Google begins replacing ‘Voice Match’ function with Assistant-only lock screen access

Google is removing the ability to fully unlock the phone using Voice Match on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. At CES 2019, the company said that this feature would be coming to all Android devices. Replacing the full device unlock is the Voice Match recognition on phones and tablets can now only provide Assistant “personal results,” like email and calendar entries. The full list of responses — either in verbal or visual card form include Emails, including personal results from Gmail, like flight reservations and bills, Google Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, Memory aids, and Shopping lists. Meaning, without entering a pin, password, or fingerprint, users can now only interact with the Assistant interface on the lock screen. Google removed this feature since it not an absolutely secure form of authentication. The change also has the benefit of syncing up Voice Match which is now an Assistant feature with Google Home speakers and Smart Displays. The new depreciation of “Unlock with Voice Match” is rolling out via a server-side update, but the change is already spotted in Google app 9.27 and should be rolled out for all devices soon. Once available, you can enable this feature from the Assistant settings > Assistant tab > Assistant devices list ...

Microsoft Excel app now lets you add data to spreadsheet directly from a photo

Microsoft is adding the ability which allows users to take a photo of a printed data table and convert it into a fully editable table in the Excel app for iOS and Android. For now, though, the app is rolling out to Android and will be gradually rolled out to iOS.  Microsoft is using artificial intelligence for this feature, with image recognition and this eliminates the need to manually input hardcopy data. The feature will be available to Microsoft 365 users. Apart from this, Microsoft's latest FastTrack, desktop app assure, provides app compatibility service for Windows 10 and Office 365ProPlus. FastTrack now offers guidance on how to configure Exchange Online Protection, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Message Encryption, and Data Loss Prevention policies. These services are now globally available to eligible customers with more than 150 seats at no additional cost. Microsoft is also bringing Microsoft Account security alerts to the company’s Authenticator app. When you receive a push notification, you can quickly view your account activity and take actions to protect your account if needed. Other updates include new one-time passcode (OTP) from Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) make sharing and collaboration seamless for any user with any account. Azure AD now supports automated user provisioning from Workday, enabling ...

Facebook now allows you to add event invites in Stories

Facebook brings a new update to Stories feature where you can now share events in Stories. This ability makes much more sense and makes it easier to invite your friends to Facebook events you’re attending. To share events in Stories, visit the page of the event and click “Share” below the date/time of the event. Instead of sharing the event in a post or sending to someone on Messenger, you’ll now be able to click “Share to Your Story.” Stories in the event let your friends tap “Interested” using the in-Story button. You will be able to see responses to your Story, you can tap the circle by friends who clicked “Interested” and set up a group message. It’ll also give you another way to remind your friends to RSVP to that event invite. The company started testing the feature earlier this year and is now rolling out a beta version in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. The tappable sticker, which is also new, will show details for the event you shared and allow friends to respond “Interested” or “Going” directly from the story in a more visual, attention-grabbing way. Friends who view your story will also be able to click on the ...

Vivo iQOO gaming smartphone with 6.41-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855, up to 12GB RAM, in-display fingerprint scanner announced

Vivo's iQOO brand has introduced its first gaming gaming smartphone in China, as it had promised. It has a 6.41-inch Full HD+  water drop notch screen with 91.7% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by Snapdragon 855 with liquid cooling, up to 12GB of RAM, runs Android Pie, has a 12-megapixel primary rear camera with Sony IMX363 sensor, secondary 13-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide lens and a 2-megapixel sensor for portrait shots. There is also a 13-megapixel camera on the front. It has an in-display fingerprint scanner and aluminum alloy frame. The back cover has two electro-optic lines that hides a colorful LED strip that lights up for notifications and when gaming. It also has two hidden pressure sensitive buttons for gaming, 4D gaming experience with real-time recognition of the game scene that vibrates the phone to intelligent match the scenes. It packs a 4000mAh battery with 44W  ultra-fast flash charge that lets you charge the phone from 0 to 50% in 15 minutes, to 85% in 30 minutes, and 100% in 45 minutes. Vivo iQOO specifications 6.41-inch ( 1080 × 2340 pixels) Full HD+ Super AMOLED 19.5:9 aspect ratio display Octa-Core Snapdragon 855 7nm Mobile Platform (1 x 2.84GHz  Kryo 485 + 3 x 2.42GHz Kryo 485 + 4x 1.80GHz ...

Samsung Galaxy S10e Hands On and Photo Gallery

Samsung introduced the Galaxy S10e along with the S10 and S10+ at its Unpacked event last week. We checked it out at the MWC this week, here is the hands on and photo gallery of the phone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4E1dQoZZvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrqVc3P1D_w The phone comes with a 5.8-inch Full HD+ Flat Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display, unlike the curved QHD+ screen on the S10 and the S10+, but it has the same puch-hole screen. It is Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9 Series 9820 SoCs depending on the region and runs Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung's One UI. It has a 10MP Dual Pixel front-facing camera with 80° wide-angle lens and f/1.9 aperture. [gallery size="medium" link="file" columns="2" ids="276578,276574,276577,276573"] It comes with side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the power button, unlike the in-display fingerprint sensor on the S10 and the S10+. Volume rockers and Bixby buttons are present on the left. SIM slot and the secondary microphone are present on the top, while the 3.5mm audio jack, USB-C port and the speaker grill are present on the bottom. It has a 12MP Dual Pixel rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.4-f/1.5 variable aperture, OIS along with a 16MP 123° Ultra Wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture with 2X optical zoom on the back. It has a glass back and comes ...

Optisafe My Hero distress companion device with location tracker launched in India

Optisafe has launched My Hero, a distress companion device, in India. It is designed to help people in distress and is extremely easy to wear or carry. It features two-way siren which sounds off loud distress siren simultaneously on the device as well the user’s smartphone. https://youtu.be/UO7XCps9EEI It sends an SOS message and triggers distress siren to three pre-defined contacts. The Inbuilt location tracker opens up a live location tracker that the recipient can use to navigate the user’s location. Users can trigger audio and video recording on the user’s smartphone. It can be activated on the Optisafe Mobile app, which is available on both Android and iOS devices. Users can pair My Hero with a smartphone via Bluetooth. The My Hero distress companion is priced at Rs. 2999 and will be available from March 8th through both offline and online store in India. Commenting on the launch, Dinesh Prasad, CEO of Optisafe said: There has been growing concerns on women safety and associated crimes therefore making it crucial to have the right technological support to ensure the safety of the citizens. Our Optisafe My Hero device has been specially designed using patent pending technology taking special care on usage convenience and SOS communication making it extremely easy to use during distress situations. While ...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro to be announced in China on March 18, will have more surprises says Redmi GM

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro made a global debut in India yesterday when everyone expected it to be introduced in China first since it got certified by TENAA recently. Today the company confirmed that the phone will be introduced in China on March 18th, few days after it goes on first sale in India on March 13th. We already know the complete specifications of the smartphone, but the Redmi brand president Lu Weibing when mentioning the differences between the Redmi Note 7 and the Note 7 Pro in China such as Snapdragon 660 vs 675, Samsung GM1 sensor vs Sony IMX586 48MP sensor, 6GB + 128GB version compared to 4GB/6GB + 64GB and P2i nano coating for water resistance, he also said that there will be more surprises in the Chinese version. Will the company upgrade the secondary camera? Will Chinese version come in new colors? We will have to wait for couple more weeks to find out. Source 1, 2

Samsung Galaxy S10 Hands On and Photo Gallery

Much to our anticipation, the South Korean giant Samsung recently launched its Galaxy S10 flagship smartphone at an event in San Francisco recently. This 10th gen Galaxy S device from Samsung's stable ticks all the boxes of what we expect from a flagship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSKhn1xBHjM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQfEcYZoQG4 Marks 10th year in Samsung’s S series Since it marks the 10th year in Samsung’s S series, the Galaxy S10 series of smartphones is more important than ever. This top end Apple iPhone rival is the first Samsung phone with an in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner that reads the 3D contours of user’s physical thumbprint for improved anti-spoofing. In line with 2019 trend On the design front, Samsung has ditched notch and waterdrop designs only to go with the hottest screen trend of 2019 - the hole-punch selfie camera. On the bottom, there is a thin chin, but this doesn't take the overall premiumness of the device, which is exquisite. There is a curve towards the slim metal edges on each side just like the glass panel on the back. Retains not only the audio jack, but aesthetics of the Galaxy S series! The Galaxy S10 measures 7.8mm in thickness and weighs around 157grams. In the era of audio jack ditching, Samsung decided not to leave the jack ...

nubia Alpha Smartwatch Phone Hands On and Photo Gallery

ZTE's nubia brand at the MWC introduced nubia-α, a wearable smartphone with a curved wrap-around OLED screen, here we have the hands on and photo gallery of the device. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kJbb1N9ltg It has a 4.01-inch flexible OLED display from Visionox, which the company says is up to 230% larger than standard wearable displays.  The wrap-around screen has an Panoramic aspect ratio for a more immersive and complete experience and the  display is coated in strong, heat-resistant Polyimide. It is made of 11 layers which ensures both vibrance and durability over time. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard memory. It is also water-resistant. It also has eSIM support for 4G, native voice calling in addition to WiFi and Bluetooth. You can use the built-in speaker and microphone or use Bluetooth headset to attend the calls. On the front there is a 5-megapixel camera with 82-degree wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture. The company has added clever UI shortcuts, so in order to take a picture, you just have to tap on the screen and long press records a video. It has exercise and health assistanct, sleep and run tracking and music playback. On the back there is heart rate sensor. It packs a 500mAh battery, that ...

Apple AirPods 2 with wireless charging case, Siri integration said to go on sale on March 29

Apple is rumored to be holding a special event on March 25th where it is expected to make announcements regarding its new Service based offerings. Sources from internal operations of suppliers in the Asia-Pacific market now suggest that AirPods 2 might be added to the list of announcements on March 25th and would hit the stores on March 29th. Even though no hardware announcements are expected at its March 25 event, it might be introduced with just a release. This means that March 28th would be the last day of the "life cycle" of the original AirPods. The AirPods 1 are rumored to be taken off the stores on March 28th, in a move to prep for AirPods 2 sale. The new generation AirPods will come with wireless charging case and Siri integration. This development falls in-line with noted analyst Ming-Cho Kuo who predicted that the new AirPods with wireless charging case will debut in Q1 2019. After AirPods 2 launch, Apple would bring an all-new design model” that will be introduced in Q1 2020 and these new refreshed models are expected to drive strong sales growth for AirPods. Kuo notes that fewer than 5% of iPhone users currently own AirPods, and with over 1 billion iPhone ...