Good morning. It’s Monday, Jul 7. Today we are covering:
Windows 11 has finally overtaken Windows 10 as the most used desktop OS
Inside the Media's Traffic Apocalypse
Meta's grand WhatsApp fintech experiment in India has fizzled
As Trump pushes Apple to make iPhones in the U.S., Google's brief effort building smartphones in Texas 12 years ago offer critical lessons
TikTok reportedly developing new version of app ahead of planned US sale
Let’s dive in
Windows 11 has finally overtaken Windows 10 as the most used desktop OS
By Tom Warren via The Verge
Windows 11 has surpassed Windows 10 in global desktop OS usage, reaching 52% market share nearly four years after its release, according to StatCounter.
Adoption had lagged due to strict hardware requirements, leaving many PCs ineligible for the free upgrade despite Microsoft's push—including full-screen upgrade prompts.
With Windows 10 support ending October 14, Microsoft will offer a free year of security updates to users who enable Windows Backup and sync to OneDrive, or charge $30 otherwise.
𝕏: Windows 11 has finally overtaken Windows 10 as the most used desktop OS. Nearly 4 years after its release, Windows 11 has hit a milestone ahead of Windows 10's end of support. - Tom Warren (@tomwarren)
Inside the Media's Traffic Apocalypse
By Charlotte Klein via New York Magazine
In the wake of major algorithm changes by Google and social platforms pulling back from news, publishers like Bustle, Business Insider, and others have seen dramatic search traffic collapses, prompting layoffs and chaotic reinvention attempts that often fail.
As legacy distribution channels dry up, outlets are turning to direct reader relationships via apps, newsletters, subscriptions, and voice-driven columnists, but even these are under threat from AI tools summarizing content before it's clicked.
The shifting terrain favors publishers with distinct voices, exclusives, or niche authority, while general-interest lifestyle media face existential risks from AI search, TikTok, and an attention economy now driven by video over text.
𝕏: The whole premise of internet publishing — that you could reach audiences far and wide — is starting to crumble - Charlotte Klein (@charlottetklein)
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Meta's grand WhatsApp fintech experiment in India has fizzled
By Ananya Bhattacharya via Rest of World
Meta’s WhatsApp Pay has failed to gain traction in India’s $3 trillion digital payments market, hindered by early regulatory caps, minimal product innovation, and lack of marketing, despite the lifting of restrictions in late 2024.
Competitors like Google Pay and PhonePe dominate over 80% of UPI transactions, with hundreds of millions more in monthly volume than WhatsApp, thanks to strong brand affinity, merchant integration, and user rewards strategies.
A $5.7 billion partnership with Reliance Jio and international expansions (e.g., Brazil, Singapore) have underdelivered, and analysts say the real barrier isn’t capability but Meta’s lack of intent and investment in fintech.
By Verne Kopytoff via Fortune
In 2013, Google's Motorola launched the Moto X as a made-in-America smartphone assembled in Fort Worth, Texas, banking on patriotism, customization, and fast delivery; despite initial hype, sales lagged, and the plant shut down within a year due to high costs, flawed assumptions, and limited marketing.
The experiment offers critical lessons for Apple, which faces pressure from President Trump to move iPhone production to the U.S.; experts say doing so would raise prices drastically, given the scarcity of domestic suppliers, higher wages, and the need for highly skilled labor.
Unlike Motorola, Apple's global scale, profit margins, and supplier leverage could make limited U.S. production feasible—possibly through prestige models or final assembly only—but the economic and logistical barriers remain formidable, and the Moto X remains the last major onshoring attempt to date.
TikTok reportedly developing new version of app ahead of planned US sale
By Aisha Malik via TechCrunch
TikTok is building a new version of its app specifically for U.S. users, aiming to launch it on September 5, ahead of a planned sale to a group of investors.
The current version of the app is expected to stop functioning in the U.S. by March 2026, requiring users to download the new app to maintain access.
The move follows President Trump’s statement that the U.S. government “pretty much” has a deal on TikTok's sale, after extending the ban deadline to September 17.
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