There has been a new code within the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. This is called the iOS 12.2 beta and it hints of four new iPad models and an iPod touch upgrade. These four new iPad models are code names the “iPad 11,1”, “iPad 11,2”, iPad 11,3” and “iPad 11,4”. All of these models are going to have WiFi and cellular models, however, without Face ID. This hints that Apple will not integrate its facial recognition technology on the new iPads. As before, these devices are going to rely on Touch ID fingerprint scanning system for user authentication.
It has also been confirmed that Apple will soon launch iPad Mini and a new entry level iPad. The iPad Mini is supposed to sport a 7.9-inch display. Considering that these about-to-launch iPad models are going to be bereft of Face ID, they might receive internal upgrades and not complete redesigns. This is because they would not be able to go bezel-less with Touch ID as a part of it. Probably on the pretext of the iPad Pro line being very costly, these devices are being launched.
There is high probability that Apple is going to incorporate the Touch ID in the coming iPads because they are budget devices. To speak of the iPod Touch, it was quite unexpected that the Cupertino-based-tech giant is going to come up with the product. Considering that we haven’t received any update of the iPod for a long period, we thought that Apple might have forgone with this product. However, we get a different picture now.
To recall, the six-generation iPod Touch was launched in 2015 with 32GB storage and no Touch ID. The device costs $199. The iOS 12.2 beta code suggests that the about-to-launch new iPod Touch is not going to have Face ID to keep its price low.
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Chinese smartphone brand Honor has today launched its View 20 smartphone in India. A very notable fact about Honor View 20 is that it is the first smartphone in India to come with a 48MP primary camera and a hole-punch display to house the selfie snapper. Here’s a look at the complete list of specifications and pricing details of the Honor View 20 smartphone:
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Honor View 20 price and availability
Honor View 20 is available in two storage variants in India – one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage and the other with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. While the former is priced at Rs 37,999, the latter costs Rs 45,999.
At this price, the smartphone competes directly with OnePlus 6T, which is currently enjoying a lot of success in the Indian smartphone market. Honor View 20 will go on sale Amazon India’s website as well as on Honor India’s e-store starting January 30.
Honor View 20 specifications
Coming to the specifications of the newly launched smartphone, Honor View 20 runs Android Pie skinned with Magic UI 2.0 and sports a 6.4-inch full-HD+ TFT LCD All-View display that comes with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, a screen-to-body ratio of 91.82% and a pixel density of 398ppi. The screen of the smartphone has a hole-punch on its top left corner to house the selfie camera.
Powered by 7nm octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor, the smartphone comes with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. While the 6GB RAM model comes with 128GB storage, the 8GB RAM variant has 256GB storage. The device also has liquid cooling system that, according to the company, enables thermal management on it.
For imaging duties, Honor View 20 has a dual rear camera setup that comprises of a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor that has an f/1.8 aperture and comes with 960fps slow-motion video recording, autofocus, AI HDR and is coupled with an LED flash. The other lens in the dual rear camera setup is a 3D ToF sensor that enables the camera to capture the depth and makes various 3D applications work. The display of the smartphone has a 25MP selfie sensor that comes with an f/2.0 aperture. Honor View 20 houses a 4,000mAh battery and comes with 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth v5.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, and USB Type-C for connectivity.
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The tech giant Apple is reportedly working on a subscription service for Video games for the App store. Here users can pay to play the list of titles available on the platform. Its workings are just like that of Netflix’s where users pay for a limited time subscription to watch shows, series or cinema movies. Apple had already been talking with game developers in the second half of 2018 and all that talk has borne this result – a gaming subscription service, which will no doubt be a big exciting news for apple users and gamers as well.
However, it is still unclear what the subscription will cost, what games and titles it would offer and what features it would have? The service is still in its early stages of development. In best-case scenario, the company could get additional customer base and the users get to play different titles. In worst- case scenario, the company could abandon the service entirely.
The reports on Cheddar also claim that apple plans to act as a games publisher where it hopes to publish, distribute and control the prices of the games. Apple has always been focused on their software and with the addition of game subscription it surely hopes to get an advantage. Currently the video game subscription market has very few players and with the rise of online multiplayer games like PUBG and Fortnite this step could mean an increase in their user numbers. Mobile e-sports is also booming and gaming companies
are pushing their titles to run on the smartphone platform as well.
Apple has been taking steps in many directions to counter its falling sales and stocks in the market. Due to the battery replacement by its users the sales of the iPhones plummeted and so did the company’s stocks. Reports suggest that Apple has been making new original content to rival Netflix, it is also planning to start a news subscription program and the company is also focusing on Apple music to increase its user base.
Google is expected to unveil its next Android operating system at its Google I/O 2019. There are still months to go for the event which is scheduled to begin on May 7, but leaks and rumours about Android Q have already started surfacing online. The latest report about the upcoming software update says that Android Q will come with a feature that will restrict background clipboard access for various third-party apps.
This feature will come in handy for users to keep their sensitive information such as usernames and passwords safe and it wouldn’t allow any third party apps to access their data. In an alleged leaked build of Android Q, an option to rollback app updates can also be seen. The next version of Android is also said to re-enable third-party apps to have to have background access to your device’s location. Besides this, the update will reportedly come with some new pre-installed fonts, icons and accent colours.
A report in XDA Developers shared some images from a leaked build of upcoming Android Q earlier this month. According to the images that were shared, Android Q will come with new permissions that will be able to restrict third-party apps from reading the user’s clipboard.
A permission with the name of ‘android.permission.READ_CLIPBOARD_IN_BACKGROUND’ can reportedly enable the users to grant apps the ability to read data from clipboard while running in the background. We should mention that it has also been reported that the protection level of the permission is ‘signature’, which means that only those apps that are signed by manufacturers will have access to clipboard data in the background.
Image courtesy: XDA Developers
Furthermore, Mishaal Rahman from XDA Developers also spotted some new permissions for system-level apps that will be able to downgrade apps. The permissions are named as ‘PACKAGE_ROLLBACK_AGENT’ and ‘MANAGE_ROLLBACKS’ and it has been reported that these will enable Google Play to move the app to its previous version. These will prove to be useful when you install an update of an app that has bugs. So, you would be able to use these permissions to go back to the previous bug-free version of the app.
In addition to this, some broadcast events with the name of ‘PACKAGE_ENABLE_ROLLBACK’ and ‘PACKAGE_ROLLBACK EXECUTED’ have also been found that would inform the apps about the rollback action.
Apart from this, another new permission that has been spotted is named, ‘ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION’. With this, the “app will always have access to the location, even when you’re not using the app.”
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Asus‘s Zenfone 5Z receives the much awaited Android 9.0 Pie update. The Taiwan tech company deployed the update in phases so it will take some time for the update to reach all the 5Z users around the world.
In this newest android version Google has added many new features and have improved old ones, some of the features include night mode, improvements to extend the battery life of the smartphones through adaptive screen brightness, malware protection, digital well-being and a secure digital platform.
The users will receive an update notification on their Asus Zenfone 5Z. Once clicked on the notification they will be asked to ‘download and install’ the update package for their phones. Once the package is downloaded they will be asked to ‘restart’ their devices. It will take some time for the device to install the update package and restart. Once the device boots up it will have the Pie update installed. But, users should keep their battery above the 50 percent mark to have a stable and trouble free update, and also they shouldn’t turn off their devices when the update is being installed.
For the users who have not received the update notification on their phones they need to go to the ‘settings’ menu, then to ‘system’ and from there they need to click on the ‘system update’. Then they need to click on the ‘download and install’ for the update to download to the phone. Once the download is complete the device will restart with the latest android update.
The Zenfone 5Z was released back in July of 2018 and it has Android 8 Oreo running out of the box. It was equipped with top of the line Snapdragon 845 SoC chipset with Adreno 630 GPU and has a 6.2 inches notched display with 8GB of RAM. Now that it has received the Pie update, the users will be able to use the new features this version of android offers. Also there will be a new contextual volume pop-up bar along with magnifier feature, which will make the copy and paste feature much easier to use.
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An official teaser has been publicised very recently that confirms that the Xiaomi sub-brand, Redmi is going to launch a new smartphone. The name of this smartphone is Redmi X and it is going to launch on February 15. The Xiaomi Redmi X will reportedly come with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Speculatively, the Xiaomi Redmi X is another name for the Redmi Note 7 Pro that we know is about to launch soon. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is expected to come with a 48MP Sony camera and have other improvements compared to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7.
The Xiaomi Redmi X is going to sport at waterdrop notch display with an FHD+ resolution. To speak of the in-display fingerprint sensor, the smartphone will have an OLED display with 2.5D curved tempered glass protection. The device is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 675 SoC or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 SoC. There are going to be two RAM variants—4GB and 6GB. Both of them are supposed to come with a 64GB internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card.
When it comes to connectivity options, the Xiaomi Redmi X will have 4G LTE and VoLTE on both the slots. The handset in all probability will come with a 48MP primary camera with 4K video recording that reminisces the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 has a dual rear camera setup of 48MP and 5MP. In terms of memory, the smartphone comes with 3GB, 4GB and 6GB RAM. The front camera comprises of a single 13MP sensor that is meant for taking selfies. Connectivity options include WiFi 802.11, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, Infrared port, FM Radio and USB 2.0.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 houses a large 4,000mAh battery which is non-removable. The smartphone comes in three colour options—blue, black and twilight gold. The device runs on Android 9.0 skinned with MIUI 10 and sports an IPS LCD 6.3-inch capacitive touchscreen. The handset is powered by Qualcomm’s SDM660 Snapdragon 660 SoC.
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Yesterday, Apple discovered a bug which allows users to hear callers’ voice even before they pick up the call. This has been happening via Apple’s FaceTime video chat service. The caller is not aware about this however, the receiver can hear him, even before the conversation starts on Facetime video chat. According to news sources, the bug uses FaceTime to put the user’s phone number and then, it adds the phone number of another person. The bug emerged on Data Privacy Day when Apple CEO, Tim Cook ordered “action and reform for vital privacy protections”.
Apple didn’t respond immediately after a question was put forth about this bug operating through the FaceTime feature. To recall, Apple had added FaceTime calling during the end of last year with the help of a software update that was partly designed to counter previous software bugs.
There is some news doing the rounds about other gadgets which Apple is going to launch soon. Apple is reportedly said to launch a new version of the iPad Mini known as the iPad Mini 5. Also, it is said to launch an entry level iPad very soon. As to how we can confirm their launch, both of them were registered in EEC.
The smaller iPads haven’t been updated for quite some time now and it seemed users had started to believe that Apple is done with this product. It is expected that the iPad Mini is going to sport a 7.9-inch display. To speak of the entry level iPad, it is going to be an advanced version of the previous iPad models. The previous iPad model reminds us of one very important device, that is the iPad 9.7-inch. The screen resolution of the device is 1,536×2,048 and it bears an aspect ratio of 4:3.
The device is powered by a Quad-core 2.34GHz CPU and comes with a 2GB RAM. The 2GB RAM brings two internal storage variants—32GB and 128GB. On the back side, there a camera of 8MP sensor and on the front, there is a 1.2MP sensor camera for click selfies.
All these devices have the Facetime functionality too, besides iPhones. The bug could very well be active in these devices too. No official word on an update is out to get rid of this bug.
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Chinese smartphone brand Honor is all set to launch its View 20 smartphone in India. Honor View 20 is the company’s first smartphone to come with a hole-punch display to house the selfie camera and it was globally launched at an event in Paris on January 22. So, we already know about the specifications of the smartphone and today, the company will be revealing its pricing and availability details in India. Here’s everything you need to know about the launch of Honor View 20 in India:
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How to watch the Honor View 20 India launch live stream?
The Chinese smartphone company is holding the launch of Honor View 20 smartphone in India today and 12:00 pm IST. The device will be launched at an event in Gurugram and the company will be live streaming the event on its Facebook page as well as YouTube channel. Honor has already confirmed that its View 20 smartphone will be available exclusively via Amazon India’s website.
The device has already been listed for pre-orders on the website and those who pre-order the Honor View 20 handset will be getting Honor Bluetooth earphones along with it for free. Honor had previously said that those who pre-order the smartphone will only be able to purchase it on January 30. So, this means that the handset will be going on sale immediately after it is launched today.
Honor View 20 price in India (expected)
Globally, Honor View 20 was launched in two storage variants – 6GB RAM/128GB storage and 8GB RAM/256GB storage. While the price of the base variant in international markets is €569, the more high-end model costs €649. Various reports have suggested that Honor View20’s 6GB RAM model in India will be priced at Rs 35,000. However, it has also been reported that the company is planning to keep the price tag of the base variant of the smartphone at Rs 39,990. At this price, the Honor View 20 smartphone will directly be competing with the likes of OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018).
Honor View 20 specifications
Honor View 20 is the first smartphone in India to come with a new hole-punch design to house the selfie camera. With this kind of a selfie camera, the device aims to offer its users a notchless, full-screen experience. The device houses a 25MP selfie camera in its display and on flipping over, you will see a dual rear camera setup comprising of its 48MP primary camera that comes with a Sony IMX586 sensor with f/1.8 aperture, clubbed with a 3D TOF (time-of-flight) sensor.
Honor View 20 runs Android Pie skinned with Magic UI and features a 6.4-inch Full HD+ LCD display that has an aspect ratio of 19.25:9. Powered by 7nm Kirin 980 processor, the smartphone comes with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM that is clubbed with 128GB or 256GB storage respectively.
The smartphone houses a 4,000mAh battery that comes with support for supercharging with 40W power adapter.
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South Korean technology giant Samsung has said that it will start replacing its plastic packaging with products that made of “environmentally sustainable elements” starting this year. The smartphone maker has said that it will replace the plastic used in its handsets, tablets and wearables for molds and accessory bags that are made of materials that are more eco-friendly.
Furthermore, the company also plans to change the design of its smartphone chargers so that they use less plastic. Moving forward, its chargers will not come with a glossy exterior and instead have a matte finish.
Samsung has also said that it will no longer be using plastic bags to protect its various consumer electronic products like air conditioners, refrigerators, TVs, and washing machines. Instead of plastic, it will be using recycled materials and bioplastic that are made from non-fossil fuel sources.
In addition to this, the technology company will be replacing the paper in its manuals with the one that has been certified by global environmental organizations. However, Samsung did not name any organizations when it made this announcement.
Speaking on the matter, Gyeong-bin Jeon, the head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center said that the technology giant is taking these steps in order to address environmental issues “such as resource depletion and plastic wastes”. He further added that the company wants to reduce the waste that it produces by following these steps.
By switching materials used in its packaging, Samsung has pledged that it will be using 500 thousand tons of recycled plastics and that it will collect 7.5 tons of discarded products by 2030.
In an unrelated piece of news, the company has yesterday launched its Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 smartphones in India. All the variants of the two devices are priced between Rs 7,990 and Rs 12,990 and they compete directly with the likes of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro and Realme C1 (2019). With the two smartphones, Samsung has replaced its Galaxy On, Galaxy J and Galaxy C series in the country and it plans to take back the top slot of the budget segment that it lost to Xiaomi a few years back.
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Samsung once ruled the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market, before it lost its position to the Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi. And now, the South Korean smartphone giant is trying to take its crown back. For this, Samsung yesterday launched its Galaxy M20 and Galaxy M10 smartphones. We spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy M10 smartphone and here are our first impressions of the newly launched device:
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Design
There’s a lot about Samsung Galaxy M10’s design that we like. Simply put, the device is visually extremely pleasing to look at. The front panel is dominated by the Infinity-V display with a water drop shaped notch on its top and a slightly broad chin, while the back panel is made of polycarbonate. With the glossy finish, the device does manage to look premium for the price range, but we must mention that because there is no fingerprint sensor, the design looks like that of a rather old model.
But then, Samsung has compensated with a face unlock feature instead, so we can’t really complain. The back panel of the Samsung Galaxy M10 also has the dual rear camera setup, the LED flash, the Samsung branding, and the speaker of the device. The right edge of the handset has the power and volume rocker buttons and the left one has the SIM tray. While the bottom edge of the device has the microUSB port, the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microphone, the top edge of Galaxy M10 has the secondary microphone. Samsung has kept the look and feel of the Galaxy M10 smartphone very minimalistic. And we really liked it.
Display
One among the highlights of Samsung Galaxy M10 is its display, particularly because of the Infinity-V notch on the top. Probably no other smartphone in this price range comes with such a small notch on its display to house the selfie camera. The handset sports a 6.22-inch PLS TFT panel that has an HD+ resolution and comes with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a pixel density of 271 ppi. During our time with the device, it showcased bright and vibrant colours, in spite of the fact that it is not an IPS panel. Furthermore, the colours projected on the display are accurate and they remain consistent at different viewing angles.
You may occasionally feel that the colour tone of the display is slightly cooler than what it is on other devices, but we didn’t really mind it. We actually feel that for the price range, the display is extremely good. In fact, we haven’t used any other recently launched smartphone in the below-Rs 10,000 category that boasts of a screen as good as Samsung Galaxy M10’s. However, there are other aspects of the display, like its sunlight readability, which we will only be able to talk about in our detailed review.
Cameras
Samsung Galaxy M10 has a dual camera setup on its back panel with a 13MP primary sensor and a 5MP ultra-wide angle sensor. In addition to this, it houses a 5MP selfie camera in its notch. There is a lot that you can do with the device’s cameras. To begin with, it is extremely simple to switch between the primary and the ultra-wide angle lens, which is something that we have seen in other Samsung smartphones but we still like it.
The camera app of the smartphone comes with support for Bokeh or the Live Focus mode, Beauty, Panorama and Pro modes. It also comes with AR stickers and can take continuous shots. Stickers and Live Focus mode can also be used while clicking selfies. With adequate lights, the images taken by the dual rear camera of the smartphone turned out to be quite clear and sharp. They had accurate colours and did not pixelate when we zoomed in. However, we will have to use the smartphone for a few more days before we can talk about other aspects of the camera.
What we think
For a smartphone that is priced under Rs 10,000, Samsung Galaxy M10 seems to be a promising device. It doesn’t come with a flashy design like a number of Chinese counterparts but instead maintains a simple and minimalistic look. The display is surely a key highlight and the cameras also seem to be good so far. It’s after a long time that we are using a device launched in the said price segment which seems to be that good. We look forward to using it more and then we’ll let you know about its day to day performance, battery, and more.
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But then, Samsung has compensated with a face unlock feature instead, so we can’t really complain. The back panel of the Samsung Galaxy M10 also has the dual rear camera setup, the LED flash, the Samsung branding, and the speaker of the device. The right edge of the handset has the power and volume rocker buttons and the left one has the SIM tray. While the bottom edge of the device has the microUSB port, the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microphone, the top edge of Galaxy M10 has the secondary microphone. Samsung has kept the look and feel of the Galaxy M10 smartphone very minimalistic. And we really liked it.
You may occasionally feel that the colour tone of the display is slightly cooler than what it is on other devices, but we didn’t really mind it. We actually feel that for the price range, the display is extremely good. In fact, we haven’t used any other recently launched smartphone in the below-Rs 10,000 category that boasts of a screen as good as Samsung Galaxy M10’s. However, there are other aspects of the display, like its sunlight readability, which we will only be able to talk about in our detailed review.
The camera app of the smartphone comes with support for Bokeh or the Live Focus mode, Beauty, Panorama and Pro modes. It also comes with AR stickers and can take continuous shots. Stickers and Live Focus mode can also be used while clicking selfies. With adequate lights, the images taken by the dual rear camera of the smartphone turned out to be quite clear and sharp. They had accurate colours and did not pixelate when we zoomed in. However, we will have to use the smartphone for a few more days before we can talk about other aspects of the camera.
But then, Samsung has compensated with a face unlock feature instead, so we can’t really complain. The back panel of the Samsung Galaxy M10 also has the dual rear camera setup, the LED flash, the Samsung branding, and the speaker of the device. The right edge of the handset has the power and volume rocker buttons and the left one has the SIM tray. While the bottom edge of the device has the microUSB port, the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microphone, the top edge of Galaxy M10 has the secondary microphone. Samsung has kept the look and feel of the Galaxy M10 smartphone very minimalistic. And we really liked it.
You may occasionally feel that the colour tone of the display is slightly cooler than what it is on other devices, but we didn’t really mind it. We actually feel that for the price range, the display is extremely good. In fact, we haven’t used any other recently launched smartphone in the below-Rs 10,000 category that boasts of a screen as good as Samsung Galaxy M10’s. However, there are other aspects of the display, like its sunlight readability, which we will only be able to talk about in our detailed review.
The camera app of the smartphone comes with support for Bokeh or the Live Focus mode, Beauty, Panorama and Pro modes. It also comes with AR stickers and can take continuous shots. Stickers and Live Focus mode can also be used while clicking selfies. With adequate lights, the images taken by the dual rear camera of the smartphone turned out to be quite clear and sharp. They had accurate colours and did not pixelate when we zoomed in. However, we will have to use the smartphone for a few more days before we can talk about other aspects of the camera.