Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA, the European behemoth behind Peugeot, Citroen, and others, will merge it's been confirmed. The 50/50 deal will see the combined automakers become the fourth largest global OEM in terms of vehicle sales, together selling 8.7 million in 2018 alone. Combined 2018 revenues topped $187 billion.
Much of the coverage around Huawei's fate revolves around the negative effects of the US ban on its business, both in mobile and networking equipment. Despite almost all the predictions of doom, however, Huawei released almost unbelievably good numbers when it came to smartphone shipments. One reason may have been that the full effects of Google's absence from its phones have yet to be felt. Another is that, as market analysis company Canalys reports, Huawei's numbers skyrocketed in China last quarter, mostly at the expense of Xiaomi and Apple.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA, the European behemoth behind Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, and other nameplates, could announce a merger as soon as Thursday. The automakers confirmed today that they were in talks, "aimed at creating one of the world's leading mobility Groups."
WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service has nabbed the exclusive streaming rights to adult animation hit South Park, the company announced on Wednesday. The latest rights deal means all 23 past seasons of the series will be exclusively available to stream on HBO Max starting next summer.
Sony, like many other companies, recently released a new quarterly financial report, and in it we received an update on how PlayStation 4 sales are doing. If you've been following the story of the PlayStation 4, then it probably won't be a surprise to learn that sales are still really good. In fact, the console has become the second-best selling home console of all time, sitting behind only the PlayStation 2.
Ridesharing company Lyft has unveiled a new, and much cheaper, monthly subscription plan called Lyft Pink that includes various perks like limited free scooter rides. The new plan differs from the previous All-Access plan, which was priced at a huge $299/month. With Lyft Pink, regular users will get discounts on car rides, some 'surprise offers,' and more.
Amazon is making some big moves today with Amazon Fresh, its grocery delivery service. The company announced that it's rolling Amazon Fresh into Prime, making it one of Prime's baseline benefits. Before today, Amazon Fresh cost $14.99 per month, so this is a pretty big perk if you happen to be subscribed to Prime.
Under its newly announced Uber Money team, the ridesharing company has revealed plans to make it easier for drivers to get the funds they earn by giving people rides. Using the Uber Debit account, the company says drivers will be able to get real-time access to their earnings, meaning the funds will be available right after the trip is over. The company is also planning updates related to its app, debit card, and more.
Though Google has dipped its toe into the realm of health and fitness tracking through Google Fit and Wear OS, it hasn't yet any kind of fitness tracker or smartwatch of its own. With the Apple Watch in particular drawing in a healthy amount of sales, Google might be looking to make a deal that would instantly turn it into a competitor in the fitness tracking space. New reports today are saying that Google's parent company Alphabet has made an offer to purchase Fitbit, though whether or not such an acquisition will actually happen is another matter entirely.
Last year, Microsoft began offering a financing program called Xbox All Access. With it, those who sign up can finance the purchase of an Xbox, along with subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass, through monthly payments. Microsoft is bringing back Xbox All Access here at the tail-end of 2019, though this time it has some additions.
Facebook's plans to launch its very own cryptocurrency was met with heavy opposition last week, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Libra proposal to Congress was hijacked into a hearing of the company's past mishandling. To put it briefly, the social media company's involvement in the Cambridge Analytica and election controversies had broken its trust with authorities. Without a clear structure for regulation, there are concerns that Zuckerberg's new Libra project could undermine the national dollar, as well as contain loopholes for criminals to exploit.
A future of surveillance and cameras draws even closer to our reality. This month, the world’s second-largest country, India, joined the list of governments that have announced plans to build a country-wide facial recognition system. This follows China’s commitment to similarly build a facial recognition database that can identify any citizen within seconds.