Apple's Best Apps of 2020 - Daily Crunch

Apple unveiled its annual selection of top apps, a company developing self-governing trucks secured $350 million in funding, and the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine received emergency authorization in the United Kingdom. This summarizes the key events in today’s Daily Crunch for December 2, 2020.

Leading news: Apple reveals its Apps of the Year for 2020

App Store editors chose distinct winners for each type of device. Wakeout!, an application focused on home workouts, earned the title of iPhone App of the Year. Disney+ was recognized as the Apple TV App of the Year, and Fantastical, a productivity tool, was named the Mac App of the Year. Zoom was selected as the iPad App of the Year, a widely anticipated choice.

Regarding user downloads, Apple reported that Zoom was the most downloaded free iPhone app, followed by TikTok and Disney+ (considered free for technical reasons). Among Us proved to be the most popular free game on the iPhone.

Major technology companies

Google AI is enhancing the performance of Loon’s high-altitude balloons — Alphabet’s Loon has utilized algorithmic methods to improve the flight of its stratospheric balloons for some time, and is now implementing a new navigational system.

The MagSafe Duo charger from Apple is now available for purchase — The MagSafe Duo became available on Apple’s online store yesterday, with shipping estimates beginning this week.

Google will provide complimentary access to subscription-based articles through its News Showcase — Google News Showcase has already launched in several countries, including Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, France, the U.K., and Australia.

Startups, investment, and venture funding

TuSimple, a self-driving truck technology firm, has raised $350 million from prominent companies in the rail, retail, and freight sectors — TuSimple was an early entrant into the autonomous trucking industry, which has experienced significant growth.

Virta Health, a company offering behavioral treatments for diabetes, is now valued at over $1 billion — Virta’s approach focuses on reversing type 2 diabetes and other metabolic conditions through dietary and exercise modifications.

Space Perspective secured $7 million to advance its plans for space tourism — Spaceship Neptune is engineered to transport up to eight passengers on a six-hour journey, including two hours at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Strategies for hardware startups to move beyond mere survival — Six approaches from Minut CEO Nils Mattisson.

A compilation of recent developments concerning unicorn companies — The pace of news remains strong despite the end of the year.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service, designed to make information about startups more accessible. You can register here.)

Other noteworthy news

The United Kingdom has authorized the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use — The U.K. is the first nation to approve the vaccine for broad distribution.

Discovery will launch its streaming platform on January 4 — Discovery is the latest media organization to introduce a dedicated streaming service, following a trend of simple naming conventions by adding a plus sign.

Gift Guide: Top books of 2020 as recommended by venture capitalists and TechCrunch writers (Part 1) — This guide features a selection of excellent books for those interested in technology and business, and includes a recommendation for the novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.”

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s daily summary of its most significant and important stories. To receive this in your inbox each day around 3pm Pacific time, you can subscribe here.