Last week, when Xiaomi launched Mi Smart LED, we had briefed about its Smarter Living event in which the company was supposed to unveil a range of its IoT products. The same event happened today in which the Chinese brand launched a number of its IoT products in India. Xiaomi debuted Mi Smart Speaker among other products in the Indian market.
Image Courtesy: Xiaomi India
The speaker features a built-in Google Assistant that will allow users to control it using voice commands. It is designed as a home speaker with powerful front-firing drivers to provide a room-filling sound experience to users. During the Smarter Living event earlier today, Xiaomi also revealed Mi Smart Band 5 and Mi Watch Revolve alongside the company’s first smart-speaker in the country.
Mi Smart Speaker Features
Image Courtesy: Xiaomi India
The Mi Smart Speaker is designed as a home speaker that features a metal design with matte finish and has a 12W speaker unit. The speaker body has a 0.7 millimeters mesh design that consists of 10,531 holes providing a room-filling sound experience. Also, the small size of holes keeps the internals of the speaker free from dust. A Texas Instrument sound processor with 12W speaker unit powers the Xiaomi device’s 63.5mm sound drives to provide an immersive sound experience.
The smart speaker also has two far-field microphones and control buttons for volume, play/pause, and microphone switch on/off button. It also consists of a built-in Google Assistant that allows users to give commands to the smart speaker by saying, “Ok Google.” You can then give voice commands to set reminders, play music, and more.
Pricing and Availability
Xiaomi is offering its smart speaker at a special introductory price of ₹3,499 in India. The device will be available for purchase from October 1st on multiple online platforms. It will go for sale on Amazon, Mi India Store, and also Mi Home stores across the country. The good news is that Xiaomi is offering 1-year free Gaana music subscription on the purchase of Mi Smart Speaker.
If you want to read more on the latest updates from users and Xiaomi regarding the new Mi Smart Speaker, click #MiSmartSpeaker.
Technically, Torrent is a file extension for BitTorrent that the BitTorrent clients use to point out trackers for downloads. Torrent files contain all the information required to begin downloading from seeders or distributors. There are plenty of Torrent clients or apps for Android and iOS that enable downloading software, videos, music, audio files, and other media. There are hundreds of Torrent apps available for Android and that is our topic of discussion. After researching through a tonne of Torrent Apps, we have curated a list of 8 best Torrent Apps for Android that you can download.
Before we move on to the list of Torrent applications, take a look at VPN For Torrenting and P2P Connection by VPNWelt.
8 Best Torrent Apps for Android
1. µTorrent
Price: Free | $3.99
OS: Android
Popularity: 100M+ Installs
Image Courtesy: Google Play Store
µTorrent is one of the most trusted torrent apps for Android. It uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol and splits downloads into multiple parts. This allows µTorrent to download files at a much faster speed with no cap on file size and download speeds. It has an excellent light-weight UI with easy to use options. The Wi-Fi-only mode that downloads files only when connected to the Wi-Fi without burning through the mobile data.
You can download multiple files at once, and with multi-threading, all downloads are at their optimum download pace. BitTorrent keeps updating µTorrent with new features that include an integrated media player, save to SD card, and so on. A Dark Mode adds a much-needed USP to this excellent torrent app. It has a Pro version too. There’s no doubt why µTorrent is considered as one of the best torrent apps for Android.
TorrDroid is a torrent client that has attracted more than 10+ Million downloads on Google Play Store. The TorrDroid is a search engine as well so that you can search for software, movies, or any other media. You can either select the file to download or let TorrDroid decide the safest options to pick & download. There’s a Wi-Fi-only mode to choose from. You can either set it to save downloaded files in external or internet storage.
Although you’ll get a tonne of full-screen ads, it is still one of the most trusted torrent apps for Android. It supports magnet links, .torrent files, along with DHT, UPnP, LSD, and other protocols. Need to download multiple files? TorrDroid has your back. There’s a built-in file browser should you need with all functions available on just a click. It is among the best torrent apps for Android to check out for.
Price: Free | Contains Ads | Ad-Free version at $1.49
OS: Android
Popularity: 10M+ Installs
Image Courtesy: Google Play Store
Flud is another popular Torrenting app for Android that you can check out. The app has a light-weight and beautiful Material Design that adds to its USP. It doesn’t have any speed limit on both uploads and downloads. The app has an RSS feed support along with magnet link support for easy downloads. Finally, it supports multiple protocols including DHT, NAT_PMP, UPnP among others.
Flud can download torrent files as large as 4GB or even more with ease. It has both Light and Dark Mode depending upon how you want to use it. The web search option gives you access to the world of torrents that you can search and download with ease. A scheduled download and shutdown feature kills the app and shuts the system post-download. It ensures your system doesn’t get fried up with background processors after the download is complete.
Price: Free | Offers In-app Purchases | tTorrent Pro at $1.99
OS: Android
Popularity: 10M+ Installs
Image Courtesy: Google Play Store
tTorrent Lite is another ad-supported torrent downloader client for Android. It lets users download large files that include software, music albums, movies, and so on. Check out its sequential download mode with built-in streaming whilst the file is downloading on the platform.
tTorrent Lite supports UPnP & NAT-PMP along with RSS feed support for automatic downloads. It supports IP filtering and proxy for greater control over the security of the users. The app downloads files in external storage which is great since filling up internal storage can be problematic. There’s a web interface to go along with it. The Lite version of the app is ad-supported while paying $1.99 relieves you from ads whatsoever.
FrostWire is a BitTorrent client that offers excellent torrent downloading features unmatched by others. The app lets you search for torrents with its built-in torrent search option. Tap once and the app will start seeding the movie, video, audio, or other files right away. The app users peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing torrent network which allows super-fast downloads on the go. A sequential downloading feature gives access to seeding in multiple files at once.
FrostWire sports a Wi-Fi only mode that safeguards unauthorized mobile data usage. It has a built-in media browser and music player which makes it an all-in-one package that you must try. There’s an auto-pause download feature that prevents partially downloaded files from erasing in case of network drop. You can download videos at 4K video at a lightning-fast speed. It also supports downloading images, software, games, and you name you.
WeTorrent is a beefy torrent app for Android with more than 5 million downloads. The app offers an easy way to download torrents with both magnet and .torrent files. Its free version is ad-supported but in return, you get high-speed downloads with no limit along with a bunch of other features.
The app gives you access to files downloaded from within the app as well. It has a feature to set ‘Wi-Fi only’ mode that prevents your mobile data from bursting into flames. Fire up the premium version to eliminate annoying ads at just $1.99. Unlock features like sequential downloads, auto-shutdown, download priority, and more with the premium version. With 5M+ installs and counting, no doubt WeTorrent is one of the powerful & best torrent apps for Android to download.
Looks like we have hit a goldmine with another best-quality torrent downloader app. The Vuze is a powerful and lightweight app that allows users to search for torrents with its built-in search option. Download multiple torrent files consisting of movies, software, audio files, and others on just a click. There’s an option to allow the app to download torrents over Wi-Fi only.
Proceeding further, Vuze sports a simple and easy to use interface that you won’t find difficult. The app restarts when you reboot the device automatically. You can set up task completion alerts as well. There’s an option to control both upload and download speeds with Vuze. It is a high-caliber ad-support app download more than a million times and counting.
zetaTorrent is a powerful torrent downloader app that comes with a built-in torrent browser. Search for the torrent files to download or let the app automatically detect magnet links and torrent files to download. The app does have ads although subscribing to its premium version eliminates it. The app supports downloads to SD card as well as support to uPnP, Port, and NAT-PMP.
RSS feed support lets you filter files by keywords. The ad-support version is also equipped with Wi-Fi file transfer, light/dark mode, and excellent power management. The premium version gives access to auto-download, IP filter, Proxy support, web authentication & more. Try it out right away.
This concludes a list of 8 best torrent apps for Android that you should download. Most of the apps are free while some are available as a freemium and premium version. µTorrent is, of course, the most trusted torrent app although you have a range of options to try here.
We have talked about a robot dog called SPOT from Boston Dynamics earlier that roamed the streets of Singapore, promoting social distancing. However, this robot is not supposed to be a pet because of its larger size. If you are a on the market of robotic dogs, there is another palm-sized robot dog called Petoi Bittle that you might want to own. This innovative robot can be further programmed to increase its performance.
If you want a robotic dog for yourself, there are plenty of options out there to choose from. In the market, there a few names that are quite popular, according to some reviewers. High-tech Robot Puppy, WowWee Chippies Robot Dog, Zoomer Interactive Puppy, WowWee Miposaur, Contixo Puppy Robot Pet, and Georgie Interactive Plush Electronic Puppy are some of the best robotic dogs in the market. However, Petoi Bittle, a 3D-printed robotic dog, is the one that grabs everyone’s attention.
What is Petoi Bittle Robot Dog
Petoi Bittle is a small-sized robotic dog that weighs less than 10 ounces and can fit on your palm. This palm-sized robot measures only eight inches (ie. 20 cm) and weighs less than 280 grams. Despite its small size, it can carry a payload of over 450 grams (16 ounces) under its belly. It also comes with numerous demo modes from GitHub that you can use to get started when buying the robot.
The robot dog has an incredible maneuverability and can play tricks and run like a real animal. Petoi Bittle’s assembly is straight forward, and the best thing is, it can be made run faster by doing some extra programming and calibration. You can make it run faster than two body lengths per second.
According to the RongzhongLi (PetoiCamp), the manufacturer of the robot, “Bittle makes a perfect tool for learning, teaching, researching, or a surprising gift to impress your family and friends.” One of the best things about this palm-sized robotic dog is that it is very customizable. You can boost its intelligence too. All you need to do is mount a Raspberry Pi or other AI chip to the robot. Also, the robot is designed with simplicity and made easy to use.
Image: Kickstarter
Affordable and customizable, the robotic pet may look like a toy but needs parental guidance if you want to explore it with children. It is currently on Kickstarter and has raised many times more money than the target of $50,000. The campaign period will end after a week or more. You can watch the video of Petoi Bittle below:
Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship smartphones, the Mi 10T, and Mi 10T Pro are on the news for the past two weeks when IceUniverse leaked a few specs of the upcoming Xiaomi devices. Now the latest leak by tipster Sudhanshu has revealed full specs of both Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro phones along with the design renders. We should get to see these smartphones soon when the company will reveal them during the launch reportedly this week.
Xiaomi is one of the big brands in the Android smartphone market that launches the phones in all price ranges. In India, the mid-range and budget segment smartphone market is heavily dominated by Xiaomi. The upcoming devices from the Chinese company are expected to be the premium smartphones, costing users over $800 or more.
Xiaomi Mi 10T and 10T Pro Specs
Renders of Mi 10T & 10T Pro | Image Courtesy: Sudhanshu / Twitter
The previous leaks had suggested that both the phones will feature the display with an impressive 144Hz refresh rate. However, the new leak comes with a complete specs sheet for both phones, and combining them with the earlier information on the phones provide us a full detail on the smartphone specifications.
According to the leaks (earlier and the new one), the upcoming Mi 10T will feature a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. The phone will be powered by Qualcomm’s flagship-grade processor Snapdragon 865 SoC, paired with an 8GB of RAM. The phone will pack a big 5,000mAh battery with a 33W fast charging support. As per the leak, it will have a storage capacity of 128GB. In terms of optics, Mi 10T will feature a rear triple-camera setup, which includes a 64MP primary sensor, 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 5MP macro camera. At the front, the phone will sport a 20MP selfie camera.
Mi 10T Pro Specs Chart | Image Courtesy: Twitter / Sudhanshu
The other phone, Mi 10T Pro, will also come with the same display features with a 144Hz refresh rate and 5,000mAh battery. However, the phone will feature a relatively bigger 108MP primary camera that will come equipped with Optical Image Stabilization. The front camera will remain 20MP, same as in Mi 10T, and the 33W fast charging capability will also stay. The other features of the phone will remain the same.
Mi 10T Pro Specs Chart | Image Courtesy: Twitter / Sudhanshu
As you can see, the design renders of both the phones show that they will have a fingerprint sensor on the side as opposed to other Mi phones.
Price and Availability
There is no word from the leaker on the price of the upcoming phones, but from the previous leaks and rumors, the Mi 10 Pro (8GB+128GB) will cost around €640 (approx. $757). The 256GB storage variant may cost about €699 (~ $827). There is no information on the price of Mi 10T as of now. We expect both Mi 10T and 10T Pro will launch on September 30, but these are only our guesses.
Facebook is the world’s biggest social network in the present day. With people from all across the globe and all walks of life present on the same platform, certain privacy measures are absolutely necessary. These include hiding your profile picture, private your account so that unknown people can’t see your posts and media, and so on.
But what if we only want to inhibit only one person from seeing our posts and not everyone else. Here comes the idea of blocking. Blocking comes in handy in various scenarios but mostly if someone is bullying, harassing you, sending you inappropriate content, and so on. This is more efficient than raising a complaint as it resolves the matter quickly and gives you back your peace of mind.
But like always, there is a flip side to this story. What if you are on the receiving end of a Facebook block? How would you even know if someone has blocked you on Facebook?
You will never receive a notification saying that someone has blocked you on Facebook. It is because that would be counterproductive and give the person an incentive to find other ways to reach out to the person who blocked them. But there are different ways you can find out if or not someone has blocked you. In this guide, we will be covering them in detail.
Image Courtesy: androidfist.com
How to Tell If Someone Blocked You on Facebook?
Whatever the reasons are but a person deserves to know when someone has blocked them and quick. With a Facebook block, the person becomes invisible to you, that means you won’t be able to send them messages, see their posts, or even see where they have commented.
And we need to know that for sure to avoid any misunderstanding of the situation. Because in some cases, that seems like a block might just be the case that the person has unfriended you from his/her Facebook account. We will also learn not to get confused between the two.
Not able to tag them in your posts
On Facebook, you can tag any of your friends in your posts. If this said person was your friend, you should be able to tag them in your posts. This is how you can check – Click on Create Post > Click Tag People > Enter the person’s name.
Image Courtesy: androidfist.com
If the name appears, then they haven’t blocked you. But if it doesn’t appear, it’s a strong signal that they have either blocked you or unfriended you.
Can’t find their posts in your feed
If you are friends with this person on Facebook, you should be able to see their posts on your feed. But if they have blocked or unfriended you, their posts won’t appear on your feed.
Not able to find their name in your friend list
If you can’t find a person’s name in your friend list, then this means that they have either blocked you or unfriended you. This is how you can check this – Click on your name on the top of the screen > Then Click on Friends and search their name.
Image Courtesy: androidfist.com
To check this on your phone – Click on the three horizontal lines on the top and tap your name to open your Profile > then Click on Friends and then search the person’s name from the list.
Can’t find the person’s profile by typing their name on the search
This method is applicable even if you are not friends with the said person on Facebook. Basically, you can search and find anyone’s profile on Facebook. If you can’t do so, then that means that they have blocked you.
This method works on mobile. If you are sure that this person uses Facebook Messenger and then try messaging that person on the app and it shows that “The user is unavailable,” then this means they have blocked you.
Image Courtesy: androidfist.com
Not able to open that person’s profile page
You can check this by opening your Facebook Messenger and then clicking on their name to open your profile. If the profile opens, then that means that the person hasn’t blocked you. But if it doesn’t open, then they certainly have blocked you.
Conclusion
With this, we come to the end of this guide, and you can be sure that if someone has blocked you or not on Facebook. We think this guide helped you and let us know if we missed out on something.
Just a few days ago, Microsoft held a virtual Ignite developer conference and took a trip back down memory by showing a video of the evolution of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The much-loved PC game was originally released back in 1982 for IBM-compatible PCs, and the video showcases the entire history of the game. Today’s Microsoft Flight Simulator has evolved so much that it can now map out the real world into the virtual one quite accurately.
The video begins with the Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 that shows how the first game looked at that time. The first version of the game allowed players to fly a Cessna 182 across the various cities and states of the US. Compared to today, the video demonstrates how much the game has changed in these nearly 40 years.
Evolution of Microsoft Flight Simulator
Image: Microsoft Flight Simulator / YouTube
Microsoft released the first version of the game in 1982, and two years later, it released the second version of the game. In this update, the company added crucial joystick support to Flight Simulator 2.0 in 1984 and also improved the overall graphics. Version 3.0 took some time to arrive and came in 1988 with customizable displays and additional aircrafts.
Then came a major update of the game with the arrival of Flight Simulator 4.0 with its debut for Mac. This update added new features like weather and dynamic scenery to enhance the gaming experience of players. In 1991 Flight Simulator 5.0 was released that improved the game with a more realistic experience. A similar update came with version 5.1 that focussed more on improving realism.
Image Courtesy: Microsoft Flight Simulator / YouTube
In 1996 Microsoft Flight Simulator debuted in Windows 95 with more options for aircrafts and higher frame rates. The new versions continued to come till the release of Flight Simulator 2000 in 1999 — a major release in an age of increasing 3D games. Later in 2001, Flight Simulator 2002 arrived with the 3D virtual cockpit that gave the player the feel of being a real pilot sitting in the flight cockpit. Microsoft released Flight Simulator X in 2006 on DVDs for the first time. The company revived the game fully earlier this year, aided with Azure artificial intelligence.
In the video, you can see the changing graphics when there is a jump in the game version. You can see the video below:
Realme is among the top brands that produce budget, mid-range segment smartphones all over the world. The company launched Realme 7i, a mid-range segment smartphone in Indonesia a week ago. An Indian tipster named Himanshu suggested that the phone may launch in India in October. However, the Realme 7i has been spotted on the official support form of Realme India.
Since the company has now officially confirmed that its upcoming phone in India is none other than the Realme 7i, but the actual launch date is still unknown. It looks like Himanshu’s prediction about the Realme 7i launch is turning out to be true. Though there’s no official word on the actual launch but we hope the device to launch in October.
Realme 7i Features and Specifications (Confirmed)
Since the phone launched is in Indonesia, we already know the specifications and features of this device. Realme 7i runs Realme UI based on Android 10 and features a big 6.5-inch HD+ LCD display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The phone display has a punch-hole cutout for the front camera for video calling and selfies. The device comes packed with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging.
Realme 7i will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor paired with an 8GB RAM with an internal storage of 128GB. With regards to optics, the smartphone sports a rear quad-camera setup placed in a rectangular-shaped box on the top-left corner. It includes a 64-megapixel primary sensor, 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, 2-megapixel macro shooter, and a 2-megapixel B&W portrait sensor. At the front, there lies a 16MP camera for making video calls and shooting selfies.
Realme 7i Price in India (Expected)
Looking at the cost of Realme 7i in Indonesia, which is RP 3,099,000 for the 8GB + 128GB storage variant, it translates to ₹15,300 upon conversion. We expect the Realme smartphone to launch with a price of around ₹15,000 in India. If that happens to come true, Realme should release the device for ₹14,999 or ₹15,499, but these are just our predictions. We will get to see the actual price of Realme 7i during its launch only.
The entire Grand Thief Auto series has been one of the most entertaining games since our childhood. And undoubtedly, GTA 5 online is among the finest installments of this game until now. It comes with stunning graphics, an exciting storyline, the ability to loot or make money in GTA 5, and obviously the gameplay.
What makes it different is the multi-player mode, which lacks in all the previous installments of the series. Apart from that, GTA 5 has already awarded the universal critic for its overall fantastic gaming experience.
But what if there was a way to earn online through this game? Well, good news! Not one, but there are multiple missions through which you can make money in GTA 5 online. Most importantly, the tasks are not too difficult compared to the profit amount, although you will require some practice and experience.
Also, most of the missions are quick, and you can make an instant income. Whereas some assignments are lengthy and keep running in the background, you can again use them for a passive income.
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
How To Make Money In GTA 5 Online?
Well, there are quite a few ways to earn money via GTA 5 online. However, it takes the players a reasonable amount of time to find tasks with higher returns.
Accordingly, you also have to find the right way of completing each task in order to generate a considerable profit. So, here are some of the best missions in GTA 5 online through which you can manage to make some good money:
1. Double Money Events
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
First and foremost, keep yourself updated with the double money events. They are a pretty good source that will help you generate a passive income. GTA almost comes up with new ideas for this event every week. Sometimes it might be on the exhilarating races, time trials, or various other adversary modes.
Apart from this, my favorite method in the 2x money event is through the bunkers. This is largely because it is one of the best passive income sources in the entire game.
Once you set up everything successfully, the business keeps running itself and generates good profits. Also, keep an eye on the sale discounts. We all know buying the stuff in-game costs a hefty amount; therefore, a small discount can be perfect for a start.
2. Time Trials
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
A time trial is another major event that crashes once in a week and is an excellent source to earn some instant cash. You only need to reach the given destination from the starting point within the specified time. It might seem to be a very easy one, but believe me, it’s not.
Firstly, you need to make sure you have a super-fast vehicle, and if you have an upgraded model, this will add up to your advantage.
The next and the most important thing to remember is, you will only get a few trials. Hence, you cannot afford to lose too many times. Or else you will lose the challenge.
Expected Profit Potential: $50k per time trial
3. Heists
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
Next up is the heist, which is again an excellent pick to earn a tremendous amount at a considerable time. However, this is not a solo task, and you will need the help of three more participants. I recommend choosing outstanding players to accomplish heists successfully.
For starters, you would have to pay a certain amount beforehand in order to become the host of your heist. The faster you complete, the more profit you generate. Therefore, make sure that you hold the best communication with your group members.
Expected Profit Potential: $400k per hour
4. Gunrunning
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
These missions are all about stealing or buying supplies. In case you select to steal the supplies, you will have to deliver it to the bunker yourself. On the other hand, if you choose to buy them, the supplies will be safely delivered to the bunker itself while you are exploring other stuff in the game.
You can later turn those supplies into stocks and earn a good profit by selling them in the market. You can make a potential profit of around $80k per hour, which sounds pretty impressive.
Moreover, it gives a real feel to the player as you get a chance to create your own organization and become its CEO. From my personal point of view, I think buying supplies is more beneficial rather than stealing it. This saves a lot of my time, which can be used in other productive missions.
Expected Profit Potential: $80k per hour
5. Air Freight Cargo
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
Just like the Gunrunning mission, this mission is again about collecting and selling cargo. Although you won’t get massive benefits, the Air Freight Cargo mission still manages to make more earnings than the Gunrunning mission.
Firstly, you will have to complete a mission to deliver the cargo to your hangar. In the next step, you can sell the collected cargo using the laptop in the hangar. For selling, it will take another mission where you will deliver the cargo to its destination.
Expected Profit Potential: $150k per hour
6. Motorcycle Club
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
Become the president and build your own motorcycle club in GTA 5 online. You can find all these options directly in the interaction menu itself. All you need to do is deliver supplies to your business building, or you can try buying them.
This will take no effort, and your delivery will reach you safely. Once you have it in the building, all the staff will start transforming it into stocks.
You can then sell them back, for which you need to complete another mission to make a successful delivery. You can make good profits of up to $80k per hour. If you try dealing in cocaine, it will give you the maximum returns.
You can use this as a passive income, which will keep running in the background while you get engaged with other instant payments.
Expected Profit Potential: $80k per hour
7. Doomsday Heist
Image Courtesy: rockstargames.com
Just like the normal heists in the game, the Doomsday heist is again a group mission. However, this time you can either play with one, two, or three more members. In simple words, it is just another upgraded version of the regular heists that features more twists and turns.
Along with your team, you will have to complete the preps, setup, and final missions together. The Doomsday heist profits can range relatively higher than the regular ones, which revolve around $300k or more.
Expected Profit Potential: $300k per hour
Conclusion
There are many other methods of earning money online from GTA 5. However, these were some of the best missions considering their hefty return amounts. While some tasks need good team coordination, some are only solo missions. In addition, throughout your journey in completing these missions, you can further explore GTA 5 online and come up with more tricks and opportunities.
Note that GTA 5 online comes up with various discounts, offers, and high return values quite often. Therefore, if you are really into gaming and want to make some good profit, don’t remove your eye from the regular updates.
We believe this article helped you a lot. And if there are any of your favorite missions that we forgot to mention on the list, please do comment it below.
Tesla is one of the biggest players in the electric vehicle market and has sales across the globe. According to the latest report from EV Sales Blog, Tesla Model 3 has become the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe. The car has taken the top spot as the most popular EV in Europe as per its sales in August. The Tesla EV overtook Europe’s most popular, Renault Zoe, the car that has dominated the European market for several months.
As per the report, Tesla’s Model 3 sales went up to 7,020 in August in Europe. The electriccar took the top spot from Renault Zoe that has sales of 6,183 units. Zoe from Renault stayed in second place, trailing the Tesla car by 837 vehicle units. The other three positions in the top 5 list were taken by Ford Kuga PHEV, Hyundai Kona EV, and Mercedes A250e with the respective sales of 5,055, 4,054, and 3,505 units.
Tesla Doesn’t Have Production Facility in Europe
Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturing company does not have a functioning production facility in the entire continent of Europe. Despite this, the Tesla Model 3 managed to dominate the European market last month. Though Tesla is now building one production facility near Berlin in Germany, but it won’t start making cars until summer next year.
Because of the unavailability of the production unit in Europe, Tesla delivers its cars to Europe from its facility in Fremont, California. It increases the overall price of vehicles, and hence Tesla cars are slightly expensive in Europe than the United States. In Germany, the Model 3 Standard Range+ costs $49,840 as opposed to $37,990 in the US.
Image Courtesy: EV Sales Blog
However, Renault Zoe still holds the top ranking as a whole in 2020, with sales of over 52,150 units. On the other hand, Model 3 has sold a little over 41,000 vehicles this year till August, about 11,000 units less. Also, the total EV market share of Renault Zoe is 9%, while Model 3 contributes 7% of the electric car market.
Google has added a new feature to Maps that lets people see the spiking COVID-19 cases for a particular area. Google Maps now lets people see the number of COVID cases per 100,000 people with a label indicating the rise or fall of coronavirus. The search engine giant informed through a blog post that users can now see the trend, and number of COVID cases for the last seven days in a given area. The company said it would start rolling out the functionality worldwide on Maps for both Android and iOS this week.
According to the official blog post from the tech giant itself, the company said, “This week, we’re introducing the COVID layer in Maps, a tool that shows critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area so you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do.”. In countries like the US, you can see the information down to the state and country level. However, the feature is of limited use in other countries as it provides only the national data.
How Google Maps COVID Feature Works
To use the feature and see the COVID cases nearby, first launch the Google Maps app on your device. Once you open the maps application, click on the Layers icon at the top right-hand corner of your phone screen. Select the ‘COVID 19 Info’ box to open the layer for displaying the information about COVID-19 in any area. The color-coding makes it easier for you to see the difference in the density of new coronavirus cases.
Where Does The Data Come From
According to Google, the data comes from multiple authoritative sources such as Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, World Health Organization, other public health agencies, and Wikipedia. The company says that these sources already power the information on COVID cases in Google Search. Now it is expanding this data to Google Maps also.
