News
Samsung is still the top smartphone vendor in the world
The numbers are out! The International Data Corporation (IDC) published their preliminary results for the second quarter of 2017, and it seems like Chinese smartphone brands are inching closer to the top.
Still at the number one spot is Samsung with a 23.3 percent market share and 79.8 million shipments. Playing a major role in the success are the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The victory of the South Korean company is not solely dependent on their flagships, as the mid-range Galaxy A and budget Galaxy J series are also doing well for other markets. With the Galaxy Note 8 announcement later this month, Samsung could look forward to greater numbers for the third quarter.
Second in line is Apple with a 12 percent market share and 41 million shipments. While the Cupertino company has yet to unveil its new smartphone, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are doing well in the high-end market. Compared to last year, the new iPhones are doing better than the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but with just a marginal growth of 1.5 percent year-over-year.
Not far behind is Huawei with a 11.3 percent market share and shipment posting at 38.5 million. Huawei is currently the top Chinese smartphone brand worldwide with a growing grasp of the European market. With a year-over-year change of a positive 19.6 percent, Huawei is on its way to overthrow Apple’s place. Driving the sales of the company is its flagship P10 series, Mate 9 phablet, and the more affordable Honor series.
OPPO remains in the fourth position with a 8.1 percent market share and 27.8 million shipments. Just like with Huawei, OPPO has gained a positive 22.4 percent growth as it expands outside of China. OPPO is already doing well in Southeast Asia thanks to its marketing stand on camera performance — with a big focus on selfies.
Back in the top five is Xiaomi with a modest 6.2 percent market share and 21.2 million shipments. Compared to the same period last year, Xiaomi has the biggest growth among smartphone brands with a 58.9 percent year-over-year change. Even in China, the company made a big jump due to their bang-for-buck devices. It shouldn’t be a surprise; we all know that Xiaomi offers the best hardware for every price segment.
While these five brands enjoy growth, overall smartphone shipments declined by 1.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2016 and also down by 0.8 percent from the first quarter of this year. Have people started to crawl away from smartphones? Well, that’s highly unlikely, unlike the descending trend of consumer tablets.
SEE ALSO: Chinese phone brands are (unsurprisingly) taking over Asia
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Accessories
Logitech introduces a dedicated shortcut for ChatGPT
Compatible with most keyboards and mice
Artificial intelligence is already meant to simplify a workflow. However, despite the ease, there are still a few ways to optimize the process. Today, Logitech has launched a new shortcut to launch ChatGPT straight from your mouse or keyboard.
Minus programmable hotkeys or buttons, there are hardly any built-in way to easily access an AI model. For a typical workflow, it still consists of manually opening the model on a separate window and keeping it within cursor’s reach throughout the day.
Logitech is simplifying the process by adding a dedicated shortcut for its devices. With a Logitech keyboard or mouse supported by the Logi Options+ app, users can program a keyboard or mouse button for the new Logi AI Prompt Builder.
Once activated, the AI Prompt Builder automatically accesses easy options for highlighted text. For example, users can easily rephrase or summarize the text. Likewise, they can input their own custom queries. By eliminating a few clicks and some typing throughout the day, the new tool hopes to save you time.
While most Logitech keyboards and mice are compatible with the new tool, it is also more easily accessible with the new Logitech Signature AI Edition Mouse. The new mouse has a dedicated button just for AI prompts. If you’re an AI power user, this one is perfect for you.
SEE ALSO: Logitech unveils G Pro X 60 gaming keyboard: Price, details
Despite the ease that the technology promises, artificial intelligence still isn’t the most reliable thing you can depend on. Today’s models can still flub answers. Now, the pitfalls of AI are abundantly clear with a few mishaps on X. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson was just “accused” of a vandalism spree involving bricks.
Late Tuesday night, X presented an AI-generated news snippet. The article, posted soon after the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, reads: “Klay Thompson Accused in Bizarre Brick-Vandalism Spree.”
The snippet hilariously described an incident where Thompson supposedly vandalized houses in Sacramento with bricks. Thankfully, according to the snippet, no one was hurt. It even had a few sources for its claims below the news summary.
First off… I am ok.
My house was vandalized by bricks 🧱
After my hands stopped shaking, I managed to call the Sheriff…They were quick to respond🚨
My window was gone and the police asked if I knew who did it👮♂️
I said yes, it was Klay Thompson
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 17, 2024
The sources, however, are just joke posts stemming from the recently concluded game. In that do-or-die game, Thompson put up a staggering 0 points on ten shot attempts, the most misses without a make by a Warrior since the ’68 season. Naturally, everyone joked that the Warriors guard just threw bricks all over Sacramento.
Now, X is currently experimenting with a new AI feature called Grok. The model collates trending topics and creates snippets of what’s happening for X users. However, it’s not exactly the smartest in determining real news from satiric ones. The feature notes as much, carrying a fine-print caveat warning users to “verify its outputs” because it’s an early feature and can make mistakes.
SEE ALSO: New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply
New users on X might soon face a tough time on the platform. The social media website will likely start charging new accounts a small fee for the right to post on the platform.
Now, the fee isn’t a new one. Almost six months ago, the company tested the paid system in New Zealand and the Philippines. New users in those countries had to pay a dollar per year for the ability to post and reply to content.
As spotted by X Daily News on the same platform, the company might be ready to take the experiment to a larger market. New text strings have shown that the policy is rolling out worldwide.
SPECULATION: X might be expanding its policy to charge new users before they reply/like/bookmark a post https://t.co/odqeyeiHBx pic.twitter.com/EU71qlwQ0D
— X Daily News (@xDaily) April 15, 2024
The policy is designed to combat a wave of bots appearing on the platform. By preventing new accounts from creating posts, X hopes to stave off the standard behavior of bots these days. You might have noticed them as OnlyFans creators in unrelated posts, peddling NSFW content on their bio.
Though the global rollout was only just spotted, owner Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed the change. Replying to X Daily News, Musk says that it is “the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.” He says that the current breed of bots can easily bypass simple checks these days.
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