WSJ Tech News Briefing
Episodes
Amazon and Whole Foods: Culture Clash in the Making?
11 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Now that Amazon has moved to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, the e-commerce giant needs to figure out how deeply it should integrate with the g...
Will Netflix Feel the Heat When Disney Cuts Cord?
10 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Disney set to launch its own subscription streaming service -- officially pulling all future movies from Netflix -- the Wall Street Journal's Eri...
The End of Typing: 'Next Billion' Users Lead the Way
09 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tech companies like Alphabet and Apple are rethinking products amid a new wave of newcomers who avoid text and use voice activation and images to comm...
Mobile-Game Makers: Virtually Tapping on Your Shoulder
08 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mobile-game makers frequently use common tactics that ping players, baiting them back in with rewards and special contests. The Wall Street Journal's ...
Can Next Apple Watch Break Us Free From Our iPhone?
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Apple plans to introduce a smartwatch this year with cellular network capability, marking the first step in liberating the device and possibly consume...
Why Tesla's Cash Could Burn in Production 'Hell'
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla's version of production "hell" could mean the Silicon Valley car maker will run low on cash later this year as it starts on an ambitious plan to...
Google Co-Founder Enlisted Engineer For His Flying Car
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The latest in the legal fight between Uber and Alphabet over driverless-car trade secrets reveals Google co-founder Larry Page's flying-car startup en...
Tesla's Rough Road to Big Profits
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
While Tesla shareholders are betting on a profitable future, Heard on the Street's Charley Grant breaks down the costly challenges the electric-car ma...
Facebook's New Feature Drowns Out Fake News
03 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With the roll out of Facebook's new "related articles" feature, the Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman talks the social media giant's latest effo...
Amazon's Echo Look: Can a Robot Pick Out Your Outfit?
03 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Amazon's camera-equipped Echo Look touting the use of AI to evaluate which outfits look best on you, the Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler ch...
Apple's Real Breakthrough Product? Services
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With services like App Store, iTunes and iCloud generating more than $27.8 billion in revenue in 12-month period, the Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mick...
GM Hires Jeep Hackers as Detroit Takes on Silicon Valley
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Upon GM hiring the two hackers who notoriously hacked into a Jeep made by Fiat Chrysler, the Wall Street Journal's Mike Colias talks how Detroit is lo...
HBO Hacked: Programming Leaked in Cyberattack
01 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
HBO is the latest entertainment company to be hacked and have its proprietary information, including some of its shows, stolen and leaked online. The ...
Is Apple Feeling Heat From Trump to Build Factories?
01 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Pressed by President Donald Trump, Apple suddenly faces new pressure to build factories in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle has the det...
Tesla Model 3: The Test Drive
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Upon the release of its new Model 3 sedan, Tesla showed off details of the all-electric sedan's interior for the first time, allowing a roughly 10-min...
Are Amazon's Expansion Costs Taking a Toll?
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Amazon eking out its smallest quarterly profit in nearly two years, the Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens talks the high cost of its increasing...
Model 3 Launch Event: Is Tesla Ready for Mainstream?
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla's Elon Musk is set to take the stage Friday evening at an event to showcase the first deliveries of the sedan he hopes will help transform his n...
Twitter Fizzling After Election-Fueled Growth
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Twitter posted no real increase in users after getting a bump three months ago from the U.S. presidential election, stressing the growing challenges t...
How Amazon's Jeff Bezos Became World's Richest Person
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's net worth topped $90 billion on Thursday morning, allowing him to dethrone Microsoft's Bill Gates as the richest man in the wo...
Amazon's Job Fair: Now Hiring 50,000 Positions
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens talks Amazon's giant job fair around the country as the tech giant pushes to make good on its pledge to hire 1...
8 Biggest Tech Hubs for $100,000+ Tech Jobs
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Josh Zumbrun talks about the leading tech cities for higher-wage tech jobs, and why expensive prices in metro areas aren't e...
Lego Boost Review: Creating Kid Coders
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With the new Lego Boost kit making classic Lego bricks come to life with programmable motors and sensors, the Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler ta...
Net-Neutrality: New Hope in Finding Common Ground?
25 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
An influential House committee chairman is aiming to pass compromise net-neutrality legislation, seeking common ground between high-tech and telecommu...
Robotic Breakthrough: Boxing Your Online Order
25 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Facing more pressure to speed orders more quickly to customers, a rising number of companies are using high-tech robots in their manufacturing process...
PayPal, J.P. Morgan Deal Shakes Up Mobile Payment Game
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
J.P. Morgan Chase and PayPal, two of the highest-profile companies providing mobile wallets in the U.S., will now be partners as well as competitors u...
Lyft Shifts Gears With New Driverless-Car Division
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As Lyft announces plans to launch its own driver-less car division, the Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger talks where this leaves the always compet...
Elon Musk Tweets New York-to-D.C. Hyperloop Tease
21 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeting that he got "verbal" government approval for his ambitious New York-to-D.C. Hyperloop project, the Wa...
Can Samsung's Bixby Take on Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa?
21 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With a new talking sidekick arriving on millions of Samsung Galaxy S8 phones this week, the Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler breaks down what mak...
Do Twitter's Rules Apply to Trump's Tweets?
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With President Donald Trump's tweets raising questions about a violation of Twitter's rules, the Wall Street Journal's Georgia Wells talk how the the ...
Google Tries Again With Glass Headset
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Google is relaunching Glass, its head-worn computer, by targeting corporate customers and dubbing the device, "Glass Enterprise Edition." The Wall St...
The Rise of the Retail Robots
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Amid increasing pressure from Amazon, Wal-Mart and other large retailers are turning to technology to do workers' rote tasks. The Wall Street Journal'...
Best Way to Back Up Photos on Your iPhone
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Is your smartphone constantly telling you there's no more storage? Michael Hsu, Gear & Gadgets editor for The Wall Street Journal's Off Duty section, ...
Netflix Soars Thanks to Big Subscriber Gains
18 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix blew through its subscriber-growth estimate, proving that big bets on original programming and international expansion are paying off. The Wal...
Will Apple Test Mass Market With New iPhone Design?
18 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As rumors circulate that Apple's new iPhone will arrive late -- and at a much higher price, the Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher talks whether the ...
Elon Musk Pushes to Regulate AI's 'Existential Threat'
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk warned a gathering of U.S. governors about several worst-case scenarios for AI, saying that the technology "is the biggest risk that we face...
Visa's Big Push to Go Digital
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's AnnaMaria Andriotis discusses Visa's offer to small businesses to upgrade payment technology and stop taking cash, as well a...
Too Many Robocalls? FCC Offers New Hope
14 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With hits running at a rate of more than 2.5 billion a month, technology advances continue to make robocalls cheap and easy to place. The Wall Street ...
Self-Driving Car Makers' Roadblock? Digital Mapping
14 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins talks how restrictions on digital mapping by overseas firms in China present hurdles to non-Chinese vehicle and ...
Hi-Tech Airport Screening: Hope for Faster Security Lines?
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Two different airport-screening changes-one high-tech, one very low-show promise at speeding up security lines and improving accuracy at finding weapo...
Tovala: The Oven Reinventing TV Dinners
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler talks the new Tovala meal kit, which aims to reinvent the TV dinner by shipping meals to your home that are ...
Google's Academic Influence Campaign: Paying Professors
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Reporter Jack Nicas discusses the Wall Street Journal's report about Google's little-known program that harnesses the brain power of university resear...
Microsoft's Tries TV 'White Space' to Close Digital Divide
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Jay Greene talks how Microsoft is pushing for "TV white-space technology," and why it may be the key to solving the digital ...
Tesla Amps Up Service Ahead of Model 3 Roll Out
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As Tesla readies for its first mass-market car, it's tripling its capacity to repair vehicles with new service centers and hundreds of maintenance van...
Apple's iTunes Falls Short in Battle for Video
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As Apple's iTunes Store continues to struggle for music listeners, it's losing the battle for video viewers as well. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp M...
The Key to Future ATMs? Your Smartphone.
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As more big banks roll out ATM machines accessible via smartphones, the Wall Street Journal's Telis Demos talks the new use of biometric data, and the...
Apple Bets Big on Cutting Edge Privacy Tech
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As companies like Apple experiment with technology aimed understanding users without invading their privacy, the Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan...
Pokémon Go: Where Augmented-Reality Stands a Year Later
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A year after 'Pokémon Go,' where are the augmented-reality hits? The Wall Street Journal's Sarah E. Needleman talks what's next for AR as app makers ...
Apple's iOS 11: Will iPad Get More Useful-or Confusing?
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Apple's new iOS 11 software update, what will an iPad be good for -- and when are you still better off with a laptop? The Wall Street Journal's G...
Amazon and Dish Network: A Match Made in Heaven?
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Shalini Ramachandran talks how a tie-up with Amazon could help the Dish Network break into the wireless business and why a m...
Tech's Future Gets Schooled on Diversity by Stanford
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As tech companies grapple with accusations of unfair treatment of women and minorities, Stanford University's Graduate School of Business is trying to...
Volvo Goes All in on Electric
05 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the face of competition from Tesla, Volvo has announced that new models from 2019 will be either fully electric or a hybrid. The Wall Street Journa...
Space Race: Can White House Policy Restore U.S. Leadership?
05 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With President Donald Trump signing an executive order to reinstate the National Space Council, the Wall Street Journal's Andy Pasztor talks whether t...
Tesla's Sales Rise Ahead of Model 3 Sedan Production
04 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Tesla reporting second quarter global sales growth of 53% amid Elon Musk's tight timeline for Model 3 production, the Wall Street Journal's Tim H...
Google Vs. EU: Can Its Business Strategy Prevail?
03 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With regulators calling Google's search engine a monopoly for the first time ever, the Wall Street Journal's Jack Nicas talks the new threat Google's ...
Tesla Tease: Musk Talks Model 3 Timing
30 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Tesla CEO Elon Musk teasing on his Twitter account that an announcement about the timing of the coming Model 3 sedan will come on Sunday, the Wal...
Amazon: Too Big for Nike to Ignore
30 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For years, Nike was one of the biggest holdouts against Amazon, refusing to sell items on the website. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Stevens explain...
Why Silicon Valley Won't Wait to Boost Minimum Wage
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Alejandro Lazo discusses why Silicon Valley is leading the charge to boost minimum wage, and how cities in the wealthy regio...
The 10th Anniversary iPhone: Is Apple in Over Its Head?
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With Apple pulling out all the stops for its next roll out, the Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle talks about the huge challenges ahead of the iPhone...
Amazon's Echo Show: The Official Review
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler reviews the Echo Show, Amazon's first Alexa-powered speaker with a touch screen and built-in camera, and exp...
How Online Apps Like Tinder Made Dating (More) Awkward
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the growing number of online dating services, the economic dynamics of online dating have seen a shift in trends. The Wall Street Journal's...
Is Google's EU Fine a Small Price to Pay for Scale?
27 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Heard on the Street's Dan Gallagher talks why Google's record-breaking fine from the European Union highlights how the tech industry continues to bene...
Why Your iPhone Won't be a Phone in Ten Years
27 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As the iPhone marks the 10th anniversary of its first sale this week, the Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims talks about what Apple has in store f...
Facebook Goes Hollywood With New Programs This Summer
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman discusses how Facebook is working with Hollywood studios and agencies to produce TV-quality shows -- with ...
Lyft: Gaining From Uber's Loss?
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal's Cat Zakrzewski talks what Lyft aims to gain from Uber's recent stumbles, and the new opportunities it has to advance as a co...
Tesla: One Step Closer to a Car Factory in China?
23 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla has confirmed that it's exploring with government officials in Shanghai the possibility of opening a facility to build electric vehicles for the...
Will Ousting of Uber's CEO Impact Silicon Valley Culture?
23 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The resignation of Uber's CEO has some investors and entrepreneurs saying it will prompt a reassessment of placing ambitious expansion targets ahead o...
Facebook's New Vision? To Bring the World Closer Together
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Zuckerberg announced a brand new mission statement at a Facebook event in Chicago this week. The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman talks ho...