Tech Striker

iPhone 14 series was launched earlier this year with its Pro models featuring the Apple A16 Bionic chip. Now, a recent report has suggested that the Cupertino company will equip the iPhone 15 series Pro model with its new chipset — the Apple A17. It is believed that Apple is emphasising on delivering an improved battery life with this chip, while its performance aspect takes a back seat. Apple is likely to use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 3nm process to manufacture the Apple A17 chip. A recent MySmartPrice report claims that the Apple A17 chip featured on the iPhone 15 series may lean towards providing an improved battery life. This speculation stems from the rumours that suggest TSMC's 3nm process would result in chips that offer increased power and improved energy efficiency. TSMC chairman Mark Liu was reportedly quoted as saying that the 3nm process chips would offer better performance than the 5nm process chips, while also requiring about 35 perc

When you think of the ‘best smartphones' of the year, it's easy to just picture expensive, flagship phones. However, like every year, we've had some real standout mid-range offerings as well in 2022 that might not go toe-to-toe with proper flagships, but offer enough performance and features at much more affordable prices. Folding phones continued to get better in 2022 thanks to Samsung pioneering this segment in India, while charging speeds reached new heights. However, the big focus for all the phones on our list is cameras. We've seen smartphones with incredible zoom perfjoamcne, high-resolution sensors, and next-level video stabilisation for content creators. Depending on your budget and requirements, there's something for everyone in our list. All these smartphones have been reviewed by us and we've chosen only the best of the best, based on the ratings they received and what we felt were unique enough offerings that still stand out, even today. Here's

Elon Musk announced today that Twitter users will soon be able to side swipe for switching between tweets, trends, topics, lists, and more. The new Twitter CEO has been making sweeping changes to the social media platform since his $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3.6 lakh crore) takeover. He has also suggested that several major UI changes for the platform will arrive in January. Twitter had recently rolled out the View Count for tweets feature globally, intending to showcase how alive the platform is as most users are believed to just read a tweet without interacting. Musk shared a post on Saturday revealing that a new side swipe feature will arrive on the platform in January. This feature is said to allow users to easily access recommended and followed tweets, trends, topics, and lists. Furthermore, Musk says that with the gradual improvement of Twitter AI, "recommended tweets, lists & topics will become awesome." Currently, Twitter allows users to read tweets in chronolog

Redmi K60 series was launched in China on Tuesday. This flagship lineup includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series-powered Redmi K60 and Redmi K60 Pro, and the Redmi K60E featuring a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC. They are equipped with a 17-layer heat liquid cooling VC dissipation system that is said to offer up to 15 percent improved thermal conductivity than the previous generation. Xiaomi has also released a cooling case for the Redmi K60 series which is supposedly capable of further reducing the maximum temperature by up to 4 degrees Celsius. According to a post by a digital blogger on Weibo, the Redmi K60 Series Ice Cooling Case can reduce the handset's maximum temperature by up to 4 degrees Celsius. This case is available to purchase for CNY 79 (roughly Rs. 1,000). Xiaomi says that this cooling case is equipped with a phase-changing material that purportedly switches between solid and liquid states depending on the smartphone's temperature to dissipate heat efficiently.

Binance's $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,275 crore) acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital could be delayed or blocked by a US national security review, according to a Friday bankruptcy court filing. The crypto exchange's US-based affiliate Binance.US intends to buy Voyager's crypto lending platform with a bid that includes $20 million (roughly Rs. 165 crore) in cash and crypto assets that will be used to repay Voyager's customers. But the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that vets foreign investments into US companies for national security risks, said Friday that its review "could affect the ability of the parties to complete the transactions, the timing of completion, or relevant terms." Attorneys for Voyager and Binance.US did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. CFIUS has increasingly been used by Washington as a tool to stymie Chinese investment in the United States. Bin

Google Voice will now make it more easy for a user to ignore spam calls with the launch of a new update. Google has now added a warning to its Voice feature which will alert the user by flagging “Suspected spam caller” label on calls that may seem suspicious. The user can also remove a number from the spam list by simply marking a call to be not spam. The enhanced secure calling feature adds to Google Voice's recent addition of Wi-Fi and network cellular switching. According to a recent announcement by the tech giant, Google Voice will now protect its users from unwanted calls and potentially harmful scams by displaying a red “suspected spam caller” label on all calls that will appear suspicious. The selection of numbers as spam will be done using advanced artificial intelligence. The spam label for a number will be displayed on the caller screen as well as in the call history. The user will have a choice to let a call remain spam or remove it by confirming the identity of the

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 with Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor was unveiled by the South Korean tech giant on December 28. The new Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 comes with major performance improvements with the new Gen 3 processor, an upgrade from previously launched laptop with 12th Gen Intel processor. The company first unveiled the Intel-powered Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 back in February. The new model was recently announced in South Korea and will be released on January 16. In an official release , Samsung has announced the company's premium laptop, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor. The mobile PC comes with enhanced speed and efficiency, along with a stylus and a 360-degree swivel display. Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 with Snapdragon chipset price, availability The new laptop from Samsung was unveiled in South Korea on December 28 and will be launched in the country on January 16. As of now, the upcoming Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 will debut in graphite co

The year 2022, while not having been positively eventful for the crypto sector, did emerge as a milestone year for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Turkey has become the latest member of the CBDC club, that has touched a significant point in its CBDC trials. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), that started its CBDC trials earlier this year, has completed its first phase before the year of 2022 ends. Turkey's CBDC is named the Digital Turkish Lira. For now, Turkey has been conducting closed circuit pilot tests of its CBDC. In the first three months of 2023, the CBRT plans to take this CBDC trial to select banks and fintech companies, which will continue till the end of next year. “Studies on the legal aspects of the Digital Turkish Lira demonstrate that digital identification is of critical importance for the project. Therefore, studies on the economic and legal framework of the Digital Turkish Lira as well as its technological requirements will be prioriti

Samsung Galaxy A34 has leaked a couple of times this year. Now, alleged renders of the yet-to-be-announced handset have surfaced online, offering us the first look and suggesting the shades that it could be offered in once it goes official. The renders show the handset in graphite, lime, violet, and silver colour options and suggest a triple camera setup at the back. The Galaxy A34 is said to feature the Exynos 1280 SoC under the hood. It is likely to arrive as a successor to Samsung Galaxy A33 that debuted in India in March. A report by TheTechOutlook has leaked the alleged images of Samsung Galaxy A34. The leaked renders show the handset in graphite, lime, silver, and violet colour options. It seems to have a waterdrop-style cutout on the display to house the selfie sensor. Three camera sensors arranged in ring-shaped camera modules are seen placed at the upper left corner at the back in a linear vertical manner along with an LED flash. The renders show volume buttons and a power b

Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC were launched in China earlier this month. The Chinese tech giant is now expected to bring the Xiaomi 13 lineup to the global markets next year. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is also believed to be a part of the global lineup. A reliable tipster has now claimed that its periscope camera's performance will "shock everyone." There is not much else known about this handset at this point, however, rumours suggest that it could come with high-speed LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. According to a post by tipster Kartikey Singh (Twitter: @That_Kartikey), the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will come with a vastly improved periscope camera. He had previously claimed that Samsung had gone complacent when it comes to the camera zoom capabilities of the Galaxy S series. Singh believes that in 2023 Samsung could be outdone by one of its competitors. However, the tipster did not delve into any specific details about the Xi

Samsung is reportedly planning to reveal the next generation of Galaxy Book laptops along with the Galaxy S23 series. The Samsung Galaxy S23 is rumoured to arrive soon, with the South Korean tech giant expected to unveil their flagship series of smartphones in February. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Book laptops are expected to feature better hardware and specifications, however, no details are available as yet. Notably, the Galaxy Book 2 lineup of laptops launched in India early this year. According to a report by SamMobile, the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Book laptops will launch alongside the Galaxy S23 series of smartphones at the rumoured Galaxy Unpacked event in February. Samsung is reportedly planning to reveal a host of devices at the said event, including the Galaxy S22 FE. The upcoming Galaxy Book could be powered by 13th Gen Intel Core processors. Samsung has not officially confirmed the launch slate for the Galaxy Unpacked event, neither has it revealed any detail

Bitcoin on Friday, December 30, opened trading with a small profit of 0.08 percent. At the time of writing, BTC prices on national and international exchanges, stand at $16,585 (roughly Rs. 13.7 lakhs). From its last all-time high of $68,000 recorded last November, the year of 2022 pushed Bitcoin down the price ladder very drastically. Now, on the second last day of the year 2022, BTC has marked a significantly low value. The crypto price charts reflected reds next to greens as crypto prices fluctuated big time for most coins. Ether saw a minor gain of 0.79 percent as it stepped into the trade arena. ETH, as per Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker , is currently priced $1,196 (roughly Rs. 99,020). Like BTC , ETH also stooped dramatically low in terms of its value this year. Its last recorded all-time-high in November 2021, stood at around $4,890 (roughly Rs. 4.04 lakh). Binance Coin , Polkadot , Litecoin , Uniswap , and Solana joined BTC and ETH in reeling-in minor gains. Cosm

What are the best movies of 2022? I can't tell you, but I can tell you my favourites from this year. They come from all over the world — and they talk about all manners of topics. Among the 10 below, you'll find a romantic murder mystery from South Korea. There is a post-#MeToo movie about fall from grace, from Germany and the US. A French and Irish film, respectively, look at the ill effects of misogyny and neglect on women and children. From the UK and the US, we have a couple of films about father-daughter and mother-daughter relationships. A couple are dominated by action — one old-school bombastic fun, another endlessly inventive. Another, again from Ireland, is about war and the foolishness of men. And a couple, from Iran and Russia, are set in repressive regimes, one told through a road trip, and another following a jailed politician. The thing that unites them is that they are all very good — though they've had varying levels of commercial success. Some have failed

Steam Replay 2022 has arrived, detailing your personal experiences on the platform, over the past year. Akin to Spotify Wrapped and PlayStation 2022 Wrap-Up, the feature offers a statistical analysis of your gaming milestones on PC — ranging from most played games, total achievements unlocked, a monthly breakdown, and more. And you can share all of it with your friends. Let's be honest, that's what these yearly recaps are all about. Steam Replay adds up all your playtime between “the first second of January 1 and the last second of December 14 (GMT),” as long as you've spent it online. Progress made when signed in as ‘Invisible' counts as well, just not ‘Offline Mode'. Steam Replay 2022: How do I get mine? The year-end wrap feature can be accessed by clicking the panel on the Steam store page — you need to scroll down a little — or by visiting the Replay page and signing in. This presents a custom infographic that details an overwhelming amount of information, w

Motorola ThinkPhone has been a subject of several leaks, with the phone's expected design and specifications leaking ahead of its release. A new leak showcases promotional images of the upcoming handset, suggesting its design. The leaked images of the phone are similar to previous leaks, hinting at a triple rear camera setup and carbon-fibre texture on the back. The tipster also mentioned that the Motorola ThinkPhone will be powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC and run Android 13 out-of-the-box. Tipster SnoopyTech (@ snoopytech ) posted promotional images of the Motorola ThinkPhone on Twitter on Wednesday. In the images, the ThinkPhone can be seen sitting alongside the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon . The images show a rectangular rear camera module with a triple camera setup, led by a 50-megapixel primary lens, along with LED flash. The Motorola ThinkPhone can be seen with uniform narrow bezels, a punch-hole cutout front camera at the top centre of the display, and a red function b