Samsung Galaxy A56 5G will likely be unveiled soon as a successor to the Galaxy A55, which was launched in India in March alongside the Galaxy A35. The handset has started doing rounds of the rumour mill. Several leaks and reports have previously suggested some key features of the purported smartphone including chipset, operating system and camera specifications. The price of the expected Galaxy A-series handset had been tipped as well. The phone has now reportedly been spotted on the 3C certification site which hints at its charging details. 

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Charging, Other Features (Expected)

A Samsung smartphone with the model number SM-A5660 (via 91Mobiles) has been listed on the 3C certification website. The listing indicates that the smartphone, which is expected to debut as the Samsung Galaxy A56 will support 45W wired fast charging. Gadgets 360 was able to verify the listing on the 3C website.

The listing for the SM-5660 smartphone on the 3C website

This would make the Galaxy A56 5G the first Galaxy A-series smartphone to arrive with support for 45W charging. It’s predecessor, the Galaxy A55 5G, supports up to 25W wired fast charging. Until now, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S series of smartphones have offered support for 45W charging. 

Previous reports claimed that the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G will likely be powered by an Exynos 1580 SoC. It is expected to support 8GB of RAM and ship with Android 15-based One UI 7.0. For optics, the handset could feature a triple rear camera unit, including a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultrawide lens and a 5-megapixel macro shooter. It may also sport a 12-megapixel selfie camera.

The Samsung Galaxy A56 5G, tipped to launch in March or April 2025, could be priced between EUR 450 (roughly Rs. 40,900) and EUR 500 (roughly Rs. 45,500). An IMEI listing of the handset suggested that it will also be launched in India.

Notably, the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 39,999 for the 8GB + 128GB option, while the 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB configurations were listed at Rs. 42,999 and Rs. 45,999, respectively.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 was unveiled by the company earlier this week, alongside the Surface Pro 11 and the first benchmarks of the company’s Surface laptop with a Snapdragon X Elite chip appears to have beat Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air in some benchmark tests, along with Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs and a Surface Pro 9 with an SQ3 chip. The benchmark results also suggest that Qualcomm’s latest processor for Copilot+ PCs could go toe-to-toe against Apple Silicon chips in the coming weeks.

While reviews of the new Surface Laptop 7 are still awaited, a Microsoft commissioned third party test of the Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptop reveals that it is capable of delivering reliable battery life, good thermal management, and powerful CPU performance. However, it reportedly lags behind the third-generation Apple Silicon processor in graphics, gaming, and web performance. 

Surface Laptop 7 CPU performance on Geekbench 6.3
Photo Credit: Signal65

In its report, Signal65 compared the Surface Laptop 7 to a Surface Laptop 9 with the Arm-based Microsoft SQ3 processor, a Surface Laptop 5 with a 12th Gen Intel Core-7 CPU, an MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo with a current-gen Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, and Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with an M3 chip. All the laptops were equipped with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, except the MSI laptop which had 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. 

On two popular benchmarking tests — Geekbench 6.3 and Cinebench 2024 — the new Surface Laptop 7 easily beat all the other laptops except the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air in the single-core tests. In the multi-core tests. however, the new Surface laptop managed the highest score among all the laptops that were tested — the tests also showed it was up to 30 percent faster than the M3 chip in multi-core performance.

Surface Laptop 7 offers better battery life than other models tested by the firm
Photo Credit: Signal65

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon X Elite chip on the Surface Laptop 7 was far ahead of the other laptops in the Procyon AI Computer Vision benchmark test. The Arm-based chip from Qualcomm on the laptop enables it to offer over NPU performance that is more than twice as powerful than the 15-inch M3-powered MacBook Air.

Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 7 can also best the Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9, and M3 MacBook Air on Handbrake 1.7.3, but is far behind the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo with the lates Core Ultra 7 155H CPU. Meanwhile, in web performance (Google Chrome’s Speedometer v3 and JetStream v2.2) the Surface Laptop 7 is second only to the MacBook Air with an M3 chip.

The Surface Laptop 7 beat competitors on the Procyon AI computer vision benchmark
Photo Credit: Signal65

In the graphics department, the M3 chip on the 15-inch MacBook Air beat the Snapdragon X Elite on the Surface Laptop 7 on two out of three 3DMark’s graphics benchmarking tests — the Apple Silicon chip wasn’t tested on the third benchmark.

Signal65’s local H.264 video playback tests showed that the Surface Laptop 7 offered the highest battery life, with over 21 hours of playback on a single charge, higher than the M3-powered MacBook Air which delivered 16 percent less battery life. In the Procyon Productivity battery test showed that the MacBook Air with an M3 chip and the Surface Laptop 7 offered “equivalent” battery life.

While these tests were commissioned by Microsoft, it’s worth noting that the benchmarks were conducted by an independent third-party firm. Reviews of the new Surface Laptop 7 are still awaited, and we can expect to learn more about day-to-day performance, battery life, and other parameters, after the laptops go on sale in the US next month.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE is rumoured to launch next year, joining the South Korean technology conglomerate’s flagship foldable smartphone lineup as an affordable alternative to the Galaxy Z Flip series. Despite the rumour mill suggesting that it might cut down on some features in an attempt to be priced affordably, a tipster has revealed that the purported smartphone could be powered by the same Exynos processor as the flagship Galaxy S24 series.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE Processor Leaks

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), tipster @Jukanlosreve suggests that a flagship processor could be used in the purported Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE. It is said to be powered by the Exynos 2400 under the hood — the processor which currently powers the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus in select regions including India. 

This development contradicts previous reports which suggested that the purported smartphone could feature toned-down internals to keep the costs as low as possible. It is speculated to hit the market in 2025 as a more affordable variant of the Galaxy Z Flip series’ clamshell-style foldable model.

According to Samsung, it is exploring “ways to lower entry barriers so that more customers can actually experience foldable products”. Thus, the rumours about the development of more affordable variants of the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold smartphones could hold some truth to them.

Meanwhile, the tipster also suggests that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 could get Exynos 2500 under the hood. Notably, Samsung’s current flagship foldable smartphone lineup is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This suggests that the South Korean company could make the shift from Qualcomm to its in-house fabricated chipsets in some regions. In addition to affordable versions of its foldables, Samsung is also tipped to be developing a Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim and an additional model in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 series.

Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 has been launched as the latest 2-in-1 laptop from the South Korean brand. It arrived as the company’s first device in its new Galaxy Book 5 series. The Copilot+ PC features a 16-inch 3K resolution touch display and runs on the new Intel Core Ultra series 2 processors. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 includes new Intel Arc graphics and Wi-Fi 7 capabilities. It comes bundled with S Pen and houses a 70Wh battery. The laptop brings several Galaxy AI capabilities, such as Chat Assistant, Circle to Search, and Live Translate. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is claimed to deliver up to 25 hours of video playback on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 Price, Availability

Price details of Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 are yet to be disclosed by Samsung. It is, however, currently listed for pre-orders on the Samsung UK website with a price tag of EUR 1,899 for the 16GB RAM + 1TB storage variant with Intel Core Ultra 7 series 2 CPU.

The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is confirmed to be available in select markets including Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US starting in September. It is available in Gray and Silver colour options.

Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 Specifications

The newly launched Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 ships with Windows 11 Home and features a 16.0-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X touch display with WQXGA+ (1,800×2,880 pixels) resolution. The display has a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz, 16:10 aspect ratio and 500nits peak brightness. It is one of the first new laptops to feature the latest Intel Lunar Lake processors. It can be configured with up to Intel Core Ultra 7 series 2 CPU or Intel Core Ultra 5 series 2 CPU along with the improved Intel Arc GPU.

Intel claims that its new Core Ultra processors (Series 2) have up to 47 neural processing units (NPU) and provide more than 300 AI-accelerated features across creativity, productivity, gaming and entertainment apps. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro is offered in 16GB, and 32GB RAM options and two storage options — 512GB and 1TB. The laptop includes Copilot+PC features but according to Samsung, they are expected to be available via a future update. Besides, it brings several AI features including Microsoft Phone Link, Circle to Search with Google, Note Assist, and Chat Assist.

The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.6 connectivity options and it features a backlit keyboard. For video calls, there is a 2-megapixel 1080-pixel full-HD Webcam. The laptop includes dual microphones and quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support.

For connectivity, the Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 gets a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports and a USB Type-A (3.2) port, HDMI 2.1 port, microSD slot and headphone microphone combo port. The HDMI 2.1 port supports 8K content at 60Hz and 5K content at 120Hz. Like recent Galaxy smartphones, the new laptop has Samsung Knox protection.

The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is a convertible 2-in-1 laptop. It supports inputs through S Pen (included in the box). It carries a 76Wh battery with support for 65W fast charging through a USB Type-C adapter. The battery is said to deliver up to 25 hours of video playback on a single charge. It measures 3355.4 x 252.2 x 12.8mm and weighs 1.69 kilograms.

OnePlus 13 was unveiled in China last month with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and the handset is expected to debut in global markets in the coming weeks. The newly launched smartphone has now been spotted on the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) website alongside its sibling — the OnePlus 13R. The listings for the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R effectively confirm their imminent arrival in global markets as the successors to the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R.

Both the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R are listed on the TDRA website (via MySmartPrice) with model numbers CPH2653 and CPH2645, respectively. Gadgets 360 was able to independently confirm the listings from November 17, that confirm that the phones are on their way to markets outside China. Besides the name and model number, the listings don’t include any other details about the upcoming OnePlus handsets.

The listings for both OnePlus phones on the TDRA website

OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R Specifications (Expected)

The specifications of the OnePlus 13 are expected to be identical to the Chinese model. It might lack the 24GB RAM option and will run on OxygenOS instead of the ColorOS skin that is used on the company’s handsets in China.

Earlier reports suggest that the OnePlus 13 will be available in 12GB RAM + 256GB and 16GB RAM + 512GB RAM and storage configurations in international markets. It is said to come in Arctic Dawn, Black Eclipse, and Midnight Ocean colourways.

The OnePlus 13R is tipped to launch in a single 12GB RAM + 256GB storage option. It could be offered in Astral Trail and Nebula Noir colourways.

The OnePlus 13 arrived in China with a starting price tag of CNY 4,899 (roughly Rs. 57,900). It runs on Android 15-based ColorOS 15 and features a 6.82-inch Quad-HD+ (1,440×3,168 pixels) LTPO AMOLED screen from BOE. It is one of the first smartphones to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.

For optics, the OnePlus 13 has a triple rear camera setup, comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera. It has a 32-megapixel selfie camera. It houses a 6,000mAh battery with 100W wired charging support and 50W wireless charging support.

Microsoft Phone Link is set to introduce text-copying capabilities on Windows 11, according to a report. The mobile pairing app, which comes preloaded on Windows 11, lets users connect their smartphones – both Android and iOS – to their PCs, syncing text messages and images, and allowing them to make and receive calls. According to a report, the Phone Link for Windows app will soon be updated with a new optical character recognition (OCR) feature, enabling users to copy text from images.

Phone Link App to Add Text Recognition Support

A few of Microsoft’s apps, such as Lens and Office, already have OCR capabilities. Last year, the Snippet tool on Windows 10 and 11 also gained this feature, making it easier to copy text from captured screenshots. Windows Central reports that OCR support will soon make its way to the Phone Link app.

Tthe feature was spotted in the latest Phone Link app version 1.24051.91.0 on the Release Preview Channel which is accessible via the Windows Insider Program. However, it isn’t available to the public yet but may be rolled out to all Windows users in the future, according to the publication.

Text Recognition on Phone Link: How It Works

When an image is opened via the Photos section of the Phone Link app, a new icon labelled Text reportedly appears, as per the report. When clicked, it automatically scans the image to detect text within the image, following which two options appear – select all text or copy all text. Users can the copy the selection to the clipboard and paste it elsewhere.

AI-powered Advanced Paste on Windows

Microsoft is reportedly also testing a more advanced paste option which appears to be powered by artificial intelligence (AI). According to a Microsoft Learn blog, the new Advanced Paste feature is available via PowerToys version 0.81.0. It can be accessed with a shortcut: Windows Key + Shift + V.

Users can then select between 3 options for pasting from the clipboard – Plain text, JSON, and markdown, all of which can be used with a quick key shortcut. It also gets another option called Paste with AI which uses OpenAI’s technology, allowing users to summarise text, translate and stylise it and even generate code.

Vivo Y300 Plus with Snapdragon 695 SoC was launched in India last month. According to a report, Vivo is also readying to launch the Y300 in the country. Colourways and specifications of the upcoming Vivo Y series phone have also leaked alongside its India launch timeline. It is said to be available in three colour options. The Vivo Y300 could boast a Sony IMX882 portrait camera. Although other details haven’t leaked yet, we can expect to see the Vivo Y300 with upgrades over the Vivo Y300 Plus.

Vivo Y300 Could Arrive by the End of November

MySmartPrice, citing an industry insider, has shared the India launch timeline, colourways and specifications of the Vivo Y300. As per the report, it will be launched in the country by the end of November. The smartphone will reportedly feature a titanium-inspired design and could be available in emerald green, phantom purple and titanium silver shades.

The Vivo Y300 is said to be equipped with a Sony IMX882 portrait camera, an AI Aura Light, and support 80W fast charging.

Vivo Y300 Plus Price, Specifications

The Vivo Y300 Plus is currently available in India with a price tag of Rs. 23,999 for the single 8GB RAM 128GB model. It is offered in Silk Green and Silk Black colours.

Vivo Y300 Plus boasts a 6.78-inch full-HD (1,080×2,400 pixels) display with 120Hz refresh rate. It runs on a 6nm Snapdragon 695 SoC along with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 2.2 storage. The RAM can be virtually expanded up to an additional 8GB, while the storage is expandable up to 1TB via microSD card

For optics, the Vivo Y300 Plus has a dual rear camera setup comprising a 50-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary shooter. It has a 32-megapixel front camera. The phone has an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance and sports an in-display fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 44W fast charging.

Qualcomm on Wednesday announced the launch of the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core CPU, ahead of the upcoming IFA 2024 event in Berlin. The new Snapdragon chipset is a more affordable variant of the company’s 10-core Arm-based laptop processors launched earlier this year, and it is built on the same 4nm process technology. The chipset is also equipped with the same Oryon CPU cores as the company’s other X series processors, and it supports on-device artificial intelligence (AI) applications and features.

Snapdragon X Plus 8-Core Features

The octa-core Snapdragon X Plus chipset is equipped with eight of Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU cores with 30MB CPU cache — 12MB less than the more expensive X Plus chips — along with support for up to 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM. The X1P-42-100 variant has a peak clock speed of 3.2GHz and a 1.7 TFLOPS Adreno GPU, while the X1P-46-100 chip has a slightly higher clock speed of 3.4GHz with a faster 2.1 TFLOPS GPU.

The Adreno GPU on the newly announced Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processors supports up to three external displays at 4K resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate. Meanwhile, the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU is capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for on-device AI features on compatible applications. 

Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip will support PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD or UFS 4.0 storage. Devices equipped with the processor will also be able to support up to 36-megapixel cameras with support for 4K HDR video capture via the company’s Spectra ISP. 

The Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chipset
Photo Credit: Qualcomm

The Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF system on the processor enables support for mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G networks with up to 10Gbps download speeds. The Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 mobile connectivity system brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support. Computers equipped with the chipset can also be equipped with up to three USB 4.0 ports. 

Qualcomm also claims that the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chipset is capable of delivering up to twice the amount of battery life than its closest rival — the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U processor. It’s currently unclear how the chip fares against Apple’s power efficient M2 chip.

Snapdragon X Plus 8-Core Availability

Computers powered by the new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chipset will be available starting today, from OEMs including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. Ahead of IFA 2024, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon said that pricing for these laptops will start at $799 (roughly Rs. 67,100). 

SpaceX is slated to launch its gargantuan Starship rocket on Tuesday out of South Texas, a key test that is expected to include a guest visit from President-elect Donald Trump.

The sixth major test mission comes as SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is heavily engaged in transition planning for Trump’s second administration. Musk, who has been a near-constant fixture of Trump’s inner circle since the November 5 election, has maintained that over regulation, especially surrounding Starship, factored into his decision to support the Republican.

SpaceX will try to launch Starship from its site in South Texas during a 30-minute time slot beginning at 4 p.m. local time, sending the vehicle to space and partially around the world.

One of the most anticipated moments on Tuesday will come about seven minutes into the mission when the company will attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster in midair with giant mechanical arms — referred to as “chopsticks” — repeating the groundbreaking feat from its previous flight.

The largest and most powerful rocket ever developed, Starship is under contract to function as a lunar lander that NASA will use to put people back on the moon for the first time in half a century. It’s the centerpiece of Musk’s ambition to start a settlement on Mars. 

The vehicle is also meant to revolutionise SpaceX’s business plan. Designed to be fully reusable, SpaceX claims Starship will be much cheaper to fly than any other rocket on the market and will eventually replace its industry-leading Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for sending cargo into orbit. 

But to meet that promise of delivering a fully reusable rocket, SpaceX must refine its technique for recovering all of the pieces of Starship after launch. 

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The launch will be the latest event Musk and Trump have attended together, following a Saturday night Ultimate Fighting Championship match in Madison Square Garden. Trump has frequently showered Musk with praise at his rallies, oftentimes describing in great detail his awe watching SpaceX rockets. 

On this flight, the company will attempt once again to “catch” the rocket’s massive booster, called Super Heavy, which is used to propel the Starship spacecraft toward space throughout the first few minutes of takeoff. Like last time, the booster will return back its launchpad and slow itself down as it comes in for landing. A pair of giant mechanical arms will then catch the booster and stop its fall.

Starship will attempt a fiery return plunge through the atmosphere, testing out an updated heat shield to protect it during the fall. It will then try to return to an upright position before splashing down into the Indian Ocean.

While most of Starship appeared to survive this process in October, parts of the vehicle appeared to burn off. However, the company was still able to splash down Starship relatively intact and upright in the ocean.

SpaceX should have a better view of this fall during Tuesday’s launch attempt. The company aims to launch in the Texas afternoon, which means Starship will be landing in the Indian Ocean during the daytime. That should provide more sunlight to show how the vehicle survives its descent.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said on Friday that as many as 400 Starship flights were possible over the next four years. That frequency can only happen if SpaceX perfects its landing strategy, so the company can quickly turn around the rockets for their next flights. Shotwell described the process as similar to the way airlines drive down the cost of owning and operating commercial jetliners.

During the October test, the booster came very close to crashing near the tower, Musk said in a video on his X platform. SpaceX will need to address that issue as well as a laundry list of other things, such as refueling the vehicle in space, before Starship lives up to the full scope of Musk’s plans.

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Microsoft Copilot is now available on the popular messaging app Telegram. The tech giant integrated its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot with Telegram on Tuesday, extending its capabilities within the app. Telegram users can now converse with, ask questions, and search the internet with Copilot. Currently, the feature is released in beta, although it has been made available to all users for free. However, there is a limit of 30 turns per day (30 back-and-forth messages) when accessing the AI.

How to access Copilot for Telegram

There are two easy methods to get access to the chatbot. Users can go to Microsoft’s microsite dedicated to the feature and click on the ‘Try Now’ button to go directly to the Telegram app and find the Copilot chatbot. Alternatively, users can manually open the messaging app and search for Copilot.

However, in case users opt for the second method, it is important to ensure the authentic Copilot chatbot by looking for a blue check mark next to the name. There are multiple replica bots by the same name, and some of them can be malicious.

At present, Copilot is only available as a text-to-text chatbot, and it will not generate images. It can, however, access the internet and will be able to answer web-based queries. Microsoft suggests asking the AI bot about cheat codes and walkthroughs of video games, movie suggestions, dating tips, recipes, live scores, personalised playlists and more.

Copilot for Telegram

Interacting with Copilot is fairly straightforward if you have experience with using bots on Telegram. If not, you can use the “/ideas” command to get examples of what the AI can do and “/restart” will clear the current context of a response and start over. These instructions and other similar methods are also shown by the chatbot when first entering the chat.

However, before a user can interact with the chatbot, they will first have to register using their phone number. This might be concerning to some users given Telegram’s privacy-focused approach. On its microsite, Microsoft addresses the concerns and says, “Copilot on Telegram relies on the same safety infrastructure as the Microsoft Copilot experience.”