How Will the Indian Phone Market Impact If the Government Bans Cheap Chinese Smartphones under sub-12K?

How Will the Indian Phone Market Impact If the Government Bans Cheap Chinese Smartphones under sub-12K?

The government of India is now looking forward to wipe out the selling of cheap Chinese smartphone brands in India in order to perk up the domestic smartphone brands such as Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, and others in the country under the tag of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. According to several media reports, sources from the ministry, and an exclusive report of Bloomberg highlighted that the nation “seeks to restrict Chinese smartphone makers from selling devices cheaper than Rs 12,000 ($150) to kick-start its faltering domestic industry”.

Nijhum Rudra Thu, 08/25/2022 - 17:12
Circuit Digest 25 Aug 12:42

The Morning After: Apple’s big iPhone event is happening September 7th

Apple has just sent invites for its next hardware event. As expected, the company will share what it's been working on for the past year on September 7th, with a live broadcast from Apple Park starting at 1 PM ET. The invite features the words "Far out", so hit up Reddit for what that could possibly mean. We’re expecting new phones and wearables from Apple.

Rumor-wise, the iPhone 14 may include more RAM, longer-lasting batteries and a better selfie camera. Meanwhile, the Pro models are expected to feature a new design that swaps a display notch for a Samsung-style hole-punch front camera cutout. The Pro phones might also pack a new 48-megapixel main camera and thinner display bezels.

– Mat Smith

 

The biggest stories you might have missed

HyperX Armada 25 is a monitor with an arm, but no stand

That’s not normal, but it’s welcome.

Engadget

HyperX is putting its own spin on the burgeoning gaming monitor product category. Instead of bundling the display with a traditional stand, the company has created an all-in-one package featuring an adjustable monitor arm. For HyperX, the goal is, apparently, to offer a simple solution that frees up desk space for things like extra-large mousepads, wireless charging pads or any other peripheral you could imagine.

Continue reading.

Plex tells users to reset their passwords after potential data breach

A third-party entity accessed users' emails, usernames and encrypted passwords.

Plex says someone has infiltrated its system. The company says a third-party entity got access to a subset of its data, which includes people's emails, usernames and encrypted passwords. Plex says it has already addressed the method the bad actor used to infiltrate its system, but it didn't elaborate on what method that was. For now, Plex is requiring all users to change their passwords "out of an abundance of caution."

Continue reading.

Fitbit unveils Sense 2, Versa 4 and Inspire 3 in smartwatch and fitness tracker refresh

The smartwatches both gain turn-by-turn directions and Google Wallet.

Fitbit

Fitbit has several updated wearables to announce, all at once. Both the Sense 2 and Versa 4, which already have continuous heart rate monitoring, will connect to Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions on your wrist. The pair also get access to Google Wallet – reminding all of us that the company is now owned by, well, Google. Its entry-level Inspire fitness tracker has also got a battery upgrade and more.

Continue reading.

Get ready for a movie based on the rise and fall of BlackBerry

It will reportedly star Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton.

It’s the spicy tech tale we all needed to see at the movie theater. Relive the rise and fall of the company from the time it was still known as Research in Motion (RIM) until it lost the smartphone fight against Google and Apple. Miss the phone keyboard? Then you won’t want to miss this epic.

Continue reading.

Bill in New York State Senate would require new cars to have speed-limiting tech

The legislation also targets blind spots in larger vehicles.

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman has proposed legislation that would require automakers to fit speed limiting tech to new cars. If the bill passes, any passenger vehicle built after January 1st, 2024, registered in the state will need to have "advanced safety technology." The bill notes there were 270 traffic-related deaths in New York City's streets in 2021, up from 243 the previous year.

Continue reading.

'The Dark Pictures: The Devil In Me' launches on November 18th

Supermassive Games, which you might know for developing Until Dawn, has released the trailer for the fourth entry of The Dark Pictures Anthology at Gamescom 2022. The anthology, which the developer first announced in 2018, is comprised of interactive standalone titles that tackle various horror tropes and subgenres. This entry is entitled The Devil in Me, and it's all about serial killers. It centers around a group of documentary filmmakers who gets invited to visit a replica of the Murder Castle, the hotel in Chicago where H. H. Holmes tortured and killed his victims. And because it's a survival horror game, of course things aren't what they seem, and the characters find themselves being watched and controlled.

The game serves as the anthology's Season One finals and will have to solving tool-based puzzles to survive and escape "killing rooms" where failure means death — and yes, all playable characters can die during your playthrough. If you don't want to play alone, you can share your story online with a friend or play offline with up to four other people using the pass-the-pad mode. 

The Devil in Me will be available starting on November 18th, 2022, and unlike Until Dawn, it won't be a PlayStation-exclusive. In addition to the PS5 and the PS4, it will also be playable on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, as well as on PCs. You can watch the game's full trailer below:

Sony raises PlayStation 5 pricing across the globe, but not in the US

Gamers who've yet to get the PS5 may have to pay more for the console when they do buy it. Sony Interactive Entertainment has raised the console's prices in select markets due to "challenging economic conditions," president and CEO Jim Ryan has announced on the PlayStation blog. The company had to make the difficult decision, he said, due to high global inflation rates, as well as currency fluctuations. PlayStation fans in the US can breathe easy — there will be no price hikes in the US for now. 

Ryan said Sony is increasing the recommended retail price for the console in Canada, Mexico, Europe, the UK, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Latin America, China and Australia. In Japan, the new prices will take effect on September 15th. Both the disc and the digital versions will cost €50 more than their launch prices (€500 and €300, respectively) in Europe and £30 more than their original prices (£450 and £360) in the UK. The consoles will cost around ¥10,500 more in Japan, as well, where they originally sold for ¥49,980 and ¥39,980.

As a closer, Ryan said the price increase is a necessity "given the current global economic environment." He promised, however, that Sony's top priority remains improving the PS5's supply so that more people can get it. The company said in May that it will finally be able to ramp up the console's production, though it also said that its efforts may not be enough to fully meet the strong demand for the console until next year.

The PS5's new prices in select markets are listed below. Take note that parts of EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific will also be affected, and Sony recommends checking with local retailers for specifics.

  • Europe
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99
    PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99

  • UK
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
    PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99

  • Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥60,478 yen (including tax)
    PS5 Digital Edition – ¥49,478 yen (including tax)

  • China
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥4,299 yuan
    PS5 Digital Edition – ¥3,499 yuan

  • Australia
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $799.95
    PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $649.95

  • Mexico
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – MXN $14,999
    PS5 Digital Edition – MXN $12,499

  • Canada
    PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CAD $649.99
    PS5 Digital Edition – CAD $519.99

Two-Phase Bipolar Stepping Motor Driver IC for Office Automation and Financial Equipment

Two-Phase Bipolar Stepping Motor Driver IC for Office Automation and Financial Equipment

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has expanded its lineup of stepping motor driver ICs with the launch of “TB67S549FTG” which is a stepping motor driver IC housed in a small package, with built-in constant-current control that does not require external circuit components.

Lakshita Khanna Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:07
Circuit Digest 25 Aug 07:37

Sonos is reportedly developing a speaker that can beam sound in almost all directions

Sonos is working on a new flagship speaker that could be quite a departure from its existing models, according to The Verge. The publication reports that it has seen early images of a new high-end speaker with the codename Optimo 2. If its current design sticks, the device will be encased in a dual-angled shell and will be able to fire sound in nearly all directions, including upwards. Its work-in-progress images apparently make it look like as big as the Sonos Five, an old flagship released in 2015 that went through an upgrade last year. And when it comes out, it will be available in black and white. 

Sources told The Verge that Optimo 2 will have twice the RAM and as much as eight times more flash memory than previous speakers, which could indicate that Sonos plans to support it with updates for a lengthy period of time. It will have both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, the latter only being present in the company's portable speakers at the moment. Sonos is reportedly also considering adding support for USB-C line-in playback. While Five also has line-in playback capability, it supports sound input via a 3.5mm jack, not a USB-C port. 

Based on the features it will supposedly have, the Optimo 2 could be Five's successor. The publication says it's just one of a trio of new speakers Sonos is currently developing, though, the others being the Optimo 1 and 1 SL. These two other models will likely be smaller speakers, and the "SL" in the latter's name stands for "speechless," which means it wouldn't come with microphones and wouldn't support voice control. Sonos has yet to confirm that any of these models are in development, but we've reached out to the company and will update this post when we hear back. 

Instacart's 'Big & Bulky' service lets you order big and bulky items

After introducing 30-minute deliveries last year, Instacart will now allow you to order large items from retailers. The company’s new service, aptly named “Big & Bulky,” promises same-day and scheduled delivery of products like outdoor furniture, office supplies and home electronics. As of today, a handful of retailers, including Mastermind Toys, Office Depot and Staples, are participating in the program nationally.

If you already use Instacart to buy groceries, you can order large items at the same time as buying food for the week. The company suggests some admittedly bizarre use cases in which you might take advantage of the service. For example, say you don’t have a TV before the football game you want to watch. Instacart says you can use its app to get a 55-inch set within an hour. How often you’ll find yourself in such situations is hard to say, but the good news is that the service opens up an additional way for the company’s contract shoppers to earn money. Instacart told Techcrunch it would pay workers who accept Big & Bulky orders based on the number and weight of the items in an order and offer a “heavy pay” incentive where applicable.

Twitter whistleblower to testify about company's 'widespread security failures' at Senate hearing

Twitter’s former security chief will testify at a Senate hearing about the company’s security practices. Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who recently went public with a lengthy whistleblower complaint based on his experiences at the company, will appear at a Judiciary Committee hearing on September 13th.

“Mr. Zatko’s allegations of widespread security failures and foreign state actor interference at Twitter raise serious concerns,” committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement. “If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world.”

The hearing was announced one day after Zatko went public with claims that Twitter has been “grossly negligent” in its handling of numerous security issues. Some of the most explosive of his allegations, however, surround Twitter’s dealings with foreign governments and government actors, which he has said could threaten U.S. national security.

BREAKING: Chair @SenatorDurbin and Ranking Member @ChuckGrassley announced a full Committee hearing to investigate allegations of widespread security failures at Twitter and foreign state actor interference on Tuesday, September 13 at 10am.

— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) August 24, 2022

Twitter previously responded to Zatko’s claims by saying it was “riddled with inaccuracies.” And CEO Parag Agrawal reportedly told Twitter staffers that Zatko was fired for “for ineffective leadership and poor performance,” but the company has yet to publicly address the allegations in detail.

Amazon is shutting its down telehealth service

Amazon plans to discontinue its Care telehealth service by the end of the year, reports The Washington Post. The company reportedly told employees of the decision during a meeting on Wednesday. It's expected "dozens" of employees will lose their jobs as a result. 

Amazon did not immediately respond to Engadget's request for comment. “This decision wasn’t made lightly and only became clear after many months of careful consideration,” Amazon senior vice president of health Neil Lindsay told employees in a memo the company shared with The Post. “Although our enrolled members have loved many aspects of Amazon Care, it is not a complete enough offering for the large enterprise customers we have been targeting, and wasn’t going to work long-term.”

Amazon's decision to shutter the service is surprising given that the company only last year announced it was expanding its availability to more workers and companies across the US. What's more, Amazon CEO Adam Jassy highlighted Amazon Care in his 2021 letter to shareholders, citing the platform as an example of the "type of iterative innovation" that was driving the next chapter of the company. More recently, the company struck a deal to buy healthcare provider One Medical for $3.9 billion

Peloton is now selling its fitness gear on Amazon

Beleaguered fitness company Peloton has struck a deal with Amazon to sell a selection of fitness equipment and merchandise on the e-commerce platform, reportedCNBC. The maker of connected bikes and other exercise machines has struggled with declining sales as many people return to gyms and office life. The Amazon partnership marks the first time Peloton will sell its merchandise outside of its website and showrooms. Any fitness equipment ordered on Amazon will also include free delivery and assembly, which is the same deal currently offered on Peloton’s website.

“We want to make it as easy as possible to get a Peloton,” Peloton’s Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Cornils told CNBC in an interview. Following a sharp increase in demand for its products during the pandemic that it struggled to meet, the company now faces the opposite problem: an excess of inventory. Peloton has experimented with new methods to boost sales, including a bike rental plan and partnering with colleges and hotels. Despite these efforts, bike and subscription sales have stagnated.

The company announced it would stop making its own bikes this summer, resulting in the layoffs of 600 Tonic factory employees. Earlier this month, it slashed another 780 jobs, shut down a large number of its retail locations and increased the prices of some equipment. It also announced that it would no longer perform deliveries of its own equipment and shifted last-mile logistics to a third-party company.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journalreported that Amazon had been in talks with Peloton to potentially acquire the fitness company. While it hasn’t yet gone that route, the success of Peloton sales on Amazon could lead to the companies teaming up on more efforts.