Tech Roundup: Facebook Lifestage, Google Progressive Web Apps & More

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

Alphabet/Google:

• Begins rolling out Duo video-calling app internationally; to support audio-only calls in a future update.
• Unveils plans to kill Hangouts on Air in favour of YouTube live, with Hangouts to be used further in enterprise space.
• Takes Instant Apps (run web pages as apps if you don't have them installed) a step further by introducing Progressive Web Apps that can be repackaged for Android in the form of installable WebAPKs.
• To face a fresh privacy lawsuit in California over its scanning of Gmail accounts of all users for advertising purposes.
• Loses appeal against Russian antitrust watchdog ruling for abusing its dominance to impose restrictions on OEMs (such as bundling of Google apps on Android devices), following a lawsuit filed by Yandex back in February 2014 that led to a $6.85 million USD fine last week. 

Default apps order gets rearranged in new iOS 10 beta

Facebook:

• To partner with game developer Unity on a new initiative that allows developers to port their games to the social network.
• Releases a new video-oriented social networking iOS app called Lifestage targeted at people 21 and under.

In other news:

• July 2016 once again breaks temperature records to become the hottest month ever; the month was 0.78°C warmer than the 20th century average, reports Japanese Meteorological Agency.
• August 8 is declared as Earth Overshoot Day (or Ecological Debt Day) for 2016, the day on which humans' resource consumption exceeded Earth's capacity to regenerate those resources for the year.
• Car maker Ford to release autonomous cars without steering wheels or pedals by 2021 as Uber prepares to test driverless-cars in Pittsburgh later this month.
• Apple announces plans to open its first R&D center in China by the end of 2016.
• Snapchat acquires search and recommendations app Vurb for more than $100 million USD.
• Shipments of Xiaomi fall 38% in China as Huawei takes lead.
• Uber makes it easy for riders in India to hail a cab without even having to install the app; lets users book a ride by visiting the site dial.uber.com.
• Ride hailing startup Lyft tried to sell itself unsuccessfully to Apple, Google, General Motors and... Uber (which wasn't ready to pay more than $2 billion USD), reports the New York Times.
• Online rental service Airbnb begins testing a new app called Airbnb Trips that offers city guide-like features.
• HP announces a new gaming-focussed desktop/laptop lineup called Omen.
• Pinterest plays catch up with rival social networks Facebook and Twitter; begins testing video ads.
• Networking giant Cisco plans to cut 5500 jobs as it drifts focus away from hardware to focus on security, Internet of Things, collaboration, data centers and cloud services.
• Verizon plans to pre-install apps from big brands on Android smartphones (aka bloatware or brandware) in exchange for payment, reports Advertising Age.
• Samsung to shutdown Milk music streaming service on September 22 after it fails to gain traction.