Beeper Mini - iMessage on Android

iMessage stands as a significant factor preventing some Apple users from transitioning to Android. Despite Apple's announcement about introducing the modern RCS messaging standard to iPhones next year, it won't replicate the iMessage experience. Numerous attempts, including Nothing's efforts, to bring iMessage to Android have proven unsuccessful. Now, a newly launched app called Beeper Mini claims to genuinely bring Apple's iMessage service to Android devices. This Android app enables users to register as iMessage users, sending and receiving iMessages without routing through a Mac device in the cloud, thus avoiding the pitfalls of previous attempts. Moreover, all data is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring privacy and security. The Beeper Mini app, available globally on the Play Store, comes with a monthly subscription fee of $1.99. It supports various message formats, including text, audio messages, images, videos, files, contacts, and locations. While it accommodates tapbacks (reactions to iMessages), animated stickers and advanced features like mini apps, location sharing, and digital touch are currently not supported. Notably, messages sent from Android phones will appear in blue bubbles, resolving the blue bubble-green bubble debate. The Beeper Mini team achieved this by showcasing Android phones to Apple's servers as authentic Apple products, having reverse-engineered iMessage through jailbreaking iPhones and delving into the operating system intricacies. The app's compatibility was verified in a day-long trial on a Galaxy S23 Ultra, successfully communicating with an iPhone user. Given the past shutdowns of similar services, Beeper Mini's future faces uncertainty regarding how long Apple might allow or tolerate this service. Beeper CTO Brad Murray asserts that the company operates within legal boundaries, and there is no Apple code embedded in Beeper Mini. According to him, disrupting Beeper Mini's iMessage compatibility would likely affect genuine iPhone users, presenting a legal challenge for Apple.

'Seeing AI' Android app

Presently, the Seeing AI app is accessible in 18 languages, and Microsoft aims to expand this availability to 36 languages by 2024. Following the initial launch on iOS, Microsoft, the tech giant based in Redmond, has now introduced the Android version of the 'Seeing AI' app. With a user base exceeding three billion on Android, 'Seeing AI' is set to reach millions of individuals globally with vision impairment. Drawing from feedback on the iOS iteration, Microsoft has enhanced the user interface and introduced new features to the Seeing AI app. The incorporation of generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) technology enables the app to describe various objects, from currency notes to books, providing detailed summaries of images on the Scene channel. The app also facilitates richer descriptions through additional information options, offering more intricate details about the contents of the image. Additionally, users can engage in conversations with the Seeing AI app to obtain further information. For example, when presented with a menu, users can inquire about the listed items, or when examining a receipt, the app can read out the prices of items. Moreover, while reading an article, the Seeing AI app is capable of providing concise summaries of lengthy news stories.

Redmi Note 13 Pro+ India launch date

Xiaomi has recently unveiled the Redmi 13C series smartphones in India. Towards the conclusion of the event, the company disclosed that the entire proceedings were captured using the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G, set to make its debut in India in January 2024. It's worth recalling that the Redmi Note 13 Pro and Redmi Note 13 Pro+ were originally introduced in China in September. The anticipation builds for the imminent launch of both the Note 13 Pro and Note 13 Pro+ models in India next month. Adding to the speculations, there are hints of Xiaomi's plan to introduce the Redmi Note 13 5G, also known as the POCO X6 Neo, in the Indian market. The Note 13 5G made its debut in China alongside the Redmi Note 13 Pro series, suggesting a simultaneous launch in India, similar to the earlier release of the Redmi Note 12 series this year. Further details, including the precise launch date, are expected to emerge in the coming weeks, providing ample time before the scheduled launch.

boAt Stone Majestic Riverdale Rocker Bluetooth speaker

boAt has unveiled the Stone Majestic Riverdale Rocker, a novel portable Bluetooth speaker in the Indian market. The launch coincides with a campaign featuring the cast of Netflix's film, The Archies, alongside social media influencer Orry and boAt's CEO and founder, Aman Gupta. Embracing a nostalgic theme, the limited edition Riverdale Rocker draws inspiration from the Archies universe's music theme, complemented by the brand's founder dancing to the boAt jingle. The speaker showcases a retro design, delivering 90W boAt Signature Sound, a 6-hour playback duration, dual full-range drivers with a built-in subwoofer, and dual EQ modes tailored for movies and music. It offers versatile connectivity options, including Bluetooth, AUX, USB, and HDMI (ARC). The specifications of the boAt Stone Majestic Riverdale Rocker include Bluetooth v5.3, 90W output power, a full-range oval-shaped speaker, 6 hours of playtime, compatibility with USB/BT/AUX/FM/HDMI(ARC), dual EQ modes (Movie & Music), a 6-hour charging time, and dimensions of 300mm (L) x 180mm (W) x 180mm (H), weighing 3.5kg. Priced at Rs. 9,999, the boAt Stone Majestic Riverdale Rocker speaker is available for pre-order on the boAt website.

boAt emerges as the second-largest wearable manufacturer in Q3 of 2023

The global landscape of wearable devices is experiencing rapid evolution, with industry giants like Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Huawei competing for dominance. However, in 2023, a prominent Indian brand has surged to prominence in this dynamic race. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker Q3 2023 report, boAt, the audio and wearable brand under Imagine Marketing, has secured the second position in the list of the largest wearable device manufacturers by volume, following Apple. The report highlights a 2.6% year-over-year growth in worldwide wearable device shipments during Q3 2023, reaching a record high of 148.4 million units. With 14.3 million shipments, boAt captured 9.6% of the market share, positioning itself as a formidable contender. Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC, notes that the surge in wearables is primarily driven by the emergence of smaller and sleeker designs, with newer brands like boAt contributing to this trend. In contrast, Xiaomi secured the third spot, Samsung claimed the fourth, and Huawei settled in the fifth position. The IDC report also indicates that the total volume of wearable device shipments in Q3 2023 surpassed both Q3 2021 and Q3 2022, showcasing the significant growth fueled by smaller brands and emerging categories.

Redmi 13C

The Redmi 13C, priced below Rs 12,000 in India, enters the market as a 5G-enabled smartphone with a sleek premium design. Boasting a 90Hz display, a substantial 5,000mAh battery, and a 50-megapixel dual rear camera setup, it positions itself to compete with other 5G models like the Lava Blaze Pro 5G and Samsung Galaxy M14. The Redmi 13C 5G is available in three colors – Startrail Silver, Startrail Green, and Starlight Black – and offers multiple configurations: the 4GB RAM + 128GB storage variant starts at Rs 10,999, the 6GB + 128GB model is priced at Rs 12,499, and the 8GB + 256GB variant is available for Rs 14,499. Sales are set to commence on December 16 through channels such as Amazon, the Mi online store, and other online retailers.

Featuring a 6.74-inch LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, and 600 nits peak brightness, the Redmi 13C offers a teardrop notch design and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device is both dust and splash-resistant. Powering this budget phone is a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ processor, the same chipset found in the Realme 11x and Realme 11 5G. Additionally, the phone supports RAM extension up to 16GB using its internal storage. Operating on the Android 13 platform, the device houses a dual rear camera system led by a 50-megapixel primary sensor. A robust 5,000mAh battery fuels the device, supporting 18W fast charging, although the bundled charger is a 10W variant. While an official IP rating is not provided, Xiaomi assures users of its splash-resistant and dust-protected features. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.3, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port.

Gmail biggest security update

Google has divulged information about an enhanced technique employed to enhance spam detection on its free email service, Gmail. In the latest Google Security blog post, the tech giant emphasizes that this marks one of the most substantial defense upgrades Gmail has undergone in recent years. Google asserts that its latest model demonstrates superior text identification capabilities and has elevated spam detection by an impressive 38%. Text classification models, crucial for identifying harmful content like phishing attacks, inappropriate comments, and scams across platforms such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Play, encounter challenges due to spammers employing adversarial text manipulations. These tactics, including homoglyphs, invisible characters, and keyword stuffing, make it difficult for machine learning models to classify such texts.

To enhance the stringency and efficiency of text classifiers, Google has introduced a new multilingual text vectorizer named RETVec (Resilient & Efficient Text Vectorizer). This innovation aids spam filter models in delivering more precise classification performance while significantly reducing computational costs. Google details how RETVec is utilized to safeguard Gmail inboxes. Over the past year, Google extensively evaluated RETVec's effectiveness and found it to be highly impactful for security and anti-abuse applications. Replacing Gmail's previous text vectorizer with RETVec resulted in a notable 38% improvement in the service's spam detection rate and a 19.4% reduction in the false positive rate. Additionally, the use of RETVec led to an impressive 83% reduction in the model's power consumption.

Notably, RETVec is language-agnostic and works with "all UTF-8 characters" without requiring any text preprocessing. This characteristic makes it ideal for on-device, web, and large-scale text classification deployments. Google asserts that "models trained with RETVec exhibit faster inference speed due to its compact representation." Furthermore, these smaller models reduce computational costs and decrease latency, which is critical for large-scale applications and on-device models. Models trained with RETVec can be converted to TFLite for deployment on mobile and edge devices. The open-source model is available on Github, contributing to the broader accessibility of this innovative technology.

OnePlus 12 launched in China

OnePlus has unveiled its 10th-anniversary flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 12, in China. This latest device boasts wireless charging, an enhanced USB port for faster connectivity, and an upgraded camera system. Offering various RAM and storage configurations, the OnePlus 12 features a glass sandwich construction. Fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and equipped with a VC cooling system for efficient thermal dissipation, the smartphone represents a notable addition to the Chinese company's product lineup.

The OnePlus 12 builds upon the success of its predecessor, the OnePlus 11, launched in China in 2022 and subsequently in India earlier this year. Noteworthy improvements include the reintroduction of wireless charging, a speedier USB port, and an enhanced camera system. The device is available in different RAM and storage variants, with the base model supporting 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at CNY 4,299 (approximately Rs 50,500). Other configurations, including 16GB + 512GB, 16GB + 1TB, and 24GB + 1TB, are priced at CNY 4,799 (almost Rs 56,400), CNY 5,299 (almost Rs 62,300), and CNY 5,799 (almost 68,200), respectively. Color options include Rock Black, Pale Green, or White.

The design language of the OnePlus 12 remains consistent with its predecessor, featuring a glass sandwich construction with a central metal frame and IP65-rated water and dust resistance. The smartphone showcases a 6.82-inch curved OLED display supplied by BOE, supporting a resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels (QHD+), 510 PPI, and a variable refresh rate (LTPO) ranging from 1 to 120Hz. The 10-bit screen offers up to 4500 nits of local peak brightness and 2160Hz of PWM dimming.

Driving its performance is Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, coupled with LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. For efficient thermal management, the phone integrates a 9140mm² VC (Vapor Chamber) cooling system covering an area of 38,547mm². The camera setup, akin to the OnePlus Open and the Oppo Find N3, includes a 50MP Sony LYT-808 primary sensor with OIS, a 64MP OmniVision OV64B sensor with OIS-assisted 3x periscope zoom lens, and a 48MP Sony IMX581 ultra-wide unit with autofocus. The front features a 32MP shooter, all tuned with Hasselblad's image processing.

Connectivity options abound with dual SIM support, 5G connectivity, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, GNSS, NFC, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Notable features include an alert slider, an IR blaster, an x-axis linear vibration motor, and a dual stereo speaker setup. Running on ColorOS 14 based on Android 14, the OnePlus 12 is powered by a 5,400mAh battery and supports 100W wired, 50W wireless charging, as well as 10W reverse wireless charging. The smartphone is currently available for pre-order in China and is set to go on sale on December 11.