Googles music streaming service reportedly cross 15 million subscriber count

Google arrived late to the online music streaming scene but has been trying its best to get ahead of its rivals such as Spotify, Apple Music and others. YouTube Music is now the company’s premier online music streaming app is set to eventually replace Google Play Music. Bloomberg reports, citing sources close to the development, that the company’s music subscription service has finally garnered 15 million users, which is said to be a milestone for the company that has struggled to make its mark in this space. Do note that these are global subscriber numbers that include Google Play Music and YouTube Music users. 

Additionally, the numbers also include users who are using the services on a promotional basis. As per the report, Spotify is currently in the lead with over 100 million global subscribers, while Apple Inc. is said to have more than 50 million users. While Google still has a lot of catching up to do, the numbers are said to be signs of good growth. While the company has declined to comment on the report, it apparently revealed that YouTube Music and Premium grew 60 percent between March 2018 and March 2019. YouTube Music was announced recently in India but it has been around since May last year and the new service reportedly brought in 5 million subscribers since its announcement. 

In India, YouTube Music competes with not only global music streaming players but also homegrown service providers like Airtel, JioSaavn and others. Airtel recently entered the space with its Wynk Tube music and video streaming app on Android that also enables users to switch from audio to video streaming, not unlike YouTube Music. However, the telco said that their app is not  inspired by YouTube Music but the feature to toggle between audio and music videos was added after garnering feedback from users. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2E3MsP0

Google Fuchsia OS could run on all devices: Report

Google has been building Fuchsia OS for over two years now, but there are is no concrete information about its purpose and what devices it might run on. At Google I/O, the company opened up about this next-generation OS offering some insights about it. A company executive hinted that the company might be looking forward to develop an OS that can run on multiple devices, including phones, tablets, PCs, wearables and even on communication devices like the Google Home Hub, which is now called the Nest Hub.

“We’re looking at what a new take on an operating system could be like. And so I know out there people are getting pretty excited saying, ‘Oh this is the new Android,’ or, ‘This is the new Chrome OS.’ Fuchsia is really not about that. Fuchsia is about just pushing the state of the art in terms of operating systems and things that we learn from Fuchsia we can incorporate into other products,” The Verge quoted Hiroshi Lockheimer, Android and Chrome Chief, as saying.

Fuchsia is an open source project, similar to AOSP, and reportedly, it could run all manner of devices, from smart home gadgets to laptops to phones. It is built on a Google-built kernel called “zircon,” formerly known as “magenta,” and not the Linux kernel on which Android and Chrome OS are built.

“You know Android works really well on phones and and you know in the context of Chrome OS as a runtime for apps there. But Fuchsia may be optimized for certain other form factors as well. So we’re experimenting. Think about dedicated devices... right now, everybody assumes Fuchsia is for phones. But what if it could be used for other things?,” Lockheimer added, hinting that Fuchsia may possibly run on smart home devices or even augmented or virtual reality devices.

Google had originally published a guide explaining what Fuchsia is. The company described it as a “modular, capability-based operating system” which is not Linux or Linux-based. Last year, a commit in the Fuchsia source code revealed that Huawei managed to boot the Zircon kernel on the Honor Play. Not only that, there are reports that Google started testing the Fuchsia OS on the $1000 Pixelbook hybrid laptop that was unveiled alongside the second-generation Pixel smartphone and Google Home Mini smart speaker at the company's 2017 hardware event in California.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2E0ilIa

Realme 2 Pro, Realme 2, Realme C1, Realme 1 and Realme U1 Android Pie beta update schedule announced

Realme took heed of the competition in the smartphone segment and has accordingly been changing its strategy. The company keeps announcing timely updates for its handsets, recently launched the Realme 3 Pro that goes up against the Redmi Note 7 Pro and is preparing to launch the Realme X on May 15. The company keeps hosting Community FAQ sessions where it usually reveals some more info on its plans and the new features Realme users can expect in the future. In the latest session, the Realme community manager Alessio revealed that the company will soon open up Android Pie beta testing for some of its older phones and more. 

Realme will soon enable users to test ColourOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie on phones released prior to Realme 3 Pro, in beta. The Realme 2 Pro is slated to receive the beta updated on May 15, which will also bring HAL3 support. The realme 1 and U1 phones will get the update on June 5 whereas the Realme 2 and Realme C1 users can test out Android 9 Pie beta on June 15. Additionally, users can expect the stable/final version to be made available for these phone in under 20 days of receiving the beta. 

In addition to the software update, Realme phones with ColourOS 6 will also get Digital Wellbeing feature with an OTA update. The Hyper Boost 2.0 will also be made available for older realme devices except the Realme 2, C1, and C2. The company’s handsets will also receive some camera quality improvements as there will be an update to improve the skin tone reproduction when using Chroma Boost and Nightscape modes. Realme is also working on a stock recovery tool that would enable users to flash their phones in case something goes wrong. 

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

Samsung Galaxy Fold launch will not be too late: Company executive

A top Samsung executive has said that the company has reviewed the reported problems in the Galaxy Fold and will soon take a decision on the launch of the device. When asked about the launch timeline of the phone, DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics, told the Korea Herald, “We will not be too late.” He also talked about the changes that the South Korean tech company is making to increase the device’s durability.  

The company “has reviewed the defect caused from substances (that entered the device), and we will reach a conclusion in a couple of days (on the launch),” Koh was quoted as saying. As mentioned, the company is working to increase the durability of the device. The changes will address the two major issues: foreign objects entering the phone from behind the screen through the hinge, and users mistakenly peeling off the top protective layer.

Samsung said that that would strengthen the exposed areas of the hinge and would minimise the gap between the top protective layer and bezel. The news comes a couple of days after the company sent emails to those who pre-booked the device. The emails mentioned that the users had to confirm the order and if they didn't, the booking would automatically get cancelled.

Samsung recalled the review devices it had sent to reviewers in the US because the inner display of those devices had malfunctioned. The company later issued a statement confirming the development, saying that it planned to “announce the release date in the coming weeks.” In the meantime, the South Korean tech giant said that it would take measures to strengthen the display protection.

Reviewers in the US, including The Verge’s Dieter Bohn and YouTuber MKBHD, confirmed that the inner display on their units broke or malfunctioned. While Bohn said that the display had a bulge in the middle, MKBHD removed the top layers that was later found out to be a protective screen that wasn’t supposed to be tampered with. In a teardown, iFixit said that a gap between the screen and the edge of the Galaxy Fold leaves enough space for debris to enter the phone and cause problems.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold was launched at a price of $1,980 (approx Rs 1.37 lakh). The phone sports a HD+ Super AMOLED panel. The display on the outside is 4.6 inches in size, and when unfolded, turns into a 7.3-inch tablet screen with a ‘Dynamic AMOLED display’. The handset runs on a “7nm processor,” which is most likely the Samsung Exynos 9820, and comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. The handset houses a 4,380mAh battery.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Ypf1y5

TSMC announces production plans for 5nm chips, possibly coming in 2020

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has just announced that the company has started the risk production of 5nm chips and would go into mass production by the first half of 2020.  Additionally, the company has said they would start production of 5nm+ chips by 2021.

The new 5nm chips will be almost 45 percent smaller than the current 7nm chips and yield up to 15 percent performance gains without accounting for any architecture changes. The 5nm+ process would further improve upon these numbers by also delivering 6-12 percent better power efficiency. If the risk production goes as well as TSMC would hope, then it already has a number of potential customers lined up. These would include companies like Apple, for whom TSMC is the sole supplier till 2020, and maybe even Qualcomm, who used TSMC’s 7nm process for the Snapdragon 855. Given that Apple, Qualcomm and even HiSilicon would be expected to announce new flagship chips later this year, it is possible that one of them could be 5nm chips.

For those wondering, the difference between the 5nm and 5nm+ chips is in the lithography process. The lithography is the same size, meaning the chip still measures 5nm, but its process of fabrication is what’s different. The 5nm process uses a laser with the wavelength of 193nm to project a pattern onto the die through a mask. Since the wavelength is much bigger than the final node size, multiple masks have to be used in order to achieve the final 5nm node. The 5nm+ process instead will use Extreme Ultraviolet Laser (EUV Lithography) with a wavelength of just 13.5 nanometers, requiring very few masks as compared to the normal 5nm process. Producing EUV light is extremely difficult to achieve, not to mention expensive. Just to get some perspective, a EUV system contains over 100,000 parts, 40,000 bolts, 3,000 cables and 2 kilometers of hosing. One system also weighs 1,80,000 kilograms. While TSMC originally started its 7nm process using the longer wavelength lasers, the EUV method was designated with a + symbol, the production of which would start later. Samsung, on the other hand, had invested wholly into the EUV method.

Now that TSMC has announced its 5nm plans, we can expect something similar coming from Samsung in the near future.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2HiO1sW

Fortnite Season 9 Adds New Locations, ‘Slipstreams’ for Quicker Transportation, ‘Fortbytes’ for Battle Pass Owners, and More

Fortnite’s Season 9 has now gone live, adding new locations and in-game elements like ‘Slipstreams’ and ‘Fortbytes’ to name a few.

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Fortnite Season 9 Adds New Locations, ‘Slipstreams’ for Quicker Transportation, ‘Fortbytes’ for Battle Pass Owners, and More

Fortnite’s Season 9 has now gone live, adding new locations and in-game elements like ‘Slipstreams’ and ‘Fortbytes’ to name a few.

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