Smartphone startups take on Google, Apple and put privacy first

Apple on Monday became the first company to hit a $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,23,75,950 crore) stock market value, before ending the day a hair below that milestone, as investors bet the iPhone maker will keep launching best-selling products as it explores new markets such as automated cars and virtual reality.

For the first time since inception in 2004, Facebook lost about 5 lakh users on a daily basis during Oct-Dec 2021. That saw the shares of its parent company, Meta, plunge 20 percent on the exchanges, wiping off $200 bn in market capitalisation.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday⁣.⁣

Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, has been designated as an "extremist" organization by a Russian court. But Meta's WhatsApp is excluded from the ban.

The European Union agreed on new regulations that require social media companies and online marketplaces to remove illegal content. Advertisement targeting minors will also be banned.

Amazon records its first quarterly loss since 2015 as online sales drop, while Apple warns of an $8 billion hit from the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Also, French growth hits zero as consumer spending falls, and the IMF warns of dangers for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa.

US tech giant Apple has announced it is stopping production of its iconic iPod device, which was first launched in 2001. With a battery life of 10 hours and enough space for 1,000 songs, the iPod completely changed the way we listen to music and paved the way for smartphones. Also in the show, US President Joe Biden says the fight against inflation is his "top priority".

Sandberg helped transform the company into an over $100-billion-a-year powerhouse. She will continue to serve on the board of directors.

Apple Safari has surpassed the billion users milestone.

The EU has agreed on the text of a law to force smartphone makers to equip their devices with a single, common charging port known as USB Type-C. The deal with member states and lawmakers comes as a setback to Apple, which had argued that imposing a universal cable could hinder innovation. We take a closer look. But first, the World Bank warns of 1970s-style stagflation as it sharply lowers its forecast for global growth.

Meta, Microsoft and other tech giants racing to build the emerging metaverse concept have formed a group to foster the development of industry standards that would make the companies' nascent digital worlds compatible with each other.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others, is facing several economic constraints. Mark Zuckerberg said he will "get more done with fewer resources."