Tech Bites

OnePlus 13R — the purported successor to the OnePlus 12R that arrived earlier this year — could soon be launched by the company, and the smartphone has been spotted on a benchmarking website. The company has already introduced the flagship OnePlus 13 in China, and the handset is expected to debut in global markets in the coming months. We now have a good idea of what to expect from the OnePlus 13R, which is expected to arrive alongside the company's high-end smartphone. OnePlus 13R Specifications (Expected) A handset with the model number "OnePlus CPH2645" has been listed on Geekbench ( via MySmartPrice). This smartphone is expected to debut as the OnePlus 13R, which is yet to be announced by the company. Over the past few years, the company has released two smartphones — a flagship model and a less expensive model with slightly less premium specifications. OnePlus 13R Geekbench scores Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Geekbench   The listing for the purported handset ...

Five Canadian news media companies filed a legal action on Friday against ChatGPT owner OpenAI, accusing the artificial-intelligence company of regularly breaching copyright and online terms of use. The case is part of a wave of lawsuits against OpenAI and other tech companies by authors, visual artists, music publishers and other copyright owners over data used to train generative AI systems. Microsoft is OpenAI's major backer. In a statement, Torstar, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada said OpenAI was scraping large swaths of content to develop its products without getting permission or compensating content owners. "Journalism is in the public interest. OpenAI using other companies' journalism for their own commercial gain is not. It's illegal," they said. A New York federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Nov. 7 against OpenAI that claimed it misused articles from news outlets Raw Story and AlterNet. In an 84-page statemen...

Chinese scientists are reportedly racing against time to protect potatoes, a vital global food crop, from the adverse effects of climate change . Research conducted under the International Potato Center (CIP) in Beijing is said to have revealed alarming reductions in potato yields when exposed to higher temperatures. Potatoes grown in simulated conditions, replicating future climate scenarios, were found to weigh less than half of typical varieties in China, underscoring the urgent need for adaptation strategies. Research Findings Highlight Urgency The study, published in Climate Smart Agriculture journal and detailed in a Reuters report , detailed a three-year project led by molecular biologist Li Jieping. Potatoes cultivated under temperatures 3 degree-Celcius above the current average in Hebei and Inner Mongolia saw a yield reduction of over 50 percent. Li Jieping told the publication that the accelerated tuber growth came at the cost of size and weight, raising concerns about fu...

Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Alphabet's Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, the antitrust watchdog said on Thursday. The Competition Bureau, in a statement, said it had filed an application with the Competition Tribunal seeking an order that, among other things, requires Google to sell two of its ad tech tools. It is also seeking a penalty from Google to promote compliance with Canada's competition laws, the statement said. Google said the complaint "ignores the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice and we look forward to making our case in court." "Our advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers," Dan Taylor, VP of Global Ads, Google said in a statement. The Competition Bureau opened an investigation in 2020 to probe whether the search engine giant had engaged in practices that har...

Tencent has announced a new open-world action-adventure title that seemingly blends Guerrilla Games' Horizon series on PlayStation with Pocketpair's controversial survival game Palworld. Light of Motiram , developed by Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest, looks eerily similar to Horizon games, down to tameable mechanical animals — called “Mechanimals”. Like Horizon, the game is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness teeming with mechanical beasts. Light of Motiram, however, introduces survival and crafting elements akin to Palworld. Light of Motiram Announced “Earth and human civilization as we once knew it are gone. Across untamed wilderness, giant mechanical beasts roam freely, while humanity struggles to rebuild from the dawn of a new primitive era,” the game's description reads on Steam . “Journey from lush tropical rainforests to barren desert landscapes and snow-capped mountain peaks— as you discover unique Mechanimals and mysterious ruins in different regions, gradua...

Vivo S20 series has been launched in China comprising of two models — Vivo S20 and S20 Pro. It arrives as the successor to the Vivo S19 lineup which debuted in May. The new smartphones boast some common features such as 1.5K AMOLED displays with 120Hz refresh rate, a 50-megapixel primary camera, and dual-SIM capabilities. The Vivo S20 and S20 Pro have an IP64-rated build against dust and water ingress and come with an in-display fingerprint sensor for security. Vivo S20, Vivo S20 Pro Price Vivo S20 price starts at CNY 2,299 (roughly Rs. 27,000) for the base 8GB + 256GB model. It is available in a total of four variants with the top-most 16GB + 512GB configuration priced at CNY 2,999 (roughly Rs. 35,000). Meanwhile, the Vivo S20 Pro is priced at CNY 3,399 for the 12GB + 256GB configuration. It is also available in 16GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB variants. Both handsets can be pre-ordered starting today in China. Vivo S20, Vivo S20 Pro Specifications Both models in the Vivo S20 se...

Amazon has announced its first-ever Black Friday Sale in India which went live at midnight November 28. During the sale period, customers can avail of exciting discounts on a wide range of items such as smartphones, TVs, home appliances, gaming consoles, fashion and beauty products, and more. Further, the e-commerce platform has partnered with several leading banks to offer instant discounts and cashback on transactions made with credit and debit cards. The Amazon Black Friday Sale ends on December 2. Amazon Black Friday Sale 2024 During the Amazon Black Friday Sale, one of the most notable deals is on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G . The handset usually retails for Rs. 1,24,999 but can be purchased for as low as Rs. 74,999 during this period. The e-commerce giant has rolled out offers on smartphones from leading brands such as Apple , iQOO , OnePlus , Realme , Redmi , and Tecno , with discounts of up to 40 percent. Another notable deal is available on the Apple MacBook Air (M1, ...

Global foldable smartphone shipments fell by 1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, according to a market research firm. The market is reported to have experienced a dip for the first time after six consecutive quarters of growth. Samsung had the largest market share in the foldable smartphone market globally, followed by brands such as Honor, Huawei, Motorola, and Xiaomi. The latter recorded the highest YoY shipment growth among foldable brands courtesy of its foldable smartphone launches outside of China. Global Foldable Smartphone Shipments According to a report by Counterpoint Research, Q3 2024 marked the first-ever decline in global foldable smartphone shipments. Samsung's poor performance of its flagship Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 is attributed as one of the possible causes behind this decline. Despite this, the South Korean technology conglomerate had a market share of 56 percent — shipping more devices than its rivals by a massive mar...

Redmi K80 series was launched in China on Wednesday. Xiaomi's latest smartphone lineup comprises two models — Redmi K80 and Redmi K80 Pro. Both handsets are equipped with flagship Snapdragon chipsets and boast 120Hz AMOLED displays. The Redmi K80 Pro benefits from an additional 50-megapixel floating telephoto lens with 2.5X optical zoom, which the base model does not get. The Redmi K80 series comes with an IP68+IP69-rated build against dust and water ingress and an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for security. Redmi K80, Redmi K80 Pro Price Redmi K80 price starts at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 29,000) for the 12GB + 256GB model. It is offered in four other configurations with the 16GB + 1TB variant priced at CNY 3,599 (roughly Rs. 42,000). The handset is available in four colourways — Mountain Green, Mysterious Night Black, Snow Rock White, and Twilight Moon Blue. Meanwhile, the Redmi K80 Pro starts at CNY 3,699 (roughly Rs. 43,000) for the base 12GB + 256GB variant. It is also a...

Magnetic vortices descending from Jupiter's ionosphere into its deep atmosphere are believed to trigger the formation of ultraviolet-absorbing anticyclonic storms, according to a study published on November 26 in Nature Astronomy. These storms, appearing as dark ovals, span the size of Earth and have been observed primarily in Jupiter's polar regions. The phenomenon was first detected in ultraviolet (UV) light by the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s and later confirmed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2000. Research Unveils Tornado Dynamics The study , published in the Nature journal, was led by Troy Tsubota, an undergraduate researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with Michael Wong from UC Berkeley, Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and others. The findings suggest these dark ovals are formed by swirling magnetic tornadoes generated due to friction between Jupiter's immense magnetic field lines and those in its i...

Streambox Media has launched its latest range of QLED TVs called Dor in India, the company announced on Tuesday. The Indian startup, which is backed by Micromax Informatics, Nikhil Kamath, and Stride Ventures, offers the TV with a subscription-based service which negates the upfront cost of the QLED TV in favour of a TV-as-a-service model. However, an activation fee is charged initially. Streambox Dor QLED TV comes in multiple sizes and is powered by the company's proprietary operating system dubbed DorOS. Streambox Dor QLED TV Price in India Streambox Dor QLED TV comes in 43-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch options. The most affordable option is the 43-inch QLED TV whose subscription is priced in India at Rs. 799 per month for the first 12 months. Customers will be required to pay Rs. 10,799 upfront as an activation fee which also includes the first month's tariff. They can also customise their plans when renewing subscriptions, starting as low as Rs. 299 per month. It can be pu...

Realme's GT Pro smartphones are indeed a rare breed. Since the brand came to be in 2018, Realme announced just a handful of powerful smartphones, and only two made it to India. The last time around, it was the Realme GT 2 Pro in 2022, which offered flagship performance at a premium price tag of Rs. 49,999. But a lot has changed in the past two years. These days, having 8GB of RAM on a flagship device is no longer sufficient, particularly with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) features that have only increased in number since 2024. Priced from Rs. 59,999 for the base 12GB + 256GB variant , Realme's latest GT 7 Pro debuts a top-notch processor and comes with little compromise in every other area, making it a serious and practical contender in the premium segment. *Please note that we received the Chinese model of the Realme GT 7 Pro. This model has a 6,500mAh battery versus the 5,800mAh capacity of the Indian model. However, this is the only change between the two m...

After over a decade of research, the H.E.S.S. Observatory in Namibia has recorded the most energetic cosmic ray electrons ever detected, according to reports. These high-energy particles, comprising electrons and positrons, are believed to originate from intense cosmic phenomena such as supernova explosions, neutron stars, and black holes . The discovery suggests that the sources of these particles are likely to be within a few hundred light-years of the solar system . High-Energy Electron Detection Challenges The study, as per a Space.com report , highlights that these findings shed light on extreme cosmic processes. Dr Mathieu de Naurois, Deputy Director of the H.E.S.S. collaboration and a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, stated that understanding these cosmic rays allows us to unveil big particle accelerators in the universe that are often associated with the most violent phenomena. The research indicates that detecting these particles is par...

Redmi Note 14 series is scheduled to launch in India on December 9, nearly three months after its debut in China. The smartphone lineup making its way to India is speculated to comprise three models including a base, a Pro, and a Pro+ variant. Ahead of its anticipated unveiling, Xiaomi India has teased several specifications of the top-of-the-line Redmi Note 14 Pro+ , hinting at features such as a curved AMOLED screen and a 50-megapixel camera — similar to the Chinese variant. Redmi Note 14 Pro+ Specifications (Confirmed) Xiaomi India has created a dedicated microsite detailing the various specifications of the Redmi Note 14 Pro+. The upcoming handset is confirmed to sport a curved AMOLED screen, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It is teased to come in black and purple colours, with the latter sporting what looks like a vegan leather finish. For optics, the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ will be equipped with a triple rear camera setup, headlined by a 50-megapixel telephoto camera...

One of the most intense cosmic shockwaves has been observed in Stephan's Quintet, a group of galaxies located approximately 290 million light-years from Earth . The event was triggered by the galaxy NGC 7318b colliding with four neighbouring galaxies at an estimated velocity of two million mph (3.2 million kmph). The collision produced a shock front likened by researchers to the sonic boom of a jet fighter. These findings, which could illuminate the complex processes shaping galaxies, have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Stephan's Quintet and the Collision's Impact Stephan's Quintet, named after 19th-century French astronomer Édouard Stephan, consists of five galaxies engaged in a series of gravitational interactions. The latest collision involved NGC 7318b slamming into the system, creating a turbulent debris field, as per a Science Live report . Dr Marina Arnaudova, an astrophysicist at the University of Hertfordshire, told the...

Amazon.com pumped another $4 billion into OpenAI competitor Anthropic, as the e-commerce giant goes up against Big Tech rivals in a race to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence technology. This doubles Amazon's investment in the firm known for its GenAI chatbot Claude , but it remains a minority investor, the startup said on Friday. Similar to Amazon's previous $4 billion investment, it comes in the form of convertible notes and comes in phases, first at $1.3 billion. Anthropic is also in talks with additional investors to raise more capital on the back of Amazon backing, sources added, who requested anonymity for discussing private matters. Anthropic declined to comment. Amazon, which has gradually established itself as Anthropic's primary cloud partner, is fiercely competing with Microsoft and Alphabet's Google to offer AI-powered tools for its cloud customers. AWS is bringing significant revenue to Anthropic as a major distributor of its latest mode...

2024 is the year Google finally introduced its entire range of Pixel devices in India, including the Pixel 9 , Pixel 9 Pro , Pixel 9 Pro XL , and Pixel 9 Pro Fold . In short, this year, consumers have plenty of Pixel devices to choose from, depending on the budget. Starting at Rs. 79,999 for the base Pixel 9 and going all the way to Rs. 172,999 for the book-style Pixel 9 Pro Fold. On paper, the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL might only differ in terms of display size and battery, but the real difference lies in everyday use. One is compact to fit in the smallest pockets and convenient to use with one hand, while the other is huge at 6.8 inches. This year, Google added one phone to its Pixel lineup, which is the Pixel 9 Pro, which we will review here. Much like how Apple brought all the bells and whistles from its Pro Max model to Pro this year, Google also tries to fit all the firepower in the compact body of the Pixel 9 Pro. So, who should exactly buy this one or consider an alternate flag...