Huawei’s sub brand Honor will soon launch its latest smartphone duo. Dubbed as the Honor 20 and the Honor 20 Pro, the handsets will be unveiled on the 21st of May at an event which will be held in London. Days before the official announcement, the company has shared a couple of teasers which reveal camera details of the upcoming devices.
Honor 20 Lineup Camera Details
The teaser images shared by Honor exhibit four piercings on the ear and the lip which suggest the Honor 20 smartphones will have quad rear cameras. Furthermore, the placement of the piercings on the ear indicates the sensors will be arranged in an L-shape.
Furthermore, the second teaser reveals the type of sensors the camera setup of the smartphones will be comprised of. The bubble on the top has a fully focussed image which hints of a standard lens. The image in the second bubble has a wide field of view which hints of an ultra wide sensor. The third bubble with a close up of a leaf corroborates of a macro lens. Finally, the fourth bubble shows two birds which hints the presence of a telephoto zoom lens. Even though the current teaser does not reveal the specifications of the smartphones, they can be derived from past reports.
Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro Specifications
Honor View 20
According to past leaks, the Honor 20 and the Honor 20 Pro will run on the Kirin 980 SoC which is also present on smartphones like the Huawei P30 and Honor View 20. The chipset consists of an octa core CPU along with the Mali G76 GPU. The devices will reportedly be powered by a 3,650 mAh battery which will support 22.5 watt fast charging. They will be offered in three storage varaints which are as follows:
To conclude, detailed specifications and the price of the upcoming smartphones will be revealed once they are officially announced by the company on the 21st of May.
Asus is set to launch its latest flagship grade smartphone, the ZenFone 6 on the 16th of May. Previously, the Geekbench score and the teaser of the upcoming handsetwere spotted online. Days before the official announcement, a video of the alleged smartphone has been shared by a Spanish Youtuber. It exhibits a unique looking smartphone with a slider design. Noteworthy, the slider on the smartphone slides both upwards and downwards which is dissimilar to other slider incorporating smartphones like the Mi Mix 3 and the Honor Magic 2.
ZenFone 6 Official Teaser
Upon close inspection, it was discovered that the smartphone in the video shared by the Youtuber is unlikely to be ZenFone 6. As the official teaser shared by the company declared the smartphone has a bottom mounted 3.5 mm audio jack which the device in the said video misses out on. Apparently, the handset in the video is made by Asus and instead this could be the beefed up variant of the flagship handset which might be called the Asus ZenFone 6Z.
ZenFone 6z Design
Now that it is clear that the device in video is not the ZenFone 6 and rather could be the ZenFone 6Z. Let’s talk about its design!
The alleged ZenFone 6Z has slider design with a large screen display on the front that has a considerably high screen-to-body ratio. The rear of the smartphone seems to be made out of glass which has a high gloss finish. Its rear panel harbours the Asus branding, fingerprint sensor and the dual camera set up along with an LED flash. The bottom of the device is occupied by a USB C port which is flanked by two narrow slits which may be the cutout for the loudspeaker and the microphone.
Talking about the slider mechanism, the screen when slid downward reveals a dual front camera setup which surprisingly also has two LED flashlights. On the contrary, the mechanism when slid up reveal a secondary speaker and two touch buttons which control the shutter button and brightness setting. All in all, the smartphone looks unique and distinguished than the bunch. However, we will have to wait until the 16th of May that is when the company will lift off the curtain from the ZenFone 6 lineup.
California based, Apple is expected to launch its latest smartphones in the month of September this year. Like yesteryear, the company is expected to launch three handsets which will succeed the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. The two upcoming flagship grade smartphones are assumed to carry the iPhone XI and iPhone XI Maxmoniker, while the name for the more affordable 2019 iPhone is unknown as of now. Earlier this month the renders of the less feature rich, 2019 iPhone XR were shared on Twitter which revealed its design from all angles. A piece of fresh news concerning the handset has surfaced online.
The source claims that the 2019 iPhone XR will be offered in two new colour options which will replace the Coral and Blue colour option from the current generation. Instead, the upcoming smartphone will be offered in Green and Lavender colours. While the four other colour variants, Yellow, White, Black and Red will remain as is. Even though the blog does not reveal any features of the upcoming device, they can be derived from past reports.
2019 iPhone XR Design And Features
For the larger part, the design of 2019 iPhone XR remains unchanged in comparison to its predecessor. However, the apparent change the future smartphone will have is the presence of dual rear camera setup. The rear camera setup will be arranged in a square ridge that protrudes slightly from the back panel. As per the renders, the front fascia, the positioning of ports on grilles will also be same on the 2019 iPhone XR as the current generation device.
In terms of hardware, the device will be shipped with the updated Bionic chipset which will assumedly be called ‘Apple A13’. Also reports from the past claim, the anticipated handset will have a 12 MP selfie camera which is a significant update over the 7 MP on the 2018 model. Noteworthy, the forthcoming device is also reported to be shipped with an 18 W fast charger which is great news for people who are usually running out of battery.
To conclude, all the rumours and claims will be clarified once the company officially unveils the smartphone. Going by Apple’s previous launch cycles, the 2019 iPhone XR and the flagship grade iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max will be launched in the month of September.
Smartphones have gradually become the necessity of a modern man. Primarily, due to the reason it enables a user to perform certain simple tasks that would have been difficult without the presence of one. Talking about India, the market is densely populated by OEMs from all around the globe. Consequently, the simple process of selecting the right smartphone based on the needs of a given user can be highly overwhelming. This article will be of great help to users who plan to buy a sub 15,000 Re smartphone in the country.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro – Fan Favourite
Hands down, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is one of the best mid-range smartphones that is currently on offer. The device made its global debut in India in the month of February and it created seismic waves accrediting to its value for money. It features a 6.3-inch FHD + display with a dot notch up top. The said notch houses the selfie camera that has a resolution of 13 MP. Under the hood, it features the Snapdragon 675 SoC which is both power efficient and powerful. The Redmi Note 7 Pro also has a dual camera setup which is comprised of a 48 MP sensor and a 5 MP sensor. It runs on the latest Android 9 Pie (MIUI 10) and is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery which supports 18 W fast charging. However, users need to separately purchase the fast charger. See full specs of the Redmi Note 7 here.
Screen Size- 6.3 inch LCD, 2340 x 1080 px, 409 ppi
Rear Camera- 48 MP (f/1.8) + 5 MP (f/2.4)
Front Camera- 13 MP
Battery- 4,000 mAh, Upto 18 W, Fast Charger Sold Separately
The Realme 3 Pro, as the name suggests, is the elder sibling of the Realme 3 and it was launched in the month of April. It offers a well-balanced package of features like a 6.3 inch display with FHD+ resolution and 20 W Vooc charging. Praiseworthy, the fast charger is shipped in the box with the handset which is disparate to numerous other OEMs. In terms of optics, the smartphone has a dual rear camera setup consisting of 16 MP + 5 MP sensor and a 25 MP front-facing selfie camera. Notably, the company claims the Realme 3 Pro can also capture 64 MP images which are achieved with the help of software processing. The smartphone is kitted with the Snapdragon 710 SoC and is powered by 4,045 mAh lithium battery. As previously mentioned it also supports 20 W fast charging. See full specs of the Realme 3 Pro here.
Screen Size- 6.3 inch LCD, 2340 x 1080 px, 409 ppi
Rear Camera- 16MP (f/1.7) + 5 MP (f/2.4)
Front Camera- 25 MP
Battery- 4,045 mAh, 20 W Vooc Charge, In Box Fast Charger
The Samsung Galaxy M30 has made its way to the list accrediting to its key highlighting features which include the 6.4 inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and a mammoth 5,000 mAh battery. It also supports 15 W fast charging and thoughtfully Samsung ships the device with a fast charger. Furthermore, unlike any other offering in this list, the Galaxy M30 has a triple rear camera setup which consists of a 13 MP PDAF sensor, a 5 MP ultrawide sensor and a 5 MP depth sensor. It also has a front camera with 16 MP resolution that is housed in the notch above the display. The smartphone features the Exynos 7904 chipset which might not be as capable as the Snapdragon 675 or the Snapdragon 710 in terms of gaming. However, it performs flawlessly while performing day to day tasks like watching videos online and navigating between apps. See full specs of the Samsung Galaxy M30 here.
Screen Size- 6.4 inch Super AMOLED, 2340 x 1080 px, 394 ppi
Battery- 5,000 mAh, Upto 15 W, In Box Fast Charger
Chipset- Exynos 7904
Screen Protection- N/A
SD Card Support- up to 512 GB (dedicated slot)
Price: Rs 14,990 (4 GB + 64 GB)
Nokia 6.1 Plus – Great User Experience
The Nokia 6.1 Plus made its debut in the month of August last year and has been a popular choice amongst consumers. The unique selling point of the Nokia 6.1 Plus is its butter smooth user experience which is as good as a flagship-grade smartphone. Distinctively, it runs on the stock version of Android OS which provides it with the said user experience. Furthermore, it is Android One certified which ensures the device will receive the latest Android updates for at least two years. The smartphone sports a 5.8 inch display that has a pixel density of 432 ppi. Like most modern smartphones, it also has a wide notch above the display which accommodates the earpiece and a 16 MP selfie camera. Talking about rear cameras, it sports two sensors that have a resolution of 16 MP and 5 MP. The Nokia 6.1 Plus packs a 3,060 mAh battery which supports 18 W quick charge 3.0. The device is kitted with the Snapdragon 636 SoC which is definitely not the most powerful but the bloat-free stock Android provides for stutter-free user experience. See full specs of the Nokia 6.1 Plus here.
Screen Size- 5.8 inch LCD, 2280 x 1080 px, 432 ppi
Rear Camera- 16 MP (f/2.0) + 5 MP (f/2.4)
Front Camera- 16 MP
Battery- 3,060 mAh, Upto 18 W, Fast Charger Sold Separately
After a surprising price cut of more than Rs 5,000, the Honor Play has become a lucrative option in the sub 15K price bracket. Predominantly, due to the Kirin 970 which is a flagship-grade SoC, also present on the high-end P20 and P20 Pro from Huawei. Additionally, it sports a 6.3 inch LCD display that has a pixel density of 409 ppi. Similar to several options from this list, the Honor Play has a dual camera setup consisting of 16 MP + 2 MP sensor and a 16 MP selfie camera. It is powered by a 3,750 mAh battery which also support 18 W fast charging. The previously mentioned Kirin 970 chipset is manufactured using 10 nm fabrication process which makes it highly power efficient. The processing prowess of the SoC can mostly be noticed in resource hungry applications which include games, especially PUBG Mobile. See full specs of the Honor Play here.
Price Rs: 13,999 (4 GB + 64 GB)
Screen Size- 6.3 inch LCD, 2340 x 1080 px, 409 ppi
Rear Camera- 16 MP (f/2.2) + 2 MP (f/2.4)
Front Camera- 16 MP
Battery- 3,750 mAh, Upto 18 W, In Box Fast Charger
Samsung is currently the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world. Clearly, the company also has a very strong grip in the densely populated Indian mobile phone market. Even though the largest smartphone maker in India is Xioami, Samsung has held the top spot in the premium smartphone segment. But, for the last three quarters, the company lost its title to the Chinese smartphone maker, OnePlus which rode to the top on back of the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T.
A fresh report published by Counterpoint research reveals the newly launched Galaxy S10 lineup has helped the company regain its pole position. For starters, Counterpoint is a market research company dedicated to delivering intelligence on technology trends across the globe. According to the report, the top three premium brands including Samsung, OnePlus and Apple accounted for 90 per cent of the premium segment shipments in Q1 of 2019 as compared to 95 per cent in Q1 of 2018.
The report states the remaining 10% of the stake is shared companies like Huawei which have gained traction based on the Mate and P Seriesof smartphones. It also highlights that Apple is also striving to stop its decline which is primarily due to excessive pricing. On the brighter side, as the company starts local assembly of certain iPhone models which is expected to happen soon, it will be relieved of the 20% import duty that the Indian government collects for each unit.
The Counterpoint report exhibits if Apple passes on some of the price benefits to the consumers, it is expected to see a significant rise in its sale. The top selling premium smartphones in the Q1 2019 are as follows:
Samsung has certainly managed to race ahead of the competition in the Q1, however, it will be interesting to see what the results are like once the highly anticipated OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro launch. The said devices are set to launch on the 14th of May.
TSMC, a Taiwanese OEM that produces semiconductors and chipsets. Founded in the year 1987 the company currently holds the title for world’s largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry. Corporations including Apple, Qualcomm and AMD are one of the few customers of TSMC.
The company has qualified a significant achievement in the field of chipset technology which is starting risk production of 5 nm chips. This step would allow the company to reduce the size of a given chipset by up to 45% in comparison to the current technology which is 7 nm. Furthermore, it will provide a performance boost of up to 15% in devices that incorporate the chipset. Even though the size of the foundation die has changed, the architecture of a particular chipset remains the same (eg: A73, Kryo 460). Accrediting to the size reduction, devices using the chipset manufactured using 5 nm process will be more power efficient. Therefore, proving for a longer battery backup on portable devices.
Except for the 5 nm process node, TSMC is also working on the 5 nm+ technology which will push a chipsets performance even further. However, the risk production of chipsets with this fabrication process will reportedly begin next year and they will be production ready by Q1 of 2021. For chipsets originating later this year, the company has 7 nm+ process ready. It should offer 20 % higher transistor density and 6-12% reduction in power consumption.
Notable companies that are lined up for the 7 nm+ based chipsets manufactured by TSMC include Qualcomm and Apple. TSMC being the sole chip supplier for Apple, at least until now, will manufacture SoCs for 2019 iPhones. Consequently, the upcoming smartphones from Apple will be kitted with 7 nm+ based chipsets which is assumed to carry the A13 Bionic moniker.
Oppo’s offshoot Realme is gearing up for the launch of its latest smartphone. Called the Realme X, the upcoming device will be unveiled on the 15th of May in China. Days before the official launch, the handset has been spotted on the popular benchmarking website, Geekbench.
Realme X Geekbench
On the 10th of May, an unreleased Realme smartphone with model number RMX1901 was listed on the Geekbench website which is assumed to be the Realme X. The said device registers a single core score of 1506 points and a multi-core score of 5837 points. Surprisingly, the alleged Realme X packs 8 GB of RAM which is usually seen in flagship smartphones. Notably, the listing of the same handset was previously discovered on the Chinese regulatory website TENAA which exhibited 4 GB of RAM. Accordingly, it might be offered in two storage variants.
Under the hood, the Realme X is kitted with the Snapdragon 710 SoC which has a base frequency of 1.71 GHz. The chipset consists of an Octa Core CPU and the Adreno 616 GPU. The listing also reveals the upcoming device runs on the latest Android 9 Pie which will be skinned with ColourOS. Even though the Geekebench record does not reveal other key features of the smartphone they can be extracted from the aforementioned TENAA listing.
Vivo V15 Pro Popup Selfie Camera
Correspondingly, the Realme X sports a 6.5 inch FHD+ AMOLED display which misses out on any kind of notch. Instead, the device will have a popup style selfie camera that has 16 MP resolution. In terms of battery, the smartphone will be powered by a 3,680 mAh Lithium cell.
Conclusively, official specifications and the price of the Realme X will be revealed once the company officially lifts the curtain from it on the 16th of May.
Cupertino based, Apple is bracing up for the launch of its latest smartphones which will succeed the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR from the year 2018. The upcoming devices are expected to launch in the month of September which is just four months away. Rumours and leaks about the 2019 iPhones have been making rounds on the internet since late last year. Allegedly called the iPhone XI and the iPhone XI Max, the flagship grade future iPhones were previously reported to have triple rear camerashoused in a square module. Intriguingly, case renders of the anticipated devices shared by reliable source support the past claim.
2019 iPhone Case Renders
According to the leakster, Sonny Dickson, the case renders of the 2019 iPhone were sourced from Chinese case manufactures which increase their odds of turning out true. Noteworthy, the majority of case makers hail from China and they receive reference designs long before the official launch of the device. This is arranged so that the manufacturers are able to brace up the production of accessories before their demand surges suddenly.
The renders shared by the source reveal the dimensions and cutout of two separate devices which reportedly relate to the iPhone XI and the iPhone XI Max. The large handset measures 159 x 79 x 8.74 mm while the smaller handset measures 144 x 73 x 8.62 mm. The renders also exhibit a square shaped cutout on the rear side which corroborates to the aforementioned square shaped camera module. Identical to previous iPhones, the anticipated smartphones have right side mounted power button and left side mounted volume rockers hint the renders.
The iPhone XI and XI Max are expected to have the same size screen as their predecessors which sport a 5.8 inch and a 6.5 inch Super Retina HD screen respectively. The future devices will reportedly feature a 12 MP selfie camera which is a considerable bump in comparison to the 8 MP sensor found on current generation devices. Like the Samsung Galaxy S10, the future flagship iPhone models are also reported to support reverse wireless charging. Under the hood, the device will ship with updated Bionic chipsets which are assumedly called A13. Also, new for 2019, Apple will reportedly ship the device with 18 W fast charger.
Taiwanese smartphone maker, Asus is set to launch its latest flagship smartphone, the ZenFone 6. The device will succeed the ZenFone 5Z from the yesteryear. Asus previously shared a teaser on Twitter which reveals the front layout of the upcoming smartphone. Another Tweet shared by the company reveals the features of the ZenFone 6. This also reveals the chipset and layout of the ports and grilles. In addition, a company executive shared a Morse Code on Instagram with the battery capacity and camera resolution of the anticipated flagship.
Asus ZenFone 6 Features
The teaser shared by the company affirms that the ZenFone 6 will be kitted with the high end Snapdragon 855. The same chip is also present on handsets like the Black Shark 2 and the Galaxy S10 (US). The chipset is manufactured using 7 nm fabrication process and is comprised of an Octa Core CPU along with the Adreno 640 GPU. The teaser also exposes that the awaited handset will have a triple slot tray, a notification LED and a smart key. The smart key might be a slider for selecting the sound profile similar to one present on OnePlus smartphones. The upcoming Asus ZenFone 6 will have a 3.5 mm audio jack which is mounted at the bottom. The bottom of the handset also houses the loudspeaker grille and the USB type C port for charging and data transfer. The ZenFone 6 has right side mounted power button and volume rockers.
Morse Code Shared By An Asus Executive
In terms of optics, the upcoming flagship will have a dual rear camera setup which will consist of a 48 MP sensor, a 13 MP sensor and an LED flash. Details about the front-facing camera are unavailable as of now, but the past teaser shared by Asus hints it will have a pop-up style front camera. Another notable flagship that will have this type of camera is the OnePlus 7 Pro.
The Asus ZenFone 6 will be powered by a massive 5,000 mAh battery which is likely to support fast charging. Other details including screen size, resolution of the front camera and the price will only be publicised at the time of official launch.
The Japanese technology company, Sharp has launched yet another distinctive smartphone which is called the Aquos R3. The newly launched device, like any other, has dual notch. Out of which one is present on top of the display while the second is present below it. Another highlighting feature of the Sharp Aquos R3 is its Pro IGZO display that has a praiseworthy refresh rate of 120 Hz. Except for the said handset, only the Razer Phone has a display with this high refresh rate.
Sharp Aquos R3 Design And Features
The newly launched Sharp Aquos R3 has a unique and distinctive design which is mainly because of the dual notch in the display. It features a notch above the display which houses the 16 MP selfie camera. While the so-called second notch below the display is a way to maximise the screen to body ratio while retaining a fingerprint scanner on the front of the device. The smartphone sports a 6.2 inch Pro IGZO display that has a Quad HD+ resolution of 3120 x 1440 px. As previously mentioned, the display panel has a refresh rate of 120 Hz which provides for an enriched media consumption experience.
The rear of the Sharp Aquos R3 harbours the dual camera setup and the company branding. The said dual camera setup consists of a 12 MP sensor, a 20 MP sensor along with an LED flash. Under the hood, it packs the Snapdragon 855 SoC which is comprised of Octa Core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. In terms of memory and storage, the Sharp Aquos R3 has 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64 GB of UFS storage. Furthermore, the internal memory is also expandable upto 512 GB via a microSD card.
Connectivity options on the Sharp Aquos R3 include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and the bottom mounted USB Type C port. The smartphone is powered by a 3,200 mAh battery which also supports 10 W wireless charging. It is available in a multitude of colours which include Premium Black, Platinum White, Elegant Green, Pink Amethyst and Luxury Red. The smartphone has been launched for the Japanese market and the feasibility of this making to other markets are marginal.
Tencent, the developer of the sensational mobile game, PUBG was forced to ban the game in its home country, China. Prominently, due to the accusation of diffusing violence amongst users. Tencent, in an order to retain the massive player database, has released a new game called Game For Peace for the country. Notably, the developer claims that the new game has an element of patriotism.
Factually speaking, the newly launched Game For Peace is virtually identical to PUBG mobile with a handful of key differences. Notably, the company did not notify the PUBG users before taking down the game. Surprisingly, the users who logged into the new game afresh stumbled that all their content and achievements from PUBG profile have been carried forward. Furthermore, the gameplay, the graphic design, the background and even the characters are more or less the same to the original game.
However, the Game For Peace has gotten rid of the bloodshed animations which have been replaced with a green coloured strobe. To further calm down the violence factor, players when dying wave goodbye to the opponent which is hilarious and unusual at the same time. A few other changes that the new game offers include different coloured play zone light and intro/outro video.
Even though, the game developer, Tencent has shared limited information about the new game. Analysts predict that after the Game For Peace launch, Tencent shares can splurge up to 19 %.
OnePlus is gearing up for the launch of its latest smartphones which will succeed the OnePlus 6T from 2018. The upcoming devices include the OnePlus 7 and its beefed up elder sibling the OnePlus 7 Pro. Previously, the renders of both the handsets were leaked which revealed their design. Now, the specifications of the high end OnePlus 7 Pro have leaked ahead of its official announcement which is set for the 14th of May.
According to the leak, the highly anticipated OnePlus 7 Pro sports a 6.67 inch Fluid AMOLED display. The panel has a resolution of 3120 x 1440 px and a pixel density of 516 ppi. Noteworthy, the OnePlus 7 Pro has a 90 Hz refresh rate display which provides for enhanced viewing experience. The smartphone runs on OxygenOS which is based on the latest Android 9 Pie. As previously confirmed, the flagship smartphone packs UFS 3.0 storage and will be available in three storage variants which include 6 GB + 128 GB, 8 GB + 256 GB and 12 GB + 256 GB.
OnePlus 7 Pro Almond Colour
Under the hood, the OnePlus 7 Pro will be kitted with the Snapdragon 855 SoC which is manufactured using 7 nm fabrication process. The same chipset is also present on devices like the Xiaomi Black Shark 2 and the Lenovo Z6 Pro GT. The chipset consists of the Adreno 640 GPU and eight CPU cores. Out of the eight cores, one Cortex A76 core is clocked at 2.84 GHz, three Cortex A76 cores are clocked at 2.42 GHz, while the remaining Cortex A55 cores are clocked at 1.8 GHz. In terms of connectivity, the OnePlus 7 Pro has Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11 Wi-Fi, USB 3.1 Type C Port and NFC.
Talking about the cameras, the OnePlus 7 Pro has an f/2.0 aperture equipped 16 MP Sony IMX471 front facing camera which is housed in pop up style mechanism. The device has a triple camera setup which consists of an f/1.6 aperture equipped 48 MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture equipped 16 MP sensor and an f/2.4 aperture equipped 8 MP sensor that has 3x optical zoom capabilities. The OnePlus 7 Pro can also capture 4k videos at 30/60 FPS, Slow motion 1080 p video at 240 FPS from the rear cameras setup while the selfie camera can record 1080p videos at 30 fps.
Unlike any other OnePlus device in the past, the upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro has stereo speakers which will provide for an enriched media consumption experience. The handset will be powered by a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 30W warp charge. The said fast charging technology was first introduced with the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition which was launched last year. The smartphone measures 162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8 mm and weighs in at 210 grams. As previously mentioned, the OnePlus 7 Pro will be available in three storage variants. With the new device, the company will also introduce new colour options. The European pricing for different variants of the device are as follows:
Apple is likely to launch three iPhone models in the month of September this year. The upcoming devices will succeed the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR from 2018. While the details of the flagship grade iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max were previously leaked online. There was limited information about the affordable iPhone which will replace the iPhone XR. Now, renders of the 2019 iPhone XR (not the official name) have been shared by renowned leakster OnLeaks.
2019 iPhone XR Design
The renders of the 2019 iPhone XR shared by the source are sufficiently detailed to exhibit what the upcoming smartphone will look like from all angles. Like the original handset, the upcoming device has a large screen display that has minimal bezel on all sides. Like its predecessor, the updated device has a wide notch above the display that houses the earpiece and front facing selfie camera.
The rear layout of the 2019 iPhone XR is also identical to the original device. Distinctively, the updated smartphone will have a dual rear camera setup instead of a single camera on the 2018 variant. Similar to the iPhone XI & iPhone XI Max renders, the affordable 2019 iPhone has a square camera module which slightly protrudes from the back panel. Furthermore, like the flagship devices, the glass on top of the rear camera module is likely to be transparent. The placement of ports, grilles and switches also remain unchanged from the 2018 iPhone XR.
2019 iPhone XR Features
Reportedly, the 2019 iPhone XR will be sport a 6.1 inch Liquid Retina display which is the same as the original device. Like its elder siblings, the device will feature a 7 nm based chipset which according to the chronological order will be named A13 Bionic. Noteworthy, the smartphone is expected to have an improved selfie camera that has a resolution of 12 MP. Notably, the company is reported to ship the 2019 iPhone models with an 18 W fast charger. Like the original iPhone XR, the upcoming device will be available in a variety of vibrant colours.
After the phenomenal success of the Redmi Note 7 and the Note 7 Pro in the country. Xiaomi is gearing for the launch of another feature-rich device whose posters have been shared on the Mi community website. The said poster questions ‘Guess What’s Coming’ which is accompanied by a diagram. Closely inspecting the image suggests that the company might actually launch two smartphones instead of one.
Apparently, the diagram from the poster is hinting the features of the upcoming handsets. Allegedly, the inner ring in the aforementioned diagram denotes the single selfie camera on upcoming devices. While the second ring denotes a double camera and a triple camera setup which the smartphones will feature. It is assumed that the upcoming smartphone duo includes the Mi A3 and the Mi A3 Lite. To further strengthen the claim, the company is long anticipated to unveil the successors of the Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite (aka Redmi 6 Pro) from last year.
Even though precise details about both the Mi A3 and the Mi A3 Lite are unavailable, key features can be drawn from their predecessor. Being members of Xiaomi’s A series, the Mi A3 and the Mi A3 Lite are destined to run a stock version of Android along with Android one certification. Late last month, Xioami India head, Manu Kumar Jain shared a Tweet which notified that the company will soon launch a smartphone with the Snapdragon 730 SoC. And the Mi A3 might be kitted with the said chipset.
Furthermore, smartphones in the Mi A lineup are recognised for their camera performance and the upcoming handsets are expected to follow suit. All in all, to get more details about the smartphones we will have to wait patiently until we hear next from the company.
On the 7th of May 2019, Google held the I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California. As expected, it unveiled the long-anticipated Pixel 3a smartphone duo. The other notable product launched at the event was the Nest Hub Max which is the companies second-generation smart display. Other than the aforementioned hardware and software announcement, the company showcased new features for Google Assistant which are nothing short of groundbreaking.
Offline Centric Update
With the latest update, Google has primarily focussed on providing the existing features of the Assistant application without the need for an active internet connection. The company states that the new update completely changes how the data processing on the assistant is achieved. Previously, the inputs provided to the assistant was computed on the company’s data centres. But, following the update, all the data will be processed locally on the device itself. Noteworthy, Google has managed to shrink 100 GB of speech recognition and language understanding data to a bite-size 0.5 GB. Therefore, it can be locally stored on a smartphone or tablet, resulting in a reduction of latency to a greater extent.
The company claims that the updated Assistant can process requests up to 10 times faster. Furthermore, users can even multitask across different applications with the help of the voice assistant. The requirement for saying ‘Hey Google’ prefix before every command has also been eliminated. Consequently, users can have a human-like conversation with a virtual assistant. However, the next generation Assistant which rolls out later this year will only be limited to Pixel phones for an uncertain period.
Duplex Makes Its Way To The Web
Last year Google introduced Duplex technology, which is intended towards simplifying tasks that are usually performed manually. Originally, it could make phone calls on behalf of the user which in itself is a praiseworthy feature. After the update, it will also be able to handle certain processes which are a common affair like buying movie tickets online or booking a taxi. Duplex is able to achieve the said tasks by auto-filling the details of the users which greatly reduce the effort and time that it normally requires. The updated abilities will make their way to the app later this year in the US and UK for Android devices.
Assistant Becomes More Up Close
As the title suggests, Google assistant, after the update will be able to provide answers or execute tasks based on the personal references of an individual. For example, if the assistant has been informed about a particular contact, the assistant can answer questions about events like birthday or other relevant events based on the provided information. Another reference could be asking whether details of a friend’s place. Given, the assistant is aware of their location.
Furthermore, the assistant can also recommend suggestions based on past choices and decisions. The newly launched ‘Nest Smart Hub’ with the help of updated assistant will provide personalized suggestions starting with recipes, events and podcasts. For example, If a user asks for dinner recommendations, the assistant would answer based on past choices. Therefore, would suggest food dishes from a particular cuisine if the user had previously ordered a particular dish.
Driving Mode Built Into The Assistant
Even though driving mode has been available on Android devices for quite some time, its adaption has been rather limited. With the updated Google assistant, the company intends to change that. The driving mode built into the assistant can be easily toggled with the help of voice command “Hey Google, let’s drive”. The mode when turned on displays the on-screen content in a particular manner which custom tailored to the user.
Impressively, if a contact calls while driving, the assistant will speak aloud their details based on which the user can accept or decline the incoming call with a voice command. In addition, other tasks like messaging or asking for navigation can all be achieved with voice command, hands-free.
Furthermore, the updated Google assistant can turn on the air conditioner in the user’s car before they reach, implied the vehicle supports the functionality. Last but not least, an ongoing alarm can be turned off via the ‘stop’ voice command.
