Category: Tech

Latest Technology News, Alternative, Bio-Tech, Medical, R&D and Innovations

Huawei Nova 5i Certified Via TENAA, To Launch Soon
Chinese telecom giant Huawei is expected to launch two new mid-range smartphones in China soon. These devices, purported to be the Nova 5i and the Nova 5 will be the successor to the Nova 4 series launched last year. While details about the latter are still bleak, the former has been certified by Chinese certification website TENAA, which reveals its key specifications.

Huawei Nova 5i

According to the listing on TENAA’s website, the Nova 5i from Huawei will be its mid-range offering. The smartphone will measure 159.1 x 75.9 x 8.3mm and weigh 178 grams. It will have a 6.3-inch display with a resolution of 2310 x 1080 px. The device will run on an Octa-core processor with a clock speed of 2.2GHz. While it is not specified which SoC will be used in the handset, it may be the 12nm Kirin 710, which is comprised of an Octa-core processor and the Mali G51 GPU. This processor is also found in devices like the Honor 8X and the Honor 20i.

Huawei P30 Pro

In terms of optics, the Nova 5i has been revealed to have a quad rear camera setup. This will be comprised of a 24MP primary sensor, an 8MP secondary sensor and two additional 2MP sensors. For selfies, a 24MP camera will be present on the front of the device. It will be launched in three colour variants, namely Red, Black and Blue. The smartphone will be available in the following two memory configurations.
- 6GB of RAM and 128GB ROM
- 8GB of RAM and 128GB ROM
Pricing and Availability

Huawei Nova 3

Also read: Nokia Reportedly Plans On Releasing Two 5G Smartphones In Q3 Of 2019

The Huawei Nova 5i is expected to make its debut in the last week of June alongside its elder sibling Nova 5. Unfortunately, the company has not revealed any information about the pricing of the smartphone, but it is expected to be a sub Rs. 20,000 device when it launches in India.
June 10, 2019
Nokia Reportedly Plans On Releasing Two 5G Smartphones In Q3 Of 2019

A new report claims that HMD Global is planning to unveil two new Nokia smartphones with 5G capabilities. The handsets are currently being developed with the rumours of a Q3 launch in 2019. The announcement has Nokia follow every other major manufacturers and OEMs incorporating the 5G bandwidth networking in their lineups.

According to the new report that hints at the specifications of the devices, the first handset will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 alongside the X55 modem for 5G connections. The other smartphone will be aimed at a mid-range price bracket with the Snapdragon 735 processor (rumoured). The Qualcomm Snapdragon 735 SoC is reported to be a 7nm based octa-core chipset with the Adreno 620 for graphics, with optional 5G network connectivity and compatibility with sub-6GHz and millimetre wavelength spectrum.

Rumours call the would-be flagship smartphone the successor of Nokia 9 Pureview, these are not confirmed as of yet by the company. The mid-range smartphone, on the other hand, will probably replace the Nokia 8.1. The upcoming rumoured smartphone might be dubbed the Nokia 8.2 and could be a budget 5G capable handset. These new Nokia 5G phones might be the starting point of the company’s shift in focus from lower-segment and mid-segment markets and to the higher priced regions.

The Nokia 9 Pureview’s had a lukewarm reception in the few countries that received it and ever since no other smartphone from the company has competed in the premium segment of smartphones. Nokia recently unveiled the Nokia 2.2 in India and hopefully would follow suit with the announcements of the two rumoured 5G smartphones.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 Benchmark Scores Leaked Via Geekbench, Launch Imminent

Q3 2019 will have myriad of handsets from various OEMs and manufacturers (such as Apple) being launched with Nokia might being one of them. other rumours point to a year-end release owing to the company’s need for various stress tests before mass production.

June 8, 2019
HTC To Launch A Mid Range Smartphone Called The U19e On The 11th Of June

Taiwanese electronics giant HTC has seen better days. Once a force to be reckoned with, the company has seen its smartphones sales decline sharply over the last few years. Due to increasing competition by Chinese competitors such as Xiaomi, Huawei and OnePlus, the company has lost a major chunk of the market share. Now, latest reports claim that HTC is trying to make a comeback with a mid range smartphone; that it plans on launching on the 11th of June. This device is speculated to be called the U19e and will be a watered down version of the company’s flagship handset due later this year.

HTC U19e

As previously mentioned, the alleged HTC U19e will be a mid range offering from the company. Leaked schematics of the device reveal it will have a large display surrounded by minimal bezels. The images show that it will have a dual front facing camera setup, like present in the U12+ from last year. The smartphone has the volume rockers and the power button mounted on the right side. It is also insinuated that the device may also have the company’s active edge feature which acts as a shortcut to apps and commands inside the UI; by squeezing the sides of the handset.

Also read: PUBG Lite Confirmed To Launch In India Soon

The HTC U19e has been revealed to have the model number 2Q7A100. Past leaks about the smartphone have revealed its key specifications. The HTC mid-range smartphone will run on the 10nm Snapdragon 710 SoC. It consists of an Octa-Core CPU and the Adreno 616 GPU. In terms of memory and storage, the device may have 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage; which might be further expandable via a microSD card. The device will have a display with an FHD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 px. As mentioned above, the U19e will debut on the 11th of June at an expected price of Rs. 25,000.

June 8, 2019
HD Renders Of LG Stylo 5 Revealed Via Case Maker

Due to shrinking profit margins and fierce competition from Chinese smartphone makers, Korea based LG reduced it concentration of resources from the smartphone business. However, fresh renders renders of an unreleased LG handset suggest that the company is still trying to break into the heavily crowded industry which is rapidly booming. The said device is the LG Stylo 5 which will succeed the Stylo 4 from yesteryear. The HD renders of the device have been leaked on Twitter which were sourced from a case maker.

LG Stylo 5 Design

The LG Stylo 5 has an attractive design with a large display on the front which has considerable bezels on top and bottom. However, in comparison to other contemporary smartphones, its design looks a bit dated which is due to absence of a notch and the aforementioned bezels. The top bezel of the device houses the earpiece, front facing camera and a dual led flash whereas as the bottom bezel is free from any controls or markings.

Moving over to the bezels, the LG Stylo 5 has a right side mounted power button and left side mounted volume rockers. The rear of the smartphone has a single rear camera setup and a fingerprint sensor for biometric recognition. The bottom of the device is occupied by a USB Type C port, 3.5 mm audio jack, speaker grille and a pen stylus. Yes, the name Stylo 5 comes from the stylus which is staple to the lineup. Details about the specifications of the smartphone are yet to be revealed. Though, the Stylo 4 which was kitted with the Snapdragon 450 SoC suggests the upcoming device will be a budget to mid range offering from LG.

Also Read: PUBG Lite Confirmed To Launch In India Soon

The company is yet to authenticate the existence and features LG Stylo 5. Although, going by the price of its predecessor, this could be a sub US $ 250 smartphone if launched.

June 8, 2019
Mi LED TV 4 Pro Will Be Available Offline Via Vijay Sales

Apart from smartphones, Chinese technology company Xiaomi also has a strong foothold in the Television market. As per latest reports, the company has finally launched its Mi LED TV 4 Pro in the offline Indian market in partnership with Vijay Sales, which is one of India’s leading electronic retail chains. First launched in India in the month of September 2018, the LED TV packs an interesting set of features that can give leading electronics manufacturers a run for their money.

Mi LED TV 4 Pro Features And Specifications

The LED TV features a 55-inch 4K+ HDR frameless display. Xiaomi claims that the Mi LED TV 4 Pro is just 4.9mm thick (top part) , making it the thinnest LED television in the world. The unit weighs in at 17.2 kg with the base adding an extra 600 grams to the total weight. It supports a viewing angle of 178 degrees and an 8ms response time alongside a 60Hz refresh rate.

The LED TV features 2 8W Dolby Audio speakers with DTS-HD support for audio finesse. In terms of connectivity, it features 2 USB 2.0 ports, 3 HDMI ports, 1 AV port, 1 Ethernet Port and one PDIF out port. Wireless connectivity options include WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz and Bluetooth v4.2. The Mi LED TV 4 Pro runs on a 64 bit Quad-Core chipset, which consists of the Cortex A53 processor and the Mali-450 MP GPU. It is paired with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.

The LED TV runs on PatchWall OS on top of the Android TV OS. The company claims that Patchwall provides the user with more than 700,000+ hours of curated content. Content providers such as HooQ, VIU, hotter, Voot, Republic, Zee5 and hungama will have their shows and movies on PatchWall. Furthermore, Google voice search lets the users search for movies and TV shows via voice commands.

Also Read: Asus To Launch The ZenFone 6 In India As Asus 6Z On The 19th Of June

The Mi LED TV 4 Pro (55) is available across 80 Vijay Sales stores across the country. It is now purchasable via stores in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Delhi NCR. It is priced at INR 47,999. The LED TV will go up against televisions such as the Samsung NU7470 Smart 4K UHD TV.

June 8, 2019
Asus To Launch The ZenFone 6 In India As Asus 6Z On The 19th Of June
Asus launched its latest flagship smartphone, the ZenFone 6 at an event in Valencia, Spain on the 16th of May. The device features top tier specifications at a more affordable price than similarly specced handsets available currently. It has been long speculated that the company will launch the latest smartphone in India soon, but no announcements regarding it were made. Now, it has been revealed the ZenFone 6 will be launched in India with the name Asus 6Z on the 19th of June. The change of name is allegedly due to a legal battle in the Delhi High Court against the ZenFone branding.

About the case

The aforementioned lawsuit against Asus was filed by Telecare, which owns the trademark for the Zen and Zen Mobiles name. To not cause confusion between products of the two companies, the Delhi High Court ordered Asus not to sell any product which is identical or deceptively similar to the trademark “Zen” and “Zen Mobile”. Notably, this decision will affect the company’s product lineup only in India at the moment. Interestingly, Telecare alleges that it started selling products under the registered name in the year 2008; while Asus began the sales of its ZenFone lineup starting in year 2014.

Asus 6Z

The Asus 6Z is the latest flagship offering by the company as mentioned above and will succeed the ZenFone 5Z. It measures 159.1 x 75.44 x 8.4mm and weighs 190g. The smartphone has a glass design on the front and back with a metal chassis for reinforcement. It has a 6.4 inch LCD display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 px. The screen to body ratio of the device stands in at an impressive 92 percent which is achieved by implementing a flip up camera mechanism. Like the Samsung Galaxy A80, the Asus 6Z has a rotating camera setup which can be used to take pictures from the rear as well as the front. For biometric security and rapidly unlocking the handset, it has a rear mounted fingerprint scanner and supports face unlock.

Under the hood, the Asus 6Z is kitted with the 7nm Snapdragon 855 SoC which is comprised of an Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. In terms of optics, the smartphone has a dual camera setup which consists of an f/1.8 aperture equipped 48MP primary sensor and a secondary f/2.4 aperture equipped 13MP Ultra wide angle sensor. As mentioned before, the device uses a flip camera mechanism to click pictures at different angles. For memory and storage, the handset may be launched in the following variants.
- 6GB RAM and 64GB ROM
- 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM
- 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM
The Asus 6Z is powered by a massive 5000 mAh battery which supports 18W fast charging. It has a unique Google Assistant button on the top right which can also be configured to open any application based on the user’s choice. In terms of connectivity, the handset supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC, 3.5 mm jack and bottom mounted USB Type C port. It is available in two colours, namely Twilight Silver and Midnight Black.

Pricing & Availability

Also read: Microsoft Takes Down Online Facial Recognition Database Over Accusations

As mentioned above, the Asus 6Z will be introduced on the 19th of June in the Indian market. It will be exclusively available online on Flipkart and offline in select retail stores across the country. While the company has not revealed its Indian pricing yet, it is expected to cost starting at Rs. 40,000 for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB of onboard memory may cost Rs. 44,000; while buyers may have to shell Rs. 47,000 for the version with 8GB RAM and 256GB Internal storage.
June 8, 2019
Amazon Alexa Receiving Improvements On Indian Speech Patterns

Amazon had unveiled a new category of skill dubbed Cleo for its Indian markets back in 2018. The idea behind Cleo was to improve Alexa’s language model for its Indian users by learning from the customers themselves. The southeastern country is a key region for Amazon Alexa’s global team that is working on drastically improving the user interface.

The company identifying the potential in the market, worked on various regional languages to grow the linguistic capabilities of Amazon Alexa. The voice-based assistant has received a warm welcome in Indian homes with its Echo line up and is still gaining traction in the country. The Indian smart speakers market is currently dominated by Amazon Echo at 59 per cent of the market share while Google Home only has about 39 per cent, as reported by IDC (International Data Corporation).

With such a large user base it is inevitable that the company will seek to expand on its existing language parameters. The Amazon team dedicated to the Indian market have promised robust support on the upcoming regional languages capabilities of Alexa. The voice assistant in its current state is only capable of understanding Hinglish (Hindi-English) commands to a very limited degree.

Amazon is focusing on the content relayed by Alexa along with its contextual and cultural impacts. The company stated that Alexa must sound Indian when it comes to speaking Hindi. Several dialects and accents are being taken into account to give an actual life-like conversational experience with Amazon Alexa in real-world scenarios. Users can respond to Alexa’s English replies with Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati and certain other regional languages.

Also Read: Microsoft Takes Down Online Facial Recognition Database Over Accusations

Amazon Alexa is being pushed by the company to stay relevant and practical in every home with near human-like natural conversations facilitated by Machine Learning. The company has heavily invested in India for developing skills for Alexa by hiring various scientists and engineers. Available in over 80 countries and compatible with 14 languages, the Indian variant would add a lot more languages to the existing list.

June 8, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 Benchmark Scores Leaked Via Geekbench, Launch Imminent

Korean electronics giant Samsung is one of the few brands that still makes Android tablets. Despite the sharp decline in the sales of Android tablets over the past few years, devices from the company have seen a positive response from the market. Samsung launched its current flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S4 last year, which has since been overdue for an upgrade. Now, the successor to the device, purportedly called the Galaxy Tab S5 has been leaked on benchmarking platform Geekbench. It features top tier specifications and is expected to be marketed as a full fledged computing device.

Galaxy Tab S5

The model number of Samsung’s upcoming tablet mentioned on the benchmarking platform Geekbench is SM-T865. This coincides with that of its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S4 with the model number SM-T835. It is thus believed that the listing is of the latest offering in the company’s flagship tablet lineup, allegedly called the Galaxy Tab S5. The listing reveals it will run on the 7nm Snapdragon 855 SoC; which is comprised of an Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. For memory, it will have 6GB of RAM, but more variants with high RAM capacity are expected. The Galaxy Tab S5 will run on the current generation Android 9 Pie OS which may be skinned with Samsung’s latest OneUI.

Galaxy Tab S4

Also read: OnePlus 7 Pro Almond Colour Variant To Launch In India On June 14

With a base clock speed of 1.78GHz, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 managed to receive a single core score of 3506 on Geekbench. The multi core score of the device has been revealed to be 9788; both the scores falls in line to the ones obtained by other smartphones sporting the Snapdragon 855 SoC, like the OnePlus 7, Xiaomi Mi 9, and the Redmi K20 Pro. Unfortunately, other specifications and the launch date of the tablet are not known yet; but it is expected that Samsung will launch it alongside the Galaxy Note 10 in the month of August.

You can check out our impressions on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 below.

June 8, 2019
OnePlus 7 Pro Almond Colour Variant To Launch In India On June 14
OnePlus at an event on the 14th of May launched the OnePlus 7 Pro flagship smartphone. It was announced alongside the regular OnePlus 7, the Bullets Wireless 2 and the OnePlus Warp Car Charger. The device was launched in three locations, namely New York in the US, London in the UK and Bengaluru in India simultaneously. At the time of its unveil in India, the OnePlus 7 Pro was available in two colours: Mirror Grey and Nebula Blue. As per the company’s official website, the third Almond Colour Variant of the device will be officially launched on the 14th of June.

OnePlus 7 Pro

The OnePlus 7 Pro as mentioned above, is the latest flagship offering from the company and the beefed-up variant of the OnePlus 7. The smartphone measures 162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8mm and weighs 206 g. It has an all-glass design on the front and back with a metal chassis for reinforcement. The device has a 6.67 inch Fluid AMOLED display with a resolution of 3120 x 1440 px which gives it a pixel density of 516 ppi.

The display on the OnePlus 7 Pro has a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz which is also seen in handsets like the Asus ROG Phone and Nubia Red Magic 3. To maximise the screen real estate, the smartphone has minimal bezels on all sides of the display and utilizes a pop-up mechanism to house the front-facing camera. For biometric security, it features an in display fingerprint scanner with support for face unlock technology.

Under the hood, the OnePlus 7 Pro is kitted with the 7nm Snapdragon 855 SoC which consists of an Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. In terms of optics, the smartphone has a triple rear camera setup comprised of an f/1.6 aperture equipped 48 MP primary sensor; and an f/2.4 aperture equipped 8 MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom; the third sensor used is an f/2.2 aperture equipped 16 MP ultra wide angle lens with a Field of View (FoV) of 117 degrees.

It can capture 4K videos at 60fps and supports Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for smoother footage. For selfies, an f/2.0 aperture equipped 16 MP camera is housed in the pop-up mechanism on top of the display. Video from the front camera is capped at 1080p resolution at 30fps. In terms of memory and storage, the handset will be available in the following variants.
- 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM
- 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM
- 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM
The OnePlus 7 Pro is powered by a non-removable 4000mAh battery with support for 30W Warp Charging technology. The smartphone uses a new X-axis Haptic Vibration Motor which the company claims will provide it with better haptic feedback than the OnePlus 6T. In terms of connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. The OnePlus 7 Pro also boasts of Dual Stereo Speakers and Audio tuned by the Dolby Atmos technology. It is the first globally available smartphone to feature the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 3.0 standard, which will result in fast read and write speeds.

Pricing & Availability

Also read: OnePlus 7 Pro: Unboxing and Hands On

The OnePlus 7 Pro was launched for a price starting Rs. 48,990 for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. Noteworthy, the Almond colour version will be only available in the 8GB RAM and 256GB variant has been priced at Rs. 52,990 (~$765)
June 8, 2019
Xiaomi Mi Band 4 With Colour Display To Launch On 11th June

After the wonderful success of the Mi Band 3, Xiaomi has been highly anticipated to launch the updated Mi Band 4. The former is expected to be a worthwhile upgrade over the current generation device with significantly bumped up features. The company’s CEO has shared an official teaser of the smart wearable that uncovers its launch date and key features.

Mi Band 4 Features

The key highlighting feature of the upcoming Mi Band 4 is the inclusion of a colour display which will open up a whole new array of applications for the device. Due to the said feature, the information presented on the device’s display will be more intuitive and appealing to the eye. Another feature that the 4th generation of fitness tracker from Mi is set to introduce is a heart rate monitor.

Apple Watch

The said feature is inspired from the Apple Watch which is the leader in smart wearable industry. As the name suggests, it monitors the heart rate of the wearer. If the device registers irregular pattern in heart functionality of the wearer, they can be promoted with a notification to consult a medical profession. This in exchange can prevent a forthcoming health adversity that has not yet presented itself.

Furthermore, the Mi Band 4 will get all new colour options for the strap which include violet, red, maroon and almond. The device is also reported to feature a larger capacity battery to make up for a colour display that consumes comparatively more energy. Also new with Mi Band 4, the device is proposed to have an option with NFC support which will be used for wireless payments.

Mi Band 4 Price and Launch Date

Also Read: Huawei P30 With 12GB RAM Spotted On TENAA

Taking all the new features of the device in to account, the Mi Band 4 will have higher price tag compared to Rs 1,999 of the current generation device. All in all, the official features and price of the fitness tracker will revealed at its launch event which is set for the 11th of June in China.

June 8, 2019
Huawei P30 With 12GB RAM Spotted On TENAA
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei launched the P30 in the month of March 2019. The device was unveiled alongside its elder sibling, the P30 Pro, which featured one-of-a-kind periscopic camera setup. However, it seems that the Huawei P30 may receive an upgrade in the not-so-distant future. A beefed-up version of the smartphone with 12GB of RAM has showed up on TENAA, and features the model name ELE-AL00m.

Huawei P30 Pro

Previously, the Huawei P30 was available in two RAM variants, 6GB and 8GB. Except the RAM bump-up in the TENAA listing, no other upgrades to specifications were spotted. The P30 is the less feature rich variant of the high-end P30 Pro. It features a similar design to the Huawei P20 launched in the year 2018. The device has a 6.1 inch OLED display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 px. For security, the smartphone has an in-display fingerprint scanner with support for face recognition.

Huawei P30 Pro

The Huawei P30 runs on the 7nm Kirin 980 chipset. It consists of an Octa-core Cortex CPU and a Mali G76 GPU. In terms of optics, the smartphone has a triple rear camera module comprising of a 40MP primary sensor (f/1.8 aperture), a 16MP ultra-wide sensor (f/2.2 aperture) and a third 8MP telephoto sensor (f/2.4 aperture). For selfies, there is a 32MP front camera housed in the notch up front.

Huawei P30 Pro

Also Read: Google Stadia Price And Launch Date Revealed

The smartphone is powered by a 3650mAh battery with 22.5W fast charging support via the bottom mounted USB Type-C port. The smartphone also supports NanoMemory cards, a new memory standard the company introduced in 2018. The device is IP68 Dust and Water resistant. Currently, it is available in a 128GB ROM variant. After the aforementioned RAM upgrade, the device will be available in three different RAM variants :
- 6GB
- 8GB
- 12GB
June 8, 2019
Nokia 2.2 Is Now Available For Pre-Order In India

HMD Global, the parent company of Nokia, has been fighting for its market share in various price segments. Its smartphones of different prices have, through Nokia’s brand name, become increasingly more relevant in the smartphone industry. The newly launched Nokia 2.2 will find its spot in the lower-end price bracket in the market. Nokia 2.2 will be the cheapest Android One smartphone made by the company, and by that extension, the cheapest smartphone to ever will receive the Android Q update. The handset has launched globally with the first pre-orders being available in India as of right now.

Price and Specification

The smartphone will be available in India for Rs 6,999 and Rs 7,999 depending on the configuration of the variants. Despite the relatively low price tag, Nokia 2.2 sports a large 5.71-inch display with a waterdrop notch design on the top. The display is an HD+ IPS LCD panel that is claimed to reach 400 nits of brightness with a 5MP selfie camera at the front. Rear shooter of the device is a 13MP sensor with an LED flash.

A fingerprint reader is skipped hence, users will have to rely on the face unlock for the biometric security. Nokia 2.2 is equipped with the Helio A22 chipset, which is a quad-core CPU, and either 2GB or 3GB of RAM. The internal storage option includes 16GB or 32GB with microSD card support for expandable external storage. Battery capacity sits at a modest 3,000mAh (removable battery) that charges via the bottom mounted microUSB port. The entire configuration is encased in a reflective polycarbonate design.

Since Nokia 2.2 is an Android One device, it is guaranteed to receive latest Android updates for at least 2 years. This makes the smartphone stand out the most in comparison to other entry-level options in the market, a huge selling point. Notably, a dedicated Google Assistant button is also available on the left of the device.

Also Read: iPhones Valued At $19 Million Stolen By ‘Fraud Ring’

Only two colour variants are available for the Nokia 2.2, namely Black and Steel. Official sales start on 11th June 2019 with the 2/16GB version priced at INR 6,999 while the 3/32GB version at a reasonable INR 7,999. Nokia with its smartphones hopes to capture its former glory and dominance in the phone making business, and smartphones like these are a small step in the right direction.

June 7, 2019
Astrobotic’s Tiny Rover To Test Endurance Of Small Robots On The Moon

Astrobotic, the Pennsylvanian aerospace company plans on sending a lander to the Moon within the next couple of years for various tests and studies. The main motive of the tests will be to test the operational life of small robots on the Moon’s surface. The toaster-sized machine was built by the Carnegie Mellon University and will pave the way for drone-based space exploration.

NASA (National Aeronautical Space Agency) had previously contracted Astrobotic with a sum of $79.5 million to carry the American space agency’s 14 payloads on its lander, which is dubbed Peregrine. The lander will reportedly carry another 14 payloads from various commercial companies, space agencies and research organizations. All the payloads will be hauled in a lander which is over 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide.

The reason for the rovers small stature is due to the lack of room in the cargo region of the Peregrine landers. Hence, an announcement unveiled the development of a tiny robot that can survive the low gravity, extreme temperature conditions, and high radiation environment on the lunar surface. An average rover is built to be large and sturdy to survive the gruelling conditions while carrying scientific instruments. Astrobotic faces a Herculean task of creating a fully functioning rover of this size.

The Peregrine lander will also carry a couple of other pint-sized rovers apart from the one developed by Astrobotic. For the lunar mission, ispace, a Japanese company is planning on supplying the lander with its own rover, similar to the Mexican space agency. These mobile platforms form one of the most crucial parts of Astrobotic’s Moon mission. Terrain mapping and reconnaissance around the lander on the moon will be provided by such tiny mobile robots while being tested for endurance.

The tiny robot will face numerous hurdles on its mission with many factors that can render it useless on the Moon’s surface. Some of the probable problems include rough surfaces, power generation, and temperature regulations. The small size implies that solar panels, radiators and outfitting scientific sensors will be limited. The gravity, however, plays in favour of the drones, making it easier for the 4-pound (approx. 1.8 kilograms) rover to traverse the lunar terrain.

Also Read: Dell Unveils Latitude 7400 Laptop With New ExpressSign-In Feature

The success of this mission will open up lunar exploration for other groups that seek to employ their own tiny drones, with cheaper cost of entry and easy building methods. The entire mission only has a small window of operational value due to the 2-week long night and day cycle on the Moon. All drones are expected to perish in the frigid dark conditions on the Moon 2 weeks into the mission. However, with their ‘sacrifice’, a new method of space and surface exploration can potentially be available for similar endeavours in the future.

June 6, 2019
Moto E6 Plus with Helio P22 SoC Leaked On Geekbench

Lenovo-owned company Motorola is looking to re-establish its footing in the smartphone market. Lately, the company has shown signs of shifting from flagship devices to midrange and budget smartphones. The company’s latest offering was the Moto Z4, which features the Snapdragon 675 SoC and had support for Moto mods. Motorola’s upcoming budget smartphone, the Moto E6 Plus was spotted on Geekbench, and it revealed some key specifications of the device.

Moto E6 Plus Specifications And Features

The Moto E6 Plus is expected to one of the three Motorola devices in the lineup similar to the E5 series (E5, E5 Plus and E5 Play). The Geekbench listing reveals that it is powered by the 14nm Mediatek Helio P22 chipset. It consists of 8 Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and the IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU chip. The handset in the Geekbench listing has 2GB RAM, but since Motorola launched the E5 Plus in two RAM variants: 2GB and 3GB, the same can be expected of the E6 Plus.

Moto G6 Plus

The Geekbench listing further reveals that the Moto E6 Plus runs on the Android 9 (Pie) OS. A single core score of 829 has been achieved by the device, whereas in the multi-core test, it hits a score of 3687. Although no other prominent features and specifications of the device have been divulged yet, it should be noted that the younger sibling of the device featured a 5.45 inch display with a 1440 x 720 px HD+ resolution.

Moto E6 Plus: Expected Availability & Price

Moto One Power

Also Read: Microsoft Renames The Windows 10 Xbox App To Xbox Console Companion

Similar to the Moto E6, the Moto E6 Plus may be available in two 16GB and 32GB variants. It may sport a 13MP (f/2.0) primary camera with a front-facing 5MP camera. Details regarding the secondary camera are unknown at the moment. As mentioned before, the device is expected to be priced aggressively. Since the Moto E5 lineup was unveiled in the month of April 2018, the E6 series might make its way into the smartphone market soon enough.

June 6, 2019
Microsoft Renames The Windows 10 Xbox App To Xbox Console Companion

Microsoft has always had its gaming console companion app pre-installed on every Windows 10 supported device. This was done in order to bridge the social gap between its PC and console gaming fans. In the latest Windows update, the company renamed its Xbox App to Xbox Console Companion. This update is a refresh right before the upcoming ‘new desktop experience’ by the company. Apart from the name, no functional changes have been made to the Windows application.

However, Microsoft has planned updates in the future that will lead to the revamp of the dashboard setup in the app. Furthermore, these changes will be made for an unannounced Xbox console settings menu. The future iterations may also team up with the launch of Microsoft’s xCloud, the online gaming and streaming service. It will also allow cross-platform game streaming amongst the user’s devices. However, no significant changes are mirrored in the Xbox apps for Android and iOS as of now.

When users will update the Microsoft store, they will receive a pop-up message from the company. The message will start with, “Pardon our dust.” and go on to describe the reason for the new name of the application. Xbox Console Companion receives a new icon and will be dedicated for Xbox users. An up-to-date version of Windows (10th May 2019 Build) is required to experience the new feature as promised by Microsoft.

The original Xbox app is made for managing games installed on the Windows 10 PC. It also provides a simple catalogue for users to browse games in Microsoft Store, or manage the Xbox Live profiles. The app has in-built functions like social chat. This allows for cross-platform chat with friends and participation in communities, sharing in-game achievements and tracking them, managing video clips and capturing screenshots. The latter two of the features were made possible to the users via the console’s DVR feature which also makes game streaming possible via an Xbox console to a Windows 10 PC.

Microsoft will hold a press conference at the gaming expo E3 2019 on June 9th. This event should unveil more details regarding the promised desktop experience and xCloud. The game streaming service will begin its trials in the latter half of the year 2019, as previously claimed by Microsoft. The rebranding of the desktop apps name after the overhaul of Windows 10 Game Bar lays the foundation for the future console’s framework. The Game Bar is now equipped with PC resource monitors, customizable widgets, and broadcast/game capture controls.

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With social media now integrated directly with the GameBar, users will be able to access cross-platform voice and text chat. This feature is synchronized across Xbox devices, as well as multiplayer team management. Additionally, Spotify music controls can also be a part of Microsoft future plans to enhance user experience during gaming. The aforementioned features although, might be removed from the now repurposed Xbox Console Companion App.

June 5, 2019