Apple said Monday it will contribute $2.5 billion to try and alleviate California’s housing crisis, raising the bar for tech companies to commit to the communities in which they reside. “Before the world knew the name Silicon Valley, and long before we carried technology in our pockets, Apple called this region home, and we feel […] Read more
Huawei captured a record share of China’s smartphone market in the third quarter as its device shipments soared at the expense of rivals, according to new data from research firm Canalys. Canalys said Huawei shipped 41.5 million smartphones in China in the third quarter, representing 66% growth year-on-year. The Chinese tech giant now commands 42% […] Read more
The co-creator of Facebook-backed libra defended the cryptocurrency on Wednesday after a number of recent high-profile companies abandoned the effort. Libra ran into issues Friday after Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, eBay and Mercado Pago bolted. Booking Holdings, formerly Priceline, left Monday. Each of the companies would have potentially invested $10 million each into the project. The […] Read more
The U.S. and the U.K. have signed a first-of-its-kind agreement that will allow law enforcement agencies in the countries to access data from tech companies more quickly in criminal investigations. In a press release late Thursday, the Justice Department said the historic agreement will “dramatically speed up investigations by removing legal barriers to timely and […] Read more
Robots could be the future of food delivery in Asia. Companies in Japan and China have begun trials for indoor food delivery robots. China’s biggest food delivery company, Meituan Dianping, is testing its unmanned robots in about 10 offices and hotels in large Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen, said the company’s head of […] Read more
Buyer interest in Apple’s latest iPhone line up is lower than the previous year despite a more affordable price point, an annual survey by Piper Jaffray found. While Apple’s new iPhone 11 starts at $699, $50 less than last year’s iPhone XR, customers may be holding out for 5G models that the company is reportedly […] Read more
Facebook takes another crack at smart home market with Portal TV, combining video chat and streaming
Facebook on Wednesday unveiled a new video chat and streaming device called Portal TV, as the social network pushes to seek traction in the smart home market. The device comes with a camera and microphones and allows users to make video calls from their televisions over WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, as well as to stream […] Read more
France is taking aim at big U.S. tech firms again — this time in the direction of Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency libra. Speaking at an OECD conference in Paris Thursday, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said libra would put the sovereignty of governments at risk. “All these concerns around libra are serious. So I want […] Read more
WeWork’s parent company, the We Company, made a splash earlier this week with the release of its much-anticipated IPO prospectus. The company’s S-1 lays the groundwork for what is widely expected to be one of the largest initial public offerings of the year, second only to Uber’s IPO in May. It’s also filled with unusual […] Read more
As more video-streaming services flood the market, professional sports leagues are finding themselves in an increasingly precarious situations, because they’re not included in the packages. At this week’s Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, some of the top sports executives gathered to discuss the future of sports. We spoke to the commissioners of […] Read more
