Thursday, September 16, 2021

As China expands its crackdown, Tencent loses its place among the world's 10 largest companies by market value, leaving no Chinese companies on the list (Ishika Mookerjee/Bloomberg)

Ishika Mookerjee / Bloomberg:
As China expands its crackdown, Tencent loses its place among the world's 10 largest companies by market value, leaving no Chinese companies on the list  —  - Firm's value has shrunk $388 billion amid tech crackdown  — Chinese stocks drop off league table for first time since 2017



Fantasy sports startup Sleeper, which has expanded into esports and has 3M+ users, raises $40M at a $400M valuation led by a16z (Gillian Tan/Bloomberg)

Gillian Tan / Bloomberg:
Fantasy sports startup Sleeper, which has expanded into esports and has 3M+ users, raises $40M at a $400M valuation led by a16z  —  - Startup's existing backers reinvest to propel growth  — Company has NFL, NBA games, eyes Premier League, MLB and UFC



Initial benchmarks show iPhone 13's A15 chip offers a roughly 15% improvement for GPU performance and 10%-18% improvement for CPU performance over A14 (Eric Slivka/MacRumors)

Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Initial benchmarks show iPhone 13's A15 chip offers a roughly 15% improvement for GPU performance and 10%-18% improvement for CPU performance over A14  —  Earlier today, we reported on a Geekbench Metal result for the iPhone 13 Pro showing an approximately 55% graphics performance improvement compared to the iPhone 12 Pro.



China's biggest movie star, Zhao Wei, who had 86M Weibo followers, was erased from China's internet on August 26, amid a clampdown on its entertainment industry (Wenxin Fan/Wall Street Journal)

Wenxin Fan / Wall Street Journal:
China's biggest movie star, Zhao Wei, who had 86M Weibo followers, was erased from China's internet on August 26, amid a clampdown on its entertainment industry  —  Zhao Wei was the Reese Witherspoon of China, then she was censored by the Communist Party amid a clampdown of the country's entertainment industry



China slows game approvals to enforce tough new rules: Report

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China Said to Slow Game Approvals to Enforce Tough New Rules

China is reportedly reviewing new games to ensure they meet stricter criteria for content and protection of children. https://ift.tt/2XxGiUb

OnePlus 9RT Allegedly Gets Certified in China Ahead of Launch

OnePlus 9RT has allegedly received a certification from the China Compulsory Certification (CCC or 3C) authority ahead of its official launch. A OnePlus phone with a model number MT2110 has surfaced... https://ift.tt/3zfGjsJ

Facial Recognition Software Trialled by Australia to Police Pandemic Rules

Australia's two most populous states are trialling facial recognition software that lets police check people are home during COVID-19 quarantine, expanding trials that have sparked controversy to the... https://ift.tt/3Cjy14Q

Online education giant Byju's says it has acquired Tynker, which offers courses on coding, sources say for around $200M in cash and stock (Saritha Rai/Bloomberg)

Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Online education giant Byju's says it has acquired Tynker, which offers courses on coding, sources say for around $200M in cash and stock  —  - India edtech giant paying for acquisition in cash and stock  — Byju's has cut nine acquisitions this year as it expands site



India second-largest technology hub for Amazon globally: India Head

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Microsoft Saw 10 Percent Increase in Average Workweek During Pandemic: Study

The coronavirus-induced pandemic forced the world to adapt to a new normal and organisations across the globe transitioned to a work-from-home setup. While this allowed for people to work from the... https://ift.tt/2XoQ76d

Crypto Scam Lands 24-Year-Old in Jail for Duping Investors of $90 Million

Crypto investments are soaring around the world, and so are related scams. A US court has released a strict verdict against a crypto scammer, who was duping off unsuspecting and innocent investors off... https://ift.tt/39eh13s

Deutsche Bank survey: Walmart+, Walmart's Amazon Prime rival, has grown to ~32M US subscribers since its 2020 launch, and ~86% of them have Amazon Prime also (Melissa Repko/CNBC)

Melissa Repko / CNBC:
Deutsche Bank survey: Walmart+, Walmart's Amazon Prime rival, has grown to ~32M US subscribers since its 2020 launch, and ~86% of them have Amazon Prime also  —  - Walmart+ has hit an “inflection point” and is growing its membership at a faster clip, according to a new research note from Deutsche Bank.



Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3 Getting 'Snore & Noise Detect' Feature

Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3 are receiving a new snore and noise detection feature. The feature is designed to help users learn about the noises at night that may be reducing their sleep quality. The... https://ift.tt/3EkkUSS

PUBG: New State Crosses 40 Million Pre-Registrations on Android and iOS

PUBG: New State has received more than 40 million pre-registrations on Android and iOS devices. The battle royale game has recently finished its second alpha testing and its release date will be... https://ift.tt/3EmfkiW

In a rare move, Apple publishes a statement and a document listing all ByteDance apps inaccessible in the US alongside TikTok, including Lemon8 and Lark (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch : In a rare move, Apple publishes a statement and a document listing all ByteDance apps inaccessible in the US al...