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• WhatsApp Now Has Disappearing Pictures and a Revamped Archive
• OnePlus Nord 2 5G Display Specs Revealed via Poster, to Feature 90Hz Refresh Rate
• Vodafone Idea Disappoints, Breaks Subscribers Addition Streak: TRAI
• FIFA 22 to Release October 1, ISL Teams Finally Included
• Realme Book Design Renders Offer Deeper Look Into Upcoming Product
• 5G Remains Far Away Despite Its Support on Smartphones
• Best Prepaid Plans Under Rs 300 for July 2021
• Xiaomi Beats Apple, Vivo to Lead the 5G Race in India
• Bharti Airtel Begins 5G Trials in a New Location
• Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio to See Stagnant ARPU Growth in June
• BSNL Data Plans That Come With No Daily Usage Limit
• Telecom or Mobile Towers Necessary for Maintaining Connectivity?
• Apple Might Take a Major Leap With MacBook Pro’s Webcam
• Redmi Note 10T 5G Will Launch in India on July 20
• JioPhone Was a Splendid Success, Will JioPhone Next Follow Up
• Dialog Axiata Is Setting Up 5G Innovation Centres in Sri Lankan Universities
• BSNL, Jio and Airtel, Whose Cheapest Broadband Plan Offers More Value

WhatsApp Now Has Disappearing Pictures and a Revamped Archive Posted: 12 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT WhatsApp has now joined the league of other social media applications that provide disappearing media functionality to their users. This means that the user is able to send a picture to the recipient, which is only visible for a single time. This was a feature that was a novelty at the time of Snapchat, and the app can be credited for it. Further on, the feature was also seen on other applications like Instagram. But, now the biggest personal messaging app in the world, WhatsApp, is also getting it. This means that conversations in WhatsApp Messenger will be more secure and private. This feature is currently being rolled out as a Beta one. WhatsApp Messenger View Once Feature In this new Beta rollout of WhatsApp, the users will see an option called "view once". It is notable that WhatsApp is not calling its feature "disappearing messages". Not only this, one thing that the users should keep in mind is the fact that WhatsApp will not tell you if the recipient is taking a screenshot of your sent picture. Unlike in other similar applications, you get a notification when the recipient screenshots your sent media; WhatsApp will not facilitate that. The simple reason being WhatsApp does not come with the screenshot detection feature yet. If you have not yet seen the feature and you are on WhatsApp Beta, then you might have to wait for some time. Not only this, but WhatsApp has rolled out a new archived messages feature. The archive is a feature that lets you bury chats that you might not want to see on your chat screen. However, one trouble with this feature was when the archived person used to message you; the chat used to become unarchived by itself. This meant that the archive feature worked as long as the other person was not messaging you again. But, with the new update, WhatsApp has solved this issue. Meaning that the users will be able to decide whether the chat stays in the archive box when they receive a message from that person or not.

OnePlus Nord 2 5G Display Specs Revealed via Poster, to Feature 90Hz Refresh Rate Posted: 12 Jul 2021 08:04 AM PDT It was revealed earlier this week that OnePlus was ready to launch the OnePlus Nord’s successor, post the launch of the OG Nord in July of 2020, in the form of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G. The handset is set to make its official debut on July 22 in India and Europe. The key difference with the OnePlus Nord 2 5G is the fact that it will mark the first product in OnePlus’s Nord line-up to make use of a MediaTek chipset instead of the regular Snapdragon chipset. The company has also confirmed which chip will be used, with the MediaTek 1200 AI processor powering the upcoming Nord series of devices. Today, ahead of the official launch, OnePlus has started revealing key specifications of the handset via teasers on social media. The latest of these teasers reveals that the Nord 2 5G will use a 90Hz refresh rate display. What Does the New Teaser Suggest? The latest teaser has revealed that the upcoming Nord 2 will make use of a 6.43-inch fluid AMOLED display coupled with a refresh rate of 90Hz. We can expect the display to be an FHD+ display since the base Nord N200 5G makes use of the same quality panel, so that should be fairly obvious. The company has also confirmed that the display on the upcoming Nord 2 will sport an HDR10+ certification. We can also expect the handset to use an optical in-display fingerprint scanner instead of the regular side-mounted fingerprint sensor. This also implies that the display on the upcoming Nord 2 will be the same as its predecessor, the original Nord. In case you missed it, the OnePlus Nord came with a 6.43-inch 90Hz Fluid AMOLED display with HDR10+ certification. Despite this, we can expect the company to opt for a single punch-hole notch on the Nord 2 in contrast to the pill-shaped dual punch-hole notch that allowed for dual front-snappers on the OnePlus Nord. For those of you wondering, the OnePlus Nord 2 is stated to offer a triple-camera setup to the back with a primary 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor, paired with 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensors, and an additional 2MP sensor. For selfies, the handset might make use of a 32MP shooter present in the punch-hole notch. It is also rumoured to be dependent on a 4,500mAh battery, which is around 10% larger in comparison to the Nord. The company will also be launching the next audio product from its lineup, the OnePlus Buds Pro TWS with the OnePlus Nord 2 5G, on July 22.

Vodafone Idea Disappoints, Breaks Subscribers Addition Streak: TRAI Posted: 12 Jul 2021 07:48 AM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) has disappointed its fans across the country by losing out on subscribers in the month of April 2021. According to the monthly subscriber data report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Vi has lost 1.8 million (18,10,620) subscribers in April. This comes as a tight blow to the telecom operator, which posted a huge loss in the FY21. In comparison, its rivals, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, reflected posted positive numbers. Reliance Jio Shows Stellar Performance Reliance Jio has added 4.7 million (47,56,340) subscribers in April, whereas Bharti Airtel only added 0.5 million (5,17,237) subscribers. At the same time, the state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has lost 1.3 million (13,02,776) subscribers in April. Both Vi and BSNL seem to be struggling very hard at the moment. Vi is waiting for a push from the assets that it can monetise, and BSNL is waiting for the government's help in rolling out 4G. However, Reliance Jio has kept its reputation consistent by adding a phenomenal number of subscribers. State area-wise, Assam saw the most number of new wireless subscribers coming on board, while Mumbai saw the biggest decline in wireless subscribers. BSNL won't be able to keep up with the other players if it doesn't get 4G networks out as soon as possible. At the same time, Vi will need some help from the government as well if it can't monetise assets and raise capital. Both Vi and BSNL can be saved if the government decides to do that. However, things aren't that simple. The government isn't going to simply hand over all the help that Vi needs to grow back again because then that would be unfair to the other private operators. It will be interesting to see how the operators behave in the coming months. Vi needs an ARPU push right away, while BSNL needs 4G.

FIFA 22 to Release October 1, ISL Teams Finally Included Posted: 12 Jul 2021 06:29 AM PDT EA or Electronic Arts is well known for its annual football franchise, FIFA. Today, it was announced that FIFA would mark its return for this year and will bring along with it some new tricks that should attract more customers, including the HyperMotion technology that has been designed to deliver a more fluid and, more importantly, a more realistic experience. It has been announced that FIFA 22 will be launched on October 1, 2021, with EA Play members given early trial access included with in-game rewards. This year’s start of choice for the cover is popular French forward Kylian Mbappe. Another interesting thing is the HyperMotion Technology that is the talking point regarding the game as of now, and it will aim to deliver the most realistic and fluid experience, which will be much more responsive, with the aim to provide the same to users running Stadia and next-generation consoles. FIFA 22 Availability, Features Revealed In terms of availability, the game will be on offer on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, Xbox One and PC. Pre-order bonuses that will start from August 12 for the FIFA 22 Ultimate Edition consist of 4-days early access, dual entitlement, FIFA points and FUT Heroes player items. One of the most important things in relation to the game in the context of India is the support for ISL within the FIFA game, as users will now finally be able to take on European and South American giants with their favourite or preferred ISL team, something that most football fans have wished for quite some time. The league had previously been featured on the mobile version of the game. Sources that are close to Khel Now have also reported that FSDL and EA will be signing the final paperwork to confirm the same soon. For those of you unaware, the game is the biggest football game around, and the inclusion of ISL is only going to add to the appeal. An official announcement is likely but has not yet happened. FIFA 22 is touted to do some great numbers, as has been the case for most predecessors, which has also made it the game developer’s most prized franchise, with fans expecting EA to deliver the promise of a realistic, fluid and responsive experience, something that has been stressed upon.

Realme Book Design Renders Offer Deeper Look Into Upcoming Product Posted: 12 Jul 2021 05:25 AM PDT Realme had recently confirmed that it was indeed working on its own laptop after close rival Xiaomi beat them to the punch in the context of the Indian market by launching 14-inch models in 2020. That being said, Realme is not too far away from launching its own laptop, with a debut expected sometime in 2021. The company is yet to announce the official launch date of the laptop, but, key details of the laptop have been leaked online via OnLeaks. The tipster on Monday leaked the device’s 5K design renders of the device and revealed some key specifications of the upcoming laptop. Based on the renders that have been leaked, it seems to be that the Realme laptop takes hints from the Apple MacBook Pro and Huawei’s MateBook series of laptops. What Do We Know About the Realme Book So Far? The render images that were shared by tipster OnLeaks and GizNext revealed certain key details of the laptop, such as the fact that the upcoming laptop from Realme will resemble the MacBook Pro and Surface Laptop 4. The leak also mentions that the laptop will feature dimensions of  307 x 229 x 16mm and may weigh less than 1.5kgs. The tipster also notes that Realme could launch the laptop with a 14-inch LED display with a rumoured Full HD resolution panel in use. Multiple configurations sporting Intel’s Core i3 and i5 11th generation processors are expected, with the laptop expected to run Windows 10 out of the box, with Windows 11 support rumoured to be coming in the following weeks. The laptop will also come with Microsoft Office pre-installed. As for the RAM and SSD variants, they remain unknown as of now. Coming back to the design, the Realme Book will supposedly feature 1 USB Type-A port and two USB-C slots. The laptop will also include a 3.5mm headphone jack and make use of the power button as a fingerprint scanner. Previous teasers have also revealed that the laptop will make use of a large trackpad. Certain other design-related features have also been revealed owing to previous leaks, such as the suggestion that the Realme Book may make use of an aluminium body and come with thin bezels, with a 3:2 aspect ratio for the laptop also expected. OnLeaks has also claimed a supposed launch in August of 2021, with expectations of a pricing range of Rs 40,000 or less to compete with the Mi NoteBook 14 E-Learning edition.

5G Remains Far Away Despite Its Support on Smartphones Posted: 12 Jul 2021 05:17 AM PDT The fifth-generation network technology is something that has been touted to be an absolute game-changer in all aspects. The higher speed is just one thing about the new network tech, which has got all the people excited. With download speeds running into thousands of Mbps and multiple use cases ranging from health, telemedicine to education and manufacturing have got the big tech players interested in the technology. However, the fact remains that despite all the big talk around the 5G revolution, the fifth-generation network remains out of reach of most consumers. This is not only the case in India but all across the globe. There are some of the bigger reasons in the picture that factor in while considering the development of 5G. The Addition of 5G In Smartphones and Why it Is Misleading The first phenomenon to look at is the development of 5G support in smartphones. With the number of news headlines covering the spectrum auction in India and abroad, the smartphones companies found themselves in a fix. As such, these companies resorted to sourcing expensive modems and chipsets from manufacturers which supported the 5G network technology. As a result, the smartphones which are the product of this reaction retail for hefty prices and are often just the flagship products from the companies. The top phones from the companies like OnePlus, Samsung, and Apple, which comprise the 9 series, the S21 and the iPhone 12, all come with 5G support. The fitting of a 5G modem in a smartphone has been the talk of the town among tech reviewers and enthusiasts in general. The size of the phone, especially with the launch of the iPhone 12 mini and how effective a compact 5G chipset is on a phone, was the question. Not only this, but the battery effect of 5G has on these smartphones has also been a cause of concern. And even with all this development inside the smartphones, almost a year later, the users of these devices have nowhere to use these capabilities. 5G Spectrum Auction and Technology Around the World Perhaps, the only users that these devices can satisfy are the long-term ones. We have already covered our opinion on how the smartphone upgrade timeline is being pushed back and how every subsequent upgrade on phones is merely an incremental one. The addition of 5G on the phones, as such, must be seen in the same purview and not as a signal of 5G arrival. Because the fact remains that the auction of 5G spectrum across the world does not equate to rapid deployment. Especially in a setting of the Indian telecom market, the pricing of 5G is going to be a contentious issue. In a place where the telecom companies are hesitant to raise the tariff rates of the 4G prepaid and postpaid plans, how they plan on pricing the expensive 5G service remains a mystery for now. In case you happen to have a 5G phone in your hands right now, then it is likely that it is a flagship from one of the above-mentioned manufacturers. And, our recommendation for you in the case of 5G would be to wait with hands in hand because at least in India, 5G eludes most consumers for now.

Best Prepaid Plans Under Rs 300 for July 2021 Posted: 12 Jul 2021 04:02 AM PDT Telecom operators have developed extensive prepaid plans for their subscribers to cater to their internet and calling needs. The prepaid plans offered by renowned telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and BSNL are packed with multiple benefits and services. All the telco giants offer a decent validity period in their prepaid offering to provide a hassle-free experience. If you are hunting down for best-prepaid plans under Rs 300, read this article to the end for detailed information on the prepaid plans provided by renowned telecom operators. Reliance Jio Rs 149 and Rs 249 Prepaid Plan If you are not an avid internet user, 1GB of internet data is more or less sufficient for you. With the Jio Rs 149 prepaid plan, users get 1GB of data per day with unlimited voice calling benefits and 100 SMSes per day. The validity of the plan is 24 days and users also get subscriptions to Jio apps such as JioTV, JioCinema and more. Talking about the Rs 249 prepaid plan, users get 2GB of data per day for 28 days. Unlimited calling benefits and 100 SMSes per day are included in the pack. Bharti Airtel Rs 199 and Rs 249 Prepaid Plan Airtel Rs 199 prepaid plan is packed with intriguing benefits. Subscribers get 1GB of data per day with truly unlimited calling, 100 SMS/day, and a validity of 24 days. Additional benefits of the prepaid plan include Wynk Music subscription, free hello tunes, 30 days free Amazon Prime Video Mobile Edition trial and more. On the other hand, Rs 249 Airtel prepaid plan provides 1.5 GB of data per day with 28 days of validity and truly unlimited calling benefits. Users will also get Amazon mobile edition free trial, 1 year Shaw academy courses, free hello tunes, Airtel Xstream Premium and more. Vodafone Idea Rs 199 and Rs 299 Prepaid Plan Vodafone Idea Rs 199 prepaid plan offers truly unlimited calling benefits and 100 SMSes per day. Subscribers get 1GB of internet data per day for 24 days. Additional benefits of the prepaid plan include Vi Movies and TV services.  Vodafone Idea Rs 299 prepaid plan offers 4GB of internet data per day for 28 days. Subscribers get truly unlimited calls and weekend data rollover facility. Double data benefit is also included in the plan. BSNL Rs 187 and Rs 298 Prepaid Plan The state-owned telco also offers intriguing prepaid plans with multiple benefits. The BSNL Rs 187 prepaid plan offers 2GB of internet data per day with service validity of 28 days. Unlimited calling benefits and 100 SMS a day are also included in the pack. BSNL’s Rs 298 prepaid plan provides 1GB of data per day including unlimited voice calling benefits. Additional benefits of the plan include EROS NOW entertainment services for 56 days.

Xiaomi Beats Apple, Vivo to Lead the 5G Race in India Posted: 12 Jul 2021 02:54 AM PDT Xiaomi is well known in India for providing powerful smartphones for a very cheap price. The Chinese smartphone maker has been very successful in gaining a larger market share against its rivals because of ruling in the mid-range and entry-level smartphone segment. As per data obtained from Kunal Sarkar, Vice President, PredictVu, Xiaomi has beaten Apple and Vivo to become the smartphone brand that sold the most number of 5G smartphones in India. This data is only for January 2021 to April 2021 period. Vivo on the Second Position Followed by Apple Vivo was beaten by Xiaomi in terms of the volume of 5G smartphones sold. As per data, Xiaomi stood at the top in 5G smartphones sales volume with 31%, followed by Vivo (23%) and Apple (16%). It is worth noting that Vivo came out with the most number of 5G smartphones (9 devices) in the period compared to Apple, which was still selling last year's iPhone 12 series with 5G support and Xiaomi (4 devices). Despite coming out with the most number of 5G devices in the period, Vivo was still far behind Xiaomi in terms of sales volume. This isn't a surprising insight as Xiaomi is well known for capturing or targetting a larger market share and sales volume by offering much affordable smartphones than what its competitors are offering. However, what's interesting is that brands including Samsung and OnePlus, both of which promise to offer a 'premium' experience to their users, were far behind Apple in sales volume during the period despite them offering devices that were priced lesser than Apple's iPhone 12 series smartphones. Xiaomi is expected to continue growing in the 5G smartphone segment, given its reputation for offering more for less. The company is soon going to launch yet another 5G smartphone called the Redmi Note 10T 5G in India on July 20, 2021.

Bharti Airtel Begins 5G Trials in a New Location Posted: 12 Jul 2021 02:03 AM PDT According to sources, Bharti Airtel's 5G trial network has gone live in Mumbai's Phoenix Mall in Lower Parel. Airtel is conducting the trial in the 3500 MHz band using 5G gear from Nokia as per DoT guidelines. The trials have delivered speeds of over 1 Gbps with ultra-low latency. This is the first time that Bharti Airtel is claiming gigabit speeds on a mobile network. This event happens to be a landmark event, as for the first time Bharti Airtel is immensely close to offering a true 5G experience. Airtel 5G Network Test Under The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had recently allotted 5G trial spectrum to Airtel in 3500 MHz, 28 GHz, and 700 MHz in Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru to develop India-relevant use cases on the next-gen fast wireless broadband technology. Earlier this year, Airtel became the first telco in India to test 5G over a live network in Hyderabad using liberalized spectrum in an 1800 MHz band through Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology. Airtel's network is adequately ready to launch commercial 5G services in the country shortly after the availability of adequate spectrum. It is worth noting that the telcos continue to use the presently available 4G spectrum for the relaying of the nascent stages of the 5G network. As per sources, Airtel and Nokia plan to soon begin 5G trials in Kolkata. Previously, we have highlighted the Airtel 5G trials in Hyderabad. However, things have surely changed a lot in the last six months. The previous trials in Hyderabad could only achieve the speed of 310 Mbps, which although was a feat achieved for the first time over a mobile network in India, but still was nowhere near the true potential of 5G. But, now Airtel has filled the vacuum and with the newly allocated spectrum, Airtel has demonstrated the promised speed of 1 Gbps which happens to be the highlight of the fifth-generation technology network.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio to See Stagnant ARPU Growth in June Posted: 12 Jul 2021 12:45 AM PDT Telecom operators in India are witnessing a roller coaster ride in terms of mobile revenue. The renowned telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are expecting to have decent sequential growth in mobile revenue and ARPU in the June quarter. However, Vodafone Idea, on the other side, is facing adversities due to default AGR dues, network issues and subscriber fall. As reported by analysts, the telco giant is set to see a decline in mobile revenue and ARPU. The prime reason behind this is the fall in data consumption and the free charges scheme rolled out to intrigue subscribers. Reliance Jio Net Profit Expected to Rise 5.7% in June Since its initiation in the telecom market, Reliance Jio has been growing at a rapid scale. The subscriber addition and ample range of services are the pillars of the telco giant. The renowned firm Morgan Stanley estimates Jio to report a 5.7% rise in net profit in June 2021. It will be the 15th successive quarterly profit which is the result of higher operating income and continuous subscriber addition. Since Vodafone Idea is facing trouble in providing exceptional 4G services, Jio and Bharti Airtel might increase their subscriber's addition in the fiscal first quarter at the expense of Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Idea's Quarterly Loss Expected to be Around Rs 6,629 Crore Vodafone Idea is facing the darkest phase where customer losses are inevitable and financial losses are expected to widen further. The cash strapped telco is estimated to sit around Rs 6,629 crore loss due to a fall in subscriber addition and data user base. Airtel, on the other side, is expected to narrow sequentially to around Rs 318 crore net profit because of changes in data subscriber addition. Airtel and Jio Expected to Have 3.2% and 3.3% ARPU Growth in June JM Financial has estimated that Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio witnessed 3.2% and 3.3% up sticks in wireless revenues in the June quarter. Not only this but, Airtel quarterly consolidated revenue is expected to grow 3.4% sequentially. Vi is estimated to have reduced 3% on-quarter sequentially. Airtel and Jio are expected to report deflated ARPU growth while Vodafone Idea to drop by 1.7% sequentially.

BSNL Data Plans That Come With No Daily Usage Limit Posted: 12 Jul 2021 12:28 AM PDT On Sunday, we talked about BSNL prepaid plans that offer minimum to zero data but offer extremely affordable plans for voice-based users. Today we are going on the opposite side and checking out BSNL data plans which come with no daily FUP limit. It is well known that the most popular plans in the market right now, regardless of the telecom operator, are the daily data limit plans. These plans come with daily data limits which expire at the end of the day. However, if you have to use data beyond that point, then you will have to spend more on an add-on pack. This is the advantage of BSNL data packs which come with no daily data FUP limit. These plans will offer you unlimited data and you will have the freedom of using all of it in a single day or sustaining these data over longer periods. BSNL Rs 247 and Rs 447 STV The first plan in this list of plans that BSNL has advertised is the Rs 247 STV which comes with 30 days validity. It is worth noting that the plans that come with no daily data limit are usually pricier as compared to the daily limit plans. This plan from BSNL offers 50GB of data for the entire period of 30 days. Not only this, there is the usual benefit of 100 SMS per day and unlimited calling everywhere, including to MTNL areas of Mumbai and Delhi. The second plan in the list a step above the last one and offers 60 days validity for Rs 447. Every benefit is double as compared to the last plan, except the price. Hence, subscribers will be better off choosing this plan for two months. They will get 100GB of data for the entire period of 60 days along with unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day. BSNL PV of Rs 1,999 Lastly, the top-notch plan in this ladder is the Rs 1,999 Prepaid Voucher which offers 600GB data for the entire validity period of 365 days. The subscribers also enjoy the unlimited calling benefit included with the 100 SMS per day plan. It is worth noting that the benefits of these plans might change after 3rd October 2021 since BSNL has informed of the offer to be valid till that period.

Telecom or Mobile Towers Necessary for Maintaining Connectivity? Posted: 11 Jul 2021 11:52 PM PDT The Madras High Court has observed that maintaining network connectivity while the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is very important. Since people can't step out of their homes to learn, work, or run their businesses very easily, it has become very important that online connectivity is maintained at all times. The Madras High Court made the observation while looking at the petitions filed by ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited, a private telecom company based out of Chennai, South India. The company was looking to get police protection for installing new mobile phone towers in different parts of southern India. Mobile Towers Facilitate Business Meetings Justice G Chandrasekharan observed that for the last 16 months, people have not been able to move out of their homes freely to conduct their regular business. People have relied on internet connectivity to hold business meetings through video conferencing platforms and voice calls. To do all of this, mobile network connectivity is very vital and for that, abundant mobile towers are required throughout the country. One thing that this pandemic has taught us is that we as a society have to prepare ourselves for such situations in advance. One of the biggest aids during the pandemic for societies throughout the world was mobile network connectivity. Through the mobile networks, even though people couldn't come out of their homes, they could do video and voice calls. Even multiple business activities which take place online could be executed with the help of mobile networks. With the upcoming digital age and 5G, the role of mobile towers will increase even further because the demand for the internet will only grow from here. It is a great thing that the Indian courts understand the importance of the presence of mobile towers in every part of the country. This will push India towards a digital country at a faster pace.

Apple Might Take a Major Leap With MacBook Pro’s Webcam Posted: 11 Jul 2021 11:20 PM PDT The MacBooks' are considered as few of the best laptops in the world. They are sleek, look stylish, are powerful, and most of all, have a good life. Thus investing in a MacBook has hardly gone wrong for anyone. However, there's one thing that Apple has been continuously doing with its MacBooks' which is off-putting for its loyal fan base. The Cupertino tech giant has been using a 720p resolution webcam on its MacBooks' for years now. Despite rolling out new chipsets, new designs for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple is still offering a 720p resolution webcam on its laptops. However, Apple might change this with the upcoming MacBook Pro models. MacBook Pro Might Come With a 1080p Resolution Webcam Apple might finally offer users a 1080p resolution webcam with its upcoming MacBook Pro models. Rumours have it that Apple will launch two new MacBook Pro models — 14-inch and 16-inch. According to a MacRumors report, the 1080p resolution webcam will further be extended to other Macs as well. The most recent iMac (24-inch) from Apple features a 1080p webcam. Apple had earlier said that even though it was offering the 720p resolution webcam with its new MacBooks, the new image signal processor and the M1 silicon chipset has improved the overall quality of the picture that will be delivered. If that's true, with the 1080p resolution webcam, the picture delivery should enhance even further. Apple will also be bringing the successor of the M1 which is the M2 with its new updated MacBooks in early 2022. If Apple does come out with the 1080p sensor on the laptop, it will be highly appreciated by the MacBook fans. There have been some customers in the past who didn't purchase a Mac just because of the low-quality webcam that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro came with.

Redmi Note 10T 5G Will Launch in India on July 20 Posted: 11 Jul 2021 11:11 PM PDT Redmi is all set to bring another smartphone in the Note 10 series in India. The Chinese smartphone maker will launch the Redmi Note 10T 5G on July 20 in India. The company has announced the same via its official Twitter handle. The device will be yet another addition to the Redmi Note 10 series in India, which already includes four devices – Redmi Note 10, Redmi Note 10 Pro, Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, and the Redmi Note 10S. Redmi Note 10T 5G Highly Likely to Feature Dimensity 700 SoC One thing is for sure, Redmi won't offer this as an expensive smartphone in the Indian market. The company will be rolling out the smartphone at an affordable price point, meaning the Redmi Note 10T 5G will be sporting a cheaper end 5G chipset. As per the past rumours, it is highly likely that the Redmi Note 10T 5G will feature the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC. It is worth noting that this chipset has been already used by other smartphone manufacturers such as Realme for their budget 5G smartphones. In terms of other specifications, the Redmi Note 10T 5G is further expected to sport a 90Hz refresh rate support screen. For the unaware, the smartphone has already launched in the Russian market. Looking at the international variant of the device, we can expect it to be released around the Rs 20,000 price point. It will even make sense for Redmi to touch this price point given that it is a 5G smartphone and will come with 90Hz refresh rate support. Redmi is expected to roll out the smartphone with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The other smartphones in the Redmi Note 10 series have seen tremendous success in India. It is very likely that the Redmi Note 10T 5G will be no exception to that success.

JioPhone Was a Splendid Success, Will JioPhone Next Follow Up Posted: 11 Jul 2021 09:35 PM PDT One of the biggest questions that people have in their mind is, will JioPhone Next be a success? For the unaware, the JioPhone Next is a super affordable Android smartphone that Reliance Jio will be coming out with on September 10, 2021. The smartphone has been developed by Jio in partnership with Google. Everyone knows how successful JioPhone has been in the Indian market. But many are wondering whether JioPhone Next will get the same response from the Indian market. Recalling JioPhone's Massive Success JioPhone was announced in 2017 by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani. According to one of the old LiveMint reports, six million units of JioPhone were booked in the first three days of the company starting the pre-booking for the device on August 24, 2017. Then, in the global feature phone market in Q1 2018, JioPhone held a 15% market share in terms of sales which was the most for any device, followed by Nokia HMD, which held a 14% share. Four years later, in 2021, as per a note released by Reliance Jio, there are over 100 million JioPhone users in India. These are staggering numbers for a 'feature phone' in the era of smartphones. This clearly shows that there are people who want a cheap 4G phone and don't even want to pay Rs 6,000 and above for their devices. But will JioPhone Next be the same success? JioPhone Next Aims to Bring More 4G Users JioPhone Next will really need to be a solid offering from the company if it wants to do what JioPhone did. The pricing of the device will play a key role in determining its success or failure. There's hardly anything that Reliance Jio has done, and it has failed. There's a strong reason behind every move from the company. Thus, I expect that JioPhone Next will be a success as well, given it will be something that will have a unique standing in the market. While we now know how JioPhone Next looks like and have an idea about its basic features, only its real-life performance will tell us whether the device is worth the money or not. JioPhone Next might face a lot more hardships because users will be comparing the device from other smartphones in the affordable category. While for feature phones, there are no big competitors for Reliance Jio in the price category it is selling JioPhones' at. The success or failure of the JioPhone Next will be determined by how many new 4G users hop on to Jio's mobile networks and not how many JioPhone Next are sold. Reliance Jio wants to make India 2G Mukt, and this device will be a big step for the company in that direction.

Dialog Axiata Is Setting Up 5G Innovation Centres in Sri Lankan Universities Posted: 11 Jul 2021 08:00 PM PDT Dialog Axiata PLC, in collaboration with the UGC or University Grants Commission on Monday established '5G Innovation Centres' located at the Engineering Faculties of certain leading universities in order to create as well as incubate interest-driven learning, combined with innovation and entrepreneurship for the upcoming future leaders These Innovation Centres are made to empower students with the goal to make them interdisciplinary, computational, and entrepreneurial which will be achieved by giving students a first-hand experience in relation to 5G connectivity and many of the technology’s cutting-edge use cases. This list comprises artificial intelligence or AI, computer vision, ML or machine learning, blockchain, robotics, and the internet of things (IoT) coupled with related emerging technologies that, as per the company will allow for national innovation combined with economic diversification. What Do the Executives Have to Say? In regards to this initiative, Snr Professor Sampath Amaratunge, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission or UGC mentioned that UGC was grateful to Dialog Axiata for this extraordinary show of support in establishing 5G Innovation Centres at leading Universities across the nation. This marks a milestone moment in UGC's history. These 5G Innovation Centres will allow for better shaping of the future leaders of the nation and catalyse the digital evolution of Sri Lanka. Supun Weerasinghe, the Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC further added that the company was pleased to extend these 5G Innovation Centres to the Sri Lankan University ecosystem so as to be at the vanguard of national innovation that leverages technology for positive societal impact. This initiative by Dialog to establish a network of innovation centres will follow academic expertise and industry partners done to define and develop the 5G infrastructure that will underpin the way people live their lives and reflects a bold vision for a transformational future for Sri Lanka by supporting industries that will drive the country forward. Oshada Senanayake, the Director-General of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka added that over the years, Dialog Axiata has been an ever-present driving force when it comes to the development of the country's education sector, at the height of the pandemic. This latest notable initiative by Dialog will propel the efforts in making Sri Lanka a major tech hub.

BSNL, Jio and Airtel, Whose Cheapest Broadband Plan Offers More Value Posted: 11 Jul 2021 06:29 PM PDT The Indian broadband industry has received a big push since the time Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), JioFiber, and Airtel Xstream Fiber started offering FTTH internet services. To add to that, multiple regional internet service providers (ISPs) have crept up promising benefits that are as good as what major operators mentioned above offer. Today, we will look at the cheapest broadband plans from each of the operators and determine whose plans offer the best value. BSNL Cheapest Broadband Plan BSNL offers its cheapest broadband plan for Rs 449 per month. The state-run telco offers 30 Mbps speed along with 3.3TB or 3,300GB data with this plan. There are no over-the-top (OTT) benefits which is understandable since it is an entry-level plan and the users get 2 Mbps speed after the consumption of fair-usage-policy (FUP) data. Further, this plan also offers a free fixed-line voice calling connection. Airtel Xstream Fiber Cheapest Broadband Plan Airtel Xstream Fiber offers its cheapest broadband plan for Rs 499 per month. This plan offers users 40 Mbps speed and a free fixed-line voice calling connection. Users get 3.3TB data (3,333GB) for the month and Airtel Thanks benefits including Airtel Xstream Premium, Wynk Music, Shaw Academy, and more. There's nothing more to this plan, so let's move on to JioFiber's cheapest broadband plan. JioFiber Cheapest Broadband Plan JioFiber offers its cheapest broadband plan for Rs 399 per month. Users get the same amount of data as they are getting with the above-mentioned plans – 3.3TB (3,300GB). There is a free voice calling connection (fixed-line) included as well. However, there are no other benefits included with this plan. Who Offers the Best Value Entry-Level Broadband Plan? It is quite clear if you are looking at the price, JioFiber's plan is the cheapest and is exactly similar to BSNL's plan. So there's no point in picking BSNL's plan over JioFiber's entry-level broadband plan. Comparing the entry-level broadband plans of Airtel and Jio, there's a huge difference visible. With Airtel's plan, users get 10 Mbps more speed, but they have to pay Rs 100 more as well. Note that none of the prices mentioned above is inclusive of taxes. However, there's no OTT benefit included with JioFiber's plan but you get Airtel Xstream Premium benefit with Airtel's plan. The only thing that you need to ask yourself is whether that 10 Mbps speed difference and the Airtel Thanks benefits are worth the Rs 100 extra. Utility wise, if you have at least 3 people connected to the Wi-Fi network, then go for Airtel's plan with 40 Mbps speed. But if it’s less than 3 users, 30 Mbps speed is more than sufficient.

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