Google will not approve smartphones running Android Pie and below next year

Based on a statement by xda-developers.com, Google will not approve Android-based smartphones that are running on Android Pie and below by 31 January 2020. However, this does not mean that Google will stop providing updates to Android Pie due to the fact that the roadmap states that it is expected to receive updates until the launch of Android 11 which will be around August 2020.

Not only will this encourage smartphone manufacturers to manufacture devices that come with the latest operating system. But it will also make the Android ecosystem seem less fragmented, due to the fact that there are still numerous amounts of Android devices running operating system as old as Android Kitkat.

Customers will also benefit from this initiative by Google, as they would be able to get a consistent Android experience whenever they purchase a new Android-based smartphone. What do you think of Google’s stance to only approve smartphones that come with Android 10 pre-installed? Let us know our Facebook page, and for more updates like this stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Google will not remove full-length URLs on Google Chrome

Initially, Google planned on full removing full-length URLs on Google Chrome, showing only the domain name instead. Google’s justification was that removing full-length URLs will make it much easier for users to not get scammed as it’s easier to spot any red flags on in the URL.

However, it seems that Google has decided not to implement the change due to user disapproval. With that being said, Google plans to roll out an update to revert the search to how it was before Google implemented the shorten URL experiment.

What are your thoughts on Google not implementing the shorten URL experiment? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Google will release its own OpenAI chatbot in the coming weeks

There have been a lot of talks about ChatGPT recently and whether it was a coincidence or not, Google just announced its own OpenAI chatbot. Promptly called Bard, Google's AI service will be unveiled in the next few weeks.

Announced on its blog news page, Google has been experimenting with a conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) and it's currently opened up for testers before releasing it to the public. Similarly to ChatGPT, Bard "draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses".

Google will release Bard with a lightweight LaMDA model version as it requires less computing power. This will also allow Bard to reach out to more users and get more feedback. Also, the GIF file above shows Bard designed to simplify complex topics, such as explaining NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to a child.

In case you didn't know, Google has worked on Google AI and DeepMind and collaborated with Blizzard Entertainment using StarCraft II for AI research. The company is continuing to build up LaMDA, PaLM, Imagen and MusicLM to create and engage with information in various new ways. This includes language, images, video, audio and others.

You can read the full message by Sundar Pichai, Google CEO on Bard and the next step in Google's AI journey here. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Google will soon let users compare similar apps on Play Store

Google is working hard to bring new features and experiences to some of its platforms and applications. After announcing a new Gmail logo design together with upgrades for G Suite, the company moved on to adding several new features to YouTube a few days ago. Now, it's the turn for Google Play Store as users will get to compare apps soon!

Folks at Android Police discovered that Google App Store will now allow users to compare similar apps in a section that appears at the bottom of the page. The section will display information such as functionalities, controls, support, and more to let users find out which app suits them the best. Currently, the feature works only in version 22.4.28 and is limited to comparing media players.

The new feature is a helpful one as users no longer need to browse the page of each similar app to check the ratings or the features that the app offers. Not to say Google Play Store offers tons of similar apps that could make us lost when it comes to choosing the right app to download.

Let us know what you think of the new feature from Google Play Store on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more interesting app updates.


Google will soon put ads on YouTube Shorts

Google is reportedly testing ads on YouTube Shorts as a another way to help creators monetise their videos. For now, the ads on Shorts will include products like App Install and video action campaigns.

On Tuesday (26 April 2022), Google’s chief business officer Philipp Schindler said that the company is excited about the opportunities of monetisation will bring for consumers, creators and advertisers on YouTube Shorts. In fact, Google is really encouraged by the initial advertiser feedback and results.

Android Central reported that YouTube Shorts, which is YouTube’s answer to the super popular platform TikTok have been seeing a growth in engagement recently. Currently available in more than 100 countries, YouTube Shorts has 30 million views daily, which is four times the amount it was seeing just 12 months ago.

So, what do you guys think by this move by YouTube and Google? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for the latest tech news such as this!


Google will soon use alert you of major security risks via its apps

Cybersecurity is important but it's not always easy to track all the online accounts that we have, right? Thankfully, Google is taking additional steps to make sure that its system checks in with you and not the other way around. The company has beefing up its security and privacy protections recently, which is detailed in the Safety Center.

In a new blog post, Google announced that it can now send you security alerts directly through the Google app on your phone. If a serious security issue was detected on your Google account, Google will send the notification to your Google app and tell you how to deal with it. These alerts are resistant to spoofing attacks, which means you'll know it's an actual notification from a genuine source.

Google is also adding a new way for you to maintain your privacy in Google Assistant with the Guest mode. Basically, none of your voice commands or actions used in this mode will be recorded to your Google account. This could be useful if you don't want Google to start throwing you random ads due to something you said in passing.

In theory, these changes should help make more people aware of when their Google account is compromised. But how effective would this method be and do you think it's enough? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Google will start looking into removing inactive accounts this year

Almost everyone has a Google Account but so are inactive ones. With this, Google has announced that its inactive accounts will be shut down in due time. As long as the Google Account (whether it's Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, YouTube and Google Photos) has not been used or signed in for at least two years, it shall be deactivated.

The account deletion will only happen to personal Google Accounts, so organizations like schools or businesses will remain. The inactivity policy will take effect today and will roll out in phases whereby the deletion will begin in December 2023. So with all the months ahead, Google will send multiple emails to the inactive and recovery email for a heads up.

The reason for initiating this is that unused accounts are usually compromised due to the lack of two-factor authentication and fewer security checks. According to Google's internal analysis team, an abandoned account is 10x less likely to have the 2-step verification set up. These accounts can easily be used for sending spam emails and scamming users online.

Keeping your Google Account active is easy, all you have to do is just read or send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, download an app from the Google Play Store, use Google Search or sign in with your Google ID. To read more details about the updated inactivity policy and creating a backup plan, you can visit the official announcement here.


Google will stop supporting Android 2.3.7 or lower soon by the end of September

New smartphones are all the rage these days due to the pandemic but there are also plenty of users who are still using old Android phones. If you happen to be still using an old Android OS, you won't be able to opt into Google services soon.

As announced by Google on its support page, the company will finally end its service support for Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and below. Scheduled for 27 September 2021, users who are still using that operating software will not be allowed to use any Google services. On top of that, Android users who are still using 4.0 and above are still safe.

In case if you are wondering which Google services you won't be able to use, that would be the apps such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Drive and anything that is Google-related. It is noted that you may still use some of the apps if logged in, but once you log out and try to sign back in, you will definitely be locked out. You could still use the web browser to access the apps, though, albeit that would mean you must have either Safari, Firefox, Edge or others standby beforehand.

According to Zak Pollack who works in Google, the initiative is part of the company's "ongoing efforts to keep our users safe". In other words, it is in the name of security reasons but we also believe that most Android phones on that OS should be obsolete by now. That's all, folks. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


AMD Radeon Boost confirmed with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition

We previously got some news that AMD could be adding a new feature to its software suite. That news has now been confirmed by AMD with the release of the new AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition. The software suite comes with a brand new UI and features, including the Radeon Boost feature.

From what we know before, Radeon Boost is an adaptive resolution tech that lowers the resolution of frames when fast movement is detected. But now we also know that it does so via mouse input detection. According to the description given, it seems like the feature is most effective with action games or first-person shooters.

However, there is just one thing you have to take note of here: Hardware compatibility. Radeon Boost will only work with more recent AMD hardware. Specifically, you will either need at least a Polaris-based desktop GPU, or an APUs from the Ryzen 2000 series onwards.

Other features you will find in the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition includes the Radeon Image Sharpening, Radeon Anti-Lag, and Radeon Chill features. These exist to help sharpen in-game visuals, reduce input lag, and limit FPS to save power, respectively. In addition, the new software suite has easy connectivity to the AMD Link mobile app, can track the stats of games you play, and provide you with media capturing capabilities.

Have you installed the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition yet? Tell us of your experience with it so far our Facebook page. Also, stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Google won't give any free video calls for Gmail users on Google Meet soon

During the pandemic, having online meetings is such a norm now that most of us have a Zoom and other video call app accounts by default. However, most of them aren't exactly free as there is only a limited amount of time to use as free members.

Initially, Google Meet would allow Gmail account users to have group calls without limitation over the past year since the pandemic started. It was extended to September last year then got stretched to March and June this year. Although Google made it free in July, that is going to change as the platform will only allow “Calls with 3 or more participants” are limited to 60 minutes".

Even though it won't be technically free, having one-on-one calls is essentially free as it can be used for up to 24 hours. For group calls, a notification will pop up saying the call will end so if you would like to have a longer conversation, Google said one can upgrade the account for $9.99 (~RM41) per month via Workspace.

By the way, if you are looking for a Zoom alternative for your video calls - you can check out our list of 8 Zoom alternatives you can try out during movement control order right over here. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Google working on a language learning service and it could be launched this year

When it comes to language translator, how can we forget Google Translate? Besides helping us to translate foreign words, Google might also be preparing for a new service that helps us to learn new foreign languages, just like Duolingo or could be better?

It is reported that the tech giant is working on a service that uses conversational AI to teach foreign languages via Google Search. The project is currently being called "Tivoli" internally and could be launched later this year. According to the source, Tivoli's development has actually started two years ago using the Meena neural conversation model, which has now evolved into LaMDA (Language Model for Dialog Applications).

At first, Tivoli might only work with texting but will be improved for greater purposes. One of the uses could be integration with YouTube by creating language quizzes and let viewers record themselves after watching the video. Finally, the AI will evaluate how well the users performed in the recorded video. With such technology, you will be allowed to not leave home at all to learn a new language, and it also suits the current circumstances that everyone is facing.

Let us know what you think about Google's Tivoli on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech reports.


Google working on new design for Play Store website

If you visit the Google Play Store, you probably won't notice anything wrong with it. But many have long considered the website design as outdated and have been calling for a redesign. Now, we're finally getting a glimpse of a new design.

According to Android Police, the redesigned Google Play Store website now looks more like the Play Store mobile app. The first thing you'll notice is that the left menu is no longer there. Instead, the main categories - Games, Apps, Movies, and Books - are now tabs on the top of the page. You'll then see larger thumbnails of highlighted content at the top.

Some apps now have large banners and auto-play trailers

If you pick an app or content, you'll find that the info page also looks different. There's now a big banner for most content, and some games will have trailers that will play automatically. However, the description area and screenshot carousel didn't seem to have changed.

In my opinion, this design could still use some improvement. The individual app pages still look too cluttered to me, but what are your thoughts on that? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Goophone M8 announced, copies HTC M8 (All New HTC One)

Goophone has a tendency to create nearly identical copies of leading smartphones and this time around is no different as they officially announce their Goophone M8. Now, what other smartphone has 'M8' in it's name? Right, the HTC M8 or the still unofficially named All New HTC One. While the smartphone it is copying still hasn't been launched yet, the GooPhone M8 looks nearly identical to the original aluminum unibody design. It may not have key features like the dual-camera dual-LED flash on the backside but it does look nearly identical at a single glance. You can also get it in gold too. Tech specs for the Goophone M8 aren't bad at all with a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage + microSD, 5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 12.6MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP front camera and 3G connectivity. At just $230 (RM750) this phone is for those midrange users who like the All New HTC One design but not anything else. Check out the Goophone M8 site for more information.


Goophone N4 (clone) strikes earlier than Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Goophone has already come out early with a clone of the still unreleased Apple iPhone 6, so it should not come as a surprise that they have also come out with the Goophone N4, a clone of the upcoming and still unreleased Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. While the actual Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has yet to be confirmed, the Goophone N4 certainly looks like how it would come out as, right down to the super slim bezels and large 5.7-inch display. Tech specs and features for the Goophone N4 include a 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 processor, 3GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, 5.7-inch display with full 1080p HD display and 3200 mAh battery. While these aren't bad tech specs at all, the graphics for this processor are usually slower than normal. While we don't think you can fool anyone with the Goophone brand so clearly displayed, it could still get sold as a possible Galaxy Note 4 smartphone by some third-party sellers, so be careful about any offers before the Galaxy UNPACKED event expected on 3 September 2014.[Source]


Goose Goose Duck is an Among Us type of game, supports 16 players

In 2020, Among Us was one of the most popular mobile games globally. It even won Best Mobile Game and Best Multiplayer Game at The Games Award 2020. Now, other developers hope to emulate its success with similar social deduction games, and Goose Goose Duck is one of them.

Recently, Gaggle Studios officially released Goose Goose Duck on Android, iOS, and Steam. This is an online multiplayer social deduction game that's similar to Among Us, where players must join hands to complete missions. In this game, you play as either a goose (crewmate) or a duck (imposter). You can also play as one of 25 sub-roles, which includes DodoBird, Cannibal, and Morphling.

There are four maps to choose from - S.S Mothership, Black Swan, Nexus Colony, and Mallard Manor - and up to 16 players can play in private or public lobbies. As for game modes, the four that were announced are Classic, Trick or Treat, Classic+, Dine & Dash, and Goose Hunt. The game even officially supports proximity chat, which lets you hear other players when you're close to them.

While Among Us has waned in popularity, Goose Goose Duck might revive the genre with its set of features. If you have tried the game already, do share your experience with it so far! Also, stay tuned to TechNave for more news on the latest mobile gadgets and games.


Got a spam-like email about Facebook Protect? Well, your account may be locked if it’s not responded to!

Facebook has made a few questionable decisions over the years, both internally in terms of management as well as relating to the platform’s algorithm and features. Well, it seems that Meta’s popular social media platform is at it again, this time by reportedly locking out users who doesn’t activate Facebook Protect out of their Facebook accounts.

Worse, some users are even saying that they weren’t made aware of the necessity of turning on Facebook Protect. In fact, the only notice they got was from a spam-like email from Facebook titled “Your account requires advanced security from Facebook Protect”.

Before delving any further, what is Facebook Protect actually? Well, according to Facebook, it is a “security program for groups of people that are more likely to be targeted by malicious hackers, such as human rights defenders, journalists, and government officials,”.

In simpler terms and as its name would suggest, the feature is to ensure protection against hacking threats and to protect users’ accounts using two-factor authentication. Furthermore, Facebook told users via the email that they would be locked out of their account if they don’t turn on Facebook Protect, which can be done through a link in the email.

Ironically enough, the email used by Facebook to ask users to activate Facebook Protect doesn’t look particularly safe as ‘[email protected]’ looks like a phishing site rather than an official email address. Well, many thought the email was indeed spam and ignored it. As it turns out, the email was in fact, real and a lot of users were locked out of their account for not activating Facebook Protect through the email. Yikes!

According to a report by The Verge, several users have already been locked out of their Facebook accounts due to ignoring the email. These users voiced out their dissatisfaction to Facebook via Twitter (well, since they got locked out of Facebook), such as Olivia_Thiessen in the screenshot below:

The Verge has since updated its report with a statement by Facebook. The company said that they are currently looking into ‘isolated examples’ of people who were locked out of their accounts and may need help to enrol in Facebook Protect.

What do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for all the latest trending tech news such as this!


Got a winning photo with your Huawei phone? WIN ~RM82,650 with it at the 2019 NEXT Image Awards

By now, most of you have already heard about the brand new Huawei P30 series. But have you heard about this year's NEXT Image Awards? In case you haven't, it's a smartphone photography competition hosted by Huawei and if you test your photography skills there, you actually have a chance of winning $20,000 (~RM82,650) while every Malaysian entry gets an RM50 voucher for the Huawei store.

Open to everyone globally, the grand prize is more than just winning money, but the winner will also walk away with a P30 Pro, a free trip to Paris Photo 2019 and have his or her photo made known internationally, as well as a medal or certificate. This applies to the same for each category winner but with $6000 (~RM24795) instead.

The terms and conditions to join the photography contest are pretty simple. You just have to submit a photo taken with any Huawei smartphone (watermark enabled), based on the six categories. That said, according to the website, the six categories are Faces, Going the Distance, Storyboard, Emotion Tag, Hello, Life! and Life Now. Below are some of the photos submitted for each category taken using the Huawei P30 Pro:

Faces - You probably won't believe it, but this shot was taken with the Huawei P30 Pro's 10x hybrid zoom-in mode

Going the Distance - Very nice ultra wide-angle shot there with the Huawei P30 Pro

#Emotion Tag - This one was taken with bokeh mode thanks to the Time of Flight (ToF) sensor, which is part of the rear quad camera setup on the Huawei P30 Pro

Hello, Life! (taken by Christina Tan) - You can also get great macro mode shots on the P30 Pro, so it isn't just about the zoom

Life Now - Pretty sure this was taken with an ultra wide-angle shot too using the Huawei P30 Pro. That stunt, though... might need some help from a competent athlete friend.

As a refresher, the P30 Pro sports a quad camera configuration (48MP + 20MP + 8MP + ToF sensor), a Kirin 980 chipset, 8GB + 256GB/512GB memory capacity, 4200mAh battery (with 15W wireless charging), features IP68 water and dust resistance and more in Black, Crystal Breathing and Aurora. You can get one now for RM3799 (or RM2799 for the P30) at their official page here, or you can get all that and more if you win in this year's NEXT Image Awards contest.

Think you have what you got it takes to be a renowned mobile photographer? You can head over to the NEXT Image Awards page right here to find out and stand a chance to win ~RM82,650. Stay tuned for more Huawei news at TechNave.com.


Gotta catch ‘em all with Pokemon Go this July

A big fan of Pokemon? Want to be the very best, like no one ever was? Mark your calendar for July, as the augmented reality game Pokemon Go will be going live in the month of July.

If you are uninformed, Pokemon Go is an augmented game that gives you the feeling that you are in the Pokemon universe, developed by Niantic and Nintendo. You roam around your city, load up the game, and search for Pokemon to capture – just like a real Pokemon trainer.

As an additional accessory, the Pokemon Go Plus is an optional accessory that will alert you if there is a Pokemon nearby. Come July, head to either the Google Play store or Apple App Store to download Pokemon Go, and capture all the Pokemons around you.


Gov't will allow students to keep PerantiSiswa tablets

If you're a college student looking for a tablet, you may have heard about the PerantiSiswa initiative. Previously, it was announced that the distributed Android tablets were on a loan basis. However, it seems that is no longer the case.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that students can now keep the device issued via the PerantiSiswa initiative. Currently, 519 students from universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions will receive tablets. The government plans to distribute more than 400k tablets to B40 families.

A keyboard and stylus will be part of the package (Image via Facebook)

In case you didn't know, it was confirmed that the tablet distributed is the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 LTE. Also, successful applicants will receive a detachable keyboard (Smart Keyboard Trio 500), stylus pen, and black tablet cover (Galaxy Tab A8 Book Cover). As you can see, these accessories will allow students to type documents and draw sketches. Since it's an LTE variant, you can also get a prepaid or postpaid mobile plan for Internet access on the go.

Application for the initiative will be open till 30 September 2022, so sign up soon if you're eligible. Not sure how you can use the tablet for your studies? Refer to our article here! As always, share your thoughts in the comments below, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT aims to deliver high-performance 1080p gaming for ~RM700

It was some time ago when AMD first announced the Radeon RX 5500 series of GPUs and it's taken a while for the desktop version to launch. But you don't need to wait anymore, because the Radeon RX 5500 XT has been announced. AMD intends for this to be a mid-range master, targeting gamers who want the better performance in 1080p gaming.

According to AMD, the Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU is optimised to provide up an average of 13% performance increase for modern triple AAA and esports games. In terms of tech specs, you're looking at 22 Compute Units, 4 or 8GB of VRAM, a boosted clockspeed of 1845 MHz, and up to 5.2 TERAFLOPS.

In terms of performance, it does better than an Nvidia GTX 1650, from what we see in AMD's slides. AMD also claims that you should be able to expect up to 60+ FPS for triple AAA games and up to 90+ FPS for esports titles. With the release of the new Radeon Software 2020 Edition, you can also expect to get some extra mileage out of the card.

At a suggested retail price of 169 USD (~RM700), the RX 5500 XT is actually pricier than a Radeon RX 580, despite not being significantly better . But if you buy one, you'd also get a copy of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition and a three-month complimentary access to Xbox Game Pass for PC, which is a great deal if you haven't gotten the game. Unfortunately, AMD did not confirm if this deal is available in Malaysia.

Would you get this GPU when it comes out here? Do let us know on our Facebook page if you plan to do so. Also, stay tuned to TechNave.com for other news like this.


Government agrees to let filming industry resume work, but strict SOPs will be imposed

As the weeks go on, increasingly more people are anxious to get back to work. Despite many industries being allowed to do so with the conditional movement control order (CMCO), filming activities were not able to do so. Now, our government has confirmed that the filming industry will be able to resume activities after Hari Raya.

According to Bernama, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed that official approval was given during the National Security Council meeting yesterday. This means that companies will now be allowed to conduct video shoots for TV shows, documentaries, or advertisements after Hari Raya. The decision was made after consulting with the various associations involved.

However, Datuk Saifuddin also said that strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) will need to be adhered to. The SOPs have not been confirmed yet, but the government will take great care in examining the proposed SOPs that were already submitted last week. In other words, we can probably expect the SOPs to be announced in the next few days.

It great to see that more industries being allowed to operate again. Perhaps cinemas will soon be allowed to operate again and we can go back to our movie nights, albeit with severe restrictions? With that said, what are your thoughts on the news? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Government approves Uber and Grab service in Malaysia

After many problems and bumps along the way, Putrajaya has finally said yes to legalising both Uber and Grab in Malaysia. The government has tasked the Land and Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to iron out the terms and conditions.

Part of the deal is eleven new initiatives that include a proposal to transform the whole industry by improving the Teksi 1Malaysia Model, and even providing individual taxi permits to taxi drivers that deserve it. SPAD is aiming to table a bill of the legislation during the Parliament meet in November.

This is good news for consumers, as this will give us more options for travels around the city. Plus, this can be the stepping-stone for taxi drivers to change for the better and provide better service to their passengers.


Government declares monthly RM500 EPF withdrawals and up to 6 months deferment of PTPTN repayment

On this 6th day of the Movement Control Order (MCO), Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has declared four initiatives that have been decided by the government. These initiatives came out after a meeting by the Malaysian cabinet on how to deal with the economic situation that is deteriorating during the MCO.

The first initiative allows all Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members to make monthly withdrawals from their Account 2. This would be limited to a maximum of RM500 per month starting from 1 April 2020, for a total duration of 12 months. The public is advised to use the monthly funds to pay for utilities and purchase groceries. In case you didn't know, you can make e-withdrawals for EPF.

Next, the government will also be allocating RM500 million to the Ministry of Health (MoH) for its efforts in dealing with the Covid-19 situation in the country. The money is expected to be used for ventilators, ICU equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other medical goods that may be required by the public medical personnel. Also, an additional RM100 million will be provided to the MoH to appoint 2000 more contract staff, with an emphasis on nurses.

Moving on, RM130 million will be allocated to state governments to help in dealing with the Covid-19 situation in the various states. This funding is expected to be used to aid hawkers and small traders who have been affected by having to close businesses due to the MCO. It will also be to assist people who have been infected by the virus, as well as their families.

Lastly, the government will allow the deferment of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) repayments by 3 to 6 months. This will be in effect beginning today, 23 March 2020, until 30 September 2020. In other words, you won't have to make payments to PTPTN during this period.

Besides the above, the government is working on a comprehensive Economic Stimulus Package that's set to be announced on 30 March 2020. With all that said, what are your thoughts on the initiatives announced? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more updates.


Government has collected RM428 million for Digital Services Tax alone

If you're not convinced about how big online transactions can be, you just need to see the figures for 2020. Our government announced a new Digital Services Tax last year that targeted online platforms like Google Play, Sony PlayStation Store, and more. Today, the amount collected was announced.

According to Bernama, the government has managed to collect a total of RM428.07 million through the new tax. Datuk Haji Abdul Rahim bin Bakri (Deputy Minister of Finance I) said that this is a new source of revenue for Malaysia that will be "enhanced in the future". We're not sure what he meant by that, but it's possible that the tax rate could increase in the future.

Personally, I don't want to see the Digital Services Tax rate increase. But I won't be surprised if it happens, so I suggest we keep in mind that it could happen. Having said that, do you feel that the tax has impacted the overall cost of your expenditure on online services? Let us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Government planning to bring in EVs below RM100,000 into Malaysia

To make electric vehicles (EVs) accessible to the masses, our Malaysian government is planning to only import EVs below RM100,000 only. This is so that EVs are not only for the high-income group but for the middle-income group too.

This statement was announced by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is now the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, who said that the proposal would also allow middle-income earners to reduce carbon dioxide. Nik Nazmi also said that EVs could be sold lower if only there was a local company manufacturing them within Malaysia.

Previously, the government has been offering incentives for the automotive industry. This includes direct and indirect tax exemptions for installation or manufacturing activities of EVs, manufacturing components and developing an ecosystem like charging facilities. This is in line with the National Automotive Policy to improve the EV ecosystem.

Malaysia has been gaining some momentum in going in the direction of EVs. Some EVs were released in Malaysia, such as the ORA GOOD CAT by Great Wall Motor (GWM) Malaysia as well as the EQE 350+ by Mercedes EQ. A new EV charging station was also set up in bringing forward the EV era.


Government to send RM50 e-wallet to Malaysian citizens by end of this month

It seems that a statement by Berita Harian, the Malaysian government will be sending RM50 e-wallet to Malaysian citizens somewhere around the end of the month. While not much is known in regards to the exact date, the Finance Minister mentioned that more details on the in regards to how to obtain the e-wallet will be announced somewhere in the near future.

This was done in conjunction with the e-PENJANA initiative, which is to encourage cashless transactions in Malaysia. With all that said, what are your thoughts on the government sending RM50 e-wallet to all Malaysians? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Government will be giving away RM50 e-wallet, tax deduction up to RM5000, and up to RM1000 for new employees

Earlier today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin has officially announced that the government will be giving away e-wallet worth RM50 to all Malaysians in order to encourage the usage of cashless payments. The RM50 will be given out starting from July 2020 onwards through selected e-wallet platforms such as Grab, Touch ‘n Go, and Boost.

Other than that, employees under the age of 40 who just joined a company will be eligible to get RM800 in cash. Employees over the age of 40 that joined a new company, on the other hand, will be eligible to get RM1000 in cash instead.

Last but not least, in order to encourage employees to work from home, the government is providing an RM5000 tax relief for companies so that they can purchase IT products such as computers. But that's not all, individuals will also be eligible for tax relief of up to RM2500 when you purchase an IT product. With all that said, what are your thoughts on what the government is doing to help us? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Government will offer 3 months free electricity to houses with electricity usage of less than 300kWh

Based on a statement by BERNAMA, it seems that all households with electricity usage of less than 300kWh will be eligible for free electricity for the month of April, May, and June of 2020. But that’s not all, households with electricity usage of more than 300kWh will get an RM77 rebate off their electric bill for the months mentioned above.

The source mentioned that consumers will receive the rebates somewhere around July 2020, via their monthly bill. With all that said, what are your thoughts in regards to the government giving rebates on electricity bills? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.

4 juta pengguna domestik dengan penggunaan 300KWJ ke bawah akan menikmati elektrik secara percuma bagi April, Mei dan Jun 2020


Government will reimplement MCO if new cases of COVID-19 exceed 3 digits

As we get closer to August, many are looking forward to the end of the movement control order (MCO) - that is now in the recovery MCO phase - in a month's time. But that may not happen if the situation progresses in the wrong direction. Earlier today, our government has declared that MCO will be reimposed if the situation deteriorates again.

According to The Star (via Bernama), Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri commented that many Malaysians have stopped complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for MCO, which has caused the number of COVID-19 cases to rise again. He said that the government will have to reintroduce the MCO if the number of new cases rises to three digits to prevent the pandemic from spreading again.

Due to the numbers rising again, the government will also look to tighten the SOPs that were loosened with the transition to RMCO. An official meeting will be held tomorrow (27 July) to discuss various matters, which could be when the government may decide to reimplement MCO or enforce tighter measures to curb this new wave of outbreak.

If we don't want MCO to be reimplemented, we all have to do our part in following SOPs. For now, stay tuned for updates on this at TechNave.com and remember to stay safe!


Grab Indonesia to start utilizing Hyundai IONIQ electric vehicles

Grab Indonesia has recently announced that they will start utilizing electric vehicles such as the Hyundai IONIQ from today onwards at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Terminal 3. This initiative will go hand in hand with Indonesia’s vision in developing an electric vehicle ecosystem, which would be beneficial to the environment.

With all that said, there is no official information on whether Grab Malaysia will follow the footsteps of Grab Indonesia in adopting an electric vehicle fleet. Hopefully, we’ll see something similar in the near future to not only reduce air pollution, but also curb our reliance on fossil fuel.

What do you think of Grab Indonesia’s initiative in switching to electric vehicles? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


AMD Radeon RX 6000 series release: up to 2250mAh, 16GB GDDR6 memory, AMD FidelityFX and more from ~RM2406

AMD has recently unveiled the Radeon RX 6000 series, which consists of the RX 6900 XT, RX 6800 XT, as well as the RX 6800, which are all built using the AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture and they’re priced at 579USD (~RM2406), 649USD (~RM2697), and 999USD (~RM4152) respectively. With that in mind, the RX 6900 XT and the RX 6800 XT are able to achieve clock speeds of up to 2250MHz, while the RX 6800 is capable of achieving up to 2105MHz.

Furthermore, they’re all equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, as well as various technologies and features such as AMD Infinity Cache, AMD Smart Access Memory and more which can help drastically improve performance while doing graphically intensive tasks. They’re also equipped with AMD FidelityFX, Variable Rate Shading, DirectX Raytracing, and more in order to provide the most gaming experience possible without heavily sacrificing performance.

In terms of the availability date, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT will be globally available starting from 18 November 2020 while the RX 6900 XT, on the other hand, can be purchased from 8 December 2020 onwards. If you want to find out more information regarding the new graphics processing units by AMD, head over to their official website.

Would you be interested in getting the AMD RX 6000 series as soon as it is available in the local market? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia Ride Cover insurance is coming soon and you only need to pay RM0.35/ride

Today, Grab Malaysia have announced a new insurance deal called Ride Cover. According to their blog page, you only need to pay RM0.35/ride and this will cover an accident during your eligible Grab ride in Malaysia or even if your ride comes late after 15 minutes. So how does this all work? We got it covered.

First, should you get into any car accident in your Grab ride (#touchwood), you will be able to claim up to RM100,00 for death or permanent disability. Medical expenses are also covered up to RM2000 so that's nice too. Then if your Grab ride comes later than 15 minutes, you will be granted a free RM5 Grab ride voucher and it will be valid for six months. The voucher will come after your ride has been completed.

To get your hands on Ride Cover, you just need to login into your Grab app -> tap on the Insurance button -> Opt-In Now -> and finally, tap "Got It" to finish the purchase. It's super easy, barely an inconvenience. However, at this time of posting, the Insurance button has yet to make an appearance yet to check it out from time to time.

To read some FAQs, you may head into their official page right here and scroll to the bottom. Stay tuned for more Grab news at TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia could allow users to transfer funds from their GrabPay Wallet to their bank account

Based on Grab Singapore’s official website, it seems that Grab has officially started allowing users to transfer funds in their GrabPay wallet to their bank account. But that’s not all, it seems that it also allows Grab users to transfer funds to other e-wallets as well with no additional minimum transfer and no transaction fees.

While having such a feature could be extremely useful there is, unfortunately, no news in regards to when it will be available in Malaysia. What are your thoughts on having the ability to transfer funds from your GrabPay Wallet to your bank account or other e-wallets?

If you want to find out more information in regards to the aforementioned feature, head over to Grab’s official website. For more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia is expecting to launch the numberless GrabPay Card this year!

The Philippines is set to launch GrabPay Card during the first quarter of 2020 after it launches in Singapore last year. Today, Grab Malaysia mentioned it is interested in launching the numberless GrabPay Card locally within this year.

GrabPay Card is the first numberless card system launched in Asia that can prevent potential identity and financial theft and is available in both physical and digital versions. It is also accepted within Mastercard’s worldwide network consisting of over 53 million merchants and users will get to earn redeemable points in every transaction.

With that said, there’s still no official confirmation on the releasing dates in Malaysia. But will you be interested in getting one of the numberless GrabPay Card when it launches? Let us know at our Facebook page and stay tuned for more local news updates on TechNave.com!


Grab Malaysia is making e-Bazar Ramadan happening from 23 April 2020

In early April, we have reported that our government was considering a drive-through or online Ramadan Bazaar. Well, turns out that it is true all along and Grab Malaysia will be helping out on that. Here's how Grab will bring you a festive Ramadan season at your home.

First, city councils who are interested in this new plan may register the online form right here. Since Grab has partnered with Selangor and Federal Territory state governments, the city councils are encouraged to do this for the community's hygienic purpose and continuing the contactless delivery method. Grab will announce the official operating hours and bazaar locations soon.

Speaking of the time table, Grab said that there will be over 900 restaurants available for the Ramadan season. The official date will start on 24 April until 23 May 2020 from 8AM to 8PM. If you're a GrabFood merchant who wants to participate in the Ramadan menu, you may submit your Ramadan goodies online right here (the due date is before 20 April 2020).

Finally, local businesses and social sellers who want to participate may sign up the online form here by 17 April 2020. They can use GrabExpress to deliver the items and it will begin on the same said date from 8AM to 8PM. Grab will also reward their customers with a free RM5 OFF GrabExpress promo code after a successful GrabExpress delivery.

These are the plans so far announced by Grab Malaysia, we expect more details to be unfolded in the coming days. If you're a merchant or council, you can read the full FAQ right here. Until then, stay tuned for more local tech news at TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia launches Pasar on GrabMart and Self-Pickup option across the nation

New update - Respecting the latest update from our Prime Minister announced this afternoon, Grab will be suspending the “self pick-up” option which was launched today. Grab is supportive of the government’s initiatives in flattening the curve of Covid-19 and will continue to work closely with relevant authorities during these trying times.

It's now Day 6 and Grab Malaysia have announced more updates on their services during this Movement Restriction Order period. While we are still able to go out to grocery stores and hypermarkets to resupply our food stock, we can now do our own "Self-Pickup" on GrabFood as well as Pasar on GrabMart. Here's how it works.

Let's start with Pasar on GrabMart first, this is a new extension from their service where the company is assisting the rakyat's needs for fresh food, poultry, meat and seafood. At this moment, they are starting with TTDI Market and hopes to expand it further to more markets. Aiming by 25 March, GrabMart will be available in Penang, Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Ipoh. Besides food, Grab hopes to include more daily essentials, health products and immunity-boosters, sanitisers and even snacks and beverages.

The Self-Pickup GrabFood is quite similar to Contactless Delivery except that the customer can now just collect their food on the spot from the restaurant or cafe they ordered from. Finally, in addition to both GrabMart and GrabFood, Grab Malaysia is offering Free Delivery, 30% off GrabFood Signatures, and 50% off GrabMart’s health essentials. Not to forget since there is an increased demand for the extended services, that means more Grab drivers are needed to deliver the goods.

To read the full Grab Services update, you can visit their press centre over here. Continue to keep your hygiene clean and stay at home! Stay tuned for more Grab news at TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia launches new lower delivery fees and Premium Delivery services

Recently, Grab Malaysia just introduced two new features called Near Me and Premium Delivery. The update is rolling out as we speak, with 'Near Me' available with lower delivery fees across the nation while the latter option allows customers to get their food at a faster rate.

Starting with Near Me, Grab is making it easier for consumers to discover restaurants within a three-kilometre radius by grouping them under the ‘Near Me’ tile and lowering the delivery fees for these restaurants to as low as RM1. To compensate for the low delivery fees, Grab will be subsidising the delivery fees, ensuring that delivery partners’ incomes are not affected.

As for Premium Delivery, Grab customers can opt to choose this option to cater to a faster delivery rate. This feature was first piloted in August, where one in three consumers opted for ‘Premium Delivery’ during peak hours. Consumers who opted for ‘Premium Delivery’ will be compensated with GrabFood vouchers accordingly if their orders* do not arrive by the stipulated time range as indicated on the Grab app.

So what do you think about these two new features? Yay or nay? Let us know in the comments below and do stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Grab Malaysia offers special GRABPOKEMON promotion starting tomorrow

Now that the Pokémon Go fever has been spread throughout Malaysia, Grab Malaysia is now offering a special promotion of RM5 off for two rides TO or FROM any "PokéArea" via cash or debit/credit card for their economy GrabCar ride. Starting tomorrow on 9 until the 15 August 2016, this promotion is exclusively for Pokémon Go Trainers in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

To book a ride, passengers only need to:

The GRABPOKEMON promotion is a joint partnership between Grab Malaysia and Hotlink which offers free rides to Pokémon Go Trainers for two days (Aug 7-8, 2016) in Klang Valley.

“Our cars have been on the road for two days and our drivers had so much fun transporting many excited passengers and also attracted members of the public who just wanted a photo of the car. Hence, we wanted to offer something extra to Pokémon fans outside Klang Valley as well!” said Jaygan Fu, Country Head of Grab Malaysia.

“We realise there are many Pokémon fans out there and we wanted to join in the fun and offer safe, comfortable, convenient and affordable rides to Pokémon Go Trainers to catch and train their Pokémons,” said Fu.

(left - right) Pokémon Go Trainers - Casey Liew, Nicole Tan, and Renyi (Co-founder of myBurgerLab) with PokeMobile driver

Lastly, he added that the four limited edition PokéMobiles has certainly made hunting Pokémons these last two days so much safer and faster.

“We wanted to help Pokémon Trainers who were hunting for Pokémons travel safely from one PokéStop to another. Lucky players who booked the car, also upped their ante as each car was equipped with a special Grab goodie bag, water and a car handphone charger for uninterrupted gaming pleasure,” added Fu.

For more information about PokéMobile, please visit grb.to/pokemobile.


Grab Malaysia reinstated the rider's account after investigating the incident with the 2 Singaporean men

There have been quite a few friendly tensions between Malaysia and Singapore lately. As most of you know, Singapore has added six dates of concerts for Coldplay while Malaysia only has one. Then there's also Jocelyn Chia who crossed the line about MH370. And now, there's a drama going on between a Grab delivery partner and two Singaporean men.

For context, there was a viral video taken by the Grab delivery partner about two Singaporean men pumping petrol into a container at a Caltex petrol station. This almost led to a fight but was stopped by police officers nearby. We also later learned that Grab Malaysia suspended the Grab delivery partner's app.

Grab Official StatementFollowing a viral incident of a Grab delivery-partner who was suspended after an altercation at a petrol station in Johor, we would like to clarify this matter. For more details, please read our full statement attached pic.twitter.com/yo8Q644uWx

However, many Malaysians were upset with Grab's decision to suspend the rider's account but didn't know it was temporary. Grab released an official statement about it, clarifying that the rider's account was suspended because there was an investigation regarding the matter. The company has already lifted the suspension after completing the investigation.

According to sources, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs proposed an initiative to stop selling subsidised petrol to foreign-registered vehicles. An order was made that "all state ministry offices bordering Singapore and Thailand to intensify monitoring and inspections as well as to take stern action against any party".


Grab Malaysia's Ride Cover Is now live and comes with a free COVID-19 coverage

In this short news, Grab Malaysia announced that their Ride Cover insurance package will be coming to the Grab app soon and it's now live. As we reported before, each passenger can opt-in for the package and pay RM0.35/ride only but it gets better - it now comes with a Free COVID-19 coverage as well.

So how does one qualify for the Free COVID-19 coverage? Simple (and risky), if you are tested positive, you will be able to claim a one-time RM500 from Ride Cover. Do note that the Free COVID-19 coverage is valid from the 23 March until 30 April 2020, while the opt-in period starts now until 1 April 2020.

To learn how to opt-in for the new and improved Ride Cover insurance package, you can check out our previous news right here. It's super easy, barely an inconvenience. Stay tuned for more Grab news at TechNave.com!


Grab Malaysia services such as GrabFood and GrabCar will still continue

While this may look surreal, the Movement Restriction will begin from 18 March until 31 March 2020 as an initiative to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The government has ordered all private businesses to be closed down until further notice and many were wondering if Grab will cease operation. Thankfully, they are not.

Grab Malaysia have posted an official announcement on their Facebook and Twitter that all their services will still go on. This includes GrabCar, GrabFood, Grabmart and GrabExpress, which is really great particularly GrabFood, as most of the food stocks in the supermarket have finished and not everyone can cook. This also means that all the drivers, delivery partners, merchant partners and staff won't be sent home, although finding passengers will be more difficult now with the recent Movement Restriction announcement made.

[Attention] With regards to the recent announcement by our Prime Minister's message on COVID-19, we would like to...

To add on, Grab Malaysia will continue to keep us updated with any further developments in this time of uncertainty. In the meantime, do keep your hygiene clean and if you don't feel so good, please visit the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more local tech news at TechNave.com.


AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT release: 12GB VRAM, DirectX Raytracing, and Radeon Boost for ~RM1942

If you're looking to upgrade to a new PC, chances are you might not be able to get any of the new high-end GPUs. However, AMD proved that supply shortages won't change their release plans. In fact, the company unveiled its new Radeon RX 6700 XT yesterday.

Like the other GPUs in the Radeon RX 6000 series, the Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU uses AMD's new RDNA 2 architecture and comes with a host of specs features. This includes 96MB of high-performance Infinity Cache, 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a maximum boost clock of 2581 MHz. A gaming rig with this GPU is expected to comfortably play all games in 1440p at max settings.

Besides the above, the Radeon RX 6700 XT also comes with some high-end features. It has DirectX Raytracing, as well as AMD's Smart Access Memory, Anti-Lag, and Radeon Boost technologies. In terms of I/O ports, there are three DisplayPorts (1.4 with SDC) and one HDMI 2.1 port. The estimated price for AMD's latest GPU is USD 479 (~RM1942), which makes it a more affordable option.

Of course, there may be a supply shortage for this GPU too. With that said, is this GPU enough for you or would you prefer a more powerful one? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Grab Passengers must now pay RM3 for late cancellation and passanger no-show

Starting 25 March 2019, Grab drivers will be eligible to collect a small fee of RM3 whenever a passenger cancels their booking after 5 minutes or does not show up at all. That’s not all, drivers who had their riders cancelled on them after the allocated time will not affect their Cancellation rate at all. However, it is best to take note that the drivers will not be compensated if they do not move towards the rider or took too long to reach their rider.

Some may worry that the collection of an additional RM3 from their rider could affect their Driver Rating, which is why Grab has also included that drivers who were allocated the job of collecting the Passenger Penalty Fee will not have their Driver Ratings affected.

Driver cancellation collection screen example


Grab Services to implement Contactless Delivery, GrabShare and GrabBike suspended temporarily and more

Just yesterday, Grab Malaysia announced that their services will go on as usual and same goes to foodpanda. However, foodpanda also announced that they have implemented a new contactless delivery method and it seems that Grab Malaysia will follow suit with a bunch of other new updates as well.

According to the latest news update on their website, the method is quite similar to foodpanda's. As long as customers and the rider can arrange a proper delivery with reasonable instructions, then that's it. The company is also encouraging customers to opt for cashless with GrabPay to minimize physical contact as much as possible in this Movement Restriction Order period, which we also think is a good idea because it's faster and convenient that way.

Besides that, the company also made a few more updates. They are also temporarily suspending GrabShare, GrabBike and Grab Driver Centres (the last one will reopen on 1 April until further developments) for now, as well as introducing Ride Cover as an insurance policy from 23 March until 1 April 2020. For deliveries, all health-related products from selected GrabMart partners will be 50% off.

You can read the full Grab Services announcement right over here. For more Grab and our current situation news, look out for more at TechNave.com.


Grab a free cash voucher of up to RM500 to purchase a Huawei Nova 3 Red or Primrose Gold

With a fresh start of October, Huawei Malaysia is bringing you some amazing discounts which involve the Huawei Nova 3 Red and Primrose Gold edition! Starting on 10 October 2018 only, those who purchase either one of the devices will receive a cash rebate of up to RM500!

Is there a catch to this? Yes, there is. For the Nova 3 Primrose Gold edition, this is for the Digi users and all they have to do is download the MyDigi App, go into MyDigi Rewards and search for the Nova 3 Primrose Gold cash rebate voucher. So as long as you have redeemed the code, you can use it on Huawei's official online store and get it for just RM1419 only (RRP is RM1919). In case if you have any friends or family who doesn't need the voucher, they can pass it to you even if you're not a Digi user! But do note that you will have to be a Platinum user at MyDigi Rewards to receive this offer.

The MyDigi app tutorial to redeem the cash voucher

In addition to that, the Nova 3 Red edition will have a cash rebate of RM399 and this can be redeemed through Watson. As long as you're a Watson member, you have to spend a minimum cash of RM180 on its official online shopping platform or App to get the RM399 cash rebate. Once you've done so, you will also get a complimentary Huawei AM116 headset!

To recap the specs, the Nova 3 has a dual 24MP (f/1.8) + 16MP (f/1.8) rear camera with monochrome and RGB sensors respectively. The processor is a Kirin 970 unit that supports AI scene recognition (up to 22 categories) and HDR Pro which eliminate strong backlight during a photoshoot. Then for the front, it has a 24MP + 2MP dual front camera with AI Selfie and AR Sticker feature for the selfie lovers, as well as featuring a Face Unlock for tight security.

Stay tuned for more Huawei news at TechNave.com.


Grab adding language translations, currency converter & more for Southeast Asia travellers

For travellers back to travelling around the world, Grab just announced a few new in-app travel features. To help them travel with ease and peace of mind, here's what you can expect in the new Traveller Homepage and its functions in the Grab app.

On the Traveller Homepage, this page allows overseas travellers to explore a city within the Grab app as if they were at the destination. Available for 33 of the top cities tourists visit in Southeast Asia, you can check out the Grab services present in the city, search and save places of interest. This includes accommodation addresses, landmarks, and even exploring the food options nearby.

Moreover, the Grab app is now available in Mandarin, Korean and Japanese languages. This should deliver a more intuitive experience for travellers from China, Korea and Japan, which are key markets for international tourists visiting Southeast Asia. Grab is also working on translating merchant menus in key cities across Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand into English, which should be ready by the second half of 2023.

Venues will also get revamped so that travellers can look at images of each pick-up point before selecting the one they want, and get image-based turn-by-turn walking directions to guide them, even before they book their ride. It can be used at over 4,000 locations such as malls, hotels, office buildings, parks and more across the region, including popular tourist attractions.

Perhaps the more important feature is the currency converter which will be ready after the second half of this year. Grab said it would automatically display fares in travellers’ preferred local currency so they don’t have to do manual conversions. And if you want to use another app instead, you can access Grab Ride through WeChat, AliPay, Ctrip, Kakao T and Booking.com, and pay there.

Lastly, Grab also announced new upgrades to its GrabUnlimited subscription package, giving members access to discounted airport rides at 89 airports across Southeast Asia. It's worth noting from Q2 2023, Uber users that open the app while in Southeast Asia, will also see a message directing them to Grab as Uber’s recommended way to travel in the region.

So what do you think of these new features? We should be seeing them soon, especially in the second half of 2023. Until then, travel safe and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Grab adds more priority to driver-partner safety with Passenger Verification feature with facial recognition technology

To ensure a better ride experience on its rideshare service, Grab is adding yet another security feature to the service called Passenger Verification. It requires new users to verify their identity via live selfie with the help of facial recognition technology.

Passenger Verification is able to detect a person's actual face and not an inanimate or fake face through facial recgnition technology. To take things a step further, the feature can also identify and reject fake and inappropriate photos as well. The selfie taken will only be used for one-time verification purposes and like all your data kept with Grab, the selfie is protected under Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). It will also not be used as a display photo on the app.

In addition, other features has been rolled out to further enhance a user's experience while using Grab. Among the features are the removal of driver-partner details 72 hours after the ride to protect the user's privacy; a Driver Safety Toolkit to ensure the safety and wellbeing of drivers by allowing them to share their location via GPS with their family and friends as well as an Emergency SOS button for times of danger (similar to riders' safety features); a driver fatigue monitor which reminds drivers to rest when they have been working too long; and soon, an in-app data privacy center which allows the user to have more control over their personal info on the Grab app.

These implementations and features were done in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport Malaysia in hopes of using technology for social good and prevent crimes and bad incidents on their platform. In addition to these initiatives, Anthony Loke, Minister of Transport Malaysia, has also said that they will be allowing disabled drivers to apply for the PSV license in the near future, ensuring that everyone's livelihoods would be maintained.

Since the first implementation of safety and driver wellbeing features on the app via a beta testing of the passenger selfie verification that started in January, Grab has noticed a 30% decline in passenger related incidents on the platform. Would this encourage you to use Grab more? For the latest updates on the hottest apps in Malaysia, stay tuned to TechNave.com!


Grab and Hotlink team-up to deliver a PokeMobile ahead of any Pokemon Go launch

Want to catch them all without having to drive unsafely at the same time? Grab and Hotlink are teaming up to provide a FREE Grab-powered PokeMobile ride for the first 2 days following the official launch of Pokemon Go in Malaysia. While there is no actual mention of a Pokemon Go launch yet, Hotlink will be providing 100 USD worth of PokeCoins (which is about 14500) via HotLink Cash Online and a 10% discount of PokeCoins purchases for Hotlink users who get a ride on the 4 PokeMobiles which will be available during the promotional period.

All of the PokeMobiles will be stocked out with refreshments, Grab Goodie Bags, Hotlink PokeChargers and a Hotlink 4G powered Apple iPad. In addition to PokeCoins, Hotlink users will also get 10% off in-app purchases for favourite games and apps like:


Grab and other e-hailing services may go up in price soon

Drivers for e-hailing services such as the ever popular Grab has been instructed to register for their Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license starting last April. As the deadline of July 12 looms ahead, we riders may be seeing a jump in price and waiting time for the popular service as the fee for the PSV license is steep.

Malaysia E-hailing Drivers Association (MeHDA) predicted a 50% increase in fares. We will be seeing a lot less e-hailing service drivers on the road as many part-timers are quitting entirely and many other vehicles are not PSV read as the deadline kicks in. The lower number of drivers on the road will result in an added surcharge to meet the supply and demand. Not only that, we may also be seeing a longer waiting time than before.

If you’re a regular e-hailing service user, you may have seen times where prices surge up in peak hours due to not enough drivers being around to pick up passengers. The surcharge can go up by 100% maximum depending on the time of day. Soon, we may be seeing this surcharge almost always on. The highers fares may result in less passengers but it is still worth hoping that companies keep the increment low as to not deter passengers from using the service.

As of right now, Land and Public Transport Agency (APAD) has mentioned that there are about 167000 e-hailing drivers in Malaysia. However, only 16338 drivers had signed up for the PSV test. 62% (10151) drivers had qualified for the license before the deadline. While things look pretty bad for both passengers and drivers right now, the situation is expected to look up by the end of the year as more drivers qualify for their PSV licenses after the deadline. It is expected that 70% of the total drivers in Malaysia should be PSV ready by then.

For now, e-hailing service companies may just absorb the price difference till the situation betters if they want to keep their customers. Honestly, the situation looks like a lose-lose for both riders and passengers. Unless new policies are implemented as well as incentives to keep the drivers on board, the situation may likely not improve. What do you think? Keep up with the latest tech news and beyond on TechNave.com!


Grab announced the Support Local Heroes initiative along with rebates and financial relief

Starting from 1 April until 14 April 2020, Grab has announced that all small restaurants and hawker stalls are to receive rebates for every GrabFood offer. Not only that, but Grab also aims to generate more visibility towards the restaurants mentioned via the ‘Local Heroes’ Campaign as well.

Furthermore, in order to aid our local heroes, Grab will send all eligible merchants a custom link with 0% commission which can be sent via WhatsApp, Facebook or mobile phone. Customers who utilize these custom links will still be eligible to earn GrabReward points as per usual.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on Grab’s ‘Local Heroes’ campaign as well as the rebates they are giving out? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Grab announced the pilot test for its first indoor robot runner service

Food delivery is probably one of the services that people can't go without during the pandemic. To up the game, Grab has announced that it will start its pilot robot runner service at Paya Lebar Quarter Mall (a mall located in Singapore) to help in handling orders across several restaurants within the mall.

To know more about how it works, the robot is said to bring the orders from the restaurants in the mall to delivery partners that wait at a central collection point. With the robot, it is claimed that Grab delivery partners may save between five to fifteen minutes of the usual time taken to pick up orders by themselves in the mall. Not only it helps to save time for delivery partners, but it seems like Grab's delivery services could also be more efficient with the help of this new technology.

Grab has partnered with Techmetics Robotics in developing the Grab robot runner, which has the ability to learn about its surroundings through artificial intelligence (AI) and built-in Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors. Therefore, the robot is capable of monitoring its immediate proximity in real-time to avoid sudden obstacles, not to mention that it also has an automated voice message that alerts shoppers of its presence. Grab will start the pilot test in the second week of June and we hope that it becomes a successful one for the service to be launched in more regions.

Let us know what you think about the Grab robot on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more interesting tech news.


Grab announces peak hour fare structure change, to be more expensive when stuck in traffic

Starting today (16 January 2023), Grab is implementing a change to its fare structure during peak hours in Klang Valley that would provide fairer compensation for Grab drivers. As for consumers, the change would mean higher fares when the ride is stuck in traffic.

According to Grab’s official website, the company introduced this change to ensure that Grab drivers are better compensated for their time on the road. The change includes higher per-minute fares, far pickup bonus and hourly cash back.

For JustGrab in Klang Valley, the new fare structure reduces the fare per km from RM0.70 per km to RM0.25 while increasing the fare per minute from RM0.20 per minute to RM0.43 per minute. With the change, Grab said that the overall fare levels remain roughly unchanged.

Besides that, Grab also clarified that the fare structure tweak means higher fares during peak hours in busy areas such as KL city centre at 6pm where traffic is heavy. The company gave this example of a trip with a slow average speed of 20km/h:

Conversely, it also means lower fares for trips that take faster to complete, such as trips on clear highways. Here’s an example provided by Grab with the same 10km distance as above but at a faster average speed of 40km/h:

Do note that fares are calculated upfront based on system-estimated distance and system-estimated trip time. Moreover, the fare structure change doesn’t affect trips to and from KLIA.

So, what do you guys think of this change by Grab? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news from Malaysia and beyond!


AMD Radeon RX 6700M benchmarked on 3DMark, new MSI gaming laptops could launch soon

At Computex 2021, AMD unveiled some new interesting hardware. We've already heard quite a bit about the AMD-powered Exynos 2200 chipset, but AMD also announced new mobile GPUs like the Radeon RX 6800M in the Strix G15 and G17. Now, there is some news on the RX 6700M too.

Yesterday, @_rogame leaked some benchmark scores for a device that has the AMD Radeon RX 6700M GPU. It showed 3DMark benchmarks of the GPU and comparison with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, as well as the mobile variants of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and 3060. As you can see, the RX 6700M performs closer to the RTX 3060.

Besides that, we got some details on the device being benchmarked. Specifically, it's an MSI laptop with 10GB of RAM, an average clock speed of 1945MHz, and a max clock speed of 2497MHz. It was also had an average running temperature of 77-degree Celsius, which is not too bad. That's probably the highest clock speed it can get though, so don't expect it to have much room for overclocking.

Since benchmarks have appeared, we can expect MSI to launch new gaming laptops soon. With how well AMD is doing these days, would you consider buying a laptop powered by an AMD GPU? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Grab begins piloting new GrabSupermarket service with no delivery fees in Petaling Jaya, KL

To adapt to the current pandemic, Grab Malaysia just launched a new GrabSupermarket service for Malaysians to shop online at the comfort on their couch. It's a new online grocery delivery service and it seems to have a wide variety of household needs from food to household products, and of course health supplements.

According to the company, GrabSupermarket aims to deliver your purchased goods to your doorstep without any delivery fees. To start using this service, just simply open your Grab app and go to the "Mart" tab and start shopping for your groceries. Keep in mind that your goods won't be delivered on the same day, as they will be delivered on the next day.

At the moment, Grab Malaysia has already begun this service but only in Section 12 and 13, Petaling Jaya. So if you're staying within the area, why not give it a try? Participating shoppers can also give their feedback on the app on how to improve the service better. There's also a list of FAQs here which you can read, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Grab drivers & delivery partners now supported by COVID-19 Protection Fund & Grab Partner Relief Package

In line with the Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi Prihatin Rakyat that was announced earlier today by our Prime Minister Muhyiddin today, Grab Malaysia have released an official response and decided to give us a better picture of the allowance allocation. Called as the Partner Protection Fund and Partner Relief Fund, here's a brief summary.

As mentioned from the live telecast today, the RM500 will be allocated to each e-hailing driver during the extended Movement Control Order. But in addition to that, under the Partner Protection Fund, this plan provides financial assistance up to RM1000 per driver or delivery partner who self-quarantine or are seeking medical treatment for COVID-19. On the other hand, the Partner Relief Fund is for the drivers and delivery partners to save up to 50% vouchers from GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabPay on their daily household expenses.

So that's pretty much it. If you would like to read more about Grab Malaysia's initiative on their role in this MCO period, you can head over their news blog over here. Stay tuned for more Grab news at TechNave.com.


Grab expands to four more major cities in Malaysia

Grab announced that they are expanding to four more major cities, bringing the total of cities they service in Malaysia to nine. Effective March 15, Grab will be available as an alternative mode of transportation in Ipoh, Kuantan, Kuching and Seremban (which includes the districts of Nilai and Port Dickson too!).

With the recent additions, it adds on to Grab’s existing network of Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru, Malacca and Kota Kinabalu. In Kuantan, Grab was also appointed by the Pahang state government as one of its official partners for Visit Pahang 2017. As a gesture of good faith in marking its expansion, Grab will have an exclusive promotion from 15th to 31st of March, 2017. Passengers booking a GrabCar ride in the new cities using the promo code HIGRAB5 gets to enjoy RM5 off for up to 10 rides.


Grab has announced the launch GrabPay Credits

Today Grab Malaysia has announced the launch of GrabPay Credits which acts like an E-Wallet for Grab services such as their ride-hailing and food delivery app. Not only that, the E-Wallet is now usable with more than 500 famous food and beverage merchants across major cities in the nation such as Tealive, TeoChew Chendul, Devi’s Corner, KGB Burgers, TedBoy Bakery in Klang Valley, China House Penang, Burps & Giggles in Ipoh, Kopi Ping in Kota Kinabalu, Big Bowl Ice in Melaka, and lastly, Coffee Gallery in Kuantan.

To go into further detail in regards of features, the E-Wallet allows the user utilise the credit in their E-Wallet to pay selected merchants for their services. Furthermore, the E-Wallet also allows users to transfer credits among their friends and family within the app itself. You can check out more info on Grab’s Official Website and as always for more updates like these, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Grab impersonator almost rapes woman in KL

While many think it is safer to travel by ridesharing services like Grab, it is quite the contrary nowadays. A woman was almost raped by a person impersonating a Grab driver when she failed to check the licence plate of the car before getting into the vehicle in KL.

Not only did she fail to check on the licence plate, she even got the car’s model wrong and simply got on the vehicle when she got a notification that her driver has arrived. This clearly isn’t the first time this incident has happened in our country and definitely won’t be the last. So what can we do to prevent this from happening in the future?

So far, Grab has taken some precautions on the app itself. While traveling with the rideshare service, you’ll be able to see where you are at that particular moment as the car moves. Make sure to always be vigilant and check if the driver has gotten off route. Since the app does have times where it tends to bug out in terms of location, it is always safer to have a GPS app such as Google Maps or Waze on to make sure you’re on the right track.

In addition, if something were to happen during the ride itself, Grab has an emergency button at the top of the screen that appears during the ride. There, you’ll be able to choose between 2 options, call the police, where the app will notify the police where you are at that moment as well as the driver’s identity and vehicle or you can notify your emergency contacts. You’re able to add 3 contacts to your emergency list on Grab which will notify them whenever you use the rideshare app as well if you enable it on your app.

While it is good that Grab has implemented some measures for its riders’ safety, it is always good to take precautionary steps before getting on the vehicle. Most importantly would be the lesson we learnt from what happened to the woman earlier: Always check the driver’s car model and licence plate before getting in. Also good to note is the number of stars the driver has which indicates whether you’ll be dealing with a problematic driver or a good one.

Besides that, it is always good to let someone know where you are and how you are getting there. To be safe, you can always screenshot your driver’s Grab profile and send it to them just in case something happens so that they can contact the authorities if you go missing or injured. Make sure you be aware of your surroundings during transit and never, ever sleep in a Grab car in case the driver tries to take advantage of you.

You can always bring some items for self defence such as pepper spray, a mace and etc. Grab does have some guidelines when it comes to harrassment and safety for both their drivers and riders on their website but personally, I feel like it is a lot lackluster and leaves a lot to be desired so it is better to take caution. Remember, it is always better to be safe and sorry. What other precautions do you take when using a ridesharing app? Let us know! For more life hacks, tips and tricks, make sure you check out TechNave.com!


Grab is offering new drivers up to RM1000 bonus as Gojek was spotted testing its services in KL

Previously, we reported on the reasons as to why e-hailing fares saw a sudden surge in Malaysia, with one of the reasons being an imbalanced supply-and-demand. Well, it looks like there would be a silver lining as two new developments may rectify the matter in the near future.

One of which is the potential entry of another player in the Malaysian e-hailing space, Indonesian tech giant Gojek. Earlier this week, The Vocket reported how a Honda City with a Gojek branding on its sides were spotted in Kuala Lumpur, which may have been the ‘Unicorn’ company testing out its services in our country.

Previously in 2019, Gojek and other motorcycle e-hailing services underwent a 6-month testing period in Malaysia but was ultimately turned down. However, Gojek itself offers similar services to Grab in Southeast Asia, including a car e-hailing service called GoCar.

Hence, Gojek may potentially still enter Malaysia as a competitor to Grab, similar to how both companies are going head-to-head in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, the Honda City Gojek was also seen with a police escort, which would suggest that the whole thing was a video or photo shoot for the company’s marketing in Malaysia.

However, these are all mere speculations as nothing is confirmed just yet. Though, it would make sense that Gojek would be shooting a video its service around Kuala Lumpur to announce its arrival into Malaysia.

The introduction of Gojek into our country would also create more serious competition for Grab, which many within the country see as having a monopoly in the local e-hailing industry. While there are some 33 other e-hailing companies in Malaysia, no company has the same resources as Grab to significantly challenge the company’s dominance.

Speaking of which, Grab is also not resting on its laurels, especially in relation to the controversy behind the recent hike of fares. In fact, the company is currently holding a campaign to attract more people to join the platform so as to have more drivers on the road to meet the demand for passengers.

Ongoing since 1 June 2022 and ending on 31 July 2022, new drivers that sign up with Grab will be entitled to up RM1000 sign-up bonus if they achieved certain KPIs. Here are the details:

Besides the sign-up bonus above, Grab is also offering up to 100 percent subsidies for all PSV needs. You can find out more regarding this campaign via Grab’s official website here.

So, what do you guys think of the potential arrival of Gojek in Malaysia and Grab’s campaign to attract more drivers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for the latest trending tech news in Malaysia and beyond.


Grab is offering up to RM8 discounts to citizens aged 60 and above for Grab rides

After getting the precious AstraZeneca vaccine appointment slot, it's now your responsibility (or maybe your phone's) to make sure that you remember to attend it. By making it easier, Grab is offering discounts to the citizens who are aged 60 and above on Grab rides to the vaccination centres.

Starting from 12 June, citizens who are aged 60 and above and are Grab users will receive Grab rides promos of up to RM8 off four rides. To claim it, you will have to register for a Grab account and verify your age on GrabPay by 7 June 2021. On the appointment day, book a Grab ride (open to all ride types) by entering the vaccination centres location and also the promo code from your inbox into the “offer” tab.

Grab's initiative is to support the vaccination program in Malaysia by helping senior citizens travel to and from authorised vaccination centres nationwide. It is said that lack of transportation was quoted as one of the top reasons why senior citizens are missing their vaccination appointments.

Let us know what you think about this news on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more local promotions.


Grab just updated a new 'Chat' feature that allows you to send messages and money to your friends!

Grab has been widely used by Malaysians not just for transportation services but also for food delivery and e-wallet transactions as well. Today, we noticed Grab has updated a new feature in the app which is the “Chat” tab. This is where you can now chat with your friends and send money to your friends via GrabPay in this feature.

Previously, Grab already has messaging features but only between customers and drivers when they call for a ride. With this feature, users can now conveniently chat and send money to their friends while waiting for the Grab Car to arrive. The feature is still on beta testing, so it may have some bugs to be fixed as it shows that it cannot send out messages to other friends.

For now, you can check this feature out by going to the notifications tab page and click on “Chat” to try it out with your friends. But will you be using it with your friends? Let us know at our Facebook page and stay tuned for more news updates on TechNave.com!


Grab launches new carpooling service, JustSave for 20% lower fares

Grab recently announced the launch of JustSave, which is a carpooling service that allows passengers to save money by sharing rides with other passengers who are headed in the same direction. For now, there’s only a maximum of 2 bookings per ride. Currently available in selected areas in Klang Valley, Malaysia, JustSave will be rolled out to more areas in the coming months.

To use JustSave, passengers simply need to open the Grab app and select the "JustSave" option. The app will then match them with other passengers who are headed in the same direction. If one passenger cancels while the driver-partner is on the way, the passenger who canceled the ride will have to pay a cancellation fee which will go to the driver. The remaining passenger’s booking will not be affected by this and will proceed as booked with the discount still in place. Fares for JustSave rides are typically 20% lower than regular Grab rides.

Would you mind traveling with other people you don’t know to save money? It’d be great if everyone could get along for the ride but we do know that that’s not always the case. Share your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com


Grab now requires selfie verification for riders starting from 12 July 2019 onwards

Starting from 12 July 2019, it will necessary for riders to send a selfie to Grab via the app to be used as a form of verification. Without the said verification, Grab app usage is presumably limited and they will not be able to book rides via the application.

Grab reassured everyone that the selfies will not be disclosed to their partnering drivers, and it will be used solely for verification as well as to help assist authorities whenever necessary. Simply follow the necessary steps laid out by the application itself, grant permission to the smartphone’s camera, and snap a selfie of yourself in order to be verified by Grab. For more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


16 ASUS laptop models now on discount of up to RM500

Ah yes, it's the annual Raya festive season sales and ASUS Malaysia is having a Ramadan Bonanza Deal. From gaming to premium laptops, a wide selection and variety of ASUS laptops are on sale with discounts of up to RM500.

The promotion has already begun on 14 April 2022 and it will last until 30 May 2022. There are a total of 16 models depending on your needs so there's something for everyone. Anyway, without beating around the bush too much, below is the full list of ASUS laptops' pricing and discounts, colours, specs and models.

All the ASUS laptop models above are on limited stocks, so it's on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you want to know more, you can visit the web portal here to check it out. Happy shopping and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


AMD Radeon RX 6800 series GPUs officially available from ~RM2372

Late last month, AMD unveiled its new Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs that are based on the RDNA 2 architecture. Many have been anticipating the new cards, so it's good that two of the models - the RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 - have become available in certain regions starting today.

The Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 are probably the cards that many will be interested in, as opposed to the RX 6900. They're both more affordable but are still capable of enabling 4K gaming for the latest PC games. While we're not sure when the new GPUs will be available in Malaysia, we do know that the RX 6800 XT is priced at USD 649 (~RM2659) and the RX 6800 at USD 549 (~RM2372). Some local retailers have claimed that the price could be higher, but we're taking that rumour with a grain of salt.

In terms of specs, the RX 6800 XT has a clock speed of up to 2250MHz, while the RX 6800's clock speed goes up to 2105MHz. Both cards have 16GB of VRAM and memory bandwidth of up to 512GB/s. But it's not just clock speed that sets the two cards apart. The RX 6800 XT also has more Compute Units, Ray Accelerators (handles ray-tracing), stream processors, and more. Of course, it also means that higher power consumption (300W vs 250W).

With how powerful the new AMD Ryzen CPUs and Radeon GPUs are, PC gaming is going to be exciting for an exciting time for AMD fans. Having said that, would you be getting one of these new GPUs? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to TechNave for more updates on this.


Grab one of TEN Vivo V15 Pro with Tune Talk Facebook Contest

In conjunction with Tune Talk’s 10th Anniversary, from now until 30 June 2019, stand a chance to win a Vivo V15 Pro. Simply follow Tune Talk’s Facebook account, share the pinned post and include the #TuneTalkTurns10 hashtag as well as tag 10 of your friends to participate in the contest.

At the end of the contest, 10 lucky contestants will be picked at random to receive the Vivo V15 Pro price. In terms of the tech specs, the phone comes equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 128GB of internal storage, 48MP + 8MP + 5MP rear image sensors, 32MP front-facing selfie camera, 6.39-inch display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2316 pixels and it is powered by a 3700mAh non-removable battery.

For more information regarding the contest, head over to Tune Talk’s Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Grab's new service GrabMart is here and let's find out what does it offer

Many of the Grab users are not only using the app for e-hailing service, other services like GrabFood has also been favoured among Malaysians as well. To bring more convenience to the users of their app, Grab Malaysia has now launched a new service which allows you to buy goods and services from their app. The service is called GrabMart and it has started as a beta version for the users to test out the feature.

GrabMart provides the users to buy goods like groceries, books, fruits, health and beauty products, stationeries and more right from the app. The stores which can be found participating in the service are Caring Pharmacy, MyNews, MPH Bookstores, and Guardian at the moment.

The locations covered are limited as well as they are still testing the service. Only users from Bandar Utama, Damansara Uptown, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kota Damansara, Mont Kiara, Hartamas and Mutiara Damansara are eligible to make purchases from the stores.

It is said that the delivery hours will be the same as the operating hours of the stores which are usually from 9am to 10pm. The delivery fees will be ranging from RM5 to RM9 depending on the traveling distance.  Also, deliveries will be carried out by both GrabExpress and GrabFood riders.

Let us know what you think about this new service offered by Grab on our Facebook page! Stay tuned for more news on TechNave.com.


Grab takes over Uber South East Asia, Uber app to shut down on 8 April 2018

The Grab and Uber merger has been made official as Grab takes over Uber's South East Asia operations while Uber gets a 27.5% stake in Grab. In short, this means that Uber users and drivers in Malaysia will be migrated over to Grab and GrabFood will take over from Uber Eats after the Uber app shuts down on 8 April 2018 while the Uber Eats app shuts down in May. Until then, you can still use Uber Eats or call a car or drive using the Uber app, but these are the grace periods for you to make the move to Grab.

The move will affect Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam while Taxi drivers and private hire car drivers can both use the Grab app with the option of GrabTaxi (Metered) for those who use metered fares. Grab is in the process of transferring or "onboarding" your data, so if you're feeling antsy you can still sign up as a Grab driver yourself. Completely new Grab driver are required to sign up. Only those who have been suspended or removed from Grab previously will not be allowed to re-register.

Grab have said that they will try to keep changes to a minimum so all Uber Eats restaurants will be listed in GrabFood and all app history and benefits will be retained along with payment structures. Check out the Grab site or the GrabFood site for more details.


Grab the Huawei nova 5T at RM1399 with the RM200 exclusive online voucher this 12.12

12.12 is coming real soon and you know what this means - more great tech gadgets discounts and Huawei certainly won't miss out on this one. Among the various phones, the Huawei Nova 5T is one of them and it can be yours for just RM1399 only!

Available exclusively at the Huawei Online Official Store with the RM200 online voucher from today (10 December) until 11 December 2019, you can grab the nova 5T as soon as you can! But if you've been thinking about what the phone has to offer, below is a quick recap of what the nova 5T features.

To refresh your memory, the nova 5T comes with a total of five AI cameras - a quad 48MP (main) + 16MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth) rear camera, and the 32MP front-facing camera. Equipped with AI technology, the AIS Super Night makes it possible for you to take photos in low-light conditions, whereas the front-facing camera cutout on the 6.26-inch All-View Display allows you to capture your best selfies with new angles.

Not only that, but you can also take ultra wide-angle shots on those beautiful sceneries if you go travelling, as well as looking at a whole new world with the 2MP macro and depth lens. No matter where you are, all the camera modes are available at the palm of your hands. It's super easy, barely an inconvenience. Check out the photo samples below!

As a mid-range smartphone, it features the world's first 7nm Kirin 980 chipset. Complemented by 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage (UFS 2.1), the dual-NPU chipset can automatically analyse through RAW videos and identify the best frame for its Spotlight Reel feature, generating a 10-15 seconds exclusive video clip.

In addition, it's powered by a 3750mAh battery with 22.5W SuperCharge technology, allowing you to charge it up to 50% in just 30 minutes. The nova 5T also comes with an enhanced version of EMUI 9.1, which greatly improves the quality of life of consumers via all-new user experience focusing on entertainment on-the-go.

The aforementioned 6.26-inch All-View Display with a screen-to-body ratio of 91.7%, the phone also complements the exquisitely 3D Holographic glass designed nova typography monogrammed on its exclusive Midsummer Purple variant. Besides that, there's also Crush Blue and Black which look great as well. And for convenience's sake, Huawei have integrated the fingerprint sensor at the side of the smartphone for easier one-hand operation with style.

So what are you waiting for? The RM200 online voucher is up for grabs by today (10 December) until 11 December 2019 and you enjoy the price discount of the nova 5T at RM1399! As part of the 12.12 sales, the phone will also come with gifts worth RM285. You can visit their official Huawei Online Official Store right here to check it out!

Stay tuned for more Huawei promotions at TechNave.com.


Grab the OPPO Reno7 Series 5G at Sunway Pyramid this weekend and get free gifts worth up to RM1267!

OPPO Malaysia has announced that the Reno7 Series 5G will officially start going on sale at the OPPO Reno7 First Sale Roadshow this weekend (5 & 6 March 2022) located at Sunway Pyramid’s Blue Atrium.

What’s more, exclusively during the roadshow, OPPO Malaysia will be giving out a complimentary new OPPO Watch Free worth RM449 on top of free gifts worth up to RM1267 to the first 100 customers who purchase the Reno7 Series 5G!

This awesome promotion is also applicable to customers who have already pre-ordered the Reno7 Series 5G and opted to collect their order at the roadshow. Meanwhile, customers purchasing the device from 5 to 13 March 2022 will receive free gifts worth up to RM1267, including the OPPO Enco Buds worth RM159 as well as a Reno bag.

Moreover, MY OPPO App members who purchase the Reno7 Series 5G will enjoy additional privileges worth RM999, including a free return ticket from Malaysia Airlines, Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park tickets, 1-month Celebrity Fitness membership and more!

OPPO also unveiled ReNew+, a convenient and hassle-free instalment plan for purchasing the Reno7 series 5G smartphone. The instalment plan has no late payment fees or hidden charges and all you need is your MyKad to sign up.

Those who purchase the Reno 7 5G or Reno 7 Pro 5G with ReNew+ will also be entitled to a RM200 instant cash rebate, capped at 300 units each for both models. You can also stand a chance to win TNG voucher worth RM10 when you visit the ReNew+ booth at the roadshow by just answering a simple survey.

Launched on 22 February in Malaysia, the Reno 7 5G is priced at RM1999 while the Reno 7 Pro 5G is priced at RM2999. If you're in the market for a new smartphone, then you definitely should check out the Reno7 Series 5G at OPPO's roadshow this weekend.

So, will you be purchasing the new OPPO phones? If you are, then do check out the OPPO Malaysia website and for more news like this, stay tuned to TechNave!