Tech Roundup: Substack RSS Reader, YouTube Material You Refresh & More

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

• India pushes smartphone makers such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to make their devices compatible with its home-grown navigation system NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) effective January 2023.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok could face fines of up to £27 million in the U.K. over charges that the company may have breached data protection rules by failing to protect data of children under the age of 13 without parental consent between May 2018 and July 2020.
• France plans to impose a minimum €3 delivery fee for online book orders under €35 to help independent bookstores compete with big sellers like Amazon and Fnac.
• TikTok rolls out feature that allows users to downvote comments as a "new way to hear feedback directly from [its] community"; the number of downvotes to be kept private.
• Meta's WhatsApp tests new feature that allows users to create an avatar and use it as the basis for a sticker pack, alongside secure encrypted video calling for up to 32 individuals; unveils Call Links, enabling users to start or join a call with one tap.
• Walmart debuts metaverse experiences Walmart Land and Walmart's Universe of Play in gaming platform Roblox as a testing ground to try to reach younger shoppers.
• Meta pilots new profile switcher that consolidates Facebook and Instagram more closely together and letting users navigate between accounts across Android, iOS and the web; also trials a new bottom navigation bar for Instagram that replaces the Shopping tab with a activity/notifications tab, reverting to an older layout that existing in 2020.
• On-demand video streamer Netflix to open a video game studio in Finland, as it tries to boost audience numbers.
• Google tests a Material You tweaks for YouTube across desktop and mobile web versions of the video platform, marking a shift from the distinct design language it has maintained over the years and in a sign that it's attempting to fill the visual gap.
• Newsletter service Substack launches an RSS client as part of a "new reading experience," allowing users to add third-party RSS feeds from other publications.
• Apple begins assembling the latest iPhone 14 models in India through Foxconn’s facilities in Sriperumbudur, making it the first time it has shifted production from China to India this quickly after the launch of a new iPhone.