Author: Alvin Wanjala

At the beginning on April, WhatsApp rolled out new rules limiting the number of chats “viral or highly forwarded messages ”can be forwarded to at a time. Viral message, in this case, is any message forwarded more than five times. The main move was to clamp down on the spread of misinformation – a more prominent issue, especially in the current virus outbreak crisis around the world. As new reports suggest, this move has been successful as the company saw a decline of 70 per cent in forwarding of ‘viral messages’ precisely three weeks after the rollout. “Since putting into…

As planned, Xiaomi has officially announced the next iteration of its Android UI skin: MIUI 12. From first glance, MIUI 12 is a design overhaul from the current MIUI version i.e., MIUI 11. But what is new in MIUI 12? Here are all the new MIUI Features Announced in MIUI 12; Major UI Changes If you’re using MIUI 11, the new MIUI version will present a more cleaner User interface. The blanks have been slightly enlarged, and the UI has more visual elements rhyming with the information shown in the text – even in the quick settings panel. Under the…

It seems that just maybe Zoom should be prepared for the worst if Facebook’s new entrance into the market can gain traction fast. Late Friday, Facebook introduced a new video chat product aiming to take on the current increasing demand in such platforms. That brings us to Messenger Rooms, a new product that will enable you to keep in touch with your friends, loved ones, and people who share your interests across Facebook and Messenger. Chat rooms will accommodate a maximum of 50 participants, with no time limit, and anyone can be invited without necessarily having a Facebook account. Taking…

Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, video calling has proved to be one of the most convenient and safest ways to keep in touch with friends and family at the same time maintaining social distancing. That has led to us to the current boom in video conferencing apps, the likes of Zoom. Google Duo, which has been a laggard in this market, is also pulling up the socks and wants to be one of the go-to platforms to video chatting. The company plans to win over users’ hearts by rolling out a new video codec technology that will bump up calling…

After years of making their own inhouse processors for smartphones, Apple wants to stock its own chips in Macs as well. For years, Apple has been using Intel’s chips for its Mac, but that may change in 2021, according to Bloomberg. The company is working on three different ARM-based system-on-chips, based on its upcoming 5-nanometer A14 Bionic Chipset that will be used in 2020’s iPhone 12 series lineup – or whatever they will call them. In 2021, at least one Mac should be shipping with available for purchase powered by in-house silicon. The first series of inhouse chips will…

WIFI technology is even getting better thanks to the newly approved standard. On top of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz universal frequency bands, WIFI will also get to use the 6GHz band, as well. The additional band is touted to bring massive upgrades to WIFI, a welcomed move at this point, after all these years – it’s been close to two decades! The WIFI standard that uses the 6GHz band will be known as “WiFi 6E.” The additional 6GHz spectrum gives WIFI technology more room with which signals can be broadcasted over, thus reducing interference – a significant issue that causes…

The first wave of foldable phones wasn’t much of a hit, but Samsung’s new Z Flip and Motorola’s Razr-inspired folding phone seemed worth looking at twice. Being much of a welcomed form factor, Xiaomi wants to jump on the train as well by introducing their own clamshell-designed foldable phone. The company has already booked flexible OLED panels from Samsung’s display making division, Samsung Display, according to reports. Xiaomi is set to begin mass production anytime from July. “Xiaomi plans to apply the shape (angle control) of the Galaxy Z flip to the hinge parts,” considering the Galaxy Z Flip’s “durability…

Apple Music, which has been previously reported having over 60 million subscribers worldwide as of June last year, is seeking to have more users under its sleeve. The platform has been expanded to an additional 52 countries mostly in Africa, and in other regions as well, including Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. New subscribers will enjoy a six-month free trial before they can commit to either the personal, family, or student subscription plans. Here is list of countries in Africa now with access to Apple Music; Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon,…

MIUI 12 is set to be officially unveiled in China on April 27th, which is Monday next week, according to the company. The company’s main china office broke the news on Weibo, the Chinese only twitter-like social media platform. MIUI 12 follows the current MIUI 11 iteration which has to date been pushed to more Xiaomi devices. Like previous versions of MIUI, MIUI 12 will be based on Android 11 which the beta is already out. But Xiaomi does its things a bit differently, sometimes developing new MIUI custom ROMs independent of the android version. That is why your phone…

Social media giant, Facebook, has been very active in helping the world fight the Coronavirus pandemic in various ways. Besides that, the company now wants to even step up further by dismantling events that are organized via its platform which defy stay at home and social distancing orders. Speaking on Monday, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an interview said that the company will start removing events as well as groups that encourage people to defy social distancing orders. This follows protests in the US as people stand up to fight back against businesses shutting down to encourage social distancing. Such…