Hey folks - I've got an important ask. As some of you know, I've been off work most of this year recovering from a TBI. It's been a wild ride, but I finally feel like I'm getting close to a return to work! I plan to keep writing TTS, but may need to adjust the structure / cadence to be more sustainable with a full-time PM gig.

I've only just started thinking through what exactly I'm going to do, but would love your feedback so I can continue to deliver value!

To help, can you please fill out this quick anonymous survey? It won't take more than one minute. If you've only just signed up, please disregard.

Much appreciated!

Wait... They shipped what!?

Google expands Play Store developers ability to use their own payment systems.

Backstory: Apple and Google have been feeling the heat for taking large chunks of revenue from developers who are forced to use their payment systems.

Details: User Choice Billing rolled out today on a limited scale. Highlights include:

• 4% reduction in fees on developer payment system transactions

• UI must display choice of paying with Google v developers system

• Initial pilot with Spotify, followed by Bumble

• Active in 35 markets including the US

Why it matters: A cut in Play Store fees of 4% is so damn measly. As an app earning >$1m per year, your rate comes down from 30% to 28.8%. Not exactly life changing.

Given users are redirected outside the app to complete the purchase on mobile web, I wouldn't be surprised if companies find that the reduced 1.2% fee doesn't make up for lost conversion due to the added steps in the purchase flow.

Nonetheless, it's progress. Slowly but surely, Apple and Google are losing their iron grip on app payments. Now it's just a matter of time until we see some meaningful changes.

Features & products hot off the press

Big tech

• Apple limits AirDrop 'Everyone' option to 10 minutes in China 

• Canva rolls out text-to-image AI feature

• Google ships cross-platform FIFA World Cup features  

• Amazon unveils Sparrow, a new bin picking robot arm 

• Reddit lets users mute entire communities

• Pinterest publicly ships Shuffles, its collage making app

• Twitter restricts new accounts from signing up to the $8 verified tier

• Google is working on a wearable device for preteens  

General and early-stage

• Scale AI ships Spellbook, letting users easily create & deploy LLM apps

• GitHub previews feature letting users code with their voice  

• Roku's home-screen gets a new sports tab

• Substack launches Twitter-style "bestseller" badges

• 8 Dollars ships a Chrome extension letting users see who paid for verification 

Getting 1% better at building product

• Career development - 3 stages of a PM's career, by Jackie Bavaro 

• Collaboration - Prompts for exploring strategic tensions, by John Cutler

Broader tech happenings

• Robocash. Waymo can now charge for driverless services in SF

• Foundations. Apple pledges $450m to expand Emergency SOS Satellite infra

• Bye Bye WFH. Musk kills work-from-home at Twitter

• Gettin' lean. Amazon begins a cost-cutting review of unprofitable businesses

• Cashing out. Crypto law enforcement officers are bailing to join crypto firms

Courtesy of mindless Twitter scrolling

@EllieFrost

@shreyas

And that’s a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more!

- Amol