Mobile News - Week of July 12, 2021

The report found that in the U.S., people who use Android phones now spend an average of 24.5 hours in TikTok per month, compared to 22 hours per month in YouTube. Two and a half hours may be a slim difference, but judging by App Annie’s data, that gap will widen: In December 2019, the beginning of the firm’s management period, Americans were spending just 16 hours per month on TikTok versus around 21.5 in YouTube–meaning TikTok’s user engagement has grown significantly, while YouTube’s has grown very little.

Google used anticompetitive practices in an attempt to “preemptively quash” Samsung’s Galaxy Store, and prevent it from becoming a viable competitor to its own Play Store. The suit also alleges Google paid off app developers.

The allegations challenge one of Google’s core defenses of its policies, which is that unlike Apple’s iOS rules, Android allows both competing app stores and side-loading apps directly. The lawsuit is effectively claiming that this openness is a facade, because while customers technically have the choice of where to get their apps from, Google’s business practices have prevented a viable app store competitor from emerging.

TikTok is expanding into job recruitment. As of today, the company has launched a pilot program that allows people in the US to apply for entry, associate and senior level positions by tagging videos they upload to the platform using the #TikTokResumes hashtag. You can see a list of the approximately three dozen companies that are taking part in the pilot, as well as the jobs they’re hiring for, by visiting TikTok’s dedicated resumes website. 

If you use an iPhone or Android phone, chances are the majority of your most-used apps were made by Apple and Google.

That’s the takeaway from a new Comscore study that ranks the popularity of preinstalled iOS and Android apps, such as Apple’s Messages, alongside apps made by other developers. The results show that the majority of apps people use on their phones in the US come preinstalled by either Apple or Google. The first-of-its-kind report was commissioned by Facebook

Pokémon GO generated $641.6 million in H1 2021, its best start to a year ever, Sensor Tower data shows.

The United States is the No. 1 revenue generating country for Pokémon GO to date, with the title accumulating $1.9 billion, or 36.6 percent of its lifetime player spending in the country. Japan ranks No. 2 with 32 percent, while Germany ranks No. 3 with 5.4 percent. Google Play accounts for the majority of player spending, accumulating $2.7 billion, or 52.8 percent, while the App Store has picked up $2.4 billion, or 47.2 percent.

China ordered mobile app stores to remove 25 more apps operated by Didi saying the apps illegally collect personal data, escalating its regulatory actions against the ride-hailing company.

The apps newly targeted on Friday include Didi’s app for drivers offering rides through its platform, an app for corporate users and a financing app.

On Sunday, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered mobile stores to remove Didi’s main app in China. The cyber watchdog also banned websites and platforms from providing access to Didi-linked services in China, according to the watchdog’s statement. Users who had already downloaded Didi’s apps appeared unaffected.

Made by Asus—and Qualcomm wanted to make aggressively clear, this is an Asus phone—the SSI is a dark blue smartphone with red accents, with a glowing Snapdragon logo on the back. The phone is part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Insiders program, an attempt by the chipmaker to drum up loyalty and passion for its Snapdragon processor line.