Techmeme
July 31, 2019, 4:10 PM

Top News

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).
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.
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
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.
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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
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 …
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 …

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