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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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’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 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.
Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director, Kingston Technology India
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
— 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.
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.
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.
After Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese companies selling its smartphones in India, it is the turn of another Asian company to sell its smartphone here. Mobiistar, a Vietnamese manufacturer has today launched two smartphones in India. These are known as Mobiistar CQ and Mobiistar XQ Daul, both aimed at selfie lovers. The Mobiistar CQ is priced at Rs 4,999, while the Mobiistar XQ dual is priced at Rs 7,999.
Mobiistar CQ Specifications
This smartphone comes with a 5-inch HD (720P) display. The screen comes with 2.5D curved display that is seen less at this price point. Mobiistar CQ supports dual-SIM and has a 425 Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU running at its core. Over that, this mobile phone has 2 GB RAM and 32 GB on board storage, expandable up to 128 GB using a microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned Mobiistar CQ has an 8MP rear camera with flash and a better 13MP selfie taker. Other features include 4G, Bluetooth, GPS and 3.5mm headphone port. The phone is kept alive using a 3,000mAh battery.
Mobiistar XD Dual Specifications
Priced few thousands Rupees more than the CQ the Mobiistar XD Dual sports a 5.5-inch FHD touch screen with IPS display with 400 pixel per inch density. This too has a 2.5D curved glass on top of the display. Under the hood Mobiistar XD Dual has the slightly better 430 Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset with clock speed of 1.4 GHz.
Mobiistar XD Dual has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB memory, which too is expandable by up to 128GB like its younger brother. A 13MP sensor with phase-detection powers the rear camera of this smartphone, while the front sports dual 13+8MP cameras, making it a selfie takers delight. Couple of good camera filters have also been thrown in the mix like beauty and HDR. Mobiistar XD Dual is also powered by a 3,000mAh battery.
Both the models will go on sale on 30th May with exclusive online partner Flipkart.
Right after it launched its flagship Honor 10, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has now launched two new budget smartphones in India. According to the company, the new smartphones by the company, Honor 7A and Honor 7C, focus on style quotient and imaging duties.
Specifications
Coming to the specifications, the Honor 7A smartphone features a 5.7-inch HD+ IPS LCD display which comes with an aspect ratio of 18:9. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor paired with 3GB RAM, the smartphone offers 32GB of internal storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB. The smartphone has a dual SIM card slot and the microSD card slot is placed separately.
Honor 7A smartphone runs Android 8.0 Oreo with the company’s own EMUI 8.1 baked on top. On the camera front, the smartphone comes with 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras with LED flash and an 8MP front snapper with soft LED light. While the dual rear cameras come with AI features, the selfie camera supports face-unlock. The smartphone houses a 3,000mAh battery and offers 4G, VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS as connectivity options.
Speaking of Honor 7C, it features a 5.99-inch HD+ IPS LCD display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor. The smartphone is available in two storage variants – 3GB RAM/32GB onboard storage and 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage. For more storage, users can add a microSD card.
The smartphone runs Android 8.0 Oreo skinned with a layer of EMUI 8.0. For imaging duties, there is a 13MP+2MP dual rear camera setup and an 8MP selfie camera on the smartphone’s front panel. Like Honor 7A, the smartphone also houses a 3,000mAh battery.
Price and availability
While Honor 7A is priced at Rs 8,999, the 3GB and 4GB RAM variants of Honor 7C are priced at Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999 respectively. Honor 7A can be bought from Flipkart starting May 29 and Honor 7C will be available on Amazon India starting May 31. The smartphones will also be available on HiHonor online store. A Reliance Jio offer with the smartphones includes Rs 2,200 cashback with 50GB additional data on Honor 7A and 100GB free data on Honor 7C.
COMIO has been doing the rounds in most parts of North India since quite some time. Going ahead they have expanded their operations in other sectors of India as well. As we had reported last week that COMIO will launch its new flagship this week and they have done so. With the launch of COMIO X1 Note, the company’s flagship smartphone, they are taking the fight to Xiaomi and other dominating players in the space.
COMIO X1 Note is placed at a hot-selling price point of the budget segment, at Rs 9,999. Sanjay Kalirona, CEO & Director, COMIO Smartphone said, “We are excited to announce the launch of COMIO X1 Note as it marks our expansion into a Pan-India brand. The response we have received from our consumers, retailers and distributors has been tremendous, encouraging us to deliver a product such as COMIO X1 Note, which is one of the best offerings from the brand in the sub-10,000 price segment.”
In terms of the specifications the COMIO X1 Note has a dual rear camera setup of 13MP + 5MP AF. The cameras are accompanied by a flash and also an 8 MP front facing camera. Picture effects like Bokeh, panorama, beauty are present on the device. COMIO X1 Note houses a 6-inch FHD+ touch screen with 2.5D curved glass on top. Users with two SIM cards need not worry as this smartphone does support dual-SIM operations and 4G-Volte is also there.
COMIO X1 Note is powered by a 1.45 GHz CPU and a 2,900 mAh battery. Over that, the smartphone has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB internal memory, expandable up to 128 GB. Android O operating system runs out of the box and the phone supports 22 Indian languages. Other features include, Face unlock, fingerprint sensor and dual account app.
The COMIO X1 Note will be available in key retail stores all over India and across E-commerce stores such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. A Reliance JIO offer is also part of the package, where JIO customers will get Rs 2,200 cashback (44×50 Rs vouchers) at the time of 1st successful recharge of Rs 198 or 299 monthly plan. Colour options include Royal Blue and Sunrise Gold.
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.
