Apple has started rolling out iOS 10 Beta 4 for developers

Moving closer to the release of the latest version of its iOS software, Apple has released the fourth in a series of beta softwares for its developers. Developers for iOS have started getting iOS 10 Beta 4, one month after iOS 10 Beta 3 was released. The iOS 10 Beta softwares are an equivalent to Developer Preview on Android, the last of which was released about two weeks ago for the latest Android OS version, Nougat.

The latest iOS 10 beta introduces new features for iPhones, the most prominent one among them being new emojis aimed at promoting gender equality, with the inclusion of new emojis of female athletes and professionals. Popular existing emojis have also been redesigned, and a new rainbow flag emoji and more family-type emojis added.

Other non-emoji features introduced with iOS 10 Beta 4 include:

• An intro screen that tells users to swipe left to access the different Control Center cards when opening Control Center for the first time.
• Haptic feedback when locking the iPhone has been scrapped.
• Plus several other little fixtures, additions and subtractions to improve user experience.

Recall that a new feature was noticed by several beta testers sometime ago which warns users when water gets in contact with the lightning port of their iPhones.

Those who installed the first three beta softwares of iOS 10 prior to this one can install the latest iOS 10 Beta 4 update over-the-air, and it is available for direct download by developers via the Apple Developer Centre. Apple is also currently running a public beta program which allows non-developers to test beta softwares of the upcoming OS version to some extent. The public beta program is usually updated some days after that for developers has been updated, so if you are not an iOS developer, you gotta wait ;-) .

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Gionee M5 Plus Unboxing, Specs and Price

The Gionee M5 Plus is the largest device in the Gionee M5 series of smartphones. The prestigious smartphone was recently unboxed by one of the country's top tech bloggers, and today we bring you all the unboxing photos of the Gionee M5 Plus. Enjoy.

• JUMIA - CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRICE OFFERS
• KONGA - CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRICE OFFERS

First, the packaging...

Image Credits - OgbongeBlog

 The package is firmly sealed, as a proof of quality.

Image Credits - OgbongeBlog

And here comes the box housing the Gionee M5 Plus and its accessories.

On opening the box, we can see the prestigious smartphone safely nestled in its container.

 Finally, we have the plus-sized device in all its glory.

At the back of the device, the Gionee logo can be seen. Can you guess what this looks like?

To the other contents of the box.

Included in the package is a beautiful-looking pouch that would do well in protecting the device.

Also in the box are the normal accessories found in a smartphone pack: User Manual, Screen Guard, Warranty Card, Back Casing, Wall Charger, a USB Type-C connector, an ear piece and an ejector pin.

Device Details and Design

 

 The Gionee M5 Plus has a sleek design with thickness of 8.4mm and it weighs in at just 208 grams. 

 

The above picture shows the capacitive navigation buttons, with the 0.1second-fast fingerprint sensor in the middle.

At the top is located the 3.5mm audio jack and a Type-C USB Port which gives it USB OTG support.

At the back of the device, the 13MP main camera resides, with a LED flash beneath it.

Selfie lovers are well taken care of with the 5MP camera at the front of the device.

A single speaker is located at the bottom of the device, and sound gets out through this speaker vent.

Ejector pinholes for the SIM card and external SD Card are located at the left and right of the device respectively.

More photos of the Gionee M5 Plus with 6.0 inches AMOLED display.

Those are the photos from the unboxing of the Gionee M5 Plus by Jide Ogunsanya of Ogbongeblog.com. Now to the specifications in details.

Gionee M5 Plus Specifications

The display on the M5 Plus is 6 inches wide with resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Protection. The display is manufactured using AMOLED panels, which is the trending display technology for smartphones.

It is powered by an Octa-core Mediatek MT6753 Processor assisted by 3GB of RAM. There is enough space to store all the files and apps you want, with the 64GB of internal storage included, which is further expandable up to 128GB via microSD.

The device sports a 13MP AF camera at the rear with LED flash as seen above, while at the front of the device exists a 5MP selfie shooter. The Gionee M5 Plus fully supports 4G LTE network connectivity, amidst other advanced connectivity options like Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 A2DP and GPS.

To ensure that all these features are enjoyed for longer, the Gionee M5 Plus packs a whopping 5,020mAh Lithium-Polymer Battery which is capable of lasting up to 72 hours on a full charge. It runs Amigo UI 3.1 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box.

Gionee M5 Plus Price in Nigeria

The Gionee M5 Plus is available on online smartphone stores in Nigeria at a price of approximately N85,000 (price may vary around this depending on which store you buy from). The smartphone is also available in offline stores around the country, which shouldn't be a surprise since it's a delight to many.

Looking for Where to buy the Gionee M5 Plus?

• JUMIA - CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRICE OFFERS
• KONGA - CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRICE OFFERS

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Download Prisma for iOS and Android and Turn your Photos to Artworks

There is a new app on the Play Store, and no it's not Pokemon Go. It is a photo filtering app called Prisma that has been available on the App Store for iPhones for a few months back, and has finally been brought over to Android users.

The difference between Prisma and the other numerous photo filtering apps that abound on the Play Store, is that it completely rebuilds a picture based on the filter applied to it.

The app works not by just overlaying the filter on top of the image, but it reconstructs the image from the ground up to create a new photo that essentially embodies the applied filter.

With the type of technology utilized by Prisma, photos of any kind and size can now be transformed to look like pieces of artwork by famous artists, with the use of some filters specially designed and included in that regard.

Here are some photos after being worked on by Prisma on Android and iOS.

Wale Adekile - Geek.ng

Ifediri Dominic - Editweaks.com

If you are still not convinced about how good this app is, and how popular it has become since its release(s), here are some statistics. Since the app was released on the App Store for iPhones in the early days of the summer, it has raked in over 10million downloads and over 400 million pictures have been filtered and edited by the app, according to a report by The. Verge.

Also since its release on the Google Play Store some days ago, the application has garnered about 5 million installs on the Google Play Store.

Even though Prisma is a free app requiring no purchases before installation like many other smart filter apps, it doesn't diminish user experience by showing ads everywhere possible in the app. This shows that the developer of Prisma cares about its users, also evident in the cool and easy-to-use User Interface of the app.

After filtering photos to your satisfaction, you can easily share them to popular social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Prisma possesses full integration into these sites.


To view the app in action, watch the below video review of Prisma by Youtube Channel iUpdateOS.

• Download Prisma App for iOS here on iTunes.
• Download Prisma app for Android here on the Google Play Store.

. Have you used the app? What do you think about it? Please share.

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New Google Play Store Algorithm Bsdiff makes app updates faster

The Google Play Store is the one-stop location for all users of Android, especially those who love and use a lot of apps. While downloading the apps and using them may be exciting, the process of updating the apps at regular intervals is often a pain in the neck.

Some apps, in fact, almost all of the major and most-downloaded apps in the Google Play Store are updated at least once monthly, which further compounds the update problem. Those to be pitied most in this situation are those who play heavy games like Grand Theft Auto, The Walking Dead and EA Real Racing. The apps possess extension files and APKs that are always larger than 2GB, and updating them could last forever.

Google has now rolled out a new algorithm for updates in the Google Play Store to fix this problem. In the event of an app update via the Play Store, the algorithm called Bsdiff will compare the installed components of the app being updated, to the new components available in the update installation file (APK), and will only deliver these new components to the app in the update, as opposed to the former algorithm which downloads the whole new APK and re-installs it.

According to Google, the new algorithm reduces the size of app updates by up to 50%, since it only delivers a patch to the existing app components.

To this end, Android App Developers have been advised by Google to decompress native libraries in their apps, in order not to hinder the smooth performance of the Bsdiff Algorithm.

Now, when you view installed apps in the Play Store, you will see a new Update Size listing along with the other application listings, which shows the size of the app update, if available. If it's a new app being viewed, the actual Download Size will be seen in place of Update Size.

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Upcoming iOS 10 feature warns you when your iPhone is wet

iOS 10 release date is coming nearer, and beta versions of the new iPhone software have already been released to selected testers. Among the numerous

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Injustice 2 will come with a mobile game and comic

It is no news that a new Injustice game with the moniker Injustice 2 is coming up soon, but a new twist has been added to the news. Actually, there are multiple twists.

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Apple Music decides to Move Over to a Better matching technology

Apple Music, though a very good cloud service for music lovers, has its own fair share of problems. Before I go on blabbing about the problems Apple Music users do encounter, let me talk a little about the service itself.

Apple Music is a service by Apple Inc. that allows you to match your personal collection of music files on your Mac to an online music catalog, so that you can stream your favorite music tracks from the cloud via Apple's iCloud. Now you know what Apple Music is.

Though Apple Music is a very good service, it has a couple of problems. One of it is that it doesn't match songs from a personal library accurately with those on the online catalog. Sometimes, a live version of a song in the personal library could be matched to a studio version of the same song in the online catalog. While it's the same song, the sounds and vocals would be quite different, and users who get caught up in such a situation wouldn't be too happy.



Another problem associated with Apple Music is that if you accidentally deleted a music file from your personal library on your Mac, when re-downloading it from your online catalog on Apple Music cloud service, a DRM (copyright protection) would be attached to it, even when it was previously not included. When this happens, it would be impossible to use and distribute the song as freely as you would have done had the DRM not been attached to the song.

Well, good news is here for Apple Music subscribers. Apple has finally addressed the issue and now Apple Music is being switched over to a new audio fingerprinting technology that would make sure your personal library files would be matched accurately with those in the online catalog.
Most importantly, this means that all your songs will be DRM-free whenever this matching takes place, and you would now be able to download your favorite tracks from iCloud without being restricted by copyright protection.
It seems online service providers are now thinking more and more about the welfare of their users and subscribers, even as Amazon Video was updated a few days ago to allow you download offline videos to an SD Card.
Not all Apple Music subscribers have been switched over to this better technology yet, as the switching is going on at the rate of 1 to 2 percent per day, but when a subscriber has been switched, he/she would be able to tell by seeing Matched in the iCloud Status column in their iTunes app.
iTunes Match, an online music matching service similar to Apple Music has had this audio fingerprinting technology for a very long time. Now, iTunes Match subscribers who also have an Apple Music subscription can drop their iTunes Match subscriptions in order to enjoy the same access to their personal library at any time, and in addition DRM-free songs.
Are you an Apple Music subscriber? Have you been switched over yet? Perhaps you're thinking about dropping your iTunes Match subscription now that you've read this, but aren't too sure? Do let us know in the comments below. We'd be glad to help. :-)

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A New Batman Mobile Game is Out: Arkham Underworld - Download Now!

As is our usual practice to bring you the latest games trending in the world, we are happy to announce to all Batman lovers that there's a new Batman game out for mobile For iOS (and Android to be Available later).
There have been various game adaptations of different parts of the Batman movie ever since its first release, and the latest game called Batman: Arkham Underworld is an adaptation of the happenings prior to the event of Arkham Asylum and Arkham Origins.
In Batman: Arkham Underworld, you are going to play the role of a Batman villain, and you will be required to:

• Build and upgrade your hideout
• Recruit and train an army of henchmen
• Fight one-on-one with Dark Knight.

The game is set in various iconic locations around from the Batman Arkham Series, and at the end you'll have to fight Dark Knight himself and defeat him to take his place as one of the most wanted villains in Gotham City.

How To Get Batman: Arkham Underworld on Mobile

Currently, Batman: Arkham Underworld is only available for download on iOS devices. The version for Android should follow soon enough. For iOS users, you can get the game from the App Store by clicking the link below. Batman: Arkham Underworld is quite different from the other Batman games we've been having on mobile and could be the beginning of a new variety of larger Batman game adaptations for mobile.

• Download Batman: Arkham Underworld from the App Store Now

Meanwhile, Pokemon Go is still causing waves around the world and setting AR-related trends for mobile.

What do you think about the new game Batman: Arkham Underworld? 

Have you downloaded it before and have been playing it for a while? Or are you heading to the App Store to download it right now? Perhaps the download is 80% complete? Do let us know what you think of the game after you've downloaded and played it.

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Android moves Android Nougat closer with Developer Preview 5

The release date of Android 7.0 Nougat is drawing closer, even as Google has released the last in a series of developer previews -- Developer Preview 5 -- for the upcoming Android OS Version.

If you don't know already, a developer preview is kind of a software update where app developers for Android get to view new features in the upcoming OS Version update, test them and start incorporating them into their existing and new apps.

It is received and installed on an Android-running smart device (phones, tablets) and works the way a normal software update or bug patch works. However, to be able to use these developer previews, you would need a compatible device. There's a list of devices that are eligible for developer preview releases, and most of the devices on that list are Nexus devices, which are owned by Google. More on that later.

Developer Preview 5 is the fifth and final delevoper preview release prior to the official rolling out of Android N (Nougat) to devices later this year. It doesn't really include new features to be expected in Android N, but includes the final APIs for Android N and other tools to make sure your apps are ready to go by the time Android Nougat is released.
Here's a list of what is contained in Developer Preview 5:

• System images for Nexus and other preview devices
• An emulator that you can use for doing the final testing of your apps to make sure they are ready
• The final N APIs (API level 24) and latest system behaviors and UI
• The latest bug fixes and optimizations across the system and in preinstalled apps

Developer Preview 5 is basically for Android Developers who want their apps to work with Android Nougat to make sure their apps can handle the changes to existing android features in Android N, as well as to incorporate new features introduced with Android N into their apps. The latter is optional, of course.
Android developers are encouraged to, after testing Developer Preview 5, publish their apps to Google Play as soon as possible. If you are working on a not-too-large scale and you aren't sure of how your app(s) would perform on a large variety of devices, you can use Google Play's beta testing feature. This feature allows you to release your app(s) to a group of selected Android users, called beta testers. These people test your apps on their various devices and report back to you on the bugs that need to be fixed in the app, features that could be made better...etc, and it's up to you to implement them. Beta testers are normally experienced and know what and what to look out for in a beta app, so don't be afraid.If you are an Android app developer and you've not been hibernation in one ancient forest since the beginning of this year, you should have heard of Android Developer previews. If you fit the above description, all you have to do to get the Developer Preview 5 for Android N is to enroll in the Android Beta program (using an eligible Android device) and you'll receive the preview over-the-air in no time.

Below is the list of devices that are eligible to install and use the Android Developer Previews for Android 7:

• Google Nexus 5
• Google Nexus 5X
• Google Nexus 6P
• Google Nexus 9
• Android One (General Mobile 4G) Devices

If you are not an Android Developer and you want to see what this developer review contains, you can flash the update manually..
Lest I forget, Google's Android Engineering team are hosting a Reddit AMA to answer all technical questions about the Developer Preview 5.
Speaking on the release of Developer Preview 5,

"Thanks so much for all of your feedback so far. Please continue to share feedback or requests either in the N Developer Preview issue tracker, N Preview Developer community, or Android Beta community as we work towards the consumer release later this summer. Android Nougat is almost here!"

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Amazon Video Update allows you to download to SD Card

You've heard of Amazon Video, right? If you haven't, it's an app that allows you to stream all your favorite movies and shows, in fact anything Video from the web on your smart devices and PCs. All you need is a good smartphone and strong data connection plus enough data access (megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, what have you...), and of course your time :). It's very similar to Netflix, both requiring you to subscribe with a particular amount of money to enjoy the streaming services for a particular length of time.

Most of you reading this post probably are already using Amazon Video, but did you know you could download your favorite videos to your phone memory, in fact your external SD Card? I bet you didn't.

Well don't go beating yourself over it, you couldn't have known, because Amazon just included that option in the app's latest update. And we've brought to you in a jiffy, with the hope that it may save some extra bytes of data from being burnt out on the internet.

So what do you get with the latest update of Amazon Video?

You get the option to download any movie or video from the app to your phone, and there's even an option there to make the default download location your SD Card, so you don't go hogging the internal memory down with videos and slowing down performance.
This means that whenever you have a long trip ahead and you're not sure of availability of data in the new location, either you're running out of data or the data expiry date is running out and you still got a lot of data left with no time to sit for long hours watching videos, you can now heave a sigh of relief. Whichever is your situation, the latest Amazon Video update has got you covered.

So, How can I download movies from Amazon Video to my SD Card?

There is no long tutorial here, all you have to do is head over to the Google Play Store and grab the latest update. If you're in a hurry to get the update and the process of launching your Google Play Store app and searching for the update seems too long, click on the button below.

• Download in Google Play Store

What do you think of this new feature in Amazon Video? Do let us know after you've tried it out!

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