2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 1:13 PM IST
OnePlus has announced a limited-edition Glacial White colour variant of its flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 12, that will be launched in India on June 6. The new colour variant will join Flowy Emerald and Silky Black colours variants. However, OnePlus is expected to offer the OnePlus 12 Glacial White only in 16GB RAM and 512GB on-board storage configuration.
“The all-new Glacial White edition of the OnePlus 12 is a design masterpiece, an all-encompassing flagship smartphone crafted to balance the chaos of modern life. Drawing inspiration from the stunning beauty and resilience of glaciers, it offers the perfect fusion of serenity and power,” said OnePlus in a press note announcing the launch. “The Glacial White edition of the OnePlus 12 features a sleek, contemporary design that seamlessly integrates powerful functionality with sophisticated aesthetics.”
OnePlus 12: Details
The OnePlus 12 sports a 6.82-inch QHD+ display of 120Hz refresh rate. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, paired with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, powers the smartphone. The OnePlus 12 smartphone has a triple-camera system on the rear – 50-megapixel main camera sensor with optical image stabilisation, 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera sensor, and 64-megapixel telephoto camera with optical image stabilisation. On the front, the phone sports a 32MP camera sensor. The OnePlus 12 is powered by a 5,400mAh battery with support for an 80W SUPERVOOC fast wired and 50W AIRVOOC wireless charger.
2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 12:11 PM IST
Home-grown smartphone brand Lava on May 30 launched Yuga 5G. The budget 5G smartphone is offered in 64GB and 128GB storage configurations, both with 4GB RAM, at Rs 9,499 and Rs 9,999, respectively. The Lava Yuva 5G will be available on e-commerce platform Amazon India, Lava e-store and Lava retail outlets from June 5. It will be available in Mystic Blue and Mystic Green colours with matte finish and a side mounted fingerprint sensor standard across variants.
Lava Yuva 5G: Pricing and variants
4GB RAM + 64GB storage: Rs 9,499
4GB RAM + 128GB storage: Rs 9,999
Lava Yuva 5G: Specification
Powered by the UNISOC T750 and a 5,000 mAh battery, the Lava Yuva 5G smartphone sports a 6.52-inch HD+ display of 90Hz refresh rate. The Yuva 3 smartphone has a 50-megapixel main sensor and a 2MP camera sensor on the rear, and an 8MP camera sensor on the front. As for the camera features, Lava offers portrait, slow motion, timelapse, audio note, motion photo, ultra-resolution, beauty, HDR, night, AI, PRO, panorama, and more. The smartphone boots Android 13 operating system with a clean user interface. The company has promised Android 14 and two years of security update.
minimised custom tab feature on Chrome browser for Android
2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 11:58 AM IST
Google is officially rolling out a minimised custom tab feature on Chrome browser for Android. The feature makes use of the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window to offer a more simplified transition between native apps and web content. Google in a post on Chromium Blog page said that this feature enables “multitasking across surfaces, enhancing the in-app web browsing experience.”
The PiP view of a Chrome custom tab is only accessible from native Android applications, essentially Google apps such as Gmail, Chats, and more. The feature will be available soon on other apps that use Chrome browser to open links, but not apps with built-in browser functions such as Meta’s Instagram.
How it works
Update Chrome browser to the latest version
Tap on any link to a website that is shared or available on a native Android app, such as Google Chats
Tap on the new downward arrow button available next to the back button on Chrome’s toolbar. This shrinks the opened chrome tab in a PiP window on the bottom right of the screen
You can tap on the window and select the full screen button that appears at the centre to maximise the Chrome tab
Just like any other floating windows, the Chrome tab in PiP view can be repositioned anywhere on the screen and can be resized as well. However, it should be noted that in PiP view the Chrome tab only shows the name of the page and the domain. This limits the functionality of the feature as you still need to maximise the window in order to interact with it. Additionally, while testing out the feature, links from Google Messages app did not offer the new minimise button despite being a native Android app.
2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 1:07 PM IST
Google now offers an option to play games within its video streaming platform YouTube. Announced in 2023, the YouTube Playables has graduated from the initial testing phase and is now available in select countries as part of an experimental rollout. India is not among the countries where Playables is available, but the country is expected to receive this feature once the general rollout commences.
In the initial testing phase, Google offered 30 games as part of the YouTube Playables. Now, the catalogue has grown to over 75 games. For context, Google had a gaming project called GameSnacks, which was a dedicated site for online games that has eventually led to YouTube announcing Playables.
YouTube Playables: How to play games
Open the YouTube app on Android or iOS, or visit the YouTube home page using browser on any PC
Head over to “Explore Menu” to find Playables
Here, you can browse and choose from over 75 games, Moreover, you can tap on the three-dot menu to share the games with friends
To play games, you can either use touchscreen controls on mobile or use mouse or trackpad on the desktops
Games on YouTube Playables are available with options to exit the game, mute/unmute the audio, and view additional controls via an overflow menu.
YouTube premium users will have the option to continue playing videos in the background while muting the game audio. Moreover, paid subscribers can also save game progress and see their all-time best scores.
YouTube Playables: Details
Playables has been included in YouTube to make it a more entertaining experience for the users. Currently the gaming catalogue includes classic games like Chess and Solitaire and popular games like Angry Birds Showdown, Words of Wonders, Cut the Rope, Tomb of the Mask, Trivia Crack, and more.
Since these games are available on the app, users will not require downloading any other app or games separately to access this feature. Netflix also has a collection of games but it requires you to download the title separately. YouTube is rolling out the feature in a phased manner and will be available for more users soon.
The data centre will power services including Search, Maps and Workspace, and will help deliver AI services, while the cloud centre will offer services to local firms and public sector organisations, it said | (Photo: Reuters)
2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 11:32 AM IST
Google will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country, the unit of Alphabet said on Thursday, the latest in a wave of expansion by global tech firms into Southeast Asia.
The government said the investment would advance Malaysia’s digital ambitions, and the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and other advanced technologies would help local industry move up the global value chain.
With a young tech-savvy population of 670 million, Southeast Asia has been attracting plenty of interest and investment recently from technology giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia and Apple.
Google said in a statement the data centre and cloud region will be located in Sime Darby Property’s Elmina Business Park in central Selangor state.
The data centre will power services including Search, Maps and Workspace, and will help deliver AI services, while the cloud centre will offer services to local firms and public sector organisations, it said.
“Malaysia and Google are partnering to advance our shared work to create a supportive ecosystem for innovation and unlock the potential of digital transformation,” Google’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said in the statement.
Last November, the government and Google announced a collaboration aimed at accelerating innovation domestically.
Other tech giants have also been announcing large investments in the region. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced cloud services investments worth $2.2 billion in Malaysia and $1.7 billion in Indonesia during a recent visit to the region.
In December, Malaysian conglomerate YTL’s utilities unit announced it would partner with Nvidia to develop AI infrastructure in a $4.3 billion investment deal.
Amazon has announced plans to invest $9 billion in Singapore, $5 billion in Thailand and $6 billion in Malaysia.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apple MacBook Pro M3, Apple, MacBook Pro 2023, new MacBook Pro
2 min read Last Updated : May 30 2024 | 10:41 AM IST
After launching the new iPad Pro models with OLED displays, Apple is reportedly planning to extend the OLED screen to MacBook Pro in the coming years. According to reports by market research firm OMDIA, Apple will introduce MacBook Pros with an OLED display by 2026. The demand for OLED displays in mobile devices is projected to grow by 37 per cent from 2023 to 2031, the report added.
For reference, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) displays offer improved image quality compared to LCD and LED displays. Since each pixel on the OLED displays is illuminated independently, such displays offer superior contrast, faster response times, better viewing angles, and great design flexibility. Currently, tech companies like Samsung, LG, Lenovo, HP, Dell, and ASUS are adopting OLED displays across their product portfolios.
Apple MacBook Pro: What to expect
Apple is expected to develop MacBook Pro in 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch display options, both with OLED displays. For reference, the current generation MacBook Pro models boast mini-LED displays that are significantly better than traditional LED displays but not quite in the same league with OLEDs. Report from OMDIA stated that Apple will adopt OLED displays for its MacBook Pro models that will replace the mini-LED backlight versions in 2026.
Further, the report states that Samsung Display will supply the panel from its newly built oxide backplane Gen 8.6 flexible OLED fab. However, there is no suggestion whether LG Display will be the panel supplier or not.
MacBook Air: What to expect
The reports state that Apple would expand OLED displays to MacBook Air, too. However, OLED displays on the Air models would have 60Hz refresh rate, compared to 120Hz on the MacBook Pro models. For the MacBook Air OLED, the display supplier could be BOE rather than Samsung because the latter’s Display Gen 8.6 fab capacity is geared for the Pro model. Speculations also suggest that the iPad Mini and iPad Air will also get OLED screens in the future.
