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Tech

The Smartphones of the Future: The Out-of-This-World Shapes That Our Beloved Gadgets May Have in the Near Future

Regardless of how much we love our smartphones, we all need to admit that the vast majority of them look pretty much the same. Otherwise, we have good reasons to love our smartphones, considering that these gadgets are capable of numerous tasks such as waking us up in the morning, showing us the calendar, giving us the opportunity to take notes, taking photos, recording videos, scrolling through social media, and so on and so forth. 

Of course, some smartphones have the volume buttons placed in different places, as well as the ports for headphones and chargers and so on and so forth. Smartphones are a huge trend now in 2024, considering that it’s very hard to find a person who doesn’t have one. Whether we’re talking about elders, adults, teenagers, children, or even toddlers, they all have smartphones these days. But soon enough, in just a few years, we may all witness a radical change in the appearance of smartphones, not to mention that they will probably be a lot more powerful than they already are. Let’s speak about some of those possible changes, shall we?

Foldable and rollable displays

Perhaps each of us has to admit that one of the most interesting developments in smartphone design is the emergence of foldable and rollable displays. Considering the advancements in flexible OLED technology, manufacturers have begun experimenting with devices that can transition between a compact form factor and a larger display that looks more like a tablet. How about imagining a smartphone that falls out into a full-sized screen for exciting multimedia experiences and then falls back into a normal size that would make the device fit very well into a pocket? In a similar way, rollable displays offer the possibility for devices to expand or retract, adapting to the needs of the user. 

Holographic and transparent designs:

It’s true that this point holographic and transparent smartphones sound more like science fiction scenarios, but recent advances in augmented reality as well as transparent display technology are bringing that concept. How about imagining a smartphone that projects holographic images and interactive virtual elements into the world we all see today? Transparent smartphones, on the other hand, could offer us a glimpse into the inner mechanisms of the device, showing its components to anyone who is curious enough to look. 

Curved and wraparound displays:

While curved displays have already made their Mark in the smartphone industry, if we look ahead, we can realize that designers are exploring the possibilities of wrap-around displays that extend beyond the front-facing surface of the device. Such wraparound screens could incorporate secondary displays on the sides or back of the smartphone, providing extra functionality such as quick access to notifications, interactive controls, and shortcuts. Such scenarios come true in the near future, and we believe that the odds are pretty high they will redefine how we interact with our smartphones,

Could we even imagine our life without a smartphone? Could we live without one? Smartphones these days are even more popular than computers such as laptops or desktop PCs and a lot of folks all there are seriously addicted to these portable devices. We should be the ones owning smartphones not vice versa.

Categories
Finance

Google Temporary Hold: Everything You Need to Know

From time to time, Google chooses to block certain amounts of money from its users’ accounts for a limited time. While the situation can indeed be frustrating, it’s all part of Google’s strategy to overcome fraudulent schemes. It’s also known as a temporary hold.

Google temporary hold won’t cause users any more frustration as soon as the money transfer gets completed. If not, a notification will inform them about the situation, which means that you must remain patient if you’re among those who have run into such a situation. The Google temporary hold can last for up to 10 workdays.

Beware of the zero payment error!

You will need to update your account details on Google Play or the bank card data in case a zero payment error kicks in. Google might need to impose extra verification, or it may demand confirmation from the recipient in order to finish the transaction.

The money will even go back to the sender’s bank account in case a dispute takes place, and such situations will get resolved relatively fast.

How does Google Temporary Hold work

Let’s say you try to pay at a terminal through Google Pay, without success. Then, a notification informing you about a Google temporary hold notification is received on your smartphone. Even wrong bank account details could generate such a problem. In other words, you should always make sure that all of your data is entered in the correct way. Otherwise, errors will occur and cause a lot of frustration.

If you link your bank card to Google Pay and you try to make a transaction, the money might not be debited from your account. In such a case, it’s a good idea to seek help from the support service where you can explain your situation. Usually, those guys are very willing to help out their customers.

Google Pay is a payment method established over a decade ago, in 2011, and it allows users to pay online, in stores, or send money to someone else. You can use Google Pay from a smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch.

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News Tech

Google Shuts Down Budget Google Pixel Slate Tablets Line

The Celeron-powered Google Pixel Slate tablets have been removed from the Google Store after being available for a limited time on the website. The two models, which have been out of stock in recent months, were exclusive to the Google Store. The delisting is a clear hint that Google decided to kill the line, a move which shouldn’t be surprising since they didn’t enjoy a good reputation.

Budget Google Pixel Slate line shut down by Google

With a price of $599 and $699, these versions of the Google Pixel Slate line offered an affordable alternative to the iPad. The more expensive versions were appreciated by a large number of reviewers and customers. However, many customers complained that the Celeron iteration offered a horrible users experience. The range is powered by Chrome OS, and the experience has been described as being laggy in the case of the Celeron versions.

The strongest advantages of the device were the build quality and hardware feature. The power button featured a built-in fingerprint sensor, allowing users to unlock their device instantly. The keyboard accessory received a large amount of praise since the smart use of magnets means that you can choose an excellent angle for the display without the need to rely on a few rigid variations.

High-end Google Pixel Slate models are still available

A high-quality 12.3-ich Molecular Display offered a great pixel density of the 293 pixels per inch. Prospective customers can choose between several performance options, with the ceiling being represented by an 8th Generation Intel i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM.

On the media side, an 8MP sensor with Full HD capability is featured on the rear while an 8MP dual camera setup delivers decent selfies. The setup includes a pair of dual front speakers, two USB-C ports, the fingerprint sensor which was mentioned before and a 48Wh battery. The most affordable version offered by Google after the cull is the 8th GEN Intel M3, with a starting price tag of $799.

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News Tech

Google Sticks To Its Plan To Remove Chrome Ad-Blockers

Google had a tentative of dismissing the APIs that content blocking extensions and Chrome ad-blockers utilize, just a couple of months back. The planned reinstatement API would not have the same capacities, and would not be as powerful, so users and developers hugely complained about it. However, Google is not quite minding the complains and stand firm in their decision.

The actual platform utilized by Chrome extensions is known as Manifest V2, and it was rolled out back in 2012. The tech giant has been developing Manifest V3 for some time now, and it will come with new functionality and changes to the current browser characteristics.

The adjustment that has got the most negative complains was the company’s plan to replace the current WebRequest API, utilized by each content blocking extension, with a much more restricted declarativeNetRequest API. Rather than extensions managing the network filtering, they would offer a filter list that Chrome will then analyze. Numerous developers, most prominently the designer of uBlock Origin and uMatrix openly went against the planned changes.

Google Sticks To Its Plan To Remove Chrome Ad-Blockers

Google has allegedly rethought the plan in the last months, but in no small measure, the tech giant is sticking to the initial plan. A developer advocate at Google said in a forum post that Chrome is depreciating the blocking abilities of the webRequest API in Manifest V3, but not of the whole webRequest API, but still, blocking will still be on to operate distributions. Put differently, content blockers will eventually need to transfer to the new restricted API, or they will stop functioning for regular users.

Google has then revealed the outlines of the optimizations it has created to the new declarativeNetRequest API since the first time it was rolled out. Extensions will be accessible to delimit blocking rules in two paths, namely while installing and while operating. The limit is 30,000 during installation at the moment, and 50,000 while working.

Google stated in a forum post that they are planning to move up these numbers, but they won’t have updated values until they can run performance trials to discover a great upper bound that will function across all supported devices. To make it simpler to understand how the restriction might impact the ad blockers, imagine that EasyList has about 76,000 rules at the moment. These adjustments will most probably not satisfy users who are using ad blockers at the moment, but the Manifest V3 is still a long way until it will roll out, and Manifest V2 won’t be removed for one more year for two.

Categories
News Tech

Google I/O 2019 Keynote Goes Live Today: What to Expect From This Year’s Event?

Today, Google’s conference for developers known as Google I/O will begin, revealing their new tech and initiative. While a few years earlier Google was only showcasing new tech, starting with 2016, it has shifted into a slightly different perspective.

It began with integrating Google devices into homes, continued with the arrival and development of AI, and last year it even ended with recommending people to use its products less.

We all remember the “Digital Wellbeing” initiative from CEO Sundar Pichai’s keynote in 2018. It was that moment when we all realized that the developers’ conference has shifted towards the public, showing the world how the company wants to be seen:

It’s clear technology can be a positive force, but it’s equally clear that we can’t just be wide-eyed at the innovations technology creates. Now the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately, and we feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right.

Google I/O in 2019 – May 7 – 9

This year, Google will surely announce more smart devices, Assistant should be improved, and AI could migrate to more devices. We will also see home devices, such as Nest Hub Max smart display, being revealed.

The Android operating system should also be part of this event. Android Q will be the star of the event, and so should be the new Pixel 3A and 3A XL phones, which have already been leaked.

We will certainly learn more about the Stadia gaming service as well.

While last year we had “Digital Wellbeing,” Google could make this year be one where they assure the public and fans that they’re a reliable and responsible company. Now let’s see how we can watch the event which will start today and end on May 9.

The event is taking place in Mountain View, California, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The most important piece should be the keynote which will begin at 10 am PT (1 pm ET).

If you want to see all of this and more, check out the next links where you can watch the event live.

Keynote starts at: New York: 1 pm, San Francisco: 10 pm, London: 6 pm, Berlin: 7 pm, Moscow: 8 pm, New Delhi: 10:30 pm, Beijing: 1 am (May 8), Tokyo: 2 am (May 8), Melbourne: 3 am (May 8).

The event will soon begin, and you can watch it live on the Google website or their YouTube Channel.

Check back here for more important updates and our new coverage of the event.

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