Author: Vipul Vij

Asus Zenfone Max Pro To Launch India On 23rd April : Flipkart Exclusive

Asus has announced its partnership with Flipkart today (17th April) for the launch its new smartphone, the Zenfone Max Pro in India on the 23rd of April. No details for Zenfone Max Pro were discussed at the press conference as the company would want to keep all of it under wraps until the launch event.

Flipkart aims to leverage its data-driven research with Asus’ technological advancements to create India-centric smartphones. Flipkart has also revealed that one in every four smartphones sold in India across retail channels were via Flipkart. The e-commerce giant also took the opportunity to announce its ’40 by 20′ plan. According to the plan, the company wants to acquire 40% smartphone market share by the year 2020.

Asus Zenfone 5Z

As of now, we do not have a lot of details about the Asus Zenfone Max Pro. We do know that the Zenfone Max Pro will be an India-first smartphone from Asus. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus said:

With Flipkart’s partnership, we aim to gain more insights about Indian consumers’ needs which can help us develop even more suitable products for the Indian market. We strongly believe this collaboration will provide both companies better opportunity to provide delightful propositions to Indian consumers.

The Zenfone Max Pro will be a budget smartphone and go up against the likes of Redmi Note 5 Pro and Honor 7X. We expect the Zenfone Max Pro to have a modern design and a competitive price. Should Asus go for an 18:9 aspect ratio, the Zenfone Max Pro could have a 6 inch display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. Most budget smartphones like the Mi A1 or Honor 7X have an IPS LCD display and we expect something similar from the Zenfone Max Pro.

Redmi Note 5 Pro

In terms of specifications, Flipkart listing has confirmed that the Zenfone Max Pro will run on the Snapdragon 636 chipset. This makes it the direct competitor to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro which also runs on the Snapdragon 636 chipset. This chipset could be coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB onboard storage. Dual-camera setup on the back has gone from being a flagship feature to the new normal for budget smartphones. Hence, we expect the Zenfone Max Pro to sport a dual-camera setup on the back

The launch is scheduled for 23rd April where all the specifications and pricing of the smartphone will be revealed. It will be interesting to see how Asus prices the Zenfone Max Pro considering how famous the Redmi Note 5 Pro currently is.

April 17, 2018
Xiaomi Redmi S2 With Face Unlock And Dual Cameras Could Soon Launch In India

Xiaomi has launched a few stellar smartphones over the past few months. The Mi A1, for a long time, was the best budget smartphones in India. In 2018, the company launched the Redmi Note 5 Pro which, right now, is probably the best budget smartphone that a lot of people cannot buy. Now, it appears that Xiaomi is preparing to launch another budget smartphone in India.

A report by XDA Developers claims that Xiaomi will soon launch the Redmi S2 in India. Judging by the specifications that have been unearthed, the Redmi S2 will be an entry-level smartphone. The Redmi S2 will be priced cheaper than the Redmi 5 which was launched in mid-march at a starting price of Rs 7999. The Redmi S2 could be priced at Rs 5999 as a replacement to the Redmi 5A.

Redmi Note 5 Pro

According to the report, the Redmi S2 will have an 18:9 IPS LCD display with a 1440 x 720 px resolution. The exact size of the display has not been confirmed.

Under the hood, the Redmi S2 could run on the Snapdragon 625 chipset. If true, this will be an interesting move by Xiaomi since the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi 5 also run on the same chipset. The Snapdragon 625 chipset will be coupled with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage. The fingerprint sensor will be placed on the back of the smartphone just like every other Xiaomi smartphone.

Redmi Note 5

Powering the device will be a 3080 mAh battery which should be enough to power an HD display.

In the camera department is where the Redmi S2 could have a lot to offer. To the back of the smartphone will be a dual-camera setup with a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP depth sensor. However, it is not yet confirmed if the primary lens will be an IMX486 or an OmniVision OV12A10 sensor. Interestingly, the Redmi S2 will also have EIS and Face Unlock along with the regular portrait mode. On the front will be a 5MP Samsung S5K5E8 sensor.

Mi MIX 2s

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 will be launched in China and India. The date of launch has not been confirmed yet and there are chances that Xiaomi could launch it along with the Mi MIX 2s in India in the coming weeks.

April 17, 2018
Russian Hackers Are Using Wi-Fi Routers To Hack Into Homes And Government Offices
Cyber attacks being carried out by Russian hackers seems like a news that started floating around decades ago. Time and again, we have come across instances where the US government has warned its people about the danger that Russian hackers carry. Now, a new security alert has identified that hackers are now using large numbers of routers, switches, and other network devices that are well past their last security update to compromise US homes, government offices, businesses, and critical infrastructure providers.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security and FBI and the UK’s National Cyber Security Center, Russian hackers can extract a lot of sensitive information like passwords, intellectual properties by gaining access to network devices around an office or a home. With advancements in technology and the widespread use of smart home products in a lot of places, it is hard to imagine any home or workplace to not have network devices like smart switches or WiFi routers. This is even more severe in a country like the US where the internet is so readily available and smart home products are cheaper and easy to use.

The technical alert has highlighted the severity of this situation and the timeline of the information the security personnel received.

Since 2015, the US government received information from multiple sources—including private- and public-sector cybersecurity research organizations and allies—that cyber actors are exploiting large numbers of enterprise-class and SOHO/residential routers and switches worldwide.

In a detailed account of Russian hackers misusing the poorly secured network devices in government offices and other sensitive places, the alert notice laid down different stages of the hacking process.
- Reconnaissance is the first stage when hackers identify poorly secured network ports like network management protocol
- The second stage is the weaponisation and delivery of traffic to the identified devices that cause such devices to send the hackers configuration files that contain cryptographically stored passwords and other sensitive data
- The third stage is exploitation is when attackers use this data to gain access to the compromised devices
- The final stage is command and control, wherein the hackers use the newly gained access to pose as previous or trusted users to establish a connection
Cisco, a multi-million dollar tech conglomerate has already identified that its install client was recently compromised. Cisco is a manufacturer of a lot of network devices that are used by a lot of citizens of the US.

The access gained by Russian hackers is mainly down to old network devices like routers and switches. These devices run on old firmware and are not updated to the latest security protocols allow hackers to gain remote access to the network without even installing any sort of malware. With this security alert now made available to all government officials, it is yet to be seen what the workplaces will do in order to curb the situation and make them less vulnerable to cyber attacks from Russian hackers. Until then, to protect yourself from such threats, make sure to use adequate security protocols like strong passwords and update your hardware firmware in a timely manner.
April 17, 2018
Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Red Bull Ring Edition Launched

Samsung had launched the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at an event in Barcelona on the 25th of February. Both the flagship smartphones subsequently went on sale in India in March. Now, Samsung has launched a special edition of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ in association with Vodafone in the Netherlands. The Galaxy S9+ and S9 Red Bull Ring Edition will be available in the Netherlands until the 27th of April.

The name of the new Galaxy S9 Red Bull Edition is a reference to the Austrian Grand Prix track. The retail box of the Galaxy S9 Red Bull Edition will include a special Red Bull Ring case along with the usual stuff like AKG earphones and a wall charger. Interestingly, the case inside the bundle provides much more than just branding or protection to your Galaxy S9/S9+. It has an NFC chip that triggers a change in theme of the Galaxy S9 to a Red Bull theme featuring shots of its F1 cars.

Apart from the NFC chip cover, the Galaxy S9 Red Bull Edition comes pre-loaded with information about each track. The Galaxy S9 Red Bull Edition owners will also have access to free clips from the Ziggo Sport Formula 1 Cafe and exclusive race images. It is worth noting that the Galaxy S9/S9+ Red Bull Ring Edition is only available in the 64GB storage variant.

Galaxy Note8 Pyeongchang

Unlike the Galaxy Note8 PyeongChang 2018 edition which had the Olympics logo embossed on the phone, the Galaxy S9 Red Bull Edition does not have any design changes. The NFC case is a nice addition but, apart from that, it does not really differentiate from the regular Galaxy S9 or S9+.

April 17, 2018
LG G7 ThinQ Render Leaked Ahead Of May 2nd Launch

The successor to LG’s not so popular LG G6, the LG G7 ThinQ will launch on the 2nd of May. LG famously skipped its regular Mobile World Congress launch for the LG G7 as the company tries to revive its dwindling smartphone business. The LG G7 ThinQ will be the beginning of LG’s revamping process of its flagship smartphones. So far, it looks like the G7 ThinQ will be quite an offering from LG with its new design.

A new render of the LG G7 ThinQ re-affirming one key detail and revealing a significant design change has been leaked online. It has been a known secret that the LG G7 ThinQ will sport a notch like the iPhone X. The new render re-affirms that and also gives us a glimpse of the size of the chin the G7 ThinQ will have.

CEO of OnePlus, Carl Pei explained that the only reason the iPhone X doesn’t have a chin is that it has a curved display. At the bottom of each display is a ribbon for connecting it to the device’s logic board, which means a thin chin becomes necessary. Apple decided to curb that with a flexible OLED, which, even though is a great solution, it is also an expensive one.

One significant design change that the render reveals is the placement of the power button. LG flagship devices like the G6, V30 have had the power button housed in the fingerprint sensor on the back. However, the power button on the LG G7 ThinQ will have a more conventional placement on the left-hand side of the device.

The LG G7 ThinQ is expected to run on the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset and have up to 6GB of RAM. Like LG did with the V30 ThinQ, the LG G7 ThinQ will have a few AI capabilities. The camera app on the G7 ThinQ will have smart scene detection modes wherein the camera will automatically adjust settings depending on the lighting conditions and the scene detected.

April 17, 2018
Moto G6 Plus Design Revealed In Official Teaser

Lenovo-owned Motorola is preparing to launch three successors to its highly successful range of budget smartphones, the Moto G series. On the 19th of April, Motorola will unveil the Moto G6, Moto G6 Play and the Moto G6 Plus. So far, we have seen a ton of renders and leaked images of the Moto G6 Plus which have revealed a design very similar to the Moto X4. Motorola UK’s Twitter handle has given us a glimpse of what the Moto G6 Plus will look like in a small teaser.

https://twitter.com/motorolaUK/status/985940997086556161

The one thing has been neglected over the past few weeks in the renders is the Moto branding. This time around, the front of the smartphone will have “Motorola” written and not just “Moto.” Another interesting design aspect of the smartphone is the new 18:9 aspect ratio and G6 series will be the first set of Motorola phones to have this taller aspect ratio. However, the company has retained the front-facing fingerprint sensor which is a great move by the company. We are far away from a truly bezel-less smartphone and till then, it is best to use the thin bezels to house the fingerprint sensor.

Another change that has been reported over the past few weeks is in the build quality. The new teaser also seemingly confirms that the Moto G6 Plus will have an all-glass design, very similar to the Moto X4. Even the protruded camera ring resembles the Moto X4 which is great because we loved the design and build quality of the Moto X4. If the Moto G6 Plus is priced at about Rs 16000 in India, it would have a definite advantage over its competitors in terms of build quality. Only the Honor 9 Lite has an all-glass design which is priced at Rs 10999 in India. Popular smartphones like the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Honor 7X have a metallic unibody design.

Moto X4

The power button placed below the volume rockers will also be textured for easier differentiation. The back of the smartphone will be significantly curved from the edges which, in theory, should result in a more ergonomic fit. However, all of that will be confirmed only once we have tested the G6 Plus.

Benchmark scores of the Moto G6 Plus were already leaked, which reveal that the G6 Plus will run on the Snapdragon 630 chipset. Although according to the Geekbench listing the G6 Plus will run on the Snapdragon 660 chipset, the actual low benchmark scores point towards a 630 chipset. The Nokia 7 Plus, which runs on the Snapdragon 660 chipset scores 1640 points on a single core and 5827 points on multi-core performance. Whereas the Moto G6 Plus has scored 866 points on a single core and 4123 points on a multicore performance. The Moto G6 Plus scores are more comparable to the Moto X4 which runs on the Snapdragon 630.

Even though the launch of the Moto G6 series of smartphones in Brazil, we expect all the three devices to launch in India sooner rather than later. Motorola has had a lot of success with its Moto G lineup in India and would anticipate similar success with the G6 lineup, especially with a new build and design. The launch of the Moto G6 Plus is just a couple of days away so stay tuned for all the launch event coverage.

April 17, 2018
OnePlus 5T Gets iPhone X Like Gesture Navigation With OxygenOS 5.1.0

With the launch of the OnePlus 6 just around the corner, the focus of OnePlus has not completely shifted from its existing smartphones. The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T recently received an update to Android 8 Oreo and a new version of OxygenOS is now seeding for the two smartphones. One of the most interesting features that is being introduced to the OnePlus 5T with OxygenOS 5.1.0 is gesture navigation.

Back in December 2017, OnePlus introduced iPhone X like gestures to the OnePlus 5T in an Open Beta version of OxygenOS. It now appears that the company has honed these gestures over the past few months and is ready to roll out the feature to all the OnePlus 5 and 5T users. The timing of this update is worth noting because the launch of the OnePlus 6 is imminent. The company has already teased the gestures for navigation feature of the OnePlus 6 in a promo video.

The gesture navigation was made famous by the iPhone X even though it was not the first smartphone to do it. WebOS had gestures for navigation and so did BlackBerryOS. But, the timing of smartphone makers like Xiaomi and OnePlus introducing gestures for navigation to their devices can certainly be attributed to the iPhone X. However, gestures work differently for all the three smartphone makers.

The OnePlus 5T with Open Beta 3 that we tested, had the initial phase of gestures. In order to go back, you had to swipe up from the bottom corner of the screen. Swiping up from the bottom centre of the screen mimics the home button. For multi-tasking, you swipe up from the bottom centre of the screen and hold your finger in the centre of the display until multitasking cards show up.

To get the gestures working on your OnePlus 5/5T simply update to the latest OTA update.

Update: The article has been updated to reflect that only the OnePlus 5T has received gestures for navigation.

April 17, 2018
OnePlus 6 Will Be Water Resistant

The OnePlus 6 is turning out to be quite an upgrade over its predecessor, the OnePlus 5T. Ever since the company first teased the OnePlus 6, the company has slowly hinted at a few important features of the upcoming flagship smartphone. In the latest tweet by OnePlus’ official account, the company has seemingly confirmed that the OnePlus 6 will be water resistant.

Don’t you just hate it when you have to stop using your phone when it rains? So do we ? pic.twitter.com/QEnOdm3Xtk

— OnePlus (@oneplus) April 16, 2018

At the time of the launch of the OnePlus 5, the company was heavily panned for significantly increasing the price of the smartphone from its predecessor. Also, OnePlus did that without introducing important features like an IP rating for water resistance. That trend continued with the OnePlus 5T, however, it appears that OnePlus has finally listened to its consumers with the new smartphone. Whether the OnePlus 6 will have an IP67 or IP68 rating for water and dust resistance will only be confirmed at the launch event.

The OnePlus 6 has also been confirmed to be an Amazon exclusive smartphone in India, like its predecessors. In an advertisement being shown at Cinemas in India, the last slide reveals that the 6 will be an Amazon-exclusive smartphone, just like its predecessors. However, like it did with the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T, the OnePlus 6 will also, eventually, make its way to offline stores as OnePlus is now trying to capture a market that strays away from shopping online.

There are also rumours the OnePlus 6 will have an all-glass design which means the company could also introduce wireless charging. This is another feature that a lot of consumers have asked for but, so far, OnePlus has maintained that its DashCharge technology is superior to the current wireless charging technology.

So far, there has been no hint by the company regarding the official launch date of the 6. If rumours of a Special Edition Avengers OnePlus 6 are true, then the smartphone will launch before the 27th of April (global release date of Avengers: Infinity War).

April 16, 2018

Three New Sony Bluetooth Speakers Launched In India Starting Rs. 7990

Three new Sony Bluetooth Speakers have been launched in India at a starting price of Rs 7990. All the three Sony Bluetooth Speakers are available across India starting today (16th April 2018). The Sony SRS-XB21 is priced at Rs 7990 and is available in Black, Blue, Red and White colour variants. The Sony SRS-XB31 costs Rs 9990 while the Sony SRS-XB41 will retail for Rs 13990. Both of these Sony Bluetooth Speakers will be available in Black and Blue colour variants while the Sony SRS-XB31 will also retail in a Red colour.

Sony claims that these speakers, with the new DSP (Digital Signal Processor), can produce a three-dimensional sound which makes for a better music listening experience. The Live Sound mode essentially produces a music concert-like sound as the sound is spread across vertically as well as horizontally. As is evident in the name, these Sony Bluetooth Speakers concentrate a lot on the bass and have a very bass-heavy sound.

Another interesting feature of these speakers is the build quality. All the three speakers are IP67 rated for water and dust resistance which goes well with Sony’s whole party-related theme for the speakers. Keeping the party mode in mind, these speakers also multi-colour line lights and
flashing strobe lights with speaker lights.

All the three speakers have the same Bluetooth version 4.2 and NFC. What differs is the size and weight of the three speakers which in turn means the sound reproduction will be better in the more pricier speaker.

Specifications	Sony SRS-XB21	Sony SRS-XB31	Sony SRS-XB41
Price	Rs 7990	Rs 9990	Rs 13990
Bluetooth	4.2	4.2	4.2
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Amplifier Type	S-Master	S-Master	S-Master
Dimensions	193 x 72 x 65 mm	231 x 87 x 81 mm	291 x 104 x 105 mm
Weight	530 grams	890 grams	1.5 kilograms
Frequency Range	2.4GHz/ 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz(44.1 kHz sampling)	2.4GHz/ 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz(44.1 kHz sampling)	2.4GHz/ 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz(44.1 kHz sampling)
Colours	Black, Blue, Red and White	Black, Blue and Red	Black and Blue

April 16, 2018

Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium With 4K HDR Display Launched

Sony kicked off 2018 with the launch of two flagship smartphones, the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, both running on the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset. About two months later, Sony has now unveiled the new Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium with a few significant upgrades. The Xperia XZ2 Premium will be available later in the summer but, its pricing details have not been revealed yet.

The Xperia XZ2 Premium has the new curvy design that Sony showed off with the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact. It is a departure from the rectangular boxy design that Sony smartphones have sported for a long time.

One of the biggest upgrades over the Xperia XZ2 is the display. The Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium now has a 5.8 inch IPS LCD display with a 4K resolution. The regular Xperia XZ2 has a 5.7 inch IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. The Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium also supports HDR. Sony also introduced a new vibration system with the XZ2 at Mobile World Congress. The feature basically provides a rumble feedback to match whatever is happening on the screen.

Powering the Xperia XZ2 Premium is a 3540 mAh battery with QuickCharge 4.0 and wireless charging. The 3.5mm headphone jack is also missing, which seems to be the new norm.

For the first time ever, Sony has also introduced a dual-camera setup on a smartphone. The primary camera is a 19MP RGB Exmor RS sensor with an f/1.8 aperture while the second lens is a 12MP Monochrome sensor with an f/1.6 aperture. This implementation is different from the likes of Apple and Samsung which have used a telephoto lens for portrait mode shots.

Sony claims that apart from the monochrome lens helping in better black-and-white shots, it will improve low-light photography as well. During still photography, the XZ2 Premium can reach a maximum ISO of 51,200 and for shooting videos, as high as 12,800. To avoid graininess in the pictures with such high ISO, Sony claims its “AUBE fusion image signal processor” can combine the data of both sensors, optimize for low light, and reduce noise. Features like portrait mode and monochrome bokeh shots will be introduced via a software update in Q3 of 2018.

There are no details about a possible launch of the Xperia XZ2 Premium in India. However, we expect the phone to launch in India end May or early June.

April 16, 2018
OnePlus 6 To Be Amazon Exclusive In India

The OnePlus 6 is not too far away from its official launch. In India, the OnePlus 6 is expected to launch along with markets like China and North America. Over the years, OnePlus has been an online-first brand and only recently branched out to offline retailers with its partnership with Croma in India. The company has also opened up its own OnePlus Experience stores in cities like Bengaluru and New Delhi. It looks like the OnePlus 6 will also be an online first smartphone and will be sold exclusively via Amazon.

In an advertisement being shown at Cinemas in India, the last slide reveals that the OnePlus 6 will be an Amazon-exclusive smartphone, just like its predecessors. However, like it did with the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T, the OnePlus 6 will also, eventually, make its way to offline stores as OnePlus is now trying to capture a market that strays away from shopping online. OnePlus’ fellow Chinese compatriot, Xiaomi has also taken major steps over the past couple of years in building an offline presence, while making sure it also releases its smartphones to the online audience. However, Xiaomi’s continued flash sales of its popular devices have left a lot of consumers very frustrated.

OnePlus, at a point in time, also had a very frustrating buying method. OnePlus smartphones were sold via an invite system that allowed the company to keep the cost of production down. However, that has changed over the last year and a half as OnePlus flagship devices are now always available online at any given time. The same is expected to continue with the OnePlus 6, making it a readily available affordable flagship smartphone.

OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition

So far, there has been no hint by the company regarding the official launch date of the OnePlus 6. If rumours of a Special Edition Avengers OnePlus 6 are true, then the smartphone will launch before the 27th of April (global release date of Avengers: Infinity War).

April 16, 2018
Android Popsicle May Be The Final Name Given To Android 9.0

Ever since Android’s inception in 2007, the mobile operating system has an interesting and fun naming pattern. Google has stuck to naming every iteration of Android after a type of dessert. The most recent version, Android 8 goes by the moniker of Oreo. The next in line is Android P which will be unveiled Google I/O 2018 and get an official release in the third quarter of 2018. While many desserts start with the letter P, Google appears to have dropped a major hint about the possible name of Android P and it may be Android Popsicle.

On its official Instagram account, Google released a set of Spring wallpapers with a certain delicacy making an appearance. Of the five wallpapers released by Google, the last image was of different kinds of popsicles. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to jump to the conclusion that Google might have just very blatantly hinted that the full name of Android P could be Android Popsicle.

Over the years, Google has been known to have a bit of fun with its followers, especially when it comes to the names of new Android versions. Google always leaves subtle hints to mislead its fans into predicting a wrong name for the upcoming version of Android. With this Android Popsicle wallpaper trick, however, Google was anything but subtle. Now, it is completely possible that Google has just trolled its 6.2 million Instagram followers into believing that the next version will be called Android Popsicle.

The first developer’s preview of “Android Popsicle” was released in March 2018 and had a few interesting features. Acknowledging the growing trend of notches, Google introduced the notch feature in the first preview of Android P. Once enabled, the clock moves to the left-hand side of the notch along with notification icons. Other icons like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth remain on the right side of the notch. Interestingly, different sizes of a notch can be emulated.

Visually, other changes include a slight redesign of the notification panel. The icons in the quick settings pulldown have rounded corners now. If activated, the icons will be blue in colour and when inactive, it will turn grey. To access other quick settings toggle, the user has to pull down on the grey bar just underneath the initial menu.

April 14, 2018
Apple Could Launch A Lower-Priced HomePod After Disappointing HomePod Sales

At the Worldwide Developer’s Conference 2017, Apple unveiled its first-ever smart speaker, the Apple HomePod. After a lot of delays, it finally went on sale on the 27th of January. So far, the smart speaker from Apple has been very well-received by critics for its sound quality. However, it appears that quality in performance has not translated into sales for Apple. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities, HomePod shipments “could be far below market expectations” this year.

In a research note, Kuo has said that the market expects HomePod shipments to arrive at 5-10 million units in the 2018 fiscal year. But, according to their forecast, 2 to 2.5 million units of HomePod will be shipped this fiscal year. The major factors that could have impacted the sales of the smart speaker are its design and pricing.

The HomePod retails for US$ 349 in the US and Kuo believes this high price could “could undermine demand despite the excellent sound quality.” While the Google Home Max is even pricier at US$ 399, Google also sells the cheaper Google Home Mini and Google Home, which have the same smart qualities albeit a much lower price. This means that Apple might be persuaded into launching an affordable version of its smart speaker, especially since that is what its competitors are doing as well.

Google Home, Home Mini

Ming-Chi Kuo has said the lower-cost HomePod might be a quick fix for sales but, not a long-term option. He believes Apple needs to improve Siri, support more languages, and make other improvements to its smart speaker to stay competitive in the market. Kuo has often been right in predicting Apple’s products and recent rumours certainly support his claim for a more affordable HomePod. However, whether these predictions will indeed be proven right is yet to be seen.

The Worldwide Developer’s Conference 2018 is just around the corner and like in 2017, Apple could unveil this lower-priced HomePod at WWDC.

April 14, 2018
Apple iPhone X Blush Gold Leaked In Live Images

Apple recently launched the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus (Product) RED for a starting price of US$ 649. Well before the announcement of the new red iPhones, the Apple iPhone X Blush Gold colour variant was leaked by prominent leaker Roland Quandt. Now, it looks like the launch of the iPhone X Blush Gold is imminent as images of the new colour have now surfaced online.

Every smartphone maker has to share details of a new smartphone in the making with the United States Federal Communications Commission. According to the documents obtained, the gold colour of the iPhone X was filed much before the launch of the iPhone X in September. While many of the documents were available soon after submission, external photos and other sensitive details were subject to a six-month confidentiality clause. That period is now over and the photos of the iPhone X Blush Gold have been released.

It appears that Apple had planned to launch the iPhone X in three colours, just like the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. However, the company could have run into some manufacturing issues which led the company into canning the gold colour variant. Prior to the iPhone X launch as well, there were many rumours that claimed Apple would launch its marquee iPhone in three colour variants. Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities had said that Apple was experiencing production issues for a iPhone X Blush Gold. He also suggested that the company could launch the iPhone X Blush Gold at a later date to give Apple time to work out the problems.

iPhone X Blush Gold

Interestingly, the stainless steel frame on the iPhone X Blush Gold also has a shade of gold. This could be one of the aspects of this colour variant that was causing trouble. It is worth noting that the Blush Gold iPhone 8, which has an aluminium frame was launched in time along with other colour variants.

Whether Apple will launch the iPhone X in the Blush Gold colour variant is yet to be seen. Roland Quandt had claimed that this colour variant was in production and could be launched soon. However, there has been no news since then about a possible iPhone X being launched in a Blush Gold colour.

April 14, 2018
Xiaomi Black Shark Smartphone For Gaming Officially Launched

Xiaomi-backed Black Shark has finally launched its first-ever Black Shark Smartphone in China. The Black Shark smartphone is a gaming based phone with a starting price of RMB 2,999 (Rs 31,160 approximately). The smartphone will be available for orders in China starting today (13th April). There is no word on the smartphone’s global availability as of now. Chances are, the smartphone will remain a China-exclusive like many exciting Xiaomi smartphones.

The Black Shark smartphone has top of the line specifications and a very unusual design. First glance at the smartphone and it would barely look like a flagship device launched in 2018. However, what is visible is that the Black Shark smartphone with its rugged look and iconic black and green colour combination. It is worth noting that this colour scheme is very reminiscent of Razer products, a company known for making gaming accessories and the infamous Razor Phone.

There is a button on the left of the smartphone that is called the “Shark Key,” that enables “immersive gaming experience.” Since the smartphone is aimed at hardcore gamers, it is equipped with an image processing chip that comes with intelligent motion compensation technology and dark scene detail processing. All of this will, in theory, enhance the gaming experience. Interestingly, the company has also implemented a liquid cooling system that can reduce the CPU core temperature by up to eight degrees. This means that even after long hours of gaming session, in theory, the Black Shark should not heat up a lot.

The company has also announced an interesting accessory along with the smartphone. It is a Gamepad that connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and is powered by a 340 mAh battery. The company claims that it can deliver up to 30 hours of gaming on a single charge. First 50,000 Black Shark Smartphone buyers will get the accessory for free. It will also be sold independently for 179 Yuan (Rs 1800 approx.).

In today’s day and age, specifications are barely different between two flagship smartphones. However, the Black Shark Smartphone has a lot of gaming specific features which should enhance the overall experience of mobile gaming. How much of these features will hold up in the real world is yet to be seen.

April 13, 2018