Vivo is expected to launch the mid-range S20 series in China soon. The upcoming lineup is thought to include base Vivo S20 and Vivo S20 Pro models, as a follow-up to the Vivo S19 and Vivo S19 Pro, respectively. A new leak has now surfaced online suggesting key details about the Vivo S20 Pro. It could come with a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC under the hood. The Pro model in the Vivo S19 series is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ SoC. The Vivo S20 Pro is likely to feature three 50-megapixel cameras at the rear. 

Vivo S20 Pro Specifications (Leaked)

Popular tipster Digital Chat Station has shared the alleged specifications of the Vivo S20 Pro on Weibo. As per the leak, the upcoming phone will feature a 6.67-inch display with a 1.5K (1,260×2,800 pixels) resolution. It is tipped to run on a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC.

The Vivo S20 Pro could boast a 50-megapixel selfie camera and a triple rear camera unit, which is said to include a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. Vivo is expected to pack a 5,500mAh battery on the device with 90W charging support. It is said to sport an optical fingerprint scanner as well.

Vivo S20 series is speculated to launch in China at the end of this month. Vivo usually rebrands its S series smartphones as the V series for the global market. Therefore we can expect the Vivo S20 and S20 Pro to launch as the Vivo V50 and V50 Pro in markets outside China.

The Vivo S19 Pro was launched in China in May with an initial price tag of CNY 3,299 (roughly Rs. 38,000) for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage option. It sports a 6.78-inch 1.5K OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and has a triple rear camera setup led by a 50-megapixel 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX921 primary sensor. It carries a 50-megapixel front camera and has a 5,500mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging.

Artificial intelligence is expected to pay off big for tech giants including Microsoft and Alphabet someday. But expect deeper investments before gains trickle to the bottom line, the companies said on Tuesday.

Microsoft said costs rose sharply as it built new data centers to support AI and that capital expenditures will continue to rise as it buys chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp to power those data centers.

Microsoft is bearing AI costs in two ways, analysts said: to power its own products such as its forthcoming $30 (roughly Rs. 2,460)-a-month Copilot AI assistant, and to serve companies wanting to use its Azure cloud computing services to create AI products.

Microsoft executives said the service will start generating the bulk of its revenue in the second half of its fiscal 2024 ending June 30.

“They’re buying a bunch of H100s,” said Ben Bajarin, chief executive and principal analyst of Creative Strategies, referring to Nvidia’s flagship chips for AI.

“You’re probably going to see a similar thing with Amazon, if not this quarter then the next quarter because both of them are the clouds that the vast majority of the market is using for training (AI systems) right now.”

Alphabet, however, kept down costs, though not for long. Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, who will become president and chief investment officer, said delays in data center construction are why second-quarter capex was lower than expected.

“As far as AI is concerned, while Google may have spent upwards of $200 billion (roughly Rs. 1,64,05,000 crore) on AI investments over the past decade, much of that isn’t necessarily appreciated by users and investors,” said Scott Kessler, global sector lead for technology media and telecommunications at Third Bridge.

One advantage Google has, analysts said, is that it has its own custom chip for handling AI work called the Tensor Processor Unit (TPU), which helps lower costs.

Microsoft may be “aggressively buying Nvidia chips, given Microsoft does not have its own silicon as an alternative,” said Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell.

But Google conceded that it will buy chips from other companies as well as using its own, and Porat said that spending could put a drag on profit and growth.

“The message on inflection point was the same,” from Microsoft and Google, said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, “but the difference was Microsoft investors wanted to see more.” 

© Thomson Reuters 2023 

OnePlus 13 is the purported successor to 2023’s OnePlus 12 and is confirmed to make its debut in China later this month. After months of rumours, the company has finally announced the launch date of the handset and revealed its design and colourways. In a separate development, OnePlus 13 was reportedly spotted during an e-sports event in China ahead of its impending launch in the country. The handset is also confirmed get a BOE X2 display with a local refresh rate feature. 

OnePlus 13 Launch Date, Design Confirmed

OnePlus has confirmed that its flagship smartphone will be launched in China on October 31 at 4 pm local time. The handset will come with upgraded system experience, game performance, screen display and eye protection, battery life and charging, and imaging capabilities.

Courtesy of this announcement, we also have the first look at the official images of the OnePlus 13 and they corroborate what the rumour mill has suggested over the last few weeks. The handset is confirmed to come in three colourways: blue, black, and white. While the latter two are simple finishes, the blue colourway appears to have a dual-tone aspect to it, with the camera island featuring a white finish.

OnePlus 13’s camera module has been slightly tweaked and is now detached from the rest of the frame of the smartphone. Instead of appearing to be joined with the handset’s chassis, it sits on the left as a distinct circle. The Hasselblad branding also looks to have been moved out of the camera unit and is now placed on the top right above a horizontal ornamental metal strip. Rest of the design appears very similar to its predecessor.

OnePlus 13 Spotted in China

In multiple posts on the Chinese social media platform Weibo (via Notebookcheck), users claimed to have spotted the purported OnePlus 13 in the hands of e-sports players at the Peacekeeper Elite 2024 event held in China, ahead of its official debut on October 31.

Leaked Images of OnePlus 13 in China
Photo Credit: Weibo (via Notebookcheck)

OnePlus 13 Specifications (Expected)

The OnePlus 13 will be equipped with a 6.82-inch 2K 10-bit LTPO BOE X2 micro quad curved OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Additionally, it will sport a new local refresh rate feature.

OnePlus’s new smartphone is tipped to be powered by the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset (ubiquitously known as Snapdragon 8 Gen 4) under the hood, paired with up to 24GB of RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage. For optics, it may feature a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-808 primary sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle unit, and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

It could be backed by a 6,000mAh battery with support for 100W fast charging (wired).

Microsoft is previewing new features for Windows 11, with a special focus on Notepad. Last year, the company began adding its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to the Windows operating system. Copilot on Windows 11 exists both as a chatbot and as special features inside apps such as Paint, Photos, Clipchamp, and more. Now, Notepad is being added to the list of Windows apps to get new AI capabilities. Additionally, the Snipping Tool is also getting a small boost.

Dave Grochocki, Principal Product Manager Lead for Windows Inbox Apps at Microsoft, through a Windows Insider blog, announced the new Windows 11 features. The lightweight Notepad app (version 11.2401.25.0) is getting a new feature called Explain with Copilot, which will help users understand the content in a file. Users will simply have to highlight a portion of text in the app and right-click to open the options menu to access this feature. On selecting, it will summarise and explain the highlighted log files, code segments, or any selected content. Users can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + E to quickly boot up Copilot.

“This feature is available on devices that have Copilot in Windows, but there is a known issue where some users might not see this new feature in Notepad right away,” Grochocki said, imploring users to share feedback using the WIN + F keyboard shortcut.

The Snipping Tool already has AI capabilities. Users can use it to automatically redact sensitive text from screenshot images. However, now it is getting the ability to add shapes to screenshots. After getting a capture, users can select the new shapes button in the toolbar and pick the desired shape in the image. Users will be able to add rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows to highlight a text or part of an image and annotate it better. The shapes can be resized, moved, or changed in colour. These features are available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11.

The tech giant also recently confirmed that Windows 11 24H2 will be the next major feature update to arrive this year. The new version is expected to include an advanced Copilot. Microsoft might provide its own DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)-like Super Resolution technology within the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update for improved gaming performance. The technology uses AI to make supported games run smoothly with enhanced framerates.

OpenAI is reportedly planning to release artificial intelligence (AI) agents that can operate tasks on computer systems. As per a report, the company has been working on several agent-related research projects, one of which is dubbed “Operator” which can execute multi-step actions on computers. The AI agents are said to be released in January 2025 as a research preview for developers. The company is reportedly planning to access its AI agents via a native application programming interface (API) which developers can use to build software and apps.

OpenAI’s AI Agents

AI Agents have become a recent trend in the AI space. These are smaller AI models that have a limited but specialised knowledge base and can use specific software to execute actions such as mimicking keystrokes, button clicks, and more. Due to the specialised nature of the models, they can complete tasks with accuracy and speed.

According to a Bloomberg report, OpenAI has developed a new AI agent dubbed Operator that can complete tasks on computers. Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication claimed that users will be able to command the AI agent complicated tasks such as writing code or booking tickets, and it would be able to perform them.

On Wednesday, OpenAI executives reportedly revealed plans to release the tool in January 2025 as a research preview. The company is said to create a new API for developers through which developers will have access to it.

Notably, OpenAI is reportedly working on several agent-related research projects, which are near completion. One such agent is said to be capable of executing tasks in a web browser. Details about the other projects are currently not known.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned AI agents as the company’s focus earlier this month during a question and answer session on Reddit. Replying to a user, he said, “We will have better and better models. But I think the thing that will feel like the next giant breakthrough will be agents.”

Anthropic, OpenAI’s competitor, released native AI agents last month. Dubbed Computer Use, these agents can understand and interact with computers, essentially allowing them to control and complete tasks on PCs. These agents are built on an upgraded version of Claude 3.5 Sonnet.