PUBG Mobile 0.18.0 adds sandstorm weather effects to Miramar, Cheer Park, and a bunch of other changes

PUBG Mobile kicked off Season 12 for the game with a major update earlier this year in March. The update (v0.17.0) marked the return of the Hardcore Mode, along with new features and improvements to the Classic Mode. Now, the game is receiving yet another massive update which packs in some more noteworthy changes. According to the patch notes published on the official website, the latest update (v0.18.0) brings new sandstorm weather effects to the Miramar desert map, adds a 2.7x scope to the Win94 rifle, adds the Canted Sight attachment to the game, and kicks off Royale Pass Season 13, among other things.

The latest update for PUBG Mobile has already started rolling out to users via the Play Store and users who update the game before May 13th stand the chance to win 1 Radio, 2,888 BP, and 3 Lieutenant Parsec Backpacks. Here are the complete patch notes for the latest update:

• Updated Miramar with Sandstorm
  • The map has received visual updates with a few new elements
  • An oasis has been added to the northern part of the map and Urban Ruins is now to the northwest. More housing areas, roads, and resources have been added to the made.
  • Added a race track that runs through the whole map.
  • New Miramar map vehicle: Golden Mirado.
  • Added vending machines for Energy Drinks or Painkillers
  • Added the chance for areas in Miramar and the Main Menu to be ravaged by sandstorms.
  • Added new Miramar main lobby theme and music.
  • Added new Miramar achievements and events.
• Win94 with 2.7x scope
• Canted sight available
• New classic mode content: Jungle adventure in Sanhok (Available soon)
  • Random chance to enter new Jungle Adventure mode while looking for matches on Sanhok.
  • The mode adds a variety of features and challenges to the map.
  • Totem: Find ancient totems and invoke their power for a chance to receive a blessing or item.
  • Jungle Food: Fruit and other foods grow in the wild. Eating them may grant mysterious effects.
  • Hot Air Balloon: Control a Hot Aur Balloon to survey the battlefield.
• New Customizable weapon system: Guncraft finishes (Available soon)
• New weapon: P90 in Arena Mode

• Royale Pass Season 13: Toy Playground (Available May 13th)
• Cheer Park
  • New social area that can accommodate 20 players at any time.
  • Includes most of the basic Training grounds features and lets players interact with other players in real time.
  • Players can view the information of other players, chat, interact with Emotes, and add friends.
  • Players can team up with other players and play matches in various modes.
  • Players can invite their friends to interact and roast chicken together.
  • Additional activities include 1v1 duels, Hunt game, and Shooting range.

• Bluehole Mode: Brand new EvoGround Experience (Available soon)
  • Erangel will now have 2 zones — inner and outer. The inner zone represents the next playzone location, but players will lose health if they are in the inner zone as long as the outer zone is present. Once the outer zone finishes shrinking, players will be able to move into the former inner zone and a new inner zone will appear.
  • All supplies spawn with a 50% increase over the Classic mode Erangel map and players can review downed teammates in 4 seconds.

• New anti-cheating implementation: Points protection against cheater kills
• New results screen UI

Along with these aforementioned changes, PUBG Mobile v0.18.0 also includes a ton of improvements and bug fixes. For a more detailed look at everything included in the update, you can check out the source linked below.

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Source: Patch notes

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Xiaomi Mi 10 5G with a 108MP camera, Snapdragon 865, and ad-free MIUI launched in India

Xiaomi has traditionally been associated with smartphones that offer the best bang for the buck. While Xiaomi has a massive portfolio of products – from smartphones to dumb feature phones, laptops, smart TVs, IoT products, and even STEM toys. Each of these products is priced as economically possible and this has lent Xiaomi and brands under or backed by it (like Redmi and POCO) a persona of affordability. However, the company has also been producing flagship products, which lie between true flagships and flagship killers. To mark its 10th anniversary, Xiaomi introduced the Mi 10 and the Mi 10 Pro earlier this year in China, followed by its launch in the European markets. Today, Xiaomi is bringing the Mi 10 5G – but without the Pro – to India after several years of focus on the mid-range in the country.

Xiaomi Mi 10 5G XDA Forums

Xiaomi is designed for a premium experience with its glass sandwich design, a 4D curved Super AMOLED display, 108MP quad cameras, Snapdragon 865 mobile platform, stereo speakers, and a lot more. For gaming and unhindered performance, Xiaomi has included a multi-layered vapor cooling chamber.

To complement the super-charged hardware, Xiaomi has also made subtle changes to the software experience owing to the flagship nature of the device. This includes a clean user experience without ads and any bloatware. Besides this, Google apps such as the Dailer, Messages, and Contacts app will replace Xiaomi’s own apps to ensure a top-tier Android experience on the phone.

In terms of cameras, the Xiaomi Mi 10 features a Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor with a resolution of 108MP. This is a 1/1.33″ sensor, much larger than the 48MP and 64MP sensors that have been trending recently. Along with the sensor, the phone features a 7P lens setup and 4-axis OIS. Additionally, there’s a 13MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP portrait camera with auto-focus, and a 2MP depth sensor as part of the rear camera. The hole-punch in the display accommodates a 20MP camera. In terms of videos, the Mi 10 can capture 8K video at up to 30fps and 4K video at up to 60fps.

The Mi 10 gets a 4,780mAh battery and supports 30W fast charging both – wired and wirelessly. You’ll need Xiaomi’s proprietary chargers to attain those charging speeds, and the wireless charger must be bought separately. The phone is also Qi-certified and can charger at up to 10W using the compliant charger.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Specifications

Specification	Xiaomi Mi 10 5G India
Dimension & Weight	162.6 x 74.8 x 9 mm 208g
Display	6.67″ OLED 2340 x 1080 HDR10+ 90Hz 180Hz touch response Peak Brightness: 1120 nits Hole-punch for camera
Security	In-display fingerprint sensor Software-based face recognition
System-on-Chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865: 1x Kryo 585 (ARM Cortex-A77-based) Prime core @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 585 (ARM Cortex-A77-based) Performance core @ 2.4GHz 4x Kryo 385 (ARM Cortex A55-based) Efficiency cores @ 1.8GHz Adreno 650
RAM	8GB LPDDR5 in India
Storage	128GB UFS 3.0 256GB UFS 3.0
Battery & Charging	4,780 mAh 30W Fast Wired Charging 30W Fast Wireless Charging 10W Reverse Wireless Charging
Rear Camera	108MP Wide 1/1.33″, 7P lens, OIS 13MP Ultra-Wide, 123°,  f/2.4 2MP f/2.4 Macro Camera 2MP f/2.4 Depth Sensor
Front Camera	20MP
Software Version	MIUI 11 based on Android 10
Connectivity	5G: SA/NSA Wi-Fi 6 USB Type-C NFC Bluetooth v5.0 NavIC
Audio	Stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio certified
Colors	Coral Green, Twilight Grey

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Price & Availability in India

The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G will be available in India in two configurations – 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. The prices of the two variants are:

• 8GB/128GB – ₹49,999 (~$660)
• 8GB/256GB – ₹54,999 (~$730)

Xiaomi will also be launching the 30W wireless charger along with the phones in India and that will be priced at ₹1,999 (~$27). Those who pre-book the Mi 10 will get the wireless charger for free.

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Xiaomi launches Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 and Android TV-powered Mi Box 4K in India

Xiaomi has shaken the smartphone and smart TV market in India and is now working towards grabbing a significant chunk of other segments. Along with the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G, Xiaomi has now announced two new products in India – the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 TWS and the Mi Box 4K, which is a rebranded version of the Mi Box S.

Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 TWS

The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 truly wireless earphones feature a 14.2mm drivers. Xiaomi India has specially optimized the sound for the Indian audience, tuning it for Bollywood and other bass-heavy music. Each of these earphones feature two microphones, one of which is specifically working to minimize background noise during calls.

Like the Apple AirPods and the Realme Buds Air (review), the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 feature proximity sensors that allow automatic pausing when you take either of the earphones out of your ears. The earphones come in a rigid design without any sort of cushioning or earbuds. Xiaomi says that they have optimized the shape of the earphone by mapping millions of ears in simulation software. Each of the earbuds weighs just about 4g while both of them with the case weigh 50g in total.

In terms of battery life, the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 can last up to 4 hours while the case can add an additional 10 hours of battery life. There’s no wireless charging and the case can be charged using a USB-C port at the bottom.

Mi Box 4K

The Mi Box 4K is an Android streaming device running on Android TV Pie and can convert any dumb TV into a smart TV. The streamer box appears to be a rebranded Mi Box S, which has been available in the market for about a couple of years. Unlike Xiaomi’s own Mi TV lineup, the Mi Box 4K does not run on Patchwall and comes with the standard Android TV UI.

As is in the name of the device, it supports up to 4K video transmission over HDMI. It is certified for HDR10 and can play supported content if your TV also supports that. For improved audio, the TV box also supports Dolby Audio format.

In terms of I/O, the Mi Box 4K features an HDMI 2.0b port, a 3.5mm jack for audio output, and Bluetooth 4.1 for audio transmission. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi and features a USB 2.0 port so you also play your offline files.

It is powered by a quad-core Amlogic S905X processor and comes with 8GB of internal storage.

The Mi Box 4K comes with a remote controller that has Netflix and Prime Video hotkeys. Additionally, it comes with an in-line microphone for interaction with the Google Assistant.

Price & Availability

The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 will be available in India starting May 12th for an introductory price of ₹3,999 via Amazon India, Mi Homes, and Mi.com. After May 17th, the price of the earphones will be ₹4,499.

The Mi Box 4K will be available in India from May 11th at a price of ₹3,499 on Flipkart, Mi.com, and Mi Home stores.

Do note that the delivery might be delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in India.

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Samsung is planning to offer a debit card this summer

Samsung is the latest tech company looking to get into the personal finance game. According to Samsung, the company is planning to introduce a debit card for Samsung Pay this summer. The card will be backed by SoFi, an online personal finance company that has gained traction in the last five years.

Tech companies getting into personal finance is becoming a trend. The Apple Card is a credit card that was launched in 2019, whereas Google’s rumored to be working on a debit card of its own. Samsung’s plan is more in line with what we’re hearing about Google’s plan. The Samsung debit card will be tied into Samsung Pay and offer users more ways to manage money.

Samsung Pay was launched in 2015 and it allows select Galaxy devices to pay at virtually any terminal thanks to Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). In contrast, platforms such as Google Pay and Apple Pay only use NFC for payments. To date, Samsung Pay has been about mobile payments and rewards, but the introduction of the debit card will bring new money management tools to the service as well.

This announcement comes as Samsung celebrates 5 years of Samsung Pay. The company says they will have more information to share in the coming weeks. What do you think of the idea of a Samsung debit card? Is this something you’re interested in?

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Source: Samsung

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Google’s messaging and communication apps are now led by a single team

If you are a person who follows technology news, you’re likely familiar with Google’s messaging problem. The company has launched many messaging services and several of these attempts have ended up abandoned, merged into different services, or rebranded. Google has repeatedly stated that they’re aware of this issue and they’re trying to clean things up. Its latest move is putting all of its communication apps under the same leadership.

Currently, Google has three main communication apps:

• Google Phone – Pre-installed dialer on Pixel and Android One devices.
• Google Duo – Video-calling for consumers, available to everyone in the Play Store.
• Google Messages – Default SMS and RCS app on some devices, available to everyone in the Play Store.

In addition to these three apps, Google also has Meet and Chat for G Suite customers. Javier Soltero was made the VP and GM of G Suite last year, which put him in charge of Meet and Chat. Soltero is behind the recent rebranding of Hangouts Meet and Chat. Now, Google is also putting him in charge of Phone, Duo, and Messages.

Previously, each of these services had a team that was operated largely independently from the others within Google. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see key features come to one service before the others. The apps themselves won’t be merging together, but the teams behind them will be combined under Soltero’s leadership.

The new team hopes to “drive more innovation and more clarity around how these products can fulfill their specific missions.” It doesn’t sound like Soltero plans to make any major changes right away. He even says it would be “irresponsible” to make rapid changes. It is worth noting, however, that it’s common at times of big change to say nothing will change, so we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out.

Google’s statement:

We are bringing all of Google’s collective communication products together under one leader and unified team that will be led by Javier Soltero, VP and GM of G Suite. Javier will remain in Cloud, but will also join the leadership team under Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP of Platforms and Ecosystems. Outside of this update, there are no other changes to the personnel and Hiroshi will continue to play a significant role in our ongoing partnership efforts.

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Source: The Verge

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Google Lens can now copy text from your phone to computer, pronounce words, and more

Google Lens is one of the company’s products that has improved impressively since launch. Lens seems to be constantly getting new features and abilities. Today, Google showed off several additions to Lens that should make it an even more powerful tool.

First up is a feature that will be very welcomed to anyone who works with physical and digital documents. Google Lens already had great text recognition and now, not only can it copy the scanned text to your phone’s clipboard, it can also send it to another device. After you scan a document and select text, tap the “Copy to computer” option and choose another device with Chrome. The text will now be in that device’s clipboard.

Next up is a feature to help you pronounce words. Google Lens can already translate words, but now you can also use it to hear these words recited out loud. Of course, this doesn’t have to be only for words in different languages. It can be used to hear any word that you may not know how to pronounce. Simply select text with Lens and tap the “Listen” button to heart it.

Lastly, in-line Google Search results can help you define words and phrases. Select text in Google Lens and then you’ll see a Google Search tab slide up from the bottom with more information. No more opening a separate app to look something up. All of these features are rolling out to Android today.

Google Lens (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Google

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The Dimensity 1000 Plus is a new 5G chip from MediaTek that supports 144Hz display

MediaTek is on a roll these days as they just unveiled yet another SoC after announcing the mid-ranger Helio G85 chipset. Dubbed as Dimensity 1000 Plus, the latest candidate belongs to the flagship-grade Dimensity 5G family and carries a handful of enhancements over the original Dimensity 1000 SoC. MediaTek wants to take the lion’s share of the flagship SoC market, which could be the prime reason behind launching a revised edition of an existing mobile platform within six months.

Connectivity

Similar to its predecessor, the Dimensity 1000 Plus (stylized as Dimensity 1000+) is built on a 7nm process and features an identical 5G modem. MediaTek, however, now added something called “5G UltraSave”, a built-in power saving mechanism that can dynamically switch between different power states to maximize the battery life. The modem itself capable of handling two 5G SIMs simultaneously, while it can also fall back to 4G depending on the connection quality.

144Hz Display Support

High refresh rate screens are the next big trend for smartphone displays and MediaTek likes to exploit the hype. The Dimensity 1000+ SoC natively supports 144Hz UHFR (ultra-high frame rate) display panels, while the dedicated MiraVision Picture Quality Engine inside the chipset can seamlessly upscale 4K SDR video contents to HDR10+. The company also backported their proprietary “AI PQ” tech from Smart TVs to smartphone displays via the new chipset to “enhance the picture quality of 4K videos and streams in real time”.

HyperEngine 2.0

HyperEngine, AKA the on-demand dynamic resource allocation module has received a new coat of paint. Version 2.0 now offers on-demand overclocking of CPU and GPU as well as several network optimizations, such as supporting 5G standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes simultaneously on both SIM slots (Call & Data Concurrency 2.0) and precise connectivity sensing across 5G NR, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connections (Intelligent Multi-Network Prediction 2.0).

Availability

Vivo’s sub-brand iQOO has already announced that they are building a new phone based on the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ platform. There is no word regarding the actual configuration or even a tentative release date, but we can easily speculate about a 144Hz screen as well as 5G connectivity on the upcoming device. On the other hand, it could be possible that MediaTek is going to phase out the original Dimensity 1000 in favor of the Dimensity 1000+, which is something that only time will tell.

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Source: MediaTek (1, 2)

Via: GSMArena

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