Google I/O 2019 Schedule Released, Sessions Include Android Q, Google Assistant, Stadia, AR, and More

Google has released the schedule for its Google I/O 2019 conference, which includes mentions of Android Q, Stadia, Google Assistant, augmented reality, and much more.

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Amazon smart speakers led India market with 59 market share in 2018: IDC

Highlights: IDC says Amaon led Indian smart speaker market in 2018. Amazon topped the list with 59% market share. Google with its Home devices was placed second with 39% share. Amazon remained the leader in the Indian smart speaker market with a 59 percent share in 2018 as a total of 753,000 units were shipped last year in the country, International Data Corporation (IDC)'s India Monthly Smart Speaker Device Tracker said. Google, which launched its devices in the second quarter of 2018, captured the second spot with 39 percent unit share for the year. The market research firm said Google Home Mini outsold all other smart speaker models, emerging as a top seller. However, the Echo Dot with its second and third generation models was the most dominant series with four out of ten devices sold in the country. According to IDC, a smart speaker is a speaker that is embedded with a smart assistant directly in it, and since the introduction of these devices in 2017Q4, more than half a dozen companies have launched their devices in this category. “Though the smart speaker is a relatively young product in India, the integration of voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant in smart devices is gaining immense popularity in the country. The main driver of the early adoption so far is the novelty factor around this technology. However, it is certainly driving the shift in consumer behaviour and accelerating the adoption of voice interfaces in India,” Jaipal Singh , Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement. When it comes to the segment-wise segregation, the consumer segment contributed to the majority of smart speaker sales in the country, and the purchase by enterprises also witnessed a surge during the festival time, primarily for gifting purposes. The actual enterprise adoption for vertical specific use cases remains at a nascent stage, IDC says. On the sales on different channels, the market research firm said that the preferred channel for smart speakers was online and 55 percent of the smart speakers were sold on this medium. “Conversational computing is currently being driven by voice assistants which are becoming more pervasive and are being embraced in a positive way in India. Many Indians are using voice assistants for the first time in their smartphones - some even using them in their feature phones - now with more localized and enhanced use cases, they want to use voice interfaces in more and more devices,” Navkendar Singh , Research Director, IDC India, added. Singh notes that voice as an input will potentially revolutionise the way people interact with devices. For the online literate, the voice will be an add on, however, the real potential is said to be seen when people who are not yet online due to literacy will start using voice as their medium of online communication. “While India presents an unmatched opportunity for device makers and services providers, its diversity with scores of languages and hundreds of dialects will pose questions on how to make services relevant for the huge potential user base beyond big cities.” Singh added. Related Read: Amazon Echo Input Review

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Stalker 2 Gets 2021 Release Date, a New Website

Stalker 2 is the fourth game in the Stalker survival horror series, and was first announced in 2010.

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Microsoft and Sony expected to surpass Google Stadias 107 teraflops with next-gen consoles

Highlights Microsoft and Sony working on consoles with more than 10.7 teraflops of power. Next-gen consoles are still a very tightly guarded secret. Big reveal expected from Microsoft at E3. Google made big waves when they announced Stadia, the company’s cloud gaming platform. With a whopping 10.7 teraflops of computing power behind the service, Google is poised to make a big splash in the gaming scene, so it would be assumed that Microsoft and Sony would have some reason for concern. Turns out, the two veteran console makers have plans of their own. According to Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, both Microsoft and Sony are readying consoles, the Xbox One Scarlett and PS5 respectively, which would go well beyond the 10.7 teraflops. Schreier has been steadfast in his predictions of 2020 being the year we get new “next-generation” consoles, not 2019. In the ResetERA forums, Schreier says that very few developers have been brought into the knowledge of the next-gen consoles.  “Even within companies like, say, DICE, there’ll be a small team of engineers who now have a rough idea of specs, and everyone else will know when they need to know. Not a lot of devs are disclosed on next-gen right now. “In other words, don’t expect much in the way of substantial leakage just yet. The only thing to know for sure is that both Sony and Microsoft are aiming higher than that ‘10.7 teraflops’ number that Google threw out last week. (And, as has been reported, Microsoft’s got a few things in the works.)” The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been in the market for some time now, and while their “pro” versions, the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro have shown no signs of slowing down in terms of their performance. However, with the world moving towards a trend for favouring “on-the-go” experiences, both Sony and Microsoft are expected to announce something on similar grounds. What we do hope for, however, is some detail about the companies’ respective consoles being revealed this year at E3. Related Read: Understanding Google's cloud gaming service Stadia

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Mission Shakti: PM Modi wants draft space doctrine prepared around ASAT missile: Report

Highlights: PM Modi recently announced the successful testing of India's ASAT missile. He now wants NSA Ajit Doval to prepare a draft space doctrine around the missile.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a couple of days ago that India had successfully tested its anti-satellite (ASAT) missile by destroying a defunct satellite in low earth orbit. The test, part of Mission Shakti, lasted three minutes and acted as a show of force for India and other nations. But fresh news from a Hindustan Times report tells us that the Prime Minister wants National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to prepare a draft space doctrine around the use of the ASAT missile. “We have to lay down the defensive/offensive steps required in case Indian satellites are destroyed or degraded or there is access denial by an adversary through electromagnetic radiation,” said a senior official at DRDO to Hindustan Times. Senior officials at DRDO reportedly feel that this ASAT weapon must be converted into a strategic capability now that it has been tested and demonstrated. One of the key questions revolving around the to-be-drafted doctrine is whether India will conform to an NFU policy with regard to the ASAT missile. An NFU (No First Use) refers to a policy drafted by a nation with nuclear power. Through the policy the country pledges not to use nuclear weapons as a means of warfare unless it’s attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons. India first adopted an NFU policy after its Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. The doctrine for it was drafted one year later. An ASAT missile (or anti-satellite missile) is a missile launched either from the air or from the ground. Its purpose is to seek and destroy a target in low earth orbit (within an altitude of 2,000 kilometres), which is usually an enemy satellite. Though no ASAT system has been used in warfare until now, some nations have destroyed their own satellites (usually defunct) in a show of force.   Related Read: Mission Shakti: India demonstrates anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon, becomes fourth space warfare-ready country

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Twitter app updated with darker Lights out colour scheme

Highlights: Twitter app for iOS updated with new ‘Lights out’ colour scheme.  The feature enables a ‘darker’ dark mode. The option should help save a bit of battery on phones.  The Twitter app is going dark! By dark, we mean that the company is introducing a new ‘Lights Out’ option that enables a darker colour scheme on the app. This new option should not only be easy on the eyes for users but also help save battery for OLED displays. The feature is rolling out for Twitter iOS users and should be made available soon for Android and web users as well. Those who want to use the new colour scheme can do so from the Display and Sound tab under the Settings and Privacy Menu. There is an option to turn on dark mode and once done, two new options called Dim and Lights out will appear as sub menus.  Currently, iPhone X and the iPhone XS users will get some battery saving benefits from switching to the darker colour scheme on the Twitter app. Twitter is not the only app that has received dark mode. Google is also introducing the theme to almost all of its apps. Dark mode is available on YouTube and Google Maps, and the company is reportedly testing it on Google Assistant and its other apps. The biggest online messaging platform, WhatsApp is also reportedly testing implementation of the dark mode colour scheme with the Whatsapp beta version 2.19.82.  It was dark. You asked for darker! Swipe right to check out our new dark mode. Rolling out today. pic.twitter.com/6MEACKRK9K — Twitter (@Twitter) March 28, 2019 While developers are rolling out dark mode in their respective apps, Google is speculated to do one better with a system-wide dark mode implementation on Android Q. Google is expected to announce the next revision of its Android operating system at the Google I/0 2019. However, the first beta build of Android Q is out and available for Pixel devices and an earlier, leaked build revealed a systemwide dark mode. With Android Q, users could see an option to keep the Dark mode ‘Always on’, ‘Always off’ or set it to Automatic. Once enabled, dark mode is said to be applied to Settings, Launcher settings, the Launcher, volume panel, Quick Settings panel, and the Files app. Third-party notifications like Google Chrome’s download notifications will also be themed black Related Reads: Latest WhatsApp beta brings ‘Dark Mode’ feature for Android Android Q leaked build reveals system-wide dark theme implementation, new permissions and more    

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Digits Apple iPhone XI leak confirmed yet again by leaked schematics

Highlights: Leaked iPhone XI schematics confirm Digit’s original leak. iPhone XI is expected to carry a square camera bump. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone XI in September.   Yet another leak about the upcoming Apple iPhone XI has surfaced on Slashleaks. This  time around the leak shows the schematics of the alleged iPhone XI (iPhone 11), showing the square camera bump on the back of the phone housing a triple camera setup. This is the third confirmation of the iPhone XI’s camera setup in the past three months. To recall, Digit, in partnership with OnLeaks, published the first exclusive renders of the upcoming iPhone XI back in January. The renders showed a square camera bump at the back of the phone with three camera sensors, a flash and an additional sensor. The new leak posted on SlashLeaks shows a welding pattern of the iPhone XI which further supports our render leak from January. Tipster OnLeaks has also overlaid the welding pattern on the original image render of the iPhone XI to further show how the two fit together, confirming the fact that the phone will indeed house the setup as was shown in the January leak. Previously, Japanese blog Makotakara had also confirmed the protruding square triple camera setup on the iPhone XI. In that leak, the camera setup seemed to be more symmetrical in its appearance. The new schematics, however, support our original leak more than the one posted by the Japanese blog. The triple camera setup in a square housing was previously seen on the Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro. Looks like Apple is seeking the same route, albeit, with a non-linear setup  rather than a symmetrical one. There are two cameras aligned vertically, similar to the iPhone XS and a third camera placed between the two, on the side. Apple is  expected to launch three new iPhones in September 2019 -- One low-end variant succeeding the iPhone XR and two high-end variants, succeeding the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max.     Just another leak seemingly confirming my January #iPhoneXI prototype leak accuracy... pic.twitter.com/qVWF59GgKr — Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) March 28, 2019  

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