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The new iPhone may come with a 3D camera.
Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.
- Apple said it revoked Facebook's enterprise certificates thanks to the social network paying people to sideload the Facebook Research app onto their iPhones. Apple says it took the dramatic step of revoking multiple enterprise certificates from Facebook, compromising not just programs like Facebook Research but also other iOS apps in development internally at Facebook.
- Apple caused work inside Facebook to grind to a halt by revoking its enterprise certificates. Employees were unable to communicate with colleagues, access internal information, and even use company transportation, according to an internal memo leaked to Business Insider.
- Facebook shrugged off its latest scandal with fourth quarter results that smashed expectations. It netted $16.91 billion in revenue in the final three months of the year, growing 30% year-on-year, while its EPS was $2.38.
- Apple is preparing new iPhones with a powerful 3D camera, reports Bloomberg. The largest and most expensive phone, which could replace the iPhone XS Max, will have a three-camera module on its back, according to Bloomberg, which will enable additional zoom features.
- Google is disabling its own research app that let users earn gift cards in exchange for their data. Like the Facebook Research app, Google's app appears to be a clear violation of Apple's Enterprise Developer Program policy.
- Microsoft reported results for its holiday quarter on Wednesday after the bell - and posted earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations, though it showed stronger-than-expected cloud revenue. Microsoft came into this earnings season from a position of strength: Microsoft holds the title of most valuable company, with Amazon in a very close second.
- Tesla's CFO is retiring - for the second time. Deepak Ahuja had already retired once in 2015 but later returned to the company.
- Google will start deleting Google+ accounts and pages on April 2nd. On that date, Google+ accounts and pages will become inaccessible to users and content, including photos and videos from Album Archives, will begin to be deleted.
- Facebook says it's eventually going to stop disclosing the number of users of its flagship social network and focus on its 'family' of apps instead. The size of Facebook's audience across all its apps - more than 2 billion every day at the end of 2019 - "better reflect the size of our community and the fact that many people are using more than one of our services," CFO Dave Wehner said on the call.
- Jeff Bezos has reportedly hired private investigators to find who leaked his intimate text messages to former news anchor Lauren Sanchez. So far there is no evidence the leak was the result of a hack, but one theory is that it was politically motivated.
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