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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Apps. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Experts describe how to use mindfulness techniques such as “urge surfing” to overcome addiction urges and cravings and take back control. Photo: Shutterstock
Wellness

What is ‘urge surfing’? How does it help with addiction and bad habits?

The technique manages cravings and compulsive behaviours like phone addiction by encouraging people to ride out their urges like waves.

South Korea

South Korea ‘fake news’ law triggers free speech, censorship fears

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Malaysia

Why Malaysia’s tourism boom lives and dies on a Chinese app

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Australia

Australia PM: ‘too many children on social media’, ban too easy to avoid

According to a British ‌study, 85 per cent of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at Question Time in the House of Representatives at Australian Parliament House in 2024, in Canberra. Photo: TNS
The Future of Marketing in Asia

China’s digital platforms redefine global marketing strategies

The mainland’s app ecosystem integrates content, discovery and transaction into a single and seamless experience.

The Future of Marketing in Asia

The art of persuasion enters the AI era

Content creators have risen to eclipse traditional ad formats, but now, as AI takes centre stage, the battle for authenticity is on.

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Apple

Apple faces new antitrust complaint over ‘unfair’ App Store fees in China

The developers asked the antitrust regulator to investigate and penalise Apple for allegedly ‘abusing the company’s market dominance’.

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People queue outside an Apple store to see the new iPhone 17 lineup in Hangzhou on September 19, 2025. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

Afghan government workers face sack, jail after smartphone ban begins

Employees will be available only ‘via telephone calls and email’, an official says, citing an order from the supreme leader.

Artificial intelligence

China’s Alipay gets AI-agent overhaul to challenge rivals Tencent and ByteDance

Fintech giant is seen leveraging its billion-user base to launch a conversational interface that coordinates 10,000 services, with safeguards.

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Britain

UK bans under 16s from social media apps including TikTok, YouTube

The move makes the UK part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children.

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Students from Ricards Lodge and Rutlish High Schools in Wimbledon, the UK, look at their mobile phones during an interview and discussion about their thoughts on a social media ban for under 16s. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Is baby hungry, sleepy or just unhappy? These Japanese apps can interpret cries

The apps use AI-powered tools trained on baby cries to help parents decode their children’s needs.

The Babylingual app analyses Saku Numazawa’s cries on April 28. Photo: Kyodo
Canada

Canada moves to ban under-16s from social media, regulate AI

The proposed plan could see companies fined up to 3 per cent of their global revenue or US$7.2 million if they do not comply.

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Alibaba

Ant International powers new e-wallet in cash-heavy Mexico

The e-wallet may assist small businesses in the Latin American country to build credit history and secure financing, according to Clip.

Artificial intelligence

ByteDance thinks its Doubao AI is worth paying for. Are China’s users buying it?

The tech giant’s paywall gamble may have backfired after teasing its paid-subscription options for flagship chatbot Doubao saw users bolt.

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ByteDance’s decision to introduce a paywall for its flagship chatbot Doubao saw it lose 6.1 million users and could risk the tech giant’s lead in China’s fierce artificial intelligence race, according to analysts. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

Tencent shares jump 10% on expectations of AI agent within WeChat

An AI agent would leverage the app’s ecosystem of mini-programs, payments, content and commerce for 1.4 billion users.

Tencent has repeatedly stressed its cautious approach to adding an agent to its super app. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Indonesia bans Polymarket following bets on Prabowo presidency end date

The predictions market attracted ⁠attention on social media in Indonesia after a bet opened on when Prabowo would be ‘out as president’.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese tech giants race to dominate AI-powered digital gateways

The integration of agentic AI with sites like Taobao and JD.com is reshaping shopping, but the bigger promise is an agent within WeChat.

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Artificial intelligence

How ByteDance plans to turn OpenClaw craze into a profitable AI business

ArkClaw’s subscription model and surging token demand mark ByteDance’s new approach to agent economics.

The logo of OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba brings chat-style shopping to Taobao, Qwen amid AI gateway push: source

E-commerce giant is integrating Qwen with Taobao and Tmall, enabling shoppers to use natural-language commands instead of keyword searches.

United States

US nears US$400 million settlement with TikTok on child-privacy, report says

The money will be used to fund Trump’s ‘beautification’ projects in Washington, the report says.

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United States

New Mexico trial citing ‘public nuisance’ laws against Meta, social platforms

The case is being closely watched as governments across the US pursue similar claims seeking to force big tech platforms to change to protect young users.

A recording of Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s deposition is played for the jurors on March 4, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Photo: AP
US-China trade war

From apps to autos: China’s data reach sparks US espionage and sabotage concerns

Washington accused of not doing enough to counter Beijing’s harvesting of key American data and weaponising it as a strategic asset.

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Chinese apps like DeepSeek have raised concerns about their potential to siphon sensitive data from American users. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Gaming platform Roblox to require facial scans for users under 16 in Indonesia

This is in line with new restrictions on minors’ use of social media and digital platforms in the country.

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DeepSeek

‘The whale can now see’: DeepSeek adds AI vision in major move

On DeepSeek’s chat interface, a new ‘image recognition mode’ has been added alongside the ‘expert’ and ‘flash’ chat modes.

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Social media

Turkey passes bill to restrict social media access for under-15s

It comes a week after a 14-year-old boy killed nine students and a teacher at a middle school in southern Turkey, in a gun attack.

Police officers in uniform and plainclothes police secure the site after a deadly school shooting, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on April 15, 2026. Photo: via Reuters
Wellness

Is your family addicted to screens and junk food? How to change their habits

In her book Dopamine Kids, Michaeleen Doucleff examines our reliance on ‘magnets’ that hamper happiness and explains how to overcome them.

Ultra-processed food and screens are dopamine “magnets” that can be avoided for a better quality of life, according to biochemist Michaeleen Doucleff, whose new book Dopamine Kids explains how to reshape your family’s habits. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Crypto industry sees AI-driven agent economy as next growth driver

Experts gather in Hong Kong for Web3 Festival as firm predicts AI agents could facilitate up to US$5 trillion in global crypto sales by 2030.

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ByteDance

ByteDance profit plunges on AI push as TikTok Shop fuels overseas surge: reports

‘All-in’ AI drive cuts profits by 70 per cent, while booming TikTok Shop sales help overseas markets outpace China, reports say.

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