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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Apps. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Alibaba’s Quark app is marketed as an AI super-assistant app. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Quark, China’s most popular AI app, launches ‘deep search’

The upgrade combines the reasoning capabilities of AI models with online search to answer complex user queries.

Alibaba

Alibaba teams up with social media platform RedNote in fresh e-commerce push

New Zealand

First Australia, now New Zealand eyes social media ban for under-16s

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European Union

EU fines TikTok €530 million for China data transfer

TikTok has been in the crosshairs of Western government for years over fears of China using personal data for espionage or propaganda.

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TikTok – a division of Chinese tech giant ByteDance – has its European headquarters in Ireland. Photo: dpa
US-China relations

‘Signalgate’ China hawk ousted as US national security adviser

Mike Waltz leaving job to become new US ambassador to the United Nations as top diplomat Marco Rubio takes over NSC role in interim.

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Offbeat

Need a home delivery of gold? In Dubai, there’s an app for that

Buy gold using Careem app in Dubai and have it delivered to your door by Uber. Service launches ahead of Hindu festival where metal is lucky.

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Millionaires and billionaires

Meet DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang, who grew up in Hong Kong

Tang was born in Japan and grew up in Hong Kong before moving to California; he was a successful internet entrepreneur by the time he was 15 and co-founded DoorDash while a student at Stanford.

Hong Kong-American entrepreneur and co-founder of DoorDash, Stanley Tang, with his wife Gloria Zhu. Photos: @stanleytang/Instagram
Artificial intelligence

Baidu offers new AI models at lower cost than DeepSeek’s products

The lower cost would help developers focus on creating ‘more super interesting and useful’ AI applications, Baidu CEO Robin Li says.

TikTok

TikTok shakes up US e-commerce, policy leadership amid trade war, ban law

The changes for two executives follow a departure last month, as ByteDance seeks to safeguard business in its flagship app’s largest market.

Donald Trump

Trump to be interviewed by Atlantic editor who exposed ‘Signalgate’ chat

Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a group chat in which top US officials shared secret military strike plans.

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Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, speaks at the New Orleans Book Festival in March. Photo: The Advocate via AP
South Korea

DeepSeek sent data to Chinese servers without consent, South Korea probe finds

DeepSeek previously said it overlooked data protection laws when transferring input to a Beijing-based cloud service platform owned by ByteDance, the parent of TikTok.

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People watch a TV report on DeepSeek, during a news programme in Seoul, South Korea. A probe found that DeepSeek data sent to a Chinese server without consent. Photo: AP
E-commerce

Alibaba.com climbs in US shopping app charts as consumers hunt for bargains

The Alibaba.com mobile app occupied the third spot on the US iOS app store’s shopping category for most of this week.

Tencent

WeChat helps Chinese tourists book tables at 870,000 dining spots across Japan

The Chinese-language version of Tabelog, a popular Japanese restaurant review website, is now available as a mini program on WeChat.

US-China relations

Opinion | In AI race against US, China is racking up real-world wins

The US may hold the lead in cutting-edge AI tech but China is racking up economic wins with real-world adoption.

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The owner of a sock shop in Yiwu International Trade City uses AI to generate a product introduction video in English on February 25 in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. Photo: China News Service via Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

OpenAI would buy Google’s Chrome if court orders it to be spun off

‘You could offer a really incredible experience’ if ChatGPT was integrated into Chrome, Nick Turley says.

ChatGPT’s chief says OpenAI would be interested in buying Google’s Chrome browser if a federal court orders it to be spun off. Photo: AP
Vietnam

Vietnam targets social media users in ‘crackdown’ on dissent: rights group

Human Rights Watch reports ordinary social media users now face jail for criticising the state under Article 331.

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United States

Pentagon faces ‘meltdown’ as Trump backs Hegseth amid second Signal chat storm

Defence Secretary’s ex-spokesman says there is a ‘meltdown’ at Pentagon over staff drama, leaks as Hegseth faces scrutiny over Signal chats.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese tech giants race to expand AI services market via open-standard protocol

China is seeing growing adoption of the model context protocol, which has become a de facto standard for AI integration.

The open model context protocol enables artificial intelligence agents to connect with third-party online tools, data sources and systems. Photo: Shutterstock
E-commerce

JD and Meituan food fight spills into public in Chinese delivery platform spat

In a public letter, JD.com accused a ‘rival platform’ of preventing delivery riders from using multiple platforms, for which Meituan was fined in 2021.

United States

Pentagon chief ‘had another Signal chat’ sharing Yemen strike details: reports

Pete Hegseth’s second group chat, dubbed ‘Defence Team Huddle’, included US defence secretary’s wife and brother, The New York Times reported.

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Tourism

Can AI replace travel agents? Holiday app start-ups take on the big players

A host of tourism tech firms are offering holidays planned by artificial intelligence in a challenge to established market players.

Want to pack your bags and head off on holiday? Then a host of new start-ups are entering the market and using AI to help travellers book and plan their vacations. Photo: Shutterstock
United States

US judge rules Google monopolised online ad markets in antitrust case

Google will now face the possibility of two different US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices.

The ruling could allow prosecutors to argue for a break-up of Google’s advertising products. Photo: Reuters
E-commerce

Temu cuts US ads after Trump’s tariffs, as app downloads plunge

The Chinese-backed shopping app has been a significant advertiser since launching in the US in September 2022.

Artificial intelligence

China’s Kuaishou unveils ‘world’s most powerful’ AI video generator

The short video firm has launched Kling AI 2.0, saying the service now has more than 22 million users globally.

Meta Platforms

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg testifies at landmark US antitrust trial

Meta is accused by Federal Trade Commission of abusing its market power to acquire Instagram, WhatsApp before they could become competitors.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen at the luncheon on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington on January 20. Photo: Reuters
Alibaba

Alibaba’s Quark surpasses ByteDance’s Doubao as China’s top AI app

Quark’s rapid ascent comes as Alibaba has transformed the app from a cloud storage and search service into an ‘AI super assistant’.

A Quark advertisement at the airport in Nanning, China. Photo: Simon Song
ByteDance

TikTok drives ByteDance’s overseas sales despite US hurdles: report

ByteDance’s total revenue is said to have risen to US$155 billion last year, placing the unicorn among the world’s top internet giants.

TikTok

Trump says TikTok deal is still ‘on the table’

‘But we’re going to have to wait and see what’s going to happen with China,’ the US president says.

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