OnePlus 8 Pro passes through JerryRigsEverything torture test, teardown reveals new details

The OnePlus 8 Pro has endured the torture chamber on the JerryRigsEverything YouTube channel. Teardown expert Zack Nelson from JerryRigsEverything performed his suite of endurance tests and took the OnePlus 8 Pro apart, revealing more details about its durability, repairing and the underlying hardware inside the flagship smartphone. Nelson’s tests are brutal (and dare I say it, pretty ASMR), but reveals just how far can you push the OnePlus 8 Pro through wear and tear.

He starts off with the scratch test  on the 6.78-inch QHD+ display. The screen gets scratches on level 6 on the moh scale and deep gashes on level 7. The colour finish on the edges of the smartphone was also quite peel off in the test. He notes the rubber caps on the SIM card tray to prevent water getting in, and checks the back panel for scratches. The fingerprint sensor worked after the scratch test, which is notable.

On the burn test, the OnePlus 8 Pro survives with a white-yellow burn mark on the 10-bit screen while in the bend test, the phone does flex but doesn’t crack open or change shape.

In another video, Nelson takes the OnePlus 8 Pro apart, opening the rear glass panel to reveal the wireless charging coil, the camera setup and more, revealing as Nelson notes, “the best looking phone guts we have seen in a while”.

The teardown reveals the Sony IMX 689 48MP sensor is almost as large as the 108MP sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. It also notes that the copper coils used for wireless charging  are far denser and has more windings than the on on the S20 Ultra. There’s also a heat pipe to draw heat away from the processor.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is the brand’s first true flagship succeeding the OnePlus 7T Pro. It’s price starts from $899 in the US and will be available in India after the lockdown lifts. As expected, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC, along with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. There’s a large 4,510mAh battery that tops up with 30W of wired and wireless charging, and offers a quad camera setup at the back. That includes two 48MP sensors, an 8MP telephoto lens and a colour filter lens. The OnePlus 8 Pro also rocks a 10-bit 6.78-inch AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Quite an interesting pacakge, this.

The price and availability of the OnePlus 8 Pro are not out yet. The smartphone is listed on Amazon India and OnePlus has said it will be revealing the price on Sunday, April 19 exclusively to Red Cable Club members.

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Indian Government prohibits Amazon, Flipkart e-commerce companies to sell mobile phones and laptops till lockdown ends

The Indian government has reversed its earlier order exempting e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart to ply normally from April 20 amidst the lockdown imposed to curb the Coronavirus pandemic. As mobile phone manufacturers including Xiaomi and Realme were gearing up to launch new products in the Indian markets, the revised order excludes e-commerce companies from delivering non-essential goods.

In an official order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs dated April 19, the government cites the Disaster Management Act and excludes a sub-clause from its earlier order that stated e-commerce companies would be able to operate with necessary permissions.

#IndiaFightsCorona Supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies to remain prohibited during #Lockdown2 to fight #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/6Jdvuzw6VJ

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) April 19, 2020

The order also states that the vehicles used by e-commerce operators to deliver non-essential goods won’t be allowed to operate as well.

With this, Xiaomi India that had announced commencing operations of its Mi Store just minutes back had to roll-back their decision and will not be taking orders of non-essential items from April 20.

Dear All, we have just received an update from the MHA suspending e-commerce for non essential items, affecting our decision about operating https://t.co/lzFXOcGyGQ from tomorrow. We are studying this, and will update you soon. We will of course follow all govt. guidelines.

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Google Meet to soon feature new grid-style layout and Gmail integration

 As the world is reeling from the Coronavirus outbreak, more people are staying home and some are even working from home. This has caused internet usage to skyrocket and video conferencing apps are seeing a lot of traffic. Video conferencing is one of the ways people can stay in touch with their loved ones and even attending official meetings. This has given apps like Google Meet new life. Google is taking the opportunity to add new features and improve Google Meet. Just as a reminder, Google Meet used to be called Google Hangouts. If you’d like to know more about why and how Google changed Hangouts into Meet, you can do so here. 

Google Meet will now get Gmail integration just like Hangouts, previously. The app will also feature a grid-style setup much like another video conferencing app in Zoom. These changes will start rolling out today. A part of the G-Suite package, Google Meet will receive a new option to join a video conference soon. Google has not given any specific dates but according to reports, it should start rolling out next month. The Meet app will also receive the option to show 16 video streams in a similar layout to Zoom, which is to say a grid-styled layout. 

Outer improvements include clearer video in low light environments and more comprehensive filtering of background noise. Users will also be able to access Google Meet from their Gmail account. The integration with Gmail should start rolling out today with the grid-style layout appearing later in the month. 

If you’d like to know more about which video conferencing apps you could and should use during the lockdown, you can check that out here. 

 

 

 

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Facebook is adding a new hug reaction to the Like button

The Coronavirus has torn through the entire globe and companies have come together to help people cope with the crisis. Some have gone out of their way to give the public more information while others like Sony have made games free to play in the comfort of your own home. Now, Facebook looks like it’s trying to help as well. The company has just added a new reaction alongside the Like button and its a ‘Hug’ option. 

We’re launching new Care reactions on @facebookapp and @Messenger as a way for people to share their support with one another during this unprecedented time. We hope these reactions give people additional ways to show their support during the #COVID19 crisis. pic.twitter.com/HunGyK8KQw

— Alexandru Voica (@alexvoica) April 17, 2020

The reaction is an animated emoji hugging a heart, representing a ‘show of support’ for your friends and family during these dangerous and trying times. You can always use the ‘Love’ reaction but according to Facebook, this shows that you support one another during this time. 

The reaction is not present on the Messenger app though and has been replaced by a purple heart instead. To access it, you have to open your reactions, then long-press on a message and the heart reaction and then tap OK to enable the purple heart reaction. 

On Facebook, we will launch a seventh Reaction alongside the existing six. The new Care Reaction will start rolling out next week globally and you can use it to react to posts, comments, images, videos, or other content on the app and https://t.co/t0PZL74vjg pic.twitter.com/PkpbCoPc4F

— Alexandru Voica (@alexvoica) April 17, 2020

This may not seem like a big step, but with more people interacting with each other because of the pandemic, it shows that even a small gesture might make a huge difference. Facebook could also be teaming up with Reliance to launch a WeChat-like app for India. You can read more about it here. 

The company has had its share of problems as well, with the Indian government demanding the social media giant to remove users spreading false information about the Coronavirus. You can read more about that here. The company has also launched a Messenger chatbot to share relevant info about the Coronavirus as well. You can read more about that here. 

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Microsoft adds five Indian languages to Microsoft Translator

Microsoft India has announced that Microsoft Translator will now offer real-time translation in five additional languages. The newly added languages include Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Punjabi. This takes the total number of Indian languages supported to 10, including Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.  With this, the service will now allow over 90% of Indians to access information and work in their native/preferred languages, making computing language-agnostic and more inclusive in the country.

According to Microsoft, “Language translation is a core part of Microsoft products and services. Users can avail the benefits of AI and Deep Neural Networks-enhanced, real-time translation in all these languages while using Bing and the Microsoft Translator website, as well as the Microsoft Translator App for Android, IOS and Windows. The Microsoft Translator app can recognize and translate languages from text, speech and even photos. Microsoft is also rolling out support for these languages in the Microsoft Office 365 and the Swiftkey keyboard”. 

 Sundar Srinivasan, General Manager, Microsoft India(R&D) Pvt. Ltd.,  said, “We’re committed to empower every Indian and every business in India by bringing the power of AI into their daily life. Microsoft celebrates the diversity of languages in India and wants to make the vast Internet even more accessible. We have supported Indian languages in computing for over two decades, and more recently have made significant strides on machine translation across languages. With this release, we are bringing in cutting edge machine learning tech to democratize access to information for everyone in India,”

Microsoft has been working to provide local language computing in Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localized text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool. Microsoft also announced support for email addresses in multiple Indian languages across most of its email apps and services. Through its global Local Language Program (LLP), Microsoft provides people access to technology in their native language.

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PlayStation 5 will be available in limited stocks at launch: Report

If information circulating the internet is to be believed, then Sony will produce fewer PS5 in its first fiscal year than the PS4. This is because the price of the console is expected to be higher than the launch price of the PS4 and may put off some customers to purchase the console at launch. 

According to Bloomberg, “The PS5’s loftier price tag may also deter initial take-up. Game developers who’ve been creating titles for the next PlayStation anticipate its price to be in the region of $499 to $549, and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Matthew Kanterman points to increased component costs pushing up the price required for Sony to break even. Sony has struggled with its price-setting decision for the PS5 because of scarce components.”

To put things into perspective, the PS4 had a launch price of $399 and sold 7.5 million units in its first two quarters when it launched back in November 2013. Sony is looking to sell 5 to 6 million units of the PS5 in the fiscal year ending March 2021. 

It is the price of the components and not the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the price of the console to rise. The COVID-19 pandemic has however thrown a wrench in Sony’s promotional plans for the console. This also includes the reveal of the new DualSense controller that will come with the PS5. Sony took to a blog post to reveal the controller as it wanted to stay ahead of leaks that could possibly result as the company started shipping the new controller to developers. 

The Bloomberg report goes on to say, “Sony’s strategy, according to several people familiar with its plans, will be to rely on incumbent PlayStation 4 models as a bridge to get new users onto the PlayStation platform’s network services while the PS5 remains in limited supply, the people said.”

It is possible that we will see a reduction in the price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro making them attractive propositions when the PS5 launches. In other PlayStation news, one of the consoles' most highly anticipated games of 2020, the Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely due to the Coronavirus. You can read more about it here. If you own a PS4 and are looking to enjoy some games on it, then you can check out our list of the best PS4 games to play right now, here. You can also check out our comparison between the PS5 and Xbox Series X here.

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Cyberpunk 2077 themed Xbox One X to launch in June

Microsoft’s next-generation console, the Xbox Series X is launching towards the end of 2020, but that doesn't mean the company is giving up on its current flagship console. Throughout the life of the Xbox One, we have seen some interesting custom-designed consoles and now we have one based on Cyberpunk 2077. The console will come with 1TB built-in storage and a custom design that makes it resemble the Cyberpunk 2077 theme. The console comes with decals that glow in the dark along with laser etchings and a blue LED light at the front. It also has custom panels. The console is officially called the 1TB Xbox One X Cyberpunk 2077 Limited Edition Bundle. 

From the reveal video, there is no denying that the console does look very attractive. Microsoft has had quite a few cool limited edition designs for its consoles some of which include the Gears 5 edition, the Battlefield V Gold Rush edition, and of course the Project Scorpio edition Xbox One X. There are of course many more. Microsoft also gives users in the US the ability to customize controllers online giving your gaming gear a custom look. 

If you are looking to pick up an Xbox One X in 2020, it makes sense as Microsoft has said that all first-party exclusive games that launch for 1 year after the launch of the Series X will be playable on the Xbox One. This includes games like Halo Infinite, Hellblade Senua’s Saga and more. You can check out why we think it makes sense to pick up an Xbox One X in 2020 here.

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