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Showing posts from April, 2019

Facebook F8: CEO Mark Zuckerberg stresses on private social platform, announces redesign across apps and services

Facebook seems to have learnt from its mistakes. After a stressful year, which was plagued with several controversies, the social media giant looks to work upon the privacy and safety of the people that it serves. At the annual F8 conference, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his previous stance stressing on privacy-focussed social platform. The event saw the announcement of several features that will let users “interact privately.” “I believe the future is private. I know that we don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. At the end of the day, this isn't just about building some new products. It's a major shift in how we run this company,” Zuckerberg said as he set the tone for new new announcements regarding Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. The conference saw updates in areas that have already been talked about previously, like privacy, integration of three platforms into one, among others. “For the last 15 ye...

Facebooks Portal video-calling devices to be sold internationally, get WhatsApp support

Facebook made a whole bunch of announcements last evening at its F8 developer conference in San Jose, California, including the much-rumoured integration of Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp messaging services. One of them is that the company’s “Portal” video-calling devices will be sold in Canada and Europe starting sometime later this year. In addition, the devices are expected to support WhatsApp calls, which means the calls will be end-to-end encrypted. The Mark Zuckerburg-led American social media company launched its Portal video-calling devices in the US in early October last year. At the time of launch, the Portal was priced at $199 (Rs 14,700 approx) and the Portal+ was priced at $349 (Rs 25,900 approx). The company also offered both devices as a bundled offer at $298 (Rs 22,000 approx). Facebook announced the Portal devices in a renewed effort to assure its customers of complete data privacy inside the Facebook world while calling and messaging. A few months before launchi...

Instagram gets a camera revamp, new Shopping and Donation features at Facebook F8

Instagram announced some new features at Facebook’s ongoing F8 developer conference, where the main Facebook app also received a fresh coat of paint and a bunch of new features were announced for Messenger. For Instagram, the first big change comes in the form of a redesigned camera with a new Create Mode. The new camera design and the Create Mode will appear on the Instagram app in the coming weeks. This new camera will make it easier to use popular creative tools like effects and interactive stickers. Create Mode will help users make stories more easily. All story creation tools will be available in a single tray at the bottom of the Instagram camera, making them accessible easier than before. Secondly, Instagram users will also get the ability to shop from creators and influencers without leaving their posts.  “Today, creators tag the brands they are wearing, add details in the caption and respond to countless comments and DMs. With the ability to tag exactly what they'r...

Facebook redesigns Facebook: Heres how Events and Groups will take centre stage

At Facebook’s annual developer conference, F8, the company has announced a slew of big changes that are aimed at making all of its platforms - Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook itself - more social, yet private. Facebook will transition into a more “privacy-focused communications platform,” Mark Zuckerberg told audiences at F8. To this effect, the main Facebook platform, both the app and the desktop, are receiving a major redesign, with Groups and Events at the centre of it all. Facebook is rolling out FB5 (Facebook 5), a fresh design that’s aimed at being simpler and faster, with an emphasis on communities. Groups are now front and centre with the new Groups tab. The tab now shows a personalised feed of activity across all groups a user is a part of. A new discovery tool provides recommendations that help users find groups they could be interested in. “Today, more than 400 million people on Facebook belong to a group that they find meaningful,” Facebook said in ...

Facebook will soon integrate Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp chats: Heres everything new headed to Messenger 5

Facebook has made a bunch of announcements at its ongoing F8 annual developer conference. While the keynote opened with CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressing on a privacy-focussed platform, there were a lot of new developments shared as far as all of Facebook’s products are concerned. Starting with Messenger, Facebook finally shared plans about integrating the chat app with Instagram and WhatsApp. It was rumoured for a long time that Facebook will make all the three apps interoperable and that’s exactly what’s coming - the ability to chat and make calls across Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. "We believe people should be able to talk to anyone anywhere," Messenger's Head of Consumer Product, Asha Sharma, said while announcing all the new features coming to Messenger 5. Watching Videos together in real-time on Facebook Messenger One of the biggest changes coming to Messenger is that it will now be a faster and lighter app. Facebook is re-building the architecture of the Mes...

Samsung Galaxy A70 Review

Samsung Galaxy A70 carries forward momentum built by the rejuvenated Galaxy A-series. But is it worth the Rs. 28,990 price tag? Read our Samsung A70 review to find out. from RSS Feeds | MOBILES - RSS Feed - NDTV Gadgets360.com http://bit.ly/2V8Htaj

ACT Fibernet users with 1Gbps plan can get Rs 500 off on Netflix subscription bill: Report

ACT Fibernet subscribers with 1Gbps plan can get Rs 500 off on monthly Netflix subscription bill, a media report has said. Those who have subscribed to this plan will get a monthly cashback of Rs 500 only by subscribing to six-month or 12-month plans. ACT Fibernet is currently offering ACT Giga broadband plans with 1Gbps speeds in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru cities, and also operates in 17 other cities. Apart from the Netflix offer, customers will also be eligible for other offers as well. In Bengaluru, the company is giving additional 1500GB data on top of the existing pack’s data benefit. Additionally, users will also be eligible for up to two months of free service on long-validity subscription. ACT Giga plan costs Rs 5,999 in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and Rs 2,999 in Chennai. The Netflix offer is valid in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi. In Bengaluru city, the Netflix offer is applicable on ACT Storm, ACT Lightning, ACT Incredible and ACT Giga broadband plans. In Hyde...

HiSilicon Kirin 985 to be manufactured with 5G modem from Q3 2019: Report

Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 985 chipset will be manufactured with 5G modem using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC's) new 7nm fabrication process, and it will go into mass production from the third quarter of this year, a media report in CNMO.com has said. TSMC will use 7nm Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) process (called N7+), along with the Flip-Chip Package-on-Package (FC-PoP) process that allows vertical stacking of transistors. A combination of EUV (which increases the accuracy of transistor placement) and FC-PoP manufacturing processes means that the transistor density on the chip will be increased by 20 percent resulting in better performance and lower energy consumption. The news comes almost two weeks after a report in Chinese news outlet Commercial Times claimed the Kirin 985 chipset will enter into mass production in the second half of 2019. Further, it has been reported that Huawei will bring the HiSilicon Kirin 985 in the Mate 30 series of phones. The firs...

OnePlus 7 Pro camera was used to shoot the cover of Harpers Bazaar May 2019 issue

The OnePlus 7 launch is looming large over us and every few days, a new feature of the upcoming flagship is being disseminated by the brand to create hype leading up to the launch. After announcing that the OnePlus 7 Pro’s display has been rated A+ by DisplayMate, and confirming triple cameras on the back via a newspaper ad, it was revealed the latest cover photo of Harper’s Bazaar magazine was shot using the OnePlus 7 Pro. The magazine announced on social media that the cover photo of their latest issue featuring actor and activist Jameela Jamil, was shot using the OnePlus 7 Pro. The actor insisted that the photos required no digital retouching or airbrushing. The photograph was shot with Jameela in Los Angeles, on a rooftop terrace, according to an ANI report. “It’s a picture-perfect camera, and the output was amazing. I could not believe we had an option to shoot RAW images without having to connect it to an app or computer. We used the photo to capture behind-the-scenes clips a...

Realme X will be the companys upcoming phone to feature bezel-less display, pop-up camera

Realme is expanding its services and products to the Chinese market and it recently posted a new teaser video on its Weibo page. The video also showed off a new phone that is the company’s first handset to feature a nearly bezel-less design and a pop-up front facing camera. The phone was linked to the Realme handset featuring model number RMX1901, which showed up on a TENAA listing as the images on the registration website closely resembles the handset shown in the video. Now, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Xu Qi Chase, has confirmed via a Weibo post that the company’s upcoming phone would be called the Realme X.  It is highly possible that the smartphone with a pop-up camera in the Realme promo video is the Realme X. Qi’s post also suggests that the Realme X is a bezel-less display that delivers a full-screen experience. As per the TENAA listing, the handset might come equipped with a 6.5-inch display OLED display that sports a Full HD+ resolution. The images hint at the ...

Data breach exposes details of 80 million US households on Microsoft servers

US-based firm vpnMentor's research team has discovered a hack that has exposed a database of 80 million (nearly 65 percent) American households. The unprotected 24GB database, hosted on Microsoft Cloud servers, includes the number of people living in each household with their full names, their marital status, income bracket, age, and more. While some information is available freely, other data like title, gender, etc are coded. What’s interesting is that the database is still unidentified, however, given the terminology used (like “member_code” and “score”), it appears that this database belongs to some kind of service that has members in it and they get scores. vpnMentor believes that it is the first time a breach of this size has included peoples’ names, addresses, and income, and dubs the open database as a goldmine for identity thieves and other attackers. How can this impact users?   This type of open database can give access to users’ full name that can be used to gues...

Samsung patent hints at a smartphone with wraparound display

Global smartphone shipments continue to decline and phone manufacturers have realised that there’s a dire need for innovation in their offerings. Samsung is one of the companies that is working on a foldable phone with the hope of offering a new take on the same old form factor. While the super expensive Samsung Galaxy Fold is off to a rocky start, it seems like the South Korean tech company might soon look into other ideas. As per a new patent filed by the company, reported by LetsGoDigital, it might be working on a handset where the display wraps around an edge and extends to the device’s back. The patent is titled 'Electronic Device Having Plurality of Display and Method for Controlling Same'. The patent images suggest Samsung could be working on a design that is somewhat similar to the Vivo Nex Dual Display smartphone. However, while the Vivo Nex features a secondary display on the back, the Samsung patent suggests that there could be three edges that sport a display. The ...

Redmis Snapdragon 855 SoC-powered flagship being stocked in abundance, confirms company official

A day after Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi officially teased a device said to be a flagship phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 under the hood, the company’s top executive has said that abundant stocks of the phone are already being prepared. This suggests that Redmi is forecasting big order numbers for the phone and wants to be well-prepared for the high-demand. A person asked Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing about the stock of the flagship model on Chinese social media website Weibo (via mydrivers.com). The executive apparently replied that the company is preparing enough stock of the device. Lu also said that the phone will be competitively priced. Xiaomi’s other sub-brand Pocophone did something similar when it launched the Poco F1 for Rs 20,999 in India last year. The Redmi phone is not only the first flagship by the now-independent brand that operates under Xiaomi, but it will be the first to offer a pop-up selfie camera. The tech is not new and several phones-makers have ...

Chrome inception bar phishing method replaces real address bar with a fake one

Chrome is one of the most widely used browsers on mobile phones and is generally considered safe as it is developed and maintained by Google. However, developer Jim Fisher has found a new exploit, which showcases how an attacker could emulate the browser’s address bar to impersonate a legit website. While this might not sound scary, the way Fisher demonstrated its application in a proof of concept video might make some privacy-centric users double check the address bar before entering any personal information on a website. Using few web designing skills and tricks, the developer created a website that replaces Chrome’s address bar and its UI.  Fisher calls the new phishing method ‘The inception bar'. One can visit the developer's website on mobile phones here to experience how someone could modify their site to lock a user in. He explains that when one scrolls down on a webpage in Chrome, the URL bar is hidden and reappears when one scrolls back up. However, a phishing site c...

Honor 20 Pro latest render suggests periscope camera, hints at black colour option

Huawei sub-brand Honor will launch the Honor 20 series phones on May 21 in London. The series is said to include three phones, the Honor 20i (already launched in China), the Honor 20 and the Honor 20 Pro. The Pro variant is said to be a camera-centric device and the latest leak has suggested that it will sport a periscopic camera just like we have seen in the recently-launched Huawei P30 Pro. The renders show that the AI Vision camera module has a total of four sensors, out of which three are the shooters. The one on the top with square-shaped chamber is said to be the periscopic camera with a 10x lens. The phone is touted to borrow the Sony IMX600 40-megapixel camera sensor that is found in the P30 Pro. The Time of Flight (ToF) sensor sits right in between the second and third sensors which are aligned vertically on the top left corner. The phone is expected to come with 6.5-inch OLED panel and a 4,000mAh battery capacity. Under the hood, the phone could have the Kirin 980 SoC along...

Airtel Wynk Tube music and video streaming app launched on Android, rivals Tube Music

Airtel has launched its new Wynk Tube music and video streaming app on Android. The new app rivals other video and music streaming services like YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify, among others. One can download the Wynk Tube app from the Google Play Store and similar to YouTube Music, the Wynk Tube app enables users to stream songs from the company’s library of audio and they can also choose to switch to its video, if they want. Airtel says that the app had 10,000 beta users in January and a complete launch happened on April 11.  As per the telco, out of 350 million internet users, there are over 100 million users who steam music in India. The company wants to target the masses and it is aiming to lure users by offering music in regional languages and with features like voice search, tailored music recommendations, easier content discovery, offline downloads and more. Airtel says it has been tweaking the apps’ recommendations engine, which is said to employ machine learning...

Google Pixel device sales takes a hit in Q1 2019, company confirms hardware launch at IO

The say les of the Google Pixel smartphones took a hit in the first quarter of 2019, the company confirmed during its earnings call. The company further announced the launch of Google hardware product at this year’s I/O scheduled to take place from May 7-9 at company headquarters. Company CFO Ruth Porat suggested that they sold fewer Pixel 3 phones than expected, and his thoughts were echoed by CEO Sundar Pichai, who blamed the drop on ‘headwinds’ that are putting pressure on flagship devices. “With respect to hardware results, while the first quarter results reflect pressures in the premium smartphone industry, we are pleased with the ongoing momentum for Assistant-enabled home devices, particularly the Home Hub and Mini devices and look forward to our May 7th announcement at I/O from the hardware team,” Porat said, while announcing that Alphabet Inc, posted a net income of $6.6 billion on $36.33 billion in revenue in the Q1 2019. Contrary to this, Pichai painted a positive picture ...

Microsoft survey reveals Siri and Google Assistant are the most widely used voice assistants

Microsoft conducted two online surveys. The first one was conducted from March to June 2018 and consisted of over 2,000 responses in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and India. The second one was conducted in the U.S. alone and 5,000 people participated in it. The second online survey went live in February 2019. The key stats found in the survey highlight that 69 percent of respondents have used a digital assistant while 75 per cent of households will have at least one smart speaker by 2020. 41 percent of users reported concerns around trust, privacy and passive listening. Also, consumers will not divulge personally identifiable information without a substantial reward. Over half of consumers expect their digital assistants to help make retail purchases within the next 5 years. It must be noted that the 2000 global respondents are a mix of people from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India. So, this data isn't exactly applicable for the larger Indian population bu...

Realme 3 Pro receives first OTA update, receives support for 960 fps super slow-mo video recording

Realme’s latest smartphone, the Realme 3 Pro, recently went up for sale in India. The company claims that it sold off over 1.7 lakh units of the handset in eight minutes and announced two more ‘surprise’ sales on the same day. Additionally, the phone manufacturer also rolled out an update for the device on the same day, which adds some new features to the phone’s camera. The update carries the build number RMX1851EX_11_A.12 and is 182MB in size. The update brings support for capturing super slow-motion videos at 960fps for the Realme 3 Pro. There are some improvements to the device’s camera quality and clarity, along with improvements to the phone system’s stability.  The update doesn't update the Realme 3 Pro's Android security patch to April. While users of the device should receive a notification when the update is available for their units, they can check if the update is available manually in the Software update tab, in the handset’s settings. One can also download ...

Scientists in Japan want to grow human pancreases in pigs for transplantation: Report

Yes, you read that headline correctly. According to a recent news report by Xinhua, scientists at the University of Tokyo intend to use human stem cells to grow pancreases inside pigs for future transplantation. The first project in such an endeavour that involves growing of human organs inside animals is expected to begin in about a year’s time. The project is pending approval from government and university committees at the moment. Hiromitsu Nakauchi, one of the professors at the University of Tokyo leading the experimental transplantation project, says that the team will use human-introduced pluripotent stem cells (or iPS cells) to reproduce pancreases. More specifically, the team will inject human iPS cells into a pig embryo that’s genetically modified to lose the ability to develop a pancreas. The team of scientists will then place the embryo in a surrogate sow’s womb. For reference, a sow is a female pig. The team will then remove the foetus before delivery to study the amount o...

Google Pixel 3a visits Geekbench ahead of expected official unveiling

Google is expected to announce two new smartphones, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL on the first day of Google I/O 2019. However, information regarding the two handsets has been leaking out rapidly ahead of the official reveal. Just recently, we came across two press renders of the Google Pixel 3a that showed off the phone in white and purple colour variants and now, the smartphone has popped up on Geekbench, where some additional information about it has been revealed. The listing suggests that the Pixel 3a is running Android 9 Pie with 4GB RAM. While the processor is not listed, the phone is speculated to be powered by the Snapdragon 670 platform.  The Pixel 3a managed to score 1625 and 5206 in single-core and multi-core Geekbench tests. This is lower than the 1805 and 5790 single and multi-core test numbers of the Pixel 3a XL, which is in line with the rumours that the Pixel 3a XL might come equipped with a more powerful Snapdragon 710 SoC, which is also paired with 4GB of RAM. Whi...

Redmi Y3 first sale in India today via Amazon and Micom: Heres everything you need to know

Xiaomi recently unveiled the Redmi 7 and the Redmi Y3 in the Indian market. While the Redmi 7 has already gone on sale, the Redmi Y3 will go on sale for the first time today starting 12 noon. The smartphone will go on sale on Amazon.in and Mi.com. Users can also go to a Mi Home store to get their hands on the device. The Redmi Y3 is a selfie-centric budget phone with a 32MP front-facing camera which also supports EIS. It will be available in two variants - 3GB RAM + 32GB storage which is priced at Rs 9,999. There is also a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant priced at Rs 11,999. If you are an Airtel user, you can get up to 1120 GB of 4G data, and unlimited calling upon purchasing the smartphone. Coming to the specifications of the smartphone, the Redmi Y3 sports a 6.26-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 1520x720 accompanied with a Dot Notch. The display has a 19:9 aspect ratio. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone comes with an Aura Prism Desig...

AMD turns 50, launches Ryzen 7 Gold Edition with free games

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, AMD has launched the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Gold Edition. The processor comes signed by Lisa Su, the Chief Executive Officer of AMD. Buyers of the Gold Edition will also receive two free games, a Lisa Su signature sticker, and an AMD 50th anniversary t-shirt. According to the popular American chip maker, the entire celebration package is available only for a limited time through participating retailers. The two free games included are World War Z and The Division 2 Gold Edition. “With The Division 2 Gold Edition you get the main game, Year 1 Pass, 7-day early access to all Year 1 episodes, 8 classified assignments, 3 new specializations and more,” writes AMD on its website. “Band together in World War Z, where you and a few hardened survivors are left to take on millions of ravenous zombies without feeling or fear. Plus, you get an exclusive AMD50 weapon skin on top of it.” If bought through a participating retailer, adds AMD, the two free games are incl...

OnePlus 7 Pro camera confirmed to have 3x optical zoom, 10x digital zoom: Report

OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro on May, but Wired got access to the “near final” pre-production model of the Pro variant, and tested out the camera of the phone. The Chinese company has already announced that the OnePlus 7 pro will have a triple camera setup on the back, and this was confirmed in an image that was leaked over the weekend. Wired says that it tested the camera of the phone and has revealed that the phone has a 3x optical zoom and a 10x digital zoom. Apart from that, the publication also talked to one of the key company executives. Before we proceed to tell you about what the tech news platform said of the OnePlus 7 Pro camera, let’s just look at the details of the camera configuration. There is the 48MP primary camera, which is paired with an 8MP sensor with a telephoto lens having an aperture of f/2.4, and a 16MP sensor with f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens. As mentioned, the phone has a 3x optical zoom. Wired says that OnePlus 7 Pro’s camera “doesn...

Xiaomi Redmi 7 Review

Redmi 7 offers significant upgrades over the Xiaomi Redmi 6 including a large 6.26-inch HD+ screen, powerful processor, and plastic body with gradient design options. from RSS Feeds | MOBILES - RSS Feed - NDTV Gadgets360.com http://bit.ly/2UK2Tpd

Redmi Y3 Review

Redmi Y3 boasts of a 32-megapixel selfie camera, but does this mean better quality images? We check out the camera, battery life, and performance in our Xiaomi Redmi Y3 review. from RSS Feeds | MOBILES - RSS Feed - NDTV Gadgets360.com http://bit.ly/2PCSytW

Facebook F8 Conference: What to expect, dates and how to watch

Every year, Facebook hosts a conference where the developer community that builds products and services around the website are invited. Called Facebook F8, the two-day conference will be held in San Jose, California from April 30. The annual conference will provide the attendees networking opportunities, deep-dive sessions and product demos that showcase the latest developments in the space of Artificial Intelligence (AI), AR/VR, and new tools that help build new products for consumers. Those who are interested can catch the action live from 10pm (IST) on April 30 here. The conference comes on the heels of Facebook’s announcement of its first quarter (2019) earnings. The Menlo Park-based company’s first-quarter profit dropped to $2.43 billion from $4.99 billion on year-over-year basis. Facebook also said that it has kept aside a sum of $3 billion in connection with the FTC inquiry. The firm, however, registered an 8 percent increase each in both Daily Active Users (1.56 billion on ave...

Redmi phone with pop-selfie camera teased officially

We are regularly witnessing the launch of phones with pop-up camera mechanisms, and it seems that Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi is also ready to jump on this bandwagon. The company has shared a video on Chinese social media platform Weibo teasing a phone with a pop-up selfie camera. The video shows scenes from the just-released Avengers: Endgame movie as well as of the other Xiaomi phones with an emphasis on speed and performance. It is speculated that this could be a flagship device, which means that it will have top-of-the-line specs. This is in line with recent reports about a Redmi device with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC in the making. It should be noted that the video does not reveal any information about the phone and any information about the phone in this story is on the basis of previous leaks and reports. As far as the specs of the yet unidentified Redmi phone are concerned, based on the information shared by a Chinese tipster, the Redmi Snapdragon 855 phone will come w...

Microsofts Your Phone app updated to mirror smartphone notifications on PC

Last year Microsoft had announced a Your Phone app that will lets users mirror the notifications on a phone to the connected PC. The app has now got an update that will let Android smartphone users view the notifications on their PCs, and in the process, giving them another reason to not to pull out the phone to check alerts. The update is being rolled out in a phased manner and to only Windows Insiders, which mean others won’t be able to test this feature yet. The announcement was made by Vishnu Nath, Director of Program Management- Microsoft Mobile eXperiences, in a tweet. He also shared an image in which we can see notifications from Facebook Messenger, Twitter, OneDrive and Google lined up in a single window. Earlier, Android users could also read their text messages, as well as see the last 25 photos taken from a connected phone, on the PCs. #WindowsInsiders using the #YourPhone app, we got even more for you! We have just begin a staged roll-out of syncing notifications from...

Realmes upcoming phone teased in new video, features bezel-less display, pop-up camera

The CEO of Realme mobile phones, Madhav Sheth confirmed that the company is expanding its presence in Europe via online retailers. The company will also launch its phones in China as it has set up a Chinese website and an official account on Weibo. The smartphone manufacturer is teasing the launch of a new smartphone in the county with a promo video, which was recently posted on its Weibo page. While most of the video is about young people having fun, the most interesting bit is a new Realme phone, which is showcased multiple times in the teaser.  Realme’s teaser video suggests that the company is working on a new smartphone that features a completely bezel-less display design. The phone seen in the video sports a notch-less display and comes equipped with a centrally-placed pop-up mechanism for the front camera. While the company has not officially confirmed which new phone this is, the company’s CEO Madhav Sheth quoted a report on Twitter about a leaked Realme handset. He ...

Oppo A1k entry-level phone launched for Rs 8490 in India

Oppo has quietly launched the Oppo A1k entry-level smartphone in India. According to indiashopps.com, the smartphone was initially made available in Russia a week ago, however, when we checked the Indian as well as the Russian websites of the company, we couldn’t find the phone listed on either of them. Priced at Rs 8490, the Oppo A1k will reportedly be available through offline channels, and will compete with the likes of Redmi 7, and Realme C2. Oppo A1k Specifications: The Oppo A1k features a 6.1-inch HD display that offers a resolution of 1560x720, with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. Under the hood, the phone has the Mediatek Helio P22 mobile platform paired with MG GE8320 GPU. The same SoC powers the Realme C2, which is available at a starting price of Rs 5,999. The Oppo A1k is equipped with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of local storage, and is only offered in this variant in the country. In the camera department, the Oppo A1k ships with an 8MP rear camera with a lens having an apert...

Realme 1, Realme U1, Realme 2 Pro to get HyperBoost 20, CEO reveals Android Pie update schedule

Realme recently launched two new phones in India, the Realme 3 Pro and the Realme C2, which run on ColourOS 6 on top of Android 9 Pie. Now, the company’s CEO Madhav Sheth has confirmed when the Android Pie update will be made available for other Realme phones. As per the company executive, the beta version of ColorOS 6 with Android Pie will be rolled out to Realme 2 Pro users on May 15 and it will also enable HAL3 camera support on the handset. Additionally, the Realme 1 and Realme U1 will receive the Android Pie update on June 5, while the Realme 2 and Realme C1 are slated to receive the update on June 15.  Sheth says that after the beta version of ColourOS 6 is rolled out, it will take around 20 days to make the final stable version available. This will be a staggered rollout so, not all users will receive the update instantaneously. In addition to revealing the Android Pie update schedule for the aforementioned phones, Sheth separately confirmed that the Realme 1, Realme U1, an...

Samsung to launch vertical QLED TV next month to target smartphone content consumers

Samsung will launch a vertical QLED TV next month. The TV can be used vertically and horizontally (in the traditional style) just like a monitor. The TV has a 43-inch display and is priced at $1630 which translates to Rs 1,13,800 approx. directly converted. The TV can connect to mobile phones via NFC. Since content on smartphones is consumed in the vertical form factor, the vertical orientation of the TV is to give consumers a large screen smartphone-like experience.  "We will change ways of viewing with new form factors and user experiences to cater to various needs of consumers. We decided to introduce this product in the Korean market first, considering the high ratio of smartphone users and consumers' willingness to try innovative tech products. We will follow up the early market reaction to launch it in other markets." Han Jong-hee, head of visual display business at Samsung Electronics, said in a launching event. The intention of TVs orientation is to give viewers...

Airtel rolls out new data-centric Rs 48 and Rs 98 plans to take on Jio, Vodafone-idea

Airtel recently lost to Jio and slipped down a notch to the third spot in terms of its telecom subscriber count in India. Airtel, reportedly, is now the third largest telecom operator in the country, displaced by Jio which has taken over its number two position. However, the telco is not letting up without a fight and is rapidly rolling out new plans and recharges. Airtel has now rolled out two new recharge plans that are aimed at customers who need data for a month. The new plans are priced at Rs 48 and Rs 98. The Rs 48 recharge plan from Airtel offers 3GB of 3G/4G data daily for 28 days, while the Rs 98 plan from Airtel offers 6GB of 4G/3G data for 28 days. Subscribers will only get data with these recharge plans, since there is no calling benefit. However, the telco also offers 10 free SMSes with the Rs 98 prepaid recharge.  The two new recharge options from Airtel are yet to show up on Airtel’s website, but are available via third party rech...

OnePlus 7 allegedly leaks in music video, OnePlus 7 Pro spotted with OnePlus CEO Pete Lau

OnePlus will unveil the OnePlus 7 Series of devices on May 14, and in a lead up to the launch event, the phones have been leaked through several sources. In the most recent instances, the two OnePlus flagship handsets have been leaked/teased in very different ways. The OnePlus 7 has allegedly been teased in a music video, and the Pro variant of the OnePlus 7 has allegedly been seen on a table, kept next to company CEO Pete Lau. Firstly, the OnePlus 7 has allegedly been seen in a music video published by Indian singer Neha Bhasin under OnePlus Playback, a music property on YouTube Curated by JetSynthesys’ Music Boutique. In the video, the singer is seen talking on a phone that sports two cameras on the back, and a display without any type of notch. Not once, the phone has been teased a lot of times in the 3-minute video. On the basis of leaks so far, the phone in the video looks like it is the OnePlus 7. In a related news, the more powerful sibling of the OnePlus 7 - t...