Tech Roundup: Amazon Air India, Germany PayPal Probe & More

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

• Wordle clone Quordle gets acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica subsidiary, Merriam-Webster, as part of an undisclosed deal; comes a year after The New York purchases Wordle in January 2022 for a seven-figure sum.
• Microsoft tests new feature in Windows 11 that provides quick access from the taskbar to switch audio outputs and control individual app volumes.
• Amazon increases price of its Music Unlimited streaming service to US$ 10.99 per month in the U.S. and the U.K., bring it in line with Apple Music, which introduced similar price hike in October 2022. (According to data from market research firm Midia, Amazon Music had around 13.3% of the world's music subscribers, behind Spotify, Apple Music and Tencent Music as of mid-2022.
• Twitter rolls out a new option to save a tweet to bookmarks as part of a "much larger UI overhaul," according to CEO Elon Musk; works on a new, more expensive Blue subscription tier that will allow users to browse the platform without seeing ads.
• Chinese handset maker Xiaomi experiences a 40% YoY drop shipments in India in Q4 2022 amid government scrutiny, falling behind Samsung and Vivo after holding the top spot for 20 quarters; Samsung takes the lead for the first time since Q3 2017.
• Meta-owned WhatsApp pilots feature that lets users share images in their original quality without any compression, as Instagram acknowledges it "overfocused on video in 2022 and pushed ranking too far and basically showed too many videos and not enough photos."
• The Indian government releases rules mandating social media influencers and virtual avatars to disclose promotional content in a bid to limit unfair trade practices and misleading promotions on the web; violations carry a fine of up to US$ 12,300, with repeat violations incurring a penalty of up to US$ 61,600.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok confirms some of its employees have the ability to boost videos in order to "introduce celebrities and emerging creators to the TikTok community," following a Forbes report that claimed the platform to engage in "heating," or inflating video view counts, to court influencers and brands.
• Germany's Federal Cartel Office opens an investigation into PayPal over possibly hindering competition, including merchant rules for other payment services.
• Nokia signs a multiyear cross-license patent agreement with Samsung, covering fundamental 5G and other tech, after the previous deal expired at the end of 2022.
• Amazon partners with Bengaluru-based cargo airline QuikJet to launch Amazon Air in India, following France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.; to initially deliver goods in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru as the e-commerce giant bulks up its logistics infrastructure in the overseas market.