Technology News: 4 November 2026

Snap said it has surpassed 30 million paid subscribers across Snapchat+, Memories Storage and Lens+, up from 25 million in February. The company reported that non-advertising revenue grew 84 percent year over year, with Lens+ growing nearly 600 percent since January. Shares fell 12 percent after daily active users of 495 million missed analyst estimates and ad revenue growth fell short of ambitions.

Meta acquired Conductor, an AI coding startup that lets users deploy multiple agents into parallel workspaces for software projects. Conductor's cloud service will shut down on November 20, after which user cloud data will begin being deleted, while core features are expected to continue until early next year. Meta confirmed the deal but gave no further details, and Conductor's CEO said the company has plans for a new interface.

Macronix, a main supplier of ROM chips for Switch and Switch 2 game cards, is phasing out ROM production to focus on NOR and NAND flash for data centers. Its ROM revenue fell sharply in Q3 2026 while NOR and NAND revenue rose, and the company expects chip price hikes to persist. Nintendo still has other ROM suppliers, but fewer suppliers may push it toward digital games, Game-Key cards or higher physical prices.

SpaceX signed a multi-year deal with Qualcomm to use Dragonwing technology in tens of thousands of 5G cell sites for Starlink Mobile, with first deployments in 2027. The partnership aims to make SpaceX a major US carrier competing with T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, combining base stations with direct-to-cell satellites. Qualcomm called it its biggest 5G deal yet, while analysts say spectrum and tower leases remain hurdles.

Xiaomi published a rollout schedule for HyperOS 4, which adds deeper sharing with iPhone users and visual and performance improvements. Only the Xiaomi 18 series currently runs the update, but 2025 and 2024 flagships are expected to receive it in early November. The update will also reach many Redmi and Poco models, two tablets and some devices dating back to the 2022 Xiaomi 13, with the new Poco F9 Pro and F9 Ultra arriving in mid-November.

Binance said attackers used a tampered AI coding tool installation and fake job interviews to compromise engineers' computers, leading to a $6.34 billion loss in digital assets on October 29. The company linked the FBI's finding that North Korea was responsible and said $2.85 billion had been frozen. It said the attackers used an internal AI tool on October 20 to spread through computers before triggering a malicious script.

Valve is updating Steam review rules to reduce approval delays that have left indie games missing launch dates. Developers must now run games through Steam for at least five minutes and confirm redistributables, achievements, cloud save paths and screenshot categories. The changes follow a surge of new titles, many with disclosed AI-generated content, that has stretched review times from a three-to-five-day goal to up to 12 business days.

Google said Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be off by default for K-12 student accounts until school administrators enable them. Because Search and AI are deeply integrated, schools that want no AI must also give up Search, though they can turn on Search while leaving other AI tools off.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former FTC Chair Lina Khan said Google is using its search position to force AI into schools.

HP and Asus have started moving some PC manufacturing from Thailand and Vietnam back to China as price increases driven by AI for memory, storage and other components squeeze margins. Acer is also rebalancing output, while Dell is reportedly evaluating a similar move. The shift partly reverses the China+1 strategy, as component costs have risen sharply and Chinese contract manufacturers can undercut prices.

Nexus Mods is making AI disclosure mandatory for new uploads, requiring mod authors to declare whether AI was used in their work. AI assisted mods must include a public explanation of how and where AI was used, and AI tags will be more prominent. The site said it will not ban AI generated mods or use mods to train AI, and authors have 60 days to update existing mods.

Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor added Apple and Microsoft to a register on October 2, 2026, subjecting them to data retention and disclosure rules. Russian authorities may request correspondence, voice recordings and video exchanges, while firms must keep customer details and records for three years in the country. The move adds to pressure on foreign communication platforms, with penalties and possible bans for violations.