Google rolls out fix for Android TV bug that caused casting notifications on phones: Report

Google has started rolling out a fix for a bug on Android TV that caused a casting notification to appear on their phones when no such command had been given. According to a report by Android Police, a casting notification appears on devices on the same network as the Android TV. As per the report, apps affected by this bug include YouTube, YouTube TV, Kodi, Netflix, Tidal, Disney+ and Plex. Affected devices also include the Nvidia Shield TV and the Xiaomi MiBox. 

The issue doesn’t seem to be as widespread, it is certainly enough to cause a bit of an issue when someone sees it. According to the report, a fix is already on the way and should be available to all users shortly.

Manufacturers like Sony and Xiaomi use Android TV in their lineup of smart TVs and even some new entrants to the market like OnePlus, Motorola and Nokia offer Android on their new TVs. Even Realme is expected to climb aboard the bandwagon and launch its own TV. A listing company’s upcoming TV recently popped on up the Bureau of Indian Standards’ website under the name ‘Realme TV 43’. Judging by the name, it’s safe to assume that the TV will have a 43-inch panel. It will most likely come with Android TV, but we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation to know for sure.

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OnePlus 8 Pro Indian variant with 12GB RAM visits Geekbench ahead of the official launch

OnePlus 8 Pro has been spotted on the benchmarking website Geekbench ahead of its official launch on April 14 alongside OnePlus 8 and a rumoured ‘Lite’ version. The device in question is listed as OnePlus IN2025 and it seems like it has been tested more than 15 times on Geekbench since March 29.

The listing reveals that this India specific SKU has 12GB RAM and runs on Android 10 out-of-the-box. The highest score awarded by Geekbench 5 in single-core tests is 907 while the multi-core score reached 3398 points in one of the test runs. Now, these are better scores than the Galaxy S20 family and indicate that the upcoming OnePlus phones are going to be as powerful as they are known for. 

OnePlus 8 series is one of the most anticipated phones this year but due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the various parts of the world, the launch wasn’t announced until much recently. Several key aspects of the upcoming OnePlus phones have been leaked and speculated and here’s everything we know about the upcoming phones.

OnePlus 8 Pro rumoured specifications

OnePlus 8 Pro is expected to feature a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440 pixels) resolution screen with a 120hz refresh rate. The display could have a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera giving it a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, topped with Gorilla Glass 6 for added protection.

As a precursor to the launch, DisplayMate has revealed that the OnePlus 8 series has earned an A+ rating with a “colour accuracy that is visually indistinguishable from perfect!” And while those are pretty tall claims, OnePlus has a reputation for packing its phones with premium screens and seems all set for this year as well. According to company CEO Pete Lau, the OnePlus 8 Pro has smashed through 13 existing DisplayMate records. 

The phone is slated to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. It is expected to feature a quad-camera setup consisting of a primary 48MP sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 5MP depth sensor for portraits. As for the front-facing camera, it’s expected to be a 16MP sensor housed within the notch cutout.

OnePlus 8 Pro is also fitted with a custom MEMC (Motion Estimation/Motion Compensation) chip that’s often found in televisions. This allows the phone to automatically convert low frame rate elements to high frame rates without any significant drop in frames. This feature is supported by apps like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, among others out-of-the-box. The benefit of a hardware-based conversion is that it doesn’t taxes-out the whole system and works in the background offering smooth playback.

The phone is expected to have a 4,510mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging and wireless charging. This will be the first phone from OnePlus to come with wireless charging support as the company has previously shied from using the wireless charging technology citing its infancy.

 

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E3 2021 to Kick Off June 15 Next Year: Report

E3 2021 dates have been reportedly announced by Entertainment Software Association. It will be held June 15 to June 17.

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Google Maps now includes locations of COVID-19 food and night shelters across the country

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading fast and the worst hit due to the lockdown are the poor and daily wage labourers. The poor in India are walking hundreds of kilometres to get to their hometowns and villages because they don't have a place to stay or means of getting food daily. The private and public sector is coming together to offer food and shelter to such people, but how can one know if the nearest shelter is a stone's throw away? Google is looking to help with this situation. To help bring respite to people during this difficult time, Google Maps is now indicating the locations of food shelters and night shelters in cities across India.

According to a statement Google shared, “Google is working closely with state and central government authorities to surface the locations of these relief centres. To date, across 30 cities, people can now find these locations on Google Maps, Search and Google Assistant by simply searching for ‘Food shelters in ’ or ‘Night shelters in ’ in any of these Google products. This will soon be available in Hindi, with queries like ‘ में भोजन केंद्र’ or ‘ में रैन बसेरा’.”

People can enter the above search query in Google Search or the Google app on phones and can even ask the Google Assistant for this information. The search query will yield results on KaiOS devices as well. Google says that it is working on bringing this feature to other Indian languages as well in the coming weeks. It is also working on adding additional shelters in more cities across the country to the search results.

Google also says that in the coming days this information will be easier to access via quick-access shortcuts that will appear beneath the search bar on the Google Maps app, shortcuts on Google Maps on KaiOS feature phones, and food and night shelter pins appearing on the map by default when the Maps app is first opened.

Commenting on the launch of the feature, Anal Ghosh, Sr. Program Manager, Google India, said, “As the COVID-19 situation develops, we are making a concerted effort to build solutions that help people during these times of need. Highlighting the locations of food and night shelters on Google Maps is a step to make this information easily available to the users in need, and ensure they can avail the food and shelter services being provided by the government authorities. With the help of volunteers, NGOs, and traffic authorities, we hope to convey this important information to the affected people, many of whom may not have access to a smartphone or mobile device during this time."

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Skypes new Meet Now feature lets you video call anyone without an account, heres how to use it

Skype has added a new feature it’s calling Meet Now, which allows you to set up a video call with anyone without the need to sign-up to the service. As video conferencing has become the only reliant way for businesses to function amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, Skype’s new feature makes it easier for people to join their service. This comes at a time when rival video calling services such as Zoom are finding it hard to contain the massive surge of people signing up for their service.

If you’re familiar with Skype video calls, Meet Now offers similar options like recording the meeting, screen sharing and background blur. What’s more is that this feature can be used on any device, even if you don’t have the Skype app installed and the meeting link doesn’t expire as well.

Introducing a simple, hassle-free way to connect with the important people in your life on #Skype, no sign-ups or downloads required. Learn about Meet Now: https://t.co/yOw6oBlFxx

— Skype (@Skype) April 3, 2020

The video call recording and other data that are shared during calls via Meet Now are stored for 30 days and more, making it a good alternative for hosting webinars or interviews.

How to use Skype Meet Now

If you have Skype already installed on your phone or laptop, there should be a Meet Now button sitting adjacent to the Chat in the sidebar. Click it to start a new meeting and invite your friends to join the call.

For people who don’t have the Skype app, just head to the Meet Now webpage to start a meeting. Click on Create a free Meeting tab and you should have a sharable meeting link right away. 

Next, click on Start Call and you’ll be redirected to the Skype website asking whether to join as guest or Sign-up. Going forward as a guest, you will be asked to fill out your name and that’s it.

Select Join and your Meet Now Chat should be up and running in no time. Invite more people to the chat and start the video call.

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Apple could launch new 13-inch MacBook Pro next month

After refreshing the MacBook Pro 15” and the MacBook Air, its only natural that Apple also refresh the 13” MacBook Pro. According to leakster Jon Prosser, Apple is set to announce the new 13” MacBook Pro next month. Besides this, his tweet carries no details of what the refreshed model would include, but we can make a few educated guesses.

One of the most noticeable changes we expect the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro to have is a new 16:10 aspect ratio display. Apple did that with the 15-inch MacBook Pro, making it a 16-inch display, but with the 13-inch model, we don’t expect the display to get any bigger. The reason for this is that the new MacBook Air already has a 13.3-inch 16:10 display, so the new aspect ratio does not lead to a bigger panel being used. Additionally, we expect that Apple would increase the base storage from 128GB to 256GB. We also expect Apple to use Intel’s 10th-generation CPUs, albeit ones with a higher TDP. The MacBook Air uses processors with a TDP between 9-10 Watts, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro (Review) uses processors that have a TDP as high as 45W (Intel Core i9).

Besides the bump in base spec, we also expect Apple to offer higher configurable storage and RAM. While the 13-inch model has not carried a discrete GPU with it, it would be nice to see Apple bring the option to the table.

Given the Coronavirus situation, practically every industry has been heavily impacted. We’re seeing product launches get delayed, movie releases being pushed to as much as a year later. Amidst all this, some brands have resorted to a soft-launch, for example, Apple announced the new iPad Pro via a press-release. Apple is also expected to announce a new budget-friendly iPhone at some point, with rumours suggesting April 15 as the date. However, there’s not been a lot of chatter around the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, so we will have to wait and watch.

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Google Duo testing closed captions on voice messages

Google showed off live captions back in 2019 and this was a brilliant wat to convert speech to text for Pixel users. Now, information suggests that Google is testing closed captions on Google Duo and the feature is only limited to voice messaging. There is no information if and when the feature will make an appearance in a live video chat. The feature is being tested in Google Duo v82 and XDA developers got their hands on it and have demonstrated how it works. 

When recording a message, there is a new CC button in the Message Player. This button lets you toggle the captions on and off. Once toggled on, the user will be able to see the captions in his/her video. XDA developers highlight that the audio content is shared with Google to enable the transcription but the audio is not stored by Google. XDA developers said, “The captions themselves were not absolutely accurate, but we did have some background noise in the audio and we also had to speak softly.”

There is no information when the feature will be made available publicly, but it is nice to see a closed caption feature implemented. When talking to people or listing to messages, it is hard sometimes to understand someone's accent. In such cases, CC is a great option. 

If you need to see closed captions during a live call, sadly the feature is not available on Google Duo. It is however available on Skype. Live captions & subtitles in Skype let users read the words that are spoken during an audio or video call. Live captions & subtitles are available in Skype on Android (6.0 or higher), iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, and Skype for Windows 10 (version 14). 

In other Google-related news, Dolby has announced that their app called On is now available on the Indian Google Play Store. The app is designed for musicians to help record and stream their audio or video performances. The app was already available on iOS but is now also available on Android. You can read more about it here.

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