May 2024 – Page 67 – Tech News Feed

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 leaks hint at a controversial camera redesign

The next flagship foldable from Samsung may usher in some design changes for the rear camera module.

The rumored launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6) is getting nearer, and the latest leak around this flagship foldable gives us a glimpse of a rather controversial redesign of the rear camera module.

This leak comes from the well-known (and usually reliable) tipster Ice Universe (via SamMobile), and the photo posted shows the very top of the camera setup around the back of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

It looks like we’ve got a new ridged design around the individual camera lenses, with black plastic replacing the metal trim used on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and it’s an aesthetic that looks “cheap and completely out of place” on a flagship phone, SamMobile says.

Perhaps the redesign is a ploy from Samsung to distract us from the rumors that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 cameras will only represent a modest upgrade over the setup on its predecessor – any upgrade will be a welcome one, but previous leaks had suggested a major bump in camera specs was incoming.

More specs

Exclusive: This is the camera detail design of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6. pic.twitter.com/CqisaLNBAaMay 21, 2024

You can make your own mind up, but it’s likely to divide opinion. The same source has previously posted another angle of this rear camera, as well as a closely cropped shot of the selfie camera coming to the front of the cover screen. More recently, the tipster has leaked a mockup of the front of the Z Fold 6 compared to the Z Fold 5.

In a separate leak, SamMobile has also spotted a fresh benchmark that could be attributed to the European version of the Z Fold 6. It’s apparently running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, suggesting this will be the CPU used in the foldable across all global markets.

Samsung has previously experimented with using its own Exynos processors instead of Snapdragon silicon in other flagships, depending on the country they’re sold in. That might be the case with the Z Flip 6, but not, it seems with the Z Fold 6.

All should be revealed before too long, with rumors pointing towards a grand unveiling for the foldables at a Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday, July 10. We should also see a host of other gadgets at that event, including a full reveal for the Samsung Galaxy Ring, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

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Possibly the best puzzle game in years lands on Game Pass today

To say Humanity arrives today is the sort of grandiose phrase you might expect from an American President as he… Continue reading Possibly the best puzzle game in years lands on Game Pass today
The post Possibly the best puzzle game in years lands on Game Pass today appeared first on ReadWrite.

To say Humanity arrives today is the sort of grandiose phrase you might expect from an American President as he signs off on a new space program, Nothing quite so poignant from me I’m afraid, but nevertheless, Humanity arrives today. On Xbox Game Pass. That does not make it any less of an important announcement, however, as to not pay attention could deprive you of playing one of the best, and possibly most profound puzzlers in decades. So don’t do that.

Humanity has been circulating around on the Meta Quest 3 for a short while and on Steam for the last two weeks but today it comes to Microsoft’s gaming subscription service and, if you have even the slightest enjoyment of exceptional puzzle games you should download it.

At face value, Humanity is a bit like a 3D version of the classic 16-bit puzzle game Lemmings. ‘Oh No!’ you reply, well you do if you have ever played Lemmings. In Lemmings you had to guide hordes of the cute rodents to safety, in Humanity you do the same, but with Humans.

To leave it there though would do a great disservice to gaming journalism, and I am not all about that. Humanity is much, much more than Lemmings with people.

You control a Shiba Inu (the dog, not the meme coin) and must herd said Humanity to safety across ever more fiendish levels and existential threats that they face.

Unlike Lemmings your Humans will end up in battles with rival humans and lives will be lost. You must factor in a method, and quickly, to enable the most to survive that you can.

The art style of Humanity – its low-poly physics-based setting – works well for the artiness the game is shooting for and also the technological barriers between having 100s or even thousands of humans moving on screen at once.

Oh, I am not doing it justice but definitely go and play it when it arrives on Game Pass later today.

While you wait you can go and grab Lords of the Fallen, which also arrives on Game Pass today and has already landed.

The post Possibly the best puzzle game in years lands on Game Pass today appeared first on ReadWrite.

Microsoft unleashes DirectSR – and I couldn’t be more excited about how much difference this will make to PC games

DirectSR tech could be a literal game-changer for faster frame rates – and it’s already here in preview.

Microsoft has announced that DirectSR has been released, albeit in preview, but this is an important first step for a technology that promises to have major ramifications for PC gamers.

Why? Because DirectSR is a big piece of the upscaling puzzle – whereby games can be made to run faster, by having them rendered at a lower resolution, then upscaled to a higher one (with a quality close to that of the native resolution).

Rather than an actual upscaling tech, DirectSR is an API which lets Windows game developers more easily incorporate multiple existing upscaling solutions. Meaning that with DirectSR, if any given developer wants to bring Nvidia DLSS, or AMD FSR, or Intel XeSS on board a game to speed up frame rates, they can do so with much less effort.

Of course, this will mean that more PC games get the benefit of these upscaling features – and I’m hoping it’ll be the start of the likes of DLSS being used much more widely across various titles.

That’s certainly the idea, anyway, and Microsoft has now officially unleashed DirectSR in its new Agility SDK 1.714.0 preview release for developers.

Microsoft tells us that this initial incarnation ships with support for AMD’s FSR 2.2, and driver level support for DLSS and XeSS.

Analysis: Timely arrival

This is really good news, because as you may have seen when I’ve reported on DirectSR before, I’m highly enthusiastic about seeing the tech introduced for all the reasons mentioned above – but I had concerns that it was perhaps still quite a long way off being implemented.

I didn’t expect to see a preview of DirectSR going live so soon, and indeed from the rumors – which were admittedly shaky – I figured this was something pencilled in for next year.

Well, that’s definitely not the case, and to see it in preview now is a very positive development in terms of the potential timeframe for the realization of this upscaling facilitator.

To put it simply: I’m even more excited about this now, and as mentioned, I anticipate it having a broad impact on PC games and speeding up frame rates. I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say that PC gaming could just have witnessed the first step on a revolutionary path forward to smoother gaming, and here’s hoping.

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The Bear season 3 official trailer teases more controlled chaos, money problems, and Claire’s return in the hit FX show

Season 3’s final trailer brings the heat as Carmy, Richie, and Sydney clash amid the new restaurant’s other issues.

Spoilers follow for The Bear season 2.

The Bear season 3‘s final trailer has been released – and, true to form, it’s packed with delicious drama, controlled culinary chaos, and plenty of tasty-looking dishes.

With less than a month to go before The Bear returns (it’s out on Thursday, June 27), the official trailer’s unveiling couldn’t have been timed better. Okay, it’s only been two days since The Bear season 3’s teaser trailer served up a sizzling appetizer ahead of its arrival, but I’ve been hungry for more footage ever since. Thankfully, FX didn’t wait too long to satiate my appetite with another anxiety-inducing trailer for the hit show’s third season.

The Bear season 3’s latest trailer suggests things still aren’t entirely rosy for the employees of the titular restaurant, either. Sure, there’ll be more endearing moments between the series’ eccentric cast of characters – Carmy and Sydney agreeing to enter into a full business partnership, as teased in the new footage, being a prime example of such character evolution.

But we don’t only tune into the wildly successful Hulu and Disney Plus show for those heart-warming moments. If anything, we watch because we want to be positively stressed out by the explosive melodrama at the heart of the show – and boy, does the season 3 trailer indicate that we’ll be getting that in spades.

Whether it’s Carmy sparring with Richie and Sydney (surprising, I know) over a new set of “non-negotiables” as the restaurant starts to take off, more money issues plaguing the culinary establishment, or everyone throwing various spanners into the works – I can’t get over Carmy’s reaction to Neil wheeling a piñata into the restaurant – tensions will continue to run high in The Bear‘s third outing. There’s even room for the somewhat surprise return of Molly Ringwald’s Claire, who Carmy heartbreakingly pushed away in the season 2 finale. Expect emotional fireworks to be set off if the pair reunite at some point in the forthcoming season.

seeing claire in the bear trailer pic.twitter.com/ePDXrvjoxCMay 29, 2024

But it won’t just be problems affecting Carmy that’ll drive the narrative of one of the best Hulu shows and best Disney Plus shows‘ third season. Indeed, the restaurant’s eclectic staffers will also continue to share the limelight, as evidenced by The Bear season 3’s official story synopsis.

“Season three of FX’s The Bear follows Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto, Sydney Adamu, and Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich as they do what it takes to elevate The Bear, their beef stand turned fine dining establishment, to the highest level, all while doing their best just to stay in business.

“It’s a losing battle every single day in the restaurant business. Carmy pushes himself harder than ever, and demands excellence from his crew, who do their best to match his intensity. Their quest for culinary excellence will propel the crew to new levels and stress the bonds that hold the restaurant together.

“As the team grows in size, each member will strive to reach a greater level of service within their role. In the restaurant industry, you’re never on solid ground, and with that ever-changing landscape comes new challenges and opportunities. Our chefs have learned that every second counts, but this season we’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to tomorrow.”

Like the show’s second season, The Bear‘s third installment will comprise 10 episodes (season 1 only had eight entries), with every single episode set to debut on Hulu and Disney Plus on launch day. I know what I’ll be doing, then, on June 27 – and yes, I’ll be shouting “Yes, chef!” at my TV screen whenever Carmy barks another order at his fellow cooks and other employees as I watch along.

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PwC becomes OpenAI’s biggest customer – and first official enterprise reseller

OpenAI had 600k ChatGPT Enterprise users last month – this month, it added 100k more in one single hit.

OpenAI has confirmed management consulting giant PwC has become a major enterprise customer and partner.

Under the partnership, 100,000 of PwC’s employees will get access to ChatGPT Enterprise, making it OpenAI’s biggest customer to date.

The deal will also see PwC become the first partner to resell OpenAI’s enterprise offerings to other businesses.

PwC goes all-in on ChatGPT

By offering businesses faster and unlimited access to generative AI interactions and customizable models, ChatGPT Enterprise serves as a crucial monetization opportunity for OpenAI. The tier also includes advanced analytics and other tools designed to cater to corporate needs, plus priority support.

OpenAI does not disclose pricing for its Enterprise subscription, but Team users can expect to pay $30 per user per month (or $25 per month when billed annually). Besides the free tier, ChatGPT is also available in a Plus subscription, which is designed to cater to individuals seeking access to the latest offerings. It’s priced at $20 per month.

Global Head of Alliances & Channels at OpenAI, Richard Hasslacher, commented in an interview (via TechCrunch): “PwC becomes our largest customer, but they’re also our first partner who’s going to be reselling ChatGPT enterprise… It is penetration into industry verticals, but also providing an expansive set of services that customers desperately need to take advantage of in a brand-new solution category.”

PwC’s 100,000 users mark a substantial increase over the 600,000 ChatGPT Enterprise users disclosed last month by OpenAI, which already includes 93% of Fortune 500 companies. As of 2023, PwC employed more than 364,000 people across 151 countries – a wider or full roll-out would represent a considerable uptick for OpenAI.

“We have entered the ‘prove it’ phase where we are actively demonstrating the capabilities and benefits of gen AI,” PwC said in its official press release. “We are taking a holistic approach and leveraging our deep industry experience to help transform our clients with AI, linking sources of value to common AI patterns to drive increased impact. This approach enables our clients to achieve faster outcomes with greater productivity, consistency, and efficiency. “