smartphones

Enterprise, Venture

“Unlocking Financial Access: The Success Story of PayJoy’s $300M Enterprise Empowering the Underserved through Smartphone Collateral Loans”

How PayJoy built a $300M business by letting the underserved use their smartphones as collateral for loansLerato Motloung is a mother of two who works in a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then, in February 2024, she saw a sign about PayJoy, a startup that offers lending to the underserved in emerging markets. Motloung is one of millions of customers that San Francisco–based PayJoy has helped since its 2015 inception. And, unlike other startups offering loans to the underserved, it’s doing so in a way that’s not predatory, it says. Last September, PayJoy announced that it had secured $150 million in Series C equity funding and $210 million in debt financing.

Ava Patel
April 11, 2024

Apps

Apple condemns DOJ’s “misguided” iPhone to Android transformation effort

Apple is dubbing the litigation misguided and warning the DOJ risks trashing all the things its customers value about its integrated mobile ecosystem. In an on-the-record statement provided to TechCrunch, Apple said:This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. The suit claims Apple holds a more than 70% share of “performance smartphones” and over 65% of the US smartphone market, respectively. But they are also aggressively briefing that the DOJ case will fail. In today’s briefing Apple also claimed the DOJ’s case has changed tack multiple times (it suggests at least six) over the four years it’s been in formulation.

Max Chen
March 21, 2024
1 Comment

Apps, Media & Entertainment

“Revolutionize Your Android Experience with Google’s ‘Circle to Search’ Feature: An Effortless Gesture-Based Search Method”

Alongside Samsung’s launch event today, Google announced a new way to search on Android phones dubbed “Circle to Search.” The feature will allow users to search from anywhere on their phone by using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping. The search results users will see will differ based on their query and the Google Labs products they opt into. For a simple text search, you may see traditional search results while a query that combines an image and text — or “multisearch” as Google calls it — uses generative AI. The feature was one of several Google AI announcements across Gemini, Google Messages, and Android Auto announced at today’s event. Over time, more Android smartphones will support the feature, Google says.

Zara Khan
January 17, 2024

Enterprise

Samsungs Struggles: 8-Year Low in Quarterly Profit Amid Memory Chip and Smartphone Woes

Samsung’s quarterly profit hits 8-year low amid weak demand for memory chips, smartphones • TechCrunch

Samsung Electronics’ operating profit tumbled to an eight-year low of $3.4 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 2019, a 69% plunge due to high inflation and a slowing economy that…