Apple announces Time Flies event on September 15, likely to launch the Apple Watch and iPad Air

On any other year, September would have usually begun with Apple sending out invites to the year’s iPhone launch. Well, despite a year ravaged by a deadly pandemic, the invite has finally arrived. Apple is indeed hosting a launch event on September 15th, 1PM ET (10:30 PM IST), but rumours strongly suggest this specific event won’t see the launch of the iPhone 12 series.

The event’s tagline is ‘Time Flies’, wherein ‘Time’ points to the Apple Watch, and if we may spend a few more brain cells, ‘Flies’ could refer to the iPad Air. Interestingly, the event is happening later than the usual timeline Apple has followed over the years, and the reason is likely due to the delays in production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple has also previously confirmed that the new iPhones won’t ship in September.

What to expect from the ‘Time Flies’ Apple event?

Quite expectedly, the invite is pretty cryptic and does not explicitly give away what’s going to be announced. But there’s a lot on the plate. The 6th-gen Apple Watch, new iPads, four new iPhone models, and the first lineup of MacBooks with Apple Silicon inside.

This particular event, owing to the ‘Time Flies’ tagline points strongly towards the Apple Watch Series 6. The upcoming wearable is tipped to add new features like blood oxygen monitoring, improved sleep tracking and handwash reminders.

The drama that led to it

Apple announced the event for Apple Watch & iPad (15th) It’s not an “iPhone” event after all. My sources said today was ONLY for Apple Watch & iPad. So I can see where the mix-up happened. Still got this one wrong. But it gives you a bit of an idea of how it works BTS.

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) September 8, 2020

No Apple event announcement is complete without some ‘leaksters’ actively spilling the beans before Apple gets the chance to get on stage. Well, this time around, Apple seems to have had the last laugh. Hours before the announcement was made, active Apple leaksters Jon Prosseur claimed on Twitter that Apple will launch the Apple Watch 6th Gen and the refreshed iPad Air via press releases, without hosting an event. The same information was parroted by some other Apple leakers as well. But it turns out, Apple simply had an announcement that they were hosting a launch event.

What about the iPhone 12 series?

Apple’s Fall event primarily centres around the iPhone lineup for the year. But due to the pandemic-induced production disruptions, Apple is reportedly won’t be ready with the iPhone 12 series before October. Rumours strongly suggest there will be four iPhone 12 models for the first time, and they will support 5G connectivity.

There’s expected to be two cheaper iPhone 12 models with 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch displays, while two Pro iPhone 12 models are expected to sport 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays with 120Hz refresh rate. All four of them are likely to be powered by the next-gen Apple A-series SoC, and the top-end model is rumoured to add a LiDAR sensor at the back, like the new iPad Pro.

The upcoming iPhones are expected to be announced a few days after the ‘Time Flies’ event, and we will know more about the devices as and when the events conclude. You can also read our round up of what Apple is expected to announce in the upcoming to stay on top of the current rumours surrounding the launch.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2ZmKXG7

Reliance Jio could launch 100 million entry-level smartphones by December

Reliance Jio could launch over 100 million low-cost entry-level smartphones by December or early January, according to a new report. The newly minted Jio Platforms received an investment of Rs 33,737 crores by Google in July which also saw Google and Jio collaborate to develop budget entry-level smartphones running Android for over 350 million 2G subscribers.

According to a report by Business Standard that cites “sources in the know”, Reliance Jio is planning to outsource smartphone manufacturing with an aim to produce over 100 million entry-level affordable smartphones in India and launch it by the end of December of early-January 2021.

The report also states that Jio has already approached home-grown smartphone manufacturers like Lava as well as top global manufacturers including Foxconn and Wistron. These affordable smartphone developed by Jio and Google are also expected to come bundled with data packs out-of-the-box.

This move by Jio isn’t surprising as the company has already confirmed that it will be developing affordable phones for the existing 2G subscribers who use feature phones and upgrade them to 4G network. India is still home to over 350 million 2G users but the average cost of a 4G smartphone is still over Rs 4,000 which is where Jio aims to strike a balance with its affordable phones made for first-time smartphone users. These users on 2G networks are either with Vi (Vodafone-Idea), Airtel and state-owned BSNL.

Reliance wants to ensure that when the existing 2G subscribers upgrade to a smartphone or 4G network, there are affordable options available with Jio to entice people to choose Jio over other telcos. Reliance Jio’s foray into the smartphone segment happened with the JioPhone back in July 2017 and was followed by the JioPhone 2 in July 2018. With the two feature phones, Jio was able to attract over 100 million users, however, now users on feature phones also want to jump on the smartphone bandwagon.

Reliance has raised more than Rs 152,000 crores under its digital arm Jio Platforms from various companies and investment firms such as Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Qualcomm, to name a few. 

Recently, Vodafone-Idea announced its new brand identity with the launch of Vi, as the companies finished the merger that was announced three years ago.

 

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2GAPG0i

Google takes on Truecaller with Verified Calls, and theres an added benefit

With Android 11 now rolling out to the Pixel phones, Google has also announced a new Google Assistant feature that can identify calls from genuine business numbers from those that are known to be fraudulent. Through the new feature, Google attempts to solve a crucial problem plaguing Indians and other parts of the world. The call screening feature has begun rolling out to users across the world, starting with India, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and the US.

How does Google Verified Calls work?

The call screening feature, according to a blog post, will tell users who is calling and the reason for the call. Named Verified Calls, the feature will be present in the Phone app for Android, something that’s usually pre-loaded in most smartphones running on stock Android. It will also be put up for download later this week, and can be installed to bypass the default dialer app in custom skins.

With Verified Calls enabled, users will see a name, a white tick on a blue shield (this is the verification), and the reason for calling. Google said this is being done in a secured manner, without storing or collecting personally identifiable information.

The Verified Calls feature brings Google in direct competition with Truecaller, the popular Swedish app that had garnered over 200 million monthly active users, and has one of  the world’s largest caller identification database. But what Google is doing differently is giving a reason for the call.

How will Verified Calls help prevent scams?

The Verified Calls feature, much like Truecaller, will help identify phones numbers from verified businesses. Phone calls have become one of most popular ways of scamming individuals. Most people usually get wind of the scam during the call itself, but there have been multiple reports of money being siphoned off from accounts due to a scam call.

The problem is especially abundant and widespread in India. Scammers catch users off guard by calling in the name of updating KYC details, a false alarm of having bank accounts closed, and more. The reason is usually alarming enough for non-tech-savvy folks to take immediate action, which usually involves giving away the OTP, or sometimes even credit card details.

This is also one of the reasons why people are more likely to accept calls that they know are not going to scam them. Google’s Verified Calls, thus acts as an incentive to businesses to get themselves verified to avoid ignored calls.

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

App Store: Apple Seeks Damages From Fortnite Maker Epic Games in Dispute

Apple on Tuesday asked a US federal court to order Fortnite maker Epic Games to pay damages in a legal dispute over the rules for the iPhone maker's online marketplace.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3ie1gwi

Huawei MatePad T8 launched in India starting at Rs 9,999: Price, specifications and availability

Huawei MatePad T8 has launched in India as an entry-level Android tablet. The MatePad T8 was announced back in May and has now arrived in India for education and entertainment needs of users during the pandemic. The MatePad T8, as the name suggests, has an 8-inch display and is fairly lightweight so that it can be used with one-hand and ensures greater portability, especially when watching a video or movie.

Huawei MatePad T8 does come running Android 10-based EMUI 10 but with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) instead of Google Play Services. That’s not to say that users will not be able to download apps on this tablet, instead, Huawei has an AppGallery that has all the apps users will require.

Huawei MatePad T8 Price and availability

Huawei MatePad T8 is priced starting at Rs 9,999 for the Wi-Fi variant and Rs 10,999 for the Wi-Fi + LTE variant. As part of the launch offer, people who pre-book the LTE variant between September 8-14 on Flipkart will be given Rs 1,000 off and the final price will be Rs 9,999, same as the Wi-Fi version.

Huawei MatePad T8 specifications

Huawei MatePad T8 features an 8-inch HD+ (1280 x 800 pixels) resolution display with 4.9 millimetres bezels. The T8 measures 8.5 millimetres in thickness and weighs around 310 grams. It will be available in a single colour, Deepsea Blue.

The MatePad T8 is powered by the MediaTek MT8768 processor with an octa-core CPU and is paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. The tablet has a microSD card slot that supports memory expansion upto 512GB. It runs on EMUI 10 which is based on Android 10.

The MatePad T8 comes with a 5MP rear camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a 2MP selfie camera on the front. The T8 is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery which the company claims can provide upto 12 hours of video playback or browsing on a single charge.

 

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2R3dQ5N

What does Apple have in its bag for the near future

It is that time of the year when we see Apple launch its iPhone lineup. Due to the ongoing pandemic however, Apple has confirmed that the launch of the upcoming iPhone 12 devices has been delayed. Even though an official date for the launch hasn't been announced, Apple is expected to showcase its 2020 lineup of iPhones in October.  But the iPhone 12 isn’t the only device Apple is expected to show off. Apple’s product portfolio has an interesting set of devices and the rumour mill suggests we could see an update to the following. 

iPhone 12 series Apple Watch Series 6  AirPods Studio AirTags Apple TV 6 A smaller HomePod speaker First Mac with Apple Silicon iPad Air iPhone 12 Series

Leaksters like Max Weinbach and Mark Gurman suggest that we could see four iPhones launch - two basic, smaller screen options sporting a 5.4-inch display and a 6.1-inch display and two so-called iPhone 12 Pro models could sport a 6.1-inch display and 6.7-inch display.

There’ll be a new dark blue colour option as well which is expected to replace the midnight green colour release last year.  All the variants of the iPhone 12 will feature OLED Displays likely made by Samsung or BoE  (if it passes the tests). If this is true, after 13 years Apple would have shifted completely to OLED from LCD. 

I managed to get (unfinished) iPhone 12 Pro Max CADs. These renders are based off those CADs! https://t.co/gABuPYsV2p

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) April 17, 2020

And as with every iPhone launch we expect to see a new SoC powering the iPhones. This time it could be the new A14  (bionic) chip with better performance and power efficiency.

There is no concrete news on the refresh rate of the new iPhones as some reports suggest that displays support the higher refresh rate but there is an issue in supply of the display driver for the same. 

iPad Air

Apple is also expected to refresh its iPad Air. It is rumoured to have a design similar to the iPad Pro.

The rumours say it sports a larger 11 inch display with slimmer bezels, a faster A14 Bionic chip and support for Apple’s magic keyboard. The iPad might feature a Type-C port just like iPad Pro, instead of traditional lightning port like in previous models. Also support for Apple Pencil Gen 2 would be a new accessory support for this release, as rumoured. 

AirPods Studio

AirPods Studio is supposed to be Apple’s first over-ear headphones.

It could have a price starting at $349 (Rs 26,00 approx. directly converted). Airpods Studio will join the AirPods line up along with AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro. The rumours indicate it will support ANC, Head-Neck Detection and some sound tweaking from the Mac or iOS device.

Apple Watch Series 6

The market leader in smartwatch is no doubt the iWatch, and Apple is expected to launch the Apple Watch Series 6.

The most distinguished feature, the Crown, is speculated to be redesigned  (small dial on the right of the watch), Apple might make use of the light sensors as a navigation control, a patent filed with the US Patent Application suggests so. 

The new watch is rumoured to sport a micro-LED Display instead of OLED as power drain is still one of the major drawback of the watch. Jon Prosser said that we could expect an Anxiety Monitoring System with Series 6. We aren’t clear on how it would work so it’s a wait and watch show. The new WatchOS 7 shown at WWDC would also release alongside the watch.  

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/3m4o4Rt

PUBG Mobile: Teen Reportedly Spent Over Rs. 2 Lakhs From Grandfather’s Bank Account on Game

A 15-year-old teen in Delhi’s Timarpur transferred Rs. 2.34 lakhs from his 65-year-old grandfather’s account to make in-app purchases on PUBG Mobile, according to a report. The issue reportedly came into the limelight in May after the man was alerted of the transfers that took place over a period of two months.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3bCGgNf