Xiaomi Mi Band 4 and Mi Band 3 can now unlock your Windows 10 laptop

Xiaomi is releasing a new software update for its popular fitness trackers the Mi Band 3 and Mi Band 4. While this may be their first software update in a long time, it brings some very exciting functionality. Users of the bands in India will be able to unlock their Windows 10 based laptops using the bands, without having to use any third-party app or tweaks.

In order to get the new firmware, you will first need to update the Mi Fit app, which will then automatically download the firmware and update your respective band. What’s interesting is that the Windows 10 unlock capability is only available to Indian users. Previously, users of the Mi Band 3 and Mi Band 4 had to use third-party tweaks in order to unlock their Windows 10 based laptops, but now, they’ll be able to do it natively. In addition, TizenHelp also states that various users who have already updated their bands are reporting slightly more accurate step count.

Xiaomi’s Mi Band 3 and Mi Band 4 offer some serious value for money. Both the trackers boast of 20-day battery life, AMOLED displays and heart rate monitor. The bands also deliver notifications directly to your wrist, and also allow users to accept or reject incoming calls. For the price, the bands offer excellent value for money and now with this latest update, they add another super useful trick to their already massive bag of features.

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Apple AirTag leaked in comapnys own video

Rumours that Apple has been working on a Bluetooth based tracker have been around for some months now. It was originally rumoured that Apple would announce the device alongside the iPhone 11 series of smartphones, but that launch came and went, with no mention of the said rumoured tracker. Thanks to a new support video shred by Apple themselves, the AirTags are all but confirmed.

Apple apparently uploaded a support video to their support YouTube channel on how to erase your iPhone, and in the section where they talk about resetting the device using a computer, that’s where the revelation came from.  When you’re instructed to turn off ‘Find my iPhone,’ the video shows three options; Enabling/Disabling Find My iPhone, Enabling Offline Finding and Send Last Location. Under “Enable Offline Finding”, Apple mentions “Offline finding enables this device and AirTags to be found when not connected to Wi-Fi or cellular.” This last bit pretty much confirms not only that Apple has been working on a Bluetooth tracker, but also that its called AirTag. Turns out, Apple has leaked their own upcoming product.The mention was first caught by Appleosophy.

As of writing this story, Apple has taken the video down from their YouTube page. AirTags may not even be out yet, but they’re already kicking up some controversy for Apple. Tile, the company that popularized these little Bluetooth enabled coins, said that Apple has been anticompetitive. Tile accused Apple of changing rules and features so as to put Tile’s products at a disadvantage and giving their upcoming product an unfair leg up. Apple also stopped carrying Tile’s trackers globally in their stores, which Tile said was a move to hurt their business as Apple was planning to come out with its own AirTag.

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Corona in India: Google Maps data show why it looks like a ghost town everywhere right now

By now, it’s pretty much established that social distancing is one of the primary ways to flatten the rising curve of COVID-19 cases in the world. Governments have across the world have adopted self-isolation a means to curb the menace of the Coronavirus with people being asked to stay home as much as possible.

Now Google has released data that shows how well people have been adhering to the guidelines. The data is collected via Google Maps and works the same way as Maps identifying crowded areas with aggregated, anonymised data. It relies on your smartphone’s Location History setting.

Google is releasing the data in the form of Community Mobility Reports. Presently, the data covers 131 countries and regions.

"With reports saying that a third of the world’s population is under some kind of social distancing measures, we’ve heard from public health officials to consider how we could help here, too. Since there is no vaccine or proven treatment, social distancing is the primary way to flatten the curve. However, communities have not had a lot of insight into whether their guidance is working,” Google wrote in a blog post.

The data sets show how public places are impacted by social distancing measures. Places like parks, theatres, malls where people tend to gather in large numbers. Google will show the percentage increase or decrease of movement across these places, instead of the absolute numbers.

The data is divided into high-level locations — retail and recreation, groceries, pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential. The report uses anonymised data that’s aggregated to show movement trends over time.

Google isn’t sharing data about the individual’s location, movement or contacts. It only uses the data of those who have voluntarily turned on Location History setting on their devices, which is off by default. Google has also used a technology called ‘differential privacy’ that adds artificial noise to the datasets to make identifying an individual near about impossible.

While Google is offering more granular, region-level insights of states and provinces for some countries, only country-level information is available for India so far. Here's the report for India.

Quite unsurprisingly, the report for India states that from February 16 to March 29, retail and recreational centres have seen a 77 percent decrease in footfall while groceries and pharmacies have seen a 65 percent reduction in people. Parks, transit hubs and workplaces too saw a significant reduction in footfall. Only residences saw a 22 percent increase in people. The sharpest decline in footfall in public places happened from March 21, the day the lockdown was announced.

With the nation-wide lockdown set to be relaxed after April 14, these movement trend reports can be of help to the authorities in determining how to control large crowds from gathering in one place and lead to a second wave of infections.

Cover Photo by Vikas Sawant from Pexels

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Facebook Messenger app launched for Mac and Windows

The Facebook messaging app for Windows and Mac is finally here. You can download it from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App store depending on the system you are using. Just like the app on the smartphone, users can not only chat with their friends via the desktop client but also make video calls and group video calls as well, the app brings with it a dark mode as well. The app has been optimized to take advantage of the big screen on your laptop or desktop. One thing to note is that video calling on the Facebook messenger app is limited to 8 people. Users should also note that you cannot share your screen when chatting using the messaging app on the desktop.

Facebook's official news page reads, “Today we’re launching a Messenger app for macOS and Windows so you can video chat on your computer and stay connected with friends and family all over the world. Now more than ever, people are using technology to stay in touch with the people they care about, even when physically apart. Over the past month, we saw more than a 100% increase in people using their desktop browser for audio and video calling on Messenger. Now with apps for macOS and Windows, the best of Messenger is coming to desktop, including unlimited and free group video calls.”

The COVID 19 outbreak has led to people sitting at home and maintaining a safe physical distance from one another. However, that hasn't stopped people from taking to the internet to video call and spend time with loved ones. If you are looking for creative ways to stay in touch with loved ones, then you can check out our video calling apps here. 

In other Facebook-related news, the Zoom app for iOS was sharing personal data with Facebook. Zoom has removed the code that led to data sharing with Facebook and has issued an apology. You can read more about that here. 

A new update to the Facebook app will show up a new page where you can offer to help with things like getting groceries, arranging transport and volunteering for work for people affected by the coronavirus crisis. You can read more about it here.

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Xiaomi working on a 144MP camera smartphone, likely to be called Mi 10S Pro or Mi CC10 Pro: Report

Xiaomi has a penchant of being the first with new camera hardware. It was among the first to launch a 48MP phone (the Redmi Note 7 Pro) followed by a 64MP smartphones (the Redmi Note 8 Pro) and even a 108MP smartphone (Mi CC9 Pro). Now, a leak claims the Chinese smartphone giant will also be the first to launch a 144MP smartphone.

High-res camera sensors have now been there for a while and if you recall a conversation we had with Qualcomm’s Judd Heape, they are only going to get larger with manufacturers trying to cram as many pixels into it as they can. The 108MP camera is already here in India courtesy the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Now it’s time for a 144MP camera.

According to a leakster, Xiaomi is working on a 144MP camera smartphone, likely to be named Mi 10S Pro or the Mi CC10 Pro. No other detail about the smartphone or the camera sensor is presently out there.

The megapixel race kicked in once again with the onslaught of 48MP smartphones in 2019. The same year also saw an onslaught of 64MP smartphones and now 2020 gave us a 108MP smartphone. The good thing is, with the rise in pixel count, we are seeing some incremental improvement in imaging. But brands are also relying heavily on the pixel count to sell their products. Not all high-res camera sensor deliver good photos. Some are tuned better and some need further optimisations. Having the sensor alone is not enough.

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Coronavirus effect: The Last of US Part 2 has been delayed indefinitely

One of the most anticipated games of 2020 has been delayed yet again. PlayStation Exclusive, The Last of Us Part 2 has been delayed indefinitely. The game was set to launch on May 29. This isn't the first time the game has been delayed. The original release date of the game was February 21 but the game was delayed to May 29th as the developers wanted to give players a polished experience. This time, however, the game isn't delayed due to technical reasons or because it needs more bug fixing. It is delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The PlayStation official twitter handle has tweeted, “Update: SIE has made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II and Marvel's Iron Man VR until further notice. Logistically, the global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve.” Reading into the second half of the statement we can presume that it will be difficult to get physical copies of the game to customers in certain parts of the world where retail shops and home delivery services are facing issues. India is currently facing a lockdown so if you want a physical copy of a game, it is impossible for you to get it. This leaves digital distribution as the only option and the lack of good internet connectivity in some parts means that players may not be able to download the game digitally as well. Sony wants to give all the players an equal experience of the game and is looking at the best solution for this and it looks like delaying the game is the only option. To put things into perspective, Square Enix has announced that copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake will arrive early in certain parts of the world to meet the demand and combat COVID 19’s disruption of the distribution channels. 

Naughty Dog, the developer behind the Last of Us Part 2 and the successful Uncharted franchise also released a statement. It reads, “As you’ve likely just seen, the release of The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. We’re sure this news is just as disappointing to you as it is to us. We wanted to reach out to all of you in our community to give you a little more information. The good news is, we’re nearly done with the development of The Last of Us Part II. We are in the midst of fixing our final bugs”.

“However, even with us finishing the game, we were faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn’t launch The Last of Us Part II to our satisfaction. We want to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part II around the same time, ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to preserve the best experience for everyone. This meant delaying the game until such a time where we can solve these logistic issues.” the statement adds.

“We were bummed about this decision but ultimately understood it’s what’s best and fair to all of our players. We’re hoping that this won’t be a long delay and we’ll update you as soon as we have new information to share. We wish you all, your families, and your friends the best of health. Thank you for being amazing fans and your continued support.” the statement concludes.

Calling the Last of Us Part 2 one of the most anticipated games of the year would be an understatement. Players have been waiting with bated breath to get their hands on the game to find out where Ellie and Joel go next. From the gameplay that has been revealed, it looks like the core mechanics of the game have improved along with better enemy AI and new crafting mechanics. The first game, The Last of Us launched on the PS3 and we also got a remastered version of the game for the PS4. You can read our review of the first game here.  

If you are looking to enjoy a nice horror game, you can check out our review of Resident Evil 3 here. You can also check out the list of games confirmed to release in April here in case you are looking for a new game to invest in.

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Snapdragon 865+ CPU configuration and clock speeds leaked

The Snapdragon 855+ came as a surprise last year. After powering flagships with the regular Snapdragon 855, Qualcomm thought it would be prudent to ship a new SoC with an overclocked GPU aimed specifically at gamers. It doesn’t seem to be a one-off thing now as a Snapdragon 865+ is also reportedly in the works.

According to a tweet by Max Weinbach from XDA Developers, the Snapdragon 865+ will continue with the 1+3+4 CPU arrangement like before. Only this time, the prime core will be clocked as high as 3.1GHz. The mid-cores will apparently be clocked at 2.4GHz and the four efficiency cores will run at 1.8GHz.

When compared to the Snapdragon 865 that powers smartphones like the Realme X50 Pro and the iQOO 3 5G, the clockspeed of the prime core is far higher, promising a boost in CPU performance. The clockspeeds of the rest of the cores remain unchanged according to the report.

Furthermore, we don’t have information about the GPU on the SD865+. Considering what Qualcomm did last year with the SD855+, we do expect some extra GPU chops thrown into the mix.

The Snapdragon 865+ was noticed when the Geekbench scores of the Samsung Galaxy Note20+ leaked out. The listing revealed the Note20+ will have a chipset that’s different from the ones that power the S20 series.

We expect the Snapdragon 865+ to be announced in the second half of this year. The first set of smartphones are expected to launch in July.

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