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Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more

JioPages

Reliance Jio launches Made-in-India web browser, JioPages

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Reliance Jio has launched its web browser called JioPages which is specially made in and for India. JioPages uses the Chromium Blink engine which is indeed very powerful as it provides a very efficient search experience with faster engine migration. Jio while making a statement yesterday also said that this engine provides faster page loads, efficient media, streaming, encrypted connection, etc. The Chromium Blink engine was first launched in 2013 and it was created by the contributions from Google, IBM, Samsung, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other tech giants.

Since the new web browser is designed entirely in India, this is expected to attract a healthy number of users. With many other features of the JioPages, the company keeps privacy as its prime goal thus establishing an encrypted connection. The new JioPages web browser can be downloaded from the Play Store for Android users while the company didn’t mention any launch date about the iOS variant. Since the web browser is created for Indian users, JioPages will be available in eight different Indian languages, focusing more on localized news content creation, etc. So, let’s have a detailed look at the features of JioPages.

Features of JioPages

From personalized regional content to an advanced download manager, JioPages have started with a handful to give to its customers.

JioPages
Image Source: jio.com
  • Personalized content is a huge advantage for the users as they might only be interested to read content about the domain of their choice. So, JioPages let the users customize the content feed based on region, language, and topic. And, once you choose your interested fields you will receive notification exclusively for the content important to you.
  • A personalized home screen with a theme makes an intense appeal to the users as it gives them the liberty to choose for themselves. JioPages lets you choose any leading search engine as your default such as Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, Yahoo, or MSN. There is also an option to pin websites which saves time as you may want to pin the most visited websites. Users are also given an option to choose from beautiful themes and not to mention the hyped dark mode.
  • JioPages is providing content in eight different Indian languages. The languages are Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Apart from regional languages, you can also set content priority based on your geographic region. Once you do that, the top sites of your location will start appearing.
  • The Advanced Download Manager automatically separates the downloaded files based on image, video, documents, and others.
  • Incognito Mode is one of the best features of JioPages. By turning on the Incognito mode you can enable private browsing as the web browser’s surfing history will not be saved in the system. The Incognito Mode is made safer in JioPages as you can put a 4-digit code or fingerprint scan to enable the mode. 
  • Ad Blocker and Informative Cards also added in the features of the JioPages. While the former blocks the random ad pop-ups the latter captures the headline of a given topic and displays on the screen as a compact clickable option. 

The 5G connectivity

Before the launch of JioPages, the company has also entered the realm of connectivity by collaboration with Qualcomm. Emerging out as one of the biggest companies in the energy conglomerate, Reliance is now holding its roots firm in tech as well. India is the world’s second-largest mobile market in terms of users. So, by collaborating with Qualcomm, Reliance is bringing effective 5G solutions for the Indians. Radisys Corp. is working along with Qualcomm Technologies to roll out 5G network services in India at the earliest.

Reliance is also preparing the largest network connectivity, Jio for the fifth-generation wireless service with an in-house technology to provide for 400 million of its users. Ambani believes that this will keep his network away from political disputes thus leaving his rivals behind. Honestly, this is a very strategic move by the company as they don’t need to switch to a new system if the company develops its wireless technology. The company is always interested in selling this in-house tech to other carriers if it becomes successful.

Google

Google Trusted Contact Service is going to be discontinued from December 2020

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On 16th October 2020, Google announced that it will be shutting down the company’s trusted contact service. Google’s trusted contact service was launched in 2016 to enable location sharing for friends, family, and emergency contacts. A service that was solely focused on location sharing so that you feel safe when you are outside or send your location so that your family can track you for your safety is now shutting down. The main reason behind the ceasing operations of Google’s trusted contact is the same functionality can be carried out by Google Maps nowadays. This service was available for both iOS and Android where the activity and device battery status of your trusted people were visible.

Google’s Trusted Contact Service will stop working on 1st December 2020. Till then you can still use the service on your smartphone to share the location. One disadvantage or at times advantage of using trusted contact service is that if someone requested your location and you didn’t respond, they will receive your location automatically. At the time of emergencies, when one is unable to respond this feature is a savior.

Google Trusted Contact Service

In December 2016, Google rolled out the app of trusted contacts to keep track of friends and family. With an increasing number of crimes outside our home especially against women, this was a thoughtful initiative taken by Google. Moreover, by installing and using this app the parents can also track the activity of their kids. If you are in danger, chances are you won’t be able to pick up a call leading to growing tension in your family. So, if they know your location it will be easier for them to reach you.

Using this app, you can create a list of trusted people who can request your location. The users will have to approve the list of people manually who can send the request for location. And, once a user sent a location request you will have five minutes to accept and request or deny it. If the person didn’t opt for any option then the location will be sent automatically to the requested person. If the network connectively is poor or completely cut off the other user will receive the person’s last updated location. There is also a feature of live tracking in the app. When the app was launched, it was made free.

Google

Sharing location in Google Maps

Now that after a month we won’t be able to use the trusted contact app of Google, we need to have a look at our alternate option. Google Maps is a very diverse app with new features getting added at quick intervals. If you don’t use Google Maps, it is better to get a hang of it as it is easy to use and gives you location privacy as well.

How to share your location with someone using Google Maps?

  • First, open the Google Map on your phone and sign in.
  • Tap on the profile picture icon followed by location sharing.
  • Click on New share to send your location to someone.
  • If the person is in your Google contacts you can easily find him or her.
  • Create a time limit you want to avail for location sharing and then select the contact and tap on Share.
  • If the person doesn’t have a Google account then you can simply copy the location link by tapping on Copy to Clipboard.
  • You can then send the link via any social media or phone messaging.
  • If you want to stop sharing the location then again open the app, go to location sharing, and click on Stop.

How to request someone’s location on Google Maps?

  • First, open Google Maps and click on the profile picture icon.
  • Go to location sharing and select the contact with whom you one to request location.
  • Tap on the Request option.
  • The person will receive a notification with your email address and that you requested the location.
  • Then the person can check your profile, accept the request, deny the request, or block your profile so that you cannot request anymore.

There are many other features on Google Maps that can come in handy. But, these two are the very basic and most important features you should know how to use.

Zoom

Zoom is finally rolling out its first phase of End-to-End Encryption offering

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On 14th October 2020, Zoom announced that it will be rolling out End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) from next week. From the beginning of the pandemic this year till now, Zoom has experienced both high stiff success and failure simultaneously. In the first few months, the new users in the Zoom platform accelerated at a very high rate. But, after the security system of the Zoom has been compromised, people started withdrawing from the platform as their privacy was at risk. Soon after the Zoombombing, we heard that Zoom launched End-to-End Encryption which was nothing but a hoax. But this time Zoom is genuinely starting E2E for the participants using the platform.

Zoom, in one of its blog posts, said that they are excited to roll out the E2EE in the coming week as a technical preview. For the first 30 days, they will be soliciting feedback from the users both free and paid. Zoom is rolling out the feature across the world and the host can add a maximum of 200 participants in an E2EE meeting and enjoy a more private and secured meeting. This is Phase 1 of the E2EE offering. There are three more on its way. Eric S. Yuan, CEO of Zoom, said that the company is rolling out E2EE to make Zoom the most secure communication platform in the world.

More about the Zoom E2EE offering

In a Zoom meeting, the Zoom cloud generates encryption keys that are distributed among the participants attending the meeting via the Zoom app. But, with the E2EE offering of the platform, the host will generate the encryption keys which will be distributed among other participants using public-key cryptography (generated in the device of the individual participant). This way the encryption keys cannot be decrypted and the content will become less vulnerable to leakage. The E2EE offering provided by Phase 1 is the same as the end-to-end encryption provided by any messaging platform. Zoom is striving to roll out this offering since May as the reputation went down due to compromised security.

Who gets the accessibility? 

At first, the company decided to roll out this feature exclusively for paid users. But, after receiving plenty of criticism the company has decided to make it available for both paid and free users. In this case, the free users need to go through an extra verification process to make sure that the user is genuine and to reduce the chances of any abusive content. To create or join an E2EE meeting, the user might need to verify the phone number or provide any additional piece of information.

Zoom
Image Source: prosyscom.tech

How to enable E2EE?

To participate in an E2EE meeting, the user must enable the E2EE meeting at the account level. Under Encryption select “End-to-end encryption” and opt-in to the same on a per meeting basis. If you are hosting a meeting, you can enable the E2EE setting for account, group, and user-level and the same can be locked at account or group level. The participants can join an E2EE meeting via Zoom desktop client, mobile apps, or Zoom Rooms.

After you enter an E2EE meeting, you can look at the upper left corner where you will find a green shield logo with a padlock in the middle of it. This is the indication that your meeting is E2E encrypted. This is similar to the GCM encryption logo but here the checkmark has been replaced with the padlock. The security code of the host is also visible to the participants so that they can verify if all the participants can see the same code. Before rolling out Phase 2, this is the level of security Zoom will provide to each one of its users.

Accessing Features

Since this encryption is the first phase of the four, there are certain limitations. Some of the limitations are you won’t be able to join before host, you will not have access to cloud recording, no access to streaming, live transcription, Breakout Rooms, polling, private chats, and meeting reaction. Though you will have an option to enable E2EE, one must prioritize if accessing all these features is more important than an extra layer of security. The next phase of the E2EE offering is tentatively scheduled for 2021.

Apple

Apple iPhone 12 launch event revealed a lot of new and affordable tech

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The Apple iPhone 12 launch event revealed a series of new gadgets especially the mini version of the existing smart devices. They are affordable and are equally efficient that gives the users an authentic iPhone experience. The iPhone 12 series along with the pro-line-up consists of 4 smartphones including iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone Pro, and iPhone Pro Max. Apart from the launch of the iPhone 12 series, Apple also launched HomePod Mini, a smaller and affordable version of the HomePod. Also, this is for the first time in Apple, that the new smartphones will have 5G connectivity.

There are many modifications in the iPhone 12 series starting with larger screens, better camera systems, new A14 Bionic processors, etc. So, let us have a detailed look at the specifications of these devices and prices in India as well.

Specifications of Apple iPhone 12 series

Apart from the fact that the iPhone 12 series supports 5G connectivity it also supports mmWave 5G in the United States. iPhone 12 comes with an OLED display screen and Ceramic Shield glass technology making it more durable. All the smartphones will have iOS 14 along with the new A14 Bionic SoC. This new A14 is a six-core processor with a four-core GPU which will make these smartphones the fastest of all. The new camera system of the iPhone 12 consists of two wide-angle sensors of 12 megapixels each. The photography results are claimed to be better in low-light photography as compared to the smartphones of the previous series. The company has also enabled its night mode for the front camera and also for video recording. It is a brilliant choice for users to do videography, especially in low-light. The new MagSafe charging support of the iPhone provides a maximum of 15W of wireless charging. The company is also working towards releasing a charger that will allow the user to charge iPhone 12 and Apple watch using the same charger. Apple will not provide headphones and charging adaptor in the box this time.

Apple
Image Source: cnet.com

The iPhone 12 mini has the same design, camera quality, processor, Super Retina XDR-display, and connectivity as that of the iPhone 12. The main differences between these two products are different in price and size. The iPhone 12 Mini comes with a 5.4-inch display and a lot lighter in weight.

The size of the iPhone 12 Pro is 6.1 inch and that of the iPhone 12 Pro Max is 6.7 inches. Apple has incorporated its Deep Fusion machine learning technology in the cameras to make the overall picture and video quality better. iPhone 12 Pro has three triple rear cameras (two wide-angle, one telephoto) while the telephoto sensor of the iPhone 12 Pro Max is better with a 5x zoom range and 2.5x optical range. The Pro series also has the option of HDR video recording and Dolby Vision HDR.

The price range of the new iPhone 12 series

Starting with the cheapest and smallest of all, the price of the iPhone 12 Mini in the Indian market is approximately Rs 69,900 for 64GB, and that for iPhone 12 is Rs 79,900. Outside India, the price of the iPhone 12 Mini is $699 and that of the iPhone 12 is $799. In India, the price of iPhone 12 Pro is Rs 1,19,000 (starting price) for 128GB base variant and for the iPhone 12 Pro Max is Rs 1,29,000 (starting price). Outside the Indian market, the price range is $999 for iPhone 12 Pro and $1,099 for iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Features of the HomePod Mini

Apple incorporated the S5 processor in HomePod Mini. The company has invested more time to improve the audio quality of the device. The new HomePod mini has computational audio technology that can automatically optimize the sound for your room. Moreover, if you turn on two HomePod Mini in one room, they will sync automatically and play music like a stereo pair. The HomePod mini will go through a major upgrade when iPhone’s U1 ultra wideband chip will be able to establish a stable connection with HomePod Mini helping to send feedback and audio handoff. Siri is the most important part of HomePod Mini as it will also recognize the voice of your family members and will give you a summary of the day when asked for an update. The price of Apple HomePod Mini in India is Rs 9,900.

Oxygen OS 11

Oxygen OS 11 rolling out for OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro Smartphone.

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On 10th October 2020, OnePlus announced that the company will be rolling out Oxygen OS 11 for OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro in India. The operating system Oxygen 11 is build based on stable Android 11 and this is for the first time the world is witnessing the fastest rollouts of Android 11 for a smartphone. With the launch of Oxygen OS 11 last week, and the scheduled launch of OnePlus 8T on 14th October, we can assume that OnePlus 8T will come with Oxygen OS 11.

In August of this year, the company launched the developer version of the OS followed by launching two open Betas for Oxygen OS 11 in September. Now, the stable version of the OS has been finally released which will also available for OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 7T Pro, OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, and OnePlus Nord in near future. The OS comes with many modified and new features and the company says that while installation the users must make sure the battery is a minimum of 30% in phone and storage of a minimum of 3GB is available.

Oxygen OS Features in the Beta 2 version

The Beta version of the Oxygen OS 11 was released in September and it came with a handful of new features. While releasing the Beta version of this OS, the company made many fixes for system optimization. Some of these fixes included repairing the black screen issue that the users face while clicking on the ‘Tips & Support’. Another major failure in the Beta one version of OS 11 is that it failed to activate Google Assistant in many situations which were fixed in this version. An ambient display feature was added to bring some chic style to your smartphone. This display feature was brand new and it is known as the ‘canvas’ feature which “can automatically draw a wireframe picture based on a lock screen photo on your phone”.

Before releasing the Open Beta 2, the HD icon was not centered on the call log and there were some issues with widgets not responding at times. They were all fixed in the new version. The company also fixed the system stability and optimized the power consumption for the latest 5G connectivity. Now, let’s have a look at the stable version of Oxygen OS 11 that rolled out last week.

Features of Oxygen OS 11

Oxygen OS 11
Image Source: gizchina.com
  • System Updates

Oxygen OS 11 comes with a brand new UI design so that the users get more comfortable using it. The company added a new weather UI that dynamically switches between sunrise and sunset. It has also improved efficiency and optimization for many third-party applications.

  • The Smart Display

A new feature, Always-on ambient Display has been added. All you have to do is go to Settings followed by Display and then turn on the Ambient Display. With the collaboration of Parsons School of Design, the new OS has added a new clock feature that changes according to the amount of data used. To enable this feature go to Settings followed by Customization and Clock Styles.

  • Modes for your different moods

With every application and OS eventually adding the dark mode, we are kind of getting addicted to it. So, the company has added a new shortcut to enable the dark mode in your phone. You can also enable the ‘turn on automatically’ feature that also helps in changing the mode from sunrise to sunset automatically. Apart from the dark mode, OnePlus also included 5 new themes under Zen mode. A group feature has been included in the Zen mode which allows you to invite friends and enable this mode together.

  • The Gaming arena

OnePlus has added three new ways of notification so that you have an uninterrupted gaming experience. The options are text-only, heads up, and block. Many new gaming tools have also been added for the Fnatic mode. A quick reply feature has also been added for Whatsapp and Instagram along with a mis-touch prevention feature.

Apart from all these new features, the gallery has also been optimized to create weekly videos automatically from saved pictures and videos. The image preview is also faster.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm is developing its gaming smartphone in partnership with Asus

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Many companies have launched excellent gaming phones in the last few years. Some of the best gaming phones to date are launched by Apple, Asus, Samsung, Sony, Black Shark, Nubia, etc. But, now it seems the leading company in the sphere of telecommunication and wireless networks is also entering the realm of a gaming smartphone. So, sit tight as Qualcomm in collaboration with Asus is going to launch a gaming smartphone as early as the end of this year.

The source of this news is Digitimes, a Taiwanese tech outlet. Though we still don’t have a name yet, the outlet has also mentioned that these gaming phones will be Qualcomm-branded. Both the companies are planning on designing more than one gaming smartphone and at least one of them will run by the Snapdragon 875 processor. The details about both the system integration and the outlook design are quite vague till now. But, Qualcomm has announced an event on 1st December 2020 to introduce the Snapdragon 875 SoC. It is expected that the company might mention further details about these gaming smartphones at the event.

Qualcomm and Asus Work distribution 

Till now Qualcomm and Asus have only made the collaboration public but nothing about these smartphones. But, it is expected that Qualcomm-branded gaming phones will also bear the mark of the Republic of Gamers as the company is partnering with Asus. These gaming smartphones are also expected to run in the latest Snapdragon processor, have a better display, and a comparatively larger battery. The model might also have a shoulder button but all these are just predictions and nothing can be certain until 1st December. We also know that Qualcomm traditionally rolls out its new flagship product in December. So, there are high chances that these gaming gadgets will be in our hands by the Q1 of 2021.

In terms of which company will be looking after which field of product development, Asus is going with the hardware part thus responsible for both designing and developing while Qualcomm has the responsibility of industrial design and “software integration optimizing its Snapdragon 875 platform”. The Snapdragon 875 SoC is most likely to have an Ardeno series GPU. Now, the question is which one will be better, the upgraded Ardeno GPU or GeForce mobile GPU.

Qualcomm
Image Source: pocketnow.com

A joint partnership of Qualcomm and Asus

Not only the company is building the product together but also buying the components together as well. Sources have informed Digitimes that the agreements between Qualcomm and Asus also clearly mention the joint purchasing of components required for making these gaming smartphones (both Asus ROG gaming phones and Qualcomm gaming phones). The electronic devices that are mentioned in the agreement are screens, memory, camera modules, cooling solutions, and batteries.

Buying the components together is a very smart tactic to reduce the production cost and thus maximize the profit. Moreover, it is Asus that has created the entire series of ROG mobile gaming phones that have kept on impressing the users consistently. So, through the joint cost of purchasing Asus might have better bargaining power on this agreement later to boost its line of production. Also, we might find some analogous relationship between the core design of Qualcomm gaming smartphones and ROG as well as the later is monitoring the entire hardware development.

Production

After the joint partnership, both Qualcomm and Asus expect to produce a million units of the gaming smartphones annually. Out of the expected one million smartphones, half of the gaming phones will be launched from Asus as ROG gaming phones and the other half will be Qualcomm branded gaming smartphones. If you are planning to buy a gaming phone you might just want to wait for this one. Because with Asus’s designing which sells one of the best gaming smartphones and laptops, the technology of this new Qualcomm’s gaming phone is going to be exciting as well.

Apart from the upcoming Qualcomm’s smartphones designed for gaming, some of the best gaming phones of this year are Honor 9X Pro, Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, OnePlus 8 Pro, etc. So, after the launch of this product, you can compare the phones and make the choice yourself.