Russia Archives - Gizmochina

Russia to Slow YouTube Speeds Amidst Ongoing Conflict

Anubhav — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 17:36:24 +0000

Russia is set to significantly reduce YouTube speeds on desktop computers in response to Google’s refusal to unblock channels affiliated with Russian media. The decision comes amid ongoing tensions between the two countries.

Senior Russian Lawmaker claims that YouTube speeds will drop by up to 70% next week

According to a senior Russian lawmaker, Alexander Khinshtein, the speed reduction is a direct consequence of Google‘s failure to upgrade its equipment in Russia and its refusal to comply with Russian content moderation demands. Khinshtein claims YouTube speeds will drop by up to 70% next week.

Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has also accused Google of neglecting its Russian infrastructure, allowing its local subsidiary to go bankrupt. This, in turn, has hindered the company’s ability to pay for local data center services.

Google’s decision to block channels associated with Russian state-funded media in March 2022, citing its policy on violent events, has further exacerbated tensions between the two countries. Russia has responded with various measures, including blocking and slowing down other social media platforms.

Despite these actions, many Russians continue to access blocked content through virtual private networks (VPNs).

(Via)

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Samsung’s Plan to Lease Russian Factory marks a Shift in Strategy Amid Global Tensions

Anubhav — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 15:01:07 +0000

Samsung Electronics is reportedly contemplating a significant shift in its Russian operations. Amid the ongoing global business adjustments following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Samsung is exploring the idea of leasing its TV and monitor manufacturing facility in Kaluga, Russia. This news, initially covered by South Korean media and further reported by various other outlets, reflects a changing landscape for international companies operating in Russia.

Samsung previously announced that it has stopped shipments to the country

The potential lease of Samsung’s factory comes after numerous global enterprises have either halted sales or paused their activities in Russia. Samsung itself announced in March 2022 that it had stopped shipments to the country. This move by Samsung, a titan in the electronics industry, highlights the complex decisions multinational corporations face in today’s geopolitical climate.

The local electronics wholesaler VVP Group is reported to be a key player in this new chapter for the Kaluga factory. According to a Kommersant report, VVP Group might soon start producing equipment under its own brand, as well as for other companies, using Samsung’s facility. This development could mark a new era for the factory, transitioning from a Samsung-centric operation to a hub for various electronic brands.

While Samsung has not officially commented on these developments, the implications of such a decision are significant. Leasing the factory to a local company like VVP Group could ensure the facility remains operational and preserves jobs, while aligning with the changing business and political environment.

This move, if confirmed, could be seen as Samsung’s strategic adaptation to maintain a presence in the Russian market indirectly. It highlights the delicate balance companies must strike between business interests and geopolitical sensitivities. The electronics giant’s decision to lease, rather than sell or shut down the factory, could set a precedent for other multinational companies navigating similar challenges.

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Russian Courts Clear Debts of Google, Meta, and TikTok

Oğuz Çakır — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:34:00 +0000

The tension between Russia and Ukraine has been highly destructive for the Russian economy. The country, which severed its trade activities with almost the entire world, lost numerous foreign investors from various sectors, including Apple, Samsung, Google, and Volkswagen. However, it seems that this devastating conflict has not impacted Russia’s relationship with its major tech companies as much as anticipated.

Fines imposed on Google, YouTube, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), and TikTok by Russian courts have been erased from the state enforcement officers’ database. Consequently, these companies no longer appear as debtors in Russia. Here are the details…

Debts of Google, Meta and Tiktok Removed from Russian Database!

The fines imposed by Russian courts on Google, YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram seem to have been resolved as these companies are no longer listed as debtors in the government enforcement officers’ database. Interestingly, despite this development, data accessed by Reuters on Wednesday still shows X (formerly known as Twitter) and Twitch with fines of 51 million rubles ($560,730) and 23 million rubles ($252,879), respectively.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, conflicts intensified with foreign tech companies on various issues, primarily related to the illegal content and non-local storage of user data, resulting in eventual fines. Post-invasion, Twitter and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were blocked, while Google’s YouTube faced numerous legal challenges. In late 2023, a Russian court had imposed a fine of 4.6 billion rubles ($50.4 million), calculated as a portion of Google’s annual revenue in Russia.

Meta, labeled “extremist” in 2022, also faced fines proportionate to its income in Russia. As of today, according to the identified database, these companies do not have any debts to Russia.

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Russia to Launch First Moon-Landing Craft in 47 Years

Anubhav — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 03:24:10 +0000

Russia has announced its first moon-landing mission in 47 years, marking a significant milestone in lunar exploration. The launch, scheduled for this Friday, will see the Luna-25 craft take off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, aiming for the lunar south pole, a region known for water ice pockets.

The Rover is intended to be used on the moon for at least a year

The Luna-25 mission, propelled by a Soyuz 2.1v rocket, will be the first of its kind since 1976 for Russia. It is making its debut in a competitive landscape, with India‘s Chandrayaan-3, the United States, and China all targeting similar lunar exploration.

The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on August 21, according to Russia’s space chief Yuri Borisov. The Luna-25, approximately the size of a small car, is designed to operate on the moon’s south pole for a year, focusing on areas where water ice has been detected.

Russia’s renewed effort is significant not only in the context of its own space program but also in the global race for lunar exploration. The mission signifies a broader interest in the moon, not only for its scientific value but also for the potential resources it offers.

The European Space Agency had initially planned to contribute a navigation camera but severed its ties to the project following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As the world watches Russia’s ambitious lunar plan, this mission emphasizes renewed interest and investment in lunar exploration. With more nations entering the field, the future of lunar study seems vibrant, paving the way for further scientific discovery and technological advancement in space exploration.

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Russia Bans Apple Devices for Government Employees Amid Spying Allegations

Anubhav — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 03:15:10 +0000

In a recent move, Russian authorities have taken a significant step towards reducing their dependence on foreign-made technology by banning the use of Apple devices for official state purposes. As reported by the Financial Times, the country’s trade ministry implemented the prohibition on iPhones and all other Apple products for “work purposes” starting from Monday. This decision applies to government employees across various agencies, including Russia’s telecommunications and mass media ministry, with some agencies already enforcing the mandate while others plan to follow suit shortly. However, officials are still allowed to use Apple devices for personal use, as long as they avoid accessing work-related communication on them.

Apple has already stopped Apple Pay for Russian users

The ban comes in the wake of serious allegations made by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in early June. The FSB claimed to have discovered a large-scale “spying operation by US intelligence agencies” involving Apple devices. According to the FSB, numerous iPhones, including those used by Russian diplomatic missions in NATO countries, were allegedly infected with monitoring software. Furthermore, the FSB accused Apple of collaborating closely with US signal intelligence to provide agents with an extensive range of control tools. Apple swiftly denied these allegations, emphasizing its commitment to user privacy and asserting that it has never cooperated with any government to create backdoors in its products.

This latest move by the Russian government also aligns with a broader effort to decrease reliance on foreign technology. In line with this objective, President Vladimir Putin issued a decree last year, mandating institutions involved in “critical information infrastructure” to transition to domestically developed software by 2025.

This ban follows a series of actions that have strained Apple’s relationship with Russia. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the past year, Apple had already cut off access to Apple Pay and halted product sales in the country as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with those affected by the conflict.

As of now, Apple has not issued an official response to the ban. The decision marks a significant development in the ongoing tech tensions between Russia and the United States, potentially further splitting Russian government employees from the global technology ecosystem. The implications of this ban on bilateral tech relations remain to be seen as a public statement is awaited.

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Sanctions on Russia Fail to Stop Flow of Japanese Semiconductors

Oğuz Çakır — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 18:44:26 +0000

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for over a year and a half, and unfortunately, it shows no signs of slowing down. Thousands of people have been killed and billions of dollars worth of damage has been done. Despite this, the two sides have yet to sit down for peace negotiations. Russia has continued to make advances in Ukraine, seemingly unaffected by the embargo that has been imposed on it. However, it appears that Russia may not be as troubled as we thought. Semiconductors made by Japanese manufacturers are still making their way into the country. Here are the details…

China a major transit point for Japanese semiconductors to Russia

Russia has been facing a global backlash for its invasion of Ukraine. Many countries have condemned the invasion and imposed sanctions on Russia, which have caused economic difficulties for the country. Some companies, such as Apple and Samsung, have also withdrawn from Russia. This was intended to put pressure on the Russian government to withdraw from Ukraine, but it has not yet had the desired effect.

Japan has imposed sanctions on Russia, but Japanese-made semiconductors are still finding their way into the country. This is because the semiconductors are being sent through intermediary countries, such as China. Japan’s Foreign Exchange Law only applies to direct exports from Japan, so it is difficult for the Japanese government to stop the flow of semiconductors through third-party countries.

In 2022, Japan exported $11 million worth of semiconductors to Russia. China was the top destination for these exports, accounting for over 70% of the shipments, followed by South Korea and Turkey. The Japanese government has tightened its export controls on semiconductors, but it is still difficult to stop the flow of these products to Russia. Unfortunately, it is unknown whether this extra measures will work or not.

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Nintendo Europe Division winds down Russian Operations amidst Economic Stress

Anubhav — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 02:42:41 +0000

Nintendo‘s recent decision to suspend product shipments to Russia and place the Nintendo eShop under maintenance has had a profound impact on the Russian gaming market. In early 2022, Nintendo took this drastic step following the suspension of transactions in Russian rubles by payment providers. Now, Nintendo of Europe has made the difficult decision to wind down its operations in Russia, citing the challenging economic outlook as a determining factor.

Existing Russian Nintendo Account holders will continue receiving limited service

However, the company remains committed to its loyal customer base in Russia and is taking steps to honour its previous commitments. The Russian version of Nintendo eShop will continue to offer a limited service to existing customers. Effective May 31st, 2023, and for the foreseeable future, Russian customers who possess an active Nintendo Account will still be able to redownload digital content they have previously purchased. This move aims to ensure that players can continue to access and enjoy the games they have invested in.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that creating new Nintendo Accounts with a country setting of Russia will no longer be possible. As a precautionary measure, payment information associated with Nintendo Accounts, such as credit card or PayPal details, has been deleted for security reasons. While this may inconvenience some customers, Nintendo prioritizes the safety and protection of its users’ personal information.

Nintendo’s decision to wind down operations in Russia reflects the complexities of the global gaming market and the challenges faced by multinational companies in navigating economic uncertainties. The sales of the Nintendo Switch are already expected to take a hit this year. Despite this setback, the company remains committed to delivering exceptional gaming experiences to players worldwide, while taking appropriate measures to ensure the security and satisfaction of its loyal customer base.

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Microsoft faces $3 million fine for selling software to Russian companies

Sean — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 11:24:44 +0000

Microsoft has apparently been hit with a sizeable fine worth millions of US Dollars. The company is facing the fine after being caught selling its software to Russian based firms. So here are all the details.

The American tech giant has agreed to pay over 3 million US Dollars to settle a potential civil liability. The brand is being accused of 1,339 sanction violations for selling its products and services to individuals and companies in Russia and other certain other regions. These violations and more than 1,300 cases had taken place between the periods of July 2012 and April 2019. During this time, Microsoft has supposedly sold software licenses, activated software licenses, and related services from its and US and Ireland servers to “Specially Designated Nationals”.

In other words, the company is being hit with the fine for selling to blacklisted regions. These regions includes nations like Cuba, Iran, Syria, Russia, and the Crimea region of Ukraine as well. Microsoft and its Ireland and Russia subsidiaries has thus agreed on a settlement sum worth 2.98 million US Dollars with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury following a previous Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) settlement of 624,013 US Dollars.

The fines don’t end there as the BIS later hit the company with a 276,382 US Dollars credit, which brings the net settlement agreement to cross over 3.3 million US Dollars. Interestingly enough, 94 percent of all of these violations were from Russia, accounting for 1,252 out of the 1,339 cases. Meanwhile, 54 of these cases were from Cuba, 30 in Iran, and 3 in Syria.

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Apple Hit With a $17 Million Fine by the Russian Anti-Monopoly Agency

Sean — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:51:59 +0000

Apple has just been hit with another multi million dollar fine. The company is facing a 17.4 million US Dollar fine in Russia by the nation’s federal anti monopoly service (FAS) for abusing its leading position in the local market.

The latest fine imposed on the Cupertino based giant follows after a ruling made in July 2022. At that moment, the agency found that the iPhone maker was in breach of local laws with its App Store rules. These rules had forced developers to use only the payment system that was provided by the company. In other words, the FAS basically ruled that Apple was taking advantage of its market dominance in the region.

As per an official statement, the regulator stated that “App Store rules prohibited iOS app developers from informing in-app customers about the possibility to pay for purchases outside of the App Store, as well as from using alternative payment methods. The company demanded that developers remove links to their own Internet sites and change the functionality of the application to prevent registration forms from leading to external sites.”

Apart from this, a similar ruling was made by the FAS last July against another tech giant, Google. It is still unclear how the agency will enforce this fine, since Apple has already announced its withdrawal from Russia following the Ukraine invasion. So stick around for more updates regarding this matter.

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Samsung might soon return to the Russian market: Report

Sean — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 11:32:03 +0000

Following Putin’s invasion into Ukraine, many consumer electronics brand pulled out their operations from Russia. This included the likes of Samsung and Apple, however, it seems that the former might soon be planning on returning to the region soon.

According to a CNN report, despite Apple leaving the region following military tensions, it appears that Russian retailers have still managed to get their hands on the latest iPhone 14 series before the brand has even officially announced the new iPhones in Russia. As of right now, the iPhone 14 is available in the Russian market, but at a pretty hefty price tag. Meanwhile, the South Korean tech giant is planning on a better workaround to sell its products in the same country, which is by simply re-entering the market again.

In other words, the smartphone maker will basically be returning to Russia in just six months after it first left. As per a Reuters report, a Russian news outlet claimed that sources close to the matter have said that Samsung might restart sales as early as next month, October 2022. Although, the company has yet to respond to this report and confirmed this information. Interestingly, this also shows that the latest popular tech will always make its way to various markets, at least for those that can afford it.

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Tecno overtakes Apple in Russia, Xiaomi gains 42% market share

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 09:17:16 +0000

According to Kommersant citing data from a report by MTS, Chinese brands led the Russian smartphone market in July 2022. Xiaomi held a whopping 42% market share. Realme and Tecno were among the top five, in addition to Samsung and Apple.

Xiaomi 12 Pro and Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Though Xiaomi had a huge market share, it was Realme that registered the highest growth. The Chinese brand outperformed Samsung and Apple in terms of sales to grab hold of the second position. Its market share increased from 13.4% in June to 17% in July.

Even Tecno overtook Apple by a 0.5% market share. It came fourth with a 7.5% share, followed by Apple with a 7% share. Whereas, Samsung was in third place with an 8.5% share.

Back in June, Apple and Samsung had a market share of 9.7% and 10.9% in Russia, respectively.

Talking about revenue, Xiaomi was first even in this regard with a 35% share. While Apple came second with a 25% share. They were followed by Realme (12.5%), Samsung (11%), and Tecno (4%).

A total of 2.3 million smartphones worth 36.7 billion rubles were sold in July. The average selling price (ASP) decreased by 6% to 16.1 thousand rubles.

The decline of Samsung and Apple in Russia is due to a lack of official supplies and scarce parallel imports. For the unaware, both these giants pulled out of the country earlier this year over the war with Ukraine. Their supplies are currently 80-90% less than before the war.

Apple’s decline is also attributed to the collapse of its ecosystem in the region with the unavailability of Apple Pay. Anyway, the Cupertino giant is performing better than Samsung because of its users’ emotional attachment to the brand and the ecosystem.

By the end of 2022, the combined sales of Apple and Samsung could drop by 10% in Russia if parallel imports do not gain momentum.

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Chinese brands will capture 90% of the Russian market

Divyansh Mehta — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 07:26:11 +0000

Russia, the largest country in the world, has seen major changes in its phones, tablets, laptops, and household appliances market due to the withdrawal of western brands like Apple, Samsung, DJI, Ericsson, and more. As a result, experts are predicting that 90% of the brands sold in Russia will soon be Chinese.

The ongoing Ruso-Ukrainian War has forced the United States and the EU to take restrictive measures against Russia, significantly changing the smartphone and tech landscape in the country.

The smartphone market has been the most dynamic of all, considering the top 7 selling brands in the first half of 2022 have all been Chinese. Namely, Realme, Vivo, Xiaomi, Tecno, Infinix, ITel and Nokia.

Kommersant, a Russian media outlet was told in Marvel Distribution- one of the largest broad-line IT distributors in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, that more than 100% year-on-year growth was shown by the Tecno, Infinix, Realme, and Xiaomi devices in 2022.

Xiaomi Store in Murmansk, Russia

Notably, Realme had sold only 498,000 units in the first half of 2021 in the country. However, this year, it has already sold more than 1.1 million units.

Growth in Chinese smartphone sales

Year-on-year unit sales grew significantly for brands like POCO (16%), Nokia (40%) while Apple’s and Samsung’s market share decreased by 14% and 15% year-on-year respectively.

Unit sales of brands like Tecno grew more than 20X in the last couple of months. Digma Electronics also saw positive growth of 8X in the same period. According to Yandex Market, the share of Chinese IT brands increased twofold year over year in the first quarter.

If experts are to be believed, the market may open its arms to brands such as Kimtigo, Akimojeba, Domfy, and Chuwi. According to M.Video-Eldorado, the largest Russian consumer electronic retail chain, “considering the shifting market conditions,” buyers are more inclined to pay attention to obscure or new brands mostly produced by Chinese, Turkish, or Russian companies.

There is a shortfall of spare components on the market in addition to the lack of ready-made devices. As a result, on June 28, the Russian Federation’s President signed legislation legalizing parallel imports in the country. Parallel Import enables you to import goods into the country without the official permission of the brand.

On May 6, the Ministry of Industry and Trade authorized a list of such goods, which included smartphones and electronics (Apple, Asus, HP, GoPro, Samsung, Dell, LG, Toshiba), household appliances (Electrolux, Dyson, Philips), and other items. Remarkably, smartphone deliveries have already begun under the parallel import approach.

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Taiwan ban chip exports to Russia & Belarus over Ukraine invasion

Sean — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 11:33:33 +0000

Taiwan has just imposed a ban of all export of modern chips to Russia and Belarus. The government made the decision due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian forces.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has shared a list of all high tech goods that will be banned from export to Russia and Belarus earlier this week (Via DigiTimes). The ministry also announced that these new high tech products will also be barred from Belarus since it might help Russia in bypassing these sanctions. So now, companies from these two regions will no longer be able to purchase certain semiconductors products like microprocessors or even microcircuits.

This includes the kind that feature a performance speed of 5 gigaflops or above, have a frequency rate that is higher than 25MHz, an external interconnection with a data transfer rate of 2.5 MB/s or greater, more than 144 pins, or a basic propagation delay time of lower than 0.4 nanoseconds. In simpler terms, Russia and Belarus are basically no longer able to source modern technology that were manufactured in Taiwan.

Apart from modern chipsets, Taiwan will also not sell chip production related equipment to these nations as well. In other words, they can’t source equipment to produce their own chips as well. This includes alignment and exposure equipment for wafer production, scanners, and even scanning electron microscopes.

Watch: Smartphone saves Soldier’s life from a Bullet in Ukraine

Sean — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 09:28:12 +0000

A new video has just surfaced that shows a soldier whose life was saved thanks to his smartphone. The soldier claimed that a stray bullet had hit the smartphone that he was carrying.

For those unaware, Russia and Ukraine are having active military clashes as the former continues its invasion of Ukraine. The situation has become a major international incident. But, it is unclear how things will play out. The short 45 second video was uploaded on YouTube, with the Ukrainian soldier showing his ally his smartphone. Looking at the clip, we can see the remains of a 7.62mm bullet lodged in the handset and the soldier telling his ally, who is shooting the video, that the “smartphone saved my life.”

Notably, the video of the soldier was shot in the trenches where we can also hear sounds of gunfire and explosions in the distance. As of right now, it is unclear which brand the smartphone belonged to, but it appears to be a Samsung model based on the type of protective cover it had.

Interestingly, this is not an isolated event, as smartphones have also saved the lives of people from bullets in the past as well. Back in 2016, a man from Afghanistan claimed that the Nokia 301 saved his life when a bullet lodged into the device (Via 91Mobiles). Similarly in 2012, a Nokia X2 owner also claimed that a stray bullet struck his phone when he was filming a fight between rebels.

Huawei shipped telecom equipment worth $15 million to Russia: Report

Sean — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 10:27:46 +0000

A new report has revealed that Huawei has just delivered a batch of telecommunications based equipment to Russia. The company had shipped these equipments to a Russian telecom operator.

The news arrives from sources close to the matter (Via ITHome). Apparently, the Chinese tech giant shipped telecommunications equipment to Russia’s VimpelCom (AKA VEON). The sources said that the deliveries were made under a previously signed contract, although, a new contract has yet to be approved. A couple of days ago, VimpelCom received a large batch of telecom equipment made by Huawei.

These are apparently worth around 15 million US Dollars, as per people close to the terms of the contract. As per the two sources, the supply contract was lengthy and was initially signed back on February 24. However, sanctions that were imposed caused issues in deliveries. As of right now, various governments across the globe has been against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The US has banned exports of high tech products in the region, especially technology related to defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding.

Furthermore, these also included the supply of semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, and information security equipment as well. Back in February 2022, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security had also issued a clarification that the export or transfer of goods to maintain civilian telecommunications infrastructure will be excluded from this rule.

Acer Halts its Business Operations in Russia Amid Current Humanitarian Crisis

Leo Wong De Quan — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 14:48:57 +0000

Acer is a Taiwanese international hardware and electronics corporation, specializing in advanced electronics technology. The company is most well renowned for its laptops internationally, specifically for its Acer Nitro gaming lineup, Acer Swift ultrabook series and Acer Aspire budget lineup.

Over the years, the company has proved to be a strong competitor in the laptop space with its relatively performant laptops at affordable prices and has since expanded globally to regions beyond Asia such as in the United States, Europe, Australia and also Russia.

However, it seems that the brand is halting its operations in one of its key global markets amid the region’s current humanitarian crisis. The region, in particular, is called Russia.

As the situation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine does not seem to be slowing down, Acer recently published a media statement on Twitter stating that the company will be suspending its business operations in Russia. The decision was made in compliance with international trade laws and regulations in mind as several countries and regions have decided to impose sanctions on Russia to denounce the Russian Federation for its foreign special military operations in Ukraine.

pic.twitter.com/kynYDvKXGn

— Acer (@Acer) April 8, 2022

Acer in the statement also mentions that the company is closely following the developments of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The company emphasises that Acer prioritises the safety of its employees, which includes providing assistance to every individual and family affected by the war.

To conclude the statement, Acer extends its warm wishes that peace will be restored as soon as possible. The brand is also working closely with several international agencies and NGOs to provide humanitarian support in the conflict regions.

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Google Suspends Google Play Store Purchases and Subscriptions for Android users in Russia

Leo Wong De Quan — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 15:50:20 +0000

As the Russian Ruble continues to decline in currency exchange markets, and as more piling-upped sanctions are imposed on Russia, more companies and corporations are pulling out of Russia not only because they do not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also because they need to comply with the local and international sanctions in tangent with the heavy devaluation of the Russian Ruble which leads to lesser profits for the multinational corporations.

In late February, Google had earlier announced that it will be cutting down on advertisements and media from the Russian Federation as a response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. However, this week, the company has taken further action on the ongoing situation as the company has paused the Google Play Store’s billing system for Android users in Russia.

In the official statement from Google, the company states that due to payment system disruptions, Google Play has paused its billing system for users in Russia as of March 10, 2022. Google clarified that this means users cannot purchase apps and games, make subscription payments or conduct any in-app purchases of digital goods via the Google Play Store in Russia. Free apps will remain available on the Play Store to download and install.

As for existing user subscriptions via the Google Play Store, Google informs that subscriptions will unfortunately not be able to be renewed and will be cancelled. However, the existing subscription(ie the 1-month or 1-year subscription that the Russian Android user had purchased prior to this announcement) will continue until the end of the then-current billing period. The company also clarifies that it will still honour existing developer subscription billing grace periods and any free trials will continue to work until payments are attempted.

On a closing note, Google also states that the situation is rapidly evolving and that the company encourages users to follow Google for Google’s latest update on the matter if there are changes of action.

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Intel and AMD halt all shipments to Russia and Belarus over Ukraine invasion

Sean — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 10:45:44 +0000

Due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, various companies had sought to cut ties with Russia. Now, Intel and AMD have also followed suit and have suspended all shipments to the region following the Russian invasion into Ukraine.

As of right now, both Team Blue and Team Red have halted all component shipments to Russia and Belarus. This move will affect both the consumer segment and data center operations in the region. Furthermore, losing supply from the two chip giants, Russia will have both its economy and even its networking infrastructure affected as well. Notably, the implications of Intel and AMD cutting off supply could possibly even impact the military sector too, which also relies on certain components manufactured by these two firms.

In an official statement, the American chip giant stated that it “condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and has suspended all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by this war, including the people of Ukraine and the surrounding countries and all those around the world with family, friends and loved ones in the region.”

Similarly, AMD is also making a similar move and its representatives have confirmed that the company is suspending all of its sales and distribution to Russia and Belarus. Keep in mind that this includes products outside of chipsets as well, like PCs and more. Although, Russia an Belarus aren’t exactly major customers for the companies since they largely rely on their home grown Baikal processors. So it remains to be seen how this move affects the region.

Elon Musk warns that SpaceX’s Starlink system may be targeted in Ukraine

Sean — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 08:32:30 +0000

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has shared a warning that there is a high change for its Starlink satellite broadband system to be “targeted” in Ukraine that has been facing an ongoing crisis due to the Russian invasion.

The warning from the executive arrives after an internet security researched warned that devices that use satellite communications could potentially become “beacons” that Russia could use to target for airstrikes. Thus, Elon Musk tweet read “Important warning: Starlink is the only non Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.”

Furthermore, he asked users to “turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible.” He added that users should place “light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection.” Last week, the senior SpaceX official announced that the company had activated its services in Ukraine and SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country. This announcement arrived as a response to a Ukraine government official who had requested Musk to provide the nation with additional Starlink stations.

Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has since thanked Starlink for “keeping our cities connected and emergency services saving lives!” Although, the government official said that the country needs generators to keep Starlink service online due to Russian attacks on the nation’s infrastructure. This also led Elon Musk to release an update that reduced Starlin’s peak power consumption.

Russia smartphone market declines in 2021, will likely sink further over Ukraine invasion

Sean — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 09:40:56 +0000

In 2021, the smartphone market in Russia saw a slight fall over the previous year. But while there were many reasons for the initial decline, it seems that the negative trend might continue in 2022 as well, owing to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The news arrives from Counterpoint Research, who noted that the Russian handset market fell by 7 percent year on year in 2021. Although, it saw a 10 percent rise quarter on quarter in Q4 2021. During this time, Samsung continued to lead the market with a sizeable 30 percent market share, which was followed by Xiaomi with 23 percent and Apple with 13 percent market shares. The modest decline in 2021 was primarily attributed to slower upgrade cycles for consumers that were using mid to high end devices.

Furthermore, Research Director Tarun Pathak stated that “Chinese brands contributed 44% of the total market in 2021 compared to 46% in 2020. The decline can be attributed to Huawei’s loss, but Chinese brands are gaining again, especially Xiaomi, HONOR and realme. Xiaomi has been steadily increasing its share in the market along with Samsung and Apple.”

However, the region might see a sharper fall in 2022, with Pathak further adding that “The current war has changed the entire landscape and pushed the handset market into uncertainty. The fall in ruble will lead to a steep price rise in the short term due to limited inventory and suspended deliveries. Also, as sanctions gather pace, it will be hard for OEMs to make a conclusive device strategy.”

Apple stops selling its product in Russia following Ukraine Invasion

Sean — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 06:30:05 +0000

Apple has recently halted all sales of its products from its official website in Russia. So now, you can longer buy its iPhones, Macs, and other products in the region, which is due to the ongoing Russian invasion into Ukraine.

Via MacRumors

Notably, the news arrives after the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging the Cuptertino based giant to stop all product sales and terminate its services in Russia. Now, the iPhone maker has revealed in a statement that it has stopped all exports into the sales channel of the country. Furthermore, it has also disabled traffic and live incidents on the Apple Maps in Ukraine for the safety of Ukrainian citizens.

The company stated that “We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens. We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with the relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.”

Tim Cook further added that Apple will be matching all donations from its employees at a 2:1 ratio for eligible organizations. At the moment, the App Store is still live in Russia, but, Apple Pay has been limited and certain services are now unavailable in the country. The move from the company also arrives after US sanctions that sought to prevent the brand from exporting select products to the country. While Apple did not immediately respond to these US sanctions, it seems that it responded to the letter from Ukraine.

Ukraine urges Apple to stop its product sales & App Store service in Russia

Sean — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 06:11:51 +0000

Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this week. In this letter, the government official asked to stop the sales of its products and even block Russia’s access to its App Store.

Fedorov’s letter stated that he is asking for the Cupertino based giant’s support amid the ongoing crisis (the invasion of Ukraine). It is asking the brand to stop supply its services and products to users in Russia. At the moment, Apple sells its iPhones, Macs, and other products through its official website in Russia. However, the US has already pushed sanctions that will prevent the company from exporting select products to Russia. But, this move might have not affected the brand yet since it has not stopped sales as of right now.

The letter states “I appeal to you and I am sure you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe, and finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression – to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to App Store! We are sure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”

I’ve contacted @tim_cook, Apple's CEO, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the package of US government sanctions! If you agree to have the president-killer, then you will have to be satisfied with the only available site Russia 24. pic.twitter.com/b5dm78g2vS

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 25, 2022

Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he was “deeply concerned” with the situation in Ukraine and that Apple will be “supporting local humanitarian efforts.” Currently, the App Store in Russia is operational, although, sanctions on banks have interfered with Apple Pay. This includes five major Russian banks that are no longer eligible for Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Twitter Ads Suspended in Ukraine, Russia to Ensure Public Safety in the Region

Leo Wong De Quan — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:30:07 +0000

February 24th, 2022 is the day when Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation waged war on its neighbouring European country, Ukraine. Amidst the crisis, the Ukrainian government has pleaded with many countries and organisations to take actions in the region to hopefully resolve the conflict in the region and to protect the developing European country from being invaded by a global superpower like Russia.

Many countries have imposed sanctions on Russian companies as an act of solidarity with Ukraine’s sovereignty as a country and many organisations have been donating towards the cause of protecting innocent Ukrainian citizens in the war.

Twitter, the San-Francisco based tech giant is the latest organisation to take action towards the Ukraine-Russia war and on February 26, the platform has announced that it will be pausing advertisements in Ukraine and Russia. The move serves to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it. To illustrate, citizens in the region will be able to focus on the everchanging severity of the situation from time to time without the distraction of ads, so that they can keep themselves out of harm’s way in these trying times.

We’re temporarily pausing advertisements in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) February 25, 2022

In an earlier statement, Twitter has also expressed its condemnation of Russia invading Ukraine. The team behind Twitter mention that they’re actively monitoring for risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information on the platform.

In addition, the platform has also paused Tweet Recommendations for Ukrainian and Russian users. Twitter hopes that the move can help to reduce the spread of misinformation and abusive content of the war among the Ukrainian and Russian general public.

No exact date was given on when the suspension of these Twitter features and services will end, but it is expected that Twitter will only resume these features once the war has officially ended to protect both the safety and well-being of innocent commonfolk in the regions.

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(Source, Via)

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Russia Banned from Joining MWC 2022 and GSMA Events

Leo Wong De Quan — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 12:33:54 +0000

The MWC could not be held physically in the years 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, in 2022, the pandemic concerns have relatively been slowing down and GSMA had great news that the world’s largest technology convention, Mobile World Congress, MWC 2022 will be held physically once again in Barcelona, Spain on February 28, 2022. This great news comes 2 years after its hiatus since 2019!

However, 2022 has its fair share of global issues to tackle, as of February 24, 2022, the Ukraine-Russian conflict has developed into an all-out war, with Russia first invading Ukraine. As condemnation towards the Russian leaders in charge of the war, many European countries have imposed sanctions and banned Russia from participating in global events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and the F1 Grand Prix.

And today, GSMA is the latest organisation added to the list of organisations against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as GSMA has officially announced that Russia is banned from joining MWC 2022 and its other related events this year.

Here’s the excerpt that GSMA has posted on its website:

“The GSMA strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The situation is fast-moving, and we understand that various governments are considering broader sanctions against Russia. In light of this emerging situation and considering the tragic loss of life, MWC seems immaterial under the circumstances. MWC is a unifying event with a vision to convene the mobile ecosystem to progress ways and means that connectivity can ensure people, industry, and society thrive.

The GSMA follows all government sanctions and policies resulting from this situation. There will be no Russian Pavilion at MWC 2022. Security for the event is constantly reviewed and adjusted as information emerges.”

In solidarity and support of the sanctions against Russia, GSMA has officially confirmed it has also blacklisted several Russian companies participating in the event along with other GSMA-related events. GSMA has no plans of delaying MWC 2022. Instead, GSMA views the congress as “a unifying event” that can bring countries that brings the people, industry and society as a whole to progress.

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(Source, Via)

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Russia mandates streaming services like Netflix to offer state TV channels

Sean — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 11:50:52 +0000

Russia continues its campaign against tech giant firms. Now, the Russian government is targetting online video/movie streaming services like Netflix, which are required to include state backed TV channels on their platforms.

According to The Moscow Times (Via 9To5Mac), the nation’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has just announced that it will mandate foreign streaming services to also offer 20 local federal television channels to their userbase. This regulation was first introduced back in late 2020 and is set to take effect starting from March 2022. So now, out of the 20 Russian government run channels, Netflix and other streaming services will also broadcast the nation’s flagship “Channel One,” alongside the Orthodox church channel “Spas”, and more.

Furthermore, the government also seeks to have its streaming service providers abide by local regulations and laws. In other words, these companies are not allowed to showcase movies that promote “extremism” or even LGBTQIA+ related content. Roskomnadzor even added that the laws also apply to all of these streaming services that regularly bring in more than 100,000 users daily. So, we can expect the changes to impact the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video among others.

The latest move from the government is also in line with its efforts to rein in tech giants. It had previously attempted to restrict the operations of foreign companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, by requiring them to set up local offices within the country to prevent a possible ban on the firms. The iPhone maker even faced an antitrust case against its App Store, with the government demanding companies to offer third party payments options as well.

Russia threatens to ban YouTube, calls for “zero tolerance”

Sean — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 07:47:48 +0000

Earlier this week, Russia threatened to ban YouTube as the popular video sharing platform removed the Russian state backed broadcaster RT’s German language channels from its website. This urged the Kremlin to call for ‘zero tolerance’ towards the online platform.

According to a Reuters report, the online video streaming platform, owned by Alphabet Inc, has deleted the state backed broadcaster RT’s channels on Tuesday. YouTube stated that the channel was removed from its website as it breached its COVID-19 misinformation policy. Furthermore, the company also added that it would block all anti vaccine content from its platform as well. This marks its expansion outside of just Coronavirus, and includes content that alleges vaccines cause chronic health effects or other form of misinformation regarding the vaccines.

On the other hand, Russia stated that it was considering retaliating against German media and also accused YouTube of “unprecedented information aggression” over the deletion of the RT channels. This also marks the spark of new friction between the Russian government and a tech giant. Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor stated that it has written to Google and demanded that YouTube should lift the restrictions on RT channels.

If the company fails to comply, then the government could partially or fully restrict access to YouTube in the region. As of right now, Google has declined to comment on the matter. Additionally, the government could also impose other measures to ensure YouTube complies with its laws, as per Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He further added that “There should certainly be zero tolerance for this kind of breaking of the law.”

Lenovo K13 powered by Unisoc SC9863A SoC and 2GB RAM launched in Russia

Jeet — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 04:46:01 +0000

Lenovo has launched a new entry-level smartphone in its K-series of smartphones in Russia. The phone, dubbed Lenovo K13, is a step back from the K12 smartphone launched last year, in terms of specifications.

The smartphone features a 6.52-inch IPS LCD display that offers HD+ screen resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels and a regular 60Hz refresh rate. There’s also a waterdrop notch on top of the display that houses a 5-megapixel selfie snapper.

On the backside, the device features a dual-camera setup that includes a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. There’s also a fingerprint sensor mounted on the back panel for added security.

Under the hood, the Lenovo K13 is powered by the Unisoc SC9863A chipset which has an octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz. The device comes packed with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

It also comes with a microSD card slot for further expanding the storage capacity. In comparison, the K12 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 SoC, packing 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.

There’s a usual set of connectivity options, including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, and GPS. The phone runs the Android operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging.

The Lenovo K12 is available for purchase in Russia in just one color — Blue. It carries an affordable price tag of RUB7,777 which roughly converts to $106.

Samsung Galaxy A12 Nacho powered by Exynos 850 chipset goes official

Jeet — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 03:15:43 +0000

Samsung has today launched a new addition to its lineup of Galaxy A-series with the launch of its Samsung Galaxy A12 Nacho smartphone in the European market. The device is pretty much the same as the original Galaxy A12 but comes with a different chipset.

The smartphone features a 6.5-inch LCD display that offers an HD+ screen resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio and offers a 60Hz refresh rate. The device has an Infinity-V notch on top of the display that houses the front-facing camera sensor.

Under the hood, the device is powered by the company’s own Exynos 850 chipset. The original model comes packed with the MediaTek Helio P35 SoC. The phone has up to 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD card that enables expanding the storage capacity up to 1TB.

In the camera department, the device has a quad-camera setup on the back that consists of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front side, the device features an 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

The phone is running the Android 11 operating system out-of-the-box with the Samsung One UI 3.1 custom user interface on top. It is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and has support for 15W charging.

The Samsung Galaxy A12 Nacho comes in four color options — Blue, Black, Red, and White. The 32GB internal storage is priced at RUB 11,990 in Russia which roughly converts to $163 while the 64GB storage model costs RUB 13,990 (~$190).

Xiaomi beat Samsung to lead Russia Smartphone Market in June 2021

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 02:06:42 +0000

Xiaomi has been growing its presence outside China for the past few years. Maintaining its position in India, the company is also aiming for first place in other markets. According to the latest information, the firm sold the most number of smartphones in Russia in the month of June.

As per the MTS Store chain in Russia, Xiaomi ranked first in terms of sales in the country in June. The company’s market share stood at 31.2%, closely followed by Samsung at 29.8%.

Whereas, Apple and realme came third (14.5%) and fourth (4.6%) respectively. That’s not all, the fifth place was acquired by Xiaomi’s sub-brand POCO with a 3.8% market share. Unsurprisingly, the Cupertino-based tech giant led the market in terms of monetary.

Additionally, an official from M.Video-Eldorado (retail chain) also reiterates that Xiaomi (including POCO) was the leader as per volume of sales in Russia in June. However, Samsung dominated the market in the first half of 2021 as well as the second quarter.

According to the official, Xiaomi not only has a well-balanced product range and good bargains but it has also become quite popular in Russia. That said, the remaining top five players other than Xiaomi and Samsung were Apple, realme, and HONOR.

M.Video-Eldorado estimates the Russia Smartphone Market around 300 billion rubles from January to June, which is 30% more than last year during the same period.

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Apple faces $12 million fine in Russia for app market abuse

Sean — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:51:56 +0000

Russia is apparently fining Apple for 12 million US Dollars for allegedly abusing the dominance of its mobile app store in the market. This marks another case of the brand facing charges over its app store.

According to a MoneyControl report, The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) stated earlier this week that the Cupertino based giant’s distribution of apps through its iOS operating system gave its own products a higher competitive advantage. Apple replied to this allegations and said that it “respectfully disagreed” with the ruling from FAS and said that it would appeal it. In recent months, western tech giants have come under increasing scrutiny in the region, with Twitter also facing pressure after failing to delete certain content online.

Similarly, Facebook, Google, and even TikTok have also been facing increasing pressure by the local government and authorities. In a statement, the FAS announced a 906.3 million Roubles (roughly 12.1 million US Dollars) fine on Apple for violating the Russian anti monopoly legislation. Back in 2020, the agency had found that the company has abused its dominant position and then issued a directive that had it remove provisions, which allowed it the right to reject third party apps from its App Store.

The move from the agency arrives after a complaint from known cybersecurity based firm Kaspersky Lab, which stated that a new version of its Safe Kids app was declined by Apple’s operating system. In response to this, the iPhone maker said that it has “worked with Kaspersky to get their app in compliance with rules that were put in place to protect children. They now have 13 apps on the App Store and we have processed hundreds of updates for them.”

Huawei accounts for 5% of the PC market in Russia: IDC

Sean — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:47:31 +0000

A new report has revealed that Huawei holds a market share of just over 5 percent in Russia. As of 2020, about 1.66 million desktop and laptop computers were delivered to the nation, out of which over 80,000 units were shipped from the Chinese tech giant.

According to an IDC report, the Russian PC market saw an overall decline of 3.3 percent year on year in 2020. Dmitry Ilyin, senior analyst at IDC stated that “The share of consumer laptop models declined 1.5%, while consumer desktop models grew 18.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. These indicators correlate well with the increased demand of the population for gaming desktops, the growing popularity of all-in-one and the interest in small desktop PCs.“

Furthermore, the IDC revealed the five leaders of the Russian personal computer market, which included HP with an 18.3 percent market share, Lenovo with 18 percent, Acer with 17.1 percent. Asus with 11.8 percent, an Huawei with 5.4 percent. The Chinese brand was also among the top five companies for the laptop segment. Dmitry further added that, “In the first quarter of 2021, the personal computer market is likely to see an increase in shipments year-on-year due to logistics problems and incomplete shipment of orders in the third and fourth quarters of 2020.”

For those unaware, Huawei is a major brand in the telecom and smartphone industries. Although it is also known to make laptops and, more recently, desktop PCs as well for enterprises and businesses. At the moment, the company is focusing more on expanding its presence in the cloud computing services market and other segments as its smartphone business has been impacted by the US sanctions.

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Russia likely to ban Facebook, Twitter, YouTube over ‘censoring content’

Balaji S — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 16:50:04 +0000

Internet giants have never stayed out of the ambit of controversy. For instance, Google recently caught conspiring actions to counteract strict EU rules. Now, it looks like Russia has smelled dubious activities of US Tech giants like Google’s YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

First reported by Financial Express, the Russian Parliament has drafted legislation against the US tech giants. Accordingly, regulators will block social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s YouTube if they are found guilty of censoring Russian people’s content. With this legislation, the parliament planning to restrict the companies which have been circumventing their drawbacks lately.

The reason for this development is said to be the increasing order of complaints against these companies. In fact, the censoring of content hasn’t spared the Russian media too. This move also comes at a time when other countries like Britain are considering rules to regulate these companies.

That said, the legislation has already been passed by the lower house of the parliament(State Duma). A statement from the country’s parliament says the relevant authorities would not spare any company if they limit information based on language/nationality.

For the unware, the Russian parliament is termed the Federal Assembly. It has two houses- Upper(Federation Council), Lower(State Duma). For legislation to turn into a law, it needs the approval of two houses and the consent of the President. Out of this, the above-mentioned legislation will be up for approval at the Federation Council now.

And as per reports, these are just for formalities and the Russian Govt has already upped the Ante on combating online extremism. Among the accused names, Twitter recently got a fine of $547,000 from Ireland’s DPC.

However, Google and Facebook are facing anti-trust issues in their own home country, the US. Anyway, the State Duma says other websites that carry out such unfair practices would also be banned. Let’s play the waiting game to see how this situation turns out.

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Russia’s own version of TikTok is being developed with Vladimir Putin’s Alleged Daughter Katerina Tikhonova

Sean — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 07:34:36 +0000

Russia is apparently working on its own version of TikTok. The nation’s leading media holding, which is backed by the state’s energy giant Gazprom, is planning on launching a short video sharing application similar to the popular social media platform.

Gazprom-Media CEO, Alexander Zharov, confirmed the news and stated that the holding had purchased a service called “Ya Molodets” (“I am great”). According to Zharov, the app was developed with support from the Innopraktika foundation, which is an organization run by one of Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughters Katerina Tikhonova. The media firm will “use the project’s software to speed up the creation of a new video service for Russian bloggers.”

As per the NDTV report, the CEO said that the app will be launching within two years and will support short portrait videos, similar to ByteDance’s TikTok. For those unaware, Gazprom-Media is one of Russia’s largest media organizations and owns a number of the top television channels and a range of radio stations as well. The news of the upcoming TikTok alternative also arrives as the government is tightening its reins around the internet and platforms like YouTube that offers independent sources of news.

Russia’s RuNeta

Zharov further added that the company has been working on the platform for “about a year to modernize it and make it no worse than YouTube in terms of tools.” Notably, the country is also working on RuNet, which is essentially a nationwide intranet. This would enable it to control both the platforms and the content being portrayed on it.

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Yandex rolls out robots that deliver restaurant meals in central Moscow

Jed John Ikoba — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:52:30 +0000

A driverless robot that is known as Yandex.Rover for delivering hot restaurant meals to customers in Moscow has started work today. This much was said by the operator and internet giant, Yandex.

The Yandex.Eats app, one of many food and grocery delivery services in Moscow, is offering customers around the White Square business district the opportunity to have their meals delivered by the buggy-like robot instead of a human delivery.

The robot called the Yandex.Rover has been delivering groceries in some Moscow areas as part of a pilot program that started a few months back in autumn. It is now gradually expanding its area of operations in the Russian capital, Yandex has said in a statement.

The robot collects orders from restaurants and brings them to the customer who then unlocks the robot using their smartphone and lifts out the food.

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Three of these robots are now operating in the White Square area of the city. The size of the growing fleet of delivery robots stands at 20.

The advent of the Yandex delivery service, together with the alternative Delivery Club, as expected, implies the days of human delivery couriers in Moscow may be numbered, even though they have grown in numbers in recent years.

Over the summer, five Russian retail businesses unveiled a monument in the city to honour the tens of thousands of delivery couriers who had kept Moscow running at the height of the forced lockdown as a.result of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged most parts of the world.

In the statement, Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Yandex’s Self-Driving division highlighted that the demand for delivery services has been on an upward trajectory which was exponentially accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

In November of 2019, Yandex disclosed that it had started testing autonomous delivery robots that had been deployed for commercial purposes in Innopolis, a sort of silicon valley district in the Tatarstan region. The world is presently experiencing an upsurge in the deployment of robots but no better place have we witnessed a widescale robotics usage than in Japan. From enforcing physical distancing and showing visitors around a store to cheerleading during a baseball game, to being deployed as a tourist attraction, it is no surprise that Japan is regarded as the robotics headquarters of the world.

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(via)

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Huawei leads Russia Online Smartphone market in Q3 2020 despite a QoQ decline: Counterpoint

Balaji S — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 13:34:40 +0000

Huawei must have a mixture of emotions now. The company is facing the heat as a result of US sanctions on one side but manages to survive in certain markets on the other. One such market is Russia where the company has maintained the top spot in online smartphone shipment share consecutively in Q3 2020.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro is one of the best smartphones in the market today but does not come with Google apps
because of the U.S. BAN

Counterpoint Research has released a report on the Smartphone market in Russia for Q3 2020. Although things are looking bad for Huawei overall, it maintains the lead in the Online Smartphone shipment market list with a share of 27.8%. This is a 2.2% YoY increase from 2019 but a 7.2% decline QoQ. Among this, the ex-sister brand‘s Honor 30 series helps it bag most of the online share in 5G models.

Overall smartphone sales get an increase of 5% YoY(Year on Year) in Russia whereas the online smartphone sales hit 34% in Q3 2020. This is a 2% QoQ(Quarter over Quarter) increase from Q2. Report says that strict public distancing norms along with promotional offers like gifts, cashback drove online sales.

Credit: Counterpoint Research

Precisely, Honor offered cash coupons to boost its sales whereas companies like Xiaomi managed to crack Samsung with aggressive models. In fact, it has five of the top-10 online smartphone models with Redmi Note 8 Pro, 8A, Note 9 being its top three devices. Chinese company realme managed to enter the top-5 for the first time with a 1.7% YoY increase in share.

Although Samsung leads overall revenue in offline and online segments, it lost the online share to Huawei. In fact, its Galaxy A51, A31 are among the top-selling devices online and offline but its online shipment market share for Q3 is 26.3% making it trail behind Xiaomi and Huawei. The report says that Samsung’s decision to focus more on offline is the reason for this.

Anyway, the list also has Apple sitting at 4th place with an 8.3% online market share. As for the online platforms, M.Video-Eldorado, Russia’s biggest consumer electronic chain, leads the online platform in Russia with a share of 32.5%.

Research Associate Soumen Mandal says that Chinese brands are strengthening their position in lower and mid-price segments. This is evident in Q3 2020 report as the report says that the average price of smartphones dropped 5% YoY in Russia and sits at $224 in Q3 2020.

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Honor 10X Lite is up for Pre-orders in Russia ahead of Global launch: Availability, Offers & Giveaway details inside

Balaji S — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 10:21:05 +0000

Honor 10X Lite has been officially announced in Russia. Ahead of the Global rollout on November 10, the device will be up for pre-orders starting today(November 6).

Honor 10X Lite

Honor 10X Lite Russia: Price, Availability, Offers

The Honor 10X Lite in Russia comes in a single 4GB RAM, 128GB storage variant. It is priced at RUB 16,990($219). And has Black, Green, and Purple color options. Although the sales officially begin November 20, users can pre-order it between November 6(Today) to 19. And they can do it on Honor’s Official Store and other partner websites.

Users can also avail of a discount of up to RUB 4,000($52) on getting a subscription on the official website and more than RUB 10,000 vis offline partners. Additionally, Honor is already running a giveaway contest where users need to login and spin a wheel.

If you are lucky, you can win one of the following: Honor 10X Lite, Honor Magic Earbuds, Honor Watch ES, 1xDiscount Coupon of RUB 500, 1xDiscount coupon of RUB 1,500, and Free shipping coupon. The giveaway runs till November 8, 2020. You can head over to the official website to check more details.

Honor 10X Lite Specifications

The Honor 10X Lite in Russia(via ferra.ru) features a 6.67-inches FHD+ TFT LCD display. The display has a resolution of 2400 × 1080 pixels and 394 PPI. However, under the hood, it is running Kirin 710A SoC. For cameras, you get a rear quad-camera setup.

There is a 48MP f/1.8 Main lens, 8MP f/2.4 ultra-wide, and two 2MP sensor. For selfies, you get a single 8MP lens at the front inside the centered punch-hole. The camera has features like autofocus(Main lens), front camera video up to 1080p, and more.

All this is backed up by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 22.5W fast charging. For connectivity, you get Bluetooth 5.1, MicroSD slot(up to 512GB), Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, GPS, GLONASS, and a USB Type-C port. The device runs Magic UI 3.1 based on Android 10 out of the box.

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Samsung is the Most Popular Brand in Russia for the 10th year in a Row

Sean — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 07:34:06 +0000

Samsung Electronics has received the title for the most popular brand in Russia for the 10th year in a row. The South Korean tech giant is the most favored brand among Russian consumers and has consistently topped the charts for the past decade.

According to a BusinessKorea report, Samsung took the top spot in the 2020 Top 20 Brands list, which was recently announced by the Russian brand market research agency, Online Market Intelligence (OMI). In this list, the company accounted for 17.9 percent of the total votes. Although, this also marked a 0.6 percent fall in votes from the 18.5 percent from back in 2019.

The smartphone maker was closely followed by Adidas, which received 12.2 percent of the total votes. While Nike and Apple came in third and fourth with 11.7 percent and 9.7 percent respectively. These rankings have remained unchanged from the previous year’s list. Later down the list, other known brands are also featured like Bosh (5.8 percent), Sony (4.8 percent), Xiaomi (4.6 percent), and Coca Cola (4.6 percent), LG (4.1 percent), and Jara (3.1 percent).

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

Notably, Huawei was a new entry into this list and was in the 13th spot in 2020. Previously, we had reported on the Chinese tech giants like Xiaomi and Huawei breaking into the top 20 brands in Russia list. So, we can expect the companies to also have their presence grow in the region moving forward. Samsung had first been featured in the list in 2008 when OMI began and was ranked first for the first time in 2009. In 2010, the company lost its throne to Nokia, but retook the lead in 2011 and has yet to be toppled.

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Apple to hike prices of apps/games on App Store in India, Indonesia & more

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 08:47:51 +0000

The App Store is the only way to get apps and games on iPhones and iPads. Hence, whenever a slight change occurs on the platform, it affects all the users. This is one of the primary reasons why Apple is facing an anti-trust case against it. That said, a new change is on its way to the App Store for certain countries as a result of new taxes and foreign exchange rates.

The change we are talking about is the increase in prices of apps and games on the App Store as well as in-app purchases for the following countries.

Brazil
Colombia
India
Indonesia
Russia
South Africa

In India, price is being hiked due to the new equalization levy of 2%, in addition to the existing 18% GST (Goods & Services Tax). Whereas, in Indonesia, the changes are being made as a result of the new 10 % value-added tax for developers based outside of the country.

It is worth noting that the new changes will not affect auto-renewable subscriptions. Additionally, Apple also mentions that prices will be adjusted in Iceland and Albania as well. However, it is not sure if the final price will increase or decrease in these countries.

The new prices for apps and games on the Apple Apple store as well as in-app purchases will be rolled out in the coming days.

(Source / Via)

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Xiaomi and Huawei are among the top 20 favorite brands in Russia

Sean — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 07:30:49 +0000

Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi and Huawei, are among the top 20 favorite brands in Russia. This list comprises of companies from different industries as well and marks the growth in market share for Chinese OEMs in the region.

Over the course of the past few years, Xiaomi has been rising in this list and has ranked among the top favorite brands for Russians. Back in 2018, the company was selected within the top 20 for the first time and ranked 11th. Jumping to 2020, the Chinese tech giant is now in the 7th position. Similarly, Huawei has also entered the top 20 rankings and has been selected for the first time ever, ranking 13th this year, as per a SputnikNews report.

Notably, Xiaomi ranks higher than a number of popular brands including, Coca-Cola, LG, Zara, Puma, and even H&M. While on the other hand, Huawei also beat known competition like Ostin, McDonald’s, BMW, Pepsi, Asus, Reebok, and Levi’s. The leading spots in this list are still held by brands like Samsung, Adidas, Nike, and Apple. These rankings were a part of the “Russian Favorite Brand” survey that has been taken every year since 2008.

Interestingly, while Xiaomi isn’t among the top 5 rankings within the list, yet, it did launch a few smartphones that topped the handset market in the region. In 2016, Xiaomi overtook Apple to occupy the first and second spot in the market with the Redmi 4 Prime and Redmi Note 3 Pro. The company once again topped the list in the following year. In 2019, Redmi Note 7 again took the top rankings in terms of sales and its devices have been gaining popularity due to their affordable prices and reliability.

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Huawei to expand its Russian operations by opening 50 new stores

Sean — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:03:07 +0000

Huawei, the known consumer electronics maker, is apparently planning on expanding its sales operations in Russia. The company will do so by opening over 50 new stores across the country in 2021.

A report from SputnikNews stated that the company made the announcement earlier this week. Huawei said that “In 2021, Huawei will continue to develop its retail network and will additionally open 50 branded stores in major Russian cities: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok and others.” Furthermore, the smartphone maker will also be growing its customer service capabilities in the region.

These new stores will showcase and sell all the latest products launched by the company, which includes smartphones, laptops, wearables, and other IoT (Internet of Things) products as well. At the moment, there are currently only 18 physical Huawei stores present in the country. So, this move will greatly increase the scale of its operating by a notable degree.

Interestingly, these new stores will also follow the company’s ‘1+8+N‘ device ecosystem strategy that it had previously announced earlier this year. The ‘1’ stands for its smartphones, while the ‘8’ stands for PC, tablet, TV, audio, glasses, watches, locomotives, and headphones. Lastly, the ‘N’ represents the mobile offices, smart homes, sports and health, audio-visual entertainment, and smart travel products.

The post Huawei to expand its Russian operations by opening 50 new stores appeared first on Gizmochina.

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