Tech News Updates: April 2019

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Facebook Made All The Right Moves at F8, But Then Announced The Creepy Facebook Dating Secret Crush

What really is the point of telling Facebook who you have a crush on or who you would want to date?

Facebook Made All The Right Moves at F8, But Then Announced The Creepy Secret Crush

What really is the point of telling Facebook who you have a crush on or who you would want to date?

Apple TV+ Streaming Service Can Coexist With Netflix, CEO Tim Cook Says

Apple envisions its forthcoming Apple TV+ streaming service as one that could sit alongside other services that viewers buy.

Samsung Galaxy A70 Going on Sale Today: Price, Features, Specifications and More

The Samsung Galaxy A70 can be purchased from Flipkart, while the Samsung online shop, the Samsung Opera House, and retail stores will start selling later today.

International Space Station Hit by Major Power Shortage, Delays SpaceX Supply Run

SpaceX was supposed to launch a shipment Wednesday. But an old power-switching unit malfunctioned at the space station Monday and knocked two power channels offline.

Apple Optimistic as Accessories, iPhone Price Cuts Help China Sales

Sales of iPhones, which account for more than half of all revenue, fell 17 percent in the fiscal second quarter from a year earlier.

Facebook F8: Focus on Privacy as Facebook, Messenger And Instagram Aim For New Horizons

Facebook will focus on Groups, Messenger is getting a facelift and Instagram wants to be a serious shopping platform.

Facebook F8: Oculus Quest, Rift S VR Headsets to Launch on May 21 for $399

The company unveiled its plans for the Oculus Quest last fall without disclosing when the $399 headset would be available.

OnePlus 7 Series Launch Will Unveil Cutting-Edge Smartphones Inspired By the Extraordinary

For the first time in the history of the brand, OnePlus has invited the public to the launch of its device set to shape the future of smartphones.

Apple Insists Apple TV+ Will Co-Exist With Netflix as Users Will Subscribe to Multiple Services

Apple is entering a crowded field, including Walt Disney Co’s Disney+ $6.99 per month service which launching this fall.

Apple Q2 2019 Results: Drop in iPhone Sales, but Services, iPad and Wearables Going Strong

Apple still posted a profit of $11.6 billion during its latest quarter, though that was down 16% compared to last year.

Spotify Premium Now Has 100 Million Subscribers

Spotify has launched in regions like India, Middle East and North Africa in recent months.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Midway, Social Media Still Fighting Fake News: Experts

The great Indian election season has hit midway - with three phases of voting now over and four more to go.

Facebook Says Poor Ecosystem Holding Back Indian Women Entrepreneurs

A lack of networks and accessible technological infrastructure are holding entrepreneurs back in their tracks, a top Facebook official has said.

MoviePass Founder's Next Act: Watch Ads, See Free Movies

MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spike has launched a new startup called PreShow.

Swiggy Says Delivers Over 1.5 Million Orders a Month on Cycles

Swiggy has a fleet of over 1.7 lakh delivery partners in more than 120 cities.

Amazon Pay Gets UPI-Powered Person to Person Payments on Android

Amazon Pay on Monday launched person-to-person (P2P) payments for Android users who can now make instant bank-to-bank transferss.

Android Q May Bring Contextual Action Buttons, Native Scrollable Screenshots Support Won’t Be Included

Android Q notification shade may offer a Chrome button for links, and a Twitter button for tweets.

Windows 10 Starts Showing Android Device Notifications via Your Phone App: Microsoft

In its new Insider Preview Build for Windows 10, Microsoft is working on a feature as part of its "Your Phone" software.

Google Bans Chinese App Developer With 600 Million Downloads From Play Store: Report

Google Play store is removing apps from a Chinese Android app developer - DO Global - which holds roughly 100 apps

Apple Says Screen Time and Parental Control Apps Removed Due to 'Privacy and Security Risk'

Off-page: Apple has removed or restricted at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps over the past year, The New York Times reported.

Vodafone Had Discovered Security Flaws in Huawei-Supplied Equipment Back in 2011

Long before Huawei's notorious reputation was revealed, Vodafone has disclosed discovery and resolution of security threats in Huawei-made equipment in 2011 and 2012.

Amazon India Shows Robust Growth as Export Sales Hit $1 Billion

Amazon's Indian merchants are already shipping over 140 million products, and are expected to cumulatively hit $5 billion annual product sales within four years.

Apple's 5G Modem Head, Ruben Caballero, Quits Company

After Apple reportedly hired Intel's 5G modem head, Umashankar Thyagarajan, it may have been expected that there would have been some shake-up in the company's hierarchy.

Facebook Announces Grant for Independent Research on Social Media's Impact on Democracy

The independent research project will scrutinise the role of technology platforms in the spreading of misinformation and privacy-related compromises.

Wynk Tube Music Streaming App Launched by Airtel in 12 Indian Languages

With Wynk Tube, users can even play videos of some of the 40 lakh audio tracks that are part of the platform right now.

One of YouTube's Fastest Growing Markets is India: Google CEO Sundar Pichai

The information was revealed as part of Google's earnings call, when Pichai revealed that despite a reduced topline, YouTube is seeing strong growth in specific markets such as India.

Google to Bet Big on 5G, Foldable Phones and More as Smartphone Sales Decline

Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated excitement behind upcoming technologies, even as the company prepares to launch smaller, less expensive Pixel phones in a week.

Twitter Account of J&K Governor, Satya Pal Malik, Hacked

The Jammu & Kashmir Raj Bhavan has since announced that it has lodged a complaint against the miscreants behind this deed.

Sri Lanka Lifts Social Media Ban: Was it Even Needed in the First Place?

The government's intentions were on point, but for a tech savvy nation as Sri Lanka, bypassing an IP ban is hardly a big hurdle.

Realme 1st Anniversary Sale to offer discounts, and a Royal Enfield Bullet, between May 2 and 4

The Realme sale will offer most of its smartphones and accessories on discount barring the newly announced Realme 3 Pro, and the motorbike is reserved for a lucky draw at its offline stores.

TikTok Finally Available Again From App Store, Google Play in India

The TikTok app is back on the Indian app stores soon after Madras HC lifted ban on the popular social media app last week.

Microsoft Launcher Gets a Cricket Widget to Provide Live Scores on Your Home Screen

Microsoft Launcher provides real-time cricket scores through the widget just when you unlock your smartphone.

Dell, Microsoft Expand Cloud Partnership With VMware Cloud Support on Azure

Dell and Microsoft have extended their partnership at the Dell Technologies World 2019 to deliver a fully native, supported, and certified VMware Cloud infrastructure on Azure.

Redmi Note 7 Pro Finally Gets Fortnite Support With MIUI 10.2.10.0 Update, Levels Battlefield Against Realme 3 Pro

Xiaomi has finally brought Fortnite support to the Redmi Note 7 Pro with the MIUI 10.2.10.0 update.

YouTube's Fastest Growing Market is India, Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says

India offers great potential for Google-owned YouTube's growth, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during an earnings call.

Scientists in Chile Claim to Discover Oldest Human Footprint Ever in Americas

The discovery of this 15,000-year-old footprint questions the previously calculated history of human migration to America.

Amazon's India Unit Sees 56 Percent Rise in Export Merchants

Amazon India hit export sales of over $1 billion, the company revealed.

Study Claims US Youth Suicides Up After Netflix Show, Cause Unclear

Suicides by young Americans rose by nearly a third in the month following the 2017 debut of popular Netflix television drama series 13 Reasons Why, a study claimed.

Wynk Tube App Launched by Airtel to Counter YouTube Music, Claims to Offer Over 40 Lakh Songs and Music Videos

Wynk Tube app by Airtel is available for download through Google Play.

ISRO launch of RISAT-2BR1 radar imaging satellite to happen by end-May 2019

The launch will mark an important point for India's satellite arsenal, and will be done on one of ISRO's PSLV rockets.

Apple iPad Mini (2019) Review: An iPad That Has no Competition, Except From Your Smartphone

If you are convinced that an iPad Mini will be able to do something that your large screen smartphone can’t, such as the Apple Pencil flexibility, this is waiting for adoption.

PhonePe UPI Payments App Adds a Keyboard to Let You Send or Receive Money Quickly

PhonePe’s keyboard has a button that lets you quickly initiate UPI transactions.

Chrome ‘Inception Bar’ Phishing Attack Lets Hackers Trick Users With Fake URL Bar. Here’s How to Avoid It

A new hack called ‘Inception Bar’ in Chrome for mobile allows malicious webmasters to trick users with a fake URL and launch phishing attacks.

Uber Quizzed on Growth at IPO Roadshow in London

Uber is trying to show investors that it can shift from being simply a ride-hailing service to a technology platform for services.

Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% is Nothing Short of Technology Sorcery

As things stand, no other shoe companies are able to catch up with Nike’s technological prowess.

Monday, April 29, 2019

PewDiePie Ends 'Subscribe' Meme After Christchurch Shooter's Shout-Out

On Sunday, PewDiePie released a YouTube video calling for an end to the "subscribe" movement and addressing the New Zealand shooting for the first time on his channel.

Cricket Fans Would Love The Live Scores Widget on Microsoft Launcher For Android

The widget can also support the scores of multiple matches being played simultaneously.

How Much do You Pay For a Multi TV Subscription From Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV and D2H?

At present, the NCF is calculated at Rs 130 plus taxes for the first 100 channels that you select, and then an additional Rs 20 for every 25 channels you add to your subscription.

Uber US Drivers Plan Protest Over Pay Ahead of IPO

Drivers in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington DC will shut their app on the day.

Google Reports Slowest Revenue Growth in 3 Years Over Increased Advertising Competition

Alphabet on Monday saw its slowest revenue growth in three years from increased competition in advertising, stumbles in its smartphone business and disruptive changes at YouTube.

NASA Believes an Asteroid Could Crash Into Earth in Your Lifetime

If you are terrified about the prospect of a rock crashing into earth anytime soon, there is a website that lets you track these movements.

Realme Aims to Sell 15 Million Phones in India This Year; Locks in on a Tough Battle With Xiaomi

The company is also targeting 50 pop-up and six exclusive stores this year.

Amazon Pay Lets You Make Instant P2P Money Transfers Using UPI, But Only if You Are on Android

Amazon says that all P2P payments are secured through multi factor authentication, including the customer’s phone, SIM card details, and unique UPI PIN.

Apple, Intel, Qualcomm: Decluttering the 5G Modem Circus

Prior to solving its long-standing legal dispute with Qualcomm, Apple was in prolonged discussion with Intel over its 5G modem business. Here’s where the situation stands now.

Helo Eyes 3x Expansion in 2019 as User Base Hits 40 Million: Report

The Bytedance-owned social media platform hit this milestone at meteoric growth pace, even as it removed 160,000 accounts and 5 million posts that violated community guidelines.

Social Media Fuels Eating Disorder in Children, Warns British Cabinet Minister

Britain's education secretary Damian Hinds has raised alarm against the unrealistic expectations of physical perfection that platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are enforcing on teenagers.

UK Non-Profit 'Samaritans' to Help Social Media Giants Tackle Suicide, Self-Harm Issues

The project is backed by the UK government, and will cater to supporting anyone that are struggling to cope, or feeling mentally exhausted.

You Can Now Transfer Money to Friends Using Amazon Pay via UPI

The new feature takes Amazon Pay another step closer to being an all-inclusive digital wallet, which can already used for paying bills, ordering food, etc.

Spotify Hits 100 Million Paid Subscribers, Numbers Grow Despite Local Licensing Troubles

Ever since Spotify has launched in India, it has been ravaged with licensing troubles, although this does not seem to have slowed down the music giant's growth.

Germany Bids to Join Privatisation of the Space Race

New German legislation pertaining to space operations aim to reduce liabilities in case of accidents, while providing incentives for new projects and experiments.

Spotify Premium Now Has 100 Million Subscribers

Spotify has launched in regions like India, Middle East and North Africa in recent months.

Inside VR Star, Nanchang's Virtual Reality Base That Aims to Finally Make VR Mainstream

Nanchang, a relatively unknown province in China, is looking to take virtual reality mainstream with multiple features, rides and companies being incubated by them.