Tech News of the week: Apple Vision Pro launch, Paytm Payments Bank ban, and more

Tech News of the first week of February 2024: The RBI has banned Paytm Payments Bank due to persistent non-compliance and material supervisory concerns. In addition, Apple has launched its highly anticipated Vision Pro headset in the US.

Apple Store has undergone a Vision Pro makeover (Image credit: Apple). This week in India’s tech news, Apple officially launched the Vision Pro, the company’s first spatial computing device. Additionally, RBI announced that it is banning the Paytm Payments Bank from all credit or deposit related transactions.

1. 01
   

   Apple launches Vision Pro

   

2. The Apple Vision Pro headset is now available for purchase in the US, starting at $3,499 (approximately Rs 3,00,000). It is considered one of the most expensive consumer-grade mixed reality or spatial computing devices. The headset is powered by the M2 chip, which is also used in MacBooks and iPad Pro.

   Seeing people’s reactions to trying Apple Vision Pro for the first time today was wonderful. Some people had tears in their eyes! Our mission is to enrich people’s lives, and I could feel that happening in real-time. What a day! pic.twitter.com/VOOVBgrEbo

   — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 3, 2024

3. 02
   

   Paytm Payments Bank banned in India

   

   RBI has prohibited Paytm Payments Bank from offering any form of credit or deposit-related transactions due to non-compliance and material supervisory concerns, effective from March 2024. However, Paytm has assured that all services will continue for users. The platform plans to collaborate with other banks to provide products such as Paytm Wallet, Paytm-linked FASTag, and more.

   To every Paytmer,
   Your favourite app is working, will keep working beyond 29 February as usual.
   I with every Paytm team member salute you for your relentless support. For every challenge, there is a solution and we are sincerely committed to serve our nation in full…

   — Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) February 2, 2024

4. 03
   

   X trying to be the next YouTube

   Elon Musk’s microblogging platform, X, is currently concentrating on luring more creators by paying them well for the content they post on the platform. Recently, the platform paid $263,655 to Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, for a video that received over 169 million views. According to the creator, this payout is much larger than what YouTube pays for a similar number of views.

   MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000! 😲

   But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience pic.twitter.com/nViVpZbWBb

   — MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 22, 2024

5. 04
   

   Google might rebrand Bard

   Google’s generative AI assistant Bard may soon undergo a makeover and could potentially be rebranded as Gemini, according to a leaked document on X, previously Twitter. Google has already used the name Gemini for some of its large language models, and this rebranding could streamline the offering of various AI-powered features under one umbrella.

   Google added a new changelog for Bard, and — oh boy — it’s a big one!

   The availability in Canada is awesome! That said I don’t really understand the limitations with the app. That’s disappointing as someone who lives in Europe.

   Oh by the way… https://t.co/xM2snHVYJ9 is real. pic.twitter.com/QKgKrRjmM4

   — Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) February 3, 2024