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More tech news included Reliance Industries being in talks with ByteDance over a potential investment in TikTok and Vivo launching S1 Prime.


Here’s everything that made headlines in the world of tech today. (Pixabay)

It was a day of updates in the world of technology today. On one hand, Apple rolled out iOS 13.6.1 update on its iPhones and on the other hand, reports today said that WhatsApp had abandoned its work on vacation mode, a feature that had been in works for a long time.

So, here’s everything that made headlines in the world of tech today:

WhatsApp abandons vacation mode

WhatsApp started working on vacation mode feature back in 2018. Now, a report by WABetaInfo says that WhatsApp has abandoned its work on feature completely. The was aimed at helping users ignore archived chats completely.

ByteDance in talks with Reliance for investment in TikTok

ByteDance is reportedly in talks with Reliance Industries for a potential investment in TikTok’s India operations. As per a TechCrunch report, the talks began last month. However, nothing has been finalised yet.

Facebook will show a warning before you share Covid-19 articles

Facebook is rolling out an update to its users globally that will warn them before they share an article on Covid-19 pandemic. The newly released feature is the latest efforts by the company to check the spread of fake news on its platform.

Apple rolls out iOS 13.6.1 update

Apple today rolled out iOS 13.6.1 on to iPhones. The update fixes green tint issue on some displays. It also fixes the issue that disabled Exposure Notifications for some iPhone users.

Vivo S1 Prime launched

Vivo today launched the S1 Prime smartphone in Myanmar. It costs MYR 389,800 in the country which roughly converts to ₹21,700.

TikTok-parent ByteDance is also in talks with Microsoft to sell its US Canada, New Zealand and Australia operations.



Microsoft may take over TikTok's operations in the US and other key markets (Bloomberg)

ByteDance is in early discussions with Reliance Industries Limited to invest in the India operations of TikTok, reports TechCrunch. The conversations began late last month and are yet finalise a deal, the report added.

The discussion comes at a time when the Indian government has imposed a ban on the popular video-sharing network citing security concerns.

In the US too, TikTok is facing a ban unless it is acquired by an American company by September 15. For the sale of US operations and other select markets, ByteDance is in talks with Microsoft and other potential buyers such as Twitter.

As far as India goes, it has been TikTok’s largest market in the world for quite some time. Before the June ban, TikTok had 200 million users. It had also successfully developed a thriving content creators’ community.

TechCrunch in its report pointed out that the TikTok-Reliance discussions come as the parent ByteDance is struggling to retain key executives in India. Some of its top high-level executives such as policy head and Rohan Mishra, who headed ByteDance’s Helo operations in India, have already left the company.

The company has over 2,000 employees in India. ByteDance had last said that it does not intend to lay off its employees. A deal with Reliance, however, could help TikTok overcome several challenges in its largest market.

Reliance, in the meanwhile, has begun focusing on the digital market. Its Jio Platforms, a combination of its telecom, e-commerce and other services, has raised investments from the likes of Facebook, Google and other investors.