ALSO: Indian space agency completes OneWeb constellation; Singapore warns on AI weapons; AUKUS tech pact advances
Asia In Brief Although Chinese smartwatch shipments declined in 2022, Huawei, Apple and Oppo saw growth. Meanwhile Huawei’s smartwatch designed for parents to keep tabs on their kids took the lead as the year’s bestseller.
« China’s smartwatch shipments fell 9.3 percent year on year in 2022, mainly due to the COVID-zero policy’s impact on demand, » according to Counterpoint Research. Senior analyst Shenghao Bai explained that curbs on movement and remote education regulations impacted demand for kids’ smartwatches in particular.
The market research firm said Huawei’s stars benefited from the brand’s focus on High Level Operating Systems (HLOS). Perhaps its surveillance function also played its part.
According to Huawei’s consumer website, the Huawei Watch Kids 4 Pro allows for high-definition video calling so that one can « see exactly where they are and what they’re doing in total detail. »
The water-resistant watch also tracks how much time the child has spent outdoors through ambient light and UV sensors. It also encourages them to exercise through its « sports mode. »
The watch costs around $150. Chinese smartwatches in the $100 to $200 price range took the greatest market share in both 2021 and 2022. However, growth occurred the most in the high to premium segments. Watches costing $300 to $400 grew 46 percent and those costing more than $400 grew almost a whopping 1300 percent.
Governments will have to adapt how they work with private companies as they engage on development of AI, Singapore’s deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong said last week.
Speaking at the Fourth Singapore Defence Technology Summit, Wong cited 5G, low Earth orbit satellite communication, cloud computing infrastructure as technologies where the military has benefitted from private investment. And now the list also includes the delivery of lethal force.
Wong referred to AI as one « immediate issue » and potentially a « very powerful weapon » that « can accelerate the future of autonomous warfare, enabling weapons that are more precise, cheaper, faster and, with the capabilities to learn, making their missions virtually unstoppable. »
« What is clear is that we cannot leave commercial enterprises to answer these questions alone, » said the government official, who called upon governments, industry, and civil society to set necessary standards and guidelines collectively.
India’s Space Research Organisation has celebrated the sixth consecutive successful launch of its LVM3-M3 rocket, which on Sunday carried 36 satellites into orbit for British satellite broadband company OneWeb.
