Parliament Monsoon session: Will no-confidence motion be debated today? Pralhad Joshi answers

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that it will be brought within 10 working days

from mint - politics Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that it will be brought within 10 working days

Lok Sabha polls 2023: PM Modi to meet NDA MPs today, discuss plans for elections

Lok Sabha elections 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet NDA MPs on Monday. The meeting will focus on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and its preparation

from mint - politics Lok Sabha elections 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet NDA MPs on Monday. The meeting will focus on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and its preparation

'State, Centre have their eyes closed': I.N.D.I.A MPs upon returning from Manipur. 10 points

Opposition INDIA bloc slammed PM Narendra Modi over Manipur violence, in a memorandum submitted to Manipur governor, the opposition leaders demanded peace and rehabilitation.

from mint - politics Opposition INDIA bloc slammed PM Narendra Modi over Manipur violence, in a memorandum submitted to Manipur governor, the opposition leaders demanded peace and rehabilitation.

'Insulting Mahatma Gandhi…': Devendra Fadnavis on right-wing activist Sambhaji Bhide’s controversial remark

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis condemns right-wing activist Sambhaji Bhide for making objectionable remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.

from mint - politics Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis condemns right-wing activist Sambhaji Bhide for making objectionable remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.

Gadgets 360

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.

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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/YBpv3yj

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.

Maharashtra: Clash erupts as protest against Manipur incident takes violent turn in Nashik

10 police injured in stone-pelting during protest march against sexual assault in Manipur; situation under control.

from mint - politics 10 police injured in stone-pelting during protest march against sexual assault in Manipur; situation under control.

'If Manipur issue is not resolved soon..,' I.N.D.I.A MPs meet governor, claim 'situation is worsening'

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury warns that the unresolved Manipur ethnic conflict could pose security challenges for India.

from mint - politics Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury warns that the unresolved Manipur ethnic conflict could pose security challenges for India.

Who is Badri Seshadri, writer arrested for ‘provocative’ remarks on Manipur, CJI

Political analyst Badri Seshadri arrested for 'provocative' comments about Manipur violence and CJI Chandrachud.

from mint - politics Political analyst Badri Seshadri arrested for 'provocative' comments about Manipur violence and CJI Chandrachud.

Gadgets 360

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. 

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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/Lgc48zt

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.

Gadgets 360

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

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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/JsExCh7

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.

Gadgets 360

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

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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/fP5apqL

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.

Manipur violence: INDIA alliance says, ‘trying to understand situation’; BJP calls it ‘showoff’

Manipur updates: Opposition MPs from INDIA bloc visit Manipur to assess the ground reality of the clash-hit state.

from mint - politics Manipur updates: Opposition MPs from INDIA bloc visit Manipur to assess the ground reality of the clash-hit state.

Manipur updates: List of MPs going to violence-hit state today

Manipur violence updates: The two-day visit (29 and 30 July) follows a chorus from the Opposition members for a debate on the Manipur situation and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

from mint - politics Manipur violence updates: The two-day visit (29 and 30 July) follows a chorus from the Opposition members for a debate on the Manipur situation and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

20 MPs from 16 parties will visit Manipur today. Details here

Manipur violence: 20 MPs from opposition alliance INDIA to visit Manipur to assess ground situation of violence and communal tensions.

from mint - politics Manipur violence: 20 MPs from opposition alliance INDIA to visit Manipur to assess ground situation of violence and communal tensions.

Gadgets 360

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.

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

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.

Gadgets 360

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.

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

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.

‘Defeat bills on floor of House’: Pralhad Joshi dares Opposition

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi challenges opposition to defeat government bills on the floor of the house if they have the numbers in the Lok Sabha

from mint - politics Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi challenges opposition to defeat government bills on the floor of the house if they have the numbers in the Lok Sabha

Gadgets 360

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.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/p4A1OZ9

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.

Gadgets 360

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.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/C26iAOT

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.

Gadgets 360

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.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/7SkatUz

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.

Gadgets 360

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.

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

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.