This week Apple dominated the smartphone market with its best-selling iPhone model, while TCS made headlines with variable pay cuts for senior staff. In other news, Xiaomi India’s President Muralikrishnan B announced his resignation, while food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy may face scrutiny for alleged competition law violations. All this and more in TOI’s weekly tech wrap:
This iPhone model is the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q3 2024
Apple continues its reign over the global smartphone market, with iPhones claiming the top spots in sales for the third quarter of this year. A new report reveals that the iPhone 15 has emerged as the world’s best-selling smartphone, driven by strong consumer demand and strategic pricing initiatives.
According to a report by Counterpoint Research, iPhone 15 is closely followed by iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro even as Apple’s share of the top-10 list has declined slightly. The report notes that this is the first time in a third quarter that half of the total iPhone sales were contributed by the Pro variants in Q3, helping Apple drive higher-value device sales. Click here to read more
TCS cuts variable pay of senior staff for July-September quarter: What the company has to say
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reduced variable pay for some employees in the July-September quarter, a report has said, adding that the cuts have hit even those who have complied with the company’s work-from-office policy.
Citing sources close to the matter, Moneycontrol reported that while some employees received only 20-40% of their quarterly variable pay, others received no variable pay at all. This marks a significant drop from the 70% payout in the previous quarter.
In April 2024, TCS revised its attendance policy, mandating a minimum of 85% office attendance for employees to receive their full variable pay. Employees with lower attendance rates receive a reduced percentage of their variable pay, with those below 60% ineligible for the bonus. Read the full story here
Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B resigns: “My experience at Xiaomi India has been….”
Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B announced his resignation on Tuesday after a six-year tenure with the Chinese smartphone maker, planning to pursue an executive doctorate in management at the Indian School of Business.
Muralikrishnan, who will continue as an independent strategic advisor, will remain in his current role until the end of 2024 before beginning a six-month gardening leave. Click here to read more
Zomato and Swiggy are allegedly violating India’s competition law, here’s what the complaints are
Food delivery platforms Zomato and SoftBank-backed Swiggy have allegedly violated competition laws. India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has reportedly discovered that Zomato and Swiggy engaged in practices that violate competition laws. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, documents have revealed that business practices of these popular food delivery platforms favour select restaurants listed on their platforms.
The report cited some documents prepared by the CCI (which are not available to the public) to claim that Zomato offered lower commissions to restaurants that signed exclusivity agreements, while Swiggy guaranteed business growth to certain restaurants that listed exclusively on its platform.
These practices are seen as anti-competitive and potentially harmful to smaller restaurants and consumers. The CCI’s findings could lead to penalties and corrective measures for both Zomato and Swiggy. Read the full story here
Meesho under fire for selling Lawrence Bishnoi ‘Hero’ T-shirt
Online shopping platform Meesho has responded to reports after it faced backlash for selling a T-shirt depicting Lawrence Bishnoi as a ‘hero’. The listing sparked outrage among social media users who are criticizing Meesho for selling products that glorify criminal figures on its platform.
In an official statement, the company said that it has removed the product from its website and remains ‘committed to providing a safe and trusted shopping’. Click here to read more
Sony LinkBuds Open WF-L910 earbuds launched in India: Price, specs and more
Sony has expanded its wireless earbuds portfolio in India with the launch of the WF-L910, also known as LinkBuds Open. These new earbuds feature a unique open-ring design that allows users to stay connected to their surroundings while enjoying immersive audio.
The LinkBuds Open promises to combine technology with an ergonomic design for a comfortable listening experience. The company claims that the earbuds are engineered for users who value connectivity, superior sound quality, and the ability to remain aware of their environment. Read the full story here
Beats Pill, Studio Pro gets new Kim Kardashian editions: Price, availability and more
Beats has announced a new collaboration with Kim Kardashian for the Beats Studio Pro and the new Beats Pill. Kardashian first partnered with Beats in 2022 on a special-edition Beats Fit Pro, which became the brand’s best-selling collaboration and sold out on Apple.com.
Beats has launched two new ad campaigns for its audio products. One features Kim Kardashian and Jimmy Fallon competing for a Beats collaboration, while the other showcases Kardashian and comedian Ben Marshall in a humorous “Kim’s Pill Assistant” skit. Click here to read more
ViewSonic launches the world’s first ceiling-mounted home projector with RGB laser technology
ViewSonic has launched the LX700-4K RGB laser projector. This new projector promises to set a new standard in visual performance for home entertainment.
As the world’s first ceiling-mounted home projector with RGB laser technology, the company says that the LX700-4K RGB achieves 100% coverage of the BT.2020 colour gamut—one of the most advanced colour standards available. This enables the projector to deliver vibrant and lifelike colours for an immersive viewing experience.
Combined with true 4K UHD resolution and support for HDR and HLG, it promises to offer theatre-quality visuals. Here are all the details
Government is cracking down on PAN access by these companies as Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 rollout starts
The Union home ministry has reportedly directed the shutdown of unauthorised access to citizens’ PAN data by fintech companies and consumer tech firms, as part of a broader initiative to strengthen digital privacy protection. Sources familiar with the matter told the Economics Time.
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is reportedly spearheading this crackdown on “PAN enrichment” services, which companies have been using to access individuals’ personal information including names, addresses, and phone numbers through Income Tax department’s backend systems.
Multiple industry executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to ET that these unauthorised services have faced disruptions over the past few weeks. The move comes as the government prepares to implement the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP). Click here to read more
Justin Trudeau’s government has asked Tiktok to shutdown operations in Canada: “threatens our national security…”
The Canadian government headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered China’s ByteDance-owned TikTok to shut down its operations in the country, citing national security risks. The government has, however, not banned the video sharing app’s usage in the country.
TikTok is owned by China’s ByteDance. India banned TikTok in June 2020, along with 150 other Chinese apps citing threat to national security and sovereignty of the country. Since then several other countries have put restrictions on the Chinese app, citing similar reasons. Read the full story here
Freshworks to layoff 660 employees: “There’s simply no good time …,” CEO in email to employees
Freshworks has announced to lay off 13% of its workforce or 660 employees, as part of its efforts to streamline operations. The US-based IT company has more than 5,000 employees at the moment. CEO Dennis Woodside wrote a letter to the company’s staff, informing them about the job cuts that will impact its staff across the US, India and its other locations.
The letter was published by Freshworks in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting the company’s quarterly earnings. Click here to read more
Nvidia is replacing Intel in this 128-year-old Index
Chipmaker Nvidia is joining the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the oldest of Wall Street’s three main stock market indexes. This marks a significant shift for the index and reflects the growing importance of AI technology.
The Santa Clara, California-based company will replace Intel in the 128-year-old DJIA Index, starting on November 8. This move comes after Nvidia’s stock performance, surging 900% in the past two years, fueled by the AI revolution. Notably, the DJIA was the only major US index that didn’t previously include Nvidia. Read the full story here
Airtel to government: Support the proposed concessions to Vodafone-Idea, but …
Bharti Airtel has reportedly urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ensure a level playing field for all telecom operators. According to a report in Economic Times, the letter comes as the government considers Vodafone-Idea’s (Vi) plea for a waiver of bank guarantees (BGs) on spectrum payments. Click here to read more
Government issues this ‘high alert’ warning to officials on sharing information on phone calls
Government has issued an advisory for its officials warning them against the risk of relying on caller ID information that pops up while receiving a phone call. The advisory cautions that attackers ‘manipulate’ caller ID information to make a call appear as if it is coming from a “legitimate government number”. Severity of the communication is categorised as ‘high’. Read the full story here
Truecaller India offices raid: Why IT department conducted searches and what the company has to say
The Income Tax Department on Thursday (November 7) carried out searches at multiple Truecaller offices across India. The tax authorities’ raids at the local offices of the Swedish company are a part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion, a report has said.
As per news agency PTI, tax officials stated that the searches were conducted to gather information and examine documents related to potential tax evasion, including concerns surrounding transfer pricing practices. Truecaller has offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram. Click here to read more
