OPPO A2x 5G launched in China

Specifications:
• 6.56" (1612×720 px) HD+ resolution IPS LCD Display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 720 nits peak brightness

• MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC
(Rebranded Dimensity 700 chip)
• Upto 8GB +(8GB Virtual) RAM
• UFS 2.2 storage
• MicroSD Card slot

• 13MP single rear camera
• 5MP front camera
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 5000mAh battery
• HUGE 10W charging
• 3.5mm audio jack; IP54 rated
• Android 13 based ColorOS 13.1
Colors: Midnight Black, Muguang Gold & Feishuang Purple

Prices:
• 6GB + 128GB = 1100 CNY (~150$)
• 8GB + 256GB = 1400 CNY (~195$)

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Honor Play 8T 5G launched in China

Specifications:
• 6.8" (2412×1080 px) FHD+ resolution IPS LCD Display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 850nits peak brightness

• MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC
(Rebranded Dimensity 810 chip)
• Virtual RAM support
• MicroSD card slot

• 50MP main + 2MP useless Dual rear camera
• 8MP front camera
• 6000mAh battery
• 35W fast charging
• Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack; Hi-Res audio
• Stereo Speakers
• Android 13 based MagicOS 7.2
Colors: Midnight Black, Ink Jade Green & Streaming Silver

Prices:
• 8GB + 256GB = 1100 CNY (~150$)
• 12GB + 256GB = 1300 CNY (~175$)

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Spotify is now rated at just 2.7★ on Playstore in India

Spotify has been downloaded by more than 1 Billion users from Playstore and 27 Million People have given their review on it

But due to Spotify's greed for money, its now removing even the basic features for the free tier users in India

In the latest update, Spotify has restricted non-premium users from:

1. Repeat a song
2. Go back to the previous song
3. Shuffle
4. Play songs in order
5. Listen to a specific part of the song

Spotify is also working on launching a new "Supremium" subscription for 20$ per month for users

Is this rating justified for Spotify ?

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OnePlus Open will come with 10yrs of Software support is likely FAKE News

A leaker is claiming that Oppo Find N3 Fold or the OnePlus Open will offer 10yrs of software upgrades

Well, the OnePlus Open comes with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Qualcomm is famous for offering Vendor Freeze feature
Since Qualcomm freezes the vendor after just 3yrs support, Kalama's support will end in Q4 2024

Its more likely that OnePlus Open will comes with 5yrs software support which includes 5yrs of Security Patches with 3/4 Android OS upgrades.
So expect same upgrade frequency as that of Google Pixel fold or the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold

Google Pixel 8 series and iPhones will still remain KING in terms of software support

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FUNFACT: Now you can be BANNED from using your own printer

A redditor claims that he has been Banned by HP from using the HP Printer that he bought because he used the original ink that came in box which HP includes

In order to use them HP has even mandated to subscribe to the HP instant ink for using the cartridges that are included in the box.

Also, HP region locks their inks. So a printer purchased in the UK cannot get ink locally in Australia.
But HP says to change the region, you need to print a page to get "a code for changing region".

But the irony is, you cannot print page if the ink gets dried or the printer bans you

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X is starting to charge new users $1 per year to send tweets

The subscription requires new users to pay the equivalent of $1 USD per year in order to be able to post.

"As of October 17th, 2023 we’ve started testing 'Not A Bot,' a new subscription method for new users in two countries," X explains. "This new test was developed to bolster our already significant efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity. This will evaluate a potentially powerful measure to help us combat bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount."

This fee is for new users only. Those who don’t pay will only be able to use X in a "read only" mode. It is currently being tested in New Zealand and the Philippines.

The company said that for now the fees will not apply to existing users. 

🔗 Read more

🧑‍💻 @agamtechtricks

Google India announced that Pixel smartphones will now be made in India

"Today we see an even greater opportunity to make Pixel smartphones available to more people in India, and are very excited to announce our plan to manufacture Pixel smartphones in India.

We intend to start with the Pixel 8, and will partner with international and domestic manufacturers to produce Pixel smartphones locally. We expect these devices to start to roll out in 2024, joining India’s Make in India initiative."

Imo, its a good move considering Apple has also started making iPhones in India which has led to decrease in cost of iPhones in the country

Expect a good price cut next year for Pixel 8 series in India

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Meizu 20 Classic launched in China

After launching the Meizu 20, 20 Pro and 20 Infinity previously, now comes the Meizu 20 Classic

Specifications:
• 6.55-inch FHD+ resolution OLED display
• 144Hz refresh rate
• 800nits peak brightness

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC
• LPDDR5X RAM with UFS 4.0 storage
• 32MP Front camera

• 50MP main (f/1.88, OIS)
• 16MP UltraWide that doubles as macro camera
• 5MP depth sensor
• 4700mAh battery with 67W Fast charging
• 3D Sonic ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
• Stereo Speakers, Wi-Fi 6E
• Android 13-based FlymeOS 10
Colors: Green, Iron Grey & Yusheng White

Prices:
• 16GB + 256GB = 3,099 CNY (~425$)
• 16GB + 512GB = 3,399 CNY (~465$)

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Here comes another Netflix price hike

Netflix has once again raised its plan prices for USA, UK and France

Netflix's $10 per month Basic plan will now cost $12, and those paying $20 per month for Premium will have to pay $23.
Netflix’s $7 ad-supported plan and $15.5 Standard tier will stay the same price.

Netflix last raised its prices in January 2022 and stopped offering its $9.99 Basic ad-free plan

Netflix even STOPPED Password Sharing

“As we deliver more value to our members, we occasionally ask them to pay a bit more,”
~ Netflix to Shareholders

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WhatsApp finally added Multiple accounts support

Mark Zuckerberg has just announced a new feature for WhatsApp that allows users to have two WhatsApp accounts on a single device

It took years for WhatsApp to realize that this feature eliminates the need to log out each time or carry two phones.

To establish a second WhatsApp account, you’ll require a second phone number and SIM card or a phone that supports multi-SIM or eSIM.

Note: It is ONLY available for Android devices. No word for roll out on iOS

FunFact: Telegram added this feature 6yrs ago only i.e in 2017

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OnePlus Open launched Globally

Oppo Find N3 Fold is rebranded OnePlus Open

Specs:
• 120Hz refresh rate
• 1400nits peak brightness
• 2800nits partial excitation brightness
• Support ProXDR Display
• 1440Hz PWM dimming
• 1.07 Billion colors display

Internal display
• 7.8" (2440×2268 px) LTPO AMOLED display
• 6:5.6 aspect ratio
• Ultra Thin Glass (UTG)
• 20MP Front camera

External display
• 6.3" (2484×1116 px)OLED LTPO display
• 20:9 Aspect Ratio
• Ceramic glass
• 32MP front camera

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC
• LPDDR5X RAM; UFS 4.0 storage
• HINGE Supports 45°-125° hovering

10yrs Folds if doing 100 folds/day

• 48MP main (Sony LYT-T808, OIS)
• 48MP UltraWide that doubles as 3.5cm macro camera
• 64MP 3x telephoto (OV32C)
• 6x Optical & 120x Digital Zoom
• Hasselblad branding

• 4085mAh battery; 67W fast charging
• Side-mounted fingerprint
• 3 stereo speakers
Colors: Green, Gold, Black & Red (Leather)

Android 13 based ColorOS 13.2
4 Android OS+ 5yrs SP

Pricing (16GB + 512GB):
USA= $1700
India= Rs.1,40,000 (~1,680$)
Europe= €1800
UK= £1600
Singapore= 2399 SGD
China= 9999CNY (~1,366$)

Collector's edition Red color:
16GB + 1TB = 12999CNY (~1,775$)

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Google is shipping Some Pixel 8 smartphones with unlocked bootloaders
Reddit

Some users are reporting that their Pixel 8 smartphones have unlocked bootloaders out of the box. Its NOT a widespread issue though

This is shocking for average users and at the same time hilarious for tech enthusiast. Hear me out

Imagine unboxing your pixel smartphone and Google splash screen is expected at booting time

But the reality happens to be: WARNING ⚠️
“The bootloader is unlocked and software integrity cannot be guaranteed.
Any data stored on the device may be available to attackers. Do not store any sensitive data on the device,”

I think an average consumer after seeing this warning would just freak out thinking that his new smartphone got hacked at boot up only XD

Anyways, Pixels are one of the BEST smartphones for development & its pretty easy to unlock bootloader on them & you can even RELOCK bootloader on custom ROMs
Kernel sources are released properly on time unlike with Xiaomi

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India Arrests Vivo’s CFO and Lava MD in Money Laundering case
Source

India’s financial crime agency (ED) has arrested Vivo India executives, including the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Lava's Managing Director over a massive $120 million money laundering scheme.

A company called GPICPL was made to conduct fraudulent activities.
Acc to the ED, GPICPL is NOT reported to be a subsidiary of Vivo in official records but projects itself publicly to be a subsidiary of Vivo”.

The 4 arrested have been charged for criminal conspiracy, cheating, using forged documents and money laundering

Remittances over Rs 1 lakh crore were allegedly transferred outside India to “trading companies” so that Vivo couldn’t be noticed by the Govt. of India.
Vivo showed ZERO Profits from 2014 to 2020 & NO income taxes was paid either

Rs 62,476 crore was “illegally” transferred by Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India. These transfers were done to show losses

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Google Tensor G3 is the first Android smartphone chip to only support 64-bit apps

Starting with iOS 11, Apple removed 32-bit app support to improve the performance, and Google's Tensor G3 chip is the first Android smartphone chip to do the same.

Google claimed that the Pixel 7 was the first 64-bit-only Android phone, but later it was found that 32-bit support can be enabled with root.

Now with Tensor G3, Google has removed all 32-bit hardware support on the chip, which has these advantages:

- 64-bit apps run faster because they have access to more registers and instructions
- saving up to 150MB of RAM that was used by the OS even when 32-bit apps were not running
- 64-bit apps are more resistant to security vulnerabilities than 32-bit
- 64-bit-only device configurations halve the CTS testing time which can let phone OEMs update devices faster and more easily

Although most apps already support 64-bit, users won't be able to use some old games/apps that only support 32-bit devices.

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Edge begs for answers: Microsoft polling users who download Chrome
Source

Microsoft Edge now shows a poll when you try to download Google Chrome. The survey asks you to explain "why you are trying another browser.

In short, Microsoft will now interrogate you when you try to download Google Chrome.
However, Edge does not block the download of Chrome and it seems that this survey is in limited testing

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BBK to EXIT Indian Television Market
TOI

BBK companies — Realme and OnePlus entered India's TV market in 2019 and 2020. The companies had invested in building sales channels and branding in the category

But now both brands have discontinued the production and sales of televisions in India
However, they will continue to operate in the smartphone sector

In the first of 2023, 4.5 Million TVs were shipped in India which is 8% YoY growth.
Xiaomi led the TV market in the country with a 14% share with Samsung and LG in 2nd and 3rd place with 13% and 12% share

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