Google IO 2019: OnePlus announces Android Q Beta for OnePlus 66T

At Google I/O, its annual developers conference, the company announced the next Android iteration, Android Q (or Android 10). During the presentation, the company told the gathering the names of the few phones that will receive the the Beta version of the next iteration of the OS. The list includes OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T devices. Google has announced that Android Q will bring features like a system-wide Dark Mode, more powerful Google Assistant, among others.

“We’re excited to be one of the fastest software updates in the industry. Android Q Beta allows some of our tech-savvy followers to experience the latest technologies that this platform can offer. Updates including the new gesture-based navigation, Dark Theme and privacy enhancements all contribute to the burden-less experience that OnePlus strives to bring to its users,” Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus, said in a statement.

While the Android Q beta platform is now available for download for OnePlus 6 and 6T users, OnePlus also announced that it would be available for OnePlus 7 Pro on May 14. “Android Beta for OnePlus 7 will be available for download in the coming weeks. The official Android Q platform will be available for download later this year,” the company said. For those who don’t know, OnePlus will announce this year’s first flagships on May 14 at different locations globally.

Given the leaks and teasers, OnePlus seems to be betting big on the OnePlus 7 series, especially the OnePlus 7 Pro. The company had claimed that the OnePlus Pro would come with a “smooth” display. It will have a 6.64-inch AMOLED display with a Quad HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 90Hz. OnePlus also announced that the display of the OnePlus 7 Pro is HDR10+ certified, a mode that provides users with a more dynamic and detailed picture quality.

Under the hood, the phone will come with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 855 mobile platform and 10GB of RAM. The company has already teased the triple rear cameras on the smartphone, which come with a 3X optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. There is the 48MP primary camera, which is paired with an 8MP sensor with a telephoto lens having an aperture of f/2.4, and a 16MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 and an ultra wide-angle lens. The phone has a 4,000mAh battery capacity.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/30dv9V8

Apex Legends Coming to Mobile Platforms, EA Says

EA said it was in advanced talks to bring its Apex Legends to China and launch a mobile version.

from RSS Feeds | GAMES - RSS Feed - NDTV Gadgets360.com http://bit.ly/2V8qFv2

Dyson V11 Absolute vacuum cleaner, Pure Cool Me air purifier and Lightcycle task light launched in India

Dyson has launched three new devices in India. The list of new products includes a new cordless vacuum cleaner, the Dyson V11 Absolute, a new personal air purifier called the Dyson Pure Cool Me and the smart light, Dyson Lightcycle task light. The Dyson V11 Absolute builds on the existing V11 cordless handheld vacuum cleaner and brings a slew of new features and functions to it. 

Dyson already offers desk air purifiers, which, thanks to the company’s smart implementation of the Air Multiplier technology, also work as a fan. However, the new Pure Cool Me employs the company’s proprietary Core Flow technology that is said to focus air better on a user. Dyson is introducing a new smart light category in India with the Lightcycle task light. The IoT enabled smart lamp connects with the Dyson Link app and uses a microprocessor to sync and adjust its output depending on the time of the day. 

Dyson V11 Absolute

Starting with the new Dyson V11 Absolute vacuum cleaner, the device offers cord-free functionality similar to its predecessor but introduces some new features. First off, it sports a new LED display on the back, which shows the current cleaning mode being used, remaining battery life and more. The screen is also used to remind users of when the vacuum cleaner’s filter needs to be replaced or when it is not connected properly. It also notifies the user if something is blocking the intake vent and shows instructions on how to clear it. 

There’s also a Dynamic Load Sensor or DLS system on the Dyson V11 Absolute that works with the High Torque cleaner head. It’s apparently capable of intelligently picking up brush bar resistance (up to 360 times per second) and relay the information to the motor and battery’s microprocessors to adjust suction power between carpets and hard floors. "This enables carpets to be deep cleaned and runtime to be extended on hard floors,” says Dyson.

Dyson claims that the Dyson V11 Absolute is capable of delivering 40 percent more suction power over the Dyson Cyclone V10 to clean up dust, dirt and dust mites. This is thanks to the V11 motor by Dyson, which is touted to spin at 125,000 rpm. Additionally, the new cleaning device features an Auto mode that automatically senses what type of surface is being cleaned and adjusts the power and suction capabilities accordingly. There’s also a Boost mode for souping up the purifier’s suction power to the max and an Eco mode that is said to deliver up to one hour of cleaning. 

Dyson Pure Cool Me air purifier

The Dyson Pure Cool Me air purifier adds to the company’s existing lineup of air purifiers in India. However, it is said to be in a different sub-category all together. The new Pure Cool Me air purifier implements the company’s proprietary Core Flow technology, which is an air flow control method that is said to direct air with greater accuracy. It comes equipped with an H-13 grade HEPA filter that can capture harmful air particulates like PM10, PM2.5 and below, down to 0.1 microns. The device filter also comes equipped with a VOC filter that is touted to remove harmful gases from the air. 

Since the new Pure Cool Me air purifier is designed for personal use, the company says it has engineered it to be “as quiet as possible.” It also comes with multiple features that we have come to expect from a Dyson air purifier like oscillation, timer, sleep mode and more. It sports an LCD screen that shows what settings the air purifier is being operated on and when its filers need to be changed. The Dyson Pure Cool Me will be available in White/Silver and Black/Nickel colour models. 

Dyson Lightcycle task light.

The new Dyson Lightcycle is a smart light by the company, which supports IoT connectivity and comes with a slew of features. With local daylight tracking, the Lightcycle receives data about the sun’s current position to adjust its colour temperature and brightness accordingly. This is said to be possible with a 32-bit microprocessor on the device. The smart light features three cool and three warm LED lights that can deliver light temperature ranging between 2,700 and 6,500 kelvin and achieve over 1000 LUX brightness. 

As mentioned, the Dyson Lightcycle task light can be connected with the Dyson Link app. This enables a user to manually control the brightness and colour temperature output via the app. The device also features preset modes: Study, Relax, Precision, Boost, Wake-up, Sleep and Away. One can also pre-program and save their lighting preferences with the brightness ranging between 100 and over 1,000 LUX and colour temperature from warm 2,700 kelvin to cool 6,500 kelvin. Additionally, the Lightcycle task light is said to not diminish in brightness and light quality for 60 years. 

Price, launch date and availability 

The new Dyson V11 Absolute vacuum will be available in two variants starting from Rs 52,900, while the Dyson Pure Cool me is priced at Rs 25,900. They will go on sale from May 8 and June 1 respectively. The Dyson Lightcycle task light is priced at Rs 39,900 and will be available from May 15. 

The three devices will be available online via Dyson’s website and Amazon. One can buy them offline from the company’s demos stores in DLF Promenade, Select City Walk in New Delhi and VR Mall in Bengaluru. In-home Demo services will also be available in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad as well as at select Croma stores in Delhi NCR and Mumbai.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2vIg6EM

Google IO 2019: Next-gen Google Assistant announced with offline features, driving mode and others

The first day of Google I/O 2019 has just gone by and Google had a long list of announcements and demos for the entire digital world. Along with its new “entry-premium” smartphone, the Pixel 3a, and changes to the upcoming version of Android, Google announced a list of changes to its popular virtual assistant, Google Assistant. To start with, Google has made its assistant faster—up to ten times faster, it says. Let’s review the changes:

A faster, improved Google Assistant

According to the company, Google Assistant previously relied on speech recognition and language understanding models that weighed up to 100GB on the cloud. Now, however, it has found a way to pack them all into a local package that weighs less than 500MB. The new Google Assistant, with its on-device speech recognition model, is expected to be 10 times faster than before and work even when there’s no internet connection. Google Assistant will continue to use the Continued Conversation feature the company introduced some time ago for smoother interaction. According to Google, the improved Google Assistant will make it Pixel devices later this year.

More personalisation in Google Assistant

According to Google, the Personal References section in Google Assistant has been improved to understand familial connections better. For example, the user could give Google Assistant commands like, “What’s the weather like at mom’s house this weekend?” and “Remind me to order flowers a week before my sister’s birthday,” after relations like “mom” and “sister” have been defined in the “You” section of Google Assistant’s settings.

“Later this summer on Smart Displays, a new feature called “Picks for you” will provide personalized suggestions starting with recipes, events and podcasts. So if you’ve searched for Mediterranean recipes in the past, the Assistant may show you Mediterranean dishes when you ask for dinner recommendations,” writes Google in its blog post on the matter.

A faster way to disable alarms in Google Assistant

According to Google, alarms and timers that are going off presently can be turned off by saying, “Stop”. The user needn’t precede the command with, “Hey Google” or “OK Google” to wake Google Assistant up first. This new feature runs fully on the device and works even when the phone is not connected to the internet. Available starting today, the much-requested feature will also be available on Google Home devices and Smart Displays in English-speaking countries.

Driving mode in Google Assistant

Google Assistant is getting a driving mode for easier use in cars. Launched with the voice command, “Hey Google, let’s drive”, the driving mode will show suggestions to perform the user’s most relevant activities. When in driving mode, Google Assistant will show up as a long, scrolling feed with sections like, “Just for you”, “Recent places”, “Communication”, “Media”, etc. At the top of the feed, it will show ready shortcuts to calls, media, and navigation.

The feed will also have a small media player at the bottom with minimal controls. With certain car models, Google Assistant will be able to respond to commands like, “Hey Google, turn on the car A/C to 70 degrees”. Google hasn’t yet mentioned if this new driving mode will replace the Android Auto app or exist alongside it.

Improved Duplex

At last year’s I/O, Google announced Duplex in the US, an extended feature in Google Assistant that lets users reserve tables at restaurants using just voice commands. This time around, Google says it has worked on the feature some more and improved it. According to Google, Duplex can now help with completing online tasks, like car rentals and buying movie tickets. For example, Duplex will now respond to commands like, “Book a car with national for my next trip.” To perform its duties, it will use the information stored in the user’s Gmail and Chrome.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2YfLiaF

EA plans to bring Apex Legends to mobile

It’s no surprise that Apex Legends is a successful battle royale game. But as of now, the free-to-play game is available on consoles and PC. The one platform that it's missing out on is mobile devices. Games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile have seen tremendous success on the mobile platform. In its quarterly earnings call, EA said that “We are in advanced negotiations to bring Apex Legends to China and to mobile, and we will update you on time frames when those negotiations are concluded”. So even though the publisher is looking to bring the game to smartphones, there is no defined timeline as to when the game will be launched for mobile devices.

Speaking of battle royale games on smartphones, Fortnite and PUBG Mobile have found immense success. While Fortnite aims to deliver the same experience across mobile, console and PC, PUBG has a separate version - one for PC and consoles and one for mobile. The company is also working on a Lite version of PUBG Mobile for entry-level devices. However, the developer has been silent for quite some time when it comes to PUBG Mobile Lite.  

In other EA news, during the earnings call the company said, “More than a hundred million more players engaged with our FIFA franchise on mobile and PC free-to-play during the year”. EA also said that “Mobile delivered net bookings of $135 million, down 23% year on year, with declines from aging titles across our portfolio not offset by growth from our new title, Command & Conquer: Rivals. Our mobile business remains highly profitable, delivering a contribution margin of over 40%”. This means that EA is looking to leverage the mobile platform a lot more in the future as revenue from current mobile games is dropping. When Command & Conquer: Rivals was announced at E3 last year, it was met with criticism from fans as their beloved franchise was making an appearance on the mobile platform. 

In other EA news, the company has announced a single-player game set in the Star Wars universe. The game is being developed by Apex developer Respawn Entertainment and will be releaseed on November 11 2019. Called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, it is a single player game with no multiplayer or microtransactions. You can read more about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order here. 

In other mobile gaming news, Call of Duty: Mobile is expected to be launched in November. The first look of the game was revealed at Unity’s annual GDC Keynote. Call of Duty: Mobile is expected to take on mobile games like PUBG and offer 60fps performance, low latency and responsive controls. At the GDC keynote, Activision’s VP of mobile, Chris Plummer, said, “This is console quality PvP matches right in the palm of your hand, and it's all built within Unity.”

The game is expected to offer classic multiplayer modes such as Search and Destroy, Free-For-All, Team Deathmatch and Frontline as well as a zombie mode for bot-based single player. It is expected to feature characters from the Call of Duty universe, which could possibly be customised using in-game currency. The trailer of Call of Duty: Mobile shows maps such as Nuketown, Crash, and Hijacked. The game will be optimised for high-end phones and the developers are working to make it more widely accessible to other devices as well. You can read more about Call of Duty Mobile here. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2H64B0d

Google Nest Hub Max coming to India

Google I/O was chock-full of announcements, this time, more hardware-centric than software. After announcing the mid-range Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, the company also announced its new smart display called the Nest Hub Max. The Nest Hub Max, it seems, will also be coming to India.

In case you missed the announcements from last night, here’s a quick recap of what the Google Nest Hub Max is. The Nest Hub Max is a 10-inch smart display from Google, much like the Echo Show. The display has a resolution of 1280x800 and features a front-facing Nest camera with a 127-degree field of view camera. Also built into the display are two front-facing speakers along with a sub-woofer, for delivering good audio experiences. To be able to work with users’ voice, there are two far-field microphone arrays so that you can “ok Google” your way to the information you need.

The Nest Hub Max has been shown to be a rather interesting device, with video calls over Duo being demoed on stage at Google I/O. What was also shown is the display’s ability to recognise faces and then tailor the information displayed on the screen accordingly.

The Nest Hub Max was announced last night and will be available in several countries like the U.S. for $229, in the U.K. for £219. It appears that Google will be launching the Nest Hub Max in India in the coming months as well. India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for smartphones, and with many households going online in recent years, the market is ripe for smartphone speakers and similar devices. Amazon has already launched its display-based Echo Show and Echo Spot in India, so it is only natural for Google to follow suit. The Echo Show, which will be the Google Nest Hub Max’s competitor, is priced at Rs 22,999, so we expect the Nest Hub Max to be priced similarly as well. As of now, there is no official date or price with regards to the India availability of the Nest Hub Max, save for the fact that it is coming.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2YaF3F9

Redmi Note 7 Pro goes on sale today via Flipkart, Micom, and Mi Home stores: Price, offers and all you need to know

Redmi’s latest mid-range smartphone, the Redmi Note 7 Pro will go up for sale today. The new device runs on the Snapdragon 675 SoC, which is not surprising on a mid-range handset. However, the main USP of the Note 7 Pro is its dual camera setup, which features a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor and is touted to capture good low light images. Those who are interested in buying the smartphone are advised to prepare well in advance by logging in and keeping payment details ready since Xiaomi phones are known to go ‘out of stock’ in minutes. 

Redmi Note 7 Pro specifications

The Redmi Note 7 Pro features a 6.3-inch full-HD+ display that offers a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels and has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The handset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset and comes with up to 6GB RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 9 Pie out of the box with MIUI 10 layered on top. 

Coming to the optics, the Redmi Note 7 Pro features a dual rear camera setup. It includes a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.79 lens and a 5MP secondary depth sensor. On the front is a 13MP sensor.

Redmi Note 7 Pro price and launch offers

The Redmi Note 7 Pro costs Rs 13,999 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB model, while its 6GB RAM + 128GB version is priced at Rs 16,999. It will be available in Neptune Blue, Nebula Red, and Space Black colour models.

For launch offers, Xiaomi is offering up to 1,120GB data along with unlimited calling for Airtel subscribers. Reliance Jio users can also avail a double data offer with the phone, when they recharge with Rs 198 and above.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Jpvpug