Monday, July 31, 2023

Apple Supplier Foxconn Said to Invest $500 Million to Build Component Factories in India

Apple's main supplier, Foxconn Technology Group, plans to increase its investments to more than $1.2 billion (roughly Rs. 9,877 crore) in southern India's Karnataka state and add two component factories there, expanding a steady diversification from China to mitigate the risks of US economic and technology sanctions.

At least one of the factories that the Taiwanese company plans to construct in Karnataka will produce Apple parts, including for iPhones, people familiar with the matter said. A formal announcement is expected as early as this week, the people said, declining to be named as the matter isn't public. The second plant will also be in Karnataka, but their exact location has yet to be decided.

Foxconn is spending $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,115 crore) on these two complexes on top of a $700 million (roughly Rs. 5,760 crore) facility it aims to build on a 300-acre site close to the airport in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, Bloomberg News previously reported. That plant is likely to assemble iPhones and expected to create about 1,00,000 jobs.

The additional sites will bring the Apple partner's envisioned new spending for India north of $1.2 billion, a big outlay for a Taiwanese company that traditionally assembles the vast majority of devices for Apple and other US brands from central and southern China.

Foxconn's moves in India highlight how the South Asian nation has fast become a popular destination for manufacturers scouting for an alternative to China amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. It's also the result of a shift in the global supply chain that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, and could reshape the way electronics are made.

© 2022 Bloomberg LP


Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.


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Elon Musk Takes Product and Engineering Chief Role at X, Yaccarino to Lead All Other Divisions

X owner Elon Musk and Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino will both oversee the trust and safety team at the company formerly known as Twitter, the social media concern said on Monday.

X's product and engineering team will report to Musk, while Yaccarino will oversee all other divisions, including human resources, legal, finance, sales and operations, X said.

The trust and safety team, which is responsible for content moderation, has been the focus of some criticism of the platform after Musk acquired the company last October. Researchers have accused X of relaxing content guard rails, leading to a spike in harmful posts. The company has said the majority of content views are of "healthy" posts.

In an email to X employees on Monday, which was shared with Reuters, Yaccarino said the company is searching for a new leader for brand safety and suitability.

The previous head of brand safety, A.J. Brown, who worked on efforts to prevent advertisements from appearing next to unsuitable content, left the company last month.

Yaccarino said in the email that three X leaders will oversee different responsibilities within trust and safety, including law enforcement operations and threat disruptions.

The changes to trust and safety come after Ella Irwin resigned as head of the team in June.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Walmart Buys Out Tiger Global’s Stake in Flipkart for $1.4 Billion: Report

Walmart has paid $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 11,520 crore) to buy out hedge fund Tiger Global's investment in e-commerce firm Flipkart, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a letter by the hedge-fund to its investors.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the transaction in an emailed response to Reuters but did not comment on financial details of the deal.

The transaction will value the e-commerce firm at $35 billion (roughly Rs. 2,88,010 crore), the WSJ report said.

"We remain confident in the future of Flipkart and are even more positive about the opportunity in India today than when we first invested," the Walmart spokesperson said.

Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Earlier this year, the Economics Times reported that private equity firms Accel and Tiger Global, two early backers of Flipkart, were in talks to sell their remaining stake in the company to Walmart.

Tiger Global held about 4 percent of the company, according to the ET report.

Walmart acquired a majority stake of 77 percent in Flipkart for about $16 billion (roughly Rs. 1,31,662 crore) in 2018, and later that year said it could take the company public in four years.

In April last year, Reuters reported that Flipkart had internally raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to $60 billion (roughly Rs. 4,90,000 crore) - $70 billion (roughly Rs. 5,70,00 crore), and plans a US listing in 2023.

Earlier this year, Walmart confirmed that it had already paid the Indian government most of the nearly $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,300 crore) in tax owed after digital payments company PhonePe, which the US retailer owns through Flipkart, shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Sunday, July 30, 2023

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: Price in India, Specifications Compared

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 was launched at the company's Galaxy Unpacked held in July. The smartphone, successor to last year's Galaxy Z Flip 4, is powered by a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. It is backed by a 3,700mAh battery. The South Korean tech giant hosted another Galaxy Unpacked event in February this year, where it announced the launch of the Galaxy S23 series. The lineup included Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphones. The top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra is also equipped with a customised version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.

Both smartphones comes with some similarities and differences, in terms of their price and specifications. Here, we have compared the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Price in India

The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes in two variants. The base 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 99,999, whereas the 8GB RAM + 512GB storage model costs Rs. 1,09,999. The smartphone is offered in several colour variants including Blue, Cream, Graphite, Gray, Green, Lavender, Mint, and Yellow shades.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's pricing, at the time of launch, began at Rs. 1,24,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The 12GB RAM + 512GB storage model costed Rs. 1,34,999 and the 12GB RAM + 1TB storage variant was priced at Rs. 1,54,999. The smartphone was launched in Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender, Red, Graphite, Lime, and Sky Blue colour variants.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Specifications

With a the 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,640 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex primary screen, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 sports a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED folder-shaped cover display. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 Ultra gets a 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ (3,088 x 1,440 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display. Both smartphones are powered by a custom octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.

The Galaxy S23 runs Android 13 with One UI 5.1, while Galaxy Z Flip 5 runs Android 13-based OneUI 5.1.1 out-of-the-box.

On camera specifications, Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a quad rear camera setup, headlined by a 200-megapixel primary wide camera. Other sensors include a 2-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera and a10-megapixel telephoto shooter. For selfies, the smartphone sports a 12-megapixel shooter. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 carries two 12-megapixel rear camera sensors and a 10-megapixel selfie sensor.

In the battery department, the Galaxy S23 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery, and supports 45W wired charging and 15W Fast Wireless Charging. The Galaxy Z Flip 5, on the other hand, is backed by a 3,700mAh battery with 25W wired charging support and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Saturday, July 29, 2023

ITR Filing: How to Check IT Return Status Online

The deadline to file ITR (Income Tax Return) without any late fee is approaching closer. The last date to file ITR for assessment year 2023-24 is July 31. So far, the Income Tax Department has not announced any extension in the last date for filing ITR. One can easily file ITR online using a few simple steps. Once the ITR is filed, all taxpayers await the tax returns to be credited into their bank accounts. If you have already filed ITR, but are awaiting the amount to be refunded, we are providing here some simple steps to check the ITR status online. 

The Income Tax Department has announced July 31 to be last date to file ITR. Once the process is done, and e-verification, taxpayers will receive the refund that they are eligible for in their bank accounts. To check the status of refund status, the Income Tax Department provides on online tracking facility. To check ITR refund status for individuals, one needs PAN number and the Assessment Year.

Generally, it takes around 7 to 120 days for the refund to be credited in to the account after the e-verification on the return. However, the process has become faster now, with return being returned as soon as within 2 days of the e-verification of your ITR. 

How to check ITR refund status online

  1. Visit the Income Tax e-filing portal.
  2. Login in to user account using ID, password, date of birth and captcha.
  3. Visit My Account section.
  4. Here, tap on Refund/Demand status.
  5. The screen will display assessment year, status of refund, and the mode of payment.

The Income Tax Department issues the refund either through direct credit in your provided bank account, or through a ‘Refund Cheque'. If you filed to received refund in your bank account, make sure to provide correct bank account number and IFSC code with complete address details, including the PIN code. 


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Live Image Leaked; Tipped to Get Slower Wireless Charging Capacity

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is confirmed to launch soon. The phone has previously been listed on Geekbench with two SoC variants. It is expected to succeed the Galaxy S21 FE model. Recently, a live image of the phone was leaked, and it was also spotted on a wireless charging database, suggesting that it will come with a slower charging capacity than the other Galaxy S23 models. The upcoming Fan Edition model of the phone is expected to be the part of the Galaxy S23 series, which also includes the base Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Galaxy S23 FE was spotted on Wireless Power Consortium, appearing to support a 4.4W wireless charging. The website does not indicate the wattage of power charging that the USB Type-C port is likely to allow. To compare, the Galaxy S23 Ultra supports 45W wired and 15W wireless fast charging.

A Dutch website, Samsung Club, on the other hand, shared leaked live images of the purported Galaxy S23 FE model. The image shared showed that the phone is likely to feature a 2.5D display. The back panel of the phone is expected to be equally flat and is likely to place the triple rear camera unit in the top left corner in vertically placed three circular cutouts.

Justin Hume, Samsung South Africa Vice-President of Mobile, said recently at the Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul that the announcement of a Galaxy S23 FE model is imminent. It could launch with either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC or a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC in the US and Canadian markets, while other regions may get the phone with an in-house Exynos 2200 chipset.

Out-of-the-box, the phone is expected to boot Android 13-based One UI. The Exynos variant is said to be paired with an Xclipse 920 AMD GPU. The phone is expected to launch with up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 inbuilt storage.

For optics, the Galaxy S23 FE is likely to include a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8-megapixel sensor with a telephoto lens at the back and a 12-megapixel sensor in the front placed in a centre-aligned hole-punch slot at the top of a possibly 6.4-inch screen. It is expected to be backed by a 4,500mAh battery.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Micron Executive Discusses Plans to Bolster Chip Manufacturing in India With PM Modi

Micron Technology Chief Sanjay Mehrotra called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and discussed plans to bolster the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem within India. The Micron Technology Chief met the Prime Minister in Gujarat's Gandhinagar. 

He is in India to attend the three-day 'SemiconIndia 2023' conference, which kicked off here on Friday.

The conference, its second edition, organised by India Semiconductor Mission in partnership with industry and industry associations, is aimed to make India a global hub for semiconductor design, manufacturing and technology development. SemiconIndia was held in Bengaluru last year.

The theme of the Conference is ‘Catalysing India's Semiconductor Ecosystem'.

Regarding the meeting between the Micron Technology CEO and PM Modi, the Prime Minister's Office tweeted, “Mr. Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of @MicronTech, met PM @narendramodi in Gandhinagar. They discussed Micron Technology's plans to bolster the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem within India.”

It is not the first time that PM Modi has met the Micron CEO. Earlier in June, when PM Modi visited the US, the two had an excellent meeting.

"I had an excellent meeting with PM Modi. I am very impressed with the vision that he has for India and the advances that India is making. We discussed a wide range of topics and we really look forward to greater opportunities in India," Mehrotra said at that time.

Micron Technology, during PM Modi's US visit last month, announced its India investment plans. Micron Technology committed that it will invest up to $825 million (roughly Rs. 6,800 crore) to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government.

Micron had said it selected Gujarat's SANAND Industrial Park (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation - GIDC) due to its manufacturing infrastructure, conducive business environment and firm talent pipeline.

Meanwhile, India and the US have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently on establishing the Semiconductor Supply chain during the India-USA 5th Commercial Dialogue 2023, which can help India realize its long-nurtured dream of becoming a hub for electronic goods.

The MoU seeks to establish a collaborative mechanism between the two governments on semiconductor supply chain resiliency and diversification in view of the US's CHIPS and Science Act and India's Semiconductor Mission.

The US and China are giants in chip manufacturing. So, this pact with the US to strengthen cooperation in the semiconductor sector to facilitate commercial opportunities and the development of innovation ecosystems is likely to help India immensely.

It can help India align into a more central role in the global electronics supply chain. The crunch in semiconductors supply began during COVID-19 and went on to intensify in 2021.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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US President Said to to Sign New Order to Limit US Tech Investments in China by Mid-August

US President Joe Biden is planning to sign an executive order to limit critical US technology investments in China by mid-August, according to people familiar with the internal deliberations.

The order focuses on semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It won't affect any existing investments and will only prohibit certain transactions. Other deals will have to be disclosed to the government.

The timing for the order, slated for the second week of August, has slipped many times before, and there is no guarantee it won't be delayed again. But internal discussions have already shifted from the substance of the measures to rolling out the order and accompanying rule, said the people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The restrictions won't take effect until next year, and their scope will be laid out in a rulemaking process, involving a comment period so stakeholders can weigh in on the final version.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council declined to comment.

The investment controls are part of a broader White House effort to limit China's capabilities to develop the next-generation technologies expected to dominate national and economic security. The effort has complicated the Biden administration's already fraught relations with China, which sees the restrictions as an effort to contain and isolate the country.

China's envoy in Washington said earlier this month that Beijing would retaliate if the US imposes new limits on technology or capital flows but didn't detail what actions the country could take.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has sought to calm Chinese anger over the curbs, saying they wouldn't significantly damage the ability to attract US investment and were narrowly tailored.

“These would not be broad controls that would affect US investment broadly in China, or in my opinion, have a fundamental impact on affecting the investment climate for China,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television earlier in July.

Yellen emphasized the restrictions as well as existing export controls were not in retaliation for any specific actions from China or intended to curtail the country's growth.

During her visit to China earlier this month, Yellen reiterated that stance in a meeting in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan first publicly discussed the concept in July 2021. China hawks in the US are eager for tougher and faster action. Lawmakers from both parties have also shown interest in legislating on the matte,r although a bill has not yet made it to Biden's desk.

The Senate this week passed an amendment to the national defense policy bill that would require firms to notify the government about certain investments in China and other countries of concern, although they wouldn't be subject to review or possible prohibition.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/S3BA0WM

Friday, July 28, 2023

Elon Musk Says X, Formerly Twitter, Reaches ‘New High’ With Over 540 Million Monthly Users

Elon Musk said on Friday that monthly users of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reached a "new high" and shared a graph that showed the latest count as over 540 million.

Musk's post on X about the user figures comes as the company goes through organisational changes and looks to boost advertising revenue which has dropped in the recent month.

It is also the latest in a series of comments from X's executives claiming strong traction in usage, after Meta Platforms launched a direct competing platform called Threads on July 5.

Twitter had 229 million monthly active users in May 2022, according to a statement made before Musk's purchase of the firm in October. Musk posted in November that X had 259.4 million daily active users.

Since taking over, Musk has swiftly moved through a number of product and organizational changes. The company rolled out the verified blue tick as a paid service and has started sharing a cut of the ad sales with select content creators on the platform.

In May, Musk named former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as CEO of X, signalling that ad sales were a priority even as the platform worked to increase the subscription revenue.

Musk said earlier this month that X's cash flow was negative because of a nearly 50 percent drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load, without offering details.

Meanwhile, Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X could be complicated legally: companies including Meta and Microsoft already have intellectual property rights to the same letter.

X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges - and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its own issues defending its X brand in the future.

"There's a 100 percent chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody," said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide range of industries.

Owners of trademarks - which protect things like brand names, logos and slogans that identify sources of goods - can claim infringement if other branding would cause consumer confusion. Remedies range from monetary damages to blocking use.

Microsoft since 2003 has owned an X trademark related to communications about its Xbox video-game system. Meta Platforms - whose Threads platform is a new Twitter rival - owns a federal trademark registered in 2019 covering a blue-and-white letter "X" for fields including software and social media.

Meta and Microsoft likely would not sue unless they feel threatened that Twitter's X encroaches on brand equity they built in the letter, Gerben said.

The three companies did not respond to requests for comment.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Chipmakers Hint at Ease of Chip Supply Glut but Demand Recovery Still Slow

From Intel to Samsung, global chipmakers are celebrating the beginning of the end of a semiconductor supply glut, but the outlook for demand from customers outside the artificial intelligence (AI) industry remains gloomy.

All the major markets for chips — smartphones, PCs and data centres — have shrunk this year, as both corporate customers and consumers scale back spending amid a weak global economy, high inflation and rising interest rates.

This has created an unprecedented oversupply of commodity chips, causing a record combined KRW 15.2 trillion (nearly Rs. 98,650 crore) first-half operating loss for the world's two largest memory chipmakers, Samsung and SK Hynix

This glut, however, has started to ease largely due to production cuts and as a decline in PC shipments eased to 11 percent in the June quarter compared to a 30 percent slump in each of the previous two quarters, data from tech analysts Canalys showed.

The smartphone market is also improving, with cellphone shipments falling 8 percent in the June quarter, versus 14 percent in the first quarter, according to research firm Counterpoint.

"Demand is recovering very gradually," Woohyun Kim, chief financial officer at SK Hynix, said on an earnings call this week.

"The recent improvement in PC shipments has been mainly led by promotions and low-end models, meaning it provided limited impact on chip demand recovery," he said, adding that shipment forecasts for PCs and smartphones this year have been downgraded from earlier predictions.

While demand for chips to support generative AI has rapidly increased since OpenAI's ChatGPT was launched late last year, the sector still accounts for a small fraction of overall chip demand and is crimping corporate spending on servers, as some companies prioritize investment in AI.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said on Thursday an inventory glut in server central processing units (CPUs) will persist until the second half of the year and that data centre chip sales will decline modestly in the third quarter before recovering in the fourth quarter. Intel shares rose 6.4 percent Friday after stronger than expected results.

A sluggish recovery in China, the world's biggest chip buyer, is also dampening the overall outlook.

Both Samsung and SK Hynix said China's reopening failed to live up to expectations that it would revive the smartphone market, and that they were extending production cuts of NAND memory chips, widely used in smartphones to store digital data.

Analog chipmaker Texas Instruments, which has heavy exposure to China, forecast third-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, bogged down by a sluggish recovery in end-market demand that has forced clients to cancel orders. Shares were up 1.5 percent Friday.

"China was roughly half of sales at the end of fiscal 2022, so China has the largest impact on TI's business," said Logan Purk, analyst at investment firm Edward Jones. 

AI winners

Manufacturers of the equipment used to make chips such as KLA Corp and Lam Research are early winners of the AI boom. Both companies forecast quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates this week. Shares were up 4.9 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, on Friday.

"Advanced AI servers have significantly higher leading-edge logic, memory and storage content versus traditional servers, and every incremental 1 percent penetration of AI servers and data centres is expected to drive $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,200 crore) to $1.5 billion (nearly Rs. 12, 330 crore) of additional (chip equipment) investment," Lam CEO Tim Archer said on a conference call with analysts.

Chipmakers are also increasing production of the high-end chips used to support AI related chips.

SK Hynix said demand for AI server memory had more than doubled in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Its DRAM chips, which hold information from applications while the system is in use, sold for a higher price in the second quarter versus the first, on average.

The company leads the market in high bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM used in generative AI. It had a 50 percent market share in HBM as of 2022, followed by Samsung's 40 percent and Micron's 10 percent, according to TrendForce.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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US Chipmaker AMD to Invest $400 Million in India Over Next 5 Years, Will Set Up Design Centre in Bengaluru

US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices said on Friday it will invest around $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,290 crore) in India over the next five years and will build its largest design centre in the tech hub of Bengaluru.

AMD's announcement was made by its Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster at an annual semiconductor conference that started Friday in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. Other speakers at the flagship event include Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.

Despite being a late entrant, the government has been courting investments into India's nascent chip sector to establish its credentials as a chipmaking hub.

AMD said it will open its new design centre campus in Bengaluru by end of this year and create 3,000 new engineering roles within five years.

"Our India teams will continue to play a pivotal role in delivering the high-performance and adaptive solutions that support AMD customers worldwide," Papermaster said.

The new 500,000-square-foot (55,555 square yards) campus will increase AMD's office footprint in India to 10 locations. It already has more than 6,500 employees in the country.

From personal computers to data centers, AMD chips are used in a wide range of devices. The Santa Clara, California-based firm is also working on an artificial intelligence chip that will take on market leader Nvidia.

Unlike its top rival Intel, AMD outsources production of chips it designs to third-party manufacturers like Taiwan's TSMC.

TSMC and the South Korea's Samsung are among the elite few chipmakers globally to have mastered cutting-edge chipmaking, a technology many nations are now vying for to avoid supply chain shocks, such as faced during the pandemic.

India in 2021 unveiled a $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,259 crore) incentive programme for the chip sector, but the plan has floundered as no company has so far managed to get clearance for setting up a fabrication plant, the centerpiece to PM Modi's ambitions.

Other investments in India include a multi-year $400 million plan by US chip equipment maker Applied Materials in June to set up an engineering center, and chipmaker Micron's $825 million (roughly Rs. 6,786 crore) investment in a semiconductor testing and packaging unit in Gujarat.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/POUW0QD

iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Controls for Silent Mode, Camera, Flashlight, More Found in iOS 17 Code: Report

iPhone 15 Pro — Apple's flagship smartphone that is expected to make its debut this year — could be equipped with a new Action button, after features related to the physical button were reportedly spotted on the latest iOS 17 beta. Previous leaks suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a new physical button in place of the mute switch, and a new report now suggests that Apple's next Pro smartphone models could support at least nine functions that are customisable.

Apple recently rolled out iOS 17 beta 4 to developers, with various bug fixes and tweaks to the interface. The latest beta also includes code that point to the existence of the rumoured Action button, according to a MacRumors report. The code also suggests that the button could support a range of features, from toggling accessibility settings to enabling and disabling Focus modes.

In addition to offering the functionality of the mute switch it is expected to replace, the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro could also be allowed to quickly enable or disable a Focus mode. It might also allow users to enable features like AssistiveTouch, Zoom, and other accessibility features, according to the report. Meanwhile, it could be used to toggle the flashlight option or quickly launch and click photos.

The report also claims that the Action button could be used to run specific Shortcuts, launch the Translate app, or record voice memos on their smartphone. Users who rely on the Magnifier app on their iPhone to read small text might also be able to program the button for quick access to the app.

Earlier this year, news reports hinted at the possibility of Apple replacing the mute switch on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max with an Action button that works like the one on the Apple Watch Ultra that was launched last year. At the time, it was speculated that the button could be used to control various device features including toggling themes, low power mode, rotation lock, taking screenshots, using the built-in Shazam feature, and so on.

Meanwhile, images of purported covers for the iPhone 15 Pro were recently leaked on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo. The leaked images suggest the presence of a new button located above the volume toggles on the left side of the phone. Previous iPhone Pro models — including the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max — are equipped with a mute switch in the same location.

It is worth noting that the new button is also covered, like the other buttons on the phone, instead of the previous mute switch cutout. However, it is worth taking these claims and leaked images with a pinch of salt as there are still a couple of months to go before Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 lineup of smartphones.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Thursday, July 27, 2023

iPhone 15 Pro Models May Cost Up to $200 More Than iPhone 14 Pro Variants: Report

iPhone 15 family— including the vanilla iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max — could be unveiled sometime in September. This year, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are anticipated to be more expensive than the previous Pro models, and a new claim by a Barclays analyst corroborates this rumour. The vanilla iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will have the same price tag as the outgoing models. The iPhone 15 Pro is said to get new cameras and a faster chipset compared to the non-Pro models. 

As reported by MacRumors, Barclays analyst Tim Long mentioned in an investor note that iPhone 15 Pro models will come with a higher price tag than the ongoing iPhone 14 Pro models this year. The iPhone 15 Pro will reportedly cost up to $100 (roughly Rs. 8,000) more than the iPhone 14 Pro, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro Max could see a price hike of $100 to $200 (roughly Rs. 16,000) more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The analyst states that the pricing would remain similar for the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models.

In the US, the iPhone 14 Pro was launched at $999 (roughly Rs. 79,555), while the iPhone 14 Pro Max, currently the most expensive iPhone model on the market, was priced at $1,099 (roughly Rs. 87,530). Based on Tim Long's estimate, the iPhone 15 Pro would start at $1,099, while iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to have an initial price tag of $1,199 (roughly Rs. 98,000) or even $1,299 (roughly Rs. 1,06,864).

The vanilla iPhone 14 was announced with a starting price tag of $799 (roughly Rs. 63,700) and the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 (roughly Rs. 71,600).

Analyst Jeff Pu earlier in July claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max model will be priced higher than the existing iPhone 14 Pro Max. The increased cost can be attributed to several rumoured hardware upgrades including a fresh periscope lens, titanium frames, solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, USB Type-C charging ports, a brand-new A17 Bionic chip, and increased RAM.

A Bloomberg report earlier this week also reiterated that the iPhone 15 could have a higher price tag than the ongoing models. Apple is allegedly planning to hike the price of 2023 iPhone models to increase revenue. The company has reportedly set a target to produce around 85 million iPhone 15 units this year.


Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.


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Meta’s Reels Revenue Gets AI Boost to Close in on TikTok, Set to Jump to $10 Billion This Year

Reels, Meta Platforms' answer to viral short-form video app TikTok, elicited eyerolls when it launched in 2020 and was regarded as yet another example of Meta copying a popular rival.

But on Wednesday, Meta revealed numbers that show Reels videos are growing rapidly among both users and advertisers and are quickly catching up to the ByteDance-owned TikTok app that is beloved by young users and has reshaped the social media landscape.

Meta says the rags-to-riches growth of Reels, which are viewable on both Facebook and Instagram, speaks in part to the company's improving recommendation software, long the Chinese-owned rival's strong point.

"We can show Reels that we think you're interested in based on our discovery engines," Justin Osofsky, Meta's head of online sales, operations and partnerships, said in an interview on Thursday.

The number of Reels video plays on Facebook and Instagram now top 200 billion per day, up from 140 billion last fall. TikTok did not respond immediately to a request to provide its daily figures.

The growth of Reels "creates a base that you have the opportunity to further monetize," Osofsky said.

Though Meta has invested in artificial intelligence for years, it is now moving to the forefront of its business to improve content recommendations and ads across the company's services, he added.

Reels' annual revenue run rate has jumped to $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,287 crore), up from around $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,688 crore) as of last fall and $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,229 crore) last summer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a conference call with analysts following its second quarter results.

That means Reels is about the size of TikTok's business as of last year, when it pulled in $9.9 billion (roughly Rs. 81,472 crore) in worldwide ad revenue, according to estimates from research firm Insider Intelligence, which forecast $13.2 billion (roughly Rs. 1,08,630 crore) in global ad revenue this year.

One reason for Reels' growth is that Meta's ad platform makes it seamless for advertisers to place their promotions on the feature, said Debra Aho Williamson, a principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.

"It's as easy as checking a box," she said.

More than three-quarters of Meta's advertisers are placing ads on Reels, said Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer.

Throughout 2022, Meta executives fielded questions from investors about whether fast-growing Reels consumption was actually hurting ad sales by taking users' time away from higher-earning areas of its apps, like the News Feed.

There were relatively few ads in Reels at that point, but Zuckerberg said he expected advertisers to embrace the format over time, as they had with previous transitions from desktop to mobile and from Feed to Stories, Meta's Snapchat-like format.

On the earnings call on Wednesday, Li said the company expected Reels would continue earning less money than the ads Meta generates from its Stories and Feed features, "since people scroll more slowly through video content."

TikTok and its famous content recommendation algorithm remains the leader when it comes to time spent on social media apps. The average US user spends 53.8 minutes per day on TikTok, versus 48.7 minutes on YouTube, 33.1 minutes on Instagram and 30.9 minutes on Facebook, according to Insider Intelligence estimates.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Amazon India Opens First-Ever Floating IHS Store on Dal Lake in Srinagar

Amazon India on Thursday announced its first-ever floating store on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir, as part of its last-mile delivery programme "I Have Space". 

Murtaza Khan Kashi, owner of houseboat Selec Town, will deliver packages every day to customers at the doorstep of their houseboats as part of the onboarding.

Amazon Logistics, India, Director Karuna Shankar Pande said this will provide faster and reliable deliveries to customers across Srinagar, opportunities for small businesses and strengthen Amazon's delivery network.

Launched in 2015, the 'I Have Space' programme has 28,000 neighbourhood and kirana partners in about 420 towns and cities in India. It partners with local stores and small businesses for delivering products within a 2 to 4 kilometres radius.

Amazon's flagship programme ‘I Have Space' facilitates the delivery of parcels and couriers. Once enrolled, the IHS partner receives packages on store location, which they need to deliver to the customer. The IHS partner receives payment from Amazon, based on the number of packages delivered. 

Amazon claims to have more than 28,000 IHS partners on over 350 cities across India. It doesn't require any investments from the local partners, and anyone can be part of the programme. All they need to do is collect and deliver parcels to nearby locations. On an average, an Amazon IHS store partners can deliver between 20 and 30 packages a day, while earning a fixed amount per delivery in return.


Is the Xiaomi Pad 6 the best Android tablet you can buy under Rs. 30,000 in India? We discuss the company's latest mid-range tablet 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.


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Parliamentary Panel Suggests Setting Up Framework to Deal With Cyber Crimes

A parliamentary panel on Thursday expressed concern over mushrooming of cyber crimes and increasing data vulnerability, and suggested that the government should come out with a framework to deal with such risks. 

The Standing Committee on Finance recommended setting up of Cyber Protection Authority (CPA) and advocated that the CPA engage ethical hackers to test ecosystem participants.

To enhance the prevention and detection of fraud in the banking sector, the committee headed by Jayant Sinha strongly suggested the establishment of a Central Negative Registry and that the CPA should maintain this registry.

Noting that current compensatory mechanism for victims of cybercrime in the financial sector has limited scope and coverage, the panel said financial institutions must play a supportive role as there is a fiduciary relationship between financial institutions and their customers.

The process of filing a compensation claim is complex and time-consuming, placing the burden of proof on the victims to establish the connection between the cyber crime incident and the resulting financial loss, which is particularly challenging due to the traceability issues associated with cyber crimes.

The committee strongly believes there should be an automatic compensation system as devised by RBI and it should be the financial institution's sole responsibility to immediately compensate the hapless customer, pending further investigation and final traceability of funds, the report said.

This proactive approach aligns with the principle of safeguarding customer interests and ensuring rapid resolution in cases of cybercrime in the financial sector, it said.

Observing that India is indisputably one of the best regulated and safest digital financial ecosystems in the world, the panel expressed concern over the mushrooming of cyber crimes and increasing data vulnerabilities even as digitisation has rapidly expanded across the country.

Within a few years, it is likely that a billion Indian citizens will be conducting hundreds of billions transactions online mediated entirely through large-scale, pervasive computer networks, systems, and algorithms, the panel said.

Simultaneously, it said, criminals are getting more and more innovative and difficult to track since they can now utilise powerful new technologies and operate in lightly policed or hostile jurisdictions.

These new and threatening technologies include generative artificial intelligence (Al), chatbots, and quantum computing, which raises the threat level exponentially.

To maintain its status as one of the world's best digital financial ecosystems, India should consider evolving its cyber security policy framework across five major dimensions to establish a more dynamic and proactive regulatory framework.

It should empower a centralized authority for cyber security which can work with all digital ecosystem participants in India and around the world; formulate fairer and more responsive consumer grievance redressal and compensation mechanisms: strengthen central and state cyber security enforcement capabilities; and achieve closer global cooperation with other leading countries.

Working simultaneously across all these 5 dimensions will ensure that India develops the world's most innovative, secure and resilient digital financial ecosystem.

The panel said cyber security regulations will have to evolve rapidly to take into account various technological developments and to stay ahead of bad actors.

There have been challenges in exerting sufficient control over third-party service providers, including Big Tech and Telecom companies on cyber security matters. Secondly, downtime in critical payment systems is able to disrupt customer services, which is not currently regulated.

Besides, it said, there is no clear process to either continuously whitelist or blacklist apps and maintain a central registry of apps that have the ability to tap digital payment and settlement systems.

"Today's regulatory frameworks are focused mostly on fire-fighting, but they need to be much more dynamic in anticipating and dealing with emerging threats and vulnerabilities of the digital financial ecosystem," it said.

Specific threats today include misuse of SMS templates, telemarketer verification lapses, insufficient maker-checker processes, weak security controls in fund transfer systems, and vulnerabilities in ATM channel communication.

The situation is exacerbated by limited coordination among different agencies and inadequate incident response as well as enforcement mechanisms.

The committee, therefore, to strengthen cyber security measures, mitigate vulnerabilities, and ensure the integrity of the financial sector's digital infrastructure recommended some concrete measures including regulation of service providers, maker-checker processes and ATM Channel security.

During the committee hearings, RBI provided evidence that Big Tech companies have refused to make various modifications to their mobile operating systems to make the OTP based two-factor authentication protocol even more secure.

It underlined the importance of the enforcement system in addressing cyber fraud and stressed the importance of local police to take effective action against cyber crimes.

The committee further said that promoting supervisory cooperation and knowledge exchange with global regulators will facilitate a collective response to the exponentially growing cyber threats.

The panel, therefore, strongly urged the government to adopt and go beyond global best practices — in short to develop 'next practices' based on India's specific needs and requirements. 


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.


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Crypto Market Watch: Bitcoin, Ether See Small Gains, Lift Most Altcoins Up the Price Ladder

Bitcoin showed a gain of 0.72 percent to trade at the price point of $29,370 (roughly Rs. 24 lakh) on Thursday. After days of being down on the crypto price chart, Bitcoin — the most expensive cryptocurrency — is beginning to show small gains. In the last 24 hours, the price point of BTC rose by $219 (roughly Rs. 17,946). The development comes just hours after the US hiked interest rates by 0.25 percent, taking its value to a 22-year high.

Ether recorded profits on Thursday, just like Bitcoin. With a gain of 1.07 percent, the value of ETH stands at $1,873 (roughly Rs. 1.53 lakh). In recent days, Ether has held firm ground in terms of keeping its price close to the mark of $2,000 (roughly Rs. 1.63 lakh) but has not been able to breach it.

A plethora of cryptocurrencies registered gains on Thursday. These include Tether, Ripple, Binance Coin, USD Coin, and Cardano.

Furthermore, Solana, Tron, Polygon, Litecoin, and Polkadot also managed to rope in profits.

The overall crypto market valuation rose by 0.54 percent in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, the market cap of the crypto sector stands at $1.19 trillion (roughly Rs. 97,51,276 crore), showed the data by CoinMarketCap.

The crypto fear and greed index, however, continues to remain in the neutral zone with a score of 51/100.

Meanwhile, only a small number of cryptocurrencies reeled under losses on Thursday. After the initial excitement around Twitter's rebranding to ‘X' worn off, Dogecoin lost its momentous hike spree.

Leo, Cronos, Ardor, Braintrust, and Floki Inu also suffered losses.

"After the latest decision, the federal reserve has taken the rates to a 22-year high and is no longer expecting the United States to go into a recession. Though, it looks like the crypto market will only react positively when the Fed starts cutting the rates again - which should be mid of next year, coinciding with BTC halving," Shubham Hudda, Senior Manager, CoinSwitch Markets Desk, told Gadgets 360.

In other news, DeFi's third largest protocol, MakerDAO (MKR, +9.2 percent), having $5.5 billion (roughly Rs. 45,108 crore) worth of total value locked, is considering increasing the savings rate of its stablecoin — DAI (+0.1 percent) to eight percent. If passed, it would be one of the highest in all DeFi protocols. MKR has been pumping on the development and is trading near its one-year high.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article. 



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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 5: Price in India and Specifications Compared

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 were launched alongside the Galaxy Watch 6 series and the Galaxy Tab S9 series on Wednesday. The Watch 6 series includes a base and a Classic model. The tablet lineup came with a base, a plus and an ultra model. All the devices were introduced during the Galaxy Unpacked event held in Seoul. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 succeed the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, respectively. Both the recently launched handsets are powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and run Android 13-based OneUI 5.1.1

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 share some similarities and also have a few differences. Here we compare the price, specifications and features of the two newly-launched Samsung foldable smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 price in India

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 price starts at Rs. 1,54,999 for the 12GB + 256GB variant. The 12GB + 512GB and 12GB + 1TB variants are listed at Rs. 1,64,999 and Rs. 1,84,999 respectively.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5, on the other hand, is priced at Rs. 99,999 and Rs. 1,09,999, respectively for its 8GB + 256GB and 8GB + 512GB storage variants.

The book-style foldable is available in Cream, Icy Blue, and Phantom Black colour options, whereas the Blue and Grey colourways of the smartphone are available exclusively on the company website. On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is offered in Blue, Cream, Graphite, Gray, Green, Lavender, Mint, and Yellow shades.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 specifications, features

The primary display of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a 7.6-inch QXGA+ (2,176 x 1,812 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex panel with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and the cover screen has a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (2,316 x 904 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,640 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex main display and a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED folder-shaped outer display.

The phones are powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The book-style foldable comes with 12GB of RAM with up to 1TB of inbuilt storage. The clamshell foldable has 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Both phones run Android 13-based OneUI 5.1.1

For optics, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel sensor with ultra-wide-angle lens and a 10-megapixel sensor with a telephoto lens. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has two 12-megapixel rear cameras. The phones sport a 10-megapixel selfie camera each. The Fold 5 also gets an additional 4-megapixel under-display camera.

Backed by a 4,400mAh battery, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 supports 25W wired fast charging, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and Wireless PowerShare. Meanwhile, the Flip 5 packs a 3,700mAh battery with similar charging support. The handsets also support 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C port connectivity.

Unfolded, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 measures 129.9mm x 154.9mm x 6.1mm and weighs 253 grams, while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 measures 71.9mm x 85.1mm x 15.1mm and weighs 187 grams. When Folded, the the Galaxy Z Fold 5 measures  67.1mm x 154.9mm x 13.4mm and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 measures 71.9mm x 165.1mm x 6.9mm in size.


Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company's recently launched handset 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.


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Foxconn Subsidiary in Talks to Set Up $200 Million Components Plant in Tamil Nadu: Report

A Foxconn subsidiary is in talks with India's Tamil Nadu state to invest up to $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,638 crore) to build a new plant for electronic components in the southern region, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Wednesday.

Brand Cheng, CEO of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), and other company representatives last week met Tamil Nadu officials including its chief minister to discuss investments in the state, the government said in a statement after the meeting, without elaborating.

FII, which makes communication, mobile network and cloud computing equipment, has shared a plan with state officials to initially invest $180 million (roughly Rs. 1,475 crore) to $200 million in the facility, said one of the sources.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, and a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu's industries department declined to comment.

Foxconn already has a sprawling campus near Chennai city in Tamil Nadu where it assembles Apple's iPhones.

The sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private, did not elaborate on the plan or say if parts made at the proposed facility would be used in iPhones or another company's products.

Foxconn aims to complete the plant by 2024, with further investments expected afterward, the first source said.

A final decision has not been made, both sources said.

Foxconn is also in talks with western Gujarat state as it eyes entry into India's semiconductor sector. Its chairman Young Liu is expected to speak at an annual semiconductor event hosted by the government this week.

Last week, Karnataka state government in south India said it held talks with FII, which had committed to invest $1.07 billion (roughly Rs. 8,771 crore) for a new plant.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices 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.


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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, Galaxy Watch 6 Classic Price in India Announced: Details

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series was launched in Seoul on July 26 at the Galaxy Unpacked event. The lineup includes the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The wearables are available in different colours and sizes, and can be pre-ordered on Samsung's official website, or Samsung offline stores. Both the smartwatches — the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic — can be connected with devices running Android 10 or higher. A day after the wearable's official launch, the South Korean giant has now revealed the Indian prices for the Galaxy Watch 6 series.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic price, availability in India

In India, the Galaxy Watch 6 comes at a starting price of Rs. 19,999 for the 40mm dial with Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity. Meanwhile the 40mm Galaxy Watch 6 with LTE connectivity costs Rs. 33,999. On the other hand, the 44m Galaxy Watch 6 with Bluetooth/WiFi support is marked at Rs. 32,999, whereas the LTE variant in 44mm will be available for Rs. 36,999.

For the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, the 43mm variant with Bluetooth/WiFi support is priced at Rs. 36,999, and the LTE variant costs Rs. 40,999. In the 47mm dial size, the Bluetooth/WiFi variant is marked at Rs. 39,999, while the LTE model is priced at Rs. 43,999.

The Galaxy Watch 6 is available in three colour options — Gold, Graphite, and Silver. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic comes in Black and Silver colour models. Pre-orders for the watches in India start at 12pm today. Those who pre-book will also be eligible for a cashback of Rs. 6,000 and an upgrade bonus of Rs. 4,000, effectively bringing the prices down.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic specifications, features

The Galaxy Watch 6 series get Sapphire Crystal AMOLED panel, which comes with an Always-On-Display (AOD) feature. Both the variants are equipped with Samsung's Exynos W930 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. These wearables run Wear OS-based One UI 5 Watch OS.

The 40mm and 43mm variants in both the watches get a 1.3-inch screen, whereas the 44mm and 47mm models have a 1.5-inch display. The Galaxy Watch 6 series gets several health features like heart rate and oxygen monitor, sleep tracker and menstrual cycle predictor. The watches are compatible with any device running Android 10 or higher.

In terms of battery, the 40mm and 43mm size watches pack a 300mAH battery, while the 44mm and 47mm size models are backed by a 425mAH battery, all with WPC-based wireless charging support. On a single charge, the Galaxy Watch 6 watches are claimed to last up to 30 hours with the Always-On Display mode turned on.


Samsung Galaxy A34 5G was recently launched by the company in India alongside the more expensive Galaxy A54 5G smartphone. How does this phone fare against the Nothing Phone 1 and the iQoo Neo 7? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.


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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5 Price in India Revealed: All Details

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 were launched on Wednesday during the Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea. The foldable smartphones were unveiled alongside the Galaxy Watch 6 series and the Galaxy Tab S9 series. The phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy custom SoC that offers overclocked CPU and GPU cores. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is backed by a 3,700mAh battery, while the book-style Galaxy Z Fold 5 packs a 4,400mAh battery. At an event held at Samsung's, Gangnam store in Seoul, South Korea, the company has now confirmed the prices and availability of the phones in India.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 price in India, availability

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with 12GB of RAM. Offered in Cream, Icy Blue and Phantom Black colourways, the 256GB variant is priced in India at Rs. 1,54,999, while the 512GB and 1TB variants are marked at Rs. 1,64,999 and Rs. 1,84,999 respectively. The phone is exclusively available in Icy Blue, Phantom Black and Cream colour options on the official Samsung website.

Offered in Cream, Graphite, Lavender and Mint, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with 8GB of RAM. The 256GB and the 512GB storage variants of this clamshell foldable are listed at Rs. 99,999 and Rs. 1,09,999, respectively.

The phones are already available for pre-orders starting July 26 and will go on sale in the country on August 11.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 specifications, features

The primary display of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with a 7.6-inch QXGA+ (2,176 x 1,812 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex panel and the outer screen has a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (2,316 x 904 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, both with refresh rates of up to 120Hz. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 sports a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,640 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex panel on the inside, and houses a bigger 3.4-inch Super AMOLED folder-shaped cover screen.

Both phones are powered by a custom octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC for Galaxy. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with 12GB of RAM with up to 1TB of inbuilt storage, while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has 8GB of RAM with up to 512GB of inbuilt storage. They run Android 13-based OneUI 5.1.1 out-of-the-box.

In the camera department, the triple rear camera unit of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 includes a 50-megapixel sensor with a wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens and a 10-megapixel sensor with a telephoto sensor. A centre-aligned punch-hole slot at the top of the outer display houses a 10-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calls and a 4-megapixel under display camera placed beneath the inner panel. The Galaxy Z Flip 5, on the other hand, carries two 12-megapixel rear camera sensors and a 10-megapixel selfie sensor. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 packs a 4,400mAh battery with 25W wired, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and Wireless PowerShare support. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is backed by a 3,700mAh battery with similar charging capacities.


Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company's recently launched handset 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.


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