Xiaomi is all set to debut at the MWC with its much-anticipated Mi 5 flagship smartphone. The device has been talked about in a great deal for a long time now. We’ve had variety of leaked renders and specifications about the device and in a little over an hour, we’ll know just how much of that is true. You can watch the event, which begins at 1.30pm IST, right here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5xSfaMbLdc
From what we know so far, the Mi 5 is rumoured to sport a 5.2-inch QHD display with 2.5D curved glass on the front, although rumors of a 5.7-inch Mi 5 have also been doing the rounds. The device will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset. No surprises there. Other rumoured specs include 3GB of RAM for the 32 GB storage model and 4 GB of RAM for the 64 GB storage edition. It will also come with support for microSD card slot. The Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to feature 802.11ad – an industry-first Wi-Fi connection standard. A battery of 3600 mAh will be present inside the Xiaomi Mi 5. The device should also be compatible with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0.
Reports from last week reveal the phone to come with a beefy 26-megapixel camera with f/1.6 lens. The front camera is expected to be an 8-megapixel shooter. The main camera is also expected to come with tech like laser autofocus and Optical Image Stabilization.
We’ll know exactly how much the rumours about the flagship stay true. Tune in at 1.30pm to watch the event live.
A source close to iGyaan, who have been accurate in the past, state that LG’s newest modular flagship smartphone, the G5, will launch in India sometime in May. The G5 has been said to cost around Rs. 59,000 when it hits the Indian market. Meanwhile, the modules for the G5, called Friends, will also reach the Indian market. The LG Cam Plus camera grip will be priced at Rs 9,000 while the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play module will cost Rs 14,999.
On the specifications front, the LG G5 comes packing a primary 5.3-inch QHD LCD display with 3D Arc Glass on top. It also has a cool Always-on feature that lights up the display for access to important updates. The phone’s construction is full metal unibody and is powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable by upto 2TB with microSD cards.
When it comes to photography, the phone is equipped with dual cameras at the back. A standard 16-megapixel 78-degree lens and another 8-megapixel 135-degree wide angle lens. The LG G5 features a front-facing 8-megapixel camera too for clicking selfies.
LG G5 comes packing a 2,800mAh removable battery with Quick Charge 3.0, and when it comes to connectivity it gives users options such as Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. The smartphone also features USB Type-C 2.0 port. The G5 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with LG’s custom UI on top. The G5 will be available in four different colors, silver, gold, pink and silver.
LG-G5 CAM-Plus
The company also announced modular accessories for the phone at the launch. Most interesting of the lot was the LG Cam Plus module which can be attached to the G5 through the battery slot giving the user “comfortable grip and convenient control of a DSLR” for better imaging and also adds to the battery of the phone taking the capacity up to 4000mAh.
Next is the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play module. This is a Hi-Fi DAC audio player which is perfect for audiophiles. It can also play high-definition audio files encoded in 32-bit at 384KHz.
The opening day fight for the spotlight at the MWC 2016 was always going to be between Samsung and LG. While Samsung had a very sober event, unveiling its S7 devices which didn’t really wow the mass as one would have liked, LG, on the other hand, stole the show with its new modular G5 flagship. Samsung may not have changed too much with the S7, but LG redefined the smartphone with the G5. We look at how much the LG G5 has changed from its G4 predecessor.
Design
LG G4
The LG G4 was designed in a new way back in 2015 with the introduction of a genuine leather back panel that received mixed reactions in certain religious countries. For example in India, LG refrained from mentioning that the leather back panel was made from cow hide, which prevented some people from buying the handset. The use of leather, however, was done in a brilliant way. The back panel takes 12 weeks to manufacture and uses a new technology for a process which normally takes a few days.
Although some had mixed opinions about the design and use of leather, LG had done it rather tastefully and not only did it look impressive, but also felt great in the hand.
LG G5
With the G5, LG again made a drastic design change and incorporated a modular design to its new flagship, which is, in our opinion, a stroke of brilliance. The G5 introduces a full metal body and comes with impressive specifications but the what sets the phone apart from its competition is the fact that it comes with modular attachments which can be utilised to enhance the camera and battery of the phone. Over to the back, you can see the dual camera module and a rounded fingerprint sensor below it which was missing in the G4.
However, the back of the G5 looks rather dull and pales in comparison to the back of the G4. Of course, this is just going by the images of the G5 and it may just feel good in the hands. The actual look of the G5 isn’t much to brag about but what will really sell it is it’s modular nature.
Display
The G4 had a 5.5-inch Quad HD LCD display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 534ppi. Now while the display on the G4 was bright and crisp, the size factor and poor battery pack made it hard to make it through an entire day with enough juice.
LG has reduced the screen size of the G5 from 5.5-inch to a 5.3-inch Quad HD display. This will not only add much sharper colours and brightness, but will also help conserve precious battery life. Add to this, you also have a new Always On mode that displays notifications and messages without having to turn on the phone. The Always On feature uses only 0.8 percent of battery per hour, which means the phone will last a lot longer than the G4.
Hardware
Like every new flagship successor, specifications are bound to get a bump. 2016 is the year of the Snapdragon 820 and many flagship devices this year will be sporting that chipset. The G5 is no different. It comes with a smaller 5.3-inch screen as compared to the G4 and is powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset and Adreno 530 GPU. RAM also gets a bump to 4GB and adds a USB Type-C port. The battery pack drops from 3,000mAh to 2,800mAh, though it is still removable and LG has some ‘Friends’ that bring in some help when needed.
But the USP of the G5 is its modular design and modules is what you get with the G5. The handset comes with various modules that can be attached to the bottom of the device. LG calles these modules Friends that include LG Cam Plus and LG HI-Fi Plus.
LG-G5 CAM-Plus
The LG Cam Plus is a camera module that is attached to the device for grip and raises the battery capacity to 4,000mAh by adding an extra 1,200mAh battery pack module to the existing 2,800mAh pack. The module also includes other camera functions including auto focus with the shutter button and zoom with the analogue dial.
Next is the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play module. This is a Hi-Fi DAC audio player which is perfect for audiophiles. It can also play high-definition audio files encoded in 32-bit at 384KHz that will offer better sound quality over the 24-bit DAC that is already on the G5.
Specs
LG G4
LG G5
Display
5.5-inch Quad HD LCD
5.3-inch screen Quad HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4
The G4 had an impressive camera with a 16MP rear and f/1.8 aperture that gave excellent low-light captures. Over the past few years, LG has done well with its camera modules, and is among the top brands in that department.
The G5 takes the camera module from the G4 and adds a little more to it. The rear camera on the G5 comes in two this time, one with a 16MP sensor and one with an 8MP 135-degree wide angle lens, both together promise a lot more functionality, offering impressive auto wide angle captures. LG has stated that its wide angle camera offers a field of view like a human eye and doesn’t restrict photography like other standard camera modules.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that LG has made some crazy changes with the G5 over the G4. The company did not rest on the laurels of the latter and instead made some bold new changes while still keeping the best parts from last year. LG has basically taken one step forward towards making a truly modular phone a reality.
LG has dropped a panic bombshell on the audience and the tech industry, and the world should take notice. This is the evolution of smartphone design, and with the future only closer to what modular requirements each customer would have.
LeEco took over January with a storm. The company that was formerly known as LeTV stole the spotlight at CES 2016 by unveiling the Le Max Pro. Now, at the ongoing MWC, LeEco announced the sale of the Le Max Pro. This makes the Le Max Pro the world’s first Snapdragon 820 smartphone to go on sale after a 1000 units were made available for purchase today. The ‘Superphone’ is priced at RMB 1,999 (Rs 21,000).
The Le Max Pro sports a 6.33-inch display with QHD resolution powered by Snapdragon 820 chipset. The device will be equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The camera is said to feature a 21MP sensor for the rear and a 4MP sensor for the front. The phone a 3,400mAh battery that can be charged through a USB Type-C port. It also features a fingerprint scanner on the back and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Like the Le Max and Le 1s, the Le Max Pro features a bezel-less, full metal unibody design out of aircraft grade aluminum. It also comes with the world’s first full-floating glass made by Sharp exclusively for LeEco.
LeEco has made a successful mark in international markets. It had three record-breaking flash sales this month with 220,000 (2.2 lacs) total orders received within 31 seconds, the shortest record of time, and an incredible record of 20,28,000 (20.2 lacs) registrations.
Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones at the MWC 2016 on Sunday. The newest flagship devices came bearing pretty much similar looking design language as the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, while the main improvements resided within the devices themselves. Among the bumped up specs, one new technology that grabbed everyone’s attention was the new Dual Pixel technology employed in the rear camera.
The Dual Pixel, essentially, is an improvement or a natural evolution from the Phase-Detection Auto-Focus technology used by many other smartphones. Firstly, Samsung downgraded from 16MP found in the S6 to 12MP in the S7. The decision to do this was to focus more on quality rather than quantity. The 12MP sensor brings 56% bigger individual pixels with1.4um pixels as compared to the S6.
To understand Dual Pixels one needs to first wrap their heads around PDAF. PDAF traditionally uses less than 10% the total number of pixels equipped with focusing photodiodes and uses it strategically in the sensor area to focus on a subject. This requires more time for focusing. Dual Pixel, on the other hand, uses a 100% of the pixels for extremely precise and fast focusing. Using the whole of the pixels also allows more light in.
This combined with a wider f/1.7 aperture (the S6 had a f/1.9 aperture) allows for a lot more light to come in, 25% more to be more accurate. This results in great low-light captures that are sharp and colourful. The Dual Pixel image sensor splits every single pixel into two photodiodes for on-chip phase detection, promising vastly improved autofocus performance. Much like the human eye, the Dual Pixel technology sends light from the lens to two image sensors seperately to adjust the focus.
In a bid to join the ever growing market of fitness trackers, Timex today launched its very own fitness tracker housed in a traditional analog watch at a price of Rs 9,995 and is exclusively available at Amazon.in. In what is the first ever analogue activity tracker, Timex looks to keep up with modern technology and health wear and yet still maintain its traditional roots.
The Metropolitan+ uses Bluetooth technology to connect to your phone to track your everyday activity. What’s more, unlike other fitness trackers out there, the Metropolitan+ will last you up to 18 months on a single charge. You can view your stats on the watch dial without having to push any button to do so.
Anupam Mathur, Head – Sales and Marketing, Timex Group India Limited said, “An active lifestyle often makes you give up on important things in life. Timex wants its consumers to not give up on their style for functionality or vice versa. Metropolitan+ is for the modern day men who demand a fit and active lifestyle and are always connected on the go. It is a perfect fit for the men who are interested in tracking their daily progress but wouldn’t want to sacrifice the beauty of a traditional watch on their wrist, a best of both worlds. With Metropolitan+, the daily lifestyles of our male consumers will become effortless, convenient and dynamic.”
The Metropolitan+ comes in two styles – one with a silver case, a black dial and a textured leather strap while the other features a black case with a black dial and comes with interchangeable black silicone and orange nylon straps. The app to sync the watch to your phone is available on both Android and iOS.
Vivo had earlier announced a March1 launch of the XPlay 5 – the first smartphone to sport a 6GB RAM. It was only a matter of time before leaked images were leaked showing off the design of the phone before the launch event.
Apart from 6GB of RAM, the XPlay 5 will come with a Snapdragon 820 processor and will sport a dual curved display, which brings a certain Samsung model to mind. The renders show a beautiful design of the XPlay 5 with a metal body and the curved sides. You also see a square-shaped fingerprint scanner at the back just below the camera module.
Not much has been revealed about the phone as Vivo has kept it under wraps. The handset is expected sport 6.0-inch QHD with 1440×2560 pixel resolution. Other likely features are a 6MP primary camera on the rear side, 8MP snapper on the front and a massive 4300mAh battery.
Samsung unveiled its much-awaited flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones at the MWC on Sunday. The Korean giant has confirmed a March 11 launch of the devices while pre-orders begin starting tomorrow. The devices will be made available in 60 countries initially.
Samsung is hoping to rake in a lot of numbers in the first month which is why it is offering the Gear VR headset free for those who pre-order or buy the S7 between February 23 to March 18. Samsung is expecting to sell over 40 million units of the S7 by the end of the year.
The 5.1-inch S7 Super AMOLED display with quad HD resolution. Two SoC configurations are offered – one being the new Exynos 8890 and the other being Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820. The device comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage as well as a MicroSD card slot this time around and the battery is 3000mAh. A fingerprint sensor is housed in the home button.
The S7 Edge comes with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with quad HD resolution. A Snapdragon 820 processor powers the device along with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and 3600mAh battery pack.
The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Plus had incredible cameras that won last year. This year, Samsung wants to take its camera up a notch which is why it’s using a new Britecell technology for the Galaxy S7 for better low-light photography. Both the S7 and S7 Edge feature ‘Dual Pixel’ cameras with a 12MP with f/1.7 aperture rear camera and a 5MP front. Samsung has boasted of exceptional low-light captures with the Galaxy S7 devices and it may just dominate the camera department once again this year.
The Mobile World Congress is already underway and has wrapped up with the first day today. The conference actually began yesterday with the Unpacked event where LG, Huawei and Samsung kicked off the show with their products. Flagship mobiles aside, the MWC attention being given to new technology as well. 360 cameras and virtual reality were big at the MWC. Here are the products that grabbed our attention the most.
Gear 360 Camera
The MWC has always been the grandest stage for Samsung as it is where the Korean giant always unveils its flagship smartphones. That being said, yesterday’s Unpacked event for Samsung seemed a lot less about its flagship S7 devices and a lot more VR-centric. Indeed, the event opened with a virtual reality presentation, having the audience wear the Gear VR headset to experience the arrival of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge with a VR presentation.
Along with the flagship devices, Samsung also unveiled the Gear 360 camera that can capture 360-degree videos that can capture and share 360-degree images and videos thanks to its double-lense spherical shape. The eyeball-shaped camera has a flat bottom that allows it to rest on any surface, a MicroSD card slot (up to 128GB) and swappable battery, hidden within.
Each of the opposing f/2.0 lenses have a 195-degree field view and the resulting 15 degrees of overlaps helps the software stitch the two images together. The camera shoots 30-megapixel spherical photos and 3840 x 1920 video that offers a great experience, especially inside the Gear VR.
LG 360 Cam
The LG 360 Cam is a low-cost, and easy way to record 360-degrees video. The camera uses two 13MP lenses on either side with a 200-degree field of view. The camera carries a 1,200mAh battery pack inside and can record up to 70 minutes on a single charge. The camera also records 2k videos.
This is one of the major modular attachments announced by LG at the launch event and the company has high hopes from the LG 360 Cam for helping increase sales for the LG G5
LG 360 VR
Apart from its revolutionary modular flagship G5 smartphone, LG also displayed its 360 VR headset that is designed to work as a standalone display, without the need to attach a smartphone like the Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.
The LG 360 VR has a pixel density of 639ppi, which is pretty high. The headset connects to the G5 using a USB Type-C cable.
Nokia Ozo VR Camera
One very interesting device here is the Nokia Ozo VR camera which will in all probability be the first cinema grade virtual reality recorder. The device comes with the capability to record and store up to 45 minutes of audio and video. we checked out the results first hand and the VR quality is really high standard.
Nokia thinks the Ozo VR will be able to revolutionise the movie-making industry with this new offering, and as such will look to make a big push for the Ozo VR Camera in the coming days. How it fares in the market though only the future knows.
HP has unveiled its Windows 10-powered Elite X3 smartphone at the ongoing Mobile World Congress. HP claims that this smartphone can be used as a laptop as well as a desktop. The Elite X3 bears some high-end specifications.
The phone comes with a 5.96-inch QHD touchscreen, a 16-megapixel camera at the back, an 8-megapixel camera at the front for clicking selfies. It will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage and up to 2TB of expandable storage via MicroSD card slot. The device packs a large 4,100mAh battery and comes with support for USB Type-C and will also support USB 3.0, Qi wireless charging.
The Elite x3 also houses a fingerprint scanner, a fancy iris sensor, a special docking connection, IP67 certification for water and dust resistance, as well as MIL-STD-810G rating for withstanding drops from 1 meter or less. It will also support Microsoft’s Continuum feature. Pretty impressive we say.
HP confirmed the Elite X3 will be available this summer although the company did not specify the exact date or pricing of the device. We’ll know more in the weeks to come.
Sony just held its press conference at the MWC 2016 in Barcelona. The company today unveiled its new Xperia X lineup of device that consists of the Xperia Performance. X and XA. Sony launched the devices stressing on a more connected world, with improved and smart technology. Along with this, Sony also launched the Xperia Ear, Eye, and Projector as smart accessories that allow for a more hands-free way to connect with your smartphone.
Sony didn’t reveal too much about the specs of the devices. The X Performance sports a 5-inch 1080p Full HD display and is powered by Snapdragon 820. The device, which is the bigger of the three has a premiu metal finish with a rectangular chasis and rounded edges and a 2.5D curved glass on top. The X Performance comes with a 23MP rear camera with a Predictive Hybrid Autofocus, 5x Clear Image Zoom and ISO 12800 sensitivity, and a 13MP selfie shooter.
The Xperia X and XA also feature Predictive Hybrid Autofocus tech that offers motion tracking. The mid-range devices are powered by the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor, run on Android 5.0 Lollipop and come with a 2.5D curved glass on the front and a metallic rear for a premium feel.
The device looks really slim and you can see the Xperia logo at the back with the camera on the top left and the LED flash just below. Along the right side, you have the power button, volume controls and a dedicated camera button as well. Up in front, you have a large display with exceptionally thin side bezels and a 2.5D curved glass.
Sony also showed off the Xperia Ear, a earpiece that informs you of your schedule, news and weather. It responds to voice commands, and can make calls, search the internet, read and respond to emails and messages or navigate to a location. Pricing has not been revealed as of yet. Sony confirmed that the devices will start shipping in Summer this year. We’ll know more about the devices and new connected products in the weeks to come.
MWC 2016 kicked off in a grand way with LG and Samsung having unveiled their flagship smartphones. Now, it’s Sony’s turn to unveils some of its products. While it may not be a flagship device in the form of the Xperia Z6, Sony will still look to bring out something great. Popular leakster @evleaks, who is no doubt in Barcelona trying to get an exclusive look at new phones before everyone else does, has posted an image of a new unnamed Xperia phone that may just be unveiled later today.
The image posted shows off a great looking phone. The device looks really slim and you can see the Xperia logo at the back with the camera on the top left and the LED flash just below. Along the side, you have the rounded power button, volume controls and a dedicated camera button as well. up in front, you have a large display with exceptionally thin side bezels and hints of a 2.5D curved glass. Sony’s event will take place later today starting
Sony is also expected to launch the Xperia PP10, so we’re possibly looking at least two phone launches from the company today along with some smart accessories. The event will take place later today starting 1pm IST. Follow this space for more on Sony’s launch event.
It’s finally here. After months of rumours and speculations, Samsung has now finally unveiled its newest flagship devices, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The next Galaxy devices come promising spectacular design language and next-gen performance and specifications.
The 5.1-inch S7 Super AMOLED display with quad HD resolution. Two SoC configurations are offered – one being the new Exynos 8890 and the other being Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820. The device comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage as well as a MicroSD card slot this time around and the battery is 3000mAh. A fingerprint sensor is housed in the home button.
The S7 Edge comes with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with quad HD resolution. A Snapdragon 820 processor powers the device along with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and 3600mAh battery pack.
The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Plus had incredible cameras that won last year. This year, Samsung wants to take its camera up a notch which is why it’s using a new Britecell technology for the Galaxy S7 for better low-light photography. Both the S7 and S7 Edge feature ‘Dual Pixel’ cameras with a 12MP with f/1.7 aperture rear camera and a 5MP front. Samsung has boasted of exceptional low-light captures with the Galaxy S7 devices and it may just dominate the camera department once again this year.
Moving over to the design, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge follow the same design language as their S6 counterparts. The S6 devices of last year were beautifully crafted phones and Samsung made a smart move not to change that. Only the standard 5.1-inch S7 will have a curved edge at the back rather than a flat one seen on in the S6. Samsung hasn’t changed the exteriors too much but has simply refined it. It has added a MicroSD tray while maintaining the sleek look.
Finally, some other features include IP68 water and dust resistance, wireless charging. It also features the Always On mode that shows you notifications without having to turn on your device. The camera bump is still there but is lower than that found on the S6 devices. Quick Access App lets you swipe through the screen on the Edge to quickly access your favourite apps. Samsung is also taking gaming to the next level with next-gen Vulcan API graphics.
Pricing of the devices have not been revealed as yet. Samsung has also not revealed all the specifications so some are subject to change. Check the spec table below for everything you need to know.
In less than an hour, Samsung will unveil its next Galaxy flagship device, the S7 and S7 Edge at the MWC Unpacked event. We have heard a lot of rumoured specs and seen a lot of leaked images and renders and it’s almost time to see how much of those have come true. You can catch the event live right here. Hit play on the link below and sit tight for the event to begin.
MWC 2016 has officially kicked off. The opening day saw Huawei and LG take the stage unveiling their new devices. LG, of course, unveiled its flagship G5 modular smartphone while Huawei launched the Huawei MateBook.
The MateBook is a 12-inch 2 in 1 tablet that is powered by Windows 10. With this, Huawei looks to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Apple’s iPad Pro. The MateBook comes with a detachable keyboard much like the iPad Pro. Launched at a price of $699, the MateBook comes with an Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB storage, and a 128GB SSD. The tablet also features a 5MP front camera and a fingerprint sensor on he side. The keyboard, stylus and dock are priced at $169, $69 $99, respectively.
The MateBook, according to Huawei, is the result of all that the company has learned from its smartphones and tablets over the years. The display is a nice 2160×1440 pixel resolution with a 10mm thin bezel around it. The metal unibody design gives it a premium feel. The tablet also features dual speakers at the bottom with Dolby Audio.
The MateBook’s 4430mAh high-density Lithium battery promises up to 10 hours of battery life after which a USB Type-C Cable will charge it back up in no time. Weighing in at 640g, the MateBook is lighter than the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4.
