Smartphone prices are high and that is why 1 in 10 are preferring hand-me-down or second hand phones

Smartphones are something that is a necessity in this growing world of technology, but for some a luxury, they can’t afford. Smartphones have always been priced in a high range even from the start. With phones like the iPhone 14 costing as much as 1600 dollars after including sales tax and some even going higher, it is no surprise that some people in the US cannot afford a brand new phone every time they need one. Most median full-time workers in the US earn less than 50 percent of what the iPhone 14 is priced at every week.

If we look at the results of Statista's Global Consumer Survey, most US consumers bought their main mobile phones at retail prices while they were new, but, the phone that came bundled with a mobile subscription plan was the most popular second option. However, very surprisingly only 5 percent of the surveyed mobile phone users said that they had bought their phone second-hand, along with the 6 percent who had gotten it as a hand-me-down from either parents or siblings.

According to the chart posted by Statista, 62.1 percent of the people surveyed said that they had bought it at retail price. Second place was commandeered by the 17.1 percent of people who had gotten their primary phone as a part of their mobile service subscription plan.

5.7 percent got theirs as a hand–me–down from family members and 5 percent bought their mobile phone as a second hand. 2.1 percent said that they had received their mobile phone from their employer as a part of their job and 7.8 percent said that they either had another reason or they did not know.

The survey which was conducted by Statista was spread out from July 2021 to Jun 2022 and consisted of 7,983 respondents from the age groups of 18-64. This should be noted that the survey was conducted almost exclusively in the United States and all the data is based on what has been collected there.

These prices of smartphones are making it harder for people to stay connected with the people they care about and stay in the loop. Smartphones have often proved to be life-saving devices and not having them could enlarge the level of danger one is already in by preventing them from reaching help at their most crucial time.

Read next: Major Reason For Apple’s In-App Purchase Price Hike Is Its ATT Policy, Proves New Report
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

WhatsApp Is Working On Allowing Easier Imports And Exports Between Devices Having Previously Been Used For Such Purposes

WhatsApp’s recent beta reveals that the platform is developing a new method via which users can import previous backups onto a new device.

Whenever users are importing their chat and media history onto a different smartphone, they are first prompted to ensure that an online save file is made in the first place (a cloud-based save file, to be specific). This action is typically carried out using an individual’s Google Drive, iCloud, or another alternative online database service. Once the save is made, a user can transfer their WhatsApp account across devices and then download the entire file onto the new device. This process can be a little bit cumbersome, since it requires a few hours worth of effort, depending on file size, and a consistent Wi-Fi connection. These aren’t necessarily difficult to provide, but it’s just slightly inconvenient. With the new feature, we’re about to discuss, however, WhatsApp is aiming to introduce just a slight amount of ease to the entire process, provided that some prerequisites are met.

WhatsApp beta 2.22.20.10. reveals a feature being worked upon that allows users to import backups on previous devices. This feature is currently being fleshed out and has a long way to go. Therefore, its final iteration could look markedly different from whatever information can gleam from the current project. However, to quickly break down the details, if any prior backups had been made on a device, they can immediately be imported, thus circumventing the need for a Wi-Fi connection for that specific build. This feature heavily relies on WhatsApp having already made automatic backups, and on two devices having already established an import-export relationship. However, even this relatively limited wiggle room can prove to be useful in specific conditions.

This isn’t the first that we’ve heard of the feature as well, since it was first noted by WABetaInfo as being a part of the 2.22.13.11 beta build of the platform. However, this is by far the more comprehensive build of the two, even if there is still a lot more information to be divulged regarding the final product.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

A numbers of firms went through a massive data breach last year

In terms of the attack surface, old network technology pales in comparison to modern cloud technology. It is well-known for maintaining transparency regarding the data extracted by third-party sites and applications, as well as how that data is secured and used. But not everyone agrees with it.

In light of the research carried out by Snyk, a security provider and analyst company, eighty percent of corporations went through a security breach last year which resulted in personal data leaking out. This breach of data indicates that firms need to upgrade the way they secure user data and how it is processed.

Adapting to cloud security is not an easy task. As explained by Snyk, 78% of institutions believe that traditional methods are outdated and are no longer compatible with the cloud. On the other hand, a massive 93% of the survey participants showed concern over the lack of cyber security specialists.

According to Andrew Wright, the man behind the report, cloud technology is pushing developers to go swiftly to catch up with modern requirements. Andrew further added that the complications faced by cloud networks are due to the unproductive measures taken by the firms. Almost seventy-seven percent of the companies that took part in this research agreed that they face major problems which arise due to the incompatible match between the team and the tools used by them while dealing with errors.

However, these limitations can be fixed by taking some actions, including a change in the root code. This can be done with the help of IaC organizations, so the probability of error can be reduced to a minimum.

The research team itself provides services to other companies by offering them other methods to guide them towards cloud networking and empower developers so that any coding errors can be dealt with on time.

Many organizations provide these services, so any bug or issue can be identified in time before data is breached, which not only causes problems for the company but the leaked data can also be misused.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

New Lawsuit Filed Against Amazon Says The Firm Pressurizes Merchants To Keep Prices Artificially High

A new lawsuit has made its way toward Amazon, accusing the firm of shocking behavior toward merchants.

California’s Attorney Journey lawsuit described how the eCommerce giant pressurizes its merchants to keep prices artificially high. Similarly, any decision taken by a merchant to put lower prices on rival sites is also prohibited.

Now, California is not going to allow such behavior as the state warned the company against banning its sellers from setting out lower price points on so many other websites.

Rob Bonta, California's Attorney General, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, clearly alleging the firm for being involved in the stifled competition. This way, it was directly making its consumers pay extra for various goods and services via its manipulative pricing strategies.

Most of the lawsuit centers around a simple fact. And that’s linked to merchants getting into an agreement that prohibits them from agreeing on lower prices. These are for archrival pages like Walmart, eBay, and even Target.

If a merchant goes against the agreement and terms outlined by Amazon, they’ll be penalized in a way that risks the loss of visibility or even access to the platform.

The company knows very well that merchants have been put in a very vulnerable position thanks to this clause, and they’re forced to deal with it. Moreover, Amazon is also taking a lot of advantage of its popularity.

It is a leader because most users turn to the app as it’s a place that’s observed as a one-stop shop for everything. Moreover, they get a sort of convenience that’s rarely found anywhere else and hence, end up paying extra than others. And this is what the Attorney General’s office feels is a true example of market dominance.

At the same time, practices like this can also end up causing a massive increase in costs of commodities than would not occur if the market was actually competitive. It’s like paving the way for an artificial price hike and making people pay high bucks for no reason.

And this has nothing to do with Amazon being a great retailer. Instead, it’s more related to the firm forbidding others to pave the way for lower prices via coerced contracts.

If you think the news of the lawsuit has Amazon worried, think again!

The company claims it’s more than confident that such lawsuits won’t continue for long and will end up getting dismissed soon. They also quoted how a similar case was put up for discussion in court and was dismissed by the state of Washington’s attorney general.

The shocking part is how they see absolutely nothing wrong with the behavior. The company instead offered to give a justification for the ordeal by shedding light on how it could better reduce prices for everyone as a whole. They also added that seeing one seller offer lower prices is wrong because it gouges the platform’s users, which they find unacceptable.

The lawsuit disagrees and feels Amazon is just trying to trick users into believing they offer the best rates, and that’s far from the truth. And they’re doing it at the expense of vulnerable sellers.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Facebook Dominates Social Commerce Thanks to Marketplace, But Is It Sustainable?

It has been a few years since social media platforms like TikTok started to enter the world of ecommerce, but none have seen the level of success that Facebook has managed to obtain. Facebook was the first social media site to successfully close the discovery to purchase loop, thereby creating a distinct ecosystem for customers to find, vet and purchase products in. Much of this success can be attributed to Facebook having its dedicated Marketplace because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up facilitating C2C commerce as well some major brands and companies.

Facebook now has just under 63.5 million social commerce users in the US. It is estimated that this userbase will grow to just under 70 million by 2025, or 69.4 million to be precise. Its fellow subsidiary Instagram does quite well too with 41 million users, and TikTok has seen soaring growth too although its 23.7 million American social commerce users falls well short of its Meta owned rivals.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, TikTok will quickly close the gap if current predictions hold out. By 2025 its growth rate is expected to bring it up to 37.8 million users. By comparison, Instagram is expected to have about 47.5 million social commerce users by 2025, which will reduce the deficit to under 10 million from 18 million.

However, TikTok’s growth rate is expected to plateau, so it might not surpass Instagram in the near future. Interestingly, most of Facebook’s social commerce success comes from C2C purchases. That is quite different from the B2C appeal of TikTok, so these figures might not reveal the true nature of the industry.

Facebook is relying on the current period of high inflation which is driving C2C purchases. Once inflation settles down, we might notice a decline in the number of social commerce users it has. This could give TikTok the opening it needs to rise to the top of social commerce. It will be interesting to see where the industry goes from here, because TikTok is the most unpredictable of the lot.

H/T: Insiderintelligence

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

TikTok Is Now Providing Creators With Notifications Whenever Their Videos Are Added To An Individual’s Favorites Tab

TikTok has added a new feature via which creators will now be informed whenever their videos are bookmarked as Favorites by other users.

There’s a marked difference between liking a video and bookmarking it as a favorite, and it all boils down to intent. Liking a video means conveying to the creator that you as an individual enjoyed their content, and is expressly acknowledged as a very public act (for social media platforms anyways). There’s no ambiguity present; to like a video is to actively vouch for the creator and their content. Favoring content, however, means that the user in question has saved a particular video on the platform, to be watched later, shown to others, and so on.

This, in turn, is private, i.e. no one else is notified of a TikTok being added to someone’s Favorites tab. This can be quite freeing as users can add videos that they haven’t seen, take note of them later when they have time, and thus choose whether or not they like the video as well. It’s a well-executed one-two punch that doesn’t put pressure on users to immediately like a creator’s content.

• Also read: Major Reason For Apple’s In-App Purchase Price Hike Is Its ATT Policy, Proves New Report

Or, rather, that used to be the case since TikTok has effectively changed this policy for no provided reason. A simple guess can postulate that developers did so to provide the short-form video content platform’s creator base with yet another way to measure engagement metrics online. This could provide an upgraded sense of QoL (quality of life) for the creators since they can map how well videos are performing much more accurately. However, this also comes at the loss of user privacy, since the new feature not only informs a creator of their video being saved to Favorites but also provides the username of the individual who did so.

TikTok may be an online platform, which in and of itself lends all users a certain sense of anonymity, but even online ecosystems need to establish modicum of privacy and security for their respective communities. I’m sure this feature won’t be particularly well received, simply because there’s already a provided mechanic via which users can share their appreciation of a TikTok with its creator in the form of the like button; providing any further information is both superfluous and undermines the user’s wishes to keep certain information to themselves.

H/T: Matt Navarra

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Apple Plans To Add New Ad Slots On Its App Store To Help Expand Its Ad Business

At the start of this year, we heard Apple announcing how keen it was to expand its ad business. This would be done by incorporating a series of ad slots across its App Store. And while we didn’t have any other details, the sound of the project was definitely interesting.

There was not a lot of information on when those slots would actually come into play for developers to utilize them. But now, we’ve got some important news thanks to a new report by CNBC that sheds more light on the topic.

The report speaks about Apple putting its plans into action by the year-end. Similarly, a lot of emphases was also put on how a few developers even received invites from the tech giant on Tuesday to take part in a webinar.

This was centered around the concept of App Store ads. There was also a line or two about how ad placements would take place across the iOS App Store, just in time for the holiday season.

One developer for the app Mobile Dev Memo even went public with his invite through his account on Twitter. And he says the webinar will occur on September 21.

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• Also read: How Many Top Apps Make Use Of Apple Search Ads? The Findings Of This Study May Surprise You

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The invite was short and sweet and it shed light on how there were plenty of new opportunities to avail across the Apple Search Ads. And they hoped more and more developers would come forward and make use of the app’s new launch which is more or less a promotional strategy,

So in case, you all are wondering, the App Store already has its fair share of ads. But developers do get the chance to market their apps across the company’s search option and also in the search results. So what’s new?

Well, developers will now be given the chance to purchase slots for their ads across their ‘Today’ homepage as seen on separate app pages.

Apple isn’t keen on developers targeting a particular application when they’re bidding for the placement of a product ad and its order. But the tech giant revealed that its suggestions for ads are going to be extremely relevant for every page. Therefore, users will get the chance to witness ads belonging to archrivals across various app pages.

The decision is one that we feel couldn’t have come at a better time. The firm is busy investing to raise its revenue for a number of different services. Moreover, the firm also spoke about how the App Store’s ads are a fantastic chance for developers to rise to the occasion and promote various applications while making sure their users’ privacy is guarded.

But remember, the company’s advertising practices are currently under scrutiny too. And that’s after it made it harder for third parties to offer ads to targeted audiences.

One recent report even shed light on how the company’s ATT offering has resulted in a dramatic 40% rise in its own in-app purchases. And that’s not good as developers are already struggling.

H/T: Eric Seufert

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World