Apple Releases iOS 10 With Redesigned Lock Screen, New Messages Features, Third-Party Siri, and More

Apple today released iOS 10, the latest operating system designed for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, to the public. iOS 10 can be downloaded the iPhone 5 and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, the iPad 4 and later, and the 6th generation iPod touch. 

The update is available on all eligible devices through iTunes or over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software update. As with all major software releases, it may take a few minutes for the update to propagate due to high user demand. 

According to Apple, iOS 10 is the "biggest release ever" for iOS devices, with major updates for Messages, Siri, Photos, Maps, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and the iOS interface.

iOS 10 features a redesigned Lock screen experience with 3D Touch-enabled notifications, a more easily accessible camera, and a widgets screen. A revamped Control Center also offers 3D Touch support along with new controls for music and HomeKit devices. Raise to Wake, a new feature for the latest devices, wakes up the iPhone without bypassing notifications. 

Messages has been entirely overhauled with new features like background animations, bubble effects, rich links, and Digital Touch, and there's even a full Messages App Storethat can add almost unlimited capabilities to messages, from sending stickers and GIFs to making payments or placing collaborative dinner orders. 

A new Siri SDK lets developers build support into their apps, and a dedicated "Home" app gives users a central place to control HomeKit devices. Photos features impressive facial and object recognition capabilities, and a new Memories feature allows you to discover forgotten memories.

Maps and Apple Music have both been redesigned with cleaner, simpler interfaces, with Maps gaining proactive suggestions and integrated third-party apps and Music gaining better content discovery features and a new focus on lyrics. 

There's a new feature that lets stock iOS apps be hidden from sight, and the QuickType keyboard is smarter with new contextual predictions, including emoji predictions. Apple Pay is available on the web starting today, and Game Center has been largely eliminated. 

For full details on the new features included in iOS 10, make sure to check out ourcomplete iOS 10 roundup. 

Update: Some users are reporting that iOS 10 has bricked their devices, so it may be wise to make a back up before upgrading or hold off on downloading the update for now. 

iPhone 7 Plus Hands On | Dual Camera | Water Resistant | Wireless Headphones

Massive iPhone 7 Leak Reveals 15 New Features

The iPhone 7 is almost here and it wouldn’t be an Apple AAPL +0.65%launch without Ming-Chi Kuo spoiling all the surprises. The KGI Securities analyst (widely regarded as “the best Apple analyst on the planet”) has revealed 15 major changes coming to both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus… 

Obtained by AppleInsider, the list reads as follows:

1. New True Tone displays like the iPad Pro range, with laser based proximity sensors for faster response times
2. 32GB, 128GB and 256GB storage tiers will replace 16GB, 64GB and 128GB
3. 2x 12MP dual rear camera limited to iPhone 7 Plus, uses 1x wide angle and 1x telephoto lenses
4. Upgraded ambient light sensors on both new iPhone cameras for better low light shots
5. Camera flash LEDs doubled from two to four with warm and cool colours
6. 3.5mm headphone jack removed
7. Lightning EarPods and a 3.5mm to Lightning headphone adaptor included in the box
8. Second external speaker and integrated amplifier for louder, richer output
9. Basic IPX7 water resistance – both phones can withstand splashes and full submersion for up to 30 minutes. Not quite Galaxy S7 level (one hour+), but close.
10. 2GB RAM for iPhone 7, 3GB RAM for iPhone 7 Plus
11. Next generation A10 chipset sees CPUs hit 2.45GHz clock speeds and 20-30% performance gains
12. 3D Touch 2.0 sensor with more distinct haptic feedback
13. Home button replaced with non-clicking touch sensor with haptic feedback
14. Antenna bands removed from the back of both models for cleaner look
15. Two new colours: dark black and piano black (latter in limited quantities for 256GB model); space grey colour option ended

Breaking Down The Key Points

While the new colour options, reduced antenna bands, louder speaker and fixed home button are welcome upgrades, the real talking points here are the upgraded cameras, storage and removal of the headphone jack.

The last of these now seems virtually guaranteed since I first broke the news of Apple’s long term strategy in June 2014. Convincing users that the pros outweigh the obvious cons will be the key factor to the long term success of both new iPhones – especially without wireless charging now wired charging and wired headphones share the same port.

That said the upgraded storage and cameras are also very welcome and go hand-in-hand. If Apple is going to sell the idea that the new iPhones have the world’s best smartphone cameras then they need to come with more storage so people can take full advantage of them. If Apple follows through on both these claims it will be great news.

Interestingly Kuo hasn’t commented on leaks that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will receive the largest proportional battery upgrade in iPhone history. With the removal of the headphone jack, such increased practicality would be another key factor in persuading customers angry at its omission to stick with the company.

Yes, I doubt 2016 will go down as a classic iPhone year, but there should still be enough that’s shiny and new to satisfy the majority of Apple fans. The new iPhones will still sell in their millions, but don’t expect sales records until the radically overhauled 10th anniversary iPhone in 2017…

Reliance Jio Extends ‘Jio Preview Offer’ To More Samsung and LG Phones!

Reliance Jio is extending its preview offer to more devices now. Earlier the offer was available only to flagship Samsung smartphones and HP users but now the company has started offering its ‘Jio Preview’ offer to even the entry-level Samsung phones and select LG smartphones.

Here is the full list of Samsung smartphone which are eligible for Jio Preview Offer:

Samsung Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, Galaxy A5 2016, Galaxy A5 Duos, Galaxy A7, Galaxy A7 2016, Galaxy A8, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Core Prime, Galaxy Grand Max, Galaxy J max, Galaxy J1 Ace, Samsung Galaxy J1 Ace, Galaxy J2, Galaxy J2 (2016), Galaxy J2 Pro, Galaxy J3, Galaxy J5, Galaxy J5 (2016), Galaxy J7, Galaxy J7 (2016), Galaxy K Zoom, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 5 Duos, Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy S 5 Plus, Galaxy S4, GALAXY S4 4G, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5 Neo, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Grand Prime, ON5, ON5 Pro, ON7, and ON7 Pro.

Reliance Jio Preview Offer Extended To LG Smartphones

Reliance Jio has also started offering its Jio Preview offer to select LG smartphones which are K332 (K7 LTE), K520DY (Stylus 2), K520DY, H860 (LG G5), K500I (X Screen), K535D (Stylus 2 Plus), LGH630D (G4 Stylus 4G), and LGH 442 (LGC70 Spirit LTE).

If you have one of the above listed Samsung or LG smartphone then follow the below procedure for availing unlimited 4G internet, voice and video calls, SMS, and free access to Jio Premium app under the Jio Preview offer:

• Install MyJio app from Google Play.
• Open MyJio app and tap on ‘Get Jio SIM’ on the top banner.
• Follow the on-screen instruction for generating the offer code.
• Take a screenshot of the offer code and take its printout.
• Visit your nearest Reliance Digital or Dx Mini store along with the required documents (Original Proof of Address and its copy,Proof of Identity and its copy, one passport size photograph), and the printout of the offer code to get a Jio SIM.
• Please make sure that you carry the same handset from which you generated the offer code with you.
• Follow the instructions given on this page for SIM activation.

We would not be surprised if this Reliance Jio preview offer is slowly extended to other smartphone brands as well. We may soon see likes of Xiaomi, Lenovo, LeEco and others in the mix as well.

Given the way Jio is approaching the market and grabbing market share – the incumbent players will need to change their strategies (which we are already seeing), if they want to contain the disruption Jio is causing in Indian telecom market!

Aadhaar Based Instant e-KYC Verification For SIM Cards Approved; 24 Cr Sheets of Paper, 50,000 Trees & Rs 10,000 Cr Can Now Be Saved / Year

Imagine going inside a mobile operator’s showroom with your Aadhaar Card for getting a new SIM Card. All you need to do is verify the Aadhaar card details, provide your biometric data (fingerprints or iris data) to verify and voila! You come out of the showroom with an activated SIM Card, ready to use within 5 minutes.

This is not a fiction anymore, as Govt. has approved Aadhaar card based e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) procedure, which has been hailed as revolutionary for the telecom sector. And soon, this can change every service which needs to authenticate customers’ identity.

Department of Telecommunications, under Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India has issued a circular for all licensed telecom operators to use e-KYC method for authenticating new customers; and this has been rolled out for entire India – right from Jammu and Kashmir to North East India.

Test run of e-KYC had started since 2013, and the results are fascinating to say the least.

The circular said, “After successful completion of proof-of-concept to use ‘Aadhaar’ e-KYC service for issuing mobile connections to subscribers, it has been decided to launch the ‘Aadhaar’ e-KYC service across all Licensed Service Areas (LSAs), including J&K, North East and Assam,”

Besides saving time and energy, Aadhaar card based e-KYC will also save our environment and tons of money for the telecom operators. Right now, for every paper based KYC procedure, telcos spend around Rs 145 to Rs 175 besides using numerous sheets of papers. And around 7-8 crore new subscribers are added every year.

As per estimation, once every telecom firm start using Aadhaar card based e-KYC, around Rs 10,000 crore can be saved per year.

Besides 24 crore of paper sheets and 50,000 trees would be saved per year, as no paper record would be saved and the authentication would be done completely using digital medium, and records would be extracted from the UIDAI servers under strict surveillance.

In the circular, DoT has laid special emphasis on the security of the Aadhaar Card data, as only authenticated and verified personals would be allowed to verify customer’s’ data. In fact, telecom operators have been assigned the responsibility to test and evaluate their agents, dealers and/or employees who would access Aadhaar Card details of new customers via PoS outlets, and check their biometric details for verifications.

Before every such request to the UIDAI server, the details of the agent/employees would be cross-examined using the same metrics that is their own biometric details and passwords provided by the telecom firms.

The circular said, “Until and unless the agent of the PoS is authenticated by a licensee (telecom operator) using his/ her biometric details through UIDAI, no customer application form shall get displayed by the Licensee on the screen of the concerned PoS,”

Hence, we are witnessing a fool-proof, double layered security mechanism for avoiding misuse of Aadhaar card details.

UIDAI has already stated that their information is machine-readable, which will pose no problem for verifying biometric details of the customers.

Top three telecom operators in India: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have already assured that they will start processing Aadhaar based e-KYC procedure within a week, there by fully supporting Govt.’s initiatives.

Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said, “It will contribute to the government’s ‘Digital India’ vision. Airtel plans to start rolling out Aadhaar-based e-KYC solutions this week itself,”

Sunil Sood, MD & CEO, Vodafone India, said, “For Vodafone, it will improve quality of sales as well as regulatory compliance. For the regulator, it not only means a green initiative but also hassle-free governance and accurate audit results,”

A big thumbs up to Govt. of India for enabling a revolutionary Aadhaar based mechanism for easing customer verification for mobile subscribers, which will unleash further revolutions in the service sector.

Google Maps Now Supports Full Offline Mode & SD Card Map Storage

Google Maps with ‘Offline areas’ has become a necessity these days. Think of any road trip, somewhere far where you have never been and you will automatically want to store that area in your Google Maps app (via offline places) and add desired pitstops.

It won’t be wrong to say that Google Maps has become an integral part of our lives. The users can now even edit maps and insert suggestions in Google Maps. I always keep my ‘Offline areas’ updated even when I have no plans to travel outside the city. Doing this not only gives me peace of mind, but also makes me ready to traverse those unknown areas of my city without asking for directions.

“Once you’ve switched to “Wi-fi only”, the Google Maps app will work completely offline — no Wi-Fi needed! You will still be able to use other apps and the rest of your phone as you normally would. And you might even save on battery life too. If you need to see what the traffic is like or update your offline maps, you can easily switch back to online mode by changing your setting or finding the nearest Wi-Fi,” said Sanket Gupta, Product Manager, Google Maps.

Google Maps supports offline areas for a while now, but the latest update adds support for ‘WiFi only’ mode letting youuse it completely offline even when the other apps are connected to the internet via mobile data. This would let yousave a lot of mobile data during those long road trips or to places with expensive cellular data.

The ‘WiFi only’ mode would also help save your phone’s battery while offering a seamless offline navigation experience.

Google Maps Becomes Entry-level Smartphones Friendly

Also with this update you would now be able to save offline areas in Google Maps on your entry-level Android smartphones too. While saving offline areas to internal memory has never been an issue for those with mid-range and high-end phones, people with affordable phones (4-8 GB ROM) have had difficulty in storing offline mode in Google Maps.

Entry-level smartphone users what it’s like when they can’t try a new app just because their phone doesn’t have sufficient free storage. Thankfully with this new update, they can now store offline areas in SD card too.

“Now, in addition to saving an area of the maps for offline use later, if you have a device that supports SD cards, you can opt to save your downloaded maps to an external SD card (if your device supports them) and free up storage space for important stuff like your holiday snaps or road trip playlists. Now you’ll never have to choose between snapping more food photos or the ability to navigate offline,” Sanket explained.

Another change that comes with this new update to Google Maps is new options for ride services in various cities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Currently Google Maps in India shows ride services only fromUber and Ola. We are expecting that Google will soon add more ride services to Google Maps in India too.

Lenovo Zuk Z1

Buy For

• Robust configuration
• Fingerprint sensor
• Large battery backup
• Best Price: Rs. 13,499 - Rs. 14,099

The powerhouse

Design and Display

The Lenovo Zuk Z1 features a 5.5-inch large IPS LCD display with a Full HD (1,080 x 1,920 pixels) resolution and pixel density of 401ppi. It is available in black colour and dimensions of this phone are 155.7 (Height) x 77.3 (Weight) x 8.9 (Thick) mm.

Storage and Configuration

Lenovo Zuk Z1 runs on Cyanogen OS 12.1 based on Android 5.1 and comes equipped with an impressive 2.5GHz quad-core processor and is also fitted with a 3GB RAM providing this device with a fast processing speed and great multitasking ability. It consist of a huge storage space of 64GB but lacks expandable memory option. 

Camera and Connectivity

This device comes packed with an impressive 13MP main camera with Exmor-RS CMOS Sensor, autofocus. Optical image stabilization, LED flash and 2.2F Aperture. Along with that it also consist of an 8MP front camera for selfies. Connectivity options included in this phone are dual SIM, 3G/4G connectivity, Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS and USB support.

This phone also includes a bunch of sensors like FingerPrint ID, Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Compass and Gyroscope.  

Battery

The Lenovo Zuk Z1 is powered by a mighty 4,100mAh non removable li-polymer battery. Along with this it also comes with an added advantage of quick charging feature.

Verdict

Lenovo Zuk Z1 is a full featured phone which has the fastest quad-core processor available in today generation. Along with that an impressive camera, good amount of RAM and storage space combined with lots of other great features makes this device a good option in the midrange segment.