Huawei has introduced a new version of its premium foldable smartphone as the Chinese technology giant looks to strengthen its position in the country’s high-end handset market, where competition from Apple and Xiaomi is becoming increasingly intense. The company unveiled the Mate XT2 on Monday. The device uses a dual-folding design that allows its display to open out into a tablet-sized screen. It is also powered by Huawei’s latest Kirin 9050 Pro processor.
Huawei says the new chip has been engineered to provide greater computing performance while consuming less power. The company views improvements in chip efficiency as particularly important as it continues to face U.S. restrictions limiting its access to some advanced semiconductor technologies.
The launch comes during a busy week for the Chinese smartphone industry. Xiaomi is scheduled to introduce its latest foldable handset later on Monday, while Apple is preparing to unveil its newest iPhone lineup on Wednesday. Market watchers are also expecting Apple to potentially enter the foldable smartphone segment.
Huawei has made several changes to the Mate XT2 beyond its processor. The handset comes with a redesigned folding system and improved resistance to water. An optional privacy display is also available, allowing users to prevent people nearby from viewing information on the screen. The new model additionally receives camera upgrades and other hardware improvements. According to Huawei's own testing, the Mate XT2 delivers approximately 42% higher overall performance than the previous generation.
Huawei remains a major force in China's premium smartphone market. The company does not sell its smartphones in the United States because of sanctions, but it has maintained a strong position in its home market. Data from research firm IDC showed Huawei held 22.6% of China's overall smartphone market in the second quarter, ahead of Apple at 18.1%. Xiaomi followed with a 12.4% share.
Huawei's advantage is even more pronounced in the foldable-phone category. According to Smart Analytics Global, the company accounted for around 68% of foldable smartphone shipments in China during the second quarter. The latest Mate XT2 launch therefore comes at an important moment for Huawei. With Xiaomi expanding its foldable lineup and Apple potentially preparing its own entry into the category, competition in China's premium smartphone market is likely to become even tougher in the months ahead.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.
WhatsApp has rolled out a new bill payment feature in India, allowing users to check, manage and pay household and utility bills directly through the messaging platform. Powered by the Bharat Connect (BBPS) network, the service gives users access to 22,722 billers across 30 categories, covering services such as electricity, gas, water, FASTag, insurance, credit cards and loan payments.
Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Country Head of Meta India, said the new feature is aimed at making everyday payments more convenient by reducing the need to switch between different apps or manage multiple payment platforms. According to WhatsApp, the bill payment facility is being introduced gradually across India and will be available to Android and iOS users over the next few weeks.
To access the service, users can tap the ₹ icon at the top of the WhatsApp home screen. The Payments Home page allows them to check previous transactions, view upcoming bills, manage multiple accounts with the same biller and select from available payment methods without leaving WhatsApp. WhatsApp will also make repeat payments easier by automatically fetching bills from billers that users have previously paid through the service. These billers will appear on the Payments Home page, making them easier to access when the next payment is due.
Users can also add multiple accounts under the same biller, allowing them to manage bills for their home, workplace or family members from one place. Frequently used bill categories will be displayed on the Payments Home page, while the “See All” option will provide access to the wider range of available categories.
To pay a bill, users simply need to open WhatsApp, tap the ₹ icon, select the relevant bill category and biller, and enter the required account details. Once the bill information and amount are displayed, users can choose a payment method such as UPI, debit card or credit card and confirm the transaction. With the addition of bill payments, WhatsApp is expanding its digital payment services in India, giving users another convenient way to handle routine household and utility payments within the app.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Business Standard.
Mozilla has introduced a built-in ad blocker for Firefox on iOS, giving iPhone and iPad users more control over third-party advertisements and ad-related tracking. The feature is integrated directly into the browser, meaning users do not need to install a separate extension to reduce unwanted ads while browsing.
The new Ad Blocker is designed to limit many third-party advertisements, trackers, pop-ups and intrusive overlays before they load. Mozilla says the feature uses Apple's WebKit Content Blocker technology along with the EasyList filter list to identify content that should be blocked. It is turned off by default, allowing users to decide whether they want to activate it.
Mozilla's ad-blocking tool also works alongside Firefox's existing Enhanced Tracking Protection. While Enhanced Tracking Protection focuses on limiting trackers and cross-site tracking, the new feature is specifically aimed at reducing third-party advertising and related content that can make webpages more cluttered.
Firefox's new tool will not remove every advertisement. Ads displayed directly by the website being visited may still appear, while advertisements included in search results will also remain visible. Mozilla has further clarified that sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content displayed on Firefox's New Tab page are separate from website advertising and are not affected by the new blocker.
The company said the addition comes after years of requests from Firefox users who wanted a built-in ad-blocking option on iPhones. Mozilla also pointed to Apple's restrictions on extensions as a major reason for integrating the functionality directly into the browser. Firefox offers a wide range of extensions on desktop and Android, including tools for content blocking, accessibility, password management and other features. Mozilla says almost 40 per cent of Firefox users make use of its extension ecosystem. On iOS, however, Mozilla cannot provide extensions in exactly the same way because of Apple's platform rules.
According to Mozilla, Apple's App Review Guidelines generally require iOS applications to remain self-contained and restrict apps from downloading or executing code that can alter an app's functionality. Because of these limitations, Mozilla opted to build the ad-blocking technology directly into Firefox for iOS rather than relying on a conventional browser extension.
For users who want to enable the feature, Firefox provides the option through its settings. On an iPhone or iPad, users can open Firefox, tap the menu button at the bottom of the screen, enter Settings, select Browsing and then choose Ad Blocker. The feature can be activated from there and disabled again at any time.
The addition gives Firefox users on Apple's mobile devices another way to customize their browsing experience. While it does not promise a completely ad-free web, the built-in blocker can reduce many third-party advertisements and tracking elements without requiring users to install additional software.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Mozilla.
India is preparing a new framework that could allow artificial intelligence agents to make small digital payments on behalf of users without requiring approval for every transaction, according to three people familiar with the development. The move could place India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) among the world's largest payment networks to support so-called agentic payments, where AI systems can carry out transactions based on instructions, spending limits and conditions previously set by customers.
Payment companies in the United States, Europe, Singapore and Australia have already been developing similar systems. However, introducing the technology through UPI would put India among the first countries to bring agentic payments to a nationwide digital payment infrastructure. UPI, operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has become the world's largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume, according to a 2025 report from the International Monetary Fund. In August, UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions with a combined value of ₹29.82 trillion, or about $314.21 billion. Google Pay and Walmart-owned PhonePe accounted for nearly three-fourths of the monthly transaction volume.
The proposed Unified Agent Protocol is expected to be unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai next week, the sources said. They requested anonymity because the details of the plan have not yet been made public. NPCI had not immediately responded to requests for comment. In its early stages, the technology is likely to focus on frequent, low-value purchases. Grocery shopping could become one of the first practical applications, allowing an AI agent to complete routine purchases without asking the user to manually approve every payment. E-commerce companies could also become early adopters as they look to use AI to automate parts of the shopping process.
The potential applications could eventually go beyond routine purchases. Users could, for example, instruct an AI agent to buy a product whenever it becomes available at a particular discount or falls below a specified price. Similar rules could potentially be used for investments, allowing an agent to act when predetermined price conditions are met. NPCI is expected to build the new system around existing UPI features, including UPI Circle and Reserve Pay. UPI Circle enables a primary account holder to delegate payment authority to another user, while Reserve Pay allows customers to set aside funds for multiple future debits.
Banks currently place limits of up to ₹10,000 on such reserved funds for periods of as long as 90 days. These limits and the validity period could be reconsidered if the mechanism is expanded for AI-agent payments, according to the sources. Under the proposed framework, merchants would be able to integrate directly with NPCI's infrastructure, allowing customers to create rules governing when an AI agent can make payments and how much it can spend. Spending limits, identity verification and transaction records are expected to form part of the system's safeguards.
NPCI is also understood to be working on a liability framework to determine responsibility when problems occur, although details about how that system would operate have not yet been disclosed. The development comes as international payment giants Mastercard and Visa are also working on agentic payment technology in India. Their efforts form part of a wider global race to establish systems that allow AI agents to participate directly in digital commerce.
Mastercard completed its first authenticated agentic transaction in New Delhi in June. Earlier this year, fintech company Pine Labs launched its P3P protocol, which allows AI agents to complete UPI payments after receiving a single authorisation from the customer. The arrival of agentic payments could mark the next major stage in the evolution of UPI. The technology could make everyday transactions more automated, but its wider adoption will depend on strong safeguards that prevent unauthorised spending and give users clear control over what AI agents can and cannot do with their money.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of technologies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for all conventional missile systems to Indian defence companies for domestic production. The Ministry of Defence described the decision as a significant step towards expanding the role of Indian industry in the country’s defence ecosystem. According to the ministry, the move will help bridge the gap between missile development and large-scale industrial manufacturing. It also reflects DRDO’s efforts to utilise the expertise and capabilities of Indian companies in producing advanced defence technologies. The initiative is expected to boost indigenous manufacturing, further strengthen India’s defence industrial base and open up new opportunities for MSMEs and other domestic technology partners to become part of the missile systems supply chain.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.
As artificial intelligence transforms the job market and changes the skills employers are looking for, workers are increasingly faced with a key question: which skills are truly worth investing in? Cheryl Goh speaks with Chandler Morse, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Workday, about whether businesses are prioritising specialists or generalists, how employees can distinguish genuine workplace demand from AI hype, and the steps they can take to stay relevant as the job market evolves.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have rapidly emerged as one of the world’s most popular new tech products, with reports suggesting that more than seven million pairs were sold in 2025. Supporters praise the glasses for making photography and accessibility more convenient, but the technology has also sparked privacy concerns. Critics have dubbed them “pervert glasses,” while some UK pubs and restaurants, including Wetherspoons, have reportedly banned customers from using the devices on their premises.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from The Guardian.
On the July 24 episode of Open For Business, hosts Andrea Heng and Poh Kok Ing are joined by Santosh Rao, Head of Research and Partner at Manhattan Venture Partners, to break down today's market trends.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
As AI continues to evolve, cyber risks are becoming a major business challenge rather than just a technical problem. The Five Eyes alliance warns that advanced AI models could transform the cyber threat landscape faster than anticipated. With AI being used for both attacks and defense, the question remains: who is ahead in this new automated cyber battle? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman explore this with Jayant Dave, Chief Information Security Officer at Check Point Software Technologies.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from CNA.
