Techmeme
July 19, 2023, 5:20 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple built Ajax, a framework for building LLMs, created a chatbot app that some engineers call “Apple GPT”, and is planning an AI announcement in 2024  —  - Company builds large language models and internal chatbot  — Executives haven't decided how to release tools to consumers
Or Goren / Cord Busters:
Netflix removes its most affordable $10/month ad-free Basic tier in the US and UK, charging new and rejoining members £10.99/month or $15.49/month for no ads  —  This post may contain affiliate links*  —  Breaking: In a major shakeup of its pricing model, Netflix, the global streaming giant …
Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
Netflix Q2: revenue up 2.7% YoY to $8.2B, vs. $8.3B est., net income up 3.3% YoY to $1.5B, 5.9M net new subscribers, vs. 1.9M est., and a Q3 forecast below est.  —  Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) handily beat Wall Street earnings forecasts on Wednesday as a password-sharing crackdown …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agree to extend the finalization of their merger agreement to October 18, pending the outcome of negotiations with the UK CMA  —  Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend their merger agreement pending the outcome of negotiations with UK regulators.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority:
Google launches Nearby Share for Windows, letting users transfer files between PCs and Android devices close to each other, after debuting a beta in March 2023  —  Anyone can download Nearby Share for Windows now, but your future laptop might come with it pre-installed.  —  •  —  TL;DR
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft plans to give 31 security logs to its lower-cost cloud service licensees for free in September 2023, after its China hack disclosures drew criticism  —  Company says it will make security logs available to customers with lower-cost cloud services  —  Microsoft said it plans …
Matthew Humphries / PCMag:
Intel grants Asus a non-exclusive license to its NUC designs; Asus plans to make, sell, and support 10th to 13th gen systems and can develop new system designs  —  The agreement covers existing NUCs and allows Asus to design new models. … , Asus is granted a non-exclusive license …
Emily Nicolle / Bloomberg:
France designates Societe Generale's blockchain unit Forge a digital asset service provider, issuing the country's first license under its new crypto rules  —  - Forge awarded permissions to act as custodian, trade crypto  — License will help meet demand from institutional clients: CEO
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Meta launches a standalone WhatsApp app for Wear OS 3, letting smartwatch users start chats, reply to messages, and take calls without their connected phone  —  WhatsApp has finally launched its standalone app for smartwatches running Google's Wear OS, after much anticipation and months-long beta testing.
Todd Haselton / CNBC:
Microsoft's stock closed up 4% at $359.49 on July 18, an all-time high, after announcing Microsoft 365 Copilot's subscription pricing; MSFT is up 45%+ in 2023  —  - Microsoft shares rallied to an all-time high after the company announced pricing for its new Microsoft 365 artificial intelligence subscription service.
Bloomberg:
Gene Park / Washington Post:
A look at “non-playable character” TikTok creators, like Pinkydoll, who livestream themselves saying phrases and doing robotic actions repetitively for tips  —  On TikTok, a woman named Pinkydoll with a thousand-yard stare faces you, undulating just enough to let you know she's alive.
Wayne Ma / The Information:
Sources: Meta delayed releasing AR glasses to at least 2027, after having to cut the microLED display, lidar, 3D projector, and more due to technical setbacks  —  In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to transform the world, the company then known as Facebook struck a deal to buy …
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Unity launches PolySpatial, which was unveiled alongside the Vision Pro at WWDC to help developers port and create 3D experiences for Apple's visionOS, in beta  —  Unity this morning announced that it has opened the beta version of its development platform for visionOS.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Beats Studio Pro review: headphones with a good transparency mode, lossless USB-C audio, and native iOS and Android support, but a subpar build quality for $350  —  They look like a lazy refresh from the outside, but the noise-canceling Studio Pros include a ton of new features like transparency mode and lossless USB-C audio.
Axios:
Sources: Vox Media plans to stop using Chorus, its CMS that the company licensed to external publishers from 2018 to 2022, and move its websites to WordPress  —  Vox Media, the parent company to websites such as New York Magazine, Eater and SB Nation, will no longer use Chorus …
Katharine Gemmell / Bloomberg:
The UK CMA provisionally clears Broadcom's $61B VMware acquisition, after finding that the deal “would not harm competition”; the deal still needs US approval  —  - CMA looks to clear technology deal after an in-depth review  — The decision follows a green light from its EU counterpart

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Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:
The Verge: