Snapchat has hired CNN political reporters as the company continues to push into the storytelling space with its Discover feature.
Peter Hamby has been a political reporter for CNN for almost eight years and has declined to go into the specifics of his new role.
“Snapchat is one of the most exciting young companies in the world,” he told Politico.
“They have a big and growing audience, and we’ve seen Discover is a huge success. Their live stories around big events, around places both here and abroad, the potential to take users to new places – we can see some application of that with news.”
Snapchat is valued at around $US19 billion.
Apple posts $US13.6 billion in second quarter profit
Apple has set a new record for its second quarter results, announcing a 27% jump in revenue to $US58 billion.
Chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement the iPhone was the driver behind the company’s $US13.6 billion profit this quarter.
“We are thrilled by the continued strength of iPhone, Mac and the App Store, which drove our best March quarter results ever,” he said.
“We’re seeing a higher rate of people switching to iPhone than we’ve experienced in previous cycles, and we’re off to an exciting start to the June quarter with the launch of Apple Watch.”
Facebook adds video calling to Messenger
Facebook has rolled out a video calling feature for Messenger, meaning users can now message, voice and video call all on the one app.
“Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends and loved ones around the world,” Messenger’s head of product and engineering manager said in a joint statement.
“Video calling will expand Messenger’s real-time communication features, enabling the more than 600 million people who use Messenger every month to reach others wherever they are, from anywhere. It’s fast, reliable and high quality.”
The video calling feature will launch today in the US and UK, and will be available in Australia in the coming months.
Facebook messenger has more than 600 million users worldwide.
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 42.17 points, falling 0.23% to 18,037.97. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 78.5 US cents.
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