Thursday, July 2, 2020

Australia's best cheap headphones, discounts and deals in July 2020

Headphones have flooded the market, and it’s difficult to know which ones to pick – especially if you’re a first time buyer. Here, we’ll help you weigh up whether you should buy top-of-the-line, or if a cheaper set will suffice.

While it’s tempting to buy a set of super cheap headphones, it’s worth remembering that they are inexpensive for a reason. But as you’ll see below, getting your hands on a decent pair of headphones doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Especially when you have us to do the digging for you.

To save you the time and effort, we’ve put together this dedicated guide to the best bargains on great-sounding headphones. We constantly monitor major Aussie retailers to bring you the most worthwhile deals on a variety of sets – from in-ear buds to noise-cancelling cans from the most popular brands – so check out our continually updated list below to discover the best current headphones deals in Australia.

  • Find great bargains and compare Australian prices on the latest tech at Getprice.

Over- & on-ear headphones

Sony WH-1000XM3 | AU$346.30 (RRP AU$449; save AU$102.70)

The best headphones your money can buy are now available for less, thanks to Allphones’ on eBay. The hype surrounding these over-ear cans from Sony is real – the sound quality is excellent and the noise cancellation is best-in-class. They also boast a whopping 30-hours of battery life. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen a solid discount on these headphones, so AU$102 is a pretty sweet deal. Head to eBay store and use the code P15LIGHT. Available in both black and silver.View Deal

Bose QuietComfort 35 II | AU$330 (RRP AU$449; save AU$119)

If you’re a loyal fan of Bose, the always popular QuietComfort 35 II has seen a decent discount on eBay. These headphones have superb sound and top-notch noise cancellation – perfect for commuters. As the name suggests, they’re a dream to wear as well. If you fancy the silver pair, head to Allphones on eBay and use the code P15LIGHT at checkout.View Deal

Sony WH-CH710N | AU$219 (RRP AU$349; save AU$130)

Sony’s best known set of headphones are the stellar WH-1000XM3, but they come with a suitably premium price tag. This more affordable offering from Sony has good sound quality and noise-cancelling tech, though they aren’t quite up to scratch with Sony’s top tier offering. That said, if you don’t want to drop AU$350 on a set of headphones, these could make for a worthwhile alternative. Available from The Good Guys with AU$130 saved.View Deal

In-ear headphones

Beats Powerbeats Pro | AU$266 (RRP AU$349; save AU$83)

The Powerbeats Pro are our favourite fitness ‘buds for a number of reasons, not least because they’ve got a hook which fits around your ear to help keep them in place while you’re working up a sweat. And a little perspiration is something they can withstand, with an IPX4 sweat-resistant rating. Jump on the official Allphones eBay store and enter the code P15LIGHT at checkout to snag them for less.View Deal

Sony WF-1000XM3 | from AU$265 (RRP AU$319; save up to AU$54)

These are Sony’s true wireless ‘buds and they’re just as exceptional as their over-ear siblings. Sony managed to squeeze active noise cancellation and a great battery into these earbuds – no small feat. If you’re ready to cut the cord, the silver set is discounted on Amazon.View Deal

Jabra Elite 65t | from AU$149 (RRP AU$249; save up to AU$100)

These excellent true wireless 'buds have been discounted on Amazon for a very long time, although they had dropped as low as AU$143 a while back. While this isn't as great a deal at just a few dollars more than its lowest offer, these 'buds are a great bargain for the comfortable fit and brilliant bassy sound quality.View Deal

Jabra Elite Active 65t | AU$179 (RRP AU$279; save AU$100)

This is the workout version of the Jabra Elite 65t. With that in mind, these true wireless ‘buds have a built-in motion sensor to track your steps and an IP56 rating which promises to resist sweat while you’re busy getting the blood pumping. These in-ears have great sound quality too, as we’ve come to expect from Jabra.View Deal

Bose QuietControl 30 | AU$299 (RRP AU$449; save AU$150)

Looking for active noise cancellation without feeling the weight of a set of cans on your head? Then Bose's QC30 Bluetooth 'buds might be what you're after. You get the brand's signature sound quality and a neckband design that offer more security than true wireless headphones. You'll get up to 10 hours of battery life per charge and save a very decent AU$150 on these premium 'buds when shopping on Amazon.View Deal

The best deals on our favourite headphones

To help you decide which headphones work best for you, we’ve decided to put together a little buying guide with a list of our favourite recommendations. 

The headphones you’ll find here have tons of features to help you to get the most out of your music, or any other form of audio-visual entertainment you prefer, however you like to listen to it.

(Image credit: Sony)

Our favourite overall headphones (and noise-cancelling too): Sony WH-1000XM3

The cans that can do everything

Acoustic design: Closed | Weight: 254g | Cable length: 3.94 ft | Frequency response: 4Hz-40,000Hz | Drivers: 40mm | Driver type: Neodymium | Sensitivity: 104.5 dB / mW (1 kHz) | Impedance: 47 ohm | Battery life: 30 hours | Wireless range: 10m

Outstanding noise cancellation
Fantastic sound quality
30-hour battery life
Mediocre call quality

The Sony WH-1000XM3 noise-cancelling headphones are the best you can buy – for now, anyway. They’re very much in line with what we’ve seen from Sony in the past two years, and with this model the electronics giant has managed to improve on some already fantastic sets. The noise cancellation these headphones have can beat anything Bose has to offer with ease. That’s because Sony has dedicated time to perfecting audio playback and its noise-cancelling technology. However, their crown could soon be handed over, as rumours of a Sony WH-1000XM4 release date have been circling. We’ll see what 2020 brings.

Read the full review: Sony WH-1000XM3

jbl tune 750btnc

(Image credit: JBL)

Our favourite budget headphones: JBL Tune 750BTNC

Quality noise-cancelling over-ears for a pocket-friendly price

Acoustic design: Closed | Weight: 220g | Cable length: N/A | Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz | Drivers: 40mm | Driver type: N/A | Sensitivity: 95dB | Impedance: 32 ohms | Battery life: 15 - 22 hours | Wireless range: 30ft (10m) | NFC: No

Good sound quality
Strong active noise cancellation
No waterproofing
Average battery life

JBL is a name you’ve probably heard in the affordable audio space. The brand consistently puts out good quality speakers and headphones with an even better price tag to match. Our previous pick on this list was the JBL Live 650BTNC, but there’s now a worthy successor to take their place – the JBL Tune 750BTNC. These noise-cancelling headphones sound great, look great, and they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Maybe some might miss waterproofing and a few minor features but, at this price, it might be foolish to complain.

Read the full review: JBL Tune 750BTNC

(Image credit: Steve May)

Our favourite true wireless earbuds: Sony WF-1000XM3

The true wireless headphone jungle has a new noise-cancelling king

Weight: 70g | Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz | Drivers: 6mm | Driver type: Dome Type | Sensitivity: N/A | Impedance: N/A | Battery life (charging case): 18 hours | Wireless range: 30ft | NFC: Yes

Efficient noise cancellation
Inconspicuous looks
Great fun to listen to
Not suitable for sports

It’s still rather rare to get ANC in wired earbuds at all, yet Sony has managed to squeeze best-in-class noise cancellation tech into these ‘buds that have cut the cord – and that’s no small feat to achieve. And then there’s the battery life – Sony has even managed to pack above-average battery life in here, offering up to six hours of playback on a single charge of the ‘buds alone. And then there’s more to go in the charging case as well. While the WF-1000XM3 won’t offer the same level of noise cancellation that you’ll find in their over-ear counterparts mentioned above, they offer a sleek form factor, and an alternative for those who don’t enjoy carrying around full-sized cans.

Read the full review: Sony WF-1000XM3

(Image credit: Apple)

Our favourite workout earbuds: Beats Powerbeats Pro

Impressive-fitting workout ‘buds from Beats

Weight: N/A | Battery life: 9 hours | Heart rate monitor?: No | On-ear controls?: Yes

Good sound
Immaculate fit
Case is fairly bulky
Limited noise isolation

If you’re looking to amp up your fitness routine with an energetic soundtrack, our top pick would be the Beats Powerbeats Pro. These true wireless earbuds fit comfortably on and around the ear, thanks to their close-fitting hook design, and they don’t seem to ever fall out – important when you’re in the middle of a workout. They also have an IPX4 sweatproof rating, a long battery life of nine hours on a full charge and sound fantastic whether you’re in the gym or at home. What’s not to love?

Read the full review: Beats PowerBeats Pro

If you're after more information on headphones in different form factors, take a look at some of our other dedicated audio articles:



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Dell Precision 5550 workstation laptop launched in India

Dell has announced a new work station in India under the Precision series. The all-new Precision 5550 is a mobile work station which is meant to handle extreme workload. 

The Dell Precision 5550 comes with a 105% larger touchpad as compared to the previous generation, IR camera at the top of the bezel and blue light sensor. 

Dell Precision 5550 specs

(Image credit: Dell )

The work station comes with an infinity edge display on a bezel-less design. You get a 15.6-inch screen with 16:10 aspect ratio, 92% screen to body ratio, 500 nits brightness, and Gorilla Glass protection. You can choose between a Full HD+ and an Ultra HD+(4K) screen. The 4K variant is touch-enabled. 

On the internals, the Precision 5550 comes in multiple options with up to 10th gen Intel processors, Xeon and Core i9, with up to 64GB DDR4 2933 MHz RAM and up to 2TB M.2 SSD. For graphics, you get up to NVIDIA Quadro T2000 4GB GDDR6 GPU. As far as the connectivity is concerned, there is Intel Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. 

Port options on the machine include 1 x USB 3.2Type-C, 1 x SD card slot, 1 x universal audio port, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 and Power Delivery, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3. There is also a fingerprint scanner integrated with a fingerprint scanner. 

For audio, there is a dual integrated speaker and dual integrated noise-cancelling digital array microphones powered by MaxxAudio Pro by Waves. You also get IR webcam. The Dell Precision 5550 weighs 1.84Kgs and comes with 90W/120W AC adapter depending on the model you choose. 

For the operating system, you get to choose between Windows 10 Pro, Home, Ubuntu, and RedHat 8.3.

Pricing and availability

 

The Dell Precision 5550 workstation starts at Rs1,29,999 and GST will be applicable on all the models. It will be available in online and offline markets soon. 



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How to watch Hamilton online: stream the hit musical on Disney Plus today

Originally scheduled to hit movie theaters in October 2021, the cinematic version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical, Hamilton, has enjoyed the fastest of fast-track releases and is now available to stream on Disney Plus. The record breaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning show is a visionary take on the "ten-dollar Founding Father without a father" - and more cultural phenomenon than Broadway hit. Everyone's home can be the room where it happens today, so don't throw away your shot - here's how how to watch Hamilton online and stream it with Disney Plus right now.

How to watch Hamilton online

Disney Plus is the one and only place to watch Hamilton online today. Fortunately, it's super affordable - Disney Plus costs just $6.99/£5.99 a month, making it cheaper to stream Hamilton than rent other major movie releases.

After much anticipation, Hamilton has now hit all of Disney Plus' markets - including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and many more. The movie of the show was shot at New York's Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2016 and features the production's original cast, which is headlined by Miranda himself playing Alexander Hamilton. Scroll down for full details of the original Hamilton cast that won 11 Tony Awards - Broadway's equivalent of the Oscars.

There are loads of great 4th of July sales going right now, but the release of Hamilton to Disney Plus priced at $6.99/£5.99 a month might just be our favorite offer. The film carries a PG-13 rating in the US, which is roughly equivalent to a 12A in the UK. This means it will muffle two of the three F-bombs that feature in the original song lyrics, to make it family-friendly and suitable for Disney Plus audiences. 

But even if you've seen the show performed live, as this writer has, you won't notice the difference. Popular numbers like My Shot, Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) and Satisfied are every bit as mesmerizing as they are in the flesh and the production carries all the same swagger and potency it does on the stage.

Don't delay - your home is now officially the room where it happens, so here's how to watch Hamilton online and stream Lin-Manuel Miranda's epic musical on Disney Plus right now.

watch hamilton online disney plus

How to watch Hamilton online: stream the musical on Disney Plus now

Anyone is countries that now have access to Disney Plus - North America, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, most of mainland Europe and more - simply need to head to the Disney Plus website to sign up for the service. After that, Hamilton is sure to be front and center of the platform from July 3 - and if for some strange reason it's not, a quick search will deliver the goods.

As well as being the exclusive home of Hamilton, there are loads of other reasons to check out Disney Plus - a fantastic (and fantastic value) streaming service with loads of great content. It features every Simpsons episode ever made, all your favorite Pixar flicks, the latest  Marvel movies, and the complete Star Wars canon - all for just $6.99/£5.99 a month.

It really is something of a bargain, considering how much you get - and how much of it can't be found anywhere else. Better still, you can save 15% if you sign up for an annual subscription, or for the ultimate value, take advantage of a combined bundle that includes ESPN+, Hulu and Disney Plus for the outrageously cheap price of just $12.99 a month. 

There's so much included, you might forget cable TV ever existed - and yes, you really can have it all for the price of an appetizer! 

watch hamilton online disney plus

(Image credit: Walter McBride/WireImage)

Hamilton cast: who stars in the Disney Plus movie?

As we've mentioned, the movie version of Hamilton now available for streaming exclusively on Disney Plus features the original cast of the show. Hamilton first debuted off-Broadway in 2015 before being moved to the Richard Rodgers Theatre - an iconic venue that was the perfect home for Miranda's masterpiece.

  • Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton
  • Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson
  • Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr
  • Christopher Jackson as George Washington
  • Jonathan Groff as King George
  • Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler
  • Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton

Read more:



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Apple Card's new web portal lets you pay your balance on a PC

You’ll no longer have to be entirely dependent on the Wallet app for your Apple Card transactions. The tech giant has launched a web portal for its credit card, giving you a way to pay your balance online even if you don’t have or have lost access to...

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E-waste becomes world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream

Global electronic waste, discarded products with a battery or plug, will grow by 38% from 53.6m metric tonnes (mt) in 2019 to 74.7m mt by 2030, fuelled mainly by higher consumption rates of equipment, short life cycles and few options for repair.

In real terms, the electric and electronic waste in 2019 is equivalent to the weight of 350 cruise ships that have the size of the Queen Mary 2.

According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, the growth in 2019 is up by 21% in just five years and doubling in 16 years by 2030, making e-waste as the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director for Telecommunication Development Bureau at International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said that it highlights the pressing issue of e-waste management in today’s digitally connected world.

“Monitoring e-waste streams will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and tracking the implementation of the ITU Connect 2030 Agenda. The report serves as a valuable resource for governments to improve their global e-waste recycling rate by developing the necessary/needed/required e-waste policies and legislation,” he said.

According to the report, Asia, which includes the Middle East also, generated the greatest volume of e-waste in 2019 — about 24.9 mt, followed by the Americas (13.1 mt) and Europe (12 mt), while Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 mt and 0.7 mt respectively.

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

Environmental and health issues

Only 17.4% of 2019’s e-waste was collected and recycled, which means that gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recoverable materials conservatively valued at $57b - a sum greater than the gross domestic product of most countries - were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse.

With the recycling rate of 17.4%, potential raw material value of $10 billion can be recovered from e-waste, and 4 mt of secondary raw materials would become available for recycling.

Statistics on e-waste collected and recycled are based on data reported by countries.

In per capita terms, last year’s discarded e-waste, a health and environmental hazard containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury,  averaged 7.3 kilos for every man, woman and child on earth.

Nikhil Seth, Executive Director at United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) & UN Assistant Secretary-General, said that far more electronic waste is generated than is being safely recycled in most parts of the world.

“More cooperative efforts are required to make aware of this increasing issue and take appropriate countermeasures to supplement by appropriate research and training,” he said.

In rich countries, there are large migrant workers that reuse or repair donated used-EEE from the richer households, but this is unique within the region.

Antonis Mavropoulos, President, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), said that e-waste quantities are rising three times faster than the world’s population and 13% faster than the world’s GDP during the last five years.

“This sharp rise creates substantial environmental and health pressures and demonstrates the urgency to combine the fourth industrial revolution with a circular economy. The fourth industrial revolution either will advance a new circular economy approach for our economies or it will stimulate further resource depletion and new pollution waves,” he said.



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Police arrest hundreds of criminals after infiltrating their encrypted phone system

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested 746 career criminals after intercepting millions of encrypted text messages.

The messages were sent through a subscription-based phone system called EncroChat which costs roughly $1,994 per month. For that price, the criminals received a customized Android smartphone which had its GPS, camera and microphone functionality physically removed. 

While these devices ship with Android and have numerous encrypted messaging apps installed on them, they also have a secure secondary operating system and can be wiped by entering a PIN thanks to a self-destruct feature.

Up until recently, EncroChat had customers in 140 countries before its network was hacked by French police. The police deployed a “technical device” to penetrate EncroChat communications after they discovered that some of its servers used to were hosted in the country.

Infiltrating EncroChat

As reported by Motherboard, EncroChat users received a text message in June warning that law enforcement agencies had taken over part of the company's infrastructure and were trying to hack into its encrypted messaging system.

At the time, the person who ran the service's email address explained to the news outlet that it would have to shut down, saying:

"We fully understand the inconvenience and frustration this decision has caused our customers. Our main priority has always been our customers integrity and security, and when we no longer can guarantee that, we have no other choice than to shut down the service even if it destroys our business."

Back in May, the company received a number of complaints that EncroChat phones were no longer wiping correctly when the self-destruct feature was activated. This was because law enforcement had managed to install malware on one of its X2 devices that was designed to avoid detection, disable the phone's factory reset feature, record the screen lock password and clone application data.

Although EncroChat has now been shut down and many of its customers have been arrested, other encrypted phone providers will likely surface to fill the gap left by the service.

Via The Verge



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This cheap HP laptop hides a surprising secret that barely anyone noticed

HP 14-DK1003DX - $239.99 at Best Buy
(roughly £190/AU$350)
This exceptionally affordable HP laptop from Best Buy contains the AMD Athlon Silver - a processor found in only very few other laptops. It also comes with a range of freebies to sweeten the package, like free antivirus and cloud storage. If you don't mind the antiquated display resolution, it's well worth a punt.View Deal

You won’t find this laptop on HP’s own website, but the 14-DK1003DX - a Best Buy exclusive at $239.99 (roughly £190/AU$350) - has an intriguing quality that not many have picked up on.

The machine is one of very few business laptops to come with an AMD Athlon Silver processor. Athlon was the iconic CPU brand that helped drive the company forward the beginning of this century and has been in limbo for about a decade. It's now back and (surprise, surprise) is powered by AMD’s Zen+ architecture.

The Athlon Silver 3050U has not yet been tested, but we know it's similar to a Ryzen 3 3200U (with two cores and two threads) and a GPU that has one fewer compute units. Its GPU, the Radeon RX Vega 2, should be more powerful than anything else found in this price range.

The rest of the specification is adequate for the price: there’s 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD (not eMMC), a 14-inch display, Windows 10 Home in S Mode (which can be upgraded to Windows 10 Home), a 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery, a Gigabit Ethernet port, Wireless AC Wi-Fi and a webcam.

Reviewers say the memory is upgradable, so you should be able to pop in a second 2.5-inch solid state drive. There are also a few unexpected freebies, including a touchpad with real buttons, a 6-month subscription to Webroot Internet Security with Antivirus for three devices (worth $29.99), McAfee LiveSafe and 25GB of Dropbox cloud storage for a year.

Perhaps the only major sore point is the fact the screen resolution is a measly 1366 x 768 pixels. That's the kind of resolution that belongs to the early 2000’s and there’s no reason for this lapse in quality today - especially considering most entry level smartphones are now full HD.

Bear in mind

  • Unfortunately, BestBuy does not deliver globally, so non-US customers will have to use a specialist parcel-forwarding service to take advantage of the deal.
  • If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.


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macOS Big Sur could enable faster software updates

Apple had unveiled the macOS Big Sur at the WWDC event last month with the focus being on its redesigned interface and several new features. Now, reports are suggesting that the operating system could have a feature that would enhance the pace at which it installs software updates onto the devices. 

Mac users have long found the updates to be a tedious process that keeps their device inaccessible till the software update gets completed. The time taken for these updates could take between 30 minutes to more than an hour depending on its size. On Macs that are operating the macOS Catalina, the system takes time to prepare and install the updates once the system boots up, which further delays the process. 

How will this work?

A report on 9to5Mac says though Apple has not detailed how the updates would be installed once the macOS Big Sur arrives, the process could be similar to how iOS tackles these updates. The system first prepares the updates and gathers the relevant files before it auto-reboots the iPhone. This means that the waiting time during the boot process is considerably less. 

There have also been reports that the macOS Big Sur comes with technology that makes the system more tamper-proof, which could also be one of the reasons that the process of installing updates could be speeded up. 

The report says that the new OS would incorporate a cryptographically signed system volume that protects against tampering while also ensuring that the device is aware of your system's processing activities, thus allowing it to initiate the process of software updates in the background while work can go on without hindrance. 

This could definitely be a valuable addition for Apple users who have long felt the need for quicker updates in much the same manner that their iPhones get the job done.

The multiple boot option

Of course the other feature that has been talked about relates to the multiple boot options that the macOS Big Sur is reportedly bringing in once Apple brings its own CPUs to the device. 

The new boot process for future Macs will allow customers to install multiple instances of macOS, including different versions, which makes data recovery a lot easier. With the current OS, one needs to remember several keyboard shortcuts to get to the boot menu while the new OS would make things easier as we only have to press and hold down the Touch ID button to open up a menu with several startup options. 

At first glance, the macOS Big Sur update caught our attention due to the redesign, which is probably Apple's biggest since macOS 10. What's more, it borrows  elements liberally from its predecessor including a customizable Control Center, a notification center and redesigned widgets. 

The macOS Big Suris available now on beta developer mode with the first public beta likely to arrive later in July. Apple is expected to launch the new OS to everyone during the fall this year. 



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Google needs the Pixel 4a to launch now more than ever

The Google Pixel 4a needs to launch now more than ever. Just this week, the search engine company officially discontinued the Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, then it removed both phones from its online store without any explanation or comment.

It's been over a year since Google's budget Pixel phones first launched – they both came out in May 2019 at last year’s Google IO keynote. If you're thinking we should have the sequel, the Google Pixel 4a, by now – you're right.

The coronavirus outbreak has seemingly delayed the suspected Pixel 4a release date again and again; Google IO 2020 was cancelled, alternate Pixel 4a launch dates came and went without a phone launch, and to this day, we aren’t sure if it will come out.

Which is unfortunate given the rumors that the handset seems like it’s close to release. Whether you believe a French price listing, an image of several alleged boxed up and sealed Pixel 4a phones, or the recent US FCC and Indian BIS and Sinaporan IMDA certifications, the amount of news would suggest that a launch is coming, if not imminent. 

And yet, we have no official reason why the phone hasn’t come out.

Which is a shame given how ready the market is for Google’s handset: as the outbreak has reportedly reduced consumer spending on phones, and among a strong lineup of budget phones released this year, the iPhone SE 2020 has led our picks for mid-range phones. We raved over the Pixel 3a for bringing so many flagship Pixel 3 features to consumers at half the price, and that was in a year without a strong affordable Apple phone. 

The Pixel 4a already had its work cut out for it, and now it’s late to its own party.

Google Pixel

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 4a: a mountain to climb

Google has to defend its budget crown with the Pixel 4a, not just against the new iPhone SE but the new crop of Moto G8 phones and discounted 2019 flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S10e and OnePlus 7T that top our best cheap phones list.

Some rumors peg the Pixel 4a date as July 13

Many of these phones have a wider camera suite than budget phones of years past, and while the Pixel phones have always held their own against phones with more varied photography setups, this year’s crop has stepped up with rear-facing triple- and even quad-camera arrays. While we liked the Pixel 4’s telephoto lens, we still loved the ultrawide cameras appearing on flagship phones last year – and on budget handsets this year. 

Thus, we were eager to see what the Pixel 4a offered that had trickled down from the Pixel 4. But we were also excited for another phone that, since it’s one of Google’s first-party phones, would get Android 11 on the day it’s publicly released – an update that’s poised to overhaul messaging and multi-device management. As phones (especially non-flagship phones) are still struggling to get Android 10, we looked forward to the Pixel 4a becoming a solution for getting Android 11 to people who didn't want to pay a lot out of pocket for a brand new phone.

The Pixel 4a could still be revealed soon – as soon as next week, as some rumors peg July 13 as the next possible launch date. But even if it is, another suggests that the phone’s actual release could still be pushed back until October. Which would put it alongside the actual Google Pixel 5 release. 

Not so far that we won’t appreciate the phone, but long enough for the iPhone SE 2020 to solidify its hold – and other contenders like the recently confirmed OnePlus Nord or the rumored Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition to beat Google to the punch. 



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Enrolling new devices with Windows Autopilot now works with a VPN

At the beginning of the pandemic many enterprise workers did not have the equipment they needed to work from home and this led organizations to purchase new devices for their employees but unfortunately it proved difficult to set them up remotely using Windows Autopilot.

Up until now, provisioning new devices into an existing Azure Active Directory (AD) environment required that the devices themselves be connected to to an organization's network in order to complete the process. At the office, this would have been simple but while working remotely, organization's couldn't set up new devices for their employees.

Microsoft has now removed this restriction and enterprise organizations can now send new devices directly to end users who can set them up on their own. However, businesses will need to leverage a Win32-based VPN client to do so.

Provisioning new devices

In order to provision new Windows devices remotely, a new “Skip AD connectivity check” option has been added to the Windows Autopilot Hybrid Azure AD Join profile.

When enabled, a device will go through the entire provisioning process up to the point where a user needs to sign into Windows for the first time without needing any corporate network connectivity.

As part of device enrollment status page (ESP) tracking, Windows Autopilot and Intune can ensure that the needed VPN configuration to sign onto a company's corporate network remotely is put in place before a user needs to sign in. However, depending on the VPN client's capabilities, this could be automatic or a user might have to initiate the connection before logging on directly from the Windows logon screen.

Being able to provision new devices quickly and add them to a company's Azure Active Directory will make the whole process of working remotely easier for both employees as well as for IT admins.

  • Also check out our complete list of the best VPN services

Via Redmond Mag



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Ubisoft CEO lays out a plan to change the company's toxic culture

A week after launching investigations into many claims of harassment and misconduct, Ubisoft’s CEO gave an update on what the company is doing to change things. In a letter posted on its website and emailed to employees, Yves Guillemot said “the type...

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Festo’s latest biomimetic robots are a flying feathered bird and ball-bottomed helper arm

You could be excused for thinking that German robotics company Festo does nothing but put together fabulous prototype robots built to resemble kangaroos, jellyfish, and other living things. They do in fact actually make real industrial robots, but it’s hard not to marvel at their biomimetic experiments; Case in point, the feathered BionicSwift and absurd BionicMobileAssistant motile arm.

Festo already has a flying bird robot — I wrote about it almost 10 years ago. They even made a flying bat as a follow-up. But the BionicSwift is more impressive than both because, in an effort to more closely resemble its avian inspiration, it flies using artificial feathers.

Image Credits: Festo

“The individual lamellae [i.e. feathers] are made of an ultralight, flexible but very robust foam and lie on top of each other like shingles. Connected to a carbon quill, they are attached to the actual hand and arm wings as in the natural model,” Festo writes in its description of the robot.

The articulating lamellae allow the wing to work like a bird’s, forming a powerful scoop on the downstroke to push against the air, but separating on the upstroke to produce less resistance. Everything is controlled on-board, including the indoor positioning system that the bird was ostensibly built to demonstrate. Flocks of BionicSwifts can fly in close quarters and avoid each other using an ultra wideband setup.

Festo’s BionicMobileAssistant seems like it would be more practical, and in a way it is, but not by much. The robot is basically an arm emerging from a wheeled base — or rather a balled one. The spherical bottom is driven by three “omniwheels,” letting it move easily in any direction while minimizing its footprint.

The hand is a showcase of modern robotic gripper design, with all kinds of state of the art tech packed in there — but the result is less than the sum of its parts. What makes a robotic hand good these days is less that it has a hundred sensors in the palm and fingers and huge motility for its thumb, but rather intelligence about what it is gripping. An unadorned pincer may be a better “hand” than one that looks like the real thing because of the software that backs it up.

Not to mention the spherical movement strategy makes for something of an unstable base. It’s telling that the robot is transporting scarves and not plates of food or parts.

Of course, it’s silly to criticize such a machine, which is aspirational rather than practical. But it’s important to understand that these fascinating creations from Festo are hints at a possible future more than anything.



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Complete With Wireless Charging, EarFun Free True Wireless Buds Have a Lot to Offer for the Price

15% off EarFun Free True Wireless Earbuds | Amazon | Clip Coupon

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The Best Webcams for Zoom Meetings, According to Our Readers

Ever since we found ourselves hurling into the midst of a pandemic four long months ago, many of us have been working office jobs with no office in sight. I, for one, am working in a studio apartment with my fiancée, our monitors back to back in a never-ending game of “which one of us has to take our meeting in the…

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Daily remote desktop attacks see huge rise during pandemic

While attention on Covid-19 has primarily focused on the social and medical fallout, a recent study has made reference to a “cyberpandemic” taking hold in the new world of remote working. 

Figures from ESET have shown that in the wake of the virus, a major shift has been seen away from traditional office spaces in favor of remote desktop software as businesses look to respect social distancing and slow the spread of the virus. As a result, more firms are relying on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and other remote access solutions for day-to-day operations. 

Unfortunately,  that means more and easier targets for cybercriminals, with ESET's report detailing an astonishing rise in the number of brute-force cyber attacks targeting businesses using RDP — more than 100k new attacks per day. While the term “cyberpandemic” may seem sensational, it is nonetheless fitting given that the number of attacks has more than doubled in recent months.

Business fightback

By nature, RDP and other remote access protocols are less secure than in-office connections, as sensitive information has to be sent over the Internet. However, according to a recent Verizon study, more than 80% of hacker-related breaches can be traced back to weak passwords. 

So while cyber criminals have upped their activity, businesses have been slow to respond and are ‘missing the mark’ when it comes to training employees on the potential security dangers of working from home. 

remote desktop

A sharp rise in the number of brute-force RDP attacks in recent months. (Image credit: ESET.com)

ESET says that the greatest risk for businesses comes from ransomware attacks, in which cyber criminals infiltrate a company’s servers, and then encrypt or otherwise take control of sensitive information. Companies are forced to pay, or risk losing the data or having it released to the public.

Businesses looking to mitigate risks can do so by enforcing strong password management, using multi-factor authentication, and enacting simple but effective training regarding the risks of working remotely.



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Google Pixel 3a has been discontinued - does this mean the Pixel 4a release is near?

The Google Pixel 3a was one of the most pleasantly surprising smartphones of 2019, as no one was expecting the company to release an affordable version of its Pixel 3 handset, but a year on and the anticipated Google Pixel 4a has yet to materialize.

People who are in the market for a great cheap phone might be alarmed to learn, then, that the Google Pixel 3a has been discontinued by the company, so people who want a good affordable phone will soon have to look elsewhere. Google confirmed this in a statement to Android Police.

For the time being, retailers with stock will continue to sell the Pixel 3a, but when the devices have sold out you'll only be able to buy them second-hand. At the time of writing the Google Store has units available in the UK, but not the US.

Once the phones sell out, people looking for a great affordable handset will have to look elsewhere, perhaps at the iPhone SE (2020), Xiaomi Mi Note 10 or phones in the Samsung Galaxy A series - that is, unless Google launches the Pixel 4a very soon.

Bring on the Pixel 4a

Most of the time, when smartphones are discontinued, it happens at the same time as a newer version is launched. The Samsung Galaxy S10 was discontinued on the day of the Galaxy S20 launch, the iPhone XR was dropped by Apple at the iPhone 11 launch event, and so on. Sometimes, though, the phones stop being sold just before, as is often the case with OnePlus phones.

The Google Pixel 3a discontinuation, then, could suggest the Pixel 4a is right around the corner. Rumors have generally been pointing to a July release date (although some suggest it will be unveiled towards the end of the year alongside the Pixel 5), and suffice to say it's July right now.

It seems very likely, then, that the Pixel 3a's demise heralds the arrival of the Google Pixel 4a, so if you're in the market for a new affordable device, you might not have long to wait.

Saying that, there are still Pixel 3a units available from certain retailers - we'll list prices in your region below:



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Project xCloud won’t kill off the Xbox Series X anytime soon

For gamers excited about the prospect of streaming their favorite games from the cloud, you may want to temper your hopes. While Microsoft’s Project xCloud initiative is well into its beta, with “hundreds of thousands” of players having tried out the game streaming service for mobile and PC worldwide, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has spoken out to say that it’s still far from becoming a dominant play style.

Speaking in a VC interview for Gamelab Conference – video embedded below – Phil Spencer talked down the hype for Project xCloud and streaming in general, stating that he’s “never tried to position xCloud as a replacement for your gaming PC or for a console.”

“We're building this capability to enable you to go play the games that you want to go play, but not as a replacement to where you go play them today,” Spencer said, while adding that "I don't think the highest fidelity place to go play a game is going to be streamed from an Azure data centre or anybody's data center any time soon.”

Spencer vs Stadia

It’s a refreshing admission from the Xbox boss, who has previously made it clear he doesn’t think the Xbox Series X and PS5 are going to be the last console generation. It’s also especially notable given the limp launch of Google Stadia in late 2019, which as a standalone service has struggled to offer anywhere near the number of titles (or drum up the same excitement) as the likes of PS Now or Xbox Game Pass.

Streaming has historically struggled to catch on, given inconsistencies in internet bandwidth across different gamers’ homes and plenty of technical hurdles – and it seems sensible for Microsoft to avoid raising gamers’ hopes too soon. Project xCloud is slowly plodding towards a more fully-fleshed launch, though – with integration into Xbox Game Pass – and it may be Microsoft’s lack of reliance on the technology that ensures it goes the full hurdle.

Via GameSpot



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Windows 10's Start menu is getting a visual refresh

Microsoft has rolled out the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build, giving us a glimpse of a new Start menu that was redesigned to look cleaner and more coherent. Insiders in the Dev Channel will now have access to a refreshed menu that no longer u...

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Chingari developer website has malware, claims hacker

TikTok’s rising alternative, Chingari, has been doing the rounds on social media crossing several million downloads in the last few days. However, a new report indicates that the website of the company behind the app has malicious content pinned to its webpages.

Robert Baptiste, a security researcher going by the twitter name Elliot Anderson said that the website of Globussoft, the company under which the Chingari app was incubated, has been compromised. He included a report of how the website has a drop script on all of its web pages meaning clicking on links inside will redirect the users to several websites that are linked backdoor.

While the app doesn’t have a connection to this issue, Robert expressed concerns saying if the application has similar security issues like the one on the website. Reacting to this, the co-founder of Chingari, Sumit Ghosh has said that the security of users on its website/app is not compromised.

He added that Chingari was developed under Globussoft and securely stored on AWS servers whose location is based at Mumbai. He has also assured that the wp security issue of the website will be fixed soon.

Further, a UI developer going by the Twitter name @CitizenK said that his Bitdefender which is a cybersecurity and antivirus software, was able to catch a trojan linked behind the Globussoft website. He expressed concerns saying that how can an app be trusted if the website behind it uses the devices for crypto mining.

Having said that, Chingari is yet to react to this. If we recall, the Indian Government had banned TikTok and 58 other applications in the country citing data theft and security reasons. Following this, Chingari, an app which is claimed to be developed indigenously has been gaining popularity passing 3.5 Million downloads in a day.

We will have to wait and see how the company reacts to the criticisms over the website of its developer in the future.



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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip gets a permanent price cut in India

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip has received a permanent price cut in India today. The premium foldable was launched in India back in February. 

The smartphone will be now available for Rs 1,08,999 instead of Rs 1,15,999 which is a Rs 7,000 price cut. The handset is available only in one variant 8GB of RAM with 256GB of internal storage. Colour options include Mirror Gold, Mirror Purple and Mirror Black.  

Check out Galaxy Z Flip on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip @ Rs 1,08,999View Deal

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

(Image credit: Future)

Right now the Amazon listings are having the older price of Rs 1,15,999. We can expect the new price to reflect very soon. Additionally, you can avail a bonus of Rs 8,000 if you upgrade to Galaxy Z Flip from select smartphones. Galaxy Z Flip buyers can also avail no-cost EMI up to 18 months with leading banks. 

Further, the device comes with accidental damage cover, which includes one-time screen protection and a 24X7 dedicated call centre support in India.

It is worth mentioning that the device was launched in India for Rs 1,09,999 and was hiked to Rs Rs 1,15,999 post the new GST rate hike. Now, the device is available for Rs 1,000 less than the initial launch price. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip specs

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the company’s second foldable device after the Galaxy Fold. It comes with a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution. The front screen has a tiny 1.1-inch interactive AMOLED display next to the rear camera setup.  The handset is powered by Snapdragon 855 Plus processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB onboard storage. 

The Z Flip has a big 3,300mAh battery which supports 15W fast charging over the USB Type-C connection. You get a dual 12MP rear cameras and a 10MP front-facing camera. Also, the fingerprint scanner is located on the side of the device. The  Galaxy Z Flip supports dual-SIM with one e-SIM and one nano-SIM.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the cheapest foldable device available in India as of today. The Motorola Razr and Galaxy Fold are priced at Rs 1,24,999 and Rs 1,62,990 respectively.  



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Exclusive: How the bizarre OnePlus Nord name was conceived

OnePlus Nord. No, really, that is the name for OnePlus' new affordable product line, and also for the first device in that line – an affordable smartphone. 

Not OnePlus 8 Lite. Not OnePlus Z. OnePlus Nord. 

Why? TechRadar spoke exclusively to Carl Pei, Assistant Head of OnePlus Nord, to find out.

Originally rumored to be OnePlus 8 Lite, and then OnePlus Z (OnePlus even set up a teaser Instagram account called 'onepluslitezthing'), the actual name for the firm’s new handset is a little more left-field… and it began as one among 400 possibilities. 

'There's not a single good name'

"When we started this project, we had a list of 400 names," Pei told us. However, the process of narrowing down the names wasn’t just a case of crossing less-favorable ones off a board – there was some legal complexity involved too.

"In 2020, there are a lot of names that have been registered at the different patent offices around the world… and there's not a good name," he added. 

"By good I mean something short and something easy to remember and pronounceable. There's not a single good name that has zero other people using it. So we had to work really closely with our legal team to assess the risk, [but] there's no [option with] zero risk."

Companies are facing increasing difficulties when it comes to naming new products. With so many patents for various names in play around the world, it's no longer only about finding a name that isn't in use, but a name that carries a low risk of any legal action from avenues where it is already in play.

Nord certainly isn't an exclusive name for OnePlus. The word is used by a variety of other companies, such as NordVPN, instrument maker Clavia Nord and Swedish keyboard maker Nord Keyboards.

After the legal checks, the field of 400 names had been reduced to a smaller subset, but the dedicated team created within the company to focus solely on the project still had to pick the right name for a whole new product line, which would also be inherited by its first device – an affordable smartphone.

Watch our OnePlus Nord video where we reveal exclusive specs about the phone

Why OnePlus Nord?

So why did OnePlus ultimately opt for Nord? The fact that the company set up the aforementioned Instagram account suggests that it was perhaps considering the rumored OnePlus 8 Lite and OnePlus Z names, which were heavily used in leaks in the lead-up to the official confirmation of the name.

OnePlus looked at the type of consumer it wanted to target with the Nord. With its more affordable price tag, it's no surprise that the aim was to attract a younger generation of phone buyers. However, based on research into consumer behavior, OnePlus decided that it actually wanted to target those with a younger mindset, regardless of age. 

What OnePlus is really getting at here is that it wants to be able to appeal to a wider audience, and a new demographic will give it the potential to shift more units. Because, really, that's why the OnePlus Nord exists – as a way for OnePlus to reach a new audience and sell more products.

"People with a younger mindset today, they're much more individualistic," Pei explains. "People five or 10 years ago were more likely to follow a success pattern defined by society or by their parents. The new generation, they're more into following their own truths."

OnePlus Nord

Has the name sunk in yet? (Image credit: OnePlus)

It was these conclusions that helped inspire OnePlus, although the leap from there to Nord is still a big one, and one which may not be immediately apparent to, or understood by, the public. 

"There's this concept of your inner compass, or a North Star… that everybody has a path they want to follow," Pei adds. "That's where the inspiration for the name Nord came from, as in a lot European languages, it's the word for north. 

"In a way, this is also OnePlus. Going back to our true north, to some of our initial ideas in the very beginning where we wanted to create a great product, and also sell it at a more accessible price. That's why we named it Nord; we feel like it has a deeper meaning."

Does it have global appeal?

Nord may make sense for those in a number of European countries, but it seems like it may be a trickier name to understand in other areas of the world. 

If you look at the mobile market, many smartphones carry either a letter, number or combination of 'plus', 'pro' and 'max' in their name, giving consumers a clear picture of where a product sits within a range, and how new it is compared to other products.

When it comes to the OnePlus Nord name, its natural place in the market, and in the firm's own range, is less clear. The sub-$500 / €500 price point will signal to consumers that it's a mid-range product, but the Nord brand needs to make sense to consumers across multiple countries and languages. 

How people perceive it will depend on how the product is

Carl Pei, OnePlus

"As long as the name is easy to remember and easy to read, how people perceive it will depend on how the product is," Pei told us.

"There's a lot of names out there that sound a little bit confusing out of context, but because a company is so strong, or because it creates such great products, the name itself gets kind of a halo afterwards."

If we look back through the history of tech launches, we saw jokes made at the expense of the Apple iPad when it first launched, but it's now a household name, and synonymous with the best tablet experience you can buy. 

Pei is upbeat about the prospects for the OnePlus Nord – "it's a name that our team really, really liked and appreciated, and they're excited to see how consumers eventually react to it," – but we'll have to wait and see if Nord can generate that 'halo' effect.

According to Counterpoint research, OnePlus is a top five brand in the premium smartphone segment for North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APCA (excluding China, where it doesn't make the top 5), and the Middle East and Africa.

However, while it has a solid presence at the premium end of the market, it's nowhere in the mid-tier due to its recent smartphone ranges being priced solely at flagship levels. This throws into question whether OnePlus is a company that consumers will consider in a new segment, as it attempts to target buyers who are potentially less aware of its history.

OnePlus is putting a lot of faith in its new Nord brand, and is hoping the handset can stand out in what is a very busy middle-market, with plenty of choice for consumers, and strong offerings from big-name players. 

We may have the name, but OnePlus knows that the work of selling the OnePlus Nord to the world is only just beginning. 

What do you think of the OnePlus Nord name? Let us know in our Twitter poll:



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