Your Tech Story

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

mixed-reality platform

Samsung, Google & Qualcomm team up on mixed-reality platform

The newest tech behemoth to embrace augmented and virtual reality is Samsung. The smartphone manufacturer claims that it will collaborate with Qualcomm and Google on a future mixed-reality platform.

The information was released on Wednesday during Samsung’s Unpacked event and comes after rumors that Apple may launch the first ever-virtual reality headset this year. Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP of Android at Google, and Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, both took the stage to jointly announce the partnership.

mixed-reality platform
Image Source: techweekmag.com

No specific products were mentioned by Samsung as being under development. Additionally, it didn’t offer a release date for any planned mixed-reality services or products.

Technology that combines the traits of augmented and virtual reality is referred to as mixed reality. Similar to Google Glass, augmented reality combines software and the physical world by superimposing graphics on the user’s surroundings.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

In contrast, virtual reality technologies like the Meta Quest 2 immerse the user in a 360-degree virtual environment. Passthrough cameras, a method that enables AR and virtual reality technologies to merge into one product line, are helping a new generation of VR headsets advance mixed reality, nevertheless.

This is possible with the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets from Meta and the future Vive XR Elite. The identical idea should be used in Apple’s anticipated headset.

The development arrives at a time when virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality platform are receiving more attention. According to Bloomberg, Apple is planning to unveil a mixed-reality headgear in 2023 that might cost $3,000 or more.

Google unveiled a new pair of AR glasses at Google I/O last year with a focus on language translation, and Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 and HTC’s Vive XR Elite are both set to debut this month. Before the year is out, Meta’s Quest 3 will be released.

With the exception of the Gear VR device, which it released in multiple incarnations between 2015 and 2017, Samsung has been very quiet regarding virtual reality.

Given that Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm already collaborate to develop smartphones, the alliance makes logical. Samsung creates the physical components of its Galaxy devices, while Qualcomm provides the processor and Google is in charge of the Android operating system’s supporting software.

Also Read: Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 Event: What to expect?

Since many of the leading VR and AR headsets use Qualcomm chips, the company has been driving the development of phone-compatible AR and VR headsets for many years. Additionally, Qualcomm is working with Meta on upcoming smartphones and Microsoft on the hardware for its next augmented reality glasses. It’s unclear if this new partnership will work with Qualcomm’s current Snapdragon Spaces technology for phones and headsets.

Samsung unveiled its plans for mixed reality alongside the release of its latest Galaxy Book and Galaxy S23 smartphone range. The new range, which comes in three versions—standard, Plus, and Ultra—offers a number of enhancements and is currently up for preorder.

apex legends

Why Apex Legends Mobile is shutting down?

For years, Need for Speed, FIFA, and Apex Legends have been produced by Electronic Arts and its affiliates for consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices. Since its release last year, the battle royale shooter Apex Legends Mobile has gained popularity.

In fact, it most recently took up the Google Play Store’s prize for the best overall game. However, the game has struggled to maintain its momentum in terms of user growth and popularity.

Image Source: beebom.com

Apex Legends Mobile is sadly being discontinued by the corporation, and it hasn’t even been around for a year. For the following three months, gamers can still access the game and fight their final battles. Additionally, the company has decided to stop working on Battlefield Mobile, a move that suggests mobile FPS games aren’t as popular as they once were.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

Apex Legends Mobile was first released in May 2022 by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, a Tencent company, and Respawn Entertainment, which is owned by EA. It was made more accessible by the game’s ability to play Apex on devices other than computers and gaming consoles. Just before its first anniversary, on May 1st of this year, Apex’s developers declared a suspension for the mobile edition in a recent post.

The official shutdown is scheduled to begin at 7 PM ET. According to The Verge, gamers will not be able to make any more in-app purchases after Tuesday at 4 PM ET. Unfortunately, the creators have no intention of issuing refunds for any already placed transactions. It is recommended that users use any remaining in-game currency and play the game as much as possible while it still exists.

Players enthusiastically embraced the release of Apex Legends Mobile, according to EA’s announcement. The future battle royale game had two mobile-only legends (characters) and frequent updates that enhanced the characters’ skills and introduced new game modes, but it was shut down due to the content stream falling short of quality standards.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

The decision to shut down Apex Legends Mobile ultimately came down to money because the company’s finances were being negatively impacted by the rapid spike and decrease in player numbers. After a certain point, investing further in fresh Apex Legends Mobile content to draw and keep players became unfeasible for EA and its partners.

We can probably safely predict that the firm won’t start extensively promoting mobile shooters anytime soon. Therefore, before the doors permanently close, be sure to stay in touch with all of your Apex Mobile pals on other platforms in the upcoming three months.

The studio expresses its continued optimism for “mobile as a platform” in a blog post and states that it “looks forward to new opportunities to serve players there in the future.” Players can use their existing Syndicate Gold to play the game without any problems, but they won’t be able to perform any in-app purchases that cost real money.

Sam Walton

The Success Story of Sam Walton: Founder of Walmart

Sam Walton, an American business tycoon, is most known for establishing Walmart and Sam’s Club in 1962 and 1983, respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expanded to become both the largest private employer and the largest company in the world by revenue.

Sam Walton
Image Source: forbes.com

Walton formerly held the title of the richest person in America. His family has maintained its position as the wealthiest in the United States for a number of years running, with a net wealth of over $240.6 billion as of 2022.

Early Life

Sam Walton made the decision to join the US Army Intelligence Corps in order to serve his country. He was a Captain who was stationed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sam spent three years at his job in the military.

Also Read: Journey of Databricks from Academia To A $6.2 Billion Business

Sam Walton made the decision to start a store selling inexpensive products after leaving the military. He made certain that there was always fresh food on the shelves. With the aid of a $20,000 borrowing from his father-in-law and $5,000 in savings from his time in the military, he was able to launch the business.

On April 5, 1992, the day after Walmart celebrated its 30th anniversary, Sam Walton passed away. There were 1735 stores globally, with $5 billion in yearly sales, at that time.

Success Story

In 1945, Sam Walton acquired a lease on a Ben Franklin store location. His objective was to sell goods for a low price in order to increase sales at a low-profit margin. When the store first opened, it had an annual income of $105,000; by the fifth year, it had increased to $250,000.

Sam Walton had to shut down the store once the five-year lease came to an end since he was unable to extend it. Walton’s Five and Dime was the name of the new business he later founded in Bentonville. The Walmart Museum now occupies this location.

The first real Walmart shop debuted in Rogers, Arkansas, on July 2, 1962. Sam Walton’s vision for the Wal-Mart Discount Store was to stock it exclusively with goods created in the United States and provide them for low prices. Sam took sure to place his stores outside of the major cities, in the smaller communities.

Also Read: The richest man in the video game business

Due to the substantial discounts, customers never dried up at the store’s entrance. Sam wanted to ensure that common people could afford basic necessities. The respectable businessman’s desire for success became stronger with time.

He persisted in opening ever more Wal-Mart locations across America. Sam had already established 24 stores by 1967, and they were experiencing astronomical sales all throughout the country.

The business was incorporated under the name Walmart Inc. on October 31, 1969, and changed its name to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 1970. The massive retail store became publicly traded in 1970 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The business expanded significantly in the 1980s when sales reached $1 billion. Walton passed away from multiple myeloma, a kind of blood cancer, on 5th April 1992 (three months before Walmart celebrated its thirtieth anniversary) in Little Rock, Arkansas.

microLED

The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

According to a recent report, Apple plans to start producing its own internal mobile displays in 2024 in an effort to lessen its reliance on Samsung and LG. This move will purportedly bring the benefits of microLED, a screen technology that is even more powerful than the OLEDs already in use, in addition to cutting prices and providing the corporation greater leeway in how it designs its products.

microLED
Image Source: tomsguide.com

Reputable leaker-analyst Mark Gurman claims in a piece for Bloomberg that the plan will initially have a bearing on the Apple Watch, whose premium Ultra edition will receive an in-house bespoke MicroLED with its 2024 update. The displays will eventually be added to the iPhone as well as other Apple Watch devices if there are no technological difficulties.

It’s important to keep in mind that the term “in-house” in the report has some nuances. The distinction would be that Apple will retain more design control; these displays will probably still be produced by an outside supplier.

Also Read: Tesla is getting cheaper. Is it a good move by Elon Musk?

Currently, Apple creates its iPhone and Apple Watch screens using current Samsung and LG technology and calibrates them to the company’s requirements. Now that the display itself will be created and designed by Apple, the company would have more influence over the final product.

Samsung presently manufactures microLED displays, however, they are only applied to their premium televisions. Within the next few years, MicroLED might overtake OLED as the standard display technology. It performs better than OLED in a variety of aspects, including. It is slimmer, making a low-profile and lightweight smartwatch possible.

With apparent advantages for battery life, it is nearly twice as power-efficient (more specifically, it is predicted to take half as much energy to achieve a comparable brightness). In the future, it will be possible to achieve numerous thousand pixels per inch with microLED, which is capable of providing a screen resolution that is many times higher.

Also Read: Is Google bringing its own ‘AirTags’?

In addition, it may produce images that are superior in practically every regard, including color, contrast, and brightness. The displays, according to Bloomberg, are already in testing and “make content appear like it’s painted on top of the glass.”

Additionally, it is less susceptible to display burn-in, which can be a problem with OLED panels. Without a certain, users won’t see any of these features on a 2-inch display, but engineers working on different Apple mobile products would regard them highly.

What we can actually anticipate for this year is that the iPhone 15 will reportedly maintain the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch OLED panels that we’ve encountered on the iPhone 14 range and earlier devices.

The new iPhones should be a worthwhile investment for the majority of people in need of a phone upgrade because of additional upgrades like a periscope telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro and the latest iPhone 15 Ultra model with a new titanium body and haptic, solid-state buttons.

Galaxy Unpacked 2023

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 Event: What to expect?

Galaxy Unpacked 2023 is first and foremost an official live event hosted by Samsung on February 1st, 2023 in San Francisco. However, viewers from all over the globe will be able to witness the event live online on the Samsung Newsroom website, the company’s official website, and the official YouTube channel.

Samsung revealed the Galaxy S22 lineup, which included the S22, S22 Plus, and S22 Ultra, at a launch event quite similar to the one it did this year in February 2022. The Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8 Plus, and Tab S8 Ultra were three other tablets that the company unveiled with it.

Galaxy Unpacked 2023
Image Source: thehindubusinessline.com

The Galaxy S series is the only thing that comes to mind when the words “premium” and “Galaxy” are mentioned. As a result, experts are positive that the Samsung Galaxy S23 range will be the event’s biggest attraction at Galaxy Unpacked 2023.

The latter represents the company’s 2023 flagship smartphone lineup. The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra will be the minimum number of devices in the S23 series. Although all 3 of them will be launching in early February, customers may currently make a reservation.

Also Read: What were the main highlights of CES 2023?

A modified version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset will power the Galaxy S23. As a result, the smartphones will deliver excellent performance and may launch as the most potent Android devices available.

The Galaxy S23 will probably include a slew of further improvements in addition to the powerful processor. The high-end Galaxy S23 Ultra includes a very outstanding camera module, brighter screens, and enhanced thermals and battery life.

The majority of reports state that Samsung won’t raise the Galaxy S23 lineup’s base price. But customers should prepare to fork over a sizable extra for these flagship models. Fortunately, Samsung is notorious for offering hefty early-bird discounts, so if users move quickly (or make a purchase), they can save a significant amount of money.

Additionally, experts anticipate Samsung will provide users with an update on the Galaxy S22 series and let users know whether the device will be discontinued or kept on the market alongside its replacement. A price reduction will be required if the latter is the case.

Last but not least, Samsung might also have a few software announcements to share, such as a future One UI update.

There is just one other important product launch beside the Galaxy S23: the Galaxy Book 3 range of laptops. Both the Samsung Galaxy Tab Fold and the Galaxy Tab S9 series are unlikely to debut. According to reports, both have been postponed until late 2023 or early 2024.

Last year, Samsung did introduce a new series of Tab S8 tablets along with the Galaxy S22. However, a story from the South Korean publication The Elec claims that the corporation postponed the launch of its next tablet (likely the Tab S9) from its initial December 2022 launch date because of a decline in consumer electronics demand.

The Elec claims that a new generation of tablets will still be released this year, so they may still debut at Samsung’s expected Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 foldable during the company’s customary summer presentation.

Twitter

Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

Elon Musk’s Twitter deal was met with swift criticism. One of the four biggest advertising agencies, IPG Megabrands, urged their clients to halt advertising Twitter just days after the acquisition. Along with these other businesses, paid advertisements on the platform have been suspended by Pfizer, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Twitter
Image Source: mashable.com

Ninety-two percent or so of Twitter’s overall revenue in 2021 came from advertising. If there was any doubt before, it is now evident that Musk must wean Twitter off its dependence on advertising revenue in order for his vision for the company to succeed.

At Twitter, Elon Musk has had a very busy week. His most active users will now need to pay a monthly fee, and he has sacked half of his workers and told the other employees they may no longer work remotely.

Also Read: Ad Spending on Twitter Falls by Over 70%

He has also criticized advertising. Elon Musk in his tweet on Friday claimed that Twitter had experienced a “massive drop in revenue” as more advertisers choose to stay away from what can only be called a turbulent transition.

It’s important to note that overall spending on digital advertising has decreased as the economy faces its own uncertainty. Additionally, it appears that everything is being done to divert attention from the mass layoff issue.

Musk tweeted about advertising again later though. This time, it was in response to a request that Musk “name and shame” companies who have halted their advertising. He tweeted, “A thermonuclear name & shame is exactly what will happen if this continues.”

It appears that 50 out of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter have halted advertising on the platform. These 50 advertisers have spent about $2 billion on Twitter advertisements since 2020, and more than $750 million only in 2022, according to research from Media Matters for America.

Also Read: What Does Twitter 200 Million User Email Leak Actually Mean?

Based on the report, which was released on Tuesday, seven new companies have reduced their advertising to nearly nothing. Since 2020, these businesses have paid Twitter over $255 million for advertising. Chevy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ford, Kyndryl, Jeep, Merck & Co., and Novartis AG all made announcements concerning the suspension of Twitter advertisements, or it was rumored and confirmed that they had done so.

The others stopped using the site to advertise for a significant period of time following direct outreach, controversies, and media buyers.” The day following an account pretending to be from Eli Lilly and Co. posted, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now,” the pharmaceutical business ceased running advertisements on Twitter.

The post was left up for hours despite Eli Lilly’s request for Twitter to remove it because the company’s staff was overworked as a result of recent firings and resignations. Eli Lilly’s shares fell shortly after the tweet received thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets.

Advertisers have stopped spending on Twitter advertisements because they don’t want to pay for ads that would randomly start appearing next to violent or racist content. They want assurances that the situation won’t worsen into an even worse swamp than it already is.

Musk hasn’t taken any action to reassure them that it won’t. Instead, he simply continues to use his “management by chaos” approach. He believes it works for him, however, brand stability and predictability are what advertisers desire.