10 things in tech you need to know today

Advertisement
10 things in tech you need to know today

Jack Ma

REUTERS/Stringer

Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

Advertisement

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday.

  1. Netflix posted its biggest quarter ever for paid subscriber growth, adding 9.6 million net paid subscribers globally. But the company's guidance for subscriber growth was weaker for the second quarter than Wall Street expected, sending the stock sliding.
  2. Apple and Qualcomm settled their patent dispute, sending Qualcomm's share price up. The pair have agreed to drop all litigation, and Apple will buy Qualcomm chips for the iPhone again.
  3. Chipmaker Intel said on Tuesday that it is exiting the 5G modem business, effectively ceding the market for smartphones on the eve of what's expected to be the biggest wireless market technology transition in years. When it comes to the smartphone modem business, CEO Bob Swan said in a statement, "it has become apparent that there is no clear path to profitability and positive returns."
  4. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used his firm's huge trove of user data as a bargaining chip, to control competitors and maintain the social network's dominant position, according to documents seen by NBC News. The documents reportedly show that Facebook favoured certain partners, Amazon, with access to data over others.
  5. Google has blocked access to the hugely popular video app TikTok in India to comply with a state court's directive to prohibit its downloads. The move comes hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a request by China's Bytedance Technology to suspend a ban on its TikTok app, putting the app's future in one of its key markets in doubt.
  6. Uber has launched a feature for female drivers in Saudi Arabia which means they can block men from hailing their cab. The feature, which became active in April this year, is called "Women Preferred View," and selects nearby passengers based on their gender.
  7. Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma says it's a 'blessing' for his staff to be working gruelling 12-hour shifts, 6 days a week. The Alibaba founder came out in support of China's tough working hours in a speech to employees on Thursday.
  8. Jack Dorsey says Twitter makes it 'super easy' to harass and abuse others, and addressing the problem is his biggest worry. The Twitter CEO spoke about harassment and misinformation on his platform at TED 2019 on Wednesday.
  9. Amazon is plagued by fake product reviews, according to a report by UK consumer group Which?. Which? looked at hundreds of tech products across 14 different categories, and many had five-star ratings from unverified reviewers.
  10. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has a huge potential payout riding on Uber's IPO valuation hitting $120 billion and staying there for 90 consecutive days. His incentive is worth $100 million or more, a source told Business Insider.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings. You can also subscribe to this newsletter here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know."

{{}}