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Top 5 Amazon Prime Day deals in India: OnePlus 7, Samsung Galaxy M40 and more

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Samsung Galaxy M40 gets a special colour variant for the Prime Day Sale.

Amazon has announced its Prime Day Sale where they will be offering exciting deals on a wide range of products. Amazon Prime Day Sale is scheduled to kick off on July 15 and will go on until July 16. While the range of products includes a huge portfolio, we have gathered a list of top five deals on smartphones and other gadgets.

Samsung Galaxy M40

Samsung Galaxy M40 comes with a 6.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 2340x1080 pixels. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor. While the smartphone is already on sale at a starting price of Rs. 19,990, the e-commerce website is collaborating with Samsung to introduce a limited edition Cocktail Orange colour variant.

Nokia 6.1 Plus

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Nokia 6.1 Plus is a part of Google's Android One program

Nokia 6.1 Plus smartphone comes with a 5.8-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2280x1080 pixels. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor coupled with an Adreno 509 GPU. While the phone is currently available for Rs. 13,999, it will come down to just Rs. 11,999 during the prime day sale.

Nokia 8.1

Nokia 8, nokia 8.1, nokia x7
Nokia 8.1 comes with a notched display.

The much popular Nokia 8.1 smartphone features a 6.18-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2280x1080 pixels. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor coupled with an Adreno 616 GPU. The smartphone usually goes on sale for a price of Rs. 19,999 but during the prime day sale, it will get a discount of Rs. 1,500, which means the price will come down to Rs. 18,499.

Oppo F11 Pro

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Oppo F11 Pro offers a FullView display.

Oppo F11 Pro is not getting any sort of discount during the Prime Day Sale but it is getting a new colour. Just like the Samsung Galaxy M40, the Oppo F11 Pro is also getting a new colour variant called Waterfall Grey. The smartphone will be available with a price tag of Rs. 23,990.

Samsung Galaxy Gear S3

Sasmung Gear S3
Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 comes with a roatating bezel.

Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 smartwatch is also receiving a price cut during the Prime Day Sale this year. The smartwatch will be available for under Rs. 20,000. Unfortunately, the exact price has not been revealed yet.

Top 5 smart bulbs: Mi Smart Bulb, Philips Hue and more

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Mi LED smart bulb has a lot to offer for Rs. 1,299.

We have started relying on our smartphones or our voice assistants for most of our work. The introduction of smart bulbs gives us more control in the palm of our hands. These bulbs allow us to turn them on or off and change colours without event getting up from our comfort zone. Here are the top five smart bulbs available in India.

Mi LED Smart Bulb

Xiaomi India recently launched the Mi Smart Bulb in India for an attractive price tag of just Rs. 1,299.  The smart bulb does not require any sort of bridge, which makes it just a plug and play device. Users can control the bulb using the Mi Smart Home app or they can even link their Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant with the smart bulb.

Philips Hue

Philips Hue is one of the most popular ranges of LED smart bulbs. Unlike, the Mi Smart Bulb, the Philips Hue lights require a bridge, which means the setup process can include some hassle. As they are smart bulbs, they can be controlled by the user using the Philips Hue mobile app or through voice commands via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

Syska Smart Bulb

Syska's 7W Smart Bulb is available for just Rs. 799. Just like most of the other smart bulbs, this one is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. There is also a 9W variant available that just costs another Rs. 100 extra. Also, both the bulbs use the old school B22 pin type socket.

Also Read: Xiaomi Mi Smart LED Bulb review: Your first smart bulb is here

Wipro Garnet Smart Light

In case you are looking for the cheapest smart bulb in the market, the Wipro Garnet might be the right option for you. The smart light is available for just Rs. 699 on the e-commerce website Amazon India. While it can be controlled via a smartphone using the Wipro Smart Home app, it also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

TP-Link SmartLight

The popular networking company TP Link also have their own range of smart lights. The TP Link smart light is available for a price of Rs. 2,499. It is also compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Lunar Eclipse in July 2019: How to see the Chandra Grahan in India?

lunar eclipse, bangalore
The lunar eclipse will be visible on July 17.

Bangalore might be facing some weather issues due to this Lunar eclipse named ‘Half-blood thunder moon eclipse’.  As per the reports, Bangalore is said to get its second lunar eclipse this year which will take place on July 17th, Wednesday at around 1.30 am to 4.30 am. The experts suggest that the lunar eclipse can be visible to the people for about three to four hours. This lunar eclipse is a partial eclipse, which can be visible from Bangalore on Tuesday midnight.

The Earth’s shadow will split the moon from the middle, leaving the eclipsed part of the moon to appear copper-reddish in colour. This lunar eclipse is a very rare eclipse which can be seen even with naked eyes.

The director of Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium Mr Pramod Galgali from Bengaluru said that “This time the lunar eclipse will be a partial one".

He also added "This occurs when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, but not completely. Some part of the moon is covered by the central part of the Earth that forms a shadow on the moon causing the partial eclipse. Terms like blood moon and super moon are being coined these days to refer to the appearance of the moon during the eclipse. The eclipsed part of the moon will have a reddish hue to it, even if it doesn’t turn completely red.”

A team from Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium are organising an event for the people who can view this lunar eclipse better. Mr Pramod Galgali also said “We will set up telescopes for the people, but we are uncertain whether people will be turning up in large numbers since it will be the middle of the night. Clouds might also obstruct the viewing of the eclipse.”

Here's everything you need to know about Google Shoelace

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Google Shoelace is a new social media app for connecting strangers.

Google has launched various social media platforms in the past and none of them had achieved success in the long run. At first, Orkut by Google was ruling the social media platforms until Facebook arrived. Seeing Orkut fail, the company launched another social networking site called Google+. Now, since Google+ is also gone, the company is giving another shot with Shoelace.

Shoelace is a newly announced social networking platform by Google. It is created by the company’s Area 120 team, which is known for designing experimental projects. The new social networking application will be available on both iOS and Android. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, the Shoelace appl connects people of same interests. These people can then choose to take part in activities together like yoga or attending a concert.

Shoelace users can also create a listing for an activity or an event and they can invite their friends or strangers to join. Additionally, the social network platform will also recommend users various activities or events that would match their interests.

Also Read: Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon chipsets will take your WearOS experience to another level

Unfortunately, Google Shoelace is currently available only on an invite basis. This means that users will need a special invite from an exciting user to join the social media platform. Also, it is only available in the New York City of the United States for now. However, the company has not yet announced that when the application will be made available globally.

Who is the Nintendo Switch Lite for?

Nintendo Switch, switch lite
Nintendo Switch Lite will be available in various colour variants.

Nintendo recently came back into the limelight with the launch of the Nintendo Switch. It was rated as one of the best gaming consoles available. It is not only a handheld console but can also attach to a TV in order to bring a complete console experience. The company has launched a cheaper variant of the same dubbed Nintendo Switch Lite. However, they had to make a few compromises on the way.

Unlike the regular Switch, the Switch Lite is a handheld-only device, which means it lacks the capability of any sort of video output. Also, the controllers are attached to the chassis unlike the Joy-cons on the Nintendo Switch. So, it is clear that the Switch Lite is not here to replace the original Switch but it will sit alongside on the store shelves.

As for the specifications, the Nintendo Switch Lite features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. It is powered by an NVIDIA customised Tegra processor and comes with 32GB of onboard storage. All of this is backed by a 3,750mAh battery.

Also Read: Asus ROG Phone 2 to launch on July 23: Here’s what to expect

Who is it for?

Now we know what the Nintendo Switch Lite is but the question that remains is who is it for? The handheld gaming console is priced at just USD 200 (roughly Rs. 14,000). At that price, it makes a great offer for someone who is looking to enter the world of console gaming or is simply running on a tight budget. Also, it can be bought by users who already own a regular Switch at home and want to use the Switch Lite as a secondary console.

Nintendo Switch Lite will be available in the United States starting September 20, 2019.

Huawei Mate 20 Lite, P10 and others to get EMUI 9.1 update next month

EMUI 9.1 will soon be available for dozens of Huawei devices.

Huawei provides a custom user interface on top of Android called EMUI. Currently, EMUI 9 is the latest interface based on Google's Android 9 Pie update. The company has been working on the EMUI 9.1 update lately and it has already arrived on a few devices. Huawei has now rolled out the list of next batch of devices, which will be receiving the update.

While the latest Huawei P30 series already come with the EMUI 9.1 update, the company promised that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Mate 10 Pro, Mate 10 Porsche Edition, Mate RS, P20 and P20 Pro smartphones will receive the update in July 2019. As for the next batch, the Chinese firm will be updating the Huawei P10, P10 Plus, Mate 9, Mate 20 Lite, Y6 2019, Y5 2019 and the Psmart 2019 in August 2019.

Apart from that, Honor 7X, 8x, View 10, 10 Lite, 20 Lite, Honor Play, Honor 10, 8 Pro and the 9 Lite will be receiving the EMUI 9.1 update next month. Soon after these devices are updated, the company will start rolling out the update for the next batch of devices.

Also Read: HongMeng OS to beat Android and MacOS in terms of performance, claims Huawei

EMUI 9.1 might sound like a pretty minor update but it's not. It does bring dozens of changes under the hood including the new EROFS file system, GPU Turbo 3.0 as well as camera improvements. It also brings the Moon mode feature found in the P30 line. Apart from that, the company has also added a new refined icon design and gesture controls.

How to fix download pending error on Google Play Store

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Google Play Store sometimes shows download pending error. Here's how to fix it.

Everyone would have faced problems in Google's Play Store especially the download pending error. This error causes every time when you try to cancel and install the app even if there are no apps installing. We are here to help you in solving the problem faced while installing an app. Here are a few steps, which you can follow to rectify this error.

Check your network connection

Bad network connection causes these types of issues, which can result in downloading error. Always check the network connection before starting the download or if your using WiFi check whether WiFi has an active internet connection. Even if the network connection is slow you can face these issues while downloading the app.

Also, if you are trying to download the app via mobile data, check if you have enabled downloading on data in the Play Store settings. To check:

  • Head over to Google Play Store and then click on the menu in the top left corner
  • Go to Settings > App download preference > change it to Over any network

Checking downloads and updates

Check whether any of the apps are downloading or updating in the "My Apps and Games" section in the Play Store. If any of the apps are downloading, download pending will appear on the app page, which you are trying to download. This often happens when you download or update many apps simultaneously.

Try clearing Google Play App cache and data

Clearing the Google Play Store app cache and data mostly solves all the problems of the Play Store including the download pending error.

Follow the below steps to clear the cache and data:

  1. Go to Settings> Apps.
  2. Find the Google Play Store application
  3. Here, you will see app notifications and other options. Click on Storage.
  4. Tap on the Clear Cache button.
  5. If you don’t want to repeat the process, you can clear the data also.

Check phone storage

Sometimes, the reason behind the download pending error is low storage space in the device or the SD card. You can free up some space in the device by going to the Settings> Storage and try uninstalling the unnecessary apps, which occupy space. Additionally, delete some of the old pictures, videos, music, etc, which you have backed up and you feel useless as it is occupying extra space in the device.

Also Read: How to enable dark mode on MIUI on Poco F1, Redmi Note 7 Pro and others

Try Restarting your Device

If the above steps do not work try restarting the device. Most of the problems will be solved when you restart the device. Restarting will reboot the device including the apps which will result in clearing the bugs and errors caused initially in the app. Hold the power button and hit for restart.

Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon chipsets will take your WearOS experience to another level

Fossil, Q Explorist Hr, Q4, Fossil Gen 4
WearOS will be much smoother on upcoming smartwatches.

Google's WearOS has faced many problems since Andriod wear days. The smartwatches were powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor. Soon, Qualcomm released its next chipset called Snapdragon Wear 3100 with more support for performance and battery, which was also not enough to maintain its standards in the market.

According to a report by WinFuture, Qualcomm is preparing its new wear chipset called the Snapdragon wear 429 or the Snapdragon wear 2700, which are expected to be faster and better than the previous chipsets. However, the chipsets are still in the Engineering Validation Test (EVT) stage with a team actively working on it.

The Snapdragon 429 is a popular chipset among budget smartphones, with devices like the Nokia 3.2 powered by it. Both the chipsets are being tested with 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 8GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. These chipsets are also built on a 12nm process, as opposed to the currently used 28nm process. It will also be the first WearOS chipset to have 64-bit support, packing four ARM Cortex-A53 cores that will be clocked at up to 2.0GHz.

Additionally, the Snapdragon 429 wear and the Snapdragon wear 2700 are expected to support LTE and Bluetooth 5.0 with the latest updates. Also, it is said that these chipsets will get "Track 3" feature, which is a chip like in the wear OS 3100 with the technology of measuring the steps, heart rate and other movements.

Also Read: Asus ROG Phone 2 to launch on July 23: Here’s what to expect

Qualcomm has revealed that these chipsets are very early in development and still it would be analysed by the experts. These chipsets will undergo the necessary changes if needed to give the best experiences to the user. Additionally, Qualcomm also revealed that these chipsets may not be ready for the launch until next year.

How to enable dark mode on MIUI on Poco F1, Redmi Note 7 Pro and others

MIUI 10, MIUI, REDMI NOTE 5 PRO
MIUI 10 devices can now enable dark mode.

Dark Mode is something almost everyone is adopting in the developer community. Not only apps, but even operating systems like Android and iOS are soon getting system-wide dark mode. Xiaomi has been working on such a feature for their MIUI ROMs. Although the feature has not been officially rolled out yet, here's how you can enable it right away.

While the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro has already received the dark mode feature on the stable MIUI build, it is still hidden in most of other Xiaomi devices. With the upcoming update, the company is planning to push the feature to two of the most popular smartphones, the Poco F1 and the Redmi Note 7 Pro.

According to a post on XDADevelopers, the dark mode can be enabled on Poco F1 and other Xiaomi devices running on a stable build of MIUI 10. However, the steps to enable this feature require the user to connect the phone to a computer.

How to enable dark mode?

  • Make sure your PC or Mac has ADB installed
  • On your Xiaomi device, go inside Developer Settings and enable USB Debugging
  • Now, connect your smartphone to the computer
  • Simply run the following commands using the command prompt

To enable the system-wide dark mode on MIUI 10, type "adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 2"

To disable the dark mode on MIUI 10, type "adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 1"

To automatically switch the dark mode depending on day or night, type "adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode"

Also Read: Redmi 7A brings what even a Samsung Galaxy or an Apple iPhone can’t offer

Notably, the Xiaomi device need not be rooted in order to follow the steps mentioned above. Also, this feature is experimental and we would recommend waiting for the official update to enable the feature.

Spotify Lite launched in India: How to download, features and more

Spotify, free music, Spotify on mobile
Spotify Lite is now available in India and 35 other countries.

Lately, Spotify has been working on expanding its business to more countries including India. Since the app has now arrived in markets like India, the company decided to roll out a lighter version for budget-oriented phones and for people who run low on data. The app has been rolled out to 36 countries including India.

As the name suggests, the application is lightweight and weighs in at around just 10MB. The app is not only light itself but also brings data saving features making it light on your mobile data as well.

While the Spotify Lite application is quite reminiscent of the regular application, it does bring a few changes under the hood. The application offers an option to change the sound quality from the main player interface. It also informs an approximate consumption of data per soundtrack.

Apart from that, the app also brings an option to set a monthly data limit. However, there is no option to change the billing cycle. Spotify Lite even allows the user to manage the phone's storage, clear the cache and delete all the downloads if needed.

Also Read: DC Universe is a streaming app for the fans: How to download, subscription plans and more

Spotify Lite has been rolled out to 36 countries, which include Africa, Asia, Latin America, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Vietnam.