Articles by Babu Mohan

You can also switch between “Alexa” and “Hey, Samuel” wake words interchangeably without changing any settings.

What you need to know

Amazon has made it easier for you to access the Samuel L. Jackson Alexa skill with a dedicated wake word – “Hey, Samuel.”
Amazon has also updated the skill with more than 30,000 new phrases, including five times the explicit content.
The actor’s voice skill was launched on Alexa in December last year.

In December last year, Amazon added Samuel L. Jackson’s voice as a skill for its Alexa voice assistant. The retail giant is now making it easier for users to access the actor’s voice by introducing a custom wake word. You can now have Jackson reply to your questions by simply saying, “Hey, Samuel.”

The new custom wake word works on most Echo devices, except the first-gen Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Look. If you have one of the first-gen Echo devices, you can invoke Jackson’s voice by using “Alexa, ask Samuel” instead.

Aside from the new custom wa…

The Galaxy S20 FE will have a lot in common with the standard Galaxy S20.

What you need to know

Samsung’s product page for the Galaxy S20 FE 5G has leaked online.
The latest leak confirms the 5G variant of the phone will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor and a 120Hz screen.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE will be announced at the company’s upcoming Unpacked event on September 23.

Samsung announced earlier this week that it will be holding an Unpacked event on September 23 to unveil the Galaxy S20 FE. Ahead of its formal unveiling next week, tipster Evan Blass has posted the Galaxy S20 FE 5G product page on his Patreon page. The product page confirms the specs of the upcoming phone, along with all the key features.

As previous leaks had revealed, the Galaxy S20 FE will sport a 6.5-inch Infinity-O display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a tiny centered hole-punch cutout for the 32MP selfie camera. The 5G variant of the phone will have a Snapdragon 865 chipset under the hood, paire…

Just like the Xperia 1 II, the Xperia 5 II has an extra-tall 21:9 aspect ratio.

What you need to know

Sony Xperia 5 II is the company’s first phone with a 120Hz screen.
It is powered by a Snapdragon 865 chipset and has a 12MP triple-camera array on the back.
The Xperia 5 II will be released in the U.S. in December for $950.

Sony today unveiled the Xperia 5 II, a follow-up to last year’s Xperia 5. Just like its predecessor, the Xperia 5 II is a relatively compact phone, featuring a 6.1-inch display. In terms of hardware, the phone is fairly similar to the Xperia 1 II that Sony introduced earlier this year.

Unlike the Xperia 1 II, however, the Xperia 5 II’s super-tall 6.1-inch FHD+ panel boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. The compact flagship phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor, coupled with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB storage.

The Xperia 5 II has a triple-camera array at the rear, featuring a 12MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide …

Apple hopes to become carbon neutral by 2030.

What you need to know

Google has announced that it has eliminated its entire carbon legacy, which means the search giant’s net carbon footprint is now zero.
It is the first major company to achieve this feat.
By 2030, Google hopes to run all its business on carbon-free energy.

In 2007, Google became the first major company to become carbon neutral. Ten years later, the company added another feather to its cap by becoming the first major company to match its energy use with 100% renewable energy. Now, Google has announced that it has successfully eliminated its entire carbon legacy, beating other tech giants. Google says it managed to get its lifetime net carbon footprint to zero by investing in “high-quality carbon offsets.”

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement:

We are committed to doing our part. Sustainability has been a core value for us since Larry and Sergey founded Google two decades ago. We were …

You will be able to easily switch the audio output to a Cast device without heading over to settings.

What you need to know

Android 11 will show you a list of Chromecast and Google Home devices in the sound output picker in the near future.
Apps will require a new version of MediaRouter to support the functionality.
Currently, the sound output picker only lists your phone speaker and Bluetooth devices.

One of Android 11’s biggest highlights is the revamped media player, which now sits in the quick settings menu and provides easy access to all your media playback controls. It also included a nifty button to help users choose the sound output. While it currently supports only Bluetooth devices, it could show you a list of your Chromecast and Google Home devices as well in the near future.

As spotted by Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo, the latest beta version of the MediaRouter Jetpack library adds a new feature to “support seamless media transfer that enables media transfer via System…

A new leak has also confirmed that the phone is coming to Verizon.

What you need to know

Samsung is holding an Unpacked event “for every fan” on September 23.
The company is likely to unveil the Galaxy S20 FE at the virtual event.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE is rumored to have a Snapdragon 865 chipset, 5G connectivity, and a 120Hz display.

Earlier this month, Samsung held an “Unpacked Part 2” event to fully unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 2. The company has now announced that it will be holding another Unpacked event on September 23. Samsung says its upcoming virtual Unpacked event will be “for every fan,” which all but confirms that it plans to take the wraps off the Galaxy S20 FE next week.

The Galaxy S20 FE is expected to be a successor to the Galaxy S10 Lite, which was announced earlier this year. As revealed by a recent leak, the upcoming phone will be powered by a Snapdragon 865 chipset in North America. However, in most other markets, the value flagship is expected to run on …

OnePlus Buds aren’t the only pair of true wireless earbuds that have an “AirPods-inspired” design.

What you need to know

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized a shipment of “counterfeit Apple Airpod earbuds,” which are actually OnePlus Buds.
They were seized at an air cargo facility at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The shipment originated from Hong Kong and was headed to Nevada.

In what can only be described as an embarrassing gaffe, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized a shipment of OnePlus Buds from Hong Kong, mistaking them for counterfeit Apple AirPods.

THAT’S NOT AN 🍎 —CBP officers at JFK Airport recently seized 2,000 counterfeit Apple AirPods from Hong Kong, valued at $398K had they been genuine.Details via @CBPNewYorkCity: https://t.co/XMgjkfT56i pic.twitter.com/Ofn9REJ9ZB— CBP (@CBP) September 14, 2020

While there is no doubt that the OnePlus Buds look a lot like the Apple AirPods in White, the retail boxes make it…

The Stadia web app will appear next to Duo on the first page of the app drawer.

What you need to know

The Google Stadia app could soon be installed by default on Chromebooks.
It will appear on the first page of the Chrome OS app drawer.
The change will likely be a part of the Chrome OS 87 update.

Google Stadia could soon be added to the list of apps that are installed by default on Chromebooks, according to a new Chromium code change spotted by the folks at 9to5Google.

The code change suggests the Stadia Web app will be added to the first page of the Chrome OS app drawer after Duo. However, the code change is still under review, which means it is unlikely to show up until Chrome OS 87. In case you have no interest in Stadia and do not want the app to appear on the first page of the app drawer, you will able to get rid of it by uninstalling it.

The move is certainly not surprising, though, as Google is trying to push its game streaming service and also make Chromebooks more pop…

The new 3D animals are expected to be added to Google Search “soon.”

What you need to know

Google will soon expand its collection of 3D animals.
The next batch will include 27 new animals, including 12 new dog breeds
In addition to all the real creatures, Google will also be adding the Unicorn to its collection.

Google expanded its collection of AR animals and objects last month by adding several prehistoric animals and unusual cultural artifacts to its Arts & Culture app. According to the folks at 9to5Google, Google will soon add 27 more animals to its collection, which will all be available in Google Search.

The next batch of AR animals that will be added to Google Search includes 12 new breeds of dogs, including Bulldog, Chihuahua, Doberman, German Shepherd, Pitbull, Siberian Husky, and Welsh Corgi. You will also be able to view three new breeds of cats in augmented reality, along with wild animals like Giraffe, Hippo, and Zebra.

Perhaps t…

The Galaxy M51 is Samsung’s answer to the OnePlus Nord.

What you need to know

The Galaxy M51 is the latest addition to Samsung’s Galaxy M series lineup.
It comes with a Snapdragon 730G chipset, an Infinity-O display, and a 7,000mAh battery.
The Galaxy M51 will be available to purchase in India from September 18 for ₹24,999 ($340) .

Samsung quietly introduced the Galaxy M51 last month, its first phone to pack a massive 7,000mA battery. The South Korean tech giant has now launched the mid-range phone in the Indian market to take on the OnePlus Nord.

The Galaxy M51 has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a centered hole-punch cutout housing a 32MP selfie camera. It is powered by Qualcomm’s 8nm Snapdragon 730G octa-core processor, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage.

The quad-camera setup on the back of the phone features a 64MP Sony IMX682 main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro shooter. It also comes with a …