Tech Roundup: Flash End-of-Life, Samsung Galaxy S21 & More

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

• Apple removes 39,000 unlicensed video games from China App Store for failing to comply with the country's strict gaming regulations that require paid mobile games to gain prior approval from authorities; comes six months after it extended the end-of-June deadline to December 31 to submit a government-issued licence number enabling users to make in-app purchases in the world's biggest games market.
• Adobe officially ends support for Flash, with major web browsers blocking Flash content effective January 1.
• Retail behemoth Amazon to acquire podcast creation network company Wondery for about US$ 300 million as part its attempts to beef up original content and better compete with rivals Apple and Spotify.
• Google begins testing an expansion of its "Short Videos" feature in mobile search that will surface TikTok and Instagram videos in a dedicated carousel; formally discontinues Cloud Print service.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 (Image: Android Police)

• Apple suffers suffers a legal setback after a U.S. court dimisses the company's claims that mobile device virtualization company Corellium violated copyright law with its software to run iOS on PCs.
• Facebook-owned WhatsApp sets new record for the most number of calls ever in a single day with 1.4 billion video and voice calls placed on New Year's Eve 2020, a 50% spike from last year, as Facebook Live and Instagram Live boast of 55 million broadcasts worldwide.
• Samsung announces Galaxy Unpacked event on January 14 to unveil the next generation Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra smartphones.
• Bitcoin surges past $34,000 to reach an all-time high, after the cryptocurrency grows almost 50% in value in December.