Google's AR Stickers app was launched with a handful of stickers built right within the app's download section. However, Google, over the time kept making each pack as separate apps that need to be downloaded to use, leaving 'Star Wars' and 'Stranger Things' as the only pre-installed ones. But Google is now making packs as separate apps reducing the AR Stickers app size from 65MB to just 8.5MB.
AR Stickers app initial packs included 'Star Wars,' 'Stranger Things,' 'Foodmoji,' 'Blocks,' and 'Text.' A separate 'Winter Sports' that was added in the February update and removed Blocks from the main app. Google in April again removed 'Foodmoji' and 'Text' and now 'Star Wars' and 'Stranger Things' were the last to go. This means that AR Stickers app does not have any packs making it impossible for users to use the app without any sticker pack.
However, Google added two stickers (BB-9E and Lucas) from the pack for you to experiment with. Interestingly, Google has removed the mini Play Store popup when you try to use a sticker from a pack you don't have. This is a welcome change for those who aren't using the AR Stickers app but taking up your space instead. You can download AR Stickers, AR Stickers: ...
Google's AR Stickers app was launched with a handful of stickers built right within the app's download section. However, Google, over the time kept making each pack as separate apps that need to be downloaded to use, leaving 'Star Wars' and 'Stranger Things' as the only pre-installed ones. But Google is now making packs as separate apps reducing the AR Stickers app size from 65MB to just 8.5MB.
AR Stickers app initial packs included 'Star Wars,' 'Stranger Things,' 'Foodmoji,' 'Blocks,' and 'Text.' A separate 'Winter Sports' that was added in the February update and removed Blocks from the main app. Google in April again removed 'Foodmoji' and 'Text' and now 'Star Wars' and 'Stranger Things' were the last to go. This means that AR Stickers app does not have any packs making it impossible for users to use the app without any sticker pack.
However, Google added two stickers (BB-9E and Lucas) from the pack for you to experiment with. Interestingly, Google has removed the mini Play Store popup when you try to use a sticker from a pack you don't have. This is a welcome change for those who aren't using the AR Stickers app but taking up your space instead. You can download AR Stickers, AR Stickers: ...
Google has acquired GraphicsFuzz which is a company specializing in mobile graphics benchmarking tools, for an undisclosed amount. GraphicsFuzz is a three-person team-Alastair Donaldson, Hugues Evrard, and Paul Thomson and they will be joining Google’s Android Graphics Team to integrate their specialist graphics driver testing technology within the Android ecosystem.
The company's flagship product ShaderTest GLES uses shaders that run in the graphics pipeline and guide the rendering process. It will also help in detecting bugs in drivers through a process called metamorphic testing.
The reference shaders produce an image, post which ShaderTest GLES applies semantics so to preserve transformations to the source code and compares the output. If the two results don’t match, ShaderTest GLES’s “intelligent reducer” feature reverses the transformations to narrow down the bug’s cause.
This technology is being used to detect vulnerabilities in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 where the GraphicsFuzz discovered an exploit in Qualcomm’s Adreno 630 graphics driver that let malicious WebGL webpages to trigger a reboot with Samsung’s stock internet browser.
The GraphicsFuzz technology was developed by Alastair, Hugues, Paul and Andrei Lascu from the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, with funding support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the TETRACOM EU project.
Google's Spokesperson in a statement said:
The technology developed by GraphicsFuzz helps graphics technology vendors to ...
Samsung has announced that it has begun mass production of industry’s first 4-bit (QLC, quad-level cell) 4-terabyte (TB) SATA solid-state drive (SSD) for consumers. This is based on 1-terabit (Tb) V-NAND offering the performance of 3-bit design
With the new 1Tb 4-bit V-NAND chip, Samsung will be able to efficiently produce a 128GB memory card for smartphones that will lead the charge toward higher capacities for high-performance memory storage.
"Samsung’s 4-bit 4TB QLC SATA SSD maintains its performance levels at the same level as a 3-bit SSD, by using a 3-bit SSD controller and TurboWrite technology, while increasing drive capacity through the use of 32 chips, all based on 64-layer fourth-generation 1Tb V-NAND," said Samsung.
This offers sequential read speed of 540 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 520 MB/s. Samsung said that it is planning to introduce several 4-bit consumer SSDs later this year with 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities in 2.5-inch form factor. In addition, the company expects to provide M.2 NVMe SSDs for the enterprise this year and begin mass production of 4-bit fifth-generation V-NAND.
Source
HMD Global has sent out invites for the launch of a new smartphone in India on August 21st. The invite just says that it will be the company's next big unveil, but this will likely be the Nokia 6.1 Plus, the global version of the Nokia X6 smartphone that was introduced for the global markets last month, starting from Hong Kong.
Nokia 6.1 Plus specifications
5.8-inch (2280 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU
4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android P
16MP (RGB) rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size, EIS, 5MP (Monochrome) secondary rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1.2um pixel size
16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size
Fingerprint sensor
3.5 mm headphone jack, FM Radio
Dimensions: 47.2 x 70.98 x 7.99~8.59mm; Weight: 151g
Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, Type-C
3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging
The Nokia 6.1 Plus was introduced at HK$ 2,288 ...
OPPO is all set to launch F9 Pro smartphone, successor of OPPO F7 in India later this month. Now the company has confirmed the specifications of the F9 smartphone in Vietnam, which will launch as F9 Pro in India. This reveals that the company will retain the MediaTek Helio P60 12nm SoC and the 25MP front-facing camera for the smartphone.
Other things such as Teardrop notched display, 16MP rear camera along with a 2MP secondary camera and the 3500mAh battery with VOOC flash charge technology are better compared to the predecessor.
OPPO F9 Pro specifications
6.3-inch (2280 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio display
Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor (Quad 2GHz Cortex A73 + Quad 2GHz Cortex A53 CPUs) with ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU
4GB RAM with 64GB internal memory, 6GB RAM with 128GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 (Oreo)
16MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.85 aperture, secondary 2MP camera
25MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, AI, Sony IMX576 sensor
Fingerprint sensor
3.5mm audio jack
Dimensions: 156.7x74x7.9mm
Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
3500mAh battery with VOOC Flash charge fast charging
The OPPO F9 ...
Meizu just introduced the Meizu 16 and 16 Plus, successors of 15 and 15 Plus that were introduced back in April, as it had promised. The Meizu 16 and 16 Plus pack a 6-inch and 6.5-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio displays from Samsung with 91.18% screen-to-body ratio, thanks to 1.43mm side bezels and 5.74mm chin, are powered by Snapdragon 845 with up to 8GB of RAM, custom copper cooling tube and feature an in-display fingerprint sensor that has 99.12% high recognition rate.
Both the phones have retained the cameras from the predecessor. These have a 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX380 sensor, 1.55μm pixel size, f/1.8 aperture along with a 20-megapixel secondary telephoto lens with Sony IMX350 sensor for portrait shots and 3x loss-less zoom and a 20-megapixel front facing camera with AI beauty recognition and Face unlock. Both these have a 3D glass back with ceramic texture, and pack a 3010mAh and 3500mAh battery, respectively with 24W mCharge flash charge.
Meizu 16 specifications
6-inch ( 1080 × 2160 pixels) Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 10000 : 1 aspect ratio, 430cd/m2 (typical) brightness, 402 PPI
Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with Adreno 630 GPU
6GB RAM with 64GB / 128GB (UFS 2.1) internal memory, 8GB RAM with 128GB (UFS 2.1) internal ...
Samsung never had a very good track of pushing updates to mid-range and budget segment phones and to further dent that, the company might have delayed the Oreo update roadmap. Samsung's new roadmap from the member's app says the update for many of the devices is expected to come out in early 2019.
Though the earlier round map had mistakes with the timeline, the new updated schedule makes sense. The company has posted new dates for the update for devices that are yet to be updated to Oreo. Devices like the Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy C7 Pro, Galaxy A9 Pro, Galaxy J2 (2018), Galaxy Tab A (2017) and Galaxy On5 (2016) are now expected to get the Oreo update early January 2019.
Owners of the Galaxy J7 Max and Galaxy J7 (2016) will have to wait for the update until the March 2019. But what's interesting is that the Galaxy J7 (2016) will be updated to Oreo which is its second major upgrade since Samsung only pushes out one major update to mid-range devices, this is a welcome change.
December 2018 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo
January 2019 - Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2017), Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) Galaxy C7 Pro, Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy J2 ...
Dish TV today has launched its skill for Amazon Alexa in India. These skills will help users find programs and provide recommendations on programs, movies, sports, and music. With the help of Alexa, customers will now be able to enjoy voice-assisted TV viewing and content discovery.
Once the skills are enabled, it allows users to interact with DishTV through voice commands and explore the vast content portfolio available on DishTV DTH platform. The DishTV Alexa Skill can be accessed on all Alexa-enabled devices such as Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Spot and Echo Dot. The skill can also be accessed with the Alexa app.
Furthermore, users can also check their account related information such as current balance, switch-off date, and monthly recharge amount, avail pay-later service and raise a call-me request by asking Alexa. Users can enable the DishTV Skill using the Alexa app and it will assist users in searching a specific program on a channel, particular time of the show, top movies, TV shows and sports recommendations by DishTV.
Commenting on the same, Anil Dua, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dish TV India Limited said:
We are excited to bring the voice-enabled DishTV Skill to our DTH consumers. DishTV becomes the first DTH Company in India to power voice-assisted content discovery and recommendations. We will be ...
Xiaomi just launched Mi A2, the company’s latest Android One smartphone in India, as it had promised. It packs a 5.99-inch FHD+ 18:9 display, is powered by Snapdragon 660, has a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.75 aperture, Sony IMX486 sensor along with a 20-megapixel secondary rear camera with Sony IMX376 sensor to capture depth information for portrait shots with AI, has intelligent scene detection and has auto sensor section . It also has the same 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor for the front camera with soft LED flash and AI beautification. It runs Android 8.1 (Oreo), but the Android 9.0 (Pie) update is coming within this year said Xiaomi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5qW6yjo8Oo
The 20MP sensor on both front and back uses pixel binning technology, combining the information from four pixels to create one large 2.0µm pixel. It has a unibody metal design, fingerprint sensor on the back, has USB Type-C audio and packs a 3010mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ but you have to buy the fast charger separately since the phone comes only with 5V/2A charger in the box.
Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications
5.99-inch (2160×1080 pixels) Full HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 1500:1 Contrast ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Octa Core Snapdragon 660 ...
Xiaomi just launched the Mi A2 Android One smartphone in India at an event in Delhi. We recently brought you the hands-on impressions of the phone and we recently unboxed the phone, here is the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5qW6yjo8Oo
Box Contents
Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone in Black color
2-pin charger (5V-2A)
USB Type-C Cable
USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter
SIM Ejector tool
Protective case
The Mi A2 comes with a large 5.99-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display without a notch and it even has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Even though the display is bigger than 5.5-inch screen on the Mi A1, the size of the phone is almost same since this has minimal bezels. Powered by Snapdragon 660 with up to 6GB of RAM, so the experience is smooth. It runs stock Android 8.1 (Oreo) with support for Treble, and the company has promised Android 9.0 (Pie) update coming later this year.
It has a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor for the front camera with soft LED flash and AI beautification.
[gallery link="file" columns="2" size="medium" ids="260338,260339,260336,260341"]
The phone has a slim profile, measuring 158.7×75.4×7.3mm. Even though the phone doesn’t have a microSD expansion slot and 3.5mm audio jack, it doesn’t miss out on the infrared sensor.
It comes with a 12-megapixel rear ...
Qualcomm just introduced Snapdragon 670 Mobile Platform, the company’s latest SoC in the new 600 series and the successor of last year's Snapdragon 660 SoC that is now seen in several mid-range smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi A2 that was launched in India today. It is built on power-efficient 10nm process technology based on new Kryo 360 architecture, built on ARM Cortex technology, same as the 710.
This uses 3rd generation AI Engine, promising up to 1.8x AI performance improvements in AI applications, up to a 15% improved CPU performance and up to 25% faster graphics performance with new Adreno 615 GPU, compared to the Snapdragon 660.
It comes with new 14-bit Qualcomm Spectra 250 ISP for improved low light photography, noise reduction, fast autofocus, image stabilization and more. It also supports Ultra HD Video Capture, a feature that uses up to 30 percent
less power than its predecessor.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 Mobile Platform specifications
Octa-Core – Dual 2GHz Kryo 360 (performance) + Hexa 1.7GHz Kryo 360 (efficiency) CPUs
10nm process technology
Up to 16GB memory, 2×16 LPDDR4x 1866MHz, eMMC, UFS 2.1 hear 3 1-lane, SD 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C & USB 2.0
Qualcomm Adreno 615 GPU
Qualcomm Spectra 250 ISP – Up to 25 ...
OnePlus today announced that it will be offering customers exclusive offers between 9th and 12th August 2018 ahead of Independence Day. This includes 6 months of no-cost EMI starting at Rs. 5833 per month on Amazon.in and OnePlus offline channels. It is also offering Rs. 2000 additional discount on exchange of old phones for the purchase of the OnePlus 6 on Amazon.in and oneplus.in.
In addition, the company is offering :
10% instant discount on all SBI debit and credit cards on purchase on Amazon.in
20% discount on OnePlus accessories on oneplus.in and all OnePlus exclusive offline channels on the purchase of the OnePlus 6
These offers are available online from August 9 to 12 and till August 15 on all OnePlus exclusive offline channels in the country.
HMD Global has released Android P Developer Preview 5 (Beta 4) V3.150 for the Nokia 7 Plus smartphone few weeks after the Preview 4 was released. The update brings back gesture support that was removed after the first beta.
What's New
New system navigation, settings menu and notifications
Adaptive Battery power prioritization for users' most commonly used apps/ services
Adaptive and optimized brightness levels
Predictive Application Actions
Google Security Patch 2018-07
Introducing Nokia phones #Android #Pie DP4 (Beta 4). Available now for #Nokia7Plus. Find out more here: https://t.co/254msXOD7q pic.twitter.com/gN0WCIDEUb
— Nokia Mobile (@Nokiamobile) August 8, 2018
Last chance to help us perfect #Android #Pie before official release! Beta4 is now available for your #Nokia7Plus. As a special treat, we've integrated gestures! #Nokiamobilehttps://t.co/NnRjAgvYkF pic.twitter.com/1rXFoXqJHL
— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) August 8, 2018
The Nokia 7 Plus Android P Developer Preview 5 (Beta 4) V3.150 is 1.4GB in size and it still has Android security patch for July 2018. Since this is the final beta, we can expected the stable release sometime in September.
Xiaomi POCOPHONE F1 surfaced in an online listing in Romania this week, now the unboxing of the smartphone has surfaced online. This shows a display with 19:9 aspect ratio and a notch, Snapdragon 845 SoC with support for liquid cooling ,6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, dual rear cameras, 20MP front camera along with IR face unlock, similar to the Mi 8, fingerprint sensor on the back and a 4000mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging along with QC 3.0 charger in the box.
Unlike the Mi 8, this doesn't miss out 3.5mm audio jack, which is present on the top, while the USB Type-C port is present on the bottom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFIaez463PE
Xiaomi POCOPHONE F1 rumored specifications
5.99-inch (2246 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display
Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with Adreno 630 GPU
6GB LPDDR4x RAM, 64GB / 128GB storage, expandable memorywith microSD
Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9.0
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
12MP rear camera with dual LED Flash, 1.4μm pixel size, secondary 5MP camera
20MP front-facing camera with LED flash
Fingerprint sensor
3.5mm audio jack
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
4000mAh battery with Qualcomm ...
Google's Pixel 3 unveil is due for later this year, however, that didn't stop the rumor mill from spilling details about the smartphones. Google might have accidentally revealed the Pixel 3 announcement date which is said to be set to October 4th and now we are getting to see the bigger variant; the Pixel 3 XL in its full glory, thanks to the live images leak.
The live images leak gives us the full unboxing experiences with the stuff we will get within the box; the USB Type-C headphones, USB Type-C cable, adapter, 3.5mm to USB type-C dongle, in-ear style earphones, and documentation.
As for the design, it does feature the notch and a stereo speaker on the bottom chin. Despite the presence of a notch, there is a chin below the display and the battery indicator is moved to the left side. The notch area will accompany the front-facing selfie shooter, the usual set of sensors.
On the rear, there is a single rear camera, fingerprint sensor, LED flash, and Google logo. As per the specifications, the device might sport a 6-inches display (1440 x 2960), powered by the Snapdragon 845, 4 RAM, 64GB base storage variant, running on the latest Android Pie out of ...
Google Chrome is getting a new beta update for Android bringing the version number to 69 and this includes the usual mix of interface updates and new developer features. Much like how Apple tweaked Safari-specific CSS attributes to help websites adjust with the notch-screen, Android too is following the suit including Chrome.
With Android phones embracing the notch, it is about time Google brings out support for notched phones. The Chrome 69 supports the same 'safe-area-inset' properties that Apple introduced last year. This means that the sites already optimized for the iPhone X will work just fine. There's a possibility that this feature only works on phones with an actual notch and not simulated cutouts.
Android Go is a modified version of Android that is intended to run smoothly on low-end phones with 1GB of RAM. Since Google Chrome ships with every Android phone, Google decided to add media player functionality to the browser. On devices running Android 8.0 and above with 1GB RAM, chrome now opens as a target app when trying to play a media file. This is definitely a useful feature, considering the browser can natively play many video and audio formats.
Chrome has supported Picture-in-Picture on Android for over a year, however, starting with ...
Xiaomi has finally started teasing its sub-brand POCO in India ahead of the launch of POCOPHONE F1 in the country. Jai Mani, lead product manager, Xiaomi India tweeted that he has been working on the project. Even though the phone it teased as POCOPHONE by Xiaomi for global markets, it is teased as POCO by Xiaomi in India, which rhymes like OPPO who launched the Realme sub-brand recently to take on Xiaomi's Redmi.
Today is a special day. I'm excited to start sharing more about the new project I've been working on. Wish me luck! @IndiaPOCO @GlobalPocophone pic.twitter.com/tZcAUjmgI5
— Jai Mani (@jaimani) August 9, 2018
Fasten your seatbelt @XiaomiIndia :) It's going to be a fast ride! @jaimani https://t.co/Pl6AeAwNLh
— POCO India (@IndiaPOCO) August 9, 2018
After specifications, unboxing of the POCOPHONE F1 confirmed the specifications of the smartphone that includes a 6-inch display with 19:9 aspect ratio and a notch, Snapdragon 845 SoC with support for liquid cooling ,6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, dual rear cameras, 20MP front camera along with IR face unlock, fingerprint sensor on the back and a 4000mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging along with QC 3.0 charger in the box.
Xiaomi POCOPHONE F1 rumored specifications
5.99-inch (2246 × 1080 ...
After Chrome, Google is also rolling update to its Photos app and the only change is the ability to add captions in photo books. However, digging a little deep into the app reveals support for editing stereoscopic images and new suggestion types that might pop up for some of your photos.
This update brings the ability to add captions to Photobooks, simply open a photo book from your drafts and there you will find a new text tool button in the title bar. You can also tap on the bottom portion of the white border to bring up the same view. Once you enter the text, a preview will show up in the sample page.
Google Photos seems to be taking steps to enable editing VR media. The code dug deep in the app are part of a message that shows up when editing a stereoscopic image. Though the message indicated that the edits are only previewed with one of the two images, but the changes will be applied to both images in the pair. It is also unclear what kind of edits can be made to stereoscopic images, but it's pretty safe to assume color adjustments will be one of them.
At the I/O event, ...
Flipkart already announced its Big Freedom Sale from August 10th to 12th. Today Huawei's sub brand Honor announced exchange offers on selected range of Honor smartphones as a part of Big Freedom Sale.
Honor 7A will be available at Rs. 7999
Honor 9 Lite (3+32GB variant) will be available at Rs. 10,999 with an exchange offer of up to Rs. 1000
Honor 9 Lite (4+64 GB variant) available at Rs. 14,999 with an exchange offer of up to Rs. 3000
Honor 10 available at a discounted price of Rs. 29,999 with an exchange discount of Rs. 2000
Honor 9i available at discount rate of Rs. 14,999
Honor 9N and all Honor brands are all available with 10% cashback on Citi Credit cards
Honor 9N and all Honor smartphone purchases will include 10% cashback on Citi Credit cards and and a No Cost EMI from BFL as part of the sale. Honor is also running an offer on its Honor website in the country.
Commenting on the offers, P Sanjeev, Vice President Sales, Huawei India-Consumer Business Group, said:
We are delighted to offer striking deals and discounts for our Indian customers on our bestselling smartphones. We are confident that these attractive deals will offer a ...
