Techmeme
April 22, 2021, 7:25 PM

Top News

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple AirTags hands-on: work very well with a thoughtfully designed system, beautiful with a plastic body that serves as a speaker, but get scuffed easily  —  They work super well, and they're one more thing keeping you on the iPhone  —  I was starting to get really worried that I wouldn't find my friend.
Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
Apple executives detail privacy and anti-stalking protections built into AirTags and insist they are designed just to track items, not people or pets  —  Apple's “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday offered a bonanza of new hardware announcements, including some unexpected ones.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to include upgrades to notifications, Lock Screen, and iMessage, a redesigned iPad Home Screen, and more privacy protections  —  - New privacy tools, updates to iMessage app also planned  — Company to show software updates at June developer conference
Steve Kovach / CNBC:
Report: Apple is working on upgrades to iMessage with the eventual goal of making it more like a social network, to better compete with WhatsApp  —  - Apple is working on enhancements to iMessage that will help it compete with the more robust social networking features in Facebook's products, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Financial Times:
Sources: Apple plans to expand its ad business and add a second ad slot in the App Store search page even as it introduces privacy rules crippling ads by rivals  —  New privacy rules deal a huge blow to how the mobile advertising industry works  —  Apple will expand its advertising business …
BuzzFeed News:
An internal Facebook report found it failed to take appropriate action against Stop the Steal groups before Capitol riot, saying it should “do better next time”  —  Last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of a House of Representatives committee that his company …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Consumer Reports says it was “easily” able to trick Tesla's Autopilot system to operate without anyone in the driver's seat  —  Consumer Reports says, ‘Under no circumstance should anyone try this’  —  Consumer Reports said Thursday it was “easily” able to trick Tesla's Autopilot system …
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS slashes FTC's power to seek monetary awards in court, banning a tool that it used to fine tech and other companies engaged in unfair business practices  —  - Ruling eliminates tool agency had used to collect billions  — Unanimous decision is a triumph for business trade groups
Andy Robinson / VGC:
Sony confirms it is testing PlayStation Plus Video Pass, which lets PS Plus subscribers access over 20 movie and TV shows from Sony Pictures, in Poland  —  POLISH USERS HAVE ACCESS TO VIDEO CONTENT FROM TODAY; NO NEWS ON OTHER MARKETS YET  —  Sony Interactive Entertainment …
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Signal's CEO says he analyzed a Cellebrite device, used to extract data from phones, that fell off a truck, and it is full of easily exploitable security flaws  —  One of the biggest encrypted chat apps in the world just showed how a device used to decrypt messages can be hacked and tampered with.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap Q1: revenue of $770M, up 66% YoY, DAUs up 22% YoY to 280M, and free cash flow hit $126M, its first quarter of free positive cash flow as a public company  —  - Snap's stock rose in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its first-quarter results despite beating Wall …
Jabari Young / CNBC:
Overtime, which distributes original sports content on social media platforms like Snapchat, raises $80M Series C from Bezos Expeditions, Drake, and others  —  - Overtime raised $80 million in a Series C with investors including Bezos Expeditions, Drake and NBA stars including Devin Booker, Trae Young and Klay Thompson.
Marty Swant / Forbes:
Atmosphere TV, a streaming service that provides audio-optional content supported by ads, raises $25M Series B from Valor Equity at a valuation of $275M  —  It's been more than a year since many Americans have sat inside a bar or restaurant, casually watching a silent TV play in the background.
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Tile said Apple holds third-party products hostage by restricting their use of Find My; Apple lawyer confirmed Tile can't disclose Find My agreement under NDA  —  The latest antitrust hearing looking into concerns about Apple and Google's market power is underway.

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Earlier Picks

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Wall Street Journal: