Home Tags Posts tagged with "GLOBAL NEWS"
Tag:

GLOBAL NEWS

AfricaAFRICA NEWSBusinessGlobal NewsNewsSpotlightTechnology

Google to shut down its cloud gaming service Stadia in January 2023

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Google is shutting down its cloud gaming service Stadia less than three years after its launch.

According to the tech giant, users will have access to their games until 18 January 2023, and all hardware purchases made through the Google Store will be refunded. 

Stadia launched in November 2019 as part of Google’s aggressive expansion into gaming. But on Thursday, the company said it had “made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service.”

Google said Stadia “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected.”

Google said that it still sees opportunities for the technology that powered Stadia, and that it would apply it to other sectors of its company like Google Play and YouTube.

ALSO READ: Netflix creates first internal studio to build video games

Signs of trouble had been bubbling up. Last year, Google said it was closing its internal Stadia game studio in favour of helping game makers “take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players.”

Further, Insider’s Hugh Langley reported earlier this year that Google had “deprioritized” the Stadia consumer platform — as in, the games and was instead focusing on striking deals with companies like Bungie to “salvage” the technology.

Source: Business insider

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
AfricaBuildingGlobal NewsNewsSpotlightTechnology

Apple begins manufacturing iPhone 14 in India three weeks after launch

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Apple has begun manufacturing its new iPhone 14 in India, narrowing a technology gap with the device’s main manufacturing base of China.

Apple made the announcement on Monday, less than three weeks after the iPhone 14’s unveiling. The company had worked with suppliers to ramp up manufacturing in India and shorten the lag with China in production from the typical six to nine months for previous launches, Bloomberg News reported in August.

“We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in an emailed statement Monday, confirming the move.

Apple, which long made most of its iPhones in China, is seeking alternatives as Xi Jinping’s administration clashes with the US government and imposes lockdowns across the country that have disrupted economic activity.

Foxconn Technology Group, its primary manufacturer of iPhones, studied the process of shipping components from China and assembling the iPhone 14 at its plant outside the southern Indian city of Chennai, Bloomberg News has reported. That included looking at ways to maintain Apple’s high standards for confidentiality.

Source: Bloomberg

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
AfricaBusinessEconomyGlobal NewsNews

UK to return tax-free shopping for overseas visitors

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

The United Kingdom (UK) has announced plans to reintroduce tax-free shopping for overseas visitors to boost the country’s retail sector.

Kwasi Kwarteng, UK finance minister and chancellor of the Exchequer, made this known on Friday during the presentation of a mini-budget to the parliament. 

The previous tax-free shopping scheme was abolished at the end of 2020 by Rishi Sunak, former chancellor of the Exchequer, after Brexit (the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU). 

“Britain welcomes millions of tourists every year, and I want our high streets and airports, our ports and our shopping centres, to feel the economic benefit. So we have decided to introduce VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors,” he said. 

Kwarteng said the government would replace the previous paper-based system with a digital one. 

“And this will be in place as soon as possible,” he said.

Linda Ellett, head of consumer markets, retail and leisure, KPMG UK, said the move would increase the UK’s competitiveness when it comes to attracting international visitors.

“This is all the more key as we look to find ways to create economic growth, return international tourism to pre-pandemic volumes, and withstand rising inflation on the high street,” she said.

Nigel Keal, chair, UK travel retail forum, welcomed the new development. 

“This is a fantastic announcement by a government that has been clear from the start of its intention to put aside Treasury orthodoxy and find new ways to generate growth for the UK economy and industries. The travel retail industry welcomes today’s news,” he said.

According to the report, the scheme will enable tourists to get a refund on VAT on goods bought on the high street, at airports and other departure points and exported from the UK in their personal baggage.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail