Tech Roundup: 10 Years of Chrome OS, Apple Antitrust & More

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

• The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opens investigation into Apple's App Store to probe whether it is abusing its market power to restrict competition following a complaints from a number of third-party developers; to "consider whether Apple has a dominant position in connection with the distribution of apps on Apple devices in the UK — and, if so, whether Apple imposes unfair or anti-competitive terms on developers using the App Store, ultimately resulting in users having less choice or paying higher prices for apps and add-ons."
• The development comes as antitrust regulators in the E.U. are said to be in the process of finalising a charge sheet against Apple for abusing its dominance in the App Store to squeeze out rivals, initiated by an antitrust complaint from music streaming service Spotify in 2019.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok launches TikTok Q&A, a new feature for creators to engage with viewers' questions in the form of text comments or video replies, as well as add a Q&A profile link to their bios.
• South Korean tech giant Samsung partners with Mastercard for a biometric credit card with a built-in fingerprint scanner to authorize transactions securely at in-store payment terminals.
• Google's parent company Alphabet is reportedly developing an in-ear wearable device that could augment users' hearing as part of a project codenamed Wolverine; adds Apple-like Handoff features to Chrome OS on its 10th anniversary, including Phone Hub, which lets Android users reply to messages and enable a phone's Wi-Fi hotspot from their Chromebooks, alongside improvements like Screen Capture tool, clipboard history, and extending Nearby Share to send and receive files between Chromebooks and other Android and Chrome OS devices.
• India's largest telecom provider Jio is said to be working on an inexpensive laptop called JioBook that's powered by a forked version of Android 10.
• Twiter reportedly testing a Gmail-like "Undo" option as part of its nascent premium features that lets users take back an erraneous tweet within five seconds of it being sent.

• PayPal announces acquisition of Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency startup Curv that allows users to access their crypto wallets without any hardware device; comes amid the payment giant's steady roll out of cryptocurrency products in the U.S., making it easier for users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies from their PayPal accounts.
• Apple's upcoming iOS 14.5 update to come with a new feature called "Item Safety Alerts" in its Find My app that alerts users when hidden compatible devices are used to stalk or track their movements; to discontinue iMac Pro and readies to kickstart flagship iPhone 12 production in India for local customers.
• JP Morgan successfully tests a blockchain transaction in space using Danish space firm GomSpace's satellites, making it the world's first bank-led tokenised value transfer in space, executed via smart contracts on a blockchain network, established between satellites orbiting the earth.
• Disney+ streaming service tops 100 million subscribers just 16 months after launch; aims to target between 300 and 350 million subscribers across all of its streaming platforms (Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus, Star Plus, Hotstar) by 2024.
• Facebook-owned Instagram starts rolling out an auto-caption sticker for Stories that automatically transcribes audio on screen; WhatsApp said to be working on password-protected encrypted chat backups to prevent unauthorized access, as Facebook pilots a new opt-in feature for select users in India that will promote their Instagram Reels on the flagship app.
• Cloud service provider Dropbox announces plans to acquire secure document sharing startup DocSend for US$ 165 million.
• Popular mobile payments platform Paytm announces plans to turn NFC-enabled Android smartphones into point-of-sale machines with support for Visa, Mastercard, and Rupay, as it looks to win more merchants in one of the world's largest mobile payments markets.
• Leading French startup association France Digitale files a complaint against Apple with the country's privacy watchdog, the Commission Nationale de L’informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) alleging that the company's latest version of iOS is collecting users' data by default for ad tracking services without their explicit permission.