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China is turning the screw on app distribution in the country
China announces new regulations requiring all app providers to register business details
Governments worldwide are increasingly flexing their regulatory muscles concerning digital app ecosystems. This emerging trend, indicative of the shifting paradigms of the digital marketplace, has put app platforms under the microscope. For instance, the Play Store's longstanding model has drawn the attention of international regulators, who are reassessing the terms of revenue sharing between digital platforms and developers. It’s becoming clear that governments are keen on recalibrating the balance of power in the digital domain.
China bans US chipmaker Micron in apparent retaliation for sanctions
An eye for an eye only makes everyone blind
The US government’s trade sanctions on Chinese smartphone maker Huawei went down as some of the biggest restrictions in the tech space, with Huawei still suffering from consequences like the lack of Google service integration. Recently, the Chinese tech market regulatory body found US-made Micron chips failing a security review. Its ban on the company’s wares can be seen as a retaliatory move following other recent sanctions, but could have a lasting ripple effect on the consumer electronics market.
Under China's regime of heavy censorship, Google has managed to maintain a limited presence. The company's search engine, its main revenue driver, hasn't been available for years and an attempt in 2019 to bring back a version that would've funneled user data to the government proved fruitless. Still, it does offer other services including Maps and Translate primarily on a commercial basis for Chinese firms to use. Google Translate, though, is getting turned off.
Here's Google's rumored plan to prevent a Pixel 7 supply shortfall
Manufacturers in India could save the day
The Google Pixel 6 is one of the best Android phones available this year and the Pixel 7 launch is right around the corner, but Google isn’t resting easy. COVID keeps causing lockdowns in China, to say nothing of shaky international relations threatening to affect trade, and with new-Pixel-season just weeks away, it sounds like Google may be getting nervous about the ability of manufacturing to keep up with demand. The tech titan is now reportedly considering shifting as much as 20 percent of Pixel phone production to China’s neighbor, India.
China's censorship drawing more flak from its own citizens after unpublished novel was wiped off cloud
The social literature platform reportedly locked the author out of her work which contained illegal content
Censorship has long been present in China with the country placing severe restrictions on all forms of media including print, radio, theatre, film, TV, and of course, social media. Any voice that is on the opposing side of the government's talking points is swiftly suppressed. A Chinese digital novelist has found this out the hard way after being locked out of her draft of a lengthy novel written on the cloud-based word processing software WPS.
Hackers funded by state money have been fighting battles online for years. With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cyber warfare front went from a simmer to a boil. While the combatants on the ground and in the air at the moment are primarily from two countries, reports from Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) indicate there are more players involved in cyberspace, including hackers working for China's military.
New Shenzhen lockdown threatens to further complicate global electronics supply
Brace yourselves; this isn't over yet
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to derail lives around the globe, even as companies increasingly push for a return to something resembling normal. The fallout hasn't just had a human toll, but has also impacted the availability of plenty of products, including smartphones. China is currently suffering from its worst outbreak since early 2020, and because of the country's zero-tolerance COVID policy, it's forcing a lot of cities into strict lockdowns, including techonlogy-hub Shenzhen — and that could serve to seriously aggravate the already-very-delicate chip shortage situation.
Beijing's app for Olympic athletes and visitors looks like a free data buffet for hackers
Thousands at risk of having personal data exposed
There are privacy concerns for the thousands of foreigners in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics after Canadian research group Citizen Lab revealed vulnerabilities in an app that handles sensitive health information and is required by the Chinese government for anyone involved with the games.
OnePlus introduces a weirdly Lord-of-the-Rings-themed pair of earbuds for some reason
Launching in China, but may be headed westward
OnePlus is continually seeking new ways to deliver unique and stylish designs with its products, sometimes experimenting with textures and materials you won’t find in other manufacturer lineups. Just as a major software update is rolling out to the OnePlus Buds Pro, the company is also releasing a new design of their true wireless earbuds inspired by the illustrious Mithril armor from the Lord of the Rings series.
The OnePlus 10 Pro has arrived — but the wait's just getting started
We'll talk more about it later this year
The sanctioned drip feed of tidbits about OnePlus's latest big-shot smartphone has been replaced with a full flood today as the company has officially announced the OnePlus 10 Pro for the Chinese market. It features a second-gen Hasselblad camera system, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, and 80W wired charging with the included adapter.
Honor's future rests in the hands of bickering US regulators
The smartphone maker was spun off by Huawei late last year
Last year, Huawei sold off its Honor brand of smartphones to a consortium primarily backed by government-back companies to bypass sanctions placed against the company by the US government. Those restrictions have remained in place for Huawei, even as a new administration came into power at the start of this year. Despite the sale, security agencies in the US are considering expanding those sanctions to include Honor.
Vivo has been granted the great honor of the "iPOO" trademark in China. Something is probably lost (and gained) in the translation, and we aren't exactly sure what it will be used for, but it's Vivo's now — within trademark class limitations.
Honor dons novelty mustache, unveils first new phone with Google Apps
The super-sparkly Honor 50 and 50 Pro are the company's first new phones with Google Apps in almost two years
Thanks to the US and other countries' trade sanctions on China-based Huawei, one of the world's biggest phone manufacturers was effectively cut off from Google's proprietary Android software. With few choices remaining, Huawei sold off its Honor sub-brand to a consortium of new owners, effectively making it an entirely new corporate entity. With its B2B relationships restored, the Honor 50 and the 50 Pro are the company's first new Android phones to receive Google apps in almost two years.
That Lenovo tablet with HDMI input is official, and it's a monster media machine
The 13-inch tablet doubles as a portable monitor, but who knows when we'll see it outside of China
I've always had a soft spot for Lenovo's weird-ass tablet designs, ever since one of them asked me to buy Android apps with Burger King gift cards. The latest one turned heads when we found out you could use it as a portable HDMI monitor, a surprisingly practical use for a little flat screen that can fit in your backpack. Based on the official announcement, it might just be worth a second look, and possibly even money that doesn't come in the form of prepaid fast food credit.
The US Xiaomi ban is now completely off the table
Xiaomi has released a statement confirming that all restrictions have formally been lifted
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Xiaomi was labeled a national security threat in the United States during the waning days of the Trump administration, following similar action against Huawei and ZTE. The company filed a lawsuit against the US government in order to prevent the ban, and on May 12, both parties have reached a settlement that will remove the technology giant from being blacklisted altogether. Now, Xiaomi has published a statement on the litigation, announcing that the US District Court of Columbia issued a final order, formally lifting all restrictions.
OnePlus challenger to Google Pay could be on the way to India
Yet another mobile payment service to choose from
Smartphones make for an excellent distribution channel for services — another source of monetization for companies. Hence, it wasn't surprising when OnePlus announced its own mobile payment system in China last year. It seems like the company is now ready to expand its offering and introduce it to other markets, including India.
You might know that OnePlus is an Oppo subdivision, with many of its devices sharing the same design and internals as Oppo products. While OnePlus tried to deny its close ties to Oppo in the early years, the business is increasingly more open about its relationship with its parent company. That becomes even more apparent now that OnePlus has announced that it will use a custom version of Oppo's ColorOS in China in favor of its own China-only HydrogenOS.
It looks like Signal has been blocked in China
Social media crackdown continues with the privacy-focused WhatsApp rival
The blocking of popular Western social media platforms in China is nothing new, and regulators appear to have gone after the increasingly fashionable chat app Signal. Users in the country report that the service has been down since yesterday.
Xiaomi and the US government come to an agreement, averting a ban
Fully resolved following a temporary exemption
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In the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, the US government wanted to follow up the Huawei and ZTE bans with another one, this time aimed at Xiaomi. However, the company was able to get a preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the District of Columbia, removing the restrictions on the business a week before they were scheduled to go into effect. And ass Bloomberg reports, it looks like Xiaomi and the US government have finally come to an agreement, completely removing the company from the entity list.
ZTE's second-gen under-display camera tech is starting to look like it's finally ditching the compromises
No proof of performance just yet
When it comes to smartphone design, the ultimate goal of minimalists seems to lie with a slab containing no protrusions, no ports, just a constant surface with a large, fascia-filling display. ZTE has done some grunt work in bringing a few user-facing features beneath the surface and is showing off some of it at the in-person MWC in Shanghai.