Apps

The Information and former Twitter employees reported at least 50 more layoffs. According to Platformer’s Zoë Schiffer, even Elon Musk loyalist Esther Crawford, Twitter payments’ top executive who handled Twitter Blue, was fired. Crawford and most of the product team were laid off this weekend, according to Alex Heath of …

OnePlus may no longer release with caution. The Oppo-owned OnePlus 11 debuted in January. The 11R, targeting the expanding Indian smartphone market, came this month. The business now sells last year’s 10T and 10 Pro, three affordable Nord devices, five earphones, and a tablet. Expect a new mechanical keyboard and …

Telecom. Network and enterprise will dominate Barcelona’s huge mobile expo more than ever. Next Monday’s event appears to be focusing less on consumers. Mobile World Congress was never a consumer tech expo, but smartphone makers made it a useful launchpad. CES (held in January) is where smart homes, wearables, autos, …

The SEC says Tesla CEO Elon Musk must obtain lawyer approval before tweeting Tesla-related material. Last week, the SEC wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, saying that an earlier settlement agreement between the agency and Musk is constitutional and legitimate. Musk tweeted …

In response to Apple’s strict privacy rules, Google added privacy nutrition labels to the Play Store last April. These labels allow developers to disclose and explain the variety of data their apps collect from users, helping consumers understand what they are signing up for. Mozilla found that top Play Store …

As generative AI’s fast-unfolding power to supercharge content-creation raises concerns about what automation might mean for free access to quality information online, Berlin-based startup Spoke AI is preparing to apply it in a more bounded (but still noisy) context: Internally, pitching information workers on tools to automatically summarize inbound communications …

Today, Spotify launched “DJ,” an AI feature that personalizes music listening, ahead of its Stream On event, where it is expected to unveil a new home feed and other updates. Spotify’s DJ feature will play a curated playlist with AI-powered commentary about your favorite songs and artists in a “stunningly …

Mercedes-Benz and Google formed a long-term partnership to give the German automaker control over its IP and marketplace while offering drivers navigation, maps, and YouTube. It’s a strange deal that aims to give consumers Google services without giving up control over the car’s operating system. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius told …

Instagram’s co-founders’ personalized news reader, Artifact, is now open to the public without sign-up. Last month, Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger unveiled their latest venture as an invite-only experience, promising their news app would later include social features like discussing the news with friends. Today’s launch removes Artifact’s …

Misinformation spreads quickly due to social media amplification. Famous people have tweeted misinformation. Community Notes, Twitter’s crowdsourced fact-checking program, now lets users remove such retweets. Twitter will notify users if Community Notes contributors add context to a tweet they liked, retweeted, or replied to. “This helps give people extra context …