 "Tech wrap June 06")
Vivo has launched its maiden foldable smartphone in India, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the smartphone comes with integrated artificial intelligence features powered by Google’s Gemini AI models – said the Chinese smartphone maker. Additionally, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro boasts a camera system that has been co-created with the German optics brand Zeiss.
In its attempt to bring to market a smartphone that can be used in monsoon season without much worry, China's OPPO has introduced the F27 Pro+ 5G smartphone that is set to launch in India on June 13. OPPO is calling it India’s first “super-rugged, monsoon-ready smartphone” with Swiss SGS 5 stars drop resistance and the MIL-STD-810H method 516.8 certification for its rugged build. The headline feature of the smartphone, however, is the IP69 rating for ingress protection against water and dust.
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Google has completed the acquisition of Cameyo, a software virtualisation company that it has partnered with in 2023 to make Windows apps accessible on ChromeOS. In a press note released by the company, Google said, “By bringing the Cameyo team's expertise in-house, we are doubling down on our commitment to delivering a streamlined experience for virtualised applications.”
Assassin’s Creed Mirage video game is now available on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max in India. The game’s arrival on iPhones was announced during the launch of the iPhone 15 series last year, alongside other games such as Death Stranding Director's Cut and more. While DS Director’s Cut made its way on to the iPhone 15 Pros series earlier this year, Assassin's Creed Mirage is now available on the Apple App Store in select regions, including India.
Samsung unveiled a range of AI-powered monitors in its Odyssey OLED, ViewFinity, and Smart Monitor lines. Samsung said that the features powered by AI will enhance the entertainment experience on the Smart Monitor M8 and Odyssey OLED G6, and make ViewFinity models more efficient fit at workplaces.
British consumer technology brand Nothing is going all out on artificial intelligence for its next flagship smartphone, the Phone 3, which is scheduled for launch in 2025. Nothing's CEO, Carl Pei, in a video posted on X said that the company has been designing and prototyping “AI Interactions” for the past few months and these features will be “gradually introduced, starting with Phone (3) next year.” Although the company has not provided any details and specifications about the Phone 3, Pei in his video shared a preview of the AI-powered features the company is currently working on.
Nothing on June 6 announced the CMF Phone 1, its maiden smartphone offering under CMF brand. Nothing introduced the CMF Phone 1 on X (formerly Twitter), calling the upcoming smartphone from its sub-brand an entry-point to its product ecosystem. In the post on X, Nothing mentioned that the CMF Phone 1 will leverage the company’s innovation in the smartphone category and offers an entry point to Nothing’s product ecosystem.
Google is making modifications in the way location data of users is stored. Google had announced in December that the location history collected by its Maps app will not be stored on the cloud, but on users’ device storage. Now, the rollout has reportedly started in batches. With location data stored on-device, the location history will be available in the form of a timeline on the Android and iOS devices. However, browser-based Google Maps will no longer show location history timeline since the data will not be saved on cloud. This new feature will allow users to have better control over their location data and store it locally on their device.
Speculations were rife for the last few months that Samsung will be reviving its Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch that was launched in 2021. Rumours indicated that it would be called Galaxy Watch 4 (2024) and brought back to the market as Samsung continues to refresh its other products. Now, some leaks have confirmed that it will be called Galaxy Watch FE. It is expected that the fan-edition watch from Samsung will be around $100 cheaper than Galaxy Watch 6, making it a more economical option. The smartwatch is anticipated to launch at Samsung Unpacked event, which is expected to be held on July 10 in Paris.
When a 23-year-old Sam Altman took the stage at Apple Inc.’s annual developer conference in 2008, he gushed about being able to use the company’s new App Store to promote his software, a friend-locating service called Loopt. “We think this is a new era of mobile, and we’re thrilled to be part of it,” Altman said.
Nvidia Corp. was already the world’s most valuable semiconductor firm. Now, it’s become the first computer-chip company ever to hit $3 trillion in market capitalisation.
The US Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
