OnePlus is planning to launch its new flagship OnePlus 9 series and now, a new report has claimed that the company may also launch Nord 2 in Q2 2021.

According to Android Central, Nord 2 will be powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 chipset.

Mediatek’s flagship Dimensity 1200 SoC is an octa-core chipset based on a 6nm manufacturing process and clocked at 3GHz. Besides this, the chipset is 5G and WiFi 6 capable.

It has a prime Cortex A78 core that goes up to 3.0GHz, three additional A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz, and four Cortex A55 cores that can go up to 2.0GHz for energy-efficient tasks.

The OnePlus Nord has been quite a success for OnePlus, especially in some markets. That device is powered by the Snapdragon 765G, a respected mid-range processor.

The OnePlus Nord 2 could retain a similar price or the Nord when it launches later this year.

Earlier, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau teased a “moonshot” announcement, hinting the next big launch on March 8 which is going to be the OnePlus 9 series.

“Stay tuned for March 8,” Lau tweeted, with a similar-looking photo from the Apollo 8 mission.

Read Complete Article

WhatsApp will Thursday roll out voice and video calling from the desktop, making it easier for people to take calls at their convenience. Voice and video calls on WhatsApp Web will also be end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer.

“We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience. We will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future,” the company said in a statement.

The Facebook-owned messaging app had been testing this feature for very few users since late last year.

In order to make a WhatsApp desktop call, you need to have a Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer or macOS 10.13 and newer.

One of the reasons for WhatsApp to roll out this feature is increased calling on the platform due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Throughout the last year we’ve seen significant increases in people calling one another on WhatsApp, often for long conversations. Last New Year’s Eve, we broke the record for the most calls ever made in a single day with 1.4 billion voice and video calls. With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you’re using,” the company said. “Answering on a bigger screen makes it easier to work with colleagues, see your family more clearly on a bigger canvas, or free up your hands to move around a room while talking,” it added.

India is WhastApp’s largest market with over 400 million users. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the platform has 530 million users in the country.

Read Complete Article

Google on Wednesday said it will not build “alternate identifiers” to track individuals as they browse across the web nor will use them in its products once third-party cookies are phased out, as the tech giant progresses towards a more “privacy-first web”.

In January last year, Google had announced that it will phase out use of third-party cookies – typically used to track users on the web – in Chrome within two years.

In a blogpost, Google highlighted that there has been a proliferation of individual user data across thousands of companies, typically gathered through third-party cookies, and that this has led to an “erosion of trust”.

It cited data from Pew Research Centre that said a large majority of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and many say the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits.

“If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web. That’s why last year, Chrome announced its intent to remove support for third-party cookies,” Google said.

The company added that it has been working with the broader industry on the ‘Privacy Sandbox’ to build innovations that protect anonymity, while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers.

Read Complete Article

Realme is going to unveil its latest 5G smartphone, Realme GT 5G, on Thursday. The model will be launched in China and later in India too. While Realme is yet to confirm dates for India launch, thanks to promotional teasers and leaks, we already know some of the features of the phone.

Keep reading to find out more about the upcoming smartphone

Specifications

According to reports, Realme is working on a MediaTek version which will be part of its “Dual Platform-Dual Flagship” strategy. The smartphone will be equipped with Super AMOLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is likely to have Ford GT inspired design and will be a mix of black and yellow colours with dual tone vegan leather design, according to reports. It might get a punch-hole display design and feature a single cut out for a selfie camera.

Realme GT 5G will have Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor. The processor is based on a 5nm process. The same processor is also expected to power OnePlus 9 series and Realme K40. The phone is also expected to come with a stainless-steel VC cooling system which will help better the heat dissipation performance of the smartphone.

The smartphone will be powered by a powerful 5,000mAh battery. Reports also say that it will come with a 125W fast charger. The smartphone will likely come with Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. The phone will support 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi 6, and USB Type-C port.

Read Complete Article

Xiaomi is gearing up for the global debut of its Redmi Note 10 series from India on Thursday at 12 pm. The Chinese technology company is expected to launch at least three models in the Redmi Note 10 series, including a model with 108-megapixel-based quad-camera array on the back. The series is expected to be powered by Qualcomm mobile processors, big capacity batteries, and Android operating system based MIUI user interface. Importantly, the series is expected to bring smartphone with 4G LTE network connectivity, and not 5G.Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series: Livestream details

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series launch event is set to begin at 12 pm on March 4. The virtual event will livestream on Xiaomi India’s YouTube channel. Besides, Xiaomi will share live updated from the event on its social media handles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

You can watch the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series launch livestream through the video embed below.

Read Complete Article

Microsoft has unveiled a unique app called Group Transcribe that lets people capture real-time collective meeting transcriptions using their smartphones, including in Hindi.

A product of Microsoft’s experimental division Garage, Group Transcribe uses a multi-device approach to provide real-time, high quality transcription and translation, so users can be more present and productive during in-person meetings and conversations.

“Group Transcribe allows us to address an authentic, ad-hoc, interactive mobile scenario to help people communicate without language barriers. Improving these models with usage data will ensure that our customers will have the best experience,” said Xuedong Huang, Technical Fellow and CTO of Cognitive Services at Microsoft.

The app is now available for free on iOS and supports several languages in over 80 locations globally.

To use the app, conversation participants start a shared session and each leverage their phone’s microphone to capture a highly accurate transcript, showing who said what in real-time.

One person starts a transcription and can invite others to join by sharing a five-letter conversation QR code or by joining the group transcription with nearby sharing over Bluetooth.

“The users can skip note-taking and focus their attention on the conversation itself. Transcripts are easy to share or relocate after the fact,” said the company.

Read Complete Article

Indian customers could soon get their hands on French automaker Renault’s latest SUV on offer, Renault Kiger. The company will start deliveries of the SUV, for which booking has already started, from today. Booking for Kiger, Renault’s third global car after Kwid and Triber in India, can be done through the automaker’s extensive dealership network of over 500 sales outlets as well as the company’s website.

A collaboration between Indian and French teams, the SUV is a sub-4 meter offering which has been developed and produced in India for Indian customers. Currently, it is the most affordable sub-4 meter SUV available in India.

At present, the sub-4 meter SUV segment is one of the hottest selling segments in India. This segment has seen tremendous growth in the last few years in India and almost all major automakers in India have at least one product on offer in it. The sub-4 meter segment accounts for more than 50 per cent of total industry sales, according some media reports.

Renault Kiger design

Renault Kiger is a modern SUV that is a perfect fit for the Indian market. Kiger has a distinctive SUV look and its long wheelbase enables great space and volume on board. It is loaded with several smart attributes and is powered by a sporty, world-class engine.

Kiger comes with two engine options — 1-litre Energy and 1-litre Turbo with 2-pedal offerings on each of the engine — and will be available in four trims – RXE, RXL, RXT and RXZ, according to the company. It comes with a fuel efficiency of 20 kmpl, according to the carmaker. Kiger is based on CMF-A platform which is the same platform present in Renault Kwid and Renault Triber. The front looks muscular with all-LED three pod headlamps placed on the bumper.

Read Complete Article

Budget carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it has tied-up with WheelTug Plc for reserving 400 production slots for the electric taxi system.

The application of such a system helps move an aircraft forward or backward without powering its engines or using external tugs.

The electric taxi system will enable SpiceJet in saving fuel, reducing carbon emissions as well as noise levels and improving fleet utilisation, thereby directly improving the bottom line, the airline said in a release.

The WheelTug system places high-torque motors in the nose wheels of the aircraft. Pilots control the aircraft themselves, performing ground operations without requiring tugs for maneuvers. SpiceJet said.

Also, SpiceJet gate and stand operations will be faster and more dependable, helping the airline eliminate unexpected long delays affecting the schedule on any given day, it said.

“By inducting WheelTug into its B737 operations, SpiceJet aims to reduce fuel burn during taxi out and in, the airline spokesperson said.

The Gurugram-headquartered no frills carrier is the largest Boeing 737 operator in the country.

“Signing SpiceJet at this time shows both companies are looking forward to a strong recovery for the industry as the world responds to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Isaiah Cox, Chief Executive Officer, WheelTug.

Read Complete Article

Zoom Video Communications projected annual revenue that would top analysts’ estimates, signalling the video meeting service expects to remain a ubiquitous presence in daily life even as the pandemic recedes. Shares jumped about 10 per cent extended trading.

Sales will be as much as $3.78 billion in fiscal year 2022, the San Jose, California-based company said on Monday in a statement. While the projected annual revenue growth of 43 per cent is far short of Zoom’s 326 per cent increase in the fiscal year ended January 31, it topped the 37 per cent average estimate of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, will be as much as $3.65 a share. Analysts projected $2.97.

Investors have feared the software maker couldn’t continue the dramatic growth in 2020 that came as people for­ced home in coronavirus lockdowns connected remotely on the service to work, school, friends and family. While Zoom’s stock jumped almost fivefold last year as it became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, it had gained just 11 per cent during the first two months of 2021 before surging almost 10 per cent Monday to close at $409.66 in New York. Chief Executive Officer Eric Yuan has tried to diversify Zoom’s capabilities and add products such as a cloud phone system to appeal to more large enterprises and small- and mid-sized businesses.

Read Complete Article

Smartphone brand realme on Tuesday unveiled industry-leading 108MP camera with trendsetting features that will arrive in the upcoming realme 8 series.

The 8 series smartphones will have sharper photo quality, world’s first tilt-shift time-lapse video, starry time-lapse video, and new portrait filters.

“The 108MP photo taken by realme 8 Pro has a well-balanced overall exposure with vivid colours and sharp details in both bright and dark areas. The details stay sharp even after zooming in,” the company informed during a virtual briefing at its ‘Camera Innovation Event’.

In realme 8 Pro’s camera, 3x mode activates a new ‘In-sensor Zoom’ which will only use the 12MP sensor mapped with the zoomed part to generate an image.

The imaging process is faster because of the smaller size on the 12MP photo, enabling realme 8 Pro to take eight 12MP photos in a row and then input them into the clarity enhancement algorithm to further increase the image clarity, the company informed.

After processing, a 3x photo from realme 8 Pro can be even better than some of the optical telephoto lenses in terms of sharpness.

The company has also launched the world’s first Starry Time-lapse Video on its smartphone.

“Developing starry time-lapse video is challenging as it requires much-needed performance to handle the synthesis of the photos,” said the company.

Read Complete Article