With mobile gaming poised to be a mammoth $100 billion industry, we have seen quite a few gaming-centric smartphones launch in 2018, creating a niche of high-end devices meant particularly for high-en...
Highlights: Facebook testing dark mode in Messenger The feature may roll out in select markets Facebook Messenger is expected to get a dark mode soon as the testing of this mode is reportedly underway in some selected countries. Well-known tipster Jane Manchun Wong has posted a screenshot on Twitter which shows that the social media company putting the “finishing touches” to the feature. In November, Wong had confirmed that the Facebook Messenger was ready to roll out. “Facebook Messenger, seemingly due to prolonged external nagging, has started public testing Dark Mode in certain countries. They have put up a fair warning that Dark Mode isn't everywhere yet so don't complain when some UI burns your eyes off,” she said in a tweet with an image attached to it. This could be a part of UI overhaul in Messenger that the company announced at the F8 conference last year. Last year, Facebook announced the addition of two new modes in the Messenger app's camera and updated the use of AR stickers enabling users to club them with photos and videos as an augmented reality object. Selfie mode and Boomerang videos are the two modes that were added to the app's camera. These modes are already available in Facebook-owned Instagram app and users will now get to use them within Facebook Messenger. In November, Facebook started to roll out the Remove for Everyone feature to its Messenger app on iOS and Android. The feature allows people to edit a message that was sent with a mistake or delete it in case it was mistakenly sent to someone else. Till now, users could only delete the message from their own chats and a copy of the message with the sender would still remain. The features works like WhatsApp’s “Delete for Everyone” feature which deletes the message from the sender and the receiver's chat. Related Read: WhatsApp is working on Dark Mode Google working to bring native dark mode on Windows 10
Highlights: Huawei Y9 (2019) will launch on January 7 in India Could be an Amazon Exclusive device The phone will have 4000mAh battery and 6.5-inch screen Huawei has announced that it will launch the Huawei Y9 (2019) on January 7 in India. The company has sent the invites of the launch event, which is taking place in New Delhi. The phone has already been teased in on Amazon India and the e-tailer has made the ‘Notify Me’ button live. Those who wish to get updates regarding the availability of the phone can register by pressing the button. As per the invite and the image shared on Amazon India, the phone will come with a notch and may have a new display technology. The device features 6.5-inch display, 4,000mAh battery, and GPU Turbo. According to GSMArena, the phone was announced in October last year and is powered by a Kirin 710 SoC. Reportedly, the phone has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and dual rear and front cameras. Huawei Y9 (2019) specifications The Huawei Y9 (2019) sports a 6.5-inch FullView Display offering 1080x2340 pixels resolution and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor and comes with two RAM and storage variants. There is a 3GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant and the other one has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The phone may launch in Midnight Black, Sapphire Blue and Aurora Purple colours. It run EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. When it comes to camera, the smartphone features a dual camera setup on the back with 13MP primary sensor having f/1.8 aperture, and a 2MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The rear setup supports HDR and can shoot Full HD videos at 30fps. There is a dual-camera setup on the front as well. The primary camera has 16MP resolution with f/1.0 aperture, and the other 2MP sensor comes with f/2.4 aperture. Related Read: Huawei P Smart 2019 smartphone announced Huawei Nova 4 launched in China
Highlights: Google is testing new Messages feature in its Google Maps app The feature will enable one to chat with businesses Google is testing a new feature that might make it easier for users to connect with businesses on Google Maps. It was first noted by the Redditor u/sanju2cool and we checked to find that the feature also shows up for some businesses on Maps. One will find a ‘Message’ tab for some businesses, alongside the Directions, Call and Save options. Tapping on it brings up a chat window where one can send their queries to the business and hopefully, receive a reply soon. There is also an option to delete the chat or block/report the business chat as spam. When one boots up the Maps app, they might see an option to access all Messages and conversations that had with businesses. This option is nested under the hamburger menu and tapping on it will show all the chats they had with a business listing and it makes it easier for users to revisit the chat without needing to find individual businesses on Maps. We noted that the Message option does not show up when one simply taps on a business listing and only when one swipes up to get more information about it. Google had announced this feature back in November 2018 and said that it will soon roll out for users on Android and iOS. The company didn’t confirm whether the feature will make its way to India but it is seemingly being tested. So, it might be safe to assume that we could soon see a broad rollout of this feature. The feature will work if the establishment has agreed to accept messages and signed up for a Business profile. Businesses that want to accept messages from customers can install the new Google My Business app from Google Play or the App Store to sign up and enable messages. Related Reads: Google Maps now lets users message and chat with businesses
The Amazon is hosting a Vivo Carnival under, which it is offering discounts on Vivo smartphones such as Vivo Nex, Vivo V9 Pro and more. The e-commerce giant has also partnered with HDFC bank and giving up to Rs 1,500 off to those who will make payment through Bank’s debit or credit card. Besides that, one can also get up to Rs 5,000 off on exchange. So, let’s begin. Vivo Nex Vivo’s flagship device “Nex” is now available on Amazon with a flat Rs 8,000 discount. The phone comes with a 6.59-inch FHD+ display and an elevated front camera, which is hidden behind the display. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. During the Vivo Carnival, it is available for Rs 39,990 down from its MRP of Rs 47,990. Check out the product here. Vivo V9 Pro The Vivo V9 Pro is now available at a discounted price of Rs 17,990. The phone is backed by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, which is coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. It has a dual rear camera that comes with features like Bokeh effect and portrait mode. Check out the deal here. Vivo V11 Pro The Vivo V11 Pro is directly not on discount but is bundled with some cool offers. Interested buyers can get up to Rs 2,000 off on exchange along with an option to get Rs 1,500 off on making payment through HDFC cards. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, which is paired with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. Check out the deal here. There are some other smartphones that are available with some exciting exchange offers such as Vivo V91i, Vivo Y93, Y83 Pro, Y95, Y71i and more. Check out all the deals here.
Key Highlights: Windows 10 has a reported 39.22-percent market share for December 2018 Windows 7 has a reported 36.9-percent market share for December 2018 We know there are still many of you hardcore Windows 7 loyalists out there but December 2018 was a victory for Windows 10 fans. According to a report by NetApplications, Windows 10 saw more installs than Windows 7 in the month of December. From what the report says, we learn that during the month Windows 10 had a 39.22-percent share in the market, while Windows 7 came a close second at 36.9 percent. It’s worth noting that though mainstream support for Windows 7 ended on January 13, 2015, extended support will be available till January 14, 2020. From the report, we also learn that Windows XP comes fourth in the computer operating system market share after MacOS X 10.13 (4.73 percent). The discontinued and unsupported Windows XP commands 4.54 percent. Windows 8.1 is a close fifth at 4.45 percent. Windows 8, on the other hand, has almost vanished from all machines out there; it has a negligible 0.88-percent market share. It’s clear from the report that most of the computers out there run either Windows 10 or Windows 7. Microsoft announced in a blog post in September last year that it would demand a monthly fee on a per-device basis to keep Windows 7 up to date with security updates till January 2023. Its offer, named Extended Security Updates (ESU), is available to all types of Windows 7 licences, including Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise. Those who opted for volume licencing are eligible for a discount. Microsoft is even throwing in a subscription to Office 365 ProPlus that’s valid till January 2023. Despite the extended support offered to Windows 7 users, Microsoft is visibly keen on getting everybody aboard the Windows 10 bandwagon as soon as possible. Windows 10 was launched on July 29, 2015 and was believed to be the “last version of Windows” from Microsoft because every improvement (and fix) then on would simply be added to Windows 10 continually in the form of a Windows Update. In the last few months, Microsoft has been having trouble getting the October Update across to its Windows 10 users owing to several bugs reported by users, including one that deletes user files after the update installation. Related Read: Windows 10: 10 great new features in store for you
YouTube has introduced its new mobile app called ‘YouTube Create’. This app offers an easy way for creators to edit their videos right from ...
