Latest Tech News

If there had been no global Covid-19 pandemic, the much talked about Google Pixel 4a would have been in the market by now. Of course, the launch event was inevitably put off with Google not committing itself to any specific date for its launch, leading to a lot of market rumours. 

Among the speculation was that Google had also canceled the larger Pixel 4a XL model and switched to a generic Pixel 4a model.

Pixel 4a received a vote of confidence from Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who recently said that his company was "super committed" to the beleaguered hardware division, that has seen less-than-expected sales of its flagship smartphones. 

Amidst all these, comes the tip off that the Google Pixel 4a launch event may not be anytime soon. According to Tech Analyst Jon Prosser, the release date has been pushed to July 13 - a good two months later than originally planned.  

Google is, of course, still to confirm or deny the claim.

Prosser, in his tweet, also speculated that Pixel 4a is ready for delivery, but Google may just be holding back.

Apparently, Google wants to decide the date of release based on market analysis. It doesn't want to Pixel 4a to arrive to a lukewarm response, especially considering the fact that the general market conditions as they exist today are not very buoyant. 

In another significant claim, Prosser said that the Pixel 4a will not support 5G networks. This feature is reserved for the flagship Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL. 

Google Pixel 4a is rumoured to be priced at $ 349 in the US, with the expectation that it would be available in two colours --- “pure black” and new “naked blue”. Apparently, the “transparent white” colour option is dropped.

Reports coming through leaks and other forms in the build-up to the launch suggests that the Pixel 4a is equipped with a 5.8-inch OLED display with a thinner bezel and perforated design, something which  Google has not tried previously on it design.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 is the chipset inside Google Pixel 4a --- Pixel 3a was powered by Snapdragon 670. So there should be a significant performance boost.

Reports also have it that the device comes standard with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The complete package will be a 3,080mAh battery and support 18W fast charging. Although Android 11 should be launched shortly, it seems Pixel 4a would arrive with the existing Android 10.

• Google Pixel 4a could be cheaper than the iPhone SE and Pixel 3a - and offer more
• Google Pixel 4a leak shows how powerful it'll be with 6GB of RAM

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A second stimulus check from the IRS? What is going on with Round 2 - CNET

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Latest Tech News

With working from home made compulsory for many of due to the ongoing pandemic, a decent hard-edge router has never been more important - especially as ISP offerings often deliver notoriously poor performance.

Enter the Xiaomi AX1800 router, the most affordable Wi-Fi 6 router out there right now. Gearbest sells it for a jaw-droppingly low $65.99 (£56.37/AU$106.75) using a $2 coupon, which is less than most Wi-Fi 5 (AKA 802.11ac) models cost.

This Mi Router 802.11ax router is powered by two processors; the first is the Qualcomm IPQ6000 with four cores and the second a dedicated NPU with one core clocked at 1.5GHz. It also comes with four GbE ports, support for mesh networking and can connect to up to 128 devices concurrently.

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The AX1800 features four independent signal amplifiers and supports ODFMA technology for more efficient transmission. As expected, it runs the MiWiFi operating system (based on OpenWRT), which can be managed via the router’s web admin interface.

The funky pillar-shaped device ships with a user manual, an Ethernet cable and power supply.

If you're looking for something even cheaper, there’s the Xiaomi Redmi AC2100 Gigabit router, which retails for a mere $45.50 (£37.86/AU$71.58). Just bear in mind, Xiaomi has likely used Chinese in the backend for both routers, so you might have to break out Google Translate.

Note, while Gearbest ships to most territories worldwide via expedited shipping, you may be levied additional charges and fees by customs. Exact prices will also vary region by region depending on the day’s exchange rate.

• Here's our list of the best mobile hotspots on the market

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Get healthy fish all year round, no matter where you live.

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Harley-Davidson plans to save itself by selling fewer bikes, report says - CNET

The company is planning on moving to a more exclusive, boutiquelike model in the same vein as Ferrari.

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NASA renames space telescope after Nancy Grace Roman, trailblazing astronomer - CNET

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The Samsung Galaxy Book S with the Intel Lakefield CPU appears to finally be on its way, according to a new leak, and it's apparently been outed by... Samsung itself.

The Book S with an Intel Lakefield Core i5-L16G7 chip was spotted on the Samsung Canada online store, according to NotebookCheck. It backs up a Hexus report from October that first claimed Samsung was making an Lakefield model of its pro tablet.

This means we'll likely see the new Samsung Galaxy Book S in the wild very soon and it may take the mantle as first x86 with Lakefield device. Microsoft's Surface Neo was slated to be the first x86-based Lakefield device, but that's now rumored to be delayed until 2021.

Available in both Mercury Gray and Earthy Gold, this Lakefield Galaxy Book S will be a 13-inch model with the same specs as the already existing Snapdragon 8cx model. It will have the same 8GB memory, the 256GB and 512GB storage options, a 13.3-inch touch display and a 42Wh battery.

However, the Lakefield model won’t have LTE connectivity and will have a shorter battery life of only 17 hours on a single charge (next to its ARM-based counterpart’s 25 hours). At least, it will have Wi-Fi 6 support, which is faster than the 8cx model’s Wi-Fi 5.

Other specs revealed about the Lakefield Galaxy Book S include a fingerprint reader on the power button, two USB Type-C ports, a microSD card reader, a combo audio jack, 1MP camera and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. It will also run on Windows 10 Home.

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Advantages over Snapdragon 8cx

Performance-wise, we just have to wait and see how it will measure up to its 8cx counterpart. A newer chip, the i5-L16G7 may have a performance comparable, if only slightly better, to the Snapdragon 835, based on a leaked benchmark. Next to the Snapdragon 8cx, it only has a minimal single-core performance advantage and has nothing on the 8cx when it comes to multi-core performance.

With a lower performance and a shorter battery life, one thing that could convince folks to opt for this Lakefield model is a more affordable price tag. Unfortunately, the leaked specs did not pinpoint pricing or availability.

It should also be a practical option for users who rely on x86-64 apps. While the ARM implementation can run these apps via emulation, this Lakefield model should have better Windows app support, so users no longer have to jump through hoops to use their favorite x86-64 apps.

When the Intel Lakefield-powered Galaxy Book S will be out in the wild is anybody’s guess. But, it certainly won’t be long now.

• Intel 12th-gen CPUs could beat AMD by bringing Lakefield feature to desktop

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Latest Tech News

A group of academic researchers have discovered a new vulnerability in the Bluetooth wireless protocol that affects almost all Bluetooth enabled devices.

The vulnerability, which they have decided to refer to as Bluetooth Impersonation AttackS (BIAS), impacts the classic version of the Bluetooth protocol that is used by low power devices to transfer data and is commonly referred to as Bluetooth Classic.

The BIAS security flaw leverages the way that devices handle link keys or long-term keys that are generated when two Bluetooth devices pair for the first time. The devices agree on a long-term key that is then used to connect paired devices in the future so that users don't need to go through the pairing process each time they want to use their devices.

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In a new paper detailing their discovery, the researchers explain how they found a bug in this post-bonding authentication process. An attacker can exploit the flaw to spoof the identity of a previously paired device and successfully authenticate and connect to another device without first obtaining the long-term pairing key that was previously established between two devices. A successful BIAS attack allows an attacker to access or even take control of another Bluetooth Classic device.

BIAS attacks

The researchers explained that they tested and found that many Bluetooth devices are vulnerable to BIAS attacks in a post, saying:

“The BIAS attack is possible due to flaws in the Bluetooth specification. As such, any standard-compliant Bluetooth device can be expected to be vulnerable. We conducted BIAS attacks on more than 28 unique Bluetooth chips (by attacking 30 different devices). At the time of writing, we were able to test chips from Cypress, Qualcomm, Apple, Intel, Samsung and CSR. All devices that we tested were vulnerable to the BIAS attack.”

After making and disclosing the security flaw in December of last year, some vendors may have implemented workarounds for the vulnerability on their devices. However, if your devices have not been updated since that time, they are likely vulnerable.

Thankfully though, launching a successful attack is not that easy as an attacker's device would need to be within wireless range of a vulnerable Bluetooth device that has previously been paired with a remote device with a Bluetooth address known to the attacker.

TechRadar Pro reached out to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) regarding BIAS attacks and a spokesperson for the group explained that it works with developers and the security research community to help protect all Bluetooth devices, saying:

“The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) prioritizes security and the specifications include a collection of features that provide developers the tools they need to secure communications between Bluetooth devices. The SIG also provides educational resources to the developer community to help them implement the appropriate level of security within their Bluetooth products, as well as a vulnerability response program that works with the security research community to address vulnerabilities identified within Bluetooth specifications in a responsible manner.”

• We've also highlighted the best antivirus software

Via ZDNet

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Latest Gadgets News

Realme X3 SuperZoom will officially launch on May 26 in Europe, the company’s European Twitter account announced. The phone will be showcased as a part of a digital event that will be streamed on Realme’s social media channels as well as on the company website.

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Facebook is launching Shops, a service that will allow businesses to display and sell products on the world's largest social network's platforms, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday.

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Latest Gadgets News

The new Rs. 251 prepaid data pack by Airtel offers 50GB of extra 4G data with no additional validity. The validity of the pack depends on the current validity of your base plan.

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