NewsBytes Briefing: Apple becomes a $2 trillion company, and more
A lot has happened in the world of technology since last night. Apple's market capitalization briefly hit the $2 trillion mark, making it the first US company and the first tech giant in the world to achieve the milestone. The company had reached the $1 trillion mark in August'18 and it took just 24 months to double that value. Here are other major developments.
A new 5G BlackBerry is on the way
BlackBerry has been out of the smartphone game, but now, it is making a comeback - with OnwardMobility. The Texas-based start-up has licensed the brand after TCL gave up and will be releasing a 5G BlackBerry with Android and a physical QWERTY keyboard in 2021. The device will focus on productivity and security - the attributes that made BlackBerry popular in the first place.
Zoom to now be available on smart displays
Recently, Zoom had unveiled its dedicated device for video-conferencing, given the need to connect using a big screen. But, there are already many smart displays that need the service, and now, Zoom is focusing on them. It has announced the plan to launch its app on Amazon Echo Show, Facebook Portal, and Google Nest Hub Max later this year.
Spotify suffered an outage
Separately, music streaming giant Spotify suffered a short outage a few hours ago. The issue predominantly occurred for users in the US and Europe but was fixed in about an hour. Spotify did not confirm what had happened, but reports have suggested that the glitch stemmed from the expiration of its TLS certificate. The service returned minutes after the certificate was renewed.
Other important developments to note
Among other things, Airbnb took the first steps to go public while Activision Studios announced Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War - the next iteration of its iconic shooter game. Facebook, meanwhile, mandated its login on Oculus headsets, drawing flak from users, and purged nearly 800 QAnon conspiracy theory groups. The social network also made it easier for users to find and support Black-owned businesses.
Finally, some COVID-19 related updates
On Wednesday, India reported the biggest single-day spike of over 69,000 new coronavirus infections, taking the nationwide tally to 28.35 lakh. The death toll crossed 54,000. As for the vaccine, Serum Institute began Phase-2/3 trial at 17 sites while America's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that they will not make the COVID-19 vaccine (whenever approved) mandatory for the general public.
