Amazon acquires PillPack, Apple might bring all its media under one subscription and Google invests in a feature phone operating system. Here's your Daily Crunch for June 28, 2018. 1. Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B PillPack is an online pharmacy that lets users buy medication in pre-made doses. Its acquisition comes a week after Amazon announced a CEO for its as-yet-unnamed healthcare joint venture with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway. While the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, sources say the price was just under $1 billion. 2. Apple could bundle TV, music and news in a single subscription While Apple's main media subscription product is currently Apple Music, it's no secret that the company is investing in other areas, particularly TV. But Apple hasn't said anything publicly about how it plans to sell those TV shows. 3. Study calls out 'dark patterns' in Facebook and Google that push users toward less privacy This study from a Norway watchdog group painstakingly describes the ways that companies like Facebook and Google push their users toward making choices that negatively affect their own privacy. For instance, in Facebook and Google's privacy settings process, the more private options are simply disabled by default. 4. Google invests $22M in feature phone operating system KaiOS The company has built an eponymous operating system for feature phones that packs a range of native apps and other smartphone-like services. In India, these phones have overtaken iOS to become the second-most popular devices after Android handsets. 5. Instagram Lite quietly launches to find a billion more users abroad Instagram Lite for Android appeared today in the Google Play App Store without any announcement from the company. "The Instagram Lite app is small, allowing you to save space on your phone and download it quickly" the description reads. 6. Self-driving car startup Nuro teams up with Kroger for same-day grocery delivery Nuro's intent is to use its self-driving technology in the last mile for the delivery of local goods and services. That could be things like groceries, dry cleaning, an item you left at a friend's house or really anything within city limits that can fit inside one of Nuro's vehicles — which have two compartments that can fit up to six grocery bags each. 7. DC Entertainment opens sign ups for its streaming and digital comics service I'm not proud of this, but yes, I will probably sign up. |