iWorld
BBC Player’s Christmas bounty: delightful binge-worthy treats with an incredible line-up of shows
Mumbai: As the merry-making season beckons, prepare yourselves for a sumptuous treat by BBC Player on Prime Video channels which brings goodies for everyone this Christmas season. A content line-up that’s a sizzling treat for your senses with plenty of drama, comedy, suspense, travel, and adventure, which is sure to keep you engrossed and enthralled.
Beginning with an unmissable show for all crime drama lovers is DCI Banks. Featuring the tenacious and stubborn Chief Inspector Alan Banks and the feisty and headstrong Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot, the thrilling crime stories are sure to keep you on the edge. Feed your mystery-loving mind, as the two unravel baffling mysteries.
There’s more drama to unravel with Blue Lights featuring three rookie police officers in Northern Ireland who have to survive their probation period. The team finds themselves fighting drug gangs, paramilitaries, undercover operatives, the local community and even their colleagues in a battle for justice. Thrill, humour and suspense, you name it, it has it all! If police drama is your game, then this is not missing this season.
Fulfil your love for the ethereal with Ghosts, which will jostle the mind and tickle your funny bone! Enter the crumbling country mansion Button House, which is home to eccentric spirits who have died over different periods of history. With its human occupants, Alison and Mike, you will surely fall in love with the show as the episodes unravel into a comedy chaos of sorts!
For all you food aficionados, Season 14 of The Great British Bake Off is here! Bringing yet another exciting baking battle with a dozen new contestants and a new host! Settle into your couches as you gorge into this multi-award-winning series. Replete with challenging rounds, the competition gets tougher with each elimination of the contestants. Make sure to devour this show to know who the new bake-off champion will be and who knows, you might just learn a few recipes for this jolly season!
To know more about the late talented multi-award-winning singer Amy Winehouse, watch Reclaiming Amy, which marks her tenth death anniversary. In an endeavour to celebrate her legacy, Amy’s friends and family members reveal the truth about the music icon and the impact that her loss has had on them. This personal and powerful account shows never-seen-before musical performances, and family archives revealing sides of her personality not known to many. To know more about Amy Winehouse, make sure to watch this new interpretation of her life and her legacy.
Tune in to One Cup, A Thousand Stories, an explorative documentary on tea and its impact on various civilizations. Feed your brains with this stunning series, which recounts beautiful stories of this drink, which is not just another hot beverage, but creates an emotional connection as well. An immersive experience that takes you through revelations of extraordinary tea estate landscapes, from high mountains to wild coasts and stories of men and women whose lives revolve around this nectar. Sit back, relax and sip away!
Young parents and children, fret not! The live feed of CBeebies on BBC Player and BBC Kids has a lot in store for you as well. Catch the fourth season of Hey Duggee for a fun and energetic time. Duggee is a big lovable dog, who runs a club for pre-schoolers and keeps them engaged in exciting activities.
Then there is Bluey season 1, where Bluey follows the adventures of a lovable and inexhaustible six-year-old Heeler puppy who lives with her dad, mum and four-year-old little sister, Bingo.
Next is Season 1 of Supertato, a slapstick comedy animation series which showcases the good battles against evil among the aisles of the world’s greatest potato supermarket. With these three exciting shows, the little ones are sure to remain amused and excited!
So, cosy up with your loved ones and make sure to watch these incredible shows on BBC Player on Prime Video Channels and add them to your must-watch list to fill your days with thrill and joy!
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
