Verizon’s faster 5G speeds will be reserved for “premium” customers

It has happened: 5G has become mainstream. Or at least, sort of. While 5G is technically mainstream in the sense that the technology is available in most of the U.S. territory and the technology has already started trickling down from just flagships to mid-range and even budget devices, the technology still needs some maturing before we can say it’s truly, completely mainstream like 4G currently is. Speeds, for one, can still be a crapshoot, sometimes even to the point where it might be better to just use LTE. Verizon is guilty of this with their “nationwide” 5G network, and they’re about to offer faster 5G speeds, but this comes with a big if. Particularly, the fact that these faster speeds, brought over by C-band frequencies, will be limited to Verizon’s “premium” users, as reported by The Verge.

This means that, if you’re a Verizon user on one of the base-level unlimited plans and you were expecting C-band frequencies to go online so that you will get faster 5G speeds, then you will be sorely disappointed because this is not going to be available for you. Just like mmWave 5G, Verizon is treating access to C-band frequencies as a premium feature only available for customers on their Play More, Do More, and Get More Unlimited plan. If you’re on a lower unlimited plan, then you’re stuck with their DSS “nationwide” network. Customers on metered plans might not get access to this either, given that they currently don’t have access to mmWave 5G either.

It’s a bummer as it means that users on lower-end plans will not be able to enjoy 5G speeds that actually provide a tangible advancement over 4G. This is not to say that C-band frequencies will never come to base-level users, but right now, it won’t. Verizon might open it up to other users in the following months or years as they expand their infrastructure and it becomes easier and overall cheaper to operate as the technology becomes older. Right now, though? It’s going to remain as a premium feature.

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Google Pay for India will let you turn off data tracking features

Google Pay in India is getting a new feature that will let you turn off data tracking features. The upcoming feature will appear within the app’s settings starting next week, and it will give you more controls to decide how your Google Pay activity is used to personalize features in the app.

In a recent blog post on the matter, Google revealed that the new feature will start rolling out to users in India starting next week. As soon as you open up Google Pay following the update, it will bring up a new prompt highlighting the features. At the bottom of the prompt, you’ll find two buttons to help you turn the tracking features on or off. The same prompt will also show up for new users during the initial setup process.

As mentioned earlier, the app will also get a new option within the settings to help you turn data tracking on or off if you change your mind at a later stage. The option will appear within a new Data & personalization section, and it will include a brief overview of the feature.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to manage how your Google Pay transactions and activity are used for personalization at account.google.com. The page will also show all transaction and activity records, and it will give you the option to delete specific records that you don’t want Google to use for personalization. Although this new feature may not seem like much to most users, it’s a boon for the privacy-conscious.

Over the last year, Google has introduced several privacy and security features across its vast product portfolio. These features go a long way in maintaining transparency and also give users access to simpler controls to manage their data. With Android 11, Google added several such features to the operating system as well. Now, the company is working on bringing more privacy and security features with Android 12. You can learn more about these upcoming features by following this link.

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Netflix tests a new ₹299 mobile plan offering HD content to Indian subscribers

Netflix is planning on launching a new special mobile plan for users in India. The new affordable option seems to be another attempt by the streaming service to grow its audience in the country. Reports suggest that the new ‘Mobile+’ plan will be priced at ₹299 a month, and subscribers will get to watch shows and movies at HD (1080p) resolution.

Unlike the regular plan, this one will be limited to a single mobile, tablet, or computer screen at a time. “We launched the mobile plan in India to make it easier for anyone with a smartphone to enjoy Netflix. We want to see if members like the added choice Mobile+ brings. We’ll only roll it out long-term if they do,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Economic Times.

Currently, Netflix has an entry-level mobile plan that offers single-screen access to subscribers in SD (standard definition or 480p) resolution for ₹199 a month on either a smartphone or tablet. The Basic ₹499 plan also streams content in SD resolution and lets users access the app on a TV or PC. The ₹649 Standard plan gives access to content on a smartphone, tablet, TV, or PC with up to two screens at a time in HD resolution. Lastly, there is the Premium plan at ₹799 a month that offers up to four screen access at a time at UHD (4K resolution) with HDR.

The new Mobile+ plan comes only a few days after the Indian government announced a new set of guidelines for video streaming platforms under the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. All streaming services in India, including Netflix, need to adhere to a new three-tier ‘self-regulatory’ complaint redressal system. The information and broadcasting ministry exercises complete oversight over the process. An independent self-regulatory body headed by a retired high court or Supreme Court judge will be making decisions on matters related to content, as per the new system.

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ASUS ROG Phone 5 is already getting its first update

ASUS has barely taken the wraps off the ROG Phone 5, and already the first update has been announced. The company said the update is rolling out now in batches, so it could be a few days before you see it on your end.

According to ASUS, the update includes several enhancements and optimizations, from an improved camera user experience to improved system stability. There are also improvements to the Armoury Crate, which now supports share and import functions. Additionally, ASUS said it has enhanced the advanced settings of system modes in Armoury Crate.

Here’s the full changelog for the ROG Phone 5:

• Enhanced the advanced settings of system modes in Armoury Crate
• Added animation editor for ROG Vision in
• Armoury Crate. Now supports share and import functions.
• Added brand new motion control gestures in AirTrigger 5
• Added Esports Mode : A competitive mode tailored for esports competitions in the power button menu screen during gameplay
• Added ROG Akira Character theme pack
• Added multiple theme packs in cooperated with popular game publishers
• Added “Upcoming alarm notification” setting in Clock – Sent out 2 hours before the scheduled alarm.
• Optimized Camera user experience
• Optimized system stability
• Optimized ROG Vision
• Optimized charging stability

The ROG Phone 5 features a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, aluminum mid-frame design, Qualcomm Snapdragon 88 processor, and up to 18GB RAM for the Ultimate model. The device also features a triple-camera setup, in-display fingerprint sensor, and dual 3,000mAh batteries (for a total of 6,000mAh).

Pricing for the ROG Phone 5 series ranges from $950 to $1,543, the latter of which is for the top-of-the-line model with 18GB RAM and 512GB of storage. The base ROG Phone 5 is available from March 2021, but won’t be available in India until April 15, 2021, so you have another month to wait. The ROG Phone 5 Pro will be available starting April 2021, while the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will go on sale in May 2021.

You can learn more about the ROG Phone 5 right here.

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Google Chrome 89 launches even faster on Android with “freeze-dried tabs”

Google recently launched Chrome 89 with revamped profiles, Reading list, and more for desktop. The search giant is also showing love to Chrome on Android, with a new feature called “freeze-dried tabs” that supposedly makes the browser even faster.

Google on Thursday posted a blog post detailing how it is advancing memory management and improving performance in Chrome 89, with one of the improvements being freeze-dried tabs. With the feature enabled, Google claims Chrome on Android starts up 13% faster.

“Chrome now saves a lightweight version of your tabs that are similar in size to a screenshot, but support scrolling, zooming, and tapping on links,” Google said. “We use these Freeze-Dried Tabs at startup while the actual tab loads in the background, getting you to your pages faster.”

Additionally, Google said that with Chrome 89, it was able to reduce the number of crashes on Android due to resource exhaustion, a 5% improvement in memory usage, 7.5% faster startup times, and up to 2% faster page loads.

Google has also confirmed which devices are getting the 64-bit version of Chrome.

“For those of you who picked up the latest Android devices (Android Q+ and 8GB+ of RAM), we’ve rebuilt Chrome as a 64-bit binary, giving you a more stable Chrome that is up to 8.5% faster to load pages and 28% smoother when it comes to scrolling and input latency,” Google said.

Google also said Chrome on Android now uses PartitionAlloc everywhere, the search giant’s advanced memory allocator, which is optimized for low allocation latency, space efficiency, and security. The updated browser is also smarter about using (and discarding) memory, reclaiming up to 100MiB per tab by discarding memory that the foreground tab is not actively using.

“Our teams are always working hard to bring you the fastest and most powerful browser on every one of your devices,” Google said “We’re very excited to bring you these performance improvements and have much more to come, so stay tuned.”

Google Chrome: Fast & Secure (Free, Google Play) →

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Full hard drives? Unlock more space with these top deals on cloud storage

From Instagram videos to work documents, we all create new data every day. Soon enough, your device won’t be able to hold any more. 

Whether you need somewhere safe to offload the important files or you just want a good backup solution, the XDA Developers Depot has you covered. Right now, you can save up to 97% on cloud storage subscriptions with these top deals.

Degoo Premium: Lifetime 1TB Backup Plan

Degoo Premium makes cloud storage truly affordable. Rated at 4 stars by Tom’s Guide, this service allows you to upload from iOS, Android, and any desktop browser with 256-bit AES encryption. It also offers secure file sharing and automatic file-change detection.

Get the Degoo Premium Lifetime 1TB Backup Plan for $49.99 (reg. $900), a saving of 94%. 

Polar Backup Cloud Storage: Lifetime Subscription

Based on Amazon Web Services infrastructure, this service makes cloud storage remarkably affordable. Polar Backup utilizes AES-256 encryption to secure your data, and duplication to ensure your precious files are safe. It’s also GDPR compliant, so you have control over your data.

Get a Polar Backup 1TB lifetime subscription for $29.99 (reg. $390), a saving of 92%. 

Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan: Lifetime Subscription

If you need more storage space, Degoo’s 15TB Mega Backup Plan is a great option. Creative people will particularly appreciate this platform which was described by TechRadar as, “Snappy, simple backup with an emphasis on photos.”

Get a Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan lifetime subscription (15TB) for $149.99 (reg. $4,320), a saving of 96%. 

Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan: Lifetime Subscription (25TB)

For even more space, you can grab 25TB with Degoo Premium; that’s enough for 12,500 hours of video. This lifetime subscription covers unlimited devices, and you have the option to replicate backups for even greater peace of mind. 

Get a Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan lifetime subscription (25TB) for $199.99 (reg. $7,200), a saving of 97%. 

Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan: Lifetime Subscription (35TB)

With this deal, you can add an extra 10TB of lifetime backup space for just $50. Of course, that means many more files — so Degoo Premium has AI-powered search and a “memories” feature to help you unearth important photos.

Get a Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan lifetime subscription (35TB) for $249.99 (reg. $10,000), a saving of 97%. 

Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan: Lifetime Subscription (50TB)

If you would prefer to cover your cloud storage needs for the foreseeable future, the 50TB plan from Degoo is the perfect solution. This gives you enough space to hold a lifetime of photos and documents, with end-to-end encryption and access on all your devices.

Get a Degoo Premium Mega Backup Plan lifetime Subscription (50TB) for $299.99 (reg. $14,400), a saving of 97%. 

The Degoo Premium Backup Plan: Lifetime 10TB Cloud Storage (2-Pack)

This bundle from Degoo gives you two options: you can take 10TB for yourself and share 10TB with a friend, or keep 20TB for yourself. Either way, you get lifetime backup for unlimited devices, zero-knowledge encryption, and secure sharing.

Get a Degoo Premium Lifetime 10TB Cloud Storage 2-Pack for $159 (reg. $7,200), a saving of 97%. 

4Sync Premium 1TB Cloud Storage: 1-Year Subscription

As the name suggests, 4Sync makes it easy to sync files between devices and different platforms. Along with 1TB of storage, you get an array of useful features — including a built-in media player, link shortening, support for sub-domain sharing, widgets, comments, and more.

Get one year of 4Sync Premium 1TB Cloud Storage for $49.99 (reg. $203), a saving of 75%. 

Prices subject to change 

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Google Chrome now lets you preview webpages on Android without opening them

Google Chrome is the most popular and widely used web browser in the world. It is the default web browser for Android, and that makes it the most widely used browser on mobile phones as well. Google routinely adds new features to the Chrome browser for Android and the most recent and prominent addition was a grid view for tabs. The company rolled out Chrome 89 for Android earlier this week and it introduces the ability to preview links from a page instead of opening them in a new tab.

After updating to the latest version of Google Chrome on Android, you will able to see the “Preview” option in the menu that pops up when you long-press on a hyperlink. As spotted by 9to5Google, the page rolls out like a sheet when you tap on Preview. This sheet occupies nearly all of the visible area on the original webpage, which becomes the background.

One the top of this Preview window on Google Chrome, you see a bar with the page title, the website’s name, and the website’s favicon. Towards the right, there are buttons to either launch the Preview into a full-fledged tab or close it.

Additionally, there is a solid pull button at the top of the bar to close the Preview. While you can also drag the button to minimize the Preview partially — to read something on the background page, you cannot resize the Preview page. Dragging the bar upwards expands the Preview to its original view while dragging it downwards closes the Preview.

Notably, while the feature is now starting to roll out to the majority of users, Google has been testing it since 2018. It was previously called “Sneak peek” and could be activated using a features flag in Chrome Dev or Chrome Canary.

Google Chrome: Fast & Secure (Free, Google Play) →

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