Microsoft Reportedly Cutting Thousands More Jobs, Pushing Total Layoffs Close to 20,000 in Over a Year
July 1st — NUPIAO has learned from sources that Microsoft, the tech titan with 220,000 employees worldwide, is planning a fresh wave of layoffs soon. The company is looking to trim several thousand positions across sales, business consulting, and Xbox gaming. The overall cut is expected to stay within 2.5% of Microsoft’s total workforce (around 5,500 people), which is smaller than the two massive rounds of layoffs the company carried out last year.
One of the sources told us Microsoft plans to announce the job cuts next week, though the exact timing could shift. Some affected employees will be offered new roles right away.
SanDisk Price Target Hiked to $3,000 After Stock Surges 858% in Six Months
After watching its stock explode 858% in the first half of this year, the NAND memory giant just got another huge vote of confidence from Wall Street. Bernstein has jacked up its price target on SanDisk from $1,700 to $3,000 — a nearly 80% leap — putting it close to the Street’s highest target of $3,250 and keeping an “Outperform” rating.
On June 30th local time, SanDisk shares jumped nearly 11% to $2,273.73, giving the company a market cap of $336.72 billion. Based on the new target, there’s still about 32% upside potential from here.
Starting January 2028, New PlayStation Games Will No Longer Get Physical Disc Releases
PlayStation made it official on July 1st local time: from January 2028, all new games launching on PlayStation consoles will ditch the physical disc. They’ll be sold exclusively as digital downloads through the PlayStation Store and at retailers. This change won’t affect games that have already been released or those that come out on disc before January 2028.
Global Laptop Shipments Expected to Drop 13.6% in 2026, Research Firm Says
July 1st — According to the latest notebook industry research from TrendForce, Apple’s across-the-board price hike on MacBooks has flipped the market script. Even premium brands now have to pass some costs onto consumers, and that’s cementing expectations for higher laptop prices, making buyers far more cautious about upgrading.
Taking into account that the MacBook price increases will hit the market starting in the third quarter and that consumer demand is cooling, TrendForce estimates Apple will ship about 23.1 million notebooks in 2026. The first half looked stronger than expected thanks to stable pricing and strong initial sales of the MacBook Neo, but even with momentum slowing in the second half, the full year should still see double-digit growth. However, factoring in the early pull-in of demand from improved supply in the first half, plus demand erosion and higher retail prices later in the year, the firm predicts global laptop shipments will decline 13.6% in 2026.
NetEase’s CC Live Streaming Platform Will Shut Down by End of August
On June 30th, NetEase’s game and entertainment live streaming platform, CC Live, announced it’s closing down. Due to shifts in product development and operations strategy, CC Live will terminate its service at 15:00 on August 31, 2026. Here’s the timeline:
At 14:00 on June 30, 2026: All platform download portals will be closed. Users won’t be able to download the app anymore, and top-ups, new user registrations, and new streamer/guild sign-ups will stop.
At 15:00 on August 31, 2026: The product will officially stop operating, servers will be shut down, and the official website (https://cc.163.com/) will go offline for good.
Douyin E-Commerce Launches “Portrait Protection” Feature, Already Blocked 92,000 Infringing Accounts
July 1st — Douyin’s e-commerce arm has rolled out a “Portrait Protection” feature and is already inviting some top livestream sellers to test it. Sellers can submit their name, portrait, and other identity details, then manage an authorized list of accounts and shops in real time. The platform uses model recognition, authorization checks, and content blocking to proactively spot and stop AI impersonation, stolen content, and other trade-related infringements. Douyin e-commerce revealed that as of June 2026, it had already taken down more than 12,000 accounts impersonating popular creators, over 48,000 counterfeit promoted products, and more than 261,000 pieces of fake promotional content. The Portrait Protection feature has so far safeguarded over 180 top-tier streamers and proactively blocked 92,000 infringing accounts.
AliExpress Reveals First-Ever 618 Ranking of Chinese Brands Going Global
July 1st — AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba, has published its first 618 sales ranking for Chinese brands expanding overseas. The list covers ten categories including smartphones, auto parts, digital audio, computers and office gear, sports shoes and apparel, and outdoor cycling gear. This is the first time a cross-border e-commerce platform has released a ranking of Chinese brands’ global sales performance.
In phones, POCO (a Xiaomi sub-brand), Xiaomi, and Honor took the top three spots. For home appliances, the robotic pool cleaner SEAUTO jumped to fourth place, with Midea, Tineco, and ILIFE also making the list. Lenovo and Xiaomi led the computer and office category. Li-Ning, Xtep, and 361° held the top three positions for Chinese sports shoe and apparel brands going global. ANYCUBIC topped the 3D printing category, followed by ELEGOO, Creality, and Bambu Lab.
UBS: ASML Could Raise Its Outlook Again This Year
According to reports, UBS analysts wrote in a client note that ASML may raise its full-year outlook once more when it reports second-quarter results on July 15. The Dutch semiconductor equipment supplier currently expects sales between €36 billion and €40 billion this year. The analysts pointed out that with demand for chipmaking gear continuing to grow, the group could bump its forecast to the upper end of that range, or maybe even slightly above it. ASML is projecting a gross margin of 51% to 53% — a closely watched measure of pricing power and profitability. The analysts believe there’s room for a modest nudge toward the top of that range.
