Twitter has rolled out support for voice direct messages on iOS and Android in India starting today, the company has announced. Android Central reports that the audio messages are now available in three countries worldwide: India, Brazil, and Japan. Plans for voice DMs were first announced last year. Twitter says the feature, which it’s calling an “experiment,” will roll out in India in phases.
In a statement, Twitter India’s managing director, Manish Maheshwari, said voice messages are designed to “give people a new way to express themselves and help them connect through the nuances, emotion, and empathy built by hearing someone’s voice.” Similar features are already available on other services like Messenger, Instagram DMs, and WhatsApp.
test, test: Starting today, you’ll be able to record and send voice messages in DMs Here’s how
PS. The experiment will be rolled out in phases. pic.twitter.com/aqQM6h9sof
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) February 17, 2021
A video released by Twitter India shows how the feature works. Users can start recording using a small icon to the right of the message box, and voice messages can be up to 140 seconds in length. There’s an option to review a voice message before sending it. Although it isn’t possible to send voice messages from the web at the moment, browsers can reportedly still play back the audio clips.
While Twitter has traditionally been a text-based platform, it’s tested a number of audio-centric features over the last year, including audio tweets the company has been testing on iOS as well as Twitter Spaces, which are voice chat rooms similar to what Clubhouse offers. However, Twitter’s audio ambitions faced criticism for their lack of accessibility options. In response, the company announced it was setting up new accessibility teams within the company and that it would be adding automated captions to audio and video on the platform in 2021.
Myanmar’s government has blocked access to Facebook in the country, after users turned to the company’s services to protest this week’s military coup. In a statement given to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook confirmedthat the country’s telecoms providers had been ordered to block its services, adding, “We urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with family and friends and access important information.” Myanmar’s government has ordered the services to be blocked until Sunday.
The block comes after users reportedly turned to the social network to protest after the military ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and detained her along with other members of her party. The WSJ notes that users on Facebook were sharing photos of themselves banging pots and pans as a sign of protest, as well as images of a three-fingered salute — a gesture that’s become a sign of resistance in the region.
Telecoms provider Telenor confirmed to Nikkeithat it has followed the government’s orders, saying it has “decided to comply with the directive, while expressing grave concerns regarding breach of human rights.” The WSJ reports that an internet monitoring organization, NetBlocks, confirmed that Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all unavailable via the state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications’ network.
Facebook is an integral part of Myanmar’s internet ecosystem. “For the majority of Myanmar’s 20 million internet-connected citizens, Facebook is the internet” was how a report from 2018 put it, and Nikkei notes that Messenger is the primary communications channel for most of its citizens. It’s believed around half of the country’s population holds a Facebook account, meaning any attempt to block the service is a significant move.
This close relationship between Myanmar’s internet and Facebook has created problems. In 2018, Facebook admitted that it hadn’t done enough “to help prevent our platform from being used to foment division and incite offline violence,” after critics said its platform had played a role in genocidal violence in the country. Facebook said it was investing in “people, technology and partnerships to examine and address the abuse of Facebook in Myanmar.”
As of February 2021, Spotify boasts 155 million Premium subscribers and 345 million monthly active users. The platform has long been the world’s most popular music streaming service, and with good cause – it got in on the ground floor and its simple interface and vast library make it a compelling choice even in the face of stiff competition from Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and others.
But are you getting the most from your Spotify membership?
We’ve compiled a list of our favourite Spotify features, tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the service – from mastering offline listening to getting the best possible sound quality, sharing your music to filtering your recommendations. Some of these are only for Spotify Premium subscribers only though, so if you want the full experience, you’ll have to cough up the £9.99 per month…
Spotify Connect: what is it? How can you get it?
Tidal vs Spotify: which is better?
Set up
1. Get the best sound quality
First things first: head to the settings menu (below your account name, top right, and although it’s set to ‘automatic’ by default, you can change the music quality – choose Low (24kbps), Medium (96 kbps), High (160 kbps) or Very High (320 kbps). Admittedly, these aren’t going to sound as sweet as lossless Tidal Master or Qobuz files, and taking the Very High path might take up more of your data allowance to stream. But that’s a small price to pay for better listening.
2. Save music for offline listening
Spotify Premium users can download tracks to listen to offline. Not only does this save you valuable data, it also means you can listen where you don’t have mobile reception. Win-win. Save your playlists in the best possible quality, naturally. Hit the three dots then select ‘download’ on Android, or select the playlist then hit ‘download’ at the top on Apple.
3. Create a new playlist
To create a new playlist, head into the playlist category in ‘Your Library’. At the top you’ll find an music icon with a plus sign on it (Android), or tap ‘Edit’ and then ‘Create’ (iOS) start your brand new playlist. On the desktop app, you’ll see a plus-sign and ‘New Playlist in the bottom-left, underneath any playlists you’ve already created.
4. Transfer your music from other apps
You can transfer your existing playlists on other music services to Spotify. The Soundiiz website is a great way to get it done and supports all the services you’d expect.
Interface
5. See your stats
Click on your profile icon in the top left to see who’s following you and who you’re following. It will also show your most recently listened-to artists and public playlists.
6. Sort your now-playing queue
Cue tracks in Spotify by selecting ‘add to queue’ from the three dots next to the track title. On iOS? You can also swipe right on a track to add it to your now-playing playlist.
7. Search for your favourite tunes
Want to find a track from your own library? On mobile, pull down on the screen when you’re in any of the sub-categories (albums, playlists, artists) in the ‘Your Library’ tab to reveal a search bar at the top, complete with filter options. This searches your own saved tracks rather than the whole of Spotify (which is done via the main ‘Search’ icon at the bottom).
8. Listen using the web interface
Not allowed to install software on your work computer? No problem. Head to play.spotify.com and you can listen without installing the Spotify desktop app (or relying on your phone). Take that, overzealous IT department.
9. Master keyboard shortcuts
Did you know you can control Spotify using just your keyboard? The Space bar is play/pause, next track is Control-Right (Control-Command-Right on a Mac), back is Control-Left (Control-Command-Left on a Mac), Volume is Control-Up or -Down (Command-Up or -Down on a Mac) and to create a new playlist press Control-N. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Check out the full list here.
Organising your music
10. Build your own library
There are a couple of ways to build your music library. Adding your favourite tracks to playlists is one way, saving music to your own library is another. Add tracks, albums, artists radio stations, podcasts and playlists by hitting the plus/save sign (either next to the song in the desktop app, or by tapping the three dots on mobile), then access your music via ‘Your Library’.
11. Add music that isn’t on Spotify
Missing out on those artists that are absent from Spotify? Add them yourself. Go to Spotify’s ‘Preferences’ on the desktop app, scroll down and click ‘Add a Source’, then select a folder containing your own music files. You can then see them in your Spotify library – they’ll be under ‘Local Files’ in the left sidebar.
12. Recover a deleted playlist
Spotify’s Account website can help restore playlists that you’ve deleted. Log in, go to ‘Account Settings’, and select ‘Recover Playlists’. Hey presto.
13. Find clean and explicit versions of songs
If you think a lyric sounds unlike the witty line you remember, chances are an expletive was swapped out in favour of a less explicit word. Spotify can help you track down the original. Scroll down and select the pull-down menu on the right-hand side. If it says ‘1 More Release’, that could well be the explicit version.
Music curation
14. Follow some friends
Is your pal always first with the best new music? You can piggyback off their hard work by following them on Spotify. This way you’ll be able to see what they’re listening to, and pass those killer tracks off as your own discoveries. (We suppose they are, in a way.) Select ‘Find Friends’ to locate them, and instantly expand your listening.
15. Share music with friends using Spotify Codes
Spotify Codes is another way to share music. Scan a code on your friend’s phone to download a tune, or import a code posted by an artist to hear their latest single. You can also scan a code from a poster, flyer or billboard. Tap the ‘…’ context menu next to a song, and you’ll see a Spotify Code appear at the bottom of the album artwork. Use the ‘Camera’ icon to scan it, or tap the Code-enhanced artwork and save it to ‘Camera Roll’ for uploading to a social network.
16. Make a collaborative playlist
Maybe you’re putting together a set list for a friend’s wedding or a party. Start a collaborative playlist and everyone can chuck in their tuppence-worth, no matter how misguided. Right-click on the playlist name, and it’ll give you the option of making it collaborative. Then grant friends access to it, and brace yourself for some terrible choices. Alternatively, you can make a playlist secret, too.
17. Let the Radio option open your ears to similar artists
Stuck for what to listen to? ‘Radio’ can help. On desktop, select it from the left-hand pane, then choose ‘Create new station’ and pick an artist, album or playlist you like. Radio will then serve up a selection of artists/songs similar to your choice, that you’ll (hopefully) like. On mobile? Hit the three dots top right when on an artist, album or song and then select ‘Go to Radio’.
18. Filter out the chaff
Yes, of course you want to listen to James Brown. No, you don’t want anything from his Lost ’80s years. Thankfully you can filter out the wilderness era. Type the artist name in the search bar followed by the years that you want to hear (with no spaces). For example “James Brown year:1970-77”.
19. Sort out your search
Use the word “Not” after your search term to omit artists you don’t want, and the “+” symbol or “And” to include those you do.
20. Listen to Spotify’s Weekly Discover Playlist
This is a playlist of 30 tracks Spotify compiles based on your listening habits. It tends to be scarily good. It updates every Monday and sits in the ‘Made For You’ section (or in Browse – Discover, or you could simply type ‘Discover Weekly’ into the search bar). There’s also the Release Radar playlist that updates every Friday with brand new music releases.
21. Listen to your Daily Mixes
Too impatient to wait a whole week? Spotify now offers six Daily Mix playlists that are tailored to users’ listening habits.
22. Check out the What Hi-Fi? playlist
And we have to mention our own playlist… Each month, we update our Spotify playlist so you can see what we’ve been listening to over the past four weeks. It’s a great mix of tunes we use to test our review kit, as well as a few personal favourites from the team. You know it makes sense.
Connecting other devices
23. Listen through your home cinema speakers
Using the Google Chromecast streaming dongle, you can play Spotify through the speakers attached to your TV. Just select ‘Chromecast’ from the ‘Devices Available’ section of the Spotify app and get playing.
24. Control it with your voice
Good news. The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot speakers play nice with Spotify. Just connect your Spotify account in the Alexa app, and then start barking commands like “Alexa, play me some Bowie on Spotify!” and the Echo will do as it’s told. You’ll be grooving to Let’s Dance in no time. If you set Spotify as your preferred streaming service, you won’t even need to request Spotify by name, either. Apple users can control music playback by asking Siri, too.
25. Send music to your speakers with Spotify Connect
Premium subscribers can use their phone as a remote control and play music on connected Spotify Connect speakers, such as Sonos – although certain devices (the PlayStation 4, for example) are happy to work with Spotify Free. Play a song on your phone and make it fullscreen. Select the ‘speaker’ icon at the bottom of the screen, then select your speakers. Instant house party.
26. Listen in your Uber
Connect your Spotify account in the Uber app and you can then take control of your car’s stereo (assuming your driver has allowed it). They’ll love your choice of music, we’re sure…
More features
(Image credit: Spotify)
27. Share songs instantly with anyone
Heard a song you just have to send to a friend? Tap the three dots, then ‘Share’, then send it on to the social media platform (Facebook, Instagram Stories, Skype even), your WhatsApp groups, or simply copy the song link.
28. Preview music on iOS
Tap and hold the title of a track, album or playlist, and you’ll get a preview. On a playlist or album you’ll see the first five tracks – slide over each piece of cover art and you can preview each song.
29. Use private listening to hide your guilty pleasures
Not everyone needs to know about your love of Wang Chung. If you want to keep your listening private, click ‘Settings’ (top right), then ‘Private Session’ on Android or ‘Settings’ then ‘Social’ then ‘Private Session’ on iOS. That way, friends won’t know you’ve spent all morning blissing out to big-haired saxophone-heavy ’80s cheese.
30. Make a playlist tailored to your running speed
Spotify can also pick tracks that are close to the same tempo as your running speed. Start running, pick a running playlist from the ‘Browse’ screen, and Spotify will use your phone’s sensors to select songs to suit your stride. See it in action here.
31. Link to a specific part of a track
If there’s a great solo you want to alert someone to, you don’t have to tell them to skip to 2:53 in the track. Just send them a link and they’ll jump right in at the relevant part. On desktop, copy the track’s URI (uniform resource identifier) by right-clicking the track and selecting ‘Copy Spotify URI’. Then paste it into an email or text message, and add ‘#time2:53’ to the end. When the respondent clicks it, they’ll be transported to exactly the part you were talking about. Magic.
32. Find out about live gigs
OK, large gatherings aren’t the thing right now, but looking ahead: Spotify can help you see your favourite act in the flesh. To see when an act might be playing near you, click ‘Browse’ on your desktop app, then ‘Concerts’ to see which acts you’ve listened to are playing nearby. Going to be out of town? Just change your location to see what’s happening near you.
33. Listen to podcasts
Did you know you can listen to your favourite podcasts on Spotify? Well, now you do. Head to ‘Browse’ and then ‘Podcasts’ (on desktop) to follow your faves, and go to the Podcasts section in ‘Your Library’ to find all your saved podcasts.
Best music streaming services 2021: free streams to hi-res audio
11 of the best Spotify playlists to listen to right now
Caviar develops its very first smartphone. The Caviar Origin is a classic and luxurious phone model with traditional push buttons that runs on Android OS.
The Russian company Caviar is known for decorating and enriching existing Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones with precious and durable materials. This time however, the company developed their own smartphone that runs on Android OS. Their new creation is called ‘Caviar Origin’, it’s a classic push-button phone made of luxury materials. The phone design is inspired on the luxurious Vertu push-button feature phones.
The Caviar Origin is designed for people that love a simple set of functions with personal data protection but with an exclusive and luxurious design. Thanks to Android OS, users will be able to install any desired app. In addition, Caviar will have WhatsApp pre-installed as this is one of the most used apps to send and receive messages to friends, colleagues and family.
Luxury and classic Android phone from Caviar
The new push-button phone is still under development. Currently the Caviar Origin is a working prototype with its own user interface, based on Android 11. The design of the feature phone is fixed, but the material of the body is not completely decided yet. Caviar wants to make this a luxury edition with gold, gems and other rare materials.
The expected release date is Q4 2021. The phone comes in a limited quantity. Prices of the Caviar original will start at $1,000 USD. The upper price limit will be determined by the clients’ preferences and the rich imagination of the designers.
Ilse is a Dutch journalist and joined LetsGoDigital more than 15 years ago. She is highly educated and speaks four languages. Ilse is a true tech-girl and loves to write about the future of consumer electronics. She has a special interest for smartphones, digital cameras, gaming and VR.
Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has started posting Status messages to users about its “commitment to your privacy.” The in-app messages were appearing for members of The Verge staff in the US and UK on Saturday, and some users reported the Status messages — WhatsApp’s version of Snapchat Stories or Twitter Fleets—have been appearing in India for a while now.
“There’s been a lot of misinformation and confusion around our recent update and we want to help everyone understand the facts behind how WhatsApp protects people’s privacy and security,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in an email to The Verge. “Going forward, we’re going to provide updates to people in the Status tab so people hear from WhatsApp directly. Our first update reaffirms that WhatsApp cannot see your personal messages, and neither can Facebook, because they are protected by end-to-end encryption.”
The messages read “One thing that isn’t new is our commitment to your privacy,” and a reminder that “WhatsApp can’t read or listen to your personal conversations as they’re end-to-end encrypted.”
WhatsApp adds Status updates about its privacy policy
The messages are part of a larger effort from WhatsApp to dispel misperceptions about an upcoming update to its privacy policy. The update is meant to explain how businesses that use WhatsApp for customer service may store logs of their chats on Facebook’s servers. WhatsApp previewed the changes to business chats in November. Given Facebook’s history of privacy blunders, however, users misinterpreted the changes to the privacy policy to mean WhatsApp would require sharing sensitive profile information with Facebook.
The company posted an FAQ page about the changes, and has pushed back the date the update will take effect from February to May. It issued a statement earlier this month addressing the confusion to reiterate what the new privacy policy would cover:
The update does not change WhatsApp’s data sharing practices with Facebook and does not impact how people communicate privately with friends or family wherever they are in the world. WhatsApp remains deeply committed to protecting people’s privacy. We are communicating directly with users through WhatsApp about these changes so they have time to review the new policy over the course of the next month
Amid the ensuing confusion, rival messaging apps Signal and Telegram have both recently seen a surge in new users. Telegram said last week it’s added the ability for users to import their chat history from WhatsApp. And Signal has added new mainstream chat features like animated stickers and wallpapers to its app.
Telegram has added the ability to import your chat history from WhatsApp, meaning you won’t loose past conversations if you want to switch messaging services. On iOS the feature arrived with version 7.4, released yesterday and spotted by 9to5Mac, but the update doesn’t appear to be live yet on Android. Alongside WhatsApp, chat histories from Line and KakaoTalk can also be imported, according to Telegram’s changelog. We’ve verified that you can import chats from WhatsApp into the latest version (7.4.1) of Telegram and continue the conversation, so long as each WhatsApp user has a Telegram account.
The addition of the feature comes as Telegram is reporting huge increases in user numbers, with the service now boasting over 500 million active users worldwide. The cause appears to be WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, which prompted privacy concerns about the Facebook-owned messaging app (WhatsApp later delayed the introduction of the new policy, and insists it won’t affect the security of consumer chats or profile data). For users jumping ship from WhatsApp to Telegram, being able to take their chat histories with them means one fewer barrier to switching.
Imports work on a chat-by-chat basis.Screenshot: Telegram
The import process works on a chat-by-chat basis, but appears to work for both individual and group conversations, at least with WhatsApp. To import a chat from Facebook’s messaging service, open the relevant conversation, and tap the group or contact name from the top of the chat to open its info screen. From there, the “Export Chat” option opens the iOS Share Sheet, where you’ll see the option to select Telegram. Then, just pick a Telegram chat to import the messages into.
Any messages imported into chats have a small “Imported” label on them noting when they were originally sent, and when they were brought into Telegram, and messages are visible to all chat participants. You have the option of importing WhatsApp chat histories with or without their images. Imported messages appear in the order in which they are imported, rather than in the order they were originally sent.
Telegram’s support for imported chat histories arrive alongside a handful of other quality of life improvements for the messaging service, like being able to adjust volumes for individual voice chat participants, or reporting “fake groups or channels” that are attempting to impersonate famous people or organizations.
Linking your WhatsApp account to your computer’s web browser or desktop app is getting a little more secure. Soon, if you’ve got biometric authentication enabled on your phone, you’ll have to unlock the app before you can link your account.
The company says the new system is intended to ensure that should someone else gain access to your phone, they won’t be able to link your account to their web browser (which, in turn, would allow them to see any messages you send or receive).
The new system will be enabled by default on any iPhone devices running iOS 14 with either Touch ID or Face ID, and any Android devices that have biometric authentication enabled. That means users will have to use it to link their accounts unless they disable biometric authentication for their entire device. Users who don’t have a biometric authentication setup on their phone (or have it turned off) will be able to link their account as usual.
As with any other use of biometric security on modern smartphones, the new system does not mean that WhatsApp is accessing or collecting your facial scans or fingerprints. Rather, it’s just using the same biometric data APIs every other app does in order to access the on-device security system as an extra measure of authentication before it allows users to connect their accounts.
So in the same way that using a fingerprint reader to log in to your banking app doesn’t grant Chase or Bank of America your fingerprint scans, using the new biometric unlock system here to link your account to your computer isn’t giving WhatsApp (or Facebook) your personal information either.
WhatsApp says that the new update should be rolling out for compatible devices in the coming weeks.
(Pocket-lint) – Throughout 2020 the battle for dominance in the mid-range smartphone market burned fierce. With one group of companies in particular showing it was more than willing to add some competition to a market that had grown a little stagnant in the wake of manufacturers chasing that four-figure price bracket.
That group, of course, is BKK. For those unaware, that’s the family that contains Oppo, OnePlus and Realme. Look at the volume of phones released by those three brands in 2020 and you’ll see there are quite a number of devices.
One of the more affordable from that offering is the Reno 4 Z. It’s one of Oppo’s most accessible smartphones and one with plenty about it to make it more than useful for most people.
Sleek and shiny
Dimensions: 163.8 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm / Weight: 184 g
3.5mm input/output for headphones
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
In this day and age, we’ve stopped being surprised when phones are included in certain families of phones but without really looking like they belong. Look at the Reno 4 Pro, then look at the Reno 4 Z, and you’ll likely assume the two phones aren’t related at all. They just don’t look the same.
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The most obvious differences are apparent from the back, where the Reno 4 Z has square camera housing with a diagonal raised element in the middle. The 4 Pro features a nicer looking rectangle panel. Still, there’s something quite eye-catching about the Z’s arrangement. At least, there is if you go with the white and gold model. We were sent the navy and black model which doesn’t have that same visual ‘pop’. Although, in the right light, the way the dark blue gradients into silver is attractive.
Being a more affordable device means more affordable materials have been used. In this case, that means there’s a glossy plastic on the back and – unlike the Pro – it’s completely flat. You don’t get any fancy curved glass here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s less likely to crack or break, but it being flat does mean it’s not the most ergonomic feeling phone in the world. It’s quite wide too, so definitely feels more like a two-handed device than a smaller, rounder phone would.
One other thing that’s worth noting about this glossy navy blue version: it attracts fingerprints like crazy. Hold it once and that shiny plastic soon turns into a grease-smudged mess, and being a dark colour also means it shows up any dust or pocket-fluff too. The panel on the front, covering the screen, seems to suffer from that same ease of smudging, but being glass it’s really easy to wipe off with a microfibre cloth.
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The Reno 4 Z features Oppo’s trademark super-slim individual volume buttons on the left and – because it has an LCD display (which we’ll get to later) – there’s a physical fingerprint reader built into the power button on the right side. We’ve found it really quick to unlock and very responsive, so it’s certainly not a negative compared to an under-screen solution.
Those who want to can also use facial recognition using the dual camera system built into the front of the phone. That reliability makes unlocking the phone convenient, and there are other practicalities to consider. It has a 3.5mm input/output port for wired headphones and headsets and the removable SIM tray has space for a microSD card slot if you want to expand the onboard memory.
Screen and software
6.57-inch LCD display
1080 x 2400 resolution
Android 10 – ColorOS 7.2
The Reno 4 Z has an LCD panel on the front and that means a few things in terms of features. You don’t get the always-on display – which shows a clock and notification badges when it’s in standby – because, unlike OLED, an LCD display doesn’t switch off individual pixel lighting.
But that’s not really a problem, it just means you don’t get that one useful feature. The main issue with the display is that it doesn’t appear to have any sort of oleophobic protection over it. That means fingers leave smudges, and even when wiped clean, that can cause some unusual rainbowing patterns which is most noticeable on mostly white screens.
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It’s worth noting this is true after removing the pre-applied screen protector. Not that a film is any better at reducing fingerprint smudges, but be aware that removing it won’t necessarily improve clarity or finger oil resistance like it would on properly coated glass.
Otherwise, it’s a decent enough display. It’s Full HD+ in resolution, so it’s plenty sharp enough for anything you’d want to use it for. Text is clear and colours – while lacking a tad in vividness – are natural enough, with whites coming through clean. It’s big enough and bright enough to make streaming Netflix or YouTube shows a pleasant experience.
It’s not great in brighter conditions – like outside in brighter daylight – and seems to struggle with reflections quite a lot. Even in rooms indoors with bright ceiling lights we had to adjust the angle often to avoid that reflective glare made worse by those aforementioned fingerprint smudges.
Of course the screen is mostly just the platform for the software which – in Oppo’s case – seems to be leaning more towards European or Western preferences with each iteration.
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That’s to say, it utilises more of Google’s default apps and doesn’t seek to add too much of its own influence. Even to the point now where it has Google’s own Snapshot screen on the left of the home screen, collating news and weather relevant to you, rather than the old Oppo-made version that did a similar thing, but in a slightly less useful way.
The main interface is still very much Oppo-esque, with its square, green quick settings button icons in the drop down menu. Learning from its cousin, OnePlus, Oppo’s ColorOS has more customisation tools here as well. You can change app icon size and shape as well as using system-wide themes. It’s worth noting though that this is ColorOS 7 based on Android 10, not the new Android 11 based software that it’s currently rolling out across Oppo’s flagship devices.
MediaTek powered – and that’s just fine
MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G processor, 8GB RAM
128GB storage, microSD card expansion
4,000mAh battery capacity
18W fast-charging
We often speak about compromises when discussing mid-range phones that are available for lower prices than premium handsets. It goes without saying that when you buy more affordable devices, the parts inside them are reflective of being able to obtain that lower sale price.
One such ‘compromise’ – as you might first think – is Oppo opting to go with a MediaTek processor. Specifically, this phone is powered by the Dimensity 800 5G. It may be seen as a bit of a bargain-basement 5G chipset by many, but with its 7nm process and eight powerful cores, it’s certainly no slouch.
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As you’d likely expect from a more accessible product, the phone doesn’t especially feel zippy, but in our experience it’s reliable and doesn’t seem to struggle all that much with anything. We played a few of our favourite games like Forza Street, Mario Kart Tour and Sky, and it was responsive enough that it didn’t detract from the overall experience.
There was the odd occasion when we noticed some stutter and delay in action on screen, but it wasn’t hugely significant. Although saying that, it does seem to load lower resolution graphics in order to keep it feeling relatively smooth. It doesn’t seem all that sharp when loading games, with edges of items on screen looking quite rough at times. This is fairly typical of similar devices.
For important stuff like keeping in touch with friends on Messenger, WhatsApp or via Facebook, it’s a perfectly fine device. We didn’t have any issues with connectivity or any major problems with loading times and overall speed of such apps. It gets the job done – which is what you want from a phone at this price range.
Best smartphones 2021: The top mobile phones available to buy today
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It’s a similar story with battery life. You’ll get plenty of mileage from the 4,000mAh cell inside the Reno 4 Z. Given its relatively low-powered internals, it’s not uncommon on a moderate day of use to get all the way through to bedtime with 40 per cent left over, but then mileage will certainly vary depending on user. For most users it’ll be more than enough to get you through the day.
More cameras than required
Quad rear camera system:
Main: 48-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture
Wide (119-degree): 8MP, f/2.2
Depth sensors: 2MP each
Dual selfie camera system:
16MP main & 2MP depth sensor
Sadly, one trend that’s stuck in 2020 – and one we hope dies in 2021 – is the compulsion for phone makers to put four cameras in the back of their phones, just to say it has a quad camera system. Truth is, for most of them – at least, most of the more affordable ones – is that they have one relatively decent camera, with the other three either being mostly useless, or poor quality. It’s the same with the Reno 4 Z.
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This phone has not one, but two low resolution depth sensors in addition to the 8-megapixel ultra-wide and 48-megapixel primary camera. Having used it a number of times in testing, we can safely say that it’s the primary camera you’ll want to be using nearly all of the time. The dual depth sensor is really pointless.
With that out of the way, the primary lens is certainly good enough to keep any buyer happy. It’s perhaps a little happy to overexpose when left to its own devices, but a quick adjustment using the exposure gain slider on screen is enough to get it looking good again.
In good lighting conditions the main sensor takes good looking shots that represent colours naturally without being overly saturated nor muted. Similarly, when you get close to a subject, it focuses and is able to produce some nice-looking, soft background blur that blends evenly with the foreground. It doesn’t need the exaggerated portrait mode for that (although it does have it, of course, as those depth sensors are doing some work).
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The option of the ultra-wide angle lens means you get a bit more versatility, but the quality from this lens just isn’t quite as good as the main camera. Colours, light and contrast combine to make for a less vivid and harsher looking result. But that’s something that seems to be normal for a lot of mid-rangers with multiple cameras.
In the end, you’ll probably want to stick with the main camera, and if you do you’ll be more than happy with the shots that it produces in good outdoor daylight.
Verdict
The Reno 4 Z is capable phone that won’t let you down in all the ways that really matter. It’ll snap a photo, let you play pretty much any of your favourite games, and go all day without an issue. But even at this end of the market it’s not hugely competitive.
As with a few of Oppo’s phones, the Reno 4 Z is curiously positioned in terms of price. Compare its features and capabilities with sister brand, Realme, and you’ll feel you don’t get as much for your money. As an example, you could get the Realme 7 Pro; a phone with much faster charging, smoother performance, a bigger battery and an AMOLED display.
The one thing the Oppo does have over the Realme phone is 5G support which – depending on where you live – could be the clincher. Still, in our testing so far, 5G hasn’t proved all that essential in everyday life and – despite being much faster than 4G – still isn’t close to offering the reliable and consistent coverage required to make it necessary. At least, not in the UK just yet.
One service with 15 messaging applications. It is not a dream but the new platform of the former CEO of Pebble. It’s called Feeber and gathers all messaging services (even iMessage) in one place. The price? 10 $ per month.
by Bruno Mucciarelli published 22 January 2021 , at 10: 41 in the web channel Whatsapp Telegram Facebook Slack Skype Instagram
Eric Migicovsky, is the former CEO and founder of Pebble, the company born a few decades ago and which gave birth to successful smartwatches with e-Paper display. The developer announced on Twitter the launch of Beeper or its new “ jewel ”: a universal messaging app that allows you to merge up to 15 different services , including iMessage, thanks to the open source protocol Matrix and not only. A solution that many are looking for to simplify the use of messages and that Beeper seems to do well even if paying well 10 $ per month.
Beeper: how the system works ” unifier ”?
Beeper meanwhile it is not a real news if not its name. In this case, in fact, before today, the platform was called NovaChat . From today, however, it is available as a Beeper and can be downloaded on request for both Windows and for macOS, Linux, iOS and Android . As mentioned, however, at least at the moment, one needs to fill out a form to receive an invitation, as it is still an almost Beta phase of the system.
But Beeper’s potential looks interesting. From the official website it is possible to observe how the application is capable of supporting up to 15 messaging systems such as: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Android Messages ( SMS), Telegram, Twitter, Slack, Hangouts, Instagram, Skype, IRC, Matrix, Discord, Signal and Beeper network. Yes, that iMessage is also among the services that can be replicated on Beeper, and this is perhaps the most striking novelty of the new service because so far no one had ever made such a thing possible since iMessage is a proprietary service of Apple but above all because it works only and exclusively on the ecosystem Apple.
How does it work? There is a little trick devised by the former CEO of Pebble. Migicovsky in fact allows iMessage to work also on Windows, Linux and Android if the user has a Mac that is always connected to the Internet so that it can function as a bridge. Alternatively, the software house already has recycled “jailbroken” iPhones ready , on which the Beeper app is installed, which it will send to users and which will allow access to the service. In all this Beeper costs 10 dollars per month although it is not clear if an iPhone is also included in the price.
Finally, you should know that all the various bridges needed to unify the various messaging services through the Matrix network are distributed for free on GitHub. This way the developers can host the backend on their servers. But be careful because the Beeper app is not open source, but it is possible to use Element, the Matrix open source client.
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An app instead of numerous messengers on the smartphone – Beeper wants to be this dream. 15 Services including iMessage are to be combined there in one interface. So far, the project was called NovaChat, which Eric Migicovsky, CEO of the former smartwatch manufacturer Pebble, announced on Twitter Beepers can then be controlled include WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Matrix, Skype, Slack, Twitter, Discord, Instagram, Facebook Messenger and iMessages. “Yes, iMessage runs on Android, Windows and Linux with a trick,” tweeted Migicovsky. The trick is to use a permanently running device from Apple as a bridge on which the Beeper app is installed. If such a device is currently unavailable, Beeper helps out with discarded and jailbroken iPhones.
Open source and yet not secure The messenger itself uses the matrix protocol. The client is not open source, however, the connections that are used to the other messengers are. To use it, you have to pay ten US dollars a month. In return you get a “clean interface” with search and filter for the chats, it says on the website. Bots can be created for beepers via Matrix API and extensions can be connected. You can also host yourself. End-to-end encryption is likely to be lifted in all cases.
The app is still not easy to use. You first have to submit an application online and enter at least the ID of your “favorite network” and other usage habits. Perhaps the dream of a new Adium-croaking duck is not quite fulfilled after all. Apple is unlikely to be happy about a service that publicly issues jailbreak iPhones and thus uses its messaging function. There have already been similar attempts, but so far they have not prevailed.
Beeper is a new universal chat app that’s an attempt to unify 15 different chat platforms into a single interface. The app is the work of a team that includes Eric Migicovsky, the CEO and founder of former smartwatch manufacturer Pebble, who announced its launch on Twitter. Beeper’s site notes that the project was previously known as NovaChat, and requires a $10 per month subscription.
Although Beeper integrates with world’s most popular messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Slack, Twitter, Discord, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, it’s the support for Apple’s iMessage that’s perhaps most interesting. iMessage is only officially available on Apple devices, and it’s often cited by users as something that prevents them switching to Android. Migicovsky says Beeper should allow iMessage to work on Android, Windows, and Linux, but admits that it’s “using some trickery” in doing so.
And yes, iMessage works even on Android, Windows and Linux using some trickery 🙂
— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) January 20, 2021
An FAQ on Beeper’s website gives a more in-depth explanation of exactly what this trickery involves. If you’ve got an always-online Mac, then you can install the Beeper Mac app to act as a bridge, similar to the approach AirMessage uses. But things get really wild if you don’t have access to a Mac, at which point Beeper says it’ll literally send each of its users a “Jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed” in order to act as a bridge. At this point we should probably mention that using Beeper involves paying a $10 a month subscription, which may or may not include the cost of the iPhone.
Just in case you thought Beeper was joking, in a followup tweet, Migicovsky said that he currently has 50 old iPhone 4S’s at his desk, ready to be upcycled for use with Beeper.
If the workaround works as Beeper claims, then the result should be a universal chat app that works across MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, offering a unified inbox, and the ability to search across messages from each of the 15 services. It’s built on the open source Matrix messaging protocol (Migicovsky previously described NovaChat’s relationship to Matrix as akin to Gmail’s relationship with email), and although the client app itself isn’t open source, the bridges connecting it to other chat services are.
Oh, and there’s a dark mode coming in Beeper’s next update, naturally.
Beeper’s interface can include chats from multiple different services.Image: Beeper
While the short-term aim is to make it easier to chat to people across different chat apps, eventually Migicovsky has talked about the prospect of everyone using Matrix itself to chat with friends and colleagues, rather than simply using it as a bridge between services.
Although Migicovsky says he’s been using Beeper as his default chat client for the past two years, it doesn’t appear to be widely available just yet. Instead, Beeper asks prospective users to fill out a form on its website for an invitation.
Here’s the full list of chat services that Beeper currently supports:
Very high level of attention on SMS : a scam in progress relies on trust in the sender (who is in their address book) to have a 6-digit code sent to be entered in WhatsApp, which enables the theft of the account. Here are some further explanations.
by Alessandro Bordin published 21 January 2021 , at 11: 41 in the Telephony channel Whatsapp
This was reported by the Postal Police, fact that implies a certain diffusion of the phenomenon : a scam aimed at the theft of the account is in progress WhatsApp , with the aggravating circumstance of playing on trust as the message, SMS, comes from a person in their address book . But let’s try to understand what it is.
It will have happened to everyone to change smartphone: when you insert the SIM in the new device and install WhatsApp, you will receive an SMS containing a 6-digit code, usually entered automatically by the system or more rarely by hand. It is a check / confirmation, to make sure that the account is actually associated with that phone number .
The scam circulating these days is sneaky: we receive an SMS from a friend with the following text:
?? Hi, I sent you a code by mistake, could you send it back to me ???
In total good faith and perhaps little experts in technological matters, it is natural to think “damn, sure”, responding with the transcription of TRUE message with the 6-digit code that WhatsApp sent to our terminal. Because someone, somewhere, entered our phone number to steal our account, but cannot finish the installation without that code .
The fault is not the friend or the friend , but of malicious software already present on YOUR terminal. Malicious people have already come into possession of the numbers in the address book and consequently they find a list of contacts in their hands, which in large percentage are associated with a WhatsApp account. What to do or better, what NOT to do, quoting the Postal Police directly?
– “ The codes that arrive are strictly personal and should never be shared, even if requested by your contact, friends or family “. In other words: IGNORE THE MESSAGE AND DO NOT REPLY
– “ Never click on any links in the messages “: clear and by now everyone should know .
– “You can activate the so-called ?? two-step verification ?? available in the ?? settings- account ?? of WhatsApp, which allows us to enter a personal six-digit code, which the system asks us at the first access and for all subsequent modification operations on our profile “
The first is enough: do not answer and, if willing, report everything to the Postal Police.
WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Facebook, started pushing a new Privacy Policy earlier this month. It stated that some user data will be shared with other Facebook companies but due to the backlash, the changes were postponed from February 18 to May 15, and now the company is facing legal challenges.
One of them comes from India, where the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a strongly worded letter, as some Indian outlets put it, saying “unilateral changes are not fair and acceptable”.
The Indian government reminded that the South-Asian country has the largest user base globally and the new Privacy Policy “raises grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens”. According to the ministry, the new ToS are not respecting properly Indian citizens, whatever that means.
The letter comes a day after the Delhi High Court said users are not bound to use the app and they can uninstall it – using it is a voluntary action that does not require court interference. The court even went further and said “even Google Maps captures all your data and stores it”.
WhatsApp and Facebook representatives also stated that the actual lawsuit did not have any foundation. Private chat messages between family and friends would remain encrypted and are not stored by WhatsApp, and this position is not changing under the new Privacy Policy.
According to its own statement, DuckDuckGo recorded more than 102 million search requests in one day for the first time in January. In the year 2020 the average of daily search queries increased by 62 percent. In January 2021 users made an average of 90 million requests a day
DuckDuckGo advertises to be completely anonymous: Accordingly, the search engine does not save any personal data of the users. With every search the user should have an empty search history, as if he had never accessed the search engine before. In contrast to its competitor Google, no user profiles should be created and advertisements should be displayed on the basis of this. Therefore, DuckDuckGo cannot specify the number of users but only the amount of search queries.
Data protection is becoming more important The now opposite Bleeping Computer announced increases refer to more and more people, for whom the protection of their personal data is important. And who are becoming more critical of the IT giants from the USA.
The fact that the topic of data protection is becoming more and more relevant was recently also shown by the run on messenger services like Signal: WhatsApp previously wanted to force approval of its new data protection guidelines which states that data will be passed on to other Facebook services. WhatsApp frightened so many users that the chat service decided last to postpone the introduction of the new data protection guideline. You want to ensure clarity first.
Home/Software & Gaming/Apps/WhatsApp delays privacy policy update amid concerns over data sharing with Facebook
Matthew Wilson 3 hours ago Apps, Security
If you tend to use WhatsApp regularly, then over the last week you’ve likely encountered a pop-up about the app’s new privacy policy. This new policy immediately stirred controversy due to new rules that would allow data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook. As a result, the introduction of this newly updated policy is being pushed back.
This week, WhatsApp Blog revealed that users won’t have to accept the new privacy policy until the 15th of May, which will give the company time to clear up “confusion” around the new changes. Previously, WhatsApp users were warned to accept the new privacy policy terms by the 8th of February or face having their account suspended/deleted.
“We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts”, the post reads.
“WhatsApp was built on a simple idea: what you share with your friends and family stays between you. This means we will always protect your personal conversations with end-to-end encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see these private messages. It’s why we don’t keep logs of who everyone’s messaging or calling. We also can’t see your shared location and we don’t share your contacts with Facebook.”
When the new privacy policy comes into place, the privacy features detailed in the above quote won’t be changing. However, WhatsApp users will have a new set of options related to Business on WhatsApp, allowing users to shop and message businesses through the messaging service. Apparently, this privacy update “does not expand” WhatsApp’s ability to share data with Facebook.
KitGuru Says: How many of you regularly use WhatsApp? Are you concerned about Facebook’s involvement and potential to collect user data?
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