Bike-sharing is slowly emerging as the next big vertical in e-commerce. While China already houses several bike-sharing startups, they are just about catching up in India, one of the fastest-growing transportation economies in the world. And the first homegrown bike-renting service is here. Yulu Bikes, started by InMobi co-founder Amit Gupta, will begin operations in Bengaluru in the coming weeks, according to reports. Yulu is said to be an IoT-enabled venture that will allow people to rent dockless bicycles via the Yulu Bikes app.

Yulu will start with a fleet of a few hundred bicycles.  Users can book them via the iOS or Android app, just like they book a cab, and the bikes can be unlocked via QR codes. Yulu will charge the rider per 30 minutes of use. Yulu is said to be working with the local government to dedicate more lanes to bikes/bicycles, and also allot safe parking spaces for them. “The bike-sharing space is pretty new India. At the same time, there are things happening in the country, as far as competition is concerned,” Gupta was quoted as saying.

Yulu says it is the “most advanced bike sharing solution” that provides “beautiful yet functional bicycles powered by GPRS, GPS and Bluetooth technology”. Riders can rent and return bikes from all major locations in the city via the app. And payments can be made via “a secure and hassle-free digital wallet”. It isn’t clear though which payment services are on board with Yulu.

There are four steps to avail the service: locating a bike using GPS, scanning the QR code to unlock it, riding it, and parking it at the end of the ride. Once the bike is parked and locked, Yulu bills the rider and deducts money from the mobile wallet. Yulu wants to “de-congest urban traffic by providing a scalable, affordable, efficient and clean solution for the first mile, last mile and short distance commute.”

Yulu is acutely aware of the opportunity in the bike-sharing market that is headed for a potential explosion in 2018, as China’s billion-dollar startups, Ofo and Mobile, are said to be gearing up for an India entry. Ofo backed by the Alibaba Group, which is heavily invested in India, is reportedly doing ground research. It is also examining government policies and the permissions required for foreign businesses in the transportation sector. A launch seems imminent. “Both Ofo and Mobike would like to enter India. It’s a country with one billion people, so it makes sense for them to enter,” Gupta stated. Yulu though might stand to gain the first-mover advantage.

Cracking down on abuse and child-exploiting channels and videos, YouTube announced it will remove content on the platform that attempts to pass as being “friendly for kids”.

“While some of these videos may be suitable for adults, others are completely unacceptable, so we are working to remove them from YouTube,” Johanna Wright, Vice President of Product Management, YouTube, wrote in a blog post.

The Google-owned company will apply machine learning technology and automated tools in order to discover potentially exploitive content. YouTube has terminated 50 channels and removed thousands of videos as also advertisements from 5,00,000 exploitive videos under the current set of guidelines.

The company will also continue to work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to report the potentially illegal behaviour to law enforcement, said Wright. Meanwhile, YouTube Kids announced new measures last week for parents if they find children watching inappropriate videos at home even by mistake.

If the user is signed in while reporting a video, it will also be blocked from the YouTube Kids app, the company said in a statement. “When you block a video or channel, you will no longer see that video on the YouTube Kids apps when you are signed in. You can always clear your blocked videos and channels from Settings if you change your mind,” the company had said.

Xiaomi’s presence in India is widely known with the country being the company’s most favorable market. Continuing its domination, Xiaomi has recently started investing heavily in the government’s ‘Make in India’ program. As part of its efforts, Xiaomi has now announced a new Redmi smartphone launch in India. Xiaomi’s next product will be “Desh Ka Smartphone” and will launch on November 30.

Xiaomi’s teaser doesn’t mention anything but going by the India-centric theme, it’s quite possible that the smartphone will fall in the budget category. At present, 95 percent of Xiaomi’s smartphones sold in India are assembled locally. This year, Xiaomi launched two budget smartphones in India – Redmi 4A and Redmi 4. The Redmi 4A is priced at Rs 5,999 for the 16GB variant, and Rs 6,999 for the 32GB model. The Redmi 4 also comes in two storage options of 3GB RAM plus 32GB storage priced at Rs 8,999, and 4GB RAM plus 64GB storage which retails at Rs 10,999.

A new Redmi smartphone is coming your way on Nov 30! Aa raha hai #DeshKaSmartphone pic.twitter.com/Koii0QJEIE

— Redmi India (@RedmiIndia) November 23, 2017

Xiaomi recently announced its third manufacturing unit in India which is also the company’s first non-smartphone unit. With this, Xiaomi also launched its ‘Make in India’ power bank, the Mi Power Bank 2i. Offered in two models of 10,000mAh and 20,000mAh models, the Mi Power Bank 2i is priced at Rs 799 and Rs 1,499 respectively.

Xiaomi also launched its Mi Exchange Program in India. Now you can exchange your old Xiaomi smartphone for a new one at Mi Home Stores. The exchange rate for your smartphone can be checked on Cashify’s app and website, the company Xiaomi has collaborated with for the program.

Coming to the upcoming Xiaomi smartphone, the company is tight lipped about the details. With the launch just next week, it won’t be long till we get to know what Xiaomi has in store for the Indian market. Currently, the Redmi Note 5 is doing rounds in the rumor mill. The Redmi Note 5 would succeed the Redmi Note 4 which is interestingly Xiaomi’s highest selling smartphone in India.

On the sidelines of the 5th Global Conference on Cyberspace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  took the opportunity to launch a standalone app for e-governance called Umang (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance). Developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and National e-Governance Division, the app is aimed at making it easier for citizens to connect to the government through mobile-first approach.

Umang has a range of services to offer to students, senior citizens, and farmers, by providing a single-point access to all government services. Some of the Digital India services such as Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and PayGov are also integrated into the app. The app provides over 100 services of the center and state government on one single platform.

One of the key features of the app is that it supports Aadhaar-based, and other authentication mechanisms for service access. As there are multiple services connected to the single app, the profile data of the user is saved in encrypted format. You can use Umang for all tasks related to e-governance; from utility bills, income tax filing, LPG cylinder booking, to queries for Provident Fund account or Aadhaar. Here’s how the app works.

Umang is available for download across app stores. On Google’s Play Store, it weighs 11MB. The app has already been garnered 500,000 downloads on the Play Store. You can also give a missed call or send an SMS to 97183-97183 to get the app download link on your number. There’s support for 10 Indian languages other than Hindi and English. In order to start using Umang, you will be required to first register yourself on the platform using your mobile number. It is advisable to use the same mobile number which has been used to link to other services such as Aadhaar. Upon authenticating your number via OTP process, you will be asked to set an MPIN to restrict unauthorized access to the app. You can further set answers to security questions.

Afterwards, you can choose to set up your profile by adding required details including Aadhaar details. The next step involves the app to link your Aadhaar details for easy access to services. However, even without completing your profile, you can navigate through the range of government services on offer. The services range from something as basic as booking a Baratghar online, complete with e-payment, to finding and downloading birth or death certificate of an individual.

To make things simpler, the ‘hub of all apps’ has categorized the services into ‘All’, ‘Central’, and ‘State’. Similar to how regular app stores show, Umang also shows trending services, top-rated services, and updated services. The app also gives you the option to connect your social media account, akin to how a lot of other apps ask for linkage.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 was launched earlier this year, and with the year coming to an end, rumors about next year’s flagship device, the Mi 7 have already started surfacing online. Now, a few details including the price and specifications of the Mi 7 has surfaced online hinting at what next year’s flagship device could look like.

Spotted by Gizmochina, the Mi 7 is expected to follow the on-going trend in the market and ship with thinner bezels and full-screen when compared to this year’s Mi 6.

In terms of specifications, the Xiaomi Mi 7 will feature a 6.01-inch OLED display that is said to be supplied by Samsung. Under the hood, the device might be powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC paired with 6GB of RAM. Here it is worth noting that Qualcomm is yet to announce its flagship chipset, the Snapdragon as yet. However, considering Xiaomi uses flagship chipset in their flagship phone, this might actually stand true. A recent rumor hinted that Xiaomi and Qualcomm are currently working to optimize the upcoming Snapdragon 845 SoC for the Xiaomi Mi 7.

On the camera front, the Mi 7 is expected to sport dual-rear camera with a f/1.7 aperture. We still don’t have clarity on the camera resolution though. The might also be a 16-megapixel front-facing camera. The smartphone, in terms of design, is said to be made out metal and glass to add to the premium look and feel of the phone. Previous rumors also suggested that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will likely support Qi standard wireless charging as Xiaomi recently joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC).

In terms of pricing, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to retail at a price starting 2,699 RMB (Rs 26,500 approximately) in China. If rumors are to be believed, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to launch in the first quarter or early second quarter of 2018.

To recap, the Xiaomi Mi 6 sports a 5.15-inch display, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. For photography, there is a dual-camera setup at the back that includes a pair of 12-megapixel snappers — one wide-angle lens and one telephoto lens capable of 2X lossless zoom. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. Xiaomi did not launch the Mi 6 in India claiming that the flagship device is too expensive to launch in the Indian market.

Xiaomi has introduced a new exchange program for its devices, under which users will be able to exchange their existing units with new Xiaomi smartphones. The company has tied up with Delhi-based Cashify for the Mi Exchange program.

Under the Mi Exchange program, if you are a Xiaomi user, you can visit a nearby Mi Home store, and buy a new Xiaomi phone in return. The exchange value will be determined by the Cashify team. The value of exchange will be offered as a discount for the new Xiaomi model.

As Gadgets360 notes, the resale value of the handset in exchange will be based on the Cashify app. So for example, if you are purchasing the newer Xiaomi Mi A1 in exchange for the Redmi 3S Prime, you can simply check the exchange amount preview of the older device by visiting the Cashify site.

In addition to that, if you do not want to visit the Mi Home store, Cashify can also arrange for a pickup service of the older device right from the phone’s location. However, availing this benefit will require you to pay the complete amount for the new purchase at the Mi Home store, and the exchange discount will be credited to you at a later stage.

One must note that the exchange value will be determined on the basis of the condition of the device and market value, as is the guideline for most exchange programs. Further, only one device can be exchanged with an available Xiaomi smartphone at Mi Home, and the model being exchanged should be listed in Cashify’s portfolio. You can read more about the terms here.

The program is Xiaomi’s latest initiative to keep the Indian consumers hooked to its affordable yet feature-rich product portfolio. This week, the company announced its third manufacturing plant in India, which is also its first unit for non-smartphone category. Unlike the other two, this is dedicated to the production of powerbanks.

As per latest IDC estimates, Xiaomi is currently the number one brand in the smartphone category in India, and shares the top spot with Samsung. For a three-year-old company, achieving the leading position in a dynamic market like India is no less than a feat. The company now aims to increase its Make in Indiacommitment to ensuring products are locally manufactured through an increase in manufacturing capacities.

Reliance Jio’s entry in the Indian telecom space gave rise to cut-throat competition between incumbent mobile operators. Before Jio’s entry, we used to pay around Rs 250 for 1GB of data, and now, for approximately Rs 350 per month, we can get a plan with 1GB daily data. Now, while telecom companies are fighting their own war, a new Bengaluru-based startup, Wifi Dabba, is promising to offer cheap internet with plans starting as low as Rs 2.

Yes, you read it right. Over the years, inflation has been rising, and even a cup of tea costs Rs 10 or more. Wifi Dabba, on the other hand, seems to be on a mission to offer dirt cheap internet to the users. To begin with, the service is only available in select areas in Bengaluru. Users can purchase recharge packs from local bakeries and tea stalls, IBTimes reports.

There are three plans users can choose from, all offering validity of 24 hours. The first plan is priced at Rs 2 and offers 100MB data, the second plan costs Rs 10 and offers 500MB data, whereas the third plan is priced at Rs 20 and comes bundled with 1GB data. Users can go to the local tea stalls and bakeries to buy the token for the respective plans.

There is no need to download any app – users just need select the available Wifi network, punch in their mobile number, verify via OTP, punch in the key and connect to the internet. Wifi Dabba is a licensed internet service provider that offers data using small routers that are powered by fiber optics.

In comparison, Reliance Jio has a Rs 52 pack that offers 1.05GB data with a validity of 7 days. However, there is a daily FUP cap on the usage at 150MB. It is also important to note that Jio is a cellular service provider, whereas Wifi Dabba is offering its services via local shops that act as Wifi hotspots.

This one’s a complete no-no if you don’t want another reason to be hooked to your smartphone. There’s a new quiz app going viral among teens that’s definitely not suitable for work. Why? Well, because you are likely to miss your daily targets. FriendO essentially allows users to compete in “quizzes” to find out who their “real friends” are. If I may say, this is like those BuzzFeed quizzes, but only more intense.

Basically, the app has “categories” based on which friends can quiz each other. These categories include favorite foods, sports or personality traits. One after the other, users can take turns answering questions about each other, and according to how they perform, they’re ranked in an in-app leaderboard, which shows their scores. Though not available on the Indian App Store, FriendO has been topping charts in the US.

The app description on the app store reads, “See if Johnny really knows what you like to eat, or if Becca really knows your favorite sports team. Only real friends will move up each others’ FriendO ranking board!” While there are some open common categories, other can be unlocked by inviting three friends to join the app. Though, do note that the app asks for a 13 years or older age limit.

Reason why the age limit if it is aimed at the teen? Well, as Mashable reports it also has a category called “MSFK” — short for marry, sex, friend, kill. Another R-rated category, simply called “dirty,” has questions like “In bed, I am..” and “if forced to, I’d rather watch a gross porno starring…”.

It’s not clear who is behind the app. FriendO’s website is little more than a landing page with links to its iOS and Android apps, as well as terms of service. A link to the app’s blog returns an error message.

Indian instant messaging application Hike on Wednesday partnered with Airtel Payments Bank to power its digital payment wallet. “We’re on track of over five million transactions this month (November) from services such as recharge and P2P.

“We’re excited and we look forward to working with Airtel on supporting this effort to bring more Indians online and enable easy transactional services for them,” Pathik Shah, Vice President, Product, Hike Messenger, said in a statement.

As per the collaboration, Hike messenger users will have access to Airtel Payments Bank’s merchant and utility payment services and KYC infrastructure. The messaging platform has over 100 million registered users. It is growing by over 30 per cent month-on-month (MoM). “We are delighted to partner with Hike to build a world-class digital payments ecosystem by leveraging our digital banking infrastructure,” said A. Ganesh, Chief Operating Officer, Airtel Payments Bank.

In September, Airtel Payments Bank integrated the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its digital platform that gave its users convenience of making secure digital payments to online/offline merchants and making instant money transfers to any bank account in India. At present, Hike — a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank Corp — is handling over 10 billion messages and three billion stickers per month.

If you have been doing all the NSFW things in office thinking the Google Chrome’s incognito will save you, you may need to rethink your strategy. As it turns out, while Chrome’s incognito mode is claimed to be private, it can still be accessed by your employer.

Google Developer, Darin Fisher, who helped create Chrome, told online mag Thrillist, “When you launch the incognito tab there’s this disclaimer there where we really try to help make it really clear to people that your activity is certainly still visible to the websites you visit and could be visible to your employer, to your school, and to your ISP [internet service provider] of course”. You never really read that disclaimer, did you? It’s fine, none of us did.

In fact, if you open the incognito window now, you will see that beside the warning of your activity is visible to your employee or school, the disclaimer also reads that your activity “might still be visible to” the websites you visit, “including the ads and resources used on those sites”. It also warns that “Pages that you view in incognito tabs won’t stick around in your browser’s history, cookie store or search history after you’ve closed all of your incognito tabs.”

“Any files you download or bookmarks you create will be kept. However, you aren’t invisible. Going incognito doesn’t hide your browsing from your employer, your Internet service provider or the websites that you visit.”

Incognito is instead recommended for avoiding unwanted cookies and keeping web use secret from other users of the same device, Fisher told Thrillist. Fisher also revealed that Google struggled and was “agonized” over the name for Incognito that didn’t oversell the limited privacy that the mode provides. (Smart!)

This essentially means, if you are using your school, college or office computer systems, you can well enough use incognito to avoid cookies and search history, but do not expect no one to know what you searched there, because they can and probably will!

After going off from Google Play Store for more than a week, Alibaba-owned content aggregation platform UCWeb said on Wednesday that a new version of its UC Browser is now available on Play Store. The app was de-listed from Google Play store reportedly on data security issues, which the company later denied. The new version is available for users with updated technical settings strictly in line with Google Play’s policy, the company said in a statement.

“During the brief absence of UC Browser on Play Store, we continued to meticulously check our technical settings while also witnessing an uninterrupted passion of our users for the product, who looked upon the alternative version, UC Browser Mini, and made it to the top of ‘Free Apps’ category on the Play Store,” said Young Li, Head-International Business Department at Alibaba Mobile Business Group.

With a user base share of 45 percent, UC Browser has become the most popular browser in India in terms of Internet usage on mobile platform, followed by Google Chrome, the company claimed. UC Browser has crossed 500 million downloads on Google Play Store. Last week, UCWeb dismissed reports that Google removed its app from its Play Store over data security concerns.

“The exact reason for UC Browser’s unavailability on Google Play is because of a certain setting of UC Browser that was not in line with Google’s policy. The reason for the removal has nothing to do with alleged data security breach or malicious promotion,” a UCWeb spokesperson had told IANS.

“We would like to state that we have no records of anyone named ‘Mike Ross’ claiming to be working for UC Browser, as mentioned in some reports. The person claiming to be working for UC Browser is in no way associated with the firm nor represents the views of the company,” the spokesperson added.

“The allegations of misleading and malicious promotions by the said person are completely false and baseless. UC Browser new product package will be back on Google Play next week and, in the interim, users and partners can download the product from our website http://www.ucweb.com,” the company said.

When contacted, Google said in a statement: “Our policies are designed to provide a safe and positive experience for users. That’s why we remove apps from Google Play that violate those policies.” In January this year, Alibaba announced a Rs 2 billion investment to build UCWeb in India and Indonesia over the next two years.

Xiaomi India teased a new product launch recently. Most guesses hinted at a smartphone. Instead, Xiaomi actually launched a new Mi Power Bank 2i in India today. The Mi Power Bank 2i comes in two models – 10,000mAh and 20,000mAh priced at Rs 799 and Rs 1,499, respectively. The Mi Power Bank 2i will go on sale on November 23 at 12:00PM exclusively via Mi.com and through its offline Mi Home stores.

Xiaomi’s recent teaser included just the letter “i” preceded with the tricolor. The “i” here stands for the Mi Power Bank 2i and the tricolor represents the company’s “Make in India” initiative. The Mi Power Bank 2i is manufactured at Xiaomi’s new manufacturing facility in Noida. It is also Xiaomi’s first accessory made in India. The Mi Power Bank 2i is available in two color options of black and white and measures 149.5 x 69.6 x 23.9mm.

The 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support on one of its ports. It also comes with dual-USB output which allows you to charge two devices at the same time. When only a single port is used for charging, the Mi Power Bank 2i will initiate Quick Charge 3.0, provided it is supported by the smartphone. When the dual-USB output is used, the Mi Power Bank 2i is said to adjust power output according to the device capacity.

Xiaomi says that with two devices charging, one can expect up to 5.1V/3.6A dual output. It is also optimized for low power charging of devices like Bluetooth headsets and fitness bands. You can double press the power button to start 2-hour low power charging on the Mi Power Bank 2i.

The 10,000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i also comes with dual-USB output, but it doesn’t support Quick Charge 3.0. This model is also equipped with low-power charging mode. It features an anodized aluminum alloy case which is claimed to withstand collisions and impacts. The anodized finish is also said to be resistant to sweat, corrosion and daily wear. In terms of power capacity, the 10,000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i offers an actual output capacity of 6,500mAh and conversion rate of over 90 percent.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Monday that Aadhaar data is completely safe and secure. Aadhaar number, it said, is not a secret number and it is to be shared with authorized agencies if one wishes to avail a certain service or benefit of government welfare schemes or other services.

“Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and there has been no data leak or breach at UIDAI,” the authority said in response to a report based on RTI that 210 government website made Aadhaar information public. “There was no breach or leakage of Aadhaar data from UIDAI database or server…,” it said in a statement.

The UIDAI had said in the RTI reply that it “found that approximately 210 websites of central government, state government departments including educational institutes were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public”.

UIDAI said the data which was placed in the public domain as a measure of proactive disclosure under the RTI Act by the government and institutional websites included beneficiaries’ name, address, bank account and other details including Aadhaar number. It was collected from the third party and users for various welfare schemes.

The authority said it acted promptly on the report, and both the UIDAI and ministry of electronics and IT directed the government departments and the ministries concerned to immediately remove the data from their websites and ensure that such violation does not occur in the future.

“Certain other measures were also taken at various levels to ensure that such incidents of display of Aadhaar numbers do not take place. Following UIDAI’s action such data were removed from these websites immediately,” the statement said.

Last year Apple decided to get done with the headphone jack, and this year the likes of Pixel 2 duo followed course. And the two companies didn’t just make it inconvenient to listen to music on the smartphones, but they also made it expensive with the AirPods, and the Pixel Buds. While the iPhone 7 and beyond still have no option but to go for either another true wireless earphone or one that connects via the lightning port, there may be good news for other smartphones that come with a USB-C jack. Razer has released a new pair of USB-C buds called the Razer Hammerhead USB-C, which may be an option you could consider for your 3.5mm port-less phone.

Although, these headphones are made to match the Razer Phone, you can easily plug them into any other device that has a USB-C jack. The earbuds are fitted with 10-mm drivers, and acoustic chambers to deliver “deep, distortion-free bass,” according to the company.

Further, the Razer Hammerheads include an in-line remote and mic along a flat cable, which is meant to reduce the irksome tangling of the chords. They’re also magnetic, so you can snap them together when not in use. The buds come in a neon green and black color. It comes along a custom carry case and is available for $79.99 (Rs 5,200 approximately) from the Razer store, joining the Bluetooth and Lightning versions released earlier this year.

Although not an ideal comparison, with the Google Pixel Buds being wireless, but for someone who wants an earphone for their Pixel 2 smartphones, that also fits their budget, the Razer Hammerheads is an option. For perspective, it is pertinent to mention, that as opposed to the almost $80 price tag of the Razer earbuds, the Pixel Buds are priced almost double at $159 (Rs 10,000 approximately).

There is a large group of scientists working on ways to increase human life expectancy, and researching alternate planets for the mankind to shift to. But at the same time there is also a large group that has been calculating the Armageddon. The latest of which is a thirteen year research of some NASAscientists who have found that an asteroid named Apophis may collide with the Earth in 2036, resulting in the extinction of human and other species.

NASA says that it has recalculated the path of a large asteroid, and the refined path indicates that it may collide with Earth in 2036 resulting in massive destruction. “Apophis has been one of those celestial bodies that has captured the public’s interest since it was discovered in 2004,” said NASA’s Steve Chesley. “Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million.”

The information provided a more accurate glimpse of Apophis’ orbit well into the latter part of this century. Among the findings is another close encounter by the asteroid with Earth in 2068 with chance of impact currently at approximately three-in-a-million. As with earlier orbital estimates where Earth impacts in 2029 and 2036 could not initially be ruled out due to the need for additional data, it is expected that the 2068 encounter will diminish in probability as more information about Apophis is acquired.

Based on earlier calculations, Apophis was thought to have a 2.7 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2029. Additional observations of the asteriod ruled out any possibility of an impact in 2029. However, the asteroid is expected to make a record-setting — but harmless — close approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, when it comes no closer than 18,300 miles above Earth’s surface.

“The refined orbital determination further reinforces that Apophis is an asteroid we can look to as an opportunity for exciting science and not something that should be feared,” said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL.

The rumors around Samsung’s foldable smartphone are showing no signs of slowing down. But this time around making things official is none other than Samsung itself. The Galaxy X smartphone was spotted on Samsung’s own website.

The Galaxy X with model number SM-G888N0 was spotted in the support section of Samsung’s Korean website. The listing was first spotted by LetsGoDigital. According to Forbes, the ‘888’ model number has already been spotted before, but the ‘N0’ in the model number suggests that the company is working on a foldable Android smartphone. The smartphone (Galaxy X), is expected to launch in the South Korean market soon. However, the support page doesn’t reveal much detail about the upcoming smartphone.

The Galaxy X has been subjected to many leaks, including renders that show what the device could look like. To begin with, the smartphone recently received Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi Alliance certification. The smartphone is expected to come with a flexible display, as revealed in the patents. The secondary display is expected to turn on when the smartphone is folded. The bendable section will be through the middle.Rumors also suggest that Samsung might launch the smartphone as a limited edition with just 100,000 units up for grabs. Reports also state that the device will be sold exclusively in the Korean market. The Galaxy X could be unveiled at CES 2018.

In the meanwhile, Samsung is also working on SM-W2018 flip phone, which is said to come with a dual-screen display and a metal unibody design. On the specifications front, the smartphone is expected to feature two dual 4.2-inch full HD displays, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB and 6GB of RAM options, and 64GB of internal storage. There is also likely to be a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel camera for selfies.

If reports are to be believed, Apple is going to pull a never-before trick very soon. If you are asked, what is that one feature you never expect to come to Apple iPhone, what would it be? Wouldn’t dual-SIM support strike your mind? Well, reportedly, Apple is planning on bringing dual-SIM support to the future iPhones.

Famous analyst Ming-Chi Kuo yesterday made a big revelation in a report that next year’s iPhones will have pre-5G speeds, and that Apple will utilize both Intel and Qualcomm modems to achieve faster data speeds. However, buried in the same report was another revelation, which read that at least of one 2018 iPhones will come with built-in dual-SIM card support.

Kuo believes that one of next year’s iPhones will support dual-SIM cards, with both of slots ready to deliver 4G LTE speeds. “2H18 iPhone models won’t only offer faster LTE transmission speed: We predict that at least one of the 2H18 new iPhone models will support dual-SIM dual standby (DSDS),” Kuo predicts, per MacRumors.

“Unlike existing DSDS phones, which commonly support LTE+3G connections, we believe next-generation iPhone models will support LTE+LTE connections, in a bid to enhance the user experience.”

Beside the upgraded modems and dual-SIM support, it has also been predicted that the future iPhones will all support Face ID as a feature to unlock the iPhones. Kuo says that Apple believes including Face ID on its iPhones will give it a competitive edge over Android rivals. “We predict all new 2H18F iPhone models will likely abandon fingerprint recognition. We believe this change will allow all new models to realize a competitive advantage via differentiation, on the back of an integrated user experience of full-screen design and TrueDepth Camera/ Facial recognition/ Face ID/ AR applications,” the note reads.

It was three years ago that China-based Xiaomi entered the Indian smartphone market, and took it by storm with its affordable products. The company recently bagged the top smartphone maker position (along with Samsung) in the country, and attributes a significant chunk of its success to not only balancing features and price right, but also to its commitment to the Make in India initiative by the government.

In continuation of the initiative, Xiaomi today announced its third manufacturing plant in India. The plant is also the company’s first non-smartphone unit, and currently assembles powerbanks. “The most searched brand for power banks is Xiaomi,” claims Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India, who addressed the media during an industrial tour of the new manufacturing unit in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

“Xiaomi India has seen exponential growth in India and today it enjoys market leadership in the smartphone segment. I believe a key reason for our success in the smartphone segment has been our commitment to India,” Jain said. Currently, 95 percent of Xiaomi’s smartphones sold in India are assembled locally.

Jain further added, “We spoke to the team at Hipad Technology a year back, and encouraged them to look at the Indian market to set up a Power Bank facility. Hipad is our partner in China for power banks and their constant support has helped Xiaomi become the most popular power bank brand in the world. We thought with the growing market size of power banks in India, it is important that we bring our manufacturing partners to India to provide Mi Fans a truly localized product and extend our commitment to Make in India.”

The company recently teased a new product through social media, and today it took the wraps off a new line of Xiaomi powerbanks. It introduced the Xiaomi Mi Powerbank 2i (‘i’ referring to designed and made in India). The powerbank is available in two capacities – 10,000mAh priced at Rs 799, and 20,000mAh priced at Rs 1,499. As Jain says, these have been designed, and priced based on the feedback of Mi fans community.

Both models support dual-USB output, and feature aluminum metal casing with a double anodized surface. Unlike regular powerbanks that feature a couple of A4 size batteries, the Mi Powerbank 2i comes with lithium polymer batteries, encased in a 14.2mm slim form factor.

Talking about the new manufacturing unit, Jain said that the facility is spread over 2.3 lakh square feet with a starting production capacity of seven powerbanks per minute. This facility is in addition to two smartphone manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh. BGR India visited the facility on Xiaomi’s invitation, and observed how the company puts something like a powerbank undergo nine levels of product testing, and three layers of process inspection at each stage.

At the raw material/ component stage, the company does random sampling, and tests them for quality. If there are discrepancies, the entire batch is rejected. Even before the final product is packaged, sampling is done to ensure there are no quality issues.

Interestingly, when Jain talked about Xiaomi being the top-most brand which people search for online when it comes to powerbanks, he also revealed that the second-most popular brand is possibly ‘Fake Xiaomi’. Given the visible similarities between the genuine and knockoff powerbanks, people are often duped into paying for the counterfeit models.

However, Jain described an easy way to distinguish between a genuine and counterfeit Xiaomi powerbank. All that you need to do is look for the special Xiaomi hologram on the outer packaging. Upon scratching the hologram, you can see a code which can be cross-checked for authenticity at Xiaomi’s website. If you do end up purchasing a fake Xiaomi powerbank, you could immediately bring it to the company’s notice. While this is a very small feature, having a similar checkpoint for other products in the Xiaomi portfolio might help curb counterfeiting menace in the industry. Without confirming if such holograms will also extend to other products, Jain did say that while there is no plan right now, the company may look at incorporating the basic yet useful feature like hologram to identify genuine Xiaomi products.