Some ecstatic discounts and deals on Electronic items are currently live at Walmart in the US. There is a special offer on Sony, Garmin, LG, Samsung, and other OEM gadgets, and smartphones. A special discount is now live on Roku, Google Nest, and other smart home devices. There are additional discount sites for smart TVs and certain wearables. Let’s check out the detailed information on the discounts and deals at Walmart:

Sony WH-1000XM5

Price: $399.99 $319.99

If you’re looking to grab premium headphones and are ready to invest some good money, then the Sony WH-1000XM5 is a good investment at this time. You can save around $70 on the purchase from Walmart. It is available for $319, which is down from the actual price of $399.

LG 70″ 4K UHD Smart TV

Price: $648 $498

It is another worth-considering deal that the user can get for around $500. It is actually $150 off from the actual retail price. The 70″ 4K UHD TV, powered by AI and a powerful processor, can be yours for $498. With support for HDR10 Pro, handy game optimizer mode, and over 300 LG channels, it is a great deal at this price.

Samsung 65″ Classic 90C OLED 4K Smart TV

Price: $3,299.99 $1,597.99

Well, how can we forget about the OLED technology that has been making waves for the past couple of years in the television segment? It offers object tracking sound, Dolby Atmos support, 4K upscaling, and a 120Hz screen refresh rate. The super-thin TV that offers extraordinary picture quality is down 50% of the actual price. The user can get it for $1597 at Walmart.

Garmin Forerunner 945

Price: $599.99 $279.99

Are you looking for an excellent health-tracking wearable? Then, it would be best if you grabbed the Garmin Forerunner 945 smartwatch, which is available at a $40% discount. In other words, you could save around $320 on the purchase of a Garmin Forerunner 945.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite

Price: $159, $99

It is an affordable tablet that the Korean giant launched a while back. Featuring a 5100 mAh battery, an 8.7-inch display, and up to 1TB of expandable storage, the tablet costs only $99 with a discount. It is down $60 from its actual retail price of $159.

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Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

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For health enthusiasts who want to track each step, and measure the body vitals with preciseness, the Fitbit Charge 5 can be a good companion. It is available at a 50% discount price of $75. The popular fitness tracker is on sale at Walmart.

It is worth considering the Fitbit Charge 5 if you are looking for a high-quality fitness track with a tight budget. The Fitbit Charge 5 tracker can measure stress levels using an electrodermal activity sensor and offers ECG and SpO2 measurements. Further, the built-in GPS and AOD are some added benefits that make it a good fitness tracker.

Grab Fitbit Charge 5 on Walmart

Grab from Amazon

Apart from the above-mentioned advanced health features, it does all the basic activity tracking and heart rate monitoring. Fitbit Charge 5 also features V02 max tracking which automatically starts while exercising. It also keeps track of sleep data such as daily Sleep Scores and sleep Stages and features SmartWake alarms.

Features for Fitbit Charge 5

• 1.04-inch AMOLED color display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• First Fitbit tracker with EDA sensor
• Built-in GPS, 20 exercise modes, automatic exercise recognition, V02 max tracker
• Health features: 24-hour heart rate monitor, Health Metrics dashboard for breathing rate, skin temperature, SpO2 rate
• Sleep tracking: daily Sleep Scores, Sleep Stages, SmartWake alarms
• 20 colorful watch faces
• Available colors: Black, Lunar White, Steel Blue

Fitbit Charge 5 with different watch faces and is available in Black color with a Graphite Stainless Steel case and some other options.

Further, a good $20 discount is available on the Jabra Elite 4, retailing for $79.99 on Amazon and Best Buy. There has been a good discount on Apple’s MacBook Air M2, and iPad 10th Generation, Amazon’s Echo Speakers, and much more.

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Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

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MacBook Air M1 is officially disbanded from Apple’s side, but the stocks are still left with major retailers. The first iteration of Apple’s silicon-based MacBook is still in demand and has been a favorite among first-time Mac users. Well, if you’re still looking for an exquisite deal on the MacBook M1 Air, then your wait has ended, as it is currently retailing for $699. Interested buyers can grab the 256GB MacBook Air M1 at the lowest price since it was launched.

There’s an overall $300 discount on the actual original price of the MacBook M1 256GB variant. However, since previous sales, the price has touched $750, but it hasn’t been down to $699. It is a good option if you’re a beginner, and just want the system for basic to moderate tasks. However, the machine can perform high-end tasks too, but the limited RAM may sometimes distort the experience. Otherwise, it is a perfect machine for any kind of task.

Grab MacBook Air M1 for $699 Here

Apart from its performance prowess, the battery life is unmatchable with any Intel-based laptop until now or MacBook. It’s been regarded as the “best and most efficient laptop” of the year 2020.

Further, it houses a retina display that is highly capable of depicting and rendering graphics in their original colors and contrast. It is quite helpful for the designers to work on such a quality display.

It is the right time to grab the MacBook M1 256GB if you are looking for a capable machine for graphics designing, coding, and day-to-day tasks. Talking about specifications, it features 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s a 720p webcam for video calling. The 13-inch Retina display is perfect for daily tasks, and the fanless design keeps all noise at bay.

However, we don’t suggest going for the M1 for video editing and other high-end tasks. It is suggested to grab an M2 or M3 machine, which tend to feature longer support and more powerful hardware.

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Back in June, Walmart released a streaming device under its Onn brand. Officially called the ‘Onn FHD Streaming Stick’, the product was a good alternative to the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick.

More than two years later, the e-commerce giant has now launched a newer model called ‘Onn Google TV Full HD Streaming Device’. It acts as a competitor to Chromecast with Google TV (HD).

Walmart’s product is similar to Google’s offering in terms of raw hardware specs. Additionally, it is more affordable at $15 compared to Google’s $30 asking price.

Walmart Onn Google TV Full HD Streaming Device Features

As the name suggests, Walmart’s latest streaming device is limited to FHD streaming. Thus, it is ideal for bedroom televisions or any old TVs at your place.

According to @AndroidTV_Rumor, the product is powered by an Amlogic S805X2 chipset paired with 1.5GB RAM. Google’s FHD Chromecast also has the same internals.

Further, as the name suggests, the device ships with Google TV software, which is an upgrade over the standard Android TV operating system on the older model. There’s support for all the leading streaming platforms, like Netflix, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, and ESPN to name a few.

The product connects directly to the TV’s HDMI port. It uses a MicroUSB port for power in and the required adapter is included in the box along with an HDMI cable, a voice-enabled remote control, and 2 x AAA batteries.

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PhonePe, the Walmart-backed fintech giant, is gearing up to challenge Google’s dominance in the Indian app store market with the launch of its own app store for Android users. According to an internal company document reviewed by TechCrunch, the app store will offer hyper-localized services based on customer context and assist developers with high-quality user acquisition through multilingual solutions.

PhonePe sees opportunity in India’s app store market with recent antitrust ruling

PhonePe’s move into the app store market comes after the acquisition of app store maker IndusOS, which served customers through partnerships with smartphone vendors. The app store will offer support for 12 languages, 24×7 live chat, and a “premiere experience” for users with high-quality advertisements and custom targeting.

PhonePe’s decision to build an app store comes from its belief that consumers are reluctant to download multiple apps on their phones. The app store is also part of PhonePe’s ongoing funding round this year, which has raised $750 million from General Atlantic, Walmart, and Tiger Global, among others. PhonePe confirmed that it’s holding multiple conversations with phone makers in India and plans to be live on all Android OEMs within the first few months of launch.

This move is significant because Google commands 97% of the Indian app store market, and PhonePe’s entry into the market could challenge Google’s dominance. The timing is also favorable for PhonePe, as a recent order from the Indian antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India paves the way for other developers to build and launch their app stores on Google Play. PhonePe sees an opportunity to build an alternative app store that is more localized, not just from a language perspective but also from a discovery and consumer interest perspective.

This latest product push follows PhonePe’s recent entry into the e-commerce category, and it’s another example of the company’s ongoing efforts to expand its services beyond mobile payments. As one of India’s most valuable fintech startups, PhonePe is well-positioned to challenge Google’s dominance in the app store market, and its app store could provide a much-needed alternative for Indian consumers who are looking for more localized services.

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A large electric vehicle (EV) charging network is important for several reasons. It allows EV owners to have the confidence to travel long distances without worrying about running out of charge. This is particularly important for those who rely on their vehicles for work or travel, and need to make frequent long trips. Secondly, a large charging network helps to promote the adoption of EVs, by making it more convenient and accessible for drivers. With more charging stations available, drivers are more likely to consider purchasing an EV as their primary mode of transportation. By providing a network of charging stations, drivers can be assured that they will be able to find a place to charge their vehicle when needed, thereby alleviating their fears about running out of charge. Amidst the rising popularity of Electric Vehicles in the United States, Walmart has announced that even more multiple locations of the billion-dollar shopping franchise will be equipped with EV charging stations in the near future.

This massive expansion plan by the company aims to be fully implemented by 2030, but the exact number of locations to be added to the network has not yet been disclosed by the company. Walmart currently operates 1,300 EV fast-charging stations in more than 280 retail stores and affiliated facilities, and this expansion is expected to provide even more accessibility for EV drivers.

In a statement by Vishal Kapadia, Senior Vice President of Energy Transformation at Walmart, he emphasized the importance of convenient access to on-the-go charging, which can help boost EV ownership even in rural areas. While the company is still looking for energy suppliers, it has confirmed that each participating store will receive four chargers, and energy prices will be kept low. The initiative is part of Walmart’s broader commitment to reducing its environmental impact, which also includes transitioning to electric vehicles for deliveries and achieving “zero emissions” for all supply chain vehicles by 2040.

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TCL is known for making TVs but the company also has a lineup of smartphones that mostly fall in the entry-level or budget category. The company previously launched the TCL 30 series phones and now has added a new phone to the series — TCL 30 LE.

The TCL 30 LE smartphone was first announced a couple of months ago, but it has now made its way to the United States. This new entry-level smartphone from the company is now available for the price of $104.

The smartphone features a 6.1-inch HD+ display that offers a screen resolution of 1560 x 720 pixels. The display, which is powered by NXTVISION, comes with a notch for housing the front-facing camera.

Under the hood, the device is powered by the MediaTek Helio A22 processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot, allowing users to expand the storage up to 512GB.

There’s a 13-megapixel camera sensor on the back of the phone, placed in the top-left corner. The smartphone also features an 8-megapixel camera sensor on the front side for taking selfies and video calling.

It runs the Android 12 operating system out-of-the-box, but there is no information available about the possibility of the phone receiving any major updates. The device is powered by a 3,000mAh battery and offers 24 hours of usage on a single charge.

The TCL 30 LE smartphone, which is priced at $104, is available in the United States exclusively through Verizon and Walmart.

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Flipkart, India’s homegrown online marketplace and the biggest competitor of Amazon in the country, could be slapped with a massive fine. The Enforcement Directorate Agency, India’s finance-crime agency, has asked Walmart-owned Flipkart and its founders to explain why it shouldn’t face a penalty of $1.35 billion.

The agency is alleging violation of foreign investment laws, claims a report from Reuters which is citing three people and an agency official as its source. The unnamed official of the agency says that the case concerns an investigation into allegations that Flipkart attracted foreign investment and a related party, WS Retail, then sold goods to consumers on its shopping website, which was prohibited under law.

The development comes at a time when Flipkart is already facing regulatory issues, tougher restrictions, and antitrust investigations in India. On top of that, complaints from smaller sellers are also growing.

The notice to the company was issued last month by the agency’s office in Chennai. Along with Flipkart, its founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal as well as investor Tiger Global have received the so-called “show causes” notice. It asks to explain why they should not face a fine of ₹100 billion (approximately $1.35 billion) for the lapses. They reportedly have 90 days to respond to the notice.

Commenting on this development, A Flipkart spokesperson said to Reuters that the company “is in compliance with Indian laws and regulations,” adding that the company “will cooperate with the authorities as they look at this issue pertaining to the period 2009-2015 as per their notice.”

The Enforcement Directorate in India has been investigating e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon for years for allegedly bypassing foreign investment laws that strictly regulate multi-brand retail and restrict such companies to operating a marketplace for sellers.

Flipkart, founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, was acquired by retail giant Walmart in 2018 for $16 billion. At the time, Sachin Bansal sold his stake to Walmart while Binny Bansal retained a small stake. The company raised a $3.6 billion funding round in July, valuing the Indian e-commerce giant at $37.6 billion.

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DJI, the world’s leading company when it comes to drones, is reportedly gearing up to launch a new product, dubbed DJI Mini SE. Based on the new leaks, it appears that the device could be the company’s cheapest drone yet.

The leak, coming from Walmart, is expected to have a starting price of $299. Apart from the upcoming product listing on the Walmart website, the device has already shipped to at least one set of Walmart Store shelves.

It seems that the upcoming drone isn’t the low-cost model of the DJI Mini 2 but appears to be the less-expensive model of the first-generation DJI Mavic Mini which was launched in the year 2019.

pic.twitter.com/agxlPAF1Pb

— Güçlü Atamer (@GAtamer) June 11, 2021

As for the specifications, the product is likely to come with support for the 2.7K-resolution camera (as opposed to the 4K) and 2.5-mile wireless range. This points to the Mini SE not having support for Ocusync.

From what some of the users on Reddit suggest, the primary differences between the upcoming model and the original models seem to be a $100 lower price and a slightly improved plastic chassis.

The pricing is expected to be $299, which appears to be pretty good for a new drone from the company. With its shape, size, and weight, the device can easily be stuffed in a bag to be carried around and won’t need to be registered with the FAA.

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US retail giant Walmart is giving about 740,000 of its employees a free Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone as part of its rollout plans for its new employee app. The employees are free to use the smartphone, which costs around $500, for official and personal use.

Walmart’s new employee app is called Me@Walmart. According to the company, the app will simplify daily tasks, help staff offer excellent services to customers, and help employees plan activities outside the workplace. The app will allow employees to clock in and clock out during their shifts. In addition, employee scheduling, Voice Assistant support, and several features significantly enhance employee performance and the speed of accomplishing tasks.

There are concerns, though, that the new employee app may infringe on employee privacy. However, Walmart has stated that it does not have access to personal data on the phone, and employees cannot access the app when not on scheduled work. Walmart says it desires to equip its employees with the necessary cutting-edge tools that would make them remain competitive in the retail space.

Samsung‘s flagship Galaxy XCover Pro is a rugged smartphone suitable for field workers and it was launched in the US in April 2020. It is crammed with features that stand it out as a business-oriented smartphone. It has a barcode scanner built into the primary camera, and the device can be customized into a mobile Point of Sale terminal. Its enhanced security and reliability features make it a perfect choice for the activities that Walmart has deployed it for.

Walmart hopes to completely distribute the flagship phone models to 740,000 of its fans by the year’s end. It expects to see more excellent employee performance with the deployment of the incentive of a durable personal smartphone for up to half of its current employees.

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There have been multiple reports that Walmart is making a streaming stick. The device was certified by the FCC back in March and has now been listed on the manufacturer’s online store as the “onn. FHD Streaming Stick”. While you can’t buy it now, the listed price reveals this is a more affordable alternative to Xiaomi’s Mi TV Stick.

Spotted by Android TV Guide, the onn. FHD Streaming Stick runs Android TV like Xiaomi’s own streaming dongle. Wrapped in a black curved polycarbonate body, the device has a pretty small form factor. Save for the onn. logo, all you have on the device is the HDMI output port and a MicroSD card slot.

According to the limited spec sheet, the onn. FHD Streaming Stick has 1GB of DDR4 RAM. While the storage isn’t stated, we don’t think it is more than 8GB for a device of this type. The device supports dual-band Wi-Fi and has Dolby Audio.

Included in the box will be the dongle itself, an HDMI extension cable, a remote, a micro-USB cable, and a power adapter. The remote has dedicated buttons for YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and HBOmax. It also has a microphone, a Google Assistant button, a mute button, and a Live TV button alongside the other familiar and standard ones.

The onn. FHD Streaming Stick supports 1080p streaming like the Mi TV Stick but is listed at a cheaper price of $24.88 compared to Xiaomi’s own device that sells for $39.99/€39.99.

We don’t know when it will go on sale but we expect it to fly off shelves when it does. Will it be available outside the US? The chances are pretty low right now, so if you don’t reside in the States, the only way you may be able to get your hands on this is to have it imported.

Onn also has a slightly more expensive streaming device that is priced at $29.88 and supports 4K streaming. While not as portable as the one above, the extra $5 is worth it for what you get.

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In a major shift, U.S giant retail chain Walmart has collapsed rules that require that sellers on its online marketplace should be based within the shores of the United States and also registered there. The new move is seen as an attempt to bridge the e-commerce gap with Amazon and also benefit from the vast network of manufacturers streaming from China on a regular basis.

Walmart, which happens to be the world’s largest retailer commenced the process of opening up its third-party marketplace to foreign sellers, removing the requirement that they have to provide a U.S. address or business tax identification. Notwithstanding the relaxed regulation, Walmart’s global trust and safety team as well as the local team will still painstakingly vet the vendors to prevent the listing of items that don’t meet the required standard.

There is no doubt that Chinese manufacturers will form the bulk of the beneficiaries of this new shift. Manufacturers from China have often eyed the U.S market which is considered the most-lucrative market considering the high purchasing power and its vast market size. However, the third-party retailers from outside the U.S will only form a fraction of Walmart’s total seller base most of whom are based in the U.S.

Walmart would have taken into consideration the fact that some of the electronics products that would be on offer will likely compete with its own Onn branded line of electronics gadgets. The Onn products are mostly manufactured in China and we believe they are priced modestly to compete with the Chinese brands. However, the company may decide not to allow competing products on its platform.

The US retail giant disclosed in a statement emailed to Bloomberg that its U.S marketplace is being opened to a limited number of international companies who share the company’s commitment to customer trust and safety. The service is open by invitation only which is very different from Amazon where retailers only have to register online. Thus, don’t expect to find so many third-party retailers from China anytime soon. However, we expect to be the big names like Xiaomi sometime soon.

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Last month, a new US Government was formed with Joe Biden as the President. Right from the day of assuming Office, Biden has been overturning Trump’s measures like bringing the US back into the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement. Among the others, he was also expected to look into the TikTok US Operations issue. Now, a report by WSJ says that the talks have been shelved indefinitely.

According to the report(Via Reuters), plans to redirect TikTok’s U.S Operations over to Walmart and Oracle have been pushed back. Apparently, the reason is because the issue concerning potential security threats will now be reviewed by the new President Biden.

Back in 2020, the US Govt under Trump said that TikTok poses a security threat as he feared data of American Citizens collected by ByteDance would be obtained by the Chinese Govt. The company, however, has been denying this and the involvement of the Chinese Govt in its operations, from the beginning.

This came months after the Indian Govt banned TikTok citing Data Threat and security concerns back in June 2020. Later, TikTok entered into a legal battle with the US and got a Stay on ban from Commerce Department following a court order.

The US Govt has been mulling either to sell its US Operations(incl. Assets) from ByteDance to an American company or get banned. Accordingly, companies like Walmart and Oracle have been in talks to secure the deal.

Despite getting banned in few regions, TikTok topped the Charts in the middle of 2020, and Overall 2nd recently in January 2021 courtesy of the Sensor Tower report.

In India though, the company has been completely banned country-wide and has reduced the employee count as a result. Let’s just hope that ByteDance finds a way to steer through hurdles in its top markets like the US and India soon.

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Ever since the pandemic became worse, people around the world have been staying indoors as much as possible. Even their shopping preferences have changed over the course of the last few months. A recent survey by Counterpoint Research on smartphone shopping in the UK, Germany, and Spain paints a similar picture.

UK

Talking about the UK first, the online smartphone sales currently sit at ~35% in the country. According to the research firm, the online sales has moderately increased since Q1 2020. Above all, they sustained even after the re-opening of brick and mortar stores.

The survey revealed that 90% of UK consumers preferred to make their purchase from either electronic stores or supermarkets. That’s because consumers in this country want to experience the device in a “more engaged manner”.

Even retailers like Carphone Warehouse and Currys PC World are aware that consumers prefer buying from large format stores rather than smaller standalone mobile shops

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That’s because these companies allow consumers to buy the latest phones without making an upfront full payment. They also provide options to bundle plan charges with phone instalments, in addition to direct debit options with offers and treats.

As per the UK consumers who participated in the survey, convenience was their top-most priority while shopping followed by probability of cheaper pricing.

That said, almost 60% of this survey respondents have a monthly income of less than £ 1600. More than 40% of individuals are planning to buy a phone from an operator are self-employed. Whereas, more than 50% of those willing to make an upfront payment are either homemakers or unemployed.

Germany and Spain

Unlike the consumers in the UK, those in Germany and Spain have changed their preference for buying smartphones to online by a high margin. 

For instance, the survey revealed that 35% and 30% of respondents from Germany and Spain respectively purchased their current phone online. Most importantly, a whopping 90% of Germans said that their next smartphone purchase will be online compared to 76% Spaniards, which is not a small number anyway.

Further, consumers in these two countries mostly prefer full up-front payment and retailers like Amazon, Media Markt, Saturn, Comtech, Fnac, Conectrol and Walmart.

As for numbers, 41% of Germans chose upfront payment in the survey and 42% of these respondents are salaried. The numbers for Spain is 53% and 61% respectively.

Last but not least, consumers who selected upfront payment earn less than €1,900 per month. They prefer this mode of buying because of cheaper deals and better offers.

Conclusion

Counterpoint Research says that ASPs (average selling prices) of smartphones will decrease as consumers are expected to reduce their budget. Also, going by their survey, most of the consumers will opt for a full upfront payment for their next phone to reduce a deferred liability.

Lastly, respondents from all the three countries said that they are not looking to reduce touchpoints despite they are concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Huami is trying to expand its reach and its latest announcement may help it increase its share of the wearable market by bringing its Amazfit smartwatches to more people in the US.

An official statement released by Huami today says they have partnered with retail giant, Walmart, to offer its Amazfit line of smartwatches across its stores in America. Prior to the announcement, Amazfit watches could only be purchased online in the US.

Walmart has about 2780 stores across the United States and this should greatly help Huami sell more watches as folks can simply walk into a Walmart store near them and purchase any watch of their choice. The press statement says Walmart will offer just two watches for now – the Amazfit GTS and the Amazfit Bip S.

The Amazfit GTS was announced last year and it shares a resemblance to Apple’s own smartwatches but sells for much less. The watch, which has a retina AMOLED display, a heart rate sensor, built-in GPS, and support for tracking up to 12 sports modes, will be available in black and gold at Walmart stores.

The Amazfit Bip S is an improved version of the Amazfit Bip. It was announced in January and boasts features such as support for 10 sports modes including elliptical, yoga, and swimming (stroke rate, stroke times, and SWOLF Index). It also has a heart rate monitor, a GPS chip, sleep tracking, and a battery life that lasts up to 40 days.

There is no info on when other products will be available but we expect Huami will announce when it happens.

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Earlier this week, Amazfit had announced that a couple of its smartwatches will be debuting at Walmart stores in the US. These smartwatches combine sports functionality and health related features and will be available through up to 2,870 locations across North America.

According to Mike Yeung, Huami chief operating officer, “Offering our assortment at Walmart is the perfect opportunity to expand our market share in North America and reach a large number of consumers who want advanced intelligence, quality craftsmanship, and great value. Amazfit smartwatches lead the industry in battery life, proprietary biometric sensors, and advanced algorithms. These competitively priced smartwatches are ideally suited to Walmart shoppers and we expect them to fly off the shelf.”

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While the brand and its wearables had been available in the US, it is only now finally being sold through a national retailer, as per a BusinessWire report. The move from Amazfit arrives to expand its market in the region with its line of smartwatches that have dedicated features related to both sports/activities and health management. In other words, it would be a worthwhile offering for fitness band users and health conscious consumers as well. This would also be further supported by the reasonable pricing at which the company offers its products.

Walmart will now be debuting two Amazfit smartwatches, which includes the Amazfit Bip S and GTS. The former will be available in Onyx Black and Warm Pink while the latter will be available in either Gold or Black variants. The lightweight Bip S will be available across 2,870 Walmart stores in the US while the stylish GTS will be available in 2,553 Walmart stores. The company will continue to collaborate with national and regional chains across the nation to expand its brand and its online presence in the market as well.

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Donald Trump recently said that he has approved the deal between TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart, clearing the path for ByteDance-backed TikTok to continue its business in the United States without the fear of getting banned.

Oracle will be owning about a 12.5 percent stake in the company while Walmart CEO Doug McMillon will join the company’s board. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and the Chinese company’s current directors — Sequoia China’s Neil Shen and General Atlantic’s William Ford — will reprise their roles.

In a statement released by the company, it confirmed that ByteDance will retain full control of its social media algorithms but will allow Oracle limited access to view source code for “safety” purposes.

The company has contested Trump’s assertions that the U.S. government will get $5 billion as part of the deal. ByteDance said that the figure was just an estimate of the amount of taxes TikTok Global would pay over several years if the business proved successful.

Earlier, in a joint statement released by Oracle and Walmart, it was said that TikTok will pay more than $5 billion in “new tax dollars to the U.S. Treasury” and develop an AI-driven online video curriculum.

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As a part of the agreement, a new entity named TikTok Global will be created in which Oracle and Walmart will hold a minority stake. ByteDance has confirmed that it will continue to remain in control of the business, contradicting Trump’s claim of American companies being in control of TikTok.

The Chinese giant is expected to hold about 80 percent stake in TikTok Global, which could be valued at around $60 billion. It is not yet clear if the deal needs approval from the Chinese government or not.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration had banned WeChat downloads and transactions on the platform, effective 20th September. However, a judge has blocked the ban on WeChat and allowed the app to continue operation.

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After concerns over the data collection practices of TikTok and the U.S. government’s threat to ban the short video social media app in the country if it doesn’t sell the business to an American company, everything was seemingly falling in line for the U.S. But that is no longer the case.

As per the latest report, the Chinese government has imposed new restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence technologies which will now require ByteDance to seek the approval of the Chinese government for selling TikTok’s U.S. operations.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has added AI-backed technologies such as speech and text recognition, and those that analyze data for personalized content recommendations have been added to the list of export-control products. It adds that the government permits will be required for overseas transfers to “safeguard national economic security.”

It seems that the new rule is aimed at delaying the sale of TikTok to the U.S.-based company. In a statement, ByteDance has said that the company was aware of the new restrictions and would “strictly comply with” the Chinese regulations on technology exports.

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Recently, Walmart confirmed that it has partnered with Microsoft in an attempt to purchase TikTok in the United States. It was confirmed just hours after TikTok CEO Kevin Mayers announced his resignation.

It was being speculated that the resignation could be because of the acquisition deal getting finalized. In his resignation letter, he said that he expects “a resolution very soon,” hinting that the official acquisition-related announcement could be made within days.

To acquire TikTok’s U.S. business from ByteDance, Microsoft and Oracle are the leading contenders. However, it is reported that Centricus Asset Management Ltd. and Triller Inc. have also made a last-minute pitch to buy TikTok’s operations in several countries for about $20 billion.

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The on-going development related to the acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations from the platform’s parent company ByteDance has been dramatic. While Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s in talks with the company, other companies also started talks for the same, including Oracle.

Now, Walmart has confirmed that it has partnered with Microsoft in an attempt to purchase TikTok in the United States. The company has revealed that it is participating in the negotiations with Microsoft over a potential deal.

Revealing the reason behind Walmart’s interest in purchasing the short-video social media platform, the company said that it has “integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets” and could bolster its access to consumers.

In a statement, Walmart said: “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok US in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses. We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of US TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of US government regulators.”

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The development comes just hours after TikTok CEO Kevin Mayers announced his resignation. It is being speculated that his resignation could be because of the acquisition deal getting finalized. In his resignation letter, he said that he expects “a resolution very soon.” Before joining TikTok this year, Mayer was leading Disney‘s streaming division.

Some reports have started making rounds claiming that TikTok could announce the sale of its U.S. operation within a week. It is said that the deal could be worth around $20 billion to $20 billion and the company is considering between Microsoft and Oracle.

TikTok is being forced to sell off its U.S. operations to an American company by the government amid intense political scrutiny because of the platforms’ country of origin. It has also been under fire because of its data collection practices, which the United States claims put its national security at risk.

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Flipkart and Amazon India are the most popular e-commerce sites in India. Flipkart has reportedly reached advanced discussions for tie-up with Walmart to sell some of its stake. However, fresh information claims that Amazon may attempt a rival offer to acquire Flipkart. According to Live Mint, people who are aware of the matter have claimed that there is a high possibility that Amazon may not acquire Flipkart, but Walmart may buy its 55 percent stake.

The U.S. based Walmart is the world’s leading retailer company. It is expected to buy Flipkart’s stake through at least two share purchases. The deal is pegged to value Flipkart at $21 billion.

The Walmart-Flipkart deal is expected to assist Flipkart to rival well with Amazon that has planned to invest $5 billion in India for growing its online grocery delivery.  As of this writing, Amazon, Flipkart and Walmart are yet to release an official statement on the issue.

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Flipkart was established in 2007 by ex-employees of Amazon, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. A research carried out by Forrester research firm had claimed that Flipkart accounts for 40 percent of the online sales in India. Myntra, Jabong and eBay India are the sub-brands of Flipkart. It also owns PhonPe mobile payment firm. The accumulated earnings of these sub-brands make Flipkart more popular than Amazon in India. Apart from Walmart and Amazon, Google too has shown an interest to acquire Flipkart in the recent past.

(source)

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Xiaomi’s Mi Box has been launched as the company’s first product ever to go on sale in the US, just as was rumored weeks back. The Xiaomi Mi Box enters the lucrative US market battle ready to take on similar products like Amazon’s Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku’s wide range of media players. The Mi Box streaming device has been tipped by Xiaomi’s VP, Hugo Barra as the best, most technically advanced streaming box money can buy and it carries a cheap price tag of just $69.

Xiaomi has continued its renowned reputation of offering well studded devices for ultra cheap price tags with the Mi Box and for $69, users get a host of features that the Mi Box offers. The Mi Box comes in a smallish size just about that of a pocket wallet with some more weight, and is colored in matte black with ports for HDMI , USBB, audio and power at the back. What could be said to be the main attraction on the device is its ability to stream 4K video at 60 frames per seconds (fps), something Apple TV cannot do. This 4K streaming ability places the device at par with Amazon TV box and Roku.

On the software end, the Mi Box runs Android TV which is reputed as having one of the better user interfaces and allows users to search universally for titles across multiple services. There is also the cool voice interaction feature via the tiny remote controls it comes with. In addition, the device comes with support for Google Cast which means it can function for the same purpose as Chromecast. Still on the software, the Xiaomi Mi Box enters the US pre-installed with live-TV service Sling TV. Mi Box owners get the added incentive of being able to check out the service for free for just the first day, even without inputting credit-card info. After that, they can begin the normal seven-day trial, and there’s also a $50 coupon for the Sling in the box if they choose to subscribe.

On the hardware terrain, the Xiaomi Mi Box packs inside it 2GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, and has support for Dolby Digital Plus audio playback, DTS Surround Sound and is HDMI 2.0  compatible. The Mi box is powered by a quad-core ARM processor and a Mali 450 GPU. It comes with a Bluetooth voice remote and Xiaomi had earlier hinted the box will also work with a Mi Game controller for those who want to enjoy Android games on a large screen. The controller will likely be sold separately, though.

For all these, Xiaomi has pegged the price of the Mi Box at $69, far cheaper than all other comparable box in the US market that streams 4K video. Xiaomi has officially entered into retail partnership with Walmart who will sell the Box in close to 4,000 of its stores across the US. The device will likely be available for purchase by the end of the week.

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