Techmeme
May 18, 2021, 11:10 AM

Top News

Monica Chin / The Verge:
iMac 24-inch (M1 2021) review: great CPU, sleek design, and good webcam, but limited ports, not the best value for money, can't upgrade anything after purchase  —  A new design, new processor, and new screen make for a winning combination  —  This is an iMac unlike any other iMac we've seen before …
Apple:
Apple says new iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K will be available around the world starting May 21  —  Customers around the globe will begin receiving deliveries on Friday, May 21  —  Beginning May 21, customers can get their hands on the all-new iMac, the M1-powered iPad Pro …
New York Times:
Sources detail how Apple relented to escalating demands from China, making changes to governance of its Chinese users' data and agreeing to censor its platforms  —  Apple built the world's most valuable business on top of China.  Now it has to answer to the Chinese government.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is planning MacBooks Pros, Airs, Mac Pros, Mac minis, and larger iMacs with faster CPUs, new IO, more; MacBook Pro could debut as soon as summer  —  - Company developing Mac Pro desktop with 40 cores, new Mac mini  — Apple plans to swap remaining Intel part with in-house design
The Information:
Source: Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM for between $7B and $10B, in what would be its biggest move to expand into entertainment  —  Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant's biggest move yet to expand in entertainment.
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Court doc: Twitter fought a subpoena from DOJ under Trump to identify the person behind an account mocking Rep. Devin Nunes; source: DOJ under Biden withdrew  —  An unsealed court filing shows that the social media company fought the subpoena, which the Biden administration is said to have withdrawn.
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Many ransomware strains like DarkSide's will not install on Windows PCs with specific virtual keyboards enabled, like Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian  —  In a Twitter discussion last week on ransomware attacks, KrebsOnSecurity noted that virtually all ransomware strains have a built …
Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:
Oculus' latest update for its Quest headsets adds a Live Overlay casting feature that allows mixed reality capture with just an iPhone model XS or newer  —  v29 is packed with features  —  Oculus will soon roll out its v29 software for Quest and Quest 2 headsets, and this one adds more features and functionality to the lineup.
Howard Oakley / The Eclectic Light Company:
Apple's M1 Macs feel faster than Intel models due to M1's optimization of QoS, which puts background tasks on “efficiency” cores even when the system is idle  —  Last week I showed fascinating screenshots of how M1 Macs can run background processes exclusively on their four ‘efficiency’ cores.
Packy McCormick / Not Boring:
Profile of fashion e-commerce app Shein, which ranks #1 in the App Store's Shopping category in 56 countries and is the most trafficked fashion site globally  —  The Quiet Chinese Quindecacorn America's Gen Z Shoppers Are #Addicted To … This week's Not Boring is brought to you by... It's Not Magic.
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Apple is working on wireless earbuds called Beats Studio Buds that will support noise cancellation, according to files in beta versions of iOS 14.6  —  With the release of iOS 14.6 RC today for developers, Apple is preparing to release Apple Music Lossless.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Piano, which offers analytics, subscription, and personalization tools for publishers, raises $88M Series B, bringing its total raised to $241M+  —  As publishers face up to whatever might be their next existential crisis — there are so many options from which to choose …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says the Bluetooth AAC codec used by AirPods Pro and AirPods Max does not support Apple Music's lossless streaming, nor does Lightning on AirPods Max  —  Apple today announced that starting in June, Apple Music songs will be available to stream in Lossless and Hi-Resolution Lossless formats …
Matt Levine / Bloomberg:
Elon Musk is either trading on his unique ability to move the price of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, or just trolling, and both scenarios are bizarre and incredible  —  Oh Elon  —  I am sorry to keep talking about it because it is so stupid, but there really is something unprecedented and amazing …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Loni Prinsloo / Bloomberg:
Vodafone's Vodacom partners with Alibaba to develop VodaPay, an app for South African customers that lets them take out loans, shop online, and make payments  —  - Africa's largest wireless carrier to add e-commerce, banking  — Vodacom sees financial tech as key to growing revenue, profit
Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE:
Explorium, which provides external data to enhance enterprises' internal AI and analytics datasets, raises $75M Series C, bringing its total raised to $127M+  —  Data discovery startup Explorium Ltd. revealed today that it has landed $75 million in a new round of funding that brings its total amount raised to more than $127 million.
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Facebook's VP of Reality Labs Partnerships Hugo Barra says he is leaving the company after four years and that he plans to explore the healthcare tech space  —  He's departing before the company launches the smart glasses he teased last fall  —  Facebook's vice president of AR and VR Hugo Barra …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Extend, which helps e-commerce retailers and businesses like Peloton offer extended warranties using APIs, raises $260M Series C, valuing the startup at $1.6B+  —  A company that has built a new approach to the business of extended warranties — providing a cost-effective and efficient …
More: PYMNTS.comThanks:@ingridlunden

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Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Brian Stelter / CNN: