By Nick Godt Toyota is planning to develop about 15 fully electric models by 2027, up from five currently. These models will include vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands, with production expected to reach 1 million units annually by that year.

Source:: Digital Trends

The AI market could grow to as much as $4.8 trillion by 2033, according to a new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. At the same time, the money is expected to be concentrated among a few players and could increase inequality between countries, CNBC reports.

“The benefits of AI-driven automation often favor capital over labor, which can increase inequality and reduce the competitive advantage of cheap labor in developing countries,” the report’s authors wrote. To ensure developing countries are not left behind, the UN group recommends they be involved in discussions on AI rules and ethics.

In the same report, the UN also warned that AI could affect 40% of all jobs, even as the technology has the potential to create new industries and empower workers — as long as investments are made in training.

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt Consumer tech devices, including smartwatches, have deplorably short lives. Most are tossed aside when the screen cracks, the battery dies, or the software falls behind — adding to the world’s whopping great pile of e-waste.   Scottish startup Una aims to upend this take-make-waste cycle. The company’s sports smartwatch is built to be repaired. Users can easily swap, replace, and upgrade individual components like the screen, battery, and health sensors, extending the device’s lifespan. “Customers are tired of replacing expensive tech every few years,” said Lewis Allison, Una’s founder. “We’re showing the industry there’s a better way.” The Una Watch can be…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

It might be time for Apple-as-a-service as the company looks to plot a cunning course through the post-globalist freeze — and offering its products as a service could help it do just that.

Apple had been expected to introduce just such a service. In fact, Mark Gurman recently said those plans were quite advanced, but the company shelved the idea, presumably because of its potential impact on “normal” iPhone sales and consequent revenue. 

With the recent round of tariffs from US President Donald J. Trump, things have changed. Given a $3,000 iPhone has become a real possibility under the tax regime, Apple knows it’s going to see a decline in iPhone sales anyway. It knows that those iPhones it does sell will get used longer and it knows that the inevitable cost will put a lot of consumers off from buying these devices.

Apple has also bought itself some time to figure out a way forward, thanks to the planeloads of iPhones it imported into the US just before the tariff announcement was made. These should tide the company over into September, reports claim. That makes sense, because the time isn’t right for the iPhone-as-a-service plan quite yet. 

To put the plan in effect, Apple will need the support of its carrier partners who I expect were quite resistant to the idea before — they liked the margins they made on phones sold through their networks.

However, pragmatism changes things, and even they can see that some money from a lower margin is still better than no margin at all. And when analysts predict iPhone prices could hit $3,000, it’s crystal clear sales will decline.

Think about it

Those tariff taxes will impact almost everything that cannot be made, grown, or harvested in the US. They’re going to be felt, particularly by shoppers in more impoverished socio-economic groups (who also use iPhones). Most shoppers will be much too concerned about the cost of eggs to spring thousands for a phone, and while there will be an elite group of consumers for whom it’s business as usual, most people will endure a crisis of confidence. 

Like the 1920s, there may be a lot of dancing, but not much to dance about.  

The economic precipice the world appears to have been pushed over may be enough to make any iPhone-as-a-service plan look a lot more attractive. After all, it enables cash-strapped consumers to use the smartphone they desire (and perhaps also the watch, tablet, and Mac) for a predictable monthly fee, with AppleCare, iCloud+, and Apple services included, and doesn’t require they laden themselves with credit card debt. 

People are ready to accept it

It’s not as if we’re not ready for such a service. Even back in 2022, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Josh Lowitz said: “Based on current consumer behavior, iPhone users are primed to adopt a subscription service that provides an iPhone bundled with useful apps. Almost half iPhone owners already finance their iPhone purchase, paying monthly for a new phone. And about one-third trade-in their old phone when they buy a new one. So, a significant portion of the user base is accustomed to never owning a phone, instead basically leasing it.”

Apple also gains. In this case, it benefits from potentially lower, but at least recurring, income upon which to balance its stock. And it benefits from the fact that at the end of the subscription period (or during it if the consumer cannot maintain payments), the devices will be returned for refurbishment, resale/let, and/or recycling.

This also opens up the highly lucrative second-user iPhone market, which is an income stream Apple hasn’t yet fully explored. The iPhone is the most widely sold smartphone on the second-user market and holds its value the longest; company management is said to have been eyeing whether they can extract more from those sales. 

Pros and joes

Taking things a speculative step forward, I can easily imagine the company might choose to keep the highest-end devices out of the subscription loop, making these available for sale only. Apple knows its most affluent customers may be more accepting of a higher price in exchange for a truly cutting-edge product. 

That balance of high-end retail sales and subscription-income, bolstered by all the other plans Apple is putting in place to survive the high-tax transformation of the US economy may help it build a good and viable business in times like these. A different business, but a business all the same

Will Apple do it? Will Apple choose to offer up its products on a rental basis? 

Given sales cadence is going to fall anyway and, logically, product costs will increase, the company might see the plan as a way to pass the poison pill of some of these price increases onto consumers in as easy-to-stomach a remedy as possible. It’s not ideal, of course, but right now company management will be focused on finding the least worse options to help support the future of its business. That’s the context in which such a plan makes sense.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

Source:: Computer World

By Adarsh Verma If your kid is obsessed with Roblox, you probably have a headache from hearing, “Can I…
The post How to Stop Your Kids (or Yourself) From Spending All Your Money on Robux appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Hisan Kidwai Buying a smartphone on a budget can be pretty confusing, especially since brands tend to focus…
The post Best Phones Under INR 20000 in India (April 2025) appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Nadeem Sarwar The folks over at buzzy Chinese AI lab, DeepSeek, are working on a new series of AI models called DeepSeek-GRM that employ a novel self-improving approach.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Thomas Macaulay Five fast-growing Nordic scaleups have reached the finals of TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” They join a standout quintet from Benelux, unveiled last week, in the race to be crowned Europe’s hottest scaleup. The Nordics — comprising Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden — boast just 27 million people but punch well above their weight in innovation. The region has Europe’s highest density of unicorns — privately held companies valued at over $1bn. Despite accounting for only 4% of Europe’s population, the Nordics hosted 17% of the continent’s unicorns between 2013 and 2023. Sweden leads the pack with the…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Nick Godt Rivian’s brand new ‘hands-off’ driving feature will work with unmapped roads on Gen2 vehicles later this year.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Nadeem Sarwar Deep Research and AI overview podcasts have been my two favorite Google Gemini features so far. Microsoft has finally implemented them on its Copilot platform.

Source:: Digital Trends

At a special 50th anniversary event on Friday, Microsoft executives reflected on the company’s storied past and on how it’s now reinventing itself for an AI-focused future.

With previous CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in attendance, current CEO Satya Nadella boasted that the company is “leading this new wave of AI innovation, and more importantly, democratizing just like we did it with the PC.”

Details about the company’s plans were laid out by Microsoft Executive Vice President Mustafa Suleyman, who noted that the ability to customize Windows to every person’s specific needs is coming. “Years ago, Bill laid out a bold ambition, which at the time probably felt like a pretty crazy dream — to put a PC on every desk and in every home.

“Today, we’re creating a Copilot for everyone,” Suleyman said at the event, which was webcast. 

Suleyman talked about how the company is transforming its generative AI (genAI)-based Copilot into a personal assistant. Microsoft is replicating key sensory features from humans into the software.

“Today, we’re taking the very first steps towards rich memory and personalization, the very foundations of an AI companion,” Suleyman said.

Copilot is gradually adding a “Memory” feature that can personalize the tool to remember human preferences, dates, events and more. Suleyman pointed out how the AI agent over time will be able to remember birthdays, and provide reminders on tasks. It will also provide advice on how users go through each step in training sessions on specific topics and even memorize individual traits, such as whether a person greets others formally or informally.

The memory feature works with others such as “Actions,” which can complete tasks in the background.

Microsoft is also developing avatars for Copilot that make interacting with it more fun. Suleyman showed off avatars as animated characters, and in jest showcased the dreaded Clippy — of old Microsoft Office fame — as an avatar.

The company’s main announcements included Copilot Vision, a mobile app that can help users interact with the real-world. The app uses the phone’s camera to capture images and in real-time provide context of the surroundings.

“With our new mobile app, Copilot can actually see what you see and talk to you about it in real time,” Suleyman said.

The second piece to Copilot Vision is a Windows app, which can take a snapshot of a user’s PC screen and help explain what is being displayed. The app works across applications, browser tabs or files.

“It will read the screen and interact with the content. You’ll be able to use Copilot to search, change settings, organize files and collaborate on projects without switching between files or apps,” the company said in a blog post.

“With my permission it can see my screen like a second set of eyes,” Suleyman said at the event said. “It’s my sounding board. And most importantly, it can respond in the context of what I’m seeing on my screen.”

Suleyman made no reference to Windows Recall, the controversial Copilot feature that uses snapshots to log the history of activity on a PC. Recall was unveiled last year and quickly ran into a storm of controversy related to privacy concerns.

Microsoft has also started rolling out Copilot Search, with AI integrated into a conventional Bing search to provide better search results. The search results will be personalized and dynamically generated on the screen.

“With Copilot’s new search capabilities, you can get many magazine style cards made just for you, on any topic that you care about, with text, images, videos, and maps built right in,” Suleyman said.

Microsoft also unveiled “Podcasts,” an AI feature that can instantly generate podcasts with video and audio, and new AI technologies for Azure AI Foundry. 

For enterprise users, Microsoft recently rolled out Research and Analyst agents to boost enterprise search and employee productivity. 

AI will be the biggest change to the PC since the graphical user interface (GUI), and it may be as important as the first databases for enterprise users, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates.

But harnessing its potential is a challenge, with numerous usability, privacy and security challenges. “The ability to make AI most useful and efficient for enterprise needs still needs a lot of work. We’re in the first innings,” Gold said.

Microsoft’s challenge with AI is not just in the OS, but also in apps that support enterprise users, where Microsoft has a large installed base.

“While Copilot may make the way we interact with our devices through agents that implement and execute tasks for us more personal, it’s what AI may do to enhance our insights from our increasingly complex enterprise informational environment that could be a game changer,” Gold said.

It’s likely to be a decade-long maturing process before enterprises see the same level of maturity and creativity users have grown to expect in day-to-day go-to apps.

“Enterprises need to start down the path now, but don’t expect to achieve the end state in the short term,” Gold said.

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt Future lunar bases could run on solar panels forged from molten moon dust, turning the Moon’s surface into an energy source, thanks to a new research breakthrough.  Scientists at the University of Potsdam have engineered so-called “moonglass” solar cells made by melting artificial moon dust or “regolith” and then combining it with a layer of perovskite crystal to create a working solar panel.  The device could be lighter, cheaper, and more radiation-resistant than the panels already used in space, said the researchers. Their results were published in the journal Device this week. Today, solar panels power satellites, space stations, and…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Hisan Kidwai TikTok’s formula of short-form videos, driven by an algorithm that constantly tracks users’ likings, has made…
The post How to Download TikTok Videos with 4K Tokkit? appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Deepti Pathak Technology has made humanoid robots look more real, enhancing their movements and responses. Humanoid robots are…
The post 10 Most Advanced Humanoid Robots appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Nadeem Sarwar Amazon has started testing a new feature called “Buy for Me” that deploys an AI agent to shop for products from other websites on your behalf.

Source:: Digital Trends

Enterprise IT leaders are facing a double-whammy of uncertainties complicating their data center building decisions: The ever-changing realities of genAI strategies, and the back-and-forth nature of the current tariff wars pushed by the United States.

“This is obviously a fluid situation. The stated goal of the [US] administration is to bring more development into the US,” said Forrester Senior Analyst Alvin Nguyen. “But with some of these activities, there is the potential that it draws some manufacturing and other capabilities of the data center away from the US.”

Nguyen, who advises enterprises on data center strategies, said the tariffs are adding complexity and uncertainty into the already volatile genAI data center strategies.

“Right now, there’s too much variability. With all of the tariffs, this may be the thing that slows down AI,” Nguyen said. “And if you slow down AI, that will slow down the data centers.”

Source:: Computer World

Microsoft is urging Office 2016 and 2019 customers to upgrade to Microsoft 365 before support ends Oct. 14, but analysts said viable alternatives are available outside Microsoft’s walled garden.

“Continuing to use unsupported software can expose your organization to security vulnerabilities, compliance risks, and operational disruptions,” the company warned in a blog post.

Microsoft 365 is the cloud-based version of Microsoft Office, which also includes Teams, Copilot and web-based collaborative features. It is available only by subscription, with prices starting at $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year for the Personal edition.

The alternative, a standalone desktop version of Microsoft Office, doesn’t have the AI and collaboration features, nor does it have Copilot or Teams. Users looking to replace Office 2016 or 2019 could also opt for the convenience of a one-time purchase of Office 2024, which costs $149. 

Microsoft in the blog post talked only about upgrading to M365, which never expires. Office 2024 support ends in October 2029.

Analysts said enterprise customers might find upgrading to Microsoft 365 worthwhile for its generative AI (genAI) tools, collaborative features and security. Or, depending on enterprise AI and productivity needs, they could jump ship for rivals such as Google Workspace. 

For enterprise customers worried about data privacy in the cloud, the desktop edition of Office or free open-source alternatives such as LibreOffice might be more attractive. The $149 price of Office 2024 might also be cheaper than Microsoft 365 in the long run, analysts said.

Microsoft wants to move customers to Microsoft 365 subscription services, said Jason Wong, vice president at Gartner for on app design and development.

“This makes support easier and lowers the cost of products for Microsoft, while at the same time it opens up many up-sell and cross-sell opportunities such as security products, the Power Platform tools, and of course M365 Copilot,” Wong said.

Basic Microsoft 365 editions for home users or business users don’t include Teams. But users can get features that include Intune, Defender, Clipchamp and Loop at higher subscription prices.

For those who only need Microsoft Office apps that include PowerPoint and Word, the standalone option could be attractive, especially if they already use something like Google or Zoho for mail, calendar, and document storage, said Irwin Lazar, principal analyst at Metrigy.

“For those wishing to take advantage of AI, an upgrade to M365 is a requirement. I expect that for [small and mid-sized businesses], Microsoft now offering M365 without Teams at a lower price could prove attractive,” Lazar said. 

Metrigy in a recent study noted that about 25% of Microsoft customers were evaluating the unbundled option. The study, Employee Experience Optimization: 2025, was published in November.

“Google’s recent price increases for Workspace are likely to help Microsoft, especially for SMBs, though Google includes Gemini AI now with Workspace,” Lazar said.

Enterprises would see value in moving from legacy on-prem, disconnected apps to Microsoft 365 though at this point those were probably Lotus or legacy on-prem Exchange/Sharepoint customers.  “The savings is likely to be minimal if customers are already using cloud-based services for document, email, and calendar,” Lazar said.

Some organizations are resisting the push to the cloud — primarily European-based companies with stricter data requirements and regulations. “Cost also plays a factor in staying on-premise, but typically organizations realize they won’t be getting the latest features and capabilities, like generative AI and Copilot, if they choose this path,” Wong said. 

Gartner sees clients evaluating rival suites to see what life looks like outside of the Microsoft ecosystem. “It typically comes down to familiarity of products and features for the workers, and the overall security and cost of ownership for IT to consider whether to switch or not,” Wong said.

Microsoft, for its part, painted a doomsday scenario to get users to upgrade to Microsoft 365 if they don’t quit Office 2016 or 2019 by the time support expires. 

“You may have started noticing limitations,” the company wrote. “Your apps are stuck on your desktop, limiting productivity anytime you’re away from your office. You can’t easily access your files or collaborate when working remotely or traveling, creating unnecessary friction for your team. Perhaps you’ve seen your company’s IT expenses creep upwards as you’ve added separate solutions for email, file storage, and virtual meetings.”

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt Europe’s tech industry is bracing for impact after the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs yesterday. The US slapped a 20% tariff on imports from the EU — twice the rate for the UK. Switzerland fared even worse, receiving a hefty 32% levy.  Several European tech firms, investors, and analysts told TNW that the measures could disrupt supply chains, force pricing adjustments, and stem the flow of transatlantic VC capital — plunging European tech companies big and small into uncertainty. “Trump’s trade tariffs will have a huge impact on the global tech landscape, forcing startups to reconsider their headquarters and assess…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Siôn Geschwindt “Hello, I will be your driver for today,” says Bartek Szurgot, a software engineer at German startup Vay and my chauffeur for this ride. He disengages the handbrake, gently presses the accelerator and the new Kia Niro EV I’m sitting in slowly pulls out of the parking lot.    As we approach the first intersection, Bartek indicates, turns the steering wheel, makes his observations, and drives out onto a busy road near the centre of Berlin. So far, pretty standard — except for one big difference. Bartek isn’t in the car. He’s in an office a few blocks away, controlling the…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Deepti Pathak Slang and acronyms are constantly evolving, and it is hard to stay up to date if…
The post FS Meaning in Texts Explained: Use Cases & Examples appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes