Weekend Tech News: Tesla Shutdown, Realme 3 Listing; Asus Price Cut; PUBG Age Limit

This weekend, the tech world is abuzz with news about Tesla shutting down stores over mounting losses, and in India, Govt. has announced new incentives schemes for electric vehicles.

Asus has announced a price cut for its best selling models and PUBG will now implement strict age control.

Check out the top tech news, right here:

Tesla Shut Down Stores

Tesla shares fell by 4%, as Elon Musk admitted that for Q1 of 2019, there won’t be any profits for the company. Several hundred employees will be asked to quit, and atleast 20 outlets will be shut down. However, Tesla is keeping its promise of delivering Model 3 for $35,000, and this, can help them in Q2 sale.

Special Incentives For E-Vehicles In India

Govt. has approved the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles or FAME’s phase 2 program, and allocated Rs 10,000 crore budget for the same. Now, electric vehicle owners can expect heavy discounts upto 60% on the new vehicles, even as Govt. has planned to incentivize 10 Lakhs e-2W, 5 Lakhs e-3W, 55000 4Ws and 7000 electric Buses.  2,700 Public Charging Systems would be now installed in cities with more than 1 million population, thereby giving a big boost to fossil-free mobility in India.

Asus Price Cut

Asus has announced a permanent price cut for their best selling smartphones: ZenFone Max Pro M1, Zenfone Max Pro M2, Zenfone Max M2 and Zenfone 5Z. These price cut would be effective March 2nd, and can be seen on Flipkart listings. Zenfone Max Pro M1 now starts at Rs 8499, instead of Rs 9999 (3GB/32GB); whereas Zenfone Max Pro M2 now starts at Rs 9999, instead of Rs 12,999 (3GB/32GB).

Realme 3 Listed On Flipkart

Ahead of its March 4th launch, Realme 3 has been listed on Flipkart. Till now, the Oppo spin-off brand has been only teasing with specs and leaks, but now, full fledged listing has been done. Powered with 12nm MediaTek Helio P70 SoC, Realme 3 will have a powerful 4,230mAh battery and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, 3.5mm audio jack. Expected price of this new flagship from Realme is Rs 15-Rs17,000.

PUBG Age Limit

To curb violence among minors, Tencent has announced strict age-limit rules for two of their popular games: Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile. Players who are under 13 years of age will be now greeted with a digital lock, which can be only opened by their guardians. This move was made after Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater attention towards to ill-effects of video games on minors.

Airpods 2 Will Have Wireless Charging

Apple’s next generation Airpods 2 will have wireless charging, along with several other new features. Launched in 2016 along with iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Airpods hs been one of the success stories coming from Apple camp. Notably, both iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus were the first Apple phones to have removed 3.5mm audio jack, and it was replaced with the wireless Airpods. Besides wireless charging, Airpods 2 will have SIRI integration as well. The new updates are expected to be announced during an event on March 25th.