The UK has launched a new ‘Tech for Growth’ programme aimed at supporting the growth of trading relationships between the UK and emerging economies.

The programme is set to begin in Africa where technology will be used to improve access to financial services. It’s anticipated that the programme will also be implemented across South East Asia and Latin America in future years.

In its first year the programme will aim to expand the access of African communities to financial services, it will also look to deliver an expansion of the FinTech trade by identifying commercial opportunities and managing the barriers to the trade in Africa. Additionally the programme will seek to collaborate with governments and regulators in the region with the aim of improving trade partnerships between the UK and Africa.

The programme comes as the UK recognises the vital role that technology will play in the global post-pandemic recovery. The country is uniquely positioned to push tech innovation in emerging countries because it is home to the headquarters of some of the biggest tech companies in the world.

The ‘Tech For Growth’ programme will involve a research programme which will investigate the barriers to trade and will aim to find opportunities to improve technology to enhance trade relationships. Private and public partners to the programme will help to address the barriers and underlying issues that limit trade between the UK and Africa.

‘Tech For Growth’ recognises the important role that emerging markets will play in the growth of the UK’s economy in future decades – it’s expected that emerging markets will be the key source of growth for the UK imports and export markets in future decades. Removing the trade barriers in emerging nations will help the UK to remain as one of the top ten major global economies.

After the Indian government banned TikTok, a number of homegrown video apps have surfaced which include Mitron, Chingari, Roposo, and more. There is a sudden surge to fill the void caused by TikTok’s unexpected ban in the country. The latest alternative to TikTok is Instagram Reels which got recently launched in India. Reels has a similar short-video format and it’s integrated within the Instagram app. You just need to move to the search window and you will be presented with Reels content. So to check whether Reels has the promise to replace TikTok, we have come up with this in-depth analysis. In this comparison between Instagram Reels vs TikTok, we take a look at all the major features, privacy issues, content reachability, and more. So without further ado, let’s begin.

Instagram Reels vs TikTok: A Comprehensive Analysis

Unlike TikTok which is available across the globe, Instagram Reels is currently available only in four regions: Brazil, Germany, France, and India. Here, we have primarily discussed the topics in the context of India because of the recent TikTok ban in the country. With that out of the way, let’s go through the article.

1. Features
2. The Missing Pieces
3. Privacy
4. Democratization of Content

Features

Before anything, we need to discuss the features of Instagram Reels and see if it’s comparable to TikTok. First off, the UI on Instagram Reels is pretty similar to TikTok. You can swipe up and down to quickly move from one video to another. Further, you can create videos of up to 15 seconds on Reels in comparison to TikTok’s two options: 15 and 60 seconds. By the way, the majority of videos on TikTok have a length of 15 seconds so that is smart on Reels’ part to just keep the shorter video format.

There are also tons of AR effects on Reels which looks and behaves very similar to TikTok’s Effects. And if you want to create slow-motion videos or increase the motion then you can do so on Reels, just like TikTok. The best part about Reels is that it has managed to bring a huge library of in-app music to creators.

TikTok was wildly popular for its soundtracks and Instagram Reels also follows the same path. In fact, you can add a particular part of music using lyrics and it works pretty well. Basically, you will be able to create great lip-syncing videos on Reels. Not to mention, just like TikTok, you can also add a 3-sec timer before recording a clip on Instagram Reels.

These are pretty much the features that are common on both Instagram Reels and TikTok, but what about the missing features? Here we take a look.

The Missing Pieces

While Instagram Reels has done a good job of bringing the basic features, but there are some major omissions for which TikTok was quite popular. For instance, you don’t have the widely used Duet feature on Reels. Neither, do you have the React feature?

Both these features are collaborative in nature and help creators make new content with interactive sound and lip-syncing elements. So if you were regularly using these features on TikTok then Reels will disappoint you, at least for now.

Apart from that, there is no dedicated search or discover page on Reels. For many new creators on TikTok, the Discover page used to help them find new challenges and trending hashtags.

Currently, Reels does support hashtag but it’s integrated with Instagram and throws mixed results from both regular Instagram posts and Reels videos. It seems Facebook is trying to unify Instagram and Reels, but whether it will work or not, will be left to be seen.

Furthermore, there is no dedicated Following tab on Reels, unlike TikTok where you could watch all your favorite creators under one separate section. Moving ahead, the video editor on Reels is pretty barebones right now, in comparison to TikTok’s advanced editing tools.

You don’t have video stabilization or support for a wide-angle lens; there are no filters, beautify tools, or background Templates on Reels. Considering all the points, I would say, Instagram Reels gets the basics right, but it misses out on many social features that make TikTok what it’s.

Privacy

Since Reels is integrated with Instagram, there is a foundational difference in how the app works as compared to TikTok. If you create a new account on TikTok, your account is set to public, by default. However, on Instagram, all accounts are set to private by default which by extension applies to Reels too.

It essentially means that your Reels content will be private by default which is a good thing. Keep in mind, if you intend to make your Reels content public then you can’t do so. You will have to set your Instagram account to the public which is something I would not recommend.

Apart from that, similar to TikTok’s filter tool, you can filter out offensive comments on Reels. There is also an option to manually filter comments based on keywords and phrases. Talking about data security, well, Instagram Reels is owned by Facebook. It does not have a history of hobnobbing with government agencies– unlike TikTok, which has been alleged to have an illicit connection with the Chinese government.

However, you can’t overlook the many privacy scandals that have rocked Facebook in the past few years. I would recommend you to tighten your privacy settings on Instagram Reels to be on the safe side.

Democratization of Content

We all know that TikTok brought a cultural shift, at least in India, and spearheaded a content revolution that started from rural towns to urban cities. TikTok made its app available in more than 14 Indian languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and more.

Further, the company invested millions on content creators, storytellers, artists, educators, and performers in India itself. It essentially led to the democratization of the internet and bridged the gap between advertisers, brands, and creators.

Now that TikTok has been banned and Reels is trying to fill the shoe, we expect Facebook to show similar commitment towards content creators. According to this report, the company has signed some of the TikTok creators to create new and entertaining content on Reels which is a great start.

That said, Instagram Reels is currently available only in Hindi as far as Indian regional languages are concerned. We hope that Instagram improves Reels and makes it accessible to all kinds of users.

Instagram Reels vs TikTok: The Showdown

In this comparison between Instagram Reels vs TikTok, we went through some common features, privacy issues, the missing features and discussed the reach of content. It’s clear that Reels has got the basics right to begin the journey in India, but lacks some major features which were very popular on TikTok.

Other than that, I would have loved Reels if it was available as a standalone app and not integrated with Instagram. It would have been truly a social video app like TikTok. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see how Facebook projects Instagram to entice regional creators and audiences. To sum up, Instagram Reels is a promising alternative to TikTok and you can give it a try.

Realme is reportedly all set to announce its 100W+ fast-charging technology this month. To be called ‘Ultra Dart’, the technology could charge a 4000mAh battery up to 33% in just 3 mins. That’s according to tipster Ishan Agarwal, who claims that the charger might be rated at almost 120W. There’s no further information on the subject at this point. However, we hope to get more details soon.

Realme, of course, is not the only smartphone company working on super-fast battery charging technologies. Xiaomi last year showed-off its 100W “Super Charge Turbo” technology that can juice up a 4,000mAh battery in just 17 minutes. The technology, however, is yet to show up in any commercial device until now.

Meanwhile, recent developments suggest that the company might have tweaked the technology further to make it even faster. As per the latest reports, a 120W charger from the company was certified this month by China’s 3C certification agency.

It’s not immediately clear as to which phones will be the first ones to support the mind-boggling charging speeds. However, online rumors suggest that Mi MIX 4 might be the first Xiaomi device with 100W+ charging. However, if prior examples are anything to go by, we shouldn’t expect them to show up in a retail device any time soon.

One of the biggest impediments towards introducing such high-speed charging solutions in consumer devices is safety. With the Galaxy Note 7 debacle still fresh in everyone’s mind, it’s unlikely that companies come out with something that’s not 100% safe. Also, such high-speed charging degrades the battery fairly quickly. So the companies will also have to address that issue before introducing the technology in a consumer device.

After expanding to France and Germany last month, Instagram’s Reels is now available in India. With this expansion, Instagram Reels is live in Brazil, France, Germany, and India.

The expansion comes at a time when the Indian government has banned several Chinese apps including TikTok. The company was allegedly testing Reels in India last week.

As introduced alongside the previous expansion, Instagram Reels now has a dedicated section in the Profile and Explore page. The company will also let users share Reels as Instagram Stories.

The feature will go live at 7:30 PM IST today. We would recommend you keep your Instagram app updated to the latest version available on App Store and Google Play Store to be among the first users to get on board and try out Reels.

According to Vishal Shah, VP of Product at Facebook, about 45 percent of all videos posted on Instagram are 15 seconds or less, which is one of the reasons why the company is now focusing on Reels after shutting down Lasso earlier this month.

As reported by TechCrunch, the company has partnered with artists and influencers including Ammy Virk, Gippy Grewal, Komal Pandey, Jahnavi Dasetty aka Mahathalli, Indrani Biswas aka Wondermunna, Radhika Bangia, RJ Abhinav and Ankush Bhaguna.

Instagram is not the only company that is aiming to use the current opportunity to raise as a mainstream short-form video platform, now that TikTok is no longer accessible in the country. Other than homegrown apps like Mitron and Chingari, there are apps from established players like ShareChat’s Moj and Gaana HotShots trying to fill the void TikTok’s ban has created in India.

Intel first revealed Thunderbolt 4 during its CES 2020 presentation earlier this year. The company didn’t share any major details for Thunderbolt 4 at the event. But today, it has officially revealed everything there is to know about this next-gen port that will come baked into most laptops in the following years.

First, let’s answer the most important question of all – what’s new in Thunderbolt 4? How is it different from Thunderbolt 3? Are we going to see insane speed boosts?

As has been rumored for the past six months, Thunderbolt 4 is essentially the same as Thunderbolt 3 but with some minor improvements sprinkled on top. First up, there’s no speed boost. Intel already revealed this back at CES 2020, saying that Thunderbolt 4 is four times faster than the current USB standard, i.e USB 3.2 Gen 2.

The USB 3.2 Gen 2 port operates at a maximum speed of 10Gbps. This means the new Thunderbolt 4 ports will offer a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps, which is the same as the previous-gen thunderbolt 3. Intel states that Thunderbolt 4 is built upon the Thunderbolt 3 standard, thus, it’s not a major upgrade.

In addition, Intel has doubled the minimum video and data requirements with this new port. It now supports up to two 4K displays or a single 8K display. The port supports the same protocols, including USB 2.0, USB 3.2, USB 4, DisplayPort, and PCIe (PCI Express), like its predecessor. It also requires a minimum data transfer rate of 32Gbps via PCIe and 3,000Mbps for storage transfer speeds.

The chipmaker is now trying to boost the adoption of Thunderbolt 4 ports by laying down some certification requirements. This includes PC charging on at least one of these ports, wake up the computer simply by touching the mouse/ keyboard when you’re connected to a dock, and Intel VT-d (virtualization technology) based DMA protection is required.

Intel calls Thunderbolt 4 the most complete and future-proof version of USB-C port

As for the accessory side of things, “Thunderbolt 4 will offer docks with up to four Thunderbolt ports and universal cables up to 2 meters in length.” This will include one upstream and three downstream ports and the 40Gbps bandwidth will be split among connected accessories using the new Thunderbolt 4 controller 8000 series.

When will we see Thunderbolt 4 port baked into devices? The press release says that Thunderbolt 4 laptops and accessories will make their debut later this year. Intel will first introduce it with the upcoming 10nm ‘Tiger Lake’ mobile processors. The devkits and certification testing for Thunderbolt 4 are now available.