Tech News Today: Nothing Phone 2 price slashed permanently, Elon Musk asks advertisers to buzz off.

The weekend is just around the corner and we’ve got a mix of good and not-so-good tidings from the world of technology this fine Friday. First up, the good news for Android fans out there – Nothing has decided to permanently slash the price of their Nothing Phone 2 by a solid Rs 5,000. Even better, they’re also throwing in a discounted CMF Power GaN charger as part of a limited-period bundle offer. Now for the slightly less fun news (for X loyalists) – Elon Musk has basically told advertisers they can take a long walk off a short pier. Let’s take a look at all that’s transpired.

1. 01

   Nothing Phone gets a sweet (permanent) price cut

   The Nothing Phone 2 has just gotten even more affordable, with a sizable permanent Rs 5,000 price cut being applied across all variants of the mid-ranger. Specifically, the base 8GB RAM and 128GB storage trim in dark gray can now be yours for only Rs 39,999. Meanwhile, the 12GB+256GB variant costs Rs 44,999 and the top-end 12GB+512GB flagship is priced at Rs 49,999 (available in both colour options). As if that wasn’t enough, Nothing is also throwing in an additional bonus offer – buy the Phone 2 and you can add the 65W CMF Power GaN charger for only Rs 1,999, down massively from its usual Rs 2,999.
2. 02

   Google's best apps list for 2023 was an AI-riddled affair

   Google’s yearly round-up of its choicest apps landed Thursday. This year’s list was big on AI, with Level SuperMind being selected as the Best App of the year for helping people improve their mindfulness with the help of personalised AI-enabled paths that had a mix of meditation, exercises, journals, and sleep stories. Meanwhile, Stimuler grabbed the top spot in Best with AI category because it ingeniously helped people improve their English speaking skills with AI-powered voice technology. You can access the complete list from here.

3. 03

   WhatsApp gets a new guardian feature for your spicier chats

   For your spicy chats, WhatsApp has just gained another layer of protection from prying eyes. A new ‘Secret Code’ feature has just been unveiled, aimed at boosting user privacy around sensitive conversations. This builds on their existing Chat Lock tool which allows users to password-protect specific chats. With Secret Code, users can now set a separate password from their phone’s lock code to access locked chats.

4. 04

   Google explains why its Play Store has a hard time scrubbing off bad loan apps

   The rise of predatory loan and finance apps these past couple of years has been giving the Play Store a bad repo, but now, Saikat Mitra, a Google executive has explained exactly why the company finds it difficult to weed out such apps from its platform. Read on to learn the reason in our exclusive interview.

5. 05

   Elon Musk gives advertisers the F-word treatment...twice

   At a time when Silicon Valley tech giants are eagerly raking in advertising dollars, Elon Musk has hurled some rather spicy words in the general direction of the advertisers on Twitter. Attending the DealBook Summit held in New York, the billionaire was asked by the interviewer about his recent trip to Israel, which was alleged to be an apology tour to smooth things over amid criticism that he had endorsed an antisemitic tweet. To this, the SpaceX founder responded bluntly. “If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go **** yourself. Go **** yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is,” Musk stated, eliciting some nervous chuckles from the audience.