Huawei introduced Mate 9 Lite with Dual Rear Cameras

Huawei announced its flagship smartphones Mate 9 in Germany and Mate 9 Pro in China earlier this month. Now Huawei introduced Mate 9 Lite, the cheaper variant with dual camera setup. Now this time Mate 9 Lite comes with 12-megapixel with 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF for 0.3-second quick focus along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera for capturing depth information and  a 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

Huawei Mate 9 Lite specifications :-

• 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD 2.5D curved glass display
• Octa-core Kirin 655 ( 4 x 2.1GHz + 4 x 1.7GHz) 16nm processor with Mali T830-MP2
• 3GB RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD card slot
• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with EMUI 4.1
• Hybird Dual SIM (nano SIM + nano SIM / microSD)
• 12MP camera with LED flash, 1.25μm pixel size, LED flash, secondary 2MP camera
• 8MP front-facing camera
• Fingerprint sensor
• Dimensions: 150.9×76.2×8.2mm; Weight: 162g
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS
• 3340mAh battery

The Huawei Mate 9 Lite comes in Gray, Gold and Silver colors, but no details about the pricing or availability yet.

Source

OMG !! Nokia will be back to smartphones in 2017 & it's true

The first global launch ad campaign for Nokia Smartphones to roll-out in 2017. A senior Microsoft executive had also confirmed that Nokia Android smartphones are due in early Q2 2017.

Now an official slide from Nokia’s Capital Markets Day presentation confirms Nokia’s return to smartphones in 2017. Check the Slide above which clearly mentions that Nokia will return to smartphones only in 2017. It also seems we can expect Nokia unveiling Android Phones and Tablets at MWC 2017.

Let me clarify that, Nokia will not produce any Nokia-branded devices, Yes, that's true. Nokia act like as the owner pf the brand and patents, it will oversee the creation of the new devices. Actually all devices will be produced by HMD, a new entity created earlier this year, which will pair Nokia's brand, patents, and oversight, with Foxconn's R&D and manufacturing prowess.

HMD has a ten-year exclusive agreement for using the Nokia brand on mobile phones, and it will pour a minimum of €500 million in marketing in the first three years in which it's going to sell those handsets.

So, looks like very interesting things gonna happening in 2017 for Smartphone's World, because of the Nokia's entry.

Source (pdf)

CyanogenMod 14.1 nightly builds now available for OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, Moto G (3rd Gen) and many more

CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod finally released its build version CyamofenMod 14.1 for Moto G 1st and 2nd gen devices, Xiaomi Mi 4, OnePlus 3 and more in the first wave. Now it is available for Moto G (3rd Gen), Google Nexus 6, Nexus 7 2013 4G, range of old Sony Xperia smartphones and more. Last week CyanogenMod announced its lastest build CM14.1 , which is based on the  Android 7.1 (Nougat).

CM14.1 nightly builds are already available for :

• ·         Nexus 6P (angler)
• ·         Nexus 5X (bullhead)
• ·         Xiaomi Mi3w/Mi4 (cancro)
• ·         LG G3 (d855)
• ·         Moto G (falcon)
• ·         Moto G 4G (peregrine)
• ·         Moto G 2nd Gen 2014 (titan)
• ·         Moto G 2nd Gen 4G 2014 (thea)
• ·         LG G4 (h811/h815)
• ·         Samsung Galaxy S5 (klte/kltedv/kltespr/klteusc/kltevzw)
• ·         OnePlus 3 (oneplus3)
• ·         Asus Zenphone 2 (Z00L/Z00T)

CM14.1 nightly builds are now available for :

• ·         Google Nexus 6 (shamu)
• ·         Google Nexus 7 2013 WiFi (flo)
• ·         Google Nexus 7 2013 4G (deb)
• ·         Moto G (3rd Gen) 2015 (osprey)
• ·         OnePlus One (bacon)
• ·         OnePlus 2 (oneplus2)
• ·         Sony Xperia V (tsubasa)
• ·         Sony Xperia TX (hayabusa)
• ·         Sony Xperia T (mint)
• ·         Sony Xperia SP (huashan)

CyanogenMod also said that there more devices in the queue to get the CM 14.1. The devices, which is eligible for the CyanogenMod 14.1 are already available on official get.cm website. You can download the CyamogenMod build and recovery from here.

Qualcomm announced its next SoC Snapdragon 835 based on Samsung's 10nm process, that comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0

Qualcomm has announced its next flagship SoC for Android will be called Snapdragon 835, which is based on the Samsung's 10nm FinFET  process.

Samsung’s new 10nm FinFET process can handle up to a 30 percent increase in area efficiency with a 27 percent improvement in performance or up to 40 percent less power consumption compared to the previous version. These process improvements, combined with a more advanced chip design, can create significant battery life enhancements.

Keith Kressin, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies. Inc, said 

"We are excited to continue working together with Samsung in developing products that lead the mobile industry. Using the new 10nm process node is expected to allow our premium tier Snapdragon 835 processor to deliver greater power efficiency and increase performance while also allowing us to add a number of new capabilities that can improve the user experience of tomorrow’s mobile devices."

   

Quick Charge 4.0

 Qualcom also announced the new Qualcomm Quick Charge  4.0  technology along with Snapdragon 835 SoC, which is 20  percent  faster and 30 percent more efficient 

 than the Quick Charge 3.0.

 The company suggests that a five-minute charge will be enough to give  users 4-5 hours of life, and that a typical device's battery could charge  up to 50 percent in 15 minutes.

 Quick Charge 4.0 also support Dual-Charge.It uses the Intelligent  Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV) technology. And it more  battery saver.

We can expect the devices that comes with new Snapdragon 835 SoC and Quick Charge 4.0 in the market by 2017.

Opps ! OnePlus3 will no longer available in US & Europe market

OnePlus 3

Yes , Oneplus company officially confirmed that OnePlus 3,one of the best smartphone of the year, will no longer be selling in the US & Europe market. Now this device replaced by the newly lunched OnePlus 3T .

OnePlus 3T

Android Authority claims to have confirmation from OnePlus stating that the OnePlus 3 will be discontinued in the US and Europe, where it would sell the OnePlus 3T instead.

According to the source OnePlus confirmed that, they will continue the OnePlus 3 in India market . And about the availability of OnePlus 3T in India, Company said that ,They will updated when it available for India market.

The OnePlus 3T,the updated version of OnePlus3, comes with a somewhat larger battery (3,400mAh), extra storage option (128GB), a higher CPU (Snapdragon 821), and higher-resolution (16 MP) selfie-camera. The 64GB storage variant of the device costs $439.

May be Facebook introduce some new features like facial gesture control in the future

Facebook could bring some new features like gesture control for its app thanks to acquisition of a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff company called FacioMetrics. The startup company made an app called "Intraface" that could detect seven different emotions in people’s faces, but it’s been removed from the app stores.

Intraface

Regarding to the acquisition Facebook wrote to the TechCrunch that:

"Future applications of deep learning platform on mobile: Gesture-based controls, recognize facial expressions and perform related actions,"

It’s not hard to imagine Facebook one day employing FacioMetrics’ tech and its own AI to let you add a Like or one of its Wow/Haha/Angry/Sad emoji reactions by showing that emotion with your face.

That’s probably a long way off, though.

Facebook also told that it use it will use FacioMetrics to enhance its Snapchat selfie Lens-style augmented reality face masks that are making their way into its videos and Live Broadcasts:

“How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways. We’re excited to welcome the Faciometrics team who will help bring more fun effects to photos and videos and build even more engaging sharing experiences on Facebook.” 

There are already some Facebook and Snapchat selfie masks that react to you opening your mouth or raising your eyebrows. FacioMetrics’ tech could add tons of new ways to trigger animated effects in your videos.

The social giant wouldn’t disclose the price it paid for FacioMetrics. But the startup’s founder Fernando De la Torre, an associate research professor at robots-and-self-driving car college Carnegie Mellon, wrote that:

"We started FacioMetrics to respond to the increasing interest and demand for facial image analysis – with all kinds of applications including augmented/virtual reality, animation, audience reaction measurement, and others. We began our research at Carnegie Mellon University developing state-of-the-art computer vision and machine learning algorithms for facial image analysis. Over time, we have successfully developed and integrated this cutting-edge technology into battery-friendly and efficient mobile applications, and also created new applications of this technology.Now, we’re taking a big step forward by joining the team at Facebook."

If Facebook wants to be the home for all our sentimental social content, teaching computers to understand our emotions could definitely come in handy.

Vivo's new smartphone comes with 20MP front camera for selfie lover

Vivo V5

If you are a selfie lover and wish a good front camera then Vivo fulfilled your wish with its new smartphone, Vivo V5, comes with 20MP front facing camera with selfie flash.

Vivo unveiled its selfie focused smartphone Vivo V5,which is the successor of the Vivo V3. This smartphone comes with 20MP front facing camera which uses a high quality sensor SONY IMX376,1/2.78" with a bright f/2.0  aperture. Vivo called this camera as Moonlight selfie camera.

The main camera on the vivo V5 is plain in comparison - 13MP sensor with Phase Detection AF. Vivo is a little evasive with chipset and video recording specs.

Smart Split 2.0

It’s a 5.5” IPS LCD with only 720p resolution. There’s 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass guarding the screen and below that is a fingerprint reader that triggers in just 0.2 seconds.


An unnamed octa-core processor is hooked up to a surprisingly generous 4GB of RAM. There’s also 32GB of storage built in and a microSD slot. The OS is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow runs on Funtouch OS 2.6 customizations. They include Smart Split 2.0 - split-screen multitasking. 







Vivo India on Tuesday launched this smartphone in India. The smartphone will be available for pre-order in 22 cities from Wednesday, and go on sale on November 26. It has been priced at Rs. 17,980 ($265/€245).The Vivo V5 will be available in Crown Gold and Grey colour variants.

                                                

   Vivo V5 Specification :

• 5.5 inch (720 x 1280 pixels) IPS LCD display
• 64-bit 1.5GHz Octa core processor  
• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Funtouch OS 2.6
• 4 GB ram, 32GB internal storage with  expandable through microsd card
• 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, PDAF(Phase Detection Auto Focus, Panaroma, HDR
• 20MP front-facing camera SONY IMX376 image sensor,1/2.78" with a bright f/2.0  aperture,Face Beauty Mode 6.0, Moonlight Selfie
• Fingerprint Scanner, WLNA, Bluetooth, USB OTG
• Non-Removal 3000mAh Battery 

Good news for Super Mario & IOS lovers

At the iPhone 7 lunch event in San Francisco back in September, Apple and Nintendo announced that the iconic Mario game will be heading to the App Store named as Super Mario Run. Now Nintendo has announced that the game will be available for iPhone and iPad from December 15th. It also said that you can play the game with one hand.

“The wait is almost over for a Super Mario game that can be played on mobile devices,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Developed under the direction of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario Run brings a new take on the series’ beloved action-platforming gameplay to iPhone and iPad for the first time.”

According to Nintendo , Super Mario Run lands on IOS store on Dec 15. You can download it without any cost. You can try elements of game's three modes for free. But for unlimited access for the three modes there is an one time payment option of $9.99. 

Super Mario Run is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices running iOS 8.0 or later. Starting on Dec. 15, the game will launch in 151 countries and regions. Super Mario Run supports English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian and traditional Chinese language options.

For more information about Super Mario Run or to pre-register for the game please visit :
https://supermariorun.com/en/index.html

New OnePlus 3T officially announced with new Gunmetal color and looking gorgeous

OnePlus 3T

OnePlus just announced its new family member OnePlus 3T, an upgraded version of the OnePlus 3. It has the same specs like 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection, runs on Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) with Oxygen OS top and has a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash with EIS 2.0, but this (OnePlus 3T) is powered by a faster Snapdragon 821 processor, has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera , 3400mAh battery and new 128GB storage option.

It still has the same aluminium unibody design like OnePlus3. The company says that 3T features the most refined version of OxygenOS yet and software updates will follow the same schedule for both 3 and 3T. The company also confirmed that Android Nougat will come to both phones later this year.

The OnePlus 3T comes in new Gunmetal color instead of Graphite, but the Soft Gold remains the same and comes only in 64GB version. It starts at US$ 439 (Rs. 29782) for the 64GB version and will be available through OnePlus.net starting on November 22 in the US and starting from November 28th in Europe.

OnePlus  3T  Speification 

5.5-inch (1920×1080 pixels) Full HD Optic AMOLED display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection

2.35GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 821 64-bit processor with Adreno 530 GPU

6GB LPDDR4 RAM, 64GB / 128GB storage

Dual nano SIM slots 4G LTE with VoLTE

Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) with Oxygen OS [Android Nought coming soon]

16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX298 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, EIS 2.0, PDAF(Phase Detection Auto                Mode), OIS  (Optical Image Stabilaization), 4K video recording, 720p slow motion 

16MP front-facing camera with Samsung 3P8SP sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF(Phase Detection Auto Mode), 1080p video         recording

Fingerprint sensor, WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, NFC, USB Type-C

3400mAh battery with Dash Charge

Good news for WhatsApp users : WhatsApp Video Calling Is Here

Starting today, WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in India, will let you make video calls; just like FaceTime and Skype, the calls will be free, though if you aren't on Wi-Fi you may have of course to pay for cellular data usage, depending on your plan. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said in an interview to Reuters that video calls will be rolled out to 180 countries within hours after the feature is introduced at the event in India.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, also announced that it has over 160 monthly million active users in India, making the country its biggest market. WhatsApp says the new video calling service is optimised to work in regions like India, where users often struggle with poor Internet connectivity. 

"We want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks," WhatsApp added.

"We’re obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones," Koum said.

Remember : WhatsApp’s video-calling feature is now live on a beta version of the app (v2.16.80) for Android devices.

How this feature will work :-
The video feature will work just like WhatsApp voice calls - when you press the little phone button on a person's profile, WhatsApp will ask you if you want to make a voice call or a video call. WhatsApp video-calling will be available to all users running the latest version of the app, and if you are running a previous version, you are advised to update to the latest one.

If you don't see the WhatsApp video calling feature, you can get access by following these steps : 

The WhatsApp video calling feature was recently introduced in the beta builds of WhatsApp for Android and Windows Mobile. You can signup for the betas to get early access to WhatsApp video calling.

• Open Google Play and search for WhatsApp
• Open WhatsApp's Google Play Listing
• Scroll dow towards the bottom of the page
• In the section that says Become a beta tester tap on I'M IN
• Confirm on the next screen and wait for a few minutes
• Come back to WhatsApp listing page on Google Play
• You should see an option to Update WhatsApp to beta version
• Update the app

Alternatively, you could download the WhatsApp APK that comes with support for video calling (v2.16.354) from a website like Apkmirror or Apkpure, if you know what you are doing.

Note that i advice that you wait for the WhatsApp video calling feature to show up on your phone, since that also helps the server load manageable.

SwiftKey for Android new update: Incognito mode, new themes and many more

Swift Key , popular Android third party Key Board App , is getting new update like stable Incognito mode, new themes, new layout and many more with some bug fixes & Android N support.

Similar to the browser, When the Incognito Mode is enabled, SwiftKey doesn’t learn the words you type. This can be enabled from  SwiftKey Hub and the current theme switches to a dark theme with a mask in the background.

New Features for Swift Key on Android :

• QWERTZ Swiss French layout
• QWERTZ extended layout for Swiss German and Swiss Italian
• Incognito mode added which temporarily stops SwiftKey learning words / phrases

Swift Key for Android