Author: Yashonil Gupta

OnePlus Wants Users To Design The Next OxygenOS Feature
In the plethora of Android makers overloading their smartphones with skins and unnecessary bloatware, OxygenOS truly stands out. It is the closest a maker has gotten to stock Android with some great improvements over it. The gestures are better than the Pixel phones, there is an dark mode which works like one, and super quick updates. These are just some of the features OxygenOS offers that aren’t available in most Android devices.

Looks like it is about to get even better as OnePlus has started a competition. Called the #PMChallenge, it will let the users pitch an idea of a feature they want. Enough reasons and a good implementation and you may see the feature in the next update. OnePlus announced the competition on its forum.

Competition Details

OnePlus has made the process of submitting you entry fairly simple. You have to Submit a PRD (product requirements document) answering the following questions. You have to keep #PMChallenge in the title. Also, all of this needs to be posted in the Tech section before February 22.
- Who are the users?
- What is the proposed function?
- What is the user value?
- If there are existing comparable functions in the smartphone industry, how is your proposed feature superior?
The software team will check the entries and will announce the winners by mid of March. In the forum post, OnePlus says that it gets hundreds of suggestions everyday which may get overlooked. Also, by this competition, it will help them go through every suggestions and would definitely help them to make OxygenOS a better platform for its users.

Also read: The Portless Meizu Zero Is Available For Pre-Order At $1299

We think OnePlus has justified its popularity by listening to their customers using fun interactive activities like these. OxygenOS is also turning out to be one of the best Android software experiences.
February 5, 2019
Apple To End Support For iOS 13 On Older Devices
One things Apple users have an advantage over any smartphone maker is the software. The brand has been consistent enough to update even some of its older devices seamlessly. But it looks like Apple will change things up a bit as a report from an Israeli website The Verifier. The report says that Apple is soon ending support for iOS 13 on older devices. The news comes after lower than expected sales of the newer iPhones. It was to the excellent software support on older devices to make it run like new. These two news may be related to each other more than you think.

Possible Devices That May Be Affected

Out of the current Apple devices, these are the devices that are expected to be affected by this change.

iPhones:
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 5s
iPads:
- iPad Mini 2
- iPad Mini 3
- iPad Mini 4
- iPad Air
- iPad Air 2
iPod:
- iPod touch 6th generation
This might be step on Apple’s part as the recent decline in iPhone sales has been attributed to the lack of the need to upgrade. Or it may be that Apple is phasing out these devices due to older hardware. Whatever may be the case, Apple might release the iOS 13 in the coming months. And the features it will bring would be most applicable to the newer devices, so the decision makes sense. But with Apple pushing updates to devices for as long as they do, makes them still the most backwards compatible OS makers.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy A90 To Have A Pop Up Selfie Camera

Apple has been pretty consistent with updating their older devices. The iOS 12 update reached to the iPhone 5s, a six year old device. This news may be a big deal for the people who have purchased an older Apple device recently. But this move by Apple may result in the increase of sales of the newer devices.
February 5, 2019
The Portless Meizu Zero Is Available For Pre-Order At $1299

The year 2019 has just begun, and we already have some crazy technology promised. Foldable and 5G phones are almost here. Vivo and Meizu showed off their crazy port-less, hole-less phones last month. The phones show us a glimpse of what the future may hold. And now you don’t have to wait for a long time to get your hands on one. Meizu Zero is available on crowd funding site Indiegogo for pre-orders. The price that the Meizu Zero is set at $1299 a pop. That the price you need to pay for the removal of ports and buttons.

Meizu Zero Specifications

The Meizu Zero is the first phone in the world with no buttons, ports or holes in the chassis. The phone is just a slab of metal throughout. For the price, the phone features a 5.99 inches AMOLED screen with minimal bezels. Meizu Zero has a Snapdragon 845 inside. The RAM size isn’t known but estimates suggest that there may be 8GB of RAM inside the phone. The phone runs on Meizu’s Flyme 7 atop Android Pie. The phone has a dual camera setup at the back of 12+20MP. There is a 20MP sensor on the front.

The phone relies on new technologies like eSIM, fast wireless charging to replace the ports and holes required for the traditional solutions. The phone’s current backing price is $1299 on Indiegogo. Only 100 devices are being made available out of which 20 are already claimed. Expected shipping is April 2019, that is if they meet their goal. The set goal is $1,00,000 out of which around $29,000 have been raised.

Also read: Twitter May Add The Option To Edit Tweets Soon

The phone is an interesting proposition but at the price of $1299, which is around Rs. 93,000 in India. The phone seems a little too expensive for the price. The phone seems even more expensive when you consider that it has dated internals and is from a relatively unknown manufacturer.

February 4, 2019
Oppo’s Next Flagship to be Called Find Z, To Run On The Snapdragon 855

Oppo shocked the world by launching the futuristic Find X last year. The smartphone avoided the notch by using a mechanical slider for the camera. The phone showcased a bezel less future for the smartphones. The phone, may not be the last exciting things Oppo will do as the reports of its next flagship are already surfacing online. Oppo’s next flagship is going to be called the Find Z and will arrive with the Snapdragon 855. Now the trademarks listings have been leaked of the Oppo Find Z.

Oppo Find Z Specifications

The Oppo Find Z will be the next in line for the company’s flagship ‘Find’ series. The last phone of the series was the Find X launched last year. The Find Z is expected to be a big change over its predecessor sporting many firsts for the company. The phone will again, have an all screen design with no notches. The phone will have a Snapdragon 855 inside, which is a 5G capable chip. This suggest that the Find Z may be the first phone from Oppo to support 5G. The phone is speculated to have up to 12GB of RAM because of the consumption of 5G on memory.

Oppo recently showed off its 10x optical zoom technology, which may make an appearance on the device. The phone is also speculated to have a 3D TOF camera for 3D mapping and face detection. The Find X didn’t have a fingerprint sensor. Find Z will change that and add an in-display fingerprint sensor which will be capable of 2 finger authentication.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy A90 To Have A Pop Up Selfie Camera

Launch dates and price of the device isn’t confirmed. But if it is to be believed, Oppo will show off its 5G technology at MWC 2019. Maybe that is the event where we get the first glimpse of the phone. Pricing is expected to be quite high as the Find X launched for Rs 60,000 in India. The Find Z is expected to be priced similarly if not more. Let’s see if the next flagship is as exciting as the Find X.

February 4, 2019
Twitter May Add The Option To Edit Tweets Soon

Twitter as a medium has been really popular to get updates by the seconds on all whats happening around the world. But the Achilles heel of Twitter has always been not getting an option of editing tweets. There has been a lot of discussion over the topic and Twitter didn’t give a firm reply. Recently, the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey said on the Joe Rogan Podcast that Twitter is considering adding the functionality of editable tweets.

In his discussion, when asked about the functionality, Rogan said “You could build it as such so maybe we introduce a 5-second to 30-second delay in the sending. And within that window, you can edit. The issue with going longer than that is it takes that real-time nature of the conversational flow out of it.”

Editable Tweets- A Boon or Bane?

The quest for editable tweets is nothing new. Since a long time, some famous people have been asking for the feature. Popular Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee has voiced his opinions many times over the past few years.

The case for editing tweets:

– You make a typo

– You can only edit within 60 seconds of posting

– Twitter should show the edit history
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) December 11, 2016

The idea of Tweets that are editable for a while seems like a good one for now, if people can see the edit history. This would make the platform more transparent, which its already quite is. The time period that Twitter would decide to let edits happen isn’t known yet.

Read more: 11-Year Old Moves To Court To Ban PUBG

It seems that the micro-blogging site is headed in the right direction. This change may also lead to more people interested in the platform, something Twitter has wanted do for years.

February 4, 2019
Samsung Galaxy A90 To Have A Pop Up Selfie Camera

Smartphone makers have used clever techniques to avoid the controversial notch design in their products. Some companies have used a second display, or have used a punch hole display to house the selfie camera. But the most interesting solution has to be, the use of pop up cameras. first seen in the Vivo NEX and the Oppo Find X. Samsung has so far avoided the notch, did cave to it for its budget Galaxy M series. Looks like Samsung is trying to think of better ways to avoid the notch again with the introduction of a pop up selfie camera. The Smartphone with this feature is called the Galaxy A90

Why do I say that the A90 is perfect? The answer is that the Galaxy A90 will be Samsung's first pop-up front camera phone, so its screen is perfect, there is no Notch, no Hole. pic.twitter.com/j01WWtPzh8
— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) February 2, 2019

This seems interesting as a big Smartphone maker is interested in this trend. The smartphone is set to launch later this year.

Pop-Up Selfie Cameras In Smartphones

Pop up selfie cameras are a year old concept at this point. First shown off by Vivo at CES 2018, the first smartphone was the Vivo Apex concept smartphone. The first commercial smartphone to feature a mechanical pop-up selfie camera was the Vivo NEX S. Oppo one-upped Vivo by launching a mechanical slider to hide both the cameras. Not many smartphone makers since have toyed with the idea but many are soon expected to launch smartphones with the feature.

Samsung launching a pop up selfie camera smartphone may be a big deal for the industry. A big smartphone maker jumping into the trend could see more mainstream phones with the feature. And while we don’t have much information about the Galaxy A90 right now, the guys over at TrendingLeaks have made up a concept on how the Galaxy A90 may look like.

Read more: Official Renders Of Samsung Galaxy S10e Leak Online

Samsung seems to be taking risks in 2019. It may be a good thing for the brand because they can afford to take a few missteps. And if this direction means we get to a bezel less smartphone sooner or later, it may very well be worth it.

February 4, 2019
Official Renders Of Samsung Galaxy S10e Leak Online

Samsung is all set to launch the Galaxy S10 line of devices on February 20. The phones that are confirmed are three in number. The Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 and the S10+ were the ones which are known to launch that day. While there were quite a few details about the more expensive models, not much was known about the S10e. Well, it looks like we finally have some details about the device as it has been leaked in its entirety online.

First leaked by Winfuture, these render tell us a lot about the device, which is also going to launch on February 20. The device looks a lot like the regular S10, except that it has a smaller footprint. The camera setup at the back is also dual instead of triple. There also won’t be Fingerprint under the display, according to known leaker Roland Quandt.

Samsung Galaxy S10e: the smallest S10 has wider display-bezels, a flat screen and has it's FP reader integrated in the power button. Official press renders of the Prism Black, Prism Green and Pearl White models and more: https://t.co/KQW3AKPXUD
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) February 1, 2019

Galaxy S10e Specifications

The Galaxy S10e will be a lot to the Galaxy S10 series as the iPhone XR was to the iPhone XS and XS Max. The phone won’t have the signature edge design of the Galaxy S series and will have Fingerprint sensor integrated in the power button. The smaller footprint means a smaller display, which fortunately will be Super AMOLED, 5.8 inch one. The phone will have dual camera setup at the back as opposed to the S10 and the S10+ which will have triple cameras. The cameras will be a pair of 12MP sensors, One main and One may be Telephoto. The front camera is embedded into the punch-hole style Infinity-O display.

The phone will be a standard 2019 phone otherwise. An Exynos 9820 or Snapdragon 855 depending on the region. 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will be the only option available. Some reports also say that the phone will be available in five colours. Three of which are Black, Green and White.

Read more: 11-Year Old Moves To Court To Ban PUBG

The phone may be priced around $850, which will be significantly expensive than the iPhone XR. The phone may be priced around the Rs. 60,000 price bracket in India when it launches. Lets see if the smallest sibling of the Galaxy S10 lineup is successful or not.

February 2, 2019
11-Year Old Moves To Court To Ban PUBG

PUBG is all the rage these days. The Battle Royale game is very popular in India and mostly among kids. But it looks like some kids are so tired of playing it that they want a permanent ban to be put on PUBG. 11 year Ahad Nizam, a resident of Mumbai, has filed a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) in the Bombay High Court. In his PIL, Ahad seeks a ban to be put on the game in Maharashtra.

Speaking to DNA, Ahad says “After playing for a few days, I began to feel low and negative, so I stopped. This is why I have appealed to the government”. With the help of his mother, Ahad wrote to Chief Minister, Education Minister, Home Minister, the Ministry of Electronics and IT. And also the Medical Council of India, city police commissioner, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd and Changhan Kim, of The PUB-G Corporation.

PUBG Ban: A History

This is not the first time someone is asking a ban to be put to the game. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association asked the Governor Satya Pal Naik to ban the game. No action was taken since. Gujarat government had distributed circulars a week ago. These directed district authorities to ensure a ban on the online multiplayer game.

Read more: Samsung’s Unpacked Leaked Teaser Gives Us A First Look At Its Foldable Phone

Ever since the game has been called for a ban, many such cases have surfaced. Whether or not the government sees it as a threat, is yet to be known. But one thing is certain, this is not the last time we are hearing the news of PUBG ban.

February 2, 2019
Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10e, And Galaxy S10+ Visit the FCC

Samsung is all set to launch the much hyped, much anticipated Galaxy S10 series this month. It has already announced an event scheduled for February 20. But even before the launch, we know pretty much everything about the smartphones. Recently, the three smartphones, namely the S10e, the S10 and the S10+ have appeared on FCC’s website.

via Ben Geskin ( Twitter)

The FCC has certified the SM-G970U variant of the Galaxy S10e, SM-G973U variant of the Galaxy S10, and SM-G975U variant of the Galaxy S10+. Also, the FCC has also certified the SM-G970U1, SM-G970W, SM-G970XU, SM-G973U1, SM-G973W, SM-G973XU, SM-G975U1, SM-G975W, and SM-G975XU variants. These findings were discovered by DroidShout.

Galaxy S10 Series Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10e, and Galaxy S10+ are set to be officially announced at the Unpacked event on February 20. All the three smartphones will run on Samsung’s Exynos 9820 processor in most markets. The American variants, will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 instead.

In the memory department, the Galaxy S10e is expected to be available with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The Galaxy S10 will have two storage variants, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 512GB storage. Whereas, the Samsung Galaxy S10+ will be offered in a total of three memory configurations, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 512GB storage, and 12GB RAM + 1TB storage.

All the smartphones will also feature the Infinity-O display. The Galaxy S10e is tipped to sport a 5.8-inch display. The standard Galaxy S10 will sport a 6.1-inch display. Because it is expected to be the most expensive of the three upcoming models, the Galaxy S10+ will sport a 6.4-inch display.

Read more: ZenBook 13, 14 And 15 Announced By ASUS In India

The Galaxy S10 series may be the biggest change Samsung has ever made in their lineup. Also, there are a lot of things at the event to be excited for. Let’s see if the phones live up to their hype on February 20.

February 2, 2019
LG Could Launch Both The G8 And LG V50 ThinQ At MWC 2019

LG has seen better days. There was a time when the manufacturer was ahead in innovation and was loved by all. But times changed and LG didn’t. Now struggling to keep their mobile division alive, LG has to give all it’s got. And looks like that’s what it will do. New reports have suggested that LG is planning to launch the LG G8 and the LG V50 ThinQ together at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The differentiating factor would be, that the V50 ThinQ will support 5G.

This is unusual for LG, as it generally launched the G series in the first half and the V series in the second. But it seems they have to try everything they have got this time. The V50 ThinQ will be the first smartphone by LG to support 5G.

LG G8 and V50 ThinQ Specifications

Specifications wise, there is not a lot that is going to be different between the two phones. Both are expected to be equipped with a Snapdragon 855 chipset, a 6-inch display with a notch. The battery capacity will be 3500mAh for the G8 and 4000mAh for the V50 ThinQ. You can also expect a vapor cooling chamber in the V50 ThinQ because of the 5G modem. The phones may arrive in 2 variants each, One with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The V40 had 5 cameras in total, so expect a similar setup in both the phones.

Read more: Elon Musk Releases All of Tesla’s Patents To Save Earth

The pricing is expected to be around $750 for the LG G8 and upwards of a $1000 for the V50 ThinQ. There are also reports floating in that LG might ditch the G series completely next year. LG will go for a different flagship name entirely. Lets hope LG gets the success that it so desperately wants.

February 2, 2019
HMD Global To Launch Nokia 9 PureView On February 24

HMD Global seems to be riding the success train. In many markets, the Nokia brand has hit it off with the public and is making people nostalgic. HMD seems to understand that and is trying to revive the old glory of Nokia. And while they aren’t as successful in making a good flagship yet, they have been trying it constantly. One such phone is the Nokia 9 PureView, which has been leaked into oblivion. The phone is expected to be the next flagship from the brand and we finally have some news. HMD has sent media invites for an event on February 24 in Barcelona. The launch event will finally see the launch of the Nokia 9 PureView.

The phone will be launched on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress or MWC that happens every year in Barcelona. Nokia also, launched four phones in total at MWC last year. This year would be no different. The event could also see the launch of a mid-range Nokia device and a feature phone reboot.

Nokia 9 PureView Specifications

A video was leaked earlier, confirming almost all the specifications of the device. the Nokia 9 PureView is said to have a 6-inch AMOLED screen with QHD+ resolution and an in-display fingerprint scanner. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 CPU. However, Nokia may be planning to announce a 5G-compatible version of the same device in the future with the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. There will be a penta-camera setup, the details of which are unknown at the moment. Also, The phone will support fast charging and get rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack. There will be 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on board.

Read more: Huawei Foldable 5G Phone To Launch on February 24

As far as pricing goes, the phone is expected to cost around $749. Indian price could be under Rs. 50,000. Also, The phone looks great and can put Nokia back in the flagship game. What is yet to be seen, is the capability of the cameras. If they are as good as the original Pureview cameras, the phone may be a breakout success.

February 2, 2019
Redmi Go

Xiaomi silently unveiled its first Android Go smartphone late January 2019. The new smartphone is called Redmi Go and is targeted towards the budget segment. The company had previously shared the key features of the device via a twitter post. The phone caters to the ultra-budget segment and has a price tag matching the features it provides.

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February 1, 2019
Vivo NEX Dual Display

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition is the latest entrant in the smartphone game which tries to cleverly avoid the notch. The first edition NEX did it with a pop-up selfie camera, and now the NEX Dual Display edition tries to do it with putting screens on both sides of the phone. The phone is a unique proposition, to say the least and is a clever piece of technology.

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Videos:

February 1, 2019
Elon Musk Releases All of Tesla’s Patents To Save Earth

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is known for being a genius, motor mouth billionaire. Under his leadership, Tesla has transitioned from being just another wannabe electric brand to the best selling one. His social media presence is mostly controversial. However, there is no denying that he has done a lot for the planet.

We now have one more reason to praise him. On Thursday, Elon announced that all of Tesla’s patent will be made public in a bid to save the planet.

All our patent are belong to youhttps://t.co/HPK5R5UMS6 pic.twitter.com/t99riofeCI
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2019

In a blog post shared by him on Twitter, Musk says “Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”

Tesla Going Strong

This comes after a report in CNBC stated that Tesla has around 83 percent market share of electric cars in the US. The sales of the company also have increased over 50 percent since last year. With this step, Musk feels that more companies will make use of electric powered vehicles and would contribute to save the planet.

Read more: Nokia 8.1 With 6GB RAM And 128GB Storage Launched

Musk said in his blog post that he earlier filed patents to prevent big car companies from copying the technology. And also using the huge marketing and sales apparatus to take over the market. “We couldn’t have been more wrong. The unfortunate reality is the opposite,” he said, noting that electric or clean-fuel cars “at the major manufacturers are small to non-existent.”

The shares of Tesla declined following mixed reactions to the news.

February 1, 2019
Samsung’s Unpacked Leaked Teaser Gives Us A First Look At Its Foldable Phone

Samsung Vietnam has reportedly uploaded and swiftly deleted a video which seems to the teaser for Unpacked. The Samsung Unpacked event is the event scheduled for February 20 where Samsung is expected to launch a plethora of products. The teaser gives us a glimpse of what we can expect of the event. To no one’s surprise, there is a the Samsung Foldable Phone in there.

What To Expect At Samsung Unpacked

The video also shows a bunch of other products, including a bezel less smartphone and some accessories. The smartphone, again to no one’s surprise is the Galaxy S10. The Galaxy S10 is supposed to be the primary launch at the event. There are also some other accessories that Samsung may be planning to launch. There seems to be some ultrasound gadget attached to the phone which could be used to map an unborn child’s heartbeat.

The highlight of the event, is the foldable smartphone. Samsung first showed it off at its Developer’s Conference in November last year. The phone makes a small appearance in the video which all but confirms that we’ll see more of it at the event. What the phone would be called is anyones guess, but two names may be the Galaxy F or the Galaxy X.

The Galaxy Unpacked event is happening right before MWC or the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona just like every year. The primary launches of the event, the Galaxy S10 series, will signify many firsts for Samsung. The phone will be the first it has made to have an in-display fingerprint sensor. It also is supposed to have a hole-punch display and a near bezel less design. There are three phones expected at the event, the Galaxy S10E, The Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10+.

Read more: Apple Blocks Google’s Internal Apps On iOS

There seems to be a lot to be seen at the Samsung Unpacked event this year. It remains to be seen if we will see all of the speculated products at the event. But from the looks of it, we may not have to wait too long to find that out.

February 1, 2019