Apple, Samsung and other brands filled this week with gadget launches. The Cupertino-based tech giant refreshed its iPad Air and MacBook Air models with powerful new M3 and M4 chips respectively, while Samsung introduced its latest mid-range smartphone offerings, Galaxy A56 and A36 smartphones in India. Moreover, UK-based startup Nothing also chipped in with two new smartphones. Beyond hardware, MeitY expanded Aadhaar authentication to private mobile apps, aiming to streamline user verification via the Aadhaar Good Governance portal. Meanwhile, Perplexity AI’s Desi CEO asked Indians a ‘Rs 1 crore question’ for the Champions Trophy final. Get to know more about all this and more in Times of India’s weekly tech wrap:Apple iPad Air with M3 chip is now officialApple has refreshed the iPad Air with its latest M3 chip, just months after the previous model’s release. The new Air maintains the familiar 11- and 13-inch sizes while delivering nearly double the performance compared to the M1 model. With a 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU, the M3 chip promises nearly 2x faster performance compared to its M1 predecessor, and up to 40% faster graphics capabilities. Most notably, the new model is fully optimised for Apple Intelligence, bringing advanced AI features to users at the same starting price points: Rs 59,900 for the 11-inch model and Rs 79,900 for the 13-inch version. Apple’s new iPad Air also comes with an updated Magic Keyboard. Click here to read moreApple MacBook Air with M4 chip comes in new colour and a more affordable priceApple has unveiled its latest MacBook Air, introducing the M4 chip and a sky blue color while simultaneously dropping prices. The new MacBook Air model comes in two sizes – 13 inches and 15 inches, and is twice as fast as the first-generation M-series powered MacBook Air model from 2020. The company’s newest ultralight laptops will be available in 13-inch and 15-inch models, starting at Rs 99,900 and Rs 124,900 respectively. Apple claims the new laptops are up to twice as fast compared to M1 models, featuring a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU. The chip supports up to 32GB of unified memory and promises up to 18 hours of battery life. Know more details hereSamsung Galaxy A56, Galaxy A36 smartphones launched in India: Price, offers and moreSamsung has expanded its Galaxy A-series of smartphones with the launch of Samsung Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 smartphones. Both the smartphones house FHD+ display and pack 5000mAh battery. The duo runs Android 15 operating system and comes with IP67 rating. As part of the launch offers, customers purchasing Galaxy A56 5G and Galaxy A36 5G will get a free storage upgrade worth Rs 3000, making it an awesome deal. Customers will get the 12GB 256GB variant at the price of the 8GB 256GB variant and the 8GB 256 GB variant at the price of the 8GB 128GB variant at no extra cost. Click here to read moreAadhaar authentication comes to private apps, here’s what it means for usersThe government has started allowing private mobile apps to integrate Aadhaar-enabled face authentication. This move aims to make it easier for users to access private services and improve convenience by streamlining the process of verifying identity on private apps. The integration will be done through the Aadhaar Good Governance portal, which provides a standardised procedure for Aadhaar authentication. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) introduced the Aadhaar Good Governance portal last week to simplify the approval process for Aadhaar authentication requests. This follows an amendment from January that reinstated private entities to access the unique ID verification system. Know more details hereChampions Trophy 2025 final: AI giant Perplexity’s Desi CEO has ‘Rs 1 crore question’ for IndiansPerplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas, has announced a contest for cricket fans in India during the ICC Champions Trophy final on March 9. The competition offers a grand prize of Rs 1 crore and a trip to San Francisco to meet the Perplexity team. Participants can enter the contest by asking questions on Perplexity from March 8 at 11:30 AM IST until the end of the match. However, only legal residents of India are eligible to participate. Click here to read moreNothing Phone 3(a), 3(a) Pro with 120Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip and triple cameras launched in IndiaNothing has launched the Phone 3(a) series, the successor to the Phone 2(a) from last year, including the Phone 3(a) and Phone 3(a) Pro, promising better style, camera, and intelligence. Nothing Phone 3(a) starts at Rs 22,999 and the Phone 3(a) Pro comes at a starting price Rs 27,999 onwards. Know more details hereBoat Rockerz 650 Pro headphones launched: Price, specs and moreDomestic wearable brand Boat has expanded its Rockerz series with the launch of a new headphone model. The latest Boat Rockerz 650 Pro headphones feature an 80-hour battery life, touch controls, and Dolby Audio support. These new headphones also include AI-ENx technology for clear calls and a design that promises comfortable extended wear. This launch follows the recent introduction of the Rockerz 551 ANC Pro. Click here to read morePaytm gets show cause notice over alleged FEMA violations; company clarifies the compliance lapses go back to …One 97 Communications (OCL), the operator of the Paytm Digital Payments app, has been issued a show cause notice by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) for alleged foreign exchange rule breaches totaling Rs 611 crore across the company and two of its subsidiaries. In a BSE filing on Saturday (March 1), OCL disclosed that the notice, dated February 27, pertains to supposed violations of specific provisions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). According to OCL, the ED pinpointed non-compliance involving Rs 245 crore at OCL, Rs 345 crore at Little Internet, and Rs 20.9 crore at Nearbuy India. These alleged violations stem from certain investment transactions within these entities, the company explained. Know more details hereHCL Tech CEO: Time is up for Indian IT industry’s 30-year-old business model; Infosys CEO agrees, says industry needs to be …HCL Technologies’ CEO, C Vijayakumar, declared that the traditional three-decade-old business model of India’s IT industry is obsolete due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at Nasscom’s annual Technology and Leadership Forum in Mumbai on February 24, 2025, Vijayakumar emphasized the necessity for companies to adopt a “paranoid” mindset to remain relevant and foster growth.Vijayakumar highlighted that the industry has experienced a linear scaling of revenues and personnel over the past 30 years, a model now ripe for disruption. He revealed that HCL has been challenging teams to achieve double the revenue with half the workforce, leveraging AI-driven automation to enhance productivity. Click here to read moreOla Electric cutting 1000 jobs; company spokesperson says restructuringOla Electric has announced plans to lay off over 1,000 employees as part of its efforts to address mounting financial losses. This decision marks the second round of layoffs in less than five months, following the company’s previous reduction of around 500 employees in November 2024.As reported by Bloomberg, the job cuts will impact multiple departments, including procurement, fulfillment, customer relations, and charging infrastructure. The layoffs also extend to contract workers, who are not included in the company’s official employee count. Ola Electric’s workforce stood at approximately 4,000 employees as of March 2024, meaning the latest round of layoffs affects more than a quarter of its staff. Know more details hereDeloitte joins Google, PwC and others; links performance bonus to office attendance for employees in this divisionDeloitte has reportedly informed its employees in the US tax division that annual bonus will be linked to office attendance. According to a Financial Times report, Deloitte employees are expected to be in the office for 50 per cent of the working week at least. The policy shift mirrors similar actions by other Big Four firms, including PwC and EY, as well as tech giant Google, which also linked office attendance to performance metrics.According to a message sent to US tax staff and seen by the Financial Times, Deloitte stated, “Being present at a Deloitte office or client site will now be considered in your … performance evaluations.” The email, sent by Katie Zinn, the tax practice’s chief talent officer, further specified that staff should, “ensure in-person collaboration 2-3 days (50%) weekly.” Click here to read moreInfosys tweaks the ‘10-day-work from office’ policy, sends an email saying: Starting March 10, system interventions will be implemented to limit the number of …Infosys has told its technology workforce to comply with its mandate to work 10 days a month from office, in a bid to get more people back onto the campus. As reported by Economic Times, in an email, functional heads at the Bengaluru-headquartered company informed their teammates to limit the number of work-from-home days that they apply for, effective March 10.“To support this, starting March 10, 2025, system interventions will be implemented to limit the number of work-from-home days that can be applied each month. These measures are designed to ensure compliance with the new hybrid work requirements while maintaining flexibility for employees,” said the email, which ET has seen. Know more details hereTamil Nadu’s DGP Cyber Police has a Shreya Ghoshal warning for netizensAdditional Director General of Police for Cyber Crime Wing in Tamil Nadu, Sandeep Mittal, has a warning for the users of the microblogging site X (earlier Twitter). In a post shared on the social media platform, Mittal revealed that fake news clippings and advertisements featuring singer Shreya Ghoshal are circulating on X. The cybercrime official also cautioned that these fake posts acting as “traps” are designed to lure the public. Mittal also noted that these deceptive posts use sensational headlines, misleading website links, and falsely display logos of legitimate news publications, including The Indian Express, to appear credible. He specifically pointed out that verified X accounts with a small number of followers (10 to 15) are promoting these scams. Mittal has even urged X to implement mechanisms to detect and block these accounts that are openly engaging in criminal activities. Click here to read moreTelecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia unveils India Mobile Congress 2025 at MWC BarcelonaTelecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has announced the 9th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) at MWC Barcelona. The Asia’s largest digital technology forum is set to take place in New Delhi, India from October 8 to October 11. The premier forum will bring together leading innovators in the technology and telecommunications sectors.IMC 2025 is expected to attract over 100,000+ attendees with participation from 120+ countries and over 1000 exhibitors including GSMA, as per a government communication. Know more details hereLTIMindtree links managers’ salary hikes to new competency tests that assess …LTIMindtree, one of India’s leading IT services companies, has introduced a new appraisal system that links salary hikes for middle and senior-level managers to the successful completion of competency tests. This move aims to ensure that managers stay updated with the latest technologies and maintain high standards of performance.According to a report by Economic Times, the new system, part of the “My Career My Growth” (MCMG) framework, requires managers, project leads, and lead architects to pass a skills test in coding and mathematics. The appraisal process is now divided equally between project performance and the competency exam, with each component carrying 50% weightage. Click here to read moreZomato’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto face antitrust case over ‘unfair pricing models’Indian consumer products distributors have lodged an antitrust complaint against major quick-commerce players Zomato-owned BlinkIt, Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto, alleging deep discounting practices that harm smaller retailers. The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has filed a case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), seeking an investigation into the pricing strategies of these platforms.According to a report by Reuters, the AICPDF, representing 400,000 distributors who supply products to 13 million retail shops across India, alleges that the deep discounts offered by quick-commerce platforms create an unfair playing field. Know more details hereAfter Apple, TSMC announces plan to invest billions for five factories in USTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced a significant expansion of its investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US. Building on its existing $65 billion investment in Phoenix, Arizona, TSMC plans to pour an additional $100 billion into US operations, bringing the total investment to a record-breaking $165 billion.The leading chipmaker said that the expansion will include three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a major R&D center in Arizona, making it the largest single foreign direct investment in US history. Click here to read moreBitcoin slides following US President Trump’s strategic reserve announcementBitcoin took a dip after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The reserve, set to be financed solely with Bitcoin and multiple other digital assets confiscated from criminal and civil forfeiture cases, signals a major policy shift on digital assets. The order also noted that the reserve will not use taxpayer funds for acquisitions. In a post shared on social media platform X (earlier Twitter), White House crypto and artificial intelligence advisor David Sacks confirmed the order. Know more details here
New gadget launches from Apple and Samsung; Rs 1 crore Champions Trophy question; Aadhaar authentication change and more
