Samsung Galaxy A70 smartphone has gone on sale in India today. The smartphone was unveiled by the company last month and at the time of the launch, the company had said that Galaxy A70 will be going on sale in India on May 1. If you are interested in buying the Samsung Galaxy A70 smartphone, you can head to Flipkart, Samsung online shop, Samsung Opera House and retail stores.
The pre-orders of the handset started on April 20 and went on till April 30. The key highlights of the Samsung Galaxy A70 include a 20:9 display, a triple rear camera setup, a massive 4,500mAh battery and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Here’s everything that you need to know about the smartphone’s sale in India:
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Samsung Galaxy price and launch offers
Samsung Galaxy A70 is available only in 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant in India that costs Rs 28,990. The handset is available in Black, Blue and White colour options. The device is available for purchase via Flipkart. Later during the day, interested customers will also be able to pick it up from Samsung online shop, Samsung Opera House, and retail stores.
As a part of launch offers, customers will be able to get a cashback of Rs 2,000 on purchases made on Flipkart via ICICI Bank credit cards. As of now, no offers with the handset have been listed on Samsung’s online shop. The smartphone was launched globally in March and made its way to India in April.
Samsung Galaxy A70 specifications
Samsung Galaxy A70 runs Android Pie skinned with One UI and sports a 6.7-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U display that has an aspect ratio of 20:9. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor, the smartphone comes with 6GB of RAM and has 128GB of onboard storage. The device can also hold a microSD card of up to 512GB.
For imaging duties, Samsung Galaxy A70 has a triple rear camera setup that comprises of a 32MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 5MP depth sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. The new offering from Samsung comes with a 32MP front-facing camera that can be used to click selfies and video calls.
Samsung Galaxy A70 houses a 4,500mah battery that has support for 25W Super-Fast Charging technology. The handset comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner and has support for Widevine L1 certification that enables HD video streaming.
It’s that time of the year when Facebook tells the world what it has up its sleeve for the next year to come. The social media giant has shared an outline of what all it intends to do at this year’s F8 developer conference. Here, we have listed down all the new features and updates that are coming to Facebook and its products like Instagram, Messenger and Oculus. Take a look:
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Facebook Groups and Events are getting revamped
In a recent announcement, Facebook said that it will be downplaying News Feed and at its F8 developer conference, it gave us a better insight into its plans. As a part of FB5 update, the social media giant will highlight groups and events. The platform will now have a prominent groups tab and will offer you a personalised feed from the groups that you are part of instead of the regular updates from friends. Even when you will be on other parts of Facebook, updates from Groups will show up. A new feature called ‘Meet New Friends’, which will connect strangers who have something in common.
Instagram will start hiding public likes
Instagram is getting a new ‘Create Mode’ on its platform which will make it easier for people to share content other than just photos and videos. The app will also be getting a feature that will let users shop on the platform itself. In addition to this, Instagram will also be testing a feature in Canada which will completely hide the public likes from users’ posts.
Messenger will start focussing on ‘Close Friends’
Facebook Messenger is also set to change. You will now be able to set status messages or share photos with your trusted friends. Facebook is beginning in these changes in order to make it easier for people to arrange an offline meeting session. On iOS, Messenger app will now be taking less space on your device as the new version will only be 30MB in size. Facebook will soon also be launching desktop apps for Mac and PC.
Facebook will help you meet new people for dating
Facebook first spoke about its dating service last year. At this year’s F8, the social media platform said that it will be rolling out its service to 14 more countries. The company has introduced a feature called ‘Secret Crush’ which enables the user to create a list of friends on Facebook they like. If one of these friends also use the feature and add the user to their list, Facebook will notify both of them about the match.
New Oculus products will be out next month
Facebook has now opened pre-orders for its Quest and Oculus Rift S headsets. The new headsets are touted to replace the external tracking cameras with a more user-friendly system. Both the headsets are priced at $399 each and will begin shipping in 22 countries on May 21.
Samsung Galaxy A50 was launched as the top-end variant of the Galaxy A-series. But that, of course, changed after the launch of Samsung Galaxy A80. Nevetheless, the smartphones comes with some very impressive specifications like a big battery, a big Super AMOLED display, a top-end Exynos CPU and a rainbow-like back panel.
Two months after its launch, Samsung has released a major software update for its Galaxy A50 smartphone. The new update brings major changes over its past UI, as well as several bug fixes along with other major improvements over its older UI. The new update for the Galaxy A50 has added Live Focus effect along with Beauty Video Mode to enhance the imaging results of the smartphone. It also brings the April Android security patch.
It should be noted that the update also comes with Bixby Routines which was earlier introduced in the top-end Galaxy S10-series earlier this year. Samsung Galaxy A80 also comes with Bixby Routines. Much like Google Assistant, the feature helps the user of the smartphone to perform certain tasks with voice commands.
The new update also brings the April Android security patch for the Galaxy A50. Other than that, there is also improved in-display fingerprint scanner. The South Korean tech giant has also provided overall stability improvements on the Galaxy A50 with its newest major update. The new update also brings a 68-degree angle of view for the front camera along with enabled Live Focus effect and Beauty Video Mode which works both with the front as well as back cameras.
There is also Call and Messages Continuity feature in the new update and as mentioned above, improvements in the in-display fingerprint scanner and overall improvement of the Galaxy A50 have also been added.
To new update is in 666MB in size and to update their devices, the users of Samsung Galaxy A50 can head to Settings>Software Update>Download Updates Manually.
Also, earlier this month Samsung had already brought a new update which fixed the issue in Galaxy A50’s Smart View Connectivity feature. The company has also brought a new update earlier which fixed the new in-display fingerprint scanner.
A number of people are willing to go to great extents to get likes on social media. This holds particularly true for Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram. But now, it seems like the platform itself is going to change that. At the F8 developer conference, Instagram has announced that it will begin testing a new feature that will hide users’ public like counts from their posts.
The test will begin later this week, and initially, it will only be limited to Canada. Instagram has specified that likes will be hidden from the Feed, permalinked pages as well as on profiles. The photo-sharing app has said that it wants its followers to “focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”
With this change being tested, only the person who owns the account will be able to see how many likes a particular Instagram post has got.
While this is the first time that Instagram has openly acknowledged working on the feature, reports about it have surfaced online in the past too. Earlier this mode, code hunter Jane Wong had posted screenshots of the feature. Back then, the photo-sharing app had denied when asked if this feature was being tested.
A spokesperson from Instagram had cleared the air when the screenshots surfaced saying, “We’re not testing this at the moment, but exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we’re always thinking about.”
But now we know that the company wanted to make this announcement during the F8 developers’ conference.
As of now, it is not clear whether this feature will be rolled out to other regions globally. However, it is bound to completely change the way people use the app.
While likes can boost people’s mood and morale, they can also do the exact opposite if the content that has been posted doesn’t do well. And then, people do all sorts of things to get likes on the app.
This has particularly gone up with the increasing number of micro-influencers on Instagram. To get more number of likes, people have started posting photos that are doctored with or content with too much nudity.
These posts may manage to get ‘Likes’ on the photo-sharing platform, but that does not make them interesting. By removing the concept of ‘Likes’ publically from its platform, the company may be looking to put an end to content like this.
This step will also lead to people posting only the content that they actually want to share with their followers and not anything for the sake of more ‘Likes’.
Popular video-sharing app TikTok is now finally back on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in India. This step has been taken after the Madras High Court lifted ban on the Chinese video app last week. Prior to this, the TikTok app was delisted from both the app stores after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issued an order to the Centre to get it removed.
The ruling came after a PIL was filed against the social media app saying that TikTok escalated pornography and child abuse. However, later on, the ban was lifted when TikTok agreed that it will monitor content on its platform and ensure that pornographic videos are not uploaded on it.
Once the ban was imposed by Madras High Court, the TikTok app was unavailable on Google’s Play Store as well as Apple‘s App Store. It has been reported that the developer of the application – Beijing Bytedance Technology Co – had to bear a financial loss of up to $5,00,000 per day. The company also said that the ban put more than 250 jobs at risk.
We should mention that these financial losses include destruction in the value of its investments and loss of commercial revenue of the app. ByteDance had also said to the court that the ban would result in the reputation and goodwill taking a hit with advertisers as well as investors.
According to the company’s plea that it submitted to the court, “Banning has had adverse impact on the user base of this app, losing close to 1 million new users per day…It is estimated that approximately six million requests for downloads could not be effected since the ban came into effect.”
While the ban got lifted last week, the app was still unavailable to download from the App Store and Google Play Store until now. The Chinese app is now available to download from both the app stores. So, in case you haven’t downloaded it and wanted to try it out, you can now head to the app store to get the app.
According to Sensor Tower, TikTok had 88.6 million users in Q1 2019 in India. The ban on the Chinese social media and video sharing app has in general become a cause of concern for the social media industry in India as they may have the same fate if content on their respective platforms is not regulated.
Celebrating one-year of its foundation, Chinese smartphone brand Realme is celebrating its first anniversary with discounts on some of its best-selling handsets. The Realme 2 Pro and Realme U1 are going to receive a discount of Rs 1,000 during the company’s first anniversary sale. This sale will start from May 2 and will go on till May 4. Other than the older devices, the newly launched Realme 3 Pro with the 3GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant will also go on sale. The company has also announced a 15% discount customers pay for their purchase using MobiKwik, 10 free Realme 3 Pro along with Rs 1 Crore giveaway through a promotional game.
Other than the deals mentioned above, the company is also bringing a limited-period offer of Re 1 Super Deals which would be applicable on the Realme 2 Pro, Realme Buds, and the Realme Tech Backpack during the sale. The first-anniversary sale of Realme will go live on the Realme website, Amazon India, Flipkart and other offline stores across the country.
As mentioned above, the first anniversary sale of Realme will offer Rs 1,000 discount on the Realme 2 Pro and Realme U1. So, the Realme 2 Pro will sell at a starting price of Rs 10,990 while the Realme U1’s base variant will bear a price tag of Rs 8,999. Other than the price cut, Realme will also be giving a 15% additional discount if the purchase is made using the MobiKwik app.
Other than that, Oppo’s former sub-brand will also be holding the Re 1 Super Deals Feast during the 3-days sale. The Super Deals Feast take place in four rounds and it will start at 12am (midnight) of May 2. As a part of the Super Deals Feast, the company will be bringing 10 units of the Realme 2 Pro at Re 1 while 100 units of the Realme Buds will also be available at Re 1 at 9am. The company will also bring 60 units of the Realme Tech Backpack at Re 1 at 8pm. And lastly, the Realme C1 will also be available with Complete Mobile Protection (CMP) at Rs 99, but this will only be limited to Flipkart. Moreover, the company has claimed that it will bring prizes worth Rs 1 Crore in the first anniversary of Realme sale.
Furthermore, the newly launched Realme 3 Pro, the latest offering from Realme will also be going on sale from 12pm (noon) on May 3. The newly launched device will also get an additional 15% discount if purchased using MobiKwik application.
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei recently launched its flagship P30 Pro smartphone in India. And now, in order to provide “most premium and exclusive service to customers” to the customers of Huawei P30 Pro smartphone in India, the company has announced its VIP services.
With VIP Services, in case an issue arises with a user’s Huawei P30 Pro, they will be able to avail free pick and drop service for their device across India. The company has also said that another major highlight of the services will be record speed turnaround time and “fast and best-in-class repair time.” In addition to this, the handsets will only be taken to Huawei’s VIP Customer Contact Centre for repair.
In order to avail the VIP service online, customers can access the dedicated IVR/ toll-free number or book an appointment via the Hi Care App or Huawei’s website.
Speaking on the VIP service feature, Tornado Pan, Country Manager (Huawei Brand), Consumer Business Group, Huawei India, commented, “Customer delight and satisfaction forms the core of our very DNA, be it in terms of product innovation or service delivery. The VIP service is yet another step on our part to provide the best-in-class service to our esteemed consumers across India. The offer is applicable for all variants of the Huawei P30 Pro devices, irrespective of the purchase method, online or retail. Also, as long as the customers have purchased the specific device model, they are eligible to avail the VIP services within the specified warranty period.”
“India is a very important market for Huawei and such services are the perfect embodiment of our commitment to providing only the very best experience to the Indian market. We would like to further enhance the overall experience of our premium products with exclusive offerings like this.” he added.
We should mention that currently, VIP services are only available for Huawei P30 Pro and Huawei Mate 20 Pro (review) smartphones. All of Huawei’s exclusive service centres offer the VIP service. The company has also deployed dedicated professional support agents for its Huawei’s contact center for the VIP services.
It is worth noticing that Huawei P30 Pro (review), the company’s camera-centric handset, has received a new update which has improved its cameras, in-display fingerprint scanner, audio-video synchronization and the display. The smartphone also has integrated the latest Google security patches to the security of the smartphone.
Huawei P30 Pro is the first ever smartphone to come with 50X zooming capabilities in its cameras.
Well-known American networking hardware maker Netgear has launched its Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router with the fastest Wi-Fi to Speed Home Networking in India.
The company claims that it delivers higher speed and greater bandwidth and offers a broad range of household networking and small business needs. The newly launched routers are named – Nighthawk AX4 and Nighthawk AX8. Here’s a look at the pricing details and specifications of the newly launched devices:
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Netgear Nighthawk AX4 and Nighthawk AX8 Price and availability
The Nighthawk AX4 4-stream AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 router from Netgear is priced at Rs 29,999 while the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 8-stream AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 Router comes with a price tag of Rs 39,999.
Both of these newly launched Tri-band Wi-Fi routers can be purchased from authorised Netgear partners along with other reseller channels and e-commerce portals.
Speaking at the launch, Marthesh Nagendra, Country Manager of India & SAARC, NETGEAR said, “With the increasing number of Wi-Fi devices in our home network, it is has become critical for NETGEAR to provide a solution where each device gets the Wi-Fi bandwidth it needs so that you can get the quality connected experience that you deserve. The NETGEAR AX Nighthawk delivers super-fast Wi-Fi with better coverage and, more importantly, has the power and capacity to handle the dozens of devices in the typical congested smart home.”
Netgear Nighthawk AX4 and Nighthawk AX8 specifications and features
The Nighthawk AX4 gives a Wi-Fi speed of up to 3Gbps and is powered by an AX optimized dual-core CPU which powers the smart home automation. Its network is powerful enough to support ultra-smooth 4K UHD streaming, online gaming and much more. The Nighthawk AX4 comes with a 4-stream Wi-Fi with up to 600Mbps + 2400Mbps for ultra-fast wireless speeds. Also, it has powerful amplifiers which covers the network throughout the medium sized homes.
On the other hand, the Nighthawk AX8 provides Wi-Fi speeds up to 6Gbps. It has 8 Wi-Fi spatial streams – four in the 2.4GHz band and the other four in the 5GHz band. The company has claimed that the newly launched Nighthawk AX8 is capable of offering up to four times the device capacity as compared to typical 2×2 AC Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi router also comes with Multi-Gig Internet which enables the customers to get more than 1 Gbps of the internet through aggregation.
NETGEAR Nighthawk AX4
Patrick Lo, Chairman and CEO of NETGEAR commented, “At NETGEAR we strive to push our boundaries with innovative technology and solutions. The previous Wi-Fi iterations have been largely about enhancements to speed, the AX Wi-Fi 6 router promises a number of other benefits such as lower battery consumption, ability to serve multiple users and devices at the same time and most notably increased capacity and reduced latency.”
According to the company, today’s houses are dealing with a number of connected devices all connected to the Internet – PC, laptops, smartphones, Home Speakers, cameras etc. And according to Netgear, its new Tri-band routers users ultra-fast Wi-Fi 6 is helpful in connecting all the household devices while providing them with proper network.
Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi’s recently launched smartphone Redmi Note 7 Pro has finally got support for Fortnite. Earlier this month, the company had announced that it was working with Epic Games and Qualcomm so that its smartphone started supporting popular battle royale game Fortnite.
And the company has kept its promise. Today, Xiaomi India’s MD, Manu Kumar Jain has announced that Redmi Note 7 Pro smartphone will finally be able to support Fortnite. Xiaomi has rolled out the MIUI 10.2.10.0 update for its smartphone, and this update will get the support for the popular battle royale game. It is worth mentioning that after getting support for Fortnite, Redmi Note 7 Pro now directly competes with the Realme 3 Pro, which was launched with support for the game earlier this month.
Jain took to microblogging website Twitter to announce that Redmi Note 7 Pro users will finally be able to play Fortnite on their smartphones. It is worth mentioning that this comes less than two weeks after the Chinese smartphone company announce that it is working with Epic Games and Qualcomm for this. The company wanted to get Snapdragon 675 SoC, which is used in Redmi Note 7 Pro, certified for Fortnite compatibility.
So, if you have a Redmi Note 7 Pro smartphone, you would have to make sure it runs the MIUI 10.2.10.0 build if you wish to play the game on it. However, we should mention that the update seems to be rolling out in a phased manner as of now. In addition to this, some users who have received the update claim that the changelog does not mention Fortnite, but instead, only talks about a few bug fixes.
We should also point out that Xiaomi has not mentioned about the graphics settings at which users will be able to play Fortnite.
It is also worth mentioning that getting Fortnite support to Redmi Note 7 Pro has a lot to do with the company’s rivalry with Realme. Realme’s CEO Madhav Sheth had taken a jab at Redmi Note 7 Pro, by saying that unlike some ‘Pro’ smartphones, Realme 3 Pro has support for Fortnite.
Xiaomi was quick to react to this and said that the reason for this was the smartphone’s processor – Snapdragon 675 SoC – did not have support for the game. However, the company worked with Epic Games and Qualcomm to make sure that the processor for the certification for the battle royale game. But then, we should also mention that Fortnite is a very graphics-heavy and demanding game, so only having support for it does not mean that users will get a seamless experience too.
Airtel was recently seen launching new prepaid plans and recharge packs for its loyal customers. And now similar to Jio’s Savaan, Bharti Airtel has launched its new music streaming application – Wynk Tube. According to the company, the new music streaming service was designed keeping its 200 million smartphone users. But the main focus of the Wynk Tube is towards the Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and villages of the country. Similar to how Reliance Jio has acquired Saavan, Bharti Airtel’s Wynk Tube is also an extension of the original app – Wynk Music.
Currently, the Wynk Tube provides Hindi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri songs and since it is focused mainly for the Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and villages, the choice of music is justified. The company also claims that the Wynk Tube application can work in the most basic smartphones, it can even work in smartphones with 1GB or less RAM and Android Go or Android Lollipop and higher.
Since it is an extension of the original application, the Wynk Tube comes in a 5MB size but Google Play Store mentions it to be of 6.6MB. During its first stage, it provides access in English and Hindi languages, however, Airtel claims that the app will provide access to more languages in the future including Bhojpuri, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. The Wynk Tube not just provides audio but video streaming support as well in the same interface. The preferred mode – audio or video – can be chosen with a single click.
The newly launched Airtel’s Wynk Tube like other apps of its kind recommends music according to the user’s preference by using machine learning algorithms to give the recommendations and deliver a personalised experience. It also comes with a Google Voice powered search feature.
Its interface is not new as it shows three tabs Home, Trending and My Music, which is similar to regular Wynk app. To play music from Home and Trending the user need to be connected to the internet. While the My Music lets the user play music without internet as it plays music from his own phone. The user can also make playlists based on the music of his choice – offline or online. The user also has the ability to change the download quality of the music when he wishes to download the music to his phone. The default choice is HD to which the users can set to High or Medium or Low. When streaming, the user can also set the quality to auto which will then set the quality according to the network.
Bharti Airtel has claimed that its newly launched music app has more than 40 lakh songs and music videos. The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
We all remember what a nightmare Samsung went through in 2017 when Galaxy Note 7 smartphones across the world were exploding because of the issue in their batteries. The entire incident not only drew a lot of flak from users and hurt Samsung’s reputation, but even a ban was placed on the device to make sure people were safe. It took Samsung a few years to build back its reputation as a reliable brand. However, seems like the technology giant’s nightmare is back with Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
According to a report that has surfaced online, Samsung Galaxy S10’s 5G variant has exploded in its home country. A Korea-based user has posted photos of his mutilated and damaged handset on a forum. He has also written about the incident in Korean, which says that the smartphone got lit on its own. When the user then dropped the handset, it burst into flames and exploded.
It is worth noticing that this case is slightly different from what happened with Samsung Galaxy Note 7. And also more dangerous and worrisome. This is because in case of Galaxy Note 7, the explosion was triggered when the smartphone was put on charging. However, in this case, it just happened on its own, may be because the device heated up too much.
In the images that have been shared by the user, it can be seem that the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is extremely damaged and both its front and back panels are affected.
The user has also shared that he immediately took the device to the Samsung Care Center, but then, he was not even offered a replacement or a refund by the company for the damaged handset. According to various reports, this the first incident when the smartphone exploded. Considering this, we can take this to be a one-time case too.
We should mention that this is the first 5G smartphone by Samsung to hit the shelves. According to the South Korean technology giant, the introduction of Galaxy S10 5G is a key milestone in the company’s research and development and it comes with “breakthroughs like the world’s first-gigabit speed 5G transmission, the first 5G handover between multiple cells.”
Samsung has also promised that the Galaxy S10 5G will come with speeds that are roughly up to 20 times faster than 4G networks. The company also said that consumers on 5G network will be able to download a full season of a TV in just a few minutes. In addition to this, with 5G, people would be able to play graphics-rich cloud games, stream 4K video with no lags and enjoy enhanced VR and AR experiences.
Flipkart is coming up with a new sale called the Flipkart Flipstart Days sale on its platform. The sale will start from May 1 and will go on till May 3. In this 3-days sale, the online shopping platform will be giving discounts and offers on all major product categories. There is also an instant discount of 10% if the purchase is made using Axis Bank Credit or Debit card during the Flipstart Days sale or using EMI transitions.
Flipkart has promised a discount of up to 80% on electronics and accessories during these three days. Before the sale, the e-commerce platform is teasing some of its major highlights and upcoming offers on the sale’s teaser page. It should be noted that the sale will start from 12am (midnight) tonight and will go on till 11:59pm (midnight) of May 3.
Other than discounts, the customers will also get no-cost EMI options along with extended warranty and other exchange offers on most of the products. Some of the highlights of the Flipkart Flipstart Days sale includes up to 70% discount on headphones from JBL, Sony, Boat etc. Other than headphones, power banks will be made available for a starting price of Rs 500 while other mobile accessories will also be sold at a discounted price starting from Rs 99.
The Flipstart Days sale also includes laptops which will be getting discounts and offers. According to the Flipstart Days teaser page on Flipkart, laptops will come with a starting price of Rs 13,990 and it will include major companies such as Asus, Dell, Acer etc. Other than price cuts and discounts, there will also be exchange offers and extended warranty in the sale. But it should be noted that the extended warranty will come with additional charge.
During the Flipkart’s Flipstart Days sale, TVs and home appliances will be getting up to 75% discount. The teaser page of the sale includes the 40-inch Full HD smart TV from Thomson will be available for Rs 17,499. Other than that, Flipkart will also be offering an additional 10% discount on select TVs and laptops.
Moreover, as mentioned above, the discounts will not be limited to just electronics, as Flipkart will be offering discounts and offers on fashion, accessories, home appliances, sports, beauty, home care, furniture etc. And Flipkart has also mentioned that the Flipstart Days sale will not be just limited to just May but it will run every month.
Other than Flipkart, Amazon India is also bringing its Summer Sale starting from May 4 and in it the platform will offer discounts and offers on smartphones, laptops, TVs etc.
Summer is here and so if the scorching heat. And let’s face it, in most parts of India, an air conditioner is a must during this season. Here, we have listed down a few things that you should know in case you are buying a new AC:
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Which type of AC do you want?
When buying an AC, the first thing that you need to decide is what kind of an air conditioner you want. There are several kinds of air conditioners including Central air conditioning, Ductless air conditioner, Window air conditioner, Hybrid ACs and Geothermal Heating & Cooling. With the advancement of technology, we now also have Portable air conditioners.
Be clear about where you want to place it
Before you even consider the type of AC you want, decide where you want it to be placed. The placement of the air conditioner is very likely to affect which type of AC you wish to buy as the size and the requirement will be affected too.
Go for enhanced energy efficiency option
While different types of ACs may be suited to different people according to their needs, one thing that you can do is go for options that have better energy efficiency. With an option like that, you will be able to keep your surroundings cool without having to worry about an exorbitant electricity bill. You can ensure this by picking an AC which has a high rating. Most ACs have ratings between 1 and 5. The higher the rating is, the lesser will be the bill.
Pay attention to the cooling capacity
If your room is 100-120 square feet, you should pick a 1 ton AC and if your room more than 200 sq feet, you should go for a 2 ton one. If you go for an AC whose cooling capacity is not appropriate for your room, you may find it to either be too cold or not effective at all.
Check the components
You must inquire about the quality of components that are used in making your air conditioner. While most companies talk about cool features of the AC, they don’t pay much attention to the components. However, if the components used in an AC are not good enough, it would never be good at cooling.
Does it work in extreme summers?
Another question worth asking when buying an AC is its performance in extreme summers. If the quality of your AC is very good, it will be able to keep you cool regardless of the temperature outside.
Check for noise levels
Noise is not really a problem in most split ACs, but if you are buying a window AC, it may end up disturbing you a lot. So, before you buy an AC, do make sure that you check for the noise levels.
Does the company provide after-sales service?
This is also something that you must consider while buying an air conditioner. If the company you are buying from will provide a good after sales service, it is always a plus because when it comes to ACs, you may need it.
Good brands to consider
If you want an air conditioner, you can consider to buy one from the likes of Carrier, Hitachi, Voltas, Daikin, Blue Star, Mitsubishi, Whirlpool, Samsung, LG and Panasonic. All of them are good and reliable brands when it comes to buying an AC.
This month of 2019 was all about new smartphones launches. In the last 30 days, we have seen a number of launches from companies like Samsung, Redmi, Realme, and Oppo. On the last day of the month, Vivo has launched its new smartphone named Vivo Z3x. Vivo Z3x is launched in the Chinese market and it is an upgrade to the Vivo Z1. The newly launched Vivo smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon CPU, and it also comes with a 16MP selfie camera. Other features of the Vivo Z3x include a Game Turbo Mode and a System Turbo mode.
Here are the pricing details and specifications of the newly launched Vivo Z3x smartphone:
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Vivo Z3x price and availability
The new Vivo Z3x holds a price tag of CNY 1,198 (approximately Rs 12,400) in China for the lone 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant. It comes with three colour options to choose from – Red, Black and Purple.
It will go on sale on the official Vivo China online Store staring May 8 but the pre-orders of the Vivo Z3x will start from May 1 itself.
The availability of the device for the Indian market hasn’t been revealed by the company. However, it is expected to make its way to the Indian market in the next few weeks.
Vivo Z3x specifications and features
The newly launched Vivo Z3x sports a 6.26-inch Full-HD+ (1080 x 2280 pixels) TFT display with an aspect ratio of 19:9. Powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC, the smartphone comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Vivo Z3x supports dual-SIM (Nano) and runs Android 9 Pie skinned with Funtouch OS 9. The Vivo Z3x comes with microSD card support of up to 256GB and it packs a 3,260mAh battery.
On the camera front, the Vivo Z3x features a dual-rear camera setup which comprises of a 13MP main camera with an f/2.2 aperture paired with a 2MP secondary camera with an f/2.4 aperture. On the front, the Vivo Z3x packs a 16MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Other camera features of the Vivo Z3x includes AR mode, Portrait mode, Dynamic Photo along with Beauty mode. It also uses AI algorithms to recognize 22 scenes and around 240 scene combinations.
Other features of the Vivo Z3x includes 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB with OTG support, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. While the sensors of the Vivo Z3x include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, fingerprint sensor, and a proximity sensor.
Huawei recently grabbed headlines when it launched the P30 Pro flagship smartphone that has up to 50X digital zoom. The camera-centric Huawei P30 Pro bears a price tag of Rs 71,990 in India and comes with top-of-the-line specifications. When we heard about the outstanding camera feature we knew we had to spend a few days with it to understand it in and out and review it.
We tried to know if the Huawei P30 Pro is really as good as it seems and here’s what we found out in our review of the mobile device:
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Design and Display
The first thing that we should mention about Huawei P30 Pro’s design is that it is claimed to have been inspired by nature. The Chinese smartphone brand has said that it has taken inspiration from elements in nature like salt flats and mineral deposits. We have to admit that it really seems to have worked in its favour as the handset is simply stunning to look at. The gradient back panel of the Huawei P30 Pro has three colours and it is made up of glass. Depending on how you look at the back panel of the smartphone, its colours appear to be swirling. The handset is available in Breathing Crystal and Aurora colour options and we got the former one for review.
Huawei P30 Pro is 158mm tall and 73.4mm wide. With these dimensions, it is big compared to most other smartphones that are launched today. At 192 grams, the handset does seem heavy to hold, but at least for us, that’s not really a bad thing.
The front, as well as the back panels of the smartphone, are made up of glass that is rounded on the sides. The metallic frame of Huawei P30 Pro lies between the two.
On the front, Huawei P30 Pro sports a 6.47-inch OLED display that has a notch on its top. A notable thing about the handset is that it comes without an earpiece. Instead, the entire upper half of the display vibrates to produce sound. Although we were sceptical about this at first, it worked perfectly well during our time with the smartphone.
The screen of Huawei P30 Pro also has an in-display fingerprint scanner, but personally, we preferred to use the face unlock. We aren’t saying that the fingerprint scanner of the handset did not perform well, we just felt that most on-screen sensors are slightly slow in their working as compared to physical fingerprint scanners. Speaking of Huawei P30 Pro’s fingerprint scanner, it worked accurately during our time with it.
The back panel of the smartphone houses the camera module, which comes with three of its four sensors. The fourth Time-of-Flight (ToF) depth sensor is placed right next to the module along with the dual LED flash.
The right edge of the smartphone houses the power and volume buttons and the top has the infrared emitter. The bottom edge of the device has the USB Type-C port, SIM tray and a single speaker. The handset comes without a 3.5mm headphone jack, too. Huawei P30 Pro has the IP68 certification, which basically means that it is water and dust resistant.
To conclude, we would say that Huawei has put in a lot of effort towards the design of the P30 Pro, and it shows. The device looks extremely premium. The back panel is simply beautiful and the front is dominated by the OLED display. Maybe it is too big to hold for some people, nonetheless, it wasn’t too big a problem for us.
Coming to the display of the Huawei P30 Pro, we found it to be really amazing. The colours looked richer than they do on most other devices and the Blacks were deeper. You can choose between a Vivid colour profile and a Standard mode depending on which suits your taste better. In addition to this, you can also control the White Balance.
Needless to say, the image quality was flawless on the device and we spent hours playing games and watching videos because it was such a delightful experience. Some people may not like the notch on the top of the display, but we didn’t find it to be too troublesome. But then, we should point out that the sunlight readability of the smartphone could really be better.
In a nutshell, we would say that the display is another aspect of the smartphone that can be considered as a plus. As we mentioned earlier, some people may prefer a full-screen experience at the given price, but then, that’s also got a lot to do with what your personal preference is.
Performance and Cameras
Let’s begin by talking about the specifications of the Huawei P30 Pro. The smartphone runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with the company’s own EMUI 9.1 and is powered by Huawei’s Kirin 980 SoC. The handset comes with 8GB of RAM and is available with 256GB of internal storage. For imaging duties, Huawei P30 Pro comes with a quad-camera setup that comprises of a 40MP primary sensor with OIS and f/1.6 aperture, a 20MP wide-angle sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and OIS, an 8MP camera that is equipped with a periscope style zoom system and a ToF sensor.
The key highlight of the device is that it comes with support for HDR+ mode, 5X optical zoom, 10X hybrid zoom and 50X digital zoom. For selfies and video calls, Huawei P30 Pro features a 32MP sensor that comes with AI HDR+ with selfies and video calls. The smartphone houses a 4,200mAh battery and has support for reverse wireless charging.
Huawei P30 Pro is the first smartphone that comes with EMUI 9.1 OS based on Android Pie. The skin does have some improvements over the EMUI 9.0. The visual elements of the UI have been revamped and the company has said that it has now included bigger icons. The handset comes with Huawei’s GPU Turbo 3.0, which enhances the performance of the device while running graphics hungry games like PUBG Mobile, Fortnite.
You will also find Huawei’s Android 9 Digital Wellbeing tool in the smartphone, but it is named as ‘Digital Balance’ by Huawei. The smartphone also has some pre-installed apps like Facebook, Messenger, Camera360, Netflix, Booking.com and some of the company’s own apps like Tips, Ride Mode, Notepad, SOS alerts, etc.
Coming to the handset’s performance, as expected, it was flawless. Considering its price point, we obviously did not expect any lag in the day-to-day usage of the handset. We did a lot of multi-tasking on it and it was a cakewalk to handle it all for Huawei P30 Pro. We often used the device for playing graphics hungry games like Asphalt 9: Legends while the navigation was on. Then too, we faced no lag while. And even though the smartphone has a glass body, it did not heat up during our time with it, not even once. The only thing that did not work perfectly was the in-display fingerprint sensor. While it was accurate, it sometimes worked a little slowly. We wouldn’t really call it a downside, as this is the case with most on-screen fingerprint scanners.
As we have mentioned earlier, we played a number of games on the device. The simpler ones like Alto’s Odyssey ran like a breeze and we could even play the demanding ones like Asphalt 9: Legends without any hiccups. PUBG Mobile also ran smoothly on the smartphone. But then, with the internals that Huawei P30 Pro has, we didn’t expect it to be any different.
Coming to the battery life of the smartphone, the device easily lasts more than a day with moderate usage that involved watching YouTube videos, gaming, using social media apps and making phone calls. We should mention that one thing that can really consume the battery of the device is its camera app. We did not see as much dip in the battery level as we did when we were using the camera app. Not even gaming drained that much juice. However, it is not really a downside considering that the 40W SuperCharger charges up to 60% battery in just 30 minutes.
The call quality of the device was also good. Even in areas like basements and elevators, we faced no problems in making or receiving calls. The voice output was clear at all times.
Finally, let’s talk about the main highlight of the Huawei P30 Pro, its Cameras. The handset comes with a 40MP primary ‘SuperSpectrum’ sensor that comes with an R-Y-Y-B filter for each of its pixel. Other than this, the P30 Pro smartphone comes with a 20MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a Periscopic optical zoom camera that is actually the real star of the show and adds an entirely new level of capabilities to the device’s camera.
Shot taken from Huawei P30 Pro’s primary cameraShot taken from 5X zoom lens
The camera of the smartphone comes with a 5X optical zoom, a 10X Hybrid zoom and a 50X digital zoom. The fourth camera on the Huawei P30 Pro is a Time-of-Flight (ToF) depth sensor, which works when one is using AR apps on the device or while 3D scanning an object using the camera app. For selfies and video call, there is a 32MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture on the handset that comes with beautification features.
The company has also touted the AI enhancements of the camera app. AI is enabled automatically on the device and much like Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro, it helps in recognizing scenes, objects, landmarks, text and more. Using AI on the camera app, you can also get translations, estimated calorie counts in food, and more.
There are a number of modes that are supported by the camera app of Huawei P30 Pro including Portrait mode, Aperture mode and Pro mode.
If the camera is a deciding factor for you when it comes to making a choice about, which smartphone to buy, you can definitely go for the Huawei P30 Pro. The images clicked by the device are simply spectacular. They have rich colours and capture the tiniest of details. The performance of the camera remains consistent regardless of the lighting conditions. We clicked some beautiful images using the device in the day, as well as at night. Furthermore, indoor photography is also at par with outdoor photography on this mobile phone.
The level of details that the camera can capture was simply amazing. The images remained crisp consistently with the primary sensor, wide-angle sensor or zoomed-in shots. Even the portraits that we clicked using the device were beautiful. Everything was just right, be it the colours, the sharpness or the richness.
We clicked a number of zoomed-in shots on the device too. One thing we should point out here is that when we tried using the 50X zoom on Huawei P30 Pro smartphone, even a slight movement of the hand became very noticeable. Although the company has said that there is a stabilisation feature in the lens, it was still difficult to use.
Shot taken by Huawei P30 Pro’s primary cameraShot taken with 5X zoomShot taken with 10X zoomShot taken with 25X zoomShot taken with 50X zoom
Till 30X zoom, the images turn out to be extremely clear. One may not even be able to guess if these pictures are zoomed in. However, at 50X, the results were not as clear. We noticed a slight distortion in some cases, but then, it did help us capture objects that were really-reeaallllyyy far away from us.
During our time with the smartphone, we also clicked some images of the moon using the device’s camera. They really don’t look like they have been clicked from a smartphone’s camera because they have turned out to be amazingly clear. We are also sharing these images here with you, so you can let us know what you think of them.
Coming to the 32MP selfie camera of the Huawei P30 Pro, it also managed to do a good job. We even tried taking some images from the depth effect and some with beautification on. We were quite happy with the overall results that we got.
Verdict
Huawei P30 Pro is priced at Rs 71,990. At this price, it competes directly with the likes of iPhone XS, Samsung Galaxy S10 and Google the Pixel 3 XL. We would say that if photography is what you look for in a smartphone, you would be very happy with Huawei P30 Pro because its camera is worth every penny.
If you choose Huawei P30 Pro, you will also get a very long-lasting battery life, very smooth performance and amazing build quality and design. While these aspects can be found in other phones too, the camera is the key highlight of the device. Buy it for that and you would be happy to have spent Rs 71,990 on a smartphone.
India based audio equipment maker boAt has released a new range of affordable and wireless headphones in its Rockerz series. The new headphones are named the Rockerz 450 and the Rockerz 640. Both the headphones come at an affordable price point and a 1-year warranty. The Rockerz 450 comes with 40mm dynamic drivers which provides an alternate HD Immersive Audio reality. While the Rockerz 640 also comes with 40mm drivers with enhanced bass mode. Here’s a look at the details of both the headphones:
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Boat Rockerz 450 and Rockerz 640 price and availability
Boat Rockerz 450 is priced at Rs 1,799 while the Rockerz 640 holds a price tag of Rs 2,999. Both the newly launched wireless headphones are available on Amazon India and they come with a 1-year warranty.
Ankush Guglani, Business Head of boat said, “The boAt Rockerz series headphones have been crafted to easily blend into your daily lifestyle, both in terms of fashion and functionality. No matter what your style statement, these headphones are sure to define it with accuracy. You are sure to be transported into a whole new musical heaven with Rockerz 450 & Rockerz 640 headphones.”
Boat Rockerz 450 and Rockerz 640 specifications and features
Boat Rockerz 450 comes with a 40mm dynamic driver and is powered by the WT200S chipset. It comes with Bluetooth v4.2 + EDR and has a charging voltage of 3.7V. The Rockerz 450 supports A2DP, VARCP, HFP and HSPV and it has a working distance of 10 metres. Being wireless, it comes with a 300mAH battery and according to the company, it can offer up to 8 hours of music and talk time. The Rockerz 450 has a standby time of 300 – 400 hours. The headphones can be charged from 0% to 100% in around 3 hours. Other than that, the Rockerz 450 also comes with a 3.5mm audio output.
The newly launched headphones come with soft-cornered matte black finish which makes it comfortable. And since it also has the plush foam and adaptive and adjustable design it can be worn for long duration. When using the wireless mode, the headphones gets its power from the 300mAh battery. However, when it is connected to an audio AUX cable, it doesn’t drain its battery and can be used as regular headphones. The Rockerz 450 comes with onboard controls which can be used to control the music or calls.
On the other hand, the Rockerz 640 is a bigger more premium version of the newly launched headphones. The Rockerz 640 is powered by a BK3266 chipset and comes with Bluetooth v4.2. It also has the same 40mm dynamic drivers with frequency response of 20Hz to 20KHz. The Rockerz 640 also comes with 10 metres working distance and packs a 300mAH battery. According to the company, the Rockerz 640 is capable of giving 12 hours of talk time and music playback and its battery can charge from 0% to 100% in about 3.5 hours.
Other features of the Rockerz 640 includes the enhanced bass mode and LED lit earcups. The newly launched headphones come with foam constructed adjustable headband and ear cups. And similar to the Rockerz 450, the Rockerz 640 also comes with buttons which can be used to control the music and calls. It too can be used as a regular headphones when an AUX cable is connected.
With the rising popularity of the pop-up selfie cameras and full-screen displays that come without notches, many technology companies are jumping on to this bandwagon. The latest smartphone maker to jump on the pop-up selfie camera frenzy is Realme. A video has been posted by the company on its Weibo account which showcases a device with no bezels and a pop-up selfie camera. Although the name of the device has not been mentioned, but just last week, two new Realme smartphones – RMX1851 and RMX1901 – were leaked on TENAA.
Although the RMX1851 holds the official name of Realme 3 Pro and was launched in India earlier this month, the RMX1901 is yet to be named or launched. S, it can be assumed that the smartphone in the teaser video of Realme could be the upcoming RMX190 smartphone.
As we mentioned earlier, the video posted by Realme showcases that the smartphone teased in it has a notch-less and bezel-less display. There is also a centre aligned pop-up selfie camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack present on top of the device. Other than that, the device doesn’t come with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which could mean that Realme is also adopting the in-display fingerprint scanner with its new device.
Some rumours about the RMX1901 have started surfacing online. Among these, a report says that the upcoming Realme smartphone would sport a 6.5-inch display with full HD+ resolution. It will also reportedly pack a 3,680mAh battery and will run Android Pie skinned with ColorOS 6.0.
However, it has not been confirmed yet if the teased device and the RMX1901 are the same or not. Even the launch date of the smartphone is not known yet. But there is a high possibility that the upcoming device will be launched in the upcoming months. Some speculations also say that the handset will be unveiled in May.
Realme pop-up selfie camera phone
As we mentioned earlier, the company recently released its new gaming-oriented smartphone in India – Realme 3 Pro. It was brought in the market to beat the other ‘Pro’ smartphones. Being a gaming-centric smartphone, Realme 3 Pro comes with some good specifications and features. It sports a 6.3-inch display and is powered by the Snapdragon 710 SoC. And is paired with Adreno 616 GPU which can handle most games like Fortnite with ease. The Realme 3 Pro comes with 4GB RAM and 6GB RAM variants and up to 128GB storage.
Technology giant Google has admitted the reason why it is looking at capturing the mid-range segment of the smartphone market with its next launch. The company says that there is too much competition in the premium smartphone market segment. Google is expected to showcase its new mid-range smartphones from the Pixel range during its I/O 2019 developers’ conference that is scheduled to begin on May 7 and go on till May 9. Numerous reports about Google’s upcoming Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL smartphones have surfaced online which give us a fair idea about what to expect from the two handsets.
At an earnings call with the reporters, Alphabet’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said that sales of Pixel smartphones in Q1 2019 were affected by an industry-wide pressure on high-end handsets. The sales of the company‘s Pixel smartphones have slid down as compared to the same time last year. To be more specific, she said that “some of the recent pressures in the premium smartphone market” led to the fall.
However, she did not mention what these pressures exactly are. But then, it can safely be assumed that she is referring to a heightened competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung. Other than this, the high prices of the Pixel smartphones are also driving away from consumer demand.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was also present at the call, and he got questioned about whether investors should have concerns that the company’s efforts on the hardware front are not able to do much to impact its overall revenue. In fact, an analyst even openly said whether Pixel devices were representative of Microsoft‘s smartphone business, which we all know failed.
It is worth mentioning that the search giant never breaks out its hardware-related products quarterly earnings report. And in the last quarter, Google’s hardware-related earnings have grown to a revenue of $5.5 billion in spite of the fall in phone sales. This can be due to an increase in the sales of its Chromecast devices, laptops, Nest products, and other devices that it sells.
To recall, Google Pixel 3 was launched at a price that was lesser than flagship handsets from Apple and Samsung. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are touted to come with a best-in-class camera. At Google I/O 2019 that is scheduled for next month, the company is expected to launch its Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a smartphones.
The latest selfie-centric smartphone from Xiaomi – Redmi Y3 – was launched last week in India along with the Redmi 7. And a week after its launch, the Redmi Y3 will be going on its first sale in India today onwards. The sale will start from 12pm (noon) IST today and the handset can be bought from Amazon.in, Mi.com and Mi Home Stores.
The Redmi Y3 is a selfie-focused smartphone and is a successor of the Redmi Y2. The newly launched Redmi Y3 is priced very competitively and it competes with likes of Samsung Galaxy M20 and Realme U1. Some of the major highlights of the Redmi Y3 is its 32MP selfie camera, a Snapdragon CPU, Android Pie OS, a 4,000mAh battery and up to 4GB RAM. Here’s everything that you should know about the newly-launched Redmi Y3 smartphone:
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Redmi Y3 price and availability
Redmi Y3 holds a price tag of Rs 9,999 for the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage variant while the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant of the device sells for Rs 11,999. It comes in three colour options – Bold Red, Elegant Blue, Prime Black.
As mentioned above, the Redmi Y3 will go on its first sale in India from today 12pm (noon) onwards. Interested customers can purchase the device from Amazon India, Mi.com, Mi Home Stores, Mi Studio and preferred retail partners across the country.
The Redmi Y3 also comes with some launch offers including up to 1,120GB of 4G data from Airtel along with unlimited voice calling.
Redmi Y3 specifications and features
Redmi Y3 sports a 6.26-inch HD+ (720 x 1520 pixels) display that has an aspect ratio of 19:9 along with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. Powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 632 SoC, the handset comes with up to 4GB of RAM. The Redmi Y3 runs Android 9 Pie skinned with MIUI 10 and it comes with dual-SIM (Nano) support. As mentioned above, the Redmi Y3 comes with up to 64GB of internal storage and can support a microSD card of up to 512GB. The device packs a 4,000mAh battery.
On the camera front, the Redmi Y3 features a dual-rear camera setup which comprises of a 12MP main camera with an f/2.2 aperture paired with a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there is the 32MP selfie camera with an f/2.25 aperture. The front camera of the Redmi Y3 also supports EIS, auto HDR, and an AI portrait mode.
Other features of the Redmi Y3 includes 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also features an IR Blaster and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
South Korean technology giant Samsung has issued a warning to its investors that it will be making less money this quarter. What further adds to this is the company‘s Q1 earnings that were recently shared. They clearly show that the profit has gone down by 60% compared to last year – from 15.64 trillion won to 6.2 trillion won, to be more precise.
However, Samsung has not placed the blame for this slide in profit on its expensive smartphones. Instead, the company has claimed that its Galaxy S10 series handsets saw good sales. Samsung also says that it shipped 78 million phones overall and 5 million tablets in Q1 2019. It further added that the reason behind any weakness in its phone sales is due to the fact that its low and mid-range models cannibalized sales of last years’ Galaxy models.
This does make sense considering that Samsung has been bringing a number of premium features to its mid-range smartphones. Last year’s Samsung Galaxy A9 was the world’s first smartphone to sport a quad-camera setup on its back panel, and the company has added a rotating camera to its recently launched Galaxy A80.
The technology giant has also added that it is expecting to ship more smartphones in Q2 2019.
But it is worth mentioning that the reasons that it has given for the fall in profit are primarily the same as last quarter. The first and foremost reason is that Samsung has seen a fall in the demand for memory chips and a decline in sales of displays. However, the company has also added that it expects this to improve in the second half of the year.
Samsung has said that it expects to see a rise in the demand for flash memory in servers, as well as for smartphones that come with 256GB storage or more. The South Korean technology giant said that it has shipped more processors and models even though the demand for image sensors is not going up any more.
Although the company did not mention its Galaxy Fold smartphone during the earnings call, when quizzed about it, Samsung did say that it would be announcing the new launch schedule for the handset “within the next few weeks”.
In a statement, the company said, “For the second half, despite intensified market competition, Samsung expects smartphone sales to increase led by new models in all segments from the Galaxy A series to the Galaxy Note amid strong seasonality. In the premium segment, the Company will strengthen its leadership through the new Galaxy Note as well as its innovative products such as 5G and foldable smartphones.”
In the midst of all the flagship and mid-range smartphone launches, Oppo has silently brought its A1k smartphone in India. In the past few days, we saw few leaks of the smartphone on the internet and now, without making much noise, the company has now finally launched the Oppo A1k in the country.
Oppo A1k is an entry-level smartphone and it comes with features like a big screen with Gorilla Glass protection, Helio P22 SoC and 2GB of RAM. It has also been priced competitively and it will compete against the likes of Redmi 7, Redmi Y3, Realme C2, Samsung Galaxy M10 to name a few. Here are all the details of the Oppo A1k smartphone that you should know about:
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Oppo A1k price and availability
The Oppo A1k is priced at Rs 8,490 for the 2GB RAM and 32GB storage variant. The newly launched Oppo A1k can be purchased from major offline stores throughout the country but its online availability is currently not known. It comes in two colour options – Red and Black.
Oppo A1k specifications and features
Oppo A1k sports a 6.1-inch IPS LCD HD+ (1560 x 720 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection on top. The screen of the Oppo A1k has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and features a waterdrop-shaped notch on its screen. Powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P22 SoC, the handset comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The Oppo A1k packs a 4,000mAh battery with 2X fast charge support but it does not have a fingerprint scanner.
On the camera front, the Oppo A1k comes with a single rear camera that has an 8MP sensor. While the front of the device houses a 5MP selfie camera for clicking selfies and making video calls.
The Oppo A1k runs Android 9 Pie skinned with ColorOS 6.0 out of the box. And although it does not come with a fingerprint scanner it does support face unlock. The device supports dual-SIM cards and it comes with features such as 4GB VoLTE, GPS, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2. The Oppo A1k also features all the other regular sensors.
Although Oppo has brought out a new budget segment device, it will also face heavy competition from other smartphone makers. But as it sports only 2GB RAM which feels a little too old than what is trending in the market it will make the sales of the smartphone hard.
Now that Apple’s iPad Pro and MacBook lines come with a USB Type-C port, there have been a number of speculative reports about which type of connector will the new iPhones use. And as September approaches, the picture about what to expect from the 2019 iPhones.
A report has now surfaced on Japan-based blog Mac Otakara that claims that the upcoming models of iPhone may not contain USB-C ports. However, the report also adds that the iPhones may ship with a faster 18W USB-C charger as well as a Lightning to USB-C cable. This is applicable to all the three rumoured models of the 2019 iPhones.
This does make sense as the Cupertino-based technology giant may not be very willing to let go of the Lightning yet, but from what it seems like, the company is trying to make the lives of iOS users easier than what it is right now. The fact that Apple has always shipped new iPhones with a 5W cube charger, in spite of the fact that all its models since iPhone 8 come with fast-charging capabilities, is a constant source of frustration for a number of iOS users.
To recall, it was the redesigned iPad Pro that was the first in Apple’s tablet lineup to come with a faster 18W charger. As of now, if one wants to take an advantage of that iPad Pro’s charger with their iPhone, they would reportedly have to buy an 18W charger and the Lightning to USB-C adapter, which costs almost $50.
However, now that Apple is planning to ship that with the upcoming iPhones, it will seriously be very helpful for a number of users in the future. In addition to charging your iPhone more quickly, this will also help users to plug their smartphone into their Mac laptop without having to buy a cable.
We should mention that a number of reports about the 2019 iPhones have surfaced online. Among the most prominent detail that has popped up more than once is that Apple is expected to launch three iPhones this year too. The three upcoming devices by Apple will be successors of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.
In fact, even next year, the successor of iPhone XR will not come with an OLED display, if reports are to be believed. Another major detail that has surfaced online is the fact the Apple is planning to add a triple rear camera setup to its iPhone. But then, as of now, it is not clear which among the three iPhones will come with three cameras on its back panel.
Technology giant Google is expected to launch its Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a smartphones at its I/O 2019 event that is scheduled in May. As the date of the Google I/O 2019 developers’ conference draws nearer, more and more leaks about the upcoming smartphones by the company are surfacing online.
Earlier this year, Google Pixel 3a XL handset was spotted on Geekbench’s website, and it was seen that the device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 octa-core processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM. And now, the vanilla variant of Google Pixel 3a has been spotted on the benchmarking website and the handset has a similar set of specifications.
According to the listing on Geekbench, the regular variant of Google‘s Pixel 3a handset will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 670 processor. It is worth noticing that the listing does not confirm the name of the chipset that has been used in the device. But then, it is being speculated that the Pixel 3a smartphone will come with Snapdragon 670 SoC because of the lower benchmark scores than Pixel 3a Lite on Geekbench.
Image courtesy: Geekbench
In addition to this, it has also been disclosed that the Pixel 3a smartphone comes with 4GB of RAM and runs Android 9.0 Pie operating system. The report about the new Geekbench listing first appeared on technology website MySmartPrice.
We should mention that the Google I/O 2019 is the company’s annual developers’ conference and it is all set to begin on May 7 and will go on till May 9. At the event, the technology giant is expected to make a number of software-related announcements and most important among them will be Android Q.
Google has already rolled out two developer beta updates of Android Q on its Pixel smartphones. A number of interesting features have been spotted via these updates including more control over location access, a new Settings Panel API, improved share sheet and better resuming and pausing of apps among others.
However, more number of features are expected to be seen at Google I/O 2019, as the company would obviously be saving the best ones to announce at the event. It is also worth mentioning that the company will be launching hardware for the first time at its I/O conference. While the company has not confirmed the launch on its own, it is being reported since months that the technology giant intends to do this.
Spotify has become one of the first platforms of its kind to reach more than 100 million users on a global scale. According to the company, now more than 100 million users around the globe pay for the Spotify Premium services. With this, Spotify has reached a new milestone by growing the paid subscribers by 32% year-on-year. The company also said that if the free users/subscribers are included in the count, the numbers exceeds 217 million globally.
Spotify and its services were earlier not available in India and the company launched its services in the country only in February 2019. And since the app’s launch in India, more than 2 million Indian subscribers have joined the music-streaming service.
With the increasing popularity of Spotify globally, it has made its mark and is ahead of Apple Music. Apple Music is Apple’s streaming service and it has around 50 million paid users globally. But that is literally just half of Spotify’s current paid subscribers. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, in the US, Apple Music has around 28 million subscribers compared to Spotify’s 26 million. In the US, Apple Music has a lead on the music streaming service race, but on a global scale Spotify is miles ahead of the Cupertino-based tech firm’s music streaming service.
With the growth of the company, Spotify is also focusing more on its podcasts and it has planned to develop a better advertising model for podcasts. Targeting, measurement and reporting capabilities will be included in Spotify’s new advertising model for podcasts. The new model of podcast advertising means that the company will let the podcast producers place different ads in a podcast depending on the user it is targeted towards.
Spotify’s focus towards podcasts could be the result of its acquisition of the podcast companies such as Gimlet Media, Anchor and Parcast. All these podcasting companies offer a more than 1,25,000 podcasting titles on the Spotify’s platform. Spotify has also targeted that by the end of the second quarter, it hopes to have 222 to 228 million users globally while the paid subscribers number reaching towards 107 to 110 million. India is also a big market for Spotify and with its launch in the Indian market, the company hopes to achieve the targeted number.
Earlier, Spotify offered to give away a free Google Home Mini Speaker to every family account subscribers and the company has also said that the voice speakers are an important area for its own growth. But even though the company is growing in the subscribers’ department, it is losing money. Spotify posted a loss of $158.3 million from January to March 2019. If we compare the loss to the same quarter last year, we see that from January to March 2018, the company lost around $188.55 million.
South Korean technology giant Samsung has today expanded its television range with the launch of its Sero TV. Samsung’s Sero is a 43-inch television that, according to the company, has been designed for millennials. Samsung has said that the newly-unveiled TV can pivot between horizontal and vertical orientations. If that sounds weird to you, read on, the company has a fair logic behind the unique design of the television.
According to Samsung, most content on smartphones is vertical, and the company has designed Sero in a way that it can pivot between horizontal and vertical orientations, in order to encourage users to project content from their phones to screens. The logic is a correct one, considering how most people are literally inseparable from their handsets. It would obviously be much better to project vertical content from smartphones to a vertical screen, than to a horizontal one.
The company has also added that the newly-launched television will function as a music streaming hub as well as a good looking piece of furniture. In order to make sure of this, the South Korean technology giant has added 4.1-channel, 60W speakers, a navy stand, and a rear design.
In addition to being used as a conventional TV or to watch content from smartphones, Samsung Sero TV can also work as a huge digital photo frame as well as a music visualizer. The newly-launched television also comes with Samsung’s digital assistant, Bixby. The company has said the Sero will cost 1.89m KRW in South Korea and will go on sale in May.
Samsung’s Sero TV will lie between being a concept device and a real product. The television was showed off in a pop-up store in Seoul today along with some existing Serif and Frame TV ranges. Samsung is adding the newly launched television to what it calls as its lifestyle TV lineup. While it has announced the price and launch date of the Sero TV, the company also calls it a concept.
However, it has also said that it will closely be monitoring the consumer feedback that it will be getting. But then, only time will tell if users like the idea of having a TV that can be used horizontally as well as vertically.
It may make sense for some, but we can guess that some may be sceptical about it too. What do you think of the new Sero TV? Would you like to buy it? Let us know in the comments below.
