Techmeme
April 20, 2021, 5:30 PM

Top News

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 mini-LED screen on 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 …
Apple:
Apple says the updated M1 iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 11-inch and $1,099 for the 12.9-inch; pre-orders open April 30, shipping in second half of May  —  CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the most powerful and advanced iPad Pro ever, pushing the limits of what's possible on iPad.
Apple:
iMac with M1 starts at $1,299 for 8-core CPU/7-core GPU in four colors and $1,499 for 8-core GPU in seven colors with Touch ID keyboard, shipping late May  —  iMac offers the best camera, mics, and speakers ever in a Mac, and Touch ID for the first time  —  CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today introduced …
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 4.5K display, and a range of color options …
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
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:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Apple will take a 30% cut of revenue generated through Podcasts Subscriptions, dropping to 15% after a year; pricing options start at 49 cents a month in the US  —  Apple hasn't tried to make a business out of podcasting until now.  Will you pay?  —  Apple more or less invented podcasting.
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
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.
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.
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 …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Apple debuts Apple Card Family to let spouses build credit together and extend access to family members over 13, with optional controls, coming to US in May  —  Apple has been slowly building a position for itself as a financial services giant, banked around its digital wallet for storing …
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
FTC warns companies over “the sale or use of ... racially biased algorithms”, which could violate federal laws, including the fair credit acts FCRA and ECOA  —  In a blog post this week, the Federal Trade Commission signaled that it's taking a hard look at bias in AI …
Reuters:
FireEye and networking company Pulse Secure say two China-linked hacking groups used a flaw in its VPN devices to target customers in the US defense industry  —  At least two groups of China-linked hackers have spent months using a previously undisclosed vulnerability in American networking devices …
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple announces a purple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, arriving on April 30 with pre-orders starting on Friday  —  Apple today announced that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available in a new purple color starting April 30, with pre-orders starting this Friday.
Netflix - Investors:
Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $7.16B, up 24% YoY, and 208M paid memberships, up 14% YoY but below its forecast of 210M; stock down 10%+ after hours  —  April 20, 2021 Fellow shareholders, Revenue grew 24% year over year and was in line with our beginning of quarter forecast, while operating profit and margin reached all-time highs.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Discord has ended talks to sell itself, including rejecting a $12B bid from Microsoft, as it resumes planning for a potential IPO  —  Microsoft Corp. and video-game chat company Discord Inc. have ended takeover talks, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Apple says iOS 14.5 is coming to iPhone and iPad “next week” with app tracking protections, new Siri voices, redesigned Podcasts, and more  —  iOS 14.5 will be available for iPhone and iPad next week after an extended software beta period that started in February.
Linda Sui / Strategy Analytics:
Strategy Analytics: global smartphone shipments rose to 340M units in Q1 2021, up 24% YoY, representing the highest growth since 2015  —  According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments were 340 million units in Q1 2021, up +24% YoY representing the highest growth since 2015.
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Q&A with Magic Leap CEO on its enterprise pivot and Magic Leap 2, 50% smaller and 20% lighter than its last AR headset, coming Q4 via an early adopter program  —  Magic Leap is getting ready to release the next version of its augmented reality headset through an early adopter program during …

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
Are you ready for the era of agentic AI?  —  Tech leaders are always talking about what's next, and right now, agentic AI is dominating the discourse.  Equip yourself with the info you need in this recorded webinar.
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.
Zoho:
Unveiling AI-powered updates in Zoho Sheet  —  In 2024, we, the Zoho Sheet team, dedicated ourselves to research and development in order to introduce new features that enhance productivity, data management, collaboration, and other functionalities.
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

Techmeme Ride Home:
Why COULDN'T Apple Make An iPhone In The US?
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Derek Thompson (Writer, The Atlantic) and Zach Weinberg (Co-founder & CEO, Curie.Bio) Discuss the Tariff Withdrawal and America's Future
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Hard Fork:
Big Tech's Tariff Chaos + A.I. 2027 + Llama Drama
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.
Great Chat:
The bull case for domestic manufacturing
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.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Why DOGE is killing the agency that keeps banks from ripping you off
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
OpenAI's CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:30 PM ET, April 20, 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

Earlier Picks