Musk’s mad superapp-etite: Why his ‘everything app’ might miss the mark July 26, 2023 Another week, another Elon Musk melodrama. In yet another episode of his theatrics, the tech-obsessed billionaire unveiled his latest surprise this week: a dramatic overhaul of Twitter and rebrand of it as ‘X’. Musk said the name ‘Twitter’ “does not make sense” after the original short-messaging ethos with a 140 character limit having been scrapped [...]
BAT: Lucky Strike maker reaps rewards of vape shift with 1.5m new customers as profit nears £6bn July 26, 2023 Lucky Strike maker British American Tobacco (BAT) has seen dramatic revenue growth in its ‘new categories’ division thanks to its acceleration of investment in ever-more popular cigarette alternatives. Its revenue from vaping and tobacco-free products hit £1.6bn, a 29 per cent increase from the first half of 2022, and BAT said it is making “good [...]
UK app developers sue Apple for £785m over alleged App Store monopoly July 25, 2023 UK app developers are suing Apple, alleging that the company’s App Store holds an unfair monopoly. Brought before London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal by competition law expert Sean Ennis, the lawsuit represents over 1,500 mobile app developers who are seeking £785m in damages. Apple charges a 15-30 per cent commission on some payments made through the [...]
Spotify subscribers hit a high as it hikes rate prices July 25, 2023 More Spotify listeners are tuning in to the app’s services than ever as the Swedish streamer cranks up its premium prices looking to bolster profits. Subscribers to the streamer’s premium ad-free service have leaped by 10m since the previous quarter, up to 220m, Spotify reported today in their second quarter earnings. Monthly active users also [...]
Virgin Media O2 to slash 2,000 jobs as it tries to rid itself of billions in debt July 25, 2023 Virgin Media O2 has revealed plans to slash 2,000 jobs by the end of the year. The telecoms giant issued redundancy notices yesterday evening as part of their effort to streamline operations. The cuts, which include around 800 previously reported job reductions, will affect over 12 per cent of the company’s current workforce. Virgin Media [...]
Telegraph owner ‘confident’ of reaching 1m subscribers this year as bidders circle in ongoing sale July 25, 2023 The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) said it is on track to reach 1m subscribers this year as bidders circle to buy the newspaper owner. The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph publisher reported strong subscription figures this morning, up two per cent to 734,000. TMG said it was “confidently” on target to hit 1m by the [...]
Reach: Mirror and Express publisher’s digital revenue hit by Facebook changes – but print shows promise July 25, 2023 Reach, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Express newspapers, revealed a decline in digital but print has shown promising signs, as circulation revenue grows and print costs fall. The company reported digital revenues are down over 16 per cent from the same period last year to £217m, as page views tumble and lower referral [...]
IBM Security Report: UK businesses face £3.4m data breach costs but AI could help July 24, 2023 UK organisations face an average cost of £3.4m for data breach incidents but AI could reduce these costs by £1.6m on average, a report by IBM Security has revealed. Their annual Cost of a Data Breach Report showed a decrease in the total average cost of a data breach in the UK from £3.8m in [...]
Barbenheimer lights up cinemas but strikes cast shadow on industry’s future July 24, 2023 Barbie and Oppenheimer, the pop culture power movie duo nicknamed Barbenheimer, had a triumphant opening weekend, reviving cinemas to their pre-pandemic glory – if only for a fleeting weekend. Vue cinemas witnessed their biggest weekend since 2019, raking in nearly £30m at the UK box office according to the UK Cinema Association, as over 500,000 [...]
Elon Musk bids adieu to the Twitter bird as social media giant rebrands to ‘X’ July 24, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk revealed the social media giant will bid farewell to its famous blue bird, as a new “X” logo was unveiled this week, in a bid to transform it into an “everything app”. The billionaire Tesla boss announced the revamp, tweeting his desire to “bid adieu” to the Twitter brand and, gradually, [...]
