Technology

Instagram has pushed out a new update to its mobile app that makes the Stories tab persistent. This means that the tab you see on top when you open the app—where your friends’ Stories are shown as big round icons—will always remain on the screen, even when you scroll down to view the rest of your main feed. It’s a new feature that’s currently in testing phase.  This new change in the Instagram app’s UI comes only days after the Facebook-owned company decided to launch IGTV, a new standalone app for watching long-form vertical videos, and a new feature that lets you add background music to your Instagram Stories. The latter is limited to some countries only, for the moment. When asked for a comment by The Verge, an Instagram spokesperson said of the new persistent Stories tab through an email response, “We’re always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you.” As of now, Instagram does not offer an option

Instagram has pushed out a new update to its mobile app that makes the Stories tab persistent. This means that the tab you see on top when you open the app—where your friends’ Stories are shown as big round icons—will always remain on the screen, even when you scroll down to view the rest of your main feed. It’s a new feature that’s currently in testing phase.  This new change in the Instagram app’s UI comes only days after the Facebook-owned company decided to launch IGTV, a new standalone app for watching long-form vertical videos, and a new feature that lets you add background music to your Instagram Stories. The latter is limited to some countries only, for the moment. When asked for a comment by The Verge, an Instagram spokesperson said of the new persistent Stories tab through an email response, “We’re always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you.” As of now, Instagram does not offer an option

Details of Microsoft's secret Surface device codenamed "Andromeda" that it reportedly plans to release in 2018, have been leaked, suggesting it may come with a dual-display design, the media said. The "pocketable Surface device" that has appeared multiple times in patents is something the company has quietly incubated internally. It will create a "new and disruptive" device category to influence the overall Surface roadmap and blur the lines between a personal computer (PC) and a mobile, The Verge reported late on Friday. According to an internal Microsoft document the device brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience".  Microsoft is reportedly experimenting with "stylus" input for "Andromeda", so that the device could fold over like a book and a pen could be used to capture digital ink. "Prototype devices include styluses and notepad-like

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is currently the only Android One powered device by the company and it looks like its getting its next big update. XDA Developers reports that the company is rolling out the Android 8.1 Oreo update to the device which includes the June security update. However, the website also states that the update may have a bug that deletes all your SMSes. According to the report, the update is about 1.1GB on size and is currently rolling out to users in India and the Philippines. The new update also brings a number of new features such a new power menu. There is also a feature in which the Settings and SystemUI theme adapts to the colour of the wallpaper. The update does not bring Treble support  or EIS. There is also no native FM Radio app. XDA Developers notes that some users are reporting that there is a bug which wipes the users entire SMS history. It apparently happens after users swipe away the messages app. As a result, its advisable for users to hold off from updating the

Details of Microsoft's secret Surface device codenamed "Andromeda" that it reportedly plans to release in 2018, have been leaked, suggesting it may come with a dual-display design, the media said. The "pocketable Surface device" that has appeared multiple times in patents is something the company has quietly incubated internally. It will create a "new and disruptive" device category to influence the overall Surface roadmap and blur the lines between a personal computer (PC) and a mobile, The Verge reported late on Friday. According to an internal Microsoft document the device brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience".  Microsoft is reportedly experimenting with "stylus" input for "Andromeda", so that the device could fold over like a book and a pen could be used to capture digital ink. "Prototype devices include styluses and notepad-like

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is currently the only Android One powered device by the company and it looks like its getting its next big update. XDA Developers reports that the company is rolling out the Android 8.1 Oreo update to the device which includes the June security update. However, the website also states that the update may have a bug that deletes all your SMSes. According to the report, the update is about 1.1GB on size and is currently rolling out to users in India and the Philippines. The new update also brings a number of new features such a new power menu. There is also a feature in which the Settings and SystemUI theme adapts to the colour of the wallpaper. The update does not bring Treble support  or EIS. There is also no native FM Radio app. XDA Developers notes that some users are reporting that there is a bug which wipes the users entire SMS history. It apparently happens after users swipe away the messages app. As a result, its advisable for users to hold off from updating the

Lenovo-owned Motorola has confirmed that it will launch the Moto E5 Plus in India sometime on July. The announcement was made via a teaser on the company’s social media channels. However, the company did not confirm exactly when it plans to launch the smartphone and at what price. To recall, Motorola unveiled the Moto E5 Plus a couple of months back alongside the rest of the Moto E5 series and the Moto G6 series. The company had launched a total of six smartphones, out of which two devices have already made their way to India. Namely the Moto G6 and the Moto G6 Play. It is not yet known if or when the company plans to launch the other devices in India. Coming back to the Moto E5 Plus, the smartphone sports a  6-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 display aspect ratio.It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 SoC with 3GB of RAM. The phone offers 32GB of onboard storage. At the back of the device is a single 12MP camera with 1.25um pixel size, while at the front is an 8MP camera with 1.12um

Lenovo-owned Motorola has confirmed that it will launch the Moto E5 Plus in India sometime on July. The announcement was made via a teaser on the company’s social media channels. However, the company did not confirm exactly when it plans to launch the smartphone and at what price. To recall, Motorola unveiled the Moto E5 Plus a couple of months back alongside the rest of the Moto E5 series and the Moto G6 series. The company had launched a total of six smartphones, out of which two devices have already made their way to India. Namely the Moto G6 and the Moto G6 Play. It is not yet known if or when the company plans to launch the other devices in India. Coming back to the Moto E5 Plus, the smartphone sports a  6-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 display aspect ratio.It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 SoC with 3GB of RAM. The phone offers 32GB of onboard storage. At the back of the device is a single 12MP camera with 1.25um pixel size, while at the front is an 8MP camera with 1.12um

In another massive leak, the private data of about 120 million users was compromised by a developer of Facebook quizzes called "NameTests", the media reported. A security researcher has revealed that the personality quiz app was exposing the details it had amassed to third-parties online since 2016. The company behind "NameTests", a German app maker Social Sweethearts, created popular social quizzes like "Which Disney Princess Are You?" and distributed them on the social networking site. "Writing in a Medium post, the security researcher who filed the report -- self-styled 'hacker' Inti De Ceukelaire explains, he went hunting for data abusers on Facebook's platform after the company announced a data abuse bounty on April 10 as it scrambled to present a responsible face to the world," TechCrunch reported late on Thursday. The researcher said he began his search by noting down what third party apps his Facebook friends were using. &quo

 CloudWalker has announced the launch of the Cloud TV X2 smart TV. The TV will be available in two screen sizes, 32 to 55 inches in HD Ready and Full HD resolutions priced at Rs. 14,990 and Rs 33,900 respectively. The TV will run on Android 7 out of the box and will be powered by a quad-core ARM cortex processor, 1GB RAM and 8 GB ROM. Commenting on the launch, Jagdish Rajpurohit, President of CloudWalker said, “The way Indians access entertainment is changing. In this age of digitization and tech innovations, the present day consumers are demanding for more. To the same end, we are proud to present Cloud TV X2, a first-of-its-kind completely 4K-Ready Full HD Smart TV on Android 7 Nougat OS in India. It not only offers stunning visuals and truly a cinematic experience but will also provide a future-ready Smart TV viewing experience to the users with the ability to play 4K content now on Full HD Smart TV and have an intuitive & integrated Android 7 experience. Given the growing ambi

In another massive leak, the private data of about 120 million users was compromised by a developer of Facebook quizzes called "NameTests", the media reported. A security researcher has revealed that the personality quiz app was exposing the details it had amassed to third-parties online since 2016. The company behind "NameTests", a German app maker Social Sweethearts, created popular social quizzes like "Which Disney Princess Are You?" and distributed them on the social networking site. "Writing in a Medium post, the security researcher who filed the report -- self-styled 'hacker' Inti De Ceukelaire explains, he went hunting for data abusers on Facebook's platform after the company announced a data abuse bounty on April 10 as it scrambled to present a responsible face to the world," TechCrunch reported late on Thursday. The researcher said he began his search by noting down what third party apps his Facebook friends were using. &quo

 CloudWalker has announced the launch of the Cloud TV X2 smart TV. The TV will be available in two screen sizes, 32 to 55 inches in HD Ready and Full HD resolutions priced at Rs. 14,990 and Rs 33,900 respectively. The TV will run on Android 7 out of the box and will be powered by a quad-core ARM cortex processor, 1GB RAM and 8 GB ROM. Commenting on the launch, Jagdish Rajpurohit, President of CloudWalker said, “The way Indians access entertainment is changing. In this age of digitization and tech innovations, the present day consumers are demanding for more. To the same end, we are proud to present Cloud TV X2, a first-of-its-kind completely 4K-Ready Full HD Smart TV on Android 7 Nougat OS in India. It not only offers stunning visuals and truly a cinematic experience but will also provide a future-ready Smart TV viewing experience to the users with the ability to play 4K content now on Full HD Smart TV and have an intuitive & integrated Android 7 experience. Given the growing ambi

The future of gaming is streaming. At CES 2018, we saw a bunch of game streaming services, NVIDIA has GEForce Now, Sony has PlayStation Now and even Microsoft announced that it is working on a game streaming service. We even had the opportunity to check out Hatch, a mobile game streaming service set to launch in India soon. So, it is no surprise that Google wants a piece of the game streaming service. In February of 2018, information circulating the internet suggested that Google was expected to launch a hardware-based game streaming service codename Yeti and it looks like the new rumours are related to Yeti. At E3 2018, Google, it seems, was talking to developers about making games for its streaming service. According to Kotaku, Google might even acquire game studios to work on titles for Yeti. According to Android Authority, “In 2017, Google acquired Austin, Texas-based Owlchemy Labs, the developer behind a number of acclaimed PC and console VR games like Job Simulator and Rick and

The future of gaming is streaming. At CES 2018, we saw a bunch of game streaming services, NVIDIA has GEForce Now, Sony has PlayStation Now and even Microsoft announced that it is working on a game streaming service. We even had the opportunity to check out Hatch, a mobile game streaming service set to launch in India soon. So, it is no surprise that Google wants a piece of the game streaming service. In February of 2018, information circulating the internet suggested that Google was expected to launch a hardware-based game streaming service codename Yeti and it looks like the new rumours are related to Yeti. At E3 2018, Google, it seems, was talking to developers about making games for its streaming service. According to Kotaku, Google might even acquire game studios to work on titles for Yeti. According to Android Authority, “In 2017, Google acquired Austin, Texas-based Owlchemy Labs, the developer behind a number of acclaimed PC and console VR games like Job Simulator and Rick and

The Alcatel 1 smartphone, which was spotted online a few days ago is now official. The company has announced the device at the ongoing MWC Shanghai event and as rumoured, it’s an entry-level device running on Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) OS. It features a 5.34-inch FWVGA display with an 18:9 display aspect ratio and is powered by the quad-core MediaTek MT6739 SoC. The handset sports 1GB RAM, coupled with 8GB of internal storage. It is priced at $89 (Rs 6,200 approx) and is said to be made available in select regions from July 2018, however, there is no information on an India launch or pricing.  The Alcatel 1 comes in Metallic Blue, Metallic Black, and Metallic Gold colour variants. Google’s suite of Go apps come pre-installed on it, which are optimised for running on a device with low specs. The single-SIM handset is equipped with a 5MP rear camera with a flash, while on the front is an interpolated 5MP sensor. There is also a photo editing suite on the device called the Social Mode

Huawei and Honor have showcased the detailed rollout plan of their GPU Turbo technology for select smartphones. The new rollout schedule was reportedly announced at an event in Shenzhen, China and provides additional details as to when the new software feature will be rolled out to the devices across various regions. The GPU Turbo technology is a software update, which is said to increases the devices’ performance by 60%, while reducing power consumption by 30%. The new feature debuted with the Honor Play and the company said that it will soon be rolled out to its other devices like the Honor 10, Honor View 10, Honor 9 Lite and the Honor 7X.  As per the new report, Huawei P20, P20 Pro, Mate 10, Mate Pro and Mate RS users in Europe, Russia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa will be receiving the update by August. It will be rolled out to the Huawei P20 Lite in Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa by September. The GPU Turbo update will also be rolled out in all markets to o

Home smart speakers and Chromecast are two of the most sought-after products from Google. While one provides users with hands-free help around the house from an integrated Google Assistant, the other has subdued the need of a smart TV to a certain level. Everything seemed to working fine until both devices were hit by a worldwide glitch, which rendered them unusable. Google, however, has now fixed the issues and both the products are reportedly working fine.     Users took to Twitter to vent out their anger, only to find other frustrated victims. Google acknowledged that they were aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users and said they were investigating and working on a solution. However, the company did not share the nature of the issue that caused the problem. The @madebyGoogle Twitter account also responded to some customer complaints with apologies, but failed to share info about the nature of the outage and the time it would take for Google to fix the iss

The Alcatel 1 smartphone, which was spotted online a few days ago is now official. The company has announced the device at the ongoing MWC Shanghai event and as rumoured, it’s an entry-level device running on Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) OS. It features a 5.34-inch FWVGA display with an 18:9 display aspect ratio and is powered by the quad-core MediaTek MT6739 SoC. The handset sports 1GB RAM, coupled with 8GB of internal storage. It is priced at $89 (Rs 6,200 approx) and is said to be made available in select regions from July 2018, however, there is no information on an India launch or pricing.  The Alcatel 1 comes in Metallic Blue, Metallic Black, and Metallic Gold colour variants. Google’s suite of Go apps come pre-installed on it, which are optimised for running on a device with low specs. The single-SIM handset is equipped with a 5MP rear camera with a flash, while on the front is an interpolated 5MP sensor. There is also a photo editing suite on the device called the Social Mode

Huawei and Honor have showcased the detailed rollout plan of their GPU Turbo technology for select smartphones. The new rollout schedule was reportedly announced at an event in Shenzhen, China and provides additional details as to when the new software feature will be rolled out to the devices across various regions. The GPU Turbo technology is a software update, which is said to increases the devices’ performance by 60%, while reducing power consumption by 30%. The new feature debuted with the Honor Play and the company said that it will soon be rolled out to its other devices like the Honor 10, Honor View 10, Honor 9 Lite and the Honor 7X.  As per the new report, Huawei P20, P20 Pro, Mate 10, Mate Pro and Mate RS users in Europe, Russia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa will be receiving the update by August. It will be rolled out to the Huawei P20 Lite in Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa by September. The GPU Turbo update will also be rolled out in all markets to o

Home smart speakers and Chromecast are two of the most sought-after products from Google. While one provides users with hands-free help around the house from an integrated Google Assistant, the other has subdued the need of a smart TV to a certain level. Everything seemed to working fine until both devices were hit by a worldwide glitch, which rendered them unusable. Google, however, has now fixed the issues and both the products are reportedly working fine.     Users took to Twitter to vent out their anger, only to find other frustrated victims. Google acknowledged that they were aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users and said they were investigating and working on a solution. However, the company did not share the nature of the issue that caused the problem. The @madebyGoogle Twitter account also responded to some customer complaints with apologies, but failed to share info about the nature of the outage and the time it would take for Google to fix the iss

Instagram has rolled out a new feature called ‘Music Sticker’ that will enable users to add soundtracks to their Stories. The Facebook-owned platform made the annoucement via a blog post, in which the company also noted that Instagram Stories was used by over 400 million users everyday. To add music, users will have to select the music icon locate under 'stickers'. When selected, users will be be given an option to add a specific song to their Story. Instagram notes that it has a "library of thousands of songs" from which users can choose music from, with more music being added to the library everyday.  The users can search and select a specific song depending upon the mood of the story or what is popular, and preview listen by tapping the ‘Play’ icon right next to it. After selecting a song, users can even fast-forward or rewind through the track to choose the exact part that fits the Story. When people are watching their stories, they will hear the song playing as

Instagram has rolled out a new feature called ‘Music Sticker’ that will enable users to add soundtracks to their Stories. The Facebook-owned platform made the annoucement via a blog post, in which the company also noted that Instagram Stories was used by over 400 million users everyday. To add music, users will have to select the music icon locate under 'stickers'. When selected, users will be be given an option to add a specific song to their Story. Instagram notes that it has a "library of thousands of songs" from which users can choose music from, with more music being added to the library everyday.  The users can search and select a specific song depending upon the mood of the story or what is popular, and preview listen by tapping the ‘Play’ icon right next to it. After selecting a song, users can even fast-forward or rewind through the track to choose the exact part that fits the Story. When people are watching their stories, they will hear the song playing as

Do you run out of storage often? Looking for a portable hard disk or pen drive for your media storage? Then you’ve came to the right place. We have found out some deals on Paytm Mall on storage devices. The list contains devices from brands like Seagate, SanDisk, WD elements and more.  Hard Disks WD Elements 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Price: Rs 5,580 Deal price: Rs 3,498 (inclusive of cashback) The WD Elements 1TB Portable External Hard Drive connects to PC via USB 3.0 interface, which is faster than 2.0. As per the company, it can transfer the data at the rate of 5GB/s with USB 3.0 and up to 480MB/s with USB 2.0. You can purchase this device here.  Capacity: 1TB                                       Warranty period: 2 years   Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable Hard Disk Price: Rs 7,999 Deal price: Rs 3,730 (inclusive of cashback) The Seagate 1TB external Portable Hard disk is compatible with all operating systems. It connects to PC via USB 3.0 interface which as per the comp

Today’s deals roundup contains a wide range of headphones that are available for less than Rs 1000 on Paytm Mall. A majority of the products in the list are from well-known manufacturers such as JBL, Sony, boAt and more.  boAt BassHeads 225 In-Ear Wired Headphones Price: Rs 999 Deal price: Rs 548 (inclusive of cashback) The boAt BassHeads 225 In-Ear headphone comes with a tangle-free flat cable that shouldn't tangle up in knots. It comes with a three-button in-line remote, which allows you to adjust volume and manage calls easily. The earphone also has an inbuilt noise cancellation microphone that filters out noise, making it easier for anyone on the other end of a call to hear your voice. You can purchase this device here.  Frequency range: 20Hz-20KHz                                   Warranty period: 1 year JBL T110 Pure Bass In-Ear Earphones  Price: Rs 1,290 Deal price: Rs 748 (inclusive of cashback) The JBL T110 In-Ear headphone comes with a tangle-free flat cable and is avail

Do you run out of storage often? Looking for a portable hard disk or pen drive for your media storage? Then you’ve came to the right place. We have found out some deals on Paytm Mall on storage devices. The list contains devices from brands like Seagate, SanDisk, WD elements and more.  Hard Disks WD Elements 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Price: Rs 5,580 Deal price: Rs 3,498 (inclusive of cashback) The WD Elements 1TB Portable External Hard Drive connects to PC via USB 3.0 interface, which is faster than 2.0. As per the company, it can transfer the data at the rate of 5GB/s with USB 3.0 and up to 480MB/s with USB 2.0. You can purchase this device here.  Capacity: 1TB                                       Warranty period: 2 years   Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable Hard Disk Price: Rs 7,999 Deal price: Rs 3,730 (inclusive of cashback) The Seagate 1TB external Portable Hard disk is compatible with all operating systems. It connects to PC via USB 3.0 interface which as per the comp