Asian Tech Roundup: China bans iPhones

Plus, India launches solar mission after lunar success

China has banned central government officials from using Apple iPhones, sources have told the Wall Street Journal. Apple shares have fallen as a result. Source
Tech giant Xiaomi announced a 4% YoY revenue drop in Q2'23, to CNY67.4 billion ($9.2 billion), due to lower Chinese and Indian smartphone sales. However, it says its plans to manufacture electric vehicles next year are still on-course. Source
Smartphone maker Oppo has announced a rival to Samsung's foldable Galaxy Z Flip phone, called the Find N3 Flip. Available in China now, the company will launch it internationally "soon". Source
Ericsson and Huawei have renewed a multi-year global patent cross-licencing agreement covering patents essential to standards including 3G, 4G and 5G technologies. Source

India is moving in step with regions like the EU in beginning to regulate 'dark patterns' - UI and UX tricks that push consumers towards an outcome they did not intend. The nation has proposed a ban, after consulting with tech giants like Amazon and Google. Source
India's PM said global business communities and governments "must collaborate to ensure the expansion of Ethical AI" during the B20 Summit India in New Delhi. Source
The Delhi High Court ordered several YouTube channels to take down "defamatory" videos about entrepreneur Praful Billore and his chain of tea cafes. Source
India's Railways Department is installing facial recognition system at all major stations on the East Central Railway. The country's new data protection rules exempt government agencies from compliance. Source
India has launched its first mission to study the Sun, Aditya-L1, days after becoming the first country in the world to land on the moon's South Pole. Source

Researchers in Australia have increased the efficiency of perovskite photovoltaic (PV) solar cells on a steel substrate, operating a door to new applications such as integrating solar panels into buildings. Source
Microsoft has apologised for an outage in its Australia East region last month, blaming it on "a utility power sag." The company also admitted that low staffing numbers played a part. Source
A new draft code published by Australia's internet regulator will force search engines like Google not to return AI-created images of child sexual abuse in search results. Source

Samsung said the company has changed, following the jailing of former vice-chair Lee Jae-yong on corruption charges. "I think management now believes abiding by the law is much more helpful in doing business. They paid a costly price for caving to short-sighted gain and political pressure," said compliance chair Lee Chan-hee. Source
SK Hynix is investigating the use of its chips in Huawei's Mate 60 Pro, after a teardown revealed Hynix memory and flash storage components in the phone. Source

Japan's space agency has launched a rocket carrying an advanced X-ray telescope, in collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency. Source
New Zealand is to introduce legislation for a digital services tax on large multinational companies from 2025, after talks on a multilateral agreement failed. "We don't think it's fair that everyday Kiwis pay their fair share of taxes but there's no tax liability for large multinationals," said finance minister Grant Robertson. Source
Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, announced that he is to stand for election as president of Taiwan. Source