Author: Rosheena Zehra

Latest Leak About iPhone 6s Camera: A 400% Boost According to Reports

A report by Forbes announced a 400% boost in the front camera of the latest iPhones to be released on 9th September. According to MacRumors, the selfie camera would be upgraded to 5 MP, pleasing selfie and FaceTime aficionados all over. This is indeed a big leap from the current 1.2 MP of the iPhone 6. A better quality front camera inevitably makes it one of the most anticipated features of the new iPhones.

In addition to this, a post by 9to5Mac mentions a rear camera case which is not made of Sapphire. If reports are to be believed this is perhaps because of failure during drop tests.

“Aside from upgrading rear camera module to 12MP, Apple will upgrade front camera module to 5MP […] The new iPhone may not be equipped with sapphire cover lens, as it still has quality issues on the drop test.” Ming-Chi Kuo – source, 9to5Mac.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/03/kgi-iphone-6s-storage-16gb-64gb-128gb/”]MacRumor[/tw-button] [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/03/iphone-6s-5mp-front-camera/”]9to5Mac[/tw-button]

September 5, 2015
Final Rumour Roundup : What to Expect From Apple’s iPhone 6s

What we already know about the new iPhones is that they are going to be launched on the ninth of this month, the event will take place at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and that it will be one of the biggest so far in the history of the company. While Apple poses itself to charm potential customers, let’s do a quick recap of what we think these gizmos are going to be all about.

The launch is expected to include two new iPhones; 6s and 6s Plus, to be made ready for shipping, later this month. The phones will be first shipped to Apple’s ‘first-tier’ countries – Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S, and mainland China.

Price

The iPhone 6s is presently said to arrive at 699 euros which is Rs.52,084 approximately, for the 16GB version. The 64GB version is said to be 799 euros which is Rs.59,529 approximately, while the 128GB version might be 899 euros which is Rs.66,980 approximately.

These figures are taken from a Dutch blog called Tech Tastic which also mentions that the 6s Plus will cost 100 euros more for the same amount of storage space.

Storage

Reports about the new iPhones clear doubts about a speculated increase in storage space, with Apple having already stated that people don’t really need more space since they’re using the cloud to store their documents and pictures anyway.

The added feature of being able to take 4k videos on the device is also likely to cause trouble with storage, especially for the buyers of the 16 GB variant. They would then be forced to upgrade the iCloud storage and dump their files on that, or look for alternatives.

Processor

The device is rumoured to have a Force Touch display, an A9 processor, and 2 GB of RAM. A9 is also expected to have two cores running at 1.80GHz. A new NFC chip from NXP and labelled 66VP2 is also expected to be inside the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Battery

cnBeta marks the new battery capacities of the iPhone 6s at 1715 mAh and iPhone 6S Plus at 2750 mAh. These can be compared to the iPhone 6 at 1810 mAh and iPhone 6 Plus at 2910 mAh.

Since iPhone-users are already struggling with battery life, this doesn’t come as a welcomed change. Despite many power enhancement updates in iOS 9, a bigger battery is always more appreciated. Also considering that the newer ‘S’ version iPhones usually have a bump in hardware, power consumption might get affected.

Display:

In terms of display, the gadgets are expected to have a 1125 x 2000 resolution along with a pixel density of 488ppi. According to rumours, the company may offer a new colour variant -rose pink, in addition to the gold, silver and space grey variant.

One of the most anticipated features of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is the Force Touch Display. This has been seen earlier in Apple Watch and the new Macbook, as well as in Huawei’s Mate S which has a similar Force Touch technology, While the trackpads and Apple Watch work on two levels, namely of press and tap, this updated version of Force Touch will feature a deeper press in addition to these. Thus, the feature has been rightly termed ‘3-D Touch’. The sensors would be taking into account three different types of touch rather than two. What has got buyers excited is the potential of new shortcut actions and commands likely to be part of the iPhone 6s version of iOS 9.

Physical Features

The new iPhones are expected to be heavier than the predecessors, by a few grams. But according to several sources, Apple is looking to reduce the thickness of its already delicate smartphones. Post the “bendgate” issue last year, this is perhaps not the smartest choice to make. However, good news around the new iPhones’ construction is the use of 7000 series Aluminium, which is stronger and more resilient. You can also expect Apple to reinforce the iPhones with a stronger inner structure.

A partially put together iPhone 6s tells us it’s likely to have a thickness of 7.08 mm, compared to its 6.9 mm thick predecessor. It’s height is likely to measure around 138.19 mm tall compared to 138.1 mm for the iPhone 6, and the width may be a 67.68 mm compared to the 67.16 mm wide iPhone 6.

The iPhones are going to keep the design from last year, which may disappoint many buyers. With the S6 Edge as the benchmark of design, those looking for a new iPhone will need to push their purchases to next year and wait for the iPhone 7.

Camera

With the iPhone stuck in the 8MP cycle for many a years, the company is expected to bump up the camera to 12 MP. This will allow the phone to capture 4K video, however this will not make the camera near as high resolution as the 16 MP sensors from Samsung. We can also not expect the Aperture to be around f1.9, the new iPhones are expected to keep f2.0 – f2.2.

If a report by Forbes is to be believed, all is not downhill for the new cameras. The front camera will be of 5 MP. ensuring better FaceTime and selfie opportunities to users. This improvement is sure to put iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in the same league as its major competitor Samsung Galaxy S6.

With September 9th being just 5 days away, the countdown for the biggest Apple launch has begun. Stay tuned for more information.

September 4, 2015
WhatsApp Gains 900 Million Active Users

According to stats shared by Jan Koum on Friday, WhatsApp now has more than 900 million active users. It took the instant messaging service no more than five months to gain the last 100 million users. After making the announcement of having secured 800 million monthly active users in April, it was not a long a stretch before the company covered another 100 million.

Earlier this year in January, WhatsApp had made the announcement that the instant messaging service was being used by people all over the world to send over 30 billion messages per day. This was way more than the estimated 20 billion SMS texts that are exchanged every day.

Facebook-owned-WhatsApp has continued to keep its users happy and hooked with the addition of a new feature every now and then like the addition of fancy, colourful emoticons and voice calling. Founded in 2009 by two former Yahoo employees, Brian Acton and Jan Koum, WhatsApp allows its services to be used for free for the first year, and charges a nominal $0.99 (roughly Rs. 55) for every year afterwards.

Even though other instant messaging names like Google’s HangOuts and WeChat shy away from revealing their figures, WhatsApp has gone ahead to do otherwise, drawing attention to the growing presence of social media in our lives.

September 4, 2015
Apple Brings 4K to the 21.5 inch iMac this October

This October would bring in Apple’s new 4K screen to its 21.5 inch iMac. It will come equipped with a resolution of 4096 x 2304, an improvement from its previous1920 x 1080, by the end of next month. This launch will take place alongside OS X El Capitan making the product ready for shipping by November.

New features will include faster processors and improved colour saturation. Sadly enough, the higher resolution will, in all probability, increase the price of the new iMac, reminiscent of the 5K display which raised the price of the 27-inch iMac last year. However, the current model of the 27-inch iMac might still be available for sale post the launch.

September 4, 2015
Moto X Force to be the Official Name of Motorola ‘Bounce’

Motorola has outed the name of its newest smartphone -Moto X Force. Yes, boys and girls, that’s going to be the name of the phone we until very recently were referring to as ‘Bounce’. Along with the official name, we also have a leaked image of the device soon to be made available for retail.

Leaked image of the new Moto X Force. Source: @upleaks

It has been tagged as “shatterproof” by Motorola thereby suggesting a military MIL-STD rating of some sort. Being water and dust resistant through an IP factor is one of the other features it is equipped with. The smartphone boasts of Snapdragon 810 chip from Qualcomm, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of storage, as well as a 3,760 mAh battery, which, let us remind you, is bigger than that of the Moto X Play. The screen will be of a 5.43-inch QHD kind, and the rear camera will be the same 21 MP as in the other two Moto X-branded devices launched earlier this year. All these features along with a 5 MP front camera to go with it all, is what Moto X has to offer.

Source :[tw-button size=”medium” background=” #07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”https://twitter.com/upleaks/status/638914880838328320″]UPleaks[/tw-button]

September 3, 2015
Check Out the OnePlus 2 at Your Closest Airtel Store

Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has launched a new venture with OnePlus. OnePlus is a rapidly growing technology start-up which is now beginning to make its presence felt in over 35 countries. It’s new smartphone OnePlus 2 would now be available for retail in over 50 Airtel stores in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The new smartphone by OnePlus is an ‘online only’ gadget which makes it unavailable for sale in stores. This first-of-its-kind-partnership with Airtel therefore, would allow you to take a look at it, at a store near you.

Additionally, the customers who upgrade to 4G on their existing SIMs or get a new 4G connection would stand to get an invite to OnePlus 2 with which which they can buy this new smartphone.

Only Airtel stores in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai will offer this deal to begin with. But take heart if you’re located elsewhere for Airtel promises to make it available in its stores in other 4G enabled cities soon. For more details about this partnership as well as the list of stores offering these deals, log on to www.airtel.in/oneplus2.

OnePlus has had a reputation of customer satisfaction in the past, and Airtel has maintained a consistently stable position over the years. The partnership of these two names can thus be expected to take care of the expectations of the Indian market.

September 3, 2015
Cortana is Finally Here: Windows Voice Assistant Hits Indian Markets

Following suit with its Apple and Android counterparts, Windows had launched its own voice assistant called Cortana, this year. And now India too has been made part of the limited launch of the personalised digital assistant by Microsoft.

And she has arrived!

Demonstrated for the first time at the Microsoft BUILD Developer Conference (April 2–4, 2014) in San Francisco, Cortana is part of Microsoft’s attempt to revamp its operating system. Available in India with Windows 10 Insider Preview builds 10532+, Cortana can be used only by the members of Windows Insider programme which lets users test features before their official release.

Cortana, the blue-skinned beauty is ready to take the Indian tech circuit by storm with a voice and character of her own. In a first of its kind software for Windows phones in the country, the personal assistant offers features that include setting reminders, recognising natural voice without the user having to input a predefined series of commands, and answering questions using information from Bing.

The company also added that the assistant “will be updated with an improved voice later this month.” The voice assistant is available as an optional download in Nihongo for Japan and in English for Australia and Canada. After this, Microsoft is expected to prepare the voice assistant for Brazil and Mexico, along with releasing a French version in Canada.

Considered one of the best features of Windows so far, Times of India praised this cool new addition to the tech world by saying, “In our Windows 10 review, we found it to be pretty accurate in terms of recognizing our voice and offering answers to our questions.”

September 3, 2015
Apple iPad Pro Set to Arrive Alongside iPhone 6S on Sept 9th

Time for Apple loyalists to hold tight as details of one of the most anticipated events of the tech world are divulged. 9th September marks the day the new iPhone will be launched in markets all over the world. The San Francisco venue, the Bill Graham auditorium (shown below) a 7000-seat building, therefore becomes symbolic of the significance this event will have in the history of the company.

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco

The event will mark not only the launch of a pair of new iPhones but also of an upgraded Apple TV set top box, and new bands for the Apple Watch. The launch of these gadgets will be followed by the much awaited iPad Pro, and a revamped version of the iPad mini for retail in the subsequent months, if rumours are to be believed.

Meanwhile, Apple is expected to showcase the two new iPads at the event next week. The iPad mini 4 will be a thinner version of the current iPad mini, including a faster A-series chip with support for split-screen apps first introduced in iOS 9. A pair of upgraded cameras is another likely addition. Codenamed J98/J99, iPad Pro will be the larger-sized tablet and will have iOS 9.1, support a Force Touch-based stylus, and include speakers on two sides for better sound quality. The new iOS 9.1 operating system is expected to provide the iPad Pro with new features that include optimised versions of the Siri and Notification Center interfaces.

The event is expected to surpass last year’s launch of the iPhone 6, Apple Watch and Apple Pay keynote at the Flint Centre in Cupertino, with an “unprecedented” range of product introductions. All eyes are now set on Apple to deliver a range of products as impressive as tech freaks across the globe expect them to be.

September 3, 2015
Google Expected to Unveil Two Nexus Phones on 29th September

If reports are to be believed, Google has a tentative event lined up for September 29th in San Francisco. The event would mark the launch of two new Nexus smartphones equipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Nexus 6 in 2014

While one phone will be built by LG, the other is going to be a Huawei phone. The LG phone is going to be an upgraded version of the 5.2-inch Nexus 5 but smaller in size at around 4.7 inches. The Huawei phone, on the other hand, will be a tad bigger at 5.7 inches. Rear-mounted fingerprint sensors and USB Type-C ports are two other interesting features to look forward to.

Android loyalists all over the world have touted Nexus phones as Google “flagships” gadgets for the latest Android software, viewing it as a version free from the eventual tweaking and meddling by different companies in the tech world. The phones therefore can be expected to be free from any third-party interferences, inevitably making them more in demand by the developers and by people looking for the fastest Android updates directly from Google.

Faster processors, more RAM, Force Touch control, and better front and rear cameras are some of the other features to get you excited about these new smartphones. The only uncertain aspect so far is the price. It would be interesting to see how it positions itself in a market with competitively priced phones already by companies like Motorola, ZTE, Huawei and Alcatel.

September 3, 2015
Here’s How You Can Stream Recorded TV Content to Your Smartphone

‘Tata Sky+ Transfer’ set top box (STB) is the newest feature added to Tata Sky’s inventory of technological innovations. The first of its kind in Asia for DTH, this feature enables audiences to transfer recorded content from their set-top box to mobile phones and tablets, allowing them to watch it in the offline mode any time they want.

Adding to the already existing features of the Tata Sky+ HD (Personal Video Recorder) STB, the Tata Sky+ Transfer STB enables transfer of recorded content to a device over wi-fi for subscribers with iOS (iPhones, iPads) and Android mobile devices through the revamped Tata Sky mobile app.

Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Sky, explains their new venture and says, “The launch of the Tata Sky Transfer STB comes at a time when 75 percent of Indian audiences accessing the internet on their mobile devices are aged between 19 to 35 years and increasingly seek new content. Tata Sky+ Transfer is hence the innovative answer for consumers who want to keep in touch with their favorite content round the clock, anywhere, essentially without using up broadband data.”

Tata Sky+ Transfer subscribers will be able to avail the ‘Transfer’ pack free of cost by simply clicking on the ‘Transfer’ tab on the Tata Sky mobile App. Available nationally, the ‘Tata Sky+ Transfer’ box is offered at Rs. 9300 and all existing subscribers can upgrade it for a fee of Rs. 7890.

September 3, 2015
Attention Book Worms: Amazon Introduces Kindle Unlimited in India

Today Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited in India. It’s a subscription which allows Kindle users to have access to a plethora of books at a low price. A monthly fee of Rs.199 allows the reader to have access to about one million books across various genres. The Kindle Unlimited logo is a must for the titles to be eligible for this subscription. After that, only a click on ‘Read for Free’ on any Kindle device, or the free Kindle app for Android or iOS, is required.

Amazon boasts of a library including names like Chetan Bhagat, J.K. Rowling, Robin Sharma, Amish, among others, as part of the titles offered to its audience. The six month subscription costs Rs.999, while the twelve month one is for Rs.1799. Also, from today till September 30th, readers can get their first month of subscription for only Rs.99. Potential customers can log on to www.amazon.in/kindleunlimited to subscribe.

We suggest you don’t waste your time lugging heavy books around because the kindle is here to take you to a different world by bringing you millions of books, in one device, in just 60 seconds.

September 2, 2015
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Finally Arrives In India

Samsung’s ultra-slim Galaxy Tab S2 tablet announced in July this year has been launched in India today. Priced at 39,400, the tablet is available for sale across the country now. The gadget is 5.6 mm thick and weighs only 392 grams for its 9.7 inches. The 8-inch variant of the tab has not been released in the country.

With a thickness of 5.6 mm, Galaxy S2 is not only slimmer than the Apple iPad Air 2, but it also boasts of a finger-print scanner integrated in the physical home button. Equipped with 4G LTE support, the tab offers 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 128GB using a microSD card. A bundled storage of 100GB for two years in the form of a OneDrive has also been provided by Samsung.

Other features include 8-megapixel rear camera, 2.1-megapixel front camera and a 5,870mAh battery. Connectivity is offered by 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, and it runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. Samsung is giving 2GB of 4G data free per month for a period of two months to customers with an Airtel subscription. Additionally, the company also promises a bunch of paid apps pre-loaded on the tablet, among other attractive features all worth about Rs 31,000.

September 2, 2015
Rumour: Xiaomi and Samsung Are Working Together on a New Laptop

Xiaomi, the fourth-largest smartphone vendor, has decided to enter the world of PC manufacturing if Jungah Lee’s report in Bloomberg is to be believed. Xiaomi is working on the launch of a laptop early next year. There have been talks with Samsung to provide memory chips, which could further lead to Samsung also taking care of the display of the new product. The two companies refused to make any comments on this.

Samsung too has been struggling to maintain a stable hold over the Chinese as well as markets all over the world. However, after impressing the market with its smartphones which use a highly customised Android version called MIUI, this venture could turn out to be a wise move for Xiaomi.

September 2, 2015
Moto 360 (2nd Generation)- Leaks, Rumours and Speculation

Motorola recently Tweeted a video hinting at the potential successor of the Moto 360 smartwatch that had hit the markets last year. Poised for a tentative release next week, expectations and hopes are high to see the Moto 360 (2nd Generation) at IFA Berlin this year.

This new model of the smart watch is marked by a change in the position of the crown. From the previous three o’clock of Moto 360 it has moved to two o’clock.

The three o’clock position of the crown of Moto 360

The two o’clock position of the crown.

This video however is not the first bit of leaked information regarding Moto 360 (2nd Gen). Speculations have been thriving from as early as March when a picture was posted on HelloMotoHK page on Facebook.

A travel case showing components of a round watch with multiple straps.

The new smart watch is expect to have better display than its predecessor. The numbers being thrown around are that of a 360 x 360 display.

Droid Life discovered that a Motorola filing for a smartwatch-like wireless charging device has passed through the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). This filing could be for the upcoming Moto 360. The last time a Motorola smartwatch product was submitted to the FCC, it was shortly before the Moto 360 was released. All eyes are now set on IFA Berlin this year. Will they, won’t they?

September 2, 2015
IFA Berlin ’15: What to Expect

IFA Berlin, originally a radio exhibition, has now become a red-letter event in the tech world. One of the oldest industrial exhibitions, it is a consumer electronics trade fair which holds a record of 2.4 billion euro of placed orders.

What you can expect from the event is a myriad of smart-phones, smart-watches, tablets and laptops up for display for potential customers and the international media. About 7000 journalists from over 75 countries have attended and covered this event in the past. IFA has previously been the launch platform of various fancy gadgets, Samsung Galaxy Note series being an example.

The first week of September thus marks Europe’s biggest exhibition of new consumer electronics, and therefore the most perfectly prepared market for the gizmo connoisseur. With all eyes glued on one of the most important events of the tech calendar, here’s a quick look at the many ways we can expect our minds to be blown away over the course of the next three days.

Samsung

Starting with a consistent flag-bearer of the event – the brand is expected to launch its new smart-watch, the Gear S2 at the event. Although Samsung has already revealed most of the details about its upcoming smartwatch, the company promised to give a more in-depth presentation at IFA.

Asus

Closely followed by Samsung is Asus’s ZenWatch2 whose price and release date is likely to be announced at the event. The company has promised “dramatically improved” features which include better recharging times with a magnetic connector. Knowing its track record, it is highly unlikely Asus would make an appearance with only one gadget. Hold tight for more updates on what Asus have to offer this year.

Motorola

Motorola is in toe of these major brands with its launch of the 2nd generation of Moto 360, another gizmo falling in the smartwatch category. This one will be available in two different sizes.

Sony

Sony has been fairly quiet about its presence in IFA this year, however it won’t be wrong to expect a slice from its growing range of wearable devices and an expanding set of 4K cameras and TVs. Sony is also expected to release its Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium at the IFA Berlin event today.

Click here to read more about the upcoming Sony smartphones.

LG

The stage is set for the LG Rolly portable keyboard. This full-sized QWERTY keyboard for smartphones and tablets rolls up into a stick and therefore is convenient to carry around. Backed by a AAA battery, it is bluetooth enabled and is expected to last three months before running out of power. It would be interesting to note the response to this little gadget –if it’s worth the hoopla or will it be too fancy for any practical purpose. LG has declared September as the tentative time when it will be available for sale in the US.

Huawei

If rumours are to be believed, Huawei is expected to bring into action its own version of Force Touch technology, present in the Apple watch and speculated to be part of the next iPhone. Apple has described Force Touch as the “most significant new sensing capability” for it included Multi?Touch in older MacBook laptops. A Force Touch includes the usual gestures like scrolling and swiping along with a customisable feature in the trackpad called Force Touch. The users can adjust the feature’s sensitivity enabling them to determine the pressure required to determine a click.

Additionally, updates on the price and release date of the Android Wear-running Huawei Watch are also expected to be announced this IFA.

Lenovo

The company has kept its plans carefully and deliberately under wraps this year. However the air is rife with rumours of a 5.5-inch Vibe P1 Android handset that would perhaps be coupled with a 5,000mAh battery.

Microsoft

If Intel manages to market its Skylake range quickly enough, there is much to look forward to in terms of the Wintel combination. Intel’s Kirk Skaugen has already said, “Windows 10 and Skylake processors were ‘designed together.” Today at IFA, the entire Skylake range is going to be released, covering perhaps the broadest range of devices in the company’s history. With Windows 10 now out, PC makers everywhere should expect all sorts of new things and updates since the processor and Windows updates have already lined up quite conveniently for some big news this year.

There are a whole bunch of other brands to watch out for. Not being mentioned separately does not reduce their importance and contribution at IFA ’15. If we would have it the Arthur C. Clarke way when he said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, it’s time to sit back and let the magic begin!

September 2, 2015