1. Samsung Could Have a Smartphone With a
Graphene Battery by 2021
Samsung
is said to be working on making graphene batteries viable for use on
smartphones. It could be on at least one Samsung smartphone by 2021. Today, most
smartphones today have lithium-ion batteries. Graphene batteries will allow for
more capacity in a smaller size, allowing for slim smartphones with compact
batteries that can power the phone for longer.
2. Snap Inc. launches Spectacles 3 with
dual cameras for $380 in the US
For a premium feel and durability, the new
Spectacles 3 feature a steel wireframe instead of thick plastic found on
previous models. Spectacles 3 is the most expensive version released by the
company. As an upgrade, Spectacles 3 features two lenses instead of one found
on the previous version. The two cameras support Augmented Reality (AR) with
better depth mapping.
3. This WhatsApp privacy feature makes your chats ‘more private’
WhatsApp
has a new privacy feature which will help users keep chats more secure on their
phones. WhatsApp recently rolled out fingerprint unlock for its beta platform
on Android. WhatsApp beta users on Android can now unlock the app using their
fingerprint.
4. Indian smartphone market grows 14.8
percent in Q2, Xiaomi continues to lead: IDC
India
is one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world. In Q2 2019, the
smartphone market in the country saw its highest-ever in the second quarter. A total
of 36.9 million smartphones were shipped to consumers, which is a 14.8 percent
increase over the same quarter last year. It is also a 9.9 percent increase
year-on-year. The data is courtesy of a new report by the International Data
Corporation (IDC). The report also states that about 69.3 million mobile
devices were shipped to India in Q2 2019, which saw an increase of 7.6 percent
compared to Q1.
5. Amazon Messaging assistant gets Hindi
language support
Amazon’s
automated messaging service (aka chatbot) now speaks Hindi. The e-commerce platform has launched Hindi language support, which is one of the official
languages of India, for its smart assistant. This is said to help non-English
readers get their queries resolved in the language of their preference, without
even connecting with an associate. According to Amazon, the automated assistant
in Hindi is aimed to break the language barrier and provide hassle-free support
for millions of customers. Starting today, the Hindi chat experience will be
available on Amazon.in the Android app.
6. PUBG Mobile Independence Day Challenge:
Crate Coupons, Headgears, Gun Skins, Parachutes and More
PUBG
Mobile is offering special rewards to Indian users this Independence Day. This
Independence Day PUBG Mobile is offering its players a chance to win some free
rewards via a special event called the Independence Day Challenge. Exclusively
for Indian users, PUBG Mobile will be giving them a chance to claim crate
coupons, headgears, gun skins, parachutes, and more items.
7. Is this the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
Super? New Nvidia graphics card appears
Fresh
off the release of its Super RTX graphics cards, Nvidia might not be done
giving AMD a run for its money. According to Tom’s Hardware, the Santa Clara
company is working on an all-new graphics card that will likely surpass or match
its most powerful models.
Nvidia
hasn’t revealed any plans to design a Super version of its incredibly powerful
Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, but these new details certainly highlight the possibility.
8. Huawei announces when the Mate 20, Honor
20, and Honor View 20 will start getting EMUI 10 (Android Q)
Huawei
has been hard at work on its own homebrewed Harmony OS, but the company
strongly insists that Harmony OS is the company’s Plan B. This new OS will be
used if and only if using Android on Huawei and Honor devices becomes
impossible. Huawei is still committed to Android and the next EMUI 10 update
will also be based on Android Q, the next version of Google’s operating system.
At the Huawei Developer Conference, Huawei confirmed that EMUI 10 beta will be
coming to the Huawei P30 and the Huawei P30 Pro on September 8, 2019. Now,
reports suggest that Huawei has also shared a timeline for EMUI 10 beta release
for its other devices.
9. Huawei aims to challenge Google Maps
with Map Kit
According
to Huawei, its Map Kit technology will be built in partnership with US-based
traveling hub Booking Holdings and Russia’s Yandex. Huawei has a major advantage in the mapping sector because of its primary business of providing
technology infrastructure to cellular operators across the World — Map Kit can
use the cellular location network in tandem with satellite driven positioning
services to offer a strong GPS network to its users. This will reportedly have
significant benefits — Zhang Pagan, president of Huawei cloud services and
consumer business told China Daily that among other features, Map Kit will
feature an advanced augmented reality mapping feature to stand out from the
crowd.
10. Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 8 will get
security updates till 2020
Many of the first-generation Nokia Android phones will
keep getting software support until next year, the company has announced. The
list of smartphones includes Nokia 2, Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6, and Nokia 8
smartphones. All these are non-Android One smartphones that were launched back
in 2017. While the security updates for Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 8 will
continue until 2020, the support for Nokia 6 will end on October 2019. For
users of Nokia 2, the security support will conclude in November 2019. HMD
Global will be providing these software updates for the handsets past the
two-year cycle.