Quick Shots-23

SpaceX Shows Off Beautiful Dome for Next Month’s Space Tourists

SpaceX has made an exciting new modification to its Crew Dragon spacecraft that will carry the first all-civilian astronaut crew around the Earth later this month.

The capsule was outfitted with a “Cupola,” which Musk described as a “glass dome” in a tweet earlier this year, that will offer the crew of four an unparalleled look at the Earth — and the space beyond it — from hundreds of miles off its surface.

Since the capsule won’t be docking with the International Space Station, it didn’t need the extra docking mechanism on its nose cone, meaning these private space travelers will get a special treat on top of an already once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Read More at Futurism

Apple delays controversial child protection features after privacy outcry

Apple is delaying its child protection features announced last month, including a controversial feature that would scan users’ photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), following intense criticism that the changes could diminish user privacy. The changes had been scheduled to roll out later this year.

“Last month we announced plans for features intended to help protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them, and limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material,” Apple said in a statement to The Verge. “Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features.”

Read More at The Verge

Microsoft Surface Go 3 specs leak ahead of September 22 event

A Microsoft Surface hardware event is taking place on September 22 at 11 AM ET time as confirmed by the company earlier this week and we now have a detailed spec leak on one of the possible new devices said to arrive thanks to the folks over at WinFuture.de.

The Microsoft Surface Go 3 will allegedly bring the same 10.5-inch form factor like its predecessor with a magnesium alloy casing and optional keyboard cover.

The big change is said to come under the hood where we should see Intel’s tenth generation Amber Lake Y CPUs at the helm. The base version Surface Go 3 which was spotted in a Geekbench 4 listing last month uses the Pentium Gold 6500Y chip paired with 4GB RAM. The more expensive model will utilize Intel’s Core i3-10100Y SoC which has a base clock speed of 1.3 GHz and can boost up all the way to 3.9 GHz depending on the task at hand. This version will be joined by 8GB RAM.

Read More at Gsmarena

Samsung’s next-gen budget Android phones could get a much-needed camera upgrade

Samsung has decided to finally bring optical image stabilization (OIS) to its budget-friendly Galaxy A series phones, according to a report from The Elec. The South Korean publication claims the company’s entire Galaxy A series lineup will come equipped with OIS next year.

Until last year, OIS was largely limited to Samsung’s flagship phones. In 2021, however, the company launched a handful of Galaxy A series phones with OIS. Currently, the most affordable Samsung phone with OIS is the 4G-only variant of the Galaxy A22. The Galaxy A52 5G and Galaxy A72, which are two of Samsung’s best Android phones in the mid-range segment, also offer OIS.

Optical image stabilization allows the camera to capture sharp and clear photos by detecting movement using a gyroscope and adjusting the lens accordingly. What remains to be seen is whether the addition of OIS will lead to an increase in the prices of Samsung budget phones.

Read More at Android Central

You can get a JioPhone Next by paying just Rs.500 – here’s how

When Reliance Industries group chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that the company would launch a JioPhone Next smartphone at their annual shareholders’ meeting earlier this year, mobile phone users in India sat up and took notice. 

Because, in a similar development that marked the company’s initial entry into the telecom business, Reliance had offered a basic phone along with their mobile service that was launched on December 28, 2002. The day was significant because it also marked the 70th birthday of the company’s founder Dhirubhai Ambani. 

Read More at Techradar

Amazon reportedly close to launching its own TV in the US

Amazon plans to roll out a self-branded TV in the US as early as October, Business Insider reported Thursday. The TVs, expected to be big-screen models in the range of 55 to 75 inches, will include compatibility with the company’s Alexa voice assistant, the news outlet said, citing unidentified sources.

The US launch has been in the works for nearly two years and involves the company’s Amazon Devices and Lab126 divisions, BI said.

Read More at Cnet

Google seeks to raise the bar on its Wear OS 3 – also sets a timeline

Barely a month-and-a-half after announcing that a new unified smartwatch platform called the Wear OS 3.0 was arriving, Google has taken steps to ensure that apps that running on its  operating system provides a user experience that customers can rave about. The Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch could be the first to run the new software. 

Of course, one isn’t sure what could be the experience once more users get on to the new OS in the months ahead. What Google has done though is to ensure that it covered the bases by introducing updated app quality guidelinesfor the Wear OS 3.

Read More at Techradar

Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro bring Qualcomm chipset, 30-hour playback time

Alongside the brand new Redmi 10 Prime, Xiaomi India introduced the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro – the latest affordable TWS earbuds in the Mi family. They bring Qualcomm’s QCC3040 chipset with aptX Adaptive codec support over Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity.

The new Earbuds 3 Pro pack dual balanced armature drivers for naturally balanced sound output and offer multi-functional touch controls and smart wear detection. There’s a fast pairing option for MIUI devices while other Android and iOS phones will have to connect via the Bluetooth menu.

The buds are IPX4 splash-proof and pack a 600 mAh battery which should last you 30 hours of continuous usage. Charging is handled via the USB-C port.

Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro retail for INR 2,999 and first sales open on September 9.

Read More at Gsmarena

Google Drive finally lets you save any file type offline in your browser

Google made it possible to save any file type offline in Drive’s web client way back in 2019. However, it’s been limited to G Suite users for over two years as it languished in beta hell. Starting today, it’s officially a feature anyone can use with their backed-up content.

Once this update hits your account, you can mark any file type in Drive with offline status right from the web browser, negating the need to download a document or use Google’s desktop software. Docs, Sheets, and Slides files already supported offline viewing and edits, but now you can add PDFs, Word files, and images to the mix.

Read More at Android Police

Amazon to remove more content that violates rules from cloud service, sources say

Amazon.com Inc plans to take a more proactive approach to determine what types of content violate its cloud service policies, such as rules against promoting violence, and enforce its removal, according to two sources, a move likely to renew debate about how much power tech companies should have to restrict free speech.

Over the coming months, Amazon will hire a small group of people in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division to develop expertise and work with outside researchers to monitor for future threats, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

Read More at Reuters