FCC proposes new plans to combat spam phone calls and text messages

The US Government to combat unwelcomed phone calls and spam text messages plaguing millions of consumers has proposed few proposals. However, one of its proposals raises for concern as it could enable telecom giants to censor legitimate communications. The FCC's first measure is to create a national database containing information about phone numbers that have recently been disconnected and reassigned to someone else. The effort aims to help businesses, such as banks and pharmacies, avoid dialing the wrong customers repeatedly. The second being the more controversial measure, this would give text messaging the same legal status as high-speed Internet, in effect offering wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon added leeway to block and filter text messages they recognize as spam. Combined, the two proposals could cut down on unwanted robocalls and texts by empowering telecom companies to fight spam and by placing renewed expectations on businesses to look before they dial. Earlier this month, FCC also warned AT&T, Verizon, and other telecom giants that the agency would “take action” in 2019 if the industry fails to adopt additional robo-call protections of its own. Source

Google Duo v44 hints at Low Light mode, data saver, new call answering UI and more

Google Duo is getting a new update bringing the version number to V44, however, it doesn't bring much to the table on the covers, but underneath there are few subtle inclusions. The team behind Duo is said to be working on a new Low Light mode to enhance the video-calling experience in underlit conditions.  The Low Light mode will be accessible with a button, which will be shown right on the call screen along with the buttons for muting and hanging up on a call. While how Google aims to implement low-light isn't entirely clear, but it should improve the exposure level of the overall image, but this will certainly help. In the Duo v43 teardown, elements of a new Data Saving mode began to emerge. As the name suggests, the feature would scale down the video resolution for everybody on the call for the sake of conserving data. This will be useful for anybody on a cellular or metered Wi-Fi connection. In this latest update, some new text adds further details about the feature. This new text explains that Duo already scales back on data usage when on the mobile network, but the new Data saving mode will further save data thanks to the new Data Usage toggle. The ...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro with 6.26-inch 19:9 FHD+ display, dual front and rear cameras launched in India starting at Rs. 13999

Xiaomi just launched the Redmi Note 6 Pro, successor of the Redmi Note Note 5 Pro in India, as it had promised. The major change is the 6.28-inch Full HD+ screen with a notch, 19:9 aspect ratio and dual front cameras, in addition to dual rear cameras, and the primary 12-megapixel camera now has f/1.9 aperture and  1.4μm pixel size for better low-light images. Both these have AI features including AI portrait and AI scene recognition. The rear camera can recognize scenes in 32 categories, including 5 which are India specific, and the front camera can detect 12 categories.  There is also new adjustable bokeh, studio lighting with 6 effects that use AI semantic segmentation and also comes with light trails that comes with 6 dynamic bokeh effects. It has a 20-megapixel front camera with 4-in-1 Super Pixel technology, 2-megapixel secondary camera for portrait shots and has AI face unlock. Other specifications are almost same as the Redmi Note 5 Pro, including Snapdragon 636 with up to 6GB of RAM, Dual 4G VoLTE, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 4000mAh battery. However this comes with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, even though it comes bundled with 5V/2A charger. Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro specifications 6.26-inch ...

Microsoft Launcher beta gets Android Pie-like Digital Health feature

Microsoft launcher for Android gets a new update which brings Android 9.0 Pei's Digital Wellbeing like feature which it is calling 'Digital Health.' This allows you to track which apps you use, how long you use them, and even how often you unlock your phone. Those are the core features of Android's Digital Wellbeing wrapped up inside the Microsoft Launcher. The Digital Health feature is present on the far left home screen panel. It needs usage access in the system settings before it can track data, though. However, it doesn't have the advanced features of Android Digital Wellbeing like app timers or winddown mode. The Microsoft Launcher 5.1 beta is available in the Play Store if you have signed up for the beta, if not you can download the APK and side-load it. Microsoft Software official changelog: Track your screen time, app usage and phone unlocks with the new screen time card The Launcher To Do card now shows tasks from apps like Microsoft To Do, Outlook and Skype The Launcher Notes card now shows your Notes from Sticky Notes on Windows, Outlook and OneNote mobile Cortana now has an updated card with commute/traffic "Hey Cortana" as a beta feature for the en-us market Cortana support in the ES-ES market Bing mini-answers shows ...

Apple acquires AI startup Silk Labs

Apple has acquired Silk Labs, an AI startup that focuses on making AI software "lightweight enough" for consumer hardware like cameras and speakers. Silk's website says that it aims to "bring next-generation visual and audio intelligence to connected products" with "state-of-the-art image and audio recognition."  Apple is said to have purchased Silk Labs, a small startup with approximately a dozen employees, earlier this year. According to the Silk's website, its technology has a number of potential uses for home security, retail analytics, package monitoring, digital display metrics, access control, parking lot monitoring, and building surveillance with capabilities like people detection, facial recognition, audio detection, object recognition. Silk blog which used to have its technology explained is no longer active, so is the company's Twitter account which has not been updated since 2017. The company's website, does, however, provide insight into its technology, though there's no word on how Apple might be planning to use it. Silk The company has introduced a new product called Sense, which debuted on Kickstarter three years ago. The Sense was designed to be a "digital brain" for smart home products, communicating with them to improve interoperability and to learn a person's smart home needs over time. The startup was founded by Andreas Gal, ...

Apple said to be planning on Chromecast-like Apple TV Dongle to promote upcoming streaming service

Apple is said to be planning on bringing a low-cost Apple TV dongle similar to Amazon's Fire Stick and Google Chromecast, according to a new report. The company has also held talks and discussions for the product which would be priced lower than the Apple TV. This Apple TV can be plugged into the back of a television set. There's an underlying reason for the company to bring such a product as it is working on promoting an upcoming streaming service that's in the works. A lower-cost Apple TV dongle would make the service, which will be available only on Apple devices, more accessible to potential buyers. Currently, Apple TV is the only company's television product and is priced at $179 for the Apple TV 4K and $149 for the non-4K version which is costlier than Amazon and Google products which are priced between $25 to $35. Rumors suggest that Apple is planning to roll out a streaming service next year, closer to march to be precise, and it is set to launch in more than 100 countries in 2019. Apple may offer the streaming service on a standalone basis, or bundle it up with Apple Music and an Apple News subscription that includes Texture, the magazine service that it acquired. Original television content created by Apple could be ...

Samsung Galaxy A8s with Infinity O notch display, triple rear cameras surface

At the Galaxy A6s and the Galaxy A9s launch, Samsung has teased another smartphone; the Galaxy A8s s with a new kind of display that is now known as Infinity-O Display. Nothing else is known about the device back then, however, now things started developing. As you know, the Galaxy O was one of the display type Samsung showcased which packs narrow bezels on top and bottom. There is a notch at the top left corner where the front camera is present and the main earpiece is present within the frame. This is a very unusual place for a camera, Samsung in order to achieve impressive screen-to-body ratio has designed the panel. The camera is unfortunately not under the display and is therefore visible the whole time and cannot be obscured. On the back are again three cameras whose specifications are currently unknown. The fingerprint sensor is present on the rear down below the rear camera module. The device will also be available in different color gradients, similar to the Galaxy A9 (2018). The images surfaced the internet may not be 100% legit but based on what Samsung teased,  it should look like the render more or less. Samsung is rumored to launch the Galaxy A8s ...

Instagram testing new Profile design to make it easier to connect, navigate between tabs and more

Instagram has announced that it is testing better and easy ways to better express yourself and more easily connect with the people. It mentioned that over the next few weeks, users may see features re-arranged at the top of the profile including changes to icons, buttons and the way you navigate between tabs. Instagram believes that this will make profiles easier and cleaner to use. The photos and videos you’ve shared on your grid won’t change. The company has been working on these changes and will test them in phases and different combinations within its community over the next several weeks. Instagram off late has been making some several changes to its platform including new Explore, shopping improvements and much more. These new changes are in-line with the company's aim to make the platform easier to use and connect. Source

Google Assistant for iOS gets support for Siri Shortcuts

Google has rolled out an update to Assistant on iOS which brings support for Siri Shortcuts. The company is trying hard to make Assistant a best replacement for Siri which currently is deeply ingrained within Apple’s platform. However, Google doesn't want to miss any chance. Once updated, you can also set up Siri shortcuts for phrases you frequently use with Assistant. Once the setup is done, whenever you say that to Siri, the Assistant app will open and immediately start listening for your command. You can access Assistant even when your phone is locked just by saying “Hey Siri” and then “OK Google." You can use it with custom voice command for a single smart home action or trigger your Google Assistant smart home routines inside of Siri. Saying something like “Goodnight Google” to Siri could open Assistant and run a routine like turning off all your lights and locking the door. For the new Assistant shortcut to work, just update the Assistant app for iOS to the latest version from App Store directly.

ASUS ROG Phone with 6-inch FHD+ AMOLED 90Hz HDR display, Snapdragon 845, 8GB RAM launching in India on November 29

ASUS has sent out invites for the launch of ROG Phone, the company's first gaming smartphone in India on November 29th. It was introduced back in June and comes with a 6-inch Full HD+ AMOLED HDR 90Hz, 1ms response time AMOLED display with DCIP3 gamut with Gaming HDR and Mobile HDR supported by dedicate hardware display chip, is powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC that is clocked up to 2.96GHz with 8GB RAM. It has new GameCool system that improves thermals with a copper heat spreader and 3D vapor chamber that efficiently transfer heat away from the SoC and into the body, says the company. It has dedicated ultrasonic buttons, two on the left edge and one more on the bottom right edge actuate with only 20 grams of force for both landscape and portrait modes. Each one can be customized to perform different functions, including executing macros that reliably reproduce game-specific gestures. The buttons can also be configured for non-gaming tasks, like instantly launching specific apps and activating functions like one-handed mode. Under the hood, an advanced haptic engine generates nuanced vibrations for more detailed force feedback in games. It is WiGig-certified for 802.11ad 60GHz WiFi with both 2×2 MIMO and WiFi Direct. ...