Tech Wrap Dec 5: Apple App Store Awards, Motorola Edge 70, HMD 100 and 101

Apple announces 2025 App Store Award winners. Motorola's ultra-thin Edge 70 to launch soon. HMD 100 and 101 phone. Samsung First Look event on Jan 4. Microsoft Store Awards. Gemini 3 Deep Think

2025 Apple App Store Award: Tiimo, Pokemon TCG Pocket, Strava among winners

 

Apple has announced the 2025 App Store Award winners, selecting 17 apps and games for excellence in technical execution and cultural impact. The finalists span 12 categories that recognise achievements in innovation, user experience, design quality and broader societal influence. The list includes this year’s winning apps and games. 

HMD 100, 101 feature phones launched around Rs 1000

 

Finnish smartphone maker HMD has introduced two new feature phones in India, the HMD 100 and HMD 101. The company said these models are aimed at rural and semi-urban users, senior citizens, and working professionals like delivery staff and factory workers, along with anyone who wants a simple and reliable secondary phone. Both the HMD 100 and 101 fall in the Rs 1,000 price bracket. 

Motorola's ultra-thin Edge 70 to launch in India soon

 

Following its global debut last month, Motorola’s ultra-slim Edge 70 is set to launch in India soon. The company said the device features a 5.99mm side profile, placing it alongside other ultra-thin models such as Apple’s iPhone Air (5.64mm) and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge (5.8mm).

 

Samsung's 'The First Look' event on Jan 4: TriFold global launch expected

 

South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung has confirmed it will host “The First Look” event on January 4, 2026. According to its press release, the event will begin at 7:00 PM PST (08:30 AM on January 5, 2026, in India). It will stream live on Samsung Electronics’ official YouTube channel. Notably, the timing is just two days ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026, set to begin on January 6.

 

Microsoft Store Awards 2025: Perplexity, ChatGPT, Notion among winners

 

Microsoft has announced the winners of the 2025 Microsoft Store Awards, recognising applications that offer strong user experiences, support productivity and encourage creativity across Windows devices. The company said the awards spotlight apps that excel in technical quality, user satisfaction and contribution to the Windows ecosystem. This year’s winners include categories such as AI assistants, developer tools and creative apps.

 

Google rolls out Gemini 3 Deep Think mode to Ultra users

 

Google has started rolling out the Gemini 3 Deep Think mode to Google AI Ultra subscribers using the Gemini app. The company said this new mode brings improved reasoning performance and is designed to tackle complex maths, science and logic-related queries. Deep Think was previewed last month alongside the Gemini 3 AI model launch but is only now becoming available to users.

 

Meta rolls out unified support hub for Facebook, Instagram 

Meta is introducing a new centralised support hub for Facebook and Instagram to make account assistance faster and more dependable for users globally. The company said the hub gathers all support tools in one place, offering options to report issues, recover accounts and access instant answers through an AI-powered search.

 

Nothing Phone 3a Lite now available in India

 

Nothing has released its new Phone 3a Lite for purchase in India. Launched last month, the device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset and debuts an updated Glyph Light design, building on the brand’s signature Glyph Interface. For Indian buyers, the company has also introduced a Blue colour variant in addition to the existing White and Black options.

 

Krafton India returns with new set of BGMI redeem codes

 

Krafton India has released a new batch of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) redeem codes as of December 5, following the previous drop in September. The company has published 59 official codes offering rewards such as exclusive outfits, weapon skins and other in-game items. As before, Krafton India may continue releasing additional codes over the coming days.

 

Apple confirms iPhone 17 Pro misses a camera feature older Pros still have

 

Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 17 Pro lineup does not support Night mode photography in Portrait mode — a feature still available on older Pro models like the 2020 iPhone 12 Pro. As reported by 9to5Google, users on Reddit and Apple’s support forums had been questioning why Night mode failed to activate during portrait shots. While many assumed it was a software issue, Apple’s updated support document states the feature is not available on the latest Pro models.

 

Cloudflare goes down again, causing disruptions across major platforms

 

Cloudflare, which protects millions of websites from online threats, experienced another outage on Friday, affecting platforms such as Zerodha, Groww, Canva and Downdetector. The company said it is looking into issues with its Dashboard and related APIs. Users relying on the Dashboard or Cloudflare APIs may face failed requests and error messages, according to the company’s statement reported by Reuters.