OxygenOS 4.5.0 brings several OnePlus 5 features to the 3/3T

Latest OxygenOS update brings a ton of new features to the OnePlus 3/3T.

The OxygenOS 4.5.0 OTA update is now rolling out to the OnePlus 3 and 3T, introducing features from the OnePlus 5 like lift up display and Gaming Do Not Disturb to last year’s devices. Lift up display wakes the screen when you lift the phone, and Gaming DND mutes notifications and locks the navigation buttons when a particular app is running.

The update also lets you schedule night mode (finally!), brings the Slate font along with the new Dash Charge animation, and other stability fixes. Here’s a look at all the new additions:

• System

  • Added lift up display
  • Added Gaming Do Not Disturb
  • Added low priority notification
  • Added network speed in status bar
  • Added scheduled night mode
  • Added OnePlus Slate font
  • Redesigned Dash Charge animation
  • System stability and battery improvements

• Launcher

  • Added Shot on OnePlus wallpaper

• Phone

  • Redesigned calling UI

• Camera / Gallery

  • Added Shot on OnePlus watermark
  • Redesigned photo editor in Gallery

• File Manager

  • Added secure box

As always, the rollout of the OTA update is incremental, so it’ll be a few days before everyone makes the switch to OxygenOS 4.5.0.

OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3

• OnePlus 3T review: Rekindling a love story
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• OnePlus 3T specs
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3T and 3 in the forums

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Video game voice actors reach deal to end almost year-long strike

SAG-AFTRA has reached a “tentative agreement” with leading video games publishers to end its strike. After months of debate, and rejected deals, voice artists began striking on October 21st. Along the way, they also carried out picketing campaigns against Electronic Arts, WB Games, and other firms. Now, 340 days down the line, the strike could finally be coming to a halt. The new agreement (which still needs to be approved by the labor union’s board of directors) includes bonus pay relating to the amount of sessions a performer works on a game. The payments start at $75 for the first session and max out at $2,100 for ten sessions.

“This is an important advance in this critical industry space. We secured a number of gains including for the first time, a secondary payment structure which was one of the members’ key concerns,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris.

Crucially, the deal also contains an employer commitment to continue working with SAG-AFTRA on the issue of vocal stress during the course of the agreement. This particular demand had proven a stumbling block in the past. Voice actors claimed they were forced to shout for hours on end without breaks, which could have lead to permanent damage to their vocal chords. Publishers and developers, however, ignored those concerns when proposing settlements.

Still, not all their requests were met. Deadline is reporting that SAG-AFTRA had previously asked for a back-end payments schedule entitling performers to a full-day’s pay for each 500,000 video game units sold — and up to four secondary payments for 2 million units sold. And, according to SAG-AFTRA, the deal doesn’t involve several proposals sought by management. These include a provision that would have fined performers for being late or distracted at a session. And, another that would have required agents to submit performers for low-paying “atmospheric voice” sessions, or face fines.

“The new transparency provisions will enhance the bargaining power of our members’ representatives by requiring the companies to disclose the code name of [a] project, its genre, whether the game is based on previously published intellectual property and whether the performer is reprising a prior role,” said chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez. “Members are also protected by the disclosure of whether they will be required to use unusual terminology, profanity or racial slurs, whether there will be content of a sexual or violent nature and whether [vocal] stunts will be required.”

Source: SAG-AFTRA

Dubai tests a passenger drone for its flying taxi service

Dubai was serious when it said it wants to be first in the world to offer a flying taxi service. That’s why on Monday, it staged a maiden test flight for one of its potential taxis: a two-seater, 18-rotor unmanned flying vehicle made by German firm Volocopter, which is backed by fellow German company Daimler. The automated vehicle, which lifts and lands vertically like a helicopter, whisked Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed away for a five-minute flight 200 meters above a patch of sand.

It was a short exhibition, but Dubai and Volocopter ultimately want to be able to offer longer rides that last up to 30 minutes. They envision a future wherein you’ll be able to hail a flying taxi like an Uber — simply book one through an app and wait for it at a nearby “voloport.” And since they’ll be offering something new, they want passengers to feel safe by equipping each flying taxi with back-up batteries and rotors, as well as a couple of parachutes.

Volocopter chief Florian Reuter said the current model “is capable of flying based on GPS tracks,” but the company plans to “implement full sense capability” in the future. It will ensure that the machine can avoid obstacles and avoid colliding with other flying taxis on the way. If everything goes well, you could catch a Volocopter ride in Dubai within the next five years.

Source: Reuters

Fitbit Ionic smartwatch releasing worldwide Oct. 1 for $299.95

Fitbit’s first smartwatch is hitting worldwide markets on October 1.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been wearing a new wearable, and while it looks a little bit like something I’ve worn before, it’s quite different — and a lot more ambitious. No, I’m not talking about some new Android Wear watch but the Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit’s first smartwatch and an honest-to-goodness hit.

The reason for its success will inevitably be the five-day battery life which exists despite a very capable operating system, bright LCD display, and plenty of fitness-tracking features.

While the so-called App Gallery will be sparse at launch, with just a handful of apps including Starbucks, Strava, Pandora, and Weather Channel, there will be plenty of others by year’s end, thanks to the upcoming Fitbit SDK.

Fitbit Ionic will be available on October 1 at Amazon, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Macy’s, REI, Target and Verizon for $299.95.

See at Fitbit

Fitbit is also releasing its first Bluetooth headphones, the Ionic, on the same day. The $129.95 headphones are sweat-proof and highly customizable, and in my short time with them have proven very capable.

See at Fitbit

Google Tez: Everything you need to know

Google Tez made its debut in India earlier this month, marking the company’s entry into the digital payments segment. Tez relies on UPI — the centralized payments interface rolled out last year — to enable peer-to-peer money transfers, and while the service can also facilitate online payments, that feature is still in its infancy. If you’re just getting started with Tez or are looking to learn more about the service, here’s what you need to know.

How do I install Google Tez?

Installing Tez is relatively straightforward: go to g.co/tez or head to the Play Store to download the app. Once it’s installed, you’ll need to link your bank account to the service. Tez uses a phone number for money transfers, so you’ll need to provide the same number while setting up the service that’s registered with your bank.

Hit up the link below for detailed instructions on how to set up Tez and add your bank accounts:

How to install and set up Google Tez

How does Tez work?

Tez is a mobile payments service that works on the Unified Payments Interface platform. Unlike Paytm, it isn’t a digital wallet, so you won’t be able to store money in Tez.

Every time you register a bank account with Tez, the service creates a new UPI ID for that account. Google’s offering isn’t the first to leverage UPI payments — there are over 30 such apps available in the country — but Tez relies on just the phone number to transfer money. So even if you don’t know the UPI account details of the recipient, you will be able to send money by just entering a Tez user’s phone number.

In addition to UPI, Tez allows you to send money the old-fashioned way: by entering the bank account details and the IFSC code. You can use QR codes, like Paytm, to send and receive money as well. Google is also offering a new feature called Cash Mode that uses audio QR to transfer money from nearby Tez users.

How can I use Tez’s Cash Mode?

Cash Mode is an interesting feature in Tez that lets you send or receive money from nearby users without having to add their details. For instance, if you’re looking to make a payment to someone in your vicinity, you’ll need to toggle Cash Mode to pay, and the recipient has to set it to receive. Once that’s done, Tez will start looking for nearby users by emitting an ultrasound signal that’s inaudible to humans.

Tez will list all available users in the vicinity, and you can select the intended recipient from the list and pay without having to key in a phone number or the UPI ID.

What banks does Tez support?

Tez works with all banks that have registered with the NPCI over the UPI platform. That list currently includes 55 banks, with payments handled by four partners: Axis, HDFC, ICICI, and SBI. For instance, if you have an account with Kotak, it’s likely your payments are processed through Axis’ UPI gateway.

You can easily view the balance in your linked bank account. Just tap your photo (top left corner), select your bank account, and tap the View balance button.

Can I use Tez for online purchases?

In addition to money transfers, Tez can also be used for online payments. The list of partners is limited right now — you can use Tez at RedBus, PVR, Jet Airways, and Domino’s, but that list will undoubtedly grow in the coming months.

Google is also adding the ability to pay for games and apps on the Play Store via Tez in the future.

Is Tez available in my language?

English is the default language for Tez, but the service is available in seven regional languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. Google will be adding more languages shortly.

What is the daily transaction limit in Tez?

As Tez relies on UPI, the transaction thresholds for the platform come into play when using the service. That means a daily transaction limit of 1 lakh spread across 20 transactions. You will be able to see all your transactions in a conversation view, making it easy to see what your payments history on the platform.

How secure is Tez?

When setting up Tez, you have to create a PIN for the app as well as a separate UPI PIN for your bank account. You can use your current screen lock — PIN, pattern, or fingerprint — as the mode of authentication for Tez, but you’ll need to enter the UPI PIN before every transaction.

What offers can I avail with Tez?

To incentivize Tez usage, Google is rolling out a referral scheme that nets you ₹51 for every user you refer to the platform. The caveat here is that you’ll only receive the amount once the referred user makes their first payment. The payment can be anything over ₹50, and both you and the referred user get ₹51 in return.

In addition to the referral program, Google is offering scratch cards that entail you to win up to 1 lakh.

What do you think of Tez?

Tez certainly has a lot of potential, and Google will undoubtedly be adding new features to the service over the coming months.

Did you get started with Tez? What features would you like to see in the payments service? Let us know in the comments below.

Chinese government blocks WhatsApp ahead of Communist Party meeting

WhatsApp falls to the Great Firewall.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and most Google services are blocked in China, and WhatsApp is now joining that list. As reported by The New York Times, the Chinese government is cracking down on the Facebook-owned messaging service, with users all over the country facing disruptions.

It remains to be seen if the ban on WhatsApp is temporary. The government blocked WhatsApp’s photo, video, and document transfer options back in July, but the ban was lifted after a few weeks. For now though, WhatsApp is entirely non-functional in the country.

The Chinese government is preparing for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, where party delegates will elect its new leadership. The congress kicks off in Beijing from October 18, and the fact that WhatsApp employs end-to-end encryption for chats could have been the main factor behind its ban. By contrast, WeChat — the Tencent-owned messaging service that has over 950 million users — complies with the Chinese government’s information requests.

China largely blocks WhatsApp’s text message workaround

WhatsApp’s existence in China has been hanging by a thread ever since its government blocked users from sending photos and videos in July. Now, it appears that the app no longer works in the country at all. According to Symbolic Software, a Paris-based research firm monitoring WhatsApp’s situation in China, the nation has squashed its ability to send text-based messages within its borders. Some people might still be able to use it — for now, that is — but the country’s blocking efforts that began last week have reached most people by Monday.

Symbolic Software’s Nadim Kobeissi told The Verge that it likely took a while for the Chinese government to figure out how to configure its infamous firewall to detect and block the heavily encrypted protocol WhatsApp uses to send text messages. Since the country’s efforts paid off, that could mean that it now has the capability to take on similarly secure protocols.

WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption was probably the reason why China targeted it in the first place. While the country is known for having rigid internet censorship, it’s been ramping up its efforts even more in preparation for the 19th Communist Party congress this fall, where the government is slated to choose its new leaders. By preventing its citizens from using secure applications like WhatsApp, China is likely hoping to force them to use alternatives it can easily monitor. WeChat, for instance, provides the Chinese government with its users’ personal data.

Facebook declined to talk to The New York Times about the situation, but it was definitely a setback for the social network. The company’s main website and app are blocked in China, and WhatsApp was one of its last properties that still worked in a massive market with a billion potential users.

Via: The Verge

Source: The New York Times

Twitter tries to explain why Trump’s posts aren’t like others

So if Twitter’s rules ban “violent threats,” then surely a tweet indicating that a country “won’t be around much longer” from a user with the ability to make that happen would be deletion-worthy, right? As the company was forced to explain today, not quite. Donald Trump’s tweet about North Korea may have riled that nation’s representatives, but according to a thread from its global public policy team, “newsworthiness” and whether a Tweet is of public interest” comes into play. It says it will update its public-facing rules to make that clear, but clearly it has no interest in trying to place a muzzle on the accounts of any particular political leader — no matter what he tweets next.

Twitter Rules:

Any accounts and related accounts engaging in the activities specified below may be temporarily locked and/or subject to permanent suspension.

• Violent threats (direct or indirect): You may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism.

We’re putting significant effort into increasing our transparency as a company, and commit to meaningful and fast progress. Will do better. https://t.co/g1Rvkaj2sl

— jack (@jack) September 25, 2017

[View the story “Twitter Policy thread.” on Storify]

Source: Twitter Public Policy, Jack Dorsey (Twitter)

Become a lockdown defender with our ‘NBA 2K18’ defense guide

Even if your team is a scoring machine, you can lose games in NBA 2K18. It’s pretty simple: If you’re firing on all cylinders but your opponent also happens to be knocking down shot after shot, chances are, you’re going to take some L’s. If your offense is in sync but there is still a deficit on the board, you may want to take a look at your defense. Sure, sometimes your opponent gets lucky and hits some unlikely contested threes, but a lot of the time, there is more you could be doing to decrease the opposing team’s efficiency from the field. If you want to become a lockdown defensive unit, check out our NBA 2K18 defense guide for all the tactics you need to know.

When in doubt, play on the ball

This may sound simple, but it makes a big difference. The artificial intelligence in 2K18 is solid, but you will always be better. You should almost always control the defender guarding the ball handler. When he passes the ball press ‘X’ (‘A’ on Xbox One) to instantly switch defenders. The computer tends to give too much space to your opponent, leaving them more likely to get open looks. You can mitigate this by being the active defender. If you don’t like cycling through with X/A all the time, you can press R1 (RB on Xbox One) to pull up overhead icons. From there, you can switch between defenders with ease. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but we will touch on those later.

Maintain your stance

Along with staying on the ball, maintaining a defensive stance is crucial. There are two main defensive stances and you should almost always be implementing one of them.

Press R2 (RT on Xbox One) to enter a tight defensive stance. You can virtually press directly against your opponent without getting called for a foul, and strafe with them as they make moves toward the basket. Besides being too close for your opponent to get off a quality shot, maintaining your stance can lead to steals. If your opponent is overzealous, your press defense can sometimes make them lose control of the ball and you will be right there to scoop it up. We advocate using a full-court press, sticking with your man all the way down the court.

If you’re up against a particularly crafty player (Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, basically any point guard), you have to account for their quick moves. Adept ball handlers can slip away from defenders with ease if you aren’t on top of your game. If you start to see a quick move in one direction, you can execute a fast shuffle so you don’t get burned. To fast shuffle, hold L2 and R2/LT and RT and push the left analog stick in the direction needed to block off the dribbler’s move.

The second type of defensive stance is hands-up defense, which can be utilized by moving the right analog stick in the direction of the ball handler. Hand-up defense focuses more on anticipating shots and passes than blocking off the dribbler’s moves. Hands-up defense is more effective at tipping passes and sets you up better for contesting shots, but it also makes you more prone to committing reach-in and shooting fouls.

Both types of defensive stances get the job done. Our general rule of thumb is that we use the tight defensive stance outside of the key (the paint) and the hands-up defensive stance when in the post, where contesting shots is more important.

The only time when you should abandon your defensive stance is when you are chasing down an opponent who has gotten in front of you. In this scenario, you should sprint with R2/RT to catch up with them before entering back into your defensive stance.

If you find yourself unable to keep up with a the ball handler, sometimes it is beneficial to call a double team. Press and hold L1/LB to call for help and double-team the ball handler. Naturally, this will leave an offensive player wide open, but if you swarm the dribbler quickly enough, you can often get them to stop their dribble, allowing you to return to normal coverage, or, even better, force an errant pass.

Steals and forcing turnovers

While in one of your defensive stances, you can also attempt to pick the dribbler’s pocket. To try to steal the ball, press Square (‘X’ on Xbox One). You must be careful not to get too aggressive with steal attempts — if you press it multiple times in a row, you will likely commit a reach-in foul.

We’ve had the best success manually forcing steals when the ball handler is idly dribbling, waiting to make their next move. Once the ball starts switching from hand to hand, you are almost always better off sticking with your up close defensive stance.

One other method for getting the ball back is to plant your feet and attempt to take a charge. To take a charge, press and hold O (‘B’ on Xbox One). When a dribbler is barreling down the court, you can take the risk and plant your feet. If they run into you, and you are firmly planted, they will get called for the charge — your ball. Be careful not to try this in the restricted zone — the arc in the bottom of the paint under the hoop — as you will get called for a blocking/shooting foul. We found that going for the charge is good when playing against opponents who like to muscle their way down to the hoop haphazardly (without setting picks or passing the ball).

Your last ditch option is to flop. No one likes a flopper, but hey, if you draw the offensive foul, it worked out for you. To flop, double tap O/B. We’ve found flopping works best in the post, when the ball handler is backing you down. Be aware that if you don’t get the call, your opponent will likely have a clear lane to the basket.

Contesting shots

Like stances, you have multiple options when an opponent starts his shooting motion, each of which should be used in different scenarios.

First, if you’re already in the hands-up defense, you will automatically go up to contest the shot when it is taken. If you want to avoid fouling your opponent, this is the easiest way to at least put your hands in their face when shooting. Shooting accuracy is determined by both timing and your defense, so at the very least, you are lowering the shot chances with a hands-up contest.

If you want to get your hands higher up to follow the shooting motion, you can perform a vertical contest. To do this, you have to pull away from the defender and press Triangle (‘Y’ on Xbox One). You will go straight up with both hands, which also means that you will avoid fouling.

With both hands-up defense and vertical contests, you will obstruct the shooter’s vision, but you’re unlikely to block the shot. To block an opponent’s shot, you have to press Triangle/’Y’ while still near the defender. Your defender will go up with one hand to reach for the ball. You can also modify your block into a swat by pressing R2 with Triangle/RT with Y. We recommend going for a swat block when the offensive player is in stride while shooting.

Unlike vertical contests and hands-up defense, going for blocks can lead to fouls. Keep in mind, though, that fouls inside the paint are often considered good and necessary. Sometimes you will block the shot, other times you will commit a shooting foul. Either way, preventing easy layups and dunks should be one of your main defensive goals.

Off-the-ball defense

As mentioned, a good rule of thumb is to always play defense on the ball to keep up with the play. After you become an efficient defender on the ball, though, you can start employing techniques to better your off-the-ball defense. The end result is a more efficient and well-rounded defense in general.

Boxing out and grabbing boards

The AI does some boxing out on shots on its own, but you can increase your chances of securing rebounds by switching players when a shot goes up and boxing out on your own. Switch to the closest defender to the hoop and hold L2/LT to box out your opponent. Typically, you will be controlling forwards and centers in these scenarios.

When the ball comes off the rim, press Triangle/Y to jump up to grab the rebound.

Denying passing lanes

Stopping the flow of the offense is important. You want to make it as hard as possible for your opponent to run an efficient offense. If the man with the ball isn’t the one who typically takes the shots, or say, there is a star player on the court looking to get open (LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, etc.), playing off-the-ball defense on that likely offensive juggernaut is a smart technique. There are several techniques you can employ to make it hard on that star player.

If the player is cutting across the court to get open, you can bump them by pressing and holding L2/LT. Or, you can “chuck” them, by moving the right analog stick towards the player and holding L2/LT. In our experience, using chuck results in fewer defensive fouls, as you get your hands off of them more quickly.

If the star player is still out on the wing and waiting for a pass, you can cut off that passing lane with multiple techniques. Moving the right analog stick in the direction of the player waves your hands in the air. When the star is calling for the pass at the top of the key, engage them by holding L2/LT. Both of these methods can result in deflected passes.

Keeping the ball out of a star player’s hands behind the three-point line is good, but making sure they don’t get a good look in the paint is even better. When they are in the paint, use the same L2/LT technique to press against their back. You can modify this useful technique in the post by moving forward, pushing them further away from the basket. Or you can completely eliminate the chance of him catching it in the post, by moving the right stick in the direction that the offensive player is posting up on you. You have to watch their feet. If they are backing you down to the left, move left, and vice versa.

On the flip side, if you are backing down the offensive player in the post, tempting the ball handler to throw the pass, press L2/LT to hold your ground. When the pass is in the air, press Square/’X’ to jump up and steal the ball.

Even though playing off-the-ball defense can be beneficial, if you’re struggling to keep up with the offense while employing some of these techniques, we recommend returning to on-the-ball defense. You can be an above-average defender in NBA 2K18 by just staying with the ball. Many people sleep on defense because it’s not as flashy or fun, but if you can make life difficult for the offense by being a pesky defender, your offensive possessions won’t feel as do-or-die.

NBA 2K18 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Kyrie Irving, recently traded from the Cavs to the Celtics, graces the cover.

More accurate and efficient GPS chips coming to 2018 smartphones

GPS chips in 2018 phones will be more accurate and use 50% less battery.

While bezel-less displays and dual-camera systems are visual upgrades that are easy to get excited about, an upcoming GPS chip from Broadcom will soon allow future smartphones to provide more accurate mapping features and less battery drain when using services like Google Maps, Waze, etc. Late last week, the IEEE Spectrum announced that this new chip is finally ready for mass-production for consumer-facing products and that we should be able to see this latest advancement in GPS technology make its way to smartphones set to be released in 2018.

More accurate turn-by-turn directions and the ability to have a little extra battery at the end of the day undoubtedly sounds quite nice, but the extent of the upgrades that have been made here is seriously impressive. Current GPS chips in smartphones provide a location accuracy within 5-meters (or 500-centimeters) of your actual location, but with Broadcom’s latest and greatest (the BCM47755), that will be dwindled down to just 30-centimeters. Along with the improved accuracy, the new GPS chip should also perform better in cities and other urban locations where there are a lot of tall buildings and other concrete structures.

As for the upgraded power-efficiency, the BCM47755 will use 50% less power than what GPS chips in current smartphones require. This has been achieved thanks to moving the chipset to a 28-nanometer design, using a brand-new radio architecture, and by taking advantage of a dual-core sensor hub that was designed specifically for the BCM47755.

In addition to the advancements made with the chip itself, this will also be the first GPS system in smartphones that can connect to L5 satellites that are capable of kicking out a more accurate signal that’s less prone to distortion than the older L1 satellites. The BCM47755 will connect to both L1 and L5 systems to provide the best possible results, and although there have been devices capable of using L5 in the past, this will be the first time that the technology will make its way to consumer products.

Although we don’t know exactly which handsets will come outfitted with the BCM47755 GPS chip, it has been confirmed that smartphones slated for release in 2018 will be outfitted with this new technology. A new GPS chipset might not be as exciting as a phone display with hardly any bezels to speak of, but if the BCM47755 works the way it’s being advertised, we’re going to be in for a real treat once phones actually start shipping with this new silicon.