TikTok Names ByteDance CFO Shou Zi Chew as New CEO

TikTok appointed Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean national, as the new Chief Executive Officer of the popular video-sharing platform, the company said.

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EU Court to Rule May 12 on Amazon Appeal of Order to Pay EUR 250 Million in Back Taxes

Europe's second-highest court will rule on May 12 on Amazon's appeal of an EU order to pay about EUR 250 million (roughly Rs. 2,230 crores) in back taxes to Luxembourg.

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How to Highlight Text in Your Videos Using Adobe Premiere Pro, Plus More Tips

Premiere Pro how to highlight text in your videos: Highlighting text in your videos when you are showcasing a screenshot or an image can grab your viewers' attention.

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SpaceX Asked by NASA to Halt Lunar Lander Work Pending Contract Challenges

NASA has told Elon Musk's SpaceX to halt work under a contract it won to develop a lunar spacecraft, pending the outcome of challenges by rival bidders at the US Government Accountability Office, the agency said.

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Moto G40 Fusion to Go on Sale in India Today via Flipkart: Price, Specifications

Moto G40 Fusion is set to go on sale in India today via Flipkart at 12pm (noon). The Motorola phone comes with a 120Hz display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G SoC.

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Jio Braves COVID-19 Challenges to Post 47.5 Percent Net Profit Jump to Rs. 3,508 Crores in Q4 2021

Reliance Jio has recorded a 47.5 percent YoY net profit in Q4 2021, recording a jump to Rs. 3,508 crores. The company said in a statement that despite COVID-19 related challenged, Jio closed its first full year of operations with revenue of Rs. 73,503 crores.

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SeasonWatch Is an Indian Initiative to Track Climate Change by Observing Trees

SeasonWatch is a citizen science project aimed at understanding the seasonality of trees, and the effects of climate change on this seasonality, across India. Students from more than 1200 schools and more than 1100 interested individuals contribute weekly information on tree species that are commonly found across the country.

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NASA Hubble Space Telescope Shares Image of a Planet Growing

The image shows a giant planet outside the Solar System feeding off material surrounding a young star.

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Netflix May 2021 Releases: Army of the Dead, Lucifer, Castlevania, Sardar Ka Grandson, and More

Fifty Shades of Grey, Army of the Dead, Lucifer season 5 part 2, Castlevania season 4, Sardar Ka Grandson, Love Death + Robots season 2, The Woman in the Window, Master of None season 3 — the biggest movies and TV series coming to Netflix India in May 2021.

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Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale from May 2: Discounts and Offers on Phones, Smart TVs, Other Electronics

Flipkart Big Saving Days sale will go live on Sunday, May 2. Here are the deals and discounts you’ll get on popular mobile phones and other electronic devices.

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Redmi Note 10T Tipped to Launch as Rebranded Redmi Note 10 5G With Some Differences

Redmi Note 10T could be launched as a rebranded Redmi Note 10 5G. Noted tipster XiaomiUI has shared a screenshot from MIUI code that shows the name of three phones – Redmi Note 10 5G, Redmi Note 10, and Redmi Note 10T. All the phones are codenamed Camellia and the tipster claims that the global Redmi Note 10 5G may launch in other international markets as Redmi Note...

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Apple Tops Tablet, HP Leads Chromebook Markets as Global Shipments See Massive Growth in Q1 2021: IDC

Tablets registered a growth of 55.2 percent with shipments totalling 39.9 million units, while Chromebooks grew by 357.1 percent with 13 million units shipped in Q1 2021, International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report. Samsung and Lenovo registered growth in both tablets and Chromebook shipments.

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Wonder Woman 1984 Sets May Release Date on Amazon Prime Video in India

Wonder Woman 1984 OTT release date is May 15. You can stream and download the full movie online on Amazon Prime Video in India.

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‘That Backfired’: Mark Zuckerberg Explains ‘Lizard’ Look in Live Chat

The Facebook founder explained his viral photo from last year where he was covered up in a thick layer of sunscreen by saying he was trying to hide from paparazzi, but admitted on a live chat that it backfired.

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Google Play to Enforce Guidelines to Eliminate Misleading, Spam, or Clone Apps Later This Year

The new strict policy change brings restrictions to app metadata and new guidelines for Store listing preview assets. For instance, an app cannot use graphic or text to indicate ranking, promote deals, incentivise deals, or for any tactics that can be misleading to users. These changes are set to go into effect in the ‘second half of 2021’.

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Samsung Galaxy M32 Specifications Tipped via Geekbench Listing

Samsung Galaxy M32 specifications have been tipped through a listing on Geekbench. The new Samsung phone is said to be a rebranding of the Galaxy A32 4G.

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VPN Hack Within US Federal Agencies Faces Probe as Government Races to Find Clues

The US government is investigating a hack against federal agencies that began during the Trump administration but was only recently discovered, according to senior US officials and private sector cyber defenders.

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Google is bringing sweeping policy changes to Play Store app titles, icons

• Google has announced upcoming policy changes to app titles, icons, and assets on the Play Store.
• Developers will have to comply or risk their app’s removal from the Play Store.
• The new policies will be implemented later this year, but no official date has been provided.

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The Google Play Store is a dizzying mire of apps, especially for first-time users. Some of these deliberately mislead the uninitiated with their catchy titles, icons, and assets. Now, Google is giving developers time to address these issues before it enforces new policy changes later this year.

Announced in a Developer blog post (h/t XDA), Google will restrict developers from embellishing their apps with potentially misleading titles and icons. These new policies will force developers to provide Play Store users with accurate info about their app.

So what are these changes? For starters, app title length will be limited to 30 characters. Titles will also be free of any ranking descriptor or other performance indicators, promotional info, emoticons, or repeated special characters. These rules will also apply to developer titles too. You can see an example of the changes below.

Google notes that apps failing to meet these requirements will not be allowed on the Google Play Store in the future.

What this means for Google Play Store users

The policy changes are a welcome move from Google, but it is a case of better late than never. These steps should make it easier for users to find genuine apps, or at least apps with accurate descriptions and titles. However, it may not directly address other issues like the app cloning problem or the plethora of fake apps available.

The new guidelines also apply to feature graphics, screenshots, videos, and short descriptions. Failing to meet Google’s guidelines on these will render apps “ineligible for promotion and recommendation on major Google Play surfaces like Apps and Games home.”

Google is announcing these changes well before enforcement to help developers get their houses in order. An exact implementation date will be notified by Google later this year.

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Oppo F11 Pro Getting Android 11-Based ColorOS 11 Update in India

Oppo F11 Pro is receiving Android 11 update in India, the company confirmed via a tweet reply. There has been no official confirmation from Oppo regarding the changelog or the firmware version of the update. However, it is reported to be 2.81GB in size.

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Samsung Leads as Global Smartphone Shipments Record 27 Percent YoY Growth in Q1 2021

Smartphone shipments worldwide grew 27 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2021, as per a report by Canalys. The market research firm said that smartphone vendors shipped a total of 347 million smartphones. The growth has been attributed to regions like Europe that are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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‘Disaster Girl’ Zoe Roth Turns Her Meme Into $500,000 NFT

The girl had shot to Internet fame after her father had shot a photograph of her smiling in front of a burning house in 2005.

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iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini in Purple Colour Now Available in India; AirTag Goes on Sale as Well

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini Purple colour variant and AirTag are now on sale in India, just days after their debut at Apple’s Spring Loaded event last week. Apple is also set to start taking pre-orders for the iPad Pro (2021), iMac (2021), and Apple TV 4K (2021) later today.

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Army of the Dead, Lucifer, Toofaan, and More: May 2021 Guide to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video

Radhe, Army of the Dead, Lucifer season 5 part 2, Love Death + Robots season 2, Toofaan, Sardar Ka Grandson, Castlevania season 4, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Jupiter’s Legacy, Master of None season 3 — the biggest movies and TV shows on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5 and Apple TV+ in May 2021.

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IBM to Acquire Software Provider Turbonomic for Over $1.5 Billion

IBM said it has agreed to acquire Turbonomic, a provider of software that helps companies monitor the performance of their business applications, the latest in a series of cloud computing acquisitions by the tech giant.

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Microsoft to Take Smaller Cut From Video Game Developers: Report

Microsoft will cut its charges for video game developers who publish games in its online store, starting August, the New York Times reported.

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NASA Postpones Mars Ingenuity Helicopter’s Fourth Flight Due to Software Glitch

NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter missed its fourth scheduled flight on Thursday, with the space agency blaming a software glitch and vowing to try again the next day.

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Amazon confirms Prime Day 2021 is coming this June

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

• Amazon has announced that Prime Day 2021 will happen in June this year.
• The sale event has been pushed up keeping in mind the July holiday season.

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Amazon has confirmed that Prime Day 2021 is moving up this year. The event usually takes place in July. However, the company has decided to shift it to the second quarter this year.

As reported by CNET, Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky confirmed during a press call that Prime Day 2021 will take place in June.

The official didn’t announce a specific date for Prime Day 2021 but said, “We are going to do it on a date where we think it’ll get more attention for our customers, and also for our vendors.”

He also added that Amazon has concerns over shipping delays and transportation slowdowns in July because it’s a big vacation month. The impact of the Olympics in the third quarter could further affect the progress of Prime Day. Hence the company has landed on the month of June to conduct the event.

“We’re excited for the return of Prime Day and look forward to providing our members with incredible savings while investing in opportunities for our small business selling partners and continuing to ensure the safety of our employees,” an Amazon representative said in a statement.

Amazon suggested you can ask your Alexa-enabled devices to keep you posted on Prime Day 2021 for updates on the actual dates.

Prime Day was postponed to October last year due to the pandemic. However, it brought forth some great deals on smartphones, wearables, laptops, and many other electronics. We expect Prime Day 2021 to also offer big discounts, so if you’re planning to buy a new phone or a big home appliance, you might want to hold off till June.

You can check out some Prime Day 2021 tips to help you save big when the sale goes live. You might also want to sign-up for an Amazon Prime membership in advance of Prime Day.

Sign up for Amazon Prime

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Twitter Warns of Rising Costs, Slow User Growth as Pandemic Boost Fizzles; Meets Revenue Expectations

Twitter posted revenues and user numbers mostly in line with analyst estimates in stark contrast to the better performing digital ad firms like Facebook and Alphabet.

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Amazon Expects Sales Windfall as US Economy Reopens, Posts Record Profits

Amazon, one of the biggest winners of the pandemic, posted record profits and signalled that consumers would keep spending in a growing US economy and converts to online shopping are not likely to leave.

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Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review: Nailing the basics matters

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is an affordable, stylish 2-in-1 machine meant to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers. Affordable, in this case, doesn’t mean cheap. The Spin 513 has appealing materials and design, enough performance to get your work done, and plenty of battery life to last the day. Find out if this is the Chromebook for you in the Android Authority Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review.

$399 .99

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

Buy it Now

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Buy it Now

$399 .99

About this Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review: I used the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (CP513-1H-S37H) for seven days running Chrome OS 89 and 90. The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review unit was provided to Android Authority by Acer for this review.

What you need to know about the Acer Chromebook Spin 513

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

• Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (4GB RAM/64GB storage): $399/£399/€429

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is priced right. The main version being sold in the US features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and comes in one silvery finish. Acer hasn’t said if other variants of the machine will be sold over time. The device lands in the upper echelon of Acer Chromebooks sold by Walmart. Many of Acer’s devices on Walmart.com are priced $300 or less, so a $400 machine is a step up.

Related: The best Acer Chromebook for your needs and budget

Acer hopes the Spin 513 will appeal to students, people who work from home, and tech lovers seeking a Chromebook for general computing purposes. It’s not meant to be a gaming machine or heavy productivity workhorse. Its thin and lightweight build makes it portable and its 2-in-1 convertible design means it can be used in more ways than one.

How is the design?

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 sure features a lot of chrome. The top lid is made from aluminum and has a polished, beveled, reflective edge that defines the 513’s shape. It catches the eye for sure. This is joined by a reflective chrome Acer logo. Together these give the machine some flash. Most Chromebooks blend in, so anything to help the device stand out is okay in my book.

Related: The best Chromebook accessories you can buy

Beyond that, it’s a fairly straightforward 360-degree design. Rotating hinges join the two halves of the device and allow for a full range of articulation between them. Acer says the Spin 513 offers four usage modes: laptop, tent, tablet, and presentation. Each of these works in its own way and lets people get out of the 513 what they want. The hinges feel strong, smooth, and hold the lid exactly where you want it to be.

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

It’s a slim and light Chromebook. The 13.3-inch display allowed Acer to keep the overall footprint down. The device measures 310 x 209.35 x 15.55mm (12.2 x 8.24 x 0.61 inches) and weighs in at 1.2kg (2.65lbs). This makes it highly portable. It easily fits into backpacks, sacks, and other bags without weighing you down. I carried it around NYC for a day and never felt burdened by it.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 sure features a lot of chrome.

Overall, the build quality, which mixes metals and plastics, is solid. Nothing about this $400 Chromebook feels cheap or inexpensive. There’s something here for everyone to like.

How are the display and keyboard?

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

If there’s one thing cheap Chromebooks have in common, it’s lots of unappealing bezel space. The 13.3-inch display has relatively thin bezels on three sides (top and left/right edges), but there’s a solid inch of black bezel below the display. This makes for a screen-to-body ratio of 78%, says Acer. It’s not a bad look.

The screen is a Full HD panel in a 16:9 aspect ratio. While this is a common aspect ratio, it’s not preferred by everyone. You’ll find 16:9 is great for watching movies and other online content, but productivity-minded people might prefer a device with a 16:10 display for the additional vertical space.

See also: Best Chromebooks under $300

Another common detractor to low-priced Chromebooks is low-res displays. Full HD is all anyone can ask for at this price point and it works well with the 13.3-inch dimensions. I found the screen to look crisp. On-screen elements such as icons and text had well-defined edges and were easy to read.

The display is also touch-enabled and protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. I found touch to be simple and responsive whether in laptop, tablet, or tent mode.

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Apart from the display, the keyboard is the other most essential part of any laptop. The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 has a solid keyboard that gets the job done. The backlight is one feature I can’t live without, and I was pleased to see Acer made sure the Spin 513 has backlit keys. My only complaint is that the light aggressively shuts off after a few seconds of no input. The keyboard is full-sized but lacks a number pad (something we wouldn’t expect on a 13-inch device).

The Chromebook Spin 513 has a solid keyboard and a large, responsive touchpad.

As for the keys themselves, they are a little bit soft in the travel department. They’re also fairly large and require a lot of pushing. I prefer keyboards with shorter action, but you may find it’s right up your alley.

I am a big fan of glass trackpads, and the Spin 513 has a large, responsive, Gorilla Glass-covered touchpad that gets the job done.

Does the battery hold up?

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Acer gave the Chromebook Spin 513 a 4,670mAh, 36Wh lithium-ion battery. The two-cell power pack is rated for all-day use, and it delivers.

Acer says the rated runtime of the Spin 513 is 13.5 hours. I saw average battery life of 13.2 hours. Just shy of Acer’s rating, but close enough. I saw one instance where the battery exceeded the maximum by about 15 minutes.

With 13+ hours of power, the Chromebook 513 offers more than enough run time to get your work done, watch movies, or browse the web for info on a school project.

How’s that Qualcomm processor?

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is one of the very few Chromebooks to ship with a Qualcomm — rather than Intel or MediaTek — processor on board. Specifically, the Spin 513 is powered by the Snapdragon 7c Compute SC7180 with an Adreno 618 GPU. The configuration of the device we have includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but no expandable storage slots. I would have preferred to see a bit more RAM or storage, or at least expandable storage at this price point. Acer did suggest late last year that a version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage will also be available. However, this hasn’t been further detailed at the time of publishing this review.

Though the Snapdragon 7c supports LTE connectivity, the model we tested does not. Acer told us that a commercial model with integrated LTE will be launched later, with price and specs to be announced.

Testing showed the Chromebook Spin 513 to be a solid everyday machine.

As for day-to-day use, I’ve tested the Snapdragon 7c in Windows machines and can tell you that performance of this chip has never been an issue. Whereas in Windows machines the Snapdragon 7c introduces an app limitation based on the ARM compute profile, you’ll find no such limitations here in Chrome OS. The 7c delivers all the power the Spin 513 needs to push through your tasks. It allowed the device to download and install Android apps in a blink, and it never suffered from slowdowns or lag while I tested the Chromebook.

While the Spin 513 didn’t set the world on fire with its benchmark performance in my testing, the results showed the Chromebook to be a solid everyday machine. Most importantly, the Spin 513 managed dozens of open tabs at a time without slowing down.

Anything else?

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

• Ports: The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 has two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and a 3.5mm combination headphone/microphone jack. You’ll need one of the USB-C ports to charge the Chromebook, but Acer says the USB-C ports are full-fledged USB 3.2 (Gen 1) with DisplayPort.
• Speakers: Two speakers generate stereo sound. The sound is fairly decent for a $400 Chromebook. Two mics join the speakers to help with audio during video calls.
• Video camera: The Chromebook 513 is limited to a 720p HD cam, which isn’t good enough for this day and age. I looked a bit ragged in the video calls I conducted, and low-light performance wasn’t great.
• Chrome OS: Chrome OS is, of course, Google’s Chrome-based platform for laptops. This machine can also run Android apps and has full access to the Google Play Store.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 specs

	Acer Chromebook Spin 513
Processor	Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 7c Compute Platform Qualcomm Kyro 468 Octa-core CPU (up to 2.4GHz)
Display	13.3" IPS display Full HD 1920 x 1080 High- brightness LED-backlit TFT LCD with integrated multi-touch 16:9 aspect ratio Corning Gorilla Glass
Graphics	Qualcomm Adreno 618 GPU
RAM/storage	4GB LPDDR4X SDRAM 64GB eMMC
Battery	36Wh, 4,670 mAh, 7.7 V 2-cell Li-ion battery pack
Webcam	1280 x 720 resolution 720p HD audio/video recording Super high dynamic range imaging (SHDR)
Weight	1.2 kg (2.65 lbs.)
Dimensions	310 x 209.35 x 15.55mm 12.2 x 8.24 x 0.61 inches

Value and competition

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

Acer has crafted a competitive Chromebook in the Spin 513, which slots into the middle of the market and has plenty of fight in it to take on other Chromebooks. It boasts a good display, solid keyboard, and excellent battery life.

• $399.99 at Walmart

The market for $400 Chromebooks is packed with competition. Acer did a solid job with the Chromebook Spin 513 in terms of the value equation by nailing the basics. The design is appealing and the machine is well built. The 2-in-1 design gives it lots of functionality. Moreover, Acer dialed in the right screen size/resolution, the right keyboard, and the right battery life. You’d have to spend more for a larger Full HD touch display or better performance.

Competitors to the Spin 513 include the Lenovo Flex 5, which has a 13-inch Full HD display, 4GB of RAM, and a 360-degree hinge. It bests the 513 in one category: the processor. For $40o, the Lenovo Flex 5 has an Intel Core i3 chip on board, which should outperform the Spin 513’s Snapdragon 7c.

See also: The best Chromebooks to get | The best Chromebook deals

If you have a little more room in your budget, you might consider the Asus Flip C434. It’s one of the best-reviewed Chromebooks in the last few years and though it’s a little bit older, it still holds up. It’s available online for about $470.

If you want to stick with Acer, the Chromebook 514 or 515 are in the same ballpark price-wise but give you bigger screens.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review: The verdict

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Acer has crafted a competitive Chromebook in the Spin 513. It slots into the low-end of the mid-range and has plenty of fight in it to take on other Chromebooks in the market.

In the plus column, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 features a well-built, 360-degree spin design that makes the laptop more useful than a standard clamshell. Acer did a good job with the 13.3-inch Full HD touch screen. The keyboard and touchpad combination kept pace with my input demands, and the large battery delivered long-lasting life.

Few Chromebooks offer as many features and as much value at this price point, despite the shortcomings.

In the minus column, some might chide Acer for selecting the Snapdragon 7c silicon. It’s not the most powerful processor on the market, but it managed to push through day-to-day computing tasks with no problems. I’m more disappointed by the meager 4GB of RAM on the base model I reviewed and the lack of expandable storage. Another USB-A or USB-C port might have been nice too, and the 720p webcam is definitely not up to snuff for dedicated video callers.

Despite all that, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is a fine machine for the money. You’ll find few Chromebooks that offer as many features and as much value at this price point.

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Redmi Note 10 Price in India Increased by Rs. 500: All the Details

Redmi Note 10 is currently priced on Amazon India and Mi.com at Rs. 12,499 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model and Rs. 14,499 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model. This reflects a Rs. 500 hike from its original launch price of Rs. 11,999 and Rs. 13,999, respectively.

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Google Adds Travel Tools to Show COVID-19 Advisories, Updates Explore Tab, More

Google has added new travel tools to show COVID-19 related advisories and restrictions to its search engine. Google’s travel page has also got a dedicated Explore tab that shows additional information.

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DC FanDome Date Set for October 16: What to Expect

DC FanDome 2021 date is October 16. Warner’s virtual DC convention returns — expect The Batman, Black Adam, Gotham Knights, The Flash, Aquaman 2 to be invovled.

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Amazon, Intel, Google, More Companies Step Up to Combat India's COVID-19 Crisis

Global and Indian firms are flexing their industrial muscle to help the world's second biggest population battle coronavirus, coming to the rescue of a public health system buckling under the weight of surging infections and deaths.

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Samsung Rides Smartphones, Home Appliances Sale to Post 46.3 Percent Jump in Q1 Profits

Samsung posted a 46.3 percent rise in first-quarter net profits, largely driven by robust sales of its smartphones and home appliances due to continued stay-at-home demand.

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Report: Xiaomi just enjoyed its best-ever quarter for smartphone shipments

• A new global marketshare report suggests that Xiaomi had its best-ever quarter.
• The company is within spitting distance of Apple and looks poised to pass it.

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Xiaomi has been on a roll lately as the global smartphone market continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Tracking firm Strategy Analytics previously reported that the manufacturer claimed third position for global marketshare in Q1 2021, just two percentage points behind Apple. But a new report suggests Xiaomi’s performance is even better than expected.

Canalys has released its Q1 2021 global smartphone marketshare report and it says Xiaomi has achieved its best-ever quarter, growing 62% year-on-year. The Chinese manufacturer was listed in third position with 49 million smartphones shipped, equating to 14% marketshare. 

Second-placed Apple reportedly shipped 52.4 million phones in the quarter, accounting for a 15% share of the global market. This suggests the gap between Xiaomi and Apple is extremely tight right now, and we’ll be waiting for Q2 2021 results to see whether the Chinese manufacturer indeed passes the Cupertino company. And with devices like the Redmi Note 10 series, we’d be surprised if Xiaomi doesn’t take the number two spot.

Credit: Canalys

“Its competitors offer superior channel margin, but Xiaomi’s sheer volume actually gives distributors a better opportunity to make money than rival brands,” Canalys analyst Ben Stanton was quoted as saying. “But the race is not over. Oppo and Vivo are hot on its heels, and are positioning in the mid-range in many regions to box Xiaomi in at the low end.”

Stanton also pointed to Xiaomi becoming more “channel-friendly” and its high-end products like the Mi Mix Fold and Mi 11 Ultra.

Otherwise, Samsung occupied the clear top spot with 22% marketshare and 76.5 million units shipped during the quarter (28% year-on-year growth). Oppo and Vivo rounded out the top five manufacturers for the quarter, with 11% and 10% marketshare each (60% and 48% growth respectively).

Canalys also highlighted LG’s exit from the smartphone business. Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said this represents an opportunity in LG’s stronghold of the Americas for companies like Motorola, ZTE, TCL, and Nokia. 

“It is symbolic of a new era in the smartphone market. It proves that aggressive pricing and channel strategy are more important than hardware differentiation in the modern day,” the analyst explained.

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You can now buy the collector’s edition OnePlus Nord in a special arty box

Credit: OnePlus

• The OnePlus Nord’s special collector’s edition is now available in Europe.
• It comes with a monochromatic design in the 12GB/256GB configuration.

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The OnePlus Nord is getting a little long in the tooth, so it’s probably the perfect time to freshen it up with a new edition. Originally leaked as the OnePlus Nord SE, the special collector’s edition Nord is now available to purchase in parts of Europe.

Officially called the OnePlus Nord x Reality to Idea Collector Box, the package and device is designed by artist Joshua Vides. It arrives in the range-topping 12GB/256GB config, too. But the hardware probably isn’t the reason you’d buy this phone.

The collector’s edition model features a monochromatic colorway with Vides’ tell-tale sketch aesthetic. The box also packs additional swag, including a “creative case” and a tote bag. The packaging also includes funky typographic elements, too.

Price and availability

The collector box is available to purchase in parts of Europe. In Germany, it’ll set you back €499 (~$602) on OnePlus’ official store. For those in the UK, the collector’s edition can be had for £469 (~$651). There’s no word on availability in India or any other region at present.

OnePlus notes this is a limited edition, but you’ll probably have a much better chance of snagging one of these than the OnePlus Nord LE.

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Everything you need to know about the Mi Band 6 (Updated: Global availability)

Credit: Xiaomi

Update: April 29, 2021 (2:20 AM ET): The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is now available in the US through Amazon and in the UK and Europe through Xiaomi’s official store. We’ve updated the article below with information on pricing as well as links to buy the fitness band.

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Original article: Xiaomi has added a new fitness band in its super popular Mi Band series. The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 launched early this year compared to Xiaomi’s usual June launch timeline. It looks almost identical to the Mi Band 5, but there are several changes both above and under the hood, making it smarter and more useful.

That said, there are still some features that remain missing, at least from the global variant of the Mi Band 6. Here’s everything you need to know about the new fitness tracker.

Xiaomi Mi Band 6 specs and features

Credit: Xiaomi

Display

The first feature upgrade that the Mi Band 6 gets is a larger display. The screen now measures 1.56 inches. According to Xiaomi, it offers 50% more real estate than the Mi Band 5’s 1.1-inch display. The panel is still AMOLED and you can expect the same vibrant neon-on-black colors all around. You’ll also have a choice of 60 different band displays to personalize the screen.

For added protection, the display is covered in tempered glass with an anti-fingerprint coating.

Activity tracking

Apart from a bigger footprint, the Mi Band 6 also doubles the number of activity tracking modes this time around. The Mi Band 5 offered 11 sports modes, while Mi Band 6 takes that number up to 30. The additional activity features include more indoor training modes like stretching, HIIT, Zumba, dancing, and others.

There’s also a new auto-detection mode on the Mi Band 6 for six activities: running, walking, treadmill, cycling, rowing machine, and elliptical. With the new feature, the fitness band will be able to automatically determine if you’re doing any of the aforementioned activities and start monitoring them without the need for manual intervention.

Fitness monitoring

Xiaomi has also improved sleep monitoring on the Mi Band 6. It can now help access users’ sleep breathing quality thanks to its built-in SpO2/blood oxygen sensor. It’ll also detect various sleep stages and promises to offer useful insights into sleep quality and duration.

Of course, you get 24/7 heart rate monitoring with the Mi Band 6’s PPG sensor. This is the same sensor that’s also used on Amazfit wearables as well as previous Mi Band models. There’s a new mode on the device that relies on the heart rate sensor to detect stress levels during the day.

Women’s health and PAI scoring system

Just like the Mi Band 5, the Mi Band 6 also offers menstruation cycle tracking. It can help determine cycle dates as well as fertility timelines.

The PAI or Personal Activity Intelligence feature also makes a comeback. It measures your daily activity and heart rate to give you a score out of 100.

Battery life, water resistance, and connectivity

The Mi Band 6 packs in a 125mAh battery that charges using a magnetic charger. Xiaomi claims the band can offer more than 14 days of juice in a single charge.

The Mi Band 6 is also 5ATM certified, which means it can withstand up to 50 meters depth for 10 minutes. You can read the complete specs of the Mi Band 6 in the table below.

Unfortunately, there’s still no NFC on the global variant and no voice assistant either.

	Xiaomi Mi Band 6
Display	1.56-inch AMOLED Tempered glass with anti-fingerprint coating 152 x 486 resolution 326ppi Up to 450 nits 60+ band displays
Sensors	PPG heart rate sensor 3-axis accelerometer sensor 3-axis gyroscope sensor SpO2 sensor Connected GPS
Battery	125mAh 14-day promised battery life
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0
Tracking and other features	30 fitness modes 6 auto detection modes SpO2 tracking Sleep tracking Breathe exercise Stress monitoring Female health tracking PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) Idle alerts Camera remote shutter
Water resistance	5ATM
App compatibility	Mi Wear app Mi Fit app
Charging method	Magnetic charging
Supported devices	Android 5.0 and above iOS 10 and above
Dimensions	47.4 x 18.6 x 12.7mm Strap: 155 - 219mm
Colors	Black, Orange, Yellow, Olive, Ivory, Blue

Xiaomi Mi Band 6 price and availability

Credit: Xiaomi

As expected, the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 comes bearing an affordable price of 229 yuan (~$35) in China and 279 yuan (~$43) for the NFC edition.

It’s now available in the US through Amazon for $59.29. But if you apply and get approval for an Amazon Rewards Visa card, you can claim the Mi Band 6 for as low as $9.29 right now.

You can also buy it in the UK for ￡39.99 and in Europe for €44.99. There are also some other sources where you can get the Mi Band 6 for cheaper. You can check out all the buying options for the band below.

Xiaomi Mi Band 6 Now with SpO2 tracking and more sport profiles

The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 (aka Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 in some regions) is Xiaomi's flagship fitness tracker for 2021. True to form, the Mi Band 6 offers more features than you'd expect for a sub-€50 wearable.

• $59.29 at Amazon
• $54.99 at Walmart
• $44.99 at Gearbest
• €52.11 at AliExpress

The device comes in different colorways for the straps, including Black, Orange, Yellow, Olive, Ivory, and Blue.

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We also expect the Mi Band 6 to launch in other countries like India, but there’s no word on that for now. Last year, Huami launched a Mi Band replica with Alexa support in the US, so you can also consider getting that if you can’t get your hands on the Mi Band.

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