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January 2021

Poco has officially announced on Twitter and has sent out invites for the Poco M3 launch tomorrow (2 February). Poco has released a teaser video revealing that the smartphone houses a huge rectangular camera module at the back. It is also confirmed that Poco M3 will be available in black, blue and yellow colour options. Poco M3 had previously debuted in globally last year in November. The India launch will take place at 12 pm tomorrow.

 Poco M3 with a 6,000 mAh battery to launch in India tomorrow: All we know so far

Poco M3

Poco M3 expected specifications

Going by the global variant, Poco M3 will feature a 6.53-inch full-HD+ display that comes with 1,080 x 2,340 pixels resolution. It is likely to be powered by Snapdragon 662 chipset and offers 4 GB RAM and up to 128 GB of internal storage. It is expected to be powered by MIUI 12 based on Android 10. It will also feature a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

For photography, it might sport a triple rear camera setup that houses a 48 MP primary sensor, a 2 MP secondary sensor and a 2 MP depth sensor. For selfies, it might come with an 8 MP front camera.

As for the battery, it is likely to be equipped with a 6,000 mAh battery that supports 18 W fast charging.

Samsung has started rolling out the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update for Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Apart from the software update, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite also gets January 2021 Android security patch. According to reports, the company is rolling out the update for devices in France and will likely expand to other regions in the coming weeks.  This story is available on SamMobile website. The new One UI 3.0 update carries firmware version N770FXXU7DUA8, which is a major OS upgrade for the smartphone since its launch that took place last year in January.

 Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite starts receiving Android-11 based OneUI 3.0 update: Whats new

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Image: Tech2/Nimish Sawant

In case users haven’t received the update notification, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite users can check for the update manually by clicking the settings button on the phone, followed with system updates > Check for system updates > Download now > Install update.

The new update brings a refreshed UI design, updated stock apps, improved lock screen, new camera features, and more. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite will also be getting Android 11 features, which include chat bubbles, conversation sections, media playback widgets,  and more.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite fall under the category of phones that Samsung promises to offer three generations of Android OS updates, which means that the Note 10 Lite will be eligible for future Android 12 and Android 13 updates.

Talking of specs, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite sports a 6.7-inch 2400 x 1080 punch-hole display with a 32 MP camera. Powering the phone is the 10nm Exynos 9810 processor that comes paired with a 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM option with 128 GB internal storage.

It gets three cameras at the back, which include a 12 MP primary sensor, a telephoto camera, an ultrawide camera, and houses a 4,500 mAh battery with 25W charging support. Other features include an in-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

On the occasion of Data Privacy Day at Apple, the company has announced that it will soon roll out an “App Tracking Transparency” feature that will allow users to choose which apps can track their user data across other apps or websites owned by different companies. According to Apple, this feature will soon roll out in the beta update of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14. The feature will be available under the device settings option, where users will be able to see the list of apps requested for permission to track the data.

 Apple announces new App Tracking Transparency feature to keep the users informed about data sharing

App Tracking Transparency feature

According to a statement by Apple, “Apple’s nutrition labels require industry to be clear and upfront with consumers, and tools like App Tracking Transparency will help people to assert control over the invisible leakage of their data. With these commendable innovations, industry will finally feel pressure to change. Consumer awareness and technical solutions are important parts of the solution, but in order to prevent a cat-and-mouse game between industry actors, we need substantive, enforceable regulation to stop this exploitation of our data.”

Apple has not given any precise date but has confirmed that it will release the feature in “early spring “.

In addition to this, Apple announces that now there is a separate feature called “Privacy nutrition label” on the App Store product pages. Here, Apple requires all the apps including its own to provide “information about how an app uses their data — including whether the data is used to track them, linked to them, or not linked to them”.

Mozilla has released the Firefox 85 ending support for Adobe Flash Player plugin, which will enhance user’s privacy by blocking supercookies. According to Mozilla, the supercookies are store user identifiers that are extremely difficult to block and delete. With the changes made through network partitioning in Firefox 85, Mozilla will reduce the cache-based supercookies effectiveness by eliminating a tracker’s ability to use them across different websites. The report was listed on the Mozilla blog.

 Firefox 85 ends support for Adobe Flash Player; says will add protection against cache-based supercookies

Firefox 85 also brought in new features that saved bookmarks in one location and removed credentials every time a user logged in. Image: Mozilla.

Mozilla noted that the tracker used to abuse caches to create supercookies and used connection identifiers to track users, but Mozilla made them ineffective for cross-site tracking by isolating the caches and network connections, that they were created on.

Mozilla explained, how the technical solution prevented websites from tracking users, as they moved across the web and noted that there was not much impact on the page load time by removing support for Flash.

Mozilla further noted that this partitioning would apply to all third-party resources embedded on a website, similar to the Chrome team reports, for similar cache protection, which they were planning on rolling out.

Firefox 85 also brought in new features that saved bookmarks in one location and removed credentials every time a user logged in.

Google had released Chrome 88 last week that removed support for Adobe Flash Player permanently. Adobe had started blocking Flash content for computer users across the world, from 12 January 2021, and displayed a warning, that advises them to uninstall the Flash Player.

Firefox joined Edge and Chrome that removed the support for Flash earlier this month with the release of Edge 88 and Chrome 88. Adobe had announced the ending of Flash in mid-2017 along with other tech giants like Facebook, Apple, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft.

Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder in 2010 had declared Flash unfit for the iPhone and iPad. To protect the system, Adobe has already started recommending users to uninstall the Flash Player.

Google in a blog post by Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy, Suzanne Frey on 28 January announced its first policy update of 2021. The update was released in a bid to clarify and simplify play store policies regarding gaming-related loyalty programs and features. The new program policy, which will go live on 1 March 2021, will allow real-money gambling apps and related features in the countries where it is permitted subject to certain terms and conditions. India is not in the list of countries where real-money gambling will be available.

The types of online gambling products that Google allows are online casino games, lotteries, sports betting and daily fantasy sports. The Google Play store is available 190 countries around the world and over two billion people visit it monthly to download apps and more.

 Google issues new updates to Play Store policies regarding gaming loyalty programs and features

Google Play Store. Image: Tech2

“App developers in India are actively building uniquely Indian features and services. One example is the use of mini games, quizzes and other gamification techniques to delight users and convert them into loyal customers. These experiences are often launched during important festivals and sporting events, and getting it right within the specific time window is critically important. This is one of the things we discussed when we spoke to several startup CEOs in India and around the world in the past few months. And, as part of the very first policy update of 2021 we are clarifying and simplifying the policies around loyalty programs and features,” stated Frey in the blog post.

“The update provides more clarity on policy requirements for loyalty program disclosures and features. It is designed to safeguard users and optimize the developer experience. For example, the policy provides updated guidance on the use of features such as a spin-the-wheel experience, a guessing game, or a 1:1 points redemption to drive loyalty,” added Frey.

As of 29 January 2021, over 28 lakh healthcare workers in India have received a vaccination as part of the national COVID-19 vaccination drive. The vaccination campaign isn’t yet open to the general population. But as more people are invited to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, many questions are being raised about vaccination, and the usefulness of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield – the vaccines approved for emergency-use in India – in preventing COVID-19 disease in those who have been immunised.

At the population level, vaccines lower the number of new cases of COVID-19 disease in the population. At the individual level, vaccines are engineered to defend the immunised person against COVID-19 disease. These objectives can be attained so long as the vaccines work for everyone, which isn’t a guarantee, even for tried-and-tested vaccines. So, are we better off taking precautions than the vaccine?

‘If I take adequate precautions, I don’t need the vaccine’

Since the general population isn’t yet being vaccinated, all the precautions advised to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection – physical distancing, hand hygiene and masks – need to be continued, experts said. Moreover, being vaccinated does not mean you can’t be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“There is no evidence to show that those who get the vaccine can’t transmit the virus to others…because the vaccine has been tested [for the immunity if offers] against the COVID-19 disease, not against SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Dr Shahid Jameel, CEO of the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and Director of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University. “Even if you are vaccinated, you could be infected and not have COVID-19 disease.”

Whether during or after vaccinations, experts advise taking precautions including physical distancing, hand hygiene and masks in public spaces, among others. Another strong motivating factor to be cautious even after vaccination is the fact that the virus is known to be airborne.

“We have known that the virus can be airborne for a few months now. You may still come in contact with people who are shedding the virus without knowing it,” said Dr Om Srivastava, director of infectious diseases at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.

“The mask definitely helps, but the vaccine is going to boost your immune response to COVID-19, and possibly even other infections. So yes, it is highly advisable to take the vaccine.”

2020 was a dumpster fire of a year, but it made us realise the importance of a few things like masks, pants (while attending work Zoom calls), and fitness bands. While all of us may not have Instagram-worthy home gyms to motivate ourselves, we can make do with the nudge of a not-so-expensive fitness band. If you are still looking for one of those, Xiaomi’s new Mi Band 5 might just be the right fit for you. Just like the previous generations, Mi Band 5 also comes with a secret sauce of the latest features, average looks at a budget price.

 Mi Band 5 review: A solid fitness band with all the best features but one

Mi Band 5. Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

Same old design

For me, a device that is strapped to my wrist for the most part of the day needs to look good. Unfortunately, this fitness band as just average looking. It comes with the same capsule-shaped design as its predecessors, and looks boring. I have to admit that Redmi Smart Band’s sharp-edged rectangular design looks way more trendy and stylish than the Mi Band 5’s repetitive design.

Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

I wish Xiaomi had tweaked the design this time around. Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

In terms of comfort, the band is extremely lightweight (11.9 gm) and quite comfortable to wear. The straps are not detachable, but unlike the Redmi Smart Band, the band is easy to put on. I wish Xiaomi had tweaked the design this time around and popping in the strap pin was not frustrating. The fitness band has a 1.1-inch AMOLED with a resolution of 126 x 294 pixels. It also offers upto 450 nits brightness that is adjustable.

Features

sleep-data-mi band 5

The app advised me to go to bed by 10, as staying up late leads to a “weak immune system and speeds up aging”

Xiaomi has aced the features, just as before. The Mi Band 5 comes with a continuous heart rate monitor, stress level monitor, sleep tracker, guided breathing exercises and more. The curated data was reliable, especially the sleep tracker that categorised the data into deep sleep,REM, light sleep and awake categories, and advised me to go to bed by 10, as staying up late leads to “weak immune system and speeds up aging”. Thanks for the intel mom, I will go to bed now.

Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

The band comes with several workout modes including outdoor running, walking, indoor cycling and outdoor cycling, indoor running. Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

I was impressed that this time, the fitness band comes with a menstrual cycle tracker that not only shows the predicted menstrual period, but also provides details like fertile period and ovulation day. In my experience, I found this data quite helpful, and can’t help but wonder why would the company omit such an important feature from its other wearable product – its first smartwatch!

The band comes with several workout modes including outdoor running, walking, indoor cycling and outdoor cycling, indoor running, indoor swim, free exercise, indoor riding, elliptical machine, rope skipping, yoga and rowing machine. It can also auto-detect running and walking. The “Personal Activity Intelligence” (PAI) also measures the overall fitness of the user based on their daily activity, age and gender. An interesting feature motivating the user to keep moving and achieve a better PAI score.

When it comes to watch faces, the band offers a huge palette to choose from. Since the display is pretty responsive, you can check the time, date, steps tracker, battery status and heart rate with just a single tap. You also get raise-to-wake, if you find it inconvenient to tap on the screen every time you want to check something. But this will impact battery life.

Everything looks good with this band, but the missing piece of the puzzle is the blood oxygen monitor. We are still amid a COVID-19 pandemic, and this feature could have really come in handy. This feature is already present in the Honor Band 5, OnePlus Band (Review), Realme Watch and more. Take notes, Xiaomi, because while not a deal breaker, this feature is expected from fitness bands in the COVID era.

The Mi Band 5 uses the Mi Fit app to connect with smartphones. In my opinion, the app really needs some work, as it has a confusing user interface. It took me at least ten minutes to find out how to set an alarm. The option was buried deep inside the settings. It did not take long to sync data from the band like the Xiaomi Wear app that I used for the Mi Revolve Watch, but the latter was definitely more user-friendly. The Mi Fit app presents details about different features including the heart rate monitor and stress level monitor quite nicely.

The new, no-hassle magnetic charging

Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

The company claims that the battery can last up to 14 days in a single charge with “normal use”, and it lived up to its promise. Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

The best new feature of the band is that it now comes with support for magnetic charging. It is now completely hassle-free to charge, unlike previous generations. The charger just sticks to the back of the band and voilà.

It fills up the dead battery in about two hours. The company claims that the battery can last up to 14 days in a single charge with “normal use”, and it lived up to its promise. With my regular use and a couple of battery-eating features like raise-to-wake and sleep tracking, it lasted up to 11 days.

Plugging it for charging once a week or 10 days for a couple of hours will work just fine.

Verdict

Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

Mi Band 5 is for those folks who are planning to buy their first fitness band. Image: Tech2/Priya Singh

Although, the Mi Band 4 is smaller, heavier and has less features, it doesn’t make much sense to upgrade it to the Mi Band 5 unless you really want to use the latest one. Mi Band 5 is for those folks who are planning to buy their first fitness band. It has almost every current feature, looks decent and is affordable as well. If you are keen on getting a good basic fitness band, go for the Redmi Smart band that comes in at Rs 1,599.

A probe has been launched against e-commerce and tech giant Amazon by the ED (Enforcement Directorate) for being accused of an alleged violation of the foreign exchange laws and rules of the country. This comes only a week after SEBI had given the nod of approval to Reliance’s takeover of Kishore Biyani led Future Retail. The investigation is being carried out under various provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a notification from the Ministry of Commerce.

 Amazon faces ED probe for alleged violation of the foreign exchange laws and rules of the country

Image: Reuters

The probe seeks “necessary action” against e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart relating to certain multi-brand retail companies and an observation made in relation to Amazon by the Delhi High Court.

(Also Read: Reliance Retail, Future Group’s Rs 24,000 crore deal cleared by market regulator SEBI)

The HC said that the attempt made by the US-based company to dominate Future Retail through a combination of agreements it has with the Indian company’s unlisted unit would be regarded as a breach of the laws of FEMA and foreign direct investment (FDI).

This is only a day after the traders’ body CAIT (Confederation of All India Traders) had written to the Commerce and Industry Minister accusing Amazon and various other e-commerce businesses for ‘daylight robbery’.

With inputs from PTI.

Rating: 3.3/5

Price: Rs 2,499

After smartphones, audio and smart TV categories, fitness wearables seemed the most likely category for OnePlus to make a foray into next. So, the launch of a fitness product from the company did not come as a surprise. However, what did surprise me was the price band they chose to target. Typically, OnePlus is not a brand that plays in the entry-level segment, but that has changed with the launch of the new OnePlus Band. Does it do enough to make the user stand up and take notice? Let’s find out.

 OnePlus Band Review: A decent fitness band that can do better with a handful of tweaks

OnePlus Band. Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

Unappealing design, but sturdy build and comfortable to wear

Though there are no rough edges on the OnePlus Band, there’s nothing appealing about the design either. It’s a simple fitness band after all. The detachable capsule is nicely rounded and fits well into the groove on the silicone strap. The two-tone black and grey strap I received isn’t one to attract any attention, but its tangerine gray variant may add a bit of flash to the product. Looks aside, the band is quite light (under 23 grams) and comfortable to wear throughout the day without any discomfort or skin irritation. You get SpO2 and heart rate sensors at the back, along with the charging pins.

Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

The detachable capsule is nicely rounded and fits well into the groove on the silicone strap. Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

There are no physical buttons here, just the touchscreen display that lets you browse through the menus and access different functions of this device. The screen turns off automatically after a few seconds (or as per the duration you set). Or you can just cover it with your palm for a second to turn it off. The watch interface isn’t the most intuitive, but quite easy to use once you figure out how. More on that a little later. The OnePlus Band is IP68 rated dust and water resistant, and can withstand 5ATM pressure, so swimming with it is permissible.

Sharp and responsive display with limited watch faces

The OnePlus Band has an elongated 1.1-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 126 x 294 pixels. There is no mention of scratch resistant glass or an oleophobic coating in the spec-sheet. But after two weeks of usage, there isn’t a single scratch on the screen, nor did I have to wipe it too often in that period to get rid of fingerprints or smudges. The screen has five levels of brightness, and is perfectly legible outdoors at 60 percent brightness that I set during the course of my testing.

You need to flick your wrist to turn the screen on, and that worked well. This feature gets auto-disabled at night or for the duration you choose from the app. You just need to tap the screen to wake it. The watch comes pre-loaded with five watch faces, and you are allowed to replace all five with those of your choice from the app. The watch face library for the OnePlus Band isn’t extensive yet. You do get a couple of dozen options at the moment, but they seem to be more of the same with different colours or backgrounds. Most only show time and date, and there’s only one type that shows the step counter, but the font size is too small. No other fitness data is available on any of the faces.

Not-so-smart user interface, half-baked companion app

Fitness data

The OnePlus Health app that this band syncs with on Android phones (as of now) also seems like a work-in-progress.

The user interface of this band isn’t too complex to grasp, but doesn’t seem well thought out. Navigation is as simple as swiping from different sides of the screen to get to the desired option. Swipe down for notifications, swipe up for accessing different functions and workout modes; these are fine. Swipe left and right are wasted on cycling through the five watch faces. I cannot think of a reason why one would need to change the watch face that often. That could have easily been pushed down a layer or two deeper, and the side swipe utilised to display fitness goal progress, heart rate etc.

The OnePlus Health app that this band syncs with on Android phones (as of now) also seems like a work-in-progress. It displays very basic information, and certain watch settings and customisation options are either hidden deeper than necessary, or scattered across different tabs. It seems like the developers were working on a tight deadline to get it out. Given that OnePlus is expected to launch a few more fitness wearables this year, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the company to give the app a long, hard look and make the necessary changes. Given their track record, I believe they will.

Average feature set, variable performance

Before you start using this fitness band, you need to install the OnePlus Health app on your Android phone, create a profile and sync the band with it over Bluetooth. Irony of ironies, the OnePlus Band refused to sync with its companion app on my OnePlus phone running Android 10, even after several attempts and reinstalls. However, it worked instantly with an older phone from a different brand. I still don’t know what the issue was, but it was probably an isolated case.

The OnePlus Band has two main sensors at the back — an optical heart rate sensor and a blood oxygen sensor, and both work very well. Most of the fitness tracking is based on these two, and the hardware seems quite good. The SpO2 sensor provides fairly accurate readings that are on par with a basic over-the-counter oximeter, but not as quick. Like in case of most budget fitness watches, you need to keep your hand steady for about 30 seconds to get accurate readings. Of course, this is meant to serve as a broad guideline, and not replace clinical instruments.

Sleep analysis

Sleep tracking seems fairly accurate, especially the duration of the sleep.

The use of the SpO2 sensor extends beyond these basic on-demand readings. It can also be used to track blood oxygen saturation while you are asleep. The test frequency can be set to 2 or 6 minutes, depending on the level of accuracy you desire and the amount of battery you are willing to sacrifice. But there’s a catch — the readings are accurate only if you happen to be steady during tracking. If you are shifty in bed, this won’t work for you. Sleep tracking seems fairly accurate, especially the duration of the sleep. However, there is no REM indicator, just light/deep sleep and awake time. While I cannot comment on light and deep sleep numbers for obvious reasons, the awake time seems way too high, and is probably the sum of the time I was actually awake and REM. A bifurcation would be nice going ahead.

Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

Most fitness modes have an indoor tracking option too, given that this band doesn’t have built-in GPS. Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

This band offers about a dozen workout modes that cover most common fitness activities like walking, running, cycling, swimming and more. There are cricket, badminton and yoga modes too. The watch is 5ATM water resistant and can be worn during a swim without a worry. Most fitness modes have an indoor tracking option too, given that this band doesn’t have built-in GPS (none of the bands in this budget do). When outdoors, one can use the assisted GPS option, that basically uses the GPS on your phone to track the distance covered. However, the accuracy is iffy, and an update or two away from being reliable.

The assisted GPS option often under-reports the distance covered, just like the steps counter. Though not drastic, there is a 5 to 7 percent variance from the actual steps walked. The good part is it does not report false steps. There was an instance where I was out for a drive with a couple of friends who were also wearing budget fitness watches, and their trackers reported a few thousand extra steps, but not the OnePlus Band. A pat on the back for that.

The band also provides you with an assisted breathing mode, which is worth a try from time to time. Strangely, there is no stress measurement option here despite having a capable heart rate sensor. Also missing is the menstrual cycle tracking functionality for ladies that most fitness wearables offer these days. Beyond fitness, the watch can receive notifications from the phone for almost any app that you choose. However, you really need to strain your eyes to read most of them on the band’s tiny screen, and you cannot reply either. Best to choose a bare minimum of notifications and prolong battery life.

Decent battery life

Before we get to the battery life, a quick word on the charging mechanism of the OnePlus Band. Instead of a magnetic clip-on charger, the company has opted for a mechanism that requires a lot more force. One needs to remove the capsule from the strap and push it hard into the charging cradle till it clicks in place. Removing it from the dock also requires a considerable amount of force. While nothing broke when I charged it a couple of times during testing, it is a source of unnecessary stress.

Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

Instead of a magnetic clip-on charger, the company has opted for a mechanism that requires a lot more force. Image: Tech2/Ameya Dalvi

The company claims a battery life of 14 days for the band on a full charge ‘under test conditions’. In reality, you get anything between a week to ten days depending on the degree and frequency of monitoring, screen-on time, quantum of notifications and activity. For instance, heart rate monitoring frequency can be set to 2 minutes or 6 minutes; the former will drain the battery faster. Similarly, frequency of monitoring of blood oxygen saturation during sleep also impacts battery life. I managed to get close to 10 days out of the band with one-hour daily workout, heart rate frequency set to 2 minutes, sleep tracking 4 times during that period and twice with blood oxygen saturation monitoring on. Notifications were limited to SMS and email.

Price and verdict

The OnePlus Band sells for Rs 2,499 in India with a one year warranty. While the price is fair, this band doesn’t offer anything new in the segment that we haven’t already seen before. Nor does it bundle everything that competing products offer. The barebone companion app doesn’t do it any favours either. On the brigh side, the battery life is decent, the SpO2 and heart rate sensors are quite accurate, and it doesn’t add false steps. But there’s only as much one can do on a screen that small, which brings me to my next point.

The price of fitness watches with similar or more features and larger screens are falling rapidly. They already breached the Rs 5,000 barrier months ago. The likes of Amazfit’s BIP series (including the impressive Amazfit BIP U that we reviewed recently) that starts just a thousand Rupees or so higher than the OnePlus Band, will pose a bigger challenge to this product, in addition to other fitness bands like the Mi Band 5. I continue to wonder whether OnePlus really needed to dip their toes in this price segment.

Apple takes back the top spot in the global smartphone market in Q4 2020, as the world continues to recover from COVID-19. The total shipments in the last quarter crossed 395 million, wherein Apple managed to ship 81.9 devices, according to a Counterpoint Research report. This growth has been attributed because of high demand for iPhone 12 models, iPhone 11’s longevity, and strong carrier promotions in the US. The report also points to the fact that Realme went on to become the fastest-growing brand globally that has witnessed a 65 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in shipment volume.

Apple shipped 81.9 million devices in Q4 2020, grabbing 21 percent of the market share, as per the research. This is 96 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth for Apple.

 Apple leads global smartphone shipments with iPhone 12 series during Q4 2020

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

Samsung took the second spot with a 16 percent market share, by shipping 62.5 million units in Q4. This QoQ decline of 22 percent for Samsung is because of intensified competition in the mid-range segment from the Chinese companies and premium devices from Apple (iPhone 12 series).

(Also read: Apple hits record revenue of $111.4 billion in Q1 2021, doubles market share in India)

Xiaomi saw a 31 percent YoY growth with 43 million units shipped in Q4 2020, while Oppo grew by eight percent YoY and 10 percent QoQ to achieve a nine percent market share in Q4 2020.

The Counterpoint report noted that Oppo and Vivo for the first time surpassed Huawei to capture the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Considering the recovery from the impact of COVID-1, the global smartphone market declined one percent YoY in Q4 2020, but the market rose eight percent QoQ in Q4 2020. In 2020, Samsung regained the top place in global smartphone sales with 255.7 million units, grabbing 19 percent market share, while Apple took the second spot with 201.1 million shipments and 15 percent market share in 2020. Huawei managed to achieve the third spot because of strong performance in China that contributed to around 70 percent of its total shipments, despite the sanctions and severe component limitations, post US trade ban.

A new supercomputer in Wyoming will rank among the world’s fastest and help study phenomena including climate change, severe weather, wildfires and solar flares. Houston-based Hewlett Packard Enterprise won a bid to provide the $35 million to $40 million machine for a supercomputing centre in Cheyenne, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, announced Wednesday. The HPE-Cray EX supercomputer will theoretically be able to perform almost 20 quadrillion calculations per second — 3.5 times faster than the existing machine at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center.

 New HPE-Cray EX supercomputer can perform 20 quadrillion calculations per second

Representational Image. Image credit: Wikipedia

The new machine’s maximum speed per second will be roughly equivalent to each person on Earth completing a math equation every second for an entire month. That power will enable some of the most sophisticated simulations yet of large-scale natural and human-influenced events.

The supercomputer should rank among the world’s 25 fastest after it’s installed this year and goes into operation in early 2022, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

It “will support basic research in ways that will lead to more detailed and useful predictions of the world around us, thereby helping to make our society more resilient to increasingly costly disasters and contributing to improved human health and well-being,” centre Director Everette Joseph said in a news release.

More than 4,000 people from hundreds of universities and other institutions worldwide have used the supercomputing centre since it opened in 2012.

The facility’s current supercomputer, named Cheyenne, is over three times faster than its predecessor, which was named Yellowstone. A contest among Wyoming schoolchildren will decide the new supercomputer’s name.

Astronomers have been able to discover an exoplanet which has no clouds. It is only the second of its kind to have been discovered. According to study authors it is also the first-ever cloudless ‘hot Jupiter’ discovered. According to a statement by Harvard University, astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics and Harvard & Smithsonian were able to detect the first Jupiter-like planet without clouds or haze in its observable atmosphere. The gas giant, named WASP-62b was first detected in 2012 using the Wide Angle Search for Plants (WASP) South survey, but this is the first time that its atmosphere has been studied.

 First-ever cloudless hot Jupiter with four-day year discovered in exoplanet survey

Cloudless Hot Jupiter. Image: M Weiss/CfA

Speaking about it, lead author of the study Munazza Alam said he has been working on exoplanet characterisation for his thesis, where he takes discovered planets and follow up on them to characterise their atmospheres. According to the statement, WASP-62b is 575 light years away and about half the mass of our solar system’s Jupiter. However, unlike Jupiter, WASP-62b completes a rotation around the sun in four-and-a-half days. Jupiter takes 12 years. Since it is so close to the star, as discernible by its marked brevity in rotational period, it is called ‘hot Jupiter’.

Alam monitored WASP-62b as it swept in front of its host star three times, making observations which can detect the presence of sodium and potassium in the planet’s atmosphere.

According to researchers, while there was no evidence of potassium, sodium’s presence was clear and the team was able to view the full sodium absorption line in their date. Clouds or haze would have obscured the complete signature of sodium, Alam explained, adding that “This is smoking gun evidence that we are seeing a clear atmosphere.”

The findings were published this month in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

New observations of Earth’s lightning as seen in outer space is throwing light to greater understanding of the subject. Several ‘blue jets’ and ‘elves’ captured from a new telescope can even provide insight into how greenhouse gases are concentrated in Earth’s atmosphere. The research has been published in Nature on 20 January and the paper defines blue jets as “lightning-like, atmospheric electric discharges of several hundred millisecond duration that fan into cones as they propagate from the top of thunderclouds into the stratosphere”.

The blue jet phenomenon has remained poorly understood because of limited monitoring capabilities of on-the-ground telescopes. This changed when International Space Station’s Atmosphere Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) observatory caught a blue jet or blue lightning. This observatory has the ability to look at lightning from space and recently captured a single blue jet and four ‘elves’ – optical and ultraviolet emissions from the bottom of the ionosphere – during a thunderstorm.

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“Looking down on Earth’s weather from the International Space Station 400 km above, ASIM’s enhanced perspective is shedding new light on weather phenomena and their characteristics,” a statement from the European Space Agency (ESA) said ASIM has been on the International Space Station since 2018 and has various equipment like photometers (used for measuring light intensity), optical cameras, an X-ray and gamma-ray detector for carrying out its observation. The statement added that such “bizarre-sounding” phenomena as the blue jets are “very difficult to observe from the surface of the Earth” and hence has kept disillusioning scientists for years.

The paper said that the lightning flashes were observed in the central Pacific Ocean, close to the island of Nauru during a thunderstorm. The ASIM had captured the blue jet to shoot up from a cloud and result in an “intense five 10-microsecond flash”. Researchers think these phenomena could even “influence the concentration of greenhouse gasses” in Earth’s atmosphere, thereby making their research more crucial.

Jeep India has launched its most awaited Jeep Compass in India. The new Jeep Compass gets novel styling elements, updated design and new features. The car will be available in four trims of Sport, Longitude (O), Limited (O), Model S, with 11 variants. Apart from the regular variants, the company has also introduced a special 80th Anniversary Edition as well. The Jeep Compas is listed on the Jeep India website.

 Jeep Compass 2021 Facelift launched in India at starting price of Rs 16.99 lakh

Jeep Compass 2021 Facelift

Jeep Compass features

The new updated Jeep Compass now features revised, slimmer headlights with integrated LED DRLs, new fog light housing, a newly designed front bumper with a large air dam and new alloy wheels.

Getting on to the interiors, the Compass now gets a revamped dashboard, new AC vents, HVAC controls and a 10.1-inch touchscreen at the centre. Other interior changes include a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, double-stitched leather inserts on the dashboard and a new three-spoke steering wheel.

The top-spec Model S variant of Jeep Compass will include integrated Amazon Alexa support, FCA’s UConnect 5 infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The infotainment system will also receive updates over-the-air (OTA). Other features in the top trim include dual-zone automatic climate control, a powered tailgate, 360-degree parking camera, 8-way electrically-adjustable front seats with ventilation support, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels.

As far as safety is concerned, the Compass Model S will come with traction control, six airbags, ESC, hill-start assist, ABS with EBD and brake assist, parking sensors, and ISOFIX child seat mounts.

Jeep Compass Engine and powertrain

Powering the new Jeep Compass facelift are two types of engines. There is a 2.0-litre diesel engine that makes 173hp of power and a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that pushes out 163hp of power. Both engines get a standard six-speed manual transmission. Other options include a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic option for the petrol variant and a nine-speed torque converter auto option for the diesel variant. The four-wheel-drive system will only be exclusive for diesel variant with surface-specific drive modes.

Jeep Compass Facelift Price

The 2021 Jeep Compass Facelift price starts at Rs 16.99 lakh and goes up to Rs 28.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The 80th-anniversary edition price starts at Rs 22.96 lakh that goes all the way to Rs 26.76 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi).

Sygic Travel Map is a competitor in the map and navigation space. While Google Maps tends to reign supreme in this category, Sygic has tried to distinguish itself by offering features that make it more traveler friendly. But most of the stand-apart features require a subscription, so functionality in the free version of the software remains limited. Still, it might be a good place to start to see if an alternative navigation tool is right for you.

In the free version of Sygic Travel Maps, you’ll have the option of either exploring a map of your immediate area or planning a trip.

Exploring will take you to a map overview dotted with small icons and images. Click on one of these, and you discover an interesting attraction such as a park, historic monument, museum, movie theater and more. The icons will also lead you to nearby hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, train routes and bus stops. It is by no means exhaustive, but definitely clues you in to lots of destinations in your area. Click on the image or icon and you’ll have the chance to navigate to it, add it to a trip or mark it as a favorite. 

Unfortunately, though, descriptions of the destinations are only available in the premium version of the software. So you might see a nearby museum in which you might be interested. If available, the app will show you a photo of it, but in terms of additional information such as opening hours or what the attraction is all about, you’ll have to upgrade – or use a Google search.

Speaking of Google, when you click the “navigate” button on any attraction, the app will kick you out to your preferred mapping software on your device such as Google or Apple Maps, which begs the question: why use Sygic in the first place?

Some users might find an answer to that question in the app’s “Trip” feature. When you set out for a trip, you can enter your final destination in the app and you’ll have access to a range of information about it. This includes a list of interesting local places, tours, a weather forecast, links to car rentals and hotels, and a map of the destination. If you want to download all of that information for use offline though, you’ll again have to upgrade to the premium version.

Upgrading to the Premium version of the app gets you the features described above – access to offline maps and data along with enhanced place descriptions – plus you get walking directions, and an ad-free experience. Fortunately, upgrading is relatively affordable, and several different plans make it easy to try out. You can choose monthly for $3.99; yearly for $14.99; or you can buy lifetime access for $19.99, which is clearly the best deal. 

But starting out with the free version of the app, comparing it to other mapping and navigation apps like Google Maps and Wayze, certainly seems like a good first step. You might find that Sygic’s easy navigation, friendly interface, and complete trip-planning package suits you better than those other offerings. 

Sygic Travel Maps is available on the internet as well as a downloadable app for Apple and Android devices.

Download Sygic Travel Now

The website of the popular video platform YouTube is now available as a Progressive Web App or PWA. This means the browser page will work like an app without the need to actually install an app. PWA support for the main YouTube site was rolled out after YouTube Music and YouTube TV received the same earlier. Google announced that it was bringing Stadia as a PWA to iOS recently. Also, Google Photos has PWA support since 2018. One of the other popular applications that can be used as a PWA is Twitter. In 2017, Google showed how Twitter Lite PWA was able to significantly increase engagement and reduce data usage.

 YouTube.com can now be installed as Progressive Web App: All you need to know

While PWA are supposed to work “everywhere”, Google says with continuous and repeated use, experience with a PWA version of an app is going to get smoother. Image: Pixabay

Google defines PWA as “experiences that combine the best of the web and the best of apps”. The Progressive Web Apps go from pages in browser tabs to being more “immersive” like top-level apps, but at the same time “maintaining the web’s low friction at every moment”. While PWA are supposed to work “everywhere”, Google says with continuous and repeated use, experience with a PWA version of an app is going to get smoother. It will offer very fast loading time even on slow network connections with the help of service workers, along with sending relevant Push Notifications and having an icon on the user’s home screen that can load them as a fullscreen app experience.

As per Google, PWAs are responsive as they fit any form factor, be it a desktop, mobile, or tablet. These are independent of connectivity support as they come with service workers, allowing users to work offline or on low quality networks. It is going to work on any browser and feel user-friendly like any app.

PWAs also ensure no snooping is going to hamper or affect your security as it is served via TLS. even without actually installing anything, users will be able to save its icon on their home screen and share its URL with others.

The research estimates that there will be a shortfall of about 1,99,000 surgeons and 87,000 anaesthetists to meet the demand in 2040.

A modelling and in-depth analysis of the growing demand for cancer surgery, based on data from 183 countries in recent years, predicts that the number of cancer patients needing surgery will rise by five million by 2040. The analysis, published in the journal Lancet Oncology on 21 January, also indicates that the bulk of the increasing demand will come from 34 low-income nations, and be accompanied by a corresponding increase in medical workforce to meet the demand for surgery and anaesthesia.

The surge in cancer surgery demand has placed strain on global health systems, according to the study. The number of cancer cases in which surgical procedures were prescribed, was estimated using models of trends in recent years in 183 countries. National data from countries around the world was put together and sorted by different income categories. This was later used to estimate the number of cases that would require surgery by 2040, and the increase in workforce that is needed to meet this demand.

Cancer patients needing surgery to increase by 5 million globally by 2040 Lancet study

Sample analysis tubes are seen in a lab at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton. Image: ICR

The model estimates that 5 million more procedures (52 percent) will be carried out by 2040 (1,38,21,000) than in 2018 (90,65,000). The greatest relative increase in demand was in 34 low-income countries, which also had the largest gaps in optimum workforce requirements. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of 1,99,000 surgeons and 87,000 anaesthetists – the workforce levels in these specialities are 26 percent and 24 percent suboptimal, respectively.

These shortages in workforce were greatest in low-income countries, where the number of surgeons and anesthetists needs to more than double to keep pace with anticipated demand by 2040, the study concluded.  To match the current levels of high-income countries, the numbers will need to increase by nearly 400 percent and 550 percent, respectively, according to the study authors.

Tech giant Samsung has launched a new budget phone as part of its Galaxy A series, the Samsung Galaxy A02 globally. The smartphone was listed on Samsung Thailand’s website without any such promotion and the listing has nearly all of its specifications and features listed. According to the site’s information, the phone is going to be a pocket-friendly device packing a massive cell of 5,000 mAh.

 Samsung Galaxy A02 with 5,000 mAh battery, 13 MP dual rear camera launched

Galaxy A02

Featuring a 6.5-inch Infinity-V display, the Galaxy A02 will use a PLS TFT LCD panel with HD plus resolution. Samsung has released the new model in four colour variants, namely Denim Black, Denim Blue, Denim Gray, and Denim Red.

The phone will pack a MediaTek MT6739W quad-core processor with PowerVR Rogue GE8100 GPU. It has two RAM and internal storage variants. While the base variant is 2 GB RAM and 32 GB storage, the other option is a 3 GB RAM along with a 64 GB internal storage variation. The latest offering from the South Korean firm also offers extended storage (up to 1 TB) by the means of a microSD card and has a dual SIM card slot as well.

In the camera section, the rear has a dual-camera setup with a main 13 MP camera and a 2 MP macro lens for close-up shots. The bump also has an LED flash. At the front, the Galaxy A02 sports a 5 MP selfie camera with an F2.0 aperture. The model can record full HD (1080 p) videos at a rate of 30 frames per second.

The phone will run on Android 10 (with One UI 2) out of the box and it has LTE, GPS, and Wi-Fi support. It also comes with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, a headphone jack, a microUSB port, and offers 7.75W fast charging with the 5,000 mAh battery.

The site says in Thailand, the device has been priced at THB 2,999. It is likely to be launched in other markets as well.

Twitter is enlisting its users to help combat misinformation on its service by flagging and notating misleading and false tweets. The pilot program unveiled Monday, called Birdwatch, allows a preselected group of users — for now, only in the US — who sign up through Twitter. Those who want to sign up must have a US-based phone carrier, verified email and phone number, and no recent Twitter rule violations. Twitter said it wants both experts and non-experts to write Birdwatch notes. It cited Wikipedia as a site that thrives with non-expert contributions.

“In concept testing, we’ve seen non-experts write concise, helpful and easy-to-understand notes, often citing valuable expert sources,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Twitter, along with other social media companies, has been grappling how best to combat misinformation on its service. Despite tightened rules and enforcement, falsehoods about the US presidential election and the coronavirus continue to spread.

 Twitter launches Birdwatch, a pilot program where users will help combat misinformation

Representational image: Reuters

But if the effort is to work, Twitter will have to anticipate misuse and bad actors trying to game the system to their advantage.

To help weed out unhelpful or troll-created notes, for instance, Twitter plans to attach a “helpfulness score” to each one and will label helpful ones “currently rated helpful.”

The company said Birdwatch will not replace other labels and fact checks Twitter currently uses — primarily for election and COVID-19-related misinformation and misleading posts.

The program will start with 1,000 users and eventually expand beyond the US.

San Francisco-based Twitter said it is trying to ensure that Birdwatch has a diverse range of perspectives and participants — an ongoing problem at Wikipedia, where many of the contributors and editors are white men.

“If we have more applicants than pilot slots, we will randomly admit accounts, prioritizing accounts that tend to follow and engage with different audiences and content than those of existing participants,” Twitter wrote.

Tata Motors has officially unveiled the 2021 Tata Safari in India. The Tata Safari is the brand’s new flagship, sitting above the Harrier with its three-row seating and an expanded list of features. The Safari will be available in 6 or 7 seater options with bookings set to open ahead of its launch in February. The Safari is a derivative of the Harrier but is 62mm longer, incorporating a stepped roof and a reworked rear section to accommodate the third row of seats.

The section aft of the B-pillar is longer and boxier, with lightly reworked tail lamps and a stepped roof, to allow for more headspace in the third row. The width(1894mm) and wheelbase(2741mm) remain unchanged from the Harrier, although the new SUV is a bit taller at 1,786mm (80m more) with the stepped roof and tiered seating, much like its predecessor. There is more chrome in the front with a new grille’s tri-arrow motifs and skidplates finished in silver. Along the sides, the allow wheels have gone up a size to 18-inches while more prominent roof rails have been added. The rear-section features a new tailgate and LED taillamps with a flatter design.

 Tata Safari 2021 unveiled in India, to officially launch in February: All you need to know

2021 Tata Safari

The interiors feature a lighter Oyster White upholstery and door trim while the dash is now finished in a dark Ash Wood pattern. The original Safari’s theatre-style seating has been incorporated here too, in the optional captain seats. These are reclinable and come with a ‘boss mode’ for added legroom on the passenger side. As for the third row, these seats are reclinable too with a separate AC unit, USB port and cubby holes. Boot space is more than the Harrier with the third row folded at 447 litres, going up to 910l with the 2nd row put away.

Notable new feature additions are the iRA suite of connected-car tech, mood lighting, TPMS and an electronic parking brake with an auto-hold function. Carried over from the Harrier are the large panoramic sunroof, the 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto/Apple Carplay, 9-speaker JBL audio, 7-inch digital instrument cluster, auto headlamps and wipers, climate control, six-way powered driver’s seats, tilt and telescopic steering, cruise control and a reverse parking camera.
Safety features include 6 airbags, the new added rear disc brakes, auto-dimming IRVMS, TPMS, ISOFIX child seat mounts, corner function foglamps, hill-hold, hill-descent control, corner-function fog lamps and a rear-view camera.

2021 Tata Safari

2021 Tata Safari will be available in 6 or 7 seater options.

The same 2.0-litre FCA-sourced Multijet diesel engine from the Harrier, which Tata calls Kryotec, is fitted to the Safari with 172PS and 350Nm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual and a six-speed automatic gearbox . Also, the traction-based drive and off-road modes that the Harrier first introduced to the Indian market have been carried over here too, although there is still no confirmation of a full-fledged 4×4 model like the original Safari.

The Tata Safari is also be based on the Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture (Omega arc) from Tata Motors. This architecture is derived from Jaguar Land Rover’s entry-level D8 SUV platform, variations of which supported cars like the pre-facelift Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar E-Pace and the last-gen Range Rover Evoque. The Tata platform is based on a steel structure unlike JLR’s aluminium one and also incorporates more affordable suspension tech like a rear torsion beam instead of a multi-link set-up.

The Tata Safari is expected to be priced at a premium of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh over an equivalent Harrier. Prices for the Harrier currently start from Rs 13.84 lakh, going up to Rs 20.30 lakh, ex-showroom. The Tata Gravitas will compete with the likes of the MG Hector Plus and the upcoming new-gen Mahindra XUV500.

As a piece of software, Krita has had an interesting history. With origins in various projects reaching back to 1998, Krita eventually became a free image-manipulation tool like Photoshop, or GIMP from about 2004 to 2009. After that time, the open-source program recruited students to work on its improvement, and in 2012 the Krita Foundation was formed to raise funds to continue supporting the completely free software. In 2015, Krita launched a Kickstarter campaign to take things to the next level. After smashing its fundraising goal, Krita got a basket of goodies added to it, making it unbelievably powerful, especially considering that the company still doesn’t charge for the product.

Unlike Photoshop, Krita is more aimed at straight-up illustrations, and so it’s a compelling tool for game designers, illustrators, comic creators and other makers who draw from scratch. You can, of course bring in photos and work on them just fine in Krita, but if photo work is your primary goal, you’ll likely want to get a more specialized software package.

However, when it comes to painting, Krita is hard to beat. 

You’ll find all the usual tools here including the chance to choose from over 100 different preset brush styles (including pens and pencils), as well as the chance to completely customize your own brush by working with nine different brush engines. One nice feature that illustrates Krita’s cooperative spirit, is that it offers users the ability to import brushes from other users and share brushes you create with the community. 

The software works with the layers system familiar to all Photoshop users, but the latest release of the software improved layer management, making it more flexible and intuitive. 

While Krita could rest on simply being a painting tool, the organization’s ethos leads to continual improvements, so with the new release of the software, animation is now supported. Just drop in your illustrations and the software will stitch them together into a smooth flow. And speaking of smooth, Krita also comes with built-in brush stabilizers to smooth out your lines if you have a shaky hand. 

The software is also packed with vector tools – including speech bubbles that make it easy to add words to your comics – and a new wrap-around mode lets you create repeat patterns that morph as you alter just one image. 

The standout feature of Krita’s new release might well be its improved speed. After all, the rallying cry of the 2015 Kickstarter campaign was “Let’s make it faster than Photoshop!” While it’s hard to say if that goal was achieved, it’s clear that Krita has received a serious speed boost. Previously, when working with very large canvases and large brushstrokes, users would have to put up with lag as the image rendered and re-rendered. Now, a real-time preview feature lets you see what you’re doing as you’re doing it, removing a source of frustration for serious designers.

Krita is available free for Windows, Mac and Linux, or inexpensive paid versions can be bought from the Windows Store ($9.97) or Steam ($9.99). Paying for a version lets you support Krita’s future development and entitles you to automatic updates every time one is released. 

The launch dates of the Realme X7 and X7 Pro will be 4 February, according to leaksters, reported Tech Radar. As per the report, leakster Amit Bhiwani shared the image of the Realme X7 series India launch invite on Twitter. As per the report, the invite states that the company will launch the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro in the first week of February. The specific date was 4 February according to Bhiwani. However, the tweet has been pulled down since then. Soon after the leak, CEO of Realme India Madhav Sheth tweeted an image of Realme X7, highlighting the colour option for the upcoming series.

 Realme X7, Realme X7 Pro with a quad rear camera setup to launch on 4 February

Realme X7

“What would you name this #realmeX7 colour variant? RT & reply using #XisTheFuture,” he wrote.

The Realme X7 Pro and Realme X7 features a gradient finish with a ‘Dare to Leap’ motif on the back. The report reveals that Realme X7 Pro weighs around 184 grams and the Realme X7 weighs 175 grams. The devices come in at 8.5 mm and 8.1 mm thickness respectively.

The Realme X7 Pro offers a 6.55-inch Full HD+ Samsung made AMOLED panel with 120Hz and 240Hz touch sampling rate. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The Realme X7 sports a 6.4 inch Full HD+ AMOLED screen and has a 60Hz refresh rate. It too is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.

The Realme X7 Pro is powered by flagship-grade octa-core Dimensity 1000 Plus, while the Realme X7 is by the Dimensity 800U chipset. The Realme X7 is available in 6 GB RAM + 128 GB and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB configurations while the X7 Pro is available in 8 GB RAM + 128 GB and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB combo.

The X7 Pro has a primary 64 MP camera, and an 8 MP ultra-wide as well as a 2 MP macro lens. It also has a 2 MP retro portrait lens. The device supports a 32 Mp single punch-hole selfie camera as well.

The X7 also comes with a 32 MP selfie camera and other features similar to the X7 Pro. However, it does not have a 2 MP retro portrait lens.

In desperate times, there are many ways to stretch vaccines and speed up inoculation campaigns, according to experts who have done it.

Splitting doses, delaying second shots, injecting into the skin instead of the muscle and employing roving vaccination teams have all saved lives — when the circumstances were right.

During cholera outbreaks in war zones, Doctors Without Borders has even used “takeaway” vaccination, in which the recipient is given the first dose on the spot and handed the second to self-administer later.

 Splitting doses, delaying second shots, injecting into skin: In crises, vaccines can be stretched

A vial of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in Mount Pleasant, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2020. Shortages of shots for yellow fever, polio and other diseases have led to innovative solutions even in very poor countries. (Cooper Neill/The New York Times)

Unfortunately, experts said, it would be difficult to try most of those techniques in the United States right now, even though vaccines against the coronavirus are rolling out far more slowly than had been hoped.

These novel strategies have worked with vaccines against yellow fever, polio, measles, cholera and Ebola; most of those vaccines were invented decades ago or are easier to administer because they are oral or can be stored in a typical refrigerator.

The new mRNA-based coronavirus vaccines approved thus far are too fragile, experts said, and too little is known about how much immunity they confer.

The incoming Biden administration should focus on speeding up production of more robust vaccines “rather than playing card tricks” with current ones, said Dr Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the inventor of a coronavirus vaccine.

There are two strategies that might work with the current vaccines, but each is controversial.

The first is being tried in Britain. In December, faced with shortages and an explosive outbreak, the country’s chief medical officers said they would roll out all of the vaccines they had, giving modest protection to as many Britons as possible. Second doses, they said, would be delayed by up to 12 weeks and might be of a different vaccine.

There is some evidence for the idea: Early data from the first 600,000 injections in Israel suggest that even one dose of the Pfizer vaccine cut the risk of infection by about 50 percent.

Nonetheless, some British virus experts were outraged, saying single doses could lead to vaccine-resistant strains. The Food and Drug Administration and many U.S. vaccinologists also oppose the idea.

Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, raised a different objection to the British plan. Single doses, he warned, might inadequately “prime” the immune system; then, if those vaccine recipients were later infected, some might do worse than if they had not been vaccinated at all.

He recalled a 1960s incident in which a weak new vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus, a cause of childhood pneumonia, backfired. Some children who received it and later became infected fell sicker than unvaccinated children, and two toddlers died.

“It may be only 1 in 1,000 who get inadequate priming, but it’s a concern,” Slaoui said. As an alternative — the second strategy for stretching the vaccines — he proposed using half-doses of the Moderna vaccine.

There is strong evidence for doing that, he said in a telephone interview. During Moderna’s early trials, the 50-microgram vaccine dose produced an immune response virtually identical to the 100-microgram one.

Moderna chose the higher dose as its standard partly to be extra sure it would work; company scientists at the time had no idea that their product would prove 95 percent effective. The higher dose would also have a longer shelf life.

But the vaccine works better than expected, and shelf life is not an issue, so Slaoui suggested using the lower dose.

“The beauty is, you inject half and get the identical immune response,” he said. “We hope that, in a pandemic situation, the FDA may simply accept it rather than asking for a new trial.”

Many experts disagreed with the idea, including Dr Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta. “We need to know more before we can feel comfortable doing that,” he said.

“Let’s stick to the science,” added Dr Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “There are no efficacy data on a partial dose.”

Although like Slaoui, Offit opposed delaying second doses, he expressed doubt that doing so, as the British have, would raise the risk of worse outcomes in the partially vaccinated.

Trials in which monkeys or other animals were vaccinated and then “challenged” with a deliberate infection did not cause enhanced disease, he noted. Also, the four coronaviruses that cause common colds do not cause worse disease when people get them again. And people who have COVID-19 do not get worse when they receive antibody treatments; generally, they get better.

When Less Is More

As is often the case, experts disagree about how and what a new vaccine will do. Some point to hard evidence that both fractional doses and delayed doses have worked when doctors have tried them out of desperation.

For example, yellow fever outbreaks in Brazil and the Congo have been stymied by campaigns using as little as 20 percent of a dose.

One shot of yellow fever vaccine, invented in the 1930s, gives lifelong protection. But a one-fifth dose can protect for a year or more, said Miriam Alia, a vaccination expert for Doctors Without Borders.

In 2018, almost 25 million Brazilians, including those in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, faced a fast-moving outbreak at a time when there were fewer than 6 million shots in the global supply. The Brazilian government switched to one-fifth doses and sent mobile teams into the slums urging everyone they met to take them, and filling out minimal paperwork. It worked: By 2019, the threat had faded.

The tactic has also been used against polio. Since 2016, there has been a global shortage of the injectable polio vaccine, which many countries use in conjunction with the live oral one. The World Health Organization has overseen trials of different ways to stretch existing supplies.

India first tried half-doses, said Deepak Kapur, chair of Rotary International’s polio eradication efforts in that country. Later studies showed that it was possible to drop to as low as one-fifth of a dose as long as it was injected just under the skin rather than into the muscle, said Dr. Tunji Funsho, chief of polio eradication for Rotary International’s Nigeria chapter.

“That way, one vial for 10 can reach 50 people,” Funsho said.

Skin injections work better than muscle ones because the skin contains far more cells that recognize invaders and because sub-skin layers drain into lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system, said Mark Prausnitz, a bioengineer at Georgia Tech who specializes in intradermal injection techniques.

“The skin is our interface with the outside world,” Prausnitz said. “It’s where the body expects to find pathogens.”

Intradermal injection is used for vaccines against rabies and tuberculosis. Ten years ago, Sanofi introduced an intradermal flu vaccine, “but the public didn’t accept it,” Prausnitz said.

Intradermal injection has disadvantages, however. It takes more training to do correctly. Injectors with needle-angling devices, super-short needles or arrays of multiple needles exist, Prausnitz said, but are uncommon. Ultimately, he favours microneedle patches infused with dissolving vaccine.

“It would really be beneficial if we could just mail these to people’s homes and let them do it themselves,” he said.

A bigger disadvantage, Slaoui, is that intradermal injection produces strong immune reactions. These can be painful and can bleed a bit and then scab over and leave a scar, as smallpox injections often did before the United States abandoned them in 1972.

The lipid nanoparticles in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would be particularly prone to that effect, he said.

“It’s not dangerous,” he added. “But it’s not appealing and not practical.”

Boots on the Ground

What the United States can and must do now, health experts said, is train more vaccinators, coordinate everyone delivering shots and get better at logistics.

Thanks to battles against polio, measles and Ebola, some of the world’s poorest countries routinely do better vaccination drives than the United States is now managing to do, said Emily Bancroft, president of Village Reach, a logistics and communications contractor working in Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo and also assisting Seattle’s coronavirus vaccine drive.

“You need an army of vaccinators, people who know how to run campaigns, detailed micro plans and good data tracking,” she said. “Hospitals here don’t even know what they have on their shelves. For routine immunization, getting information once a month is OK. In an epidemic, it’s not OK.”

In 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund recruited 190,000 vaccinators to give polio vaccines to 116 million children in one week. In the same year, Nigeria injected measles vaccine into almost 5 million children in a week.

In rural Africa, community health workers with little formal education delivered injectable contraceptives like Depo-Provera. The basics can be taught in one to three days, Bancroft said.

Training can be done on “injection pads” that resemble human arms. And data collection must be set up so that every team can report on a cellphone and it all flows to a national dashboard, as happens now in the poorest countries.

“The U.S. will get there,” Bancroft said. “Practice makes perfect. But the rockiness we’re seeing now is the lack of experience.”

Donald G. McNeil Jr. c.2021 The New York Times Company

Tata Motors is all geared up to resurrect the Safari in India on 26 January. People who are interested in bringing the ride home can either head to the company’s official website or a company dealership to book their ride. The 2021 Tata Safari, which previously had the moniker Tata Gravitas was unveiled in India during Auto Expo 2020. It is a seven-seater Harrier and is based on the OMEGARC platform. The 2021 Tata Safari features the Impact 2.0 design philosophy and comes equipped with honeycomb mesh grille, chrome tri-arrows, stepped roof, sculpted tailgate, pronounced wheel arches and chrome accents.

 Tata Motors to launch Safari 2021 in India tomorrow: All you need to know

Tata Safari

The new Tata Safari will be 63 mm longer and 80 mm taller than the Tata Harrier.

According to a report by Financial Express, the new Tata Safari will sport the same dashboard layout as the Harrier but will feature options between a 6-seat layout or a 7-seat layout. The report adds that the Safari will have Tata’s iRA connected car tech and inbuilt navigation. The car will have a 2.0-litre turbo diesel “Kryotec” motor which is tuned to deliver 170hp and 350Nm of torque.

The report adds that a 6-speed manual transmission will be offered as a standard, while a 6-speed automatic will be offered as well. The car is likely to be equipped with rear disc brakes which are not there in the Harrier. Tata Motors is likely to price the Safari between Rs 16 lakh and Rs 22 lakh (ex-showroom).

Citizen scientists from NASA-funded Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 have now managed to create the ‘most complete’ three-dimensional map of 525 brown dwarfs in our cosmic Milky Way neighbourhood. The brown dwarfs are objects that are balls of gas not heavy enough to be stars, since they cannot power themselves through nuclear fusion the way stars do, according to a statement from NASA. While they are named brown dwarfs, they appear magenta or orange-red if a person could see them close up.

Brown dwarfs can have temperatures of up to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit, but the Y dwarfs may be below freezing temperatures and have clouds made of water, the space agency said. The map encompasses a radius of 65-light years, or about 400 trillion miles. NASA added that citizen scientists have been searching for brown dwarf candidates as part of Backyard Worlds, using data from NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) satellite along with all-sky observations collected between 2010 and 2011 under its previous moniker, WISE, since 2017.

 Citizen scientists help create most complete 3D map of brown dwarfs in Milky Way

Earth surrounded by the nearest brown dwarfs, shown in red, against the backdrop of surrounding constellations. Image credits: NASA/Jacqueline Faherty/OpenSpace

By making a complete map of the objects, scientists can find out whether different kinds of brown dwarfs and are evenly distributed in the solar system’s neighbourhood. NASA said that telescopes can detect brown dwarfs because they emit heat in the form of infrared light, left over from their formation. The new citizen scientist project is the most complete map to date of L, T and Y dwarfs in the vicinity of the solar system.

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The study which was presented at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society had listed worldwide volunteers and high school students in the Pasadena, California. J Davy Kirkpatrick, lead author of the study and scientist at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology, said that without the citizen scientists, they could not have created such a comprehensive map in such a short time. Having the power of thousands of inquiring eyes on the data enables them to find brown dwarf candidates much faster, he added.

A statement from the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab revealed that a total of 525 brown dwarfs were mapped in the new 3D visualization, including 38 new brown dwarfs that were discovered by the citizen scientist group.

Republic Day is round the corner and the whole country will gear up to celebrate the national holiday with the utmost fervour. As Republic Day marks the anniversary of the Indian Constitution taken into effect, citizens should cherish the joy of being part of an independent and republic nation. It is also the time to look back at the hard struggle for independence that has seen several bravehearts sacrificing their lives.

 Happy Republic Day 2021: Here is how to download and send themed WhatsApp stickers

Image: Pixabay

On the occasion, it is only fitting to share Republic Day cheer with your close ones.

How to download and send Republic Day 2021 stickers

Step 1: Go to the WhatsApp app on your smartphone

Step 2: Tap on the person’s chat or group where you would like to send the Republic Day 2021 WhatsApp sticker.

Step 3: Once it opens, click on the emoji icon next to the chat bar.

Step 4: Choose the stickers’ icon and click on the ‘+’ symbol on the right.

Step 5: Go through the available packs to find anything suitable. If the results are not satisfactory, tap on the option ‘Get more stickers’ at the end of the list.

Step 6: You will be redirected to the app store with the search results showing a list of sticker apps related to Republic Day 2021.

Step 7: Now look for your desired sticker app from the promotional pictures available and then download it.

Step 8: After installation, open WhatsApp again, go to the selected chat window and send the downloaded stickers wishing your friends and family a Happy Republic Day 2021.

In case you would want to curate Republic Day 2021 stickers, here is how you do it:

Step 1: Download any sticker making app from the app store and install it.

Step 2: Browse through the internet for Happy Republic Day 2021 images and download them on your device.

Step 3: Now open the sticker making app and click on the ‘Create a new sticker pack’ option.

Step 4: Add the images that you have downloaded and customize the sticker with interesting messages or quotes.

Step 5: Once it has been done, press on the ‘Publish Sticker Pack’ option.

Step 6: Open WhatsApp and send the newly created stickers from your WhatsApp sticker library.

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