Gmail introduced the ‘Google Illustrations’ feature last year, which allows users to create a personalized profile picture from a set of available illustrations, and now, this feature is also available in Google Contacts.

The ‘Google Illustrations’ feature, which allows users to create a custom profile picture for their Google account, is now included in the Contacts app for Android, according to 9to5Google. Users may access ‘Illustrations’ as the first tab when updating a contact, alongside ‘Google Photos’ and ‘Device photos.’

Additionally, since its launch, Google has increased the options within each subcategory of its “Illustrations” feature, which includes collections of animals, cities and places, food, hobbies and interests, nature, and sports and recreation. As noted by 9to5Google, these collections remain unchanged, but users can now choose from a wider range of options within each subcategory to create a more ‘ personal’ profile picture.

The ‘Quick crops’ feature highlights the most interesting parts of an image and is available in the editor for the ‘Google Illustrations,’ further giving the ability to customize your images. In addition to ‘Quick crops,’ users can also make use of various color tools to further personalize their profile picture.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

We have come to that time of the year when you take look at the trends of the market and how they shaped the preferences or demands of the customers. The Indian smartphone market in 2022 could summarise the headlines with the long overdue launch of 5G, which has finally made hundreds of 5G phones relevant for the consumer.

It was important that 5G services were launched, otherwise, people were buying the overpriced 5G phones just for the sake of being future-ready, without having any clarity as to when that future will become a reality. This brings us to the main agenda of this piece, prices of phones in India going up, changing the definition of a budget and a mid-range smartphone for the buyer.

The differences became evident the moment you read through the features of a 4G and a 5G phone. It started off as a marketing blitz but eventually, you realised that upgrading the technology came at a price, which the consumer was going to pay. The first signs of this trend came up when multiple analyst reports talked about the increase in the average selling price or ASP of smartphones in India.

India has traditionally been a market where the average cost of buying a phone used to be around Rs 12,000 but this year that has moved closer to Rs 20,000 which is a dramatic increase, especially for a market like ours.

When you look deeper, you realise that a phone which used to cost Rs 12,000 a few years back, is now available for upwards of Rs 18,000 and if people want to experience these features, they invariably spend the extra 5-6 grand to get the value. Brands have been forced to bump up the price owing to multiple reasons, none of which are under its control.

Make In India Effort Optimised

Most smartphones sold in India are made/assembled in the country. But even today, you cannot avoid the reality that the major components used in making a phone come from abroad, which means additional taxes and duties incurred by the manufacturer, which is then passed on to the consumer.

The higher value of the Rupee in the past year or so also helped matters, and then you have the higher cost of using a 5G chipset. Combine all these together and the final recipe shows up in the form of an inflated bill.

More Takers For Premium Phones

But it’s not just the price of the phone that has pushed the market towards a different direction, you also have a broader set of buyers for premium phones, mostly attributed to the growing sales of iPhones in India. The festive offers meant you could pick up older iPhone models like iPhone 12 and 13 for lower than market prices.

And India picked up in lumps, so much so that Apple doesn’t forget to see the gradual growth it is seeing in the country because of these sales. And the effect of iPhones seems to have trickled down to the Android space as well.

Nipun Marya, CEO, iQOO India, recently mentioned that the market for Rs 50-60,000 smartphones in India has exploded in the past 12 to 24 months. Other brands have also noticed a similar pattern, which explains the interest in launching multiple phones in a year. But what could be the possible reason for this change? You could compare this growth with the demand for compact SUV cars in the country.

While the entry-level segment has seen its demand stagnate, SUVs are selling in millions, and it wouldn’t be unfair to say that people are now willing to spend more for a better smartphone, which brings them straight away from a Rs 20,000 device to spending upwards of Rs 50,000 (easy finance schemes come in handy) for their next smartphone.

5G is going to spread wider in 2023 and we might see changing patterns of the consumer in the near future as well.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

The Indian cyber agency CERT-In on Tuesday warned Indians users against phishing, credential stuffing, or other brute force attacks against online accounts associated with LastPass vault.

The warning came as encrypted password manager LastPass admitted last week that hackers were able to “copy a backup of customer vault data,” in a recent data breach.

LastPass is a freemium password manager that stores encrypted passwords online.

“The data is encrypted and the threat actor could possibly perform brute force attempt to guess the master password, or may carry out phishing, credential stuffing, or other brute force attacks against online accounts associated with your LastPass “vault,” warned CERT-In in its advisory.

It is reported that, threat actors gained access to source code and technical information from the utility’s developer environment to target users.

The threat actors reportedly utilised information copied from backup containing basic customer account information and related metadata from which users were accessing the Password manager service.

“For successful execution the threat actor may target users with a possible brute force attempt to guess the master password, or may perform phishing, credential stuffing and brute force attacks against online accounts associated with the Password manager utility,” said CERT-In, which comes under the IT Ministry.

“Change your password every 60-90 days on user-level accounts. This ensures threat actors using social engineering, brute force and credential stuffing attacks cannot use your older passwords to gain access to your systems or data,” it added.

The cyber agency also reported a vulnerability in WordPress which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.

This vulnerability exists in YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards Premium plugin for WordPress due to an improper validation of file, during file upload.

“An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by uploading a malicious file. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system,” said CERT-In.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)

Apple’s main chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will reportedly start mass production of its 3-nanometer chip process for the next generations of Mac, iPhone and other Apple devices in the coming days.

TSMC will hold a “ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park” (STSP) on Thursday and will also reveal plans to expand 3-nanometer chip production at the fabrication plant, reports AppleInsider.

Apple currently uses 4-nanometer chips from TSMC in its iPhone 14 Pro models, which is the A16 Bionic chip.

TSMC had started testing the 3-nanometer process in December 2021 at its Fab 18 in southern Taiwan.

A rumour in June claimed that the iPhone maker might use the new chip process in its M2 Pro chip in certain Macs that would ship next year, the report said.

In September, it was reported that the tech giant’s upcoming M3 chip for Macs and A17 chip for iPhone 15 Pro models would be manufactured based on TMSC’s enhanced 3nm process known as “N3E” next year.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)

Apple is currently developing  the next-generation of the iPad mini. It is expected that this updated version of the smallest iPad could be released at some point towards the end of 2023 or in early 2024. 

Apple is reportedly preparing to release a new version of the iPad mini, featuring an upgraded processor as the main selling point, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Given the speculated launch period, Apple could ship the new updated iPad mini with a new M-series processor or the A17 Bionic chipset that will first debut with the iPhone 15 series in September 2023. 

Ming-Chi Kuo also squashed the rumors about the potential foldable iPad. He said, “I think it’s unlikely Apple will replace the iPad mini with a foldable iPad in 2025, which may be contrary to what some media previously predicted.” He added, “It’s because a foldable iPad will have a markedly higher price than an iPad mini, so such a replacement is not reasonable.”

Additionally, it is also rumored that Apple has decided to either cancel or postpone the mass production of the rumored iPhone SE 4, which was expected to take place in 2024.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

Some Google Pixel 7 users have reported that the rear camera glass of their phones is shattering randomly—multiple users on Reddit and Twitter claim that the camera lens is shattering without any drops or physical damage.

Several Pixel 7 users have posted their ordeals online–-on Reddit and Twitter describing that their Pixel 7 unit, out of the blue, ended up with a broken rear camera lens. A user who goes by the name ‘clafa,’ claimed, “It was in my jacket pocket all by itself and when I reached for it I felt the shattered glass/plastic. Google won’t fix it…”

Users ascribe the problem to a ‘material flaw’ in the phone, and at the moment, the problem appears to be restricted to the regular Pixel 7.

Another user added “Same problem and I never dropped the phone. This is crazy as nothing has touched the back of my phone. Not a mark on it. The camera takes great pictures still, but who knows for how long.”

Affected Pixel 7 users who contacted Google Support were told that physical damage to their smartphones was not covered in the company’s warranty policy. This implies that if a device receives physical damage, such as a broken screen or water damage, it may not be eligible for warranty repair or replacement.

“I was told by @madebygoogle that with no sign of physical damage it was my fault. Was quoted over $400 to fix,” a user who goes by the username @thverybestracer posted on Twitter.

While some users were offered replacements, others were declined. It remains to be seen how widespread the issue is, or is it a problem with only a certain batch.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

Samsung could have one last Galaxy FE model in the market which is likely to launch in February 2023 as per reports. The company is busy preparing for the launch of the new Galaxy S23 series in the same month, and just a few days after that, Samsung could introduce the Galaxy S22 Fan Edition or FE variant as well. It is interesting to hear about the FE model once again, which was supposedly going to be discontinued by the company.

But new rumours hint that the plans to shelve the FE series were made later this year, by which time the Galaxy S22 FE was already in pipeline. Many expected the Galaxy S22 FE to launch around August this month, but Samsung seems to have stuck to its usual launch timeline of early year for the FE model.

The FE series sits in an intriguing position for the company, where you have the Galaxy A series and the Galaxy S22 vanilla model. It is possible that the South Korean brand hasn’t seen enough value in launching the FE variant, which prompted the decision to cancel the lineup altogether.

But with Samsung now opting for Qualcomm chipsets for its flagship series, the price of the Galaxy S23 could push further up, making it less appealing to consumers. So, having an FE model with an Exynos chipset could help the company price the phone aggressively, which could make it more popular than before.

And to be fair, Samsung did not officially confirm the ending of the FE series, so it could possibly be just the rumour mill doing the talk for the company. Either way, we are eager to see if Samsung continues with its Galaxy FE series or could the next model be the last hurrah for the lineup in the market.

Read all the Latest Tech News here

Tecno has released the Phantom X2 5G in India, equipped with a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G chipset and a curved AMOLED display. The device is available in Stardust Grey and Moonlight Silver color options.

Tecno Phantom X2 Specifications

Tecno Phantom X2 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC and features 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It features a sizable 5,160 mAh battery with fast charging capabilities at 45W, charging up to 50 per cent in 20 minutes, as per the company. The Tecno Phantom X2 gets a 6.8-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED display with an ultrawide 20:9 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate, and a 360Hz touch sampling rate, making for a smooth experience.

Being the highlight of the device, with its large triple-camera setup, the Tecno Phantom X2 includes a 64-megapixel primary camera with OIS and a fixed F/1.6 aperture, a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, there’s a 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Tecno Phantom X2 Price and Availability

Tecno Phantom X2 5G will be available for purchase in India at a price tag of Rs 39,999 for the sole 8GB/256GB model. You can buy the phone on Amazon India starting January 9, or pre-order it now. 

Read all the Latest Tech News here

Smartphone brands have been gearing up for the start of 2023 to unleash their range of products that will be part of the lineup for consumers. Brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus and iQOO have laid the groundwork for their respective launches, and after a lull in December, we are going to see a flurry of launches in January laying the platform for the year to come. Here are all the details about the phones launching this month across the globe.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Series

Xiaomi is bringing its popular Redmi Note 12 series to India with a launch date on January 5. This year’s Redmi Note lineup gets 5G support out of the box, and the company is using both Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets to power the devices. Redmi will have three models in the new series; Redmi Note 12, Redmi Note 12 Pro and the Note 12 Pro+. Company teasers have confirmed that Redmi Note 12 series will have a 200-megapixel camera and support 120W charging speed, both unheard of in terms of features in the mid-range segment. We are eager to see how the phones are priced.

OnePlus 11 5G

OnePlus 11 5G is going to make its official bow in China at an event on January 4. The new OnePlus flagship uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, offers up to 12GB RAM and supports 100W fast wired charging. OnePlus is bringing Pro-like features to the OnePlus 11 5G model, which means the alert slider is making comeback. The design and camera features of the phone have already been confirmed by the company, now we are just waiting to see the price of the new OnePlus phone which will be announced on Wednesday. The India launch from OnePlus is set for February 7.

Realme 10 Series

Realme brought the 10 Pro series in India before the end of 2022 and now the company is going to launch the Realme 10 series on January 9 in India. The vanilla model is likely to be a 4G device, powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 processor as per the teasers. The phones will focus on the budget consumer who still prefers using a 4G phone.

iQOO 11 5G

iQOO is also bringing its new flagship phone in the country called the iQOO 11 5G. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the company is calling it the world’s fastest phone and its partnership with BMW will translate into a different variant. iQOO 11 5G will be the successor to the iQOO 9T from last year and expect the phone to cost around Rs 50,000.

Read all the Latest Tech News here