Tech News Updates: June 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Is Simplifying Use by Businesses the Key for WhatsApp Payments in India?

Payments platform Razorpay has enabled a smoother WhatsApp Payments integration, but can the service disrupt the payments sector in India?

Microsoft Office July 2018 Preview Reveals Updates to Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint on Android and iOS

These features are available for Office Insiders in a preview of the July 2018 update, which will roll out to all users sometime next month.

Bird CEO Explains Why His Scooter Startup Needed $300 Million

Altogether, Bird has raised $418 million since it was founded in April 2017.

Hotstar's New UI Looks a Lot Like Netflix

The updated Hotstar interface is presently available for viewers using Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Facebook Patents Tech That Records Ambient Audio From Client Devices to Measure Ad Impressions

A patent application showcases how Facebook might remotely turn on your phone's microphone to start recording.

Pokemon Go Isn't Dead, It Apparently Made $104 Million in May

Pokemon Go is far from dead. The game generated $104 million in revenue in May, which is up 174 percent year-over-year.

LinkedIn QR Code Lets You Connect With Professionals Faster, New Translation Feature Announced

QR code is available now on the LinkedIn Android and iOS apps, and can be used as a swift networking tool to view profiles and connect with professionals.

Fake Fortnite Android Apps Scamming Users via YouTube: McAfee

Searching for how to install Fortnite on Android or download Fortnite for Android on YouTube or Google throws up a host of videos that claim to show how Fortnite can be installed on Android.

Instagram Stories Get Soundtracks, Users Can Choose From Thousands of Licensed Songs

A new music icon will now be seen under the record button in Stories, that would let users search for a specific song, browse by mood, genre, or what is popular.

OpenAI to Take On Pro Dota 2 Team at The International

OpenAI will get its chance to shine at the International, one of the world's most established video game tournaments.

Microsoft Catching Up to Amazon in Security Clearances for Cloud

"Based on the security accreditation process alone there are really only two competitors," Amazon and Microsoft, said a federal market analyst.

Asphalt 9 for Android and iOS Could Be the Best Mobile Racing Game Yet

Asphalt 9: Legends for Android and iOS doesn’t have a release date yet, but here’s what you can expect when the game is finally out.

Google's New Policy Boss Will Tackle Everything From AI Anxiety to Antitrust

Google wants Bhatia to craft the search giant's public policy strategy on a wide range of issues including artificial intelligence, job creation, and critical infrastructure.

Pokemon Go Creator Plans to Sell the Tech Behind Its Games

Niantic gave details on Thursday of its "Real World Platform" that it hopes to allow other gaming companies to use one day.

Tinder Now Encrypts Photos Shared on App

Tinder's announcement was made via a letter addressed to Senator Ron Wyden who had written to Tinder back in February requesting the company to encrypt photos.

Uber Proposes Self-Regulation to Address West Bengal Government Concerns

Uber on Saturday proposed measures to address concerns expressed by the West Bengal government over its fare policy.

Vivo Nex Pop-Up Camera Bug Makes It Elevate When Not Required: Report

A video suggests that the pop-up selfie camera on the Vivo Nex comes up while opening a chat window on Telegram, when no camera function is prompted.

Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill US FCC Chairman's Family

"I will find your children and I will kill them," Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk wrote in one of the emails, according to court documents.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Whatsapp 'Send Messages' Group Controls Officially Rolling Out on Android, iPhone

The new 'Send Messages' tab is available on WhatsApp version 2.18.70 on iPhone and version 2.18.201 on Android (stable).

IGTV: Can Instagram's New App Help It Stream Past YouTube?

What would you do if YouTube disappeared today? Hypothetically, say YouTube fell off right now, where would you be?

Apple Maps to Be Rebuilt 'From Ground Up', but Will Still Tap TomTom

Apple said it is completely rebuilding its Maps app - the most frequently used app on its iPhones.

Google's Diane Greene Says Microsoft Beat Search Giant to Buy GitHub

Microsoft agreed to pay $7.5 billion for GitHub earlier in June, but it wasn't the only interested party.

Apple Reportedly Preparing a Subscription Bundle for Original TV Shows, Music, and News Content

The new development will begin with a digital news subscription service that will be followed by in-house video content and Apple Music integration.

YouTube Picture-in-Picture Rolling Out for Android Users in US Without a Paid Subscription

Now that YouTube PiP mode is rolling out for US users, it might just be a matter of time before international subscribers also get to try it out.

Amazon Fire TV Stick, Kindle, Echo Now Available in India With 2-Hour Deliveries via Prime Now

Amazon has also announced a 15 percent discount for Prime members purchasing the devices through the Prime Now app.

Independent Record Labels Get Boost From Streaming Music Services

For decades, independent record labels have dreamed that if only they had the massive budgets to get their artists in front of music fans, the fans would love the music.

Snapchat to Bring Third-Party Games In-App This Fall: Report

This comes after Snapchat launched SnapKit, letting people use Snapchat credentials to sign into apps, while strictly limiting access to personal data or activity tracking.

French Design Studio Takes Aim at Hit Game Fortnite on Mobile Phones

Oh BiBi, a small French studio run by former game designers from Gameloft, on Thursday is introducing FRAG, a first-person shooter for mobile.

Instagram IGTV: All Your Questions Answered

Instagram has introduced long-form videos in the form of IGTV (Instagram TV). We answer all your questions about the brand new video platform.

Samsung Messages App Sharing Gallery Content With Contacts Without Permission, Some Users Report

The bug apparently comes through the latest Samsung Messages update and is largely affecting Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 8 users.

Facebook Stories Get Reactions, Group Chat Features

Aiming to get more people to interact with its Stories feature in its main app, Facebook has added group chat and reactions among others to the service.

Telegram Update Brings Replace Media Feature, Captions, and More

The iOS update bumps the version up to 4.8.3, and the Android update bumps the version up to 4.8.10.

Why Google's New AI Assistant Tells You It's a Robot - Even if It Sounds Human

Duplex has new prompts to be more transparent about who's on the line. If asked, "Are you a robot?" the system responds, "I'm an automated system built by Google."

Feeling Poorly? The App Will See You Now

Babylon Health said it had put its AI technology to the same tests that doctors sit on Wednesday, and showed it could outperform most physicians in assessing symptoms.

Google Calendar Adds 'Out of Office' Entry Type, Lets You Restrict Your Working Hours

The Out of office entry type and working hours feature will be available for all G Suite users in the next few days.

Instagram Lite Now in Testing, a New Lightweight App From Facebook for Developing Countries

Available on Google Play for Android users, Instagram Lite claims to save storage space and download instantly

Is Your Mobile Browser Slower Than Usual? It May Be Mining Bitcoin For Criminals

Depending on the severity of the attack, victims may notice only a slight drop in processing power, often not enough for them to think it's a hacking attack.

Is Simplifying Use by Businesses the Key for WhatsApp Payments in India?

Payments platform Razorpay has enabled a smoother WhatsApp Payments integration, but can the service disrupt the payments sector in India?

Segway Goes Back to The Future, Launches E-Skates

Maker of personal transportation Segway, probably most famous for its two-wheelers with self-balancing capabilities, has set its sights on bringing back roller skates but with a high-tech twist.

The Rock Has Launched New 'UA Project Rock' Wireless Sweat-proof Headphones

These are the first headphones under The Rock's partnership with Under Armour.

Microsoft Office July 2018 Preview Reveals Updates to Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint on Android and iOS

These features are available for Office Insiders in a preview of the July 2018 update, which will roll out to all users sometime next month.

Bird CEO Explains Why His Scooter Startup Needed $300 Million

Altogether, Bird has raised $418 million since it was founded in April 2017.

Makers of LiveMe Launch Fluxr in India, Announce Partnership With PUBG Mobile

Fluxr has also announced its partnership with Tencent’s PUBG Mobile to kick-start its broadcaster and eSports recruitment campaign at the VidCon annual gaming event.

Muggle Scientists Develop Harry Potter-like Invisibility Cloak

The new device, developed by researchers from the US-based 'The Optical Society', a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light, is known as spectral invisibility cloak.

Sushma Swaraj's mPassport Seva App a Hit: Gets 1 Million Plus Downloads in 2 Days

The new app by the Government of India has proved to be a hit for smartphone users.

International Smartphone Brand Mobiistar Enters Indian Markets with Star Selfie Series

What if features, brand and affordability wrap themselves in the same package?

Hotstar's New UI Looks a Lot Like Netflix

The updated Hotstar interface is presently available for viewers using Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Facebook Patents Tech That Records Ambient Audio From Client Devices to Measure Ad Impressions

A patent application showcases how Facebook might remotely turn on your phone's microphone to start recording.

Google Home, Chromecast Outage Hits Millions of Users Worldwide

The outage affected Google Home and Google Home Mini speakers that respond to voice commands, as well as Chromecast -- a device that plugs into a television and allows users to watch video content.

Twitter Ads Transparency Centre Lets Users View Who Bought Its Ads

The new transparency tools will let users search for and see who is buying ads, with even more detail on US federal political campaign ads that includes billing information, ad spend, impression data per tweet as well as demographic targeting data.

Pokemon Go Isn't Dead, It Apparently Made $104 Million in May

Pokemon Go is far from dead. The game generated $104 million in revenue in May, which is up 174 percent year-over-year.

Koinex Launches Loop, a Peer-to-Peer Token Transaction Network

All current users of the exchange will automatically be able to access the Peer-to-Peer transaction network and will be able to participate directly.

Xiaomi's Pricing at Bottom of Range in Hong Kong IPO, Raises $4.72 Billion

The pricing comes at a delicate time for Hong Kong's stock market, with the benchmark Hang Seng index falling 6.5 percent this month and 4.8 percent this year amid escalating trade tension between the U.S. and Chinese governments.

End of The Road For 'ASIMO' Japan's Most Famous Robot?

It has played football with former US president Barack Obama and danced for German leader Angela Merkel, but Honda's ASIMO robot may have reached the end of the line.

Google Assistant Will Soon be Able to Make Phone Calls

Duplex technology allows Google Assistant to make phone calls autonomously on behalf of a user to achieve specific tasks like booking a restaurant or making an appointment in a hair salon.

LinkedIn QR Code Lets You Connect With Professionals Faster, New Translation Feature Announced

QR code is available now on the LinkedIn Android and iOS apps, and can be used as a swift networking tool to view profiles and connect with professionals.

LinkedIn QR Code Lets You Connect With Professionals Faster, New Translation Feature Announced

QR code is available now on the LinkedIn Android and iOS apps, and can be used as a swift networking tool to view profiles and connect with professionals.

Fake Fortnite Android Apps Scamming Users via YouTube: McAfee

Searching for "How to install Fortnite on Android" or "Download Fortnite for Android" on YouTube or Google search throws up a host of videos that claim to show how Fortnite can be installed on Android.

OnePlus Announces Updated Software Maintenance Schedule With 2 Years of Security Updates, 3 Years of Android Updates

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will receive regular OTA updates till November 2018 along with a year of extended security patches.

Instagram Stories Get Soundtracks, Users Can Choose From Thousands of Licensed Songs

A new music icon will now be seen under the record button in Stories, that would let users search for a specific song, browse by mood, genre, or what is popular.

WhatsApp Group Admins Can Now Set 'Send Message' Permissions on Android, iPhone

Rolling out on WhatsApp beta version 2.18.201 for Android and version 2.18.70 on iPhone, the capabilities allow WhatsApp group admins to control participants' ability to send messages in the group.

OpenAI to Take On Pro Dota 2 Team at The International

OpenAI will get its chance to shine at the International, one of the world's most established video game tournaments.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Has Been Reviewed Before Its Launch And Here is How it Will be

A Russian blogger has already reviewed the Galaxy Note 9 and here is what he thinks.

California, Home of Silicon Valley, Ramps up Online Privacy Law

The law gives people a right to "say no" to the sale of their personal information and calls for them to be treated the same as anyone else online if they opt to restrict the use of their data.

Microsoft Catching Up to Amazon in Security Clearances for Cloud

"Based on the security accreditation process alone there are really only two competitors," Amazon and Microsoft, said a federal market analyst.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Asphalt 9 for Android and iOS Could Be the Best Mobile Racing Game Yet

Asphalt 9: Legends for Android and iOS doesn’t have a release date yet, but here’s what you can expect when the game is finally out.

Samsung Galaxy On6 Said to Be a Flipkart Exclusive

The smartphone, to be unveiled in the first week of July, may cost Rs 15,000 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage variant.

Instagram Now Lets You Add Music to Your Stories

According to Instagram, Stories are used by 400 million people almost every day. It is their most widely used feature and the company is constantly updating it with new tools to help users keep their content up to date.

Google's New Policy Boss Will Tackle Everything From AI Anxiety to Antitrust

Google wants Bhatia to craft the search giant's public policy strategy on a wide range of issues including artificial intelligence, job creation, and critical infrastructure.

Pokemon Go Creator Plans to Sell The Tech Behind Its Games

Pokemon Go has been the biggest hit so far among games using so-called augmented reality, where digital characters are superimposed on the real world.

Pokemon Go Creator Plans to Sell the Tech Behind Its Games

Niantic gave details on Thursday of its "Real World Platform" that it hopes to allow other gaming companies to use one day.

Facebook Ad Reforms: Now See All Ads on a Page, Flag Suspicious Ones

"We want to make sure that people understand what they're seeing, who paid for it, and the fullness of what other people might see," Sheryl Sandberg.

Digital Currency Sales Hit $13.7 Billion in First Five Months of 2018: Report

Technology startups in the blockchain space around the world have raised funds by selling cryptocurrencies, or tokens directly to investors in initial coin offerings (ICOs), bypassing banks or venture capital firms as intermediaries.

OnePlus Could Introduce a 5G-Ready Smartphone in 2019

In theory, 5G would be capable of delivering speeds up to 20 gigabits per second.

Lenovo Z5 Indigo Blue Edition Colour Variant Launched, Gets Sold out in 50 Seconds

This particular colour variant is available in the 6 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage configuration and is priced at 1,399 CNY.

Xiaomi Mi 6X Hatsune Miku Limited Edition Smartphone Launched: Price, Specifications And More

The Mi 6X Hatsune Miku Limited Edition will be available only in 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant.

Lenovo Z5 Indigo Blue Edition Colour Variant to Launch in China Today

This particular colour variant will be available in the 6 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage configuration and will be priced at 1,399 CNY.

LG Launches X2 Smartphone with 5-inch HD display, 2GB RAM

The X2 comes with a 5-inch HD display with 1280 x 720 pixels and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core SoC which clocks in at 1.3GHz.

Oppo A5 With Notch Screen Leaks Online

The device could also feature a 6.2-inch notched display for the front camera, earpiece and sensors.

Google's Diane Greene Says Microsoft Beat Search Giant to Buy GitHub

Microsoft agreed to pay $7.5 billion for GitHub earlier in June, but it wasn't the only interested party.

Nokia A1 Plus With In-Display Fingerprint Scanner Could Launch at IFA 2018

Although the details of the device are based on the rumours and speculation, the Nokia could feature a 6.01-inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Apple Reportedly Preparing a Subscription Bundle for Original TV Shows, Music, and News Content

The new development will begin with a digital news subscription service that will be followed by in-house video content and Apple Music integration.

YouTube Picture-in-Picture Rolling Out for Android Users in US Without a Paid Subscription

Now that YouTube PiP mode is rolling out for US users, it might just be a matter of time before international subscribers also get to try it out.

Honor 7C: The Most Fascinating Feature Loaded Smartphone Under 10K

Honor 7C, the power-packed mobile phone with its camera and style is all set to provide ultimate user experience without any distraction.

Honor 7C: A Feature Loaded Smartphone for a Fascinating User-Experience under 10k!

Honor 7C, the power-packed mobile phone with its camera and style is all set to provide ultimate user experience without any distraction.

Looking for a Selfie Star @ 7,999? You Need to Look at Mobiistar’s XQ Dual

With smartphones reaching the stratosphere when it comes to price, Mobiistar’s XQ DUAL brings a refreshing entrant to the smartphone value proposition.

HP Reclaims Top Spot in Indian PC market

According to the CMR forecast, the overall PC market is likely to grow by 4 per cent driven by enterprise segment as compared to consumer segment.

Dell Introduces New Portfolio of All-in-Ones in India

Dell's New All-in-Ones (AIOs) come with a wireless mouse and keyboard option along with easy to set up 802.11 AC wireless connectivity.

Amazon Fire TV Stick, Kindle, Echo Now Available in India With 2-Hour Deliveries via Prime Now

Amazon has also announced a 15 percent discount for Prime members purchasing the devices through the Prime Now app.

Independent Record Labels Get Boost From Streaming Music Services

For decades, independent record labels have dreamed that if only they had the massive budgets to get their artists in front of music fans, the fans would love the music.

Snapchat to Bring Third-Party Games In-App This Fall: Report

This comes after Snapchat launched SnapKit, letting people use Snapchat credentials to sign into apps, while strictly limiting access to personal data or activity tracking.

Google Introduces 'Smart Campaigns' For Small Businesses

The tech giant on Wednesday also announced that its lineup of ad products called "Google AdWords" will henceforth be known as "Google Ads".

French Design Studio Takes Aim at Hit Game Fortnite on Mobile Phones

Oh BiBi, a small French studio run by former game designers from Gameloft, on Thursday is introducing FRAG, a first-person shooter for mobile.

Instagram IGTV: All Your Questions Answered

Instagram has introduced long-form videos in the form of IGTV (Instagram TV). We answer all your questions about the brand new video platform.

Google Calendar Gets New Features

The new features will be available to users of all G suite editions within two weeks.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Series Crosses 5 Million Sales in 4 Months

Xiaomi has sold more than 5 million units of the series within 4 months of its launch.

Instagram's New Slimmed Down Version, 'Instagram Lite' Launched

The app would run on Android versions 5.0 and up.

Samsung Galaxy J8 With Infinity Display Now Available in India For Rs 18,990

The Samsung Galaxy J8 can be purchased across retail outlets and online via Samsung’s e-shop, Paytm, Flipkart, and Amazon from June 28.

Facebook Fine Halved by US Court in VR Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed after Facebook bought Oculus for about $2 billion in 2014.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Set For August 9 Launch? New Samsung Invite Suggests so

The new teaser post only came with the schedule for the event.

Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop Launched For Rs 65,999

Find out what the latest gaming laptop from the house of Acer has to offer.

Saturn Moon Enceladus Shows Signs of Complex Organic Molecules

Complex molecules comprising hundreds of atoms are rare beyond Earth.

Samsung Messages App Sharing Gallery Content With Contacts Without Permission, Some Users Report

The bug apparently comes through the latest Samsung Messages update and is largely affecting Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 8 users.

Bollywood Actress Sonakshi Sinha Joins UNESCO to Promote Cyber Safety For Youth

Unicef congratulated the "Dabangg" actress for being a champion of child rights.

NASA Postpones James Webb Space Telescope Launch to 2021

Technical issues, including human errors, have greatly impacted the development schedule.

Facebook Stories Get Reactions, Group Chat Features

Aiming to get more people to interact with its Stories feature in its main app, Facebook has added group chat and reactions among others to the service.

Telegram Update Brings Replace Media Feature, Captions, and More

The iOS update bumps the version up to 4.8.3, and the Android update bumps the version up to 4.8.10.

Disney Gets Approval to Buy Twenty-First Century Fox

Disney owns ABC, Pixar, Marvel Studios and "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm, plus an array of theme parks.

Why Google's New AI Assistant Tells You It's a Robot - Even if It Sounds Human

Duplex has new prompts to be more transparent about who's on the line. If asked, "Are you a robot?" the system responds, "I'm an automated system built by Google."

Rockets Which Push The Boundaries of Space Travel

Friday morning at 5:42 am (0942 GMT), a rocket owned by the US company SpaceX will blast off from Florida carrying two and a half tons of gear from NASA, only to dock three days later and 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth at the International Space Station.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Friday, June 29, 2018

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Wednesday, June 27, 2018