WhatsApp has killed the SMS industry, since everyone is using this simple free tool (mostly) on their Android and iOS devices to communicate. It is a revolutionary app that has left the mobile operators in a tizzy as the number of people using their SMS service is going down by the day. Well, one reason is: Why would one pay for a limited text message when you can send a huge message, files, images and more over an app that just uses data (which these days is limitless thanks to Reliance JIO) for almost nothing.
Now it seems like that WhatsApp is all set to kill the video calling industry too. Yes, it has the video calling ability since some time, but new features are being added to make the video calling experience more robust. The new feature that has just been rolled out is the group video calling feature. It is a scattered roll out for users, not all are getting it at the same time. If you are using an Android smartphone then look for the latest version update that should say 2.18.145, on Apple iOS it should mention 2.18.52. But, then also not all users will have this activated, like we said it is scattered update.
To check if you have this feature active on your smartphone, follow these steps:
Open your WhatsApp on your Android or iOS device.
Select a person you would want to video call
Go to that person’s window and press the video call button.
Once the call window opens there should be a new button called “Add Participant”
If you find this button there, then group video calling feature is active on your device and you can add more people to the conversation.
Samsung Electronics today launched four smartphones in India under its Galaxy A and J series. All four smartphones – Samsung Galaxy J6, J8, A6 and A6+ — come with Samsung’s popular ‘Infinity display’, which we have already seen on its flagship Galaxy S9. Among the four, Samsung Galaxy A6+ is the most expensive and is priced at Rs 24,990. Samsung Galaxy A6 is available in two storage variants – 4GB RAM/32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage.
While the 32GB variant is priced at Rs 21,990, you can buy the 64GB version by just paying Rs 1,000 extra, as it is priced at Rs 22,990. Speaking of Galaxy J6, it also comes in two storage variants – 3GB RAM/32GB inbuilt storage and 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage. The base variant is priced at Rs 13,990, while the 4GB RAM version is priced Rs 16,490. All the three smartphones will be available starting May 22.
Those who wish to buy Samsung Galaxy A6+ or A6 can do so via Paytm Mall, Samsung India E-Store, Amazon India’ website and all retail stores. Samsung Galaxy J6 can be bought from Flipkart, Samsung’s E-shop website and retail outlets. As for Samsung Galaxy J8, it is priced at Rs 18,990 and will hit the stores in July 2018.
Samsung Galaxy A6 and A61+ specifications
Samsung Galaxy A6 and A6+ have their share of similarities and differences. While Samsung Galaxy A6+ is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 450 processor, the A6 runs on Exynos 7870 processor. Samsung Galaxy A6+ is the bigger screen variant with 6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display with an aspect ratio of 18:5:9. Speaking of the Galaxy A6, it features a 5.6-inch display. Samsung Galaxy A6+ comes with 16MP+5MP dual rear camera setup and a 24MP selfie camera. Galaxy A6, on the other hand, has a 16MP camera on its front as well as rear panel. While Samsung Galaxy A6 houses 3,000mAh battery, Galaxy A6+ is powered by a 3,500mAh battery. Both the smartphones can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB.
Samsung Galaxy J6 and J8 specifications
Samsung Galaxy J8 and J6 also come with their own set of similarities and differences. Samsung Galaxy J8 features a 6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display with 18:5:9 aspect ratio and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 450 processor. Galaxy J6 on the other hand, has a 5.6-inch display with the same resolution and is powered by the Exynos 7870 processor. For imaging duties, J8 comes with 16MP+5MP dual rear cameras and a 16MP selfie camera while the J6 comes with 13MP rear camera along with 8MP front facing snapper. While the J8 has a 3,500mAh battery, J6 houses a 3,000mAh battery. Samsung Galaxy J8 offers 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage. Both smartphones can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB.
After launching the smartphones in Brazil last month the company has decided to launch the duo in India, of course after teasing it last week. The date has been fixed and June 4, 2018 is when the event is going to take place in India. Moto has decided to partner with both the big e-commerce players in India. The Moto G6 will be an Amazon exclusive, while the Moto G6 play will be part of the Flipkart exclusive deal.
With these the Moto G6 Plus was also showcased in Brazil, which is the bigger brother of the Moto G6 and G6 Play. In terms of pricing the approx. pricing of the phones, when converted to Indian Rupees, will be Rs 12,999 for the G6 Play, Rs 16,499 for the G6 and Rs 23,999 for the G6 Plus.
As far as the specifications are concerned, all three models should run Android Oreo 8 out of the box. They will also have Qualcomm chipsets running in them, but different versions. While the Moto G6 play will have Snapdragon 430 and Moto G6 will have Snapdragon 450 powering them, the Moto G6 Plus will have the better Snapdragon 630 as its beating heart. A combination of 3 and 4 GB RAM along with 32, 64 and 128 GB (only G6 Plus) variants is also slated to come to India.
In terms of screen size, the Moto G6 Play and G6 will sport a 5.7-inch display, however the Moto G6 Plus will have a 5.9-inch 1,080×2,160 pixels screen. Camera-wise the G6 Play will sport a 13 MP single rear camera and the other will have 12 MP dual rear cameras. Overall, these seem to be good upgrades to the last years Moto G5 models on paper. Initial reports from the west do favour the trio, but will they hold their fort in India? We shall know in a few weeks’ time.
Probably everyone who has used a Nokia device in the past wants to get their hands on HMD Global’s line-up of smartphones for this year. We, of course, weren’t an exception. With Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, a new version of Nokia 6 and the 4G avatar of the Matrix phone – Nokia 8110 4G – HMD Global has kept the excitement in Nokia fans up. HMD Global’s leading high-end smartphone for the year is Nokia 8 Sirocco – which is a special edition of last year’s Nokia 8. It is part of Google’s Android One programme, which promises users swift, regular updates. Being the flagship, it has top end specifications and is priced at Rs 49,999. HMD Global once again played the nostalgia card by naming it Nokia 8 Sirocco, making it sound like Nokia 8800 Sirocco.
We spent a few days with the smartphone to find out if it’s just good on paper or whether it’s really worth all that money. Read the rest of our review to know what we think:
Design and Blueprint
We’ll start by talking about the design of the device. Simply put, Nokia 8 Sirocco is a stunner. With its rear panel made of glass and trimmed down bezels, Nokia’s flagship smartphone looks premium. The smartphone has a body made of stainless steel and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both rear and front panels. The black, glossy body of Nokia 8 Sirocco is as thin as 7.5mm – something that makes it look very sleek. On the side panels, you can also see the thin lines of the stainless steel used in the smartphone – but it’s not a downside as it looks really good with the black body. Even though the side panels of the smartphone are very thin, they don’t hamper the comfort in daily usage. If you like smartphones that have a minimalistic design, then Nokia 8 Sirocco is definitely a choice you can consider.
The front panel of the smartphone features a 5.5-inch Quad HD pOLED 2K display, which – like we mentioned before – is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The display of Nokia 8 Sirocco tapers towards the side edges, which further enhances the looks of the smartphone. However, this does remind us of the displays that we have seen in recent flagship devices from Samsung. Above the display, the front camera and the earpiece are housed. On flipping over, you will see the back panel of the Nokia 8 Sirocco. The back panel of the smartphone is no exception and much like the rest of the body of the smartphone, it too comes with a glossy finish. This means that the back of the smartphone is prone to getting too many fingerprint marks. But on the upside, compared to other smartphones with glossy finish, we found Nokia 8 Sirocco less slippery.
A vertical dual rear camera setup, the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor and Nokia branding — all fall in the center of Nokia 8 Sirocco’s back panel. The volume rocker and power buttons are placed on the right edge of the smartphone, while the SIM card slot is on the left one. The buttons are designed in a way that they completely merge with the rest of the body of the smartphone, and it’s tough to tell the volume and power buttons apart if you are not directly looking at them. The bottom edge of the smartphone has the USB Type C port and a speaker grille.
To sum it up in a single sentence, Nokia 8 Sirocco looks simply exquisite and has a very unconventional and minimalistic design.
Speaking of the display of the smartphone, it is simply a treat to the eyes. We really appreciate flagship smartphones that come without the iPhone X-like notch on their display, and have something different to offer. And Nokia 8 Sirocco is just that. Without going bezel-less, the smartphone’s display looks fairly spacious because of being curved at the edges. We couldn’t stop watching YouTube videos on a binge because they are simply a visual treat on Nokia 8 Sirocco’s display. The colours projected on the display are vibrant and the images appeared very sharp and clear. The display of the smartphone did impressively well under the sunlight too. The content continued to look sharp and clear even when we viewed it directly under the sunlight.
There was only one thing that is not so perfect about the display experience of the smartphone. Since Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with a curved display, the light somewhat refracts and forms two blue coloured bands on both the edges. These are particularly visible on white or light coloured backgrounds. Although we got used to it, it is the only thing that stops us from calling the display of Nokia 8 Sirocco perfect.
Performance, Camera and Features
Before we start talking about the performance of Nokia 8 Sirocco, we’ll take a minute to speak about the device’s specifications. Powered by 1.9GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 6GB of RAM, the smartphone offers 128GB of internal storage, and does not have a slot for microSD card. For imaging duties, the Nokia 8 Sirocco sports a dual rear camera with 12MP and 13MP sensors and a 5MP selfie camera. The smartphone runs Android 8.1 and houses a 3,260mAh non removable battery. The phone is also IP67 rated which makes it dust and water resistant.
Although it was a little disappointing to see that even though Nokia 8 Sirocco is HMD Global’s flagship, it was not powered by Qualcomm’s latest processor – Snapdragon 845. That being said, we have seen smartphones with Snapdragon 835 with very good performance, so it’s not something we can’t live with.
If Snapdragon 835 is slightly disappointing, what makes up for it is the fact that Nokia 8 Sirocco is a part of Google’s Android One program. Smartphones under Android One program get swift security updates and all major updates in Android version for two years. Like we just mentioned, Nokia 8 Sirocco runs Android 8.1 and its UI is mainly stock Android. So the app drawer is not integrated with the home screen and swiping right will show you your Google cards. But the best thing about the smartphone’s user interface is that it comes without any bloatware, with the exception of Support app by HMD Global. From time to time the smartphone offers ‘Smart Suggestions’. For instance, it prompted to delete the media files with low resolution and when we clicked on that notification, it took us directly to the list of these files.
There are also some gestures that one can activate on Nokia 8 Sirocco. These include turning over the smartphone to reject a phone call, double tapping on the power button to activate the camera or muting the smartphone on picking it up. Users will have to schedule the Night Mode for making their smartphone’s display slightly amber in lowly lit conditions. Users can also activate Glance Screen which will let them view time, notifications, reminders and alarms even without powering the smartphone’s screen on.
Coming to the performance of Nokia 8 Sirocco, even though the smartphone isn’t powered by the latest processor in the market, the combination of 6GB RAM coupled with Android 8.1 and Snapdragon 835 does a brilliant job. We obviously weren’t expecting to come across any lags or hang-ups on the device, and Nokia 8 Sirocco completely met our expectations. Multi-tasking on the device was a cakewalk and having numerous apps and Chrome tabs open was no problem. We could easily use the phone for navigation, gaming and listening to music – all at one.
When we ran some benchmark test on the phone, it scored 1,92,733 in Antutu Benchmark test and 1,920 and 5,019 in single core and multi core scores of Geekbench 4.
The fingerprint sensor of the device works perfectly and fine, and we didn’t encounter any problem with it. An experience that was very good on the device was gaming. We played games like Angry Birds 2, Temple Run 2 and Super Mario and even heavier ones like Asphalt 8: Airborne, and the smartphone’s performance remained consistent with all of them. The glass back did heat up a bit when we were playing Angry Birds 2, but it was very negligible. Another good thing was that the smartphone didn’t lose too much battery when we used it for gaming.
We have already spoken about how it is a visual treat to watch videos on Nokia 8 Sirocco’s display, but what’s even better than that is watching 4K content. It looks crisp and sharp and the colours were vibrant. The audio quality of the phone completely matches up to it. We feel that the curved display of the smartphone actually enhances the video experience as it was nice to see videos fill up the entire screen.
Now let’s talk about the camera experience of the smartphone. The 12MP+13MP dual rear cameras of the phone come with Zeiss optics and there is a 5MP selfie shooter on the front panel. Before you jump to conclusions, we should remind you that megapixels of a camera do not determine its performance.
The smartphone has a Pro mode, panorama, live Bokeh mode and also a Bothie feature which lets users capture images from selfie and rear camera simultaneously. There is also a 2X optical zoom with which one can capture long distance shots.
The dual rear camera setup works very well. We clicked a lot of pictures using them and tried various modes of the camera app. A mode we particularly liked was the Pro mode as it lets users adjust settings like ISO, shutter speed, exposure, white balance and focus via radials. One could also adjust the depth of field in Bokeh mode – which looks particularly good in selfies. Overall, we really liked the quality of pictures. The colours were accurate and vibrant, and images turned out to be sharp. Even shots that we captured from a slow moving car turned out to be good. However, if you compare it to other flagships like Google Pixel 2, photographs will look a little lack-lusture.
We only felt the lack of OIS in the smartphone when we were capturing images in lowly lit areas. In fact, the smartphone only performed decently as far as low light photography goes. Using a flash at times made the photos too white, and not using it was not always a feasible option. We don’t mean that low light photography was bad, it was only not as good as other flagship devices. One does expect better from a premium smartphone.
Nokia 8 Sirocco is also capable of recording Slow-motion videos and they mostly turned out to be good. We were happy with the selfies it’s from its front facing camera especially with Bokeh effect on.
Coming to the battery of the Nokia 8 Sirocco, it is something we are happy with. The 3,260mAh battery easily lasts a day with heavy usage and it lasts up to a day and half with moderate usage. The best part is that the phone only takes slightly over an hour to be charged completely.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
There are more reasons to buy the Nokia 8 Sirocco than not to. The smartphone’s design is exquisite and unconventional, the display is a treat for the eyes and the performance is very impressive. The battery lasts an entire day and Nokia 8 Sirocco comes under the Android One program which is a big plus. The downsides include the lack of latest processor and the fact that the photography is not as good as other flagships. However, like we mentioned earlier, Snapdragon 835’s performance is extremely good and it can handle all kinds of heavy apps and gaming very well. As far as the photography goes, you’ll get sharp images with accurate colours and Bothie mode, but the photographs may not be as good as the ones taken from the likes of Google Pixel 2.
To conclude, we’ll say that Nokia 8 Sirocco is totally worth the money at Rs 49,999. Users would not be disappointed. If you are too bothered about the processor or the photography, you can go for another option like the Samsung Galaxy S9.
The rivalry between Apple and Samsung is no secret. Both the technology giants leave no chance of taking pot-shots at each other and even involved in a long-standing legal battle. Amid all this, Samsung has released an advertisement for its flagship Galaxy S9. The advertisement shows how Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is great, and at the same time pokes fun at Apple.
This isn’t the first time that this is happening, as we have seen the story of this ad in previous Samsung advertisements too. The ad shows an iPhone user gets frustrated with their Apple device, sees how Samsung users around her are happy with their superior smartphones, and then eventually upgrades to Samsung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qhW1sDPHYI
If we talk about this particular ad, it shows a woman using an iPhone in various situations where her smartphone lets her down, and Samsung Galaxy S9 users doing the same things with their phones like it’s a cakewalk. It shows how the iPhone isn’t waterproof, and how a task as simple as getting tickets scanned at the airport can be tough with it. When the woman goes to an Apple Store to complain about the issue, the executive tells her to switch off the performance management. The advertisement ends with the woman walking past a man with the notch haircut standing in front of an iPhone X billboard and finally being happy about upgrading to Samsung Galaxy S9.
Like we said, it’s a storyline we have seen in previous Samsung advertisements. However, one thing that we found irksome was that the woman in the advertisement is shown using Apple iPhone 6. Using a smartphone that was launched almost four years back and comparing it to their current flagship is not very fair. The ad would have made more sense had it showcased iPhone X or even iPhone 8 or 8 Plus instead of a model as old as iPhone 6.
Also it wasn’t hard to notice Samsung calling out Apple for the battery fiasco it admitted to late last year, but we found it a little strange that the Apple employee doesn’t mention the option of getting the iPhone’s battery replaced at a subsidised rate. While iPhone users who feel that their phone is too slow can immediately switch to Samsung Galaxy if they think it’ll solve their problems, but getting the subsidised battery is any day a more affordable option.
Just a few days before the launch of HTC’s next flagship device, HTC U12 Plus, all the specifications of the smartphone along with its pictures have been leaked. Venture Beat’s Evan Blass has tweeted a picture of the upcoming smartphone along with its entire spec sheet.
Although it has not been confirmed by the company that it is launching the HTC U12 Plus smartphone on its May 23 event, various media reports suggest so. But the timing of Evan Blass leaking HTC U12 Plus’ renders and specs could possibly mean the company is indeed taking wraps off its upcoming flagship device next week.
As suggested by the images of the smartphone, HTC U12 Plus is likely to sport the translucent colour that we earlier saw in HTC U11. It has been reported that HTC U12 Plus will come in four colour variants — Black, Red Rose, Violet, and Translucent.
Although one can’t be sure of the colours of the device on seeing these renders, what is very evident is a dual rear camera setup as well as dual cameras on the front panel. And it’s very refreshing to see a flagship that comes without the notch on its display.
According to the leaked spec sheet, HTC U12 Plus will feature a 6-inch Quad HD+ Super LCD 6 display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass protection. The device will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6GB RAM and will be available in two storage variants – 64GB and 128GB. For more storage, users would have the option of installing microSD cards of up to 2TB. The leaked spec sheet suggests that the device runs Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense 2 and will get an upgrade for Android P.
For imaging duties, HTC U12 Plus will sport 12MP wide angle camera and 16MP telephoto camera at the back. For selfies and video calls, there are dual front facing cameras that support AR stickers and Face Unlock. The rear cameras of the device are said to record 4K videos at 60fps – a feature that OnePlus was touting for its OnePlus 6 smartphone.
The smartphone will also come with always-on listening support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa and will be backed by a 3,500mAh battery. If the HTC U12 Plus is actually being launched on May 23, there’s not much left for the company to announce apart from the pricing and availability details of the phone.
An accessory maker from Russia named Caviar has started selling a ‘new’ version of iPhone X for $4,500. So, it’ll basically cost you way more than the original iPhone X. But wait, that’s just the cost of the 64GB variant. If you are planning to buy the 256GB variant of this special iPhone X, you will have to pay $4,805. Wondering what is so special about this ‘new’ version of iPhone X? According to media reports, it is a solar powered version of the iPhone X. In fact, Caviar is branding the device as iPhone X Tesla. Yes, you read that right.
It is not the first time that we have read reports about this version of iPhone X, as the company had initially announced its plans in November. And like we mentioned before, Caviar is an accessory maker from Russia, so obviously it can have nothing to do with making iPhones or Tesla. In fact, the $4,500 iPhone X Tesla’s functions are there in the smartphone at all?
Before you get too confused, we’ll tell you that iPhone X Tesla is a phone case that comes with solar panels on it back. The cases have the iPhone X in them already and the solar panels on them power a secondary battery. This can used to provide charge to iPhone’s battery when it runs out by just pressing the power button on the back.
The solar panel of iPhone X Tesla is shock-resistant and is surrounded by a carbon fiber case. The case has anodized buttons on the edges and golden elements to embellish its rear panel. Needless to say, the iPhone X Tesla phone case is very thick and is claimed to be IP67 water and dust resistance.
To make it more exclusive, Caviar is only manufacturing 999 units and is adding an individual number to them in the order in which they were produced.
Furthermore, to pay a tribute to Elon Musk, the first unit of the iPhone X Tesla has “Made on Earth by Humans” engraved on it. For those who don’t know, back in February, when Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the first flight of its Falcon Heavy rocket with a red Tesla Roadster in space, “Made on Earth by Humans” was the special message that Musk had written on it for aliens. Caviar said in a statement that the company is inspired by ‘three men of science,’ namely Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk.
Just six months after the launch of its previous smartphone, OnePlus unveiled its next flagship OnePlus 6 yesterday at an event in London. Although the OnePlus 6 comes with a revamped design and a slew of changes, we couldn’t help but notice that there are a number of similarities in the two devices. Here, we have compared the two smartphones to let you know what’s new and what has been retained:
Design: One of the most obvious and evident changes between OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T can be seen in the designs of the two smartphones. OnePlus 6 comes with an all glass body protected by Gorilla Glass 5 on both front and back. OnePlus 5T on the other hand comes with a metal unibody design and only its front panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. On the back panel, OnePlus 6 bears a vertical dual rear camera setup while OnePlus 5T has a horizontal one. Also, while OnePlus 5T was available in Midnight Black, Lava Red and Star Wars Editions, OnePlus 6 comes in Midnight Black, Mirror Black and Silk White Limited Edition.
Display: There is a difference in the displays of the two devices too. While OnePlus 5T sports a 6.01-inch full-HD+ Full Optic AMOLED display and comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio, OnePlus 6 features a 6.28-inch full-HD+ Full Optic AMOLED display and has an aspect ratio of 19:9. OnePlus 6’ also comes with an iPhone-like Notch that houses the front camera, proximity sensor, and earpiece of the device.
Processor: While OnePlus 5T was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, the company’s latest and most powerful processor yet — Snapdragon 845 — powers the OnePlus 6. However, it is notable that when OnePlus 5T was launched, Snapdragon 845 was not launched.
Cameras: Both the smartphones come with dual rear cameras and a selfie camera. OnePlus 5T comes with a 16MP Sony IMX398 primary sensor along with 20MP Sony IMX376K sensor. The dual rear cameras come with dual LED flash. Speaking of OnePlus 6, its dual rear cameras come with the same megapixel count, but the 16MP camera has a Sony MX519 sensor and the 20MP camera has a Sony IM376K sensor. They also have OIS and can record Slow Motion videos up to 480 frames per second. Both the smartphones sport a 16MP selfie camera with a Sony IMX371 sensor — but the only difference is that the one on OnePlus 6 supports Potrait mode.
Besides this, the only difference is that OnePlus 6 is splash resistance. Other features of the devices remain the same. Both the smartphones come in 6GB and 8GB RAM options with 64GB or 128GB internal storage. And both lack support for microSD card. Both the OnePlus 6 and 5T house a 3300mAh battery and run Android 8.1 Oreo. The smartphones’ softwares are skinned with the same OxygenOS 5.1. However, note that while OnePlus 6 has been launched with it, OnePlus 5T got it with an update. Surprisingly, OnePlus 6 lacks support for wireless charging, but same was the case with OnePlus 5T. So, it makes us wonder is it really worth picking the 6? Probably not, if you own the 5T, you might want to wait for the 6T.
HMD Global has launched its Nokia X6 smartphone at an event in Beijing. With Nokia X6, the company has joined the iPhone-like Notch design bandwagon and has also included features like dual rear cameras, and Do Not Disturb mode for gaming in the smartphone.
Specifications
HMD Global’s Nokia X6 features a 5.8-inch Full HD+ display that is protected by a layer of 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3. Powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 636 processor the smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo. It comes in three variants – one with 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, the other with 4GB RAM and 64GB inbuilt storage and there’s also a bigger 6GB RAM variant that has 64GB of onboard storage. Nokia X6 can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB.
For imaging duties, the smartphone boats of a dual rear camera setup with 16MP and 5MP sensors. The 5MP secondary rear camera has a monochrome sensor. On flipping the smartphone, you’ll be greeted by a 16MP selfie camera. HMD Global has highlighted the fact that the cameras in Nokia X6 come with AI features like optimised colour contrast and face recognition. The cameras are also said to have support for HDR and come with the Bothie feature that we previously saw in Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco. For those who don’t know, with the Bothie feature, the rear and selfie cameras of the phone work simultaneously to click one picture. So, the picture has your selfie and also the scene or object that you’re focussing on with your smartphone’s rear camera.
Nokia X6 comes with face unlock feature and it also has a fingerprint sensor on its rear panel. The smartphone houses a 3060mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0. It comes with connectivity options like 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm jack.
Price
In China, the 4GB RAM/32GB storage variant of Nokia X6 is priced at CNY 1,299, while 4GB RAM/64GB storage version bears a price tag of CNY 1,499. Customers would have to spend CNY 1,699 if they want the 6GB RAM variant of the device. There is currently no word on the phone’s India pricing and availability yet.
OnePlus has finally taken the wraps off its much awaited and talked about flagship smartphone OnePlus 6. Launched today at an event in London, OnePlus comes with high-end specifications and a revamped design with an all-glass body. OnePlus also has an event planned for India on May 17, where it will be giving all the information about the local pricing and availability of the device.
Specifications
OnePlus’ flagship smartphone sports a 6.28-inch FHD+ Full Optic AMOLED display that comes with an 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone’s rear panel is also made of glass and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. It also has an iPhone X-like notch that houses the front camera, earpiece, and proximity sensor. The newly launched OnePlus 6 comes with new gestures to perform various tasks on the device.
Powered by Qualcomm latest processor, Snapdragon 845, OnePlus 6 runs Android 8.1 Oreo topped with the company’s own OxygenOS 5.1. The developer preview of Android P is also said to roll out on the smartphone shortly.
The smartphone is available in three storage variants — 6GB RAM/64GB inbuilt storage, 8GB RAM/128GB onboard storage and 8GB RAM/256GB of internal storage. However, the smartphone lacks support for a microSD card. It also comes in three colour variants — Midnight Black, Mirror Black and Silk White( Limited Edition).
For imaging duties, OnePlus 6 sports a dual rear camera setup with a 16MP Sony IMX519 sensor coupled with a 20MP Sony IM376K sensor. The dual rear cameras come with dual LED flash. For selfies, there is a 16MP front facing snapper. The camera app of the smartphone comes with Optical Image Stabilization and a Smart Capture mode that will automatically optimize camera settings. Besides this, there is Slow Motion video recording — using which one can record 480 frames per second — and the smartphone can shoot videos with 4K resolution at 60fps. There is also an inbuilt video editor and support for HDR and Portrait modes. In fact, the selfie camera of OnePlus 6 also offers Portrait mode and supports Face Unlock. The company claims that the Face Unlock feature can unlock the device in just 0.4 second.
OnePlus is also touting the Gaming mode of the device. According to the company, the Gaming Mode of OnePlus 6 has an improved Gaming DND mode, and can apparently push up performance of the game that the user is playing.
The connectivity options of the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, NFC, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. OnePlus 6 also comes with a fingerprint sensor on its back panel, which is claimed to unlock the smartphone in 0.2 seconds. The smartphone houses a 3,300mAh battery with the company’s Dash Charge fast charging technology.
Pricing and availability
The 6GB RAM variant of the smartphone is available for $529 in US, GBP 469 in UK and EUR 519 in the rest of Europe. The 8GB RAM/128GB variant is priced at $579 in the United States, GBP 519 in United Kingdom and EUR 569 in Europe. Lastly, the OnePlus 6 variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage costs $629 in US, GBP 569 in UK and EUR 619 in Europe. The pricing of OnePlus 6 in India is yet to be declared. However, the smartphone can be bought from Amazon India’s website, which is the exclusive online partner for OnePlus 6. Besides this, the company will also be setting up pop-up stores starting May 21 and the smartphone will be available in open sales starting May 22.
Note that only Midnight Black and Mirror Black variants of the smartphone will be available starting May 22, if you want to get your hands on the Silk White Limited Edition, you will have to wait till June 5.
Update:
The Indian price of the OnePlus 6 starts from Rs 34,999 and the Avengers edition will be available at Rs 44,999. Both Amazon exclusive. Sales start from 22 May, 2018 for normal edition, with early access sale for Prime members on 21 May. Rs 2,000 cash back on SBI cards is available too.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo yesterday launched its Realme 1 smartphone. The smartphone is available in three storage variants and all three of them are priced under Rs 15,000. Oppo’s Realme 1 is the third smartphone to be launched in this price segment in the last few weeks, the other two being Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 Pro and Asus’ Zenfone Max Pro M1. All three smartphones come packed with specifications that are good for this segment. However, the perfect one for you may depend on what you are looking for in a smartphone — whether it is a big battery or a great selfie camera. Here, we compare the specifications of all the three smartphones to make it easier for you to decide which one is the perfect buy for you:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
Primary camera
Oppo Realme 1: 13MP rear camera. Note that the camera app of Oppo Realme 1 comes with support for AR stickers that can be applied to photos taken by both 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 new variant with 16MP+5MP dual rear camera setup will also be launched soon).
Selfie camera
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.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: The smartphone is presently available in two storage variants — 3GB RAM/32GB onboard storage, 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage. Another variant with 6GB RAM/64GB storage is set to launch in India soon.
Support for microSD card
Oppo Realme 1: Up to 256GB
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Up to 128GB
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: Up to 2TB
Battery
Oppo Realme 1: 3,410mAh
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: 4,000mAh
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1: 5,000mAh
Operating system
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
Price
Oppo Realme 1: The cost of 3GB RAM variant is Rs 8,990, the 4GB RAM variant is priced at 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 is priced at Rs 14,999 and the 6GB RAM version costs 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 of the smartphone will be launched at Rs 14,999.
Today is the day the next generation of one of the most popular Android smartphone will be launched globally. The Chinese brand OnePlus will launch its new variant in the global market at 9:30 PM India Time. This will be followed by the China launch tomorrow 17th of May and on the same day they will also launch in India. The Chinese launch is scheduled to take place in the morning while the Indian launch will take place at 3 PM India Time in Mumbai.
Lot of buzz has already been created around the OnePlus 6 including many leaks of the smartphone and also its Indian price. The smartphone will be available in two variants in India. 6GB RAM and 64 GB storage, and 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. By the looks of it, it is a full edge to edge touch screen smartphone with iPhone X like notch at the top. However, there have be different reports stating different things about its price. While some day both the versions of the OnePlus 6 will be priced under Rs 40,000, some leaks have indicated that both will be above the Rs 41K mark. This has left the consumer in a bit of a tizzy, however the air will be cleared up by tomorrow.
The OnePlus 6 is scheduled to launch in London today and one can catch the live streaming of the event here. It starts at 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time and one can watch it online as the company will reveal all its specifications and price in real time. The video link is below, you can watch by pressing the Play Button.
It is also confirmed that Amazon will be the official online partner for OnePlus 6. They have been running a pre registrations campaign where the Indian leg of the largest E-commerce player is giving Rs 1,000 off on purchase of OnePlus 6.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has today unveiled its new smartphone series in India called Realme. The company has launched its first smartphone under the new series — Oppo Realme 1. We don’t blame you if that somewhere reminded you of Xiaomi’s Redmi series, A) because of its name and B) the specifications and pricing of the smartphone is very similar to the recently launched Redmi Note 5 Pro.
For its Realme series, Oppo is highlighting the fact that the range has ‘real products at real price.’ The Realme series of Oppo is aimed at the Indian youth and will be available only on e-commerce channels.
The company is touting Oppo Realme 1 smartphone as a ‘Made in India’ product and has styled the it with ‘glossy diamond-cut design’, which we have previously seen on the Oppo F7 Diamond Black edition. Also, it is refreshing to see that Oppo has not incorporated the iPhone X-like notch in its Realme smartphone.
Specifications
Oppo Realme 1 is dual SIM smartphone that runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with ColorOS 5.0. It features a 6-inch full-HD+ display and is powered by MediaTek’s 12nm octa-core Helio P60 processor. It comes with aforementioned RAM and storage variants and houses a 3,410mAh battery with AI support. For more storage, users can also install microSD cards in the device.
For imaging duties, Oppo Realme 1 sports a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP selfie camera. The camera app of the smartphone has support for AR stickers, which can be applied on pictures taken from either of the two cameras. Furthermore, the camera app of the smartphone also comes with Oppo’s AI Beauty 2.0 technology. This not only beautifies the selfies taken from the device, but also offers 296-point facial recognition. Interestingly, the smartphone comes with a Face Unlock feature, but lacks a fingerprint sensor.
The company is also saying that Oppo Realme 1 comes with dual 4G VoLTE support and has an AI Board assistant in it. The device can supposedly endure extreme weather conditions ranging from -15 degrees to 55-degree Celsius for a period of 7 days.
Price and availability
Oppo Realme 1 comes in three variants — 3GB RAM/32GB storage, 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage. They are priced at Rs 8,990, Rs 10,990 and Rs 13,990 respectively. The phone will be available to buy in Diamond Black, Moonlight Silver, and Solar Red colour options. However, if you are planning to buy the Moonlight Silver coloured Oppo Realme 1, you will have to wait till June.
The smartphone will exclusively be available on Amazon India’s website and its first sale will be held on May 25 at 12pm IST. Note that only 6GB RAM/128GB and 3GB RAM/32GB storage variants of the phone in Diamond Black and Solar Red colours will be available in the sale. The 4GB RAM variant will be available later this year.
Over that, buyers will get Reliance Jio benefits of up to Rs 4,850 and if one has a SBI card a 5% cashback on the smartphone can be availed, too.
Chinese electronics company Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has today launched flagship smartphone at an event in London. The smartphone – Honor 10 – will be going on sale in India exclusively via Flipkart starting tomorrow. Being the company’s flagship of the year, Honor 10 comes with high–end specifications including a dual rear camera setup, a 24MP front facing snapper, a display with 19:9 aspect ratio and iPhone X like notch design plus more. In terms of design, Honor 10 comes with the gradient colour finish that we previously saw in Huawei’s P20 Pro smartphone.
Price and availability
Although Honor 10 is available in two storage variants globally, in India the company will only be launching the 6GB RAM/128GB onboard storage variant. The smartphone will be priced at Rs 32,999 and will be available exclusively via Flipkart starting midnight, May 16. Honor 10 will be available in two colour variants in the country — Midnight Black and Phantom Blue.
If you buy the device between May 16 and May 18, there are two exchange offers you can avail. The company is offering an additional discount of Rs 5,000 over the regular exchange value for all Honor devices and a few other select smartphones. Besides this, you can exchange all other devices and get an additional discount of Rs 3,000 over the regular exchange value. If you have a Bajaj Finserv card, you can get a no cost EMI if you buy the smartphone on May 16. Those who have Axis Bank cards will get a 10% instant discount on the smartphone.
A Jio offer is also available with Honor 10 that includes Rs 1,200 cashback and 100GB of additional data. The offer also comes with Rs 3,300 worth of partner vouchers. On buying the Honor 10 from Hi Honor online store, customers will be given a coupon worth Rs 500 and up to Rs 2,000 of Mobikwik cashback.
Specifications
Honor flagship smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo topped with EMUI 8.1 and features a 5.84-inch full-HD+ FullView display with an aspect ratio of 19:9. Powered by the home brewed HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor paired with 6GB RAM, the smartphone comes with 128GB of internal storage. However, there is no slot on the smartphone for a microSD card.
Honor 10 houses a 3400mAh battery and comes with an Ultrasonic Under Glass fingerprint sensor which is integrated with its home button.
Talking about the cameras of the device, Honor 10 comes with a dual rear camera setup with 24MP and 16MP sensors which come with an AI photography mode. This mode enables the cameras of the smartphone to recognize objects in real-time. The company is even calling Honor 10’s dual rear camera setup as ‘AI Camera.’ The AI technology in the camera is said to enable features like 3D Portrait Lighting and HDR. For selfies and video calls, there is an ‘AI Camera’ on the smartphone’s front panel that with a 24MP sensor.
The smartphone also sports a 7.1 multi-channel Hi-Fi audio chip that comes with support for 7-channel sound effects. For connectivity, it comes with 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi Bluetooth v4.2, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, now that is a long name for any phone. Don’t know what the makers were thinking when they were naming this smartphone. Moving past the super long name this phone has quite a few good things going for it. We played around with it for a little while to find out what the deal is with this mobile and this is our review of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1.
Design and Blueprint
These days all the budget segment smartphone look the same. They have similar form factor, have similar fingerprint sensor placement and also the same iPhone X inspired dual camera setup. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 also has those similarities, however it does have a bit of its own identity. To start with, the front glass placement is superb and it is smooth to the touch, even at the edges.
The left side of the smartphone has no keys, which is rare to see, but has just the dual nano SIM tray. The right side of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 features the power button and the volume rocker. The top again has nothing and has one smooth seamless design, while the bottom houses the 3.5 mm audio jack, USB Type B (not C) and a mono speaker.
Turn the phone around and this black beauty has the twin cameras on the top left, similar to the Apple iPhone X with a LED flash underneath it. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the top middle part of the back with the Asus logo underneath it. All this is on a compact metal body that has no sharp edges, full marks to team Asus.
The front side, like we said has a super slick glass on a 6-inch display, which supports 18:9 picture aspect ratio and 2,160×1080 pixel resolution. Above it, is the front facing camera and couple of sensors along with the ear microphone. Overall, in the looks department the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 does get good marks with its own distinct features.
Performance, Camera and Features
Now on to the fun part, where this phone scores a lot of marks. Let us start by pulling in all the specs of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. This smartphone runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core CPU up to 1.8 Ghz, 32 GB on board memory and 3 GB RAM, which we found to be a bit low at first but then once we ran some tests and games it wasn’t so bad. The rear sports twin 13 MP + 5 MP cameras with the front one making space for an 8 MP sensor. Battery is a whopping 5,000 mAh and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 runs Android 8.1 straight out of the box.
So, let’s talk about its screen and display quality first. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 has one of the best displays in the budget category. We absolutely loved it. The colours pop out and did wonderful things with the videos and games we played. This coupled with a not so powerful mono speaker was a bit of a let-down, however with the 3.5 mm port we connected one of our headphones and the experience came up again. Also, if you just want to listen to music then Asus does give its users a passive sound amplifier in the package. This boosts the sound passively and does a good job while at it.
With Android 8.1 running out of the box Asus gives you a neat stock Android experience. Yes, there is ZenUI still running, but the experience is very close to the stock one. There is minimal bloatware which you would not generally mind like the Instagram and FB apps. However, these do take a bit of a space and after everything users are left with just 22 odd GB of disc space. On AnTuTu the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 scored 1,14,284 points and on Geekbench 4 compute tests it got 4,467 marks. Both, putting it in the middle of smartphone pack.
Jumping over to the cameras, we were expecting a lot of good things from them. Some of them are, but not all of them. The rear cameras deliver good photos in day light and outdoors. However, they become sluggish indoors or in low light. Then there is the case of the camera app, which is not Google at all. It is Asus’s own and it not so good. The lag time is high and the whole interface is very yesterday. Yes, the Bokeh effect is there, but do not get your hopes up with it. It delivers mediocre photos. The selfie camera too, was mediocre and has same issues like its rear brothers. Videos did give us a bit of a respite and with 4K enabled we found the colours to be close to life.
So what made us jump with joy? The super-duper battery life. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 lasts for over 2 days after a full charge. And this is after we have played couple of hours of games, watched few YouTube videos and spoken to our whole dialling list. Well that is a bit of an exaggeration, we didn’t call everyone. But, you do get the gist of it. It is refreshing to come across a smartphone that does not require you to reach for the charger every now and then.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
At a price of Rs 10,999 you do get good things in the phone like the brilliant display, slick interface and display, good aesthetics and an excellent battery life. Yes, if the cameras and its app were better it would be a killer deal. If you are not much a clicker or are ok with mid-range shots, but want a long lasting phone then this is it. Since Asus did announce that they will update the OS till Android 10. So it should last you a good 2 years (minimum).
Choosing a smartphone in sub Rs 20,000 category can prove to be a tough task. With smartphones being launched in the said price segment every other week, it has become one of the most crowded categories in the Indian smartphone market. We have made this task easier for you by picking out the top 10 smartphones that you can consider buying if you only have a budget of Rs 20,000. Check out our list:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Also popular as Xiaomi’s most expensive Redmi phone in India yet, Redmi Note 5 Pro features a 5.99-inch FHD+ display and comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, the smartphone runs MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat. For imaging duties, Xiaomi sports 12MP+5MP dual rear cameras and also a 20MP selfie camera. The Redmi Note 5 Pro has a facial recognition feature and houses a 4,000mAh battery. Xiaomi’s smartphone is available in two variants — one with 4GB RAM and the other with 6GB RAM. Both come with 64GB onboard storage and are priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 16,999 respectively.
Nokia 6 2018: The next smartphone on our list is from HMD Global’s line-up of this year’s Nokia smartphones. If you have a budget of Rs 20,000, you can go for either of the two variants of Nokia 6 2018. While the 3GB RAM/32GB inbuilt storage variant costs Rs 16,999, the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant is priced at Rs 18,999. The smartphone runs Android 8.0 Oreo and is a part of Google’s Android One program. This means that the phone will come without any OEM customisations and will get prompt software updates. Nokia 6 (2018) features a 5.5-inch full-HD IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC. The smartphone sports a 16MP rear camera with ZEISS optics and a dual-tone LED flash. For selfies and video calls, there is an 8MP front snapper. Nokia 6 2018 houses a 3,000mAh battery and can hold microSD cards of up to 128GB.
Huawei P20 Lite: The P20 Lite smartphone was launched by Huawei along with its flagship P20 Pro, which is the world’s first smartphone to sport triple rear cameras. Priced at Rs 19,999, Huawei P20 Lite features a 5.8-inch full HD display and is powered by Kirin 659 octa-core processor clubbed with 4GB RAM. The smartphone offers 64GB onboard storage and is backed by a 3,000mAh battery. Unlike the P20 Pro, Huawei P20 Lite does not come with three cameras on its back panel, but it does sport 16MP+2MP dual rear cameras. For those who love taking selfies, the phone offers a 16MP front snapper. Photography lovers may also like the phone for its AR effects and stickers. The smartphone comes with a USB Type-C port and a fingerprint sensor.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo: The next smartphone on our list is from Samsung. Priced at Rs 16,990, Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo is the first smartphone in Samsung’s J series to come with a dual rear camera setup. The smartphone houses 13MP and 5MP sensors on its rear panel among which, the main camera can record full HD videos at 30 frames-per-second. Other highlights of the smartphone include Android Oreo, its App Pair feature and Bixby Home. The dual SIM Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo sports a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display and is powered by 1.6GHz Exynos 7 Series octa-core processor paired by 4GB RAM. Galaxy J7 Duo comes with 32GB of onboard storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB. For selfie lovers, there is an 8MP front facing camera that comes with Selfie Focus and Beauty Mode features. The smartphone also comes with Face Unlock and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery.
Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1: The recently launched Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is the Taiwanese electronics company’s competitor of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is currently available in two variants — 3GB RAM/ 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage. While the 3GB RAM variant costs Rs 10,999, you would have to pay Rs 12,999 for the bigger 4GB RAM variant. The smartphone comes with a 5.99-inch full-HD+ IPS Full View display with 18:9 aspect ratio and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor. It is the first smartphone by Asus to come without company’s own ZenUI and runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. For imaging duties, the smartphone features 13MP+5MP dual rear cameras and an 8MP selfie camera. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is backed by a massive 5,000mAh battery and comes with face unlock and fingerprint sensors. Another variant of the smartphone — with 6GB RAM/64GB internal storage — is expected to launch soon.
Vivo V9 Youth: Vivo V9 Youth is priced at Rs 18, 990 and comes with a dual rear camera setup with 16MP and 2MP sensors, as well as a 16MP front snapper with AI beauty feature. Other highlights of the smartphone include a 6.30-inch touchscreen display and Android 8.1 Oreo operating system. Vivo V9 Youth is powered by an octa-core processor paired with 4GB RAM and offers 32GB onboard storage. It can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB and packs a 3260mAh battery.
Panasonic P101: Panasonic’s P101 smartphone is priced at Rs 6,999 and features a 5.45-inch Big View IPS display. Powered by 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6739WA processor coupled with 2GB RAM, the smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat. For imaging duties, Panasonic P101 sports an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera. Both the cameras come with LED flash. The smartphone packs a 2500mAh battery and offers 16GB of onboard storage. For more storage, users can install microSD cards of up to 128GB.
Oppo A71 (3GB): Oppo A71 (2018) comes with a 5.2-inch HD TFT display and is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, paired with 3GB RAM. The smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat skinned with ColorOS 3.2 and offers 16GB of onboard storage. The phone also has a microSD card slot, which can hold cards up to 256GB. For imaging duties, Oppo A71 (2018) comes with a 13MP rear camera along with a LED flash and it houses a 5MP camera in the front for selfies and video calls. The handset packs a 3,000mAh battery and is priced at Rs 9,990.
Sony Xperia L2: Priced at Rs 19,990, Sony Xperia L2 sports a 5.5-inch touchscreen display and is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737T processor coupled with 3GB RAM. It offers 32GB of onboard storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB. On camera front, Sony’s smartphone features a 13MP primary camera along with LED flash and has am 8MP front facing snapper. The selfie camera of the smartphone has a 120-degree super wide-angle lens and supports both Portrait and Group Selfie modes
Gionee S11 Lite: Priced at Rs 13,999, Gionee S11 Lite comes with a 5.7-inch HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor. The smartphone comes with 3GB RAM and offers 32GB inbuilt storage. For more storage, users can install microSD cards of up to 128GB. The smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat skinned with Amigo OS 5.0.13S. On the camera front, Gionee S11 Lite sports 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras and 16MP selfie camera which comes with Bokeh mode. The smartphone is backed by a 3030mAh battery.
Chinese smartphone maker Comio is all set to launch its flagship smartphone is India next week. The company entered the Indian smartphone market last year with its Comio C1, Comio S1 and Comio P1 smartphones and extended its line-up in October 2017 with its C2 smartphone.
It is worth noting that all these smartphones were priced under Rs 10,000. Even now, the company is continuing with the trend as our sources have revealed that Comio’s flagship for this year will also be in the budget segment. With the device, Comio is eyeing markets in South and East India, where it hasn’t forayed as yet. The smartphone will also be launched in various tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Comio has teased a picture of its upcoming flagship smartphone on Instagram today with the caption – “Keep guessing…#staytuned #Comio #DontListen Kar Daal.”
Although the name of Comio’s next flagship has not been revealed yet, we have been tipped off with some of the specifications that will be the key highlights of the phone. The smartphone is expected to feature a FullView (FHD) 1080p display and will sport a dual rear camera setup. Comio’s upcoming smartphone will run an updated version of Android operating system and comes with 32GB of on-board storage.
The smartphone will be available in vibrant colour variants and will sport a mirror finish back panel. We are waiting to know about other features that we’ll get to see in Comio’s upcoming flagship smartphone and will keep you posted on the same.
Comio was recently in news when it was reported that the company is planning to invest Rs 500 crore in India. The company had said in a statement that it will be investing Rs 250 crore in marketing, another Rs 150 crore in R&D and manufacturing, and Rs 100 crore for sales and distribution in the Indian mobile phone market till December 2018.
What seems to be a major upset for the Chinese company the OnePlus 6 has been accidently leaked on the Amazon Germany website. The images are the real deal and show everything the smartphone will have aesthetically. The link was swiftly taken down as the reports started to appear of the product listing. This is not the first time a major smartphone has been leaked via an E-commerce site such as Amazon, which makes us wonder was it really a mistake or…
Whatever the case maybe, we now fully know how the phone will look like. Looking at these fine renders of the OnePlus 6 It is confirmed that the smartphone will have a notch on top like the Apple iPhone X and Vivo V9 has. The leaks show that the smartphone will in fact have a Midnight Black variant with a glossy rear. The front has an almost bezel-less infinity screen, with just a small bar at the bottom.
The power button and alert slider is placed on the right of the phone, while the volume rocker key and SIM slot has been kept on the left. The rear indeed has a dual camera setup with dual tone flash and underneath it is a kind of an oval shaped fingerprint sensor and the OnePlus logo. The 3.5 MM audio jack is there at the bottom and USB Type C charging port can also be seen there.
Now for the most interesting part of this leak is its pricing. The Amazon Germany site (according to WinFuture) showed price of the 6 GB RAM with 64 GB memory variant at 519 Euros, which is approximately Rs 41,700. Over that, the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB memory version is prices at 569 Euros, bringing the Indian price to Rs 45,800 (approx). This is by far the most expensive price tag kept by OnePlus. Crossing the Rs 40K mark for this company immediately makes it compete with the big guns like Apple and Samsung. Will it survive at the price? We will know in a few weeks.
At the moment Amazon India is giving Rs 1,000 cashback if the consumer pre-bookds the device though its site. Might just not be a bad Idea to do so if you are an OnePlus loyalist.
Well, we have said it before and we will say it again, AI is here to stay and very soon we might see Terminator style robots. Hopefully that is a distant dream. But, what Sundar Pichai and his execs at Google Showcased this year at Google I/O 2018 was nothing short of something from a Sci-Fi movie. Some got scared and some applauded the effort. But, we for one would not want to be at the other end of a phone call and not talking to a Human Being, unless it is an IVR. Check out the whole video here – Google Assistant Makes A Phone Call.
OnePlus 6 is slated to launch globally on the 16th of May and will be showcased in Mumbai, India on the following day. There have been lot of news and rumours about the smartphone and how it will look like. The latest that has come to light is a HD render by Compare Raja spotted by EV Leaks.
The image shows that OnePlus 6 will indeed sport a 3.5 MM audio jack and a USB Type C charging port. It will also have a dual vertical camera setup that should be the best in class. The camera setup is very Apple-like. The notch can also be seen in this image, but the bottom part will still have a bit of a band, though lesser than the one found on OnePlus 5T.
The price should be less than Rs 40,000 as indicated to us by industry insiders. OnePlus 6 will also be available in 2 variants, one with 64 GB and other with 128 GB memory. However, fan boys are going gaga over rumours of a 256 GB special edition variant. OnePlus 6 will also feature a Qualcomm 845 chipset and Android 8.1 operating system.
Other things also known to us is that the smartphone will carry the latest Qualcomm 845 chipset and will have 4K display resolution. Amazon will be the company’s official online sales partner and people should be able to purchase it soon after the launch.
Not only that the Avengers edition of OnePlus 6 will also go on sale on the 21st May, which will be a limited edition smartphone. The wait is just killing us, this is one of the most awaited smartphones of the year and has much good being done around it. There are few other nice one’s going launched in India, which we are privy to, more on that in the coming weeks. As of now, OnePlus 6 is making all the buzz.
The company whose entry completely changed the face of Indian telecom market, Reliance Jio has today announced its new offering for its Postpaid customers. Dubbed JioPostpaid, the plan will enable users to get their postpaid pack activated at Rs 199. According to the company, with JioPostpaid, it aims to change people’s perspective towards postpaid plans, just like it did with its prepaid offers. Subscriptions to JioPostpaid begin on May 15.
JioPostpaid is being touted as India’s first ‘Zero-Touch’ service experience. Under JioPostpaid, services including voice calls, Internet, SMS, and International calling will be pre-activated. In its Rs 199 monthly plan, users will get 25GB of 4G data, free voice calls and SMSes. Besides this, they will also have access to entire suite of Jio apps.
For international calls, they will be charged at a starting price of 50 paise per minute. However, you may have to spend up to Rs 6 per minute depending on the country you wish to call. On calling someone in the United States or Canada, users would have to pay 50 paise per minute, however, this will go up to Rs 2 per minute if calls are being made to Bangladesh, China, France, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom.
For Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey, users would have to pay Rs 3 per minute, and Australia, Bahrain, Pakistan and Thailand calls will cost Rs 4 per minute. Jio users would have to pay Rs 5 per minute for making calls to Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Russia, and Vietnam and finally, one must pay Rs 6 per minute for calling someone in Israel, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UAE and Uzbekistan. Another upside is that JioPostpaid numbers will come with pre-activated ISD without any security deposit.
Furthermore, users would not need any additional packs for activating international roaming, as the company has made it a single-click way. Reliance JIO has come up with various plans one can choose from for unlimited benefits while travelling outside India. The international roaming packs include Rs 575, Rs 2,875 and Rs 5,751 plans. They will be functional in UAE, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, New Zealand, Philippines, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic, and Ireland.
With the IPL and upcoming FIFA world cup season the projector and TV market is heating up, as many consumers would want to upgrade their viewing experience at home and the work place. After Epson, latest to enter the Indian market is BenQ TK800 4K projector that is poised to give best colour reproduction experience even in fully lit room.
The BenQ TK800 projector features 3,840×2,160 UHD resolution with 8.3 million distinct pixels. The projector also has optimized HDR that enhances brightness and contrast range. It is powered by a 3,000 lumens high brightness lamp that can produce the best imagery as the company claims. The lamp life is estimated to be at 15,000 hours, which BenQ asserts to be first in class to come to any home projector series. Coming to think of it, that might be true as we have not seen any other home projector manufacturer saying it.
The BenQ TK800 gives its users modes such as Football and sports AV for the best sporting action on screen. These modes preserve natural skin stones while intensifying the greens on display. As for sound this display device has a 5Watt speaker system that should be good for small to medium rooms. Keystone correction and 1.2X zoom ability is also found on the BenQ TK800 4K projector. Other specifications include 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 240 W power consumption, image throw size from 30 to 300-inches and multi-picture modes.
As far as connectivity is concerned BenQ TK800 projector has 1 VGA, 2 HDMI and 1 USB Type A ports amongst others. And yes, this projector is 3D compatible, but we being not a ‘big fans’ of those goofy glasses would give this part a miss and not spend extra, unless one really wants to.
Google has unveiled the Android P Beta at its i/O Conference 2018. It is now available for Google Pixel devices and select smartphones including Essential PH-1, Nokia 7 Plus, OnePlus 6, Oppo R15 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ2, Vivo X21, Vivo X21 UD, and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. While it may take some time before it reaches your phone, here are some features of Android P you must know about:
Changes in UI: Google brings changes in UI with every new version of Android. And Android P is not an exception. Since the notch is becoming a popular theme for smartphone designs, Android P will come with a top bar that is black in colour. On pulling down the notification panel, you would see an option ‘Manage Notifications.’ This has been added to give users complete control of app notifications. Other than this, Quick toggles have been updated to circular elements and various icons in Settings are now coloured and more visually appealing.
Adaptive Battery: As the name suggests, the feature prioritizes battery for the apps and services that user engages with the most. In other words, with this feature the battery of the smartphone will be used only where it’s required the most and the rest will be saved. As this feature runs on AI, it will take some time to learn the usage before it begins showing results. So this feature can be counted upon to lessen our battery woes.
Adaptive Brightness: Using this feature, the smartphone can learn how the user keeps the brightness levels in different conditions and then starts adjusting brightness levels automatically. Like Adaptive Battery, Adaptive Brightness also runs on AI and shows results only after it learns the preferences of the user.
App actions: Anyone who has used a device with Android Oreo would know that Google suggests apps that you are most likely to use. With Android P, Google goes one step ahead and also suggests the action you’ll be taking with an app. For instance, if you have been in a text conversation with a friend, you would be able to see a suggestion to message them when you go to App drawer.
Slices: A lot of daily tasks are going to become a cakewalk with Slices. But, this feature is only limited to Google Search for now. So if a user types Lyft in Google Search, and Search will then prompt the app shortcut, and see options of booking a cab to home or office. The Search will also show the price, distance and ETA.
More control over audio: The update is getting a shortcut for users to toggle between ringer profiles and select the one that they like. Till now, one could only rely on volume rocker buttons to do this. In fact, the position of the slider has also changed and it no longer appears on the top of the screen. You’ll now be able to find it on the side of the screen where the hardware buttons for controlling volume are present. Users can now also hold the power and volume up buttons together to switch to vibrate mode.
Shush and Wind Down: With Shush and Wind Down, Google is actually reminding users of the need to disconnect from their smartphones for a few hours every day. Wind Down begins to switch the display to greyscale at a set time every day, so that users remember that it’s time to put their phones down and get ready to sleep instead. It automatically switches off in the morning. Shush is a simpler feature that activates DND on the smartphone when it’s kept screen down. However, some assigned contacts will still be able to reach the user.
Android Dashboard: The Dashboard will basically showcase the usage of the device. It will include information like what apps have been used and for how long, the number of notifications the device has got, and more.
App Timer: This feature will come in handy for users who are addicted to apps like Facebook or Snapchat. One can set a time limit to certain apps. So, if a user limits their Snapchat usage to 10 minutes during office hours, they won’t be able to access Snapchat after 10 minutes are up.
Updated navigation: With this update, Android is getting gesture based navigation. Users now have the option of switching to a single bar in place of the traditional navigation controls. This will enable them to use gesture controls for navigation. On swiping up, the bar will open recent apps and on swiping up again, users can access the app drawer. It is notable that the traditional three buttons for navigation will also be available.
Well, well, well look what the cat just dragged in. The news was doing the rounds since quite some time and it has finally happened. Walmart has finally bought Flipkart for a whooping sum of USD 16 Billion. That is 4-5 Billion more than what Amazon had offered Flipkart. The deal has finally come through and it is said to be the biggest e-commerce acquisition ever to happen in the world.
With this the current Flipkart Co-founder and chairman, Sachin Bansal, will also step down and move on from the home grown online commerce business. The American giant who has been fighting toe to toe with Amazon on the American soil has picked up 77% share in the company valuing the business at almost $21 billion.
“India is one of the most attractive retail markets in the world, given its size and growth rate, and our investment is an opportunity to partner with the company that is leading transformation of e-commerce in the market,” said Walmart chief executive officer Doug McMillon.
In just one year Flipkart has seen a major jump in its valuation from 10.2 Billion USD to 21 Billion USD. On the buyout investors such as Accel Partners, Tiger Global Management, Nasper and Softbank who holds more than 20% stake in the firm are positioned to gain a lot. Reports also suggest that Flipkarts other Co-founder, Binny Bansal, will retain a certain part of the shareholding.
Some reports did suggest that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, will also partner with Walmart to acquire Flipkart. Those reports are true and Alphabet is a strategic partner in the acquisition. The Flipkart sale seems to come at the right time, when the Indian startup economy was feeling low as there was less cash flow and investment. This will encourage more people to start new businesses hoping to get better money deals in the end.
![[Video] Google Assistant Makes A Phone Call](https://www.gadgetbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/maxresdefault-768x432.jpg "[Video] Google Assistant Makes A Phone Call")
