Weekly tech wrap: TCS announces 12,000 job cuts, Microsoft joins $4 trillion club, JioPC launch, Neuralink milestone, Xiaomi, Vivo new phones and more

This week in tech saw major developments across AI, enterprise, and consumer tech. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced a workforce reduction affecting 12,000 employees, while Microsoft became the second company to cross a $4 trillion market cap. On the hardware front, Jio unveiled its affordable cloud-powered JioPC, and Neuralink shared a major milestone as its first female brain implant patient typed her name using just her thoughts. Meanwhile, Xiaomi and Vivo expanded their smartphone portfolios with new launches in India.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced plans to reduce its workforce by 12,000 employees, approximately 2% of its workforce. TCS leadership clarified that the layoffs are aimed at reskilling and reallocating talent rather than AI replacements. CEO K. Krithivasan emphasised market need alignment over automation.

Microsoft has moved into elite territory as the second public company, after Nvidia, to cross a $4 trillion market capitalisation. Its latest earnings report showed Q2 revenue up 18% to $76.4 billion and net profit up 24% to $27.2 billion. Azure cloud services drove the growth, growing by 39%—well above analyst expectations.

Apple delivered record June-quarter revenue of $94 billion in fiscal 2025, up 10% year-over-year. iPhone 16 sales surged, delivering $44.6 billion—up 13%. Apple also crossed a milestone, shipping its three‑billionth iPhone, and saw consistent demand across emerging markets, including India, South Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East.

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 14 SE 5G on August 7, featuring an AMOLED display, 50MP primary camera, IP64 water resistance, and Android 15.

Vivo debuted the T4R on August 5, with a 6.77-inch Full‑HD AMOLED screen, Dimensity 7400 chipset, up to 12GB RAM, and IP68/IP69 durability.

Audrey Crews, who’s been paralysed for over two decades, made headlines after becoming the first publicly known female to control a computer using only her thoughts via a Neuralink implant. Sharing on her X handle @NeuraNova9, she posted a laptop drawing of her name, “Audrey” along with doodles—all created telepathically. Elon Musk praised the moment, calling it proof of thought-controlled computing.

Reliance’s cloud platform, JioPC, transforms any screen into a high-performance desktop, targeting students, SMBs, and professionals. The service offers AI tools, pay-as-you-go pricing, and Windows-like workflows with secure, on-demand computing.

Lava introduced Blaze Dragon with Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, 5,000 mAh battery, 50MP AI camera, and stock Android 15 under ₹10,000.

Acer launched Nitro Lite 16 gaming laptop at ₹69,999, featuring a 13th Gen Intel i7 CPU and NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU.

Amazon India’s Great Freedom Festival sale is live until August 8, offering up to 40% off on mobiles, 75% on laptops and TVs. SBI cardholders get an extra 10% off. Flipkart’s Freedom Sale starts early August (dates vary between Aug 1–2 across app and website), offering early access and up to 15% bank discounts for Prime, Plus, and VIP users.