OnePlus unveils new hardware, Apple updates its educational offerings, and Facebook reveals plans for its next developer conference. This is your Daily Crunch for March 23, 2021.
The big story: OnePlus announces its first smartwatch
Today, the Chinese smartphone maker announced the OnePlus Watch, a $159 smartwatch with a minimalist design and a new operating system. It also comes with several different sensors to measure things like heart rate and blood oxygen level. In addition, the company also announced its OnePlus nine series of phones, its first phone built in partnership with legendary camera company Hasselblad, with a primary camera that includes a 48-megapixel Sony sensor. Pricing starts at $729, with pricing for the Pro starting at $969.
The tech giants
Apple launches the Apple Teacher Portfolio recognition, updates Schoolwork and Classroom apps. Teachers who complete a total of nine lessons will be able to submit their portfolio of lesson examples to earn the Apple Teacher Portfolio designation. Facebook will bring back F8 on June 2 as a pared-back, single-day, virtual-only conference for developers — There will be no Mark Zuckerberg keynote this year. New York’s Department of Financial Services says the Apple Card program didn’t violate fair lending laws — This follows an investigation triggered by online complaints back in November 2019.
Startups, funding, and venture capital
Robinhood files confidentially to go public — The company may be closer to a public debut than anticipated. ‘Instant needs’ delivery startup goPuff raises $1.15B at an $8.9B valuation — Last fall, delivery startup goPuff made a big splash by raising $380 million in funding and acquiring West Coast beverage retailer BevMo shortly afterward. Roll still doesn’t know how its hot wallet was hacked — Move fast, break things, get hacked.
Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch
Discord’s reported $10B exits; Compass and Intermedia Cloud Communications set IPO price ranges — Discord is a well-financed unicorn that has raised significant capital and reportedly sports rapidly expanding revenues. Pre-seed round funding is under scrutiny: Is VC pandemic posturing here to stay? — New data from the DocSend Startup Index show that for early-stage fundraising, particularly in the pre-seed round, founders need to approach VCs with much more than a great idea to secure funding. Clubhouse UX teardown: A closer look at homepage curation, follow hooks, and other features — Most startups would kill for hockey-stick growth, but it also means that UX problems can only be addressed while in “full flight.” (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
Top tech CEOs will testify about social media’s role in the Capitol attack this week — Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and Google’s Sundar Pichai will all appear virtually before a joint House committee Thursday at noon Eastern Time. ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Cruella’ will get Premier Access releases on Disney+ — That means Disney+ subscribers will have the option to pay an additional, one-time $29.99 fee to watch the live-action remake of “Cruella” at home on May 28 or to do the same for “Black Widow” on July 9.
