Gadgets And Technology Daily News | 07 Jun 2023
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Microsoft Looking for Solutions to Get UK Approval for $69 Billion Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The president of Microsoft said he was looking for solutions to try to get British approval for the software giant's $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,71,730 crore) acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard.
British competition authorities blocked the biggest-ever deal in gaming in April, in a shock decision which Microsoft has since appealed. President Brad Smith said he was hopeful the outcome could change.
"I'm in search of solutions," Microsoft President Brad Smith told the techUK Tech Policy Leadership conference in London on Tuesday.
"If regulators have concerns we want to address them. If there are problems, we want to solve them. If the UK wants to impose regulatory requirements that go beyond those in the EU, we want to find ways to fulfill them."
He declined to comment on any meeting with the British government following the CMA's veto on the deal which Smith had previously warned would shake confidence in the UK as a destination for tech businesses.
The EU's competition authorities approved the deal in May after they accepted remedies put forward by Microsoft that were broadly comparable to those it proposed in the UK.
Microsoft has also appealed the US Federal Trade Commission's action seeking to block the deal on the grounds that, the agency said, it would suppress competition.
Last month, Microsoft challenged Britain's decision to block its takeover of Activision Blizzard on the grounds of "fundamental errors" in the assessment of Microsoft's cloud gaming services. The company confirmed it had filed an appeal against the ruling to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
It said the CMA's conclusion that the deal would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the United Kingdom's cloud gaming market was wrong, according to the summary.
The tech giant also evaded a potential early legal obstacle in the takeover, when a US judge last month refused to allow gamers in a private suit to preliminarily block the acquisition.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
China Plans to Initiate AI Regulations, Says Elon Musk After Meeting With Officials
The Chinese government will seek to initiate artificial intelligence regulations in its country, billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday after meeting with officials during his recent trip to China.
Musk did not elaborate further and made his remarks in a Twitter Space with Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday.
"It's worth noting that on my recent trip to China, I went to senior leadership there. I think we had some very productive discussions on artificial intelligence risks, and the need for some oversight and regulation," said Musk, owner of Twitter and Tesla chief executive.
"And my understanding from those conversations is that China will be initiating AI regulation in China."
Reuters was not immediately able to reach Chinese officials for comment outside of normal business hours.
Musk departed Shanghai on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day trip to China in which he met senior Chinese government officials including the highest-ranking vice premier.
Musk met with China's foreign, commerce and industry ministers in Beijing. He also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said.
China's cyberspace regulator unveiled draft measures in April for managing generative artificial intelligence services, saying it wants firms to submit security assessments to authorities before they launch their offerings to the public.
Several governments are considering how to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology, which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity in recent months after the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
In April, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said that China supports AI innovation and application and encourages use of safe and reliable software, tools and data resources, but content generated by generative AI had to be in line with the country's core socialist values.
Providers will be responsible for the legitimacy of data used to train generative AI products and measures should be taken to prevent discrimination when designing algorithms and training data, it said.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Motorola Razr 40 Series Set to Launch in India Soon, to Be Available on Amazon
Motorola Razr 40 series was unveiled last week in China with the Motorola Razr 40 and Motorola Razr 40 Ultra models. The phones are confirmed to launch in India soon. The base clamshell foldable comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC, while the Razr 40 Ultra is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. Both handsets are backed by a 4,200mAh and a 3,800mAh battery, respectively. On Tuesday, the company confirmed that the clamshell foldable handsets will be available for purchase in the country through Amazon.
Last week, Motorola confirmed that the Razr 40 series will launch in India soon. However, the company did not specify any dates, variants or price details of the model. Motorola India announced on Tuesday that the phones will be available for purchase through Amazon.
Offered in Fengya Black, Ice Crystal Blue, and Magenta colourways, the 8GB + 256GB variant of the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is priced at CNY 5,699 (roughly Rs. 66,000), while the 12GB + 512GB variant is marked at CNY 6,399 (roughly Rs. 74,200).
The base Motorola Razr 40 comes in Azure Grey, Bright Moon White and Cherry Powder colour variants. The 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB and the 12GB + 256GB options of the model are listed at the price of CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 46,000), CNY 4,299 (roughly Rs. 49,000) and CNY 4,699 (roughly Rs. 54,500), respectively.
Motorola's latest Razr phones sport 6.9-inch (1,080x2,640 pixels) pOLED inner displays. The Razr 40 Ultra's inner panel has a refresh rate of 165Hz while the standard Razr 40 has a 144Hz inner screen. The Razr 40 Ultra also features a 3.6-inch (1,056x1,066 pixels) pOLED outer screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz, whereas the base model comes with a 1.5-inch secondary display.
For optics, a dual rear camera unit on the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra comes equipped with a 12-megapixel primary sensor with support for optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a 13-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens. Meanwhile, the Motorola Razr 40 has a 64-megapixel primary sensor and a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultra wide-angle lens. Both phones are equipped with 32-megapixel front cameras.
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra packs a 3,800mAh battery with 33W wired fast charging and 5W wireless charging, while the Razr 40 is backed by a 4,200mAh battery with 30W wired and 8W wireless fast charging support.
Oppo Reno 10 5G Series India Launch Tipped for July, Indian Variants May Pack Different Chipsets
Oppo Reno 10 5G family, including the vanilla Reno 10, the Reno 10 Pro, and Reno 10 Pro+ were launched in China last month. The Chinese smartphone brand could unveil the Reno 10 series in India soon. Although a date is yet to be officially confirmed by Oppo, a new report suggests that the Oppo Reno 10 5G series smartphones will go official in the country in July. The Indian variants of the devices may run on different processors. The vanilla Oppo Reno 10 could pack MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset instead of the Snapdragon 778G SoC that powers the Chinese variant.
As per a report by 91Mobiles, citing industry sources, the Oppo Reno 10 5G lineup will be launched in India in July. The exact launch date, however, is not yet revealed. The report claims that the Indian variants will pack different processors, slightly different designs and cameras as compared to the Chinese units.
The Oppo Reno 10 and Oppo Reno 10 Pro are said to run on the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC. The Chinese variant of the vanilla model is powered by a Snapdragon 778G SoC, whereas the Reno 10 Pro runs on MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC. The Oppo Reno 10 Pro+, the most premium option in the lineup, has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC under the hood and the Indian variant is also said to come with this SoC.
Oppo is likely to limit the telephoto lens to the top-end Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ in India. The Oppo Reno 10 and Reno 10 Pro in China carry a telephoto lens. Similar to the models launched in China, Oppo Reno 10 and Oppo Reno 10 Pro could offer 80W fast charging, whereas the Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ could support 100W fast charging.
The Oppo Reno 10 5G series smartphones were initially unveiled in May in the company's home country. The price of the Oppo Reno 10 starts at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 29,000), while the Reno 10 Pro has a starting price tag of CNY 3,499 (roughly Rs. 41,000). The Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G has a starting price tag of CNY 3,899 (roughly Rs. 45,000).
All three models of the Oppo Reno 10 lineup feature a 6.7-inch display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and carry triple rear cameras. Both the Pro models come with MariSilicon X NPU and support 100W fast charging as well.
Apple’s iOS 17 Will Not Be Compatible With Some Older iPhone Models: Check Here
At the ongoing WWDC 2023 developer event, Apple announced iOS 17, which brings plenty of improvements to existing features and also introduces some new features. There's a new Standby mode, a new Journal app, the ability to leave a message on FaceTime, and plenty more. Users will soon be able to interact with widgets, swap numbers with NameDrop, and even share AirDrop transfers via the internet. While a majority of these features will arrive on the latest iPhone 14 series and recent models, Apple has decided to drop support for some older models.
With the growing number of smartphone offerings (more to be added later this year) it comes as no surprise that Apple has decided to drop software support for some older models. While the Cupertino tech giant has not given any specific reasons for the same (could be down to the A12 Bionic chipset), it will be dropping support for iPhone models launched prior to 2018.
This cutoff mark now includes three handsets in particular – the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. All three are currently supported with the current iOS 16 releases for now, but Apple's website clearly mentions that they will not be receiving the new iOS 17 update when it arrives later this year.
iOS 17, which was announced last night, is currently available for download as a developer beta. These downloads are only available to users with a developer account. Older handsets that are compatible with iOS 17 include the entire iPhone 13 series, iPhone 12 series, and the iPhone 11 series as well. The iOS 17 software update will also be available for the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, iPhone Xr, iPhone SE (2020), and the recent iPhone SE (2022).
The Apple iPhone X was the first iPhone to offer Apple's Face ID 3D authentication technology. It was also the first iPhone to utilise a stainless-steel frame and became Apple's much needed transition to bezel-less screen.
At the same time, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were the last premium models from Apple to offer its Touch ID authentication technology. Apple still uses Touch ID on some iPad models and on its MacBooks, but its iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone SE (2022) are the only affordable iPhone models to offer the same with every other model having switched to Face ID.
Xiaomi 14 Pro, Xiaomi 14 Tipped to Feature Periscope Cameras With Up to 5x Optical Zoom
Xiaomi 14 Pro is reportedly in the works and it is anticipated to go official in November this year alongside the Xiaomi 14. The Chinese smartphone brand is yet to confirm any details regarding the Xiaomi 14 series, but ahead of it, a known tipster from China has shared some camera specifications of the handsets online. The Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro are said to come with periscope zoom cameras. Qualcomm's next-generation flagship SoC is expected to power the handsets. The Xiaomi 14 Pro is tipped to be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 50W wireless charging.
Tipster Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) in his latest post on Weibo claimed that cameras on Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro would offer periscope zoom capabilities. The periscope telephoto camera of Xiaomi 14 Pro is said to offer 5x optical zoom with 115mm focal length. The regular Xiaomi 14 on the other hand, is expected to feature a periscope telephoto camera with 3.9x optical zoom and 90mm focal length. However, the pixel-count and the number of camera sensors are unknown at this moment.
As per past leaks, the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro will run on Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The Pro model could be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 50W wireless charging support. It is said to carry WLG High-Lens cameras as well.
The Xiaomi 14 Pro and Xiaomi 14 are likely to succeed the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Xiaomi 13 that were launched earlier this year. The Xiaomi 13 Pro sports a Leica-branded triple rear camera unit, that houses a 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 primary sensor, a 50-megapixel telephoto sensor, and a 50-megapixel wide-angle sensor.
The triple rear camera setup of the Xiaomi 13 includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 10-megapixel secondary sensor, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor.
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