Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

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April 20, 2026

 

TechCrunch Top 3

Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over

Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over: Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus will take over as CEO at the start of September. Read More

It's not just one thing — it's another thing: This sentence construction ("It's not just this — it's that") has become so common in AI-generated writing that it's no longer just a clue that a piece of writing may be synthetic — it's almost a guarantee. Read More

Google Photos adds new touch-up tools for 'quick' fixes: You can use the new tools to remove blemishes, refine skin texture, brighten eyes, or whiten teeth in photos. Read More

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Rivian's factory hit by tornado ahead of R2 launch

Rivian's factory hit by tornado ahead of R2 launch: Nobody was hurt after an EF-1 tornado hit the part of the factory where the R2 SUV is supposed to be built. Read More

App host Vercel says it was hacked and customer data stolen: Vercel blamed its breach on an earlier hack at Context AI, which allowed hackers to hijack a Vercel employee's account to steal customer data. Read More

Blue Origin's New Glenn put a customer satellite in the wrong orbit during its third launch: The first major failure of Blue Origin's new heavy-launch system could create delays to its ambition to help NASA and the Trump administration return to the moon. Read More

Deezer says 44% of songs uploaded to its platform daily are AI-generated: Deezer says consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, between 1-3% of the total streams, and that 85% of these streams are detected as fraudulent and are demonetized. Read More

The 12-month window: A lot of AI startups exist partly because the foundation models haven't expanded into their category yet. As many jokingly acknowledge, that won't last forever. Read More

 

Last but Not Least

FAA orders investigation into Blue Origin's New Glenn mishap

FAA orders investigation into Blue Origin's New Glenn mishap: The New Glenn rocket will have to stay grounded while the company investigates what caused the apparent failure of its upper stage. Read More

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