Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Stock Camera vs Google Camera comparison

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 7 smartphone along with Redmi Note 7 Pro on February 28 in India. We already brought you the camera samples and review of the smartphone, and as promised here we have the Stock Camera and Google Camera photo comparison. The Redmi Note 7 packs dual cameras at the back arranged in a vertical array, the primary shooter is a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 sensor with f/2.2 aperture and large 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF and EIS which is accompanied by another 2-megapixel secondary depth sensor for portrait shots, the LED flashlight can be found below the camera module. On the front, it features a 13-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture and 1.12μm pixel size. Xiaomi has enabled Cam2API by default on a Redmi device for the first time, so users can sideload ported Google Camera apks for advanced editing including RAW capture, a working apk can be downloaded from here. Check out some camera samples (Click the image to view the full resolution sample.) [gallery size="large" columns="2" link="file" ids="278807,278824"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278810,278825"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278819,278833"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278820,278834"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278812,278827"] [gallery size="large" columns="2" link="file" ids="278813,278828"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278814,278829"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278816,278830"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278817,278831"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278818,278832"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="278822,278835"] [gallery columns="2" size="large" ...

Amazon and Google announce support for official YouTube App on Fire TV; Prime Video App Coming to Chromecast and Android TV

Google stopped support for official YouTube app on Amazon Fire TV devices in December 2017 and the services were blocked before the promised date. Users were not able to access the YouTube app and they were redirected to Silk and Firefox browsers. But, today, Fire TV devices have got good news as Amazon and Google announced support for the official YouTube app. The two companies will launch the official YouTube app on Amazon Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition smart TVs.  Users will be able to play YouTube videos in 4K HDR at 60 fps on supported devices. Additionally, both the companies have added support for streaming Prime Video to Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices, which should make many users happy, as until now users needed to mirror the Prime Video App from their smartphone to watch them on the big screen. Apart from this, Prime Video will also be available across all Android TV device partners, and the YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps will also come to Fire TV later this year. Commenting on this, Heather Rivera, Global Head of Product Partnerships at YouTube, said: We are excited to work with Amazon to launch the official YouTube apps on Fire TV devices worldwide. ...

BlackBerry opens BBM Enterprise for personal use as BBM consumer service is shutting down on May 31

BlackBerry today announced that it is making BBM Enterprise (BBMe), its enterprise-grade end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, available for individual use, as Indonesia-based Emtek who manages BBM for consumers has announced that it will shut down BBM consumer services on May 31, 2019. It said that users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on to BBM. BlackBerry said that the decision to open up BBMe for personal user was made out of BlackBerry’s respect for loyal BBM users and was not a contractual obligation. It also said that this not affect the company’s financial guidance and enterprise software strategy. BBMe is now available for all Android users from the  Google Play store. It will be available in the Apple App Store soon. BBMe will be available for free for the first year. After the first year, a 6-month subscription will be available for US$ 2.49. Mark Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer, BlackBerry, said: While we respect Emtek’s decision, we’re disappointed the platform did not thrive and grow as expected. After much consideration, we decided that BBM’s loyal users should continue to have a secure messaging platform that they can trust.

Mediatek’s 5G chip is coming to India by end of 2019

At the China Mobile Global Partner Conference in Guangzhou, MediaTek introduced the first 5G baseband chipset, Helio M70. Today, Mediatek has confirmed that the 5G chipset will be arriving in India by this year-end with the shipping happening next year. The Helio M70 is among the industry’s first wave of 5G multi-mode integrated baseband chipsets and is in line with the booming 5G market and the enhanced mobile experience. The company says that 5G is a very big focus area for them, and they will launch the 5G chip by end of this year in India and ship it next year. However, the company has not announced an exact launch date yet. MediaTek has also partnered with KaiOS Technologies to power 3G and 4G feature devices with MediaTek chips. KaiOS will be running on the MediaTek 3G MT6572 platform and MediaTek MT6731 which can support dual 4G SIM in mobile phones. The first batch of these devices is expected to arrive in the market in Q2, 2019. MediaTek has three R&D facilities in India with the first one opened in Noida in 2004 and in Bangalore in 2014. The company has a total of 600 employees across these centers and makes it the third biggest R&D in ...

Apple announces its major expansion of global recycling programs

Apple today announced a major expansion of its recycling programs, quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their iPhone to be disassembled by Daisy, its recycling robot. Daisy is a recycling robot by Apple where it will disassemble and recycle select used iPhones. The robot will recycle the iPhones returned to Best Buy stores throughout the US and KPN retailers in the Netherlands. Daisy is capable of disassembling 15 different iPhone models at the rate of 200 per hour, recovering even more important materials for re-use. How does Recycling work at Apple? Once materials have been recovered from Daisy, they are recycled back into the manufacturing process. For cobalt, which is a key battery material, Apple sends iPhone batteries recovered by Daisy upstream in its supply chain. They are then combined with scrap from select manufacturing sites and, for the first time, cobalt recovered through this process is used to make brand new Apple batteries. The company’s engineering of an aluminum alloy made from 100 percent recycled aluminum allows the new MacBook Air and Mac mini to have nearly half the carbon footprint of earlier models. Apple also announced the opening of its Material Recovery Lab dedicated to discovering future recycling processes. The new 9,000-square-foot ...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro expected to get Fortnite support soon

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 7 Pro in the country back in February, the smartphone is already amongst the most popular devices in its segment. Redmi Note 7 Pro sports Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform which is an excellent mid-range processor, but it doesn't support Fortnite, a multiplayer online battle royale game. Realme, which in recent time has emerged as another smartphone brand providing great VFM devices, is all set to launch Realme 3 Pro next week in India. Last week, company CEO, Madhav Sheth shared that upcoming Realme 3 Pro will come with Fortnite support and will be the first phone in its segment to support Fortnite as other 'Pro' smartphones can not manage the same. How about playing #Fortnite on #realme3Pro? I believe #realme3Pro will be the 1st in its segment that can directly support it. Tried to play this game on some latest "Pro" devices but none of them could manage. When it comes to speed, chipset matters. RT to win 1 Rm3pro. pic.twitter.com/j5SKOrXA2g — Madhav Sheth (@MadhavSheth1) April 10, 2019 Now, as per a post by Mi Community Admin, Xiaomi is planning to bring Fortnite support to Redmi Note 7 Pro. The post from the admin says, A few days back we heard from ...

Reliance Jio reports Rs. 840 crore profit in FY Q4 2018-19, crosses 300 million subscribers

Reliance Jio has reported Rs. 11,106 crore revenue, up 7.0 % QoQ and 55.8 YoY and a net profit of 840 crore, up 1.1% QoQ and 64.7% YoY for its seventh quarterly financial performance for the period that ended 31st March 2019.  Jio reported Standalone earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 4,329 crore, up 6.8% QoQ, EBITDA margin of 39%, and Standalone earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 2,585 crore, up 9.1% QoQ . Consolidated value of services stood at 13,062 crore, up 6.6% over trailing quarter. It has 306.7 million subscribers as of March 31st compared to 280.1 million at the end of December quarter. The company said that it is the fastest operator in the world to reach 300 million users milestone. Average revenue per user (ARPU) during the quarter – ₹126.2 per subscriber per month Total wireless data traffic – 956 crore GB Average voice traffic – 72,414 crore minutes per day and 823 minutes per user per month Video consumption per subscriber per month – 500 crore hours Average data consumption per user per month – 10.9 GB Jio started offering JioGigaFiber services starting 15th August 2018, and the company said that  JioGigaFiber services for Home broadband, Entertainment, Smart Home Solutions, ...

Lenovo Z6 Pro with Snapdragon 855, quad rear cameras, in-display fingerprint sensor to be announced on April 23

Update: April 18, 2019 — Lenovo has confirmed that it will feature quad rear cameras that includes a 48-megapixel main sensor with OIS, 125° ultra-wide-angle lens, Telephoto lens for 2.39cm macro and a ToF sensor. It will come with a gradient back, sixth-generation in-display fingerprint scanner, liquid cooling with 5mm reinforced copper tube for better heat dissipation and pack a 4000mAh battery. Update: April 10, 2019 — Lenovo has confirmed that the Z6 Pro will be introduced on April 23rd at an event in Beijing. It has also shared an image of the phone that shows its no-notch design and a metal frame. It will feature new Hyper Video and support 2.39cm macro shooting. Earlier: Lenovo has been teasing its Z6 Pro smartphone for more than a month. The company's CEO Chang Cheng has confirmed that it will be powered by Snapdragon 855 and will be introduced later this month. The teaser image shows a large rear camera sensor, metal frame and possibly a glass back. It recently said that the phone will come with Hyper Video feature, but it did not detail how it works. The company added that it took one year and one month to develop this feature to offer users the best experience. There ...

ASUS Zenfone Live L2 with 5.5-inch HD+ display, Gradient body announced

ASUS launched the Zenfone Lite L1 smartphone in India in October 2018. It was an entry-level smartphone priced at Rs.5,999 in India. Today, ASUS has added another entry-level smartphone to its lineup with the launch of ASUS Zenfone Live L2. Asus has silently introduced the new Zenfone Live L2 without any formal announcement, and the listing is live on ASUS's website. The new Zenfone Live L2 flaunts a 5.5-inch 18:9 HD+ IPS display with 82.3% screen-to-body ratio. It comes in two storage variants i.e., 16GB and 32GB. The 16GB RAM variant is powered by the Snapdragon 425 Mobile Platform, while the 32GB variant is powered by the Snapdragon 430 Mobile Platform. The RAM remains the same in both the variants at 2GB. In regard to GPU, it is Adreno 505 on the Snapdragon 430 variant and Adreno 308 on the Snapdragon 425 variant. Zenfone Live L2 sports a gradient color back with a glossy finish and comes in Rocket Red and Cosmic color options. With regards to the camera, it sports a 13MP Rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and 5MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture along with a soft LED flash. All these are backed up by a 3000mAh battery and in terms ...

Facebook said to be working on its own AI voice assistant to rival Alexa and Siri

In recent days, various reports have been emerging on brands like Amazon, Microsoft working on various products with their voice assistant built in. While Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana has been present for years now, we haven't seen voice assistants from social media companies like Facebook, Twitter become popular among consumers. But, looks like it is going to change as a new report suggests that Facebook is said to be working on its own AI voice assistant to rival the offerings in the market. According to reports, Facebook is said to be working on launching its own AI-based voice assistant. Facebook's augmented reality and virtual reality team which led by Ira Snyder are said to be been developing an AI voice assistant since 2018 to take on rivals like Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, etc. Facebook has reportedly started connecting with smart speaker companies for a partnership to make devices with Facebook's own AI voice assistant. It seems that Facebook is mainly developing the assistant for its Portal smart display, Oculus headsets, and future Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality devices. It is not the first time Facebook is developing a voice assistant as the company launched its M assistant for Messenger in 2015. But it was eventually ...