Tech Roundup: Apple "Far out" Event, Google Play Games for PC & More

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

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the state-run railway ticketing service, withdraws plans to monetise customer data through its online portal after the government cancels plans for a nation-wide data protection bill.
• DuckDuckGo expands its tracker-removing Email Protection service (à la Apple's Hide My Email) to all users of its mobile app, browser extension, or Mac browser via a @duck.com email address after a year in private beta.
• Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says his "biggest regret" is that the social media service became a company, adding the platform should be "a protocol" not owned by a state or another company.
• Google faces new privacy complaint from activist group NOYB (None of Your Business) in France over its practice of serving ads in Gmail email inbox, citing the ads breach the European Union's ePrivacy Directive rules on direct marketing by failing to gain users' consent; debuts its Wallet service in South Africa, the first market for the product in Africa, enabling users to save and easily and access their payment cards, loyalty cards and boarding passes.
• Google-owned Fitbit announces the entry-level Inspire 3 fitness tracker (US$ 100), with claimed 10-day battery life, alongside Versa 4 (US$ 230) and Sense 2 (US$ 300); Waze to shutter its six-year-old carpooling service in Brazil, Israel and the U.S. in September 2022, citing shifting commuting patterns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Apple sets September 7 "Far out" event to announce next-generation iPhone and Apple Watches; says over 95% of active iCloud users have 2FA enabled on their accounts, ahead of the launch of passkeys with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura.
• Google's Jigsaw and YouTube to test video ads in Poland, Slovakia and Czechia to "pre-bunk" anti-refugee sentiment and "inoculate" people against misinformation on social media, after a study finds such ads raised awareness about incorrect or misleading information.
• Amazon plans to shut down Amazon Care, the virtual health service it first launched in 2019, by the end of the year; says it's "not a complete enough offering for the large enterprise customers we have been targeting, and wasn't going to work long-term."
• Google launches Cross device SDK to let developers build experiences across Android phones and tablets, with future plans to expand to Android TV, Auto, Wear OS, ChromeOS, iOS and Windows.
• Netflix to reportedly charge between US$ 7 and US$ 9 per month for its ad-supported plan and screen up to 4 minutes of advertising per hour of streaming; pilots "game handles" in select mobile games amid development of new social gaming features like leaderboards and the ability to invite others to play.
• Google pilots Google Play Games for Windows PCs (running Windows 10 and above with 8GB RAM and 20 GB of available storage space) 8 for users in Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, allowing native gameplay without the need of third-party software like Nox or BlueStacks.
• Meta and Twitter take down accounts pushing pro-U.S. and pro-Western themes to Middle Eastern and Central Asian audiences; says these campaigns "consistently advanced narratives promoting the interests of the U.S. and its allies while opposing countries including Russia, China and Iran."
• Meta's Instagram to default to "Less" state for its Sensitive Content Control setting for users under 16 to "make it more difficult for young people to come across potentially sensitive content or accounts in Search, Explore, Hashtag Pages, Reels, Feed Recommendations and Suggested Accounts."
• Ten of the top 15 telephone carriers in the U.S. (AT&T, Best Buy Health, Charter, Comcast, Consumer Cellular, C-Spire, DISH Network, Google FI, H2O Wireless, Lycramobile, Mint Mobile, Red Pocket, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon) have been found to collect and retain geolocation data gathered from cellular towers anywhere between two months to five years, with no way for consumers to opt-out of the practice.
• Google brings back the original Google Duo icon and name as a shortcut to Google Meet in Android's app launcher, in an attempt to mitigate user confusion; blocks more than 2,000 dodgy personal loan providers from its app marketplace in India from January to July, after they were found to be in violation of its policies.
• Twitter tests redesigned Spaces tab in its app to offer a selection of popular podcasts, themed audio stations, and recorded as well as live Spaces.
• Sony hikes the price of its PlayStation 5 gaming console in the EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regions, plus Canada, owing to challenges in the "global economic environment."
• Language learning platform Duolingo ventures into mathematics with gamified math lessons through a dedicated app called Duolingo Math.
• Salesforce reports Q2 2022 revenue of US$ 7.72 billion, up 22% YoY, net income of US$ 68 million, down from US$ 535 million YoY.
• Nvidia reports Q2 2022 revenue of US$ 6.7 billion, up 3% YoY, and gaming department revenue down 33% YoY to US$ 2.04 billion.
• Chinese tech titan Meituan reports Q2 2022 revenue of about US$ 7.4 billion, up 16% YoY, and a ~US$ 163 million net loss, as its "core local commerce" business, including food delivery and hotels, rises 9.2% YoY.