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Apple (AAPL +0.9%) will make its upcoming line of over-ear headphones in Vietnam, according to The Information sources.
The move would mark the first time Apple used Vietnamese factories to produce an entire new product. The factories typically supplement production for an older product already made in China.
Apple’s China dependence became a problem during last year’s U.S.-China trade war and again during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The over-ear headphones, rumored to be called AirPods Studio, will reportedly come in two versions that have interchangeable parts for easier repairs or replacements.
A new report suggests the AirPods Studio can detect if the wearable is on backward and still send the correct audio channel to the matching ear.
Related: Earlier this month, Nikkei Asian Review sources said Apple planned to shift a portion of its original AirPods model to Vietnam.
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) is up 7.7% and tagging 18-month highs after word that popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience is becoming a Spotify exclusive.
It will remain free and accessible to all Spotify users, the company says, and its corresponding video episodes will also be available on Spotify as in-app “vodcasts.”
The podcast will make its Spotify debut Sept. 1, and will be exclusive to Spotify via a multi-year deal later this year.
Rogan said his podcast had 190M downloads per month last year.
MoneyGram International (MGI +9.5%) forms a partnership with E9Pay, one of the largest money transfer and payment fintech companies in Korea, allowing E9Pay customers to connect to the MoneyGram platform and distribution network in more than 200 countries and territories.
The integration will especially benefit consumers who send money between Southeast Asia, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which are the main corridors for E9Pay.
The new E9Pay relationship adds to MGI’s other partnerships in the region, such as Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, Korea Post, Kyongnam Bank, and Sentbe.
Confirming previous media reports, Microsoft (MSFT +0.5%) says it acquired Softomotive, a software robotic automation platform. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
CEO Satya Nadella says Softomotive will become part of Microsoft’s Power Automate platform, adding desktop automation tools with the WinAutomation platform.
Last November, Microsoft added robotic process automation capabilities to Power Automate.
Softomotive, which raised $25M in private funding, has about 9,000 existing customers around the world.
Previously: Microsoft eyes Softomotive acquisition – Bloomberg (May. 01 2020)
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Cloud for Healthcare bundles existing services like Microsoft 365, Azure IoT, and Teams
The underlying data model makes it easier for hospitals and healthcare providers to analyze data and share data between apps.
Microsoft says the bundle can improve the management of patient and staff needs while making resource deployments more efficient.
The industry-focused offering will likely be the first of several verticals, a common practice among the large cloud platforms.
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is now available in public preview with a six-month free trial. More details, including pricing information, will come this fall.
