Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 is set to kick off at 11:30pm tonight and the South Korean tech firm is expected to take the wraps off its flagship phones for this year, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. Three handsets are expected to arrive as part of the lineup, including the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Gadgets 360 is attending the launch event live and we'll bring you the latest updates as Samsung unveils its most powerful phones to date.
This year, Samsung is expected to equip its smartphones with AI-powered features. Meanwhile, recent reports have suggested that the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the top-of-the-line model, will be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in all markets. The South Korean company is also speculated to offer seven years of software support for its smartphones — the company would be offering the same software support window as Google's Pixel 8 series, if the rumours are true.
Stay tuned to Gadgets 360 to find out all the latest updates related to Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S24 series of smartphones during the company's launch event tonight.
Mercedes, the German luxury carmaker has decided to express its stance on the controversial Web3 sector, in a rather bold and artistic way. In a revamp to its operating system, Mercedes-Benz has decided to include a digital gallery, showing off non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Built on blockchains, NFTs are digital collectibles that hold underlaying values, which makes them a lucrative investment item for members of the Web3 community. NFTs could be inspired by artworks, cartoons, game characters, or even imaginary elements.
During its recent presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the German automaker showcased its next-generation Mercedez-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) that brings changes to its in-car entertainment provisions, Decrypt reported.
As part of these tweaks to its OS, the dashboard of Mercedes-Benz now features a new app called ‘MBUX Collectibles'. Through this app, users of these cars will be able to browse through NFTs linked to the brand. Last year, the car company had dropped its second NXT Icons NFT collection. The 18,860 digital that are collectibles part of this collection, for instance, will be shown as part of the car's NFT gallery.
1/ We are excited to announce our next core collection, Mercedes-Benz NXT Icons, which takes you on a journey through @MercedesBenz's design heritage and features icons from both the past and present. Find out more about this collection in this thread. ↓ pic.twitter.com/6EauPdTBEi
The first ever NFT collection from Mercedes-Benz debuted in April last year, and it was named ‘Maschine'. NFTs from this series will also be featured in the revamped dashboard. Hoping to connect with a younger generation of customers, the German luxury car brand has been trying to establish itself as a pro-Web3 brand for a while now.
Apart from NFTs, Mercedes-Benz had inked a sponsorship deal with the FTX crypto exchange in September 2021. The partnership automatically fell apart after the FTX exchange collapsed last year and ended up filing for bankruptcy. Not just NFTs and crypto exchanges – the company has also taken into conscience, the use of blockchain in its operations. In 2020, the company piloted a blockchain project to track the amount of CO2 emissions triggered by its cobalt supply chain.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
The Amazon Great Republic Day sale is now live, offering deep discounts on a wide range of products. The sale began January 13 for all Amazon customers and will go on till January 18. The Amazon sale brings lucrative deals on smartphones, tablets, ACs, laptops, PC accessories, refrigerators, Amazon devices and more. Additionally, the e-commerce website is also providing bank offers on top of the discounted sale prices. The sale brings some interesting offers for gamers as well, with discounts on gaming consoles, games, gaming accessories and gaming laptops. We've already covered the best deals on gaming laptops under Rs. 1 lakh. Here, we'll look at the best overall deals on gaming laptops.
It's worth noting that interested shoppers can also avail additional bank offers and discounts over the sale prices. SBI card holders are being offered an instant discount of 10 percent up to Rs. 3,000 on EMI or credit transactions. Amazon Pay ICICI credit card users, too, can get welcome points and a cashback of up to five percent. Select products in the sale are also eligible for exchange offers and no-cost EMI payment options.
The Amazon Great Republic Day sale is offering deals on gaming laptops from top brands like HP, Asus, MSI, Dell, Acer and more. The HP Omen 16 gamming laptop with AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor and 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU can be picked up for Rs. 1,08,990, down from its retail price if Rs. 1,50,286. The ASUS ROG Strix G17, on the other hand, is available for a discounted price of Rs. 79,990 after a 30 percent price cut.
Here are our picks for the best deals on gaming laptops in the ongoing Amazon sale:
From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Alphabet's Google is set to go before a federal jury in Boston on Tuesday in a trial over accusations that processors it uses to power artificial intelligence technology in key products infringe a computer scientist's patents.
Singular Computing, founded by Massachusetts-based computer scientist Joseph Bates, claims Google copied his technology and used it to support AI features in Google Search, Gmail, Google Translate and other Google services.
A Google court filing said that Singular has requested up to $7 billion (roughly Rs. 58,172 crore) in monetary damages, which would be more than double the largest-ever patent infringement award in US history.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda called Singular's patents "dubious" and said that Google developed its processors "independently over many years."
"We look forward to setting the record straight in court," Castaneda said.
An attorney for Singular declined to comment on the case.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
Singular's 2019 complaint said Bates shared his computer-processing innovations with Google between 2010 and 2014. Singular said Google's Tensor Processing Units, which enhance the tech giant's AI capabilities, copy Bates' technology and infringe two patents.
The lawsuit said that Google's circuits use an improved architecture Bates discovered that allows for greater processing power and has "revolutionized the way AI training and inference are accomplished."
Google introduced its processing units in 2016 to power AI used for speech recognition, content generation, ad recommendation and other functions. Singular said that versions 2 and 3 of the units, introduced in 2017 and 2018, violate its patent rights.
Google told the court in December that its processors work in different ways than Singular's patented technology and that the patents are invalid.
"Google engineers had mixed feelings about the technology and the company ultimately rejected it, explicitly telling Dr. Bates that his idea was not right for the type of applications Google was developing," Google said in a court filing.
A US appeals court in Washington also will hear arguments on Tuesday about whether to invalidate Singular's patents in a separate case that Google appealed from the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Google, in the midst of ongoing crypto market growth, has announced changes to its advertising policies. The search engine giant has decided to allow crypto coin trusts to display advertisements, but under certain terms and conditions. For years now, promotional content around the crypto sector has met with scrutiny from international governments and tech giants in order to protect the investor community from risking their savings in high-risk digital assets. The lack of regulatory clarity surrounding the crypto industry also kept players away from big ad spaces.
Starting January 29, 2024, advertisers of cryptocurrency coin trusts will be able to market their products to the masses in the US via Google ads. Google has, however, advised all advertisers to comply with the local laws before releasing crypto-related commercials through Google ads, in addition to being certified by Google.
“Advertisers who promote cryptocurrency exchanges or cryptocurrency wallets are allowed to advertise through Google Ads, but they must be certified by Google, and their products must meet all local legal requirements of the country or region they want to get certified for. To be certified, advertisers will have to meet local licensing requirements,” Google explained on its official page outlining advertising policies.
Now, cryptocurrency coin trusts, as explained by Google, are those financial products that let investors trade shares via trusts that hold large pools of digital currencies.
As per this example, Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, that may or may not get approval in the US next year, could be advertised if they get a green light. These ETFs or exchange traded funds let people invest in BTC via traditional market exchanges rather than being limited to cryptocurrency exchanges.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to give its verdict on these ETFs in January 2024 — around the same time that Google is planning to implement changes to its advertising policies.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer release date is finally upon us, as confirmed by Rockstar Games via a tweet. The first footage from the highly-anticipated crime odyssey sequel will be out on Tuesday, December 5, at 7:30pm IST in India/ 9am ET in the US, with the publisher only posting an image of a sunset and palm tree silhouettes — confirming previous claims that it's set in a fictionalised version of Miami, which franchise veterans might recognise as a return to Vice City. With that, it is clear that Geoff Keighley won't be presenting the trailer at The Game Awards 2023, though a teaser or some screenshot drops are always possible.
Not much was known about GTA 6 since a massive data leak from mid-2022, which revealed in-development gameplay of our lead crime couple — allegedly Jason and Lucia — robbing a diner in broad daylight. Yep, this would mark the first female protagonist in the franchise's controversial history, which has, for the most part, portrayed women as sex objects or nagging moms/wives. It is also worth mentioning that Rockstar hasn't revealed an official title for the game yet, merely referring to it as the ‘next Grand Theft Auto,' so it could very well be a spin-off with some outlandish subtitle. The sequel has been a long time coming, with a May earnings call at Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive hinting that the GTA 6 launch window could be set for the fiscal year 2025 (opens in April 2024 in Rockstar's case).
Earlier this month, the studio also scrapped the ‘Social Club' branding from the website, referring to its online multiplayer service as ‘Rockstar Games platform,' in addition to getting rid of the yellow block in its logo — hinting at some big changes to usher in the new era. At the time of writing, the studio has deleted all previous posts from its Instagram account, maintaining only the aforementioned trailer release date banner. As anticipation for GTA 6 grew, GTA Online served as the decade-long cash cow for Rockstar, delivering near-endless multiplayer content that easily rivalled the average AAA live service game. For now, it's unclear whether the existing Social Club members will simply be updated to cater to the new entry or if players will be forced to migrate their data to a new account.
As of October, the 2013-released Grand Theft Auto V has sold 190 million copies worldwide, with minor graphical and performance upgrades to adjust to two whole console generations. Just yesterday, Rockstar confirmed that its remastered Grand Theft Auto trilogy will be available to play on Netflix from December 14 onwards — accessible to subscribers of all tiers and playable exclusively on Android, iOS, and the Netflix phone app.
Grand Theft Auto 6 will probably release on the current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series S/X first, before heading to PC — as seen with previous Rockstar entries.
What are the most exciting titles that gamers can look forward to in 2023? We discuss some of our favourites on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Samsung's FE series has always been a fan favourite since the first Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was released with almost flagship-level specs and a price that sits right between the highest-end A Series smartphone and the entry-level S Series smartphone. This year, Samsung launched two FE devices, the refreshed S21 FE with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 and the new Samsung Galaxy S23 FE with Exynos 2200 SoC and a lot of the features that might make the smartphone look like a flagship on paper. Does the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S23 FE deliver on the brand's promise when they introduced the first ‘Fan Edition' smartphone, and should you buy it at a starting price of Rs. 59,999? Let's find out in this detailed Samsung Galaxy S23 FE review.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE price in India
I've been using the base variant for the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the Mint colour option, which is priced at Rs. 59,999. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is available in a higher-end 256GB storage variant as well, with the same amount of RAM, that is 8GB for Rs. 64,999, which makes this smartphone come very close to the vanilla Samsung Galaxy S23 that comes equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The smartphone can be bought in two more colour options: Graphite and Purple. The brand has also launched two special edition colour options for this smartphone, Indigo and Tangerine, which can only be bought through their official website. The 256GB storage variant is a good addition, but a higher-end variant with more RAM would've been better and justified the price more.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Design
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE sports a design that might be familiar to many people. It uses the same design language as the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Samsung Galaxy A54, with matte-finished aluminium side rails, volume rockers and a power key that is very responsive and tactile, as a flagship smartphone should. The smartphone uses a dual nano sim card slot with an option to either use one physical and an E-Sim or two physical SIM cards at the same time. It does not come with expandable storage, which is slightly disappointing. It comes equipped with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port and stereo speakers that are decently loud. The smartphone comes equipped with Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 protection for the display and the back panel with a glossy finish instead of the matte finish that the Samsung Galaxy S23 sports.
The smartphone sports Gorilla Glass 5 on the front as well as on the back.
This makes the smartphone prone to fingerprints and smudges a lot. At 8.22mm thick, the smartphone feels a little thicker than your usual smartphone, and 209 grams of weight puts it on the heavier side. It is IP68 certified for dust and water resistance, which is a plus. I had the smartphone with me for a decent amount of time and used it without a case. After only a few days, I started noticing scuffs and scratches on the display glass, protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone is a little slippery without the case. Despite the thicker chassis and higher weight, the smartphone still carries the premium look and feel that Samsung flagships are known for.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Display
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE sports a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution. The display itself is impressive, no matter if I talk about the colours that it produces or the sharpness. I didn't have any complaints on that front, but the bezels are particularly thick for a smartphone that costs more than 50K and is marketed as an entry-level flagship by the manufacturer. I'd be lying if I said it disappears after you immerse yourself in content; it doesn't and stares right in your face.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE features a flat display
It is HDR10+ certified and supports a peak brightness of up to 1450 nits, which feels super bright indoors and outdoors. I did not see much discolouration on the display while using the smartphone in harsh sunlight. The smartphone lets you choose between a standard 60Hz refresh or an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz. It feels smooth across the board while scrolling through the UI and apps or gaming.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Camera
It sports a triple-rear camera setup that includes the primary 50-megapixel camera with an f1.8 aperture with a 24mm focal range that comes equipped with OIS, an 8-megapixel telephoto camera that provides 3x optical zoom with f2.4 aperture and a 75mm focal range with OIS and lastly a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with f2.2 aperture.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE features the signature Galaxy design language
The smartphone does a pretty good job when focusing on moving subjects, thanks to the inclusion of PDAF for the primary as well as the telephoto camera. Daylight shots from the primary camera came out pretty well; it produced plenty of sharp images from corner to corner and had good details in the shadows and the highlight.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE daylight primary camera samples (tap to see full size)
Bokeh without the portrait mode looks very pleasing, and to my surprise, this Samsung smartphone didn't overdo with saturation levels. The telephoto camera also maintained the same saturation levels but produced slightly softer images.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE daylight telephoto camera samples (tap to see full size)
This smartphone's ultrawide camera maintains the colour scheme like the two other rear cameras, but the images tend to distort a lot on the corners, which could be fixed with a future software update.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE daylight ultra-wide camera samples (tap to see full size)
The smartphone has a 10-megapixel camera for selfies, which clicks pretty detailed images in daylight.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE selfie camera samples (tap to see full size)
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE also has a good camera system for nighttime shots. The images take longer to shoot, but OIS helps the user with it, and the shots you get look pretty good. I did notice some noise in the ultrawide shots.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE nighttime camera samples (tap to see full size)
It uses a 10-megapixel camera with f2.4 for selfies that does an excellent job with daylight, nighttime and portrait shots. It maintains the colour scheme as the other cameras on board, and you will notice that there is some post-processing happening in the background after you click, as it takes a second to show the final image.
The smartphone can shoot up to 8K 24fps with the primary camera; this is a feature that you do not see very often on a smartphone in this price range. I shot multiple handheld 8K videos using this smartphone, and I was impressed with the results I got. The videos were stabilised, had plenty of details and had plenty of dynamic range to play around with if you ever want to edit these videos. It can shoot 4K 60fps videos as well. The front camera, too, can shoot videos at up to 4K 60fps, which is pretty good for content creators.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Battery and Charging
The 4500mAh battery does a decent job for a light usage day, but as soon as you include gaming and video streaming, with a high refresh rate turned on, the smartphone does not last very long. The Samsung S23 FE lasted 16 hours and 25 minutes in our battery loop test. Considering Samsung does not provide a charger inside the retail package, support for charging would have been appreciated, as 25W charging support is way too slow for 2023. In our testing, the smartphone charged up to 25% in 30 minutes and 65% in an hour, which is way too slow compared to the competition in this price range.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Performance
Samsung S23 FE uses Samsung's Exynos 2200 4nm SoC in India and not Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that the consumers in the US are getting, which is a bummer, at least on paper. We ran all the required benchmarks on the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and the results were pretty good. It scored 1,174,800 on AnTuTu v.10.0.10, 1130 single core and 3232 for GeekBench 6. I played Call of Duty & Real Racing 3, which ran just fine with high graphic settings.
The smartphone features the 4nm Exynos 2200 SoC
The frames didn't drop a lot, and the gameplay was smooth. The smartphone did get a little warm after each gaming session. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE runs OneUI 5.1 out of the box, which is based on Android 13, and it offers a pretty smooth user experience and does not have a lot of pre-installed apps.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a smartphone focused on consumers who wish to get the flagship experience but do not want to spend on something like a Samsung Galaxy S23 or S23+. This one lives up to the FE legacy with flagship-level cameras, a good display, decent battery life and a great processor for almost anything you want to do with this smartphone. All this combined does deliver a premium experience, only if you can live with thicker bezels on a smartphone that costs more than 50K in 2023. Considering this smartphone does not have expandable storage, the base 128GB storage variant might not be sufficient for most people and buying the 256GB variant puts this smartphone in the sub 65K price category, which is already very saturated with the likes of OnePlus 11 (Review) with better performance and modern looking curved display.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Amazon.com on Tuesday announced a new artificial intelligence chip for its cloud computing service as competition with Microsoft to dominate the market for artificial intelligence heats up.
At a conference in Las Vegas, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Chief Executive Adam Selipsky announced Trainium2, the second generation of chip designed for training AI systems. Selipsky said the new version is four times as fast as its predecessor while being twice as energy efficient.
The AWS move comes weeks after Microsoft announced its own AI chip called Maia. The Trainium2 chip will also compete against AI chips from Alphabet's Google, which has offered its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) to its cloud computing customers since 2018.
Selipsky said that AWS will start offering the new training chips next year. The proliferation of custom chips comes amid a scramble to find the computing power to develop technologies such as large language models that form the basis of services similar to ChatGPT.
The cloud computing firms are offering their chips as a complement to Nvidia, the market leader in AI chips whose products have been in short supply for the past year. AWS also on Tuesday said that it will offer Nvidia's newest chips on its cloud service.
Selipsky on Tuesday also announced Graviton4, the cloud firm's fourth custom central processor chip, which it said is 30 percent faster than its predecessor. The news comes weeks after Microsoft announced its own custom chip called Cobalt designed to compete with Amazon's Graviton series.
Both AWS and Microsoft are using technology from Arm in their chips, part of an ongoing trend away from chips made by Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in cloud computing. Oracle is using chips from startup Ampere Computing for its cloud service.
OnePlus Nord 3 brings some serious upgrades over its predecessor, including some flagship-grade specifications. We discuss this and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Sam Altman's return as OpenAI's chief executive will strengthen his grip on the startup and may leave the ChatGPT creator with fewer checks on his power as the company introduces technology that could upend industries, corporate governance experts and analysts said.
OpenAI is bringing Altman back just days after his ouster as well as installing a revamped board that could bring sharper scrutiny to the startup at the heart of the AI boom, but strong support from investors including Microsoft may give Altman more leeway to commercialize the technology.
"Sam's return may put an end to the turmoil on the surface, but there may continue to be deep governance issues," said Mak Yuen Teen, director of the centre for investor protection at the National University of Singapore Business School.
"Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. The danger is the board becomes a rubber stamp," he said.
OpenAI's new board will boast more experience at the top level and strong ties to both the US government and Wall Street.
The board fired Altman last week with little explanation and attempted to move on by naming an interim CEO twice. However, pressure from Microsoft — and the 38-year-old's strong loyalty among the 700-plus OpenAI employees that caused nearly all of them to threaten to leave the company — led to Altman's reinstatement as of Wednesday.
"Altman has been invigorated by the last few days," GlobalData analyst Beatriz Valle said. But that could come at a cost, she said, adding that he has "too much power now."
Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce who also played a key role in forcing through Elon Musk's $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,66,530 crore) purchase of Twitter as a director, will be chairing the board.
Other members include former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a Harvard academic and longtime economic aide to Democratic presidents.
"The fact that Summers and Taylor will join OpenAI is quite extraordinary and marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes in the company," Valle said.
Summers, who also sits on the board of Jack Dorsey's fintech firm Block, has in recent months been vocal about the potential job losses and disruption that could be caused by AI.
"ChatGPT is coming for the cognitive class. It's going to replace what doctors do," he said in a post on X in April.
OpenAI's previous board consisted of entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, as well as Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, who also sits on the new board.
It was not immediately clear if any of the other directors would remain, including Sutskever, who joined in the effort to fire Altman then signed onto an employee letter demanding his return, expressing regret for her "participation in the board's actions."
OpenAI on X said it was "collaborating to figure out the details" of the new board.
Microsoft declined to comment. Summers and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sutskever, Altman and Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.
Some analysts say the management fiasco will ensure that OpenAI executives proceed cautiously, as the high-flying startup will now be subject to more scrutiny. Several noted that companies such as Facebook parent Meta have flourished with a powerful CEO despite concerns about corporate governance.
"Sam definitely comes out stronger but also dirtied and will have more of a microscope from the AI and broader tech and business community," Gartner analyst Jason Wong said. "He can no longer do no wrong."
From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Amazon.com on Friday announced it is trimming jobs at its Alexa voice assistant unit, citing shifting business priorities and a greater focus on generative artificial intelligence.
The cuts affect several hundred employees working on Alexa, according to the email. A spokeswoman declined to elaborate on exactly how many were affected.
"We're shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximising our resources and efforts focused on generative AI," Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, said in the email. "These shifts are leading us to discontinue some initiatives."
Amazon has been pulling back in a variety of divisions this month, including in its music and gaming divisions and some human resources roles.
While most of the jobs affected were in the devices division, a few were working on Alexa-related products in a different unit, a spokeswoman said. Many companies are shifting resources to generative AI, which can create software code and lengthy text responses from short prompts.
Alexa is a voice assistant that can be used to set timers, ask search queries, play music, or as a home automation hub.
Reuters reported in September that morale in the devices division had suffered over concerns about what some viewed as a weak product pipeline. In particular, people familiar with the matter pointed to the Alexa voice assistant, now nearly a decade old, as having failed to keep pace in the age of generative artificial intelligence.
Amazon said at the time that "to suggest that a few anecdotes paint a picture of reality for an organization as large and diverse as Devices and Services is inaccurate," and that it stood by its products.
Amazon has said its devices and services business is not profitable, without providing figures.
Only last month the device unit got a new chief, Panos Panay, who joined the company from Microsoft, replacing David Limp, a 13-year veteran who is leaving later this year to head Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company. Panay had overseen development of the Surface tablet.
Amazon has struggled to generate any profits from Alexa, which many people use through Echo speakers or video screens. Most efforts to make money from it have centered on easing purchasing from Amazon.com.
The Seattle-based online retailer's voice assistant products compete with offerings from Alphabet and Apple.
Amazon has cut more than 27,000 jobs across the company over the past year, part of a wave of US tech layoffs after the industry hired heavily people during the pandemic.
The latest cuts come even as Amazon reported third-quarter net income that far exceeded analyst estimates and forecast revenue in the year's final quarter roughly in line with expectations. The fourth quarter is Amazon's most crucial, as it includes holiday shopping.
In the email, Rausch said he remained optimistic about Alexa.
"Incorporating a new large language model into a voice-forward, personal AI, has been and continues to be an enormous scientific and engineering challenge," he wrote, using another term for generative AI.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Microsoft Copilot — the company's artificial intelligence (AI) assistant available on Windows 11 computers — is making its way to Windows 10. At its annual Microsoft Ignite 2023 developer conference, the company revealed that it was releasing Copilot (previously referred to as Bing Chat) in the Release Preview channel to Windows Insiders, which means the assistant will soon be available to users running on older computers that are not compatible with the latest version of Windows due to hardware constraints.
On Thursday, the company announced via a Windows Insider blog post that its Microsoft Copilot generative AI assistant is making its way to Windows 10 computers. The feature will soon be in preview, which means that users running on Windows Insiders preview builds will be the first to gain access to the feature. The same features will be available to users on Windows 10 version 22H2 at a later date, according to the company.
In order to get the Copilot features on Windows 10 computers as soon as it is rolled out, users will have to modify a Windows Update setting, according to the company. In order to ensure that you have the latest optional (non-security) updates on the latest Release Preview channel, you can follow the steps outlined by the company.
Click on the Start button and click on the gear icon to open the settings app. Select Update & Security > Windows Update > toggle the Get the latest updates as soon as they're available option. You can then click Check for updates to verify that you have the latest version of Windows for your computer.
Microsoft reiterated that the end-of-life date for Windows 10 remains the same — support for the previous-generation operating system will end on October 14, 2025. Users who are running on Windows 10 version 22H2 can expect to see the generative AI assistant eventually roll out to their computer after it is tested on the Windows Insiders Release Preview channel.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
A robotic device to detect slippery floorings, a wearable pressure sensor to analyze gait patterns and postural deformities, an engineered microbiome and a digital microscope, are among the key technologies showcased at the annual Open House at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
The 16th edition of the Open House, its flagship event for school students, was conducted on Saturday wherein some of the cutting-edge research works were displayed for them by the institute faculty and students.
"The objective of the Open House is to show school students what IIT Delhi is doing in science and technology and showcase our work in the areas that impact the real world. The whole idea of the Open House, where interactive sessions and lectures were also organised, is to encourage school students to make informed decisions about their future," IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee said.
Around 2,000 school students from more than 40 schools in the Delhi-NCR visited the Open House which exhibited an extensive collection of innovative research and product development projects.
The researchers showcased around 50 functional demos and 100 research posters highlighting cutting-edge technologies.
Kusum Saini, a PhD Scholar Vasant Matsagar (Dogra Chair and Professor) from the Department of Civil Engineering, displayed a new approach developed by them for utilising solid waste like agro-residues for making sustainable and affordable homes to contribute towards the solution of problems above, and to fulfil the vision of India toward a green future, while effectively addressing the air pollution issues, making the construction practices environment friendly, and at-large ensuring sustainability and climate actions.
The Injury Mechanics Lab (DIML) has developed a novel cost-effective, portable and biofidelic floor friction tester to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of the slip resistance ability of floorings.
"This robotic device mimics the actual human slipping motion and calculates the available friction during its motion. The device's structure is highly modular and is fully programmable for its slipping speeds, normal loads, and slipping angles to take into account different slipping scenarios," said Arnab Chanda, Professor at the Centre for Biomedical Engineering.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Huawei Nova 11 series was launched in April this year in China, with all smartphones powered by 4G Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoCs. The lineup included three phones, a base Huawei Nova 11, Huawei Nova 11 Pro, and Huawei Nova 11 Ultra. Now, the company has added another model to the series with the launch of Huawei Nova 11 SE. The smartphone, debuted in China, is available in three colour options. The pre-orders for the smartphone are already live in China.
Huawei Nova 11 SE: Price, Availability
Huawei has launched the Nova SE 11 in China. The smartphones comes in two storage options with 8GB RAM. While the 256GB storage variant is priced at CNY 1,999 (nearly Rs. 23,000), the other model with 512GB storage comes at CNY 2,199 (nearly Rs. 25,000).
The Huawei Nova 11 SE is already available for pre-order in China, while the sale will officially begin starting November 3. The company has launched the smartphone in Black, Green, and White colour options.
Huawei Nova 11 SE: Specifications
The newly launched smartphone in the Huawei Nova 11 series comes equipped with a Snapdragon 680 LTE-only SoC, paired with a 2.4 GHz CPU. Huawei Nova 11 SE boots HarmonyOS 4. It packs 8GB RAM, with up to 512GB storage. It features a 6.67-inch flat OLED panel with Full HD+ resolution. The display gets a 90 Hz refresh rate.
For optics, the dual-SIM Nova 11 SE sports a triple rear camera unit, led by a 108-megapixel sensor, along with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. It gets a 32-megapixel fsensor in the front for selfie and video calls.
The Huawei Nova 11 SE is backed by a 4,500mAh battery with support for 66W fast charging. It weighs 186 grams, and is only 7.39 mm in thickness. It features Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type-C connectivity support.
Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023, which started on October 8, is offering huge discounts on purchase of various products including mobiles, tablets, laptops, home appliances as well as other electronic devices. The e-commerce website commenced the sale for Prime members on October 7, with exclusive deals for subscription-only users. The Prime Early deals offered various bank discounts on using debit and credit cards. The Amazon festive sale started on the same day as the Flipkart Big Billion Days sale 2023. Both the festive sales are currently ongoing, but will end soon by the coming week. Interested buyers have limited time to get their hands on some of these amazing deals, which could be at their lowest prices this year.
Amazon is offering an instant 10 percent discount on using SBI debit and credit cards for transactions on purchase of the products. In addition to this, interested buyers can also get hefty offs on applying exchange discounts. For this, Amazon will calculate and let users know about the applicable exchange bonus on their old product after analysing it. The company is providing amazing deals on purchase of home appliances, which includes ACs, refrigerators and TV sets. From double-door refrigerators to various other specifications and sizes, Amazon has a wide range of products to choose from at this ongoing sale.
Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023: Here are the best deals on refrigerators
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
The Amazon Great Indian Festival sale, which began October 7 for Prime members, is offering discounts across a range of different products and electronic devices. Aside from offers on smartphones and laptops, the sale brings deals on tablets as well.
With a rise in online content streaming and on-the-go work and study, interest in tablets among tech enthusiasts seems to have risen in India. The device, after all, lets users watch and play on a screen bigger than that of a smartphone, while bringing the comfort of being light-weight and handheld as well. Here are some notable deals on tablets that you might want to check out as part of the ongoing Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023.
The Honor Pad 8 tablet debuted in the Indian market on September 20, 2022. The tablet features a 12-inch display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor. This device is currently selling at the price point of Rs. 17,999, discounted by 44 percent from its regular price of Rs. 31,999. Customers can also avail additional discount of up to Rs. 1,500 when using SBI credit cards.
The display of this tablet comes with eye protection with low blue-ray and flicker free features. The device also packs a battery of 7,250mAh.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9, which was recently launched in India by the South Korean company, is selling for Rs 12,999 on Amazon. With a display of 8.7 inches, the tablet features a RAM+ROM combination of 4GB+64GB. This device also offers expandable storage, allowing users load the tablet with apps and content without having to worry about storage constraints. Buyers can avail an additional instant discount of Rs. 1,000 on the purchase of this device when using SBI credit cards.
The dual-SIM tablet is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 Processor. It also has 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front camera, as well as Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers.
Featuring a 10.1-inch screen fitted within a metallic body, the Lenovo Tab M10 HD 2nd Gen tablet is selling for Rs. 8,879 on Amazon. Under the ongoing festival sale, the price of this device has seen a reduction of 60 percent. Calling support, 5,000mAh battery, 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, and flash are among features of this tablet. Additional discounts can be availed on SBI credit card transactions. The device comes with a year-long warranty, Type-C charging port, as well as a headphone jack.
This Realme tablet, which comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, is selling for Rs. 12,999 on Amazon with a discount of 35 percent during this festive sale. The device that has a display of 8.68 inches and packs a 6,400mAh battery. The Realme Pad Mini runs Android 11 out-of-the-box. The tablet is powered by a Unisoc T616 octa-core processor and features a dual camera setup of 8-megapixel + 5-megapixel. SBI credit and debit card holders can select from a total of 11 offers to bring more savings on the purchase of this tablet, which otherwise sells for Rs. 19,999 on Amazon.
The Lenovo Tab P11 (2nd Gen) tablet is selling for Rs. 18,999, with Amazon's sale discount slashing its price by 51 percent. The tablet comes with a 11.5-inch screen and runs Android 12 out-of-the-box. The rear and front cameras are both 13-megapixel shooters.
The tablet is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 octa-core processor. Buyers can save up to Rs. 1,500 via discount options available for SBI debit and credit cards. Without the offer, the tablet sells for Rs. 39,000.
This slim, sleek, and light-weight tablet from Samsung is being sold at a 30 percent discounted price of 12,299 during the Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023. The LTE variant of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite features a metal body, 3GB RAM, as well as an expandable memory of 32GB.
Along with Dolby Atmos speakers, 5,100mAH battery and fast adaptive charging capability, the tablet also features an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. SBI card holders can avail additional benefits on the purchase as well.
After a 51 percent discount on its MRP of Rs. 35,000, the Lenovo Tab K10 is currently available for Rs. 16,999 on Amazon. The tab comes with 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, as well as a 10.3-inch full-HD display.
Along with Dolby Audio speakers and dual microphones, the device packs a 7500mAH battery to support the Mediatek Helio P22T octa-core processor. SBI card holders can avail additional benefits of up to Rs. 1,500 on the purchase.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Amazon Great Indian Festival 2023 is now live for everyone, and you can catch all major deals and discounts on the e-commerce website on a range of products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and more devices. As always, the Great Indian Festival sale went live for Prime members a day early.
Starting at midnight, the sale opens for everyone, and in this article, we will cover top Smart TV deals across the price range. Talking about offers, the e-commerce giant is offering exchange discounts and bank offers on the products, over and above the deals and discounts. This year, consumers can avail of instant discount offers with SBI Bank Credit and Debit Cards. Let's jump to hand-picked Smart TV deals.
Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023: Top Smart TV Deals
Xiaomi Smart A series is offering smart TVs with support for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and other apps. The 32-inch A series Smart Google TV comes with a 1366X768 pixels resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. It gets connectivity support for dual-band WiFi, HDMI, USB, Bluetooth 5.0 and Ethernet. The company offers the watch at a discounted price of Rs. 9,999, along with an exchange discount of Rs. 3,990.
Another smart LED TV with a 32-inch display is the Samsung Wondertainment series TV that offers supported internet services for Netflix, Prime Video, Zee5, SonyLiv, Youtube, as well as Hotstar. The smart TV gets connectivity support for WiFi, USB, Ethernet and HDMI. It has 1366X768 pixels resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. During the sale, it will be offered at Rs. 13,990, down from its launch price of Rs. 22,990.
In a bigger 43-inch display, Samsung offers its Crystal iSmart Smart LED TV at just Rs. 22,740 at the Amazon sale. It is also available in 50, 55 and 60-inch display variants. It gets support for internet services like Netflix, Prime Video, and others. With a 50Hz refresh rate, the smart TV also includes special smart features like screen mirroring and tap view.
Redmi F series smart LED TV in 32-inch display size is currently priced at Rs. 7,649, while its launch price was Rs. 8,999. The TV offers support for over 12,000 apps from the Play Store. It runs Fire OS 7 and packs a quad-core ARM Cortex-A35 CPU. One can also club an exchange discount of Rs. 2,620 on the purchase of this TV.
If you are looking to buy a 55-inch display screen smart TV for your living area, go for the LG Smart LED TV that offers an exchange of Rs. 3,990 at the discounted price of Rs. 33,740. The TV also comes with a Magic Remote variant. It features AI ThinQ and runs on WebOS 22, with support for Netflix, YouTube and other apps.
Apple's all-new iPhone 15 series has once again set the tech world abuzz. With four impressive models – the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max – it's clear that Apple is pushing the envelope. If you're among the eager fans planning to get your hands on one, that trilling moment of unboxing will also bring a moment of pause: How do you best protect this premium device?
Enters Spigen - a global leader in selling Apple accessories, and it surely never is a brand to do things by halves. The all-new range of iPhone 15 accessories by Spigen aims to elevate user experience.
After all, it's more than just about protective gear; it's about enhancing your phone's journey. With Spigen, you're not merely safeguarding your latest Apple device but complimenting its refined design and ensuring the mobile experience is seamless.
Why Spigen is the Perfect Match for Your iPhone 15?
Unmatched Protection: With the iPhone 15's technological advancements, it's only fitting to pair it with an equally advanced protector.
Beyond Just Cases: Spigen embraces the entire range of mobile life, covering everything from cases to chargers.
Commitment to Quality: Every Spigen product tells us about its dedication to enhancing lives with intelligent, beautiful designs.
A Fusion of Tradition and Trend: Spigen brings both their best-selling designs and nostalgic classics back for the iPhone 15, ensuring every style preference is catered to.
Complete Mobile Experience: With Spigen, you're investing in an all-rounded mobile journey where every touch, charge, and accessory moment is optimised.
Whether you're in a business meeting or at a weekend gathering, the accessories you pair with your phone tell a story about you. With Spigen's MagFit collection, the narrative is crystal clear: it's about combining elegance and practicality in every situation.
Ultra Hybrid MagFit (Zero One): Think of it as a window to your iPhone 15 Pro's soul. The Zero One isn't just a case; it's a canvas of creativity. It's where innovation meets art. The Zero One brings its own unique design to the table, ensuring that while your iPhone 15 Pro is protected, it's also making a style statement like no other. Beyond the aesthetics, Air Cushion Technology and a durable hybrid build promise uncompromising protection. And with its integrated magnet, it aligns perfectly with MagSafe products, ensuring both safety and style. With each look, you'll appreciate the design brilliance, tailored just for you.
Tough Armor MagFit (Black): Some people scale mountains, and some love exploring the jungles. For adventurers of all types, this case is like armour – sturdy yet stylish, and there's also a built-in kickstand that's the cherry on top.
Classic C1 MagFit (Bondi Blue): Fashion often circles back, and Spigen's tribute to the iconic Apple iMac G3 while designing Classic C1 MagFit shows just that. It blends old-style appeal with today's tech needs, offering a perfect mix of past and present.
No more juggling between charging and driving. Spigen's OneTap Pro 3 MagFit Car Mount turns every trip into a seamless experience:
Snap and Drive: Your iPhone connects effortlessly, thanks to powerful magnets. Just snap it in place and hit the road with confidence.
Power-Packed Charging: Whether it's a long road trip, a daily run to the office, or a quick task, enjoy uninterrupted music and clear navigation with 15W of robust charging. Plus, it's MFM (Made for MagSafe) certified for that added assurance.
Adapts to You: Need a change in view? Easily rotate and adjust to your liking, making sure it's always at the right angle, whether you're navigating or watching a video while waiting.
Expert Advice: For a fast charging experience, team it up with a USB-C Power Adapter of 20W or more.
The Mag Armor MagFit from Spigen is not just a case; it's your iPhone's new favourite outfit. It's a blend of style and great looks.
Fresh Look: The back features a unique chevron pattern that subtly changes its look depending on the light. You have colour options too, either Matte Black or Navy Blue. This case gives your phone a fresh and modern appearance that stands out.
Strong Magnet: Have issues aligning your phone with chargers or stands? This case makes it easy. Its strong magnet helps MagSafe products fit quickly and stay in place.
Be pro-ready with this case for your iPad. With a smooth matte black finish and sharp carbon fibre details, it's all about style and toughness. Need hands-free? The little kickstand has got you. Watch, sketch, or write without holding your iPad. And yes, it's Apple Pencil-friendly.
Air Skin Pro (Gray)
This cover has it all. Soft vegan Velo leather up front, a handy magnetic pen holder, and a smart stand. The magnetic cover? It's versatile. Use it as a stand or pencil holder, or take it off. It's super light but has corner bumpers for safety. And yes, it's smart – open to wake your iPad Pro, close to sleep.
Don't worry about losing your AirPods Pro. Lock them up with the Lock Fit M. It's main job? Keep those earphones safe and snug. Installing is a breeze with the EZ Fit Tray. You can open the case when you want with a push button. Plus, it's sleek and comes with a wrist strap.
Made for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, it fits both the Ultra 2 and Ultra, with their 49mm cases. It keeps everyday scratches away with its flexible, shock-absorbent layer. It has an adjustable wristband and a secure metal clasp. The carbon fibre touches and raised edges give it a classy, protective look.
Lite Fit Ultra Loop Band
Slide on the Lite Fit Ultra Band for your Apple Watch and feel its lightweight charm. It fits tightly on any wrist, and the simple design adds class to any outfit. It is easy to put on and take off. Wear it all day and flaunt your style.
Complete Coverage: Protect your entire screen right up to the edges. They are designed primarily to shield the Dynamic Island, ensuring uninterrupted visuals.
Install with Ease: No more bubbles or misalignments. The included EZ Fit tray guides you for a flawless fit. It's as simple as laying it down.
Feels Original: Swipe, tap, and play just like you would on your phone's screen. It's just as responsive.
Perfect Pairing: Planning to use a Spigen case? This protector is tailored to fit perfectly alongside them.
Added Privacy: Guard your personal info. When viewed from the side, the screen turns black, ensuring only you can see your content.
All-in-One Design: This isn't just a charger. It's a wireless charger, a robust 10000mAh power bank, a phone stand, and a dual charging dock for your TWS and smartwatch. Charge up to three devices at once with the dual dock.
Universal Compatibility: Whether wireless charging at 15W or using the built-in power bank, it's ready to charge almost any smart device.
Wired Charging Choices: Use the USB-C cable for 20W fast charging. Prefer USB-A? You still get a swift 18W charge.
What's in the Pack? You get the Wireless Power Bank, the Dual Charging Dock (with a side USB-C port), a TPU Deck, and a 1m USB-C to C Cable.
Expert Advice: To get the most out of your charger, pair it with a 27W or higher adapter. For the ideal combo, try Spigen's PE2213 GaN charger.
Your iPhone Deserves the Best
In this fast-paced, tech-driven world, your devices are more than just gadgets. They capture memories, connect you to loved ones, and assist in daily tasks. Spigen understands this bond. That's why they don't just create accessories – they create experiences. From rugged cases to versatile charging accessories, Spigen ensures your Apple devices stay protected, charged, and always ready to complement your lifestyle. So, when you think of elevating your device experience, think Spigen.
