Technology

Key Highlights: WhatsApp will cease to work on S40 devices This includes Asha devices that were launched around 2011   If you're using a Nokia S40 device, we've got bad news for you. WhatsApp will stop working on your device by the end of the day. WhatsApp announced over a couple of years ago on its blog that it would kill support for a list of operating systems by the end of 2018 and S40 is part of it. This includes Nokia Asha devices introduced in the market over five years ago, like Asha 201, Asha 205, Asha, 206, Asha 208, Asha 210, Asha 230, Asha 301, Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, and Asha 505. In a June update to the original blog, WhatsApp wrote, "You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020, iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020". If you own and use a Nokia S40 device, you will have to switch to a newer device to continue using

Highlights: Sony to boost camera 3D sensors’ production The sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras They will go into mass production in the summer of 2019   Japanese multinational company Sony will boost the production of its next-generation of 3D sensors amid high demand of the product from phone makers, including Apple, a Bloomberg report has said. These sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras of models from customers in 2019. Sony will commence the mass production in late summer to meet demand, Satoshi Yoshihara, Head of Sony’s sensor division, was quoted as saying. The executive, however, declined to provide sales or production targets, but said the 3D business is already operating profitably and will make an impact on earnings from the fiscal year starting in April. Bloomberg says that Sony’s technology “provides much needed optimism to the global smartphone industry, which is suffering a slowdown as consumers find fewer reas

Key Highlights: "At least" 20 out of 34 popular Android apps found sharing sensitive data with Facebook without user consent. The apps are reportedly using an older version of Facebook Developer Kit Some app developers weren't even aware the apps have been sharing user data   It was found earlier that health and dating apps routinely violated user privacy by sharing data with Facebook. According to a study by Privacy International, “at least”  20 out of 34 popular Android apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook without explicit user permission. The apps include Kayak, Skyscanner, MyFitnessPal and TripAdvisor. The report states that the data includes the analytics data that is sent during the app launch, as well as the unique Android ID. Later, the apps were found to send more sensitive data. Kayak, the popular flight-booking app, was found to be sending destination and flight search data, travel dates and whether or not someone is traveling with kids. It can be argue

Key highlights: China has approved the release of 80 new games However, games from PUBG Mobile developer, Tencent have not been included China reportedly banned nine games last year   After imposing a ban on online video games, Reuters reports that China has now approved the release of 80 games. The report notes that the list of approved titles were listed on the website of the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television. One notable omission was Tencent Holdings, the publisher behind popular games like PUBG Mobile.  It was reported that 20 games were assessed by China’s Online Gaming Ethics Review Committee, and 9 out of the 20 were banned. This included PUBG, as well as Fortnite. According to the report, PUBG was banned due to “blood and gore,” whereas Fortnite was banned for “blood and gore, vulgar content.” The remaining 11 games on the list required corrective actions. For example, Blizzard’s Overwatch reportedly required corrective action and the cause

Highlights The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition comes in 8GB and 10GB RAM options The phone sports signature of Royal Never Give Up (RNG) e-sports players on its back panel The handset comes in only a red colour version   Nubia is one of many smartphone manufacturers who make handsets that appeal to mobile gamers. The company recently launched the Nubia Red Magic Gaming smartphone in India and it has now launched another variant of the phone in its home country, China. The new version is called the Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition and the highlight of the phone is basically in its name. RNG Edition is a reference to the Chinese eSports team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG). The new variant comes in red colour and sports signatures of the RNG players on its rear panel. Additionally, it comes in 10GB and 8GB RAM versions.  Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition specifications The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition features specifications almost identical to those of the Nubia Red Mars. It features a

Key Highlights: WhatsApp will cease to work on S40 devices This includes Asha devices that were launched around 2011   If you're using a Nokia S40 device, we've got bad news for you. WhatsApp will stop working on your device by the end of the day. WhatsApp announced over a couple of years ago on its blog that it would kill support for a list of operating systems by the end of 2018 and S40 is part of it. This includes Nokia Asha devices introduced in the market over five years ago, like Asha 201, Asha 205, Asha, 206, Asha 208, Asha 210, Asha 230, Asha 301, Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, and Asha 505. In a June update to the original blog, WhatsApp wrote, "You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020, iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020". If you own and use a Nokia S40 device, you will have to switch to a newer device to continue using

Highlights: Sony to boost camera 3D sensors’ production The sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras They will go into mass production in the summer of 2019   Japanese multinational company Sony will boost the production of its next-generation of 3D sensors amid high demand of the product from phone makers, including Apple, a Bloomberg report has said. These sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras of models from customers in 2019. Sony will commence the mass production in late summer to meet demand, Satoshi Yoshihara, Head of Sony’s sensor division, was quoted as saying. The executive, however, declined to provide sales or production targets, but said the 3D business is already operating profitably and will make an impact on earnings from the fiscal year starting in April. Bloomberg says that Sony’s technology “provides much needed optimism to the global smartphone industry, which is suffering a slowdown as consumers find fewer reas

Key Highlights: "At least" 20 out of 34 popular Android apps found sharing sensitive data with Facebook without user consent. The apps are reportedly using an older version of Facebook Developer Kit Some app developers weren't even aware the apps have been sharing user data   It was found earlier that health and dating apps routinely violated user privacy by sharing data with Facebook. According to a study by Privacy International, “at least”  20 out of 34 popular Android apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook without explicit user permission. The apps include Kayak, Skyscanner, MyFitnessPal and TripAdvisor. The report states that the data includes the analytics data that is sent during the app launch, as well as the unique Android ID. Later, the apps were found to send more sensitive data. Kayak, the popular flight-booking app, was found to be sending destination and flight search data, travel dates and whether or not someone is traveling with kids. It can be argue

Key highlights: China has approved the release of 80 new games However, games from PUBG Mobile developer, Tencent have not been included China reportedly banned nine games last year   After imposing a ban on online video games, Reuters reports that China has now approved the release of 80 games. The report notes that the list of approved titles were listed on the website of the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television. One notable omission was Tencent Holdings, the publisher behind popular games like PUBG Mobile.  It was reported that 20 games were assessed by China’s Online Gaming Ethics Review Committee, and 9 out of the 20 were banned. This included PUBG, as well as Fortnite. According to the report, PUBG was banned due to “blood and gore,” whereas Fortnite was banned for “blood and gore, vulgar content.” The remaining 11 games on the list required corrective actions. For example, Blizzard’s Overwatch reportedly required corrective action and the cause

Highlights The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition comes in 8GB and 10GB RAM options The phone sports signature of Royal Never Give Up (RNG) e-sports players on its back panel The handset comes in only a red colour version   Nubia is one of many smartphone manufacturers who make handsets that appeal to mobile gamers. The company recently launched the Nubia Red Magic Gaming smartphone in India and it has now launched another variant of the phone in its home country, China. The new version is called the Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition and the highlight of the phone is basically in its name. RNG Edition is a reference to the Chinese eSports team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG). The new variant comes in red colour and sports signatures of the RNG players on its rear panel. Additionally, it comes in 10GB and 8GB RAM versions.  Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition specifications The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition features specifications almost identical to those of the Nubia Red Mars. It features a

Highlights: iPhone XS Max catches fire in an Ohio man’s trouser pocket The phone dissipated heat and coloured smoke The victim is “contemplating legal action”   Apple is going through a difficult time. Its products have been banned for import and sale in China and Germany. It is at loggerheads with chipmaker Qualcomm and is reportedly struggling and their recent update apparently left iPhone users in a lull after several of them reported that they were no longer able to use LTE on their new iPhones. Now, an iPhone XS Max has reportedly exploded in a man’s trousers in the US, putting too much in Apple’s plate to finish. According to a report by PhoneArena, an Ohio man escaped an unfortunate incident when his three-week-old iPhone XS Max (unidentified variant) exploded while it was in his pocket. Josh Hillard says that his phone was in his rear trouser pocket when it randomly began to dissipate “a large amount of heat” as well as green and yellow coloured smoke. By the time Hillard went

Key Highlights: Even though the recently announced Galaxy Home speaker is yet to become available, Samsung is reportedly working on a second smart speaker The model number revealed indicates the speaker will be smaller and more affordable than the present one.   The weirdly shaped Samsung Galaxy Home speaker powered by Bixby was announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 back in August. Yet, five months after its announcement, the speaker’s status is still “coming soon” on the Samsung website. Meanwhile, another smart speaker is reportedly being developed by Samsung. All that is known so far is that the new Galaxy Home speaker will be offered in a black colour finish and will carry the model number SM-V310. Compared with the present Galaxy Speaker’s model number, SM-V510, it seems like the one under development will be a smaller speaker. It could also be more affordable than one announced so far, although the price is still not disclosed. The Galaxy Home speaker that Samsung announ

Highlights: iPhone XS Max catches fire in an Ohio man’s trouser pocket The phone dissipated heat and coloured smoke The victim is “contemplating legal action”   Apple is going through a difficult time. Its products have been banned for import and sale in China and Germany. It is at loggerheads with chipmaker Qualcomm and is reportedly struggling and their recent update apparently left iPhone users in a lull after several of them reported that they were no longer able to use LTE on their new iPhones. Now, an iPhone XS Max has reportedly exploded in a man’s trousers in the US, putting too much in Apple’s plate to finish. According to a report by PhoneArena, an Ohio man escaped an unfortunate incident when his three-week-old iPhone XS Max (unidentified variant) exploded while it was in his pocket. Josh Hillard says that his phone was in his rear trouser pocket when it randomly began to dissipate “a large amount of heat” as well as green and yellow coloured smoke. By the time Hillard went

Key Highlights: Even though the recently announced Galaxy Home speaker is yet to become available, Samsung is reportedly working on a second smart speaker The model number revealed indicates the speaker will be smaller and more affordable than the present one.   The weirdly shaped Samsung Galaxy Home speaker powered by Bixby was announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 back in August. Yet, five months after its announcement, the speaker’s status is still “coming soon” on the Samsung website. Meanwhile, another smart speaker is reportedly being developed by Samsung. All that is known so far is that the new Galaxy Home speaker will be offered in a black colour finish and will carry the model number SM-V310. Compared with the present Galaxy Speaker’s model number, SM-V510, it seems like the one under development will be a smaller speaker. It could also be more affordable than one announced so far, although the price is still not disclosed. The Galaxy Home speaker that Samsung announ

Key Highlights: The Essential Phone is now out of stock across multiple retail locations A company spokesperson said the phone will not be restocked, indicating it is now discontinued Essential is now working hard on its next mobile product and will continue to support the PH-1 with regular updates and accessories   The Essential Phone (or PH-1) may have seen the last light of the day. The “modular” smartphone created by Android co-founder Andy Rubin is now out of stock on its website, and according to the company, it won’t be restocked. The PH-1 came with flagship hardware, regular updates and was the first phone to sport a notch. However, it often found itself painted negatively in the news what with delayed availability, job cuts and more. Eventually, it had to be heavily discounted to ensure the inventories are cleared.   It was noticed earlier that the PH-1 was out of stock across multiple retail locations including the company’s own website. There was also a recent Fire Sale whe

Highlights: Apple’s battery replacement program ends today The company is offering battery replacement at reduced prices  Apple will charge as low as Rs 2,000 for installing fresh batteries on your old iPhones last year, Apple announced its battery replacement program after it admitted throttling the performance on older iPhones whose batteries were degraded. The company is charging Rs 2,000 instead of the usual Rs 8,200 for replacing the batteries. Under this program, the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus smartphones are eligible for getting the battery replaced at a lowered price.  The offer also extends to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, however, with iOS 12.1, the company introduced a new ‘Battery Health’ option that enables one to find out the maximum capacity of an iPhone's battery. Do note that the discounted pricing is valid only till December 31 and today is the last day to avail benefit of the discounted pricing.  This is probably t

Key Highlights: The Essential Phone is now out of stock across multiple retail locations A company spokesperson said the phone will not be restocked, indicating it is now discontinued Essential is now working hard on its next mobile product and will continue to support the PH-1 with regular updates and accessories   The Essential Phone (or PH-1) may have seen the last light of the day. The “modular” smartphone created by Android co-founder Andy Rubin is now out of stock on its website, and according to the company, it won’t be restocked. The PH-1 came with flagship hardware, regular updates and was the first phone to sport a notch. However, it often found itself painted negatively in the news what with delayed availability, job cuts and more. Eventually, it had to be heavily discounted to ensure the inventories are cleared.   It was noticed earlier that the PH-1 was out of stock across multiple retail locations including the company’s own website. There was also a recent Fire Sale whe

Highlights: Apple’s battery replacement program ends today The company is offering battery replacement at reduced prices  Apple will charge as low as Rs 2,000 for installing fresh batteries on your old iPhones last year, Apple announced its battery replacement program after it admitted throttling the performance on older iPhones whose batteries were degraded. The company is charging Rs 2,000 instead of the usual Rs 8,200 for replacing the batteries. Under this program, the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus smartphones are eligible for getting the battery replaced at a lowered price.  The offer also extends to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, however, with iOS 12.1, the company introduced a new ‘Battery Health’ option that enables one to find out the maximum capacity of an iPhone's battery. Do note that the discounted pricing is valid only till December 31 and today is the last day to avail benefit of the discounted pricing.  This is probably t

Highlights: Press render of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone has leaked online The image hints at an in-display fingerprint sensor There is also the alleged penta-camera setup on the back   Recently, images of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone's cover were posted online, strengthening previous claims of the device featuring a penta-camera setup. Now, a new image leaked on Twitter (via Evan Blass) shows the device with the same camera setup, reaffirming the previous reports. The image also suggests that the smartphone might be launched with an in-display fingerprint sensor, and there is also the expected "Android One” branding on the device's back panel.   The render also suggests that the handset could sport noticeable bezels on the sides, and considerably thick bezel on the top and a noticeable chin. The phone seems to have just one selfie shooter and ambient light/proximity sensors on the front. There is a Nokia branding on the top bezel as well as on the rear, below the p

Highlights: Press render of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone has leaked online The image hints at an in-display fingerprint sensor There is also the alleged penta-camera setup on the back   Recently, images of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone's cover were posted online, strengthening previous claims of the device featuring a penta-camera setup. Now, a new image leaked on Twitter (via Evan Blass) shows the device with the same camera setup, reaffirming the previous reports. The image also suggests that the smartphone might be launched with an in-display fingerprint sensor, and there is also the expected "Android One” branding on the device's back panel.   The render also suggests that the handset could sport noticeable bezels on the sides, and considerably thick bezel on the top and a noticeable chin. The phone seems to have just one selfie shooter and ambient light/proximity sensors on the front. There is a Nokia branding on the top bezel as well as on the rear, below the p

Key Highlights: NVIDIA's new graphics card, GeForce RTX 2060, will go on sale from January 15, 2019 It's expected to cost $349 in the US   How about a last-minute leak before we wind up the year that's seen so many hardware leaks and rumours? According to a recent report by VideoCardz.com, NVIDIA is preparing to introduce its newest graphics card, the GeForce RTX 2060 on January 7. The base Turing model will be available for sale from January 15. It will come bundled with Anthem or Battlefield V for free. It's expected to retail for a price of $349 in the US, which is approximately Rs 24,385. Along with news about the launch, the VideoCardz.com report also proudly presents the confirmed specs of the new card. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 comes packed with 1920 CUDA cores, 240 Tensor cores, 30 ray tracing cores, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The GeForce RTX 2060, with its boosted clock speed of 1680 MHz, is a mid-range model replacing the GeForce

Key Highlights: NVIDIA's new graphics card, GeForce RTX 2060, will go on sale from January 15, 2019 It's expected to cost $349 in the US   How about a last-minute leak before we wind up the year that's seen so many hardware leaks and rumours? According to a recent report by VideoCardz.com, NVIDIA is preparing to introduce its newest graphics card, the GeForce RTX 2060 on January 7. The base Turing model will be available for sale from January 15. It will come bundled with Anthem or Battlefield V for free. It's expected to retail for a price of $349 in the US, which is approximately Rs 24,385. Along with news about the launch, the VideoCardz.com report also proudly presents the confirmed specs of the new card. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 comes packed with 1920 CUDA cores, 240 Tensor cores, 30 ray tracing cores, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The GeForce RTX 2060, with its boosted clock speed of 1680 MHz, is a mid-range model replacing the GeForce

Highlights: LG G7 ThinQ will get the Android Pie update in Q1 2019 in South Korea The update may come to other countries in the Q2 It will bring performance-related upgrades   LG has announced that it is working on an Android Pie update for the LG G7 ThinQ and according to a report, will start rolling out the stable version of the update in the first quarter of 2019 in South Korea. The report in mylgphones.com says that it assumed that it would release for other markets in the second quarter of the next year. The news comes after LG officially launched the Android 9 beta programme for the G7 ThinQ in November in South Korea. The update seems to be very important as LG has listed a number of performance-related issues that will be addressed with this update. This includes an improvement that rectifies the screen freezes when the FPS setting is repeatedly changed in the professional video mode of the camera app. It will also address an issue in which fingerprints are not recognised in s

The Android One program by Google has come to replace the Nexus devices. In 2017, Google jumpstarted the program globally with the Xiaomi Mi A1. When earlier it was to make entry-level phones more responsive and usable, Android One became an embodiment of devices that would run a vanilla flavour of Android (always the latest), and offer two years of version upgrades and security patches. At that time, the promise of regular updates was a big selling point and a year down the line, we had quite a few Android One certified devices in the Indian market. On the landing page of the official Android One website, the promise of regular updates was highlighted explicitly — 2 years of guaranteed updates. However, a couple of days back, Reddit user anshumanpati6 spotted the mention of that same promise of regular updates missing from the landing page. This led many to believe that Android One no longer came with the compulsion of regular updates. However, Google denied there had been any change

Highlights: LG G7 ThinQ will get the Android Pie update in Q1 2019 in South Korea The update may come to other countries in the Q2 It will bring performance-related upgrades   LG has announced that it is working on an Android Pie update for the LG G7 ThinQ and according to a report, will start rolling out the stable version of the update in the first quarter of 2019 in South Korea. The report in mylgphones.com says that it assumed that it would release for other markets in the second quarter of the next year. The news comes after LG officially launched the Android 9 beta programme for the G7 ThinQ in November in South Korea. The update seems to be very important as LG has listed a number of performance-related issues that will be addressed with this update. This includes an improvement that rectifies the screen freezes when the FPS setting is repeatedly changed in the professional video mode of the camera app. It will also address an issue in which fingerprints are not recognised in s