It was a busy week in tech. The biggest news was likely Amazon's (AMZN -1.14%) substantial expansion to its lineup of smart-assistant Echo devices. In addition, Facebook (META 1.54%) said its Instagram video- and photo-sharing service hit another key milestone on its path to 1 billion users, and Roku (ROKU 1.91%) and Blackberry (BB 1.09%) 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.
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.
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 |
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.
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.