WhatsApp has a feature that enables users to simultaneously use the messaging app on multiple devices. It’s great for people who carry separate work and home devices or use the app on a PC or tablet. However, this feature has some limitations.

The platform doesn’t allow users to save new contacts on secondary devices, requiring them to use the primary phone to add or manage contacts. Well, it seems the platform is going to change it soon.

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WhatsApp To Make Linked Device Functionality Better

In a recent blog post, the platform announced that it will soon allow users to add and manage contacts on WhatsApp Web and Windows. The messaging app will also give users a new option to save contacts exclusively to WhatsApp, letting them easily separate personal and business contacts while using multiple WhatsApp accounts on a smartphone.

WhatsApp plans to bring this functionality to other linked devices but has yet to share a release timeline. The platform has also confirmed it is working to add support for usernames to the app, which will “add an extra degree of privacy so that you don’t need to share your phone number when messaging someone.”

Although the blog post doesn’t reveal any further details about username support, previous reports suggest that the messaging app could allow users to set PINs to their username, preventing unknown contacts from messaging them. This feature is still in development and could arrive with a future release.

Also Read: WhatsApp To Let Users Send Messages And Call Other Apps

Meta AI In WhatsApp To Remember Users’ Likes And Dislikes

After bringing voice message support for Meta AI chats on Whatsapp earlier this year, Meta seems to be developing a new feature to give its chatbot a more personal touch.

As per a report from WABetaInfo, an upcoming memory feature will enable Meta AI to remember information users share and offer relevant responses in future conversations. The chatbot will reportedly be capable of recording various details, like food preferences, birthdays, and personal interests, and tailor future responses based on the provided information.

The Memory feature was found in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android, but it’s not available to users. However, WABetaInfo has shared screenshots that reveal that it will be bringing a new Memory section to the Meta AI contact card in WhatsApp.

This section will list all the things Meta AI remembers about users. Its description reads: “Meta AI automatically remembers certain parts of your chat to give you more relevant responses.” Besides, there is a mention of the feature enabling users to manually commit information to Meta AI’s memory with a “remember this” command.

Huawei has announced a significant upgrade to its HarmonyOS operating system. HarmonyOS NEXT is entirely free of Android and, doesn’t support Android-based apps. According to Android Headlines, the OS is based on the open-source OpenHarmony project.

The new operating system will first launch in India but is expected to be available elsewhere eventually. HarmonyOS NEXT will remind many people of the company’s original HarmonyOS, but there are key differences, as the news outlet notes.

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What New On Huawei’s Android-Free Mobile OS

The key differences included a new lock screen that’s much flatter with new customization options. There’s also a redesigned control and faster animations. The home screen, however, looks very similar to HarmonyOS.

HarmonyOS NEXT incorporates system-level AI capabilities based on the Pangu large language model. Huawei has also developed a new security system called “Star Shield” that offers system-level protection for devices running HarmonyOS NEXT. In announcing the new OS, Huawei Consumer Business Group Chairman Richard Yu said that 15,000 apps and services are now part of the HarmonyOS NEXT ecosystem.

Besides, Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design was revealed by the company as the world’s first tri-fold smartphone, just hours after Apple announced its iPhone 16 lineup. Huawei’s new offering comes with a large 10.2-inch display when unfolded, and the company claims that the display is made of flexible materials that can be bent in multiple directions.

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Huawei Mate XT Tri-Fold Phone Unveiled

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design has been revealed by the company as the world’s first tri-fold smartphone, just hours after Apple announced its iPhone 16 lineup. Huawei’s new offering comes with a large 10.2-inch display when unfolded, and the company claims that the display is made of flexible materials that can be bent in multiple directions. 

The smartphone comes with a triple outer camera setup with a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP periscope telephoto camera. Huawei has powered the smartphone with a 5600mAh battery. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design starts at a price of starts at CNY 19,999 (approx Rs. 2,35,900) for the base model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The handset will also be available in 512GB and 1TB storage variants priced at CNY 21,999 (approx Rs. 2,59,500) and CNY 23,999 (approx Rs. 2,83,100), respectively.

The dual-SIM (Nano+Nano) Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design comes with HarmonyOS 4.2 out-of-the-box. When folded, the device offers a 10.2-inch (3,184x2,232 pixels) flexible LTPO OLED screen that turns into a 7.9-inch (2,048x2,232 pixels) screen when folded once, and a 6.4-inch screen (1,008x2,232 pixels) when folded twice.

Apple has been heavily promoting gaming on its consumer's devices in recent years. The company has developed porting tools to help developers bring their titles from Windows to macOS and from macOS to iOS.

It also often boasts about its chipsets’ graphics rendering and processing capabilities when running demanding games during media events. To attract gamers further, Apple appears to be working on a dedicated game store, which could launch through a future iOS 18 or iOS 19 update.

As per information gained by 9to5Mac, Apple is working on a game store for iOS. The rumored app will reportedly feature Game Center profiles, achievements, challenges, events, leaderboards, and suggestions, turning it into a dedicated gaming hub.

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What To Expect From Apple’s Game Store

The game store will likely come with multiple tabs, similar to the existing App Store and other first-party apps. The main Play Now tab will supposedly highlight titles from Apple Arcade and the App Store. This could make it easier for iPhone games to find new games.

Otherwise, the Apple game store is said to offer FaceTime and iMessage integrations, which could simplify communication between players during gaming sessions. The company could also use its App Clips feature to promote mini-games that don't consume a lot of local storage.

The iPhone 16 comes with a longer battery life, fast charging, an improved cooling system, and a mighty chip. By better presenting iOS games and introducing more engaging gaming features, Apple could push users to fully utilize the premium hardware they pay for. Some would argue, however, that the problem with iPhone gaming isn’t how or in what app titles are presented but rather the scarcity of AAA games.

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Apple Employees Know Its Years Behind In The AI Race

As per the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, some employees at Apple believe that the company is two years behind in artificial intelligence development. Apple launched the Apple Intelligence feature at WWDC24 back in June, marking the firm’s first step into the world’s current AI craze.

There were several neat features that Apple built, including AI notification summaries, intelligent breakthroughs for important notifications, an all-new Siri with personal context, an Image playground, Genmoji, and more. However, what’s interesting in the company’s AI strategy, which remained hidden until relatively late in the development cycle, is that they are not doing everything on their own.

Apple Intelligence mostly depends on models that can run on-device, which also means that the requirements to run Apple Intelligence are pretty high. You need an A17 or M1 chipset or later, with at least 8GB of memory. However, the fact that they run on devices also inherently limits how information-heavy they can be.

Asus has confirmed that its ROG Phone 9 gaming smartphone series will be launched on November 19th for the global market. Early leaks have already revealed details about the smartphone.

K-Tai Watch Impress Japan recently shared a report that confirmed that the ROG Phone 9 will feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 elite chipset, which is expected to deliver high-performance gaming capabilities. Considering the benchmark scores of smartphones with this SoC, users can expect the device to come said to reduce its power consumption by up to 30% thanks to the new chipset.

A hands-on video of the device has also leaked, revealing a more premium build, and hinting at improvements in material and design over this precursor. The overall design language will remain similar to the ROG Phone 8.

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What To Expect From ROG Phone 9 Pro

More details about the design changes and additional features are still limited. Earlier, the ROG Phone 9 Pro was spotted on the China Quality Certification Center (CQC) listing with 65W charging, which is the same as the existing ROG Phone 8 series. While improved specs are expected, it is also likely possibility that Asus could decades to focus on just the gaming part, improving things like the Air triggers and heat management.

Speaking of the ROG Phone 8, the smartphone comes with a 6.78-inch 165Hz LTPO Samsung E6 AMOLED display and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, paired with an Adreno 750 GPU. It offers up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.

As for cameras, it features a triple rear camera system with a 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor, along with a 32MP front-facing camera for selfies. The phone is powered by a 5,500mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging. Additional gaming-oriented features include responsive AirTrigger buttons, IP68 dust and water resistance, and a 5-magnet speaker system.

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Asus ProArt PZ13, Vivobook S15 laptops With SD X Plus

Asus has announced the launch of two new laptops, the ProArt PZ13, and Vivobook S 15 OLED, backed by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chipsets. The new laptops are targeted at professionals and creators. The company claims that these laptops bring high-end performance with AI-driven features and vibrant OLED displays.

The ProArt PZ13 comes at a starting price of Rs 1,39,990, while the Vivobook S 15 OLED starts at Rs 1,04,990. Both laptops will be available online through Asus e-shop, Flipkart, and Amazon, and offline through Asus stores and authorized dealers.

The ProArt PZ13 weighs 0.85 kg and sports a 13.3-inch 3K Asus Lumina OLED touchscreen display, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB LPDDR5X memory, and 1TB SSD. It comes with AI tools such as Microsoft’s Copilot+ and Asus StoryCube, along with a detachable keyboard, Dolby Atmos audio, and a 70Wh battery.

Huawei swept headlines when it unveiled the Mate XT earlier this year. This might be the beginning of the dual-folding triple-screen phones, although it’s currently limited to China. So, when will other brands release their own commercial devices?

Well, ZDNet Korea (via SammyGuru) reports that Samsung is planning to release a triple-screen foldable phone next year. And it seems like the pieces are in place for mass production.

“Samsung Display’s partners have also completed the development of parts for the trifold model and are already ready for commercialization,” an industry insider was quoted as saying by the outlet. “Of course, the final release of the product depends on the decision of Samsung Electronics’ MX division, so we will have to watch the trend a little more closely.”

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Samsung Could bring a Triple-Screen Foldable

There are a couple of potential reasons why Samsung could foray into the triple-screen device. The company might be concerned about the form factor’s reliability due to the added complexity. These devices come with two hinges, two display creases, and an exposed folding screen that doubles as a smartphone display. The latter is a significant concern as folding screens are largely made out of plastic and are more prone to scratches compared to conventional glass screens.

It’s also possible that Samsung doesn’t think it can make the device thin enough to be comfortable for most users. After all, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is much thicker than rival foldable phones while the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is still a bit thicker than several Chinese foldables.

But fans will still hope Samsung comes with its iteration of a triple-screen foldable phone next year if it can deliver a reliable device. The Korean brand has an unmatched geographic footprint so this launch would mean people in loads of markets will be able to use the device. Samsung phones also come with Google integration, which is something lacking from Huawei phones.

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Samsung Has No Plans For Cheaper Galaxy Z Fold Smartphones

When Samsung launched its first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, it was a revolutionary device with groundbreaking technologies and a hefty price tag of $2,000. It was believed that the price of foldable phones would drop as components get easier to make. However, Samsung says it has no plans to launch cheaper foldable phones.

It has been repeatedly rumored that the company will launch a cheaper Galaxy Z Fold series of foldable phones. However, the South Korean company doesn’t have any such plans in the near future. Instead, the company plans on keeping the price tag intact and introducing newer and better technologies, similar to what it did with the recently launched Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.

As per a new report from The Information, “multiple people” were involved in making components for Apple’s Vision Pro headset to say that production plans have been scaled back in recent months. This follows a Tim Cook interview published this weekend by WSJ Magazine, where he said, “Obviously I’d like to sell more,” but acknowledged that “At $3,500, it’s not a mass-market product.”
 
 

This aligns with The Information’s previous report, which suggested that the company has shifted its strategy to focus on making a cheaper headset, which could ship as soon as next year. As per the report, the company that does the final assembly of Vision Pro headsets has been warned production could wind down in November.

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Why Is Apple Slowing Down Vision Pro’s Production?

There are some drawbacks, including that production could ramp up if it increases for some reason, and that a future model could use some of the same parts but with an upgraded processor.

In April, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple had cut Vision Pro shipment estimates for 2024 somewhere between 400,000 and 450,000 units. The Information cites an employee of the assembler, Luxshare, who said it has made between 500,000 to 600,000 headsets since production kicked off in 2023, suggesting Apple might have enough parts and headsets stockpiled as of now.

Tim Cook told the WSJ, “Right now, it’s an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow’s technology today—that’s who it’s for,” but several early adopters are probably waiting for something a bit cheaper to land on store shelves.

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Apple Could Launch New M4-Powered Mac Lineup This Month

Apple is said to be making a significant upgrade to its Mac lineup, with the introduction of the highly anticipated M4 chips. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, we can expect the M4 Macs to be launched as soon as next week, although he did not specify an exact date. Gurman suggested that Apple could launch the M4 Mac lineup soon.

Speaking of the timeline, Gurman noted that the company is inviting journalists and content creators to a hands-on experience in Los Angeles next Wednesday. This hints that an announcement for the new Macs is likely on cards before that date.

As per leaker Sonny Dickson, the new Mac mini, with five USB-C ports, might actually be launched soon. While the tipster has a mixed track record with hardware predictions, he successfully shared accurate information in the past, MacRumors reported. Regardless of the details, it seems the company is prepping to launch its first Mac with M4 chips very soon.