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Apple might be working on a new search engine to compete with Google.

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Sriram
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Image credit: fossbytes.com

When it comes to searching for anything on the internet, the first thing or name that comes to our mind is Google. Google search engine has been one of the most popular and accurate search engines in the world and there has been no competitor that has come close to dominating Google search. But it might not remain that way too long. It seems that Apple is building its own search engine to use on its devices. Apple has been paying billions of dollars to Google for making them the default search engine on their device. Apple is thinking about creating their own search engine and saving the money they have to spend every year.

The first hint towards this came through Coywolf’s John Henshaw, who mentioned that Apple has been hiring search engineers for the new tasks and Apple Maps. The company has also updated its web-crawler support page (Applebot), with new information on rank results. It means that Apple has started to increase the crawling of the sites recently. Currently, Google search has about 95% of the search engine market, but the recent antitrust issues that have been rising against the company seems to make things harder for Google and Apple is surely taking the right step to have their own search engine on their device.

If Apple is truly working on making a search engine competitor for Google, it could be really interesting for people to finally get an alternative for Google, through a company that is as big and has the resources to match Google’s search engine resources. Although, it is still not clear and would be speculative to talk about it as to how much work Apple has already done into the platform. However, the way Apple has been taking care of data and users’ privacy, it seems like tough competition for Google is about to enter the market.

OnePlus new budget smartphone can launch later this year.

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Sriram
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Image Credit: techburner.com

A few days back, rumors started to come up regarding a new mid-range smartphone that OnePlus is reportedly working on. The handset could be the cheapest offering from OnePlus till now, which is around $200. As per the latest details on the handset, which has been code-named “Clover“, can be launched in the market later this year. The device was first spotted on the GeekBench score, and as per the latest information from Android Central, the phone will launch imminently in the Global market. 

The specs also reveal that the phone will have a 6.52 inch of screen, which will be an IPS LCD display, with a 720p resolution. The phone is also rumored to be powered by Snapdragon 460 Soc, which will be paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The phone is expected to come with more variants having higher RAM and storage. Apart from these specs, the phone will also have a 6,000 mAh battery and 18W fast charging support with a rear fingerprint sensor.

When it comes to cameras on this phone, the specs reveal that the phone will have a triple camera setup on the rear and a selfie camera on the front screen. When you see the specs combined, the overall package seems to be a great offering for low to mid-range phone categories. OnePlus will finally be able to enter the budget category of smartphones with this model and with a 6,000 mAh battery, which is the biggest of their offering, you can easily expect the phone to last for more than two days.

New Amazon’s Halo fitness tracker will detect human emotions through voice and create a 3D scan to measure body fat.

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Sriram
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Image Credit: ommcomnews.com

Amazon has been known for innovating some great tech and integrating it into consumer products. The next big thing they are investing their resources into is a fitness tracker. The new fitness band from Amazon is going to bring a lot more features than what is already existing in the market. The details confirm that the fitness band from Amazon will have activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and a lot more.

The fitness band is named Halo fitness tracker and it will also have the ability to listen to the human voice and track the emotional state of the user. Apart from this feature, it will also estimate the user’s body fat percentage by taking a three-dimensional render of the body. These features will make Amazon’s fitness band a lot more unique and appealing to the consumer. The fitness band will also have features like an accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate monitor, two microphones, and an LED indicator light.

Amazon has clarified that the in-built microphone will not be used to use Alexa, as it is not a feature in the device. Also, the microphone will only be used to track the emotional state of the user and can easily be turned off as per the choice of user. However, the wrist band will also lack a few features that are very common in other fitness bands like GPS, Wi-Fi, and a cellular radio. When it comes to the voice detection feature, it will pick the pitch, intensity, rhythm, and tempo of your voice, and then return insights into your emotional state.

It also has a feature called “notable moments” which will allow you to check your emotional state during a very specific moment, like talking to a person or having an interview, etc. The voice samples it collects is uploaded to Amazon’s server and it is sent to the phone via Bluetooth for analysis. Similarly, the 3D scan features will upload the details to the Amazon server for analysis using machine learning models and will immediately delete it after its done. However, the user needs to be more than 18 years old to use the feature.

The cost of the fitness band will be $99, at $3.99 per month for the services. The monthly subscription will have services like feature body composition, tone of voice analysis, sleep and activity tracking, and challenges designed to improve a wearer’s health. Also, the band will be offered for $64 as an introductory offer with six months of free service.

Google Chrome to add a bunch of new features for users.

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Shanmugam
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Image Credit: express.co.uk

Google has been working on a lot of new features and improvements for the Google Chrome browser which will be launched very soon. The new list of features a lot offers a lot of new UI changes and makes the browser much faster than before. The new updates will make the tabs load 10% faster than before due to Profile Guided Optimization and tab throttling. The company will also be adding a new tab grouping feature which will allow the users to arrange and organize the tabs in a better way. It will also allow similar tabs to collapse in groups. It will allow the users to distinguish tabs by topic, task, and more and can even make them color-coded. 

Google Chrome will also bring a lot of changes on the tablet platform, by providing a larger tab for a touchscreen interface. The feature will be first rolled on to Google Chromebooks and then on the tablets running Android. The user will also be able to see the thumbnail preview of the tab as soon as they hover the mouse pointer over the tab. It will allow the user to quickly decide on which tab to open and which should they close. Chrome will also have a feature for using pdf files more efficiently. Chrome users will be able to fill out PDF forms and save them with their inputs, directly from Chrome, and the next time when they open the file, they will start from where they left. 

One of the most important features added to chrome is the sharing of URLs of the webpage with the help of QR codes. The feature was already mentioned in many leaks before and now it will finally be available to the users. These codes can be scanned, printed, or downloaded anytime. The feature will be available on the Android smartphone and desktop Chrome browser and can be accessed through a dedicated QR code button on the browser. 

Canon Camera will now be able to backup photos directly in Google photos, using Google One subscription

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Shanmugam
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Image Credit: petapixel.com

Google Photos is a great tool for people who automatically want to store all their videos and photos from their phones, directly to Google Cloud. The same feature will now be brought to Canon Cameras, where all the images will directly be transferred to Google Photos. The feature is named “easy Wi-Fi backup“. The major problem with digital cameras is that no matter how technological advances they are, one still has to access them manually from the Digital camera. However, with the new feature, the user will be able to upload all the photos to Google Photos and later access them from anywhere, even their own smartphones. 

The new feature will also allow the user to transfer original quality photos to either Google Photos, Youtube, or Google Drive as well. The best part about the feature is the ability to transfer photos with original quality and resolution and the user will not suffer any loss in the quality, regardless of the Google platform they upload the content to. However, to do so, one would require a Google One membership and the Canon camera should be a part of a compatible camera list that Google One has already released. 

It mainly includes top-of-the-line EOS DSLRs and Micro Four Thirds, as well as a wide-range of PowerShot point-and-shoots. Google One will provide users with 100GB of storage space, which will be free for the first month on a trial basis. The paid plans will start at $1.99/month for 100GB, while double that is $2.99 and 2TB costs $9.99 ($99.99 per year). Plans for 10, 20, and 30TB are also available for the users.

Fitbit Sense to have ECG support by year-end.

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Shanmugam
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Image credit: 9to5google.com

Fitbit is one of the most popular companies when it comes to wearable fitness devices. While Google has been trying to acquire Fitbit, the company has launched a set of new hardware for its wearable gadgets. The company’s new hardware will have a new and advanced health tracking mechanism with complete ECG support. As per the company, the new feature will be completely ready by the end of the year and will be available for the users in the form of a new smartwatch.

The company has not been able to use the same feature on the existing product or even new ones as it was not given clearance by the FDA in the US. However, it seems that it will change by the end of this year when the company will be able to develop the feature completely. The company cleared that they are currently in the final review stage of the feature and trying to check for any kind of bigs and optimisation that is required. The company is also confident that the clearance for this will be given by both US and Europe by the end of this year.

Other competitors like Samsung have not been able to get the same kind of clearance for the last two years. Only Apple, with months of trying, is currently the only smartwatch with clearance to the ECG feature. Adding the ECG feature and getting the clearance for the same in the US will defiantly add a lot of weight and preference for Fitbit products.

A new iPad and Apple Watch 6 might join the list of announcements at Apple’s event.

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Sriram
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Image credit: phonearena.com

It has already been confirmed that Apple will be launching the new iPhone 12 and its multiple variants in the month of October. However, no official announcement has yet been made about the launch and announcement of any other device. As per a recent leak, it seems that Apple is already planning to launch the all-new Apple Watch Series 6 and the new Apple iPad. The details were first leaked by the YouTuber Jon Prosser, who said that Apple might be looking to launch a new iPad and watch in the same event where iPhone 12 will be announced. 

However, there was no confirmation of leaks for the same until now. The prediction came out to be true when both the devices were found to be tested and passed through the Eurasian Economic Commission, which hints that the devices are completely ready and will be launched in the upcoming events. The listing on the Eurasian Economic Commission shows a new tablet with Apple trademark and it also mentions that it runs iPadOS 14, which was announced a while back in the WWDC 2020. The test also confirms multiple variants of the iPad which were coded as A2072, A2270, A2316, A2324, A2325 A2428, and A2429. 

Similarly, multiple codes were seen for the Apple Watch Series 6 with model numbers A2291, A2292, A2351, A2352, A2355, A2356, A2375, and A2376. It was also noticed that the new watch would be running the all-new WatchOS 7 which was also announced in WWDC. Not all the specifications were listed about the devices, but it did confirm that the company is already prepping up to launch these devices in the coming months.

New Playstation 5 will support Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

By
Shanmugam
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Image Credit: theverge.com

Sony Playstations 5 is all set to be launched by the company in the coming months, and ahead of its launch, the company has revealed some of the key features and details about the next-generation console. The new leaks for PS5 reveal that the console will be having support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. The reports came from a Brazil-based Techno blog. The image that has been leaked provides all the technical specifications about the new generation console. 

The upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 from version 4 is definitely appreciated, through which the maximum throughput would increase to 9.6 Gbps. The technical specification also confirmed that it will be supporting Bluetooth 5.1 which will bring great improvements to connectivity with the controller and will also decrease the response time. As mentioned in their digital release, there will be two types of variants for PS5, the digital version which is slimmer and does not have a CD drive, and the little bulkier version with the CD drive. 

The game disc will support capacity up to 100 GB and both the models will be packed with an SSD. It has already been confirmed that the next-generation console will have the powerful AMD hardware with Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU. The console will be paired with a Dual Sense controller with haptic feedback and a built-in microphone. Although no launch date has been confirmed yet, it is confirmed that the console will be available to purchase in the month of November, the same time during which the Xbox series X console will be released.

Xiaomi to soon increase the price of their TV, due to the increase in the price of display panels

By
Shanmugam
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0
Image credit: powerplanetonline.com

Xiaomi has been known for offering the latest tech products to the consumers at the most affordable price, making them one of the best value for product companies. In a similar attempt, the company launched its series of TV’s which became a huge hit due to its affordable price value. Earlier this week, many rumors came in the market that Xiaomi might increase the price of their televisions due to the increase in the price of the display panels, but nothing was confirmed at that time. 

Now, speculations are coming up that the price of the television might increase by almost $20-$40, which will be significantly based on the affordable price range they offer to the customers. The information was leaked through microblogging site Weibo, where the blogger mentioned that the price increase will happen as the price of LCD panels has been steadily rising from the last few months. As per him, the increase in price can be announced on August 28, 2020. The news was later confirmed by the ZNDS network, who confirmed the price hike will happen soon. 

The details reveal that the price of panels for 55 inches and 32 inch television has risen by 10 percent and the price for a panel for 50 and 65-inch television have increased by 8-10 percent. Although Xiaomi has not confirmed anything on the price hike, it seems to be imminent. This is going to certainly affect other companies as well who are using the same LCD panel for their devices

Google will add Snapseed’s UI changes to Photo editor function

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Sriram
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image credit: androidcentral.com

Google has been trying to make a lot of improvements to its Android operating system to make it much more efficient on a smartphone that does now have a high-end specification. In the same attempt, Google is now redesigning the editor UI in photos. The new design is said to be much smoother and faster as it will not carry forward the UI which was icon heavy. The design of the new UI will be able to use text over icons, which will take fewer resources and loading time. 

The new UI theme has been inspired by the Snapseed editing app, which is also owned by Google. The major difference that one will be able to notice in the new design is the addition of a text button like Crop and Filters, which was visible as only icons in the previous version. It made recognizing the functions a little difficult for the users. It will simply help the users to identify the functions instead of guessing and trying out each before selecting the correct one. These changes were not announced by Google themselves, but the images for the same have been leaked online on Twitter. 

There is no saying as to when the new UI design for editing in Photos will be live, but it is expected to be featured through an update in a month or soo. Apart from that, the company is also working on adding a lot of new elements in the gallery to declutter a large number of photos.

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