The Tech Weekender: WhatsApp Pay in India, Apple's 'One More Thing', and Micromax launches

WhatsApp has finally launched its payment service on the United Payments Interface (UPI), in a major boost for the Facebook-owned app in its biggest market. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on November 5 permitted WhatsApp to go live on UPI. In a statement, WhatsApp said that the service has been designed with a "strong set of security and privacy principles, including entering a personal UPI PIN for each payment." Payments on WhatsApp are now available for people on the latest version of the iPhone and Android app. To know how to set up WhatsApp Pay and send or receive money, click here.

Apple is all set to host a new event called 'One More Thing' on November 10. Apple is expected to launch a new Apple Silicon-based Mac alongside the rumoured AirTags and AirPods Studio at the event. An Easter egg on the Apple event page hints that the company will be launching a new MacBook model at the Apple event on Tuesday. More details here.

Micromax just made a big splash in the Indian market with two new handsets, the Micromax In Note 1 and Micromax In 1b. The Note 1 debuted as a sub-15K offering, bringing competitive specs to match handsets from Xiaomi and Realme. The Micromax In 1b, on the other hand, is the company’s budget offering, which you can check out here. Micromax In Note 1 is priced at Rs 10,999 for the 4GB + 64GB version in India. Click here for Micromax In Note 1 specifications and features.

WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature called ‘Disappearing Messages’, which would allow users to enable an option on individual and group chats that deletes new messages after seven days and will be available across multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, and KaiOS devices. The company said once the feature is enabled, "new messages sent in the individual or group chat will disappear after seven days". More details here.

Electric vehicles (EVs), batteries and charging equipment could be brought under the standardisation and labelling (S&L) programme of the government to define their efficiency using the star-rating method. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a government agency under the Ministry of Power, has been tasked to form the S&L programme for the EV industry. It could provide star ratings to EVs, batteries and supply equipment (EVSE) that would look similar to energy ratings given to 26 types of appliances and equipment (like refrigerators, air conditioners) under the S&L programme by BEE. More details here.

Bike taxi service Rapido has finally entered Mumbai, allowing the city’s residents to now book bikes rather than cars for their travelling needs. Rapido’s services are much cheaper when compared to 4-wheeler taxi services and the company is also offering discounts to first time riders. The Rapido bike taxi app can be downloaded from the Android Play Store or the Apple App Store. The user must complete a very short registration process on initial startup. More details here.

Vivo has launched the Vivo V20 SE in India. The new smartphone is the entry-level device under the Vivo V20 series and sits below the standard Vivo V20 (review). The Vivo V20 SE price in India is set at Rs 20,990 for the single 8GB + 128GB storage configuration. The smartphone comes in two colours - Gravity Black and Aquamarine Green. For Vivo V20 SE specifications and features, click here.