Apple may allow third-party apps to be set as default in iPhone soon

Till date, in typical Apple fashion, default apps on their iOS platform have always been locked to Apples own pre-installed offerings like Apple Music and Safari. Now, Apple is apparently discussing bringing the walls down a bit and let third party apps to be set as defaults by users. Currently, on iOS, when users open a link, it automatically opens in Safari, even if the user wishes to open them in Google Chrome Firefox. Similarly, when a user needs to share something via mail, Apple defaults to its own Apple Mail app. Apple has blocked the ability to set defaults in iOS, probably to ensure that their apps and services continue to be used. It has however, received quite a bit of backlash in recent times for continuing to be lock this feature. In response, Apple is considering loosening its restrictions on third party apps for third party apps like Spotify and such. It is also considering reducing restriction on its other devices such as the HomePod. Currently, users can only stream music directly on the HomePod via Apple Music, with Spotify and others being blocked. If users wish to stream via Spotify, they have to Airplay via an iPad or iPhone, ...

Google removes nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for violating its ads policy

Intrusive advertisements on apps has been an issue that Google has been tackling on android for years now. As part of this effort, Google has banned 600 apps from its Play Store for violating its disruptive ads policy and disallowed interstitial policy. The ban was enforced as a result of new machine-learning based approaches that Google has deployed to detect when apps show out-of-context ads. These new detection methods were developed to fight against better masked disruptive ads that were deployed by malicious developers. Google's disruptive ad policy specifically targets ads that are displayed to users in unexpected ways, especially out-of-context ads, that can sometimes take away device functionality. In its blog posts, Google gives the example of apps suddenly serving full-screen advertisements when the user is not actually actively using them, like when the user attempts to make a phone call or when unlocking the phone. Google has stated its continued commitment towards developing new technologies that can help prevent these emerging threats and bad behaviour from damaging the mobile ecosystem. For us users, it means lesser annoying apps that serve advertisements out of nowhere, which is great. Source

Xiaomi India to launch new dual-driver earphones with HD Audio on February 25

Xiaomi India is on a launch spree as the company recently launched the Mi Outdoor speaker and Mi Toothbrush. Following that, the company has now teased another audio product launch in India on February 25 and it could be an earphone. Xiaomi India has posted a teaser that reads “Perfectly balanced sound with twice the drive. #HDAudio unveiling on 25th February.” The teaser video shows a glimpse of the product with a braided cable. Going by the teaser, the product could be a wired earphone with dual drivers, HD audio capability and it could replace the existing Mi Earphones that are available from quite some time. Perfectly balanced sound with twice the drive.#HDAudio unveiling on 25th February. pic.twitter.com/bXDvofZLS9 — Mi India #108MP IS COMING! (@XiaomiIndia) February 21, 2020 The new earphone could take on the realme Buds 2 which packs an 11.2mm bass boost driver, dual-tangle free cable, and more. We should know more information in the coming days.

Twitter is testing new ways to target misinformation spread

The spread of misinformation in social media is an issue that is widely debated these days. According to a leaked demo, Twitter may roll a new policy that targets misinformation by having a community of fact-checkers and journalists marking the tweet as “Harmfully misleading” or not. Twitter did confirm that they are testing the feature and that this is one possible iteration of the new policy that they are developing. In the leaked demo, a community of fact checkers and journalists who are verified on the platform can vote on a potentially misleading tweet and if so, the tweet will get a red or orange badge right below, which will have the same size of the tweet. It will state that the tweet violates the community policy and hence will have its visibility reduced. Twitter is planning to build its community of fact-checkers by giving users a chance to earn 'points' and a 'community badge' if they contribute in good faith. The point system will behave in similar fashion to Wikipedia, in an attempt to prevent trolls and political ideologues from becoming moderators. The moderators will be asked to categorise a tweet as 'likely' or unlikely to be harmfully misleading and also ...

Vu Premium 32-inch HD and 43-inch Full HD Android Smart TVs launched starting at Rs. 10999

VU Technologies has launched Vu Premium TV series of 32-inch HD and 43-inch Full HD Android 9.0 Smart TVs with built-in Chromecast, support for Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar, YouTube and Google Play with hot keys on the remote. These have 7 picture modes, including Cricket mode, has Dolby audio and DTS, Bluetooth 5.0 that lets you connect Bluetooth devices such as headphones and gamepad and features matte black bezel. Vu Premium TV (32" and 43) specifications 32-inch (1366 × 768 pixels) / 43-inch (1920 × 1080 pixels) LED display with 178-degree viewing angle, 8ms response time Adaptive Contrast, MPEG Noise Reduction, PC and Game Mode Quad-Core processor with Dual-Core GPU 1GB RAM, 8GB storage Android TV 9.0, Chromecast built-in, Screen Mirroring WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, IR, 2 x HDMI (1 contain ARC), 2 x USB, Ethernet, AUX Port Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Hotstar and Google Play Hotkeys on Remote 20W (32") / 24W (43") Box Speaker with Dolby Digital and DTS Studio Sound The Vu Premium TV 32" and 43"  are priced at Rs.10,999 and Rs.19,999, respectively and are available on Flipkart.

Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection arrives for Linux, coming to Android and iOS soon

Microsoft announced Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection for enterprise customers back in 2016. Later in 2018 it announced advanced threat protection (ATP) for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, way before the Windows 7 support ended in January 2020. Today, it has announced public preview of Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux. It supports servers running distributed versions of RHEL 7+, CentOS Linux 7+, Ubuntu 16 LTS, or higher LTS, SLES 12+, Debian 9+ and Oracle EL 7. Regarding this Microsoft said: Extending endpoint threat protection to Linux has been a long-time ask from our customers, and we’re excited to be able to deliver on that. We know our customers’ environments are complex and heterogenous. Providing comprehensive protection across multiple platforms through a single solution and streamlined view is more important than ever. The company also said that it will preview its investments in mobile threat defense on Android and iOS next week at the RSA Conference. Azure Sentinel, Intelligent security analytics, Microsoft’s cloud-native security information and event manager (SIEM), further extends the capabilities of MTP by incorporating alerts, threat intelligence, and signals from third-party solutions. Source 1, 2

LG V60 ThinQ with quad rear cameras, 4-channel microphone, 5000mAh battery surfaces [Update: New image]

New press image of the phone has surfaced that shows a familiar design, thinner bezel, water drop notch, dedicated Google Assistant button and volume rockers on the left, power button on the right and a gold frame. It is expected to come with 5G support, powered by Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform, 8GB of RAM. Since there is no MWC, it could be announced as early as next week. Earlier: LG launched the V50 ThinQ  5G smartphone with OLED display, dual-screen accessory, etc. While the successor i.e., LG V60 ThinQ surfaced already, it has now surfaced again in a promotional video showing off the back panel and revealing key specifications as well. According to a promotional video, LG V60 ThinQ is said to sport a punch-hole display and the front-facing camera is located at the center. It might also sport a notch display, going by the renders, but it is not confirmed yet. Furthermore, the V60 ThinQ is said to sport quad rear cameras and 4 microphones. This time around, the V60 ThinQ is said to pack a larger 5000mAh battery, a bump from the 4000mAh battery on the V50 ThinQ. Furthermore, according to the images, the V60 ThinQ is said to sport a ...

Havells Carnesia-I intelligent fan with smart mode launched for Rs. 4500

Havells, a popular consumer electronics brand in India has launched their first smart ceiling fan in India called the Carnesia-I. It can intelligently sense the temperature and humidity in the room to adjust the fan speed accordingly and it can be controlled by an app or via a voice assistant. The fan can be operated in three modes; namely smart mode, sleep mode and breeze mode, the latter two useful for night comfort and to have natural breeze effects respectively. The fan can be turned on/off and have its 5-speed levels controlled via its Alexa or Google Assistant integrations. Extra functionality can be enabled via the app. These include home automation support, humidity display, temp display, multiple user control profiles, etc. The Havells Carnesia-I will be available for a price of Rs. 4500 in offline stores across India. Commenting on the launch, Ravindra Singh Negi, President, Electrical Consumer Durables, Havells India Limited said: Innovation, technological advancement and offering unique features to consumers has been at the core of our product philosophy and Carnesia-I is a great example of that. It is an intelligent fan that can sense temperature and humidity in the room and offer right speed for enhanced comfort to our consumers. With ...

TECNO CAMON 15 and CAMON 15 Pro with Android 10, 48MP AI Quad rear cameras launched starting at Rs. 9999

Tecno, a budget smartphone brand has launched two new phones as part of its Camon series of photography focused phones called the 15 and 15 Pro. Differentiating between the two phones, the 15 Pro has a 32MP Pop-Up Selfie camera while the Camon 15 uses 16MP dot-in selfie Camera. Tecno Camon 15 specifications: 6.55-inch HD+ Dot-in display, 90% screen-to-body ratio 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM, Expandable up to 256GB Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) HiOS V6.0.1 based on Android 10 48MP rear camera, 5MP 115° ultra-wide-angle lens, 2MP camera for 2cm macro, Ultra Night Lens supported by DSP chip, f/1.79 aperture 16MP AI Selfie Camera Fingerprint sensor Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/A-GPS 5000mAh battery Tecno Camon 15 Pro Specifications: 6.53 inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) full view display, 480 Nits brightness, 91.2% screen-to-body ratio. 2.35 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P35 Processor 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, expandable memory with microSD Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) HiOS V6.0.1 based on Android 10 48MP rear camera, 5MP 115° ultra-wide-angle lens, 2MP camera for 2cm macro, Ultra Night Lens supported by DSP chip, f/1.79 aperture 32MP Pop-Up AI Selfie camera Fingerprint sensor Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/A-GPS ...

ColorOS 7 Trial Version based on Android 10 starts rolling out to range of OPPO phones in India

OPPO launched the ColorOS 7 for the global markets, at an event in India back in November last year. The company today announced that it will be bringing the trial version of ColorOS 7 to its flagship devices currently available in India. Users can now enjoy the trial version of ColorOS 7 on ten handsets Reno Reno 10X Zoom Reno 2 F11 F11 Pro R17 R17 Pro Find X Find X Automobili Lamborghini Edition Find X SuperVOOC Edition You can join this from Settings > Software Updates > Setting Icon — Trail Version. OPPO said that the trial version may not be completely stable, as its purpose is to allow OPPO engineers to further refine the final edition of the OS. It added that the ColorOS 7 will eventually be rolled out across 20-plus phone models, covering the Reno, Find, F, K, and A series models and the regions of China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. ColorOS 7 brings system-wide Dark Mode, digital ID document manager DocVault, an advanced three-finger screenshot, and the Soloop video editor.  ColorOS is being used in multiple local languages — 72 in total — including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bangla and more. It also integrates ...