Techmeme
August 31, 2021, 7:30 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Source: Apple's planned satellite capabilities for the iPhone are focused on emergencies, enabling texts and crisis reports in areas without cellular coverage  —  - Apple plans an emergency-reporting tool for future iPhones  —  Apple Inc.'s push to bring satellite capabilities to the iPhone …
Jiyoung Sohn / Wall Street Journal:
South Korea's National Assembly passes a bill that forces Apple and Google to allow alternative payment systems in their app stores  —  Seoul requires the companies to allow competing payment systems, threatening their 30% cut of most in-app digital sales  —  SEOUL—Google and Apple Inc …
Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Apple acquires classical music streaming service Primephonic, giving users six free months of Apple Music, and will launch its own classical music app in 2022  —  Apple has acquired Primephonic, the classical music streaming service, for an undisclosed amount, the company tells Billboard.
Dave Nyczepir / FedScoop:
White House announces the US Digital Corps, a two-year fellowship aiming to recruit early-career software engineers and other technologists to federal agencies  —  The White House launched a two-year fellowship Monday designed to place early-career software engineers, data scientists and other technologists at federal agencies.
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will work with blockchain and payments startup Bitt Inc. to launch Nigeria's eNaira digital currency later this year  —  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said Monday it will work with Bitt Inc., a blockchain and payments startup, to launch …
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Some Apple employees say their privacy is not well protected by Apple, as they decry norms and rules that encourage personal iCloud accounts be used at work  —  Jacob Preston was sitting down with his manager during his first week at Apple when he was told, with little fanfare …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
State media says China is restricting online gaming for minors to three hours most weeks of the year, from 8pm to 9pm on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays  —  - The country is imposing its strictest limits yet on play time  — Beijing is waging a campaign to groom productive youths
Daniel Howley / Yahoo Finance:
Zoom beats with Q2 revenue of $1.02B, up 54% YoY, vs. $991.0M est., and now has 2,278 customers paying $100K+, up 131% YoY; stock down 10%+ on weak Q3 guidance  —  reported its fiscal Q2 2022 earnings after the bell on Monday, beating analysts' expectations on the top and bottom line.
MIT Technology Review:
Sources and experts say US-funded Afghan government databases containing sensitive personal data could be used by the Taliban to identify millions of Afghans  —  By capturing 40 pieces of data per person—from iris scans and family links to their favorite fruit—a system meant to cut fraud …
IDC:
Global smartphone shipments are expected to grow by 7.4% in 2021, reaching 1.37B units, with iPhone shipments growing 13.8% and Android shipments growing 6.2%  —  While the supply chain situation hasn't drastically improved, the smartphone market has shown positive results in recent quarters.
Suvashree Ghosh / Bloomberg:
Facebook, Google, and Xiaomi are eyeing India's digital loan market, which Boston Consulting Group estimates to triple to $350B by 2023 and reach $1T by 2025  —  India's digital loan market is becoming a battleground for companies from Facebook Inc. to Xiaomi Corp., seeking a foothold in what's set to be a $1 trillion industry.
Sebastian Sinclair / CoinDesk:
Singapore-based digital asset exchange Zipmex raises $41M Series B with participation from Krungsri Finnovate, the VC arm of one of Thailand's largest banks  —  Singapore-headquartered digital asset exchange Zipmex has completed its $41 million Series B funding round with participation coming from one of Thailand's largest banks.
Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg:
As ad revenue surges, Alphabet shares are up 65% over 2021, and up more than 7% in August to reach a record high of $2,891.81, the longest rally since 2009  —  - Shares are poised for their eighth straight month of gains  — Yearly rise nearly twice as much as Facebook, Microsoft
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
At the behest of South Korean regulators, payments service Kakao lowers its IPO target to ~$1.3B at the top of the range, down from ~$1.4B  —  - Regulators asked the startup to revise its IPO prospectus  — Krafton's lukewarm debut has soured sentiment domestically

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