Coronavirus effect: Youtube to set default video resolution at 480p to avoid overloading bandwidth consumption

As the nation goes into lockdown because of the Coronavirus outbreak, internet usage has seen a general spike. After all, most people are home consuming content at this point. Even Netflix had to reduce the load on telecom companies by 25% but still maintained streaming quality. Just last week, Youtube announced that it would be defaulting to standard definition in Europe so as to not overload bandwidth availability for about 30 days. It’s clear that the world was not prepared to handle a pandemic like the Covid-19 outbreak. 

In India, Youtube will essentially play all default videos at 480p. You can manually head into the settings and change the resolution but the default setting will be 480p. A Google spokesperson also said in a statement, “We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation. Last week, we announced that we were temporarily defaulting all videos on YouTube to standard definition in the EU. Given the global nature of this crisis, we will expand that change globally starting today.”

From what little we know, there have been few changes in peak traffic and most changes can be seen in usage patterns but despite that, Youtube is doing its part to minimise the stress on bandwidth. So, if you come across videos that start in 480p, don’t worry, it’s not your connection going out but Youtube actively lowering bandwidth for default settings. 

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The Redmi Smart TV Max is a 98-inch behemoth

You may not be able to go to the theatre to watch a movie for the next few weeks, but what if the theatre was at home? Well, a lot of people have home theatres these days, but that's not the story for today. Xiaomi’s sub-brand, Redmi has launched a 98-inch TV in China and it is priced at CNY 20,000 (Rs 2,15,220 approx directly converted). You’d pay about Rs 2,00,000 for a 65-inch flagship OLED TV from brands like LG and Sony. Coming back to the Redmi Smart TV Max, the TV size has led the official website to display dimensions for doors and staircases, so you can take the TV to your house without any problems. 

Speaking of the specifications of the Redmi Smart TV Max, it has a 4K resolution with a refresh rate of 60Hz. It claims to cover 85% of the NTSC color space along with support for HDR. The display has Direct LED backlighting with 192 local dimming zones. The TV boasts of a ninth-generation image engine with 20 image-enhancing technologies to enhance your viewing experience. When it comes to audio, the TV has four speakers with support for both Dolby and DTS decoding.

Moving over to connectivity options, the Redmi Smart TV Max has three HDMI ports (one of which is ARC enabled) along with S/PDIF port for audio. It is powered by the Amlogic T972 chipset (4x Cortex-A55, Mali-G31MP2), along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The TV runs on Xiaomi’s PatchWall UI based on Android which is something we have seen on Xiaomi TVs in India and really like. It isn’t clear whether the Redmi TV will come to India.

Xiaomi TVs running on PatchWall have been available in India for some time now and you can check out our review of the Mi TV 4A Pro here. Kodak recently launched a bunch of 4K Android TVs. You can read about them here. We also have our first TV running on the Fire TV OS. You can check that out here.

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How to get the OnePlus 8 before launch

OnePlus is giving 10 lucky users a chance to get their hands on the OnePlus 8 before it's even officially launched. The opportunity comes via OnePlus’ The Lab Program, which the company first floated with the launch of the OnePlus 7 and continued with the OnePlus 7T.

The OnePlus Lab Program is an initiative by the company to get their upcoming flagship into the hands of a set number of smartphone enthusiast as a means of getting early reviews of the device out. The Lab Program understandably sees a very large number of applications, but this time around, OnePlus is going to be picking 10 people for the program, globally. The process starts with filling an application, which must be done before April 1. On April 2, the lucky 10 will be announced and will receive their devices before the launch day. They will be required to upload their reviews of the device by the launch event. All reviews submitted will be reviewed and the best review gets to keep the phone.

OnePlus says that the Labs application is open to absolutely everyone, irrespective of whether they’re a OnePlus user or not. However, 6 of the 10 slots will be reserved for OnePlus forum members. You can read all the details about the OnePlus Labs Program here.

It is interesting to see that OnePlus has announced the Labs Program at a time like this. With rumours suggesting an April launch for the next OnePlus device and most of the world going down into lockdown mode due to Coronavirus, OnePlus is very likely to face logistical challenges in getting devices to reviewers, especially in the first few weeks of April. The fact that OnePlus has announced the commencement of the Labs Program suggests that the launch is around the corner, meaning they, unlike others, have not postponed the launch of their products.

Rumours suggest that OnePlus may be gearing up to launch three devices this time around, a OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and maybe a smaller OnePlus device. OnePlus had experimented with compact smartphones back with the OnePlus X, which did not do very well for the company due to the many compromises made in order to make it smaller and cheaper. However, it is possible that OnePlus learned from the mistakes of their past and may finally launch a small form-factor smartphone that could be as successful as the other phones in the company’s portfolio.

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Coronavirus effect: Oppo, Vivo, Realme, Xiaomi halt smartphone production amidst lockdown orders

Oppo, Vivo and Realme has shut its factories in Greater Noida till further notice from the state government of Uttar Pradesh. The action comes amidst a nationwide lockdown imposed by the Indian government for 21 days to curb the menace of coronavirus.

“Operations in our Greater Noida Factory have been suspended as per the directive from the government. Additionally, all Oppo India employees have been advised to work from home until further notice,” a Global Times report quoted an Oppo spokesperson saying.

Vivo too has issued similar guidelines. The India office of Vivo has been shut with all its employees mandated to work from home. The company has put restrictions on domestic and international travel, thermal screening of individuals at Vivo offices along with staggered work from home for all its teams in India have been implemented.

 

Dear friends, A heartfelt message for all of you. pic.twitter.com/SdPIXDpLpr

— Nipun Marya (@nipunmarya) March 24, 2020

 

Furthermore, keeping the government directives in mind, Vivo has also cancelled all its new product launches for the foreseeable future including the launch of the Vivo V19 that was scheduled to be launch online on April 3. Vivo has also sent out a release stating it has donated more than one lakh N95 masks to healthcare workers in Maharashtra which has seen one of the largest number of positive COVID-19 cases.

Similarly, Realme has also shut its factories and halted production of smartphones in the factory that it shares with Oppo and Vivo in Greater Noida. The company has stopped production since Saturday. Realme admitted it will affect its supply temporarily.

Realme CEO Madhav Seth also announced on Twitter that the Narzo 10 launch has been suspended following the lockdown orders. Future launches are also postponed.

 

With respect to the announcement made by our Honourable Prime Minister yesterday, we have decided to suspend all upcoming launches including #realmeNarzo series. Time for us to focus on our family & ourselves. Stay at home, stay safe & cooperate with local authorities. pic.twitter.com/4FmdanvgHL

— Madhav @home (@MadhavSheth1) March 25, 2020

 

Xiaomi’s Manu Kumar Jain also wrote on Twitter stating its offices, warehouse, service centers and Mi Home stores and factories will follow the lockdown orders of state governments. Xiaomi has also promised to donate N95 masks and protective suits state governments, police and hospitals in India.

 

In light of the current situation, we are taking all the necessary steps to support to government in stopping the spread of #COVID19 Abiding by the lockdown rules, all our Mi Homes will be shut & we won't be offering home delivery temporarily. Stay safe! #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/8j7ktnXJcB

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) March 24, 2020

 

As of filing the report, the number of positive COVID-19 cases has jumped to 581 with 11 announced dead due to the infection from the virus.

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Coronavirus Lockdown Effect: Flipkart temporarily suspends services

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the entire nation is in a 21-day lockdown where people have been asked to stay at home. E-commerce website, Flipkart has announced that it will suspend services temporarily, however, it doesn't provide any clarity on when one can expect the services to resume. Logging onto Flipkarts home page, one can read, “Hello Fellow Indians, We are temporarily suspending our services. Your needs have always been our priority, and our promise is that we will be back to serve you, as soon as possible. These are difficult times, times like no other. Never before, have communities stayed apart to stay safe! Never before, has being at home meant helping the nation! We urge you to Stay Home and Stay Safe! We will get there. And we will get through. Together.”

The above statement is in line with what the government has requested, the closure of all nonessential services. There is no information on when Flipkart will resume its services. Amazon, Flipkart’s biggest competitor in India has also stopped the delivery of all nonessential items. But unlike Flipkart, Amazon will still deliver essential items.

It must be noted that by services, Flipkart will stop the delivery of goods purchased online. Other services such as video streaming, bill payment, and online mobile games are still active via the Flipkart app. 

Other online services like Bigbasket have also suspended activities. Milk Basket which is a popular grocery delivery app in Delhi NCR has not delivered essentials today but has said that it will try to deliver essentials like vegetables tomorrow, 26 March. Milk is one of the commodities that is still out of stock on Milk Basket. 

A lot of service providers are doing their part to ensure people can work from home. Reliance Jio, MTNL, BSNL and more are helping with internet connectivity and data packs to ensure smooth connectivity. Streaming services are reducing streaming quality to avoid network congestion and Services like WhatsApp and Instagram are also doing their part to keep users informed and entertained respectively.

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Tinder makes Passport free, allows everyone to swipe anywhere in the world

With the country going under lockdown, many businesses have suffered great losses. The impact is felt not just in the offline space, but online as well. One such impacted business model is online dating, in particular, location-based online dating. Since people are not going out anymore, Tinder feels isn’t a good enough reason for them to get off the dating game. So, the company is making its Passport feature free for everyone till April 30.

Tinder said that the Passport feature will become free for everyone starting next week and remain that way till April 30th. The reason behind the move, according to Match Group CEO Shar Dubey is it will give the Tinder community access to “the technology to share, learn and listen to those that are experiencing this same situation in different geographies during an unprecedented period of isolation.”

By using Passport, Tinder users can change their current location to anywhere in the world, opening up the potential for matches across the globe. With many countries enforcing curfews and lockdowns, Passport could be a great way for users to connect with others around the world to share what’s happening in their respective areas.

The rampant spread of Coronavirus worldwide has caused major disruptions across so many facets of daily life. With everyone stuck indoors, people are streaming more, causing severe bandwidth issues in parts of the world. Europe had already requested streaming services to lower the quality to SD so that the infrastructure could handle the excess load. With Tinder offering Passport for free, it is yet another thing for people to distract themselves with. Do note that the feature isn’t free yet, and will be so starting next week, and will remain free till April 30th.

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Indian government reportedly working on CoWin-20 app to track Covid-19 patients: Report

The Indian government is reportedly working on a smartphone app to keep the spread of coronavirus under check. The app is called CoWin-20 and is currently in beta testing before launching for both iOS and Android devices.

According to a report by Network18, the CoWin-20 app will rely on smartphone location services to track people and stop the spread of coronavirus. The app will also reportedly record the user’s travel history to determine if they’re at risk of catching the virus as well as the people they might have come in contact with.

The app will also highlight coronavirus testing centres nearby and quarantine sites. You can get the latest advisories, guidelines and information about the Covid-19 outbreak. Users will also be alerted on the latest updates via the Indian government.

The inspiration behind using an app to track potential patients infected with the virus might have come from a similar app being in Singapore where the government is also relying on high-tech surveillance to keep the coronavirus spread under check. Apart from also locating patients who tested positive on a map, it also alerts nearby people who may come in contact with the patient by using Bluetooth.

The report claims the app will be launched in the next few days. The APK of the app is reportedly being distributed to a select few people. iOS users can also download the app by sharing their devices UDIDs with the National Informatics Center.

Recently, the Indian Government also launched a “MyGov Corona” help desk on WhatsApp which is basically a chatbot that will help you out with potential symptoms, guidelines and advisories on WhatsApp itself.

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