In what has been one of the most heavily rumoured transfers of the summer, Thiago Alcantara has finally proved those rumours to be true. The Spanish midfielder was revealed as a Liverpool player by the Premier League champions on Friday.
Thiago Alcantara has also signed his contract until June 2024 as new Liverpool player. As promised by Thiago himself to Jurgen Klöpp on June, he’s coming. 🔴 #LFC
The La Masia graduate started out his career in Barcelona but then moved to Bavaria in 2013. After winning every single title there was to win with Bayern, Thiago needed a change of pace which brought him to Merseyside in England.
As confirmed by the club, Thiago will don the number 6 shirt for the 20/21 season. The number formerly belonged to Dejan Lovren, who left the club at the end of last season.
So, how will Liverpool’s newest recruit help them defend their title this season? Let’s have an in-depth look at how Klopp might integrate his newest signing into the team.
Thiago’s strengths and weaknesses
Thiago is a playmaker. His natural game is based off creating chances, playing passes to the attackers that nobody sees. In addition, he is the metronome of the team, the player that dictates the pace and the flow of the game.
While he does not offer the physicality and the defensive cover that Fabinho and Henderson offer, he can create chances in plenty. And that is exactly what will be expected out of him.
The player who is expected to give way for the Spaniard is Gini Wijnaldum. The Dutch international has been linked with a move to Barcelona all summer, and it looks even closer now that a world-beater like Thiago is among the ranks at Anfield.
Since Liverpool don’t have a designated number 10 for making chances aplenty, Thiago will take the creative burden off the shoulders off False-9 Bobby Firminho who drops in deep to put the ball forward.
An extremely skilled player on and off the ball, Thiago does everything Wijnaldum does and does it better. Expect Liverpool to be an even better side when the Spaniard finds his feet in England.
Nokia is expected to launch a new member in its ‘.4’ series family with a trading name ‘Nokia 3.4’ and will be surfaced officially on 22nd September. The Nokia 3.4 comes with the codename as “Doctor Strange” that seems to be one of those along with the Nokia 2.4, renamed as “Wolverine”.
This upcoming phone has been spotted on FCC US certification revealing the symmetric diagram and some basic key specifications of this upcoming handset. So. let’s check out those specifications.
FCC certification
Specifications of Nokia 3.4
According to the FCC certification, the phone arrives in two variants, and the model number of these variants is TA-1283 and TA-1285. The first variant offers a dual-SIM slot facility whereas the other one offers a single-SIM facility.
The symmetric diagram on the FCC certification reveals that the phone has a round shape rear camera module and a punch-hole cutout at the top left corner on the display for the front camera.
The Nokia 3.4 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 460 SoC and runs on Android 10. The SoC of the phone will be equipped with 3GB RAM. But we haven’t got any information about the storage capacity of this upcoming handset.
Regarding the display, it may feature a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio. In Nokia 3.4, the volume keys are misaligned which means, Nokia is trying to do something different with it. Among the buttons, there is a dedicated Google Assistant Button too.
Nokia 3.4 render
Now to enlighten the camera part, this upcoming phone may sport a triple rear camera including a 13 megapixels main shooter, alongside 5 megapixels, and 2 megapixels sensors, the types of these sensors are not known to yet. On the front, the selfie camera features an 8 megapixels snapper.
As per the FCC certifications, the connectivity options for this phone include – Bluetooth, LTE, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n, GLONASS, and NFC. The Nokia 3.4 may have a 4000mAh battery with a 10W charger and 3.5mm jack are also claimed by the sources.
The Nokia 3.4 is expected to be an affordable device by HMD Global and is going to be launched in the next HMD’s next event on 22nd September. The phone is probably going to cost under $200(roughly Rs. 14,722).
According to some recent leaks, it is expected that the Realme will come with some new devices in the upcoming days. As of now, from those leaked tweets, we can assume that there will be three new smartphones and one Realme TV are in the making. Let’s check what is the information we’ve got till now about those upcoming devices.
Renowned tipster Mukul Sharma has posted on his twitter that a new Realme smartphone has appeared on the MIIT certification. It is not quite sure what will be the name of this model, but the model number was Realme RMX2116. As of now, it is impossible to tell in which series it will make its entry. There might be a new series, something like Realme 8 series for this model. We’ve to wait further to get more information from the company.
The next one is also from Mukul Sharma. He has tweeted that an unknown Realme smartphone has appeared on TENAA’s website, whose model number was Realme RMX2117. From that some of the specifications have been leaked, such as this smartphone will feature a 6.5-inch display with a 4,900mAH battery. That’s all. No information about the market name or anything else.
The next device is another smartphone from Realme. According to the leaked information, this upcoming phone will support 65-watt fast charging. Right now, we’ve only Realme 7 Pro which supports 65W fast charging. This model might be an improved version of it. There is no more information leaked about this smartphone.
The next device is not a smartphone. It is a TV from Realme. Mukul Sharma has tweeted that Realme is looking to launch more TVs in India soon. There will be various sizes from 32-inches and more. So we will be going to get some great deals related to Realme TVs. As of now, Realme hasn’t shared further information about those upcoming TVs. Apart from it, new applications have been filed on BIS.
Apple’s done with its annual September event but we haven’t got AirPower till now and chances are that its gonna take more time but Samsung already has one so maybe we don’t need a wireless charger from Apple anymore as it would have cost us another kidney.
Earlier this month Samsung announced a bunch of hardware at its “Life Unstoppable” virtual event ” and the Samsung Wireless Charger Trio was one of them which is basically Apple’s AirPower but from Samsung and you can charge your phone, watch, and earbuds simultaneously just like it was supposed to happen with AirPower.
At the time of launch, Samsung didn’t reveal much about the Wireless Charger Trio other than that it can charge three devices at once which is pretty evident from its name but a recent listing on Samsung’s Germany and Korea’s online stores gives us some new information about the AirPower rival.
The listing reveals that the Wireless Charger Trio has six charging coils and it can fast charge Samsung phones at 9W while other Qi-supported devices will be getting juiced up at 5W whereas Apple products will be getting charged at 7.5W. The charging pad also gets an LED indicator to let you know the charging status. The dimensions of the wireless charging pad are 240 x 86 x 15.5 mm and it weighs 320g.
It is compatible with all the Samsung flagships back to the Galaxy S6 to the Galaxy Z Fold2 and it also supports Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Watch with wireless charging compatibility.
It will be available in black and white color and it can charge phones with cases up to 3mm thick but it also depends on the case’s material.
There is no exact launch date given from Samsung’s end but you can expect to launch sooner than ever since it has been already listed on a few stores which point towards an imminent launch.
IPL 2020 finally starts today! T20 format is the shortest format of the game and one significant performance can change the outcome of the entire match.
An impactful cricketer can pretty much prove to be a game-changer. He can snatch the match from the jaws of the defeat irrespective of what may have happened until that time.
One of the interesting examples being Mumbai Indians winning the entire tournament despite not having an orange or a purple cap. Today we list out some most valuable players (MVPs) of each team. They might all not be all-rounders, however, their performance is a key asset to the team.
Virat Kohli (RCB)
Virat Kohli is hands down one of the best batsmen to grace a cricket pitch. The man is a legend irrespective of format, opposition, and conditions. He can play the bull and the matador. This year he is not only expected to score high but also lead RCB to their maiden IPL trophy ever. Kohli has done a great job firstly by taking responsibility to open the innings.
(PC- Outlook India)
He has also instilled confidence in his pace bowlers and spinners. He has backed young talent like Mohammad Siraj and Navdeep Saini. Because of him, both Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have improved. Sadly he fails to get the collective effort of the rest of the team.
Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
One may have a conversation between who’s the MVP for MI between Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. However, Bumrah edges that conversation by a bit. He is hands down one of the best bowlers in the world, irrespective of the format. He will lead the diverse Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack. Bumrah is known for his skill of bowling both yorkers and slower deliveries at will. He has been consistently taking wickets and saving runs in the death overs which makes him the MVP.
Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)
Ravindra Jadeja has already been named as the most valuable player of the 21st century by Wisden. He continues to be the same for Chennai Super Kings. He can be flexible with the bat and will provide the much-needed cushion in the absence of Suresh Raina. He can pick up wickets with the ball and can effectively bat in the powerplay overs. Not to forget, he can save 10-15 runs by his world-class fielding.
Sunil Narine (KKR)
Just like Sharma and Bumrah, Narine and Russell make the conversation for the most valuable player for KKR. We may see an updated version of both in IPL 2020. KKR is famously known for using Narine as a pinch-hitter by promoting him to open and surprisingly, he hasn’t failed. Narine is hands down one of the best bowlers in the shorter format of the game. With a change in action and pace variation, he’s expected to be even more lethal.
Rashid Khan (SRH)
Rashid Khan is probably one of the best T20 spinners in the world. He is known for his speedy deliveries that can tun both ways. He will be even more dangerous on UAE pitches. He can play big shots in the lower middle-order and is a great fielder as well.
Jos Buttler (RR)
Jos Buttler has evolved himself into a great T20 opener. He has always been amongst the runs for RR and has continued to do that to date in all three formats of the sport. This year he will be accompanied by the young and exciting Yashasvi Jaiswal who can provide him assistance as well.
(PC- Times of India)
KL Rahul (KXIP)
Rahul has been the lone warrior for KXIP for the last two years. However, he has updated himself into a vicious T20 cricketer. Rahul finds himself at an impressive spot of number 2 on the T20 best batsman rankings. Despite moving around in the stacked Indian batting line up, the Karnataka cricketer has consistently delivered match-winning performances both in ODIs and T20s. It will be interesting to see how the added weight of captaincy reflects on his performance. Rahul has always been a team man for team India batting at almost every position and also kept wickets. Therefore, taking responsibility isn’t something new for Rahul.
Shreyas Iyer (DC)
Iyer has been like a fresh of new air among the captaincy circuit. He took captaincy from Gautam Gambhir and took the team to an impressive third-place finish last season. What made it more impressive is that he had a very young team to work with. Iyer is expected to deliver the same performance this time around as well.
OnePlus launched its first true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones, the OnePlus Buds back in July alongside the OnePlus Nord. OnePlus was obviously quite late to the TWS party but now it seems like the company doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of tapping on a budget segment whether it’s with its upcoming budget smartphones or a cheaper OnePlus Buds.
According to tipster Max J, a new and affordable pair of OnePlus Buds are on their way which will be known as OnePlus Buds Z but we don’t have any other information regarding these cheaper Buds and chances are that the Buds Z could debut alongside the upcoming OnePlus 8T in October.
Apart from the tip from Max J, XDA developers have also found a string of code in OxygenOS 11 beta which points towards the OnePlus Z.
The leaks fall in line with the OnePlus’ nomenclature system for its audio products since it has also previously used Z for the cheaper version of OnePlus Bullets Wireless dubbed as OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z and they are even cheaper than the original OnePlus Bullets so chances could be the new OnePlus Buds Z can join the Bullets Wireless Z and it could be priced somewhere around the Bullets Wireless Z and OnePlus Buds.
OnePlus Buds are the company’s one and only TWS earphones at the moment and they are priced at INR 4,999 in India and are available in three colors- black, white, and blue.
The new earbuds also set well with the rumors of cheaper OnePlus devices which clearly shows that OnePlus’ is done with being a flagship killer and is now planning to capture a wide area of the market instead of just toying around with flagships.
Xiaomi is all set to release its Xiaomi Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro in the upcoming days. That’s why there has been plenty of news about those upcoming smartphones. But there is also a possibility of getting a Lite version of the Mi 10T. One of the tipsters has already revealed the Chinese 5G certification that indicated a Xiaomi smartphone with the model number M2007J17C is coming. So, it is expected that the model number might be dubbed as the Mi 10T Lite. The Chinese 5G certification has been taken a step further with the mention of a Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite smartphone.
It is not only the first time but also at the beginning of September, the company has teased that a new device is in the working to join the Mi 10 series that would be a 5G smartphone for “€2XX”. This upcoming model is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon Series 7 SoC (possibly the 768G chip). Moreover, this phone might also feature a quad rear camera having a 108MP primary sensor (or 64MP primary sensor). The Mi 10 series is expected to launch in September.
The Mi 10T Lite is also expected to support the 5G connectivity. So, this phone might not have mid-range pricing. The pricing can be slightly below than the Mi 10T Pro. There are also some additional reports suggesting the same smartphone could end up being sold under the Redmi brand in China, possibly even as the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
The US government is going to kick off both the most controversial applications their, WeChat and TikTok on this Sunday. Though, the government also holds the right to reverse the ban once TikTok finalizes a deal with any US-based companies to satisfy the national security concerns.
As per the Friday statement by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross the US will restrict all the cash transfers with WeChat along with its parent company Tencent Holdings Ltd. But for now “distribution, maintenance and updates of WeChat or TikTok through app stores in the U.S” will be prohibited from 20th September.
Ross said that the immediate treatment for both the applications will be different. “Americans will still be able to use WeChat for payments in China. WeChat U.S. for all practical purposes will be shut down,” – Ross to Fox Business. “For TikTok, it’s just upgrades, maintenance and things like that that will be shut down at this stage, the real shut down would come after Nov. 12 in the event there is not another transaction,”
Though the app store related services will be taken down this Sunday, in the case of TikTok, the US companies can provide services until 12th November. This will give the video-making platform a little bit more time to finalize any deal, most probably with Oracle. A person familiar with this matter said, in case any deal between TikTok, Oracle, and the Trump administration permanently comes in existence before 20th September, the application will not be removed from the app stores.
Both Google and Apple are fully agreed to obey the instructions of the US government. If they need to remove WeChat along with TikTok, the Americans, having WeChat preinstalled will not get further updates, no matter whether they stand in the US or in China, but can use the services. Other than that, new users won’t be able to download the app.
Finally, we got a release date and the price for Play Station 5. As Sony has announced the PS5 Digital Edition will cost $499 and PS5 will cost $399. The next-gen console is set to release on November 12 for the US, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while in other regions(except China) the console will release on November 19th.
Sony has confirmed only a handful of exclusive games for PS5 till now. Most of the announced games coming to PS5 will also be releasing on PC and Xbox except exclusives. Recently a post was made on the PlayStation Blog, which states that games from “our own Worldwide Studios titles will be priced from US$49.99 to US$69.99.”
It was expected that the price of the PS5 games will be slightly higher than PS4 games. Normally the price of the games in the current generation consoles typically runs about $60 for a new game but in PS5 the new games will cost an extra $10.
Sony confirmed on Wednesday that the two launch titles Demon’s Souls remake and Destruction AllStars will have a $69.99 price tag on PlayStation 5. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales from Insomniac will cost $49.99 and the Ultimate Edition (remastered version of PS4) will bear the price tag of $69.99 on PS5.
Sumo Digital’s, Sackboy A Big Adventure will also be available at launch and will cost $59.99. By Sony’s courtesy, you will get a free preinstalled game whose name is Astro’s Playroom.
The game pricings are a bit high for PS5 but a small price to pay for experiencing 4K at 120FPS. Three new titles have been announced for PS5 they are Final Fantasy XVI, Hogwarts Legacy, and a new God of War game.
On this Wednesday, Xiaomi announced its upcoming ‘Smarter Living 2021‘ event for 29th September. As I mentioned in that post, the event banner hides lots of products among which a round-faced watch is one. It was hidden in the letter V. Now, the company started teasing it.
Xiaomi India gives us the hint by posting an image on its official twitter page. A round watch face is clearly visible where ‘watch out’ is written along with #SmarterLiving and the launch date. No information is shared still now regarding it. But we can guess the name of the watch from the wring ‘Wait till you SEe Mi’. Hope you too, get the name, if not, it’s Xiaomi Watch SE. Our assumption couldn’t be the exactly same, but the ‘SE’ will be there in the name for sure.
Analyzing the track record of Xiaomi, there is a high chance this watch could be a rebranded version of a device available in China, most probably the recently launched Mi Watch Color. This Mi Watch Color holds a 1.39-inch AMOLED display, constant heart monitoring feature, multiple workout modes, and more.
If our expectation hits the right point, the watch may come with at around Rs.6,600 or below Rs.7,000 as in China the Mi Watch Color costs 599 Yuan. Let’s wait for the launch event.
