San Francisco: The under-display Face ID technology will reportedly debut on Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro, which will become the first iPhone to feature such technology.
According to display analyst Ross Young, the under-display ‘Face ID’ technology will still be accompanied by a circular cutout for the front-facing camera, reports MacRumors.
This implementation is anticipated to last until 2027’s ‘Pro’ iPhone models, which will also integrate the camera under the display for a true ‘all-screen’ experience.
Moreover, the report said that Young’s original roadmap, published in May 2022, differs from this forecast.
Earlier, he predicted that the iPhone 16 Pro versions released in 2024 would be the first to include under-panel Face ID technology.
Last month, Young said that this one-year delay was due to “sensor issues”.
The two display cutouts that presently comprise the Dynamic Island will apparently remain unchanged across three successive ‘Pro’ iPhone generations.
Young also stated that the standard iPhone 17 models will include ProMotion, which is presently only available on Apple’s high-end devices, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly working on a MacBook Air model which will feature a 13.4-inch OLED display.
Ross Young claimed that the new model will come with a slightly smaller display as compared to the existing MacBook Air with a 13.6-inch LCD panel.
Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday urged his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi not to “help a villain do evil” by backing the US tech restrictions against Beijing as the two ministers held rare talks here amid China’s increasing criticism against Tokyo’s backing for Washington-led Indo-Pacific strategy.
The United States “used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China”, Qin told Hayashi.
“Japan has suffered that pain, and should not help a villain do evil. The containment will only further stimulate China’s determination to become self-reliant,” Qin said, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
The talks between the two ministers took place two days after Japan announced it would restrict semiconductor equipment exports from July, following months of lobbying by the US.
The two countries should “overcome obstacles and move forward”, Qin said, adding that “clique-forming” and containment was “not helpful” to managing conflicts, in an apparent reference to Japan’s backing for the Indo-Pacific strategy.
China opposes the Quad comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, saying that it is aimed to contain its rise.
“Peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for China-Japan relations,” he said.
“In the face of contradictions and differences, forming cliques, exerting pressure through rhetoric will not help solve the problem, but will only deepen the estrangement between each other,” he said.
“(We) hope that Japan will establish a correct understanding of China, show political wisdom and responsibility, and work together with China to strengthen dialogue and communication, and promote practical cooperation,” he said.
This was the first visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister to China since 2019.
China and Japan have a long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.
The islands are called as the Senkakus by Japan, while China named them as Diaoyu.
Taiwan also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid any conflict as Japan maintains close defence ties with Taipei.
Ahead of Hayashi’s visit, China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising out their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.
Hayashi said the two countries were neighbours separated by “a narrow strip of water”.
China is also opposing Japan’s move to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Qin asked his Japanese counterpart to handle the disposal responsibly, as it is a major issue concerning public health and the safety of humanity.
On the question of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of it, Qin said it is the very core of the core interests of China, which bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations. He asked Tokyo to refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question or undermining China’s sovereignty in any form.
In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Qin stressed China would handle it following relevant laws.
According to Japanese media reports, Hayashi’s talks with Qin lasted around four hours, longer than the planned two and half hours. The two also agreed to resume trilateral dialogue with South Korea.
Hayashi also met Premier Li Qiang and had dinner with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.
Hyderabad: The Cyberabad police here issued notices to several big companies for manhandling of data resulting in the data of their customers and clients landing illegally in the hands of fraudsters.
The Cyberabad police caught at least three gangs involved in the theft and sale of data of individuals. In the latest case the police arrested a man, Anand Bhardwaj of Haryana for allegedly holding data of 66.7 crore individuals.
The notices were issued to Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Matrix, Axis Bank, Policy Bazaar, Club Mahendra, Facebook, Phonepay and Big Basket.
DCP (Crimes) Cyberabad Kalmeshwar Shingenavar said the notices are issued because the companies violated the law pertaining to the procedures laid down by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology that deals with protection of data of their customers and prevention of its misuse.
Bhardwaj was procuring and selling personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore people and organisations in 104 categories across 24 states and 8 metropolitan cities of the country. The accused was found possessing data of students of Byjus and Vedantu organisations. Apart from that, he possessed the data of 1.84 lakh cab users of eight metro cities and data of 4.5 lakh salaried employees of six cities and Gujarat state, the police said.
The accused also held customer data of major organisations like GST (Pan India), RTO (Pan India), Amazon, Netflix, Youtube, Paytm, Phonepe, Big Basket, BookMyShow, Instagram, Zomato, Policy Bazar, Upstox, etc.
“Some of the important data held by the accused includes the data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, students data of 9th, 10th, 11 & 12th standard, senior citizens. Delhi electricity consumers, D-MAT account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders,” the Cyberabad Police maintained.
On March 22, the police arrested a seven member gang allegedly involved in the theft and sale of sensitive data of the government and important organizations, including details of defense personnel as well as the personal and confidential data of about 16.8 crore citizens. The accused persons were found selling more than 140 different categories of information, which include sensitive information such as details of defense personnel and the mobile numbers of citizens and NEET students, among others, the police said.
Seven data brokers were arrested from Delhi and the accused had been operating through three companies (call centers) in Noida and other places. So far it has been found that the accused sold data to at least 100 fraudsters. .
“The data had landed in the wrong hands and fraudsters using it had conned and duped several persons of hard earned money. Three cases were registered in Cybercrime police station and while investigating the cases we found the data of the victims was obtained from the online portals and companies illegally,” said the DCP.
New Delhi: Global economic slowdown, tech layoffs and hybrid work have impacted gross leasing of office space in India, as flexible office space providers share reached almost at par with traditional tech companies in the first quarter of 2023, a report has shown.
Leasing by flex space operators in Q1 2023 inched closer to that of technology companies for the first time ever, according to the report by Colliers India.
Flex space occupiers leased 2.1 million square feet of space, accounting for 20 per cent, a little behind the technology sector’s share at 22 per cent.
Together, both the sectors accounted for nearly 42 per cent of the total leasing across top six cities.
“Share of technology sector has declined steadily from 34 per cent in Q1 2022 to 22 per cent in Q1 2023, as corporates continue to focus on building in operational efficiencies through a hybrid model,” said Peush Jain, Managing Director, Office services, India, Colliers.
While Hybrid working has impacted demand for conventional office spaces, it has also fuelled demand for flex spaces across top markets.
“As long-term growth drivers for the tech sector remain strong in India, the technology sector will continue to drive office leasing activity through a mix of conventional and flex spaces,” Jain added.
Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR were the most preferred locations for top flex operators for their portfolio expansion.
Bengaluru accounted for nearly half of the total flex leasing during the quarter, followed by Delhi-NCR at 30 per cent share.
Occupiers’ interest in flex spaces remain unabated as they continue to blend their conventional real estate portfolio in a bid to control costs while providing convenient ways to work for their employees.
Large technology occupiers have also been leasing spaces in flex spaces due to their added benefits such as flexible lease terms, lower capex and modern workplace designs, said the report.
This coupled with ongoing recessionary conditions and layoffs in the technology sector has led to a relative pushback in conventional leasing by these occupiers.
The year 2023 has begun on a cautious note registering a 19 per cent YoY decline in leasing activity across top 6 cities at 10.1 million square feet during the first quarter.
“Although office absorption is currently facing temporary downward pressures, leasing activity will likely pick up especially towards the latter part of the year, driven by strong growth fundamentals,” said Vimal Nadar, Senior Director and Head of Research, Colliers India.
LONDON — As the U.K. prepares to overhaul its competition regime, a fierce lobbying battle has broken out between the world’s largest tech companies and their challengers.
Ministers are gearing up to publish new competition legislation in late-April, giving regulators more power to stop a handful of companies dominating digital markets.
But concern over the U.S. tech giants’ influence in Westminster has prompted ministers close to the bill to warn that the new legislation could be watered down.
Two ministers have expressed concerns that Big Tech firms are seeking to weaken the process for appealing decisions made by the country’s beefed-up competition regulator, according to multiple people who were either present at those discussions or whose organizations were represented there. They requested anonymity to discuss private meetings.
One MP said a minister had also approached them to raise concerns, while at an industry roundtable, two ministers spoke of worry about Big Tech firms trying to influence the appeal mechanism.
An industry representative said: “There has been a sh*t load of lobbying from Big Tech, but I don’t know if they’ll succeed.”
Appealing to who?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will give new powers to a branch of the Competition and Markets Authority called the Digital Markets Unit (DMU). Under the plan, the DMU will be able fine a company 10 percent of their annual turnover for breaching a code of conduct.
The code, which has not yet been published, would be designed to ensure that a company with ‘strategic market status’ cannot “unfairly use its market power and strategic position to distort or undermine competition between users of the … firm’s services,” the government has said.
Jonathan Jones, senior consultant in public law at Linklaters and formerly the head of the U.K. government’s legal department, wrote that the plan would have “very significant consequences” for Big Tech firms and could force them to “significantly alter” their business models.
One of Big Tech’s concerns is that the bill will only allow companies to appeal decisions made by the DMU on whether or not the right process was followed, known as the judicial review standard, rather than the content or merit of the decision. That puts it in line with other regulators and should mean the process is faster, but it also makes it harder to appeal decisions.
Big Tech firms want to be able to appeal on the “merit”, arguing it is unfair that they can’t challenge whether a DMU decision was correct or not. They also argue it won’t necessarily be slower than the judicial review standard.
One of the biggest fears from medium-sized firms is that the biggest tech companies will use strategies to lengthen the appeals process or even get the entire bill delayed | iStock
Tech Minister Paul Scully, who has responsibility for the bill, told POLITICO: “We want to make sure that the legislation is flexible, proportionate and fair to both big and challenger companies. Any remediation needs to be in place quickly as digital markets move quickly.”
One representative of a mid-sized tech firm said: “This is the fundamental point of contention and it will influence whether the bill works for SMEs and challengers against Big Tech.
“The fear is that big companies with big lawyers understand how to eke things out (during the appeals process) so that they’ll keep their market advantage for years. We’ve heard ministers express these concerns too.”
Consumer group Which? is also urging the government to stay with its proposed appeal system. “For the DMU to work effectively, the government must stick to its guns and ensure that the decisions it reaches are not tied up in an elongated appeals process,” said director of policy, Rocio Concha.
‘Investigator and executioner’
But Jones argued that the bill will make the DMU too powerful.
“The DMU will have power to decide who it is going to regulate, set the rules that apply to them, and then enforce those rules,” he wrote. “This makes the DMU effectively legislator, investigator and executioner.”
On the appeal method, Jones argued that it is an “oversimplification” to think that the government’s proposed standard of appeal would be quicker than one based on merits.
Ben Greenstone, managing director of tech policy consultancy Taso Advisory, said: “I can understand the argument from both sides. The largest tech companies are incentivized to push back against this, but my guess is the government will keep the appeals process as it is, because it keeps it in line with the wider competition regime.”
However, he added the bill would work better if some sort of compromise can be found with the biggest tech companies.
The international playbook
One of the biggest fears from medium-sized firms is that the biggest tech companies will use strategies already tried and tested abroad to lengthen the appeals process or even get the entire bill delayed.
In the U.S., the Open App Markets Act has failed to pass following huge spends on lobbying.
Rick VanMeter, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness, which is based in the U.S. but has U.K. members, said: “In the U.S. we’ve learned that these mobile app gatekeepers’ will stop at nothing to preserve the status quo and squash their competition.
“To be successful, policymakers around the world must see through these gatekeepers’ efforts for what they are: self-serving attempts to retain their market power.”
Google and Microsoft declined to comment. Apple did not respond.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
New York: In an immigration-friendly move, a judge has ruled that spouses of highly-skilled H-1B visa holders in tech sector can now work in the US, thus upholding an Obama-era rule under which partners were issued H-4 visas.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday dismissed arguments by Save Jobs USA, who claimed that the Congress never granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to allow foreign nationals, like H-4 visa-holders, to work during their stay in the US.
“That contention runs headlong into the text of the (Immigration and Nationality Act), decades of executive-branch practice, and both explicit and implicit congressional ratification of that practice,” Chutkan wrote in her ruling.
She further said that the DHS has authorised employment not just for students, but also for their spouses and dependents.
The lawsuit was also opposed by big tech firms like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
H4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the US.
The spouses of H-1B visa holders tend to be highly educated, many of them in STEM fields, and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.
In 2021, Google filed a legal brief with over 40 companies to protect the work authorisation programme that allows the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US.
As part of his anti-immigration policy, former President Donald Trump had proposed to end the issuing of work authorisation (H-4 EAD) for certain spouses of high-skilled talent who came to the US on H-1B visas.
According to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis, 90 per cent of the spouses of H-1B visa holders are female, two-thirds are from India and 6 per cent from China.
“The US can reap significant economic benefits, ease labor shortages, and attract more workers in the global competition for talent if it expanded current rules on work eligibility for the spouses of H-1B visa holders,” the 2022 study by NFAP said.
New Delhi: Global IT services firm Accenture, which has a large presence in India, on Thursday announced to lay off nearly 19,000 employees amid the challenging global macro-economic conditions and slow revenue growth.
Delivering its quarterly results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the company also reduced its annual revenue growth and profit forecasts.
“We are also taking steps to lower our costs in fiscal year 2024 and beyond while continuing to invest in our business and our people to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead,” Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture, said in a statement.
The company said its revenues were $15.8 billion, an increase of 5 percent in US dollars. The new bookings were at $22.1 billion, a 13 percent increase.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2023, Accenture initiated actions to streamline operations, transform non-billable corporate functions and consolidate office space to reduce costs.
The company recorded $244 million in business optimization costs during the second quarter and expects to record total costs of approximately $1.5 billion through fiscal 2024.
“Accenture estimates $1.2 billion for severance and $300 million for consolidation of office space, with approximately $800 million expected in fiscal 2023 and $700 million in fiscal 2024,” said the company.
New Delhi: As Amazon deepened the tech gloom with firing another 9,000 employees (it previously sacked 18,000), over 500 companies have laid off nearly 1.5 lakh workers to date this year.
According to latest data from layoff.fyi, a website that is tracking tech sector job cuts, 503 tech companies have laid off 148,165 employees to date.
After a dismal year for tech companies and startups in 2022 which saw at least 1.6 lakh employees being shown the door, 2023 started on a similar note.
About 1,046 tech companies — from Big Tech to startups — laid off more than 1.61 lakh employees last year.
In January alone, close to 1 lakh tech employees lost jobs globally, dominated by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and others.
Companies in the US cut 77,770 jobs in February, compared to 1,02,943 in January, with technology companies continuing to lead the layoff race, cutting 21,387 jobs last month, accounting for 28 per cent of all cuts.
Last week, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced to sack an additional 10,000 employees via several job cut rounds in the coming months.
The fresh cuts come just four months after he laid off 11,000 employees, or 13 per cent of the company, in November last year.
Zuckerberg said that after restructuring, Meta plans to lift hiring and transfer freezes in each group.
Amazon on Monday announced to lay off another 9,000 employees in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Twitch, advertising, and HR.
The e-commerce giant initially eliminated 18,000 positions in January and as “we completed the second phase of our planning this month, it led us to these additional 9,000 role reductions”.
New Delhi: India has been ranked first in South Asia based on government requests for user data from Big Tech companies, a report showed on Monday.
From 2013 to 2021, Meta and Google received the highest number of account requests from India, according to popular VPN service Surfshark.
India ranked seventh in all of Asia with 58.7 accounts requested per 100,000 people.
The research showed that globally, countries requested more than 6.6 million accounts combined during the 9-year period, while India requested 823,000.
The overall disclosure rate in India is 55.3 per cent, said the report.
Looking at requested accounts per population, India ranks 36th in the world based on the user accounts requested by authorities over this time period.
The number of accounts requested increased more than five times from 2013 to 2021, with 2021 seeing a year-over-year increase of around 25 per cent.
India shows the same trend, with a 1,476 per cent increase from 2013 to 2021. Requested accounts grew by 55 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, the report showed.
In total, over 6.6 million accounts were requested in 177 countries from 2013 to 2021, with a steady increase in the latest years.
The US and the EU authorities requested data the most.
Apple complied with the most user data requests (82 per cent), compared to Meta, Google, and MicrosoftA (72 per cent, 71 per cent, and 68 per cent, respectively).
“Besides requesting data from technology companies, authorities are now exploring more ways to monitor and tackle crime through online services. For instance, the EU is considering a regulation that would require Internet service providers to detect, report, and remove abuse-related content,” said Gabriele Kaveckyte, Privacy Counsel at Surfshark.
The research analysed the just-released information on user data requests that Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft received from 177 countries’ local authorities between 2013 and 2021.
New Delhi: Italian automaker Automobili Lamborghini plans to deploy hybrid technology in its models in India by the end of 2024 as the Italian super sports car maker aims to halve the emissions from its cars in the coming years, according to a top company executive.
The niche player also expressed confidence that the country’s taxation policy remains consistent though any tax reductions will be welcome.
The company currently sells three models — premium SUV Urus and two super sports cars Huracan Tecnica and Aventador in the country, with prices starting upwards of Rs 3 crore.
“The roadmap for us is that by the end of 2024 we are going to hybridise our entire model range. So this year we will have a first hybrid, the new V12, then in 2024 we will have the Urus hybrid and also a new V10 which is also going to be a hybrid,” Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal told PTI.
In 2028, the company plans to bring in a fourth model globally which is going to be the fully electric model, he added.
“The idea is to reduce 50 per cent of the emissions from our cars by 2025,” Agarwal said.
The company will bring in the upgraded models globally and then introduce them in the Indian market as well.
Lamborghini began its India operations in 2007. Last year, it sold 92 units in India, a growth of 33 per cent over 69 units in 2021.
When asked if the high rate of taxation on imported cars is affecting the growth of the luxury car segment in India, Agarwal said: “Today, the market is aligned to the current tax structure that we have..who would not like to have lesser duties..but that is not the priority from our end…” Further, he said, “Last 5-6 years, we have seen that there is a constant tax regime from the government and we would always request in maintaining this consistency. Once the segment is aligned with the structure let the segment grow.” He stated that the government should maintain the consistency in the policy.
“We are not asking to reduce it (tax) but if it comes down who will say no to it,” Agarwal said.
Lamborghini imports its entire model range to India.
Currently, imported as CBUs (Completely Built Units) with CIF of more than USD 40,000 or with engine capacity of more than 3,000 cc for petrol-run vehicles and more than 2,500 cc for diesel-run vehicles attract 100 per cent customs duty.
