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US judge temporarily halts Activision Blizzard buyout to Microsoft

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In an attempt to prevent competitors from going out of the competition, US regulators were granted approval for a request to stop the buyout of Activision Blizzard to technology colossus Microsoft for $69 billion.

According to the court, the temporary restraining order “is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending.”

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the deal could “substantially lessen competition in the sector”.

The hearing of the case is set to take place from June 22 to 24 in San Francisco.

If the deal with Activision Blizzard — a company behind Call of Duty and Candy Crush — is successful, it would be the biggest deal ever in the history of the video gaming industry.

According to BBC, it has split competition regulators in the UK, the US and Europe.

The UK restrained the buyout while the European Union (EU) approved it. For the successful conclusion of the deal, Microsoft and Activision require permission from the US, the UK and EU regulators.

The deal would give Microsoft’s Xbox console exclusive access to Activision games, leaving competitors Nintendo and Sony out in the cold, argued the FTC.

A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California, US. — Reuters/File
A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California, US. — Reuters/File

The companies have a time limit of June 16 to submit their arguments to oppose the preliminary injunction and the FTC will have to reply on 20 June.

Microsoft said a takeover of Activision would benefit gaming companies and players.

It has offered to sign a legally binding agreement with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals including Sony for a decade.

The European Commission approved the acquisition and said that Microsoft’s offer of 10-year free licensing deals — which promise European consumers and cloud game streaming services access to Activision’s PC and console games — means there would be fair competition in the market.

But the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal in April. It maintained that it was concerned the takeover would offer reduced innovation and less choice for gamers.

The companies criticized CMA’s decision and said they would file an appeal.

Brad Smith, Microsoft president said it marked the company’s “darkest day” in its four decades of working in Britain.

In response to the announcement by the FTC Monday, Smith noted that Microsoft welcomed the “opportunity to present our case in federal court” in its attempt to persuade US regulators to allow the deal to be completed.

“We believe accelerating the legal process in the US will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market,” he added.

The buyout of Activision is regarded as crucial for Microsoft, which is trying to catch up with its main competitor Sony.

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AI detecting techniques are going to be introduced by YouTube.

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The artificial intelligence (AI) tools that YouTube plans to introduce have been unveiled. Using artificial intelligence technology, these technologies intend to assist in identifying individuals, voices, and music inside videos found on YouTube.

With the help of artificial intelligence synthetic sounds, the company has improved its Content ID system so that it can identify instances of copyright violations in songs.

The new function, which identifies artificial sounds emulating those of artificial singers, notifies users. The first edition will be made available to the public the next year, and then it will be taken to a more widespread audience.

A feature that will assist in recognizing deepfake faces in videos is also being introduced by YouTube.

It will be possible for consumers to be aware of the fact that their faces are being utilized in videos that were produced by artificial intelligence without their permission.

A greater degree of control over the video platform is intended to be granted to celebrities and artists.

Those who are impacted have the ability to contact YouTube’s privacy request mechanism in order to request that films of this nature be removed from the platform.

A guideline that previously designated such videos as artificial intelligence or content that was misleading is currently being strengthened and modified by the firm.

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Users of WhatsApp will be able to access status updates straight from the viewer list.

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This feature is being expanded to include the sheet that shows who has viewed your status in the most recent update of the Meta-owned app. From now on, if a contact in the viewer list has also shared a status update, users will see a green circle around that contact’s photo.

Focusing on enhancing exposure and accessibility to fresh content, WhatsApp is exploring new features to improve the status update user experience, according to a WABetaInfo report. We learned that WhatsApp is rolling out the feature to open status updates from the viewer list thanks to the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.19.4 update, which is accessible on the Google Play Store.”

WhatsApp users can now view who has posted new material without having to navigate via the status updates tab, making it easier to remain up to date with status updates.

As to the report, “We think this enhances the user experience by simplifying the interaction with status updates from various entry points within the application.”

With the most recent version of WhatsApp beta for Android loaded from the Google Play Store, a select group of beta testers can now access the functionality; other users should be able to access it in the very near future.

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The Apple iPhone 16 event showcases new watches, AirPods, and AI power.

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“Apple Intelligence was the driving force behind the design of the upcoming iPhone generation. “At a product introduction, Chief Executive Tim Cook declared that it signified the start of an exciting new age.

Apple’s stock finished the day hardly altered at $220.91. The competitive issue that Apple confronts is highlighted by the timing of its event, which took place just hours before China’s Huawei (HWT.UL) unveiled a tri-fold phone. To power the 16s, Apple has not yet revealed its AI partner in China.

Phones are anticipated to be one of the key arenas for the competition between Apple and other tech giants worldwide to include AI into their products. The corporation, located in Cupertino, California, is also placing bets that the AI function would encourage customers to upgrade in the midst of dropping iPhone sales.

According to corporate insiders, Siri will be enhanced with Apple Intelligence, the AI program, to include features like object recognition and understanding from phone cameras.

The English language version of the U.S. will have access to a test version of Apple Intelligence starting next month. It will be accessible in December for further English localizations; versions in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish will follow the following year. According to Apple, features will be released gradually, including enhancements for Siri. But it didn’t specify when it would go past testing.

With an aluminum case and updated chip, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will cost the same as the versions they replace. One of the most praised hardware elements in a format resembling earlier models was an adjustable button that could operate the camera.

With titanium construction and enhanced AI capabilities, the more expensive iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max can advise better photo shoot setups and offer audio editing tools targeted at high-end video production.

With particular capabilities designed to accelerate AI applications, Apple’s new iPhone CPUs are built on the most recent iteration of Arm’s architecture.

“Upgrading would likely entice existing iPhone owners who have owned their smartphone for 3–4 years, even if some features are trickling out later, as this will future-proof their device for AI,” said Nabila Popal, an analyst at International Data Corp.

However, many potential customers were first kept off the market by the feature delays, according to multiple analysts.

It is possible that individuals will hold off on starting research until they have a better understanding of how these things operate. TECHnalysis Research founder Bob O’Donnell stated, “But I don’t think we’ll see the mad rush that we’ve seen in years past.”

On the other hand, Huawei’s website said on Monday that it had received over 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped tri-fold phone before it was formally unveiled. In China, where customers yearn for more AI features and are prepared to pay for them, this highlights Huawei’s capacity to get around US restrictions and strengthens its position against Apple.

Airpods and watches
Apple also introduced upgraded hardware design along with new Watches and AirPods with health-focused features. Apple highlighted the Watch’s capacity to identify and react to emergencies like falls as well as longer-term health concerns like sleep apnea.

Apple released hearing-aid features that it has submitted for regulatory assessment in the United States together with the AirPods upgrade.

The new AI-powered phones have been anticipated by Apple enthusiasts worldwide. Of Apple’s $383 billion in revenue last year, more than half came from iPhones.

According to D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, “Apple has packaged them well and will be able to market them far more broadly, even though Android phones may have some of these features.”

China presents unique difficulties for Apple.

According to Gadjo Sevilla, a senior technology analyst at eMarketer, “Apple dropped out of the top five smartphone vendors in China in Q2.” For the first time, indigenous Chinese smartphone companies occupied all five positions. Apple Intelligence won’t probably be a major factor in the region’s adoption at first because Beijing still has to give its approval before it can be implemented in China.

Early this year, Apple drastically reduced pricing in China as a result of local competition and government constraints.

Although the AI features are anticipated to be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the high-end models of the previous generation, the iPhone 16 lineup is the first Apple smartphones built around them.

Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) rivals open a new tab In an effort to challenge Apple’s hegemony in the high-end smartphone market, Google is also displaying AI technologies.

Google, the company behind the Android operating system, which rivals Apple’s iOS, concentrated on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities during the Pixel smartphone launch event in August. One such feature is Gemini Live, which enables users to have live speech conversations with a digital assistant.

Many of the artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that Google had revealed were also made available for Android-based devices from manufacturers including Motorola (MSI.N) and Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab.

In June, a week following its developer conference, Apple announced that European Union tech regulations will cause it to postpone the rollout of AI-powered features in that region.

In China, Huawei plans to formally unveil the Mate XT Z-fold phone on Tuesday.

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