Google bans crypto mining extensions from Chrome store

Google today made it clear that it will no longer encourage crypto mining extension as the company will no longer accept extensions that mine cryptocurrency and the existing extensions that mine cryptocurrency will be delisted from the Chrome Web Store in late June. Google Chrome Web store allowed cryptocurrency mining in extensions as long as it is the extension’s single purpose, and the user is adequately informed about the mining. With 90% of extension failing to follow the policies, Google is now banning all of the extension for good even if they adhere to earlier standards. However, Google says that extensions with blockchain-related purposes other than mining will continue to be permitted in the Web Store. Google in the blog post said: "The extensions platform provides powerful capabilities that have enabled our developer community to build a vibrant catalog of extensions that help users get the most out of Chrome." Sadly, taking advantage of these capabilities, malicious software developers attempted to abuse the platform at the expense of users. This new policy is to ensure that Chrome users continue to use the browser to its fullest with the inclusion of extensions and without exposing themselves to hidden risks. Source

Google Home gets Saavn and Gaana music streaming integration ahead of India launch

Google already announced that it is launching the Google Home in India on April 10th and now the Google Home in India has gained English support and Saavn and Gaana music streaming integration. Users have the ability to them as default music streaming service. Gaana and Saavn have free service versions that work with Google Home in addition to the premium services as well. Gaana and Saavn are both popular services in India and with Google Home launch right around the corner, this indeed is a right move to attract users. Adding Saavn and Gaana is easy, users just have to open Assistant settings, and scroll down to "Music" and from there Just link account and Assistant will be able to access your music. However, you will have to select Saavn or Gàana as your default if you have shared Home devices. We should know more details about more integration aimed at the Indian market in the coming days. Source 1, 2

OnePlus 6 teaser says the phone will have “the speed you need”

OnePlus has officially teased its upcoming flagship; the OnePlus 6 today and has officially started its marketing campaign for the device. The teaser video says "the speed you need," and the company confirmed the OnePlus 6 name. It is already known that the flagship will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and that's where the speed will come from. It will have a top-notch like the iPhone X including a Full HD+ optic AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The top-notch will measure exactly 19.62 x 7.69 mm, meaning that it is larger than the Essential phone and smaller than the iPhone X. [HTML1] As for other specifications, it will come with 6GB RAM, 64GB storage and another variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. It will run on Android 8.1 Oreo with Oxygen OS 5.1.0 on top. In terms of camera, it is expected to have 16MP + 20MP dual rear cameras and a 20MP front camera. The smartphone has been in the news for quite some time now; it was spotted in Geekbench benchmark application, Wi-Fi certification, render images. With series of leaks and rumors continuing to flow, it is evident that the phone is slated to launch very soon in the coming few ...

Meizu PRO 7 with dual AMOLED displays, dual rear cameras launched in India for Rs. 22999

Meizu today launched the PRO 7, the company's first smartphone with dual displays and dual rear cameras in India. It was introduced back in July last year and packs a 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display along with a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED 307 PPI secondary display on the back to show info such as weather, time and notifications. It also has 12-megapixel dual rear cameras with monochrome and color sensors offering portrait images with background blur along with a 16-megapixel front camera. It has a unibody metal design and packs a 3000mAh battery respectively. [HTML1] Meizu PRO 7 specifications 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display, 10000:1 contrast ratio, 103% NTSC Color Gamut 1.9-inch ( 240×536 pixels) 307 PPI secondary Super AMOLED display with 1000:1 contrast ratio 2.5GHz Octa-core MediaTek Helio P25 processor with Mali-T880 GPU 4GB LPDDR4x RAM, 64GB (eMMC5.1) internal storage Flyme OS 6 based on Android 7.0 (Nougat) Dual SIM 12MP dual rear cameras (monochrome + RGB) with dual-tone LED Flash, f/2.0 aperture, 1.25um pixel size, Sony IMX386 sensors, PDAF 16MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture Fingerprint sensor Cirrus Logic CS43130 Smart PA amplifier Dimensions: 147.62 x 70.72 x 7.3mm; Weight: 163g 4G VoLTE , WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C 3000mAh battery with ...

Apple said to use its own chips in MacBooks replacing Intel chipsets starting 2020

Apple is said to be planning to use its own chipsets in MacBooks replacing Intel chipsets from 2020, according to the latest report from Bloomberg. The initiative is named 'Kalamata,' and is still in early developmental stages but comes as a part of Apple's strategy to make all of Apple’s devices including MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads work seamlessly together. This move is definitely a big blow to Intel who has been the largest supplier of chipsets for Apple MacBooks and helped in reviving its success. According to the report, Apple provides 5% of its annual revenue to Intel. Intel shares have fallen drastically once the news about Apple ditching Intel for its chipsets came out. However, there is still a possibility that Apple might abandon or delay the switch. As for Apple, it is surely a defining moment as Intel remains the major supplier of components by others inside of Apple's product portfolio. Apple's products including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs use main processors designed by Apple and based on technology from Arm Holdings Plc. Relying solely on its own chipsets mean that Apple can release a new Mac model whenever it sees fit rather than depending on Intel’s processor roadmap. The change also allows ...

Indian Govt imposes 10% import tax on key smartphone components

Indian Government  has imposed a 10% tax on imports of key smartphone components including populated printed circuit boards. The new move falls in line with the recent reports claiming that the Indian Govt was exploring new customs duties on such components. The import duty applies to components such as memory and chips. The populated PCBs account for roughly half of a typical smartphone’s cost. The 10% import tax is also imposed on imports of camera modules for phones and connectors. The move comes from P.M Modi's phased manufacturing programme (PMP) which was unveiled in 2016 to lift local production of mobile devices and promote 'Make In India' initiative. Indian Govt is aiming to turn India into a manufacturing powerhouse like China. Back in February at the Union Budget 2018, Govt had raised the customs duty on mobile phones from 15% to 20%. This announcement was aimed at driving more local production of smartphones, as those devices do not come with import duty and hence can be sold for cheaply. The new move is likely to affect brands, especially in the premium space. Source

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Review

Xiaomi launched the  Redmi 5 smartphone in India last month. Even though the Redmi Note 5 was not a huge upgrade, the Redmi 5 is a major upgrade compared to the Redmi 4 in terms of design and internals, but it has a slightly smaller battery and is costly compared to the predecessor . Should you get it? Let us jump into the review to find out. Unboxing We recently unboxed the smartphone, check out the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27rtq2kIVSM Box Contents Xiaomi Redmi 5 smartphone in Black color 2-pin charger (5V-2A) Micro USB cable SIM ejector tool Clear protective case User guide Display, Hardware and Design The main change in the Redmi 5 compared to the Redmi 4 is its 18:9 2.5D curved glass screen with gentle rounded corners. It has a large 5.7-inch HD+ display with a pixel resolution of 1440 × 720 pixels and a pixel density of about 282 PPI. The display is bright, thanks to 450 nits brightness and has 1000:1 contrast ratio. Sunlight legibility is good, since it has a Sunlight display that uses hardware-level technology to adjust the contrast of each pixel in real-time, so images are less affected by glare. It has 72% of NTSC color gamut, same as the predecessor. It should have a Corning Gorilla ...

Google rolls out April 2018 Android security update, includes functional improvements for Pixel and Nexus devices

Google has started rolling out new over-the-air (OTA) update for Pixel and Nexus devices and also posted factory images as part of monthly Android Security release. The update for this month also includes a lot of functional improvements for these eligible Pixel and Nexus smartphones. Functional improvements for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X in April 2018 security update References Category Improvements Devices A-35963245 Performance Enable Assisted Dialing support Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-37681923 A-68215016 Logging Improve anomaly detection metrics All A-63908720 Logging Improve diskstats logging All A-64101451 Performance Improve handover from VoLTE to VoWi-Fi during Emergency calls on certain carriers Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-64586126 Camera Improve microvideo performance in Google Camera Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-64610438 Performance Reduce delays upon opening specific apps Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-65175134 Video Improve decoding of certain video streams Pixel, Pixel XL A-65347520 Performance Improve fingerprint and keyboard latency in certain situations Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-65490850 UI Adjust notifications when entering or exiting Wi-Fi coverage during a video call Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-65509134 Connectivity Enable IMS911 on certain networks Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel, Pixel XL A-66951771 Logging Detect Wi-Fi Passport statistics for developers All A-66957450 Performance Improve lock screen performance All A-67094673 Logging Improve start time logging All A-67589241 Performance Improve magnetic sensor performance on Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-67593274 Battery Reduce battery drain after modem issues Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL A-67634615 Stability Improve modem stability on Pixel and Pixel 2 phones Pixel, Pixel ...

Nubia Z18 mini to be announced on April 11, could feature dual rear cameras, Full HD+ display

ZTE's Nubia brand has scheduled an event on April 11th to unveil its mid-range Z18 mini, successor of last year's Nubia Z17 mini in Beijing, China. The invite shows 24OO, which hints at 24-megapixel dual rear cameras for the phone or it could be 24-megapixel front camera. The invite doesn't reveal any other details of the phone. The phone is rumored to come with Full  HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio screen, Snapdragon 660 SoC with up to 6GB of RAM and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. It is likely to feature a unibody metal design, similar to the predecessor. The Nubia Z18 mini is rumored to be priced around 1599 yuan (US$ 254 / Rs. 16,555 approx.). We should know all the details when the phone goes official next Wednesday. Source

OnePlus 6 with Android 8.1 Oreo, Snapdragon 845 gets Wi-Fi Certification

With OnePlus 5T going out of stock in North America and company officially started talking more about the upcoming flagship and how it will have a top notch like iPhone X, it is very clear that OnePlus is on the verge of launching its next flagship in the coming few weeks. Today according to the WiFi certification, we know that the flagship will indeed be called as OnePlus 6.  The WiFi certification listing revealed that the phone would go with the name OnePlus 6 and has model number ONEPLUS A6003. The date of certification is April 2, 2018, i.e. today. In addition to the name, the certification confirms that the phone will run Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Oxygen OS 5.1.0 on top and supports WCN3990 dual-band 802.11ac, which confirms Snapdragon 845 SoC for the phone. Furthermore, the phone is said feature a 6.28-inch Full HD+ optic AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top, a top-notch, 90% screen-to body ratio, 6GB and 8GB RAM with 64GB/128GB storage variants. It will have a vertical dual-rear camera, a fingerprint sensor, and a different build material; probably bamboo back going by the recently leaked image. Source | Via