Snapchat said to be launching its own gaming platform later this year

Snapchat is an effort to sustain in the competitive market is planning on building out a bona fide hub for gaming inside of Snapchat, according to a new report from The Information. The platform is said to be launching later this year and the company is said to be already signing on game publishers to participate.  The news doesn't come as a surprise since Snapchat has opened up its Snap Kit; Lens Studio software SDK for developers to widen its specialized AR filters. Snapchat has bought a web-based 3D game engine PlayCanvas last year, which would serve as a good backbone for more robust developer tools. It is also unclear if the new gaming platform would include AR games, it wouldn't be a surprise even if does, considering the attention it has been giving to AR segment in the recent times. Snapchat launched “Snappables,” AR-based Selfie game back in April that integrates easily into Snapchat’s Lens selection UI. It looks like Snapchat is striving to be the app that’s home to several of these experiences and this will give Snapchat an advantage over Facebook and Instagram, though Messenger does have a plethora of games. Since nothing is official yet, we advise you don't get too excited about the Snapchat gaming platform. Source

Google Calendar gets new ‘Out of Office mode’ and ability to restrict your working hours

Google as a part of the Well-being initiative today is introducing a new out of office option and customizable working hours to Google Calendar. When you are about to create an event on the web, simply select the “Out of office” Calendar entry. The Out of office object will have a different look on the Calendar grid, signaling to others that you’re unavailable.  Google Calendar will automatically decline meetings that occur during this period. You can customize both the decline message as well as the visibility of the title of your out of office object. In future, it will also detect based on the title entered, when you’re creating an out of office object and change the type automatically. However, you can still manually change this if you’d like to opt for a different entry type. You can also restrict your working hours and protect your personal time. When someone tries to schedule meetings with you outside of these hours will be informed that you are not available at that time. You can now customize your work hours for each day separately. These new features are rolling out and should reach everyone within the next two weeks. Source

Google Duplex demo shows how Assistant will identify itself while making reservations

Google at the I/O 2018 has demoed the Google Duplex; this tech is where Assistant dupes itself as a human, call a business and get you a reservation. To make it sound like more human has added in human ticks like "umm." However, concerns were raised regarding how ethical this feature is. Back in May, Google clarified in a statement that the experimental system would have “disclosure built-in.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qCanuYrR0g Google today posted a new demo video of Duplex, and this time Assistant identified itself. In the new video, Assistant identifies itself by saying "Hi. I'm the Google Assistant calling." right after the call gets connected. You can initiate a Duplex call yourself; meaning that you can ask Assistant to make a reservation on a specific day, Assistant gathers more info, and then a different "version" of Assistant places the call. As for the demo, it is quite neat and impressive, but it still needs to be seen how it'll work in real life. As you can see, the automated call will be recorded probably to improve the quality of the call. Google will begin testing Duplex with select users and businesses later this year.

Google invests $22 million in KaiOS that powers JioPhone and Nokia 8110 4G

US-based Kai Technologies, mobile operating system provider for feature phone like the popular JioPhone and Nokia 8110 4G, today announced that it has received $22 million Series A investment from Google. In addition to the investment, Google and KaiOS have also agreed to work together to make the Google Assistant, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Search available to all KaiOS users. The company said that these Google apps have been developed specifically for the KaiOS platform, which is entirely web-based, using open standards such as HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS. Some of these apps are already available for JioPhone, and the most popular feature phone in India also got Facebook app a few months back. There are also rumors of WhatsApp working on a version for the KaiOS. KaiOS is baked on Firefox OS which is an open-source project started in 2011 and the operating system debuted in the USA in 2017. The operating system’s Store is based on HTML5 so most of the games, apps, messaging, streaming apps, and social media are already available. It also has support for 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, and is compatible with chipsets from major manufacturers. KaiOS works closely with manufacturers like TCL, HMD Global, and Micromax and has partnerships ...

Twitter details new steps to fight spam and malicious automation issues

Twitter today has shared four new steps that it is taking to address spam and malicious automation issues; reducing the visibility of suspicious accounts in Tweet and account metric, improving the signup process, auditing existing accounts for signs of automated signup, expansion of our malicious behavior detection systems. Twitter says that a common form of spammy and automated behavior is following accounts in coordinated, bulk ways. Since the company couldn't act upon it right at the moment all the time, that is why it is now updating account metrics in near-real time. For example, the number of followers an account has, number of likes or Retweets a Tweet receives. The company will now remove such accounts from follower figures and engagement counts until it passes a challenge, like confirming a phone number. It will also display a warning on read-only accounts and prevent new accounts from following them. If the account passes the challenge, the account will be restored. With an aim to make it harder to register spam accounts, Twitter is going to require new accounts to confirm either an email address or phone number when they sign up on Twitter. However, this will be rolling out later this year. Twitter is ...

Instagram Lite for Android released, roll out begins starting from Mexico

After Facebook Lite  in 2015 and Facebook Messenger Lite last year, Facebook-owned Instagram has rolled out Instagram Lite for entry-level Android smartphones with less storage, like Android Oreo Go Edition devices. The app is just 573kb compared to the 32 MB standard Instagram app for Android. The app has all the features that are available on the mobile web app, including Stories, Explore tab and more. The company is planning to add messages and share videos soon. Instagram said that the company is testing the Instagram Lite in Mexico from this week, but the company doesn't say whether ads would be included. It will expand to more countries later this year. Download Instagram Lite for Android (APK) (Free) Highlights of Instagram Lite for Android Post photos you want to keep on your profile grid and edit them with filters. Share multiple photos to your story. Bring them to life with text. They disappear after 24 hours and won't appear on your profile grid or in feed. Watch stories from the people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed. Discover stories, photos and videos you might like and follow new accounts on the Explore tab. Coming soon, you will be able to message friends and share videos ...

Facebook starts testing ‘Keyword Snooze’ in News Feed to fight spoilers, triggers

Being a movie/TV buff myself I often find it annoying when someone out of excitement or curiosity posts something on social media before I watch it. To prevent this from happening, Facebook is beginning a brand new News Feed control called Keyword Snooze. This feature is present in the upper right-hand menu in the News Feed and gives users the option to temporarily hide posts by keywords, which are pulled directly from text in that post. If you choose to “snooze” a keyword, you won’t see posts in your News Feed containing that exact word or phrase from any person, Page or Group for 30 days. This is literally the feature which many of us have been waiting. This new Keyword Snooze feature joins the list of features like See First, Hide, Unfollow, and Snooze. This should help you tailor your News Feed experience, and you can access Facebook without worrying about spoilers. Source

Apple, Samsung finally settle their biggest U.S. patent dispute

In what can be seen as a relief, Apple and Samsung on Wednesday have finally settled a seven-year patent dispute over the allegations that Samsung violated its patents by copying the design of the iPhone. Back in May, the U.S. jury awarded Apple $539 million. Samsung previously paid Apple $399 million to compensate for the patent infringement. However, Samsung would need to make an additional payment to Apple of nearly $140 million if the verdict was upheld. The string of lawsuits started in 2011 after the company threatened to act on rivals that used the Android operating system. However, it is unclear on how much Samsung should now pay Apple under Wednesday’s settlement. Both Samsung and Apple declined to comment on the developments. Apple in a statement said: Apple “cares deeply about design and this case has always been about more than money.” Regardless of the expenses involved during the lawsuit, Apple and Samsung still remain the title contenders of the world’s largest smartphone maker. Apple gained a major public relations victory with an initial $1 billion verdict in 2012, however, Samsung also obtained rulings in its favor and also dodged the risk of going out of business in the USA. Source

Nubia smartphone with dual displays, side-mounted fingerprint sensor, dual rear cameras surface in renders

Nubia NX606J smartphone, which is expected to be flagship Z18 was certified by TENAA in China back in April with 5.99-inch FHD+ 18:9 display, Snapdragon 845 SoC , up to 8GB RAM, dual rear cameras, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3350mAh battery, but the phone is yet to go official. Now a new Nubia smartphone has surfaced on State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) in China. This shows a smartphone with minimal bezels along with a secondary display on the back, side-mounted fingerprint sensor on both the left and right sides, dual rear cameras with separate dual-tone LED flash, glass body, 3.5mm audio jack and a loudspeaker grill on the bottom. The front-facing camera and sensors are nowhere to be seen. Since the homescreen on the phone displays August 24th, it could be the launch date of the smartphone. We should know more details about the smartphone in coming weeks. Source | Via

LG X2 with 5-inch HD display, fingerprint sensor announced

LG has introduced X2, the company's latest budget smartphone in Korea. It has a 5-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon SoC with 2GB of RAM, runs Android 7.1 (Nougat), has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 'Auto Shot', which recognizes faces automatically when you take a self-portrait, 'Quick Share', which allows you to share pictures instantly via SNS or messages, and a 5-megapixel front camera. LG X2 specifications 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD) IPS display 1.3GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon Mobile Platform 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) 8MP rear camera with LED Flash 5MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dimensions: 144.8 x 71.9 x 8.2mm;Weight: 152g 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS 2500mAh battery The LG X2 comes in Aurora Black color, is priced at 198,000 Korean Won (US$ 176 / Rs. 12,170 approx.) and will be available across four Korean operators from today. Source