Adobe and Figma call off $20 billion merger

Adobe first announced it would acquire Figma in September 2020 in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $20 billion.

The news sent Adobe shares plunging, but the company reiterated that the acquisition would be a natural complement to Adobe’s portfolio, writing in the original announcement that “the combination of Adobe and Figma will usher in a new era of collaborative creativity.”

Adobe and Figma have terminated their planned $20 billion merger in light of regulatory hurdles.

Also, Adobe will now pay Figma a $1 billion breakup fee.

In a statement, the two companies said “there is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority.”

David Wadhwani (Adobe Senior VP) said, "We will continue to look for ways to partner with Figma to delight our joint customers."

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Asus introduces the very first Intel Core Ultra-powered Chromebook.

Asus has announced Expertbook CX54 Chromebook Plus.

Main key features about this laptop is that it's powered by 15W Intel Core Ultra 5/7 CPUs with Iris Xe graphics, Titan M2 secure coprocessor embedded and it being certified with MIL-STD-810H standard.

Full specifications:
• 14", 16:10 aspect ratio, 2560x1600 display with 500nit peak brightness and TBA refresh rate value
• Intel Core Ultra 5/7 CPU with Iris Xe graphics, 8/16GB RAM (LPDDR5X), 128GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD or 256/512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
• Titan M2 coprocessor + fingerprint scanner
• Two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, 3.5mm audio jack, microSD slot and HDMI 2.1
• Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 support
• 63 w/hr battery pack + 45W charging
• Sound tuned by Harman Kardon
• 16.9mm thickness, 1.3kg weight

The price is yet to be announced.

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Redmi Note 13 4G series launching soon in India

Besides the Note 13 5G series, Xiaomi will also launch the Note 13 4G series.
They already have Redmi 13, 13 C, and in the future, Note 13 turbo as well

Then Xiaomi will rebrand all these to its illegal child Poco, a brand whose ONLY motive to exist on planet Earth is to rebrand Redmi

Poco: Kang of Innovation
These Poco phones then get support from Custom ROMs, powered by the Evolution X — The Kang Dynasty

All this garbage together contributes to making a separate Dumping Ground on planet Earth, powered by Xiaomeme

Redmi Note 13: Snapdragon 685
Note 13 Pro: MediaTek Helio G99 Ultra
Welcome to 2024

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realme C67 4G is official

Specifications:

• 6,7 inch 2400x1080 (FHD) LCD display
• 90 Hz refresh rate
• 950 nits peak brightness

• Snapdragon 685 SoC
• 8GB RAM and 128 or 256 GB of storage
• Mini Capsule 2.0 (Dynamic Island clone)
• 8 MP front camera

• 108 MP main cam (NO OIS) + 2MP useless cam
• Side fingerprint scanner
• 5000 mAh battery with 33W charging
• Android 14 with realme UI
• Stereo speakers

Priced at $168 for 128 GB storage & $193 for 256 GB storage

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Redmi Note 13 Turbo might be powered by Snapdragon 8 series

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8650-AB) is codenamed pineapple & multiple variants of 8 Gen 3 exist

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (SM8650-AC) will power the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
This, "For Galaxy" naming is bought by Samsung from Qualcomm & is basically the Snapdragon 8 + Gen 3 only

It also gives Samsung exclusive rights to launch the "8 Plus" series Snapdragon chips earlier than competitors.
That's why "8 Plus" snapdragon chips by other OEMs gets launched approx 6 months later

Now, an "underclocked" variant of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8635) manufactured by TSMC on its 4nm node also exists and Redmi Note 13 Turbo might be powered by the same

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 (SM7550-AB) was recently launched & Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (SM7675) will also launch

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iQOO teased Neo 9 series

Specifications:
• 6.78" 1.5K resolution 8T circuit Visionox LTPO OLED display
• 1~144Hz Variable refresh rate
• 2160Hz PWM dimming
• iQOO Q1 display chip

Neo 9 Pro: MediaTek Dimensity 9300
Neo 9: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• LPDDR5X RAM with UFS 4.0 storage
• 6K VC liquid-cooling chamber

• 50MP main (Sony IMX920, OIS)
Neo 9: 8MP Ultrawide
Neo 9 Pro: 50MP Samsung JN1 UltraWide

• 16MP front camera
• 5160mAh battery
• 120W fast charging
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• IR blaster; dual speakers
• Plastic Frame; leather back; USB 2.0
Colours: Red and White Soul, Nautical Blue & Fighting Black

iQOO 12 was launched in India to compete with OnePlus 12

Now, iQOO will also launch Neo 9 with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in India in either January or Q2,2024 to compete with OnePlus 12R

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Get ready for the Samsung Galaxy S24 series
Source

Galaxy AI is coming.....

Powered by the Exynos 2400 or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, both of which have on-device AI processing capabilities, Galaxy S24 series phones are expected to offer several AI features,. These include:

• Dynamic lockscreen changes according to environment/weather effect
• Live translate during calls
• Relocate objects in scenes
• Expand a photo beyond its borders
• Isolate voice(s) & audio in louder environments
• Samsung Keyboard will also have AI-powered features

Launching on 18th January globally at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, USA

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Samsung Galaxy S24 series Specsheet leaked
Source

S24: 6.2" FHD+
S24 Plus: 6.7" FHD+ QHD+
S24 Ultra: 6.8" QHD+

ALL three models sport Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays with 2600nits peak brightness and HDR 10+ certification

Galaxy S24/S24+ features 50MP main (OIS) + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP telephoto camera with 2x and 3x optical zoom.
There is also 30x Space Zoom as well on both

Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 200MP primary camera (OIS), a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP telephoto camera, and a 50MP telephoto camera.

It has an optical-quality zoom of 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x levels along with 100x Space Zoom

ALL models support 8K video recording

Battery & Charging
S24: 4000mAh and 25W
S24 Plus: 4900mAh and 45W
S24 Ultra: 5000mah and 45W

S24 and S24+ will have Exynos 2400 chipset in most markets and an aluminium build

S24 Ultra will have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip with Titanium build chassis & Samsung S-Pen as well

Launching on 18th January Globally

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AI death calculator predicts when you’ll die — it’s ‘extremely’ accurate

Source

Despite the general populace displaying limited alacrity towards acquiring knowledge concerning the temporal inevitability of their mortality, an emergent artificial intelligence mortality predictor has achieved the capability to prognosticate the precise moment of an individual's demise with disconcertingly precise accuracy.

Lehmann explained that they look at how human lives are similar to language. He mentioned that just as words come one after the other in sentences, events happen in a sequence in human lives.

In the report, the professor and his co-authors introduced a new algorithm called "life2vec." This algorithm considers specific details from a person's life, such as income, job, home, and health history, to estimate life expectancy with 78% accuracy.

Lehmann's team studied a diverse group of 6 million Danish people, including different ages and genders, from 2008 to 2020. They applied the life2vec algorithm to identify which individuals were likely to live for at least four years beyond January 1, 2016.

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MKBHD smartphone camera Blind test 2023 results

While announcing the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023, Marques also announced the Blind Smartphone Camera Test Winners from a few "million" votes

There is NO way to determine which smartphone offers the Best camera because the camera app offers many filters, Pro controls, Telephoto etc and 95% people on Earth are average users who do NOT care for these features.

They just click the pictures from their smartphone with a simple manual focus on the subject

That's why this is a FAIR way to determine which smartphone offers the BEST camera.
Since millions of people voted, the error also gets reduced.

Standard
🥇 Google Pixel 7A
🥈 Google Pixel Fold
🥉 OnePlus Open

Low light
🥇 iPhone 15 Pro
🥈 Google Pixel 8 Pro
🥉 Google Pixel 7A

Portrait mode
🥇 Google Pixel 8 Pro
🥈 Samsung Z Fold 5
🥉 iPhone 15 Pro

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Lava Storm 5G launched in India

Specifications:
• 6.78-inch FHD+ resolution IPS LCD screen
• 120Hz refresh rate
• MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC
(rebranded Dimensity 810)

• 8GB + (8GB Virtual) RAM
• UFS 2.2 storage
• MicroSD Card slot

• 50MP main + 8MP UltraWide Dual rear camera
• 16MP front camera
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging
• 3.5mm headphone jack, FM Radio
• Stock Android UI based on Android 13
Colors: Gale Green & Thunder Black

1 Android OS upgrade (Last Android 14)
2yrs Security Patches

Priced at Rs.14,999 (~180$) for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage
Additional Rs.1500 Bank discount

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HONOR Pad 9 launched in China

Specifications:
• 12.1-inch (2560x1600 px) 2.5K resolution TFT LCD screen
• 1.07 billion colors display
• 500 nits peak brightness

• Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC
• Upto 12GB RAM & upto 512GB storage
• MagicOS 7.2 based on Android 13

• 13MP Single rear camera
• 4K video recording
• 8MP front camera
• 8 Speakers, dual microphones
• 8300mAh battery with 35W fast charging
Colors: White, Blue & Gray

Support Magic Pencil 3:
• 4096 pressure sensitivity
• 2ms of low-time extension
• 10hrs battery backup

Pricing:
• 8GB + 128GB = 1,599 CNY (~225$)
• 8GB + 256GB = 1,599 CNY (~250$)
• 12GB + 256GB = 1,599 CNY (~280$)
• 12GB + 512GB = 1,599 CNY (~305$)

Soft Light Edition:
Comes with a soft light screen, utilizing a proprietary AG etching glass process to eliminate 98% of reflected light.

• 8GB + 256GB = 1,899 CNY (~265$)
• 12GB + 256GB = 2099 CNY (~295$)

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