It was a busy week in tech. The biggest news was likely Amazon's (AMZN +2.33%) substantial expansion to its lineup of smart-assistant Echo devices. In addition, Facebook (FB +1.71%) said its Instagram video- and photo-sharing service hit another key milestone on its path to 1 billion users, and Roku (ROKU +4.99%) and Blackberry (BBRY +3.26%) saw their stocks surge higher.
Here's what you need to know.
Amazon wants to own the smart-speaker market
Amazon clearly isn't interested in giving up its early lead in the smart-speaker market. The e-commerce giant hosted a surprise event on Wednesday where it unveiled new echo devices and an updated Fire TV set-top box.
Echo Spot. Image source: Amazon.com.
The new products fortified Amazon's offering in the smart-speaker category it made popular with the launch of its first Amazon Echo in 2014.
Amazon unveiled a second-generation version of the original Amazon Echo with improved sound and performance and a more compact design, a new Echo Plus with a built-in hub for easily connecting to smart-home devices, an Echo Spot that includes a 2-inch screen and a camera, and more.
Amazon's update to its Fire TV was also timely as it added support for 4K videos ahead of the holidays and just after Apple launched a new version of its set-top box with support for 4K streaming.
Instagram hits 800 million users
Facebook's Instagram hit 800 million monthly active users during the week. Growth in the social-network service has been astounding. Instagram has doubled its monthly active users in just two years.
Image source: Instagram.
|
Instagram Monthly Active Users |
Date |
|---|---|
|
800 million |
September 2017 |
|
700 million |
April 2017 |
|
600 million |
December 2016 |
|
500 million |
June 2016 |
|
400 million |
September 2015 |
|
300 million |
December 2014 |
|
200 million |
March 2014 |
Data from Instagram's official blog. Table by author.
Instagram also said it now boasts an impressive 500 million daily active users.
BlackBerry surprises investors
BlackBerry stock popped on Thursday, rising about 15% after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal 2018 second quarter. Shares continued higher as the week went on, ending the week with a total gain of 22%.
BlackBerry's record $196 million in quarterly revenue for its software and services division, as well as the company's surprising profit on a non-GAAP basis, surprised investors and provided evidence of the company's strong progress in transitioning away from hardware. The profitability was helped by a record gross margin of 76% on a non-GAAP basis and 74% on a GAAP basis.
Roku's IPO surges
Finally, streaming-TV company Roku made its public debut this week on the Nasdaq. Shares soared more than 60% higher during the week after the company's IPO was priced at $14. Roku stock finished the week trading at $26.54, with a market capitalization of about $2.5 billion.
Image source: Roku.
Roku has its work cut out for it. Not only is it competing in a crowded space with Apple and Amazon -- and both companies recently updating their streaming-TV set-top boxes -- but Roku also needs to focus on achieving profitability. In the six months ending June 30, Roku reported an operating loss of $21.2 million.
