Gadgets And Technology Daily News | 07 Jul 2023
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Nothing Phone 2 Price in India, Key Specifications Leaked; Spotted on Geekbench Ahead of July 11 Launch
Nothing Phone 2 is set to launch in India on July 11 as a successor to the Nothing Phone 1, which was released in July 2022. The company has confirmed a few key specifications of the handset and has also revealed the design. The Phone 2 will be equipped with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, a 6.7-inch full-HD+ display, and a 4,700mAh battery. Now, a tipster has suggested other specifications of the phone and also hinted at its price in India. The Indian variant of the phone was also spotted on Geekbench.
Tipster Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) suggested in a tweet that the Nothing Phone 2 is likely to be priced in India at Rs. 42,000 or Rs. 43,000. The phone is already available for pre-order via Flipkart with a refundable deposit of Rs. 2,000.
As per previous leaks, the Nothing Phone 2 will arrive in two storage configuration options. The 8GB RAM + 256GB variant was reported to likely be listed at EUR 729 (roughly Rs. 65,600), while the other higher-end 12GB RAM + 512GB option is said to be priced at EUR 849 (roughly Rs. 76,500).
With the official design revealed, the Nothing Phone 2 is also confirmed to be available in two colour variants - white and dark grey/ black.
The Nothing Phone 2 is confirmed to feature a bigger 6.7-inch display over its preceding model. According to Brar, it will have an OLED panel with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, that is full-HD+, and an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz.
Brar adds that the Nothing Phone 2 will run Android 13-based Nothing OS 2.0 out-of-the-box. Meanwhile, a Geekbench listing of the Indian variant of the model suggests the same. The listing also shows that the phone will be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, a detail that Nothing had previously confirmed. The company has also confirmed that the phone will receive 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security updates.
For optics, the phone is expected to be equipped with a 50-megapixel primary Sony IMX890 sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) support and a 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor with an ultra-wide lens for the back. The front camera is tipped to get a 32-megapixel sensor.
The company has confirmed that the Nothing Phone 2 will pack a 4,700mAh battery. The tipster suggests that the phone will support 33W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. It is also tipped that the handset will come with an IP rating, but the details are unknown. For biometrics, the phone will reportedly have an in-display optical fingerprint sensor.
EA Sports FC 24 Will Reportedly Release on September 29: Editions, Beta Size, More
EA Sports FC 24 — formerly, FIFA — is reportedly launching on September 29. As per reliable data miner billbil-kun, EA's annual (but rebranded) football simulation game will be available in Standard and Ultimate editions, with the latter granting a week's worth of early access — unlike FIFA 23's three days — starting September 22. Meanwhile, players subscribed to the EA Play service get a 10-hour free trial. Back in April, the publisher promised more information on EA Sports FC in July and the timing of this leak feels super convenient as well. The title marks EA Sports' first football game since ending its relationship with the global footballing federation, following which it lost the iconic ‘FIFA' moniker.
The report also refers to another leak from Twitter user @ALumia_Italia, who's built a reputation for scraping the Xbox backend, adding file sizes for EA Sports FC 24's closed beta versions. As per the miner, the Xbox Series X version weighs 41.57GB, while the old-gen Xbox One beta comes in at 39.23GB. It's not surprising for the game to be available on older generation consoles, given the FIFA franchise has always been competitive in nature — akin to Call of Duty — so they could appeal to or cover a larger player base, across all markets and platforms. Currently, there is no word on file sizes for the PC and/ or PlayStation versions. With FIFA out of the picture, EA Sports has a lot more pressure to put out quality titles that mimic the gargantuan success of its predecessors. For now, very little is known about EA Sports FC, but we can expect its money-maker Ultimate Team game mode to be part of the package.
The publisher unveiled the official logo for EA Sports FC in April — shaped like an upside-down triangle that's derived from the in-game marker floating on top of players' heads. This is what the franchise will be known as going forward, though it's unlikely there will be big changes to the base gameplay. For the uninitiated, EA Sports had financial disagreements with the FIFA federation, with the latter allegedly demanding over $1 billion (about Rs. 8,253 crore) every four years to license out the moniker to the long-running series. EA CEO Andrew Wilson then responded to the demands, claiming that he was willing to drop the ‘FIFA' branding from its games and that the only value EA ever got from the license, in a non-World Cup year, was the “four letters on the box.” The studio will continue to retain most of its existing licenses for football clubs and top leagues, including the Premier League, which reportedly cost $588 million (about Rs. 4,852 crore).
Meanwhile, the FIFA footballing body suggested last year that it would be working with other third-party developers to create its own game. “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, and FIFA 26, and so on — the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST,” Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, said in a media release.
If the leaks are true, EA Sports FC 24 should be out September 29 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. It is not yet known if the upcoming sports title will be available on the Nintendo Switch, like previous entries in the series.
Honor Pad X8 Pro With 11.5-Inch TFT LCD Display, Six Speakers Launched: All Details
Honor Pad X8 Pro has been launched in China in three RAM and two storage configurations. The tablet is powered by a Snapdragon 685 4G SoC, paired with up to 8GB of RAM. It features an 11.5-inch TFT LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 100 percent sRGB colour gamut. The Honor Pad X8 Pro houses a 7,250mAh battery. The tablet is available in Starry Gray, Sky Blue, and Coral Purple colour options. The tablet runs on Android 13-based MagicOS 7.1 out-of-the-box.
Honor Pad X8 Pro price in China starts at CNY 1,099 (roughly Rs. 12,500) for the base variant with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage. The tablet is also available in 6GB + 128GB, 8GB+128GB, and 8GB+256GB configurations priced at CNY 1,199 (roughly Rs. 13,700), CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs. 15,900), and CNY 1,599 (roughly Rs. 18,200), respectively. It is sold in Starry Gray, Sky Blue, and Coral Purple (translated from Chinese) colour options.
The newly launched Honor Pad X8 Pro is equipped with an 11.5-inch 2K (2,000 x 1,200 pixels) TFT LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 100 percent sRGB colour gamut. It is powered by a Snapdragon 685 4G SoC, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. The tablet runs on Android 13-based MagicOS 7.1 out-of-the-box.
For photos and videos, the Honor Pad X8 Pro is equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls. It is equipped with six speakers to offer a high-quality audio experience.
The Honor Pad X8 Pro offers Wi-Fi 5, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity options, along with a USB Type-C port. The tablet also includes an ambient light sensor, an accelerometer, and a gravity sensor. It packs a 7,250mAh battery, however, the supported charging speed is yet to be revealed. Additionally, the tablet measures 267.3x167.4x6.9 mm in size and weighs 495g.
BlackRock CEO Labels Bitcoin as International Asset as Firm Awaits Approval for BTC ETF Listing
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has extended a strong support to the overall cryptocurrency sector as his firm awaits approval to list a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. In a recent interview with Fox Business, the 70-year-old billionaire said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will revolutionise the fintech sector as we know and use today. Fink's statement contributed to today's crypto sector performance with BTC trading at $30,448 (roughly Rs. 25 lakh) and the overall crypto market valuation standing at $1.19 trillion (roughly Rs. 98,11,514 crore).
Crypto assets will be used to digitise gold, Fink said in his statement. In a suggestion to the US regulators, Fink said that ETF filings could democratise cryptocurrencies because investors will have an option to choose BTC, or other crypto assets could be used as a hedge against inflation.
“Let's be clear, Bitcoin is an international asset. It's not based on any one currency, and so it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative,” the veteran finance mogul can be heard saying in a clipping, shared by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who himself is a BTC enthusiast.
#Bitcoin is an International Asset. - Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO pic.twitter.com/WIVKITXYPj
Fink's comments resemble the opinions of Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of stablecoin issuer Circle Pay, who recently said that stablecoins can digitise the US dollar to overcome what Allaire described as, an ongoing ‘de-dollarisation' in the market. When other countries in the world begin to reduce their dependency on the US dollar as a reserve currency or a medium of exchange, that process is called ‘de-dollarisation'.
Allaire said the US could lay out guidelines around the permissible use-cases of US dollar-backed stablecoins, that will help boost investment in the dollar by the international Web3 community.
In a hopeful vision for the future, Fink has advised US regulators to work with the crypto industry players and create a systematic ecosystem.
“We could be working with our regulators and get the filing approved one day, and I have no idea what that one day will be, but we'll see how that all plays out,” Fink said.
As of 2022, BlackRock, touted as the world's biggest asset manager, had $8.7 trillion (roughly Rs. 7,17,84,570 crore) worth of assets under its management.
In June, the company's iShares Bitcoin Trust filed for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would allow investors to get exposure to the cryptocurrency.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are financial products that are regulated and can represent a wide array of different assets. An ETF also keeps track of the price fluctuations of an underlying asset, giving people an alternative to extract profits from the price trend of the asset without really owning even one unit of it.
Uber, Other App-Based Food Delivery Firms Sue New York City's Law on Minimum Wage
Uber Technologies, DoorDash and other app-based food delivery companies filed lawsuits on Thursday seeking to strike down New York City's novel law setting a minimum wage for delivery workers.
The companies filed separate complaints in New York state court claiming the law, which takes effect July 12, is based on a misunderstanding of how the food delivery industry works. Grubhub joined DoorDash in its lawsuit.
The law will require companies to pay delivery workers $17.96 (nearly Rs. 1,500) an hour, which will rise to nearly $20 (nearly Rs. 1,650) in April 2025. Companies can decide whether to pay workers hourly or per delivery, which would be based on the hours workers are logged into the app.
Delivery apps would need to increase the number of trips completed per hour to absorb the new labour costs, forcing them to shrink service areas and harming consumers and restaurants, the companies said.
Uber and DoorDash in May both raised their annual earnings forecasts after beating quarterly revenue expectations, stemming from an increase in orders for food, groceries and convenience products.
Relay Delivery also filed a lawsuit in the same court claiming the law will put the New York-based company out of business unless it raises the fees it charges to restaurants.
Vilda Vera Mayuga, head of the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said the law will help lift thousands of workers out of poverty.
“Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve fair pay for their labor, and we are disappointed that Uber, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Relay disagree," Mayuga said in a statement.
Supporters of the law, which is the first of its kind in the US, say it is needed because delivery workers in the city earn about $11 (nearly Rs. 910) an hour on average after expenses, far below the city's $15 (nearly Rs. 1,240) minimum wage.
App-based delivery workers are usually treated as independent contractors rather than company employees, so general minimum wage laws do not apply to them.
The companies in the lawsuits filed on Thursday say city officials justified the law based on flawed studies and statistics.
The city's surveys of delivery workers were biased and designed to elicit responses that would justify a minimum wage, the companies said.
The lawsuits also claim the law is based on the unsupported assumption that restaurants make little profit from app-based orders, and that it imposes burdensome recordkeeping requirements.
"This fatally flawed and subjective rulemaking process unsurprisingly worsened these already problematic policies," DoorDash said in a statement announcing its lawsuit.
The companies accused the city of violating a state law barring rules that are "arbitrary and capricious." They are seeking orders blocking the law from taking effect while the lawsuits proceed and rulings permanently striking down the law.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Realme Buds Wireless 3 With Active Noise Cancellation, 40-Hour Battery Life Launched: Details
Realme Buds Wireless 3 true wireless earbuds have been launched in India alongside the Realme Narzo 60 5G series of smartphones. The new neckband-style Bluetooth earphones have an IP55 rating for sweat and water resistance. They are claimed to offer up to 40 hours of battery life and feature a 45ms ultra-low latency mode along with dual device connectivity. The earphones will go for sale via the Realme website next week. The wearable device from Realme supports Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, according to the company.
Realme Buds Wireless 3 price in India is set at Rs. 1,799. They are currently listed on Realme's website and will go on sale via the company's online store as well as Flipkart and Amazon for the first time on July 12. The new neckband headset is available in Bass Yellow, Pure Black, and Vitality White colour options.
The newly launched neckband-style Realme Buds Wireless 3 earphones are equipped with a 13.6mm dynamic driver. The newly launched earphones support Bluetooth 5.3 conectivity, along with support for audio codecs such as AAC and SBC. The earbuds support active noise cancellation (ANC) up to 30 dB. The Realme Buds Wireless 3 are claimed to offer 360-degree spatial audio support and along with a 45ms ultra-low latency mode which could come in handy for gamers.
The earphones are claimed to offer up to 40 hours of battery life. They can offer up to 20 hours of calling on a single charge, according to the company. The Realme Buds Wireless 3 are also said to support fast charging with up to 25 hours of playback with a 10-minute charge. Realme says it takes about 50 minutes for a full charge.
Other features include an IP55 rating for sweat and water resistance, dual device connectivity, and support for Google Fast Pair. Realme says that users can also customise their preferences by choosing from 4 preset sound modes. The neckband weighs 30.1g, according to the company.
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