Category: Tech

Oppo Reno 11 Pro, Reno 11 to Debut With Android 14-Based ColorOS 14 in India, Will Get 3 OS Upgrades

Oppo Reno 11 Pro and Oppo Reno 11 will go official in India on January 12. Ahead of the launch, the Chinese smartphone brand has confirmed that the Oppo Reno 11 series will run on Android-14 based ColorOS 14 in the country. Additionally, Oppo has promised three generations of Android updates and up to four years of security updates for the latest flagship handsets. The Oppo Reno 11 series was launched in China in November last year. The Indian version of Oppo Reno 11 is said to run on a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, while the Pro model could get a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC.

Through a press release on Tuesday, Oppo announced that both Oppo Reno 11 Pro and Reno 11 will ship with Android 14-based ColorOS 14 out of the box in India. The flagship handsets are confirmed to receive three major Android version upgrades and four years of security updates. This means the upcoming smartphones should get up to Android 17.

ColorOS 14, Oppo’s new custom skin, was introduced in November last year ahead of the debut of the Reno 11 series in China. The latest ColorOS version based on Android 14 has an Aquamorphic design with new sound effects, colour systems, and interactions, and includes a Trinity Engine to improve RAM and storage management. It has several AI-powered features and new privacy functionalities. It offers an AI-powered Smart Touch, updated File Dock, Smart Image Matting feature, and Smart Charging among others.

Oppo Reno 11 series will launch in India on January 12 and will be sold via Flipkart. The Indian variants of Oppo Reno 11 and Oppo Reno 11 Pro are said to run on MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC and MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC, respectively. The Chinese version of the vanilla model has MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset under the hood, whereas the Pro model is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.

The Oppo Reno 11 series boasts 6.70-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,412 pixels) OLED curved displays with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. They have a triple rear camera setup led by 50-megapixel primary sensor. Both phones have 32-megapixel shooters for selfies and video chats. There is a 4,700mAh battery on the Reno 11 Pro with 80W Super Flash Charge support. The Oppo Reno 11 houses a 4,800mAh battery with support for 67W Super Flash Charge.

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? 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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Moto G34 5G With Snapdragon 695 SoC Launched in India: Price, Specifications

Moto G34 5G has been launched in India on Tuesday (January 9) as the latest budget 5G smartphone from the Lenovo-owned brand. The handset arrives as Motorola’s first product of 2024 in India and features a hole-punch display with 120Hz refresh rate. The Moto G34 5G runs on a Snapdragon 695 SoC, coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. It has a dual rear camera unit headlined by a 50-megapixel main sensor. The Moto G34 5G houses a 5,000mAh battery. The smartphone was initially unveiled in the Chinese market in December last year.

Moto G34 5G price in India, availability

The price of Moto G34 5G in India has been set at Rs. 10,999 for the base 4GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The top-end model with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage is priced at Rs. 11,999. Motorola is offering a Rs. 1,000 exchange bonus for the new device to bring down the effective price to Rs. 9,999 and Rs. 10,999 respectively. It comes in Charcoal Black, Ice Blue, and Ocean Green colours. The Green variant has a vegan leather finish rear panel.

The new Moto G34 5G will go on sale through Flipkart as well as select retail stores in the country starting January 17.

Moto G34 5G specifications

The dual SIM (Nano) Moto G34 5G ships with Android 14 and the company is assuring an upgrade to Android 15 and three years of security patches for the handset. It features a 6.5-inch HD+ (720×1,600 pixels) LCD display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The display has 269ppi pixel density and 580nits of peak brightness. The display has a hole punch cutout at the top and has Panda Glass protection. It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC, along with 8GB of RAM. The available memory can be virtually expanded further up to 16GB using unused storage. 

Moto G34 5G
Photo Credit: Motorola

 

For optics, the Moto G34 5G sports a dual rear camera setup that includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a 2-megapixel macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture alongside a single LED flash. Selfies and video calls are handled by a 16-megapixel front camera with f/2.4 aperture. The 5G smartphone features 128GB of UFS 2.2 onboard storage that can be expanded up to 1TB via a microSD card slot.

Connectivity options on the Moto G34 5G include 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS/A-GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port. It includes a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication and supports face unlock feature. Other sensors onboard are accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope, SAR sensor, sensor hub, e-compass, and proximity sensor. It features dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos sound technology. 

The Moto G34 5G houses a 5,000mAh battery bundled with 20W TurboPower (included in the box) charging. It measures 162.7×74.6x8mm and weighs 179 grams. The Vegan Leather version weighs 181 grams. 

The Motorola Edge 40 recently made its debut in the country as the successor to the Edge 30 that was launched last year. Should you buy this phone instead of the Nothing Phone 1 or the Realme Pro+? 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 Vision Pro to Go on Sale in the US on February 2, Pre-Orders Start on January 19

Apple’s first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, will become available in the US starting February, the company announced on Tuesday. Pre-orders for the headset will open on January 19. The headset will be available at all US Apple Store locations as well as through the company’s web store. The Apple Vision Pro was announced in June last year at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023. The headset supports both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies and runs on the visionOS operating system.

The Apple Vision Pro will officially launch in the US on February 2, the company announced via a post on its newsroom site. It will be available for purchase through all US Apple Store locations and the US Apple Store online. Users will be able to sign up to try the headset out for themselves at the company’s retail stores. The preorders for the device will open on January 19 at 5:00am PST (6.30pm IST).

The price of Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2,90,000) with 256GB storage. The device ships with a Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band. The package also includes a Light Seal and two Light Seal Cushions, as well as a polishing cloth, a battery, a USB Type-C cable, and a USB Type-C adapter. Further, there will be an Apple Vision Pro cover for the front of the device.

For those with vision correction needs, ZEISS Optical Inserts are available with a prescription or as readers that magnetically attach to Vision Pro. Apple says that readers will cost $99 (roughly Rs. 8,000), while prescription lenses are available for $149 (roughly Rs. 12,000).

Prices and release dates for the Apple Vision Pro in countries other than the US are yet to be announced.

The Apple Vision Pro was unveiled at Apple’s WWDC event in June last year marking the company’s foray into spatial computing. It runs on visionOS and features two high-resolution micro-OLED displays. It is powered by Apple’s M2 chips and includes an R1 chip to process input from 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones. The headset has a three-dimensional user interface and input system controlled by a user’s eyes, hands, and voice. With the twist of the Digital Crown, users can control the level of immersion in different environments.

Apple claims that more than 1 million apps across iOS and iPadOS are available on Apple Vision Pro and automatically work with the new input system. Users can pair it with a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad for productivity needs. It lets users stream shows and movies from platforms including Apple TV+, Disney+ Max and more. For gamers, the Vision Pro offers over 250 Apple Arcade titles. 

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Sony Said to Be Planning to Call Off $10 Billion Merger With Zee

Sony Group is planning to call off the merger pact of its India unit with Zee Entertainment Enterprises, said people familiar with the matter, capping two years of drama and delay in creating a $10 billion (roughly Rs. 83,040 crore) media giant.

The Japanese conglomerate is looking to cancel the deal due to a standoff over whether Zee’s Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka, also its founder’s son, would lead the merged entity, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. While the agreement signed in 2021 was that Goenka would lead the new company, Sony no longer wants him as CEO amid a regulatory probe, the people said.

Sony plans to file the termination notice before a January 20 extended deadline for closing the deal, saying some of the conditions necessary for the merger had not been met, one of the people said. Goenka has stood his ground in wanting to helm the merged entity, as agreed initially, over prolonged meetings in the past few weeks, according to another person.

Discussions are still ongoing between the two sides and a resolution can still emerge before the deadline.

Representatives for Sony and Zee did not immediately respond to an email and phone calls seeking comment.

Last-Mile Tussle

The scuttling of the deal due to the last-lap leadership tussle will not only leave Zee vulnerable to possible defaults, it’s coming at a time when billionaire Mukesh Ambani is seeking to bolster Reliance Industries Ltd.’s media ambitions by negotiating a merger with Walt Disney Co.’s India unit.

The Sony-Zee combine aimed to create a $10 billion media behemoth with the financial muscle to take on global powerhouses Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. as well as local heavyweights like Reliance.

Mumbai-based Zee had earlier requested for an extension of a December 21 deadline by a month. Sony said then that it wanted to hear Zee’s proposals on completing the “remaining critical closing conditions.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India alleged in June that Zee faked the recovery of loans to cover private financing deals by its founder, Subhash Chandra. Chandra and his son, Goenka, “abused their position” and siphoned off funds, SEBI said in an interim order, barring Goenka from executive or director appointments in listed companies.

While Goenka got a reprieve from an appellate authority against the Sebi order, Sony views the ongoing probe as a corporate governance issue, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Sony Pictures Networks India would have owned a 50.86 percent stake in the merged media firm and Goenka’s family was to own 3.99 percent in the proposed transaction, according to the 2021 agreement. The proposed merger has received almost all regulatory approvals and would have helped expand Sony’s media business in the world’s most-populous country.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP

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Will Apple’s Vision Pro launch be a Groundhog Day for immersive computing?

Apple’s Vision Pro headset is set to finally launch in the U.S. on February 2, at a retail price of $3,499. At that price, there’s no doubt it’ll have limited appeal, which seems just fine with Apple given reports about their initial sales expectations. Apple originally announced Vision Pro last June at its annual developer event, and it’s been teasing out hands-on time to select media, influencers and developers in an extended hype and ecosystem preparation event ever since.

The big question remains, will Apple Vision Pro meaningfully move the needle on immersive computing – or will it be yet another splashy launch for a VR/AR/MR product that fails to change the status quo?

Based on the handful of first-hand accounts available, one thing seems clear about Apple Vision Pro: No one’s doubting its quality or capabilities. Many were impressed by the experience of playing back volumetric video they themselves had captured with their iPhones thanks to a recent software update, and people seemed to universally enjoy watching blockbuster movies in 3D on the headset during their demo. Reactions to other aspects of the experience were more mixed, but again generally very positive.

Curiously, much of what Apple pitched with the Vision Pro launch focused on things you already do all the time on your other devices, including your iPhone, Mac and iPad. The strategy makes a lot of sense given how prior mixed reality devices have missed the mark with overblown claims about revolutionary new computing paradigms, only to end up as niche successes at best – or expensive closet adornments at worst.

The other major player who’s had any success so far in this market is Meta, which introduced the third generation of its Quest headset last year. Meta’s playing in a very different pond when compared to Apple based on price point alone, since the Quest 3 retails for $499 – seven times less than Apple’s debut hardware. Meta started with a more expensive, higher-end option way back in the Oculus origin days, and then went for a mass-market approach, tackling price first and adding back in features as component costs went down to try to find a happy medium where budget accommodations met feature set and quality to drive mass market appeal.

Based on VR client usage tracking numbers, the Meta Quest 3 appears to be doing decently well and may have picked up steam during the most recent holiday quarter, but it’s also been reported that demand for the category is down generally and Meta’s still funnelling way more money into the category than it’s recouping from potentially dwindling demand. And that’s with an extremely solid product on the market: The Quest 3 is easily the best VR hardware I’ve used so far in terms of balancing great features and performance with a decent price tag and a fairly impressive software library.

It’s unclear what kind of software library Apple Vision Pro will have at launch; the company has been hosting developer preview events and working with them to prepare apps for consumer availability, so it seems likely they’ll have some standout offerings when it’s time for the first Vision Pro customers to boot up their devices and strap them to their faces.

Apple’s approach to this inaugural launch of its XR ambitions is unique, and it has the added advantage of being a company with a long history of coming relatively late to a category and then owning it, with the iPhone, the iPad and the Apple Watch all being stellar examples.

But it’s facing something here it hasn’t necessarily in the past, which is a device category that has actually enjoyed lots of hype and heraldry as the ‘next big thing’ in computing – for around a decade now. Portable media players and smartphones in particular didn’t enjoy this kind of paradigm-shift shot-calling, only to fall mostly flat the way VR and mixed reality has to date.

Mark Zuckerberg has experienced first-hand how easy it is to be stuck in a seeming time-loop unveiling the next generation of spatial computing, only to find himself on stage the very next year announcing basically the same thing in a slightly different way – and yet not having that future come to pass. Apple seems poised to potentially fall into the same trap, with Vision Pro a splashy instantiation of a mixed reality future we’ve all seen promised before but have no real interest in actually collectively buying into.

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Oppo Find X7, Find X7 Ultra Debut With Up to Dual Periscope Cameras: Price, Specifications

Oppo Find X7 Ultra has been launched in China as the first phone with two periscope cameras. The flagship smartphone was unveiled alongside the Oppo Find X7 and features a Hasselblad-branded quad rear camera setup including four 50-megapixel cameras. The Find X7 Ultra is the first handset to include Sony’s second-generation 1-inch-type LYT-900 sensor. The handset runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. The Oppo Find X7, in contrast, has a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC under the hood. Other key features of the lineup include AMOLED screens with 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, 32-megapixel selfie shooter, 5,000mAh battery, and 100W charging support.

Oppo Find X7, Oppo Find X7 Ultra price

The newly launched Oppo Find X7 Ultra is currently available in China with a price tag of CNY 5,999 (roughly Rs. 70,000) for the base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model. The 16GB RAM + 256GB storage version is priced at CNY 6,499 (roughly Rs. 75,000), while the top-end model with 16GB RAM + 512GB model is priced at CNY 6,999 (roughly Rs. 80,000). It is offered in Pine Shadow, Silver Moon, Vast Sea, and Sky (translated from Chinese) colour options.

The price of Oppo Find X7 is set at CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 46,000) for the 12GB RAM + 256GB version and CNY 4,299 (roughly Rs. 50,000) for the 16GB + 256GB storage variant. The top-end models with 16GB+ 512GB and 16GB + 1TB are priced at CNY 4,599 (roughly Rs. 53,000), and CNY 4,999 (roughly Rs. 58,000), respectively. The vanilla model is available in Black Starry Sky, Silver Moon, Purple Smoke and Sea, and Sky (translated from Chinese) shades. 

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra is likely to remain exclusive to the Chinese market like last year’s Oppo Find X6 series. Details regarding the launch of the new series in global markets are yet to be announced. 

Oppo Find X7 Ultra specifications

Oppo Find X7 Ultra runs on Android 14-based ColorOS 14.0 and features a 6.82-inch QHD (1440×3,168 pixels) AMOLED LTPO display with 510ppi pixel density, 4500nits peak brightness, up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and up to 240Hz touch sampling rate. As mentioned, the flagship smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, along with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 onboard storage.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra is the first smartphone to include two periscope cameras and the first in the market to pack a 1-inch Sony LYT-900 sensor. It has a Hasselblad-tuned quad rear camera setup comprising four 50-megapixel cameras. The camera setup includes a 50-megapixel LYT-900 one-inch main camera with f/1.8 aperture and OIS (optical image stabilisation) and a 50-megapixel LYT-600 ultrawide secondary shooter with 1/1.95-inch size 14mm focal length. The handset flaunts two periscope cameras. The 65mm periscope camera offers a 3x zoom while the second periscope lens offers a 6x optical zoom. For selfies and video chats, there is a 32-megapixel camera sensor on the front.

Connectivity options on the Oppo Find X7 Ultra include NFC, 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, USB 3.2 port, GPS/ A-GPS, and a USB Type-C port. It has a Satellite Communication feature. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and geomagnetic sensor. It also features an in-display fingerprint sensor for authentication. The handset supports facial recognition and has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 100W SuperVOOC charging and 50W wireless charging. It measures 164.3x 76.2×9.5mm and weighs around 221 grams.

Oppo Find X7 specifications

The dual SIM (Nano) Oppo Find X7 runs Android 14 with ColorOS 14 and features a 6.78-inch 1.5K (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display with dynamic refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz and up to 4500 nits peak brightness. It is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC along with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.

For optics, the Oppo Find X7 has a triple rear camera unit tuned by Hasselblad. The camera setup comprises a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.6 aperture and OIS, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, and a 64-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with OIS. On the front, there is a 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Connectivity options and sensors in the Oppo Find X7 are identical to the Oppo Find X7 Ultra. It includes an in-display fingerprint sensor and supports facial recognition. The phone features an IP65 rating for dust and splash resistance. 

The Oppo Find X7 is backed by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 100W wired fast charging. The fast charging technology is claimed to fill the battery from zero to 50 percent in just 10 minutes and to 100 percent in 26 minutes. It measures 162.7×75.4×9.0mm and weighs around 206 grams. 

Oppo has promised four major Android updates and five years of security updates for both the Find X7 and Find X7 Ultra.

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? 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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iPhone to Get New AI Features as Part of iOS 18 at WWDC 2024: Report

Since the launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s wildly successful AI chatbot in November 2022, technology companies have rushed to integrate artificial intelligence tools to their hardware and software offerings. Microsoft, which is also an OpenAI backer, moved early last year to launch its own generative AI chatbot, Bing Chat (now renamed as Copilot), in addition to bringing the new technology to its wide range of applications and services. Google, too, rushed out Bard through the gates and has since added a host of AI features to its products after a wobbly start. And Samsung is getting ready to launch its next lineup of flagship Galaxy S series smartphones packed with AI features later this month. Apple, on the hand, has lagged far behind its competitors in the AI race, even as it remains hard at work on its own generative AI offerings. The company is reportedly planning to announce the same at its Worldwide Developers Conference later this year.

In his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg on Monday, Mark Gurman said that Apple’s generative AI push will come packaged as part of iOS 18. The iPhone maker is working on its own large language model (LLM), internally known as Ajax, and will likely announce its AI offerings at WWDC in June, the newsletter added. Gurman claimed that Apple had been testing its AI model since early 2023.

While Google has already released its AI-ready Pixel 8 series of phones and Samsung is set to bring Galaxy AI on its upcoming smartphones, offering a host of on-device AI-powered features, Apple is readying AI services for iPhone in its efforts to catch up to its rivals. Gurman’s newsletter mentioned some of the likely offerings on the way. “Apple is eyeing adding features like auto-summarizing and auto-complete to its core apps and productivity software such as Pages and Keynote,” it said.

Additionally, the Cupertino, California-based company also plans to bring AI to Apple Music for better playlists and recommendations. According to the newsletter, Apple’s on-device assistant Siri is also set for an AI overhaul as advanced chatbots like ChatGPT and Copilot pull ahead in the space. While the company will likely roll out its AI offerings later this year, Gurman said that the company would only be able to fully scale its generative AI vision by at least next year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, too, had said in December that upcoming iPhone 16 models would be equipped with an upgraded microphone designed to significantly boost the Siri experience and voice input. According to Kuo, the Siri team at Apple has been working on LLMs and other AI features since Q3 2023.

Last month, it was reported that Apple is negotiating deals with publishers to train its generative AI systems on news content. The company had reportedly pitched multiyear deals worth at least $50 million (roughly Rs. 420 crore) to license the news article archives from publishers like Condé Nast, the New Yorker, NBC News and more.

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company’s latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro 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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Crypto Industry’s Talent-Demand Supply Dynamic Notably Diversified in 2023, Good Scope Ahead: Unocoin CEO

The regulatory and safety concerns kept the global crypto market highly volatile in 2023. This made 2023 the slowest year for crypto since 2019. The number of job openings in the Web3 sector also registered ups and downs last year – where opportunities did diversify on the global level but saw a reported decline of over 15 percent. In conversation with Gadgets360, Unocoin’s Sathvik Vishwanath said that the talent demand-supply dynamic of the crypto industry has diversified and moved beyond classic developer roles in the last one year.

More established firms started small experiments with Web3 in 2023 after the regulatory landscape took some shape on an international level. Under India’s presidency, the G20 nations adopted a roadmap to regulate the crypto sector that is gradually making inroads into the industry. European Union’s MiCA regulation, meanwhile, has also started to attract players from the Web3 industry to set shops within its jurisdiction.

As sector regulations begin taking shape globally, more Web3 and crypto-related jobs found their way onto search portals.

“With startups, established companies, and traditional financial institutions actively recruiting skilled individuals to navigate the evolving crypto landscape, professionals with expertise in decentralised finance (DeFi) and blockchain have emerged as particularly sought after,” Vishwanath told Gadgets360.

As per the Coincub’s Blockchain Jobs Report 2023, India’s LinkedIn space saw around 3,690 job openings in 2023. Comparatively, Germany, the US, France, the Netherlands, and Spain generated more jobs in Web2 last year.

Some of the top job profiles in Web3 last year were crypto investment manager, legal expert, blockchain product manager, crypto researchers, crypto security consultant, NFT specialist, data analyst, and crypto marketing manager alongside the typical roles of crypto and blockchain developers.

Vishwanath believes that the year of 2024 will see the jobs landscape around Web3 expand and mature overall – but the space is still riddled with challenges, he noted.

“Despite regulatory clarity and institutional adoption contributing to job demands in Web3, challenges persist, such as a shortage of professionals with the necessary skill sets. Educational institutions are working to bridge this gap, but the rapid pace of technological advancements often outpaces traditional learning programs,” the Unocoin honcho added.

In the last few months, many global authorities have undertaken the responsibility to drive training and education around Web3. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has decided to launch a blockchain academy in 2024. Through this initiative, the UNDP is also looking to train 22,000 staff members in blockchain and Web3 technologies.

In India, crypto players like CoinCX and Binance as well as organisations like the Bharat Web3 Association are working to propagate technical training in the sector.

Data from 2022 indicated that crypto jobs had risen by 804 percent increase between April 2020 and April 2022. The catastrophic fall downs of projects like FTX and Terra in 2022 totally impacted the trajectory of the industry in 2023. The crypto sector valuation, that was over $3 trillion towards the end of 2021 – was valued at $1.65 trillion at the end of 2023.

“Looking ahead, the talent landscape in 2024 will likely be characterised by fierce competition, leading to increased salaries and incentives for qualified professionals. Interdisciplinary expertise combining blockchain knowledge with finance, law, and cybersecurity will become increasingly valuable, emphasising the importance of continuous learning and adaptability for thriving in the dynamic and rapidly expanding crypto job market,” Vishwanath noted.

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Acer Swift X 14, Swift Go 14, Swift Go 16 Laptops Refreshed With Intel Core Ultra CPUs: Price, Specifications

Acer has refreshed a few Swift series laptops ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, which will be held from January 9 to January 12 in Las Vegas. The Acer Swift X 14, Swift Go 14, and Swift Go 16 models have been refreshed with Intel Core Ultra processors. These chipsets were launched in December 2023 and are equipped with Intel AI Boost Neural Processing Units (NPUs), which are said to offer increased support for inbuilt AI-backed features. They also come with a dedicated Microsoft Copilot key. These laptops will be available for purchase in different regions across the world over the next few months, although their India launch has not yet been confirmed.

Acer Swift X 14, Swift Go 14, Swift Go 16 price, availability

The company has announced that the Acer Swift X 14 will start in the US at $1,399.99 (roughly Rs. 1,16,300), while the Swift Go 14 and Swift Go 16 will have a starting price of $749.99 (roughly Rs. 62,300) and $799.99 (roughly Rs. 66,500), respectively. The company has also confirmed that the Acer Swift X 14 and Swift Go 14 will be available for purchase in the US, the EMEA region and China in February 2024. The Swift Go 16, on the other hand, will be available starting in February in the EMEA region and in March in North American markets.

Acer Swift X 14, Swift Go 14, Swift Go 16 specifications, features

The Acer Swift X 14 features a 14.5-inch 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800 pixels) OLED panel with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The Acer Swift Go 14 and Swift Go 16 are equipped with a 14-inch 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800 pixels) touchscreen OLED with a refresh rate of 90Hz and a 16-inch 3.2K (3,200 x 2,000 pixels) touchscreen OLED with a refresh rate of 120Hz, respectively. These displays come with a peak brightness level of 500 nits and VESA Display HDR TrueBlack 500 certification.

All three laptops are powered by up to Intel Core Ultra 7 processors paired with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, which also supports up to 32GB of LPDDR5X-6400 DRAM. The Acer Swift X 14 offers support for up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD onboard storage, while the Swift Go 14 and Swift Go 16 come with up to dual-slot 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage.

The company claims that Acer Swift X 14 and Swift Go 14 offer a battery life of up to 12.5 hours, whereas the Swift Go 16 is said to provide a run time of up to 10.5 hours. The Swift X 14 comes with two USB Type-C ports, one HDMI 2.1 port and one MicroSD card reader slot. Meanwhile, the refreshed Swift Go models have two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-A and one HDMI 2.1 port, alongside a MicroSD card reading slot.

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Astrobotic lander on its way to the moon with ULA’s historic flight

It’s hard to understate just how much was at stake in Monday’s early morning launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket: multiple major reputations, billions of dollars, a new moon lander, the country’s dreams for lunar exploration, brand new rocket engines flying for the first time, and what is quite literally ULA’s future.

And ULA pulled it off. The company’s next-generation rocket Vulcan Centaur successfully lifted off in the early hours of Monday, and its primary payload, a lunar lander from Astrobotic, is now on its way to the moon.

The heavy-lift rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Center at 2:18 AM EST Monday. The first stage, which is powered by two methane-fueled BE-4 engines from Blue Origin, separate from the Centaur V upper stage at around 2:24.

Main-engine cut-off on the Centaur took place around T+15 minutes. The Centaur executed two more burns to get Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander on the correct trajectory to the moon. With those complete, the lander, called Peregrine, will now embark on a one-and-a-half month journey to the moon. Peregrine is taking a slightly longer route to the moon, and so will have to execute a handful of complicated burns to maneuver into progressively lower lunar orbits. Eventually, the spacecraft will attempt to land autonomously near a region called Gruithuisen Domes on February 23.

The launch and subsequent journey to the moon are a watershed moment for both United Launch Alliance and Astrobotic. The former company, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is envisioned as the future of ULA. The rocket is designed to replace the Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy, both of which are due to retire.

The rocket is also designed to compete against other launch providers, like SpaceX, by offering a large payload fairing and an adjustable configuration depending on the mission profile. So customers will be able to choose between two payload fairing sizes (51 or 70 feet long) and four standard configurations with zero, two, four or six solid rocket boosters, depending on the mission profile and customer requirements.

ULA has already sold a number of missions for the 202-foot-tall Vulcan, including 38 launches to Amazon to deploy part of its ambitious Project Kuiper satellite broadband constellation. The launch company also won over two dozen contracts with the U.S. Space Force (USSF), though it must complete one more certification launch before it can start fulfilling those launches.

If all goes to plan, ULA could execute that second certification launch, called Cert-2, as early as April. That mission will fly another high-profile, high-stakes payload: Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane, which would take a journey to the International Space Station. The remaining four missions on Vulcan’s manifest this year would all be for USSF.

ULA and Astrobotic are not the only ones with something to celebrate: this is also the first time that Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines have seen flight, a triumph that comes after nearly a decade of development. While Vulcan will initially be fully expendable, the eventual aim is to recover the two engines mid-air and reuse them to further drive down costs.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine is also the first lander to fly under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, an initiative to kickstart the development of lunary delivery services from commercial providers. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic was awarded $79.5 million for this mission in 2019, a cost that was later increased to $108 million; even if it doesn’t manage to stick the moon landing, it’s still a major proof-of-concept for NASA’s ambitious efforts to foster advanced space services from private industry.

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