Gezixuan News on November 19, technology media MacRumors released a blog post yesterday (November 18), reporting that in the latest research report released by Jeff Pu, an analyst at Haitong International Securities Group, it is believed that Apple's "iPhone 17 Air / Slim" is about 6 mm thick.

If this data is true, the iPhone 17 Air will be the thinnest iPhone ever, and it will be thinner than the current record of 6.9mm held by the iPhone 6.

According to the news, the thickness of the iPhone 17 Air is about 6 mm, which is significantly thinner than the 8.25 mm of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: 8.25mm

iPhone 16 and 16 Plus: 7.8mm

iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max: 8.25mm

iPhone 15 and 15 Plus: 7.8mm

iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max: 7.85mm

iPhone 14 and 14 Plus: 7.8mm

iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max: 7.65mm

iPhone 13 and 13 mini: 7.65mm

iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max: 7.4mm

iPhone 12 and 12 mini: 7.4mm

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max: 8.1mm

iPhone 11: 8.3 mm

iPhone XS and XS Max: 7.7mm

iPhone XR: 8.3 mm

iPhone X: 7.7 mm

iPhone 8 Plus: 7.5 mm

iPhone 8: 7.3 mm

iPhone 7 Plus: 7.3 mm

iPhone 7: 7.1 mm

iPhone 6s Plus: 7.3 mm

iPhone 6s: 7.1 mm

iPhone 6 Plus: 7.1 mm

iPhone 6: 6.9 mm

iPhone 17 Air (exposed): 6mm

Even though the iPhone 17 Air may be the thinnest iPhone, it still can't surpass Apple's thinness record for the rest of the products, such as the 5.1mm of the 2024 13-inch iPad Pro.

At the moment, there are still some different rumors about the design and specifications of the iPhone 17 Air. Most sources agree that this device will come with a display of around 6.6 inches.

Jeff Pu also mentioned that the iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature an aluminum frame, Face ID, a single rear 48-megapixel camera, a 24-megapixel front camera, and 8GB of RAM, and Apple is expected to officially release the iPhone 17 Air in September 2025.

Gezixuan reported on November 18 that Huawei Hongmeng today pushed the HarmonyOS NEXT version 5.0.0.107 to mobile phone devices.

With this update, the camera supports continuous shooting, screen-off snapshots, smiley face capture, and other functions, so that you can get a higher-quality call experience in call scenarios. At the same time, the functions of scenarios such as smart multi-window and super transfer station have also been upgraded with new experiences.

The specific updates of IT Home are as follows:

camera
In normal photo mode, press and hold the photo button and swipe left to shoot continuously, and swipe right to record, making the switch more flexible and capturing beautiful and faster

Added the screen-off snapshot function, when the screen is off or the screen is locked, you can quickly press the volume down button twice to quickly open the camera to take photos

Added the front selfie ring fill light effect, when you take photos or videos with the front camera, the ring fill light allows you to take more satisfactory selfies (opening method: in the front shooting interface > click the arrow below to open the camera treasure chest > fill light)

The new Panorama mode allows you to take photos with a wider angle of view by pressing the shutter and moving slowly in the direction of the arrow

Added the smiley face capture function, after turning on the switch in the camera settings, the smiley face will be automatically captured every time you take a photo

The night mode adds a front-facing selfie beautification effect, and you can also take beautiful selfies at night

Added beautification effects, video watermarks, and motion stabilization switches in the recording scene to help you shoot more textured videos

A new dynamic photo switch is added at the top of the normal photo mode, which can take dynamic photos, and press and hold the dynamic photo in the gallery to preview the animated image

Turn on the auto-watermark toggle in the settings, and the photos taken by the rear camera can automatically add the model logo and date

Phone
Added the Smart Dual SIM function, insert two SIM cards, and turn on "Allow Smart Use of SIM Card" on the SIM card management interface, which can automatically switch the SIM card according to the network quality and call status

Added support for voice broadcast of incoming calls, which will voice broadcast the incoming call information when receiving an incoming call

Added support for outgoing call voice control, saying "hang up the call" can stop the call

Added support for intelligent call noise cancellation, which reduces or blocks the surrounding ambient sound, so that your voice can be transmitted to the other party more clearly and prominently

The call process improves call quality and improves the call experience by allowing the use of Wi-Fi or mobile data (turned on: Phone > Settings > Advanced > improves call quality)

Connect
The camera can be turned off during a video call

You can send files via Connect Messages

Contact
Duplicate contacts can be intelligently identified and merged

Recorder
Added support for retrieving recently deleted recordings

Set up
Added support for holster mode, which will automatically unlock or lock the screen when opening and closing the holster, and support the information display and operation of the adaptive holster window

Added support for mask recognition, which enables authentication by recognizing the unique features of the eyes when wearing a mask for face recognition

Added features such as eye protection mode, color adjustment, and color temperature to the display and brightness

Smart multi-window
The sidebar supports editing functions, and you can easily add or delete application shortcut icons to the sidebar, which is convenient for opening smart windows (swipe from the side to the screen and pause to bring up the sidebar, click the bottom icon and then click the edit icon)

Smart Voice
Xiaoyi adds the knuckle circle selection function, the knuckle circle selects any screen element and asks Xiaoyi questions, Xiaoyi can not only actively understand the circle content, and provide multi-modal answers, but also make the next step according to your intentions, and quickly recommend high-frequency function services

Wake up Xiaoyi and give voice commands to let Xiaoyi help you make a smooth call

system
The Super Relay Station has a new preview function, which allows you to click on the content to preview it when you share it

Added the accessory collaborative update function, which allows you to update the firmware of connected accessories, such as headphones and glasses, on the software update page of the mobile phone

Added the smart watch auxiliary update function, which allows you to update the firmware of connected smart watch devices on the device interface of the Health app

On November 19, the annual TGA Game of the Year Award announced the 2024 nomination list today. The domestic 3A masterpiece "Black Myth: Wukong" was nominated for the 2024 Game of the Year and received a total of 4 nominations.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

Best Operational Game:
Destiny 2

Diablo 4

Final Fantasy 14

Fortnite

Bad Diver 2

Best Art Direction:
Astrobot

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Golden Tree

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Neva

Best Mobile Game:
Lilith: AFK Journey

Joker

Curo: Naruto

MiHoYo: Zero Zone

Pokémon TCGP

Best Performance:
Briana White

Hannah Telle

Humberly Gonzalez

Luke Roberts

Melina Juergens

Best Score & Music:
Astrobot

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Silent Hill 2》

Swordstar

Best Adaptation:

League of Legends: Two Cities

Fallout

Knuckles

Yakuza

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Best Multiplayer Game:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Bad Boys 2

Warhammer 40K: Starfighter 2

Super Mario Party: All-Time Extravaganza

Tekken 8

Best Indie Game:

Animal Well

Joker

Lorelei and Laser Eyes

Neva

UFO 50

Most Anticipated Game:

Death Stranding 2

Ghost of Yotei (sequel to Ghost of Tsushima)

GTA 6

Metro 4: Beyond

Monster Hunter: Wildlands

Best Role-Playing Game:

Dragon's Dogma 2》

Elden Ring: Shadows of the Golden Tree

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth

Yakuza 8

ReFantazio

Content Creator:
CaseOh

Illojuan

Techno Gamers

TypicalGamer

Usada Pekora

Best Action/Adventure Game:
Astrobot

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Silent Hill 2

Star Wars: Outlaws

The Legend of Zelda: Rise of Wisdom

Best Action Game:
Black Myth: Wukong

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Bad Diver 2

Warhammer 40K: Starfighter II

Swordstar

Best Game Direction:
Astrobot

Joker

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring: Shadows of the Golden Tree

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth

Refantazio

Game of the Year:
Astro Robot

Joker

Black Myth: Wukong

Elden Ring: Shadows of the Golden Tree

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth

Refantazio

Most nominated game publishers:
PlayStation: 16 nominations

SE: 12 nominations

Xbox: 12 nominations

Most nominated games:
Astro Robot: 7 nominations

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth: 7 nominations

Refantazio: 6 nominations

As previously reported, TGA recently revised its rules, announcing that DLC, expansion packs, remakes and remasters are also eligible for the Game of the Year Award (GOTY).

TGA has officially announced that this year's awards ceremony will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on December 12 (IT Home Note: 8:30 am on December 13, Beijing time), and the entire process will be live-streamed.

TGA official website is now open for online voting, and everyone can choose the best game of 2024 in your mind. Bilibili has also opened the relevant official voting:

TGA official website voting: https://www.thegameawards.com/nominees

Bilibili voting: https://www.bilibili.com/blackboard/era/TGA2024.html

Gezixuan News on November 15, password management tool 1Password issued a press release, announcing that it has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Alliance (IT Home Note: Microsoft Intelligent Security Association, MISA), and officially announced a series of enterprise security features.

It is reported that the Microsoft Intelligent Security Alliance claims to be built for the "security ecosystem", and Microsoft tries to provide cyber threat protection solutions for enterprise customers by integrating independent software vendors (ISVs) and security service providers (MSSPs).

As part of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Alliance, 1Password has added integrations with Microsoft Sentinel and Entra ID, with Microsoft Sentinel being a cloud-based security information and event management (SIEM) platform that claims to help organizations centrally manage threats, but 1Password doesn't specifically mention how it will be integrated.

When it comes to Microsoft Entra ID, 1Password announced that their Device Trust feature works with Entra ID to ensure that only "devices that meet security standards" can access confidential data, reducing the likelihood of employees having their personal devices compromised due to improper security measures.

Gezixuan reported on November 15 that Alibaba Group today released its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (July ~ September 2024).

Revenue was RMB236.503 billion (US$33.701 billion), up 5% year-on-year.

Operating profit was RMB35,246 million (US$5,023 million), up 5% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in non-cash equity incentive expense, partially offset by a decrease in Adjusted EBITA. Non-cash equity incentive expense is not included in non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP financial measure, decreased 5% year-over-year to RMB40,561 million (US$5,780 million), primarily due to increased investment in e-commerce, partially offset by revenue growth and improved operational efficiency.

Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB43,874 million (US$6,252 million). Net profit was RMB43,547 million (US$6,205 million), up 63% year-on-year, mainly due to mark-to-market changes in equity investments, reduced impairment of investments and higher operating profit. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was RMB36,518 million (US$5,204 million), down 9% from RMB40,188 million for the same period in 2023.

Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB18.17 (US$2.59) and diluted earnings per share were RMB2.27 (US$0.32 or HK$2.52). Non-GAAP earnings per diluted ADS were RMB15.06 (US$2.15), down 4% year-on-year, and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were RMB1.88 (US$0.27 or HK$2.08), down 4% year-on-year.

Net cash flow from operating activities was RMB31,438 million (US$4,480 million), down 36% from RMB49,231 million for the same period in 2023. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial liquidity measure, was RMB13,735 million (US$1,957 million), down 70% from RMB45,220 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease in free cash flow was primarily attributable to investments in Alibaba Cloud infrastructure, refunds to Tmall merchants after the removal of annual service fees, and other working capital changes due to factors such as the downsizing of certain direct operations.

Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, said, "During the quarter, Taotian continued to invest in user experience and enrich its product offerings to better serve consumers. We have established long-term partnerships with our technology peers to expand our payment and logistics services on Taobao and Tmall platforms, which is expected to have a significant incremental effect on the platform as a whole. The cloud business accelerated its growth from previous quarters, with double-digit growth in revenue from public cloud products and triple-digit growth in revenue from AI-related products. We are more confident than ever in the outlook for our core business and will continue to invest to support long-term growth." The operating efficiency of other businesses continued to improve, and most of the businesses continued to improve profitability or reduce losses. ”

Gezixuan learned from the financial report that the number of Taotian Group's 88VIPs continued to grow by double digits year-on-year in the quarter, reaching 46 million.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group revenue was RMB29.610 billion (US$4.219 billion), up 7% year-over-year.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Taobao and Tmall Group generated revenue of 98.994 billion yuan (about $14.107 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1%.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Cainiao's revenue increased 8% year-over-year to RMB24,647 million (US$3,512 million), mainly driven by revenue growth from cross-border logistics fulfillment solutions.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Local Living Group revenue increased 14% year-on-year to RMB17,725 million (US$2,526 million), driven by higher orders from AutoNavi and Ele.me, as well as higher revenue from marketing services.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Dawen Entertainment Group's revenue was RMB5.694 billion (US$811 million), down 1% year-over-year. The loss of Dawen Entertainment Group narrowed year-on-year, and thanks to the increase in advertising revenue and the improvement of content investment efficiency, Youku's operating loss gradually decreased in the quarter.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Alibaba repurchased a total of 414 million ordinary shares (equivalent to 52 million American Depositary Shares) for a total of US$4.1 billion (note from IT House: currently approximately RMB29.704 billion). As of September 30, 2024, Alibaba had 18,620 million ordinary shares outstanding (equivalent to 2,327 million American Depositary Shares), a decrease of 405 million ordinary shares, or a net decrease of 2.1%, from June 30, 2024 (after taking into account the shares issued under Alibaba's equity incentive plan). As of September 30, 2024, Alibaba has $22 billion remaining under its board-authorized share repurchase program, which is valid until March 2027.

Gezixuan reported on November 15 that Ross Young found that Apple's newly launched 2024 MacBook Pro uses quantum dot display technology.

He said Apple uses a quantum dot film in the display of the new MacBook Pro instead of the red KSF phosphor film, resulting in a more vivid and accurate display.

It is claimed that Apple has been using KSF because it does not contain the toxic element "cadmium", and it is more efficient and less costly.

In fact, back in 2015, when Apple launched the first-generation Retina MacBook Pro model, there were Apple executives who said that quantum dot technology was considered at the time, but it was rejected because of cadmium.

With suppliers developing cadmium-free quantum dot display technology that also brings the same or even higher color gamut and better dynamic display than KSF, it's no surprise that Apple is turning to quantum dot display technology.

However, Gezixuan noticed that Apple's official website did not highlight the improvement brought by the M4 MacBook Pro in terms of color, but the maximum SDR brightness was indeed increased to 1000 nits (the previous model was 600 nits).

Gezixuan reported on November 14 that, according to Inverse, hundreds of workers in four offices under ZeniMax, the parent company of Company B, held a one-day strike from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time on November 13 to oppose Microsoft's outsourcing and return-to-office policies.

These striking employees have worked on Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and other B Club games. Currently, Microsoft requires these employees to work in the office at least two days a week. Employees had asked for more flexible work schedules, but this request had not yielded any results and were concerned that it could increase office hours in the future.

In addition, the number of quality testers outsourced by Microsoft is another concern for the union. Its members believe that if this trend continues, the company may take action and lay off the full-time employees currently employed at ZeniMax.

"Strikes aren't fun or ideal, but we can get satisfaction by taking concrete actions to fight for better working conditions," added Juniper Dowell, Senior Quality Assurance Tester at ZeniMax. "Hopefully we can convince them to stop procrastinating and meet with us at the negotiating table."

IT Home noted that Microsoft issued a statement today saying: "We respect the right of employees to express their views, just as they do today." We will continue to listen and address their concerns at the negotiating table. ”

Gezixuan reported on November 12 that according to the official news of Beijing Yizhuang, the "Humanoid Robot Marathon Solicitation Order" was released yesterday (November 11) in Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone (Beijing Yizhuang).

The world's first humanoid robot marathon, guided by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area Management Committee, will be held in Yizhuang, Beijing in 2025 with the theme of "Intelligent Competition".

The event will set up a series of awards and bonus incentives, such as the Finisher Winner, the Best Endurance Award, and the Best Popularity Award, and the registration deadline is February 2025.

According to IT House, in the 2024 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon held on November 10, the "Tiangong" robot brought a performance at the starting point, "cheering" for the runners through gestures and interactions, and greeted the runners at the finish line. In addition, the humanoid robot "Tiangong" has been confirmed to participate in next year's competition.

Gezixuan reported on November 12 that Broadcom completed the acquisition of cloud computing company VMware for $69 billion (IT Home note: currently about 497.883 billion yuan) in November 2023.

On May 15 of this year, VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro were announced to be free for individual users. Now, Broadcom has completely abolished paid licenses, meaning that VMware Workstation and Fusion are completely free for commercial, educational, and personal use.

(VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation can be downloaded by logging into your Broadcom account on this page)

Of course, Broadcom will no longer provide technical support for troubleshooting in the future, which is why VMware Workstation previously decided to move to open source KVM.

"Effective today, both VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation will no longer have a paid subscription model, which means you can now use these tools for free." Paid versions of these products — Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro — will no longer be available for purchase. ”

"If you are currently in a commercial contract, you can rest assured that your agreement will continue to be valid until the end of your term. You will continue to receive full service and enterprise-level support under your contract. ”

It is worth mentioning that Broadcom still plans to continue to invest in the development of new features, usability improvements, and other valuable enhancements, and its engineering team remains committed to maintaining a high standard of stability, timely updates, and reliable performance.

Gezixuan reported on November 10 that, according to 404 Media, earlier this week, the police found a strange phenomenon in the seized iPhone devices - these devices would restart themselves without operation. At that time, the cause of the incident was not clear. However, experts are now beginning to unravel the mystery.

Gezixuan noticed that the unexpected restart of these iPhones was not a bug, but a new feature. Dr. Jiska Classen of the Hasso Plattner Institute said Apple has added an "inactive restart" feature to iOS 18.1. Classen posted a screenshot of the code on social media to further confirm this.

In addition, Christopher Vance, an expert from Magnet Forensics, revealed in a private chat group of law enforcement and forensics experts that they found a code that triggered the inactive timer, explaining: "When the timer goes to zero, the device restarts and the status changes from AFU (Authorized File Access) to BFU (Unauthorized File Access). ”

This feature is designed to prevent thieves from easily accessing user data on locked devices. But for now, it seems that this feature has also caused some inconvenience to law enforcement.