Fitbit announced Wednesday the next generation of devices in its Inspire tracker line and the Versa and Sense series smartwatches. The latest devices are thinner, lighter, “more comfortable” and don’t require daily charging, blogged TJ Varghese, director-product management.

The COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, economic uncertainty and growing availability of do-it-yourself systems helped drive “slow but steady” adoption of home security systems, said Parks Associates analyst Ryan Hulla on a webcast last week. Parks’ most recent home security system data shows 35% of internet households had a security system in Q4, up from 33% two years earlier and 18% in Q4 2018.

Ad-supported streaming services are gaining a larger share of consumers' wallets in connected TV, but consumers’ attitudes toward commercials that air during programming vary and are sometimes contradictory, a July report from Infillion shows.

Industry experts say it’s not clear what will come next as a result of FCC letters asking wireless providers about their data collection practices. The letters, which Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent to providers last month, delve into data sharing and retention practices of providers (see 2207200064). They ask that responses be emailed directly to Rosenworcel. Industry lobbyists said the letters also could tie back to a broader Biden administration focus on data privacy in light of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Total Palo Alto Networks revenue for fiscal Q4 ended July 31 grew 27% year over year to $1.6 billion, and its 44% billings growth “was the highest we've reported in four years,” said CEO Nikesh Arora on a Monday earnings call. Still, the company isn't impervious to “the macro environment" and how it's "impacting our business and the markets we serve,” he said.

Tennessee Senate Republicans defended the rights of songwriters and musicians last week as the Supreme Court considers a case with implications for derivative works in every medium from photography and film to music and art (docket 21-869).

The “many challenges” the tech industry faced in the second quarter, including rising global inflation, foreign exchange fluctuations, a “complex political environment” and the COVID-19 “resurgence” in China, “significantly impacted overall market demand” for smartphones and Xiaomi’s financial results for the period, said President Wang Xiang on an earnings call Friday. Xiaomi’s Q2 revenue declined 20.1% year over year to 70.17 billion yuan ($10.29 billion), and its operating profit plunged 83.8% to 11.77 billion yuan ($1.73 billion).

Bang & Olufsen is “constantly evolving" its retail locations and "brick-and-mortar experience based on market trends” in cities where it sees an expanding client base, emailed Nilas Porsman, B&O America head-retail, after the luxury AV brand's announcement this month it plans to open an experience store by year-end in the Miami Design District (see 2208020017). The brand has had showrooms in the U.S. and Canada for more than 30 years.

The actions Applied Materials has been taking to mitigate supply chain challenges “are beginning to have an impact, and we expect steady incremental improvements from here,” said CEO Gary Dickerson on an earnings call Thursday for fiscal Q3 ended July 31. The company supplies wafer fab production tools to chipmakers, and so is a bellwether of semiconductor industry conditions.

BJ’s Wholesale Club generated 22.4% net sales growth to $5.01 billion in fiscal Q2 ended July 30 -- “strong results in a marketplace influenced by inflation, waning government stimulus and high gas prices,” said CEO Bob Eddy on a Thursday earnings call. Comparable sales in the quarter were up 7.6%, excluding gas, “driven by significant gains in traffic and market share,” he said. The stock closed 7.2% higher Thursday at $74.09.