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Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget speech that the central government will exempt customs duty on imports of certain parts that are used in smartphones and remove the 2.5% customs duty on select parts of mobile camera phones. Following the announcement, a tax official has said that the move is likely to help smartphone companies like Apple and Samsung who are assembling high-end phones in India.
“The duty structure now encourages them (phone manufacturers) to import parts and assemble here. The duty changes will benefit all phone sectors. But it will also benefit the premium phone sector because if you see the cost of components, camera assembly contributes substantially,” told V Rama Mathew, member of India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, to news agency Reuters.

India saw increase in mobile production
The FM said that mobile phone manufacturing in India increased from 5.8 units in 2014-15 to 31 crore units valued at in 2022-23 financial year. “As a result of the various initiatives of the government, including phased manufacturing programs, mobile production in India increased from 5.8 crore units valued at Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to 31 crore units valued at Rs 2,75,000 crore in the last financial year,” Sitharaman said.
Apple boosts iPhone production in India
The year 2022 has been a landmark year for iPhone assembling in India. As the company for the first time ever started manufacturing its latest-generation iPhones, iPhone 14, in India soon after its launch. Apple’s India manufacturing story goes back to 2017. iPhone SE (first-generation) is the first phone that the company started manufacturing in India at the Wistron plant in Karnataka. Since then India has been a part of Apple’s assembly line, but never for the latest-generation iPhones till the year 2022.

Recently, minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal called Apple “another success story” and said that the Cupertino-based company is looking to manufacture 25% of all of its iPhones in India. “They’re [Apple] already at about 5-7% of their manufacturing in India. If I am not mistaken, they are targeting to go up to 25% of their manufacturing,” Goyal said. In fact, Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in November that the biggest unit to manufacture Apple iPhone in India will come up at Hosur near Bengaluru.
Samsung Galaxy S23 to be made in India
Samsung recently announced that all the smartphones of its latest flagship smartphone series — Galaxy S23 – that will be sold in India will be manufactured at the company’s Noida plant. Samsung inaugurated its largest mobile plant in Noida in the year 2018. Since then, several high-end phones have been assembled at the plant, starting with Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 series of smartphones.

LTIMindtree, the technology consulting and digital solutions company, has announced a multi-year engagement that enables Criteo, the commerce media company, to enhance its business agility, IT service quality, and scalability. As part of the engagement, LTIMindtree provides end-to-end IT services to support Criteo’s global operations across all functions.
This includes supporting Criteo’s Microsoft Azure Cloud environment, developing a unified data platform, and providing end-user services for its service desk, field, device engineering and Enterprise Service Management. “Enabling Criteo with modern IT systems and capabilities remains a key priority in this fast-moving business environment,” said Beatrice Mabille, VP Internal IT, Criteo. “We look forward to our continued strategic partnership with LTIMindtree.”
“We are excited to be a part of Criteo’s business journey as its first-ever strategic IT outsourcing partner,” said Sudhir Chaturvedi, President and Executive Board Member, LTIMindtree. “A successful first year of our engagement has further validated the power of our industry-leading domain and digital capabilities in helping Criteo drive greater value, innovation, and sustainable long-term growth.”

Dizo has expanded its wearable portfolio with the launch of its new Dizo Watch D2 smartwatch in India. The new Dizo Watch D2 is the updated version of the Watch D launched last year and it brings an improved display, aluminium frame, Bluetooth calling and improved health and fitness features over its previous generation.
Dizo Watch D2: Price and availability
Dizo Watch D2 has launched at Rs 1,999. However, the company is offering an introductory discount of Rs 200 and it can be purchased at Rs 1,799 for a limited time period. The smartwatch will be available for purchase via Flipkart starting February 10, 12 pm onwards.
Dizo Watch D2: Features
Dizo Watch D2 features a 1.91-inch display with 500nits of peak brightness. The watch weighs just 42g and features an aluminium and polycarbonate frame. In addition to that, the watch also comes with 2.5D tempered glass for added durability.
Talking about the strap, it features a detachable strap made of soft silicon material. The company claims that it’s skin-friendly and allows users to wear the watch longer without any issues. Buyers have the option t choose from two colour options for the straps — Deep Blue and Classic Black.
The watch comes with over 150 watch faces including Pride Month, Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, X-Mas, New Year and more. It also allows users to use a custom image as their watch face.
Watch D2 also comes with Bluetooth calling feature that let users take and make calls right from the watch.
Health and fitness features on the watch include real-time heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, sedentary and drink water reminders and more. It also comes with menstrual cycle tracking feature. Additionally, it offers over 120 sports tracking modes including gymnastics, dancing, taekwondo, horse riding, disc games, skipping ropes, hoverboards, etc.
It offers detailed data recording, such as tracking running routes using the smartwatch’s in-app GPS, and providing reports on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
The smartwatch is capable of 24×7 real-time heart rate monitoring along with blood oxygen (SpO2) l
The watch is backed by a 260mAh battery that claims to offer 7 days of battery life.

AMD recently announced its Ryzen X3D processors which includes Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The new Ryzen X3D processor, according to the to deliver faster performance and improved power efficiency. The processors come with 3D V-cache that improves the overall performance of the processor and makes them suitable for gamers, content creators and workstation users. Soon after the launch the company has now announced the pricing of the new processors.
AMD Ryzen X3D processors: Pricing
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D will be available for Socket AM5 on February 28 starting at $699 and $599 USD, respectively. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D will be available on April 6, starting at $449 USD. They will be available for purchase through AMD’s authorized partners and retailers worldwide.
AMD Ryzen X3D: Features
AMD Ryzen X3D processors are available with up to 16 cores and 32 threads. They support maximum clock speed of up to 5.7GHz. Apart from that the higher end version — AMD Ryzen 9 7950 X3D supports 144MB cache and 120W TDP.
Here’s a table for your reference:

Amid economic volatility, war and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have caused the tablet market to fall by 8% in Q4 2022, compared to last year. According to a report by TechInsights, Delayed purchases from Q3 have paid off for consumers looking for holiday deals. This caused the tablet market to decline at a slower pace than the last five quarters to 44.2 million units in Q4 2022.
This closed off the year at 162.1 million units shipped for a 12% YoY decline as the world dealt with war, economic instability and the pandemic. However, Apple and Samsung have stood out among the top brands as these two companies have posted growth during the holiday season. While the competitive landscape changes to meet post-pandemic demand patterns, Apple and Samsung took a combined 58% share of the global tablet market.
How tablet-makers different have performed in Q4 2022
As per the report, Apple and Samsung accounted for 3 out of 5 global tablets shipped during Q4 2022. The Cupertino giant’s shipments grew by 15% YoY to 18.1 million units. The company was assisted by a favourable comparison to its supply-constrained results in 2021.
Meanwhile, Samsung shipments were slightly better than expected at 7.7 million units, growing 5% year-on-year and topping the Android market. Apart from this, Amazon Fire Tablet shipments fell 16% to 4.9 million units. The e-tailer outperformed most competitors in the low tier.
Furthermore, Lenovo shipments were reduced by 49% as it faced pressure from smaller vendors in China and larger vendors in Europe to reach 2.3 million units.

The pace of Huawei‘s decline has also improved as shipments reduced 21% YoY to hit 1.4 million units. However, the latest US sanctions may complicate further improvements.
Industry analyst Chirag Upadhyay has claimed that “wealthier consumers continue to buy premium tier devices from Samsung, while Amazon worked on clearing out inventory and ended lower for the quarter.”
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When I first started writing about tech in the late 1990’s, Gateway 2000 was one of the computer companies that tried to do things differently, with its bovine-themed design filling the pages of computer magazines (aka dead tree with ink on it). “No matter how close you look, the quality shines through” reads one of the slogans. 

Fast forward to 2023, and Gateway 2000 is now an Acer brand that’s exclusive to Walmart, the world’s largest supermarket chain.

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has announced its collaboration with Hans Zimmer for the Buds Pro 2 TWS earbuds. The multi-awarded film music composer will tune the Master EQ for its upcoming TWS earbuds. Zimmer has stated, “I am pleased to work with OnePlus to ensure its second-generation earbuds allow you to be fully immersed into the music and to be transported into a whole new world.” Here are all the details about OnePlus’ latest collaboration:
Master EQ – Soundscape: How it will work
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 are equipped with a Master EQ tuned by Zimmer himself. Named “Soundscape”, the customized EQ has fewer low frequencies than the default setting as well as a brighter and wider sound field that claims to offer the full orchestral sound of a classical symphony and the multi-dimensional sound of an action film. The Buds Pro 2 promises to hear the complex and delicate nuances of film scores and will be able to feel the emotional impact of the music.
OnePlus partners with Hans Zimmer for Buds Pro 2: Details
An EQ is a tool that allows users to adjust the sound signature of their earphones or speakers. It allows them to tune the audio to their taste by changing the balance of different frequency components in an audio signal. They can enhance the deep rumble of the lower frequencies by boosting the bass and can even tweak the higher frequencies so that the treble comes out with extra lightness.
OnePlus is likely to work with other world-famous music composers to develop more customised EQs for users to choose from.

OnePlus collab with Hans Zimmer: More details
Under this collaboration with OnePlus, Hans Zimmer has rearranged the “Lost but Won” Soundtrack. This track is a part of the original soundtrack for the movie Rush, which integrates spatial audio characteristics into the music.
By deploying a range of sound playback technologies, spatial audio enables listeners to distinguish sound all around them without the need for any specific multiple-speaker setup.
OnePlus Buds Pro 2 will be one of the first TWS earbuds to adopt Google’s signature spatial audio function which is developed on Android 13.
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Dassault Systemes has developed a new cost intelligence solution to help Renault Group reduce the impact of rising raw material prices on vehicle production costs. The solution extends Renault Group’s use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, a leading 3D design and engineering software, from design and engineering to the strategic business functions of costing and purchasing. This allows users to contribute to Renault Group’s technological and digital transformation.
The automotive industry is facing numerous challenges, including balancing sustainability, regulatory requirements, and inflation, especially in the face of volatile raw material prices caused by global factors such as armed conflicts, health crises, climate change, and consumer demands. This makes it difficult to ensure a return on investment when aligning the price of a vehicle with the cost of its parts.
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides Renault Group with a powerful combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and collaborative business processes, as well as an enriched 3D data model of the vehicle. This enables Renault Group to aggregate equipment designs, configurations, historical data, and forecasts, and simulate different design scenarios to understand, anticipate, quantify, and optimize vehicle price and cost. The platform also enables Renault Group to improve equipment purchasing negotiations by sharing insights with other stakeholders.
In conclusion, the cost intelligence solution offered by Dassault Systemes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides Renault Group with a unique opportunity to address the challenges posed by volatile raw material prices. The solution offers a data-driven and actionable approach to balancing vehicle design with business, and will play a critical role in Renault Group’s digital transformation efforts.

Lenovo has announced the IdeaPad 1 in India, the company’s first laptop with the Ryzen 3 7320U. The company says that the laptop is the perfect balance of performance, productivity, and responsiveness, ideal for students, teachers, and working professionals.
The IdeaPad 1 features a 15-inch FHD anti-glare display offering 220 nits of brightness. Furthermore, the laptop has a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Audio. The laptop includes an in-built 720p HD camera and comes with a physical privacy shutter.
Powered by AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, the IdeaPad 1 comes with Radeon 610M integrated graphics. Further, the laptop comes with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of M2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, upgradable up to 1TB. The company offers up to 14 hours of battery life.
The laptop comes with support for WiFi 6 connectivity. As for ports, the laptop has a USB 2.0, a USB 3.2 Gen 1, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, an HDMI 1.4, a Card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack.
“Customers are demanding more from mainstream devices where the focus is on enhanced versatility, speed, security, and convenience to suit their needs wherever they are. Keeping this in mind, Lenovo has been purposefully innovating and designing products that are accessible to everyone and are aligned with the on-the-go lifestyle of today’s consumer. Our latest IdeaPad is an affordable but power-packed device with an extended warranty and best-in-class performance, that helps people achieve their goals while they are working, studying, creating, or just catching up with friends out of town,” said Dinesh Nair, Director of Consumer Business, Lenovo India.
Vinay Sinha, Managing Director, Sales, AMD India “AMD is excited to partner with Lenovo as they bring the new range of Lenovo Ideapad1 laptops to Indian consumers. AMD is redefining the everyday laptop experience with the new AMD Ryzen 7020 Series processors, bringing higher performance via a modern platform to consumers. Based on the Zen 2 core architecture and AMD RDNA 2 graphics, these AMD-powered laptops will make multitasking easier, providing increased battery life and enabling better productivity on the move. We are confident that this new line-up offering affordability, improved balance of performance, productivity, and responsiveness will excite consumers,”

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has announced partnership with Ambrane India for mass manufacturing of “haptic smartwatch for the blind and visually impaired”. The haptic smartwatch comes in two variants and has 12 touch-sensitive hour markers arranged over the dial face. Users will be required to scan the markers with their fingers. The smartwatch has been developed by Professor Siddhartha Panda and Vishwaraj Srivastava from the National Centre for Flexible Electronics at IIT Kanpur.
Watches that are currently available for the blind and the visually impaired can be broadly classified into tactile, talking, vibration, and braille-based. These watches have their limitations. There is a risk of needle breakage in tactile watches, similarly talking watches do not offer a private mode of communication. As forvibration watches, they are complicated while braille watches are expensive. The haptic watch developed at IIT Kanpur aims to address the drawbacks of all these conventional technologies and offer a seamless experience to the wearer.
How the watch works
The haptic watch developed at IIT Kanpur has 12 touch sensitive hour markers arranged over the dial face. The user is required to scan the markers with his/her fingers. For instance, to check the time of 3:40, the 3rd and 8th marker in the watch will be termed as the active markers. The vibration pulse will get generated on touching the active markers. A long pulse on 3 will indicate hours and a short pulse on 8 will indicate minutes for checking the time of 3:40.
The watch is a mix of tactile and vibration watches. The complexity of vibration watch generating more than 20 pulses has been reduced to 2 pulses, and the fragile nature of a tactile watch is eliminated, thus resulting in a simple-to-use, private, affordable, and robust watch.
How the smartwatch solves the drawbacks of traditional watches
The smartwatch model is equipped with smart features to indicate health parameters such as heart rate, step count, hydration reminder and smart timer to set short timer by using simple gesture.
The existing smartwatches for the blind and visually impaired use audio-based output and lacks privacy. The IIT Kanpur-developed smartwatch, which offers a tactile-haptic interface for display of time and health parameters, addresses these drawbacks. The use of innovative haptic icons makes it easy to navigate the menu and a simple gesture like the double-tap can open a particular health monitoring app. These numbers are communicated in a similar way as the time.