Coinbase will fully close its bitcoin-backed loan program Borrow for retail customers and says loan holders have to pay outstanding dues by November 20, 2023 (Yogita Khatri/The Block)

Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Coinbase will fully close its bitcoin-backed loan program Borrow for retail customers and says loan holders have to pay outstanding dues by November 20, 2023  —  - Coinbase will fully sunset its Borrow program for retail customers, effective November 20.  —  Coinbase will shut …

Nothing Phone (2) now available on Vijay Sales: Price, offers and more

Nothing's flagship smartphone, Nothing Phone (2), is now available at Vijay Sales' retail stores in India. The smartphone comes in two variants and is priced at ₹49,999 and ₹54,999 respectively. Customers can avail an instant discount of ₹3,000 on HDFC Bank credit and debit cards, and no-cost EMI for three, six and nine months. The Nothing Phone (2) is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, runs on Android 13 operating system and features a 50MP dual rear camera, a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with LTPO and a 4,700 mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. https://ift.tt/LVdrUw7

Sensor Tower: Threads' DAUs declined to 13M, down 70% from the July 7 peak; Similarweb: average time spend on Threads' app declined to four mins, down from 19 (Lindsey Choo/Wall Street Journal)

Lindsey Choo / Wall Street Journal:
Sensor Tower: Threads' DAUs declined to 13M, down 70% from the July 7 peak; Similarweb: average time spend on Threads' app declined to four mins, down from 19  —  Data show user engagement has fallen 70% as executives focus on options such as a chronological feed

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 trailer gives a look at two Spider-Men, Venom, and other villains

Insomniac Games has released the story trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at San Diego Comic-Con. The trailer showcased key characters such as Peter Parker, Miles Morales, MJ, Kraven, the Lizard and the Venom symbiote while hinting towards the villain’s identity. The two Spider-Men are balancing their responsibilities, and struggling to make personal decisions while Kraven and Venom, as well as Mister Negative, create obstacles for them to overcome. The game releases for PlayStation 5 on October 20. https://ift.tt/BN30sTF

Microsoft wins big in Call of Duty deal with Activision: Here's what it means

The agency withdrew the case before an in-house judge after its efforts to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard failed as a federal judge and an appeals court turned down a request for the deal to be paused. It must be noted that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are yet to close the deal and the FTC could re-file the administrative challenge. https://ift.tt/AlX3OtF

How to get started using the Maybelline app in Teams

Microsoft has collaborated with Maybelline New York to offer AI-enabled makeup filters for Teams video calls. The Maybelline Beauty app will be available from July 20 and offers 12 different makeup looks. The app uses Modiface's AI technology to provide the seamless application of digital filters by identifying over 70 points on the user's face. It is currently only available in English, however, Microsoft plans to add support for other languages in the future. The Microsoft-Maybelline partnership is expected to open up new opportunities in next-gen video conferencing and chat system technologies. https://ift.tt/uamOzrQ

Reddit removes the moderators of r/malefashionadvice, one of the biggest subreddits to close protesting Reddit's API changes, and takes charge of the subreddit (Jay Peters/The Verge)

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Reddit removes the moderators of r/malefashionadvice, one of the biggest subreddits to close protesting Reddit's API changes, and takes charge of the subreddit  —  Reddit is now in charge of r/malefashionadvice, which for a time was the biggest subreddit still closed in protest of the platform's API pricing changes.

How to set up or update your Netflix Household

Earlier this year, Netflix initiated a crackdown on password-sharing in certain countries, namely Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. This new feature requires users to designate a 'primary location' to ensure that only those within the same household can access the account. Additionally, an 'Access and Devices Management' page has been introduced, allowing the account owner to oversee the members who have access to the account. https://ift.tt/FHB4En8

A US House committee plans to investigate GGV, GSR, Walden International, and Qualcomm Ventures over their VC investments in China in AI, chips, and quantum (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
A US House committee plans to investigate GGV, GSR, Walden International, and Qualcomm Ventures over their VC investments in China in AI, chips, and quantum  —  House select committee says American firms' investments contributed to China's military buildup and rights abuses

Used car retailer Carvana reaches a deal to restructure its debt to lower interest payments and reports a $105M loss in Q2, down from a $439M loss in Q2 2022 (New York Times)

New York Times:
Used car retailer Carvana reaches a deal to restructure its debt to lower interest payments and reports a $105M loss in Q2, down from a $439M loss in Q2 2022  —  Most of the company's bondholders have agreed to accept bonds that are worth less than what they were owed but that are secured against real estate and other assets.

TSMC reports Q2 revenue down 10% YoY to ~$15.68B and net profit down 23.3% YoY to ~$5.9B, the first quarterly decline since 2019, as all non-AI chip sales lag (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia:
TSMC reports Q2 revenue down 10% YoY to ~$15.68B and net profit down 23.3% YoY to ~$5.9B, the first quarterly decline since 2019, as all non-AI chip sales lag  —  Taiwan chipmaker logs quarterly net profit drop on consumer electronics slump  —  Sluggish demand for smartphones …

Here’s when OnePlus may launch OnePlus 12 smartphone

OnePlus will soon launch its first foldable smartphone -- OnePlus Open. However, the company is also gearing up for the launch of its flagship smartphone OnePlus 12. Now a new leak has surfaced online revealing the likely launch timeline of the smartphone. https://ift.tt/zG97Wkw

Pokémon Sleep now available on the App Store and Google Play Store

Pokémon has announced the debut of its Pokémon Sleep game app. The sleep tracker app that turns sleep into entertainment is now available in the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android in Australia, Canada, Latin America and New Zealand. The company also shared the debut of its app on Twitter. Here are the details https://ift.tt/krgXVoM

Unity launches PolySpatial, announced in conjunction with Vision Pro at WWDC to help developers port and create a 3D experience for Apple's visionOS, in beta (Brian Heater/TechCrunch)

Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Unity launches PolySpatial, announced in conjunction with Vision Pro at WWDC to help developers port and create a 3D experience for Apple's visionOS, in beta  —  Unity this morning announced that it has opened the beta version of its development platform for visionOS.

Tecno Pova 5 Pro smartphone to launch in India soon

Tecno is all set to launch its new Pova series smartphone in India. Tecno has confirmed that it will soon launch the new Tecno Pova 5 Pro smartphone in India. The company has also teased the design of the upcoming smartphone which looks inspired by the recently launched Nothing Phone (2). https://ift.tt/1Egs9rj