Amazon is training Alexa to speak like a newscaster, a feature that will roll out in a few weeks. The new speaking style is based on Amazon’s neural text-to-speech (NTTS) developments. The new voice style doesn’t sound human, but does stress words as a TV or radio announcer would. Before creating this voice, Amazon did a survey that showed that users prefer this newscaster style when listening to articles. The new voice is also an example of “the next generation of speech synthesis,” based on machine learning. Read more

Snapchat’s Discover section now features a new channel called “Shop & Cop” that offers an e-commerce experience powered by Shopify. The new channel allows consumers to shop without having to leave the app. It is curated by Snapchat, but features Shopify merchants selling their products. Black Friday and Cyber Monday served as the launching pad for rolling out the feature while offering special bargains. Coco and Breezy, Gymshark, Kylie Cosmetics and Drake’s merchandise shop TourLife are among the 20 brands that have already signed on. Read more

YouTube’s global head of music Lyor Cohen recently published an op-ed in the U.K.’s Music Business Worldwide redoubling YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki’s impassioned blog posts against the EU Copyright Directive’s Article 13. He insisted that, under Article 13, “artists, labels and the entire music industry … will make less money from YouTube, not more” and that “emerging artists will find it harder to be discovered and heard on the global stage.” The music industry has rebutted his arguments. Read more

The U.S. government is reportedly pushing for foreign allies to stop using hardware from China-based Huawei Technologies Co. According to people familiar with the initiative, the government is aiming to convince wireless and Internet service providers to avoid telecom equipment that comes from Huawei in an effort to increase security. Washington officials are particularly concerned about countries that host military bases. The U.S. and Australia already have bans in place to curb the risk of cyberattacks. Huawei is the world’s largest telecommunications provider. Read more

Due to iPhone sales that have been slower than expected, Apple has cut production orders for the three models it debuted in September, frustrating suppliers and the workers who assemble the phones. Of particular note is its lower-priced model, iPhone XR, which saw its 70 million planned production units plummet by up to one-third. Bedeviled by competition from China and an overall lagging smartphone market, last week Apple again cut its production numbers for the iPhone XR. Apple’s shares fell 4 percent to $185.86. Read more