By now, we’re all mostly aware of the Android Marshmallow and how it’s different from the previous versions. However, at its mega event, Google has announced a couple of new features to its already new Marshmallow version, and here they are.
Firstly, they’ve announced that you can voice stream from the lock screen itself. Basically you have to swipe from a corner to launch it and it’s up and running.
Google also detailed its charging abilities, so now, the Marshmallow can tell you whether you are on the fast-charging mode and also tells you how long until your phone is fully charged.
Google also talked about the app drawer and revealed that the new app drawer will help us look for apps much faster, because it will arrange the apps according to our usage of it. Bringing the most used apps at the top of the app drawer, making them much faster to access.
The company also announced something exciting – the new Nexus devices which come with the Android marshmallow will not have as many ‘pre-loaded’ app. Which means, that since they’re going to be “post-set up”, you can eventually uninstall them, if necessary.
Next, they elaborated further about the ‘Now On Tap’ feature, which basically allows you to search Google automatically from any app, if you press the home button for long enough. They’ve added voice interactions to this, so now you can control apps with your voice. Google also mentioned that the “Okay Google” detection will now work when the screen is switched off too.
Here’s something new about the battery too. The Android Marshmallow will also come with a new “doze” mode that informs apps to sleep (for lack of a better word), when the phone hasn’t been used for awhile. So, when the screen is switched off, the battery life will be 30 percent longer than in previous versions.
The Android marshmallow will roll out on the new Nexus 6P and 5X next week. Till then if you want to brush up on your Android Marshmallow history then look no further and click here.
Earlier, much earlier, we had reported that the Harry Potter invisibility cloak concept was being studied for research purposes and that there were a couple of things they developed which brought them closer to their goal.
So just a 100 days before Christmas, we bring you good news that the researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have actually managed to create a thin, 80 nanometre skin cloak with the ability to make small things disappear.
It is said, that the cloak is made up of “gold brick-like nanoantennas” which redirect light waves from the object thereby making it invisible. What’s new about this cloak is that, as compared to the previously made bulky invisibility cloaks this one is ultra thin, and even though it is a 2D cloak, it is said to be able to cover 3D objects too.
The basic idea that helped with this development is the fact that they wanted to make the surface of the cloak in a way that the light hitting it “would be the same as that of light reflected from a flat mirror.”
“As long as the metasurface is designed correctly,” the study says, “both the container and the objects inside the container will become invisible.”
Oh well, there’s very little left for ones imagination these days.Will science destroy the entire idea of mystery soon? With the way things are advancing, no one will be able to read a book and get lost in another world.
So, here’s to hoping that the next gen also has their share of C.S Lewis and JK Rowling.
2015 is almost coming to a close and the year has already seen the release of some pretty amazing console games that were highly anticipated such as Batman: Arkham Knight, Mortal Kombat X, Metal Gear Solid V, and many more. But the year isn’t over and there are a few more expected in the next few months and in the first quarter of 2016. We’ve decided to list out some of them for all you gaming nerds out there that you may want to pre-order right away.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
We can never get tired of Call of Duty, can we? The Black Ops segment of the franchise introduced a science fiction turn in Black Ops II that features a future warfare setting with robots and futuristic technology with a separate zombie story line as well. Black Ops III, much like its predecessor, will be set in a “dark, twisted future”. On April 26th 2015, the first teaser for the game was released and it was also revealed that the zombie mode will return. The game is set to release on November 6th on Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. However, pre-orders for Black Ops III are yet to begin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Pspqx0XGs
Halo 5: Guardians
Another popular first-person shooter franchise, Halo, is set to release its newest game on October 27th. Halo 5: Guardians is a sequel to Halo 4. The game will be released for the Xbox One and Producer Josh Holmes stated that the game’s engine employs a “new progressive resolution system that allows us to dynamically scale the resolution at which we render the game” to guarantee it maintains a frame rate of 60 FPS.
Some of you Halo fans may also be interested to know that a Halo television series is being produced by Steven Speilberg and is set to air along with the release of Halo 5: Guardians. The game will also see returning fan-favorite Nathan Fillion as Edward Buck from Halo 3: ODST. You can spot him in the opening scene below.
Fallout 4
Another post-apocalyptic game, the popular Fallout franchise will come out with its fifth installment, Fallout 4 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox One on November 10, 2015. Fallout 4 will be an open-world, first-or third-person role-playing game. And with its non-linear gameplay, players can roam about as they please.
The game takes place 200 years after a war over resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The protagonist emerges 200 years later from an underground bunker known as the Vault 111.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4
Star Wars Battlefront
The Star Wars hype is getting bigger and louder as we lead up to the release of The Force Awakens. EA Dice is all set to release Star Wars Battlefront on November 17 on Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, with no news yet for Windows.
Players will traverse planets from Star Wars that include Hoth, Tatooine, and Endor. Players will get to choose to control either the Rebel Alliance soldiers or the Imperial Stormtrooper. And the most exciting news comes in the form of playable characters that include Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Bobba Fett, as well as non-playable characters like R2-D2 and C3PO. Time to embrace your inner Jedi or Dark Side.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
The ninth installment to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the game will take place in 1868 Industrial London where twins Jacob and Evie, who serve as the new protagonists, arrive to find it controlled by Templars. The story will see famous figures such as Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin aiding the twins crusade against the Templars. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate will release on October 23 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The trailer shows Jacob as the leader of the ‘Rooks’ out to take down the Templar establishment in London.
Tom Clancy’s: The Division
The Tom Clancy series is back with The Division. This third-person shooter game is set in mid-crisis New York where the player will have to investigate the source of a virus. The game features a dynamic, time based weather system that will allow players to use it to their advantage. The game is scheduled to release on the 31st of December for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Uncharted 4: Nathan Drake Collection
When it comes to Uncharted 4 : A Thief’s End, Perhaps no game (except for Arkham Knight) has been as highly anticipated as this one. Popular adventurer Nathan Drake will be back with long-time friend and fan-favorite, Victor Sullivan for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and it is all set to blow you away.
The game is set three years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and will see Nathan. now retired and settled with wife Elena Fisher, back in globe-trotting action to help his older brother Sam. The game was set to release this year but has now been pushed to March 2016. Pre-orders will begin soon so PlayStation 4 gamers may want save up for it. If you haven’t played the previous Uncharted games yet, you can find Nathan Drake Collection for PlayStation 4 on pre-order.
FIFA 16
Another year, another FIFA game. But we’re not complaining. This will be the 23rd game in the FIFA series and will be available on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. This years game will introduce female footballers for the first time. The 12 women’s national teams are Australia, Canada, Brazil, England, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Watch cover boy Messi do his thing along with some of your favorite players in the trailer below.
There is one movie that has been on our minds since we heard about it first; yes, we’re talking about the new Steve Jobs movie. This movie comes with a lot of heavy names from showbiz, with Aaron Sorkin, acclaimed script writer with movies like the Social Network in his kitty, then they have Danny Boyle of Slumdog Billionaire acclaim as the director, and guess who’s playing Steve Jobs himself? Michael Fassbender. You’ll know him as Magneto, but he’s also done some great work with Quentin Tarantino and Steve McQueen. Oh, and he’s also going to be the new Macbeth soon.
We could go on with the big names in this film, but I’m going to leave that for the trailer that you can watch here:
This is the official trailer, but there have been other earlier trailers which seemed to have focused on different things than the official one. The final trailer focuses on his relationship with his daughter more than his genius, it seems to show him as a much more nuanced character than just being a complex genius. The film promises a lot with great reviews after its screening at the Telluride Film festival this year. Of course, there will be comparisons to the previous Jobs film, but then again even on the most shallow grounds of criticism you know who would emerge as the winner between Ashton Kutcher and Michael Fassbender.
Steve Wozniak himself is quoted saying “I felt like I was watching Steve Jobs,” while Fassbender’s co-actors have commented on his almost creepy transformation into Steve Jobs. We will know whether it’ll all pay off once the movie releases on the 9th of October 2015.
We have been mentioning Qualcomm’s upcoming processor called the Snapdragon 820 for a while now. A couple of devices that are expected to come with the new processor are – Xiaomi’s Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus, the Nexus 5 and 6 etc. Now, what is different in this version of the processor as compared to its predecessor? Or what is new about the Snapdragon 820?
At today’s unveiling event in China, Qualcomm revealed that the Snapdragon 820 will come with a mobile data bandwidth of up to, wait-for-it, 600Mbps downstream and 150Mbps up over LTE-Advanced (X12 LTE). That is saying quite a bit for just mobile data and streaming. But then again, smartphones have taken over so much of our lives, that we need faster internet on it than on our laptops. Furthermore on the internet connectivity front, it will also come with a Wi-Fi 802.11ad.
Moving on to more technical details, it will use four custom 64-bit Kryo cores instead of the usual Cortex. The new Kyro processor is said to have been created in a way that would make it easy on the battery instead of draining its life source. They claim that the new processor will be 40% more advanced in performance and will have a 40% cut in power usage.
Wait, there’s some more technical details. So, basically this new chipset comes integrated with the Adreno 530 GPU and the Hexagon 680 DSP. The GPU is said to support an HDMI 2.0 and up to 4K at 60fps output. Well, that’s that, but along with the 820, Qualcomm also revealed two new chipset processors – Snapdragon 617 and 430.
Below are images of their specifications:
Because, one is never enough. Now all we have to do is wait and see how well these processors work on their devices. Hang on tight till then.
The moment has arrived, when Apple finally reveals its iPhone 6s smartphone. We have been covering all sorts of rumours and reports about this handset the moment we got wind of it. Price, display, specifications and software – we’ve heard it all, and now is that moment of truth where we find out what this hype is all about and most importantly, whether it’s been worth it. Their opening statement is this:
“The only thing that’s changed is everything.”
Let’s start with the most obvious – the price. Earlier reports suggested that the iPhone 6s would arrive at around 699 euros which is Rs.52,084 approximately, for the 16GB version, 799 euros which is Rs.59,529 approximately, for the 64GB version and 899 euros which is Rs.66,980 approximately for the 128GB version. Here are the final numbers: the 16GB version is priced at $199, the 64GB version is $299 and the 128GB version is $399.
Few exciting things we now know about the new iPhone is that they will feature animated wallpapers and that the Rose Gold colour variant we were anticipating is here! Now it’s up to you if you think rose gold is fashionable enough for you, because the ‘cool’ new iPhone definitely thinks it is.
It comes with a brand new glass encasing this time, with the Ion-X and not the usual Sapphire Glass, and a new Taptic Engine which can be used to navigate the UI.
So, it was said that the new iPhone will have an updated 3D Force Touch technology – meaning that the sensors would be taking into account three different types of touch rather than two. This is also true. Apple has confirmed the 3D Force Touch feature, that makes photos, emails, Messages, etc pop up on your display. You just need to press on an app to jump right into a feature. This feature also allows you to use apps and be active on them without even opening them.
They’ve also mentioned that the phone will be running on the new iOS 9 and the smartphone will come integrated with the new A9 chip.
Let’s talk about something that the iPhone is most applauded for – its camera. The iPhone 6 Plus has had an 8MP camera with an optical image stabilization feature that made it the phone with game changing photography abilities. Well, the iPhone 6s is better than that – it has an all new iSight 12MP camera with deep trench isolation. That’s it. iPhone just won. The 12MP camera will now allow you to record videos in 4K resolution.
That was the rear camera, but the iPhone’s front camera, which is as big a star as the primary camera, now comes at 5 megapixels and full HD resolution, allowing better FaceTime and selfie opportunities to users. The front camera also comes with a true tone Retina Flash feature. The 3D Touch feature also extends itself into the still camera pictures by animating the photos into video, called Live Photos, which can also have sound.
“These are regular photos — we extend the capture moment just before and after.”
Speaking about connectivity the iPhone 6s comes with 2X faster WiFi and 23 LTE bands. They’ve also mentioned that the new iCloud storage pricing will be as follows: 50gb for 99 cents a months, 200GB for 2.99/mot 1TB for 9.99/mo.
Now in the midst of all this they’ve also announced a small little ‘neighborly app’ that allows Android users to switch to the iPhone’s iOS.
“You can recycle your Android phone for free at any Apple Store,” says the app.
To conclude, we can accumulate all the major features and say that the iPhone 6s comes with the 3D Force Touch technology, is made with a 7000 series aluminum body and a new cover glass, a 64 bit A9 chip with M9, a second gen touch ID, has an advanced LTE and faster Wi-Fi, 12MP iSight camera with 4K Video, 5MP FaceTime HD resolution with retina flash and Live Photos. Phew.
The iOS 9 will be available next week starting on the 16th of September 2015 and for Pre Order on the 12th of September.
For now, that’s that about the iPhone 6s. Stay tuned. Here are the specifications:
Specifications
iPhone 6s
Display
Retina HD display with 3D Touch, 4.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen
Resolution
1334 X 750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
Processor
Embedded M9 motion coprocessor
GPU
–
Chipset
A9 chip with 64-bit architecture,
OS
iOS 9
Internal Storage
16GB/64GB/128GB
RAM
–
Exapandibility
N/A
Rear camera
12-megapixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture
Samsung released its newest addition to the smartwatch category in the form of the Gear S2 at IFA this year. It runs on Tizen, a deviation from what Samsung’s competitors have been doing so far with their smartwatches. However, the most exciting feature of this smartwatch is it’s compatibility with non-Samsung phones. As opposed to all of the previous smartwatches, Samsung has finally launched a product that is not limited by this condition.
This swanky little watch is compatible with any Android smartphone with at least 1.5 GB of RAM that runs Android 4.4. and above. As opposed to Samsung’s older Android wear which bordered a little on being clunky and boring, S2 offers sleekness and elegance. It’s light weight with comfortable elastomer bands and the body is smaller than previous models measuring 40 mm in width instead of 42. The leather strap and the bezel further adds to the swagger of this smartwatch. If this wasn’t enough, Samsung has added Wi-Fi, ESPN sports updates, news tickers and NFC to woo the buyers further.
The list of phones compatible with this new gizmo, as released by Samsung is as follows:
Sony is expected to release its Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium at the IFA Berlin event today. However, a new leak shows us detailed images of all the devices – the Xperia logo is engraved on one side, while the volume, camera, and power buttons are on the other side. The power button is said to also function as a fingerprint reader, while on the design front we can see the SONY name in the middle of the back with a small NFC logo above it.
The very anticipated 23MP camera can also be seen on the top-left corner. The device is said to be powered by the Snapdragon 810 SoC, and will have 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and an 8MP front facing camera, while the very anticipated 23MP camera can also be seen on the top-left corner.
Further reports suggest that the Z5 premium might come with a 5.5-inch 4K UHD display, the Z5 will have a 5.2-inch 1080p display, while the Z5 Compact is expected to have a 4 inch 720p display. All three devices will come with batteries that are said to last for up to 2 days. Watch this space for more.
As expected, Samsung at the Unpacked 2015 event, revealed a new Gear S2 smart watch. The model seems to have stylised itself, quite bit with a round face, metal body and new user interface. It likely to run on Samsung’s Tizen OS rather than Android Wear, like the original Gear S.
The new UI design which consists of a circle of apps around the interface cements the fact that it isn’t a part of the Android Wear devices, at all. While we know no nothing more about the awaited smartwatch, Samsung has promised its fans that it will reveal the Gear S2, fully, at the IFA Berlin, next month. So stay tuned for regular updates.
This year we have seen a lot of fantastic movies. Especially the sequels which came with new tales, like the Avengers: Age of Ultron and the new Jurassic World.
Thankfully, we still have half a year left. Here’s what the other half of the Hollywood calendar has to offer – check out the new trailers:
2015 has been a good year for movie releases. We have seen Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic Park break the box office. But, the year is far from over, and we have listed out some of the A-class films that should be watched in the theatres.
Since YouTube was formed 10 years ago, founders, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, had no idea how the concept would work out. The first video, ‘Me at the Zoo’, showed Jawed Karim at a zoo watching some elephants, and since then, there has been no stopping for them.
YouTube has played a pivotal role in becoming a global phenomenon for viewing videos. 10 years down the line, YouTube has over 1 billion users and 300 hours of videos uploaded every minute.
We will see the top nine most viewed videos of 2015 on YouTube today:
Jurassic World Super Bowl Trailer
6,737,966 views
Jurassic Park 2 never lived up to the expectations of the original film. Now, Steven Spielberg has returned with a brand new franchise of the series. This trailer debuted during the Super Bowl and left many fans asking for more.
100 Years of Beauty: Aging | Cut Has A Field Day
15,069,410 views
This is a video about a 20-something couple, who was to get married in less than a month. They got to see how they will look like in the next 50, 75 and 90 years of age. All thanks to high detailed makeup and costume professionals. Starting of as humorous, this video touches your emotional side once it progresses forward.
Dodge: Wisdom
16,148,004 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKKlqMs19tU
On the occasion of its 100th anniversary, Dodge, an American brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, created a campaign covering its own history. The Super Bowl commercial went viral and was viewed by more than 16 million viewers worldwide. The ad is about people who are more than a 100 years old and focuses on the fact that ‘100 years in’ isn’t necessarily the mark of decline.
Galaxy Family – Movie Magic (90 seconds)
10,320,560 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQTXAhdksYg
This video is about a woman who wants to make a movie using all sorts of stiched-up special effects and acting services of her family and friends, and a plumber too! She shoots all of these using Samsung devices.
How to remove your face
9,100,782 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpQS5i6nSH8
While the world watches videos on applying make-up, this woman removes makeup from half of her face. It was uploaded by a South Korean woman on YouTube who shows herself removing cosmetics from one side of her face with a wad of cotton dipped in makeup remover. Gradually, almost like magic, the eye liner, eye shadow, brow filler, mascara, foundation and whatever else was used before, disappears to reveal her ‘original’ face.This video went viral and reached one million views within a few weeks. The message conveyed by this video is how the woman transformed herself with a just few cosmetics and some handy brushwork.
BATMAN vs. DARTH VADER Super Power Beat Down
2,112,235 views
For
For all the comic books and Star War fans, this video is the real treat. With the world’s most powerful brain on one side and the Dark Lord of the Sith on the other, Super Powered Beat down, really highlights the “Super” part.
Zach LaVine Throws Down the “Space Jam” Dunk: 2015 Sprite Slam-Dunk Contest
9,278,688 views
The last time we saw a Slam Dunk like this was during the 1990s Michael Jordan and Looney Tunes movie. Minnesota Timberwolves player Zach LaVine performed one of the film’s iconic slams and brought the popular kids film to life
“Seeing” mommy for the first time!
13,235,533 views
This video is about a child suffering from Albinism, that reduces visual accuracy due to light-induced retinal damage. Louise received her glasses to help her see properly and saw her mother for the first time.
This Girl Can
8,264,593 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7lt0CYwHg
Earlier this year, Sport England (English Sports Council) released its ‘This Girl’ Can video which shows all types of women being active in sports like swimming, boxing, volleyball. They are strong, engaged, super sweaty, and rightfully unaffected by the fact that they don’t look like the models on a sneaker commercial.
According to the Q1 2015 reports by Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Samsung remained the the lead as India’s champion in terms of growth and market share. The company has recently faced absurd challenges, in Asia particularly, but its condition improved enough to win over the Indian market from Apple and Micromax.
Reports of the Q1 2015 showed Samsung India grew 2.1% over the last year. Samsung led the overall mobile phone market and the smartphone segment during the quarter with market shares of 18.2% and 27.8% respectively. This figure is still below the 33% growth from the previous year. But, with a sale of 82.4 million handsets within the first three months of the quarter, Samsung captured 24.5% of the market share.
According to the report, Samsung has used its distribution prowess to sell-in during the quarter as it executed aggressive smartphone launches during the quarter including the Tizen-based Z1.
One of the reasons why Samsung boomed is that the Korean company launched its flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge at the end of the quarter in April.
Micromax ended their quarter with 15.3% market share that served as a decline on the yearly basis as well as on sequential basis. Although, it still managed to secure the second place, the report commented that Micromax’s new brand Yureka with the launch of its first Cyanogen powered LTE smartphone Yu started off well, but will need more models across different price brackets to match the scale of Xiaomi and Motorola.
The latest flagships by Samsung Electronics, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, were supposed to bring the company back on track. The company has been rapidly losing ground to other smartphone manufacturers like Apple, OnePlus, and Xiaomi. The escalating demand for its flagships speaks of Samsung’s decent performance this time around, but the latest announcement says otherwise.
Samsung, who has been relying on the buoyant sales of the high-end devices, recorded significant slide in profit for the sixth consecutive time. It is the sixth consecutive quarter-on-quarter (QOQ) drop reported by Samsung. The company today declared that Q1 2015 net profit was 4.63 trillion won ($4.35 billion). This was lower than the 7.49 trillion won gained the previous year. The company also mentioned that the quarterly revenue tripped by 11 percent to 47.12 trillion won, while the operating profit increased to 5.98 trillion won.
The latest statistics is higher than the previous quarter and less than half of what was reported in Q1 2014.
Samsung is banking on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to help boost its numbers.
Samsung’s latest S series was outdone by Apple’s iPhone 6 and its bigger sibling. According to numbers, people preferred the bigger iPhones over the curvy Galaxy S6 Edge. Alongside, Samsung has been unable to cope up with the supply demands of Samsung S6 Edge, which is likely to have an adverse effect on its business.
Apple has again become the world’s most valuable company and disclosed the iPhones sales of the first quarter. According to Apple, a total of 61 million iPhones were retailed in Q1 this year and the maximum numbers were sold in China.
Samsung expects a better sales figure in the second quarter, and said that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will boost the numbers up in the next couple of months. OLED and LCD panel sales are further anticipated to lift the overall sales. The Consumer Electronics (CE) Division also sees an improved sale of air conditioners and the flagship SUHD TV.
With many premium products in its kitty, Samsung expects to recover its revenue figures in the next quarter. However, it wouldn’t be that easy as many tech start-ups, as well as established companies, have secured a niche in almost every segment. Xiaomi has become a customer favourite and Apple fans are rapidly multiplying all over the world. It would be interesting to see what tactics Samsung adopts to catch up with these present titans.
