Unfold The World 🧑‍💻

7 New features to WhatsApp : 

1) Status Reactions - WhatsApp is releasing status reactions on WhatsApp beta for Android, a feature that lets people react to others' status just like we can do in Instagram. As of now, users can pick from 8 available emojis: Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes, Face with Tears of Joy, Face with Open Mouth, Crying Face, Folded Hands, Clapping Hands, Party Popper, and Hundred Points.

2) Login Approval - WhatsApp is working on a new security feature called login approval , an option to add extra-layer of security to your WhatsApp account. With the launch of this update users will be immediately notified whenever a new login is processed with their account details. This feature is under development and it will be available in the future.

3) In another of its update it will launch a section to view past group participants to some users that install the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS update.

4) After releasing the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.17.21 update, the app will also roll out past group participants to some Android beta testers. In addition, as it happens on WhatsApp beta for Android, the in-chat event that shows up when someone leaves a group is only visible to group admins.

5) The instant messaging platform will soon launch an advanced WhatsApp feature to mange storage by bringing the old storage usage section from a different entry point. With this unnecessary media and section messages can be deleted

6) WhatsApp is releasing a tweaked version for the context menu on WhatsApp beta for Windows by including the spell check action in addition to pre existing bold, italics etc options.

7) Privacy update: WhatsApp is developing an option that will allow community members toggle phone number sharing so users will be able to choose who can see their phone number in a certain sub-group if a community. With this only saved contacts might be able to see our phone number in a group. This might save from the hassle of exiting from all those unknown groups we are often added into as our number is accessible to all.

Ban MI/Realme/Vivo/oppo smartphones:

India seeks to restrict Chinese smartphone makers from selling devices cheaper than 12,000 rupees ($150) to kickstart its faltering domestic industry, dealing a blow to brands including Xiaomi Corp.

The move is aimed at pushing Chinese giants out of the lower segment of the world's second-biggest mobile market, according to people familiar with the matter. It coincides with mounting concern about high-volume brands like Realme and Transsion undercutting local manufacturers, they said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter.

Exclusion from India's entry-level market would hurt Xiaomi and its peers, which in recent years have increasingly relied on India to drive growth while their home market endures a series of Covid-19 lockdowns that crippled consumption. Smartphones under $150 contributed to a third of India's sales volume for the quarter through June 2022, with Chinese companies accounting for up to 80% of those shipments, according to market tracker Counterpoint.

Xiaomi's shares extended losses in the final minutes of trading in Hong Kong on Monday. It slid 3.6%, extending their decline this year to more than 35%. It's unclear whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will announce any policies or use informal channels to convey its preference to Chinese companies, the people said. 

New Delhi has already subjected Chinese firms operating in the country, such as Xiaomi and rivals Oppo and Vivo, to close scrutiny of their finances, which has led to tax demands and money laundering allegations. The government has previously employed unofficial means to ban Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. telecom equipment. While there's no official policy prohibiting Chinese networking gear, wireless carriers are encouraged to purchase alternatives

Homegrown companies such as Lava and MicroMax comprised just under half of India's smartphone sales before new entrants from the neighboring country disrupted the market with cheap and feature-rich devices. Chinese smartphone players now sell the vast majority of devices in India, but their market dominance has not been "on the basis of free and fair competition," India's junior tech minister told the Business Standard newspaper last week. Recurring annual losses posted by most Chinese handset makers in India, despite their leading position, add to criticism of unfair competition.  

Moto G2 launched at 12999 : 

Lenovo-owned smartphone brand Motorola on Tuesday launched its latest smartphone in the G-series in India -- Moto G32, which comes with 90Hz 6.5-inch FHD display, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, a Snapdragon 680 processor, near-stock Android 12 and more. The phone will be available in two colours -- Mineral Gray, and Satin Silver. 

The Moto G32 will go on sale starting 12 PM, 16th August 2022, exclusively on Flipkart and leading retail stores. The phone will be available in a single 4GB + 64GB variant priced at Rs 12,999 and can be availed at just Rs.11,749 including a bank offer of an instant discount up to Rs 1,250 with HDFC bank credit cards. 

Also, customers can avail themselves of the benefit of Jio offers worth Rs. 2,559 including Rs. 2000 cashback on recharge and Rs. 559 discounts on ZEE 5 annual subscription, the company said in a statement. 

Specifications:

It comes with a Ardeno 610 GPU and 64-bit architecture. It’s internal storage is of 128 GB expandable up to 1 TB with the help of a MicroSD Card slot. It comes with three cameras: a) 50 MP Wide Angle b) 8 MP ultra-wide camera c) 2 MP macro sensor. The front camera has a resolution of 16 MP with wide angle available.

Video quality features 1920x1080@30fps. It is compatible with 2G, 3G, 4G VoLTE networks within India. Dual sims can be inserted but only nano sim cards are viable. Offers USB Type-C charging port and comes with a battery life of 5,000 mAh.

Bluetooth 5.2 is compatible with this handset and includes FM Radio, loudspeaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The mobile phone comes with a side fingerprint sensor and offers face unlocking feature as well. It weighs around 184 grams & measures 161.7mm x 73.8mm x 8.4mm. It comes packed with e-compass, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, and proximity sensor.

Unfold the World :

Samsung’s latest foldable devices are now official. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 were launched at a global event in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung also introduces its new Galaxy Watch 5 along with a more durable Watch 5 Pro version. The Buds 2 Pro earbuds were also introduced.

The new foldable phones are expected to cement Samsung’s dominance of this segment further. Samsung first introduced its foldable lineup in 2019 and this is the fourth iteration which comes with improvements to the performance, design, multitasking and camera.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a more streamlined design compared to the previous generation. Both phones now have an upgraded display as well with an adaptive refresh rate of 1 Hz to 120 Hz. Previously this was limited to 10hz to 120 Hz.The latest generation of Samsung’s foldable phones is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which offers improved performance over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Samsung is also bringing improvements to Night photography on both phones, and improving the rear camera’s optical image stabilisation (OIS) as well.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 7.6-inch display with a 2K resolution when folded out, its secondary display is 6.2-inches with an HD+ resolution. In comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display and its secondary display is 1.9-inches.Samsung says it’s improving the secondary display on the Flip 4 with more customisation options for users. This will include new custom fonts, icons and designs and the ability for users to create their own Cover Screen with new clock designs and backgrounds in various formats such as images, GIFs, and even video.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro come with a new compact design and support for Hi-Fi 24bit Audio. The new design also means these earbuds are smaller with a more secure fit, according to Samsung. The Buds 2 Pro also come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) as well.

The Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro come with improved sensors for heart-rate tracking, sleep tracking, etc. The Watch 5 Pro comes with a titanium body and has a more rugged design compared to the Watch 5. It also gets a different strap with a magnetic buckleThe Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will also come with a bigger 590 mAh battery. Samsung claims the battery life is 80 hours on this without GPS mode turned on, and with GPS in continuous use this will be around 20 hours.

Mix Fold: 

The Mix Fold 2 has several improvements over the original Mi Mix Fold released last year that go beyond dropping the Mi branding. The Fold 2 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC flagship chipset, with 12GB of RAM and several storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB. It also features an improved hinge and comes in either gold or black.

As a foldable, you’re getting a 6.56-inch OLED outer display (2520 x 1080) with a long 21:9 aspect ratio and an 8.02-inch LTPO 2.0 inner display (2160 x 1914), which are both slightly larger than Samsung’s 6.2-inch OLED outer display (2316 x 904) and 7.6-inch (2176 x 1812) OLED inner display found on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Both of the Mix Fold 2 displays run at 120Hz with a brightness of 1,000 nits. The outer display is protected by the latest (and toughest) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, while the main folding display uses Schott ultra-thin glass just like Samsung has been known to use.

Xiaomi’s foldable features a triple camera setup with a primary 50-megapixel camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and an eight-megapixel telephoto with 2x optical zoom. There’s also a 20-megapixel hole-punch camera in the front for selfies.

It’s not all sunshine and device-measuring contests, though, as Samsung’s flagship offering includes a useful Flex mode (Samsung’s terminology for applications automatically reorienting to fit a folded screen) and IPX8 water resistance, two features that the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 lacks. Nevertheless, Xiaomi’s 4,500mAh battery capacity is still a smidge larger than the 4,400mAh battery found inside Samsung’s Z Fold 4. The Mix Fold 2 also supports 67W wired fast charging, with the brand claiming that a full charge can be achieved in 40 minutes, while the Z Fold 4 only supports up to 25W fast charging by comparison, with Samsung claiming the handset can achieve up to 50 percent of its battery capacity in 30 minutes.