Worldwide Wearable shipments reach 32 million units, up 21.7% YoY in Q3 2018: IDC

According to IDC, the global shipments of wearable devices reached 32.0 million units in the Q3 2018, up 21.7% from the previous year. New products from the likes of Fitbit, Garmin, and Huawei helped the basic wearables category return to growth during the quarter. Another factor was the growing demand in markets like Asia which accounted for more than half of all shipments and grew 21.4% compared to the previous year. However, the United States which is the second largest market saw its year-over-year decline of 0.4% as it transitions from a market driven by new users to one that relies on replacement devices and upgrades. The smartwatch segment also evolved during the quarter as Apple and Fitbit continue to focus on the healthcare market. The healthcare market is quickly becoming the next frontier for wearables brands to conquer. Xiaomi retained the top place during the quarter thanks to the success of the Mi Band 3 and significant expansion beyond its home country of China. Though typically China accounts for well over 80% of Xiaomi's shipment volume, this quarter that share fell to 61% as the company managed to grow its presence in other markets such as India, Europe, and Middle East & ...

Quora data breach affected 100 million users globally, exposing names, email addresses and more

Quora has announced that some of its user data were compromised as a result of unauthorized access to one of our systems by a malicious third party. The company said that it is working rapidly to investigate the situation further and take the appropriate steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. Quora revealed that some of its user data were compromised by a third party who gained unauthorized access to one of the systems on November 30th. The company is working on locating the precise cause for the data compromise and has retained a leading digital forensics and security firm to assist it. It has also notified the law enforcement officials. Over 100 million Quora users account information, e.g. name, email address, encrypted (hashed) password, data imported from linked networks when authorized by users, public content and actions, e.g. questions, answers, comments, upvotes, non-public content and actions, e.g. answer requests, downvotes, direct messages are being subjected to the compromise. Questions and answers that were written anonymously are not affected by this breach as Quora does not store the identities of people who post anonymous content. The company is in the process of notifying users whose data has been compromised. It ...

Apple announces best iPhone and iPad apps and games of 2018

As usual Apple has named the best iOS apps and games for 2018. It has also posted Trends of the year as well as top apps and games charts for 2018. This includes Froggipedia from India, which is the iPad App Of The Year. This year, Battle Royale-style games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile dominated global gaming culture with exciting, last-player-standing action, while innovative apps like Fabulous, Shine, 10% Happier and Headspace expanded the practice of wellness around the world to make self-care more accessible than ever before. App Trend of the Year - Self-care Game Trend of the Year - Battle Royale-style gaming iPhone App of the Year - Procreate Pocket iPhone Game of the Year - Donut County iPad App of the Year - Froggipedia iPad Game of the Year - Gorogoa Mac App of the Year - Pixelmator Pro Mac Game of the Year - The Gardens Between Apple TV App of the Year - Sweat Apple TV Game of the Year - Alto’s Odyssey Favorite Watch Apps of the Year WaterMinder Lifesum: Diet & Macro Tracker App in the Air 10% Happier: Meditation CARROT Weather Overcast Just Press Record Fun Golf GPS Swing Tennis Tracker Slopes Top Apps Charts of 2018 YouTube Instagram Snapchat Messenger Facebook Bitmoji Netflix Google Maps ...

OnePlus 6T has a smarter camera with Google Lens powered by AI

OnePlus unveiled  its most expected OnePlus 6T smartphone couple of weeks back. In addition to several new camera features such as Nightscape for the best night shots and Studio lighting that uses face detection for the best portraits, the OnePlus 6T also comes with Google Lens built right into the camera app. Google Lens can not only detect an object, but it can also understand what it detects and offer actions based on what it sees. Google Lens can be accessed from ‘More’ option in the camera app. Google Lens will tell you what’s in the image, giving you information about things like books, buildings, and works of art etc. You can also copy and paste text from an object for translation, add events to your calendar, find products online while shopping to view relevant reviews and similar options, reviews of movie DVDs, identify popular plants along with other helpful information like florists in your area, learn about landmarks when you travel, and more. All this is powered by AI and computer vision, fetching all the details in seconds. With the latest real-time detection feature, you can just open the Google Lens built into the camera on the OnePlus 6T, and it shows the details ...

Skype for desktop gets AI-powered live captions and subtitles

Skype has announced that it is bringing call captioning with live captions & subtitles which works for one-on-one calls to any phone number, as well as in group calls with a work team or friend group. Simple settings allow you to turn them on for a single call or keep them turned on for all your calls. Live captions & subtitles are optimized to be fast, continuous, and contextually updated as people speak. Currently, the captions and subtitles auto-scroll in your call, but in the future, you’ll find additional viewing options, including the ability to scroll through them in their own side window, so you don’t miss a moment. The company is also releasing translations that support over 20 languages and dialects in the coming weeks. Whether you’re learning a new language or attending a meeting that is not in your native tongue, the new translations will help keep you up to speed. Once you turn translations on through a simple setting toggle, you can read subtitles in the language of your choice in every call. Source

Microsoft said to be working on Windows Lite to rival Chrome OS

Microsoft is said to be secretly working on a new version of Windows which is currently called 'Lite', based on documentation found in the latest build. This new version is not Windows exactly, but it is a version of the OS that is targeted at Chromebooks. In fact, there are markings all over the latest release of the insider builds and SDK that help us understand where this OS is headed. Unlike the Windows 10 S and RT, the Windows 10 Lite only runs PWAs and UWP apps and strips out everything else making it a true lightweight version of Windows. This is not a version of the OS that will run in the enterprise or even small business environments and it can't be purchased either as OEM only may be the way forward. This might the reason for Microsoft to kill off Windows 10 S. The goal of Windows Lite is to make it super lightweight, instant on, always connected, and can run on any type of CPU. With Qualcomm gearing up for Snapdragon event where it is expected to announce a chip that runs Windows significantly faster and better than 835, we can expect devices with the new chip running the Windows Lite ...

Apple said to launch iPhones with 5G in 2020

With 5G wave slowly taking off among the Android side, Apple seems to be in no mood to rush as the company is planning to hold on until at least 2020 for a 5G iPhone, according to sources. This delay will give a huge advantage to rivals like Samsung and Huawei to win over consumers by bringing phones with 5G early next year.  Similar to 3G and 4G, Apple will wait as long as a year after the initial deployment of the new networks before its main product gets the capability to access them. Apple's calculations, which were proven correct in the past were that the new networks and the first versions of rival smartphones would come with problems such as spotty coverage, fluctuating speeds which would make consumers less compelled to immediately make a shift. However, this time the 5G switch is a much bigger speed upgrade which is making Apple's decision to wait riskier. The decision to sit on the sidelines may be related to the company’s feud with Qualcomm, who currently is the leader in 5G-enabled chips, and its alliance instead with Intel, who won’t have chips available in time to support 2019 phones. It worked out for Apple in the past to wait until ...

Samsung, Verizon team up to bring first commercial 5G smartphone early 2019

Verizon and Samsung announced that they will bring the first commercial 5G smartphone to the market in the first half of 2019. The companies will unveil a proof of concept, powered by the upcoming flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform with the Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end, and antenna elements, at the annual Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit later this week. This is the result of years of collaboration to deploy an end-to-end solution for commercial 5G services using Samsung network equipment and personal devices. 5G mobility service will provide massive bandwidth, greater opportunities for connectivity and improved network reliability. Verizon launched the world’s first commercial 5G service in October when 5G Home went live in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. Verizon says that its 5G mobility service will go live in early 2019 and expand rapidly. Once it is made available, Samsung 5G smartphone users will immediately benefit from the speed and capacity of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. Samsung has been an active contributor, with Verizon, to develop standards that make 5G deployment possible and was the first company to earn FCC approval for its 5G commercial products. Brian Higgins, vice president, wireless device and product marketing at ...

Google expands eSIM support on Pixel 3 to more carriers including Airtel and Jio in India

Google has announced that it will bring eSIM support to more carriers and more countries. Pixel 2 was the first major smartphone with eSIM, and now, on Pixel 3. In Germany, Google is supporting eSIM from networks including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone soon. In the U.S., Sprint will bring support for eSIM, EE in the UK, Airtel, and Jio in India. Truphone and Gigsky in various countries will also roll out eSIM support for Pixel 3 in the coming months. To enable a consistent and simple experience across the ecosystem, Google is also creating a program that allows Android device makers to build eSIM-capable smartphones. Google says that it looking forward to continuing its work with partners on the potential benefits of eSIM whether you are connecting to a phone, watch, tablet, or laptop in the future. Source

OnePlus 6T OxygenOS 9.0.7 update improves Bluetooth stability, brings equalizer to Bluetooth earphones and more

OnePlus has rolled out OxygenOS 9.0.7 update for the OnePlus 6T smartphone, in more than a week after 9.0.6 update. This update brings several improvements, including improved Bluetooth stability for better connectivity, Wi-Fi and standby power consumption optimiztions and improvements to slow-motion videos. It also brings audio tuner or equalizer to Bluetooth earphones. The OnePlus 6T OxygenOS 9.0.7 update is 100MB in size. Check out the complete changelog below. System Improved Bluetooth stability for better connectivity Optimized stability for Wi-Fi connection Optimized standby power consumption Fixed display issues for lock screen wallpaper General bug fixes and improvements Camera Improved performance for slow-motion videos Earphone Audio tuner for Bluetooth earphones Source