Meta's Instagram is walking back changes to its app after a test version faced backlash from high-profile users including Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Trevor Noah. The tests featured full-screen photo and video posts, drawing complaints that it was an overt attempt to copy TikTok. It will now pause those changes to "explore other options." More: - Instagram will now phase out the full-screen content over the next 1-2 weeks, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told The Platformer.
- It will also cut down on the number of algorithmically-recommended posts in user feeds — a change that placed more content in feeds from accounts they don't follow.
- “I’m glad we took a risk — if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough," Mosseri said.
- The reversal came after Instagram model Jenner shared a petition this week urging the company to "Make Instagram Instagram Again."
- During an earnings call Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta still plans to double the amount of recommended content on Instagram and Facebook this year.
- He said Meta will continue to expand Reels, its short-form vertical videos on Instagram that mimic the style of TikTok.
CNN 
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed for a court order to block Meta from acquiring virtual reality studio Within Unlimited and its fitness app, "Supernatural". The FTC argues that the deal stifles competition, making it illegal on antitrust grounds. More: - John Newman, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, argued that Meta is attempting to buy market position rather than "competing on the merits."
- Meta already owns the top-selling VR fitness app and has the resources and capacity to further compete with "Supernatural," he said.
- The FTC’s five commissioners voted 3-2 to file the complaint in federal court. It seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the transaction until the court considers a lawsuit. The FTC's two Republicans, Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson, voted against the suit.
- In response, a Meta spokesperson said the case sends a "chilling message" to VR innovators. The idea of anticompetitive outcomes in the dynamic and growing VR space is "simply not credible," they said.
- Meta first announced its plans to buy Within in October 2021. It acquired VR hardware marker Oculus in 2014 and now produces the top-selling VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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 A message from FIREWORK Holiday Commerce No Longer Starts in Q4 Christmas shopping now begins all the way in July for most buyers — especially Gen Z. According to recent Salesforce research, 42% of shoppers worldwide are planning to buy gifts earlier this year, with inflation the biggest motivator behind that trend. With Gen Z making up 30% of the population and some $360bn in spending power, Firework’s Gen Z Labs seeks to provide an interactive and engaging way for marketers to understand how to connect and convert this group when it comes to holiday shopping. Learn from the founders of leading Gen Z brands such as: - Grande Cosmetics
- That’s It Bars
- Minddbra
Watch them share their learnings and best practices for Gen Z marketing. Inside.com subscribers also get 20% any purchases made through the microsite with the code FIREWORK20. Get a headstart
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Apple's iPhone shipments in China rose 25% YoY last quarter even as overall smartphone sales have plummeted in the country. Apple shipped 9.9 million iPhones in China in Q2 despite lockdowns in major cities that have impacted the overall smartphone market. More: - Apple's quarterly revenue in Greater China still fell 1% YoY, reaching $14.6B. Its overall revenue increased by 2%.
- Apple said demand and sales for iPhones have not slowed down in spite of economic challenges.
- On Wednesday, Counterpoint Research reported that overall Chinese smartphone sales in Q2 fell 14.2% year-on-year.
- In China, Apple's market share went up slightly to 15.5% though sales volume dropped 5.8%.
- The company has still introduced direct discounts on iPhones and other products for Chinese customers, which it typically rolls out to boost sales.
CNBC
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Battle-royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has been delisted from Google and Apple app stores in India following a government directive. Developer Krafton introduced the India-specific title last year after its similar game, PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG), was banned in India and other countries in 2020. More: - India blocked BGMI due to concerns about data mining and sharing with China.
- South Korea's Krafton is backed by Chinese social-media giant Tencent.
- New Delhi cited a provision in its IT law that is also used to block hundreds of other Chinese apps over national security concerns as tensions mount between the nuclear-armed neighboring countries.
- Krafton also developed and published PUBG, which was operated in India via Tencent's gaming division.
- In India, BGMI had amassed more than 100 million registered users.
TECHCRUNCH
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 A message from BOXABL Elon Musk said what about this start-up?! The high-profile billionaire shouted out Boxabl, calling it a “cool product.” The Lego Architecture is eye-catching, taking the $13 trillion global construction industry by storm. Can they pull off becoming a disruptor? Why Boxabl? - Setting up a 170,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in less than one year
- Raising over $100M from over 15,000 investors
- Elon Musk shouted out the Las Vegas-based company calling Boxabl a “cool product.”
- Achieving LEED certification and hurricane wind ratings on all houses
- Strategic partnership and investment from the largest home builder in the USA, D.R. Horton Inc.
- Over 50 patent filings due to considerable innovations in building technology
- Factory 2 is now under construction
- Customer waitlist of over 100,000 pre-orders, indicating potential demand worth billions of dollars
- Guided by Volkswagen Group's Porsche Consulting Inc. for the design and implementation of Boxabl’s new factory
- Shipping houses every day
Invest Today
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Drone manufacturers will be required to produce drones with remote ID — a type of electronic license plate in the sky — after a U.S. appeals court rejected a legal challenge against the tracking system. On Friday, the court upheld the FAA's digital license plate system, which was finalized last year. The system allows authorities to identify a drone and its pilot and track its whereabouts to improve air safety. More: - Remote ID relays location and identification information about a drone through radio signals to ground-based receivers.
- Last year, RaceDayQuads and its owner sued the FAA, claiming the ID system requirement amounted to “constant, warrantless governmental surveillance" that violates the Constitution's Fourth Amendment.
- On Friday, a three-judge appellate panel rejected that argument and found that remote ID doesn't infringe upon a person's reasonable expectation to privacy.
- As of May 31, there were 865,505 drones registered in the U.S., including 538,172 recreational drones and 314,689 commercial drones.
REUTERS
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Twitter said it will raise the price of its subscription service, Twitter Blue, by $2 to $4.99 per month in the U.S. The increase will take effect immediately for new subscribers and roll out to existing subscribers in October, according to the company. More: - The cost will also go up varying amounts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
- In an email, Twitter said the price hike will help the company continue to improve upon and build features and sustain its "mission of supporting journalism."
- Launched in select markets last year, Twitter Blue's premium features include ad-free articles with partners, the ability to "undo send" on tweets, NFT profile pictures, and customized icons and navigation bar.
- It still features some ads and sponsored posts.
PCMAG
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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