Google is known to put Easter eggs in their search or allied systems. Today is the turn of Wimbledon fans. Wimbledon 2019 is on its way and a lot of upsets have already been seen on the Tennis turf. Though for India Cricket world cup was in the news all the time for India, but for the rest of the world (mostly) all eyes were glued on Wimbledon 2019. Nadal and Federer’s match is what everyone has been talking about lately. And in the middle of it, Google puts an Easter on their search engine to heat things up. It will come on the search results if you type Wimbledon or #wimbledon, along with the scorecard.
Here are the exact steps you need to follow to find the Wimbledon 2019 Easter egg:
You will be presented with a scorecard of Wimbledon 2019
Scroll to the right edge of the scorecard and press the Green Tennis ball
The game will appear in that tab. (It is the last tab)
Press the play icon and you will be able to play the game
Yes, the Wimbledon Easter egg is a tennis game much like the one you saw on old NES gaming systems. Here you would need to play against a robot. The robot is in the form of a cat, android or an astronaut while you are also in the form of an astronaut, owl, a cat etc. It is a fun game where you have to use the left or the right keys on the keyboard to start the play. You are always serving and the computer will strike back.
The aim of the Wimbledon game is simple, keep hitting the ball by using left or right cursor keys. As the game passes the by, the speed of the ball keeps increasing. The best score we have had in it is 18 and the ball speed was quite a scorcher by then. The tennis ball is not available on all browsers, but if you have the Chrome browser then you are definite to get it as the last tab on the scorecard.
Google keeps pushing an Easter egg every now and then. The last one was the of the Avengers Infinity gauntlet from the movie Avengers: Endgame. Clicking on the gauntlet, some of the search results evaporated from the search page. Much like the heroes from the Avengers: Infinity War movie.
Samsung Galaxy M40 smartphone has reportedly started receiving a new update that will improve its facial recognition and enhance its camera performance. The version number of the latest update being rolled out to Samsung Galaxy M40 is M405FDDU1ASG2 and it also gets the June 2019 Android Security patch and adds a blue light filter to the handset too.
According to a report, the latest update is 376.40MB in size and it has started rolling out in a phased manner. It will gradually reach all the users. In case you have not received a notification about the update on your device yet, you can check for it manually by heading to Settings. The report about the Samsung Galaxy M40 update first surfaced online on Sammobile.
The changelog that has been shared stated that it includes the June 2019 security patch, improvements in face recognition and enhancements in Camera performance. It is recommended to install the update when your device is connected to a Wi-Fi connection since it is too big in size.
Samsung Galaxy M40 specifications and price
Samsung Galaxy M40 has been launched recently in India and it is available in a lone 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant that costs Rs 19,990. The device is available in Midnight Blue and Seawater Blue gradient colour variants. The handset has support for dual SIM cards and it runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with OneUI. Samsung Galaxy M40 features a 6.3-inch full-HD+ Infinity-O Display that comes with the company’s screen sound technology. The screen of the Samsung Galaxy M40 handset has a contrast ratio of 1200:1 and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It has a brightness of 480 nits. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC, the handset comes with Adreno 612 GPU and 6GB of RAM.
On the imaging front, Samsung Galaxy M40 sports a triple rear camera setup that consists of a 32MP primary sensor with AI scene optimiser, a 5MP secondary depth sensor and an 8MP tertiary ultra-wide-angle sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is a 16MP front-facing snapper.
Samsung Galaxy M40 has 128GB of internal storage and can hold a microSD card of up to 512GB. It houses a 3,500mAh battery that has support for 15W fast charging and has a fingerprint sensor on its back panel. The connectivity options of the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a USB Type-C port.
After concluding its Big Shopping Days Sale in May this year, Flipkart is back with another edition of the sale that will begin on July 15 and go on till July 19. The e-commerce company will be offering a number of discounts on clothes, electronics, smartphones, fashion accessories, and various other products during the four days of sale.
Customers will be able to get attractive deals and exchange offers on mobile phones. Buyers would also be able to avail up to 65% discount on the purchase of TV and appliances. On the other hand, laptops will be available at a discount. An extra 10% discount can be availed by who pay for their purchase using SBI credit cards.
Flipkart sale offers on mobiles and other categories
During the Big Shopping Days Sale, Flipkart is offering best deals on various smartphone brands like Samsung, Motorola, Apple, Lenovo, HTC, Sony mobiles, etc.
The company has revealed that Redmi Note 6 Pro, Honor 10 Lite, Samsung Galaxy series, Apple iPhones, Asus Max Pro series, and Xiaomi Redmi 7 among others smartphones will be available on Flipkart at a discount. Some devices will also be available with exchange offers.
Redmi Note 6 Pro, that was earlier sold for Rs 15,999, is now available at a price of Rs 11 990. Similarly, Samsung Galaxy J6, that was priced at Rs 12,900, is now available at Rs 9,490. Asus Max Pro M1 will be available at a discounted price of Rs 7,999 during the sale and customers will be able to purchase Honor 10 Lite for Rs 12,999 from Flipkart.
Apart from smartphones, tablets from brands like Lenovo and Alcatel will also be available at discounted prices. Customers will be able to buy them at a starting price of Rs 6,999. Samsung Galaxy Tab A can be bought for Rs 12,999. In addition to this, Flipkart is also offering Complete Mobile Protection starting at Rs 99.
During the Big Shopping Days sale, exchange offers are available on the old devices from Apple iPhone, Mi, and Motorola.
As we mentioned earlier, the website is offering a number of discounts on various categories. Televisions will get up to 65% discount and home appliances can be purchased for as low as Rs 275. The platform is also offering washing machines at a discount of up to 50%.
If you missed the previous Flipkart sale, now is the time to make the most of it and buy a number of gadgets.
Technology giant Google had halted the Android Q Beta 5 rollout some time back. But now, the company has resumed the release of the update for its Pixel smartphones. Since it is a beta update, it is meant for testing purposes and all Pixel smartphones will be getting it as an over-the-air (OTA) package. The Android Q Beta 5 gets the final developer API as a number of other upgrades to the devices.
After pausing the update because of an installation issue, the company has finally rolled out the update for all its Pixel smartphones. Speaking about the issue, the company had posted on Reddit saying, “Thank you for your patience as we investigate the issue, which is putting a very small percentage of devices back on Beta 4 after multiple reboots. We have now resumed the Beta 5 OTA rollout.” Here are all the details that you need to know about Android Q Beta 5 rollout:
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How to download Android Q Beta 5
Android Q Beta 5 is being rolled out to the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL and even the recently launched Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL smartphones. If you are already a part of the Android Q Beta programme and have Android Q Beta 4 installed, you can head to Settings > System > Advanced > System updates to install the latest version. If you are a new user, you would first have to enrol for the Android Q Beta programme and then download the latest update.
What all is new
According to the official changelog that Google has made available, Android Q Beta 5 gets the corner-in swipe gesture that can be used to activate the Google Assistant on the Pixel devices. The update also adds indicators at the bottom corners so that you know from where to perform the swipe gesture.
The latest update also comes with the peek behaviour that can work with the navigation drawer and show that a swipe will make the drawer pop-up. The behaviour is said to make the back gesture work better with apps that use slide-out navigation gestures.
Besides this, for app developers, the update also comes with the latest APIs and has a list of recommended features. This list includes interaction notifications, biometric authentication via BiometricPrompt, audio playback capture, AVI codes and HDR+ for High Dynamic Range video.
The Android Q Beta 5 has the software build number QPP5.190530.014 and it comes with the July Android security patch.
Vivo has consistently brought some of the best smartphones to India in the past couple of quarters. 2019 seems to be a good year for the Chinese company who has recently brought another scorcher to the Indian shores. Called the Vivo Z1Pro it is aimed at the younger generation who is on a budget, yet wants a good-looking smartphone with good to exceptional performance. And if gaming has been thrown in the mix, it will be a winner in their books. Well, Vivo Z1Pro does boast of all that, so we put it on our review bench to see if it just vaunts or delivers.
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Vivo Z1Pro Display and Design
There are many smartphones in the sub 20K rupee mark that have good looks. And Vivo Z1Pro is no different. It is built with good precision and straight out of the box wants attention. The front of the smartphone has an almost edge to edge touchscreen with a camera dot placed on the top left. There is a bit of chin area on this smartphone, but not too much that might take away from the show.
The volume rocker and power buttons are placed on the right edge of the smartphone while the Dual SIM (NANO) card slots is placed on the left edge. Here you will also find one more button, single press this and it activates Google Assistant. If you double press it, Google lens will come to life. At the bottom of the Vivo Z1Pro, users get a 3.5mm audio port, primary microphone, a loudspeaker hidden behind a neat grille and a micro USB charging cum data port. Which is a googly, while most have moved forward to the USB Type C port, Vivo is still on yesterday’s tech.
The rear panel is built of plastic yet has a very glass-like finish. We reviewed the Sonic Blue version of the Vivo Z1Pro which does look exceptional. The light reflects off the back panel and you can see thick gloss on the back panel, again adding to the show. There are two more colours available – sonic black, which has a purple tone and the last one is mirror black.
Placed on the back is a vertical array of triple rear cameras along with a LED flash. Here Vivo has also given a fingerprint scanner. The company’s logo can also be found on the bottom half of the smartphone. The rear panel is lustrous and nice to look at, but it also attracts its fair share of fingerprints. Which on the black version do not show as much when compared to the Blue variant.
The Vivo Z1Pro has a 6.53-inch FHD+ AMOLED display and the screen to body ratio is just under 91%. That is incredible how the company has managed to do that. Thanks to which, operating the display is better than others in the same category. As your thumb can reach more screen area with one-handed use. Also, the punch-hole camera does not come in the way too much and is not an eyesore since it is usually under the thumb while playing games. When watching movies or videos, again it is not, like we said, an eyesore.
The screen on the Vivo Z1Pro is able to portray very good colours and crisp text characters. The viewing angles are also nice and the colours do not look washed out. Sunlight legibility is not bad either, keep the adaptive brightness on and it will help the case further. Overall, we found the display to be one of the finest points of this mobile. As gaming is lively and YouTube experience is super, Vivo has done a good job. It also responds well to each finger tap and thud.
Performance and Cameras
For the price bracket the Vivo Z1Pro is in and the kind of specs it offers, this smartphone can give its competition like Xiaomi Note 7 Pro a run for its money. Well, actually it is a wee bit better than the Note 7 Pro. Before we tell you how, let’s get the specs out of the way. Vivo Z1Pro comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 octa-core CPU, which has a top clock speed of 2.3GHz. Here 2 cores run at 2.3Ghz and the other 6 run at 1.71GHz. This is combined with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage (middle variant, the one we were reviewing). There are two more deviations available. The base model comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and the top-end one comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The storage can further be expanded by up to 256GB using a microSD card.
The graphics are supplied using an Adreno 616 GPU. The battery is massive as it comes with a 5,000 mAh brick inside. This can be fast-charged using the 18W power charger, which comes in the box. Also, in the box, you get a power cable and a pair of headphones. The sound via which is pretty good, much better than what the loudspeaker can provide on the Vivo Z1Pro.
Coming back to battery life, we got over 1.5 days of wake time on this smartphone (under regular use). When gaming is put in the mix, a couple of hours of PUBG we are talking about, the total time went down to about a day. Which actually is not bad at all. Talking about PUBG, there is a dedicated gaming mode in the Vivo Z1Pro enhancing the gaming experience. Games like PUBG or Asphalt 9 work much better on it. We did not experience any frame drops or lag while gaming. Same is the case when one is watching movies or FHD YouTube videos.
Skipping over to its cameras, let’s start with the rear ones first. These consist of a 16MP primary wide sensor with an aperture size of f/1.8, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with an aperture size of f/2.2 and the third one for depth that has a sensor of 2MP with aperture f/2.4. Together they are able to spurt very good to excellent shots. The HDR mode kicks in nicely and the images become livelier. No matter what the lighting conditions are, we got some of the best shots we have seen in this smartphone class. At night the Vivo Z1Pro is able to display good colours, too. However, the edges or far off objects lose a bit of their sheen. Videos here can be shot in 4K, but between 24-30FPS only. The colours are very close to life in the videos, too.
Now for the front camera, which is another bright point of the Vivo Z1Pro. The camera dot has a 32MP sensor with aperture f/2.2. This is great if you want to livestream your PUBG session with you in the frame. FHD videos at 30FPS are supported here. Pictures look great too and a plethora of modes make the selfie-taking experience one of the best in the category. You get everything from beauty mode to portrait photo effects and live mode. The beauty mode is available in videos too.
The operating system on the Vivo Z1Pro is Android Pie 9 with the Fun Touch OS skin on top of it. We particularly are not in awe of the system, but it has become better. Though somethings like the bottom-up shortcut centre is very Apple-like, it does have a lot of elements of its own. We do like an app drawer (that is missing here) where all the icons are not cluttered on the home screens. And there are a lot of them from the get-go. A number of apps can be found on this smartphone, which makes it bloatware heavy. However, most of them can be removed with just two taps. The OS does support cloning of apps, which is a good thing to have if you are using two SIMS in the smartphone.
On the benchmarks, the Vivo Z1Pro scored 1,82,690 on AnTuTu that is better than the Xiaomi Note 7 Pro. Similar was the case when we ran Geekbench 4 on its. Here the Vivo Z1Pro scored 1,870 on single-core and 5,965 on multi-core CPU tests. 7,406 was its score in the compute test on Geekbench 4.
Verdict and Final Words
Since the smartphone has a 5,000 mAh battery it was bound to be slightly heavy. At 201 grams the company has tried to keep the weight balanced on the Vivo Z1Pro. Overall, this smartphone is a gaming beast and one would enjoy long hours of gaming on it. The screen is quite good and the sound with the headphones is pretty darn decent. The latest Android OS is available but bloatware could have been lesser. At a price of Rs 16,990 (6GB version), the Vivo Z1Pro comes with a 712 QC chipset that is better than rest in sub Rs 20K arena. It is definitely a worthy device to pick up.
Hong-Kong based technology company Infinix has launched its Note 6 smartphone. The key highlights of the Infinix Note 6 handset are its triple rear camera setup, a 4,000mAh battery, a Helio P35 SoC, and Android 9.0 Pie. The smartphone also comes with an X Pen Stylus. The device succeeds the Infinix Note 5 smartphone that was launched last year. Here’s a look at the price and the specifications of the newly-launched handset:
Infinix Note 6 price
Infinix Note 6 has been launched in a number of African countries and is priced at UGX 750,000 (approximately Rs. 13,900). The new smartphone by Infinix will be available in three colour variants – Aqua Blue, Midnight Black, and Mocha Brown. Till now, there is no such news about when the company is planning to launch the Infinix Note 6 in India. But considering its predecessors were launched in India, Infinix Note 6 should be made available too.
Infinix Note 6 specifications, design
Coming to the design of the Infinix Note 6, the smartphone comes with a traditional bezel on the top as well as the bottom of its display. At the bottom, it has a 3.5mm audio jack along with a micro USB port, equipped with a speaker grille and a Stylus placeholder. The device has a volume and power button placed on the right edge whereas the left edge has a dual SIM tray.
Infinix Note 6 runs on Android Pie skinned with XOS 5.0 software. The device features a 6.01 (1080×2160 pixels) full-HD+ AMOLED display. The smartphone is powered by the 12nm 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio P35 octa-core SoC coupled with 4GB RAM. The device comes with a 64GB of internal storage and can hold a microSD card slot up to 128GB. The smartphone houses a 4,000mAh battery that comes with support for fast charging. It is claimed that the battery will last up to 3-days.
For imaging duties, the Infinix Note 6 sports a triple rear camera setup that consists of a 16Mp primary autofocus sensor, a secondary 8MP sensor, and a third 2MP camera. The device comes with a host of camera features including AR Emoji, Google Lens, Advanced Portrait, AR Sticker, and many more. On the front, it comes with a 16MP camera for taking selfies and video calling. The front camera also includes features like AI Beauty, 3D Face Beauty, Advanced AI Cam, AR Emoji, and more.
For the connectivity options, the handset offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Micro USB port, 3.5mm audio jack, GPS, and more. Sensors onboard include an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a digital compass, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor, and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Microblogging website Twitter has been adding new features to its platform in order to make it better for its users. The latest one among these will give Twitter users more control over which comments are visible in a conversation that has been started by them. The new Twitter feature is called ‘Hide Replies’.
The company has spoken about this feature a few times this year and is also said to be testing it, but now, it will begin rolling it out to Twitter users in Canada.
With the new feature, when you look at a reply on your tweet that you don’t want other users to see, you can select it and then tap on the ‘Hide Reply’ option. But then, we should point out that by doing this, you would not be able to remove these posts from Twitter. Instead, they would just be hidden from the default view. Another thing worth adding is that other users may still be able to read it by tapping on the Gray icon to view hidden replies. So basically, it will work a lot like deleted comments on Reddit do, which is another platform where people come to have discussions and talk about their opinions.
Twitter’s Michelle Yasmeen Haq and Brittany Forks have explained the feature in detail saying, “Everyday, people start important conversations on Twitter, from #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, to discussions around #NBAFinals or their favourite television shows. These conversations bring people together to debate, learn, and laugh. That said we know that distracting, irrelevant, and offensive replies can derail the discussions that people want to have. We believe people should have some control over the conversations they start.”
They have also added that the company is still looking for ways to improve the feature. They said, “By testing in one country we want to get feedback and better understand how this tool can improve before it’s available globally.”
A potential downside of the feature is that people may start hiding some tweets that do have the right facts only because they conflict with their point of view. But then, it is also a much-needed step because it will also help people hide replies from those who troll on social media. Twitter, like any other social media platform today, has a lot of hateful content posted by people, so it had to begin somewhere to combat it.
So, while it is a welcome step by the company, there will be ways in which it can be improved to meet the required purpose.
Redmi 7A went on its first sale in India yesterday. Right after the sale got over, Xiaomi announced that its newly-launched budget smartphone will be going on its second sale on July 18.
According to the Chinese technology brand, the smartphone went out of stock in a matter of seconds. Therefore, the company’s India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain stated that Xiaomi will be putting up more number of Redmi 7A smartphones for the second sale. However, the smartphone maker has not revealed the actual total number sold units of Xiaomi’s Redmi 7A during its first ever sale. The sale started on Flipkart at 12 PM noon on Thursday.
Just minutes after when the smartphone went out of stock during its first sale in India Manu Kumar Jain tweeted saying “Today’s sale was out of stock within seconds on both @Flipkart and http://Mi.com ! We are further increasing production. More quantity to be available for next week’s sale @ 18th July (next Thursday).”
The second round of Redmi 7A’s sale will also take place via Flipkart and Mi.Com. The company is claiming to bring more stock of the Chinese smartphone on the scheduled July 18 sale.
Redmi 7A price in India
The Redmi 7A starting price is Rs. 5,999 for the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage option, while its 32GB storage variant is available at Rs. 6,199. The smartphone is available in three colour variants: Matte Black, Matte Blue, and Matte Gold.
As an introductory offer, the Chinese company is offering a discount of Rs 200 on both the variants of Redmi 7A in India throughout July. This will bring down the cost of the Redmi 7A to as low as Rs 5,799. Flipkart is also offering EMI options, exchange offers, along with an additional 5% off for customers who pay for the purchase via Axis Bank Buzz credit card. In the same way, Mi.com is offering exchange discounts, 125GB of additional 4G data, and a cashback of Rs 2,200 for the Reliance Jio customers. On the purchase of the smartphone, the company is also offering Mi Protect service starting at Rs 399.
Redmi 7A specifications, features
Redmi 7A runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10 and features a 5.45-inch HD+ (720×1440 pixels) display. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 SoC, paired with 2GB RAM. For imaging duties, the Redmi 7A sports a 12MP Sony IMX486 camera with an LED flash and PDAF lens. There is also a 5MP selfie camera on the front that has support for AI Face Unlock. The company has also announced to bring an AI Scene Detection feature to the smartphone via an over-the-air (OTA) update. The device houses a 4,000mAh battery that has support for 10W charging and includes P2i splash-resistant coating on top.
For connectivity, it has 4GVoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Cupertino-based technology giant Apple’s high-end iPhones, that will be assembled by Foxconn’s local plant, are reported to hit the Indian stores as early as next month, according to a report that quotes a source. With this, Apple is expected to drop the prices of its iPhones in the country. The source also revealed that while some approvals are pending, but India-made iPhone XS and iPhone XR will come to the market by August.
The report first surfaced on Gadgets360 and it said that neither Apple nor Foxconn have confirmed the news yet. While Apple is maintaining silence on the matter, Foxconn has said that it does not make comments on customers or their products.
If Apple expands its local assembly, will help the company save high taxes that have been levied on devices that imports. By doing this, Apple will also be meeting the local source norms that are required to open its own store in India.
Apple has millions of loyalists in India. However, the exorbitant pricing of its latest iPhones has limited the company’s market share to 1% and this has given an advantage to its rivals like OnePlus.
According to a previous report in Reuters, the local unit of the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co or Foxconn, would start assembling devices from the iPhone X line. The report also added that the assembly will begin in Tamil Nadu. It is worth mentioning that Apple assembles its lower-cost iPhone SE, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 models in India in Wistron’s unit in Bengaluru.
Speaking on the Apple’s iPhone X-series assembly in India, Rushabh Doshi of Canalys was quoted by Gadgets360 saying, “Local production will give Apple the leeway to play with the margins of their distributors and indirectly price their phones lower.”
We should mention that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been trying to position India as a hub for manufacturing smartphones. Success has been seen with this initiative as major technology companies like Samsung and Oppo have ramped up their operations in the country.
By getting more of its manufacturing and assembly to India, Apple will not only be able to avoid tariffs but will also be able to reduce the impact of the trade are between the United States and China on itself.
It is worth mentioning that some of the iPhones that have been assembled in Wistron’s plant in India, like iPhone 6S and iPhone 7, have reportedly been exported to some markets in Europe. So, Apple could also opt to do this with other iPhones once it gets the production here.
Software giant Microsoft is moving towards passwordless future. The company just released a new build for Fast Ring insiders that will add the option of passwordless sign-ins for Microsoft Accounts in Windows 10 PCs. The upcoming feature is likely to make passwords useless on Windows 10 PCs as users will have the option of going for a PIN, facial unlock or a fingerprint recognition.
According to Microsoft, as of now, the feature is only limited to a select few Windows 10 Fast Ring insiders. In a week’s time, it will be rolled out to all Windows 10 Fast Ring insiders.
The company published a blog post this week in which it said that it is rolling out the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18936 that beings support for Phone Screen feature to more Surface devices. It also adds the option of creating events quickly to the taskbar. However, the key highlight of the build is that it gets passwordless sign-ins. The Phone Screen feature will enable users to mirror the screen of their Android handset on their Windows 10 PC.
To enable passwordless sign-ins, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. The company has said, “Enabling passwordless sign in will switch all Microsoft accounts on your Windows 10 device to modern authentication with Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or PIN.”
This will be a big step for Microsoft. While facial unlocks and fingerprint scanners have become fairly common in smartphones, they are yet to gain the same kind of popularity when it comes to laptops and PCs.
The software giant has also said that users who don’t have Windows Hello, will be guided by the operating system to set it up at the time of their next sign-in. Besides this, the new build also comes with a number of fixes and improvements.
In an unrelated piece of news, a security update that was released by Microsoft for its Windows 7 is in news for the wrong reasons. Reports suggest that it pushes a compatibility appraiser with telemetry files. As of now, there is no word from Microsoft about this problem.
According to ZDNet’s report, “The concern is that these components are being used to prepare for another round of forced updates or to spy on individual PCs. The word telemetry appears in at least one file, and for some observers it’s a short step from seemingly innocuous data collection to outright spyware.”
Lenovo-owned Motorola has launched the Bronze Gradient colour option of its One Vision smartphone in India. Motorola One Vision is now available in two colour options – Bronze Gradient and Sapphire Gradient.
However, it should be noted that only the Sapphire Gradient variant was launched earlier. The company was earlier quoted saying that it will be launching a new colour variant of the device soon. Motorola One vision was launched in India on June 20 last month. It is the first ever smartphone from the company that houses a hole-punch camera setup on the front panel and comes with a 21:9 aspect ratio display.
The handset sports a 48 MP3 sensor with OIS and Night Vision4 mode and has a 25MP selfie camera with quad-pixel technology. The device comes with 128GB of internal storage and can hold a microSD card of up to 512GB. The Bronze Gradient variant of Motorola One Vision is now available on Flipkart at Rs 19,999.
Motorola One Vision Bronze Gradient specifications and details
As far as the specifications of the newly launched Motorola One Vision Bronze Gradient variant go, they are the same as the regular mode. The device comes with a 6.3-inch full-HD+ (1080×2520 pixels) display that has an aspect ratio of 21:9. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Samsung Exynos 9609 SoC that is clocked at 2.2GHz and houses 4GB of RAM. The smartphone will be launched in a single storage variant.
For imaging duties, Motorola One Vision Bronze Gradient sports a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 5MP depth sensor. On the front, it has a 25MP snapper with an f/2.0 lens that can be used to click selfies and make video calls. In addition to this, the phone features OIS and a dedicated Night mode for low-light photography.
The Motorola One Vision Bronze Gradient houses a 3,500mAh battery with 15W Turbo Power for fast charging. It has 128GB of onboard storage and can hold a microSD card of up to 512GB. The smartphone is IP52 certified and measures 160.1×71.2×8.7mm and weighs 120 grams.
Coming on the connectivity, Motorola One Vision includes 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, NFC, GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack and Dolby Audio support. The newly launched Smartphone also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. You can read in detail about the smartphone in our review of the Motorola One Vision.
Cupertino-based technology giant Apple had introduced a unique feature in the watchOS 5 that allowed Apple Watch users to use it as a walkie-talkie with a dedicated app. Now, the company has disabled the Walkie-Talkie app because of a vulnerability that enabled malicious parties to eavesdrop on other people via an iPhone and listen to their conversations.
The vulnerability came to light via Apple‘s own platform using which people can report various security issues. However, the company has not given out any details on how the vulnerability could have been exploited. But then it has disabled the app until the required steps are taken to fix it.
According to a report by technology news website TechCrunch, Apple was made aware about the vulnerability via the company’s own official portal for reporting vulnerabilities. As soon as the security flaw was confirmed, Apple shut down the functionality of the Walkie-Talkie app to ensure that the flaw does not get exploited. According to Apple, till now, there have been no reports that say that the vulnerability in the app was exploited.
Speaking on the issue, Apple said, “We were just made aware of a vulnerability related to the Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch and have disabled the function as we quickly fix the issue.” The Cupertino-based technology giant added that to exploit the Walkie-Talkie app, one needs very specific conditions and an entire sequence of steps needs to be executed for an individual to eavesdrop on another user via their iPhone.
Apple further said, “We concluded that disabling the app was the right course of action as this bug could allow someone to listen through another customer’s iPhone without consent.
The company has apologized for the inconvenience that has been caused to users by disabling the Walkie-Talkie app and making it unusable for some time. Apple has said that it will be made functional again once the vulnerability has been fixed. While the app will remain installed on users’ devices, it will only start functioning normally once the vulnerability has been addressed completely. Apple is soon expected to roll out an update that will patch the vulnerability.
We should mention that this is not the first time when such a security issue has come to light in an Apple device. A few months back, a vulnerability was found because of which other users could eavesdrop on people FaceTime calls. Apple had taken a similar step then and disabled the affected functions till it rolled out a fix.
Paytm became an immensely popular app in 2016 after the government announced demonetization of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. Although that period is long gone, the popularity of Paytm has not decreased. People still use it regularly. While most of us use Paytm for paying bills, getting recharges, making payments and booking movie tickets, there is a lot more that can be done via the app. Here, we have listed down 12 useful Paytm features you may not have known about. Take a look:
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Order food online
If you have Paytm, you don’t need any food-ordering app on your smartphone. Paytm has collaborated with Zomato so that its users can order food via the app itself. It is one among the very useful Paytm features. For ordering food via Paytm, open the app and click on ‘More’ from the list of options. You will find the option of ‘Food deliver’ under ‘Travel, Entertainment & Food’ section.
Look for restaurant deals
If you don’t want to order in and would rather eat out, you can look for restaurant deals on Paytm. Go to Paytm > More > Travel, Entertainment & Food and then click on the option of ‘Restaurant Deals‘. You will be able to look for deals on restaurants in your locality or even search for them with their names or cuisine.
Get gift vouchers
Who does not like gift vouchers? Anyone who loves to shop would have a love for discounts and cashbacks too. You can find these on Paytm by opening the app, clicking on ‘More’ and then scrolling down to ‘Gift Vouchers’ section. Here, click on ‘Other Gift Vouchers’ and you will be able to spot all of them together at one place. You will find them in various categories like Fashion, Electronics and Jewellery & Accessories. You can thank us later for letting you know of this Paytm feature.
Add money to Google Play
If you use your smartphone for gaming, reading e-books and watching movies, you would know how important it is to have sufficient Google Play balance. If you are not comfortable with adding your credit card details on Google Play Store, you can add money in it using Paytm. Head to Paytm > More > Recharge & Bill Payment > Google Play and you will see the option of adding money to your account here.
Book flight and train tickets, get hotel deals
This one may be common, but we thought we should add it for those who are unaware. Booking flight and train tickets on Paytm is as easy as booking a movie ticket. You will find the options of doing these under ‘Travel, Entertainment & Food’ tab in ‘More’ section of the app. We should mention that you will even be able to check your PNR status and Train Status under the ‘Train Tickets’ option. In ‘Travel, Entertainment & Food’, you can also press on the ‘hotel’ icon to check out hotel deals for yourself.
Book a cylinder
Booking a cylinder is no longer a pain. Just head to Paytm, click on ‘More’ and go to ‘Recharge & Bill Payment’. Here, click on ‘Book a Cylinder’. You will have to enter your linked mobile number and gas agency to book it. You can also pay your gas bill from this tab. It is a Paytm feature that will save a lot of time of yours.
Pay your college fees
Students have the option of paying their college fees via Paytm. Head to Paytm, click on ‘More’ and then go to ‘Education’. Here, click on ‘Fee Payment’. You would have to give your college’s name, your course, and your personal details to complete the transactions.
Buy Gold
While buying gold online is a risky business, Paytm is said to be one among the safer options to go by. You can head to Paytm > More > Financial Services > Gold if you intend to do this. You would have the option of buying gold in amount or grams. You can also buy gold coins, sell gold, gift it or get a saving plan for it.
Pay your loan EMI
If you have to pay an EMI for a loan regularly, you can easily do this via Paytm. Head to Paytm > More > Financial Services > Loan. Here, you would have to select your vendor and then provide some other necessary details to pay your loan EMI.
Get an insurance policy
If you have to get yourself an insurance policy and cannot find the time to do so, you can buy on Paytm under the ‘Financial Services’ tab. Here, you will find the option of insurance under the umbrella-shaped icon. On clicking on it, you will see the option of buying a new policy as well as paying for an existing one.
Play games
Yes, you can play games on Paytm. Just click on ‘More’ and scroll down. You will see a ‘Play Games’ tab. Here, you will get to choose from a number of games that you can play on the app itself.
Send a ‘Lifafa’ to your friends
If you are headed to your friend’s wedding and forgot to get a traditional ‘Lifafa’ to give them money for good luck, you needn’t rush from shop to shop looking for one. Just head to Paytm > More > Banking Services > Lifafa.
Previously this year, Samsung promised to launch a new Galaxy A-series smartphone every month till June 2019. The company has kept its promise and it has launched numerous handsets in the Galaxy A series in the last 5 months. Now, reports suggest that Samsung will be launching its Galaxy A90 smartphone soon. Some leaks have also suggested that Samsung Galaxy A90will come in two variants with SM-A905 and SM-A908 as their model names.
Now, according to the fresh rumours that surfaced have surfaced online, Samsung Galaxy A90 will come with powerful specifications like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 SoC coupled with 6GB of RAM, a sturdy battery along with high-quality camera set up. The device is rumoured to also be available in a 5G variant. Earlier, the supposed case of the device was also leaked online and it revealed a few details about the smartphone.
According to a report by SamMobile, the smartphone was listed on the Geekbench and the listing reveals that the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G variant (SM-A908N) will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC. The upcoming smartphone will be the company’s first mid-range device that will be using Snapdragon 855 or an Exynos 9820 processor. Apart from that, it also reveals that the smartphone will house 6GB of RAM.
However, another report by Club Galaxy discloses that Samsung will not be limiting the upcoming device to the South Korean Market. The company is planning to release the Galaxy A90 5G variant in European countries too. The European model of the device comes with the model number‘SM-A908B’. The report also suggests that the 5G variant of the handset will be housing a massive 4,500mAh battery. They also revealed that the battery’s certification number is SM-A908B.
A report by GSMArena says that a supposed case of the Samsung Galaxy A90 was spotted on a Norwegian retailer and it revealed the design of the upcoming smartphone. It shows that the design of both the front and the back of the handset. According to the leaked images of the case, it can be seen the smartphone will feature an edge to edge display along with an under the screen fingerprint sensor. At the rear, it will be sporting a triple rear camera setup with LED Flash. It shows a dark spot at the right top end of the screen and that suggests that the 5G variant will feature a center aligned pop-up selfie camera.
Till now, all the known information about Samsung Galaxy A90 is based on reports and rumours. The company has not officially revealed the smartphone, so we suggest you take it with a pinch of salt.
WhatsApp will soon be adding a ‘Quick Edit Media Shortcut’ feature that, as the name suggests, will permit its users to edit media files that they have received or sent within the app. The new is being tested right now and the instant messaging app has released the feature for beta users.
According to a report by WABetaInfo, the new feature is under development for both Android and iOS and WhatsApp will be rolling it out to everyone very soon. However, there is no word on when the feature will be rolled out. A beta version of WhatsApp has also been spotted with a QR code feature earlier this month.
As the name suggests, it allows the user to share their profiles by scanning QR codes. It is similar to Nametag scanning on Instagram.
Coming back to the Quick Edit Media Shortcut, the report suggests that the feature will be helpful in saving the time of the user. The new feature will allow the user to edit files like a photo that they have sent or received on the app. They will also be able to edit copied or saved files that are present in their chats and groups with some modifications. As we mentioned earlier, the feature will reportedly work both on Android and iOS. Both the versions of the app will be getting a dedicated button for accessing the feature. Currently, the new feature is being tested and it is only available for the beta version.
Image Courtesy: WAbetainfo
The new dedicated button will be called ‘Edit’ and it will be placed next to the ‘Share’ and ‘Favourite’ buttons and will be visible when the user taps on the media file.
With this, users will be able to edit their media files on WhatsApp in a much quicker way. The new feature has reduced the number of steps that usually the users are required to take for editing a media file exchanged on WhatsApp.
Currently, WhatsApp does not come with any dedicated feature that allows the user to edit media files that they have sent or received in their chats or groups within the app. Right now, to make any modifications the users need to download the media file to their device and then use the default media editing tool.
According to the leaked screenshots by WAbetainfo, the new Quick Media Edit Shortcut will not replace the editing feature that is available right now on Whatapp. Usual controls like cropping, adding texts and drawing doodles will still be accessible.
Chinese technology brand Oppo is all set to launch its K3 smartphone in India soon. While this was considered to be a speculation till now, a dedicated page on Amazon India has been updated to reveal the launch date of the upcoming device. According to the teaser, Oppo K3 will be launched in India on July 19. The website has also added a ‘Notify Me’ button and started taking registrations for the device.
We should mention that Oppo K3 was launched in China in May this year, so we already know what to expect from it. The key specifications of the handset include a pop-up selfie camera, an in-display fingerprint scanner, VOOC 3.0 fast charging and Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 710 processor.
Since Amazon India has shared the teaser of the handset, it is easy to figure out that Oppo K3 smartphone will exclusively be available on the e-commerce website. The pricing and the availability of the Oppo K3 are not known yet and we will have to wait till July 19 to know the exact details. As of now, from the teaser of the smartphone we know that it will be available in two colours – Purple and Black. It can also be seen that the device will come with a gradient finish.
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Oppo K3 price
In China, Oppo K3 smartphone is available in three storage variants – 6GB RAM/64G storage, 6GB RAM/128GB storage and 8GB RAM/256GB storage. The three variants of the handset are priced at CNY 1,599 (approximately Rs 16,100), CNY 1,899 (approximately Rs. 19,100) and CNY 2,299 (approximately Rs. 23,200) respectively.
Although the India pricing of the smartphone is not available yet, it is expected to be similar to its cost in China.
Oppo K3 specifications
Oppo K3 smartphone has support for dual SIM card and it runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with ColorOS 6.0. The handset sports a 6.5-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) AMOLED display that has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and comes with a DC dimming feature. The screen of the device also has a fingerprint scanner embedded on it and the company has touted its compensating projection technology saying that it enables faster unlock.
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 SoC, Oppo K3 comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The device has a 16MP pop-up selfie camera and on its back, there is a dual rear camera setup that consists of a 16MP sensor and a 2MP sensor. The handset by Oppo houses a 3,765mAh battery that has support for VOOC 3.0 fast charging capabilities.
Yesterday Nintendo announced a smaller and more affordable version of its Switch gaming console. Right after that, a report has surfaced online saying that the company is upgrading the original Nintendo Switch with a new processor and flash storage chips.
This has been revealed by listings in the Federal Communications Commission and it is worth mentioning that the new chips could mean that console will have faster load times and fewer number of slowdowns. It may also mean that the upgraded gaming console will come with a longer battery life and emit lesser heat than it does now.
We should mention that this is not the Nintendo Switch Pro, successor of the current model of Switch, that is being spoken about. This is more like an update to the existing model and it just comes with a few better internals. The company is being very tight-lipped about is as of now, but then, it has submitted a ‘Class II Permission Change’ to FCC so that it can introduce the changes in the existing model without having to get it recertified for sale in the United States.
The changes that can be seen in the FCC listing include an Nvidia Tegra processor that will come with CPU and graphics and ‘NAND memory’ that you will find inside an SSD.
It is also worth pointing out that this is not the first time when this will be happening as the video game industry has an entire history of quietly swapping components from gadgets and consoles. This also helps companies reduce the costs of their products because newly launched chips are usually easier to produce and smaller in size.
In Switch’s case, this will surely make a difference as currently, the gaming console comes with a four-year-old Tegra processor. But then, one can only surely tell once they have tried the new model.
As we mentioned earlier, the company has just released a smaller and more affordable Nintendo Switch Lite. The device is priced at $199.99, and it does not come with detachable Joy-Con controllers. It is a completely hand-held device and users would not have the option of connecting it to a television to play games on a big screen. It will be made available for purchase starting September 20.
As of now, there is no word on the India price and availability of the device, but we will update you as soon as the company makes it official.
Technology giant Google may not have seen too much success with its Google Glass, but then it hasn’t shaken its belief that augmented reality will prove beneficial for its other services. Even at the keynote of this year’s Google I/O, the company showcased a lot about a number of Google Lens features that are aimed at making users’ lives easier. Among these features was an instant translation with automatic language detection. Although it was supposed to come to Google Lens later this year, the feature has already arrived on Google Translates Android app.
According to a report in 9to5Google, in the Google Translate, 5.29 APK shows several new features being rolled out to the stable version of the app in the future.
The APK shows that the app will soon get a better interface and some new features that are supposed to enhance the quality of translation while using the camera. The Instant translation mode is also getting an upgrade and will now have the ability to detect languages automatically. This will quicken the process of translation on the as users would be able to just point their cameras towards the text without even knowing what language it is used.
In the new interface, a new bar has been added at the bottom that has the Instant, Scan and Import options. The Instant mode is the one that has an eye-shaped toggle icon and now, it comes with a ‘Pause translation’ button. The text that is translated with the Instant mode will be shown on top of the text in the original language. The formatting style will also be kept intact.
On the other hand, the Scan mode is very similar to what it was in the previous versions. However, it comes with a new button called ‘Clear’. This lets you deselect words. Lastly, using the import mode, you can select and scan images from your Gallery and translate them.
Image courtesy: 9To5google
While the primary functions of the Google Translate app remain very similar to what they were earlier, the new interface makes it simpler to use. It is being speculated that the new interface, as well as the automatic language detection, will be available to the version 5.29 of the app, some reports also suggest that Android Q will be a requirement for these new features.
This is because the new version of the app’s APK was found on Android Q’s beta version. We would have to wait till we know for sure and will update you as soon as we do.
Technology giant Google keeps on adding new features to its services in order to make them more useful for users. Today, the company has added three new features to its Google Maps for Indian users.
The new Google Maps features include an India-inspired Explore Tab, a ‘For You’ experience and a dining Offers feature that will enable users to explore areas that they may enjoy with suggestions tailored according to their tastes.
Speaking about the new features, Krish Vitaldevara, Director, Google Maps, said, “We’ve heard that Indian Maps users prefer a more assistive and visual browsing experience that is easy to access. To reflect this, we have a redesigned, India-focussed ‘Explore Tab’, the ‘For You’ feature and dining ‘Offers’. This will help Google Maps users discover a new side to their city, whether looking for things to do around town, getting offers on dining out, or getting recommendations that are personalized to their unique tastes.”
Till now, the ‘Explore’ tab has been a one-tap route to get suggestions on dining, events, and things to do. Now, the Explore tab has been redesigned in Google Maps and the company has added seven new shortcuts to it including Restaurants, Petrol Pumps, ATMS, Offers, Shopping, Hotels and Chemists. According to Google, these have been added to the feature on the basis of the top queries that have been made by people. Google has also said that its Maps service will automatically identify the top suggestions across these categories in each city with the help of machine learning.
By tapping on the arrow icon besides ‘Explore Nearby’, users will be able to explore popular places in their city. An option has also been added to explore places in cities other than the one users are living in. They can do so just by searching the name of a city.
The ‘For You’ tab will give users information about new restaurants, trending places and personalized recommendations. The feature also comes with a ‘Your Match’ score that uses machine learning to “combine what Google Maps knows about millions of places with the information a user has added like restaurants rated, cuisines liked and places visited.”
Users will be able to pick areas and localities that they are interested to visit and get more recommendations about them over time.
The ‘For You’ tab will also give users relevant updates and news on events. They would also be able to follow certain businesses and would receive recommendations based on the merchants they follow.
Last, but not the least, under the ‘Offers’ section, users will be able to find deals and claim the at restaurants in 11 Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.
Users will be able to find the ‘Offers’ shortcut in the ‘Explore’ tab and it has been launched in partnership with EazyDiner.
Chinese technology company Vivo recently launched its Z1 Pro smartphone in India. Today, the Vivo Z1 Pro smartphone is going on sale in India for the first time. Interested buyers can head to Flipkart or Vivo’s official India website to buy the newly launched handset.
The device is available in three storage variants and comes with a hole-punch display, a triple rear camera setup and a 5,000mAh battery. Another key highlight of the smartphone is that it comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC and it packs a number of gaming-centric features. Here’s a look at the sale details, offers and specifications of the Vivo Z1 Pro smartphone:
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Vivo Z1 Pro price in India, sale details
Vivo Z1 Pro is available in three storage variants in the country – 4GB RAM/64GB storage, 6GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage. The three variants are priced at Rs 14,990, Rs 16,990 and Rs 17,990 respectively. The first sale of the smartphone will begin at 12 PM IST and the device will be available for purchase on Flipkart and Vivo’s online store.
The handset is available in Mirror Black, Sonic Black, and Sonic Blue colour variants. Coming to sale offers, Vivo Z1 Pro can avail an instant discount of Rs 750 by using ICICI Bank debit and credit cards on Flipkart. If one buys the device from Vivo India’s e-store, they will get benefits worth Rs 6,000 from Reliance Jio.
Vivo Z1 Pro specifications
Vivo Z1 Pro smartphone has support for dual SIM cards and runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with FunTouch OS 9. The smartphone sports a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) IPS display and is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 712 SoC. It has Adreno 616 GPU and comes with up to 6GB of RAM. The device has 128GB of internal storage and it houses a 5,000mAh battery that comes with support for 18W fast charging.
The device comes with a Multi-Turbo feature that combines Center Turbo, AI Turbo, Net Turbo, Cooling Turbo and Game Turbo. These are supposed to enhance the gaming performance of the new offering by Vivo.
On the imaging front, the Vivo Z1 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup that comprises of a 16MP primary sensor with an f/1.78 lens, an 8MP sensor with a 120-degree super wide angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is a 32MP front-facing snapper too.
Chinese technology company Xiaomi launched its Redmi 7A smartphone in India earlier this month. At the launch, the company has announced that Redmi 7A smartphone will go on sale starting July 11. Today, the handset is all set to go on sale in the country for the first time via Flipkart. The sale of Redmi 7A will start at 12 PM IST and besides Flipkart, one can also head to Mi.com and Mi Home Stores to buy the device. Here are the price details, specifications and launch offer that you can avail with the Redmi 7A:
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Redmi 7A sale price in India, launch offers
The Redmi 7A smartphone is available in two storage variants in India – one with 2GB RAM/16GB storage and the other with 2GB RAM/32GB storage. The 2GB RAM/16GB storage model is priced at Rs 5,999 and the 2GB RAM/32GB storage variant can be picked up at Rs 6,199. The handset will be available in three colour variants –Matte Black, Matte Blue, and Matte Gold.
As it was mentioned earlier also the device can be purchased online via Flipkart, Mi.com, and Mi Home stores starting at 12 PM noon IST. The company is also offering Rs 200 discount on both the variants of Xiaomi’s Redmi 7A as an introductory offer. After the discount, the device will cost the buyers as low as Rs. 5,799. The introductory offer is available for all the buyers who will purchase the handset in July. Flipkart is also offering an EMI option along with exchange offers, and an extra 5% discount for Axis Bank Buzz credit card users.
Redmi 7A specifications, features
Redmi 7A runs Android 9 Pie with MIUI 10 skinned on top. The device features a 5.45-inch HD+ (720×1440 pixels) display and is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 SoC, coupled with 2GB RAM. For imaging duties, the Redmi 7A sports a 12MP Sony IMX486 camera with an LED flash and PDAF lens. There is also a 5MP selfie camera on the front panel that supports the AI Face Unlock feature. In addition to this, the company has also announced to bring an AI Scene Detection feature to the phone through an over-the-air (OTA) update. The phone measures 146.30×70.41×9.55mm and it weighs 165 grams.
As we mentioned earlier, Redmi 7A will be available in 16GB and 32GB storage variants and both the variants will be able to hold a microSD card of up to 256G. The device packs a 4,000mAh battery supports 10W charging and includes P2i splash-resistant coating on top.
For connectivity, it has 4GVoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
As the August 7 launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is coming closer, more and more number of reports about the device are surfacing online. The latest one that has poured in is a fresh set of press renders of the Black and Silver Prism colour variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+.
The renders, which have been published by MySmartPrice in collaboration with Ishan Agarwal, show that the Galaxy Note 10+ will come with an S Pen that has a single colour, unlike the stylus of the predecessor of the handset. While the Silver Prism colour variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ will come with a dark blue coloured S Pen, the Black colour model of the handset will have a black coloured stylus.
The upcoming smartphone can be seen to feature a Super AMOLED display that has ultra-thin bezels and a punch-hole design on its screen to house the selfie camera. While Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphones also came with in-display cameras, their sensors were placed on the side of the screen, while Galaxy Note 10’s will be housed in the centre of the top of the display. On its back panel, the upcoming smartphone does not come with a fingerprint scanner, and this points towards the possibility of the device coming with an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor.
The back panel of the smartphone in the renders can be seen to come with a quad camera setup and one among the sensors on the device will be a 3D ToF lens. Besides this, the gradient back panel of the handset comes with Samsung’s logo and an LED flash. In the renders, Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ does not have a dedicated button for Bixby. A number of reports about the smartphone suggest that it will not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. In the latest set of renders, this has not been made clear.
Image courtesy: MySmartPrice, Ishan Agarwal
According to prior reports, Samsung Galaxy Note 110+ will sport a 6.75-inch Super AMOLED QHD+ display that will have support for HDR+ playback. The smartphone will reportedly come with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner and its selfie camera will have a 10MP and feature a dual-pixel PDAF. The triple rear camera setup of the device will consist of a 48MP primary sensor. The other two sensors will reportedly have a 2x telephoto lens and an ultra-wide angle lens.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855/Exynos 9825 processor and run Android 9.0 Pie. Reports suggest that the Galaxy Note 10+ will house a 4,500mAh battery that will have support for 25W rapid charging.
Last year, IBM had announced that it will be acquiring Red Hat for a whopping $34 billion, including debt. Now, the American technology giant has wrapped up the deal, making it one among the biggest tech acquisitions the world has seen till now.
It was in October 2018 that IBM officially announced about the Red Hat acquisition. The deal got a stamp of approval from the US Department of Justice in May 2019. At the end of June this year, the European Union gave the deal between the two companies an unconditional approval and with this, the last potential roadblock was also removed.
According to IBM, Red Hat will continue to operate under CEO Jim Whitehurst. However, Whitehurst will be joining IBM in a senior management role and will report directly to CEO Ginny Rometty.
Back in October last year, a report in Reuters said that with this acquisition, IBM eyes to diversify its technology hardware and consulting business into high-margin products and services. As we mentioned earlier, this will one among the biggest tech acquisitions the world has seen so far and the largest one for the company yet. The deal is a part of CEO Ginny Rometty’s efforts to broaden the company’s subscription-based software offerings.
We should mention that it has been reported in the past that the need for this has arisen out of a drop in software sales of the company and a fall in demand for mainstream servers. It is worth pointing out that IBM has a market capitalisation of $114 and for its Red Hat acquisition, the technology giant will be paying $190 per share in cash.
Speaking to Reuters, Rometty had said, Red Hat is one of the few companies in the cloud computing sector that has free cash flow as well as strong revenue growth. According to Rometty, “This acquisition we are clearly doing for growth synergies. This is not about cost synergies at all.”
With the Red Hat acquisition, IBM eyes to catch up with the likes of Amazon.com, Alphabet, and Microsoft. In the last five years, IBM’s shares have fallen by almost a third of their value, while Red Hat’s have increased by over 170% in the same time frame.
Prior to this, the company has also acquired Canada-based Cognos for $5 billion, and a cloud infrastructure provider Softlayer for $2 billion in 2013. It also bought Weather Channel’s data assets for “over $2 billion” in 2015.
We have some very good news for gamers. Nintendo has taken wraps off its Switch hybrid gaming console today. Dubbed Nintendo Switch Lite, the console is a smaller version of the system that is focussed on the platform’s portable side. The company has announced that the new Nintendo Switch Lite is priced at $199.99 and will be made available for purchase on September 20.
We should mention that the Lite version of the Nintendo Switch will not come with detachable Joy-Con controllers. Instead, the latest gaming console by Nintendo is compact and an all-in-one piece of hardware. It can only be used as a handheld gaming console and users don’t get the option of connecting it to a television to play their favourite games on a big screen.
The new gaming console comes with a 5.5-inch display and weighs 0.61lbs, which is lesser than the original Switch. The company has rolled out Nintendo Switch Lite in three colour variants: Yellow, Gray and Turquoise. The new variant of the console promises a battery life that spans three to seven hours of gameplay.
According to the company, with a Nintendo Switch Lite, you can play all the games in the Nintendo Switch Library that have support for handheld mode. It is also worth noticing that some games may have certain restrictions for the Nintendo Switch Lite gaming console. The new gaming console does not come with HD Rumble support or the IR camera that once can access in Joy Cons for the regular version of Switch.
It’s worth adding that Nintendo Switch Lite will come with support for external Joy-Con controllers, the Switch Pro Controller and the Poke Ball Plus. It also comes with built-in gyro-controls. For connectivity, the device has support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. A hands-on report in technology website The Verge has elaborated on these points about the newly launched gaming console by Nintendo.
We should point out that a number of reports in the Wall Street Journal over the last one year had predicted that Nintendo is working on a smaller and more affordable Switch gaming console. With this announcement by the company, the reports by the Wall Street Journal have proven to be correct.
The latest gaming console by Nintendo may not be the best option for those who enjoy playing games on big screens. But then, for those who do not mind playing games on handheld devices, it is a good option as they would end up saving $100.
There is no word by the company yet about the India price and availability of the Nintendo Switch Lite. We would update you as soon as we know.
Three years back on July 6, Pokemon Go was released and it instantly became a global success. While most games made people stay in and be on their couches, Pokemon Go actually made people leave their homes and go out to look for Pokemons. After all this time, the excitement that the game initially saw has faded away. However, it still continues to be immensely successful even though there is no hype being created around it.
According to an analyst site Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go has grossed $2.65 billion over the last three years in spite of the fact that it is free on Google‘s Play Store and Apple’s App Store and many of its players have never made a single transaction on the game. When compared to the first three years of other major Western-made mobile games, Pokemon Go surpasses all others except Clash of Clans. Since we are comparing it with other games, we should mention that Pokemon Go has not been launched in China yet.
There are a number of titles from China and Japan like Monster Strike that are considered to be bigger, but then, when we speak about Western titles, Pokemon Go is one among the games that are said to be unstoppable. It is worth pointing out that Pokemon Go qualifies as a Western Game because its maker – Niantic – is based in San Francisco. Nintendo has very little to do with the app and even when it comes to profit, it gets a relatively lesser portion.
Pokemon Go’s biggest market is the United States and it accounts for around 35% of the game’s gross revenues. The US is followed by Japan at 25% and Germany at 6%. Even the spendings on the game have been split very evenly between iOS and Android. Interestingly, the has 54% of its earnings coming from Google Play Store, 1.6% from iPads and the rest comes from iPhone users.
In spite of the fact that Pokemon Go recently turned three years in age and is currently not available in China, the game is the eighth biggest earner across all mobile games globally in June 2019 and has already grossed $395 million this year. This is an increase of 19% when compared to the same time in 2018.
According to Sensor Tower, the game will cross the $3 billion milestone by the end of this year since the players spend an average of $2.4 million on the game every day since the day it was launched three years back.
