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Whatsapp Testing a Standalone App for iPad and Working on a New Feature to Restrict Fake News

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According to a report from WABetaInfo, Whatsapp is testing its latest version for the iPad users. Noticeably, Whatsapp has been the most favourite messaging app for both iPhone and Android users, but it has always lagged behind for its iPad users, who could only use the web version of Whatsapp by connecting it with their iPhones.

Whats App for iPad
Image Source: iphonehacks.com

The company is about to update its Whats App version to v2.19.40, which now may also be available for the iPad as a standalone App. The users now will be able to use Whatsapp directly on their iPads by signing in to the app through their registered phone number. This is great news for the iPad users as now they will have access to their WhatsApp account on a bigger screen, and even by splitting the screen, it will provide better visibility.

Also, amid the elections, the company has also revealed a few new features, among which there is a new option for Android users, where the group admins will be able to stop the frequently forwarded messages such that to help stop the spread of fake news. The feature will only be available for the group admins and will appear on the sub-section of the group settings. It will be enabled by default, and the group admin can disable it from the settings.

Though the company has mentioned that the feature is still in its development phase, this is one of the most desired features for every Whats App user, especially in India.

On one hand, the iPad is about to get its own standalone Whatsapp ‘app’, which will include all the features like chatting, video calls, etc., and all the bug fixes. On the other hand, people will be able to ignore the fake news and stop them from further spreading.

The company has not revealed any launch dates for the both as both are still under the development and testing phase.

Photon by Rocket Lab will Save Millions of Dollars of its Customers on Satellite Manufacturing

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The small satellite launcher Rocket Lab has unveiled ‘Photon’, a circular satellite platform, at the 35th Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs on Monday, which according to the company will help people reach to the orbit faster and save millions of money.

Rocket Lab is one of the private leaders in the launch and satellite services, and now the company is trying to get its hold on the complete satellite manufacturing solutions for its customers.

rocket lab photon
Image Source: climate.nasa.gov

With Photon, the company has brought a fully customizable satellite that can be modified according to the need of the client, and they do not have to build whole satellite hardware for their Low Earth Orbit missions, like technology demonstration or hosted payload. Photon will help create satellites that will be launched to the orbit on Rocket Lab’s upper stage of the Electron rocket.

In general, even if the satellite companies want to test or launch a satellite, or send delicate sensors or cameras to space, they have to create their own hardware spending millions of dollars, but now with Photon, the companies will get new option to cut the cost as well as reduce the risk.

Peter Beck, the CEO of Rocket Lab, said in a statement, “Launch was the first bit that we needed to solve, but it always seemed crazy to me that the rocket builder did not also build the hardware for a satellite. Photon means satellite companies don’t need to invest millions of dollars in bringing together a team and manufacturing complex space hardware.”

Photon’s design is based on the successfully-flown kick stage, that was used in four out of five Electron launches. Photon has got the GPS support, a flight computer, a 3D-printed Curie engine and more. It has been equipped with propulsion, providing it with the capability of staying in the orbit for five years by adjusting with outer conditions like the altitude. The satellite can weigh up to 374 pounds (170 kilograms).

According to Beck, Photon is a complete satellite solution, that will help the customers to drop the coordination phase between different companies during the manufacturing of satellite, and Rocket Lab will be responsible for most of the work.

Ecobee Secretly Trying its Hands on the Indoor Smart Security Cameras

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The famous smart thermostats manufacturing company Ecobee, reportedly, is enhancing its expertise, and the next product from the company may be a home security camera. According to a few leaked camera pictures, first obtained by ZatzNotFunny, the company has been working on an indoor camera for quite some time now.

ecobee home security camera
Image Source: iclarified.com

Looking at the leaked images, there is a black colour camera which is mounted over a silver colour cone-shaped stand. On the top, it has four lights, that flashes yellow or blue light. Reportedly, the camera from Ecobee might be the next home smart device.

Purportedly, the camera may have support for Amazon’s Alexa or perhaps it will be a standalone Alexa speaker. Noticeably, in 2018, Amazon invested a huge amount of money into Ecobee, that too from the Alexa funds and some of the older Ecobee products, including ecobee4 and Ecobee Switch+, also have got the support for a few Alexa features. So there are higher chances that this device will have some good Alexa features, too.

It is also expected that the camera may act as a sensor for the Ecobee thermostats as well as may include the room temp and humidity capabilities. Also like the other Ecobee products, including the ecobee3 lite and ecobee4 thermostat, may have the support for the HomeKit, depending upon if the new camera is wired or is powered by a battery. Since due to the more power drain, all the devices that support the HomeKit are wired. Many of the security camera manufacturers have already enabled the Homekit for its advanced features.

The company has been providing thermostat products enabled with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana support. And, by building an indoor camera, the company is trying to grow itself into other fields of home products, too. The company has not commented on the matter, and also, the launch date or the price of the product has not been revealed as yet.

Samsung Reports the Lowest Quarterly Profit Since 2016

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Like every year, Samsung reports its Q1 profits at the end of April, and ahead of that, the company has revealed that it is likely to face 60 per cent of the decline in its quarterly profits compared to the previous year. The company has reported that the decline in the profits is due to the rapid decrease in the sales of memory chips and its display products.

samsung
Image Source: komando.com

Noticeably, the 2018’s Q1 operating profit was reported to be 15.64 trillion South Korean won, which now has fallen to 6.2 trillion won for this year’s Q1 operating profits. According to Samsung, it had already expected a 14 per cent decline in its operating profits for the first quarter of 2019, which was estimated to be around 13.2 trillion South Korean won.

In the past year, the memory chips prices dropped by a surprising rate, and the company too had stated that price drops were “larger than expected.” This report of the operating profits indicates the Q1 2019 profits will be the lowest since the third quarter of 2016 (due to the worldwide recall of it’s over exploding batteries of Galaxy Note 7 in 2016). In past few years, Samsung has been getting hints on the slowing down of the growth of the company, and even the company is aware of that, as the analysts’ reports has been revealing the continuous decrease in the sales of Samsung products.

Samsung though is trying hard to compete with the biggest tech giants like Apple, the main source of its profits has always been the mid-range products. Also, its semiconductor division has been the greatest contributor to its high revenues. So it may be the time when the company should focus on its loyal customers, and the mid-tier products to secure that additional revenue.

But according to the analysts, this decline in the profits will remain for a bit longer, especially in the memory chip division. The price of the memory chips may decrease up to 20 per cent in the coming future, and then in Q2, the semiconductor division may see even lower profits.,

Snapchat Launched a New Gaming Platform & other New Features at its First Partner Conference

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Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel hosted the Snapchat’s first partner summit in Los Angeles on Thursday, where he announced a few new features, and a new suite of products, in his keynote speech. According to Spiegel, the company is all set to introduce a new revamped AR camera, Snap Games, and integration with third-party apps.

The company has been facing a lot of pressure and competition by its rival companies, Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, Snapchat is also trying to get ahead of the competition by introducing new features and products.

snapchat
Image Source: techspot.com

Going through the facts, Spiegel said, “In the United States, Snapchat now reached nearly 75 per cent of all 13-34-year-olds, and we reach 90 per cent of 13-24-year-olds. In fact, we reach more 13-24-year-olds than Facebook or Instagram in the United States, the UK, France, Canada and Australia.”

Like its contemporaries, Apple and Google, Snapchat has introduced an ad-supported Snapchat gaming platform and has teamed up with some renowned game developers. The platform will be rolling out the game titles including Bitmoji Party, Tiny Royale, Snake Squad, C.A.T.S. Drift Race, Zombie Rescue Squad, and Alphabear Hustle. The Bitmoji kit has also got new updates, and now those Bitmojis will also reflect in Venmo and Fitbit devices.

The Snapchat Lenses integrated with Augmented Reality, now will help its users to solve math equations and other features like body tracking, hand tracking as well as pet tracking are also added to it. The new AR bar will be located under the Lense slider, and the user can select any of the options according to their need. Also, over 400,000 Lenses have been created for the updated Snapchat.

The company has also introduced Landmarks, that includes filters that are specifically designed to get applied when the camera points to any of the iconic places like Eiffel Tower in Paris, Capitol One building in Washington, Buckingham Palace, The Flatiron Building in New York City, etc.

According to Snapchat, now the users will be able to post the stories directly to its other partner social media platforms. The first platform that will have this feature is Tinder. Also, Snapchat will let the users share the music they are listening to on the JioSaavn on Snapchat and Netflix will also get similar support.

The company is also about to monetise the third party apps to help its partners to get some benefits.

Beats to Launch its First True Wireless Earbuds ‘Powerbeats Pro’ which are Costlier than Latest AirPods

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The competition in the wireless earbuds market is increasing every other day, and companies like Apple and Samsung are one of the leaders of the very field. Recently, Apple launched its second-generation AirPods, and now, the Apple-acquired Beats is also set to enter into the competition independently with its Powerbeats Pro.

powerbeats-pro
Image Source: thurrott.com

The Powerbeats Pro is a pair of $250 wireless earbuds. Beats has worked well on the design of the product, and it comes with a better grip and better battery life, i.e., the Powerbeats Pro can be used continuously for 9 hours straight.

Having been worked with Apple, Beats has created a similar design and has got an over-the-ear hook, which keeps the earbuds on its place when the user is walking, running or working out.

“Over 20 configurations were electronically modelled and physically tested. The result is a completely new, ergonomically angled acoustic housing that nests comfortably in the concha bowl of the ear with an off-axis nozzle,” said Beats in the announcement.

The earbuds ships with volume controls in both the earpieces. The earbuds do not have any power button but include motion sensors, so the earbuds go to sleep whenever stays idle for a longer time. Like the other wireless earplugs, the Powerbeats Pro gets paused as soon as removed from ears and start to play the music when gets plugged into the ears.

According to Beats, the earbuds are 23 per cent smaller and 17 per cent lighter than the Powerbeats 3, and the audio quality for the calls has also been improved in this model. It also provides noise reduction property to enhance the call quality. The Powerbeats Pro is sweat and water resistant.

The earbuds include the same Apple H1 chip that provides the support for Apple-only feature Siri.

The elements that can be considered as the drawbacks are the bigger size of the charging case, no wireless charging available for the earbuds, and no LED light to show the charging status.

Though these earbuds are built by the Apple-acquired company, these are also compatible with Android devices. The Powerbeats Pro earbuds work well on the criteria of ‘true’ wireless earbuds, but these are on the pricier side. In fact, these cost $50 more than the latest second generation AirPods. Since Beats has been a leader in the field of earphone and headphone manufacturing, we can expect the Powerbeats Pro to get more user base. The company will start shipping the Powerbeats Pro earbuds from the beginning of May this year.