WhatsApp Two-Step Verification, Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro in India, Uber-Ola Strike, and More: Your 360 Daily

Consider this scenario - somebody steals your phone, removes the SIM card and puts it in another phone, they can potentially impersonate you on WhatsApp, as all they need to do is re-verify using the OTP SMS. To prevent such fraudulent activity, WhatsApp has introduced two-step verification for its popular chat app. If enabled, you can set a six digit code which will be required every time during re-verification of your WhatsApp account. If you’re worried about the above happening to you, we recommend that you turn two-step verification on.

Now let’s turn our attention to other news that made headlines today.

1) Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro now available for pre-order in India
Samsung’s first smartphone with 6GB RAM, the Galaxy C9 Pro, is now available for pre-order in India. The new Samsung smartphone is priced at Rs. 36,900. Interested users can head to the official Samsung online store or Samsung’s smart cafes near them. The smartphone competes with the likes of OnePlus 3T 128GB and Moto Z in India, and has a features such as a 6-inch full-HD screen, 4000mAh battery, and octa-core Snapdragon 653 processor.

In other Samsung news, the name for the upcoming Galaxy S8 virtual assistant might be ‘Hello’, instead of the ‘Bixby’ that we’ve been hearing until now. That’s a relief if you ask us, ‘Bixby’ sounded somewhat awkward. It is also said that both sizes of the phone will have the same battery sizes as their predecessors.

2) Uber, Ola drivers Go on Strike in Delhi
Some Uber and Ola drivers in the country’s capital have gone on an indefinite strike from today. The demands cited by the Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi include stopping the addition of new cars to the service, stopping the car-pooling feature, and increasing the rate above Rs. 6 per kilometer. The association, that includes 2,000 members, expects around 40,000 to 50,000 drivers to join the agitation.

3) iPhone 8 said to have wireless charging, again
Reputed analyst Ming Chi Kuo has stated that the iPhone 8 will indeed have wireless charging, something that has been rumoured multiple times before. But the additional bit of information coming out of this report is that all three new iPhone models expected to come out this year can be charged wirelessly too. What is unclear though is whether the wireless charging feature that’s spoken of is with the use of a charging pad or is it true wireless charging.

4) OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T get new Oxygen OS update
Oxygen OS 4.0.3 has started rolling out to OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T models. These two OnePlus phones are still based on Android 7.0 Nougat, but bring several improvements and bug fixes to the devices. Among them are things like a Smart Wi-Fi switcher, increased stability of the camera app, and better lowlight photos, etc.

5) LG G6 is said to have a smart virtual assistant, probably made by Google
LG has sent a teaser for the launch of the LG G6, which reads “Less artificial. More intelligence”. It has been rumoured that the LG G6 will be one of the first few devices to have Google Assistant integrated. The phone is also said to be waterproof and have a ‘heat pipe’ cooling technology, but will reportedly run the slightly older Snapdragon 821 chip instead of the Snapdragon 835.

6) ASCI Upholds Misleading Ad Complaints Against Amazon, Paytm, FreeCharge, and Others
Advertising sector watchdog ASCI upheld complaints against 100 misleading advertisements in November. Among others, the ad regulator upheld a complaint against mobile payments company Paytm, terming its claim of 'flat 50 percent cashback' on booking of two movie tickets "misleading by ambiguity".

7) Mark Zuckerberg shows off Oculus glove prototypes
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, that owns virtual reality company Oculus, showed prototype hand gloves that can be used to interact with the Oculus Rift VR headset. "We're working on new ways to bring your hands in virtual and augmented reality. Wearing these gloves, you can draw, type on a virtual keyboard, and even shoot webs like Spider-Man. That's what I'm doing here," Zuckerberg said. Again, these being prototypes, there’s no saying if these gloves will ever make it to the production line.

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