Samsung’s new A Series devices, including the A72, are geared at more price-conscious consumers.
Samsung
Samsung’s new mainstream phone lineup has arrived, with three models: the A52, A52 5G and A72. The new devices boast some higher-end specs but cost less than their Galaxy S siblings, something that will likely make them attractive to a wide range of buyers.
Compared with the Galaxy S21 lineup, the new Galaxy A series phones all come with features dropped from the company’s high-end devices that many consumers love: headphone jacks, MicroSD card slots to expand the memory up to 1TB and chargers in the box. They also tout two-day battery life, four camera lenses on the back and Super AMOLED screens.
But the biggest selling point for the phones is the price. Internationally, the Galaxy A52 costs 349 euros (approximately $415, AU$540), the A52 5G retails for 429 euros ($510, AU$660) and the A72 is 449 euros ($534, AU$690). The devices are available in some markets Wednesday, though Samsung didn’t detail which ones and it hasn’t yet provided US pricing. (In the UK, the Galaxy A52 5G is available now for £399 and the A72 for £419. The regular A52 isn’t on sale there.)
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Big features arrive on the budget Samsung A series
“This is a competitive price point considering the amount of tech they have,” Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said. And for the cost, consumers are getting the bells and whistles they really need. This “is not a compromised experience,” she said.
Samsung showed off the new A family on Wednesday during a virtual Unpacked launch, an event previously reserved for its highest-end and most important devices. In mid-January, Samsung introduced its new flagship phone lineup — Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra — during its first virtual Unpacked of the year. This time around, Samsung dubbed its event the Galaxy Awesome Unpacked to explain how it’s “bringing Awesome to everyone” with its new Galaxy A devices.
Samsung’s bigger push with the A series this year reflects the reality we’re all living in. Phone designs aren’t changing much from year to year, and consumers are holding onto devices for longer, about three years in the US versus two in the past. At the same time, the pandemic has hurt millions of people financially. While high-end specs and cutting-edge features are nice for attention and buzz, people still care about what they’re spending on phones — especially right now.
Galaxy A devices have been sold internationally for years but didn’t come to the US as a full lineup until 2020. They turned out to be the right phones for the times. Three out of every four Samsung phones shipped around the world last year were Galaxy A devices, according to Strategy Analytics. In the US, where there’s often a bigger market for pricey phones than in many other regions, the A family’s shipments surpassed those of the S lineup, 26% to 19%, Strategy Analytics said.
“The Galaxy A series is designed to make Samsung’s latest cutting-edge product more accessible to a wider audience than ever before,” TM Roh, the head of Samsung’s mobile business, said in an FAQ provided to reporters ahead of the event. “Price point shouldn’t be a limiting factor when choosing technology.”
Get a look at Samsung’s new Galaxy A52, A52 5G, A72 phones
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All of A’s specs
Last year’s Galaxy A lineup included four 4G LTE phones and two 5G models. They ranged from $110 for the Galaxy A10 to $650 for the Galaxy A71 5G on Verizon’s network (it’s $600 at other carriers without super-fast 5G millimeter-wave connectivity). All came with some high-end features, though they weren’t nearly as premium as the specs found in the Galaxy S, Note and foldables. And none came close to the price tag for Samsung’s premium phones, which started at $1,000 for the Galaxy S20.
This year, Samsung introduced three new models, the 6.5-inch Galaxy A52 and A52 5G and the 6.7-inch Galaxy A72. Right now, only one model, the A52 5G, can connect to 5G networks, and at least initially, the device only works on the slower but more reliable sub-6GHz. Samsung has two other A family 5G models that it previously announced, the A32 5G and the A42 5G.
Samsung’s Galaxy A52 comes in four color options.
Samsung
“While each market is in a different stage of its 5G journey, we are committed to rolling out 5G-ready devices so users can have tomorrow’s technology today and reap the benefits of 5G as soon as it rolls out in their region, be that next week, next month or next year,” KJ Kim, head of Samsung’s mobile R&D office, said in an FAQ ahead of the event.
He added that providing software updates for longer periods will allow consumers to hold onto their devices longer than before. The new A family will receive three generations of Android OS updates and at least four years of security updates.
All three new phones have big batteries, with the A52 models sporting 4,500-mAh batteries and the A72 packing in a 5,000-mAh battery. By comparison, the Galaxy S21 includes a 4,000-mAh battery, while the S21 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery. The A52, A52 5G and A72 come with 25-watt fast charging and come with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
All three have a 32-megapixel front-facing camera and four rear-facing cameras, including 64-megapixel main lenses, 12-megapixel ultrawide lenses and 5-megapixel macro lenses. The A52 models also have 5-megapixel depth cameras and have digital zoom up to 10x, while the A72 has an 8-megapixel telephoto lens capable of digital zoom up to 30x and optical zoom at 3x.
Samsung’s Galaxy A52 comes with a 4G version or a 5G model.
Samsung
4K Video Snap lets users capture an 8-megapixel image from 4K video, while Scene Optimizer recognizes 30 different scenes — such as outdoor landscapes, pets and food — and automatically adjusts the camera settings for the best shots. The phones come with Night Mode to capture better photos in low-light situations, and they feature some pro video features. Users can set up their own photo filters with My Filter, customize their own AR Emoji and apply AR lenses from Snapchat with Fund Mode right from the native camera app.
The A52 and A52 5G have 6.5-inch FHD Plus Super AMOLED Infinity-O displays, and the 5G version has a 120Hz refresh rate. The regular A52 and A72 screens have 90Hz refresh rates, and all three have Samsung’s Eye Comfort Shield that automatically adjusts the blue light emitted by the phones based on the time of day.
The three devices have new stereo speakers that can increase volume up to 43% from older models. They’re available in Awesome Violet, Awesome Blue, Awesome Black and Awesome White. And they all come with the charging brick in the box, something Samsung has moved away from in its flagship phones.
“For many users, the Galaxy A series is their first Galaxy smartphone, and may not have the full ecosystem of Galaxy accessories at their fingertips,” Woncheol Chai, senior vice president and head of the experience planning team in Samsung’s mobile communications business, said in an FAQ provided to reporters ahead of the event. Samsung isn’t including headphones in the box with its new A series phones, and Chai hinted that future phones in the A Series may not come with chargers.
“Samsung is working on the global transition of the removal of the charger plug and earphones from Galaxy smartphones,” he said.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.
There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.
Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.
“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.
But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.
Copenhagen, 22.10.2024 – COBOD International, the global leader in 3D construction printing technology, proudly introduces the BOD3 3D Construction Printer for 3D printing of real concrete. Equipped with an extendable ground-based track system, the BOD3 advances the construction process by eliminating printer downtime between multiple buildings on the same site, setting anew benchmark for productivity and efficiency. The BOD3 is the most advanced solution for high-volume low-rise construction and a very effective alternative to conventional construction methods.
The heart and key feature of the new BOD3 3D printer is the advanced extendable ground-based track system. This system enables limitless extension along the Y-axes (length), expanding the printable area to cover 2 or 3 buildings, and reducing setup time to a single installation for multi-building projects. It’s a game-changer, allowing continuous, uninterrupted printing across large sites, increasing efficiency for high volume and mass production at an unmatchable scale.
Render of COBOD BOD3 3D Construction Printer.
The BOD3, COBOD’s third printer model, is the outstanding achievement of years of dedicated research, development, and close collaboration with customers. It is a vital advancement in automated construction technology, directly addressing the urgent global demand for faster, smarter, more efficient and sustainable building solutions. Like every COBOD 3D printer, the BOD3’s modular design offers customization, allowing it to easily adapt to any customer’s size wishes in addition to complying with the various sizes of construction sites anywhere in the world.
The BOD3 follows COBOD’s vision to build smarter through automation. Its operational stand combines the control and monitoring of both the 3D printer and supplementary equipment in one user-friendly system. The Advanced Hose Management System (AHMS) transports 3D printable material from the materials delivery system to the printhead via hoses secured within E-chains, minimizing physical labor and optimizing material flow. With the addition of the dual dosing system for additives, operators can better control the concrete and adapt it to onsite environmental conditions. By introducing additives directly at the printhead, the system reduces drying time between layers, speeding up the overall construction process. Designed for easy operation and precision, the BOD3 can be operated by a small, trained, and certified team, reducing the costs of projects.
Incorporating the innovative Universal X-Carriage, the BOD3 is ready for future COBOD advancements and technologies, like the introduction of additional tools for the printer aimed at insulating, painting, sanding, etc. This ensures long-term versatility and performance that will keep the BOD3 at the forefront of the industry for years to come.
Universal X-Carriage with Printhead.
Already deployed to the global market, the BOD3 is currently active in Indonesia, by Modula Tiga Dimensi, Angola, by Power2Build, andBahrain, by Ab’aad 3D. The customers report faster project execution with near-zero downtime between individual buildings on the same site. The projects showcase the BOD3’s ability to speed up construction and print with real concrete, with 99% locally sourced materials and 1% of innovative D.fab, a co-developed solution by COBOD and Cemex to make concrete 3D printable.
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder and General Manager of COBOD, commented on the BOD3: “The global housing crisis demands a more efficient construction solution that is faster, more efficient, and scalable. The BOD3 is our answer to this challenge. Drawing on years of research and expertise, we’ve designed the BOD3 with innovative features, making it our most cost-effective and efficient model yet for multiple low-rise buildings. Its design supports high-volume, linear production of houses, enabling mass production without compromising quality. The fact that six units have already been sold before its official launch speaks volumes about the BOD3’s market demand and the trust our customers place in our technology.”
Michael Holm, Chief Innovation Officer at COBOD, states, “The advanced ground-based track system was developed as a response to our customers’ needs to increase efficiency and productivity. Now the 3D construction printer can be easily extended, and multiple consecutive structures can be printed with minimal repositioning and zero downtime between projects, making 3D construction printing more efficient than ever before.”
The BOD3 is now available for purchase worldwide; for more information, please visit our website, www.cobod.com, or contact us at info@cobod.com.
COBOD stands as the global leader in supplying 3D printers for the construction sector, with over 80 printers distributed across North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Driven by a mission to revolutionize construction through multifunctional robots based on 3D printing, COBOD envisions automating half of the construction processes to achieve faster, cost-effective, sustainable results with enhanced design versatility.
From residential, commercial, and public buildings, COBOD’s 3D printers have been instrumental in erecting 1- to 3-story structures across all six inhabited continents. The innovative technology also extends to fabricate large-scale data centers, wind turbine towers, tanks, and more.
Embracing an open-source material approach, COBOD collaborates with global partners, including customers, academia, and suppliers. The company, backed by prominent shareholders such as General Electric, CEMEX, Holcim, and PERI, operates from its main office in Copenhagen, Denmark, and regional competence centers in Miami, Florida, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. COBOD’s dynamic team comprises over 100 professionals from 25 diverse nationalities.
ABOUT MODULA TIGA DIMENSI
PT Modula Tiga Dimensi is a joint venture between Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR) and COBOD. BNBR focuses on offering and providing solutions for housing backlog problems currently encountered by the country.
Teaming up with COBOD International, the company is now set to adopt the latest 3D printing construction technology and is ready to offer the Indonesian market a new and better solution to housing obstructions.
ABOUT POWER2BUILD
Reshaping the construction sector and adapting it to urgent human needs.
Power2Build is a technology company for the construction industry, prepared to establish partnerships with private, public, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so that they can make the transition to Build 4.0 through 3DCP.
We offer our clients value-added services and high-quality projects, always with a multidisciplinary approach that brings together the necessary experience to deal with complex issues.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.
Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.
Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?
A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.
Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?
A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.
The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.
Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.
Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?
A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.
Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?
A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.
Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?
A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.
Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.
The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.
Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?
A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.
