Apple
Formerly rich NFT buyers party through the pain
Welcome back to Chain Reaction. Last week, we talked about infinite pessimism in the crypto markets. This week, we’re talking about parties and tattoos and booze and fun. If you want to get this
This Week in Apps: Twitter Notes, Instagram age verification, Spotify’s Live Events
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a re
Apple Music is raising the price of its student plan in the US, UK and Canada
Apple Music has quietly increased the price of its student plan in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In the United States and Canada, the price for the plan has increased from $4.99 to
Google Chrome’s latest update on iOS brings improved security, the Discover feed and more
As part of a broader update to its Chrome web browser, Google announced today a handful of new features coming to the latest build of Chrome on iOS. Among the key additions, the Chrome app is gaining
NFT summer in New York is in full swing amid crypto winter
The NFT NYC conference this week has brought hordes of web3 enthusiasts to Times Square in an extravagant celebration that stands out against the much-less-exuberant crypto market. There have been yac
Cryptoys banks a16z funding to build NFTs for kids
The past several months haven’t been entirely kind to the NFT market — while transaction volume hasn’t stuttered too significantly, the dollar amount invested in the space has been i
Google is notifying Android users targeted by Hermit government-grade spyware
Security researchers at Lookout recently tied a previously unattributed Android mobile spyware, dubbed Hermit, to Italian software house RCS Lab. Now, Google threat researchers have confirmed much of
Fintech Kasheesh wants financially strained customers to say ‘bye’ to BNPL
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) products have become incredibly popular with users, and both startups and tech behemoths such as Apple have taken notice. But BNPL companies have attracted some controversy,
Apple is finally getting serious about removing junk messages
Apple has just rolled out the second developer beta for iOS 16, and the first thing that’s caught our eye is revamped message filtering. With this update, the company has signaled that it’
Polestar 2 owners now have Apple CarPlay thanks to a software update
Polestar is finally adding Apple CarPlay to its all-electric Polestar 2 sedan via an over-the-air software update, opening the automaker to a large swathe of iPhone-wielding car shoppers. Polestar sai
Fintech’s fever can’t make up its mind
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single to
IKEA rolls out an AI-powered interactive design experience for shoppers
Today, IKEA is launching a new AI-driven interactive design experience called IKEA Kreativ for IKEA.com and the IKEA app. With the new feature, U.S. customers can design and visualize their own living
Apple MacBook Pro M2 13-inch review
I’m writing this atop a tray table on my fifth flight in 3 weeks. It’s a lot of cross-country travel after 2 years of largely not leaving my one-bedroom apartment. When it rains, it pours, I guess
Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Unity and others form Metaverse Standards Forum
As more tech companies develop virtual and augmented reality products, some oversight groups are trying to keep the industry on the same page. The newest of these is the Metaverse Standards Forum, whi
Apple is introducing new tech in iOS 16 to let you skip CAPTCHAs
It’s pretty annoying to go through CAPTCHA verification where you have to identify weird squiggly letters or click on images of the boat till there are none left — just to prove that you’
Klarna’s potential valuation cut to $15B appears sufficiently steep
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Klarna, a European buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, is considering raising capital at a valuation of around $15 billion. The new figure is both a dram
Box CEO Aaron Levie on where web3 doesn’t make sense
It’s been a rough week for the crypto community as top tokens have seen massive selloffs, pushing some in the space to double down while leaving others to take stock off how the industry got to
An Apple store in Maryland makes history by forming the company’s first recognized union
As several Apple stores across the country fight to unionize, workers in Towson, Maryland became the first to win formal recognition. Out of 110 eligible employees, the union received 65 yes votes and
Down bad
Welcome back to Chain Reaction. Last week, we talked about layoffs and the Winklevoss rock gods. This week, we’re looking at a new layer of crypto doom and gloom. Get this newsletter in your inb
Grace debuts privacy-focused parental controls for iOS devices built with Apple’s Screen Time API
A new startup called Grace is launching to make it easier for parents to monitor and manage their kids’ screen time and app usage on iOS devices. Although Apple offers built-in parental controls