Google releases third Android 11 Developer Preview

Google has started rolling out the third Developer Preview of Android 11 to Pixel devices. The update brings with it security patches for April and runs Google Play Services version 20.12.14. As always, we recommend staying away from flashing developer preview versions of any OS on your primary device.

According to Google, this update offers bug fixes and a number of productivity improvements. There’s nothing here to really understand what the third update contains. However, given that Developer Previews are usual “alpha” versions of the OS, this just seems like an update geared towards making the operating system stable for running apps.

Google usually runs a public beta program for its upcoming mobile operating system, once the OS reaches a certain level of stability. Even the public beta builds are not advisable to be used on a daily driver since commonly used apps can often have compatibility issues.

If you’re already running a developer build on your Pixel device, you can simply upgrade via the OTA route. If you prefer a clean install, you could also just flash a factory image which can be had from the link here.

The excitement around Android 11 is understandable. The next iteration of Google’s Mobile operating system is set to bring some very exciting features to users. For starters, there’s going to be native screen recording built into Android, along with the ability to mute notifications during video playback. Android 11 will also bring the ability to bring back notifications that were automatically dismissed.

The first developer preview of Android 11 was released in February, with the second one coming in March and the third in April. Android 11 was expected to be announced at I/O this year, but Google had earlier said that they are cancelling the event altogether due to the Coronavirus. Unlike some other brands who are still holding launches and announcements over Livestream, Google I/O 2020 will not be streamed either.

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Apples official TikTok account goes live as users await its first post

Apple has an official TikTok account now but the company hasn’t posted anything yet. Apple’s account came into the spotlight earlier today and going by the follower's count, it’s a relatively new account it seems. The account was spotted by many users on the popular social media platform and many of them subsequently took to Twitter to post this information.

Interestingly, Apple doesn’t use Twitter even though it has a verified profile on the microblogging platform. It’s an account on TikTok currently has over 7000+ followers and has a verified badge that proves it’s an official account of the company.

However, it’s unclear how Apple wants to leverage TikTok but it’s likely that the profile is used for advertising on the short-video platform, much like how the company uses Twitter.

Moreover, Apple could just take it’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign further with TikTok videos that are shot and edited on an iPhone. This campaign has already garnered over 23 million followers on Instagram and continues to be one of the most popular accounts on the platform. Apple could potentially use TikTok in the same way if it plans to.

TikTok has more than 800 million active users worldwide and over 31 per cent of those users are from India. The platform is being used by brands and artists alike and companies are leaving no stone unturned in cashing in on all types of engagement as possible on the app. TikTok is a platform where people can create short lip-synced videos and post it on the app. It’s got a wide range of editing tools available, using which one can create different kinds of videos on TikTok.

In India, TikTok was recently asked to remove profiles of users who were peddling misinformation around the Coronavirus outbreak in the country by the government. At a time when people are forced to stay at home, some users on TikTok are creating videos that spread misinformation around COVID-19 and its diagnosis. Hence the government asked both TikTok and Facebook to take action on such user accounts. Nevertheless, TikTok continues to see a surge in new users.

 

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Realme 6 Pro camera gets better with new OTA update

Realme has started rolling out the April 2020 security patch with a fresh OTA update for Realme 3 and Realme 6 Pro. The company has shared the news on its community forum with the complete changelog. 

The rollout will be done in stages, so some of you might have to wait for a couple of days. Realme wants to hold the update for masses until they receive a stable response and has no critical bugs. You can check for the update on your phone by going to Software Update in Settings. If you don’t find it and can’t wait for it, you can still download it manually from the Realme support page. The file size for Realme 3 is 2.04GB, and it’s 3.37GB for Realme 6 Pro. 

The update version RMX1821EX_11.A.28 for Realme 3 doesn’t bring any significant change apart from general bug fixes, stability improvements and April security patch. 

The update version RMX2061_11_A.15 for the Realme 6 Pro, however, brings a lot more than just April security patch. System-level improvements bring a fix for the buggy status bar while unlocking which we raised in our review as well. Also, the Bluetooth headset latency while playing games is said to be fixed. You can find the complete changelog here.

The camera has received some notable upgrades including an ultra-dark mode for the rear camera. Realme also says the quality of photos shot from the 64MP sensor is now better optimised. Other improvements include a fix for auto-switching camera modes without a prompt, front camera overexposure in backlit conditions and beauty mode adjustments.

In our review, we found the daylight camera performance of the Realme 6 Pro camera to be good enough for its price. Unfortunately, we did not get test it properly in the low-lit environments, but with the new ultra-dark update, we think it’s the right time to test it in dimmer conditions.

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iPhone SE 2020 teardown reveals how Apple made it so affordable for the masses

Apple iPhone SE 2020 was announced a week ago on April 15, with sales commencing in many regions from April 24. Apple’s budget offering comes at a time when the world is facing a severe health crisis but it’s still not available in India due to the restrictions put in place by the government to curb the spread of Coronavirus. However, a new video has been posted on YouTube which tears-down the new iPhone SE, part by part, only to discover how Apple was able to make it so affordable.

The teardown video posted on a YouTube channel shows eerie similarities between the iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone 8. But’s that’s not all, by the end of the video, Jiang, who’s the presenter in the video proves that the new iPhone SE share most hardware with the iPhone 8 except for the chipset, rear camera and the battery connector.

iPhone SE 2020 teardown: What did Apple really change?

Apple iPhone SE 2020 is an affordable offering by the company’s own standards. There are noticeable cosmetic differences between the SE 2020 and iPhone 8 such as the position of the brand logo and the words “iPhone” etched into the bottom half of the rear panel. 

Both the phones have the same form factor and measure 7.3mm at the thickest point and weigh 148 grams. Inside, the internals of the SE 2020 has been arranged like that on the iPhone 8. The battery size the same while the speaker, haptic engine, motherboard, camera and even the antennas are placed in the same position.

The display on the iPhone SE 2020 works if paired up with the iPhone 8, essentially proving that it’s the same universal screen. Moreover, the other components such as the front-facing camera, speaker and haptic engine are the same as iPhone 8. This is revealed when Jiang connects the iPhone 8’s motherboard to the SE 2020 and it works almost perfectly, save for the rear camera.

Jiang notes that essentially what’s upgraded in the iPhone SE 2020 is the CPU, rear camera, Wi-Fi and the battery connector (though the size remains the same). This would make the SE 2020 an easier phone to produce as Apple has been manufacturing these parts from the past few years.

Recently, AnTuTu scores of the iPhone SE 2020 were released where it was awarded a score of 492166 points. That’s figure is almost a 5% drop in the score if you compare it with iPhone 11’s AnTuTu score which stands at 517400 points. This could be due to various reasons such as less RAM but as we reported earlier, the issue is fairly a logical one. Apple seems to have underclocked the A13 Bionic chipset for the SE 2020 in order to ensure that it performs efficiently over time.

That said, the real-world performance of the iPhone SE 2020 is expected to be smooth and users won’t be able to make much of a difference, except of course when playing graphic-intensive games that require sustained performance.

Apple iPhone SE 2020 starts at Rs 42,500 in India but availability details of the phone are awaited. It’s likely that users will only be able to get their hands on the new SE after the lockdown ends or the Indian government lists mobile phones as essential goods in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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Windows 10 KB4549951 allegedly causing BSOD and deleting data

Another Microsoft Windows Update has run afoul and is causing system crashes, blue screens of death and even data loss for several users. The update in questions is the KB4549951 for Windows 10 that Microsoft rolled on April 14, which has been causing issues for some users.

The KB4549951 update, according to Microsoft’s changelog, was supposed to bring updated security when using Microsoft Office and also when Windows performs basic tasks. Additionally, the update also brought some updates to the way Windows updates and stores files. In the known issues section, Microsoft does not list any problems with the update. The problem becomes worse when users report that the error code reported by the BSOD is just general stop codes with no clear pattern. So far, the following stop codes have been reported:

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED ACPI_BIOS_ERROR INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE MEMORY_MANAGEMENT DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION Portcls.sys

In addition, a number of users have also reported that after installing the update, their files have gone missing. Some users reported their documents and photos disappearing while others said their browser bookmarks vanished. The worst reports are of users who have said their systems went into BSOD loops, leading to complete system failure. Sadly, this is not the first Windows 10 update that's broken users' computers.

While the above accounts from multiple users may be true, the author of this story has faced none of the issues highlighted above. In case you find that your system has been adversely impacted by the KB4549951 update, you could potentially roll it back from the Windows recovery menu. You would need the Windows Installation media and once you boot up using that, the option to roll back the bad update should be available to you under the troubleshoot menu. Do note that this method is known to fail on some occasions, and does not have a 100 percent reliability rate.

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iQOO3 price cut makes it the cheapest Snapdragon 865 flagship in India

iQOO has revised the price of its flagship iQOO 3 in India and it starts from Rs 34,990 after the price drop. The iQOO 3 was launched in February this year at a starting price of Rs 38,990 and comes in both 4G and 5G variants. It will be available in two colours-- Quantum Silver and Tornado Black on Flipkart and iQOO India store. Since the delivery of non-essential goods such as mobile phones is currently prohibited by the Indian government, the iQOO 3 will go on sale once the restrictions lift.

iQOO 3 price revision comes after the launch of two high-profile smartphones launches in the world that’s still dealing with a global health crisis. The OnePlus 8 series followed by Apple’s iPhone SE 2020 was announced recently along with their Indian pricing. iQOO takes an advantage over here as it’s offering a 4G variant of its Snapdragon 865 powered smartphone that makes it a rather affordable deal when you look at all the other flagship phones currently available in the country.

iQOO 3 new revised prices

The iQOO 3 will be available in three variants starting from Rs 34,990 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, Rs 37,990 for the 256GB storage variant and Rs 44,990 for the maxed-out variant with 5G support, 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

iQOO 3 specifications

iQOO 3 features a 6.44-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an AMOLED panel that topped by a layer of Gorilla Glass 6. The screen has a punch-hole cutout on the front that houses a 16MP selfie camera and gives it a 20:9 aspect ratio. A fingerprint reader is also embedded underneath the screen that allows users to unlock the phone in a jiffy.

The phone is powered by top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with upto 12GB RAM and upto 256GB UFS 3.1 storage options to choose from. The phone runs on a forked version of Android 10 that the company calls iQOO UI 1.0.

iQOO 3 has a quad-camera setup on the back that includes a 48MP primary camera, a 13MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, another 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor. The rear cameras can do 4K UHD videos at upto 60fps with support for EIS.

The phone comes with Wi-FI 6, USB Type-C port for charging along with the standard set of sensors and connectivity features, including a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The iQOO 3 has a 4,400mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging via Super Flash Charge 2.0 solution.

 

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Apple fixes critical iOS vulnerability that hackers used to steal private data for years

Apple has released an iOS patch that fixes a critical flaw that allowed hackers to gain access to your iPhone or iPad and your private data. This particular flaw left more than a billion iPhones at potential risk of exploitation by unauthorized users. The flaw was discovered only recently but is said to be present in iPhones dating back to iOS 6 that was launched in 2012.

The vulnerability was first discovered by ZecOps, a San Francisco based cybersecurity firm who was looking into a security breach at the behest of a Fortune 500 company in North America. In a blog post, the company details the flaw that could have been used by hackers from years now.

Default iOS Mail app found at risk

The default iOS Mail app, in this case, was found to be vulnerable and could be exploited by creating and sending a special mail that triggered the flaw causing your iPhone or iPad to completely shut down. What’s also surprising about this security flaw is that the mail doesn’t need to be read by the receiver and is, therefore, a qualified to be called an unassisted attack.

ZecOps says that the security flaw can grant remote code execution (RCE) capabilities to intruders infecting the device by sending emails. These emails aren’t large but are powerful enough to consume a lot of RAM sending the device into a frenzy. This leads to a potential crash after which the intruders can access the victim's private data and more. The attackers also have the access to reset you iPhone leaving all the data in the air.

The company has revealed that this particular vulnerability has been triggered previously and the suspected target list includes people from a Fortune 500 company, a German VIP, security service providers in Saudi Arabia and Israel, a European journalist and an executive of a carrier company in Japan.

Apple has recently acknowledged the security risk and has issued a patch in iOS 13.4.5 beta update that’s said to be rolled out publically in the coming weeks. Till the time your iOS device isn’t running on the patched version, you can consider disabling the default Mail app on your iPhone or iPad and wait for the latest iOS 13.4.5 update.

 

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