TECH NEWS : XIAOMI MI 6X LEAK, JIOPHONE PRE-BOOKING, OFFICE 2019CHROME OS 64,ONEPLUS 3T.....

Tech News

Xiaomi Mi 6X new leak confirms vertical camera setup and more

Xiaomi has been rumored to unveil several products possibly new smartphones at the upcoming MWc 2018. While we were expecting Mi 7 to make its debut some earlier reports suggest otherwise. As Mi 7 might be a no-show, we might see Mi Mix 2 and the Mi 6X instead. A lot of leaks, including pictures and alleged specifications of both the devices have appeared on the internet so it is highly possible that these devices could be announced.

That being said, a new leak about one of the smartphones has yet again surfaced on the internet and it adds some credence to the previous leaks. Well, some live images of Xiaomi Mi 6X were leaked earlier revealing dual rear cameras with a vertical setup.

Further, Mi 6X seemed to be made out of metal. The cameras looked to protrude on the back a bit and the company's branding sat on the back of the device. Up front, the smartphone seemed to resemble the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, and its displays had thin bezels, rounded display corners, and on-screen buttons.

Now a new leak courtesy of Onphones suggests the same. A Weibo user allegedly found a large stock of the Mi 6X cases in a retailer store and the source has taken images of the cases and posted it on the platform.

The image is quite clear and shows the cases from the rear side with a cutout for vertically aligned dual camera setup at the left corner just like how the cameras appeared on the previous leak. Apart from this, there is a cutout for the fingerprint scanner below the vertical cameras in the center of the case as well. While this is all that we can make out but it does reiterate previous leaks. Is worth noting that the camera design looks similar to that of an iPhone X.

However, there is not much info available about the other hardware aspects, specifications, pricing or availability. Xiaomi is also yet to confirm the device officially. In any case, more information should pop up in the company days so you can keep a close eye on this space.

Reliance JioPhone goes on pre-booking again; now you can book up to 5 units

Reliance JioPhone went on pre-order for the first time in India in August last year, after getting launched in July. The much-hyped feature phone received six million pre-orders in a single day. In case you couldn't pre-book one last time, we have some good news for you. Well, the pre-order for the device has started again. Unlike previous times, Reliance now lets customers order up to 5 units of the JioPhone with just one phone number.

What's more, the 'Keep me posted' button on the company's website is now available for all, while initially it was introduced only for businesses.

Additionally, customers will get an option to recharge their JioPhone with Rs. 49 plan. Notably, this is the lowest rental plan offered by any mobile network provider till date. The Rs. 49 plan offers 1GB high-speed data and unlimited free voice calls for 28 days.

To refresh on the pre-booking charges, users need to pay a security deposit of Rs. 1,500 to own the JioPhone and the same will be refunded back to them on returning the device after three years. However, there are some terms and conditions involved in order to get the refund.

Talking about the phone itself, Reliance JioPhone sports a 2.4-inch QVGA display. The feature phone is available in two models; one with a Snapdragon 205 processor and other with the Spreadtrum chipset. It offers 512MB of RAM and 4GB of default storage space. The JioPhone is backed by a decent 2,000mAh battery.

The device features an alphanumeric keypad as in any other feature phone and a microSD card slot for expandable storage space. The handset supports voice commands and 22 Indian regional languages. There is a panic button functionality that will be enabled by long pressing the number 5 on the keypad. On the software front, the Reliance JioPhone runs on KaiOS that is a customized version of Firefox OS. The device comes pre-installed with the Jio suite of apps for messaging, entertainment, etc. especially Jio TV which features more than 400 live TV channels as well as JioMusic and JioCinema.

Microsoft Office 2019 to launch later this year, will only work on Windows 10

Microsoft today made some important announcements for its future products. The company informed that the Office 2019 suite will be made available in the second half of 2018. Microsoft also informed that the previews of the new apps and servers will start shipping in the second quarter of 2018.

As noted, Microsoft Office 2019 was introduced last year at Ignite. It is the next perpetual version of Office that includes apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and Skype for Business. The Office suite 2019 also includes servers such as including Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business.

As per Microsoft, Office 2019 apps will be supported on:

Any supported Windows 10 SAC release

Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2018

The next LTSC release of Windows Server

What this means is that Office 2019 will no longer be supported when version of Windows running on your PC is no longer being serviced. The apps will only run on supported Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel releases, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2018, and the next LTSC release of Windows Server.

The announcement also mentions that the Office 2019 client apps will be released with Click-to-Run installation technology only. The tech giant said that it will not provide MSI as a deployment methodology for Office 2019 clients. However, Microsoft will continue to provide MSI for Office Server products.

The report also reads that Office 2019 will provide five years of mainstream support and approximately two years of extended support. This is an exception to company's 'Fixed Lifecycle Policy' to align with the support period for Office 2016. Extended support will end 10/14/2025.

There was no change announced related to the support term for existing versions of Office. Besides, Microsoft will also deliver new Remote Desktop and desktop virtualization capabilities within the SAC release cadence of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows Server later this year. You can join the Windows Server Insider program to get early access to these capabilities.

OnePlus 3T battery reportedly explodes in Mumbai

OnePlus 3T is the latest victim of phone explosion due to battery issue. As per some reports on BGR, a Mumbai-based OnePlus 3T user reportedly had an incident where the battery of OnePlus 3T device exploded. This comes as a serious concern for mobile users as reports of mobiles exploding is becoming quite common nowadays. Earlier the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was in news for the same reasons of battery explosions leaving the users concerned about their safety using mobile devices. However, as per the report on BGR the incident took place a month ago as the customer took it to Facebook to narrate the ordeal.

The reports further suggest that the customer however has not explained how the OnePlus 3T exploded. There is no information about the state of the OnePlus 3T while it exploded, it is not yet clear whether the device was being used or charged or left unattended during the explosion. However the user was not injured due to the explosion.

OnePlus also has not made any comments regarding the incident. Further the Facebook post that bring the incident in light states that the customer had a poor experience with OnePlus after sales service after the incident. The user further informed on the Facebook post that a friend of the user had also experienced a similar explosion of OnePlus One device and was left highly unsatisfied with the after sales service provided by OnePlus.This comes as a real bummer for OnePlus users who expect some better after sale services.

Google Chrome OS 64 announced; check out the new features and security fixes

Google Chrome OS 64 is here and it comes with a slew of new features as well as some general security fixes and performance improvements. The build is expected to reach the devices in the coming days. The latest version of Chrome OS has added a new shortcut for screenshots among other features. The update has also made some system-level optimizations to give users a better Android app experience.

As stated earlier, the Chrome OS build 64.0.3282.134 brings along a shortcut for screenshots, mainly aimed at users of convertible Chrome OS devices. If you own a touchscreen based Chrome OS device, with this new feature you will be able to capture screenshots just by pressing the power button and volume button together.

This is similar to how you take a screenshot on your Android phone or tablet.

Besides this, the new Chrome OS also improves the way of handling Android apps. As such, it adds enhancements to the existing protected media pipeline for Android as well. Also, there is now an option to enable a VPN for Google Play apps and an Intent Picker for Play apps to enable a 'same window by default with override'. Moreover, the update brings Android Container Auto Update optimizations and touchscreen pairing settings.

Other than the new features, the Google Chrome OS 64 addresses some security issues. For instance, it comes with fix for the potential side-channel attack techniques particular to the dangerous Spectre vulnerability. Google released the patch for Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities in the previous version of its Chrome OS.

Another major feature included in the latest version of Chrome OS is the support for running multiple Android apps simultaneously in the background. This Split View is aimed to improve multitasking on supported devices. This feature was earlier spotted in the Chrome OS 64 beta version. However, half of the Chromebooks available in the market doesn't offer support for Android apps.

Furthermore, the Google Chrome OS 64 comes with a three-layer protection to prevent websites with ad abusive experiences. There is a better pop-up ad blocker along with a barrier for third-party iframes to stop malicious auto-redirects from any third-party content that is embedded into Web pages.

Nubia working on a gaming smartphone confirms CEO

Apart from full-screen displays, AI technology and other rising trends in the smartphone market, manufacturers seem to be slowly shifting their focus towards gaming smartphones. While mobile may not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone talks about gaming but it seems brands are considering this aspect. And why not, mobile gaming and the industry itself has grown significantly and taken the world by storm appealing to a wide audience in the last couple of years.

Having said that, Razer, a popular gaming hardware provider recently announced a dedicated smartphone dubbed as Razer Phone for gaming. And now it looks like Nubia is also aiming to launch such smartphone in the market.

At a recent gaming event in Shenzhen, Nubia's CEO, Ni Fei has apparently confirmed that the company is planning to develop a gaming phone. The confirmation comes via Weibo post and it also contains some images. Interestingly, one of the images does reveal a mysterious smartphone with the 'King of Glory' game running on it. The handset also features very narrow side bezels which look similar to the Nubia Z17S.

While the chief did not reveal much information about the gaming phone from the company but speculations suggest that the upcoming Nubia Z18 flagship will likely be 'the gaming smartphone' from the company. Further, it has been said that the smartphone will most likely be built to handle hardcore games.