T3 India

Technology

Apple Unmasks Range of Devices

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iPhone SE

The iPhone SE comes in a compact and durable design that incorporates a 4.7-inch display, aerospace-grade aluminium and glass along with IP67 rated water and dust resistance.

It features iOS 15 and has upgrades including the A15 Bionic chip packed with a 6-core CPU, which powers advanced camera capabilities such as photo editing, gaming and augmented reality. It also features a 12-megapixel ƒ/1.8 aperture Wide camera that offers features such as Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Deep Fusion and Portrait mode. Along with 5G, the device comes in three colours i.e. Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)RED.

The iPhone SE will be available from March 18 onwards, in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB variants starting at INR 43,900.

ipad Air

The iPad Air features the M1 chip that comes combined with an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU for faster and more power-efficient performance, along with a 16-core Neural Engine that powers machine learning functions. It comes with an ultra-wide 12MP front camera with Center Stage function that automatically pans to keep users in view as they move. It also has a 12MP wide camera on the back for 4K video, scanning documents and AR functions. It comes with 5G and connectivity features include eSIM and Wi-Fi 6 support, along with a USB-C port, with data transfers up to 10Gbps. It has a thin and light design and comes in Space Grey, Starlight, Pink, Purple and Blue colours in 64GB and 256GB configurations. The device has a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display and landscape stereo speakers. Accessories include the Apple pencil which comes with wireless charging and pairing.

The iPad Air will be in stores from March 18, at a starting price of INR 54,900 (Wi-Fi) and INR 68,900 (Wi-Fi + Cellular).

Mac Studio

The Mac Studio is powered by M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra chips.

The device is built from a single aluminium extrusionwith a square footprint of 7.7 inches and a height of 3.7 inches. Its thermal design includes a system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels to help cool the M1 Max and the M1 Ultra chips.

M1 Ultra builds on M1 Max and features the UltraFusion architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) and consisting of 114 billion transistors. It features up to 64GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Max and up to 128GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Ultra. The SSD in Mac Studio delivers up to 7.4GB/s of performance and a capacity of up to 8TB. Connectivity options include four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port and a pro audio jack for high-impedance headphones or external amplified speakers. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are built in as well.

Studio Display

The Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen with over 14.7 million pixels, 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide colour, and support for over one billion colours. Its design includes narrow borders and an all-aluminium enclosure with height-adjustable and tilt display (up to 30 degrees). A VESA mount adapter option is also available. It features True Tone technology that automatically adjusts the display’s colour temperature as the environment changes.

It also comes with the A13 Bionic chip, along with the 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage feature. The device includes a three-microphone array with a low noise floor and features a six-speaker sound system and four force-cancelling woofers that support spatial audio for music and video with Dolby Atmos. Connectivity options include three USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s) and a Thunderbolt port (connected using a single cable that can also deliver 96W of power to a Mac notebook). The Mac Studio and Studio Display are available for on apple.com/in/store and in the Apple Store app. They will be in available select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorised Resellers, beginning Friday, March 18. The price for Mac Studio starts at INR 1,89,900 while the Studio Display starts at INR 1,59,900.

How AI Has Transformed the Gaming Industry

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Ever since the emergence of AI in the gaming industry, game developers have been programming software in a manner so that it acts as if it’s human and helps in making the digital world from the scratch through non-playable characters. However, at present, even the most out-of-the-box game design doesn’t spin around modern AI. Rather, it revolves around making a bunch of mind-boggling frameworks that result in emergent gameplay, which refers to complex situations in video games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics. The majority of the developers are making efforts in the direction of creating a sense of realism instead of game-breaking outcomes. The objective, in the end, is not to attain human-like intelligence, rather, it is to generate an experience that draws in and stimulates in a manner that imitates reality. Several giant game developing studios are gradually trying to push the envelope with regards to building frameworks that achieve the complexity of reality.

Although it may seem like Artificial Intelligence is a recent innovation in video games, it has been a developing resource for decades. It was incepted in the 1950s, and ever since those early years, AI has been an integral part of the gaming industry that has inclined to an incredible level of growth and development. Let’s explore further how AI transformed the gaming sector.

Smarter non-player characters (NPCs)

AI game developers make the best use of the technology by controlling the conduct of NPCs today. Earlier when the games didn’t have the opportunity to leverage AI, they used to become exhausting after playing for some time as it kept getting easier to defeat because of their anticipated behaviour. The real excitement and thrill of playing video games come from rivalling NPCs that respond erratically and surprise the players. Envision an FPS game in which enemies are equipped for breaking down their surroundings so that they can track down what’s significant for their endurance or make moves that seize your intelligent moves to increase their odds of winning. Moreover, imagine a scenario where they can learn from their behaviour and can seek shelter, perceive sounds and patterns, speak with one another and move in a manner you never saw or expected. Having new encounters despite playing such games numerous times keeps gamers energized and captivated to continue to return. A pioneer in game development can assist you with building such games that gamers enjoy playing for extended periods. The advent of AI has provided opponents with the capacity to securely explore in a dynamic environment without colliding with different entities.  

Real-time customisation

AI has redesigned the general gaming experience by continuous customisation of situations. Besides, AI makes a game more interactive by enhancing the experience of playing. For example, in case your team is losing, it will urge the fans to support your team to lift the morale and cause your players to perform better. Such a tendency of AI has now taken the general gaming experience to an all-new level.  

The shift in difficulty levels

Another excellence of AI-planned video games is player-experience modelling, which implies giving tailor-made insight to players in real-time according to their level of mastery. For instance, if the gamer is inexperienced, the AI possesses the potential to change its level and turn on the easy mode so that s/he doesn’t get baffled or exasperated for not being sufficiently equipped to make further progress in the game. Conversely, if s/he is an expert-level player, the AI will make the game difficult so that the player doesn’t get exhausted or bored. It can also determine the intent of a player through gesture recognition which empowers players to convey and cooperate with video games normally with no mechanical gadgets. 

Generation of procedural content

The technology has allowed the developers to consequently produce creative content, similar to scenes, things, levels, rules and quests. The gamers can now create weapons and armour based on the character level if they utilise procedural content generation in quest-driven games.

Summing Up 

The inception of Artificial Intelligence has made video gaming a lot more exciting as it has the power to provide unprecedented situations by altering the flow and force of the games. It would be more than appropriate to say that there’s nothing preferable for a player over getting fantastic as well as challenging experience simultaneously. As the future unfurls, we are going to witness an ever-increasing number of games with AI regulators which will improve the experience of the end-users like never before. Furthermore, AI will prove to be a testing ground for the developers to work on their code and configuration for creating an avant-garde game. Certainly, AI solutions have transformed the Indian gaming industry for the better. 

About the Author

Stewart Neal is the Studio Director of Sumo India Studios, an award-winning network of game development studios. With over 22 years of experience in the gaming industry, Stewart leads Sumo India’s Pune and Bangalore studios.  

Review: Xgimi Horizon Pro

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Price: ₹1,87,500

Xgimi is a popular projector manufacturer based in China. Their portfolio includes portable projectors designed for extreme convenience and with cutting-edge technology. The Horizon Pro is a portable DLP projector that won the EISA Award for Best Buy Projector.

Well-designed would be an understatement for the Xgimi horizon pro. We have reviewed quite a few projectors in the past, but none of those affords the portability and ‘clean’ design that this device offers. Measuring 208.4 x 218.4 x136.2mm and weighing 2.9kg, the projector is extremely portable and comes with an equally well-designed and sleek remote control.

This 4K (3840 x 2160) projector can be used to project at up to 300 inches, however, we would put this at 200 inches for optimum image quality. Though this is not an ultra-short-throw model, the device features Intelligent Screen Adaption Technology, which offers the convenience of automatically finding and setting up the ideal projection area in a matter of seconds, making the whole process a breeze. To elaborate a little, the Horizon Pro uses automatic focus and keystone correction along with AI object detection to set up your projection area intelligently. It even incorporates an Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance system to avoid obstacles such as power sockets and furniture in the room to find the ideal projection surface even if you are using a wall to project the image. It also automatically matches your screen size with the size of the projected image in case of a screen being used. This eliminates the requirement of having the projector in straight line and perfectly parallel with the screen. If you are not satisfied with the result, you can always use the manual alignment option, which allows you to finely shift the position of each corner of the image area.

At 2200 ANSI Lumens, the Horizon Pro delivers bright projection with a wide dynamic range and excellent sharpness. The device uses Xgimi’s X-VUE 2.0 Image Engine for clarity and realistic colour reproduction. With MEMC (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation), the projector delivers low latency with the least image blur aided by proprietary 60Hz motion compensation technology, making it ideal for gaming too. The device offers HDR 10 and is 3D compatible. Further, the AI Brightness Adjustment feature ensures that the projector adapts to ambient light changes. Xgimi claims life of 25,000 hours for the lamp. The Horizon Pro offers two HDMI 2.0 ports along with two USB 2.0, LAN and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It uses dual-band 2.4/5G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for seamless connectivity. A TÜV Rheinland certification assures you of low blue light for better eye care.

Movie watching experience is only as good as the sound reproduction, and the Horizon Pro got you covered here as well. Professional sound design by Harman Kardon ensures immersive DTS studio surround sound with the help of two 8W, 45mm full-range speakers. The system provides low distortion and high dynamic response along with a virtualised surround sound experience. The result is truly mesmerising for such a small device.

The projector integrates Android TV, Google Play Store and Google Assistant for a seamless OTT experience. You can use the remote to access the voice assistant and control your connected smart devices. It also comes with Chromecast built-in so that you can cast your content, apps, and games directly to the device for a more immersive experience.

RATING

★★★★★

WE’RE IMPRESSED Portable and neatly designed, intelligent framing and focussing, excellent image quality, impressive surround sound

WE’D IMPROVE No backlighting on remote, no optical zoom

THE LAST WORD This device projects its brilliance in every department. Need we say more?

Havells new water heater features induction heat transfer technology

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Havells India has given the Indian market some unforgettable products, and now, this FMEG company has launched a new water heater called “Magnatron” which, according to Havells, is one of India’s first water heater with heating element free induction heat transfer technology. The Magnatron packs in some state-of-the-art features and is an example of Havells endeavour to be at the forefront of pioneering innovation.

The Magnatron water heater is equipped with an ultra-thick superior quality steel tank that provides protection from corrosive elements which could possibly cause cracks in the inner tank. The newly-launched water heater also consists of other unique features such as digital temperature display, smart mode setting, feroglas coating, shock safe plug, and faster heating technology for better heat retention and safety.

Magnatron helps consumers save 25% electricity with its ability to heat quicker by about 10-12 minutes. Havells claims that the energy consumption of the Magnatron’s energy consumption remains the same throughout its life. The high density CFC-free polyurethane foam (PUF) insulation also offers maximum energy efficiency and helps to keep the water warmer for a longer time.

Mr. Ravindra Singh Negi, President-Electrical Consumer Durables, Havells India said, “Aligned with our philosophy of ‘Making a difference’, the water heater is designed to offer consumers enhanced safety, advanced technology, longer product life and convenience. We are confident that Magnatron water heater will enjoy similar success in our target markets as we have witnessed with the previous products. Our latest addition ‘Magnatron’ is again a testament of our ability to launch innovative products designed to meet evolving needs of consumers and elevate their overall showering experience.”

Havells Magnatron comes with a 7-year warranty and is priced at Rs. 32,990. It is available across Havells brand shops in India, offline dealers and on Havells’s online e-store.  

The new Robovac X8 Hybrid vacuum cleaner features intelligent navigation and multitasking capabilities

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The new Robovac X8 Hybrid robotic vacuum cleaner is equipped with smart features to make life much easier for today’s busy hustlers who need reliable cleaning capabilities. The motto of the device is “Double down on power, double down on life”, and the device features an intelligent laser navigation system and the ability to vacuum and mop floors.

The X8 Hybrid is equipped with two turbines, each generating up to 2000Pa of intense suction pressure. These twin turbines boost the cleaning efficiency of the X8 Hybrid, by increasing the overall airflow by 80%, and by cleaning up to 57.6% more pet hair through the appliance’s unique pet hair magnet. The increase in airflow reduces entanglement on the roller brush for more efficient vacuuming around the house.

Along with a dust-compression technology which increases the dust box volume utilisation, this multitasking device also mops while vacuum-cleaning. It contains a large 250ml water tank, which is enough for 140 minutes of mopping.

The X8 Hybrid’s intelligent navigation system is powered by the unique iPath Laser navigation which memorises the user’s home environment along with the possible obstacles in its path. The Map 2.0 technology, allows the X8 Hybrid to customise cleaning areas and functions across one’s home. The X8 Hybrid also builds a virtual map to follow for the most efficient cleaning routine.

The Robovac X8 Hybrid comes with a 12-month warranty and is available for Rs. 34,999 on Flipkart. For more information, please visit this page.