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Abacus is the home of the best coverage of China's tech scene, from insights to gadget reviews.

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Why do people in China spend so much on live streamers?
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
Remember the teenage girl who spent approximately US$75,000 of her mother’s account on tips for live streaming hosts? It looks like she’s not the …
From Bing to Baidu: How people in China search online
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
No matter where you go, Bing seems to be the forgotten search engine -- eclipsed by Google globally, and trailing Baidu in China. Bing even trails …
Xiaomi
Five takeaways from Xiaomi's foldable smartphone tease
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
Xiaomi teased a very special prototype on Wednesday – it's first foldable phone. Unlike most other prototypes we've seen, this one is a double folding …
Huawei
Can't buy a Huawei? Honor's hole-punch phone is an affordable alternative
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
If you live in the US and want a Huawei smartphone, well, good luck with that. After major US carriers backed out of plans to sell Huawei’s devices …
Technology (China)
Xiaomi is going to expand in Africa
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
People in China are buying fewer smartphones. So how can Chinese smartphone makers keep growing? By looking to a whole new continent: Africa. Xiaomi …
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Massacre mashes up John Woo with Hotline Miami
abacusnews.com - Ravi Hiranand
It’s 1992. A flickering neon light shines through the window of a seedy apartment building. Suddenly, a man bursts through the door in slow-motion, …
Technology (China)
A teenage girl tipped live streaming hosts US$73,000
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
You may have seen stories like it before: A mother in the US found that her young son spent US$1,100 on Fortnite. Or the Canadian dad whose son spent …
Technology (China)
How two of the world’s biggest chat apps tackle fake news
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
Eating breakfast frequently is dangerous. Orange peel can unlock smartphones. Australia announced the end of cancer. These were all actual story …
Technology (China)
Why Chinese tech companies fear the "Wool-Pulling Party"
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
An ecommerce platform in China has just lost around US$1.4 million thanks to a nimble group of users with an unusual name: The Wool-Pulling …
Technology (China)
White Snake review: Frozen with sex is one for the whole family to avoid
abacusnews.com - Josh Ye
What if Romeo and Juliet were meant to be together in a previous life? That’s the core of the first Chinese animated movie from Warner Bros., White …
Peppa Pig
Online vendors in China are going crazy over a Peppa Pig meme
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
Enterprising online vendors in China are proving that it’s never too early to cash in on a blockbuster movie… even if they don’t have the rights to …
Technology (China)
China is putting surveillance cameras in plenty of schools
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
Being watched by facial recognition cameras when walking around schools? That's not sci-fi anymore. Responding to deadly shootings, US schools are …
Technology (China)
DJI and Microsoft are working on AI drones that can recognize objects
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
Drones can be used for a lot of things. But did you know they can also be used to recognize an apple? This sounds easy. But it’s not for a drone, …
Technology (China)
Misbehaving mobile carriers get shamed by the government in China
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
Some American mobile carriers are reportedly selling real-time location data for their customers, sparking concern about a data scandal and calls …
Technology (China)
Bloody Spell tries to be Dark Souls with kung fu but it’s incomplete
abacusnews.com - Josh Ye
Take Dark Souls. Add Chinese swordsmen and kung fu. What could possibly go wrong? Well... the game can be really frustrating and it has a boring story …
Technology (China)
China’s biggest app fights potential rivals by blocking them
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
Do you remember a social app called Tsu? Yeah, neither do we. And there might be one reason behind that: Facebook. In 2015, Facebook blocked all …
Technology (China)
Miyazaki and Zelda combine in this fun open-world crafting adventure
abacusnews.com - Josh Ye
My Time at Portia a cartoony crafting game that looks a bit like a Zelda title, is set in a town named for a character from Shakespeare, and was …
Technology (China)
“Deadbeat Map” shows which people around you are on a financial blacklist
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
Wondering if anyone bad with money is around you right now? China has a WeChat mini program just for that. “Deadbeat Map” pretty much does what it …
Technology (China)
TikTok maker's next app is a Snapchat clone
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
Bytedance is China's viral king, and they've built this reputation while going their own way. The algorithm-driven newsfeed app Toutiao is one of …
Technology (China)
The world's most watched TV show will be streamed via 5G in 4K
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
The world’s most watched TV show is about the get streamed over a 5G network in 4K ultra high-definition. And I'm not talking about the Super Bowl …
Technology (China)
Can real names make China's ride hailing services safer?
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
In some places around the world, bad Uber ratings can get a rider banned from the service. But what if that customer later signs up for another …
Social Media
Can using Twitter in China really get you in trouble?
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
There’s reportedly a new crackdown on Twitter users in China. That New York Times story came a week after the South China Morning Post reported that …
Technology (China)
One gamer spent a year building this cyberpunk city in Minecraft
abacusnews.com - Josh Ye
Anyone who’s spent a long time working on a project to little fanfare will have sympathy for Teng Fei. He built an enormous city in Minecraft, …
Technology (China)
Anonymous chat app draws attention for founder's identity
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
Remember Secret and Whisper? The idea of anonymous social networks is apparently coming back in China. Toilet -- and yes, that's really the app's name …
Technology (China)
Osmo Pocket review: Tiny but capable camera
abacusnews.com - Chris Chang
I usually shoot videos on mirrorless cameras -- the Sony a7R III, Panasonic GH5 and Olympus E-M1 Mark II. All three have 5-axis image stabilization …
Technology (China)
Even prisons accept mobile payment in China’s cashless society
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
You’re an inmate at a Beijing prison. You just ran out of toothpaste, so you decide to buy a new tube at the commissary. But wait, you don’t have …
Technology (China)
What defines a Chinese game? We tackle that in our new podcast
abacusnews.com - Ravi Hiranand
Our mission at Abacus is to cover Chinese consumer tech for a global audience. The most common bit of Chinese tech that most people outside the …
Technology (China)
iPhones are much cheaper in China… but not cheap enough for some
abacusnews.com - Karen Chiu
Remember last week when people blamed Apple’s revenue woes on expensive iPhones? Well, those handsets are now much cheaper on some of China’s biggest …
China
China’s social app to rule them all wants to judge you for your purchases
abacusnews.com - Masha Borak
China’s one app to rule them all, WeChat, has quietly launched its own social credit system -- meaning it plans to give a score to users of its …
Technology (China)
Xiaomi and Huawei's war means better cheap phones for everyone
abacusnews.com - Xinmei Shen
If you thought the battle for high-end phones was brutal, wait until you see what's happening at the low-end. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun's message to Huawei …

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Flips

Why do people in China spend so much on live streamers?

From Bing to Baidu: How people in China search online

Five takeaways from Xiaomi's foldable smartphone tease

Can't buy a Huawei? Honor's hole-punch phone is an affordable alternative

Xiaomi is going to expand in Africa

The Hong Kong Massacre mashes up John Woo with Hotline Miami

A teenage girl tipped live streaming hosts US$73,000

How two of the world’s biggest chat apps tackle fake news

Why Chinese tech companies fear the "Wool-Pulling Party"

White Snake review: Frozen with sex is one for the whole family to avoid

Online vendors in China are going crazy over a Peppa Pig meme

China is putting surveillance cameras in plenty of schools

DJI and Microsoft are working on AI drones that can recognize objects

Misbehaving mobile carriers get shamed by the government in China

Bloody Spell tries to be Dark Souls with kung fu but it’s incomplete

China’s biggest app fights potential rivals by blocking them

Miyazaki and Zelda combine in this fun open-world crafting adventure

“Deadbeat Map” shows which people around you are on a financial blacklist

TikTok maker's next app is a Snapchat clone

The world's most watched TV show will be streamed via 5G in 4K

Can real names make China's ride hailing services safer?

Can using Twitter in China really get you in trouble?

One gamer spent a year building this cyberpunk city in Minecraft

Anonymous chat app draws attention for founder's identity

Osmo Pocket review: Tiny but capable camera

Even prisons accept mobile payment in China’s cashless society

What defines a Chinese game? We tackle that in our new podcast

iPhones are much cheaper in China… but not cheap enough for some

China’s social app to rule them all wants to judge you for your purchases

Xiaomi and Huawei's war means better cheap phones for everyone