Tech News Updates: November 2020

Monday, November 30, 2020

Samsung May Discontinue High-end Galaxy Note Smartphones - Sources

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd may discontinue its premium Galaxy Note phone next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, a move that would reflect the sharp drop in demand for highend smartphones due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Windows 10 Users, Rejoice! Android Apps May Be Coming To Your PC Soon

This is not the first time Microsoft will try running Android apps on Windows 10. The company had earlier toyed with the idea via its Project Astoria, but that never saw the light of the day.

Xbox Game Pass Now Lets You Pre-Load Upcoming Games on Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X

You can now pre-load upcoming Xbox Game Pass titles on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One, Microsoft has announced, thanks to the new November 2020 Xbox Console Update. You’ll find a new “Coming Soon” section on your console or in the Xbox Game Pass app.

Hangouts Group Conversations to Appear in Google Chat Soon

Google is bringing three changes to group conversations in Google Chat starting from December 3. As per the changes, new members can see all the messages, even those that were sent in the group before they joined.

Zoom Q3 Results Show COVID-Related Breakneck Growth Is Slowing Down

Zoom’s videoconferencing service remains a fixture in pandemic life, but its breakneck growth is showing signs of tapering off as investors debate whether the company will be able to build upon its recent success after a vaccine enables people to intermingle again.

Arijit Singh, Tanishk Bagchi and Neha Kakkar Are 2020’s Most Streamed Artists In India On Spotify

In India, the most streamed tracks for the year 2020 are Shayad” by Arijit Singh, Pritam and Irshad Kamil; international track “Falling” by Trevor Daniel; “Ghungroo (From “War”)” by Arijit Singh, Shilpa Rao, Kumaar, and Vishal-Shekhar and “Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage (From "Kabir Singh")” by Arijit Singh and Mithoon.

Tata Sky Users Get Live TV Pause And Record On Australia Vs India Cricket Matches As Sony Backs Down

Sony Pictures Network India has the broadcast rights for the one-day internationals, T20 internationals and test matches for India’s tour of Australia. The Australia vs India series ends on January 19.

Spotify Reveals Top Songs, Artists, Albums in India and Globally in 2020

Arijit Singh, Bad Bunny, 'Shayad', 'The Blinding Lights', Kabir Singh, and YHLQMDLG lead Spotify’s most-streamed songs, artists, and albums in India and globally in 2020.

Facebook, Google, More Tech Giants to Face Digital Tax in Canada in 2022

Canada plans to impose a tax on corporations providing digital services from 2022 that will stay in place until major nations come up with a coordinated approach on taxation.

Facebook, Google Becoming 'Human Rights-Free Zones' in Vietnam: Amnesty International

Facebook and Google are fast becoming "human rights-free zones" in Vietnam, Amnesty International warned, accusing the tech titans of helping censor peaceful dissent and political expression in the country.

The Next Apple iPhone With 10x Optical Zoom May Again Reset Smartphone Photography Goalposts

A report in DigiTimes said that the next iPhone may include a Samsung periscope lens.

Sony Backs Down And Tata Sky Users Get Live TV Pause And Record On Australia Vs India Cricket Matches

Got A Microsoft Xbox Series X Or Series S Console? You May Want To Download This Update Now

There also the new “Optimized for Series X|S” badge that will now be added to the game tiles in the My Games and Apps section. There are more than 39 fully optimized games for the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S.

Cyber Monday Poised To Mark Record For U.S. Online Retail Sales

Cyber Monday was set to become the biggest online shopping day ever for the United States, garnering up to $11.4 billion as the coronavirus pandemic prompts consumers to stay at home and turn to the internet for their holiday shopping needs.

Amazon, Apple Stay Away From New French Initiative to Set Principles for Big Tech

Amazon and Apple have not signed up to a new French initiative to get global tech companies to publicly commit to principles including paying their fair share of taxes.

Facebook Buys Online Customer Service Startup Kustomer

Facebook announced it is buying Kustomer, a startup specialising in helping businesses interact with customers online.

5G Is the Fastest Deployed Mobile Network, Will Reach 1 Billion People By Year End: Ericsson

By the end of this year, the report says that there will be 218 million 5G subscriptions around the world, up from Ericsson's forecast of 190 million back in June.

Canada Plans Digital Tax In 2022 On Global Tech Giants Such As Facebook, Google

Canada plans to impose a tax on corporations providing digital services from 2022 that will stay in place until major nations come up with a coordinated approach on taxation, the Finance Department said on Monday.

Thought Microsoft Surface Pro X Is The Best Fit For Windows 10? Apple's M1 Embarrasses The Surface

The latest experiment makes the M1-powered Mac about 60 to 85 percent faster than the fastest Windows on ARM device.

FAU-G Mobile Game Pre-Registration Officially Live on Google Play Store

FAU-G's developers had previously stated that the title's gameplay would not come with a battle royale mode upon release. The title is up for pre-registration for Android devices, and the company is yet to share more details over its availability for iOS.

Samsung Level U2 Neckband-Style Wireless Headphones With 18 Hours of Battery Unveiled

The Samsung Level U2 Wireless Headphones come in two colour options and feature 12mm drivers. The headphones are said to provide 13-hours of talk time on a single charge.

FAU-G, Made-in-India Shooter, Goes Live on Google Play

FAU-G mobile game has finally arrived on Google Play store. The game is still not launched yet, but after multiple delays and changing launch dates, it has now been put up on the Google Play store for pre-registration. It seems like the developers are restricting to Android for now to launch the new mobile game as the registrations have not appeared on Apple's App sto...

Cyber Monday Set To Be Biggest Online Shopping Day In U.S. History

Cyber Monday is on track to bring in a record of as much as $12.7 billion in online sales, according to latest industry estimates, surpassing Black Friday's digital numbers as U.S. retailers reached the last leg of an extended holiday selling season caused by the COVID19 pandemic.

Apple Giving Out Five Months of Free Apple Music Subscription via Shazam: Here's How it Works

The free Apple Music five-month subscription offer is available to use in select markets till January 17, 2021. The offer only applies to new Apple Music users.

Microsoft Teams Web App Will Stop Working on Internet Explorer 11 From Today

From August 21, all Microsoft 365 apps and services besides Teams will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 and users will have to migrate to Microsoft Edge.

Apple Is Offering New Users a Five-Month Free Apple Music Subscription via Shazam

Apple is offering new Apple Music users a free five-month subscription via Shazam as part of a special holiday offer. The offer is valid till January 17 2021 and applies to users in India, Australia, Canada, the US, the UK, and some other countries.

Spotify Stories With Playlists Should Help Users With New Music Discovery

Spotify Stories for playlists is slightly different from the story feature on other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. Here, the Stories appear within a playlist instead of the homepage.

Alienware m15 R3 Review: Monster Performance, Great Aesthetics Don't Mask its Price

Dell has an obvious winner in its hands, and the Alienware m15 R3 uses what happens to be the most powerful laptop processor right now. However, even that doesn't justify it costing over Rs 3 lakh.

UK Bans Installation of New Huawei 5G Kit from September 2021

Britain has already ordered all Huawei equipment to be removed from its 5G network by the end of 2027. The US had earlier placed sanctions on Huawei that bars American companies to do business with the Chinese tech firm.

Microsoft Teams Will Stop Working on Internet Explorer 11 Today, Microsoft 365 Apps Support Will End August 2021

Microsoft Teams will stop working on Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) from November 30 as per the company’s timeline that was shared back in August. Users will have to switch to Microsoft Edge to use Teams.

Nokia 5.4 May Launch in December With Hole-Punch Display and Quad Rear Cameras: Here's What We Know

The Nokia 5.4 will succeed the Nokia 5.3 smartphone that was launched in March this year. Currently, the Nokia 5.3 is available in India for Rs 12,999 for the 4GB + 64GB option.

Spotify Is Testing a Stories Feature With Playlists, Artists: Report

Spotify has started testing a Stories feature with selected playlists and a few artists whose songs are present in the playlist, a media report has said. The feature allows users to share video clips that can contain snippets of songs as well as introduce their playlists.

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Moto G 5G Launched as India's Most Affordable 5G Smartphone, Priced at Rs 20,999

The Moto G 5G's sale in India will start on December 7 via Flipkart. The phone comes in two colour options along with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 20W TurboPower fast charging.

Xiaomi Mi 11 To Launch in January 2021? Qualcomm Summit In December May Answer The Question

While most reports have said that the next Mi series will be called the Mi 11 series, Xiaomi has not revealed anything about either the name or what the smartphone will be about.

Disney+ Hotstar December 2020: Mulan, Pixar’s Soul, Euphoria, and More

The Mandalorian season 2, Mulan, His Dark Materials season 2, Pixar’s Soul movie, holiday specials for Euphoria and High School Musical, Godmothered — the biggest TV shows and movies on Disney+ Hotstar Premium in December 2020.

Want To Buy A Sony PlayStation 5? Wait Till Jan 2021 But You Should Absolutely Not Import One

Sony has said that PlayStation 5 consoles that have been imported to India from overseas will not be covered in the official warranty in India.

Why Is Sony Stopping Tata Sky Users From Pausing Or Recording Australia Vs India Live Cricket Matches?

This could be an attempt to drive users to sign up for the Sony Liv premium subscriptions to catch up on Live match streaming of the India vs Australia cricket matches, highlights and more. Sony Liv Premium is priced at Rs 299 per month or Rs 999 for a year.

Moto G 5G, India's Most Affordable 5G Phone to Launch Today at 12PM: Expected Price and Specifications

The Moto G 5G features a 6.7-inch full HD+ LTPS display and runs on Android 10 out of the box.

Sony May Ban PlayStation 5 Owners Who Sell Their PS Plus Collection Accounts to PS4 Gamers

PlayStation Plus Collection is a collection of 20 games (10 first party and 10 third party) given exclusively to PlayStation 5 owners who are also members of the PlayStation Plus paid subscription service.

Nokia Laptops Reportedly Receive BIS Certification, India Launch Speculated

About nine Nokia laptops have reportedly received their BIS certification.

Britain Bans New Huawei 5G Kit Installation From September 2021

British telecommunications firms must not install new Huawei 5G kit after September 2021, the government said on Monday, as part of a plan to purge the Chinese firm's equipment from high speed mobile networks.

Netflix December 2020 Releases: Torbaaz, Mank, Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, and More

The Walking Dead season 10, Torbaaz, Shazam!, Vir Das: Outside In, Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, Bombay Rose, Mank, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 4, The Prom, The Midnight Sky, Big Mouth: Season 4, Archer season 11, Godzilla — the biggest movies and TV shows on Netflix India in December 2020.

Exclusive-Twitter Suspends Thai Royalist Account Linked To Influence Campaign

Twitter has suspended a Thai proroyalist account linked to the palace that a Reuters analysis found was connected to thousands of others created in recent weeks spreading posts in favour of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the monarchy.

Master & Dynamic Launches Lamborghini Edition MW65 Over-the-Ear Headphones and MW07 TWS Earphones

The new Master & Dynamics MW65 and MW07 Plus have been designed using materials like Alcantara leather, sapphire glass, Italian acetate, anodized aluminum, and stainless steels - similar to the materials used in Lamborghini cars.

Facebook Cryptocurrency Libra to Launch as Early as January But Scaled Back: Report

Libra, unveiled by Facebook last year, was relaunched in slimmed-down form after regulators and central banks across the world raised concerns it could upset financial stability and erode mainstream power over money.

Nokia 9.3 PureView Reportedly Receives BIS Certification, May Launch in First Half of 2021

The Nokia 9.3 PureView may offer a 120Hz display and a 108-megapixel primary camera with 8K video recording capabilities.

Huawei Reportedly Working on Camera Technology That Can Focus As Quickly as the Human Eye

Huawei is said to be a leader in smartphone camera technology. The company was the first to introduce a periscope camera in smartphones.

Moto G9 Plus Reportedly Spotted in BIS Certification Listing, May Come to India Later This Year

The Moto G9 Plus was launched in Brazil in September this year.

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Realme 7 Pro Gets Android 11-Based Realme UI 2.0 Update Via Early Access Program

The Realme 7 Pro comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display having a full-HD+ 2400 x 1080-pixel resolution with a 20:9 aspect ratio, 180Hz touch sampling rate and 600 nits of peak brightness.

Amid Farmer's Protest, Instagram Blocks #Sikh Hashtag Again; Second Such Incident This Year

In June as well, Instagram and its parent Facebook were spotted blocking the #sikh hashtag on their platforms.

Micromax IN 1B Offers Different Android Flavours: Which Variant Will You Pick?

The Micromax In 1B's first sale was delayed minutes before it was supposed to go live, owing to issues with logistics.

Apple iPhone 12 Studio: You Can Painstakingly Consider Every Case And Wallet For Your New iPhone 12

The Apple India Online Store has this rather cool tool called the iPhone 12 Studio that lets you select every one of the four new iPhone 12 series phones and match them the official Apple cases and wallet accessories. These include MagSafe cases and the Wallet with MagSafe options for the iPhone 12 series.

Samsung Galaxy M51 Review: Excellent Battery, Smooth Performance Hide its Tiny Flaws

The Samsung Galaxy M51 is like that kid in your school who wasn’t the outright best, but was still acceptably good at almost everything despite his annoying habits.

Tenet, Durgamati, Coolie No. 1, and More: December 2020 Guide to Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar

Tenet, Durgamati, Coolie No. 1, Wonder Woman 1984, Mulan, Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, Bombay Rose, Torbaaz, The Stand, Pixar’s Soul, Mank, The Prom, Bridgerton — the biggest movies and TV series coming to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Voot Select, and HBO Max in December 2020.

Google Chrome 87 Getting Chrome Actions Feature, to Allow Users to Type Commands in Address Bar

Google is gradually rolling out a new Chrome Actions feature to Google Chrome 87 that allows the user to type commands in the address bar that perform specific browser actions.

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: May the Force Be With You

The Mandalorian season 2 episode 5 review and recap: Chapter 13: The Jedi introduces Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, reveals Baby Yoda’s name (Grogu), and sets the Mandalorian on a dangerous path towards Tython, the centre of the Star Wars galaxy.

Google Opinion Rewards App That Pays for Surveys Is Now Available in Thailand

Google Opinion Rewards is now available in Thailand. The quick survey app is available in 29 countries, including India and Thailand. The changelog has no other update, so it is likely that the addition is part of a server-side change.

How to Watch India vs Australia Live Stream

India vs Australia ODI series began Friday, and the tour will last until January 2021. Here’s how you can watch the live stream of IND vs AUS, the channels it’s broadcasting on, and the schedule for the full tour.

Facebook, Google to Face Tougher Competition Rules in UK From New Antitrust Body

Britain will impose a new competition regime next year to prevent Google and Facebook using their dominance to push out smaller firms and disadvantage consumers.

ISRO Cartosat-2F Comes Too Close to Russian Satellite in Space, Collision Avoided

ISRO chief K. Sivan later said that two satellites coming close to each other is a fairly regular occurrence, and such things aren't usually reported in public.

Instagram Seen Blocking #Sikh Hashtag Yet Again for Some Users

Instagram seems to have blocked the #sikh hashtag on its platform. Some users have complained about the issue on Twitter. The new blocking comes just over five months after Facebook and Instagram were seen restricting the #sikh hashtag on their platforms for a number of users.

Vivo V20 Pro Launch in India on Dec 2: Can it Rival iPhone SE, Pixel 4a, OnePlus Nord?

The Vivo V20 Pro is confirmed to launch in India on December 2, and its specs include the Snapdragon 765G SoC, 64MP triple rear camera and 44MP dual front camera.

India vs Australia Match Highlights, Best Moments Come to Facebook Via Sony Sports

Facebook has inked a partnership deal with Sony Pictures, thanks to which cricket fans in India can stream match highlights, special moments and more official India vs Australia tournament content, from the Sony Sports India Facebook page.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Microsoft Surface Pro 8, Surface Laptop 4 Images Leaked, Offers No Change in Design

According to reports, the 2021 refresh of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lineups will be rather incremental, but more interestingly, this may be when Microsoft brings the Surface Duo to more markets.

Big Tech Firms in US Sees a New Era Under Joe Biden, but No Ease in Security

The Obama-Biden administration was a charmed era for America's tech companies — a moment when they were lionized as innovators, hailed as job creators and largely left alone. Now Joe Biden is coming back, this time as president. But times have changed.

Scammers Fool Britons With Investment Firm Clones, Says Trade Body

More than 200 British retail investors have lost nearly 10 million pounds in total to sophisticated investment scams since a government lockdown in March to fight the COVID19 pandemic, a trade body said on Saturday.

Don't Buy the Sony PS5 in India Right Now (No, This Isn't Us Endorsing the Xbox)

The Sony PlayStation 5 gaming console is yet to go on sale in India after being delayed due to a bizarre copyright conflict; while this means that you'll have to hold back on your planned holiday splurge, doing it unofficially can actually hurt you in the long run.