iWorld
Royal Stag BoomBox returns with music, gaming and big beats
MUMBAI: Seagram’s Royal Stag BoomBox, India’s iconic live music festival, is back and bigger than ever. Season Four promises to unite fans across four cities: Kolkata, Vizag, Mumbai and Mohali, for an unforgettable celebration of music, fashion, food and gaming.
Kicking off on 21 February in Kolkata, the festival will travel to Vizag on 7 March, Mumbai on 14 March and Mohali on 28 March. Since its inception, BoomBox has redefined India’s live music scene by blending Bollywood’s timeless melodies with the energy of hip-hop, creating a one-of-a-kind experience for the youth.
This year, fans can look forward to chart-topping performances from rap sensation Badshah, pop icons Armaan Malik and Divine, melodious voices like Neeti Mohan, Nikhita Gandhi, Rashmeet Kaur and Sreerama Chandra, and the legendary band Fossils. Hip-hop heavyweights Raftaar and Dino James, along with DJ Sahil Gulati, will keep the beats pulsing. Adding a new twist, gaming star Payal Dhare will host an action-packed gaming face-off, making the festival a full-on cultural extravaganza.
Tickets are now available on Skillbox, renowned for its immersive sound and lighting, interactive fan zones and vibrant cultural showcases, Royal Stag BoomBox brings the spirit of each city to life, giving audiences more than just a concert, a true celebration of youth culture.
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.
