If you are one that has a PS4 then 2018 has been a great year for you. Not only have we seen the release of console exclusives, but also a lot of third-party games ensuring you have a large library of games to chose from and different genres to enjoy. There are way too many games that we enjoyed so this list is going to be 10 games you absolutely must play if you own a PS4 or a PS4 Pro. Just to clarify, this list is in no particular order. God Of War Calling this PS4 exclusive one of the most anticipated games of the year would be an understatement. Even since its reveal in 2016, fans were divided if this soft reboot was the right direction for Kratos. We are happy to tell you that yes, it is. God of War brings with it the perfect blend of story telling, gorgeous visuals and breath-taking action. Needless to say that the no cut camera in the game is a technical achievement. Marvel’s Spider-Man Yet another PS4 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man is yet another game that breaks the curse of bad super hero games. This is developer Insomniac Games own story for the web head and it isn’t an origin story. Much like Rocksteady’s take on the Dark Knight, Marvel’s Spider-Man takes a look at Peter Parkers life a few years after he has become Spider-Man. The story of the game is a unique take on the webslingers universe, the gameplay is addictive and the graphics look stunning. Needless to say that swinging around the city just for fun is one thing you can do for hours on end. Detroit: Become Human I Robot meets Westworld is the best way to describe Detroit: Become Human. The game focuses only on story bringing with it photorealistic visuals. You don the role of three different Androids whose stories intersect with each other. The gameplay of Detroit: Become Human is simple but is the choices that you make in the story that will determine the outcome. This is yet another PS4 exclusive worth checking out for the visuals. Red Dead Redemption 2 Yet another game that’s one of the most anticipated of 2018 is Red Dead Redemption 2. The game looks stunning no matter the console you play it on, has content enough to last you more than 50 hours of gameplay and that’s not counting the online mode. The mechanics of the game are quite similar to its predecessor keeping things familiar for Oldtimers and keeping things interesting for newcomers to the franchise. The game’s story is intriguing, gameplay may take a while to learn and the visuals make you question the need for a new console generation. Monster Hunter World If you want to take on the role of a hunter and hunt some fantastic creatures straight out of a fantasy novel, then Monster Hunter World is one to check out. The game has deep RPG elements, a host of weapons to chose from and a rich world to explore. Onrush If combat racing is your thing, then Onrush is definitely worth checking out. put simply, Onrush is the love child of the Burnout and Motorstorm franchise. The game has frantic races through challenging environments coupled with stylish takedowns. Assassins Creed Odyssey Taking you back to Ancient Greece, Assassins Creed Odyssey builds on the foundation of Assassins Creed Origins and brings with it improvements to combat. The franchise has moved to a more RPG focused game giving you the option to chose between a male and a female protagonist this time around and bringing along with branching stories and choices giving you control over the final outcome. Battlefield V Sure, on the PC Battlefield V shows off the capabilities of ray tracing, but the game is no slouch on the consoles. Building on the foundation and success of Battlefield 1 this new entry in the franchise brings with it a battle royale mode for those interested. The single player campaign puts you in the shoes of different individuals during war to widen your perspective. A Way Out Bringing back the nostalgia of couch co-op gaming, A Way Out is a 2 player game only with no single player option available. You can either play local or online but the game will always show you both the perspectives. A really good thing is that you and your friend both don’t need to own a copy of the game to play. If you own a copy, you can invite your friend to partake in the game with you. This prison break story is one reserved for the best of friends. Guacamelee! 2 Our favourite luchador is back to save the day in Guacamelee! 2. The story of this side scrolling action adventure game as silly as its predecessor with the Mexiverse being in trouble this time around. Our hero must travel to a parallel dimension to save the Mexiverse. Just like the first game, you will get a bunch of powers and abilities throughout the game enabling you to pull-off complex traversal moves and insane combat combos.
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It looks like Google may be planning to shut down Hangouts in 2020, at least for consumers. This comes via a report by 9to5Google, which cites a source familiar with the product's internal roadmap. To recall, Hangouts was introduced back in 2014 of the year's Google I/O event and took over from the company's previous messaging services like Talk and Messenger. In 2015, Google introduced a standalone website for the service. This negated the need for any plugin to be installed. Earlier this year, Google announced that it was bringing it's Smart Reply feature to Hangouts. The feature analyses the context of a conversation to generate automatic replies. During the announcement. The company said that the Smart Reply feature powers more than 10 percent of email replies. This news comes. Just a couple of months after the company's announced that it was shutting down Google+ for consumers following security concerns. In its review of the third-party developer access to Google accounts and Android device data, the company found significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ product that meets consumers’ expectations. The Mountain View-based company found a bug that granted developers access to users’ Profile data, and the public Profile information of their friends, to Google+ apps. Also, it found limited engagement on the platform. As a result of these findings, the company decided to shut down Google+ for consumers.
Foldable smartphones seem to be the next big thing in smartphone technology, with Samsung already confirming its plans to launch a phone next year. It looks like Sony plans to launch a similar smartphone as well, but how it plans to do so is a little different, to say the least. The company has filed a patent which describes a method for a transparent display on a smartphone. First spotted by LetsGoDigital, the patent shows a smartphone with two displays. One on the front, and one on the back. These can be set to work in six different modes by being set to opaque, transparent, or translucent. The website has also posted a few renders of what the smartphone might look like. This is certainly a very unique take on how to use a dual-display phone. Hopefully, the new technology will help the company regain its foothold in the market. It should also be noted that just because Sony has a patent on the device, it does not guarantee that the company will implement it in a future device. 2019 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for smartphones. While Samsung is already planning to launch foldable devices, many other manufacturers seem to be gearing up for 5G. Check out this link to see which upcoming smartphones may offer 5G connectivity.
TRAI’s DND App has finally and quietly appeared on the iOS App Store. The application which allows users to report and block unwanted spam calls and SMS was banned from Apple’s App Store for the longest time due to potential risk to user privacy. The Cupertino-based company previously held the stance that the app’s behavior of asking users to grant permissions to view call logs and text messages is a violation of user’s privacy, data and security. Soon after, the regulatory authority directed all the telecom networks in India to de-register iPhones as a penalty for not making the DND app available on iPhones. While TRAI’s coercion was opposed by the likes of the Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the regulator set a deadline of six months from July, 2018 for all device providers to get the app onboard their respective app stores or face derecognition from telecom networks. The deadline was set for January 2019. While Google made the app available on Android in 2016, Apple has only now come around to doing so and iPhone users can now download the TRAI DND App from the App Store. When downloaded the app asks users to register for the DND service and enable DND extensions on their phones. To do this, the app directs iPhone users to head to Settings, select ‘Phone’ and head to ‘SMS/Call Reporting’. Here, users are required to select ‘TRAI DND’ and enable the extensions. This will allow iPhones to send information about reported calls and SMS to the TRAI. For received calls that you choose to report, the TRAI will receive information such as caller’s number and time of call. For reported SMS, TRAI will receive all the contents of the SMS. These could include verification codes from banks or other personal and sensitive information, so users should be careful about the messages they report. Once users agree to these terms and enable the extensions on their iPhones, they can start reporting spam calls from their call logs, which will now show a report option next to the delete option.
Basic video editing when on the go and without a laptop, can also be done on a smartphone. However, selecting an app from the plethora of available options can be a daunting task. While there are some apps that are powerful enough to handle multiple timelines, effects and transitions, these can prove difficult to use. On the other end of the spectrum, there are apps that can pump edited videos automatically with a few taps and tweaks. It can thus be difficult to choose an app that strikes the perfect balance between functionality and usability. To make this easier, here’s our list of some of the best video editing apps to try out on your Android and iOS running devices. Adobe Premiere Clip Adobe has a solution for editing videos on phones and it offers the general range of tools to do so. One can also automatically create videos by simply choosing a soundtrack and adding images to the mix or edit a video from the ground up. There’s a range of adjustments, transitions and effects to choose from. However, the best thing in our opinion is the ability to easily open an exported clip in Adobe Premiere Pro CC, in case one needs to polish the video further. Download Adobe Premiere Clip for Android and iOS KineMaster Pro KineMaster Pro is one of the most powerful video editing apps available on mobile devices. However, to unlock its full potential, users need to shell out some money. The app supports multiple layers of images, video, and text. Alongside basic cutting and trimming of videos, one will also be able to play around with multi-track audio, color LUT filters, 3D transitions, and more. Download KineMaster Pro for Android and iOS FilmoraGo FilmoraGo is a relatively lesser known app that is quite capable when it comes to video editing. It offers basic features like cut, trim, and render, along with some additional options like editing videos in a 1:1 square format for Instagram and 16:9 videos for YouTube. There’s also support for adding transitions, overlays, music, and more. The app is free to download with in-app purchases but even the free version, there is no watermark or time limit on exported videos and most of the features are free. Download FilmoraGo for Android and iOS VivaVideo While VivaVideo is categorised under video editing apps, it is more of a jack of all trades with image editing and some automated editing thrown in. It’s good when editing short videos for social media platforms and it enables users to load clips into a storyboard style. This means that one has to work on an imported clip and edit it, then move on to the next task. There are many additional features like filters, effects, text addition and tweaking speed of a video. It has a free version that will add watermark and impose a time limit to edited videos but there’s an option to pay and unlock pro features in the app. Download VivaVideo for Android and iOS Quik One doesn’t always need a complex video editing app to get the job done. Quik is a simple solution that enables a user to simply import some images and videos, and create a video out of it. The app automatically adds transition and effects to the background music, which can either be imported or selected from more than 100 already available free tracks. As GoPro is the apps’ developer, its original intent is to pull data from a compatible GoPro device and instantly create a video out of them. However, the formula also works well for someone who isn't well versed with video editing and doesn’t want to spend too much time on the process. Download Quik for Android and iOS PowerDirector (Android only) Only available for Android and Windows phone, PowerDirector by Cyberlink comes with a slew of features and options to assist in video editing. Alongside multiple track timeline, video effects, slow motion, reverse video and many more features, it is one of the rare apps to supports editing 4k videos. The app is even better on large screen devices like tablets, however, one will need to unlock additional features of the app. Download PowerDirector for Android Splice - Video Editor + Movie Maker by GoPro (iOS only) Splice is another app made by the GoPro team but this one is only available on iOS. Same as Quik, the app can be used to import videos and photos that get converted to videos automatically. One can also trim clips, adjust transitions, add slow-motion effects and do more with the app. It supports addition of title slides, text overlays and a custom outro as well, along with adjusting playback speed for fast or slow motion. Download Splice for iOS
A day after it was reported that Meizu may soon start a new inning in India, the company has confirmed that it is going to launch a smartphone in India on December 5. The company has sent media invites to the media fraternity which shows a smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Chinese company has also updated its Twitter handle teasing the smartphone with a dual-camera setup. It is also possible that the company will launch three phones belonging to the same series. Currently, Meizu has three phones under the 16 series -- the Meizu 16 and Meizu 16 Plus which are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and a third device, the Meizu 16X, which has a similar product design and but a lower price tag. The information is in sync with a previous report that said that the company will unveil three smartphone and pit them against OnePlus and Xiaomi. With a whopping 65-percent market share, Xiaomi is currently the most preferred brand for users in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 price segment. Samsung is the second-most loved brand in this category with a 43-percent market share, followed by Vivo and Oppo with 29-percent market share. When it comes to the Rs 25,000 - Rs 40,000 segment, OnePlus leads with 55 percent, followed by Xiaomi at 47 percent, Apple with 45 percent and Samsung at 39 percent. The new Meizu smartphones are expected to have dual-SIM functionality and run Flyme OS on top of Android OS. The one smartphone, which the company is expected to put against the OnePlus 6T may sport a 6-inch full-HD+ display. It could be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and may be offered in 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, and 8GB RAM 128GB onboard storage variants. As teased in a tweet, the smartphone may offer a dual-camera setup on the back and at least 3000mAh battery with fast charging support.
It’s the start of a new season in PUBG Mobile and players are gearing up to increase their in-game rank. In maps as ginormous as the ones that PUBG Mobile sports, vehicles and driving can get you a long way. With a slew of vehicles strewn across, they might often feel an overbearing sense of confusion when it comes to vehicle choice and the correct way of using them. However, vehicles, when used right, can launch a player into the top spots in the game, allowing them to avoid losing points and continue rising up the ranks. All three in-game maps, Erangel, Miramar and Sanhok, sport a set of common vehicles as well as a couple of map-exclusive vehicles, that seem to be a better fit for the corresponding terrain. With the introduction of FPP driving in PUBG Mobile (about time!), players are seen bifurcated into two very distinct groups, a group of players that immensely enjoy FPP driving while the other group that strongly dislikes the new style of driving and vehemently refuses to use it. FPP Mode, earlier, still had TPP driving which many players feel more comfortable with since FPP driving can seem a little too twitchy and erratic to some people. However, FPP driving has undeniably brought in a new feel and look to what was, one of the game’s most unmodified features since release. That being said, FPP or TPP driving may appear simple, since it is essentially just pressing down on the accelerator and turning with the right and left controls (no gear-shifting) and obviously not jumping out of the car at high speeds. However, there are a couple of more advanced nuances, if perfected, can give you an edge over your competition. Let’s look at some interesting and useful, and some wacky, driving tips in PUBG Mobile. Find the right vehicle Spawned vehicles can be used to get to places with great loot PUBG Mobile offers you a wide variety of vehicles on multiple spawn points across all maps. From the popular driving choices like the UAZ (Jeep) or Dacia (Sedan) to unconventional and infamous choices like the boat or the motorcycle with the sidecar, the options are truly endless. Sometimes, finding a vehicle, any vehicle, can be the right strategy and can be used to access popular loot locations (Military Base, Georgopol crates, Hacienda del Patron and more) off the plane path and loot uninterrupted, away from any immediate danger. This strategy almost always ensures great loot and lasting longer in the game than plopping onto popular locations directly on the plane path, which will probably lead to your head being blown off by that nasty Kar98 or M24 (so glad the M24 is now a ground spawn!). The Buggy is lightweight and fast However, when you are playing a more traditional game on any of the maps, it will serve you well to choose your vehicle in accordance with the terrain you will be playing in and the placement of the safe zone, since that is where you need to reach. Motorcycles and Buggys can provide you with speed and agility to travel miles in a blaze. However, they tend to leave you more open to automatic sprays and fire by your enemy, who will find it easier to land shots on you than if you were in a Dacia or UAZ. Buggys also tend to swerve or spin out of path easily, causing you to probably stop at inopportune timings. If you are travelling through densely populated cities like Pochinki, San Martin or Paradise Resort, your best bet would be to snag a UAZ, Muscle Car (Miramar only) or Dacia that would provide you with the much-needed cover. The UAZ is available in three variants, the soft-top, hard-top, open-top and bulletproof, the hard-top and bulletproof being the most sought-after since it offers maximum cover. The Jet Ski is way easier to control than the boat, but harder to find Similarly, in water, a boat is more commonly available, but its turning radius is an absolute disaster, so it mostly lands up on the land when players try to spin it around, towards the safe zone. The Jet Ski is faster, safer and turns better, however, it is far rarer. In Miramar, the terrain is vastly different than Erangel or Sanhok, that sport more grounded terrains. Vehicles like the pickup truck are slower but attempt to stay firm to the ground owing to their weight, making them more suitable choices in Miramar since the motorcycle and lighter vehicles tend to get launched off bumpy roads and often lead to them flipping over. The Muscle car, which is found in Miramar only, is a great vehicle for this map since it is heavy which leads to lesser instances of the vehicle losing control on the bumpy terrain, additionally, it is also exceedingly fast, second only to the motorcycle. Using vehicles are hiding spots and cover Be careful when you take cover behind vehicles since they can be blown up Vehicles can be used pretty effectively as cover and hiding spots in PUBG Mobile. Squads or duos, driving around in vehicles, can many times travel almost the entire game in a vehicle and stay relatively safe, since other teammates in vehicles can shoot at enemies. However, if you are playing solo, it would be advisable to stop, get out, take cover and shoot when enemies lock on to your vehicle. The reason? Well, you cannot shoot back and the enemy can easily blow up your vehicle, thereby incinerating you. So, when your vehicle begins to get hit in Solo mode and the shots are landing, you should get out of the vehicle and firstly, take cover behind it. Assess where the shots are coming from and then line up your shot (try using ‘peek’ since it provides the most cover) and eliminate the impending threat. However, ensure that you are cautious of smoke coming out of your vehicle’s engine, which indicates that the car is closed to being blown up and effectively, killing you. Don’t get too close to the engine when you are taking cover behind the vehicle. The Bulletproof UAZ makes for an excellent hiding spot Vehicles can also be great hiding spots, but obviously, only the right kind of vehicle. A buggy is not going to hide you, is it? Vehicles with a bigger form factor and those that are covered sufficiently can make great hiding spots. Simply change seats and slide into one of the backseats of the vehicle. The front seats act as a visual shield, often causing enemies to miss you. Try parking the vehicle in an inconspicuous location that makes it look like a regular spawn. We’ve personally witnessed multiple players scurrying off, never noticing that we were hiding in the back seat, making for some good laughs. Vehicles like the bulletproof UAZ, which can be obtained through a special drop when a Flare Gun is fired off outside the safe zone, are very heavily covered from all sides, even sporting sturdy grails on the windows and windshield. These make for excellent hiding spots, protecting you from the madness that ensues in the Top 10-20 of the game. Shooting down enemy vehicles Ever notice an enemy vehicle in the horizon, looming towards you? Instead of explicitly hiding from the risk of being run over by the vehicle, you can seize a good vantage point and begin shooting the engine (the front) of the vehicle to blow it up and possibly eliminate an entire team of four, travelling in it. Automatic guns are your best bet here, so any SMG or Assault Rifle, capable of strewing around bullets from their nasty spray can quickly make a car go up in flames. However, if the car is going at a considerable speed, ensure that you lead your bullets by a bit to ensure that it actually ends up hitting the vehicle. Tweak your scope sensitivity to make sure that your sprays do not end up going everywhere and mostly stay confined to a particular area (You will also need to pull down on your screen to adjust for the muzzle rise). Blow up your enemies in vehicles by full-auto spraying their vehicles’ engines This method of eliminating enemies is great when playing in duos or squads since it allows players to get rid of a considerable threat without having to actually engage each of them, one on one. Blowing up an enemy vehicle becomes the easiest when the vehicle comes to a standstill since you can easily shoot the engine in plain view. Also, a good practice in PUBG Mobile is to pop the tires of enemy vehicles to ensure that they don’t get away easily. Weirdly enough, motorcycle tires cannot be popped. We don’t know yet if this is a glitch or intentional. Additional elements There are a few additional vehicle and driving-related elements to keep in mind while playing PUBG Mobile. Firstly, be wary of bridge campers. Players often set up shop on bridges, hiding behind or inside vehicles, lurking to shoot down enemy vehicles. It would serve you better to scope onto the bridge and eliminate the threat before passing through or to simply take a boat to reach the other side. Secondly, use your boost sparingly, since excessive boosting can quickly deplete the gas in a vehicle. Speaking of gas, remember to pick up gas cans! Especially when you start off at a considerable distance away from the safe zone. Bridge campers can be a menace Lastly, we have noticed sufficient backlash being thrown around at FPP driving with players saying that the controls feel too twitchy and the field of view is drastically lesser than that of TPP driving. While the latter is true, the former is mostly the effect of being so close to the wheel and effectively, the road. You will also notice that in FPP driving, you need to press the left and right buttons a lot lesser to turn since the sensitivity seems higher. FPP driving is fun and exhilarating when you get used to it. However, if you have been more accustomed to TPP in PUBG Mobile then chances are you are not going to like it too much. However, to truly master FPP driving, all you can do is practice! And also remember that the premise is pretty much the exact same since the controls are the same. Players got used to FPP mode, but it took a while, the same is true with the driving style. There you have it! A few, essential tips and tricks to better your PUBG Mobile game and use driving and vehicles to give you the edge. Try them out and let us know what you think about them at editor@digit.in. Until then, keep playing and raking in those Chicken Dinners with these simple but useful driving and vehicle tips.
Prosecutors in South Korea have charged 11 people for illegally selling Samsung’s bendable screen technology to a Chinese rival company. According to Bloomberg, the CEO of Samsung supplier Toptec, and eight of his employees had received 15.5 billion won (approx $13.8 million) for conspiring and transferring information regarding organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Samsung uses OLED panels in its phones, televisions and monitors. The two others were from the Chinese company with whom they hatched the conspiracy. Bloomberg says that intellectual property theft is a national concern for South Korea and the country is spending billions for becoming self-sustaining in areas such as memory chips and displays, two fields where Samsung is the world leader. On the revelation, Samsung Display said it was “shocked at the results of the investigation by prosecutors, at a time when competitors are intensifying their technological rivalry.” Samsung said that it would keep a close eye on the trial. Citing prosecutors, the report noted that the South Korean supplier transferred “3D lamination” technology and other equipment to the Chinese screen maker between May and August, violating a non-disclosure agreement with Samsung. They were caught while loading additional pieces onto a ship headed for the mainland. Another report says that Samsung’s display technology is considered a “national core technology” under South Korean law, making the offense graver. What’s more, one of the accused was said to be using a fake company headed by his sister-in-law to cover up the espionage. Reportedly, Samsung spent about 150 billion won over a period of six years to develop the OLED technology. Meanwhile, Toptec has issued a statement denying the charges. “Our company has never provided Samsung Display’s industrial technology or business secrets to a Chinese client. Our company will fully cooperate with legal proceedings to find the truth in court,” the company was quoted as saying. This is not the first time that such an incident has occured in the technology world. Earlier this year, Anthony Levandowski, a former Google employee and the engineer behind the company's self-driving car programme was fired from Uber after he was accussed of stealing autonomous car technology from Waymo (a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet) before joining Uber. Levandowski reportedly downloaded around 14,000 files from his company-issued computer containing trade secrets related to Waymo's LIDAR technology, circuit board designs, and testing documentation.
Motorola generally releases three phones under its G series where the Play and Plus variants represent devices with less or more powerful hardware, while the one without any moniker bridges the gap between the two. This time, the smartphone manufacturer could be introducing a new model as the Motorola G7 Power, which might sit somewhere between the G7 and the G7 Plus variants. XDA Developers report that the Motorola G7 Power has now appeared on FCC. An image revealing the dimensions of the phone has also leaked out, along with some additional information like the device’s rear design and connectivity options. As per the report, the Motorola G7 Power sports the model number XT1955-4 and it might come equipped with a large 5000mAh battery. This doesn’t seem far-fetched since the company’s recently launched Motorola One Power also features a 5000mAh battery. In terms of dimensions, the device is said to measure 159 mm x 76 mm and 167 mm (6.5-inch) diagonally. While there are no more specifications listed on the FCC website, XDA Developers report that the Motorola G7 Power could be launched running on the Snapdragon 632 SoC, which recently debuted with the Realme U1. The Snapdragon 632 SoC is fabricated using a 14nm process. It features Kryo 250 semi-custom CPU cores with four Cortex-A73 performance cores and four Cortex-A53 efficiency cores. The smartphone is said to come with up to 4GB RAM, along with up to 64GB of internal storage models. In terms of optics, the handset could come equipped with a single 12MP camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture and on the front, it is said to feature an 8MP front-facing sensor with f/2.2 aperture. The camera app on the phone might borrow the Cinemagraph mode from Moto Z3 Play, and additionally come with features like spot colouring, bokeh shots with the single rear camera and more. The handset could be launched running on Android 9 Pie, however, unlike the Motorola One Power, it’s not said to be an Android One device.
The Asus has announced its gaming smartphone “Asus Rog” back in July this year at Computex 2018. The phone has been finally launched in India this Thursday. The smartphone comes with an AMOLED display and a 90Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which has been released with a triple camera setup at the back is priced at Rs 69,990 in India. Let’s start with a quick specification comparison to know which flagship device packs a better hardware under its hood. The Asus Rog gaming smartphone sports a 6.0-inch display that offers a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. On the other hand, the Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro, which comes with a bigger 6.39-inch display offers a resolution of 1440 x 3120 pixels. When it comes to the processor, the Asus Rog is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, while the Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro is backed by a Kirin 980 octa-core processor. As far as the cameras are concerned, the highlight of Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro is its cameras as it comes with a triple 40MP + 20MP + 8MP camera set up at the back along with a 24MP front shooter. On the other hand, the Asus Rog features a single 12MP unit at the back with an 8MP sensor on the front. The Asus Rog is a completely different device as it is specifically designed for gamers. The phone would be ideal for those who play a lot of games in their smartphone. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a device with a bigger display and a better camera then the Huawei Mate 20 Pro might fit the bill. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is launched in India at a price of Rs 69,990, while you can get the latest Asus Rog for Rs 69,999
Instagram has introduced a new feature on the platform which will allow users to create a list of close friends and share their Stories only with the people on that list. The new feature can be seen as a push towards increasing personal interaction on the platform. Instagram also recently announced that it is testing a new profile layout that puts the focus on users instead of follower count, in an effort to make the platform more personal. “Starting today, you can make a close friends list on Stories and share with just the people you've added. Instagram Stories has become the place to express yourself and share everyday moments, but our community has grown — sometimes what you want to share isn't for everyone. With Close Friends, you have the flexibility to share more personal moments with a smaller group that you choose,” Instagram noted in a blogpost. The update is rolling out to both Android and iOS versions of the app and to get it, users need to ensure they have the latest version of Instagram on their phones. To add people to your list for personal Story sharing, go to your profile and tap on “Close Friends” in the side menu. Only you can see your close friends list and no one can request to be added. When you add a new Story, you will see an option to either share it with everyone or only with the people on your close friends list. If someone has added you to their list, you will see a green badge when you’re viewing their stories. You’ll also see a green ring around their profile photo in the Stories tray to signify that the story has only been shared with you and a few others.
The Asus Rog is the world’s first gaming smartphone that comes with a 3D vapor cooling chamber system. The smartphone features a 90Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time. On the other hand, we have the Apple’s iPhone X, which was launched last year at a price tag of Rs 91,900 is now available on Amazon for Rs 79,999. So, let’s compare these two devices to know which one would be the best buy for you? The Asus Rog comes with a 6.0-inch display that offers a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. On the other hand, we have the iPhone X, which sports a 5.8-inch display with a resolution of 2436 x 1125 pixels. When it comes to the performance, the Asus Rog is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, while the Apple iPhone X is equipped with an Apple A11 bionic chipset. The Asus Rog come in two variants 8GB/128GB and 8GB/512 GB, while the Apple iPhone X is available in 3GB/64GB and 3GB/256GB variant. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Asus has designed this smartphone strictly for gamers. So, if you’re looking for a smartphone with a dual camera setup then the Asus Rog might not be the device you will prefer. The phone is equipped with a 12MP sensor on the back with an 8MP unit on the front. On the other hand, the Apple iPhone X comes with a dual 12MP rear camera with a 7MP sensor on the front. The Asus Rog is available in India at a price of Rs 69,999, while the Apple iPhone X is available on Amazon for Rs 79,999.
Smartphone cameras today are capable of creating high quality images thanks to advancements in computational photography which have trickled down from premium smartphones to mid-range and budget devices. As a result, bokehs and portrait shots are taking over Instagram feeds and photos with filters and stickers are becoming increasingly popular. However, not all native smartphone camera apps give users the freedom they want to play with images. For that, there are a host of photo editing apps, both paid and free, available on Android and iOS smartphones. Here, we list the best photo editing apps that give you the freedom to enhance images to your liking; be it slapping on some cool text on photos, or adding lens blurs, or even removing unwanted objects from the frame, you can do it all with these apps. Snapseed If you are a mobile photography enthusiast, chances are you have already heard of Snapseed. Developed by Google, Snapseed is available on both Android and iOS. The app offers users a number of different tools ranging from simple ones such as cropping and rotating, to complex ones such as perspective and curves. Users can even add lens blur and text to their photographs, in addition to multiple other presets that are available on the app. Sharing images on social media is easy with the app’s inbuilt sharing options and for the pros, there are options to edit RAW images as well. You get a total of 29 photo editing tools and filters in Snapseed and you also get an option to save your personal looks to apply them to new photos later. Download Snapseed on Android and iOS VSCO VSCO is more like a community rather than just an app, but it does offer a bunch of filters and presets besides basic editing tools such as contrast, saturation and grain. Just like Instagram, the app lets you either take a picture directly from the camera app, or upload one from the gallery. You can also post edited images online for the community to see. You can choose to get a premium membership of the app and unlock 170+ presets or re-create vintage film looks by Kodak, Fuji, Adfa and others. Premium membership also gives you access to photography tips and tricks on VSCO. Download VSCO on Android and iOS. Adobe apps Adobe offers a range of editing apps for Android and iOS. Amongst the most popular are Adobe Photoshop Express and Lightroom. Photoshop Express lets users add filters, crop photos, add frames and more. The app suggests pre-made collages to save you time in creating and sharing. Photoshop express features all your basic editing tools such as contrast, exposure and white balance adjustment. You can also remove blemishes, spots, dirt and dust from your photos and choose from a bunch of filters to make images look better. The app supports RAW photos and Tiff files as well. If you are looking to add custom text or watermarks to your photos, the app will let you do the same. Users can even link up with their Creative Cloud accounts and store edited images in the cloud. Adobe Lightroom allows you to capture, edit and share photos. It comes with an HDR mode which is great for correcting overexposed or underexposed scenes. There are a bunch of presets that users can also take advantage of in the app and in case you don’t like your edit, you can always revert to your original photo. Like Photoshop Express, users can save images to the Creative Cloud using Lightroom if they have a subscription. Download Adobe Lightroom for Android and iOS. Download Adobe Photoshop Express for Android and iOS. Pixlr The Pixlr app is a version of the popular Pixlr desktop editing utility. Using the app, one can easily apply effects on photos and a slider helps in increasing or reducing the strength of the effects. Colours in images can be balanced out using the app’s Auto Fix feature. Apart from all the basic editing tools, the app allows users to style their images to look like pencil drawings, sketches, posters and more. Blemish and red-eye removal tools in the app work pretty well and one can favourite their most used effects to return to them easily when editing multiple images. Resizing photos is also pretty simple and the app allows for direct sharing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or email. Download Pixlr for iOS and Android. Photable If you are an Instagrammer, chances are you already own Photable, one of the easiest apps to help create collages of all shapes. Using the app, you can edit photos, create collages, design posters, apply makeup to your face and more. The app offers a wide range of presets based on occasions, seasons, festivals and is a lot of fun to experiment with. Users can also unlock a wider range of poster and collage designs by subscribing for Photable Plus. Download Photable for iOS and Android. Google Photos Another Google app on the list is Google Photos. The app is one of the best out there when it comes to organising and sharing photos, but it also comes with a bunch of cool editing options. You can use Google Photos to automatically create collages, sort photos into albums and create animations. If you have two successive shots, you can use the animation effect to create cool GiFs. All the necessary filters are available in the app, but it won’t let you adjust contrast, brightness, etc in the iOS version of the app. You will get those features on Android though. Download Google Photos for iOS and Android Facetune2 The Facetune2 app lets you remove blemishes and and touch up your selfies before you post them on social media. Think of it as a makeup kit. You can reduce blemishes, whiten teeth, add blur, reshape, and much more. Download Facetune2 for iOS and Android Aviary Aviary offers a pretty comprehensive set off tools for users to work with. This includes, filters, stickers, overlays, adjustments and more. It also comes with an auto enhance feature that automatically adjust photos based on presets. So if you took a photo of your lunch, you can enhance it by selecting the Food preset in the auto adjustment option. Download Aviary for iOS and Android
After unveiling it in some international markets, HMD Global has finally brought the Nokia 7.1 smartphone to India with a slew of eye-popping specifications like an HDR display, Zeiss Optics and 2PD camera technology. The Finnish company says that the Nokia 7.1 will go on sale starting December 7 and will be available across top mobile retailers as well as on Nokia.com/phones at a recommended best buy price of Rs 19,999. This is a lower price tag than the cost of the device in European markets, where it was launched for EUR 349 which is approximately Rs 27,700. HMD Global, a 20-month old company, has managed to reach the top 10 smartphone brands list globally and is doing well in Europe. In third quarter of 2018, HMD Global shipped 4.2 million units of Nokia smartphones registering 71 percent of year-over-year growth, says Counterpoint Research. Nokia was a household brand in India before it slowly faded away, but later it joined hands with Google to bring Android on the device, which played a major part in the brand’s revival. Nokia 7.1 price and launch offers The Nokia 7.1 comes in two variants - Gloss Midnight Blue and Gloss Steel and both will be available starting next month. Airtel prepaid customers on Nokia 7.1 can enjoy 1TB of 4G data on eligible plans starting at Rs 199. Airtel postpaid customers can get an additional data of 120GB along with three months of Netflix subscription and one year of Amazon Prime subscription on plans starting Rs 499. Consumers who purchase the Nokia 7.1 using HDFC Bank Credit and Debit cards on EMI transactions done through Pinelabs terminals in offline stores will receive a 10 percent cashback. Nokia 7.1 specifications and features The Nokia 7.1 has design techniques found in jewellery and high-end timepieces and has dual-anodised aluminium diamond cut coloured edges. HMD Global says that each Nokia 7.1 device is crafted from a 6000-series aluminium CNC machined frame which is sandwiched between glass sheets that have been shaped at the edges for comfort. The Nokia 7.1 is claimed to be the first smartphone to come with PureDisplay screen technology for HDR10 cinematic quality entertainment. The smartphone offers higher contrast (1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio) and clarity to match the HDR content which is currently been supported on YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos. The 5.84-inch Full HD+ notched display offers a 19:9 screen ratio display and the company claims that with PureView technology, the non-HDR content can be up-scaled in real-time using a dedicated 16-bit engine. The Nokia 7.1 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC, which also powers the Nokia 6.1 Plus and a few other phones in the same segment. It has a USB type-C fast charging port which is claimed to deliver up to 50 percent of the 3060mAh battery in 30 mins. When it comes to the camera, the Nokia 7.1 sports ZEISS Optics dual-camera setup on the back with 12MP and 5MP sensors. While the 12MP camera has f1.8 aperture and 1.28um pixel size, and the secondary 5MP shooter has a f2.4 aperture and 1.12um pixel size. The sensors come with photodiodes (2PD) technology that help them absorb much more light than devices with a single photodiode of same number of pixels. 2PD technology enables fast and accurate autofocus in both bright and low light conditions. The sensors also come with the Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) technology. There is a front-facing 8MP camera with f2.0 aperture. There is a new camera UI on the phone that give users control of white balance, ISO, focus and shutter speed using the Pro Camera Mode. The Nokia 7.1's AI-enhanced front facing camera introduces facial recognition to deploy animated 3D personas/masks and filters. Users can live stream their “bothies” with just one touch to Facebook and YouTube directly from the camera app. Google Lens and Motion Photos can also be accessed directly from the app quickly. “We know a lot of our fans in India enjoy creating videos and watching content on their smartphones. That’s why it was important for us to bring both ZEISS optics and PureDisplay technology together in a versatile device that offers a superior content experience, regardless of whether you’re taking photos for your social media or watching the latest series on your favourite streaming service. With real-time SDR to HDR conversion, more fans can enjoy a premium viewing experience across content. And with the integrated ZEISS optics, fans can take advantage of rapid auto focus and capture incredible HDR photography as well,” Ajey Mehta, Vice President and Country Head, India, HMD Global, said in a statement. The Nokia 7.1 joins the comprehensive line-up of other Nokia smartphones in the Android One family. This means that the smartphone will receive three years of monthly security patches as guaranteed in the Android One programme. The smartphone has recently received the Android 9 Pie upgrade but there is no information whether it will be available with Android Pie out-of-the-box in India. In addition, the device offers free unlimited high-quality photo storage with Google Photos.
Realme is now rolling out its ColorOS 5.2 update for its Realme 1 smartphone in a phased manner. Realme CEO, Madhav Seth announced the new update via a tweet, which reads, “As you all know we are rolling out a stable version of ColorOS 5.2 for Realme 1 users starting today in a phased way. If you want to get it earlier, click the link below to register, we will send the update to you in about 24 hours.” While the new update is bound to be seeded to all Realme 1 units, those who can’t wait for it can register with the company and receive the update in around 24 hours. To gain early access to the new ColorOS 5.2 update, one needs to fill a Google form provided by the company, which can be accessed here. Once on the form, a user will have to confirm that they use a Realme 1 (review) smartphone and enter their IMEI1 number in the form. After successful submission, one should receive the new update for their Realme 1 in about 24 hours. The Realme 1 and its successor, the Realme 2 are also confirmed to receive the Android 9 Pie update in the near future but there’s no definitive timeline on by when the patch could be rolled out for the two phones. The ColorOS 5.2 update comes with new features like single-swipe notification dismiss, a new Smart Bar feature that is said to enable easier multitasking between apps, a headset icon, and more. The new patch is also supposed to optimise various aspects on the Realme phone like the bokeh shots captured using the front-facing camera, new presets for the video editor, background music playback in the video player, custom modes for multiple activities in the Timer app, one can now add markers while recording or playback in the audio Recorder app, and more. Realme recently announced its latest Realme U1 (review) smartphone in India. Priced starting at Rs 11,999, the handset is the company’s fifth phone and the world’s first handset to be powered by the octa-core MediaTek Helio P70 processor. It features a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with 90.8% screen to body ratio and a Dewdrop notch. On the back, one will find a dual camera setup with flash and a fingerprint sensor. The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. You can read more about the device here. 
WhatsApp keeps adding new features to its online messaging app to enhance its usability and the company is reportedly working on two new features that could soon make way to the app. As per WABetaInfo, support for consecutive playback of voice messages, and Group Call Shortcut are currently under beta testing on the Android version of the app. Both the features were previously spotted on WhatsApp for IOS in version 2.18.100 and 2.18.110.17 updates respectively and could soon be made available for all, since they are said to be undergoing testing on Android. Do note that both the features are currently not available on the app, not even for beta testers of the app, and are said to be remotely enabled in the next beta update for the app. As per the report, the Consecutive voice messages feature will enable users to listen to all received voice messages in succession. This means that one won’t need to tap on every voice message to hear them as the app would automatically do this for the user. The feature is said to kick into action when someone receives two or more voice messages and when the first voice messages are played. Additionally, the feature is also said to notify the user when a voice message ends and the next one begins. This will reportedly be done by playing two different tones, where the first one means that a voice message has been fully played but there is another one ready, and the other one will mark the end of the voice message when there isn't a next voice message to play. Coming to the group call shortcut feature, it is said to work in a similar manner as it does on iOS. A new group call icon will show up on the upper right corner of the screen from where one will be able to initiate a group call. After tapping on it, the user will be shown the contacts they want to start a group call with and one can select to either place a group video or voice call. This will make it much easier to place a group video call as currently, one needs to place a normal video call first and then add other people to the call using an option on the upper right corner of the screen. Speaking of the group calling feature, a recent report suggested that WhatsApp is testing UI improvements in the Group Calling feature in the iOS app. The app could soon get a new call button as part of the revamped UI, along with some bug fixes. Those users who have beta versions of the app installed on their phones can test the new button. When the new button is tapped, WhatsApp is said to present a list of all possible participants in the group with whom a user can initiate a call. However, as only four participants can be in a group call, a user can only select three others. You can read more about the new feature here.
HMD Global has started to roll out a new Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Nokia 5.1 Plus smartphone. The 250MB update version V1.14A will bring the November Android security patch and some user-interface improvements. With this rollout, the Nokia 5.1 Plus joins the ranks of other smartphones like Nokia 5, Nokia 6, Nokia 8, Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 3, Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 3.1 Plus that have already been updated. Generally, your phone will be prompted to download the update and if you are one of those who haven’t been prompted, you can go to Settings and tap to check for system updates. Don’t worry if your phone says “Your phone is up to date”, you will soon get the update on your device. The latest security update changelog mentions user interface improvements and improved system stability as well as the latest security patch. The patch brings fixes for many security issues, including the most severe vulnerability in this section, which could enable a proximate attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. As noted by Google, there are no reports of customers being affected by the security vulnerabilities that it found. The dedicated bulletin for Google’s phones and tablets listed three security fixes and four functional updates. HMD Global has been consistent in releasing Monthly Security and OS updates for Nokia smartphones. It released all its smartphones under Google’s Android One Program, which means these smartphones will receive a minimum of two years of OS update support and regular Android Security patches. While some of the smartphones have already got the Android 9.0 Pie update, others are expected to get the OS update soon. Launched in August, the Nokia 5.1 Plus is powered by the MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core SoC and comes equipped with a 5.86-inch HD+ display with a 19:9 aspect ratio and an 84 percent screen-to-body ratio. In terms of optics, the Nokia 5.1 Plus sports a 13MP + 5MP dual-rear camera setup with a f/2.0 aperture. On the front, it features an 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 80.4-degree angle of view. The dual-SIM smartphone is also backed by a 3060 mAh battery. Intext Image courtesy: nokiapoweruser
With Samsung now out with the Exynos 9820 that will be powering the Samsung Galaxy S10 in the Indian market, Qualcomm is the only one left to reveal its plans for 2019. Huawei’s 7nm Kirin 980 is already out powering the Mate 20 series while Apple’s A12 Bionic is present in the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. Now all eyes will be on the successor to the Snapdragon 845. Qualcomm’s event is slated to take place in Hawaii on December 4 and based on past records, the chipset is expected to debut first on the Samsung Galaxy S10 in the United States along with other Android flagship and high-end phones in the first half of 2019. A lot of details about the upcoming chipset have leaked. Benchmark reports from Geekbench and AnTuTu have revealed a significant jump in performance over the Snapdragon 845, while an AI benchmark pegged the upcoming Snapdragon SoC as the best among chipsets that power Android phones. The chipset is also expected to sport a tri-cluster CPU architecture with new Kryo cores that could go all the way up to 2.8GHz. However, what’s really uncertain as of now is what the chipset will be called. The name Snapdragon 8150 has been doing the rounds for long, but it seems to be nothing but an internal codename for the SoC. According to PCMag’s sources, the chipset could be named Snapdragon 855 after all, keeping things simpler and less-confusing. While a jump in the naming could be expected, like how the company made a jump from the Snapdragon X24 modem to X50, the report states that no chipset by the name of Snapdragon 8150 will be launched on December 4. The claim is corroborated by noted Twitter leakster Roland Quandt who clarified that the Snapdragon 8150 was never more than a codename. There could be another Snapdragon 865 announced in the later half of 2019 which could come touting the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. Similar to the Exynos 9820, the upcoming Snapdragon flagship will stick to LTE connectivity after all.
It’s been over a year since many of NSA’s exploits leaked online and as a result, over hundreds of thousands of computers remain unpatched and vulnerable to date. These exploits were initially used to spread ransomware and cryptocurrency mining attacks but now, it seems hackers are using the leaked tools to create an even larger malicious proxy network, reports TechCrunch. Akamai, the American content delivery network, did some digging around and found that the previously reported UPnProxy vulnerability, which misuses the common Universal Plug and Play network protocol, is now capable of targeting unpatched computers behind the router’s firewall. “While it is unfortunate to see UPnProxy being actively leveraged to attack systems previously shielded behind the NAT, it was bound to happen eventually,” commented Akamai’s Chad Seaman, the author of the report. The new injection attacks use two exploits: EternalBlue (for Windows computers) and EternalRed (for Linux machines), which are backdoors created by the NSA to target computers. While UPnProxy modified the port mapping on a router that was vulnerable, the two Eternal exploits target the service ports used by SMB, which is a common networking protocol used on most computers. Akamai calls the two exploits EternalSilence collectively. “The goal here isn’t a targeted attack,” added Seaman. “It’s an attempt at leveraging tried and true off the shelf exploits, casting a wide net into a relatively small pond, in the hopes of scooping up a pool of previously inaccessible devices.” The problem is Eternal-based attacks are hard to detect. So it becomes difficult for administrators to even know if they’re attacked. Though fixes for the Eternal-based attacks have been around for a over a year, many computers remain unpatched and therefore, vulnerable. According to Seaman, flashing an affected network router and immediately disabling UPnProxy could solve the issue but completely replacing the router is always better.
In a first, PUBG Mobile saw a revenue boost of 166 percent and surpassed the revenue of Fortnite on iOS during Black Friday week, keyword-based App Ranking tool SensorTower has revealed. According to SensorTower‘s Store Intelligence data, although PUBG Mobile grossed only 20 percent less than Fortnite on iOS during the week, it was able to surpass it in earnings on two of the seven days, November 21 and November 22. SensorTower says that the estimated worldwide player spending across both the App Store and Google Play was up 2.7x last week in comparison to the week before that. This represented 166 percent boost from just $4.5 million to an estimated $12 million for the mobile version of PUBG. “This was 43 percent more than rival Fortnite grossed on iOS devices during the same period, marking the first week since PUBG Mobile began monetising in April that its player spending eclipsed that of the Epic Games developed title,” SensorTower noted. If we further break down the revenue, PUBG Mobile was averaging an estimated $1.7 million each day in revenue, while Fortnite was earning around $1.2 million per day on iOS devices by the end of the week. Interestingly, this trend shocked some of them because reportedly there weren’t any driving forces behind the sudden boost in revenue. Both games are free to download and only supported by microtransactions. PUBG has been installed over 100 million downloads from Google Play Store and is the number 3 strategy game on App Store. Currently, the PUBG Mobile Star Challenge global finale is underway at the Festival Arena in Dubai. The total prize pool on offer is $600,000 which approximately Rs 4.25 crore. The winners of the regional finale will get $20,000, while the two runners-up get $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. Winners will also get a contract to become an official streamers. Tickets for the event can be purchased for AED 35 (approximately Rs 700). If you are a noob when it comes to playing PUBG and want to unlock the antidote to that sulky feeling, you can check out our beginners guide here. If you wish to become better at playing PUBG Mobile and need information on the most lethal weapons/guns in the game, you can check our story here.
The Realme U1 (review) became the first smartphone to be powered by the MediaTek Helio P70 and the Taiwanese chipset-designer is already teasing another premium mid-range chipset — The Helio P90. While the P70 is still expected to power more devices and an unreleased MediaTek Helio P80 is topping AI benchmark charts, the Helio P90 will reportedly be “powerful, efficient and have groundbreaking AI”. MediaTek posted a teaser video on Twitter claiming higher speed, efficiency and “groundbreaking AI”, but revealed nothing more. The AI part of the claims could be believable considering the Helio P80 recently topped a dedicated AI benchmark. It came second to Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8150. MediaTek’s dream of having a flagship high-end chipset ended with the poor performance of the Helio X30 chipset, and since then the company has majorly focused on improving the mid-rangee segment. The Helio P60 has powered devices in India ranging from the sub-10,000 segment to ones priced above Rs 20,000. The Helio P70 is the successor to the popular chipset and is built on a 12nm FinFET manufacturing process promising higher efficiency. It also features a multi-core APU to better handle AI tasks. The Helio P80 has not been officially announced but rumours about the chipset reveal it will be built on the same 12nm manufacturing process by TSMC but with a new architecture with further improvements in AI. In the AI benchmark, the Helio P80 outperformed the newly announced Kirin 980 by Huawei that is built on a 7nm process. The Helio P80 is expected to debut in the Oppo R19 next year. According to a report by Taiwan Business Times, MediaTek has worked hard on the new chipset to be considered for the Oppo flagship. To note, the Oppo R15 marked the debut of the Helio P60 in the first half of 2017, but the Oppo R17 switched to a Qualcomm chipset. Taiwanese supply chain sources have revealed that the MediaTek Helio P80 will be the company’s flagship product for the first half of 2019 and will have an ARM-based octa-core CPU architecture. It seems strange for MediaTek to tease the successor to an unreleased chipset, but we suppose it could have something to do with Qualcomm announcing it’s new flagship chipset on December 4.
Smartphone trends are changing and the next big innovation leap in this space seems to be foldable phones. While Samsung had been teasing its foldable smartphone for a couple of years, the company finally gave us a glimpse of it at its Developers Conference this year. Now, Oppo seems to have snuck up close behind Samsung and has announced that it is developing its own foldable smartphone. Oppo's Product Manager, Chuck Wang, has announced that the smartphone manufacturer will dole out more information about its foldable device next year in February. This is the time when the Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona, so one can expect to hear from Oppo at the event. With this development, Oppo has become one of the several smartphone makers that are vying to get a chunk of the foldable smartphone market. This is not surprising since the company has been granted some patents for a foldable phone. Unfortunately, there is no additional information about Oppo’s upcoming smartphone like its release date or specifications. Currently, alongside Samsung and Oppo, LG and Huawei have also confirmed a foldable device. As mentioned earlier, Samsung’s foldable smartphone was showcased at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) in San Francisco. The company’s Senior Vice President of Mobile Product Marketing, Justin Denison, showcased the phone under dimmed lights with a black cover camouflage to obfuscate its design. Samsung did say that the phone uses an Infinity Flex Display that measures 7.3 inches with a 1536 x 2152p resolution. When unfolded, the phone has a display aspect ratio of 4.2 and it folds in half to reveal a second display called “cover display.” On the front, it functions as a 4.58-inch phone with a resolution of 840 x 1960 pixels with an aspect ratio of 21:9. Samsung says that the phone can be folded up to fit into a pocket. Although the smartphone manufacturer did not announce how much the smartphone will cost, reports suggest that it could be priced at $1770 (approx Rs 1.25 lakh). Additionally, a tipster also tweeted that the smartphone might be priced at a minimum of $1925 (approx Rs 1.36 lakh) or a maximum of $2,565 (approx Rs 1.81 lakh). If this turns out to be true, the upcoming foldable smartphones could soon shatter the 1 lakh price point set by the current flagships like the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. In October, the CEO of LG Mobile, Hwang Jeong-hwan confirmed that the company is working on a foldable phone. LG also recently applied for three new trademarks, Flex, Foldi and Duplex, with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). These names are speculated to be used on the company’s upcoming foldable phones. The Flexi and Foldi trademarks could be used for phones with flexible and foldable displays respectively, while Duplex might be reserved for an LG phone with two flexible screens. Additionally, a day after applying for the three aforementioned trademarks, LG is said to have applied for five more smartphone model names; LG Bendi, Solid, Solidis, XB and XF. Source
Netflix has pulled the plug on its best Marvel show – Daredevil. The Devil of Hells Kitchen will no longer return to fight crime on the streaming service. “We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We’re thankful to showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and incredible cast including Charlie Cox as Daredevil himself, and we’re grateful to the fans who have supported the show over the years”, Netflix said in a statement. Daredevil isn’t the first Marvel show on Netflix to get cancelled. Iron Fist and Luke Cage have also faced the same fate. Although, of all the Marvel shows on Netflix, only Daredevil lived long enough to get a season 3. The only remaining Marvel shows on Netflix are Jessica Jones and The Punisher, although we wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming days these shows are cancelled too. Why you ask? Well, to begin with, Marvel is owned by Disney. Disney is working on launching its own streaming service, Disney+ next year. Once the service launches, Disney would want all Marvel characters to be under their own umbrella. This doesn’t mean that the alreadly released Netflix shows will leave the platform or that Disney+ will take over the baton of the same shows from Netflix. All Netflix-Marvel shows will continue to live long on the platforms for anyone that wants to revisit them. Disney+ is set to launch in 2019 and there is no information about an India launch for the service. However, rumour has it that the streaming service will start expanding internationally in 2020. If you think the content on Disney’s streaming service will be kids friendly only, we say think again. Disney own quite a few studios such as Walt Disney Pictures (obviously), Pixar, Lucas Films (which means Star Wars), Marvel Studios (duh!), Disney Music Group, ABC group, ESPN and many many more. Disney is working on a limited series which will see a teamup of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Other limited series in the offing for the upcoming streaming platform include one starring Tom Hiddleston as MCU hero and Thor’s brother Loki, and another starring Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch from Marvel’s Avengers universe. Viewers can also look forward to watching their old Disney favourites such as Mickey Mouse, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and more on the streaming platform. Coming back to the show at hand, Daredevil, it had quite the dramatic and entertaining season 3 with intense action sequences, a gripping story and the introduction of a worthy antagonist in the form of Bullseye. We of course saw the return of King Pin in the avatar we’ve been wanting to see him in the show. If there is one thing, we have learnt from the Netflix show Daredevil is that there is hope for the character to make an impactful silver screen appearance and the disaster that is Ben Affleck can be forgotten. Its funny how Ben Affleck has managed to ruin two superheroes – Daredevil and Batman. Speaking of upcoming superhero adventures, Aquaman is out in the coming weeks and the first Marvel movie to hit theatres in 2019 is Captain Marvel. 
Earlier this month, a report claimed that Samsung could merge its Galaxy J, Galaxy On and Galaxy C series and introduce a new Galaxy M series that will comprise of smartphones in the mid and entry-level segments in the country. While this is not confirmed to be true, a Galaxy M series smartphone, allegedly called the Galaxy M10, has been spotted on Geekbench. According to the listing, the smartphone bears the model number SM-M105F and is powered by Exynos 7870 processor clocked at 1.59GHz. This Samsung device is said to be an entry-level phone and recorded a modest score of 724 in single core test and 3637 in multi-core test. Furthermore, the SM-M105F runs on Android 8.1 Oreo and is backed with 3GB RAM. Mysmartprice reports that the Galaxy M model will come in 16GB and 32GB variants and it could be a replacement of the Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7. It is reported that this smartphone will also have a dual-SIM functionality and will be offered in Blue and Dark Gray colours. Two other smartphones with model number M-M205F and SM-M305F are said to be under development and could be released under the new series with the name Galaxy M20 and M30 respectively. Additionally, the SM-M205F could be launched in 32GB and 64GB storage variants, while the SM-M305F may be offered in 64GB and 128GB internal storage variants. This seems to be the company’s first step towards merging three lineups into one and offer mainly three series. The M-series smartphones will cater to the affordable segment, the A-series will cater to the Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 market, and the S-series and Note devices will be their flagship smartphones. The company is aiming to equip its A series of smartphones with an LCD display so that they cost under 300,000 Won (Approx Rs 19,276). These phones are said to be tailored specifically for India and other South Asian countries, and the first of these devices to hit the market are said to be the Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A60. Samsung could also launch the Galaxy A30, Galaxy A40, Galaxy A70 and the Galaxy A80 smartphone, but they will reportedly come with AMOLED displays.
Just two days after the company announced that it has partnered with the Britain-based automaker McLaren to possibly launch the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition smartphone, a report has claimed that the device in question will have 10GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage. According to mysmartprice, the device is expected to first launch in Woking, London on December 11, followed by a launch in Mumbai, India on December 12. With this expected launch, OnePlus will also join the fray of smartphone that have automobile brands special edition of devices. Recently, Huawei announced a Huawei Mate 20 Porsche Edition smartphone and Oppo released the Lamborghini Edition of its Find X smartphone. The collaboration has a new term “In a salute to speed” that falls in line with company’s new tagline, “Unlock the Speed”. The partnership incorporates both McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing -- one of the most successful teams in Formula 1. OnePlus has been creatively collaborating with franchise since it launched the OnePlus 3T two years ago. The company teamed up with Parisian retailer Colette to produce the OnePlus 3T Colette 20th Anniversary Edition. Later, OnePlus worked with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to launch the OnePlus 5 JCC+Limited Edition “Callection”. For the OnePlus 5T, the Chinese tech company launched the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition. The most recent collaboration was in April this year, when it announced a partnership with Marvel Studios to launch the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition smartphone.