Google antitrust trial focused on Android app store payments to be handed off to jury to decide

In a recent discovery, McAfee researchers have detected a concerning threat within the Android landscape, a sophisticated backdoor malware named 'Xamalicious.' Targeting approximately 327,000 devices, this insidious software made its way through deceptive apps lurking on the Google Play Store. Crafted using Xamarin, an open-source framework for developing Android and iOS apps with .NET and C#, Xamalicious employs social engineering to acquire accessibility privileges, as detailed in a recent blog post by the McAfee Mobile Research Team.

Having great fun on Christmas, and soon it is the New Year. Godeal24 provides a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Sale to celebrate this Double Festival. The sale features exclusive discounts, bundle deals, and limited-time offers, making it the perfect opportunity to score premium software at a fraction of the regular price. Microsoft enthusiasts can rejoice as they discover significant savings on popular software packages, ensuring the holiday spirit extends to their wallets.

As Apple Stores across the US closed on Sunday, December 24, it is with the knowledge that when they open once again on Boxing Day (stores remain closed on Christmas), December 26, they won't be able to sell the latest smartwatches — Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. In October 2023, Apple lost a long-running patent dispute involving a SpO2 (blood oxygen) sensor which Masimo, a healthtech firm claimed to be theirs. As a result, the International Trade Commission banned Apple from selling products featuring this technology in the US.

Celebrate the end of 2023 and welcome in the new year with the mammoth-sized Holiday Sale promotion, which commences at PlayStation Store on Wednesday, December 20. This is the biggest sale event of the year with discounts across a vast number of digital games and DLC for a limited time*. That includes the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Vault Edition (20% off), EA Sports FC 24 Standard Edition PS4 & PS5 (60% off) and ELDEN RING Deluxe Edition PS4 & PS5  (40% off).

If you're a podcast lover and use Google Podcasts to enjoy the latest episodes of your favorite shows, then there is bad news for you. Google has announced that its app will soon be discontinued, and after mid-2024, you will not even be able to migrate your shows and episodes to another app. So, if you do not want to start over with a different app and manually add all your shows and episodes, then this is the time for you to be proactive and move your RSS feed to a different platform. The good thing here is that Google is allowing you to easily migrate to YouTube Music, in case you prefer that app. So, check out how to migrate Google Podcasts data to YouTube Music or a third-party app.

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

Apple has revealed the year-end charts for the most popular apps and games on the App Store in over 35 countries and regions. Consequently, the iPhone maker has announced the most downloaded apps and games of 2023 in India, as well. Unsurprisingly, WhatsApp has emerged as the top free iPhone app, while the DSLR Camera app, which provides users professional-grade camera controls, is the top paid iPhone app of the year. Earlier this month, Apple also revealed its 2023 App Store Award winners.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Epic Games came out victorious in the monumental legal battle against Google over the company's monopoly over the Android app marketplace and alleged the company used off-handed tactics to keep its control over the space thereby denying a fair chance for others to participate in the business on an equal footing. The San Francisco jury on Monday, December 11 unanimously delivered the decision in the Google antitrust case, deciding Google's tie between the Google Play app store and its Google Play Billing payment services was illegal, and Project Hug deals with game developers and OEMs, which dictated the distribution agreement were all noncompetitive. Now, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has given an interview explaining the details of the lawsuit and the main reason why the company lost against Apple but managed to win against Google.

Epic have won a victory in their attempt to argue that Google violates antitrust laws, as a jury has agreed that the Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service constitute an illegal monopoly. The decision comes three years after Epic first attempted to bypass Apple and Google when selling in-app purchases within Fortnite, leading to the game being yoinked from both the Apple and Google app stores and Epic filing lawsuits against both tech giants.

What a year it’s been. We’ve seen a host of terrific games come out (and some not-so-terrific ones), with ups and downs across the board. But what’s interesting is seeing which specific games people were searching for in 2023.

The Sora amiibo from Super Smash Bros is available to pre-order on the UK My Nintendo Store.