In an unexpected move, Jio has discreetly taken down its annual JioCinema Premium plan from its official website. The plan, which was recently reintroduced at a reduced price of Rs 299, is no longer available for purchase. The platform recently revamped its paid subscriptions to introduce ad-free streaming.
Fee weeks back, JioCinema brought down the prices of its plans, where the price of the Rs 999 annual plan was reduced to Rs 599. In addition, users were getting a discount on top of that which allowed them to purchase the annual subscription for just Rs 299. Now, the Rs 299 Annual Premium Plan from JioCinema seems to have been scrapped by the platform as it no longer appears on its website from where users to could earlier subscribe to it.
Not only that, but even the FAQ section of the platform doesn’t mention any instances of the plan anymore. It is possible that JioCinema may reintroduce the plan at some point in future but for now, it seems to have gone for good.
The other plans, such as the Rs 29 a month, allows users to watch content ad-free, except for live shows and sports where the ads are integrated into the broadcast itself. In addition, users will be able to access all the premium content such as Hollywood movies and shows. Then, they’ll be able to up to 4K quality content on a single device and can also download and watch content of their choice at any given time.
The second plan, costing Rs 89 a month, is the family plan. This plan offers all the benefits of the premium plan mentioned above, alongside the ability to watch 4K content on up to 4 devices. The only difference between the two plans is that the family plan offers support for simultaneous watching on more devices.
Meta announced the v6.0 update for its Ray-Ban smart glasses about a month back and it’s now starting to roll out. While the official changelog doesn’t mention it, the update for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses seems to introduce the ability to record videos longer than 60 seconds, up to 3 minutes. Here’s how you can access it if you own a pair of these glasses.
As spotted by DigitalTrends, the ability to record videos up to 3 minutes long is now rolling out with version 6.0 update for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. That’s a considerable upgrade over the previous limit of 1 minute. The publication notes that even after the update, the default recording time is still set to 60 seconds and user will have to change it manually.
Photo Credits: DigitalTrends
To do that, you’ll need to go into the camera section of the settings, and then set the video length up to 3 minutes if you want to use the longer limit. Other options in the menu include 15, 30 and 60 seconds, which are same as before.
Aside from the longer video recording length, the update brings other new features, such as access to Calm to bring guided meditation, mindfulness exercises, and self-care content directly to the glasses, hands-free. Further, the smart glasses now also supports streaming music from the Amazon Music app, given you have the subscription.
Finally, you can now also share your captured content to Instagram stories via your voice. After you snap a photo, you can simply say, “Hey Meta, share my last photo to Instagram.” Or you can say, “Hey Meta, post a photo to Instagram” to take a new photo on the fly and share the moment with your friends and followers.
iQOO debuted the iQOO 12 series in China and the iQOO 12 in India late last year. To this date, the iQOO 12 remains one of the most value-for-money flagships money can buy and buyers are already looking forward to what the next flaghip, likely to be called iQOO 13, will bring to the table. Here’s everything you can expect from iQOO 13.
iQOO 13: Specs & Design
According to a recent leak by tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the iQOO 13 will retain some of the design elements from its predecessor. The front and back will get a glass covering while the frame will be made of metal to retain the premium feeling which iQOO 12 also had. Aside from that, it will also have an highly-rated IP build for resistance against dust and water.
As for the specs, the device is set to feature a BOE X-series LTPO screen that’s flat and offers a 2K resolution and likely a 144Hz refresh rate. It is said to have narrow bezels all around. The device will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Processor that is expected to be announced sometime in October later this year.
The device will be backed up by a 6,000mAh battery, which will support 100W wired charging. The tipster claims that the device doesn’t get support for wireless charging which could be a deal breaker for many. However, some previous reports contradicted this claim, suggesting the device may get support for 50W wireless charging.
To enhance the gaming experience on iQOO 13, an area the brand often pays attention to, it will pack an AAC ESA1016 vibration motor. The device could also get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication. As for optics, there could be a 3x periscope telephoto camera alongside the ultra-wide angle and primary sensors.
While there’s no mention of RAM and storage quantities, we expect iQOO to pack the device with at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
iQOO 13: Launch Timeline
The iQOO 13 may debut in China later in November of this year, after the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor is unveiled by Qualcomm. However, nothing has been officially confirmed so far.
OPPO recently announced the launch of A3 Pro 5G in India with the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 Chipset under the hood. The new A-series device from OPPO competes with that of the Realme C65 5G due to both of them having the same chipset under the hood. Here’s a comparison between the Realme C65 5G and the OPPO A3 Pro 5G on the basis of their on-paper specs.
Display
The Oppo A3 Pro 5G sports a 6.67-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HD+ resolution, 180Hz touch sampling rate, up to 1000 nits peak brightness and Blue Glass double tempered glass for protection. The Realme C65 5G also gets a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and a Refresh Rate of 120Hz. The device has 625 nits of peak brightness and supports 16.7 million colours.
While OPPO’s phone has a slightly brighter display, Realme C65 5G’s panel supports a higher touch sampling rate that should ideally make it more responsive. As the rest of the specs of the display remain similar, we’d give it a draw in this segment.
Performance & Software
Both of them have a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset under the hood. While OPPO’s device gets 8GB of RAM, Realme’s device gets up to 6GB. Even in terms of storage, OPPO A3 Pro 5G gets up to 256GB of storage while Realme C65 5G maxes out at 128GB. Each of them support storage expansion as well. In terms of software, they run on Android 14 and the experience should remain quite similar on both of them except for a few differentiating features as Realme UI is also highly inspired by ColorOS.
Both in terms of RAM and storage, the OPPO A3 Pro 5G takes the lead. However, things take a drastic turn when we consider the pricing of the two, about which we’ll discuss in the verdict.
Battery & Cameras
Oppo A3 Pro 5G has a 5100mAh battery while Realme’s device has a slightly smaller 5000mAh cell. Moreover, OPPO’s handset supports 45W Fast charging while Realme’s supports only 15W speeds. As for cameras, both the devices have a 50MP sensor paired with an additional sensor. They have an 8MP camera sensor on the front for selfies and video calls.
While we can’t comment on cameras as we haven’t tested them for ourselves, we can say that OPPO wins in the battery segment with a faster charging speed and a bigger battery too.
Verdict
The Realme C65 5G sells for Rs 12,499 for the top-end 6GB + 128GB model while the OPPO A3 Pro 5G sells for Rs 19,999 for the topmost 8GB + 256GB model. If you want more storage, RAM, bigger battery, and faster charging, go for the A3 Pro 5G but if you want better value and can settle with the inferior specs of the Realme C65 5G in the areas mentioned, then you should opt for it and save some money, considering the performance and display aspect could remain highly similar to that of OPPO’s A3 Pro 5G.
Sony operates in a wide range of segments and one of them is audio. While Sony doesn’t specialise in the audio segment, such as Bose or Sennheiser, it does create competitive products and the latest from its house is the ULT series of speakers and headphones. Here’s a detailed review of the smallest speaker out of the lot, the ULT Field 1, that gets a price tag of Rs 10,990.
Sony ULT Field 1: Ergonomics
The Sony ULT Field 1 is compact in size and is easy to carry around in a bag or even in your hand, thanks to the thread handle that stretches across the length of the speaker. Because it’s longer on one side, the thread also acts as a lanyard so you can tie the speaker up to your bag in case you can’t keep it inside. The sides of the speaker which touch the surface have a plastic material.
However, because the speaker is curved from the top and bottom, only the edges of it touch the surface, creating a slight echo effect along with making it sound louder when on a hard surface such as a table.
The rest of the surface area is covered with a fabric material that feels premium to the touch and looks so, too. The speakers are front firing so you do not exactly get a 360-degree sound experience.
There are buttons on the top for controls, including a power button, volume buttons, a Bluetooth button, a play/pause button and the ULT button which is also the standout feature of the speaker.
The buttons also have a rubberised finish and work as they should without any issues. The front of the speaker has the SONY logo that gets a rainbow effect as the light falls on it. The orange colour looks trendy while the other options have a more minimal look.
The rear of the device has a waterproof cap which protects the USB-C port that’s required for charging the speaker. As the speaker is also IP67 rated, it makes it perfect for beach parties and is also an added benefit in case you are near a pool. The passive radiators on either side of the speakers are compact, but they move vigorously at high volumes whenever the bass in an audio track hits.
Overall, the design of the speaker feels modern and it is overall built well.
The ULT Field 1 packs 1 tweeter unit and 1 woofer unit. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth v5.3.
The sound of the ULT Field 1 gets amply loud and can easily fill up a room. The vocals are quite clear, and I noticed how Sony was using the classic V-shaped equalizer, which is what I could make out of the sound signature.
The speaker does pack a punch when it comes to bass, as the beats in the songs had that thumping feeling. However, there’s a catch. The bass is the most prominent when you activate the ULT mode with the dedicated button or via the Sony Music Center app. Once you tap the ULT button, it lights up to let you know that the feature is now activated.
Once activated, it definitely makes the bass more punchy compared to when ULT mode is turned off. Overall, the speaker’s sound signature is quite likable. What I didn’t like is that it doesn’t support any high-quality codec, such as Sony’s own LDAC audio codec, which the ULT Field 7 does support.
The Sony Music Center app allows you to quickly configure Music player apps (Spotify, YT Music, Apple Music, etc.) of your choice so you can access them right from within Sony’s app. It also allows you to set a custom 3-band EQ or choose from the preset options.
One of the ULT equaliser options allows you to increase the overall power for increased thump effect, while the other one reduces bass for better vocals and overall clarity.
Then there’s a Power menu where you can turn on Auto standby if you want the speaker to turn off automatically after approximately 15 minutes of no activity. The app can surely have a cleaner user interface, but it gets the job done.
There’s also a STAMINA mode, which, according to the description, suppresses power consumption for a better battery backup. It not only lowers the volume but also turns off the ULT mode to save power.
Talking of battery backup, Sony claims it can last for up to 12 hours, which is adequate in our opinion. In my testing, the speaker lasted slightly less due to my habit of listening to music always at high volumes.
Meta AI arrived in Beta back in September of last year and the brand seems to be ready to roll out the same across India for all of its WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger users. The AI is also accessible via “meta.ai” website. Meta was found testing the AI chatbot in India back in April of this year. The new AI assistant will compete with that of Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and more.
Meta AI is starting to roll out in India in English. You can use Meta AI on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram to get things done, learn, create and connect with the things you want to.
Powered by Meta’s Llama 3 model, one can access Meta AI in a WhatsApp group chat, such as to recommend restaurants with great views and vegan options for you and your friends to consider. Back when it was announced last year, Meta’s AI chatbot was based on the Llama 2 model, which means the upgrade to Llama 3 should be a significant one.
Next up, you can also access Meta AI when you’re scrolling through your Facebook Feed. You can ask Meta AI for more info right from the post, such as asking it questions regarding what you see in the post. Users can also ask the AI about other types of information, such as the current weather conditions at their location and more.
Aside from that, it also packs text-to-image generation capability where you may ask the Meta AI to animate an existing image you like or iterate on any image with friends by asking Meta AI to change the prompt, or create any sort of photo you like, such as a Birthday card.
Considering the user interface of the Meta AI remains the same as the one seen during thr beta test earlier this year, users may be able to access Mera AI either through the icon in the top bar or through the search bar. Once you tap on the search bar or when you open the Meta AI chat, you will be shown various prompts to initiate a conversation with the chatbot.
Vivo T3 Lite 5G has now been confirmed to launch in India on June 27. The new handset’s design has been confirmed by the brand, as well as the fact that it will be equipped with a Sony camera sensor on the back that’ll have AI capabilities. Here’s what all we know about the upcoming budget smartphone from Vivo under its T-series.
Vivo T3 Lite 5G: India Launch, Design Details
The Vivo T3 Lite 5G will launch on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 12 noon in India. The images of the smartphone suggest that it will share some of its design elements with some other iQOO and Vivo devices. One can notice there’s a speaker grille on top, suggesting the device will have a dual speaker setup.
The power and volume keys reside on the right spine with the frame being flat. The bottom side should house the USB-C port along with another speaker grille and a mic. At the rear, the device has a dual camera setup paired with an LED flash unit.
The handset will be available for purchase via Flipkart, Vivo’s online store along with other offline retail stores as well.
A recent report suggested that the Vivo T3 Lite 5G will employ the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor under the hood. The smartphone will house a 50MP Sony AI camera, which will be accompanied by a secondary camera that could likely house a depth sensor. The screen is expected to be an IPS LCD panel with a high refresh rate. Meanwhile, other details of the handset haven’t been revealed.
Vivo T3 Lite 5G: Expected Price
The Vivo T3 Lite 5G is expected to have a starting price tag of Rs 11,999 in India. Vivo says that the T3 Lite 5G is its cheapest dual 5G smartphone so far, suggesting the leaked price tag could indeed be correct. However, nothing has officially been confirmed by Vivo yet.
Infinix has announced the launch of the Infinix Note 40 5G in India, as the country’s first smartphone to have a 120 Hz AMOLED Display with Wireless Charging. The handset has been launched at a price point quite close to the Vivo Y58 5G which debuted in the country on June 20. Here’s a comparison between the two on the basis of their respective on-paper specs to help you decide as to which one of them should be your next smartphone.
Display
The Vivo Y58 5G features a 6.72-inch FHD+ display with 2408 x 1080 pixels resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate and 1024 nits peak brightness.
The Infinix Note 40 5G Infinix Note 40 Pro sports a 6.78-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2436 pixels) 3D curved AMOLED Display with 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and 1,300 nits of peak brightness. The display supports 2160Hz PWM dimming and has Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
As far as on-paper specs of the display are concerned, the Note 40 5G takes the win due to its AMOLED panel that’ll reproduce much more vivid colours with better contrast. It is not only brighter than Vivo Y58 5G’s display but is also better protected with a Gorilla Glass.
Performance & Software
The Vivo Y58 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor. The phone comes with 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage which is expandable up to 1TB. On the other hand, Infinix’s device has a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 Chipset under the hood, coupled with 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage that also supports expansion up to 1TB. While both the processors should perform ideally in day-to-day use, the Dimensity 7020 is slightly better if we compare their respective specs.
Aside from that, both of them run on Android 14-based skins. However, the user interface choice and the preferred features would depend on each user’s choice. In addition, Infinix Note 40 5G also provides you with double the storage than that of Vivo’s device, which is another added benefit.
Cameras & Battery
There’s a triple rear camera setup on the Infinix Note 40 5G, including a 108MP f/1.75 main sensor with OIS, 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor and a tertiary 2MP f/2.4 macro sensor. There’s a 32MP f/2.2 front-facing sensor for selfies and video chats. It is backed by a 5000mAh battery that supports 33W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging.
On the other hand, Vivo Y58 5G has a dual rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel f/1.8 main shooter and a 2-megapixel bokeh camera with an f/2.4 aperture. There is also an 8-megapixel selfie camera at the front, with an f/2.05 aperture. It is backed up by a 6000mAh battery with 44W fast charging.
While the Infinix Note 40 5G wins it in the camera department with a better primary camera sensor and an additional sensor, the Vivo Y58 5G gets you a much bigger battery with faster charging as well. However, lack of wireless charging support could be a deal breaker for some who find it convenient but in our opinion, Vivo Y58 5G would be a better choice in case you want a long-lasting smartphone on days with heavy use.
Verdict
The Infinix Note 40 5G is priced at Rs 19,999 for the sole 8GB + 256GB model while the Vivo Y58 5G comes at Rs 19,499 for the single 8GB + 128GB model. The Note 40 5G is a more value-for-money offering going by its specifications when compared to those of Vivo’s Y-series smartphone. However, the Vivo Y58 5G can be considered solely for its huge 6000mAh battery which could be a deciding factor for many.
The YouTube app on iOS will soon be asking users for their permission to allow tracking their online activity for a more personalised ads experience. The new update complies with Apple’s guidelines introduced in iOS 14.5 back in 2021, requiring app developers to inform users about tracking and obtain their consent.
YouTube informed regarding the change via a Google support page, where it confirmed that “a prompt, aligned with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, will now surface in the YouTube app, asking for your permission” whether you want to allow the streaming service to track your activity for more personalised ads.
YouTube says that users will be provided with two options within the prompt, which are described as follows:
Allow: “If you turn on this setting, activity from this app will be linked with activity from non-Google apps and websites to show personalized ads and provide ad measurement. Your choice will be applied to all users of the YouTube app on the device where the setting is turned on.”
Ask App Not to Track: “If you don’t turn this setting on, activity from this app will not be linked with activity from non-Google apps and websites to show personalized ads and provide ad measurement. This will make your overall ads experience in this app less personalized, and may result in less relevant and more repeated ads.”
Further, it confirmed that this prompt will not appear for YouTube Premium subscribers and users with child accounts on YouTube. In addition, this setting does not affect the linking of activity on other Google apps (iOS and non-iOS) and websites with activity from non-Google apps and websites. This setting also does not affect use of activity from the YouTube iOS app and other Google apps and websites to personalize ads.
Allowing the YouTube app on iOS to track your online activity will simply result in showing you personalised ads that align better with your interests. Denying the permission will result in “less relevant and more repeated ads,” as YouTube will not be allowed to link the users’ in-app activity with their activity in third-party/non-Google apps.
You can change your preference for this option by going to iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
As for the earlier scenario, when the change was announced by Apple back in 2021, instead of having to show that prompt, Google stopped using an individual device’s unique IDFA (Identifier For Advertisers) which also resulted in compliance with Apple’s guidelines. However, Google seems to have changed its mind when it comes to the YouTube app, at least.
OnePlus is set to hold a launch event in its home market, China, on June 27 where the brand has confirmed that it will debut the OnePlus Ace 3 Pro. Now, OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus Watch 2 as well as the OnePlus Pad Pro will also be tagging along with the Ace 3 Pro at the launch. New developments suggest that the OnePlus Watch 2 in China could come to global markets and in India as OnePlus Watch 3.
OnePlus Watch 2 launch was confirmed by OnePlus’ own China website. The brand also shared the images of the watch where it can be seen in two shades, green and black. However, the design of the watch doesn’t match that of the OnePlus Watch 2 which debuted globally and in India earlier in February this year. The right side of the watch doesn’t have the protrusion for the buttons but it instead houses a regular circular dial with two buttons.
OnePlus Watch 2 For China = OnePlus Watch 3 For Global Markets
The design of the Chinese OnePlus Watch 2 hasn’t been seen before in any of the smartwatches from the brand. Further, because OnePlus didn’t launch the Watch 2 in China which it launched globally earlier this year, it’s possible that the Chinese Watch 2 is an entirely new product, and could debut in other markets as OnePlus Watch 3.
That’s because the OnePlus Watch 3 recently made an appearance on multiple certification websites, such as TENAA, BIS and TUV. The TENAA listing for the watch contained a photo of the wearable which matches that of the one shared by OnePlus China on its website for the Watch 2, with the same round dial, hour markers, textured strap, and the two push buttons on the right side.
Official Launch Poster (Left), TENAA Listing Image For Watch 3 (Right)
The recently spotted BIS listing for the watch with the OPWWE234 model number confirms that it will also launch in India at some point in future. The matching designs of the smartwatch seen in the TENAA listing and on the OnePlus website leads us to believe that OnePlus Watch 2 launching in China would launch as OnePlus Watch 3 globally, including India.
The TENAA listing of the watch, with the OPWW234 model number, further suggests that the watch will support LTE connectivity for e-SIMs. The forthcoming OnePlus Watch will support e-SIMs from China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Mobile. In addition, it will also support Bluetooth, GPS, BeiDou, NFC, GLONASS, and WLAN for wireless connectivity.
According to the certification, OnePlus will pack the device with a 500mAh battery cell. The upcoming smartwatch was previously also spotted on the 3C certification, which revealed support for 10W charging speeds.
Aside from the watch, OnePlus will also debut the Pad Pro tablet at the launch Ace 3 Pro launch event.
