Tech wrap: Realme C12 & C15 phones, Lenovo gaming laptop launches and more

We also reviewed the Samsung Serif TV and the flagship Galaxy Note 20. So, without wasting your time, here’s a quick look at all the major news of the day.

Laptop (AFP)

As August 18 comes to an end, we saw some announcements from companies like Apple, Samsung, game developer and publisher Epic, alongside some laptop launches from Lenovo and Dell. We also reviewed the Samsung Serif TV and the flagship Galaxy Note 20. So, without wasting your time, here's a quick look at all the major news of the day.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: A deluxe smartphone

We took an in-depth view of the flagship Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the most powerful handset by Samsung right now. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra packs a great many features for a Note series phone. But is it worth the price tag of ₹1,04,999? Find out here.

Apple announces Apple Music Radio with Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country

All of these are now available to music fans across 165 countries. Beats 1, the flagship global radio station, has been renamed to Apple Music 1, and alongside, Apple is launching two new radio stations - Apple Music Hits, celebrating everyone's favourite songs from the '80s, '90s and 2000s; and Apple Music Country, spotlighting country music.

Epic Games asks judge to block Apple's removal of 'Fortnite' from app store

In its filing, Epic Chief Executive Timothy Sweeney said "Fortnite" had 350 million registered users as of June 2020, but that Apple's move will stop them from getting the updates needed to play the game's most popular mode - a "Battle Royale" match of up 100 players where the last survivor wins. Details here.

Apple worked with the US government over a secret iPod

Former Apple engineer David Shayer while sharing his experience with TidBits said that it was a grey day in 2005 when the director of iPod Software asked him to help ‘two engineers from the US Department of Energy build a special iPod.' The two engineers, Paul and Mattew, didn't work for US DOE but for a US defence contractor Bechtel.

Samsung promises 3 years of Android OS updates for its devices

Samsung announced it will provide three generations of Android OS updates for 38 of its existing devices and upcoming ones as well. These include Samsung's flagship series, Tab series and A series smartphones. Samsung said the software updates will begin with the upcoming Android 11. 

Lenovo Legion 7i, 5Pi and 5i gaming laptops launched in India, price starts at Rs 79,990

Legion 7i pricing starts at Rs 1,99,990 while the Legion 5Pi costs  ₹1,34,990 and Legion 5i costs Rs 79,990. You can get your hands on it via Lenovo.com website and through other online and offline channels from next week. The Lenovo Legion 5Pi will be going on sale later this month.

Samsung The Serif review: Redesign your house to fit this TV

Besides the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, we also reviewed the Serif TV, which is also one of the good-looking TVs out there. Starting at ₹83,900, do these make your room look good? Read the review.

Microsoft's Flight Simulator is back after 14 years and you can play it on Windows, Xbox

Microsoft has brought out a new version of its Flight Simulator video game after 14 years and this time it features live weather, air traffic and sprawling world map. On the Microsoft Flight Simulator, you can become a pilot and fly to anywhere in the world over realistic sights.

MediaTek launches Dimensity 800U chipset for mid-range 5G smartphones

The newly launched Dimensity 800U features support for 5G connectivity and it joins the league of other Dimensity chipsets including Dimensity 720, Dimensity 800, Dimensity 820, Dimensity 1000 and Dimensity 1000+ that come with an integrated 5G modems.

Realme C15, C12 smartphones with 6,000mAh battery launched in India, check price, specs

Realme C15 starts at 9,999 for the base model with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The 4GB+64GB variant of the Realme C15 is priced at  ₹10,999. The smartphone will go on its first sale on August 27 at 12 PM via Flipkart and realme.com. As for the Realme C12, the smartphone is priced at  ₹8,999, and its first sale will take place on August 24 at 12 noon.

Dell XPS 17 launched in India, price starts at  ₹209,500

The laptop will be available in India starting today via Amazon India, official Dell e-store, and select Dell exclusive stores. Dell XPS 17 price in India starts at  ₹209,500.

Oracle enters race to buy TikTok's US operations

Oracle Corp has held preliminary talks with TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, and was seriously considering buying the app's operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Monday.

Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer in 2021

Microsoft is bidding goodbye to its age-old Internet Explorer browser. Well not entirely, but Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer 11 for its 365 apps on August 17, 2021. Microsoft is also ending support for its legacy Edge browser on March 9, 2021.

Asus gears up for Zenfone 7 series launch on August 26

Asus is getting ready to launch its new flagship smartphone, Zenfone 7. The new smartphone series is set to launch on August 26. Ahead of the official release, Asus has also posted a livestream link on YouTube where users can set a reminder.