Sony Bravia X75K smart TV review: Audio-visual mismatch subdues experience

Powered by Google TV platform, the Sony Bravia X75K has a clean but buggy interface, which hinders interactivity and experience

When 4K resolution televisions first flooded the market in 2014-15, the TV sets were overpriced, and there was not much content on offer. Besides Tata Sky streaming the Cricket World Cup in 4K, there was no other service providing 4K content. Besides, internet speeds were on the slow side to support the smart TV ecosystem. The increase in internet speeds over the years and cost reduction have brought 4K televisions within the average consumer’s price range. Easy availability of the internet and 4K content availability on over the top apps has further provided a fillip to the sale of smart 4K televisions. A boom in gaming has also helped things.

While the market has changed, Sony’s approach has not changed much over the years. The company’s focus on video quality has ensured that it remains one of the market leaders, despite stiff competition. With its X1 processors, Sony has maintained its quality. Its new iteration, the X75K series, offers more of the same with slight infractions in user interface and connectivity….Read More

Apple WWDC 2022 to kick off with keynote event on June 6: Details here

Apple recommends that developers download the Apple Developer app to get the daily updates and notifications around the WWDC22. Here is the full schedule of the Apple WWDC 2022

Apple has unveiled the schedule for its annual worldwide developers conference (WWDC), which is set to kick off on June 6 with a keynote address. The keynote address will be an online-only event, though a select number of developers have been invited to the Apple Park campus in the US for a viewing event. Apple recommends that developers download the Apple Developer app, available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, to get the daily updates and notifications around the WWDC22. Here is the full schedule of the Apple WWDC 2022:

Event: Apple Keynote

Date and time: June 6, 10 am PDT (10:30 pm IST)

The WWDC 2022 will kick off with keynote address where Apple will detail updates coming to Apple platforms later this year. The keynote address will be available via apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and YouTube, with on-demand playback available after the conclusion of the stream.

Meta onboards Kalaari Capital to scale early-stage startups in India

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced a partnership with VC fund Kalaari Capital to upskill and scale young, invested businesses in India by providing them with timely business skilling support.

Mark Zuckerberg‘s Meta (formerly Facebook) on Wednesday announced a partnership with VC fund Kalaari Capital to upskill and scale young, invested businesses in India by providing them with timely business skilling support. The partnership is a part of Meta’s ‘VC Brand Incubator Initiative’ for the growth of micro, small and medium businesses in the country.

“As part of this initiative, Meta has partnered with India’s largest VC funds. We are thrilled to now partner with Kalaari Capital that has been instrumental in the growth journey of many startups,” said Ajit Mohan, VP and MD at Meta in India. Kalaari Capital is an early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm based in Bengaluru. “As startups scale, they need to leverage several tools and platforms like Meta to support their growth,” said Vani Kola, Founder and Managing Director, Kalaari Capital.

What is Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN)?

Short for Open Radio Access Network, Open RAN, is critical to 5G deployment. In India, the Open RAN architecture is essential but also fraught with challenges. Let us first understand what O-RAN is

You might have come across the term Open RAN if you have been following news around 5G. Open Radio Access Network, or Open RAN, is a key part of a mobile network system that uses cellular radio connections to link individual devices to other parts of a network. It comprises antennae, which transmits and receives signals to and from our smartphones or other compatible devices. The signal is then digitised in the RAN-base station and connected to the network.

In the traditional set-up, Radio Access Network is provided as an integrated platform of both hardware and software. Therefore, it is difficult to mix vendors for the radio and baseband unit, and in most cases, they come from the same supplier. The idea of Open RAN is to change this, and enable operators to mix and match components. It goes a step further by opening the interfaces inside the base station. The Open RAN architecture allows for the separation – or disaggregation – between hardware and software with open interfaces…Read More

Apple announces iPhone SE 5G, iPad Air M1, Mac Studio, and Studio Display

Here is India pricing and availability details of everything announced by Apple at its Peek Performance event on March 8

Apple Inc on Tuesday announced a range of new products, including a low-cost iPhone SE with 5G network and M1-chip powered iPad Air, at its first event of 2022. The American technology giant also introduced the M1 Ultra, an addition to its M1 chip line-up. A high-performance chip, the M1 Ultra will power Apple’s new desktop Mac Studio, which is aimed at power users. Here is everything announced at the Apple Peek Performance event on March 8:

iPhone SE 5G

The iPhone SE 5G will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models in midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT) RED. Priced Rs 43,900 onwards, this entry-level iPhone will go on sale from March 18 in India. The iPhone SE 5G, identical to the model launched in 2020, sports a 4.7-inch retina display and a home button with touchID. As for the upgrades, it gets Apple’s flagship A15 Bionic chip and 5G.

WhatsApp to get message reactions on iPhone, Android soon: Report

WhatsApp is also working on a new feature that would allow group admins on WhatsApp to delete messages for other members of the group as well.

Few months ago, WhatsApp had started developing iMessage-like reactions for its app and now the company seems almost ready to release this feature.WABetaInfo has shared some screenshots of WhatsApp reactions, giving us an early preview of what the feature might look like once it goes live. WhatsApp users will see a row of emoji just above the message. It’s unclear whether users will have to long-press on a message or there will be a dedicated button next to the message to add a reaction. According to the report, the message reactions will come with end-to-end encryptions, but for now, very little information is available.

WhatsApp is also working on a new feature that would allow group admins on WhatsApp to delete messages for other members of the group as well. A user will see the ‘This was deleted by an admin’ message whenever any admin deletes a particular message.”If you are a group admin, you will be able to delete any message for everyone in your groups, in a future update of WhatsApp beta for Android,” WABetaInfo said in a tweet recently.

Facebook loses daily users for first time ever, ad growth slows

The Meta-owned Facebook platform registered 1.929 billion daily users in the fourth quarter of 2021 — from 1.93 billion in the previous quarter

For the first time ever, Facebook has lost daily users globally, reporting lower-than-expected ad growth that sent its stock plunging nearly 20 per cent. The massive stock drop instantly wiped out roughly $200 billion in its market value. The Meta-owned Facebook platform registered 1.929 billion daily users in the fourth quarter of 2021 — from 1.93 billion in the previous quarter. The company confirmed late on Wednesday that it is the first sequential decline in its history. Facebook’s monthly active users (MAUs) were 2.91 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of 4 per cent year-over-year. Meta still made nearly $40 billion in profit in 2021, mostly from advertising.

“We had a solid quarter as people turned to our products to stay connected and businesses continued to use our services to grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “I’m encouraged by the progress we made this past year in a number of important growth areas like Reels, commerce, and virtual reality, and we’ll continue investing in these and other key priorities in 2022 as we work towards building the metaverse,” he added.

WhatsApp to bring 2-step verification to desktop, web versions

WhatsApp is also reportedly testing the possibility of allowing users to migrate chats from their Android device to an iPhone.

Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly developing the ability to add two-step verification to its desktop app and web version. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp plans to bring the two-step verification feature to desktop and web versions in a future update. A screenshot provided by WABetaInfo shows that the two-step verification feature can be enabled or disabled on the web and desktop version.

“It will be possible to enable or disable the two-step verification on the web/desktop client. This is very important especially when you lose your phone and you do not remember your PIN. You can restore it by requesting a reset link, but if you are temporarily unable to log into your mail account,” adds WABetaInfo. Two-step verification is already available on the mobile app version where a personal PIN must be entered when registering your phone number with WhatsApp. WhatsApp is also reportedly testing the possibility of allowing users to migrate chats from their Android device to an iPhone…Read More

Apple files lawsuit against NSO Group, saying US citizens were targets

The iPhone maker said it is also seeking to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services or devices to prevent further abuse.

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli cyber firm NSO Group and its parent company OSY Technologies for alleged surveillance and targeting of U.S. Apple users with its Pegasus spyware. The iPhone maker said it is also seeking to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services or devices to prevent further abuse.

Apple is the latest in a string of companies and governments to come after NSO, the maker of the Pegasus hacking tool that watchdog groups say targeted human rights workers and journalists. Earlier this month, U.S. officials placed the company on a trade blacklist. NSO has also faced either legal action or criticism from Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Alphabet Inc and Cisco Systems Inc.

NSO is allegedly involved in circumventing security for products made by these companies and selling that circumvention in the form of hacking tools to foreign governments. In a statement, NSO, which says it sells its tools only to governments and law enforcement agencies and has safeguards in place to prevent misuse, said that “thousands of lives” have been saved through the use of its tools.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro review: Many small upgrades together make a big package

The iPhone 13 Pro is a meaningful upgrade with a bright and smooth display, stellar cameras with industry-first video-centric features, swift performance, and solid on-battery time

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro has brought several upgrades over the iPhone 12 Pro, including many that might seem only incremental when looked at in silos. However, this premium smartphone is by no means a minor upgrade. That is because these upgrades – whether big and small – together form a big package. Among the most noticeable are the upgrades with respect to display, imaging and on-battery time. Interestingly, these are also the areas where this smartphone has an edge over others simply because the upgrades influence the overall user experience in a positive way.

Starting with the display, it has got a fair bump in brightness, with the peak level now in the ballpark of 1200 nits for HDR content and 1000 nits in typical scenarios. Besides, the display gains significantly from the ProMotion technology, which breathes life into the user interface elements like transitions, scrolling, animations, etc…