Sony PlayStation 5 breaks Console sales number records in the US

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Dec 17, 2020

The newly launched Sony PlayStation 5 is already breaking sales number records in the US. The next gen gaming console is surpassing records set by some of the most popular consoles that launched in the past.

Sony and its PlayStation lineup has always been successful in the market, but the PlayStation 5 sales numbers suggest that the latest generation is performing quite well in comparison to the first month launches of older PlayStation models. Although, the record breaking feat does not end there, as it turns out, the the PS5 is actually beating any other video game console sales numbers in the US. This is a major achievement for the company, despite there being such a short supply for the new console.

At the moment, many stores are sold out or are selling out of stock in just minutes after fresh inventory arrives. So, we can clearly surmise that the demand is already there and the sales numbers could have been even higher. The PS5 has reached the highest launch month sales in US history, surpassing its previous iteration, the PlayStation 4, as per an AndroidHeadlines report.

Notably, the report also states that the PS5 is the highest selling console in US history for both number of units sold and the dollar amount as well. It is important to keep in mind that this is just the launch month, and the overall sales could still not be as impressive. So, there is still a chance for that to happen. But, we can assume that the new console from the Japanese tech giant already has a head start in the new console generation.

Huawei releases launch poster for a new smart screen coming on December 21

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 17, 2020

Huawei has officially announced that it would launch a new smart screen product on December 21. The company released a teaser poster which shows that the smart screen will among other things, usher in the ability to change the channel without the remote control.

Previous rumors had hinted that the Chinese tech giant was planning to announce a smart screen before the end of the month. A tipster also added that the product to be released in an entry-level device dubbed Huawei Smart Screen S series. The product is said to feature a 55-inch display size with a 60Hz refresh rate. The smart TV will also have 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage onboard.

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In April this year, Huawei released a new smart screen V55i, equipped with AI smart eyes, support for Huawei Share smart multi-screen, Huawei Sound smart audio, and other functions. After that, in May, Honor released the Honor Smart Screen series, offering three versions of 65-inch, 55-inch, and 50-inch. We believe the new Smart Screen S series will also be available in different sizes.

Huawei also disclosed at the end of September that the Huawei Smart Screen will be the first batch of terminal products to upgrade to the new HarmonyOS 2.0. In October this year, Huawei’s smart screen series started to recruit for the new version of smart screen UX 2.0.

It is reported that the UX 2.0 user interface will bring functions similar to the operating system of smartphones to smart screen products, such as the pull-down notification center, which can more conveniently set some functions and parameters of the TV. UX 2.0 will also add multi-tasking and multi-device control.

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(source)

Xiaomi Youpin launches voice-controlled Wall Lamp that costs 99 yuan ($15)

By

Jeet

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Dec 17, 2020

Xiaomi Youpin has today launched a new product on its Youpin crowdfunding platform, a voice-activated wall lamp, for a price of 99 yuan, which is roughly $15. The store is also offering a nine-piece bundle for 699 yuan, roughly $107.

The highlight of this new voice-controlled lamp is that it changes the color based on the audible sound. There’s a Music Rhythm feature that is created for the game space which can interact with the sound of the game to change the light color.

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The smartboard for the lamp can be spliced as well as combined on the wall and ceiling as per the user’s choice to design creative patterns. Xiaomi Youpin adds that it can be spliced up in any shape that the user wants to give it a more personalized look. It can also be used as a background for various activities, such as shooting video, streaming, or taking photos.

It comes with support for 16 million colors and can also be controlled through the color temperature line in the Mijia mobile application as well as the external sound volume. Apart from controlling it through the app, there’s also support for XiaoAI that brings voice-command-based control to this product.

Google and Qualcomm promise big with 4 years of Android updates, But here’s what you need to know

By

Sean

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Dec 17, 2020

Earlier today (17th December 2020), Google and Qualcomm announced a major improvement in the existing update cycle for Android smartphones. This largely had most believing that Android devices will now soon be eligible for “four years” of Android updates, which is an additional year over what certain manufacturer’s like Google or Samsung offer with their flagship smartphones. Although, this is not actually what both companies implied with the new announcement.

Apparently, the news and the headlines of various reports have been a bit confusing or even misleading to a certain degree, but that is only due to the original announcement from the chipmaker and search engine giant. According to an AndroidPolice report, very little is actually changing with this announcement of four year of Android updates. For those unaware, Google and Samsung currently offers about three major OS updates on their popular smartphones.

However, today’s announcement from both companies does not actually add to this figure. Rather, this just makes policy that was already an optional extra for smartphone OEMs who work with Qualcomm. In reality, it does not actually extend the lifespan of Qualcomm’s top end chips in any manner. This is all really confusing owing to how well Google and Qualcomm announced the entire news, but there are two major points to note:

Qualcomm will support three major Android OS updates for its entire portfolio of smartphone chips going forward, starting with the Snapdragon 888.
Smartphone OEMs will likely be able to now offer four full years of Android security updates going forward (based on our reading of the announcement).

These points from the original basically imply that four years of updates is being promised and not four years of Android OS updates. So, don’t expect four major OS version upgrades anytime soon. Google already offers about 36 months of security patch updates, which will now be extended to 48 months after this announcement. Furthermore, this also only applicable to all Android smartphones that feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 SoC for now.

Redmi 9 Power launched in India with 6,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 662, and 48MP quad-camera

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 17, 2020

After teasing for the past few days, Xiaomi India has finally launched the Redmi 9 Power in India. As expected, this smartphone is a tweaked version of the Redmi Note 9 4G that debuted in China last month. Let us take a look at the specs, features, and price of this handset.

Redmi 9 Power Specifications and Features

The new Redmi-branded smartphone sports a 6.53-inch IPS LCD panel on the front with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and a typical brightness level of 400 nits. The display also includes a dew-drop notch at the top for an 8MP selfie camera. Moreover, the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and it is also certified by TÜV Rheinland for low blue light emission (Reading Mode).

The polycarbonate rear panel of the phone flaunts a large vertically aligned ‘Redmi’ branding and a quad-camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ( 120˚ field-of-view) ultra-wide unit, a 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. Whereas, the power key with an embedded fingerprint sensor and the volume rocker are located on the right side

Further, the left side of the device includes a 2+1 triple card slot for dual-SIM and a microSD card (up to 512GB), the top houses an IR blaster and a secondary microphone hole, and finally, the bottom includes a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack (Hi-Res Audio), a primary microphone hole, and a speaker grille.

Powering the device is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset paired with 4G LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB (UFS 2.1)/128GB (UFS 2.2) internal storage. The handset is backed by a massive 6,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. But interestingly, the company ships the phone with a 22.5W fast charger and it claims the battery to last for up to 3 years, thanks to ELB (Enhanced Lifespan Battery) technology.

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Other features of this budget smartphone include 4G LTE, VoLTE, VoWiFi, dual-band WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, GNSS (GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou), accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, compass, splash-proof nano-coating, rubberised ports, auto-cleaning stereo speakers, and MIUI 12 based on Android 10.

Last but not least, the Redmi 9 Power measures 162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6mm in dimensions, weighs 198g, and comes in four colors namely Mighty Black, Blazing Blue, Electric Green, and Fiery Red.

Redmi 9 Power Pricing and Availability

Xiaomi has priced the Redmi 9 Power at ₹10,999 for the 4GB + 64GB variant and ₹11,999 for the higher 4GB + 128GB version. The first sale for the phone is scheduled for December 22 at 12 PM. It can be purchased from either Amazon India, Mi.com, or Mi Home stores.

Like any other Xiaomi handset, it will be also available from leading offline retailers in the coming days.

Google faces yet another antitrust lawsuit in the US, this time for its advertising business

By

Jeet

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Dec 17, 2020

Earlier this month, we reported that several states in the United States are planning to file new antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook. That turned out to be true when last week Facebook was sued by the US federal regulators and more than 45 state prosecutors.

Now, around ten states of the U.S., led by Texas attorney general, has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of working with Facebook in an unlawful manner that violated antitrust law.

It accuses the tech giant of abusing its monopoly over the digital advertising market, allowing its own exchange to win ad auctions even when others bid higher and overcharging publishers for ads.

With such practice, the company aimed to boost its already-dominant online advertising business, claims the lawsuit. It adds that Google unlawfully acquired, attempted to acquire, or maintained a monopoly in several steps of the online ad market including both buying and selling sides.

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Further, it alleges that the search engine giant also engaged in unlawful tying arrangements between its ad products, forcing publishers to use another Google tool if they chose to operate on its ad exchange.

The lawsuit is seeking compensation for damages and also asks for “structural relief” which usually means divesting some assets. For those who are unaware, Google controls one-third of the global online advertising industry.

This latest lawsuit is the second major from regulators against Google and the fourth overall in the United States. The company is also expected to face another lawsuit this week from another coalition of bipartisan state AGs which also targets its search services.

POCO M3 Indian variant receives TUV certification, Could be launching soon

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 17, 2020

Last month, POCO globally announced the POCO M3 smartphone just before the Black Friday shopping festival. It appears that the company may soon hold a dedicated launch event in India for the POCO M3 as its Indian edition has received TUV Rheinland certification.

The Indian edition of the POCO M3 that has a model number of M2010J19CI and its other variants such as M2010J19CG (global) and M2010J19CT have appeared in TUV’s database. China’s Redmi Note 9 4G with the model number (M2010J19SC) is also mentioned in the listing along with its other country variants.

As it is known, the POCO M3 and Redmi Note 9 4G have almost identical specs. They mainly differ in the rear camera configurations and back panel design. A few months back, POCO had launched the POCO M2 smartphone in India. With TUV certification in tow, it is likely that the POCO M3 may soon arrive in the country as its successor. It is unclear whether the POCO M3 will go official in India before the end of 2021.

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POCO M3 specifications

The POCO M3 has a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display that offers a Full HD+ resolution. The Snapdragon 662 powered phone comes with up to 6 GB of LPPDR4x RAM and up to 128 GB of UFS 2.2 storage. There is a microSD card slot on the device, and it runs on Android 10 OS.

The POCO M3 has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and it houses a 48-megapixel + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth) triple camera system on its rear. The phone is backed by a 6,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging. The POCO M3 is available in two options in global markets. The 4 GB RAM + 64 GB (UFS 2.1) variant is priced at $129 and the 6 GB RAM + 128 GB (UFS 2.2) model costs $149.

(via)

OnePlus 7 and 7T series Android 11 update delayed due to technical issues

By

Jeet

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Dec 17, 2020

It’s been some time since Android 11 released in the market and smartphone companies are now working on rolling out this new updated to their devices. OnePlus has already released the new OxygenOS update based on the Android 11 operating system to the flagship OnePlus 8 lineup.

Going by the roadmap shared by the company, the next devices in line to get the update this year is the OnePlus 7 and 7T. However, based on the new development, it seems that the new Android 11 update for these devices could get delayed.

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The company has posted a message on OnePlus Forum informing users that the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T series smartphones are facing data decryption failer issues after upgrading the phones to Android 11. Thus, the company says that there will be a delay and it may not be able to stick to its original plan for the update rollout.

OnePlus also added that it is working with Qualcomm‘s technical team to fix this issue as soon as possible and it seems that the solution should be available within a week. The company added that if everything goes as per the plan, then the closed beta could be released this month and open beta soon after that.

Meanwhile, details of the company’s upcoming OnePlus 9 series flagship smartphones have started surfacing online. Recently, hands-on images of the OP9 were leaked online, showcasing its design as well as some key specifications. The next-generation smartphone series is expected to go official in March next year.

Honor CEO Zhao Ming confirms to launch flagship smartphone in the future

By

Jeet

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Dec 17, 2020

Honor recently went independent after the brand was sold off by its former parent company Huawei to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. Now, as the brand celebrates its seventh anniversary, the company’s future plans have been revealed.

Zhao Ming, Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Honor brand recently confirmed in a letter shared on Weibo that the company will soon launch its first product after going independent. We expect this to happen next month but there’s no official confirmation of the same from the company.

However, Zhao Ming held a small meeting with some Honor fans, where he revealed the company’s plan for the future. He has confirmed that the brand plans to have a super flagship smartphone. From this, it seems like the company is gearing up to launch a device with top-of-the-line specifications.

Further, he added that the Honor-branded Mate-series and P-series smartphones could also get launched, which will showcase the technological advancement of the Honor, similar to how Huawei showcases its advanced technologies with Mate- and P-series phones.

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He also added that there has always been a competition between Huawei and Honor regarding making better products and meeting the customers’ demand. But that seems to be the past as the days of friendly competition are over.

The company is now aiming to become the leading smartphone vendor in its home country China, which is currently being dominated by Huawei. As per the reports, Zhao Ming has set a target of shipping 100 million units in 2021 and it will be interesting to see how Honor manages to achieve that goal.

In order to achieve this target, Honor has already started working on setting up its supply chain by getting vendors on board. The company is also expanding its offline presence by opening up new stores in various cities.

HMD Global launches online store to sell Nokia smartphones in the US

By

Jeet

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Dec 17, 2020

HMD Global, the Finnish company that is making and selling smartphones under the Nokia brand, has now launched its own online store in the United States, enabling the brand to sell its devices directly to the customers.

The launch of Nokia’s online stores comes just in time for the holiday season. The company is also offering delivery before Christmas, i.e. 25th December for some models, if the order is placed by 19th December.

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Ignoring the holiday season shipping, the company has promised to offer two-day free shipping to everyone, without charging the customer anything for shipping. It’s noteworthy that the eCommerce stores of Nokia don’t sell all the smartphone models and clicking on some models will redirect users to another store.

Currently, the company is selling Nokia 8.3 5G, Nokia 3.4, and Nokia 225 4G smartphones and Nokia Power EarBuds directly on its website. For all the other products, customers will be redirected to Amazon, BestBuy, etc.

It should be interesting to see how this works in the market where most of the users are dependent on their network carriers for the new smartphone. While there are devices getting sold directly to customers, but that is from established brands. Nokia certainly is an established brand but has it reached that status where customers directly purchase its smartphones in the U.S., which we will get to know soon.

Motorola Capri receives FCC certification; Launch could be near

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 17, 2020

Earlier this month, TechnikNews had leaked about the existence of two upcoming mid-range Motorola phones that are codenamed as Capri and Capri Plus. The leak revealed that the XT-2127 model number belongs to the Motorola Capri phone, whereas the Plus edition has an XT-2129 model number. The XT-2127 smartphone has today bagged certification from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S., which indicates that its launch may not be far away.

The FCC appearance of the Motorola Capri has not revealed any of its major specs. The listing shows that it carries support 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,and NFC. The exact product name of the Motorola Capri is not known yet.

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Previous reports have revealed that the Motorola Capri is a Snapdragon 460 powered smartphone. It is expected to feature a waterdrop notch display that supports an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. Its exact screen size is not known yet. It is expected to arrive with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

For capturing selfies, it could be featuring an 8-megapixel lens. The backside of the phone is expected to feature a quad-camera system housing a 48-megapixel primary shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens.

On the other side, the Motorola Capri Plus is expected to feature a 90Hz HD resolution display and a selfie camera of 13-megapixel. The rear camera setup of the phone may feature a 64-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel superwide lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth helper. It is unclear which processor is present under the hood of the device. It is likely to arrive in two RAM versions like 4 GB and 6 GB and storage choices like 64 GB and 128 GB. The Capri and Capri Plus are expected to go official in Q1 2021.

(via)

Huawei Nova 8 Pro real images ahead of launch

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 17, 2020

Yesterday, a Weibo user shared the live shots of the Huawei Nova 8 smartphone that is all set to break cover on Dec. 23. A few hours later, another Weibo user released the real-life images of the Huawei Nova 8 Pro to showcase its design.

Huawei Nova 8 Pro real-life images

As it was seen yesterday, the Huawei Nova 8 has a top-center selfie camera cutout on its display. However, the Nova 8 Pro can be sporting a curved edge screen with a pill-shaped camera cutout at the top-left corner. The camera cutout houses dual selfie snappers.

The back panel of the Huawei Nova 8 Pro has the same oval-shaped camera module found on the vanilla model. The Nova and Huawei brand names can be seen towards the bottom of the phone’s back panel.

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While the top edge of the Huawei Nova 8 Pro has a microphone, its bottom has a SIM card slot, another microphone, a USB-C port, and an external speaker. A volume rocker and a power key can be found on the right edge of the phone.

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Huawei Nova 8 Pro specifications

The Huawei Nova 8 Pro has a 120Hz supporting OLED panel with 80-degree curvature at its edges. It is equipped with a 16-megapixel dual selfie camera setup. The rear shell of the phone has a 64-megapixel + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth) quad-camera system. The smartphone supports dual scene recording through the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

The Nova 8 Pro will arrive with a 66W fast battery. However, its battery size is not known yet. The handset is expected to arrive in 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage versions. It is expected to carry a starting price of 4,000 Yuan (~$612).

Samsung Galaxy A72 5G renders reveal it is an enlarged A52 5G

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Dec 16, 2020

The Galaxy A72 5G is a mid-range phone Samsung is expected to announce next year. The phone first appeared in the news back in September when a leak said it will have five rear cameras. However, another leak surfaced recently that said the phone will have four rear cameras. CAD-based renders have now surfaced and they confirm that the Galaxy A72 5G will indeed have a quad-camera setup on the rear.

The A72 5G is the successor to the Galaxy A71 5G that was announced in April and its design doesn’t seem to have changed much. It has a centered punch hole which appears to be smaller in diameter than that of its predecessor and the back is home to four rear cameras that are housed in rectangular glass.

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Steve Hemmersoffer a.k.a. OnLeaks, who published the renders on Voice, says the rear panel of the Galaxy A72 5G is “glasstic” while the frame that goes around it is aluminum. The general appearance of the phone is very similar to that of the Galaxy A52 5G whose renders leaked last week with the only visual difference being the size of both phones.

The Galaxy A72 5G is said to pack a 6.7-inch display which should be a Super AMOLED panel with a 1080p resolution. The display is flat, has slim bezels around it, and will have a fingerprint scanner behind it.

The renders show the phone has an audio jack at the bottom along with a USB-C port and a five-hole speaker grille. The dimensions of the phone are given as 165 x 77.4 x 8.1 mm. The thickness goes up to 9.1 mm when you add the camera bump.

The Galaxy A72 5G should come with the 5nm Exynos 1080 processor that will make its debut in the Vivo X60 series later this month. It should run One UI 3.0 based on Android 11 out of the box. When Samsung launches the phone next year, its price tag is expected to be about $599.

Amazon opens up its Luna cloud gaming service to Android devices

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 16, 2020

Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna, has now been extended to Android devices, the company announced on Tuesday. Similar to what obtains with the iOS version of Luna, users can directly access the cloud gaming services via the Chrome web browser, as there is no need to download any app.

Luna came on stream a few months back, specifically in October and it was at that time, only available on PC, Mac, Fire TV, iPhone, and iPad (through web apps). There is a monthly fee, payment of which guarantees access to a channel of games for the interested user.

Presently, only two channels are functional. The Luna Plus channel has a monthly fee of $5.99, while the Ubisoft Plus channel with an access fee of $14.99-per-month offers Ubisoft games and can connect to Ubisoft Plus on PC and on Google’s cloud gaming service, Stadia. Luna is presently only available in the US, and access can be gotten from here.

Luna’s Android version currently works on a few devices like Pixel, Samsung, and OnePlus, and it is expected that Luna will have support for more Android devices as it expands access in the coming months.

The following devices now have Luna functionality: Pixel 4XL, 4A, 4A 5G, 5; Samsung Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, Note 10, Note 10 Plus, S20, S20 Plus, S20 Ultra, Note 20, Note 20 Ultra, OnePlus 7, 7 Pro, 7 Pro 5G, 8, 8 Pro, and Nord 7T, 7T Pro, 7T Pro 5G smartphones.

Luna is compatible with Android 9 or higher and Chrome version 86 or newer. Gaming enthusiasts can now play games from a wide array and it is also possible to link up with Luna controller as well as the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller.

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(via)

Google Stadia is now available for iOS devices in beta

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Dec 16, 2020

Apple has made it difficult for game streaming services to provide an iOS app for iPhone and iPad owners. The solution these streaming services have adopted is to provide access via the web browser on these devices. The latest to do so is Google Stadia as they have finally brought their services to Apple devices more than a year after launching on other platforms.

The announcement was made today on Twitter by the official Stadia account. The tweet includes a short video teaching users how to access the service and it is pretty straightforward. Below are the steps:

Launch your Safari iOS browser
Go to Stadia.com
Sign in with your Google account
Begin to play

You can add a web app shortcut to the homescreen to make it easier to access as shown in the video.

Stadia is now available on iOS devices! Yes, you read that right. Starting today, you can sign into https://t.co/AoYhdVnzGu on your Safari iOS browser and begin playing your favorite games. Try it for yourself today! pic.twitter.com/iQhoAu8NtX

— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) December 16, 2020

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Stadia on iOS works with the official Stadia Controller and also works with the DualShock 4 and Xbox One Controllers. All of these controllers connect to the iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth. If you don’t have a controller, you can enable the touch gamepad feature when you launch a game.

Google’s iOS launch comes shortly after Microsoft announced that it will be bringing its Xbox cloud gaming service to PCs and iOS next year. However, Google is not the first to do it, other game streaming services such as NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW announced the service can now be accessed via the Safari browser back in November. Amazon’s Luna is also available via a web app for iPhones and iPads.

Twitter acquires video chat and screen-sharing startup, Squad

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 16, 2020

Twitter has acquired video chat app Squad, and it seems plans are already afoot by the company to incorporate the app’s group video chat feature as a new feature on Twitter.

The Squad app allowed users to share their screens in both mobile and desktop settings in group video chat mode. Reports emanating from TechCrunch says that the app has been shut down by Twitter as the interfacing seems to have begun in earnest.

Ilya Brown from Twitter’s Product team let us into the unfolding development by sharing the news in a tweet a few days back. Brown expressed excitement to be afforded the opportunity to share the information that the Squad team will be joining Twitter to provide new and exciting ways for people to interact, express themselves, and join in the public conversation. Brown went further to state in the tweet that interactive audio and video chats are very important requirements in the future direction of the app and align with the type of conversations Twitter is hoping to introduce.

With hints provided by Brown on having a similar feature on Twitter very soon, it was expected that the Squad app will be out of service almost immediately. The Squad app was subsequently shut down on December 12.

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A group video chat tool would certainly not be the first new feature to change the way that users interact with each other on Twitter. The social media giant launched the fleets feature in November 2020, which allowed users to express their thoughts in a temporary, story-like template that disappears after 24 hours.

Twitter account holders could see the number of persons that had viewed their fleets, and also respond to individual fleets via direct message.

Twitter’s fleet feature follows the precedence laid by Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and a few others who already have a story feature in their platform.

Twitter has also announced that stickers and live broadcasting would be integral parts of fleets, going forward.

We keep our fingers crossed as we wait to see whether Twitter will provide Squad-like video and screen-sharing in the app soon.

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Yeelight Debuts Smart LED Bulb M2 that supports Google Seamless Setup

By

Greeva Agnihotri

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Dec 16, 2020

Decent lighting can change the whole mood and ambiance of the space, but a smart light can add fun and convenience. It allows one to control the brightness, power, and color simply through voice controls. Yeelight is one of the leading smart lighting brands in the world and has recently taken this concept to another level by introducing a new member- Smart LED Bulb M2 (Color). It is powered by Google Seamless setup and enabled by Seamless Setup in the Google Home app. Yeelight Smart LED Bulb M2

Yeelight Smart LED Bulb M2 is one of the first smart lights in the Asia Pacific to support Seamless Setup in the Google Home app. It allows the user to command google for turning the lights on/off, control brightness, or change the colors just by using their voice. The Seamless Setup enables one to easily set up Smart Home devices in the Google Home App without having the need to download another app to link or purchase a third-party hub.

For Seamless Setup, the user will need to have a Google Assistant-enabled device like a Google Nest Mini or Google Nest Hub. Yeelight Smart LED Bulb M2, being a Bluetooth bulb, enjoys off-premise access using Google Assistant-enabled devices. It offers higher reliability and lower latency, leveraging the power of local. Furthermore, the bulb reaches a luminance of up to 1000ml that is quite bright and efficient enough for regular use.

Yeelight’s collaboration with Google has proven to be a progressive improvement towards the smart home experience, in addition to becoming one of the first smart lighting brands in the Asia Pacific to adopt Google Local Home SDK. Smart LED Bulb M2

According to Eric Jiang, the founder and CEO of Yeelight, Smart LED Bulb M2 is designed to work with Hey Google to give users the comfort of controlling it through voice command, which will allow them to have a fun and convenient experience while using the smart light.

The introduction of Yeelight Smart LED Bulb M2 is a significant milestone for Yeelight as it puts the company on the global radar. Yeelight is widely integrated with mainstream AIoT platforms, including Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Samsung SmartThings, establishing itself as one of the top smart lighting brands in terms of compatibility with smart home systems. Keep your spaces illuminated by building a smart home with Yeelight.

$98.99 Blackview A80 Plus Launches, Dubbed as Budgeted Battery King

By

Greeva Agnihotri

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Dec 16, 2020

According to a recent render, Blackview is all set to launch a new smartphone in the A-series, one of the most successful families in the brand’s portfolio, for persistently delivering top-notch products with cutting edge technology. Blackview’s latest introduction- A80 Plus, has a powerful battery and a quad-rear camera setup. It will make its debut on December 15th with a discounted price of just $98.99. This phone has created quite a stir with its budged price range and an impressive spec sheet. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

Specifications

Blackview A80 Plus boasts a 6.49-inch waterdrop display with In-cell technology and a 90.3% screen-to-body ratio for an immersive viewing experience. It is powered by Mediatek Helio A25 12nm processor and has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory to allow convenient multi-tasking. Blackview’s flagship comes with an Android 10 operating system to let the user enjoy the latest features and functions.

Highlights

Apart from the decent software, A80 Plus is equipped with a 13MP quad rear camera that is on par with its modern flagship counterparts. With an impressive 4680mAh battery capacity, this phone can easily last throughout the day on just a single charge. It has two SIM card slots in addition to a separate microSD slot. This smartphone comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack and weighs only 180g with 8.8mm thickness. To add to its versatility, the Blackview flagship also supports NFC payments.

Design

Blackview has certainly made significant improvements in A80 Plus’s design by enhancing it with sleek bezels and a waterdrop notch. As for the body, this device features a 3D aesthetic design with rounded corners and a slim form to offer a comfortable grip and a classy appearance. To complete the look, Blackview has neatly arranged a vertical quad-rear camera set up near the fingerprint sensor. Furthermore, it comes in 3 color variants- Red, Gradient Blue, Green, and Black.

Blackview A80 Plus is marketed with the slogan “quad-camera, budget king,” and the company states that it is unbeatable for its budgeted price.
A80 Plus will go on sale at Aliexpress from December 15th with a discounted price of just $98.99, with $179.99 being the phone’s actual cost. So hurry and make the most of this opportunity.

Micron Technology to expand workforce, setup Center of Excellence in India

By

Balaji S

-

Dec 16, 2020

Micron Technology is ready to expand its workforce in India. The company’s Managing Director for India has told the Hindu Business Line that it will hire more employees in the next three years. Further, the company is also planning to establish a Center of Excellence and expand industry-academia collaboration in the country.

As per the report(via Digitimes), Anand Ramamoorthy, Managing Director of Micron Technology (India), says the company will increase headcount. Precisely, it will recruit about 3,600 more employees. This would bring the final tally to 5,000 employees by 2023. He says that the company has rapidly expanded by tripling the headcount in the last 12 months.

For the unware, Micron Technology is a US-based memory chip maker. Its portfolio of products includes computer memory, computer data storage, dynamic RAM(DRAM), flash memory(NAND flash), and USB flash drives. Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the company has expertise in SSD, graphics memory, and LPDDR5 DRAM for 4G and 5G smartphones.

As for India, the company, in 2018, allocated $3 billion for investment in Hyderabad. Moreover, it’s expanded a lot in the Asian region as well. In fact, it has back-end fabs in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and China. In case you don’t know, back end of line (BEOL) is where individual parts mingle with the wiring on the wafer.

Micron is very positive about growing electronics manufacturing industry in India and is considering increasing its presence in India. Micron has agreed to set up a Center of Excellence in memory and storage systems in India with Govt. of India.

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) December 14, 2020

However, the company reportedly is far away from setting up a production line in India. Although things are looking good for the country in the distant future, it isn’t going to make haste decisions regarding this right now. Still, the company is ready for academic tie-ups in the country.

Ramamoorthy says that Micron has authorized its University Research Alliance of Micron (URAM) to facilitate industry-academia collaboration for research and innovation in memory design. According to the Indian Minister of Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Micron has also agreed set up a center of Excellence in memory and storage systems with Govt. of India.

Qualcomm unveils the QCC305x SoC series for Truly wireless earbuds

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Dec 16, 2020

Qualcomm has today unveiled the QCC305x wireless chip series. The chip is said to be designed mainly to help its customers differentiate across a range of tiers in the very fast-moving truly wireless earbud category. This is coming several months after the QCC514X and QCC304X chips were announced earlier in March.

The QCC305x SoCs is the latest addition to the mid-tier Qualcomm QCC30xx series of SoCs. The platform expands the wireless audio use cases delivering powerful support for many of the firm’s premium audio technologies.

Further, the QCC305x features support for the forthcoming Bluetooth Low Energy Audio standard which makes it possible for early-adopting OEMs to commence the development of an end-to-end implementation with smartphones and truly wireless earbuds supporting the exciting new audio sharing use case.

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James Chapman, vice president, and general manager, Voice, Music, and Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies hinted that: “We are entering a new era for the expanding truly wireless earbud category, which is diversifying at a terrific rate bringing new use-cases and feature enrichment to products in virtually all tiers.”

“Not only do our QCC305x SoCs bring many of our latest-and-greatest audio features to our mid-range truly wireless earbud portfolio, but they are also designed to be developer-ready for the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard. We believe this combination gives our customers great flexibility to innovate at a range of price points and helps them meet the needs of today’s audio consumers, many of whom now rely on their truly wireless earbuds for all sorts of entertainment and productivity activities.”

The QCC305x SoCs are designed to support superior end-to-end operability from a Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered smartphone to Qualcomm-Technologies powered earbuds. The recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset to help deliver this true end-to-end experience with the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 connectivity system, brings mobile-side support for Bluetooth 5.2, LE Audio, aptX audio, and other features providing further interoperability benefits for sound quality, wireless audio robustness, and responsiveness.

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Specifications

Highlights

Design

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