India to launch its own app store to rival Google and Apple

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Oct 1, 2020

India is planning on launching its very own app store that will act as an alternative to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. This move arrives to boost the country’s self reliance.

The current Modi government might seek to ramp up its Mobile Seva App Store as reported by the local news agencies. An ETNow report quoted the government stating that “Android has a 97% market share in India. So, we should intervene and handhold Indian startups.” Furthermore, the government is also considering making the app store mandatory for Android phones to arrive with this app pre-installed.

#ETNOWExclusive | #Aatmanirbhar App Store Coming Soon? Sources tell ET NOW that Modi-govt is planning to launch its own App Store as an alternative to #Google & #Apple's app stores! @NayantaraRai with exclusive details!@PMOIndia @rsprasad @_DigitalIndia @GooglePlay @AppStore pic.twitter.com/eYoNVsdcC3

— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) October 1, 2020

Notably, the news also arrived after numerous technology entrepreneurs joined hands to petition to the government for support regarding an overarching Indian digital app ecosystem to rival major tech giants like Google and Apple. In a meeting earlier this week, the ways to establish a large scale platform that hosts local apps was also discussed to break the monopoly in the current market.

This group includes various founders, like Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Yashish Dahiya of Policybazaar, and Murugavel Janakiraman of Matrimony.com, which are a few major online platforms in the country. They will also be seeking the country’s banking regulator as well, including the finance ministry to seek redressal for Google’s recent move that aims to raise the commission on purchase made on its app store.

Murugavel Janakiraman stated that “If India has net neutrality, why can’t we have app neutrality. A body monitored by the government can ensure app neutrality, fairness, and openness.” While other notable figures also cited government support to help grow the indigenous brands and startups. It remains to be seen how Apple and Google respond to this news.

Google Assistant gets a new ‘Hold for Me’ feature

By

Balaji S

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Oct 1, 2020

Google unveiled the Pixel 5G devices yesterday. Along with that, Google has also introduced a new ‘Hold for Me’ feature to the Google Assistant. Google says this will help us eliminate the waiting time when speaking to customer support.

The new feature (via Android Authority) helps by staying on the line for us when a customer care call is on hold. In the meantime, users can carry on with their work. If a human picks up the call, it will notify via vibration, notification, and a sound so that we can pick it up and continue. Accordingly, it will also ask the receiver at the other end to wait while you pick up the call. This is a nifty little feature and saves minutes of waiting to a pre-recorded music and messages while contacting support service.

Besides, users can also keep track of what’s happening by using a real-time transcription feature. For instance, if music is played on the other end, it will show as “Music playing”. The feature will be available for activation from Google’s settings. Once turned on, a button on the phone screen besides option like speaker, hold, mute while on a call. After selecting it, the Assistant will take over the call. Now, a page with “Don’t hang up” and “return to call” button appears.

Google says the feature uses Google Duplex and Call Screen technology to perform the task. Google launched the AI-based Duplex feature in 2018 that helped people make reservations at a restaurant through Google Assistant. Moreover, Call Screen is an automated feature that helps to filter spam, marketing calls by understanding the purpose. That said, the new Hold for Me uses natural-voice response just like the other two.

However, the Hold for Me works for the whole device and hence, we can’t play any other music or audio files simultaneously. This way we can be sure that nothing is heard beyond the assistant’s voice. That said, “Hold for Me” is available for users of Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 5G only in the US as a “preview” feature. It supports only English calls of toll-free numbers and not local businesses as of now. But Google says, older pixels will get it via “pixel feature drop” rollout soon.

Up Next: Chromecast with Google TV launches for $49.99; Nest Audio speaker tags along for $99

Vivo X50 Pro Plus receives impressive score of 127 points from DxOMark

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

The Vivo X50 Pro+ has just been reviewed by DxOMark. The company’s latest flagship handset received an impressive score of 127 points, rivaling scores from other Chinese brand offerings like Xiaomi and Huawei. This also marks a notable milestone for the company as the device is currently ranked third from the top, coming into the top 5 for the first time.

As per the DxOMark test report, the device received an overall score of 127 points, with it achieving 139 points in photography and 104 points in videography. The latest flagship handset from Vivo features a 50 megapixel primary lens on the rear along with a 32 megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and another 13 megapixel telephoto lens with a 5x optical zoom. Finally, a 13 megapixel ultra wide angle sensor rounds up the quad camera setup.

Looking at the photography scores, DxOMark had various positives aspects to highlight in its report. The reviewing firm praised the X50 Pro+ for its high detail retention and low noise shots even in low light scenarios. Its white balance and colors were also perfectly balanced, which was further supplemented by its wide dynamic range. The zoom range of the telephoto lens and its ability to retain finer details was also specifically praised. Furthermore, its accurate exposure in natural lights also made photographic experience better.

For videos, DxOMark notes that accurate exposure also made its way while recording videos. The recordings also had well controlled noise, fast autofocus, and efficient tracking as well. Stabilization during video recording was also found to be quite capable the overall video quality had great details. While DxOMark did notice a few issues here and there, the device still managed to acquire one of the highest scores ever, coming in just below the Huawei P40 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra.

Realme C17 and many IoT products emerge in Realme India’s support page

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 1, 2020

Realme recently confirmed that it will be launching multiple devices such as Realme 7i, Realme 7 Pro Special Edition with sun-kissed leather, Buds Air Pro, Buds Wireless Pro, and SLED TV on Oct. 7. Ahead of the unveiled, multiple IoT products and the Realme C17 have appeared on the official support page of Realme India. Hence, it seems that the country will soon receive the Realme C17 and several other IoT products.

A fresh report on MySmartPrice reveals that it came across unannounced products such as Realme Smart Plug, Smart Bulb, Smart Camera 360, Watch S, Soundbar, Smart TV SLED 4K, N1 Sonic Electric Toothbrush, Selfie Tripod, Buds Wireless Pro, Buds Air Pro, 20,000mAh Power Bank 2, 10,000mAh Power Bank 2i and Realme C17.

It is not clear whether all these devices will be made official at the Oct. 7 unveil event in India. Some of these devices were teased at the IFA 2020 tech trade show last month.

Editor’s Pick: Realme Narzo 20 series sold over 230,000 units in its first sale in India

Realme C17 specifications

The specifications of the Realme C17 are already known since it debuted in the previous month in Bangladesh. The C17 has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen with a punch-hole design. It produces a 20:9 aspect ration and a 1080 x 2400 pixels full HD+ resolution. The Snapdragon 460 mobile platform drives the Realme C17 with up to 6 GB of RAM. It has a microSD card slot and internal storage of 128 GB.

The Realme C17 has a front camera of 8-megapixel. The rear side of the device features a 13-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel mono lens. It houses a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W charging through microUSB.

Huawei to be excluded from Germany’s 5G rollout: Report

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

A new crackdown in Germany is set to have the government adopt new regulations that would effectively exclude Huawei from the country’s plan of rolling out 5G networking.

According to a FinancialTimes report, the government is currently preparing to pass a new security law that would prevent the Chinese tech giant to participate in the 5G roll out due to various restrictions. This move would also add new challenges to the Chinese company’s business operations in the region as well. Huawei losing the ability to offer 5G networking based equipment would also be a negative impact on the company in the country.

Similar to the UK, Germany has also been an integral market for the Chinese brand outside of mainland China. Its customer from the region includes Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom that had helped Huawei become one of the leading telecommunications based equipment provider in the world. The new regulation will employ a new approval procedure in place which will first evaluate the technical security of the parts integrated into the equipment being provided, and then judge the ‘trustworthiness’ of the source along with a political evaluation.

For those unaware, Huawei has been accused of espionage and data breach on multiple occasions. The US has alleged that the company has had close ties with the Chinese government, and even has backdoors in its systems to send data back to its home country. Thus, this new approval process might be a new hurdle for the company. According to Nils Schmid, spokesperson for the Social Democrats, “The German parliament requires the legal means to be able to exclude untrustworthy suppliers like Huawei from the 5G buildout, and this new law appears to do just that.”

Microsoft Surface Duo teardown showcases the phone’s internals and build

By

Jeet

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Oct 1, 2020

Microsoft recently launched its much-awaited Surface Duo smartphone which comes with dual displays and is powered by the Android operating system. The device has already passed JerryRigEverything’s Durability test and today we will be taking a look inside the device, thanks to the teardown video.

The first thing you notice about the phone is the dual displays and holding them together is the hinge. JerryRigsEveryhting says that the hinge on the device is pretty awesome and offers 360-degree functionality.

Removing the display panels showcases the phone’s internals. You will notice that the device packs two batteries — one larger that covers the majority of the space and another smaller one, which cannot be easily replaced by the user.

EDITOR’S PICK: Tencent gifts 10,000 employees Huawei Mate Xs devices, which are now being sold online

Once the batteries are removed, the area is covered by a layer of graphite tape, removing which shows copper foil underneath for heat dissipation. The frame for the hinge is made of up metal and connecting both the displays is a metal wire stip that runs through hinges, ensuring durability when the folded.

Internally, the Surface Duo seems pretty good in terms of make and build but has room for improvement when it comes to repairability. JerryRigEverthing has given a thumbs up for the device in his teardown video.

The Microsoft Surface Duo has also proved its durability. It emerged as one of the best foldable smartphones available in the market right now as it could be bent to the back and front without damage to the screen.

Huawei Mate 40 series’ first batch to go on sale in late October: Report

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

With the Huawei Mate 40 series launch being just around the corner, various reports and rumors have surfaced online. While we had previously covered information regarding a mid October announcement and sales starting from November, new reports have revealed that the first batch of the series will go on sale by late October.

According to a PCOnline report, the first batch of Huawei Mate 40 series would be available by late October. This includes the Mate 40, Mate 40 Pro, Mate 40 Pro+, and Mate 40 RS Porsche Special Edition. The Chinese tech giant’s latest flagship is expected to arrive with the new 5nm process based Kirin 9000 chipset, which is expected to bring great improvements in both GPU and CPU performance over the previous gen’s Kirin 990 5G. Notably, the base Mate 40 variant is expected to feature the 7nm based Kirin 9000E processor.

The upcoming lineup is also expected to run on the latest EMUI 11 custom skin based on the Android 10 operating system. Additionally, it is also likely to arrive with support for various features that the company may offer. Unfortunately, this is still an unconfirmed report, so take it with a pinch of salt for now and we will have to wait for an official launch date announcement from the company itself.

Realme Narzo 20 series sold over 230,000 units in its first sale in India

By

Jeet

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Oct 1, 2020

Realme recently launched three new smartphones in the Indian market under its Narzo 20 family — Realme Narzo 20A, Narzo 20, and Narzo 20 Pro. The smartphones were available for purchase in India for the first time.

Now, Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme India has confirmed that the company managed to sell 230,000 units combined within a few minutes. He revealed that the middle child Narzo 20 sold over 130,000 units, while the Narzo 20A was second with 51,000+ and the Narzo 20 Pro sitting in third with 50,000+ units.

EDITOR’S PICK: Mi 10T series arrives with impressive displays, 5G, big batteries, and competitive price tags

As for the pricing, the cheapest model in the lineup — Realme Narzo 20A 4GB + 64GB is priced at ₹8,499 (~$116) while the most expensive model — Realme Narzo 20 Pro 8GB + 128GB is available for ₹16,999, which is about $232.

As the name indicates, the Narzo 20 series launched in India last month is a successor to the Realme Narzo 10 series. The launch of the successor lineup comes just a few months after the launch of its predecessor.

To know more about all three smartphones, including their specifications, features, colors, availability, and pricing details in the Indian market, check out our phone launch post.

OnePlus World teased again, might be a new VR platform

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

OnePlus has just teased what appeared to be a new VR platform. The company shared another short video teaser trailer through its official Twitter handle that carried OnePlus World branding, which is going to be launched today (1st October 2020).

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go. Something to do and somewhere to go. #TheOnePlusWorld

— OnePlus (@oneplus) September 30, 2020

At the moment, there are numerous rumors regarding what the OnePlus World actually is. It is hinted at being the company’s upcoming smartwatch, while other reports have claimed that it could possibly be a new VR platform from the company. The Chinese brand is known to dabble in VR quite a bit, so it won’t arrive as a complete surprise if they do launch it. Another hint towards its nature is the slogan of “Break the loop. Change your world,” which is further indicative of a VR based launch.

Many initially linked this to the OnePlus Watch that has recently been spotted on various certification listings, however, a tweet from the OnePlus USA revealed a bit more information, as per a Gadgets360 report. In the post, the regional branch shared this message: “Get ready! We built our own OnePlus World and can’t wait to share it with you. Check it out on October 1.” This tweet even arrives with a promotional image rather than a video teaser that depicted what appeared to be a shared online space.

OnePlus World might just be a VR world created just for the launch event on October 14. Although, it also appears to suggest that the platform might be a global store that lets customers from across the world to purchase the company’s products. Unfortunately, finer details are still unknown and we will have to wait for the event to drop soon. So stay tuned.

realme Buds Wireless Pro entire specs revealed ahead of October 7 India launch

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Oct 1, 2020

Earlier today, realme announced that it will be launching realme Buds Air Pro on October 7 in India. Now, the Chinese smartphone maker also confirms to debut realme Buds Wireless Pro at the same event. Above all, all the primary specifications of this earphones are out, thanks to its teaser page on Amazon India and realme official website.

The realme Buds Wireless Pro was teased by the brand alongside several other products at IFA 2020. The company revealed them to launch in Q4. Turns out almost all of them will be debuting first in India as per a leak and the announcements from the company.

realme Buds Wireless Pro Specifications

Talking about specifications, the upcoming realme Buds Wireless Pro’s design will be identical to the already available regular realme Buds Wireless but without wings and different inline remote control with four buttons instead of three.

The biggest difference between the two will be their features. With Pro moniker, the new model will bring ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) up to 35dB and support for Sony LDAC as well as Hi-Res Audio.

That’s not all, the size of the drivers will be larger at 13.6mm compared to 11.2mm in the vanilla model. Most importantly, the Pro version will come with 22-hour battery life, which happens to be almost double the 12 hours of battery life on the regular version.

Last but not least, the realme Buds Wireless will also include support for low-latency mode (119ms), Google Fast Pair.

Tencent gifts 10,000 employees Huawei Mate Xs devices, which are now being sold online

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

Tencent had recently sent over 10,000 Huawei Mate Xs smartphones worth 16,999 Yuan (roughly 2,500 US Dollars) to its employees. Now, just a while after, a number of such employees are attempting to resell the device online.

For those unaware, Tencent recently underwent a restructuring within its organization with shuffling bringing in different parts of its various departments together. After this, the company sent a large number of Mate Xs smartphones to its employees as a gift during an internal event for Tencent PCG (Platform and Content Business Group) on 30th September 2020.

However, it seems that a number of employees would much rather have cash than a rather expensive smartphone. In just a short while, numerous listings of the gifted Mate Xs have surfaced online at varying price points. People in China also began to notice that since the event, the overall number of Mate Xs smartphones being sold also rose in number, as per a MyDrivers report.

The gifted Mate Xs also had the label of customized Tencent variant, which would also likely add to its resale value since it is a rather exclusive limited edition that the general public can’t simply purchase. The prices range anywhere between the original 16,999 Yuan price and even reaching as high as 19,999 Yuan (roughly 2,950 US Dollars).

POCO C3 to launch on October 6 in India

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 1, 2020

After launching a couple of rebadged phones with POCO branding, the company announced the all-new POCO X3 NFC smartphone last month. The same phone debuted in India as POCO X3, which came with a larger battery and without NFC support. Now the company is gearing up to launch a new phone called POCO C3 in India. Through a tweet, POCO India confirmed that the POCO C3 will be announced on Oct. 6.

The smartphone will be made available for purchase through Flipkart. At present, the landing page of the phone has no information on its specs.

👀3️⃣, the next #GameChang3r from POCO is arriving on 6th October @ 12PM on @Flipkart.
Know more: https://t.co/FgindDwGMo

3👁️👁️👁️ RTs & we'll giveaway 1 #POCOC3 to a lucky winner. pic.twitter.com/Coec2qqd3o

— POCO India #POCOC3 (@IndiaPOCO) October 1, 2020

Recent reports have revealed that the POCO C3 will be positioned lower than the POCO M2 that is priced at Rs. 10,999 (~$150). Also, speculations are rife that it will be arriving as a rebranded version of the Redmi 9C phone that debuted in other markets a few months back. A recent leak had revealed that the 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage edition of the POCO C3 has MRP of Rs 10,999. Probably, this variant may sell with a pricing of Rs 9,999 (~$136).

Editor’s Pick: POCO M2 Pro & Redmi Note 9 Pro Max have started receiving MIUI 12 update in India

Redmi 9C specifications

The Redmi 9C has a waterdrop notch IPS LCD panel of 6.5 inches that produces HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The modest Helio G35 chipset is present under the hood of the smartphone. It ships with up to 3 GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of built-in storage. It has a microSD for more storage.

The smartphone is fitted with a 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel triple rear cameras and it has a front-facing camera of 5-megapixel. The device houses a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging support. The phone also features a rear-mounted fingerprint reader.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra battery details revealed in China’s 3C listing

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

Back in September, we had reported on new information that revealed that the upcoming generation of Samsung flagship will sport a large 5,000mAh battery. Now, a listing in China’s 3C agency has revealed details about the Galaxy S21 Ultra‘s battery, which are in line with the previous reports.

According to a GSMArena report, the recent 3C listing has revealed that the highest end variants in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series will sport a 4,855mAh battery pack. The listing mentions the model number EB-BG998ABY, with the G998 depicting the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Similar to the Galaxy S21+ battery listing, the S21 Ultra variant’s battery will also be manufactured by Chinese based brand called Ningde Amperex Technology.

Furthermore, recent rumors have also hinted at the Ultra model arriving with an S Pen, as the South Korean tech giant is reportedly planning on dropping its flagship Note series that arrives in the second half of the year entirely. Other reports have also hinted at the Galaxy S21 series being powered by the new Exynos 2100 chipset and supporting 65W fast charging as well. Unfortunately, a lot of such information is still based on unconfirmed sources so take it with a pinch of salt for now, and stay tuned for more updates that should arrive soon.

Motorola razr 5G is set to launch in India on October 5

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Oct 1, 2020

Motorola unveiled razr 5G in early September in the US but it will be going on sale only from October 2 (tomorrow). On the other hand, the company’s second foldable smartphone is already on sale in China. Now, this device has been officially confirmed to launch in India on October 5 and similar to its predecessor, it will be exclusive to Flipkart.

There aren’t many foldable smartphones in the market. Also, Samsung and Motorola are the only companies to sell them globally in more regions compared to Huawei and Royole who just recently launched its second device called FlexPai 2.

That said, though there are four main players in the foldable game Samsung is the most successful company, followed by Motorola. The latter’s first product – Motorola razr 2019 was flawed with so many shortcomings. But thankfully, the company fixed most of that handset’s problems with its successor Motorola razr 5G.

The new model not only bumps up the processor to Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G but also RAM (8GB), storage (256GB), cameras (rear: 48MP, front: 20MP), and battery (2,800mAh). Also, the design is slightly different with minimal squeaking sound when folding and unfolding the display.

Having said that, the first razr foldable smartphone launched in India for ₹1,24,999 ($1,702). We expect the price of the new model to be identical to the original in the country. That’s because it is priced similar to its predecessor in other regions.

Apparently, the company will be also unveiling a television, refrigerator, and air conditioner on October 5 in India ahead of Diwali festive season.

European Union could force OEMs to enable users to uninstall bloatware

By

Jeet

-

Oct 1, 2020

Most of the smartphones nowadays come pre-installed with several applications or bloatware, either by the carrier or the device manufacturer. In most cases, the user isn’t allowed to remove those apps.

However, it seems that the Europen Union is planning to change that by forcing manufacturers to allow users to remove bloatware. This is a part of the Digital Services Act that is expected to pass by the end of this year.

EDITOR’S PICK: Mi 10T series arrives with impressive displays, 5G, big batteries, and competitive price tags

The act would not be applicable in markets like the United States, where most of the bloatware is from the network carrier. However, it would affect companies like Samsung and Xiaomi that pre-load their own suite of apps.

As the name of the act itself indicates, it aims to tackle the dominance of big technology companies on the Internet. It would block companies like Google and Amazon from using platform data for their own commercial activities and would also prohibit “gatekeeper platforms” from using advertising data. The act also aims to block big tech companies from giving preferential treatment of their own services.

The Europen Union has been working on coming up with new policies that are customer-friendly. Earlier this year, it voted to adopt a single universal charging solution for smartphones, enabling customers to use a single charger for all of their smartphones and tablet devices.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 launched in India with secondary display, Intel Core i9 chip, and more

By

Sean

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Oct 1, 2020

Asus has just launched its dual display gaming laptop in India. The ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 arrives with a secondary touch display called the ROG ScreenPad Plus and is aimed at both gamers and creative professionals that require a lot of mobile horsepower in their devices.

ROG Zephyrus Duo 15

The Asus ROG Zephyrus arrives with some powerful specs, which includes either an Intel 10th Gen Core i7-10875H processor or a Core i9-10980HK chip. Both powerful CPUs are paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card as well. For memory. the company is offering up to 48GB of expandable DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz, while the laptop also offers up to 2TB of RAID 0 M.2 NVMe PCI 3.0×4 SSD storage.

Since the laptop houses such powerful specs, keeping these components is also quite important. Asus has provided what it calls the AAS Plus system that arrives with an air intake space of up to 28,5mm. The cooling mechanism is also paired with a liquid cooing metal thermal compound that is said to boost thermal performance by up to 10 percent over standard thermal pastes. The company is also shipping the laptop with the ROG Armoury Crate software that optimizes the cooling system and switches its operating modes based on the current task.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 sports two displays, in which the primary is a 15.6 inch screen that is available in a 4K 60Hz or an FHD 300Hz panel. It offers 3ms quick response time and offers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color space that would be helpful for creative professionals. The secondary display, on the other hand, is a 14.1 inch panel that can be tilted by 13 degrees. Tilting this display also reveals the AAS Plus cooling system underneath, offering better airflow as well.

For connectivity, the gaming laptop sports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DisplayPort 1.4, Thunderbolt 3, Power Delivery 3.0, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, an HDMI 2.0b port, a 3.5mm microphone jack, a 3.5mm microphone-in/ headphone-out combo jack, and an RJ45 port. It also features two 4W speakers with a smart AMP technology as well as an array microphone and RGB backlight chiclet keyboard.

Pricing and Availability

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 starts from 2,79,990 INR (roughly 3,800 US Dollars) in India and will be available for purchase starting today (1st October 2020). So for those interested, you can check out the laptop through major e-retailing sites like Amazon and Flipkart or choose the Asus Exclusive Stores and ROG Stores in the country.

Google’s Project Soli radar and Motion Sense will make return in the future

By

Jeet

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Oct 1, 2020

Google’s flagship smartphone launched last year — Pixel 4, had an in-built radar. This was the reason the device was available in selected regions only. However, the company has ditched the Soli radar for this year’s flagship smartphone — Pixel 5.

This means that the “Motion Sense” feature on the smartphone is gone. Does this mean that the Soli radar sensor is gone for good? Well, apparently not. Google’s Rick Osterloh has said to The Verge that Project Soli radar and gestures will return.

He said that the sensor will be used in the future. Explaining why it didn’t make it to this year’s phone, he said that they were too expensive for the phone that the company had planned to make this year.

But note that Rick Osterloh has not confirmed if the hardware will be included in a smartphone in the future. A recent FCC filing had revealed that it might appear in the Nest smart thermostat.

EDITOR’S PICK: Mi 10T series arrives with impressive displays, 5G, big batteries, and competitive price tags

For those who are unaware, the Project Soli on the Pixel 4 smartphone allowed users to wave above the phone to play/pause and skip tracks, as well as dismiss calls and alarms. However, it’s use-case in Pixel 4 didn’t expand much beyond what Google initially offered.

It was started as an experimental project within ATAP and Google spent several years in research as well as in making the radar smaller in size. The company has positioned the air gestures as the future of controlling devices, so it seems likely that the company will keep the technology around and will experiment with it on different types of devices.

Google Pixel 4a release date for India is October 17

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Oct 1, 2020

Yesterday, Google announced the Google Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 smartphones in the U.S. India which is one of the major smartphone markets will not be receiving the two smartphones. 5G networks have not started in India and this could be the reason why Google will not be bringing the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 in the country. A fresh tweet from Google reveals that the Pixel 4a that was announced in August will hit the Indian markets on Oct. 17.

The official post on the Google India blog that was published after the launch of the Google Pixel 4a last month had stated that it will be releasing in India in August through Flipkart. The pricing of the device for India is yet to be confirmed. Soon after the announcement of the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5, Google responded to a Twitter user that the Pixel 4a will be releasing in India on Oct. 17. As mentioned before, it will be available through Flipkart.

The Google Pixel 4a will be arriving as the successor to the Pixel 3a. The Snapdragon 670 powered Pixel 3a had landed in India back in May 2019 with a price tag of Rs 39,999 (~$544). Probably, the Pixel 4a will also carry a similar price tag.

Editor’s Pick: Google Pixel 5 & Pixel 4A 5G Official; Snapdragon 765G, 5G and more!

Google Pixel 4a specifications and features

The Pixel 4a has a 5.81-inch OLED panel with a punch-hole design. It comes with full HD+ resolution support and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The Snapdragon 730 processor fuels the device with 6 GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 128 GB and it lacks a microSD card slot.

The Pixel 4a has been treating with an Android 11 OS update. It has a front camera of 8-megapixel and a rear snapper of 12.2-megapixel. The phone houses a 3,140mAh battery that supports 18W charging. It comes with other features like a 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers, a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, NFC, USB-C, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 5.0.

US Justice Department reportedly planning to sue Google over search ads

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 1, 2020

A report by Reuters says the U.S. Justice Department is expected to sue Google as soon as next week. The DOJ is reportedly currently urging state attorneys general to sign onto the lawsuit, the report cites three sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the lawsuit is expected to see Google the DOJ level some allegations against Google over its search engine dominance. The search engine is alleged to be looking to put rival search engines such as Microsoft’s Bing in a disadvantaged position by withholding data concerning users from its rivals. Google also has exclusive access to user preferences that they deploy to improve their adverts.

The US Department of Justice has also had its eyes on Google’s “search advertising,” the ads that get featured under a search box if a person searches for a consumer item such as a “dishwasher.” Google has sold control over this as space and even provides the tools to make those ad.

Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and the Justice Department has declined to comment. But according to the sources, State attorneys general are also considering whether to sign on to the federal lawsuit. A good number of them already have running investigations of several other Google businesses.

It could be recalled that the European Commission slapped Google with a €1.49 billion fine just last year for trying to kill competitors while increasing its dominance in search ads by limiting the use of rival search engines.

Xiaomi Mi Watch and 65W GaN Charger launched in Europe

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 1, 2020

Xiaomi, Wednesday, held an event where it officially announced the Mi 10T series comprising the Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro and then the Snapdragon 750G-powered Mi 10T Lite. The company, during the event, equally announced the Mi Watch and its popular 65W GaN charger.

Both products have previously been launched in Xiaomi’s home market – China. The Mi Watch is no doubt one of the popular wearables the company has released this year. It runs proprietary software and is not a Wear OS watch. This is believed to help in battery life longevity.

The Mi Watch features a circular AMOLED display which has a diameter of 1.39 inches and a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels. The display has a peak brightness of 450 nits and is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

The watch comes with a staggering 117 exercise modes and even has a built-in GPS receiver, so it doesn’t need to be connected to your phone when you go for a run. It also has a 5ATM water resistance rating which means it can be taken for a swim in a pool.

Further, there is a heart rate sensor as well as blood-oxygen saturation (SpO2) sensor onboard. It also comes with ambient air pressure and elevation sensors. This model also features NFC along with voice control.

There is a decent 420mAH battery under the hood which promises up to 16 days of battery life and which can be fully charged in just 2 hours. It weighs just 32 grams.

The Xiaomi Mi Watch will go on sale in Europe soon and it carries a price tag of €100. It is available in six different strap colours.

The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger adopts gallium nitride technology and comes with 65W fast charging support, providing a maximum charging power of 50W. It can fully charge the Mi 10 Pro is just 45 minutes.

Moreover, the Xiaomi GaN Type-C 65W Charger supports a slew of fast-charging protocols including PD 3.0 and Xiaomi’s fast flash charging. It can charge your iPhone as well. According to Xiaomi, the GaN charger Type-C 65W can charge the iPhone 11 50 percent faster than the original 5W charger.

As compared to a standard adapter for Xiaomi Notebook, the GaN charger Type-C 65W is nearly 48 percent smaller in terms of size as it uses the newfangled semiconductor material GaN i.e. gallium nitride. The interface provides support for intelligent adjustment of output current in various gears and it can charge about 65W for Xiaomi Notebooks, MacBook Pro and a myriad of other high-power devices.

The charger will be available soon and is priced at €30.

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