Paytm Wallet Fee, WhatsApp Redesign, Samsung Galaxy S8 Price Leaked, and More: Your 360 Daily

Digital payments firm Paytm has announced that it will start levying a 2 percent fee on wallet recharges done using credit cards. This has been done to curb instances of users topping up the Paytm Wallet via credit cards, and then transferring the money in the wallet to their bank accounts, essentially turning their credit card limit to cash. Paytm does not charge users any fees for adding money to wallet or transferring balance to bank accounts, but has to pay to credit card network for such transfers. The company said that it will reimburse the 2 percent fee it charges to the user in the form of vouchers, which can be used while making purchases on the platform, or at other places like Uber and Swiggy. However, the vouchers cannot be clubbed together, and must be used one at a time.

Here’s the other major tech news of the day that are worth reading about.

Another WhatsApp redesign seems to be on its way
WhatsApp has undergone a pretty big redesign with the introduction of Status as a separate tab, but you should expect some overhauls in the chat UI too. Leaked screenshots of WhatsApp beta for Android show that the attachment button in chats may soon be moved from the top bar, and could be placed next to the camera icon. This is being done to accommodate a new button for WhatsApp video calls, which will be placed next to the button for audio calls. In separate WhatsApp news, the company is reportedly testing a new version of the app, which will be aimed at business users and may become a revenue source for the company.

Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ prices leaked
Prices of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagship smartphones have leaked online ahead of their launch on March 29. UK-based retailer MobileFun has started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 at EUR 799 (roughly Rs. 56,400), which is higher than the launch prices of Galaxy S7 (EUR 549) and Galaxy S7 Edge (EUR 639). This price tag corresponds with another report today that pegs the prices of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at EUR 799 and EUR 899 (approximately Rs. 63,500) respectively.

OnePlus 3T no more exclusive to Amazon India
OnePlus 3T will soon be available on the OnePlus Store in India India website. The site will also offer a one-year damage protection plan at Rs. 1,899, covering accidental damage like drops and cracks as well as complimentary pick up and drop service. Both 64GB and 128GB variants of OnePlus 3T will be sold on the OnePlus India website. The site will also offer a one-year damage protection plan at Rs. 1,899, covering accidental damage like drops and cracks as well as complimentary pick up and drop service.

Samsung smartphones on discount on Flipkart
Flipkart is hosting the Samsung Mobile Fest, where it is offering discounts on smartphones and health gadgets made by the South Korean titan. You can get discounts on smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy On5 (Rs. 2,860 off, now priced at Rs. 6,990), Galaxy On Nxt (Rs. 2,590 discount, now costs Rs. 15,900); both smartphones comes with an exchange offer that slashes the price by up to Rs. 15,000. The Galaxy J5 (2016) now costs Rs. 10,990 after the Rs. 2,300 price cut under the offer, but does not come with an exchange offer. Samsung Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker has a discount of Rs. 3,010 and now costs Rs. 11,900 on Flipkart.

Android O to reportedly focus on AI-based features
While Google has largely been silent about it, some features of the next version of the company’s mobile OS, Android O, have leaked online. Google is reportedly focusing on user convenience by adding artificial intelligence to the mix. One of the leaked features is ‘Copy Less’, which would reduce the need to copy and paste any particular piece of text by implementing AI. The other leaked Android O feature will enhance the messaging app and allow it to interact with other apps; for example, an address you receive in a message could open in the Google Maps app.

Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD launched in India
Xiaomi has announced the launch of its Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD earphones in the Indian market. The earphones will be available on Mi.com starting 12pm on March 10 at Rs. 1,999 in Silver colour. The Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD come with dual-dynamic and balance armature drivers, inbuilt natural sound equaliser, and stretchable TPE matte wiring for durability and less tangling. The headphones have rounded 45-degree angle in-ear design, and feature a built-in microphone for voice calling.

BlackBerry Aurora Android smartphone launched in Indonesia
BB Merah Putih, BlackBerry’s manufacturing partner in Indonesia, has launched the BlackBerry Aurora Android phone in the country. Pre-orders for the smartphone, which costs IDR 3,499,000 (roughly Rs. 17,900) will run till March 12 with local retailers. The new BlackBerry Aurora has a 5.5-inch HD screen, 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor, 4GB of RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, 32GB internal storage, microSD support, 4G LTE compatibility, and 3000mAh battery.

Disclosure: Paytm's parent company One97 is an investor in Gadgets 360.