Plus: YouTube is furthering its crackdown on ad blockers.
| For May 28, 2024 |  |
| Here’s a look at today's tech briefing: - T-Mobile to buy most of U.S. Cellular for $4.4B.
- iPhone shipments in China rose in April.
- GameStop shares rise after $933M share sale.
- YouTube intensifies crackdown on ad blockers.
- U.S. court fast-tracks challenges to TikTok ban law.
- Google manually removing incorrect AI search overviews.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | T-Mobile will buy the majority of U.S. Cellular for $4.4B, including its stores, customers, and some spectrum assets. U.S. Cellular customers will be able to keep their plans or switch to similar T-Mobile contracts. More: - The deal is expected to close by mid-2025, pending regulatory approval.
- By acquiring about 30% of U.S. Cellular's wireless spectrum, T-Mobile said it will bolster rural coverage and improve connectivity for customers.
- U.S. Cellular will maintain ownership of 70% of its spectrum and 4,400 telecom towers, while also leasing space on at least 2,100 towers to T-Mobile.
- T-Mobile and Verizon were previously in talks to divide up U.S. Cellular, a move that could prevent regulators from blocking the deal. A separate deal with Verizon hasn't been announced.
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| 2 | | Apple's iPhone shipments in China rose in April compared to a year earlier, continuing growth from March, according to the latest figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). Buoyed by recent price discounts, Apple's China shipments have rebounded after experiencing double-digit drops during the early months of the year. 
What the numbers show: Foreign smartphone shipments in China, led by Apple, rose 52% in April to 3.495 million units, up from 2.301 million a year earlier, according to CAICT data. More: Apple's bounceback comes after it lost premium market share to Huawei. Huawei's ascent was fueled by the introduction of the Mate 60 smartphone last August, followed by the release of the high-end Pura 70 series in April. Zoom out: Since January, Apple and resellers have cut prices in China, with the deals continuing into June for China's annual "618" shopping festival. A recent Bloomberg Intelligence survey in China showed the iPhone regaining popularity as the preferred mobile device, signaling the stabilization of Apple's market share. Analysts Steven Tseng and Sean Chen suggest that Apple could soon reclaim its position as the favorite smartphone brand among Chinese consumers. | | | |
| 3 | | GameStop's shares surged on Tuesday after the company revealed it had raised $933.4M through a stock sale. The retailer sold 45 million common shares, benefiting from the recent social media-driven meme rally, with the stock up over 110% this month. More: - GameStop announced the equity offering on May 17, just after the rally's peak.
- It plans to use the proceeds from the at-the-market sale for general corporate purposes, including investments and acquisitions.
- GameStop shares opened at $23 on Tuesday, a 25% increase from the pre-meme stock surge three weeks ago, but still 65% below this month's peak and over 80% below its 2021 all-time high
- The company's peak earlier this month was driven by the online return of Keith Gill, a retail trader and a major figure of the 2021 meme stock mania.
- Also known as "Roaring Kitty," Gill posted on X this month after being dormant for years.
Zoom out: - GameStop still projects Q1 net sales of $872M-$892M, down from $1.24B last year.
- It forecasts net losses of $27M-$37M, down from its $50.5M loss a year ago.
- The retailer will release its next earnings report on June 5.
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| 4 | | Some YouTube users with ad blockers report that their videos either mute automatically or skip to the end. The reports suggest YouTube is stepping up its efforts to combat ad blocking. All ad blockers, including apps and extensions, are banned under YouTube's terms. More: - As of Monday, many users with ad blockers report their YouTube videos skipping to the end or muting, rendering them unwatchable.
- Users also report the issue occurring during video replays, with attempts to skip to parts of the video resulting in endless loading.
- Last year, YouTube started blocking videos for free users with ad blockers, encouraging them to switch to its paid ad-free Premium service.
- The company recently started cracking down on third-party mobile apps that block video ads.
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| 5 | | A U.S. appeals court has fast-tracked hearings to review legal challenges to the TikTok divest-or-ban law. The U.S. Justice Department, TikTok, and a group of content creators asked the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to speed up proceedings, which the court granted on Tuesday. More: - The court has now scheduled oral arguments for September.
- TikTok and the DOJ have asked for a ruling by Dec. 6, which would grant enough time to potentially ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the matter.
- The case challenges the U.S. law that would ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, doesn't sell the app before Jan. 19.
- After President Biden signed the law in April, TikTok, ByteDance, and TikTok creators sued to block it on First Amendment grounds.
- TikTok believes the sped-up schedule could lead to resolving the legal challenge without emergency preliminary injunctions.
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| 6 | | Google continues to manually remove AI Overviews that are generating misinformation for specific searches. The AI Overviews, launched in the U.S. this month, serve AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. Google hasn't removed the feature entirely but is disabling incorrect answers as they are posted by users online. More: - The AI search feature is facing criticism for delivering some incorrect information to users.
- In recent examples, the tool said "doctors recommend smoking 2-3 cigarettes per day during pregnancy" and "staring at the sun for 5-15 minutes or up to 30 minutes if you have darker skin is generally safe and provides the most health benefits."
- According to The Verge, Google is removing the AI Overviews for certain searches after they generate the misinformation.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS: *This is sponsored content. | | | |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Beth Duckett | |
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