Global smartphone shipments decline more than 18% in holiday quarter

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

Global smartphone shipments declined 18.3 per cent (year-over-year) to 300.3 million units in the holiday quarter of 2022, the largest-ever decline in a single quarter.

According to an IDC report, the Q4 2022 drop contributed to a steep 11.3 per cent decline for the entire year.

The year 2022 ended with shipments of 1.21 billion units, which represents the lowest annual shipment total since 2013 due to significantly dampened consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainties.

This tough close to the year puts the 2.8 per cent recovery expected for 2023 in serious jeopardy with heavy downward risk to the forecast, the report mentioned.

“We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter. However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC.

Chinese vendors suffered massive losses for the entire year.

Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth.

“Vendors are increasingly cautious in their shipments and planning while realigning their focus on profitability. Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China,” said Popal.

According to Anthony Scarsella, another research director with IDC, with 2022 declining more than 11 per cent for the year, “2023 is set up to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventorya.

“However, on a positive note, consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing well into 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models,” he added.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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WhatsApp may introduce 3 new features for text editor in drawing tool

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a redesigned text editor for its drawing tool.

The platform is planning to introduce three new features to improve the drawing editor, reports WABetaInfo.

The first feature will provide users the ability to quickly switch between different fonts by just tapping one of the font options displayed above the keyboard.

The second feature relates to the flexibility of text alignment. Users will be able to align the text to the left, centre or right with the help of this feature, giving users more control to format the text in photos, videos and GIFs.

Moreover, the third feature will allow users to change the text background, making it easier to differentiate important text.

The new text editor is currently under development and is expected to be released in a future update of the application, the report said.

Last week, it was reported that the messaging platform was working on a new feature that will allow users to send photos in their original quality.

The platform is planning to integrate a new setting icon within the drawing tool header which will allow users to configure the quality of any photo, providing them more control over the quality of photos they are sending, especially when sending the photo in its original quality is necessary.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Microsoft partners with global solar leader Qcells to curb carbon emissions

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it has partnered with global solar leader Qcells to curb carbon emissions and power the clean energy economy.

The “strategic alliance” aims to enable a strong supply chain for new renewable electricity capacity projected to require at least 2.5 gigawatts of solar panels and related services, which is equivalent to powering over 400,000 homes, Microsoft said in a blogpost on Wednesday.

Qcells, owned by Hanwha Solutions headquartered in Seoul, will work with the tech giant to create solar projects and will also provide panels and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to selected solar projects Microsoft has contracted for through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

“Building a resilient solar energy supply chain is essential to advancing a global green energy economy. Microsoft’s partnership with Qcells will help make this vision a reality by bringing innovation and investment to rural Georgia,” said Brad Smith, vice chair and president, Microsoft.

The tech giant has committed to purchasing renewable energy to achieve 100 per cent coverage of electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2025.

To bring more renewable energy to the grid, Microsoft is supporting Qcells’ solar products, including those produced domestically.

“We’re striving to build and deliver turnkey clean energy solutions, including those made in America, and this partnership with Microsoft will help accomplish this vision,” said Justin Lee, CEO, Qcells.

“Similarly, Qcells is proud to play a role with Microsoft to bring more renewable energy online in the years to come. This first step is only the beginning of a great partnership that not only supports our two companies but helps deliver a clean energy future for customers and communities,” Lee added.

Qcells is the only company in the U.S. with a full solar supply chain and a one-stop shop for clean energy solutions.

“The new collaboration is rooted in the two companies’ collective commitments to diversify the global energy supply chain, proactively lead the development of more reliable energy supply chains in the U.S. and abroad, and reduce carbon emissions,” Microsoft said.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Google Search now allows US car dealerships to show vehicle inventory

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

Google is reportedly rolling out a new feature which will allow car dealerships to add their vehicle inventory directly to search listings via Google My Business in the US.

Although the feature is still in beta, it appears to be available to “any” US-based vehicle dealer, including those that sell motorcycles, recreational vehicles (RVs) or anything else with a vehicle identification number (VIN), reports 9To5Google.

Moreover, this feature will allow customers to browse a dealer’s inventory without leaving Google Search.

Dealership listings will showcase the vehicles that are available, including used cars, along with details about their prices, features, mileage and more.

These listings also include links to the dealer’s website for more details.

With this feature more widely available to dealers, customers in the US are more likely to see the new “Cars for Sale” pages in their searches on Google, the report said.

Last month, it was reported that the tech giant had redesigned the Knowledge Panel to get a large desktop grip as it will make it “easier to explore a topic by highlighting the most relevant and useful information” when searching.

Knowledge Panels are information boxes that appear on Google when users search for entities (people, places, organisations, things) that are in the Knowledge Graph.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Players lose progress, in-game money after bug in GTA Online hit accounts

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

The payers of Rockstar Games’ popular multiplayer action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online have reported losing game progress, stealing of in-game money and ban from game servers due to an alleged vulnerability in the PC version of the game.

According to BleepingComputer, the developer of the ‘North’ Grand Theft Auto V cheat exploited a new “remote code execution” vulnerability in the PC game client to remotely change player account attributes (such as zero their money balance), corrupt accounts, and even ban players from the game.

Originally released in October 2013, GTA Online is a multiplayer version of Rockstar Games’ popular action-adventure game series, with updates added to it for free.

The North GTA Online cheat developer added these new features on January 20, as part of its 2.0.0 release, according to the report.

However, on January 21, the developer removed these abusive features, apologising for the mayhem they had caused.

“Removed bad sport/corrupt account for players (bad judgement on my part for adding this public),” read a changelog for the North cheat.

“Removed take money from player (bad judgement on my part for adding this public),” it added.

The reversal, however, came too late, as many gamers had already been affected.

The Rockstar Games support forum has been inundated with user reports of account issues since the cheat’s release, the report mentioned.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Fortnite on iOS, Google Play won’t be available to players under 18

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jan 27, 2023 | Technology

Video game developer Epic Games has announced that starting January 30, Fortnite will no longer be available to players under the age of 18 on iOS and Google Play.

Players will also not be able to spend V-Bucks, the game’s in-app currency.

“Beginning January 30, Fortnite players using the August 2020 13.40 app build previously available on iOS, Mac, and Google Play can no longer spend V-Bucks and must be over 18 to play,” Fortnite tweeted.

“We want all versions of our games to use the current suite of Epic Online Services including parental controls, purchasing defaults, and parental verification features. We are not able to update the app on these platforms given Apple and Google’s restrictions on Fortnite,” it added.

In December last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had said that it has reached a $520 million settlement with Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite, over allegations that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases.

Fortnite made over $9 billion during its first two years in existence.

Epic will pay a $275 million penalty for violating children’s privacy law, change default privacy settings, and pay $245 million in refunds for tricking users into making unwanted charges.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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