Honor Magic 7 and Honor Magic 7 Pro were launched in China on Wednesday. The smartphones are powered by Qualcomm’s newest octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets paired with up to 16GB of RAM. They feature triple rear camera units including telephoto shooters and carry 50-megapixel front cameras. The handsets come with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance. Both Honor Magic 7 and Magic 7 Pro support 100W wired and 80W wireless fast charging and run on Android 15-based MagicOS 9.0 skin out-of-the-box. 

Honor Magic 7, Honor Magic 7 Pro Price, Colour Options

Honor Magic 7 price starts in China at CNY 4,499 (roughly Rs. 53,100) for the 12GB + 256GB option, while the 12GB + 512GB variant is listed at CNY 4,799 (roughly Rs. 56,700). The 16GB + 512GB and 16GB + 1TB configurations are marked at CNY 4,999 (roughly Rs. 59,000) and CNY 5,499 (roughly Rs. 64,900), respectively.

Meanwhile, the Honor Magic 7 Pro is available at a price of CNY 5,699 (roughly Rs. 67,300) for the 12GB + 256GB option, while the 16GB + 512GB and 16GB + 1TB versions are priced at CNY 6,199 (roughly Rs. 73,200) and CNY 6,699 (roughly Rs. 79,100), respectively.

Honor Magic 7 Pro is offered in Moon Shadow Gray, Snow White, Sky Blue, and Velvet Black colourways
Photo Credit: Honor

The base Honor Magic 7 comes in five colour options — Morning Glow Gold, Moon Shadow Gray, Snow White, Sky Blue, and Velvet Black (translated from Chinese). The Pro variant is offered in Moon Shadow Gray, Snow White, Sky Blue, and Velvet Black (translated) shades. The phones are currently available for pre-order in China via the Honor website and will go on sale starting November 8.

Honor Magic 7, Honor Magic 7 Pro Specifications, Features

The Honor Magic 7 sports a 6.78-inch full-HD+ (1,264 x 2,800 pixels) LTPO OLED screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate, 1,600 nits of global peak brightness, and TÜV Rheinland certifications for eye protection. Meanwhile, the Honor Magic 7 Pro has a 6.8-inch full-HD+ (1,280 x 2,800 pixels) LTPO OLED display with similar features.

Both Honor Magic 7 series phones are powered by octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets paired with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage. They ship with Android 15-based MagicOS 9.0 skin on top.

In the camera department, the Honor Magic 7 and Magic 7 Pro are equipped with 1/1.3-inch 50-megapixel primary sensors and 50-megapixel secondary ultra-wide shooters. The vanilla model carries a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, while the Pro variant has a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The front cameras on both handsets have 50-megapixel sensors.

The Honor Magic 7 is backed by a 5,650mAh battery, while the Magic 7 Pro packs a 5,850mAh cell. They support 100W wired and 80W wireless fast charging. Both handsets come with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance. For security, they carry in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensors. Connectivity options for the lineup include dual 5G, dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, NFC and a USB Type-C port.

Computex 2024 is larger than ever, with 1,500 technology companies participating, showcasing their products across 4,500 booths. It’s hard, however, to look past the single central theme that dominates the event: artificial intelligence. The tech trade show, which opened on Tuesday, is set to be marked by AI announcements, with semiconductor giants Nvidia and AMD kicking off proceedings by unveiling new AI chips in back-to-back keynote presentations in Taipei. The focus is firmly on AI computing, especially since Computex comes days after Microsoft unveiled its new line of Copilot+ AI PCs.

On Monday, Microsoft’s OEM partner Asus debuted its first AI-powered Copilot+ laptops, featuring AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, and detailed its plans to integrate AI with all aspects of its business at a Computex launch event. A day before it announced its new line of AI PCs, however, Asus introduced the ROG Ally X, an updated version of its handheld gaming PC that launched last year. The company’s latest portable comes with double the battery size than the Asus ROG Ally, more storage and more memory, alongside a host of other tweaks and improvements over the original.

The Asus ROG Ally is one of the few gaming handhelds that officially launched in India, a market where the Taiwanese firm has grown to become the leader in the gaming PC segment. The updated ROG Ally X, too, will arrive in India sometime later this year.

At least, that’s what Asus plans, according to Arnold Su, Vice President of the company’s consumer and gaming PC business in the country. Gadgets 360 caught up with Su after Asus’ launch event Monday at the sidelines of Computex and discussed the new handheld, AI PCs, and more.

The Asus ROG Ally X at Computex 2024

“As a company, we don’t want to just sell a box. We want to sell technology,” Su said, speaking about Asus’ decision to bring the ROG Ally to the Indian market. The handheld debuted in India in July 2023, just two months after it was unveiled globally. “All the latest technology, we want to bring to every country, not only India.”

According to him, Asus is willing to test customer acceptance and demand for its new products. Whether Indian gamers are ready to embrace a dedicated handheld gaming device is a secondary question; First, the company must be bold enough to show its latest technologies to potential customers. “If I don’t show, I never get a chance to know whether it can be sold,” Su said.

In a market dominated by mobile gaming, dedicated gaming devices and consoles leave a small footprint in India. The burgeoning handheld sector remains even more niche. Segment leaders Nintendo Switch and Valve’s Steam Deck, while readily available across online retailers, aren’t officially sold in India and the two companies don’t plan to change that anytime soon.

The Lenovo Legion Go made its debut in September last year but remains stuck in the “coming soon” phase in the Indian market. The MSI Claw A1M, on the other hand, launched in India in March, but availability remains a concern.

Asus, however, doesn’t believe in waiting. Su said that the company’s quickness in bringing its latest products to India has driven it to the second place in the consumer PC and the top spot in the gaming PC segments in the country. “It’s our time to market. If you look at the past five years, whenever the latest technology comes, no matter CPU or GPU, we are always either the first or the second one to make the product available in India,” he said.

The ROG Ally X also fits with Asus’ approach to launching gaming PCs in diverse form factors. According to Su, when it comes to gaming-focussed devices, companies initially only talked about performance. “You see, we are the first company to launch a two-in-one gaming laptop, our Rog Flow X13. And we are the first company to launch a detachable gaming laptop, our Z13. And in our form factor, we have Zephyrus for thin and light (laptops), we have Strix, we have Strix Scar. So, for gamers, even for the gaming market, it’s not just powerful gaming machines (that’s important); it’s different segments. And we ensure ourselves are able to be present in each of the segments,” Su said.

Asus’ Arnold Su said that ROG Ally should arrive in India sometime in 2024
Photo Credit: Asus

Asus has indeed made its presence felt in the gaming handheld segment. While official sales figures aren’t clear, as of January 2024, the ROG Ally has reportedly sold around 70,000 to 80,000 units in India since its launch last year. “At the initial stage, sales were really good, but then they drove back to normal,” Su said. “The main reason is that when a customer comes to our store, they still want to buy a gaming device, and for the customer who is well educated, they already have a first device. They are okay to spend money to buy the second device. ROG Ally will still be treated as a second device.”

Customers who want to buy their first gaming device, according to Su, want a proper gaming machine. And for the ROG Ally’s price band, they can get a gaming laptop from Asus’ TUF range. But the response to the niche device, which debuted in India with price tag of Rs. 69,990, likely bodes well for its successor, the ROG Ally X. And it helps that the handheld’s latest iteration improves on its predecessor in almost every aspect on paper. It still runs Windows 11 and it’s still powered by the Zen 4 AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme platform, but it comes with a significantly larger 80Wh battery, 24GB of RAM (up from 16GB on the standard ROG Ally) and 1TB SSD storage (up from 512GB). These upgrades kick the price of the handheld up by about $100, as well — coming in at $799.

While there’s no clear launch timeline or local pricing details yet, the ROG Ally X should arrive in India later this year. When the handheld launches in India, it will likely be available at Asus’ 270 stores in the country, each one of which has had the original ROG Ally on display for customers to touch and feel before they decide to buy it. That was, according to Su, Asus’ first intension — to showcase the technology, even if it’s too niche. “No matter, they want to buy, or they don’t want to buy,” Su said. “At least they will know Asus has these products.”

Disclosure: Asus sponsored the correspondent’s flights and hotel for the event in Taipei.

Realme GT 7 Pro will make its debut in India on November 26 as the first smartphone to be powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Ahead of its impending launch, pre-orders of the upcoming smartphone have commenced via select online and offline channels. The Chinese smartphone maker has also announced a list of benefits for prospective buyers, including screen damage insurance, instant discounts, extended warranty, and multiple payment plans.

Realme GT 7 Pro Pre-Booking Offers in India

Realme has detailed the pre-booking offers valid in India on the Realme GT 7 Pro on a dedicated microsite created ahead of the launch. Customers can pre-book the smartphone on Amazon for Rs. 1,000 and for Rs. 2,000 at select offline channels starting today at 12 pm IST. Meanwhile, pre-reservation on the Realme website will begin on the day of the launch; November 26 at 1 pm IST.

Customers will be eligible to receive a discount of Rs. 3,000 on the purchase with bank offers. They can also take advantage of 12 and 24-month no-cost EMI plans. Realme is offering 24 months of warranty and one year of screen damage insurance worth Rs. 6,598 to buyers who pre-book the handset.

In addition to these offers, the company is providing additional benefits for customers who pre-book the smartphone exclusively via its website. It is offering a free upgrade to the Realme VIP Pro+ membership, including benefits such as free shipping, early access, coins redemption and other offline gains. Furthermore, buyers will be eligible to purchase the Realme Buds Air 6, which is usually priced at Rs. 3,299, for just Rs. 2,499.

Realme GT 7 Pro Specifications (Confirmed)

Realme GT 7 Pro is confirmed to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with an AnTuTu benchmark score of over 30,00,000. For photography, it will sport a triple rear camera setup, comprising a 50-megapixel Sony IMX906 primary sensor, a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical and 120x digital zoom, and an 8-megapixel wide-angle shooter.

The handset is claimed to have an IP69 rating against dust and water ingress which helps it withstand depths of up to two metres for 30 minutes. It will be backed by a 5,800mAh battery with support for 120W SuperVOOC charging.

Sam Altman‘s return as OpenAI’s chief executive will strengthen his grip on the startup and may leave the ChatGPT creator with fewer checks on his power as the company introduces technology that could upend industries, corporate governance experts and analysts said.

OpenAI is bringing Altman back just days after his ouster as well as installing a revamped board that could bring sharper scrutiny to the startup at the heart of the AI boom, but strong support from investors including Microsoft may give Altman more leeway to commercialize the technology. 

“Sam’s return may put an end to the turmoil on the surface, but there may continue to be deep governance issues,” said Mak Yuen Teen, director of the centre for investor protection at the National University of Singapore Business School.

“Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. The danger is the board becomes a rubber stamp,” he said.

OpenAI’s new board will boast more experience at the top level and strong ties to both the US government and Wall Street. 

The board fired Altman last week with little explanation and attempted to move on by naming an interim CEO twice. However, pressure from Microsoft — and the 38-year-old’s strong loyalty among the 700-plus OpenAI employees that caused nearly all of them to threaten to leave the company — led to Altman’s reinstatement as of Wednesday. 

“Altman has been invigorated by the last few days,” GlobalData analyst Beatriz Valle said. But that could come at a cost, she said, adding that he has “too much power now.” 

Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce who also played a key role in forcing through Elon Musk’s $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,66,530 crore) purchase of Twitter as a director, will be chairing the board.

Other members include former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a Harvard academic and longtime economic aide to Democratic presidents.

“The fact that Summers and Taylor will join OpenAI is quite extraordinary and marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes in the company,” Valle said.

Summers, who also sits on the board of Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm Block, has in recent months been vocal about the potential job losses and disruption that could be caused by AI.

“ChatGPT is coming for the cognitive class. It’s going to replace what doctors do,” he said in a post on X in April. 

OpenAI’s previous board consisted of entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, as well as Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, who also sits on the new board.

It was not immediately clear if any of the other directors would remain, including Sutskever, who joined in the effort to fire Altman then signed onto an employee letter demanding his return, expressing regret for her “participation in the board’s actions.” 

OpenAI on X said it was “collaborating to figure out the details” of the new board.

Microsoft declined to comment. Summers and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sutskever, Altman and Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some analysts say the management fiasco will ensure that OpenAI executives proceed cautiously, as the high-flying startup will now be subject to more scrutiny. Several noted that companies such as Facebook parent Meta have flourished with a powerful CEO despite concerns about corporate governance.

“Sam definitely comes out stronger but also dirtied and will have more of a microscope from the AI and broader tech and business community,” Gartner analyst Jason Wong said. “He can no longer do no wrong.”

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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