Techmeme
September 5, 2019, 4:20 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is developing in-screen fingerprint tech to work alongside Face ID for its 2020/2021 iPhones and a low-cost 4.7-inch iPhone for H1 2020  —  - Company previously replaced fingerprint sensing with Face ID  — New low-cost iPhone in the works for first half of next year
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook Dating launches in the US as an opt-in feature integrated with Instagram, for users 18 and over, with a separate profile  —  Are Americans ready to trust Facebook with their dating life?  Barely more than a month has passed since the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook …
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Samsung says the 512GB 5G model of Galaxy Fold will be available in Europe starting September 18 for ~$2,000; US launch will happen “in the coming weeks”  —  After its first attempt at a launch fizzled out in the spring, the Samsung Galaxy Fold is ready to try again at making a first impression.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Google is open sourcing its differential privacy library, which it uses to securely draw insights from data sets containing sensitive user information  —  Google is making differential privacy available to anyone  —  Google today announced that it is open-sourcing its so-called differential privacy library …
Bloomberg:
Sources: WeWork is considering seeking a valuation of ~$20B-$30B in its US IPO, marking a significant reduction from an earlier valuation of $47B  —  - Valuation would be a step down from earlier $47 billion  — IPO plans have received criticism for ‘obfuscating’ details
Klint Finley / Wired:
Facebook, Microsoft, the Partnership on AI, and seven universities launch the “Deepfake Detection Challenge” to encourage better ways of detecting deepfakes  —  Deepfakes are improving.  The contest, which will include deepfakes created by Facebook, is designed to help researchers keep up.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google unveils Assistant Ambient mode that turns docked Android phones and tablets into smart displays with calendar info, weather, smart home controls, more  —  Why does Google make everything twice?  —  Today at IFA, Google is announcing a new feature for Google Assistant: Ambient Mode.
MIT Technology Review:
MIT Media Lab founder and former director Nicholas Negroponte defends Joi Ito's decision to accept Epstein's money post Epstein's 2008 conviction  —  At an internal meeting, Nicholas Negroponte shocked some people with his comments on funding from the alleged sex trafficker.
The Keyword:
Google introduces personalized movie and TV show recommendations in mobile search using a swipe left/right interface like in dating apps  —  When you're settling in for a movie night, or figuring out which shows you might want to binge before they return this fall, it's not always easy to choose from all the options out there.
Katherine Rosman / New York Times:
YouTube launches a fashion vertical, aggregating the platform's fashion content into one place, as it seeks to expand in the industry  —  The video platform woos the style set.  Will it work?  —  It's not a “collabo.”  It's a “collab.”  And it's pronounced “/kəˌlab.”
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Atlassian announces new pricing tiers, including a free tier for all services, and new tools, such as data residency controls for companies  —  At our TC Sessions: Enterprise event, Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar today announced a number of updates to how the company will sell its cloud-based services.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Sonos announces it first portable speaker, the $399 Sonos Move with WiFi and Bluetooth and support for Google Assistant, Alexa, AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect  —  Sonos finally has a speaker that you can take out of your house  —  Sonos is finally jumping into the world of portable speakers.
Reuters:
Prudential Financial to buy Assurance IQ, which uses data science and AI to sell insurance policies from 20+ providers online, for $2.35B  —  (Reuters) - U.S. insurer Prudential Financial Inc has agreed to acquire online insurance startup Assurance IQ Inc for $2.35 billion …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Apple launches a public beta of Apple Music on the web, available to all subscribers worldwide  —  Apple Music is coming to the web.  Apple today is launching a public beta of its popular music streaming service on the web, which will be available to all Apple Music subscribers worldwide.
CNBC:

Sponsor Posts

Google:
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UiPath:
UiPath Unveils 10 Innovations that Will Shape the Agentic Future  —  Orchestration engine, API workflows and agentic testing among key features of new UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation, launched at UiPath DevCon 2025
Zoho:
Building a more inclusive web experience: Our journey toward better accessibility  —  Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)Technology has the power to connect, empower, and transform lives, but only if it's built for all.
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Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: