise for Pixel  —  When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 20 earlier this month, the biggest surprise wasn't the faster screen, smoother S Pen, or more powerful processor.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Google Maps says it's rolling out more detailed maps with improved street designs for SF, NYC, and London, and with more accurate natural features worldwide  —  Making natural features easier to see and streets easier to navigate  —  Google Maps is being redesigned to make it easier …
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Apple says “the problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied” if they revert to comply with the guidelines they agreed to  —  “The problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied.”  —  Apple has responded to Epic Games' latest salvo …
The Information:
@epicnewsroom:
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Oculus will soon require all of its VR headset users to sign up with a Facebook account, removing support for new separate Oculus accounts in October  —  Support for separate Oculus accounts will end in 2023  —  Oculus will soon require all of its virtual reality headset users to sign up with a Facebook account.
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon says it is expanding physical offices and adding 3,500 corporate employees in six major cities, including 2,000 jobs in New York City  —  The e-commerce giant says it is adding 3,500 employees in six major cities, including 2,000 jobs in New York City
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Senate Intelligence Committee concludes Putin ordered the 2016 hacking of Democratic Party accounts and the release of emails to harm Hillary Clinton's campaign  —  - Manafort described as a ‘grave counterintelligence threat’  — Report details plan to hurt Clinton, finds no Trump collusion
Joanna Nelius / Gizmodo:
Nvidia's cloud gaming service GeForce Now is now available on Chromebooks in beta, but lacks the ability to automatically adjust for poor network conditions  —  Nvidia's cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, officially hit beta on ChromeOS today and it's helping to make the gaming PC obsolete faster than you'd expect.
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Sources: Uber and Lyft are considering a franchise-like model in California where they would license their brands to operators of vehicle fleets  —  Under pressure to classify their freelance drivers as full-time employees, the ride-hailing companies are discussing another option.
James Vincent / The Verge:
Facebook and NYU research project suggests AI can make MRI scans up to four times faster by “predicting” the final scan from less data  —  AI learns to create MRI scans from a quarter of the data  —  If you've ever had an MRI scan before, you'll know how unsettling the experience can be.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Uber expands its Uber Pass subscription to 200 cities across the US, excluding California, after initially testing in 10  —  Uber is launching its monthly Uber Pass subscription service across the U.S., following an extended test period in a handful of cities.
More: Engadget
Rita Liao / TechCrunch:
California-based Asian e-grocer Weee! raises $35M Series C from DST Global, bringing its total raised to over $100M  —  Coronavirus stay-home orders have sparked an unprecedented demand for grocery delivery around the world.  Now investors are clamoring to bet on promising players in the field.

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Jon Porter / The Verge: