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Apple Rival Xiaomi Coming To U.S. With Android Set-Top TV Box

Xiaomi, Apple ’s ( AAPL ) Chinese smartphone rival, this year plans to launch a 4K TV streaming device in the U.S. featuring Google’s Android software. Xiaomi made the announcement at Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google I/O developer’s conference on Wednesday. The item will compete with Roku, Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) Fire TV devices, Apple’s set-top box and Google’s own Chromecast streaming sticks, as well as Web-connected TV sets featuring Google’s Android software. Xiaomi’s Android-based TV system will be its first hardware product sold in the U.S. Xiaomi’s online store so far has sold only accessories in the U.S. However, Xiaomi has sold set-top TV boxes in Asia that stream HD-quality video. Hugo Barra, vice president for global at Xiaomi, joined the company in 2013 after leaving Google, where he had worked on mobile products and the Android mobile operating system. “This is a significant milestone for Xiaomi,” Barra said in a statement released at Google I/O . Xiaomi’s 4K streaming device will provide apps such as Netflix ( NFLX ) and YouTube, as well as Dish Network ’s ( DISH ) Sling Web TV service. In China, Xiaomi will be one of the first smartphone makers to feature virtual-reality technology that Google has put into Android N, the new version of its mobile operating system. Samsung and HTC also plan to sell Android-based mobile phones with the VR mode. Xiaomi was the top smartphone seller in China in Q4, followed closely by China’s Huawei, with Apple down at No. 3.

Apple Rival Google Revs Up Android Auto, Targets Infotainment

Aiming to shoot past  Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) CarPlay, Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google hopes to woo auto makers with its new Android N operating system, which can be used in infotainment systems, as well as smartphones. Google unveiled an “auto-centric” variant of Android N at its Google I/O developer’s conference on Wednesday. Google also announced that Android Auto will include the Waze traffic app as part of its navigation system. “This is very important, as the major screen projection systems (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) have relegated the user to only the native navigation Apple or Google map application, but the Waze application has tremendous popularity,” Egil Juliussen, an analyst at research firm IHS Automotive, said in a report. Apple and Google have revved up efforts to integrate their smartphone technologies with auto communications systems. QNX Software Systems, a subsidiary of BlackBerry ( BBRY ), has also pushed into Web-connected infotainment and telematics systems, along with AT&T ( T ). Apple and Google have faced challenges because of the lengthy design cycles for autos. While Apple’s CarPlay technology is built around its iOS software, some automakers have preferred open-sourced technologies, analysts say. At the developer’s conference, Google showcased the Android N software working in a Maserati Ghibli equipped with a 15-inch screen. Google said it has added Wi-Fi capability to “Android Auto,” a move Apple took in 2015. IHS Automotive says Android software has been built into infotainment systems on new Honda ( HMC ) and Renault vehicles. “ General Motors ( GM ) and Harman ( HAR ) announced a tie-up to build Android-based infotainment systems for GM vehicles,” said the IHS report. “This $900 million contract will (create) a new next-generation infotainment system powered by Android by the end of 2016 — it’s possible that those vehicles will be powered by this (Android N) embedded system.”

Tesla To Sell $2 Billion In Stock; 12,000 Model 3 Orders Cancelled

Electric automaker Tesla ( TSLA ) said late Wednesday that it will make a $2 billion secondary stock offering to fund its ambitious production schedule. Meanwhile, Tesla also said it has 373,000 Model 3 orders after cancelling about 12,000 reservations. “Because of the overwhelming demand that it has received for Model 3, Tesla intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to accelerate the ramp of Model 3,” said Tesla’s press release. “As noted in the company’s first-quarter shareholder letter , Tesla intends to start volume production and deliveries of Model 3 in late 2017 and to accelerate its 500,000 unit build plan from 2020 to 2018.” The company said $1.4 billion worth of stock will be sold by Tesla for this purpose. The remaining $600 million will be raised by CEO Elon Musk, who is exercising his option to acquire 5.5 million Tesla shares and will use the sale to cover his tax bill, the company said. He’s also donating 1.2 million shares to charity. Tesla said it had some 373,000 orders for the entry-level luxury Model 3 as of May 15. That’s after customers cancelled about 8,000 orders and the automaker cut some 4,200 orders that were likely duplicates. Tesla had said previously that it had about 400,000 orders. “If we wanted to, we believe that we could further increase the number of Model 3 reservations with minimal effort, but believe it is better to guide customers to purchase products currently in production,” Tesla said in an SEC filing. Tesla stock fell sharply in initial after-hours action, dropping below 200. But shares steadily improved and were recently fractionally higher. In the regular session in the stock market today , Tesla rose 3.2% to close at 211.17, boosted by Goldman Sachs’ upgrade earlier in the day. Goldman upgraded the stock despite expressing deep skepticism about the 2018 production target, but the investment bank said the stock is attractively priced after falling 23% from early April through Tuesday.