Techmeme
November 18, 2020, 6:30 PM

Top News

Nick Statt / The Verge:
Apple will reduce its App Store cut to 15% from any developer who earns less than $1M in revenue per year from all their apps, starting January 1  —  Any developer that earns less than $1 million in revenue per year is eligible  —  On Wednesday, Apple announced a reduction …
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Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Sensor Tower: Apple's move will affect ~98% of developers that pay the company a commission, but they accounted for less than 5% of App Store revenue last year  —  App makers bridled at the 30 percent commission, which has drawn scrutiny from regulators looking into antitrust claims.
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Apple agrees to pay $113M to settle an investigation into iPhone throttling brought by 34 states and District of Columbia  —  Apple will pay $113 million to settle an investigation by nearly three dozen states into the tech giant's past practice of slowing customers' old iPhones in an attempt to preserve their batteries.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google announces a major redesign for Google Pay for iOS and Android and is partnering with 11 banks to launch Plex, mobile-first bank accounts, in 2021  —  Google is launching a major redesign of its Google Pay app on both Android and iOS today.  Like similar phone-based contactless payment services …
Adam Satariano / New York Times:
Over 200 Facebook contract moderators sign an open letter criticizing Facebook, Accenture, and CPL for ending WFH policies and call for better protections  —  Here's what you need to know:  —  Facebook moderators forced back to the office raise alarms about Covid-19 protections.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Google rolls out update to Chrome, with pages now loading up to 7% faster, CPU usage reduced by up to 5x by throttling background tabs, and reduced usage of RAM  —  The last Chrome update for 2020 is all about efficiency  —  Google is wrapping up 2020 with what it claims …
Om Malik / On my Om:
M1 completes Steve Jobs' vision of Apple making “the whole widget” for all the devices in the company's product line  —  Even as Apple's final event of 2020 gradually becomes a speck in the rearview mirror, I can't help continually thinking about the new M1 chip that debuted there.
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Marissa Mayer's Lumi Labs, now called Sunshine, unveils Sunshine Contacts, an AI-powered contact organizer app for iOS  —  Marissa Mayer shoves her iPhone toward her MacBook's webcam until it overwhelms the screen on the Google Meet video call we are sharing.  —  “I admire Apple,” she declares.
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple's iOS 14.3 beta 2 lets users run shortcuts from the home screen without launching the Shortcuts app, making custom app icons more seamless  —  Apple introduced the second developer beta of iOS 14.3 yesterday, and it includes a major change to Shortcuts.
Amanda Macias / CNBC:
Trump says he has fired CISA Director Christopher Krebs, baselessly calling Krebs' previous statement on the security of the 2020 election “highly inaccurate”  —  - President Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Twitter that he has “terminated” top U.S. cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs.
Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch:
Welcome, which helps businesses create and host virtual and in-person events, raises $12M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins  —  On the heels of Hopin's $125 million funding round, a newcomer in the virtual events space is gaining steam.  Welcome, led by co-founder and CEO Roberto Ortiz …
Nick Summers / Engadget:
Fortnite now offers Houseparty video calls on PC, PS4, and PS5; users need the Houseparty app installed on an iOS or Android device, which functions as a webcam  —  Houseparty wants to change the way that people communicate while playing video games.  The company, which offers …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Cloudbolt, which helps companies manage hybrid cloud environments, raises $15M in equity and $20M in debt, bringing its total raised to $61M  —  Cloudbolt, a Bethesda, MD startup that helps companies manage hybrid cloud environments, announced a $35 million Series B investment today.

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Earlier Picks

Kate Conger / New York Times: