Facebook and Twitter are siding with Apple in its efforts to block the FBI from breaking into iPhones. “Facebook warned that a federal judge’s order this week to force Apple bypass security functions … would set a ‘chilling precedent.’” USA Today reports. “The social media giant pledged to ‘fight aggressively’ against government efforts to ‘weaken the security’ of consumer tech products.”

MindMaze -- developer of hardware and software that creates “human” virtual reality experiences -- just raised $100 million at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion. “The funding comes at the same time that another startup working on a whole new ecosystem around virtual and augmented reality — Magic Leap — has also been raising very large sums of money,” TechCrunch notes.

Apple is opposing a court ruling that ordered the tech giant to assist the FBI in breaking into an iPhone recovered from one of the San Bernardino shooters. “Chief Executive Tim Cook said the court's demand threatened the security of Apple's customers and had ‘implications far beyond the legal case at hand,’” Reuters reports. 

In partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Apple is set to launch its Apple Pay mobile payment system in China on February 18. As Reuters reports: “The technology giant had previously said the system would launch in China in early 2016, making it Apple Pay's fifth country as it accelerates development of a planned new revenue stream.”

Samsung says that Android Marshmallow -- the latest version of Google’s Android operating system -- is now available for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. “Unfortunately, Samsung is being vague about when the update might hit its other smartphones and tablets,” The Verge reports. “Android 6.0 Marshmallow … offers a number of new features including Now on Tap.”

In five years, app store on track to generate $101 billion in revenue, Bloomberg Businessweek reports, citing new data from App Annie. Meanwhile, Propelled by growth in India, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey, “The user base of smartphones and tablets will more than double to 6.2 billion by 2020, up from 2.6 billion.”

London-based dating platform Badoo has acquired Lulu -- a mobile app that lets women anonymously rate men. “The move also sees Lulu founder and CEO Alexandra Chong move back to the U.K. capital from New York to join Badoo as President,” TechCrunch reports. “Terms of the deal remain undisclosed, though I understand the acquisition was a mixture of cash and stock.”

Google Hangouts is adding peer-to-peer connections across all platforms, including Web, iOS, and Android. “To improve call quality and speed, Hangouts will route audio and video over a peer-to-peer connection when possible,” a Google spokesperson tells VentureBeat. “The ‘when possible’ part is key -- Hangouts won’t be using p2p every single time.”

Apple is preparing to introduce an upgraded iPhone trade-in program for phones with damaged screens, cameras, or buttons, as well as program that allows Apple Retail Stores to install screen protectors on iPhones. “The Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program currently allows a customer to bring in an older iPhone model and trade it in for credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone model,” 9To5Mac reports.

The total amount of Web traffic will break the zettabyte barrier, this year -- and then double that amount by 2019 -- according to new forecast from Cisco Systems. “What’s a zettabyte?” Re/code asks. “It’s one billion terabytes. A terabyte is the amount of storage space you get in an Apple iCloud account for about $10 a month, or for those who still think in gigabytes, it’s one trillion gigs.”