Please disable your adblock and script blockers to view this page
July 2021

Lenovo has introduced a new gaming laptop Legion 5 Pro with up to 140 W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics and the new-gen AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processors. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics bring 2nd Generation Ray Tracing and 3rd Generation AI Tensor Cores.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro’s NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 16 GB variant comes in Storm Grey and is priced at Rs 1,39,990 while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, 32 GB variant costs Rs 1,59,990. The laptop can be pre-ordered on Amazon and Lenovo’s official websites starting from 27 July onwards. It will also be available across all offline channels in August this year.

Legion 5 Pro

Legion 5 Pro

Speaking on the launch, Dinesh Nair, Director, Consumer PCSD, Lenovo India said, “Surging PC gaming and e-sports have caused a rise in the demand for more powerful gaming machines. We have continued to build strong affinity with millions of gamers through our e-sports tournaments such as Rise of Legion and Legion of Champions, which has helped us grow our gaming community over the last 2-3 years”.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is built on a new AMD “Zen 3” architecture that encourages competitive gaming performance with a battery life of up to 8.1 hours. It features the Lenovo Legion AI Engine for power shifting between the CPU and GPU.

It comes with a 16-inch QHD 165Hz IPS display that offers 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, up to 3 ms response time, a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and AMD FreeSync support. It comes with features like 34 percent increased pixel density, Dolby Vision, VESA Display, HDR 400 support, 100 percent sRGB color accuracy, 4-zone RGB lighting, a larger touchpad, and an aluminum chassis with a fingerprint-resistant finish.

Legion 5 Pro boosts gaming performance with the graphics power of up to 140 W without thermal throttling, NVIDIA GPU, and Legion ColdFront 3.0 thermal management, which has various thermal sensors for quick heat dissipation.

Its 3D Nahimic Audio brings 360-degree audio with features including Night Mode with smart volume reduction, sound tracker, and background noise suppression. With its exclusive Sound Sharing feature, users can pair two Bluetooth headsets simultaneously. Legion also features Type-C power delivery charging, e-shutter webcam, and Lenovo Vantage software.

Lenovo will also offer Legion Ultimate Support (LUS) for guidance on hardware optimisation and software assistance. LUS helps customers learn the tips and tricks for software tuning, hardware optimisation, and overclocking. The Legion Ultimate Support can be bought separately on a yearly basis for Rs 999, and at Rs 1,999 for two years.

India’s smartphone market has witnessed its highest ever shipments, with over 33 million units in the first half of 2021, reported Counterpoint Research. The report further reveals that it grew by 82 percent year-on-year. In the second quarter of 2021, Xiaomi has managed to ship most smartphone units in India with a market share of 28 percent. This was the brand’s “highest-ever ASP (average selling price) in a single quarter” as Mi 11 series performed well in this quarter.

people-using-smartphones-1280

Chinese smartphone brand, Realme, became the fastest brand to reach 50 million cumulative smartphones in India.

As per the report, Xiaomi was followed by Samsung with an 18 percent share. Samsung Galaxy M-series and F-series contributed to 66 percent of the shipments in this quarter. The third position was bagged by Vivo with 15 percent of the market share. The report reveals that Vivo V21 series and the iQoo 7 series were the major drivers for the brand in Q2 2021.

Chinese smartphone brand, Realme, became the fastest brand to reach 50 million cumulative smartphones in India. Going by the report, “Realme led the market in 5G smartphone shipments, capturing more than 22 percent share.”

During this quarter, Apple leads the ultra-premium segment with more than 49 percent share. As per the report, iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 series were star performers in Q2 2021. On the other hand, OnePlus captured the premium segment with a 34 percent share. As OnePlus reported 200 percent year-on-year growth in Q2 2021, the OnePlus 9 series was the driving factor for the brand.

As per the report, Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said, “Smartphone shipments witnessed low volumes during April and May. However, the market saw a pent-up demand in June as restrictions were lifted and stores started to reopen. Offline-centric brands were more affected during April and May as consumers were preferring online channels for purchases. Brands like Xiaomi and Realme were able to maintain high volumes leveraging their better online reach. Due to the multiple use-cases and functionalities, the smartphone has become an integral part of daily life and a necessity. The pent-up demand witnessed in June is a testament to that.”

Micromax IN 2b and AirFunk TWS earbuds debuted in India today. With these earbuds, Micromax has made its entry into the audio segment in India. The highlights of the smartphone include its 5,000 mAh battery and a dual rear camera setup. The three newly launched products will be available for purchase on Flipkart.

Micromax IN 2b

Micromax IN 2b

Micromax IN 2b, Air Funk TWS earbuds pricing, availability

The Micromax IN 2b comes in two storage variants. The 4 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage variant is priced at Rs 7,999 and the 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant is priced at Rs 8,999. It will come in Black, Blue and Green colour variants.

The smartphone will be available for purchase on 6 August on Flipkart and the Micromax website.

Micromax AirFunk 1 is priced at Rs 1,299. It will be available in 5 colour options: black, white, blue, and purple and yellow. Micromax AirFunk 1 Pro is priced at Rs 2,499. In terms of colours, the earbuds will be available in black, white, blue, yellow and red colour options.

The earbuds will go on sale on 18 August on Flipkart.

Micromax IN 2b specifications

Micromax IN 2b features a 6.5-inch Mini drop HD+ display that offers 400 nits brightness. The smartphone runs on Stock Android 11 OS and the company promises updates for 2 years. It is powered by an ARM Cortex A75 chipset and offers up to 6 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage.

As for the camera, it sports a dual rear camera setup that houses a 13 MP primary sensor and a 2 MP sensor. For selfies, it comes with a 5 MP front camera. The camera also supports FHD Video recording and comes with a Play and Pause recording feature.

In terms of battery, the smartphone is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery that supports 10 W charging.

AirFunk 1, AirFunk 1 Pro features, specifications

The TWS earbuds AirFunk 1 comes with a male/female voice change feature, smart touch controls 3D Surround Sound stereo mode, auto connectivity. In terms of battery, it offers up to 15 hours of playtime along with the charging case. The earbuds come with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and an IP44 rating for dust and water resistance. Micromax AirFunk 1 comes with support for Google Assistant and Siri voice assistants.

AirFunk 1 Pro comes with features like echo cancellation and environment noise cancellation. The earbuds are powered by Qualcomm QCC 3040 chipset with cVc 8.0 (clear voice capture) and quad microphones. As per the company, it can cancel out ambient noise up to 25 dB. It offers up to 32 hours of playtime.

Both the earbuds come with mono and stereo support, smart touch controls, and voice assistant support including Siri and Google Assistant.

Twitter is getting back into the shopping space as it has now started testing the new Shop Module feature. The feature will allow businesses to create a shopping section at the top of their profiles for people to buy products. This comes after Twitter’s addition of a “Buy” button back in 2014, which was eventually dropped in 2017.

With this option, users will be able to surf through a number of products from various brands. They can further tap on a product they want to buy, to know more details and see images of the product.

Twitter Shop Module. Image: Twitter

Twitter Shop Module. Image: Twitter

The feature is currently being tested in the US with a few brands. It will also be available for iOS users who use the app in English. It is expected to reach more users in different countries soon.

Twitter, in a blog post, said, “With this pilot, we’ll get to explore how our engaged, responsive, and chatty audience reacts to products that are emotionally charged — like a new jersey from your favourite sports team — or that provide lasting impact — like a new skincare regimen. And, fundamentally, it’ll give us the chance to keep learning about which shopping experiences people prefer on Twitter“.

This feature is similar to the shopping section in the Facebook app, Instagram, and even WhatsApp. The feature on both the Facebook properties allows people to explore stuff from various businesses and directly buy the desired product from the app.

This comes after a number of attempts Twitter has been making for monetisation other than ads. Recently, Twitter introduced the Twitter Blue paid subscription that charges people for access to exclusive features.

There’s also the new Tip Jar feature that lets people tip other users for their tweets. This feature lets the micro-blogging site have a commission.

If you’ve been hesitant to dive into the world of photo editing beyond applying simple filters in Instagram, you might want to check out Pixlr. It’s a truly powerful online photo editing software program with loads of options that never overwhelm you with their complexity. The result is that even those new to the world of photo editing can get started fast, greatly improve or change their photos, and have fun doing so. Oh, and the best part? The program is completely free.

Getting started with Pixlr begins with choosing either Pixler X, which is a more basic and easy-to-use version of the software, or Pixler E, which provides more tools, but might be a bit much for those new to photo editing. Both versions are free.

Next, simply open a photo, which you can do by either navigating to one stored on your device, or by entering a URL for a web-based image. Alternatively, you can start from scratch by selecting from one of Pixlr’s many blank templates which include handy specs for items including Icon, Instagram, Facebook Cover, and more. As if that wasn’t enough, Pixlr also integrates with free photo site Unsplash, so you can import any of those images to work on with a simple search and click. 

Once you’ve got a project to work on, navigating your options is as easy as selecting one of the icons on the left. Hovering over each button pulls up a handy box with an illustration to tell you exactly which tools the icon will open. You have all of the usual photo editing tools here including resizing the canvas and photo, creating and working with layers, cropping, adding effects, and applying an impressive number of filters, which are combinable and controlled with slide bars. This all adds up to lots of creative freedom to get exactly the look you want. 

Of particular note is Pixlr’s “Liquify” tool that allows you to swirl, enlarge, or shrink small portions of a photo for an impressive degree of fine tuning. Other options include a cutout tool, that lets you extract elements from the photo into other layers or delete them altogether; a “Retouch” suite that lets you dodge/burn, clone and heal any area of a photo; text insertion; and doodle tools including a variety of brushes, pens, shapes and an eraser. 

Down the right side of the screen you’ll find your layers arranged in an easy-to-navigate strip.

When you’re done working with an image, you have the option to save or download your file in a variety of formats including JPG, PNG, and WEBP. A particularly appealing component of Pixlr is that the images you download are completely watermark free – so you don’t get roped into having to shell out cash after you get your creation just the way you want it.

That being said, Pixlr does offer two upgraded versions of the software – both of which eliminate the banner ads you’ll have to put up with if you use the free version. The Premium level costs $3.99 per month when paid on an annual basis and adds additional editing tools, including what the company calls “AI CutOut,” the ability to use the software’s “eye” to instantly remove backgrounds. On top of that, you get 3,000 additional overlays, 7,000 more stickers and icons, 5,000 decorative fonts and video tutorials. Stepping up to the Professional version, which costs $14.99/year based on an annual membership, increases the number of overlays to 28,000, and provides access to Pixlr’s own “Stock Content” which is a repository of over 10 million images, graphics, fonts, video clips and 3D files. 

Whether or not you’ll need to upgrade really depends on how deep you want to go with photo editing. But signing up for the free version is certainly a smart step, and you just might find that it has all you need to add professional flare to your images. 

Following a series of policy changes, Google’s Android Play Store will not allow “Sugar dating” apps from 1 September. First noticed by Android Police, the sugar apps refer to the apps that allow “compensated sexual relationships”. Other changes initiated by Google include a new crackdown on inactive developer accounts.

Google Play Store. Image: tech2

The new policy by Google allows it to delete inactive developer accounts in case of inactivity for a year. Image: tech2

This announcement by Google comes amidst a shutdown of online sex-related platforms owing to the introduction of the FOSTA-SESTA legislation in the US in 2018, which slashes Section 230 protections for content that “promotes or facilitates prostitution”.

“As a platform, we are always excited to support our developer partners, but we also work hard to provide a safe experience for users. We have updated our inappropriate content policy to prohibit apps that facilitate sexual acts in exchange for compensation following feedback we received from NGOs, governments, and other user advocacy groups concerned with user safety. This aligns our policies with other Google policies and industry norms”, the search engine giant told Android Police.

Alongside this big change, the new policy by Google allows it to delete inactive developer accounts in case of inactivity for a year. However, the giant will allow exceptions for accounts behind apps that have more than a thousand installs or with recent in-app purchases. In case a developer hasn’t uploaded an app or signed in to the Google Play Console due in 12 months, their account might be deleted. In a video that talks about the new policy, Google assures to notify the developers of an impending deletion 60, 30, and 7 days before it takes place.

Another update in the new policy is more information on some previously announced changes by Google, on Play Store spam, and opting-out of the use of advertising IDs. The store listings are being updated and so is the promotion policy on 29 September to ban spam text and graphics in-app titles, icons and developer names, and its ads policy is being updated to reflect the advertising ID changes on 4 October.

Following two game-changing announcements – an increase in FAME-II subsidy and introduction of the revised Maharashtra EV policy 2021 – the Ather 450 Plus and Ather 450X electric scooters are now the most affordable in Maharashtra. Under the state’s reworked policy for electric vehicles, both Ather Energy e-scooters are currently eligible for the full Rs 25,000 incentive on offer for electric two-wheelers, which means the 450 Plus and 450X sport the lowest price tags across the country in the four cities in Maharashtra where Ather Energy currently has outlets – Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik.

New Ather 450X price in Maharashtra

As per the reworked EV policy, Maharashtra offers an incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity, with the subsidy limit for e-two-wheelers capped at Rs 10,000. However, for those who buy an e-two-wheeler till 31 December, 2021, there’s an additional ‘early bird’ subsidy of Rs 5,000 per kWh, with the total subsidy limit pegged at Rs 25,000.

The Ather 450X's price in Mumbai has been slashed by Rs 20,000. Image: Ather Energy

The Ather 450X’s price in Mumbai has been slashed by Rs 20,000. Image: Ather Energy

Including the Rs 25,000 subsidy from the state, the ex-showroom price of the Ather 450X in Mumbai is now Rs 1,22,241, which is about Rs 5,000 lower than its price in Gujarat (which offers a flat incentive of Rs 20,000), and about Rs 10,000 lower than its price in Delhi. The new on-road price for the Ather 450X in Mumbai is Rs 1.30 lakh, which includes insurance charges, but no registration fees or road tax, as Maharashtra waives both those charges as part of its EV policy.

The 450X is Ather’s flagship scooter, which packs a 2.9 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and has a certified range of up to 116 kilometres (85 kilometres in real-world use). Its electric motor has a total output of 8.15 hp and 26 Nm of torque, which allows it to accelerate from 0-40 kph in 3.3 seconds and 0-60 kph in 6.5 seconds. Top speed for the 450X – which weighs 108 kg – is rated at 80 kph.

It also has a 7.0-inch LCD integrated into the dashboard with navigation and Bluetooth connectivity. A 10-minute fast charge blesses the 450X with a range of up to 15 kilometres.

New Ather 450 Plus price in Maharashtra

With the full Rs 25,000 subsidy accounted for, the Ather 450 Plus now costs Rs 1,03,231 in Mumbai; once again, about Rs 5,000 less than it costs in Gujarat, and over Rs 10,000 cheaper than it is in Delhi. The new on-road price for the Ather 450 Plus in Mumbai is Rs 1.10 lakh, which includes insurance charges, but no registration fees or road tax, as Maharashtra waives both those charges as part of its EV policy.

The Ather 450 Plus has a 70 km real-world range. Image: Ather Energy

The Ather 450 Plus has a 70 km real-world range. Image: Ather Energy

The Ather 450 Plus is like the 450X in most respects, but as it misses out on the 450X’s Performance Pack, it has a lower power output (7.3 hp and 20.5 Nm of torque), so it’s slower in the 0-40 kph (3.9 seconds) and 0-60 kph (8.29 seconds) sprints, and has a lower real-world range of 75 kilometres.

In other cities such as Pune, Nagpur and Nashik, the prices are a few hundred rupees lower than they are in Mumbai. Bear in mind that unless the duration for the ‘early bird’ incentive is further extended by the Maharashtra government, prices of both Ather e-scooters will rise by as much as Rs 15,000 at the start of 2022, so this massive reduction in prices is only temporary as things stand.

Ather Energy to discontinue buyback scheme

Ather Energy has also revealed it will end its buyback scheme on 31 July, 2021. Introduced as an initiative to win buyers’ trust at a time when Ather was fresh on the scene, the scheme promised a fixed buyback value of Rs 85,000 for the Ather 450X and Rs 70,000 for the Ather 450 Plus – as long as the scooter wasn’t more than 39 months old, and had racked up less than 30,000 kilometres. However, this scheme is now being phased out, and only those who make a purchase on or before 31 July will be eligible for this buyback scheme.

Ather will no longer offer the buyback scheme to new customers from August 2021. Image: Ather Energy

Ather will no longer offer the buyback scheme to new customers from August 2021. Image: Ather Energy

Interestingly, this move comes at a time when the Maharashtra state government is offering an additional incentive to manufacturers who provide a buyback scheme on their electric two-wheelers. As per the Maharashtra EV policy 2021, vehicle makers who offer a buyback scheme and battery warranty on their products are eligible for an incentive of Rs 12,000.

Ather Energy plans revealed

Ather Energy co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta has previously confirmed to Tech2 that the manufacturer is now working on ramping up production capacity at its plant to 500,000 units a year by FY2023 (up from the 1.1 lakh unit capacity at present. By April 2022, Ather plans to have 500 charging points across India, and will set up shop in 50 cities, which will include several Tier-II locations. That number is set to rise to 100 cities by April 2023.

Also read: Ather Energy channels its inner Tesla, banks on Impact report to strengthen portfolio and brand

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has announced prices of the Toyota Innova Crysta will rise by two percent from 1 August. Depending on the variant, this is a Rs 33,000 to 49,000 increase in ex-showroom prices of Toyota’s hot-selling MPV. At present, prices of the Toyota Innova Crysta start from Rs 16.52 lakh and go up to Rs 24.59 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai).

Toyota says this price hike is a measure to offset rising input costs. These costs usually include the price of raw materials, logistics and other related expenses. However, Toyota assures it has worked to lessen the impact of spiralling input costs for potential buyers.

The current-gen Toyota Innova Crysta received a facelift in 2020. Image: Toyota

The current-gen Toyota Innova Crysta received a facelift in 2020. Image: Toyota

Toyota launched the facelifted Innova Crysta in India in November last year. The MPV has been at the core of the firm’s business in India, along with the Toyota Fortuner SUV, with the mechanically-related Toyota Hilux pick-up set to join the range soon.

The Toyota Innova Crysta’s engines were updated to BS6-spec earlier this and those remain unchanged here. These are a 2.7-litre petrol that makes 166 hp and 245 Nm and a 2.4-litre diesel that makes 150 hp and 343 Nm with the five-speed manual gearbox (360 Nm with the six-speed auto). The petrol engine is also available with the same gearbox choices.

Any established manufacturer stepping into the electric vehicle space would be elated to be mentioned in the same breath as Tesla – which has gained an impressively loyal following over the years – let alone a relatively young start-up. At this time, not many can earnestly draw parallels between themselves and Elon Musk’s firm, except for Ather Energy, which has become only the second vehicle manufacturer in the world after Tesla – and the first two-wheeler company in the world – to publish an ‘Impact Report’.

What are the highlights of this report?

The report – put together by Aspire Impact, an independent agency – highlights some key facts about Ather Energy; rounding up numbers that are worth a look. With data collected till March 2020, the report notes how the battery cells are the only component of Ather’s scooters to be imported into the country, with all of the scooter’s other 300+ components sourced locally. Basis the number of scooters sold till March last year, the report states Ather’s scooters managed to help save 7.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions and led to fuel savings of Rs 2 crore.

An important inclusion in the report is the mention of what Ather intends to do with batteries that will be discarded by those buying its scooters today in the time to come. Ather has said that once batteries eventually degrade to about 70 percent of their capacity, they will be taken in by the company and reused for a battery-based energy storage system (BESS), which would slowly help phase out diesel generators, further cutting down on emissions.

However, Ather Energy chief Tarun Mehta tells Tech2 that Ather doesn’t expect to receive batteries from those buying its scooters anytime in the foreseeable future.

Ather will give degraded batteries a second lease of life by reusing them in an energy storage system. Image: Ather Energy

Ather will give degraded batteries a second lease of life by reusing them in an energy storage system. Image: Ather Energy

“After three years of usage of the oldest scooters we’ve delivered, we’ve seen roughly about 10-12 percent degradation of the battery, with the scooter clocking 25-30,000 kilometres. There’s a long life left on those battery packs”, says Mehta, and customers will know discarding their batteries won’t harm the environment, but those will be given a second lease of life instead to further cut down on pollution.

Gender-specific insights

Among other interesting points mentioned in the report, the people aspect of it reveals the importance of factoring in the perception of different genders. Initially, Ather’s scooters didn’t find favour with women, and as company CFO Ravneet Phokela explained, that stemmed from several factors – one of them being the focus on the high-speed ability of the scooters, and another being the presence of advanced software, which some may not have immediately felt familiar with. Phokela spoke about how these insights facilitated by the report meant the company could repurpose how it promoted its products, and how it compels Ather to think differently when it comes to devising future products.

Women now account for 25 percent of all Ather Energy scooter buyers. Image: Ather Energy

Women now account for 25 percent of all Ather Energy scooter buyers – up from 12 percent in 2019. Image: Ather Energy

“The gender point is a super useful insight. Our products were not necessarily aimed at women initially. The perspective changes suddenly when you realise something like this impacts your overall impact score. So, we have to try selling in a more holistic sense than we do today. It becomes a talking point with the product team that there’s a need to think of a wider product portfolio than we have today”, says Mehta.

In 2019, women made up only 12 percent of Ather scooter buyers, but that number rose to 20 percent in 2020, and has further risen to 25 percent this year.

What is the point of an Impact report?

An Impact report takes a holistic view of a manufacturer’s business and activities, to hand out scores basis not just its products, but also factoring in the changes the company has been able to bring into effect with its operations. Ather Energy believes it is an instrumental development for strengthening its hold over a fast-developing electric two-wheeler market. In Mehta’s view, potential buyers knowing about what a company is doing to enhance its products, help save the environment and help develop its people will have a direct (and positive) impact on its growth, turning it from merely a vehicle manufacturer into a brand with loyalists – a lot like Tesla.

Customers seek a deeper connection with the brand these days, says Mehta. Image: Ather Energy

Customers seek a deeper connection with the brand these days, says Mehta. Image: Ather Energy

“I’m hoping that from a culture perspective, Ather is able to internalise these learnings and blend this into how we make a lot of our decisions. Unless you take these targets public, I don’t think you can make progress. From a business perspective, this creates that level of trust and aspiration that leads to a lot of followers who then trust you fully, and will support not just your product, but your mission”, he says.

Why increasing competition is a plus

It’s impossible for anyone to ignore the noise surrounding Ola Electric’s entry into the e-two-wheeler business. While some may see the prospect of Ola simply running away with a lion’s share of the market as a threat, Mehta tells Tech2 that competition picking up with Ola’s entry will make things easier for all players – in terms of changing perception, improving the supply chain and generating demand.

Ather Energy is already seeing a sharp rise in monthly sales and is targeting being present in 50 cities by the end of FY2022. Image: Ather Energy

Ather Energy is already seeing a sharp rise in monthly sales and is targeting being present in 50 cities by the end of FY2022. Image: Ather Energy

“This will help bring out the depth of EV demand in the market quite significantly, and that’s fantastic. A lot of these announcements have also helped educate more customers and make them aware that EVs are becoming real. A lot of deliveries to be made, but that’s okay. If this educates 10 million people that electric scooters are real; if it helps 10,000 complexes and RWAs realise they should figure out how to get charging points because there will be a flood of EV owners tomorrow; if it educates the supply chain that the EV transition is here and you better figure out how you will be supplying all the components for this new world, invest towards it right now… what’s to complain? It’s fantastic and helps everybody”, he says.

Mehta believes as much as half of India’s entire two-wheeler market could go electric in the next five years, potentially opening up volumes of up to ten million vehicles per annum for EV makers. While there certainly will be no dearth of competition by then, Ather Energy hopes its efforts – including the publishing of a meaningful Impact report – will help lay a foundation solid enough for it to capture a considerable chunk of the market in the coming years.

PV Sindhu, India men's hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics; Mary Kom bows out

Veteran boxer MC Mary Kom bowed out of the Olympics, but not without a fight. She narrowly lost 2-3 to Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia in the women’s flyweight last-16 clash. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Day six of India’s Tokyo Olympics 2020 campaign began with golfer Anirban Lahiri in action during the men’s round one. He finished tied eighth, heading into the next round on Friday. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

The India men’s hockey team defeated Argentina 3-1 in their Pool A game. Varun Kumar, Vivek Prasad and Harmanpreet Singh scored as India booked themselves a spot in the quarter-final. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Another positive outcome for India came when PV Sindhu breezed into the quarter-finals in the women’s singles badminton after beating Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt 21-15, 21-13. Sindhu will face Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the last eight on Friday. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Veteran boxer MC Mary Kom bowed out of the Olympics, but not without a fight. She narrowly lost 2-3 to Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia in the women’s flyweight last-16 clash. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

On the contrary, Sathish Kumar sailed into the quarter-finals of the men’s super heavyweight category. He defeated Jamaica’s Ricardo Brown 4-1. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Russian Olympic Committee’s Daniil Medvedev endured a quarter-final exit from the tennis men’s singles following a straight-sets defeat to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta. Carreno-Busta won the match 6-2, 7-6. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Novak Djokovic had it easy against Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the men’s singles quarter-final, beating him 6-2, 6-0 in straight sets. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Archer Atanu Das reached the quarter-finals of men’s individual eliminations round with a close 6-5 win over Korea’s Oh Jin-Hyek. AP

PV Sindhu India mens hockey team advance at Tokyo Olympics Mary Kom bows out

Canada women began their Rugby 7s competition with a thumping 33-0 win over Brazil, only to lose 14-26 to Fiji in their next match a few hours later. AP

by Ramin Skibba

Space is much busier than it used to be. Rockets are launching more and more satellites into orbit every year. SpaceX, the private company founded by Elon Musk, blasted more than 800 satellites into space in 2020 alone. Extraterrestrial tourism is about to take off, led by space barons Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson, two of whom have already taken their first private space outings. The frenetic activity of space agencies and space companies around the world will extend beyond Earth’s atmosphere, too. Within a few years, the moon will see many more landers, rovers, and even boots on the lunar ground. So will Mars and eventually, perhaps even some asteroids.

 It’s an exciting time, but also a contentious one. An arena once dominated by the U.S. and Russia has seen the arrival of China and numerous other countries, with several nations establishing both a scientific and military presence in space. A burgeoning space industry, mostly led by U.S.-based companies, is angling for opportunities to monetize Earth-observing satellites, expensive visits to the edge of space, and trips to the moon with robotic and human passengers. Space junk clutters the atmosphere. Rival countries and companies hurtle satellites through the same orbits, and they eye the same key spots on the moon where water could be harvested from ice. Anti-satellite weapons tests by China and India that have flung debris into orbit illustrate just how precarious space is.

All that is to say, things have changed considerably in the more than half century since international space diplomats hammered out the Outer Space Treaty, the agreement that continues to serve as the world’s basic framework on international space law. Before space conflicts erupt or collisions in the atmosphere make space travel unsustainable — and before pollution irreversibly tarnishes our atmosphere or other worlds — we need a new international rulebook. It’s time for the Biden administration to work with other space powers and negotiate an ambitious new space treaty for the new century.

The Outer Space Treaty was deliberately written ambiguously. It outlaws nukes and other weapons of mass destruction being deployed in space, but makes no mention of lasers, missiles, and cyber weapons. The accord appears to ban private property in space and states that no nation can claim a piece of space or lunar territory as their own, but it does not explicitly restrict the extraction of resources like water and minerals.

The Moon Agreement, which went into force in 1984, went further. It states that countries are required to inform others if they have spacecraft entering the same orbit. It declares that the exploration and use of the moon must be done for the benefit of everyone. Under the agreement, Moon explorers have to take care of the lunar environment as well. And importantly, it forbids the claiming of extraterrestrial resources as property. However, only 18 countries are party to the sweeping treaty, none of them space-faring nations.

In recent years, policies on space law have taken an industry-friendly turn, particularly in the U.S. The Obama administration signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, also known as the Space Act, which, in theory, allows American companies to mine the moon and other celestial bodies however they wish and to keep the resources. Other countries, like Luxembourg, have followed suit. In 2020, the Trump administration went further, proposing the industry-friendly Artemis Accords, an attempt to further push the case for granting companies property rights in space. The accords comprised bilateral agreements with just 12 countries — notably without Russia and China, and without the involvement of the United Nations or any other international institution — putting them outside international space law. More than half a century after humans first set foot on the moon, there remains no clearly established, agreed-upon rules governing space activity.

In the absence of such a framework, the US has embraced a de facto “launch first and ask questions later” strategy. The lack of international cooperation is one reason engineers were so caught off guard in 2019, when satellites launched by SpaceX and the European Space Agency nearly crashed into one another. Experts in space law can’t even agree on major questions such as what kind of responsibility space actors have to keep space clean and uncontaminated with debris, as there’s really no framework in place.

The Biden administration has so far focused its space policy not on treaties but on “norms,” non-legally binding principles that they hope will evolve into international agreements with teeth. But it’s hard to imagine that enforceable international space policies will be adopted unless Biden explicitly and enthusiastically calls for them, while urging Russian and Chinese leaders to do the same. More likely, whatever endeavors the space industry and military decide to pursue will retroactively become policy. This is already playing out in debates about the private harvesting of resources from the moon and asteroids, the types of spacecraft companies can put in orbit, and the kinds of space and anti-satellite weapons militaries can develop.

 If we were to design a new space treaty that would preserve space primarily as a place for exploration and collaboration rather than for war and commercial gain, what would it look like? It would coordinate travel and limit traffic in busy orbits in the atmosphere while also taking steps to limit the creation of space debris. (Cleaning up the mess already clogging low-Earth orbit is another story entirely.) It would also build on the Moon Agreement, prohibiting the deployment and testing of weapons — including electronic weapons — in the atmosphere. And it would prohibit deploying and testing any weapons in space, not just on the moon or other celestial bodies. It would create an independent, international organization to review proposals for mining resources and establishing colonies on the moon, Mars, and beyond.

This sounds ambitious — and it is — but it’s achievable. The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 enshrines many of the same principles for activity on Antarctica, and it still works six decades later. Public opinion on space seems to be shifting, too, with growing calls to jettison colonialist views of space exploration in favor of more egalitarian approaches. If scientists, non-governmental groups, space environmentalists, and other stakeholders put pressure on the Biden administration, it could become politically feasible for the president to take a stand and jumpstart space diplomacy with the U.S.’s rivals. To the extent that it would help make space exploration sustainable, peaceful, and beneficial to all humanity, it would be worth the cost in political capital. We only have one atmosphere, one moon, and one night sky to cherish.

This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.

OnePlus has brought OxygenOS 11 update to its One Plus 7 and One Plus 7T series. Both these lineups were updated to Android 11 in March, however, a few bugs still existed in the update. The company then dispatched a hotfix build in April to resolve the bugs. Now, the latest update brings several system improvements and other optimisations to smartphones. The version of the new update is OxygenOS 11.0.2.1 and it also brings the Android security patch up to June 2021.

OnePlus 7T

OnePlus 7T

According to the changelog shared on the OnePlus official forum, the new OxygenOS 11.0.2.1 update has been rolled out for North American, Indian, and European regions. Some of the improvements of the new update include reduced power consumption, better overheating control management, smooth playing of high-definition videos, and more. Several bugs like crashing of the File Manager app, blurry camera issue when shooting on full screens, the overall stability of the camera, and Dialer UI display effect have been fixed too.

The OxygenOS 11.0.2.1 is a staged rollout, meaning that it will be accessed by a select number of users to check its stability. Once they assure of no critical bugs, it will be extended to a larger group of users, accordingly.

Users can check if they have received the update, by heading to the Settings app and clicking on ‘System Updates’ under the ‘System’ menu. In case they’ve not received the update yet, they must wait for a few days and it should pop up.

A key fact to consider is using a VPN to download the update may not work as the rollout is not location-based, says OnePlus.

The last update from OnePlus included Oxygen OS 11.0.1.1, which fixed Google Fi SIM issues, improved the performance and optimisation of Shelf and Gallery apps, fixed bugs related to Phone and Camera, and included the May 2021 Android security patch.

A picture of a two-headed sea turtle, who was found on a beach in South Caroline in the US, is currently grabbing everyone’s attention on social media. One of the park’s sea turtle patrols spotted the two-headed creature at Edisto Beach State Park. Posted by South Carolina State Parks on Facebook, the intriguing image has gone viral. As per the park, it might be the result of a genetic mutation.

“Three to five days after a sea turtle nest shows signs of a major emergency, we dig down to determine the success of the nest by counting the hatched eggs, unhatched eggs and on occasions also find live hatchlings,” the viral post states. Take a look at it below:

The two-headed turtle was found during a routine inventory of sea turtle nests and the park’s sea turtle patrols eventually released it into the ocean. Shared on 24 July, the post has garnered over 1.8k reactions, 216 comments, and 1k shares.

In the post, the park further explained that volunteers dig up the nests of sea turtles in order to count the number of live baby turtles as well as hatched and unhatched eggs.

While it was the first two-headed turtle found by this particular crew, such creatures have been spotted in South Carolina in the past as well.

For the unversed, the sea turtle patrols in the US are the volunteers who walk the beaches looking for loggerhead turtle nests from June to August. Apart from this, volunteers also pick scraps and fill in holes using sand that might create difficulties for the hatching turtles.

Shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown began, I found myself all alone in my Mumbai apartment. My roommates had all left, for some reason or the other, and it was just me. The first couple of weeks were easy, I was living my best life and channeling my inner Kevin McAllister with gleeful abandon, eating ice-cream in the middle of the day with not a care in the world. The next couple of weeks, however, were… difficult. There was a point at which my little 2BHK abode, which, on usual days, felt stifling and small, started to seem infinite. The walls began to loom over me, and the walk from the front door to my kitchen felt like a marathon.

I was slowly beginning to succumb to a strange brand of melancholy, the kind that only something like a global pandemic can bring about. In my desperation to exit this sinking quicksand feeling, I tried all sorts of distractions. I watched films that everyone had raved about, television shows that frequently featured on “Top 10 shows to watch if you’re not an uncultured swine” lists, even going so far as to — and I shudder to say this out loud — listen to a podcast or two. None of that really worked, and my salvation would finally come whilst trawling through the bargain bin offers on the PlayStation store, in the shape of F1 2019.

Prior to this point, I’d never played an F1 game before, despite being an on-again, off-again fan of the actual sport. Also, my utter incompetence when it comes to racing games might have something to do with why I’d never dipped my toes into Codemasters’ decades-long series. In fact, just minutes after booting up F1 2019, I was ready to quit. I was expecting a light, carefree racing experience, but instead, what I got was an ultra-serious, simulator-esque ordeal, with all manners of strange buttons and technical jargon being thrown my way. Despite this initial reluctance, I persevered, and over the next month or so, I obsessively played my way through pretty much everything the game had to offer, and in the process, somehow managed to stave off the lockdown blues (Just to make it clear, I’m not advocating for F1 2019 to replace any of the tools you would use to improve your mental health, please try therapy, it works wonders).

[embedded content]

So of course, a year later, when the opportunity came to review the successor to the game that got me through the first few months of the pandemic, I lunged at it with both hands. After having played it for a week or so, I’ve come to the realisation that despite having sunk many, many hours of my life into this game, I have somehow not gotten any better. I might actually be worse at it than I was a year ago. The game, on the other hand, has improved significantly.

Gameplay and Graphics

While the gameplay of F1 2021 is not massively different from its predecessors, there are a few noteworthy additions that make it a more appealing and polished game than those that came before it. Chief among those is the addition of Braking Point, a “Drive to Survive”inspired game mode that attempts to throw back the curtain and expose the seedy underbelly of a sport that features 20 millionaires driving around in circles really fast. We’ll talk about Braking Point in detail a little later, but F1 2021 is not all about huge updates and big overhauls.

There have also been a number of smaller, more subtle improvements. For an inept hand like myself, the assists, in particular, were one improvement that stood out to me almost immediately. Having little green and red arrows to tell you when to brake and when to accelerate away is really useful, and while these features have been a part of the F1 series for a while now, you do have a slightly larger degree of control over them now.

The game also integrates the DualSense controller’s ability to adjust the tension in the trigger buttons, but if you didn’t know that before you started playing, you might not realise it at all. In fact, I only remembered that the game was supposed to use adaptive triggers when I was re-watching a teaser trailer that had come out in the build-up to the game’s release. Turns out, there are different levels of sensitivity that you can apply to the triggers, and the effects of the default level are not very noticeable. Once I had amped it up a little, I really felt a lot of feedback from the controls, and it made racing a lot more enjoyable by adding a heightened level of tactile interaction.

The swirling sand and misty Bahrain nights took me right back to my childhood. Screen grab from F1 2021

The swirling sand and misty Bahrain nights took me right back to my childhood. Screen grab from F1 2021

When it comes to the graphics, there’s been a marked improvement in quality, though I suspect that might have more to do with the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 than it has to do with the game itself. Opting to race in rainy conditions will dramatically transform the visuals, with the almost photorealistic soaked asphalt, crunchy gravel and overcast skies really adding to the immersive quality of the experience. In contrast, when racing on circuits like Bahrain, the swirling sand and bright, oppressive sunlight really replicate what it’s like to be at that particular track, so much so that while playing the game, I was overcome with nostalgia, thinking back to when a 10-year-old me got a chance to watch the F1 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Braking Point – The Star Attraction

In Braking Point, F1’s new story-focused mode, you’re given the opportunity to relive the experience of being a pimply lad in your 20s, trying to make it in a big bad world, through the lens of one Aiden Jackson. Jackson is a strong favourite to win the F2 title, and your first race as Aiden Jackson is the championship-winning season finale that propels you to a seat in Formula 1. Soon after, you’re forced to come to grips with the fact that it’s not all stars and sunshine in the big leagues, and that underneath the bells and whistles, there’s a viciously competitive system that’s out to get you.

Aiden Jackson (L) does his first F1 press conference. Screen grab from F1 2021

Aiden Jackson (L) does his first F1 press conference. Screen grab from F1 2021

Among the chief antagonists of this story are your vaguely older teammate Casper Akkerman (really, he could be either 28 or 50) who despises you for being a young hotshot talent, and a very charismatic rival Devon Butler, who just seems to appear out of thin air at the very worst moments possible to sow seeds of doubt in your mind.

Now, there’s nothing particularly new or interesting about this storyline in and of itself. It does seem like a slightly plagiarised reincarnation of the Alex Hunter story from FIFA games of the past, even featuring almost identical motivations for the primary character and the antagonists. How it does improve on that, though, is in the execution.

Each character is fleshed out to just the right point, where we neither skim over their reasons for doing what they do, nor dive into their past in exhaustive detail. The interactions between characters, especially those told through the cutscenes, are all paced well, and at no point does the story feel like it’s dragging. The only character whose backstory I wasn’t fully satisfied with was Akkerman, whose past exploits on the circuit are mentioned only in passing, but it’s not something that hampered my enjoyment of the story.

Speaking of Akkerman, another gameplay feature that I really enjoyed was that Braking Point allowed you to race as Akkerman in some races that had were more meaningful to his storyline than they perhaps were to the protagonist. This truly gives players an ability to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, and adds a further level of nuance to this story. It gives a sense of authenticity to the world that the game is trying to bring to your television screens.

This world is also expanded upon by little touches like the mails you get in your inbox, as well as a social media feed of sorts that you can view on your virtual phone. Some of these are quite intriguing, and often form little side stories of their own, over the course of several emails. A significant portion of the story is also told through the medium of telephones, with Aiden being constantly plagued by his mum and team liaison/mediator Brian Doyle.

It's just like EA to make me check emails even when I'm playing videogames. Like I don't get enough of that at work. If my boss is reading this, I apologise, it's a joke (not really though). Screen grab from F1 2021

It’s just like EA to make me check emails even when I’m playing video games. Like I don’t get enough of that at work. If my boss is reading this, I apologise, that was just a joke, I love getting emails. (not really though) I also love getting calls from my mum. Screen grab from F1 2021

I do have a couple of gripes about Braking Point. To begin with, since the cutscenes are so visually appealing and well-written, there are occasions outside the cutscenes in which the characters look a little like they’ve been possessed by a demon, with deadpan expressions and eyes that are cold and calculating. Now, if there’s a murder mystery side plot in the pipeline, this is more than acceptable, but otherwise, it just takes away from the overall polish of the game. Secondly, Braking Point is short, even for a novice like me who needs four or five attempts to complete every race.

Career

The career mode allows you to play either as a racer (Driver mode), or as a racer/owner/manager (My Team mode) who juggles the responsibilities of being the man in charge in addition to having to race every weekend. You can play the career mode all by yourself, or, if you have a very, very patient friend, which I do not, you can play it in CO-OP mode, which allows you and your friend to play as teammates or rivals.

When you play the “My Team” version of career mode, you’re given a much larger degree of control over the team, and you can dictate proceedings according to your wishes. I found it quite entertaining, both in terms of story and gameplay, and I got a real kick out of acting like the big boss man. It was a little daunting, however, and required a fair bit of googling on my part to understand the progression systems involved in levelling up your engines and gearboxes. Of course, I admittedly have a very superficial knowledge of such things, and someone who is more aware of the inner workings of the sport will likely love the technical side of it.

Here's just some of the different aspects of your team and vehicle that you can tinker around with when playing My Team. Screen grab from F1 2021

Here’s just some of the different aspects of your team and vehicle that you can tinker around with when playing My Team. Screen grab from F1 2021

That’s not me though. I’m no geek. I’m fast, I’m furious, and I live to race baby. Hmm, I feel like the ‘baby’ was a bit too much, but my point stands. I wasn’t interested in the makeup of the car or in having to decide what gearbox I was going to use, I just want to smoke fools on the track, and playing the “Driver” mode is perfect for that. You can pick from any team on the F1 and F2 grids, and then compete over the course of a season, or even half a season, if you want. I started out with an F2 side, and found that the journey towards qualifying for the Formula 1 was pretty engaging.

Multiplayer

There are a number of ways in which you can experience the joy of multiplayer racing, from online sessions to local split-screen races. The online races work well enough, but it took me very long to find players to race against, with wait times of over five minutes on some occasions. Perhaps some of that can be attributed to this still being a very new game, and it will likely improve in due time. I also prefer racing with collisions turned off so that other racers are not tangible entities that can make physical contact with me. I personally feel like it’s much less chaotic, and ensures you don’t fly off the tracks/have your front wing fall off every time you hit someone, but it does also make the race a teeny tiny bit less entertaining.

Here I am, playing against my brother, to whom I'm effortlessly and gracefully handing a real beatdown. Screen grab from F1 2021

Here I am, playing against my brother, handing him an effortless and graceful beatdown. Screen grab from F1 2021

The multiplayer mode in which I had the most fun, however, was the local split-screen multiplayer, in which you can face off against someone sitting right next to you. Over the course of the past week, my brother and I have waged war on several occasions, and I have emerged victorious on almost every occasion (I let him win one time out of the goodness of my heart).

Grand Prix/Time Trial

These two modes are essentially the most barebones modes available, and they allow players to quickly jump into action whenever they so desire, cutting out any and all semblance of story or plot. They’re great for learning how the game works, and challenging yourself to better your previous performances time and time again, should you be so inclined. With the time trial mode, you can also experience every track that the game has to offer without having to complete all of them first.

You can choose from multiple different tracks in the Time Trial mode even if you haven't beaten them before. Screen grab from F1 2021

You can choose from multiple different tracks in the Time Trial mode even if you haven’t beaten them before. Screen grab from F1 2021

TL;DR: F1 2021 is a must-have for fans of the genre, as it builds upon an already robust series with numerous upgrades. If you’re looking for a more fun, light-hearted racing experience, however, this is probably not for you.

Game reviewed on PlayStation 5. Review code provided by the publisher.

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature called ‘Archived Chats’ for both Android and iOS users. This feature will allow users to keep a few desired chats hidden in an ‘Archived Chats Folder’. These chats will be muted even if they get new text messages until you manually choose to unarchive them. As per the company, this way users can organise their inbox well and stay on top of their most important chats.

Image: Pixabay

As per the company, this way, users can organise their inbox well and stay on top of their most important chats. Image: Pixabay

Until now, the archive chats use to unarchive automatically if there were new text messages. As per a statement by WhatsApp, “We have heard that users want their archived messages to stay tucked away in the Archived Chats folder, instead of moving back into your main chat list when a new message arrives. The new Archived Chats settings mean that any message thread that is archived will now stay in the Archived Chats folder, even if a new message is sent to that thread. “

Here are a few simple steps to archive your chats on the platform. Do make sure that you have updated the app before following these steps.

How to archive chats on WhatsApp

Step 1: Open WhatsApp; tap on the More options on the Chats tab

Step 2: Now select Chats> Chats history> Archive all chats

To archive a single chat, just tap and hold on to the chat that you want to hide, and then follow Step 2. Notably, users will not receive any notifications for these chats “unless they are mentioned or replied to”. To view these archived chats, all you need to do is scroll to the top of the chats screen and select “Archived”.

19:06 (IST)

That’s all for today!


Thank you guys for joining in for Nothing!

via GIPHY

19:05 (IST)

Ear 1 earbuds are priced at Rs 5,999


Nothing ear (1) will be available in India from 17 August at 12 pm on Flipkart.


18:53 (IST)

Nothing also announces an Ear 1 app


This app will be available for both iOS and Android users. It will allow users to customise the settings as per their convenience. It will also help you find your earbuds by giving a loud screeching sound in case you lose them!

18:48 (IST)

The earbuds come with IPX4 sweat and splash resistance


They also come with in ear-detection feature where it automatically connects to your phone as soon as you put them in your ear.

18:46 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds battery


The earbuds offer 24 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) feature, expandable up to 34 hours with ANC turned off with merely ten minutes of in-case charging. They also support wireless charging. 


18:43 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 come with 11.2 mm dynamic drivers


The earbuds are 4.7 gm in weight. They also come with two modes of active noise cancellation: light mode and maximum mode

18:39 (IST)

Here is a closer look at the Ear 1 earbuds


The engineers walk us through the process of working on the transparent design of the earbuds and the case. 

18:35 (IST)

Here it is! Nothing Ear 1:


Tadaaa…

18:32 (IST)

Nothing is now live!


Say hi to Carl Pei, CEO, Nothing

18:30 (IST)

18:22 (IST)

You can watch the livestream of Nothing right here!

[embedded content]

18:16 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds to go up against Apple AirPods Pro!


CEO Carl Pei revealed that the said earbuds will compete against Apple AirPods Pro that are priced at Rs 24,900.

18:09 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 battery


The former OnePlus CEO, Carl Pei, who is now the Nothing CEO revealed in an interview with Cnet that the earbuds will offer 24 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) feature, expandable up to 36 hours with ANC turned off with merely ten minutes of in-case charging.

18:05 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 expected specifications

 


As per the company, the Nothing Ear 1 earbuds will come with Active Noise Cancellation and three HD microphones. An official teaser reveals that the earbuds will come with a transparent design with company branding on the stem of the earbud. It also shows red, white and black concentric circles design and a silver strap at the bottom of the stem.

17:56 (IST)

Nothing Ear 1 pricing, availability


The company has confirmed that the earbuds will be priced at Rs 5,999 in India and will be available for purchase on Flipkart. 

17:48 (IST)

17:46 (IST)

Nothing will launch its first product today!


The upcoming Ear 1 earbuds come with a unique transparent design. 

17:43 (IST)

Hello there!


Welcome guys..we all here today for one single reason: Nothing! (Bear with me because I just can’t stop with my “Nothing” jokes today!)


Anyways, Nothing, a consumer tech company, will start its launch event at 6.30 pm IST! Stay tuned for all the latest updates… 

via GIPHY

Nothing, a consumer tech company, has finally launched its first product called Ear 1 earbuds globally. The major highlight of these earbuds is their transparent design language. They also come in a transparent case. Other highlights of the earbuds include its active noise cancellation, three microphones and up to 34 hours of battery life.

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds

Nothing Ear 1 pricing, availability, sale offers

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds are priced at Rs 5,999 in India. Nothing Ear 1 earbuds will be available for purchase in India from 17 August at 12 pm on Flipkart.

Nothing Ear 1 specifications and features

Nothing Ear 1 earbuds come with support for active noise cancellation (ANC) that has two modes. These modes include light mode and maximum mode. Users can switch between the two as per their environment. They come with 11.2 mm drivers and weigh 4.7 gm. It comes with support for Bluetooth 5.2.

The earbuds offer 24 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) feature, expandable up to 34 hours with ANC turned off with merely ten minutes of in-case charging. They also support wireless charging. As per the company, 10 minutes charge of the case delivers up to 8 hours of battery life.

The earbuds come with IPX4 sweat and splash resistance. They also come with an in-ear detection and fast pairing features where it automatically connects to your phone as soon as you put them in your ear.

This app will be available for both iOS and Android users. It will allow users to customise the settings as per their convenience. It will also help you find your earbuds by giving a loud screeching sound in case you lose them!

Competition in the sub-Rs 20,000 smartphone segment has heated up since last quarter – and heated up so much, we had a tough time finalising our list of top five phones to buy under Rs 20,000. Thus, we have included a sixth entrant this time around. As always, you can expect respectable processing power, good cameras, sharp displays, high refresh rate screens and more. And, of course, we have a couple of options with 108 MP cameras, too. Time to meet these half a dozen phones that offer the best bang for the buck in the segment this July.

Best phones to buy under Rs 20,000 in India (July 2021)

Redmi Note 10 Pro/Pro Max

Redmi Note 10 Pro Max

Redmi Note 10 Pro Max

The Redmi Note 10 Pro and Note 10 Pro Max are arguably the best all-round phones in this budget. They are almost identical, except for one notable difference. The Pro has a 64 MP primary camera, while the Max bumps it up to 108 MP. The rest of the features are pretty much the same. Their respective primary cameras are accompanied by an 8 MP ultra-wide camera, 5 MP macro camera and a 2 MP depth sensor. Camera performance is quite impressive (by segment standards) on both phones, with the Note 10 Pro Max faring slightly better. Both phones have a 16 MP front camera to handle selfies and video calls.

Both phones have a large 6.67-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display that can get up to 1,200 nits bright (theoretically) and features Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection against scratches. The screens are HDR10-compliant and have a 120 Hz refresh rate. These are the only phones on this list to have both an AMOLED screen as well as a high refresh rate. The Redmi Note 10 Pro series is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732G SoC, and you get 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage, that can be expanded further with a microSD card. Both phones have 5,020 mAh batteries that last over a day and a half of moderate use, and a 33 W fast charger is included in the bundle. The phones run Android 11 with MIUI 12.

Redmi Note 10 Pro price in India: Rs 17,999 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage

Redmi Note 10 Pro Max price in India: Rs 19,999 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage (additional Rs 1,000 off in the Amazon Prime Day sale)

Poco X3 Pro

Poco X3 Pro

Poco X3 Pro

The Poco X3 Pro is the phone with the most powerful processor on this list. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 SoC that’s pretty much a rebranded Snapdragon 855+, which was Qualcomm’s flagship chip not too long ago. Giving it company are 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Thus, you have ample processing power for any task you may perform on this phone, including gaming. The phone has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a 120 Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling in compatible apps. The screen is protected against scratches by a layer of Gorilla Glass 6.

The Poco X3 Pro has quad cameras at the back, with a combination of a 48 MP primary camera, an 8 MP ultra-wide shooter, 2 MP macro camera and a 2 MP depth sensor. A small punch-hole at the top of the screen hosts a 20 MP camera for selfies and video calls. Camera quality is quite good for the segment. Its 5,160 mAh battery easily lasts over a day and a half of moderate use. The company bundles a 33 W fast charger with this phone to juice it up quickly. The phone runs Android 11 with MIUI 12 on top.

Poco X3 Pro price in India: Rs 18,999 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage

iQOO Z3 5G

iQoo Z3

iQoo Z3

The Vivo sub-brand breached the Rs 20,000 barrier with the launch of its iQOO Z3 5G model. It has an impressive set of specifications and features for its asking price. At its core is Qualcomm’s new midrange Snapdragon 768 SoC, along with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The Z3 has a 6.58-inch Full HD+ LCD screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10 compliance. You get a 16 MP selfie camera located in the drop-notch at the top of the screen.

Photography on this 5G-ready phone is handled by three cameras at the back, starting with a 64 MP primary camera, 8 MP ultrawide shooter and a 2 MP macro camera. The iQOO Z3 5G runs Android 11 with FunTouch 11 UI on top. Battery capacity stands at 4,400 mAh, and it keeps the phone running for well over a day of moderate use. The company bundles a 55 W fast charger with the phone.

iQOO Z3 5G price in India: Rs 19,990 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage (additional Rs 1,500 off in the Amazon Prime Day sale)

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G

Realme Narzo 30 Pro Image: Tech2/Sheldon Pinto

Realme Narzo 30 Pro Image: Tech2/Sheldon Pinto

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G (Review) retains its place on this list and remains one of the most affordable 5G phones in India. It is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 800U SoC, and you now get the 8 GB RAM variant with 128 GB internal storage in this budget. Like most Narzo series phones, the design of the 30 Pro 5G is quite elegant. Battery capacity has been bumped up to 5,000 mAh, but the company does not bundle a 65 W SuperDart charger as it did with its predecessor, the Narzo 20 Pro. You do get a respectable 30 W Dart charger here that charges the phone fully in just over an hour.

You get three cameras at the back consisting of a 48 MP primary camera, 8 MP ultra-wide snapper and a 2 MP macro camera. You also get a 16 MP selfie camera located in a tiny punch-hole at the top of the screen. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display that claims to get as high as 600 nits bright. You also get the 120 Hz refresh rate feature here for smooth scrolling. The phone runs Android 10 with Realme UI on top, and an Android 11 update is expected shortly.

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 17,999 for 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage

Samsung Galaxy F62

Galaxy F62

Galaxy F62

The Samsung Galaxy F62 is quite a sizeable device courtesy its large, 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, and it weighs in excess of 200 grams, thanks mainly to its mammoth 7,000 mAh battery that can keep the phone running for close to two and a half days of moderate use. The bundled 25 W fast charger promises to recharge the high-capacity battery fully in a couple of hours. If you like large-screen phones with a long battery life, this is a great option along with the next phone on this list.

The F62 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 9825 chip, which is a powerful option in this budget. You get a choice of either 6 or 8 GB of RAM, along with 128 GB of internal (expandable) storage. The camera department packs good variety, with a combination of a 64 MP primary camera, 12 MP ultrawide shooter, 5 MP macro camera and a 5 MP depth sensor to capture some quality photos in various modes. The 32 MP selfie camera embedded in a tiny punch hole at the top of the screen is bound to impress selfie enthusiasts. The Samsung Galaxy F62 runs Android 11 with One UI 3.x.

Samsung Galaxy F62 price in India: Rs 17,999 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage; Rs 19,999 for 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage

Motorola G60

Moto G60

Moto G60

The Motorola G60 is another great option on this list for those who like large-screen phones. And that’s not all – this phone, too, has a 108 MP camera at the back. You also get an 8 MP ultrawide camera and a 2 MP depth sensor. It has a huge 6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD display with HDR10 compliance and a 120 Hz refresh rate. A tiny punch-hole at the top of the screen hosts a 32 MP front camera, that will again appeal to the selfie crowd.

The Moto G60 is powered by the Snapdragon 732G SoC, and is accompanied by 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal (expandable) storage. Battery backup is robust, too, with a 6,000 mAh battery keeping the phone powered for over two days of moderate use. It also supports 20 W fast charging with QuickCharge 4. Last but not the least, if you love phones with a stock Android user interface, you should strongly consider this phone. Like most Motorola phones, the G60 has stock UI and runs Android 11 out of the box.

Motorola G60 price in India: Rs 16,999 for 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.
Javascript DisablePlease Enable Javascript To See All Widget