SAN FRANCISCO — As Apple prepares to show off new features for the iPhone and other devices at its developer conference on Monday, the company is grappling with an uncomfortable issue: Many of its existing features are already too complicated for many users to figure out.At last year’s conference, for example, Apple’s top software executive, Craig Federighi, demonstrated how users could order food, scribble doodles and send funny images known as stickers in chats on its Messages app. The idea was to make Messages, one of the most popular apps on the iPhone, into an all-purpose tool like China’s WeChat.But the process of finding and installing other apps in Messages is so tricky that most users have no idea they can even do it, developers and analysts say.

When Crystal Marie Garcia decided to try the home-rental service Airbnb for the first time, she had a few questions.Ms. Garcia, who is from El Paso, was planning a May trip with her family to the Chicago area and wanted to know if the places she was considering could accommodate her needs as someone with muscular dystrophy. Unfortunately, she said, her questions appeared to scare off at least two potential hosts.She said she feels that if she had not mentioned her disability, “they would have rented to me, no issue.”Ms. Garcia is not alone in feeling that way. Other users have reported similar bias, and a new Rutgers University study — based on more than 3,800 Airbnb lodging requests sent by the researchers — suggests it may be common: Travelers with disabilities are more likely to be rejected and less likely to receive preapproval, or temporary clearance, for a potential stay, the authors found.

Uber said last week that it had recently discovered an accounting error that had deprived New York drivers of tens of millions of dollars, and vowed to pay back drivers every cent, with interest.Now evidence has emerged suggesting that Uber and New York State regulators were aware of the improper deductions from drivers’ earnings as early as 2015.The error involved Uber’s taking its commission on fares that included sales tax, rather than on the pretax portion of the fare. If, for instance, a passenger paid $20 for a ride, and if taxes accounted for roughly $2 of that fare, Uber took its commission on the entire $20, rather than on $18.When admitting the error last week, Uber officials said they had discovered the problem only a few weeks earlier, as the company was updating its contract.Continue reading the main storyBut changes that Uber made to its contract in 2015 suggest that the company has been aware of the issue and grappling with it since at least that year.

A FEW YEARS AGO, Guo Wengui, a pugnacious Chinese billionaire known for his hardball business tactics, left his native China to live in self-imposed exile in Manhattan. He recently began unleashing a torrent of purported insider information on how China’s political power brokers have enroched themselves.Among the dizzying array of allegations, Guo claimed that a mysterious Chinese conglomerate has illicitly enroched the family of one of the most senior members of the Communist Party. The conglomerate, HNA Group, has attracted attention with a multibillion-dollar spending spree, acquiring stakes in over 20 multinational firms from across the globe.Those allegations remain far from proven — Guo has yet to substantiate many of them — but the attention on HNA Group may raise eyebrows over attempts by the conglomerate to court American political elites. Over the years, the firm has built relationships with everyone from Obama to Trump administration officials, as well as members of the Bush and Clinton dynasties.

Snapchat is bringing its Spectacles to Europe, placing five “snapbot” vending machines in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice to begin selling the £129.99 wearable cameras.

It is the first time the glasses have been available outside the US, where they led to hundreds of people queueing throughout the winter in a bid to secure the coveted gadgets. But for those who don’t fancy joining the queues – or can’t get down to the London Eye, where Britain’s vending machine will be placed – the glasses are also available at Spectacles.com, for shipping across Europe.

For Facebook, it’s fake news. But shareholders say it’s a real issue.Owners of Facebook stock were rebuffed on Thursday after they called on company leaders to share more information about what they are doing to address the circulation of fake news.They asked the firm to prepare a report on the subject.Facebook maintained a report was unnecessary and would not benefit the company.The proposal, presented at the firm’s annual meeting, did not pass. That was expected, since chief executive Mark Zuckerberg controls a majority of the firm’s voting power.But Mr Zuckerberg addressed the issue as part of his remarks, pointing to the steps the firm has already taken, including making it harder for fake news spammers to make money from ads.The firm has said it is experimenting with its news feed and testing new features to make it easier to report questionable posts. It also announced plans to hire 3,000 more people to monitor posts.