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For 1st time, Apple puts India at par with other countries in launching new iPhones

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Apple is betting high on the Indian market as the tech giant has launched its most anticipated iPhone 13 series simultaneously in India for the first time along with the global launch.

Earlier, iPhones used to take at least two-three weeks to reach the Indian market. However, this time users in India will be able to pre-order the new iPhones from September 17, along with more than 30 countries, beginning September 24.

“Apple’s move to prioritise iPhone 13 series availability in India, on par with US and other markets, helps it to build on its recent growth momentum from its recent market initiatives to ramp-up iPhone assembly in India, and its aggressive marketing initiatives, including the online retail store,” Prabhu Ram, CyberMedia Research (CMR) Head, Industry Intelligence Group, told IANS.

The new iPhone series includes iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Apple has kept the starting prices for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini the same as last year at Rs 79,900 and Rs 69,900 respectively. iPhone 13 Pro starts at Rs 1,19,900 and iPhone 13 Pro Max at Rs 1,29,900.

Also, for the first time, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will both be available with up to 1TB of storage at Rs 1,69,900 and Rs 1,79,900, respectively.

“In comparison to other smartphone OEMs, Apple is probably much better placed to manage its supply chains, and this will, in turn, put it on a better footing going into the all-important festive season,” Ram asserted.

The new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini includes a smaller notch allowing for more display area. The notch is 20 per cent smaller, and the new Super Retina XDR display is 28 per cent brighter with 1200 nits peak brightness.

The iPhone 13 Pro as well as iPhone 13 Pro Max features an all-new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion along with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.

They both come in the same size as last year — 6.1 and 6.7 inches, respectively.

The tech giant has also unveiled two new iPads — iPad and iPad mini — and along with that, it has announced the new Apple Watch Series 7 at its global event late on Tuesday.

Both the new iPad and iPad mini come with 64GB and 256GB storage options.

(Vivek Singh Chauhan can be contacted at vivek.c@ians.in)

Business

US flight disruption: Air India advises passengers to check latest status

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New Delhi : Air India on Saturday advised passengers to check the latest status of their flights and plan their journey to the airport accordingly, amid massive disruption at the US airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop that had halted departures at US airports after a communications failure, though airlines warned that disruption and cancellations could continue.

“A nationwide ground stop is currently in effect across the US due to communication outages affecting air traffic operations. As a result, departures from airports across US are impacted, with possible consequential disruptions to Air India flights to and from the US,” Air India said in a statement posted on X. “Our teams continue to closely monitor the situation and will share updates as available,” it added. The cancellation of US flights happened after a communications problem affected air traffic operations. The notice announcing the cancellation did not specify the cause of the failure or say that airline schedules had returned to normal.

Earlier, the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center said the ground stop remained in effect across a large portion of the country, although some coastal facilities had been able to release international departures. In an update, American Airlines said some flights from certain airports were beginning to receive clearance to depart. At that point, most departures remained paused, and the airline expected further disruption, including unavoidable cancellations. American advised customers to check their flight status and review its travel alert for options. Its warning was issued before the FAA’s cancellation advisory. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters earlier that officials had acted as a precaution following a telecommunications outage affecting the FAA. “There is no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack,” he said at the time. That preliminary assessment did not rule out a cyberattack.

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FBI warns AI tool can speed up cyberattacks

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Washington : The FBI has warned that cybercriminals are using an artificial intelligence-assisted security testing tool to accelerate attacks on organisations around the world, with some intrusions reaching privileged access in less than three hours. In an alert issued on Friday (local time), the bureau said malicious actors had used the open-source framework, known as ARTEX, since at least August to target organisations across sectors including finance, government, technology, defence, energy and health care. The FBI said the tool can automate several stages of an intrusion, from identifying potential targets to preparing or carrying out data theft. That speed can leave defenders less time to detect and respond to an attack, it said.

The alert said some intrusions progressed from initial targeting to privileged access in under three hours. According to the alert, the framework was originally intended for authorised security testing. Its developer removed the original online repository in October following reports of malicious use, but copies and variants remained available, the FBI said. The bureau said the tool could lower the technical barriers for conducting complex operations and allow attackers to pursue multiple targets at the same time. Organisations’ internet-facing applications, cloud infrastructure and systems connected to suppliers or partners were among the areas of concern identified in the alert.

The FBI cited financially motivated attacks on South Korean financial institutions that it said resulted in personal information being taken from approximately 67,000 people. It also described a separate supply-chain compromise affecting users of a cloud backup service, which it said enabled access to more than 2,250 downstream customer environments. The bureau encouraged organisations to review their exposure to the internet, strengthen identity and access controls, monitor unusual activity and protect credentials. It also urged organisations that identify suspicious activity to contact the FBI or report it through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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Business

India’s forex reserves climb $2.49 billion to $719.5 billion, gold holdings surge to $104.8 billion

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India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.49 billion to reach $719.547 billion in the week ended November 6, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

This increase follows consecutive weeks of decline, during which the reserves had slipped from $722.3 billion in the week ended October 17 to $717.057 billion by October 30.

The uptick in reserves was primarily driven by a sharp rise in gold holdings, which surged by $2.205 billion to $104.796 billion during the week, the RBI data showed.

Foreign currency assets, which form the largest component of India’s forex reserves, also rose by $232 million to $591.350 billion.

These assets are influenced by changes in the value of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen that are held in the reserves.

India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund climbed by $52 million to $18.610 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the IMF increased by $1 million to $4.791 billion.

In rupee terms, the country’s total foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 67,58,986 crore as of November 6.

Notably, the weekly increase in dollar terms came even as the reserves declined by Rs 49,742 crore in rupee terms, as per the data.

India’s forex reserves had previously touched an all-time high of $785.7 billion in the week ended September 4, following significant foreign currency inflows through a special concessional swap scheme for diaspora deposits.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the central bank eased the foreign exchange reporting requirements for small exporters and importers of services.

Under the amended Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, individual service exporters will be deemed to have submitted the Export Declaration Form (EDF) once they provide the required payment-related information to their authorised dealer bank for crediting the proceeds to their accounts.

For exporters other than resident individuals, the same treatment will apply if the inward remittance for the service is not more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.

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