Audio accessories brand Boat today expanded its lineup in India with the launch of Stone 230 Bluetooth speaker. The Boat Stone 230 Bluetooth speaker is powered by JL AC6905B chipset and can connect to devices that are up to 10 metres far from it. You can also take it with you to your next pool party, as the Bluetooth speaker is water proof. Here are the pricing details and the specifications of the device:
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Boat Stone 230 price in India
The new speaker by Boat is available in Charcoal Black and Midnight Blue colour options. It can be purchased for Rs 1,299 from Amazon India’s website. The speaker comes with a warranty that lasts a year.
Boat Stone 230 specifications
Speaking of the features of the newly launched Bluetooth speaker by Boat, the device comes with Bluetooth version 4.2 that enables it to connect wirelessly to other devices that are up to 10 meters away from it. The speakers are powered by JL AC6905B chipset. Its driver is said to be 1.5-inch in size and can produce power output of 3W.
Boat Stone 230 Bluetooth speaker house a 1200mAh lithium-ion battery which, according to the company, can offer up to 10 hours of playback time. It is also said that the battery of the speaker takes 3.5 hours to be charged.
Boat Stone 230’s response frequency starts from 2.4GHz and goes up to 2.480GHz. There is a built-in microphone on the speaker and it comes with a microUSB port that can be used for charging the device. Users can also install a microSD card in the Bluetooth speaker.
As we mentioned earlier, Boat’s Stone 230 Bluetooth speaker comes with IPX4 rating. This makes it water resistant, so it should not be a problem for you to carry it with you while you are travelling. The dimensions of the newly launched Bluetooth speaker is 92x92x40mm and it weighs 245 grams.
Speaking on the launch of the product, Saurabh Goswami, Marketing Head of Boat said “Our products aren’t just magnets and bolts with some specs on a sheet of paper. Uncompromised enthusiasm is what drives us, and it reflects in the epicness in the being of our products.”
November saw a slew of launches in India including the new coloured OnePlus 6T and the world’s first smartphone with quadruple rear camera setup. Just in the last week, the Indian smartphone markets saw three key entries in the budget segment. Here, we have curated a list of top smartphones that were launched in India in November 2018:
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Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
Samsung Galaxy A9 is the world’s first smartphone to come with four rear cameras. The smartphone has a 24MP primary sensor, a 10MP telephoto sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 5MP depth sensor. The smartphone houses a 24MP selfie camera on its front panel. Other key specifications of Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) are 6.3-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display, 3,800mAh of battery, and the presence of Bixby, Samsung Pay and the Face Unlock feature. The starting price of Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) is Rs 36,990.
OnePlus 6T Thunder Purple
OnePlus fans who were disappointed with just Midnight Black and Mirror Black colour options of OnePlus 6T, this month got more choice with the Thunder Purple variant of the device. There is no change in the specifications of the smartphone. It is only available with 8GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage and is priced at Rs 41,999.
Asus ROG Phone
Asus ROG Phone is aimed towards gamers in India. Priced at Rs 69,999, Asus ROG Phone comes with features like ultrasonic AirTrigger touch sensors, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU. It also has an AMOLED display that has support for HDR. The smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with the company’s ROG Gaming UI.
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
This is another photography centric smartphone that has been launched in India. Huawei Mate 20 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup with a 40MP primary wide-angle sensor, a 20MP ultra wide angle sensor and an 8MP 3X telephoto sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is a 24MP RGB front facing snapper. The smartphone houses a 4,200mAh battery that supports 40W SuperCharge technology and is priced at Rs 69,990.
Realme U1
Realme launched its selfie centric smartphone Realme U1 in India this month. The smartphone’s starting price is Rs 11,999 and it comes with features like a 25MP selfie camera with AI enhancements, MediaTek Helio P70 processor, 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras and a 6.3-inch FHD+ Dewdrop LCD panel.
Honor 8C
Honor expanded its budget lineup in India this month with Honor 8C smartphone. The newly launched Honor smartphone comes with a 6.26-inch HD+ TFT IPS LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor, 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras, an 8MP selfie camera and a 4,000mAh battery. The starting price of Honor 8C is Rs 11,999.
Oppo A7
The Oppo A7 comes with a 6.2-inch HD+ display and a 16MP front facing camera. The smartphone is priced at Rs 16,990 and it has specifications like Snapdragon 450 processor, Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with ColorOS 5.2, 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras and a 4,230mAh battery.
Vivo Y95
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo launched its Y95 smartphone in India this month. It is the successor of the company’s Y93 smartphone and comes with a Halo Fullview Display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor. Like all other Vivo smartphones, Y95 is selfie-focussed. So, on its front panel, the smartphone comes with 20MP selfie camera that has AI capabilities. Vivo Y95 costs Rs 16,990.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
Xiaomi just changed a few features of Redmi Note 5 Pro and launched a fancier version as Redmi Note 6 Pro this month. The starting price of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro is Rs 13,999, and it comes with the same processor, dual rear cameras, battery capacity and RAM and storage options as its predecessor. The display and design are different and the company has touted the smartphone to have some AI enhancements.
HMD Global has today launched its Nokia 7.1 smartphone in India. The newly launched smartphone comes with PureDisplay panel that supports HDR 10. Other key features of the smartphone include its dual rear cameras which come with Zeiss optics and 3,060mAh battery. The smartphone was launched in London last month and at that time, the company had said that it would later announce Nokia 7.1’s India pricing and availability details. Here’s a look at the specifications and pricing details of Nokia 7.1 smartphone:
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Nokia 7.1 price in India
In India, Nokia 7.1 is available only with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs 19,999. The smartphone is set to go on sale in India starting December 7. If you are an interested buyer, you can head to either Nokia India’s online store or top mobile retailers to get the device. It is worth noticing that the smartphone has not been launched in the 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant in the country. HMD Global has partnered with Airtel to offer prepaid subscribers 1TB of 4G on plans that cost Rs 199. On the other hand, postpaid Airtel subscribers get an additional 120GB of data, a three-month Netflix subscription and a 1-year long subscription of Amazon Prime on buying plans that are worth Rs 499 and higher. If you buy the Nokia 7.1 using an HDFC credit or debit card, you will get a 10% cashback on eligible office stores.
Nokia 7.1 specifications
To recall, Nokia 7.1 mobile has dual SIM functionality and runs Android Oreo. Since the smartphone is a part of Google’s Android One programme, it will get timely Android updates for two years and security patches for three years. An update for Android 9.0 Pie is also expected to be rolled out for users in India. Nokia 7.1 features a 5.84-inch full-HD+ PureDisplay panel that has an aspect ratio of 19:9. The screen of the smartphone also comes with support for HDR10 and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Nokia 7.1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. For more storage, users can install a microSD card of up to 400GB.
For imaging duties, Nokia 7.1 sports a dual rear camera setup with 12MP and 5MP sensors. While the primary rear camera comes with autofocus and an f/1.8 aperture, the secondary rear camera has fixed focus and f/2.4 aperture. HMD Global has touted the presence of Zeiss optics, EIS and two-phase detection in the dual rear cameras of the device.
The smartphone features an 8MP fixed focus sensor that has an f/2.0 aperture and a 84-degree field-of-view. Nokia 7.1 houses a 3,060mAh non-removable battery that has support of 18W fast charging.
On the connectivity front, the smartphone supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, NFC, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack
Gionee, which was previously in the same race as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, did not manage to gain the same amount popularity in international markets. A number of smartphones from the company were aimed at audience which loved clicking selfies, but Oppo and Vivo manage to do much better in that space. But seems like that situation wasn’t as bad as the smartphone maker is facing now. It has been reported that the Chinese smartphone brand is on the verge of bankruptcy.
According to a report in Securities Times, Gionee has failed to pay its suppliers and has had a meeting with them to work out a deal. It is worth noticing that the meeting only happened when 20 of its suppliers filed an application for bankruptcy reorganization with the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. The application was filed by suppliers on November 20.
But that’s just the problem. A reason behind this dire financial situation of the company has also surfaced.
Chinese website Jiemian reported last week that Gionee’s chairman Liu Lirong lost over 10 billion yuan, which equals to $1.4-billion, while gambling at a casino in Saipan. While Lirong did admit to Securities Times that he lost money at the casino, he clarified that the amount he lost was One billion yuan or, which equals $144 million.
Gionee’s chairman also said that he didn’t misappropriate the company’s cash to gamble, but then went on to say that he may have been “borrowing company funds.” This marks as a massive shift in the fortunes for one among China’s renowned mobile phone brands. The company initially also did well in India, but it has been inactive for quite some time now.
According to Counterpoint Research, in Q1 2017, Gionee accounted for 4.6% market share in the Indian smartphone market when it came to smartphone brands that focussed on being selfie-centric. For the same period, the company was also listed as one among the top five fastest growing brands in the Rs 15k-30k price segment.
However, the smartphone maker saw a sharp decline in worldwide shipments in Q2 2018. It wasn’t the only smartphone maker to see this fall, as Lenovo, Micromax and Sony saw a decline too.
To add to the company’s woes, in Q3 2018, 87% of China’s market share was captured by the top five brands in the region. With all this combined, times do seem really tough for Gionee.
After Samsung showed off its foldable phone at its developer conference earlier this month, Huawei confirmed that it is also working on a foldable device. And now, Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has also confirmed that it will have its own foldable phone too.
The confirmation comes from Oppo‘s product manager Chuck Wang who has also said that the smartphone maker will showcase its foldable phone at the Mobile World Congress that is scheduled to happen in February 2019 in Barcelona.
However, he did not give any other details or specifications about the upcoming phone.
Wang also disclosed that Oppo is working on a 5G smartphone that will be released in 2020 and the company is also eyeing to launch its first smartphone with a display cut-out in the same year. It is worth noticing that Samsung also spoke about cut-out displays or Infinity O screen at its developer conference. The South Korean technology giant will be incorporating the feature in its upcoming Galaxy A8S smartphone. A report also suggests that Huawei will also be launching a smartphone with a cut-out display.
The 5G race has also begun among technology companies. One smartphone in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 lineup will reportedly come with 5G connectivity. OnePlus too has confirmed that it is working on a 5G smartphone, but it may launch it as a part of a separate range altogether. Even Xiaomi and Lenovo are said to be working on 5G devices that are expected to launch in 2019.
Coming back to foldable phones, we definitely expect to see them grab some spotlight next year. As we mentioned earlier, Samsung Galaxy F foldable phone is expected to make a presence at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2019. Besides that, we will also get to see Huawei’s foldable device at the event.
Consumer electronics maker LG will also be showcasing its foldable phone at CES 2019, which will be held Las Vegas in January next year. Other than this, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is also said to be working on a phone that has a folding display, although not much is known about it.
Although we have heard plenty of instances when the customer ordered something from an e-commerce website and received something entirely different, the latest one involving Amazon India and OnePlus does raise some eyebrows. According to a LinkedIn user, he had ordered the newly launched OnePlus 6T (review) from Amazon India, and what he received instead were soaps inside the OnePlus 6T box.
What adds credibility to his claim is the fact that he filmed the entire unboxing. While it’s not exactly common to see people record the unboxing of the products they receive from the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, the Linked user – Bikramjit Singh – said in his post that the delivery boy asked him to do so. That is rather unusual too, but what we cannot deny is the fact that Singh was indeed delivered with soaps inside the OnePlus 6T box instead of the smartphone itself.
The video shows the closed package in which he ‘smartphone’ was delivered. It goes on to show Singh opening the package using a pair of scissors and then taking out a laminated and sealed OnePlus box. Singh tears open the lamination and then opens the box, only to see packs of soaps inside it. The video ends with Singh emptying the entire box, which only had four soaps in it.
Singh went on to say in his post that he had paid for the smartphone in advance and that till now, he doesn’t know if it is the company’s mistake or the seller’s. According to Singh, the seller on Amazon India he purchased the smartphone from is E-Mobile.
In his LinkedIn post, Singh has also said that he still hasn’t heard from Amazon India on the matter.
At the time when this article was being written, the video shared by Singh had been viewed 99,148 times, and his post had 1045 likes and 375 comments.
We should point out that these frauds are not unheard of and e-commerce websites are not always responsible for these misses, as it can be the seller’s fault also. After this year’s festive season sales, we reported about a number of instances where customers received counterfeit products or products that they hadn’t ordered for. This included a man who got fake Apple Airpods, a customer who received an Oppo smartphone instead of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, a guy who was given a plastic fan in place of an iPhone X among others.
A lot of these customers complained about e-commerce websites blaming the seller for the fault and vice versa. Some even said that the e-commerce players were not very helpful while resolving these issues. We hope for Singh it is easier, as he has recorded evidence of what he claims has happened to him.
After entering the smart home segment recently, Syska Group has today announced the launch of two new products – Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter and Syska Wi-Fi Spike Buster. The company has said that both the products it has launched today can be used to convert connected simple or regular devices into smart devices.
Syska says that it has tried to design the smart plug and spike buster in a way that they are aesthetically appealing and can be used to give users’ homes or offices “a makeover with their fine and classy look.”
According to the company, both the products have been made to make user’s life more comfortable. Syska Smart Plug and Syska Wi-Fi Spike Buster can be controlled by your smartphone via the Syska Smart Home App. Once you connect your app and the devices, you can switch them on or off with just one tap on your smartphone. Users can also schedule the duration for which the connected device will remain on using the timer feature on the app.
Furthermore, in case your connected device gets overheated, you would receive a notification on your smartphone informing you about it. The power meter is enabled in order to monitor the voltage consumption of devices that are connected with Syska Smart Plug. The data collected by the power meter can then be accessed via Syska Smart Home App. The Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter is priced at Rs 2,599 and it is available for purchase via Amazon India and Flipkart.
Speaking of Syska Wi-Fi enabled Spike Buster, the company claims that the device can take automation and safety to “a whole new level.” The device is supposed to protect your sensitive devices from voltage spikes. All your electronic devices plugged into this spike guard can be controlled with your voice using Alexa, Google Assistant or Syska Smart Home App. You can turn them on and off using just by using your smartphone. The spike buster supports devices ranging from smartphones to laptops and come with three universal power sockets and four USB charging ports. The company claims that the spike buster has the ability to protect electronic devices from short circuits, voltage spikes and overheating. The product is priced at Rs 4,999 and like Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter, it is available on Amazon India and Flipkart.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Gurumukh Uttamchandani, Director of Syska Group said, “Smart home automation industry in India is booming and consumers are looking for products that make their life smart and convenient at the same time. We at Syska believe in providing a better experience to consumers through continuous innovation. We have launched new and innovative product like Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter and Syska WiFi Spike Buster to enable the consumers convert their simple homes into smart homes. Syska aims to launch a range of smart products to drive urbanisation and provide a superior standard of living to the consumers.”
Asus today launched its gaming centric ROG Phone in India. The smartphone bears an exorbitant price tag of Rs 69,999 and its accessories have to be bought separately. Here, we compare it to OnePlus 6T (review), which comes with the same processor, and iPhone X, which is now available at most e-commerce websites at a discounted price. iPhone X’s new pricing is close to that of Asus ROG Phone. Although Asus ROG Phone has been made for gamers, gaming on OnePlus 6T and iPhone X is extremely good too. Considering this, you may get confused about which one you should buy for yourself. Here, the entire list of specifications of the three smartphones have been compared so that it’s easier for you to pick the right one for yourself:
In exactly one week, three key budget smartphones have been launched in India – Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro, Realme U1 and Honor 8C. The fact that the three smartphones were launched so closely to each other will make it difficult for anyone to decide which one to buy. To make your decision easier, we have compared the complete list of specifications of all the three mobile phones. Read our comparison of the three devices to know which one among Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro, Realme U1 and Honor 8C is the right buy for you:
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Display
Honor 8C: 6.26-inch HD+ TFT IPS LCD display
Realme U1: 6.3-inch FHD+ Dewdrop LCD display
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: 6.26-inch Full HD+ display
Huawei’s sub-brand Honor today launched its 8C smartphone in India. Honor 8C falls in the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market and is the first device to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor. The key features of the smartphone include a notch design, a 19:9 display panel, face unlock and dual rear cameras. Honor 8C is available in Gradient colour options and Honor Band 4 was also launched along with it, although its price and availability in India has not been announced. Let’s take a look at the pricing details and specifications of the Honor 8C smartphone:
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Honor 8C price in India
The new offering by Honor comes with 4GB of RAM that is clubbed with either 32GB of onboard storage or 64GB of internal storage. The base model of Honor 8C is priced at Rs 11,999 and the 64GB storage model costs Rs 12,999. The smartphone is available in Aurora Blue, Magic Night Black, Platinum Gold, and Nebula Purple colour options. If you are an interested buyer, you can get the Honor 8C smartphone via Amazon India’s webiste and HiHonor Store starting December 10. As we mentioned earlier, the pricing and availability details of the Honor Band 4 have not been disclosed.
Honor 8C specifications
Honor’s latest smartphone has dual-SIM functionality and runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with EMUI 8.2. Honor 8C sports a 6.26-inch HD+ TFT IPS LCD display panel that has an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a 86.6% screen to body ratio. The smartphone is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor paired with Adreno 506 GPU and 4GB of RAM. Honor 8C is available in 32GB and 64GB storage options and can hold a microSD card of up to 256GB.
On the camera front, Honor 8C mobile comes with a dual rear camera setup with a 13MP sensor and a 2MP sensor. The dual rear cameras of the smartphone are paired with LED flash and on flipping over the device, you will see an 8MP camera sensor that can be used for selfies and video calls. The selfie camera of the smartphone comes with a fixed focus lens with an f/2.0 aperture and a selfie toning light.
The camera app of the Honor 8C smartphone comes with AI enhancements. For instance, the company has claimed that it can recognise over 500 scenarios in 22 categories. Honor 8C’s camera app also has support for HDR and is equipped with an AR lens. The company has touted the presence of an AI shopping feature that detects the object and shows searches of similar items using the built-in NPU. Honor 8C houses a 4,000mAh battery and comes with 4G VoLTE, single-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, a Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for connectivity.
Taiwanese smartphone maker Asus has today launched its ROG Phone in India. Asus ROG Phone is the only gaming centric smartphone by the consumer electronics manufacturer. Asus‘ gaming brand Republic of Gamers was initially unveiled at Computex that was held in Taiwan in June this year. Asus ROG Phone is the world’s first smartphone to come with a 3D vapour-chamber cooling system. The key highlights of the gaming smartphone by Asus include a gamer-centric design with side-mounted ports optimized for landscape-mode, ultrasonic AirTrigger touch sensors, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU and an AMOLED display that has support for HDR. Here are the pricing details and specifications of the new gaming smartphone by Asus:
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Asus ROG Phone price in India
Asus ROG Phone comes with 8GB of RAM that is clubbed with 128GB of internal storage. Asus’ new offering is priced at Rs 69,999 and will be available exclusively on Flipkart. The company is offering a no-cost EMI for six, nine or twelve months and buyers can also get Flipkart’s Complete Mobile Protection plan at Rs 999. Asus has partnered with Reliance Jio to offer a cashback of Rs 5,000 and on getting Jio’s Rs 509 plan, buyers will get 4GB data per day.
The Professional Dock with the ROG Phone will be available at Rs 5,499, the GameVice costs Rs 5,999, the TwinView Dock can be picked up at Rs 21,999 and the Desktop Dock at Rs 12,999. The ROG Phone Case bears a price tag of Rs 2,499.
Asus ROG Phone specifications
Coming to the specifications of the mobile phone, Asus ROG Phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with the company’s ROG Gaming UI. The smartphone sports a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080×2160 pixels) AMOLED display that has been touted to come with a refresh rate of 90Hz, a response time of 1ms, 108.6% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and a contrast ratio of 10000:1. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, Asus ROG Phone is backed by Adreno 630 GPU that has been optimized for gaming and comes with 8GB of RAM.
For imaging duties, Asus ROG Phone features a dual rear camera setup with a 12MP sensor and an 8MP sensor. The smartphone has an 8MP front facing snapper that can be used for selfies and video calls.
Asus ROG Phone houses 128GB of internal storage, but users cannot install a microSD card in the device. The smartphone houses a 4000mAh battery that, according to the company, can provide 7 hours of Wi-Fi gameplay. The company has also claimed that the battery of the smartphone can charge from 0 to 60% in 33 minutes.
A key feature of the smartphone is the GameCool vapour-chamber cooling system that comes with detachable AeroActive Cooler for extra cooling. Besides this, the smartphone comes with side-mounted ports and has two programmable ultrasonic AirTriggers and advanced force-feedback haptics. The smartphone is also touted to come with an optional TwinView Dock that can be used in dual-screen handheld mode.
It also has a Mobile Desktop Dock for users who like desktop-style gaming and a Gamevice controller with WiGig Dock that uses 60GHz Wi-Fi for gaming on big screens. The newly launched smartphone comes with Asus Aura RGB lighting and Aura Sync support and ASUS HyperCharge direct-charge technology.
On the connectivity front, Asus ROG Phone supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C port, NFC, and 3.5mm jack. The sensors of the smartphone include an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a compass, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor, and ultrasonic AirTrigger sensors.
Asus ROG is well known brand in the gaming circuits and this year the company has launched the Asus ROG smartphone as well. And finally it has come to India too. The ROG phone has 8GB of system memory, and a 4,000 mAh battery. It comes with 128GB Storage, expandable by up to 512GB. The price of this smartphone in India is Rs 69,999 .
We are back with some news from Samsung. And this time, it’s not the Galaxy S10 that we are going to talk about. A report has surfaced online that suggests that Samsung is planning to replace its mid-range line-up of On-Series and J-series with the brand new M-series smartphones in the coming few months.
The speculations about the new upcoming series started when Galaxy M2 was spotted in a benchmark listing last week and its key specifications were revealed. Two models of the smartphone – SM-M205F and SM-M305F – were spotted last week and now a device with model number SM-M105F has been spotted on Geekbench.
According to initial reports, the smartphones from Samsung’s new range would be called M2 and 3. However, the latest reports have claimed that the devices would be called as M20 and M30. The latest device that was spotted on Geekbench by MySmartPrice is said to be the lowest mode of Samsung’s Galaxy M-series and reports suggest that it will be called M10.
The Geekbench listing of SM-M105F or Samsung Galaxy M10 reveals some of the key specifications of the device. According to the Geekbench listing, the smartphone would be powered by Exynos 7870 SoC and will come with 3GB of RAM. It is worth noticing that this is the same processor that is used to power other popular Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy J7 (2017), the Galaxy J7 NXT, and the Galaxy A6 (2018). The listing further reveals that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy M10 smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo. The Geekbench scores of Galaxy M10 smartphone have also been shared. While it scored a 724 in single core test, it managed a 3,637 in multi-core test.
As of now, no other details about the upcoming smartphone are available. But we expect more leaks and reports about it to surface as the launch of the device draws closer. While it has been reported that the M-series would replace Samsung’s J-series and On-series, the South Korean technology giant is also working on revamping its A-series. This year saw the launch of Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) and Galaxy A9 (2018) mobile phones that come with triple and quad rear camera setups respectively. We would have to wait and watch the brand’s strategy to compete with its Chinese rivals.
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has started rolling out the OxygenOS 5.0.7 update to the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones. As of now, the update is being pushed out to users in a phased manner. Once the initial users give a heads up that the update is bug-free, it be rolled out to the masses too.
OnePlus has mentioned on its official forum that the new update gets the November Android security patch with itself and includes some general bug fixes and enhancements that would upgrade the overall performance of the two devices. The new software version is being rolled out as an incremental over-the-air update.
OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T mobile users would also be happy to know that one they get the update; they would also be able to use OnePlus Type-C Bullets Earphones. Initially, the headphones could only be used with recent smartphones by the company including the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 6 (review). The OnePlus Type-C Bullets Earphones were launched ahead of the OnePlus 6T (review) last month. Unlike the original OnePlus Bullets headphones that come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the new ones have a USB Type-C interface, as suggested by their name.
The company claims that the OxygenOS 5.0.7 update also enhances the safety of the devices with the November Android security. The security patch was first rolled out to Google’s Pixel and Nexus devices earlier this month. It got improvements for notifications, picture-in-picture mode and fixes for some issues that were being faced particularly by Pixel users. It is worth noticing that the November security patch came to OnePlus 6T with OxygenOS 9.0.4 last month and reached OnePlus 6 via an Open Beta 6 update.
As we mentioned earlier, the new software update is being rolled out in a phased manner. Initially, it will be made available to a small percentage of users and in a next few days, it will reach everyone.
If you are a OnePlus 3 or OnePlus 3T user, you can head to the Settings of your smartphone and then go to System updates to check for the availability of the OxygenOS 5.0.7. However, before you install the update to your device, make sure that you have your data backed up.
Prior to this, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones got the September Android security patch as a part of OxygenOS 5.0.6 that as rolled out to the devices in September. The update got with itself some general fixes and performance enhancements.
Apple’s troubles with the new iPhone lineup do not seem to be coming to an end. The Cupertino based technology giant has reportedly ordered a second round of supply reduction because iPhone sales are falling short of estimates. It is being said that the move is being implemented for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR (review). Besides reducing sales, the company has even laid off employees. And all of this is expected to have an effect on Apple’s multiple component suppliers.
However, it is worth noticing that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which happens to Apple‘s A12 Bionic processor’s only supplier, has not faced a major setback because of the decision taken by Apple. The main reason behind is that other manufacturers like Huawei, Qualcomm, and AMD have also given orders to the firm for 7nm chipsets.
TSMC is currently working on the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor for Huawei’s latest flagship, Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. The company is also set to begin working on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8150 7nm chip in Q1 2019, after the chipset gets unveiled in December this year.
It has also been reported that the chip maker is working on AMD’s Radeon Instinct M160 and M150 server accelerator chips, which are scheduled to be released in Q1 2019.
But Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is an exception. According to a report in Digitimes, Other iPhone supply chain partners are expected to see a fall in their revenues because of Apple’s decision.
For instance, the camera lens supplier Largan Precision has estimates that its revenue for November 2018 will be lower than that of October 2018. Apart from this, a report said that iPhone flexible PCB supplier Career Technology has laid off its 110 workers. That’s not all. Another iPhone assembler, whose name has not yet been disclosed has cut down its workforce in the wake of Apple’s decision.
As we mentioned earlier, this is the second time that Apple has cut orders for its new iPhone lineup. The first wave of iPhone order cuts was also announced earlier this month. The cut in orders have happened because iPhone 2018 range is experiencing lower-than-expected demand for the holiday season.
Have you been playing PUBG for a while now and find it difficult to survive till the end? Now that the fourth season is out for both Android and iOS platforms, one good thing is everyone is starting from the scratch. So even if you haven’t been able to get your chicken dinner till now, we have curated a list of tips and tricks that will help you win PUBG the next time you play it. Check out our list of PUBG tricks now:
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Drop in areas that are overcrowded
This is one among the most important tips that you should remember. Drop in any of the small houses or buildings near a crowded area and find weapons and gears as soon as you land. You can then rusk to the overcrowded area and find some easy kills.
Try to kill some enemies as soon as the game begins
If you and an enemy land at the same place at a similar time, instead of looking for as many weapons as possible, grab the first weapon you find and kill your enemy. This was you’ll catch him off-guard and it’ll be easier to kill someone who isn’t defending. Usually, when people are collecting weapons, they don’t expect to be attacked. Keeping this in mind, you can also rush to other areas to find people collecting weapons to kill some more enemies.
Shoot only when you are in the right range
Kill your enemy only when you are sure that you are of hitting him. This is because in case you miss your shot, you would draw attention of other enemies. This should particularly be kept in mind if you have made it to the final stages of match. Giving away your position at a time as crucial as that is not something that you want to do.
Grenades are not just for killing
Grenades can prove to be extremely useful in the game. If you are not sure about your enemy being hidden at a particular place, you can always throw a grenade to make him come out.
Always use the map
The map is extremely important as it gives you the information about safe zone. If you indulge too much in looting, you may die outside the play zone. And that will be a sheer waste of your hard work.
Predicting where the next safe zone will appear
There is no hard-known rule for predicting the next safe zone circle accurately. However, if you stay at the centre of the safe zone, you would most likely be included in the next circle as well. If not that, then the next circle will appear somewhere close to you, so it will be easy for you to rush there.
Use the air-drop to kill your enemies
We’ll put it as simply as we can. Hide near the drop and kill other players as they come for it. Get some easy kills in the game and then go for the air-drop.
Opt for how you want to use the door
There are two ways to use the door in PUBG. If you close the door after entering, it will make your enemies feel like the house has not been looted yet. This would make them enter the house, and you can be ready to kill them. The other way to use the door is by leaving it open. This way, your enemies will think that the house has been looted and they will not enter the house. So in this case, you needn’t engage in any fight and you can play defensively.
Bait your enemy
If you find a good weapon in the initial phase of the game, then you can use your primary weapon to bait your enemies. Just leave it on the ground and hide. When your enemy comes to pick it up, you can kill him. Even if he picks it up in hand, he would still have to reload it to use it. So that will give you enough time to kill your enemy.
Always play with headphones on
If you play PUBG without your headphones, you will be killed very early in the game. Once you put earphones on, you would get a lot of help in understanding the position of your enemies. This is because you would be able to listen to the footsteps and gunshots of your enemies. With them, it will be easy for estimate where exactly your enemy is.
Oppo‘s sub-brand Realme has expanded its lineup in the budget segment in India. The company has launched Realme U1 in the country, which is the world’s first smartphone to be powered by MediaTek Helio P70 processor.
It also happens to be the first selfie-focused smartphone in Realme’s lineup and sports a 15MP front facing camera. Besides this, the other key specifications of the Realme U1 smartphone include a 6.3-inch display and a 3,500mAh battery. Here are all the specifications and pricing details of the newly launched smartphone in India:
In This Article
Realme U1 price in India
Realme U1 mobile is available in two variants in India – one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. While the 3GB RAM model is priced at Rs 11,999, the 4GB RAM variant costs Rs 14,999. The smartphone is exclusively available on Amazon India’s website where it will go on sale on December 5. Realme U1 smartphone comes in Ambitious Black, Brave Blue and Fiery Gold colours.
Realme U1 specifications
Coming to the specifications of the newly launched smartphone, Realme U1 sports a 6.3-inch FHD+ Dewdrop LCD panel that has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a screen-to-body ratio of 90.8%. The display has been protected with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 and the back pane of the device is made of acrylic that has a special coating on top that makes it look like glass. According to the company, acrylic is less prone to shattering as compared to glass and is also lighter in weight.
As we mentioned earlier, the smartphone is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 processor that has four big Cortex-A73 cores and is coupled with a Mali-G72 MP3 GPU. Realme UI smartphone is available in 3GB and 4GB RAM variants that are clubbed with 32GB storage and 64GB storage respectively. For more storage, users can install a microSD card of up to 256GB.
For imaging duties, there is a dual rear camera setup with 13MP and 2MP sensors. The company claims that the cameras of the smartphone can render depth of field in real time. Besides this, they have support for HDR and multi-frame noise reduction, but lack support for 4K.
It is the first ever selfie-focussed smartphone from Realme and it comes with a 25MP IMX576 sensor that is housed in its teardrop notch. According to the company, the IMX576 sensor comes with 0.9µm pixels that can be binned for enhanced performance in dimly-lit conditions. Both the cameras of the smartphone are said to have AI enhancements.
Realme U1 runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with Color OS 5.2 and packs a 3,500mAh battery. Connectivity options of the smartphone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, micro-USD port, OTG support, and 3.5mm audio jack.
Rejoice OnePlus fans! There is another OnePlus smartphone that the company is planning to launch next month. The Chinese smartphone maker has partnered with autosport giant McLaren and the company has announced that it will unveiling the result of their collaboration in India on December 12. However, there is no official word on what exactly OnePlus is going to launch.
But most likely, it will be a special edition of the company’s latest flagship OnePlus 6T (review). The partnership between the two companies completely focusses on speed and performance, so we wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the upcoming special edition smartphone will come with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The new edition of the smartphone is expected to bear a premium price tag. However, the company did mention in its announcement that the partnership includes both McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing.
It is worth noticing that the same event has been scheduled for December 11 in the United States. According to The Verge, when one tries to go to the page of the event, the URL says ‘mclaren-6t’ and this confirms the launch of OnePlus 6T‘s McLaren Edition. When we tried to go to the event page, ‘mclaren-6t’ appeared for a fraction of a second before the final URL was displayed.
It is not the first time that OnePlus has partnered with another company to launch a special edition of their flagship mobile phones. Other special edition smartphones by company that we have seen include OnePlus 3T x Colette 20th Anniversary Edition, OnePlus 5 x JCC+Limited Edition ‘Callection’, OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition and OnePlus 6 x Marvel Avengers Limited Edition.
If we keep all of these editions in mind, we can guess that the OnePlus 6T McLaren edition can come with elements from the ‘Papaya Orange’ colour scheme of McLaren’s official logo. But then, this is just a speculation as there are no leaks or rumours about the upcoming smartphone on which we can rest this claim.
Speaking on the partnership, OnePlus CEO and Founder Pete Lau has said, “McLaren and OnePlus were born in a similar way — with a big dream to create something special. Starting from nothing, we challenged ourselves to never settle. Today we unveil a true testament to innovation, a salute to speed.”
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which is popularly known as PUBG, is set to get a new addition. According to a report that has surfaced online, the popular battle royale game will soon be getting the Vikendi snow map. The YouTube channel Allthenewsisgoodnews has digitally recreated the Vikendi snow map in order to show viewers what it’s going to look like.
The Vikendi snow map has been uploaded to the server, which means that Tencent Games might be planning to make it very soon. The map that has been recreated by the YouTube channel shows that PUBG will now come with a giant cosmodrome with a rocket, command centre, satellites, and towers. However, we must keep in mind that as of now, the map is missing any foliage and it may not be entirely accurate. Another fact that we must take into consideration is that micro-features are usually added to maps even after they have made available online.
Recently, Sony kicked off the pre-orders for PUBG in the PS Store and the listing did have a Vikendi event pass. It was being said earlier that the pass will go live for consumers next year. With this leak, we can consider the possibility of Tencent Games releasing the map alongside PUBG PS4 next month on December 7.
The latest season of PUBG Mobile came with the latest 0.9.5 update of the game which was made available by Tencent Games on Android and iOS. The biggest change in Season 4 is that scores of all the players – old and new – have been reset and they are now required to start from the scratch.
The update has also got new game mode, upgraded vehicles and weapons, rare outfits, hairstyles and more. In order to make the game more interesting, the safe zone circle – where players don’t suffer any damage – keeps on getting smaller in the new season.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is basically an online battle royale game in which 100 players land on a battlefield. They are required to stay alive till the end of the game with the help of their gathering skills and survival instincts. The last man standing wins the hypothetical ‘chicken dinner’. Currently, PUBG is available on PC, Xbox One and Mobile platforms.
Since the last few years, Chinese technology companies have taken over a major portion of the Indian smartphone market. While Xiaomi has been leading the budget segment, OnePlus has been ruling the premium segment for the last three quarters now.
And there is no denying the fact that the Indian smartphone market is overcrowded and has too many brands competing with one another. But that’s surely not deterring enough for a Chinese smartphone company which wants to make its comeback in the country. We are talking about Meizu.
The smartphone maker first forayed in India in 2015 with it M1 Note smartphone. Post that, Meizu went on to launch a few more smartphones in the country. However, it has been quite some time since the company launched its last device in India. The last Meizu smartphone to be launched in India was the Pro 7 mobile that was rolled out in July 2017.
However, now things are set to change. According to a report in BGR India, the company will be making a comeback in India in December this year and will be targeting both budget and premium segments.
The report further said that the company plans to launch three smartphones in India. Among these, a smartphone codenamed ‘M16-TH’ will compete directly with the OnePlus 6T (review). The other two smartphones by Meizu will be a part of the affordable range and will rival smartphones from Xiaomi.
It is worth noticing that besides these three smartphones, Meizu also has plans to launch two more devices in January 2019, as per the report.
Since the company is re-entering the Indian market, it is bound to have done some homework in order to compete with industry leaders.
To recall, the latest report from Counterpoint Research said that Xiaomi is the currently the biggest smartphone brand in India and accounts for 23% of the total shipments. And if we talk about the premium segment of the Indian smartphone market, OnePlus has been dominating it with over 30% market share. Another report by Counterpoint says that within just five months of its launch, OnePlus 6 has become the Chinese smartphone maker’s highest selling model.
If you are a gamer, then you must be waiting for an upgrade of the Xbox or PlayStation 4. This year, the world of gaming did see some exciting new games, but the devices that are used to play these games – PlayStation 4 or Xbox One – are almost five years old. While they do perfectly execute games of all kinds, we could definitely do with an update.
An interesting fact about these gaming consoles is that even though they have not been updated for so many years, they are still selling units. However, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, the sales of the two popular gaming consoles are expected to drop next year. He also added that because of this, both the companies – Microsoft and Sony – are expected to announce the updated versions of their gaming consoles next year. It has been reported that these devices will be called as Xbox Scarlet and PS5. However, we should mention that these are just expected names, and there is no official word about them from either of the two companies.
It is worth noticing that he has only said that the two devices will be announced this year. Considering this, reports are suggesting that while the Microsoft and Sony will unveil the devices in 2019, their official launch will only be held in 2020. This is totally in line with previous reports that claimed that we might get the first look of the new consoles from the companies in 2019. So if you have been waiting for the next gaming console, you will have to be a little more patient.
As of now, we don’t know anything else about the upcoming gaming consoles. However, taking into account that the consoles will be getting an upgrade after so many year, we can expect a more powerful processor, faster GPU and an increase in storage and memory.
The current model, PlayStation 4, is powered by a custom AMD-built x86 multi-core processor that is clubbed with an AMD GPU. With these configurations, it directly competes with Microsoft’s XBox One, which is also a favourite among gamers.
HMD Global has sent out media invites for an event in New Delhi that is scheduled for December 6. Although as of now, the invite only says ‘Save the date’ and a more forma invite is expected to be sent in the next few days, the company is likely to launch the Nokia 8.1 smartphone in India. It is the rebranded version of Nokia X7 and may also be called Nokia 7.1 Plus.
HMD Global has been teasing the launch of that smartphone with #ExpectMore hashtag on Nokia Mobile India Twitter handle and from the teasers, one can easily spot the display notch the device will sport. The company is also expected to launch the Nokia 7.1 smartphone in the country.
It is also worth noticing that HMD Global is holding an event in Dubai on December 5 where it is expected to launch Nokia 8.1, Nokia 2.1 Plus and the awaited Nokia 9. So there is is a possibility that at the company’s event in India the next day, the same smartphones will be launched along with Nokia 7.1 mobile.
Earlier this month, a report had surfaced online which claimed that Nokia 8.1 is going to be launched in India with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The same report further claimed that the smartphone will be priced at Rs 23,999.
Nokia 8.1 is said to be the global variant of Nokia X7 that was launched in China last month. The smartphone was launched in three variants in China – 4GB RAM/64GB storage, 6GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage. The three models were priced at CNY 1,699, CNY 1,999, and CNY 2,499 respectively.
Reports have suggested that HMD Global will be launching the Nokia 9 smartphone in Dubai at its event on December 5. Although there is no official word on it, but we can hope to see the smartphone getting launched in India the next day, considering how closely the two launch events are scheduled.
At Nokia 7.1’s launch in Europe last month, the company had said that it will be announcing the smartphone’s India pricing and availability later. And now that the company has sent out invites for an event on December 6, one can fully expect it to make the announcement there. Additionally, the Nokia 2.1 Plus is expected to be unveiled.
Samsung made headlines last month when it launched the world’s first smartphone with four rear cameras. Needless to say, all photography lovers and Samsung fans were waiting for Galaxy A9 (2018) to come to India too. And the company was quick to launch it here, barely a month after its global launch. Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) has a beautiful glass-body design, comes in colours that make it stand out, sports the Infinity display and its key feature is obviously the cameras. We got to spend a few days with the smartphone. Read the rest of our review to know if it’s the right buy for you or not:
In This Article
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) Design and Display
On the first look, Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) mobile will remind you of Samsung’s triple camera phone, Galaxy A7 (2018). But then, there are reasonable number of differences between the two. While Galaxy A7 (2018) comes with a flat back panel, Samsung’s new offering’s glass back panel curves towards the edges. Since Samsung Galaxy A9 is a big smartphone, these edges facilitate one handed usage.
The dual tone gradient glass back panel makes the newly launched Samsung Galaxy A9 look extremely premium. It houses the quad-camera setup, which is vertically stacked, and has the fingerprint sensor and Samsung branding. One thing we have always liked about Samsung devices is that they don’t have the camera bump at the back. And Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) is no exception to that rule. The side edges of the smartphone house the volume rocker, power and Bixby buttons. You’ll find the SIM tray at the top and a Type-C port, speaker grille, and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.
Flip over, and you’ll see the 6.3-inch display of the smartphone. Unlike most other smartphones that have been launched recently, Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) comes without a notch. And honestly, we don’t have any complains. The bezels at the top and bottom of the device are equal in size. Above the display are the selfie camera, earpiece and the LED flash, and at the bottom, there are in-display navigation buttons.
One thing we really liked about the smartphone is the number of colours it is available in. You can pick up the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) in Bubblegum Pink, Lemonade Blue and Caviar Black colours. We found the Pink and the Blue colours of the device to be rather unconventional, but Black was rather ordinary. The one that we got for review was dressed in Blue.
Speaking of the display of the smartphone, it comes with 6.3-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display. If we had to describe the display of Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) in a single word, we would call it superb.
You will get an excellent contrast and the ability to switch between various screen modes including Adaptive display, AMOLED cinema, AMOLED photo and Basic. The Blue light filter option is there for those who have a tendency of using their smartphones in low light or complete darkness. You can enable it manually or schedule the time for it to be enabled on its own.
It projects extremely vibrant colours while maintaining accuracy, and they remain consistent at different viewing angles. But then, the company is known to make devices with beautiful displays. The images were as sharp and clear as one can expect them to be, and we seriously couldn’t put our phone down while we were watching videos on it. We even played 4K content on it, and it turned out to be perfect. While watching videos, you can pinch to zoom in so that they fill the entire screen. It’s a small tip that you can follow for a better viewing experience. During our time with the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018), we had no trouble with sunlight readability on the device.
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) Performance and Cameras
Before we start talking about the performance of the smartphone, let’s take a look at rest of the specifications of Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018). The new offering by Samsung is powered by Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 660 processor. Now this can be something not everyone would be happy with, considering there are cheaper devices available which come with the most high-end processor that is available – Snapdragon 845. We understand that the smartphone focusses more on photography and less on speed and power-packed performance, but we would have been happier to see Snapdragon 710 instead of Snapdragon 660.
Having said that, we should clarify that this does not mean that the performance on Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) was bad. It was good, in fact. But we have used devices with more high-end processors so we know that it could have been better than what it is.
Coming back to the specifications of Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018), the smartphone comes with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and has 128GB of onboard storage. The device runs Android 8.0 Oreo skinned with Experience UI and is promised to get the update for Android Pie. Galaxy A9 (2018) houses a 3,800mAh battery and comes with a fingerprint sensor as well as Face Unlock feature.
Coming to the software of the smartphone, we would have been happier to see fewer pre-installed apps on the device. In spite of the price tag, Galaxy A9 (2018) comes with apps like Dailyhunt, Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, etc. Other than this, rest was good. The smartphone has support for Bixby and on swiping right from the Home Screen, you will see updates that the digital assistant curates for you. Besides this, if you don’t like the on-screen navigation buttons, you can enable gestures to replace them from the Settings of the smartphone. You can also decide if you wish to see app icons with frames or without them. Overall, the experience was good, but we are waiting for the device to get the Android 9.0 Pie update so that it gets the latest features that its rivals like OnePlus 6T come with.
We did a lot of multitasking with the device. There were times when we used it for navigation for two straight hours and kept watching videos or playing games simultaneously. And we were happy that it took it well.
Speaking of gaming, you may find the smartphone warming up a bit when you play heavy games on it. It cannot be called a heating issue, but it does warm up a bit, which is something very common with smartphones that have a glass body. But then, as we mentioned earlier, the company is focusing on photography and not power performance with Galaxy A9 (2018). If you like to play only simple games like Alto’s Odyssey and Temple Run 2, it should not be a problem for you. Only heavy gamers would not be as happy as others.
The call quality of the smartphone was good. We even tried making calls from an elevator, and we could do that without facing any problem. The fingerprint sensor is very accurate and it worked for us each time we tried using it. However, the same cannot be said for the face unlock of the phone. It sometimes didn’t work too well in dark or dimly lit areas.
The 3,800mAh battery was decent. It will last you almost an entire day with heavy usage involving games, YouTube videos, playing music, and long phone calls. If your usage is moderate, it may even last longer. We observed that gaming on the device does consume battery quicker than performing other tasks.
Now let’s talk about the key highlight of the smartphone – its cameras. To recall, Samsung Galaxy A9 has a 24MP sensor (wide f/1.7 aperture), a 10MP telephoto sensor that features 2x optical zoom (f/2.4 aperture), an 8MP ultra-wide sensor that has a 120-degree lens (f/2.4 aperture) and a 5MP depth sensor (f/2.2 aperture). The company has also said that in lowly-lit conditions, the smartphone combines data from four pixels of primary sensors in order to enhance the quality of the images taken. The modes on the camera app of the smartphone include Panorama, Pro, Beauty, Live Focus, Auto, Scene Optimiser, Super Slow-Mo, AR Emoji, Hyperlapse, and Slow Motion.
Speaking of the images the camera managed to capture, we have to say we are impressed. The details, the clarity and the colour accuracy are as good as one can expect them to be in the given price range. The shots we took in well-lit conditions came out great and we managed to click some really nice ones during our time with the phone. Moving to the shots taken in dimly lit conditions, the smartphone did a good job there too. The images didn’t lose their clarity or colour quality. We even transferred the photos to our laptop and saw them, and we are extremely happy with the results that we got. Some of them are also on our Instagram channel here. However, at night, the smartphone takes a longer time to focus on the object that is being clicked.
We even clicked some images with Live Focus enabled and the quality of images still remained consistent. Only when we zoomed in to click images did we observe some noise in the photos.
We are extremely happy with the 24MP selfie camera of the device too. Other than the normal Selfie mode, users can choose from Selfie Focus mode, AR Emoji and Wide Selfie mode. While Seflie Focus adds the Bokeh effect to the photos, the AR Emoji has Snapchat-like filters and Wide Selfie lets you capture more area in your picture. Most selfies that we clicked with Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) turned out to be great. We didn’t even consider editing them before we uploaded them on social media. And how many smartphones can give you results like that?
When we ran a few benchmark tests on the device, it scored 1,611 and 5,423 in Single and Multi-core score in Geekbench and 1,41,420 in Antutu. All indicate better than mediocre performance.
Verdict and Final Words
The pros outweigh the cons here. In terms of design, Samsung Galaxy A9 is an absolute stunner, it has a great display and the photography on the device truly lives up to what the company promised. Samsung could have used a better processor, but even with Snapdragon 660, the performance of the smartphone was smooth. And because the device has been promised to get an Android 9.0 Pie update, we can’t consider Android Oreo as a minus. If you value speed in a smartphone over everything else, you would be happier with a OnePlus 6T. However, if you don’t use power hungry apps on your smartphone and want decent battery backup, Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) makes for a good buy. And needless to say, if you are a photography lover, you should just buy it already.
Honour 8C is going to lie in the mid-budget segment of the Indian smartphone industry. We got the device over to run through our test setup, but before that here is the unboxing and our first impressions of the latest smartphone by Honor.
![[Video] Asus ROG Phone: First Look and Camera Samples](https://www.gadgetbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/maxresdefault-6-768x432.jpg "[Video] Asus ROG Phone: First Look and Camera Samples")
![[Video] Honor 8C: Unboxing and First Impressions](https://www.gadgetbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/maxresdefault-7-768x432.jpg "[Video] Honor 8C: Unboxing and First Impressions")
