Latest news with #Firefly
Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
Adobe launches Project Indigo: A next-gen camera app for iPhone with AI and computational photography
Adobe has launched a new experimental camera application for iPhone users, Project Indigo. This expands Adobe Labs' suite of mobile tools following the recent arrivals of Photoshop and Firefly on the App Store. The new app harnesses artificial intelligence and advanced computational photography to deliver images with greater depth, detail, and realism. Currently available as a free download, Project Indigo offers a refined photography experience aimed at addressing the limitations of traditional smartphone imaging. Adobe says the app is designed to move away from the typical "smartphone look", characterised by overly bright images, excessive smoothing, and exaggerated colour saturation, that can appear unnatural when viewed on larger displays. Unlike the default camera apps on most phones, Project Indigo prioritises image fidelity by using sophisticated algorithms to capture up to 32 individual frames per shot. These are then merged to produce a single image with improved dynamic range, fewer blown-out highlights, and significantly reduced noise, especially in shadowed areas. The app offers extensive manual controls, including settings for aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus, and white balance, with additional tweaks for temperature and tint. Users can choose between two modes: Photo for regular daytime shots and Night, which leverages longer exposure and enhanced stabilisation to capture clearer images in low light with less motion blur. A standout feature of Project Indigo is its use of multi-frame super resolution. This function combats the quality loss typically associated with digital zoom by stacking multiple frames of the same scene, resulting in sharper, more detailed 'super resolution' images—particularly useful when zooming in on distant subjects. Project Indigo stores photos in both standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic range (HDR), and the output is compatible with Adobe's own Camera Raw and Lightroom platforms. Adobe notes that its under-exposure technique in image capture allows for a more natural, DSLR-style output without heavy reliance on post-processing. Available for iPhones starting from the iPhone 12 Pro series, and select non-Pro models from the iPhone 14 onwards, the app does not currently require user sign-in and remains completely free to use. Adobe also confirmed plans to release an Android version of Project Indigo at a later stage.
Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Nio or XPeng: Goldman Sachs Chooses the Superior EV Stock to Buy
Since 2009, China has held the title of the world's largest automotive market, driven by its vast population and a rapidly growing urban middle class. In 2022 alone, the country recorded 26.88 million new car sales. By the following year, domestic production surged past 31 million vehicles. So far this year, Chinese auto sales have made up 28% of the global total. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter A key driver of this growth is the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), which are claiming an ever-larger share of the market. Backed by robust government support and rising consumer demand, EV production and adoption have soared. China is now home to around 100 active EV makers, and its EV market is the largest in the world. According to Fortune Business Insights, the electric car market in China is expected to grow at a strong CAGR of approximately 18.4% through 2030. But with this rapid expansion comes intensifying competition. The EV boom has turned the market into a fierce battleground, where price wars and shrinking margins are becoming the norm. For investors, the rapid expansion of China's EV sector brings both opportunities and pitfalls. Goldman Sachs analyst Tina Hou is closely following the action, focusing on two of China's most prominent EV names: Nio (NYSE:NIO) and XPeng (NYSE:XPEV). Her insights aim to separate the leader from the laggard, and help investors determine which stock offers the more compelling case. Let's take a closer look. Nio We'll start with Nio, one of China's innovative electric car makers. Since its founding in 2014, Nio has developed a line-up of EV models, nine under its own nameplate along with additional models under the Onvo and Firefly brands. The company's vehicle lines include several sedan and SUV models, combining luxury styling, the latest EV tech, digital dashboards, and long-range battery systems. On pricing, Nio aims to run the gamut – from low-end budget models to high-priced luxury offerings. At bottom, the company's Onvo and Firefly brands feature ticket prices as low as $16,700 for Firefly's low-cost trim, to $33,400 for the top-end Onvo model. Nio's eponymous nameplate features vehicles such as the ET5, at $41,000, the ET7, priced at $59,000, and the ET9 for $90,000. Vehicle pricing is based on battery technology and packages, vehicle trim levels, and idiosyncrasies of local region and market conditions. Nio backs up its vehicles with a solid service network. The company pioneered EV battery swapping in China, developing a network of swapping stations where vehicle owners and drivers can pull in and replace depleted battery packages for new ones – without having to wait for recharging. The service is offered on a subscription basis, and has proven popular with Nio's customer base, as it solves two 'pains' that EV drivers frequently complain of: long battery charging times and high battery costs. We should note here that Nio has faced headwinds in recent months. The company's stock is down 22% year-to-date, after the firm has faced difficulties hitting sales goals and has cut delivery guidance. The lowered guidance has come alongside lower delivery numbers and increased quarterly earnings losses. On the delivery side, Nio delivered 23,900 vehicles in April of this year, for a 53% year-over-year gain; in May, that number was 23,231 vehicles, for a year-over-year gain of 13.1%. On revenue and earnings, Nio reported $1.66 billion in 1Q25, up 21.5% year-over-year but missing the forecast by $70 million. At the bottom line, Nio's non-GAAP EPS loss in Q1, of 41 cents, was 4 cents per share below the forecast; the company's net loss was 24% deeper than in the prior-year quarter. In her write-up on Nio for Goldman, analyst Tina Hou notes that company management is actively working to improve efficiencies and mitigate losses, but has not reaped the benefits yet. 'Nio has been focusing on cost reduction through a series of cost control and efficiency improvement measures since Mar, including terminating low return projects, and integrating R&D and S&M teams to support multiple brands with a c.20% headcount reduction. By doing so, management aims to achieve 20%-25% opex optimization and profit breakeven in 4Q25… Although we believe Nio's cost reduction efforts would help improve the company's R&D and operational efficiency, we remain relatively more conservative on Nio's FY25 sales volume compared to management's target largely due to the ongoing industry competitive intensity, YTD run rate and overall demand outlook,' Hou stated. Hou follows these comments with a Neutral (i.e., Hold) rating on NIO, along with a $3.80 price target that points toward a one-year upside of 11%. (To watch Hou's track record, click here) This view is in line with the Street's consensus; Nio has a Hold rating, based on 11 recent reviews which include 2 to Buy, 8 to Hold, and 1 to Sell. The shares are priced at $3.42, and their $4.51 average price target suggests a ~32% gain in the next 12 months. (See NIO stock forecast) XPeng, Inc. Next on our list here is XPeng, a fast-growing EV maker in the Chinese market. The company is based in the southern city of Guangzhou, where it was founded in 2014. XPeng started regular vehicle production in 2019, and in recent months has seen its production and delivery numbers grow rapidly. XPeng's current success is based on a line-up of battery-powered EVs that include elegant luxury models, large SUVs, a coupe, and even an extra-large seven-seater. Customers can choose from a range of features, including luxury-styled interior finishing, long-range battery packs, flat-screen cockpits, and voice-activated driving assistance. XPeng's vehicles are aimed at China's growing upper-middle-class demographic, a population that has the available funds to buy high-end electric vehicles and is tech-savvy enough to appreciate and use the added smart-car technology features. While the company has put a premium on high-tech features in its cars, it hasn't skimped on basic automotive technology; XPeng's cars are powered by proven electric drivetrains to provide drivers with a favorable driving experience. To support its vehicles and customers, XPeng provides solid warranties for its vehicles and their systems, along with remote vehicle support and diagnostics, and 24/7 roadside assistance. On a more prosaic level, the company has also built up a network of 772 branded supercharging stations and 1,870 free charging stations. The network spans China, and includes 319 cities with free charging services. The company's supercharging technology includes built-in safety monitoring, to ensure that fast chargers are safe to use. In its last reported quarter, 1Q25, XPeng reported quarterly deliveries of 94,008 vehicles, covering all models. This number was up 331% year-over-year, and reflects increasing sales success in the past year. The company's most recent delivery numbers, covering this past May, came in at 33,525 total vehicles – a figure that was up 230% year-over-year. XPeng has recorded monthly vehicle deliveries of 30,000-plus for seven consecutive months. Looking at financial results, we find that XPeng generated $2.18 billion in revenues, in line with expectations and achieving a year-over-year gain of 141.5%. At the bottom line, XPeng recorded a net loss of 6 cents per share by non-GAAP measures – but that net loss was significantly less than had been expected, beating the forecast by 15 cents per share. Recognizing the momentum, Goldman Sachs analyst Tina Hou sees particular strength in XPeng's ability to scale up new model launches and maintain a steady pace of innovation. 'Since 4Q24, XPeng has shown consistent improvement in its new and refreshed model launches with Mona M03 and P7+ sales volume ranking among the top 3 in their respective segment. XPeng has also stepped up on its new model launch frequency with 10 over 2024-2026, compared to only 1-2 new models each year from 2019-2023. XPeng will now introduce 10 new + refresh models each year to better compete in today's highly dynamic market environment… We are Buy-rated, as we see the result of a series of efforts coming through that has transformed the company's product and cost structure competitiveness, leading to higher visibility for sustainable sales volume growth as well as profit margin improvement going forward. XPeng is currently trading in line with historical average forward P/S multiple in the past 1 year,' the analyst opined. That stated Buy rating is complemented by a price target of $24, suggesting a 29% potential upside for the next 12 months. The Street, generally, likes XPEV shares, and gives the stock a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 9 recent reviews with a breakdown of 6 Buys, 2 Holds, and 1 Sell. The stock's $18.61 selling price and $24.78 average target price together indicate room for a 33% gain in the coming year. (See XPEV stock forecast) With the facts laid out, and the ratings and price targets compared side-to-side, it's clear that Goldman Sachs has picked out XPeng as the superior Chinese EV stock to buy. To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
Los Angeles Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Adobe's AI Vision: Hannah Elsakr on Empowering Creativity Responsibly
Hannah Elsakr, Intrapreneur, GenAI at Adobe, recently offered a look into Adobe's critical role at the intersection of creativity, marketing and AI. In an interview, Elsakr detailed how Adobe, with its four-decade legacy as the 'OG creative software company,' is using over 10 years of dedicated AI research to redefine creative workflows. She discusses not only the power of generative AI but also Adobe's commitment to responsible AI. Elsakr emphasized Adobe's commitment to responsible AI, ensuring that all data used for training models is licensed, rights-cleared, and pays creators. She drew parallels between the fear of AI today and past technological shifts like the Gutenberg Printing Press, Photoshop and 3D animation, saying that fear eventually gives way to adoption and new opportunities. Elsakr walked through how AI, particularly Adobe's Firefly models, is automating mundane tasks like resizing ads and re-keying videos. She also explained the innovative use cases like brands giving consumers custom Firefly models to co-create with. Adobe just launched the Firefly web app, a platform for generative creativity across image, video, vector and 3D for professionals, small business and individuals. Finally, Elsakr stressed the importance of transparency and content authenticity in AI-generated assets. She introduced the Content Authenticity Initiative and content credentials, an indelible watermark that provides metadata about the origin and modification history of AI-generated content, ensuring trust and provenance in the evolving AI landscape.
Deccan Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Adobe launches gen AI-powered multi-purpose editing app Firefly for phones
Adobe, earlier this month, launched the much-awaited Photoshop app for Android mobiles. Now, the company has announced an advanced generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)-based phone app Firefly for iPhone and Android mobile the Firefly mobile app, users can create photo-realistic images and video with just text they can use multiple photos to turn them into a video as well. Further, users can remove unwanted objects like crowds or unsightly road signs and fill them with presentable things using the Generative Fill 16: Seven key features you should know about Google's latest mobile the Generative Expand feature, users can even extend the size of an image while filling in new areas with AI-generated can use Firefly to generate b-roll, develop visual effects and refine shots by choosing camera angles, motion and app also has the option to translate audio in multiple languages while maintaining the same voice, tone, and they also get access to more advanced tools along with the option to use third-party multimedia editing AI apps such as Google Imagen, OpenAI, Luma AI, Runway, Pika, Ideogram, and new project created on the Firefly mobile app will get synced to Adobe's Creative Cloud account. So, people can resume work on the desktop from exactly where they left it on the mobile app. Also, it should be noted that for more advanced tools, users have to subscribe to premium plans-- to Firefly Standard (Rs 797.68 per month) and Firefly Pro (Rs 2,394.22 per month). Adobe's Firefly mobile app is now available for download on Apple App Store and Google Firefly and Photoshop, Adobe also has two other mobile apps--Lightroom and Adobe Express, with even more advanced replies: Google DeepMind working on AI tool to auto-respond in user's writing the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Everything, everywhere, all Firefly AI: New Adobe app launches for iPhone and Android
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Generative AI products that can create amazing images and videos indistinguishable from real ones have practically democratized photoshopping. You no longer need years of training or expensive software to create and edit any kind of image or video. Just issue commands in natural language, and the advanced AI model of your choice will deliver stunning results in seconds. You'd think these developments would directly threaten Adobe, the creator of Photoshop. But Adobe isn't backing down. Instead, the company has adapted its tools to take advantage of generative AI innovations. Products like Photoshop and Firefly already let you use AI to brainstorm and create images and videos tailored to your needs. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 Adobe isn't even trying to one-up the likes of OpenAI, Google, and other AI firms that might seem like competitors. Instead, the company is embracing those alternatives, integrating them into apps like Firefly. Just like that, Firefly can become your one-stop shop for all things photo and video creation that benefit from advanced AI tools. Adobe has just expanded the list of AI partners in the Firefly app and released iPhone and Android versions. Adobe hosted its Max event in London a few weeks ago, where it announced several big updates to Firefly, including support for high-end third-party AI models and a new Firefly Boards feature designed to help teams collaborate on AI-generated content. Adobe also confirmed at Max that iPhone and Android Firefly apps were coming soon, though it didn't share release dates. Fast-forward to June 17th, and Adobe has released the Firefly app for iPhone and Android. Along with it, Adobe announced a new partnership with third-party genAI services for generating and editing photos and videos, plus new Firefly Boards features. You can use Adobe's own models, also called Firefly, in the Firefly apps to generate photos and videos. But if you prefer something from the competition, Firefly gives you that option too. Here's the current list of partners, including the new AI models Adobe announced on Tuesday: Image Models: Black Forest Lab's Flux 1.1 Pro and Flux.1 Kontext; Ideogram's Ideogram 3.0; Google's Imagen 3 and Imagen 4; OpenAI's image generation model; Runway's Gen-4 Image Video Models: Google's Veo 2 and Veo 3; Luma AI's Ray2; Pika's text-to-video generator Of those, Ideogram, Luma, Pika, and Runway are new Adobe partners for Firefly. The Firefly app for iPhone and Android is available to download now, so you can create AI content 'wherever inspiration strikes.' The mobile app gives you quick access to tools you might already use in the desktop version of Firefly, including Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Text to Image, Text to Video, and Image to Video. Creators can choose between Adobe's Firefly models or rely on third-party frontier AI from Google and OpenAI. The Firefly mobile app lets you save your creations with your Creative Cloud account, making it easy to switch between mobile and desktop without interrupting your work. One big advantage of using the Firefly app instead of going directly to OpenAI, Google, or other genAI tools is that it brings everything together in one place. That's especially useful if you're using multiple content generation platforms for a single project. That's exactly what Adobe is aiming for. 'We built the Firefly app to be the ultimate one-stop shop for creative experimentation, where you can explore different AI models, aesthetics, and media types all in one place,' said Adobe's vice president of generative AI, Alexandru Costin. 'Every new partner model we add gives creators even more flexibility to experiment, iterate, and push their ideas further.' Adobe also addressed content safety, saying a 'durable 'nutrition label'' will be attached to everything created in the Firefly apps. This will identify whether Firefly AI or a partner model was used. It's unclear if this label will be visibly marked, though. You'll need an Adobe account and a plan to unlock all Firefly features. Access to third-party models depends on your subscription. In-app purchases include a Firefly Mobile Monthly plan ($4.99) and a Firefly Mobile Yearly plan ($49.99). Adobe also introduced new features for Firefly Boards, which debuted a few weeks ago. Firefly Boards let you generate video using either the Firefly Video model or an AI from an Adobe partner. You can also make iterative edits to images using the AI model of your choice. The feature helps organize your Boards with a single click so everything's ready for a presentation. Adobe Docs can also be linked to Boards. Don't Miss: Today's deals: Nintendo Switch games, $5 smart plugs, $150 Vizio soundbar, $100 Beats Pill speaker, more More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
