Facebook Messenger Launches Group Video Calling

Facebook Messenger has launched its own split-screen group video chat feature, allowing for multi-video chats in one session.

The group chat can be used by six different people at the same time while 50 people in total can listen to the audio and send texts, stickers, emojis, and GIFs. You can also use filters like those Snapchat-style selfie masks during your video chat.

This feature is going to make the Facebook Messenger much more resourceful as it won’t be just a text messenger anymore and would be the perfect way for a group of friends to connect with each other live. Facebook itself calls it “perfect for those spontaneous moments where text just isn’t enough”.

The group video chat feature rolled out worldwide on iOS, Android, and web, today, though Android will have to wait for the MSQRD-powered selfie masks. The filter feature might not ever come to desktop.

Messenger Gets Video Calling

Facebook Messenger got one-on-one video calling feature back in April 2015, and since then, everyone has been anticipating the addition of the group video call feature. With over 245 million people using video calling regularly, it’s safe to say the feature will be a hit.

Facebook had already beaten other messengers like FaceTime/iMessage, Google Duo, Snapchat and others when it came to video calling. WeChat added the feature an year ago.

How it Works

If you want to use the group video calling feature, you can select friends or a group text thread to invite to a video call.

Six people in total will be able to use the video calling feature at the same time. The Messenger screen will switch to a gallery format, and whoever is speaking will take up the big bulk at the top of the screen while the rest of the 5 will have little thumbnails for each one at the bottom of the screen, quite like Hangouts.

Up to 50 other people can join the call, but they won’t appear in the video gallery and will only be able to listen to the on-going call.

Qualcomm Reveals Its Latest Snapdragon Chipsets

It seems like the chip maker has a lot to announce today. Qualcomm has announced an upgrade to their existing entry level and midrange system-on- a-chip solutions, i.e. Snapdragon 425, Snapdragon 625 and Snapdragon 652. These chipsets will be succeeded by the Snapdragon 427, Snapdragon, 626 and Snapdragon 653 respectively.

Qualcomm’s upgrade to these chips is largely incremental as far as raw power is concerned however, quite a few features have been integrated here and there for an added incentive.

Common Upgrades:

The common feature/upgrade is that all three are getting is the X9 LTE modem. This will give these chips faster internet connection speeds over LTE in countries which offer speeds of that calibre. In addition to a better modem, all of these will also be getting Qualcomm’ Clear Sight dual camera technology and support for Quick Charge 3.0. The dual camera tech works similar to the way Huawei implemented it in the P9. One of the sensors captures in black and white for added contrast and light while the other captures colors as well.

Quick Charge 3.0 is the upgraded version of Quick Charge 2.0. The newer version charges up your phone upto 4 times faster than an ordinary charger. To use it you need a phone that supports Quick Charge 3.0 and a compatible charger as well.

Differences Between The Chips:

Here’s where the similarities end, at least for the Snapdragon 427. The other two chips, Snapdragon (SD) 626 and Snapdragon 653 are each getting a 10% boost in their overall performance. Both of the chips have the same core configurations as their predecessors (SD 652 = SD 653 and SD 625 = SD 626) but the newer chips feature a higher clock rate.

Snapdragon 653’s setup includes 4xA72 + 4xA53 core combination with the A72 cores now clocked at 1.95GHz. For Snapdragon 626 the chip setup is 8xA53 cores with the clock speed now boosted to 2.2 GHz.

It is interesting to see Qualcomm added the dual camera tech to the low end SD 427 because none of the low end phones feature a dual camera setup, yet. This move may result in OEMs making cheaper dual camera phones in the future, although its just a speculation for now and entry level phones generally come with pretty basic camera sensors.

Via XDA-Developers

Lenovo Announces its Latest Generation Gaming PC - All in One

Gaming PCs have been one of the best-looking things you can buy right now and Lenovo has only carried that notion forward. Its newest gaming PCs then, no surprises, look other-worldly and have enough power too.

IdeaCentre Y710 Cube

The IdeaCentre Y710 Cube, following the philosophy of Mac G4 Cube, is a system which is easy-to-carry and has a handle on top. It weighs just 7.4 kilograms and has multiple LEDs on the front.

Under the hood, you get a 6th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, up to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, and up to 32 GB of RAM. You also get a storage of up to a 256 GB SSD, or a 2 TB hard drive. Lenovo says this should be enough for 4K gaming, VR and high-quality streaming.

You also get Dolby Audio, 4 USB ports and Killer DoubleShot Pro Wi-Fi. There is also an option to buy it together with Lenovo’s mechanical keyboard and precision mouse. Pricing starts at $1299 for the version with GTX 1070 though we know where most of the cost in going.

IdeaCentre AIO Y910

The second machine Lenovo announced was the all-in-one IdeaCentre AIO Y910. This one comes with a 27-inch borderless display on the front with QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution.

The hardware is the same at a 6th generation Intel Core i7, up to a GTX 1080 GPU and 32 GB of RAM.

Pricing starts at $1799. Both these systems will be available in October.

MSI’s Latest Tobii Gaming Laptop Comes with Eye-tracking Tech

Micro-Star International (MSI) may not be the biggest or most-renowned name in technology when we talk about China, but it certainly is among the country’s most potent and cutting-edge. The latest GT72S G Tobii gaming laptop from the firm is a swell monster which is also the world’s first with eye-tracking technology.

Yes, that’s right. At the bottom of the gorgeous display, you get a set of (there’re three of those) Tobii’s near-IR illuminators which may look quite cool to you, but relay the information of your eye movement to a stream or a game.

Software Support For Eye-Tracking Technology

This technology is supported by around two dozen video game titles, including Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue and Elite: Dangerous. This means your eyes can actually give out your location or strategy to your opponent so it’s a good idea to watch out. There’s also support for all those cool eye-tracking passwords, scanners and other cool stuff in Windows 10.

The Hardware

Apart from this, the laptop comes with a 17.3″ 1080p display, along with a full-color backlit SteelSeries keyboard underneath for better responsiveness. Under the hood, you get a SkyLake 2.7 Ghz Intel Core i7 K processor with GeForce GTX 900M GPU, 32 GB DDR4 memory, 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD as well as a Blu-Ray disc burner drive.

You can also connect up to two 4K monitors externally via USB 3.0. 3W speakers and a dedicated subwoofer will make audio more interesting, while there’s also HiFi DAC support if you have some expensive headphone gear.

The early buyers will get Tom Clancy’s The Division along with their purchase as a free perk. No new tech is expected to be affordable once it comes out and this is even more so the case with a backlit, eye-tracking, IR-boasting laptop from MSI.

Available for pre-order at $2600, the GT72S will be available in the coming few months.

Microsoft Selfie - Latest App for iOS

Microsoft is making yet another entry at the App Store, this time largely as an app developer. Its latest app called Microsoft Selfie can really help you take your self-shot like a boss.

Microsoft Selfie for iOS

On the surface, you’d have it mistaken for another Microsoft app, the Lumia Selfie, but this being Microsoft, things are not as monotonous.

Compared to the billions of other similar apps that you can find, Microsoft Selfie brings “intelligent enhancements” to your photographs by considering factors such as age, gender, skin tone, lighting, noise and many more to bring out the perfect shot. It has experimented in the same field previously with a few age guessing apps so the developers wanted to make an app with some of that tech thrown in.

How Does it Works?

You have the option of taking photos both through the front or rear camera. There is a slider which allows you to customize how much you want the effects to obliterate your face.

Naturally, there is also a fairly large selection of filters with curious names like “1965” that can be added both to your new photos and library. You can then compare the unedited and obliterated versions side-by-side. Apart from that, everything is fairly straightforward.

If you’re vested in Apple’s ecosystem, it is probably not a bad idea to try the app for yourself. With several others, most notably Google not developing for Windows, it is refreshing to see Microsoft continuing to cater to rival platforms.