Tech Day: Updates Related to Amazon Echo Show (8 & 5), Asus Zenfone (8 & 8 Flip), and Google Pay's International Payment Service

There is always something new happening in the tech world and most of it affects everyone. It is difficult to track the changes due to our busy schedules but you don't have to worry about it now. RWB is at your service to make sure that you get three important updates from the tech world every week.

Let's start!

:::Amazon has updated Echo Show 5 & Echo Show 8 and has introduced the kids' version of Echo Show 5.

Image Credit: Mighty Gadget Blog

The updated version of Echo Show 5 is priced at around ₹6,300/-. It will feature a 2-megapixels camera as compared to its previous model that has a 1-megapixel camera. The kids' version of Echo Show 5 is called Echo Show Kids 5. The device has been priced at around ₹7,000/- and it comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus Service. The two features of Echo Show Kids 5 that separate it from Echo Show 5 are:

1. Kid-friendly home screen themes; and,
2. Multi-colored fabric on the rear.

Echo Show 8 is priced at around ₹9,600/-. The device is a bit expensive but it is the real deal. The camera has been upgraded to 13-megapixel. It offers a feature to pan and zoom while the video call is on. Another feature that makes Echo Show 8 a real deal is its ability to detect someone's presence in a room. The device turns on the routines when someone enters the room. The Verge has reported that Echo Show 8 also lets its users customize a virtual background and use an animated reaction for video calls.

Both the devices will have a tag of two-years warranty and will tentatively be available for purchase by June 2021.

:::Asus has launched ZenFone 8 and ZenFone 8 Flip. Both the devices are yet to be launched in the Indian market but, the excitement of every Indian Asus fan is already high.

Image Credit: Moneycontrol

Asus ZenFone 8 is priced at around ₹59,600/-. Its 5.9-inch Samsung AMOLED display screen is protected by gorilla glass and has a 12-megapixel camera. On the backside, the mobile features dual cameras: 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 primary sensor and 12-megapixels Sony IMX363 ultra-wide-angle lens. Asus ZenFone 8 is supported by Android 11 and operates on a Snapdragon 888 processor that is paired with Qualcomm's Adreno 660 GPU.

The mobile will be available with four options of RAM which are 6GB, 8GB, 12GB, & 16GB, and three options of storage which are 64GB, 128GB, & 256GB. A customer will get an option of three colors to choose from: obsidian black, horizon silver, and moonlight white. The four additional features of Asus ZenFone 8 are as follows:

1. 5G enabled;
2. WiFi 6/6E;
3. NFC to allow wireless data transfer;
4. Bluetooth 5.2 to lower the power usage; and,
5. 120Hz refresh rate.
   

Asus ZenFone 8 Flip has many features that are similar to Asus Zenfone 8 except for a few. Asus ZenFone 8 Flip is priced at around ₹71,200/- with two color options of galactic black and glacier silver. It features a 6.67-inch Samsung AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The flip camera offers an auto panorama and quick angle shooting with a tool to track the motion of a person. In addition to 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 primary sensor and 12-megapixels Sony IMX363 ultra-wide-angle lens on the back, it has an 8-megapixels telephoto lens. The feature of quick charge 4.0 charges the mobile pretty quickly.

:::An American user of Google Pay can now send money to another user who resides in India or Singapore.

Image Credit: Getty Images

With a focus to help people transfer money across borders, especially during the pandemic, Google has updated Google Pay to enable its users to send and receive money with ease. After the update, Google Pay will now directly compete with the mobile wallet service of Ant Group, Samsung Electronics Co., Apple Inc, and PayPal Holdings Inc. Like Google Pay, these companies also aim to become a hub for cross-border payments.

The cross-border money transfer service of Google Pay is in partnership with Wise and Western Union Inc. By the end of 2021, Google plans to expand the service of cross-border money transfer to eighty countries via Wise and to two hundred countries via Western Union.

Josh Woodward, the Director of product management at Google, said in a statement that the goal of the company is to work with Wise and Western Union to roll out the feature for every country that they support.

That is all for this week.

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