Tech Brew Ride Home - Mon. 04/19 – Facebook To Announce Going Big On Audio, Via Audio?

Episode Date: April 19, 2021

Mon. 04/19 – Facebook To Announce Going Big On Audio, Via Audio? Facebook has probably just outlined its plans to go big on audio, via a digital audio room. Clubhouse has officially announced that big new raise, probably in reaction to that, to some degree, A16Z did indeed triple down, and I try to outline all the threads for you. Britain might block ARM’s sale to Nvidia. And what to expect from tomorrow’s Apple event. Sponsors: Masterworks.io promocode ride Fundrise.com/techmeme Links: Facebook plans to go after Clubhouse — and podcasts — with a suite of new audio products (Vox) Clubhouse closes an undisclosed $4B valuation Series C round, as tech giants’ clones circle (Tech Crunch) UK invokes national security to investigate Nvidia's ARM deal (Reuters) Tencent's Ma dangles billions in aid as antitrust scrutiny grows (Bloomberg) Microsoft’s xCloud beta arrives on iOS and PC this week (The Verge) What to Expect From Apple's April 20 Event: New iPads, AirTags and More (Mac Rumors) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the tech meme right home for Monday, April 19th, 2021. I'm Brian McCullough today. Facebook has probably just outlined its plans to go big on audio via a digital audio room, as you hear me say these words. Clubhouse has officially announced that big new raise, probably in reaction to what we just talked about to some degree. A16Z did indeed triple down. I'll try to outline all the threads for you. Britain may block arms sale to Nvidia and what to expect from tomorrow's Apple event. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. It's not going to work out in terms of covering it today because of our production schedule,

but the word going around right now this morning is that Facebook is just about to announce a suite of audio products, including a clubhouse-like clone, a podcast discovery product connected to Spotify and more. This is all supposed to come from the mouth of Mark Zuckerberg himself, who's supposedly going to show up on Casey Newton's new Discord channel related to his platformer newsletter. It's actually an interesting thing, this new channel. It's called side channel. And if you're a subscriber to Casey's newsletter or six other popular newsletters who have joined forces, you get access to this one unified Discord channel. I've been on it all morning and it's pretty cool. Anywho, we expect to hear this announcement, quoting Peter Kafka.

Facebook's audio plans include an audio-only version of rooms, a video conferencing product. It launched a year ago when the pandemic spurred massive adoption of Zoom. A clubhouse-like product that will let groups of people listen to and interact with speakers on a virtual stage. A product that will let Facebook users record brief voice messages and post them in their news feeds like they currently do with text, pictures, and video. A podcast discovery product that will be connected with Spotify, which has invested heavily in podcasting over the last couple years. It's unclear to me if Facebook intends to do more beyond flagging podcasts for its users. and sending them to Spotify. Worth noting, Spotify and Facebook first linked up 10 years ago when Facebook was pushing the idea of frictionless sharing,

which was supposed to mean that your Facebook friends could see what you were reading or listening to or watching. That fizzled out pretty fast. It's also unclear to me what the timeline is for the products Facebook will announce today. My sense is that the Rooms product, which, again, is a version of video conferencing without video, is the most likely candidate to go live right away. Sources said other products may not show up even in beta form until later this spring. All told the announcements are meant to signal CEO Mark Zuckerberg's belief that his users are ready to use voice and audio as a way to connect with each other. He's not the only big tech executive who's gotten interested in that idea recently.

Twitter has already launched Spaces, its own take on Clubhouse, and Apple is preparing a new subscription podcast service. It may announce as early as Tuesday as part of its own product rollout. Zuckerberg is scheduled to talk to technology, journalist, and Fox Media Control. contributor Casey Newton on Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern. This weekend, Newton wrote that he and Zuckerberg would talk about, quote, this wild transitional moment in tech and media, noting that Facebook is, quote, increasingly interested in newsletters, live audio, and other technologies, end quote. So anyway, I'll be listening in live at 1 p.m. Eastern when this all goes down. But since this episode, we'll be getting edited at that time. Maybe a live tweet what I hear about, but I guess we'll have to

talk about this tomorrow. The headline here is that Clubhouse has raised a Series C round led by Andrewson Horowitz with DST Global, Tiger Global, and Elad Gill all participating, valuing Clubhouse at around $4 billion. Remember, that was the exact number that was floated as being what Twitter wanted to acquire Clubhouse for, but also there are whispers that this story is related to what we were talking about in just the previous segment, like was Facebook, or others sniffing around Clubhouse as well. We've assumed that Facebook knows it probably can't make any social acquisitions at this point because of regulatory scrutiny, but still, as Dan Premack tweeted, this is how you prevent your portfolio company from taking an acquisition offer, end quote.

It's clear Facebook is going to go full bore into this space, given the previous segment, so you could see why Clubhouse would want to get a lot of money to face off against them and others, although also worth remembering Mark Andreessen is on Facebook's board. And remember, I said it would be interesting to see if Andreson Horowitz tripled down on Clubhouse so soon after doubling down on them. Or if they would sit this round out, well, obviously they didn't. So clearly this is tripling down. There are wheels within wheels here. I mean, shoot, this all potentially being announced on a Discord stage channel audio room is part of the Wheels Within Wheels. It's all super interesting. Quoting Mike Butcher in TechCrunch. Unusually for such a large stage of funding, the company has not revealed the amount raised. Industry sources say that this is probably because the Series C funding round is multi-stage and therefore not officially closed. Alternatively, the company is hyping itself ahead of a sale, as is often the case with hot startups. Twitter reportedly broke off talks to acquire the startup at a $4 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. And despite appearances that this funding round has been timed to coincidental. side with the launch this week of Facebook's Clubhouse clone, one well-placed source told me that,

quote, this funding round has been in the works for the last one and a half months and that some offers have been, quote, above 2x the $4 billion valuation. In other words, there are some investors out there who think Clubhouse is worth more than $8 billion. So far, Clubhouse is demuring on all this and declining to comment more directly to the media. The company disclosed the news about the funding during its weekly town hall chat last Sunday night and in a blog post. The said the fundraising will support a fresh burst of growth for the app, end quote. Keep an eye on this, because this is related to semiconductors and the ability to produce them, becoming the geopolitically strategic vital resource of the 21st century.

The UK says it will intervene in softbanks proposed sale of arm to Nvidia on national security grounds, quoting Reuters. Digital Minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday that he had issued a so-called intervention notice over the sale of arm by Japan's softbank to NVIDIA. Quote, as a next step and to help me gather the relevant information, the UK's Independent Competition Authority will now prepare a report on the implications of the transaction, which will help inform any further decisions, he said. NVIDIA said it did not believe the deal posed any material national security issues. Quote, we will continue to work closely with the British authorities, as we have done

since the announcement of this deal, said NVIDIA, the biggest U.S. chip company by market capitalization, end quote. Of course, Arm just designs the chips. They don't own any fabs, so keeping a hold of Arm doesn't actually get you suddenly a bunch of factories on your own soil that will make the chips you need. But maybe I'm misreading the strategy here. Maybe the key is having the Nouse to actually design the chips. That is the most important thing. A follow up now on the whole Chinese tech crackdown story over the weekend sources we're reporting that Ant Group is exploring options for founder Jack Ma to divest his stake and give up control of the company in an attempt to appease Chinese regulators. And this morning, word that as antitrust scrutiny grows, Tencent founder, Pony Ma, no relation, has pledged $7.7 billion for tackling societal ills

and lifting China's countryside out of poverty, quoting Bloomberg. The billionaire chief executive officer on Monday pledged to set aside 50 billion yuan for a, quote, sustainable social values program in what would be one of China's largest corporate charity initiatives. Tencent promised to tackle a plethora of issues from renewable energy and scientific education to health care and rural revitalization, a centerpiece of Xi's overarching policy framework. The gaming and social media giant intends to fold its existing foundation and philanthropic activity into a new unit to overstate. see the initiative which also encompasses carbon neutrality, the provision of food, water, and energy, and general public welfare, end quote. What I think we're seeing play out here is,

nice, multi-billion dollar tech startup you've got there. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. Microsoft says its XCloud game streaming service will launch on iOS and PC tomorrow as an invite-only beta available to Xbox GamePass Ultimate Subscribers, quoting the Verge. The service will arrive on devices via browsers, allowing Xbox GamePass ultimate subscribers to play Xbox games on iPhones, iPads, and PCs. Microsoft is keeping this beta rather limited, though, and requiring players to be invited to participate in the testing phase. The service will be accessible at Xbox.com forward slash play, where Xbox GamePass ultimate subscribers who have been invited to the beta will be able to play Xbox games through Edge, Chrome, or Safari browsers. More than 100 games will be available, and testers will be able to use. a compatible Bluetooth or USB connected controller or simply use custom touch controls.

Quote, the limited beta is our time to test and learn. We'll send out more invites on a continuous basis to players in all 22 supported countries, evaluate feedback, continue to improve the experience and add support for more devices, says Catherine Gluckstein, Microsoft's head of XCloud. Our plan is to iterate quickly and open up to all Xbox GamePass Ultimate members in the coming months, so more people have the opportunity to play Xbox in all new ways, end quote. If you've not been keeping track, this is the first time Xbox game streaming has been available

on iOS devices. So remember, we're keeping our eye on whether or not it is gaming that finally puts some meaningful cracks in the app store. This would be the first big salvo in that. Finally today, remember, we're going to have an Apple event tomorrow. So quick programming reminder that tomorrow's show will be released a tad later than normal because I actually have to, you know, watch the event and then think about it and then write about it and then record it. But let's set the table for that with what we think we're going to see tomorrow because half the fun of Apple events is anticipating surprises or reading the tea leaves in terms of what's left out. The consensus seems to be this. We'll see refreshed iPads, including a

pro model with a mini LED display. Third-gen pencils. Air Tags and iMacs in different colors, quoting Mac rumors. Refreshed iPad Pro models are expected to be the main event at Apple's April event. Apple will overhaul the 11 and 12.9 inch iPad Pro models, but don't look for major external changes, much of which new will be internal. Both models will feature an updated A14X chip that's just as powerful as the M1 chip in the Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. The most notable new feature aside from the A14X will be, limited to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is expected to gain a mini-l-D display. Mini-LED technology offers impressive wide-color gamut performance, high-contrast and

HDR, and local dimming, which dims the backlight behind black areas of the screen while keeping the bright parts lit for blacker blacks and better contrast. Mini-L-D displays are expensive and difficult to manufacture, so for now, the technology is limited to Apple's highest-end iPad Pro. Apple's manufacturing partners are additionally having difficulties with the mini-l-D display, so it's possible the mini-l-D 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in limited quantities when it launches. There's an iPad Mini-6 in the works, but don't expect major changes to the Mini. Recently leaked dummy models suggest the iPad Mini-6 will look quite similar to its predecessor with thick bezels and a touch ID home button. The low-cost 8th-generation

iPad Mini is due for a refresh, and while we haven't heard a lot about a new model, it would make sense for it to be updated alongside other iPad models at the April event. We've been waiting for Apple's air tags for what feels like years now, but with Apple's Find My Network accessory program now available for third-party product manufacturers, Apple could be ready to finally launch the air tags. It's possible that to combat any monopoly accusations, Apple wanted to make sure that third-party products had the same access to the Find My app as Air Tags, which has now happened. Air tags might attach to items with rings or adhesive, and the bottle cap size trackers are rumored to come with a keychain that has a leather pouch on it, which may be one of the attachment methods. There have been mixed rumors on charging methods. One rumor has pointed towards a built-in rechargeable battery that works with an Apple Watch-style charging puck, while another suggests the air tags will run on a replaceable CR 2032 battery. Either way, it sounds like they'll last for a good amount of time rather than featuring a non-replaceable battery. The iMac is expected to get a total design overhaul in 2021, with Apple introducing redesign models with slimmer bezels and a much smaller chin.

One of the new IMAX is expected to be around 23 to 24 inches in size and could be a replacement for the 21.5 inch IMAQ, while the other is expected to be larger than the current 27-inch model. Rumors suggests that the new IMA models will look similar to the Pro Display XDR monitor that Apple released in 2019, and that display has an IMA-like design. but with no bottom area and narrower side bezels. There is a possibility that Apple will make the refreshed IMAC available in a range of colors like silver, space gray, green, sky blue, and rose gold, which happened to be the colors of the fourth generation iPad Air. Alongside the new design, Apple will introduce updated and much faster Apple Silicon chips with as many as 32 high-performance cores and 16 and 32 core GPU graphics options.

We don't know when the new IMAX are coming out, so the April event is a possible. but it's equally likely we won't see these new machines until the summer or the fall, end quote. They also think we'll see the usual release of new iPhone cases and Apple watch bands, maybe a MagSafe battery pack, and iOS 14.5 should get an official release date tomorrow. But as far as any long shot or dark horse announcements, according to Mac rumors, maybe we could see some sort of refresh to the Apple TV, as those recent Ming Chi Quo rumors have suggested if there is any big surprise, it might come from the Apple TV. And the new MacBook Pro refresh we've been dreaming of, because it will maybe make the pros usable

again by giving them usable ports and upgrading to the M1 chips. They might happen tomorrow, but for supply reasons, most people think we won't see that until at least the second half of the year. Maybe WWDC would be better in terms of timing. Same thing with the AirPods 3, which might not come until much, much later in the year, again, because of supply chain issues. Max and I screwed around with that totally accurate battle simulator game over the weekend. It was very fun. And that, I think, is exactly the sort of game that I hope will be showing up on AR and VR spaces more, once developers feel like there's enough of a market for them there,

unleashing your bot armies on, say, your coffee table that you and everyone and the room could walk around and set up the armies with your hands. Seems to be like a perfect sort of game for AR. VR maybe not so much because it's always, you know, what's going on in your headset. It's hard to share unless everyone else has a headset. That's why the Port of Angry Birds works so well to VR because you can walk around and do stuff.

But again, we've got that big Oculus games announce coming on Wednesday, I think it is. These are the sorts of games. I hope we start to see more of, maybe as soon as Wednesday. Talk to you tomorrow.