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Tag: asia

  • Software update is coming to fix annoying bug on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

    Software update is coming to fix annoying bug on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

    Apple has sent out an internal memo to these authorized repair shops to let them know that the company is aware of an issue with the Apple Watch models released last year.

    The memo, which MacRumors obtained, says “Some customers may report their Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 is experiencing false touches on their display.” Apple adds that some customers might say that their Apple Watch model is experiencing “ghost touches.” Owners of impacted Apple Watch models say that the screen will “jump erratically” or take other actions even if the user has not interacted with the device. The problem could cause users to be unable to enter their passcode or have an accidental phone call made

    The tweet from @StellaFudge notes that Apple has told technicians working at authorized service centers and, we assume, at Apple Stores as well, not to replace any Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Ultra 2 units exhibiting this problem. Instead, Apple is telling technicians to inform customers that Apple will soon be issuing a software update that will resolve the problem.

    With that in mind, Apple is telling Apple Watch owners to make sure that they keep their devices updated and running the latest version of watchOS, especially since the touch issue is expected to be fixed via a software update. Apple didn’t give a timeframe as to when we can expect the update to arrive. However, the company is recommending that those experiencing this problem on their Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 force restart their timepieces to see if that helps solve the problem before any update is sent.

    To force restart either Apple Watch model, hold down the Digital Crown and the side button at the same time for at least 10 seconds, until the Apple logo appears. If this doesn’t rid your Apple Watch of the “ghost touch” issue, you will have to be patient and wait for Apple to push out a software update aimed at exterminating this bug.

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  • JD.com partners with parcel company Evri in the UK

    JD.com partners with parcel company Evri in the UK

    JD.com is supporting the growth of British businesses in the Chinese market as it partnered with parcel delivery company Evri to combine their expertise and resources in e-commerce and logistics.

    The partnership will combine JD.com’s advanced e-commerce capabilities with Evri’s extensive delivery network across Europe. The services will include local pickup, warehousing, international transportation, access to Chinese bonded warehouses, customs clearance, and comprehensive delivery across China.

    The team-up will initially focus on the beauty and apparel sectors, where JD.com has substantial insights, including consumer behaviour, marketing and pricing strategies, product selection advice, and online operational strategies specific to the Chinese market.

    The collaboration will also enable JD Logistics to offer integrated warehousing and comprehensive delivery solutions to clients in Europe by leveraging its self-operated overseas warehouses and Evri’s local distribution network.

    Qun Xue, Vice President of JD.com and Head of JD Logistics International said: “This partnership underscores our dedication to building a robust global logistics network and our commitment to the success of international brands.”

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  • Google renames Bard to “Gemini” and launches Google One AI Premium plan with advanced access

    Google renames Bard to “Gemini” and launches Google One AI Premium plan with advanced access

    Google Bard is now Gemini, just “Gemini.” As announced today by Google, Bard — the company’s web-based chatbot — has now been improved, rebranded, and expanded by adding a new Advanced tier bundled into Google One. This is in addition to the new Gemini Android app launched today.

    Google One, the company’s cloud storage subscription service, now has a new tier called “AI Premium.” This tier includes access to Gemini Advanced — the new version of Gemini, formerly called “Bard”, which includes the latest Ultra 1.0 AI model — for $19.99 a month. Additionally, this new Google One tier gives you 2TB of storage, as well as other Google One benefits currently found in the Premium tier.

    Google states that Gemini’s Ultra 1.0 LLM model brings new advancements to the world of AI interaction, such as superior processing efficiency, advanced comprehension of instructions and programs, and innovative problem-solving abilities. The model is said to be capable of analyzing and explaining information, and it can even generate high-quality code in multiple programming languages.

    Additionally, Google is set to bring Gemini to a range of services including Gmail and Docs. This will allow users to enjoy automated text writing, create unique images, and even enhance video quality in Google Meet.

    With the Google One AI Premium plan, users can try out Gemini Advanced free for two months before the $19.99 subscription kicks in. This should allow users to fully explore Gemini’s capabilities before committing. If you’re someone who heavily relies on Google services and craves advanced functionality, the higher price point of these Google One plans might just be worth it, especially when you consider the 2TB of storage it includes and the upcoming integration with Gmail, Docs, and other Workspace apps.

    Gemini Advanced is currently only available in English and can be accessed through the web at gemini.google.com or the old bard.google.com URL, which automatically redirects. It is also worth mentioning that Gemini is currently in the development phase, and its overall effectiveness in the long run is yet to be determined. In addition, the plan’s emphasis on AI capabilities may not be suitable for all users, especially those who prefer straightforward cloud storage solutions.

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  • This Google patent may extend the battery life of your next smartwatch

    This Google patent may extend the battery life of your next smartwatch

    The tech world is never sleeping. Google’s latest patent has to do with a new antenna design for wearable devices like smartwatches.

    The just-filled patent for the new design makes the antenna more compact and optimized for communications.

    According to Google, the refreshed antenna design uses a microwave dielectric substrate with a high relative permittivity. That makes this particular antenna design special – it can store electrical energy (meaning better battery life) and transmit (send and receive) signals a lot better.

    Google also says that the antenna design is extremely compact – with dimensions of less or equal to 8 mm in width and length. Impressive!

    The search engine giant said some of the possible applications of this new design could be in the likes of a smart ring

    Antennas are important in many ways in wearable tech. They are crucial for gathering data from tracking sensors (like blood pressure trackers or GPS functionality on fitness watches), and then transmitting them to the part of the device that does analysis or storage.

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  • Changes to the Google Maps UI should make you feel less cut off from navigating your journey

    Changes to the Google Maps UI should make you feel less cut off from navigating your journey

    In an effort to make Google Maps feel less cluttered, some changes are being made by Google to the app’s UI on Android now and iOS later down the road, so to speak. After all, when you’re driving on the road and you’re at a red light, you want to be able to take a quick glance at the Maps screen without other elements taking up your time or distracting you. One change can be spotted after you type in the name of a location that you want directions to.

    Currently, the screen is divided in two with the top half showing a map of the area surrounding the place you typed in. Underneath that, the other half of the screen has photos of the location you typed in and that sheet goes edge-to-edge. With the new UI look, the sheet at the bottom half of the app is no longer full-screen and it is slightly narrower at the top; there is another sheet behind it. When you pull the top sheet up, with the updated UI, you’ll be able to view a small section of the map at the top of the screen.

    It might not be a big deal, but with the change, you don’t feel completely cut off from the navigation map. And this is also the case with Public Transport as that sheet is no longer edge-to-edge at the top and it also no longer takes up the full screen.

    9to5Google reports seeing the new UI on one version of Google Maps (version 11.113.x), but this seems to be more of an A/B test since my Pixel 6 Pro is running version 11.115.x of Google Maps on Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3.2 and has yet to receive the new UI. The new look is also expected to eventually reach the iOS version of Google Maps, although it has not arrived on my iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 17.3.

    Some of you Google Maps users will consider this a nothing burger while others will bite into the UI changes like a quarter-pound sirloin burger.

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  • Meta will begin to label AI-generated content across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

    Meta will begin to label AI-generated content across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

    In an effort to bolster transparency, Meta — the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — is implementing new measures on its platforms. The company recently made an announcement about its plans to label content created using artificial intelligence (AI) and its goal is to provide users with clearer context about what they see and share on social media.

    The company will begin this initiative by labeling images, stating that “In the near future we will start adding labels to images created by AI tools across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.” It is currently working on an automated detection system that can identify markers commonly used for AI-generated content, including watermarks and metadata. Meta’s initial focus will be on images, but the long-term goal is to be able to identify AI-generated videos and audio as well.

    Meta already applies the “Imagined with AI” label on images created with Meta AI, and by working with other industry partners, the company hopes to have the new detection capabilities ready in the coming months for content created outside of Meta’s own tools. So far, the company has determined that it is capable of labeling images from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock.

    However, a hurdle presents when it comes to video and audio. Because tools that generate this type of content have not yet widely embraced standardized markers, it is difficult for Meta to detect them.

    In order to address this issue, Meta has announced its intention to launch a new “disclosure and label tool,” which will enable the users to manually indicate when video and audio content has been generated using AI. Users will be required to make this disclosure for digitally created or altered “photorealistic videos or realistic-sounding audio,” and Meta has the authority to enforce penalties on those who do not comply.

    There is a growing concern about the potential misuse of AI-generated content, leading to a push for labeling. Deepfakes, for example, have the potential to be incredibly realistic, which can be concerning when it comes to spreading misinformation and manipulating content — specially when it comes to things like the upcoming U.S. elections.

    Although not a perfect solution, particularly when relying on the user to label video and audio, Meta hopes the detection system will be effective and not easily bypassed. It remains to be seen if Meta’s approach will successfully achieve its goals, but the initiative certainly ignites an important discussion about the responsible use of AI across social media.

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  • Snapchat’s parent company Snap loses 30% of its value after releasing its Q4 report

    Snapchat’s parent company Snap loses 30% of its value after releasing its Q4 report

    The parent company of social-media platform Snapchat, Snap Inc., lost over 30% of its valuation this afternoon after releasing its fourth-quarter earnings release. The company reported revenue of $1.36 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023 slightly topping the year-earlier figure of $1.30 billion. But the $1.38 billion in Q4 gross did not meet Wall Street expectations of $1.38 billion. And at $4.61 billion, 2023 revenue barely topped the $4.60 billion Snap generated in 2022.

    In a letter to stockholders, Snap said that its flat 2023 revenue was “reflecting a challenging operating environment.” Just yesterday, Snap said that it will lay off 10% of its workforce or approximately 500 employees. Back in 2022, Snap eliminated 20% of its headcount. Heavily reliant on advertising income, Snapchat has been unable to recover from Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature which allows iPhone users to choose whether they want to block advertisers from tracking them when using an app.

    In the letter to stockholders, Snap said that it was “encouraged by the progress we are making with our ad platform,” but noted that it is battling a headwind with the conflict in the Middle East. According to the company, violence in the region cost Snap about two percentage points in growth. Snapchat had 414 million active daily users during the fourth quarter of 2023, up 10% year-over-year. 800 million users worldwide visit Snapchat every month the company said.

    Half of the users are in North America and Europe, indicating that the social media platform will no longer focus on gaining users in emerging markets who mostly use Android phones. The company did note that the number of Daily Active Users DAUs rose both sequentially and year-over-year on both iOS and Android.

    CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in the stockholder’s letter, “We are shifting more of our focus toward user growth and deepening engagement in our most highly monetizable geographies. Focusing on these initiatives will help us increase daily active usage of Snapchat, deepen content engagement, improve performance for advertisers, and ultimately accelerate revenue growth and drive increased free cash flow.”

    Snapchat incurred a loss of $248.7 million for the fourth quarter, an improvement from the $288 million in red ink Snap spilled during Q4 of 2022. For the three months, Snap lost 15 cents per share compared with an 18 cents per share loss during the same quarter in 2022. For all of 2023, Snap lost $1.32 billion which was a 7% improvement from the $1.43 billion it lost the preceding year. 2023 saw the company lose 82 cents per share, 8% lower than the 89 cents per share loss Snap suffered in 2022.

    During the regular trading day, Snap shares rose 70 cents or 4.18% to $17.45 right near the 52-week high of $17.90. But that peak now seems very far away after the stock tumbled $5.45 to $12 in after-hours trading following the report’s release. That is a decline of 31.23%.

  • WhatsApp is working on a pinning feature for its Android app

    WhatsApp is working on a pinning feature for its Android app

    WhatsApp’s next feature will allow users to pin channels. After gaining Channels a while ago, WhatsApp desperately needs a way to declutter the long list some users have joined.

    The ability to pin channels in WhatsApp is now in the works, WABetaInfo reports. The new feature popped up in version 2.24.4.3 of WhatsApp for Android, which means it’s actively being tested and should be rolled out to everyone if developers decide to give it the green light.

    As noted in the report, the new feature will probably be implemented with a slightly different interface for channels, which will reportedly look like the interface of the chats tab.

    Naturally, there’s no guarantee that this feature will make it in the stable version of WhatsApp, although chances are that it will be available in some form in the not-so-distant future. Stay tuned for more info about WhatsApp’s upcoming features.

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  • Banks see massive layoffs

    Banks see massive layoffs

    Faced with difficulties that are expected to linger, large western banks are slashing costs by downsizing their payrolls and increasing the use of artificial intelligence.

    Deutsche Bank has said it is laying off 3,500 employees, or 4% of its workforce, to reduce costs by 2.5 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) a year by 2025.

    One of the ways the German lender has chosen to cut costs is to promote “simplified workflows and automation,” and so most of the jobs will be shed in the back office. Its pre-tax net profit fell by 14% last year to 4.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion).

    Deutsche Bank is the latest of a number of lenders to announce layoffs in recent months. UBS is cutting 3,000 jobs in Switzerland, where it is headquartered.

    Citibank, the third largest American bank, last month said it would cut 20,000 jobs in the next two years, equivalent to 10% of its global workforce, to save $2.5 billion in the long term.

    January was also when the U.S. financial industry laid off the most workers, 23,238, since Sept. 2018, according to a report by recruitment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

    The layoff announcements continue in early 2024 amid massive downsizing by the global financial industry.

    Major banks around the world axed more than 60,000 jobs in 2023, among the highest in a year since the financial crisis.

    Citibank started sacking workers in November 2023.

    In the U.K., a number of lenders, including Barclays, Lloyds and Metro Bank, announced staff reduction at around the same time.

    Some banks cited increased automation and the use of artificial intelligence as reasons to reduce their payroll.
    Lloyds is eliminating certain roles and only hiring data and technology personnel.

    The downsizing is also intended to prepare for a more difficult business environment as rising interest rates impact the economy.

    Deutsche Bank said it had increased provisions for potential bad debts by 300 million euros to 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in 2023, which reflected “the continued challenging impact of macro-economic and interest rate conditions.

    Investment banks, which had to slash wage costs last year, are expected to continue downsizing.

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  • Dollar steps up over dong

    Dollar steps up over dong

    The U.S. dollar rose against the Vietnamese dong Wednesday morning.

    Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND24,570, up 0.16% from Tuesday.

    It fell 0.40% to VND24,850 on the black market.

    The greenback has increased by 0.61% against the dong since the beginning of the year.

    Globally the dollar remained under pressure on Wednesday after retreating from a nearly three-month high against the euro in the previous session with a decline in U.S. bond yields adding to the drag.

    Analysts pointed to technical factors for the dollar’s pullback, following a two-day rally of as much as 1.4% against the euro after unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data and more hawkish rhetoric from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell scuppered bets for an early interest rate cut.

    The U.S. dollar index – which measures the currency against six major peers, including the euro – was flat at 104.14 after Tuesday’s 0.29% slide. On Monday, it had reached its highest since Nov. 14 at 104.60.

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  • VinFast recalls 5,900 EVs for headlight issue

    VinFast recalls 5,900 EVs for headlight issue

    VinFast is recalling 5,912 VF 5 Plus electric vehicles manufactured last year to fix the issue of headlights turning off when the left turn signal is switched on.

    The company said the headlights in some VF 5 Plus cars, the smallest in its EV lineup, could turn off when the car is traveling at 50-55 kilometers per hour and the headlights are in auto mode.

    This is due to a hardware issue in the circuit board the company received from its supplier, it said.

    The supplier would replace the necessary parts for free, and the task will take around 40 minutes, it added.

    There have been no incidents due to the issue so far, but the company is recalling all vehicles produced between March and December last year.

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  • Nokia signs 5G patent deal with vivo

    Nokia signs 5G patent deal with vivo

    Nokia has signed a lot of 5G patent agreements in the last year. The Finnish company recent convinced Oppo that it’s better to make use of technology that other companies patent by simply paying for it.

    Today, Nokia is signing yet another 5G patent agreement, this time with another Chinese smartphone maker, vivo. Granted, this is a multi-year cross-license agreement that will benefit both companies, it’s vivo that gains on the short run since it can now return to the German market after losing the lawsuit filed by Nokia.

    The announcement mentions that the new deal “resolved all pending patent litigations between the parties, in all jurisdictions.” However, the terms of the agreement remain confidential, so there’s not much we can add to this.

    With this licensing agreement, Nokia “has now almost completed its smartphone license renewal cycle,” the company notes. The Finnish giant signed similar agreements with other big smartphone companies like Samsung, Honor, Huawei, Oppo, and even Apple.

    “This is the sixth major smartphone patent license agreement we have signed in the past thirteen months, and we have now almost completed our smartphone license renewal cycle. Together these licensing agreements demonstrate Nokia’s significant contribution to developing key technologies relied upon by the entire smartphone industry and they will provide long-term stability to our licensing business for years to come,” said Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies.

    Nokia expects its intellectual property licensing business to generate around €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) in the mid-term, which isn’t that much considering that the company invested around €150 billion in R&D.

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  • Cross-border e-commerce Vietnam’s next big thing in exports

    Cross-border e-commerce Vietnam’s next big thing in exports

    According to U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon, cross-border e-commerce is expected to be the fifth-highest value export of Vietnam by 2027, with a value of US$12 billion.

    “2023 Performance Report: Empowering Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Vietnam” published by the firm’s Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, a unit that supports sellers, said by 2027 cross-border e-commerce exports could reach $5 billion under “normal” circumstances and $12 billion in the best-case scenario if small, medium- and micro-sized businesses get support from the government.

    In the latter case, cross-border e-commerce will account for the country’s fifth biggest exports.

    Amazon Global Selling said online exports of Vietnamese goods could thrive since more and more global consumers are shifting from offline.

    Last year Vietnam’s exports were worth nearly $356 billion, according to the General Statistics Office.

    The top exports items, all exceeding $20 billion, are electronics – computers, phones and components, machinery – equipment, textiles, and agriculture – forestry – fisheries.

    Vietnamese retailers sold over 17 million products on Amazon last year, up 50% from 2022, according to the e-commerce platform.

    The number of sellers increased by 40% and those with revenues exceeding $100,000 increased by 70%.

    The top five product categories were household appliances, kitchen tools, health-personal care, clothing, and beauty products.

    These reflect Vietnam’s long experience in manufacturing and exporting products such as furniture, home decor and apparel.

    “The growth of emerging sectors such as health and personal care and beauty products contributes to the increasing diversity of Vietnam’s online exports,” the report said.

    According to a study by the technology advisory firm Access Partnership, the main export markets were Southeast Asia and China.

    In the next five years the U.S. and Europe are likely be priority markets as consumers in those regions are growing increasingly fond of Vietnamese goods on online platforms, the study said.

    “E-commerce is one of the next major trends for businesses who are looking to expand globally,” Gijae Seong, head of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, said.

    The challenge for these businesses is whether they could quickly leverage this trend, grasp global consumer demand and build long-term development plans, he said.

    Access Partnership said Vietnamese businesses face challenges in online transactions like high customs duties and post-clearance costs.

    It said businesses need more legal and financial support to capitalize on the opportunities for e-commerce exports.

    So measures like establishing cross-border e-commerce zones and providing grants for exports and e-commerce businesses would play a crucial role, it added.

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  • Cathay Cargo volume up 20 percent in December

    Cathay Cargo volume up 20 percent in December

    Cathay Pacific’s cargo business ended 2023 on a high note, finishing with around 1.4 million tonnes, compared with about 1.2 million tonnes in 2022, in what it described as ‘an encouraging result.’

    Cargo volume in December jumped 20.7 percent year on year, as the airline carried 128,546 tonnes with cargo revenue increasing 14.1 percent year on year for the month. The cargo load factor slid 6.5 percentage points to 60.8 percent, as capacity measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 26.3 percent year on year.

    In the full year of 2023, the tonnage increased by 19.6 percent against a 59.7 percent increase in AFTKs and a 40.3 percent increase in RFTKs, as compared with 2022, the airline noted.

    “Our cargo business performed well in December, and finished on a high, primarily driven by the strong year-end demand for e-commerce products. Additionally, there was increased demand for perishable goods for the holiday season. December also saw a pickup in our Live Animal solutions with significant numbers of racehorses being moved across our network in support of the Hong Kong international race events.

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  • Meet Rufus, Amazon’s new AI shopping assistant

    Meet Rufus, Amazon’s new AI shopping assistant

    Amazon is among the companies that has iterated a lot when it comes to artificial intelligence. The US-based giant continues to develop new AI tools, especially now that AI is the main buzzword in the tech world.

    The latest AI-powered feature introduced by Amazon is Rufus, an AI assistant that’s supposed to help users with their shopping sprees. As the biggest retailer in the United States, it’s only fitting for Amazon to launch such a product.

    According to Amazon, Rufus has been trained on its product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, as well as information from the web. The AI shopping assistant has been specifically designed to answer customer questions on a wide range of shopping needs and products. Rufus can even provide comparisons and make recommendations based on conversational context.

    Rufus is now available in beta, but Amazon will be starting to roll it out to customers in waves, beginning with a small subset of customers in the United States via the mobile app. Rufus will eventually be rolled out to the rest of the US customers in the coming weeks, Amazon says.

    If you’re interested in checking this one out, here are some of Rufus’ key features:

    • Learn what to look for while shopping product categories
    • Shop by occasion or purpose
    • Get help comparing product categories
    • Find the best recommendations
    • Ask questions about a specific product while on a product detail page

    To start using Rufus, simply start typing or speaking your question into the search bar in Amazon’s mobile app and the shopping assistant chat dialog box will pop up at the bottom of the screen. Keep in mind that this is only available for select customers in the US while it’s in beta.