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Google decision to change the release schedule of Android source code has unnerved some Chinese developers. Photo: Shutterstock
Smartphones

Google’s Android transparency shift unnerves Chinese developers

Google is no longer developing Android in the open, which some developers believe could give an advantage to Huawei’s HarmonyOS.

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Alibaba

Alibaba’s AI crackdown: Taobao says e-commerce images must be ‘realistic’

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Tencent

Tencent adds AI chatbot friend to WeChat to keep users glued to app

Artificial intelligence

ChatGPT can now create charts for work and edit photos better

The new capabilities are available to both free and paid users via OpenAI’s GPT-4o model.

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OpenAI has brought image generation to GPT-4o. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS
US-China relations

Signal chat furore may push US workers to China’s side, Democrat warns

Senate intelligence committee vice chair says China is ‘luring individuals with national security clearance who’ve been pushed out’.

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United States

Trump officials texted secret Yemen war plans to journalist

Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic received US plan for Yemen strikes after being added to a group chat on Signal app.

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TikTok ban

Senators urge Trump to seek authority from Congress for TikTok sale extension

Trump in January extended sale deadline to April 5 by delaying law requiring China’s ByteDance to sell majority stake to US owner or face ban.

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A smartphone displaying the @realdonaldtrump TikTok page. File photo: Reuters
Tencent

Tencent fourth-quarter profit surges 90% as AI gamble pays off

Profit reaches US$7.1 billion for the quarter, while full-year profit rises to US$26.8 billion.

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Alibaba

Alibaba’s Quark draws positive reviews in China as AI agent race heats up

Quark shows Alibaba’s ambition to be competitive in the market for AI agents, like Butterfly Effect’s Manus and OpenAI’s Deep Research.

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Tech CEOs

Meet Jay Graber, the young female CEO of X alternative Bluesky

Unlike billionaire social media owners Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Graber deploys a collectivist approach to Bluesky, which now has over 30 million users.

Meet Jay Graber, CEO of X alternative Bluesky. Photo: Getty Images
Books and literature

Tired of superficial dating apps? Bookmark is an app for book lovers

The Bengaluru-based founders are connecting people based on shared literary interests, with features like a virtual bookshelf and witty prompts.

Dating app Bookmark aims to foster connections through shared literary interests and unique profile features. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong economy

Tech giant Tencent launches Hong Kong academy with pupils to get AI training

WeTech Academy will offer training on artificial intelligence and programming to tens of thousands of Hong Kong pupils.

Malaysia

One-minute wonders: Chinese micro-dramas fuel Malaysia’s streaming obsession

They’re like mini grenades of love, betrayal and revenge – and Malaysians can’t get enough. Now to cook up some home-made titles.

Alibaba

Alibaba revamps Quark search engine into AI super assistant

The new version of the web-search and cloud-storage tool offers advanced capabilities such as AI chatbot, deep thinking and task execution.

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The new version of Quark is envisioned as a gateway to “endless possibilities where users can explore everything with AI”. Photo: Handout
Huawei

Huawei platform HarmonyOS expands China adoption, tops Apple’s iOS in 2024

The domestic market share of HarmonyOS was ahead of Apple’s iOS for four consecutive quarters last year.

The increased adoption of HarmonyOS in mainland China reflects Huawei’s continued resurgence in the domestic 5G smartphone market. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong economy

Explainer | It’s last orders at Deliveroo Hong Kong. What about the rest of the industry?

Deliveroo’s exit from Hong Kong market follows intense competition from Keeta and its own financial losses in the city.

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Artificial intelligence

AI agent Manus draws upbeat reviews of nascent service

Manus’ user experience is ‘what so many promised … but this time, it just works’, Hugging Face product head Victor Mustar says.

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Apple

Apple prepares major interface revamp for iPhone, iPad and Mac

Loosely based on the Vision Pro headset’s software, the new design could help revive demand for Apple’s iPhones.

Apple is preparing a dramatic software overhaul for its smartphones, tablets and computers. Photo: dpa
Alibaba

Video | How Alibaba.com is betting on AI to transform e-commerce

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Alibaba.com president Zhang Kuo discusses the next big shift in global trade: AI.

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TikTok

Trump says 4 bidders in play for TikTok’s US business in deal expected ‘soon’

ByteDance-owned TikTok faces a deadline of April 5 to strike a deal for its US operations or be banned from the country’s app stores.

US-China relations

US mulls ban on China’s DeepSeek from government devices, insider says

Trump officials are concerned about the AI chatbot’s handling of user data, which is stored on Chinese servers.

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US officials are reportedly considering banning the DeepSeek chatbot from app stores. Photo illustration: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

NetEase to close cloud service as AI boom heats up competition

The surprise retreat highlights NetEase’s lack of a competitive edge against rivals like Alibaba and ByteDance, analysts say.

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Chinese internet company NetEase is shutting down on of its public cloud services. Photo: Shutterstock
US-China relations

Trump open to again extending TikTok deadline if necessary

The US president says there is ‘a lot of interest’ in the ByteDance-owned app, and he is hoping China will approve of a deal for its sale.

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E-commerce

JD.com nearly triples quarterly profit on back of revived consumer spending

JD.com reported a better-than-expected profit of 9.9 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, up from 3.4 billion yuan a year ago.

ByteDance

ByteDance short video service Douyin offers users quick access to AI chatbot

The initiative could potentially widen the reach of Doubao, ByteDance’s AI chatbot, to the 880 million monthly active users on Douyin.

ByteDance recently allowed selected users of short video app Douyin to initiate conversations with chatbot Doubao, without having to log on to the AI assistant. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia

TikTok, Meta bristle at Australia’s plan to exempt YouTube from social media ban

Australia has proposed an exemption from its landmark social media ban so that children can use YouTube for school.

A student in Melbourne, Australia, looks at her mobile phone showing social media applications. Photo: Reuters
Fame and celebrity

Who is oil scion Michael Herd, husband of Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd?

Herd – president of Texas-based Herd Producing Company, founded by his grandfather – is a keen skier, restaurant owner and a real-life cowboy, having grown up on a ranch.

TikTok

TikTok Live set to make US$77 billion in annual sales, lawsuit shows

The app, which faces a US lawsuit alleging child exploitation, is said to have made $1.7 billion sales from TikTok Live in one quarter.

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