Category: Tech

Redmi Pad launched in India at competitive price

The tablet market in India has seen a boom in recent years with key players introducing a number of budget tablets in the market. Xiaomi introduced the Xiaomi Pad 5 a few months back packing in powerful specs in the midrange segment. Now, Redmi has come up with its first tablet titled Redmi Pad which is launched at the introductory pricing of Rs12,999 for the base 3+64GB model. The device is currently available to buy on Mi.com and all other retail partners of Xiaomi. Read below to know all the specifications of the Redmi Pad:

Redmi Pad specifications

The tablet packs a solid 10.61-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, at the rate of Rs 12999, this is the cheapest tablet to offer a high refresh rate. The tablet also comes with Widevine L1 certification so that users can enjoy watching content in HD. The tablet comes equipped with an 8MP front camera for video calls. It is powered by the MediaTek Helio G99 with support of up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. There is also the support of expandable storage with support of up to 1TB. other features include Bluetooth 5.3, dual bank WiFi 5, dual microphones, and also a built-in document speaker.

It comes with a 2K display which is also surprising for this price range. The Redmi Pad runs on MIUI 13 based on Android 12 out of the box. users get all the features they expect from a tablet like split screen, floating window, multi-window support, reading mode, and much more. YouTube fanatics will be happy to know that the tab also comes bundled with 2 months of free YouTube Premium. The Redmi Pad is backed by an 8000 mAh battery with the support of 18W fast charging. It is quite odd that the device only supports 18W fast charging but it comes bundled with a 22.5W fast charger in the box. Redmi claims that the device can offer 21+ hours of video playback and 12+ hours of gaming. You can buy the Redmi Pad from Mi’s official website – HERE.

Twitter rolls out ‘Edit’ option

For years Twitter users have adamantly demanded the option to edit tweets. I’ve had to delete a tweet and write it down after missing out on a word or misspelling one many times, I am sure you have gone through the same. But it looks like Twitter has finally heard what its users suggested for years and provided an edit option, but there is a catch! Weeks after Twitter announced that it will launch an edit option for its paid subscribers, the microblogging social media giant posted its very first edited tweet. Check it out below:

Twitter’s Edit Option

https://twitter.com/TwitterBlue/status/1575590534529556480?s=20&t=rhUXBEFl2lNda7Er4f140A

As of now, only Twitter Blue subscribers living in New Zealand, Canada and Australia can edit their tweets. Thus it is a paid feature and not a free one. The company has stated that Blue subscribers in the US will soon be getting the feature but there is no word about the feature making its way to Twitter in India as there is not even a Twitter Blue subscription model launched in the country. In the tweet above, you can see a pencil symbol which notifies users that the tweet was edited. Users can then click on the pencil symbol and check out the edit history of the tweet. So, users thinking that they can easily hide their typos and mistakes by simply editing a tweet won’t be able to do so.

I think Twitter as a microblogging website has surely gotten late to introduce this feature. The edit option should have made its way to Twitter years back but better late than never! To edit their tweets users need to pay up $4.99 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription. When it comes to the actual functionality of the edit button, users can edit their tweets multiple times only in the first 30 minutes after the tweet has been published. Twitter describes the 30-minute time frame as a short period of time to fix typos and missed tags. being an ardent fan of the microblogging platform, I cannot wait for Twitter Blue and the edit option to become available in India.

Moto G72 launched in India with Helio G99 and 108MP triple camera

Motorola has been on a streak of launching great devices in the Indian market. It was just a few weeks back when Moto India released the flagship Moto Edge 30 Ultra and the midrange flagship Moto Edge 30 Fusion. Now, the company has launched the Moto G72 adding another device in its G series. The main attraction of the Moto G72 is the 6.6-inch pOLED display which is paired with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Check all the details about the newly launched Moto G72 below:

Moto G72 launched

Besides the 120Hz refresh rate, the Moto G72 screen also comes with a 576Hz touch sampling rate and support for HDR10, it also has a peak brightness of 1300 nits. There is an in-display fingerprint scanner here. A deal breaker for some could be the MediaTek Helio G99 processor which is built on the 6nm process and has a max clock speed of 2.2 GHz. The same processor is also present in the Poco M5 which is considerably cheaper than the Moto G72. The device comes with 128GB of internal memory which can be extended via a MicroSD card and 6GB of RAM.

In the camera department, the G72 sports a triple camera setup with a 108MP main sensor. The other two lenses include an 8MP ultra-wide plus depth lens and a 2MP macro sensor. The front of the device is packing a 16MP snapper for selfies and video calls. Moto excels in the software department with its near-stock Android experience and this device packs an Android 12 operating system. The device is backed with a powerful 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. With the launch of 5G in India, it is expected that all the upcoming devices will be 5G capable but this latest device from Moto misses out on it. The Moto G72 is limited to 4G LTE. Other connectivity features include Bluetooth 5.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi. The device is launched at an introductory price of Rs 18,999. Check out the Moto G72 on Flipkart – HERE.

 

 

 

Goodbye Mangalyaan! ISRO confirms Mars mission is over

After eight glorious years, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), famously known as the Mangalyaan mission has come to an end. The Indian Mars orbiter ran out of fuel and battery after completing eight years of orbiting the red planet. On 3rd October, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed that the orbiter lost communication with the ground station. As the orbiter is non-recoverable the Mangalyaan mission has completed its last lap and ended its journey. The Mars orbiter has completed a time phase much more than its expected life span of six months placing India at a pivotal place in space exploration. Here’s a look back at the Mangalyaan mission:

Mangalyaan Bids Adieu

ISRO’s MOM launched back in November 2013 and was orbiting Mars since September 2014. With its success, India became the first Asian nation to reach the Martian orbit. Interestingly, India is the only country in the world to reach Mars’ orbit in its first attempt. This was a new ball game for ISRO as it was its first interplanetary mission and to make it in the first attempt is a commendable feat. The success of Mangalyaan made ISRO the fourth agency to put a mission on Mars’ orbit. This brought worldwide recognition to the space organization, positioning it amongst prominent space agencies globally. It was back on September 24, 2014, when ISRO’s Mars Orbiter’s official Twitter announced that it had successfully made it to Mars orbit. Check it out below:

Mars Orbiter Mission History

It was announced back on 23rd November 2008 by then-ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair that India will launch a mission to Mars. The launch was initially planned for 28th October 2013 but was pushed back to 5th November due to poor weather conditions in the pacific ocean. The mission’s objective included five main tasks. MOM carried five scientific payloads weighing just 15KGs to collect data on Mars’ surface geology, morphology, surface temperature mapping, atmospheric processes, and atmospheric escape process. Another important objective of the mission was to maintain the spacecraft in all of its phases throughout and ISRO was successful in doing so.

Fun Fact: ISRO’s Mangalyaan mission was carried out at a total cost of US $57 million. The budget for Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame film is $356 million!

No TouchID for future flagship iPhones?

Apple stunned the world with its recent launch event introducing the new iPhone 14 series. While Apple’s flagship devices have washed their hands clean off the TouchID, there have been several reports in the past that suggest that it will be making its way back. Ever since Apple moved to FaceID with its flagship offerings, Apple fans have speculated that the company will be implementing an in-screen fingerprint sensor on its devices. Android devices have been sporting the feature for years so fans expecting the same from Apple is only natural. But it looks like Apple has no interest to introduce the in-display fingerprint sensor in iPhones.

TouchID abandoned?

If you ask me, back in the day Apple’s home button with TouchID was its identity. The classic design surely ruled over millions of hearts as it brought a sense of familiarity through years of design retention. It was back in 2017 when Apple decided to move away from the classic design for its flagship offering with the iPhone X which introduced Apple’s FaceID, and of course, the notch. The same year, Apple also introduced the iPhone 8/8 Plus which kept the classic design and home button with TouchID. Cut to 2022, when the tech giant introduced the iPhone 14 lineup, all equipped with notches and FaceID. it’s been half a decade since Apple introduced FaceID and in my opinion, it is time for a change. But the tech giant doesn’t feel the same!

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently shared his latest edition of the Power On newsletter where he shared that Apple has no plans of bringing back the TouchID anytime soon. According to Gurman, and leaks over the internet, Apple tested the under-screen TouchID in recent years. The resources utilized in testing the under-screen TouchID feature surely will not go to waste as Apple might implement it in the future. Will it happen with the iPhone 15 coming next year? Not at all! In fact, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has tweeted that the under-display fingerprint sensor will not make its way to the iPhone even in 2024. This means that we tentatively have over two generations of the iPhone to go before we can possibly see the feature.

But the question to ask here is whether we really need this feature. the answer for me is definitely yes! Android devices have been rocking the in-display fingerprint sensor for years now and it’s only about time that Apple brings this feature to iPhone! Technology moves at a fast pace and Apple has a lot of catching up to do. The company’s obsession to provide quality features at its own pace is commendable for sure but come on hurry up a little!

iPhone 14’s ‘Crash Detection’ feature fails to recognize collision

Apple launched the iPhone 14 lineup last month during its ‘Far Out’ event. The tech giant took a significant amount of the event to talk about its new crash detection technology. According to Apple’s own website, the crash detection feature is designed to detect severe car crashes. The latest iPhone 14 and 14 pro models can detect front, side, and rear-end collisions and rollovers in a range of vehicles like sedans, minivans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and much more. If a heavy collision occurs, the iPhone 14/14 Pro models sound an alarm or display an alert. If a user is unable to respond to the alert in 20 seconds, the device automatically calls emergency services. While this feature has the potential to save many lives, a new test has shown that the iPhone 14 was unable to recognize a car collision.

iPhone 14 fails to detect collision

A video from Wall Street Journal recently surfaced on the internet. In the video, a demolition derby driver can be seen ramming two different cars. The driver had placed the iPhone 14 model while wearing an Apple Watch Ultra in the vehicle. The driver also had a Google Pixel in the vehicle which has a similar feature. The testing showed that the Apple Watch Ultra worn by the driver was successful at detecting crashes. But on the other hand, the iPhone did not register the impact in the car. Check out WSJ’s video testing the devices’ Crash Detection features below:

 

The Google Pixel device did detect one crash inside the driver’s vehicle but neither of the two devices detect the crash during the second test. During the second crash test, the testers drove around the vehicles before crashing in to make the smartphones think the crash was legitimate. But the crash did not trigger the smartphone. As an important feature that was highlighted as one of the key reasons to get the new iPhone 14, this is surely a disappointing result. WSJ reached out to both Google and Apple after the tests. Apple revealed that the lack of data could be the reason why the iPhone 14 failed to detect the crashes. Not being connected to Apple CarPlay or not having the tester drive around the vehicle long enough could be the reason iPhone 14 failed to register the crashes.

iPhone 14 Pro’s camera bump causes wireless charging issues

Apple cannot seem to catch a breath these days! The tech giant was in a whirlwind when iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max users started complaining about the camera module shaking and making a rattling sound while using third-party apps. The recently launched iOS 16 update also brought upon a number of issues which were soon addressed. While the issues with new iPhone devices and iOS 16 were swiftly fixed by the company through updates, however,  a new issue that has surfaced on the internet surrounding the iPhone 14 Pro does not look like an easy fix. Read below to know more:

iPhone 14 Pro wireless charging issue

Lately, people using the iPhone 14 Pro models have been facing an odd issue. The thick camera module of the device is hampering its wireless charging capabilities which is an odd issue, to say the least! Users are complaining that there is no compatibility between standard wireless chargers and the iPhone 14 Pro due to its camera bump. The issue is now also being highlighted on multiple forums around the internet. The iPhone 14 Pro is quickly emerging as the second-most popular model of the 2022 iPhone lineup due to the revamped notch with Dynamic Island and the wireless charging issue is naturally expected to become mainstream in the coming days.

As it is a hardware issue, Apple cannot simply fix it and the issue is surely here to stay. Readers should note that this issue is only seen when the device is connected to a standard wireless charger and not Apple’s MagSafe charger. Users having the iPhone 14 Pro who want to use wireless charging might have to buy the MagSafe charger if they don’t already have one or stick to wired charging! MagSafe users who charge their devices on a stand are also facing the same issue. Reddit threads discussing the issue suggest that this is definitely a design flaw. There is no official word about this issue by Apple yet, let’s see if the company decides to speak up or keep mum about this, only time will tell!

 

JioPhone 5G key specifications leaked

Jio has not confirmed when the JioPhone 5G will be making its way to the market but the device has been on the radar amongst leakers for months. Thanks to the rampant leak culture in the tech market, details about the JioPhone 5G have surfaced online. The device is said to be priced in the 8K to 12K price segment which makes it a steal as it reportedly comes with 5G capabilities and a 90Hz refresh rate display. Check out all the details about the JioPhone 5G below –

JioPhone 5G details

The JioPhone 5G is code-named ‘Ganga’ according to the leak and the model number for it is LS1654QB5. The details about the device have been leaked by Kuba Wojciechowski in association with 91Mobiles. The device is rumored to be titled as ‘Jio Phone True 5G’ and could be released alongside LYF soon. The leaks suggest that the JioPhone 5G comes with pre-installed Android 12 with a 6.5-inch HD+ LCD screen and 90Hz refresh rate. The device is expected to house Qualcomm’s entry-level flagship chip the Snapdragon 480 SoC.

Along with the entry-level chip, the device will also come with 32GB storage and LPPDDR4X RAM of 4GB by Samsung. As the device is all set to enter a competitive market, it surely comes with competitive specs. It’s expected to come with two rear cameras, one 13MP main shooter, and a 2MP macro sensor. Whereas, the device is expected to come with an 8MP sensor in the front for selfies/video calls. Connectivity will surely be a strong suit for the device as it is being released by a telecom company. It will come equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth version 5.1. The device will reportedly come loaded with Google mobile services and Jio apps. It is not clear whether the pre-loaded Jio apps can be removed, my guess is probably not, but time will tell.

Besides this, the JioPhone 5G is expected to have a 5000 mAh battery which will support 18W fast charging. It is also rumored to feature a Syntiant NDP115 always-on AI processor inside. Reliance had previously shared that it is collaborating with Google to introduce low-cost 5G smartphones in the country. The company also revealed that it has made a total investment of 2 lakh crores to bring 5G to India. It looks like India’s future is bright.. eh, sorry, FAST!

Best phones to buy under Rs 75K in India

As you know, the festive season sales are upon us. Not just Flipkart and Amazon, but various other individual brands will also be hosting their festive sales and offering big discounts on smartphones across the market. Be it Samsung or the iPhone, users have a number of options to choose from. The festive season brings a reason to spend the big bucks for smartphones on your wishlist, hence we wanted to look at the premium segment of phones. Here are the best phones to buy in India under Rs 75K during this festive season:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

Cannot talk about flagship devices and leave the Z Flip 4 hanging. The device comes usually comes at a price of Rs 89,990 but is selling under 75K during the festive season. The selling point of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is surely the folding dynamics of the device, but that’s not all there is as it comes with a powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. The display has a resolution of 2640 x 1080 coupled with a 120Hz refresh rate. Another main attraction of the device is the smaller 1.9-inch Super AMOLED display at the back of the device which allows users to check notifications and click pictures whenever the device is folded. Check out five reasons to go for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – HERE

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 from Amazon – HERE

Apple iPhone 13

Apple iPhone 13’s 128GB variant was being sold on Flipkart for under Rs 50K during the first few days of the Big Billion Days sale. However, right now the same device is being sold at Rs 60K. But since we’re looking at devices under Rs75K, recommending the 256GB variant of the iPhone 13 is an easy task. It is a powerful device that comes with Apple’s flagship A15 bionic chip. The same chip currently powers the iPhone 14’s standard variants. The device comes with two 12MP cameras with the primary lens offering OIS and the secondary being an ultra-wide lens. People looking for a camera-centric device can definitely go for the iPhone 13.

You can buy the Apple iPhone 13 from Flipkart – HERE

iQOO 9 Pro 5G

Move over Samsung and Apple cause iQOO is not playing around with the iQOO 9 Pro 5G! The device comes packed with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The processor is backed by 12GB RAM and 256GB storage coupled with a sharp HDR 10+ compliant AMOLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 1400. While these specifications are enough for some users to jump on and buy the device, it also comes with a 120W ‘FlashCharge’ support which can juice up the device from 0 to 100 in 20 minutes. The device also comes with support for 50W wireless charging. The device is packed with a 50MP primary lens which comes with Gimbal OIS and another 50MP camera with an ultra-wide lens. A 16MP telephoto lens with OIS is also present here.

You can buy the iQOO 9 Pro 5G from Amazon – HERE

Samsung Galaxy S22 5G

Any Samsung device with a Snapdragon processor is easy to recommend. Samsung’s built quality coupled with the power of Snapdragon chipsets makes it the perfect combination which delivers the best performance to the user. The Samsung Galaxy S22 5G is now available on Amazon at a price of just over 60K for the 128GB variant. Being a flagship device, it comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. It runs on Android 12 out of the box with Samsung’s One UI 4.1.  Camera-centric users will have a lot to play around with as it comes with a 50MP primary camera with dual pixel PDAF and OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera is also present here with Super-Steady video support, and a 10MP telephoto lens. It can record videos up to 8K in resolution. The only minus point of the device is the 3700mAh battery which can be quickly charged with  25W support.

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 5GT – HERE

 

 

 

 

Google’s search engine to see major changes soon

Google is making its search engine better! In 2022, there are multiple ways users search for content. Now, instead of going on Google, users prefer to hop on Instagram to search for a restaurant or a tourist attraction to check if the place is social media-worthy. Google now exists on a much more interactive and visual internet which strives upon how visually pleasing a web page is. While Google is catching up to the latest trends on the internet, it has not entirely strayed away from its traditional search engine prowess. Check out all the new changes coming to Google soon:

New Shortcuts

Google wants to change how you interact with its search engine and to do the same it has introduced shortcuts. The tech giant is aware that the younger generation grew up on social media and is used to shopping, identifying music, and more in just one click. Thus, the Google app now has various search tools placed right below the search bar. The search options include a variety of shortcuts for translation, image search in the camera roll, shopping, and much more. The feature will soon be rolling out in the Google app for iOS and Android.

 

Multisearch Near Me

Google had previously introduced the ‘Multisearch’ option which allowed users to take a picture or upload a screenshot and add text to it to get better search results. The company is now making this feature much more advanced with the ‘Multisearch Near Me.’ With this feature, users will now be able to snap a picture of any product ranging from an iPhone to a coffee cup, and find anywhere it is available nearby. The company claims that the new search option will allow users to connect to local businesses and support them.

Improved Google Lens

With the advancements in machine learning, Google Lens will now be able to blend translated text into complex images. A real-world use case of this feature is that if you translate an English text on a film poster or any promotional content, it can now display the translated text in a font similar to the original text, making it much more natural looking. The company claims that the advancement in technology has allowed them to achieve the output in just 100 milliseconds, shorter than the blink of an eye!

 

Exit mobile version