Tech Bites

Taiwanese Apple supplier Foxlink said on Wednesday it is working hard to resume production following a fire at a plant in southern India that halted operations at the maker of iPhone charging cables. The factory is located in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and is unlikely to resume full operations for two months, raising supply chain concerns for the US tech giant, Reuters reported this week. Foxlink was engulfed in a massive fire on Monday that led part of the building to collapse, but there were no casualties. Foxlink, in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange, said it is investigating the cause of the fire and "working hard to resume production". In an earlier statement late on Tuesday, the company said that the site had been blocked off by the fire department and that four production lines were known to be damaged. As the plant, equipment and inventory are covered by insurance, the fire has not yet had a significant impact on the company's finances an

EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday narrowed their case against Apple, focusing on its App Store rules that prevent developers from informing users of other purchasing options, while dropping another charge related to in-app payments. The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the 27-country European Union, did not say why it had dropped its case against the iPhone maker for requiring developers to use its own in-app payment system. However, the victory for the US tech giant will be short-lived as a new EU tech law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will apply from May, bans both of the Apple practices investigated by the Commission, with fines of up to 10 percent of a company's global turnover for infringements. The Commission said Apple's so-called anti-steering obligations, which prevent developers from informing users about other purchasing options, violate EU rules against unfair trading conditions. These obligations are "neither necessa

Technology will help India achieve the target of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, as he outlined the massive and modern digital infrastructure being created to ensure that benefits of digital revolution reach all citizens. Addressing a post-Budget webinar on 'Unleashing the Potential: Ease of Living Using Technology', Modi said the government wants to reduce the cost of compliance of small businesses, and asked the industry to formulate a list of compliances that can be pruned. "We want to reduce the compliance cost of small businesses. Can you (industry) formulate a list of unnecessary compliances that can be pruned. We have finished 40,000 compliances," Modi said. India is creating a modern digital infrastructure, and ensuring that benefits of digital revolution reach everyone, he noted. Technology is being used to make tax system faceless to address problems faced by taxpayers. "We used technology to make

Tecno reportedly unveiled its Phantom V Fold, the first foldable smartphone from the Chinese smartphone manufacturer during the Mobile World Congress 2023 event today. The phone, showcased at the company's booth, is said to be the first left-right foldable smartphone in the world. The smartphone is said to be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset. The company revealed that the chipset has an AnTuTu test score of more than 1.08 million. During the same MWC event, Tecno also introduced its newest Chameleon Coloring Technology. The Phantom V Fold is Tecno's first foldable smartphone. It is claimed to be the world's first left-right foldable smartphone and is said to be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset, as per a report by Gizmochina. The dual-SIM supported smartphone is said to come equipped with a dual 5G processor, designed specifically for the device and is manufactured using an enhanced TSMC 4nm manufacturing process, which is claimed to offer better

Most cryptocurrencies reflected losses on the crypto price charts on Tuesday, February 28. Bitcoin, that recorded a small loss of 0.63 percent, is presently trading at the price point of $23,437 (roughly Rs. 19.3 lakh) on both, national as well as international exchanges. Throughout February, BTC came close to breaching the mark of $25,000 (roughly Rs. 20.6 lakh) several times but could not. Industry experts have time and again noted that once BTC rises in value, its next resistance point would be at around $31,000 (roughly Rs. 25.6 lakh). Ether tailed behind Bitcoin to trade in minor losses. As per Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker , the price of ETH stands stuck at $1,628 (roughly Rs. 1.34 lakh). While BTC values dropped by $103 (roughly Rs. 8,520) in the last 24 hours, ETH price increased by $10 (roughly Rs. 826). Majority cryptocurrencies recorded losses on the last day of February 2023. These include stablecoins such as Tether , USD Coin , Ripple , and Binance USD as w

Elon Musk has approached AI researchers in recent weeks about forming a new research lab to develop an alternative to OpenAI's ChatGPT, the Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the effort. Tesla and Twitter chief Musk has been recruiting Igor Babuschkin, a researcher who recently left Alphabet's DeepMind AI unit, the report said. The report comes after ChatGPT , a text-based chatbot developed by OpenAI that can draft prose, poetry or even computer code on command, gained widespread attention in Silicon Valley. Musk, who had co-founded OpenAI along with Silicon Valley investor Sam Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit startup, had left its board in 2018, but chimed in with his take on the chatbot, calling it "scary good". Musk and Babuschkin have discussed assembling a team to pursue AI research but the project is still in the early stages, with no concrete plan to develop specific products, the report said quoting an interview with th

Pros: – Build quality and weight – Crisp, sharp and vibrant 2K touch-enabled display – Banging set of speakers, mics and webcam – Performance  – Excellent keyboard – 5G connectivity Cons: – Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports including power.  – No SD Card slot – Can get a little hot during resource-intensive tasks Price: Rs 2,14,700 for the tested configuration Rating : 4.25/5 There are several ultraportable, thin and light laptops on the market that are also capable enough to get the job done. However, finding an ultraportable laptop that weighs less than 1 kilogram, is like finding a living and breathing unicorn. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2, is that exact unicorn. Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2 is a tiny workhorse of a machine that weighs just a hair over 970 grams. It has good battery life, it is built like a tank, comes with an exquisite display and has an Intel CPU that is more than powerful enough to take on whatever

Honor Magic 5 series was unveiled by the company on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The flagship lineup from the Shenzen-based company includes Honor Magic 5, and Honor Magic 5 Pro. The smartphone company also unveiled the Honor Magic Vs, which is its first foldable flagship to debut outside China. The Honor Magic 5 series smartphones come equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Moreover, the Honor Magic 5 Pro packs a bundle of significant upgrades. Honor Magic 5, Honor Magic 5 Pro, Honor Magic Vs price, availablity The MWC 2023 witnessed the launch of latest flagship smartphones from Honor, which included non-foldable Magic 5 series and company's first global foldable smartphone — the Honor Magic Vs. The Honor Magic 5 Pro comes five colour variants — Black, Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Orange and Coral Purple, while the vanilla Magic 5 variant comes in Blue and Black colour options. Similarly, the Honor Magic Vs also

Xiaomi 13 series had a global launch today, on February 26, a day before MWC 2023 begins. The smartphone series from the Chinese manufacturer sported three models — the vanilla Xiaomi 13, the Xiaomi 13 Pro and the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The smartphone series announced its launch in China in December 2022, however, it included only two variants. While the Xiaomi 13 and the Xiaomi 13 Pro are powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, the Lite version in the series comes equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC. Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 13 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Lite price, availability The Chinese tech giant Xiaomi  announced the launch of the Xiaomi 13 series in Barcelona. The base storage variant has a starting price of EUR 999 (nearly Rs. 87,600), while the Xiaomi 13 Pro is priced at EUR 1299 (roughly Rs. 1,13,900). On the other hand, Xiaomi 13 Lite cost EUR 499 (roughly Rs. 43,800). The Xiaomi 13 Pro global variant will make its debut in two colour options — Ceramic Black and White. On the

Motorola when it comes to foldables still appears to stick to its clamshell design, which is based on its original clamshell feature phone, the Razr (V3), which was announced back in 2003. With the current gen Motorola Razr 2022 foldable that features two displays, including one inner folding display, is still exclusive to China and the company has now reportedly showcased a new rollable concept at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC 2023). Motorola is said to have branded the handset as the “Rizr” and while it's still a concept device, it could give us a glimpse of things to come. According to Twitter user Ben Wood , the device is still in the concept stage, even though a functional working concept was showcased at the unveiling. As the source points out, the name of the smartphone has not been finalised yet, but according to Android Police it's been referred to as the Rizr as it goes with the sliding form factor of the older feature phone. While hands-on demos have

Twitter has laid off at least 200 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, the New York Times reported late on Sunday, in its latest round of job cuts since Elon Musk took over the micro-blogging site last October. The layoffs on Saturday night impacted product managers, data scientists, and engineers who worked on machine learning and site reliability, which helps keep Twitter's various features online, the NYT report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has a headcount of about 2,300 active employees, according to Elon Musk last month. The latest job cuts follow a mass layoff in early November, when Twitter laid off about 3,700 employees in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, who had acquired the company for $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,64,720 crore). Musk said in November that the service was experiencing a "massive drop in revenue" as advertisers pulled spending amid co

The Last of Us episode 8 trailer is out. Keeping with the trend, HBO has dropped a preview for the upcoming episode of the post-apocalyptic drama based on the beloved PlayStation video game, teasing a group of cannibalistic survivors who come to Ellie and Joel's aid, but with ulterior motives. Titled ‘When We Are in Need,' this new episode stars Troy Baker — the original voice actor for Joel — as James, a senior member of the said group of settlers. Episode 8 reportedly clocks in at 51 minutes and is directed by Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider). The Last of Us episode 8 premieres March 6 at 8:30am IST/ March 5 at 9pm ET on Disney+ Hotstar and HBO Max, respectively. The trailer for The Last of Us episode 8 brings us back to the present, where Joel ( Pedro Pascal ) struggles to recover from his near-fatal injury. “You won't survive for long out there,” David ( Scott Shepherd ), the settler's leader tells Ellie ( Bella Ramsey ), having tracked his way into their safe house. “The

Xiaomi 13 Pro, the high-end variant of the Xiaomi 13 series, has launched in India today. The smartphone has already been launched in China along with the vanilla Xiaomi 13. While the company is yet to reveal the pricing details of the Xiaomi 13 Pro, the handset packs Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The smartphone can be purchased in India via Amazon, while the information regarding its offline availability is yet to be revealed. Moreover, the company has not confirmed any plans for the vanilla variant in India yet. Xiaomi 13 Pro availability, price in India The Xiaomi 13 Pro has been launched in India today in partnership with Leica. The smartphone will be available for purchase on Amazon, and the e-commerce giant has already made a live microsite live for the handset. The handset can also be purchased on the Xiaomi India site . The smartphone from Xiaomi comes in two colour variants — Ceramic Black and Ceramic White. Moreover, Xiaomi 13 Pro offers up to 12GB of RAM, paired

Xiaomi 13 series had a global launch today, on February 26, a day before MWC 2023 begins. The smartphone series from the Chinese manufacturer sported three models — the vanilla Xiaomi 13, the Xiaomi 13 Pro and the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The smartphone series announced its launch in China in December 2022, however, it included only two variants. While the Xiaomi 13 and the Xiaomi 13 Pro are powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, the Lite version in the series comes equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC. Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 13 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Lite price, availability The Chinese tech giant Xiaomi  announced the launch of the Xiaomi 13 series in Barcelona. The base storage variant has a starting price of EUR 999 (nearly Rs. 87,600), while the Xiaomi 13 Pro is priced at EUR 1299 (roughly Rs. 1,13,900). On the other hand, Xiaomi 13 Lite cost EUR 499 (roughly Rs. 43,800). The Xiaomi 13 Pro global variant will make its debut in two colour options — Ceramic Black and White. On the

The Indian smartphone market has already witnessed the launch of many premium devices in 2023, such as the iQoo 11 5G ( Review ), OnePlus 11 5G ( Review ) and the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. Joining the league is Xiaomi's most premium smartphone offering to date, the Xiaomi 13 Pro . The new flagship features top-of-the-line hardware and was announced here at MWC 2023 . The highlight feature is its new 1-inch camera sensor, which was first seen in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra . There is more to the Xiaomi 13 Pro than just the main camera sensor, and here's our first look at the phone. The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes in two premium colours — Ceramic Black and Ceramic White. We have the black colour option which has a glossy back panel. While it is a fingerprint magnet, I do like the overall look of the phone. Xiaomi has bundled a case inside the box for people like me, who like to keep their phone's back looking neat and clean. Using the case does add some weight to the already heavy

Xiaomi 13 series will be launched in Barcelona on February 26, a day before the Mobile World Congress 2023 begins. The company will unveil three models in this series — the Xiaomi 13, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, and the Xiaomi 13 Lite. While the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro were already launched in China, the global series will reportedly have one more addition i.e, the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The details about all three devices have been doing rounds on the internet. Now, the Xiaomi 13 Lite has appeared on a Geekbench listing, suggesting the processor and its performance. According to a report by Gizmochina, the upcoming Xiaomi 13 Lite has been spotted on the Geekbench certification site with model number 2210129SG. The listing suggests that the handset will be powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC coupled with 8GB RAM. The phone is hinted to come pre-installed with Android 12, paired with MIUI 13 skin. Additionally, the listing reveals that the phone has scored 793 in single-core tests and 2,938 in mu