Google to adopt crypto as payment token in 2023 as Microsoft unveils 3 surface computers

The weekend is here and we believe that it is a good time to reflect on the major news reports that have made the waves in the tech space this week, even as you rest from all that you have done.

This week, Google joins the league of countries and entities that have adopted crypto as a payment means. The tech giant made the announcement in partnership with Coinbase. Similarly, Microsoft unveiled the latest surface computers. We will tell you what this entails in the later part of the report.

In case you missed other major tech news from across the world, this week, don’t worry. We have got you covered in this roundup. Let’s get to it.

Here is the summary of this bulletin:

• Google adopts crypto as a payment token, in partnership with Coinbase
• YouTube to introduce @usernames to help creators
• Microsoft unveils 3 new surface computers
• iPhone 14’s Crash Detector feature experiences flaws
• 6 African companies among 250 promising fintech globally

Crypto gains more with Google’s latest adoption

This week, Google became the latest to adopt crypto as part of its payment structure through a partnership with Coinbase. This, it says, would enable its customers to pay for its services using crypto.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Google said it will rely on Coinbase to allow customers to pay for cloud services with cryptocurrencies beginning in early 2023 while Coinbase said it would draw on Google’s cloud infrastructure.

The deal announced at Google’s Cloud Next conference might succeed in luring cutting-edge companies to Google in a fierce, fast-growing market, where Google’s top competitors do not currently permit clients to pay with digital currencies. The cloud business helps diversify Google’s parent company, Alphabet, away from advertising. It now accounts for 9% of revenue, up from less than 6% three years ago.

Coinbase, which generates a majority of its revenue from retail transactions, will move data-related applications to Google from the market-leading Amazon Web Services cloud, which Coinbase has relied on for years, said Jim Migdal, Coinbase’s vice president of business development.

After the announcement, Coinbase’s shares rose by as much as 8.4% in Tuesday’s trading session, although the stock is still down over 70% from last year’s price.

There has been a number of wins for cryptocurrencies of late with so many entities and countries adopting them. Recently, Russia and Iran adopted cryptos as a payment option in order to facilitate international trade amidst economic sanctions.

Related story: Russia to legalize crypto, Apple launches iPhone 14 + other major tech stories last week

Gear up for @usernames on YouTube

YouTube is set to join its counterparts in adopting the @username thingy for creators using its platform for easier direction and accessibility to their channels by their subscribers.

The company introduced “handles” this week, a new way for creators to identify their channel with an @username format in order to interact with their viewers across YouTube Shorts, channel pages, video descriptions, comments and more.

These handles will be made available to everyone on YouTube — you don’t need to be a creator of a certain size or subscriber count to claim your own unique @handle, YouTube says.

Over time, handles and usernames have become popular on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok. But YouTube had only offered limited support for the format, allowing creators to mention channels in video titles and descriptions with the @ symbol, or mention other users in YouTube Live chats, for example.

But the @username option was not available in other areas and discussions. Instead, you’d have to reply to another YouTube user’s comment in order to tag them.

Read also: YouTube announces new ways for creators to make money with content

The latest introduction is one of the ways the company seeks to closely expand into TikTok’s market hold and mimic the way it encourages its users to engage in back-and-forth discussions through their short videos and in the resulting discussions.

Microsoft unveils 3 new Surface computers

In celebration of its 10th anniversary of Surface tablets, Microsoft has unveiled three new surface computers to select markets across the globe.

At an event in New York, Microsoft introduced the Surface Laptop 5, the Surface Pro 9 convertible tablet and the Surface Studio 2+ all-in-one PC, according to CNBC.

The price of the Surface Pro 9 and the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 5 starts at $1,000, while the Surface Studio 2+ starts at $4,300.

All three ship with Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system, which hit the market last year. They will be available in select markets beginning Oct. 25, and in additional markets in the coming months, Microsoft said.

The Surface Studio 2+ starts at $4,300, an increase of over 22% from its 2018 predecessor, which sells for $3,500. Surface Laptop 5 prices range from $1,000 to $2,400, depending on storage. The Surface Pro 9 price ranges from $1,000 to $1,900, depending on storage.

iPhone 14 experiences mishaps

In what would seem as one of those feature failures that pop up once in a while with Apple’s releases, the iPhone 14’s new Crash Detection feature, which is supposed to alert authorities when it detects you’ve been in a car accident, has an unexpected side effect.

According to The Verge, the feature has had law enforcement sent to amusement parks on numerous occasions after mistaking a thrill ride’s twists, turns, and hard braking for a real emergency.

Read also: Here is all you need to know about the new iPhone 14, other gadgets launched by Apple yesterday

The Crash Detection feature which was one of the new features rolled out by Apple recently for its iPhone 14 iOS, Watch Series 8, SE, and Ultra last month, equips the device with a gyroscopic sensor and high-g accelerometer trained on the impact experienced with simulated car crashes.

If the sensors detect that you’ve been in an accident, your iPhone will display an alert and call emergency services if you don’t dismiss it within 20 seconds. When it calls law enforcement, it will play an audio message that alerts authorities you’ve been in a crash, and also provides them with your location.

6 African companies on 250 global promising Fintech list

6 African companies have made CB Insights’ list of 250 most promising private fintech companies globally.

CB Insights, a market intelligence platform that analyses data points on venture capital, startups, patents, partnerships and tech news, has released its annual list of 250 most promising private fintech companies globally.

According to CB Insights, the startup list was chosen based on the proprietary Mosaic scores: funding, market potential, business relationships, investor profile, news sentiment analysis, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty.

The 6 African companies that made the list include:

• JUMO (South Africa)
• KuCoin (Seychelles)
• MFS Africa (South Africa)
• Opay (Nigeria)
• Paga (Nigeria)
• TeamApt (Nigeria)

The Fintech 250 is CB Insights’ annual list of the 250 most promising private fintech companies in the world. This year’s winners are shaping the future of B2B and B2C financial services, from payments and banking and cryptocurrencies to investing and insurance, Benjamin Dada reports.