SSPAI Morning Brief: Google Expands AirDrop Support Beyond Pixel Devices

Morning Brief

Qwen’s “milk tea subsidy” causes online service outages and an offline order boom
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation releases typical cases of unfair competition involving knockoff DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and others
China Railway 12306 responds to issues such as “buying longer routes to ride shorter segments” and being unable to purchase transfer tickets
Google to extend AirDrop support to non-Pixel devices
“Trump Phone” debuts its first real-world prototype
Draft national standard for pre-prepared meals released for public comment; disclosure not made mandatory
Rumors You Can Just Glance At

Qwen’s “milk tea subsidy” causes online service outages and an offline order boom

According to Caixin, on February 6, Alibaba’s AI chat app Qwen launched the first wave of its “3 billion yuan Spring Festival treat plan.” Under the promotion, users who updated Qwen to the latest version or invited a new friend received a ¥25 milk tea free-order voucher, redeemable at more than 300,000 milk tea shops nationwide.

That day, Qwen’s downloads surged rapidly, climbing to No. 1 on Apple’s China App Store free apps chart, followed by Tencent’s AI app Yuanbao in second place and ByteDance’s AI app Doubao in third. Five hours after launch, the promotion had generated 5 million orders; after nine hours, the figure exceeded 10 million. As a result, many participating milk tea shops across multiple regions were overwhelmed with orders, with user wait times exceeding four hours. Some shops temporarily shut down online ordering. Meanwhile, Qwen experienced lag and intermittent disruptions, at times affecting responses to users’ other requests. This triggered a wave of complaints on social platforms about the promotion.

In response, around 10:30 a.m., Qwen said it was “urgently adding resources to fully ensure smooth operation.” Around 4:30 p.m., it said it was continuing to expand capacity to safeguard the promotion experience. Qwen also noted that the free-order vouchers are valid through February 23 and recommended placing orders during off-peak hours. In addition to milk tea, the vouchers can be used to purchase fresh groceries, general merchandise, Lunar New Year goods from Tmall Supermarket and offline retailers. Hema stores nationwide are also in the process of joining the program.

Shortly after the promotion went live, Qwen’s red-packet sharing links were blocked by WeChat. The text codes could not be copied for use, leaving QR code images as the only way to share the offer. WeChat also imposed restrictions on red-packet code sharing for Yuanbao, another Tencent product.

Since the start of this year, AI apps have begun to recreate the early mobile internet playbook of user acquisition through cash giveaways. On February 1, Tencent’s Yuanbao announced it would distribute ¥1 billion in cash red packets, with individual packets worth up to ¥10,000. On January 26, Baidu’s AI app Wenxin Assistant launched a Spring Festival red-packet campaign, handing out ¥500 million in cash rewards, with a maximum single reward of ¥10,000.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation releases typical cases of unfair competition involving knockoff DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and others

Recently, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation released five typical cases of unfair competition in the artificial intelligence sector, several of which involved the misuse of well-known AI service names.

For example, a Beijing-based company promoted software branded as a “DeepSeek local deployment tool” through its website, using the name “DeepSeek” and the official logo in multiple places on the page, and purchasing paid search rankings for the keyword “DeepSeek.” Regulators determined that this behavior violated the Interim Provisions on the Prohibition of Unfair Competition on the Internet and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The company was ordered to immediately cease the illegal conduct and, after considering the circumstances of the case, was fined 5,000 yuan. Similarly, a Hangzhou-based company that set up a “DeepSeek local deployment” website, used wording identical to DeepSeek’s official branding and highly similar icons, and induced users to pay for the service, was also ordered to stop its activities and fined 30,000 yuan.

In another case, a Shanghai-based company developed and operated a WeChat public account named “ChatGPT Online,” which offered AI chat functionality and generated revenue by attracting paid members. An investigation found that the service actually called OpenAI’s publicly available APIs, connecting to its underlying base models to provide services similar to ChatGPT. The company used an image highly similar to the official branding as the account’s avatar and described the account as a “Chinese version of ChatGPT” in its profile, creating confusion with ChatGPT. Regulators ruled that this likewise constituted a violation of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, ordered the company to cease the illegal conduct, and imposed a fine of 62,692.7 yuan after weighing the circumstances.

The State Administration for Market Regulation stated that handling these cases is intended to serve as a warning against confusing practices, guide business operators to enhance competitiveness through lawful and compliant means, prevent the improper appropriation of others’ goodwill for profit, and safeguard fairness and integrity in market competition.

China Railway 12306 responds to issues such as “buying longer routes to ride shorter segments” and being unable to purchase transfer tickets

Since the start of the Spring Festival travel rush ticketing period, several issues related to ticket purchases on the 12306 platform have sparked discussion. Recently, many passengers found that when planning a transfer journey, if the ticket for the first leg is purchased using the “buy longer, ride shorter” approach—getting off before the ticketed destination—then when attempting to buy the ticket for the second leg, 12306 will determine that the previous train has not yet completed its journey, classify the situation as a “schedule conflict,” and refuse the purchase.

In response, railway authorities told China Business Network (Zhongxin Jingwei) that this measure is mainly intended to “avoid travel disruptions caused by passengers mistakenly or incorrectly purchasing tickets.” Given the realities of the Spring Festival travel rush, if passengers encounter such issues, they can call the 12306 customer service hotline. Railway staff will then assess the specific situation and temporarily unlock the restriction in the system to allow the purchase of the subsequent transfer ticket. However, 12306 currently only accepts unlock requests after a time conflict has occurred and does not support “advance unlocking.”

The rule that “after canceling ticket orders three times, no further ticket purchases are allowed on the same day” has also drawn attention. Some comments have called for greater flexibility during the Spring Festival travel period, while others have expressed concern that buying tickets on someone else’s behalf could trigger the restriction. One joke making the rounds said, “Use your ex’s ID to book tickets on 12306, cancel three times, and that day they won’t be able to buy a ticket home for the New Year.”

In response, railway authorities told The Beijing News that the purpose of this requirement on the 12306 platform is to regulate ticketing order and curb malicious ticket hoarding and automated scalping. It is not a new policy introduced this year, but one that has been in place for many years. Passengers with urgent ticketing needs can ask friends to purchase tickets on their behalf, switch to another account themselves, or buy tickets in person at station counters. At the same time, the rule restricts the ticket-purchasing privileges of the account used to make the bookings, not the passenger’s right to travel—meaning that in such situations, the passenger can still purchase tickets and travel normally.

Google to extend AirDrop support to non-Pixel devices

According to Android Authority, Google has confirmed that Quick Share—the Android feature designed to interoperate with Apple’s AirDrop—will break its Pixel 10 series exclusivity later this year and expand to more Android devices. Android Platform Engineering Vice President Eric Kay announced the plan at a press briefing in Taipei, saying Google is working closely with partners to roll out the feature across the broader Android ecosystem, with more details expected to be announced soon.

Kay revealed that the development team invested significant effort to ensure Quick Share works not only with iPhones, but also connects smoothly with iPads and MacBooks. Previously, the interoperability feature debuted last year as one of the key selling points of the Pixel 10 lineup. To enable wider adoption, Google has decoupled Quick Share components from the system layer and upgraded them into a standalone APK with an independent Play Store listing, technically removing the dependency on Pixel hardware.

On the manufacturer side, in addition to Google’s own devices, Nothing is currently the only phone brand to publicly confirm it is adapting the feature. Meanwhile, Qualcomm has recently hinted that it is working to enable similar Pixel 10–style AirDrop support on Snapdragon-powered phones. This suggests that a large number of mainstream Android devices may soon be able to transfer files directly with Apple devices.

“Trump Phone” debuts its first real-world prototype

According to The Verge, Trump Mobile, the manufacturer behind the “Trump Phone,” recently showcased the first physical unit of its debut smartphone, the T1, in an interview. The company revealed that the device has already received certification from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is expected to complete carrier network certification with T-Mobile by mid-March, after which shipments will officially begin.

The final version of the T1 differs significantly from the originally announced specifications. The new model will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series processor, a 6.78-inch curved display, a 5,000mAh battery, and 512GB of storage. Both the front and rear main cameras have been upgraded to 50 megapixels, with the addition of an ultra-wide lens. In terms of design, the phone retains its signature gold finish and the U.S. flag motif on the bottom of the chassis, but the originally planned T1 branding has been removed, and the camera module has been redesigned into a vertically aligned black oval layout.

With the upgraded specifications, pricing has also been adjusted. Customers who previously placed a preorder with a $100 deposit will still be eligible for the $499 “early adopter” price, but the retail price for later sales will increase, with the final price expected to remain below $1,000. The company explained that the multiple delays were intended to skip the originally planned entry-level model and instead launch a more fully featured, improved device directly to the market.

Regarding one of the brand’s core selling points—its place of manufacture—Trump Mobile acknowledged that the T1 is not entirely made in the United States. Most of the phone’s production takes place in a certain “most-favored nation,” though explicitly not China, with only the final assembly of around ten components completed in Miami. To comply with U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations, the slogan on the official website has been changed from “Made in the USA” to “Behind every device are American hands.”

Draft national standard for pre-prepared meals released for public comment; disclosure not made mandatory

According to Caixin, on February 6 the Food Safety Standards and Monitoring Evaluation Department of the National Health Commission released a draft for public comment of the National Food Safety Standard for Pre-Prepared Meals. This marks the first time a national-level standard for pre-prepared meals has been issued.

The Standard first clarifies the definition of pre-prepared meals: prepackaged dish products made from edible agricultural products and their processed derivatives, without the addition of preservatives, and produced through industrial pre-processing (such as mixing, marinating, tumbling, forming, stir-frying, deep-frying, baking, boiling, steaming, etc.), with or without seasoning packets, that must be heated or cooked before consumption. Pre-prepared meals do not include staple foods, fresh-cut vegetables, ready-to-eat foods, or dishes prepared by central kitchens. Under this definition, dishes produced by the “central kitchens” of some chain restaurants and airlines for centralized production and distribution, uncooked salads and cold dishes, as well as products like candied fruits that often contain preservatives such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, do not fall under the category of pre-prepared meals.

The Standard emphasizes that preservatives must not be added during the production and processing of pre-prepared meals. Food additives may be used only as necessary, following the principle of “no addition unless necessary,” minimizing both the variety and quantity of additives used, and they must not be used for the purpose of adulteration, falsification, or deception. The Standard also notes that reasonable combinations of different ingredients and appropriate cooking methods should be used to maintain the nutritional characteristics of dishes. It encourages shortening shelf life as much as possible by optimizing production processes and storage and transportation methods, with a maximum shelf life not exceeding 12 months.

Under the Standard, catering businesses are encouraged to inform consumers about the use of pre-prepared meals made with different pre-processing methods when such products are used. In other words, it does not impose a mandatory requirement for restaurants to explicitly disclose the use of pre-prepared meals to consumers.

Previously, Luo Yonghao criticized chain restaurants such as Xibei in 2025, saying they were expensive, unpalatable, and relied on pre-prepared meals, and called on restaurants to make public disclosures if they used such products. In response, Xibei founder Jia Guolong strongly defended the company and adopted measures such as opening up its kitchens to the public, but this only drew the brand further into public controversy.

Rumors You Can Just Glance At

According to Weibo user @Digital Chat Station, the iPhone is currently testing a variable-aperture main camera and a large-aperture telephoto lens.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple is expected to roll out a flurry of new hardware products over the coming weeks, including the iPhone 17e (powered by the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17 and priced at $599), an iPad (upgraded to A18 and gaining Apple Intelligence support for the first time), an iPad Air (upgraded to M4), as well as a new low-cost MacBook.

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