2018 recap: Best Tech Products

We are going to review the year 2018 and list down the best technology products in each category. These products are a must have. So, are you missing any of them in your arsenal?

Phones

Google Pixel 3 proved to be the best phone this year. Though we had some amazing handsets released by Apple, Samsung, Huawei and OPPO but Google took the trophy away with its Pixel 3. We wrote about Pixel 3 in the very beginning of our blog. Google stands out on the basis of its software and AI assists that it provides. Security updates and features like Google duplex and Night Sight score some extra points for Google.

Laptops

Dell XPS 13 along with its sleek looking design has some amazing features as well which helped it make it to our list. XPS 13 has an amazing 10 hour long battery life and everyone using a laptop knows what a blessing it is. With a fast processor and all the latest features XPS 13 is a dependable and user friendly machine. It is available in white and champagne color which is a cherry on top.

TVs

LG C8 series is the best TV of 2018 according to us. C8 series OLED TV offers the ultimate blend of high definition picture quality, sleek design and affordable price. Its colors, contrast and motion beat its competitors and left them behind. In addition to its superb picture quality, LGs WebOS operating system make it super easy for the customers to use it.

Cameras

Nikon Z series wins the best camera of 2018. Its Z6 and Z7 are full frame mirrorless cameras that take high quality pictures. They offer 4K quality for videographers as well. Z series has electronic viewfinders and compact bodies. The Z7 DSLR comes with a 45.6 megapixel sensor.

Drones

DJI Mavic 2 Pro! It was a no brainer that the best drone of 2018 was made by DJI. DJI brought many drones to the market but our personal favorite was Mavic 2 Pro. It has exception auto follow abilities and has one of the best quality cameras we’ve seen on a drone.

Smartwatches

Apple Watch Series 4 wins this awards without any noticeable competition. With one of the best OS available in the market Apple smartwatches are our favorite brand. The amazing new features have focused on relevancy, ease of use and innovation. The health features available are the highlight of this product.

3D Printers

Anycubic Photon produces high detail parts and costs only 500 bucks. It is an SLA printer which can create objects with far greater detail than an FDM printer.

Mozilla Firefox "Price Wise" feature

When you think of Internet Browsers, the first thing comes to mind is the best, “Google Chrome”. It is because of its security features and smooth web search experience. The best viewing experience and hassle free search preference will always be Google Chrome, but for online shopping enthusiasts, Firefox is bringing a feature built into its new update of Mozilla Firefox Browser (Price Wise) that will allow its users to stay updated of the price drops of their favorite products. Users will be able to add products into their wish list from retail giants like EBay, BestBuy, Amazon and Walmart. This option will give users more transparency in buying products on the web.

The feature is called Price Wise and is basically a price tracking utility which will give notifications from online shopping websites in case of price changes (falling prices). This will give edge to Firefox as they are launching this feature before the holiday season and as Christmas is around the corner, this feature will bring Firefox massive traffic for online purchases.

With Mozilla Firefox Price Wise feature you will get desktop notification of price drop of products from your watch list on Firefox browser. This feature is currently in its early phase and is being tested in US. This kind of option was also available on other browsers by installing plugins and from services of third party ad-ons, but this is the first time any browser is giving the update in which the feature is already built-in. This feature will be available in its beta version from Mozilla test pilot website. According to us, this will also be a productive revenue stream for Mozilla Firefox as this will be a platform for e-commerce giants to register them to this service and give discounts to customers from one click online platform of much popular Web Browser covering more than 10 percent of global browser users of 170 million.

What is Apple's "Project Titan" all about?

Apple is known for its iPhones, iPads, MacBook and the Apple watch. These are the popular brands that not only loyalists but even the layman knows about, what is not popular with Apple is its own car. Yes! Apple, few years, back was rumored to be working on a secret and confidential project called, “Project Titan”. This project was all about Apple creating its own Artificial Intelligent Car Driving System. Yes, this term is popular and known to be just a Tesla thing, but Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg in 2017:

The statement wasn’t clear about what Apple intended to do with building autonomous system, but he showed his interest towards it by saying that autonomous system of self-driving cars is the most challenging. We clearly know that Apple has been very successful in Siri (AI personal assistant), and it will continue to take part in future AI projects. It has also been reported that in July of this year Apple had obtained patent from California State Department of Motor Vehicle that they want 66 vehicle permits to drive and 111 safety drivers that will sit behind the steering wheel of the autonomous system driver testing for safety purpose.

Doug Field, the previous Vice President of Apple had come back to the company after working for Tesla on Tesla Model 3. This news made it more obvious that Apple might not just want to make a system that will be sold to other automakers but there are high chances that Apple might make its own Apple branded car. This seems more obvious because Apple on its own is an all service plus product company, that makes its own hardware and its own Operating System.

All the Apple loyalists and other tech followers hope to see such an Autonomous Driving System for Cars in the near future by Apple, because it will be a breakthrough in AI sector. As Tesla also has auto drive feature but it doesn’t meet complete autonomous system for driver as it notifies the driver to stay active and also to put their hands on steering wheel for confirmation that driver is consciously active or not. Only time will tell if Apple is successful in this quest.

Artificial Intelligent Artist

Old were the days when Artificial Intelligence was a Science-fiction. We have reached a point where there are AI functions everywhere from our banking sector, to the luxury of shopping and also in our Smartphones. The AI has been making our lives more comfortable and to be precise more productive by saving our time and increasing our efficiency. 

Now that is what a normal perception about AI has been considered everywhere but have you ever heard about an Artificial Intelligence artist? YES! A painter, an algorithm, a computer that by using the AI of algorithm that was based on the data of 15000 portraits between the  14^th and 20^th century has made a painting which was planned to be auctioned. 

To the surprise of its creator, the painting has been sold 45 times of its highest estimate, for a whooping amount of “$432,500”. To catch the interest of the collectors and to create authenticity of the painting the signature of the painter, which is an equation, is signed at the bottom.

  

But to what extent is the idea of these paintings by robots a feasible idea? I think to the extent to which it has raised money. But art once used to be a source of human interaction, of what they perceive and then put that perspective into the art for others to learn and mesmerize. From the old art cave carvings to Van Gogh starry nights and the famous “Mona Lisa” art has always been an exquisite domain. The future holds much in this technological era that even we can’t imagine.

Facebook to introduce “Unsend” feature in Messenger

Facebook planned to announce this “Unsend” feature earlier but now this feature has been introduced in some markets of Poland, Colombia and Bolivia on both iOS and Android and Facebook has promised to capture other markets too. Facebook messenger has allowed its users to remove their messages from the recipient’s inbox. Facebook is also planning to add an expiry date for a single message or the entire message thread so if users want their messages to be deleted after six months, they will be able to remove those messages.

The new “Unsend” feature will appear as an additional option at the bottom of the screen and people can use it with the help of a long press on the message that has been sent. After a long press on the message, users will have options of copy, forward or delete and the new option will be “remove”. By tapping on this option, users can delete the message either for themselves or for all the recipients.

Messages can only be removed after the first 10 minutes of delivery to correct any mistake or removing something which is accidentally pushed but “Remove for everyone” button will leave an indicator that the message was retracted and after 10 minutes, user will be able to remove the message, but the message will remain in the recipient’s inbox. Facebook will retain those deleted messages for some time to see the policy violations, if reported.

Facebook has empowered its users to remove any kind of message whether it’s a text or a group chat, a photo, video, a link or any other form of message within 10 minutes of sending but only your side of messages will be deleted from the conversation.

SpaceX to add 7,518 satellites to Starlink

Elon Musk, a person full of ambition and entrepreneurial mind is now all set to introduce to the world, a way which will be useful for people all around the world. He plans on providing a vast area of coverage for Internet and he’s going to do it in a way like no other has done before. His idea is to provide internet directly and completely wirelessly from space by launching internet beaming satellites into the low orbit space, lower than the International Space Station. This will result in low time Internet coverage from space to earth. This venture is expected to generate revenue of more than $30 billion by 2025.

This will be done by launching more than 7000 satellites into the orbit for which the permission has been given to SpaceX by FCC (Federal Communication Commission). Elon Musk has been given time to launch half of them in 6 years and to complete the launch in 9 years’ time span as allowed by FCC. This project has been given a name of “Starlink” in which total 12000 low orbit satellites will be launched into space. This project is expected to cost $10 billion and to be operational by 2020.

This service will provide a cheap global connectivity and internet access to remote areas where there was no internet until now, this project will also allow Internet of Things to grow as there will be an extensive and fast wireless connection. With such development from Space X, aerospace and communication giants like Boeing and Samsung are also sending their internet service satellites into the space. Google and Facebook also have plans to pursue such venture as Internet demand is going to double by year 2020. By 2020 their will be 3:1 IP address to global population that is 3 IP address or internet device to 1 person. To meet such demand SpaceX space internet mission will be extremely successful.

First AI News Anchor makes his debut on Screen

We all know that this era has become an era of technological miracles. Technology is advancing on regular basis and we keep on watching latest inventions and innovations. Every new day comes with a jaw dropping news which a person can hardly think of.

We have been hearing from past many years that Artificial Intelligence is swiftly progressing and in future humans will be replaced by robots. Well, the news is here finally. News Anchors around the globe and specifically in China may have a new competitor.

A TV anchor has joined a news agency in China but he isn’t a human. China State news agency Xinhua has launched an Artificial Intelligent news anchor. The anchor made a debut in World Internet Conference on Thursday.

According to XINHUA, The anchors were developed through machine learning to simulate the voice, facial movements, and gestures of real-life broadcasters to present a “a lifelike image instead of a cold robot,”

This AI anchor is the robotic version of XINHUA real life anchor Qiu Hao. The anchor on his debut said “This is my first day and I will keep you informed with every latest news as texts will be typed into my system uninterrupted. Not only can I accompany you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I can be endlessly copied and present at different scenes to bring you the news”

AliBaba plans to acquire EasyPaisa

AliBaba is world’s largest e-commerce platform chaired by Jack Ma. AliBaba group was founded back in 1999. It deals in B2B , B2C and C2C service via web portals.

In April 2017, Jack Ma had a meeting with then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in Davos where he expressed his interest to invest in e-commerce sector of Pakistan. Later that year, AliBaba acquired Pakistan’s biggest online retail store Daraz.pk. Though the amount of acquisition is undisclosed as per statement by Director Marketing of Daraz Mehdi Raza “AliBaba has a policy of not disclosing the amount”. Now AliBaba is planning to acquire EasyPaisa. Remember that AliBaba already surpassed PayPal as biggest mobile payment platform back in 2013.

EasyPaisa is Pakistan’s biggest micro financial service introduced by Telenor. For EasyPaisa account, you don’t need to open a bank account. Your account will be associated with your sim card. This totally revolutionized the money transfer system in Pakistan as it became very convenient to transfer cash in remote areas with a nominal transfer fee. Due to this service, Telenor earned more revenue than it usually earns from calls and sms.

Competition Commission of Pakistan CCPC gave go-ahead of investment and AliBaba made its first big move by purchasing 45% shares of EasyPaisa. We hope that this complete acquisition will bring significant changes and new features in this service as they brought in Daraz by launching Signature AliBaba biggest sale of the year 11.11 on 11^th November.

Samsung reveals its first Folding Phone “Infinity Flex”

Samsung throws big news in the market related to its product before launch and this time, it’s about a folding phone which has become viral in the social media. We have been hearing about folding phones and Samsung showed us what a folding phone with technology looks like. Samsung showed a prototype of its new phone having a foldable display. The phone when folded, is a smartphone and when unfolded, is a tablet. The idea of foldable phone proves that despite some failures in the couple of devices, Samsung has the ability to innovate.

In Samsung Developing Conference, the company revealed the prototype of its “Infinity Flex Display” which is a folding device in a pitch-black room, the device was protected in a larger case. The outer display of the front has a low screen-to-body ratio, but the inner unfolded display is 7.3″. The folding display is on the inner side of the phone rather than outside edge. The inner display side can be folded hundreds and thousands of times without degrading the display quality and any signs of wear and tear.

The device has two displays, one larger display on the inner side of the phone and one smaller display when the phone is folded up. When the phone is unfolded, the apps which were being used from the front display will move to a tablet-sized display. The company aims to give battery life as long as other galaxy smartphones, despite the fact that there is more screen to drain the battery. The device will focus on the handy and quick access and interactions. When the device is unfolded, the cover display will turn off and go black.

Samsung is not ready to release this type of device yet because the company is still working on the apps and features of the foldable phone, but the company will be able to start its mass production in the coming months. Samsung believes that this folding display is the foundation of future phablets.

We hinted at Samsung's foldable phones in one of our previous blogs. Samsung has been planning of launching a foldable phone since 2013. 

Samsung won’t be the first company to launch screen-folded technology and not the last as well. Huawei is also planning to release a foldable phone next year. Other mobile companies like Lenovo and Xiaomi have also started working on their prototypes. The officials at Samsung believe that they are representing an entirely new mobile platform because this is the era in which size of the screen can only be large as device itself and Samsung is helping in browse, watch and multitask like never before.

Facebook Dating Services to launch in Canada and Thailand

Facebook started its new dating feature in Colombia which is an algorithm-powered home screen for people. This feature is based on the information which has been given to Facebook. The goal was to make Facebook best place to start a dating business online. It is basically an online dating platform providing convenience. This feature was launched in Colombia for testing purpose but now, Facebook is now expanding its dating app in Canada and Thailand with some new features including re-reviewing people and taking breaks by putting the services on pause. Apps like Tinder are trying to compete with this feature where you can find hookups by going through different options. This can only scratch surface with partnerships.

  

The Pause factor in new features is also announced by another dating app Bumble. A “Snooze button” was introduced by the app for those people who wanted a break from the dating app for a while because of frustration or because of busy routines. This feature solved problems of many people. Facebook provides opportunity to send message while being on a pause. Other dating apps charge money for a second look but, Facebook is giving this feature free for its users where they can go back and re-review people in reverse chronological order. Another feature will be introduced which will enable the users to review their blocked lists. This will be a support to non-metric units and more interactive profile content sharing like sharing hometown or school. All these features will be there in the new Facebook Dating app.

Users would be able to see these feature displayed vertically instead of horizontally while scrolling through groups and events. Facebook is also working on a preemptive block list, based on the feedback of the users, they will be able to search for people who are not in their Facebook friend list and they don’t want them to see. The new feature will put a limit on the users that they won’t be able to express interest in more than 100 people per day.

Facebook dating app is positioning services for the people who want relationships but the challenge is that user’s trust in the company is missing because dating is something more private that cannot be exposed on social network because people are connected with their families and business peers. Facebook is trying to maintain privacy of the people and helping them in finding their soul mates.

Walmart’s Artificially Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL)

Walmart has extended its focus on harnessing technology and modernizing its retail stores. In 2017, Walmart assembled a team of AI experts and data scientists. This team was called Kepler and its purpose was to use AI technology to revamp Walmart’s retail stores. Earlier it was speculated that Walmart is going cashier-less like Amazon Go. But last week officials at Walmart revealed that Kepler is working on building an Intelligent Retail Lab.

This IRL is not yet operational but the team has started installing the hardware and software inside of its stores in Levittown, New York. This system once installed will revolutionize the retail business. It will assist store managers in knowing when the aisles need replenishing, inform them about spills and help them in re-arranging wrongly placed items.

This Artificial Intelligent system can also help them in recording customer data. This data could be analyzed to identify shopping patterns and customer preferences. In this age of information technology, such data can help Walmart in competing with their online competitors.

If this experiment proves to be a success, Walmart will surely install such systems in all of its retail outlets. Soon competitors would follow similar strategies and we will witness how innovative technology can change the way we shop at grocery stores.

Apple and Samsung – Planned Obsolescence Giants

Samsung just like Apple has started rolling out its updates that causes its phones to slow down. Last year when Apple started the planned obsolescence, Samsung ensured its customers that such problem will not be faced by its loyal customers but recently Italian government in a lawsuit fined both companies for forcing updates to the older devices that were not intended for the previous devices. 

Note 4 has been provided the android version that was launched for Galaxy Note 7, and Apple provided the same update that was made for iPhone 7  to iPhone 6 which caused significant performance loss thus forcing customers to upgrade to the latest versions of the phone series. Both the companies are fined approximately $5.7 million.

The fact that planned obsolescence is real, can be denied by these companies on the grounds that they roll out the updates and it is up to the user to upgrade. As people are eager to catch up and use exclusive features and performance, these market giants are also liable to make updates because the social media apps are upgrading functions which can only be used on latest version of an operating system. This creates a win-win situation for both the social media companies and the hardware department, as both need to be upgraded to the latest versions by the customers. 

CEO of Apple, “Tim Cook” said that the next iOS update will allow more transparent view of what will be happening to performance of the phone and users will be given option whether to upgrade or not.

PlayStation still boosting Sony’s revenues

Sony first launched PlayStation back in 1994. A device which connected with TV gave a new gaming experience. It was a device with DVD option and 2 remotes. PS got a very good response and it sold 102 million consoles.

In 1999, Sony launched PlayStation 2 which completely changed the dynamics of gaming. Better games, better graphics and new technology lead to become all-time best selling gaming device with over 155 million consoles sold. PlayStation 3 was launched in 2006 but couldn’t beat the sales volume of PlayStation 2 and its all time sales were nearly 84 million consoles.

Now even after 24 years of PlayStation launch, PlayStation 4 is gaining immense popularity not only in teens but also in adults. Still gamers love spending their time playing their favourite games. PlayStation 4 has HD graphics which gives a real time experience. Apart from this, now PS has wireless remote controls which allows users to play according to their comfort level.

  

Despite presence of competitors like X-Box & Nintendo, PS4 recorded $2.1 Billion profit which is 27% increase in Sony’s gaming revenue. Its total sales were recorded at $4.9 Billion. Till date, Sony has sold over 86 million consoles and its games God Of War sold 3 million copies in its first 3 days while another game Spider-man sold 3.3 million copies in 3 days.

Instagram is promoting ads for stories to generate cash

In social media marketing, Facebook and Instagram along with Twitter are playing significant roles in the market. Monthly users of Instagram are about 700 million. Instagram introduced the “Story feature” in summers 2016 which was like Snapchat in which users were able to create stories containing images and videos and these stories can be shared with friends and the life of a story is 24 hours.

Instagram is planning to earn dollars from small businesses with the help of ads in the stories. A new ad type naming “Promote for Stories” is being introduced by Instagram. In this way small business can show their offers and discounts to many users within no time through their Instagram page. Admins of the page can choose their targets to make the story visible to users in the form of an ad and they can attach links of their profiles as well. This option is like Facebook’s boost option that allows the users to pay in order to show the posts instantly to the users.

  

Instagram has also introduced a new feature in which users can share a preview image of an IGTV video (IGTV is a standalone vertical video application made by Instagram). By tapping on the image, users can watch the full video on IGTV.

Facebook owns both Instagram and WhatsApp. Earlier this month Whatsapp also announced display ads on its status stories. It certainly seems that these online social platforms are now focusing on multiple revenue streams to increase their earnings. 

Despite the departure of the co-founders, Instagram is still showing some innovations and introducing new features which shows that Instagram is determined to keep creative users and businesses to become the social giant in the market.

NASA’s Kepler retires after 9 years

Since its launch in 2009, NASA’s space telescope Kepler is finally going to retire. Kepler was successful in observing half a million stars and hundreds of planets around those stars. It opened our eyes to diverse worlds. Some totally different from our solar system.  The data transmitted by Kepler is still being used in many research projects. Scientists were also able to identify new rocky planets the size of Earth. (Good news! They are in the habitable zone)

Kepler’s mission was to continuously look on one patch of the sky and notice every small planet or star that appears. This mission lasted for three and a half years. It was a huge success and started producing many exoplanets when the data was processed. The spacecraft, now retired, is out of fuel and will simply drift through the solar system.

Kepler completed its initial mission in 2014 but due to its state of the art construction and optimum use of fuel it was approved for a second mission called K2. This second phase was different from the first because it would not have Kepler staring at one patch in the sky only. Kepler would change its view every three months thereby covering more area. Consequently, the number of new stars observed witnessed an upwards surge.

With the help of Kepler scientists were able to announce the existence of more than 1200 exoplanets. Google’s AI was working to find more exoplanets hidden in the noisy data. Kepler has burned its last reserve of fuel and has transmitted the final batch of data through the Deep space Network. This data will soon be available to NASA’s teams and citizen scientists. As for the exoplanet hunt, it has been taken up by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

The Era of Electric Bikes

People living in urban areas need different transportation types for different things. General Motors is solving the problem with the help of electric bikes. General Motors (GM) is about to introduce new electric bikes in the market next year just like Xiaomi, an electric scooter manufacturer in US. GM is planning to introduce an e-bike in which one half part would be folding and the other half would be compact. The makers of the electric bikes are more concerned about the electrification and related ideas as they would distinguish them from the traditional business model; production and sale of gas-powered vehicles.

It is being said that these electric bikes will be smart and connected and they will also have the company’s subscription-based communication, security and emergency service features. The bikes will also have rechargeable front and rear LED lights as a security feature and electric propulsion is also designed for the drive system.

 

                     

General Motors is asking for public help so that they can give a name to their latest innovation. For this purpose, the company has launched a brand-naming campaign and they have asked the people to give names to the e-bikes and submit to www.eBikeBrandChallenge.com. The winner will get $10,000 and 9 runners-up will get $1,000 each.

Many companies are now working on the electric bikes because they see potential in the market for the e-bikes. Tesla would be joining the electric bikes war soon. According to Elon Musk, Tesla is interested in making electric bikes because they think that electric scooters lack dignity.

WhatsApp will be no more Ad-Free!

WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the world, with its popularity for end to end encryption and fast service, having users of 1.5 billion, will sadly be no more Ad-Free. This was what gave previous owners Brian Acton and Jan Koum an undesirable situation to leave Facebook. When all was going good, the Facebook CEO “Mark Zuckerberg” was in a hurry to monetize the App since the time he bought the App in 2014. Acton stated that Targeted Ad’s were the thing that made him unhappy.

With the stance that Zuckerberg didn’t comply with the previous owners’ model to run WhatsApp free of Ad’s, Acton left Facebook and that followed by his Co-owner after few months. Facebook owned WhatsApp is now set to launch Ads in its App in the Status section which users will see from the next year (2019). Zuckerberg states that businesses will be interested to target their products and services as the Ads will be targeted based on customer information which makes WhatsApp best Ad company of the future.

It’s sad to see Ad based revenue coming to everyone’s favorite messaging app as the previous owners after ditching the $1 a year fee said that WhatsApp will be free forever. This Ad based revenue model will be the main monetization source for the company. One good thing that won’t bother the users right now is that their communication will not get interrupted by the Ads, it will only be the status section that will be targeted by the Ads.

Facebook usage and popularity has declined a little due to the video Ads, which bothered it’s community of 2.3 billion users worldwide, it’s now up to Mark Zuckerberg to make sure that the WhatsApp users of 1.5 billion worldwide, won’t be irritated with this Ad Revenue model, otherwise a large market for the App will be lost.