![[Video] Moto G6 First Look and Box contents](https://www.gadgetbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/maxresdefault-768x432.jpg "[Video] Moto G6 First Look and Box contents")
Moto G6 is out in the Indian market at a starting price of Rs 13,999 for 3GB RAM/3GB Memory and Rs 15,999 for 4GB RAM/64GB Memory. We have with us the later one. Check out the first look video which has all the details and our views of the newly launched smartphone.
Go Noise Play 2 unboxing and first look
We got the Go Noise Play 2 and here is the unboxing and first look videos. Lot of components inside in this neat camera that retails for Rs 9,999.
Tech Specs:
| Image Sensor | ||
| 16 MP | ||
| Lens | ||
| F2.8 Aperture, 7G glass | ||
| Display | ||
| 2.0″TFT LCD Touchscreen | ||
| Ports | ||
| Mini USB , Micro HDMI, Micro SD Slot | ||
| Storage | ||
| MicroSD memory card with Class 10 or UHS-1 rating required | ||
| Up to 128GB capacity supported | ||
| Battery + Charging | ||
| Rechargeable lithium-ion battery | ||
| Battery Capacity: 1200mAh | ||
| USB Charging: DC 5V 1000 mA | ||
| APP | ||
| Android (Google Play Store) – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.haotek.play iOS – Coming Soon | ||
| Video | ||
| Resolution | Frame Size | Frame Per Rate (fps) |
| 4K (2880*2160) | 16:9 | 24 |
| 4k (2880*2160) | 4:3 | 24 |
| QHD (2560*1440) | 16:9 | 30 |
| QHD (2560*1440) | 4:3 | 30 |
| 1296 (2304*1296)16:9 | 16:9 | 30 |
| Full HD(1920*1080)16:9 | 16:9 | 60 |
| 1080 (1920*1080) | 16:9 | 30 |
| Full HD (1440*1080) | 4:3 | 30 |
| HD 720 (1280*720) | 16:9 | 120 |
| HD 720 (1280*720) | 16:9 | 60 |
| HD 720 (1280*720) | 16:9 | 30 |
| WVGA (848*480) | 16:9 | 30 |
| VGA (640*480) | 4:3 | 240 |
| Photo | ||
| Resolution | ||
| 16MP | 4:3 | |
| 14 MP | 4:3 | |
| 12 MP | 16:9 | |
| 12MP | 4:3 | |
| 10MP | 16:9 | |
| 10MP | 4:3 | |
| 8MP | 16:9 | |
| 8MP | 4:3 | |
| VGA | 4:3 | |
| Time Lapse Photo | ||
| 0.5S / 1S / 2S / 5S / 10S / 30S / 60S | ||
Super Comparison: Moto G6 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Oppo Realme 1 vs Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 vs HTC Desire 12
The budget segment of Indian smartphone market has seen a number of new entrants this year. Starting from Xiaomi Redmi Redmi Note 5 Pro, a slew of smartphones have been launched in this category off late. These include Oppo Realme 1, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 and the very recently launched Moto G6 and HTC Desire 12. If you are confused about which one you should buy, reading our comparison will help you decide which among these five smartphones is the right one for you. Here’s our spec-to spec comparison of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, Moto G6, Oppo Realme 1, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, and HTC Desire 12.
Display
Moto G6: 5.7-inch FHD+ IPS touch screen
Oppo Realme 1: 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160p) display
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: 5.99-inch FHD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio
HTC Desire 12: 5.5-inch HD+ IPS display with 18:9 aspect ratio
Processor
Moto G6: 1.8GHz Octa-core GHz Qualcomm snapdragon 450 CPU clubbed with Adreno 506 GPU
Oppo Realme 1: MediaTek’s 12nm octa-core Helio P60 processor
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
HTC Desire 12: Quad-core MediaTek MT6739 processor
Primary camera
Moto G6: Dual rear cameras with 12MP and 5MP sensors.
Oppo Realme 1: 13MP rear camera. The camera app supports AR stickers that can be applied to photos taken by both rear and selfie cameras.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Dual rear camera setup with 12MP and 5MP sensors.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: 13MP+5MP dual rear cameras with LED flash. (A variant with 16MP+5MP dual rear cameras will be launched soon).
HTC Desire 12: 13MP rear camera.
Selfie camera
Moto G6: 5MP front facing camera for selfies and video calls.
Oppo Realme 1: 8MP front facing camera with AI Beauty 2.0 feature.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: 20 selfie camera with LED flash and Xiaomi’s AI learning mechanism.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: 8MP front-facing snapper with Snapdragon camera app interface.
HTC Desire 12: 5MP front facing camera.
RAM and storage
Moto G6: The smartphone is available in two storage variants — 3GB RAM/32GB storage and 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage.
Oppo Realme 1: 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage, 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage, 6GB RAM/64GB onboard storage
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: The smartphone is currently available in 3GB RAM/32GB onboard storage and 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage variants. A new variant with 6GB RAM/64GB storage is also expected.
HTC Desire 12: 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage
Support for microSD card
Moto G6: Up to 128GB
Oppo Realme 1: Up to 256GB
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Up to 128GB
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: Up to 2TB
HTC Desire 12: Up to 2TB
Battery
Moto G6: 3,000 mAh
Oppo Realme 1: 3,410mAh
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: 4,000mAh
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: 5,000mAh
HTC Desire 12: 2,730mAh
Operating system
Moto G6: Android 8.0 Oreo
Oppo Realme 1: Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with ColorOS 5.0
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: MIUI 9 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: Android 8.1 Oreo
HTC Desire 12: Android Oreo-based HTC Sense
Price
Moto G6: The 3GB RAM variant is priced at 13,999 and the 4GB RAM version bears a price tag of Rs 15,999.
Oppo Realme 1: Oppo Realme 1’s 3GB RAM variant is priced at Rs 8,990, the 4GB RAM variant costs Rs 10,990, and the 6GB RAM variant bears a price tag of Rs 13,990.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: The 3GB RAM variant costs Rs 14,999 and the 6GB RAM version bears a price tag Rs 16,999.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: The 3GB RAM version costs Rs 10,999 and the 4GB RAM bears a price tag of Rs 12,999. The upcoming 6GB RAM version will be priced at Rs 14,999.
HTC Desire 12: Rs 15,800
Xiaomi Redmi Y2 gets launched in India: Price, specifications and more
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has rolled out the second generation of its selfie focussed smartphone Redmi Y1 that we saw last year. Dubbed Xiaomi Redmi Y2, the smartphone is the companies first device to run Android Oreo out-of-the-box.
Price and availability
Xiaomi Redmi Y2 comes in two variants – 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage. While the 3GB RAM variant is available at Rs 9,999, the 4GB RAM variant bears a price tag of Rs 12,999.
At this price, the smartphone will compete against the likes of Oppo Realme 1 and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. In fact, Oppo Realme 1 also competes with Xiaomi’s smartphone in terms of the features because both are selfie-focussed smartphones.
Xiaomi Redmi Y2 will go on sale on June 12 on Amazon India at 12 noon. As a part of the offers with the smartphone, Airtel is offering a cashback of Rs 1,800 and up to 240GB of 4G data. Furthermore, there is also a cashback of Rs 500 available for purchases made via ICICI credit and debit cards.
Specifications
Available in Dark Grey, Rose Gold and Gold colour variants, Xiaomi Redmi Y2’s key feature is its 16MP front facing camera that comes with auto-HDR and AI Beautify 4.0 feature. The selfie camera of the smartphone is also capable of shooting in Potrait mode. On flipping the phone, you will see 12MP and 5MP dual rear cameras along with an LED flash.
Speaking of other specifications, Xiaomi Redmi Y2 sports a 5.99-inch HD+ screen with a screen resolution of 1440x720p and 269ppi. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clubbed with Adreno 506 GPU, it comes with the aforementioned RAM and storage.
Xiaomi Redmi Y2 runs Android Oreo skinned with MIUI 9.5. And like we mentioned earlier, it is the first Xiaomi smartphone to run Android Oreo out of the box.
The newly launched device by Xiaomi houses a 3,080mAh battery and in terms of connectivity, it offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
OnePlus 6 Review: A smartphone that wins because of its superb price
OnePlus is a brand that is really-really smart. They learn from others mistakes and pick up things that are popular today and are trending. Probably the reason why their smartphones do not carry a hefty price tag with them when compared to the Samsung’s and Pixels of the world. In simple words, the other companies do all the R & D and bring out new features and OnePlus just picks the popular ones and incorporate them in their smartphones with the latest hardware.
Now that is not a bad thing at all, we say it is the smart way and a win-win combo. The users get a brilliant phone, not a burning a hole in their pocket when it comes to price and OnePlus sells more phones than before with the least amount of expenditure. So what is this new smartphone all about? We spent some time with the new OnePlus 6 and this our review of the latest blockbuster.
Design and Blueprint
The OnePlus 6 is of the same size as OnePlus 5T, but has lot of new things going for it. To start with, the display on the OnePlus 6 is a 6.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 19:9 aspect ratio. This by far is the biggest that OnePlus has to offer featuring 84 percent screen-to-body ratio. We reviewed the Mirror Black version of the OnePlus 6 that has Gorilla Glass 5 on both front and the rear. The backside also has a thin layer of film under it to give the user a depth effect.
The front now also sports a notch, just like the one found on the iPhone X. However, is much smaller in width. This houses the ear speaker, proximity sensors and the front facing camera all cramped up just to give you that extra screen space on either side. The downer? Because of this you do not get to see all notifications icons on the sides. Yes, you can turn them off, but people like us tend to keep a lot of them on and this screen would just not show all of them. In the settings the users can also hide the notch display but we did not particularly like it since we lose out on display area.
As for the sides of the OnePlus 6, it has a metal strip running around it that is not the smoothest as found on the Samsung galaxy S9+ but does get the job done. On the metal trim, users will find the power and profile button on the right side, the dual SIM tray and the volume rocker key on the left, and a USB C port, single speaker grille and a 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom. Spin the smartphone around and you will find the dual rear camera setup with an LED flash underneath and a finger print sensor with the OnePlus logo.
Despite of its big size the OnePlus 6 is quite nice to hold and easy to access, even with one hand. We rarely found ourselves using two hands to manage it. The weight is just right and never did we once feel that this phone will slip out of ours hands. The only thing we didn’t like is that this shiny phone is a fingerprint magnet. So, one has to keep a microfiber cloth handy to clean it regularly.
Performance, Camera and Features
OnePlus 6 is one of the fastest smartphones available right now in the world. It runs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset with Octa-core 2.8 GHz CPU, 8GB of RAM and the 128GB storage. Together they give this device the much needed kick and in many cases makes this smartphone faster than the Galaxies and Pixels. This is the reason we love OnePlus so much; they accord together the best hardware at mid-level pricing that makes the smartphone a drool worthy buy.
The OnePlus 6 has one of the brightest displays available right now, next to the Samsung Galaxy S9+. We enjoyed it thoroughly and playing games and videos on it was a pleasurable experience. It ran the most power and graphic hungry games like PubG at blitzkrieg pace with incredible detailing. The blacks on the OnePlus 6 are deep and colours are vibrant thanks to the latest Adreno 630 graphics processor on it. We ran the usual tests on the OnePlus 6 and the scores blew of the charts. It scored 244,436 points on AnTuTu benchmark and 8,983 points on Geekbench 4 multi-core CPU test and 13,633 on its compute tests. Putting it in the top 10 on the leader board.
A place where OnePlus 6 is not so great is the sound department. The single speaker is loud, but that is just about it. Somehow we prefer the OnePlus 5T’s speaker over the OnePlus 6’s. However, the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack makes up for it, since we can connect the wired headphone to it to enjoy movies, music and games. The OnePlus 6 is powered by a 3,300 mAh battery with fast charge support. We absolutely love it since it charges the phone in a jiffy and you can get a whole day’s worth of usage in a matter of minutes. The OnePlus 6 did last us for more than a day when fully charged. This included YouTube video browsing, voice calls on 4G network and a game or two here and there.
Jumping to its camera functionality, the image detailing from the rear cameras (20MP + 16MP) is quite good, you get crisp images during the day and in low light (both OIS and EIS is available here). But, when zoomed to 2X a bit of noise is visible. Videos can be shot in 4K at 60 FPS and is great outdoors, but indoors it suffers at times as they are not the sharpest.
Lot of shooting modes including portrait and our favourite the slo-mo mode is available that shoots HD videos at up to 480 frames per second. The front camera is powered by a 16MP Sony IMX 371 sensor with EIS and f/2.0 aperture. The images here were also nice indoors and outdoors, with good sharpness when clicking a selfie.
OnePlus 6 runs Android 8.1 out of the box and as soon as we unboxed it, connected it to the Wi-Fi, we were greeted with an update. That is how fast OnePlus plans to roll out security patches and updates. The Android OS has OnePlus’s OxygenOS skin on top of it. One does get the app drawer on this smartphone with some bloatware, which can be removed as one pleases. The interface is slick and good for one hand operations. Yes, some apps did get stuck once in a while, but we are sure these are teething problem and will be resolved in the next update.
Users have the option to remove the bottom touch screen buttons, which enables the users to get the full screen experience. So how does one go back or to the home screen? With screen gestures. Users can swipe from the bottom middle part to go back to the home screen or from bottom right/left to go back to the previous screen. These are similar to the ones found on the Apple iPhone X, but are not as smooth. To unlock the smartphone, the face-unlock as well as the fingerprint sensor work quite swiftly. Not once did these features trouble us.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
OnePlus 6 (8GB + 128GB) is priced at Rs 39,999 in India and is twenty to thirty thousand Rupees cheaper than the latest Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone 8. It gives top end features at a lower price. Yes, the manufacturer does cut a few corners in the form of no IP67 or IP68 rating even though the company claims this smartphone is splash proof, no wireless charging capability and inclusion of just a single speaker. However, these are just a few cons in an ocean of pros. Overall, the OnePlus 6 does seem to be a worthy buy with the kind of performance it gives at this price point.
Pros:
Good performance
Decent Price
Good display
Cons:
Mediocre Sound
No wireless charging
Moto Z3 Play launched, will support old Moto Mods
It is a good thing that Motorola is committed to the modular phone form factor and for the third year running has brought a new Z Play version of its popular smartphone. Called the Moto Z3 Play the new smartphone will be able to attach and run all the older versions of the Moto Mods. There are few changes here and there in the aesthetics, but the major change is under the hood.
If we talk about the design, the Moto Z3 Play features an 18:9 aspect ratio 6-inch super AMOLED touch screen with a finer bezel around it. The smartphone is made of aluminium and has Gorilla Glass 3 protection on it (front and rear). The finger print moves to the side, as the rear will accommodate both old and new Moto Mods.
Specifications and price:
The Moto Z3 Play touchscreen supports 1,080×2,160 pixels screen resolution. This is backed by mid-level machinery in the form of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core CPU, 4 Gigs of RAM and 32GB of storage. A 64 GB model is also available. As for the cameras, the Moto Z3 Play does come with a dual snapper setup at the back. These are powered by 12MP + 5MP sensors and can take images with Bokeh effect. The cameras do come with the auto focus functionality and a dual-tone LED flash.
Now for the front Motorola has incorporated an 8 MP camera on the façade with f/2.0 aperture. Battery life should be good since this one houses a 3,000 mAh battery and runs Android 8.1 OS straight out of the box. USB type C is supported with fast charge module. As for the price, the Moto Z3 Play starts at $499 which roughly translates to Rs 33,450. The Phone is expected to come to India in the coming months and should be available with one of the leading online E-commerce players in here.
HTC Desire 12, Desire 12+ launched: Price, specs and more
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has launched its Desire 12 and Desire 12 Plus smartphones in India. With the newly launched mobile phones, the company has expanded its line of budget mobiles here. Both the smartphones were unveiled globally in March this year and their highlights include displays with 18:9 aspect ratios and a back panel made of acrylic glass.
Price and availability
While HTC Desire 12 bears a price tag of Rs 15,800, HTC Desire 12 Plus costs Rs 19,790. Both the smartphones will be available on HTC India E-Store and they can also be picked up from offline retail stores as well. While they will go on sale online starting June 7, they will be available on retail stores June 11 onwards.
Specifications
Speaking about the specifications of HTC Desire 12, the smartphone features a 5.5-inch HD+ IPS display and has an aspect ratio of 18:9. Powered by quad-core MediaTek MT6739 SoC clubbed with 3GB RAM, the smartphone comes with 32GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 2TB. The smartphone runs Android Oreo-based HTC Sense and sports a 13MP rear camera with an LED flash along with a 5MP selfie camera. HTC Desire 12 houses a 2,730mAh battery and has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack as connectivity options.
Coming to HTC Desire 12+, the smartphone has a 6-inch HD+ IPS display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. HTC Desire 12+ runs Android 8.0 Oreo based HTC Sense and is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor clubbed with 3GB RAM. It has the same internal storage and microSD card capacity as HTC Desire 12 and houses a 2965mAh battery.
The smartphone has a dual rear camera setup with 13MP and 2MP sensors and a front facing camera with 8MP sensor. For connectivity, it offers 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 850 for Always Connected PCs
American chipmaker Qualcomm has announced a new processor that it has especially made for Windows 10 Always Connected PCs. In December 2017, Always Connected PCs powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor were showcased at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii.
To recall, at Qualcomm’s annual conference last year, devices from Asus, HP and Lenovo running on Snapdragon 835 were unveiled after the company reiterated its partnership with technology giant Microsoft. With the collaboration, Microsoft and Qualcomm also promised better security and enhanced performance for the devices.
And now, Qualcomm has launched the Snapdragon 850 to succeed its previous processor that powered the Always Connected PCs. With Snapdragon 850, Qualcomm promises improved performance, connectivity, and battery life of these PCs.
The Always Connected PCs platform comes with ARM processors, a lasting battery life, an instant-on resume without hibernation and integrated LTE. It is no secret that Always Connected PCs are Microsoft and Qualcomm’s attempt to create a competitor to Apple’s iPad Pro.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 is basically a customised version of Snapdragon 845 that was unveiled late last year and exclusively meant for PCs. Much like Snapdragon 845, it is also made of second-generation 10nm process and is clubbed with X20 modem.
According to Qualcomm, Snapdragon 850 comes with tweaks in both hardware and software and promises to enhance the performance of the PCs by 30% as compared to the ones running on Snapdragon 835. It also claims to make the devices’ battery last for multiple days by increasing it by 20%. Furthermore, devices powered by Snapdragon 850 will come with a 20% rise in the peak gigabit data speeds.
Devices with Snapdragon 835 were showcased last year but went on sale this year. But even then, devices with Snapdragon 850 processor are also scheduled to go on sale this year. Furthermore, the Snapdragon 850 platform will be seen on a device from Samsung among other laptops and 2-in-1s.
Asus ROG Phone with Snapdragon 845 processor gets launched for the gamer in you
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Asus, which has been popular for its ROG (Republic Of Gamers) laptops, has showcased its ROG Phone at an event in Taiwan. The ROG gaming smartphone from ASUS is said to be the first smartphone in the world to come with a 3D vapour-chamber cooling system.
But that’s not all. Asus ROG Phone sports a gamer-centric design and has ports mounted on the sides that are optimised for landscape-mode. It also features ultrasonic AirTrigger touch sensors and comes with 90Hz refresh rate and a response time of 1ms.
The key highlight of the smartphone is its Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor clubbed with Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU – which further optimizes it for gaming. Asus ROG Phone will compete directly with the Razer Phone, which is also known for gaming. However, before we draw any more comparisons between the two, we will have to wait for the price and availability details of the smartphone.
Specifications
Asus ROG Phone features a 6-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display and is said to have 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. The smartphone is also touted to have 108.6% DCI-P3 colour gamut and 10,000:1 contrast ratio. As we mentioned earlier, it is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and is equipped with Adreno 630 GPU.
The smartphone has 8GB of RAM and sports 12MP+8MP dual rear cameras and an 8MP front facing camera for selfies and video calls. It runs ROG gaming UI and offers 512GB of internal storage. Over that, this smartphone houses a 4000mAh battery and has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, AGPS, USB Type-C port, NFC, and 3.5mm jack as connectivity options.
Besides this, the smartphone comes with GameCool vapour-chamber cooling system and detachable AeroActive Cooler for extra cooling. The mobile from Asus also has an optional TwinView Dock, which enables dual-screen handheld mode. A Mobile Desktop Dock and a Gamevice controller with WiGig Dock using 60GHz Wi-Fi has also been thrown in the mix. While the former can be used for desktop-style gaming, the other enables big-screen gaming.
Other features like Asus Aura RGB lighting, Aura Sync support and ASUS HyperCharge direct-charge technology are also available in this newly launched smartphone. That was an exhaustive list, hopefully this smartphone will make its way to India soon.
7 new things that are coming to an iPhone near you: iOS 12
Apple WWDC 2018 just got over and we have seen some mixed reactions from the crowd. While some cannot wait to get their hands on the new iOS 12, some are saying most of the new features are better or already there in other operating systems. Whatever the case maybe, no one can ignore the biggest tech conference held each year. Here are the top 7 things that make up for the new software upgrade you will soon see on your iPhones and iPads:
Apple News: Though not a very big upgrade, but these minor changes like new browse tab will surely make the user experience better.
iBooks to become Apple Books: This is not ust a rebranding exercise, with the name change the app will also get a much needed facelift which will focus more on discoverability. New Book Store tab will make it easy for people to browse through the collection.
It’s all about performance baby: Well after the battery fiasco, Apple had to save face, didn’t they? They seem to be committed to make the new iOS 12 faster than before, even for older devices. Apple said with the new update, apps launch 40% faster, system keyboard comes up 50% quicker and the camera app pops up 70% faster on an iPhone 6 smartphone. If all that is true, many Indian will take a sigh of relief, as their dying iPhone might last for another year.
Grouped Notification: Well about time, Apple has finally brought group notification and dismissal system to the iOS 12. Users will be able to manage or strike out multiple notification from the same app at one go. These will come in a stack format and you can decide which ones to see. In case you put some of them in the quite mode, then they will not turn up on your screen or make the phone vibrate, instead they will be tucked nicely in the notification centre.
Memoji: Now what the heck is that, why does Apple keeps creating new words you are asking? Sometimes companies do that to make a new feature a little catchy, well this one is okay-ish, maybe it grows on us in some time. Alright, so the Memoji feature has been added to iOS 12 where users can create personalised character of themselves on the Apple iPhone X. Fun feature, but how much will one use it?
Group Facetime: As soon as this feature was announced Indian tech media went crazy putting tweets involving our favourite TV news anchor. So what does this feature do? In iOS 12 you can video chat with up to 32 people at once. Now that is awesome! It will definitely give Skype and Google Hangouts some sleepless nights.
Photos app gets better: In iOS 12 the Apple Photos app will bring new features such as ‘For You’ tab, which will show effects that users might want to add to their clicked images. Photos will also ask friends and family to share images with the person who has shared images with them, from the same event. In a way, Photos has become smarter and will assist you like an assistant we know is fabulous, but is not associated with Apple, wink wink.
Acer Nitro 5 Spin Review: Extreme gaming at minimal weight
There are not a lot of gaming machines out there in the portable segment that can do what the Acer Nitro 5 Spin can — deliver extreme performance and at the same time swivel 360 degrees. Yes, this machine can do that and much more. We got our hands on this sweet rig to find out what the hoo-ha is all about. This is our review of the Acer Nitro 5 Spin.
Design and Blueprint
As soon as you open the plane black packaging of the Acer Nitro 5 Spin and remove the covers, the gaming notebook screams for attention. It demands you to fall in love with it and to do that it is ready to woo you at every stage. We for one, took it slow, but to tell you the truth it did grow on us quite quickly.
Acer Nitro 5 Spin is not like the usual gaming laptops you get in the Indian market, instead it is much lighter than other machines of the same configuration. More on that a few paras down. From factor is where this portable gaming rig gets full marks. Acer has designed it perfectly in most aspects. The touch screen is placed well in between a black bezel, the keyboard is large and is backlit, the sides have maroon lining which can also be seen on the hinges and around the keyboard. Then there is a nicely placed keypad and to top it off a 360 degree rotating touch display.
Well, those things do get us racing, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The sides also sport couple of USB 3.0 ports, a mini USB type C port, an HDMI jack, card reader and a 3.5mm audio port. In case you want to use it like a large tablet acer has provided a nice power button with volume rocker keys on the right side, these can be accessed easily. All this in under 2.2 Kg.
Performance
Let’s start with the configuration. The Acer Nitro 5 Spin comes in a few specs starting with Intel Core i5 8th gen, however the one we are reviewing is the top of the line with Intel Core i7 8th gen CPU with clock speed of 1.8 GHz and turbo boost. It has 8 GB of RAM and comes with dual storage drives. One SSD with 256 GB capacity (primary boot drive) and a secondary 1 TB 2.5 HDD, so together they make sure you get best performance and have lot of space at the same time.
The IPS display is 15.6-inches wide and supports full HD 1080p graphics. Talking about which, the graphics are powered by a NVIDA Geforce 1050 GTX graphic card that kicks in beautifully and makes sure all the latest games run at high, if not ultra-high settings. To test the performance further we ran PC Mark 8 home test on it and it scored a nice 3,627 points. On 3D Mark Sky Diver test it scored 6,286 points. Both, put the Acer Nitro 5 Spin in the higher order of gaming laptops in India.
The battery life is exquisite and we were able to extract 6 hours of it with mixed usage of watching movies, playing a game or two and listening to music. This machine amazed us at many steps, till we saw the smudges on the top side of the panel and the screen. It is a touch screen device so these are meant to be there, but they do really show when the lights are dim and are distracting. Our suggestion is to keep a cleaning cloth handy in the carry case of backpack.
Also, while playing games on it for long we found that the right side of the keyboard did get a little hot and the fan gets really loud. Oh yes, loudness reminds us that the twin speaker system is quite loud too, this time in a good way. For movie and casual gaming, it is really good, however when playing games like Counter Strike we trusted our good old headphones.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
The backlit keyboard is a blessing when you are gaming at night. The full length keyboard is also great for strategy games where you need to use more keys. Combine this with a great pair of headphones and a gaming mouse, you have a winning combination at LAN events or game nights with friends. At a price of Rs 91,989 the Acer Nitro 5 Spin might be out of reach of many. But, if you can afford it, we give it a thumbs up.
Moto G6, Moto G6 Play launched in India: Price, Specs and availability
Motorola has been a brand that has seen its ups and downs. Right now it is at a stage where it has again emerged as somewhat of a force to reckon with. It has got some decent set of smartphones under its belt and with launch of G6 and G6 Play today in India it has become even stronger.
The smartphones were first showcased in Brazil in April, with a third variant called Moto G6 Plus. However, the company has gone ahead brought just the G6 and G6 Play version to India. The Plus variant will come in few weeks’ time. Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play lie in the budget segment and have decent specifications. So what are they?
Moto G6 Specifications, price, offers and availability
Let’s start with the Moto G6 first, as this is the more powerful of the two and is aimed at audiences who can spend a little more to get that extra power in their device. Priced at Rs 13,999 for the 3 GB RAM/32GB memory version and Rs 15,999 for the 4GB RAM/64 GB memory variant, the Moto G6 sports a 5.7-inch FHD+ IPS touch screen. It is powered by the Octacore Qualcomm snapdragon 450 CPU with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz. This is fastened with Adreno 506 GPU.
Moto G6 comes with a dual camera rear setup with 12MP + 5MP sensors with f/1.8 aperture. We did test out some of the camera modes on the smartphone and quite liked the one where you can choose a colour on screen and everything else besides that particular shade turns black and white. The form factor of this phone is quite nice and is light to hold as it has just a 3,000 mAh battery inside. Which the company claims will last for a full day. Yes, it has a dual sim tray which is slightly curved, placed at the top of the smartphone.
At the moment the Moto G6 is available in only the blue shade, which when kept under a direct light source reflects an ‘S’ pattern, something seen on the OnePlus 6. Moto G6 runs Android 8.0.0 out of the box and not 8.1, which came across as strange to us as they are Google’s premium partner. This smartphone will go on sale on Monday midnight and is an Amazon Exclusive. If you have an HDFC credit card then you can get a flat discount of Rs 1,250 and up to Rs 1,000 extra on exchange of your last smartphone. Airtel prepaid users can also avail a cashback of Rs 2,000.
Moto G6 Play specifications, price and availability
Next in line is the Moto G6 Play that is priced at Rs 11,999 and is available with just one RAM memory combo (3GB RAM/ 32GB memory). It too has a dual SIM tray on it which can accommodate two Nano SIM. Screen-wise this smartphone has the same size display of 5.7-inches, however the resolution is HD+ and not FHD+ like the one found on Moto G6. This one is powered by the lesser powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC with clock speed of 1.4 GHz.
Graphics are powered by the 505 Adreno GPU, but the battery on this one gets a boost. It can stay on for longer as it has much bigger 4,000 mAh battery that can be turbo charged. The rear of the Moto G6 Play has just one camera with a 13 MP lens, with the front one powered by an 8 MP sensor. Moto G6 Play will be available in gold and indigo colour variations and can be picked up from Flipkart exclusively (online) and offline from the Moto hub stores. There is no-cost EMI service available on this smartphone by Bajaj and there is also an assured buy back offer running of Rs 5,100 when you buy this smartphone. Moto G6 Play also runs Android 8.0 out of the box and not 8.1
New images of a 6.5-inch iPhone surface, looks almost like the iPhone X
We did get to hear that the next Apple iPhone models will sport a large screen. Now, OnLeaks has pushed out new renders of the Apple iPhone, which could be the upcoming model. This one seems to have a 6.5-inch touch display. By the looks of it, this model design is very similar to the iPhone X, perhaps it is an upgrade to the last model that company has been talking about, since they will stop the production of the iPhone X this year.
Other details known to us that are still running in the rumour mill are that the new Apple iPhone top-end model will have a new chipset by Apple, which might be 15-30% faster than the previous gen. It will also have 4 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. A twin camera setup is going to be there and it can be seen in the latest leaks as well. Over that, the front array will again have dual cameras, but the notch might by slightly smaller.
Speaker, MIC and charging ports will be at the bottom while the volume keys will be placed on the left with the power button and SIM tray on the right. Like the last one, there is no 3.5 MM jack on this device, too. The reports also suggest that the display on this Apple iPhone model will be OLED and might support 4K graphics.
Apple’s Bezel-less body is still the best and no manufacturer has come close to designing it like Apple does, yes the notch on some of the phones like the OnePlus 6 is better, but the form factor of the Apple iPhone X and this one seems to be much better. If this is the real deal, we cannot wait to get our hands on the new device, which will be out this September.
Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 2.1 launched: Price, specs and more
HMD Global has today finally taken the raps of its much talked about smartphones – Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 2.1. The smartphones are successors of last year’s Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and Nokia 2 smartphones and refresh HMD Global’s budget line-up for the year. Much like other Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 2018, all three smartphones fall under Google’s Android One program.
Nokia 5.1
HMD Global’s Nokia 5.1 features a 6000 series aluminium unibody design and runs Android 8.0 Oreo. The device will get an upgrade to Android P and is powered by 2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P18 processor. Nokia 5.1 comes with a 5.5-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It is available in two storage variants –2GB RAM/16GB onboard storage and 3GB RAM/32GB of inbuilt storage. For more storage, users can install a microSD card. For imaging duties, Nokia 5.1 sports a 16MP primary camera with LED flash and an 8MP selfie camera. The device houses a 3200mAh battery and offers 3G, 4G VoLTE, Wi-FI, Bluetooth and GPS for connectivity. Nokia 5.1 bears a starting price tag of 189 Euros and its global roll out will begin in July 2018.
Nokia 3.1
Nokia 3.1 comes with a 5.2-inch HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It runs the Android 8.0 Oreo and much like Nokia 5.1, it too is upgradable to Android P. Powered by an octa-core MediaTek processor, the smartphone comes in two storage variants – 2GB RAM/16GB storage and 3GB RAM/32GB onboard storage. For imaging duties, it sports a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing snapper for selfies and video calls. The smartphone houses a 2900mAh battery and offers 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Micro-USB port for connectivity. Nokia 3.1’s starting price is 139 Euros and it will be rolled out globally in June 2018.
Nokia 2.1
Powered by 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, Nokia 2.1 runs Android 8.0 Oreo and will be getting an upgrade to Android P. The smartphone sports a 5.5-inch HD display that comes with an anti-fingerprint coating. Nokia 2.1 offers 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 32GB. While it does not have as much storage as other two devices, it beats them both with its 4100mAh battery. Nokia 2.1 is priced at $115 and will be made available in July this year.
Apple WWDC 2018: Expected announcements
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference 2018 is set to begin on June 4. Needless to say, there are a number of rumours on the internet about what the Cupertino based technology giant has up its sleeve for the event. In addition to software announcements that Apple does every year at WWDC, the technology giant is also expected to make some announcements on hardware. Declarations on Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are also likely. While we would have to wait to see what Apple has planned for this year’s WWDC, here we bring to you everything that is projected to happen:
New iPad Pro: It is fully possible that Apple will be unveiling the next generation iPads on WWDC 2018. Considering that the last update to iPad Pro came in June 2017, it is a possibility that definitely cannot be ruled out. According to various reports, the new iPad Pro will be available in two variants – 12.9-inch and 10.5-inch. Much like the iPhone X, the new iPad Pro will come with a bezel-less design, Face ID and a TrueDepth camera. There has also been some speculation about Apple planning to separately launch the next generation iPad Pro. However, we’ll have to wait till WWDC 2018 to see how true that is.
Apple iPhone SE 2: The biggest and the best attraction at this years’ WWDC will be the iPhone SE 2. The first iPhone SE was launched in 2016 and fans have been expecting a new version for a long time. Ahead of WWDC 2018, a number of leaks have given away some specifications of the upcoming iPhone SE 2. To begin with, the new iPhone SE will sport an iPhone X like edge-to-edge display. Maybe Apple plans to do this in order to offer more screen space without altering the dimensions too much. The iPhone SE 2 is also expected to come with a glass design like the iPhone X and will be powered by the A11 Bionic processor. It will house a 1,750mAh battery and come in two storage variants – one with 32GB and the other with 128GB onboard storage.
Apple AirPower: Were you completely fascinated by Apple’s wireless charging mat when it launched the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X in 2017? Well, the wait for it might be over as the Cupertino based technology giant may launch it in WWDC 2018. Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, had said during the September 2017 launch that the AirPower will be launched ‘next year.’ If Apple wants the multi-charging pad to go on sale before it launches its next iPhones, the best opportunity to launch it will be WWDC 2018.
Apple iOS 12: Apple has traditionally used its developer conference to showcase the latest version of its mobile operating system. And this year should be no exception as Apple is expected to unveil iOS 12. iOS 12 is expected to come with deeper integration with Augmented Reality, added security features, and tweaks in user interface. Apple may also add a feature which will enable users to control their smartphone addiction. If you suddenly recall the newly launched feature in Android P, we don’t blame you as it is meant for precisely the same function.
Siri: Google’s Assistant recently got six new voices including John Legend’s. So how can Apple lag behind? According to rumours, Siri will be getting new voices too. And Siri will also soon power a new home speaker and open a number of third party applications. Apple is also expected to get new machine learning features to Siri.
WatchOS 5: Not much is known about the WatchOS yet, but what do know is that it is set to make the Apple Watch 3 even more wellness-focussed. With WatchOS 5, Apple’s smartwatch is set to get a sleep tracking feature. There is also a possibility of more watch face customizations.
New Macbooks and iMacs: Last year on WWDC, Apple refreshed its entire line-up of laptops and desktops. And it is fully expected to do the same on WWDC 2018 with new MacBooks and iMacs. Its new line-up of laptops and desktops will be powered by latest 8th generation Intel processors. How much the hardware will change is something we’ll have to wait to see. There are also rumours about Apple planning to unveil a comeback model of MacBook Air.
Kingston will soon launch its first HyperX RGB device in India. Tete-A-Tete with Vishal Parekh of Kingston India
Kingston and HyperX are some of the well-trusted brands in India, when it comes to PC accessories and components. We had a chance to interact with Mr Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director, Kingston Technology India to understand how the company was doing here. We got some great insights on how the firm is faring and its roadmap, products to come and a special note on the Indian gaming industry. Here is what our conversation was all about.
- How is Kingston and HyperX business doing in India? Any numbers you want to share?
India is a key Asian market for both, Kingston and HyperX, in terms of sales, channel partners and community engagements. The market size itself creates immense opportunities for us to showcase products and solutions that help strengthen business operations and productivity. We have focused our energies to strengthen our communication with our stakeholders and to strategically ensure that our value propositions reach the right audience. More essentially from business perspective, we offer the best-in-class after sales service support and with certain internal improvements, we have been able to increase our National TAT (Turn Around Time) for Service to 80% from 60% last year.
From what we see, HyperX has an interesting segment to cater to, which is gaming. There’re growing business opportunities in this segment as the demand for our products has been ever growing. We work with our channel and ecosystem partners to cater to our customers better.
- What can we expect from the brand Kingston/HyperX in 2018 in terms of products and devices?
2018 seems to be ‘The Year of Many Firsts’ for us in terms of products. From the HyperX stable, we launched the HyperX Cloud Alpha, the World’s First Gaming headset with Dual Chamber technology and HyperX Stinger Core, our first headset especially for PlayStation 4. From Kingston’s value proposition, we recently launched our Kingston UV500 family of SSDs, our first storage offering with 3D NAND and Hardware Encryption, and the Kingston A1000 SSD, which is our first entry-level NVMe PCIe SSD with 3D NAND.
The list doesn’t end there as there are quite a few exciting products that the Indian market has its eyes glued to. Very soon, your readers will see and probably experience our first HyperX RGB products in India. Not just that, you can expect more revisions and upgrades to our existing portfolio of products and solutions.
- A gadget you wished Kingston or HyperX had designed?
This is an interesting question. The speed at which we are adding successful product lines, I wouldn’t be surprised if the product I mention gets added to our portfolio. But, from my opinion and quality that HyperX promises, I would have been excited if we had designed the Tesla X car.
- Besides the usual memory and audio products, is Kingston planning to foray into any other gadget segment, maybe a smartphone?
I had a feeling that there would be a similar question. There are no plans at this point to foray into smartphones. However, the answer to the question is still Yes. There are gadget segments that Kingston is adding like the upcoming Nucleum, which sports 7 high quality ports from one USB-C connection or the DataTraveler Bolt Duo, a Dual USB drive for iPhone or iPad.
- What is your take of the Indian gaming scenario? There was a lull period, but it’s gradually picking up, will it finally explode and reach new heights?
To put it bluntly, Indian gaming was more than fragmented till late 2015. This was the time when brands, with interests like ours, worked together to identify and consolidate the gaming communities and help them grow. We worked and invested in creating a steady infrastructure for gamers to participate and improve their skillset. HyperX followed a 3-Tier approach where we
- Empower gamers with quality, durable products
- Help cafés get better at servicing gamers
- Build national professional platforms for gamers to aim for
The gaming industry here is growing at a healthy pace due to the rise in its acceptance from families. What we also see is the increasing drive from gamers to improve their talent with better hardware and better competition. For youngsters, gaming has now become a major source of entertainment due to which there has been a rise in the popularity of the PC gaming, Console gaming and online gaming. It is expected that in coming years, India will emerge as one of the top gaming nations. With our engagements, we aim to develop the casual gamers to professional gaming
Vivo X21 with in-display fingerprint sensor launched in India: Price, specifications and more
Vivo did woo the crowd when they first showcased the in-display fingerprint sensor in the Vivo X21 few months ago. Finally, the smartphone has arrived in India and boy-o-boy does it look good. With a price tag of Rs 35,990 this smartphone will take the fight to OnePlus 6 and Nokia 8, which also lie in the same price bracket.
Specifications
The Vivo X21 has a lot of good things going for it, but first let’s harp a little about its main USP. With the in-display fingerprint reader embed, there is no round or oval physical space/key anywhere on the phone that the user would need to tap to unlock the it. Instead one has to press lightly the bottom middle part of the touchscreen. A sensor lies here and it reads the fingerprint as soon as you tap on it. Pretty neat, if you ask us.
As for the other specifications, the Vivo X21 features an edge to edge 6.28-inch FHD+ super AMOLED touchscreen (2,280×1,080 pixel resolution). This has an aspect ratio of 19:9. 6GB of RAM and 128GB memory is placed on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, which for us is slightly off-putting as the other smartphones in the bracket have Qualcomm 835 and even 845 chipsets powering them. Moving on, the smartphone does support additional storage and one can install a microSD card up to 256 GB in this device.
Vivo X21 does come with a dual-camera setup at the back powered by a 12MP+5MP sensor combo. The front snapper is also powerful enough to take good selfies, as this one get a 12MP sensor too with f/2.0 aperture. Powering Vivo X21 is a 3,200 mAh battery with fast charge support. Other features include dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 5.0, Android 8.1 Oreo with Vivo’s own Funtouch OS 4.0 over it. This smartphone will be Flipkart exclusive and comes in gold colour option for the Indian market.
Leaked: Xiaomi Mi8 Specifications before its May 31 launch
This season we have seen leaks, leaks and more leaks of smartphones that are about to be launched. The latest to join the leaked bandwagon is the leading smartphone brand of India, Xiaomi. Slashleaks have revealed the box of the Xiaomi Mi8 in this latest internet leak that shows most of its specifications that the users would want to know. This has come days before the smartphone will be revealed to the world at an event in China.
The photos surfaced by them show that the Xiaomi Mi8 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset (the second phone to have it, after OnePlus 6), 6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage and a dual camera setup, with 20MP sensor. What’s more, is that this smartphone will also support dual-GPS mode that is first in its class. What will happen with the dual-GPS? Well, some say it will strengthen the signal for more accurate reading that apps can use.
Other than that, different reports suggest the Xiaomi Mi8 to have a 6.2-inch FHD+ display with 19:9 ratio. This phone will also have a notch like the OnePlus 6 and seems to be an edge to edge screen driven mobile. A 16 MP sensor will power the front facing camera module, while a 3,300 mAh battery will be giving this smartphone its life juice. This is most likely to be backed by a Quick charge feature that will give the user several hours of talk time in a matter of few minutes of charging.
This smartphone with other gadgets from Brand Xiaomi is set to release on 31st of May. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 and MIUI 10 is also slated to launch at the same event. If the above specs are true, then Xiaomi does seem to have a winner on its hands, as it will keep the price very competitive when compared to OnePlus and Oppo smartphones.
Vivo Z1 announced, has a large 6.3-inch edge to edge screen: Price and specifications
Vivo seems to be on a roll and is on a launching spree of new devices. Well, we have seen this strategy work in the past and makers like Samsung and Xiaomi have made it big using the same road. The company is all set to launch its new Vivo X21 UD smartphone in India on May 29, but before that they have gone ahead and announced the first in its Z series of smartphone called Vivo Z1.
Price
This smartphone was showcased in China and carries a price tag of CNY 1,798 that is Rs 19,150 approximately in India. In terms of the specifications the Vivo Z1 will sport a 6.3-inch (19:9 aspect ratio) edge to edge touch screen with a notch on top, just like the one found on many other devices days, inspired by Apple iPhone X.
Specifications
The Vivo Z1 will have Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC at its core and will come with 4 GB RAM. A Dual camera setup (13MP + 2 MP) is found on this smartphone and the front camera is powered by a 12MP selfie sensor. Fingerprint reader and facial recognition have been added to this smartphones security detail. Vivo Z1 is available in Black, Red and Blue colour variants.
Over that, the Vivo Z1 will also support dual-SIM with 4G and runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. The CPU has clock speed of up to 2.2 GHz and is combined with a 512 Adreno GPU. As far as the storage is concerned, the Vivo Z1 has 64 GB inbuilt memory that can be expanded with the help of a microSD card up to 256 GB using the hybrid SIM tray.
Other features include VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11, GPS, Bluetooth and a 3,260 mAh battery. When is the arrival of this phone in India? Well, that is still unclear, but an industry insiders tell us it will be available in India in the next 30-60 days.
OnePlus 6 Unboxing And First Impressions
We got our hands on the OnePlus 6 and here is the unboxing and first impressions of the nifty little smartphone.
Technical Specifications of the OnePlus 6
*20MP+16MP primary dual camera with OIS, Super Slow motion, Portrait mode and 16MP front facing camera
*15.95 centimeters (6.28-inch) FHD+ Full Optic AMOLED 19:9 display with 2280 x 1080 pixels resolution. 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
*OxygenOS based on Android Oreo 8.1 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa core processor
*6/8 GB RAM, 64/128 GB internal memory and dual nano SIM dual-standby (4G+4G)
*3300mAH lithium Polymer battery with Dash Charge technology
*Face Unlock, Fingerprint scanner, Water Resistant, Glass back and NFC enabled
Apple is giving back Rs 3,900 to its customers over iPhone’s battery fiasco
Well about time, Apple is giving a refund of USD 50 or Rs 3,900 to people who have had their batteries replaced from iPhone 6 or later models. If you are one of those who had done so between January 1, 2017 through January 28, 2018 from an authorized iPhone service center in India, then you might also be eligible for the refund.
Apple has said it will alert all its costumer who have done so during that period for its iPhone 6 or later variants. The alert is most likely to come in the form of an e-mail to your registered e-mail address which Apple has. If you have not got an E-mail as yet, then you might want to wait as they will be sending out alerts all through July 2018, too. In case you do not get an E-mail from the company for your refund you can directly contact the company as well. But, you would be required to show the legit papers from an authorized Apple service center, which replaced your iPhones battery.
Alos, the refund is only for those Apple iPhones that had gone out of warranty. The play by Apple comes after the issue of throttling speed came to light in the older gen of Apple iPhones, last year. The company had admitted to this in a statement that they were using software to do so. As a result, the smartphone did become slower than usual spelling doom for the owner. They had no choice but to upgrade to a faster and latest model, or move to a different smartphone all together. As an atonement, now Apple has offered some respite to the consumers who had to go and replace their iPhone 6 or latter’s battery because of this façade. A good move (if you as us) by Apple as it will keep brand loyalty alive.
Acer launches gaming desktops: Nitro 50, Orion 3000 and Orion 5000 series
Taiwanese electronics maker Acer launched a slew of devices at its next@acer global conference yesterday. Among these were its gaming desktops, Nitro 50, Orion 3000 and Orion 5000 series.
Acer introduced its Nitro 50 series of gaming desktops along with Nitro VG0 and RG0 gaming monitors at the event that was held in New York yesterday. Speaking of Acer’s Nitro 50 series, the desktops are powered by up to 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processors coupled with Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070 graphics cards. They come with up to 3TB HDD and 512GB SSD.
What’s exciting about them is the fact that they can simultaneously support 4 displays at once and offers 4K resolution visuals. They also support Qi-enabled charging and come with a dedicated handy wireless charging deck for it. They come with armour inspired housing and sport front facing LED lighting that emit red glow. Acer’s Nitro 50 Series also supports Realtek Dragon LAN which optimizes network speed.
The Acer Nitro 50 Series gaming desktops bear a starting price tag of $799 and will be available in US and China starting July. However, it will be available in EMEA in May itself.
Speaking of Acer Nitro VG0 Series, it comes with 27 inch, 23.8 inch and 21.5-inch display panels with three options in terms of resolution — 4K ultra-HD, WQHD, or Full-HD. On the other hand, Acer Nitro RG0 Series comes in 27-inch and 23.8-inch models and the company is touting it for its 0.27-inch thin profile.
Acer Nitro monitor’s frames come with AMD Radeon FreeSync which lets them sync with the graphics card’s frames. They also have the Integrated Visual Response Boost and Integrated 6-axis colour adjustment features. While the former decreases blur in fast moving images, the latter lets users make adjustments to colour, hue, and saturation levels.
Acer’s Nitro RG0 series’ displays come with 1920×1080 at 75Hz resolution and IPS panels that can provide view of up to 178 degrees horizontally and vertically. The monitors meet 72 percent of NTDC standard and can tilt from -5 to 20 degrees. They can deliver 250 cd/m2 brightness and come with a VESA mount which enables them to be hung in the wall.
Acer’s Nitro VG0 gaming monitors bear a price tag of $129.99 and will be available in US starting June. However, it will be available in EMEA and China starting May. Acer Nitro RG0 gaming monitors are priced at $169.99 and will be available in US starting July and EMEA starting May.
Speaking of Acer’s Predator Orion 5000 series, the gaming desktops feature up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7+ 8700K processors. The processors are further coupled with the latest Intel Z370 SoC, up to 2-way Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPUs and up to 32GB of memory. They come with IceTunnel 2.0 airflow management design and a front mesh panel with dust filters. They also have additional features for gaming like cradles for audio headsets, and a carry-handle for to make them portable.
Acer’s Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktops are priced at $1,499 and will be available in US starting July. They will however, be available in EMEA and China in June.
Devices from Acer Predator Orion 3000 Series are powered by up to 8th-generation Intel Core i7+ processors coupled with GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards from Nvidia. While a lot of specifications are similar to Orion 5000, Orion 3000 series support VR and 4K gameplay.
The Predator Orion 3000 gaming desktops cost $999 and will be available in US starting October. In EMEA and Chine, it will be available starting July.
Last, but not the least, the company has also launched gaming accessories including Predator Cestus 510 gaming mouse, Predator Gaming Chair, Predator Hard Case, Predator Aethos 500 mechanical keyboard, and a Predator Mousepad.
Xiaomi to launch a selfie focussed smartphone in India on June 7
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has sent invites to the media for an event that is scheduled for June 7. The company is set to announce a smartphone at the upcoming event, after teasing it on Twitter a few days back.
The official invite has a picture of a camera lens made on it and it says that Xiaomi is hosting an event in New Delhi on June 7 to announce a new product.
Considering its post on Twitter just a few days back, Xiaomi may be set to launch its Redmi S2 smartphone in India, but after rebranding it as Redmi Y2 – successor to last year’s Redmi Y1 smartphone.
There are two kinds of people.
1. Let's take a picture
2. Let's take a selfie
Which one are you? #FindYourSelfie pic.twitter.com/PNhLiDKhJx— Redmi India – #Redmi9 is here! (@RedmiIndia) May 18, 2018
Besides, the invitation may not carry any details about the phone, but it does have some hints that helped us join the dots. Right in the middle of the invite is a sketch with half a human face on one side and half a camera sensor on the other. On putting two and two together, it is easy to make out that this means a camera with AI powered features is on its way.
Xiaomi Redmi S2 was launched in China earlier this month and is being touted by the company as “best Redmi selfie phone”. In China, the smartphone was launched in two storage variants – 3GB RAM/32GB on-board storage and 4GB RAM/64GB storage. Furthermore, the phone was also available in different colour variants including Champagne Gold, Platinum Silver, and Rose Gold.
Xiaomi Redmi S2 runs Android-based MIUI 9 and is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor. It features a 5.99-inch HD+ display and sports a dual rear camera setup with 12MP and 5MP sensors. There is also a 16MP selfie camera that supports AI Portrait Mode, AI Smart Beauty, Front HDR, and Face Unlock. The phone can also hold microSD cards of up to 256GB.
Acer launches Predator Helios 500 and Predator Helios 300 Special Edition gaming laptops
On its next@acer global press conference on Wednesday, Acer unveiled a range of gaming devices including gaming laptops, desktops and accessories. Among these, Acer also launched its Predator Helios 500 and Predator Helios 300 Special Edition gaming notebooks. According to Acer, both of these support VR-ready performance, have faster connectivity and come with advanced thermal technology.
Speaking of the Acer Predator Helios 500, it is powered by 8th-generation Intel Core i9+ processors and offers up to 64GB of RAM. The notebook comes with GeForce GTX 1070 graphics and Intel Optane memory. It also has NVMePCIe SSDs and Killer DoubleShot Pro. According to Acer, these specifications along with features like graphic-intensive AAA titles and live streaming make it a gaming powerhouse.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 sports a 17.3-inch screen and has the choice of either full HD IPS or 4K Ultra-HD display. Nvidia G-Sync technology powers both the inbuilt display and external monitors come with. The notebooks come with a dual Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI 2.0 ports that can support three external monitors. The notebook also has a backlit RGB keyboard that supports four lighting zones. The laptop comes with Acer’s Dual AeroBlade 3D fans, which is claimed to enhance cooling and can be controlled via PredatorSense app.
Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptops bear a starting price tag of $1,999 and will be available in US and China starting June. They will be made available a little sooner in EMEA, starting May itself.
Coming to the special edition of Acer’s Predator Helios 300, it comes with a White and Gold colour scheme and features a 15.6-inch full-HD IPS display with an updated refresh rate of 144Hz. Powered by up to 8th-generation Intel Core i7+ processor and Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, the notebook comes with up to 16GB of RAM, that can be upgraded to 32GB. It can further support up to 512GB SSD and up to 2TB hard disk drive. The special edition of Acer’s Predator Helios 300 also comes with Dual AeroBlade 3D cooling system, Intel Optane memory, Gigabit Ethernet and Gigabit Wi-Fi.
Besides these, Acer also teased the Predator X line-up of products that we will get to see in the future. All that we know about them is that the products will be powered by Intel’s Xeon processors for gaming.
Acer launches Chromebook Spin 15, Chromebook Spin 13 and Swift 5 laptops
Taiwanese electronics company Acer has today launched its new range of gaming laptops, notebooks, Chromebooks at an event in New York. Among the products that were launched were Acer’s Chromebook Spin 15, Chromebook Spin 13 and Swift 5 laptops.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is claimed to be the first convertible Chromebook that features a 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS touch display. The display of Acer’s Chromebook is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass and has support for 10-finger touch.
The Chromebook Spin 15 comes in three processor options. These include quad-core Intel Pentium N4200 processor, Intel Celeron N3450 processor and dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor. It comes in two storage options – 4GB RAM/32GB onboard eMMC storage and 8GB RAM/64GB inbuilt eMMC storage. It is claimed to have a battery life that can last up to 13 hours. The laptop runs Google’s Chrome OS platform and has support for Android Google Play Store. The Chromebook Spin 15 comes with two USB 3.1 Type-C generation 1 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a microSD card reader as connectivity options. The price of Acer Chromebook Spin 15 starts at $449 and it will be available in the US starting July.
Besides launching the Acer Chromebook Spin 15, the company also refreshed its Chromebook 15 model. The new version of the Chromebook 15 comes with the same 15.6-inch display and claims to offer up to 14 hours of battery life. It comes in three processor options including quad-core Intel Pentium N4200 processor, dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor and quad-core Intel Celeron N3450 processor. The Chromebook supports high-definition audio and will be available with up to 8MB dual-channel LPDDR4 memory. It also offers 64GB of inbuilt eMMC storage. The price of the new version of Chromebook starts at $349 and will be made available in US starting July. Both Chromebook Spin 15 and Chromebook 15 will be available in EMEA starting June.
Acer also launched its Chromebook Spin 13 and Chromebook 13, which is aimed at those who use laptops for business. Both Acer Chromebook Spin 13 and Chromebook 13 feature a 13.5-inch Full-HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 3:2. Both the Chromebooks come with an all-aluminium body and have USB 3.1 Type-C ports, USB 3.0 port, microSD card reader, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 as connectivity options.
The Chromebook Spin 13 is a convertible and comes with 360-degree hinges and a Wacom stylus. It is powered by an 8th gen Intel Core i5-8250U processor or Core i3-8130U processor. Coming to RAM and storage, the Chromebook Spin 13 offers 16GB LPDDR3 RAM and up to 128GB of onboard eMMC storage. It is claimed to have a battery life of up to 10 hours.
Speaking of Acer Chromebook 13, it comes in three processor options — 8th gen Intel Core i3-8130U, Intel Pentium 4415U and Intel Celeron 3865U processor. It comes with 16GB LPDDR3 memory and 32GB/64GB of inbuilt eMMC storage. Acer has not as yet revealed the price and availability details of the two Chromebooks.
Another major product announced by Acer is its Swift 5 notebook. The notebook features a 15-inch display and is powered by latest Intel Core processors. Weighing even less than 1Kg, the laptop runs Windows 10. The notebook follows the current trend of thin bezels and comes with 87.6% screen-to-body ratio. The Swift 5 also comes with Acer Color Intelligence technology and Acer BluelightShield technology. While the former adjusts gamma and saturation in real-time, the latter adjusts the screen’s blue-light emission. Acer Swift 5 comes with Intel Wireless-AC 9560, USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 port, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, an HDMI port, and an SD card reader. It offers 16GB of DDR4 memory and up to 1TB of SSD storage.
More details on specifications, pricing and availability will be shared by the company later.