4K PlayStation 4 codenamed 'NEO', is very much real

There have been rumors of a 4K capable PlayStation 4 for a while now. According to sources at Giant Bomb, the console is very much real, and is codenamed NEO.

The main differences between the current PS4 and the NEO is the higher CPU and GPU clock speed and higher memory bandwidth. The other specifications are seemingly the same. The 8-core Jaguar CPU will be clocked ay 2.1GHz instead of 1.6GHz, the the AMD GPU gets double the compute units ay 36 at 911MHz, and the 8GB GDDR5 gets bandwidth boost from 176GB/s to 218GB/s.

Sony requires the game developers to make every game for both, the current PS4 and the NEO. The NEO will not get any special games, nor any special content of any kind, creating complete content and feature parity among both generations. Games releasing starting October this year will require to be developed for both consoles.

The games are not required to be in 4K but will feature improved visuals and improved framerates, the latter being something Sony is bullish about.

Sony will be selling the NEO alongside the current PS4, which should see a price drop and be sort of a base model. $399 seems to be the alleged price tag but we will have to wait for further clarity on that, along with release date. We expect to hear a lot more about this at E3 later this year.

Second-gen Google Chromecast and Chromecast Audio launched in India for $50

Google has launched the second-gen Chromecast as well as the new Chromecast Audio dongles in India. The devices - which were unveiled back in September last year - are currently listed on the company's India website carrying a price tag of INR 3,399 each, which translates into around $50 at current exchange rates.

Clicking the 'Buy' button on the official site gives you an option to purchase the dongles from third party online-only retailers including Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Paytm, as well physical retailers such as Reliance and Croma.

The Mountain View, California-based company is throwing in some freebies as well - those purchasing either of the device will also get free 6 month subscriptions of Saavn Pro and Hooq services. Head over to the Source link below for more information.

Samsung Pay coming to Singapore this quarter

Samsung has announced that its mobile payments service - Samsung Pay - will be launched in Singapore in the second quarter of this year (which has already begun), making the city-state the first market in Southeast Asia where the service will be available.

"We are extremely excited that Singapore is the first market in Southeast Asia to roll out Samsung Pay," said Injong Rhee, EVP and Head of R&D, Software and Services of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. "Singapore’s connectivity and openness are ideal conditions for our new mobile service to thrive, together with the interest and readiness of consumers here in adopting this new method of payment.”

Already available in the US, South Korea, and China, Samsung Pay will be launched in Singapore in partnership with major payment networks including MasterCard and Visa, and major banks including DBS/POSB, OCBC Bank, and Standard Chartered. As for the supported devices, the list currently includes the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S7, and S7 edge.

13-inch MacBook Air gets 8GB RAM as standard

Apple upgraded it's new MacBook yesterday with faster Skylake processors, bigger battery, and a new rose gold color, but there's also something for those looking to buy the more versatile MacBook Air.

The 13-inch model now comes with 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory as standard.

Back when the machine was updated in mid-2015, the 13-inch model always came with 4GB RAM as standard on all models, with 8GB being an option that you had to choose while purchasing from the Apple Store. Not only is 4GB too less now to be a worthwhile option, it could also not be upgraded in countries that don't have the Apple online store and of course it's not user upgradeable.

With this update, the 13-inch MacBook Air is finally in the year 2016. Unfortunately, the 11-inch model is still stuck with 4GB as standard.

Google releases Annual Security Report, harmful app installs have drastically dropped

Google has been cracking down on potentially harmful apps being installed from the Play Store, so much so that currently, as of Google’s latest security report, only 0.15% of Android devices have been able to successfully install PHAs or potentially harmful apps.

Google first started the initiative in which several OEMs became participants in. Stagefright was the first real security problem that faced Android since the beginning of the Android Platform. The vulnerability took advantage of a bug present in the method used to preview multi-media messages received through an SMS app.

Google’s report also says that the number of PHAs that made it onto the Play Store have decreased over 40% when compared to 2014. Individual categories of PHAs have been outline as well. Data Collection PHAs have gone down to 0.08% of installs, spyware is at 0.02% of installs, and Hostile Downloaders have decreased to only 0.01% of total app installations.

Reminder that these installations are ONLY from the Play Store. So if you’ve got some third-party app installer, or you’re installing APKs from all over the place, you could be at risk for malware and harmful app activity.

Google’s Verify Apps service also protects users from installing PHAs outside of the Google Play Store. Google has significantly improved the security in Android devices since this time last year. Google’s implementations have been helping to check over 6 billion installed applications every day, they scan 400 million devices every day, and they’ve protected hundreds of millions of Android users surfing the web with Chrome with Safe Browsing.

Viber update brings end-to-end encryption and hidden chats

Earlier this month, WhatsApp has announced that everything you communicate through it can now be end-to-end encrypted, and today one of its biggest competitors has done the same.

Viber is the app in question, and it's no small deal, this, as it currently has more than 700 million users. With the latest version (that's already available in both the iTunes App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android), all of your communications are end-to-end encrypted, provided all the people in a conversation have the new Viber iteration.

Like always, end-to-end encryption means no one can intercept your messages (be those one-to-one or group affairs) or calls, not even the app's maker. The rollout of this new feature will be completed within two weeks. Once that happens, you'll see a new padlock icon in the chat UI, which confirms everything is encrypted.

Hidden chats are now also a part of Viber. What this gives you is the option to hide certain chats with certain people from showing up in the app's main screen. You can then access your hidden chats with a PIN or by using Touch ID on your iOS device.

Apple refreshes the MacBook and MacBook Air laptops

Without much fanfare, Apple today released a small hardware refresh of its MacBook 12" and MacBook Air notebooks.

The refreshed MacBook now sports sixth-generation Intel Core M, which can be configured with either 1.1GHz or 1.3GHz clock speed. The RAM is also upgraded from 1600MHz to the faster 1866MHz and the Intel HD 515 GPU promises 25% better efficiency. And, yes, there's a new rose gold color available to mark the slight bump in specs.

Thanks to the latest components, the battery life has been increased to 10 hours web browsing and 11 hours of continuous video playback. Prices start from $1,299 for the 1.1GHz model (8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage).

The only change the MacBook Air saw today was a bump in base RAM capacity. From now on, the 13" Air will come with 8GB as standard whereas the 11-incher will remain to have 4GB as standard.

Samsung developing a 1/1.7" camera sensor for upcoming flagships

Samsung is in the development of a large 1/1.7" CMOS sensor that'll be put to use in the company's upcoming flagships, according to information obtained by PhotoRumors. The new sensor is purported to have an aperture as wide as f/1.4 and would be in the 18-24MP range.

According to the report, Samsung is on a mission to step up its camera game even further and has an aggressive roadmap. The company is also working on a new compact 1/2.3" sensor, but its use isn't known yet.

Finally, Samsung's long-term game is to lure NX camera users to switch to its smartphones and part of the effort to do so will be a new interface based on the NX one in upcoming smartphones. Whether all these rumors are true or not remains to be seen and we'll be keeping an ear out for more rumors on the topic.

Samsung's Good Lock is a smart, feature-loaded lockscreen

Remember a few years ago when lockscreens had shortcuts and widgets and multiple screens? Well, these over-stuffed kind of lockscreens have fallen out of favor now, but if you miss the glory days, you should look at Samsung's new app - Good Lock.

It's a lockscreen replacement that is not 100% sure whether it wants to replace the lock screen or the home screen. It has shortcuts - frequently used but also recent apps.

It has widgets and quick toggles too:

One thing I do like is the advanced notification actions - they are treated almost like calendar events, you can save them for later, set alarms to remind you, tag them so they are easier to find.

The Good Lock app is adaptable, it lets you add rules called Routines. They are based on time, location and network that switch the available shortcuts and apps. Basically, you can create a "work" lockscreen that switches to "personal" after working hours.

The app is available from Galaxy Apps in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Korea. You'll need a Galaxy S6 or S7 (including versions like edge and Active) or a Galaxy Note5 (running Marshmallow). Samsung has committed to updating Good Lock bi-weekly based on user feedback.

Nubia Z11 Mini unveiled with 5" 1080p screen, 16MP camera

ZTE's sub-brand Nubia has a new member - the Nubia Z11 Mini. The phone features a 5" screen (the term "mini" has grown) and has a strong focus on photography.

The main camera uses a 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor (same as Xiaomi Mi 5 and Huawei Mate 8). It's behind an f/2.0 lens and offers phase-detection autofocus and "3D noise reduction."

You get RAW DNG shooting mode and ISO that goes up to 12,800 (ZTE is promising no added noise, but we don't buy it). For video shooting, the camera maxes out at 1080p.

There's an 8MP selfie camera too, with large 1.4µm pixels and 80° lens (with a narrow aperture of f/2.4).

As for the rest of the Nubia Z11 Mini, the phone has a metal frame and a 5" 1080p screen behind a 2.5D glass. It's powered by a Snapdragon 617 chipset (28nm, 8x Cortex-A53, Adreno 405) with 3GB of RAM and comes with an impressive 64GB storage. It runs an older Android 5.1 Lollipop and has a fingerprint reader on the back.

This is a dual-SIM phone with VoLTE support. It's powered by a 2,800mAh battery.

The Z11 Mini is going on sale in China later this month and will be available through JD for CNY 1,500 ($230/€205).

After SM-C5000, another Samsung C series handset (SM-C7000) spotted

The SM-C5000, which is said to be part of a new 'Galaxy C' series smartphone line-up from Samsung, has already been the subject a few leaks and rumors until now. Aside from this device, the South Korean company is also said to be working on another C series handset dubbed SM-C7000.

Now, the SM-C7000 has been spotted on Antutu, revealing some of its key specifications. As per the listing, the device is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 625 chipset, and sports a full HD display. RAM is 4GB, while internal memory is listed as 32GB.

The camera department offers a 16MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. The phone runs Android 6.0.1 out-of-the-box.

In case you don't already know, rumors say the new C series is expected to be launched next month, but will only be exclusive to China.

Verizon HTC 10 will be up for pre-orders starting April 29

Verizon has announced that it will begin accepting HTC 10 pre-orders on April 29. In addition, the carrier revealed that on the same day the device will also be on display at its retail stores for those interested in having a hands-on preview.

"Verizon will start pre-orders for the HTC 10 on April 29," the company said in a statement. "In addition, Verizon Wireless stores will host exclusive in-store previews on April 29 to give consumers and media a hands-on look at the HTC 10. Verizon will be the first wireless carrier to offer the HTC 10." There was, however, no word on the pricing.

For those in the US who are planning to purchase the device, it's worth reminding that the 64GB variant as well as the High-Res headphones will not be available in the country. Oh, and that Camillia Red color variant is currently Japan-exclusive.