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Showing posts from September, 2019

“Call of Duty: Mobile” Is Finally Available for Everyone to Play

One of the biggest and most popular video game franchises is finally available on mobile devices. After announcing it at its GDC 2019 keynote earlier in the year, Activision has finally brought its super-popular FPS franchise, Call of Duty , to Android and iOS. The game has been released in most countries around the world simultaneously, including India. Called ‘Call of Duty: Mobile’ , the free-to-play game is developed by Tencent’s Timi studio and, involves maps, modes, weapons and characters from across the CoD universe, including the Black Ops  and the  Modern Warfare  series. On Android, it weighs in at 74MB and is compatible with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and above, while on iOS, it is a massive 1.5GB, and requires iOS 9.0 or later. The game will be available only in the multiplayer mode and, will include classic maps, such as Nuketown, Crash and Hijacked. According to the game’s listing pages on the Play Store and the App Store, players can expect 10-player free-fo...

Microsoft Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3, Dual-Screen Surface Leaked Ahead of Launch

A massive leak has revealed quite a bit of info about the upcoming Surface devices ahead of their expected launch at Microsoft’s press event on Wednesday. According to noted tipster, Evan Blass (@evleaks) , the all-new Surface Pro 7 will be powered by 10th-gen Intel Core CPUs and sport a USB-C connector instead of a Mini DisplayPort. Click to view slideshow. Microsoft is also tipped to unveil a new ARM-powered Surface 2-in-1 with a thinner profile and skinny bezels as part of the company’s plans to take on Apple’s iPad Pro. Alongside the two aforementioned devices, Microsoft will also apparently unveil a 3rd-gen Surface Laptop powered by AMD hardware. According to Blass, it will be offered in both 13-inch and 15-inch form factors. He also posted a cryptic tweet about a “dual-screen Surface” , although, he didn’t post an actual image of that device. Click to view slideshow. In case you don’t know it already, Microsoft on Wednesday will host a media event in New York City, where the c...

The Best Laptop Deals on Amazon and Flipkart Right Now

It’s raining offers and now is the best time to buy anything from laptops to the latest gadgets. That’s why we are running a separate section of all the online deals available on Flipkart Big Billion Day Sale and Amazon Great Indian Festival sale. However, if you are looking specifically for laptops then this article is going to help you find some amazing deals. We have kept many use-cases and price points in mind before finalizing the list. So without further ado, let’s find the best deals on laptops for you. Note: We will update this article as and when new deals are released by Flipkart  and Amazon. Best Deals on Laptop (Amazon and Flipkart) Here, we have categorized the article into four sections for casual users, power users, gamers and some other deals for niche audiences. With that said, here are the best laptop deals available right now. For Everyday Use 1. Asus VivoBook 14 Core i3 7th Gen For casual users, the Asus VivoBook 14 is one of the best laptops one ca...

MediaTek to Design More Chipsets in India After Helio G90

Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company, MediaTek, is all set to bring its gaming-focused ‘Helio G90’ chipset series to India in partnership with Chinese tech major, Xiaomi. According to a senior MediaTek executive, the entire design, SoC integration and gaming software of the MediaTek Helio G90 series have been designed and developed at the company’s R&D facility in Bengaluru. Speaking to IANS, the General Manager of MediaTek India, Rituparna Mandal, said that the company is also working towards designing more smartphone processors in India going forward. “There are many more smartphone chips in the pipeline aimed to be designed in India. To do that, you need the right engineering talent and leadership. That’s where the investment comes – in hiring the right talent to grow the design teams to be able to work on the chips” , she said. The Helio G90 chip, which Mandal said took around six months to design, is slated to debut in India next month as part of a partnership between M...

Huawei Confirms 33 Devices for EMUI 10 Beta Program; More to be Added Soon

After unveiling its Android 10-based custom Android skin, EMUI 10 , at its developer conference in China last month, Huawei announced that the new software will be rolled out to a number of its Huawei and Honor smartphones, starting with the P30-series. Now, the company has announced the rollout timeline for 33 Huawei and Honor devices that will be part of the EMUI 10 beta program. The company also said it will add more devices to the list in the days ahead. Huawei opened up beta testing for the Android 10-based EMUI 10 update on the P30 series earlier this month in China before opening it for users in India just last week. While the P30 and P30 Pro will be the first Huawei devices to be updated to EMUI 10 (stable) in November, the company is also planning to roll out the beta version to a bunch of other devices, including the Mate 20 series, including the Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20, Mate 20 RS, Mate 20 X (4G) and Mate 20 RS Porsche in late October. You can take a look below for a full l...

OPPO Reno 2: 5 Things That Make It A Great Buy

With the debut of the OPPO Reno series, the Chinese giant has again shifted its focus to cameras to provide some amazing features to the users. The first-gen OPPO Reno brought along crazy super-zooming capabilities and well, the newly launched OPPO Reno 2 carries forward the legacy with a more affordable price tag. OPPO Reno 2 is a mid-range smartphone that shares its DNA with the original Reno. The smartphone features a bezel-less display, a powerful Snapdragon chipset, quad-cameras, pop-up selfie camera, and a massive battery with fast-charging support. So, if you have been thinking of buying the OPPO Reno 2, well, let me give you 5 reasons that make the OPPO Reno 2 a great buy: 5 Things That Make OPPO Reno 2 A Great Buy Stunning Design We obviously have to start off with my favorite thing about the OPPO Reno 2 — the eye-catching design. I absolutely adore the time I spent with the first-gen OPPO Reno a few months back and well, using the Reno 2 made those memories to come f...

SpaceX Shows-off Mars Rocket Prototype, Expected to Reach Orbit in 6 Months

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk presented the company’s latest Starship prototype in Boca Chica, Texas. In case you’re out of the loop, Starship is the spacecraft aimed to carry human passengers on trips to exotic space destinations like the Moon and Mars. “This thing is going to take off, fly to 65,000 feet — about 20 kilometers — and come back and land in about one to two months,” said Elon Musk, standing in front of the latest prototype. Starship will be the most powerful rocket in history, capable of carrying humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond pic.twitter.com/LloN8AQdei — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2019 The test rocket developed by SpaceX is over 165 feet tall and packs in three raptor engines at the base as you can see in the image below. These raptors will improve the chances for a safe landing once the spacecraft returns back to Earth. In the event, Musk also revealed SpaceX’s ambitious timelines. He revealed that that Starship will reach Earth’s orbit in the next six mo...

Pixel 4’s Motion Sense Will Reportedly Work in 53 Countries, India Still Not on the List

Just days after a report from 9to5Google suggested that the upcoming Pixel 4’s ‘Motion Sense’ gesture navigation feature will only be supported in 38 countries by 9 apps in all, XDA now says that support for the much-hyped feature might be a little more widespread than earlier reported. According to the blog, a pre-release APK for Motion Sense seems to suggest that the feature will be supported in 53 countries, and by 23 apps. Sadly, though, nothing seems to have changed for folks in India, as the feature will still not be available here. As can be seen from the list below, some of the notable markets still absent from the list include Japan, China, South Korea and Russia, while new additions to the list include French Guyana, New Caledonia and a few other smaller nations for the most part. American Samoa Austria Australia Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France French Guiana French Indian Ocean Territories (both MCCs are...

How to Install Pixel 4 Voice Recorder App on Any Android Device

iPhone has had a native voice recorder app since ages and finally Android is catching up with its rival. In line with recent leaks , Pixel 4 is coming with a native voice recorder app and a built-in screen recorder. While the screen recorder will be available as a system feature on Pixel 4, the voice recorder app is available right now and it works on any Android device. The good part about having a first-party voice recorder is that you no longer have to rely on shady voice recorder apps from the Play Store. With that said, here is how you can install Pixel 4 voice recorder app on any Android device. Install Pixel 4 Voice Recorder App Before we begin, keep in mind, the Pixel 4 recorder app works with Android Pie and above . Also, on Android 10, it’s using scoped storage to better protect your recording from third-party apps having storage permission. Having said that, here are the steps to follow. 1. APKMirror has already hosted the upcoming Recorder app from Pixel 4. Just grab t...

Honor Band 5 Updated with SpO2 Monitoring, Remote Music Controls in India

An incoming update to the Honor Band 5 brings a couple of cool new features that were much advertised by Huawei when the device was unveiled earlier this year, but were MIA at its launch. Now, finally, the company is rolling out the remote Music Playback Control function along with SpO2 monitoring to its latest inexpensive smart band, possibly making it one of the best available devices in its segment. Screenshots Courtesy: Huawei In an official blog post announcing the rollout of the new software, Huawei said once the  Band 5 is updated and Music Control is switched on via the Huawei Health app, users will be able to use the device to instantly view and control their favorite music apps right from their wrist. Supported apps include Google Play Music, Spotify, YouTube, Shazam, Huawei music and many more, said the company. Do note, however, that the remote music control functionality is compatible only with smartphones running Android 5.0 and above. You can activate it on ...

Qualcomm Resumes Business with Huawei Following Exemption from US Govt

Even as the Mate 30 Pro was launched last week without support for official Google apps and services amidst escalating trade tensions between the US and China, there were murmurs in the business media about a possible thaw in the ongoing hostilities between the two countries. Those rumors now seems to have been confirmed, at least to some extent, with US-based Qualcomm and Chinese tech giant, Huawei, both reportedly confirming that the US government has allowed them to start trading once again, possibly paving the way for Huawei devices to once again start shipping with technology – both hardware and software – from US companies. In an interaction with the media, Qualcomm’s CEO, Steve Mollenkpof, said that the chipmaker has resumed sales to Huawei after getting the green signal from the US government. It’s worth noting, though, that the embargo has not yet been lifted unconditionally, and exemptions are only being granted on a case-by-case basis. According to KitGuru , applicati...

Realme X2 Pro with Snapdragon 855 Plus Confirmed by Senior Executive

Just days after a mysterious Realme phone with the Snapdragon 855 was spotted on the Bluetooth SIG website, the company itself has now confirmed the rumors, saying that it will, indeed, launch a new flagship smartphone with top-end hardware. According to a Weibo post by Xu Qi Chase, the Chief Marketing Officer at Realme, the company will soon launch a smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 855+ SoC. According to Chase, the device will be named the Realme X2 Pro, which is expected to be a more premium and powerful version of the Realme X2 smartphone the company launched last week in China. He further revealed that the device has an internal code-name that can be translated in English as either ‘Super Warrior’ or ‘Samurai’. Either way, the rest of the tech specs of the upcoming smartphone remain a bit of a mystery, but we expect more details in the days ahead. It will be interesting to see what other upgraded components the new phone will have, and how it will be positioned vis-à-vis t...

Sony’s Next Flagship Could be Powered by Snapdragon 865

Sony has geared down its smartphone business these days but its flagship series is still alive and kicking. As reported by Japanese news outlets , Sony’s upcoming flagship device will be powered by Snapdragon’s next-generation processor that would succeed the Snapdragon 855 and 855+. The existence of the upcoming Snapdragon chipset got confirmed from Sony’s firmware distribution server. It bears an internal model number SM8250 and it could be the Snapdragon 865. Unless Qualcomm has decided to change its naming conventions, this is most probably the case. In case you’re not aware, the part number of the current Snapdragon 855 is SM8150 and we did see early benchmark listings showing the same. The Snapdragon 865 could come in two variants if the rumors are to be believed. A chipset with an integrated 5G modem and the other with 4G connectivity. It would be interesting to know how the 5G integrated Qualcomm chipset would compete against competitive offerings from Huawei, like the Kir...

How to Reply to Messages from Windows 10 [Supports WhatsApp]

Microsoft is bringing some awesome changes to Windows 10 which allow you to respond to all sorts of messages from your PC. A few weeks ago, we reported that this feature is part of Windows Insider previews, but now it has been released for the stable build. If you are using the latest stable build of Windows 10, you can reply to messages from your Windows PC seamlessly. Further, you can also manage your photos and notifications without any issues. Now having said that, let’s go through the steps. Reply to Messages and Access Image Gallery on Your PC Before we begin the article, make sure you are running the latest build of Windows 10 . Also, your smartphone must be on Android 7 (Nougat) or above version. With that said, here are the steps to follow. Note: As of now, this feature is only available on Android. 1. First of all, download and install Your Companion app ( Free ) from the Play Store on your Android device. After that, log in with your Microsoft account. 2. Next, the...

WhatsApp Dropping Support for iOS 8 and Android Gingerbread from February, 2020

WhatsApp is dropping support for a number of old and legacy mobile operating systems, starting February 1st, 2020. While support for all versions of Windows Phone will end for good on December 31, 2019, some older versions of iOS and Android will also lose support just weeks later, the company has announced. That includes Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which was first released in 2010, as well as iOS 8, which debuted in September 2014. iPhone users still on iOS 8 need to either update to a newer version of the software (if available) or get a new device with iOS 9 or later if they want to get all the features of WhatsApp on their phones. While the app itself will not cease to function from that day, users will no longer be able to open new accounts or re-verify old ones on devices running iOS 8 or lower. In an official communique, the Facebook-owned company said: “On iOS 8, you can no longer create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts” . The message further suggested users get ...

How to Shuffle Songs on iOS 13 Apple Music App

Apple has tweaked several things in the stock music app including the location of shuffle and repeat buttons. Even though these frequently used buttons are still easy to discover, I couldn’t spot them quickly during my initial interaction with the Apple Music app in the latest iteration of iOS. And I guess, I’m not alone to have found their new location slightly under the wraps. If you also have no idea how to shuffle or repeat songs in Apple Music app in iOS 13, let me show you how to get it done. How to Repat or Shuffle Songs in Apple Music App on iPhone and iPad To make the interface intuitive, Apple keeps on making changes to the music-streaming app from time to time. And as far as I can remember, this is not the first time the tech giant has changed the location of the shuffle button in the stock music app. So, it’s better to get used to the changes than resist them. Do note that the process of shuffling or repeating music is the same in both iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. That’s why I ...

YouTube Music Replaces Google Play Music as Default Music App on Android

YouTube Music will replace Google Play Music as the default music player on all new Android devices going forward, Google has announced. The new policy will be applicable to all new Android smartphones running Android 10 and Android 9 and, will be applicable with immediate effect. In an official blog post over the weekend, the tech giant said: “Music fans on Android phones can now easily unlock the magic of YouTube Music, which will come installed on all new devices launching with Android 10 (and Android 9), including the Pixel series” . While the YouTube Music app will come pre-installed in all new Android devices from now, current Google Play Music subscribers will also be able to download it from the Play store and sync their personal library. “… if you don’t have Android 10 yet, don’t stress — simply visit the Play Store to get the app” , said the company. While this may seem like the beginning of the end for Google Play Music, the company says users of the app will still be a...

OnePlus 7 Pro Can Finally Rest in Peace; OnePlus 7T Has Got All You Need

OnePlus 7T launched in India earlier this week, alongside the first-ever OnePlus TV and well, it can be seen as a true successor to the OnePlus 7 . It’s not merely a refresh as is normally the case with OnePlus T-series but instead, it boasts a boatload of meaningful upgrades over its predecessor. OnePlus 7T can again be referred to as a flagship killer , in a true sense. But, this time around, well, it’s a flagship killer for OnePlus itself. The Chinese giant can be seen stomping over its true premium flagship – the OnePlus 7 Pro , which launched earlier in 2019 with its OnePlus 7T. Curious to know why we say so? Well, let’s find out: 90Hz Display One of the biggest and most notable upgrades for OnePlus 7T will have to be the Fluid AMOLED display . Yeah, the company has baked a new 90Hz AMOLED panel in its new flagship, along with a slightly taller 20:9 aspect ratio, smaller notch, squared-off edges, HDR 10 support, and a peak brightness of up to 1000 nits. The higher 90Hz refr...

These Researchers Got Mac and Cheese to Mars

Researchers at Washington State University have made it possible to carry ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese to Mars. They have come up with a new packaging method that will triple the life of the food content inside it. “We need a better barrier to keep oxygen away from the food and provide longer shelf-life similar to aluminum foil and plastic laminate pouches. We’ve always been thinking of developing a product that can go to Mars, but with technology that can also benefit consumers here on Earth.”, said Shyam Sablani, lead researcher in the project. The food packed inside these new packages will be sterilized using a process called “ microwave-assisted thermal sterilization” . After this, the food will be fit for consumption for three years. Cool, right? A trip to Mars from Earth will take approximately nine months. The researchers claim that NASA is aware of their efforts.  “NASA knows about our work, but we’re just now getting to the point where we can talk to them with a ...