Jio Phone beta testing will begin tomorrow, and the phone will be up for pre-orders for the public on August 24. But certain retailers in Delhi-NCR area have already started taking Jio Phone bookings, a week ahead of schedule; it is not yet clear whether the bookings have started in other cities as well. This means you can be among the first few people getting their hands on the device, provided you book now. You will need an Aadhaar number to book the device, and the Rs. 1,500 refundable security deposit needs to be paid when you receive the handset.
In more Jio news, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has stated the telco has added more than six million wireless subscribers in June alone. Comparatively, Airtel added over two million and Vodafone, less than one million. With this increase, Reliance Jio now enjoys 10.39 percent of market share in terms of wireless subscribers, whereas Airtel still sits in the top bracket with 23.65 percent market share. Vodafone comes in second with 17.86 percent and Idea holds 16.54 percent as of June 30 this year.
Nokia 3310 (2017) 3G variant will be launched in late September, early October: report
A 3G version of the new Nokia 3310 is on the way and is expected late September or early October. In response to a customer query on Twitter, Irish telecom carrier Three Ireland Online said that the 3G variant of the Nokia 3310 (2017) will be arriving in the time frame of late September or early October, as per a report by Nokiapoweruser, with the tweet now have been deleted. This follows the phone being listed on the US FCC certification site.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A specifications leaked, August 21 launch tipped
Details on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A have surfaced. Specifications include a Snapdragon 425 SoC and 2GB RAM. There’s 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies, and a 3080mAh battery. It’s expected on August 21 at a price of CNY 999 (around Rs. 9,600). And if that’s not enough, two Snapdragon 625-powered versions are rumoured to be on the way as well.
Android O name, final build will be released on August 21: reports
The final, retail build of Android O will be rolled out from August 21. Two prominent tipsters claim that the Android O update will be released on August 21. Evan Blass claims that the Android O release is scheduled for the week of August 21, “most likely on 21st itself”. A separate report, on the other hand, tips that the Google Pixel devices are scheduled to receive Android O on August 21, not clarifying whether the other compatible devices will receive it alongside. It also claims that the name of Android O will also be released on the same day as the upcoming solar eclipse i.e., August 21. If true, this means that the name reveal, and the release of the final build will happen on the same day.
iPhone 6 32GB Gold variant now available in India via Amazon
The iPhone 6 32GB was launched in India earlier this year. At the time, Space Grey was the only option. Now Apple has brought the Gold variant. It’s exclusive to Amazon India and is priced at Rs. 26,999. The smartphone debuted in the Amazon Great Indian Sale that ended on August 12. After making it available for a discounted price of Rs. 24,999 for one day only, the iPhone 6 is now available for Rs. 26,999 exclusively on Amazon India.
Google voice search adds support for more Indian languages
Google has announced extended language support for its voice search feature. The Android-maker is adding support for 30 new languages, eight of which are from India. The new Indian languages are Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Prior to the roll-out, which will reach most Android phones Monday, Google’s voice search only supported Hindi language in India. The company said it will roll out these features to its services on iOS in the coming weeks. The move will enable millions of Indians to access Google’s Search — as well as Gboard app, which is also adding support for these languages today — more easily.
Moto X4 leaked in renders, colour variants and specifications tipped
Moto X4 leaked renders suggest a glass back and dual camera design setup. The smartphone will be available in Super Black and Sterling Blue and will feature a fingerprint sensor embedded in its home button on the front. In terms of specifications, we could see the Moto X4 launch with a 5.2-inch full-HD display, Corning Gorilla Glass and a Snapdragon 630 processor along with an Adreno 508 GPU.
Reports claim there will be two Moto X4 variants – one with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, and other with 4GB and 64GB storage. The 3GB RAM variant has been tipped to be launched in in North America, Latin America, and Europe while the 4GB RAM variant is expected to make its way to the Asia Pacific region. In terms of optics, the Moto X4 smartphone has been tipped to come with a dual camera setup consisting of a 12-megapixel sensor and an 8-megapixel sensor. At front, the Moto X4 is expected to feature a 16-megapixel sensor, with f/2.0 aperture and 1-micron pixel size, that is capable of shooting videos in up to 4K resolution.
Dota 2’s top players beaten by Elon Musk-backed OpenAI startup
A bot created by the Elon Musk-backed nonprofit startup ‘OpenAI’ has defeated champion Danylo ‘Dendi’ Ishut in multiplayer online battle arena Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2) in two back-to-back demonstration matches. Several practice matches were played with other top players over the weekend, including Syed ‘Suma1l’ Hassan and Artour ‘Arteezy’ Babaev.
The game, played at the annual tournament The International on Saturday in Keyarena at Seattle Center, has a winning prize of close to $24 million. Dota 2 is a complex, team-based game played by over 10 million people monthly. The game is continuous, has hidden information and good strategy and positioning win over raw mechanics. OpenAI uses Dota 2 as a test-bed for new AI technologies. Musk hailed the achievement on Twitter, saying: “It was a significant advance over what AI had accomplished in more traditional games.”
Microsoft memo shows high return rates for Surface Book, says report
Consumer Reports released results of a survey claiming that the Surface range of devices aren’t as reliable as Microsoft wants them to be. While the company as dismissed these claims, an internal memo has leaked, deep diving into the possible reasons for Consumer Reports’ conclusions.
In the memo, Surface products lead Panos Panay writes, “It’s important for us to always learn more from our customers and how they view their ownership journey with our products. Feedback like this [from Consumer Reports] stings, but pushes us to obsess more about our customers.”
Panay also writes that Microsoft has worked tirelessly to fix all the issues, and the return rates have reduced a lot over the past 12 months; however, that does not reflect in Consumer Reports’ findings, and the study is heavily reliant of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book users only. He claims that subsequent devices have been launched in far more reliable states, and that Microsoft is adamant on letting its users know that. “[We] have put together a comprehensive set of data that reflects the strength of our quality and our customer sentiment, and will be working with partner organizations, including marketing, retail, and sales, to share that information broadly,” Panay writes in the memo.