Watch our cover star – Arjun Kapoor “The Transformation Man” – where he talks about being the best version of yourself, what success means to him, and his favourite toys – gadgets and cars included.
Tag: Tech News
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513EA – Review
Vivibook series from ASUS has always been a budget-oriented device and something you can look forward to if you are considering buying a mid-range laptop. The price for the VivoBook series starts somewhere at Rs 47,000 and goes all the way up to 80,000.
The laptop I am currently testing is the Vivobook 15 K513EA, a CORE i5, 11th Gen device. The overall build of this machine is pretty decent. The top has a nice grey fibre finish with a clean ASUS branding on the right-hand side. On one side, you have two USB 3.0 ports and a battery charging indicator, and on the other, you have a proprietary DC port, an HDMI port, another USB 3.0 port, a USB C port just beneath that, a headphone jack, and finally a Micro SD card reader. At the bottom, you’ll see four rubber stands to let your laptop breathe easily. On either side, a speaker gives you a loud, clear sound.
VivoBook 15 comes with Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD storage, and 1TB of HDD storage. It has a big 15.6 inch OLED display at an FHD resolution. It has enough RAM to hold multiple chrome tabs at once without giving that irritating lag. It makes for a fantastic laptop for regular office bees and students whose workloads wouldn’t stress the machine.
I like the OLED display of this laptop, which makes the overall experience better and brighter. Even a bad OLED display looks good to an untrained eye, but this one is just plain gorgeous! The maximum brightness at around 404 nits gives a practical outdoor experience.
The charging for VivoBook 15 goes from 0 to 100 in about 45 minutes and lasts for almost a full day when used rigorously. I have tried playing a few games on this machine and it ran quite smoothly until the machine started to overheat. Overall, it is compatible with low-res gaming but definitely wouldn’t make up for a proper gaming laptop, which is fine for a mid-range laptop.
I have the Intel Core i5 + 16 GB RAM + 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD model that goes for Rs 68,990, and my final verdict is that I found the machine easy to use for everyday use.
Why Does c Want You To Trade In Your Old iPhone?
Almost 70% of smartphone owners in the world can not live a single day without their smartphones, and more than 50% of smartphone owners believe that their phone is the most valuable asset they own. Being born in a tech-driven world, we naturally get attracted to every other newly launched smartphone, especially iPhones. Nowadays, many major smartphone brands offer remarkable trade-in promotions for users looking to upgrade their phones, and Apple is one such company.
Apple first launched its trade-in program in 2013 and encouraged a vast number of people to obtain the program and do their part for the planet and become beneficiaries by trading their old iPhones or smartphones after they are done with it. The company offers a substantial amount of credit to the consumers when they trade in their old phones, but why does the company offer such a deal? Why is that promotion so valuable to the company? What does the company do with old devices?
Apple Trade-In
Apple plays a mind game with its customers, and being faithful customers, we easily fall for the trap. The company knows human psychology, and they offer programs/promotions basis on it. After using the iPhone for about 2 or 3 years, they know that people start looking for another device and either hand over the old one to someone in the family and friends looking for a phone or sell their old iPhone as a second-hand unit to the local smartphone dealer. Unfortunately, all of the above acts hammer down the company, resulting in reduced sales of new iPhones.
Apple introduced a trade-in program when the company’s first quarterly profit decreased in 2013 after a long time, but the Cupertino, California, headquartered firm, started focusing more on it through advertising after the launch of the iPhone X. The idea was simple, the iPhone X was the costliest iPhone when it was launched for the first time and purchasing it was quite a hefty investment. A large number of customers wanted to buy it but couldn’t afford the price, and that’s when Apple aided consumers with a trade-in promotion and offered them a credit value for their old iPhones.
How does it work?
iPhone’s durability leads customers to buy older versions without any second thought, and since Apple launched its trade-in program, customers are on cloud-9, but if you look at the big picture, it’s supremely profitable for the company. Whenever customers opt for a trade-in program, they move from an older iPhone to a newer iPhone, automatically keeping users locked into Apple’s ecosystem, which best benefits the company. Secondly, by refurbishing the older iPhone and reselling it for a more affordable price in the market, Apple makes double profits from a single handset, boosting their overall revenue.
The company has built a specialised robot called Daisy that is capable of recovering any recyclable materials in a phone, which helps the company recover money from damaged devices. The robot is programmed to recycle a minimum of 200 phones per hour, recovering high-priced materials that could otherwise end up in a junkyard. The trade-in promotion arrives with a win-win situation for everyone, including the environment, as it helps the company reuse working elements from older phones instead of transferring them to the landfill.
A step-by-step guide to trade in your old iPhone or smartphone with Apple:
- Answer a few questions about your current smartphone, such as questions related to the brand, model and condition.
- After you finish the array of questions, the company will give you an estimated trade-in value and apply it as instant credit towards your purchase.
- Add the instant credits to your new purchase and place the order for a new iPhone. You’ll get a confirmed delivery date of your new iPhone along with a trade-in exchange.
- By the time the courier guy arrives at your doorstep, you should be ready with your old iPhone so they can run a diagnostic test and verify that your smartphone works.
- The courier guy will check your old phone’s physical condition of the touchscreen, enclosure or back glass, camera lenses, front and back camera functionality, battery wear and tear, storage capacity, performance speed, Wi-Fi, mobile functionality and will ask you to turn off Find My iPhone and initiate a factory reset.
- That’s it! Clear all these necessary steps, and you’ll have a new iPhone with the advantages of the trade-in value.
With this, Apple plans to retrieve materials from the old devices to make new devices. The action will subtract the need to extract new metals and components from the earth, helping the environment stay intact. According to Apple’s most recent environmental report, the average Apple device generates 252 pounds of CO2, accounting for about 77 per cent of the company’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The renovation method is preferable to save the environmental issues, and Apple might allow third-party companies to repair iPhones in the future.
Legion 5 Pro: A No-Nonsense Gaming Laptop With The Best Display
The latest Lenovo Legion 5 pro has to be one of the best gaming laptops with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and a monstrous Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU. The predecessor laptops that came with the graphics card of the 2000 series were a bit of hard luck for Lenovo since Nvidia introduced its new 3000 series soon after.
This device is quite impressive in terms of its power-packed performance. It can be a suitable replacement for a gaming desktop because a gaming PC with an RTX 3070 requires a 750W of power supply meanwhile, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro gaming laptop uses a 300W power brick. However, the desktop GPU will always remain powerful.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
Design
The overall case design and build quality seem quite impressive to me. You can easily open the lid with a finger effort but don’t worry, the hinge is solid and won’t totter a bit. The device has a large keyboard and a trackpad. The key is plastic and doesn’t take a lot of force to press. It also has a curvature that helps you centre your keystrokes.
The logos on this laptop looks quite classy and subtle. One drawback, however, is that the screen does not fold back to 180 degrees which I think would have been better if the plastic piece wasn’t there for the backstop.
The entire unit feels premium with an aluminium exterior with durable plastic components. Starting on the left, there’s a single USB-C port, along with the headphone/microphone combo jack. On the left is a single USB-A port. Here is something remarkable – Right next to that is a small switch that physically disconnects your webcam when not in use.
Display
Gaming laptops tend to offer fast Full HD displays, and Lenovo excels in this domain. Legion 5 Pro offers fast refresh(165 Hz) and has upped the resolution to 2K in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The display is quite right and seems perfectly calibrated.
We like Apple’s iPad or Macbook’s display because it is bright and colour accurate. Lenovo seems to be catching up with that.
Performance
The Legion 5 Pro comes with a Ryzen 7 5800H, an octa-core processor with a maximum TGP of 140W. The model also bundles 16GB of RAM, clocked at 3200 Mhz. There are two other RAM modules that can be upgraded if desired. For storage, you got two 1TB SSD instead of one 2TB SSD, which is kind of weird, but whatever gets the device rolling!
What I like about Legion 5 Pro is that it utilizes a unique cooling solution. The device consists of large heatsinks, some heat pipes, and a pair of large fans. It offers a perfect balance between the quiet fans and the performance. The gaming loads were hot, as expected, but it was a lot cooler during regular use.
Legion 5 Pro also has a nice set of speakers that amplitudes as high as 80dB, which is good enough for playing games and streaming a show.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Specs
Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H 8 x 3.2 – 4.4 GHz, 65 W PL2 / Short Burst, 45 W PL1 / Sustained, Cezanne H (Zen 3)
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, 140 W TDP, switchable hybrid GPU mode (UEFI settings / Lenovo Vantage app), Radeon RX Vega 8
Memory
32768 MB, 2x 16 GB DDR4-3200, dual-channel
Display
16.00 inch 16:10, 2560 x 1600 pixel 189 PPI, 100%sRGB with 500nits of brightness
Mainboard
AMD Promontory/Bixby FCH
Storage
1TB SSB
Battery
81Wh
Apple To Require Masks In Stores In US Regardless Of Vaccination Status
Apple will now require staff and customers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to wear masks at most of its US stores. According to a Bloomberg report, they are bringing back the company’s requirement previously removed in June. The rule will be put into effect from this Thursday.
On Wednesday, Apple headquarters in California informed all the visitors to wear masks indoors irrespective of their vaccination status as the risk of the delta virus upends.
In a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Apple informed,
“After carefully reviewing the latest CDC recommendations, and analyzing the health and safety data for your local area, we are updating our guidance on face masks for your store.”
It further added,
“Starting July 29, face masks will be required in store for customers and team members — even if they’re vaccinated.”
Apple has maintained a reputation during the Covid-19 pandemic for making decisions about where it is deemed safe to operate its retail stores, sometimes even ahead of public health orders.
While in talks with CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company could push back its plan to call workers from September to October.
“We are monitoring things daily to really conclude whether that is the right answer or not,” Cook said.
The move comes after COVID-19 cases start to rise in most parts of the country and when the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised people who are already vaccinated to wear masks indoors in public ‘if you are in the area of high transmission.”
As far as sales are concerned, Apple has continued to top the charts. According to Cook, sales rose 36% on an annual basis when the quarter ended in June.
In a similar response, Google has also said that it would require all the employees to be vaccinated before returning to the office. The company also delayed its return to the physical office from September to October 18.
LG’s PuriCare Face Mask Now Comes With Built-In Mic And Speakers
The COVID-19 pandemic is still pretty much ongoing. While many industries have suffered heavy losses due to financial and operational risks, tech firms have found ways to seize the market through their technological innovations.
LG has announced a handful of updates to its high-tech, air-purifying mask, named LG Puricare Wearable Air Purifier. The product that was launched last year initially had air filters and built-in fans to filter the air. The new version will now witness upgrades such as a more efficient motor, built-in microphones and speakers.
The technology, which LG calls VoiceON, automatically recognizes when the wearers are speaking and amplifies the voice through built-in speakers. However, the mask will continue to use HEPA filters, which purifies almost 99% of the particulates down to 0.3 microns in size.
The company has yet to announce its pricing and availability. Still, it plans to go ahead with the launch in Thailand next month “with other markets to follow once approved by local regulators.” Pandemic is a perfect opportunity to roll out products that will remain in demand for this period.
According to LG, the new sound system hit a 0.75(excellent) Korean Electronics Technology Institute’s Sound Transmission Index. This means that we will be able to conveniently hold conversations without taking the mask off.
The company is targeting athletes prominently with the new PuriCare mask. The Thai Olympic Team even wore the gadget for a photo session on their way to this year’s Olympics. LG claims that the athletes could comfortably wear the PuriCare for hours at a time.
What is notable is that the company did not mention COVID-19 in its announcement. It is nowhere claiming that the PuriCare Mask will protect against the Novel Coronavirus in any way. It’s true that most purifiers can target particles the size of the virus, yet without any scientific study on the mask, we cannot and shouldn’t take a stand on the efficiency of the mask.
Twitter Tests Upvote And Downvote Feature On Tweets
Twitter’s Chief Product Officer Kayvon Keykpour, last year confirmed that Twitter is ‘exploring’ the idea of adding a dislike button to the app. The social media app is now working on adding a new upvote and downvote reactions to tweets.
The company confirmed that it is testing the feature for a small group of iOS users through a tweet. Twitter said that the new feature might be available to the users in several different styles(up and down arrows, a heart icon, and thumbs up and thumbs down icons). The app is testing the feature to ‘understand the types of replies you find relevant in a convo, so we can work on ways to show more of them.’
However, downvotes will not be shown publicly, and the upvotes will be displayed as likes since the feature is intended only for internal metrics.
Twitter has clarified that the feature is just for research purposes and hasn’t finalised rolling it out yet. The company hasn’t yet defined how voting will affect what you see in your feed since the feature can draw parallels to Reddit. Upvoting or downvoting on Reddit is a way of surfacing a Redditor’s favourite replies, responses or posts.
Many users have noticed this similarity, including Reddit itself, who tweeted this in response:
Twitter has also recently announced that it is testing a new set of features for TweetDeck. The company is revamping its often-ignored dashboard with updates such as a full tweet composer, new advanced search features, new column types, and a new way to group columns into new workspaces.
This feature is being tested with a few US, Canada, and Australia users. The social media giant is consistently working upon bringing new and desirable changes to its app so more and more users can connect conveniently.
Of course, the application of these features will depend upon the reviews that Twitter gets during the research process.
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Price Leaked, Galaxy A12 Specifications Tipped
Samsung Galaxy A22 is expected to launch in India next month. The affordable 5G smartphone model hit the European markets last month and will make its way in India by August, as suggested by the reports. Additionally, before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy A12, a known tipster revealed its specifications and pricing in a series of tweets.
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Price
A recent report by 91mobiles states that the new Galaxy A22 5G is expected to come with a 6GB + 128GB RAM and storage variant and 8GB RAM variant. While the former can cost INR 19,999, the latter could be priced at 21,999. This price will include the GST.
In the European market, a 4GB + 64GB Galaxy A22 5G model was introduced for UUR 229( roughly 20,300) and 4GB + 128GB for EUR 249(approx 22,100).
The Samsung A22 5G model comes in Grey, Mint, Violet, and White colours.
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Specifications
Galaxy A22 5G is expected to feature a 6.6-inch full HD+ display with a 90 Hz refresh rate. The device offers up to 128 GB of internal storage, but one can add a MicroSD card of up to 1TB. The device will be powered by an octa-core SoC known as MediaTek Density 700.
The device is also expected to pack a triple rear camera setup, including a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 5-MP sensor, and a 2-MP depth sensor. Galaxy A22 5G comes with a 5,000 mAh battery that charges at 15W. The device will also feature a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
However, these specifications are merely leaks, and the South Korean Smartphone giant is yet to announce the official pricing of the device in the country.
Samsung Galaxy A12
As an online leak suggests, the smartphone will come with the exact specifications as the global version but with subtle modifications. The tipster says that the Indian version will come with only 4GB of RAM. The device can either have 64 GB or 128 GB of storage and be priced at around 12,999.
Samsung launched the Galaxy A12 model last year alongside Galaxy A20s, starting at EUR 179(approx INR 16,000). The device comes in black, blue, red, and white colour options.
The Galaxy 12 model comes with a 6.5 inch TFT display with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1500 pixels. It features a tiny waterdrop notch for the 8MP front camera. At the back, the device sports a quad-camera setup with a 48 MP primary lens. The smartphone also offers an 8-megapixel camera for selfies.
Samsung Galaxy A12 features an octa-core processor clocked at 2.3 GHz.
Xiaomi Leaves Apple Behind As World’s Second Largest Smartphone Maker
Xiaomi takes over Apple to become the world’s second-biggest smartphone maker. According to Canalys’ most recent data, Xiaomi Corp. witnessed an 83% jump in shipments in the second quarter of 2021.
The South Korean smartphone giant Samsung continues to lead the spot with a 19 per cent market share. However, Xiaomi has significantly closed the gap with a 17 per cent market share, giving cut-throat competition to the tech giant.
Xiaomi Is Now Second Largest Smartphone Maker
Xiaomi’s shipments in Latin America witnessed a climb by more than 300 per cent, by 150% in Africa, and 50% in Western Europe. The main reason for this growth is that Xiaomi offers products that cost 40 to 70% cheaper than Samsung and Apple devices. According to Canalys, Xiaomi should focus on increasing its sales of smartphones like the Mi 11 Ultra.
Huawei Technologies Co. was in the league of disrupting the rankings until sanctions cut it off from essential supplies last year. Its withdrawal pushed other Chinese vendors to spend aggressively on new upgrades into the market.
Xiaomi actively launched two flagship devices within the first four months of the year. The company’s Mi 11 Ultra features one of the largest camera sensors to date, pushing it further into the premium pricing range.
Catalyst Research Manager Ben Staton said in a release,
“It is now transforming its business model from challenger to incumbent, with initiatives such as channel partner consolidation and more careful management of older stock in the open market. It is still largely skewed toward the mass market, however, and compared with Samsung and Apple, its average selling price is around 40% and 75% cheaper respectively. So a major priority for Xiaomi this year is to grow sales of its high-end devices, such as the Mi 11 Ultra.”
Even so, Xiaomi stole this position; Apple is still in a good position. iPhone 13, which is expected to be introduced this fall, can keep up the robust iPhone 12 sales, like Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan believed. Research conducted by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners showed that iPhone 12 accounted for 63% of the US iPhone sales during the third quarter of 2021.
Clubhouse Introduces Backchannel, A New Messaging Feature
We all knew DMs were going to be the next significant feature on Clubhouse. The social audio company is launching its new messaging feature, called Backchannel, for Android and iOS users.
Users can now chat one-on-one and send group chats, which brings quite a bit of utility onto the voice-driven social network. You cannot yet images or videos through Backchannel, but a spokesperson revealed that the company is bringing in those functionalities and few other features. An optional secondary inbox has also been added to see the text requests, which stay in there before you approve it.
The Backchannel feature will help the speakers chat among themselves during a live session or coordinate after the meeting.
Clubhouse announced its new feature on Wednesday through a blog post. The icon appears to the left of the follow button on the users’ profile. You can also swipe left in the room to access the Backchannel feature.
The unique proposition of the Clubhouse app is that it lets you hear the conversations, and introducing a chat feature will undoubtedly make organizing rooms a bit easier. Users can text co-hosts of the things they need to plan next, pitch in their questions, and discuss a particular topic without disturbing the host.
Backchannel lets you hold conversations with up to 15 members in a group. Not anyone will jump into the chat – only the moderator will have the power to add or remove people. Also, you’ll be warned if you are added to the group that includes someone you have blocked, so you can promptly exit.
You are also allowed to change your settings, so you only get texts from people you follow. You can also report chats or specific messages.
The app reportedly has garnered around 8 million downloads on Android devices, with more than 500,000 rooms created daily.