The US-imposed trade ban on Huawei was among the most talked-about events of 2019 and there’s no denying that. Though it has been a while since that happened, the topic still manages to make headlines today. However, the focus nowadays is on Huawei’s next move in its mission of Google-less future. Though Harmony OS, is still on progress, Huawei is focusing on replacing Google Mobile Service with its Huawei Mobile Service. Though its an uphill task, Huawei is looking to achieve this by taking one step at a time. And the most recent move (that has been made public) has Huawei joined hands with TomTom to replace Google Maps.
Almost everyone knows about the US-Huwaei Trade ban saga. Since the ban, Huawei has been restricted to work with any of the US-based companies. Unfortunately for Huawei, that meant broken ties with Google. And we all know, the US-based company is behind the beloved operating system-Android. Huawei can still integrate Android into its devices because of the open-source nature of the OS. However, Google has canceled its Google Play certification because of which Huawei cant use the Google Mobile Service which forms the backbone of the present Android system.
Huawei’s HMS Ecosystem
Since being stripped of its Google Play Certification, the alternative for Google Mobile service has become the topmost priority for Huawei. Huawei is set to replace the Google Play Store with its AppGallery. It is also working on Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) and HMS core. The Huawei-TomTom deal comes as the latest progress in the Huawei’s mission of Google-less future.
TomTom announced on Friday that it has completed a deal with Huawei for the use of its maps and services in Huawei’s smartphone apps. Huawei will now be allowed to integrate TomTom’s maps, traffic information, and navigation software in its app. The deal will not be affected by the ongoing trade ban since TomTom is based on Netherland. Even in this case, Huawei chose to be careful about the possible consequences. TomTom spokesman, Remco Meerstra, confirmed that the deal had been closed some time ago but had not been made public by the company. Neither of the parties has disclosed anything about the terms of the Huawei-TomTom deals.
Though Huawei is working on Harmony OS (it has been the case since 2012), it won’t be replacing Android in future Huawei devices. Why? Because Huawei still wants to stick to Android. It is difficult to battle Android in the smartphone market and Huawei knows it better. That is why it is keeping Harmony OS as “Plan B” in the case in the future it is restricted to use the Android platform. Harmony OS was primarily developed to deploy it on IoT devices. It was made a cross-platform system very late in the development process. It was unveiled as a system for “Smart Screen Products” rather than an Android replacement.
So won’t we see a Harmony OS powered smartphone? Well, we might. The first case is Huawei being restricted to use the Android platform. In such a case, Huawei will launch a smartphone powered by Harmony OS. Even if that doesn’t happen, Huawei will probably incorporate Harmony OS in a few of its devices, just to show the world what it is capable of. But it will require a ton of work. It will require a lot of developers to make the transition from Android to Harmony OS.
The idea of a single universal charging method in all of the portable electronic devices is making the headlines once again, after almost a decade since the inception of the idea. This time around it will be Apple which will have to make the sacrifice of its Lightning connector cable if the members of the European Parliament succeed in their mission to have the tech giants incorporate a common charger in all the phones to be shipped to Europe.
If you remember phones that came before 2009, you would know that they came with all kinds of chargers. Even phones from the same manufacturer came with different charging ports and chargers. To put it into figures, there were more than 30 different types of chargers back then. At present, we only have three types of chargers. So how was this possible?
Having a common charger mechanism in devices from manufacturers like Apple and everyone else does make sense. Imagine carrying different chargers for all of your different electronic devices. Your bag or whatever you intend to carry will be full of dangled cables. Wouldn’t it be easy if a common charger plugged-in in all of your devices?
The universal charging method would be easy on nature too. It would significantly reduce the 51,000 tonnes of waste produced per year due to obsolete cables.
Remember I told you that a decade has passed since the inception of the idea? Well, it is true. And the leading companies back then did come to a common understanding to solve this. In 2009, Apple, Nokia, and Samsung along with 8 other companies signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to provide micro-USB compatibility with their chargers.
Apple’s Lightning cable
While most of the companies stuck to the micro-USB port for their product, Apple chose to exploit a loophole in the understanding and came up with a Lightning charger in 2012. The Lightning cable replaced the 30-pin dock connector that Apple used in its older devices. iPhone 5, the 5th generation iPod Touch, and the 7th generation iPod Nano were the first devices to feature Lightning cable.
Apple offered Lightning to Micro USB Adapter for the micro-USB compatibility that they agreed upon in the MoU.
Problems for Apple’s Lightning cable
The problem for Apple started in 2014 when the European Union (EU) came up with Radio Equipment Directive. Through the directive, European lawmakers have called for a common charger to fit all the portable electronic devices.
Apple, in response, said that the new regulation would “freeze innovation” and would be “disruptive for consumers”. It reads:
“More than 1 billion Apple devices have shipped using a Lightning connector in addition to an entire ecosystem of accessory and device manufacturers who use Lightning to serve our collective customers. We want to ensure that any new legislation will not result in the shipment of any unnecessary cables or external adaptors with every device, or render obsolete the devices and accessories used by many millions of Europeans and hundreds of millions of Apple customers worldwide. This would result in an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users. To be forced to disrupt this huge market of customers will have consequences far beyond the stated aims of the Commission.”
USB-C: The way to go-ahead?
Some of the Members of the European Parliament are now summoning for “binding measures” to force a common charging method in all devices arriving in Europe. The announcement has come after “the previous result between industry players didn’t yield the desired result“. The European Parliament informed about this via a newsletter on its website. This would include not just smartphones but also tablets, e-book readers and “other portable devices”.
At present, there are three types of charging ports- Micro-USB, USB-C and the Lightning cable. Though a decision is yet to be made on the regulation if the European regulators do vote for a universal port they will most likely choose the USB-C port. It will force the companies using Micr-USB to upgrade to USB-C to comply with the new Standards.
Apple looks to be in favor of USB-C connectivity. The latest iPhone 11 Pro Max comes with a Lightning Connector and a USB-C to Lightning cable adapter. However, Apple doesn’t like the idea of forcing a common charger for all devices.
“Beginning in 2009, Apple led industry efforts to work together to promote a common charging solution. And with the emergence of USB Type-C, we have committed alongside six other companies that all new smartphone models will leverage this standard through a connector or a cable assembly. We believe this collective effort by many of the industry’s leading companies is better for innovation, better for consumers and better for the environment.”
Alternatives for Apple
iPad 2019
Though a decision on the matter is yet to be made if the EU decides to go with the directive Apple will have to think of a way to fight it. It could ditch the Lightning cable for USB-C as it did in its 2019 iPad. But that would be the last thing that Apple will choose to do. So what would the next move from Apple?
Apple to go wireless?
According to popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple might go wireless with the upcoming product. While the first wireless device is expected to debut in 2021, Apple can bring it early if the situation doesn’t improve.
To this day, the wireless charging technology is still in its infancy. And three of the world’s biggest smartphones brand- Samsung, Huawei, and Apple are all working to develop the technology even further.
According to Kuo, having a wireless phone will help to differentiate Apple’s product from those of its rivals. It will even make the devices more water-resistant and the absence of a charging port can make room for a bigger battery.
So what do you think the future holds for us? Will we see Apple adopting the common charger, or will it come with completely wireless devices? Or will the thing remain the same as it is today?
Budget smartphones have gotten a lot better in the past couple of years. You don’t need to spend a bucketload to get a decent performing handset anymore, which is all thanks to the ever-growing competition in the market. And we all know who sits atop the porcelain throne for the king of inexpensive devices – Xiaomi. Now, it looks like (and I hope) Nokia is having a shot at the crown with its new Nokia 2.3. Featuring a bold and hip design with some unique niceties of its own, this budget phone is one tough cookie. Let’s find out more about the Nokia 2.3 in this review.
Nokia 2.3 Specifications
Body: 6.20 x 2.97 x 0.34 inches; 183 gm
Display: 6.2-inches IPS LCD panel
Resolution: HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels); 19:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio A22; 12nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Quad-core (2.0 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB (expandable up to 512 via a microSD card)
Software & UI: Android 9 (Pie)
Rear Camera: Dual-camera;
– 13 MP, f/2.2 primary shooter
– 2MP depth sensor
– Single LED flash
Starting with the design, the Nokia 2.3 – boy it’s chunky. It had been a while since I used one phone this boxy, and I gotta admit, it’s almost as if the phone doesn’t need to be. The battery isn’t all that big, so… why? So many times, I found myself struggling to get a hold of the phone with ease and had to use both my hands even where you’d normally need not to. And the tall big screen isn’t helping either but I’ll get to that later on.
The Nokia 2.3 is a budget phone so it won’t surprise you when I say it’s made of plastic. But the back is interesting, with a vertical ridge running throughout the device, while the frame is metallic. The one I have with me is of Charcoal color variant, though there are Cyan Green and Sand options as well. Getting into buttons, there are the power and volume rockers on the right, while you’ll find the Google Assistant button and the SIM tray on the left. Once again, they’re plasticky and loud, but still clicky enough.
A separate Google Assitant Button?
Now some of you may be thinking what’s the point of a dedicated Google Assistant button when you can easily trigger it through your voice. And yes, I understand that as I too didn’t quite make use of the dedicated button as often as Nokia would’ve hoped. However, you can remap it to trigger some other actions using a third-party app (though native customization support would’ve been even better). Thus, I’ve customized the button to open notifications on a single tap, take a screenshot on a double-tap, and long press to kill the foreground app.
Ports & Buttons
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SIM Tray, Google Assistant Button
3.5mm Headphone Jack
Secondary Mic, Micro USB Port, Speaker Grille
Volume Rockers, Power Button
On top, there’s the primary microphone and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The sound quality is impressive as well but what’s more impressive is how strongly a headphone latches on to the port; strong enough to dangle the phone with it. The secondary microphone and the speaker grille are placed on the bottom alongside the unfortunate micro-USB port. Due to this, the charging is as slow as slow can get. As for the speakers, they’re decently loud but can get easily blocked out by your hands in certain situations like gaming.
Display
Time to get into the display. Nokia 2.3 comes with a tall 6.2-inch “in-cell” IPS LCD panel, and I don’t even want to talk about how bad a name that is. And as expected, it has HD+ resolution – 1520 pixels vertically and 720 horizontally, with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and 271 PPI. Were the phone not that bulky, to begin with, the Nokia 2.3 would’ve been very easy to get to with one hand only. But since that’s not what’s happened here and it is thus a two-hand smartphone.
However, the display cutout is impressive for a budget phone. It features a tiny waterdrop notch up top for the front-facing camera and comes with rounded corners too. Interestingly, while the expensive Nokia 7.2 also featured rounded corners, it suffered from visible discoloration around the top edges, which isn’t the case in Nokia 2.3. So, kudos to the company for that!
Modern design on a budget
With the modern design of the display, the phone achieves an 80.7% screen-to-body ratio because there’s a significant bezel on the bottom with the “Nokia” branding, alongside some subtle side and top bezels as well. You can also change the color temperature of the display under the “White Balance” option if the default setting doesn’t sit right with you.
All things considered; I have two small and one major complaints about Nokia 2.3’s display. First, having used it without any protective tempered glass, it felt a bit unusually slippery. And second, the phone is frequently prone to accidental touches with no option to prevent that. Moreover, it doesn’t get bright enough to be easily visible in well-lit environments though that’s not a problem indoors.
Cameras
The Nokia 2.3 comes with a dual-camera setup so let’s talk about that as well. There’s a 13MP primary sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 2MP depth sensor for bokeh effects. Now, though the company has partnered up with Zeiss to deliver great photography on its smartphones, there’s no Zeiss optics on the Nokia 2.3. Both lenses are arranged in a vertical module alongside the single LED flash.
To sum up the camera performance on the Nokia 2.3 – it’s a hit or miss. Sometimes it works great and sometimes it doesn’t.
Nokia 2.3 – Normal Images
The normal images come out decent in a well-lit environment and the detail preservation is quite good too, though color reproduction could’ve been better. But when it fails (and it often does), the photos come out bland, grainy, with messed up dynamic range.
Normal - Samples
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Nokia 2.3 – Portraits
Talking about portraits, the edge detection is not that great too, but you may not notice that right away when looking at the photo. Upon closer inspection, however, the flaw begins to reveal themselves. It misses out greatly on the subject’s edges. One thing I noticed about the portrait images on the Nokia 2.3 is that they are brighter than the regular images.
Portrait - Sample
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Nokia 2.3 – Nighttime
Nighttime images aren’t any great either. The amount of grain is just way too much, and you’ll notice some smoothing going on too. Overall, low-light photography on the Nokia 2.3 is forgettable.
Nighttime - Sample
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Coming to the front camera, there’s a 5MP f/2.4 sensor placed inside the waterdrop notch.
Nokia 2.3 – Regular & Portrait Selfies
Regular selfies are lacking in color reproduction and there is a significantly low amount of detail as well. Additionally, the images are grainy and polished too.
Normal v Portrait Selfie - Sample
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Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Likewise, the software-based portrait selfies are a little better than the regular selfies in terms of color reproduction though it’s not perfect either. Moreover, selfie portraits on the Nokia 2.3 are also riddled with grains and lack of detail.
Performance & Software
Moving on to the performance, the Nokia 2.3 is powered by MediaTek’s Helio A22 chipset, which can also be found in the older Nokia 2.2. So… not a great chipset selection there. The Helio A22 has a quad-core CPU with Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and the PowerVR GE8320 GPU.
The phone comes with a single memory configuration with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Yeah, no multiple options there. Though it doesn’t lag as much and light multi-tasking is fine as well, Nokia 2.3 demonstrated how accustomed I’d gotten to a faster device. Let’s take a look at its benchmark scores:
From launching apps to making selections, the phone just takes its time, which I would have been infuriated about if this was a mid-range smartphone. This is most evident when taking pictures or videos. First of all, the camera app takes a second or two to launch, but it’s when viewing the clicked pictures where the lag is realized. The image processing on the Nokia 2.3 is just too slow. Here, the software-based face unlock is similarly hopeless. I could wake the phone, swipe to open the pattern layout, enter the pattern to enter the unlocked home-screen, and all that takes less time than face unlock.
Gaming
When it comes to gaming, it can handle a few big titles in the lowest of settings albeit with impending lags and stutters. I played Call of Duty for a while and the phone would frequently slow down when the game tried to load some resources. I also played Injustice 2 on Nokia 2.3 which ran smoothly but suffered from mild lags here and there as well. In terms of light games, I put the phone to test with Alto’s Odyssey which ran smoothly, but that too fell victim to minor lags now and again.
On to the software end, it runs on pure Android as the phone is a part of the “Android One” program. And me, I’m a sucker for stock Android which comes with no bloatware apps and up to 2 years of system upgrades and 3 years of monthly security updates. Though I didn’t receive the Android 10 update during my time with the phone, I sought solace with the January’s security patch.
Battery
Now the battery life on the Nokia 2.3 absolutely blew me away. The 4000 mAh AI-assisted battery on the phone really makes the phone a two-day device as the company claims. I continuously played Injustice 2 for over 4 hours (it was a slow day, don’t judge me), and the phone still had around 50% battery. All around, I got around 7 hours of screen-on time on a single charge. Wow, that’s impressive!
But charging the phone is a pain. It charges via a micro USB port and doesn’t support any fast charging either. Using a 10W charger, it took me about 3 hours and 18 minutes to take the Nokia 2.3 from 0 to 100%, which is just a little short than Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. So… yeah, while the battery life on this is ridiculously impressive, it’s charging, on the other hand, is ridiculously abysmal.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, the Nokia 2.3 is an admirable budget smartphone. It features a modern design and an incredibly impressive battery life. The stock Android herein further supplements to a smooth experience, while guaranteeing updates as well. Its camera is a hit or miss on this. With proper lighting and ambiance, the images turn out fine, though I cannot emphasize enough about the slowness of the image processor. All in all, the Nokia 2.3 is a great starter phone for someone who’s just looking for a decent Android experience on a budget.
Benco V7 comes as the latest addition in Lava’s Benco series. Lava, as a smartphone maker, was a company that was all but forgotten. However, with Benco V8 they tried to make a strong comeback in the budget segment. And now, the series has a new addition.
Lava Benco V7 Overview
The device has a 6.1-inch IPS LCD panel with HD resolution and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen has a dewdrop notch upfront, however, it’s basically the water-drop notch. A 5MP front camera is also housed in the notch.
As for the rear camera, it is a single lens of 8MP. Beauty mode is available on both front and back cameras. However, the bokeh mode is only available on the front camera. Furthermore, there’s also a quick capture mode with which you can capture instant photos instantly when the screen is off. Moreover, the front cam aids the face-unlock system of the device at a claimed time of 0.4s.
Under the hood, the device runs on Unisoc SC9832e. It has a RAM of 2GB and the storage capacity of 16GB. However, the storage can be expanded up to 128GB. The battery too is a huge one of 4000mAh and offers a standby time of 493 hours.
The benco series was launched primarily aimed at youths. And with a gradient-like design in the V7, design-wise the device certainly serves its purpose. But with competitors like Xiaomi and Nokia lurking just around the corner, it will take much more than just a good design in order to attract customers.
Lava Benco V7 Specifications:
Display: 6.1″ IPS LCD display with HD resolution (1280 x 600 pixels)
Rear Camera: 8MP with rear flash
Front Camera: 5MP
Processor: Quad-core, Unisoc SC9832r with 4 x ARM Cortex-A53
GPU: Mali T820
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 16 GB onboard, expandable up to 128 GB
Battery: 4000 mAh
Sensors: G-sensor, Light, proximity
Lava Benco V7 Price
The price of Lava Benco V7 in Nepal is Rs. 9999. It is available for purchase from select mobile retail shops all over Nepal.
2019 must-have been a year of mixed emotion for Huawei and its fans. First, the company took over Apple to become the second-biggest smartphone brand in the world. Then it had to face the wrath of the US government. Following the ban from the US, Huawei is still restricted to carry out any kind of a transaction with US-based companies. There was a time when we were uncertain if we were going to see any new smartphone from the Chinese tech giant. But that’s long gone now, Huawei is already up and running. This year, Huawei is looking to ship more phones. And recent leaks reveal that the successor the last year’s P30 series – Huawei P40 is already in the works.
The upcoming Huawei P40 will come with a flat display with punch holes for the dual front camera on the top left corner of the device. Though extremely thin, you can still notice the bezels at the top and bottom of the screen.
Credit: 91 mobiles
On the rear side, there is a rectangular camera module to house camera lenses and LED flash. It is on the top left corner of the device. If viewed from the bottom of the device we can notice the tiny bump due to the camera module On the same side, towards the bottom, there is a Huawei branding. Other than the camera module and the branding there is not much to talk about the back of the phone. Since there is no mount for a fingerprint sensor on the back, we assume it will be adjusted under the display on the front.
It has a USB Type-C port on the bottom of the phone. At one side of the port lies the speaker grill. On the other side, there is a sim slot. The microphone hole also rests on the bottom. The volume rocker lies above the power button on the right side of the device.
Specification
The full specification of the device isn’t out yet. And the leaks are also centered around the looks and design of the phone. But if the rumors are to be believed it will be powered by Huawei’s Kirin 990 chipset. Talking about the chip, Huawei claims it to be the world’s first chipset to come with support for 5G.
The rectangular camera module on the back houses the triple camera setup. The Leica branding inside the module suggests that the lenses are from Leica. The primary lens is said to be grouped with an ultra-wide-angle lens and a ToF lens.
On the software side, it is more likely to come with Android 10 with Huawei’s EMUI 10 on the top. It is also likely to feature Huawei Mobile Service (HMS) as an alternative to Google Mobile Service.
Check out our review of Huawei EnVizon 360 camera!
After a year of work, Microsoft is finally done with the development of the new Microsoft Edge browser, based on Chromium. The stable version of the app is now available for download in every platform you could possibly be on. However, Microsoft will be officially launching the new Edge in Windows and macOS first.
Story of Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge was launched in 2015 along with Microsoft’s latest Windows 10. It was shipped as the default web browser for Windows 10. It had tons of work to do overcome the weakness of its predecessor – Internet Explorer. Though Microsoft aimed to regain the market share with Microsoft Edge, it couldn’t do any magic. The Edge was left far behind in the browser race which was led by Chrome. And there were several reasons for it.
The very first mistake Microsoft did was to ship the Microsoft Edge only with Windows 10. It wasn’t even available for other versions of Windows like Windows 7. A horrible mistake if you consider the fact that it took nearly 2 years for Windows 10 to surpass Windows 7 in market share. Even today, a little over a quarter of PCs use Windows 7. Even those who had Edge in their PC had to wait for about 6 months to get an official update. People chose to go with Chrome and other alternatives which offered far faster updates.
The next problem that the Edge had to face was the compatibility issues. While Chrome and other alternatives were built on Google’s open-source rendering service Chromium, Edge used EdgeHTML. Because of the market share that the Chromium-based browsers had, web-developers didn’t bother to optimize their sites solely for Edge. It brings us to another problem – extensions. Users didn’t have many extensions at their disposal while the rivals were offering tons of it.
Edge Chromium: The way to go
Microsoft tried to beat Google’s Chrome with its own Edge and EdgeHTML but couldn’t succeed. That is when Microsoft decided to adopt the “join them if you can’t beat them” strategy. For the new Edge, Microsoft decided to go with Chromium – the rendering service behind Google’s Chrome and other web browsers like Brave and Opera.
The Edge Chromium is now available for download and I have already downloaded it on my Windows 10 laptop. Let’s see if it is able to overcome the weakness of its predecessor.
Getting Started with Edge Chromium
The latest version of Edge is now available for download from the Edge’s website. You can download it on platforms using Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Unlike the initial Edge versions, it is now available on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. If you have downloaded it, you will see that it has replaced your existing Edge. You will also notice that Chromium is used only to differentiate it with the older version, the Edge Chromium is still identified as Edge.
When you start the Edge after completion of the installation process, you will be directed to the import page where you can import data from your previous web browser.
Edge Chromium Import Data Options
You can even choose between things that you would want the Edge to import. Next, Edge prompts you to choose the look of the app. After you choose among the three options you are all set to go.
Edge vs Edge Chromium
Talking about the looks of the UI, the new Edge Chromium is identical to Google’s Chrome. If tab handling in the previous Edge versions bothered you, it has been ditched for more Chrome-like tab handling features. It is because they both are built on Chromium. It is also the reason Microsoft has been able to bring Edge to different platforms. Form the initial impression, Edge is faster than what I expected it to be considering the legacy that its predecessors have. It will be too soon to compare with other web-browsers but I like the feel of the new Edge.
And finally, the extensions are here. You can choose from 700+ Microsoft Edge Addons and can additionally add extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Talking about my experience, I added Grammarly for Chrome to my Edge and so far it is working as fine as it did earlier in Chrome. But Microsoft has warned that some extensions that use Google Account functionality might not work properly.
After switching to Chromium Microsoft Edge has so many things in common with Chrome. So what sets it apart from the rest? The answer is the Edge’s new tracking prevention feature. If you go to Privacy And Security under the Setting, you will see that the Tracking Prevention feature is on by default. You can turn it off or choose the level of tracking that you want to allow. You can even choose to disable this feature on the websites you like. If you want to learn more about the feature you can check out the official blog post by the company.
Though Google has announced to stop cross-site tracking by phasing out third-party cookies, it is not in a hurry to do so. While other browsers such as Safari and Firefox are already on it, it will take an additional 2 years for Google to join them. So, if you don’t like to be tracked Edge could be handy.
Edge is also said to come with a feature that can group similar websites together called the Collection. But the feature isn’t live yet for normal users. Apart from that, it will also support 4K Netflix with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.
So what are your thought on new Edge Chromium? Will it be able to take out Chrome to be the number one web-browser? Share your opinion with us.
We’ve welcomed a new year and you know what that means, right? Smartphone manufacturers are gearing up to flood the market with their latest devices, making use of all the innovations actualized throughout the year. New and improved chipset, better cameras, new software, what have you. And when it comes to chipsets, Qualcomm has been absolutely crushing it in mid-range and premium smartphones, while MediaTek reigns supreme on budget and even a couple of mid-range devices.
A faster performance has always been the principal focal point for a quality-chipset. But as the world marches towards a new generation of cellular connectivity, there’s a new sheriff in town – 5G. With its unprecedented bandwidth and speed, device makers have been working to the bone to incorporate the technology into their products. Though there are already quite many 5G-capable phones on the market, most of them apply the chipset-plus-5G modem technique to give the device the 5G crown.
On top of being cost-ineffective, this method isn’t energy efficient as well. Therefore, the demand for a chipset with integrated 5G support has been realized for some time now, with some manufacturers meeting them this early on.
Chipsets with integrated 5G modem
Take Samsung’s Exynos 980 or Huawei’s Kirin 990 5G. Both SoCs come with an integrated 5G modem, but these are not what I’ll be talking about today. On the contrary, and more interestingly even, I’ll be discussing the ones from MediaTek and Qualcomm. The recently announced MediaTek Dimensity 1000 series and Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G look to bring 5G to the masses while being capable of incredible performance as well.
More specifically, I’ll be pitting the 765G against the Dimensity 1000L, which is slightly underclocked than the regular Dimensity 1000 but otherwise share a similar spec-sheet.
However, as MediaTek hasn’t officially revealed a whole lot about the 1000L, we’ll be at times, assuming it with the regular Dimensity 1000. These chipsets from MediaTek and Qualcomm are set to feature in smartphones like OPPO’s forthcoming Reno3 and Reno3 Pro respectively.
Wow, that was a long intro! Let’s finally get into it.
Dimensity 1000L vs Snapdragon 765G
5G Capability
Since these are 5G-ready chipsets, it only makes sense that we discuss of their 5G prowess first. The Snapdragon 765G includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon X52 Modem-RF System and supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz spectrum of 5G on SA (Standalone) & NSA (Non-Standalone) modes. Likewise, the Dimensity 1000L makes use of the MediaTek Helio M70 5G modem and only supports the sub-6GHz spectrum of 5G on SA and NSA modes.
Dimensity 1000L v Snapdragon 765G - 5G
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Snapdragon 765G
Dimensity 1000L
Breaking it down!
Ah… that may have been way too much tech jargon so allow me to very briefly break them down. Measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz), a frequency spectrum is the range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used to transmit data packets through the air. While it capped out to 2.5GHz in 4G LTE, 5G, on the other hand, is in an entirely different playing field. Theoretically, it can go as high as 300GHz! Now as I said before, there are two spectrums of 5G: mmWave (millimeter) and sub-6GHz.
Without going into any intricate details, the difference between these two can be put this way – compared to sub-6GHz, mmWave is faster (way faster), has higher bandwidth, but also suffers from a narrower coverage range and an extremely high cost of installation and maintenance.
Furthermore, NSA 5G refers to building 5G networks by utilizing the existing 4G infrastructure, whereas SA 5G is the ultimate state of 5G technology built by deploying a radically new end-to-end 5G network.
So… which one’s better?
With that out of the way, you may now have made some assumptions of the 5G capabilities of these two chipsets. The Snapdragon 765G is the future-proof of the two with its support for both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G spectrum, yes. But the battle isn’t done and dusted yet. While the mmWave 5G is significant especially in countries like the US, it is crucial to note that at this stage, only a handful of network providers offer this spectrum of 5G.
For instance, as of now, AT&T’s mmWave 5G is available only in a couple of US cities, whereas its low-band 5G can be found in a handful of cities in the country.
Pair that with the aforementioned issue of tapered coverage, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be enjoying mmWave’s true potential. More importantly, let’s talk about speed!
SPEED!
Though the regular Dimensity 1000 only supports sub-6GHz 5G, MediaTek promises up to an impressive 4.7Gbps and 2.5Gbpspeak download and upload speeds respectively. Considering this, the 1000L may offer similar or more likely slightly slower speeds, just to differentiate the two. On Qualcomm’s end, the Snapdragon 765G maxes out on 3.7Gbps and 1.6Gbps. Dimensity 1000L is not looking too shabby, now, is it?
Here, the low peak speeds on the 765G, despite supporting both 5G spectrums might be a strategy of Qualcomm to differentiate it with its flagship Snapdragon 865. It boasts a monstrous peak download and upload speeds of 7.5Gbps and 3Gbps respectively.
Additionally, despite both chipsets supporting dual 5G SIM and the latest WiFi 6 (ax) standard, MediaTek will take the crown for being the first to do so. More on connectivity, the Snapdragon 765G comes with Bluetooth 5.0 and Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive codec. Here as well, MediaTek trumps over Qualcomm as the Dimensity 1000L equips the latest Bluetooth 5.1 standard but expectedly is void of Qualcomm’s superior audio codecs.
CPU
Now let’s talk performance. These are octa-core chipsets with 64-bit CPU architecture and manufactured under the 7nm lithography process. However, they differ in how the CPU cores are arranged. MediaTek has gone with the traditional big.LITTLE (bL) architecture with four high-end ARM Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four efficiency Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0GHz on the Dimensity 1000L.
Contrarily, the Snapdragon 765G has the semi-custom Kryo 475 octa-core CPU with one Prime (Cortex-A76) core clocked at 2.4GHz, one Gold (Cortex-A76) core at 2.2GHz and six Silver (Cortex-A55) cores at 1.8GHz.
CPU Architecture
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Dimensity 1000L (big.LITTLE)
Snapdragon 765G (DynamIQ big.LITTLE)
Here, though the heavy/medium/light core arrangement on the 765G is impressive, the Dimensity 1000L may prove victorious over the competitor by a hair, as it boasts a higher number of the latest Cortex-A77 performance core count than the heavy or medium cores in the Snapdragon 765G.
GPU
Moving on to graphics, the Dimensity 1000L has the ARM Mali-G77 MC7 GPU while the Snapdragon 765G comes with Qualcomm’s own Adreno 620. Now, ARM’s Mali series of GPUs have always trailed behind the Adreno in the past, but the G77 based on the new “Valhall” architecture vows up to 30% increment in performance density and energy efficiency and a 60% boost in machine learning applications than the previous generation.
On the other hand, the Adreno 620 is an upper mid-range GPU from Qualcomm, which is further tweaked to offer better graphics performance on the 765G, as this chipset is targeted towards gaming.
This pre-binned GPU is at the top end of its scale and can handle higher GPU & CPU clocks; more precisely the Adreno 620 on the 765G provides further 10% graphics performance boost than the one on the regular 765, while also equipping the additional Snapdragon Elite Gaming Features.
Here as well, both the GPUs support Vulkan 1.1, DirectX 12, OpenGL ES 3.2 and OpenCL 2.0 FP APIs. Therefore, the Dimensity 1000L and Snapdragon 765G are neck-and-neck on the GPU end as well.
Memory & Storage
What’s more, these two chipsets are similar to their memory too, since they come with LPDDR4x memory type. The Snapdragon 765G boasts memory speeds up to 2133 MHz with support of up to 12GB RAM. We don’t quite know about the precise memory speed of the Dimensity 1000L, but if the regular Dimensity 1000 is any indication, the former could pack a speed of a little slower than 1866MHz and maybe up to 16GB of RAM or less.
Also, MediaTek says its Dimensity chipsets will have UFS storage but doesn’t specify the generation. This could probably mean that it is UFS 2.1 and not the superior 3.0 like in the Snapdragon 765G.
Display
On to the displays, the Snapdragon 765G supports QHD+ displays at 60fps and 120Hz refresh rates at FHD+ displays.
Furthermore, it also comes with 10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut, and HDR10 & HDR10+ support while things look a little bleak on the Dimensity 1000L. It bolsters up an FHD+ display up to 120Hz and 2K+ up to 90Hz.
Camera
Getting to cameras, the 765G uses the Qualcomm Spectra 355 ISP and supports up to 192MP single camera and up to 22MP dual camera. The Dimensity 1000L may support up to 80MP cameras with up to 32 + 16 dual cameras like its more powerful brother with its 5-core ISP.
Both these chipsets can shoot 4K HDR videos with H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC) and VP9 encoding and playback, while the Dimensity also supports AV1 format (successor to VP9) for better video streaming and is the first to equip that as well.
AI Performance
AI performance is another thing to look after in these chipsets. We can expect the hexa-core APU 3.0 of the Dimensity 1000 to make its mark on the 1000L as well. Though this new-gen AI processing unit delivers an impressive 4.5 trillion operations per second (TOPS), the 5th gen Qualcomm AI engine on the Snapdragon 765G is sufficiently better with 5.5 TOPS AI performance.
Dimensity 1000L vs Snapdragon 765G – Final words
So… yeah! This is where we stand vis-à-vis upper mid-range mobile chipsets. MediaTek is no longer an underdog in the market and is gunning for the top spot in the premium smartphone market as well, which Qualcomm has been hogging for all these years. This exponential growth of the company could have been partly supplemented by its recent partnership with Intel. If the benchmark reports of the OPPO Reno3 (with Dimensity 1000L) and Reno 3 Pro (with Snapdragon 765G) that have surfaced online are to be absolutely trusted, the Dimensity 1000L successfully outperforms the 765G. Now, only if MediaTek released the source code of its chipsets for free like Qualcomm, the company would see a larger share of developer support in the Android community as well.
As much we love Windows 7, we must face the fact that it is dead now. Windows has ended support for the much-loved Windows version from January 14. Microsoft released it in 2009. Even after 11 years, it is still popular; running in over a quarter of PCs all around the world. People are still using the OS even after so many efforts from Microsoft to persuade them to update to Windows 10. So what made Windows 7 so popular?
Windows Vista and its woes
The major reason behind the unprecedented success of the OS is Windows Vista. When Microsoft succeeded Windows XP with Vista, it tried to overhaul the OS by tweaking the hardware and software cores. The new hardware and software compatibility left too many people confused. All the problems of Vista were later addressed in Windows 7. Windows 7 had a more user-friendly interface and wasn’t a memory hog like the Vista. And it could even run on devices with Windows XP.
Windows 8: A failed attempt from Microsoft
Microsoft launched Windows 8 in 2012. The company’s futuristic OS suffered the fate of the Vista. It came with an entirely new interface that was meant to work best with touchscreen devices. Needless to say- people entirely avoided the hassle of upgrading monitors and learning the new interface.
Personal Opinion
If you were to ask me the same question about the OS’s popularity, I would point to its simplicity. Windows 7 wasn’t meant to look flashy and futuristic. It did what it was supposed to do. And that made it stand out against failed attempts from Microsoft.
While my laptop runs the latest Windows 10, I still have Windows 7 installed on my older desktop. I made the jump to Windows 7 from Windows XP because I could do it without having to upgrade my setup. It couldn’t be possible if I had chosen to switch to Vista. Not to forget the former was faster and had a cleaner interface.
Why haven’t I upgrade to something newer? Because there is no need to. For a secondary device, it handles almost everything I throw at it. It has all the essential software I need. The added cost of the upgrade would only pile loads of never-to-be-used bloatware on my already smooth system. It’s a different case now with the end of support. But we can still be hopeful. More on it later on the post.
Microsoft has suspended the support for Windows 7. To put it into simple words, the setups using the OS will no longer be eligible for future security updates and customer service’s technical support.
If you are still in confusion, the end of support doesn’t mean that your setup with Windows 7 will crash or will stop working. Your setup will still work. But you are now exposed to viruses and malware looking to exploit your system. And Microsoft will be notifying you to switch to Windows 10 more often.
Still today, many devices running Windows 7 are being used in the corporate and education sectors. They can still opt to pay for extended security updates for up to 2023. But it will cost them right around $25 per machine. If you think it is costly, wait till I tell you that the cost will be doubled every year.
Windows 7 – Is there still some hope?
If you look at the current scenario of OS market share, about 27% of all the PCs still run Windows 7. That is a lot of users if you look through the perspective of software manufacturers. As Google has already confirmed Chrome support for Windows 7 till 2023 we can expect others to join in as well. We did witness Microsoft issuing a security patch for XP even after the end of its support in 2019. It could be repeated with Windows 7 when it is reported that it would take an additional 2 years to bring the 7’s market share below 10%. In fact, it took Windows 10 about 4 years to surpass the market share of Windows 7.
Microsoft distributed free copies of Windows 10 to persuade people to upgrade from older versions and still failed. So can the end of support help people make the shift? Let us know what you think. You can also share your experience with Microsoft’s OS down the years.
Also, check out our review of Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019):
OnePlus smartphones from last year were kind of confusing for me. Breaking their traditional two-phone-a-year policy, they had a total of 4 devices under the OnePlus 7 lineup in 2019. Among the four, the one I got for myself was the 7T. And since then, I have been using it as my primary phone and here is what I have to say about it. This is our long term review of the OnePlus 7T!
OnePlus 7T Specifications
OS: Android 10 with OxygenOS 10.0
Display: 6.55-inch (2400 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 20:9 aspect ratio Fluid AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ sRGB color gamut, DCI-P3 color gamut, 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection
SoC: Snapdragon 855 Plus
CPU: Octa-Core (1 x Kryo 485 at 2.96GHz + 3 x Kryo 485 at 2.42GHz + 4 x Kryo 385 at 1.8GHz)
GPU: Adreno 640 GPU
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
Storage: 128GB (UFS 3.0) storage
SIM: Dual SIM (nano + nano)
Primary Cameras:
– 48MP rear camera with Dual LED Flash, f/1.6 aperture, 1/2.25″ Sony IMX586 sensor, 0.8μm pixel size, OIS, EIS, 4K 60fps, Super Slow Motion 1080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960fps
– 16MP 117° ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 2.5cm macro
– 12MP telephoto lens with f/2.2 aperture for 2x optical zoom
Front Camera: 16MP front-facing camera with Sony IMX471 sensor, f/2.0 aperture
Fingerprint sensor: In-display (optical)
Dimensions: 160.94×74.44×8.13mm
Weight: 190g
Audio: Stereo Speakers, Dolby Atmos
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery: 3800mAh with Warp Charge 30T fast charging
Colors: Glacier Blue, Frosted Silver
Design & Build
Okay, now let’s get started! First, I’ll be talking about the phone’s build quality. So, how has the glass & metal design held up, you ask? I’d say pretty good! And weirdly enough OnePlus has gone with the older Gorilla Glass 5, instead of the Gorilla Glass 6 on this one. However, I have to admit that I have dropped it a few times flat on the display and nothing major has happened to it, so yeah, it’s pretty durable.
To some extent, it is maybe because of the case that comes with it though. The case protrudes on the sides a little bit which has saved the phone from suffering any significant damage when I dropped it a couple of times. Accidentally of course!
And frankly, even if the phone had suffered some damage, I’d go claim the breakage insurance wherein I’m only liable to pay 25% of the screen replacement cost. This handy benefit further strengthens the appeal of the OnePlus 7T in Nepal.
More on design, I love this matte-like blue finish mainly because it looks different from the other phones in the market. Additionally, it also helps prevent smudges to some extent. However, I have been using it with the case so, that’s there.
Also, the 7T is not large and heavy like the OnePlus 7 Pro.
The 7T feels way more ergonomic and it’s partly because it lacks the pop-up camera. I think we are going to see lesser phones with pop-up cameras in 2020, except OPPO, who just patented a side pop-up camera.
On another note, the one thing that I dearly missed on the 7T (or every other OnePlus phone to begin with), is an IP rating. It does have its SIM tray sealed with a rubber gasket, but that is something that we find on much cheaper Redmi phones as well.
Ports & Buttons
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Volume Rockers
SIM slot, USB Type-C port, speaker grille
Ring Slider & Power Button
So whenever it’s raining here in Kathmandu, and it’s raining a lot even in the winter these days, I have to take some drastic steps like keeping it secured under a plastic pouch.
So, I think OnePlus absolutely has to incorporate the IP rating in the forthcoming OnePlus 8 to step up their game in the flagship territory. And talking about stepping up their game, the company did listen to the community by including a pair of some awesome stereo speakers. Judging their quality, I think these are one of the best ones out there. Not quite at the level of the iPhones, but it’s really really good.
Overall, the design is pretty standard, it’s nothing extra and there isn’t a lot of things to complain about except for the fact that the camera bump is a bit too sharp though I’ve not had any inconvenience because of it.
Display
The one thing I am glad is the fact that OnePlus 7T has inherited the 90Hz panel and the HDR10+ compliance from the Pro model. And no, I don’t mind the phone not having a QHD panel like its elder brother because this panel has excellent quality regardless. With a brightness that peaks at 525 nits, the display is very bright which is the reason I have been able to enjoy watching videos and playing games while basking in the sun this winter.
And what I have loved about the display is its smooth transitions across the elements of the UI thanks to the superior refresh rate panel. Even endlessly scrolling through Instagram feels very smooth. It does not have the curved screen like the 7 Pro, but honestly, it didn’t bother me at all.
And although I am happy that this one has a notch adaptation rather than a pop-up camera; it would have been better if they could have gone with a punch hole or something. But I guess, they are saving it for the future.
Moving on, the night mode here in the settings comes with a color temperature slider and a light slider, you can choose between cool to warm color temperature and the amount of light on the screen. Since I’m someone who reads a lot at night, this feature has really been a blessing for me.
One thing I don’t understand though is why do OnePlus smartphones don’t have Always-On Display (AOD)? They do have an ambient display that pops up when you lift the phone, but why not an AOD?
You know, whenever any update arrived in the 7T, among other things, I hoped for an always-on display to be there too. But never has my expectation been a reality!
Anyways, moving on, the in-display fingerprint sensor is still working really fine. It’s not ultra-sonic like Samsung’s but when it comes to speed, it’s tough to beat this one. And even though the face unlock feature on it is blazing fast as well, the fingerprint sensor has been my go-to unlock mechanism for the two months I’ve had with it which didn’t give up on me even once!
Cameras
Getting into the cameras, I was using the Galaxy Note 10 Plus before. And when I switched to the 7T, I felt a big difference in their capabilities because as someone who is clicking pictures of everything I see, I was expectedly let down by the photography performance on the 7T.
The cameras, by no means, is “bad”. But the performance of the flagship cameras on such a “flagship killer” smartphones are yet to match their flagship counterparts. Maybe the OnePlus 8 that is rumored to come with the Sony IMX686 sensor will have better performance and optimization than its predecessors.
Don’t get me wrong, the triple cameras on this one do give off fine images. I love the details that the phone captures.
Normal - Samples
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The wide-angle and 2X telephoto lens also does an okay-ish job.
Normal v Wide-angle v 2x Zoom - Samples
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Normal
Wide-angle
Normal
Wide-angle
2x Zoom
Normal
Wide-angle
2x Zoom
Normal
Wide-angle
2x Zoom
And I found the Portrait images becoming better in OnePlus phones than they were before. The phone uses its telephoto lens by default to take portraits and the results are satisfactory. Edge detection is not the best in tough areas like the hair, but keeping the nitpick aside, they turn out pretty okay.
Portrait - Samples
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The company has given out a few updates for its cameras though. For instance, you can use the nightscape feature in wide-angle mode too.
Now, this is a good feature to have and I found the nightscape doing an amazing job in wide-angle shots and in normal images as well.
Regular v Nightscape - Samples
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Regular
Nightscape
Regular
Nightscape
Regular
Nightscape
Regular
Nightscape
Regular
Nightscape
I mean, it does the right amount of corrections and makes the image pop out. You can also switch between normal and wide-angle in the same video which I found to be pretty darn useful.
Macro photography is also possible on the OnePlus 7T despite the lack of a dedicated macro lens.
Macro - Samples
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Via the ultrawide lens, the macro images’ quality is slightly better compared to other phones out there.
However, I found selfies not to be the best part of the 7T camera. The skin tone does not look very good, to say the least. The pictures are not bad but other phones do better than the 7T I think. However, it does manage to pull out an impressive level of detail.
Regular Selfie - Samples
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Apart from this, portrait selfies from OnePlus 7T are commendable as well with a fine level of edge detection.
Portrait Selfie - Samples
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Enough of the negatives. What the 7T nails is video stabilization from 1080p/30fps and all the way up to 4K 60fps, thanks to the OIS. You can even shoot 4K videos from the wide-angle lens which is great especially when switching from normal to wide-angle because you won’t have to worry about the degrade in quality.
But even so, the 7T cameras are still not up to flagship-level and I think this is the one aspect the company has huge potential to improve. Overall, if you look at the cameras, they are taking small steps in improving the camera performance in their offerings but unfortunately have quite not reached the point where people could actually applaud it.
Performance
Okay, if not cameras, the performance is all I could ask for. And this is why I like OnePlus smartphones; they always offer the latest of chipsets and give the best of performance. Now, pair the Snapdragon 855+ with OxygenOS and a 90Hz screen, the OnePlus 7T easily becomes one of the best gaming phones right now, especially at this price.
I played my favorite games at the highest of settings with practically zero stutters. And I like it that the company has improved on the haptic feedback in some games which makes the gameplay even more fun.
And games like Alto’s Odyssey even support the higher 90Hz frame rate, which makes the experience even more distinguishably pleasant.
The OxygenOS is also one of my favorite skins because of the clean, no-nonsense experience it delivers. And as mentioned earlier the 90Hz screen makes it more fluid than ever. In fact, I used other phones whilst using this one side by side and those other phones eventually kind of lack the punch and the flow.
I love the gesture animations in the 7T; they are super smooth and I got used to it in like 15 minutes of using them. So, I’ve had a blast of experience basically because the UI is so clean and it has just the right number of things it needs.
But one thing that didn’t sit well with me is the fact that I haven’t even received December’s security patch at the time of recording this video. In comparison, the Note 10 has already received January’s security updates! What’s happened here? This is a little disappointing because OxygenOS is something that is next to stock Android and the updates should’ve rolled out much-much faster.
Battery
About the battery life, it has been good. On the day when I don’t game a lot, the battery lasted me for a pretty good amount of time, which would be like around 20% left before I go to sleep.
But playing games with the 90Hz refresh rate does take a hit at the battery. As a result, the battery was not quite enough to last me throughout the day during such usage.
In compensation, you get the 30-watt WARP charging (or Warp Charge 30T as OnePlus likes to call it). So, even if you run out of juice in the middle of the day, you can take it from 0-67% in half an hour, which I think is amazing.
And as someone who forgets or doesn’t get to charge my phone in the morning almost every day, so if you are like me, you’d be very happy using the 7T.
However, the phone doesn’t charge in an hour as one would expect. The last 5% takes some 15-20 minutes to charge. So this means that the phone goes from 0-95% in 55 minutes, while you gotta wait considerably longer to get it to a full 100%.
Conclusion
So, overall, having used the OnePlus 7T for such a long time, I’ve had one of the best smartphone experiences ever. The best things about the 7T are definitely the display and the performance. I love how OnePlus has focused so much on the experience, rather than just the hardware.
But, now that the OnePlus 8 rumors have been surfacing, should you go for the 7T? The OnePlus 8 is said to have Snapdragon 865 that will have 20% better performance and the new Sony IMX686 sensor with much better camera prowess. And this is where things get really messy with OnePlus phones. I think they should stick with the 2 phones a year policy.
Nevertheless, as a OnePlus 7T user, I would still recommend this phone. The company is also offering some discounts right now, especially here in South Asia. And although there is a fair amount of competition with the Asus ROG Phone II and Realme X2 Pro, for me, OnePlus phones are special because of their software experience.
Though the Rog Phone II and X2 Pro are a couple of tough cookies in terms of hardware, what they lack is an equally good software experience, which is where OnePlus kicks in.
Not everything you see is true. It is even more evident on social media such as Facebook. People share millions of photos, videos, and other contents daily on Facebook. With such a high volume of data, it is a challenging task to check the quality of content being uploaded. As a result, Facebook is full of deepfakes and other forms of manipulated content. The company now looks to change this scenario, with the US presidential elections 2020 on the horizon.
Forms of content manipulation
Content manipulation on the internet is way common than we think. Most of them are harmless and can include activities such as improving the quality of content. But there are also people actively working to mislead people by manipulating content and making them appear what they aren’t. They use varieties of tools ranging from simple photo-editing apps to complex deep learning techniques. The use of the latter is now on a rise. People use different AI tools to create videos to misguide the public. These are commonly known as the “deepfakes”. While deepfakes aren’t that common, the rate at which they are growing is alarming.
Facebook wants to put such unethical activities in check. It has started investigations on its own to tackle deceptive behaviors on the social media platform starting from taking down fake accounts. It will also partner with different authorities to expose people behind such misleading acts. Facebook is already discussing its policy development and manipulation detection tools with more than 50 global experts.
A snippet from an official blog from the Vice President of the company’s Global Policy Media Ms. Monika Bickert reads:
we will remove misleading manipulated media if it meets the following criteria:
It is edited or synthesized – beyond adjustments for clarity or quality – in ways that aren’t apparent to an average person and would likely mislead someone into thinking that a subject of the video said words that they did not say. And:
It is the product of artificial intelligence or machine learning that merges, replaces or superimposes content onto a video, making it appear to be authentic.
However, it does not apply to parodies or satires.
Facebook’s Community Standards
Facebook will also be removing contents that don’t align with the company’s Community Standards. Contents that aren’t eligible for removal by these standards can still be reviewed by an independent panel of over 50 fact-checkers. If the panel rates any content false, Facebook will reduce its distribution in NewsFeed. It will also warn people when they see or try to share such false content.
Deepfakes Detection challenge
In an attempt to battle deepfakes, Facebook launched Deepfake Detection Challenge last September. The challenge invites people from different regions to develop systems capable of detecting deepfakes and other forms of manipulated media. There is a $10 million in grants to support the challenge.
