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Leveling playing field for developers, says Apple store chief

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Sriram
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Image credit: zdnet.com

Today, Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook will face U.S. lawmakers’ questions about whether the iPhone maker’s App Store practices give it unfair power over independent software developers. Since Apple has full control over the apps published over the App store, independent developers have claimed that Apple is claiming around 15-30% of commission on many app store purchases.

Also, its prohibitions on courting customers for outside signs-ups, and what some developers see as an opaque and unpredictable app-vetting process. As per independent developers, the App Store was launched in 2008 with low commission rates to attract developers, but the idea has changed now, and the App store is claiming the highest rate of commission right now. 

As per Apple, the App Store provided one set of rules for every developer, without special deals and terms for anyone. When the App Store was launched, placing a product or selling it through a retail store cost 50% expenses and commission, which Apple said was brought down to 30% through their platform. But the apps were only accepted after being reviewed by Apple and using Apple’s billing system. It was done to maintain customer privacy and also provide them a trusted payment system through all apps on the App Store. Since then, developers have been complaining to Apple about the commission rates. 

However, Apple feels that the 30% commission is justified as Apple provides an extensive system for developers for which thousands of Appl engineers maintain and test the server. However, developers feel that since Apple and Google have a duopoly on the app market, they should lower down the commission rates for apps on their virtual store. As a developer, you only have two storage options and have no way around the high commission fee.

Facebook coming up with new Oculus

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Sriram
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Image credit: UploadVR.com

After Facebook took over Oculus VR Inc. in 2014, Facebook will be adding some revolutionary technology and feature to integrate it with Facebook experience. However, the company till now has launched two new standalone VR headsets with the latest one powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and has OLED displays with 1440×1600 resolution per eye and a refresh rate of 72Hz.

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New images have been leaked for a new revamped version of Quest VR with a 90Hz display. The leaked images were posted by leaker @h0x0d (also known as WalkingCat). The device is said to have a refreshed look and the same touch controller configuration. Another difference in the VR headset is the change in the power switch position, which is now on the right side and USB C and headphone jack cable, which is now on the left side. 

As per rumors, it is expected that the new Oculus Quest can be released on September 15.

Also, four new images of the device were posted on Reddit. However, there is no confirmation it is the new Oculus Quest. The new Oculus Quest is said to be lighter than the previous version and smaller in size as well. The company was reported to be working on prototypes with 120Hz display, but it seems that the new device will be capped with a 90Hz display to conserve on battery. Haptic feedback, touch controller, tracking, and response time is also said to be better in this version. Until the official announcements, we will have to wait for the official spec on Oculus Quest.

ROG Phone has a hidden refresh rate of 160 MHz

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Sriram
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Asus has recently launched the new ROG phone 3, which some great specifications and performance. The phones have been specifically designed and created for smartphone users who like gaming and like to play high graphic games. The device was packed with a Snapdragon 865+ and up to 12 GB RAM with a 6000mAh battery. The phone also came with air triggers and a 144MHz display to provide a smooth and engaging screen experience.

Due to these specs, the device has been marked as one of the best phones for gamers. However, a recent leak has identified that the phone can support higher screen refresh rates, exactly 160MHz. The discovery was made by XDA developers, where they found that the phone has a hidden 160Hz mode. 

The mode can be enabled using an ADB command. Once the command is executed, the device will be rebooted to apply the new setting, and the new refresh rate option will appear in the Refresh rate option under display settings. You can also enable it using the Quick Settings tile for refresh rate in the ROG Phone 3. The best part about this is that you do not need to worry about the device as the phone can easily handle higher refresh rates.

The users have to understand that the phone has not been calibrated to be used at 160MHz, so manual adjustments are needed in the phone to make it work on the new settings. It might be a feature that the company was planning to add on the phone with future updates or was just there for testing purposes. But the phone is capable of providing you with great gaming experience.

2-Player Split Screen support coming to Halo Infinite

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Sriram
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Image Credit: Tweaktown.com

Halo Infinite is one of the most anticipated games for 2020, which was earlier showcased in the Xbox showcase. The showcase provided a complete 8-minute gameplay video, which showed many new features, changes in the graphics, gameplay, etc. While the audience was excited about the game and loved the gameplay, there was a lot more information that was about to be released.

The latest of the announced features is that Halo Infinite’s campaign will feature a two-player split-screen mode locally. Earlier, this feature was only available for games with a season pass to play online. However, adding this feature to the campaign, which is played offline, is a great chance for Xbox users. Also, you can play the campaign with your friend as long as you have two controllers. 

Earlier, there were reports that the game would be supporting a four-player split campaign, which was later rejected by Jerry Hook, which is the head of 343 Industries’ design. Hos tweet mentioned that there would be no four-player split screens support in the game. However, you can layer with the other three friends in the four-player co-op mode.

It is a new feature for any Halo games, and Xbox fans are expecting more interesting news about the multiplayer version of the gameplay. The game will be released on multiple platforms such as Xbox One, PC via Steam, and Microsoft store. The game is expected to launch together with the new Xbox series control in November.

The new Telegram update brings Profile Video, Group Stats, Improved People Nearby, and More

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Sriram
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Image Credit: Dignited.com

Telegram is the direct competitor of Whatsapp, and they have been trying to add a lot of new features to the platform to attract more and more users. It has been so that the company has been adding updates in bulk to make the app more secure and add new features for file sharing. As per the new update from Telegram, it has added many new features such as Profile Video, Group stats, improved nearby people, bulk picture and file sharing, and a lot more.

One of the most interesting features to be added is the new video profile. The feature lets the users set a small video as a profile image rather than a still image. It can also be edited and enhanced using built-in tools. 

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They have also revamped the nearby feature, which allows the users to discover new Telegram users near them. The new update also brings in new Stickers, which are provided as suggestions for users. Another feature has been specifically added for the administrators of the Telegram group. They can track group activity, top members in the form of graphs, and beautiful pie charts. It can help find out the top members in the group and check the details like message length, the average spending time, etc. Apart from all these features, there is one major update to the accounts as well. The user can now use multiple accounts on the desktop. 

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The same feature was available on the smartphone app, but now the user can also access three different Telegram accounts through the desktop. It is a great feature for those who keep two different numbers for professional and personal use. The new features also allow to automatically archive and mute chats from new users, get a sneak peek at photos from the chat list, file size increased to 2GB, and animated emoji and stickers. The feature has been rolled out on iOS and Android, and if you still do not see it, update your application immediately.

Read later option coming to Google Chrome

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Sriram
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Image credit: Forbes.com

Google Chrome is undoubtedly one of the most secure and efficient web browsers in the world. With billions of users using Chrome to browse the web, It is expected from Google that they keep adding new features now and then. Three years later, the company added a “Read Later” option to Google Chrome on iOS, and now the feature will finally be launched on the desktop platform. As per “Chromium Gerrit“, the feature on Google Chrome will soon be available on ChromeOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Believed to have been first spotted by Techdows, the feature is already available behind a flag in Chrome 86 Canary. It was also spotted that the feature was already existing in Android with a different Avatar. To use it, tap on the triple dot menu on the top right and select the Download option from the pullout menu. 

It will add the web page to the save list. Although it is not a one-click solution but still efficient. As per the update, the new feature will add a new button to the browser, which will be marked as read later. The same feature will also be listed on the menu for accessing the tabs saved for later. Although there is a lot of speculation about how the feature will work, there is no information on when it will be launched as the product is still under development.

The last few weeks have been very exciting for Chrome as it received native 64-bit support earlier this month, and added a download scheduler on Android last week. Many more new features are on the way and will soon be announced by Google.

Collabora Office Suite is now available for Chromebook

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Sriram
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Image Credit: Play.google.com

Collabora is an online productivity suite based on LibreOffice and is one of the most efficient and popular tools for users. The software or platform is completely open-source and provides the same kind of productive tools and productivity as you expect from Microsoft Office. The application works very similarly to that and also Google Docs and Sheet, where it allows the collaboration of documents to work on them simultaneously. The platform can be used both offline and online as a part of an enterprise suite. 

The users can currently install the application on Windows or Linux and can also access the files using the mobile application on iOS and Android. Now, the office suite has been optimized for Chrome OS and is available for Chromebooks via the Google Play Store. The news is great for Chrome OS, which has been adding some major features to the platform since its release in 2010.

After Google released its Chromebooks, even Asus and Samsung have been promoting them and have offered new Chromebook models under their brand name. With the integration of apps like Collabora, the user engagement of Chrome might see a rise in the number of users and Chromebooks used by them. 

The Collabora Office Suite on Chrome OS will come with a large amount of optimization for better performance. However, users will not be able to use Google cloud platform to store their documents from Collabora. It only uses Nextcloud and ownCloud for storing documents instead of Google’s or Microsoft’s cloud storage. The reason for this is the safety and privacy of user data. The software can be accessed directly on Chromebook or used on the web, by registering for the Enterprise account. One can also try out the demo for their paid enterprise suite, which claims to provide better productivity than Microsoft Office.

Photos leaked for next-generation Xbox controller

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Sriram
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Image Credit: Techtimes.com

Xbox is soon going to release its next-generation console in November. It is expected that the new console is going to be much more powerful than the last generation console and even more powerful than the Playstation 5. Recently a new image has been leaked, which shows a new Xbox controller in white color, leading to speculation that the new console could be white.

The photo was released on Reddit over the weekend, after which the account and image were deleted. Identified as “Wolfy_Wizzardo“, the Reddit user claimed to have snapped the photo at a party in Washington state hosted by a Microsoft employee child. The new D-pad and the new share button that Microsoft will be shipping on the next-generation controllers can be noticed on the controls.

As per the controller’s looks, it is estimated that the new controller will be a bit more squarish and will also house a larger button when compared to the previous controller. Another important detail leaked by Reddit users is that the new console’s UI will be the same as Xbox One and will only have some minor changes and tweaks. Microsoft Xbox will continue using the same theme and UI as it has been used and appreciated by the users for the ease of navigation and usage.

While everyone is waiting for November, a new cheaper console is also expected from Microsoft in August. Therefore, it could be the case that the controller might belong to this new console as well. When asked about the same to the Microsoft team, they said, “We have nothing further to share at this time“”. Microsoft has been mysterious about the next-generation console and what changes we are going to see in them. But with regular leaks surfacing online, we don’t complain.

Intel brings Core i9-10850K to Desktop Chip Lineup

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Sriram
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Image Credit: wccftech.com

Intel Core i9 is one of Intel’s most powerful processors, and before today, announcement was only used in laptops and other devices. The company has now added the Core i9 processor to the family of Comet Lake desktop CPUs. It is expected that it will be the most affordable i9 processor to date and will be the i9-10850K, a slightly lower-clocked version of Intel’s flagship 10-core i9-10900K processor.

When compared, the desktop chip will be clocked 100MHz lower than the 10900K in every aspect. When it comes to the new chip’s pricing, it is expected to be priced at $453 a chip, where the price will be $35 less than the 10900K.

Intel Core i9 10850K
anandtech.com

Apart from the difference, the chip will be one of the most powerful for a desktop lineup and will provide incredible performance at the given price. The ship will still feature a ten core configuration along with a Comet Lake’s full HD 630 integrated GPU. The chipset will also feature the K series chipset’s high-end features, which is the Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB).

When it comes to comparing the new chip, there is not a big difference between the 10900K and this chip. However, the pricing between the two is not much of a difference. Intel has not been able to create a new chip, which could overtake the performance of 10900K chipset, and they are using the chipsets for the desktop series. It is expected that the price of the chipset in retail could go a lot higher.

The new Quick Charge 5 technology from Qualcomm can charge 50% in 5 minutes

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Sriram
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Image Credit: droid-life.com

Fast charging has been the new selling point in most of the mid-range and premium range smartphones. Most of the smartphones are running towards a bigger battery as the quick charge option charges the phone in the least time. Following the trend, Qualcomm has announced Quick Charge 5, which is known to charge a 50% battery on your smartphone within 5 minutes. Now that would be fast when it comes to charging your phone through a cable. The quick charge technology will come with many new safety and speed enhancements for safe and quick charging. 

As per Qualcomm, “Quick Charge 5 is the first commercially viable fast charging solution that supports over 100W and is available for phone makers to use today“. When compared to the quick Charge 4, the performance is 70% higher. The quick charge was tested on 4500mAh phone, where 50% of the battery was charged in 5 minutes and a full charge in 15 minutes. It has support for 2S (stacked) batteries and 20 Volts of power delivery.

The company is also releasing new power management ICs with the Qualcomm SMB1396 and SMB1398. The charging technology will come equipped with Smart Identification of Adapter Capabilities. 

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qualcomm.com

Instead of trusting the rating, the charging technology will monitor and verify the current, power, and voltage behavior to adjust the power output. It will not only charge the phone properly but will also increase safety while charging. The good things about the technology are that it will be backward compatible with version 2.0, 3.0, 4, and 4+ and take advantage of USB-PD and Type-C. The Quick Charge will be supported on both mobile devices and laptops is also supported by Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus, as it is used in all premium and future smartphones. It is expected that the Quick Charge 5 technology will first come in Xiaomi’s smartphone.

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