Author: Vipul Vij

Huawei Enjoy 7S Launched

Huawei has launched a new mid-range smartphone, the Huawei Enjoy 7S at a starting price of CNY1,499 (US $226 approx.). The device will be available in Black, Blue, Rose Gold and Gold/Champagne colour variants and go on sale in China on the 22nd of December.

The Huawei Enjoy 7S has a 5.65-inch FullView display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. Similar to the Honor 7X, the thin bezel at the bottom houses the company logo and the fingerprint sensor is moved the back of the phone.

Honor 7X

Under the hood, the Huawei Enjoy 7S has the HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset, octa-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, and Mali-T830 MP2 GPU. In terms of RAM and storage, the Huawei Enjoy 7S has two variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

The Huawei Enjoy 7S runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with EMUI 8 on top.

Powering the device is a 3000 mAh battery that can be fast-charged thanks to the Super Charge technology.

The camera setup on the back is 13 MP + 2 MP, where the secondary camera is a depth sensor for artificial background blur during portraits. On the front is an 8MP camera for selfies.

There is no word on the device’s availability in other markets such as India right now but, stay tuned to iGyaan for any further updates.

December 18, 2017
Apple iPhones In India Are Pricier Now

Apple iPhones have been known to be much more expensive in India than the western market. To put things into perspective, the iPhone X was launched at a price of Rs. 89000 in India which roughly translates to about US $1400 and in the US, it is priced at US $999. That is a huge difference and, that difference will now increase even more. iGyaan reported that the Indian government will increase the import tax on electronics such as phones and that it could have an effect on the price of iPhones in India.

Apart from the iPhone SE, all iPhones from iPhone 6s and above will see a price hike in the Indian market. This isn’t good news for people with the holidays coming up and people tend to buy new phones to commemorate the new year.

From today, the iPhone X will retail at a new price of Rs 92430 for the 64GB variant and Rs 1,05,720 for the 256GB variant. After the customs hike, iPhone 6s will be priced at Rs. 41550 for the 32 GB variant which was earlier Rs. 30780 while the 128 GB variant will be available for Rs 50,660. The 32 GB and 128 GB variants of iPhone 6s Plus will now be priced at Rs 50740 and Rs 59860, respectively.

iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8

The iPhone 7 will be priced at Rs. 50810 for the 32GB variant, while the 128GB variant is now priced at Rs. 59910. The iPhone 7 Plus will be now be priced at Rs. 61060 for the 32 GB variant and Rs. 70180 for the 128GB variant. The iPhone 8 will be available for Rs. 66120 for the 64GB variant and Rs. 79420 for the 256GB variant. The iPhone 8 Plus is priced at Rs. 75450 for the 64GB variant and the 256GB will be available for Rs. 88750.

iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7

This has happened because the government has increased the import tax from 10% to 15% and this news comes a few days after Apple registered the slowest revenue growth in India in the past six years. With this price hike, there is a huge possibility that iPhones will face a steep competition from their own price tag, more than anything else.

Buy it here

December 18, 2017
Xiaomi Announces Android 8.0 Oreo Beta Program For Mi Mix 2

Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix 2 back in October in India at a price of Rs. 35999. The device currently runs Android 7 Nougat with MIUI 9 on top. Xiaomi has announced Android 8.0 Oreo beta program for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2.

It’s a closed beta program, which means that a very limited number of Mi Mix 2 users will be able to participate and try the Oreo-based MIUI 9 build. There’s currently no information on exactly when the final release will begin rolling, although that’s probably still at least a few months away.

You can head to this link for more information on the Mi Mix 2 Oreo beta and how to register for it.

The Mi Mix 2 has a 5.99 inch 2160 x 1080 px LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Mi Mix 2 has a 12% reduced bottom bezel and a screen-to-body ratio of 80.8%. The device features a cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic speaker and ultrasonic proximity sensor.

The Mi Mix 2 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 9 on top. Under the hood, the flagship smartphone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, 6GB RAM and storage options of 64GB, 128GB or 256GB. A special edition Mi Mix 2 with a full ceramic body, 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage has also been announced. The onboard storage will not be expandable due to the absence of a microSD card slot.

The device is powered by a 3400 mAh battery which is considerably smaller than the previous generation Mix’s 4400 mAh battery. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the device just below the camera.

The Mi Mix 2 has a very unlike-2017 flagship single camera setup at the back. The smartphone sports a 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor with 1.25-micron pixels, an f/2.0 aperture 4-axis optical image stabilisation, 5-piece lens, and facial recognition. On the front is a 5MP which features facial recognition as well.

Xiaomi appears to be pushing Android 8.0 Oreo for its smartphones now. It recently announced the Android 8.0 Oreo program for the Xiaomi Mi A1 as well.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Review:

December 18, 2017
Dell Launches The XPS 13 In India At A Price Of Rs. 84590

Dell has launched its new laptop, the Dell XPS 13 in India at a starting price of Rs. 84590. The laptop is available to buy at www.dell.co.in, select Dell Exclusive Stores, Croma and Reliance Digital outlets. The design of the Dell XPS 13 looks like the laptop version of the Xioami Mi Mix 2 with thin bezels on the top and both the sides with a thick bottom bezel.

It has a 13.3-inch IGZO IPS InfinityEdge touch display with 3200 x 1800 px resolution with a brightness of up to 400-nits.

Under the hood, the Dell XPS 13 has the 7th generation Intel Core i7-7560U Processor, up to 16GB LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM, 512GB PCIe Solid State Drive and the Intel Iris Graphics 640 to handle all the graphics intensive work. The keyboard on the laptop is backlit and is accompanied by a fingerprint sensor.

The Dell XPS 13 runs Windows 10 Home out of the box and comes with a 12-month subscription for McAfee LiveSafe antivirus software. For connectivity, it has two USB 3.0 – 1 w/PowerShare, one SD card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC), one 3.5mm Headset jack, one Noble lock slot and one Thunderbolt 3 (2 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3) slot.

Powering the laptop is a 60WHr battery which is charged through a 45W AC adapter.

Buy It Here.

December 18, 2017
Still Use BBM? You Can Now Book An Uber From BBM

BBM was all the rage back in the day when iOS and Android were just starting out. Although the BlackBerry OS appealed to the professionals more because of the security features but, BBM gained popularity thanks to its iMessaging-like exclusivity. This was also before WhatsApp and other IM services gained popularity.

However, over the past few years, BBM and BalckBerry OS are virtually dead in most of the western market. However, there are some parts of the world where people have clung on to BBM. Now run by Indonesian telco Emtek, BBM still maintains a decent following in Indonesia, other parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

In association with BBM, Uber will now users to book a ride from inside the chat app within the ‘discover’ menu. The feature will go live in selected countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

BBM will do a one-up over WhatsApp since it doesn’t have a feature like this to compete with BBM. However, with its ever-growing popularity, WhatsApp doesn’t appear to be competing with the dwindling by-gone messaging service BBM. This move is more to do with Uber targeting Indonesia than BBM coming up with a feature to resurrect itself in the world of instant messaging.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and Uber will try to gain impetus in the Southeast Asian country. The ride-hailing business in Indonesia has grown to US $1.5 billion in 2017 and a higher growth is projected in the coming years.

The BBM partnership makes use of Uber’s web-based app, ‘m.uber’ which offers features you’d find in a regular app but comes suited to poor quality connections and lower-end devices.

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December 18, 2017
Xiaomi Launches Mi A1 Special Edition Red In India At A Price Of Rs. 13999

Xiaomi has launched its limited edition Red colour variant of the Xiaomi Mi A1 in India at a price of Rs. 13999. Xiaomi recently launched the Red edition of the Mi A1 in Indonesia a few days back. The device in India will go on sale in India via Flipkart, mi.com and Mi Home stores from the 20th of December. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is already available in India in Gold, Black and Rose Gold colour variants.

The smartphone recently received a permanent price cut and is available at a price of Rs. 13999. Seeing its popularity in India, Xiaomi has launched the red colour variant as well especially since other OEMs have launched phones in colours other than the usual black, gold and pink. The new Honor 7X is priced at Rs. 12999 and comes in a blue colour variant which definitely makes it stand out from the crowd.

As far as specifications go, it has a 5.5 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution.

The interesting bit about this phone lies in its software and camera department. It is the first ever Xiaomi phone to run stock Android OS thanks to Android One program. It also has a dual-camera setup at the back.

Watch Our Full Review Of The Xiaomi Mi A1:

December 18, 2017
Apple Refunds Chinese Woman Twice Due To Faulty Face ID

In September 2017, Apple took to stage and announced its true successor to the original iPhone of 2007, the iPhone X. Thin bezels, OLED display, vertically placed dual cameras, wireless charging, and no Touch ID. Instead of repositioning Touch ID, Apple decided to drop it altogether and replace it with its rendition of Face ID. Apple claimed that it much more accurate than Touch ID albeit, a bit slower. However, Face ID might not have been implemented with the accuracy that Apple claimed, as a woman China was refunded twice because of faulty Face ID on her iPhone X.

The woman, identified as Yan, told the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation that despite setting up each phone’s Face ID, her colleague was able to get into both the devices on every attempt. Yan was offered two refunds from Apple after her colleague managed to unlock two separate iPhone X units. Yan said the first time it happened, she called the Apple hotline, but the staff would not believe her. She then had to go to the nearest Apple store, where her colleague used Face ID on the phone to demonstrate the issue to the staff.

An Apple spokesman said that he suspected that both women may have used the phone during its “passcode training” and that the phones may have been essentially “taught” to recognise both the faces.

Ever since it was made available to the public, Face ID has received a mixed response. While the in-app usage of Face ID has been well-received, the process of unlocking the phone has been deemed much slower than Touch ID and even the Face Unlock feature of the OnePlus 5T. However, OnePlus has conceded that its facial recognition software is for mere convenience and not security.

The Face ID Experiment

A month ago, Face ID was bypassed through an elaborate experiment using a 3D printed mask and heavy duty expensive gadgets.

While Face ID has received some criticism, future software updates and Apple’s constant efforts to make its facial recognition system the best in class should improve the performance of Face ID in the coming months.

December 18, 2017
Pixel 2 XL Fingerprint Issues Reported After Android 8.1 Oreo Update

Google launched the Pixel 2 and its bigger sibling, the Pixel 2 XL back in October. The smartphones succeeded the 2016 Pixel smartphones, which were the first ever phones “Made By Google.” While the Pixel 2 phones brought in a few changes were pointed out in the original Pixel devices such as an IP67 rating and a refined design. But, ever since the launch, the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have been marred by controversial issues.

Android 8.1 Oreo stable update started rolling out a few weeks ago for the Google Pixel 2 devices and ever since then, there have been multiple instances where users have complained that the fingerprint sensor on the Google Pixel 2 XL has slowed down. It was also reported earlier this week that some Pixel owners were facing multi-touch issues after updating their phones to Android 8.1 Oreo. No new update has since been rolled out to address those issues.

A temporary fix that some users have discovered involves turning on the phone’s always on display. In theory, this feature should not consume a lot of battery since the Pixel 2 XL has an OLED panel but, if you like saving battery to the last iota, then this fix won’t help.

A Google representative on the support forum has confirmed that the team knows about the issue and that it will be reaching out to affected users to obtain bug reports so they can isolate the issue and fix it. Google has been prompt in acknowledging and addressing issues to its products and a new software update to fix these issues should be seeding soon.

December 18, 2017
“Hey Google” Can Now Wake Up Your Device

The Google Assistant was introduced with Android 7 Nougat and with it, came the ability talk to your AI assistant. There has been the ability to search for anything on the Google app via voice commands but, a new feature is rolling out to devices that have Google Assistant which is different than just a voice search. Using the hotword “Hey Google” or “OK Google,” people can launch the Google Assistant and invoke a search.

This feature was introduced back in October but, it was only available on a handful of devices. Now, a larger rollout of this feature has begun for devices that have Google Assistant support. Google also recently started seeding out Google Assistant support for Android 5 Lollipop users.

A notification asking people to re-setup the voice model (which is required for the new command to work) has appeared on many devices. If a user has not received any notification of this kind, they can head over to Settings > Google > Voice and re-setup the voice model.

Once you re-setup the voice model, you can use either “OK Google” or “Hey Google” to open Google Search/Assistant. Just like with the old phrase, it even works when your screen is off, on some devices.

December 18, 2017
Upcoming iPhones Will Be A Lot More Expensive

Apple recently broke the thousand dollar barrier in the US and the 1 lakh barrier in India with the iPhone X. Over the years, every iteration of the iPhone has launched in India pricier than its predecessor, which has become a norm for every other smartphone maker. However, comparing the price of iPhones in the US and India brings out the image of how inflated the price of an iPhone in India is.

This news might not be good for future iPhone aspirants. With the implementation of GST this year, it was obvious that all mobile phones will become expensive even if they’re made in India. But, the government’s duties on phones and their components imported into India will result in higher price tags compared to those made in India. Now, the government has hiked the import tax on various electronic products including mobile phones and TVs.

The import tax was initially 10% but, the latest hike pushes the limit to 15%. This might not be good news for Apple itself especially after it recorded a slow growth in revenue for the 2016-17 year in India.

Tarun Pathak, an associate director at Counterpoint Research said:

It will impact Apple the most as the company imports 88 percent of its devices into India. Either this will lead to increase in iPhone prices or force Apple to start assembling more in India.

According to Counterpoint Research, eight out of ten phones sold in India were made in India.

December 16, 2017
Google’s Tango Will Shut Down On March 1

As smartphone makers and other tech giants move towards virtual and augmented reality, Google has announced that its first foray into AR, Tango will be shut down come 2018.

Tango, originally Project Tango, was launched in 2014 and used special sensors and cameras on devices to display virtual objects. ATAP, Google’s advanced technology and projects lab, developed Tango but it was soon succeeded by ARCore.

With ARCore now progressing quickly, Google feels that it doesn’t make sense to carry on supporting Tango. Google announced today that it will end the project on March 1, 2018.

https://twitter.com/projecttango/status/941730801791549440

Back in 2014, Project Tango was a new and exciting prospect as it enabled devices to utilise cameras and IR sensors to track and place objects, and was one of the first mobile options to do so. But, Tango soon started falling off the radar due to speed and accuracy issues. Also, the phones that supported project Tango were pricey due to the required hardware.

As of right now, ARCore only works on Pixel devices and the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. But, Google already has a host of other companies on board like LG, Huawei, ASUS and more.

Google believes ARCore is the future of AR and VR for the company thanks to its implementation. Even though ARCore can’t see in 3D, it works with the hardware already found on phones. That means that unlike Tango, no special sensors or cameras are required to make use of the software. Machine learning, something that Google showed off in the new Pixel 2 devices, is used to accomplish the same tracking that Tango required hardware for, which gives ARCore a leg up.

Even Apple’s ARKit focuses on the future of AR and VR, and other company’s decision to support ARCore means that more smartphone makers want to make use of the technology in its upcoming phones.

December 16, 2017
Google Chrome Will Now Let Users Mute Auto-Playing Videos

People who use Chrome on a daily basis for web browsing must be aware of how annoying auto-playing videos can be. Although there are a few tricks you can try and use to disable auto-playing videos, but disabling the wrong thing can completely break a website you actually wanted to use.

Google has rolled out a beta version of Chrome which will enable users to mute websites which auto-play videos.

You can download the beta version by heading to this link to get the beta version of Chrome on your machine, for Linux, Windows, or macOS. Since this is the beta version, it is worth noting that it is more likely to be buggy, consume system resources or crash, so it’s better to do this on a machine you don’t rely on for daily important work.

Once you have the beta installed, it’s a simple process to permanently mute a website that has auto-playing videos. Click on the lock icon next to the website’s name, which normally is an indication it’s using HTTPS to encrypt its website. There should be an option to Allow or Not Allow sound from the website. If you access websites that regularly auto-play websites, just set the sound to Not Allow by default, and you won’t have any more problems with auto-playing videos making noise in the background.

December 16, 2017
Huawei P11 To Be Launched At MWC 2018

Huawei launched the Huawei P10 in 2017 at Mobile World Congress, and it appears that its new iteration, the P11 will be launched at MWC in 2018.

So the Huawei P11 seems to be a Q1 2018 thing (again). We were just promised "exciting new products" with a focus on camera and AI for Q1 at a local german Huawei Xmas event. Could be MWC like the P10.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) December 15, 2017

A reliable online leakster has also claimed that the Huawei P11 flagship would be debuting in Q1 2018. In addition, he claimed that the company will be focusing more on a stellar camera and AI experience on the upcoming flagship Huawei P11.

There have been a few rumours that have indicated towards a number of functionalities and features of the upcoming Huawei P11. A recent advertisement design was leaked which revealed that an upcoming Huawei phone will have a triple-lens camera at the back. According to the images, the next generation P11 will feature a 40MP Leica triple-lens camera setup with 5x hybrid zoom and a 24MP front-facing sensor.

Huawei announced its new facial recognition technology and claimed that it is faster and more accurate than Apple’s Face ID. While it did not reveal which smartphone will be the first one to feature this technology, many speculate that the Huawei P11 might be the first phone to come with Huawei’s own rendition of Face ID and the famous animojis.

There are rumours that just the iPhone X, Huawei P11 will also have a notch at the top of the display to house all the sensors required for facial recognition.

The tweet also suggests that Huawei will concentrate on AI this time around. The P11 will, in probability, have the the Kirin 970 chipset that has a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU). The P11 may arrive with more AI capabilities than the Mate 10 smartphones which were launched in October.

December 16, 2017
Motorola Will Now Rent Out Moto Mods

Motorola announced its partnership with RentMojo to offer customers the facility to rent out Moto Mods for Rs. 399 a week. The rental service will be available from December 23 across top 8 cities, including the metros.

Along with this announcements, the smartphone maker also announced three new mods, JBL SoundBoost 2 speaker Mod, Moto TurboPower Pack battery Mod and the GamePad Mod which will go on sale from the 17th of December via Flipkart and all Moto Hub stores across the country.

Motorola Mobility India Managing Director Sudhin Mathur said:

This is an India-first initiative. We want people to experience the magic of mods before (they) go ahead and buy it. So, whether it is extra battery life or great sound that they are looking for, we will have a mod for that.

RentMojo is an online portal wherein you cant rent anything from furniture to a bike.

Motorola Mods are compatible with Moto Z phones and essentially add a functionality to the phone which you would not have experienced with any other phone. The Moto Z lineup’s USP is their modularity.

Motorola also launched a polaroid camera mod for the Moto Z devices. Just like any other mod, it clips on to the back of your phone and connects to the Moto Z’s camera to turn the phone into a tiny Polaroid camera. The mod even has a dedicated shutter button to make clicking photos relatively easier. You can also use the mod to print out photos you’ve already taken, and other pictures you have stored on your phone. You can even add text to photos before printing them.

With Moto Mods costing almost as much as an Android phone, the idea of renting out Moto Mods makes sense for consumers to try out a mod before deciding whether they want to spend so much of money on an accessory or not.

December 16, 2017
Google Pixel 2 For Rs. 39999 And Other Top Smartphone Deals During The Flipkart New Pinch Days Sale

As we approach the end of 2017 and holidays begin, Flipkart is back with a new sale where you can save quite a lot money on the best of smartphones from 2017. Let’s take a look:

Google Pixel 2

Arguably one of the best Android phones of 2017, the Google Pixel 2 might be a better choice than its bigger sibling, the Pixel 2 XL for a lot of people. It shares the same hardware with the Pixel 2 XL albeit, a smaller display and an old design.

It has all the flagship phone specifications like the Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. It has a superior primary camera and a front-facing camera.

Flipkart is offering a flat Rs. 11000 discount and an extra Rs. 10000 cashback which will essentially bring the price down to a whopping Rs. 39999.

Read our full story here.

Samsung Galaxy On Nxt

Another budget-friendly offering from Samsung, this one is powered by the Exynos 7870 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Samsung Galaxy On Nxt 64 comes with a beautiful 5.5-inch 1080p display and a 3,300 mAh to give you a day’s battery life with ease. Grab it on Flipkart at a flat Rs. 6000 discount for Rs. 11,900.

Xiaomi Mi A1

One of the best budget smartphones of 2017, any deal on the Xiaomi Mi A1 will be a great deal. A few days ago, Xiaomi announced that the Mi A1 had received a permanent price cut of Rs. 1000 which got its price down to Rs. 13999. The new deal on Flipkart brings the price down to Rs. 12999.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is the first smartphone from Xiaomi to run stock Android OS. It also has a dual-camera setup at the back which is one of the best in the category.

Read the full story here.

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Samsung Galaxy S7

2016 and 2017 were great years for Samsung, barring the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. 2016 saw the launch of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge which still hold up for well for mid-range smartphones in late-2017.

The Galaxy S7 is available at a price of Rs. 29990 during the Flipkart sale. The Galaxy S7 still has a great 5.1-inch Quad HD AMOLED display and a great camera.

Under the hood, it runs a slightly dated Exynos 8890 chipset but, it is still a flagship chipset and will handle all sorts of gaming and day-to-day tasks with ease.

Honor 8 Pro

Flagship specifications under Rs. 30000 was the USP of the Honor 8 Pro at the time of its launch, similar to the OnePlus 3T. The Honor 8 Pro has a Quad HD display and the Kirin 960 chipset, and a 4000 mAH battery.

The Honor 8 Pro is available at a price of Rs. 25999 after a Rs. 4000 discount.

Read the full story here.

December 15, 2017