In a move aimed at bolstering government revenue, the Philippines has introduced a 12% value-added tax (VAT) on digital services offered by foreign firms. This includes popular platforms like Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon, among other digital service providers (DSPs) — which have previously enjoyed tax exemptions.
Duey Guison, of Unbox.ph explains “Republic Act 112023, all services provided by resident and non-resident digital service providers regardless if they have a physical presence in the Philippines are subject to an additional 12% VAT. The law also adds a new provision to the Tax Code, where ‘”digital services delivered by foreign digital service providers are considered performed or rendered in the Philippines if the digital services are consumed in the Philippines.’”
The law does not only cover streaming service but basically “most” online service like ecommerce, digital platform or online merchant that caters to the Philippine market even if the company does not have any physical store or office in the Philippines.
In a press release, “Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero said the bill imposing a 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on digital transactions will level the playing field for local and foreign digital service providers (DSPs), streamline tax administration and shore up government coffers by at least P80 billion in revenues.”
“Digital service is defined as any service supplied over the internet or other electronic network with the use of information technology and where the supply of the service is essentially automated. These include online search engines, online marketplace or e-marketplace, cloud service, online media and advertising, online platform, or digital goods.”
The law basically covers every companies doing online transaction.
Primate Labs Inc. creator of Geekbench, has launch the Geekbench AI, an AI benchmarking tool that measures AI performance. The app measures our devices CPU, GPU, and NPU to determine if it is ready for A.I. and machine learning applications.
Previously called “Geekbench ML,” Geekbench AI 1.0 is the first benchmarking application that will attempt to measure AI performances. Geekbench AI runs ten AI workloads, each with three different data types, giving you a multidimensional picture of on-device AI performance. Using large datasets that mimic real-world AI use cases, both developers and consumers can measure on-device AI performance in just a few minutes with Single Precision, Half Precision, and Quantized scores.
All the new gadgets have AI Things and Stuff inside, but how fast is that AI? How do you compare Apples to Androids, or laptops to desktops?
Introducing Geekbench AI 1.0 for easy cross-platform, cross-device, cross-framework AI performance measurements: https://t.co/INjUQsNvUc
Geekbench AI 1.0 will be available on Android, iOS, Linux, MacOS and Windows. It supports multiple AI Framework like TensorFlow Lite, CoreML, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX and OpenVINO. You can checkout Geekbench AI Workloads documentation to know the tests Geekbench AI uses to measure AI performance.
To use use Geekbench AI 1.0 you can download it from here.
Esports World Cup is still on going and will not conclude until 25th August, so the numbers are still under wraps but as of today, the Saudi Press Agency is reporting that Esports World Cup, which is currently being hosted in Riyadh Boulevard City, saw a large number of “guests and visitors from Gulf and other countries.”
There are a total of 500 clubs from different countries and more than 1,500 players participating in the Esports World Cup, the largest event in the history of the gaming and esports sector.
Amer Al-Marri, a visitor from Qatar, expressed his fondness for the distinguished and global organization of the tournament, indicating that coming from Doha along with a group of friends was specifically to attend this global event. He praised the professional level of competitions thanks to the participation of skilled players and qualified teams around the world. The visitor also expressed his admiration for the atmosphere in the Boulevard Riyadh City, through various entertainment activities and events that fit everyone’s taste.
Mohammed bin Mubarak, a visitor from Bahrain, explained that he came with his brothers and other relatives to attend the Esports World Cup. He hailed the great efforts of the Kingdom in receiving the participants and the professional and wonderful organization of the tournament, noting that Riyadh has become a global destination for tourism, entertainment, and sports.
Aside from the usual spots in Boulevard Riyadh City, tourists also explored historical and tourist sites in Riyadh.
OpenAI has announce the launch of SearchGPT, a prototype search engine designed to revolutionize the way we interact with information online. This new tool aims to combine the strengths of OpenAI’s advanced AI models with real-time internet data to provide users with fast, accurate, and contextually relevant answers.
SearchGPT is an AI-powered search engine desgined to leverages the capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to deliver timely and precise information. Unlike traditional search engines, SearchGPT is designed to respond to queries in a conversational manner, allowing users to ask follow-up questions and receive answers that build on previous interactions.
Unlike the traditional search form, SearchGPT uses a large textbox asking users “What are you looking for?,” this is similar to what Facebook “What’s on your mind?” and X’s “What’s happening?” asks its users. But instead of the usual plain text and links on the search result, SearchGPT will try to organize the summarizes the result then provide a short description with the attribution links.
You can watch the video below for the demo as published by OpenAI;
We’re testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources. We’re launching to a small group of users and publishers to get feedback. While this prototype is temporary, we plan to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future.
OpenAI has partnered with various news publishers, which include organizations like the Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Vox Media, to ensure that high-quality content is highlighted and easily accessible. SearchGPT is currently being tested by 10,000 test users.
The MSI Claw Gaming Console is now in Saudi Arabia, their entry to the growing popularity of handheld gaming console category. The MSI Claw Gaming Console was first revealed in CES 2024 earlier this year, the MSI Claw is now available for preorder in Saudi Arabia. The MSI Claw Gaming Console will be competing with Asus, Lenovo and Steam.
The MSI Claw Gaming Console is said to be the world’s first gaming handheld powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor, Intel’s newest flagship CPU optimized for premium thin and powerful laptops (and handheld), that features 3D performance hybrid architecture, advanced AI capabilities, and available with built-in Intel Arc GPU. The Claw will be running Windows 11 Home right out of the box which can also be upgraded Windows 11 Pro and it features an Intel Arc Graphics card on a 7-inch touchscreen display with 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It two 2W Hi-Res speakers, a 6 cell (53Whr) Li-Ion battery, a Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI port, a microSD slot, and features a fingerprint scanner built in to the power button for added security.
There will be 3 available variants of MSI Claw Gaming Console which is differentiated by the their CPU, CPU Speed and storage size but all other components will remain the same. You can head to specs page of the MSI Claw Gaming Console for more details.
In Saudi Arabia, the based model MSI Claw Handheld Gaming Console with Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and 512 GB storage is priced at SR 3,299, which is around Php 48,944.50, while a more powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and 512 GB variant will be available at SR 3,799, that’s Php 56,362.58.
The availability of the MSI Claw Gaming Console in the Philippine market is yet to be announced.
Philippine-based smartphone company Cherry, previously known as Cherry Mobile, has announced their latest smartphone line – the Aqua Smartphones Series. The Cherry Aqua Smartphones series is composed of Aqua GR and the Aqua S11 Pro, with a retail price of Php 11,999 and Php 7,999, respectively.
The Cherry Aqua GR will have a 6.8-inches FHD+ Curved 120Hz display and a 4700 Mah battery that support 66W fast charging. The Cherry Aqua GR is marketed to mobile gamers with its 2.6GHz MediaTek Dimensity 7050 Octa-Core Processor, with 8 GB RAM and 8GB storage that is expandable up to 256 GB via Universal Flash Storage (UFS), it supports 5G connectivity and a rear camera system that’s powered by a 108 MP camera and a 16 MP selfie camera.
The Aqua S11 Pro on the other hand will have a smaller 6.7-inches FHD+ 120Hz display, a 5000mAh Battery that supports 33W charging, it will be powered by Mediatek G99 2.2GHz Octa-core Processor, just like the Aqua GR, the S11 Pro have a 8GB RAM and 8GB storage that is expandable up to 256 GB via Universal Flash Storage (UFS). The rear camera is a AI triple camera powered by its main 64MP camera. The front camera will also be a 16 MP selfie camera. Both the Aqua S11 and GR will support NFC.
Apple just published the top downloaded apps and games on the App Store this year. In their announcement, Apple even emphasis that “App Store is the world’s safest and most vibrant app marketplace.”
Below are the top apps and games on the App Store this year in the United States;
A study by the Global Alliance Against Software Piracy (GASA) and Gogolook found that 35.9% of Filipinos have been victims of a shopping scam. This is the highest rate of any of the 11 Asian countries surveyed. The report was issued by the Office of CICC Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos and published on CICC website.
The 2023 Asia Scam Report released at the 1st Anti-Scam Asia Summit in Taipei was published by GASA and Gogolook and was based on data collected from nearly 20,000 respondents across 11 countries in Asia including the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.
The study revealed that Filipinos are particularly susceptible to scams involving fake sellers and phishing websites. These deceptive tactics lure unsuspecting individuals into purchasing fraudulent products or revealing sensitive personal information.
To combat this growing threat, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is issuing a stern warning to the public, urging them to exercise extreme vigilance when engaging in online transactions. The CICC emphasizes the importance of adopting protective measures to safeguard against shopping scams.
CICC Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos reiterated his appeal to the public to be careful when they do their online shopping, especially during the yuletide season.
“Based on our observation, shopping scams usually increase during the Christmas season,” he said. “Scammers take advantage of the high volume of online shopping and people’s vulnerability during this period,” Ramos explained. The mindset and immediate response of Filipinos, when confronted with scams, make them vulnerable to falling into traps, according to Ramos.
“Some people easily believe in false promises even if they are too good to be true,” he said.
Based on the Asia Scam Report; 24.8% of Filipino victims respond too quickly to scammers’ demands and 21.1% of victims chose to take a risk despite uncertainty about the risk. Other reasons for vulnerability include being enticed with incentives and over-trusting with friends and family members.
Here are some tips that you can take to avoid falling for shopping scams:
Shop from Reputable Websites: Patronize only established and trusted online retailers to minimize the risk of encountering fraudulent sellers.
Exercise Caution with Links: Approach links embedded in emails or social media posts with skepticism. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, as they may lead to phishing websites designed to steal personal information.
Protect Personal Information: Refrain from sharing sensitive details, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or home addresses, with anyone you don’t trust implicitly.
Beware of Unrealistic Deals: Exercise discretion when encountering deals that appear too good to be true. Such offers often mask fraudulent schemes.
Report Suspected Scams: If you suspect you’ve fallen victim to a shopping scam, promptly report the incident to the authorities.
Here are additional measures that you can take to protect yourself from scammers;
Use secured payment method like credit cards or PayPal, which offer protection against fraudulent transactions.
Make sure your devices and apps are up-to-date, including antivirus and anti-malware programs, to enhance your device’s security.
Stay informed on current and emerging scam trends and tactics to remain vigilant against evolving threats.
In an event called ‘Scary Fast,’ Apple officially unveil the next general M-series processors; M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.
The M-series processors based on a 3nm manufacturing process, which will allow Apple to pack more transistors onto a smaller die. This will lead to significant performance and efficiency.
The M3 is expected to be a direct successor to the M2 chip, which is currently used in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac. The M3 feature an 8-core CPU, offers up to 35% faster than M1 for CPU performance, and a 10-core GPU, which is 65% faster than M1 for graphics. The M3 CPU supports 24GB of unified memory.
As powerful as the M3 CPU, the M3 Pro and M3 Max are expected to be even more powerful than the M3. The M3 Pro will feature a 12-core CPU and a 18-core GPU while the M3 Max will have 40-core CPU and a 16-core GPU. Both the M3 Pro and M3 Max will support up to 36GB and up to 128GB of unified memory, respectively.
In addition to the performance and efficiency improvement, the M3 family is also expected to bring a number of new features to the Mac. The M3 family will support AV1 decoding, which would allow users to watch high-resolution AV1 videos without using much battery life.
As more performance gains, the new M3 Processors also have an enhanced Neural Engine to accelerate powerful machine learning (ML) models. The Neural Engine is up to 60 percent faster than in the M1 family of chips, making AI/ML workflows even faster while keeping data on device to preserve privacy.
“Apple silicon has completely redefined the Mac experience. Every aspect of its architecture is designed for performance and power efficiency,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “With 3-nanometer technology, a next-generation GPU architecture, a higher-performance CPU, faster Neural Engine, and support for even more unified memory, M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max are the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”
The M3 family will be powering new MacBook Pros and iMacs, which was also announced at the event, and is expected to be in the next generation MacBook Air and Mac minis, as well as future generations of Macs.
PhilHealth has once again release an announcement that they are calling “Urgent Notice to the Public,” this is in connection to the Cyberattack that was made last Sept 22. The health agency reiterates that no member information have been taken and that membership database is intact and unharmed by the cyberattack last Sept 22.
They later reminded the public to be cautious in opening malicious contents online and on social media, which I suppose, is directed to PhilHealth’s employees. The agency is also working with the authorities to catch the perpetrators.
PhilHealth is currently working with multiple agencies that includes Department of Communication Technology (DICT), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Philippine National Police Cybercrime Division, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the National Bureau of Investigation(NBI) to identify the perpetrators of the hacking.
Here’s the announcement by PhilHealth:
#MyPhilHealth reiterates that its membership database is intact and unharmed by the cyberattack last Sept 22.
The Corporation urges the public to be cautious in opening malicious contents online and on social media. It is working with the authorities to catch the perpetrators. pic.twitter.com/bvxgBsJ7Q9
PhilHealth previously posted a Urgent Notice to the Public explaining what information have been compromised in the cyberattack that happened last Sept 22. Below are compromised PhilHealth member’s information;
Name
Address
Date of Birth
Sex
Phone number
PhilHealth ID number
The Health agency also recommended a number of steps that affected PhilHealth Members can take as a precaution.
The hackers demanded a ransom of $300,000 or approximately P17 million as payment to decrypt the files but according to a report by CNN Philippines, “The DICT confirms that some PhilHealth data affected in the Medusa ransomware attack have been published in the dark web after the deadline to pay ransom money to hackers lapsed.”
BREAKING: The DICT confirms that some PhilHealth data affected in the Medusa ransomware attack have been published in the dark web after the deadline to pay ransom money to hackers lapsed.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), through its Cybersecurity Bureau, proactively responded to address a ransomware attack that targeted the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) last September 22, 2023.
Upon learning of the breach, the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau’s National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT) went to PhilHealth Head Office and implemented critical security measures which included the disconnection of workstations from the network, prompt coordination with PhilHealth to gauge the extent of the attack, and collection of relevant logs for thorough analysis.
As of September 25, 2023, PhilHealth’s critical web services are only accessible via their IP addresses and currently ongoing comprehensive security scanning. Efforts to restore the functionality of PhilHealth’s DNS server are underway.
The DICT condemns the ransomware attack carried out against PhilHealth in an attempt to illegally access the information of its members. We shall continue to investigate and monitor the acquired logs from PhilHealth’s affected systems. An extensive checklist has been prepared by the DICT to benchmark PhilHealth’s readiness to get their systems online.
The DICT is committed to ensuring the full restoration of security and stability in PhilHealth systems and to safeguarding government systems and infrastructure from malicious cyber threats.
Nikon has announced the release of the Nikon Z f, a retro-inspired mirrorless camera with modern features. The Z f is the latest addition to Nikon’s Z-mount mirrorless system, and it is designed to appeal to photographers of all levels, from beginners to experienced professionals. The body is based on the Nikon’s iconic FM2 film camera.
The Nikon Z f features a Full Frame 24.5-megapixel sensor and the EXPEED 7 image-processing engine. It also has a vari-angle 8-cm touchscreen display, a built-in electronic viewfinder, and two memory card slots, one supporting SD cards and the other Micro SD cards.
One of the most striking things about the Z f is its retro design. The camera is inspired by Nikon’s classic FM2 film camera, and it features a number of retro design elements, such as a silver top plate, black body, and knurled dials.
Despite its retro design, the Z fc is a very modern camera. It features a number of advanced features, such as subject and autofocus detection, support focus-point VR, and 4K UHD video recording up to 60p.
Nikon Z f Rear Body
Nikon Z f Rear Body with Monitor
Nikon Z f Front Body
The Z f is also compatible with Nikon’s wide range of Z-mount lenses. This gives photographers a wide range of choices when it comes to choosing lenses for their camera.
The Nikon Z f is a great option for photographers who are looking for a retro-inspired camera with modern features. It is a versatile camera that can be used for a variety of photography genres, including portraiture, landscape, and street photography.
The Z f is scheduled to be released in July 2023, and it will be available in six Premium Exterior colors;Black, Sunset Orange, Bordeaux Red, Indogo Blue, Sepia Brown, Moss Green and Stone Grey.
Here are some of the key features of the Nikon Z f:
Full Frame 24.5-megapixel sensor
EXPEED 7 image-processing engine
vari-angle 8-cm touchscreen display
Built-in electronic viewfinder
Dual SD card slots
Subject and autofocus detection, with Manual Focus Subject Detection
10-bit 4K 60p Video
8 stops of VR
Touch Fn settings control
Compatible with Nikon’s Z-mount lenses
Dedicated Black and White Switch
Pixel Shift Shooting up to Approx. 96mp
You can checkout the full specs of Nikon Z f here.
The Nikon Z fc is a great new addition to Nikon’s Z-mount mirrorless system. It is a retro-inspired camera with modern features, and it is sure to appeal to a wide range of photographers.
The Nikon Zf will be available in a Black finish starting in mid-October for $2,000 body only. Body and kit lens with the retro-styled Nikkor Z 40mm f/2 SE lens for $2,240 or a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens for $2,600. For those who wants to buy additional color options; Sunset Orange, Bordeaux Red, Indogo Blue, Sepia Brown, Moss Green and Stone Grey, an additional $100.00 will be added to the $2000.00 price (body only). Color options will be available in limited quantities.
Apple has officially announced the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the company’s latest flagship smartphones. The new phones feature a number of improvements over their predecessors, including a new design, a more powerful A17 Bionic chip, a better camera system and USB-C!
“This is the most pro lineup we have ever created, with a state-of-the-art titanium design, the best iPhone camera system yet that enables game-changing new workflows, and the A17 Pro chip, which ushers in a new chapter of performance and games never before seen on iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max represent the best of Apple design and industry-first innovations to help enrich the everyday experiences of our users, while enabling them to unleash their creativity.”
Design
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max still using the same design language that Apple used since the iPhone 12, but with a few key changes. The front will be using Ceramic Shield and back glass is now made of titanium, which is stronger and lighter than aluminum. The phones are also slightly thicker and heavier, which helps to improve their durability.
The front of the phones is still dominated by the large display, which is now a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display on the iPhone 15 Pro and a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The displays have a resolution of 2556‑by‑1179-pixel resolution at 460 ppi and support HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
USB-C
Just like with the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, the new iPhone 15 Pros will feature a new USB-C connector. The switch to USB-C is being made in order to comply with a new European Union regulation that requires all new smartphones to have USB-C ports. The USB-C will be for charging and data transfer. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support USB 3 for data transfer speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, up to 20x faster than before.
Action button
Another new feature of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is the new Action button which replaces the replaces the “mute” switch. The new Action button is customizable that give you quick access to the camera or flashlight; activating Voice Memos, Focus modes, Translate and accessibility features like Magnifier; or using Shortcuts for more options.
Camera
The camera system on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the biggest improvements over the previous models. The main camera now has a 48-megapixel sensor, which allows it to take sharper and more detailed photos. The ultrawide camera has also been upgraded to a 12-megapixel sensor with a wider field of view. Both cameras now support Night mode, which allows you to take great photos in low-light conditions.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max also has a new telephoto camera with a 5x optical zoom in and a 2x optical zoom out, that gives it a 10x optical zoom range with the digital zoom up to 25x. This is the first time that the iPhone has had a telephoto lens with this much zoom capabilities, and it will be a major boon for photographers who want to take close-up shots of faraway subjects.
A17 Bionic chip
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by the A17 Bionic chip, the most powerful chip ever used in an iPhone and the industry’s first 3-nanometer chip in a smartphone. The A17 Bionic chip offers up to 10% faster CPU performance and up to 20% faster GPU performance than the previous chip. The new iPhone 15 Pros will also features hardware-accelerated ray tracing — which is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing — iPhone 15 Pros offers smoother graphics, as well as more immersive AR applications and gaming experiences.
This makes the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max ideal for demanding tasks like gaming and video editing.
Battery Life
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a longer battery life that the previous generation; up to 29 hours video playback and up to 95 hours in audio with support for magSafe wireless charging up to 15 Watts and Qi wireless charging up to 7.5 Watts. When using a 20W adapter (or higher) battery will fast-charge up to 50% charge in just 30 minutes. Just like with the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, Apple uses 100% recycled cobalt in the battery. You can checkout the full specs of the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max here.
Notable features;
New design with titanium back
A17 Bionic chip
Improved camera system with 48-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and 6x optical zoom telephoto camera
Night mode for all three cameras
Customizable Action button
Cinematic mode for videos
LiDAR scanner for augmented reality
Larger battery
Support for 5G connectivity
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available in black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium, and natural titanium finishes, and will be available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities. The iPhone 15 Pro will start at $999 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max will start at $1,199. The phones will be available for pre-order on September 15 and will start shipping on September 22.
Apple today unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, the company’s latest flagship smartphones. The new phones feature a number of improvements over their predecessors, including a new design, a more powerful A16 Bionic chip, and a better camera system.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have a similar design to the iPhone 14, but with a few key changes. The back glass is now color-infused with a stunning, textured matte finish, and a new contoured edge on the aluminum enclosure. The phones are also slightly thicker and heavier, which helps to improve their durability.
The iPhone 15 will be the smaller 6.1-inch, while the iPhone 15 Plus will feature a larger 6.7-inch display sizes. Both iPhone 15s will also feature the Dynamic Island, an innovative way to interact with important alerts and Live Activities. The Super Retina XDR display is great for watching content, streaming Apple Fitness+ workouts, and playing games.
Another big change that Apple made with the new iPhone 15 is the new USB-C connector. The switch to USB-C is being made in order to comply with a new European Union regulation that requires all new smartphones to have USB-C ports.
The new iPhone 15s uses the A16 Bionic chip, the most powerful chip ever used in an iPhone. With two high-performance cores that use 20 percent less power and four high-efficiency cores, the 6-core CPU is faster than the previous generation and the 5-core GPU now has 50% more memory bandwidth for smooth graphics for streaming videos and games.
The camera system on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus has also been improved. Both models feature a powerful 48MP Main camera that enables super-high-resolution photos and a new 2x Telephoto option. This gives users a total of three optical zoom levels — 0.5x, 1x, 2x — for the first time on any iPhone dual-camera system, like having a third camera1. The ultrawide camera has also been upgraded to a 12-megapixel sensor. Both cameras now support Night mode, which allows you to take great photos in low-light conditions for a sharper and more detailed photos.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus also introduce the next generation of portraits, making it easier to capture portraits with great detail and low-light performance. For the first time, users can take portraits without having to switch to Portrait mode. When there’s a person, dog, or cat in the frame, or when a user taps to focus, iPhone automatically captures depth information, so users can turn photos into stunning portraits later in the Photos app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
On the battery side, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus now use even more recycled content, with 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. Up to 26 hours video playback and up to 100 hours in audio with magSafe wireless charging up to 15 Watts, Qi wireless charging up to 7.5 Watts. The battery also support fast-charge up to 50% charge in just 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher.
You can find the full specs of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus here.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be available in black, blue, green, yellow, and pink. Price start at $699 for the 128 GB, $799 for 256 GB and $899 for the 512 GB variant. The phones will be available for pre-order on September 15 and will start shipping on September 22.
Google has announced that it will start verifying or adding a “blue checkmark” to business users using Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) in Gmail. This new feature will help users identify messages from legitimate senders versus impersonators.
Google further explains that “strong email authentication helps users and email security systems identify and stop spam, and also enables senders to leverage their brand trust. This increases confidence in email sources and gives readers an immersive experience, creating a better email ecosystem for everyone.”
The new verified Gmail account will be free of charge and available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and to users with personal Google Accounts.
In a blogpost, WhatsApp will now allow you to login your account to multiple devices. The company emphasis that they will maintain the same level of privacy and security.
WhatApp further explained that one account can be used sign-on to up to four additional devices, the same as when you link with WhatsApp on web browsers, tablets and desktops. personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted, and if your primary device is inactive for a long period, we automatically log you out of all companion devices. Each linked phone connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring that your personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted, and if your primary device is inactive for a long period, we automatically log you out of all companion devices.
WhatsApps multiple login feature started to rolling-out to all users globally and will be available to all users in the coming weeks.
PinoyExchange, more commonly called PEx, just announced that the website will shutdown on 15th of April. PinoyExchange.Com is one of the first and oldest website in the Philippines, the domain was registered in 1999 and the website have been running for 24 years.
PinoyExchange.com is the virtual home of many Filipinos here and abroad, you can could say that it is the first website in the country that offer UGC (user-generated content). The announcement did not provide any reason or explanation as to why the website is closing.
Here’s a short history of PinoyExchange.com as posted on the website;
During the early days of internet in the Philippines in the late 1990s, an idea emerged to create an online message board because at that time, the only way to communicate online were via chat sites and chat rooms.
On July 12, 1999, PinoyExchange was born founded by Michael Nolledo, Nix Nolledo and Jude Turcuato (Kaboom!) and later on joined by Michael Palacios (Mikoid) as a lead designer and technical consultant. Some early PEx members also became moderators to help out in managing content and discussions.
The website gained popularity through its exposure via televised UAAP basketball games where Jude (Kaboom!) was a commentator. During halftime, viewers were asked to express their views regarding the ongoing basketball games by posting comments on PEx. Thousands of students and alumni from UAAP member schools visited the site and created discussions revolving around the UAAP games.
PEx reached the 2,000 member mark before the turn of the century. This was at a time when the Philippine internet penetration was less than 2%.
Today, PEx has over 1.5M monthly users and has evolved to become an online forum where users from all over the world can connect and converse on a wide variety of topics.
Apple just released the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, the update is available to all users of iPhone 8 and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later models.
Aside from the usual “feature enhancements and bug fixes” the iOS 16.4 will include 21 New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and more.
You can read Apple’s full notes for the update are below:
This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:
– 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard
– Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen
– Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you
– Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library
– VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app
– Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected
– Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device
– Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home
– Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models
Amazon just reveals the design for the customer terminal of their Project Kuiper Satellite Internet, their answer to SpaceX’s Starlink Internet. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network that allows any connected device to access the internet.
In their announcement, Amazon explains that to “use the service, customers will install an outdoor antenna—called a customer terminal—to communicate with satellites passing overhead.” and Amazon developed 3 models of customer terminal.
The standard customer terminal measures less than 11 inches square and 1 inch thick, and offers speeds up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps) and will weigh less than five pounds without its mounting bracket. The standard customer terminal will have a pricetag for less than $400 each.
Then there’s ultra-compact model, which is a 7-inch square design and weighs just 1 pound, it offers a speeds up to 100 Mbps. As for the cost, according to Amazon will be a “lower-cost model.”
There will also be a high-bandwidth design, this will be Project Kuiper’s largest, most capable model which aim for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that requires large bandwidth. The terminal measures 19 inches by 30 inches, and will deliver speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).
All terminals will be using Amazon-designed baseband chip called “Prometheus.” Prometheus combines the processing power of a 5G modem chip and the capability of a cellular base station to handle high traffic demands.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is also preparing to deploy its first two prototype satellites on the first flight of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket. Project Kuiper is scaling operations in preparation for its launch early 2024 and its plans to give early adopter access to the service beginning later that year.
Ahead of this year’s MWC that will be held in Spain, HMD the maker of Nokia smartphone, just announce their latest entry level smartphone, the Nokia C02. The phone features a removable battery, IP52 rating and a headphone jack.
The Nokia C02 features a 5.45-inch display with FWVGA+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Nokia C02 features a 2 MP front facing camera and a single 5 MP rear camera. The phone is made out of a polycarbonate frame and the replaceable 3,000 mAh battery will have a nano-texture. The C02 have a dual SIM slots and a microSD card slot to expand its 32 GB storage up to 256 GB. The phone will also have 2 GB of RAM.
On the software side, the Nokia C02 will be running the Go edition of Android 12 and will receive two years of security updates. Colors for the Nokia C02 will be Dark Cyan and Charcoal colors. The pricing and availability will be announce locally.
Google just announced the availability of Android 14 Developer Preview 1, which can be downloaded from Android for Developers website. The Android 14 Developer Preview 1, as the name suggest, is mainly for Android developers and Android hardware manufacturers to make sure that their apps and devices are fully compatible with the Android 14.
We released the first Developer Preview of #Android14!
It includes changes to streamline background work, along with enhancements to privacy, personalization, security, and more.
Notable features of the upcoming Android 14 are; support for tablets and foldable form factors, enhancements to performance, privacy, security, and user customization. Google plans to release the beta version of Android 14 in two months and release the final beta version by June 2023 and the candidate release up to the stable release by 3rd qtr of this year. It’s still unclear what features will be available in the final release but if you want to take a sneak peek at what is new with Android 14, then you can get the Android 14.
EA’s Respawn Entertainment, the makers of Apex Legends, just announced that they will sunset the the mobile version of Apex Legends. In their announcement, the company said that players with existing Syndicate Gold can keep playing the full game until 4 PM PDT on May 1st, 2023, which is when the game will stop operating on all regions.
The game publisher did not provide any reason for the decision except that the game “fall short of that bar for quality, quantity, and cadence.” The company added that both “Respawn and the Apex Legends team remain excited about mobile as a platform and look forward to new opportunities to serve players there in the future.”
We have made the decision to sunset Apex Legends Mobile.
Together with the new Mac mini, Apple also announced a new MacBook Pro powered by the new M2 Pro and M2 Max. With the new M2 Pro and M2 Max, the new Macbook Pros’ “battery life will be up to 22 hours — the longest battery life ever in a Mac.”
The new Macbook Pro features Liquid Retina XDR display, 16GB unified memory that’s configurable up to 96GB RAM, a 22 hours battery life, 512GB SSD storage which you can upgrade up to 8 TB. As for expansion slots, you’ll find SDXC card slot, HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack and MagSafe 3 port for charging. It also have Thunderbolt 4 for charging and display. Its backlit magic Keyboard will have an integrated Touch ID, ambient light sensor and force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and multi-touch gestures.
For connectivity it supports Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3. The new Macbook Pro will have a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, six built-in speakers with force-cancelling woofers and wide stereo sounds. If you’re concern about the weight there a very small different between the weight of the Macbook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max. Right out of the box, the new Macbook Pro will run Apple’s latest macOS Ventura.
The new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are now available for order in 27 countries and they will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting Tuesday, January 24.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $1,999 (USD) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $2,499 (US).
MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max will be available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and Singapore beginning Friday, February 3.
After it failed to reach an agreement with China’s Netease Games, US gaming giant, Blizzard Entertainment will suspend most, if not all of its services in China starting this January 2023. Both Netease Games and Blizzard Entertainment where not able to extend their 14-year licensing agreement, since started 2008.
It’s unclear how failed extension will affect both companies and but all is not lost, since Blizzard’s mobile game Diablo Immortal will continue operating under a separate agreement with NetEase.
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 16, 2022– Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that it will be suspending most Blizzard game services in mainland China due to the expiration of the current licensing agreements with NetEase, Inc. on January 23, 2023. This includes World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Warcraft® III: Reforged, Overwatch®, the StarCraft® series, Diablo III®, and Heroes of the Storm®. Diablo Immortal® co-development and publishing is covered under a separate agreement between the two companies.
Blizzard Entertainment has had licensing agreements with NetEase since 2008, covering the publication of these Blizzard titles in China. The two parties have not reached a deal to renew the agreements that is consistent with Blizzard’s operating principles and commitments to players and employees, and the agreements are set to expire in January 2023.
We will suspend new sales in the coming days and Chinese players will be receiving details of how this will work soon. Upcoming releases for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Hearthstone: March of the Lich King, and season 2 of Overwatch 2 will proceed later this year.
“We’re immensely grateful for the passion our Chinese community has shown throughout the nearly 20 years we’ve been bringing our games to China through NetEase and other partners,” said Mike Ybarra, president, Blizzard Entertainment. “Their enthusiasm and creativity inspire us, and we are looking for alternatives to bring our games back to players in the future.”
Partnership like this is not uncommon in the gaming industry, since Riot Games partnered with Chinese gaming company Tencent distribute League of Legends in the country before the Chinese company acquired Riot Games for around $400 million.
If you’re like me, who is just catching up on the latest gadget/tech news for past two weeks, then you’re on the right place. Samsung recently help their annual unpacked and announced the latest products namely the Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy ZFold4, Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro and Galaxy Buds2 Pro.
To relive the experience, you can watch replay of the event below;
To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the original The Legend of Zelda game, Nintendo recently launch the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda system, it’s a standlone Game & Watch handheld system that where you can play three retro Zelda games; The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
If you have the Game & Watch: Super Mario, then this device is the exact same thing, like the screensize, metalic finish and those rubbery buttons, the main difference is the green color theme and has “The Legend of Zelda” plastered on the front and center of the device.
In the United States, the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda retails at $49.99 or around SAR 187.50, but you can expect it to be priced in the Kingdom the same as Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros which is around SAR 400.00.
After officially announcing Netflix Games for Android, Netflix Games will now be available for iOS users as well. The new gaming service will be available to Netflix subscribers with no ads, no extra fees and no in-app purchases.
Netflix Games is coming to iOS! Starting tomorrow, you can access Netflix Games through the Netflix app on any mobile device, anywhere in the world. pic.twitter.com/LoHYFi4xBX
There are of course some things that you need to keep in mind when you play Netflix Games using your Netflix account and your Netflix profile.
Since Netflix Games have a maturity rating, you cannot use a Netflix profile to a Netflix Games with a high maturity rating.
Netflix Games can be played on multiple devices on the same account and just like with your Netflix account, there will be a limit on how many device you can use the same Netflix account. If you ever hit your limit, you can sign out of devices not in use, or remove them from your download devices.
From the looks of things, Netflix will make Netflix Games free as long as you are a subscriber, which is not a bad thing and could be a good strategy to grew and keep its subscribers.
After officially announcing Netflix Games for Android, Netflix Games will now be available for iOS users as well. The new gaming service will be available to Netflix subscribers with no ads, no extra fees and no in-app purchases.
Netflix Games is coming to iOS! Starting tomorrow, you can access Netflix Games through the Netflix app on any mobile device, anywhere in the world. pic.twitter.com/LoHYFi4xBX
There are of course some things that you need to keep in mind when you play Netflix Games using your Netflix account and your Netflix profile.
Since Netflix Games have a maturity rating, you cannot use a Netflix profile to a Netflix Games with a high maturity rating.
Netflix Games can be played on multiple devices on the same account and just like with your Netflix account, there will be a limit on how many device you can use the same Netflix account. If you ever hit your limit, you can sign out of devices not in use, or remove them from your download devices.
From the looks of things, Netflix will make Netflix Games free as long as you are a subscriber, which is not a bad thing and could be a good strategy to grew and keep its subscribers.
Facebook is now back, together with Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. After more than 6 hours of being down, the social media giant explained that the cause of the outage is a “configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication. This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt.”
Facebook with Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp went down last night leaving billions of users unable to communicate and unreachable, especially those who only exclusively use the services by the social media giant.
Mark Zuckerberg also posted an apology;
Facebook’s explanation did not provide much details on the outage, which to most of its users won’t even care about, as long as the service is back online.
If you’re Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp are unresponsive on your smartphone, then it you are not the only one, since all three services are currently down and Facebook already release a statement on twitter that they are aware of the issue and working to restore all three services.
We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
A quick visit on Facebook.com, rather than the usual newsfeed, you will be greeted by a “Sorry, something went wrong.” message. While Instagram and Whatsapp, will give you the same “5xx Server Error.”
Here are the screenshots when I visit the websites.
On downdetector.com, it indicates that Facebook.com have been down for more than 2 hours now and the website received more than 125,00 reports at one time.
It’s unclear how long will the service be down and what is the caused of the downtime. I guess, we just need to wait and see.
