Moto E6 with 55-inch Max Vision display, Snapdragon 435 chipset launched

Expanding its entry-level smartphone portfolio, Motorola has launched the Moto E6 in the US and Canada. The Lenovo-owned company has chosen to skip the slim-bezel/notched design and instead went ahead with the legacy phone design, that is, a considerable forehead and chin. The chin sports the Motorola branding and there is no fingerprint sensor. It ships with a 3.5mm jack and FM Radio feature.

Moto E6 specifications:

The Moto E6 sports a 5.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display that delivers an 18:9 aspect ratio and 1440 x 720 pixel resolution. The selfie camera is located on the left side of the earpiece on the forehead. On the back is a single camera with an LED flash and a centrally-aligned batwing logo. The back panel has a P2i nano coating which is done to repel water and sweat.

Under the hood, the phone has an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset clocked at 1.4GHz, which is paired with 2GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage (expandable up to 256GB). The company says that the phone is 50 percent faster than last year’s Moto E5. The phone houses a 3000 mAh removable battery with 5W charging, and runs on Android 9.0 Pie.

Additionally, the Moto E6 has Moto Experiences that are found in other motorola devices. These include turning the flashlight on with a simple chop-chop motion, and Screenshot Editor. New experiences also include Media Controls and One Button Nav, which were previously only on higher tier devices.

In the camera department, the Moto E6 has a fast-focusing 13MP rear sensor with 1.12um pixel pitch and a lens with a f/2.0 aperture. It is capable of shooting 1080p (30fps), 720p (30fps), Timelapse and Hyperlapse videos, and support digital zoom (up to 8x), burst shot, Auto HDR, portrait mode and Google Lens integration.The 5MP front sensor has the same pixel pitch and lens aperture as the rear camera. It can also shoot Timelapse videos.

Moto E6 Price and Availability

In the US, the Moto E6 will be available starting this summer with telecom carriers and universally unlocked on Amazon.com for $149.99 (approx Rs 10,300). Just like the US, the phone will be available in Canada starting this summer.

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Vivo Y90 goes official with 4030mAh battery, Helio A22 chipset, and more

Vivo has officially announced a new smartphone, the Vivo Y90. As expected, it is an entry-level smartphone. The company has launched Vivo Y90 in Pakistan at PKR 18,999 (roughly Rs. 8,100 in India). The smartphone features a matte finish-like back panel alongside a single rear camera. The key specifications of the phone include a MediaTek Helio A22 SoC, a waterdrop notch, an 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP selfie camera. However, the phone is expected to be launched in India soon, and it could cost around Rs 6,990. 

Vivo Y90 specifications

The Vivo Y90 features a 6.22-inch HD+ display, which has a resolution of 720x1520 pixels. The phone is powered by the Helio A22 chipset, paired with 2GB RAM. It has 32GB of onboard storage along with an option to expand further (up to 512GB) using a microSD card slot. The device runs Funtouch OS 4.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. 

In the optics department, the Vivo Y90 sports an 8MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture lens. It has a 5MP front camera with an f/1.8 aperture lens, which resides in the notch. Coming to the features of rear camera, it includes Palm Capture, Face Beauty, Professional, Voice Control, Time-Lapse, Slow, Time Watermark, and Model Watermark. On the other hand, the front camera has features like Palm Capture, Voice Control, Time Watermark, Selfie Lighting, Time Watermark, and Face Beauty. 

The Vivo Y90 packs a 4030 mAh battery. As for the connectivity options, the smartphone has Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5, Micro-USB port, GPS, USB OTG, 3.5mm audio jack, and more. The device also sports ambient light sensor, digital compass, accelerometer, gyroscope sensor, and proximity sensor. 

The smartphone also supports Face Unlock. It measures 155.11x75.09x8.28mm dimensions, and weighs 163.5 grams.

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WhatsApp Pay held up over privacy concerns, Govt fears payment data may be shared with Facebook and Instagram

WhatsApp’s payment feature went live last year for a limited few users. Using the UPI platform, WhatsApp allowed users to send and receive money from other users who also had the feature activated. India was also the first country where the payment service was introduced, but the service never really went mainstream. This is despite Uber, Google and Amazon integrating UPI payments in their respective platforms. While the initial set of users still have to option to send and receive money on the platform, the feature remained in beta with pending regulatory approvals.

Now, in the middle of 2019, WhatsApp’s global head, Will Cathcart is on his maiden visit to India and meeting government officials to get the required approvals to launch the service. In a press conference on Wednesday, he said the payments service would be rolled out to all WhatsApp users later this year. Does this mean the government has approved the serivce?

Back when WhatsApp announced the beta version of the payment service, the Supreme Court of India had asked WhatsApp to comply with RBI’s data localisation norms before launch with the lawyers representing WhatsApp promising the court that the norms will be complied with before launching the full version. The case dates back to August 2018. Back then, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court to ask WhatsApp to appoint a grievance officer in India and comply with India’s data storage laws where WhatsApp had to set up offices and store payment data locally in india.

In fact, around October 2018, WhatsApp did build a system to store data locally but it was later found out that the company was simply mirroring its databases in India, as in, it’s just storing just a copy of data in India, which the NPCI later said was not enough.

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma also accused WhatsApp of flouting UPI rules and entering the market through unfair means and restricting the service to its own 200 million users. Later, NPCI, the regulatory body that oversees UPI transactions consented to a beta launch with 1 million users and a cap on the transaction limit.

Fast forward to July 2019, Indian authorities still haven’t approved the service for the messaging giant. According to a report by The Economic Times, the authorities are concerned that WhatsApp might share user’s payment information with its parent company Facebook and subsidiary Instagram, which will compromise user’s privacy and securuity by disclosing non-commercial information. However, a government official told ET that WhatsApp had said Facebook and other non-WhatsApp subsidiaries do not use the transaction data for any commercial purposes.

However, where it gets murkier is the fact that WhatsApp uses Facebook’s cloud service to store data and that the authorities deem it important that even non-commercial information not be collected and shared with Facebook and other platforms. With the Personal Data Protection Bill being debated, it’s important for the authorities to ensure companies don’t share user data with others or store sensitive information outside of the country’s borders.

WhatsApp’s global head is now meeting officials in PMO and Telecom and IT Ministry to convince the authorities that the data will remain secure and user privacy will be ensured. The report also states that WhatsApp officials have also told partners to remain on “high alert” for the past one month indicating that the service may be launched at any time.

As of now, WhatsApp needs a third-party auditor to validate the company’s stance that payment information will stored locally only on Indian servers, and as such, the company cannot give a definite timeline as to when the service will finally be launched in India.

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PUBG Mobile Lite launched in India, works on phones with less than 2GB RAM

After undergoing a testing period of about a year, PUBG Mobile Lite has finally been launched in India and is now available for download from the Google Play Store. The lighter version of the popular battle royale game is about 400MB in size and supports mobile devices with less than 2GB RAM. The developers, Tencent Games, claim to have designed the version keeping in mind the core idea of being able to play at any time, from anywhere, and on any device.

Built with Unreal Engine 4, PUBG Mobile Lite features a smaller map, which supports up to 60 players, as compared to the full version of the game, which supports up to 100 players. This also means faster matches, which last for about 10 minutes, while still being true to the 'PUBG-style' of play. “Keeping in mind that more than half of the smartphone users in India use an entry-level smartphone, the specifications that the LITE version of the game is designed to accommodate exactly that. New players joining in will be eligible for various rewards, in the form of new gears and vehicles,” the company said in a statement.

Key features on PUBG Mobile Lite

The lighter version of the game comes with some features that are claimed to make the mobile gaming experience similar to the original PUBG Mobile game. The features include:

Enhanced Aim Assist: There is a new auxiliary aim assist that is said to make aiming simpler and is useful when a user is playing in weak network environments. The intensity differs between the crawling and standing positions, thereby hopeing to simplify controls. 

Upgrade to ‘Winner Pass’: In the Lite version of the game, 'Winner Pass' replaces 'Royale Pass', and the company says that it will have much faster achievement unlocks. The pass will last a month, and users will be rewarded with new skins, new clothes, etc after they complete a task.

Bullet trail adjustment: PUBG Mobile Lite will feature increased bullet speed with no bullet drop effect. The developers say that this is done for taking a clearer shot, which is specially made to account for weak network environments.

Weapon recoil suppression: The adherence mechanism also suppresses the weapon recoil to a certain amount, which facilitates game control and makes for a better experience in weak networks. Different guns have different gun pressure effects, highlighting the different experience of each weapon.

Extended ‘Time to Kill’: The update will also appropriately increase the ‘Time to Kill’. This is aimed at enhancing players’ survivability during firefights and encouraging aggressive game play.

Location display: The map will expose a shooter within the mini-map’s range,. The developers say that this provides simplified battle info, thereby increasing battle speed.

Heal yourself while moving: Players will now be able to heal themselves in all stances except for when they are prone. This will be useful in high-latency conditions, where movement actions might inhibit the healing mechanic in game. The developers hope that this will help speed up the game pace and increase survivability.

Building areas/supplies optimisation: Complementing the smaller maps, building density and loot frequency has been increased to expedite the looting process and enhance the battle progression. The game will also feature optimised map quality and the parachute loading screen.

RPG and new firearm integration: With the Lite version, players will now get to experience a new weapon in selected game modes, allowing them a chance to form new attack and defense tactics.

We have tried installing the game on the Redmi Go smartphone, an Android Go-powered device with 1GB RAM. The game did manage to install and we even managed to win a Chicken Dinner. Stay tuned to know how our experience was. 

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PUBG Mobile Lite Launched in India for Phones With Less Than 2GB of RAM: Everything You Need to Know

PUBG Mobile Lite is now available in India. The India launch of the game comes almost a year after PUBG Mobile Lite made its debut in the Google Play Store for users in Philippines.

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Lenovo launches Tab V7 with 69-inch display, 5180mAh battery in India at Rs 12,990

Lenovo has launched the Tab V7 in India, a 7-inch phablet (smartphone + tablet) device at a starting price of Rs 12,990. The Tab V7 sports a 6.9-inch display, 5180mAh battery, and 4G VoLTE connectivity. The Lenovo Tab V7 is set to go on sale on Flipkart starting August 1. It will eventually be available on other channels, including Amazon.in and Lenovo.com. It will also be available through offline retailers, such as Croma and Reliance Digital.

The Tab V7 will be sold in two variants: one with 3GB RAM + 32GB storage (for Rs 12,990) and another with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage (for Rs 14,990). Onboard storage can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card. The display is a 6.9-inch IPS LCD panel with an 18:9 aspect ratio and Full HD resolution (1080 x 2160 pixels). Lenovo claims the device has a screen-to-body ratio of 81 percent and a slim build. Measuring 7.89mm in thickness and weighing in at 195g, Lenovo's new phablet also features Dolby Audio through its two front-facing speakers.

Lenovo says that the Tab V7's 5180mAh battery is good for up to 10 hours of local video playback and browsing, and up to 30 hours of talktime. The Lenovo Tab V7 has a single 13MP camera on the back and a single 5MP camera on the front, with night shot and panorama modes in the default camera app along with HDR capability. Though it has a fingerprint scanner on the back panel, the tablet supports face unlock too. The Tab V7 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 mobile platform with an Octa-core processor and runs Android 9 Pie right out of the box.

“Tablet market is showing signs of recovery, driven by the potential demand from sectors like Government, education, banking and finance and as the market leader, we are well positioned to lead this growth,” commented Rahul Agarwal, CEO and MD of Lenovo India in the company's press release. Lenovo's belief in the tablet market appears to be contrary to Google's, which recently confirmed its decision to stop making tablets altogether and instead focus on laptops. You can read more about that here.

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Its official: Apple to acquire majority of Intels smartphone modem business

Two days after a report claimed that Apple is going to buy Intel’s smartphone modem business, the Cupertino-based giant has confirmed the development and provided more clarity on the deal. Apple and Intel have signed an agreement for Apple to acquire “the majority” of Intel’s smartphone modem business. The deal, which is valued at $1 billion, is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2019, Apple said. The transaction, however, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, including works council and other relevant consultations in certain jurisdictions.

As a part of the deal, about 2,200 Intel employees will join the iPhone-maker, along with intellectual property, equipment, and leases. Apple also highlighted that by combining the acquired patents for the current and future wireless technology with the company’s existing portfolio, it will hold over 17,000 wireless technology patents. These patents range from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation. Intel, however, will retain the ability to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet-of-things devices, and autonomous vehicles.

“We’ve worked with Intel for many years and know this team shares Apple’s passion for designing technologies that deliver the world’s best experiences for our users. Apple is excited to have so many excellent engineers to join our growing cellular technologies group, and know they’ll thrive in Apple’s creative and dynamic environment. They, together with our significant acquisition of innovative IP, will help expedite our development on future products and allow Apple to further differentiate moving forward,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies.

Intel CEO Bob Swan added that the agreement will enable the company to focus on developing technology for the 5G network. “We have long respected Apple and we’re confident they provide the right environment for this talented team and these important assets moving forward. We’re looking forward to putting our full effort into 5G where it most closely aligns with the needs of our global customer base, including network operators, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and cloud service providers,” Swan noted.

Previously, Apple depended on Qualcomm for smartphone modems, but Intel and Apple partnered for 5G modems for future iPhones when the Tim Cook-led company’s relationship with Qualcomm jeopardised by a patent lawsuit. In December, it was reported that Apple’s relationship with Qualcomm soured over time and, since Intel was facing a problem of heat dissipation caused by the 8060 modem chip, Apple decided to take the matter into its own hands, and posted a job listing for a cellular modem systems architect.

It is implied that the company’s plans didn’t come out as it wanted to, and after a two-year long feud, a surprise agreement was reached between Apple and Qualcomm in April. Hours after the development made headlines, Intel announced that it was dropping out of the 5G smartphone modem business. If we are to believe the analysts’ expectations and rumours, Apple will launch a 5G phone in 2020.

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