Category: Tech

The Current’s tech news keeps you upto date with news of new gadgets, tech updates, information about tech startups and technology reviews.

  • Samsung shipped 73.7 million cellphones in Q1 2022

    Samsung shipped 73.7 million cellphones in Q1 2022

    Samsung does not like surrendering its position as the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer. Even though Apple temporarily dethroned it, the firm has fought back and reclaimed what it considers to be its rightful position.

    1st quarter of 2022 According to data from market research organisations Canalys and Counterpoint, Samsung is the global leader in smartphone shipments. Apple did well as well, but it was only able to finish second to the Korean behemoth.

    Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series has contributed to the company’s strong performance in the first quarter of this year. Many Galaxy Note fans were enticed back to Samsung with the Galaxy S22 Ultra in particular.

    According to Canalys, worldwide smartphone shipments hit 311.2 million units in the first quarter of 2022, down 11 per cent year on year. While Samsung regained the lead, delivering 73.7 million units, the company saw a 43 per cent drop in sales.

    Read more: HP to launch its first 17-inch foldable OLED notebook

    Xiaomi came in third place in the ‘top 5 shipping’ list, with 39.2 million units shipped, a 20 per cent decrease. Oppo shipped 29 million units, a decrease of 27 per cent, and Vivo’s growth slowed by 30 per cent.

  • Instagram is testing ‘pin’ feature for posts

    Instagram is testing ‘pin’ feature for posts

    Instagram is currently testing a new feature that allows users to pin photos to the top of their photo grid. According to tipsters, developers and insiders with access to the feature can already pin posts from the side menu.

    Instagram appears to have been working on the pin option for at least a few months. The upcoming feature will be a welcome addition to the Meta-owned platform, especially for those who want to highlight a photo or video they fancy, which may be buried way down in the grid.

    Instagram users currently have the option to pin stories to their accounts, but the addition of a pin feature would further enhance the user experience.

    The pinned posts test comes around a week after Instagram said that, as part of a modest test, it would remove the ‘Recent’ button from hashtag pages for some users. When you click on a hashtag, you’ll be led to a page where you can sort through the content that’s been shared with that hashtag into three categories: top, recent, and reels.

    Read more: Twitter officially declares adding an edit button

    Some users will only see the ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs on hashtag pages as a result of this change. The adjustment might be viewed as a method for Instagram to promote Reels, its TikTok competitor, while simultaneously focusing on uncovering the most popular postings on the platform.

  • HP to launch its first 17-inch foldable OLED notebook

    HP to launch its first 17-inch foldable OLED notebook

    Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) is believed to be working on an all-screen foldable laptop with a 17-inch OLED panel that could be released in the coming months.

    HP’s bendable laptop may enter the next era of laptops, with LG Display releasing its vision of 17-inch folding OLED notebooks and Asus revealing its Zenbook 17 Fold OLED during CES 2022.

    SK IE Technology will provide LG Display with transparent polyimide film to cover bendable OLED panels. The OLED panels for HP’s new notebook will be made by the OLED provider. The company would produce 10,000 units of the film in the third quarter of this year, according to a publication.

    The laptop will reportedly have a 4K resolution (3840×2160) in-folding panel that measures 17 inches when unfolded and 11 inches when folded. That’s a major increase over the 13.3-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, which is the world’s first folding PC. According to the source, HP’s foldable laptop could debut in 2022.

    If HP wins in producing a notebook with a bendable 4K OLED display, the brand will join a multitude of other companies that are working on their own all-screen foldable laptop.

    Read more: Apple’s new iOS update to fix battery drain issues for iPhones, iPads

    The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold already has a 17.3-inch foldable OLED (FOLED) display with a 2560×1920 resolution, a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, and 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. A 12.5-inch variant is also available.

  • WhatsApp’s new update will support group voice call with up to 32 participants

    WhatsApp’s new update will support group voice call with up to 32 participants

    In the last few months, the popular Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has made news by adding new and widely requested features in its Beta releases.

    Many other features, including enhanced file sharing size, emoji reactions, and the ability to hide last seen from select contacts, will be available in the live release of the app soon, according to the business.

    As per reports, WhatsApp has begun rolling out a new update for iOS that includes support for 32-person talks, a redesigned call user interface, waveforms, and other enhancements. On iOS, the update will be available in the live build of WhatsApp.

    Until now, WhatsApp users had been able to make group phone calls with numerous people at once. Previously, a group voice discussion could only hold up to eight people, but WhatsApp is now rolling out a new version that allows up to 32 individuals to join.

    In WhatsApp Groups, voice calls with up to 32 participants would be possible. To accommodate the new members, the platform has changed the way participants are displayed on the screen. Different WhatsApp users are labeled using waveform pictures.

    Read more: Google to ban call recording apps in the next update

    This new capability is included in the update version 22.8.80, which is 109.7MB in size for iOS devices. Android users will get a similar upgrade with these additional features in the near future, but it will not be available on the windows or desktop version.

  • Google to ban call recording apps in the next update

    Google to ban call recording apps in the next update

    From May 11, a new policy of the Google Play Store will prohibit third-party call recording applications from being downloaded.

    Modifications to the Google Play Policy mean that developers’ access to the Accessibility API will be restricted even more. This has been used as a workaround for remote call audio recording, however starting May 11, Google will no longer allow apps on the Play Store to use the Accessibility Service.

    In addition, Google clarified potential misunderstandings about the change in policy through a recent developer webcast.

    Numerous apps allow recording audio from a call without the other party knowing. As a result, this policy change only affects third-party apps on the Play Store. On some devices, several default dialer apps, such as Google Phone, Mi Dialer, and others, have a native call recording feature built-in. The update would not affect the default dialer apps on devices like Pixel and Xiaomi handsets.

    “Remote in this sense refers to call audio recording where the person on the other end is unaware that the recording is taking place,” said Moun Choi, Google content operations lead, during the special developer webinar.

    “Accessibility capability is not necessary to get access to the incoming audio stream if the app is the phone’s default dialer and also pre-loaded”. As a result, there would be no infringement. Because this is a clarification of an existing policy, the new language will take effect on May 11th for all apps”.

    Read more: Netflix loses 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022, projects deeper losses in Q2

    In other words, you won’t lose functionality if you can record calls using your pre-installed dialer programme. Call recording may not be possible in the future if you use an app downloaded from the Google Play Store.

  • Samsung Galaxy S23 to launch with high capacity battery, inspired by electric vehicles

    Samsung Galaxy S23 to launch with high capacity battery, inspired by electric vehicles

    The Korean tech giant, Samsung will offer the upcoming Galaxy S23 series with larger batteries, presumably in an attempt to rival Apple’s industry-leading battery longevity. These improvements will be made possible by an electric vehicle (EV) inspired battery technology that allows a 10 per cent increase in energy density.

    Apple’s existing smartphones continue to have the best battery life in the industry. Samsung’s next-generation mainstream flagships, the Galaxy S23 series, appear to be set to change things up. The Galaxy S23 series, codenamed ‘Diamond’ is expected to have significantly larger batteries than the Galaxy S22 series, according to new rumours.

    The Galaxy S22, in contrast, has been chastised for reducing from the Galaxy S21’s 4,000 mAh battery to a 3,700 mAh unit. Samsung is expected to address this with the Galaxy S23, which is expected to feature a 4,500 mAh battery. The Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra are expected to receive similar updates, with battery capacities increasing to 5,000 mAh and north of 5,500 mAh, respectively.

    All of this appears to be due to Samsung’s ambitions to incorporate new battery technology into the Galaxy S23 series. Samsung Digital Interface (SDI) will leverage the stacking technology it uses for its EV battery production on future smartphone batteries.

    Read more: Netflix loses 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022, projects deeper losses in Q2

    This technology will allow smartphone batteries to have a 10 per cent higher energy density. Production is allegedly already underway, with a line at the company’s plant in Tianjin, China. Still, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is unlikely to gain from this advancement.

  • Social media influencers share first glimpse of Twitter’s edit button

    Social media influencers share first glimpse of Twitter’s edit button

    Social Media influencers have shared the first glimpses of the social microblogging site, Twitter’s edit button which is under testing progress. Earlier this month, Twitter announced that they are working on the edit button’s feature.

    Social media influencer, Alessandro Paluzzi shared a screenshot of Twitter’s edit button which is in progress.

    Another social media influencer, Matt Navara shared a video of the edit button feature.

    Twitter announced on April 1 that they are working on the edit button but many users thought that its a prank. However, on April 6, Twitter confirmed that they are currently testing a new feature of the edit button for Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1511456430024364037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511456430024364037%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samaaenglish.tv%2Fnews%2F2022%2F04%2Ffirst-glimpses-of-twitters-edit-button%2F

    Twitter’s Vice President of a consumer product, Jay Sullivan said that editing has been “the most requested Twitter feature for many years”

  • Twitter officially declares adding an edit button

    Twitter officially declares adding an edit button

    The legendary “edit button,” which Twitter users have been demanding for so long that it’s become a cliché, is finally becoming a real thing. Twitter has now officially declared that it is working on allowing users to modify tweets after they have been posted on the platform.

    The aim is to enable users to correct any mistakes or errors in a tweet without losing any existing replies, retweets, or favourites. Twitter said Tuesday that it will begin testing the capability with Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming months.

    https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1511456430024364037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511457595181068294%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness-61003270

    In a post on Tuesday, Jay Sullivan, the company’s VP of consumer development, remarked that editing has been “the most requested Twitter feature for many years.” Since last year, the corporation has been studying how to implement the function “safely.”

    In the past, Twitter’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey, was hesitant to implement such a function.

    Back in 2018, Dorsey even expressed concerns during a discussion, that an edit button may allow users to modify the meaning of a tweet after it has been widely shared, and he claimed in 2020 that Twitter would probably never incorporate the option.

  • Oppo Pakistan to launch F21 pro with Sony’s “DSLR-like camera” on April 11

    Oppo Pakistan to launch F21 pro with Sony’s “DSLR-like camera” on April 11

    The Oppo F21 Pro will be released in Pakistan on April 11 at 4:30 pm, according to Oppo’s official website where it also exhibited the handset’s official design.

    According to rumors, the F21 Pro 4G is a rebranded Reno7 with Snapdragon 695 processor which may or may not be true as it is expected to come up with a newer chip.

    The phone will be available in Sunset Orange and Cosmic Black, according to the company. The latter has a Fibreglass-Leather design that “doubles as a frameless battery cover to make the phone thin, light, and sturdy”.

    To maintain fidelity and longevity, the leather-like material was put through rigorous stress tests using rubbing alcohol, rubber erasers, and even denim swatches.

    The Sunset Orange is only 7.54mm thick, while the Cosmic Black is 7.49mm thick, according to Oppo. Both are 175 grammes and features a 2.5D glass display.

    The device will have a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. It will run ColorOS 12.1, which is based on Android 11, and will be powered by a 4,500mAh battery with 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging.

    It will be equipped with a triple camera system, including a 64MP main rear camera, a 2MP macro lens camera, and a 2MP depth camera.

    In addition, an orbit light can be seen around one of the camera sensors that notify users of incoming notifications, calls, and other events. A 32 MP lens will be used on the front-facing camera from Sony.

    Oppo Pakistan wrote on its website, “Exclusively designed by OPPO and built with Sony hardware, the IMX709 front camera image sensor allows you to capture bright and clear images in the low light environment”.

    It sounds weird that the firm has placed the high-end camera on the front since it would have been better for the phonemaker’s sales and worth if the Sony camera had been placed at the back.

    Read more: Suzuki Pakistan increases bike prices by up to Rs15,000

    However, further information or official specifications of the upcoming ‘budget-flagship’ smartphone will be revealed in the next week.

  • Apple’s new iOS update to fix battery drain issues for iPhones, iPads

    Apple is rolling out a new series of software updates for its gadgets. This update includes both iOS 15.4.1 and iPadOS 15.4.1 for all compatible iPhones and iPads.

    This may seem like a small update with no new features, as the number incrementation clearly suggests.

    However, it claims to increase something that we are sure is quite essential to the majority of Apple users: battery life. The recent reports state that installing this patch will resolve the battery drain issues that were supposedly triggered with the release of iOS 15.4 just a short while ago.

    A workaround for Braille devices (a touch reading and writing method for blind users) becoming unresponsive while navigating text or showing an alert is also included, as well as a fix for Made for iPhone hearing devices (made for Apple) losing connection within select third-party apps.

    Other, unspecified bug fixes and performance improvements may also be included, but the major hype is all about the fix for battery drain issues.

    Read more: Is the iPhone SE 2022 a major flop?

    If your iPhone or iPad becomes extremely hungry following the iOS or iPadOS 15.4 version, you should go to Settings and install iOS 15.4.1 or iPadOS 15.4.1 which should be available for all devices by now.