STACK #186 Apr 2020

LIFE TECH NEWS

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A quick sneak

preview of Android 11

Nokia unveil a phone fit for Bond, James Bond

A s the official phone partner for the upcoming new 007 film No Time to Die (now due for release in November), Nokia had to come up with something pretty special gadget-wise, and they have. If you’re always up with the latest phone technology, you’ll already be 5G equipped, but if you’ve travelled overseas at all you’ll have noticed an inability to roam with it. As James Bond tends to pinball over this planet of ours, he needs a phone that will work everywhere. So, to this end Nokia have unveiled their Nokia 8.3, which will be the first mobile to allow global roaming on 5G networks – and with its multiband support it’s designed to be futureproof, too.

Even better news? The 8.3 is a mid-level phone, so you won’t have to drop a fortune to get onboard. Set to arrive sometime mid-year, the Nokia 8.3 will run on the latest currently-available operating system in Android 10, will come with a 6.81-inch Full HD+ screen, pack a 64 megapixel camera (with a smooth new 60fps video recording mode) and will come in any colour you want -

A ndroid 11 is

scheduled to arrive

later in the year, and Google have previewed some of the new features that are likely to be implemented. While some features – such as better support for hinged screen phones - will only affect a small percentage of users, and small changes to theme editing and notifications will be welcomed, there’s one big bit of news that everybody will love. Yes, Android 11 is set to initiate even more protections against those irritating robocalls that we all get hassled by. Bring it on!

as long as that’s blue, or “polar night” as Nokia have christened it. Meanwhile, if you fancy yourself as a bit of an international person of mystery and you’re armed with a Nokia 6.2 or 7.2, Nokia have just the thing to finish off your kit. They’ve come up with Kevlar cases for the two phones. Apparently five times stronger than steel, these also carry an official 007 logo.

Sneak snackers rejoice – Microsoft helps mask the munches!

E ver been on your phone and worried about random noises coming from your side of the conversation? Lawn mowers, toddlers, washing machines, those chocolate chip cookies that you just can’t help munching on…?

potato chips while he spoke. Yes, you guessed it, his voice came through clearly without all the extraneous crunchtastic noise. With more people than ever using Teams to

keep in touch, it’s great news – as is another new feature Microsoft unveiled, which blurs out the background while keeping the caller in focus. Cool, no need to do that obsessive tidy up before chatting now! Hopefully the noise

Well, Microsoft have been busy tweaking their artificial intelligence software in order to filter such non-you sounds out. If it isn’t your voice, it isn’t heard by the other party – or parties – on your call. For now, the tech has been

squashing AI will trickle out to mobile phones sooner rather than later, as there’s huge potential to bring clarity to such things as Bluetooth car calls or just any contact from noisy places.

implemented in Microsoft Teams , their workplace meeting/chat/call software for Office 365 users. A Microsoft representative demonstrated the technology by rummaging about in a bag of

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APRIL 2020

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