New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) From meticulously choosing which photos to keep to freely downloading large apps, smartphone usage has transformed. This evolution mirrors the remarkable growth of our digital lives, with smartphone storage evolving from a few precious megabytes to commonplace gigabytes and emerging terabytes.

This shift is fuelled by our reliance on smartphones for social media, gaming, and even as primary computing devices, all demanding significant storage capacity. Early smartphones, limited by internal storage, often forced users to rely on expensive external memory cards. However, technological advancements led to larger internal storage capacities at lower prices, ushering in an era where our digital lives fit comfortably in our pockets.

Yet, the desire for more storage persists. Today’s smartphone users expect more – more freedom to create, download, and explore without constantly worrying about storage limits. They crave a seamless digital experience, and ample storage is the foundation upon which that experience is built.

realme understands this requirement and is taking a bold step to empower users with memory freedom. With its upcoming 13 Pro Series 5G, and subsequent launches, realme promises that every future Number Pro Series will come standard with a 512GB memory option.

Imagine the possibilities: storing approximately 1,940 episodes of your favorite dramas, 120,000 songs, or a staggering 120,000 photos – all without worrying about running out of space. But realme doesn’t stop there. The 13 Pro Series 5G takes performance to the next level with two RAM options: a blazing-fast 12GB+12GB Dynamic RAM configuration and a highly capable 8GB RAM variant.

The 12GB+12GB option is a true game-changer. Utilising realme’s innovative DRE dynamic memory expansion technology, the phone can intelligently convert unused ROM storage into virtual RAM, effectively boosting total RAM to an incredible 24GB. This means smoother multitasking, lightning-fast app switching, and a lag-free experience even when running demanding games or applications.

For users who prioritise efficiency, the 8GB RAM variant offers exceptional performance with the option to expand RAM further using DRE technology. Users can choose between 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of expansion, tailoring the phone’s performance to their specific needs.

This potent combination of generous storage and adaptable RAM translates to a blazing-fast user experience, as evidenced by impressive AnTuTu benchmark scores. The 13 Pro Series 5G is designed to handle even the most demanding tasks with ease, setting a new standard for performance and storage capacity in its class.

The realme 13 Pro Series 5G is poised to redefine expectations for smartphone capability, making high-performance features and expansive storage accessible to a wider audience. Mark your calendars for July 30th, when realme unleashes the power of the 13 Pro Series 5G and its commitment to democratising smartphone storage.

–IANS

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San Francisco, July 31 (IANS) Artificial intelligence (AI) assistant Copilot accounted for over 40 per cent of GitHub’s revenue growth this year as the annual revenue run rate of the open-sourced developer platform has reached $2 billion, according to Satya Nadella, Microsoft Chairman and CEO.

During the company’s quarterly earnings call, where it posted $245 billion in revenue (up 15 per cent on-year), Nadella said it is already a larger business than all of GitHub was when they acquired it.

“We are also integrating generative AI across Power Platform, enabling anyone to use natural language to create apps, automate workflows or build a website,” he told analysts.

Over 480,000 organisations have used AI-powered capabilities in Power Platform, up 45 per cent (on-quarter).

“In total, we now have 48 million monthly active users of Power Platform, up 40 per cent year over year,” informed the Microsoft CEO.

The number of people who use Copilot daily at work nearly doubled quarter over quarter as they use it to complete tasks faster, hold more effective meetings and automate business workflows and processes.

Copilot customers increased more than 60 per cent quarter-over-quarter.

Nadella said that Teams premium has surpassed 3 million seats, up nearly 400 per cent YoY.

“We are delighted by early reviews, and we are looking forward to the introduction of more Copilot Plus PCs powered by all of our silicon and OEM partners in the coming months,” he said, adding that Windows 11 active devices increased 50 per cent YoY.

In gaming, the company has over 500 million monthly active users across platforms.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Customer service calls on hold resulted in a massive loss of 15 billion hours for Indians last year, resulting in likely $55 billion in economic loss output, a report revealed on Wednesday.

An average person spends more than one day each year on hold to address an issue or complaint (30.7 hours), according to new research from the AI platform ServiceNow.

Slow service solutions mean the average employee is spending 3.9 days to resolve each customer issue, the report noted.

“Indian businesses are at risk of losing two-thirds of their customer base in 2024 due to slow service solutions,” said Sumeet Mathur, SVP and Managing Director, ServiceNow India Technology and Business Centre.

Structural problems are pushing wait times further with 48 per cent of Indians identifying inefficient internal communication as a major issue for customer service delays, while 47 per cent say customer service staff lack decision-making power.

About 66 per cent of respondents said they would consider switching to another company if their issue is not resolved within three working days.

“Businesses that can’t meet that standard must act, installing AI-powered self-service options available at the consumers’ fingertips,” Mathur added.

Over half of Indians say their trust in chatbots (55 per cent) and self-help guides (56 per cent) has also increased.

The study showed a notable surge in trust towards AI among Indians, with two-thirds (66 per cent) expressing confidence in GenAI to deliver good customer service.

“In an era where customer retention is increasingly challenging, it is time for enterprises to put AI to work and drive growth, improve efficiency, and deliver superior customer experiences in a competitive business landscape,” said Mathur.

Close to 60 per cent of Indians would like to see customer service teams improve their speed of resolution while half would like to see a reduction in the time spent on hold, the findings showed.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 31 (IANS) Exports of passenger cars reached a record high in the second quarter (Q2) of this year on solid demand from the United States and Canada, data showed on Wednesday.

South Korean carmakers shipped $17.8 billion worth of passenger cars over the April-June period, up 6.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service.

It marked the highest quarterly figure ever and the ninth consecutive quarterly growth, it added.

During the first six months of 2024, car exports added 4.9 percent on-year to $33.6 billion, also a record level for any six-month period, reports Yonhap news agency.

Imports sank 25.3 per cent in the second quarter to $3.4 billion, the fourth consecutive on-year fall.

The growth in outbound shipments was driven by rising demand for mid- and large-sized petrol cars, while the value of eco-friendly cars exported inched down from a year earlier.

Of eco-friendly cars, the export value of hybrid cars reached an all-time high of $3.02 billion in the second quarter, the data showed.

By destination, exports to the U.S. advanced 33.2 per cent in terms of value in the second quarter, with those to Canada and Australia rising 14.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively.

But demand from Britain fell 8.1 per cent and that from France tumbled 34.9 per cent.

The average price of cars shipped in the second quarter rose 1.1 per cent on-year to $23,097.

That of imports slid 22.7 per cent on-year to $39,595, the agency said.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 31 (IANS) Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday its second quarter (Q2) operating profit surged more than 15 times from a year earlier on the robust performance of its semiconductor business.

The world’s largest mobile phone and memory chip maker’s operating profit reached 10.44 trillion won ($7.54 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 668.5 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

It is the first time that Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of more than 10 trillion won in seven quarters since the third quarter of 2022. Its sales jumped 23.4 per cent on-year to 74.06 trillion won and net profit soared 471 percent to 9.84 trillion won.

Sales and shipments of its latest Galaxy S24 series, released in January, outnumbered those of its predecessor, Galaxy S23, both in the second quarter and the first half.

“In the second half of 2024, overall demand for smartphones is expected to increase year-on-year, with increased demand for premium products, driven by growing demand for AI and the launch of new products with innovative features,” the company said.

The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of operating profit by analysts stood at 10.29 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Samsung said it invested 8.05 trillion won in research and development in the quarter ending in June. It also spent 12.1 trillion won in facility investment, including 9.9 trillion won in the semiconductor sector.

The company said its chip business earned 28.6 trillion won in sales for the three-month period through June, with an operating profit of 6.45 trillion won.

It marked the first quarterly operating profit for the company’s flagship business in more than one year as it had remained in the red for five consecutive quarters since the first quarter of 2023.

The strong performance was driven by increasing demand for memory chips, including those for artificial intelligence servers and solid-state drives.

Samsung’s TV business also expanded in the April-June period thanks to global sporting events, such as the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, while its conventional home appliance segment was on a gradual recovery on increasing demand for air conditioners and new products.

–IANS

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