Tech Roundup: Rise of Bots, Tesla Model 3 & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

Alphabet/Google:

• Rolls out new developer preview version of Android N with support for launcher shortcuts, human'esque emojis, and a bizarre new folder style.
• ​Redesigns its online advertising platform AdWords with a Material Design makeover.
• Brings Android Auto to 18 new countries, including India, Brazil and Russia.
• Retouches Google Play icons for Books, Games, Movies & TV, Music and Newsstand for a more consistent look.
• Launches Beta program for Google Voice Access to control any Android device with just your voice.
• Wants Google Calendar to be your habit tracker; adds options for scheduling goals. (But where is the Material Design?)
• To launch Google Play Podcasts on April 18, internal NPR emails obtained by Android Police show.

Amazon:

• Announces a new pricier, stylish Kindle Oasis ebook reader for $289 USD, boasting of months-long battery life, an ergonomic handgrip and a leather charging cover.
• Amazon Dash, which allows shoppers to reorder frequently used domestic products like laundry detergent or paper towels with the click of a real-life button, adds condoms to its growing list of partners.

Apple:

• FBI reportedly paid professional hackers to crack San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c by exploiting a previously unknown security flaw, reports The Washington Post.
• To report its first year-over-year decline in iPhone sales since its release in 2007 come April 25.
• Hints at software level capabilities that will let users hide Apple's (often underwhelming) first party apps.
• Launches a Twitter account to promote compelling content on Apple News (@AppleNews) a la @PocketHits.
• Releases iOS 9.3.1 update to address an issue that causes multiple built-in and third party apps to crash or freeze after a web link is tapped or long-pressed. (Very surprised that this was not caught in 7 betas!)
• Patents Force Touch (branded as 3D Touch on iPhones) for Magic Mouse.
• Launches Safari Technology Preview for developers to "get a sneak peek at upcoming web technologies."
• Briefly refers OS X as 'MacOS' on its website, suggesting a name change may be in the works. (Should the 'M' be capitalised though, given how every other Apple branded OS goes iOS, watchOS and tvOS?)
• Considering a paid search model to let developers pay to have their apps and games ranked higher in App Store search results, just like Google Play, reports Bloomberg citing "familiar sources."

Facebook:

• Begins end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp chats and calls.
• Undercuts mobile wallet apps like Passbook by integrating boarding passes into Facebook Messenger; adds Ticketmaster and Dropbox integration to directly buy concert tickets, or attach files.
• Unveils new AI-backed accessibility features to describe photos to blind people through a new feature called automatic alternative text.
• Unveils a bot platform for Messenger at its F8 developer conference to let people catch up on personalised news stories or order flowers via chatbots (full list here); Messenger and WhatsApp combined handle 60 billion messages a day, three times more than SMS.
• Gets serious about videos by placing live video broadcasts prominently in users' news feeds, introduces a new open-sourced 360 degree 3D camera for $25,000.
• Announces a new terrestrial short-range wireless internet connectivity service dubbed Terragraph specially designed for dense urban areas.
• Said to be testing a dramatically redesigned news feed, highlighting various topics like Sports, Food, World & US News etc. (In other words a Google News inside Facebook!)
• Struggling to stop decline in users' personal updates sharing, The Information (paywall) says.

Microsoft:

• Announces a Bot Framework for integration into Skype, SMS and other services at its Build 2016 conference; teases Windows 10 Anniversary update with support for mirroring Android notifications on PC, dark mode, Linux command line (aka Bash), Edge web browser extensions, fingerprint authentication to apps and websites, overhauled emojis and more, as Windows 10 installs cross 270 million.
• ​Says Windows Phones "are an important part of the family but not the tip of the spear."
• Begins testing ad-free Outlook Premium for $3.99/mo.
• Sues U.S. Justice Department in an attempt to stop the government from forcing it to give its customers' emails to law enforcement without their knowledge.
• Officially opens its Windows Phone keyboard app (dubbed wordflow) for iPhone as a beta; to come with support for one-handed use.

Samsung:

• Debuts Samsung Pay in China close on the heels of Apple Pay, a market currently forbidden to Google.
• Unveils an Amazon Mayday-like app called Samsung+ for remote support of its Galaxy devices.
• Granted patent for a smart contact lens with a built-in camera "that can project images directly into the users’ eye, take photographs and connect wirelessly to a smartphone."

Others:

• Zika virus structure is revealed for the first time by the same team who mapped the structure of  dengue virus back in 2002; gets associated an autoimmune syndrome called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) that attacks the brain and spinal cord, while CDC officially confirms the virus's link to microcephaly.
• March 2016 sets global record for the hottest month, beating previous record set in February with average temperatures 1.28 degrees Celsius above 1951-1980 average.
• For the first time, fracking has been scientifically demonstrated to cause contamination of natural underground water reservoirs.
• Tesla Motors announces its much-anticipated Tesla Model 3 electric sedan capable of covering 215 miles on a single charge; rakes up an unprecedented 350,000 pre-orders one week after launch.
• SpaceX creates history after it successfully lands its reusable space rocket Falcon 9 on a remotely-piloted barge at sea.
• Egypt banned Facebook Free Basics as it could not use it spy on people, reports Reuters, and not for concerns related to net neutrality as initially believed.
• Major instant messaging platforms like Facebook, whatsApp, Telegram and other encrypted channels being used to sell arms online, per new report from BBC. (Facebook recently banned sales of private firearms on the social network).
• Social news sharing platform Reddit gets a long overdue "block user" feature from replies and comments; announces official apps for android and iOS.
• Brave browser, a recently launched mobile web browser with built-in ad-blocker that strips off ads from websites but inserts its own less intrusive ads, faces a new legal obstacle as major U.S. newspapers cry foul with its ad-blocking business model.
• Host of online publishers (The Awl, Pacific Standard, Electric Literature and more) make the jump to Medium, as the Blogger-founder's upstart publishing platform attempts to take the headache associated with website hosting and maintenance away from the publishers.
• The Internet is officially stylised as 'internet', and the Web, 'web', according to a style change announced by Associated Press.
• Popular U.S. carrier Verizon along with Google, publishers Daily Mail and Time Inc., are in the fray to acquire Yahoo!'s core web properties, latest reports reveal.
• Music streaming service SoundCloud officially launches a paid subscription plan SoundCloud Go for 12.99$/mo on iOS, and 9.99$/mo on Android and web.
• Dating app Tinder acquires contact management startup Humin for an undisclosed sum.
• Xiaomi launches a $150 'smart' rice cooker as it expands its Mi connected home ecosystem.
• Sony expands PlayStation Remote Play capabilities to PCs and Macs.
• PC-maker Hewlett Packard gets a logo redesign; launches Spectre 13 laptop in an attempt outfox Apple in design.
• Kik instant messenger becomes the latest entrant to launch a bot store to take on Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Microsoft Bot Framework.
• HTC announces HTC 10 flagship smartphone with USB type-C, front-facing fingerprint scanner, and a phone that's two years too late.
• Canadian handset maket BlackBerry announces Android Marshmallow beta for Priv smartphone.