WhatsApp will let users sync chat history across platforms: Report

Information circulating the interwebs suggests that a users WhatsApp chats will be backed up across multiple devices once the multiple device feature is live. So if you like, you should be able to continue a chat from another device, once you are logged in on multiple devices. Recently it was reported that a user will be able to use his WhatsApp account across multiplied devices. The limit for these devices will be 4. It looks like when a user logs in on these devices, his/her chat will be backed up across all the devices. 

WhatsApp will let users sync chat history across platforms

Till now a user could use a WhatsApp account on a single smartphone. You do have the option to use WhatsApp for web by scanning a QR code on the desktop app via the mobile app to create the sync. The multiple device support will be across Android and iOS devices. According to wabetainfo, “When someone adds a new device in his WhatsApp account, you will be notified because encryption keys change”.

Testing When someone adds a new device in his WhatsApp account, you will be notified because encryption keys change. Available in future for iOS and Android! pic.twitter.com/WqrM6cRHWW

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 24, 2020

WhatsApp has been working on adding new features for its users. WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature called 'search the web' to fight fake news. The new feature is an easy way to verify any forwarded message on WhatsApp, however, it is not available in India. You can read more about it here.     

WhatsApp is also reportedly working on a Mute Always option so users can mute a group or chat forever if they like. You can read more about it here. You can also learn how to share your location using WhatsApp here.

WhatsApp has also increased the limit of group video calling from 4 people to 8. They did this when the nation went into lockdown and people were using video chat options to stay in touch with family and friends in addition to colleagues for work. Remember, to be able to talk to 8 people, all of them need to update the app. You can learn more about it here.

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Can Huaweis Kirin SoC survive the US Ban

In around a month’s time, Huawei stands to lose access to TSMC as the US ban on doing business for Huawei takes permanent effect from September 15, 2020. As a result, Huawei confirmed the Mate 40 series will be the last to feature a HiSilicon Kirin SoC, Huawei’s proprietary silicon it has been using on all its smartphones for the past few years.

According to XDA Developers, Huawei’s President of Consumer Business Group Richard Yu said the Mate 40 will be the end of the road for Kirin processors. The reason for the abrupt end of the journey is because after September 15, TSMC won’t be allowed to source components and equipment from the US to make Kirin chips on behalf of HiSilicon, owned by Huawei. As a result, mass production of Kirin chips by TSMC will stop next month.

Huawei is one of the few OEMs like Samsung and Apple who design their chips in-house, with the processors manufactured by TSMC, the largest silicon manufacturer based out of Taiwan.

Owing to the ban, the Kirin 1020 will be the last high-end Kirin chip, expected to power the Mate 40 series due to launch in October, albeit without the support of Google apps. TSMC will supply them to Huawei by September 14.

Is this the end of road for Huawei flagships?

It’s certainly an end of an era, at least until the ban is in place. The Kirin chips have competed toe-to-toe with Qualcomm, MediaTek and even Apple, in terms of performance and power efficiency over generations. It also beat other silicon makers to be the first to integrate a 5G modem into the SoC. But while Huawei may not be allowed to manufacture its own chips, it still has some options to choose from.

Qualcomm is reportedly lobbying the US Goverment for a license to sell Snapdragaon chips to Huawei, according to the Wall Street Journal. The sanction on doing business with Huawei can be waived off for US companies, provided they acquire a license, like Microsoft did to supply Windows OS to Huawei. Qualcomm has argued that with Huawei unable to make its own chips, it gives foreign rivals with an opportunity to swoop in, and dethrone America from the top. Qualcomm can also become a leading 5G modem supplier in China, as a result of the move, which would be favourable for US interests.

Leaving aside Qualcomm, Huawei still has Samsung and MediaTek to choose from. The former produces chips that compete head-on with the best mobile processors and is almost ready with its 5nm EUV manufacturing process. Neither of them confirmed helping out Huawei as of now, though.

Can China help Huawei make Kirin chips?

With TSMC out of the equation from September, Huawei make look homewards at China’s own semiconductor foundry, SMIC. It is the largest silicon foundry in China presently and the most advanced node is a 14nm FinFET process. That’s likely a big disadvantage for the high-end segment considering both Samsung and TSMC has switched to 7nm, but not much for the mid-range and entry-level segment where HiSilicon still has a presence. In fact, Qualcomm had its Snapdragon 410 and 412 SoCs manufactured by SMIC.

More than that, the issue is of scale. Huawei is the second largest smartphone brand in the world and will need millions of chips to retain its dominance in the market. SMIC cannot offer that scale, at present.

But that may soon change. SMIC benefits through the patronage of the Chinese government. With the ban coming into place and it became clear TSMC will be unable to make chips for Huawei by the end of 2020, China reportedly invested $2.2 billion into setting up a new manufacturing plant for SMIC.

Huawei has been slowly shifting production from TSMC to SMIC’s 14nm node over the past few months. Only the mid-range chips though. However, with the new investment in place, SMIC claims it will be ready with a 7nm node in Q4 2021. But that's likely going to be the long-term solution for the world's second largest smartphone maker. In the short run, Huawei may stand to lose footing in the flagship segment altogether, after the Mate 40 series launches this year.

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Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and Redmi K30 Ultra with 120Hz display set to launch on August 11

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and Redmi K30 Ultra will launch on August 11 as part of the company’s 10th-anniversary celebrations in China. Xiaomi has officially confirmed the upcoming announcement of both the phones and some of the key features along with storage variants and colour options are already out in the open. Apart from these new additions, Xiaomi is also expected to launch a 55-inch OLED TV and a 55W fast wireless charger.

The Mi 10 series and Redmi K30 series were both announced globally in March, earlier this year. The new ‘Ultra’ variants aim to offer slight upgrades such as bringing in high refresh rate display and advanced fast charging out-of-the-box. Some posters of the upcoming Mi 10 Ultra have been leaked already, giving us a brief look at the phone that’s slated to come with a periscope camera with 120x digital zoom and a 120Hz or 144Hz high-refresh-rate display. Similarly, the Redmi K30 Ultra is set to pack in a 120Hz refresh rate display up from the 90Hz panel on the Redmi K30 Pro.

Let’s take a brief look at the Mi 10 Ultra and Redmi K30 Ultra based on leaked specifications and rumours.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra leaked specifications

According to some leaks, the Mi 10 Ultra is expected to come in two colours, white and a Transparent Edition. Some official-looking banners made it online, giving us our first look at the upcoming phone along with a real-life image of the retail box if the Mi 10 Ultra. One of the most noticeable changes comes in the form of a periscope lens instead of the telephoto lens from the Mi 10 Pro. This periscope lens comes with upto 120x digital zoom which will form the marketing crux when the phone launches. The other three cameras are expected to be the same as on the Mi 10 Pro.

The Mi 10 Ultra is rumoured to feature a Full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 120Hz high refresh rate. It is likely, the screen size remains the same at 6.67-inches and is HDR10+ certified as well. It is rumoured to be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset paired with UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5 RAM. The phone has also been leaked to comes with an improved vapour cooling chamber which helps in keeping the phone’s thermals in check.

The phone is expected to come with a 4,500mAh battery with support for 100W or 120W fast charging out of the box. It is also compatible with a 55W fast wireless charger that will debut alongside during the event. As per some leaked info, the Mi 10 Ultra in white colour will be offered with 8GB RAM/256GB storage and 12GB/256GB storage while the transparent variant is expected to come in 12GB/256GB and 16GB/512GB options to choose from.

Xiaomi Redmi K30 Ultra leaked specifications

The Redmi K30 Ultra builds upon the K30 Pro with a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen that has a 120Hz high-refresh-rate and a pop-up selfie camera. The K30 Ultra is rumoured to be powered by MediaTek Dimesnity 1000+ chipset with an octa-core CPU. This could be paired with 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB/128GB or a 512GB storage variant. 

The Redmi K30 Ultra is rumoured to come with a 64MP quad-camera setup on the back along with a 5MP telephoto camera, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s a 20MP selfie camera housed within the pop-up mechanism on top. 

It comes with a 4,400mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging out-of-the-box. We’ll know more details about the new smartphone during the launch which is scheduled for August 11.

 

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Suicide Squad Game Announced by Batman: Arkham Studio Rocksteady

Suicide Squad is set to get a game of its own soon. Rocksteady Studios — the developer best known for the Batman: Arkham series — has announced that it’s working on Suicide Squad. It will involve Superman in some capacity. More details will be revealed at DC FanDome on August 22.

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Nokia to launch 50-inch and 32-inch TV in India: Report

If information circulating the internet is to be believed, then Nokia could add 2 new TVs to its portfolio in India. As per a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification, it looks like Nokia could launch a 50-inch and 32-inch TV In India. The first Nokia TV to launch in India was the 55-inch TV followed by a 43-inch TV and last week we saw the launch of a 65-inch TV as well in Nokia’s portfolio. 

As per the listing, the 50-inch TV and the 32-inch TV have the model number 50TAUHDN and 32TAHDN. The UHD in the model number of the 50-inch TV signifies that it could be a 4K TV just like the other TVs in Nokia’s portfolio. However, it looks like the 32-inch variant could be an HD or FHD TV as the model number has “HD” only in its name. To put things into perspective, the Nokia 43-inch TV has the model number 43CAUHDN, while the 55-inch variant has the model number 55CAUHDN and the 65-inch variant carries the model number 65CAUHDN. 

Just like the other TVs in Nokia’s portfolio, it is possible that the new 50-inch and 32-inch TV will run on the Android TV platform, bringing with it access to streaming services built-in, along with access to features like Chromecast built-in, Google Assistant support and access to the Play Store.

With the addition of a 32-inch and 50-inch TV, Nokia will compete over a wide range of screen sizes in the buzzing TV space. What remains to be seen is whether the two new additions bring with them the same design and features as the existing portfolio including the central stand, and the audio powered by JBL. 

Nokia 50-inch and 32-inch TV expected price

The key piece of unknown information is the price at which these TVs could launch. Since the 55-inch Nokia TV sells for Rs 41,999 it could be possible for Nokia to sell the TV under the 40K price point. It could even be priced close to the 35K mark to compete with existing models with a 50-inch screen size. Coming to the 32-inch variant, we have TVs for as low as Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 in this price space and we think this could be where Nokia may price its 32-inch TV. However, these prices are just speculation on our part as there is no official information available about the same. 

As mentioned above, Nokia recently launched a 65-inch TV in India. It is a 4K HDR TV with support for HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. The panel has a maximum brightness of 480 nits. It runs on Android and comes with access to the Play Store, streaming services, Chromecast built-in along with the Google Assistant. You can read more about the 65-inch TV here. You can also read details of the 43-inch Nokia TV here and the 55-inch Nokia TV here.

Source

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Xbox Series S May Have Been Confirmed via Leaked Controller Packaging; Console Said to Launch This Month

Xbox Series S seems to have been confirmed through a set of images posted on Twitter. Microsoft is expected to launch a second more affordable console under the Series S.

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Microsoft Xbox Series S has leaked once again

The next-gen consoles are just around the corner and while Sony has shown off the design of the PS5 and the PS5 digital edition, Microsoft has only shown off the Xbox Series X. However, numerous leaks have hinted at the existence of the Series S including Microsoft's own internal documents. The less powerful Series S has the codename, Lockhart. New information has emerged suggesting the existence of the console. 

Microsoft Xbox Series S has leaked once again

Twitter user Zak S was able to purchase the controller from a resale site and the packaging of the controller confirms its compatibility with the Xbox Series X along with the Series S. The Verge was able to confirm that it was genuine. According to The Verge, “Twitter user Zak S was able to purchase the controller today, and we’ve confirmed it’s genuine”. The Verge goes on to highlight, “ the side of the packaging notes that the controller works with both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles.”

Xbox series X controller found in the wild!! pic.twitter.com/TEns4z45CB

— Zak S (@zakk_exe) August 9, 2020

Twitter user Zak S has uploaded photos of the controller alongside the Xbox One controller to show the difference. At first glance, it is only the D-Pad and the share button which acts as a visual highlight to distinguish the two controllers but look closely and you will see that the new controller has a slightly shorter and more rounded grip. The slight U-bend which houses the Xbox button on the controller is also missing from the new controller which has a more flush design. The only downside to the new controller is that it still runs on AA batteries.

Side by side comparison with the Xbox one controller pic.twitter.com/FRPSiLx7OU

— Zak S (@zakk_exe) August 10, 2020

We’ve known about the existence of the Xbox Series S for a while now. It is expected to have the same CPU as the series X but lower RAM at about 7.5GB and a 4 Teraflop GPU. You can check out the details of the leaked document here. 

Sony on the other hand, as mentioned above, is only distinguishing its PS5 variants based on the presence and absence of a disc drive. There is no difference in power or performance. We know the specs of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and you can check out our comparison of the two consoles here. You can also check out our comparison of the design of the two consoles here.

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