Kalakshar US

The ninth annual Google for India event had a big announcement: the company plans to manufacture its Pixel phones in India, following steady growth in the country’s demand for the devices. Google’s senior vice president for Devices and Services, Rick Osterloh, positioned India as one of the company’s most important markets for Pixel devices. Google aims to begin rolling out locally produced Pixel 8 smartphones in 2024, eventually expanding to other Pixel models.

Google’s contribution to the “Make in India” initiative will see partnerships with domestic and international manufacturers. In a tweet, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, Sundar Pichai, stated, “We’re committed to being a trusted partner in India’s digital growth.” The pivot also allows Google to diversify its production away from China, where supply chain risks continue due to strains between the nation and the United States.

The company’s decision is another win for India’s government, which has attracted international device manufacturers, like Samsung and Apple, to make major investments in local production. Apple first produced iPhones in India back in 2017, but the first devices produced were all older models. Production initially also lagged six to nine months behind China but has improved steadily, first with iPhone 14 production starting within a month of launch. Most recently, a small number of India-made iPhone 15s were available in the region the same day as those produced in China. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-confirms-it-will-manufacture-pixel-phones-in-india-091725837.html?src=rss 

If you have a personal WhatsApp account and a business one — or two accounts of the same nature — you’ll soon no longer have to carry two phones to be able to access them both. WhatsApp will finally let you add two accounts to one device, as long as you have a second phone number or a phone that supports eSIM or dual/multiple SIMs. 

You won’t even need to log out of one account to be able to access the other. To have simultaneous access to two accounts, go to the app’s Settings page and click on the arrow next to your name to find the “Add account” option. Each account has its own privacy and notification settings, so you can choose to receive alerts from one and not the other, which sounds incredibly useful if you’re on vacation and don’t want to hear from your work or business for a while. 

The new feature follows an update earlier this year that gave you the capability to access your account on multiple devices. WhatsApp used to be very strict when it comes to account access and limited you to having one account on one phone. It started exploring multi-device functionality in 2021, though, and rolled out the ability to sync one account across up to four phones in April. This upcoming update, which could make it easier to juggle different aspects of your life while maintaining boundaries, is rolling out for Android devices in the coming weeks. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-will-soon-let-you-add-two-accounts-to-one-device-070407645.html?src=rss 

Back in February, Meta launched a Telegram-like feature for Instagram called “broadcast channels,” which introduced a one-way messaging feature to the app. It gave creators a way to update their followers without having to post on their main page. Now, the company is expanding broadcast channels’ availability and is also bringing it to Facebook and Messenger. Creators and public figures with Facebook pages will now be able to send messages, including photos, videos and voice notes, to their community. 

It’s still a one-way messaging tool, which means only Page administrators can send messages in the channel, but participants can react to them and vote in polls. Admins can launch a channel directly from their page, and Facebook will send their followers a one-time notification to join after they send their first message. Based on the screenshots shared by Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, broadcast channels will show up in users’ Messenger chats under a tab aptly labeled “Channels.” Participants will get notifications every time the page owner sends an update, but they can mute the channel anytime. Presumably, those who chose not to participate the first time can still access the channel from the page’s profile like people can on Instagram. 

Meta says any page admin where the feature is now accessible can start a channel if they want. The feature still isn’t available everywhere, though, and those who can’t find the option to open a broadcast channel yet can join the waitlist for now. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-brings-instagrams-broadcast-channels-to-facebook-and-messenger-050801437.html?src=rss