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Apple iOS 11: Best features of the update

By
Devesh Arora
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Apple has been working on the iOS 11 update for a couple of months now, and they announced the software at WWDC 2017. The iOS 11 has been in a beta stage for a long time now where the operating system still needs some bug fixes here and there and also needs some improvements in terms of performance. However, with the release date of the iPhone 8 coming closer, Apple has to soon get the OTA update ready for the public as the next iPhone will come with iOS 11 pre-installed.

Apple iPad iPhone

Here are some of the most attractive features of the updated operating system:

1.) App Store

The App Store on the iPhones with the iOS 11 update will get a fresh new look. App Store is now completely overhauled and gives some great experience while in search of new applications. It also comes with some new features like the card-based design and app of the day. Also, the new apps store gets a dedicated games section and is a lot more different than the one we have seen with the iOS 10.

2.) Screenshots and Screen recording

Taking a screenshot has always been really easy with the Apple devices by just clicking the lock button and the home button at the same time. Though the way of taking a screenshot remains the same, the screenshot after being captured goes onto the bottom left corner. This allows the user to directly edit and share the screenshot after capturing, instead of going all over to the photos app.

Screen recording is a feature which earlier needed a computer to be attached or the device to be jailbroken. But now with the iOS 11, the user can simply record what he is doing on the phone without any hassle.

Also Read: Android O launching on Monday; Might be named Oreo

3.) Control Centre

The control centre which was introduced with the iOS 7, where users can easily toggle functions like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight and much more. Now with the iOS 11 update, the control centre has been completely overhauled and now gives a lot more options than before. It also adds a most awaited feature, customization. Yes, the new control centre is customizable.

ios 11 control centre

4.) Siri

Siri has been one of the best-inbuilt voice assistants we have ever seen in a smartphone. Siri always gets a lot better with every iOS update. Now the respond time of the "Hey Siri" has been improved drastically. Siri has got a lot better and faster than before.

5.) Visual Improvements

When talking about the visual improvements, one of the major software updates for the iPhones, iPads and the iPod touch was the iOS 7, where the users got a complete change with the UI. Visual improvements are not about getting colourful and getting materialised, rather visual improvements are about getting smoother and better. With the iOS 11 update, things have got arranged and redesigned a bit. Some of the changes include the calculator, app switcher, notification panel and much more.

Calculator
Passcode

Not only these five, but there are more to the list. iOS 11 comes with some more features like Do Not Disturb while driving, files app and much more. Hopefully, the update will be available sometime in September.

Top 5 Reasons to Buy Essential Phone

By
Devesh Arora
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The Essential Phone was unveiled a few months back and now has a launch date after many delays. We have been lucky enough to get Android from Andy Rubin, but now we also are getting what might be called one of the best smartphones of 2017 from him. Currently, you can visit Essential's official website and buy the device. We have seen the product and here are the Top 5 reasons as to why you should buy the Essential Phone.

Design and Build

The first point in this list is and should be that the Essential Phone has one of the best smartphone designs of the year 2017. And as for the Build, the device is made out of Titanium and Ceramic both of which are extremely durable.The glossy glass back would, however, attract many fingerprints. Some people have argued that the Essential Phone is an evolution of the Xiaomi Mi Mix design. But you have to keep in mind that the Xiaomi Mi Mix was a test run device and this is a complete market offering from Essential.

Essential Phone

Specifications

The Essential Phone is going to go up against the flagships of 2017 like the Nokia 8 which was recently launched. After looking at the specification sheet we surely can say that it is no less than a flagship device. It features a 5.71-inch 2560 X 1312 pixel display. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, which can be seen in devices like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Nokia 8. The device also features 4GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage which nowadays is common with flagship models of various mobile manufacturers.

Software

Andy Rubin the man behind Android and Essential had previously said that when you buy a smartphone it should be yours, so there will be no branding on the device you buy, and the phone will ship with Google's stock Android operating system. When you get the device you will see that there are only a few pre-installed apps o the device which mostly includes Google apps. Due to this, the phone works extremely fast. Also to be noted that due to the device being powered by stock Android, it will be getting all the updates as soon as they are released by Google.

Modularity

One of the many interesting features that we think the device has is modularity. The company has developed a range of accessories that will go with the Essential Phone like the 360-degree camera that can be attached at the top of the smartphone with the help of small metal pins on the device.

Essential Phone 360, Essential Phone

Price

The Essential phone currently is available for $699 (Roughly Rs. 44,798). It will be competing against all the flagship smartphones of this year like the iPhone 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. The people also trust the company as it has been started by the creator of Android operating system Andy Rubin, who also worked at Google to further develop the operating system. The smartphone is currently only available in the U.S. and Canada, However, the company plans to expand globally very soon.

Also Read: Essential Phone launched: Price, Specifications and Availability

Conclusion

We definitely think that the Essential Phone is a great device and will be able to take on any flagship device from any other mobile phone manufacturer easily. However, we do recommend that wait for a few reviews to surface on the device rather than just purchasing the device right now.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 listed on official website, reveals highlights

By
Devesh Arora
-

Samsung's one of the most anticipated smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, is ready to hit the stores soon. Samsung has set the official launch for the Note 8 on August 23, which we have known for quite a few weeks now. According to the reports by Android Police, the company's online store gave a sneak peek at the device by listing it on the US website. Though the Note 8 has now been pulled out of the store, Android Police managed to take a screenshot of the webpage.

samsung note 8 listing 1
Source: Android Police

Reports suggest, the upcoming Samsung flagship was listed with the model number SM-N950UZKAXAA and the highlights of the smartphone according to the company were Infinity Screen, S-Pen, and Bixby Assistant. The listed device was a 64GB variant and was a carrier unlocked smartphone.  However, thanks to Samsung and Android Police, we now have some confirmations with the leaks and rumours of the upcoming Note 8. The design was very similar to what we have seen so far with the leaks.

Also Read: Android O launching on Monday; Might be named Oreo

samsung note 8 listing 2
Source: Android Police

Specifications

The recent leaks and rumours have also given us a tip on what would be under the hood. Galaxy Note 8 is said to feature the Infinity Display of 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display. Infinity Display is something which we have seen with the company's current flagships S8 and S8+. The smartphone is said to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset for the US markets and Exynos 8895 for other markets. Note 8 is said to come with 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB onboard storage. For the camera department, the phone sports a 12-megapixel dual-camera setup at the back and an 8-megapixel camera at the front.

Availability

Also to be noted, tipster Evan Blass tweeted saying that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will hit the US and South Korea market for pre-booking starting August 24. Customers who pre-book the device will get a 256GB microSD card and a wireless charger free or will get a Samsung Gear 360 absolutely free. However, there are no confirmations on the pricing yet.

 

Android O launching on Monday; Might be named Oreo

By
Lalit Wadhwa
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It will be nearly 100 years since a solar eclipse with such intensity to sweep the whole of United States of America on this Monday. In short monday is a great day. Goolge also think that. Therefore eclipse will be the best platform to launch Android O.

Android O Eclipse

Google has yet again proven how impromptu it works by announcing the launch of Android O in an event to celebrate the eclipse. The event will be happening in New York at 2:40 pm ET. It will also be live-streamed for viewers all around the globe. As you would have expected Google is pretty mum on the name especially when Pixel 2 is expected around the corner.

Previous rumours stated it might move from it naming scheme of sweet dishes as android's name. It is worth noting Google Eclipse page says “Android O is touching down to earth with the total solar eclipse, bringing some super (sweet) new powers!” So take that to mean whatever you will.

Android O teaser

Google may have leaked the name unintentionally on Google+. A now deleted tweet — courtesy of Android Police — refers to a video file “GoogleOreo_Teaser_0817_noDroids (1).mp4”.

Also Read: Essential Phone launched: Price, Specifications and Availability

Whether they will be releasing the Android O or just stating its final name, or this is all just a part of an elaborate troll Google is famous for? We will have to wait and find out. This doesn't mean people aren't excited!

Also worth nothing the sun in the invitation image looks like a giant oreo biscuit.

Essential Phone launched: Price, Specifications and Availability

By
Devesh Arora
-

Essential, a company owned by the creator of Android Andy Rubin, has finally launched its first smartphone the Essential Phone (PH-1). Essential Phone is one of the most anticipated phones of the year and the major attraction of the phone has been the design and the modularity. Something which was making the people excited about the Phone was that it was from a company which was being led by Andy Rubin.

Essential Phone 1

Specifications:

As far as the specifications are concerned, the Essential Phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC coupled with Adreno 540 GPU. The Phone comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The smartphone features a 5.71-inch LTPS IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1312x2560 pixels and a pixel density of 504ppi. For the optics, the device sports a 13-megapixel dual-camera setup at the back and includes an 8-megapixel camera at the front for selfies and video calling. Powering up everything there is a 3,040mAh battery under the hood. The smartphone runs on the stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Also Read: Top 5 Reason to buy the new flagship Nokia 8

Price and Availability

Essential Phone is currently available via its official website only for the U.S. and Canada and will be expanding to other markets soon. The PH-1 is available in four colour variants, namely, Stellar Gray, Ocean Depths, Black Moon and Pure White. Currently, the phone is selling for $699 (roughly Rs. 45,000) and the company is also offering the combo of Essential Phone and the 360-degree camera at a price of $749 (roughly Rs. 48,000).

Asus Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 3 line-up confirmed to get Android O

By
Devesh Arora
-

The Taiwanese tech giant, Asus, launched the most awaited Zenfone 4 series on Thursday in Taiwan. During the launch, Asus also confirmed that the Zenfone 4 series, as well as the Zenfone 3 series, will get updated to Android O operating system.

During the launch event, Marcel Campos, Head of Global Content Marketing, Asus announced the confirmations on the update where he also mentioned that the Zenfone 4 series will run on Zen UI 4.0 out of the box. The smartphones will get updated to Android O later next year. Yes, they might now be the fastest in delivering the update, but at least they are updating the devices.

Asus Zenfone Android O

Also Read: Asus launches 6 new smartphones in the ZenFone 4 series

ZenUI 4.0

ZenUI is a custom android skin by Asus which comes pre-installed in all the devices sold by the company. Now the company is updating the UI with some new features and enhancements. Asus claims that the ZenUI 4.0 is the "lightest Android UI skin to date", which if true is a good news as of the fact is lighter the skin, higher the performance. The company also claims that the new ZenUI 4.0 will sport less number of bloatware apps when compared to the earlier version, ZenUI 3.5. It is impressive that Asus has cut down the figure from 35 to 13 pre-loaded applications. Some of the new apps that come with the ZenUI 4.0 include Twin apps (something similar to Parallel Apps available on play store) which will offer two social accounts to run simultaneously on the same smartphone.

Though Zenfone 4 series will have ZenUI 4.0 out-of-the-box, Asus will soon roll out an update for the Zenfone 3 series, providing them with the new ZenUI 4.0.

The fun is not only limited with the new features of the ZenUI 4.0 but also the devices, with the Android O update, will get features like picture-in-picture mode, unread notification app badges, better Bluetooth audio support, and adaptive icons.

Amazon Echo Dot and Prime Music to launch in India soon

By
Devesh Arora
-

The e-commerce giant, Amazon, is now finally bringing the Echo Dot and the Prime music service to India later this year. Amazon Echo dot is hardware device from Amazon which is a smaller version of the Amazon Echo, and it is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices and do much more. Prime Music is a service offered by the e-commerce website, where Prime members can stream over 2 million songs ad-free, listen on any Echo device, and take their music anywhere with offline listening.

Amazon Echo Dot

The Echo Dot is currently available in the United States and few other markets. It supports a set of music services which are not going to make it to India anytime soon. The music services include Spotify and Pandora. The company will unveil the Echo Dot and the Prime Music service somewhere in October. Echo Dot's big brother Amazon Echo won't make it to the country this time, may be this will be introduced later. Reports suggest that the company has been testing the Echo Dot for a month now at its office in Bangalore.

Also Read: Facebook starts testing out new feature to provide personalized news updates to users

 

However, the Echo Dot, in India will support Amazon Prime Music and Gaana, as per the reports. We can rely on Gaana as it is already supported on the company's Fire TV Stick which launched in April in India. Though services like Google Play Music and Apple Music are available in India, sadly Amazon Echo doesn't support these music services.

Amazon Prime Music

Echo Dot, in the US, is currently priced at $50 which roughly converts to Rs. 3,200. Price is a bit of a confusion right now, as a recent report claimed the price of the Echo Dot would be around Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 6000. But recently Gadgets 360 from its sources, claimed the price would be under Rs.3,000 in India.

As we discuss the prices, Prime Music would not have a separate cost and most probably will be included in the Amazon Prime subscription package. Amazon India charges Rs. 499 for the Prime subscription, where they provide special discounts, faster deliveries and Prime Movies.

 

 

Facebook starts testing out new feature to provide personalized news updates

By
Lalit Wadhwa
-

As the developers at Facebook are searching for more ways for people to spend more time on the Social media giant, the company started testing a new feature. This new feature helps user by proving customized links of the new topics that are based on the user's interest.

Facebook Messenger

 

Facebook's newest feature called "Featured Topic" display's a line of text, image or a video based on the user's interest. This will be displayed in the news feed in the core of Facebook.

Facebook confirmed that they are working on a feature like this to help people discover topics and content relevant to them. The company is making relevant changes to the news feed constantly. However, this is still in testing phase and may or may not have a global roll out.

Facebook news feed generally includes status, images and videos posted by one's friends and family. This is all based on factors decided by Facebook's Algorithm. It is also a way to display stuff from users liked pages groups and other outlets. This will help users to discover new things based on how they interacted with the stuff showed to them. This can be used to potentially promote content.

Recently in May last year, Facebook changed it's trending topics after being alleged to suppress conservative news. Leading to Republican U.S. senator demanded more transparency in the companies algorithms.

Facebook last December started rolling out series of changes to suppress click bait videos and fake news after the US presidential election. Ahead of the actual voting the reports of Pope Francis endorsed by Republican Donald Trump and murder of federal agent investigating Hillary Clinton started surfacing. Fake reports like that cause a lot of disturbance in the society. They also lead us to doubt the authenticity of content on the website.

An array of other competitors like Twitter and Snapchat Inc. find methods to show it's users trending news to keep them informed while they use their product.

Also Read: Twitter expands live broadcasting portfolio with WNBA games, News, and concerts

Last month search giant Google overhauled its mobile app to show news based on personalized feed. Enabling users to see news on the topics they are interested in.

MediaTek Helio P23 and P30 chipsets to launch on August 29

By
Brahmjot Singh
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MediaTek has started to send out invites for a launch event they will be hosting in Beijing on August 29. Some reports from various tech publications have claimed at the event that the company will be launching the new MediaTek Helio P23 and the Helio P30 chipsets.

GSMArena has reported that the Helio P23 will be built upon the 16nm process and will feature eight cores. It is also being reported that the System on Chip (SoC) will support 2K resolution along with support for dual cameras on the rear. Whereas the MediaTek Helio P30 is expected to be based on the 12nm process, it will come with four cores.

MediaTek
Image Courtesy: MediaTek

The Helio P23 will support CAT 7 and the Helio P30 will support the Cat 10 standards. A user on Weibo also had posted that the Helio P23 will be seen in smartphones from companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Meizu.

A publication by the name DigiTimes had also published that MediaTek is getting huge competition from Qualcomm who is trying to get into the lower price segment with offerings like the Snapdragon 450 platform. The report also mentioned that Qualcomm is reducing the price heavily due to which MediaTek also has to reduce its prices.

Also Read: Nokia 8 launched: Price, Specifications and Everything you need to know

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) earlier this year, had approached the government to intervene and ban MediaTek powered smartphones, due to which the 4G connectivity networks are being hampered. COAI had claimed that when a 4G enabled SIM card is put inside a 2G SIM card slot, it makes the 4G throughput on the network of the primary SIM to fall by as much as 40 percent.

Asus launches 6 new smartphones in the ZenFone 4 series

By
Devesh Arora
-

The Taiwanese tech giant, Asus, has finally launched one of the most awaited series, the ZenFone 4 series. The series gives a refresh to the last years ZenFone 3 lineup.The new ZenFone 4 family includes - Zenfone 4, Zenfone 4 Pro, Zenfone 4 Selfie, Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro, Zenfone 4 Max and the Zenfone 4 Max Pro. The line-up is consists of so many smartphones, just because the company likes to take care of every type of customer out there. Asus has announced that the smartphones will hit the Asian market first and then extend to other markets globally. All these smartphones have some features in common like the finger-print scanner placed on the home button. Here are the details on the smartphones launched:

Asus Zenfone 4 Pro

Asus Zenfone 4 pro

Asus Zenfone 4 Pro is top of the line as it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset coupled with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage which is further expandable up to 2TB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and a pixel density of 401ppi. The device comes with a dual camera setup at the back with a 12-megapixel and a 16-megapixel sensor. The rear cameras have laser/phase detection autofocus, Optical Image Stabilization, 2x optical zoom and a dual tone LED flash. Up front, the phone includes an 8-megapixel front facing camera with f/1.9 aperture. The phone runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat with ZenUI layered at the top. All of this is backed by 3,600mAh.

Asus Zenfone 4

Asus Zenfone 4

Asus Zenfone 4 is a bit lower on specs as it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and a pixel density of 401ppi. The device comes with a dual camera setup at the back with a 12-megapixel and an 8-megapixel sensor. The rear cameras have autofocus a dual tone LED flash. Up front, the phone includes an 8-megapixel front facing camera for selfies and video calling. The phone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with ZenUI layered at the top. All of this is backed by 3,300mAh.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

Asus Zenfone 4 selfie pro

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is all about selfie lovers and it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and a pixel density of 401ppi. The phone sports a 16-megapixel camera at the back with autofocus a dual tone LED flash. Cameras impress when it comes to the front of the device where the phone includes a 24MP + 5MP dual camera setup with a LED flash. The phone ships with Android 7.0 Nougat with ZenUI layered at the top out-of-the-box. Powering up everything is a 3,000mAh.

Also Read: Asus finally launches the ZenFone Zoom S with 5,000mAh battery

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie

Asus Zenfone 4 selfie

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie is also for the selfie lovers out there and it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. The phone sports a 16-megapixel camera at the back with autofocus a dual tone LED flash. Cameras impress when it comes to the front of the device where the phone includes a 20MP + 8MP dual camera setup with a LED flash. The phone ships with Android 7.0 Nougat with ZenUI layered at the top out-of-the-box. Powering up everything is a 3,000mAh.

Asus Zenfone 4 Max Pro

Asus Zenfone 4 max pro

Asus Zenfone 4 Max Pro targets the audience who wants the best battery life and it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC for the Indian variant, whereas the global variant ships with a Snapdragon 425 chipset. The smartphone comes with 2GB/3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The Max Pro features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. For the optics, the phone sports a 16-megapixel dual camera setup at the back with autofocus and a dual tone LED flash. Up front, the phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera. The phone runs on ZenUI based Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. Under the hood is where the magic happens with the massive 5,000mAh battery.

Asus Zenfone 4 Max

Asus Zenfone 4 Max also targets the audience who wants the best battery life and it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch S-IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. For the optics, the phone sports a 13-megapixel dual camera setup at the back with autofocus and a dual tone LED flash. Up front, the phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera. The phone runs on ZenUI based Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. Under the hood the phone packs in a massive 5,000mAh battery.

 

Pricing and Availablity

The top-of-the-line Zenfone 4 Pro is priced at $599 (roughly Rs. 38,400) and is available in Pure Black and Moonlight White colour variants. The Zenfone 4 is priced at $399 (around Rs. 25,600) and is available in three colour variants- Midnight Black, Moonlight Green and Mint Green. Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is priced at $379 (roughly Rs. 24,300) and is available in three colour options- Rouge Red, Sunlight Gold and Deepsea Black. The Zenfone 4 Selfie comes with a price tag of $279 (roughly Rs. 17,900) and comes in Deepsea Black, Mint Green, Rose Pink, Sunlight colour variants.

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