This Week in Tech: Updates from WWDC

It’s been a busy week in the world of tech. Here are the stories our B2B PR teams have been paying attention to for our clients:

WWDC Week

Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week, unveiling new software for the Mac, iPhone and iPad. The iPhone will feature some new privacy updates, including a “sign in with Apple” option as a way of eliminating the tracking that can occur when signing in with Facebook or Google. I wrote back in March about how Apple was looking to differentiate itself from the other tech giants by being a champion of privacy – this seems to be another step in trying to make that happen. There’s also a new dark mode, which should make staring endlessly at our phones a bit easier on the eyes.

Quest Diagnostics discloses major data breach

Medical testing company Quest Diagnostics disclosed a huge breach this week, impacting nearly 12 million patients. Sensitive private information such as Social Security numbers and financial data was compromised – for more detail on why this type of data is so attractive to cybercriminals, check out SHIFT client Lastline in The Washington Post.

Google pays big money for Looker

On Thursday, Google announced that it’ll be acquiring analytics startup Looker for a whopping $2.6 billion, adding the company to Google Cloud. It’s a huge deal, as Looker last announced a $103 million funding round on a $1.6 billion valuation about 6 months ago. For a full breakdown of what this means for the cloud infrastructure space, check out Ron Miller’s piece on TechCrunch.

Amazon unveils new drone in order to deliver our toothpaste in record time

The e-commerce giant unveiled a new drone, described by Bloomberg’s Alan Levin as “part helicopter and part science-fiction aircraft.” The company, which made the announcement at its re:MARS Conference this week, expects to use the futuristic flying machine, which features AI, to deliver toothpaste and other household goods within months. It’s designed to make deliveries within 7.5 miles from a warehouse, reaching customers within a half hour.