Tech Briefing: Apple pays $1bn penalty, Google invests in India
A lot happened in the technology world when you were sleeping. Apple has paid nearly $1 billion to Samsung. The Cupertino giant faced the penalty for ordering fewer OLED screens from the South Korean giant than previously suggested. Plus, the company also encouraged its retail store employees to work remotely in areas where COVID-19 cases have spiked and stores had to be re-closed. Here are other developments.
Shazam working to remove Facebook sign-in
Apple's music recognition service Shazam was found to be working on a way to remove the option to sign in from Facebook, 9to5Google reported. The action comes less than a week after several iOS apps, including Shazam itself, were broken for the second time due to an issue with the social network's sign-in SDK. The glitch was fixed after almost three hours.
Google CEO spoke with PM Modi on several issues
In another development, Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke with PM Narendra Modi and discussed issues ranging from new work culture and challenges stemming from COVID-19 to data security and the use of technology for transforming lives. Then, a few hours later, the company announced a $10 billion investment (Rs. 75,000cr) in the country, and various partnerships to help digitize education and small businesses.
Google leaks out Pixel 4a
Along with India-focused developments, Google "leaked" out its next smartphone, the Pixel 4a, on its Store and announced wider availability of Pixel buds (2nd generation). There is no word on the India launch of these devices, though.
Then, Qualcomm invested in Jio
In another news, chipmaker Qualcomm has invested Rs. 730 crore in Jio Platforms for a 0.15% stake. "Qualcomm offers deep technology insights that will help us deliver on our 5G vision and the digital transformation of India for both people and enterprises," Mukesh Ambani, who leads Jio Platforms' parent company, said. In the last 4 months, Jio has raised around Rs. 1.18 lakh crore.
Snapchat's mental well-being feature
As Jio pushed for 5G, popular photo-sharing service Snapchat introduced a mental health wellness feature, called 'Here for you,' in India. It is basically a dedicated section with resources, from text content to videos, discussing "how to deal with stress and anxiety, how to support a loved one experiencing distress, and ways to enhance mental well-being through mindfulness/grounding exercises," the company said.
Other major developments
Among other things, PUBG launched a new anti-cheat feature for players while Ubisoft announced new Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed, and Far Cry games. Then, India's telecom regulator asked telcos to put on hold the plans to offer high speeds to priority customers and Tesla slashed the price of its Model Y sedan, a few days after Elon Musk promised the shift to full autonomy.
