Another week has quickly gone by, and it’s time we take a quick look at the major tech happenings of the past seven days. As usual, we have picked what we think are two winners and losers of the week in the form of Xiaomi and Google.
But before we talk about our picks and why we chose them, let’s take a look at some of the other things that transpired this week.
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G, Galaxy A22 4G details are out
Samsung is on a roll with its mid-range devices, having announced several new models of late. The latest ones to join the fray are the Galaxy A22 twins. Samsung recently revealed the availability and pricing details for both these handsets for the UK and EU.
We now know that the Galaxy A22 will set you back by £199 (~$281) in the UK, while in the EU, it will go for €249 (~$302). Samsung hasn’t confirmed availability details for the UK. In the EU, however, the phone should be on sale by “early July.”
Cross-platform migration to get easier on WhatsApp
Migrating your WhatsApp data from an iPhone to Android (and vice versa) is a major pain point for users even in 2021. However, we are given to understand that WhatsApp is working on a solution to fix this major irritant.
In fact, we could soon have a feature wherein entire conversations can be migrated not only to a different smartphone OS - but also to a different number! This will be a godsend to many users who are concerned about not getting their entire WhatsApp library on new devices when switching to a new phone running a different OS.
Huawei announces HarmonyOS, new hardware
Arguably among the most interesting launch of this week came courtesy of Huawei which finally announced its new operating system HarmonyOS. All new smart devices from the company shall henceforth come powered by this new operating system (which, as per several reports, is based on Android anyway).
The company also announced that its new camera-centric flagship smartphone - the Huawei P50, will be announced very soon. Huawei also announced new smartwatches, tablets, earphones, and monitors at this week’s launch event.
LG smartphone plants stop making phones
LG, earlier this year, announced that it would be exiting the smartphone space in a phased manner. As part of this, the company, on Monday, May 31, halted the production of new smartphones at its plants. These plants - and the employee working there - will be reassigned to manufacturing LG home appliances.
The company’s home appliance business is booming, and at the moment, the decision to exit the smartphone industry does indeed seem logical.
Coming soon: Snapdragon 888+
It’s no secret that Snapdragon comes out with a “Plus” variant o its flagship SoC every year. In 2021, it is the turn of the Snapdragon 888+, and there have been several leaks that seem to indicate that this new SoC is on its way to smartphones very soon.
A recent tweet by Evan Blass revealed some of the key tech specs of the Snapdragon 888+. It remains to be seen how tangible the performance boost this new chip would offer over the standard 888 model.
Winner of the week: Xiaomi - for its insanely fast 200W fast charging tech
Smartphones of today can charge themselves up with incredible speed. But earlier this week, Xiaomi outdid everyone with its new fast charging technology that can charge batteries at a mind-numbing 200W. In a video showcased by the company, the 200W changed managed to juice up a 4,000mAh battery from 0 to 100 percent in 8 minutes, flat!
And yes, we know that fast charging your battery all the time isn’t perfect for its health, and that’s a topic for another day. But seriously, a full charge from 0 to 100 percent in the time you can go to the loo and come back is exceptional no matter how you look at it. Do you agree?
Loser of the week: Google, for making it hard for users to find (and change) privacy settings
Ever since Apple announced its popular App Tracking Transparency feature on iOS 14.5, privacy has been the buzzword that has been abused to the hilt. Taking a cue from Apple, Google also announced several privacy-centric initiatives at the recently concluded Google I/O 2021.
In fact, they also minted to roll out an update that will make apps and their developers track users after they choose to opt-out from targeted ads. Now, all this sounds great, right? Why then is Google in the loser’s corner this week?
Well, that is because a recent report by Insider (who unearthed court documents) reveals that Google made it more difficult for users to change privacy settings after they learned that users were able to change these settings “too easily.”
This was seen as a “problem” by the company for obvious reasons. The documents go on to add that Google did not just stop there. To ensure that these changes are applied across the board (and on all Android versions), Google allegedly pressurized manufacturers to do the same on their respective custom Android skins.
Post this revelation, the question on everyone’s mind is whether Google’s recent push towards privacy and transparency is being done purely for the good of society, or were they just pushed into a corner by Apple?
Well, those were our picks for the winners and losers for this week. Do you agree with our choices? Let us know in the comments!
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