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Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:

📉 Threads loses 80% of daily users
🍏 Apple's third quarter shows mixed results: iPhone sales down, but subscriptions growing
📊 Alphabet sells 90% of its stake in struggling Robinhood
🚫 FCC issues a record $300 million fine against largest robocall scam
💸 Bitfinex hackers who stole billions in crypto plead guilty

📉 Threads loses 80% of daily usersLINK

Threads, a Twitter rival developed by Meta, had a record-breaking launch, reaching 100 million users within days, but its daily active user count has since declined by 82%.

Users are spending much less time on the app, with usage dropping from nearly 20 minutes per day at launch to barely three minutes per day now.

Despite the decline, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, remains optimistic about Threads and plans to focus on retention and improving the app's features.

🍏 Apple's third quarter shows mixed results: iPhone sales down, but subscriptions growingLINK

Apple's third-quarter earnings for 2023 surpassed analyst expectations, but hardware revenue declined compared to the previous year.

iPhone, Mac, and iPad sales were down by 2%, 7%, and 20% respectively, while the "Other Products" category, including wearables, grew by 2%.

The highlight of the earnings report was Apple's services division, which saw an 8% year-over-year growth, with more than 1 billion paying users in various subscription services, generating $21.21 billion in Q3 2023.

📊 Alphabet sells 90% of its stake in struggling RobinhoodLINK

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reduced its stakes in several publicly traded firms, including Robinhood, 23andMe, and Duolingo.

Alphabet sold nearly 90% of its stake in Robinhood and also trimmed significant positions in Duolingo and 23andMe.

Robinhood, which saw a surge of users during the pandemic, reported stronger-than-expected earnings but still faces challenges with depressed monthly active users.

🚫 FCC issues a record $300 million fine against largest robocall scamLINK

The FCC issued a record-breaking fine of $299,997,000 to an international network of companies responsible for making over five billion illegal robocalls to more than 500 million phone numbers, including violating federal spoofing laws.

Phone companies were told to block the numbers used by the callers, resulting in a 99% decrease in calls.

The FCC described it as the largest illegal robocall operation ever investigated, and they are determined to stop the scammers behind these calls.

💸 Bitfinex hackers who stole billions in crypto plead guiltyLINK

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, the couple involved in the 2016 Bitfinex hack, have pleaded guilty in court.

Lichtenstein used advanced hacking tools to gain access to Bitfinex and moved 119,754 bitcoins to his own wallets, while Morgan helped him move and launder the stolen funds.

The couple set up false identities, used darknet markets and crypto exchanges, and purchased physical gold coins with the stolen money. Lichtenstein faces up to 20 years in prison, while Morgan could be sentenced to up to five years.

Other news you might like

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the company's $22.6 billion R&D spending is focused on investing in AI technologies, particularly generative AI, to enrich people's lives. Apple has been cautious in its approach, but Cook's mention suggests more AI features may be on the horizon.LINK

Fisker showcased new EV models, including a four-door GT, a pickup truck, and an affordable city car, in addition to the Fisker Ocean, revealing plans to expand into different EV segments.LINK

Elon Musk acquired the coveted URL AI.com from OpenAI for his startup xAI, aiming to create an AI focused on mathematical reasoning.LINK

IBM and NASA have released Prithvi, an open source foundation AI model trained on satellite imagery for tasks like identifying floods, wildfires, and crops, aiming to help analyze changes to land and understand Earth better.LINK

Huawei is shifting its focus to the premium segment of the smartphone market, making a comeback with high-end devices and plans to re-enter the 5G market by the end of the year, while leveraging its HarmonyOS operating system for unified software across multiple devices.LINK

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