AfterDawn: Tech news

News archive (10 / 2022)

AfterDawn: News

WhatsApp is down - Globally, nobody can send or receive messages

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 25 Oct 2022 4:08

WhatsApp is down - Globally, nobody can send or receive messages For about an hour now, since 07:00 UTC, the world's largest instant messaging platform WhatsApp has been completely down.

People have panicked, uninstalled/reinstalled WhatsApp on their phones and even blamed their service providers for the situation. But no, it is down to WhatsApp itself, which simply cannot be accessed right now.

As of now, the outage has been on-going for more than an hour, marking this one of the longest downtimes for WhatsApp in quite some time now.

WhatsApp nurin 2022-10-25


According to DownDetector, the problem is global and none of the WhatsApp's functionality works right now.

You can monitor the situation by following tweets with #WhatsAppDown hashtag. Obviously, Twitter is full of fun takes on the situation already:

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AfterDawn: News

Review: OnePlus Car Charger 80W

Written by Matti Robinson @ 19 Oct 2022 10:00

Review: OnePlus Car Charger 80W OnePlus has been for years at the forefront when it comes to fast charging. The company's smartphones have supported fast charging at a competitive level throughout models and price points.

Now nearly every new mid- or higher tier smartphone comes with fast charging of some sort. Even many new lower tier, sub-$200 options, come with basic fast charging. Fast charging comes with a simple advantage. Phone doesn't need to be charged overnight anymore, when just a short juice-up during other regular daily tasks, like taking a shower or preparing breakfast can offer hours upon hours of battery life.

However, one place we haven't come across many proper fast charging applications are car chargers. If you'd want to fill your battery during a half an hour commute, usually that isn't possible with generic car chargers, even when they profess fast charging.

This seems odd, since smartphone users often spend time in traffic, and that would be the perfect time to recharge your smartphone.

OnePlus has had car chargers previously, as well, but they haven't caught the attention of the press or the public. At least, they flew under the radar for us. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they have only supported SuperVOOC charging, support of which is limited to OnePlus and few related brands (Oppo, Realme, Vivo).

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AfterDawn: News

YouTube announces new feature: Handles

Written by Matti Robinson @ 10 Oct 2022 1:13

YouTube announces new feature: Handles YouTube has today announced a new feature called Handles. According to Google's video platform, the new feature can help YouTube creators identify more effectively on their platform and within communities.

The new identification method has largely been copied from Twitter, even to the extent that it is preceded by @ sign. The new Handles will be in the form "@handle," and the new web address is formatted "youtube.com/@handle."

According to YouTube, Handles are designed for it to be "easier for members of the community to find and connect with each other." Especially for those that do not have a personalized YouTube address, this is going to be a blessing. Instead of a long, jumbled mess of characters, they can now be found with a simple Handle.

Those that already have a concise, personalized YouTube address. They can choose to continue using that as a handle. In fact, YouTube will automatically reserve that as your Handle, but the YouTuber can switch away from it if they'd like to.

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AfterDawn: News

USB-C and quick charging become mandatory in EU for phones, laptops, more

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 04 Oct 2022 2:04

USB-C and quick charging become mandatory in EU for phones, laptops, more In a landmark decision that has been in works for more than a decade, European parliament almost unanimously decided to make USB-C mandatory in all portable electronics.

By the end of 2024 all new phones, digital cameras, headphones, tablets and various other portable devices sold within the European Union must have a USB-C charging port. The new legislation doesn't allow manufacturers to circumvent the requirement with adapters or anything like that.

Interestingly, the legislation also makes USB PD quick charging mandatory for mobile phones, tablets and other "medium-sized" devices. Manufacturers are required to support at least 30W quick charging USB PD standard by end of 2024.

The requirement for 30W+ quick charging is a big deal, considering how some manufacturers don't provide any quick charging for their budget phones - and some expensive models only support 18W quick charging.

Additionally, all laptops sold in Europe must switch to USB-C charging by spring 2026. Only exception to this requirement are the high-end laptops that draw more than 100W power when operating at full power. For those, manufacturers can continue to use their non-standard charging ports.

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