Instagram Video Calling Feature Leaks, Said to Be in Internal Testing

A long time after enabling its users with the Direct message feature, Instagram is now reportedly testing a feature to enable video calls. The rumoured feature - if it becomes a reality - will make Instagram a step closer to Snapchat that already allowing its users to make audio and video calls alongside offering a dedicated chat option. However, Instagram has officially refused to comment on the new development.

The video calling feature on Instagram, which was spotted by WhatsApp fan blog WABetaInfo, would let users make video calls directly from an Instagram Direct message thread. It is claimed to be initially available for internal testing, though a screenshot is available through the source to prove its existence. The leaked screenshot allegedly shows a new video call icon in the top-right corner of an Instagram Direct message, and it appears similar to what's presently available on WhatsApp. The icon would enable video calling with a one-tap gesture when a user is within an active chat. Further, the video call feature is claimed to be available in the next few months for both Android and iOS devices.

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Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S to Be the First Snapdragon 845 SoC Smartphone: Report

Weeks ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Xiaomi is rumoured to be in the development of the Mi MIX 2S. The new Mi MIX model, which is likely to be an upgrade of the last year's Mi MIX 2, is already reported to be the offering that could debut from Xiaomi's side at the forthcoming MWC in Barcelona. However, a new report from China claims that the handset will also be the first model by the company to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC. Xiaomi and Qualcomm announced their partnership on the Snapdragon 845 last month, and the first Xiaomi smartphone to feature the new processor was initially expected to be the Mi 7, the new flagship that is not likely to debut at MWC 2018.

As per the latest report by Chinese blog IT168, the upcoming Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S won't just be the company's first but also the world's first smartphone with a Snapdragon 845 SoC. The new model is also said to feature an upgraded camera over the one available on the Mi MIX 2, which was launched back in last September. Particularly, the Chinese source claims that Xiaomi will be using tge new Sony IMX363 camera sensor that will be equipped with a dual-pixel autofocus technology to deliver enhanced night image results.

Alongside the new camera setup, the Mi MIX 2S is rumoured to have a design similar to the iPhone X. This means we can expect a notch on the front, though the new model is likely to retain the original bezel-less design pattern that was highly praised on the Mi MIX in 2016. Also, the Snapdragon 845 is already claimed to have an on-device artificial intelligence (AI) functionality that could result in features such as facial recognition on the new Mi MIX model.

As far as the price of the Mi MIX 2S is concerned, some past reports suggested that the smartphone would go on sale in China at CNY 4,000 (approximately Rs. 40,200). It is speculated to hit stores in the country sometime in March - after an initial showcase at MWC 2018.

It would be interesting to see how Xiaomi would manage to get the title of launching the world's first Snapdragon 845 processor-backed smartphone as companies such as Samsung and Sony are in the list of few initial vendors to use the same SoC on their upcoming flagships. Moreover, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are expected to come with the same top-end Snapdragon processor in the US market.

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Japan's Cryptocurrency Girl Band Stays Loyal to Virtual Money After Cyber Heist

Members of a Japanese girl pop group, the Virtual Currency Girls, said on Monday they had refused an offer to be paid in yen and would stay loyal to cryptocurrencies despite a $530 million (roughly Rs. 3,300 crores) cyber heist jeopardising their chances of getting paid.

A cryptocurrency account that pays part of the band's salary was among those frozen as a result of the suspension of trading at Tokyo-based Coincheck exchange on Friday following the theft of NEM, one of the world's most popular digital currencies.

"Our manager offered to pay us in yen, but we declined," said Hinano Shirahama, who is the band's bitcoin character.

Dressed in maid costumes and wearing wrestling masks adorned with fuzzy pom-pom ears and cryptocurrency symbols the eight Virtual Currency Girls are a pop music manifestation of the digital currency frenzy that has swept Japan and other parts of the world.

Shirahama and other group members said they would stay together regardless of the setback. Formed by an entertainment promoter the band debuted this month and have yet to garner a significant following.

Virtual Currency Girls, which performs songs such as "The Moon, Cryptocurrencies and Me" are paid in cryptocurrency for tickets and merchandise at their concerts.
Regulators fear both the rampant speculation in cryptocurrencies and risk that the markets could be used for funding criminal and terrorist groups.
 
Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) only began requiring exchanges to register from April 2017. Half of the 32 operators are still awaiting approval.

In 2014, Japan's Mt. Gox, which once handled 80 percent of the world's Bitcoin trades, filed for bankruptcy after losing around half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoins.

Last month, South Korean exchange Youbit shut down and filed for bankruptcy after being hacked twice.

Japan's FSA on Friday criticised Coincheck for failing to take adequate security precautions to foil hacking attacks and said it would begin inspections at other exchanges.

"Coincheck has some responsibility, but the real culprit is the hacker," said Koharu Kamikawa wearing her fur-eared mask with the NEM cryptocurrency logo on her forehead.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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WhatsApp Gets Apple CarPlay Integration

WhatsApp Messenger has eventually reached your in-vehicle connectivity system through the latest Apple's CarPlay integration. The new update, which comes via WhatsApp v2.18.2 for iPhone, enables push notifications to let you easily communicate with your contacts while on the move. Previously, users were required to use Siri integration on their vehicles to interact with the WhatsApp app installed on their iPhones and iPads, but the arrival of the official CarPlay support allows you to receive messages as and when they reach your mobile devices. A dedicated WhatsApp icon will also be available on the CarPlay dash interface to provide easy access.

Leveraging the new CarPlay integration, you can check what are the new messages you've received on your WhatsApp account and can even read them loud by asking Siri. Also, you can use Siri to send messages via WhatsApp to any of your contacts. It is additionally interesting to note you can use the new integration to dictate your WhatsApp messages to Siri.

The updated WhatsApp for iPhone with the CarPlay integration is available for downloadvia the App Store. The official changelog on the App Store doesn't define the integration. However, folks at iCulture report that it comes just after installing the latest version. The integration is quite similar in nature to what has already been available for iMessages, but it reportedly doesn't allow users to browse through the list of chat conversations available in a particular account.

Companies such as Pioneer and Sony are already offering CarPlay-supported in-car audio systems. Automakers, including Ford, are also bringing their in-car communication and entertainment systems with CarPlay support to deliver a new-age in-vehicle experience

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YouTube Advertisements Used to Secretly Mine Cryptocurrency: Report

Some YouTube ads in certain countries were hijacked by hackers to mine cryptocurrency by using the processing power of video viewers' computers without their knowledge, according to new reports. The cryptocurrency mining code was apparently embedded in JavaScript in the YouTube ads, which mined CoinHive's Monero digital currency. This issue was identified when antivirus software of users' desktops detected the said covert mining when YouTube was played.

According to a report by technology website Ars Technica, the antivirus red flags continued to appear after users changed the browsers to watch YouTube. The issue only came up when a YouTube video was played. Cyber-security research firm Trend Micro published a blog post on Sunday, saying it detected a 285 percent increase in the number of CoinHive miners on Wednesday, January 24. A deeper look into the problem showed five malicious domains had enjoyed a five-fold increase in traffic since January 18, with Google DoubleClick ads turning out to be the source of traffic.

CoinHive is considered controversial as it allows website administrators to use the resources of visitors' computers to mine Monero cryptocurrency. In the case of YouTube ads, 90 percent of the cases involve publicly-available CoinHive JavaScript, while the remaining 10 percent involves a private mining JavaScript that allows the hackers to save on the 30 percent fee CoinHive charges. In both cases, 80 percent of the resources of the affected computer are used to mine the cryptocurrency, meaning that the computer is left with barely enough resources to operate.

Among the countries affected by this hack include Japan, France, Taiwan, Italy, and Spain. One of the ways to protect computers from this issue is to disable auto-running JavaScripts in browsers. YouTube is an obvious target for such an attack as it is the most popular video streaming website in the world, with over 1.5 billion users worldwide.

In a statement to Ars Technica, Google said, "Mining cryptocurrency through ads is a relatively new form of abuse that violates our policies and one that we've been monitoring actively. We enforce our policies through a multi-layered detection system across our platforms which we update as new threats emerge. In this case, the ads were blocked in less than two hours and the malicious actors were quickly removed from our platforms." It is not apparent which ads were blocked within two hours.

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Far Cry 5 Gameplay, PC Specifications, DRM, and More

Far Cry 5 release date is March 27. In the run up to that, Ubisoft has released more details on this much anticipated open-world first-person shooter. Aside from the usual mix of stealth and action, certain missions involve a welcome amount of vehicular carnage. One of them has you tasked with returning a glorious big rig that’s in the possession of Eden’s Gate — the cultists you’re up against in the game. Dubbed as the Widowmaker, it has twin-mounted machine guns that made clearing out gas tankers and cultists with ease.

In addition to this, the Guns for Hire missions (which promise a special ending for seeing their arc play out) improve odds in any given battle by bolstering the resistance group in Hope Country against its zealots. This means allied forces armed with bows, machine guns, and shotguns make battles easier than they should be.

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Uber Shouldn't Be Shut Down, Says British Prime Minister

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that taxi company Uber should not be shut down but instead should comply better with labour and safety standards.

"We need to make sure that our employment law keeps pace with the way that technology is shaping modern working practices," May told business leaders meeting at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
"Take the example of Uber ... a company that has got things wrong along the way, with safety issues and concerns over protections for its workers," she added.

"The answer isn't to shut Uber down but rather to address those concerns and to establish and enforce the standards and protections that can make this technology work for customers and employees alike."

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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Google Files Go App Update Brings SD Card View, Tablet Support, 'Open With' Tab, and More

Launched alongside other announcements at Google's Android Oreo (Go edition) event in December last year, the Google Files Go app is getting three new upgrades. A new SD-card only view allows users to filter content based on where it is stored. Files Go also adds support for Android tablets, allowing for a seamless transfer between phones and tablets. Lastly, a new "Open With" flow lets users choose the app that they want a file to be opened with. Files Go is available widely for Android devices.

According to a blog post by the Next Billion Users team at Google, the Files Go Android app has received an update with three significant changes to its functionality. Google claims that many of its Files Go users use SD cards to back up their files. Thus, the update has made it easier to distinguish between files stored on inbuilt storage or external storage with the new "Show SD card only" button that helps find only those files saved on the SD card.

In an attempt to create a seamless experience for users, Google Files Go app is now available on Android tablets. This allows users to "manage storage and transfer files between your small and big screen Android devices without using any data."

And, lastly, a new "Open With" tab has been rolled out to the Files Go app. It allows users to choose the app they want to open specific files with. For instance, users might want to choose their preferred word processing tool to open a word document through Files Go.

The changelog on the Play Store link also suggests that hidden files will now be hidden by default on the app.

The Files Go app has been custom built for Android Go edition phones and will come pre-installed on them. The app prompts users to regularly delete large files to make up for space on phones with limited storage space.

"With these new features, we hope it's even easier to free up space, find files faster and share files offline with Files Go," said Devesh Sarwate - Software Engineer at Files Go.

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God of War PS4 Release Date, Price, Editions, and More

God of War for the PS4 finally has an official release date. The hotly anticipated PS4 and PS4 Pro exclusive is out April 20 this year. The price for God of War is Rs. 3,999 in India on disc and $60 internationally. In addition to this, there are several editions of the game up for grabs over and above the $60 standard edition.

God of War PS4 pre-order bonuses
Game Director Cory Barlog states that if you pre-order the game at any “supporting retailer” you’ll get access to legendary skins. Keep in mind you’ll need an Internet connection to access them. You’ll also receive Luck of Ages XP Boost. This grants +10 Luck and one Enhancement slot. Luck impacts XP, currency, and the ability to trigger perks. India should receive these at most retailers as we’ve seen with past games though Sony India is yet to confirm if this is the case.

God of War PS4 Collector’s Edition

Europe (the region India falls under for Sony) gets the God of War Collector’s Edition that’s not too dissimilar to the Stone Mason Edition that leaked prior for the US. It comes with digital content such as Death’s Vow Armour Set, Exile’s Guardian Shield, Dark Horse Comic, and a dynamic theme. Physical contents include:

• 9-inch statue of Kratos and Atreus
• Steelbook case including the God of War PS4 game
• Cloth map
• Exclusive lithograph Two Huldra brothers carvings

God of War PS4 Limited Edition
Much like the God of War Collector’s Edition it comes with digital extras. These include Death Vow’s Armour Set, Exile’s Guard Shield, and a dynamic theme. It also comes with:

• Black and silver steelbook with the God of War PS4 game

• Physical copy of an art book by Dark Horse

 

God of War PS4 Digital Deluxe Edition
This comes with a digital copy of the game and the following items:

• Death’s Vow Armour Set
• Exile’s Guardian Shield
• Dark Horse Comic
• Dynamic theme

 

Will God of War PS4 special editions come to India?

Considering that other PS4 games like Gran Turismo Sport and Uncharted 4 didn’t see their special editions make it to India, chances are slim. More over, Sony hasn’t listed the European prices for the Limited and Collector’s Editions just yet, crucial as India pricing takes its cues from those markets. Though the God of War Digital Deluxe edition is up for pre-order on the PlayStation Store for Rs. 3,999

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Samsung, Apple Retained Leadership as Top Semiconductor Buyers in 2017: Gartner

Representing 19.5 percent of the total worldwide market, Samsung and Apple have retained their leadership as the top two semiconductor chip buyers in 2017, market research firm Gartner said on Thursday. The firm reports that Samsung and Apple together consumed semiconductors worth $81.8 billion  in 2017, showing an increase of more than $20 billion  from 2016.

Samsung grew its semiconductor spending by 37.2 percent and spent whopping $43.1 billion  in 2017. Apple's semiconductor spending, on the other hand, increased by 27.5 percent and reached $38.7 billion . Interestingly, both the companies are holding the top position since 2011. "Samsung Electronics and Apple not only retained their respective No. 1 and No. 2 positions, they also radically increased their share of semiconductor spending through 2017," said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner.

In addition to the continuous growth of Samsung and Apple, the preliminary rankings revealed by Gartner highlights eight of top 10 semiconductor buyers in 2016 remained in the top 10 list in 2017, with the top five chip buyers remaining in the same position. LG Electronics made a comeback to the top 10 list and was joined by Western Digital, which grew its semiconductor spending by $1.7 billion . Also, China's BBK Electronics, the parent company of OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo, rose one place to the sixth position with increasing its semiconductor spending by $5.7 billion .

Gartner points out a significant price increase of DRAM and NAND flash memory had majorly influenced the total semiconductor buyers' ranking in 2017. Similarly, supply shortages, mainly for memory IC, microcontrollers, and passive components, benefited the suppliers but troubled the OEMs, the firm said. The increase in OEMs' captive chip spending that is aimed to add distinctions in their models reportedly brought a great risk for commercial chip vendors. Companies, including Huawei and Samsung, brought their own silicon solutions that reduced the demand for chips developed by Qualcomm and MediaTek.

The share of semiconductor spending by the top 10 OEMs reached 40 percent of the total semiconductor market in 2017, up from 31 percent 10 years ago. Gartner predicts that this trend will continue and by 2021, the top 10 OEMs will account for more than 45 percent of global semiconductor spending.

With the top 10 semiconductor chip buyers commanding an increasing share of the market, technology product marketing leaders at chip vendors must focus on their leading customers. They will need to prioritise direct sales and technical support resources to these top customers by exploiting online technical support capabilities and outsourcing the support for long-tail customers to third-party partners and distributors," said Mr. Yamaji.

Earlier this month, Gartner reported that Samsung had replaced Intel and became the top player in the global semiconductor market in 2017 with a share of 14.6 percent. The prime reason for the growth of the South Korean company in the market for semiconductors was found to be the increased prices of NAND flash and DRAM chips. "NAND flash prices increased year over year for the first time ever, up 17 percent, while DRAM prices rose 44 percent," the Gartner report had said.

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Android Messages Gets Smart Reply Feature, but Only for Project Fi Users

Google announced on Wednesday that it is now rolling out the Smart Reply feature to messaging app Android Messages. The AI-based Smart Reply feature was launched with Google Allo back in September 2016. It will be available only for Project Fi users currently, with no timeline on a wider rollout. Google will require access to your SMS history to help it generate intelligent responses.
 
The announcement was made through a tweet on Project Fi's official Twitter account. Smart Reply, launched with Google Allo, automatically suggests responses to messages that you have received. It provides contextual replies by analysing the recent message in the thread. It can be turned off by going into Settings in Android Messages, under Smart Reply. The feature currently works with Google Allo, Gmail, Google Assistant, and, now, Android Messages - but the last as we mentioned is only for Project Fi users.

Notably, this addition of Smart Reply to Android Messages comes a week after a teardown of Google's Gboard beta APK revealed that the Smart Reply intelligent suggestions are coming to the Gboard app on Android. The keyboard is expected to offer phrase-length suggestions in the topmost row. Thanks to the upcoming integration, the feature will work on wide variety of apps, negating the need for third-party app developers to bring Smart Reply support or similar features on their offerings. Apart from first party apps like Allo, Android Messages, and Hangouts, the feature was also spotted working on Facebook, Messenger Lite, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Tencent's platforms. It also works on Snapchat, albeit with limited functionality.

While Allo offers encrypted messaging, Google has been known to store your chat history and data to help enhance the Smart Reply feature. The company can decrypt your data on its servers. The process on Smart Reply on Android Messages is yet to be revealed.

Google has been shuffling between Hangouts, Allo, and Android Messages with no apparent streamlined approach to mobile messaging. It has offered features on different apps from time to time.

Project Fi is Google's virtual mobile phone service that provides phone, messaging, and data services through a combination of Wi-Fi and cellular networks. The service has partnered with Sprint, T-Mobile, and other cellular operators in the US with roaming capabilities in over 135 countries. A basic Project Fi plan starts at $20 (roughly Rs. 1,300) monthly with access to unlimited domestic voice calls, unlimited domestic text messaging, and unlimited international text messaging. Data is additional at $10 (roughly Rs. 635) per gigabyte.

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Qualcomm Signs $2 Billion Sales MOUs With Lenovo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo

Qualcomm has signed memorandums of understanding for sales worth at least $2 billion (roughly Rs.  12,700 crores) with Lenovo, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications, Vivo Communication Technology, and Xiaomi Communications.

The Chinese firms expressed an interest in buying Qualcomm components with a total value of no less than $2 billion over three years, the US chip maker said on Thursday.

The non-binding agreement will be subject to further agreements and covers technology related to RF Front-End components, it said in a statement.

The companies unveiled the multi-year agreement at a Qualcomm-hosted event in Beijing, attended by the US firm's chairman and its chief executive.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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Arsenal Signs Up to Promote Cryptocurrency in Partnership With CashBet

English soccer team Arsenal is entering the cryptocurrency world by signing a deal to promote new digital tokens being sold by an American gaming software company.

California-based CashBet said on Wednesday that the Premier League club had agreed to become its "exclusive and official Blockchain Partner" ahead of the upcoming "initial coin offering" (ICO) of its new cryptocurrency, "CashBet Coin".

The partnership makes Arsenal "the first major team in world football to officially partner with a cryptocurrency", CashBet said in a statement.

Arsenal's Chief Commercial Officer, Vinai Venkatesham, said the North London club was "looking forward to working with CashBet Coin as they launch their new cryptocurrency".

According to its website, CashBet sells software that helps gaming companies accept bets using cryptocurrencies.

CashBet Coin will be advertised at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and CashBet can use Arsenal's brand to promote the new tokens.

The explosive rise in prices for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin last year has drawn in millions of buyers across the globe. Hundreds of new coins have been offered for sale to the public.

Regulators have called the investment mania a dangerous bubble, and said ICOs are "highly speculative" with investors putting their entire capital at risk.

Backers of cryptocurrencies say the technology underpinning virtual coins has the potential to transform the way we handle money.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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Japan Display Develops Transparent Fingerprint Sensor for Smartphones

Japan Display has announced the development of its very first transparent glass-based capacitive fingerprint sensor that uses an in-house capacitive multi-touch technology, which was originally exclusive to LCD panels. The new sensor is expected to reach commercial shipments in the fiscal year 2018. It could eventually be transformed as an upgrade of traditional, silicon-based fingerprint sensors that are based on silicon and is likely to available as an alternative to the recently arrived under-display fingerprint sensors that are currently in the production process by companies such as Qualcomm and Synaptics.

The glass-based capacitive fingerprint sensor leverages Japan Display's Pixel Eye technology that integrates touch functionality into the glass substrate. The technology is already powering the markets of smartphones and digital still cameras to offer multi-touch support. Further, the Japanese display maker has refined the technology to detect the changes in capacitance caused by the recesses and ridges of fingerprints. The sensor is aimed to be available in a variety of sizes, including the one in 8x8mm size.

Going forward, Japan Display also has plans to build flexible fingerprint sensors by utilising its existing flexible display technology. These would take fingerprint recognition to the next level. In the meantime, what will soon be the reality is the first glass-based fingerprint sensor that would be a part of future smartphones.

Japan Display believes that its transparent solution will lead to the expansion of fingerprint sensors in new areas of application. We can certainly presume one such area as smartphones as biometric has already been a big thing in the ever-growing smartphone market. Apple brought its Face ID last year as an upgrade to the fingerprint recognition feature Touch ID that was arrived on the iPhone 5s in 2013. Likewise, Synaptics lately developed its under display fingerprint sensors to offer the market an upgrade to the traditional fingerprint sensors.

Synaptics claimed that its proprietary under-display fingerprint sensor technology is as fast as alternative biometrics methods such as Apple's Face ID and is highly secured. It basically sits between the glass protection and OLED panel and is touted to be capable of recognising fingerprints under layers up to 1.5mm thick, including a screen protector. As per Synaptics, the advanced fingerprint sensor technology can even work with wet, dry, and cold fingers, which is not possible with the silicon-based fingerprint sensors.

The first Synaptics Clear ID sensor is already available on the newly launched Vivo X20 Plus UD, which is arriving in China on February 1. The smartphone comes at a price of CNY 3,598 (roughly Rs. 36,100).

Qualcomm is also in the race of advancing the available fingerprint solutions. The San Diego-based company showcased its first ultrasonic fingerprint technology at Mobile World Congress Shanghai in June last year. But no further details have so far been announced on that front.

Having said that, the new sensor technology by Japan Display is expected to bring affordability as it will enable smartphone makers to add a transparent fingerprint sensor on top of an LCD panel, instead of an OLED panel that was showcased by Synaptics in the past. Similarly, the Japanese company may even enable Apple to embed its glass-based fingerprint sensor on future iPhone models. The company was reportedly in talks to supply LCDs for the next-generation iPhones as well.

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Microsoft Xbox Game Pass Expanded to Offers Exclusive Games on Launch Day

In a way to attract more gamers, Microsoft has announced that all the exclusive games published by Microsoft Studios will be released into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release. Sea of Thieves, which is launching on March 20, will be the first title to receive the new treatment, while the Redmond company has plans to bring its renowned franchises such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War to Xbox Game Pass subscribers right on the same day of their launch. Xbox Game Pass was released back in June last year as Microsoft's paid service to offer over a 100-title bouquet at an as low monthly charge as Rs. 699.

Microsoft has confirmed that alongside the upcoming Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 will be the first few titles that will debut for Xbox Game Pass in line with their official launch schedules. Certainly, all this is likely to get even bigger with the arrival of titles from franchises including Halo and Gears of War. "We've only scratched the surface of the opportunity this new model brings to the industry and what we can deliver to our fans. We firmly believe Xbox Game Pass will be a catalyst to create new opportunities for game developers and publishers to innovate in the way games are developed and delivered, leading to entirely new ways to play," said Phil Spencer, Executive Vice President of Gaming, Microsoft, in a statement.

Apart from expanding the library, Microsoft has launched a six-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card that will be available in the US through select retail partners at $59.99. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed Gadgets 360 that the six-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card will be available in India at Rs. 4,194. The company will continue to sell the one-month subscription at Rs. 699, and a 14-day free trial will be available for all, the spokesperson added.

Also known as "Netflix for Xbox", Xbox Game Pass is presently limited to Xbox One consoles. It originally included access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles.

On Tuesday, Microsoft launched the Xbox One X in India with a price tag of Rs. 44,990. The new game console is taking on the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro and offers a 4K gaming experience. It is available for purchase through Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Landmark, and Microsoft India stores, in addition to over 100 speciality gaming stores in the country.

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Bitcoin Wallet Devices Vulnerable to Security Hacks: Study

Devices used to manage popular digital cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have security weak spots, say scientists who have found a way to provide better protection against hackers.

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is supposed to provide a secure and private alternative to conventional money.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK carried out an in-depth security analysis of the communications system used in popular models of Bitcoin wallet.

They created a simple harmful software, or malware, which was able to intercept messages sent between hardware wallets and computers - where users manage their Bitcoin accounts.
The tests revealed that users' privacy is not protected.

They also showed how easy it is to access Bitcoin funds managed by such devices and divert them into a different account.

Based on the findings published in the journal Information Security, researchers proposed a fix for improving the security of such systems. This would encrypt particular messages sent between Bitcoin wallets and computers, making them much more secure.

Their fix could be incorporated into all models of Bitcoin hardware wallet to offer better protection against hacks, researchers said.

"A wallet should protect not only our money, but also our privacy. It was surprising to discover how easy it is to access a user's funds, even when sophisticated hardware is incorporated," said Andriana Gkaniatsou from the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

"Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet when it comes to protecting financial digital assets - we need to ensure that all components of the system are equally protected and interact in a secure way," said Gkaniatsou, who led the study.

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iOS 11.2.5, watchOS 4.2.2, tvOS 11.2.5 Updates Now Available to Download: What's New

Apple has released iOS 11.2.5 as the next update to the iOS 11 family. The new version is not full of many great features, unlike some of the past releases, but it does include the ability for Siri to read news - initially exclusive to the US, UK, and Australia. The iOS update also brings HomePod support ahead of its formal launch that is scheduled for February 9. Separately, Apple has also pushed watchOS 4.2.2 and tvOS 11.2.5.

Among other features, the iOS 11.2.5 updatefinally empowers Siri to read news, a feature that would make Apple's voice assistant a stronger contender against Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Users in the US, UK, and Australia can initially avail the new feature and catch all the latest happenings from the world of sports, business, and music. If you're living in the supported regions, you just need to ask, "Hey Siri, read the news." You can also pick a specific news category to precisely listening to what's new in the section that interests you the most.

Folks at 9to5Mac have reported that Siri by default plays a daily news feed from The Washington Post, while users can switch sources to Fox News, CNN, or NPR as well. There is no word on the mass availability of Siri as a newsreader on iOS devices. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the US, UK, and Australia are also the first regions where the HomePod is debuting next month.

Apart from the news reading option, the iOS 11.2.5 update comes with HomePod support. This allows you to set up and automatically transfer your Apple ID, Apple Music, Siri, and Wi-Fi settings directly to your HomePod unit. The same HomePod support was initially spotted in the iOS 11.2.5 beta.

The iOS 11.2.5 update also addresses an issue that could cause the Phone app to display incomplete information in the call list and fixes the issue that disabled Mail notifications on the Lock screen specifically from some Exchange accounts when unlocking iPhone X with Face ID. Further, there are bug fixes for issues such as the one that could cause Messages conversations to temporarily be listed out of order and CarPlay making Now Playing controls unresponsive after changing multiple tracks. The update also adds the ability for VoiceOver to announce playback destinations and AirPod battery level. Besides, the new iOS version is expected to include a fix for the chaiOS message bug that was discovered earlier this month. The security update contents of iOS 11.2.5 can be found here,

You can download the iOS 11.2.5 update on iPhone 5s and above models, iPad Air and above models, iPad mini 2 and above models, or the sixth generation iPod touch. To download the update, you need to go to Settings > General > Software Update and then follow the on-screen instructions. Your device should be running on a Wi-Fi connection to download the over-the-air (OTA) update. Also, it is advisable to back up your data before beginning the update process.

watchOS 4.2.2 and tvOS 11.2.5

In addition to the iOS 11.2.5 rollout, Apple has released watchOS 4.2.2 for all Apple Watch models, including the Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3, and tvOS 11.1 for the fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV devices. The current watchOS build is 15S542, while the new tvOS build is 15K552.

The watchOS 4.2.2 update has some unspecified improvements and bug fixes. Some watchOS beta testers have reported that the update basically makes the navigation in the redesigned Workouts app faster. We can also expect an overall uplift in the performance of all the Apple Watch models through the latest software version. There are numerous security fixes in the watchOS 4.2.2 update however, including those in audio, Bluetooth, kernel, and WebKit.

Here's how you can update your Apple Watch to watchOS 4.2.2. First, you need to have at least 50 percent charge on the Apple Watch before you start the update - it is also recommended to keep it charging while updating. Your iPhone will to be in close proximity to the Apple Watch and will need to be on Wi-Fi. After this, users will need to launch the Watch app on their iPhone and head to the My Watch tab and then General > Software Update. Enter the Watch passcode if prompted and then follow the prompts from your iPhone. The Apple Watch should restart twice before the update is completed.

Similar to the latest watchOS version, the tvOS 11.2.5 doesn't have a feature-rich changelog, beyond "general performance and stability improvements". It simply enables the compatible Apple TV models to display a Now Playing tile in the Control Center on iPhone and iPad. This comes as an early part of AirPlay 2 that would debut sometime later this year. There are several security fixes available in the update however.

To update your Apple TV to tvOS 11.2.5, you need to open the Settings app on your TV and then navigate to Settings > Systems > Software Update. Once this is done, the Apple TV will search for the update and you can proceed to download tvOS 11.2.5 following the on-screen instructions.

Alongside the new iOS, watchOS, and tvOS updates, Apple has also released macOS El Capitan 10.11.6, macOS Sierra 10.12.6, and macOS High Sierra 10.13.3. The new macOS El Capitan and macOS Sierra updates prominently fix the recently discovered Meltdown bug.

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Instagram Stories Get GIF Stickers With Access to Giphy Database

Facebook-owned image sharing platform Instagram has collaborated with Giphy to announce the rollout of a new millennial-focused feature on its Android and iOS app. Starting Tuesday, GIF stickers will be available globally as a part of the Stickers tab in Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories were first revealed back in August 2016. In this time, it has grown to 300 million DAU (Daily Active Users).

Thanks to the partnership with Giphy, Instagram users can now add funny GIF stickers to their public and private stories. "Users can add as many stickers as they'd like from a growing library, and will have hand-curated recommendations to turn even their seemingly mundane moments into fun, expressive and artistic moments to share," Instagram stated. GIF stickers will be available as part of version 29 on Android and iOS.

The feature was first spotted by The Next Web in a beta update in November 2017. Gadgets 360 got early access to the official update and here are our initial impressions of GIF stickers.

GIF stickers on Instagram Stories
To access the new feature, you need to take a photo, choose one from the gallery, or record a video on the Instagram Stories tab in the app. Next, click on the Stickers icon on the top right of the screen. Within the list, you will find the new GIF button to add the animated stickers to the photo or video you chose.

Clicking on the button will take you to a list of the top trending GIF stickers. You can now choose from any of the stickers you like and place it anywhere on the image or video. You can resize the GIF sticker, place more stickers, and add text as usual. You can also tap on the GIF sticker to reverse it.
The GIF search library is commendable, and you can search for hundreds of thousands of stickers present in Giphy's GIF database. Instagram has kept things minimal without too many additional options, a good thing for social media apps. Its sibling Facebook Messenger could probably learn a thing or two.

In our testing of the feature, we searched for GIF stickers of pop culture characters like Michael Scott from The Office, Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother, Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, among others, and were impressed with the variety of stickers available for use.

Instagram recommends searching for keywords like "Accessories" to find interesting face stickers such as sunglasses, hats, lips, and so on. Searching for "Effects" will return results of stickers that you can use to enhance the ambience in your story. Additionally, stickers in the "Peekers" category give a 3D illusion; they pop up and disappear.

Alternatively, you can search for "Word Art" to get fancy words in the form of a GIF; or even search for "Emoji" to get some special emoji packs.

How it fares against competition
In terms of market size, Instagram Stories only has 'competition' from the likes of WhatsApp Stories. In terms of features though, Instagram is known to borrow several features from Snapchat in the past. Things like face filters, self-destructing private stories, and regular stickers were first seen on Snapchat. At the time of writing, Snapchat does offer animated stickers albeit with an extremely limited library. It does, however, claim that seasonal stickers are released around events like Christmas.

With the Giphy partnership, Instagram has reiterated its stronghold in the market and given users yet another chance to interact on the platform. Instagram's next public announcement will be when we find out whether users spend time on the new feature or not.

"In the coming weeks, we're also rolling out the ability to upload photos and videos of any size to your story - so you never have to lose part of a photo or cut a friend out of a group video," said Instagram in a blog post. However, we are already able to see this feature on Instagram Stories.

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Snapchat to Let Users Share Stories Outside the App With a Link

Snap said it is launching a new feature on Snapchat on Tuesday, allowing users to share public stories with friends and family who aren't on the app.

The company, which reported lower-than-expected 178 million daily active users in the third quarter ended September 30, has been trying to attract new users and rolling out features, aiming to increase the time users spend on the app.

Snap's shares were up about 1 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Snapchat users will be able to press and hold on the tiles in Discover feature to share Official Stories, Our Stories and Search Stories via a shareable link, the company said. These links will then open through a player on Snap's website.

Snapchat, known for its messages that disappear seconds after they are read, said Our Stories and Search Stories will be available on the website for 30 days, while Official Stories will disappear after 24 hours.

The company also added that it is not ruling out monetisation of the stories.
Earlier this month, Snap said it would partner with Fox Sports to showcase stories with matchday highlights on the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament to be hosted in Russia later this year.

The Snapchat app was revamped last November to simplify navigation after complaints that it was difficult to use.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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Xiaomi Surge S2 Leaked Ahead of MWC 2018

While Xiaomi is all set to showcase its new offerings at MWC 2018, specifications of the Surge S2 have now surfaced online to hint at what's cooking up behind the scenes. The new SoC, which is likely to be the successor of the Surge S1 that was debuted at MWC 2017 in last February, is speculated to power the Xiaomi Mi 6X. The rumoured smartphone is presumed to be available worldwide as Xiaomi Mi A2, the new version of the Mi A1 Android One handset. An image of a back cover, allegedly showing the Mi 6X, has already been leaked to give a glimpse at the design of the new handset.

As per the details available on MyDrivers, the Surge S2 is based on TSMC's 16nm manufacturing process - featuring an octa-core processor. The SoC is reported to have four cores of Cortex-A73, clocked at 2.2GHz, and four cores of 1.8GHz Cortex-A53. Further, the processor is said to have a Mali G71 MP8 GPU as well as come with support for UFS 2.1 storage and LPDDR4 RAM. All these details suggest that the processing capabilities of the new Surge chip would be in line with high-end processor options such as Huawei's Kirin 960 and Samsung's Exynos 8890.

It is unclear whether the Surge S2 will be a part of various new Xiaomi smartphones. However, the Mi 6X is expected to be the first to include the new SoC. The smartphone appears to be the successor of the Mi 5X that had been rebranded as the Mi A1 in the global markets. Therefore, it is likely to be the Mi A2.

The leaked image of the Xiaomi Mi 6X case suggests that smartphone would come with a thin-bezel display and a vertical dual-camera setup. Also, the image shows a circular home button in the middle of the rear panel of the smartphone that could be there to provide a room for a fingerprint sensor.

Alongside the Surge S2 and the Mi 6X, Xiaomi is in the headlines for preparing the launch of the Mi 7. The next flagship model is likely to be the key offering by the Shenzhen-based at the forthcoming MWC in Barcelona. It is already confirmed to have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC.

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Uber's $3 Million Settlement With New York Drivers Rejected by US Judge

A federal judge refused to grant preliminary approval for Uber Technologies's proposed $3 million class-action settlement with 2,421 New York drivers who accused the ride-sharing company of retaining excessive fees from their fares.

In a decision on Friday, US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn objected to a provision allowing the revival of breach of contract claims he had dismissed, so long as the settlement won final approval.

Garaufis said such a "conditional stipulation" appeared to leave "in limbo" whether the settling drivers' claims had enough in common for him to approve the proposed settlement.

The judge also objected to a $2,500 payment to a driver whose claims had been deemed subject to arbitration. Garaufis said the drivers could submit a revised settlement for approval.

"We anticipate refiling our motion early this week," Jonathan Greenbaum, a lawyer for the drivers, said on Monday.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Drivers had accused Uber of accounting improperly for sales taxes and a "Black Car Fund" fee, which relates to workers' compensation, in fares when calculating service fees, thereby increasing the amounts owed.

They also accused the San Francisco-based company Uber of falsely advertising guaranteed compensation for drivers without disclosing the conditions.

Uber has denied all allegations.

The settlement covered drivers who used the Uber app to arrange rides in New York since December 29, 2009, and whose claims were not subject to arbitration.

It was reached after Uber paid more than $80 million to roughly 96,000 drivers in New York, following its admission that it had inadvertently underpaid drivers for two-and-a-half years, court papers show.

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Sony's Xperia XZ Pro will ditch headphone jack, probably

SONY NEXT FLAGSHIP SMARTPHONE, the so-called Xperia XZ Pro, will be the firm's first device to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. 

That's according to an FCC filing, which depicts a Sony device in 'Charging Mode' sporting a dongle that splits into a USB port and a headphone jack. This dongle (below) slots into the handset's USB-C port, and will offer users the option to listen to music while the phone is re-juicing. 

While it's not clear whether the device in question is the rumoured Xperia XZ Pro, it's listed dimensions come in at 52.8x72.4mm, so it's got more than enough room to squeeze in the handset's mooted 5.7in 4K-resolution OLED display.

That ain't all we know about the Sony Xperia XZ Pro, either. Chinese site MyDrivers last week revealed that the flagship mobe will be unveiled during next month's MWC in Barcelona as the successor to last year's Xperia XZ Premium. 

The website also claims to have got its hands on the smartphone's specs. As well as outing the phone's high-res screen, which MyDriversclaims will be largely "bezel-free", the Xperia XZ Pro will reportedly be powered by Qualcomm's 10nm Snapdragon 845 processor will apparently provide the power, despite speculation that Samsung had first dibs on the SoC for its Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus processor.

This will come paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB built-in storage, according to the report, and there's also a microSD slot and a beefy 3,420mAh battery.

On the photography front, expect a dual camera setup comprising of an 18MP shooter with a 1.33μm pixel size and a 12MP camera with a 1.38μm pixel size. The front-facing camera is said to weight in at 13MP, but no further details have yet been revealed.

The Sony Xperia XZ Pro will also pack an IP68-certified chassis and will ship with Android 8.1 Oreo. 

MyDrivers claims that the handset will fetch 6000 yuan ($930, £675) when it goes on sale, but no release date has been confirmed yet.

This MWC launch will follow Sony's underwhelming CES presser, where it unveiled a trio of mid-range smartphones: the Xperia XA2, XA2 Ultra and Xperia L2. 

The highlight of the middling lineup is the Xperia XA2, which packs a 5.2in Full HD screen, a Snapdragon 630 processor paired with 3GB RAM and a 23MP rear-facing camera, complete with hybrid autofocus, support for 4K video recording plus 120fps slow-motion shooting.

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Intel Asks Customers to Halt Patches for Meltdown, Spectre Chip Bugs, Citing Flaw

Intel said on Monday that patches it released to address two high-profile security vulnerabilities in its chips are faulty, advising customers, computer makers and cloud providers to stop installing them.

Intel Executive Vice President Navin Shenoydisclosed the problem in a statement on the chipmaker's website, saying that patches released after months of development caused computers to reboot more often than normal and other "unpredictable" behaviour.

"I apologise for any disruption this change in guidance may cause," Shenoy said. "I assure you we are working around the clock to ensure we are addressing these issues."

The issue of the faulty patches is separate from complaints by customers for weeks that the patches slow computer performance. Intel has said a typical home and business PC user should not see significant slowdowns.

Intel's failure to provide a usable patch could cause businesses to postpone purchasing new computers, said IDC analyst Mario Morales.

Intel is "still trying to get a handle on what's really happening. They haven't resolved the matter," he said.

Intel asked technology providers to start testing a new version of the patches, which it began distributing on Saturday.

The warning came nearly three weeks after Intel confirmed on January 3 that its chips were impacted by vulnerabilities known as Spectreand Meltdown, which make data on affected computers vulnerable to espionage.

Meltdown was specific to chips from Intel, as well as one from SoftBank's ARM Holdings. Spectre affected nearly every modern computing device, including ones with chips from Intel, ARM and Advanced Micro Devices.

Problems with the patches have been growing since Intel on January 11 said they were causing higher reboot rates in its older chips and then last week that the problem was affecting newer processors.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Intel asking customers to halt using the patches.

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Microsoft Education Announces 4 Budget Laptops, Free Office 365 Access, and More

Microsoft on Monday announced the launch of four new school-focused Windows 10 laptops. The company also unveiled plans to offer free access to Office 365 Education to school teachers in 146 countries globally and several developments for STEM - including new curricula for Computer Science with Minecraft, partnerships for Mixed Reality headsets, and a new Chemistry update.

New laptops
Microsoft unveiled four new laptops - two from Lenovo and two developed by JP.

With a budget oriented approach for school students, the Lenovo range starts at just $189  for the Lenovo 100e. It is powered by an Intel Celeron Apollo Lake processor, coupled with a minimum of 2GB LPDDR4 RAM. It sports a 11.6-inch HD (1366x768 pixels) antiglare display. The laptop also boasts a battery life of up to 10 hours, and has a weight of 1.22 kg.

The Lenovo 300e 2-in-1 convertible PC has also been announced in the Microsoft Education range. The laptop is powered by an Intel Pentium processor, coupled with a minimum of 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and a minimum of 16GB eMMC storage. The laptop sports a 11.6-inch HD (1366x768 pixels) 10-point multitouch display with Active Pen display. It boasts a battery life of up to 8 hours.The Lenovo 300e has been priced starting at $279.

There are two laptops, in the Microsoft Education range, from JP that have been launched. The Classmate Leap T303 laptop with Windows Hello support starts at $199 and the Trigono V401 2-in-1 starts at $299. The latter comes with pen and touch support.

Office 365 Education
Microsoft also announced that it would be extending free access to Office 365 Education to teachers in 146 countries. Apart from that, a number of new education-based updates are set to arrive on Microsoft Office next month. These include Microsoft Learning Tools to help students improve their comprehension skills, assignment and grade integration on OneNoteClass Notebook, access to classroom digital hub Teams on iOS and Android, and enabling teachers to publish PowerPoint slides to Teams classrooms.

STEM announcements
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is an important area of focus for Microsoft Education. The Redmond giant announced several new developments on the STEM front. Microsoft is partnering with BBC Worldwide to bring the natural history film Oceans: Our Blue Planet to classrooms and museums.

A partnership with LEGO Education will also incorporate a new free online hacking STEM lesson plan that enables students to do things like measure topography in 2D/ 3D space, build tools with LEGO bricks, create transportation plans, and more.

Microsoft has also partnered with other education providers that will roll out compatible curriculum for Windows Mixed Reality headsets and Microsoft HoloLens headsets. A limited period pricing will be available for academic students and professors from January 22 till May 31. Commercial and Developer HoloLens variants will be available for a 10 percent discount in select markets where the headset ships.

Lastly, a new Chemistry Update will be rolled out for STEM in Spring 2018. It will enable teachers and students to use Minecraft to help learn the subject better.

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Android 8.1 Oreo Starts Displaying Public Wi-Fi Network Speeds Before Connecting

Google is rolling out a new feature on Android 8.1 Oreo that shows the speed of Wi-Fi networks before users connect to them. After teasing the feature for a while now, Google has finally announced the new feature. This Wi-Fi speed labels on Android Oreo is applicable to open Wi-Fi, which means users can gauge the speed before connecting to public networks.

It should be noted that Android's new feature will not be able to show the exact network speed. It just gives a close idea of the signal strength for users to determine whether they wish to connect to a Wi-Fi network or not. Another vital requirement is that the smartphone must be running Android 8.1 Oreo to avail the feature.

In order to check the network speed, users will have to go to the Settings app on their smartphone. Under the Network and Internet tab, they have to go to the Wi-Fi list. From the listed networks, the user needs to select one that needs to be connected. Further, connection speed will be shown under the names of public networks. Notably, the displayed speed can change with signal strength.

Based on what users can do with the signal strength, Google has divided the speed into four categories - Slow ("If you can use Wi-Fi calling, you can make phone calls and send texts"), OK ("You can read webpages, use social media, and stream music"), Fast ("You can stream most videos"), and Very Fast ("You can stream very high-quality videos"). Orrin, a Pixel User Community Manager, explained the speeds for each label in a forum, as - Slow (0 to 1 Mbps), OK (1 Mbps to 5 Mbps), Fast (5 Mbps to 20 Mbps), and Very Fast (20 Mbps+).

Users can also disable the functionality by going to Wi-Fi Preferences, under the same Wi-Fi tab. Further, under the Advanced option, select 'None' in the Network rating provider tab.

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Xiaomi Mi 7, Mi 6X Images Leak, Tipping Design and Specifications

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is expected to hit the market with two new handsets. While a leak has showcased an all new Xiaomi Mi 6X, another has revealed more details of the Mi 7. The Xiaomi Mi 6X is said to be the successor to Mi 5X, which was launched in July 2017. Notably, the Xiaomi Mi 5X was rebranded as Mi A1 in India, and shipped with stock Android as an Android One offering. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to be the company's next flagship smartphone that could be launched at MWC 2018.

While there have been several rumours going around regarding the Mi 7 smartphone, the latest render has come from Naijatech which has cited a Weibo leak that showcases the back side of the smartphone. On the rear end of the smartphone, there is a horizontally aligned dual camera setup along with an LED flash. Interestingly, the report also suggests that the smartphone may support wireless charging.

Additionally, CNMO has also leaked another image showing the front side of the smartphone. Both the leaks, suggest that the Mi 7 may feature a traditional fingerprint scanner on the back. The image also suggests the presence of a thin top bezel and none at the bottom, reminding us of the Mi MIX 2 design.

Earlier, Xiaomi had announced that the Mi 7 will be the first smartphone to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 SoC. Notably, another report had suggested that the smartphone will sport a proprietary face unlock feature and abandon the traditional fingerprint scanner. Also, some reports have claimed the presence of a 6-inch bezel-less 18:9 OLED display on the Xiaomi Mi 7.

Meanwhile, an image of a back cover, allegedly belonging to Xiaomi Mi 6X has reportedly leaked on Chinese microblogging website Weibo. Confirming the leak, Slashleaks posted case renders of the Mi 6X which shows edge-to-edge display and a vertical dual-camera setup. Another image leaked on Weibo has showcased the back cover of the Mi 6X.

Meanwhile, there is also a circular hole in the middle of the rear panel, which could be the placeholder for a fingerprint sensor. Also, images showing the front side suggests that the Mi 6X may come with a full-screen design, with an aspect ratio of 18:9.

Since the Mi A1 was seen as a rebranding of the Mi 5X, the Mi 6X could possibly be launched as Mi A2 in India. Also, Xiaomi could go for a mid-year release for the Mi 6X as seen with the previous variant. While the company has already confirmed it will be present at the Mobile World Congress, Mi 7 could be its biggest launch.

However, with all rumours and leaks, it is advisable to take the above information about the Mi 7 and Mi 6X with a pinch of salt, as Xiaomi has yet to make any announcements about its new smartphones and the credibility of the sources cannot be independently verified.

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