Xiaomi launched Mi A1 under Android One programme last year in collaboration with Google with an aim to keep the Android version updated for next couple of years. At the event, Xiaomi and Google promised regular security patch updates every month along with Android Oreo in 2017 itself for Mi A1. The company managed to provide monthly security patch updates but struggled to deliver on the promise of keeping the Android version up to date, as Mi A1 received Android Oreo 8.1 update in June 2018. During the launch, the company had promised that Mi A1 will be amongst the first devices to receive Android P update.
[gallery size="large" link="file" ids="270196,270201,270202"]
As per our sources, today Xiaomi has started rolling out Android 9.0 (Pie) to closed beta testers. The update comes as build PKQ1.180917.001.V10.0.2.0.PDHMIFK and also brings December security patch to the device. As you can see from the screenshot above, the update also brings FM Radio to Mi A1 along with native Android Pie 9.0 features including Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, Adaptive Brightness, new Pill based navigation gestures and recommended Apps and Actions based on user context using machine learning, to know more about these features refer to this post.
Android ...
Xiaomi launched Mi A1 under Android One programme last year in collaboration with Google with an aim to keep the Android version updated for next couple of years. At the event, Xiaomi and Google promised regular security patch updates every month along with Android Oreo in 2017 itself for Mi A1. The company managed to provide monthly security patch updates but struggled to deliver on the promise of keeping the Android version up to date, as Mi A1 received Android Oreo 8.1 update in June 2018. During the launch, the company had promised that Mi A1 will be amongst the first devices to receive Android P update.
[gallery size="large" link="file" ids="270196,270201,270202"]
As per our sources, today Xiaomi has started rolling out Android 9.0 (Pie) to closed beta testers. The update comes as build PKQ1.180917.001.V10.0.2.0.PDHMIFK and also brings December security patch to the device. As you can see from the screenshot above, the update also brings FM Radio to Mi A1 along with native Android Pie 9.0 features including Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, Adaptive Brightness, new Pill based navigation gestures and recommended Apps and Actions based on user context using machine learning, to know more about these features refer to this post.
Android ...
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit 2018 has announced that its next flagship will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform. The company will release a commercial 5G smartphone with carrier network EE in the UK in 2019.
OnePlus also mentioned that it is in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on 5G development since 2017. In October 2018, OnePlus achieved another breakthrough in 5G research, by releasing the first 5G tweet. Both the companies, together have made significant strides in designing a device ready for 5G integration and commercialization in 2019.
Pete Lau said at the event:
OnePlus only makes flagship smartphones, and we believe that the Snapdragon 855 is the best and only choice. We are thrilled by its powerful performance and 5G capabilities. OnePlus will continue to bring its users the best technology and the best user experience possible.
Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc
We are proud to work with OnePlus to continue to bring breakthrough mobile experiences to consumers. Snapdragon 855 is designed to deliver multi-gigabit 5G, industry-leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) ushering in a new decade of wireless experiences to come.
After launching it globally last week, Samsung has launched the 860 QVO SSD its new consumer solid state drive (SSD) lineup in India. The new SSD lineup comes with up to four terabytes (TB) of storage capacity and is built on the high-density 4-bit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash architecture.
It is based on the SATA interface and sports a 2.5-inch form factor. The 860 QVO fits perfectly in most standard laptops or desktops. Also, by offering both high capacity and performance in a single, affordable drive, the 860 QVO eliminates the need to use a combination of an SSD and an HDD for booting and storage. It features a sequential read and writes speeds of up to 550 megabytes per second (MB/s) and 520 MB/s, respectively, the 860 QVO achieves the same level of performance as today’s 3-bit MLC SSD.
The drive is also integrated with Intelligent TurboWrite technology, which helps to accelerate speeds while maintaining high performance for longer periods of time. The 860 QVO will be available in India from January, 2019 and the pricing starting at Rs. 11,249 for the 1TB model, Rs. 18,749 for 2TB Model and Rs. 37,499 for 4TB model.
Sukesh Jain, Senior Vice President, IT and Mobile Enterprise Business, ...
Google has finally announced that it is giving up on Allo after it stopped investing in the app earlier this year. The app will become non-functional in March 2019. The company officially announced that it will upgrade users to Hangouts Chat and Meet at some point and they will remain a primary focus for the team.
It also mentioned that it is fully committed to supporting Hangouts users in the meantime. The company said that it is leaning the mistakes it made with Allo and put it to use on Messages app to make it even better. This year, Google introduced iPad and Android tablets, Chromebook, and smart display support for Duo video calling.
It also launched the ability to leave a video message and said that it will continue to bring more quality improvements based on machine learning that make video calls with Duo simple and reliable.
Google, in a blog post, said:
We’re excited by the progress we’ve made with our communications experience over the past few years, and ready to take what we’ve learned from Allo and put it to work to make Messages even better. And by refocusing on Messages and Duo for consumers and Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet for ...
ASUS has announced Zenfone Max Pro M2, successor of Max Pro M1 and the Max M2, sucessor of Max M1 in Russia. The Max Pro M2 has a 6.3-inch FHD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection, is powered by Snapdragon 660 with 4GB of RAM, runs stock Android 8.1 (Oreo), has a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel secondary camera and a 13-megapixel front camera, both with LED flash.
It has a glass back, rear mounted fingerprint sensor, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, Dual 4G VoLTE support and a 5000mAh battery, but it still has micro USB port without fast charging.
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 (ZB31KL) specifications
6.3-inch (2280 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 display with 94% NTSC Color Gamut, 450 cd/m2 brightness, 1500: 1 contast ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection
Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU
4GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB / 128GB storage, expandable memory upto 2TB with microSD
Android 8.1 (Oreo)
Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
12MP rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX486 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF, EIS, PDAF, secondary 5MP camera
13MP front camera with ...
Asus, along with the Zenfone Max Pro M2, also introduced Max M2 in Russia. It packs a 6.26-inch HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio display with a notch, is powered by Snapdragon 632 SoC with up to 4GB of RAM, has a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for capturing depth information in portrait shots and an 8-megapixel camera on the front, both the LED flash.
It has a metal back with plastic finish on the top and the bottom, comes with dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, Dual 4G VoLTE, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 4000mAh battery.
ASUS Zenfone Max M2 (ZB633KL) specifications
6.3-inch (1520x720 pixels) HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display
1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 632 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU
3GB LPDDR3 RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB LPDDR3 RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory upto 2TB with microSD
Android 8.1 (Oreo)
Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, EIS, secondary 2MP camera
8MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash
Fingerprint sensor
3.5mm audio jack, NXP Smart Amp, FM radio
Dimensions: 158.41x76.28x7.70mm; Weight: 160g
Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS
4000mAh battery
The ASUS Zenfone Max ...
Apple has rolled out iOS 12.1.1 update, it is the third update to the iOS 12 operating system since its September launch. However, it is a minor update comparatively. It brings the ability to capture a photo during FaceTime call and save the moment. It requires the person you're video chatting with to have the "FaceTime Live Photos" setting toggled on.
FaceTime also includes a reworked bottom bar with new buttons for muting a call and flipping the camera. Sliding up on the bottom bar brings up additional options with conversation participants. The 12.1.1 expands eSIM support on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR to additional carriers across Europe, including Swisscom in Switzerland, Orange in Spain, and Three in Sweden and Denmark.
AT&T in the US, Rogers, and Fido in Canada, and Many Other Carriers Rolling Out eSIM Support on Latest iPhones. The eSIM support is rolling out to 1010, CSL, China Mobile, and SmarTone in Hong Kong; M1 in Singapore; APT in Taiwan, and AIS, dtac, and True Move in Thailand. Airtel and Jio in India have already rolled out eSIM support.
On the iPhone XR, the iOS 12.1.1 update introduces support for Haptic Touch with notifications. Haptic Touch can now be used to ...
Xiaomi President Lin Bin has posted an image of a Xiaomi phone with 48-megapixel camera on weibo. This shows a large sensor along with dual LED flash. It also shows a new design and possibly a pop-up front camera offering an all-screen display like the Vivo NEX. He also shared that the phone will be released in January 2019.
The smartphone could use the Sony IMX586 which was introduced as the world-first 48MP smartphone camera sensor with ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 μm. It already started shipping to OEMs from September 2018, so Xiaomi would have already started testing it on its smartphone.
Currently only the Snapdragon 675 11nm Mobile Platform supports up to 48-megapixel camera. Xiaomi at the 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong in October confirmed that the company will launch Snapdragon 675-powered smartphone next year.
The Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform based on 11nm process technology, 2 performance (based on new Cortex A76) cores and 6 effciency cores (based on Cortex A55) as well as enhanced AI Engine, Spectra 250 ISP, Kryo 460 CPUs and Adreno 612 GPU.
It has support for up to three front and rear cameras, and supports features such as telephoto, wide angle, and super-wide image capture, enhanced portrait mode (Bokeh) as well as 3D face ...
Twitter for Android seems to be getting new features including the ability to show which client Tweets originated from, video playback controls including a skip forward or rewind a few seconds with a tap on the right or left side of the screen. However, these new features are currently available only for few users and are not widely available.
These features might still be in testing or staged rollouts in batches, so users might have to wait for a while before the company rolls out to everyone. The new video controls are the more useful feature. A quick tap on the left or right of the screen will skip back or forward, by five seconds. The YouTube app behaves similarly, although, with double-taps, it increments to 10 seconds.
For now, there's no way to tell which version of the app is having these features, so it is impossible to tell when all these would make way into the final version of the app. The only to be sure is to keep the app updated.
Source
SHARP has launched the new “J Series” Room Air Purifiers especially designed and built for India; the SHARP’s FP-J30M-B, FP-J40M-W, FP-J60M-W& FP-J80M-H. The Air Purifier can eliminate dust, PM2.5/PM10, infectious substances like fungi, mold, mites, virus etc., VOC, toxic fumes, Static electricity, and dander.
SHARP J Series deploys the high-density 'Active Plasmacluster Technology' combined with passive mechanical filtration systems; PM10 Pre Filter, Carbon Filter, and H14 Grade True HEPA Filter to trap and eliminate the harmful substances. It is also proven through IEC, Japan Safety Standards of EN1822 that the SHARP Plasmacluster Technology doesn’t produce any harmful Ozone during the Purification process.
The Air Purifier comes with HAZE Mode which ensures superior purification from poisonous HAZE substances like Toluene, Benzene, NOx, Sox etc using the Plasmacluster, HEPA and Carbon Filters along with strong airflow and suction. The interactive panel in SHARP J Series displays the Wattage consumed, PM2.5 levels, Odor and Dust levels and it ensures that the panel lights are switched off as soon as the room lights are turned off. Thanks to the super sensitive light sensor mounted on the panel.
These come with H14 Grade True HEPA for 99.97% efficiency, which due to charges generated inside the HEPA, particles are trapped in corners thus not clogging ...
Qualcomm has announced Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform, the world’s first 7 nanometer PC platform, and the sucessor of Snapdragon 850 on the third day of the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit. This will offer thin, light and fanless always on, always connected Windows 10 PCs and also has support for Windows 10 enterprise customers for the first time. It has new octa-core Qualcomm Kryo 495 CPU and Qualcomm Adreno 680 GPU that will be 2X faster and 60% more efficient than Snapdragon 850 and 3.5X faster than Snapdragon 835.
It is the first Snapdragon Compute platform for PCs to support Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ technology, comes with Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology and Qualcomm aptX HD for high definition Bluetooth wireless audio and supports voice assistants like Cortana and Alexa for consumers using their PCs. It also comes with second generation USB 3.1 over Type C, third generation PCI-E, and lets you connect two 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) monitors. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE modem offering download speeds of up to 2 Gbps.
Qualcomm 8cx Compute Platform specifications
Octa-Core (4x performance Kryo 495+ 4x effeciency Kryo 495) CPU
7nm Process Technology
Integrated X24 LTE modem
Cat 20/13 speeds of up to 2 Gbps down, 7x20MHz carrier aggregation, 256-QAM, 4×4 ...
Update - December 7, 2018: Even though Lenovo CEO Chang Cheng teased December 6 announcement for the Z5s smartphone. Yesterday insted of announcement, he just posted a photo on weibo showing the phone's triple rear cameras.
Earlier today he shared a new invite that says that the phone with triple rear cameras will be announced on December 18th, after the Galaxy A8s announcement on December 10th and Huawei Nova 4 announcement on December 17th.
Earlier: After teasers and certification, Lenovo has officially confirmed that it will introduce the Z5s, a new smartphone on December 6th at an event in China. TENAA certification revealed a 6.3-inch screen, triple rear cameras and a fingerprint sensor on the back. Some leaks reveal that it will have an in-display camera, before Samsung Galaxy A8s and Huawei Nova 4 in coming weeks, instead of top left corner, this is said to feature the camera in the top center.
The certification site already reveald its dimensions as 156.7 × 74.5 × 7.8 mmand a 3210mAh battery, which is less compared to its latest Z5 Pro and S5 Pro smartphones that were inrtoduced recently.
We don’t have any other details about the phone yet, but everything should be clear when it goes official in a couple of days.
Source 1, 2, 3
After rumors, Microsoft has officially confirmed that it is adopting the Chromium open source project in the development of Microsoft Edge on the desktop to create better web compatibility and less fragmentation of the web. Working with open source is not new for Microsoft Edge, its mobile browser has been based on the open source from its beginnings.
Ultimately, the company intends to make the web experience better for many different audiences. Web developers will have a less-fragmented web platform to test their sites against, ensuring that there are fewer problems; and since the company is planning to continue to provide the Microsoft Edge service-driven understanding of legacy IE-only sites, Corporate IT will have improved compatibility for both old and new web apps in the browser that comes with Windows.
In the coming year, it will be making a technology change that happens “under the hood” for Microsoft Edge. The key aspects of this evolution in a direction including the move toChromium-compatible web platform for desktop, Microsoft Edge will now be delivered and updated for all supported versions of Windows and it also said that it will contribute web platform enhancements to make Chromium-based browsers better on Windows devices. It is also expecting this work to enable the company to bring Microsoft Edge ...
In its latest attempt to improve Translate, Google aims to curb gender bias by providing feminine and masculine translations for some gender-neutral words on the Google Translate website. Google Translate learns from hundreds of millions of already-translated examples from the web.
Historically, it has provided only one translation for a query, even if the translation could have either a feminine or masculine form. However, you will now get both a feminine and masculine translation for a single word—like “surgeon”—when translating from English into French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. You’ll also get both translations when translating phrases and sentences from Turkish to English.
In the future, Google plans to extend gender-specific translations to more languages, launch on other Translate platforms like iOS and Android apps, and address gender bias in features like query auto-complete. Google also mentioned that it is thinking on how to address non-binary gender in translations.
Source
Samsung has introduced Galaxy Note9 in limited-edition Alpine White and Galaxy S9+ in a dual tone radiant Polaris Blue colour in India ahead of Christmas. The new Alpine White color variant Galaxy Note9 joins the Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Metallic Copper and Lavender Purple variants; while Galaxy S9+ has Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple, Sunrise Gold, Burgundy Red and the latest addition, Polaris Blue.
The Alpine White edition of Galaxy Note9 128GB memory is priced at Rs. 67,900 and the Galaxy S9+ Polaris Blue 64GB costs Rs. 64,900. These are available for pre-order from Samsung Online Shop and across selected online platforms and will be available from offline stores starting December 10 onwards. These come with attractive offers from Samsung and partner banks, exchange bonus of Rs. 9,000 on exchanging select old smartphones, Rs. 6,000 cashback for HDFC credit or debit cards and Rs. 3,000 Instant Cashback on Galaxy S9+ Polaris Blue.
Commenting on the launch, Aditya Babbar, General Manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India, said:
Our consumers want to express themselves differently by personalising their tech, and colour plays an important part in that personalization. The limited-edition Alpine White of Galaxy Note9 and the dual tone Polaris Blue of Galaxy S9+ extends the colour ...
Vivo today teased the company's NEX 2 dual-screen smartphone ahead of announcement on December 11th in China. This shows the phone's almost bezel-less screen, secondary screen on the back, and more.
On the back there is a ring light around the camera that overlaps the display. Two cameras are present inside the ring and there is a third camrea on the far right corner.
Since the phone doesn't come with a camera on the front, it has almost all-screen display. A recent leak also revealed that you can switch the screen content from front to back with just a gesture.
There is a 3.5mm audio jack on the top, secondary microphone and small cut outs for the antenna.
Since there is a display on the back, you can use rear cameras to take selfies. The phone is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC with up to 10GB of RAM and in-screen speaker. We should also know the complete specifications of the phone once it gets certified.
Source 1, 2
After FCC certification last month, Samsung Galaxy A8s (SM-G8870) has passed through the TENAA ahead of the announcement on December 10th. This confirms the phone's dimensions, battery capacity, 6.39-inch screen, triple rear cameras, rear mounted fingerprint sensor, glass back with a gradient design and a metal frame.
Samsung Galaxy A8s rumored specifications
6.3-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display
Octa Core Snapdragon 710 10nm Mobile Platform (Dual 2.2GHz Kryo 360 + Hexa 1.7GHz Kryo 360 CPUs) with Adreno 616 GPU
6GB RAM, 128 GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card
Android 8.0 (Oreo)
Dual SIM
24MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.7 aperture, 10MP 120° Ultra Wide camera, 5MP f/2.2 depth camera
24MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture
Fingerprint sensor
Dimension: 158.4×74.9×7.4mm
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80, Bluetooth v5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C, NFC
3400mAh (typical) / 3300mAh (minimum) battery with adaptive fast charging
We should know the price of the Samsung Galaxy A8s when it goes official on Monday.
Source 1, 2
Update - December 8, 2018: Huawei has posted a new teaser video for the smartphone that shows the new in-display camera with a space near the top left.
易烊千玺摘下nova星给你
这世界上有一颗星，如星眸般璀璨。12月17日，和易烊千玺一起期待华为nova4自拍极点全面屏。
Earlier: After teasers, Huawei has confirmed that it will introduced its top-end Nova 4 smartphone in China on December 17th. This will be the first company to introduce launch a phone with a small hole in the display to accommodate the front camera, and get rid of the notch, head of Galaxy A8s that is also expected to go official later this month.
The camera hole is said to be just 4.5mm and it is expected to come with a feature a Full HD+ screen with a screen-to-body ratio of over 92%. As the teaser image shows, the phone still has a small chin. The phone is rumored to be powered by Kirin 980 processor with 6GB RAM, and feature 16MP + 24MP + 16MP triple rear cameras and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
We should know the specifications once the phone gets certified in coming days.
Source 1, 2
Back in 2017, Google introduced Google Play Install Referrer API
which allows ad attribution providers, publishers, and advertisers to determine which referrer was responsible for sending the user to Google Play for a given app install. Owing to the reports of questionable activity, Google began its own independent investigation on apps on Google Play that are accused of conducting app install attribution abuse by falsely claiming credit for newly installed apps to collect the download bounty from that app’s developer.
Google now has an update on the investigation and has removed two apps; CM File Manager, Kika Keyboard from the Play Store because it discovered evidence of app install attribution abuse. It also discovered evidence of app install attribution abuse in 3 ad network SDKs. I also asked the impacted developers to remove those SDKs from their apps.
Google Ads SDKs were not utilized for any of the abusive behaviors mentioned above. Google's investigation is ongoing and additional reviews of other third-party SDKs are still underway and assured that it will take action if it finds any evidence of additional policy violations.
Source
Google is pushing out a new update to the Message app with nothing noteworthy on the surface. But it brings changes to the message attachments. The update also hints details about the upcoming spam protection and support for new file types in the share dialog.
It brings a subtle change in the conversation view when you are interacting with a file attachment. On v3.8, long-press and selecting attachment would show share button, but as of V3.9, the button is now replaced with a classic floppy disc icon, which when tapped will immediately save the file to the Downloads folder. The share button is still retained, though.
Now moving to the part that's lying underneath, for now, Google has been working on Spam protection for a while and we have seen references to the same in the past, hinting that it should be arriving soon. A new text and settings layouts have been added with this update that will be used for advertising and managing the feature when it goes live. It is just a toggle to enable or disable spam protection. It is unclear if Google would have access to the context of the message to detect spam or not. So, we need ...
