Google is shutting down its app designed to let friends and family locate each other in an emergency.
The Trusted Contacts app allowed you to nominate special contacts who could request to see your location - and automatically provide i…
Stripe makes a big acquisition, Google rolls out search improvements and Snapchat adds a TikTok-y feature. This is your Daily Crunch for October 15, 2020.
The big story: Stripe acquires Nigeria’s Paystack
Stripe has made its biggest …
Twitter has announced an update to its hacked materials policy — saying it will no longer remove hacked content unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those “acting in concert with them”.
Instead of blocking such content/links from b…
The noise-cancelling over-ear headphone category is an increasingly competitive one, and consumers have never been more spoiled for choice. Shure entered the market this year with the Aonic 50, a premium-priced headset ($399) that offers a…
MoreMore than any other smartphone I’ve used this year, the Sony Xperia 5 II feels like a tool. It’s not just that it has a very understated design (though this definitely plays a part), it’s that Sony’s whole approach is to give you as mu…
Google will officially transition users from Google Hangouts to Google Chat starting next year. As part of the change, Chat, a messaging service previously only available to customers who pay for Google Workspace (the recent rebranding of …
Apple is taking another try at building a smart home speaker with the new HomePod mini, a smaller, less expensive version of its original HomePod.
The original HomePod was a product that focused more on being a great speaker, rather tha…
Google has added a new feature that lets you figure out which song is stuck in your head by humming, whistling or singing — a much more useful version of the kind of song-matching audio feature that it and competitors like Apple’s Shazam h…
Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Friday it was introducing new features across its search engine, Maps and voice assistant to help voters in the United States find their nearest voting locations.
Details on in-person voting or returning ma…
Facebook’s Instagram has agreed measures to crack down on hidden advertising by so-called influencers on its photo and video platform, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday.
Influencers with thousands of follo…
EU antitrust regulators have extended their investigation into Alphabet GOOGL.O unit Google's $2.1 billion purchase of Fitbit FIT.N to Jan. 8 from Dec. 23, a filing on the European Commission website showed on Friday.
Such extensions ar…
"People have always wanted to travel fast, ever since the first person galloped across the plains on horseback," says Mike Bannister.
And he should know. Mr Bannister flew Concorde with British Airways for 22 years. As the airline's sen…
British Airways has been fined £20m ($26m) by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a data breach which affected more than 400,000 customers.
The breach took place in 2018 and affected both personal and credit card data.
Th…
Video calling app Zoom has announced a system to let people pay for live "online experiences".
Called OnZoom, the new spin-off platform is launching in beta with live events for fitness, music and art online events.
Zoom said it had …
Uber Eats’ South African unit on Thursday expanded delivery offerings, launching an app-based over-the-counter medicines service as it seeks to claw market share in the fast-growing online shopping sector in Africa’s most industrialised ec…
U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O cut the price of its Model S "Long Range" sedan in the United States to $69,420, its website showed, following a tweet bit.ly/2H0JCP0 flagging the cut earlier on Wednesday from Chief Executive E…
KPN has chosen Sweden’s Ericsson to build core elements of its new 5G mobile network following a decision last year not to select China’s Huawei, the Dutch telecoms company said on Thursday.
Huawei is effectively banned in the United St…
The U.S. State Department has submitted a proposal for the Trump administration to add China’s Ant Group to a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter, before the financial technology firm is slated to go public.
…
Google's parent company, Alphabet, has unveiled prototype robots that can inspect individual plants in a field, to help farmers improve crop yields.
The robot buggies roll through fields on upright pillars, so they can coast over plants…
A news report by China.org.cn on China's chipmaking giant SMIC's N+1 process makes tape-out breakthrough.
China's chip customization solution provider Innosilicon announced on Oct. 11 that it has taped-out and completed testing of a pro…
GIL Automation, a long-standing partner to Siemens, has been appointed as a Value Added Reseller
Siemens Digital Industries strengthens its partnership with its automation portfolio in Nigeria; GIL Automation appointed as a Value Added …
Finland's Nokia NOKIA.HE has signed a 5-year deal with Google GOOGL.O to replace its IT infrastructure, including data centers, with Google's Cloud offering as the network equipment maker seeks to cut costs, it said on Wednesday.
“The a…
Apple’s iPhone 12 launch drew mixed reactions in mainland China on Wednesday, with fans cheering a 5G model for their favourite brand while others planned to wait for upcoming devices from local rivals like Huawei Technologies.
The much…
Apple embraces 5G, Facebook Messenger gets better integrated with Instagram and Kahoot raises $215 million. This is your Daily Crunch for October 13, 2020.
The big story: Apple introduces the iPhone 12
Apple’s big event today kicked …
Besieged by U.S. tech sanctions, Huawei may be looking to shake up its smartphone business that has taken a hit after losing core semiconductor parts and software services.
The Chinese giant is in talks with Digital China Group to sell …
Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O YouTube said on Wednesday it would remove videos from YouTube containing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, expanding its current rules against falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the pandemic.
The video…
Africa's biggest digital skills initiative is now underway. SAP Africa Code Week (ACW) officially launched its sixth edition on Monday October 5th with an all-new virtual format and a host of exciting new developments.
Speaking at a vi…
A pocket-sized super-zoom camera that gives users a front-row seat for life’s special moments
Canon Europe (Canon-Europe.com) today announces the launch of the PowerShot ZOOM - a palm-sized, lightweight 12 megapixel camera with image st…
Today, the UN Broadband Commission and Huawei held the sixth Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF 2020) online in Beijing. With the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity, New Value Together", this year's UBBF discussed the challenges and opportunities…
Always connected: Technologies include Jaguar’s latest Pivi Pro dual-sim infotainment and second-generation Activity Key
Always up-to-date: Software-Over-The-Air capability ensures latest vehicle systems and infotainment are insta…
Safer, more reliable, cleaner
Data centres are being overhauled, revamped and modernised to support digital transformation and the power-hungry cloud deployments they contain.
Artificial intelligence is a key part of this overhaul as…
Blue Prism announces Service Assist, automating next generation contact centres with an AI-Powered digital workforce that transforms customer experiences
This new offering delivers a real-time, unified 360-degree view of all customer in…
Land mapping and surveying is often overlooked, but much needed, in promoting development and stability in West Africa
Emerging technological breakthroughs in fields including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, nanotechnol…
Thales is to provide the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with a nationally and internationally compliant mobile Driver License service.
Thales will act as a Credential Service Provider, at the heart of the state’…
Family-tracking app Life360 launches ‘Bubbles,’ a location-sharing feature inspired by teens on TikTok
Helicopter parenting turned into surveillance with the debut of family-tracking apps like Life360. While the app can alleviate parent…
Tesla Inc said on Tuesday it cut the price of its Model S “Long Range” sedan by 4% in the United States, days after the electric-car maker reported record quarterly deliveries.
The company, which is expected to report third-quarter resu…
On Monday, the company announced a massive reorganization of its media and entertainment business that will focus on developing productions that will debut on its streaming and broadcast services. And Disney’s media businesses, ads and dis…
The South Korean government has made no secret of its ambition to be a key player in the global artificial intelligence industry, including making the semiconductors powering AI functionalities.
This week, the country’s information and …
Fertility tracking has seen an explosion of startup activity in recent years. Femtech startup Lady Technologies is adding to this rich mix with the full U.S. launch of a dual-purpose device, called kegg, that’s designed to measure hormonal…
The extended agreement will help companies connect remote and deskless workers with mobile-friendly and collaborative technology
Crayon, a global leader in digital transformation, today announced it is expanding its partnership with Wor…
Hands on with Telepath, the social network taking aim at abuse, fake news and, to some extent, ‘free speech’
There’s no doubt that modern social networks have let us down. Filled with hate speech and abuse, moderation and anti-abuse too…
Question: How can a company like Caterpillar CAT.N try to counter a slump in sales of bulldozers and trucks during a pandemic that has made every human a potential disease vector?
Answer: Cut out human operators, perhaps?
Caterpillar…
Triller Inc, a budding competitor to popular short-video app TikTok, is in discussions with blank-check acquisition companies about a merger which would take the U.S. social media company public, according to people familiar with the matte…
Twitter has said it will not allow any of its users - including candidates - to claim victory prematurely in the forthcoming US election.
It said any tweets claiming victory before a clear projection would have a warning label added.
…
5G will finally get its U.S. closeup with the expected debut of Apple Inc’s next iPhone on Tuesday. But the blazing speeds promised will not materialize for most people.
The device, dubbed the iPhone 12 by analysts, can tap into 5G, or …
Collaborating with five partners, Nissan is to develop a blueprint and business model
ServCity aims at deploying cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technology in complex built-up environments.
ServCity, the UK’s newest autonomous …
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
This week Natasha was on vacation, so Danny and your humble servant had to endeavor alon…
There are regular onions, and then there are onions too sexy for Facebook, a Canadian seed and garden supply store recently discovered.
The Seed Company by EW Gaze, in St John's, Newfoundland, had wanted to post a seemingly innocent adv…
High-end speaker manufacturer Devialet is launching its first pair of earbuds called Devialet Gemini. The in-ear earbuds feature active noise canceling and cost £279 in the U.K. — they will be available in the coming weeks.
The Devialet…
Android phones can now notify you when they detect certain sounds, which could notify people who are deaf or hard of hearing about important sounds nearby.
If you turn on the feature, called Sound Notifications, you can have your Androi…