Techmeme
February 7, 2024, 4:35 PM

Top News

Wayne Ma / The Information:
Source: Apple is building prototypes of at least two iPhones that fold widthwise; the phones are in early development and not set for production in 2024 or 2025  —  Apple is building prototypes of at least two iPhones that fold widthwise like a clamshell, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
Apple partners with University of California researchers to release open-source AI model MGIE, which can edit images based on natural language instructions  —  Apple has released a new open-source AI model, called “MGIE,” that can edit images based on natural language instructions.
Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
Microsoft updates Copilot with a redesigned look, a new AI model for Copilot's Balanced mode called Deucalion, and new AI image creation and editing features  —  In a startling move, Microsoft today announced a redesigned look for its Copilot AI search and chatbot experience on the web …
Sam Sabin / Axios:
US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand advisory: China-backed hacking group Volt Typhoon has had access to some major US infrastructure for over five years  —  China-backed hackers have had access to some major U.S. critical infrastructure for “at least five years,” according to an intelligence advisory released Wednesday.
Charlie Sorrel / iFixit News:
Apple Vision Pro teardown: 50 Vision Pro pixels fit into a single iPhone 15 Pro pixel, the display is not technically 4K, has a ~100° field of view, and more  —  After the whirlwind of team activity that was our initial Vision Pro teardown, we've been digging much, much deeper into those dual displays …
Chainalysis:
Ransomware payments in 2023 hit a record $1.1B, up from $567M in 2022 and $983M in 2021, after a major escalation of the frequency, scope, and volume of attacks  —  The Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report  —  Coming soon  —  In 2023, ransomware actors intensified their operations …
Emilia David / The Verge:
OpenAI says DALL-E 3 will add watermarks to images with C2PA metadata but acknowledges the metadata can “easily be removed either accidentally or intentionally”  —  OpenAI's image generator DALL-E 3 will add watermarks to image metadata as more companies roll out support for standards …
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
An interview with Nebojša Vujinović Vujo, who runs 2,000+ AI-generated news sites, often hosted on once-popular domains, and claims to have ~12 human editors  —  Serbian DJ turned internet entrepreneur Nebojša Vujinović Vujo floods abandoned news sites with AI-generated articles.
Jane Zhang / Bloomberg:
Alibaba reports Q3 revenue up 5% YoY to ~$36.7B, net income down 69% YoY to ~$2B, Taobao and Tmall revenue up 2% YoY to ~$18B, and approves a $25B share buyback  —  - The move may appeal to some investors as growth plateaus  — Alibaba is grappling with market and internal uncertainty
Charles Pulliam-Moore / The Verge:
Disney begins emailing Disney+ subscribers about TOS changes that will make sharing accounts harder, days after sending out similar notices to Hulu subscribers  —  Today, Disney Plus began sending out emails informing subscribers about new changes to its terms of service that will …
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Roblox reports Q4 revenue up 30% YoY to $749.9M, bookings up 25% YoY to a record $1.1B, DAUs up 22% YoY to 71.5M, and $2.8B in 2023 revenue; RBLX jumps 13%+  —  - Roblox reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year that beat consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Adam Mosseri says Threads is testing the ability to save posts, a “heavily requested feature” that allows users to bookmark posts and revisit them later  —  Instagram Threads is getting a highly requested feature that puts it in closer competition with X/Twitter.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google updates Google Maps for Android to overlay the weather and air quality index when browsing the map layer, a feature the iOS app has had for some time  —  Like the iOS app, Google Maps for Android now overlays the weather and AQI when you're browsing the map layer.
Camilla Hodgson / Financial Times:
Uber reports Q4 revenue up 15% YoY to $9.9B, Gross Bookings up 22% YoY to $37.6B, a $1.9B net income, 150M MAUs, and first full-year operating profit of $1.1B  —  Rides, deliveries and ads increase as company celebrates ‘inflection point’  —  Uber has reported its first annual operating profit …
Manya Saini / Reuters:
PayPal reports Q4 revenue up 9% YoY to $8B, vs. $7.87B est., and total payment volume up 15% YoY to $409.8B, vs. $404.45B est.  —  PayPal (PYPL.O) beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday as more Americans used its payments platform for shopping during the holiday season.
More: Bloomberg, CNBC, and PayPal

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Earlier Picks

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