OnePlus will be the latest company to pack the in-display fingerprint sensor, as Apple has allegedly postponed the technology to arrive on iPhone
By:-Tech News Team
OnePlus is a few months away from completing its cycle of launching two smartphones in a year. In May this year, the company launched the hotly-anticipated OnePlus 6 that jumped the bandwagon to join other Android OEMs and Apple to pack a notch. The OnePlus 6T, much like OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 3T, will debut this year with OnePlus having already divulged its plans to launch the device in October. The company has now gone ahead to announce that the OnePlus 6T will indeed pack an in-display fingerprint sensor.
In an emailed statement to CNET, OnePlus confirmed that the OnePlus 6T will feature the in-display fingerprint sensor and it will be called the ‘Screen Lock’. The in-display fingerprint sensor debuted with the Vivo X21 making Vivo the world’s company to bring such a technology. Since then, the integration of the fingerprint sensor into the display is something that other companies such as Xiaomi have taken up. OnePlus will be the latest company to pack the in-display fingerprint sensor, as Apple has allegedly postponed the technology to arrive on iPhone.
OnePlus told CNET in the statement – “We unlock our phones multiple times a day, and Screen Unlock reduces the number of steps to complete the action. By adding this feature as an addition to other display unlocking options such as Face Unlock, users will have options to unlock the display in a way that is most efficient for them.” It is noteworthy that OnePlus previously confirmed to CNET that the OnePlus 6T will launch sometime in October and tentatively cost $550 as a T-Mobile exclusive.
The current list of the smartphones that come with in-display fingerprint sensor includes Vivo X21, Vivo X21 UD, Vivo V11, Vivo Nex, Vivo V11 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition, and Huawei Porsche Design Mate RS. The OnePlus 6T will be the fresh entrant to the league. Apart from this, the OnePlus 6T is expected to come with the water drop notch – a narrower notch in the shape of a drop that is seen on Oppo F9 Pro and Vivo V11 Pro. The smartphone is also said to sport a setup of three cameras.
Huawei Mate 20 series is slated to launch on October 16
Huaweiis all set to launch the Mate 20 series on October 16 at an event in London, and now the company has rolled out media invites, while simultaneously teasing the device and revealing some key details. According to the latest teaser, the Huawei Mate 20 is set to bring the latest 7nm Kirin processor, and sport more AI features. The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are set to launch simultaneously, and the premium variant is largely expected to rock a triple camera lens at the back. To recall, the Huawei Mate 20 Litewas launched at IFA this year, with dual front and back cameras.
Perhaps the biggest confirmation on the new teaser is that the Huawei Mate 20 series will sport the new Kirin 980 system on chip, first launched at IFA 2018 as well. It is touted to be the world's first commercial 7nm (nanometre) system-on-chip (SoC), equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Compared to the previous generation 10nm process, the 7nm process delivers 20 percent improved SoC performance and 40 percent more efficiency, said Huawei.
Furthermore, the teaser claims that the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are expected to have AI features in the camera as well as the overall UI. The teaser comes with the slogan "A higher Intelligence is coming", in which the AI abbreviation is highlighted.
Apart from this, the invite teaser reiterates that the event will be held in London on October 16. A recent report suggested that the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro both will have a display notch design and run Android Pie-based EMUI 9.0 out-of-the-box. While the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is rumoured to have an in-display fingerprint sensor, the Mate 20 is likely to include a traditional fingerprint sensor. The Mate 20 is also reported to have a 4,200mAh battery which is larger in capacity over the 4,000mAh battery available on the Huawei P20 Pro. The handset could also have a glass back construction to support wireless charging. In contrast, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro could come with a triple camera setup, similar to the P20 Pro.
As mentioned, Huawei already brought the Mate 20 Lite as the first model in the new lineup to expand its portfolio. The Mate 20 Lite doesn't have the top-end SoC and the latest Android experience. It instead comes with the Kirin 710 SoC and runs EMUI based on Android 8.1 Oreo.
If you have a newer Wear OS watch, sometime in the coming month, you’ll get a software update that will change what happens when you swipe on your watchface. Alongside the new UI, Google is also adding a new feed of information from Google Assistant, faster access to Google Fit, and a more information-dense view of your notifications.
It’s a much-needed cleanup and refinement for the big changes that came in Wear OS 2.0 (née Android Wear). That update changed a bunch of stuff to make it easier to get to apps and switch watch faces, but it also felt like a significant step backward when it came to reading notifications. Currently, you can swipe left or right to change watch faces. But when the new update hits, those gestures will map to something new, and you’ll need to long press to change faces.
Here’s what you will see on your watch using the new system, starting from the main watchface:Swipe right: Google Assistant feed of information
Swipe left: Google Fit’s new fitness - tracking rings
Swipe up: notifications
Swipe down: Quick Settings shortcuts
Long press on the watch face: change watch face
Short press the main button: see all apps
Long press the main button: invoke Google Assistant to ask questions via voice
Let’s examine the changes one by one. The most important change is the one you see above: a feed of information from Google Assistant. It’s designed to show you relevant info about your day, like calendar details, package-tracking info, and the weather.
It’s very similar to the Siri watchface on the Apple Watch. It’s also similar to the “visual snapshot” feature that was recently added to Google Assistant on phones. (However, on both iOS and Android, that feature is buried under a confusing button.) Most of all, it’s similar to a once-highly touted thing called “Google Now,” which purported to give you predictive information cards about your day.
I’m not sure what Google is calling this feed. It’s just referring to the information as “proactive” help. The company seems more interested in pushing the general idea of Google Assistant than putting a clear brand identifier on this feed.
Next are notifications, which operate basically the same as before. They still mostly mirror what’s on your phone. Dismissing a notification on your watch will do the same on your phone, and many apps will allow you to quick reply with suggested chips. But the best feature here is that Google is going back to a more information-dense display that puts all your notifications on a single, scrollable pane instead of having them fill the entire screen one by one.
Swiping left will now take you to the new Google Fit interface, which shows the two new rings that Google is has created to track your health. One is “move minutes” and the other is “heart points.” You can read more about what those rings mean and why Google changed up Fit here.
Last but not least, swiping down takes you to a slightly revamped Quick Settings pane, which adds two oft-requested buttons: one for finding your phone and another for Google Pay. More (but perhaps not enough) Wear OS watches come with NFC now, and the Google Pay button will make sure that the chip is on and ready to pay when you walk up to the point-of-sale terminal.
Oddly enough, Google wasn’t willing to say whether this update to Wear OS is getting a version number; until it rolls out, I can’t say whether it’s Wear OS 2.1 or 2.5 or whatever. It’s a relatively quiet update for a platform that has had a relatively quiet year (or more). I’m glad to see Google iterating on the software, and the changes do seem to be an improvement. But software tweaks aren’t the problem.
The problem is that we are still waiting for a good processor that fashion brands and tech companies can use to make watches that don’t all look like variations on the same theme: a kind of thick, kind of slow, circular watch that can only make it through a single day of use before dying (less, if you use GPS or LTE). Qualcomm says that it’s coming — potentially this year.
For both Android and iPhone users right now, Wear OS has a ton of different watches you can choose from, but none of them are very good. There are a bunch of signs that Google is looking to change that: this software update, the coming Qualcomm processor, the revamped Google Fit, and a new emphasis on increasing the quality of Wear OS apps are all signs that point to a more serious attempt to take on the Apple Watch.
If that’s all true, we should start seeing a new generation of Wear OS watches that are actually worth considering, and rumor has it that Google may make a “Pixel Watch.” It’s very nearly make-or-break time for the platform — and the clock is definitely ticking.
A day after clearing the last regulatory hurdle vis-a-vis the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Aditya Birla Group announced on Friday that Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have completed the merger to create India's largest telecom company. The combined entity that boasts of 408 million active subscribers and a revenue market share of 32.2 per cent replaces Airtel as India's number one telco. Both Vodafone and Idea will continue to operate as independent brands post the merger, Aditya Birla Group has confirmed.
"Today, we have created India's leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment. And this is much more than just about creating a large business. It is about our vision of empowering and enabling a new India and meeting the aspirations of the youth of our country. The "Digital India", as our Honourable Prime Minister describes it, is a monumental nation-building opportunity. As Vodafone Idea, we are partnering in this initiative by building a formidable company of international repute, scale and standards," Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited, said making the announcement.
The newly appointed Board also announced names of the new directors and named additional promoters of the merged entity called Vodafone-Idea. The Board has appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO of Vodafone-Idea.
"As India's leading telecom operator with two popular and loved brands, the company has the scale and resources to ensure sustainable customer choice and introduce new technologies. We are committed to offer both our retail and enterprise customers an excellent experience while fulfilling their evolving digital and connectivity needs via new products, services and solutions. We will offer them more network coverage, more value and more excitement," Balesh Sharma, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited said.
The Vodafone-Idea merger has been a long time coming, and now that it is completed, it is expected that India's telecom scene will be subject to some more changes. India's telecom market will now literally be governed by three companies, Vodafone-Idea, Airtel and Reliance Jio. The newly formed Vodafone-Idea Limited will have a large spectrum portfolio of 1850 MHz and an adequate number of broadband carriers to boot, something that it hopes would help it to fight competition and get more subscribers on-board. The merged entity will provide services across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms.
"We will continue to offer a wide variety of digital services and solutions under both of our popular and loved brands (Vodafone and Idea). Services - including Voice, Data, Mobile payments, IoT, advanced enterprise offerings and entertainment - will all be conveniently accessible via digital channels and extensive on-ground presence of 15,000 branded stores and 1.7 million retail touchpoints across the country," Vodafone-Idea said in a statement.
The merger although it is expected to generate Rs 140 billion annual synergy will be also under a net debt of Rs 1.09 lakh crore
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