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First Impressions – OnePlus launched a 55” Y1S Pro 4K TV at ₹39,999

Every smartphone-making company has been driven by the idea of having its ecosystem only to have a strong base of customers and, of course, revenue. OnePlus ventured into the business of earbuds, wearables, headphones and smart TVs in recent times. The company tasted success in all fields, and to reach more people, they launched several affordable products. The list includes Nord smartphones, Nord Buds, Nord Watch and Y Series televisions.

Today, OnePlus launched a new TV belonging to the company’s Y series – a 55-inch Y1S Pro TV, a follow-up to the brand’s 50-inch Y series TV that debuted on 4th July 2022. The affordable series is popularly known for offering minimum but necessary features. The 55-inch OnePlus TV offers one of the massive screens consumers can buy for around ₹40-45k and serves the same purpose as its siblings, along with a few new features.

Design & Display

The latest addition to the OnePlus’ Y series lineup boasts a 4K display with a premium bezel-less design. It provides you with an edge-to-edge screening experience with catchy visuals. The 4K TV is delivered with a sturdy base stand and a beautiful design that accentuates the beauty of your living room.

The TV features various picture modes, such as AI picture, vivid, eye comfort, movies, HDR10+ and sports. With over a billion colours, the 4K TV offers 10-bit colour depth and outstanding colour accuracy in every frame. However, in our observations, TV works best and provides an enjoyable viewing experience only in movies and eye comfort mode.

Audio

In terms of sound quality, the TV has speakers that can produce up to 24W of audio output, and it guarantees a well-balanced sound profile for a complete cinematic audio experience without missing any details. In addition to strong speakers, the TV supports Dolby Audio, which provides you with excellent sound capabilities and a genuine surround sound experience.

Connected Ecosystem

The TV can be connected to the OnePlus Smart Watch, from where you can turn it on and off. The smart sleep control feature of the TV lets you sleep peacefully. How? Once you fall asleep while watching the TV, it will automatically turn the TV off. In addition to a smartwatch, the TV can be connected to any OnePlus Buds to enjoy the truly connected ecosystem.

Thanks to the ecosystem, the TV can be connected to the OnePlus smartphones by using the app – OnePlus Connect 2.0. You can use your OnePlus smartphone as an alternate option for a remote. The features of the app can be utilised without Wi-Fi or a data connection and allow you to cast stored videos easily.

Modes

The TV offers AI-powered visuals and has an advanced Gamma Engine, which optimizes display quality to bring every scene to life, along with ultra-clear content with dynamic contrast and vibrant colour.  Along with various other modes, the TV has a few more special modes like Gaming Mode, which enables users with the special ALLM feature (Auto Low Latency Mode) to enjoy a faster and more interesting gaming experience with lower latency levels and Kids Mode, which allows your kids to consume healthy content.

Lamborghini’s BULL Connection and the list of top cars from the brand

Lamborghini was named after the founder’s surname, and its logo featured a bull, a reference to Ferruccio Lamborghini’s zodiac sign, Taurus, the bull. However, that’s not the only reason Ferruccio decided to go on with the bull logo. As a Taurus-born, he was more fascinated by bullfights, and in the early sixties, he spent some time with Don Eduardo Miura, a renowned breeder of Spanish fighting bulls in Seville.

The large, fierce, and cunning bulls from the Miura lineage have a fearsome reputation, and matadors could not dare turn their backs on them. These bulls have been referred to as individualists with strong personal characters. When Ferruccio learned about the characteristics of these bulls, he got impressed and decided to place the raging bull on the front of all his cars as an identity of the brand.

The early stable of the Lamborghini

Lamborghini 350 GT

The Lamborghini 350 GT was the first-ever production vehicle produced by Lamborghini. The car was well-received at the March 1964 Geneva auto show, which became the reason the company began the production of the car immediately in May 1964. The success of the Lamborghini 350 GT ensured the company’s survival, establishing it as a viable competitor with the sports car maker Ferrari.

The Lamborghini 350 GT was based on the earlier Lamborghini 350 GTV and originally fitted with Pirelli Cinturato 205VR15 tyres and had an all-aluminium alloy V12 engine mated to a five-speed ZF manual transmission. The car had an aluminium body, a Salisbury differential, four-wheel independent suspension, and vacuum servo-assisted Girling disc brakes all around.

Production – May 1964 – 1966 (120 built)

Designer – Carrozzeria Touring 

Body Style – 2 door coupé 

Engine – 3,464 cc (211.4 cu in) 60° aluminium V12 DOHC

Power output – 280 bhp and 325 Nm of torque

Transmission – 5-speed ZF manual[2]

Dimensions : Wheelbase – 2,550 mm, Width – 1,730 mm, Height – 1,220 mm

0 to 100 kms – in 7.5 seconds 

Top speed – 249 kms/hour

Lamborghini 400 GT

In 1966, Lamborghini launched their first mid-engined supercar called the Miura, which featured a new V12 engine, which was then placed in the 350 GT, and so the Lamborghini 400 GT was born, with 2+2 seating with the revised roofline. The 400 GT 2+2 also had a Lamborghini-designed gearbox, with Porsche-style synchromesh on all gears, which greatly improved the drivetrain.

Production – May 1966 – 1968 (247 built)

Designer – Carrozzeria Touring 

Body Style – 2 door coupé 

Engine – 3,929 cc V12

Power output – 324 PS / 320 bhp / 239 kW @ 6500 rpm

Transmission – 5-speed manual

Dimensions: Wheelbase – 2,550 mm, Width – 1,727 mm, Height – 1,257 mm

0 to 100 kms – in 6.1 seconds

Top speed – 250 kms/hour

Lamborghini Miura 

As mentioned above, Ferruccio Lamborghini was highly impressed with the Miura-bred bulls and decided to name his third car Miura after producing two cars with alphanumeric designations. The Miura car was a trendsetter, and with its high performance, it was a mid-engined sports car. At the time of the launch, it was the fastest production road car, with a top speed of 280 km/h.

The Miura was originally conceived by Lamborghini’s engineering team, which designed the car in its spare time against the wishes of the company founder. Ferruccio always favoured powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari. However, he changed his mind when he got to see the result, and the rest is history.

Production – May 1966 – 1973 (764 built)

Designer – Marcello Gandini 

Body Style – 2 door coupé 

Engine – 3,929 cc V12 

Power output – 385 PS / 380 bhp / 283 kW @ 7000 rpm 

Transmission – 5-speed manual 

Dimensions: Wheelbase – 2,500 mm, Length – 4,360 mm, Width – 1,760 mm, Height – 1,050 mm

0 to 100 kms – in 5.8 seconds

Top speed – 273 kms/hour

Lamborghini’s love for bulls never ends here; take a look at the cars and their bull connection – 

1968 – Espada

The car was named after the sword that torero – the bullfighter, uses to kill the bull. 

1968 – Islero

The car was named after a Miura bull Islero, who killed then-famous bullfighter Manolete.

1970 – Jarama

The car was named to recall the fighting bulls bred in the Jarama river area in Spain.

1972 – Urraco

The car was named after a line of Miura-bred fighting bulls, which translates to little bull.

2002 – Murciélago

The car was named after a bull called Murciélago, who was a fighting bull that survived a matador’s 28 sword strokes.

2003 – Gallardo

The car was named after a historic breed of fighting bulls called Gallardo. It was one of Lamborghini’s best-selling cars. 

2012 – Aventador LP700-4 

The car is named after an award-winning fighting bull, Aventador, who fought valiantly in the bull ring of Zaragoza, Spain, in 1993.

2015 – Huracan LP610-4

The name Huracán comes from a Spanish fighting bull from 1879 that was known for its ‘ outstanding courage and strong sense of attack’.

2018 – World’s 1st Super SUV, Urus

The name comes from the ancestor of modern domestic cattle, also known as the aurochs.

A little about the latest one, Lamborghini Urus

When Lamborghini launched Urus, everyone was awestruck and asked the same question, A Lamborghini SUV? Really? Yes, and not only that, over the last 5-years, the Urus has turned out to be a game-changer for the Italian carmaker. After many years of teasers and leaks, Lamborghini finally revealed their new 641 horsepower Urus 4×4, a car they called the ‘Super SUV’ in 2018.

Production – February 2018 to present 

Designer – Filippo Perini ( concept ) & Mitja Borkert (production version)

Body Style – 5-door SUV

0 to 100 kms – in 3.6 seconds

Top speed – 305 kms/hour 

The debut SUV from the house Lamborghini has become its best-selling model not only in India but globally. Until now, the company has launched three special variants of the car Urus Pearl Capsule, Urus ST-X and the most recent Urus Performante,  which arrives with a drastic change in design and performance specifications compared to the previously launched special variants.

Sony WF-LS900n Review: Substance Over Style!

If you’re looking for TWS in India then you know there are a number of options for you to choose from. The Indian market is saturated with wireless earphones ranging from different price points. However, it isn’t easy to find a capable TWS in the market that suits your preferences while delivering a premium performance at a considerably affordable price point. This is where Sony’s latest offering, the WF-LS900N comes in! Sony has delivered when it comes to providing users with lightweight earbuds that deliver powerful performance and pack many features, and we’re all here for it! 

Features & Design

There’s no innovation when it comes to design with the WF-LS900N as compared to its predecessor which came with an open ring design. Here, users get a familiar in-ear design in a lightweight form factor. This means that both the eartubes and the silicone eartips sit inside the ear to give a proper seal. Sony India has claimed that the wireless earbuds weigh approximately 4.8 grams in weight making them one of the lightest in the market. While using the earbuds over an extended period of time, I was surprised how the annoying ear pain staple to in-ear devices, in general, was not present here. The earbuds and their casing is made out of recycled plastic which gives a distinct rugged feel. 

There are ample features packed along with the WF-LS900N. One might expect Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and that is surely present here. Along with ANC, the WF-LS900N also offer you ambient sound or transparency mode that can be quickly enabled with a tap on the left earbud. Tapping on the right earbuds pauses/plays the music. The best feature of the WF-LS900N  for me was the option to enable ‘Quick Attention’ Here, users can simply press on the earbuds for the volume to drop quickly to have a conversation and remove the finger for the volume to return to normal. It was a novel feature that allowed me to have small talks during work hours. 

Battery Life

The WF-LS900N comes with six hours of battery life with activated ANC, as claimed by Sony. In my testing of the earbuds, the result was somewhat close to the company claim with 5 and a half hours of ANC playback. The performance can be bumped up to 9 hours of playtime by turning off ANC. The earbuds get charged up relatively quickly and have lasted me for over 2 days in light usage and a day in heavy usage. 

Sound

Everything comes down to the sound performance when we’re talking about TWS. So how well does the WF-LS900N perform? Simply put, the new Sony TWS are power performers that provide a premium sound experience with deep bass. There’s an overall balance to the sound that does lean to either flat sound or too loud. However, the balanced approach might not be for everyone, for which there are a number of customizations available in the ‘headphones Connect’ app. There’s little left to desire here when it comes to the sound quality of the WF-LS900N! 

Verdict

While the Rs 13,990 price point might be heavy for some to shell out for a TWS, we feel it is worth it. The WF-LS900N provides premium sound quality in a comfortable and light fit which makes it a worthy investment. 

Rating – ★★★★

Instagram’s ‘Account Suspended’ outage resolved

Imagine logging into your Instagram account expecting to interact with your daily feed. Instead, you’re prompted with the message “Instagram Account Suspended”. That is stuff made out of nightmares, to say the least! That was the case for a number of users on October 31, coincidentally on the eve of Halloween when they received a notification about their accounts getting suspended. Thousands also shared that they were unable to log in to their accounts entirely and also witnessed a massive drop in followers due to mass suspension. To our relief, Instagram’s outage issue has been resolved.

Instagram outage fixed

 

In an apology posted on Twitter, Instagram wrote “We’ve resolved this bug now — it was causing people in different parts of the world to have issues accessing their accounts and caused a temporary change for some in the number of followers. Sorry.” According to Instagram’s rules, the platform can disable certain accounts that violate community guidelines. The community guidelines include illegal content, bullying, hate speech, spam, and violating intellectual property rights. However, users who follow the community guidelines were also affected by the outage which took them by surprise.

It was not long after the outage when #InstagramDown started trending on Twitter and an outpour of memes was witnessed. Many content creators also started posting reels and stories making fun of the sudden followers drop. This Instagram outage came only a few days after Meta’s WhatsApp had also suffered a long downtime. Users were unable to send messages and upload status which resulted in #WhatsAppDown trending on Twitter.

Tech this week

What time is it? It’s time for some tech news. Did you know that Google, the name is actually a product of a hasty spelling mistake? Larry and Sean aimed to register Googol, a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by a hundred zeros. Sean accidentally registers the word Google, and it is what it is. Let’s get to the news. 

Elon finally bought Twitter

On Thursday night, Elon Musk finally bought Twitter, and reports say many top management authorities at Twitter are now searching for new jobs. These include the CEO, CFO, people who mislead the number of bots on the platform and the one authorizing Donal Trump’s account ban. The hip entrepreneur entered the Twitter office with a bathroom sink, symbolizing the term “let that sink in” and also twitted “ the bird is freed”. 

Global price increase 

Apple is silently increasing its hardware and software solution prices. Subscription services have seen an inflation in their charges across Apple services, including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple One. Some countries have also witnessed price increases on iPads and Macs. Nothing ear (1), the first product from Nothing, has also seen as much as a 50% price increase in some markets right before the launch of their Nothing ear stick, a relatively new and affordable variant with a different form factor. I hope they stick to the pricing in the future. Steam, a popular gaming service, has also increased its regional pricing in some parts of the world to almost 450% hike in game prices. As if PC gaming was not an expensive hobby with insane GPU prices! Global price increase needs to be combated with a global pay increase. Share this with your company heads. After blocking 4K content on Youtube to Premium users, Youtube has increased the prices of Youtube Premium subscriptions in some countries. What is happening to the world? 

WTF? There’s a new Nvidia 3060

After the backlash on RTX 4080 and Nvidia pulling out in time, RTX 4090 has witnessed some insane claims. One of the only cards to enable high fidelity 4K and 8K gaming, the power connector cannot handle the amount of power required to juice tasty frame rates from the 4090, burning some connectors across the globe. Nvidia has addressed a couple of buyers who posted this on social media, but a 1.55 lakh rupee card with burnt connectors is not cool. In another news from Nvidia, some countries witnessed a soft launch of Nvidia’s popular 3060 variants with an 8GB VRAM 128-bit bus rate instead of the usual 12GB 192-bit bus rate. This move comes as competition to Intel’s newest ARC GPU releases earlier this month or maybe an offering to gamers on a budget. Whatever it is, thank you, Intel! 

Shutterstock partners with OpenAI DallE 2 

Did you know that Gettyimages recently banned the use of AI-generated images? Contrary to their move, Shutterstock has partnered with OpenAI DallE 2, and soon users will be able to generate images based on text commands. Shutterstock has also agreed to pay creators a certain sum of money for training the AI when creating newer images. Not too long ago, a similar AI won an award for the best image creation on a platform, and now it is time for Shutterstock to come up with crazy DallE2-created images. What is your take on AI-generated art? Is it still art if thousands of algorithms created it?

Gaming improves cognitive performance in kids

A recent study on the JAMA network performed by ABCD Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development on 2217 children has shown that kids who regularly play video games are better at problem-solving, memory management, impulse reactions and many other tasks, including academic achievements, as compared to kids who do not play video games. Allowing kids to play video games and other games profoundly impacts their brain development. Only if this study were done during childhood would we not be scolded as much over gaming. Kids watching this video, share this news with your parents. 

Xbox Series S – Limiting frame rates for everyone 

Some game developers are not happy developing games for the Xbox Series S. According to them; the limited capabilities are hindering them from providing more performance in games being developed for the Xbox Series S. Microsoft has made it mandatory for developers to make games compatible with both the Series X and S. Gotham Knights is a prime example of this shortcoming, as the developers clearly stated in a tweet that the game runs on 30FPS even on the more powerful Series X only to ensure compatibility with the Series S. What’s the point of upgrading to a having a massive 4K high refresh rate display when the games are being limited by one puny console?

Photonic chip – the fastest internet chip as of now

A single photonic chip has made a world record by transferring 1.84 petabytes of data per second over a 7.9Km fibre optic cable. That’s like moving all the files across the globe in less than 10 mins! I am still stuck with a few hundred megabytes per second here in India. Researchers from Japan, Denmark and Sweden, managed to split infrared signals into multiple light sources and then combine them together as one on the receiving end.

Amazon data centres in the UK and Ireland get new diesel generators.

Following an energy crisis in UK and Ireland, Amazon data centres in Dublin are installing 105 high-power diesel generators as backups. It is estimated that this data centre is responsible for over 14% power consumption of the entire Dublin. 

Intel’s 13th generation i9 breaks an 8-year-old frequency world record 

AMD FX 8370 set a world record back in 2014 by overclocking to an insane 8722.78Mhz. Intel’s latest i9-13900K managed to set a new world record by overclocking to a mind-bending 8812.85Mhz, nearly double the core clock speed offered in the retail packaging. Finally, after taking a beating from similar retail-priced AMD competition, Intel has managed to garner a win in some departments. Good job, Intel, on making something such powerful and power-hungry. 

Samsung has started development on a smart ring.

Smart wearables come in all shapes and sizes. Samsung is currently developing a smart ring with all the necessary features of a fitness tracker snuggly packaged in a neat ring. Be careful to accept a proposal as a smart ring, as it could spike your heart rates and trigger an emergency service SOS. Would you wear a ring when the occasion calls for dressing neat, well time shall reveal. 

Stadia’s service ended, but the gaming did not. 

After Google announced that they were pulling the plug on Stadia streaming services, people playing games on the platform are backed by game developers. As a piece of good news, game developers are offering free copies with free save backups for everyone playing their games on Stadia as a platform. These free copies are provided to all the Stadia gamers based on their choice of gaming platform, and also cloud saves are offered as transferable entities to continue gaming on the platform of your choice. Do we even trust Google with anything with the rate at which they keep shutting down services? 

These were all the happenings of the week. Let us know what you think about the tech happenings across the globe. Stay tuned as we bring more tech news next week. 

 

In Conversation with Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm CFO

Akash Palkhiwala joined Qualcomm in 2001, and before serving as a Chief Financial Officer of the company, he served in several finance leadership roles, including Treasurer, Financial Planning & Analysis and Corporate Development. He holds an undergrad degree in Mechanical Engineering from L.D. College of Engineering in India and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Exhibit: What makes a great leader?

Akash Palkhiwala: When I think about leadership, to me, it’s about two things. The first is building a great team. I think once you have an excellent team, it allows you to focus your time on the things where you really add value to what’s going on, and you have the option of spending your time where you want to. So building a great team, hiring the right people and letting them go is super important. The second most important thing is maybe the ability to look around the corner. Especially in the technology industry, things change from time to time. Unless you have the ability to anticipate change and follow it, it sometimes becomes challenging to hit inflexion points right for a company.

Ex: What are the technology transformations you haven’t explored yet?

AP: I think on the industrial side, when you look at what’s happening in the transformation of industries, everything is trying to connect to the cloud. Whether it’s your dishwasher, whether it’s your doorbell, but then you go into industry, and there is a security camera, you go into retail stores, and price labels are becoming electronic and connected to the cloud. Everything wants to connect to the cloud. And that means that there is this opportunity for us to take the technology we have created and bring it to all those areas. And I think we’re at the front end of maybe a 15-year trend. And the challenge for us is how do we capture the opportunity? How do we get to market? How do we get to all these customers who want to undergo that transformation?

Ex: Being a CFO of one of the top-notch tech giants, how do you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest technology?

AP: I think I’m fortunate, unlike other CFOs, because I was an engineering student, which makes me familiar with the technical background, and I love numbers. Also, I’m very close to the technology trends, the decisions we’re making on investments in different programs, and business opportunities. So I think of myself more as a business person who happens to do finance as the starting point of what he does on a day-to-day basis, but the more I can get involved on the business side, the better CFO I’m going to be.

Ex: Why are automakers turning to Qualcomm for digital transformation, and would you please elaborate on Qualcomm’s growing automotive-chip business?

AP: Yeah, so the automotive industry is going through a once-in-a-lifetime transformation. The cars were created long ago, and this is the first time they are fundamentally becoming something else. We think of it as a car becoming a supercomputer on wheels. You have the electrification trend, you have the software-defined car trend and then finally, you have the change in the digital cockpit. The experience inside the car is more like a digital and a tablet experience. And all those three trends lend themselves to what we do well, and we have this tremendous opportunity to take advantage of it and focus on it. And if you think about the opportunity in front of us, there’s $100 billion that we’ve outlined, and our design pipeline is now up to $30 billion only for auto space. And if you look at just any large major OEM, they’re all using our chips. Earlier, the chip suppliers didn’t have a direct relationship with the OEMs, but now with the importance of the technology that we bring to the table, we’re working directly with the OEMs.

Ex: How is Qualcomm planning to cope with the competitors with its handheld gaming console, Razer Edge 5G, co-developed by Razer, Verizon, and Qualcomm?

AP: Yes, I think gaming is also about to go through a huge transition. We already have mobile gaming that still dominates the gaming arena. Then there’s PC gaming and console gaming, but the next step is really cloud gaming. You’re going to see a lot of the game titles move to the cloud, and with the 5G network coming in and the very low latency of that network, you have this tremendous ability to create games that use the cloud as the base for all the processing. And that’s going to be very transformative because once that happens, every device becomes a gaming device, and I think we have a tremendous role to play in that transition.

Ex: Tell us about the highest technical project failure you have experienced?

AP: That comes with the territory for someone like us because we’re always at the leading edge of technology. I’ll give you an example of personal computers; we’ve attempted to transition our chipset business to extend it to personal computers outside of smartphones, and for the last five or six years, we’ve invested in it with limited success. Now we’re very excited about what’s happening because I think through COVID, what happened is the PC suddenly became a communication device, not just a productivity device. And as a result, it needs a lot of the qualities in the phone. And then we’ve seen Apple transition to an Arm-based processor as well, and we think as we look forward, Qualcomm will be the alternative to Intel and AMD for the next generation PC. 

Ex: Out of all the books based on entrepreneurship and leadership, which one inspires you the most?

AP: I have maybe an uncommon answer to that question. I still think of The Godfather as a book that teaches you a lot about leadership. There are certainly negative qualities to Godfather, but the way he operated his business, inspired loyalty, and worked with people was amazing. There’s a lot to learn from a business perspective from him.

Ex: Tell us about your definition of success and any quote you want to share with us that inspires you.

AP: The definition of success is you have to have fun. A lot of people do very different things, and they’re all good as long as you’re having fun doing it. We all work too hard and spend too much time at work to not enjoy what we do. About the quote, I’ll say that I am a big fan of Mohd. Ali and Bruce Lee quotes, but the one that comes to mind immediately is float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Samsung confirms the rollout of Android 13 One UI 5.0 update

Google recently launched Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Android 13 out of the box, and now Samsung is about to turn the game with the release of the Android 13 One UI 5.0 update to the Galaxy S22 series. The new firmware will come with a number of features like an improved lock screen, widget stacking, clever multitasking gestures, text recognition in the Gallery, a Privacy Hub and many more.

The firmware, along with the complete roadmap of the OneUI 5 are expected to release by the end of October. Thanks to the firmware, it would make Android 13’s arrival a month faster compared to the previous year’s OneUI 4 update, which came in November. The public rollout will start soon, but it will take time to roll out the update throughout the world, be it an OneUI 5 or the Android 13 update.

Once the beta program ends, the Galaxy S22 users will get the Android 13 and One UI 5.0, maybe around the end of November. Till now, the company has released four beta updates based on One UI 5.0 for the Galaxy S22, and according to trusted tipsters, there could be another beta release before the final version rolls out. 

Along with the Galaxy S22 series,  Galaxy S21, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are expected to get Android 13 and One UI 5.0 before 2023.

Future knocks on the door as augmented reality contact lenses make an appearance

The way humans interact with technology is ever-changing. With the inception of VR and AR tech, humanity received a chance to experience the digital world immensely close. While many industry giants claim that the metaverse is the next big leap in technology, the way humans interact with the metaverse is still limited to clunky VR and AR hardware. However, it looks like it is all about to change with a tiny lens enabling tech enthusiasts and the general public to access AR graphics right before their eyes. Read below to know more about the lenses which, in concept are as remarkable as science fiction:

The Mojo Lens

In July, the CEO of Mojo Vision, Drew Perkins, shared his experience of the first “on-eye demonstration” of the Mojo lens. In its initial stage, Drew wore the contact lens in only one eye for an hour; however, Mojo Vision aims for the users to wear two lenses simultaneously for longer durations to experience 3D visual overlays. The lenses developed by Mojo Vision are undoubtedly a technological marvel, something only expected from sci-fi characters like Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. To achieve the feat of developing ‘smart lenses’, the company had to develop its own plastic and chemical components in order to allow an eyeball to be breathable through an electronic lens.

The designed lenses are thick enough to cover up the human eyes’ outer whites partially but are not uncomfortable, as claimed by the project’s senior director of product management David Hobbs. The lens also houses a flexible circuit no wider than the human hair couples with nine pacemaker-style titanium batteries to supply power and data. The pixels of the lens have been squeezed into a space of only 2 microns.

The AR hype

It would be an understatement to call the Mojo lenses an ambitious project. Many companies before Mojo Vision have attempted to bring AR to the mainstream but have failed to do so. A few projects in the pipeline surrounding wearable AR tech have either been delayed indefinitely or failed to live up to the hype like the Google Glass. The complexities of AR technology root in the melding of digital elements and constantly moving physical objects. Whether AR bridges the gap between the digital world and the physical world is yet to be seen.

Poco M5 launched with Helio G99, 50MP triple camera setup, and more

Poco had taken over the Indian market by storm with the launch of its first device, the Poco F1, in 2018. The brand was then under the leadership of Xiaomi and steered its way to become an independent global brand in 2020. As the years pass by, Poco has focused more on the budget segment bringing in promising features at a cheaper price for the consumer market. With the launch of the Poco M5 series, the company is yet again offering competiti9ve specs at a competitive price. Check out all the details about the latest offering by Poco, the Poco M5 and M5s, below:

Poco M5

The higher variant in the M5 series comes with an impressive 6.58” LCD Full HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate coupled with a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Aimed for gamers, the device houses an Helio G99 chipset built on the 6nm process technology. The Helio G99 sports two Cortex-A76 CPU cores running at 2.2GHz and six Cortex-A55 units at 2.0GHz. The Poco M5 houses a triple camera setup comprising a 50MP primary shooter, a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro lens. Whereas on the front, the device sports an 8MP selfie camera. It packs a 5000mAh battery with an 18W charging unit. The M5 is priced at Rs. 12,499 and Rs. 14,499 for 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants, respectively.

Poco M5s

The Poco M5s comes with a few welcoming changes as opposed to the standard variant. The device sports a 6.43-inch HD+ AMOLED display, an upgrade to the POCO M5’s LCD display. However, the screen is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. The quad-camera setup sees an upgrade too as it comes with a 64MP mains sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. There is also an 8MP ultrawide camera along with two 2MP lenses for macro and depth sensing, respectively. The device houses a Mediatek Helio G95 SoC and a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging capabilities. Both the newly launched devices will run with Android 12-based MIUI 13 out f the box.

Best of IFA 2022 Tradeshow

Tech enthusiasts from around the world gathered in Berlin, Germany, for the IFA 2022 tradeshow. The consumer tech tradeshow was opened to the public on September 2, 2022, after a hiatus of two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the fair was restricted to professionals in 2020, it was entirely called off last year. As a result, exciting new tech products have now been unveiled by tech giants like Samsung, Lenovo, Nokia, etc. The following is a comprehensive look at the new tech products introduced at IFA 2022:

Nokia                   

HMD Global announced four new Nokia-branded devices at IFA 2022. While two of the smartphones announced at the event are 5G Snapdragon devices, the other two consist of a budget-friendly tablet and a phone based on the Unisoc chipsets. The Nokia X30 5G and G60 5G are both based on the Snapdragon 695 SoC, and both the devices sport Android 12 out of the box, with the company promising 3 years of major updates. The affordable Nokia C31 is a 4G device packing a powerful 5,050mAh battery coupled with a 10W wired charging prowess. 

The budget-friendly Nokia T20 tablet also saw an upgrade with the announcement of the Nokia T21. The tablet houses a Unisoc T612 chipset along with an 8,200mAh battery. Besides this, Nokia has introduced a new subscription model called the ‘Nokia Circular’. The subscription model enables users to hold on to their respective Nokia devices for longer in return for eco-friendly rewards. The subscription model also offers accidental damage coverage, theft/loss coverage, and replacements for no additional charge.

Samsung

While Samsung launched its new mobile devices earlier this summer, the tech giant used IFA 2022 as an opportunity to showcase connectivity and sustainability through its electronic devices. Samsung aims to build an ecosystem that promotes product lifecycle and prioritizes sustainability from manufacturing to disposal. The company showcased a washing machine in collaboration with Patagonia, a global outdoor brand. The company claims that its newly introduced washing machine reduces the impact of microplastics. The most impressive showcase of Samsung at the IFA 2022 tradeshow was the Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor. The monitor has a slim thickness of 3.9mm and a 34-inch form factor.

Lenovo

Lenovo had one of the most impressive showcases at the IFA 2022, where the company introduced a bunch of new devices. The most innovative of the bunch was a pair of AR glasses called Glasses T1. The AR glasses can connect to any smartphone and give users a virtual display. Besides, Lenovo introduced the ThinkPad X1 Fold model jumping on the foldable tech trend. It sports a large 16-inch OLED display which can fold down to a small 12-inch laptop. The laptop also includes up to 12th Gen Intel Core U9 i7 and i5 processors, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 1TB of PCle Gen 4 SSD storage.

Other exciting tech

IFA 2022 gave tech giants an opportunity to showcase exciting tech products, one of which is the JBL Tour Pro 2 TWS earbuds. This device is claimed by the company to have the ‘world’s first smart charging case’. The case features a 1.45-inch LED touchscreen display which can be used to perform multiple functions like checking calls, notifications, and controlling the playback. LG, on the other hand, introduced the world’s first bendable OLED television. Sony also followed suit and announced the Xperia 5 IV, their compact flagship phone.

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