Mobile

A 30% YoY surge in US smartphone imports in March reveals how manufacturers—led by Apple—raced to beat looming Trump-era tariffs.

Despite growing up online, Gen Z and millennials prefer in-person shopping and socializing, creating opportunities for minimalist tech and physical brand experiences.

Now offering massages, art tours, and more without a home booking, Airbnb is turning into a full-service travel platform with a trove of first-party data.

Tech’s new bet—low-cost EVs, ultra-thin phones, and vibe-driven music: Slate, Samsung, and Spotify each chase novelty—via price, design, and personalization—to win over convenience-hungry consumers.

TikTok debuts AI Alive, an image-to-video generation tool: The feature is part of TikTok’s push to maintain dominance in a competitive short-form market.

Shorts now dominate prime screen space on connected TVs, signaling YouTube’s bid to normalize mobile-first formats in the living room—whether users like it or not.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss Meta’s capacity to weather the tariff climate, how Meta plans to redefine advertising, and what happens if it is forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Senior Analyst Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

While developers tout productivity bots, users prefer simple, free, opt-out-friendly AI for creative and informational help—not task automation they never asked for.

As Vision Pro stumbles, Apple is plotting a comeback with AI-ready, fashion-forward glasses—powered by custom chips and its unbeatable dev ecosystem.

As on-device AI fizzles, bold hardware is back—Samsung’s sleek, hinge-forward design aims to reset smartphone expectations and premium pricing logic.

US mobile audio app listeners spend an average of 32.3 hours with Spotify a month, compared with 3.5 hours with Amazon Music, and 0.9 hours with Apple Music, according to January data from Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform.

As AI search gains traction, Apple hints it won’t stay Google’s passive partner—potentially redrawing the future of search, ads, and browser dominance.

With always-on AI, Meta’s next smart glasses could normalize surveillance as convenience—especially in a lax US regulatory climate.

AppLovin beat Q1 expectations and exited gaming: The company is now all-in on adtech, led by AXON’s rapid growth.

Discord’s platform is built for participation, not passive content: Brands face high standards—and high rewards if they succeed.

Apple Q2 revenues grow 5% YoY, but Services are slightly below expectations: Despite revenue gains, tariffs and an antitrust case could cause the tides to turn.

Regulators slammed TikTok for failing to protect 175M EU users from potential Chinese access, fueling divestment and ban pressures worldwide.

WhatsApp’s importance to Meta goes well beyond social messaging: A forced divestiture could disrupt customer service, commerce, and loyalty worldwide.

Visual and audio data will feed Meta AI unless voice commands are disabled—placing an ultimatum between convenience and control.

Epic Games forced Apple to unwind App Store rules, setting a precedent that weakens Apple’s payment monopoly and threatens its fastest-growing services revenue stream.