OnePlus is rolling out the stable version of its latest operating system (OS) update dubbed OxygenOS 15 for the OnePlus Open in India, the company announced on Sunday. Based on Android 15, the update introduces visual enhancements with Flux Themes and improved animations across the user interface (UI. It also adds artificial intelligence (AI) features for photo editing and productivity, and makes transferring files with iOS devices easier courtesy of the new OnePlus Share app.

OxygenOS 15 Update for OnePlus Open

OnePlus detailed the features arriving as part of the Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 update for the OnePlus Open in a blog post. The update is already rolling out to users in India in batches and will be available in North America (NA), Europe (EU), and Global (GLO) regions starting next week.

As per the company, OxygenOS 15 brings visual changes across the UI. It introduces new Flux Themes with one-take transition animations that can be customised with system wallpapers or personalised with photos. There are also customisation options for the home and lock screens and the always-on display, with the latter supporting both flux and classic modes. The company says users can tweak the lock screen with customisation options such as clock colour blending, glass textures, blurred wallpapers, AI depth effects, and AI auto-fills.

Live Alerts have been updated and the feature is now centred. Users can now tap an alert capsule which opens up a detailed card. It has also been updated with a new design and animation system.

A big part of the OxygenOS 15 update for the OnePlus Open is the range of AI features on offer. The company says it includes an AI writing suite that can be used to polish and optimise content. Another addition is Format, which can organise scattered information into a proper structure. Meanwhile, OnePlus’ Clean up feature is claimed to remove filler words from voice notes while maintaining the original audio to make it more coherent.

The update also includes AI tools related to photo editing. As per OnePlus, users can upscale cropped or low-resolution images with the new Clarity feature or use the AI Reflection Eraser to improve the sharpness, colour accuracy, and lighting in blurred images. There’s also a Remove reflections feature which is claimed to remove reflections from glass surfaces.

OnePlus Open users can also take advantage of the new globally reversible photo editing capability which saves previous edit settings for subsequent edits. Additionally, the company has also extended the duration of Live Photos to three seconds and improved integration between the Camera and filters, allowing users to change or remove filters later on.

The OxygenOS 15 update is also said to improve multi-app switching thanks to a parallel processing architecture. It adds parallel animations for widgets, components, and folders, while also bringing system-level swiping curve coverage for web-view interfaces and other third-party apps. With the latest Android 15-based update, more gestures have been added to the floating window, such as swiping down to open the status window or swiping sideways to hide it.

With the OnePlus Share app, users can easily transfer files, including Live Photos, between OnePlus and iOS devices, the company adds. Other features of the update include exclusive OxygenOS app icons, a battery protection reminder, optimised home screen widgets, a new easter egg in the Calculator app, and a new split mode for the notification drawer.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will make his first appearance before a Senate panel next week as the US Congress grapples with how best to regulate artificial intelligence as the technology becomes more powerful and widespread.

Altman will testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology & the Law on Tuesday on what laws might be needed to safeguard Americans as government and companies begin to use AI in everything from medicine to finance to surveilling workers.

It will be Altman’s first testimony before Congress, the panel said in announcing the hearing.

Altman will also attend a dinner on Monday night for members of the House of Representatives, according to Representative Ted Lieu’s office which is co-hosting the event.

Altman was part of a White House meeting on AI last week that discussed how to ensure regulatory safeguards. In response to a question about whether companies agree on regulations, Altman told reporters, “We’re surprisingly on the same page on what needs to happen.”

Another of the witnesses is Christina Montgomery, chief privacy officer at IBM.

“Artificial intelligence urgently needs rules and safeguards to address its immense promise and pitfalls,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, chair of the panel. “This hearing begins our Subcommittee’s work in overseeing and illuminating AI’s advanced algorithms and powerful technology.”

Recently, Britain’s competition regulator also said it would start examining the impact of artificial intelligence on consumers, businesses, and the economy and whether new controls were needed on technologies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The sudden popularity of generative AI applications such as ChatGPT and Midjourney has highlighted a technology that could upend the way businesses and society operate.

© Thomson Reuters 2023  

Realme 14 series is expected to launch in India in January next year. While there’s no word from Realme about the lineup, a new leak suggests the Realme 14 Pro 5G’s possible colour options, RAM and storage details. The Realme 13 Pro successor is said to come in two finishes and three RAM and storage configurations in India. The Realme 14 Pro is expected to debut alongside the Realme 14 Pro+ and possibly a new Realme 14 Pro Lite.

As per a report by 91Mobiles, the Indian variant of Realme 14 Pro will bear the model number RMX5056 and will be unveiled in pearl white and suede grey colourways. It is said to be available in — 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512GB — RAM and storage configurations.

The Realme 13 Pro also arrived in July this year with the same RAM and storage options. It is offered in Emerald Green, Monet Purple, and Monet Gold shades. The Realme 14 Pro is expected to arrive in January next year as a mid-range offering and could be positioned below the top-end Realme 14 Pro+ in the market. It is expected to have an initial price tag of Rs. 30,000.

Realme 13 Pro Price in India, Specifications

Price of the Realme 13 Pro starts at Rs. 26,999 in India. It features a 6.7-inch full-HD+(1,080×2,412 pixels) display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. It runs on an octa-core 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC and has a dual rear camera setup led by a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 1/1.95-inch sensor. On the front, the phone has a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. It is backed by a 5,200mAh battery with support for 45W SuperVOOC charging.

Apple debuted a host of M2-powered devices at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023 in June, introducing a new 15-inch MacBook Air, a Mac Studio, and a Mac Pro. The company was earlier reported to be prepping to launch a new iMac, a 13-inch MacBook Air, and a MacBook Pro, all powered by the M3 chip, this October. Prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, believes the 24-inch iMac refresh is not arriving this year.

TF Securities analyst Kuo, in a post on X, predicted that a 24-inch iMac refresh would arrive next year. Additionally, the analyst claimed that a higher-end iMac with a 32-inch mini-LED display would debut in 2025.

Predictably, Apple hasn’t yet provided a launch timeline for its M3-powered Macs. Kuo’s prediction of an M3-powered iMac launching in 2024 seems to be in line with earlier reports, too. Back in July, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had reported a delay in the M3 update of the company’s Mac lineup, noting that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac Mini desktop updates powered by much-awaited M3 chip could be pushed to next year.

Specifically on iMac models, which have not seen a refresh in over two years since the company introduced the M1-powered 24-inch iMac in candy colours at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event in April 2021 — it was reported in March that the Cupertino, California based tech giant was working on two new iMac models, codenamed J433 and J434. Back then, Gurman had claimed the new iMac models were in the late stage of development but were unlikely to ship in the second half of 2023.

Last month, Kuo also claimed that M3-powered MacBook models would not be introduced by the end of this year.

Apple currently sells a 24-inch iMac model powered by its M1 chip, available in seven colours. The iMac is 11.5mm thin and features a 4.5K retina display with 500 nits of peak brightness. The desktop comes with six speakers and sports a 1080p web camera for video calls.

Realme 14 series is expected to launch in India in January next year. While there’s no word from Realme about the lineup, a new leak suggests the Realme 14 Pro 5G’s possible colour options, RAM and storage details. The Realme 13 Pro successor is said to come in two finishes and three RAM and storage configurations in India. The Realme 14 Pro is expected to debut alongside the Realme 14 Pro+ and possibly a new Realme 14 Pro Lite.

As per a report by 91Mobiles, the Indian variant of Realme 14 Pro will bear the model number RMX5056 and will be unveiled in pearl white and suede grey colourways. It is said to be available in — 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512GB — RAM and storage configurations.

The Realme 13 Pro also arrived in July this year with the same RAM and storage options. It is offered in Emerald Green, Monet Purple, and Monet Gold shades. The Realme 14 Pro is expected to arrive in January next year as a mid-range offering and could be positioned below the top-end Realme 14 Pro+ in the market. It is expected to have an initial price tag of Rs. 30,000.

Realme 13 Pro Price in India, Specifications

Price of the Realme 13 Pro starts at Rs. 26,999 in India. It features a 6.7-inch full-HD+(1,080×2,412 pixels) display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. It runs on an octa-core 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC and has a dual rear camera setup led by a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 1/1.95-inch sensor. On the front, the phone has a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. It is backed by a 5,200mAh battery with support for 45W SuperVOOC charging.

Alphabet‘s Google rolled out more artificial intelligence for its core search product, hoping to create some of the same consumer excitement generated by Microsoft‘s relaunch of rival search engine Bing in recent months.

At its annual I/O conference in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday, Google offered an updated version of its namesake engine. Called the Search Generative Experience, the new Google can craft responses to open-ended queries while retaining its recognizable list of links to the Web.

“We are reimagining all of our core products, including search,” Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s CEO, said after he took the stage at the event.

He said Google is integrating generative AI into search and other products, including Gmail, where it can create draft messages, and Google Photos, where it can make major changes to images.

US consumers will gain access to the Search Generative Experience in the coming weeks via a wait list, a trial phase during which Google will monitor the quality, speed and cost of search results, Vice President Cathy Edwards said.

Google’s foray into what is known as generative AI comes after the startup OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the darling chatbot of Silicon Valley that launched a furious funding race among would-be competitors. Generative AI can, using past data, create brand new content like fully formed text, images and software code.

OpenAI, backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft and now integrated into Bing search, has become for many the default version of generative AI, helping users spin up term papers, contracts, travel itineraries, even entire novels.

For years the top portal to the internet, Google has found its own perch in question since rivals began exploiting the technology as an alternative to presenting content from the Web. At stake is Google’s slice of the gigantic online advertising pie that the research firm MAGNA estimated at $286 billion (nearly Rs. 23,43,860 crore) this year.

In an interview, Edwards said Google’s aim was to employ generative AI to reduce steps for consumers to make decisions and to let people ask a broader set of queries, including creative ones. Addressing how AI can spout incorrect information, Edwards said the company prioritized accuracy and citing trusted sources.

“AI can provide insight,” Edward said. “But what fundamentally people want at the end of the day is to be connected to information from real people and organizations, knowing, for example, that this health information comes from the WHO,” or the World Health Organization.

What outfit to wear

With the embedded AI, Google still looks and acts like its familiar empty search bar.

Generally available will be a new filter called “Perspectives” spotlighting blogs, videos and content from social media, the company said. Google also will mark up images the company generates with AI and make it easier for consumers to vet a picture’s authenticity, it said.

But while a search for “weather San Francisco” will as usual point a user to an eight-day forecast, a query asking what outfit to wear in the California city prompts a lengthy response generated by AI, according to a demonstration for Reuters earlier this week.

“You should bring layers, including a short-sleeved shirt and a light sweater or jacket for the day,” the result stated, including links to websites where it gleaned such advice.

Searches for news or to navigate to a specific website did not result in a response by generative AI, though users can prompt a chat and press a button for a follow-up query, the demonstration showed.

Bing’s search, through its partnership with OpenAI, can summarize web pages, synthesize disparate sources, compose emails and translate them. Microsoft has said every percentage point of share it gains in search advertising could draw another $2 billion (nearly Rs. 16,385 crore) in revenue.

While Bing has commanded no more than one-tenth of the search market, according to estimates, Google has practically the rest of that to defend. This means any hit to the reliability of its search engine could carry a big consequence. Generative AI programs have been found to create false or misleading results absent grounding in reliable answers.

Another challenge is the high expense of drawing on such AI, known as large language models. Edwards said, “We and others are working on a variety of different ways to bring down the cost over time.”

Ads will remain a central part of the experience, Edwards said. “We only get paid when there’s a click.”

Bard for 180 countries

In recent years, Google’s rivals have taken its research breakthroughs and run with them in products, outpacing their inventor.

ChatGPT came to light after an AI system Google revealed in 2017. The speed at which the chatbot grew, however — faster than any consumer application in history — encouraged the often deliberative Google to prod staff to hurry along projects so they were ready for public consumption.

In February Google announced its competing chatbot called Bard. A promotional video that month that showed Bard answering a question incorrectly propelled a stock slide shaving $100 billion (nearly Rs. 8,19,340 crore) off Google’s market value.

Now, Google is launching Bard in 180 countries and territories, with plans to expand its support to 40 languages, the company said.

Behind Bard also is a more powerful AI model Google announced called PaLM 2, which it said could solve tougher problems and draft better computer code.

© Thomson Reuters 2023