Tech Digest daily roundup: Snap shares plummet due to ad slump

Snap announced plans to “substantially reduce” hiring and shake up its strategy as it posted bleak second-quarter results, blaming tough macroeconomic conditions but also stating it was “not satisfied with the results . . . regardless of the current headwinds”. The social media company lost about a quarter of its value on Thursday after posting the results, which chief executive Evan Spiegel said “do not reflect our ambition”. Revenues at the Los Angeles-based social media company increased 13 per cent to $1.11bn in the three months to the end of June, just shy of analysts’ consensus of $1.13bn. Net losses widened by 178 per cent compared with the same period last year to $422mn — far greater than analyst estimates of losses of $340mn. Financial Times

Keeping women safe is now “at the heart” of the world’s largest dating app, Tinder, it claims. The technology company is launching a partnership with campaign group No More, aiming to end domestic violence. “Our safety work is never done,” Tinder’s first female chief executive, Renate Nyborg, tells BBC News. But charity End Violence Against Women says it is only a “small step” in addressing the disproportionate amount of abuse women experienced online. Tinder has faced scrutiny over abusive interactions on the service, with concerns dating apps are attracting sexual predators. BBC 

Samsung is gearing up the hype machine for the release of its next foldables once again, and ahead of the next Unpacked event on August 10th, mobile president TM Roh has published another blog post making the case that the time for foldables is now — and that more people are picking up foldable phones. “Three years ago, Galaxy foldables could be summed up in a single word: radical,” Roh wrote. “Very quickly, however, it became clear that this groundbreaking, flexible design fit perfectly into modern lifestyles. As a result, what was once a novelty three years ago is now the preferred choice for millions.” The Verge

The Pixel 6a is Google’s latest mid-range smartphone offering the same chips and performance as its top phones, but in a new, smaller body for a cheaper price. The phone costs £399 ($449/A$749), which is £200 less than the Pixel 6, but offers 80% of what you get with Google’s top models. The 6a looks just like the Pixel 6 hit with a shrink ray, too. It has a flat glass front, stereo speakers, painted aluminium sides and a two-tone back with a camera bar across the top. The 6a is 29g lighter and the back is made from high-quality plastic instead of glass, but still feels just as solid and well made as its larger sibling. Guardian

There are many factories around the world, but few look anything like semiconductor fabs. These places – fabrication plants, to give them their full name – are otherworldly in all sorts of respects. Bathed in yellow light and populated by workers wearing head-to-toe white suits, visiting one of them feels like entering the world depicted by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Up until recently, few were aware that the UK hosts one of these spaceship-style plants as well – yet the Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) has for decades been a quietly important part of this constellation of critical locations, producing the tiny silicon chips that help make the modern world go round. Sky News