EU Likely to Reach Political Agreement on AI Law This Year, Says Tech Regulator Chief Vestager

The European Union is likely to reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) law, the bloc's tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday.

This follows a preliminary deal reached on Thursday by members of the European Parliament to push through the draft of the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act to a vote by a committee of lawmakers on May 11. Parliament will then thrash out the bill's final details with EU member states and the European Commission before it becomes law.

At a press conference after a Group of Seven digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager said the EU AI Act was "pro-innovation" since it seeks to mitigate the risks of societal damage from emerging technologies.

Regulators around the world have been trying to find a balance where governments could develop "guardrails" on emerging artificial intelligence technology without stifling innovation.

"The reason why we have these guardrails for high-risk use cases is that cleaning up … after a misuse by AI would be so much more expensive and damaging than the use case of AI in itself," Vestager said.

While the EU AI Act is expected to be passed by this year, lawyers have said it will take a few years for it to be enforced. But Vestager said businesses could start considering the implication of the new legislation.

"There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she said in the interview.

While research on AI has been going on for years, the sudden popularity of generative AI applications such as OpenAI'S ChatGPT and Midjourney have led to a scramble by lawmakers to find ways to regulate any uncontrolled growth.

An organisation backed by Elon Musk and European lawmakers involved in drafting the EU AI Act are among those to have called for world leaders to collaborate to find ways to stop advanced AI from creating disruptions.

Digital ministers of the G7 advanced nations on Sunday also agreed to adopt "risk-based" regulation on AI, among the first steps that could lead to global agreements on how to regulate AI.

"Now when everyone has AI at their fingertips ... there's a need for us to show the political leadership to make sure that one can safely use AI and gain all the amazing possibilities of improvement in productivity and better services," Vestager said in an interview with Reuters.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Elon Musk Says Twitter Will Roll Out Per-Article Payment Plan for Media Publishers

Elon Musk on Saturday announced a plan for his Twitter platform to allow media publishers to charge users on a per-article basis with a single click.

"This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article," the billionaire entrepreneur said on Twitter, adding, "Should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public."

He said the plan would begin next month, but provided no details on exact pricing or what cut Twitter would take.

The announcement came as Musk has been struggling, amid frequent controversy, to make Twitter profitable.

Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.

This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023

Media organizations have wrestled for years with how to formulate subscription plans that pay their operating costs even as readers have grown accustomed to getting news free on the internet.

The Musk plan raises questions about how exactly he hopes to make the micro-payment approach work when others have failed.

British journalist James Ball listed several problems with micro-payment -- an idea, he wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review, that has "definitely occurred to major publishers across the planet."

Many readers will simply click away when encountering a paywall, he noted. And publishers "vastly" prefer to sign up full-time subscribers, which bring far more in ad revenue than the 20 cents or so from the sale of a single article.

Several people posting on Twitter raised other objections. The per-article approach, they said, could encourage a flourishing of "click bait," it might favour big publishers over small ones, and it is unclear that authors -- not just news groups -- would see any profits.

But some on Twitter reacted positively.

"Great idea," tweeted user Greg Autry. "As a frequent author in publications like Forbes, Foreign Policy, and Ad Astra I'm often frustrated when my work ends up behind a paywall that my followers aren't willing to subscribe to. This is the right solution."

And Carlos Gil, author of a book on marketing, tweeted: "Finally, a pay-per-view for news that won't make you feel like you're buying an overpriced stadium beer. Get your articles à la carte and keep your wallet happy."

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Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Will Soon Support More Health Features Based on Skin Temperature Sensor

Samsung recently introduced skin temperature-based sensor for women's menstrual health tracker on the Galaxy Watch 5 series. The tech giant is now reportedly working on adding more health-tracking features based on skin temperature. However, there are no further details available about the update yet. Meanwhile, the menstrual cycle tracking feature is currently accessible across 32 countries including Korea, the US, and European regions. It uses an infrared temperature sensor to provide accurate data on menstrual cycles.

A Samsung official, who is in charge of Samsung Health Service, has announced via the Samsung community forum for Korea that the company will expand the usage of the skin temperature sensor to more health-tracking features. The new features using temperature sensors will be available in a future software update for the device, as per the announcement. However, he hasn't shared further details regarding the health tracking features that will be added or the timeline of their rollout.

Meanwhile, Samsung has already rolled out the skin temperature-based menstrual tracking sensor for Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. The feature uses infrared technology to track the changes in body temperature and provide an accurate reading of the menstrual cycle. It is accessible via the Samsung Health app.

As mentioned above, the feature is currently rolling out across 32 countries including Korea, the US and 30 European countries. However, there is no information yet on the availability of this feature in India. Interestingly, the data collected by the sensor are encrypted and stored on the user's device, according to Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series was launched in August 2022. It includes the Galaxy Watch 5 in two sizes and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. At the time of launch, the Galaxy Watch 5 offered heart rate, SpO2 and stress levels tracker, along with support for ECG and blood pressure monitoring. 

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Samsung's Galaxy S23 series of smartphones was launched earlier this week and the South Korean firm's high-end handsets have seen a few upgrades across all three models. What about the increase in pricing? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Google Pixel Fold Leaked Renders Suggest Thinner Hinge: All Details

Google Pixel Fold is expected to launch soon in the market. It is being speculated that the company may unveil the Pixel Fold at the upcoming Google I/O, scheduled for May 2023. However, Google is yet to confirm any detail officially. However, despite no official announcement, there has been a number of rumours about the purported smartphone. A recent leak by a popular tipster, displaying the design renders of the Pixel Fold, has provided new insights into the smartphone's cover design.

The images shared by tipster Evan Blass (Twitter @evleaks) on a personal Twitter account, via 9to5Google, appear to be taken from a press render that the company could use for marketing. The leaked image shows the Pixel Fold's outer display with a centrally aligned punch hole, the Pixel Launcher home screen with themed icons, Google's stock apps, and a blurred At a Glance widget.

Additionally, the smartphone appears to have a wider aspect ratio and a thinner hinge. In the shared images, the Pixel Fold seems to be a lighter black colour variant.

Previously, the US pricing and full specifications of the Google Pixel Fold were leaked via a YouTube video. The phone is tipped to cost $1,799 (roughly Rs. 1,47,000) for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant and $1,919 (roughly Rs. 1,57,500) for the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage option. The handset is said to be available for pre-orders from May 10 via Google Store.

Google Pixel Fold specifications (expected)

The Pixel Fold will reportedly sport a 7.6-inch inner display with a 1,840 x 2,208 pixels resolution, a 6:5 aspect ratio, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The outer display is expected to be a 5.8-inch OLED panel with a 1,080x2,092 pixels resolution. The handset is tipped to be powered by Google's Tensor G2 SoC, coupled with a Titan M2 security chip and 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM.

Other leaked details suggest a triple rear camera unit on the smartphone, led by a 48-megapixel primary wide-angle lens. The other two lenses on the Pixel Fold rear could include a 10.8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 10.8-megapixel dual PD telephoto lens. 

 

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Are the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro the best in their segment? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Realme 11 Pro+ Display Specifications Confirmed Officially; Appears on Geekbench Listing Ahead of Launch

Realme 11 series smartphones, comprising the vanilla Realme 11, Realme 11 Pro, and Realme 11 Pro+, are confirmed to launch on May 10 in China. While the smartphones' debut is still more than a week away, the company has revealed the display specifications of the Realme 11 Pro+ via a Weibo post. Additionally, the smartphone has also appeared on Geekbench listing suggesting a few more details including the processor and software support. The listing hinted that the handset could run on Android 13 OS. It could be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 SoC.

Realme has teased the design and display specifications of the upcoming Realme 11 Pro+ ahead of its launch in China. The smartphone, which is set to make its debut on May 10, will sport a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a centrally positioned hole-punch cutout. It also gets curved edges with a 61-degree curvature. The display of the smartphone features a 120Hz refresh rate. The official poster also revealed that the Realme 11 Pro+ will have a 2.33mm ultra-narrow chin.

Additionally, the Realme 11 Pro+ has also been spotted on Geekbench listing with model number RMX3740. According to a report by Nashville Chatter, the soon-to-be-launched Realme 11 Pro+ 5G could be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, as it is suggested to come with two cores clocked at 2.6 GHz and six cores at 2.0 GHz. The phone has scored 838 in the single-core test and 2302 in the multi-core test on the benchmarking website.

The listing also tipped the software support and RAM configuration for the phone. The Realme 11 Pro+ is likely to run on Android 13 OS out-of-the-box and pack 12 GB RAM.

Realme 11 Pro+ will succeed the Realme 10 Pro+ which was released in November 2022. The phone features a 6.7-inch curved AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,160Hz PWM dimming. It is powered by an octa-core 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G SoC, paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. 

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Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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EU Lawmakers Struggle to Finalise Law to Regulate ChatGPT and Generative AI

As recently as February, generative AI did not feature prominently in EU lawmakers' plans for regulating generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as ChatGPT.

The bloc's 108-page proposal for the AI Act, published two years earlier, included only one mention of the word "chatbot." References to AI-generated content largely referred to deepfakes: images or audio designed to impersonate human beings.

By mid-April, however, members of European Parliament (MEPs) were racing to update those rules to catch up with an explosion of interest in generative AI, which has provoked awe and anxiety since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT six months ago.

That scramble culminated on Thursday with a new draft of the legislation which identified copyright protection as a core piece of the effort to keep AI in check.

Interviews with four lawmakers and two other sources close to discussions reveal for the first time how over just 11 days this small group of politicians hammered out what could become landmark legislation, reshaping the regulatory landscape for OpenAI and its competitors.

The draft bill is not final and lawyers say it will likely take years to come into force.

The speed of their work, though, is also a rare example of consensus in Brussels, which is often criticised for the slow pace of decision-making.

Last-minute changes

Since launching in November, ChatGPT has become the fastest growing app in history, and sparked a flurry of activity from Big Tech competitors and investment in generative AI startups like Anthropic and Midjourney.

The runaway popularity of such applications led EU industry chief Thierry Breton and others to call for regulation of ChatGPT-like services.

An organisation backed by Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and Twitter, took it up a notch by issuing a letter warning of existential risk from AI and calling for stricter regulations.

On April 17, the dozen MEPs involved in drafting the legislation signed an open letter agreeing with some parts of Musk's letter and urged world leaders to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced AI.

That same day, however, two of them — Dragos Tudorache and Brando Benifei — proposed changes that would force companies with generative AI systems to disclose any copyrighted material used to train their models, according to four sources present at the meetings, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

That tough new proposal received cross-party support, the sources said.

One proposal by conservative MEP Axel Voss — forcing companies to request permission from rights holders before using the data — was rejected as too restrictive and something that could hobble the emerging industry.  

After thrashing out the details over the next week, the EU outlined proposed laws that could force an uncomfortable level of transparency on a notoriously secretive industry.

"I must admit that I was positively surprised on how we converged rather easily on what should be in the text on these models," Tudorache told Reuters on Friday.

"It shows there is a strong consensus, and a shared understanding on how to regulate at this point in time."

The committee will vote on the deal on May 11 and if successful, it will advance to the next stage of negotiation, the trilogue, where EU member states will debate the contents with the European Commission and Parliament.

"We are waiting to see if the deal holds until then," one source familiar with the matter said.

Big Brother vs the Terminator

Until recently, MEPs were still unconvinced that generative AI deserved any special consideration.

In February, Tudorache told Reuters that generative AI was "not going to be covered" in-depth. "That's another discussion I don't think we are going to deal with in this text," he said.

Citing data security risks over warnings of human-like intelligence, he said: "I am more afraid of Big Brother than I am of the Terminator."

But Tudorache and his colleagues now agree on the need for laws specifically targeting the use of generative AI.

Under new proposals targeting "foundation models," companies like OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, would have to disclose any copyrighted material — books, photographs, videos and more — used to train their systems.

Claims of copyright infringement have rankled AI firms in recent months with Getty Images suing Stable Diffusion for using copyrighted photos to train its systems. OpenAI has also faced criticism for refusing to share details of the dataset used to train its software.

"There have been calls from outside and inside the Parliament for a ban or classifying ChatGPT as high-risk," said MEP Svenja Hahn. "The final compromise is innovation-friendly as it does not classify these models as 'high risk,' but sets requirements for transparency and quality."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Twitter to Take 10 Percent Cut on Content Subscriptions After 12 Months

Twitter CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that the social media platform will take a 10 percent cut on content subscriptions after the first year, as the company looks to monetize content on the website in a bid to diversify its revenue sources.

Earlier this month, billionaire owner Musk said users of the social media platform will be able to offer their followers subscriptions to content, including long-form text and hours-long video.

He had also said that the company will not take a cut for the first 12 months on content subscriptions.

Musk has been bringing in changes at Twitter to boost revenue after the platform saw advertising income drop last year in the run up to his $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,59,700 crore) acquisition that closed in October.

He added that the company's cut from subscriptions on iOS and Android platforms will drop to 15 percent in the second year from 30 percent in the first.

A few days back, Musk also has made an important announcement regarding the blue tick verified accounts on Twitter. In a series of updates that Musk has introduced to Twitter after his takeover, he has also added a pointer to his updates about getting verified accounts prioritised. 

After Twitter began removing blue ticks from the accounts of several celebrities and famous personalities, only those account which paid for the blue tick could be seen as verified. However, as multiple accounts have started paying, the announcement from Musk will definitely motivate others to join the bandwagon.

The blue tick served as a way of protecting well-known individuals from impersonation and tackling false information.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Here's What Microsoft Can Do in $69 Billion Activision Deal After UK Ban

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday blocked Microsoft's $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,64,100 crore) acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard over concerns it would hinder cloud gaming.

The ruling was a shock after the regulator had already resolved its concerns about the consoles market, a sector dominated by Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox, which dwarfs cloud gaming.

Is the deal dead?

Not necessarily. Microsoft said it remained fully committed and would appeal.

The regulator's decision reflected a flawed understanding of the market, it said.

How does the appeal process work?

Microsoft can appeal to Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), an independent judicial body, which will only examine the CMA's decision-making process, not the merits of the merger.

Microsoft will not be able to offer new remedies at this stage, such as offering to keep Activision content off its Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service for Xbox users, in Britain, as some analysts suggest.

"The CAT will not engage with the merits of the CMA's decision or conduct a wholesale review of the parties' evidence," said Edward Lane, senior associate at law firm Harbottle & Lewis, where his particular focus is on creative industries, including film, TV, video games and music.

What's next?

Microsoft must appeal by May 24 and a decision may take many months.

"The CAT aims to deal with 'straightforward' cases in under nine months – and Microsoft/Activision is anything but straightforward," Lane, said.

What happens if Microsoft wins?

The Tribunal will return the case to the regulator for further review. Microsoft can then offer new concessions.

"The likelihood is that without a material change in circumstances or new evidence, the CMA is most likely to reach the same conclusion as it did first time around," said James Groves, a competition associate at European law firm Fieldfisher.

What about other regulators?

European regulators will rule on the world's biggest gaming deal by May 22. The US Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint to block the deal, which Microsoft has indicated it will fight.

If either of those blocks the deal, it could be game over, Lane said.

If the EU goes against it, Microsoft would be fighting an increasingly uphill battle and could decide to cut its losses, even if that would mean paying Activision a hefty $3 billion (nearly Rs. 2,450) break fee.

What has happened to other CMA appeals?

Facebook-owner Meta appealed a 2021 decision by the CMA to block its acquisition of Giphy, seen as a test case for the British regulator's resolve to take on "Big Tech".

Meta succeeded on a single procedural ground, with the decision otherwise upheld. The CMA considered new submissions, but it came to the same view and Meta had to sell animated images platform Giphy.

Global financial services company FNZ appealed a block on its 2019 merger with rival GBST. The regulator then "identified certain potential errors" in its investigation chaired by Martin Coleman, who also oversaw the Microsoft-Activision case.

The CAT sent the case back to be reconsidered, and the CMA agreed to accept a new remedy whereby FNZ could sell GBST and then buy parts of it back.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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MediaTek Shifts Focus to Cars, AI Amid Supply Glut in Smartphone Market

Taiwan's top chip design company MediaTek is focusing more resources on chips for cars and AI computing as its smartphone clients face a supply glut and inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty dent demand for consumer electronics.

"We are definitely moving our resources very, very rapidly towards the automotive and computing areas, because those areas will provide our growth in the next three to five years," MediaTek Chief Executive Rick Tsai told an earnings call.

"In this very demanding environment, we are not reducing people. We're not increasing either. The critical thing is to allocate those precious resources," he said.

Tsai said everyone, including MediaTek, was rushing to claim that they were able to support generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT.

"We're confident that we will be able to provide the capability to our customers," Tsai said.

MediaTek is investing heavily in AI because the new areas the company is focusing on are all related to computing, Tsai said. The development of autonomous vehicles, for instance, requires AI chips.

While smartphone demand has remained lacklustre in the first quarter, the company expects signs of recovery later this year.

"Demand for certain consumer electronics such as smartphones is weaker than we expected," Tsai said. "As customers remain cautious about future demand, we expect our mobile revenue to be flattish in the second quarter and to improve in the second half."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Sony Xperia 1 V Launch Date Set for May 11: Expected Specifications, Features

Sony Xperia 1 V launch date has been announced by the company, and the next "One" branded smartphone is set to make its debut next month. While the company is yet to reveal details of its upcoming phone, leaked renders have already given us a sneak peek at the handset as well as its specifications. The phone is expected to arrive as the successor to the Sony Xperia 1 IV that was launched by the company last year.

The Japanese phone maker confirmed that it will launch the next "ONE" smartphone on May 11 at 1 pm Japan Time (9:30 am IST). The firm is evidently referring to the upcoming Xperia 1 V smartphone in the teaser video. Sony has also touted the camera performance of the phone, tweeting that it will be equipped with a next-generation sensor. However, it hasn't shared details of the camera's specifications.

According to an earlier report, leaked images of the Sony Xperia 1 V hint at the presence of a triple rear camera setup along with an LED flash on its rear panel. The LED flash is said to sit inside the camera island, unlike its predecessor, the Xperia 1 IV.

The leaked image of the handset shows the power button and the volume rocker on the left side along with what appears to be a dedicated camera shutter button to capture photos. There could be a microphone, a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille, and a SIM tray on the bottom, while a 3.5mm headphone jack and a secondary microphone could be placed at the top.

The Sony Xperia 1 V is also tipped to sport a 6.5-inch display and could be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC paired with 16GB of RAM. For optics, the smartphone may ship with a triple rear camera unit comprising a 48-megapixel wide-angle sensor, and two 12-megapixel sensors. It may also feature a 12-megapixel selfie camera. The phone is likely to be powered by a 5,000mAh battery, according to the report.

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Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Google Pixel 7a Leaked Render Shows Off New Coral Shade, May Debut in Four Colour Options

Google Pixel 7a is expected to make its official debut at Google I/O 2023 alongside the Pixel Fold. Ahead of the expected launch, multiple leaks have exposed almost every detail about the upcoming smartphone. Now, a well know tipster has shared an alleged image of Pixel 7a in a new colour option. The new render leak shows off the handset in a new shade. Past leaks have suggested blue, grey, and white colour options for the Pixel 7a. It is expected to be powered by a Tensor G2 chipset.

Known tipster Evan Blass (@evleaks) posted the alleged render of Google Pixel 7a on Twitter. The leaked render shows the handset in an orange shade. This colour option looks quite identical to the coral colour we've seen in past Google handsets such as the Pixel 6 and Pixel 4. Previous leaks have also given us a look at the blue, grey, and white colourways.

The Google Pixel 7a is seen with dual rear cameras similar to the outgoing Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro models. A Google logo is also placed at the bottom. Further, power and volume buttons are seen arranged on the left spine.

Thanks to multiple tipsters, we've learned of the price details and specifications of the Pixel 7a. The Pixel 7 series smartphone is expected to be unveiled during Google's I/O 2023 event on May 10 alongside the Pixel Fold. It could go on sale in global markets in the third quarter. The handset is said to be priced between $450 to $500 (roughly Rs. 32,000 to Rs. 40,000).

The Pixel 7a is tipped to come with a 6.1-inch full-HD+ OLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. It is said to be powered by Google's in-house Tensor G2 chipset, paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. The dual rear camera unit of the Pixel 7a is expected to comprise a 64-megapixel primary sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) support and a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide lens. Further, there could be a 10.8-megapixel selfie camera. The Pixel 7a is expected to carry a 4,400mAh battery with 20W wired charging support.

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Are the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro the best in their segment? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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iPhones, AirPods Replaced With Replicas by E-Commerce Delivery Executive in Gurugram

A delivery executive of an e-commerce firm allegedly stole 10 iPhones by replacing them with dummy phones on the way to deliver them to the customer here, police said on Thursday.

Station in-charge of Matrix Finance Solution, which delivers Amazon's parcel, Ravi in his complaint alleged that on March 27 delivery executive Lalit was handed over a customer's parcel, which contained 10 iPhones and an AirPods, at his address, they said.

However, instead of delivering the parcel, Lalit replaced the iPhones with replicas and sent his brother Manoj to deposit them back to the company claiming that the customer could not be contacted, Ravi said in his complaint.

Suspecting some tampering with the packaging, the parcel was opened and the delivery company found the fake phones inside, police said.

Meanwhile, upon not receiving his parcel, the customer also cancelled his order, they said.

An FIR has been registered against Lalit under sections 420 (cheating), 408 (criminal breach of trust by employee) of the Indian Penal Code at Bilaspur police station on Wednesday, they said.

Efforts are on to nab the accused who is absconding, they said.

Meanwhile, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the deputy minister for information technology, said that the US tech giant Apple could double or triple investments in India, along with exports, over the next few years as the company opened a second store in the world's biggest smartphone market after China.

Apple mainly assembles iPhones in India through Taiwan contract manufacturers but plans to expand into iPads and AirPods, as it looks to cut reliance on China.

Its iPhones made up more than half of total smartphones worth about $9 billion (roughly Rs. 74,000 crore) exported from India between April 2022 and February, data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association shows.

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Microsoft Hits Back at UK Regulator's Decision to Block Activision Acquisition

Microsoft's president Brad Smith said the UK regulator's decision to prevent its acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard "had shaken confidence" in Britain as a destination for tech businesses.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which operates independently from government, blocked the deal on Wednesday, saying it could hit competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.

Microsoft hit back on Thursday, saying it was "probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain" and sent the wrong message to the global tech industry about the UK.

"If the government of the United Kingdom wants to bring in investment, if it wants to create jobs (...) it needs to look hard at the role of the CMA, the regulatory structure in the United Kingdom, this transaction, and the message that the United Kingdom has just said to the world," he told BBC radio.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Smith's comments were "not borne out by the facts."

"We continue to believe that the UK has an extremely attractive tech sector and a growing games market," he said. "We will continue to engage proactively with Microsoft and other companies."

Smith said Microsoft had worked effectively with regulators in Brussels but not in London, which he said refuted Britain's claim that it would be more flexible after Brexit.

The company had answered the CMA's questions, he said, and it had told them to come back with any more concerns. "They went silent, we heard nothing from them," he said.

"There's a clear message here — the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business if you want some day to sell it than the United Kingdom," he added.

But CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said the regulator's role was to make sure Britain was a competitive environment for businesses to be able to grow and thrive.

"The decision that the CMA takes is an independent decision that we reached looking at an overall assessment of the impact of the deal on competition, and we think that is the right decision for the UK," she said.

She noted the US Federal Trade Commission was also pressing for the deal to be blocked on competition grounds.

Microsoft said yesterday it would appeal, with "aggressive" support from Activision.

Appeals against CMA rulings are heard by the Competition Appeals Tribunal, which makes a judgment on the merits of the decision. It will not be an opportunity for Microsoft to submit new remedies.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Poco F5 Pro Design Renders, Specifications Leaked Ahead of May 9 Launch

Poco F5 Pro is scheduled to launch on May 9 globally, alongside the Poco F5 5G. The base Poco F5 is speculated to debut as a rebranded Redmi Note 12 Turbo. The lineup is expected to succeed the Poco F4 5G series that launched in India in June last year. There have been numerous leaks and reports about the series. Now, a new report has leaked the key specifications of the Poco F5 Pro and also its design renders.

According to a PriceBaba report, in collaboration with tipster Paras Guglani (@passionategeekz), the Poco F5 Pro will launch with the model number 23013PC75G. The design renders shared in the report show a phone with a centrally aligned punch-hole slot at the top of the display to house the selfie camera, slim bezels, and a USB Type-C port at the bottom edge. The right side of the handset is seen housing the volume rocker and power button. A triple rear camera unit on the mobile is seen housed in a rectangular island on the top left of the rear panel alongside the LED flash unit.

Poco F5 Pro design render
Photo Credit: Pricebaba

Further, the report adds that the Poco F5 Pro is expected to have a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The display is said to be protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The dual nano 5G SIM-supported phone is tipped to be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC paired with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage.

The triple rear camera unit of the Poco F5 Pro model is said to include a 64-megapixel primary sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) support, along with an 8-megapixel, and a 2-megapixel sensor.  Reportedly, a 16-megapixel selfie camera is housed in the centred hole-punch slot at the top of the display.

Likely to pack a 5,160mAh battery with 67W USB Type-C fast charging support, the Poco F5 Pro is also expected to support wireless charging. For security, the phone is said to come equipped with an under-display fingerprint scanner and offer face recognition support.

With an IP53 rating, the Poco F5 Pro is tipped to support 2G/3G/4G LTE, WiFi 802.11a /b/g/n/ac/axe, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, and GLONASS connectivity. The handset is said to weigh 204 grams and measure 162.8mm x 75mm x 8.5mm in size.

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Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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SonyLIV Unveils 2023 Slate: Scam and Tanaav Return With Season 2, and More

SonyLIV and Applause Entertainment on Thursday unveiled their upcoming slate for 2023, including two new series as well as the return of popular shows such as Scam, Tanaav, Avrodh, and Undekhi.

The two new shows are Kafas, a social drama directed by Sahil Sangha, and a suspense thriller 36 Days, a press release stated.

Kafas features Sharman Joshi, Mona Singh, and Vivan Bhatena, while Vishal Furia-directed 36 Days stars Neha Sharma, Purab Kohli, Shruti Seth, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Amruta Khanvilkar, Sharib Hashmi, Shernaz Patel, Faisal Rashid, Chahat Vig, and Kenneth Desai in pivotal roles. The project line-up also includes the second instalments of Tanaav and Scam — Scam 2003: The Telgi Story — and season three of Undekhi and Avrodh.

Directed by Hansal Mehta and Tushar Hiranandani, Scam 2003 will focus on the story of the infamous stamp paper scam by Abdul Karim Telgi.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce our upcoming slate for 2023 at Applause Entertainment with SonyLIV. This highly anticipated line-up promises to be a diverse and captivating mix of new shows and returning favourites.

“We are elated to continue our journey alongside our valued partner, SonyLIV, in our shared mission to captivate and entertain audiences through the power of storytelling. Stay tuned for an unforgettable year of entertainment,” said Sameer Nair, Managing Director, Applause Entertainment, in a statement.

“Our long-running partnership with Applause Entertainment reflects our shared commitment to offer the best entertainment experience to our viewers. With an exceptional slate of shows, we are excited to continue bringing impactful stories to the forefront. We look forward to delivering unparalleled entertainment in 2023 and beyond," added Danish Khan, EVP & Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony LIV & StudioNext at Sony Pictures Networks India, (Indicative).

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Aadhaar Holders Carried Out 2.31 Billion Authentication Transactions in March

Aadhaar holders have carried out nearly 2.31 billion authentication transactions in the month of March 2023, indicative of the growing usage of Aadhaar and the growth of the digital economy in the country.

In a release, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT said the March number is better than the February when 2.26 billion authentication transactions were carried out. A majority of the authentications transaction numbers were carried out by using biometric fingerprints during the month, followed by others.

"Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a stellar role for banking and non-banking financial services by providing transparent and improved customer experience and helping in ease of doing business. More than 311.8 million eKYC transactions were carried out during March 2023, a jump of over 16.3 per cent against February," said the release.

Another benefit of the adoption of e-KYC is it has also significantly reduced customer acquisition costs for financial institutions, telecom service providers and others.

Whether it is Aadhaar-enabled direct fund transfer, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) for last-mile banking, authentications, or e-KYC for identity verification, Aadhaar has been playing an important role in supporting Digital India vision and enabling ease of living for residents.

The Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) enables financial inclusion for those at the bottom of the income pyramid. In March 2023, 219.3 million last-mile banking transactions were made possible through AePS and the network of micro ATMs, the release said.

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Apple, Android Rivals First-Quarter Sales Slide in China as Smartphone Shipments Fall 11 Percent YoY

Apple and its Android rivals saw sales slide in the first quarter in China, research firm Canalys reported on Thursday, as consumers continued to tighten their belts following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

The iPhone maker was the top-selling brand over the first three months of the year, with 20 percent market share. But its overall shipments in China fell to 13.3 million units, a 3 percent decrease from the same period in 2022.

Sales for all other top-selling brands also fell, with total smartphone shipments dropping 11 percent year-on-year to 67.2 million units, the lowest quarterly total since 2013.

Despite being the best-selling brand in the quarter, Apple saw its total market share fall 3 percentage points year-on-year.

Oppo and Vivo, Android brands that trail Apple as the second and third best-sellers, saw shipments fall 10 percent and 7 percent respectively.

Honor and Xiaomi, which specialise in low-end models, saw shipments fall 35 percent and 20 percent respectively, suggesting consumers shied away from phone purchases even at the cheapest prices.

China's GDP grew 4.5 percent in the first quarter, beating expectations, and policy makers in Beijing are working on plans to further stimulate demand. However, economists expect most Chinese consumers and businesses to spend cautiously over the coming year.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Elon Musk Ordered to Be Questioned Under Oath Over Autopilot Statements in Tesla Crash Lawsuit

A California judge on Wednesday tentatively ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be interviewed under oath about whether he made certain statements regarding the safety and capabilities of the carmaker's Autopilot features.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the family of Walter Huang against Tesla in Santa Clara Superior Court, over a car crash which killed the Apple engineer in 2018.

Huang's family argues Tesla's partially automated driving software failed. The carmaker contends Huang was playing a videogame on his phone before the crash and disregarded vehicle warnings.

Plaintiff attorneys sought to depose Musk regarding recorded statements that tout the capabilities of Autopilot.

In a 2016 statement cited by plaintiffs, Musk allegedly said: "A Model S and Model X, at this point, can drive autonomously with greater safety than a person. Right now.”

Tesla, however, opposed the request in court filings, arguing that Musk cannot recall details about statements.

In addition Musk, “like many public figures, is the subject of many ‘deepfake' videos and audio recordings that purport to show him saying and doing things he never actually said or did,” Tesla said.

But Judge Evette Pennypacker tentatively ordered a limited, three-hour deposition where Musk could be asked whether he actually made the statements on the recordings, and called Tesla's arguments “deeply troubling.”

“Their position is that because Mr. Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deep fakes, his public statements are immune,” Pennypacker wrote, adding that such arguments would allow Musk and other famous people “to avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”

California judges often issue tentative rulings, which are then finalized after a hearing with few major changes.

Tesla and an attorney for Huang's family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit is scheduled to go into trial on July 31, adding to growing legal and regulatory scrutiny over Tesla's Autopilot system.

A California state court jury on Friday found Tesla's Autopilot feature did not fail in what appeared to be the first trial related to a crash involving the partially automated driving software.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Aadhaar e-KYC Transactions Rise to Over 311.8 Million in March 2023

Aadhaar holders have carried out nearly 2.31 billion authentication transactions in March 2023, underlining the growing usage of Aadhaar and growth of digital economy in the country, according to an official release. The numbers in March were higher than in February when 2.26 billion authentication transactions were carried out.

"While a majority of the authentications transaction numbers were carried out by using biometric fingerprint, it is followed by demographic and OTP authentications," the release said.

Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a "stellar role" for banking and non-banking financial services by providing transparent and improved customer experience, and facilitating ease of doing business.

More than 311.8 million e-KYC transactions were carried out during March 2023, a rise of over 16.3 percent against February levels.

Adoption of e-KYC has significantly reduced customer acquisition cost of entities like financial institutions, telecom service providers and others.

The cumulative number of Aadhaar e-KYC transactions so far has moved past 14.7 billion by the end March 2023.

Aadhaar saturation among adult population continues to be near universal, it said, adding that during March, over 21.47 million Aadhaars were updated following requests from the residents as against 16.8 million such updates in February 2023.

"In March 2023, 219.3 million last mile banking transactions were made possible through AePS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment System) and the network of micro ATMs," the release said noting AePS is enabling financial inclusion for those at the bottom of the income pyramid. 

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Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

 

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Funko Fusion Teaser Promises Cross-Over Game Featuring The Umbrella Academy, Jurassic World and More

Funko Pops, the adorable vinyl and bobblehead figurine lineup with a cult following, is getting its own video game. 10:10 Games dropped a teaser for its upcoming title, Funko Fusion, which is described as an action-adventure multiplayer game, featuring characters from several movies and TV series. The brief trailer doesn't offer much in terms of gameplay and simply shows off its cast from NBCUniversal franchises such as The Umbrella Academy, Jurassic World, Shaun of the Dead, He-Man, Chucky the Doll, and more. Funko Fusion is slated to arrive sometime in early 2024, across PC and consoles.

10:10 Games marks its debut project with Funko Fusion, promising unique personalities and abilities for each character. It would make sense for the game to be fashioned after the Lego series of video games like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga or LEGO Batman, because the studio was co-founded by Jon Burton — the five-time BAFTA award winner and founder of TT Games. For this project, he is joined by a team of experienced veterans, skilled in working on ‘brick-based games,' as per the press release. Funko Fusion is also expected to include online multiplayer, allowing up to four players to team up and battle enemies, explore picturesque environments, and solve elaborate puzzles.

“It's incredibly exciting to be able to show everyone what the team here at 10:10 Games has been up to,” Arthur Parsons, 10:10 Games' Design Director and Co-founder said. “Harnessing the incredible properties we've been entrusted with by our partners at Universal Games and Digital Platforms, bringing them together into a gaming experience that is incredibly fun, surprising, authentic, and celebrates fandom like never before, all experienced through a Funko lens.”

A peek at 10:10 Games' YouTube channel shows an announcement trailer dropped about nine months ago, proving how long Funko Fusion has been in development for, and that it's probably not just a half-baked, experimental idea.

For now, Funko Fusion only seems to include NBCUniversal properties, but does show potential to expand into other licenses — presumably as DLC add-ons or an entirely separate game, if it proves successful. The short snippets in the trailer suggest that co-op might be designed in the same manner as the Lego games, where players might encounter split screens or have the entire screen retract and adjust depending on the amount of action. At one point, we can see player-1 shooting incoming droids, while player-2 carries around a battery to power an automatic door. One thing's for sure — headshots are going to be super easy.

Funko Fusion is slated to release sometime in 2024 on PC and unspecified consoles.

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From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Warner Bros. CinemaCon Highlights: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, DC Comics, and More

Celebrating its 100th year, Warner Bros. unveiled a packed lineup of new big-screen films at CinemaCon on Tuesday, from a live-action Barbie comedy to Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg's remake of The Color Purple. The historic Hollywood studio also used its presentation at the annual Las Vegas gathering to tease a ‘10-year plan' to relaunch its DC superhero films, which include beloved characters such as Batman and Superman.

David Zaslav, who spearheaded last year's corporate merger of Warner and Discovery, took to the stage personally to court an audience predominantly made up of theatre owners. “We don't want to do direct-to-streaming movies,” said Zaslav, whose predecessor was slammed for releasing Warner films directly onto its streaming platform HBO Max — recently rebranded as Max. “We're in no rush to bring the movies to Max.”

Across a two-and-a-half-hour presentation, Zaslav and fellow Warner bosses brought out A-list stars including Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. Robbie and Gosling co-star in Barbie, out July 21, which finds the ubiquitous blonde doll living in a dreamlike, pink-hued world, before one day starting to question her too-perfect reality and travelling to real-life Los Angeles.

“Everyone knows Barbie, and she's never been on the big screen before,” said director Greta Gerwig, who drew inspiration from The Wizard of Oz as well as disco music culture. “They made life-size Barbie houses... everything was extraordinary.”

Gosling said making the film was ‘like a fever dream,' explaining: “I was living my life, and then one day I was bleaching my hair, shaving my legs and wearing bespoke neon outfits and rollerblading down Venice Beach.”

Oprah Winfrey took to the stage to introduce her and Steven Spielberg's new version of The Color Purple, out Christmas Day. The movie is based on the Broadway musical adaptation of Alice Walker's novel about Black women enduring trauma, sexual abuse, and racism in the rural Deep South in the early 20th century.

“The reason why it's not your mama's Color Purple — but your mama's gonna really like it — is because the musical factor is so dynamic, and the magical realism is so perfected here,” said Winfrey. Winfrey starred in the previous 1985 film, earning an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress, and is a producer on the new version.

Chalamet introduced footage from two new films in which he stars. He appears in Wonka, set for December release, as a young, idealistic version of Roald Dahl's famous chocolatier, whose efforts to launch a magical candy empire are blocked by a sinister ‘chocolate cartel.' Chalamet described the ‘bizarre' process of shooting the origin story — which involved “a lot of swimming in pools of actual chocolate.”

He also returns for Dune: Part Two, the second and final part of Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-winning adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel, which is due out in November. Austin Butler, Léa Seydoux, Christopher Walken, and Florence Pugh join the cast for a sequel that Villeneuve described as an ‘action-packed epic war movie.'

Ten-year plan

The presentation was rounded off with Warner's DC Universe of superhero films. The DC movies, though popular, have in recent times suffered from various production issues and casting U-turns, and been largely overshadowed by the rival, record-grossing Marvel films. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Peter Safran (Aquaman) were recently brought in as new heads of the division.

This year, the studio will release The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Though those films were made under Warner's previous regime, Gunn said they will ‘lead perfectly into the DCU slate that we have coming up starting in 2024.'

Superman: Legacy, directed by Gunn, is already scheduled for July 2025. Safran said the future DC movies would be “vast, interconnected and filled with promise and possibility,” and promised he and Gunn are ‘cracking into' the universe's ‘first chapter.'

Zaslav, a self-professed ‘lover of DC,' told the audience that Warner has a new ‘10-year plan' for the titles.

CinemaCon, which runs until Thursday at Caesars Palace, provides Hollywood studios a chance to showcase their upcoming films to movie theatre bosses — while wheeling out the industry's biggest stars to whip up excitement.

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OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite launched in India with a sub-Rs.20,000 price tag. How does it perform against the competition. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Nvidia Releases Software Tools for AI Chatbots to Curb Unwanted Responses, Dangerous Information

Nvidia, a major supplier of chips and computing systems for artificial intelligence, on Tuesday, released a set of software tools aimed at helping chatbots watch their language.

Nvidia's chips have helped companies like Microsoft add human-like chat features to search engines like Bing. But the chatbots can still be unpredictable and say things their creators wish they did not.

Microsoft in February limited users to five questions per session with its Bing search engine after the New York Times reported the system gave unsettling responses during long conversations.

Nvidia's software tools, provided free of charge, are designed to help companies guard against unwanted responses from chatbots. Some of those uses are straightforward - the maker of a customer service chatbot might not want the system to mention products from its competitors.

But the Nvidia tools are also designed to help AI system creators put into place important safety measures, such as ensuring that chatbots do not respond with potentially dangerous information such as how to create weapons or send users to unknown links that could contain computer viruses.

US lawmakers have called for regulations around AI systems as apps like ChatGPT have surged in popularity. Few legal rules or industry standards exist on how to make AI systems safe.

Jonathan Cohen, vice president of applied research at Nvidia, said the company aims to provide tools to put those standards into software code if and when they do arrive, whether through industry consensus or regulation.

"I think it's difficult to talk about standards if you don't have a way to implement them," he said. "If standards emerge, then there'll be good place to put them."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Twitter Says It Removed 6.5 Million Pieces of Content in First Half of 2022 Before Elon Musk's Takeover

Twitter on Tuesday said it required users to take down over 6.5 million pieces of content in the first half of 2022, before the social media platform was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk, a 29 percent increase from the second half of 2021.

Twitter disclosed the number of content removals in a blog post on the same day the European Union said the social media platform would be among 19 tech companies subject to new landmark rules that require them to share data with authorities, do more to tackle disinformation and conduct external and independent auditing.

Failure to comply with the rules - some of the world's strictest regulations on online platforms - could result in fines of up to 6 percent of global revenue or even a ban from operating in the EU, according to the European Commission's website.

Before Musk purchased Twitter in October and cut roughly 80 percent of its staff, Twitter normally published twice-yearly reports on its Transparency Center website, detailing information such as the number of accounts it suspended and the number of government requests it received for data.

Twitter's update on Tuesday came in the form of a short blog post, and the company said it would give an update about its "path forward for transparency reporting" later this year.

Publishing transparency reports is one of the requirements under the EU's new internet rules.

The company said it received 53,000 legal requests from governments during the first half of 2022 to remove certain content, with Japan, South Korea, Turkey and India submitting the most requests.

Twitter did not disclose the number of requests it complied with.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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