Technology News

Perplexity Comet browser referral program announced: Offering $2 per invite, friends get 1 month of Pro free

Comet’s new referral program rewards users with $2 for each friend they invite, while referred users enjoy a free month of Comet Pro after logging in and asking their first question

Google Diwali 2025 offer announced for Gmail and Google Photos users with extended cloud storage of up to 2TB at Rs 11: How to claim the offer

Google’s Diwali 2025 offer brings heavy discounts on Google One cloud storage plans, starting at just Rs 11 for the first three months, with options up to 2TB.

LTIMindtree defers pay raise again, 50% employees to receive hikes in January, rest in April

Giving context on this decision, CEO Venu Lambu said that 'the topic of wage hikes is evolving,' as the industry and the company are going through a significant inflection point

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic review: Brings back nostalgia with the power of AI

The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic refines Samsung’s smartwatch formula with a revived bezel, brighter display, Gemini integration, and improved health tracking.

Google India teases AI Mode in Search with a Bollywood twist inspired by hit movie ‘Queen’: Watch the video

Google India’s new campaign teases AI Mode in Search using a dialogue from Queen, blending Bollywood emotion with tech innovation to introduce its Gemini-powered, conversational AI experience.

OnePlus announces OxygenOS 16 based on Android 16 with new AI features and improved performance: Eligible devices, and more

OnePlus has launched OxygenOS 16, built on Android 16, featuring new AI tools, smoother animations, and enhanced security. The OnePlus 15 will debut with the update out of the box.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows may arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 as a Game-Key Card

 Assassin’s Creed Shadows may be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 as a Game-Key Card, requiring an online download to play. The move follows earlier hints from Ubisoft and PEGI, and the game has already proven successful on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Microsoft announces new Copilot Voice, Vision, and agentic experiences for all Windows 11 PCs

Microsoft has introduced a new wave of Copilot features on Windows 11, including Copilot Voice, Copilot Vision, and Copilot Actions, transforming every PC into a secure, AI-powered productivity platform.

Microsoft brings Copilot Actions to Windows 11, enabling secure AI agents for local tasks

Microsoft has introduced Copilot Actions on Windows 11, an experimental AI agent feature that performs real tasks on local files while ensuring privacy, user control, and security through agentic safeguards.

Graph AI secures $3 mn from Bessemer to automate drug safety monitoring

The company’s flagship product, Graph Safety, uses context-aware AI to automate the detection and reporting of adverse drug events (ADEs), a process traditionally handled by large teams of pharmacology graduates manually combing through call transcripts, legal filings, and medical literature.

Zepto closes $450 million funding from Calpers and existing investors; taking total fundraise close to $2 billion in under two years

Zepto is now valued at $7 billion, up from $5 billion just last year. Moneycontrol had exclusively reported Zepto is nearing a $450 million funding round led by Calpers on October 1. CEO Aadit Palicha said Zepto has a cash balance of $900 million now.

Zomato doesn’t need a separate app, like Swiggy’s Toing and Rapido’s Ownly, to solve for budget-conscious customers: CEO Deepinder Goyal

While analysts have long debated on which approach works best, most companies are now launching seperate apps for different use cases to improve the recall in consumers' minds as cross-selling becomes more and more difficult.

Gemini Nano Banana: 5 prompts to use to transform your selfie into an AI-powered Diwali couple portrait

Gemini Nano Banana is enabling couples to create personalised AI-generated Diwali portraits, transforming selfies into festive artwork with photorealistic or artistic styles. With these five prompts, users can experiment with traditional, modern, fantasy, watercolour, and cinematic festive themes.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle “MachineGames Anniversary Update” launched: Here’s what it brings

Complete the main story of the game to unlock New Game+.

Oppo Find X9 series may launch in India in November: Key specs, price and more

Oppo’s Find X9 series is set to launch in China on October 16, and now a new report has revealed its expected India launch date. Both smartphones in the lineup will be powered by the latest MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset and run Android 16-based ColorOS 16.

Honor Magic 8, Magic 8 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 SoC, up to 7,200 mAh battery announced: Price, specs

Honor has launched its Magic 8 series in China. Both smartphones are powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, MagicOS 10, which is based on Google's Android 16 operating system, and house a triple rear camera setup.

Which iPad should you buy in 2025? Buyer’s guide after the M5 iPad Pro launch

The M5 iPad Pro raises the bar, but that doesn’t mean lesser iPads are obsolete — they just serve different kinds of users now. Choose based on what you actually use, not just the specs.

Wi-Fi 8 enters testing phase as TP-Link demonstrates prototype connection

TP-Link has successfully tested an early prototype of its Wi-Fi 8 hardware, showcasing the next generation of wireless connectivity with faster speeds. Moreover, this advanced technology focuses on steadier connections, stronger coverage, and lower latency.

Amazon Diwali Sale 2025: Top 10 home and kitchen appliance deals with 50%+ off

Amazon’s Diwali Sale 2025 is offering massive discounts on trusted brands such as Wonderchef, Morphy Richards, Bajaj, Philips, and Usha. Here are the top 10 appliance deals, each available at a minimum 50% discount, divided across kitchen and home appliances.

Honor has a Robot Phone in the works: What we know

Honor’s Robot Phone teaser shows an AI-powered smartphone with a moving gimbal camera, iPhone-like design, and smart features that capture photos on its own.

Borderlands 4 DLC “Bounty Pack 1: How Rush Saved Mercenary Day” gets a release date

Bounty Packs are paid DLC that bring new narrative content and a new Vault Card, along with the opportunity to earn new gear and collect new cosmetics.

Dragon Ball FighterZ to get Goku as DLC character

The fighting game also got a new balance adjustment update recently.

Beyond smartphones: Xiaomi HQ 'deeply involved' with India plans, 'value over volume' focus: COO Sudhin Mathur

Sudhin Mathur, COO of Xiaomi India has dismissed speculation that the local arm was being asked to operate independently on its own profits due to reduced attention from the headquarter amid legal and regulatory issues. The COO said India continues to be a key pillar of Xiaomi’s global operations.

iQOO 15 confirmed to launch in India in November: Specs, expected price and everything else we know

iQOO 15 confirmed for India in November with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 2K 144Hz display, 50MP cameras, 7,000mAh battery, and wireless charging.

National task force working on quantum cybersecurity standards, says NSCS official

As quantum computing threatens current encryption models, the National Security Council Secretariat leads task force to draw up migration plan for critical sectors

National Cybersecurity Strategy back in motion after delays, says official

National Security Council Secretariat's Narendranath Gangavarapu says consultations are underway across ministries and industry; strategy aims to unify cybersecurity efforts nationwide.

Satellite communication services likely to begin next year; industry awaits draft space law: IsPA chief AK Bhatt

ISpA’s Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt says players like OneWeb, Starlink and Kuiper could go live soon, urges government to share the draft Space Activities Bill with industry before finalising it.

Tata Communications going big on GPU investment; want a clear private 5G policy, says CEO

The company is pushing for a clear private 5G policy framework, as these networks must remain distinct from public 5G services to ensure reliability for mission-critical industrial use cases, Amur Lakshminarayanan tells Moneycontrol

Instagram adds Diwali-themed filters and effects for Stories, Edits app, and Ray-Ban Meta glasses

Instagram launches Diwali-themed filters and effects for Stories, Edits app, and Ray-Ban Meta glasses, available until October 29.

Japan warns OpenAI to stop using anime and manga without permission after AI videos spark outrage

Japan warns OpenAI to stop using anime and manga without permission after Sora users flood social media with AI-made Japanese art.

NYT Mini Crossword: Clues and answers for October 16, 2025

The NYT Mini Crossword is a smaller version of the full crossword puzzle, typically featuring a 5x5 grid, although the grid size can vary slightly. Unlike the full crossword, which may take an hour or more to solve, the Mini is designed to be completed in just a few minutes.

Google unveils Veo 3.1 with cinematic realism and richer storytelling for AI video generation

With Veo 3.1, Google continues its push into next-generation AI filmmaking, bringing cinematic-quality tools to anyone with a creative spark.

Apple’s new AI chief quits weeks after appointment, joins Meta in major Silicon Valley talent war

Apple faces another major setback as newly appointed AI head Ke Yang quits weeks after promotion to join Meta’s expanding AI team.

NYT Connections hints and answers today for October 16, 2025 (Puzzle #858)

In Connections, the goal is to group 16 words into four logical categories of four words each. The categories can be based on synonyms, antonyms, shared themes, wordplay, or even cultural references.

YouTube down: Google-owned video streaming service faces major global outage, here are the issues users are facing

YouTube users worldwide reported widespread outages today, with most unable to stream videos or access the app. Downdetector data confirms a major spike in user complaints early Thursday morning.

Sam Altman says OpenAI isn’t “the world’s moral police” as ChatGPT prepares to allow adult content

Sam Altman said the update aligns with OpenAI’s goal to “treat adult users like adults,” while ensuring harmful content remains off-limits. “In the same way that society differentiates appropriate boundaries—R-rated movies, for example—we want to do a similar thing here,” he wrote on X.

Google puts India on its AI map

Google is investing $15 billion over five years to establish India's first major AI hub in Visakhapatnam, featuring a gigawatt-scale data centre, new subsea cables, and expanded fibre optic networks in what marks the tech giant's largest investment in the country

Quick services startup Snabbit relocates from Mumbai to Bengaluru’s Koramangala to tap tech talent

Snabbit is moving to Bengaluru at a time when industrialists and the state government are at loggerheads over infrastructure issues, traffic woes and other challenges that are crippling the city’s growth.

Amazon fires engineer over ‘threatening’ letter to CEO Andy Jassy

Amazon has fired software engineer Ahmed Shahrour after he criticised the company’s Project Nimbus contract on internal channels. The move has drawn accusations of retaliation, reflecting a broader pattern of tech companies disciplining employees involved in Israel-related protests.

Mozilla’s Firefox adds Perplexity AI as a new search option

Firefox now lets users switch their default search engine to the AI-powered Perplexity, offering direct answers with citations. The feature is globally available on desktop, with mobile support coming later, reflecting Mozilla’s push to integrate AI while maintaining user privacy.

Nothing Phone 3a users can now share any content with Essential Space: Here’s how it works

Nothing is now rolling out a new update for Essential Space, which allows users to add content to Essential Space by tapping the share button in several apps. This means users can directly share content to Essential Space without having to manually copy-paste it.

Apple CEO Tim Cook receives custom Labubu during China visit

Tim Cook received a custom Labubu figure during his China visit, which coincides with the upcoming iPhone Air launch. The visit included meetings with Pop Mart and local creators, store visits, and a preview of Apple’s first eSIM-only iPhone in China.

Sony PS6 and next-generation Xbox likely to launch in 2027, new Xbox to be faster than the PS6

Sony is reportedly planning to launch its next-generation console, the PlayStation 6, likely in 2027, which aligns with the rumoured release timeline of the Xbox Magnus. Moreover, the PlayStation 6 will reportedly be less expensive than the next-generation Xbox.

Essar Group-backed tech firm Black Box outlines 15% year-on-year growth over 4 years

For the quarter ending June 30, 2025, Black Box reported a topline of Rs 1,387 crore

Google’s Gemini AI can now schedule Google Calendar meetings directly from Gmail

 Google has introduced a Gemini-powered scheduling tool that allows Gmail users to automatically find and propose meeting times using AI-driven context from emails and Google Calendar data. The feature marks a deeper integration of Gemini into Google Workspace, reinforcing Google’s push toward AI-first productivity tools.

Apple launches 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip: Price, key specs, and more

Apple has unveiled the new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip — the company’s most advanced processor yet. The new model brings up to 3.5x faster AI performance, 1.6x better graphics, and up to 24 hours of battery life, all running on macOS Tahoe.

Apple launches its most powerful iPad Pro with M5 chip: Price in India, key features and more

Apple has launched the new iPad Pro in India featuring the M5 chip and iPadOS 26, offering faster AI performance, advanced graphics, and improved wireless connectivity across multiple variants.

Honor Magic 8, Magic 8 Pro launching today: Expected features and other details

The Honor Magic 8 series is set to be unveiled on October 15 in China. The lineup will include the Honour Magic 8 and Honour Magic 8 Pro smartphones, both of which are expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.