Samsung is all set to launch two F-series smartphones in India next week. Galaxy F12 is likely to be priced between Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 while Galaxy F02s will be priced below Rs 10,000.

According to industry sources, Galaxy F12 is tipped to come with True 48MP camera, 90Hz refresh rate and a 6000mAh battery. It will be powered by 8nm Exynos processor, making the Galaxy F12 extremely power efficient, the sources told IANS on Thursday.

Galaxy F02s is likely to sport a 6.5-inch HD+ display and a 5000mAh battery with 15W fast charging.

Both Galaxy F12 and Galaxy F02s will feature premium haze and matt finish.

Samsung had earlier launched Galaxy F62 for Rs 23,999. The smartphone has the flagship Exynos 9825 under the hood, the same chip that powered Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+.

Galaxy F is Samsung’s India-specific smartphone series for which the company has tied up with Flipkart. Galaxy F smartphones also sell on Samsung Online Store and leading retail stores.

Riding on its successful Galaxy ‘M’ series amid surge in online shopping, Samsung in October last year globally debut Galaxy ‘F’ series during the Big Billion Days sale in India.

The company launched the fully-loaded Galaxy F41 as the first smartphone in the new series.

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After successfully launching two smartphones under the OPPO F19 Pro series, the Chinese smartphone maker on Thursday announced that it is all set to launch OPPO F19 on April 6.

The OPPO F19 will feature a massive 5000mAh battery paired with 33W Flash Charge, and a brilliant AMOLED Full HD+ punch-hole display.

The company claims that with 33W Flash Charge, which runs on a 11V3A solution, OPPO F19 fully charges in only 72 minutes.

OPPO F19 is crafted for the youth who looks for trendy and stylish smartphones that not only complements, but also augments their lifestyle, the company said in a statement.

OPPO has been a leader in the industry when it comes to flash charging solutions and the latest offering, OPPO F19 is no different. It will redefine the fast charging solutions in its price segment, it added.

The company recently launched — F19 Pro+ 5G and F19 Pro — with quad rear cameras and feature Super AMOLED displays in the Indian market.

OPPO F19 Pro+ price starts at Rs 25,990 for the sole 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The OPPO F19 Pro, on the other hand, has 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option at a price tag of Rs 21,490 and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model at Rs 23,490.

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Microsoft has announced to end support for its visual assistant Cortana on both Android and iOS devices.

Microsoft has also removed the Cortana app from both the App Store and Google’s Play Store, beginning March 31.

“As we announced in July, we will soon be ending support for the Cortana app on Android and iOS, as Cortana continues its evolution as a productivity assistant,” Microsoft said in an update.

The company first launched Cortana for iOS and Android in December 2015.

The app was designed to connect Windows 10 PCs and mobile phones but failed to gain momentum as Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri won the race.

According to Microsoft, the Cortana content people created — such as reminders and lists — will no longer function in the Cortana mobile app, but can still be accessed through Cortana in Windows.

Also, Cortana reminders, lists, and tasks are automatically synced to the Microsoft To Do app, which people can download on their phones for free.

“After March 31, 2021, the Cortana mobile app on your phone will no longer be supported,” said Microsoft.

In 2019, the company first withdrew the Cortana for iOS app from a number of regions.

Last year, Microsoft said it will make productivity the focus of the digital assistant and as part of the shift, its digital assistant Cortana will lose some of its more consumer-facing features, such as the ability to play music and control smart home devices.

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India is preparing to test a new breed of electric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, to reduce its carbon footprint on the environment. The country’s largest power generator, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), is planning to procure such vehicles for pilot projects, according to a news report in Livemint. International automobile maker Toyota and Hyundai Motor, and India’s Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and KPIT Technologies have shown interest in the initiative, the report added. Let’s understand how the fuel cell-based electric vehicles (FCEVs) work, and take a look at the cars based on this zero-emission technology:How FCEVs work

The FCEVs are electric vehicles that derive energy from a fuel cell powered by hydrogen, instead of drawing it from only a battery. Unlike conventional electric vehicles, where the battery is the primary source of vehicle traction, FCEVs use electricity generated by hydrogen-powered fuel cells and need the battery for auxiliary functions such as starting the vehicle or storing energy generated from regenerative braking. Therefore, the FCEVs do not require plug-in capability to charge the battery but need hydrogen as a fuel to operate.Hydrogen-powered FCEV: Toyota Mirai

Launched in 2015, this coupe-inspired hydrogen-powered fuel cell-based electric car from the stable of Japanese automotive maker has been refreshed recently to become one of the most competitive FCEVs in its category. The Mirai boasts a standard 8-inch digital combination meter, digital rearview mirror, 12.3-inch high-resolution TFT touchscreen, and a 14-speaker JBL sound system. The car is sold only in select locations, including California in the US, Europe, Japan and United Arab Emirates.

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Apple has announced to fix battery drain and other performance issues with iPhone 11 series devices via an upcoming iOS update.

According to an Apple support document, the recalibration process will happen when you update an iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max to the upcoming iOS 14.5 update.

“Recalibration for maximum capacity and peak performance capability will happen over time with regular charge cycles. If the process is successful, the recalibration message will be removed and your maximum capacity percentage will be updated,” the iPhone maker said on its support page.

The process is currently being tested in the latest release of the developer beta.

If you see this message on your iPhone 11, it means the battery health reporting system on your iPhone is recalibrating.

“Your battery health reporting system is recalibrating Maximum Capacity and Peak Performance Capability. This process may take a few weeks,” the message will read.

If you see the message below, it means recalibration of the battery health reporting system was not successful.

If the recalibration of the battery health reporting system is not successful, an Apple Authorised Service Provider can replace the battery free of charge to restore full performance and capacity.

“This message does not indicate a safety issue. Your battery can still be used. However, you might be experiencing more noticeable battery and performance issues. An Apple Authorised Service Provider can replace the battery free of charge to restore full performance and capacity,” Apple said.

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Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has registered its all-time high revenue of over Rs 22,700 crore for FY21, even as operations were hit by production shut-downs and supply chain disruptions after the outbreak.

“The firm has posted (this revenue growth) thanks to improved productivity after suspending operations for one month in the beginning of the year,” said a statement.

“The record revenue was achieved thanks to production of 41 helicopters/aircraft, 102 new engines, and overhaul of 198 aircraft/helicopters and of 506 engines,” said R Madhavan, HAL’s chief. With several large orders having been placed with HAL for FY21, the order book is healthier than any of the preceding years.

“FY21 was significant in terms of securing the largest-ever defence contract of 83 LCA Mark-IA by an Indian entity. This helped the firm surpass the order book position in excess of Rs 80,000 crore,” said Madhavan.

Until last year, the IAF’s failure to pay HAL for aircraft already delivered to it had forced the company to turn to bank borrowings to pay employees’ salaries.

“The firm has ended the year with a positive cash balance of Rs 6,700 crore, against borrowings of Rs 5,775 crore as of March 31, 2020. Cash flow has improved significantly with higher budget allocation from defence customers, in excess of Rs 34,000 crore including advance payment of close to Rs 5,400 crore for 83 [Tejas] Light Combat Aircraft. This has helped HAL liquidate all its borrowings,” said HAL.

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The low-end version of the battle royale game PUBG called Lite is officially closing down on April 29.

PUBG Lite was introduced in 2019 for entry-level mobile devices. The Indian government banned both PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on September 2 last year.

The news of PUBG Lite’s shut down was confirmed by the developers Krafton via a message on its official website.

“We are deeply grateful for the passion and support from the astounding number of PUBG Lite fans that have been with us. During the strenuous times of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope that PUBG Lite was able to provide our fans a fun way to stay safe,” the developer said.

“Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to close service after much deliberation and the time has come for our journey to end. We regretfully inform you that service of PUBG Lite is scheduled to end on April 29th, 2021 (UTC),” the company added.

PUBG Lite Facebook will be open even after the game service termination until further notice.

“We would like to convey our sincerest apology as well as our deepest appreciation to everyone. We truly hope you have enjoyed your time with us and please look forward to our future endeavours,” the developers said.

PUBG Lite was among one of the most popular games of the early pandemic months.

The game was banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act in India. PUBG Corporation later announced that they were withdrawing their partnership with Tencent, and will work with the Indian government to look for a quick resolution.

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Inspired by the soaring success of invite-only audio chat app Clubhouse, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is now working on a similar app for over 740 million members in more than 200 countries.

The leading professional networking platform confirmed the move to TechCrunch, saying that it is working on an audio networking feature.

“We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity,” LinkedIn said in a statement.

“We’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community,” the company said on Tuesday.

According to LinkedIn, it will start beta testing of the new audio chat feature soon.

Alarmed at the growing popularity of Clubhouse, several tech giants have begun to a rival app and Twitter has finally started testing ‘Spaces’ on Android.

The Twitter Spaces tool is currently available on iOS Beta with a host of iOS-exclusive features such as voice tweets, which is yet to arrive on Android devices.

In the feature, users can create a ‘Space’ that their followers can join to participate in a conversation. Anyone on Twitter can listen in on the conversation, though only the host can control who gets to speak.

Clubhouse is currently available on Apple App Store and has been downloaded more than 8 million times. The company is working on an Android version.

Facebook is also working on to build its own social audio app like Clubhouse.

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Samsung on Wednesday launched in India the 5G variant of its Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) smartphone, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 system-on-chip. Priced at Rs 55,999, the smartphone is available at an introductory price of Rs 47,999 on Samsung online store, Amazon India, Samsung exclusive stores and select retail outlets.

“At Samsung, consumers are at the heart of everything we do. Our consumers gave us an outstanding response for Galaxy S20FE LTE version launched in Q4’20. Building on its success, we bring to Galaxy fans, Galaxy S20 FE 5G with the power of Snapdragon Processor and 5G. In addition to superlative performance, Galaxy S20 FE 5G brings all flagship innovations at an accessible price point. The launch is a testimony of our consistent efforts to deliver the best to our millennial consumers enabling them to do what they love,” said Aditya Babbar, Senior Director and Head, Mobile Marketing, Samsung India.

The Galaxy S20 FE was launched in five colours — cloud red, cloud lavender, cloud mint, cloud navy and cloud white. The 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 variant, however, comes in cloud lavender, cloud mint and cloud navy colours. Made of plastic, the phone features textured haze finish on the back cover to protect it from fingerprints and smudges. The phone features a 6.5-inch fullHD+ Infinity-O display of 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch response rate.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: A worthy premium smartphone despite some compromises

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An electric sports car that has an 800-km range, comes with a gaming cockpit where the steering wheel looks like a gaming console, and has a 5G connection. Morris Garages (MG) Motor’s new car has these features and more.

MG Cyberster, a two-door electric sports car globally, is scheduled to be released on Wednesday today. MG has said it is the first supercar to be equipped with a gaming cockpit and it is the fastest accelerating electric one.

The car’s design is inspired from the iconic MGB Roadster sports car. The car has been created by the MG global design team and is aimed at Gen Z. The front of the car comes with the classic round headlights and slim grille design. It will also have the “magic eye” interactive headlights. The sharp lines across its body panels boost the style quotient of the car while the fast flattened tail improves the aerodynamic performance. The wheels come with rotating spokes aligned with a central locking system, which is common in very high-performance models. The rear of the car uses ‘Kammback’ styling and comes with LED taillights. The car also comes with the SAIC design branding.

The interior of the car has a ‘digital fibre’ theme. The interior is fitted with zero-gravity seats, gaming console-like steering wheel, and LED touchscreen. The zero-gravity seats comes with a multi-surface splicing design which, the company claims, provides good back support to the driver. The cabin has a gaming theme and the steering wheel has black and white contrast texture. The steering wheel also comes with a 4-dimensional button on the thumb and a button on top of the steering wheel, according to reports. The car also has connected car technology and 5G connectivity.

On the speed and performance front, the claimed range of the car is 800 km. The company has said that the Cyberster can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in just three seconds. Other details such as battery capacity, electric motor, power output, and charging capacity are not known yet. It is likely to be revealed during the global launch. For the price too, we will have to wait for the global launch.

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