Technology

Bloomberg Roku Inc is working on a new device to address a common problem with streaming TV set-top-boxes: video quality. The company is developing a Wi-Fi extender called Roku Relay and is testing it internally, according to people familiar with the matter. The device increases the range of a Wi-Fi router, spreading internet signals further through homes so online video ...

Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp will inject $600 million into Didi Chuxing and help the Chinese company set up a car fleet management venture, bankrolling the loss-making ride-hailing giant’s expansion. The Japanese auto-maker will work with Didi to provide services including rental and car maintenance. Toyota will use its connected-car technology and intelligent analysis to help bolster Didi’s business, the partners ...

Bloomberg Snapchat’s growth accelerated after the social-media company rolled out an improved version of its Android mobile application and introduced fun ways for people to manipulate their images and videos. Snap Inc, whose Snapchat app lets people send each other disappearing photos and videos, said an average of 203 million users logged in daily in the second quarter, well ahead ...

Bloomberg The company that brought you free digital maps and email wants to do the same thing for your drone. Wing LLC, an offshoot of Alphabet Inc’s Google, unveiled a new app it calls OpenSky that it hopes will become the basis for a full-fledged air-traffic control system to manage the expected growth of this new class of flying devices. ...

Bloomberg A logistics company partly owned by Related Cos, the developer behind Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, is searching for locations across North America to build its multistory robotic warehouses. Robots — and humans — started working this month at Quiet Logistics’ new 440,000-square-foot (41,000-square-metre) fulfillment centre in the Los Angeles area. It’s the firm’s first property on West Coast, and a ...

Bloomberg Spotify Technology SA released a new version of its music streaming app for customers in emerging markets, an effort to grow outside of its strongholds in the US and Europe. The Spotify Lite app, which runs on Android phones, will appeal to users who are limited by data plans and slower networks, the company said in a statement. The ...

Bloomberg Two of Britain’s six biggest utilities pledged to switch their entire vehicle fleet to run on electricity by 2030, adding momentum to the shift away from traditional engine technology. Centrica Plc operates the third-biggest company owned fleet in the UK, with 12,500 cars and vans. SSE Plc has 3,500 vehicles and also said it will install charging points for ...

Bloomberg At a vast greenhouse in the central Danish city of Odense, a squad of robots move thin plastic pots of herbs for shipping without even putting a dent in them. For moviegoers used to seeing humanoid machines in action, that might not seem special — but in truth, it’s a remarkable feat. Robots until recently have been limited to ...

Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co has completed a two-month redesign of the Galaxy Fold to fix embarrassing screen failures that forced its delay, people familiar with the matter say, allowing the Korean giant to debut its marquee smartphone in time for the crucial holiday season. The world’s largest smartphone maker is now in the final stages of producing a commercial version ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is set to hire more than 2,000 workers in the UK, including engineers, software developers and data scientists, to develop its latest technology ventures. The Seattle-based tech giant’s UK workforce will total almost 30,000 people by the end of the year, and will include cloud and machine learning experts, corporate roles and fulfillment and delivery workers, the ...