OnePlus 8 series design teased in official video ahead of launch on April 14

OnePlus has officially teased the design of its upcoming OnePlus 8 series of phones, set to launch on April 14. The company has been revealing some of the key features in the build-up to the launch amidst the ongoing Coronavirus health crisis. But now, we also have our first official look at the upcoming OnePlus 8 phones in a new colour.

Courtesy of previous teasers, we know the OnePlus 8 series is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip with 5G support and the Pro variant most likely features a 120Hz refresh rate screen.

In a blog post, CEO Pete Lau revealed some of the design elements that have been adopted in making the design “beautiful to be(hold)”. Lau starts by pointing out how OnePlus was the first company to bring the industry-first matte-frosted glass back with the Midnight Black variant of the OnePlus 6. And now, the company is taking it forward with fifth-generation matte-frosted glass.

This latest generation of glass design features a higher degree of haze effect that Lau says varies between 64%-82%. As a measure of scale, he revealed that the first generation glass had 20%-30% haze while the second and third-gen glass design bumped that effect to 30%-40%. OnePlus 7 and 7T series glass back has between 40%-60% haze effect.

OnePlus has used a new crafting process to create a 3D curved glass for the OnePlus 8 phones with a smooth finish and “it feels just as warm and comfortable as our first-generation Silk White back covers on the OnePlus One,” Lau says.

The phones have a thinner profile and are lighter than the previous generation due to the use of CNC milled aluminium chassis. The haze effect allows the rear panel of the phone to reflect light in certain ways to produce a gradient effect that looks opaque and at times, transparent.

Lau says that the company’s design team explored “more than 300 colours and texture combinations” and that the phone will be offered in multiple colours including a new Glacial Green colour. Some of the previously leaked renders of the OnePlus 8 revealed that the phone will be available in three colours-- Glacial Green, Onyx Black and Interstellar Glow.

“With this colour, we aim to invoke fresh, environmentally friendly, natural, and youthful feelings,” Lau said of the new Glacial Green colour.

Most of the key specifications about the OnePlus 8 series have been leaked along with a new Wireless Bullets earbuds and Warp Charge 30 wireless charger that’s launching on April 14. Just this past week, the prices of the phones were also leaked and you can read more about it here.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/3a4eZkJ

Realme X3 SuperZoom certified by NBTC Thailand and BIS, Geekbench score also revealed

Realme X3 SuperZoom has been certified by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Thailand and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hinting at an imminent launch. However, India is currently under a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, and as such launch events aren’t happening and smartphone production has come to a standstill.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom takes the company’s X series forward and could be a successor to the Realme X2 series. There’s a possibility that a regular Realme X3 will also be announced at some point, but without some of the zoom features.

The phone is listed as Realme RMX2086 on NBTC and BIS but unfortunately doesn’t reveal any more details about the phone. Incidentally, a listing with the same model number was spotted on Geekbench which gives us some information as to what we can expect from this upcoming Realme phone.

The phone will come with 12GB RAM and will run on Android 10 out-of-the-box. Interestingly the motherboard is listed as 'msmnile' which is a codename for Snapdragon 855+ chipset that power’s the Realme X2 Pro.

Having SuperZoom in the name could indicate the phone’s capability to offer more than 20x digital zoom, and it might just be a successor to the X2 Pro. This is similar to what the company did with the X2 and X2 Pro. While the latter features a 13MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, the regular X2 has a macro lens instead.

Realme TV was also recently spotted on the BIS website and is expected to feature a 43-inch screen. Realme also has plans for its first smartwatch launch in India as has been teased by CEO Madhav Sheth. Though when that happens depends upon the duration of the lockdown and the end of the ongoing health crisis.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2UW2nI0

Twitter curbs user control over sharing data with advertisers

Twitter is notifying users of an update it’s made to the data-sharing settings by revoking a privacy control option. With this change, users will no longer be able to assert control over some personal data that Twitter shares with its advertisers.

In a pop-up note, Twitter says, “The control you have over what information Twitter shares with its business partners has changed. Specifically, your ability to control mobile app advertising measurements has been removed, but you can control whether to share some non-public data to improve Twitter’s marketing activities on other sites and apps. These changes, which help Twitter to continue operating as a free service, are reflected now in your settings.”

Until now, Twitter allowed users to control the data it shares with its advertising partners, Google and Facebook with an option in the Personalization and Data settings. Before this update, users could disable the toggle to share additional information with business partners.

This additional information can include IP address or device identifiers for mobile apps but doesn’t include a user’s name, username, email, phone number or other such private information. Having said that, Twitter users in Europe and the UK will continue to have an option to opt-out of the said privacy setting.

In a statement to The Verge, a Twitter spokesperson said, “the update is part of our ongoing work around transparency and control.”

While the setting toggle still exists under Twitter’s privacy settings, the company has removed the user’s control over it and the information is now shared with advertisers by default. Advertising data is of utmost importance to social media companies as it helps them bag huge revenues from promotions. Twitter had earlier blamed a bug for missing out on earnings during Q3 2019 and the new changes could ensure it doesn’t fall short of revenue, especially in the time of the Coronavirus crisis.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2XlPzMw

Google employees banned from using Zoom on their devices: Reports

Google has reportedly banned the use of the popular videoconferencing app, Zoom from its employees’ devices. According to a report by BuzzFeed News, the company has sent out an email to employees whose office laptops had the Zoom app installed. Citing “security vulnerabilities” the mail reportedly stated that the software will stop working from this week onwards.

“We have long had a policy of not allowing employees to use unapproved apps for work that are outside of our corporate network,” Google spokesperson, Jose Castaneda, told BuzzFeed News. “Recently, our security team informed employees using Zoom Desktop Client that it will no longer run on corporate computers as it does not meet our security standards for apps used by our employees. Employees who have been using Zoom to stay in touch with family and friends can continue to do so through a web browser or via mobile.”

The popularity of the Zoom app surged recently as a majority of the world started working from home due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. The app was not only used for teleconferencing but was also used by educational institutes for teaching students. 

However, things turned sour when recent reports suggested that the app was far from secure. An investigation by Motherboard suggested that Zoom’s app for the iPad and iPhone sent data to Facebook, even if they did not have Facebook accounts. Zoom has since issued an apology for this and said that it did so unwittingly. According to a statement given to Motherboard, Zoom said that the app did not share in sensitive information like user names, emails and phone numbers, but "included data about users’ devices such as the mobile OS type and version, the device time zone, device OS, device model and carrier, screen size, processor cores, and disk space". Zoom has also pushed out an update that no longer uses Facebook’s SDK. However, the platform noted that users would still be able to login with their Facebook accounts if they want.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2VaTOYC

WhatsApp will let you directly video call a group if it has four members or less

With the lockdown in place to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus, video calls and chat apps have become the go-to source to keep in touch with friends and family. WhatsApp, the most popular messaging service in India also allows video calls which has seen increased use during the quarantine period.

To help people connect over video calls, WhatsApp has rolled out an update that makes group video calls much easier. No, that doesn’t mean WhatsApp has increased the number of people you can chat with at the same time over video. The number is still limited to four people. Instead, now don’t have to select the members from a group you want to chat with if the number of members are less than or equal to four.

WhatsApp tweeted out the tweak in the video calling feature. Users will be able to place a group video call by just tapping on the video call icon in the group chat. But the option is only available for groups with four members or less.

Previously, you would have to manually choose and add the members you want to talk to over video. Now, it’s one setp fewer for small groups.

That’s not all WhatsApp has rolled out recently. The messaging app also dialled the limit of forwarding messages down to just one chat at a time to curb the spread of fake news. Previously, it was set to five chats at a time.

WhatsApp is also working on a feature that will let users check if a forwarded message is fake by verifying it on Google.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/34oYNt5

OnePlus 8 series pricing leak suggests a starting price of 719 Euros

OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2020 and are set to launch on April 14 globally. While most of the key specifications are already out in the open courtesy of a steady flow of leaks, pricing is something that one can’t confirm till it’s officially announced.

However, looks like Czech e-tailer Alza jumped the gun with the listing of the two phones on its website that was subsequently spotted by WinFuture. According to the listing that seems to have been taken down since the OnePlus 8 will be offered at a starting price of 719 Euros for the base variant. It roughly translates to Rs 59,000 upon direct conversion, but a lot of factors play a part in the pricing of a phone for a particular region. 

Similarly, the OnePlus 8 variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage could be priced at 819 Euros, while the OnePlus 8 Pro starts at 919 Euros for the base variant and 1009 Euros for the maxed-out version with 12GB RAM. 

In comparison, the OnePlus 7T was priced starting at 579 Euros and a price increase of almost 200 Euros for the OnePlus 8 is rather exorbitant. Then again, the phone is powered by a top-of-the-line chipset with 5G support, but whether these features justify its price tag will be interesting to see.

Previously, CEO Pete Lau has reportedly said that the price of its flagship phone won’t exceed beyond $1,000, but the leaked pricing suggests otherwise. Having said that, the official launch of the OnePlus 8 series is just a week away and we’ll know for sure by then.

OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro leaked specifications

OnePlus 8 is said to feature a 6.55-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution AMOLED screen topped with Gorilla Glass 6. There’s a punch-hole cutout on the top as depicted by renders and the screen has a 90Hz refresh rate.

It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with 8GB/12GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage options to choose from. The phone is expected to have a 48MP triple camera setup with an 8MP secondary ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, there’s a 16MP selfie camera.

The OnePlus 8 has a 4,300mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging out-of-the-box.

As for the OnePlus 8 Pro, it’s said to come with a bigger display measuring 6.7-inches with QHD+ (3120 x 1440 pixels) resolution and a faster 120Hz refresh rate. The phone packs in SD865 with 5G support and offers the same set of RAM and storage options as OnePlus 8.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is rumoured to feature a quad-camera setup consisting of a primary 48MP sensor, an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle-lens and a 5MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s the same 16MP selfie camera housed within the notch.

The phone carries a bigger battery that’s rated at 4,510mAh with support for 30W fast charging, both wired and wireless. OnePlus also recently unveiled its Warp Charge 30 wireless charger that’s set to launch alongside the phones and new Bullets Wireless earbuds.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2XnGPFQ

Use JioPOS Lite app to recharge other users and earn money: Heres how

Jio has launched a community recharge app called JioPOS Lite that you can use to recharge prepaid Jio connections and earn some money. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and you can become a Jio partner, helping others to recharge their numbers and earn a commission of 4.16 per cent.

The move comes soon after Airtel rolled out its Earn from Home scheme which also lets you recharge for other people’s Airtel connections and earn a 4 percent cashback on every recharge.

The JioPOS Lite is different from the MyJio app. Even on the MyJio App, you can recharge other people’s numbers but that won’t earn you a commission. Here’s how the app works -

How to earn money using JioPOS Lite app

Before you can start recharging phone numbers, you need to register yourself as a Jio partner on the app. It’s a fairly simple process and doesn’t require any hard copy of documents or physical verification. Any individual can log in to the platform and start recharging numbers.  

You will need an active Jio number to sign up as a Jio Partner.

The commission offered is 4.16 percent to individuals recharging for others. There’s a passbook feature that lets you see your earnings and check transactions for the last 20 days.

After registration, the app will ask you to load money into the wallet. The denominations offered are Rs 500, Rs 1,000, and Rs 2,000. For every Rs 100 you spend on the app recharging numbers, you will get Rs 4.16 extra.

The app will show the popular recharge options for prepaid customers and there’s even a FAQ to help you out in case something goes wrong.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2y6o8eX