Gadgets And Technology Daily News | 08 Jun 2023
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Amazon Plans to Introduce Ad Tier for Prime Video Streaming Service: Report
Amazon.com is planning to launch an advertising-supported tier of its Prime Video streaming service, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Discussions around the ad tier have been going on for several weeks, according to the report, and follow the launch of similar plans by rivals Netflix and Walt Disney.
The streaming industry has been facing a slowdown in new sign-ups as subscribers struggling with high inflation and interest rates dial back entertainment spending and other discretionary expenses.
The WSJ report also said Amazon was holding discussions with Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global about adding the ad-based tiers of their streaming services through Prime Video Channels.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while Amazon declined to comment.
Shares of Amazon were lower more than 3 percent on Wednesday, in line with a weak broader market.
"In recent years, Prime Video has gotten more aggressive about running promos prior to its shows and including ad-filled sports broadcasts," said Ross Benes, Insider Intelligence principal analyst.
Sports coverage on Prime Video already comes with ads.
"Officially putting ads into Prime Video allows Amazon to centralize its audience and be more consistent with branding," Benes added.
It was previously reported that Amazon Prime Video subscribers will reportedly start seeing Amazon miniTV content on the platform as well. This is said to broaden its reach beyond the default Amazon shopping app. The integration is currently being beta tested on select paid accounts, with a full rollout expected ‘soon', as per the report.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Redmi 12 4G Price, Design, Specifications Leaked via Unboxing Video; MediaTek Helio G88 SoC Tipped
Redmi 12 4G has surfaced online in an unboxing video ahead of its launch. The unofficial video gives us a glimpse at the design of the phone and its possible price and specifications. The purported Redmi 12 is seen with a hole-punch cutout on the display and is said to be powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G88 SoC. The 4G smartphone could be offered in three different colour options. The Redmi 12 is tipped to carry a triple rear camera unit, led by a 50-megapixel primary sensor.
Tipster Paras Guglani (@passionategeekz), in collaboration with Newzonly, leaked an unboxing video of the Redmi 12 4G. As per the leak, the handset will go on sale in the next 10 days with a price tag of $155 (roughly Rs. 12,700). It is said to be offered in midnight black, polar silver, and sky blue shades.
The alleged video of Redmi 12 4G shows off the retail box of the handset. It is shown in a sky blue colour option with a hole-punch display design. As per the video, the power button and volume rockers are arranged on the left spine of the smartphone, while the sim tray is seen on the right. It appears to have an AI-backed triple rear camera setup and LED flash as well.
Redmi 12 is tipped to feature a 6.79-inch full-HD LCD display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. It is said to run on an octa-core MediaTek Helio G88 SoC. The handset is expected to come with a triple rear camera unit, headlined by a 50-megapixel primary sensor. For selfies and video chats, the phone could include an 8-megapixel sensor at the front.
The Redmi 12 was recently spotted on Redmi's official Portugal website. The listing confirmed a 5,000mAh battery with 18W wired charging support on the handset. It is said to feature a side-mounted fingerprint sensor as well.
The purported smartphone is expected to succeed the Redmi 10. The latter was launched in March last year with a price tag of Rs. 10,999 for the base 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant.
6.1 Percent Indians Are Optimistic About Generative AI Tools: Survey
From ChatGPT to Dall-E and all the technologies in between, the new wave of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is transforming businesses at a rapid pace, and 60 percent of Indian executives are optimistic about its impact on workplace, as per a survey.
However, opinions vary by seniority and by country, according to the survey by Boston Consulting Group.
The survey is based on inputs from 12,800 employees from the executive suites to the frontline employees across industries in 18 countries.
As per the survey, Brazil (71 percent) is the most optimistic country about the impact of GenAI on workplace followed by India (60 percent) and the Middle East (58 percent).
The least optimistic are the US (46 percent), the Netherlands (44 percent) and Japan (40 percent).
Geographies most concerned about AI are the Netherlands (42 percent), France (41 percent), and Japan (38 percent), while the least concerned are the Middle East (25 percent), Brazil (19 percent), and India (14 percent), As much as 61 percent of the 1,000 respondents in India are optimistic about the tool while 72.8 percent of them believe the rewards of GenAI outweigh risks.
Also, close to 88 percent of respondents believe their job is likely to be transformed by AI and 80 percent feel AI-specific regulations are necessary.
GenAI is a rapidly evolving space, and its transformative impact is already being felt in workplaces around the world, says Nicolas De Bellefonds, the global leader of AI and software at BCG X, BCG's tech build and design unit.
As per the survey, 52 percent of respondents are optimistic about AI's impact on work, which was 35 percent in 2018.
According to Nipun Kalra, managing director & partner, and head of BCG X in India, among the 18 countries surveyed, Indian executives are the most optimistic about the transformative impact of AI.
The survey also showed that senior leaders are more frequent users of generative AI, and thus are more optimistic and less concerned about it than frontline employees. While 62 per cent of leaders are optimistic about AI, only 42 percent of frontline employees share that view.
Also, 62 percent of regular users of GenAI are optimistic about it, compared to 36 percent of non-users. A majority of leaders (80 percent) report that they use GenAI tools regularly, compared with just 20 percent of frontline employees.
Further, frontline employees made up the largest percentage of non-users (60 percent).
Globally, more than a third of the respondents (36 percent) think that their job is likely to be eliminated by AI and 86 percent believe they will need skilling.
Redmi Buds 4 Active Launch Date Set for June 13, Availability Confirmed: Details
Redmi Buds 4 Active launch in India will take place soon. The company has officially announced the launch date and availability of the truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds and revealed their design. They will be launched alongside the Xiaomi Pad 6 next week. The Redmi Buds 4 Active TWS earbuds will feature support for Google Fast Pair functionality and environmental noise cancellation. The company has also revealed one of the colour options for the upcoming earbuds. They will be available in a black colour option and will sport a stem design.
The company has announced the launch date of the upcoming Redmi Buds 4 Active via a dedicated microsite. The earbuds will make their debut on June 13 alongside the Xiaomi Pad 6. The availability of the earbuds has also been confirmed via Amazon India. A landing page for the product is live on the e-commerce website, revealing the design and the key specifications of the Redmi Buds 4 Active.
The upcoming Redmi Buds 4 Active will sport a stem design. They will come in a Black colour option. The charging case will be pebble-shaped and features a USB Type-C port with a charging indicator at the bottom. The earbuds are listed to feature Bass Pro drivers for enhanced audio quality. They will feature environmental noise cancellation (ENC) and Google Fast Pair support.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi recently confirmed the launch of Xiaomi Pad 6 in India on June 13. The tablet will be sold in two different colour options and will sport a Dolby Vision-certified display along with a Dolby Atmos-supported audio system. It will run on Android 13-based MIUI 14. The tablet will be powered by an 8,840mAh battery with 33W charging support.
The upcoming Xiaomi Pad 6 will be equipped with a Snapdragon 870 SoC with support for Xiaomi's second-generation Smart Pen. The tablet will have a thickness of 6.55mm and weigh 490g, according to the company.
Google Tensor G3 Leaked Benchmark Scores Suggest Pixel 8 Might Be Slower Than Nothing Phone 2
Pixel 8 series is expected to be unveiled by Google later this year, and the specifications of the handset have recently been tipped online. The successor to the Pixel 7 series of smartphones is expected to be powered by a next-generation chipset from Google, the Tensor G3. While the company hasn't yet announced the specifications of the processor that will power the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, a recent leak suggested that it will feature 9 Arm cores and 10 GPU cores. Meanwhile, a benchmark of a device equipped with the Tensor G3 recently surfaced online giving us a glimpse at its performance.
Tipster Revegnus (Twitter: @Tech_Reve) recently posted a screenshot of a Geekbench listing for a device titled "Google Factory build on Ripcurrent". The listing isn't recent — it was posted on April 11 on the benchmarking website. The listing reveals that the handset has a single-core score of 1,186 and a multi-core score of 3,809 with the Geekbench 5.5.1 test. The specifications of the processor also match a recent leak of the specifications of the purported Tensor G3, comprised of 9 cores in a 1+4+4 setup.
The Geekbench listing, however, reveals that the Tensor G3 chip might not bring substantial performance improvements over the Tensor G2 SoC. In fact, the upcoming Nothing Phone 2 recently scored 1,253 and 3,833 points on Geekbench. This suggests that Google's next flagship smartphones will be powered by a chip that is slower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipsets.
In fact, the Tensor G3's purported benchmark scores suggest it is only slightly faster than the recently launched mid-range Poco F5 smartphone that has scores of 1,121 and 3,656 in the single-core and multi-core tests on Geekbench.
However, it is worth noting that Pixel smartphones powered by Tensor chipsets have never offered performance within the realm of similarly priced flagship Android handsets. Instead, these Tensor chips are designed to offer powerful AI features, performing many of the machine learning tasks on the device, which means they work without access to the Internet.
According to a recent leak, the Tensor G3 on the Pixel 8 series of smartphones will be equipped with nine CPU cores with a 1+4+4 layout. The chipset will comprise one 3.00GHz Cortex-X3 core, four 2.45GHz Cortex-A715 cores, and four 2.15GHz Cortex-A510 cores. However, with the recently leaked scores, it is currently unclear how much of a performance boost the new chipset will bring over last year's Tensor G2 SoC that powers the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
Noise Buds Trance TWS With Up to 45 Hours Battery Life, IPX5 Rating Launched in India: All Details
Noise Buds Trance true wireless earphones have been launched in India, priced under Rs. 1,000. The new affordable TWS headset from Indian brand Noise come with Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and are claimed to offer up to 45 hours of battery life. They are available in five colour shades namely Jet Black, Snow White, Space Blue, True Blue, and True Purple. The Noise Buds Trance are available for purchase from the official Noise website and via e-commerce giant Flipkart.
Noise Buds Trance earbuds have been launched at a price of Rs. 999 in India. They are currently listed on the GoNoise online store as well as on Flipkart. The true wireless earbuds have five colour options - Jet Black, Snow White, Space Blue, True Blue, and True Purple.
Noise Buds Trance will compete with Boult Audio AirBass Y1, and boAt Airdopes 111 in this range.
The Noise Buds Trance earbuds come with a bean-like design and feature a 6mm driver with AAC support. For gaming, the earbuds offer a low latency mode of up to 40 ms while gaming. These earbuds also offer IPX5 rating for sweat and water resistance.
Additionally, the newly launched Noise Buds Trance support Bluetooth 5.3 version that offers a connectivity range of up to 10m. They also support Hyper sync for fast pairing. The earbuds are claimed to offer up to 45 hours of total playtime on a single charge including the case. They also come with Instacharge technology, that can provide up to a 200-minute playtime with a 10-minute charge. There is also an LED charging indicator and USB Type-C port on the case.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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