From the Apple iPhone SE to the OnePlus Nord, this year has seen the return of some big names in the smartphone space to the business of making affordable smartphones. The next in line is global software giant Google, which recently launched the Pixel 4a in India. The Pixel 4a claims to bring some of the best features from Google at a reasonable price of Rs 31,999. But is it worth your money? Let’s find out:

Design

It is hard to find an Android smartphone, especially a midrange one, with good ergonomics and a compact form factor. Thankfully, the Google Pixel 4a has both. You will love the Pixel 4a’s in-hand feel, and it is surprisingly sturdy despite its polycarbonate build. Moreover, its lightweight design (143g) makes it comfortable to hold and operate, and it feels like air while resting inside the pocket.

Display

The Pixel 4a’s design is accentuated by the 5.8-inch OLED screen (fullHD resolution) with a punch-hole on the top-left corner to accommodate the front camera. The display stretches across the borders, leaving minimal bezels – something that previous Pixel smartphones could not pull off. The screen is bright, vivid and responsive. It has a good contrast and seems suitable for most content you consume on a smartphone screen.

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PUBG Corporation, the creator of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and subsidiary of South Korea’s Krafton, Inc, on Thursday announced that the company is planning to make investments worth $100 million in India. The company also said it would create an Indian subsidiary to enhance communications and services as it prepares for the comeback.

“The Indian company will hire over 100 employees specialising in business, e-sports, and game development. In addition to establishing a local office, the company will look to actively collaborate and leverage local businesses to strengthen its gaming service,” PUBG Corporation said in a statement.

PUBG Corporation said it would also launch PUBG Mobile India, a new game created specifically for the domestic market.

The company revealed plans to provide a secure and healthy gameplay environment alongside investments to cultivate local video game, e-sports, entertainment, and IT industries.

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Leica has launched Leica Q2 Monochrom – the next-generation model of the Leica Q line of cameras for black and white photography.

The Q2 Monochrom features a newly developed full-frame monochrome sensor, a fast Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH. prime lens, fast and precise autofocus and OLED viewfinder technology, the company said.

The Leica Q2 Monochrom features a 47.3 megapixel full frame monochrome sensor that captures 4K video at ISO sensitivities up to 100,000 and, together with its Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens, ensures exceptional imaging performance, it said.

Like the Leica Q2 the Q2 Monochrom comes with a protective sealing against dust and water spray compiling to the IP52 Standard.

The Leica Q2 Monochrom also features an OLED viewfinder with a resolution of 3.68 megapixels. In contrast to LCD technology, in which only whole sectors of the viewing image can be darkened, the brightness of each individual pixel in the viewfinder of the Q2 is adapted. Despite the high resolution, power consumption remains low.

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Like many peers, Chinese smartphone maker OPPO uses a custom-tuned Android operating system on its smartphones. Named ColorOS, this custom OS is built on Android but with a custom skin on top. The OPPO ColorOS has come a long way over the years and its latest iteration, ColorOS 11, is much improved from the previous one, ColorOS 7. Based on Android 11 operating system, ColorOS 11 brings most of the features that Google operating systems natively support. Besides, it boasts several value-added features and customisation options for a personalised user experience.

ColorOS 11 does not look thematically different from ColorOS 7 but it has new features and customisation options that make all the difference. From custom wallpapers to new accent colours, fonts and notification drawer icons, theme customisations are deeply integrated within the OS for a personalised user experience. Moreover, some of the older-generation features have also been enhanced. For example, the fingerprint icon animation gets additional effects and the system-wide dark mode now supports colour accents. In ColorOS 11, customisation options are available for most commonly used features. The customisations add zing to the otherwise minimal Android 11 OS.

As for value-added features, ColorOS 11 incorporates the Google Lens in three finger screenshot window. The Google Lens integration is limited to the text translation feature. Nonetheless, it provides a quick way to translate text in native languages on the go. Another minor but relevant value-added feature is the ‘Low Battery Message’, which sends a message with the phone’s location to pre-selected contacts as soon as the phone’s battery drops below the threshold limit.

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Google has added Samsung Galaxy devices into its Android Enterprise Recommended programme.

The Android enterprise programme has become a critical tool for enterprise customers, helping them easily evaluate and approve devices that meet Google’s requirements for hardware, software and updates.

“Samsung has been a key player in the mobile enterprise space for many years, and we’re excited to have them on board as we make it easier for customers transitioning to a mobile workforce,” said Bernie Hsu, Head of Android Enterprise Device Partnerships.

“We look forward to recommending Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets to our enterprise customers to provide them with great devices for security, efficiency and productivity”.

The Android Enterprise Recommended programme was launched in 2018 to help customers select, deploy and manage devices with more confidence.

Since the initial introduction with seven device manufacturers, the programme has more than 30 global partners, most recently adding devices from leading manufacturers such as Lenovo, OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi.

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Google has announced that it will soon start charging for Google Photos storage once users upload more than 15GB onto their accounts.

Starting June 1, 2021, all new photos and videos backed up in high quality will count toward the free 15GB of storage that comes with Google Account or any additional storage that user may have purchased, the same way other Google services like Google Drive and Gmail already do.

“Any photos or videos you’ve uploaded in High quality before June 1, 2021 will not count toward your 15GB of free storage. This means that photos and videos backed up before June 1, 2021 will still be considered free and exempt from the storage limit. You can verify your backup quality at any time in the Photos app by going to back up and sync in Settings,” Shimrit Ben-Yair, VP, Google Photos said in a statement.

Once the change takes effect, more than 80 per cent of current Google Photos users should still be able to store about three years of content with that free 15GB. Google will notify you in the app and by email once you get close to hitting your 15GB limit.

The only users that will be exempt from this policy change are Pixel smartphone users, who will still be able to upload “high quality” photos without any limits after June next year.

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A drone taxi and a drone delivery were tested in South Korea’s capital on Wednesday as the country moves closer to launching unmanned air vehicles by 2025.

The event, near Seoul’s Han River, offered a glimpse into the future and what flying vehicles might look like in a densely populated city. South Korea is investing around 24.5 billion won ($22 million) through 2022 to develop the so-called K-Drone System.

The demonstration in a quiet riverside park started with the flight of several small drones, which are designed to monitor traffic conditions and alert for any potential danger. A siren rang to signal the all clear before a larger, two-seater drone, made by Chinese company Ehang, began its takeoff.

No human passengers were on board the 5.6 meter-wide drone due to safety regulations. Instead, it carried 70 kilograms of rice bags in its seats. The vehicle glided above the river for around 10 minutes at a height of about 36 meters and reaching speeds of up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) an hour.

When the Ehang 216 passenger-grade auto aerial vehicle’s electric battery is fully charged, it can fly for as long as 30 minutes, according to Bill Choi, Ehang’s Asia business head. The company’s drones are already in use in China, for deliveries, firefighting and some tourism purposes, he said.

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Digital current affairs and news portals along with online content providers such as Netflix and Hotstar have been brought under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Central government said in an order.

Presently, India does not have an autonomous body that governs online content.

The notification, which was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, detailed that films, audio-visual programmes, news and current affairs content online platforms be brought under the ministry of information and broadcasting, presently headed by Prakash Javadekar.

The print media is currently overlooked by the Press Council of India and the News Broadcasters Association represents television news channels in the country. Films are monitored by the Central Board of Film Certification.

In October, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the central government and the Internet and Mobile Association of India seeking regulation of over-the-top platforms such as Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video. The petition, filed by advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, looked for the setting up of an autonomous body to monitor and filter content on these OTT portals.

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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani obliterated rivals in India’s telecommunications sector by selling $2 data plans and free voice calls. Four years later, he’s deploying a very similar tactic — cutthroat pricing — to gain an edge in the country’s increasingly competitive e-commerce space.

As India this week hits the peak of its biggest shopping season, the festival of Diwali, the tycoon’s retail websites — including JioMart — are elbowing their way into a space long dominated by Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.’s local unit Flipkart Online Services Pvt.

Ratcheting up competition, Ambani’s portals are offering blockbuster discounts of as much as 50% on popular sugary confections and other holiday staples like spice mixes for India’s rice delicacy, biryani. Meanwhile, his Reliance Digital website is selling some flagship Samsung smartphones at prices cheaper than rivals, with as much as 40% rebates.

It’s a push that comes as Ambani’s sprawling conglomerate, Reliance Industries Ltd., is flush with cash. After raising an eye-popping $20 billion for its technology venture, it’s shifted fundraising to its retail arm, which has won over $6 billion in investment in recent weeks from heavyweights like KKR & Co. and Silver Lake. Already India’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer, Ambani’s online ambitions pit him against the two U.S. giants, both of which have invested big in India.

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Apple Inc on Tuesday introduced a MacBook Air notebook and other computers with the first microprocessor designed in-house, a move that will tie its Macs and iPhones closer together technologically.

The new chip, called the M1, marks a shift away from Intel Corp technology that has driven the electronic brains of Mac computers for nearly 15 years.

It is a boon for Apple computers, which are overshadowed by the company’s iPhone but still rack up tens of billions of dollars in sales per year. Apple hopes developers now will create families of apps that work on both computers and phones.

The MacBook Air will start at $999, the same as its predecessor, and have up to twice the battery life, Apple said.

The M1 will also power the MacBook Pro notebook, which starts at $1299, and its $699 Mac Mini computer, which comes without a monitor.

The Mini is targeted at engineers and scientists because of artificial intelligence capabilities of the new chip that usually require a graphics chip from Nvidia Corp or AMD.

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