Apples monopoly over App Store attracts anti-trust lawsuit in US Supreme Court

Apple as a company has fought some notable legal battles, starting with the Apple vs. Samsung saga that lasted a few years, to the most recent spat with Qualcomm, which ended in a surprise settlement. Now, Apple has found itself in the middle of another legal soup, with the Supreme Court of America allowing the case against the company’s monopoly over the App Store to proceed.

The anti-trust class action against Apple is in regards to how the company has wielded its control over the app store, and consequently, the entire app ecosystem on iOS devices. The focus of the lawsuit is the fee it charges developers to sell apps on the App Store, which can be as high as 30 percent. In addition, Apple also blocks any attempt by developers to redirect users outside the app store for subscribing or purchasing the app. Essentially, if a developer wants to circumvent the Apple-Tax, they just cannot do so. In addition, Apple also prohibits app developers from mentioning any alternate methods of subscribing to or purchasing the said app.

Companies like Netflix, Spotify, Amazon and others have accused Apple of unfair competitive practices. Due to the control over the App Store, Spotify CEO has claimed that Apple has continued to change its policies in ways that would hamper Spotify’s subscription business. While bigger companies have still been able to take a hit, the smaller ones have found it more difficult to sustain their business.

Recently, 11 out of the 17 most downloaded screen-time alternatives found themselves being pulled from the App Store. Apple cited that this was done because the companies were using a policy called Mobile Device Management, which allowed the App Developer to collect, store and use data generated by the controlled iPhone as they wished. Meaning, the app developer would have access to all of the data on the child’s iPhone. Hence, citing privacy and safety concerns, they pulled the apps which failed to comply. Kidslox and Qustodio are two of the apps impacted and have filed anti-trust lawsuits against Apple in Europe.

Apple had been fighting the legitimacy of the lawsuit in the United States of America, but with a 5-4 ruling against Apple, the case will move forward. This will be a closely watched case, given that a loss for Apple could have a very fundamental impact on App experience on iOS.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2LJP8ri

Realme X launching in China today: Specs, features and all you need to know

Realme will launch its first phone, the Realme X, in China today. Some of the key features and specs of the phone have already been shared and discussed by Xu Qi Chase, the Chief Marketing Officer at Realme. The USP of the device is its notchless display, and it is touted to come with a pop-up module that will house the front camera. The phone will also be Realme’s first offering with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Digit is in Beijing to cover the launch event and will be reporting the developments later in the day. The Realme X is also confirmed to launch in India as it has already passed the BIS certification.

Realme X expected specifications:

Realme X is expected to feature the Snapdragon 855 processor along with an option to choose from multiple options: 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 128GB storage. Reports have claimed that the phone could launch at a price of around Rs 20,000 in India, which could make it the cheapest phone with Qualcomm’s flagship SoC. The phone is touted to sport a 6.5-inch notchless and near edge-to-edge OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution. The panel might be protected by Gorilla Glass 5, and the phone is said to have a screen-to-body-ratio of 91.2 percent.

As mentioned, the Realme X is company’s first phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor, and rumours have suggested that the phone will feature a sixth-gen optical in-display sensor. When it comes to the camera, the company has confirmed that phone will come equipped with a dual camera setup at the back, with a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor (f/1.7) and a 5MP lens. A TENAA listing suggested that the phone will have a 16MP front shooter. Realme claims that the pop-up selfie camera mechanism can work 200,000 times during its lifetime. There is no information on battery, and the phone is expected to run Android 9 OS out-of-the-box.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2HD9OvV

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL now on sale in India: Price, specs and launch offers

Google launched its Pixel 3a series of smartphones during I/O 2019, which the company said fall under a new ‘entry-premium’ segment. The Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL feature a similar design as the Pixel 3 (review) and are touted to carry over the previously released flagship phone’s camera capabilities, security, and battery backup. The less expensive Pixel 3a duo are now available for purchase in India via the online retailer Flipkart. Here are the launch offers that one can avail with the phones, along with their specs and pricing. 

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL specifications

The two new Pixel phones share some similarities like a polycarbonate unibody build and a dual-tone design. The Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 platform, which is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. They also come equipped with the Titan M security module, sport a USB Type-C port, and 18W fast charging. Both the handsets get stereo speakers and support single SIM, but e-SIM support is also built into the phones. Additionally, eSIM on Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL (review) are now supported by telcos Airtel and Reliance Jio, which also support eSIMs on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Both the Pixel 3a and 3a XL run on the latest Android 9 Pie OS.

The phones are equipped with dissimilar displays as the Pixel 3a features a 5.6-inch Full HD+ gOLED display with a 2220 x 1080p resolution and the Pixel 3a XL sports a bigger 6-inch Full HD+ gOLED panel with a resolution of 2160 x 1080p. The displays on both the phones are protected by Dragon Tail and support Now Playing and Always-On features. Battery capacity is also different on the two phones as the Pixel 3a is powered by a 3000mAh battery that Google claims can deliver up to 12 hours of video playback, while the Pixel 3a XL is backed by a 3700mAh battery that is touted to deliver up to 14 hours of video playback. 

The Pixel 3a and 3a XL also employ the same optics. They get a single 12.2MP Sony IMX363 sensor on the rear, which is paired with an f/1.8 aperture lens. On the front, they feature an 8MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens and 84-degree field of view. As mentioned above, the cameras on both the handsets are said to be at par with the more expensive Google Pixel 3 smartphone, which we observed in our camera comparison as well. They also borrow the flagship’s best features like Night Sight, Portrait Mode, Super Res Zoom, Top Shot, HDR+ capture and more. 

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL price, availability and launch offers

The Google Pixel 3a is priced at Rs 39,999, while the Pixel 3a XL costs Rs 44,999. The phones are available in Just Black and Clearly White colour models on Flipkart. 

As for launch offers, those who buy the phones using HDFC credit or debit card can avail up to Rs 4,000 off. There’s also an additional Rs 3,000 off on exchange and extra 5 percent discount using Axis Bank Buzz credit card. No-cost EMI on the Pixel 3a starts at Rs 6,667 per month, while its Rs 7,500 per month on the Pixel 3a XL. One will also get three months free subscription of YouTube Music Premium with the two phones. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Q49aeB

A Marvel-DC crossover is coming to Netflixs Black Mirror Season 5 as new Captain America faces Aquamans Black Manta

Netflix’s Anthology series Black Mirror is anything but predictable, and keeping with the nature of the show, an unforeseen superhero crossover is coming to season 5 of Black Mirror. An exclusive first look released by Entertainment Weekly shows Marvel's Avengers: Endgame star and the newly crowned Captain America, Anthony Mackie (The Falcon) and DC's Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Black Manta), facing off against each other. Black Mirror series creator Charlie Brooker tells Entertainment Weekly, "It’s the Marvel-DC crossover no one saw coming."

Indeed, a comic-book crossover in Black Mirror was least expected. While Brooker did not divulge any details about what we should expect from the episode, the Black Mirror-treatment of it would suggest something on the lines of the dark side of pop-culture obsession.

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Season 5 of Black Mirror has been due for quite sometime now. We haven’t heard much about the show since a feature-length interactive Black Mirror episode ‘Bandersnatch’ was released back in December. As of now, there is no release date for the new Black Mirror season. If you haven’t yet seen the previous episode, you can read our season 4 episodic commentary here and here.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2WHK47G

Flipkart Big Shopping Days sale: Massive discounts on Honor 9N, Mi TV, Nokia 61 Plus, Redmi Note 7 and more

Flipkart’s Big Shopping Days Sale is back again and the e-commerce website is offering heavy discounts on products ranging from mobile phones to bluetooth speakers. The sale will run from May 15 through May 19 and customers can avail heavy discounts on select models of various electronic items. Those who own HDFC credit or debit cards can avail an instant discount of 10 percent. Below are some of the selected deals that you might want to check out.

Honor 9N 4GB RAM/64GB storage (Buy it here)

The Honor 9N 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant was launched last year at a price of Rs 13,999. The phone is available with heavy discount, and customers can own this phone at a price of Rs 8,999 during the sale. The phone is equipped with a 5.84-inch Full HD+ display with a notch. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 SoC and a 3000mAh battery. It is equipped with a 13MP + 2MP dual camera setup on the back, and on the front, it supports a 16MP sensor with 2.0µm pixel sensor size. The Honor 9N's cameras support Face Unlock with 3D face contouring, PDAF, and Bokeh Shift features. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and runs on EMUI 8.0, based on Android 8.0 Oreo.

Nokia 6.1 Plus 4GB RAM/64GB storage (Buy it here)

The Nokia 6.1 Plus was launched in August last year with a price tag of Rs 15,999. Under the Flipkart’s Big Shopping Days sale, the phone will be available for Rs 12,999. Customers can get upto Rs 12,100 off on exchange or can buy the phone on No cost EMI with Rs 1,267 monthly installment. The phone features a 5.8-inch Full HD+ notched display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The dual-SIM device is backed by a 3060 mAh battery that also supports Quick Charge 3.0. For shutterbugs, the Nokia 6.1 Plus comes equipped with a 16MP + 5MP dual-rear camera setup with Zeiss lenses, and on the front, it sports a 16 MP sensor.

Nokia 5.1 Plus 3GB RAM/32GB storage (Buy it here)

The Nokia 5.1 Plus was launched alongside the Nokia 6.1 Plus at a price of Rs 10,999 in India, and it is now available at a price for Rs 7,999. Apart from the HDFC discount mentioned above, customers can avail no cost EMI of Rs 2,667 per month. When it comes to the specifications, the Nokia 5.1 Plus has the MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core SoC under the hood, and comes equipped with a 5.86-inch HD+ display. The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo and is a part of Google’s Android One initiative. The dual-SIM smartphone is also backed by a 3060 mAh battery. In terms of optics, the handset comes with a 13MP + 5MP dual-rear camera setup, and on the front is an 8MP sensor.

Redmi Note 7 4GB RAM/64GB storage (Buy it here)

Launched at a price of Rs 13,999 in February, the Redmi Note 7 is available with Rs 2000 discount, that is, Rs 11,999. Customers can get up to Rs 11,950 off on exchange. The Redmi Note 7 sports a 6.3-inch Full HD+ LTPS display with a waterdrop notch. The phone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 mobile platform and draws power from a 4,000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 4.0. The phone runs on MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie. The photography responsibilities are on a 12MP + 2MP dual camera setup on the back, and a 13MP sensor on the front.

Mi LED Smart TV 4 Pro 55-inch (Buy it here)

The 55-inch Mi LED TV 4 Pro features a 4K Ultra HD 3840x2160p resolution and has a 60Hz refresh rate. The device sports 3 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports, along with 16W audio output with Dolby +DTS HD sound support. Earlier this year, Xiaomi reduced its prices to Rs 45,999 (down from its previous pricing of Rs 54,999). During the sale, the TV has got an additional Rs 1000 discount and is available for Rs 44,999. Customers can avail up to Rs 15,000 discount on exchange, or can buy it for a No cost EMI of Rs 7,500 per month.

Mi LED TV 4A Pro 43-inch (Buy it here)

The Mi LED TV 4A Pro features a 49-inch Full HD panel and runs on the Android operating system. With a 60Hz refresh rate, the TV offers 20W sound output with DTS-HD sound capabilities. It is available for Rs 21,999, down Rs 4000 from its previous price of Rs 25,999. Customers can avail up to Rs 10000 discount on exchange of an old TV.

Nikon D5600 DSLR Camera Body with Dual Lens (Buy it here)

The Nikon D5600 DSLR is available with two lenses at a price of Rs 43,999, down from its original price of Rs 66,450. The package includes the 24.2MP camera, and two lenses: AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm lens with an aperture of f/3.5-5.6, and 70-300mm with f/4.5-6.3 aperture. A 16GB SD Card is also included in the package.

Lenovo Ideapad 330 Core i5 8th Gen (Buy it here)

Flipkart is offering a heavy discount on the Lenovo Ideapad 330 Core i5 8th Gen (8GB DDR4 RAM/ 1TB HDD capacity). The listed price of the laptop is Rs 56,890, and after the discount it is available at a price of Rs 37,990. On Lenovo’s website, the price starts at Rs 45,000. The Ideapad 330 sports the 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U Processor and NVIDIA GEFORCE MX150 (2G GDDR5) graphics under the hood. It comes with a 15.6-inch HD anti-glare display, and Dolby audio. Ist is equipped with a a USB Type-C reversible port for data transfers.

JBL Cinema SB150/230 150W Bluetooth Soundbar (Buy it here)

The 2.1 Channel soundbar is available for Rs 8,999 against its listed price of Rs 24,990. On company’s website, the same product is available for Rs 11,999. With a gross weight of 8kgs, the JBL Cinema SB150 comes with a 6.5-inch wireless subwoofer, and lets users stream music from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. It comes equipped with three different equaliser settings, and the subwoofer’s volume can be separately adjusted.

Sony SRS-XB21 waterproof bluetooth speaker (Buy it here)

The Sony SRS-XB21 speaker is available for Rs 3,999, down from its price of Rs 8,990. On company’s website, the speaker is still selling for its original price. The speaker is claimed to have “Extra Bass” with Live Sound mode. The IP67 rated (waterproof and dustproof) speaker is claimed to have up to 12 hours of battery life, and with “Extra Bass” on, it is said to deliver up to 10 hours of run-time.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Elv48D

OnePlus 7 Pro 5G announced in UK, will be exclusive to EE

OnePlus recently launched its OnePlus 7 series of handsets globally, which consist of the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, there’s also a 5G variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro, which the smartphone maker has currently announced only in the UK. The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G will be exclusively available with the telecom operator EE in the country and as one would have guessed, it runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 that is coupled with the company’s X50 5G modem. While the 5G smartphone from OnePlus is confirmed, there’s no information on its availability, pricing or what memory and storage variants it will be made available in. 

The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G features the same specifications as a regular OnePlus 7 Pro handset. The only additional benefit will be lowered latency and high-speed access to data in places where 5G network is available. In the UK, the telco EE will be providing 5G connectivity in six cities including London, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester and others. As for India, 5G is still some ways away since the spectrum auction is expected to happen in the second half of 2019 or early 2020. Coming back to the device, OnePlus says that it has managed to keep the phone’s design slim as compared to other 5G phones with the help of its own antenna and a stacked PCB structure. 

As mentioned above, the 5G variant features same specs as the regular OnePlus 7 Pro. The 7 Pro comes equipped with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that has a 3120x1440p resolution and a 90 Hz refresh rate. While there is no word on the memory and storage variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, the standard version of the device comes with up to 12 GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.0 NAND flash storage. The smartphone features a triple rear camera setup with a 48MP main IMX 586 sensor, an 8 MP telephoto sensor, and a 16 MP wide sensor, as well as a pop-up camera for selfies. You can check out the complete specs of the device here. 

Read our OnePlus 7 Pro performance review here and our camera review of the phone here. 

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

Twitter tweaks search to curb spread of misinformation on vaccines

Tech and social media companies, including Twitter, are facing steadily mounting  pressure from US lawmakers, health experts, and activists over the increasing spread of misinformation on vaccines, reported CNET yesterday. Recent spread of misinformation may reportedly have contributed to an outbreak of measles in parts of the US. In a bid to combat the spread of misinformation, Twitter has tweaked its search tool to direct users towards the right source of information: the US Department of Health & Human Services.

More specifically, what Twitter has done is add a public service message to the search section of Twitter. Clicking on the search icon on Twitter should bring up the search  page with the following message on it: "Know the facts. To make sure you get the best information on vaccinations, resources are available from the US Department of Health & Human Services." The message is followed by a link to vaccines.gov and a  shortcut to the official Twitter handle of the US Department of Health & Human Services.

"The new search prompt is available on iOS, Android, and mobile.twitter.com in the United States (in English and Spanish), Canada (in English and French), UK, Brazil, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. If you search on twitter.com, there’s a pinned Tweet with information from trusted partners," writes Twitter in its blog post on the matter.

According to Twitter, the company is already providing useful prompts of this kind to users who search for terms associated with suicide or self-harm as part of its #ThereIsHelp initiative. "We already ensure that advertising content does not contain misleading claims about the cure, treatment, diagnosis or prevention of certain diseases and conditions, including vaccines," adds the American social networking brand.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2E8JNn6