On November 18, Apple announced its App Store Small Business Program, one that would cut commission on in-app purchases and paid apps from 30-percent to 15-percent. The program can apply to developers whose apps generated up to $1 million in the previous calendar year -- and now, a couple of weeks later, the company is now accepting applications.
Walmart+, the retailer's subscription service, is about to become a bit more appealing for diehard Prime fans. The company has announced that it will remove its minimum order requirement for shipping, meaning you'll be able to impulsively order whatever little trinket or gadget you may need. Other features, such as grocery deliveries, remain the same.
The Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency hasn't even launched yet, but it's already rebranding, with its stablecoin product now set to debut as Diem. The move - which comes as the organization hires a number of high-profile execs - is being seen as an attempt to draw further distinction between the crypto project and the ever-controversial Facebook.
With all that has happened this year, you'd think that the smartphone market has drastically changed over the past few months. Some might have expected Huawei to sink and Apple to reclaim its throne as the world's Top 2. The smartphone market as a whole did shrink a bit and Huawei did lose market share but not enough for Apple to recover. In fact, the Cupertino-based company sunk even lower, allowing Xioami to finally take over a coveted Number 3 spot.
This morning Ajit Pai announced he'd be leaving the FCC for good on January 20, 2021. Pai was first appointed as a Commissioner to the FCC in 2012, then made Chairman of the FCC in 2017. Pai made this announcement via the FCC (dot gov) as of November 30, 2020 with the statement title "Chairman Pai Announces his Intent to Depart FCC."
Although it hasn't disappeared, cryptocurrency and digital currencies seemed to have taken a backseat in recent months as far as news coverage is concerned. Given the global economy and health situation, however, interest in this new form of currency has apparently surged in the background. That may have given the group behind Facebook's controversial Libra cryptocurrency the motivation to finally push it to the market as early as January, even if it isn't the grand vision that Facebook and its remaining allies had for it last year.
Throughout the year 2020, a wide variety of companies announced that they'd be testing work-from-home strategies. In the last few months, several companies announced that they'd be initiating permanent or semi-permanent work-from-home options for their workers. The latest major company to deliver an announcement on this sort of future-ready strategy heavily reliant on the connectivity delivered by the internet is Square Enix.
Thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping everyone at home and prompting them to search out some feel good media, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become one of the biggest games of the year and one of the biggest Switch games of all time. This, naturally, means that brands and businesses have been looking to tap into that hype in any way they can, and up until now, it hasn't been uncommon to see businesses offering custom designs or even creating entire islands based around their brands.
With its resources being restricted and possibly running low, it was really only a matter of time before Huawei took drastic measures to keep itself afloat. "Drastic measures" often imply layoffs, divestment, and sales, none of which look good no matter which way you look at it. Huawei is, of course, trying to point it in a positive light but it remains to be seen if Honor will survive this acquisition by a new Chinese company representing Honor's own agents and dealers.
Electrify America is rolling out Plug&Charge across its US charging stations, promising to make juicing up an electric vehicle as easy as plugging it in - assuming you have the right model. It's the first time the technology has been offered in the US, building on the ISO 15118 charging standard that aims to make recharging EVs simpler than fueling up a gas or diesel vehicle.
2020 will definitely be remembered for the drastic, sometimes very negative, changes that happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has affected all quarters and industries around the world, though not all in the same way. The PC market, for example, has found a bit of reprieve after years of slumping sales and profits. But while PC shipments have gone up, not all categories enjoy that same growth and the computers normally associated with the term "PC" are actually still in the red, perhaps even more than before.
Amazon is greatly expanding its in-garage delivery option, the company announced on Thursday. The service first launched in only 50 cities; this new expansion will make it available in more than 4,000 cities in the United States. As well, Amazon says it will now also deliver groceries in the garage for eligible Prime members.