Apple might be planning a big upgrade for its iPhone devices with the iOS 18 update. A new report has revealed that the Cupertino-based tech giant is working on introducing artificial intelligence (AI) features for its smartphones at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, expected to be held in June. Interestingly, the company might make all of the AI features available on-device, instead of keeping them cloud-based. Notably, a report last week highlighted that Apple could unveil a new AI-powered browsing feature for Safari which will let users summarise web pages.
The information comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, where he answered the question of how much of Apple’s planned AI features might be cloud-based. As per Gurman, not much at all! The tech giant could make all the features available locally and have it processed on-device itself. This move, if true, can have both upsides and downsides depending on how the iPhone maker handles the issues with AI features.
Having AI features entirely locally is great for privacy and data security. This means any data shared with the app or the system feature never leaves the user’s iPhone, and the information is unlikely to ever reach a third party. This makes the device more secure, and users do not have to worry about their sensitive data either.
However, there is a downside. In fact, there are a couple of them. First, AI computers require significantly high amounts of processing power compared to the usual tasks performed by the device. Most large language models run GPU-based inference on computers. Even smartphones today are working to add special “AI processors” that come equipped with a combination of powerful CPU, GPU, and NPU (Neural Processing Unit). Despite this, running complex algorithms locally on the device can be a tricky task. This is why Samsung gives users a choice on whether they want to run certain Galaxy AI features on the device or through the servers.
For Apple to bring some of these features locally can be a challenging task. And this brings us to the second downside. If Apple remains intent on only offering on-device AI features, it may not be able to offer some of the features competitors are offering. For example, Galaxy AI has an Interpreter feature which translates a verbal conversation between two speakers standing near the phone in real time. Similarly, Oppo offers AI-powered image generation capabilities to users in China. Will Apple be able to optimise such features on-device? And will it be able to do it fast enough, so it does not fall behind the competition? WWDC 2024 might answer some of these questions.
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In a new post on Samsung’s Korean community forum (via Android Central), a Samsung employee has revealed that the company’s AI-packed One UI 6.1 update is scheduled to land on older Samsung devices – including the Galaxy S21 series – in “early May”. This tracks with previous comments made by Samsung Mobile boss TM Roh, who teased that certain Galaxy AI features could debut on “previous models” after their initial rollout on Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S23 devices.
Specifically, the Samsung employee writes that Samsung’s 2022 flagships – i.e. the Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Tab S8 series – will receive all Galaxy AI features minus Instant Slow-Mo, while those aforementioned 2021 flagships will only receive two Galaxy AI features: Circle to Search and Magic Rewrite.
Again, this tracks with previous information regarding Galaxy AI compatibility. We already knew, for instance, that Instant Slow-Mo would be limited to Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S23 devices owing to the hardware demands of that specific feature. As per a previous Samsung’s community forum post, Instant Slow-Mo requires 16.6 milliseconds of processing time for smooth real-time video playback, which ruled out its future inclusion on older Samsung devices like the Galaxy S22 (and by extension the Galaxy S21).
We’re relieved, though, that Instant Slow-Mo will be the only casualty of Galaxy AI’s transition to Samsung’s 2022 flagships, especially since the company was publicly unsure whether any Galaxy AI features would make the drop down to the Galaxy S22 series (“For now, we’re limiting Galaxy AI to last-gen devices,” Samsung executive Patrick Chomet told us at Galaxy Unpacked 2024).
Old but not obsolete
The Galaxy S21 series launched in January 2021 (Image credit: Future)
News of Galaxy AI’s imminent addition to Samsung’s 2021 flagships – albeit only in part – is even more exciting. It was thought that the Galaxy S21’s Exynos 2100 chipset (or Snapdragon 888 chipset, depending on your region) wouldn’t be able to handle any Galaxy AI features, so we’re grateful that Samsung has managed to ensure the compatibility of two important ones (Circle to Search, in particular, is a mini-marvel).
As for whether Samsung will expand Galaxy AI compatibility even further, beyond its 2021 flagships to models like the Galaxy S20, we think it’s unlikely. By the sounds of things, the Galaxy S21 will be pushed to the limit to support just two Galaxy AI features, so it seems reasonable to assume that the Galaxy S20’s even-less-powerful Snapdragon 865 just isn’t up to scratch.
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So, if you’re still rocking a Samsung handset from 2020 and want to benefit from the company’s Galaxy AI features, we’d suggest checking out our up-to-date Samsung phones deals page for a look at the latest bargains.
In a rather pro-crypto move, Hong Kong has greenlit the trading of Bitcoin and Ether Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). With this move, traders in Hong Kong will get the chance to invest in Bitcoin and Ether via traditional stock markets. This eliminates the need for traders to enter the ecosystems of crypto exchanges just to engage with assets like BTC and ETH. Following the development, several members from India’s crypto community have lauded Hong Kong’s ‘landmark’ decision.
The Hong Kong unit of Bosera Asset Management and China Asset Management have received regulatory approvals to offer Spot ETFs for BTC and ETH. The final approval was signed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said a report by Nikkei Asia on Monday, April 14. Spot ETFs track the current price of commodities and allow traders to get exposure to the current price of BTC without having to purchase and hold the asset.
Hong Kong is now Asia’s first region that has legitimised cryptocurrency as an officially considerable investment tool. This move will also reduce the dependency of traders on the US’ investment service offerings.
With the move, Hong Kong has become the second global location that has approved engagement with crypto ETFs for traders. In January this year, the US approved 11 BTC ETFs, marking a historic development for the crypto sector. The ETFs listed in the US had reportedly clocked $4.6 billion (roughly Rs. 38,065 crore) worth of shares trading hands within the first 24 hours itself.
As of March 31, the total inflows in BTC ETFs in the US reportedly breached the mark of $12 billion (roughly Rs. 1,04,298 crore) — indicating investors’ interest. ETH ETFs are still not approved in the US.
In India, members of the Web3 community lauded Hong Kong for setting a precedence for other Asian nations to expand experiments and trials with crypto assets.
“Chinese Real Estate and Equity markets have been under pressure since the Pandemic and haven’t recovered. The local wealth is searching for other assets to deploy as can been seen from the record gold demand from investors,” Parth Chaturvedi, Investments Lead at CoinSwitch Ventures, told Gadgets360. “The ETF approvals will provide a new avenue for Chinese capital to explore some exposure to crypto as an asset class and bodes well for the industry in the medium term.”
Praises for Hong Kong’s decision have also been pouring on X.
#Breaking: Hong Kong approves first Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs.
In January 2024, the US launched the first US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to track spot Bitcoin, recording $12 billion in net inflows.
ETFs provide exposure to crypto without actually owning crypto. It serves as a great way for people to experience crypto and then move their activities on-chain once they have the know-how and confidence.
In March this year, crypto investment firm Mudrex launched spot BTC ETF investment service for Indian traders. The minimum amount for people to start investing in BTC ETFs on Mudrex stands at $5,000 (roughly Rs. 4.13 lakh) whereas the maximum amount could be $250,000 (roughly Rs. 2 crore).
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If you’re thinking it’s a little soon for a whole new chip and line refresh, you’d be right. The M3 chip was officially announced just last October at Apple’s Scary Fast event, and we’ve literally only just seen a new M3 MacBook Air model. If the rumor is true, the entire Mac lineup will be receiving a new chip generation together for the first time.
While Gurman is well known for being a reliable leaker, until we get official word from Apple we should take this list with a pinch of salt. That being said, it’s an exciting lineup, starting with brand new MacBook Pros and a refresh of the iMac fitted with the M4 chip. Hopefully, the new iMac is another chance for Apple to finally add more colors to the iMac range.
2025 looks littered with exciting refreshes as well, with Gurman hinting at the M4 Ultra chip being introduced through the Mac Pro – a surprise given that we haven’t even seen an M3 Ultra yet. As we said when the news of the rumored refresh, the move to do a very quick turnaround and have a sweeping hardware update like this seems like a desperate attempt to catch up to the competition in the sphere of AI-focused chips and computers.
Apple is known to ‘watch and wait’ when it comes to diving into new technology, and it seems like the company is ready to introduce its take on AI-focused consumer computing. While the company has been rocking its ‘Neural Engine’ tech for AI workloads all the way back to the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone 8, the recent AI explosion and the prevalence of neural processing units means that Apple is likely keen to give its AI tech a boost – although it definitely runs the risk of upsetting anyone who recently purchased an M3 Mac product…
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The reveal of a PlayStation 5 Pro seems all but guaranteed, though it’s impossible to say for sure what kind of hardware improvements any potential new model of the system would bring. That said, there are loads of leaks and rumors and one, now verified by Tom Warren of The Verge, suggests that the majority of the improvements would focus on the console’s GPU performance.
In a recent post to X / Twitter, Warren described how “Sony has made some interesting choices for its next console” according to PS5 Pro development documentation that he has allegedly seen. While not new information, he explained that the console’s CPU will “target [a] 3.85GHz [clock speed] (10% more than PS5) in a new ‘high frequency CPU mode’” with a separate “3.5 GHz standard mode” that matches the specification of the base PS5.
He said that developers “will be able to pick the mode, and also get access to 1.2GB more system memory,” potentially offering small performance improvements in any compatible titles. This all lines up perfectly with the latest PS5 Pro specs leak and Warren claims that he “can verify” that this information is “accurate,” lending it even more credibility.
While a 10% increase in CPU clock speed and 1.2GB extra system memory doesn’t seem like a particularly ground-breaking overhaul, Warren subsequently added a reply that stated the PS5 Pro’s GPU would receive a whopping 45% increase in power. This reinforces information from the previous leak and would be a major step up for the console.
A substantially improved GPU could finally offer proper support for 8K gaming, not to mention better performance in titles that feature significant amounts of ray tracing or other GPU-heavy features. Now that hugely ambitious games like Lords of the Fallenand Dragon’s Dogma 2are struggling to maintain solid frame rates on the base console, this could be the ticket for those searching for the smoothest possible experiences.
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We’ve just spotted the Apple MacBook Air M3 for $999 (was $1,099) today at Amazon – that’s a price that matches the record low for this stunning Ultrabook.
We already had some superb MacBook deals in the form of the slightly older M2 model for $849 (was $999) and the venerable M1 for $699 (was $999), but today’s price cut on the shiniest new 2024 model easily makes this the best time ever for prospective MacBook buyers.
For those who don’t know, we awarded the 2024 model a full five stars out of five in our MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) review and ranked it the best laptop money can buy right now.
While it’s not the most powerful laptop Apple makes, it strikes a fantastic balance between performance and price. The M3 chip is capable enough for everything but the most intensive of applications and the fanless design helps the MacBook Air deliver an incredible battery life of up to 18 hours.
If you’re looking to save a bit of cash, then it’s also worth considering today’s deals on the older M2 and M1 models, which you can read more about below.
Both of these models are a little older now but they’re still great for 2024 if you don’t mind missing out on the latest chipset. The M2 in particular features a design that’s outwardly almost identical to the latest model – although it doesn’t have a few handy additions like support for dual monitors and ray tracing.
Automation technologies have become a vital part of business operations, and they are continuing to accelerate and permeate all levels of business in a variety of industries. Companies across the healthcare, financial services and transport industries, to name a few, are starting to quickly identify an increase in software, surface and process test automations, as well as increased development of no code apps.
However, navigating the automation market can be daunting due to the plethora of automation processes and developments available. Yet, with the emergence of new processes and AI tools, businesses have the opportunity to experiment with automation in software, surface operations, and app development.
Kavitha Chennupati
Senior Director of Product Management, SS&C Blue Prism.
Software automation for software
Imagine automation suites that can automate the entire process development lifecycle for a business. These technologies can auto-discover processes, tasks, and user interfaces, generate test data, create test cases, and deploy tested processes, leading to automation co-development or developers-in-the-loop.
The auto-discovery of automated processes has developed relatively quickly in recent years. Previously, process discovery was relatively time-consuming, resulting in companies conducting workshops with several business users to identify processes, business rules, and an efficient flow of operations. Process orchestration was thereby defined, and business rules were plugged into the process. Once process orchestration was defined and incorporated within the wider value chain, businesses set about ensuring that this was followed by thorough documentation for all businesses.
Nowadays, modern process intelligence tools have the capability to automatically suggest how to automate certain processes and rules by analyzing and understanding the flow of those processes. The process model can then be the basis for shorter-duration workshops to ratify the flow and develop the ground-up processes or reengineering leading to faster automation. Process documentation can also be auto-generated using natural language tools aka GenAI/LLMs.
As the technology continues to advance, auto-reengineered processes can be deployed and will be executed throughout a set period of time. During , the execution there could be collaboration with human worker for review of data and results before completing the process. This further reinforces the idea that automation and human employees can work in tandem, complementing each other’s work to enhance their business’s automation capabilities.
Surface automation
Previously, building automation based on RPA software required automation developers to manually identify form elements and script them into the automation processes. As the AI race gains momentum, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled AI-based surface automation to intelligently capture screen elements, automatically generating robotic processes. This leads to faster automation processes. Automation stacks in the future will soon be able to generate robotic processes through Computer Vision, auto-define the orchestration of several workflows, and self-govern task configurations. This will allow developers to employ auto-discover processes, therefore freeing their time to focus on more complex orchestrations and configuration processes.
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No-code app development and form snippets
Before the time of fast app development, creating applications meant several months spent gathering requirements from businesses, documenting approvals and onboarding developers with specific business requirements. Developers had to then schedule resources, and write, and test code before commencing deployment. The delivery of these developments could then be further extended when delays occur in resource allocation, unclear requirements, or a shortage of skills.
Nowadays, business users can generate apps by themselves using no-code app development tools and deploy them in a matter of hours or days. However, business users still require further assistance for app governance and management.
So, with no code app development here to stay, business users will begin to see natural language-based, voice-based, computer vision-based or text-based form generation. For instance, the business user says, “generate a form for claims processing that can take input as claim number and claim form” and then the form design flashes with appropriate datatypes and variables associations.
As business users dual up as citizen developers, automation developers can leverage progress by gaining domain knowledge and building a base library of assets that can be reused, including data models to leverage in forms. Developers also have the capability to enable automated testing and deployments, as well as establish governance and regulation over automation and AI platforms within a business.
Process test automation
Testing operation processes has previously been a manual activity, repeating through several hundreds and thousands of paths, supplying relevant test data, and iterating through test cases manually for each process. This long, time-consuming activity can often take hours of work, whereas now, test cases can be auto-generated. Developers can capture test data from the first manual iteration, and this can then be repeated during upgrades. Therefore, automation developers will no longer require specialized test automation skills and can verify the coverage and test reports with their business skills.
In the future synthetic test data can be generated to simulate and test the processes and verify the configuration accuracies. This will allow the automation developer to come into the loop to verify the test report and pay attention to only failed test cases that need fixes. Developers will soon find their roles transforming into those of dev-test-deploy automation developers, emphasizing complex problem-solving tasks. This includes investigating the reasons behind failed test cases and determining necessary process adjustments or adaptations to rectify them.
Automation of Dev-Test-Ops
Automation developers have previously been plagued with a large stack of manual tasks. Developers had to manually migrate the processes from one environment to another, sometimes even re-doing some configurations. The scale of moving these processes were often very time-consuming and involved several hours of work, resulting in less time for more complex tasks.
Nowadays, developers have one-click auto-test and deployment leading to quicker release of features to the clients, also resulting in faster ROI for companies.
While automating dev-test-ops can speed up manual processes, the automation industry will soon see an increase in auto-scaling and sizing the infra with dynamic billing based on the process needs. Process telemetry and process or mining data can result in self-learning processes, allowing automated platforms to learn as they develop. This will allow developers to gain skills like collaboration with stakeholders and domain language and be prepared to be a multi-faceted generalized automation developer.
Furthermore, the notion that these processes can continually adapt and growth as business demands change and fluctuate demonstrates the flexibility of how automation can propel businesses into the future.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
It looks as though our best smart rings list is going to be needing an overhaul sooner rather than later, because not only is the Samsung Galaxy Ring about to be launched, it appears that Black Shark is planning a smart ring too.
Black Shark is a Xiaomi sub-brand that’s best known for its gaming phones, such as the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro, but IT Home (via Notebookcheck) has shared some promotional images and details of what it claims is the new wearable.
As our Chinese isn’t up to scratch we can’t tell whether these promo materials have been officially provided by Black Shark or have been leaked. Google Translate suggests they’re official, and that’s the line Notebookcheck is taking, but we can’t find much information about them elsewhere online.
Draw your own conclusions, then, but given the buzz around smart rings at the moment and the quality of the imagery on show here, we can well believe that a Black Shark smart ring is on the way, even if it’s not yet been officially announced.
Getting in the ring
The Black Shark smart ring might look something like this (Image credit: IT Home)
As well as the images we also get some details about this smart ring: apparently it’s going to be a mere 2.2mm thick, and offer battery life of up to 180 days. Considering that the Oura Ring 3 lasts for a week between charges that’s very impressive, although we’re assuming that the figure is for when the ring is in standby mode, i.e., when it’s not actively being used.
As for the capabilities of the smart ring, there are mentions of heart rate, blood oxygen, and body temperature tracking. Black Shark (via Google Translate) is promising to put “health at your fingertips” with this wearable.
So far there are no indications as to when the wearable might go on sale, or what the price might be when it does. Given Xiaomi’s involvement, it’s possible that availability might be limited outside of China, but we’ll have to wait and see.
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As for what the Black Shark smart ring will be up against, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Samsung has confirmed that it exists, and that it’s coming this year, but other than that we’re still mostly in the dark – though rumors suggest it’s going to get a full unveiling in July.
Gio Corsi, the former head of third party relations at PlayStation, has now joined Nintendo in a similar role ahead of its next hardware release.
As reported by Wccftech, Corsi announced via X / Twitter that he has joined Nintendo of America’s “AAA 3rd Party Portfolio [management] crew.” Corsi’s key role will be to assist development teams in bringing their titles to Nintendo platforms. What’s more, with Nintendo Switch 2 expected to launch in 2025, it’s potentially a very well-timed hiring.
This week I began my new gig filled with fun & adventure! I’ve joined the @NintendoAmerica AAA 3rd Party Portfolio Mgmt crew to help great teams bring their amazing games to this legendary platform!On a personal note, Papa Mario is very proud!Here we go!!! pic.twitter.com/OnONcy33USApril 12, 2024
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Full Corsi
While Corsi’s name may not immediately jump off the page, his role in PlayStation history shouldn’t be understated. A veritable champion of the PlayStation Vita, Corsi helped bring what would otherwise have been Japanese-exclusive Vita titles to Western audiences. And if you’re a fan of Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Nameand Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you may have Corsi to thank as he was particularly keen on bolstering the series’ popularity in the West after a slow start in its earlier days.
In any case, it’s safe to say the hiring of Corsi will likely pan out to be a very valuable one for Nintendo. The general consensus on the Nintendo Switch 2, from what we’ve heard on the grapevine, is that it’s likely to be a more powerful version of what we already have: a Nintendo Switch with welcome improvements to its specs.
This could open the doors for more third-party publishers to consider bringing their games to Nintendo’s systems if the Switch’s nature of being relatively underpowered can be addressed. And given Corsi’s track record, we may also see a greater volume of Japanese titles reach our shores for wider audiences to enjoy.
Obviously, nothing’s set in stone as of yet, but the hiring of Corsi does suggest that Nintendo wishes to make its hardware more appealing to AAA-focused developers like Ubisoft, Square Enix and Capcom.
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Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will announce the company is increasing its commitments to Vietnam by an unspecified amount during his visit to Hanoi.
Apple will raise spending on suppliers in Vietnam in addition to supporting a local school clean water initiative, the company said in a statement. Apple has spent nearly 400 trillion dong ($16 billion) in the country since 2019 through its supply chain partners, the company said.
No details on increasing supplier spending provided.
Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Hanoi
Cook, who landed in the capital city of Hanoi Monday morning for a two-day visit, will meet with Vietnamese programmers and content creators, news website VnExpress reported, without attribution.
Vietnam has seen about a fourfold increase in companies assembling Apple products over the past decade.
Read More: Apple’s iPhone Supply Chain Splinters Under US-China Tensions
Cook posted photos on X, formerly Twitter, of himself at Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake and having egg coffee with Vietnamese singers.
Cook’s visit comes as more than 60 human rights and environmental organizations called on the Cupertino, California-based company to publicly oppose the detention of climate activists in Vietnam.
