Author: Vipul Vij

Samsung Might Use Palm Scanning In Its Upcoming Smartphones

A new patent has revealed that Samsung wants to scan a user’s palm to give them password hints in case they forget the password.

Smartphones nowadays have a lot of different layers of security. Samsung phones have a lot of different ways of unlocking them like pin, password, fingerprint sensor, iris scanner and facial recognition. It is clear that Samsung believes that this method is not the most secure since it’s not planning to use palm scanning to unlock the phone. Instead, it will use the method to show hints in the case of the user forgetting the password.

According to the patent, the front camera is used for taking a picture of the palm. This proves that no matter how unique your palm is, it is not the most secure method. But, unlike photos of your face which can bypass facial recognition, someone taking a picture of your palm will be rare.

The patent also suggests that the password hint won’t simply pop up on the screen, instead it will haphazardly scattered across the lines. This is done to add an extra layer of security since a random person glancing at your phone won’t be able to make out the significance of these scattered letters while being simple enough for you to recognise them and recall the password.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Renders

Like a lot of patents, this might just be thrown to the back burners but, considering the technology behind it, Samsung might just introduce it in the next flagship phone. All said and done, Samsung will definitely be focussed on perfecting its 3D facial recognition technology in time for the Galaxy S9 launch in order to compete with the iPhone X and its Face ID.

December 3, 2017
OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition Announced

It appears that OnePlus has decided to jump aboard the Star Wars hype train this year. At the Bengaluru Comic Con, the Chinese smartphone maker announced the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition which most likely go on sale close to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in second week of December.

If you’re bored of the same old grey and black colour phones then the OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition does bring a different colour scheme to the table. It has a white colour finish at the back along with the red colours Star Wars logo beneath the fingerprint sensor. Another interesting thing here is that the alert slider is also red in colour. The phone will also ship with default Star Wars themes, ring tones, and effects.

A report claims that only 15000 such units will be made and it will be an India exclusive device. It further claims that the device will be unveiled on the 16th of December at an event in Mumbai. There is no word on the price of the phone yet.

OnePlus 5T Has A 6-inch Display With Thin Bezels

Other than the colours and exclusivity of the device, nothing will change in terms of hardware or software.

The OnePlus 5T has a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and an 80.5% screen to body ratio. This is a huge detour from the short history of OnePlus devices which have so far had a 5.5-inch display.

Under the hood, the OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded. Powering the device is a 3300 mAh battery which supports OnePlus’ DashCharge technology.

The OnePlus 5T runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat with customisability options thanks to the Oxygen OS on top. OnePlus has promised an update to Android 8.0 Oreo by early 2018. The Android 8.0 Oreo beta update will be pushed out to OnePlus 5T in late December 2017.

Due to thin bezels, there is no place for a home button and the fingerprint sensor has now been shifted to the back of the phone and is placed right above OnePlus logo. The OnePlus 5T also features facial recognition for unlocking the device.

One big change in the OnePlus 5T is in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T no longer has a secondary telephoto lens at the back. Instead, OnePlus has decided to focus on the device’s low-light photography capabilities. The cameras do not have OIS and OnePlus has decided to go for EIS on the dual camera setup at the back. The device has a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 20MP sensor with the same f/1.7 aperture and field of view, ie no optical zoom. On the front is a 20MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

Watch Our Full Review:

December 3, 2017

Redmi 5A Vs Redmi Y1 Lite Vs Nokia 2 – Battle Of The 7 Grand Phones Revisited

As 2017 draws to a close, the budget smartphone category is more clustered than ever. The sub-10K category has a host of phones which can be your next smartphone, depending on what you prefer as a user. We recently compared the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite and the Nokia 2 and with the launch of the Redmi 5A, it is time to revisit the comparison and see how trumps this time.

Specifications	Xiaomi Redmi 5A	Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite	Nokia 2
Price	Rs 6999 (32GB) Buy it here	Rs 6999 <a href=”http://amzn.to/2z7n9HO”>Click here for latest price</a>	Rs 6999
Display	5 inch IPS	5.5 inch IPS LCD	5 inch TFT
Display Resolution	1280 x 720 px	1280 x 720 px	1280 x 720 px
OS	Android 7.1 Nougat	Android 7.1 Nougat MIUI 8.5 (Update to MIUI 9 guaranteed)	Android 7.1 Nougat Stock Android OS
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 425	Qualcomm Snapdragon 425	Qualcomm Snapdragon 212
GPU	Adreno 308	Adreno 308	Adreno 304
RAM	3GB	2GB	1GB
Storage	32GB, Expandable up to 128GB	16GB, Expandable up to 128GB	8GB, Expandable up to 128GB
Battery	3000 mAh	3080 mAh	4100 mAh
Primary Camera	13MP f/2.2	13MP f/2.0	8MP
Secondary Camera	5MP f/2.0	5MP with f/2.4 aperture	5MP
Other Features	Dedicated MicroSD card slot with Dual SIM card slots	Pro selfie mode	None

With the Redmi 5A in picture, it looks to be a better choice than the Redmi Y1 Lite and the Nokia 2. It has more RAM and storage at the same price but, Nokia 2 continues to rule the battery department.

If stock Android is your thing and you can deal with a much slower chipset, then the Nokia 2 makes more sense. But, if you go by performance stand point and nothing else, the Redmi 5A is the clear winner here.

December 2, 2017

SpaceX Will Send A Tesla Roadster To Mars In The Falcon Heavy

Elon Musk has said that the first flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket will be used to send a Tesla Roadster into space.

Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017

Elon Musk took Twitter to share this idea and later confirmed in an interview that it his plan to send a Tesla Roadster to Mars in the Falcon Heavy. The tweet has reference to the famous David Bowie song, Space Oddity. It is yet to be seen if the company has taken all the necessary permissions required to launch a car into the space.

Considering trying to bring upper stage back on Falcon Heavy demo flight for full reusability. Odds of success low, but maybe worth a shot.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 31, 2017

Falcon Heavy is the successor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. It is supposed to be a more powerful rocket that the SpaceX plans to use for missions to the Moon and Mars. The first flight for Falcon Heavy was scheduled to take off in 2013 or 2014 but, it has been confirmed that the highly anticipated flight will take off in January 2018.

Falcon Heavy is three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together. Therefore, the Falcon Heavy will be capable of creating around three times the thrust of a single Falcon 9 rocket, allowing SpaceX to perform missions beyond low Earth orbit.

14th Falcon 9 Take Off

Elon Musk has also expressed his desire to launch an even bigger rocket in the future. Earlier this year, at the International Astronautical Congress, Musk said that he plans to pour all of SpaceX’s resources into an even bigger rocket architecture, known as the Interplanetary Transport System.

The Interplanetary Transport System will ultimately take over the Falcon Heavy and make it redundant. It will be capable of taking on the same duties, while adding new capabilities like planting a colony on Mars to making 30-minute transcontinental travel possible on Earth.

December 2, 2017
Test Shows OnePlus 5T Is The Fastest Charging Flagship Phone

As smartphones get thinner, manufacturers usually resort to reducing battery sizes in order to maintain the thickness-to-tech inside ratio. The good news is that the chipsets are getting better at power management and fast charging is really good. Even wireless fast charging is catching up these days and almost every flagship phone now has a USB Type C port.

Recently, OnePlus conceded that the company’s own Dash Charging technology is much better than the wireless technology which is available in the market hence, the OnePlus 5T shipped without wireless charging capabilities. So, how good is Dash Charging, then? Apparently, it’s the best in the market and a test has proven that.

The test included all the top flagship phones of 2017, the Samsung Galaxy Note8, LG V30, OnePlus 5T, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. All the Android phones have a USB Type C port and the three iPhones of course, have the lightning port. The iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X support fast charging if you buy the adapter and a Type C to lighting port cable from Apple.

The battery percentages were checked after 30 minutes of charging. It is worth noting here that all the screens were off during the test and the three iPhones were charged using the fast charging gear. After 30 minutes, the OnePlus 5T was at 59% while the LG V30 was the first runner-up at 53% and the iPhone X was at 50%.

At the one-hour mark, the OnePlus 5T was the winner again at 93%, 7% more than LG V30’s 86%. The iPhone X was at 81%, closely followed by the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus at 80% and 79%, respectively.

The OnePlus 5T turned out to be better than the competition thanks to its Dash Charge technology, which is different from Qualcomm’s QuickCharge. Dash Charge delivers higher amperage than QuickCharge and uses dedicated circuitry in the charger itself for heat management. So, if charging up your phone at a blazing speed is your top priority, then it is worth taking a look at the OnePlus 5T as your next flagship phone.

December 2, 2017
Apple Releases iOS 11.2 which Brings Fast Wireless Charging To iPhone 8 / 8 Plus And iPhone X

Apple has released iOS 11.2 for all iOS 11 compatible devices. The update seems a bit unusual since Apple usually releases new iOS updates on Tuesday.

The update seemingly fixes an iOS 11.1.2 bug that was causing iPhones to crash because of third-party apps that use recurring notifications for things like reminders. An update from Apple, for a bug that was reported just a few hours ago, is an extremely fast reaction to the problem.

Other features that iOS 11.2 brings are fast wireless charging for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. The update introduces 7.5-watt speeds through Qi-based charging pads, so devices top up battery quicker than before.

Another big introduction in the latest version of iOS 11 is Apple Pay Cash in the US. This is Apple’s peer-to-peer transaction service. Apple Pay Cash is available inside the Messages app, and allows iPhone users to send money through iMessage. Cash is then deposited on an Apple Pay Cash card inside the Wallet app on iOS 11.2, and can be used to purchase goods through Apple Pay or the money can be transferred to a bank account.

Other little updates include a pop-up that explain that the Control Centre Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles have changed. There are also new live wallpapers for the iPhone X.

You can download the update by going to Settings < General < Software Update.

December 2, 2017
Here’s Something Important You Should Know About Face ID

The Apple iPhone X launched towards the end of the year and grabbed all the attention that iPhones have historically done. With a huge design departure from the previous generations, Apple took an important decision and removed the trusted Touch ID and replaced it with Face ID.

If you own an iPhone X, you’d have your own experience with Face ID and differing opinions about whether it was the right decision or not. But, the fact is that Touch ID is gone, and by the looks of it, it isn’t coming back. One of the many great things about Touch ID was multiple fingerprint support which allowed users to give access to people they trusted.

You may also like – I Spent A Day With The iPhone X And I Am Done With The Home Button

With Face ID, that options isn’t there yet and if you thought that future software updates will allow that to happen, then you might be wrong in thinking so. According to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering has conceded that multiple ‘face’ support for Face ID is not a part of Apple’s plans for Face ID.

Someone who missed that Touch ID feature emailed Craig Federighi regarding the same and got this response:

Currently we’re focusing Face ID on a single user authentication. Even TouchID’s multi-finger support was really intended to enable a single iPhone owner to unlock the device with a finger and thumb on both hands, not to enable multi-user authentication.

We’ll certainly keep your feedback in mind as we consider our plans to evolve Face ID in the future.

Now, it might be possible that as Apple continues to make Face ID better, it may reach that point where multiple faces can be recognised but, as of now that seems uncertain.

December 2, 2017
Samsung Continues To Launch Flip Smart Phones With The W2018

If you’re not aware, flip phones were all the rage back in early 2000’s with the Moto Razr being one of the most famous phones back in the day. However, with the advent of touchscreens and smartphones, the flip phone craze slowly faded away. Samsung however, has consistently launched Android powered flip phones in the Asian market, and to many’s surprise, they’re quite popular.

Samsung has launched a yet another flip smart phone, the W2018 at an event in South Korea. The new phone also marks the ‘W’ lineup’s 10th anniversary.

The W2018 has a 4.2-inch full HD AMOLED front display, and a 4.2-inch full HD inner display with a directional pad and a number keypad. There’s a fingerprint scanner beside the rear camera, like other Samsung models, and a Bixby button for voice assistance. It comes in gold and platinum in a metal-and-glass body protected by Gorilla Glass.

It has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 256GB of storage which can be expanded via microSD card.

It is powered by a 2300 mAh battery which might seem small considering it has to power to displays with over 4 inches in size. The phone will run Android 7 Nougat out of the box even though Android 8.0 Oreo was launched over three months ago.

Samsung W2018 boasts the first ever smartphone camera with an f/1.5 aperture. This beats the LG V30 which became the first ever smartphone to have an f/1.6 aperture at the time of its launch. Samsung claims that the rear camera can capture sharp images in less light than the cameras on rival phones can. It also has a 5MP front camera. Through software, the camera can sense when there’s enough light to switch to f/2.4 and capture more of the background in photos.

As far as pricing is concerned, there is no official word yet. To give you some perspective, the W2017 was priced at US $3000 so, expect the W2018 to be priced higher than that. This phone is clearly not for the faint-hearted and should be strictly recommended to those who prefer luxury over practicality.

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December 2, 2017
Your iPhone X May Be Faster Than Your Friend’s iPhone X

Apple iPhone X has been out for almost a month now and people who’ve recently ordered it, will start receiving their iPhone X sooner rather than later. If you have an iPhone X already, it is possible that your phone might be faster (or slower) than your friend’s iPhone X.

Apple equips iPhones in the US with modems from both Intel and Qualcomm, and the same goes for their priciest iPhone yet, the iPhone X. In a new report, it has been unearthed that iPhone X models with Qualcomm modems were faster than iPhone X models with Intel modems.

The test shows that iPhone X models with Qualcomm modems “get consistently better LTE speeds than Intel’s on America’s most common LTE band.”

It is worth noting that Apple crippled a few functionalities of the Qualcomm chip because the Intel chips don’t support these features yet. So, in order to keep the differences at a bare minimum, Apple curbed the performance of the Qualcomm chipsets itself.

But, the good news is that you won’t notice the difference between the two until you’re in a dire situation.

Following recent legal battles between Qualcomm and Apple, it won’t come as a surprise if all iPhones start shipping with Intel modems in the future. Reports already suggest the same and with recent law suits, the relationship between the two firms may have gone beyond repair.

December 2, 2017

From Xiaomi Redmi 4A To Redmi 5A – What Has Changed?

Nobody likes to compromise nowadays, especially when it comes to our smartphones. Even if you’re buying a sub-10K phone, you have certain expectations from your budget device. The Indian smartphone industry if flooded with phones that provide great value for money. Xiaomi’s own Redmi Note 4 has been one of the best-selling budget phones in India.

Xiaomi has established itself as one of the top brands in the Indian market and has consistently delivered great phones at an affordable price. One such phone was the Redmi 4A, and one such phone is the Redmi 5A. Launched on the 30th November, the Redmi 5A succeeds one of the most successful Xiaomi phones in the country. By its own admission, Xiaomi claims that the Redmi 4A sold over 4 million units since its launch. hence, Redmi 5A has a huge ask in front of it.

Let’s compare the two phones and see what has changed between the two generations. And, more importantly, if you are a Redmi 4A user, should you upgrade?

Specifications	Redmi 4A	Redmi 5A
Price	Rs 5999 (16GB) Rs 6999 (32GB) Buy it here	Rs 4999 (16GB) Rs 5999 (32GB) Buy it here
Display	5 inch IPS	5 inch IPS
Resolution	1280 x 720 px 296ppi	1280 x 720 px 296ppi
Battery	3120 mAh	3000 mAh (8-Day Standby time)
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 425	Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
RAM	2GB/3GB	2GB/3GB
Storage	16GB/32GB	16GB/32GB
Primary Camera	13MP f/2.2	13MP f/2.2
Primary Video	1080P @ 30fps	1080P @ 30fps
Secondary Camera	5MP f/2.0	5MP f/2.0
Colours	Gold Grey	Gold Rose Gold Dark Grey
Features		Dual SIM card slot + MicroSD card slot

At a glance, or even a closer look, you’ll barely be able to make out the difference between the two phones. But, the most important factor in favour of the Redmi 5A is its price. In this world of every successor becoming more expensive, it is astonishing how Xiaomi has reduced the price for the base model while maintaining all the other features of the Redmi 4A.

The only reason you should upgrade to the Redmi 5A if you own a Redmi 4A is if you miss the dual SIM slot and microSD card slot. Other than that, there is barely anything keeping the two phones apart.

Watch Our Redmi 4A Review

Watch Our Redmi 5A Camera, Benchmarks Video

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCkus1qD2TQ[/embedyt]

December 1, 2017

Huawei Nova 2S To Launch On The 7th Of December

Huawei has started sending out press releases for the launch of the Huawei Nova 2S scheduled for the 7th of December. There is no word on what the price of the smartphone will be.

According to recent leaks, the Nova 2S will have a 6-inch display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18:9 aspect ratio.

Under the hood, the device will have the Kirin 960 chipset and 6GB of RAM. There is no information about the storage options however, expect a minimum of 64GB onboard storage when the phone is launched.

Despite the tall display and thin bezels, Huawei has placed a home button on the front of the phone. It is safe to assume that the physical home button also houses the fingerprint sensor since there is no fingerprint sensor at the back of the phone.

The device will run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with Huawei’s custom skin EMUI 8.0 on top.

Another interesting thing about the phone is its four cameras. It appears that the smartphone will have a 20MP + 16MP camera setup at the back and a dual 20MP setup at the front.

December 1, 2017
A New Patent Application Published For Using Apple Pencil With iPhone

Apple Pencil support for iPhones have been highly anticipated ever since Tim Cook accidentally confirmed that its on it way. A new patent has been published which chronicles the technology behind using the pencil with a smartphone.

The touch sensing system may perform one or more coarse input device sub-scans to determine a coarse location of the input device.

The coarse location can be used to select one or more touch sensors (or sensor channels) to sample for decoding data encoded in the stimulation signals from the input device.

During one or more fine input device sub-scans, the touch sensing system can determine a fine location of the input device and decode the data from the input device sampled from the selected touch sensors (or sensor channels).

The sketches accompanying the patent resemble the iPhone even though the patent talks generically about ‘touchscreen devices’.

Some reports suggest that 2019 iPhones will even retail with a mini Apple Pencil although this seems far-fetched.

December 1, 2017
Samsung Chairman Under Investigation For US $4.2 Billion Tax Fraud

Samsung has had an excellent financial year so far. All three of its flagship phones have been received well and performed well in the market. However, organisationally, the South Korean tech giant has had a rough patch. Now, it appears that authorities in South Korea are still going after the family that runs the Samsung empire. Samsung’s Chairman Lee Kun-hee has allegedly used accounts opened under borrowed names to withdraw money from the company and avoid taxation.

The accounts have been used for illegal transfer of wealth from Lee’s father, the founder of Samsung, Lee Byung-chull, and the sum has been estimated around to be $4.2 billion.

Reports suggest that the authorities are looking to tax the money that was illegally withdrawn. According to the country’s Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality, interest and dividend income obtained on borrowed names can be taxed by up to 90%.

This is just one of the many organisational controversies surrounding Samsung’s founding family.

In October, Kwon Oh-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display, vice chairman and head of Samsung’s components division announced his resignation. He will step down from the role as well as his position on the board in March 2018.

In February, Samsung’s vice chairman Lee Jae-yong was arrested in South Korea for charges of bribery and of hiding criminal proceeds and violating laws pertaining to transferring assets abroad.

December 1, 2017
Samsung Is Working On The First Ever Truly Bezel-Less Phone

Samsung has been experimenting with smartphone displays for quite some time now. Who can forget the Galaxy Round in 2013 or the Galaxy Note Edge. Recently, Samsung’s flagship phones come with curved edges and in 2017, the top and bottom bezels were extremely thin as well. However, it appears that Samsung is not satisfied with thin bezels and has started working on an all-display smartphone with no bezels.

A series of new Samsung patents have been published in the WIPO (World International Property Office) database. One such patent dates back to May of 2017 which describes an electronic device with a curved display on both sides of the device. So, no rounded display, but, 180? curved, up to the back of the smartphone.

Along with some sketches demonstrating what the device might look like, it also discusses the production method for such a smartphone. That is a positive sign because a lot of patents just sit at the back burner but, a well thought out production plan means that the company is serious about this.

In one of the sketches, you can see the regular edge display, with a rounded screen. Then there is another illustration of a smartphone with a round edge. The display is bent 180? on both sides and extended all the way to the rear of the phone.

December 1, 2017
2018 iPhone Users Will Not Have Battery Life Issues

As smartphones get sleeker, many companies resort to making the battery size smaller in order to keep the phone thin. As the iPhone X launch craze fades away, a new report suggests that the 2018 iPhones will have a new power management system that will qualify as the “most advanced in the industry.”

It appears that Apple is designing its own power chips, which should be manufactured by TSMC, Apple’s go-to silicon supplier.

This new component will barely be mentioned in the keynote, or make the advertiser’s list of fancy features but, it is one component that can make the 2018 iPhone a much better prospect than its Android counterparts. The report goes on to say:

The in-house chip would be the most advanced in the industry, according to the sources, and could have processing capabilities that allow it to better monitor and control power consumption among various components.

With Apple resorting to in-house chip manufacturing, its current supplier Dialog Semiconductor will be sweating bullets. Last year, Apple accounted for 74% of Dialog Semiconductor’s revenue which means that this move by Apple will not be good news for the UK-based firm.

The repercussions of Apple moving to in-house chip-making are real. Earlier in 2017, it was reported that Apple had started developing its own graphics chips, which resulted in Imagination Technologies’ stock crashing immediately upon the revelation. It was later revealed that the company had sold itself to a private equity investment fund in the aftermath.

December 1, 2017