The best workout shoes for every type of exercise, according to fitness trainers - CNET

Whether you're starting CrossFit or a running routine, these are the shoes to try.

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We first expected the Google Pixel 4a to come out in mid-May during Google IO, but when that show got cancelled, we started waiting for a sign – any official sign – that the mid-range phone would launch soon. We’re still waiting.

But we’ve also heard enough rumors to get an idea of what’s coming in the Pixel 4a. We suspected it would follow its predecessor, the Pixel 3a, as a far cheaper version of the most recent flagship. From what we can tell, the phone will have the best parts of the Google Pixel 4, from cameras to live transcription.

But there’s still a ton we don’t know, either because the rumor mill hasn’t surfaced anything about certain perks or that we’re simply waiting for Google to confirm things we can’t guess at anyway – like, say, a release date.

Here’s the top five things that we still don’t know about the Pixel 4a.

1. Google Pixel 4a price and release date

Yes, these are the big ones – not just because we want to get our hands on the Pixel 4a already (we do!), but because the price could decide the phone’s impact on the market. While its predecessor stood out among mid-range phones with its incredible cameras and streamlined Android capabilities, this year has far fiercer competition with the iPhone SE 2020 and other top-notch cheap phones like the Moto G8 Power.

Given the Pixel 3a was half the price at launch compared to the Pixel 3, we hope the same is true here, and the Pixel 4a follows its predecessor with a pricetag starting at $399 / £399 / AU$649 – or, heck, even cheaper.

2. Will there be a Pixel 4a XL?

While we expected the Pixel 4a to follow the series' precedent in coming out with both a standard and larger XL version, we’ve heard rumors that we won’t see the latter. This could mean that Google expected the bigger model to sell poorly, and didn’t feel it was worth it. 

That makes sense, but it also leads us to wonder whether the Pixel 4a will repeat the weaknesses of the Pixel 4 – in particular, its poor battery life, which barely lasted a day in our casual testing. The Pixel 4 XL, on the other hand, mitigated this issue with a larger-capacity battery, and it lasted noticeably longer. If there is no Pixel 4a XL, hopefully it won’t follow suit.

3. Will it have more than one rear camera?

Google has done wonders with only a single rear camera on the back of its phones for years, but the company finally added a telephoto lens in the Pixel 4. Will we get extra lenses in the Pixel 4a?

The telephoto lens expanded the Pixel 4’s photographic capabilities, sure, but it mostly enabled analog depth effects (rather than digital tricks). We’d like to see what more lenses could do for the 4a, especially if Google mimics Apple and Samsung in bringing an ultrawide camera to its more affordable handsets (the iPhone 11 and Galaxy S10, respectively). 

What we’ve seen isn’t promising: purported Pixel 4a phone boxes got leaked that seem to show a single-camera design (bafflingly, while keeping the Pixel 4’s camera block). But even cheaper budget phones are getting more cameras, like the Moto G8 Power with its trio of rear shooters, so we’d love to see the Pixel 4a empowered with a bigger camera array.

4. Will it keep the best mid-range perks, like a headphone jack?

With no clue as to the phone’s physical design, we don’t know if the Pixel 4a will keep the best features of its predecessor, like the 3.5mm headphone jack and fingerprint sensor – both of which are gone and sorely missed in the Pixel 4. 

Not that everything’s bad in Google’s latest flagship – in fact, we’re quite taken with the Pixel 4’s design, especially in an age when most smartphones are either black rectangles or shimmering color gradients. Give us a phone that looks like it was cut out of a Mondrian and we’ll be happy campers.

5. Will the Pixel 4a be 5G compatible?

This may not be the most exciting feature right now, but we haven’t seen a lot of 5G-compatible mid-range phones, so Google could set Pixel 4a owners up for the future – and stand out from the competition – by enabling its next phone to hook up to the next-gen networks.

A code leak back in January suggested that supposed code numbers for three phones included at least one that’s 5G-compatible (via a Snapdragon 765 chipset). That could be a version of either the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a XL that has 5G, or it could be referring to the Pixel 5. We haven’t heard much else about which Google phones will connect to 5G networks. 

• Happy to wait? Here's what we're looking forward to with the Google Pixel 5

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On a Saturday night in India, it was party time in Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries helmed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Two more big investors, TPG Capital and L Catterton, put in $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore) and $250 million (Rs. 1894.50 crore) respectively in Jio Platforms. 

This would mean Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion by selling about 22.3% stake to nine investors Facebook, Silver Lake (1 and 2), KKR, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, and L Catterton in the past eight weeks.

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TPG Capital

The first investment of the night was from TPG Capital. Though it was speculated that might invest over a billion, it settled for $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore).

The investment will translate into a 0.93% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for TPG.

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $79 billion of assets under management across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity. Its investments in global technology companies include Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify, among others.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “Today, I am happy to welcome TPG as valued investors in our continued efforts towards digitally empowering the lives of Indians through the creation of a digital ecosystem. We have been impressed by TPG’s track record of investing in global technology businesses which serve hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses, making the societies we live in better.” 

Jim Coulter, Co-CEO TPG, said, “We are excited to partner Reliance to invest in Jio. As an investor in growth, change, and innovation for over 25 years – and with a longstanding presence in India -- we are excited to play an early role in Jio's journey as they continue to transform and advance India's digital economy. Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services. The company is bringing unmatched potential and execution capabilities to the market, setting the tone for all technology companies to come.” 

TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia, TPG Growth, and TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD) funds.

L Catterton

L Catterton, the second investor of the night, came up with $250 million (Rs 1894.50 crore). L Catterton’s investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. 

Founded in 1989, L Catterton is an investor in consumer-focused brands around the world. With a partnership with LVMH and Groupe Arnault, L Catterton has successfully invested in brands like Peloton, Vroom, ClassPass, Owndays, FabIndia, PVR Cinemas.

Mukesh Ambani  said, “I particularly look forward to gaining from L Catterton’s invaluable experience in creating consumer-centric businesses because technology and consumer experience need to work together to propel India to achieving digital leadership.” 

Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton, said, “Over our more than 30 year history, we have established a track record of building many of the most important brands across all consumer categories and geographies, from retailers, omni-channel and digitally native brands. We are strong supporters of fostering growth through product development, enhanced digital capabilities and strategic alliances. We look forward to partnering with Jio, which is uniquely positioned to execute on its vision and mission to transform the country and build a digital society for 1.3 billion Indians through its unmatched digital and technological capabilities.”

In total, Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion (Rs 104,326.95 crore) by selling about 22.3 stake in around two months time.

Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers, has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. 

The deals are expected to help RIL retire a substantial chunk of its net debt of Rs 1.6 trillion at the end of March.

Hope for Indian companies

Jio Platforms getting a bucket-load of heavy-duty investments from global biggies also augurs well for Indian business sentiments.

In a climate of anti-China, both in India and elsewhere, these deals are seen as a big booster for India Inc. Some experts see it as a post-coronavirus trend, when the American and Middle-East based global corporations tilt towards India, as against China. 

This is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company.

(Your one-stop guide to Jio Platforms and its investors is here).

• Reliance Jio Mart launched - how will it impact India's e-commerce?
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The best kamado grills: Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, Char-Griller and more - CNET

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There is a growing consensus among storage manufacturers worldwide that glass could become a vital component in the drive to satiate humanity's thirst for data storage.

Fuelled by the rise in demand high resolution video and growing IoT networkd, IDC predicts the world will produce 175 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025, nearly six times more than in 2018.

Given one ZB is equal to one billion TB, it would be reasonable to assume that we will have reached the mind-boggling trillion terabyte mark by the end of the decade.

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Microsoft’s Project Silica first brought optical data storage into the limelight. Researchers at the world’s largest software company - and the second biggest hyperscaler next to AWS - managed to pack 75.6TB of data onto a piece of fused silica that was about the size of a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. In comparison, the world's largest hard disk drives currently max out at 20TB and are in a much larger 3.5-inch form factor.

In a statement to IEEE Explore, Seagate CTO John Morris confirmed its R&D lab is also working on using glass as a medium for optical data storage. “The challenge is to develop systems that can read and write with reasonable throughput,” he said.

Needless to say, rivals such as Western Digital, Toshiba and even Samsung are likely to be following the same route.

However, there are some rather significant challenges to be solved first. Right now, the medium is read-only, making it perfect for Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM) use cases.

Further, given there won’t be any terabit internet connection for at least a few decades, backing up one of these monsters to a cloud storage provider might take more than a lifetime, once they hit the market.

• Here's our choice of the best wireless SSDs of 2020

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High-speed Wi-Fi 6 is here. Soon, Wi-Fi 6E is going to make it even better - CNET

Wi-Fi is expanding into the 6GHz band, paving the way for new connections that will be the fastest yet. Here's everything you need to know.

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Best meat delivery for 2020: Omaha Steaks, Porter Road, Crowd Cow and more - CNET

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CNET's top phone picks for dads this Father's Day.

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Your handy guide to picking the perfect small grill.

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Yes, you absolutely can download Twitter videos to your phone and computer. Here's how - CNET

We were asked if saving a video from Twitter is possible so you can share the clip without having to send someone a Twitter link. The answer is yes.

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The best TVs and streaming devices for Father's Day 2020 - CNET

Whether you're looking for a simple streamer or to spring for a brand-new TV these are the best gifts for your dad.

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Best gaming keyboard for 2020: Razer, Corsair, Logitech and more - CNET

Upgrade from your standard keyboard and defeat your enemies -- or at least make losing more enjoyable with the finest switches, lights and knobs.

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The battle for instant messaging apps just intensified. Barely a day after Snapchat announced a slew of new offerings at its virtual Partnership Summit, news has started filtering in of WhatsApp testing upgraded search functionalities and a slew of other new features. 

Various reports published on WABetaInfo.com, a blog that tracks developments around WhatsApp, suggest that the search functionality would allow users to identify messages using dates. The instant messaging app, owned by Facebook, already supports in-chat search, which doesn't allow users to search a sent or received message on a specific date. 

The feature, currently in alpha phase of development, would permit users to filter out results of other dates though it remains to be seen how many of us actually would be able to recall specific dates or time periods when messages were exchanged. 

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Image Credit: WABetaInfo.com

Screenshots provided by WABetaInfo indicates that a calendar icon would appear once the company rolls out the feature. The icon is seen positioned right above the keyboard about the Chat Search on WhatsApp for iPhone. Tapping on the icon opens up the calendar on which users can pick the month, year and date for the search. There is no indication that the feature would be available on Android but in the past WhatsApp has always launched new stuff on both platforms. 

This is not all. WhatsApp could also be readying a redesigned storage usage section that allows users to view large files that get stored upon receipt. There would also be a Forwarded files option in the Storage usage that helps users filter files that have been forwarded via the messaging app. Looks like WhatsApp is taking user complaints around storage issues quite seriously. 

Image Credit: WABetaInfo.com

The Storage usage section also appears to have a Sort option according to the images available that suggests a facility to view photos shared by one contact. We hope the feature provides users with the capability to sort photos chronologically as well as by the file size. This would go a long way in retaining pictures and discarding those that carry everything from memes to motivational messages. 

In addition, WhatsApp also appears to be working on an easier Delete message option whereby users can remove all messages barring the starred ones. The screenshot shared by WABetaInfo suggests that a Delete All except Starred option would be placed alongside the Delete All button. A similar Delete all functionality could be in the works for Storage as well where users can junk all messages except the starred ones. 

In another report, the blog post indicates that WhatsApp could have a dedicated player for ShareChat videos that could seamlessly play videos within the app just as Instagram and YouTube videos can do at present. In other words, the picture-in-picture format for videos from ShareChat could be another feature readying for launch on WhatsApp. 

The picture-in-picture format was introduced in January 2018 for iPhone users and quickly expanded to Android thereafter. It included support for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube videos last year and with developers working on getting the same format for ShareChat, it looks like WhatsApp is getting ready for easing the way all types of videos play within it. 

Other features said to be in the development phase include an image search on the Web for iPhone users that could go a long way in curbing fake news circulation. A similar feature for Android has also been in testing for some time now though there is still no update on this front.

All the news features mentioned by WABetaInfo are reportedly in the testing state and may undergo multiple tweaks before they actually get rolled out on WhatsApp. In the past the blog has been largely accurate with its predictions, so we believe that some, if not all of these may soon become a reality. 

(Via) WABetaInfo

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Xiaomi announced its latest ROM MIUI 12 last month and is now gearing up for the release of a stable build for its budget smartphones. The company is inviting beta testers for its MIUI 12 Pilot Testing program in India for its Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Note 7, and Redmi Note 7S devices.

As per MIUI’s update timeline, flagship devices like Mi 9, Mi 9T, Mi 9T Pro, Redmi K20, and the Redmi K20 Pro are the first in line to receive the update and are scheduled to get the new software update sometime later this month.

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How to apply for the MIUI 12 Pilot testing program?

The registration for beta testers is open till June 17th and the selected users will get a chance to test the MIUI 12 Global ROM build way ahead of the other users.

To become a MIUI 12 Pilot Tester you need to follow the below process:

• Eligibility: Only available for Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7s users
• Join the official MIUI Global Stable Beta Testing Recruitment Group on Telegram
• Fill the application form
• The handful of selected users will then be added to a separate Telegram group for further communication

Before applying to become a Pilot Tester, remember that apart from using the specified Redmi devices, users are expected to be regular and active members of the MIUI community and are expected not to leak details and features during the testing phase.

Via: MI Community

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