Some massive and rapid changes happened this week. The looming layoffs and uncertain economic situation have wreaked a havoc in the tech industry with thousands of techies losing their jobs in big tech companies. Google, Microsoft, ShareChat are the latest to join the list of companies that recently laid off employees.

This bygone week also saw a big confirmation from Twitter over sudden outage of select third-party clients. In the same week we saw a new Galaxy phone- Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and Galaxy A23 5G – launched in India with flagship phones to unveil in February on Galaxy Unpacked event. Talking about the launches, not to forget Apple also unveiled new MacBooks and Mac Mini refresh.

India to combat the dominance of Google and Apple is readying its own desi mobile OS. It will be called IndOS. these and several more events happened this week. If you missed reading all the tech-related announcements, here is a quick roundup of all the top tech news that made headlines this week:

Twitter confirms third-party client outage was intentional : Twitter has updated it developer rules to ban third-party clients nearly a week after services like Tweetbot and Twitteriffic were denied access to its API. The new rules say that any third-party client cannot use or access the licensed materials to create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications.

ALSO READ l Twitter officially bans Tweetbot, Twitterrific, other third-party clients: What it means for users

Twitter planning more layoffs: After firing 50% staff, Elon Musk may cut more jobs. According to Insider report, the social media company is looking at laying off 50 workers in the social media site’s product division in the coming weeks.

ALSO READ l Twitter layoffs: After firing 50% staff, Elon Musk may cut more jobs

Google-supported ShareChat to remove 20% staff: ShareChat, the homegrown social media company, has laid off 20% of its staff. This comes a month after the company removed its 100 employees and shut down its gaming app Jeet11. This would impact 400 employees in the company.

ALSO READ l Google-backed ShareChat to lay off 20% staff, over 400 employees to be impacted  

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, Galaxy A23 5G launched in India: Samsung has launched the Galaxy A14 5G and Galaxy A23 5G phones in India. These are budget 5G phones with the A14 price in India starting at Rs 16,499 and the A23 at Rs 22,999. The phones offer 120Hz refresh rate and 5,000mAh battery with up to 25W fast charging.

ALSO READ l Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, Galaxy A23 5G launched in India: Check prices, specs and more

India readying its own mobile OS to take on Android, iOS: The government is making an indigenous version of operating system for mobile phones. According to a report from Business Standard, the government is working on a new project named ‘IndOS’- a desi version of mobile operating system to compete against Apple and Google in the OS market.

ALSO READ l India prepping ‘desi’ mobile OS to take on Android, iOS

Apple launches new MacBook Pros, Mac Mini refresh, HomePod second-generation smart speaker: Apple has launched the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros in India. They come with M2 Pro and M2 Max replacing the M1 Pro and M1 Max-based MacBook Pros from 2021. The company also silently unveiled HomePod second generation smart speaker with Siri integration and Matter support.

ALSO READ l Apple launches HomePod second-generation Siri smart speaker with S7 chip, Matter support: Top features, price in India and more

ALSO READ l Apple launches 14-, 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro, Max chips; Mac Mini refresh tags along

Microsoft fires 10,000 employees: Microsoft has announced to lay off 10,000 employees from the company. This is about 5% of the total workforce which the company plans remove by the end of FY23 Q3. Some employees who are fired have been informed immediately while some other job cuts will happen in the coming months.

ALSO READ l Microsoft is firing 10,000 employees: Here is what CEO Satya Nadella told them

Instagram launches Quiet mode: Instagram has launched a new Quiet Mode to help users take a break from the app and help focus on the moment.? Once the feature is enabled, users won’t receive any notifications.

ALSO READ l Instagram’s new Quite Mode feature lets you pause notifications, DMs when you want to take a break from doomscrolling

Twitter launches Twitter Blue annual subscription: Twitter Blue package which offers benefits to subscribers like blue checkmark of verification, less ads, and exclusive access to features like Edit tweets, Bookmark folders, themes, custom navigation and more is now selling at a discounted price.

The company this week also launched Twitter Blue for Android at $11 a month.

ALSO READ l Twitter rolls out annual ‘blue tick’ verification plan; here’s how much it costs

ALSO READ l Twitter Blue arrives on Android after iOS, web: Check price, top features, other details

Jio Rs 349, Rs 899 prepaid recharge plans launched: Reliance Jio has launched the Rs 349 and Rs 899 prepaid recharge plans in India. These plans offer 2.5GB of daily data, unlimited voice calling and free access to Jio apps.

ALSO READ l Jio Rs 349, Rs 899 prepaid recharge plans launched with 2.5GB daily data, unlimited 5G and voice calling: Check full details

Google fires 12,000 employees: Google announced 12,000 job cuts. CEO Sundar Pichai informed about the layoff to the team in an email. The jobs that are being removed “cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.”

ALSO READ l Google fires 12,000 employees: CEO Sundar Pichai takes “full responsibility” for layoffs

Google issues “code red”, calls in Larry Page, Sergey Brin over ChatGPT fear: Google CEO Sundar Pichai called in help from Larry Page and Sergey Brin to tackle ChatGPT. The two founders have reportedly reviewed Google’s AI product strategy and suggested ideas to incorporate chatbot-like AI features in Google Search engine.

ALSO READ l ChatGPT fears at Google? Pichai issues “code red”, calls in Larry Page, Sergey Brin for help to expedite AI projects

Swiggy announces layoff: Food delivery service company Swiggy has announced job cuts of 380 employees amid the looming layoffs and challenging macroeconomic conditions.

ALSO READ l Swiggy announces laying off 380 employees: Here is what CEO Sriharsha told them