Tech Roundup: Apple App Store Ads, Interpol Metaverse & More

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

• Apple to expand ads to the App Store's main Today tab and the "You Might Also Like" section of app listings globally on October 25, with the exception of China.
• Apple's growing interest in ads is already drawing antitrust scrutiny, in part owing to a privacy change in iOS that makes it difficult to track user across apps, hurting advertising revenues of its Big Tech counterparts such as Meta, Google and Snap.
• While the iPhone maker previously argued that ad-driven business models are inherently invasive of privacy, Apple's transition to an ad company via its services division is likely to be seen as an anticompetitive attempt to tilt the playing field in its favour and implement its own ad services at the expense of its rivals. If anything, Apple's ability to leverage its monopoly to give preferential treatment to it own ecosystem could further fuel more calls for side-loading apps on iOS and allow third-party app stores.
• Google launches News Showcase in France, partnering with over 65 publishers representing more than 130 outlets; to offer "a limited amount" of paywalled content for free.
• Popular photo-sharing app BeReal reaches 20 million daily active users, up from 7.9 million users as of July of this year.
• Amazon shuts down Fabric.com after acquiring the online fabric retailer in 2008; says users will be able to access their purchase history until December 30, 2022.
• Smartphone shipments in India fall 6% YoY to 44.6 million units in Q3 2022, according to Canalys; Xiaomi drops 18% YoY to 9.2 million units (21%), followed by Samsung (18%), Vivo (16%), OPPO (7.1%) and Realme (6.2%).

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• Interpol unveils a metaverse for law enforcement around the world, letting agents tour the virtual version of its HQ and take training courses in virtual reality.
• Podcast app Pocket Casts, which WordPress parent company Automattic acquired in July 2021, releases its mobile clients on GitHub under an open source license.
• Meta threatens to block news sharing in Canada over a new regulation, called the Online News Act, that forces tech platforms into revenue-sharing partnerships with local news organisations.
• Microsoft launches PC Manager in beta for Chinese users, a CCleaner-like app for Windows 10 and up, to free up storage space, manage large files, and detect system risks.
• Reliance, the parent company of India's largest telecom Jio, launches JioBook, a US$ 190 laptop with 4G and JioOS, a custom Android-based OS with support for local languages.
• Amazon faces fresh legal scrutiny over its Buy Box (the "Add to Basket" and "Buy now" buttons which appear in a white box at the top right-hand corner of a product listing page) approach to allegedly steer customers away from "other sellers, even when they offer a better deal, by hiding them down the page and making them difficult to find;" claims Amazon uses a "secretive and self-favouring algorithm to ensure the Buy Box nearly always features goods sold directly by Amazon itself, or by third-party retailers who pay hefty storage and delivery fees to Amazon."
• Snap reports Q3 2022 revenue up 6% YoY to US$ 1.13 billion; daily active users jump 19% YoY to 363 million, but reports a US$ 360 million net loss, up from US$ 72 million YoY, as the company attempts to diversify from relying on ads to cushion Apple's ad tracking changes that prevent ad tech companies from tracking users across the web.