Tech wrap: Apple iPhone 12 launch date, Acer Extensa 15 laptop and more

What made headlines today in the world of technology was Acer as it launched its new laptop in India. We also saw YouTube getting the limelight as India’s highest paid YouTuber CarryMinati’s channel got hacked. In addition to Oppo launching its A72 5G smartphone, reports also talked about Apple’s upcoming devices, unannounced Samsung earbuds and how NBA will use Microsoft Teams to place virtual fans in basketball arenas.

We also had an exclusive word with Prosenjit Ghosh, Head of PlayStation Business, Sony India and talked about the gaming console market in the country.

So, these are your top tech news of the day

Acer launches affordable Extensa 15 laptop with Intel 10th-gen processor

The laptop is priced at ₹31,490 for the base model and features 15.6-inch Full HD display, Intel’s 10th-gen Core processor, Intel UHD graphics and up to 12GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD.

CarryMinati's 2nd YouTube channel hacked, viewers asked to donate bitcoin

Nagar's second channel CarryisLive, where he essentially posts gaming videos, has been hacked and fans have reported that hackers have live-streamed videos from the gaming channel and also ran a bitcoin giveaway scam. The channel has 6.68 million subscribers.

Google is reportedly collecting data from rival apps to improve its own products

According to reports, Google has been collecting and studying user data from competing apps to help develop its own apps better. Reports claim that anonymised, user-consented data collected from third-party apps is stored in the Android Lockbox service. Google says that this service primarily works to power features like background app management etc. 

Apple Glass, iPhone 12, Macs with Apple Silicon and more may launch in September and October

Apple is expected to hold two events – one scheduled for September 8 and the second one on October 27. These events could see the arrival of iPhone 12 series, new Apple Watch, Apple Glass, iPad models and AMD-based Mac devices. The firm could also launch wireless charging AirPower Mat.

Oppo A72 5G with MediaTek's Dimensity 720 chipset launched

The smartphone is launched in China and is priced at CNY 1,899 (Rs 20,300 approx). Key specs include 6.5-inch full HD+ display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 chipset, 8-megapixel front camera along with 16-megapixel primary sensor, 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel depth sensor at the back.

PS4 is going nowhere once PS5 launches in India, says head of Sony Playstation business

Prosenjit Ghosh, Head of PlayStation Business, Sony India talks about PS4 consoles once PS5 reaches Indian shelves. He added that the company saw 200%+ growth in peripheral sales in the past few months and the arrival of PS5 didn’t impact the sales of PS4 consoles in India in a major way.

Galaxy Buds Live features, specs and price revealed ahead of August 5 launch

Galaxy Buds Live is one of the five products Samsung is launching at its Unpacked event on August 5. The latest details of the Galaxy Buds Live come from an early update of the Galaxy Buds app. This would be the companion app for the wireless earbuds on Samsung smartphones. Some features that were revealed include controls on both earbuds, feature to turn on active noise cancellation, ‘Find My Earbuds’ option and of course, the bean-like design.

NBA will use Microsoft Teams to put virtual fans in basketball arenas

NBA is trying to make a good use of Microsoft Teams platform to place virtual fans in basketball arenas during matches. The two companies will equip each game court with 17-foot-tall (5.2 m) LED screens that wrap three sides of the arena. The virtual stands will be filled with fans who use the Teams app to log in and sit alongside each other using a new feature of the app called "Together mode" meant to simulate a group of people sitting in a room.