Social media giant Facebook is reportedly working on its own cryptocurrency and the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is very ambitious about this new project. Over 50 engineers have been busy working on the new cryptocurrency that the social media plans to launch.
But then, Facebook is not the only one who is working on this. Even apps like Telegram and Signal want to roll out their new cryptocurrencies in the next one year, according to The New York Times.
The report cited people familiar with the matter saying, “The most anticipated but secretive project is underway at Facebook. The company is working on a coin that users of WhatsApp, which Facebook owns, could send to friends and family instantly.”
Telegram, which has almost 300 million users globally, is working on its own digital coin and so is Signal. The report further mentions that there are other apps in South Korea, Kakao and Line that will also be rolling out their own digital currency.
To recall, Facebook has a plan of merging Messenger, Telegram, and Instagram, and because of this, the digital currency would reportedly reach “2.7 billion people who use one of the three apps each month”.
We should mention that last year, Facebook’s long time in-charge David Marcus, said in a blog post that the company is setting up a small of group of people to understand how to best leverage Blockchain across Facebook.
Facebook also promoted Evan Cheng as the Director of Engineering at its Blockchain division, which shows how important the project is to the company and the fact that it is serious about it.
Other than this, Zuckerberg has also been quoted saying that users soon will be able to login to Facebook with Blockchain-based authentication.
In an interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain, Zuckerberg said, “I’m thinking about going back to decentralised or Blockchain authentication. Although I haven’t figured out a way to make this workout but this is around authentication and basically granting access to your information and to different services.”
The company has also said in a statement, “Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of Blockchain technology.”
Chinese gaming giant Tencent has announced that it will be adding curbs on underage video-game playing. The company will be doing this in order to support the Chinese government’s crackdown on youth gaming addiction. The fact that scores of young people have become addicted to games from Tencent has cast a cloud over the company’s biggest revenue source.
According to Tencent, it has now imposed a digital lock on some of its games. So with these locks in place, players under 13 years of age will have to ask their guardians to open the game for them. We should say that this should definitely prove to be effective as it will give parents some level of control over the kind of time their child is spending playing video games.
The digital lock will first be enabled on the Chinese versions of Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile, both of which are extremely popular games and have scores of fans across the globe.
We should mention that the government in China had last year announced some new controls on the number of games that can be played on the internet and has imposed a limit on the number of new releases. It had also come up with rules for underage players in order to decrease their screen time. Right after President Xi Jinping called everyone in the country to pay more attention to optical health, the Chinese government had said that the curbs that they have imposed are justified as they are a way to stop the worsening near-sightedness among minors.
Tencent has already launched a real-name identification system for its game Honour of Kings in order to impose restrictions on playtime for youths.
We should also add that it is not only in China that the company is facing flak for its games being too addictive. There are many in India who want a ban imposed on PUBG Mobile too. The Gujarat government has told all the primary schools in the state to ban the game within school premises. There is a student body in Jammu and Kashmir that wants a ban on PUBG Mobile because they say the game contributed to their poor results in examinations. There are also people who want a nation-wide ban imposed on the popular game for being too addictive.
Twitter users are finally going to get a feature which they wanted for a long time – the one that lets you hid your tweets. This new ‘Hide Tweet’ feature was confirmed by the company itself today. According to Twitter, with the new ‘Hide Tweet’ feature the users will now have the option to protect their conversations. The feature was spotted in Twitter’s code first and is now available from a list of other choices which appear when the user clicks the ‘Share’ button on a tweet. The ‘Hide Tweet’ will mute or block a user but at the same time it will offer some control over the conversation.
Similarly, a ‘View Hidden Tweets’ feature was also found, which allows the users to unhide the previously hidden tweets by the original tweet poster. The new Twitter feature was first found by Jane Manchun Wong, who tweeted about the feature on Thursday. According to Wong, she found the feature hidden within the code of Twitter Android application.
Later, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed the news that the feature was truly being developed by the company.
However, till now the function of the Hide Tweet button was unclear – we were not sure if the button would hide the tweet from everyone’s view or just from the person who had clicked the hide button. If the former was true, then there it could be a serious issue as people could hide their suspicious and offending tweets from everyone’s views.
On Thursday, Twitter Senior PM Michelle Yasmeen Haq posted an explanation about what the Hide Tweet feature is all about and what would it do.
Twitter is testing replies moderation. It lets you to hide replies under your tweets, while providing an option to show the hidden replies pic.twitter.com/dE19w4TLtp
She wrote:
We often hear from heavy Tweeters that they want to be able to protect their conversations…
People who start interesting conversations on Twitter are really important to us, and we want to empower them to make the conversations they start as healthy as possible by giving them some control.
We think of conversations as an ecosystem of different groups: authors, repliers, the audience and the platform. We try to balance the experience across all four groups, and we are continuously exploring ways to shift the balance without overcorrecting.
We already see people trying keep their conversations healthy by using block, mute, and report, but these tools don’t always address the issue. Block and mute only change the experience of the blocker, and report only works for the content that violates our policies.
With this feature, the person who started a conversation could choose to hide replies to their tweets. The hidden replies would be viewable by others through a menu option.
We think the transparency of the hidden replies would allow the community to notice and call out situations where people use the feature to hide content they disagree with. We think this can balance the product experience between the original Tweeter and the audience.
In the coming months, we plan to start testing this publicly so stay tuned for more and keep telling us what you think!
Twitter has already been under constant pressure from fans and critics alike and most agree that it needs to improve its overall conversational health on the platform. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a recent interview said that Twitter was looking into new ways to proactively enforce and promote health. That’s why blocking or reporting a user or tweet was last resorts.
It should also be kept in mind that Twitter tests a lot of new things and features that they never implement on the actual public platform. So, only time will tell when the company will implement the new feature on the actual social platform.
Vivo recently launched its V15 Pro smartphone in India that is touted to come with a triple rear camera setup, a pop-up selfie camera and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The company has also added a 48MP primary sensor on the Vivo V15 Pro smartphone. But is the company only talking about these features to market the device better? Or is Vivo V15 Pro actually that good? Read the rest of our review to find out:
In This Article
Design and Display
Vivo V15 Pro smartphone’s front panel is completely dominated by the nearly bezel-less display. It comes without a notch on its screen thanks to the pop-up selfie camera that is similar to the one we saw on the company’s NEX handset. While this smartphone can provide the same full-screen experience like the NEX smartphone, there are some aspects that are better in spite of the fact that the latter is a flagship and the former falls in the mid-range segment. For instance, the device has a face unlock feature, which NEX doesn’t and Vivo V15 Pro’s in-display fingerprint scanner works better than the one seen on the company’s flagship.
Flip over, and you will see that the design of the back panel of Vivo V15 Pro is very impressive. The top left corner of the rear panel of the mobile has a black-coloured strip that houses the triple rear camera setup of the smartphone, LED flash as well as the pop-up selfie camera module. Vivo V15 Pro is available in Topaz Blue and Ruby Red colour variants and the one that we got for review was dressed in Blue.
The smartphone has a plastic body and we have to admit that in this price segment, we did expect something better. However, we should add that in no way does it hamper the device’s look. In fact, if you are someone who gets worried about the glass back panels fragility, this may actually prove to be better for you.
One handed usage on the smartphone was not a problem at all. Its rounded corners and slightly curved back panel helped with that a lot. While the right edge of the Vivo V15 Pro comes with the volume rocker and power buttons, the left one has the Google Assistant key and the microSD card slot. The top houses the 3.5mm headphone jack and the bottom has a microUSB port, SIM card slot, and the speaker grill placed on it.
To sum it up, we would say that we really liked many aspects of the design of this smartphone. The pop-up selfie camera gave the handset a very futuristic look, and the back panel is quite a stunner. We liked the fact that no fingerprint smudges stay on the device’s rear panel and the gradient colours add to its premium look. Some may not like the plastic finish, but it wasn’t an issue for us.
Coming to the 6.39-inches full HD+ Super AMOLED display of the smartphone, we really liked it. The colours were very rich and the blacks were deep. So no matter what you use your device for – watching videos or gaming – your experience will be a good one, also because there is no notch on top. We could easily use the smartphone under sunlight and the viewing angles were consistent.
Coming to the in-display fingerprint scanner of the smartphone, it was better than Vivo NEX, but we have to admit one thing: It didn’t recognise our fingerprint all the time. This was particularly true when our finger was moist. However, it is definitely an improvement over earlier models. In a nutshell, we would say that our experience with the smartphone’s display was a good one. It is one of the good aspects of the Vivo V15 Pro.
Performance and Cameras
Performance is something many mid-level smartphones try to offer. Does the Vivo V15 Pro excel in this area? Let’s find out. Before that, let’s run you down through its specifications. Vivo V15 Pro runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with FunTouch OS 9. It features a 6.39-inch Ultra FullView FHD+ Super AMOLED display that has an on-screen fingerprint scanner, too. Powered by an 11nm octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 AIE processor clubbed with 6GB of RAM, the device packs 128GB of internal storage. For more storage, users can add a microSD card of up to 256GB.
On the camera front, Vivo V15 Pro sports a triple camera setup on its back panel that includes a 48MP million quad pixel sensor with f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP super wide angle sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 5MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. For selfies and video calls, there is a 32MP pop-up front camera that has an f/2.0 aperture. The smartphone’s cameras come with AI enhancements. Vivo V15 Pro houses a 3,700mAh battery that has support for Dual-Engine Fast Charging.
Coming to the software of the device, it is a heavily customised version of Android, unlike most other smartphones that have been launched recently. Like all other Vivo smartphones, the Quick Settings are not integrated with the notification panel, but instead can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom edge of the smartphone.
On the downside, Vivo V15 Pro came with a lot of bloatware. The pre-installed apps on the device include UC browser, Amazon, Facebook, PhonePe, Paytm, WPS Office and a number of Vivo’s native applications. We personally prefer smartphones that come with no bloatware. The closer a smartphone’s software is to stock Android, the better and cleaner it is.
Vivo V15 Pro smartphone has the motorbike and gaming modes that promise to enhance the experience. Furthermore, it also comes with the Jovi assistant, which lets you put smart reminders and has features like smart planning and image recognizer. The smartphone also supports motion-based gestures and a virtual easy touch button.
Coming to its performance, the Vivo V15 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor and it comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. The device runs smoothly. There was no lag while launching or switching between apps and the smartphone didn’t slow down even when we had 10 apps running in the background.
We tried gaming on the device and even graphics hungry games like PUBG Mobile ran very smoothly. When we tried playing games like Asphalt 9: Legends while using our smartphone for navigation, the smartphone still handled it without heating up.
The 3,700mAh battery is another good aspect of the Vivo V15 Pro smartphone. It lasted easily more than a day with usage involving social media browsing, gaming, watching YouTube videos and shows on Hotstar, and more.
But we still wouldn’t call it the best aspect of Vivo V15 Pro, as we feel that the cameras of the smartphone deserve to be called that. In some aspects, the device’s cameras even surpass the ones on Vivo NEX. Yes, in some aspects only. The device has a triple rear camera setup comprising of a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP wide-angle lens and 5MP depth of field sensor.
But then, we should point out that the 48MP primary camera of the smartphone combines four 0.8μm pixels into one 1.6μm pixel as it uses the Samsung GM1 sensor. This basically means that you get images that are 12MP in resolution. The company does provide an option to shoot images in 48MP resolution too and you can enable it via Settings. However, we preferred the 12MP images. Needless to say, the images taken were absolutely stunning. They were sharp, clear, rich in details and colours. We managed to click some very high-quality images during our time with the smartphone. The macro shots, especially, turned out to be really great.
In addition to this, you also have the option of clicking 120-degree wide-angle images and portrait shots whose depth of field you can adjust. There are also options that enable you to click live photos, apply filters, use AR stickers and beauty mode. Vivo V15 Pro’s camera also comes with AI-enabled scene recognition and portrait framing.
We personally found these additions to be very useful. And the images taken from the wide-angle lens and the shots with depth enabled turned out to be good too. The best thing about the smartphone’s photography is that its performance remains consistent when it is being used in the dark too. However, there was one thing that we were not very happy with. When we tried shooting 4K videos with the camera, it took the sensor abnormally long to focus on certain objects at times. It was slightly annoying, as the rest of the experience that we had with the cameras was very good.
Now, let’s talk about the 32MP pop-up selfie camera. We simply loved it. However, we should again point out that the images you will get will have a resolution of 8MP. The images taken with the selfie camera were really good. And the best part is that it didn’t make our skin look artificially smooth or turn our skin unnaturally light just to make the images look ‘good’.
Although we were a little sceptical about how the face unlock would work, it worked each and every time for us. In fact, we preferred it over the in-display fingerprint scanner. It even worked in the dark, which is a very big plus on our test sheets.
We ran a few benchmarks on our device. While it scored 2,390 and 6,503 in Geekbench 4, it managed a 1,80,694 in Antutu. All indicating good performance.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
We have to admit, when we first started using the Vivo V15 Pro smartphone, we thought it had several features that the company claimed to have added in order to market it better. However, we were very happy to be proven off beam. The triple rear cameras were superb, the selfie camera gives amazing results, the battery life lasts long and the device has a vibrant display.
The performance of the smartphone was powerful and it could handle graphic heavy games and multi-tasking with ease. However, the plastic body may not be liked by all and the fingerprint scanner could be better. But then, the pros dwarf the cons, and at Rs 28,990, we totally recommend you to go for the Vivo V15 Pro. Trust us, you wouldn’t regret it.
Pros
Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus has become very regular with Android updates lately. It was very prompt about rolling out the latest Android update to OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5 smartphones. And now, the company has announced that it will be skipping the Android 8.1 Oreo update on its OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones. Instead, it will directly be updating them to Android Pie.
While it has now been confirmed that the company will be rolling out the update to OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, it will only be followed by the security patch update that is all set to come to the devices.
OnePlus community manager, David Y confirmed this on the company’s forum page that is full of queries about the timeline of Android Pie coming to the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T handsets. He said that the company will first be rolling out a security patch based on Android Oreo, and then the Android Pie update will follow. His comment on the platform read, “Can’t you guys just go and do something more meaningful than chasing the update…(facepalm).”
However, we should mention that even though there is a confirmation about the update, there is no specific date or timeline that has been mentioned by the company yet. But then, once you get the Android security patch update, the Android Pie update should arrive soon.
We should mention that OnePlus has been responding to queries about the delayed Android Pie update to its OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T users very regularly.
In an unrelated piece of news today, OnePlus has rolled out an update to OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T smartphones that will bring Google Duo integration to the devices. The same update is also expected to come to OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones soon. With this, users will be able to video call their contacts via the contact list only and they wouldn’t have to go a separate app to do so.
The update was initially scheduled to roll out to OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 5, OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 smartphones.
Social media giant Facebook has today added a new feature to its service today that will let users share events via Stories. The feature, which is now rolling out globally, lets users add events they are attending to Stories so that they can share it with their friends. This way, interested friends can be a part of the event too. Till now, one could create events on Facebook, and invite his friends to it or to other existing events on the social media platform.
Facebook also sent notifications to users when one of their friends showed an interest in a particular event or marked himself as ‘Going’. However, now things are set to change as when you will go to an event page now, you will see the option of ‘Share to Your Story’ there. Facebook is only rolling out this feature globally after it has been successful in the US, Mexico and Brazil.
We should also mention that the Story format also has an ‘Interested’ button and it is for those who will see the event in their friend’s Story. It will work exactly as it does in the News Feed. Other than this, you can also now send an event as a ‘group message’ to all the users who wish to attend.
According to reports, the new feature has been made for young users on the social media platform. Facebook’s user base has been decreasing as a number of young people on the website have slowly migrated to apps like Instagram and Snapchat.
To recall, Facebook had announced some new features for its ‘Groups’ which help admins to manage their groups in a way that is simpler than earlier. Group admins can now access some post formatting tools that help them inform a group member when they violate rules of the group. They can also now search through membership requests by the names and filter them according to dates.
Facebook will soon also be holding its F8 conference in the next few months and it has opened registrations for the same already. The event is all set to take place in San Jose, California. It will begin on April 30 and go on till May 1.
Viewsonic, a company known for making visual products like monitor, displays and projectors has launched a 4K projector named X10-4K LED at an event in Mumbai today. Two other projectors as well were launched alongside the 4K projector – M1+ portable projector and the LS800 HD.
Speaking about the launch of the new products, Muneer Ahmad, Business Head of Projectors, ViewSonic India said “We are delighted to launch X10-4K, LS800 HD and M1+ projectors with an aim to provide high quality products to our customers. The new 4K Ultra HD Lamp Free Smart Theatre X10-4K LED Portable Projector delivers impressive display and intelligent performance. Continuing our legacy of providing the best of products to our audience, the new projectors are packed with the latest smart technologies giving users an incredible and truly immersive visual and audio experience.”
ViewSonic X10-4K LED portable projector price, specifications and features
The ViewSonic X10 4K projector features Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant Voice Control compatibility, which basically means that the projector can register sound and can be controlled by voice commands. It also packs an integrated Smart TV interface so that the user can stream TV shows and movies from online sources like YouTube and Netflix. The projector comes with an integrated Harmon Kardon speakers and other built-in smart technologies. The newly launched device includes HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2, USB 2.0 Type-A, Type-C, Audio In/Out, and RJ45 for connectivity.
The X10 4K LED portable projector sports a DLP 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixel) chip with XPR technology. It promises an operational life of up to 30,000 hours and comes with a built-in OS and Android Aptoide store from where the user can download apps. The 4K LED projector from ViewSonic features 125% of Rec.709 colour accuracy and Frame Interpolation technology which reduces motion blur and ensures fluid multimedia content projection. Along with that, it has HDR content support which promises detailed video playback, contrast, and vivid colors. It has a lightweight design and is easily carriable as it comes with a handle.
The ViewSonic X10 4K LED portable projector will cost Rs 3,50,000 and will be available from spring of 2019.
ViewSonic M1+ LED portable projector price, specifications and features
The other projector launched by the company is the ViewSonic M1+ LED ultra-portable projector. Just like the X10 4K LED projector, the M1+LED projector is also mobile and weighs less than two pounds. It comes with a built-in battery that, according to the company, will give up to six hours of battery life and the LEDs used in it has up to 30,000 usage hours. It comes with 300 ANSI lumens of brightness and 1,20,000:1 contrast ratio along with dual Harman Kardon speakers.
For connectivity, the ViewSonic M1+LED ultra-portable projector comes with Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 2.0, USB Type C, Audio Out and a MicroSD card reader. It packs the solid-state LED technology which makes the projector mercury and lamp free. It costs Rs 60,000 and will be available from Spring of 2019.
M1+ViewSonic LS800 HD price, features and specifications
The last projector unveiled by the company is named ViewSonic LS800HDand it is a Full HD 1080p phosphor-based projector. It features a brightness of 5,000 ANSI Lumens and a contrast ratio of 1,00,000:1 with up to 30,000 hours of light source life. The LS800HD comes with ViewSonic’s SuperColor technology and it promises to deliver advanced colour reproduction. Unlike the abovementioned projectors from ViewSonic, the LS800HD is focused mainly for the offices and schools or universities.
The ViewSonic LS800 HD will be priced at Rs 3,65,000 and just like the other two projectors, it too will be available from Spring of 2019.
LS800
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OnePlus has released its new software update for its OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T smartphones with a build number OxygenOS 9.0.4. The latest software update from OnePlus brings many improvements and a number of changes over the older version of software. The update also brings deep integration of Google Duo – a feature that was recently announced by the company.
According to OnePlus, the update will be released today onwards and will reach a limited number of users at first. The update will be rolled out according to the region and some regions might get the update sooner than the others. But it is confirmed that over the next few days, the update will be rolled out to all the other OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T users.
A post on OnePlus’s official forum stated that OxygenOS 9.0.4 update for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T includes the Android security patch of January along with improved stability for OTA upgrades, bug fixes, system improvements and more. Other than that, the latest update also brings network stability and deep integration with Google Duo, that will bring video calling features to Call Logs, Contacts, Dial Pad and Messaging.
The OxygenOS 9.0.4 is being rolled as an OTA (over-the-air) update and OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T users will receive the notification once the update has reached their region. The size of the update is 1,741MB. If the users haven’t received the update notification, they would need to update their smartphone manually. They would need to go to Settings, then head to System and then to Software updates. Once clicked, the update will start downloading. Once downloaded, the users can update their devices to the latest OxygenOS.
Yesterday, OnePlus was said that it was going to roll out the beta version of the new OxygenOS for OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T too. So, we might see the updates in its newer phones as well. Prior to that, the company had revealed that its previous models, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will be getting the latest Android Pie update soon. The newest update was supposed to arrive mid-2018 but the company failed to do so.
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Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is best known for its affordable phones and most of its devices that are unveiled in China are also launched in India sooner or later. But then, there is a Xiaomi handset which hasn’t been launched in India till now – Black Shark.
Xiaomi Black Shark is a gaming smartphone by the company and competes with the likes of Asus ROG phone or Razer Phone 2. But it will change soon as Xiaomi is setting up a Black Shark phone brand HQ in India, and this can point towards the launch of the gaming smartphone in the country.
Xiaomi’s Black Shark gaming phone was launched a year ago and had a limited release only in the UK and Europe. But the Chinese smartphone manufacturer is still working to bring its gaming phone in other markets as well. Black Shark is Xiaomi’s sub-brand, much like Poco, which was started back in 2017. But this year, the company announced that they will be setting up a Black Shark HQ in Bengaluru, India.
In the first half of 2018 the Xiaomi Black Shark was launched followed by its successor, the Xiaomi Black Shark Helo which was released in the second half of the year. But bringing the Black Shark to India might get mixed views as the smartphone is priced higher than other Xiaomi phones. It might match the price of Xiaomi Mi 8, or may be priced even higher. It is also true that Xiaomi’s Poco F1, which was also launched under a sub-brand, received mixed reviews because it was priced a little higher than regular Xiaomi smartphones. But still the phone sold and made headlines, it packed a flagship processor but wasn’t priced like the other flagships like the OnePlus 6T or Samsung Note 9, both of which were powered by the same processor as Poco F1.
Similarly, Xiaomi Black Shark is powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC and has up to 8GB of RAM. It comes with 128GB of storage and houses a 4,000mAh battery. Currently, it is not known when the Black Shark will be made available in India but Xiaomi is sending out press releases to announce of its arrival in the country.
Rest easy that you'll never have to leave accidentally mid-battle 🎮🔫
Black Shark's Gamedock gives you the ability to switch off the keypad, find out more below! pic.twitter.com/4I5E9eC1Iw
The Indian HQ of Black Shark will be led by David Li who is the current Vice President of the company’s global division. He will be responsible for managing the overall operations and production of Black Shark in India. In the newly formed team is ex-OnePlus communications head, Chirag Nagendra who will be handling the brand building and coming up with communications strategy for India’s marketing campaign.
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Popular battle royale game Fortnite has just rolled out its Season 8 update. And with this latest update, the game has got a number of changes. But before we get started about the changes, we should mention what’s going on in the background story as of now. The Ice King’s castle’s powerful prisoner has been set free, and now, he has bought fire and flame to Fortnite. However, there is a new treasure as well.
But in order to get that, the player has to deal with pirates, ninjas and other fighters. Furthermore, a new weapon has been added in Season 8 called the Pirate Cannon, besides new locations and the challenge of playing on a map where you can be hurt by Lava. to know about the changes in detail, read on:
In This Article
Map changes
There are two new additions that may interest you — Sunny Steps and Lazy Lagoon. You can discover new loots at both these locations.
Battle Pass
A new Battle Pass has been added for Fortnite Season 8. You can collect it for free, but for that, you will need to collect thirteen free Overtime Challenges during the Fortnite Share the Love event. However, if you fail, you can buy it for 950 V-bucks. Once you buy the Battle Pass, you will have access to Blackheart and Hybrid outfits.
New Items
As we mentioned earlier, Fortnite Season 8 has got the new Pirate Cannon, which can be found throughout the environment.
You can either use the cannon to aim and fire at other or you can climb into the barrel and launch yourself. It can fire cannonballs as well as players at a great distance.
However, some items have also been discontinued in Fortnite Season 8. These include:
Sneaky Snowman
Chiller Grenade
X-4 Stormwing
Shopping Cart
All Terrain Kart
And now, finally, here’s a look at Fortnite season 8 gameplay patch notes:
Plankerton Visual Update (including the Lakeside Biome).
Hiding “Squad” tab from the in-game inventory screen. However, we should add that improvements are still being made to this and will re-feature it in the future.
Hover Turret: Reduced damage per hit from 15 to 12
Proximity Mine:
Reduced recharge time from 200 seconds to 60 seconds
Increased starting charges from 2 to 4
Increased bonus charges from Skill Tree Upgrades from 1 to 3 each (now maxes out at 10 charges)
Reduced damage from 230 to 183
No longer causes knockback
Increased stability when placing tracks and B.A.S.E. in the builder pro configuration
Driftboards can now be destroyed by lava.
Driftboards are no longer slowed when going up ramps
Geysers can now affect Driftboards.
Driftboards can no longer be pushed with high impact weapons.
The bug fixes of the update include:
Fixed invisible Driftboard collision when riding over a weather balloon landing site.
Fixed issue with the Hoverboard being in the ground for other players.
If you wanted to buy a flagship smartphone at an affordable price, now is a good time for you to do so. Chinese smartphone brand Oppo has slashed the price of its R17 Pro smartphone in India. The company has reduced the price of its Oppo R17 Pro smartphone by Rs 6,000, so now, it can be bought at Rs 39,990. We should mention that Oppo R17 Pro was launched by the smartphone maker in India in December last year and back then, it cost Rs 45,990.
There are a number of high-end features and specifications in the smartphone. For instance, Oppo R17 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup, Super VOOC fast charging, and AMOLED screen that has an in-display fingerprint scanner embedded in it and a waterdrop-shaped notch on top.
We should mention that Oppo F17 Pro is available in Radiant Mist and Emerald Green colour options in India and it can be picked up from Amazon India’s website or offline stores across the country.
Oppo R17 Pro specifications
To recall, Oppo R17 Pro mobile sports a 6.4-inch full HD+ AMOLED display that has a waterdrop-shaped notch on top and comes with a screen-to-body ratio of 91.5%. It is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core 710 processor, the Oppo R17 Pro smartphone comes with Adreno 616 GPU and 8GB of RAM. The device packs 128GB of storage, however, it does not have support for a microSD card.
For imaging duties, Oppo R17 Pro sports a triple rear camera setup with a 12MP primary sensor with f/1.5-2.4 variable aperture, a 20MP secondary sensor and a 3D ToF lens coupled with LED flash. On the front panel, Oppo R17 Pro comes with a 25MP selfie camera with AI Beautify mode.
Opppo R17 Pro smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with ColorOS 5.2 and houses a 3,700mAh battery. We should add that the device’s battery has support for the company’s Super VOOC fast charging that is claimed to charge the smartphone by up to 40% in 10 minutes. The connectivity options of the Oppo R17 Pro smartphone include dual-SIM, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is all set to launch its F11 Pro smartphone in India on March 5. But ahead of its scheduled launch date the specifications of the device have been leaked on Geekbench. The leaks specify that Oppo F11 Pro will be powered by a MediaTek P70 SoC and will have 6GB of RAM. Oppo F11 Pro smartphone will run on Android 9.0 Pie with the company’s ColorOS 6 on top.
The leaked smartphone specifications on Geekbench was spotted by Droidshout. According to the leaks, the model number of the Oppo F11 Pro is CPH1969. The single-core score of the Oppo F11 Pro is listed at 1,573 while the multi-core score is listed at 5,844. According to the listing, the smartphone sports a 6.5-inch Full HD LTPS LCD display with a 1080 x 2340 resolution and screen-to-body ratio of 90.9%. The smartphone is expected to come in two storage variants – 64GB and 128GB storage.
Besides this, a few other details about the smartphone have been reported by MySmartPrice. The Oppo F11 Pro smartphone will pack a dual rear camera setup with a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.79 aperture and the other camera will be a 5MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. It will reportedly pack a 4,000mAh battery and will have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou for connectivity. It is expected to weigh around 190 grams and measures at 161.3 x 76.1 x 8.8 mm. The reports further mention that there will be Aurora Green and Thunder Black colour options along with a triple colour gradient variant of the smartphone.
Some confirmed features of the Oppo F11 Pro include the 48MP primary camera, VOOC 3.0 fast charging support along with Super Night mode for better low light photography. The presence of a pop-up selfie camera like the Vivo V15 Pro which was launched a week ago. The smartphone’s back panel will sport a rear fingerprint sensor unlike the Vivo V15 Pro which houses an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Oppo released a product overview video of the F11 Pro which showcases some of the features and specifications it will have. It might be priced at the sub Rs 12,000 – 15,000 range with closest competitor being the Redmi Note 7 Pro.
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Chinese smartphone maker Realme is all set to launch its Realme 3 in India on March 4 at 12:30pm. And just days ahead of the Realme 3 smartphone’s launch, the device has been teased on Indian e-commerce website Flipkart. Some of the highlights of Realme 3 have been listed on the online shopping website its processor and battery capacity.
We should mention that Realme 3’s Flipkart listing takes a jab at the recently launched Redmi Note 7 in India. The listing cleverly says, “Faster 12nm Helio P70 AI processor Vs. 14nm processor. Now, we all know that Redmi Note 7 smartphone has been launched with 14nm Snapdragon 660 SoC yesterday, so it doesn’t take a genius to guess what Realme is trying to say. While the device will be powered by a 12nm MediaTek Helio P70 processor, the listing also says that Realme 3 will sport a Dew-Drop notch design and come with ‘more than 4,000mAh battery. To be more precise, it has shared the fact that Realme 3 will house a 4,230mAh battery.
There is a possibility that the company might release Realme 3 Pro alongside the Realme 3 just like Xiaomi did with the release of Redmi Note 7 where they also released Redmi Note 7 Pro. We should also mention that it was already mentioned by the company on their Twitter handle that the smartphone will have a MediaTek processor.
Speaking of the ‘dew-drop’ notch, it basically means that the smartphone will have a waterdrop-shaped notch on the top of its screen. The listing of Realme 3 on Flipkart means that the device would be exclusively available on the online shopping platform. The pricing of the phone is not revealed yet but there is a mention of ‘unbelievable price’ on Flipkart, and it is being speculated that the smartphone will be in the Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 range.
According to earlier reports, Realme 3 will come with a dual rear camera setup with a fingerprint scanner at the back and will have a diamond cut case. It will also have an aspect ratio of 16:9 along with Bluetooth v4.2.
If the price of Realme is closer or similar to that of Redmi Note 7 then we can see a fierce competition between both the devices. But in the end, it will be up to the users what they choose – Snapdragon or MediaTek, Realme or Redmi.
After unveiling its Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 smartphones at MWC 2019, Samsung launched the two smartphones along with Galaxy A10 in India yesterday. Samsung Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A30 will be going on sale via Amazon India, Flipkart and Samsung’s online shop starting 12 am IST today.
The newly launched handsets will also be available via Samsung‘s partnered retail stores starting tomorrow. And if you want to be the Samsung Galaxy A10, you would have to wait for March 20 for it to be launched. Here’s a look at the pricing and specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 smartphones.
In This Article
Samsung Galaxy A50, Galaxy A30 price in India
While the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant of Samsung Galaxy A50 is priced at Rs 19,990, while the high-end model that comes with 6GB of RAM costs Rs 22,990. The device is available in Black, Blue and White colour options in the country. Samsung Galaxy A30, on the other hand, bears a price tag of Rs 16,990 and can be bought in Black, Blue and Red colours.
As we mentioned earlier, both the smartphones will be available on Amazon India, Flipkart, Samsung’s online shop and retail outlets. While the sale will begin on online outlets at 12 am IST tonight, you can buy them via retail stores tomorrow.
Samsung Galaxy A50 specifications
Samsung Galaxy A50 runs Android Pie skinned with One UI on top and it sports a 6.4-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U Display that comes with a screen-to-body ratio of 91.6%. Powered by an octa-core Exynos 9610 processor clubbed with up to 6GB of RAM, the device has 64GB of internal storage and can hold a microSD card of up to 512GB. The smartphone has an in-display fingerprint scanner and houses a 4,000mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging.
On the camera front, Samsung Galaxy A50 has a triple rear camera setup that comprises of a 25MP sensor with an f/1.7 lens, a 5MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens, and an 8MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens. For selfies and video calls, there is a 25MP selfie camera that has an f/2.0 lens.
Samsung Galaxy A30 specifications
Samsung Galaxy A30 has the same software and display as the Galaxy A50 smartphone, however, it is powered by the octa-core Exynos 7904 SoC clubbed with 4GB of RAM.
For imaging duties, Samsung Galaxy A30 sports a dual rear camera setup with a 16MP sensor with an f/1.7 lens and a 5MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens. The front panel of the smartphone has the same selfie camera as Galaxy A50. Another difference between the two smartphones is that Galaxy A30 comes with a physical fingerprint sensor mounted on its rear panel.
Taiwanese consumer electronics maker Asus had released a list of its smartphones which would receive a stable Android Pie update just yesterday. And today, the company has promised to release the beta version of Android Pie update for its Zenfone Max Pro M1.
We should mention that earlier this week, Asus had announced that beta testing of Android Pie update for the device is now open. The company has also started accepting applications on its website from the users who wish to test ZenFone Max Pro M1 beta.
The final stable version of Android 9.0 Pie for Zenfone Max Pro M1 will be rolled out when the company is sure there are no bugs or other issues in the software. This will only happen after Asus completes testing the update with the users who sign up.
The users who want to try out the new beta update can download it from the Asus’s official website. However, before they do that, they would first have to fill an application on the company’s website. Users would also need to share their smartphone’s IMEI information, serial number and current firmware details to be eligible for the participation in the Beta Power User Program.
But Asus says, “Please keep in mind that this is beta software programme, the beta software updates are sometimes not as stable as our official Software Updates. By installing this update, you accept the potential risks.”
The beta update gives an advantage to both the users and the company. While users get to use the newer version of Android, developers find about the bugs in the update that need to be fixed before a stable roll-out.
In a statement on their official website Asus said, “This program gives you access to early updates for feedback and testing so that the official Android Pie update is served as delicious and stable as you’d like it.”
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 was launched in April 2018 with Android 8.1 Oreo. The company was supposed to release the Pie update by end of February 2019 but it seems like Asus is a little late on their promise. It is still not sure when the beta version will be upgraded with the stable version of Android Pie, however, it shouldn’t take long.
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South Korean technology giant Samsung had promised a few days back that it will be rolling out an update post which users will be able to remap the Bixby button on their older Galaxy flagship smartphones. This announcement was made by Samsung after it introduced the feature in its latest Galaxy S10 flagship lineup.
The feature will be seen on Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Note 8 smartphones. So, that’s all the smartphones from Samsung that come with a Bixby button. However, your device must be updated to Android Pie/One Touch UI software so that you can get the update that will bring this Bixby button remapping feature.
After they get the update, users will be able to remap the Bixby button to launch other apps like Google Maps, camera or more. However, you would still not be able to use it to launch other digital voice assistants like Google Assistant or Cortana using it. You would have to rely on apps to use them.
Since Bixby was launched Samsung users could not launch the digital assistant of their choice by default, as they only had the option of talking to Bixby by pressing the button on their smartphone. And even with this update, this will surely not change.
However, even after the update, you would not be able to disable the button entirely. Also, if you really dislike Bixby, you would still have to live with it being your smartphone, as Samsung is not rolling out an option to remove its native digital assistant via the update.
But then, the fact that you can choose which app shows up on pressing the said button should be a welcome change for most Samsung Galaxy flagship users, considering that Bixby garnered appreciation like Google Assistant, Siri or Cortana.
It is worth noticing that on single pressing the button, the app of your choice will launch, and double-pressing it will open Bixby on your device. And no matter what your Settings are, if you long press the button, it will always launch Bixby.
Do you own a Samsung Galaxy flagship device? Let us know in the comments below which app would you choose to launch via the Bixby button once you get the update!
If there is one trend that will dominate the year 2019, it has to be smartphones with foldable displays. While Samsung Galaxy Fold was launched at the South Korean giant’s Unpacked event on February 20, MWC 2019 saw the launch of Huawei Mate X. Xiaomi, another Chinese smartphone maker is not too far behind in the race of foldable phones.
These phones are all about screens. When folded, they look like a regular smartphone, but when unfolded they turn into a tablet. That, in fact, is a distinguishing feature between the old foldable phones and the new ones. It is true that they are very expensive, but many think that the future of smartphones is ‘folded’.
Just like the strategy it has adopted with 5G connectivity, Apple is sitting and observing the playing field in the game of foldable smartphones as well. We should mention that following this strategy is nothing new for Apple as it waits for the market of a certain new technology to gain speed and heat up before it enters the market with its ‘new’ product. Currently, Apple is not sitting idle as they too are finding new ways to develop their own foldable device.
Earlier today, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a patent application filed by Apple. The application lists out details and solutions about the foldable smartphone which might get damaged with prolonged use of the foldable phone. Apple points out that the display of the foldable phone might break or get damage from the changes in the weather (heat and cold).
The published USPTO patent states that, “An electronic device may have a hinge that allows the device to be flexed about a bend axis. A display may span the bend axis. To facilitate bending about the bend axis without damage when the display is cold, a portion of the display that overlaps the bend axis may be selectively heated. The portion of the display that overlaps the bend axis may be self-heated by illuminating pixels in the portion of the display that overlap the bend axis or may be heated using a heating element or other heating structure that provides heat to the portion of the display overlapping the bend axis. Control circuitry may engage a latching mechanism that previous opening and closing of the electronic device when the temperature of the portion of the display that overlaps the bend axis is below a predetermined temperature.”
The patent further describes the foldable smartphone, the problems it might face and their solutions. It is possible that we might see a foldable smartphone from Apple as well in the near future. But it is unknown to us when exactly the Cupertino based technology company will jump in the foldable phone race.
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Chinese smartphone brand Huawei grabbed the spotlight at MWC 2019 with its foldable phone Mate X. While Huawei Mate X is not the first foldable phone to be unveiled, it definitely is the first ever 5G foldable smartphone. And now, the company has spoken about how it worked with technology giant Google for Huawei Mate X, that was received well by the media, critics and fans alike.
According to Huawei, it partnered with different companies to develop the Mate X and Google was one of them. The company worked closely with Google to upgrade to the Android OS required for the tablet. The Huawei Mate X comes with a flexible OLED display panel and a mechanical hinge where it folds. Huawei has patented the mechanical hinge it has used in Mate X.
In an interview with IANS, Kevin Ho, President of Handset Business of Huawei Consumer Business Group said “Google is a wonderful partner. We have worked closely with the company on all the projects, including this one.”
According to Ho, the mechanical hinge of Huawei Mate X is the most important part of the device and it took the company three years to develop it.
But as mentioned above, the Chinese smartphone giant not only partnered with Google but several other companies to develop its foldable phone. Each company helped Huawei in one field or the other.
Ho also mentioned that there were a variety of things from ‘different suppliers’ that were used in the device, but they managed to put it all in a ‘precise and beautiful way against the hinge’.
“Firstly, the device is based on the latest Android version ‘Pie’ operating system, but at the same time since it is foldable, a lot of adaptation was needed,” Ho added. Speaking further about the foldable smartphone Ho said that he would love to use it as a phone, but he still thinks it as a real tablet.
At #MWC Barcelona 2019, #HuaweiMate20Pro was named the “Best Smartphone” in recognition of its powerful performance, outstanding camera system, long battery life, innovative charging solutions and striking design. pic.twitter.com/4y7HQMYIRN
Ho also addressed the high pricing of Huawei Mate X, and said that he does not see “suddenly a lot of people using” it, but “a small group of people will, maybe technical-oriented people.” The device is priced at EUR 2,299 (approximately Rs 1,85,000) and it would require a carrier channel to ship the device.
To recall that specifications, Huawei Mate X is powered by Kirin 980 SoC processor and sports a 6.6-inch and a 6.4-inch dual display panel with FullView display. When the device is unfolded, it transforms into an 8-inch tablet of 5.4mm thickness.
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Have you ever thought that you would buy the GoPro Hero7 Black if only it weren’t Black in colour? If the answer to that is yes, then we are happy to tell you that the company has just granted your wish. Starting March 3, customers would have a choice of buying the GoPro Hero7 Black action camera in a Dusk White finish.
However, if you think that White is totally your colour and this is what you have been waiting for, you must grab the GoPro Hero7 Dusk White fast, as it is a limited edition product by the popular action camera maker.
We should mention that the GoPro Hero7 Black is among the best action cameras that you can buy at the moment and it comes with some very impressive features like HyperSmooth stabilization and TimeWarp recording.
Till now, the flagship action camera by the company was only available in its trademark Black colour. The GoPro Hero7 Silver and White were being offered as cut-down versions of the camera and were available at a more affordable price point.
Going forward, the company will be offering the action camera in pearly white, or as GoPro calls it, Dusk White finish too. Although the company has not officially said it yet, it is being speculated that the Dusk White edition of the camera will also be rugged and waterproof like the Black model.
Much like GoPro Hero7 Black, the new coloured edition comes with a dual screen setup. The 2-inch touchscreen dominates the small status LCD on the front panel. The 12MP sensor of the GoPro’s flagship camera can be used for 4K60p recording and 30fps burst shooting. The device can also be used for Live Streaming and 240p capture in Full HD for 8x slow-motion playback. It also has support for voice control.
The company has also partnered with MotoGP racing driver Valentino Rossi to roll out a neon yellow Sleeve + Lanyard emblazoned with Rossi’s race number, 46. This will also be getting launched with the Limited Edition GoPro Hero7 Black.
Coming to the pricing, GoPro HERO7 Black in Dusk White, will bear a price tag of Rs 35,500, is available for pre-order on Amazon India’s website till March 4. It will go on sale on Amazon India starting March 5 and on GoPro.com starting March 3. Customers who will pre-order the GoPro Hero7 Black in Dusk White on Amazon India will receive a free GoPro Shorty worth Rs 3,900, which is a mini extension pole combined with a tripod.
Germany-based technology brand Blaupunkt has expanded its portfolio in the Indian market with the launch of its new audio products in the country. The brand has announced its entrance in the personal audio category of the Indian market with its BTW01 truly wireless earpods, Floatz BE-01 wireless earphones, and EM01 wired earphones. The company has also said that it plans to add more products to its line-up in India in the months to come.
Speaking of the details of the new product range by the company, Blaupunkt’s BTW01 truly wireless earpods, Floatz BE-01 wireless earphones and EM01 wired earphones will be available on both Flipkart and Amazon India’s website.
While Blaupunkt BTW01 truly wireless earpods is priced at Rs 7,999, the Floatz BE-01 wireless earphones will cost Rs 3,999. The most affordable of the lot is Blaupunkt EM01 wired earphones that bear a price tag of Rs 499. All three products are available on the two platforms already.
According to the Amazon listing of Blaupunkt BTW01 truly wireless earpods, they come with a 6mm of dynamic speakers that help in optimizing highs and mid and produce stereo high definition sound. The page also states that the newly launched earphones come with a 75mAH of battery and its case has 590mAh. Furthermore, it is said to come with IPX-5 rating that makes it water-resistant, so you can easily use it while it’s raining without having to worry that it will be spoiled. The earphones also come with DSP digital noise reduction technology that contributes to its advanced noise cancellation. For connectivity, it has Bluetooth V.5.
Coming to Blaupunkt Floatz BE-01 wireless earphones, the company has said that it is one among the lightest in the world and has promised that the audio gadget has very superior quality. The Amazon listing of the product says that it comes with 6mm of dynamic speakers, much like BTW01 truly wireless earpods and that it weighs just 10 grams. The earphones come with a built-in mic and have advanced noise cancellation with DSP digital noise reduction technology.
Last, but not the least, Blaupunkt EM01 wired earphones are claimed to come with a comfortable fit and they are said to deliver deep bass and clear treble. The cable length of the Blaupunkt EM01 wired earphones is 120 cms and it comes with a built-in microphone and remote.
Speaking on the launch of the new products, Mr Andrzej Cebrat, Managing Director, Blaupunkt says, “Blaupunkt in India have already become leaders in Soundbars and range of home audio products. The launch of personal audio category, especially with a focus on Wired & Bluetooth earphones and headphones is growing exponentially characterized by fierce competition. Blaupunkt with its century-old legacy of impeccable innovation and 20+ years of experience in Indian audio products segment aims to raise the bars in India market and meet consumer demands with best-in-class earphones. With Envent as our India partner for Audio products, we believe that our wired and wireless earphones are perfect companions for Millennials and Gen Z, that too in a price range that fits every pocket.”
Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus had earlier rolled out its open beta 27 ROM for the OnePlus 5 and 25 ROM for OnePlus 5T. Now, the company has rolled out the version 13 of their open beta build for OnePlus 6 and the fifth version of the open beta build for its current flagship, OnePlus 6T.
The latest updates for the smartphones bring new improvements and bug fixes over the previous operating system. Other than that, the update doesn’t bring any major change over the older software.
However, we must mention that the updates are not stable as currently both are in the beta version. Like any other beta program, these updates are released so that both the users and the company can learn from it. The users will get to experience the new features that the new stable update will bring and the company will get to learn what changes they need to make before the final stable update is released. It is in this time that smartphone companies ensure that their next stable update is bug-free. OnePlus has also asked the users to give feedback about the new beta update so that they can make amendments to provide a better OS than the current one.
Although all OnePlus users would not be eligible for the update, but those who have enrolled for the open beta program of OxygenOS for OnePlus will be getting an OTA (over-the-air) on their smartphone. The update will be available to the enrolled users over the course of few days.
The beta update for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T – OxygenOS open beta 27 and 25 – also brings gaming mode enhancement for the devices. Although what enhancements the update will bring is not known yet. Apart from the gaming mode enhancement, the update will also add weather information to the world clock application.
On the other hand, the beta update for OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T namely OxygenOS open beta 13 and 5 will bring bug fixes of the previous OS along with minor improvements. The update will include stability improvement for the video calling. It also fixes the lag experienced when setting up an alarm.
Are you a Harry Potter fan? If the answer is yes, then we have some news that will make you very happy. The Harry Potter mobile video game, that has been making headlines since last year, has finally got a timeline for its release. Warner Bros Games and Niantic released the first trailer of the upcoming Harry Potter mobile game in November 2018 and now, it has been confirmed that the game is all set to release this summer.
The official name of the game is Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and much like Pokemon Go and Ingress, it will be backed by Augmented Reality. Warner Bros Entertainment’s CEO Kevin Tsujihara has said that Niantic will be launching the game in summer this year. He also added that the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will leverage from 5G speeds that will be rolling out in 2019.
The report about this first surfaced on the Los Angeles Times. Speaking to the publication, Tsujihara said, “The one that’s the closest is this Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (augmented reality) video game project coming out this summer from Niantic, the maker of Pokemon Go. That’s a world where, clearly, 5G and faster connectivity with a mobile device is going to make that game better.”
However, he didn’t give an exact date for the launch of the game. But then, our guess is that it will be launched during the summer holidays when a lot of students will be free for playing the game for long hours. To recall, even Pokemon Go was launched in July 2016. The Twitter handle of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has been posting regular teasers about the upcoming game.
And maybe it’s because of this, or a large number of fans the series has across the globe that the game has already garnered a lot of attention. In fact, even though the game is unreleased, the Twitter handle of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite already has 64K followers.
The game was first announced in November two years back. While it will have AR technology like Pokemon Go, one thing that will be different will be that Niantic will be using some real-world locations to make the Harry Potter experience as real as possible. While this was not required in Pokemon Go, Harry Potter’s author JK Rowling has written back stories for every location that has been mentioned in the books. So, it’s more of a necessity to include those in the game if Niantic wants it to be a hit among Potterheads.
A number of companies launched their 5G smartphones at the Mobile World Congress 2019. While some are now available commercially, some companies only showcased the prototypes of their 5G smartphones.
However, one company that we didn’t hear about till now is Lenovo. While the smartphone maker was expected to unveil its Lenovo Z6 Pro device at the MWC 2019, it only gave us a glimpse at its upcoming flagship handset.
Lenovo’s vice president Edward Chang gave attendees a small brief about the smartphone maker’s plans for its Z6 Pro smartphone and 5G networks. Addressing the audience, Chang spoke about how 5G networks will enable users to watch high-resolution videos and photos that will dominate the internet in the next few years.
Lenovo has said that its upcoming Z6 Pro smartphone will have support for 5G and will sport a new ‘HyperVision’ camera that will be capable of shooting ‘Hyper Videos’. However, as of now, there is no word from Lenovo about what these videos will be like and the company has said that it will reveal some details about it soon enough.
The vice president of the Chinese smartphone brand also added that while 4G videos can be transferred at 100Mbps-1Gbps network rates, users will be able to transfer ‘Hyper Videos’ at 10Gbps and above rates.
Chang further said that Lenovo Z6 Pro smartphone will come with next-generation camera technologies. He also said that the Chinese smartphone company is working on its Hyper Video camera for some time now and it is expected to ship with the Z6 Pro smartphone in June 2019. We should mention that the smartphone is expected to be launched in China before its global launch.
As of now, there is no word on the specifications or pricing details of the upcoming 5G smartphone. But then, Chang has said that the company will be revealing more information about the upcoming smartphone’s camera technology soon enough.
The smartphone makers that unveiled their 5G-enabled handsets at the tech show are LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE, OnePlus, Oppo, and Sony. However, we must add that Oppo just showed its smartphone without revealing its name or specifications. Another thing that we must mention that OnePlus showcased its prototype smartphone at MWC 2019.
If there is one game that has broken a number of records in terms of popularity last year, it is PUBG Mobile. The game has scores of users across the globe and while some love it, some got addicted to the extent that they want a ban imposed on it.
And the makers of PUBG Mobile clearly know how to keep people hooked to the game by rolling out new updates and adding refreshing themes and elements to it. The latest update got Zombies from Resident Evil 2 to PUBG Mobile, and it was highly appreciated by the player, who didn’t only have to kill each other, but also the zombies and zombie bosses.
And now, PUBG Mobile is introducing the Bonus Challenge feature wherein users can participate in tournaments and earn Battle Coins which can be exchanged for rare outfits, gun skins and UC packs.
If you are interested in this, which we think any PUBG Mobile fan would be, you can access the Bonus Challenge via the Esports Tab on the main screen. However, we must mention that users in India would only be able to access this feature on Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week. PUBG Mobile has even specified the timing to access this feature. Interested users must log in and click on the Esports Tab between 12:00 PM to 23:59 PM on the aforementioned days. So basically, you can use your weekends to participate in the Bonus Challenge.
But then, that’s not all. There are other requirements that you need to fulfil too. For starters, to participate in the Bonus Challenge, the user’s must either be on level 20 or more of the game. Furthermore, there are three different levels in the Bonus Challenge for which users can register – ‘Novice, Adept and Expert’. It is worth noticing that the entry ticket for these levels is 10 UC, 20UC and 30 UC respectively.
All days when Bonus Challenge will be accessible will be divided into six seasons which will last for two hours each. Each player would be able to register only for one level Bonus Challenge during each season. However, they would still be able to register for the same one or another one in the next season. This basically means that a user can join for a maximum of six matches in a day. Players will be able to exchange tickets at the Battle Shop and one ticket is equivalent to 10 UC. This basically means that users have to consume tickets or 30 UC if they want to register for the 30 UC level Bonus Challenge.
It is also worth mentioning that categories of Bonus Challenge are bound with Area IP. So players in Country A will not be able to see the challenges held in Country B. Furthermore, once users finish a Novice Guide, they will get 100 Battle Coins and one Entry ticket, which will help them participate in Novice challenge for free. On completing the Novice Guide, users will also be able to register for the Tournament.
Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has today launched its Redmi Note 7 Pro smartphone in India today. The device was unveiled at an event in New Delhi and it is touted to come with a 48MP primary camera. Although it isn’t the first smartphone to boost this sensor, it is definitely the first in the budget segment to do so.
The device is the successor of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro smartphone that was launched in India last year. We should point out that the smartphone did not do so well in the Indian market primarily because of the fact that it wasn’t much of an upgrade over its predecessor – Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.
But we have to admit, in Redmi Note 7, the company has added some impressive specifications and the pricing of the device makes it a good buy, at least on paper. Here, we have compared the specifications of the Redmi Note 7 Pro with Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro so that you can decide which one is a better buy for you:
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with MIUI 10
Price
Redmi Note 7 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model costs Rs 13,999 and 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant bears a price tag of Rs 16,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model bears a price tag of Rs 13,999, the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant costs Rs 15,999.
Flip over, and you will see that the design of the back panel of Vivo V15 Pro is very impressive. The top left corner of the rear panel of the mobile has a black-coloured strip that houses the triple rear camera setup of the smartphone, LED flash as well as the pop-up selfie camera module. Vivo V15 Pro is available in Topaz Blue and Ruby Red colour variants and the one that we got for review was dressed in Blue.
The smartphone has a plastic body and we have to admit that in this price segment, we did expect something better. However, we should add that in no way does it hamper the device’s look. In fact, if you are someone who gets worried about the glass back panels fragility, this may actually prove to be better for you.
One handed usage on the smartphone was not a problem at all. Its rounded corners and slightly curved back panel helped with that a lot. While the right edge of the Vivo V15 Pro comes with the volume rocker and power buttons, the left one has the Google Assistant key and the microSD card slot. The top houses the 3.5mm headphone jack and the bottom has a microUSB port, SIM card slot, and the speaker grill placed on it.
To sum it up, we would say that we really liked many aspects of the design of this smartphone. The pop-up selfie camera gave the handset a very futuristic look, and the back panel is quite a stunner. We liked the fact that no fingerprint smudges stay on the device’s rear panel and the gradient colours add to its premium look. Some may not like the plastic finish, but it wasn’t an issue for us.
Coming to the 6.39-inches full HD+ Super AMOLED display of the smartphone, we really liked it. The colours were very rich and the blacks were deep. So no matter what you use your device for – watching videos or gaming – your experience will be a good one, also because there is no notch on top. We could easily use the smartphone under sunlight and the viewing angles were consistent.
Coming to the in-display fingerprint scanner of the smartphone, it was better than Vivo NEX, but we have to admit one thing: It didn’t recognise our fingerprint all the time. This was particularly true when our finger was moist. However, it is definitely an improvement over earlier models. In a nutshell, we would say that our experience with the smartphone’s display was a good one. It is one of the good aspects of the Vivo V15 Pro.
Coming to the software of the device, it is a heavily customised version of Android, unlike most other smartphones that have been launched recently. Like all other Vivo smartphones, the Quick Settings are not integrated with the notification panel, but instead can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom edge of the smartphone.
On the downside, Vivo V15 Pro came with a lot of bloatware. The pre-installed apps on the device include UC browser, Amazon, Facebook, PhonePe, Paytm, WPS Office and a number of Vivo’s native applications. We personally prefer smartphones that come with no bloatware. The closer a smartphone’s software is to stock Android, the better and cleaner it is.
Vivo V15 Pro smartphone has the motorbike and gaming modes that promise to enhance the experience. Furthermore, it also comes with the Jovi assistant, which lets you put smart reminders and has features like smart planning and image recognizer. The smartphone also supports motion-based gestures and a virtual easy touch button.
Coming to its performance, the Vivo V15 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor and it comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. The device runs smoothly. There was no lag while launching or switching between apps and the smartphone didn’t slow down even when we had 10 apps running in the background.
We tried gaming on the device and even graphics hungry games like PUBG Mobile ran very smoothly. When we tried playing games like Asphalt 9: Legends while using our smartphone for navigation, the smartphone still handled it without heating up.
The 3,700mAh battery is another good aspect of the Vivo V15 Pro smartphone. It lasted easily more than a day with usage involving social media browsing, gaming, watching YouTube videos and shows on Hotstar, and more.
But we still wouldn’t call it the best aspect of Vivo V15 Pro, as we feel that the cameras of the smartphone deserve to be called that. In some aspects, the device’s cameras even surpass the ones on Vivo NEX. Yes, in some aspects only. The device has a triple rear camera setup comprising of a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP wide-angle lens and 5MP depth of field sensor.
But then, we should point out that the 48MP primary camera of the smartphone combines four 0.8μm pixels into one 1.6μm pixel as it uses the Samsung GM1 sensor. This basically means that you get images that are 12MP in resolution. The company does provide an option to shoot images in 48MP resolution too and you can enable it via Settings. However, we preferred the 12MP images. Needless to say, the images taken were absolutely stunning. They were sharp, clear, rich in details and colours. We managed to click some very high-quality images during our time with the smartphone. The macro shots, especially, turned out to be really great.
In addition to this, you also have the option of clicking 120-degree wide-angle images and portrait shots whose depth of field you can adjust. There are also options that enable you to click live photos, apply filters, use AR stickers and beauty mode. Vivo V15 Pro’s camera also comes with AI-enabled scene recognition and portrait framing.
We personally found these additions to be very useful. And the images taken from the wide-angle lens and the shots with depth enabled turned out to be good too. The best thing about the smartphone’s photography is that its performance remains consistent when it is being used in the dark too. However, there was one thing that we were not very happy with. When we tried shooting 4K videos with the camera, it took the sensor abnormally long to focus on certain objects at times. It was slightly annoying, as the rest of the experience that we had with the cameras was very good.
Now, let’s talk about the 32MP pop-up selfie camera. We simply loved it. However, we should again point out that the images you will get will have a resolution of 8MP. The images taken with the selfie camera were really good. And the best part is that it didn’t make our skin look artificially smooth or turn our skin unnaturally light just to make the images look ‘good’.
Although we were a little sceptical about how the face unlock would work, it worked each and every time for us. In fact, we preferred it over the in-display fingerprint scanner. It even worked in the dark, which is a very big plus on our test sheets.
We ran a few benchmarks on our device. While it scored 2,390 and 6,503 in Geekbench 4, it managed a 1,80,694 in Antutu. All indicating good performance.
Flip over, and you will see that the design of the back panel of Vivo V15 Pro is very impressive. The top left corner of the rear panel of the mobile has a black-coloured strip that houses the triple rear camera setup of the smartphone, LED flash as well as the pop-up selfie camera module. Vivo V15 Pro is available in Topaz Blue and Ruby Red colour variants and the one that we got for review was dressed in Blue.
The smartphone has a plastic body and we have to admit that in this price segment, we did expect something better. However, we should add that in no way does it hamper the device’s look. In fact, if you are someone who gets worried about the glass back panels fragility, this may actually prove to be better for you.
One handed usage on the smartphone was not a problem at all. Its rounded corners and slightly curved back panel helped with that a lot. While the right edge of the Vivo V15 Pro comes with the volume rocker and power buttons, the left one has the Google Assistant key and the microSD card slot. The top houses the 3.5mm headphone jack and the bottom has a microUSB port, SIM card slot, and the speaker grill placed on it.
To sum it up, we would say that we really liked many aspects of the design of this smartphone. The pop-up selfie camera gave the handset a very futuristic look, and the back panel is quite a stunner. We liked the fact that no fingerprint smudges stay on the device’s rear panel and the gradient colours add to its premium look. Some may not like the plastic finish, but it wasn’t an issue for us.
Coming to the 6.39-inches full HD+ Super AMOLED display of the smartphone, we really liked it. The colours were very rich and the blacks were deep. So no matter what you use your device for – watching videos or gaming – your experience will be a good one, also because there is no notch on top. We could easily use the smartphone under sunlight and the viewing angles were consistent.
Coming to the in-display fingerprint scanner of the smartphone, it was better than Vivo NEX, but we have to admit one thing: It didn’t recognise our fingerprint all the time. This was particularly true when our finger was moist. However, it is definitely an improvement over earlier models. In a nutshell, we would say that our experience with the smartphone’s display was a good one. It is one of the good aspects of the Vivo V15 Pro.
Coming to the software of the device, it is a heavily customised version of Android, unlike most other smartphones that have been launched recently. Like all other Vivo smartphones, the Quick Settings are not integrated with the notification panel, but instead can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom edge of the smartphone.
On the downside, Vivo V15 Pro came with a lot of bloatware. The pre-installed apps on the device include UC browser, Amazon, Facebook, PhonePe, Paytm, WPS Office and a number of Vivo’s native applications. We personally prefer smartphones that come with no bloatware. The closer a smartphone’s software is to stock Android, the better and cleaner it is.
Vivo V15 Pro smartphone has the motorbike and gaming modes that promise to enhance the experience. Furthermore, it also comes with the Jovi assistant, which lets you put smart reminders and has features like smart planning and image recognizer. The smartphone also supports motion-based gestures and a virtual easy touch button.
Coming to its performance, the Vivo V15 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor and it comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. The device runs smoothly. There was no lag while launching or switching between apps and the smartphone didn’t slow down even when we had 10 apps running in the background.
We tried gaming on the device and even graphics hungry games like PUBG Mobile ran very smoothly. When we tried playing games like Asphalt 9: Legends while using our smartphone for navigation, the smartphone still handled it without heating up.
The 3,700mAh battery is another good aspect of the Vivo V15 Pro smartphone. It lasted easily more than a day with usage involving social media browsing, gaming, watching YouTube videos and shows on Hotstar, and more.
But we still wouldn’t call it the best aspect of Vivo V15 Pro, as we feel that the cameras of the smartphone deserve to be called that. In some aspects, the device’s cameras even surpass the ones on Vivo NEX. Yes, in some aspects only. The device has a triple rear camera setup comprising of a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP wide-angle lens and 5MP depth of field sensor.
But then, we should point out that the 48MP primary camera of the smartphone combines four 0.8μm pixels into one 1.6μm pixel as it uses the Samsung GM1 sensor. This basically means that you get images that are 12MP in resolution. The company does provide an option to shoot images in 48MP resolution too and you can enable it via Settings. However, we preferred the 12MP images. Needless to say, the images taken were absolutely stunning. They were sharp, clear, rich in details and colours. We managed to click some very high-quality images during our time with the smartphone. The macro shots, especially, turned out to be really great.
In addition to this, you also have the option of clicking 120-degree wide-angle images and portrait shots whose depth of field you can adjust. There are also options that enable you to click live photos, apply filters, use AR stickers and beauty mode. Vivo V15 Pro’s camera also comes with AI-enabled scene recognition and portrait framing.
We personally found these additions to be very useful. And the images taken from the wide-angle lens and the shots with depth enabled turned out to be good too. The best thing about the smartphone’s photography is that its performance remains consistent when it is being used in the dark too. However, there was one thing that we were not very happy with. When we tried shooting 4K videos with the camera, it took the sensor abnormally long to focus on certain objects at times. It was slightly annoying, as the rest of the experience that we had with the cameras was very good.
Now, let’s talk about the 32MP pop-up selfie camera. We simply loved it. However, we should again point out that the images you will get will have a resolution of 8MP. The images taken with the selfie camera were really good. And the best part is that it didn’t make our skin look artificially smooth or turn our skin unnaturally light just to make the images look ‘good’.
Although we were a little sceptical about how the face unlock would work, it worked each and every time for us. In fact, we preferred it over the in-display fingerprint scanner. It even worked in the dark, which is a very big plus on our test sheets.
We ran a few benchmarks on our device. While it scored 2,390 and 6,503 in Geekbench 4, it managed a 1,80,694 in Antutu. All indicating good performance.
Opppo R17 Pro smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with ColorOS 5.2 and houses a 3,700mAh battery. We should add that the device’s battery has support for the company’s Super VOOC fast charging that is claimed to charge the smartphone by up to 40% in 10 minutes. The connectivity options of the Oppo R17 Pro smartphone include dual-SIM, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.
Coming to the pricing, GoPro HERO7 Black in Dusk White, will bear a price tag of Rs 35,500, is available for pre-order on Amazon India’s website till March 4. It will go on sale on Amazon India starting March 5 and on GoPro.com starting March 3. Customers who will pre-order the GoPro Hero7 Black in Dusk White on Amazon India will receive a free GoPro Shorty worth Rs 3,900, which is a mini extension pole combined with a tripod.
Much like GoPro Hero7 Black, the new coloured edition comes with a dual screen setup. The 2-inch touchscreen dominates the small status LCD on the front panel. The 12MP sensor of the GoPro’s flagship camera can be used for 4K60p recording and 30fps burst shooting. The device can also be used for Live Streaming and 240p capture in Full HD for 8x slow-motion playback. It also has support for voice control.
The company has also partnered with MotoGP racing driver Valentino Rossi to roll out a neon yellow Sleeve + Lanyard emblazoned with Rossi’s race number, 46. This will also be getting launched with the Limited Edition GoPro Hero7 Black.
Coming to the pricing, GoPro HERO7 Black in Dusk White, will bear a price tag of Rs 35,500, is available for pre-order on Amazon India’s website till March 4. It will go on sale on Amazon India starting March 5 and on GoPro.com starting March 3. Customers who will pre-order the GoPro Hero7 Black in Dusk White on Amazon India will receive a free GoPro Shorty worth Rs 3,900, which is a mini extension pole combined with a tripod.
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor + 5MP secondary sensor
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 12MP+5MP dual rear cameras with AI enhancements
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 13MP AI front camera
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Dual selfie cameras with 20MP+2MP sensors
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 4GB RAM & 64GB storage, 6GB RAM & 128GB storage
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 4GB & 6GB RAM variants and 64GB storage
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Up to 256GB
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Up to 256GB
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4 support.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 4,000mAh battery
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with MIUI 10
Redmi Note 7 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model costs Rs 13,999 and 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant bears a price tag of Rs 16,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model bears a price tag of Rs 13,999, the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant costs Rs 15,999.
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 6.3-inch FHD+ Dot Notch display
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 6.26-inch Full HD+ display
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor + 5MP secondary sensor
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 12MP+5MP dual rear cameras with AI enhancements
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 13MP AI front camera
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Dual selfie cameras with 20MP+2MP sensors
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 4GB RAM & 64GB storage, 6GB RAM & 128GB storage
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 4GB & 6GB RAM variants and 64GB storage
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Up to 256GB
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Up to 256GB
Redmi Note 7 Pro: 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4 support.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 4,000mAh battery
Redmi Note 7 Pro: Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with MIUI 10
Redmi Note 7 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model costs Rs 13,999 and 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant bears a price tag of Rs 16,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: The 4GB RAM/64GB storage model bears a price tag of Rs 13,999, the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant costs Rs 15,999.