Top Tech News Today: Google Exploring India Manufacturing Of Pixel Phones, Apple's India Production To Go Up, Silence Incoming WhatsApp Calls From Unknown Numbers And More
Google is in talks with Indian manufacturers such as Lava International, Dixon Technologies and Tawian's Foxconn's Bharat FIH for locally assembling the devices.
Google's Made-In-India Pixel Phones
Seems like Google is following Apple's footsteps as the subsidiary of tech behemoth Alphabet Inc., is looking to establish partnerships with Indian suppliers for the local manufacturing of its Pixel smartphones. With this, Google would join the likes of global tech giants to locally manufacture products in India. The tech giant is in talks with Indian manufacturers such as Lava International, Dixon Technologies and Tawian's Foxconn's Bharat FIH for locally assembling the devices.
Apple's India Production Expected To Increase To 25 Per Cent
The manufacturing of Apple iPhones in India is expected to increase to 25 per cent, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, according to news agency ANI. Currently, seven per cent of iPhones are assembled in India, which is expected to grow further.
This development comes days after Bank of America (BoFA) said in a report that Apple may shift over 18 per cent of its global production of iPhones to India by 2024-25 (FY25) on the back of the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phones. India's share in global iPhone production in FY23 stood at 7 per cent. It was negligible before the PLI scheme was notified first on October 6, 2020. In the same year, the central government approved Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron, and Pegatron, all of which are Apple's contract manufacturers in India.
Silence Incoming Calls From Unknown Callers On WhatsApp
Whatsapp has introduced a much-needed privacy feature that would allow users to silence calls from unknown contacts on the platform, thus, giving them better control over their privacy. This is also being seen as Meta-owned WhatsApp's bid to put a check on spammers and unwanted contacts spamming users. The feature was announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.
“You can now automatically silence incoming calls from unknown contacts on WhatsApp for even more privacy and control," Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post.
Homegrown TikTok Alternative Chingari Announces Job Cuts
Short video platform Chingari which shot to popularity after the Indian government banned Chinese apps, including TikTok, in 2020, is laying off 20 per cent of its workforce. Chingari has around 240 employees in India, as per its LinkedIn page. The homegrown Indian short video app launched video NFT marketplace last year.
A Chingari spokesperson was quoted as saying: “We deeply regret the need for these workforce reductions of 20% as a part of Chingari’s organisational restructuring. These were one of the toughest decisions for our management and we understand the impact they have on our employees. We are appreciative of their contributions and commitment to Chingari.”
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