Leaked poster confirms three devices in the OPPO F19 series

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Feb 24, 2021

In January, OPPO was tipped to launch the OPPO F19 series in February. But unfortunately, that still hasn’t happened. But earlier this month, another report revealed that these new devices will be rather debuting in March. Now, a few days later, we finally get the first look at two models in the series, thanks to a leaked poster.

The OPPO F19 series poster was shared by an OPPO Sales executive retailer to MySmartPrice. According to the source, the two devices in the image are OPPO F19 Pro and OPPO F19 Pro+ 5G respectively. These smartphones will be launching in India very soon.

As per the poster, the OPPO F19 series will include the following three handsets.

As the name suggests, only the Pro+ model will support 5G connectivity. This particular phone is already listed on Google ARCore supported devices list.

Whereas, the second model in the picture, which is said to debut as OPPO F19 Pro is already official as OPPO Reno5 F. This handset is also expected to release as OPPO A94 in some regions.

As of now, we only know some specs of the OPPO F19 Pro. This smartphone will feature a 6.4-inch punch-hole AMOLED display, 48MP (wide) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (monochrome) + 2MP (macro) quad-camera setup, 32MP selfie camera, ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11, and 4,310mAh battery with support for 30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0 proprietary fast charging protocol.

That said, we expect to learn more about the OPPO F19 series before its official announcement in the near future.

Vivo says it has no plans of bringing OriginOS outside of China for now

By

Balaji S

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Feb 24, 2021

Vivo launched the OriginOS in China back in November 2020. Currently, it is running a Public Beta program for various devices in the region. However, Vivo’s devices in other regions ship with a version of Funtouch OS. Now, the company has said it has no plans to bring the OriginOS outside China.

In a response to a user Query, the Funtouch OS team for India has responded with this comment. It says that OriginOS is indeed for Vivo devices but it has been launched in China. Further, it says that the company doesn’t have any plans to bring it to other regions including India for now.

This was already evident when Vivo announced its Funtouch OS 11 (based on Android 11) schedule for India. According to the schedule, it has been releasing updates to the devices. And the latest to receive it is the Vivo V20 SE.

Anyway, it’s clear Vivo intends to maintain two versions of its UI. One for China(OriginOS) and one for the other regions(Funtouch OS). This isn’t the first company to do it. In fact, companies like OnePlus have their own version for China(Hydrogen OS) and Global markets(Oxygen OS).

If you ask me what is the USP of the OriginOS, it’s a UI overlay on the Funtouch OS for flagships and also has a few nifty little features. To know about them exactly, you can look at our coverage on the same.

Finally, Vivo says that it will update us officially if it changes the stance on the OriginOS for Global markets so let’s play the waiting game for now.

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Samsung Display has joined the Responsible Business Alliance

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Samsung Display‘s Chief Executive Office Choi Joo-sun, has announced that it has joined the Responsible Business Alliance. The announcement arrived earlier this week and is a part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its environmental, social and governance (ESG) involvement.

For those unaware, the RBA is an international industry coalition that holds its members responsible to a code of conduct, which is based around a higher level of corporate ethics. At the moment, this includes more than 160 global corporations as its members. This includes major known brands like Samsung Electronics, Apple, Intel, and more, as per the KoreaHerald report.

Shin Jae-ho, executive vice president and the head of the display management office at Samsung Display added that “As a global leader in display industry, Samsung Display has been prioritizing environmental and social values in the entire process of product manufacturing. Moreover, we will further evolve into a global company that earns trust from our customers and members of society, and is dedicated to the development and happiness of humanity.”

Being a member of the RBA, the South Korean tech giant will be able to gain momentum to go beyond just conforming to the relevant domestic laws. In other words, it will now ‘incorporate global expectations into its management strategy with regard to the five critical sections of the RBA Code.’ This code includes labor, health and safety, environment, business ethics, and management systems.

Furthermore, the firm stated that its efforts will also abide by the global ESG standards and beyond just domestic offices. This would also have the brand focus on performing onsite audits and work on its management systems and working environments at its foreign offices through the Validated Assessment Program from reputable organizations. The initiative will also involve Samsung Display forming a Sustainable Management Secretariat and a consultative body on ESG strategy.

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Huawei unveils its Smart Home project at MWC Shanghai 2021

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Earlier this week, Huawei debuted its Smart Home project in the ongoing Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2021 event. The new project follows the company’s core design concept of building smart homes.

During the MWC Shanghai 2021 event, the company showcased an area of 550 m2 in total, which included the installation of a living room, kitchen, study, home gym, entertainment room, and garage. These installations use wireless technologies made from products from the Chinese tech giant. This included smartphones, PCs, tablets, smartwatches, smart speakers, and the Vision TV range as well. The smart home project includes products integrated with the Huawei ecosystem partners.

The aim of the project is to offer customers a ‘comfortable, intelligent and immersive Smart Home experience.’ Furthermore, the Smart Home project represents an integral part of the brand’s Seamless AI Life Strategy, which also involves innovative technologies like the HiLink, HarmonyOS, and the new HiCar. In other words, the current prototype is basically what a smart home can be within the Internet of Things era.

The company demonstrated this by showcasing the living room, where just a few words can wake up the smart assistant and enable the Back Home mode. This mode will turn on the air conditioning and air purifier, while also turning on warm lights and closing the curtains. Similarly, the kitchen will also be wirelessly connected and have products that support HarmonyOS. One can simply control these products through their smartphone, once these appliances are connected to a shared network at home.

Huawei also showcased a mock study and living/entertainment room, where one can observe a MatePad Pro laptop and the 65 inch 4K Vision TV respectively. The company’s wearable lineup like the Watch GT 2 Pro also comes in for health related activities and tracking in the gym room. When entering the garage, the doors to the car can open directly through your phones, which can also be synced to other mobile applications and services like music and navigation as well.

According to Huawei, smart home isn’t simply about adding more IoT products, rather, it aims on how these devices connect and form a ‘virtual world.’ In other words, it aims to build an extension of human senses, while also improving how users interact with these devices by developing a ‘repertoire of intuitive voice and gesture commands.’ At the moment, the brand has more than 800 partners in its HiLink platform, which covers over 220 million IoT devices, and aims to bring more than 40 mainstream brands to provide 100 million HarmonyOS based products to households.

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Samsung Galaxy M62 is launching on March 3, seems to be rebadged Galaxy F62

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 24, 2021

Samsung’s official store at Lazada Philippines and Samsung Malaysia’s Facebook account has confirmed that the Galaxy M62 will go official on March 3. The launch poster confirms that the handset has an Infinity-O punch-hole screen, a 7,000mAh battery, and a quad-camera system.

It appears that the Samsung Galaxy M62 will be debuting in markets like the Philippines and Malaysia as the rebranded version of the Galaxy F62, which went official recently in India. The Galaxy F62 is available in colors like Laser Black, Laser Blue, and Laser Green in India.

The launch poster of the M62 shows that it will be arriving in two only two hues like black and blue. The South Korean tech giant is yet to reveal the other specs of the M62. It is likely to borrow all its specifications from the F62 handset.

Samsung Galaxy F62 specifications

The Samsung Galaxy F62 has a 6.7-inch Full HD+ resolution supporting AMOLED+ display. The screen is integrated with a fingerprint reader. The device comes with support for 25W fast charging for its 7,000mAh battery.

The Galaxy F62 is driven by the flagship-grade Exynos 9825 chipset with 6 GB / 8 GB of RAM. Both models have 128 GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

It has a front camera of 32-megapixel. The rear-mounted quad-camera system has a 64-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 5-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens. The One UI 3.1 based Android 11 OS comes preloaded on the device.

The Galaxy F62 is available in India in two versions such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. They are priced at Rs 23,999 (~$331) and Rs 25,999 (~$359), respectively.

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Smartphone market recovers in Netherlands, Finland, Denmark in Q4 2020, 5G handset shipments rise by 50%

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

The smartphone shipments in the Netherlands, Demark, and Finland have shown signs of positive growth quarter on quarter in the fourth and final quarter of last year. The primary reason for the growth was the launch of Apple’s iPhone 12 series.

According to a CounterPoint Research report, that the rebound arrived despite a few regions still remaining under partial lockdown. Furthermore, Netherlands recorded the highest degree of recovery with a 19 percent quarter on quarter rise in smartphone shipments, over the other regions, followed by Finland and Denmark with 14 percent and 10 percent QoQ growth respectively. Notably, 5G enabled handset’s shipments also grew by 50 percent during this time in all three nations.

This was higher than the overall European average. Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 lineup was the most popular 5G device in these regions, which is also what led to the positive growth in Q4 of 2020. Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Note 20 lineup also performed well in the countries, while the mid tier segment had the OnePlus Nord emerged as the highest selling 5G Android device in Finland and Denmark.

Interestingly, popular Chinese brands also played a role in the markets. With Oppo being the third largest brand in the Dutch market, recording great performance thanks to its Reno 4 series. This also marked a 123 percent year on year growth of the brand. Samsung was also one of the major players in the mid range segments, with its A series seeing strong sales, but Apple still led the 5G handset market overall.

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Realme launches Mobile Game Controller, Cooling Back Clip and Mobile Game Finger Sleeves in India

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Realme has just launched the Narzo 30 series in India and along with the smartphone lineup the brand has also announced new gaming accessories as well. This includes the new Mobile Game Controller, Cooling Back Clip and Mobile Game Finger Sleeves.

Talking about the Mobile Game Controller with CapAir Mapping Technology first, it features an 80 hour long battery life and Gaming Mouse Tactility. The controller with the CapAir Mapping Technology helps boost gaming performance with more sensitive and responsive triggers and buttons. These keys have a short key range and are highly sensitive with rapid response. It also offers recordable buttons that enables one-touch burst mode that creates a custom burst mode that helps during shooter mobile games.

The controller offers up to 10 hours of play on just 5 minutes of charge, and features finely textured, frosted PC + ABS shell. Furthermore, it is compatible with up to 10.5mm thick and up to 87mm wide Android and iPhone and adjustable clasp is made of hydrogel film material that protects your phone. The controller (Left / Right separately) costs 999 INR (roughly 13.8 US Dollars).

Realme also launched the Cooling Back Clip, which features Dual cooling with a Semiconductor Ice chip. It features 7 blade fan pushes cold air across the entire device and lowers temperature evenly from the inside and out. As per official notes, the back clip helps reduce temperature from 53°C down to 25°C. This is compatible with both Apple and Android devices and can be adjusted between 65 to 85mm, and weighing 51 grams. The rear also features RGB Lighting with Kaleidoscopic effects. The Cooling Back Clip is priced at 1,799 INR (roughly 24.8 US Dollars).

Lastly, the company also launched Mobile Game Finger Sleeves, which features superconducting Electric Silver Fiber that features 0.25mm ultra thin design and offers max grip responsive touch. The sleeves are priced at 129 INR (roughly 1.8 US Dollars). All of the products will be available for purchase from the company’s official website, starting from 4th of March 2021.

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Apple anti fingerprint patent hints at future titanium devices

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Apple is currently researching ways to reduce the appearance of fingerprints and smudges that form on metallic surfaces of its gadgets. This is another hint that the company might soon be launching products with titanium.

According to a MacRumors report, a recent patent from the Cupertino based giant was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office. This patent was titled “Oxide coatings for metal surfaces” and described in details how a thin coating can significantly reduce the appearance of fingerprints on the metallic surfaces of its products. Just last month, the company had patented titanium device enclosures, which also reveals its plans to add the material to its future devices.

This could include products like MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones, which may arrive with titanium casings with a distinctive textured finish. Furthermore, the latest patent describes the use of oxide coatings, which again stresses the advantages of using titanium on consumer electronics products with terms like “high strength, stiffness, and hardness.” Through the patent, Apple highlights that titanium is more susceptible to fingerprint than other metals.

While the oleophobic coatings are usually used to reduce fingerprints from glass surfaces, the coating does not work as well with metallic surfaces like Titanium. The patent is indicative of its interests in using titanium for its devices, which has even led it to patent related technologies and solutions as well. Unfortunately, this is still just a patent and could be the company’s attempts to simply cover all bases. So take this this report with a grain of salt and stay tuned for more updates.

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realme Buds Air 2 launched in India with ANC, 25-hour battery life, and ₹3,299 price tag

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Feb 24, 2021

Chinese smartphone maker realme has officially launched the realme Buds Air 2 truly wireless earphones in India after teasing them for quite a while. This new pair of TWS comes with features like ANC and low-latency mode. Let us take a look a closer look at their specs, price, and availability.

realme Buds Air 2 Specifications and Features

The newly announced realme Buds Air 2 features a similar design as the realme Buds Pro that debuted in October 2020. The latest model also has identical specs.

The new earbuds sport 10mm DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) drivers and connect via Bluetooth 5.2. They are powered by a chip called realme R2 and support Google Fast Pair, wear detection as well as touch gesture controls.

The earphones feature ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) like almost all the TWS models that are being released in the market, unlike the Lenovo ThinkBook Pods Pro. The brand claims that these buds can reduce the external noise to up to 25dB, just like the Xiaomi Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro.

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As an added bonus, these truly wireless earphones support low-latency mode for gaming sessions. Enabling this mode will lower the latency to up to 88ms. They also support ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) for calls and even come with Transparency Mode.

Talking about endurance, the company advertises the product to offer up to 25-hour battery life with ANC turned off and up to 22.5 hours with ANC turned on. Further, the buds themselves offer up to 5-hour battery life. Lastly, 10 minutes of charging is said to deliver 2 hours of playback, while the TWS takes up to 2 hours to charge completely.

Last but not least, the earbuds weigh 4.1g each, and together with the charging case, they weigh 42.7g. The buds are IPX5-certified for water resistance and ship with three different-sized tips (S, M, L). The product comes in two colors, namely Closer Black and Closer White.

realme Buds Air 2 Pricing and Availability

The realme Buds Air 2 truly wireless earphones are priced at ₹3,299 ($46). They will go on sale for the first time on March 2 at 12 PM. It will be available at realme.com and Flipkart. Like most realme products, the new TWS will also hit offline stores in the coming days.

They should be soon available in other regions where realme has its presence.

PlayStation 5 to be in short supply till second half of 2021 due to chip shortage

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Despite being launched last year, the Sony PlayStation 5 is still facing short supply. Since its launch, the newest console iteration has seen great demand across the globe, but this demand is met with short supply due to the global chip shortage.

According to a FinancialTimes report (Via MySmartPrice), Sony has been struggling to maintain the supply of the PS5 consoles. Previously, the company had stated that the shortage in supply is due to the manufacturing constraints that was being faced because of the pandemic. However now, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO, Jim Ryan, has now stated that the PS5 supply will start picking up in the second half of this year.

For those unaware, Sony has been struggling to keep up with the rising demand for its latest generation of gaming console. Ryan further added that the demand for the PS5 was higher than what had been expected, and that the complexities of the supply chain issues resulted in a lower supply. But, the CEO believes that the supply will get better every month throughout 2021. He said that “The pace of the improvement in the supply chain will gather throughout the course of the year, so by the time we get to the second half of [2021], you’re going to be seeing really decent numbers indeed.”

Similar to Sony, Microsoft is also struggling to keep up with the demand for its own consoles. Microsoft’s Vice President of Gaming, Phil Spencer, said that the company is also pushing AMD to supply more chips. Although, the supply chain constraints are expected to last till April 2021.

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Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G launched as India’s most affordable 5G phone, Narzo 30A tags along

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 24, 2021

Realme has announced the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G and Narzo 30A smartphones in India. Like the Realme X7 5G that was announced earlier this month in February, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G is equipped with Dimensity 800U. Since the Narzo 30 Pro 5G has slightly inferior specs as compared to the X7 5G, it has landed as India’s most affordable 5G smartphone. Apart from announcing Narzo 30A, the company also took off covers from the Realme Buds Air 2 TWS earbuds, gaming accessories, and other lifestyle products.

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G specifications and features

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G flaunts a punch-hole display of 6.5 inches. The IPS LCD screen produces a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. A fingerprint scanner can be found on the right edge of the device. The Dimensity 800U powered smartphone comes in 6 GB / 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM variants and 64 GB / 128 GB storage editions. Users can expand its storage by adding a microSD card.

realme narzo 30 Pro 5G Featured — Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G

The Narzo 30 Pro 5G has a front camera of 16-megapixel. The triple camera setup of the device features a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel superwide lens with 118-degree FOV, and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens. The device is backed by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging.

The Narzo 30 Pro offers other features Realme UI 2.0 based Android 10 OS, dual SIM support with 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a rebranded version of the Realme Q2, which went official in October with a starting price of 1,199 Yuan (~$185; ~Rs 13,400).

Realme Narzo 30A specifications and features

The Realme Narzo 30A has a 6.6-inch teardrop notch-enabled IPS LCD screen that delivers an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The handset draws power from the Helio G85 chipset and 3 GB / 4 GB of RAM. The phone comes in two storage choices as 32 GB and 64 GB. For additional storage, it has a microSD card slot. The phone boots to Realme UI 2.0 flavored Android 10 OS.

For snapping selfies, the Narzo 30A has a front camera of 8-megapixel. The square-shaped module placed on the rear shell of the device has a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens. The device is backed by a 6,000mAh battery that supports 18W charging. It carries support for reverse charging. It includes other features like a side-facing fingerprint reader, dual 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Realme Narzo 30A and Narzo 30 Pro 5G prices in India

Here are the pricing of the different variants of the Realme Narzo 30A and Narzo 30 Pro 5G smartphones:

Realme Narzo 30A

3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage – Rs 8,999 (~$124)
4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage – Rs 9,999 (~$138)
Color variants: Laser Blue and Laser Black

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G

6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage – Rs 16,999 (~$235)
8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – Rs 19,999 (~$276)
Color editions – Sword Black and Blade Silver

The first sale of the Narzo 30A will be carried out on Realme India’s online shop and Flipkart on March 2nd (12 PM local time). The Narzo 30 Pro 5G will go on sale for the first time through both platforms on March 4 (12 PM local time). Buyers of Narzo 30 Pro can avail Rs 1,000 instant discount through ICICI credit card and credit card EMI transactions.

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Redmi Y3 finally gets Android 10 update in India

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Feb 24, 2021

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Y3 in India as a selfie-centric smartphone in late April 2019. The handset debuted with MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie. It was later updated to MIUI 11. But unfortunately, the company canceled its MIUI 12 update in December 2020. Thankfully, the device has at least started receiving the delayed Android 10 update in the country.

The Redmi Y3 Android 10 update for India comes with build number V11.0.5.0.QFFINXM. Apart from bringing over a year-old Android version, the latest system update for the handset also bumps up the security patch level to January 2021.

The update is currently in the Stable Beta phase. Therefore, it is only available for a select few users at the moment. However, it should be available for more users if early adopters don’t face any major issues like the Mi A3 Android 11 update.

That said, the currently rolling out OTA update could be the last major system update for the Redmi Y3. That’s because out of the blue. Xiaomi canceled the MIUI 12 update for this phone along with Redmi 7, Redmi 6, and Redmi 6A in December citing performance issues.

Despite that, the Redmi 7 got the MIUI 12 update last month. So maybe Redmi Y3 could also receive it as well since both of them are basically the same smartphone with a different selfie camera.

Apple M1 Mac users face severe SSD degradation: Report

By

Sean

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Feb 24, 2021

Recently, a number of users of the Apple M1 Mac have been reporting an issue with their device’s storage. Apparently, various devices have been facing alarming degradation of the SSD’s, as per health readings.

According to a MacRumors report, this issue suggests that these Macs have been writing an excessive amounts of data to their drives. Many users have been reporting that their M1 Macs are facing high drive writes within a short period of time. Certain sever cases found that these M1 Macs from the Cupertino based giant end up using 10 to 13 percent of the maximum warrantable total bytes written (TBW) value of the SSD storage.

For those unaware, flash memory on solid state drives are only capable of writting a certain number of times before they become unstable. Thus, softwares are used to make sure that the load is spread evenly across the drive’s memory cells. However, there is still a point when the drive has been written so many times that it can no longer hold onto data any longer. In other words, SSD health degradation over time is to be expected, but the drives on the M1 Macs losing their ability to hold data this quickly suggests an issue affecting these devices.

People with an M1 mac, please run `brew install smartmontools && sudo smartctl –all /dev/disk0` and report back (and what kind of usage you make of the machine, especially RAM).

I'm at <600GBW on my MBP, but I don't use it heavily. https://t.co/LbhE9p7FiK

— Hector Martin (@marcan42) February 15, 2021

Furthermore, one user showed that their Mac had already consumed one percent of its SSD, within just two months of purchase. Similarly, another user reported that their Mac had already consumed 3 percent of its 2TB SSD. This implies that the total data units currently being written by these drives is running into many terabytes, which is much higher than the normal amount. Unfortunately, there is no fix at the moment, but we can expect one to arrive with an update soon. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Here are the 6 new features Google is rolling out for every Android user

By

Jeet

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Feb 24, 2021

Google had recently introduced several new Android features like Emoji Kitchen and auto-narrated audiobooks. Now, the company has added six new features that should be available for everyone very soon.

The company is rolling out Dark Mode for Google Maps, a new Password Checkup tool for Android users, ability to schedule messages in Google Messages, new Assistant commands that can be used hands-free, a new version of TalkBack, and some more customizations for Android Auto. Here is a list of the same, with information about the changes and updates.

Password Checkup Tool

The password checkup tool from Google is very helpful as it checks the user’s saved login credentials against “known compromised passwords.” The feature has been available for Desktop users and now it is coming to Android.

If the user has enabled the Autofill on the smartphone for saving credentials, the service will check for any compromised information and then Google will recommend changes to be made, if needed.

Message Scheduling

Google Messages application from the company is confirmed to get the ability to schedule messages. The feature was spotted by some users in September last year but wasn’t officially confirmed by the company.

Users can now finally schedule message just by opening the app, typing out the message to the contact and then long-pressing the send button to get options for scheduling. The app will also show suggested timings but users can set their own date and time.

Google Maps Dark Mode

Dark Mode has been introduced in almost all applications of Google and now the company is finally bringing it to Google Maps. The feature was expected to be available around September 2020 but has been delayed and now it’s finally here.

To enable Dark Mode in Google Maps, the user will need to go to the Settings in the application and then look for “Theme.” In there, toggle the option for “Always in Dark Theme” or anything else from the options.

Hands-Free Google Assistant Commands

This isn’t a new feature as the hands-free commands for Google Assistant have been available for some time. However, the company is now expanded the list of commands to make it easier to use.

As per the announcement, the user will now be able to set an alarm, play music, send text messages or make calls, all without unlocking the phone. There’s also a new set of glanceable cards showing basic info on the lock screen.

Updated TalkBack

Android has a screen reader named TalkBack which is aimed at those who are blind or with low vision. It is now getting revamped with more intuitive gestures, a unified menu, a new reading control menu, and more.

The company claims that it has added several new easy-to-learn multi-finger gestures for Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices to make it easier to interact with apps. It has also added new reading controls that are adjusted with 3-finger swipe. There are also new voice commands, support for two new languages in TalkBack’s braille keyboard, and more.

Android Auto Customizations

A new update to the Android Auto service will being support for custom wallpapers as well as voice-activated games. The company is also planning to offer home screen shortcuts for things like contacts and tasks like checking weather or adjusting thermostat through Google Assistant.

It will also roll out a new new split-screen view when the car has a wider display and a privacy screen when there are others along with the user in the car.

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Vivo Y31 Standard Edition with Dimensity 700 may launch this week in China

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 24, 2021

The Vivo Y31s smartphone went official last month in China as the world’s first phone with Snapdragon 480 chip. A product listing of the phone named Vivo Y31s Standard Edition has appeared on the website of China Telecom. It appears that it is a new chipset version of the original Y31s phone.

The model number of Vivo Y31s Standard Edition is V2068A, while the model number of Y31s is V2054A. Both handsets have identical design, which includes a teardrop notch display, a side-facing fingerprint scanner, and a square-shaped camera module with two cameras and an LED arranged in a triangular manner.

Vivo Y31s Standard Edition specifications

The Vivo Y31s came with Full HD+ resolution support, whereas the Vivo Y31s Standard Edition’s 6.51-inch screen offers HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The new device is powered by Dimensity 700. The SoC is mentioned with its MT6833 model number in the listing. Apart from these differences, the remaining specs of the Vivo Y31s Standard Edition resemble the Y31s.

Vivo Y31s Standard Edition at China Telecom — Vivo Y31s Standard Edition images at China Telecom

The Vivo Y31s Standard Edition has an 8-megapixel front camera. Its rear camera setup has a 13-megapixel primary lens and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. The handset is packed with a 4,910mAh rated battery. Its typical size could be a 5,000mAh. The 3C listing of the phone revealed that it may support 18W charging. The handset boots to Android 11 OS.

The Vivo Y31s Standard Edition is expected to land in China in two options such as 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. Both variants are listed with price tags such as 1,499 Yuan (~$232) and 1,699 Yuan (~$262). The Vivo Y31s Standard Edition is likely to cost lower than the Vivo Y31s, which has a starting price of 1,499 Yuan. Hence, readers are requested to digest the pricing information of the Y31s Standard Edition with a grain of salt. Lastly, the listing claims that the device will be released in the Chinese markets on Feb. 27.

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OPPO Reno5 K launching tomorrow, full specifications emerge

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 24, 2021

A Chinese leakster claimed yesterday about the existence of an upcoming phone called the OPPO Reno5 K. He claimed that it is a new version of the OPPO Reno5 5G handset that went official back in September. He revealed that the main difference between the two phones is that the Reno5 5G has a Snapdragon 765G chipset, whereas the forthcoming Reno5 K is driven by the Snapdragon 750G. Today, OPPO released an official confirmation that the Reno5 K will break cover tomorrow in China.

The OPPO Reno5 K posters released by the brand reveals its two color editions such as Green and Starry Dream. As far as appearance, it appears identical to the Reno5 5G.

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OPPO Reno5 K specifications and price

The Reno5 K (PEGM10 model number) has also appeared in the product library of China Telecom. The listing states that the smartphone has a 6.43-inch punch-hole display that produces a 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution. The screen type is AMOLED, and it features an in-screen fingerprint reader.

The Snapdragon 750G chip is mentioned with its sm7225 model number in the China Telecom listing. The phone runs on Android 11 OS. It is fueled by a 4,300mAh battery. The 3C appearance of PEGM10 revealed that it may carry support for 65W rapid charging.

The Reno5 K has a front camera of 32-megapixel. Its rear camera setup comprises of a 64-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel lens, and a pair of 2-megapixel sensors.

The OPPO Reno5 K variants such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage prices are mentioned incorrectly in the China Telecom listing. The handset is expected to cost lower than 2,699 Yuan (~$417), which was starting price of OPPO Reno5 5G. The handset is also expected to come in a third color edition of Midnight Black.

RELATED:

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite live shots appear with key specifications, Could be called Mi CC11 in China

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 24, 2021

In January, the FCC certification platform approved a Xiaomi device with model number M2101K9AG. Its IMEI database listing revealed that the moniker of this device is Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G. After FCC, the handset bagged certifications from other platforms like India’s BIS, Thailand’s NBTC, Singapore’s IMDA, Europe’s EEC, Malaysia’s SIRIM, and Bluetooth. The leaked images of the phone have now appeared on Weibo to reveal its appearance in reality.

In the first image, the M2101K9AG model number can be seen at the bottom. The device can be seen running on MIUI 12 Global based on Android 11 OS. The handset is powered by an unknown octa-core processor that clocks at 2.3GHz. The SoC is coupled with 6 GB of RAM. The second image showcases the rear design of the smartphone. It seems to feature a glass back with a square-shaped camera module housing a triple camera setup and an LED flash.

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It is speculated that the device could be called the Xiaomi Mi CC11 in China. The variant heading to China may have a model number of M2101K9C. The 5G-ready device has already bagged certification from the MIIT authority of China. Its global version with the M2101K9G model number was recently certified by the IMDA authority.

According to the leakster, the Xiaomi Mi CC11 will be the first phone to feature the next-generation Snapdragon 7-series chipset, which is speculated to arrive with Snapdragon 775G moniker. The handset is expected to feature a 4,150mAh battery.

For photography, the Xiaomi Mi CC11 may feature a 64-megapixel camera as the primary shooter. The handset is expected to carry support for 5x optical zoom. The other details of the device are under the wraps. Probably, the smartphone may go official in the coming month.

(via 1, 2)

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Meizu 18 series flagship smartphones’ render confirms curved screen with punch-hole cutout

By

Jeet

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Feb 24, 2021

Chinese smartphone maker Meizu has confirmed that the company will be launching its next-generation Meizu 18 series flagship smartphones on 3rd March in its home country. The launch event will be held at 2:30 PM local time.

Now, just days ahead of the official launch, the company has shared official renders of the upcoming flagship smartphones, revealing its design. Along with sharing images, the company added that Meizu 18 is lightweight while the 18 Pro is a high-end device.

The image reveals that both the smartphones feature a curved screen design with a punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera in the center of the display. The phones also come with an under-display fingerprint sensor.

A recent leak suggests that both the smartphones are expected to have Samsung E4 AMOLED display with support for Full HD+ screen resolution and a high 120Hz refresh rate.

The Meizu 18 is rumored to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It is expected to feature a triple-camera setup consisting of 64MP + 12MP + 5MP sensors.

Coming to the Meizu 18 Pro, the device is expected to be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 flagship chipset. It should have a quad-camera setup consisting of 48MP + 48MP + 8MP + ToF lens. On the front side, there is expected to be a 20MP snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

Both the smartphones could be running the latest Android 11 operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own custom user interface. The Meizu 18 Pro is said to be powered by a 4,500mAh battery with 40W fast charging support.

To know for sure about the phone’s specifications, variants, color options, pricing, and availability details, we will have to wait for a week for the smartphones to go official in China. Meanwhile, we expect the company to reveal more information through teasers.

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Dashcam captures woman chasing after a summoned Tesla Model 3 thinking it was rolling away

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 24, 2021

Tesla may be selling more electric vehicles (EVs) by the day but there still quite a number of persons who don’t even know that the car offers way more than just no carbon emission. This was proven recently when a woman who perhaps didn’t realize Teslas have self-driving capabilities was caught on tape chasing one down the parking lot thinking it was rolling away, obviously trying to help out.

The video was captured by Tesla’s Sentry Mode onboard the Model 3. In case you don’t know, the Sentry Mode is a surveillance system integrated into the vehicles Autopilot cameras which can help capture incidents such as potential vandalism and others. The feature is actually a response to a spate of car vandalism targeted at Tesla owners in San Francisco’s Bay Area. The owner will have to plug in a storage device in any of the USB ports in the center console and footages both from the surveillance camera and dashcam will be stored there.

The footage which was shared by the Model 3 owner in Pennsylvania shows the woman jumping out of her own SUV and dashing after the Model 3 in a bid to stop the car from rolling. The owner even disclosed that the woman even attempted to stop it by putting her weight on the front left pillar but that wasn’t captured in the video.

The truth is the Smart Summon is a relatively new feature released by Tesla in September 2019 and so not many people may have seen it working. It allows owners to summon their Tesla cars from a maximum distance of 200 feet and as long as the car is within their line of sight, even in a difficult parking zone. The feature builds on the “Summon” which allows the car to only move a few feet in their driveway or from a tight parking space where there isn’t enough room for the owner to get inside the car.

Tesla is even planning to take things a step further by releasing a “reverse summon” which will give owners the leverage to disembark from the car at an entrance and have the car find a parking spot autonomously.

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Huawei HMS for Car will feature on the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 24, 2021

In an effort to keep its business afloat after the US government blocked access to components for its smartphones, Huawei turned to other businesses that weren’t affected by the US ban. One such aspect is the development of smart cloud solutions for cars. One of such solutions is the HMS for Car solutions.

After the US ban prevented Huawei from using Google Mobile Services, it unveiled its own version dubbed Huawei Mobile Services (HMS). The company, later on, showcased a custom version for cars called Huawei HMS for Car. Last year, Huawei’s rotating chairman Guo Ping disclosed that the company was in talks with manufacturers to use the HMS. Apparently, German car maker Mercedes will be deploying the HMS for Car on the 2021 Mercedes Benz S-Class. This was disclosed by Yu Chengdong, the CEO of Huawei’s consumer business.

The Huawei CEO touts HMS for Car to deliver a fast application service that will allow users to enjoy various in-car leisure and entertainment functions such as reading news, listening to stories, watching videos, and playing games while driving. He also disclosed that as a smart car cloud service solution, HMS for Car will continue to provide everyone with a high-quality travel life based on the rich application ecosystem of Huawei cloud services.

The accompanying posters show that the smart display installed on the car will feature several apps with icons of various apps such as SF Express, Lychee, Bilibili, etc. seen on the display screen. There is likely going to be more apps and we expect the users to have access to Huawei’s app store to download more apps as desired.

We can’t say for sure if this solution will be on the China models of the S-Class but we believe it will be for China only since Mercedes already uses Android Auto for most of its models in Europe and elsewhere.

The Mercedes Benz S-Class is said to include the S400L, S450L, and S500L models, with prices starting at 899,000 yuan (around $139,046. The car’s central control screen utilizes a massive 12.8-inch OLED screen having a resolution of 1888×1728 pixels. The in-vehicle system onboard the sleek ride also includes a voice assistant and the software can be updated remotely via OTA push.

Recall that BYD General Manager Zhao Changjiang recently disclosed also that the company will utilize Huawei HMS for Car on the BYD Han. This brings to two the number of car manufacturers that are already deploying Huawei’s cloud solution. We expect more brands to come on board soon.

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