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The Great NFT Bubble: How 95% of Non-Fungible Tokens Became Worthless

NFT Bubble

The digital art world was once abuzz with the promise of NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens. These unique digital assets, often linked to art pieces, collectibles, or even tweets, were the talk of the town in late 2021 and early 2022. But a recent study reveals a shocking truth: a staggering 95% of these tokens are now economically worthless.

According to an analysis by dappGambl, the focus was primarily on NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, the most popular platform for creating, trading, and transferring these digital assets. The study identified 73,257 collections, out of which 69,795 had a market valuation equivalent to zero Ethereum (ETH).

While the study didn’t delve into NFTs on other networks like Solana, Polygon, or even Bitcoin with its controversial Ordinals, it’s logical to assume the trend is universal. The transaction volume for NFTs was a mere $80 million in July 2023, a drastic fall from the $2.8 billion in August 2021. This decline is a conclusive indicator that the NFT bubble has long since burst.

dappGambl also pointed out that the supply of NFTs significantly outweighs the demand. Currently, four out of every five NFTs remain unsold. This oversupply isn’t surprising, considering that during the peak of NFT popularity, collections were created for just about anything. For instance, the slap that Will Smith gave Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars quickly turned into a series of NFTs that were nothing more than memes of the event.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this downfall is the case of the first-ever tweet by Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s founder. Someone paid $2.9 million for the NFT of this tweet in March 2021. Fast forward to April 2022, and the highest offer for this digital asset was a paltry $280, far from the owner’s expectation of at least $48 million.

The decline in NFT value also coincided with the fall in cryptocurrency prices. When the market plummeted in mid-2022, NFTs took a severe hit. Many assets lost half or more of their dollar value almost overnight.

Despite the grim statistics, some NFT collections still hold market interest. According to dappGambl, about 8,850 NFT collections have the highest market valuation. Even within these, 1,614 are valued at zero dollars. Only 80 NFTs are worth more than $6,000, a far cry from the millions that used to be the norm.

Is this the end of the road for NFTs? Not necessarily. While most collections may be “dead,” the underlying technology still holds promise for practical applications. However, the initial hype was clearly overblown, and many are now paying the price for their FOMO.

So, the next time you think about jumping on the latest investment bandwagon, remember the cautionary tale of NFTs. They went from being the future of digital ownership to digital dustbins, almost in the blink of an eye.

The Comprehensive Guide to the Benefits of CRM

businessman working online

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have become indispensable tools for organizations of all sizes and industries. CRM technology empowers businesses to manage and nurture their relationships with customers efficiently, leading to improved customer satisfaction, increased sales, and sustainable growth. In this article, we will explore the multifaceted benefits of CRM systems for the business, shedding light on how they can transform the way you interact with customers and drive your business forward.

Streamlined Customer Information Management

A fundamental benefit of CRM is the centralization and organization of customer data. CRM systems allow businesses to collect and store valuable information about their customers, including contact details, purchase history, communication preferences, and more. This centralized data repository enables:

1. Enhanced Customer Understanding

CRM systems provide businesses with deep insights into customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing customer data, organizations can segment their audience, understand their needs, and tailor their products or services accordingly. This leads to more personalized and relevant interactions, ultimately fostering customer loyalty and retention.

2. Efficient Communication

With CRM, businesses can streamline their communication processes. Contacts, emails, phone calls, and even social media interactions can be managed from a single platform. This efficiency leads to quicker response times, improved customer service, and better customer experiences.

Improved Sales and Marketing

CRM systems have a significant impact on sales and marketing efforts. Here’s how:

3. Lead Management

CRM systems facilitate lead tracking and management. Sales teams can prioritize leads based on their stage in the sales funnel and engage with them at the right time. This results in higher conversion rates and improved sales performance.

4. Targeted Marketing

CRM systems enable businesses to create targeted marketing campaigns. By analyzing customer data, companies can identify the most receptive audience for their products or services. This precision in marketing leads to higher ROI and reduced ad spend wastage.

5. Sales Forecasting

CRM software often includes sales forecasting capabilities. By analyzing historical data and current trends, businesses can make informed predictions about future sales. This allows for better inventory management and resource allocation.

Enhanced Customer Service

CRM systems play a pivotal role in improving customer service:

6. Faster Issue Resolution

With access to customer data and interaction history, customer service teams can resolve issues more efficiently. This results in quicker resolutions and higher customer satisfaction.

7. Self-Service Options

Many CRM systems offer self-service portals for customers. These portals allow customers to find answers to common questions, track their orders, and update their information independently, reducing the workload on customer support teams.

Greater Collaboration

CRM systems promote collaboration within organizations:

8. Team Coordination

Sales, marketing, and customer service teams can collaborate seamlessly through CRM systems. Sharing customer information and insights ensures that everyone is on the same page, leading to more coordinated efforts.

9. Remote Work Support

In the era of remote work, CRM systems facilitate communication and collaboration among geographically dispersed teams. Team members can access customer data and collaborate from anywhere with an internet connection.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

CRM systems empower businesses to make data-driven decisions:

10. Business Intelligence

Many CRM systems come equipped with reporting and analytics tools. These tools provide actionable insights that can guide strategic decisions, helping businesses adapt to changing market conditions.

Scalability and Growth

CRM systems are scalable solutions that grow with your business:

11. Scalability

As your business expands, your CRM system can adapt to accommodate more customers, data, and users. This scalability ensures that your CRM remains effective as your operations grow.

12. Sustainable Growth

By fostering customer loyalty, improving sales, and optimizing processes, CRM systems contribute to sustainable business growth. Long-term relationships with satisfied customers are the foundation of success.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the benefits of CRM systems are far-reaching and transformative. From efficient customer data management to improved sales and marketing, enhanced customer service, and data-driven decision-making, CRM technology empowers businesses to thrive in a competitive marketplace.

Whether you’re a small startup or a global enterprise, implementing a CRM system can drive customer satisfaction, boost revenue, and lay the groundwork for sustained success. Embrace the power of CRM and unlock the full potential of your business relationships.

Alexa is Morphing Into a Chatbot Designed for Smart Home, Thanks to Generative AI

Alexa is Morphing Into a Chatbot

Amazon has announced that Alexa will undergo its most significant update ever, thanks to generative artificial intelligence. This isn’t just a facelift — it’s a complete transformation that could very well save a product that was once on the brink of becoming obsolete.

Amazon’s hardware and services event revealed that the new Alexa would be powered by a custom-made Large Language Model (LLM). This update will be integrated into all existing Echo devices and those slated for release from 2024. With the update, Alexa is morphing into a chatbot designed for the smart home, a radical shift that promises to make the assistant more versatile and engaging than ever before.

Amazon aims to retain many of Alexa’s existing features, particularly those related to controlling connected devices. However, the integration with generative AI will allow Alexa to utilize real-time information more effectively and offer improved conversational abilities. 

According to Amazon, the new virtual assistant has been trained using data captured from Echo’s cameras, microphones, and presence-detection systems. This training has enabled Alexa to provide more fluid responses with reduced latency, allowing for extended conversations with users. Moreover, the assistant can now understand nuances and ambiguities in language, making interactions feel less rigid and more natural.

The new Alexa isn’t just smart; it’s emotionally intelligent. Depending on the context, Alexa will modulate the tone of its responses. For instance, if you ask Alexa whether your team won a game, it will respond cheerfully if they did and empathetically if they didn’t. This emotional layer adds a new dimension to the user experience, making Alexa feel more like a friend sharing a viewpoint rather than a machine spitting out data.

One of the most intriguing features of the new Alexa is the “Let’s Chat” command. By simply saying, “Alexa, let’s chat,” you can initiate a conversation with the assistant. And it doesn’t stop there. On devices like the Echo Show, you can start a conversation just by looking at the screen, provided you have Visual ID activated. This feature adds a layer of accessibility and spontaneity, making Alexa not just a command-based assistant but a conversational partner.

Amazon’s vision for Alexa extends beyond being a mere gadget integrated into its devices. The company wants the assistant to serve a practical purpose in daily life. To that end, Alexa has been endowed with the ability to understand and program complex voice-dictated routines. The generative AI also enables Alexa to perform tasks akin to those of ChatGPT or Bard, such as drafting emails based on specific parameters or even creating and reciting stories and poems.

The preliminary version of this AI-powered Alexa will soon be available for free, but only in the United States. Amazon has yet to decide whether this advanced functionality will remain free forever. David Limp, the current head of Amazon’s services and devices, hinted that users might have to pay for access to the new technology in the future.

How Four Companies Are Outpacing ChatGPT in the AI Revolution

Boston Dynamics Pledge Not To Weaponize Their Robots

Remember the time when ChatGPT took the world by storm? It was the chatbot that could answer almost anything, making our lives easier across various sectors. But what if I told you that the future of AI is not just about chatbots? The real game-changer is humanoid robotics, and it’s already here.

What is Humanoid Robotics?

Before diving into the companies that are pioneering this field, let’s get a grip on what humanoid robotics actually is. These are robots designed to look and move like humans. They’re not just for show; they’re built to be efficient, reliable, and safe. Energy consumption, component reliability, and safety are the three pillars that guide their development.

The Pioneers in Humanoid Robotics

Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics Atlas

Boston Dynamics, a U.S.-based robotics company, is on a mission to “imagine and create exceptional robots that enrich people’s lives.” Acquired by Hyundai Motor Group in 2020, the company has been making waves with robots like ‘Spot’ and ‘Atlas.’ While Spot resembles a robotic dog, Atlas is more humanoid and is expected to assist in various sectors like construction. However, the company has faced criticism for the military use of its robots.

SoftBank Robotics

SoftBank Robotics Pepper

SoftBank Robotics is another key player, known for ‘Pepper,’ a humanoid robot specializing in social interactions. Acquired by Germany’s United Robotics Group, the company has nearly 200 employees and operates in over 70 countries. Their robots are already serving the public in retail, healthcare, and education sectors.

Toyota Research Institute

Toyota Research Institute T-HR3

Toyota isn’t just about cars anymore. Their robot ‘T-HR3’ can mimic human actions and even provide force feedback to the operator. It’s a teleoperated robot that can perform flexible movements, making it a versatile tool for various applications.

Hanson Robotics

Hanson Robotics Sophia

The star of Hanson Robotics is ‘Sophia,’ a robot with human-like facial features and advanced AI capabilities, including facial recognition. Sophia was even granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia, a first for any robot.

Are Humanoid Robots the Future?

While chatbots like ChatGPT have become commonplace in various industries, these four companies are pushing the envelope with humanoid robots. But the question remains: Are these robots the future application of AI? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure — these companies are setting the stage for a future where robots could be as common as smartphones.

Using a Paystub Portal: 5 Reasons Why It’s Beneficial

Using a Paystub Portal

In today’s era of digital convenience, businesses are swiftly embracing emerging technologies to optimize their operations and elevate the employee experience. One pioneering solution in this regard is the integration of a paystub platform, affording employees effortless access to their pay statements and pertinent financial particulars. This article will delve into the merits of adopting a paystub portal and how it can be advantageous for both employers and employees.

1. Effortless Paystub Access

In the conventional paradigm of paper-based pay stubs, employees frequently had to endure the wait for their physical paychecks to arrive by mail or depend on the HR department to furnish them with copies. This methodology was laborious and riddled with potential delays and inaccuracies. Nevertheless, the advent of paystub portals has sparked a revolution in payroll management, significantly enhancing the convenience of paystub access through these portals:

Round-the-Clock Accessibility: Thanks to paystub portals, employees are no longer beholden to specific times or days for receiving their earnings. They can peruse their pay-related data anytime, 24/7, 365 days a year. This is especially advantageous for remote workers with erratic schedules or frequent travel commitments.

Instant Gratification: Once the payroll processing is complete, pay stubs are promptly uploaded to the portal. This means that employees can view their earnings without delay, obviating any waiting periods.

Intuitive User Interface: Paystub portals are meticulously designed with user experience at the forefront. Navigating through these portals is typically intuitive, requiring minimal training. Employees can swiftly locate and download their pay stubs with ease.

Universal Accessibility: Whether employees are at home, in the office, or on the move, they can access their pay statements as long as they have an internet connection. This level of accessibility bestows a newfound dimension of flexibility and convenience to the process of retrieving paystubs.

Diminished Paperwork: The shift from paper-based paychecks to digital access substantially diminishes the necessity for physical document storage and eradicates the risk of misplacement, damage, or theft of paper pay stubs.

2. Enhanced Data Security

In the realm of business and employment, the security of sensitive financial information, such as pay stubs, is of paramount importance. The transition from tangible paper pay stubs to digital accessibility via paystub portals augments data security significantly. Here is how this fortified data security is accomplished through these portals:

Encryption: Paystub portals employ cutting-edge encryption protocols to safeguard the transmission and storage of pay-related information. This encryption guarantees that only authorized individuals can access and decipher the data, thereby mitigating the risk of unauthorized intrusion.

Robust Authentication: Accessing paychecks via paystub portals typically necessitates authentication through secure means, such as passwords, two-factor authentication, or biometric verification. This adds an extra layer of security, guaranteeing that only authorized personnel can access the sensitive information.

Minimized Paper Trail: Tangible pay stubs can be lost, misplaced, or fall into the wrong hands, potentially leading to identity theft or fraud. The use of paystub portals markedly diminishes the possibility of mishandling physical documents, as access is restricted solely to authorized users.

Audit Trail: Paystub portals frequently maintain a comprehensive audit trail of activities related to pay information access. This trail meticulously logs who accessed the data, when they accessed it, and any alterations made. This feature augments transparency and accountability, particularly in the event of any discrepancies.

Data Center Security: Paystub portals are hosted on secure servers or data centers equipped with robust security measures. These measures encompass firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and periodic security audits, all of which are designed to safeguard the stored data.

3. Eco-Friendly and Cost-Efficient

The adoption of paystub portals not only yields advantages in terms of convenience and security but also exerts a positive impact on the environment and the financial bottom line. Let’s delve into how paystub portals contribute to ecological sustainability and cost-effectiveness:

Reduced Paper Consumption: One of the most conspicuous environmental benefits of paystub portals is the substantial reduction in paper usage. Conventional paper paychecks necessitate printing, distribution, and storage, all of which contribute to paper wastage. Embracing digital solutions helps conserve precious natural resources and reduces the carbon footprint.

Diminished Printing and Distribution Costs: The printing and dissemination of paper paychecks entail expenses for ink, paper, envelopes, and postage. Embracing paystub portals eliminates these costs, resulting in substantial savings that can be redirected to more strategic areas of business operations.

Mitigated Administrative Burden: The manual processes associated with generating, distributing, and managing paper paychecks can be time-consuming for HR departments. The advent of paystub portals automates these administrative tasks, affording HR personnel the opportunity to focus on more value-added activities.

Savings on Physical Storage: Physical documents necessitate storage space, incurring additional costs over time. The accumulation of paper paychecks, tax documents, and related paperwork may necessitate storage solutions with their associated expenses. Digital pay stubs obviate the need for physical storage, saving both space and money.

Encouragement of Green Initiatives: The embrace of digital solutions like paystub portals aligns with broader sustainability initiatives. The reduction in paper usage can enhance a company’s reputation and resonate positively with environmentally-conscious employees and clients.

4. Time Efficiency for HR

Human Resources (HR) departments play a pivotal role in managing diverse facets of employee compensation, benefits, and records. The implementation of paystub portals can significantly enhance the efficiency of HR operations. Here’s a closer look at how paystub portals save time for HR personnel:

Automated Payroll Processing: Paystub portals are often seamlessly integrated with payroll systems, enabling automatic and precise computation of employee earnings, deductions, and taxes. This automation curtails the manual effort required for payroll processing and minimizes the likelihood of errors.

Self-Service Capabilities: Paystub portals empower employees to independently access and manage their pay information. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) sections and user-friendly interfaces enable employees to find answers to common queries without the need to contact HR. This reduction in routine inquiries alleviates the workload for HR.

Swift Problem Resolution: In the conventional paper paystub paradigm, HR departments frequently grappled with inquiries pertaining to lost or misplaced documents. With paystub portals, employees can swiftly retrieve their pay information autonomously, reducing the time spent on addressing such issues.

Streamlined Reporting: Paystub portals have the capacity to generate comprehensive reports on pay data, tax withholdings, and other financial particulars. HR can readily access these reports, doing away with the need for manual data compilation for purposes such as tax reporting or auditing.

Enhanced Compliance: Numerous paystub portals are engineered to adhere to labor laws and regulations. This ensures the accurate presentation of employee pay information, thereby diminishing the necessity for HR to manually verify compliance.

Emphasis on Strategic Endeavors: With a reduction in manual data entry, troubleshooting, and routine inquiries, HR teams can allocate more time and resources to strategic initiatives. This may encompass talent management, employee development, and organizational planning.

5. Empowerment and Transparency

Empowering employees with access to pay information and nurturing transparency in payroll processes are pivotal for cultivating a healthy and productive work environment. Paystub portals play a pivotal role in realizing these objectives. Let’s delve into how paystub portals foster empowerment and transparency:

Personal Financial Insight: Paystub portals furnish employees with a lucid breakdown of their earnings, deductions, taxes, and other financial components. This transparency endows employees with a comprehensive understanding of their compensation, enabling them to make informed financial decisions.

Real-Time Monitoring: Through paystub portals, employees can monitor their earnings and deductions in real time. This capacity for real-time tracking guarantees accuracy and facilitates the prompt resolution of any discrepancies.

Educational Value: The availability of detailed pay information serves as an educational tool. Employees can acquire knowledge about various types of taxes, deductions, and benefits, thereby enhancing their financial literacy.

Dispute Resolution: In instances of payment disputes or inaccuracies, employees can refer to their pay stub information in the portal as substantiating evidence. This expedites the resolution process by furnishing concrete data.

Empowered Decision-Making: Access to pay data empowers employees to effectively plan their financial goals. They can evaluate the impact of changes such as salary adjustments, bonuses, or benefit enrollments on their overall compensation.

Trust and Engagement: Transparent communication of pay information fosters trust between employees and employers. When employees perceive that their compensation is fairly represented, it augments overall engagement and job satisfaction.

Audit Trail: Paystub portals maintain meticulous records of pay-related activities, including the times when payslips were accessed and downloaded. This audit trail confers an additional layer of accountability and transparency to the process.

Conclusion

The adoption of a paystub portal ushers in a multitude of advantages for both employees and employers. The convenience of online access to paystubs, coupled with enhanced data security and environmentally-conscious practices, positions this technological advancement as a pivotal step in modernizing payroll operations. Furthermore, the time saved for HR teams and the transparency it affords to employees solidify the case for the integration of a paystub portal into business operations.

If you are a business owner or a member of an HR team seeking to streamline processes and enhance the employee experience, contemplate the implementation of a pay stub portal. Embracing this digital transformation can culminate in a more efficient, secure, and employee-friendly payroll system.

Employee Onboarding Software Options for 2023: Top Choices

Employee Onboarding Software

Look, we spotted you searching for employee onboarding software options for 2023! Well, you choose the right spot to get informed. How can you compete with the current global race without incorporating automation into your life? Impossible! To compete with this digital world, you have to work smartly. 

That was the ancient era when hard workers won competitions. However, nowadays, you need to be a smart worker to get the most out of your time. Here comes the role of employee onboarding software options for 2023, which will assist you in the journey of hiring new employees, getting them familiarized with the company environment along with policies, and streamlining multiple processes. Hence, you can increase the efficiency of your company’s HR and employees.

What Is The Role Of Employee Onboarding Software

How about creating an engaging environment in your company? It sounds good and productive at the same time. The same is the role of employee onboarding software, as it fosters engagement. How? They simplify the induction process and streamline paperwork to ensure employee satisfaction. Furthermore, they enhance communication, ensuring that new hires quickly integrate into the team and company culture to boost employee retention. 

Simply, we can say that it’s the bridge: that connects employees to their new roles, setting a positive tone for their journey ahead. Let’s join me on the way to explore employee onboarding software options for 2023. Cheers!

Best Employee Onboarding Software Options for 2023

When it comes to employee onboarding software options, you’ll be confused to choose between so many. Remember that “a stitch in time saves nine”, which means it is crucial to choose the right software at the right time. Hence, we are here with a solution for you. Feeling relaxed now? Great! So, never forget to consider some points while choosing between employee onboarding software options for 2023.

  1. First, clearly state what are your expectations from that employee onboarding software.
  2. Look for the software that resonates the most with your goals and objectives.
  3. Keep in mind the nature of the complexity of the service you want the software to perform.
  4. Make sure to consider the accessibility feature on desktop, mobile, or web.
  5. Do consider task tracking, reminders for execution, and notifications.
  6. Last but not least, specify your budget.

Now, let’s unwind a few top choices of employee onboarding software options for 2023.

Paycor

What else can be more comfortable than having a mobile-optimized interface? Nothing can beat the coziness of operating from a mobile phone. Paycor is one of the human capital management software that allows you to dissolve in the world of automation. Who would mind using software that can integrate with a pay stub generator and tax credit tool? Apart from having personalized messages and e-signature, companies using this software can take advantage of the bulk hire feature with 1-9 verification.

However, its complex implementation process and delay in customer support have made it questionable for some people to rely on it.

BambooHR

Want a user-friendly interface? Looking for a customizable onboarding solution? BambooHR is there to help you! From getting an understanding of the company environment to meeting virtually with the team and getting a job role assigned, BambooHR is covering this all. Whether you are a small company (start-up) or an organization of medium level, you have your desirable employee onboarding software.

However, it is not scalable for growing companies.

Gusto

Have you thought of any employee onboarding software, best for payroll? If not, then Gusto is here to serve you. With its easy-to-use interface, device management, and onboard payroll, the company can savor full automation in one go.

However, it doesn’t have any training features, which makes it complicated to handle.

 Paystubsnow

Why not try an excellent choice for small businesses and freelancers seeking a reliable pay stub generation solution? Their online check stub maker simplifies the process, allowing employees and independent contractors to effortlessly create and print pay stubs online. With Paystubsnow, you’re guaranteed top-notch documentation and form creation.

Namely

Ruling the world of small, medium, and large-sized companies, Namely secured its position in top choices among employee onboarding software options for 2023. Not only does it give a personalized welcome experience to new hires, but also makes a 90-day action plan. Moreover, its security role and permission feature ensure the safety of company data.

However, like other employee onboarding software options, its limitation is limited self-service customization.

ClearCompany

How about joining a company and receiving fun facts about colleagues after a few minutes? Sounds interesting right? ClearCompany can do this all for you by allowing you to customize the onboarding template along with adding text and uploading videos. Also, it integrates with various other software to make sure that your experience is up to the mark. 

The best part about this employee onboarding software is that all sizes of companies can benefit from it. Moreover, what’s more amazing than getting the quickest customer support in case of a problem? Sounds cool! 

However, it provides limited custom reporting options. Hence, think about your objectives and then analyze their suitability with them.

Greenhouse Onboarding

Would you like to get your team reminded timely about their job roles? Obviously! Then, Greenhouse onboarding is going to be your choice now. From assigning job roles to new hires to customized information collection from the documents, you need not worry about it anymore.

Furthermore, integrating with multiple software and facilitating E-signature with a user-friendly interface, it is among the best employee onboarding software options for 2023.

However, its limited custom reporting option and unautomated letter management feature are considerable before selecting this.

Rippling

If you are into global onboarding and want to get 500+ app integration, Rippling is all that you need. It offers automated HR, IT, and benefits processes all in one place. This is how to make it easy to welcome new team members by handling tasks like document collection, equipment setup, and compliance. 

However, it has no free trial, and the system sometimes gets slow. Hence, incorporate this after thorough analysis.

To conclude

 Without taking digitalization into account, companies wouldn’t be able to touch the height of the sky. So, think wisely while looking at top choices among employee onboarding software options for 2023. Here, relate yourself with the saying “the devil is in the detail” which means do in-depth research to find out the most effective onboarding software for your needs. Don’t rush to decide, take your time and analyze features by comparing them with your needs. However, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, instead, try using multiple sources to get productive outcomes. And you are ready to shine now. Good luck!

Snapdragon 7s Gen 2: Qualcomm Unveils More Affordable Yet Powerful Option for Budget Smartphones

Snapdragon 7s Gen 2

Late last year, Qualcomm announced its high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which has been the heart of most premium smartphones in 2023. Later in March this year, they introduced the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, and now they’ve unveiled its little sibling, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2. This new chip is designed to be a more affordable yet powerful option, giving MediaTek competition in mid-range and budget smartphones.

Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 Technical Specifications:

  • Core Configuration: Four high-performance Cortex cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four energy-efficient Cortex cores at 1.95 GHz.
  • Connectivity: Comes with a Snapdragon X62 5G modem that supports speeds up to 2.9 Gbps.
  • Camera Capabilities: Supports cameras up to 200 MP and can manage multiple cameras — 48 MP single, or a 32 MP + 16 MP dual setup.
  • Display and Graphics: Supports FHD+ displays with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. The GPU version is yet to be disclosed.
  • Charging and Battery: Features Quick Charge 4+ technology for rapid charging.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is not just a watered-down version of its predecessors. It’s a strategically designed chip that aims to offer a balance between performance and cost. While it may lack some of the high-end features of its family members, it makes up for it in affordability and efficiency.

The first smartphone to be graced by this new processor will be the Redmi Note 13, set to be announced in China in the coming weeks. It’s expected to make its way to other parts of the world by the end of this year or early next year.

2.6 Billion People Disconnected: Why One-Third of the World Still Can’t Access Internet

2.6 Billion People Disconnected

You’re probably reading this article on your smartphone or laptop, comfortably connected to the internet. But have you ever paused to think about the billions who can’t? According to the latest data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a staggering one-third of the global population remains offline. That’s 2.6 billion people disconnected from internet and are missing out on the digital revolution.

The Numbers Game

  • Total Population Offline: 2.6 billion
  • Total Population Online: 5.4 billion
  • Percentage Offline: 33%
  • Percentage Online: 67%

The number of people without internet access has slightly decreased from 2.7 billion last year. This indicates a slow but steady progress towards global internet connectivity.

Interestingly, the most significant growth in internet connectivity this year has been in low-income countries. Internet users in these regions have increased by 17% over the past year. However, less than one-third of individuals in these countries are connected to the internet.

The 2030 Vision: A Fading Dream?

The global community had set a lofty goal for 2030: universal and meaningful connectivity. But the current trends suggest that this objective is becoming increasingly elusive.

Barriers to Entry

  • Infrastructure: Many regions still lack the necessary infrastructure for internet connectivity.
  • Affordability: The cost remains a significant barrier for many.
  • Digital Literacy: A lack of essential digital skills is another hurdle.

The internet is not just a tool for entertainment or communication; it’s a gateway to information, education, and employment opportunities. The absence of internet access can widen the digital divide and knowledge gap, leaving large swathes of the population behind.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the ITU Secretary-General, and Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, both emphasize the human aspect behind these statistics. They stress the importance of accelerating efforts to ensure that “meaningful connectivity is a lived reality for everyone, everywhere.”

While the adoption of internet worldwide is on the rise, the pace needs to accelerate. The ITU and other organizations are working on various projects aimed at making connectivity meaningful.

So, the next time you scroll through your social media feed or binge-watch a series, remember the billions who can’t.