Technology : Google is preparing the next update of the voice assistant for Android

 

 

google is preparing the next update of the voice assistant for Android

Journalists resource 9to5Google found out that Google is testing the next update of its voice assistant. In it, an exclusive Google Pixel interface element is now available for all Android smartphones. This became known from the new beta version of the application.

Now, when you activate the Google Assistant, an animated color bar is shown at the bottom while pronouncing a request. Previously, it was an exclusive design element for the voice assistant of Pixel 4, 4a, 4a 5G, and 5. In addition, the voice assistant call window itself has been reduced in half.

In the middle there is a logo with the words “Hi, how can I help you?” (“Hi! How can I help?”). Below are quick actions for supported apps, such as sending mail, checking for new videos, and weather information. In the lower-left corner there is a button with access to the ribbon with quick tips (weather, promotions, reminders), and in the lower right there is a keyboard for text query input. These elements, as we can understand from the screenshots, have not received major changes.

This design decision, taken by Google, can make the use of the application more informative. Thanks to its smaller size, the Google Assistant window itself does not distract while browsing content. When the new version of the product will be released for all users is still unknown.

Technology : iQOO U3 with 90Hz display, Dimensity 800U, and 5,000mAh battery launched in China for 1,498 Yuan (~$229)

 

iQOO U3 with 90Hz display, Dimensity 800U, and 5,000mAh battery launched in China for 1,498 Yuan (~$229)

Vivo’s sub-brand iQOO has announced a new smartphone called the iQOO U3. The iQOO U3 is a budget-friendly 5G smartphone that features a high refresh rate display, a large-sized battery, and 48-megapixel dual rear cameras.

iQOO U3 specifications and features

The iQOO U3 has 164.15 x 75.35 x 8.4mm dimensions and it weighs 185.5 grams. The device is fitted with a 6.58-inch IPS LCD screen that has a waterdrop notch for an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The screen supports a 20.07:9 aspect ratio, a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels, a 401ppi pixel density, HDR10, and a refresh rate of 90Hz. The iQOO U3 offers a screen-to-body ratio of 90.61 percent.

The rear side of the phone features a uniquely designed dual camera setup housed inside a rectangle camera module. It includes a 48-megapixel main shooter with an f/1.79 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The phone comes with support for photography features such as night scene mode, panorama, time-lapse photography, EIS, and 4K video recording.

The iQOO UI 1.5 based Android 10 OS comes preinstalled on the iQOO U3. The Dimensity 800U chipset along with up to 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM fuels the device. It has UFS 2.2 storage of 128 GB and it lacks support for external storage.

The iQOO U3 is backed by a 5000mAh battery that supports 18W dual-engine fast charging. The other features that are available on the device include liquid cooling technology, dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, USB-C, face unlock, a side-facing fingerprint reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

iQOO U3 pricing and availability

The iQOO U3 has landed in China in two options such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. It has a starting price of 1,498 Yuan (~$229) and 1,698 Yuan (~$259) and it comes in two colors like Black and Glow Blue. The handset is now up for pre-orders in the home market with a 50 Yuan discount and it is expected to hit the Chinese markets by Dec. 17.

Technology : New video of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus shows thin bezels around a flat display

 

Plenty of details about the Samsung Galaxy S21 have already leaked ahead of its expected January release date. But a new video gives a glimpse of the Galaxy S21 Plus model, showing a flat display with thin bezels around it, and a punch hole selfie camera.

The quality of the video from user Random Stuff 2 isn’t the greatest, and it has some sort of distracting music playing under the user’s commentary. It also doesn’t provide a lot of detail about the back of the phone.

Three Galaxy S21 models are expected: a standard, a Plus and an Ultra. A series of leaked teaser trailers, showed off redesigned camera bumps, showing what appears to be five cameras on the S21 Ultra and three each on the S21 and S21 Plus.

Android Police reported last month that the S21 will have a 6.2-inch display, the Plus will be 6.7 inches and the Ultra will have a 6.8-inch display.

 The phones will all have batteries ranging in size from 4,000 mAh to 5,000 mAh, and all three are expected to have either a Snapdragon 875 or Exynos 2100 processor.

The phones are all expected to have 5G, with the S21 and Plus both with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, and Wi-Fi 6E in the Ultra. The S21 Ultra is also expected to be compatible with Samsung’s S-Pen, but rumor has it the S-Pen won’t be sold with the device.

Technology : Infinix Hot 10 Play visits FCC – an even cheaper variant with dual rear cameras

 Infinix has a couple of current devices under its “Hot” family line – the vanilla Hot 10 and the Hot 10 Lite. Like its name suggests,

 the latter downgrades specs a bit, through things like a smaller 6.6-inch display, slightly smaller battery, less memory and one fewer main camera module. 

Following in the same trend, an Infinix Hot 10 Play has surfaced on the FCC website – an even cheaper device, with an AI Dual Rear camera setup.

The FCC filing is for an Infinix X688C – an official model number that has been cross-

referenced with other documentation and matched-up wit the Hot 10 Play branding. 

The same device model has also been linked to a particular 10W charger (model number U100XSA). Meaning that it is safe to assume 10W as the top charging speed of the Hot 10 Play.

As for the main FCC document, it clearly shows the AI Dual Camera setup on the back of the phone.

 In turn, the printed FCC label mentions a 2GB/32GB memory configuration – same as the base variant of the Infinix Hot 10 Lite. 

Unfortunately, not much else in terms of specs. That being said, we expect the Play to borrow most of its other bits from the Hot 10 Lite. The camera downgrade alone should be enough to cut a bit of the price off.

There is no official word on the Infinix Hot 10 Play as of yet from the manufacturer. However, a round of certificates typically indicates an imminent launch.

Technology : Google fined £91m over ad-tracking cookies

 

Google has been fined 100 million euros (£91m) in France for breaking the country's rules on online advertising trackers known as cookies.

It is the largest fine ever issued by the French data privacy watchdog CNIL.

US retail giant Amazon was also fined 35 million euros for breaking the rules.

CNIL said Google and Amazon's French websites had not sought visitors' consent before advertising cookies were saved on their computers.

Google and Amazon also failed to provide clear information about how the online trackers would be used, and how visitors to the French websites could refuse the cookies, the regulator said.

It has given the tech giants three months to change the information banners displayed on their websites.

If they do not comply, they will be fined a further 100,000 euros per day until the changes are made.

In a statement published by Reuters, Google said: "We stand by our record of providing upfront information and clear controls, strong internal data governance, secure infrastructure, and above all, helpful products.

"Today's decision under French ePrivacy laws overlooks these efforts and doesn't account for the fact that French rules and regulatory guidance are uncertain and constantly evolving."

Amazon said it disagreed with the CNIL decision,

"We continuously update our privacy practices to ensure that we meet the evolving needs and expectations of customers and regulators and fully comply with all applicable laws in every country in which we operate," it said in a statement.

Privacy

In a separate case, Google is being probed by a UK regulator over its plans to change the way the Chrome browser handles cookies.

Google wants to stop advertisers using cookies to track users as they move around the web from one site to another when using Chrome, in a bid to improve privacy.

It plans to introduce an alternative system know as the Privacy Sandbox that will only provide anonymised feedback.

A group of about a dozen small tech companies and publishers has lodged a complaint with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) claiming this would damage their businesses.

The CMA is expected to announce whether it will intervene over the coming weeks.

Technology : Facebook Messenger has gone down.

 

Facebook Messenger has gone down.

Users are unable to send messages and are instead seeing a message indicating that the app is “waiting for network”.

The technical issues arrived at the same time as Instagram was seemingly hit by problems with its own direct messages service, which made it hard to send or receive new chats.

The problems are likely linked, since they now have shared infrastructure that allows messages to be sent between the two platforms. Facebook announced in September that it was not allowing messages to be from Facebook Messenger to Instagram and vice-versa, along with a more significant overhaul of the latter’s DM system.

The outage also comes at a difficult time for Facebook, arriving just hours after it was announced that the company was being hit by lawsuits that threaten to break up it, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The problems particularly affected people in Europe, according to tracking website Down Detector, though that might be a result of where its users are based and online.

Facebook does maintain a “Platform Status” page, for the use of developers and others who rely on it for business. While that site reported a “major outage”, the only issue listed was a problem with Messenger ads, which it said had been ongoing since 2

Technology : Here's When Your Samsung Phone Gets Android 11 in 2021

 

Samsung is the most popular Android smartphone manufacturer, but since its phones run a customized version of the Android OS known as One UI, it takes longer for new versions of the operating system to show up on its devices. Thankfully, we finally know when Android 11 and One UI 3 are coming to Samsung’s stable of smartphones—and it’s soon.

According to a recently posted release schedule, the majority of Samsung’s One UI 3-compatible devices will receive the update and all its new features in early 2021, but its flagship S20 handsets are already seeing the update as of December 7.

Here’s a quick schedule of when you can expect One UI 3 to show up on your device:

December

• Galaxy S20
• S20 Plus
• S20 Ultra

One UI 3 will roll out to Samsung’s Galaxy S20 line throughout December, but the exact date depends on your carrier. T-Mobile started pushing the update on December 7, but we’re still waiting on other carriers.

T-Mobile users in the U.S. (which includes Sprint customers) can check for the update in their S20, S20 Plus, or S20 Ultra’s settings by going to Settings > Software Update > Download & Install. The update may not be ready for all users just yet, but your phone will notify you once it’s time to download.

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The rest of Samsung’s smartphones will receive the One UI update throughout January and February—though, again, specific dates will likely differ between carriers.

January

• Galaxy Note 20
• Note 20 Ultra
• Galaxy S20 FE

February

• Galaxy Fold
• Galaxy Z Fold 2
• Galaxy Z Flip
• Z Flip 5G
• Galaxy Note 10
• Note 10 Plus
• Galaxy S10
• S10 Plus
• S10e
• S10 Lite