Author: Alvin Wanjala

WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular messaging app around the world, currently boasting over 2 billion users. The platform’s tremendous success is pretty hard to beat now. Even though WhatsApp has it all figured out in the numbers game, its not one heck of a messaging app with all the most needed features everyone needs. Others have an unending appetite for some features seen in other messaging platforms that have more aggregated features. As it turns out, most people in Africa have opted to use modified versions of WhatsApp instead of the original app to enjoy the extra features in…

For quite some time now, social media giant Facebook has allowed users to share their Instagram Stories directly to their Facebook account. The opposite has not been possible, but that is currently under public beta testing. The feature was uncovered by Jane Manchun Wong, a notorious reverse engineering expert that digs inside the app code to unleash unreleased features on social media platforms. The feature has been enabled for some but you have to head over to the Story Privacy settings page in the Facebook app and toggle the new additional toggle dubbed “Share Story to Instagram.” TechCrunch notes that…

Smartphone companies are increasingly investing more in accessories so they can catch up with Apple. The iPhone maker has been reported to be the leading accessory seller globally for the past year. Oppo’s first attempt to jump on the bandwagon is by introducing their own Apple Watch like smart watch. It is even named in a similar fashion. Say hello to the Oppo Watch! The OPPO Watch undeniably mimics the design aesthetics of Apple’s Smart Watch. Besides that, the company has also included novelty onboard. The OPPO Watch uses a 3D flexible hyperboloid display – an industry first for a…

Last year, the smartphone industry moved a mile further to 7nm chipsets which promise better performance, less battery consumption and most of all a bump in internet speeds since they use 5G in most cases. Take an example of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 chipset, Samsung Exynos 990 and even MediaTek’s Dimensity 5G chipset series. The common factor among these chipsets is the fabrication technology – all of them use the 7nm EUV technology. However, an unfamiliar Chinese company called UNISOC, has recently released a chipset dubbed T7520, built on the 6nm EUV processing technology. The company says that the chipset has…

The facebook-owned instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, is testing a new feature that aims at keeping your backups secure. The feature surfaced in a beta version of the app, first reported by WABetaInfo. For some time now, WhatsApp has allowed users to back up their chats to Google Drive, but there has been an issue with that since those chats weren’t secured. But with backup encryption, users will now be able to set passwords that will ensure their chats are protected even if they land in the wrong hands. “Basically the feature allows you to encrypt your backup with a password,…

If you ever believed the Gods must be Crazy, then the same logic should be applied for humans as well. In an era where consumers have to make choices often – between Android and iOS, Mac and Windows, etc. – here is a project that aims to unite the mobile platform users by leveraging the best of both worlds: iPhones’ superior hardware and the open nature of the Android OS. As you might already know, these two groups – iOS and Android fanboys – never stop throwing insults at each other. But under Project Sandcastle the main aim to bring…

Since Snapchat came up with their seemingly revolutionary disappearing snaps, more tech companies have emulated the same in unchangingly similar ways.  We saw Facebook bring a similar feature on its wide portfolio of applications, including Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Google also did the same in Google Photos with Memories; tweaking the approach a little bit to showcase the past photos. Now Twitter is the next social media giant planning to introduce their Stories version on the platform. Twitter stories will be known as Fleets. Like other look-alike features from other social media platforms, Fleets will disappear within 24 hours. Common…

Google’s cloud-based app, Photos, has received a major design overhaul. The first change you’ll realize in the app is the absence of the Hamburger menu which was located at the top section. The search tab has also been moved to the bottom menu, replaced by a simple “Google Photos” header. The memories section which looks more like Instagram stories has still been retained at the top of the app followed by your most recent images. The recently introduced account picker has, however, been retained at the top. At the bottom of the app now sit five different tabs; Photos, Search,…

Samsung has come a long way when it comes to providing software updates. The company was once bashed, together with other smartphone makers, as one of the laggards when it comes to updating their smartphones. In recent times the company has immensely improved in that area, and now provides Android updates and monthly security updates faster. When Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 Series, you would’ve thought that the company would commit to extending the software support for these particular expensive devices. As it turns out; the company will still support the S20 line for only three years. The same also…

WhatsApp is finally availing the most anticipated feature – Dark Mode – on both Android and iOS. The feature has been like a flagship feature for both Android 10 and iOS 13, with so much hype built around it. Since the mobile platforms have gone dark, it was high time individual apps do so as well. Despite taking their time, the Facebook-owned messaging platform is finally going dark. For people who use WhatsApp Mods, this is not a new thing. But the introduction of dark mode in the official apps comes handy for those who haven’t embraced the mods, yet.…