WEEKLY TECH RECAP: IPHONE 16 LAUNCH DATE LEAKED, GOOGLE REPORTEDLY LOOKS TO REMOVE SEARCH BUTTON ON ANDROID AND MORE

With a whirlwind of news coming up throughout the week, it's hard to keep up with all the developments. In order to solve that issue, we have compiled a list of top developments that made waves in the world of technology this week in our Weekly Tech Recap.

Top tech news of the week: 

iPhone 16 launch date leaked: 

Earlier this week, an iPhone 16 launch poster started circulating on social media, courtesy of tipster Majin Bu, stating that the new iPhone models would be released on September 10. As it turns out, the poster wasn't leaked, but created by a regular user for a bit of fun.

However, a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a much more reliable source, claims that Apple is indeed planning to hold its biggest hardware launch event of the year on Tuesday September 10, and that the new iPhones could go on sale from September 20.

Google said to remove dedicated search button on Android devices: 

Google may be making some major changes to its app that could see the removal of the bottom search bar that has become a familiar sight on all Android devices. The new change comes as the Sundar Pichai-led company continues to add new features to its Gemini AI-powered search.

The update was first spotted by tipster Assembly Debug (via Android Headline) in the Google beta app for Android version 15.32.37.28.arm64. While Google is reportedly working on many layouts, none of them feature the search bar at the bottom of the page.

Poco Pad 5G launched in India: 

Poco Pad 5G features a 12.1-inch 2K display with a 2,560 x 1,600 pixels resolution. The screen supports a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a 16:10 aspect ratio, ensuring a smooth visual experience. The display offers a peak brightness of 600 nits and comes with TÜV Rheinland triple certification, along with Corning Gorilla Glass for added protection.

Under the hood, the tablet is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, coupled with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage, which can be expanded further to 1.5TB via a microSD card. The device runs on HyperOS, which is based on Android 14.

In terms of photography, the Poco Pad 5G is equipped with an 8MP rear camera accompanied by an LED flash. On the front, another 8MP camera is placed on the right-side bezel, making it ideal for video calls.

The tablet is designed with an IP52 rating, providing resistance against dust and splashes. It also features a quad-speaker setup, dual microphones, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and support for Dolby Atmos, ensuring an immersive audio experience. The display further enhances this with Dolby Vision support.

WhatsApp reportedly looking to add new Instagram like feature: 

WhatsApp is reportedly gearing towards adding a new customizable chat theme feature that could soon be rolled out both for the Android and iOS version of the personal messing platform. As per WABetainfo, the new update is aimed at enhancing the messaging experience by providing greater control over visual interface and allowing users to chose their favourite colours for chat bubbles.

The feature was first spotted by the publication in WhatsApp beta for iOS 24.11.10.70 and then in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.17.19. As per the shared screenshot, WhatsApp may be testing a new section where users could select their favourite default chat theme. The feature is currently under development so Chat Themes preview isn't available yet but the report states that there could at least 10 chat themes to begin with.

Moto G45 5G launched in India: 

Moto G45 5G features a 6.45 inch HD+ display with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels and up to 120Hz refresh rate. The display can offer a peak brightness of 500 nits and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The phone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 chip based on a 6nm process and is paired with Adreno 619GPU for handling graphics-intensive tasks. It comes with support for up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage (expandable up to 1TB via microSD card slot).

The Moto G45 5G is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. It comes with Android 14 out of the box with Motoroloa UX skin on top. Motorola has promised an year of OS update and 3 years of security patches with this device.

2024-08-24T10:44:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd