Google’s upcoming Android 15 is gearing up to revolutionise the way we charge our devices with its new wireless charging feature via Near Field Communication (NFC). This innovation is set to extend the convenience of wireless charging to smaller gadgets like trackers, styluses, and wireless earbuds.

A Shift from Qi Standard to NFC

Typically, wireless charging has been synonymous with the Qi standard. However, Android 15’s support for NFC wireless charging offers a fresh alternative, particularly beneficial for devices constrained by limited space, which may struggle with accommodating larger charging coils, reported Android Authority.

Also read: Google Calendar hidden features: Know how to smartly use the Google Workspace app

NFC Wireless Charging: A Closer Look

Introduced by the NFC Forum in 2020, the NFC Wireless Charging (WLC) specification paved the way for power transmission through compact antennas. Recent discoveries in Android 15 Beta 1 reveal Google’s active integration efforts, with specific code referencing “NfcCharging”. Though not yet fully integrated into the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), the signs point towards Google’s serious commitment to incorporating NFC wireless charging into its ecosystem.

The Limitations of NFC Wireless Charging

While the concept is promising, NFC wireless charging does come with its set of limitations. The technology can only transmit a maximum of 1W of power, considerably less than the slowest Qi chargers available. This limitation does cast some doubt on its practicality for larger devices that require more power.

Also read: Google Play adds fingerprint verification for Android apps: Here’s how biometric locks will help you

Ideal for Compact Accessories

The real potential of NFC wireless charging shines when considering smaller devices. The NFC Forum initially proposed this technology for various compact gadgets, including smartwatches, fitness trackers, wireless earbuds, and digital pens. By sidestepping the need for larger charging coils, these devices could potentially become more streamlined and efficient.

What Does This Mean for Android Users?

With native NFC wireless charging support in Android 15, we may witness an influx of innovative accessories tailored to capitalise on this technology. While the specific applications and accessory ecosystem are yet to be fully explored, the introduction of this feature undoubtedly signals a new frontier in mobile device charging.

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The annual PC Gaming Show broadcast is set to return this year, with the show celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024. Once again, the showcase will debut and delve into several games coming to PC in the months and years to come, making it essential viewing for those who primarily play on desktop.

It seems like this year is going to present a stacked showing, too. A press release provided to TechRadar Gaming confirms that “viewers can expect over 50 games, including world premieres, exclusive announcements, developer interviews and more.”

WhatsApp is gearing up to introduce a new feature that will display recent online contacts, allowing users to easily initiate chats with those they’ve recently interacted with. This new functionality, spotted in beta testing, aims to enhance user communication by highlighting contacts who are currently active or have been online recently.

Enhanced User Experience

The popular messaging platform, owned by Meta, has been continually updating its features to improve user experience and security. The latest addition is expected to offer users a quicker way to connect with friends, family, and colleagues who are currently available for a conversation, reported wabetainfo.

Also read: YouTube makes it difficult to use Ad blockers, third party apps as content creators lose revenue

Curated Contact List

While this feature won’t display a comprehensive list of all online contacts, it will showcase a limited number of recent active contacts. This curated list will be particularly helpful when users are selecting contacts to initiate a call, providing insights into who is readily available for communication.

The introduction of this feature aligns with WhatsApp’s efforts to optimize its platform for enhanced and timely communication. By prompting users to connect with contacts who have recently been active, WhatsApp aims to facilitate improved communication experiences, making it easier for users to reach out when they’re available.

Also read: Android 15 to introduce NFC wireless charging: What it means for you

In related news, WhatsApp recently made headlines for its robust efforts in combating platform abuse. In February alone, the messaging giant banned over 7.6 million accounts in India, demonstrating its commitment to upholding user safety and complying with regulatory guidelines.

Proactive Account Management

Of the total accounts banned, 1.4 million were proactively removed by WhatsApp, indicating the platform’s proactive approach in identifying and addressing potential misuse. These actions are in line with the IT Rules 2021, emphasizing WhatsApp’s dedication to creating a safer and more secure online environment for its users.

As WhatsApp continues to evolve and introduce new features, users can look forward to enhanced communication tools that prioritize convenience, accessibility, and safety. With the ‘Recent Online Contacts’ feature on the horizon, WhatsApp is taking another step towards simplifying and improving user interactions on its platform.

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Nintendo has announced that the next Indie World Showcase will air this week. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming livestream.

Start Time

The upcoming Nintendo Indie World Showcase will take place tomorrow, April 17, and start at 4pm CEST / 7am PT / 3pm BST. 

Where to watch

Sony has announced a new FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G ultra-wide zoom for its full frame Alpha cameras, featuring an unusually compact design for a constant-aperture f/2.8 ultra-wide zoom. It makes an ideal pairing with the Sony FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G announced just a few weeks earlier.

These two new lenses are designed for no-compromise performance in a smaller package, to meet the needs of photographers, vloggers and content creators who might find Sony’s regular zooms just a little too large.

The main compromise here is in focal range, both lenses swap size for reach. The FE 16-25mm f/2.8G joins a market where the typical range for an ultra-wide zoom is 16-35mm, though if it’s used in conjunction with the new FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G you will get a combined focal range of 16-50mm with no gaps.

Sony FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G specifications and features

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra and Edge 50 Fusion were launched globally on Tuesday. The handsets are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets and Pantone-validated displays and cameras. The Ultra model is equipped with a triple rear camera unit, while the Fusion model carries two rear cameras. These models were launched alongside the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, a smartphone that was recently introduced in India. The Edge 50 Pro, powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, carrying a 50-megapixel triple rear camera unit and a 68W charger in the box is priced at Rs. 31,999 for the 8GB + 256GB option in India.

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra, Motorola Edge 50 Fusion price

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra price starts at EUR 999 (roughly Rs. 88,900), while the Edge 50 Fusion is priced at EUR 399 (roughly Rs. 35,900). The handsets will go on sale in select markets in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Oceania region over the coming few weeks. Motorola is yet to announce plans to launch these two handsets in India.

The top-of-the-line Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is offered in Forest Grey and Peach Fuzz shades with a vegan leather finish and a third Nordic Wood pattern. The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, on the other hand, is available in Hot Pink and Marshmallow Blue colourways which come with vegan leather backs and another Forest Blue option which has a Poly(methyl methacrylate) — or PMMA — finish. 

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra specifications, features

Equipped with a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,220 x 2,712 pixels) pOLED display, the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra comes with a 144Hz refresh rate, 2,500 nits of peak brightness level and 93.8 percent screen-to-body ratio. The handset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 onboard storage. It also ships with Android 14-based Hello UI.

For optics, the Edge 50 Ultra includes a 50-megapixel primary rear sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) support, a 50-megapixel secondary sensor paired with an ultra-wide-angle lens and a 64-megapixel telephoto shooter with up to 3x optical zoom. The front camera is equipped with a 50-megapixel sensor. 

Motorola packs a 4,500mAh battery in the Edge 50 Ultra model with support for 125W wired and 50W wireless fast charging. The phone also supports dual 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, NavIC, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 and USB Type-C connectivity. For security, it is equipped with an in-display fingerprint sensor and it carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The handset measures 
161.09mm x 72.38mm x 8.59mm in size and weighs 197g. 

Motorola Edge 50 Fusion specifications, features

The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion sports a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,400 pixels) pOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1,600 nits of peak brightness and 92 percent screen-to-body ratio. The phone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 2.2 inbuilt storage. This model also runs Motorola’s new Android 14-based Hello UI out-of-the-box.

In the camera department, the Edge 50 Fusion features a 50-megapixel primary rear sensor and a 13-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens. The front camera houses a 32-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calls. 

The Edge 50 Fusion is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with 68W wired fast charging support. The handset also supports 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 and USB Type-C connectivity. It is equipped with a similar biometric sensor and IP rating as the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra. The phone measures 161.9mm x 73.1mm x 7.9mm in size and weighs 174.9g. 

Cisco Duo has confirmed some sensitive customer data was stolen after a third-party cyber-incident.

In a breach notification letter sent to affected customers, Cisco Duo said that its telephony provider, which it didn’t name, was compromised on April 1 2024. Unidentified threat actors mounted a phishing attack against the third party, through which they stole login credentials for the company’s systems. 

YouTube is renewing its crackdown against third-party apps that block in-video ads on the platform. In an announcement on Monday, the company confirmed that it will begin taking “appropriate action” against apps that let viewers watch videos without ads by violating its API services’ terms of service. The video streaming giant also urged viewers to shift to its YouTube Premium subscription plan to get an ad-free experience on the platform. The move comes after the company announced a global crackdown against these apps in November last year.

In a community post, YouTube stated, “We’re strengthening our enforcement on third-party apps that violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, specifically ad-blocking apps. Viewers who are using these third-party apps may experience buffering issues or see the error “The following content is not available on this app” when trying to watch a video.”

The company highlighted that blocking ads on the platform through unfair means prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership, as they cannot earn money unless an ad plays for the viewer. This results in lowered monetisation of videos despite high view count. It further added that Ads on YouTube let billions of users across the globe use the streaming platform without paying for it.

Suggesting an alternative, the streaming giant also urged users who seek an ad-free experience on the platform to subscribe to YouTube Premium, the company’s paid plan that also offers other features such as background playback, offline videos, as well as ad-free access to YouTube Music.

Stating that these third-party apps also break the company’s terms of service for API services, the post added, “We only allow third-party apps to use our API when they follow our API Services Terms of Service, and when we find an app that violates these terms, we will take appropriate action to protect our platform, creators, and viewers.”

Currently, YouTube Premium plans in India start at Rs. 79 a month — this option is limited to students. For most users, the base plan is priced at Rs. 129 a month. However, this requires the user to subscribe to a 12-month prepaid plan and make a payment of Rs. 1,290. As a result, the most affordable paid plan for a month will cost users Rs. 139.

Amplification legend Marshall has announced upgrades to two of its headphone lines: the Marshall Major IV over-ears and the Marshall Minor AirPods-style earbuds. They’ve been created “for music lovers who want to go harder and faster for longer,” apparently, and they offer better Bluetooth, improved sound quality and excellent battery life.

The new headphones and buds are called the Marshall Major V and the Marshall Minor IV, and – as before – they take their styling cues from Marshall’s famous amps: the ear cups of the Major V are reminiscent of Marshall amplifiers’ grilles, with the logo centre stage, while the case of the Minor IV looks like the same textured material that covers Marshall’s amps and cabinets. 

A Metaverse Experience Centre (MEC) has been established in Noida by Indian metaverse research and advisory firm Metaverse911. On Tuesday, the firm officially announced the launch of this experience centre, inviting industry leaders as well as other Web3 enthusiasts to discover the potential of the technology. Through the centre will let visitors indulge in immersive technologies that include Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) — all of which make for key components that brings the digital ecosystem to life in the metaverse.

A fully functional virtual universe, a metaverse is a hyper immersive virtual reality experience that is already making inroads in advanced video games and corporate regimes. Market analysts believe that as this technology enters more advanced stages, it could prove to be game changing for the sectors of healthcare, education, as well as advertising and media.

Built on blockchain networks, the metaverse ecosystem allows players across industries to connect with global audiences and buyers – increasing the trend of creating digital representations of physical objects.

In a recent report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), industrial metaverse is projected to be a $100 billion (roughly Rs. 8,29,018 crore) market globally by 2030.

With the technology showing promise and adoption, the Metaverse0911 team is aiming to create awareness about this technology – that is compatible with several Web3 elements including digital collectibles or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as well as cryptocurrencies.

This centre is also being projected as a hotspot for dialogue and research around metaverse technologies. The centre’s website also reveals that it offers access to popular devices such as the Apple Vision Pro, Oculus Quest 2 and 3, the HTC Vive Focus 5K, Vuzix Smart Glasses, Pico VR Headset, Microsoft HoloLens as well as high-end simulators,

“We want to provide a platform for industry leaders to explore solutions that can be implemented to solve their organisational challenges; ushering in a new era of digital innovation in the country,” Rahul Sethi, Founder and Chairman, Metaverse911 said in a prepared statement.

The company claims that the MEC is India’s first such experience centre catering to metaverse-curious people. The firm plans to replicate this centre in other Indian cities as well as in Dubai and Singapore in the future.