One of the busiest shopping days of the year in the US is Black Friday, which falls on the Friday following Thanksgiving. With retailers offering discounts on a range of goods, it officially kicks off the Christmas shopping season in the United States and sets the tone for the holiday season. Sales last until Monday (Cyber Monday) or for a week (Cyber Week), making up nearly one-fifth of the retail industry's yearly sales. Check out all details about the upcoming sale here.

Black Friday 2024 date
In the United States, Black Friday is observed on the fourth Thursday of November, the day after Thanksgiving Day. This year, Black Friday will start on Friday, November 29, 2024, since Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 28. As a part of this sale, retailers brings substantial price cuts on a range of products including fashion, electronics, appliances and more category.

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Black Friday 2024: Origin and significance
Although its exact origins are not entirely clear, it is generally believed that the term "Black Friday" first appeared in the United States, specifically in Philadelphia in the middle of the 20th century. The phrase originally described the traffic and crowding in cities, particularly in the vicinity of retail establishments, on the day after Thanksgiving when shoppers swarmed to stores to find bargains for the approaching holiday season.

As time went on, "Black Friday" become synonymous to the day when retailers made a profit (the "black") instead of losing money (the "red") as a result of higher sales during the holiday shopping season.

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With its adoption in multiple countries and its association with the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, Black Friday has become a worldwide phenomenon. Consumers may benefit from amazing discounts on goods like apparel, technology, and home furnishings that they have their eye on.

Black Friday 2024: Top Amazon deals

As a part of the Black Friday Sale 2024, Amazon is offering massive discounts on the tech products, appliances and kitchen items. Here are some of the most awaited deals that are worth checking out.

1. The 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M4 costs $1,399 (saving $200). The 14-inch model of Apple's most recent Pro laptop, which is already on sale, is a fantastic all-arounder for those seeking a high-end laptop.

2. The 7th generation Apple iPad Mini for $400 (saving $99). This is the first time the Apple's Intelligence mini tablet is available on a discount.

3. The Anker 521 portable power station is available for $160 (saving $60). To keep you going for hours, Anker's portable power station has two AC outlets, two USB-A ports, and a 60W USB-C PD output. The price is the lowest it has been in two months.

Android 16 is said to be in development as the next iteration of Google's smartphone operating system (OS). Ahead of its anticipated rollout, which is expected to happen in the summer, a new report suggests that the Android 16 update might add new tools for external display management. Users should be allowed to rearrange external screens while making it easier to switch between mirroring the screen on the display or extending it.

External Display Management Tools in Android 16

According to a report from Android Authority, Google is currently testing innovative tools for managing external displays in Android 16. This update focuses on creating a more seamless, desktop-like experience for Android users.

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One of the most anticipated features is the improvement in mouse cursor transitions. Android 16 will introduce fluid and intuitive cursor movement between connected displays, eliminating the clunky transitions plaguing previous versions. This enhancement will significantly improve the user experience for those who rely on multi-screen setups.

Furthermore, Google is streamlining the process of switching between display modes. A dedicated toggle for mirroring and extending the device's screen is reportedly in the works, simplifying a task that previously required navigating through developer settings.

Additionally, Google is working on allowing the user to control the refresh rate of external displays, resize windows to the external display borders, and change text and icon sizes on the external display independently from the phone screen. These features have been observed in the Android 16 Beta 2.1, and the stable release is expected in June 2025. These advancements indicate a clear direction from Google to provide a more versatile and efficient multi-display environment within Android.

iQOO Neo 10 series and iQOO 13 were launched in the 4th quarter of last year. iQOO is now believed to be working on iQOO 15 and Neo 11 series of phones. While the Vivo sub-brand is yet to confirm the handsets, the display and battery details of the phone have been tipped. The iQOO 15 and Neo 11 series will bring significant upgrades over their predecessors. The upcoming phones could feature 2K resolution displays.

iQOO 15 and Neo 11 Series Detailed Tipped

As per recent leak, the iQOO 15 and Neo 11 series are tipped to feature 2K resolution displays, a significant improvement. The iQOO 15 Pro is rumored to have a 6.85-inch LTPO OLED screen. Additionally, ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners and anti-reflective coatings are expected.

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A major focus is on battery life, with both series expected to boast 7,000mAh batteries. This is a notable increase from previous iQOO models. Performance-wise, the iQOO 15 Pro is speculated to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset. Improved periscope zoom camera capabilities are also rumored for the higher end models.

The Neo 11 series is also expected to have the 7,000mAh battery and 2K display. However, it is being reported that the Neo 11 series could lack a metal middle frame.

These leaks, primarily from sources like Weibo tipster "Smart Pikachu," suggest iQOO aims to improve its flagship and mid-range lineups substantially. As always, it's important to remember these are still leaks, and official specifications may vary.

What is the price of iQOO 15 in India?

iQOO 15 5G price is Rs 54,999 (expected). This price is for the base variant and can go up to Rs 56,999 for the top variant.

What is the price of iQOO Neo 11 pro?

iQOO Neo 11 Pro price will be Rs 38,999 in the Indian smartphone market. This price is supposed to be for the variant that comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.

Is iQOO 11 water resistant?

As a premium device, which starts at Rs 59,999, it misses out on features like IP rating for water and dust resistance, and wireless charging.

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company Monica has unveiled Manus AI, an AI agent. Monica's parent company, "The Butterfly Effect," is based in China and has introduced a general artificial intelligence agent named Manus that is capable of handling a variety of complex tasks. Manus received the title of "China's second DeepSeek moment" after a video demonstrating the AI agent's capabilities have been circulated on social media. Interestingly, the system uses several large language models (LLMs) to function. Read out all details here.

Manus AI Agent Capabilities
The Manus AI agent's dedicated website has information about it. It "excels at various tasks in work and life," according to the company, and is referred to as a "general AI agent." Although there are a number of AI agents on the market, such as Salesforce's Agentforce, Google's Gemini Deep Research, and OpenAI's Operator, they are mostly restricted to tasks specific to a given domain.

Rather, the business asserts that Manus is capable of carrying out duties like research, stock and portfolio analysis, trip planning, and even online shopping. It has a computer environment that is sandboxed so that it can execute tasks and process data asynchronously in the cloud. Yichao "Peak" Ji, a research lead on Manus, stated in the video that the AI agent is powered by multiple AI models, but she withheld any information about them.

The AI company also noted that Manus beats OpenAI's DeepResearch tool on the General AI Assistant (GAIA) benchmark, according to internal testing. Only a select group of testers can currently access the AI agent, and it is not yet clear when the platform will be open to the public.

In the video, the research lead also mentioned that the business will shortly provide additional information about the AI models to the open-source community. Nevertheless, there are currently no details available or planned for public release regarding the AI agent itself. This has caused some people to question Monica's claimed capabilities.

Several people who were given early access to Manus have expressed conflicting views about the artificial intelligence agent. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Hugging Face's Head of Product, Victor Mustar, described it as the "most impressive AI tool I've ever tried." But while testing the model, Alexander Doria, co-founder of Pleias, an AI startup, said he frequently ran into problems.