Xiaomi confirms Android Pie update for range of smartphones

Xiaomi has finally released the list of smartphones eligible for Android Pie/Oreo update, these devices are supposed to get Android Pie/Oreo update before the end of this year. Xiaomi has mentioned that the smartphones which have already received two major Android updates are unlikely to receive further Android updates. The list of smartphones eligible to receive Android update includes both Mi and Redmi range of smartphones. List of smartphones confirmed to receive Android Pie: Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S Xiaomi Mi 8 Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Xiaomi Mi Max 3 List of smartphones confirmed to receive Android Oreo: Xiaomi Redmi 5A Xiaomi Redmi 5 Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (Redmi Note 5 in India) Xiaomi Mi 5X Xiaomi has not mentioned any plans regarding Android update for Mi 6X and recently-launched Mi 8 Lite. Xiaomi has also published a list of devices which have already received Android Oreo update, the list includes, Xiaomi Mi MIX Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Xiaomi Mi 5 Xiaomi Mi 5S Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus Xiaomi Mi 6 Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Xiaomi Mi Note 3 The list is applicable for devices running on MIUI China ROM and it is not clear whether MIUI Global ...

Lenovo Z5 Pro with full-screen display, slide-out design, in-display fingerprint sensor to be announced on November 1

After the Z5 and S5 Pro, Lenovo is all set to introduce the Z5 Pro smartphone in China. The company's CEO Chang Cheng has announced that the phone will be introduced on November 1st. He also posted a teaser of the smartphone that reveals a slide-out design, which is the latest trend in smartphone. The design reduces the bezels, offering high screen-to-body ratio. The slider has an earpice with front cameras on either side of it. It will also come with dual rear cameras with AI features. He also confirmed that the phone will come with an in-display fingerprint sensor, making it the first Lenovo to come with this feature. We still don't have any other specifications, but we should get the image and specifications when the phone is certified by TENAA in a few days. We will know all the details when the phone goes official next Thusrday. Source 1, 2

Micromax Spark Go Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone launched for Rs. 3499

Micromax has launched Spark Go, the company’s latest Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by a Quad-core SC9832E SoC with 1GB of RAM, has a 5-megapixel rear camrea, 2-megapixel front-camera, both with LED flash and a 2000mAh battery. Micromax Spark Go specifications 5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA display 1.3GHz Quad-core SC9832E processor with Mali-T720 GPU 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) Go Edition Dual SIM 5 MP rear cameras with LED flash 2MP front-facing camera with LED flash Dimesions: 145 x 72.8 x 9.7mm 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS 2000mAh battery The Micromax Spark Go comes in Silver and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 3499 and is available exclusively from Flipkart. It comes with 25GB of 4G data and 5GB of additional data benefits on a recharge of Rs.198/Rs.299 for a maximum of 5 recharges for Reliance Jio users. Commenting on the launch, Vikas Jain, Co-Founder, Micromax Informatics Ltd. said: With the growing preference of e-commerce in India, today’s discerning online consumer is always on the look-out for a multitude of options. Understanding these evolving needs and preferences of our audience, we are very excited to launch ...

Sony Cyber-Shot WX800 world’s smallest high zoom compact camera launched in India for Rs. 34990

Sony India has launched DSC-WX800 compact camera with  world’s smallest body in the Cyber-shot line-up. It offer versatile zoom range from 24mm at the wide end up to 720mm super-telephoto. In addition to 4K recording, it has BIONZ X image processing engine combined with a front-end LSI that delivers high-speed continuous shooting at up to 10 fps with a buffer limit of up to 155 images. Furthermore, it offers fast AF speed of 0.09 seconds. It has Eye AF, Touch Focus/Touch Shutter function, and location data acquisition via Bluetooth and several more features. It has ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-720mm High Magnification and High Image Quality Lens packed into compact body. Image stabilisation is controlled with Optical SteadyShot™which effectively negates the camera shake blur that often occurs during handheld and telephoto shooting. The Upgraded BIONZ X  image processing engine and newly implemented front-end LSI offer impressive stills. It inherits Eye AF technology from the α siblings for perfect portrait shots. It features Touch Focus/Touch Shutter and 180-degree Tiltable LCD for easy framing of selfies and group shots. Sony DSC-WX800 Specifications  18.2 Megapixels 1/2.3 type (7.82mm) Exmor R CMOS sensor, ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-720mm4 zoom lens 4K video recording with full pixel readout Fast Intelligent AF and Eye AF to instantly capture the moment 2.95-inch 921,600 dots TFT LCD ...

Alphabet records $33.7 billion in revenue with 21% YoY growth in Q3 2018

Alphabet Inc. has announced financial results for the third quarter of the year that ended September 30, 2018. Google reported a total revenue of $33.74 billion with 21% YoY growth and 22% increase in constant currency revenues year over year. The company had an operating income of $8.3 billion with 25% operating margin, up 7% versus last year, this is including the fines. The company has recorded a net income of $9.192 billion with Diluted EPS of $13.06. The Google properties revenues reported $24 billion, network Members’ properties revenues $4.9 billion, Google advertising revenues $28.954 billion, other revenues $4.64 billion. Google segment revenues $33.594 billion and other Bets revenues were reported $146 million, Google operating income came around $9.490 billion. On the other hand, Traffic acquisition costs for Google Network Members was around $3,427 million, paid clicks on Google properties improved 10% YoY and Cost-per-click on Google properties has witnessed a 2% growth. The Accrued performance fees for Q3 2018 was around $315 and gain on equity securities is around $1,382. Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google said: Our business continues to have strong momentum globally, led by mobile search and our many products that help billions of people every day. Alphabet revenues were $33.7 billion, up 21% versus the third quarter ...

Twitter reports $758 million revenue, 29% YoY growth in Q3 2018, has 326 million monthly active users

Twitter, Inc. has announced financial results for its third quarter of 2018 which had a total revenue of $758 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. The company's advertising revenue totaled $650 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. Twitter's total ad engagements increased 50% year-over-year and the cost per engagement decreased 14% year-over-year. The company's data licensing and other revenue totaled $108 million, an increase of 25% year-over-year. US revenue totaled $423 million, an increase of 28% year-over-year and the international revenue totaled $335 million, an increase of 30% year-over-year. Twitter's Q3 GAAP costs and expenses totaled $666 million, an increase of 14% year-over-year. Q3 non-GAAP costs and expenses totaled $570 million, an increase of 22% year-over-year. The Q3 GAAP net income was $789 million, compared to a net loss of $21 million in the previous year. Twitter's average daily active users (DAU) increased 9% year-over-year with 326 million, compared to 330 million in the same period of the previous year and 335 million in the previous quarter. This change is impacted by a number of factors including GDPR, decisions The average US MAUs were 67 million for Q3, compared to 69 million in the same period of the previous year. The average international MAUs ...

Facebook said to be working on TikTok-like Lasso video music app

Facebook is said to be working on a standalone app; Lasso where users can record and share videos of themselves lip-syncing or dancing to popular songs. The app is designed to be a standalone competitor to Musical.ly which later was acquired by Bytedance and re branded to TikTok.  According to a report, “It’s basically TikTok/Musically. It’s full-screen, built for teens, fun and funny and focused on creation. A lot of what they’re doing is just trying to be cool.” This new product is being built by members of Facebook’s video and Watch team guided by the company's principal lead product designer Brady Voss. Voss previously worked on Facebook’s TV app as well as the recently shut down Hello standalone app. Facebook is also said to have been investigating the teen music app space since 2016. Earlier this year, Facebook started secured licensing deals with all the major record labels. At first, this just kept users’ videos, including Musical.ly-style lip syncing clips, from being taken down for copyright infringement. Later, the company launched music stickers on Instagram that let you add soundtracks to your Stories, and that feature was rolled out to Facebook. The company also began experimenting with a Lip Sync Live feature for live-streaming karaoke, and today, Facebook has opened it ...

Ghostbusters World open-world game with AR Mode released for Android and iOS

Earlier this year Google opened up Maps SDK to let game developers create real-world games. The new game to join the list is the; Ghostbusters World built with Google Maps. The game allows you to grab your virtual proton pack and bust ghosts. The game is brought to you by Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghost Corps, publisher FourThirtyThree Inc., and developer Next Age. As a Ghostbuster, your mission is to “bust” ghosts to keep the world safe and ghost-free. You can lurk among 3D buildings, landmarks, and parks. You will find hundreds of ghosts from all dimensions of the Ghostbusters franchise like Wes Pinker, Splat, and Achira—in addition to fan favorites like Stay Puft and Slimer. Catch them in your proton beam to drain their energy and then capture them in your containment unit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quRF-gecY2U As you advance in the game, you’ll gain access to the latest in spectral neutralization and trapping technology. You can also team up with nearby Ghostbusters in multiplayer boss raids. There’s also an all original story mode featuring your favorite classic characters and there’s an AR Mode that lets you blur the lines between ghostly fantasy and reality. You can download the game now from Google Play and the App Store. Source

Google said to mandate security updates for two years for popular phones in new Android contract

Google, every month releases security patches for Android and this becomes tedious for carriers and manufacturers to get them installed on actual phones. However, that might soon change. According to confidential contracts, many manufacturers now have explicit obligations to keep their phones updated written into their contract with Google. The contract requires Android device makers to regularly install updates for any popular phone or tablet for at least two years. Google’s contract with Android partners stipulates that they must provide “at least four security updates” within one year of the phone’s launch. While the security updates are mandatory in the second year as well, there is no specific count to the number of releases. David Kleidermacher, Google’s head of Android security, referred to these terms earlier this year during Google I/O. He further said that Google has added provision into the agreements with partners to roll out regular security updates. These terms cover any device launched after January 31st, 2018 that’s been activated by more than 100,000 users. Starting July 31st, the patching requirements were applied to 75 percent of a manufacturer’s “security mandatory models.” Starting on January 31st, 2019, Google will require that all security mandatory devices receive these updates. Android manufacturers need to patch the flaws ...

Google to discontinue Android’s Nearby Notifications on December 6th

Owing to the increasing number of locally irrelevant and spammy notifications with the 'Nearby Notifications' feature which Google created three years ago, the company has decided to discontinue support for Nearby Notifications. In a blog post, Google confirmed that it will stop serving Nearby Notifications on December 6th, 2018. Google, starting from December 6th, will stop delivering both Eddystone and Physical Web beacon notifications. You will still continue to have access to the beacon dashboard and can deliver proximity-based experiences similar to Nearby Notifications via your own apps using Proximity Beacons API. Google currently has two related APIs; Nearby Messages and Connections, that are available for developers to build device-to-device connectivity experiences, and also have Fast Pair, for device discovery and pairing. Google also mentioned that it will continue to invest in these APIs and support products using these technologies. Source