Mobile

Gaming’s rejection of NFTs foreshadows their future: A reputation for scams and fraud have caused consumers and gaming brands to turn away from the technology.

FDA approves clinical wearable that detects atrial fibrillation: We unpack what the news means for managing cardiac conditions.

Snap’s Q2 results in one word? Ouch. The social platform’s brutal earnings report foreshadows more bad news to come for rival, ad-reliant platforms.

25 new wearables: Qualcomm’s new chips promise 2x the performance for smartwatches that can last twice as long—but will devices running the chips be able to beat the Apple Watch?

This year, for the first time, 5G phones will make up the majority, or 56%, of smartphone shipments worldwide. By the end of 2026, their share will grow to 76%. As 5G phones become ubiquitous, their average selling price will decrease by $168 over the next four years.

Facebook eyes a cheaper creator economy: The platform is pivoting away from publishers, but small creator payouts could hurt its plans.

The video game industry tries to clean up its image: Now that marketers are paying more attention, gaming brands have to address harassment campaigns.

Samsung stands to gain from foldable surge: The global market is forecast to reach $29B in sales by 2025, and Samsung’s constant iteration on form factor makes it the smartphone maker to beat.

Conversational commerce expands beyond Asia: Companies including Meta are making it easier for businesses to sell via chat.

The livestream shopping landscape has completely transformed in recent years. QVC, which saw 45% of the downloads among the top 10 US livestream shopping apps two years ago, accounted for just 10% in the first five months of this year. (Apps like YouTube and TikTok were excluded because ecommerce is a secondary feature of their platforms.)

Advertisers look to get into the game: Marketers can exploit the opportunities that video gaming presents to win new customers by identifying their target genre and desired outcomes.

Google Play goes hands-off on privacy disclosures: The storefront's new permissions policy could make it harder for marketers to verify data standards

FCC needs $3B more to ditch Huawei, ZTE networks: The “rip and replace” initiative is short on funds. Prolonged pushback on reimbursements could result in a dodgy patchwork of suboptimal equipment.

CPUs, storage, and Wi-Fi chips face price hike: Intel is warning that “inflationary pressures” will drive up prices this fall, indicating the end of a two-year boom period in semiconductors.

The ad industry braces for a rocky economy: The industry is anxiously watching consumer spending as purse strings tighten.

Chip fab plans are up in the air: Intel, TSMC, and others could pause US chip expansion plans while the $52 billion United States Innovation and Compatition Act languishes.

The wave of in-game advertising is growing: Game engine Unity has acquired mobile ad firm ironSource to help integrate ads into games even earlier in the development process.

40% of Gen Z likes to search on TikTok instead of Google: Those numbers come from Google itself, which is eager to deflect monopoly accusations.

On today's episode, we discuss what to make of Elon Musk trying to pull out of the Twitter deal, the ramifications for both parties, and how advertisers will likely view the platform going forward. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.

On today's episode, we discuss some predictions for H2 2022 that are too specific to be 100% certain but could still come true, including: will there be new talks to revive the Pinterest/PayPal super app merger, what will happen to Mark Zuckerberg's quest to build the metaverse, will Netflix get into live sports, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Debra Aho Williamson, Andrew Lipsman, and Paul Verna.