WSJ Tech News Briefing

The latest iOS 12 software from Apple is coming to your iPhones and iPads. The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce explains why you should upgrade -- especially if you have an older device.

Elon Musk's SpaceX announced that it had signed up the first private passenger to fly around the moon. The Wall Street Journal's Andy Pasztor has more on the future of space tourism.

Apple's smartwatch added heart-monitoring and fall-detection applications that could help detect medical conditions but also trigger false alarms. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle has more.

Apple is making a bet that larger screens can persuade millions of iPhone owners to not only upgrade to a new device but also fork over more money. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher has the details.

The European Union's executive arm joined Google and a group of free-speech advocates to oppose expanding the bloc's "right to be forgotten" beyond European borders. The Wall Street Journal's Sam Schechner has more from Luxembourg.

As the next era of 5G approaches, a battle is on to determine whether the U.S. or China will dominate. The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Krouse has more.

Companies have upgraded strollers and carriages with high-tech designs, enabling parents to take their kids along for the ride on a rugged trail ... or down a ski slope! More from Wall Street Journal contributor and freelance writer Jonathan Welsh.

After PCs and the iPhone, Apple's third act could be as a wearable technology company. The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims says devices like the Apple Watch and AirPods, combined with Apple's services, could make wearables the next big growth driver for Apple.

Twitter has typically relied on users to report abusive content. But sources have told the Wall Street Journal that CEO Jack Dorsey has weighed in some high-profile decisions. The Journal's Georgia Wells has more.

With hackers looking to target major U.S. cities, municipal governments are taking out cybersecurity insurance. The Wall Street Journal's Scott Calvert talks about what cyber insurance covers and how much it costs.

Finding a new job or freelancing gig is hard enough. But the Wall Street Journal's Chris Kornelis says a poorly conceived email address can seriously harm your career prospects. He runs down some rules you should consider when changing your online handle.

New devices can measure the velocity and distance of your stroke and help determine which club to pull out next. But is all this new data actually helpful, or just another expensive golf trend? The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce aims to find out.

Corporations have increased their use of artificial intelligence to improve customer interaction. The Wall Street Journal's Steven Norton talks about how AI has helped TGI Fridays target its customers more efficiently.

Want simple, DIY home security without a camera spying on your family? The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce breaks down which ones work best.

Toyota is investing about $500 million in Uber as part of an deal to work jointly on autonomous vehicles aimed at improving safety and transportation. The Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger has more.

As his team hustled to put form to his idea, lining up investors willing to put up tens of billions of dollars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was having second thoughts. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has more.

America's biggest tech companies are zeroing in on Iran, scrubbing their online networks of fake accounts, videos and social-media posts by the rising cyber adversary aimed at spreading misinformation. The Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan has more.

Apple's white wireless earphones transmit music and conversations, but some users wear them all day as a shield, a secretary and a hiding place. The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Dolan has more.

Facebook dismantled a new set of influence campaigns originating in Iran and Russia designed to sow division in global politics, part of the social-media company's broader purge of bad actors on its site. The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman has more.

Farfetch, the latest tech company to seek a U.S. listing, specializes in selling expensive items online. The Wall Street Journal's Stephen Wilmot explains why the online luxury market isn't as unique as it would have investors believe.

Videogames have gotten harder to turn off -- a concern that has mental-health experts and parents questioning the impact of gaming on players' lives. The Wall Street Journal's Sarah E. Needleman has the details.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai responds to criticism over reports that Google would tailor a search product to meet China's strict censorship laws. The Wall Street Journal's Douglas MacMillan has the details.

Best Buy looks to invest more in tech that meets the needs of older Americans, agreeing to buy GreatCall Inc., the maker of senior-focused Jitterbug mobile phones, for $800 million. The Wall Street Journal's Robert Barba has the details.

Federal regulators have subpoenaed Tesla, ramping up an investigation into whether Chief Executive Elon Musk was truthful when he tweeted last week that he had secured funding to take the electric-car maker private. The Wall Street Journal's Emily Glazer has the details.

This week, major tech companies committed to removing tech barriers that have hindered patient and provider access to health-care data online. The Wall Street Journal's John D. McKinnon has more.

Password manager Dashlane has new tools that keep you safe online --- and free you from the relentless hassle of typing your passwords. The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce explains why it makes browsing easier.

Is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos really the richest man of modern times? The answer depends on exactly how you decide to calculate wealth. The Wall Street Journal's Jo Craven McGinty explains.

The biggest breakthrough in AI, deep learning, has hit a wall, and a debate is raging about how to get to the next level. The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims explains.

New York plans to cap ride-hailing services including Uber and Lyft, becoming the first U.S. city to take such a step. The Wall Street Journal's Paul Berger has the details.

Venmo, the popular PayPal app that lets users send money along with a message, has prompted criticism about the extent of information shared. The Wall Street Journal's Peter Rudegeair has the details.

Microsoft's cheapest Surface yet tries to be both laptop and tablet. The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce talks whether it nails either one.

As "Fortnite" becomes a social proving ground for children, the Wall Street Journal's Sarah E. Needleman explains how parents are more than willing to pay for their offspring to gain an edge.

As part of a larger trend of tech companies helping to wean users off their more-addictive products, Facebook has announced new tools that tally time spent and nudge you when it's time for a break. The Wall Street Journal's Katie Bindley has the details.

As Apple spends more to keep its devices competitive, the Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher explains how the ride to a $1 trillion market-value hasn't been cheap -- and those costs are rising.

Apple delivered its best-ever revenue for the June quarter, as demand for high-price iPhones remained resilient and services soared to new records. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle has more.

Walmart is exploring a subscription video-streaming service that would challenge Netflix and Amazon by offering programming that targets Middle America. The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint has more.

Amazon's profit topped $2 billion for the first time, powered by the company's newer services businesses that are ushering the online retail giant into an era of swelling profitability. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens has more.

The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman explains how concerns about revenue growth, monetizing Instagram Stories and the impact of new privacy laws have hit Facebook's shares this week.

Ford is carving out its autonomous-vehicle program into a separate wholly owned company, a bid to accelerate its driverless-car efforts by attracting outside investors. The Wall Street Journal's Mike Colias has more.

Google parent Alphabet's strong earnings results have helped offset growing worries about big costs and political risks. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher has more.

Tesla, in a memo, asks suppliers to return a meaningful portion of money spent since 2016. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has more on its urgency to sustain operations during a critical production period.

The Tesla brand has its share of haters, but no one has yet driven the new Model 3 Performance-until now. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil takes a first turn behind the wheel.

Small brands easily sell their products to large numbers of customers on Amazon, but some counterfeiters are cutting into their business. Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Stevens has more.

The European Union hit Alphabet Inc.'s Google with a record antitrust fine of $5.06 billion and ordered changes to its business that could loosen the company's grip on mobile phones. The Wall Street Journal's Sam Schechner has the details.

Netflix's stock fell sharply after its quarterly subscriber growth, though still strong, fell short of expectations. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher says Netflix's soaring stock was overdue for a pause and talks about the pressures the company faces.

Mobile carriers said they would stop selling access to customers' locations to two companies-but other services rely on access to users' whereabouts to make money. Wall Street Journal reporter Sarah Krouse has more.

Amid trade tensions, Apple is set to invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in China. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle has the details.

Despite privacy concerns, Facebook is giving researchers "full access" to user data so it can learn about the effects of social media on democracy. The Wall Street Journal's Douglas MacMillan has more.

Digital alternatives to keys have their advantages, but they're proving divisive. Joshua Fruhlinger, contributor to the Wall Street Journal's Off Duty, summarizes both sides of the debate.

Microsoft is cutting prices on its Surface devices and introducing a $399 tablet to compete with Apple's least-expensive iPads. The Wall Street Journal's Jay Greene has the details.

Tired of texting? The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce says voice chat might be the future of communication, as companies build walkie-talkie-type tools to address things people don't like about phone calls.

Sonos reveals its plans for an initial public offering, opening its books to show a company on pace to turn a profit this fiscal year. The Wall Street Journal's Maureen Farrell has the details.

Inundated with spam calls? Sara Clemence, former travel editor for the Wall Street Journal's Off Duty, breaks down how to stop annoying robo-callers with anti-spam apps.

The SEC and FBI join the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission in probing how the political analytics firm Cambridge Analytica purchased data on 87 million users of Facebook without their consent. The Wall Street Journal's Georgia Wells has the details.

Facebook disclosed it gave dozens of companies special access to user information, detailing for the first time a contrast with previous statements that it restricted data to outsiders in 2015. The Wall Street Journal's Georgia Wells has the latest.

Software developers are scanning hundreds of millions of Gmail users who sign up for email-based services. The Wall Street Journal's Douglas MacMillan has the details.

California lawmakers have given consumers unprecedented protection for their data and imposed tough restrictions on the tech industry. The Wall Street Journal's Marc Vartabedian talks whether this will serve as a template for the rest of the nation.

Amazon says it has to build out its own services to handle the surging number of online orders that UPS, FedEx and the Postal Service can't. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens has the details.

Self-driving cars could mean better public transit, more green space and less congestion -- but also urban sprawl and greater inequality. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins talks the challenges ahead of big cities.

Savvy shoppers lose a key perk now that the Supreme Court will let states collect sales tax from all online purchases. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens has more.

With luxury brands like Jaguar, Porsche, and BMW making electric plans, old school car makers are mounting a direct challenge to Tesla with their own premium EVs. The Wall Street Journal's William Boston has the details.

AT&T's new video service, WatchTV, aims to use a "skinny bundle" of channels to recapture some of the millions of cord-cutters who dropped cable and satellite-TV. The Wall Street Journal's Drew FitzGerald has the details.

The Wall Street Journal's Benjamin Mullin talks how Instagram's new video feature positions the image-sharing social media network to compete with the likes of YouTube and Snapchat.

With the heavy adoption of voice command, we're on the verge of smashing the TV remote's hold on us. Will anyone miss it? Off Duty Gear & Gadgets editor Matthew Kitchen talks what's coming next.

As Apple teams up with a startup to help 911 operators locate cellphone callers, the Wall Street Journal's Sarah Krouse explains how smartphone makers are stepping in to help upgrade America's emergency response infrastructure.

The Supreme Court announced it will hear an Apple appeal challenging the propriety of a lawsuit brought by consumers who allege that the company illegally monopolized the sale of iPhone apps. The Wall Street Journal's Brent Kendall has the details.

Even as AT&T buys Time Warner, tech companies have shown they don't need to own large media agencies to establish a strong presence in the business. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher has more.

Apple's new security feature could make it harder for investigators to retrieve data from iPhones -- the latest twist in its long-running standoff with law-enforcement agencies over user privacy. The Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan has more.

Apple is trying to enforce new privacy policies across its vast network of iPhone and iPad apps-and in the process is exposing longstanding gaps that left users' data vulnerable to abuse. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle has the details.

Ford's $1 billion bet on start-up Argo AI recruited top talent for its driverless-car program with a perk it couldn't otherwise provide: an equity stake in a fast-growing company. The Wall Street Journal's Christina Rogers has the details.

TVs are thinner and more beautiful than ever, but have never had worse sound. The Wall Street Journal's David Pierce explains how you can fix that with a single, easy upgrade to your home theater: a soundbar.

Facebook says a software flaw -- that it has since fixed -- affected about 14 million users over 10 days in May. The Wall Street Journal's Maria Armental has the details.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference showcased a bevy of new features. The Wall Street Journal's Wilson Rothman and Brian Fitzgerald have the recap.

After twice delaying the deadline, Tesla is pushing to meet the critical 5,000-a-week rate for its Model 3 cars. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins talks its latest goals for the first ever mainstream electric car.

Computers are taking control of driving, but humans will still be backing them for some time. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins explains how companies are developing new ways to let remote operators guide autonomous vehicles.

With news that SpaceX likely won't launch a pair of tourists to loop around the moon this year, the Wall Street Journal's Andy Pasztor talks the latest challenges disrupting Elon Musk's plans for human space exploration.

The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle explains Apple's plan for a network that would distribute ads across apps -- and the stiff competition that lies ahead from the likes of Google and Facebook.

The Wall Street Journal's Lauren Weber explains how the search for tech talent is reaching far beyond Silicon Valley -- and why companies like Siemens and Toyota are rethinking the way they compete for workers.

Companies are struggling to stay on top of security patches as they incorporate countless internet-connected devices in their networks -- and the problem is only going to get worse. The Wall Street Journal's Adam Janofsky has more.

The Wall Street Journal's Rolfe Winkler explains how Silicon Valley financiers are losing leverage to star entrepreneurs in order to cultivate "founder friendly" reputations.

Amazon said that one of its Echo home speakers mistakenly recorded a private conversation and sent it to a person in the owners' contact list -- raising questions about the security of such voice-operated devices. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens has the details.

Microsoft's executive vice president of business development, Peggy Johnson, discusses what's brewing on the artificial intelligence front for Microsoft, and hints at the next innovations on the horizon.

Uber is closing down its self-driving vehicle program in Arizona about two months after the state barred it from road-testing the tech when one of the company's robot cars struck and killed a pedestrian. The Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger talks what happens now.

The Wall Street Journal's Matthew Kitchen explains how a geocaching app puts a digital gloss on the adventure glorified in "The Goonies" and other films of summers past.

The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens explains why Amazon accounts are being closed without warning -- and how it happens when "you're creating a lot of headaches for Amazon."

By focusing on sleeker designs and high-performance game machines, HP managed to boost revenue and gobble market share from smaller competitors even as the PC market shrank. The Wall Street Journal's Jay Greene has the details.

This week, YouTube will relaunch YouTube Music as a music-streaming service much like Spotify or Apple Music. The Wall Street Journal's Anne Steele has the details.

The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens talks the new deals from Amazon designed to lure the estimated 40% of Whole Foods shoppers who aren't Prime members.

Peeking to see what others are doing on mobile devices is a temptation few can resist. The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger explains the rise of "visual hackers" snooping over our shoulders.

Facebook has suspended some 200 applications for suspected misuse of users' information shared on its platform. The Wall Street Journal's Maria Armental has the latest on its investigation of outside developers.

As new details emerge about Tesla execs rejecting various tech warnings to inattentive drivers, the Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins explains the tricky task of mastering the electric car maker's driver-assistance system.

Addressing criticism that their products are too addictive, Google's new version of its Android mobile operating system would tell users how much time they've spent on various apps. The Wall Street Journal's Douglas MacMillan has more on big tech's "digital wellness" initiative.

A U.S. transportation-safety agency is examining the fiery crash of a Tesla Model S car that killed two teenagers -- marking the fourth active federal probe involving the company's vehicles. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has more.

Every day, the frustrations of New York City subway riders spew out in the form of 2,500 often profanity-laced tweets directed at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Wall Street Journal's Mike Vilensky talks how running a company's social media can be intense.

The next six months will determine whether Tesla's Model 3 can reshape the U.S. auto industry or serve merely as a flashy footnote. The Wall Street Journal's John D. Stoll has more.

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are preparing to release 3,000 Russia-linked Facebook ads, in what would offer the broadest picture yet of how the social network has been manipulated. The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman has more.

Apple's fast-growing services business gets a big boost from the licensing fees the tech giant receives from Google. But the big growth in those fees may slow, and the Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher explains why.