AC News Weekly
News Weekly is our column, the place we spotlight and summarize a few of the week’s high tales so you may atone for the most recent tech information.
This is Android Central’s News Weekly, your go-to supply for a concise roundup of the week’s most vital tech tales. This is the place we delve into the highest headlines that present the most recent developments and improvements contributing to the digital panorama.
This week, Motorola launched two reasonably priced telephones, TikTok will get a final shot at staying within the U.S., Chrome ups its safety on phishing emails, the Galaxy S24 Plus is a shock hit, and Google Messages will get custom-colored chats.
Hello Moto
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Earlier this week, Motorola launched its budget-friendly telephones, the Moto G 5G 2024 and the Moto G Power 5G 2024. Both these telephones supply upgraded specs and run Android 14 out of the field with improved shows, cameras, and processors in comparison with its earlier fashions.
The Moto G 5G is smaller in dimension and has a 6.6-inch HD LCD show and a 5,000mAh battery that helps an 18W charger. It makes use of a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chip with a 2GHz octa-core CPU paired with 4GB RAM that may also be doubled to 8GB utilizing RAM Boost. The system has a 50MP predominant digicam, a secondary 2MP macro unit with no ultrawide angle, and an 8MP entrance digicam. This 12 months’s system is cheaper at $199, a major drop from final 12 months’s $249 mannequin.
The Moto G Power 5G, the marginally more costly mannequin, has a 6.7-inch FHD+ LCD show and a 5,000mAh battery that helps 30W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging. The telephone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor, which incorporates a 2.2 GHz octa-core CPU. It has 128GB of inside storage and helps a microSD growth of as much as 1TB. There are two rear cameras—a 50MP predominant digicam with optical picture stabilization and an 8MP ultrawide lens with a 118-degree angle and macro assist. On the entrance is a 16MP selfie digicam. This 12 months’s system prices $299.
These telephones will likely be obtainable beginning March 21.
Time is ticking… Tik…Tok
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On Wednesday (Mar.13), the U.S. Congress handed a invoice that will have main implications for TikTok, an app utilized by at the very least 170 million Americans.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Although the invoice mentions TikTok, it’s relevant to any app managed by international advisories within the U.S.
TikTok has been given 180 days to make sure that its China-based mother or father firm ByteDance must promote TikTok inside the U.S., or will probably be banned within the nation. This means it would grow to be unlawful for any app shops or internet servers that host TikTok.
“We have given TikTok a transparent alternative,” mentioned Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
This transfer was taken after the U.S. authorities raised issues about dangers to nationwide safety and the info of customers on the platform. A spokesperson from TikTok is looking this invoice a “ban” and hopes that the Senate will think about info earlier than taking any motion.
The invoice is at the moment being thought of by the Senate, and its destiny stays unsure till then.
Samsung’s S24 Plus successful
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The reputation of the most recent Galaxy S24 Plus mannequin has grow to be the speak of the city, and we aren’t shocked.
Samsung’s gross sales of the Galaxy S24 sequence are up when in comparison with the Galaxy S23 sequence, and the most recent numbers present us why. According to the most recent information from Counterpoint Research, gross sales of the Galaxy S24 sequence rose by 8% within the first three weeks when in comparison with final 12 months’s early gross sales numbers, and the S24 Plus is driving up these numbers
“And in Samsung’s greatest market – the US – we’re seeing YoY progress within the mid-teens – stable numbers, particularly contemplating the robust February. And contemplating we’re nonetheless actually firstly phases of the approaching GenAI smartphone growth, there may be loads of runway for more progress,” mentioned Jeff Fieldhack, Counterpoint Research’s analysis director for North America.
Over the years, Samsung’s Plus mannequin has been seen as nothing more than a bigger model of the bottom mannequin, full with a bigger battery and quicker charging. The system didn’t supply a lot distinction. However, this 12 months’s model has QHD+ decision, provides higher image high quality, bumps in RAM to 12GB, and, let’s not overlook the magic of Galaxy AI.
You cannot get Phished on Google Chrome
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Google introduced on March 15 that it’ll improve the Standard safety mode in Chrome’s Safe Browsing function so that everybody will get real-time safety towards phishing and malware assaults.
Google upgraded Chrome’s safety system, Safe Browsing, final 12 months, including real-time safety to the combo.
This function, which was beforehand solely obtainable in Safe Browsing’s Enhanced Protection mode, retains a lookout for the URLs you are looking and immediately warns you if you happen to wander right into a sketchy a part of the web.
The replace is now up and working for anybody utilizing Chrome on desktop or iOS. And Google additionally plans to carry it to Android customers later this month.
Google rolls out {custom} chat colours for RCS
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Google Messages is letting beta testers set {custom} colours for RCS chats.
Back in November, Google launched coloration choices for chat bubbles, letting customers personalize their chat colours. Now, it looks like the replace is step by step rolling out to beta testers.
To discover the contemporary coloration decisions, simply faucet the three-dot menu button in any Google Messages thread and decide “Change colours” from the overflow menu. Another solution to do it’s to move to the overflow menu, faucet on Details or Group particulars, and search for the “Change colours” possibility just under the photographs and movies part. A full-screen preview UI will pop up, providing 9 decisions that embody the default coloration, blue, purple, inexperienced, orange, and pink, amongst different choices.
Once you select a new coloration for a thread, a message pops up on the backside of the display saying, “You modified the theme.”
Those are a few of the greatest tales from this week. Meanwhile, listed below are another tales which can be price catching up on: