Author: Vipul Vij

Apple iPhone SE 2 Renders Leaked Again With iPhone X Style Notch

Apple is expected to launch the Apple iPhone SE 2 before the World Wide Developer’s Conference 2018 kicks off in early-June. The rumours surrounding the iPhone SE 2 have increased in intensity and uniformity. That usually is a sign of a smartphone on the brink of launching. So far, we either seen a radically different design with thin bezels and a notch, or the same iPhone SE design with a glass back for wireless charging.

In new 360º renders leaked on Twitter, the images reveal a new radical design of the iPhone SE 2, more in line with the iPhone X and soon to be launched iPhone 2018 lineup. The smartphone has a notch on the display and very thin bezels all around. If Apple does go ahead with notch, it certain that the iPhone SE 2 will have Face ID and the notch won’t just be there without solving any purpose.

There is no chin on the iPhone SE 2 here, which means no LCD display. Since Apple folds the display from the bottom to get rid of the chin, an OLED panel is necessary for that. If this turns out to be true, the iPhone SE 2 will likely have a better display than the iPhone 8/8Plus which have an LCD panel.

One thing consistent with all iPhone SE 2 renders is the presence of a single camera on the back of the smartphone. Apple will likely use the iPhone 7 sensors for the iPhone SE 2. Under the hood, the iPhone SE 2 is expected to run on the Apple A10 Fusion chipset, the same SoC that powers the iPhone 7/7 Plus and the new entry-level iPad.

Must Read: OnePlus 6 To Launch In India On May 17th

We expect the iPhone SE 2 to launch before WWDC 2018 commences in June. This means that the iPhone SE 2 could be launched in May, joining a huge list of other flagship devices launching in this month. India will be one of the first few countries where the Apple iPhone SE 2 goes on sale. It will be manufactured at the Bengaluru plant where the current iPhone SE and iPhone 6s Plus are manufactured.

May 12, 2018
YouTube Will Remind Users To ‘Take A Break’ With New Update

At the Google I/O 2018 conference, the company unveiled a lot of new technological advancements including Google Duplex. One of the most anticipated announcements was that of Android P. The next iteration of the world’s most populat mobile OS will officially roll out later in the year but, Google gave us a glimpse of what’s in store for us. One of the main areas where Google has worked on is the digital well-being. YouTube appears to be a part of that initiative by Google as the new update to YouTube for Android brings a ‘Take A Break’ feature.

The ‘Take A Break’ feature will allow users to keep a check on their YouTube habit and monitor their usage of the app. This is in line with what’s in store for Android P in the future. To start using the new feature, head over to the YouTube app’s setting and then click on general. There on, you can choose different ways to monitor your activity and work on your “Digital Well Being.”

Must Read: Android 9 P: Google I/O 2018 New Features

Users can set a reminder for 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Once a user sets a reminder for a certain time, YouTube will automatically pause the video at those intervals. A user can decide whether continue to watch the video or dismiss the reminder. Another option available in “Disable sounds & vibrations’ for the app. This will essentially stop all notifications from the app to pop up on the screen. The idea here is that the app won’t try to grab your attention, and the user will be able to avoid getting distracted from constant notifications.

The third feature available is the ‘Scheduled Digest’ and will again revolve around notifications. This feature lets users get all of their notifications from the app once a day at a time of their liking. Users can select the time they feel they can devote to YouTube and get all the notifications at that particular time.

The feature is available in the latest version of YouTube app for Android. The version number is 13.17.55 and should be rolled out to all Android devices soon.

May 12, 2018
Nokia X Passes Through TENNA Before May 16th Launch

HMD Global started 2018 with the launch of a few impressive devices at MWC 2018. Nokia 1 was the first-ever Android Go device and the Nokia 7 Plus has garnered great reviews since its launch. The soon to be launched Nokia X will be the first from the company to have a notch. The growing trend of incorporating the notch design has finally caught up with the resurrecting Nokia brand as well.

The launch of the Nokia X is scheduled for May 16th and plenty of images of the smartphone have been leaked already. Just like every other smartphone, the Nokia X has also passed through TENNA in China revealing all the specifications of the smartphone before its launch.

The Nokia X will sport a 5.8 inch TFT display with a 2280 x 1080 px resolution. This translates into a 19:9 aspect ratio, the same as the P20 Lite. There is also a notch on the display, which could be the reason why the smartphone has a taller aspect ratio.

Must Read: OnePlus 6 In White And Black Colour Variants Leaked In Live Image

The vertically placed dual-camera setup is in the usual Nokia position but, the “Carl Zeiss” branding is missing. This means that the Nokia X will cost somewhere between the Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 2018. The listing mentions an unnamed SoC with eight cores clocked 1.8GHz. There are rumours that the device will have two variants, one running on the Snapdragon 636 with 6GB of RAM and the other with the MediaTek Helio P60 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM.

Nokia X Leaked Images

The smartphone will also have a glass build, something that a lot of mid-range smartphones sport nowadays. The Moto X4 and P20 Lite being the latest examples. The Nokia X will launch the same day as the OnePlus 6 and will be available only in China for the time being. It will be interesting to see if HMD Global decides to bring the smartphone to other markets like India, where the majority prefers to buy budget smartphones.

May 11, 2018
Xiaomi Mi 7 With iPhone X Like Notch Leaked In Live Images

The Xiaomi Mi 7 will have a notch, making it a first for Xiaomi. The trend of the notch has had a polarising response so far where some people can’t stand it while the others believe it doesn’t look half bad. The smartphone makers have certainly grown accustomed to it as more companies embrace the notch. But, the Mi 7 could be the only Android smartphone that will truly justify having a notch on the display.

New images posted on Twitter by popular leaker Ben Geskin give us a glimpse of an iPhone X design with Android OS. The Mi 7 looks identical to the iPhone X but, it still has a chin, which the iPhone X doesn’t. The back of the smartphone has a vertically placed dual-camera setup again, very similar to the iPhone X but, Xiaomi appears to have adopted this design language for 2018.

The back doesn’t appear to be made of glass which is odd for a 2018 flagship device. However, users won’t complain about a solidly built smartphone and that is what we expect from Xiaomi. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the back in a central position. Xiaomi has been doing this for devices long before it adopted the 18:9 aspect ratio.

The most interesting part about the Mi 7 is the notch. Unlike a lot of Android smartphones which have a notch but, without a real purpose, the Mi 7 is expected to house hardware that will enable Face ID-like facial recognition system. This means the Face Unlock won’t depend on software and in turn, be much more reliable. If Xiaomi pulls this off, it will do a one-up over Apple since the Mi 7 will also have a fingerprint sensor.

iPhone X Face ID

A recent report from MyDrivers clams that the Mi 7 will launch in late-May as part of Xiaomi’s 8th-anniversary celebration. Here is where it gets a bit tricky. A previous report claimed that the Mi 7 won’t come out before the third quarter of 2018 since the company has not been able to develop the technol0gy required for 3D facial recognition. It is, however, possible that Xiaomi could unveil the Mi 7 sooner and then make it available for sale later in the year.

It is to be seen how Xiaomi goes about the launch of one of the most ambitious smartphones from the company. The Xiaomi Mi 7 will gain international attention if it becomes the first Android smartphone to replicate Apple’s Face ID.

May 11, 2018
Lenovo Z5 Will Have iPhone X Like Thin Bezels Without The Notch

A couple of days ago, Lenovo’s Vice President Chang Cheng shared a teaser image of the company’s upcoming flagship device on his Weibo page. The image revealed the top-left side of the smartphone which hinted at the fact that the device won’t have a notch. The bezels were also extremely thin. To continue hyping up the phone, the Lenovo VP has posted a sketch of the smartphone, the Lenovo Z5.

If this one image is anything to go by, the Lenovo Z5 might be one of the most exciting smartphones to launch this year. The sketch reveals that the Z5 won’t have a notch, and the bezels will be evenly spread out on all sides. The sketch, which could exaggerate the design a bit, shows iPhone X-like thin bezels on all sides of the smartphone.

Many questions arise after looking at the sketch. The front camera, earpiece and the necessary sensors appear to be missing here. There are rumours that the smartphone will have a flip-up front camera, something we saw at MWC 2018. The fingerprint sensor could have easily been placed at the back but, rumours claim the smartphone will have an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, considering how expensive that tech still is, we expect a rear-mounted fingerprint reader on the Lenovo Z5.

The sketch also shows the USB C port located at the bottom while the headphone jack is missing. It is possible that the company could place it on the top but, considering the industry-wide trend, we could see headphone jack-less Lenovo Z5. Apart from that, the image doesn’t really tell us anything else about the device.

The launch of the flagship device is still over a month away. The new sketch does increase the interest in the Z5, especially considering the slew of smartphones that sport a notch these days. The Lenovo Z5 could be a breath of fresh air the smartphone industry is in dire need of.

May 11, 2018
Moto Z3 Play Renders Reveal Side-Mounted Fingerprint Sensor

Lenovo-owned Motorola will soon launch a new iteration of its modular smartphones. The Moto Z3 Play is expected to launch in June followed by another Moto Z device later in the year. As has been the case with the Z Play series, the Z3 Play will also be a mid-range smartphone priced at under Rs 30,000 in India. A few leaked images of the device had surfaced online, but, Evan Blass has posted the renders of the smartphone.

According to the renders, the Moto Z3 Play will have a dual-camera setup on the back. For the first time in the Z series, the 18:9 aspect ratio will be introduced. For the Moto Z3 Play to be compatible with current Moto Mods, the footprint of the smartphone will remain the same as previous generations but thanks to thinner bezels, the display will be bigger. Like with the Moto G6 series, the chin will house the “Motorola” branding.

Motorola has decided to move the fingerprint sensor on the side of the device since the bezels are much thinner. The power button is on the left and the fingerprint sensor is on the right-hand side just below the volume rockers. It is worth noting here that the chin could have housed the fingerprint sensor instead of the Motorola branding like the Moto G6.

The Moto Z3 Play will run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box which should not be a surprise. The Moto G6 and E5 lineup that was recently launched, also run the latest version of Android out of the box. Interestingly, the smartphone will have the May 1 security patch as well. The device will have a 6-inch display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. The Moto Z3 Play is expected to run on the Snapdragon 636 chipset coupled with either 4GB RAM/32GB storage or 6GBRAM/64GB storage.

So far, there are no details about the pricing of the device. Along with the Z3 Play, we expect Motorola to also unveil a few Moto Mods to go with the new smartphone.

May 11, 2018
Apple Watch Series 3 Goes On Sale In India On May 11th: How To Setup

Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 3 along with the iPhone X back in September 2017. In India, the smartwatch goes on sale on the 11th and will be compatible with Airtel and Jio postpaid connections. The highlight of the 3rd generation of Apple Watch is that it has cellular support, which means that users can leave their iPhones behind and still be able to make calls, send texts and surf the web. The pre-registration for Apple Watch Series 3 began on the 4th of May.

How To Set Up Apple Watch Series 3:

You need an Airtel or Jio postpaid connection for this to work. Head to the Settings and go to About section. Users will get a carrier update and once updated, simply open the Watch app (pre-installed in iPhones) to set up your Apple Watch Series 3. The app will prompt you to set it up and after logging in to the necessary accounts, you will receive a confirmation SMS from your carrier.

The new Apple Watch Series 3 has an improved heart rate sensor and a SIM card slot. This has resulted in a 0.2mm thickness increment which is commendable. Apple also claims that the new Watch Series 3 is swim-proof, which means athletes can track their activities even when they’re swimming.

With the new and advanced heart rate sensor, the watch will notify an increased heart rate if you’re not active. Interestingly, in the new Apple Watch, the cellular number will remain the same as your iPhone and users can perform tasks such as iMessage directly from their watch without having their smartphone connected to it. The Apple Watch Series 3 will also stream 40 million songs from the iTunes and the Music App. The Siri on the smartwatch is also be voice-enabled for communication with the watch without looking at the screen. The display of the watch acts as an antenna and an electronic SIM card which is smaller than a nano-SIM card is used in the smartwatch.

Must Read: OnePlus 6 Will Have Galaxy S9-Like Heart Rate Sensor

The smartwatch has a dual-core processor to carry out all the tasks. The smartwatch will run Apple Watch OS 4 out of the box and has a battery life of up to 18 hours, Apple claims. The new W2 chip inside delivers 85 percent faster Wi-Fi while also being 50 percent more power efficient, which will be crucial because of the cellular connectivity feature using up more battery than usual.

The Apple Watch Series 3 is priced at Rs 39080 for the 38mm size variant and the 42mm variant will cost Rs 41120. The Apple Watch Series 3 is certainly a very pricey accessory to own in India. However, it has its own advantages and users who really need an Apple Watch, should not look beyond the Series 3 model.

May 10, 2018
Xiaomi Redmi S2 With 18:9 Aspect Ratio, 16MP Front Camera Launched

Xiaomi has launched a yet another budget smartphone in China, the Xiaomi Redmi S2. The smartphone from Xiaomi will be available in two variants, one with 3GB RAM/32GB storage and the other with 4GB RAM/64GB storage. The base model is priced at RMB 999(Rs 10500 approx.) and the other one is priced at RMB 1,299 (Rs 13800 approx.).

There have been rumours that the Xiaomi Redmi S2 might launch in India as an Android One smartphone. The Mi 6X could launch as the Mi A2 while the Redmi S2 will be a more affordable offering from Xiaomi, both running stock Android OS. However, these are all speculations so far and nothing can be said for certain.

Redmi Note 5 Pro

The Redmi S2 takes a lot of design cues from other Xiaomi smartphones launched in 2018. It has the same vertically place dual-camera setup found on the Mi MIX 2s and Redmi Note 5 Pro. The aluminium unibody design is also familiar along with a circular fingerprint sensor placed on the back of the smartphone.

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 has a 5.99 inch IPS LCD display with a 1440 x 720 px resolution. This translates into an 18:9 aspect ratio which has become the norm for even budget smartphones.

Under the hood, the Redmi S2 runs on the Snapdragon 625 chipset, a tried and tested SoC for Xiaomi. That chipset is coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM along with either 32GB or 64GB of storage which is expandable via a microSD card. Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery, which will charge via a micro USB port.

Mi MIX 2s

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 runs Android 8 Oreo out of the box with MIUI 9 on top.

To the back of the smartphone will be a 12MP primary sensor along with a 5MP depth sensor. To the front is a 16MP AI-powered camera which is capable of clicking portrait mode selfies using just the software.

The Redmi S2 appears to be another impressive budget smartphone from Xiaomi’s sub-brand. It will be interesting to see if Xiaomi decides to launch the Redmi S2 in India as an Android One smartphone. If priced at under Rs 10,000 the device could be a great contender against the likes of Honor 9 Lite.

May 10, 2018
TIDAL Falsified Streaming Numbers Of Beyoncé, Kanye West’s Albums

TIDAL is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by popular rapper, Jay-Z. The streaming service has come under serious scrutiny over misconduct, allegedly inflating streaming numbers of albums by multiple artists. A new report by Norwegian news outlet, Dagens Næringsliv has accused the streaming service after a year-long investigation.

Dagens Næringsliv worked closely with music research firm Midia and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Center for Cyber and Information Security (CCIS) to validate the accusations. The albums in question here, are Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo and Beyoncé’s Lemonade. Apparently, the reporters from Dagens Næringsliv obtained a hard drive that contained manipulated TIDAL streaming data. They then took that data to Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)’s Center for Cyber and Information Security (CCIS), which analysed it and laid down their findings.

Both Lemonade and The Life of Pablo were released exclusively on TIDAL in 2016. 10 days after TLOP was released, TIDAL announced that the album was streamed over 250 million times. Two weeks after Lemonade was released, the album apparently was streamed over 306 million times. These numbers sounded suspicious to folks over at Dagens Næringsliv, especially considering the TIDAL has only over 3 million worldwide subscribers.

In a statement to Variety, TIDAL said:

This is a smear campaign from a publication that once referred to our employee as an ‘Israeli Intelligence officer’ and our owner as a ‘crack dealer.’ We expect nothing less from them than this ridiculous story, lies and falsehoods. The information was stolen and manipulated and we will fight these claims vigorously.

Buying fake views and subscribers is nothing new. Outlets like Fiverr offer services like these as well. In this case, if the study finds some sort of grounding, TIDAL could be in some serious legal trouble. TIDAL executives could be sued for collusion and/or fraud since streaming rates correspond to royalty payments. Inflating streaming numbers and thus increasing royalty payments is clearly illegal and if proven to be true, Sony and Universal would have to pay back some funds and a penalty.

May 10, 2018
OnePlus 6 Fast AF Sale To Be Held From May 13th-16th

The OnePlus 6 will launch in India on May 17th, one day after its global launch in London. Amazon has already made the “Notify Me” page live for the OnePlus 6 and the first sale is scheduled for May 21st. The pricing of the smartphone is still not clear but, our sources claim that the smartphone will be available at a starting price of Rs 34999. The company has announced a new Fast AF (Fast And First) sale that will be held from May 13th to May 16th.

As per the sale, users can buy Amazon e-gift cards which they can use to buy the OnePlus 6 on May 21st and May 22nd. Consumers who use the e-gift card to buy the smartphone will get an extended warranty of 3 months. Interested consumers can buy an Amazon e-gift card worth Rs 1000 during the Fast AF sale. Then, while buying the OnePlus 6, they can use the gift card to avail a discount of Rs 1000. Such users will also get an additional cashback Rs 1000 and an extended manufacturer warranty of 3 months.

Confirmed Images of the OP6 in a test case, defaults to Dec 31 Wed 1969, without Internet. Bottom part of the case hides the bottom bezel. Cutouts placements for slider/ volume/ power and sim tray. Notch contains camera and earpiece. This is in India. Left icon is battery saver pic.twitter.com/JDh5qeSqsK

— iGyaan (@igyaan) April 24, 2018

According to the listing on TENNA, the OnePlus 6 will have a 6.28 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2280 x 1080 px resolution. This translates into a 19:9 aspect ratio and the phone will shift to a conventional 18:9 aspect ratio if a user decides to hide the notch.

Under the hood, the device will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The listing is of the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. The other two variants will be 8GB RAM with 128GB or 256GB non-user expandable storage. This will be the first time that ttheOnePlus smartphone will have 256GB of onboard storage.

Must Read: Apple iPhone SE 2 Renders With Face ID And iPhone X Style Notch Leaked

The smartphone will run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with stock-ish OxygenOS on top. Powering the OnePlus 6 will be a 3300 mAh battery with DashCharge support.

Similar to the OnePlus 5T, the OnePlus 6 will have two RGB sensors with the same aperture for better low-light photography. The portrait mode will be executed using the software. The listing reveals that the OnePlus 6 will have a 16MP primary sensor coupled with a 20MP sensor, the same as the OnePlus 5T. On the front will be a 16MP which should be able to record at least 1080P videos.

The OnePlus 6 is just a few days away from launch as the company is going all out to promote it. It will be interesting to see how many users commit to the OnePlus 6 even before its launch by buying the gift card. However, that gift card can also be used for Amazon shopping if the person decides not to buy the OnePlus 6 later on.

May 10, 2018
Walmart Buys 77% Stake In Flipkart For US$ 16 Billion

Last week, reports emerged from the Flipkart office that an initial agreement of sale to Walmart had been signed. The world’s largest retail chain, Walmart Inc. has now announced that it has agreed to become the largest shareholder in Flipkart Group. The deal is worth approximately US$ 16 billion and will see Walmart own 77% stake in the Indian e-commerce outlet.

Subject to regulatory approval in India, Walmart will pay approximately $16 billion for an initial stake of approximately 77 percent in Flipkart, formally Flipkart Private Limited.

This announcement has also confirmed another rumour started by a previous report. Walmart announced that investors like Tiger Global, Tencent and Microsoft will not cash out completely. Apparently, Softbank, an investor in Flipkart holds a little over 20% stake in the company. With this acquisition, Softbank will exit the company fully and is expected to make up to US$ 4 billion. This is a whopping 60% return on its investment of US$ 2.5 billion in the company it made about eight months ago.

The remainder of the business will be held by some of Flipkart’s existing shareholders, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Tencent Holdings Limited, Tiger Global Management LLC and Microsoft Corp.

Flipkart had a successful previous fiscal year. Walmart said that Flipkart recorded GMV (gross merchandise value) of US$ 7.5 billion and net sales of US$ 4.6 billion representing more than 50% year-over-year growth in both cases. With the investment, Flipkart will leverage Walmart’s omnichannel retail expertise, grocery and general merchandise supply-chain knowledge and financial strength.

The two major players in the Indian online market are Flipkart and Amazon. If this deal goes through, the scenario will remain the same. Amazon has been breathing down Flipkart’s neck in terms of market share as Flipkart continues to have a larger market share. According to a report by Forrester, in 2017, Flipkart’s standalone market share was 31.9%, while Amazon’s was 31.1%.

This deal will only benefit the Indian consumers as both Flipkart and Amazon would be vying for the top spot and make sure their services are better than the other. The implications of this deal will be seen in the months to come and it’ll be interesting to see how Flipkart leverages the financial power of the world’s largest retail chain.

May 9, 2018
Apple iPhone X Plus Will be The Same Size As iPhone 8 Plus

The 2018 iPhone lineup is gearing up to be an exciting one. After years of similar design language across the board, Apple changed things up with the iPhone X. With its new lineup of iPhones, Apple will completely drop the home button and adopt Face ID for all the iPhones. Out of the three that are rumoured to launch in September, the iPhone X Plus will be the biggest and priciest.

The iPhone X Plus is expected to have a 6.5 inch OLED TrueTone display. If true, it will be the largest display ever on an iPhone. A new report not only claims that the iPhone X Plus will indeed have a 6.5 inch display, that this display will be fit into an iPhone 8 Plus body. The report is also accompanied by images, revealing the similarities in size of the two iPhones.

Must Read: Apple iPhone SE 2 Leaked Images Reveal A Glass Back And Headphone Jack

2018 Apple iPhone lineup

For context, the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5 inch display. This means that Apple will be able to increase the screen real estate by an inch, without tampering with the size of the iPhone 8 Plus. There is obviously going to be a notch on the display as well which will house the tech required for Face ID to function.

The report also touched upon the other two iPhones slated to release along with the iPhone X Plus. The most affordable of the three iPhones will have an LCD panel. However, the size will be slightly smaller at 6 inches, rather than the 6.1 inch size which has been floating around on the internet. The smartphone will have the same design as the other two iPhones and feature Face ID as well.

Must Read: 2018 Apple iPhone With LCD Display Won’t Have 3D Touch

The refresh to the existing iPhone X will have a larger camera sensor and larger lens.

Next model of iPhone X 5.8 inches uses the same body as current model, but along with growing the size of the camera sensor, the lens will become bigger.

The report concludes with the information about iOS 12. It claims that iOS 12 will bring horizontal support for Face ID. This does make sense for Apple to add to iOS considering the future iPad lineup will also have Face ID. The launch of the 2018 iPhone lineup is still a few months away. However, we expect Apple to unravel key iOS details at the WWDC 2018 and also launch the iPhone SE 2 before that.

May 9, 2018
Lenovo’s Next Flagship Smartphone Will Be Tailor-Made For Notch Haters

The smartphone industry, every year, is dominated by a certain trend that is usually overdone by many OEMs. The launch of the iPhone 7 Plus propelled smartphone makers into launching dual-camera devices in late-2016. With the launch of the iPhone X, we are seeing an increasing number of smartphone vendors embracing the notch. However, Lenovo appears to be set on a less trodden path and go with a traditional design for its new flagship smartphone.

Lenovo’s Vice President Chang Cheng shared a teaser image of the company’s upcoming flagship device on his Weibo page. The company’s next flagship smartphone is expected to launch on June 14th. Accompanying the image was a poll, asking users to predict the screen-to-body ratio of the smartphone, with “95% or more” being the biggest option.

Must Read: OnePlus 6 Will Have Galaxy S9-Like Heart Rate Sensor

Huawei P20 Pro

The front of the smartphone is visible in the image but, only partially. However, enough of the smartphone is visible to incur that the new device won’t have a notch like the iPhone X or Huawei P20 Pro. It appears that Lenovo has taken the Samsung route with its new flagship smartphone. The astonishing part is the lack of bezels on the side and the top of the smartphone. The top bezel is almost invisible, much like the chin of the iPhone X.

Must Read: Apple iPhone To Launch Next Year With Triple Camera Setup

Bezels around the display, however, have a purpose and aren’t just there for OEMs to remove and show “progress.” The bezels house the earpiece, sensors and the front-facing camera. From the looks of it, Lenovo might have the gone the Xiaomi route with this by making the bottom bezel a bit thicker and house the front-facing camera in it. This could be the reason why the bottom bezel was not revealed in the teaser.

Mi MIX 2

The launch of the flagship device is still over a month away. The image does increase the interest in this smartphone especially considering the slew of smartphones that sport a notch these days.

May 9, 2018
Android 9 P: Google I/O 2018 New Features

The Google I/O 2018 conference has concluded and hands down, the biggest unveiling was Android P. The new iteration of the largest mobile OS in the world, Android 9 P will be made available to all Android smartphones later in the year but, Google gave us a glimpse of what’s in store for Android users around the globe.

The new Android Developer Preview version is now out for a lot of smartphones other than just the Google Pixel devices. Owners of Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH1 can enroll for the Android Beta program here.

With Android P, Google is doing a lot to address the global conversation about distractions caused by smartphones. Android P will have a lot of features built around this theme, that Google is calling “Digital Well Being.” However, Google has claimed that this was not a contingency plan and that the company has been working on curbing this growing issue for years now.

Wind Down is one of the features as part of Google’s efforts to reduce the use-time of smartphones. It is essentially an automatic Do Not Disturb mode that switches on Night Light when it gets dark. If a user has set their bedtime, the smartphone will turn all the colours on the screen to grayscale, once the clock hits the specified time. This should make using the phone a lot more boring, in turn making the user use their smartphone a lot less.

Another feature called Shush was unveiled at the conference as well. It is a new gesture that lets users turn their smartphone screen-down and automatically enable the “Do Not Disturb” mode. As is with the Do Not Disturb mode, users can still choose certain contacts to continue to get messages and notifications from.

There is no longer the circular home button and the square multitasking button is gone as well. What started out with the iPhone X has now been adopted by Google as well (sort of). With Android P, Google is changing the way users interact with the OS. The home button is replaced by this little pill sort of button that has a few functions. One little swipe up will open all the recent apps. What is interesting here is that the apps are live, which means that if you’re in WhatsApp and want to copy a phone number from the call log, you don’t have to open the specific app. By swiping up and opening the recent apps window, you can simply navigate to the Phone app and copy a number from the window itself, without opening the particular app. This feature will come in handy for serious multi-taskers. When on the home screen, a second swipe up will open the apps tray which will have all your installed apps laid out. You can also slide the pill button in the recent apps window to navigate through different apps which looks very cool and simple to use.

The back button makes a return when you’re within an app and goes away once you’re no longer in an app, simple as. This use of gestures is very different from iOS’s. There is still a navigation bar at the bottom which means you’re still losing a bit of screen real estate. However, this change will be difficult for Android users than it was for iOS users. iOS has traditionally had a few gestures within the UI, while Android, so far, has solely relied on three buttons to navigate from anywhere within the UI.

More changes are expected to be added to Android P before its final release later this year. The new changes are definitely eye-catching and we will be investigating the new Beta build in detail to find out all that is new with Android P. Google appears to have a lot of answers for questions raised against the growing overuse of smartphones. The only mystery that remains unanswered after the Google I/O 2018 conference is what does the “P” stand for? Maybe Google Assistant can tell us.

May 9, 2018
Google I/O 2018 : Google Assistant Gets New Conversational Skills

Artificial Intelligence is a general theme at the 2018 Google I/O conference. Ever since the Google Pixel 2 devices were launched, the company has talked up AI a lot and its Google Assistant is about to become much smarter than it already is. At the conference, Google demonstrated the Google Assistant’s ability to have a human-like conversation with other humans in a non-controlled environment and it was nothing short of impressive. The technology is called Google Duplex and the company has been working on it for years.

Sundar Pichai came on stage and talked a bit about Google Assistant’s integration with many services. He then mentioned that Google Assistant can now set up appointments and make restaurant reservations. The catch here is that it can do this even if a certain outlet is not listed on a restaurant booking app. Sundar Pichai said:

We’ve been working on this technology for many years. We’re still developing this technology, and we want to work hard to get this technology and the expectations right.

He then demonstrated a real conversation between the Google Assistant and a salon rep for a “women’s haircut appointment.” The conversation did not sound staged and that is what made it even more impressive. The Google Assistant was able to recognise where the conversation was headed and gave absolutely normal responses, never once making the “human” feel like they are talking to an AI assistant and not a person.

The blog post from the company reads:

The technology is directed towards completing specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types of appointments. For such tasks, the system makes the conversational experience as natural as possible, allowing people to speak normally, like they would to another person, without having to adapt to a machine.

Fair to say that, going by the demos, the company appears to have got the tech absolutely right. It will be interesting to see how Google localises this technology for other countries. It will be great to see Google Assistant have the same abilities and be integrated with Indian services and maintain the Indian accent as well.

May 9, 2018