Apple can now sell iPhones in India; Amazon is set to layoff drivers; Microsoft has cancelled ‘IoT in Action’
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It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Tuesday, March 3, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
For the first time ever, Apple is now able to sell smartphones in India, and it is trending on Google. Up until this point, Apple had been restricted from direct sales, as laws in India required them to partner with a third-party reseller within the country. But now that has changed, and the company’s CEO Tim Cook is crediting the advancement to Donald Trump and his administration. Cook was quoted as saying: We did not want to do that, we wanted to maintain control over our brand and so forth. But, the administration worked on this with the Indian government, and that change has been made.”
So while Apple is celebrating a win, there is some bad news within Amazon, and it is trending on Reddit. Following the layoffs of over 2,000 delivery drivers in October, it seems there are more layoffs on the horizon. Buzzfeed News first reported on Thursday that 3,200 more delivery truck drivers are due to be laid off by the end of April. Despite this, Amazon’s delivery network is expected to grow, as they plan to hire many contractors to fill the gap, and likely get around some labour laws.
The effects of coronavirus have not gone unnoticed by the tech community as many annual conferences and events have had to be cancelled or postponed. And now it seems another one has bit the dust, and it is trending on Google. To be the first of its kind, Microsoft has decided to cancel its IoT in Action event in Melbourne, Australia, due to the risks associated with travelling during this viral outbreak. Just yesterday, Australia announced the first confirmed death in their country from the virus.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Tom Li, thanks for listening.