Apple Does Not Let Bad Guys Use iPhones in Movies and TV Shows https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Iphone-good-guys-feat.-1.jpg

We have all seen characters in movies and TV shows use iPhones and Apple Watches. However, have you ever seen a bad guy or a villain in a film use an iPhone? Well, I haven’t, and there is a big reason for that. According to the “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” director, Rian Johnson, Apple has strict rules about their product placement in movies and TV shows. In a recent interview, the director shared an interesting detail about the tech giant. Firstly, he was sceptical about sharing the thought, but then he went on to share it anyway because “it’s very interesting”, according to him.

The director while breaking down a scene from his latest movie “Knives Out” said, “Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies but, and this is very pivotal if you’re ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera.” 

Apple has always been a company that wants to maintain its goodwill and reputation in the industry. So, this detail does make a lot of sense, when you come to think about it. It is true that I have never seen a bad guy in a movie or a TV show use an iPhone. Most of the time its the protagonist who uses Apple devices and not the antagonist.

According to Apple’s policies, their products should always be shown in a positive manner that will build the company’s reputation and not damage it. So, if a director showed a bad guy using an iPhone, it will create a bad impression in the minds of the Apple customers.

So when you watch the next mystery movie, keep an eye for who is using which smartphone. If any character is using an Android smartphone, that’s the villain or the murderer in that movie!

from Beebom https://beebom.com/bad-guys-cant-use-iphones-in-movies-shows/

Drinking From This Smart Water Bottle Will Apparently Save the Planet https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Rebo-feat..jpg

As we are moving towards the future, everything we use is becoming smart. However, there won’t be a future for the planet if we don’t prevent plastic from polluting our oceans and environment. So, to eradicate the plastic bottles polluting the oceans, a Geneva-based start-up made the REBO Smart Bottle.

This is no ordinary bottle as it comes with a ton of features and also paves a way for a plastic-free world. The REBO Smart Bottle is, first and foremost, a 600ml water bottle that can keep your liquid cold for 24 hours and hot for 12 hours.

Apart from this standard function, the equipment that makes this bottle “smart” are the laser time-of-flight (ToF) sensor and the Bluetooth transmitter. Both of these are fitted inside the easy-to-use one-hand-push cap. The ToF sensor is used to measure the amount of water you drink from the bottle, while the Bluetooth transmitter helps the bottle to connect with the REBO app. The app captures the drinking data and records it into a blockchain. Then this data is transformed into “green credits” that funds the collection of plastic bottles from oceans.

The REBO company collaborated with Plastic Bank, the organisation that helps in the collecting plastic bottles from the oceans and convert these waste into a currency to fight ocean plastic and poverty in developing countries like Haiti, Brazil and Indonesia. So, every time you finish the water in your REBO bottle, you are funding for the collection of 1 plastic bottle from the oceans. According to the company, by using the REBO bottle regularly for a year, you can prevent more than a thousand new plastic bottles to be produced and also provide the funds to clean-up one thousand plastic bottles from the oceans. So you are saving the planet one drink at a time.

Apart from saving the planet, this bottle is capable of building a customised hydration plan for you based on your physical activities and remind you to stay hydrated by blinking the round LED that is provided on top of the cap. It comes with a rechargeable battery that can be charged with a USB-C cable. The LED will blink red when the bottle is low on power and when it gets fully charged, the light will turn green.

Currently, the REBO Smart Bottle is in the prototype phase and the company is running a campaign in Indiegogo. It has already collected Rs. 14,221,980 from 1983 backers at the time of writing this article. The company is planning to ship the final product to contributors in May 2020.

You can check out the campaign right here and also contribute your part to get this smart bottle.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/smart-water-bottle-save-the-planet/

You Do Not Need a License to Drive This Electric Car https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ami-feat..jpg

With the rising pollution in the environment, many countries are encouraging citizens to replace their gasoline-powered vehicle with an EV. However, an EV can cost a lot compared to traditional gas-powered cars. Well, French automakers, Citroën just launched the “Ami” which might be the smallest and the cheapest EV ever manufactured.

The tiny EV is a two-seater car, actually, it is more like a fancy roofed scooter that is made for city transportation. The vehicle is so small that it does not require a driving license, given you are at least 14 years old in France and 16 in other European countries.

The car/scooter has 5.5 kWh lithium-ion battery packed inside that can charge up via any standard 220v power outlet. It takes more or less three hours to fully charge up and has a range of 70 Km (~44 miles). It can reach up to a speed of 45 Kmph (~28 Mph).

The EV’s tiny build makes it a perfect city-dweller as it can easily pass through narrow gaps and busy city streets. The roof of the vehicle is transparent and has a panoramic view of the sky. The side windows of “Ami” open up by manually tilting them sideways.

Now, coming to the price of the vehicle, consumers can get the Citroën Ami for a one-time payment of €6,000 (~$6590). However, the company is offering consumers to take the EV with an initial payment of €2,644 (~$2900) and then paying €19.99 (~$22) a month for a term of two years. If the consumers want to experience driving the car without owning one, they will also have the option to rent “Ami” through a European car-sharing service, Free2Move for only €0.26 (29 cents) per min.

The company will be taking orders for the EV starting from 30th March 2020 only in France. It will then extend to other European countries like Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Germany in the coming months.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/no-need-of-license-for-this-ev/

This iPhone Gesture Makes Opening Links in New Tabs Way Easier https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/safari-feat-1.jpg

iOS has always been a gesture-based OS and that is one of the most intuitive features of the iPhone platform. Navigating in any iOS device is a breeze with swipe and multi-finger gestures. However, there are still some gestures that remain unknown to common users. I came to know about one such gesture while surfing through Reddit. It is integrated within Safari and can open up links in a new tab with just a tap.

Conventionally, to open up a link in a new tab, you have to 3D press (on 3D Touch-enabled devices) or haptic press the link to open the sub-menu. From there you can tap the “Open in New Tab” option to complete the process.

However, there is another way to perform the task that bypasses all the above steps. With a single tap of two-fingers on the desired link, you can open it up in a new tab instantly. This simple gesture is present in the Safari app since at least iOS 10 and still is unknown to many iOS users.

This two-finger tap gesture can be really useful for users who surf the web using Safari in the Max iPhone models or the iPads. It can save users a lot of taps and consequently, time.

Let us know down in the comments if you knew about this trick or not. If you didn’t know, you’re welcome.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/this-iphone-gesture-makes-opening-links-in-new-tabs-way-easier/

Users Can Now Ask Alexa to Get a Doctor’s Appointment in Apollo Hospitals https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/apollo-feat..jpg

Users in India can now ask any Alexa-enabled devices to set an appointment in Apollo Hospitals. Apollo in collaboration with MobiSprint Consulting has developed the “Ask Apollo” Alexa skill to help patients book an appointment in any of the Apollo hospitals or clinics.

One of the largest hospital chains in India, Apollo has over 70 hospitals set up all over the country. Users can now add the “Ask Apollo” skill to their Amazon Echo devices and ask Alexa to arrange an appointment with any of the 5000 doctors available in the hospitals. They can also set a preferred branch or pharmacy of the hospital chain by customising the skill.

The managing director of Apollo Hospitals, Sangita Reddy said, “The mass adoption of artificial intelligence in the lives of people has fuelled the shift towards voice applications and the number of IoT devices have given voice assistants more utility in a connected user’s life,”.

With this Alexa voice skill, Apollo became the first healthcare organisation in India to provide voice-assisted appointment booking and hospital search. “We will be adding more features to the skill in the near future.”, added the MD.

The main aim of this project is to help both the parties to arrange appointments and visits to the hospitals. The skill would make arranging doctor appointments much easier for both patients and the hospital staff as much fewer resources and much less time will be consumed. With the booming popularity of IoT devices in India, this skill would help Indian patients in a massive way.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/ask-alexa-book-doctors-appointment-apollo-hospitals/

Facebook Made a Phone only for Right-Handed Users in 2013 https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Facebook-phone-feat.-1.jpg

Way back in 2013, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the “HTC First” smartphone that introduced the Facebook Home app and was supposed to be the “Facebook phone”. Although the smartphone was a major failure for both HTC and Facebook, the latter still wanted to go ahead and make a smartphone entirely on their own.

In a recent interview, Steven Levy, the author of the book “Facebook: The Inside Story”, shared some interesting tidbits about the social media giant. In the interview, he said that Facebook made a prototype smartphone that was only ideal for right-handed users.

The prototype phone was codenamed “GFK”, after the Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah. It was designed by the famous Swiss designer, Yves Behar and according to the author, it had “an unusual groove in the curved surface, where one could scroll using a thumb.” Now this unusual groove, that was used to scroll and even unlock the phone, was placed on the right side of the phone making the GFK essentially a right-handed smartphone. The placement of the “groove” made the phone extremely difficult for left-handed people to use. However, Facebook went ahead with the design anyway.

The author said that an anonymous employee of the company told him that, “We decided we didn’t care about left-handed people,”.

Intel worked with Facebook to develop the processor of the GFK. The chipmaker also developed a technology that would specifically work with the “unusual groove” of the smartphone.

The Facebook GFK did not make it to the consumer market, however. The company kept the phone a secret, even from its own employees. When employees asked about the phone, Facebook denied its existence. Ezra Callahan, one of the early 20 employees of the company said, “It was the first time I recall Facebook lying internally”.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/facebook-phone-for-right-handed-users/

Lady Gaga’s New Music Video is Entirely Shot with an iPhone 11 Pro https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/lady-gaga-iphone-feat..jpg

iPhones have a reputation for shooting great quality videos. The Apple devices have been used for shooting many professional videos in the music and television industry. Last year, the iPhone 11 Pro was used to shoot the entire music video of Selena Gomez’s “Lose You To Love Me”. This year, the same device has been used to shoot Lady Gaga’s return song, “Stupid Love”.

Gaga teased the new video prior to its release by tweeting a short clip on Twitter with the popular hashtag, #ShotOniPhone. The official video was released on Friday and currently, it has around 466,000 views on YouTube.

“STUPID LOVE”
9 HOURS #LG6 #ShotOniPhone pic.twitter.com/ZMdoy3jGDG

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 27, 2020

Unlike Gomez’s video, which was entirely in monochrome, Gaga’s video features a lot of popping colours as the video is set in what looks like a different planet. The costumes of the dancers and the pop star features bright colours as they are dressed as aliens. The background is filled with glittery rocky mountains and colourful skies. The 3-and-a-half-minute video shows the capability of the Apple device to capture the bright colours and the dark shadows by maintaining a perfect balance.

Now, of course, the default camera app of the iPhone is not capable of shooting these professional videos as it does not provide any professional controls. So, naturally, the crew used the Filmic Pro app that provides the necessary controls to tweak the video. Also, it is quite obvious that the director of photography did not shoot the video with the iPhone in his hands. They have used many professional hardware equipments to shoot a video like this one. Having said that, it’s still an impressive feat.

You can check out the official video on Lady Gaga’s YouTube channel or you can simply press the play button above to watch it. Apple also published a 1-minute clip of the video on their YouTube Channel to promote the #ShotOniPhone campaign. Check that out here.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/lady-gaga-music-video-shot-on-iphone-11-pro/

Latest BTS Video Became the Fifth-Largest Debut in the History of YouTube https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/BTS-feat..jpg

Formed back in 2010, BTS a.k.a Bangtan Boys, the Korean band from Seoul has gone on to be the most popular boy band in the world. With over 40 million followers on social media and a net worth of $60 million, there is no doubt that they are on top of the world right now. Adding to their joy, their latest video on YouTube went to the books of record by being the fifth-largest debut in the video platform’s history.

The video titled “Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima”, premiered on the 21st of February. The video garnered over 46.5 million views in the first 24 hours. Directed by YongSeok Choi, in the video, the seven members of the band are seen to be dancing in an open space along with a dancing group going by the name of “The Lab”.

The boy band delivered an impressive dance performance with their own song “On”, which is from the latest album – Map of the Soul: 7. The choreography is one of the most powerful characteristics of the performance and the boys did not disappoint the fans.

The video (at the time of writing this article) is sitting on YouTube with over 88 million views and its gaining almost 156,000 views per hour. The song, “On”, that is featured in the video, is available on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. However, the digital edition of the song feature singer and songwriter, Sia along with the Korean boys.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/latest-bts-video-fifth-largest-debut-youtube/

Twitter Will Soon Let You Control Who Can Reply to Your Tweets https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/twitter-conversation-features.jpg

In a move that free-speech advocates have slammed for possibly restricting healthy debates and adding to the increasing number of echo chambers on the platform, Twitter is apparently testing a new feature that will enable users to lock down a conversation by choosing who is – and who isn’t – allowed to reply to their tweets.

Believed to have been first spotted by renowned software reverse engineer, Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane), the feature is currently in its testing phase on the Twitter website, but it’s unclear as to when it will be eventually rolled out to the broader public. As can be seen from the screenshots posted by Wong, the feature is called ‘Conversation Types’ and, comes with three options that allows users to specify who can respond to their tweets.

Twitter is working on implementing Conversation Controls in the web app pic.twitter.com/DHQfHbxJt1

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 29, 2020

Originally announced at the CES tech show in January by Twitter’s director of product, Suzanne Xie, the controversial new changes come in the form of a new setting that will allow users to choose who can participate in a conversation thread every time a tweet is posted. However, the way Twitter is now implementing it differs somewhat from how it was described at the press conference last month.

While Twitter had originally announced four options, including Global (default setting allowing everyone to respond), Panel, Group and Statement (fully locked-down option preventing anyone from answering), the company now seems to have done away with the final option altogether and renamed the rest to Open, Community and Invitation with minor tweaks, although the structure remains pretty much unchanged.

According to Wong, folks will still be able to see locked-down tweets and even quote them if they want, but they won’t be able to reply and be a part of the conversation if the OP so decides. It’s not immediately clear how the change will affect conversations on Twitter, but it will no doubt be a fundamental change to how the platform has worked since its inception.

Featured Image Courtesy: Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane)

from Beebom https://beebom.com/twitter-control-tweet-replies/

Huawei P40 Hands-on Images Surface Online https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/huawei-p40-camera-prototype.jpg

Huawei will be announcing its latest flagship P40 series on March 26 at an event in Paris. The Chinese smartphone giant has now given Digital Trends a sneak peek at its Huawei P40 prototype, revealing the rear design and camera setup.

Digital Trends was not told which model in the series they were shown. However, judging by the past rumors and speculations, this is not likely to be the P40 Pro and inclines more towards the regular P40 variant.

Credits: Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

You must have noticed the texts “Polarie” and “Blink” seen on the device. Those names refer to the internal codenames of the prototype model. If Huawei doesn’t have any plans to change its camera vendor, we would be seeing the usual “Huawei” and “Leica” branding on the retail unit.

In terms of design, Digital Trends says that the handset is almost exactly the same size as the P40 Pro, with rounded corners. The report also notes that the waterfall display is not as curved as the Mate 30 Pro, which means lesser accidental touches and better grip. The handset will pack physical power and volume buttons, unlike the Mate 30 Pro.

For optics, the prototype has vertically stacked triple rear cameras, of which one is a periscope zoom lens. We see a ToF sensor, a mic hole, and an LED flash beside the cameras.

While we were expecting the company to launch the entire P40 series – P40, P40 Pro, P40 Premium Edition and P40 Lite in Paris, Huawei went ahead and launched the P40 Lite as a rebranded Nova 6 SE at an event in Spain.

The report does not give any information regarding the front camera on the handset but it is more likely to be dual pill-shaped selfie cameras, as per the rumors. We will be learning more about the P40 series on March 26, so stay tuned for updates.

Featured Image Credits: Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

from Beebom https://beebom.com/huawei-p40-hands-on-images-surface/

Twitter Accidentally Verified a Fake Account of a US Republican Election Candidate https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/twitter-verification-fake-account.jpg

In a bizarre incident, a 17-year-old High School student got his Twitter account verified as a fake Republican candidate for 2020 US Presidential election. According to a CNN report on Friday, the student created a fake profiler as Andrew Walz who called himself a “proven business leader” and a “passionate advocate for students.”

Walz, a Republican from Rhode Island, is running for Congress with the tagline, ‘Let’s make change in Washington together”. “Earlier this month, Walz’s account received a coveted blue checkmark from Twitter as part of the company’s broader push to verify the authenticity of many Senate, House and gubernatorial candidates currently running for office,” said the report.

The student was quoted as saying that he was “bored” over the holidays and created the fake account to test Twitter’s election integrity efforts. It took the student about 20 minutes to create a website for his fake candidate and five minutes to make the Twitter account.

Twitter suspended the account when alerted. “The creation of a fake candidate account is in violation of our rules and the account has been permanently suspended,” a Twitter spokesperson was quoted as saying.

According to a report, the fact that a teenager “was able to quickly create a fake candidate in his free time and get it verified by Twitter raises questions about the company’s preparedness for handling how the 2020 elections will play out on its platform”.

Twitter announced in December that it would give a blue checkmark to verify all 2020 congressional and gubernatorial candidates. “I want Twitter to succeed. I love Twitter. I think it’s a great platform and I’ve learned so much from it,” the student was quoted as saying.

The blue verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic. Introduced in 2009, initially, the blue check mark distinction was bestowed primarily on celebrities, athletes and public figures to check impersonators. The badge was later rolled out to journalists and other users. To obtain a verified check mark, users have to apply with a reason for why they need one.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/twitter-accidentally-verified-a-fake-account-of-a-us-republican-election-candidate/

Facebook Messenger Ditches Chat Bots, Removes Discover Tab https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Top-5-Facebook-Messenger-App-Alternatives-that-Work-2020.jpg

Facebook Messenger has ditched chat bots and removed Discover tab as part of a larger redesign process to remain simple and catch more eyeballs. The changes will appear next week, reports TechCrunch, in a move to focus on speed and simplicity.

“The changes are part of a larger Messenger redesign that reorients the People tab around Stories as Facebook continues to try to dominate the ephemeral social media format it copied from Snapchat,” said the report.

Under Stan Chudnovsky, the app has been streamlined as a functional messaging app. In the new design, Facebook is promoting a “People” section where you can see large squares dedicated to friends who have recently updated their Facebook Stories.

One can also see contact list organised to promote most used contacts who are actively online.

Instant Games and Transportation will also be removed from the chat composer’s utility tray and moved inside the app so you will need to search for those. Not just the main app, the company is also tweaking Messenger Kids.

In a bid to give parents more control over what their kids do on Facebook Messenger Kids, the company earlier this month added new privacy features on Parent Dashboard in the app. Parents will now be able to see more details about who their children are messaging with, whether they’re video calling them, and a history of anyone they’ve blocked in the app.

Facebook launched Messenger Kids in 2017 which faced lot of criticism over privacy issues.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/facebook-messenger-chat-bots-ditched-discover-tab-removed/

How to Schedule Instagram Posts and Stories Using Combin Scheduler https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/How-to-Schedule-Instagram-Posts-and-Stories-Using-Combin-Scheduler.jpg

With over a billion active users, Instagram has become a heaven for marketers and influencers alike. Instagram provides brands with an option to connect with legit influencers who have dedicated fans. It’s far better for niche marketing than a medium such as TV. In return, it provides influencers with a platform to stay connected to their fans and make money by promoting products. Instagram also comes packed with features that are helpful for everyone. However, that doesn’t mean the platform is flawless. There are some missing features, and for me, the biggest missing feature is the ability to schedule your posts. The timing of a post plays a big role in the performance of the said post. And if you don’t want to miss out on opportunities, you should learn to schedule posts. Well, in this article, we are going to show you how you can schedule Instagram posts using Combin Scheduler.

Use Combin Scheduler to Schedule Instagram Posts and Stories

Before we get to our tutorial, let’s first learn a little about the tool that we are going to use to schedule posts on Instagram. It’s called, Combin Scheduler and it’s one of the best third-party tools for Instagram influencers and would-be influencers. Apart from bringing a robust post scheduling tool, Combin also brings other tools that can help you enhance your reach and connect with more fans and followers. But we will talk about them later. For now, we are going to focus on Combin Scheduler which lets us schedule posts, create dozens of stories in one-click, and create beautiful Instagram grid layouts.  With that said, let’s get to our tutorial, shall we?

Steps to Follow

The first step is to download and install Combin Scheduler (links above and below) on your computer. Once installed, launch the app and login with your Instagram account. Now, follow the steps to schedule your first post.

1. First, click on the “Add New Post” button on the app.

2. Now, upload the photo that you want to post and enter caption and links as per your requirement. Now, click on the date and time fields to schedule the post. Finally, click on the “Create” button to schedule the post.

3. The post will now be visible on the homepage as shown in the picture below.

4. For deleting the scheduled post, right-click on the post and select the “Delete” option.

5. Click on the “Remove” button to authenticate the deletion of the post.

6. The process of scheduling and deleting stories is also the same. Just make sure to select the “Story” tab as shown in the picture below.

7. Similarly, you can easily repost posts on Instagram using Combin Shceduler’s repost feature. To do that open any post on Instagram and copy it’s link by using the three-dot menu.

8. Now, click on the “Repost” tab and paste the copied link. It will automatically pull the post. Edit the details as you want and then click on the “Create’ button to repost.

So, that’s how you can easily schedule posts and stories on Instagram and repost posts using Combin Scheduler. If you are impressed by its prowess, you should also check out its sibling tool — Combin Growth. The Growth tool lets you unfollow Instagram users who are not following you back, check your Instagram audience quality, find the target audience, track your posts’ performance, monitor audience activity and growth, and more. Together, the Combin Scheduler and Combin Growth can improve your Instagram game by a mile.

Pricing and Availability

As you can see, Combin Scheduler makes it super easy to schedule posts and stories on Instagram. I also love that it allows you to schedule multiple posts and stories without any hiccups. Also, the calendar view of the homepage makes it easy to check and manage your schedules posts. Combin Scheduler is available as a desktop application and is available for all three major desktop platforms; Windows, macOS, and Linux. The app comes with a free “Starter” version that lets you manage 1 Instagram account with limitations. If you like what you find, you can get one of the paid plans. The personal paid plans start at $7/month. You can also buy the Combin Growth for $10/month.

Schedule Instagram Posts Like a Pro with Combin

Combin Scheduler is one of the best Instagram scheduler tools that I have tested in a while. Not only it makes it super-easy to schedule posts and stories but it also lets you easily visualize your plans and manage scheduled posts. Also, since Combin Scheduler offers a free version, I don’t think there is any harm in checking it out. So, install Combin  Scheduler and let us know your experiences by writing in the comments section below.

Visit Combin to check out Combin Scheduler and Combin Growth

from Beebom https://beebom.com/schedule-instagram-posts-stories-using-combin-scheduler/

Microsoft Surface Duo May Launch Earlier Than Expected, but Without 5G https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/surface-duo-software-quick-look-3.jpg

Microsoft was expected to launch the Windows 10X packing Surface Neo and the Surface Duo in time for the Holiday 2020 shopping season, but a new report from Windows Central now suggests that the company may be prepping to launch at least one of those devices much earlier. According to sources quoted by the blog, Microsoft may launch the Surface Duo much earlier than originally announced because both the hardware and software have been pretty much finalized.

The Surface Duo, which is expected to ship with Android 10, was originally envisioned as a Windows device under the codename Andromeda before Microsoft ditched its in-house operating system in favor of Android. While Microsoft originally targeted a Q3, 2020 launch, the report now claims that the company might start shipping the device ‘in limited quantities’ this summer if everything goes according to plan.

According to the report, the device will be powered by last year’s Snapdragon 855 along with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. As if the specs don’t look uninviting enough already, potential buyers would be even more disappointed to know that the device might miss out on 5G connectivity, something that’s expected to be standard in most premium smartphones this year.

Microsoft is reportedly desperate to launch the device as early as possible to prevent it from seeming outdated by the time it’s brought to the market, but its plans could be jeopardized because of the novel coronavirus outbreak that has already resulted in the death of more than 2,000 people and created massive disruptions in global trade, leading Apple and Microsoft to lower their earnings estimates. If the situation doesn’t improve soon, Microsoft may be forced to cancel its early launch plans for the Surface Duo, possibly dealing it a body blow.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/microsoft-surface-duo-launch-without-5g/

Huawei Beta Tests New Search App; Could Come with Huawei P40 Pro https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/huawei-search-featured.jpg

Huawei is beta testing its possible Google Search alternative app – Huawei Search for users in UAE. Earlier today, the app was publicly available to Huawei users in UAE using which XDA Developers managed to install and test out the app.

According to XDA, Huawei Search is operated by Ireland-based Huawei subsidiary Aspiegel Limited. The report notes that Huawei’s search engine is not powered by the usual search results providers such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Ask, or AOL.

Credits: XDA Developers

From the report, it is evident that the app has a Discover section, a Search section, and a Me section. It supports dark mode as well. The app has quick access to various features like Weather, Sports, Unit converter, and Calculator. Since this is an early build, more features could be added in upcoming versions.

Huawei is conducting a contest to encourage users to test its Search app. According to the company, top three testers will win a Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G and 20 testers will receive a pair of Huawei Free Buds 3 earbuds. The beta testing accepts 400 users and is open until 11th March.

Winners of the contest will be announced on the 25th of March. Coincidentally, the results announcement date closely lines up with the launch date of the company’s 5G flagship Huawei P40 Pro. Hence, there is a possibility for the app to be shipped along with the P40 Pro.

Huawei users from UAE interested in beta testing Huawei Search can comment on the community thread present here following which the moderators will be sending a download link to test out the app. Alternatively, as XDA points out, you could visit this page to try out Huawei’s Search on the web.

With Huawei Search, the Chinese tech giant is getting one step closer to sustain just fine without Google apps. It remains to be seen if Huawei has plans to actively build potential alternatives to all popular Google apps to boost its smartphone business.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/huawei-search-app-beta-p40-pro/

Cortana Will be Removed From Microsoft Launcher in April https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/cortana.jpg

In spite of persistent efforts from Microsoft, its AI-based voice assistant, Cortana, has struggled to keep pace with its leading rivals, including Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Siri. Having failed to make Cortana the go-to voice assistant app in spite of the massive installed user-base for Windows, the Redmond giant is now carrying out sweeping changes to the software with a focus on productivity.

Towards that end, Microsoft is deprecating several of Cortana’s consumer-oriented features, including the ability to play music and control smart home devices. The company is also ending support for Cortana in older versions of Windows. Most notably, Microsoft is also removing Cortana from the Microsoft Launcher on Android by the end of April. The announcement comes just weeks after the company removed the standalone Cortana app from the App Store in several countries as part of its plans to eventually kill off its digital voice assistant on both iOS and Android.

Meanwhile, the new productivity skills coming to Cortana will be delivered through Microsoft 365 and will follow all the privacy, security and compliance guidelines applicable to its Office 365 software suite, the company said in an official blog post on Friday. According to Microsoft, the new Cortana experience in Windows 10 will feature a chat-based UI that will give users the ability to interact with Cortana using either their voice or the keyboard.

“Cortana will assist you in better managing your schedule and tasks by staying on top of your calendar and focusing on what matters with meeting insights. You can speak or type requests to find people or files, or quickly create or query emails. You can also easily check your calendar, set a reminder, or add to your lists in Microsoft To Do. And Cortana will continue to help you get answers from Bing, set alarms and timers, open apps, adjust settings, or give you a joke you can share with colleagues, friends or family”, said the company.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/cortana-microsoft-launcher-removed-april/

Oppo Find X2 Live Images Leaked Online https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/oppo-find-x2-live-image.jpg

Oppo is all set to launch its flagship device, the Oppo Find X2 on March 6. The company has been teasing the handset over the past few weeks on its social media handles and now, live images of the device have surfaced online.

The live images leak is courtesy of Twitter user Sven who goes by the handle @Mutz1337. The device appears to have a glossy finish at the rear. The leaked images reveal the waterfall display, punch-hole selfie camera, and the rear camera setup of the Oppo Find X2 in all its glory.

The #OPPOFindX2 looks so good😍
Really excited for the launch pic.twitter.com/Y0Tx0EiOfT

— Sven (@Mutz1337) February 28, 2020

From the looks of it, the camera bump appears to be significant and noticeable on the Find X2. Oppo has placed a periscope zoom lens that supports “hybrid zoom” as we see in the image. It is accompanied by two cameras and a dual-tone LED flash.

Past teasers and rumors suggest that the Oppo Find X2 will come with a 10bit OLED display with 2560×1440 pixel resolution & 5 million:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate, 5G support, Snapdragon 865 chipset,65W SuperVOOC 2.0 charging, and 30W wireless charging.

Alongside the Oppo Find X2, the company is also expected to launch its smartwatch with curved screen and 3D glass. The smartwatch was teased twice over the past few weeks. In one of the teasers, Oppo’s VP Brian Shen had mentioned that the company’s smartwatch could be the “most expensive smartwatch of the year”.

As always, since this is a leak, we suggest you take it with a pinch of salt. That said, we will be learning more about the handset next week when Oppo officially unveils the Find X2, so stay tuned.

Featured Image Courtesy: Sven(@Mutz1337) / Twitter

from Beebom https://beebom.com/oppo-find-x2-live-images-leaked/

OnePlus Will Showcase Something New on March 3, but Don’t Expect the OnePlus 8 https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/OnePlus-logo-shutterstock-website.jpg

OnePlus is expected to launch its next flagship smartphone sooner rather than later, but it’s unlikely to happen next week. The company has been teasing the unveiling of a new product in India on March 3, but it has now been basically confirmed that it won’t be the OnePlus 8-series that many would have been hoping for. OnePlus earlier this month announced that it is working on “a special project” that’s “not a phone (or a) commercial product”, so the upcoming event could be a showcase for a new concept product.

It’s not immediately clear what the press conference next week will be about, but from the teasers posted by the Twitter accounts of both OnePlus UK and OnePlus India over the past couple of days, it looks like the company is teasing something mechanical. The short video below, posted last night, shows off what seems to be parts of an automotive engine, so it will be interesting to see what the company actually comes up with on Tuesday. It will also be interesting to see if it will be a concept device on the lines of the OnePlus Concept One smartphone shown off earlier this year.

2020 is the year of surprises. Can you guess what's coming up? pic.twitter.com/EWWi1MEwo0

— OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) February 28, 2020

Meanwhile, even though the OnePlus 8 won’t be announced next week, the company has been teasing the upcoming smartphone on its official Weibo account, revealing some of its key design elements, including a punch-hole display with a curved glass on top. In related news, the OnePlus 8 5G quick start guide has also seemingly been leaked this week, giving us a look at how the device might look from the front.

Image Via: 91Mobiles

While the company has remained tight-lipped about its next-gen smartphones, rumors suggest that the OnePlus 8-series is expected to include three models this year, including a mid-range OnePlus 8 Lite alongside the premium OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The ETA of these devices remain a mystery for now, but we’ll hopefully get more info in the days ahead.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/oneplus-event-march-3-oneplus-8/

GDC 2020 Postponed to Summer Due to Coronavirus https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PlayStation-and-Facebook-to-Skip-GDC-2020-Due-to-Coronavirus-Outbreak.jpg

Organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2020 have officially postponed the event citing the outbreak of coronavirus. The event will be held sometime this summer. GDC 2020 was originally scheduled from the 16th to the 20th of March in San Francisco, California.

“After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March.”, reads the official blog post.

The exact schedule for the event has not been finalized just yet. “We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.”

The decision to postpone GDC 2020 doesn’t really come as a surprise as major tech companies including Facebook, Sony, Microsoft, and Unity were withdrawing their presence from the event one by one over the past couple of weeks.

GDC organizers will be issuing a full refund for all the registered attendees, including hotel reservations booked through GDC’s hotel website or room block. The presentations that were planned for GDC 2020 will be optionally made available on GDC’s YouTube channel and the free section of GDC Vault.

With this postponement, GDC 2020 joins the list of tech events affected by coronavirus. The chain started when MWC 2020 got canceled, followed by Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference. Google has already announced that it will be holding a digital event for its Google for Games announcements that were scheduled for GDC 2020.

Now that GDC 2020 is off the chart, all the eyes are on Google’s annual developer conference Google I/O 2020 that is scheduled to be held from May 12 to May 14. As of now, the conference is expected to take place as per the plan.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/gdc-2020-postponed-coronavirus/

Realme X, Realme 5 Pro Get Android 10 Update With Realme UI https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/realme-5-pro-benchmarks-and-gaming.jpeg

Realme has started rolling out the Android 10 update to a couple of its recent releases – the Realme 5 Pro and the Realme X. According to official forum posts by the company, the incoming update also brings Realme UI to the two devices that were launched last year with ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie. The updates come with version number RMX1901EX_11_C.01 for the Realme X and RMX1971_EX_11_C.01 for the Realme 5 Pro, and both weigh in around 3.5GB.

As is almost always the case with FOTA updates, the incoming software is being rolled out in a phased manner and, will be randomly pushed out to a limited number of users to start off with before a broader rollout within the next few days. If everything goes according to plan, the full rollout will be completed in the next few days, said the company.

In terms of new features, the incoming updates come with almost identical changelogs for both devices, including a Focus Mode. It also comes with an optimized user interface and improved one-handed operation. Users can also look forward to an optimized Smart Sidebar where the File Console has been replaced by a File Manager, while the OSIE Visual Effect and Notification Alerts have also been discarded for good. It also comes with Split-Screen Mode and Assistive Ball Opacity.

Some of the other new features to look forward to include an optimized Floating Window for more apps and ‘Bubbles’ that are displayed when users open an app in a floating window from the Smart Sidebar. Users can then tap the bubble to collapse or open the app. It also comes with a host of other minor tweaks related to screenshots, gestures, a new charging animation, a pause feature for screen recording and a new management feature for recent tasks.

You can check out the full changelogs for Realme X and Realme 5 Pro on the official Realme forums.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/realme-x-5-pro-realme-ui-update-roll-out/

No Chinese Component in Jio 5G Network, Mukesh Ambani Told Donald Trump https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Reliance-Jio-is-the-Brainchild-of-Daughter-Isha-Reveals-Mukesh-Ambani-.jpg

During US President Donald Trump’s recent visit to India, Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani, is believed to have told him that Reliance Jio doesn’t use any Chinese-made component in its 4G network and doesn’t plan to use any in its planned 5G network, either. The conversation reportedly happened during the US President’s interaction with CEOs from select Indian companies in New Delhi on Wednesday.

According to a transcript of the conversation released by the White House on Thursday, the revelation came after Trump asked Ambani about his plans to upgrade Jio’s network from 4G to 5G. When Trump asked, “You’re doing 4G. Are you going to do 5G too?”, Ambani reportedly replied: “We’re going to do 5G. We’re the only network in the world that doesn’t have a single Chinese component”.

It’s not immediately clear if Ambani elaborated any further on the issue, but the company reportedly uses Samsung equipment for its 4G network and plans to retain its relationship with the South Korean company for 5G equipment.

Trump’s antipathy for all things Chinese is well-known, and the US President has made it a mission to challenge the dominance of the Asian economic giant by imposing one trade sanction after another either on China itself or some of its biggest companies, including Huawei. The country’s security establishment has also time and again expressed privacy concerns over Huawei’s telecom equipment, although the Chinese telecom giant has steadfastly denied all allegations.

While the US and some of its allies, including Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, have barred Huawei from 5G contracts in their respective countries, the Trump administration has been unable to convince some of its European and Asian allies to follow suit. The UK government, for one, has decided to give Huawei the go-ahead to bid for 5G contracts in the country, while India has also allowed the Chinese telecom giant to participate in 5G trials in the country.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/jio-5g-network-chinese-components/

Netflix India Tests HD Video Quality in Mobile and Basic Plans https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Netflix-India-Tests-HD-Video-Quality-in-Mobile-and-Basic-Plans.jpg

Last July, Netflix introduced its mobile-only plan at ₹199 in India. The plan offered users standard definition (480p) access to viewers and recently, Netflix has silently bumped up the resolution to 720p on its ₹199 Mobile Plan and ₹499 Basic Plan.

The changes in plans were spotted by Gadgets 360 and Netflix told them that the revised plans are part of the company’s new test and were available since early February in the country.

“We are always looking for ways in which to make the Netflix experience more immersive and enjoyable for our members. At the moment, this is a test, and might not be rolled out widely.”, a Netflix spokesperson told Gadgets 360.

As we see in the image below, Netflix India’s plans sheet has been updated to reflect these changes in plans, which hints that the company could be considering to offer high resolution for long-term in its entry-level plans.

Credits: Netflix India

Considering the fact that other OTT platforms does not cap the video quality based on the user’s plan, this new test is likely to be well received by the audience. Also, paying ₹499 for the Basic Plan without access to HD content made a significant number of Indians to either opt for the ₹649 Standard Plan/₹799 Premium plan or to skip subscribing to Netflix altogether.

In my opinion, this is a welcome move from Netflix and would attract new users to the platform. Netflix considers its ₹199 mobile plan a success and hence, the decision to include HD resolution would be a cherry on top from a viewer’s perspective.

Having said that, it is worth pointing out that you will need a Widevine L1 certified phone to enjoy the content in HD. You can go through Netflix’s list of HD compatible devices here to know if your phone supports Netflix HD playback.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/netflix-india-tests-hd-video-quality-in-mobile-and-basic-plans/

redBus Launches Bike, Car Pooling Service in New Delhi https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Redbus-car-and-bike-pooling-service-rpool-launched-in-Delhi.jpg

Online bus ticketing platform redBus on Thursday announced its foray into the car and bike pooling space with the launch of ‘rPool’ to provide intra-city mobility service in the national capital.

“This new service allows office-goers in the national capital to avail and offer rides in their personal cars and bikes. while commuting between homes and their workplace. rPool can be accessed directly from within the redBus mobile app,” redBus said in a statement.

The company said that in order to build a trusted community of ride givers and ride takers, rPool is restricted to working professionals undertaking a daily commute. “Users are verified through their mobile number and their organization’s corporate email address or a government-approved ID,” it said.

Further, rPool would cover its rides through complementary insurance provided by its insurance partner in case of an accident. Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus said that “we are pleased to announce the launch of rPool Service in Delhi – a concept which has already found resonance in Delhi with the adoption of carpooling during the odd-even days and we intend to make vehicle pooling more broad-based and widespread. We believe rPool will go a long way in bringing about a change in Delhiites’ mindset about shared commute and contribute towards protecting the environment at large.”

from Beebom https://beebom.com/redbus-bike-car-pooling-services-launched/

Vivo APEX 2020 with Insane Cameras, 60W Wireless Charging Unveiled https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/vivo-apex-2020-concept-phone-unveiled.jpg

The cancelation of MWC 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak pushed forward a slew of amazing launches. While some phone makers stuck to their original schedule, streaming the launch event online, others decided to reschedule the event. Vivo is one of the latter and has today unveiled its latest concept smartphone, the Vivo APEX 2020 with some of the most exciting innovations we have seen to date.

The Chinese giant was going to show off the concept phone at the conference, allowing users to get a taste of under-screen selfie camera, the first-ever gimbal-stabilized main camera, and well, super-fast 60W wireless charging technology. Let’s take a look at the features that Vivo has packed in the APEX 2020 concept phone:

Vivo APEX 2020: Specs and Features

• Design + Display

Vivo APEX 2020 builds on last year’s concept, which I got a chance to get my hands on, and does not include any ports or openings. There’s no speaker holes, charging port or even button cut-outs. APEX 2020 boasts a seamless design and relies on pressure-sensitive buttons to emulate the power button and volume rockers. You will find a huge circular camera bump on the rear though and we will get to that in a second.

As for the display, Vivo APEX features a 6.45-inch ‘FullView’ waterfall display that builds upon the NEX 3’s design from last year and now boasts 120-degree curved edges. The NEX 3 featured 88-degree curved edges and didn’t include physical buttons – as we just talked above. Vivo APEX 2020’s screen wraps completely around the edges. You will not see the metal frame on either of the two edges.

• Gimbal-Stabilized Camera

Though Huawei is usually known to make massive leaps in the optical department, Vivo seems to have stepped up the game with the APEX 2020 concept. The company is only offering a dual-camera setup here but both of the cameras are the first-of-its-kind.

Up-top, Vivo APEX 2020 features a 16MP periscope-cum-telephoto lens that is equipped with moving elements to provide an actual zooming range of 5x to 7.5x. This means Vivo isn’t using software tricks to provide you a hybrid zoom feature instead, the lens is packed with two sets of moving lenses (resulting in Continuous Optical Zoom) to switch between the zoom capacity.

Under the telephoto camera, the device features a 48MP sensor with what could be the world’s first gimbal-like stabilization mechanism. Vivo claims that its image stabilization tech offers 200% performance gains over traditional OIS system in an official blog post. You will able to capture super stable videos and not require any additional gear for long exposure night photography. You don’t need OIS or a physical gimbal accessory now.

• Under-screen Selfie Camera

Yeah, Vivo is following Oppo and Xiaomi’s lead to bake a camera under the display in its latest concept smartphone. Vivo APEX 2020 houses a 16MP in-display selfie camera with a 4-in-1 super-pixel photosensitive chip.

Well, the company has said that you can click some decent quality selfies, thanks to the increased (around 6 times) the light transmittance of the screen above the front camera and a series of algorithm optimizations. We will have to get our hands on the APEX 2020 concept phone to know better.

• Insanely Fast Wireless Charging

Apart from the insane camera innovations, Vivo is also pushing the boundary on wireless charging technology. Though APEX 2020 includes a measly 2,000mAh battery, there’s 60W Super FlashCharge wireless charging aboard this concept phone. Vivo claims that it can juice up the 2,000mAh battery in just 20 minutes, which is just mind-boggling fast.

I mean, we’ve just recently started seeing phone makers offer super fast wired charging speeds, but Vivo is planning to debut wireless charging technology with similar charging times. This concept also brings along 3rd-Gen Screen SoundCasting tech, voice tracking auto-focus, and more.

Internals

Moving past all the innovation, you will find that the Vivo APEX 2020 concept phone has been powered by the latest Snapdragon 865 chipset from Qualcomm. It is coupled with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. There’s 5G connectivity and Wi-Fi 6 support present on board.

Vivo APEX 2020: Camera Innovation is the Focus!

Vivo pioneered the popular pop-up camera design with the first APEX concept phone. I mean, that was a true innovation and helped redefine smartphone design. APEX 2020 follows along the same lines, showing off super-fast wireless charging and a better alternative to OIS with this concept. We can expect to cut the cord and be prepared to capture super stable videos in the coming years. Exciting times, right?

from Beebom https://beebom.com/vivo-apex-2020-concept-phone-unveiled/

Nubia Red Magic 5G Live Image Leaked Showing off Back Design https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Red-Magic-5G-live-image-website.jpg

A live image of what’s said to be the Nubia Red Magic 5G gaming smartphone, seems to show-off some of the key design aspects on the back of the device. It reveals a vertical triple-camera module at the top and a prominent ‘Red Magic’ logo lit up with what seems to be LED lights. Interestingly, it also shows off a POGO connector on the edge, which could be for connecting accessories, or might even be a magnetic charging connector similar to the Black Shark 3.

The phone also has a ‘5G’ branding to emphasize its support for the latest technology in cellular connectivity, as well as air vents on the side for thermal management. The image was posted by GameBench, which offers performance-monitoring tools and services for OEMs and developers.

Originally scheduled to be unveiled at the MWC 2020, the Nubia Red Magic 5G is now expected to be announced next month after the annual mobile expo in Barcelona had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Several key aspects about the device have already been either confirmed by the company through a steady stream of teasers over the past several days, or revealed via an official listing on the website of China’s electronics certification agency, TENAA.

According to official teasers from Nubia, the Red Magic 5G will ship with a 144Hz display panel, possibly making it the first mainstream consumer smartphone with a refresh-rate that high. The company has also confirmed that the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 865. It might also support 80W fast charging, which should make it the fastest-charging production smartphone.

Meanwhile, the TENAA listing revealed that the device will have a 6.65-inch display and up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, although, the device used by GameBench, however, had only 12GB of RAM. The device will also ship with 256GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery and Android 10 out-of-the-box, all of which should make it a worthy competitor against other upcoming gaming-centric smartphones like the Black Shark 3, which will launch on March 5.

Featured Image Courtesy: GameBench

from Beebom https://beebom.com/nubia-red-magic-5g-live-image-leaked-showing-off-back-design/

Vivo Z6 with Snapdragon 765G, 44W Fast Charging Launched at 2298 Yuan https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/farmto-table-5.jpg

After Redmi and Realme, Chinese phone maker Vivo has also launched its first-ever 5G-enabled mid-range smartphone in China. Vivo Z6 is a successor to the Vivo Z5 from last year and brings major upgrades, including a punch-hole display, quad rear-cameras and the recently launched Snapdragon 765G chipset for 5G connectivity support.

Vivo Z6: Specs and Features

Right off the bat, the design of Vivo Z6 looks really similar to the iQOO 3 gaming phone that was launched earlier this week. You have got a punch-hole display on the front and rectangular camera bump on the rear. The in-display fingerprint has been replaced by a physical sensor on the rear.

Vivo Z6 features a 6.57-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a 20:9 aspect ratio, 1080 x 2080-pixel resolution, and 90.74% screen-to-body ratio. The company is big on packing the smallest possible punch-hole cutout on its devices and the Z6 is no exception. It has arrived with a 3.85mm punch-hole that houses a 16MP (f/2.48) selfie camera.

Under the hood, Vivo is taking the 5G connectivity route as well. Vivo Z6 is powered by Snapdragon 765G, coupled with up to 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. The device comes with dual-mode 5G support (NA/ NSA) to offer 10x faster speeds than LTE networks, says Vivo. It runs Android 10-based FunTouch OS 10.

In the camera department, Vivo Z6 comes baked with a quad-camera setup on the rear. You have a 48MP (f/1.79) primary camera, an 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide-angle camera with a 112-degree FOV, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP portrait lens.

Vivo Z6 also comes equipped with a massive 5,000mAh battery along with 44W fast-charging technology support. The company claims that you can juice up around 70% of your battery in just 35 minutes. You get a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, a liquid cooling system, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and dual-SIM support.

Price and Availability

Vivo Z6 has been priced at 2298 yuan (around Rs. 23,700) for the 6GB+128GB base variant but you will need to shell out 2598 yuan (around Rs. 26,700) for the 8GB+128GB variant.

The smartphone will be available in three color variants namely Aurora Black, Interstellar Silver, and Ice Age. Vivo Z6 will go on sale from 29th February, i.e tomorrow, in China. It currently isn’t clear whether a Snapdragon 765G-powered device will land in India or not.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/vivo-z6-launched-china-specs-features-price/

PUBG Mobile 0.17.0 Update with Death Replay to Come on March 3 https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/pubg-mobile-death-replay-mode-featured.jpg

PUBG Mobile has finally announced the rollout date of the much-awaited PUBG Mobile v0.17.0 update. The update will be reaching your device next week on the 3rd of March.

PUBG Mobile took to Twitter to announce the release date of this new update. In the release date teaser, the company also confirmed that the update will bring death replay feature. Take a look at the tweet below.

COMING IN 0.17.0! Death Replays will be available for you to peruse the last few seconds before your untimely downfall! ☠️ pic.twitter.com/818Rr144Fv

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) February 28, 2020

Death Replay, or “kill cam” as gamers say, shows you how you were killed by the enemy. The feature has existed on the PC version of PUBG for a while now, and the company is finally bringing it to PUBG Mobile. Popular first-person shooter game Call of Duty: Mobile already has a kill cam to let you know how you were mercilessly killed by your opponents.

The addition of Death Replay is indeed an essential feature for PUBG Mobile. Ever since the advent of PUBG Mobile, gamers were constantly requesting and giving feedback to the developers to add this simple yet much-needed feature. This way, one can get to know how they got killed which in turn helps improve their tactics to play better and refrain from committing the same mistakes again.

The v0.17.0 update is slated to bring a whole lot of features and improvements including the much-awaited Erangel 2.0 map, Extreme Cold Mode, a new game icon, Season 12, a new character named Carlo, and more.

So, are you excited to get your hands on the new PUBG Mobile update? Do not forget to let us know in the comments.

from Beebom https://beebom.com/pubg-mobile-0-17-update-death-replay-march-3/