VP Hot Takes is our new weekly roundup of tech and digital lifestyle news in Malaysia.You can also check out more in this segment by clicking here.
On Thursday, Apple revealed the latest in their annual iPhone line-up, with three new notched display models taking over last year’s editions. Each of these new phones are targeted at different price points, with the cheapest among the three being the iPhone XR starting at USD749, followed by the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max starting at USD999 and USD1,099 respectively.
Compared to previous generations, the new phones come with Apple’s new A12 chipsets, dual-SIM capabilities, and significantly larger display options, but also does away completely with fingerprint recognition, the home button, and the free headphone adapter.
As of yet, it’s currently unknown just how much these new phones will cost in Malaysia, but if the past is anything to go on, we can safely expect pricing to start in the mid-RM3k range for the lowest-priced XR model.
Image Credit: Hypebeast
This week, China’s richest man Jack Ma announced his decision to step down as chairman of Chinese technology giant Alibaba in September 2019 to focus on philanthropic activities. CEO Daniel Zhang is poised to take over as his successor.
Formerly an English teacher, Jack Ma’s decision comes after 11 years of helming a company that has become one of the world’s largest conglomerates valued at USD420 billion with a presence in tech industries such as e-commerce, AI, and cloud services.
Image Credit: Hype MY
Malaysia will see a new fuel subsidy system in place next year that will not require large financial allocation from the government. This news was confirmed by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah, who also said the new system will remove blanket coverage subsidies in favour of targeted monthly assistance for qualified recipients.
“The government will provide an appropriate monthly petrol subsidy and using a set quota for qualified recipients for use with motorcycles with engines smaller than 125cc and cars below 1,300cc,” he said. “The detailed mechanism for the implementation is still being studied and will be announced once finalised.”
Feature Image Credit: phoneArena.com