Mobile phones have come a long way from being clunky pieces of metal and plastic to being the symbol cutting-edge technology and electronic performance. While almost every modern mobile phone share certain qualities, there are some who stand head and shoulders above the rest. These are smartphones that, apart from performing the usual functions, also double up as a portable console. Gone are the days when an avid gamer had to have multiple devices to play games to his heart’s content. So, if you are a gamer by heart, here’s how you can make the best use of your gaming smartphone.
1. Use the Gaming Mode
This one should be a no-brainer if you have purchased a gaming smartphone. While most phones have private modes to customize your notifications, the Gaming Mode does much more. It not only minimizes your notifications, but also optimizes your RAM and memory support. This gives a huge performance boost to your game and it can be played in a better resolution.
2. Keep your phone up-to-date
Smartphones are notorious for getting slow over time. However, companies keep sending over-the-air (OTA) updates to improve the phone and provide patches for your software. Though the phone notifies you in case of a new system update, it is always good to manually scroll through the settings and check for any system updates. This helps the gaming smartphone stay at the top of the game and offer the best performance.
3. Purchase a wireless controller
Modern games have evolved from 2D side-scrolling platformers to ultra-realistic 3D open worlds. Similarly, mobile gaming has also seen the shift from arcade games like Subway Surfer and Fruit Ninja to full-blown simulators and console ports. While almost all games can be played flawlessly using the touchscreen, the essence of some games is in the controller. Games like simulators, FPS or even some arcades perform much better and offer greater fun when played with a wireless controller. This controller can be connected to the gaming smartphone via Bluetooth and can be used to play multiple games. Some games offer inbuilt controller support, while others require an external key mapping software.
Image: Google Play Store
4. Consider using emulators
If you are an old-school gamer you might miss the days of Sony’s Playstation or Nintendo’s DS entertainment systems. Well, lucky for you, gaming smartphones have evolved to double up as your choice of console. No, you cannot insert your console’s disk in the phone, but you can play those games in another way. There are many emulators available on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store that offer console quality gaming on your smartphone. You can either opt for free ones like PPSSPP or go for paid ones like DraStic. The former one allows you to play any Playstation Portable (PSP) while the latter one runs Nintendo DS games. Emulators also let you play games that are otherwise unavailable on gaming smartphones, such as console exclusives.
Image: Google Play Store
Thus, you can make the best use of your gaming smartphone and optimize your gaming experience.
Google and Apple came together in April and developed tech that will help governments around the world to reduce the coronavirus spread. It is called the Covid-19 exposure notification or Covid-19 contact tracing tech. After months of hard work, the technology is now ready and is available on iOS and Android.
What is this tech all about?
This new tech is available as an Application Programming Interface (API) for Android and iOS Smartphones. The tech is smart enough to let the Smartphones log other devices they come in the vicinity of and enables “contact tracing” of the disease. It can’t function on its own and needs a supplementary app to work.
How does this contact tracing API work?
A public health app needs to use the API developed by Google and Apple for the technology to function. The app sends and receives data from nearby devices and keeps a record of people one may have come in contact with and their Covid-19 status. The app updates all the data on cloud. It regularly runs scans to check and notify people if they have unknowingly come in contact with any Covid-19 positive person. Health agencies are also notified so that the person can be tested and the spread of the disease can be curbed.
Why doesn’t it work in India?
Unfortunately, the Aarogya Setu App doesn’t use Apple-Google API. It needs a device’s location access and Bluetooth access to be able to function. The problem is that the Apple-Google API doesn’t give permission to public-health apps to access location data and that’s why it can’t be used by the Aarogya Setu app.
Apps built on Apple-Google API use only Bluetooth while the Aarogya Setu App needs location access too in order to collect information. If we compare the two, the Aarogya Setu collects more data in terms of location and numbers. It also stores data on the user’s phone, uploading it under certain circumstances. However, the Apple-Google API uses DP-3T (Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing) protocol. This assigns randomised and anonymous unique IDs. Since these IDs change often, the tech can pick up data of corona positive people without any disclosure of identity or location.
We would’ve been happy to explore the two together but due to limitations in tech compatibility, it seems like we won’t be able to use the new Google-Apple API in Arogya Setup for now.
So what’s trending? That’s what everyone wants to know about, especially on TikTok. While a lot of you use it, the ones who don’t might possibly have some preconceived notions about it. By that we mean the ‘not very good’ notions. The platform has been judged by many and while that has been for all the right reasons, there’s something about TikTok that no other platform has. Let’s figure out what that is.
We have Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and the not-so-popular-anymore Twitter when we want to post content. We love to portray a specific image of ourselves in order to be ‘liked’, literally. Here’s why TikTok is the breath of fresh air amidst all the ‘good looking’ social media platforms.
It breaks stereotypes
Not only is the platform very unique with it’s 15 sec and 60 sec short video format but is also unique in its audience. It is open to ALL and the audience literally welcomes ALL. The platform is used as much by a rickshaw puller as is used by a doctor. It is used as much by a fitness model as is by those with imperfect bodies who promote a message against ‘body shaming’. While a lot of people are of the opinion that the platform is full of generation Z showing off their multicolored hair and grooving an odd move to a sexually explicit song, you need to dive in to actually see what the generation Z is actually doing. They’re promoting messages of anti-racism, love for the LGBTQ community and a lot more that we all can learn from. There’s no other platform that authentically breaks stereotypes without any pretence than TikTok.
EVERYONE is the audience
From 14 year olds to 80 year olds and everything in between can be seen doing their thing. There’s an audience for everyone because literally, everyone is the audience. This makes TikTok’s content very very broad and there’s always something for everyone. From makeup artists to phenomenally talented dancers from small villages in some corner of the world, everyone has a voice that can be heard by everyone. Isn’t that a really good thing?
EVERYONE is allowed to be who they are?
While there’s so much pretence and so much care taken about how you look and appear before you switch on your expensive DSLR to capture one picture for Instagram, TikTok audience doesn’t care. They only want to see good content. If you’re talented or have something good to offer, they don’t care how you look or if you’re rich or poor. That makes the platform free of judgement. Status, gender, appearance no bar. You’re free to be who you are and you’ll not be shamed but accepted with open arms. Makes you feel at home, doesn’t it?
The Talent you see will put your Judgements to Shame
While most platforms are about pictures and videos, the formats, sound effects, music and filters you see on TikTok allow you to do much more. So if you thought a Rashmi from Jaunpur can’t rap because ‘Does she even know English?’, you’re so wrong. This is one place where you’ll see so much talent from every corner of the world that it will urge you to showcase what you can do too! The energy and positivity is phenomenal.
These are the four major reasons why you should download TikTok and check it out. Now before you think ‘TikTok is for kids who want to show the new pair of red and yellow sneakers they bought’, read point number 3 again. It’s only when you put your judgement aside will you be able to see all that we just told you. After all, it’s not only unfair but also dangerous to live with assumptions!
Until yesterday (not literally but almost) AI was a fancy word that was too far fetched to be true so soon. I mean robots and the likes were only a thing in the movies, right? Replacing humans? You must be kidding me!
No, we aren’t kidding you because not only has Artificial Intelligence – AI started rooting itself in our minds but has also begun to create waves in the real work world. Now, these waves are pleasant for some while a Tsunami for many others.
For instance and for news, Microsoft has taken over the job of taking everyone’s job. We mean that they’ve replaced dozens of journalists with artificial intelligence. This means that journalists have been fired. We are talking about the employees who maintained the homepages on Microsoft’s MSN website and its Edge browser. They have been told (indirectly, of course) that robots will most definitely do a better job than them. Is there really a subtle way to say this? We aren’t sure.
Around 27 employees at PA Media were told that they have only a month’s time to say goodbye after Microsoft decided to make AI the star employee of the month, year, decade and so on.. and to stop employing real people to select, edit and curate news articles on all the homepages.
Is this notice too short? Of course. Besides the fact that AI has been in the news since quite some time now and there has been a lot of talk around how it will replace humans in so many ways, employees didn’t expect it to happen this fast. They also didn’t expect Microsoft to give such a short notice. They’re not surprised as they knew this would come sooner or later but they’re startled because it’s too sudden.
Humans over Artificial Intelligence AI
In defense of humans over Artificial Intelligence, one employee deemed the decision extremely risky, as the AI might not be able to deliver results as per the “very strict editorial guidelines” which can only be adhered to by humans at all possible times. Use of AI could lead to violent or inappropriate content being presented on opening the browser and there could be an underage person sitting on the other end of the screen.
Well, only time will tell who beats whom but we know one thing for sure. The fight is real. With so much happening across the world where we have a fight against racism and a pandemic, here we are in a fight against tech too! Human beings or AI? Who do you think will be the real winner here?
We heard the Managing Directors, and now it’s time to hear the front line ‘Brand’ Warriors. All marketing leaders are facing challenges in generating demand and keeping the conversations salient. We speak to heads of some of the most influential brands in India today, understanding the challenges they face, how they overcame them, and what have they planned for the future.
Panelists for The Experts Roundtable Chapter 6
Vivek Srivatsa, Head Marketing, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors
Shreyash Sigtia, Head of Industry, FMCG, Google India
Pallavi Singh, Director, Marketing, BMW India
Siddhant Narayan, Head of Marketing, OnePlus India
Moderator: Ramesh Somani- Chief Editor & Publisher, BBC TopGear India and Exhibit.
[Ramesh Somani]: Pallavi, I have known you from Harley-Davidson, then MG Motor India, and now BMW India. These are the time when we can’t be silent but salient, what’s your marketing strategy going ahead, in these challenging times when both the demand and supply are restricted.
[Pallavi Singh]: I think the times are unprecedented, and they need extraordinary measures of course. Automotive has been very traditional for a long time, and we are trying to upscale the digital transformation. From a strategy point of view, I think the next few months are going to be very critical, we really need to understand how the consumer behavior is changing, we are looking at first-party data, third-party data and really looking at what’s happening on our own platform and tracking how the customer journey is changing.
Digital transformation is going to lead to digital commerce, and that is something we really need to put forward to our stakeholders, our dealer network, and our customers. I think this a time that requires new learning; there is a lot of skill that we require to live in the post-COVID19 reality.
[Ramesh Somani]: Siddhant, you have worked with some of the most prominent brands – Nike, Daniel Wellington, and Jio. So tell us, how does your previous experience merge with your current role with OnePlus?
[Siddhant Narayan]: I consider myself very fortunate to work with very consumer-centric brands, a lot of youth-focused names. From a personal standpoint,
I have to come to realize whether it’s an Indian consumer of a global consumer, the consumer actually has more similarities than differences.
Whichever industry you look at, these young Indian consumers have more similarities than differences. A lot of this starts from consumer insights, and that’s my approach as well – looking for customer needs and answering them with our products and marketing strategies.
[Ramesh Somani]: We know the markets for automobiles are opening up as the relaxations are rolling out, what are your top three priorities from a marketing standpoint?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: Priorities are pretty straightforward in times like these. The first is to ensure customers feel confident in visiting our showrooms once again, a lot of work is needed and not only from Tata Motors but from the industry as a whole. Second is the overall concept of safety and wellbeing, how this has significantly gone up in the customer’s minds and as an industry we need to talk to them. The third point revolves around the difficult 15-18 months that the automotive industry has been facing, and we need to work together and get the ball rolling at the right speed.
[Ramesh Somani]: What are the user trends you are seeing during the lockdown Google?
[Shreyash Sigtia]: To sum it up in a few words, we were going online till February, now we are living online. I’ll give you a very simple example of how the transformation has taken place – my dad now pays his electricity bill online, my wife now buys groceries via apps and my kids go online to get educated. We would have had this panel face-to-face with the audience sitting in front, but here we are doing it virtually with the audience now coming in as viewers. These are some of the most picked up trends in the past few months. The last two and a half months has forced us to learn new skills to be more relevant in the current times. And now that you have forced me to speak about some really big trends, there are a couple of interesting commonly searched things. People are now looking up groceries near them, and I’ll give one thing from the automotive industry –
people now want to know if it is safe to visit dealers and they are looking up ways on how to sanitize their cars. People will use their mobile phones for a lot more things, and smartphones will become their lifeline in the coming post-COVID-19 era.
[Ramesh Somani]: What’s your source of marketing ideas? Any books, website how do you come up with marketing ideas?
[Pallavi Singh]: One thing that I go back to is 9GAG, and secondly, I have started playing a lot of video games because there is a lot you learn when you look at Call of Duty or you look at Far Cry – how intense these games are but it’s a team’s work together. If you collaborate your spirit, you can implement any idea, especially in times like these when ideas aren’t all that different, they are generally the same ideas but how do you reinvent the idea, how you can communicate them with your customers, those are the most important things. I think it’s all about the team spirit. The idea can be great but if you don’t have a team that can work it through, then it can fall flat. Also, I read a lot of books by Malcolm Gladwell, he writes a lot about business strategies and ways to approach markets.
[Siddhant Narayan]: I consider myself very fortunate to be working with a young, energetic, and tech-oriented team who are always high on energy, extremely passionate, and very committed. A lot of my ideas are actually my teams and a lot of credit goes to them. I’m also in constant touch with my professors and my ex-bosses and we discuss ideas and market trends. Also, since OnePlus is a community first brand and we have a lot of discussions going on our forums, I just stay in constant touch with the conversations there and bring up ideas from these forums to work with.
[Vivek Srivatsa]: As marketers and people on the commercial side of the business, we have been through a range of books that teach us a few tricks but today there is so much happening around in the world, I consider myself fortunate to live in this world where information is freely available, and the way I approach is to train my mind better to learn from what’s happening around us. This kind of learning probably doesn’t come from books, but we should probably train ourselves on how to take these learnings from things happening around us.
[Shreyash Sigtia]: I would really want to agree with Siddhant, a lot of ideas and creativity comes from the team. Especially in the COVID-19 times, people really come up with ideas that would be otherwise considered wacky but they make so much sense in today’s era. A lot of ideas also come when you sit with your partners and brainstorm for ideas to tackle the challenges that they are facing. My bias would be towards actions, a few months down the lie
I don’t want to be thinking I had this idea but I never got around to try it. I would rather try a lot more things to move the needle.
[Ramesh Somani]: How effective is “Influencer Marketing” in terms of promoting luxury brands digitally?
[Pallavi Singh]: BMW is an experiential brand, a lot of our customers can vouch for that and we design and engineer our cars very thoroughly. A lot of our influencer strategy is built on real people, people who use our cars whether they are celebrity chefs or lifestyle influencers in the fashion space. We work with them because they truly understand the brand, and they personify the brand because they are also using them. Some of them have helped us sell cars within their circles, and that is the kind of relationship we build with our fans – we call them brand fans and they are not really influencers they are fans of the brand.
[Ramesh Somani]: We saw a few influencers being associated with the launch of the Tata Altroz. How was the engagement like, were there any lessons learned that you would want to share with us?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: The way we approached the influencer engagement with the Tata Altroz was quite different from what we would have done a year or two back. We have to extremely clear with what we require from the influencers, and we need to cater and align our content to what the influencer does, what’s the audience he or she caters to. Today we are far more nuanced in the way we approach influencer marketing, we align our products or an aspect of our product with that kind of creator or audience and that really helped us. It also helps us dive deeper into our product proposition and it’s been a very fascinating journey so far.
[Ramesh Somani]: Domin8 has been seeing really good traction, how has been the campaign response?
[Siddhant Narayan]: We are still very fresh from the event that happened on the second. Summer is India is synonymous with cricket, this is the time when consumers are used to turning on their devices and watching the biggest premier leagues. A lot of these top cricketers also play computer games in their off-pitch time and while brainstorming with the team, the idea came up. It was actually something that we took a very big risk on, and as far as the measurement of all of this is concerned, we have got an incredible PR coverage around it. We also got a lot of organic engagement and coverage because something like this was never done before.
LIVE AUDIENCE POLL: – Will you go back to buying and reading print magazines?
RESULTS : 57 percent say yes, touch, and feel matters. 35 percent do it with e-mags and 8 percent are yet to decide.
[Ramesh Somani]: In this new normal, digital marketing has taken the front seat. How will events change shape the future?
[Pallavi Singh]: Well most recently it was Rihanna who did the live concert during the lockdown time, I think there has to be a hybrid model between online and offline. Traditional events like music concerts or even with automobiles where people come to look and feel the automobiles and hear it go for the first time – it’s always been about the physical touch but moving forward things will change. Hybrid models haven’t entirely been innovated in the COVID-19 scenario, they existed before as well. We will have to bring out more ideas and opportunities on the table, try combinations, and focus on technology integrations.
It’s too early to say how events will look like in the future, but we sure have seen virtual launches by various manufacturers using AR in the most recent times.
[Ramesh Somani]: Now local brands are being pushed to help recover the economy and many campaigns have been launched by the government. Do you have any marketing strategies aligned in line with this new #Vocalforlocal
[Vivek Srivatsa]: One point in that is that we don’t have to look for a slogan, it’s smartly ready. But I think as Tata Motors we don’t have to stress more on our local parts. As a brand, we are as Indian as it gets, and the community-building activities that we conduct need no introduction.
We do not wish to piggyback this slogan, we don’t want to push our cars to people because they are local. We want people to come to our showrooms or experience our cars from their homes and then want to buy them.
Our brand has the safest range of mass-marketed cars, and as a cost to features and value for money ration, we sit in a sweet spot. It’s a good sentiment that people have currently, but we do not plan on riding our products on those waves.
[Ramesh Somani]: Tata Motors was one of the biggest sponsors for IPL, with such a big percentage of your marketing budget parked towards it. Since the cricket league has been canceled for now, where else are you going to try and advertise your brand?
[Vivek Srivatsa]: I think IPL will probably happen later towards the year, but generally speaking in terms of the marketing budget, companies have shifted their focus on the digital space. That’s where customers are going, and that’s where the business lies. There are endless opportunities and possibilities in digital ways. Many companies have already broken the line of doing conferences online, rather than spending on those huge travel expenses which ultimately reduce the global carbon footprint. Opportunities are immense, and I am really excited about the times ahead as they are as challenging as ever.
Because of time Constraint – We could only take one Question from 565 Live Attendees :
Esha Mishra from MG Motor India & her question When the COVID-19 curve flattens, do you think the current marketing challenges will stay or completely fade away?
[Pallavi Singh]: The challenges will be there, digital transformation has to kick in really quickly. There were will huge challenges because there will be new skills and talent required to push the digital transformation. It is important to get the right people and work with them.
But one question to ask – who is it that bought the digital transformation to the industry –was it the CEO, the CTO or the COVID-19.
We really need to understand what a consumer wants, and not what the brand wants. It will be challenging, marketing will have to reinvent itself and it’s going to be a roller coaster ride ahead.
[Ramesh Somani]: That’s right, this is a one in a hundred-year phenomenon and while the challenges are difficult, they are also very exciting. Let’s try and work towards our goals better by reinventing each of our brands while riding the digital transformation wave. Thank you for your wonderful insights! I’m looking forward to seeing you soon, take care of yourself & Stay Safe everyone.
The Android 11 Developer Preview is out and we can’t even! First things first. If you have a compatible pixel Smartphone then you can get it right now. You’re all excited and waiting for the steps involved but a word of caution here. This is a beta version so expect a lot of bugs and incomplete features. Also, if anything goes wrong, your device might go Kaput. So, while you have all the anticipation of the great stuff it has to offer, be also aware of the risks you’re taking. It is advisable to try this on your second device. We advise you against downloading android 11 on your main Smartphone.
Which Android phones are compatible for Android 11?
Google Pixel 2
Google Pixel 2 XL
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 3 XL
Google Pixel 3a
Google Pixel 3a XL
Google Pixel 4
Google Pixel 4 XL
If you own any of these smartphones, you can go ahead with downloading Android 11. Here’s how you can do that.
Enable the developer options on your Pixel smartphone. How to do that? Go to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 10 times. This enables the developer options for your android phone.
Go back and tap System > Advanced > Developer options. Enable OEM unlocking here. After that, scroll down and enable USB debugging.
Now for the work on your computer. Open Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge version 79 or above, and visit the Android developer preview website.
If you’re using a Windows 10 computer, download the Google USB Driver for Windows for the flashing process. No additional drivers are needed for Mac.
Connect your phone to your computer and on the Android developer, preview website click on the Android Flash Tool Link next to your device name.
Click OK on the pop-up page that asks for permission. On your android phone, tap ‘allow’ for USB debugging. This will authenticate your device and your smartphone is now connected. In case your phone isn’t connected, click on Add New Device > a pop-up will appear, click on your phone’s name > click Connect. Tap Allow on the pop-up on your android phone. Your phone is now connected.
After your phone is connected, click on the box where your phone’s name appears. On the next page you’ll see the pencil icon that you need to click, next to Selected Build. Here you will be able to enable the Lock Bootloader option if you want to ensure that your phone’s bootloader is locked once the process is finished. And it’s finally time to hit install!
You’ll now be asked to avoid interacting with your phone. Confirm and click ‘I Accept’.
You’ll be asked to Factory reset your phone. Click ‘yes’ on your computer and Tap ‘Allow’ on your android phone.
Your Smartphone will now reboot to its bootloader screen. You’ll also see the current status of your phone on your computer screen.
While waiting you might see a pop-up on the computer screen asking you to reselect your device. This is a possibility if you’re flashing your phone for the first time. Click ‘Reselect device’. You’ll see another pop-up. Click Android > Connect > you’ll see one more pop-up asking you to unlock the bootloader, click Start.
On your phone’s screen, navigate to unlock the bootloader with the volume keys and select it by hitting the power button. The Android 11 download will now start. You can track the progress on your computer’s screen.
Once Android 11 is downloaded and finished installing, you’ll be asked to lock your phone’s bootloader. Click Start and select ‘Lock the Bootloader’ on your smartphone. Navigate with the volume keys and select by clicking the power button. Lastly, tap done on your computer’s screen.
Now you have to wait till your phone reboots. Once this is done, your computer shows a message that reads ‘Software successfully updated’. (Yayyy!!) You can then start setting up your device and unplug it from the computer.
Now that your device is set up, you now have a Pixel phone that runs Android 11 along with the latest security patch!
These steps might look like they’re a lot of work but believe it or not, the whole process is really simple. Once you download Android 11, you can enjoy testing it out! Are there any bugs? Are the features good? We will be happy to know from you! After all, you’re the early birds to enjoy Android 11 right now. Throw some light on what can be expected. We are waiting!
There is so much talk about 5G across the globe. It has been in the tech news for quite some time but a lot of us still don’t know all the details. What is this 5G technology? How does it work? Let’s decode this next-gen tech and see how it will revolutionize forthcoming mobile phone generations.
For a simple start, 5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks. It is an evolution of the current 4th generation LTE networks. With the growing connectivity in the world, imagine billions of devices connected to each other with a network and mind of their own. The existing 4G network is fast enough already. Now imagine something faster than that, that too with a faster response time. Sounds cool! Doesn’t it? Now let’s see how all of it works.
First, let’s understand a term called latency. It is the time taken by devices to respond to each other over a wireless network. Now if you thought all the celebration and hype around 5G isn’t worth your while, check this out:
3G network response time – 100 milliseconds.
4G network response time – 30 milliseconds.
5G network response time – 1 millisecond.
Read that again. 1 MILLISECOND. Imagine an almost zero wait time, zero lag and everything happening in actual real time.
So what will this ultra small wait time help us with?
Internet of Things! Machine to machine communication will become unbelievably fast and imagine a whole world of machines interacting with each other without any human intervention!
Unbelievably reliable low latency communications.
Enhanced mobile broadband.
Imagine a world of smart farms, cities, schools, villages. 5G is about to shrink the world further and it seems to provide comfort to lives, businesses and communities like one has never imagined before.
Now with so much to offer, how do 5G networks work?
Initially, 5G networks will have to work with 4G networks to ensure a continuous connectivity.
Getting deeper into the technical aspects; a mobile network has two main components, the ‘Radio Access Network’ and the ‘Core Network’.
The Radio Access Network –
It comprises of an array of facilities that include small cells, towers, masts and home systems that connect mobile users and wireless devices to the main core network.
Small cells are a major feature of 5G networks especially at the new millimetre wave (mmWave) frequencies. Here, the connection range is very short. Small cells will be distributed in clusters to provide a continuous connection.
5G Macro Cells will use MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennae which have multiple connections in order to send and receive more data simultaneously. The benefit to us is that more people can connect to the network at the same time while getting the same, rich output.
The Core Network
This is the mobile exchange and data network which has the job of managing all of the mobile voice, data and internet connections. Most of the advanced features of 5G including network slicing for various applications and services will be managed in the core.
Network Slicing
This enables a smart way to segment the network for a particular business or application.
Network Function Virtualization (NVF)
This is the ability to instantiate network functions in real time for any location within the operator’s cloud platform. Network functions that used to run on dedicated hardware will now be able to operate on software on a virtual machine. NVF is extremely important for speed efficiency to support new business applications.
This is all the basic tech that goes into operations of 5G networks.
Now imagine a world where you don’t have to wait for a page to load. That’s just the tip of the iceberg and that’s the least of the best that 5G can do for you. Let our imagination dream big. Now imagine a world where you don’t have to operate anything in your house and all of those machines work on their own as and when needed. That’s what we’re talking about. Maybe even bigger and better things are in store for us with 5G. Only time will tell if it’s a boon or a bane. After all, we are all going to become super lazy with so much tech at our disposal. However, with all those perks, we aren’t really complaining. Are we?
2020 has been a disaster. The first quarter of the year is almost over and people have no other option but to sit inside their homes, while a China originated human-killing virus wipes a considerable amount of the world population. While ‘Thanos’ was an imaginary being in the Marvel Universe, his aim was no different. He wanted to relieve the world of half its population and restore balance. The COVID-19 is no different situation apart from the fact that killing innocent humans is not going to restore the balance on earth, not after it has been subjected to all the malicious atrocities that it has been subjected since the arrival of mankind.
The virus which is also known as coronavirus is said to be originated in the city of Wuhan, China and suspected to be contracted from animals to humans. As people kept mingling and travelling all over the world, the virus too was spread. The current situation is so bad that most advanced countries like the USA and healthcare dominant countries like Italy are on the verge of giving up. All the global leaders, dignitaries and citizens of most of the infected countries are just asking the same question. When will this end?
In the fight against coronavirus, artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) have all of a sudden great role to play. While doctors, physicians, pharma companies and scientists are directly engaged in this duel of humanity against the virus, AI and ML are now being used as human allies for the answer to we all looking to hear.
How will AI and ML fight the disease?
For most of us, AI and ML are just boxed in computers. Apart from seeing AI and ML suggest products from our last google search, none of us has actually seen AI work in real-time. What most people would know AI as just a bunch of codes which work behind the scenes to make things easier in front of the screen. However, if you think so, you are wrong. You can not physically see AI and ML do its job, but AI and ML are contributing to this fight, a whole lot more than you can imagine.
AI and ML can effectively track the disease spread and the trends which points out where the medical help is most needed and where the virus is most likely to spread. This helps medical professionals to quickly act and helps to curb the spread of the disease. AI or as we know artificial intelligence is beyond normal human learning and use its past learning patterns to quickly identify where the things could go wrong. Based on its learning and combining its previous knowledge with insights, it can predict where the disease could go next based on the population flow and density.
Artificial Intelligence can also match the symptoms of COVID-19 and the required treatment or any other therapy that is required. AI is also streamlining the best treatments for the disease which we still await an effective vaccine. Not only this, but AI and ML are also being used to analyse millions of drugs, elements and formulas with high speed to develop a vaccine. AI might seem to be working at its full speed, but a vaccine is still a year or more away from being developed.
Now coming to the other side, AI and ML must also contribute to risk management. AI is as good as 95% correct most of the times. With more and more learning, AI continuously improves and thus corrects itself. However, it is quite dicey at this point to depend on AI alone, especially when the data samples (available data on COVID-19) is very less. Will AI still be that effective when it comes to less available data and also predict the failures? This is still to be understood at large unless there is a huge amount of data available for artificial intelligence to learn from.
For any organisation or company using AI and ML as a tool in the current crisis, it is clear that AI and ML are no more proprietary or experimental technology anymore. The current situation has help demonstrate AI and ML have far more usage and applications, especially when human knowledge and efforts seem to have seen a dead end.
While the official announcement of the prices of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro has been made, India gets the exclusive variant.
OnePlus 8 Pro price in India has been revealed, alongside the prices for the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z headphones. OnePlus on Sunday announced the pricing for all of its new products, just days after their introduction. The exact sale dates for each of the products is still unclear and OnePlus has just said that these will go on sale next month. The OnePlus 8 series prices in India are much lower than the prices of the two smartphones in the US. What’s also worth noting is that the company has launched a brand new variant of the OnePlus 8 in India – the 6GB + 128GB – that hasn’t been unveiled globally. Read on for more details on OnePlus 8 series price in India and sale details.
OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro price in India
OnePlus made the announcement of their new OnePlus 8 series of smartphones amidst the COVID-19 situation. And from what it seems like, OnePlus had it all planned well in advance so the launch was imminent.
The OnePlus 8 price starts in India starts from Rs. 41,999/- and the OnePlus 8 Pro prices start from Rs. 54,999. Yes, these are far away from the prices once OnePlus began selling their phones with. Their tag of being the ‘Flagship Killer’ is a bit of distant now as OnePlus has clearly ventured into the premium space.
The Indian prices of the OnePlus 8 series smartphones are considerably cheaper than what the prices are in the US. This clearly means OnePlus is aiming to capture a major share of the market here in India where the budget premium segment is booking, especially when devices like the Samsung Galaxy S20 series have been priced much higher, the OnePlus 8 series is expected to garner a lot of buyers. There is no word on availability of the phones yet, however, interested buyers can head to Amazon India to find out more details.
OnePlus first revealed the prices in the US and then in India. The base variant of the OnePlus 8 comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs. 41,999/-. This variant is also exclusive to Amazon India. Moving on the 8GB +128GB variant is priced at Rs. 44,990/- and the top variant with 12GB +256GB is priced at Rs. 49,999/-.
The OnePlus 8 Pro 8GB RAM, 128GB storage variant has been priced at Rs. 54,999/- and the 12GB RAM, 256GB storage variant has been priced at Rs. 59,999/-. OnePlus 8 Pro will be available via Amazon India and offline stores.
OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8 specifications
The OnePlus 8 Pro is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, coupled with 8GB and 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It comes with a 6.78-inch QHD+ (1,440×3,168 pixels) Fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also features a quad rear camera setup comprising a 48-megapixel primary Sony IMX689 sensor, an 8-megapixel secondary sensor with a telephoto lens, a 48-megapixel sensor with a wide-angle lens, and a 5-megapixel “Color Filter” camera sensor. On the front, the OnePlus 8 Pro gets a 16-megapixel camera with a Sony IMX471 sensor. The OnePlus 8 Pro supports dual nano sims and runs Android 10 with OxygenOS on top.
The display on the OnePlus 8 Pro features an in-display fingerprint sensor, and OnePlus has added a 4,510mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T and Warp Charge 30 Wireless, apart from reverse wireless charging. The OnePlus 8 Pro has 128GB and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage options, and connectivity options include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.1, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C port.It measures 165.3×74.35×8.5mm and weighs 199 grams.
The OnePlus 8 runs Android 10 with OxygenOS on top and sports a 6.55-inch full-HD+ (1080×2400 pixels) Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, 6GB, 8GB and 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM options, a triple rear camera setup with 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 primary sensor, 2-megapixel secondary sensor, 16-megapixel sensor. A 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor is behind the front camera with 128GB and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, similar connectivity options, an in-display fingerprint sensor and a 4,300mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T. It measures 160.2×72.9×8.0mm and weighs 180 grams.
