Google’s Android Messages app gets this much needed ‘Truecaller feature’
For months now, rumours about Google working on a spam protection feature for its Android Messages app have been surfacing online. And now, a report has emerged on Android Police that says that Google has started rolling out the spam protection feature to some of its users. After testing it for a few days, the company will roll the feature out to the masses.
As of now, it is being said that it is a server-end rollout of the spam protection feature. So, when your device gets the feature, you will be informed about it via a notification message. To manually activate the feature, you can head to the Settings of your smartphone, then select the option of Advanced Settings and then choose Spam Protection. You need to make sure that this option is enabled in order to make the spam protection feature work in Android Messages.
Post this, the feature will start alerting you about spam messages that you receive. Personally, we think that this is a much-needed feature as currently, our Android Messages app is full of spam messages, and we are sure that a majority of the people would agree with us on this.
It is also worth noticing that a section was discovered on Google’s support help site some time back which is said to have gone live prematurely. The section explained how the new spam protection feature will function while keeping the user’s privacy intact. According to Google’s support help website, on enabling the feature some information about the messages will be sent to the company. However, the company has assured users that the content of their messages like the phone number or the message body will not be read.
When users enable the feature, they will see this alert message beneath the Enable Spam Protection toggle. However, we should also point out that it has not been explained how this feature works at the back-end. But then, it is worth noticing that if you report spam messages manually, the entire message will be submitted to Google including the phone numbers and the contents of the message reported.
Although the feature sounds to be a useful one, if you are someone who is concerned about your data on the Messages app, you would rather keep the spam protection feature off. Till we get some more details about how this feature works, it’s a tough choice that we have to make between privacy and spam.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Android Pie update is expected to come on January 15
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 beta program is ongoing and Samsung released a new Note 9 beta update recently. Therefore, it is safe say that the January update which Samsung had planned for Galaxy Note 9 seems to be on track. According to Samsung Turkey, users will have the update in their phone by January 15.
The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 will receive Android Pie update exactly a month after Note 9 update, that is 15th February. Samsung Turkey usually changes its update roadmaps. And considering that it was very fast in rolling out the update for the Galaxy S9, it lays more weight to the speculation that the Android Pie for Note 9 is going to roll out by mid-January.
To recall its specifications, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 comes with a super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. The screen is 6.4-inch wide and it has a resolution of 1,440x,2960 pixels. The smartphone is protected by a corning gorilla glass 5. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor in some parts of the world while others have it running Exynos 9810 chipset. This is combined with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage with the option to expand it further using a microSD card.
The dual rear camera setup on this smartphone comprises of two 12MP sensors and the front camera is powered by an 8MP sensor meant for selfies. Connectivity options of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 include WiFi 802.11, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and USB 3.1. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 houses a non-removable battery of 4,000mAh and comes in a lot of colour options. Price of the mobile is Rs 67,900 on Indian e-commerce stores. It has many sensors which include iris scanner, fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate and SpO2. Also, messaging options include SMS, MMS, Email, push Email and IM.
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Samsung Galaxy A50 to house a 4,000mAh battery: Report
South Korean technology giant Samsung’s upcoming smartphone Galaxy A50 will house a massive 4,000mAh battery, according to a new report that has surfaced online. The report also says that Samsung Galaxy A50 will sport a 24MP primary camera. However, there is no information about other shooters on its back panel.
Furthermore, it has also been revealed that Samsung Galaxy A50 smartphone will be powered by the company’s own Exynos 7 9610 processor, which comes with a CPU with four Cortex-A73 cores and four A53s. The smartphone is said to have 4GB of RAM clubbed with either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The upcoming offering by Samsung will run Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box.
While the reported battery capacity of the smartphone is good, it is lesser than the 5,000mAh battery that we will see in the company’s Galaxy M20 handset. Another thing we can derive from the specifications is that Galaxy A50 will be launched after the Galaxy S10 smartphones. This is because Samsung usually launches its flagship devices with the new Android version first and the rest of its smartphones follow. This is particularly true for mid-range smartphones from Samsung, and Galaxy A50 happens to be one of them.
Although we fully expect it to be launched in the first half of 2019, picking out a particular month will be tough right now. We would have to wait to know more about the launch date of the device.
Samsung’s Galaxy A50 smartphone is also expected to come with wireless charging as well as an in-display fingerprint scanner, as the company has said that it plans to bring the two technologies to its mid-tier devices. However, it has also been reported that the fingerprint sensor the company will use would be optical in nature and not ultrasonic.
While we have seen optical fingerprint sensors in the likes of Vivo Nex, Oppo Find X and OnePlus 6T smartphones, we will get to see an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in Samsung Galaxy S10. An interesting fact that has been reported about Samsung Galaxy S10 is that 30% of its screen will be covered with the fingerprint sensor. So, touching anywhere on that area of the display will unlock the device. This is something we are really looking forward to using when the smartphone launches next year.
Image courtesy: GalaxyClub
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Samsung’s Galaxy A50 smartphone is also expected to come with wireless charging as well as an in-display fingerprint scanner, as the company has said that it plans to bring the two technologies to its mid-tier devices. However, it has also been reported that the fingerprint sensor the company will use would be optical in nature and not ultrasonic.
While we have seen optical fingerprint sensors in the likes of Vivo Nex, Oppo Find X and OnePlus 6T smartphones, we will get to see an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in Samsung Galaxy S10. An interesting fact that has been reported about Samsung Galaxy S10 is that 30% of its screen will be covered with the fingerprint sensor. So, touching anywhere on that area of the display will unlock the device. This is something we are really looking forward to using when the smartphone launches next year.
Image courtesy: GalaxyClub
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Netflix in-app subscriptions to be discontinued for new and old iOS consumers
Netflix has decided to stop its in-app subscriptions from now on. The reason being, it is finding very inconvenient that Apple takes a chunk of the profits which the app developer earns from subscriptions made by iOS users. To quote Netflix, it “no longer support(s) iTunes as a method of payment for new members.”
From now on, iOS Netflix users have to subscribe to it through a web browser. They would no longer be able to pay for subscriptions on the basis of the app. The current users can still access the app to pay for a few billing periods. However, new subscribers and subscribers who stopped subscribing but are planning to return, cannot use the app based subscription anymore.
This is a bit sad for users as they could use the Apple billing info to pay for subscriptions until now. This was a very convenient process. Earlier, Netflix was obliged to pay 30 percent of its yearly revenue to Apple. This share declined to a 15 percent eventually.
The backdrop being that app developers complained about Apple’s massive demands on their profits. And this led to the implementation of the 2016 policy that allowed them greater share in their profits. Netflix’s decision is not a new story considering that Spotify has also removed its in-app subscriptions to evade Apple’s share of its revenue.
App developers have been complaining about enormous demands they encounter on their revenue in the Apple ecosystem. This is not the first time Netflix is stopping its in-app subscriptions. Earlier it stopped in-app subscriptions through Google Play, which fed on a certain chunk of its money. Google has faced quite a lot of criticism because of this. Also, Epic games, the developer of Fortnite maintains its distance from Google Play in order to maximize its profits.
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Essential phone to be discontinued, however Essential is making a new one
The Essential phone is being discontinued as announced by the company yesterday. A source has spotted that the phone is no longer available on the website. However, there is some good news in store for you. Despite Essential cancelling its previous phone, the company is planning to manufacture a new one. This one in all likelihood would use AI to answer emails and text messages.
An Essential spokeswoman talked about the launch of this new phone whose did not want to be named. Here is what she said, “We are sold out of Essential Phone on essential.com and won’t be adding any new inventory. We are now hard at work on our next mobile product and will continue to sell accessories and provide speedy software updates and customer support to our existing community.”
The company has experienced many changes and due to many reasons, its success declined. This includes poor initial sales, camera woes, layoffs. There have been serious scandals like data breach and even worse, alleged sexual harassment charges against Essentials founder, Andy Rubin. Moreover, in one instance, the Essential Phone 2 had been shelved and the company was almost sold.
In spite of such losses it made a comeback by launching software updates regularly for the Essential phone faster than its competitors. It provided major discounts to attract more customers and launched a snap-on $149 headphone jack accessory.
Now that the phone has been discontinued, we are anticipating what the new one has got to show us. The company hasn’t yet announced its launch date and we are waiting for when tipsters are going to leak its information.
To recall, the Essential Phone came in a single 4GB RAM variant with 128GB internal storage. There is a single rear camera of 13MP and a front 8MP camera meant for selfies. Connectivity options included WiFi 802.11, Bluetooth 5.0, hotspot, GPS, NFC and USB Type-C. It has an LCD capacitive touchscreen that is protected by a corning Gorilla Glass 5. Dimensions of the smartphone were 141.5×71.1×7.8mm and it weighs 185grams.
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Last few days to get your iPhone battery replaced by Apple at Rs 1,500: All that you should know
We all remember Apple admitting to slowing down its older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Following the public outrage, the company had slashed the prices of replacing iPhone batteries that were out of warranty. While normally the price of getting an iPhone battery that’s not in warranty replaced is nearly Rs 6,500, for a limited time, it could be done for Rs 1,995.
However, that limited time is now about to be over as the deadline for getting these batteries replaced at a discounted price is December 31, 2018. So if you have an iPhone that has an out-of-warranty battery that is eligible to be replaced, we recommend you should do it within the next three days.
You can book an appointment online at Apple website to get your battery replaced and then visit the nearest Apple service centre to get the battery of your iPhone replaced. Even if you go to a service centre without booking an online appointment, it shouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but you may have to wait longer.
Your iPhone will first undergo some diagnostic checks and will be inspected for physical damage. If it clears these tests, only then will you be able to get the battery of your iPhone replaced. However, that too wouldn’t happen immediately. You will get a call from the Apple service centre within the next 2-3 days and you will have to visit the centre once again. On visiting the centre, you will be able to get your iPhone’s battery replaced within an hour or so.
The smartphones which are eligible for the out-of-warranty battery replacement programme by Apple include iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. If you have any of these iPhones and you think that it needs a battery replacement, head to the nearest Apple service centre now and get it replaced before the deadline approaches.
As we mentioned earlier, you can avail the discount on getting the out-of-warranty batteries replaced till December 31, 2018, which is the day after tomorrow. After that, it will again cost you Rs 6,500 to get your iPhone’s battery replaced, whereas now, you can get it for just Rs 1,995.
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Xiaomi’s POCO F2 with Android Pie gets listed on Geekbench
Rumours and reports about Xiaomi’s POCO F2 smartphone have started surfacing online. As the name suggests, the smartphone is the successor of the company’s POCO F1 smartphone, which garnered a lot of appreciation for offering high-end specifications at an affordable price. The upcoming Xiaomi POCO F2 has been spotted on Geekbench and the listing has given us an insight into its key specifications.
According to the Geekbench listing, the smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor and will run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. Interestingly, POCO F1 also recently received an update to MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie. And since POCO F1 was launched with Snapdragon 845 SoC, it was expected that Xiaomi will launch the POCO F2 smartphone with the latest Snapdragon 855 processor.
Xiaomi POCO F1 was launched in the Indian smartphone market in August this year to compete with Asus ZenFone 5Z and OnePlus 6 at a price of Rs 21,999. Recently, Xiaomi slashed the price of the smartphone by Rs 1,000. In fact, when OnePlus 6T was launched, the company also started its ‘Do the maths’ campaign on social media to promote the fact that it is offering similar high-end specs at a much more affordable price. While some appreciated it, others believed that OnePlus 6T was indeed a much better smartphone.
Coming back to the Geekbench listing, it revealed that POCO F2 smartphone will be available in 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM variants. Xiaomi’s upcoming device has scored 2,321 and 7,564 in the single and multi-core scores of Geekbench. It is also worth mentioning that the Geekbench listing carries December 28 as the upload date.
The Geekbench listing of Xiaomi POCO F2 was first spotted by Nashville Chatter. Earlier this week, the Chinese smartphone brand launched the 6GB RAM/128GB storage model of its POCO F1 Armoured Edition smartphone. The has already gone on sale in India and is priced at Rs 23,999. If you are someone who is likely to use more storage in a smartphone, you can opt for the top-of-the-line variant of POCO F1 Armoured Edition that comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage.
Image Courtesy: Nashville Chatter
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Xiaomi POCO F1 was launched in the Indian smartphone market in August this year to compete with Asus ZenFone 5Z and OnePlus 6 at a price of Rs 21,999. Recently, Xiaomi slashed the price of the smartphone by Rs 1,000. In fact, when OnePlus 6T was launched, the company also started its ‘Do the maths’ campaign on social media to promote the fact that it is offering similar high-end specs at a much more affordable price. While some appreciated it, others believed that OnePlus 6T was indeed a much better smartphone.
Coming back to the Geekbench listing, it revealed that POCO F2 smartphone will be available in 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM variants. Xiaomi’s upcoming device has scored 2,321 and 7,564 in the single and multi-core scores of Geekbench. It is also worth mentioning that the Geekbench listing carries December 28 as the upload date.
The Geekbench listing of Xiaomi POCO F2 was first spotted by Nashville Chatter. Earlier this week, the Chinese smartphone brand launched the 6GB RAM/128GB storage model of its POCO F1 Armoured Edition smartphone. The has already gone on sale in India and is priced at Rs 23,999. If you are someone who is likely to use more storage in a smartphone, you can opt for the top-of-the-line variant of POCO F1 Armoured Edition that comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage.
Image Courtesy: Nashville Chatter
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. WhatsApp will not work on these smartphones after December 31
If you use an extremely old smartphone, we have some bad news for you. This is because, in the next three days, WhatsApp may stop working on your smartphone. The Facebook-owned instant messaging app will not support certain operating systems and devices post-December 31. So in case you are using WhatsApp on one of those devices, it’s may be time for you to buy a new smartphone. Here’s a look at all the handsets on which WhatsApp will stop working after December 31:
In This Article
Nokia S40
Nokia’s S40 series, which is also known as Series 40, did see a lot of success in the Indian market. In fact, in 2012, the company had announced that it sold over 1.5 billion Series 40 phones in the country. But when Android smartphones came to the smartphone market, it directly hit the sales of Nokia S40 series. The company then stopped selling these devices in the country. However, if you are still using WhatsApp on one of these phones, it will stop working after December 31. However, if you like feature phones, you can opt for the JioPhone, JioPhone 2 or Nokia 8110 4G, as they all have support for WhatsApp. It is worth mentioning that all these feature phones run on KaiOS and got support for WhatsApp and YouTube earlier this year.Certain Android smartphones
Feature phones are not the only ones that will suffer. Some Android smartphones will also stop supporting WhatsApp. The popular instant messaging app will stop working on smartphones running on Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older after February 1, 2020. So, only devices with Android 4.0 and above will have the ability to run WhatsApp. But then, reports suggest that only 0.3% of the Android smartphones are running on Gingerbread platform, so not many users will be impacted.Certain iOS devices
WhatsApp is not only ending support for certain Android smartphones. Some iOS devices will be impacted too. Post-February 2020, devices running on iOS 7 and older versions will not be able to run WhatsApp. So, if you want to continue using WhatsApp, you should update before the deadline arrives. For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel.Sony Xperia XA3 Plus price and colour variants leaked, expected to be unveiled at CES 2019
The Consumer Electronics Show is all set to take place in Las Vegas in January 2019. And like every year, a number of new innovations and devices will be showcased at the show. And Sony Xperia XA3 series is reported to be one of them. The successor to the Sony Xperia A2 range, Xperia XA3 and Xperia XA3 Ultra smartphones are said to have received certification in Russia this month. And now, the colour variants and price of Sony Xperia XA3 Plus, which will also be a part of the lineup, have surfaced online.
The smartphone is expected to be unveiled at CES 2019 next month along with other Sony Xperia XA3 and Xperia L3 smartphones, according to a report by Android blog DroidShout. Reports have also quoted a source saying that the upcoming smartphone will be priced at EUR 519 and will be available in Black, Gold, and Silver colour variants.
Coming to the specifications of the upcoming smartphone, it will reportedly come with a 6-inch display that will have full-HD+ resolution and is said to be powered by a processor from the Snapdragon 600-series.
Earlier reports claimed that Xperia XA3 Ultra will be launched with Xperia XA3 and Xperia L3. However, the latest report says that the company is planning to unveil the Xperia XA3 Plus smartphone. However, it is worth noticing that this doesn’t mean that Xperia XA3 Ultra won’t be unveiled at CES 2019 because it would be highly unlikely that Sony would keep just one variant under wraps while launching all the others in the lineup. Besides, considering that the smartphone in question has already received its certification in Russia this month, the chances of it not being unveiled with the other three devices are extremely slim.
Renders of Sony Xperia XA3 and Xperia XA3 Ultra show that the smartphones come with thin bezels and have the fingerprint sensor embedded on the side edge. The devices look like they have glass back panels and they still haven’t ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Speaking of Sony Xperia L3 smartphone, it has been reported that the smartphone has a 5.7-inch HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The device will run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box and will sport a dual rear camera setup.
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