The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has just surfaced, and it has an odd-looking camera layout. These images comes from SmartPrix, a site that partnered with Yogesh Brar, a tipster.
Do note that the tipster in question here has a mixed track record, but this is not the first time this design has appeared. It surfaced earlier this month in a sketch form, and this is only its render form.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has just appeared with an odd-looking camera layout, but these are not official renders
It’s obvious that the renders included here have been created by a third-party, they’re not official leaks. So it’s possible they’re simply based on the sketch that surfaced earlier this month.
In any case, you will notice that the phone has rounded corners and a centered display camera hole. The bezels are very thin, and even though they don’t look uniform in this render, chances are that they will be.
Advertisement
All the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side of the phone. We don’t see its frame on the side, but it’ll likely be mostly flat. On the back, you’ll spot a huge camera oreo, which takes up a huge chunk of the phone’s upper side.
Inside that camera oreo, four cameras are located. The main one sits at the bottom, and it’s centered between two other shooters. The periscope telephoto camera is included in the top-right corner.
Leica will once again be a part of the package
The Leica logo is also visible on the inside of this camera oreo, and the same goes for an LED flash. The camera island shown here will likely protrude quite a bit on the back of the device. Xiaomi will use larger camera sensors.
The source pictured this phone in black and white colors here, with a vegan leather backplate., It’s quite possible that the phone will arrive in those colors, with that material on the back. Just note that these are not leaked renders, so these are not color leaks either. The real thing will likely look at least a bit different.
Apple’s highly anticipated M4 MacBook Air models are rumored to be in production for launch in 2025, with the brand’s M4 Mac Studio reportedly now being pushed back and becoming a secondary focus.
This rumor comes from well-known Apple hardware leaker Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, months after Apple’s reveal of the brand-new M4 chip, which delivers a dramatic jump in performance across multiple devices – the original announcement showcased the power of the new chip, which we further discuss in our M4 iPad Pro review, improving on the M3’s 10-core GPU and introducing a new CPU with 10 cores.
The new leak suggests that the M4 chip could be present within upcoming new Mac mini and Mac Studio models, but the MacBook Air may be the sole focus for now going into 2025. Apple reportedly has no plans to change the design of the MacBook Air models, with the M4 chip being the primary upgrade.
So what’s the schedule?
As reported by Gurman, Apple had originally planned to work on the enhanced Mac Studio alongside the aforementioned M4 MacBook Air in early 2025. This schedule has apparently now changed to a period between March and June next year – if Gurman is correct, this would be after the expected launch of the MacBook Air M4 models.
Advertisement
Considering the dropping sales of Mac devices, it’s no surprise to see Apple stepping up production of updated MacBook Air models for early next year – if the M4 iPad Pro is anything to go by, then anyone getting their hands on the upcoming laptops should expect substantial performance improvements over the M3 MacBook Air.
The unannounced M4 MacBook Pro is also expected to be unveiled at some point, with a potential reveal in the coming days – though this is only based on different leaks from Gurman. We expect Apple to also reveal new M4 Max chips alongside the upcoming MacBook Pro models, which we anticipate will offer a significant improvement over the M3 Max.
After successfully completing SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and the rest of the crew returned to Earth on Sunday.
SpaceX’s capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida’s Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.
This was the first privately funded spacewalk mission. The mission was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis pulled off a spacewalk while orbiting nearly 460 miles (740 kilometres) above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometres) following Tuesday’s liftoff.
Isaacman became the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965, and Gillis the 265th.
Until now, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts through government-funded missions.
During Thursday’s commercial spacewalk, the Dragon capsule’s hatch was open barely a half-hour. Isaacman emerged only up to his waist to briefly test SpaceX’s brand-new spacesuit followed by Gillis, who was knee-high as she flexed her arms and legs for several minutes.
“From here Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman after the spacewalk.
This was Isaacman’s second chartered flight with SpaceX, with two more still remaining under the Polaris Dawn Mission.
So far about 263 people have conducted a spacewalk representing 12 countries.
Netflix’s television slate has been excellent in October. Outer Banks season 4 returned earlier this month, while The Diplomat season 2 returns on October 31. Reality fans were happy to see Love Is Blind season 7 return to Netflix. Make sure to tune into the finale on October 30 for an in-depth breakdown of all the drama.
On the movie side, Netflix will ramp up its Oscars slate in November and December with Emilia Pérez and The Piano Lesson. However, the end of October means several movies will be departing Netflix for the foreseeable future. Make sure to watch these movies before the month ends. Our recommendation includes a delightful A24 love story, a family-friendly adventure, and a dazzling musical.
A24 is now one of the most well-respected distributors in Hollywood. In 2013, A24 was in its initial stages as an independent entertainment company that embraced originality and empowered filmmakers. One of the first films it released was The Spectacular Now, James Ponsoldt’s charming coming-of-age movie from the writers of 500 Days of Summer.
For Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), there is no tomorrow. Sutter is a popular high school senior who loves to drink, party, and have a good time. His girlfriend, Cassidy Roy (Brie Larson), breaks up with him, thinking they have no future together. After getting drunk to soothe the pain, Sutter wakes up on the lawn of Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), his kind and quiet classmate.
Advertisement
The Spectacular Now Official Trailer #1 (2013) – Shailene Woodley Movie HD
The two begin an unexpected relationship that grows into a romance. The Spectacular Now is an effective love story about two teens scared of their respective futures and how they rely on each other to face their own fears. It’s refreshing, heartfelt, and honest.
No actor in the last 50 years had more energy and on-screen zaniness than Robin Williams. Whether his movies were good or bad, the late comedian always turned in a memorable performance. Though mostly known for comedy, Williams’ charisma and liveliness were perfect for Jumanji, the dark fantasy adventure film about a magical board game.
In 1969, teenager Alan Parrish plays Jumanji, a dice-roll game featuring cryptic messages on a crystal ball. Unfortunately for Alan, his turn costs him his freedom, as he’s sucked into the game. Twenty-six years later, siblings Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) restart Jumanji and free Alan from the game.
JumanjiSony
However, Alan’s return brings the jungle’s fiercest predators, including lions and killer bugs, out of the game. The only way to stop the madness is to win. Jumanji is perfect for your next family movie night, especially if you’re craving an adventure.
It’s been nearly eight years since La La Land, and the ending remains as perfect and beautiful as ever. Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning musical stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as Mia and Sebastian, two artists looking for big breaks. Mia dreams of becoming an actress but spends her days working as a barista on the Warner Bros. backlot. Sebastian is an aspiring jazz musician who wants to stop playing terrible cover songs at parties and open his own club.
Their struggles bring them closer together, kicking off a whirlwind romance where they genuinely love each other. However, what happens when they lose sight of their dreams? Are Mia and Sebastian willing to sacrifice their love to achieve their goals? Backed by spectacular music and riveting performances, La La Land is an uplifting musical that gives hope to the dreamers.
When you’re hanging out at the pearly gates, don’t worry because Longfellow Deeds will bring the beers. Adam Sandler brings his sweet and lovable charm to Mr. Deeds, a 2002 comedy with an unexpected romance. Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) is the nicest guy in the small town of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire. This pizzeria owner’s life turns upside down when he discovers he is the great-nephew of Preston Blake (Harve Presnell), a recently deceased billionaire who leaves his fortune to his last living relative, Deeds.
Thrust into the spotlight, Deeds leaves his small town for the bright lights of New York City to settle this issue. Meanwhile, Babe Bennett is a tabloid reporter who sees Deeds’ story as her big break. To get closer to Deeds, she disguises herself as a humble school nurse named Pam Dawson. The small-town schtick works on Deeds. What Babe didn’t plan for is her falling in love with Deeds.
The Expendables is an unapologetic machismo film that embraces old-school action. Listen to this lineup of legends: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. If that doesn’t scream action, then what does?
If you need an elite group of fighters to get something done, you hire the Expendables. Led by Barney Ross (Stallone), the Expendables are tasked with overthrowing a Latin American dictator. However, the group realizes they’ve been double-crossed, which puts their lives in danger. With their mission compromised, the Expendables choose to do what they do best: go out with a fight.
Apple has been under the scrutiny of the US watchdogs for different reasons over the years. Now, a new problem seems to be knocking on the doors of the Cupertino tech giant. Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay a fine of $89 million over consumer failures.
Apple and Goldman Sachs fined over $89 million for consumer failure relating to Apple Card
The CFPB said mismanagement from both companies affected thousands of Apple Card users. The agency noted that Apple failed to send over tens of thousands of Apple Card disputes to Goldman Sachs. That’s not all, the CFPB also adds that “when Apple did send disputes to Goldman Sachs, the bank did not follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes.”
The agency also says that Apple and Goldman Sachs prematurely launched the Apple Card despite “third-party warnings.” The third parties reportedly warned both entities that the dispute system wasn’t ready due to technological issues at launch. The US watchdog says this failure left customers with unresolved transaction disputes and incorrect credit reports in some cases.
The CFPB also stated that both companies misled customers regarding interest-free payment plans although there was no such thing. This resulted in Apple Card users paying interest for purchasing gadgets like the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and more. The CFPB has ordered Apple to pay a fine of $25 million for consumer failures.
Advertisement
Whereas, Goldman Sachs received a fine of $45 million. In addition, the agency has banned Goldman Sachs from launching a new credit card. The agency adds that it won’t lift this ban “unless it (Goldman Sachs) can provide a credible plan that the product will actually comply with the law.” Additionally, the CFPB has also ordered Goldman Sachs to pay $20 million to the affected customers as compensation.
Apple and Goldman Sachs have responded right after the order was passed
Both Apple and Goldman Sachs have reportedly issued statements about the recent order from the CFPB. In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said “Apple Card is one of the most consumer-friendly credit cards available and was specifically designed to support users’ financial health. Upon learning about these inadvertent issues years ago, Apple worked closely with Goldman Sachs to quickly address them and help impacted customers.”
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs expressed its satisfaction upon reaching a resolution with the agency in this matter. One of the company’s spokespersons said “We worked diligently to address certain technological and operational challenges that we experienced after launch and have already handled them with impacted customers.”
Intel just won an epic battle with the European Union over a €1.06 billion ($1.1 billion) fine levied way back in 2009, Bloomberg reported. In a final decision, the EU Court of Justice overturned the original judgement, ruling that regulators didn’t provide sufficient proof that Intel gave illegal rebates to PC makers. Intel’s European misadventures aren’t quite finished yet, though, as it’s still battling a €376 million fine ($406 million) imposed by the Commission last year.
Back in 2009, the EU ruled that Intel illegally used hidden rebates to squeeze rivals out of the marketplace for CPUs. It also found that Intel paid manufacturers to delay or completely cease the launch of products powered by AMD’s CPUs, calling those actions “naked restrictions.” The legal process went back and forth for years after that, but in 2017, Europe’s highest court ordered the fine to be re-examined as the EU didn’t conduct an economic assessment on how Intel’s actions impacted rivals.
Europe’s second highest court confirmed that the Commission carried out an incomplete analysis and overturned the €1.06 billion fine back in 2022. At the time, it said that the EU couldn’t establish if Intel’s rebates were “capable of having, or were likely to have, anticompetitive effects” due to the incomplete analysis.
The Commission launched an appeal to that ruling, but the EU Court of Justice has now upheld it. Still, Intel never appealed the “naked restrictions” part of past decisions, so last year the Commission imposed a new €376 million fine on that basis. Intel is also fighting that penalty too, though, and has sued the EU to recoup interest on the original, larger fine.
Advertisement
The processor landscape has changed drastically since the original 2009 ruling, of course. Back then, Intel ruled the PC roost with an 81 percent CPU market share, compared to 12 percent for AMD. Today, Intel’s share is down to 63 percent and the company has struggled in the area of chip production next to rival TSMC, which manufacturers the bulk of AMD and NVIDIA’s CPUs, GPUs and AI processors. Ironically, Intel has outsourced a large chunk of its production to TSMC and other foundries, to the tune of around 30 percent. Luckily, despite its manufacturing problems, it does appear to have excellent legal counsel.
Sequence, the all-in-one platform for building Web3 games, has partnered with Google Cloud Marketplace to widen its reach to game developers.
This milestone brings a comprehensive suite of Web3 development tools and solutions directly to game developers, simplifying the integration of blockchain technology into their games.
Sequence will be listed on Google Cloud Marketplace as an integrated provider of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) technology to Google Cloud customers, said Michael Sanders, cofounder and chief storyteller, in an interview with GamesBeat.
Google Cloud Marketplace enables software vendors to offer their products and services directly through Google Cloud, providing a convenient platform for users to discover, purchase, and deploy software solutions.
Advertisement
By making Sequence (a division of Horizon Blockchain Games) available on Google Cloud Marketplace, developers can now leverage innovative blockchain technology to enhance user acquisition, monetization, and retention as part of the full suite of their game’s backend.
“We launched on Google Cloud Marketplace as the integrated provider of EVM technology,” Sanders said.
Sam Barberie, head of strategy and partnerships at Sequence, in an interview with GamesBeat that Google vetted the blockchain ecosystem and saw Sequence as a leader in solving Web3 game development problems.
Barberie said, “The benefit is now that we’ve gone live and we both have the opportunity to help integrate Web3 and EVM for every Google Cloud Client. And so now that we’re on the marketplace and the Sequence stack is built on Google Cloud. We’ve already had a deep integration with the Google Cloud ecosystem for a while, but it means that developers can just get access to Sequence and begin the integration for any game, like be an existing triple-A developer wanting to integrate with Web3, or a new studio that is building a game with Web3 capabilities for the first time.”
Advertisement
Google also has a relationship with Aptos, but most of the global blockchain activity is in EVM and that steered Google in Sequence’s direction, Barberie said.
“EVM is the go-to tech here,” he said. “It has the largest developer ecosystem.”
The context
Sequence makes it easy for game devs to adopt crypto wallets.
Developers globally are integrating Web3 into existing and new games to enhance developer economics and reward players. The gaming industry has a range of challenges.
Barberie said, “Last year, Google Cloud focused on leveraging blockchain technology to solve what they saw as universal developer problems, where user acquisition costs are up 431%, development costs are up 20% and player spend is up only 1%. They’re thinking of Web3 as a way to harness and accelerate the market. So Google aproached us.”
Game makers who integrate Sequence note significant changes in game performance, including 4.5 times day 30 retention, 7.2 times average revenue per user, and 20%-plus incremental revenue.
Advertisement
Sequence leverages the benefits of Web3 for all players across platforms with invisible wallet solutions, boost player acquisition with targeted analytics and marketing tools, and retain users with custom loyalty rewards.
And Sequence can help devs utilize a comprehensive web3 gaming backend stack, real-time blockchain data access, and seamless integration with popular game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine across devices. Sequence SDK suite is also the first EVM-based verified solution on both Unity Asset Store and Unreal Engine Marketplace.
“We’re excited to bring Sequence to Google Cloud Marketplace,” said Greg Canessa, president and COO at Sequence, in a statement. “This collaboration empowers game developers to leverage the player and developer benefits of Web3, allowing them to focus on creative execution and delivering amazing games. Our vision of dynamic, living games and solutions that solve universal game developer challenges aligns with Google Cloud, and we’re pleased to support game developers in building visionary experiences.”
Advertisement
The Sequence platform supports all EVM chains, including layer 1s, layer 2s, and layer 3/app chains. As the simplest and most comprehensive Web3 development platform, Sequence is built for flexibility and is trusted by game publishers and studios, Sanders said.
“Bringing Sequence to Google Cloud Marketplace will help customers quickly deploy, manage, and grow the Web3 game development platform on Google Cloud’s trusted, global infrastructure,” said Dai Vu, managing director for marketplace and ISV GTM Programs at Google Cloud, in a statement. “Sequence can now securely scale and support customers on their digital transformation journeys.”
Sequence has 65 employees. It powers thousands of game developers who have millions of players. There have been $5.3 billion in transactions using Sequence’s technology.
Sequence helps onboard, monetize, grow, and retain players with its Web3 technology. From collectibles and ownable rewards to fully on-chain experiences, Sequence’s easy-to-integrate platform solves blockchain complexities, so developers can focus on creative execution and delivering amazing player experiences. Sequence is backed by Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, Xsolla, Bitkraft, Brevan Howard, Coinbase, Polygon, and more.
Advertisement
Ubisoft is using Sequence for a couple of its Web3 games. Sequence also has Off the Grid, a battle royale game that was just launched by Gunzilla Games. Popular streamers like Ninja and TimtheTatman touted the game during its recent launch.
GB Daily
Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily
You must be logged in to post a comment Login