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A Quick Look at the New Features Coming to Android Devices Like Google Pixel

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Google recently announced its December update for its Pixel devices. Several updates and features that have been added to this roll-out will also be available for other Android devices, such as the Pixel 3. However, some of the features have been introduced exclusively for the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5. Since Indians have access only to the Pixel 4a, enthusiasts have been patiently awaiting this announcement to see what new features they will be gaining next year. Let us now take a look at all the new features announced and what value it adds to smartphone users in India.

Google Pixel Features Galore

Some of the new features that have been added to the Android devices include Extreme Battery Saver, Contextual translation, and Home Screen Customisation. All these features will be available on the Pixel 4, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3, all of which are sold in India. Let us now take a closer look at all the features announced by Google.

Google Pixel
Image Source: robertschlatter.com

Extreme Battery Saver: Helps by limiting the usage of battery to only a few handfuls of essential apps. The feature will enable the device’s battery to last longer than ever imagined before helping users who always run out of power mid-meeting.

Duo Screen Share: This feature is an absolute necessity during this COVID-19 pandemic, wherein people are conducting all business meetings online. It allows users to share their screens and windows while taking Duo calls, helping make meetings a lot more organized and coordinated.

Enhanced Google Lens: The Google Lens update allows it to help users by translating to their native language if needed. All users have to do is take a screenshot of whatever they need to translate by swing up to the recent app’s overview, making traveling a lot easier than ever before.

Playlist Export: This interesting new feature will allow you to store the tracks you listen to while driving or waiting in line in the supermarket. Since Google Music will soon become obsolete, the device will allow users to export their Now Playing playlist to YouTube music, helping make all our lives easier.

Home Screen Customisation: A prominent Android feature, such high levels of customization allow users to make their device a true expression of themselves. The new update enables users to change their icon shapes, app shapes, and grid views. It also introduces new wallpapers through Google Arts and Culture. Pixel devices will also have a slew of new and original Mandalorian wallpapers which all Star Wars fans will appreciate and truly enjoy.

Hold for Me

The new Hold for Me feature allows users to enable the Google Assistant to stay on the line when they are busy with other calls. The Assistant stays on the line patiently and informs the other person when someone is ready to take the call and talk. This feature can be quite useful to entrepreneurs who have to take hundreds of business calls every day. However, this feature will be limited to devices sold and used in the USA.

Android Updates to Watch Out For

Some of the other features that all Android users will be able to enjoy after the December update are as follows;

  1. The Emoji Kitchen is getting a major revamp and will now feature over 14,000 unique designs. Users will now have the option of tapping on two emojis and creating a slew of different combinations. The Gboard will display suggestions of combinations or extreme versions when users either tag or double-tap a particular emoji. This feature will be available on all devices that have Android 6 or higher and unique holiday season stickers will soon go live on Google Play.
  2. To assist the differently-abled, the Voice Access will feature new commands. Some of the new actions include ones to open Photos, start a Search, or open your Map among others. The feature is expected to help make navigation more comfortable than ever before and will run on all devices that have Android 6 or higher.
  3. Google Maps will now allow users to pin their favorite destinations and routes with the new Go tab. Hence, all users can now receive real-time Estimated Time of Arrivals to their favorite coffee shop or office at all times. The feature will extend to public transport services and will feature multiple routes to all destinations, and will also be available on iOS devices.

Additionally, the Nearby Share feature will allow users to share their apps with devices without Wi-Fi or cellular data. All users have to do is click on Share Apps via My Apps and Games and then choose the apps they wish to share. Once the receiver taps on Accept, they will receive all the apps selected. Most of these features will be available to most Pixel models including;

  1. Pixel 3
  2. Pixel 3 XL
  3. Pixel 3a
  4. Pixel 3a XL
  5. Pixel 4
  6. Pixel 4 XL
  7. Pixel 4a
  8. Pixel 4a 5G
  9. Pixel 5

It will be interesting to see when these new features will drop, and how fans will rate them based on functionality and ease of use.

bumble

Bumble and OkCupid Have a Flaw Putting User Data of Millions at Risk

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Data security has been gaining prominence in recent years thanks to data activists and experts. As more and more people have started asking questions regarding their user data, companies have also started to become more stringent. User data becomes quite sensitive, especially when used to find suitable matches on popular dating websites and apps. A recent allegation regarding a significant flaw in apps such as OkCupid, Bumble, and Grindr have left millions worried about their personal data. Here’s a quick look at what the flaw is, how it can impact people, and what the experts are doing about it.

Bumble Putting User Data of Millions at Risk

Apps such as OkCupid, Grindr, Bumble, Yango Pro, PowerDirector, and several others are vulnerable to a flaw in the Play Core library. This defect puts the user data of millions of people at risk as per a report by Check Point. The research firm believes that though Google patched this flaw in April, app developers are yet to make the required changes. For the fix to work, the developers have to install the new Play Core library to neutralize the threat. However, all the apps mentioned above still make use of the old library, putting them at risk. Apps such as Booking and Viber were some of the few that updated their Play Core library and mitigated the risk.

bumble
Image Source: pcmag.com

What is the flaw?

The security experts at Check Point noted that Bumble, Grindr, and OkCupid are vulnerable to the CVE-2020-8913. While Google released a new patch in April, for the flaw rooted in the widely used Play Core library, failure to update the library leaves these apps at risk. The Play Core library is responsible for notifying users of in-app updates and feature modules for their phones. The CVE-2020-8913 allows threat actors to siphon off user data through these vulnerable apps. As a result, the flaw could lead to millions of people losing their private information. The leaked data will include critical information, including financial details, email passwords, and login credentials. The CVE-2020-8913 flaw allows hackers to add their executable modules to apps that use the Play Core library. Hence, arbitrary codes can be compromised to execute with malicious intent

Google’s Response

Google acknowledged that the bug was serious and gave it a severity rating of 8.8 out of 10. They responded quickly by releasing a patch that remedied the problem, way back in April. However, app developers have not been careful enough, and are yet to install the new update putting millions at risk of a data breach. Experts at Check Point note that over 13% of all Google Play apps they analyzed in September leveraged the Google Play Core library. Unfortunately, over 8% of these apps still used the vulnerable version, with only a few making the switch to the safer version. Even ones like Viber and Booking only updated after the experts at Check Point brought the matter to their attention.

Potential Danger

Aviran Hazum, who serves as the Manager of Research on Mobiles at Check Point, believes that hundreds of millions of users now face a security risk. Since CVE-2020-8913 is highly dangerous, the developers not installing the new patch is highly risky. In case any malicious application finds its way into this vulnerability, it can compromise several popular applications and gain the same access as the app. For instance, the vulnerability allows for the stealing of the two-factor authentication codes or even that of banking application credentials.

A threat actor could also manipulate social media apps to spy on others and grab messages from people, leading to a large number of attack possibilities. Hence, all users who have such apps on their phones are putting their data at risk. Experts are therefore recommending users to uninstall these apps until developers install the new patch and mitigate the risk of a breach. Since the security firm has notified the apps regarding the vulnerability, an update is expected son from their side. Following such an update, users can reinstall the apps and continue to use them as they did before.

QoQ Growth

Global Production of Smartphones Surges Ahead with Highest QoQ Growth

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The global smartphone industry had taken quite a hit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the industry seems to be back on its feet, owing to new releases and a surge in demand. The global production of smartphones has shown a marked increase of 20% on quarter-on-quarter growth. The increase takes the production to 336 million units in 2020’s third quarter as per market research done by TrendForce. In this article, we will take a closer look at this report and what it means for smartphone users around the world.

QoQ Growth

The report highlights how this is the highest QoQ reported in recent years, despite the slowdown caused by the global pandemic. TrendForce also noted that the comparisons of various QoQ clearly outline a recovery from the plummet in demand caused by COVID-19. However, even with such a surge in production, only Xiaomi and Samsung were able to increase their market share this quarter out of the top six.

Companies Moving Ahead

As per TrendForce’s data, Samsung experienced a QoQ growth of 42% producing 78 million units last quarter. This massive growth helped the smartphone giant retain its global top spot. However, the research predicts that Samsung will drop its production to 62 million, indicating a drop of 16 million units by the end of the holiday season. As the company faces stiff competition from the Apple iPhone 12 series, after the holiday stockpiling in Europe and North America, there will be a reduction in production.

Coming in second is Oppo, with a 64% QoQ increase that saw the company produce 45 million units in the third quarter. However, this figure also includes devices from the Realme, OnePlus, and Oppo lines, leading to a higher number. Following close behind was Xiaomi which experienced a 51% QoQ boost leading to the production of 44.5 million units. Due to the comparative figures, TrendForce recorded that both Xiaomi and Oppo shares the second spot.

Other Companies in the Mix

Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi have all benefitted from Huawei’s loss of market share. Huawei has had to deal with American sanctions that have severely impacted its production and demand. Both Oppo and Xiaomi are planning to boost their production in the fourth quarter. Estimated production volumes for Oppo and Xiaomi include 47 million and 46 million units respectively. 

QoQ Growth
Image Source: nextbigbrand.in

Meanwhile, Apple dropped to the fourth position on the chart due to a QoQ growth of a meager 2%. The American giant produced only 42 million units in the third quarter, and this drop is attributed to the delay in launching the iPhone 12. Researchers believe that the launch of the 12 series will reinstate Apple’s high position on global charts, with production volume estimates being as high as 74 million units in the fourth quarter.

Bottom End of the Chart

Mirroring Apple’s position was Huawei, which produced 42 million units in the third quarter, on par with Apple. However, the company witnessed a QoQ decline as large as 19%, which experts believe will fall to a whopping 30% by the end of the fourth quarter. As a result, their production volume is expected to shrink to 30 million units. Vivo came in sixth with a QoQ increase of 13%, producing 30 million units in the third quarter. However, experts believe that the company will expand production to 35 million units in the fourth quarter, indicating a higher QoQ in the future.

Political Tensions

TrendForce’s experts noted that the ongoing India-China border dispute will put even more pressure on companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo. As Indians take a more patriotic and nationalist approach to production and purchase, these companies will face hurdles in their sales efforts. India remains a primary foreign market for all these manufacturers, and they may experience a loss of market share if these sentiments are to continue. The trio of brands enjoy a robust local supply chain in India and have a strong brand identity. However, if the dispute drags on Indian buyers might gravitate towards their competitors, marking a decline in sales for them.

TrendForce also noted that the global production of smartphones for 2020, experienced a YoY drop of 11%. This year, the total production volume touched 1.25 billion units, and this is expected to grow to 1.36 billion units in 2021. Therefore, smartphone manufacturers can expect a surge in demand in the coming year, helping them recover fully from the lull caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

EU and tech giants

Tech Giants Face another Threat from the EU

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Technology companies have been feeling the heat ever since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. Throughout these last six months, they have faced various sanctions and threats from around the world. With the EU trying to bring into play a Data tax, and the American government investigating their power, big tech firms have been under the microscope this year. Several nations around the world have also stated that their handling of false news amidst the global health pandemic has not been satisfactory. The EU, in particular, has been sharp regarding its criticism of the power yielded by such companies. Now once again, the EU has threatened to ban them from the European market unless they follow EU regulations. Let us now take a look at what the ban could mean for the big tech firms and what guidelines the EU wants to be implemented.

EU Ban on the Horizon

The services of tech companies could be banned from the EU unless they follow the organization’s guidelines. EU’s chief of industry, Thierry Breton while speaking to a German weekly named Wely am Sonntag pointed out that the EU is in the process of finalizing their data handling rules. The EU has been very vocal in its criticism of big tech companies, and have been drafting better policies to control the power they wield. The new rules named the Digital Services Act, and the Digital Markets Act will revolutionize the tech industry within Europe. Breton and Margrethe Vestager, who serves as the European Competition Commissioner, will announce the new guidelines on 2 December.

What are the new rules about?

The new guidelines will serve as a list of Do’s and Don’ts for tech companies, acting as gatekeepers for such companies. They will limit the power yielded by such companies and prevent them from monopolizing the European market. It will also force such companies to share the data they collect with both rivals and regulators. Hence, it will also serve as a significant deterrent to the promotion of their services and products unfairly. All of these laws will help the EU have a more significant say on the power and exclusivity yielded by large tech firms. 

EU and tech giants
Image Source: medium.com

Who impact will the new rules have on the market?

The newly drafted rules will have a massive impact on American tech firms, which have been on the firing line for the past year. The EU pin-pointed Alphabet-owned Google, which has failed to stop its anti-competition activities. In the past, Google has been criticized for monopolizing the market and driving competition out by unfairly promoting its services and products. While it has been called out several times, the American giant has failed to curb such practices. Certain industry experts want the EU enforcers to do more than order companies to stop. Hence, the newly drafted rules will give the EU the power to ban such companies from the coalition. As a result, it is safe to say that the tech giants will take these new laws more seriously, fearing a ban from the 27-country political bloc.

What is the need for such rules?

However, until the EU passes the newly drafted rules, the organization does not have the power to enforce its threats. Breton told the German weekly that the power to enforce its threats is important if people wish to see any change. He was clear to state that the EU was done waiting for the change to occur organically. Having appropriate rules and measures in place, including fines, penalties, legal action, and bans will help the companies take these laws more seriously. The laws also allow the enforces to split companies up and limit their access to the Single market, helping them put some weight behind their threats.

However, Breton was quick to point out that the committee would take only required measures, saving the strictest rules for exceptional cases. Also, it is clear to see that big tech firms fear such rules. Google launched a 60-day plan to gain American allies to push back against such EU regulations. Donald Trump has also been vocal regarding his criticism of such strict laws and rules against American companies. But, it looks like such rules will become a reality soon enough and that the tech giants will have to curb their power finally. Such a move coupled with the enforcement of the Data tax would lead to tech giants, such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft becoming more accountable for their actions. We will have to wait and see to what extent the EU goes in a bid to fight the tech giants and their unchecked power.

Google Pay UPI

Google Pay and PhonePe Hit Back Against New Government Regulation Regarding UPI Payments

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India’s move to cap digital payments within the nation has drawn flak from all quarters. Global tech mogul Google on Friday expressed its discontent regarding the new rule, which will make things difficult for its payment portal- Google Pay. India recently decided to put a cap on the amount or share of financial transactions facilitated by payment platforms. Google stated that curtailing the freedom of such platforms would hinder India’s growing digital payments economy. In this article, we will take a look at the new rule brought out by India, and how it can impact digital payments.

Google Pay and PhonePe Hit by India’s New Rule

Google’s criticism came as a result of a new rule passed by the Indian government. The National Payments Corp of India released a notice on Thursday regarding how third-party payment platforms will process only 30% of all UPI transactions from January 1, 2021. The NCPI is India’s flagship UPI payment-processing platform. The UPI framework has grown in popularity in India over the last few years due to its ability to facilitate easy and seamless transactions. The new rule will prevent third-party apps from cornering the market as it puts a threshold based on the total volume of financial transactions occurring within India.

Prevents Growth of Other Apps

Such a move will restrict the growth of other payment services, such as the ones offered by Google, Walmart, and Facebook. However, it will help accelerate the development of portals hosted by Reliance Jio and SoftBank’s Paytm, both of which have bank permits. As per NPCI records, over 2.07 billion UPI transactions were made in October. Walmart-owned PhonePe processed over 40% of such transactions, whereas Google Pay came in a close second. PhonePe processed over 83.5 crore transactions in October while, Google Pay facilitated around 82 crore transactions. They were followed by a dozen other platforms splitting the rest of the market share. Both GPay and PhonePe exceed the cap set by the NPCI and will receive two years to maintain compliance with the new laws.

Google Pay UPI
Image Source: studiobook.in

Reaction from the platforms

Sajith Sivanandan, who serves as the Business Head of GPay, said that such a move was very unexpected. He went on to say that it would have an impact on hundreds of millions of users, leading to a drop in the adoption of UPI payments in the country. However, the new laws will not have an impact on Jio Payments Bank and Paytm as they do not come under the category of third-party apps. Certain experts said that such a move gives stimulus to the theory that the government is pitting foreign players against Indians. They questioned the NPCI’s move to place a cap on third-party platforms and not all platforms on the whole. 

However, as expected, the spokesman for Paytm said that such a move would help grow the UPI infrastructure in India. They went on to say that the new rules would help de-risk and diversify the UPI transactions market in the country. PhonePe CEO, Sameer Nigam said that the company would try its best to ensure that the new rule does not disrupt UPI services for its customers. 

Facebook left behind 

The new rule came out right after NPCI finally permitted Facebook-owned WhatsApp to begin a payment service in India. The authority had cleared the roll-out of such a service in a limited capacity to over 20 million users. While the long-awaited approval came as a sigh of relief for the company, the new rule will inhibit their growth prospects. While WhatsApp has a customer base of over 400 million users, this new rule will create problems for the company. However, the company welcomed the approval by stating that the combination of WhatsApp and UPI would help India’s rural population participate more freely in the digital economy. 

Such a move has been in the works since 2019, wherein the cap was supposed to be at 50% in the first year, and reduced to 40% in the second year. However, the NPCI has gone ahead with a flat rate for the cap but giving companies two years to comply with the regulations.  Ram Rastogi, who is a former NPCI executive, stated that the new move would help foster healthy competition. He ventured to say that since PhonePe and GPay together accounted for almost 80% of the market, bringing in such a cap would help diversify the market. Furthermore, experts believe that such a move would also help the government prevent cybersecurity threats. Also, more competition would help make the market less vulnerable, while also allowing the authorities better controls over the market.

apple

Apple reportedly ‘Setting Up’ efforts to build a Google Search alternative

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With the recent launch of iOS14 and iPadOS14, users have noticed that the queries show search results without Google Search. This is an indication that Apple is trying to build its search engine and has no further plan to use Google Search as the default search engine. Since the user queries can be answered without the support of Google, it can be said that Apple is making a pretty fast and impressive development on the way to its own search engine. This Cupertino Company with efficient search capabilities in iOS14 and iPadOS14 has proved that it will be soon ready to challenge Google’s search engine and replace it for once and all.

If we go a little backward in time we can connect the dots as Apple earlier this year posted job openings for search engineers. So, Tim Cook was determined for a long time to create the company’s default search engine followed by incorporating it in the latest version of iOS, that is, iOS14. Now, when users type a query on the home screen it displays a direct link to the websites without opening in Google Search.

Why is Apple creating a new search engine?

Recently, the relationship between Apple and Google has gone sore thus bringing the two under antitrust scrutiny. The US antitrust authorities have threatened the payment made to Apple by Google for securing the position of default search engine on iPhones and iPads. The web search capability of Apple’s smartphones always plays a major role in deciding the overall in-house development of the company. So, if they can successfully make an alternative search engine, it will increase the value of the company and make it independent of Google Search. According to some industry experts, Apple is creating its search engine mainly to attack Google. The former has not made any major official announcement regarding the search engine but where there is smoke there is fire.

Strategies and plot twists

In 2018, Apple hired John Giannandrea, Google’s head of search to improve the existing AI capabilities of the company and to boost the performance of Siri, the virtual assistant. John came with eight years of experience in working with the Google search engine. John’s hiring along with the recent opening for search engineers will create a very strong team for the development of an alternative search engine. So, if the relationship between Google and Apple comes to an end in terms of the Google search engine, Apple will not face any adverse situation.

Apple

After the case launched by the US Department of Justice last week, Bill Coughran, Google’s former engineering chief, said that Apple already has a credible team if they want to go for developing a more general search engine. Many search marketing experts also noticed that the activity of Applebot has increased ridiculously in recent weeks. Applebot is iPhone’s web crawler and the increased rate of crawling means that it is trying to gather more information from the internet. In the new iOS14, Apple’s home screen shows a list of search suggestions generated by Apple’s search engine and not Google. The search result is based on AI thus showing results according to the common queries.

Will apple become a strong competition? 

Standing up to Google as a strong rival could take years, but currently, Apple has shown excellent developments with the alternative search engine. Apple has both a good team of engineers and capital to sign up for a long-term investment. Since the beginning, Apple has focused more on developing every bit of its product in-house starting from the smartphones to the watches. It wants to create a very strong integration between the hardware and the software components. But, for a long time, Apple was stuck with Google’s search engine. Though Apple still has the option to choose between keeping Google Search as the default search engine or become its rival, the stakes are high for the latter option.

Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google’s former head of advertising, said that to build a search engine it should have 20bn-50bn pages in its active index. Along with this, the system has to rank the pages within milliseconds when the user runs a query. It will be extremely difficult for Apple to create a search engine as big as Google but it is not impossible.