Meta Lowers Minimum Age for Quest Headsets Users From 13 Years to 10 Years

Meta Platforms launched its latest generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, earlier this month. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company, which currently dominates the market for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality devices, is now lowering the minimum age for Meta Quest account users from 13 years to 10 years. With the latest development, parents can set up parent-managed Meta accounts for children aged 10 and 12 years on Meta's Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets, starting later this year. Meta says it will not show ads to users in this age group. Also, apps that are rated safe for kids will be recommended. The Facebook parent company, via a blog post on Friday, announced that parents will be able to set up accounts for Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets for their children in the age group of 10 years to 12 years, starting later this year. The company underlines that preteens will be required to get their parent's approval to set up an account and download apps onto the virtual reality headsets. Meta will use children's ages to “provide age-appropriate experiences” across its app store like recommending age-appropriate apps. Even though the age limit is slashed, parents are promised to get control over the apps their kids download from the Meta Quest Platform. Also, they would be able to block access to apps at any time, says Meta. Addressing the concerns of parents, Meta says parents will be able to set time limits for the use of headsets by kids and schedule breaks from devices. There will be options to cast the VR experiences to a phone or TV screen that would allow parents to monitor what their preteens are viewing while they're using the headset. Additionally, Meta profiles of kids aged between 10 and 12 years are promised to be set to private by default. This functionality would block unknown people from following preteens without their or their parent's approval. Active Status and current app usage by this age group will also be hidden from others by default, unless their parent choose to allow this information to be shared. Further, preteens won't be able to change default privacy and safety settings. Ads will not appear for participants in this age group. Parents can choose whether their child's data can be used to improve the company's services. Also, parents will be able to delete their child's account and related user details, added Meta. Meta revealed that it is working with the developer community to add more age-appropriate apps and games onto the Meta Quest Platform for this age group. As of now, Meta's social virtual reality app, Horizon Worlds will be accessible to people aged above 13 years in the US and Canada. In Europe, users aged above 18 years can access it.

Twitter to Focus on Video, Creator and Commerce Partnerships, Says CEO Yaccarino

Twitter plans to focus on video, creator and commerce partnerships to revitalise the social media company's business beyond digital advertising, according to an investor presentation by owner Elon Musk and new Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino that was reviewed by Reuters. Yaccarino, who started as CEO on June 5, told Twitter investors on Thursday that the company is in early conversations with political and entertainment figures, payments services and news and media publishers on potential partnerships, said a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private investor call. The presentation was Yaccarino's first time addressing the company's investors, the source said. After Musk acquired Twitter in October, the social media firm faced months of chaos, including layoffs of thousands of employees, criticism over lax content moderation, and an exodus of many advertisers who did not want their ads appearing next to inappropriate content. Musk's hiring of Yaccarino, a longtime advertising executive who modernised ad sales at Comcast-owned entertainment and news conglomerate NBCUniversal, was a signal that digital ads remained a priority for Twitter. Some ad-buying firms had recommended their clients pause ad spending on Twitter after Musk's takeover. Those recommendations have been reversed and none of the major advertising holding companies are currently recommending a pause, according to a slide shown during the presentation. Well-known brands including Warner Bros, Mondelez, McDonald's and Walmart have resumed advertising on Twitter after initial pauses, the slide said. Yaccarino told investors that ad spending in several advertiser categories is now up at least 40% year-over-year, including health, consumer packaged goods and financial services, the source said. A Twitter executive declined to comment. Video and Commerce Under Musk, Twitter changed its business name to X, reflecting the billionaire's vision to create a "super app," like China's WeChat, that he has said would include digital payments and other services. Twitter is applying for "money transmitter licenses" in all 50 US states, according to a slide from the presentation. The company has also focused on growing video content on the platform. Vertical video now accounts for more than 10 percent of time spent on Twitter, another slide said. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson launched a new show earlier this month on the platform called "Tucker on Twitter." Twitter envisions that it could sell ads and sponsorships alongside videos from Carlson and other content creators, the source said. Yaccarino has also told colleagues in recent days that Musk has expressed strong support for her ideas and the working relationship was off to a positive start, the source added. © Thomson Reuters 2023

Realme 11 Pro+ 5G Sold Over 60,000 Units in India on First Day of Sale

Realme 11 Pro+ 5G has sold over 60,000 units in India, the company announced on Friday. With this new sales milestone, the Realme 11 Pro+ 5G smartphone claimed to have broken the company's highest first-sales record in the above-Rs. 25,000 price segment. The Realme 10 Pro+ 5G successor with a 200-megapixel triple rear camera unit and 100W fast charging went on sale in India on June 15 through Flipkart and realme.com. The Realme 11 Pro+ 5G has an AMOLED display and runs on MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC. It is backed by a 5,000mAh battery. Realme via Twitter announced that Realme 11 Pro+ 5G received a tremendous response in the country and sold over 60,000 units in a day. According to Realme, it is the company's highest first-sales record above-Rs. 25,000 price segment. Unprecedented Success: Breaking First Sale Records and Setting New Standards!Cheers to all the #realmeFans. #realme11ProPlus5G #200MPzoomToTheNextLevel pic.twitter.com/SeCdTXx2DV Additionally, both Realme 11 Pro+ 5G and Realme 11 Pro 5G marked the highest ‘First Sale' record on Flipkart in Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000 segment. Price of Realme 11 Pro+ 5G in India starts at Rs. 27,999 for the base 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model, while the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 29,999. It is available in Astral Black, Oasis Green, and Sunrise Beige colour options. Pricing of Realme 11 Pro 5G, on the other hand, starts at Rs. 23,999. The Realme 11 Pro+ 5G sports a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,412 pixels) curved AMOLED display. It is powered by an octa-core 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC paired with a Mali-G68 GPU and up to 12GB of RAM. It boasts a triple camera unit at the rear, housing a 200-megapixel Samsung HP3 primary sensor, accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. It features a 32-megapixel selfie camera as well. The Realme 11 Pro+ 5G is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with 100W SuperVOOC fast charging support.