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Sounds like Google's got some big audio plans for 2022
At least if its recent acquisitions are anything to go by
In the years since nearly every phone manufacturer decided to retire the 3.5mm headphone jack, wireless audio technology has become more important than ever before. That's likely why we've seen every Android company under the sun put out new headphones year after year — and Google is no exception. Based on some recent acquisitions, it seems like there might be some big plans on the horizon for the future of the Pixel Buds lineup.
Microsoft announces plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion
Potentially placing Microsoft as the third-largest gaming company behind Sony and Tencent
At this point, it's no secret that Activision Blizzard has been entangled in a seemingly never-ending series of trouble, ranging from a state lawsuit derived from employee misconduct and abuses to the CEO hiding the number of firings as part of the fallout of the company's widespread misconduct. And this doesn't even touch upon Blizzard's screw-ups, like the cringe-worthy announcement for Diablo Immortal (still not out four years later) or the absolute failure of Warcraft III: Reforged. This is where Microsoft sweeps in with a buyout offer for Activision Blizzard, and it's a whopping $68.7 billion all-cash offer, outclassing Microsoft's purchase of ZeniMax Media by almost 60 billion (to put things into perspective). So far, it sounds like the acquisition will go through, which will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company behind Sony and Tencent.
Take-Two Interactive is set to purchase Zynga in a ginormous $12.7 billion acquisition
Who's ready for a GTA-themed FarmVille?
Take-Two Interactive and Zynga have just announced a partnership where Take-Two will acquire Zynga in a cash and stock transaction valued at $12.7 billion. While the transaction isn't cemented just yet, since Zynga has 45 days to find a better deal, it seems likely this acquisition will happen, seeing that both companies felt confident enough to announce the deal this morning.
New owners infect Mi Control Center and other apps with insane ads and subscription prices
$30 a month seems a bit steep for a notification shade
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A company snapping up a popular Android developer can be a precursor to shenanigans. And shenanigans aren't anything new for Treydev Inc, a Romanian developer which we've reported on before. The dev makes popular custom user interfaces that mimic the behavior of Android device maker skins. Earlier this year Treydev's most popular apps were switched over to the developer account for ZipoApps, a holding company with a few dozen apps on the Play Store of varying function and quality.
The close corporate ties between OnePlus and Oppo have never been much of a secret, at least to anyone who studies the nitty-gritty of the mobile business-to-business world. Despite keeping a very distinct identity, they're both part of the same parent company, and have been more open about the resources that they share for the last six months. Today OnePlus dropped a bit more of the pretense, and said that it's going to "further integrate" with Oppo.
Discord ends $10 billion plus sale talks with Microsoft
The gaming-focused communication platform is still interested in a public offering sometime later
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When the news broke that Discord talked to Microsoft regarding a $10 billion plus sale, people were quickly worried it might pan out like the Redmond Skype acquisition back in 2011. The communication platform gradually turned into a bloated, buggy piece of software that's next to impossible to shut down on Windows. It looks like Discord may not have to face that fate, after all. The gaming focused chat startup halted talks with Microsoft and other interested parties.
Microsoft just bought the company that built Siri's voice recognition for Apple
Microsoft purchased Nuance, makers of Dragon speech-to-text tools, for $16 billion
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Cortana, Microsoft's digital voice assistant named after that hologram lady from HALO, didn't exactly set the world on fire. Most Windows users I've seen treat it like an annoyance to be avoided, instead of an integral part of the system, as Google's Assistant and Apple's Siri have become. But based on its latest corporate purchase, Microsoft might be taking another stab at voice-powered interaction.
Google's next-gen Pixel Buds could get one of the AirPods Pro's coolest tricks
The company recently acquired 3D audio startup Dysonics
Google's anticipated Pixel Buds successors have been making waves online for a while now, including some appearances in recent FCC filings. We have yet to learn exactly what might set these next-gen buds apart from the pack, but a new acquisition could give us some hints. Google has acquired Dysonics, a startup that specializes in 3D audio.
Dish buys Republic Wireless, continuing its carrier shopping spree
It's the third MVNO the company has purchased in the last year
Dish, the parent company of Dish Network, Sling TV, and both Boost Mobile and Ting as of last year, is still very much in the M&A mood. It's just purchased Republic Wireless, yet another Mobile Virtual Network Operator. News of the acquisition was posted to Republic's forums by CEO Chris Chuang.
Square just bought Tidal and your guess is as good as ours as to why
The two companies share a love of really boring logos
Square, the company that makes those little portable payment machines you use when you're in a small restaurant or paying for a caricature, is buying Tidal, that music streaming service that's obsessed with audio quality. If it seems like an odd match, consider that musicians often need to get paid in non-traditional ways—that's how it's being pitched in the official announcement, anyway.
Last week, Google remotely disabled a pretty popular Chrome extension, which was found to contain malware. The lead up to that point was complicated, but the ultimate cause can be tied back to a change in ownership in June 2020. It's a common refrain at this point: Developers cash out (as they're allowed to do), but the new unscrupulous owners are only interested in a quick buck. Sometimes these acquisitions come with a tweet or a blog post; in the best cases, the app or extension will even tell you outright that it's under new ownership. But you can't always rely on that. So, should customers be notified when an extension or app changes hands?
Twitter acquires podcast app Breaker to help build its audio chatrooms
The app will shut down on January 15
To stay relevant in an ever-changing world, it's important to experiment, and Twitter isn't resting on laurels — it is constantly looking for new ways to engage users. Shortly after introducing Stories-like Fleets to users around the globe, the San Francisco-headquartered company announced the testing of audio chat rooms, called Spaces. To help build the latter — which is seemingly a tougher nut to crack — the team behind podcast app Breaker is joining Twitter.
Google's Fitbit acquisition faces a new setback from the outback
And it could come in the form of a $400 million dollar fine
Google received good news from the European Commission earlier this week, as its acquisition of health tracking wearable company Fitbit was approved conditionally. But just because the $2 billion dollar deal has gained the thumbs-up from one regulatory body doesn't mean it's completely in the clear — Australia has threatened Google with a $400 million fine if the merger moves forward without approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Huawei tipped to sell Honor to government-funded consortium for $15 billion
Will this mean new Honor phones with the latest version of Android?
In the background of the election cycle, the U.S. trade war with China continues to rage with Huawei taking some of the most damaging mortars so far. It's unable to import anything even remotely American in nature and has had to make painful adjustments to its operations. One change rumored to fall out of this pivot was a potential sale of its subsidiary Honor. Now, we're learning more details about the multi-billion dollar deal that could land as early as this week.
Pandora picks up WTF with Marc Maron and other Stitcher podcasts as SiriusXM finalizes acquisition
Another place to get more podcasts
The podcasting arms race has ratcheted up another notch as satellite radio company SiriusXM has completed its acquisition of podcast production and advertising behemoth Stitcher from E.W. Scripps for $325 million. It's a big deal business-wise, but for listeners, it also means that Sirius's Pandora app is getting a cadre of top podcasts in its catalogue.
EU opens in-depth investigation into Google's Fitbit acquisition
Google maintains that it's about devices, not data, but the European Commission isn't so sure
Google may have announced its intention to purchase Fitbit last year, but deals between large corporations like this move slowly. Regulators in both the US and EU have expressed concern about the world's largest ad company gaining access to potentially sensitive health data gathered by Fitbit's wearable devices, and Google's reassurances haven't helped. After an initial review by the European Commission, it has decided to press ahead with an in-depth investigation into the merger that is expected to be completed by December 9.
Trump says he wants to outright ban TikTok rather than forcing a sale
Earlier reports said TikTok was to be sold off due to national security concerns
Earlier today, it was tipped that President Donald Trump was considering to sign an executive order forcing portions of TikTok to be sold off to a U.S. company due to national security concerns, but now the president specified his plans to reporters aboard the Air Force One, as the Washington Post reports. "As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States," he said.
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Last week it came to light that SoftBank may be trying to sell chipset design firm ARM, and according to a new report from Bloomberg, Nvidia could be interested. Citing the usual "people with knowledge," Nvidia has apparently approached ARM to court a deal with the Cambridge company.
Google confirms acquisition of smart glasses maker North
There's probably more to Google's interest than just glasses, though
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Google is acquiring smart glasses manufacturer North Inc., reportedly to the tune of $180 million, shoring up its own hardware, wearable, and "ambient computing" efforts with the acquisition. Google saw limited success with its own "Google Glass" smart glasses, though the project lives on. The new purchase could also complement Google's acquisition of Fitbit.
After some whiplash, Dish set to acquire Boost from T-Mobile
Virgin Mobile and Sprint's own prepaid customers will also move over
One of the laces left untied in the closure of the Sprint and T-Mobile merger was the condition that the combined carrier would sell prepaid entity Boost Mobile to Dish Network. Now, after a blip of a possibility that the satellite company would back out of negotiations, the two have officially locked into the divestiture deal.