Google's Android Messages app hits 100 million downloads

Google's Android Messages app hits 100 million downloads

  October 14, 2017   No comments:

Google has a long and often complicated history with messaging. For a time, there was no core Android SMS app while Google dabbled with SMS in Hangouts. Well, the Nexus 6 debuted with the Messenger app, later renamed Android Messages. Hangouts has since lost SMS capabilities, and now the Messages app has hit 100 million downloads in the Play Store.

We've covered Messages over the years because it's one of the apps that ships pre-installed on Google's phones. However, some other OEMs (eg. Motorola) also use it as the stock SMS app. I personally always install it on my phones because it's much prettier than the apps from LG, Samsung, and others.

In its three years of existence on the Play Store, Android Messages has racked up more than half a million reviews to go with its 100 million downloads. This download block stretches to 500 million, so we won't have cause to celebrate another milestone until Messages has about five times as many downloads as it has right now.

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Oreo comes to the OnePlus 3/3T thanks to the latest Open Beta

Oreo comes to the OnePlus 3/3T thanks to the latest Open Beta

  October 14, 2017   No comments:

OnePlus continues to impress: both of its 2016 flagships, the 3 and 3T, are getting Oreo thanks to the Open Beta program. So if you're running OnePlus' latest and greatest software, then this is an update worth getting excited for. And if you're not living life on the edge yet, then this may encourage you to do so.

As always, here's the update changelog:

System

• Update to Android O (8.0)
• Added Picture in Picture
• Added Auto-fill
• Added Smart text selection
• New Quick Settings design
• Updated security patch to September

Launcher

• Added notification dots
• Now able to upload photos directly to Shot on OnePlus

Known issues of the first Android O Beta

• Fingerprint unlock may be a bit slow in some situations
• Shortcut to access Google Photos is unavailable
• Stability of NFC and Bluetooth need to be improved
• Performance and compatibility of 3rd party apps will be optimized continuously
• Complete device tree will be released after a week

The OnePlus Music app has been removed from this build.

• If you want to install it back, please download the apk file from here: https://we.tl/VnNViD6N2j

It goes without saying that the jump to Android 8.0 is awesome. With it comes things like picture-in-picture, auto-fill, and smart text selection. The stock launcher also has notification dots now, a feature that I've grown to love. However, with this being a beta build, there are a few things to watch out for.

I don't want to insult your intelligence by reiterating the known issues section in the changelog, but I applaud OnePlus for being transparent about it — especially the point about NFC and Bluetooth needing improvements. If you're willing to deal with those problems, then go ahead and update or flash the Open Beta. The source links below have the downloads for both the OP3 and OP3T.

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[Praise Slow Google] It's now possible to control Chromecast music and TV playback from your phone's Assistant, not just Google Home

[Praise Slow Google] It's now possible to control Chromecast music and TV playback from your phone's Assistant, not just Google Home

  October 13, 2017   No comments:

The fragmentation of what Google Assistant can do on which device is, to say the very least, beyond frustrating. You issue a command on your phone and it works, then you try the same on your Google Home and it says it can't do that yet. You try something else on your Google Home and it works, but it doesn't from your phone, or your watch, or your TV, or Allo. It's disheartening when you know the Assistant could be so cool, but its implementation is so heterogeneous that it's impossible to explain that to a regular human.

Take for example the action of playing something on your Chromecast, be it a Chromecast connected to your TV, a Chromecast Audio, or a speaker with Chromecast built-in. If you had a Google Home, you could issue a command to play media on it, but no other form of Assistant supported it. Read: You couldn't do the same from your phone. That was mindbogglingly stupid. Why on earth was this not available to phone users? Why was it only possible on Google Home? God knows (ie. probably even Google doesn't know).

WTF is this? This isn't what should happen.

So you can imagine our absolute elation when we received several reports of this finally, finally, finally (not enough "finally"s in the world to describe this) working on Assistant on the phone. It works with both music and videos, and you can specify which Chromecast (Audio, TV, Chromecast built-in speakers, etc) to send your media to. You can also control playback from your phone, like skipping songs, pausing, resuming, stopping, changing the volume, and so on.

 

This is how it should work.

You can finally control your connected speakers and TVs from your fancy phone, no need for a Google Home anymore. It should also be useful if you're in a room where there is a Chromecast device, but there's no nearby Google Home. For example, I used to have to walk into the hallway to issue commands to my kitchen speaker, then walk back into the kitchen. Now I can just talk to my phone from the kitchen. Oh the world we live in!

I tested this several hours ago on my phone when we started getting tips about it and it wasn't working for me. So the functionality may either be rolling out gradually or it could need something to make it work. What that something is, I don't know, which is always the case with every Google/Assistant/Home feature nowadays. One of our tipsters doesn't have a Home at all, so it should work even if you haven't set up a Google Home in your Home Android app. Maybe it needs some specific version of the Google app, or the Google Play Services, or a specific version of the Chromecast firmware, or maybe it only works on Pixels, or maybe it's geo-limited, or this or that or all. So try it out on your devices and let us know if it's working or not for you.

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Facebook announces $199 Oculus Go, a full VR experience on a Budget?

Facebook announces $199 Oculus Go, a full VR experience on a Budget?

  October 13, 2017   No comments:

Image shows Oculus VR headset Image Courtesy: cnet .com

Facebook’s Oculus has been working on a new VR headset from a long ago, and we have reported earlier about it that a new VR headset for masses is on the cards and now this has come true, with Oculus releasing it’s $199 VR headset. Moreover, it doesn’t need any expensive, powerful pc like its elder cousin the Oculus Rift PC to function as its a standalone VR headset, with nothing extra wires, graphics attachments are required here.

The company is positioning this as a VR experience for people on a budget and has an aim to reach as well as bring more than 1 billion people to the Virtual reality world. However, this isn’t any new platform because this is based on Samsung’s Gear VR. If you are not aware that Oculus and Samsung together earlier created their Gear VR for its Galaxy devices and this is also based on it, so we think all the existing content available for the Gear VR can be supported here.

Image shows spatial audio for Oculus Go, Image Courtesy: oculus .com

Apparently, there’s no information on what it packs under its hood, and we’ll update it later as we learn more. On the event, the FB CEO described it as a sweet spot between the Rift for high-end users, and the entry-level users have mobile VR. But we do know some other specs such as the lens display has a resolution of 2560×1440. Along with this, you have spatial audio built into the side head straps. So, no headphones or earphones needed with Oculus Go.

The Oculus Go will start shipping from 2018 in the first quarter, and the development KIT for developers will be pushed out in November of 2017. Let’s see how Facebook’s ambitious VR $199 gamble, performs; we think it will be a solid choice for that price if it delivers a great experience on the budget or to be the Best VR headset to buy.

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LG is working on Foldable Screen for the Upcoming Apple iPhone

LG is working on Foldable Screen for the Upcoming Apple iPhone

  October 12, 2017   No comments:

Image Courtesy: appleInsider .com

Apple has recently launched its first ever OLED Display device, and it is non-other then iPhone X a.k.a iPhone 10. If you do not know, then Samsung is currently one of the biggest suppliers of OLED screens in the world, and for iPhone X as well Samsung is providing those OLED panels.

Now some latest news is there which states that Apple has teamed up with LG to make displays for its future devices, well the information is not revealed by Apple. Instead, it is a third party source. Let’s check out more information surrounding this.

Image shows iPhone X Image Courtesy: 9to5mac.com

We all are aware that a smartphone brand cannot produce every part of their devices by itself so for making this process easier they use parts provided by other brands/producers.

Apple is also among those brands, and currently, they are in a deal with Samsung for OLED panels as stated above, but as per the latest information, they have teamed up with LG to produce displays for their upcoming device. So you must be thinking why Apple has gone with this change? We have two reasons for it.

Maybe because Samsung is the most prominent competitor of them and they are in search of some tech which will give them an extra edge over Samsung. Apple might be working with LG to produce Foldable Displays, as LG has already displayed their prototype of bendable screens in the past. We may see iPhone with a Foldable screen in future as per this latest information from a Korean News source “The Bell.” For further Tech related updates stay tuned to us.

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Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017) quietly Launched in India, Specs And Price

Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017) quietly Launched in India, Specs And Price

  October 12, 2017   No comments:

Image of the newly launched Samsung Galaxy J2(2017). Image courtesy: indiatoday.intoday .in

When it comes to budget smartphones, all major brands have their offerings, but Samsung has its majority of customers who still prefer to buy smartphones through the offline market. Samsung has today launched its new smartphone in the J-series known as the Galaxy J2(2017).

Samsung Galaxy J2 an entry-level device from Samsung but still offers all essential features what a consumer can expect from an Android. Let’s check out its specifications and pricing.

Samsung Galaxy J2(2017) is a 4G Dual-SIM handset and is powered by an entry-level Exynos Quad-Core processor clocked at 1.3Ghz coupled with 1GB of RAM. The phone offers 8GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 128GB’s via micro-SD card.

The phone is targeted to an entry-level user who just wants an Android device to run basic Social networking apps or casual games. The phone runs on Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI.

In the front, there is a 4.7(inch) AMOLED Display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels compared to the old J2 which has a 5.0(inch) Screen. In the rear, there is a 5MP AF Camera with an LED Flash, and in the front, a 2MP shooter for Selfies is present.

The phone comes with an Ultra Data Save function which saves the extra data utilized when browsing the internet. It runs on a 2000mAh battery and will be available in Black/Gold colors. The handset is priced at 7,350 INR which according to us is expensive.

Image of the Galaxy J2(2017).
Image courtesy: gadgets.ndtv .com

So by spending 7K, you are getting a qHD screen, a low power processor and only one gig of RAM which is very less as compared to other devices like Redmi 4, etc. For further updates stay tuned to us.

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ZTE Nubia Z17 S and Z17 Mini S Leaked Online, Checkout the Amazing Images

ZTE Nubia Z17 S and Z17 Mini S Leaked Online, Checkout the Amazing Images

  October 12, 2017   No comments:

Image of the upcoming ZTE Nubia Z17 S. Image courtesy: gsmarena .com

ZTE, a Chinese brand has earlier launched its Flagship the ZTE Nubia Z17 though it was not very successful as already other smartphones with similar specs and lesser price were there on the market. Now it looks like this time ZTE is cooking something special for the consumers. The fresh news suggests that the images of ZTE’s two new devices got leaked online and they are looking pretty impressive as always. Let’s check out the expected specs and pictures of the devices.

Leaked image of the ZTE Nubia Z17 S.
Image courtesy: slashleaks .com

Firstly, we will be talking about the ZTE Nubia Z17S which will be the successor to the current Nubia Z17. As per the leaked image, the phone has a glass design in the rear which looks amazing and at the same time is similar to other flagships like Galaxy Note 8, Mi MIX 2, etc. In the rear, a Dual-Camera setup can be seen with a Dual-LED Flash. The phone will run on ZTE’s custom UI based on Android 8.0 Oreo.

In the front as well a Dual-Camera setup is present and this time ZTE is coming with a Bezel-Less Screen, as per the previous rumors the device will have a small 3mm bezel at the top and bottom, and due to this, the Fingerprint Scanner is placed in the rear. ZTE has omitted the 3.5mm jack and instead of that USB Type-C charging port will doubles as the audio jack. The charging port and speakers are at the bottom, and only a mic is present on the top.

Leaked image of the ZTE Nubia Z17 Mini S.
Image courtesy: slashleaks .com

Another device which is its Mini variant known as the ZTE Nubia Z17 Mini Salso got leaked. Being a mini version, it will not have a Bezel-Less screen which is visible in the pictures. It too has a Dual-Camera setup in the rear with Dual-LED Flash, and in the front as well a Dual-Camera setup can be seen. It features a Fingerprint Scanner in the front, unlike its bigger sibling. There is no 3.5mm jack on this phone as well and the Type-C port, Speakers, are at the bottom.

The specs of the two are not yet leaked or revealed, but the two smartphones are rumored to come with Facial Recognition, Z17 S will be available in Black and Blue colors while Z17 Mini S will be made available in two shades of Blue. For further updates stay tuned to us.

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Apple iPad Pro 2018 to come with Face ID and a Depth Sensing Camera

Apple iPad Pro 2018 to come with Face ID and a Depth Sensing Camera

  October 12, 2017   No comments:

Image showing the Apple FaceID. Image courtesy: dezeen .com

Apple has recently launched its much-awaited iPhone X a.k.a iPhone 10; it was the most anticipated device from their house as it shows the evolution of Apple from wide bezel devices to almost zero bezel device.

It houses a couple of features which we have never experienced on previous iPhone devices. A few days ago a news also suggested that iPhone X will be the first device to have that all new Dynamic wallpapers but today we are having an up to date news that releases some valuable information about the next generation of iPad.

Image of the iPad Pro.
Image courtesy: Harvey Norman .com.au

As per the reports of “9to5Mac” and “MacRumors” the analyst of KGI Securities has predicted that the upcoming model of the iPad will come with FaceID or Face Recognition. Recently we have seen this technology in Apple’s iPhone X though FaceID is not as reliable as TouchID is, we will talk about it later in the further part of the article.

According to us, their prediction about iPad Pro 2018 is somewhere correct if you recall then Apple has previously removed the 3.5mm jack from their iPhone 7 device and in iPhone 8/iPhone X they have continued this strategy.

Rumored Render of iPad Pro 2018 Image Courtesy: i.imgur.com/7jaBqQc.jpg

When Apple develops something they hardly step back from it, so this creates a possibility that may be the next iPad will come with a FaceID. Some rumors also suggest that upcoming iPad Pro will have small bezels as compared to the current generation and there will be no TouchID on it, FaceID will replace the Fingerprint Scanning technology.

Upcoming iPad Pro 2018 will house a depth-sensing camera in the rear which will help in AR(Augmented Reality) Games, Apps and much more. For more Tech related updates stay tuned to us.

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Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Specifications, Features, And Price in India

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Specifications, Features, And Price in India

  October 11, 2017   No comments:

Image of the Mi MIX 2. Image courtesy: mi .com/in/mix2/

Xiaomi has launched it’s much awaited Mi MIX 2 Bezel-Less beast in India; it packs all top notch specs that you will find on any other Flagship device. It is the second installment in the MIX-series, and the overall design of this phone reminds us of its elder brother Mi MIX which was not launched in India. The phone is very aggressively priced and will compete with the devices like Galaxy S8, OnePlus 5, etc.

Image of the Mi MIX 2.
Image courtesy: mi .com/in/mix2/

Powering Mi MIX 2 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835(64 bit) Octa-Core processor clocked at 2.45Ghz coupled with 6GB of RAM, and for gaming, it has an Adreno 540 GPU. The phone offers 128GB of internal storage which is not expandable. It is a Dual-SIM handset and comes with the support of 4G VoLte. The phone has a Metallic Glass design and houses a Fingerprint Scanner in the rear as there is lack of space in the front.

In the front, there is a 5.99(inch) Full HD Plus IPS Screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, 18:9 ratio, 1500:1 Contrast Ratio. It is among the few devices in the world that comes with an actual Bezel-Less Screen.

This time it has a physical earpiece instead of the Bone conduction technology used in the old Mi MIX. It has a single 12MP Camera in the rear with Sony IMX386 Sensor, Aperture f/2.0, 4-Axis OIS, LED Flash and in the front, a 5MP shooter is there with Face recognition. The front camera is placed at the bottom compared to the top on other Flagships which sounds strange.

Image of the newly launched Mi MIX 2.
Image courtesy: mi .com/in/mix2/

It runs on a 3400mAh battery with a USB Type-C port, which also doubles as an audio jack yes you heard it right it doesn’t have an IR Blaster and a 3.5mm jack. It will only be made available in Black color for a price tag of 35,999 INRthrough Flipkart and Mi.com from onwards 17th October.

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ZTE Axon M (Multy) Z999 foldable phone spotted on Geekbench

ZTE Axon M (Multy) Z999 foldable phone spotted on Geekbench

  October 11, 2017   No comments:

Image of a concept foldable phone, Image courtesy: Neowin. com

ZTE’s new device leaked with the model number Z999 is said to be its Axon Multy smartphone, which is reported to have a foldable display. This one works as follows, the device will have two displays sections, and they can be folded from between, making it almost 6.8-inches with 1080p resolution; and when folded it goes half of it may be.

Moreover, this is ZTE’s first such bendable phone experiment, so the company is not as experienced as Samsung or Lenovo as they have done such prototypes in the past. Still, the firm ZTE’s Z999 was spotted many times on Geekbench.

Image shows Geekbench listings for ZTE Z999, Image courtesy: slashleaks. com

The device scores an impressive single-core score of 1677 and an acceptable multi-core score of 4130. While it’s expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 as in the Geek-bench listings, it mentioned four cores(@2.0 GHz) and paired with 4GB RAM. However, it doesn’t have Oreo and still runs on Android Nougat 7.1.2 for now, might get launched with Android Oreo, but this has a very thin chance of happening so.

Furthermore, there’s no information about camera’s and battery capacity, however, looking at its size, we think it will pack a pretty decent pack, which could have been split into the two foldable portions. So, will be the internal motherboard, with high strength flex cables.

Apart from that, ZTE has a scheduled launch event on 17th of October in New York City and its highly possible that we could see the unveiling of the ZTE Axon Multy (Z999) at that event, along with some other stuff as well.

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(Download) Get Android Wear 2.0 Update Features Via Play Store App

(Download) Get Android Wear 2.0 Update Features Via Play Store App

  October 11, 2017   No comments:

The craze of Google’s Android wear and when it launched is not quite the same now, as the new  Android Wear 2.0 version got a flat response and major OEMs like Motorola are now leaving the platform for a while till it as well as the market for it becomes more mature. This thus resulted into the Apple watch securing top place in the market for smart wearables.

So, Google is trying hard, to get Android wear more efficient and making the updates more accessible now. The new update here is that you can find the latest Android wear updates from the Google Play store itself and you don’t have to wait for an Android Wear 2.0 update OTA to roll-out and wait for your region to get included. Instead, this way is quicker and brings a lot of ease to deliver the update to more users.

Moreover, this was further confirmed by a Googler, and he posted on G+ about the same, the updates will now get delivered from Play store, making them quickly spread across many users. What this will guarantee that people get them as soon as they are launched and on top of that it won’t frustrate users who might leave the Android wear platform in favor of Apple’s just for getting sluggish updates.

And was seen into effect for the first time, as the update was released last week, which brought many new features mentioned below:

• Newly enhanced software that overcomes entering into watch face selector
• Chat support for third-party apps, for Contacts
• Improved search results in play store

To download, the Android wear app just visit here!

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This new app will allow your Apple Air pods to trigger Google assistant with just tapping on them

This new app will allow your Apple Air pods to trigger Google assistant with just tapping on them

  October 11, 2017   No comments:

Android’s Google assistant have few ways to trigger it with buttons and the usual one that’s with voice. But how you do it when you have wireless earbuds on, and not many can do it and are as reliable as Apple’s air pods. However, now there’s an app that makes triggering the Google assistant on your Android phone in a breeze with Apple air pods with this amazing app, which also blends the whole google’s voice assistant functionality to a larger scale than others.

The application is called AirpodsForGA and its triggers the google’s voice assistant the same way you activate Apple’s Siri that’s by double tapping on one of your Air pods. Yes, you can also do the activation with your voice, but it sometimes won’t work in a crowded place where there’s a lot of white noise.

So, it’s still a handy way, to get some quick answers from the voice assistant without repeating your hot keyword again and again and feeling embarrassed and its a truly faster method.

Moreover, the app is reported to function well when it’s locked and its performance might be a little finicky when your android phone is unlocked. Rest, of its functions, are not yet known thus you can quickly download and discover it yourself on the go.

Download the AirpodsForGA app if you happen to sport Apple’s air pods and use Google’s voice assistant daily. So, it is worth giving it a shot and it will prevent you from yelling at your keyword and will always work in all situations.

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Chrome OS V61 brings new Login Screen design, App-Launcher and much more

Chrome OS V61 brings new Login Screen design, App-Launcher and much more

  October 10, 2017   No comments:

Image shows a Chromebook Image courtesy: bgr. com

Google’s Chrome OS(Chromium OS) is a somewhat full-fledge OS for laptops, and it finds its place on a variety of OEM made Chromebooks; for instance, Chromebook’s from Asus, Toshiba, Dell and much more. Moreover, with this new update that’s the Chrome OS v61, you get many new features, bug fixes, security patches and visual changes as well.

Image shows new login screen design for Chrome OS, Image courtesy: androidpolice. com

The new visual upgrades first can be observed when you first turn on your chrome book, and you will be welcomed by a fresh new log-in screen. This new screen is much similar to that of Apple’s macOS, with the blurred backgrounds and the circular profile avatar and everything; along with the bottom bar is now wholly translucent, or invisible and its contents just float at the bottom portion.

Image shows Chrome OS Image Courtesy: androidpolice .com

Moreover, the next big thing you get in this update is the brand-new app launcher for the Chrome OS. It rises from the bottom bar and displays a search bar as well, along with the most recently used applications. Besides that, to view all your installed apps; just press on that arrow pointing in the upward direction, to exhibit them.

Moving further, there’re also some enhancements for the OS in the tablet mode, as well as an improved troubleshooting app for help. Aside from that you also get better power management in this recent update. So, do check out this latest release on your Chromebook if you own one, and test it out, however, if you found any bugs in any of its elements you can report about them here.

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