From Fifa 2018 live broadcast to Jio double data offer: Last week in tech

Here is everything you need to know about the news from technology space that made headlines in June 11-17 week

XIAOMI LAUNCHED SELFIE CAMERA-CENTRIC REDMI Y2

Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, on June 7 announced the Redmi Y2 – a selfie camera-centric budget smartphone. Priced at Rs 9,999 and Rs 12,999 for the 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB RAM and storage configurations, respectively, the phone went on sale at Amazon India, Mi Home and Mi Store on June 12. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Redmi Y2 review: A budget smartphone with great camera, battery life

According to a report in The Verge on Tuesday, iPhone maker Apple has introduced a new section on cryptocurrency in its guidelines on App Store that applies to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS app. Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes such as cryptocurrency mining, said the guidelines.

ALSO READ: After Facebook, Apple bans cryptocurrency mining on iPhones, iPads

A phone directory cum search engine platform on June 14 announced a strategic investment into the payments space in India by acquiring Chillr, the country’s first multi-bank payments app. Truecaller co-founder and chief strategy officer Nami Zarringhalam said the founders of Chillr — Sony Joy, Anoop Sankar, Mohamed Galib and Lishoy Bhaskaran — will join Truecaller. Sony Joywill be the vice-president of Truecaller Pay. Zarringhalam said the company intended to leverage its reach of over 150 million users in India as well as its 300-plus existing partnerships in the country. ALSO READ: Truecaller set to make deals with Chillr to foray into digital payments

According to a report in Forbes, Apple would unveil at least two smartphones this year. Both would feature an iPhone X-inspired design with notch-based screens. However, one of them would be a premium device with three cameras on the back, and the other an affordable iteration with a single camera on the back. ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 2018 will have the iPhone X design: Know everything hereAccording to a report in Forbes, Apple would unveil at least two smartphones this year. Both would feature an iPhone X-inspired design with notch-based screens. However, one of them would be a premium device with three cameras on the back, and the other an affordable iteration with a single camera on the back. ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 2018 will have the iPhone X design: Know everything here

Reliance Jio and India’s leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel on June 15 announced free live broadcast of Fifa World Cup 2018 matches on JioTV and AirtelTV app, respectively. Bharti Airtel had rolled out an updated Airtel TV app, which would enable users to watch live broadcasts of the football tournament. The matches are broadcast in various regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. JioTV, on the other hand, live broadcast Fifa World Cup alongside the India-Afghanistan Test Match series. ALSO READ: Here's how to watch Fifa World Cup 2018 for free in mobile devices

Truecaller in talks with start-ups

In an effort to tap on the start-up system in India and open a new revenue stream, phone number identification app Truecaller is planning to get into tie-ups with e-commerce giants such as Snapdeal, Flipkart and other online players which require phone number verification on their customers and other related services.

The company also said they hope to have 200 million users in India by the end of this year. Currently, they have 120 million users in the country, which is the company’s biggest market. It has 200 million users globally.

Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam, founders of the Stockholm, a Sweden-based company founded in 2009, are in India with a number of StartUps. Last month Truecaller introduced a new software development kit (SDK) on Thursday that lets third party applications verify users via phone numbers. “We want to personlise e-commerce for the users and that is where we want to pitch in. We want the company and the customer to be connected better, starting from first contact to last-mile delivery,” said Mamedi.

TrueSDK, a software development kit is the first product from the company for the app developer community that enables third-party apps to easily on board users with their existing Truecaller profile and verified phone numbers. Developers can use the service to sign up, update user information, or verify user's phone number identity in their mobile apps through user consent.

“TrueSDK for us was the first stepping stone and the reason we built it was a lot many developers asked us on how they could use Truecaller. They asked why they have to build an infrastructure around verifying phone numbers and bear the cost of doing the same, when someone else has already done so as Truecaller is a directory of verified phone numbers,” added Mamedi. 

While Mamedi did not give out any names but sources in the company said that they have had talks with a number of companies including major e-commerce players such as Flipkart and Snapdeal to get into tie-ups with them

“We have had a series of engagements with a number of start-ups including e-commerce companies in topline category and they have shown a lot of interest in the product,” said Kari Krishnamurthy, Vice President, Growth and Partnerships, Truecaller.