Tag: TechNews

TechPulse

Apple iPhone 16 Becomes India’s Top-Selling Smartphone in 2025

allycaralgoa

Apple has once again strengthened its foothold in the Indian smartphone market, with the iPhone 16 becoming the top-selling smartphone in India during 2025. According to industry estimates, Apple sold around 6.5 million units of the iPhone 16 in the first 11 months of the year, marking a significant achievement for the tech giant in one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile markets.

This milestone reflects Apple’s growing appeal among Indian consumers, driven by a combination of improved affordability through local manufacturing, attractive financing options, and rising demand for premium smartphones. The iPhone 16’s strong performance also highlights a shift in consumer preferences, as more users opt for flagship devices offering advanced cameras, powerful processors, enhanced battery life, and seamless ecosystem integration.

India has become a key focus market for Apple, not only for sales but also for manufacturing and exports. With increasing local production under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Apple has been able to price its devices more competitively, making premium smartphones accessible to a wider audience.

Industry experts believe the success of the iPhone 16 signals Apple’s long-term growth trajectory in India and sets the stage for even stronger performance in the coming years. As India’s digital adoption accelerates, Apple’s expanding presence underscores the country’s importance in shaping the future of the global smartphone market.

Social Media

OpenAI Developing Generative Music Tool That Makes Music from Text & Audio Prompts

Tanisha Cardozo

OpenAI is working on a new generative music tool that can create music from text and audio prompts. This innovative project is expected to enable users to add original soundtracks or instrumental accompaniments to videos, according to a report by The Information. However, there’s no official word yet on when it will launch, or whether it will be a standalone product or integrated into existing platforms such as ChatGPT or the video-generator Sora.

The tool is expected to offer features like multi-vocal track generation and AI-assisted mixing, making it appealing to independent musicians and content creators. As per the report, the project involves collaboration with students from the prestigious Juilliard School, who are helping to annotate musical scores to provide accurate training data for the AI model. The partnership aims to understand how machines can learn and replicate musical patterns and emotions.

Notably, OpenAI’s new tool builds on its previous projects — MuseNet and Jukebox — and promises enhanced user control over musical style, tone, and energy. Jukebox, released in 2020, enabled users to create AI music in various genres like reggae and blues, though it is no longer actively maintained.

The move by OpenAI into the music generation space is expected to intensify competition with other tech giants like Google and startups like Suno, which already offer generative music solutions. The development of this tool has also sparked discussions around copyright, ethical questions, and creative ownership. Several voices in the music industry have raised concerns about AI companies not fairly compensating artists, with some calling for stronger laws to protect human musicians. At the same time, some scammers have exploited AI music tools to fraudulently earn streaming revenue on platforms like Spotify.

As of now, there is no confirmed release date nor clarity on distribution format. Whether the tool will debut as a stand-alone app or integrate into OpenAI’s broader ecosystem remains to be seen. But if released, it could reshape how creators build music, merge audio with video, and how the music industry approaches production and rights in the age of AI.

International

Astronomer CEO Resigns After Viral Coldplay Concert Kiss Cam Controversy

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo

In a swift and highly publicized move, Andy Byron has resigned as CEO of US-based tech company Astronomer after a video from a Coldplay concert in Boston captured him sharing a seemingly intimate moment with the company’s HR head, Kristin Cabot.

The viral clip surfaced from the concert’s Kiss Cam segment, showing Byron and Cabot briefly embracing before hurriedly separating. Their visible discomfort under the camera’s spotlight, including Byron ducking and Cabot turning away, raised eyebrows. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin even made a cheeky remark, saying the couple was either “too shy or having an affair.”

The fallout was swift. Within 24 hours of being placed on leave, Byron tendered his resignation. Astronomer confirmed the news in a LinkedIn post:

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

The company also clarified that Alyssa Stoddard, a rumored third party in the video, was not present at the event. They named co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy as interim CEO.

Aside from the professional ramifications, the incident has had personal consequences. Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan, who works in school admissions, was quick to remove Byron’s surname from her Facebook profile before deactivating it.

Byron, who was appointed CEO in 2023, has not issued a public statement. However, the company emphasized that the scandal hasn’t affected their core operations or mission in the DataOps sector.

The situation has reignited conversations around workplace ethics, leadership image, and accountability, especially in high-profile corporate environments.