Tech Roundup: $2 Trillion Race, Facebook Music Videos & More

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

• Researchers from the University of York trace the source of underarm odour to a particular enzyme (named "BO enzyme") in a microbe called Staphylococcus hominis that lives in the human armpit.
• American engineer William English, who alongside Douglas Engelbart built the first computer with a mouse, dies at 91.
• Google launches new Chrome extension named Ads Transparency Spotlight on the official Chrome Web Store that highlights how many ads are being loaded on any given web page, what advertisers or ad tech companies are present on the page, and what user data has been used to show personalised ads.
• Turkey passes new regulation extending sweeping powers over social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, ordering those with over one million daily active users to open offices in the country and store user data locally, or else risk facing fines or have their bandwidth slashed by up to 90 percent.
• Popular messaging app Telegram becomes the latest company to file E.U. antitrust complaint against Apple for its 30 percent commission on transactions made via the platform; says Apple must "allow users to have the opportunity of downloading software outside the App Store."
• Australia proposes new regulations that would force tech giants like Facebook and Google to pay news outlets for using their content; says it aims to address "acute bargaining power imbalances" between publishers and digital platforms and that "our regulatory changes are designed to create a level playing field and a fair-go."
• A study of over 15,000 recent popular queries finds Google devoted 41percent of the first page of search results on mobile devices to its own properties and "direct answers"; comes amid increased scrutiny of Big Tech by the U.S. government for potential antitrust violations, in addition to examining past acquisitions by tech companies, including Google, for harm to competition.
• Ecosia, a German search engine alternative which uses most of its profits made from searches to plant trees, gives in to participate in the quarterly auction that determines which rival search engines appear on a search "choice screen" Google began showing to Android users in Europe last year after sitting out the previous auctions citing disagreements with the "pay to play" model.
• Microsoft to deprecate third-party Cortana skills on September 7 and drop support for Cortana apps on iOS and Android in early 2021 to "shift toward a transformational AI-powered assistant experience" in its Microsoft 365 apps."

Facebook's new music videos section

• Google announces plans to build a new undersea network cable, called "Grace Hopper," connecting the U.S., U.K. and Spain by 2022, making it the company's fourth privately owned undersea cable.
• Anthony Levandowski, the ex-Google employee who was charged with stealing confidential documents pertaining to the company's self-driving technology to start his own venture (that was later acquired by Uber), seeks clemency for committing trade secret theft; says "these last three and a half years have been a gruelling lesson in humility, responsibility, and remorse [and] my professional reputation has been destroyed, my financial status has been obliterated, and I've lost many friends, partners, and colleagues as a result of my actions."
• Apple surpasses Saudi Aramco to become the world's most valuable company after its shares closed up 10.47 percent, giving it a market valuation of US$ 1.84 trillion; China's Tencent overtakes Facebook as the world's most valuable social media company with a market cap of US$ 670 billion, two weeks after e-commerce Alibaba topped Facebook with a market capitalisation of about US$ 677.4 billion.
• Amazon revamps Alexa app for Android and iOS with more personalisation options and replacing third-party skill suggestions on the main screen with frequently used actions.
• Retail giant Walmart's Amazon Prime competitor, Walmart Plus, to cost US$ 98 a year; to likely include same-day delivery of groceries, fuel discounts, access to exclusive deals and shopping events, and automated checkout at Walmart stores, among other perks.
• Apple acquires Mobeewave, a Canada-based startup which offers an app that lets businesses tap their client's credit card or phone on a smartphone to make a payment using NFC technology, for about US$ 100 million, putting the company in direct competition with Square, a leading provider of payment hardware and software for smartphones and tablets. (Hopefully you can tap your iPhone with another iPhone or iPad to pay a friend soon!)
• Google Play services becomes the first Android app to hit 10 billion installations; debuts a revamped Google One app for Android and iOS that lets users back up a phone's photos, videos, contacts, and calendar events using a Google account for free.
• U.S. chip maker Nvidia reportedly in talks to buy Arm in a cash-and-stock deal that would value it at more than the US$ 32 billion SoftBank paid to buy the U.K. chip designer in 2016, an acquisition that could be the largest ever in the semiconductor industry and likely attract scrutiny from antitrust regulators.

Google's new Ads Transparency Spotlight extension

• Microsoft launches new Family Safety app for Android and iOS, enabling parental controls across phones, PCs and Xbox and track children's use of screen time, set limits, create screen time schedules, configure boundaries around web access, and monitor family members' locations.
• Facebook-owned WhatsApp begins testing a new feature that allows users to link the same account to as many as four devices at the same time, along with letting users send verification codes to log into their account on an additional phone; to begin rolling out official music videos across its flagship social network in the U.S., and introduce a new Music destination within Facebook Watch after reaching deals with the three largest music companies, Universal, Sony, and Warner, as part of its attempts to vault into a medium dominated by YouTube.
• Chinese handset maker Huawei overtakes Samsung to become the top smartphone player in the world, shipping 55.8 million devices vis a vis Samsung's 53.7 million smartphones during the three-month period April to June.
• Japanese conglomerate Rakuten to pull the plug on its U.S. online retail store, originally known as Buy.com, over the next two months, after acquiring it in 2010 for US$ 250 million.
• Apple confirms this year's iPhone will not be sold as customary in late September; says it will launch "a few weeks later" in an unprecedented move by the company, adding credence to earlier rumours that iPhone 12 mass production plans had been disrupted because of the impact of the pandemic across supply chains and manufacturing.
• Google reports its first revenue decline since going public after the coronavirus pandemic slows economic growth and advertisers pull back spending during the period April to June; rival Facebook reports its slowest revenue growth since its 2012 IPO but daily active users rise to 1.79 billion and monthly active users hit 2.7 billion (3.14 billion across its family of apps), while Amazon sales soar in the wake of rise in online shopping (its ad business is up 41 percent YoY with revenues of US$ 4.22 billion), with Apple's Services division hitting an all-time high record revenue of US$ 13.16B.
• Pinterest's global monthly active users reach 416 million, up 39 percent YoY; says people "needed a service that helped them adjust to radically changed circumstances — one that inspired them to cook at home, build vegetable gardens, plan activities for their kids and set up remote offices and home gyms," as Snapchat reports daily active users of 238 million, up nearly 4 percent from the 229 million the company reported in April.