Facebook now lets you share videos with copyrighted music; introduces new Lip Sync Live feature

Facebook for a while has been partnering with music companies around the world with an aim to bring more music experiences to Facebook. It is also introducing a new way for people to express themselves with music in their posts, including a new feature called Lip Sync Live. Facebook's partnerships with music partners will allow users around the world to include music in their videos on Facebook, opening up more options for creativity and sharing memories with friends and family. It said that it is testing the feature in several markets and will be bringing it to more markets soon.  Other introduced feature is Lip Sync Live, which lets users lip sync to songs from forever favorites, much similar to Musical.ly. Lip Sync Live feature is now rolling out to users. You can choose the Lip Sync Live option when starting your Live video. Once you select a song from the song list, you can also add a description and customize your video with masks or a background. When you broadcast the video with Lip Sync Live, friends will see the artist and song highlighted in the video and can tap to follow the artist on Facebook. Source

Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant up for pre-order in the US

Google at the I/O 2018 mentioned that first Google Assistant-powered smart displays from companies like LG, Lenovo, and JBL will be available from July. However, according to B&H Photo pre-order listings, the Lenovo’s smart displays might be up for pre-orders already.  The listing displays "coming soon" with a September 3 “expected availability” date. Thought it might be disappointing, the price tag of the Smart Display according to what Lenovo said at the CES early this year was around $200 for the 8-inch model and $249.99 for the bigger, 10″ model, but the B&H lists them at $149.99 and $229.99, respectively. That's a pretty sweet discount and much more affordable. The Lenovo Smart Display comes in two variants; one with 8-inch and another with a 10-inch Full HD display. Users can interact with Google assistant on the Smart Display via a 10-watt full-range speaker just as they would on a smartphone. It can stream videos directly from YouTube as well. The Smart Display in sleep mode doubles as a digital picture display to showcase images from a folder in Google Photos or other background images of your choosing. Source 1, 2

Google rolling out new dedicated topic pages with related articles in the feed

Google seems to be rolling out new dedicated topic pages with related articles in the Feed. It is now filling with more articles on a given news category, accessible via the labeled tags above each. Google has picked up the pace of pushing out new features to the Feed section in the recent months. Topically categorized pages look actually be a useful improvement. Feed usually features a small related image, and again since the Feed launched last July, users have been able to tap the top of the card to perform a regular Google Search. But suddenly a right chevron icon started appearing for some users next to the topic name. When tapped, it opens a list of approximately 20 articles in the style of regular Feed cards. At the top of this whole other feed is a related image, as well as the name of the subject. As you keep scrolling, an app bar with the topic name remains. You can also see an overflow menu on the top-right corner where usually users leave feedback. We feel that instead of using Google search to find related articles, users. The update might be a server-side roll out, and the feature has been spotted on older versions of ...

BlackBerry KEY2 complete specifications surface – Snapdragon 660, 6GB RAM, 12MP dual rear cameras [ Update: Price]

Update: Now we have the price of the smartphone. According to @evleaks it will cost $649 (Rs. 43,520 approx.) in the U.S. €649 (US$ 763 / Rs. 51,200 approx.) in Europe,  £579 (US$ 777 / Rs. 52,122  approx.) in Europe and $829 (US$ 640 / Rs. 42,920  approx.) in Canada, which is costly compared to the KEY ONE. $649 US / €649 EU / £579 GB / $829 CA https://t.co/9QLtF76urX — Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 6, 2018 BlackBerry is all set to introduce the KEY2 at an event in New York City tomorrow,  June 7th as the successor to last year’s KEYone. More press renders of the smartphone surfaced earlier this week. Thanks to @evleaks, we now have complete specifications of the smartphone, which confirms the specifications that had surfaced earlier, and this also reveals 128GB storage version in addition to 64GB as well as 12-megapixel dual rear cameras with 1.28 micrometer primary camera with Dual PDAF. full BlackBerry KEY2 specs pic.twitter.com/xwp6Qc2Srz — Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 6, 2018 It also reveals that it will come with Dual SIM support in countries like India, which will likely be Hybrid Dual SIM like the predecessor. It doesn't mention anything about the mystery key next to the symbol button. BlackBerry KEY2 (BBF100) rumored specifications 4.5-inch ...

Android Messages Smart Replies now rolling out to more users

Google rolled out Smart Replies in Android Messages last year, while the initial offering was available to selected devices as it was a server-side roll out. Now according to new reports, the test might be expanding as users have started reporting seeing the feature on their devices. To remind you, Smart Replies is a Google product that automatically generates the responses to the messages you receive. In the last couple of days, the feature has reportedly started reaching to a broader audience. A few Reddit users are reporting that the feature is making its way to Android Messages on devices as old as the Nexus 6. In case you haven't received the feature just yet, you can give Google's Reply a try as it adds similar functionality with more number of apps including WhatsApp. Source

Gboard v7.3 beta hints at OCR capabilities, battery saver mode with dark theme, custom text and more

Google has rolled out a new beta update to Gboard bringing the version to V7.3. While there are not many features or changes, digging deep within the APK reveals some critical changes like OCR capabilities, battery saver mode support with a dark theme, custom text and more. Gboard might soon get some OCR functionality, but for now, there are not many details about the same. It just states name and title. Obviously, the name of the string doesn't match with any of the other toolbar features that are available in expanded menu button on the left. It is likely to allow users to either take existing images stored on the device or possibly open a camera to scan something immediately in front of you, then paste the content on the image into the current app. Since Google Lens also has similar functionality, it needs to be seen how the new feature changes things. Google might soon bring the ability to add text to Gif. Users can add text, edit, and delete while you're working on your GIF, and you can choose from seven different colors: Black, Blue, Green, Purple, Red, White, and Yellow. The company looks to be adding more effects to the 'Make A GIF' feature, this time ...

Xiaomi Redmi 6 announcement set for June 12

Xiaomi today confirmed that it will introduce its budget Redmi 6 smartphone at an event in China on June 12th. This is the successor of Redmi 5 that was announced back in December last year. Xiaomi smartphones with model numbers M1804C3CC, M1804C3DE and M1804C3CE got certified by TENAA last month, so this could be the Redmi 6. The phone is said to come in two versions, one with an Octa-Core SoC with dual rear cameras, and the other one with a Quad-Core SoC with single rear camera. Xiaomi Redmi 6 rumored specifications 5.45-inch (1440 × 720 pixels) HD+ 18:9 2.5D curved glass display 2GHz Quad-Core / Octa-Core processor 2GB RAM with 16GB storage, 3GB RAM with 32GB storage, 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9 Dual SIM 12MP rear camera with LED Flash, secondary rear camera (High-end version) 5MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor Dimensions: 147.46×71.49×8.3mm; Weight: 146g 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS 3000mAh battery The Redmi 6 is expected to come in Blue, Black, Silver, White, Gold, Rose Gold, Purple and Red colors. Xiaomi is also gearing to introduce Mi A2 Lite, a mid-range smartphone in Singapore soon. Source

Samsung C-Lab adds indoor smart garden solution, portable directional speaker, AI-based user research platform projects

Samsung today announced that it will support three more projects from its in-house C-Lab (Creative Lab) start-up incubation program. It is now adding AGWART, CATCH FLOW and FOR MAKERS, bringing the total to 34 C-Lab alumni projects fully-fledged start-ups since 2015. The first in the list is the AGWART created ‘PLANTBOX,’ it is an indoor smart garden solution that enables users to easily grow vegetables and herbs at home. It consists of a smart greenhouse similar to a small refrigerator, seed capsules, and an app. It requires users to insert the seed capsule of choice and it automatically detects the species of the seed and optimizes its internal environment including lighting, temperature, humidity, air quality and nutrients. CATCH FLOW developed ‘S-Ray' is a portable directional speaker. The company says that unlike conventional speakers which spread out the sound in all directions, S-Ray focuses on sending the sound towards people so that can hear it perfectly. CATCH FLOW was able to build a smaller, lighter device and compared to previous solutions, S-Ray also runs on lower power without impacting volume or sound quality. FOR MAKERS are the force behind ‘AppBee,’ a research platform that connects clients and users based on mobile usage patterns. Once users’ opt-in, it predicts their characteristics by analyzing their mobile ...

Google Project Fi now lets you add kids to family plan

Google Project Fi already supports family plan which is an easy way to share your phone plan with friends and family. Today the company has announced that parents can their children under 13 to Project Fi group plan using a Google Account managed with Family Link. Google says that when you add a child to family plan, both parents and children will have access to features like easy data alerts, seamless switching between networks, and automatic connection to free Wi-Fi hotspots. It also lets you as a parent set digital ground rules that work for your family. Parents will also have the ability to manage their child’s data usage and set data alerts for you and your child to help them understand how much data they’ve used each month. Other parental features include easily managing child’s apps, keep an eye on their screen time, and remotely lock child’s phone when it’s time to put devices away. It also lets you manage certain device and account settings for your child, such as content filters in Chrome, Search, and other Google services. Source

LG Q Stylus with 6.2-inch FHD+ FullVision display, 16MP camera, water-resistant body, military-level durability announced

Looks like stylus phones are still a thing. LG has introduced Q Stylus smartphone lineup that includes  Q Stylus+, Q Stylus and Q Stylus α as successor to last year's  Stylus 3. It has a 6.2-inch FHD+ FullVision Display, is powered by a 1.5GHz Octa-core / 1.8 GHz Octa-core SoC, depending on the model and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo). The top-end Q Stylus+ comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, as well as a 16-megapixel rear camera, while the Q Stylus and budget Q Stylus α comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. All the models have military grade durability with MIL-STD 810G, but only the Q Stylus+ and Q Stylus are IP68-certified for water and dust resistance.  The fingerprint sensor  on the back also doubles as the selfie camera shutter button. Even with the display off, the LG Q Stylus will recognize and record handwritten notes, and it can also be utilized to personalize captured images and videos to create animated GIFs. It also has Portrait mode, QLens and DTS:X 3D Surround Sound. Even though it has a 3300mAh battery with Fast charging and it also has USB Type-C, replacing the micro USB on the Stylus 3. The company says that it has a metallic ...