It is the Nord season for Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. After introducing the OnePlus Nord CE (review), the core edition of its midrange smartphone, the company was quick to launch its successor too. Named the Nord 2, it is the first OnePlus smartphone powered by a MediaTek processor. It is also the first from OnePlus to come after the company’s integration with another Chinese smartphone maker OPPO. On paper, the Nord 2 5G seems to be a motley mix of OnePlus design and OPPO features. Is it a step forward in the right direction? Let’s find out:

Design

The Nord 2 looks similar to its predecessor but with a mix of OnePlus 9 series design elements for novelty. Therefore, the smartphone will look familiar and yet intriguing if you are upgrading from the Nord. Others are likely to appreciate the Nord 2 simply because the smartphone does not cut any corners with respect to design, build quality, and in-hand feel.

The Nord 2 comes in blue (review unit), grey and India-exclusive green colour variants. Like the OnePlus 9 series, OnePlus has treated each colour differently in terms of construction material and texture. The blue colour variant has glass cover with glossy finish on the back, while the grey variant has matte finish, and the green model has a textured PU leather coating. That said, the Nord 2 comes in limited colours but gives consumers a choice in the texture and material of the back cover.

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A NASA research facility in Ohio has been renamed after astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was born in the state and returned shortly after he became the first man to walk on the moon.

Ohio’s U.S. senators led the efforts to change the name of the NASA Plum Brook Station in Sandusky to the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility.

Republican Rob Portman said he raised the idea with Armstrong in 2012, shortly before Armstrong’s death, but he wasn’t comfortable with the attention it would bring.

It was never about him. It was about the mission, Portman said Wednesday at a ceremony marking the name change.

NASA and Armstrong’s family supported renaming the research center, Portman said.

Armstrong’s son, Mark Armstrong, said the early space missions showed people across the world that they could do things they could never imagine.

That is more empowering than any scientific advancement, he said. It’s more empowering than the transistor. It’s more empowering than the computer. Because it’s unlimited. And that’s what we have to remind people.

Armstrong was born just outside Wapakoneta in 1930, took flying lessons at a nearby airstrip and made his first solo flight at age 16. After the moon landing in 1969, he taught at the University of Cincinnati.

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By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A bipartisan trio of senators introduced a bill that would rein in app stores of companies they said exert too much market control, including Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.

Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar teamed up with Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn to sponsor the bill, which would bar big app stores from requiring app providers to use their payment system. It would also prohibit them from punishing apps that offer different prices or conditions through another app store or payment system.

“I found this predatory abuse of Apple and Google so deeply offensive on so many levels,” Blumenthal said in an interview Wednesday. “Their power has reached a point where they are impacting the whole economy in stifling and strangling innovation.”

Blumenthal said he expected companion legislation in the House of Representatives “very soon.”

The stakes are high for Apple, whose App Store anchors its $53.8 billion services business as the smartphone market has matured.

Apple said its app store was “an unprecedented engine of economic growth and innovation, one that now supports more than 2.1 million jobs across all 50 states.”

Google declined to comment, but a spokeswoman cited previous company statements that Android devices often come preloaded with two or more app stores and that app sellers can allow downloads without using Google’s Play Store.

The bill won praise from Spotify, Epic and Tile. Tile, which makes tags to find lost objects, complained earlier this year about Apple launching a rival product.

A similar law revision has been introduced in South Korea. Google said last year it would enforce certain in-app payment methods there and receive 30% commission fees from non-game digital content.

Apple’s control over apps on its Store, and 15% to 30% commissions on digital sales have come under regulatory scrutiny. A federal judge is reviewing testimony to rule on an antitrust lawsuit by “Fortnite” creator Epic Games.

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Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Wednesday announced a new feature that will allow users to take their WhatsApp chat history with them when they change mobile operating systems.

The company said it will be introducing the ability to move the entire WhatsApp chat history — including voice notes, photos and conversations — seamlessly and securely if users choose to switch mobile operating systems.

“We are excited for the first time to make it easy for people to securely transfer their WhatsApp history from one operating system to another,” Whatsapp Product Manager Sandeep Paruchuri said in a statement.

“This has been one of our most requested features from users for years and we worked together with operating systems and device manufacturers to solve it,” he added.

The feature will be available to users of both Android and iOS platforms, which means that people will be able to switch from both Android to iOS and vice versa.

The company said that it will start to roll out on Android initially, and on Samsung’s newest Galaxy smartphones unveiled on August 11.

To start, users will be able to take their WhatsApp history from iOS to an Android device and will subsequently be able to do the same on iOS devices.

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Smartphone maker OPPO on Thursday announced its partnership with music-streaming platform Spotify to bring personalised playlists for users that suit their moods and emotions.

The tie-up with Spotify is in keeping with OPPO Reno6 Series cameras that allow users to capture every emotion in portrait with Bokeh Flare Portrait Video in professional-grade quality, the company claimed.

“We are excited to associate with Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming app, to deepen our relationship with consumers by providing a personalised listening experience,” Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India, said in a statement.

“This partnership will allow users to capture their emotions in portrait and listen to their favourite music curated to their moods. Music transcends boundaries and speaks to your deepest emotions and that is what this personalised playlist is designed to do. By understanding how exactly you are feeling, it fetches music that truly resonates with you,” Khanoria added,

OPPO’s partnership with Spotify allows existing users to listen to their favourite songs, along with fresh selections, curated on the basis of moods and emotions.

New users are introduced to new playlists and songs that are gradually fine tuned to the listener’s tastes.

“We worked with OPPO to bring the power of our personalisation through a first of its kind digital experience to launch the Reno6, where users can get a playlist personalised to their current mood,” Arjun Ravi Kolady, Head of Sales, Spotify India.

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With the aim to offer a cinematic experience within the comfort of your home, Sony on Wednesday unveiled two new premium BRAVIA XR TVs for the Indian audience.

The new XR-77A80J is priced at Rs 549,990 and will be available from August 25, while KD-85X85J is priced at Rs 499,990 and is now available.

The new televisions come loaded with gaming capabilities, HDMI 2.1, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX enhanced along with ambient optimization and acoustic auto-calibration technology, the company said in a statement.

The new BRAVIA XR 77A80J OLED is powered by the new Cognitive Processor XR and the 85X85J television is powered by X1 4K HDR picture processor.

The company said it is designed to think like a human brain providing a revolutionary experience that completely immerses viewers in their favourite content.

Both the new large-screen televisions come loaded with gaming capabilities such as HDMI 2.1, 4K120, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). With BRAVIA XR 77A80J OLED and 85X85J, users can enjoy ultra-smooth gaming with reduced input lag less than 8.5 ms with 4K/120 fps and dedicated game mode.

With HDMI 2.1 compatibility, including 4K 120fps, VRR, ALLM and e-ARC in A80J, users will have the advantage in shooting sports and high-performance games with the instant on-screen action.

HDMI 2.1 has a higher speed which enables to realise more resolution, data handling and added features such as 4K 120Hz, VRR and ALLM.

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Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its third-gen foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3, at the Galaxy Unpacked event. Alongside, the South Korean electronics maker announced couple of smartwatches in the Galaxy Watch4 series and a pair of true wireless stereo earbuds named the Galaxy Buds2.

Starting with the upgrades the new foldable devices bring, both the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 get the new aluminium armor construction with IPX8 rating for water resistance. Samsung recently announced that there will be no Galaxy Note device this time around and Note-centric features will be available in other Galaxy devices.

On that note, the Galaxy Z Fold3 becomes the company’s first foldable device with support for its digital stylus SPen.

As for the wearables, the Galaxy Watch4 series debuts the unified platform jointly built by Samsung and Google. Powered by the company’s in-house chip built on 5nm process, the Galaxy Watch4 series boasts enhanced performance, efficient battery, and class-leading display. Coming on to the Galaxy Buds2, the wireless earbuds feature active noise cancellation, ambient sound mode, and compact and comfortable design.

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ISRO’s Earth Observation satellite (EOS-03), scheduled for launch on Thursday morning, will help in quick monitoring of natural disasters like cyclones, cloudbursts, thunderstorm, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

Singh said the EOS-03 is an excellent agile Earth Observatory which is being launched from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on Thursday.

“It will be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV-F10. Subsequently, the satellite will reach geostationary orbit using its on-board propulsion system.

“It will provide real-time images of large area region of interest at frequent intervals. This will help in quick monitoring of natural disasters, episodic events as well as any short term events, he said.

Singh said the new satellite will be capable of obtaining vital information for application in different sectors including agriculture, forestry, water bodies as well as for disaster warning, cyclone monitoring, cloudburst or thunderstorm monitoring.

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Audi has unveiled the first of an upcoming trio of concept vehicles, the Audi Skysphere.

An all-electric roadster with carriage-style doors and oversized wheels, the Skysphere’s most notable characteristic is that it can shorten or elongate its wheelbase with the push of a button. Skysphere presages two other concept cars planned for debut this year: The Grandsphere concept, due out next month, and the Urbansphere concept, which will debut in 2022.

“This is the first piece in how we are foreseeing the future,” said Henrik Wenders, the head of brand for Audi AG, at a private preview of the vehicle August 9 at a studio in Hollywood. “The present is offering everything we need for the future … and we had better hurry up.”

News of the concept comes as Audi reports its best-ever first six months in the 52-year history of the modern iteration of the brand, with net cash flow between €4.5 billion ($5.27 billion) to €5.5 billion, up from €3.5 billion to €4.5 billion previously. In July, parent-company Volkswagen AG lifted its forecast operating return to as much as 7.5 per cent, thanks in part to big double-digit margins at Audi. Closer to home, Audi of America increased deliveries by 92 per cent in Q2 over the same period in 2020. Year to date sales in North America are up 60 per cent, Audi reported in July.

Meanwhile Audi has committed €15 billion to electrification across its entire fleet, said Hildegard Wortmann, the member of the board of management for sales and marketing for Audi AG. By 2025, Audi will offer 20 different electric cars across its global portfolio. Audi’s hybrids and EVs are already profitable and best-sellers in Europe, Wortmann said.

In the United States, 30 per cent of sales will come from electric vehicles by then, a spokesperson said. The hybrid Q5 already comprises 12 per cent of total Q5 sales. So the electric concept series fits right according to plan, she said. “We are not going to do this by half,” Wortmann said. “We want to go the full way. We want to be the leading sustainable premium brand.”

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As Apple is preparing to launch new iPhones, a new survey has revealed that nearly 44 per cent of current iPhone users intend to upgrade to an iPhone 13 model.

According to a new survey by SellCell, 43.7 per cent of iPhone users said they plan to switch to iPhone 13, up 2.7 per cent compared to iPhone 12 purchase intent from a survey last year. Whereas 56.3 per cent revealed they are not interested in the upcoming iPhone range.

The report mentioned that higher refresh rate display, under-display Touch ID, always-on display and smaller notch/notch-less design topped the list of most exciting rumoured features of iPhone 13 at 22 per cent, 18.2 per cent, 16 per cent, 10.9 per cent, respectively.

Like the predecessor iPhone 12, the iPhone 13 will also likely be available in four variants — 5.4-inch iPhone 13 Mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 13, 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max, despite rumours early on that Apple could ditch the ‘Mini’ model due to poor sales.

The standard iPhone 13 was the most popular pick at 38.2 per cent, followed by the iPhone 13 Pro Max at 30.8 per cent. 24 per cent said they would go for the iPhone 13 Pro model, whereas a mere 7 per cent are interested in the smallest iPhone 13 Mini.

Among the wearables, 27.3 per cent of iPhone owners said they would consider buying the Apple Watch Series 7 as it releases later this year.

On the other hand, only a mere 12.9 per cent expressed interest in buying the third iteration of Apple AirPods, despite rumours about a new design, noise cancellation feature, spatial audio support and more.

The online survey — conducted between July 28 to Aug 6, 2021 — involved more than 3,000 iPhone owners, aged 18 years or older, based in the US.

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