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Private story likes: Instagram changing how people interact to other’s stories

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Instagram is continuously offering a better user experience by rolling out new features to make your social life go easy. It already has a feature where you can react to someone’s story and show your reactions. However, the same appears in their DM as well. Now think about the people you don’t want to talk to or you barely know, but because you’ve already sent them a DM, you now have to continue that awkward conversation with them. Hmm doesn’t feel good, right? Instagram has listened to your muted prayers, and guess what? To save you from these shunned conversations, Instagram has announced the right feature for you!

Private Story Likes

Instagram has announced a new feature on 14 February called the Private Story Likes. The feature will let you react to someone’s story without flooding their DMs with reactions and messages.

IGPrivateStoryLikes

Adam Mosseri, the head at Instagram, announced the news officially on Twitter. “So now, as you go through Stories, between sending a message and that little paper airplane, there will be a heart icon,” Adam Mosseri said in a video. “And if you tap on it, it’ll send the author of that story a like, and that like will show up in the viewer sheet, not in your DM thread with them.”

As indicated in the video shared by Mosseri, the new interface will show a heart icon when you’re viewing someone’s story, and once you tap it, it will send them a notification rather than a private message. The latest feature will also not show the count of likes and is built to be private only.

story-like

The feature is introduced to differentiate the regular Instagram posts from stories. As people are more active and like to interact on private stories, this has come just in time. Furthermore, the feature will help users to make it more fun and interesting to show appreciation and support for the content shared by their fellows. Also, it will not increase the number of unread messages or the ones you want to avoid, keeping your DM a little bit clean!

Also Read: It’s time to Take a Break : Instagram introduces new feature

Meta lands in a soup, sued over facial recognition

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The office of Texas’ attorney general filed a lawsuit against Meta’s (FB.O) Facebook over violating of state privacy laws by collecting millions of Texans’ biometric data without their consent using facial-recognition technology.

The lawsuit accuses Facebook of collecting biometric information from photos and videos uploaded by users without their consent, disclosed the information to others and failed to destroy it within a reasonable timeframe.

Facebook face recognition

The lawsuit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which quoted a person familiar with the matter as stating that hundreds of billions of dollars in civil penalties will be sought.

A spokesperson from Meta said: “These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously.”

Also Read: Tech NewsWrap: OnePlus reveals OxygenOS 13 in works… and more

POCO M4 Pro 5G phone to be launched today

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POCO will launch its POCO M4 Pro 5G phone in India. The launch event will be live-streamed at 12 noon on YouTube. The all-new POCO M4 Pro 5G comes with an integrated 5G modem with 7 band support.

Key Specifications

The upcoming phone has 6.6 inch full-HD+ Dot Display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone has a MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC along with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

According to the Company, the all-new POCO M4 Pro 5G is packed with a DCI-P3 Color Gamut, 90Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. It has 5,000mAh battery with 33W Pro fast charging.

Camera

Talking about optics, the new phone offers a dual rear camera setup that is headlined by a 50-megapixel primary sensor. There is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide shooter with a 119-degree lens. There is a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front.

“It’s getting closer and closer! Join us for the live-stream launch (not on metaverse) of POCO M4 Pro 5G at 12 PM tomorrow (sic),” tweeted POCO India.

Also, Read Here: Vivo T1 5G goes on sale today – Check How to Grab?

Tech NewsWrap: OnePlus reveals OxygenOS 13 in works… and more

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OnePlus reveals OxygenOS 13 in the works

This year’s Open Ears Forum (OEF) will see the launch of the Android 13-based OxygenOS 13 on February 28 via a community forum post, according to OnePlus. An online conference with OnePlus users and officials will be held to discuss the company’s upcoming OxygenOS 13 platform. However, the announcement of OxygenOS 13 raises some questions regarding OnePlus’ OS aspirations. According to previous reports, the Unified OS, which is being developed by both OnePlus and Oppo, would be unveiled in the second half of 2022. If OnePlus does plan to release Oxygen OS 13, it is likely to coincide with the launch of the Unified OS platform.

Infinix Zero 5G goes official in India

Infinix Zero 5G

Infinix has unveiled its first 5G Smartphone – Zero 5G – in the Indian market. The brand has partnered with Reliance Jio for the testing of Zero 5G and has received stellar performance results. The refreshing new Infinix Zero 5G will be a complete package for users who are looking to buy a future-ready 5G phone with smooth performance at its support of 13 5G Bands, the maximum number of bands any smartphone has, along with some high-end features at a competitive price of INR 19,999.

Redmi 10 2022 unveiled in global markets

Redmi 10 2022

Redmi 10 2022 has gone official in the global markets. It is an upgraded version of its predecessor with the same moniker. The handset has been launched with key specs such as a 90Hz refresh rate, a MediaTek chipset, a massive battery and more. The India launch details of the Redmi 10 2022 have not been shared yet. To recall, the company recently launched the Redmi Note 11 and the Redmi Note 11S in the country.

Asus ROG Phone 5s, ROG Phone 5s Pro India launch today

Asus ROG Phone5S

Asus ROG Phone 5s and Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro is all set to launch in India today (February 15) at 12 pm through a virtual event. The launch event will be livestreamed on the company’s YouTube channel. Any further information about the phone is yet to be revealed. The smartphones, unveiled in August 2021, has Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ SoC. Both the smartphones feature 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED E4 displays with 144Hz refresh rate.

Also Read: Karnataka High Court quashes law banning online gaming: Here is how experts react

Karnataka High Court quashes law banning online gaming: Here is how experts react

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The Karnataka High Court (HC) on Monday struck down the amendments to the Karnataka Police Amendment Act in 2021 prohibiting certain online gaming activities. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Krishna S Dixit said that nothing in the judgment shall be construed to prevent an appropriate legislation in accordance with the constitution.

The bench declared certain provisions of the Karnataka Act number 28/2021, to the extent the provisions pertaining to regulate online gaming activities, to be ultra vires to the Constitution of India. “The consequences of striking down the provisions shall follow. However, nothing in this judgment shall be construed to prevent an appropriate legislation be brought about concerning the subject of betting and gambling, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. A writ of mandamus is issued restraining the respondents from interfering with online gaming business and allied activities of the petitioners,” the bench said.

The state government by amending the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, had prohibited and criminalised playing of games of skill including online games by risking money or otherwise. The petitioners, including All India Gaming Federation, claimed that games such as poker, chess, rummy, fantasy sports are all games of skill and various court orders have categorically differentiated games of chance and games of skill.

Commenting on the HC’s judgment, Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation stated, “India is the fifth largest online gaming market globally and skill-based gaming, a sunrise sector, is giving birth to an increasing number of unicorns within the country, especially in Karnataka. The sector has been a strong financial contributor to the Indian economy even during an unprecedented period of slowdown and is further expected to generate revenues in excess of $ 3 billion by 2025. As the apex industry body for online skill gaming, AIGF welcomes the judgment passed by the court that strikes down the Law banning Online Games. Coming in succession of the positive judgments for online skill gaming by the Kerala and Madras HC in 2021, this is a step in the right direction to grow the burgeoning gaming industry.”

Furthermore, with the Finance Minister’s announcement of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) task force that will give a major boost to the game development sector, we look forward to bringing in massive employment, through direct and indirect jobs and becoming a meaningful contributor. AIGF and the skill games council of domain experts will be happy to assist various stakeholders in playing a consultative role in the formation of a regulatory framework for the industry.”

“The verdict by the HC, is yet another validation of what the online skill gaming industry has always maintained that we are legitimate business activity protected under the Constitution of India. This is the third High Court judgment, Tamil Nadu and Kerala verdicts, being the earlier ones, in the last seven months that has held a ban on skill gaming as Ultra Vires the constitution. We hope that these judgments can nudge state governments to frame progressive policy and regulatory structure for this sunrise sector,” said Dinker Vashisht, Vice President Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Games24x7.

Welcoming the Karnataka HC’s judgment, Ankur Singh, CEO & Founder of Witzeal Technologies Pvt. Ltd, said, “. This move is in line with the initiatives proposed by the FM in the Union budget to set up an AVGC task force and will further help in giving a much-needed push to gaming companies and developers. Moreover, the move will provide immense opportunity for the employment of youth by building internal capabilities to cater to domestic and international demands.”

“It’s a great day for the RMG industry. This segment is being recognised again and again specially from top judicial institutions of the country. Even the central government has been showing support to the gaming industry as seen in the recent budget presented by the FM. I am sure all state governments will also support the industry to realize its true potential, both for employment opportunities and revenue generation which can also be a big contributor to the GDP. This will also boost the investor sentiment towards the segment,” said Puneet Singh, Co-founder and COO, Baazi Games.4

Also, Read Here: OnePlus offers discounts on phones and accessories in February to celebrate Valentine’s Day

 

OnePlus offers discounts on phones and accessories in February to celebrate Valentine’s Day

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Phones and gadgets have become popular gifting items on anyone’s special day and Valentine’s Day is among one of them. If you are planning to gift a phone or any gadget to your valentine, here is the list of offers and deals that can be helpful for you. OnePlus is giving offers on its products through e-commerce platforms and retail stores.

OnePlus 9RT

Oneplus is offering up to Rs 4,000 off on its OnePlus 9RT model to customers who use an Axis Bank or ICICI credit or debit card through Amazon and offline stores of OnePlus. Exchange offer upto Rs18,000 is also available on OnePlus 9RT 5GThe phone priced Rs42,999 at Amazon. American Express cardholders will get a 10% rebate on the OnePlus 9RT.

OnePlus Nord 2 PAC-main edition

Amazon.in, the OnePlus India website, and the OnePlus Experience stores are giving upt Rs 5000 off on OnePlus Nord 2 5G Pac-Man Edition. The phone has 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for Axis Bank credit or debit card EMI.

Earbuds

OnePlus bullets wireless Z series is available at 8% off during Valentine’s Day sale. You can get this earphone for Rs 1999. OnePlus Buds Z2 and OnePlus Buds Pro are available at 16% off at Rs 4,999 and Rs 9,990, respectively. While Onelus Type-C bullets earphone are available at 12% off at Rs 1299

Wearables

OnePlus watch and OnePlus Band is available at 11% and 39% off. You can get these wearables at Rs14, 999 and 1699, respectively.

There is a discount of Rs 1000 on the OnePlus Watch if you pay using Axis Bank credit or debit cards. This promotion is applicable on Amazon, Flipkart, OnePlus.in, and partner retailers in India.

Also, Read Here: Vivo T1 5G goes on sale today: Here’s the detail

Flipkart launches sell back option for used smartphones: Know how to use it!

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Confused about what to do with your old mobile phones? You might just wish to discard them or give them to your kids, but what if we tell you you can actually get amazing benefits by trading in your old smartphones. If your answer is yes, then Flipkart has just launched something interesting for you!

Flipkart has announced the Sell Back Programme, inviting users to sell their used smartphones. The programme includes all the mobile phones, whether purchased via Flipkart or not. The feature is believed to show in the additional category section later this year.

The Sell Back Programme on Flipkart follows after the recent acquisition of Yaantra, a brand that repairs and sell refurbished devices like smartphones and laptops.

“With Flipkart’s Sell Back Programme, we aim to help organise this market. As the Indian consumer electronics industry witnesses rapid growth, this programme will further our efforts towards reducing the generation of e-waste, which is a crucial step in creating a sustainable economy,” Prakash Sikaria, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart’s Growth Charter.

The Programme is live across 1,700 pin codes, including Delhi, Kolkata, and Patna.

How to use it?

flipkart

You can easily use the feature in below mentioned four simple steps:
Step 1: Visit the Flipkart app and select Sell Back appearing in the bottom bar.
Step 2: Answer three easy questions to assess the value of your device.
Step 3: After user confirmation, the executive will pick up the product within 48 hours.
Step 4: After the successful pickup, you will receive a Flipkart voucher within a few hours (based on the sell-back value).

We have seen rapid growth in the re-commerce market of India, remember OLX, right? Maybe this is the time for it to expand and become more organised with huge brands like Flipkart.

 

 

Vivo T1 5G goes on sale today: Here’s the detail

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Smartphone brand Vivo today announced the sale availability of the newly launched Vivo T1 5G that offers multi-dimensional performance and turbo speed.

Vivo T1 5G will be available from Rs 14,990 on Flipkart, Vivo India E-store, and across mainline retail partners starting today, February 14, 2022. Customers can avail great deals and attractive financing options during the sale.

Vivo T1 5G

Vivo T1 5G is the first smartphone in Series T recently launched in India. The all-new Series T is designed to meet the needs of aspiring Gen Z users and young millennials. It comes with Snapdragon 695 5G chipset with 6nm chipset and offers a slim design of 8.25mm with a 2.5D flat frame. The smartphone also offers an AnTuTu score of 4,00,000+ and comes with a 120Hz refresh rate + 240 Hz Touch Sampling Rate. T1 5G is a perfect companion for those who aspire to outperform each day.

Also Read | Vivo V23 Pro 5G or Vivo T1 5G: How these siblings compare against one another?

It has a massive 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging to keep up with our customers’ fast-paced lives. The rear camera on the Vivo T1 5G features a 50MP primary sensor, a 2MP super macro camera, and a 2MP bokeh camera, which helps to redefine high-definition photography. The five-layer liquid cooling technology on T1 5G drops down the core temperature by 10°C, bringing you a cool and stable gaming experience.

Pankaj Gandhi, Director, Online Business, Vivo India said, “We are delighted to announce the sale of all new vivo T1 5G in India. At vivo, we focus on technologies that improve our customers’ experiences. This multidimensional smartphone with turbo speed will enrich the user experience for our digital-savvy consumers.”

Vivo T1 5G comes in two vibrant colors – Starlight Black and Rainbow Fantasy. Priced at INR 15,990 (4 GB + 128 GB), INR 16,990 (6GB + 128 GB), and INR 19,990 (8 GB + 128 GB). The product will be available with the following attractive offline and online offers:

vivo T1 5G Offers

Also Read: Infinix launches its first future ready 5G smartphone Zero 5G: Details inside

Pebble introduces Buds Pro: Advanced ENC TWS earpods with quad mic

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One of India’s fastest-growing lifestyle accessories brands Pebble has now introduced Buds Pro, the most advanced indigenous Environment Noise Cancellation (ENC) TWS earpods with quad microphones. Packed with ultralow latency gaming mode and smart auto-pause sensors, Pebble Buds Pro is available in pebblecart.com and other leading e-commerce portals, at an inaugural limited period price of Rs 1,999. The ENC TWS earpods come in two distinct colour variants – Premium and Black & White.

Pebble white earpods

As per Pebble co-founder Komal Agarwal, Buds Pro is feature-packed and amongst the most advanced ENC Earpods currently available in the market. She further says, “Cutting-edge dual audio drivers ensure crystal clear HD sound with deep bass while the ENC technology coupled with Quad Mic gives a seamless distortion-free talking experience by alleviating the surrounding noise. The earpods tick all the right boxes and are designed keeping in mind different use cases, for instance, an ultra-low latency mode to give a lag-free experience to the gamers or an ergonomic design for comfort during extended calls.”

Pebble black earpod

While the snug-fit Pebble Buds Pro is ideal for long & extended usage, it has an in-built intelligent smart pause technology, which automatically senses ears, thereby pausing music when the earpods are taken out and resuming when put back. If that isn’t all, these tiny wonders are Voice Assistant ready and equipped with quick pair technology.

Pebble earpods

Pebble Buds Pro comes with a massive battery that provides up to 20 hours of playtime post a single charge and a whopping 90 days of backup on standby. The full touch control gives you complete access without taking the phone out, for changing track or controlling volume is just a tap away.

Infinix launches its first future ready 5G smartphone Zero 5G: Details inside

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As India steps closer towards the rollout of 5G technology and network, smartphone brand Infinix today has unveiled its first 5G Smartphone – Zero 5G – in the Indian market.

Infinix has partnered with Reliance Jio for the testing of Zero 5G and has received stellar performance results. The refreshing new Zero 5G will be a complete package for users who are looking to buy a future-ready 5G phone with smooth performance at its support of 13 5G Bands, the maximum number of bands any smartphone has, along with some high-end features at a competitive price of INR 19,999.

The smartphone will be available on Flipkart on sale from February 18 onwards. A special launch day offer is available for Zero 5G users through which they will be able to buy Infinix Snokor (iRocker) worth Rs 999 for Rs 1 after seven days of purchase. Users can also avail of the eCommerce platform’s recently launched Flipkart Smart Upgrade Program on the device at an additional fee of INR 99. Under this plan, they can own a Zero 5G by paying only 70% of MOP value upfront. After using the device for a year, customers can either continue with it by paying the remaining 30% of the value or return it to Flipkart. In addition, customers can also avail no cost EMI option for six, nine and twelve months.

Infinix Zero 5G

Packed with an array of top-notch features, the premium & trendy-designed device will be the first-in-segment to feature the latest processor, an expandable 8GB + 5GB RAM with 128GB ROM, big battery with superfast charging and an advanced camera to give a far-fetched smartphone experience to the consumers. The device will come in two colour variants; Skylight Orange with vegan leather back panel and Cosmic Black.

Anish Kapoor, CEO – Infinix India said, “Infinix has always been at the forefront of innovation and it is our endeavour to introduce FIST features with each successive launch. As India is making significant inroads to make the 5G dream a reality, we thought of building a product that can help our customers live and experience true 5G with an all-rounder product that can address the evolving need of users, be it powerful performance through a Dimensity 900 chipset, great camera, rich display, lasting battery and an ergonomic design; Zero5G ticks all the boxes. Additionally, Zero 5G is compatible with 13 5G bands, which empowers our customers with a better coverage of the various frequencies to ensure a seamless experience when 5G networks are available in India. We are more confident that Zero 5G will be loved by our customers and fans alike and will set a benchmark for upcoming 5G smartphones.”

Performance

The all-new Zero 5G comes with a high-end first-in-segment MediaTek Density 900 processor. It has a 6-nanometer processor to ensure efficient power and battery capacity even for demanding users. The device is backed by the latest Arm Cortex-A78 CPU cores for all high-end 5G smartphones and has a top-notch frequency of up to 2.4GHz. Its Arm Mali-G68 GPU features, which are bigger than the existing G78, also help in optimising power efficiency, extending battery life to the mobile gamers.

Zero 5G is also Infinix’s first smartphone supported by the latest RAM technology and Ultra-Fast (UFS) 3.1 storage. They help store and transfer large files, switch between multiple apps, and have uninterrupted gaming sessions at lightning speeds. To further enhance the overall smartphone use experience, the device has the latest WiFi 6 with 2×2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antennas to catch more frequencies for increasing the internet speed and transfer speed by 1.7x, when compared with WiFi 5. Integrated into the processor, this wireless connectivity is more power-efficient and uses a smaller platform size than external chip solutions.

Infinix Zero 5G

To support these high-end specifications without overheating the device, Zero 5G is backed by a hardware-based Heat Pipe Thermal Module 2.0 with 3-D Cooling Master technology to ensure higher thermal conductivity and ultra-high performance.

Operating on the latest Android 11, Zero 5G promises its users lag-free content consumption through its extended 13 GB RAM through memfusion. The 8GB + 128GB variant takes an external memory of 5GB from the internal storage and adds to the existing RAM to ensure a seamless shift between multiple apps without any hitch.

For enhanced security, the device features a multifunctional side-mounted fingerprint sensor that is not just for unlocking the smartphone but also for accepting calls, dismissing alarms and quick-start apps.

Display and design

Infinix’s newest entrant is designed in a uni-curve styled panel, a first-in-segment. The camera module’s elegant Gradient Arc Camera neutralises the single-sheet rear panel with a uniform fluid curve, rendering the phone’s sleek contours a natural complement to the users’ own style. Zero 5G features a 6.78-inch FHD+ LTPS IPS display with a whopping 120 Hz Refresh Rate & 240 Hz of Touch Sampling rate, which ensures supremely smooth interaction between the users’ fingers, whether it’s zero-blur gaming or notably smoother scrolling of webpages and animations in apps. This also optimises the power consumption. LTPS display technology helps in getting better picture resolution, picture quality and help is lower power consumption. Meanwhile, the 500 nits of peak brightness deliver an immersive viewing experience to the users.

Infinix Zero 5G

The middle punch-hole display delivers a fluid viewing experience during binge-watching content with less eye fatigue.

Camera

Zero 5G continues the tradition of Infinix in offering the best-in-class camera in its price category. It comes with a triple rear camera set up with 48MP as the primary camera lens, a 13 MP Portrait lens, a 2MP Depth Lens, and quad-LED flashlights. The 13MP portrait lens in the camera section comes with 2x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom that can capture breath-taking close-ups of distant objects in any scenario.

Infinix Zero 5G

The device also comes with a fully loaded video camera with multiple category-first features like Slow Motion video mode allowing users to capture videos at 960 FPS from the rear camera & 4K videos at 30 FPS from the front/rear camera, capturing AI night selfies with dual LED flashlight, the Super Night mode both in front & rear camera. Zero 5G camera also features multiple dynamic night and style filters to ensure an immersive experience in photography to the users.

Battery

Zero 5G is equipped with a 5,000mAh high-capacity battery that sustains the power of the smartphone even after long hours of heavy usage. It allows you to watch movies, play games, listen to music and enjoy your favourite entertainment for a longer time. The battery is backed by a 33W high-voltage and low-current fast-charging technology certified by TUV Rheinland. This gives the users freedom to do their favourite things, for as long as they want, without frequently recharging the phone.

Infinix Zero 5G

Infinix has developed a robust service centre network with 1177 service centres across 980+ towns in India. This allows users to enjoy an after-sales experience. Infinix devices come pre-installed with Carlcare App that empowers the users to locate their nearest service centre and indicates to them about the availability of parts at the service centres.

Also Read: Chinese apps blocked: Check out the full list of banned applications