YouTube lifts restrictions on 1080p HD video streaming in India but theres a catch

YouTube mobile has lifted restrictions on 1080p HD video streaming in India after limiting the streaming quality to 480p or Standard Definition (SD). This was done in an effort to minimize stress on the bandwidth availability as Coronavirus outbreak forced everyone to stay at home and even work from home which resulted in increased use of home Internet and broadband. Google also observed a major uptake in the number of people streaming YouTube videos throughout the day which is why it decided to reduce the streaming quality so as to prevent a major outage of the servers and the system.

Four months from announcing this change, Google is now allowing users on Wi-Fi to streaming YouTube videos in HD 720p, Full HD 1080p and more. However, you can only watch videos on YouTube in HD and above quality if you are using a Wi-Fi network. Otherwise, the YouTube app defaults all videos to 480p quality.

YouTube lifts restrictions on 1080p HD video streaming

Interestingly, the restrictions were in place just for mobile users during this period of lockdown and on PCs, we were able to watch a YouTube video in 4K UHD without any issues. Earlier, even if you’re connected to a home Wi-Fi network, your mobile device will not stream YouTube content in quality higher than 480p. In fact, if you choose to forego the YouTube app and use the browser on your phone instead, you can get a slightly higher quality stream at 720p.

YouTube was not the only streaming platform to restrict or reduce streaming quality as telecom operators had also urged Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar to lower streaming quality on their respective platforms to reduce the impending strain on network connectivity. According to several reports, online streaming saw over 20 percent increase since the Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown measures across the world.

Now, YouTube has lifted the restrictions on streaming quality for Wi-Fi users, allowing them to watch videos in HD. While Google hasn’t officially given a statement, we expect YouTube to further ease streaming quality in the coming weeks, even for those who use a cellular connection to browse YouTube.

 

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Nubia Red Magic 5S with Snapdragon 865 Plus in the works, company confirms

Nubia Red Magic 5S has been teased by the company and has been confirmed to launch with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset that was recently announced. This new chipset is slated to make an appearance inside a number of gaming smartphones due out this year like the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 3. Nubia Red Magic 5G was unveiled in March, earlier this year.

Nubia took to Weibo to announce the existence of a sequel to the Red Magic 5G by posting a teaser image with the Red Magic 5S. Going by the company’s traditional way of launching smartphones, it’s likely that the Red Magic 5S is an incremental upgraded to the Red Magic 5G that launched earlier this year.

With the announcement of the Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset which boasts of fast and smooth gaming performance, many gaming smartphone makers have announced their plans of launching new gaming phones like the Lenovo Legion 5G and Asus ROG Phone 3.

Nubia Red Magic 5G specifications

The Nubia Red Magic 5G features a 6.65-inch Full HD+ (1080 x2340 pixels) AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certified panel has a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio without any notch or punch hole. The screen also has an in-display fingerprint sensor.

It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip clocked at 2.84GHz. It comes with up to 16GB of dual-channel LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. Moreover, there is the usual liquid cooling system that is accompanied by copper foils, thermal gels, and graphite. The phone has a dedicated 15,000RPM fan and an external vent to dissipate heat.

The Nubia Red Magic 5G sports a triple rear camera setup, a 64MP primary Sony IMX686 sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro snapper. On the front, there is an 8MP selfie shooter.

It packs a 4500mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging. It runs Red Magic OS based on Android 10. The phone comes in three colour options: Hacker Black, Mars Red, and Cyber Neon. There is also a Transparent Edition.

The Nubia Red Magic 5G is priced at CNY 3,799 (~Rs 42,000) for the base 8GB RAM + 128GB model. The top-of-the-line 16GB+256GB transparent edition model is priced at CNY 5,199 (~Rs 55,000).

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UC Browser, UC News stops services amidst ban on Chinese apps in India

UC Web, the company behind the UC Browser, UC News and Vmate has stopped its services in India owing to the ban on its three popular apps. The Indian government, on June 29, issued a blanket ban on 59 mobile apps including TikTok, Shareit and more citing national security issues with these apps that either originate from China or have links to the Chinese state.

Now, as a follow-up to the ban imposed on UC Browser, UC Web and Vmate apps in India, Alibaba Group Holdings owned UC Web has halted its services and has laid-off some staffers according to some reports. As per a UC spokesperson, the company is terminating its services indefinitely. “We have complied with the government’s recent directive concerning 59 apps and stopped the service,” UC Web said in a statement to the press.

UC Browser, UC News stops services amidst ban on Chinese apps in India

After the ban imposed on three of its popular apps in India, UC Web issued a letter to its employees and as per a report by Reuters, the company has terminated its services due to the ban which prevents the company from currently operating in the country. It’s unclear whether UC Web is temporarily stopping its services or has completely exited the country.

In 2017, a year after its launch, UC News reportedly had 100 million active users and in 2018, UC Browser became the sixth most-downloaded app in India and crossed 130 million monthly active users shortly afterwards. The offices of the UC Web in Mumbai and Gurugram have been shut down and it’s unclear whether the employees will be compensated for the closure of UC Web’s business in India. 

The Indian government, in its order, states that it has found these apps “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order.” In the following days, all the 59 apps were removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store with some companies stopping their services such as TikTok and more. As the order is in effect, these apps cannot operate in India and have to be temporarily shut down until the ban is lifted.

 

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Nubia Announces Red Magic 5S Development, Snapdragon 865+ SoC Teased

Nubia Red Magic 5S will launch as a new version of the Nubia Red Magic 5G that was unveiled in March this year. The company shared the development on Weibo and further teased that phone will pack the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ SoC.

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Phillips launches 50 and 58-inch 4K HDR TVs starting at Rs 1,05,990

Philips has launched 2 4K HDR TVs in India. The TVs are available in two screen sizes 50-inch with the model number 50PUT6604 and 58-inch with the model number 58PUT6604. The 50-inch variant is priced at Rs 1,05,990 while the 58-inch variant is priced at Rs 1,19,990. Both the TVs support 4K HDR with support for Dolby Vision. The TV runs on its own SAPHI UI and doesn’t bring any built-in voice assistant support. Apart from the screen size, both TVs have the same features and specifications. 

Commenting on the launch of the new televisions, Mr Shailesh Prabhu, Country Head, TPV Technology India Pvt. Ltd. said “A new Philips TV is always designed to match the lifestyle and taste of those discerning individuals who are looking for a unique viewing experience. With a borderless narrow profile and features like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, this range is aimed at delivering better picture quality and incredible surround sound to make the content look and sound gloriously real. Consumers will now be able to experience powerful audio and enjoy a sharper picture with superior depth, contrast, natural motion and vivid details.”

Philips 50-inch 50PUT6604 and 58-inch 58PUT6604 specifications

As the model number suggests, the TV is available in two screen sizes - 50-inch and 58-inch. Apart from the screen size, the features and specifications on offer on both the Philips 50PUT6604 and the 58PUT6604 are the same. So let’s dive in. As we mentioned above, the TV has a resolution go 4K (3840 x 2160) along with support for HDR 10, HDR 10 Plus, HLG and Dolby Vision. 

The TV doesn’t run on Android TV. it runs on SAPHI UI bringing with it support for streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and more. The TV also supports Micro Dimming. The TV is “Wi-Fi Miracast certified” and has the ability to auto-detect Philips devices. Under the hood, the TV has a quad-core processor. 

Moving to connectivity, the Philips 50PUT6604 and the 58PUT6604 come with 3HDMI ports with support for ARC and 2 USB ports. It comes with Wi-Fi connectivity along with ethernet support. It also comes with a headphone out port. All the HDMI ports on the TV are HDCP 2.2.

Moving over to audio, the TV supports Dolby Atmos encoding. It comes with 2 10W full-range drivers giving you a total sound output of 20W. The remote control that comes with the TV has dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix. 

Philips 50-inch 50PUT6604 and 58-inch 58PUT6604 specifications

Both the 50-inch and 58-inch Philips TVs are available online and offline. The 50-inch 50PUT6604 is priced at Rs 1,05,990 while the 58-inch 58PUT6604 is priced at Rs 1,19,990.

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Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro and Vivo TWS Earphone Neo launched in India: Specifications, pricing and availability

Vivo X50 and Vivo X50 Pro have launched in India as part of the company’s X50 series alongside the Vivo TWS Earphone Neo. The X50 and X50 Pro are the first smartphones to come packed with Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset in the country, something which OnePlus was gunning for with its new affordable smartphone, the OnePlus Nord which launches on July 21. Another highlight about the X50 Pro is that it comes with one-of-a-kind Gimbal camera system which helps in creating long-exposure shots and ensures stable video recording. 

Vivo has also launched it’s first truly wireless earphones, the Vivo TWS Earphone Neo that boasts of upto 22.5 hours of battery life with the carrying case and works over Bluetooth 5.2 with low latency.

Here’s a brief look at the specifications, features, pricing and availability of the Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro and Vivo TWS Earphone Neo.

Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro pricing and availability

Vivo X50 starts at Rs 34,990 in India for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and Rs 37,990 for the 256GB storage variant. The Vivo X50 Pro is priced at Rs 49,990 and comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.

The first sale of Vivo X50 series is scheduled for July 24 on Amazon India, Flipart and other major online/offline retailers. The X50 comes in two colours-- Frost Blue and Glaze Black while the X50 Pro comes in Alpha Grey colour.

Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro specifications

Vivo X50 and Vivo X50 Pro feature 6.56-inch Full HD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels) resolution screen that uses an AMOLED panel with a punch-hole cutout on the top-left corner. The difference between both the display’s is that the screen on the X50 Pro tapers on the edges giving it a 3D curved design and a slightly wider screen-to-body ratio. The display on both the phones is certified for HDR10+ playback and has a high 90Hz refresh rate.

Both the X50 and X50 Pro are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset which comes baked in with 5G support and has an octa-core CPU clocked at upto 2.4GHz with Adreno 620 GPU to boot. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and upto 256GB internal storage. The phones run on FuntouchOS 10.5 which is based on Android 10.

The X50 and X50 Pro come with quad-cameras on the back but the X50 uses a macro camera while the X50 Pro has a telephoto camera with Gimbal camera system. The X50 has a 48MP primary camera with an f/1.6 aperture, a 13MP bokeh camera with 2X optical zoom, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 120-degree field-of-view and a 5MP macro camera. 

The X50 Pro, on the other hand, has an 8MP telephoto camera that offers 5X optical zoom (upto 60X digital zoom) and the primary 48MP camera supports Gimbal, OIS and EIS stabalization systems. Both phones can record in 4K UHD at 30FPS and have a 32MP selfie camera on the front, housed within the punch-hole cutout.

Both the phones come with in-display optical fingerprint sensor for faster unlocks. The Vivo X50 has a 4,200mAh battery while the X50 Pro is fitted with a 4,315mAh battery. Both phones support 33W fast charging out-of-the-box and Vivo claims that the phones can go from 0-57% in 30 minutes.

Vivo TWS Earphone Neo features and pricing

Vivo TWS Earphone Neo is the company’s first truly wireless earphones that features a semi in-ear design and comes with 14.2mm dynamic drivers. The Earphone Neo supports aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC audio codecs and have dual microphones with beamforming technology that should offer a decent level of noise cancellation when on calls.

The TWS Earphone Neo is IP54 rated making it water and dust resistant and the charging case is also water resistant. The earphones connect to your smartphone over Bluetooth 5.2 and offers 88ms low latency. It also has an ear-detection feature that will automatically play/pause music playback whenever the user puts them on or off. These earphones also come with touch controls to manage music playback, incoming calls, wake up Google Assistant and colume controls.

Vivo TWS Earphone Neo uses a Type-C port to charge the carrying case which the company claims takes around 100 minutes to fully charge. It offers upto 4.5 hours worth of music listening on a single charge and 22.5 hours with the use of charging case. 

Vivo TWS Earphone Neo is priced at Rs 5,990 in India with availability details being awaited.

 

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TSMC Reports Record Q2 Profits on Demand for Faster Chips

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) said on Thursday that quarterly net profit surged 81 percent to a record level on robust orders for advanced chips.

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