Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spending in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes […]
Gift Guide: 20+ STEM toy gift ideas for aspiring young builders
For this year’s STEM toy gift guide we’ve split out our recommendations by age for easier navigation.
Microsoft launches a personalized news service, Microsoft Start
Microsoft today is introducing its own personalized news reading experience called Microsoft Start, available as both a website and mobile app, in addition to being integrated with other Microsoft products, including Windows 10 and 11 and its Microsoft Edge web browser. The feed will combine content from news publishers, but in a way that’s tailored […]
Netflix begins testing mobile games in its Android app in Poland
Netflix today announced it will begin testing mobile games inside its Android app for its members in Poland. At launch, paying subscribers will be able to try out two games, “Stranger Things: 1984” and “Stranger Things 3” — titles that have been previously available on the Apple App Store, Google Play and, in the case […]
Tiger Global backs Nacelle with $50M for its e-commerce infrastructure
Consumer shift to buying online during the global pandemic — and keeping that habit — continues to boost revenue for makers of e-commerce developer tools.