Technology

Recently, Google has confirmed that the Pixel 4 smartphones have Face Unlock that allows access to a person even eyes are closed. Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, which have no fingerprint sensor, relying only on biometric authentication of face unlock. The advancement in the hardware kept in the top screen bezel, which theoretically as secure as Face ID of Apple, but there is one main area in which the two technologies differ. It turns out that the Google Pixel 4 will unlock the phone even your eyes are closed.

It can become a prominent issue as people around you that could unlock the phone by pointing at face while you are sleeping. It is unclear why Google has selected not to include a check for eyes open; now, the company is sticking to its guns. The search engine giant, which supports the website for Google Pixel 4, acknowledges the issue, outright declaring that your phone can be unlocked through someone else if it held up to face even if people’s eyes are closed. It goes on advise concerned about consumers to activate lock down mode when they are want improved security, that deactivates face unlocking – but that is terrible user experience. Also, people have to remember to do that every time they go to bed.

In contrast, Apple’s Face ID checks that if the user is actively looking at the phone before it going to unlock. Recently, in leaked images of Google Pixel 4, viewing the setup for Face unlocks process in setting the label to require eyes to open in the menu, which is not existing in shipping Pixels. To make its customers’ lives easier, Google will add it through a software update. Though, according to Fox, the toggle is not present on Google Pixel 4’s software, which will ship to consumers in the next week.

The New MacOS 10.15 Catalina, the newest OS for Personal Computers and Laptops, has more updates & improvements than any recent release. Many things in the latest macOS indeed relied on iPad & its software, but Apple has refined the MacOS experience. Smooth device sync, to run iPad apps on PC & to track screen time on Mac just like on the iOS devices are the outcomes. There are a lot more essential updates.

The exceptional option in MacOS Catalina is ability to use the iPad as the second screen or to use Apple Pencil as a device for drawing. If you do not have an iPad,Catalina convinces you to buy it. The new native support offers better performance. The beautiful thing about Sidecar the new feature is that there is no need to update their apps. Sidecar is used to keep the palettes of Photoshop on the screen of the iPad while you are using a MacBook as a working canvas, to presentation slides preview while working on them. Sidecar in combination with Apple Pencil, opens some new options, like the capability to draw on iPad while we use bringing apps like Adobe Illustrator on desktop. For the Sidecar to work, you will need an iPad to run on the iPadOS 13 & a compatible Mac. Catalina brings many iPad apps to macOS as well.Apple has made it much easy for developers to port their iPad apps to macOS. Twitter and some other popular apps are already available, and also Apple’s apps use this technology. iTunes has been renamed as Apple Music.

The TV app is where you will be able to view your purchased items and can access any third-party services which are streaming, for example, HBO and Hulu, and you will also find recommendations. If you subscribe to any streaming service, you will see that channel also the Apple TV channels app offering a subscription as well. These subscription services within the Apple TV app will have some great features.

Tech giant Microsoft will soon launch its cloud gaming service in the United States. The project xCloud, once rolled out, will enable its users to play video games from their smartphones powered by Android. xCloud is the working title of Xbox cloud gaming streaming service of Microsoft. Apart from the US, the Washington headquartered company is also planning to launch xCloud game streaming service in the UK and South Korea. There is no word from the company on when it will be launched in the rest of the world. The service will be rolled out for its users in the three countries in October this year, according to its official blog post this week. Interestingly, the company didn’t reveal the price of xCloud in its blog.

To play video games from smartphone, one will need to have a wireless Xbox One controller. The phone or tablet that runs Android 6.0 or later version with Bluetooth support would be required.

The company has already begun registrations for its public preview in the US, UK and South Korea. Corporate VP for xCloud at Microsoft, Kareem Choudhry said that the company wants people to become a part of its journey from the beginning. Kareem invited people to have fun playing and share valuable feedback. India-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had moved away from some consumer areas but stuck with gaming. While Microsoft has deeper roots in gaming than anyone in the industry, it lacks its own major mobile operating system. The original Xbox was released in 2001. It is believed that gaming accounted for 9% of Microsoft’s total business in recent years. Nadella also feels that xCloud would be another way to showcase the company’s cloud-computing infrastructure to its competitors. Also, xCloud also serves his vision of developing products that can work on all devices rather on machines created by Microsoft. Ever since Microsoft had in 2018 announced its game streaming service plan, Apple and Google, the two companies that develop mobile operating systems, have announced subscription to mobile game services.

Google Photos has a new feature, that allows the users to find the text in the images and then copy the same text for further use. Google used Twitter to announce this new feature today. The feature is currently rolling with Google Lens’s AI features, which allows the users to import images from Google Photos and copy the text from it. Once imported the images, the users can quickly find and copy the text from the selected images. The feature is available in Google Lens app and also Google Photo app for Android and iOS.

With this feature, the users can quickly copy the text from any image instead of taking the lengthy notes or writing down the addresses from the invitation cards, etc. The users can access this feature from Google Photos app, where they can find the option named as “Lens”. Once selected, the user can highlight the part of the images and feature will convert it to the text which the users can copy and paste freely. The optical character recognition feature was present in Google Lens app only. But now it is integrated into Google Photos, allowing the users to use the same on the entire photo library.

Google did not announce this feature in the first place but silently pushed the update to Google Lens and Google Photos app. When Prominent Venture Capitalist Hunter Walk noticed this feature activated on his account, Google formally announced about the feature on the Twitter handle. Google said that they are currently rolling out the update to all of the Google Photos users and all of the users will get access to the same in coming days. The feature resembles the announcement made by CEO Sundar Pichai in 2017 I/O conference.

Bluetooth SIG, the authoritative body that governs the Bluetooth Wireless communications protocol has confirmed the existence of a dangerous security flaw. With the confirmation, Apple has taken the liberty to patch the issue in the iPhone devices by releasing the patch update. All of the Apple devices that are vulnerable to the issue will immediately receive the patch update. The vulnerability allowed anyone to brute-force the Bluetooth connection with the device. Bluetooth SIG immediately changed the Bluetooth specifications defines the dangers of such vulnerability.

Bluetooth connection is complete when one device asks for pairing permission and another device accepts it. Once both the device confirms the connection, a public pairing key is exchanged and the connection is activated between two or more devices. Once the connection is activated, a secure encryption key is generated making the data transfer secure. But, the issue with this was that the attacker could have fiddled with the encryption setup, and changed the configuration. According to the information shared by Bluetooth SIG, the attacker could change the requirements of pairing key to a single octet, or a single character. This editing in the pairing and encryption setup would immediately give pairing permissions to the attacker.

After confirming the existence of this vulnerability, the governing authority, i.e., Bluetooth SIG changed the Bluetooth Specifications to patch the issue. Also, the Authority asked the companies using the Bluetooth interface to change the standards. From now on, the companies must force a minimum of seven octets for pairing and encryption setup. With seven octets in the encryption keys, it would be much more difficult for hackers to brute-force the connection with any device. Apple took the immediate steps and pushed the update for all of the iOS-based devices to patch the problem. The status of Update for macOS devices is not known at the time of writing this news.

Apple is always facing serious troubles with the governing authorities for a long time. This time, the company is facing the official Antitrust charges in the Russian Federation with the official charges in the Russian Federation against the company for Antitrust complaints. The Federal Antimonopoly Service in the Russian Federation is investigating the complaints received. Kaspersky had filed the complaint against Apple when the company changed policy towards parenting control app. Kaspersky’s Safe Kids app affected by the policy changed by Apple, and that’s why the Russian software company filed the complaint in Federal Antimonopoly Services.

In 2017, Apple contacted Kaspersky to tell the company that Safe Kids app is violating the App Store policies. Kaspersky baffled when Apple suddenly reported the change in policies without any prior notice. The app is live on the App Store from three years before the notice to Kaspersky. The company is arguing that if the app is live on App Store from three years without any issues with the policy, why is Apple is now providing notice to remove the app or follow the policies. As Apple advised the company to remove configuration profiles, the same would render the app useless.

This was not an issue for the complainant, but when Apple did this notice drama, they launched a new feature, named Screen Time. Screen Time allows the users to monitor the time spent on the device and also allows them to block certain apps. Kaspersky claims that the feature is Parental Control app itself. With Apple preferring Screen Time over the third-party app of Kaspersky, the company accused Apple of monopolistic practices. When asked for a comment, Apple spokesperson said that the Kaspersky used Mobile Device Management” (MDM), which is an invasive technology.

WhatsApp is not in the good position if we consider the security and privacy aspects. With the constant data theft and some security blunders, Facebook is under the flames of the authorities and also the users. Today, an Israeli Cybersecurity firm revealed WhatsApp flaws that could allow attackers to access the private chats and modify them without any authorization. The flaws would allow the attacker to modify the conversation in Public and private discussions of the users. This will increase the threat of spreading rumors and manipulating the users for illegal business.

Cyber Point Software Technologies Ltd is the cybersecurity firm that unveiled the flaws in WhatsApp. According to the claims by this company, WhatsApp has three possible flaws, that could help the attackers to alter the conversations. The first flaw executes the “Quote” function to change the appearance of the sender, the second flaw allows the attacker to modify the conversation text, and the third flaw allows an attacker to send a private message to someone in a group, but the message becomes public ones the receiver replies to the same. Fortunately, the third flaw is already fixed by the developer team at Facebook.

Facebook’s Spokesperson claimed in the statement that the company has already reviewed such flaws one year ago and fixed them beforehand. Also, the Spokesperson said that there are no such flaws present on the platform with such tight security provided by the company. Oded Vanunu, Check Point’s head of products vulnerability research, said that the flaws could impact billions of people if not fixed in time. Even though Facebook denies the existence of such flaws, the slightest possibility is still dangerous for the privacy of billions of WhatsApp users. Check Point security has already alerted Facebook a year ago, but only one of the flaws has been addressed till date, said Oded Vanunu.

Much awaited devices from Samsung are now officially released, as the company took the stage in a grand event to launch the devices. In the grand launch event, Samsung released the much-awaited Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus smartphones in the market. With high-end hardware, along with the stunning designs and huge shock to the enthusiasts, Samsung made these devices available to the media personnel. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is the successor of the other Note series devices, but the Note 10 Pro is the one that represents super-sized, high-power, high-on-accessories device made for power users.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 10 device with just one variant, which is 8GB of RAM and 256GB one. Note 10 is priced at $949 in the United States. On the other hand, Galaxy Note 10 Plus is a different device with two variants for the power-hungry users. Note 10 Plus comes with 12GB RAM / 256GB storage option with the price tag of $1,099. While the storage is customizable up to 512 GB, the RAM will stay at 12GB with $100 more added to the price tag. Also, there is a 5G ready version of the device, which will come later this year, but the pre-orders will start on 23rd August. All of the devices and variants are available in the markets from 23rd August.

One big shock from Samsung to all of the fanboys is the exclusion of the headphone jack. With no headphone jack on the devices, many fanboys are disappointed. Although the company has provided the USB-C type headphones with the devices, the usability of 3.5mm audio jack is useful for most of the audio listening needs. Also, the company has not provided the USB-C dongles for other devices, which is being sold separately for $9.99.

Apple, Google, and Amazon are accused of listening to the private conversation of the users using the voice assistant products. Google with Google Assistant, Amazon with Alexa Voice Assistant, Apple with Siri, and now Microsoft is accused of using Cortana and Skype conversions for quality control purposes. According to the small voice recordings shared by the ex-contractor of Microsoft, the company is extracting the conversation snippets from the Cortana and Skype conversations of the users. Microsoft is conducting the quality control program for Cortana voice assistant with the data obtained from the users of the same. Just after the controversy of Apple listening to all of the intimate conversations of the users, Microsoft’s similar program is a shocking one.

According to the investigation done by Vice’s Motherboard portal, the company is collecting the voice recordings from the users. Also, they are receiving the transcriptions of Skype conversations and Skype translations. To improve the features of the Cortana and Skype, the contractors used to listen to the voice recordings and provide accurate transcriptions. Also, they had to share the opinion of the voice clip whenever needed. All of the voice recordings retrieved from the users are 5-10 seconds of length.

Microsoft representative has agreed to the program and provided further details about the system. First of all, the company fetches the voice recordings through a secure online portal and then filters the conversations which have the name, address, mobile numbers or any other private information that may reveal the identity of the user. After that, the contractors review the audio recordings to provide the feedback, which improves the response quality of the voice assistant. Even though the company uses Secure online portal for transferring the recordings, it is still unacceptable for a giant like Microsoft to follow the controversial path like Amazon, Google, and Apple.

Google is currently testing a new service, which is named as Play Pass service. It’s a $5 Android Games and Apps subscription service, which will allow the users to get access to premium apps and games. With the $5 per month subscription, users can play the select games and access premium apps with the service. It works just like Apple’s Arcade service, which will have multiple games available for a monthly subscription. When the Members of XDA forum spotted the code references of a service similar to Apple Arcade, the experts started expecting the rollout of the service.

Now, the company is currently testing the service of $5 Play Pass service with a bunch of beta testers. According to the screenshots shared by the testers, the service is priced at $4.99 per month and comes with a premium selection of games and apps with no in-app purchases. The screenshots suggest that the service is in the final stages of development and is ready to rollout. In the testing version, Google is claiming that they will provide everything from puzzle games to premium music apps with these subscriptions. The best premium apps and games chosen by the editors are included in the premium pass, which is going to change every month.

At first, the XDA members spotted the service and then posted it on the forum. Later, Google confirmed the existence of such a service and that it is in the testing phase. Just before the launch of Apple’s Arcade game subscription service, Google is going to launch the Play Pass. With a wide variety of the games and apps to play compared to Apple’s Arcade, people will make the switch to this service. Even though Apple is signing up thousands of game developers for its Arcade service, Google has a pretty right side to challenge Apple after launching the service.

Even though the Tablet computer industry is dying and transforming, Samsung is not willing to give up hope. The company announced new Galaxy Tab S6 tablet computers in the market with the price tag of $649. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the high-end tablet from Samsung in the price range. The company has packed some excellent hardware in the Galaxy Tab S6, which is making tech enthusiasts go wild. To make the Galaxy Tab S6 in the mainstream portable computers segment, just like Microsoft SurfaceBook and iPad, the company will include some wonderful hardware.

Samsung has included 10.5-inch 2560×1600 OLED display, a 2.84GHz Snapdragon 855, and a 7040mAh battery in all of the models. The base model of Galaxy Tab S6 comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the top-end model comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For taking good quality pictures, the front side has an 8 Megapixel camera, and the read side has two camera setup with 13-megapixel primary camera and 5-megapixel wide-angle camera. One of the exciting features of this tablet is the in-screen fingerprint reader. This is the first time Samsung introduced the in-screen fingerprint sensor in the tablet computers.

The biggest blunder Samsung did with this tablet is not including the Headphone jack. The 3.5mm Headphone jack is highly appreciated by the smartphone or tablet users, as not everyone uses the wireless headphones. But Samsung has not included the 3.5mm Audio jack in this device. Even Apple has added a headphone jack in the iPad devices. Samsung is willing to ditch the headphone jack as the rumors suggest that the company is going to ditch them in upcoming Galaxy Note 10. The Galaxy Note 10 is scheduled to launch next week in a grand launch event.

 

Ubisoft is quite popular amongst the PC and Console gamers for its excellent games. But the company is not much active in the smartphone games industry, while companies like Epic Games and Bluhole making ways onto the millions of smartphones. Ubisoft announced that they are acquiring Green Panda Games, which is a famous hyper-casual games developer. With this acquisition, the company has made two strongholds in the Hyper-casual games for Android and iOS industry. In 2016, Ubisoft acquired Ketchapp, the most prominent hyper-casual games developer and distributor.

Ubisoft announced that they had acquired the 70% stake in Green Panda games. The company has developed the games like Bee Factory and Golf Orbit, which has nearly 78 million combined downloads. This is the second time Ubisoft has acquired a hyper-casual game developer studio. Ubisoft and Green Panda Games have not declared any terms of the deal. Ubisoft has released only one condition from the agreement, which allows the company to buy the remaining 30% of the stake in Green Panda games shortly. With the mobile gaming industry is going to hit nearly $68.5 billion marks this year, Ubisoft is willing to earn the chunk from the same.

The Green Panda games are one of the most popular hyper-casual game developers for Android and iOS. The most popular game of the company is Bee Factory, which has more than 15 million downloads. The second most popular game is the Golf Orbit, which is one of the top-grossing games for the company. According to the report from Senor Tower, the in-app purchases from Golf Orbit are nearly $712,000. The numbers do not contain the figures of In-app advertising, which is undoubtedly more significant than the In-App purchases.