Author: Vipul Vij

Xiaomi Mi A1 Launched In A Red Colour Variant

One of the best mid-range smartphones of 2017, the Xiaomi Mi A1 has been launched in a new red colour variant but, it is not available in India yet. The new red colour variant is only available in Indonesia as of now for a price of IDR 3,099,000 which roughly translates to US $215 or Rs. 14,600. Reportedly, it will be available in limited numbers.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is available in Gold, Black and Rose Gold colour variants in India. Seeing its popularity in India, it will be interesting to see if Xiaomi decides to launch 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.

All is not gloomy for the Xiaomi Mi A1 users and aspirants, iGyaan reported that Android 8.0 Oreo beta version for Mi A1 had started seeding which means that the official update to Android 8 Oreo is not far away.

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

Gold colour variant of Mi A1 available in India

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 15, 2017
Apple iMac Pro To Go On Sale In India At A price Of Rs. 4,15,000

Apple iMac Pro will go on sale in India at a price of Rs. 4,15,000. Apple recently announced that the iMac Pro will go on sale in the US from the 14th December at a price of US $4999.

The iMac Pro has a 27-inch Retina 5K display with a 5120 x 2880 px resolution and 500 nits of brightness. The iMac Pro will be available in only one colour variant, Space Gray.

Under the hood, the iMac Pro’s base model comes with an 8-core Intel Xeon processor which can go up to 18 cores, 32GB of 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory RAM with the other two variants having 64GB or 128GB of RAM. The base model has 1TB hard drive with 2TB or 4TB being the other two options. Handling the graphics in base model will be the Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 memory, this can also be configured up to Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics processor with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

Just above the display is an improved 1080P FaceTime camera.

In terms of the number of ports and connectivity, it has four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot, and an Ethernet port.

Along with the iMac Pro, the consumers will also get a Space Gray Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, and a Space Gray Magic Mouse 2 along with the essential cords.

Apple has not confirmed the date from which the iMac Pro will go on sale in India. We will keep you updated on all the news and the date of sale of the new iMac Pro.

December 15, 2017
Vivo Will Launch The First Smartphone With An In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

Turns out, Vivo is one of the top five OEMs Synaptics was talking about. A couple of days ago, Synaptics announced that it had started the mass manufacturing of its in-display fingerprint sensor with “one of the top five OEMs.” While many speculated that the timing is ideal for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, it has been confirmed that Vivo will be the first smartphone maker to launch a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Here are some pics @anshelsag and I took of the Vivo smartphone with the Synaptics in-display fingerprint reader. The CMOS image sensor is .7mm thick and reads the fingerprint right through the OLED display. The experience was faster than I expected. pic.twitter.com/u1NFpXtFQM

— Patrick Moorhead (@PatrickMoorhead) December 14, 2017

Analyst Patrick Moorhead detailed his experience with a pre-production Vivo phone equipped with the in-display fingerprint sensor technology. Moorhead describes the sensor as “fast and simple,” and Synaptics has claimed that it is twice as fast as 3D facial recognition like Apple’s Face ID. That might be a hard comparison to make since both the technologies use different mechanisms.

Vivo has come off as a surprise and it will be a considerable blow for Qualcomm which has also been working on a similar technology for a long time. In fact, Qualcomm and Vivo showed off a Qualcomm-powered fingerprint-sensing display prototype earlier this year, but it was said to be noticeably slow since it was not a finished product.

December 15, 2017
Samsung Might Launch A HomePod Competitor In 2018

Smart home tech is the new thing and tech giants like Google and Amazon already have a vast variety of products to offer in this segment. Apple unveiled its HomePod back in June and it was slated to be launched in December 2017 but, its release has now been pushed to early-2018. To compete with the HomePod and possibly the Google Home Max, Samsung will be launching it Bixby-powered smart speaker in early-2018 as well.

Apple HomePod Powered By Siri

Sources briefed on the plans tell Bloomberg that Samsung’s smart speaker “will have a strong focus on audio quality and the management of connected home appliances such as lights and locks.”

Like a lot of smart speakers, beyond just playing music and syncing up with your phone, the Samsung speaker will also join the SmartThings ecosystem. The report did not include any further details, but theoretically, you will be able to talk to your Samsung speaker to turn on lights, set the temperature in your home and more.

Amazon Echo Powered By Alexa

Although the pricing and availability of the speaker are still not confirmed, Samsung is said to be targeting somewhere around US $200 for the price point of the smart speaker. That would place it in between of the US $100 Amazon Echo and the $349 HomePod that Apple will release early next year.

December 15, 2017
Siri Might Soon Start Whispering To You In Public

It is no secret that a lot of companies believe that machine learning and AI is future of smartphones. Big tech companies like Apple, Google and Samsung have already invested big in Artificial Intelligence and have their own AI assistant in their smartphones. One such assistant is Apple’s own Siri. Siri, just like many other assistants can play music, set reminders and make a shopping list according to your text or voice commands.

But, it can get a bit embarrassing if you’re in a public transport talking to your phone and this robot is responding to you in full volume. And no matter how much you whisper, Siri responds in the default volume. This new patent from Apple might solve this issue, and make Siri smart enough to understand when you’re whispering.

First spotted by Gizmodo, the patent details a feature that would enable Siri to discern when a user is whispering to it and, in turn, offer up a response in a silent whisper. Alex Rudnicky, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute, told Gizmodo:

The technology could come out any time because the component technologies are pretty straightforward. The ways that they’re doing this is kind of textbook speech processing but, working up an algorithm to decide when to go into “whisper mode” would be more complicated. I can’t really say why nobody’s come up with this solution. But once you hear it, it sounds really reasonable. Why not?

This feature won’t make someone start using Siri every day and neither will this feature make it into an ad for the next iPhone but, it will surely make other companies strive to make their AI assistants smarter.

December 15, 2017
New Galaxy S9 Renders Might Be The Closest Thing To Reality So Far

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be the most talked about smartphone of early-2018. It will be a revision of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and there are conflicting reports as to how the Galaxy S9 might turn out to be. While there are leaks that suggest that it will be an incremental upgrade over the Galaxy S8 and the bigger sibling, the Galaxy S9+ will be the one packing all the new features, some suggest that there will be barely any design differences between the S9 and S9+.

A new render from a reputed online leaker suggests that the Galaxy S9 at least, won’t be that different from the Galaxy S8. The renders reveal shrunken top and bottom bezels, and a new placement for the fingerprint sensor. This will be a welcome change for all the Galaxy S9 aspirants as the Galaxy S8 and S8+ had an awkwardly placed fingerprint sensor. No matter how advanced the iris scanner will be on the Galaxy S9, a majority of users will choose to unlock their phone using the fingerprint sensor instead. However, Synaptics recently announced that it had started the mass manufacturing of its in-display fingerprint sensor with one of the top 5 OEMs. A lot of people have speculated that it could be Samsung and if this render is true, then the Galaxy S9+ could be the device which comes with this feature.

Apart from that, there is a single camera at the back which, just like the Galaxy S8, might be an incremental upgrade over its predecessor. This detail falls into place with a previous report that suggested that the Galaxy S9 will have a single camera while the Galaxy S9+ will have a dual-camera setup at the back.

The Galaxy S9 is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset (for the US and South Korean market) and Exynos 9810 (for the rest of world) under the hood. The Galaxy S9 could be launched at a price similar to the Galaxy S8+ and the Galaxy S9+ could break the thousand dollar barrier and be priced similarly to the iPhone X.

December 15, 2017
Unboxing The Star Wars Limited Edition OnePlus 5T
Everything that is limited edition is special, and when it signifies one of the most famous movie franchise ever, it becomes even more special. To celebrate its third anniversary in India, OnePlus has launched the Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T in India at a price of Rs. 38999. It will be sold via Amazon and various OnePlus experience stores in Bengaluru and Noida from the 15th of December.

With a limited edition box in our studio, let’s unbox the Star Wars OnePlus 5T and see what we get inside:
- Star Wars OnePlus 5T
- Kylo Ren Case
- Documentation
- Dach charger
- USB Type C Cable
- Sim ejector tool
Initial impressions

Right off the bat, the thing that shines is the colour combination and attention to detail on this special limited edition OnePlus 5T. It has a white coloured back panel with a sandstone finish as a homage to the Planet Crait and a red Star Wars logo. The interesting thing here is that the alert slider is also red in colour. Just like the OnePlus 5T, the device has a nice build quality and fits well in the hand. The buttons are well-placed for an easy reach.

Kylo Ren Case

Specifications

The limited edition Star Wars OnePlus 5T will be available only in the 8GB RAM variant with 128GB of onboard storage. Apart from the colour scheme and the Star Wars logo, there is nothing different in terms of hardware.

The OnePlus 5T has a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and an 80.5% screen to body ratio.

OnePlus 5T and Star Wars OnePlus 5T

Under the hood, the OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded. Powering the device is a 3300 mAh battery which supports OnePlus’ DashCharge technology.

The OnePlus 5T runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat with customisability options thanks to the Oxygen OS on top.

One big change in the OnePlus 5T is in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T no longer has a secondary telephoto lens at the back. Instead, OnePlus has decided to focus on the device’s low-light photography capabilities. The cameras do not have OIS and OnePlus has decided to go for EIS on the dual camera setup at the back. The device has a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 20MP sensor with the same f/1.7 aperture and field of view, ie no optical zoom. On the front is a 20MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

Buy it here

Watch Our Full Unboxing Video Here-
December 14, 2017
Star Wars Limited Edition OnePlus 5T Launched In India At A Price Of Rs. 38999

Star Wars Limited Edition OnePlus 5T has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 38999. The new iteration of the recently launched OnePlus 5T will be sold via Amazon and various OnePlus experience stores in Bengaluru and Noida from the 15th of December.

The main difference between the regular OnePlus 5T and the limited edition Star Wars OnePlus 5T is the colour combination. The new OnePlus 5T has a white back panel with a sandstone finish as a homage to the Planet Crait and the alert slider is now red in colour. There is also a Star Wars logo at the back of the phone which is red in colour.

The limited edition Star Wars OnePlus 5T will be available only in the 8GB RAM variant with 128GB of onboard storage. Apart from the colour scheme and the Star Wars logo, there is nothing different in terms of hardware.

The OnePlus 5T has a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and an 80.5% screen to body ratio.

Under the hood, the OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded. Powering the device is a 3300 mAh battery which supports OnePlus’ DashCharge technology.

The OnePlus 5T runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat with customisability options thanks to the Oxygen OS on top.

One big change in the OnePlus 5T is in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T no longer has a secondary telephoto lens at the back. Instead, OnePlus has decided to focus on the device’s low-light photography capabilities. The cameras do not have OIS and OnePlus has decided to go for EIS on the dual camera setup at the back. The device has a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 20MP sensor with the same f/1.7 aperture and field of view, ie no optical zoom. On the front is a 20MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

Buy it here

December 14, 2017
Samsung Notebook 9 Pen With S Pen Launched

Samsung has launched its new ultrabook, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen and three upgraded variants of the Notebook 9. The pricing all the variants and the new Notebook 9 Pen will be announced closer to the release date which is late-December. All the ultrabooks will run Windows 10 out of the box.

The Notebook 9 (2018) is an upgrade over the Samsung Notebook 9 with three variants ranging from 13.3-inch to 15-inch screen size. The Notebook 9 (2018), with a weight of up to 1.29 kg and a thickness of 15.4mm, is also one of the lightest and thinnest notebooks in its category.

The 2018 variants of the Samsung Notebook 9 have a 13.3-inch (900X3T & 900X3U) and 15-inch (900X5T, 900X5U, and Discreet Graphics 900X5T) Full HD RealViewTouch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 px. It will be available in two colour variants, Titan Silver and Crush White.

Under the hood, the Notebooks have the 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, up to 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD, and Intel HD graphics. The 15-inch variant offers an option of upgrading to a 2GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card. The Notebook 9 (2018) has a fingerprint sensor, backlit keyboard, and a precision touchpad.

Samsung claims that the 75Wh hexacell battery on the Notebook 9 (2018) is its “largest and most powerful battery placed inside a notebook.” It also supports fast charging for the company’s claimed “always on” capabilities.

In terms of connectivity, it includes two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, microSD storage, and a single USB Type-C port.

The Samsung Notebook 9 Pen has a 13-inch (930QAA) RealViewTouch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 px resolution. The Notebook 9 Pen will only be available in Titan Light colour variant.

The 2-in-1 ultrabook has the 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, up to 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD, and Intel HD graphics. The Notebook 9 Pen has a bundled Integrated S Pen, along with a fingerprint sensor, backlit keyboard, and precision touchpad. It also has an IR 720P camera.

The new S Pen is battery-free and built into the device for immediate use. Samsung claims it can recognise 4,096 levels of pressure with a fine 0.7mm tip and convenient tilt detection to allow a more natural writing and drawing experience.

For connectivity, it has an HDMI port, a USB Type C port, a USB 3.0 port and a microSD card slot.

Samsung has primarily focused on smartphones and tablets in the past few years. The N otebook 9 marks the return of Samsung’s notebook business, pricing will be key, stay tuned for updates on launches in India.

December 14, 2017
You Can Now Experience Google Assistant On Devices Running Android 5 Lollipop
Google Assistant, the AI assistant that is omnipresent on all Android devices running Android 6 Marshmallow or higher is finally available for devices that are still on Android 5 Lollipop. The update has started seeding which will enable Android tablets and smartphones running Android 5 Lollipop to experience the smart assistant. On tablets, Assistant will be limited to Android 7 Nougat and Android 6 Marshmallow OS versions for now.

At the time of its introduction, Google Assistant was only available for Android devices running Android 7 Nougat. Due to the highly fragmented Android smartphone market, it was quintessential on Google’s part to release the AI assistant to the previous version of the OS as well. One of the main reasons for a vast roll-out of Google Assistant is the staggering numbers that show that old Android OS versions are still prevalent in the market. Old devices running older versions of the operating system are still available in the market in abundance.

Android 8.0 Oreo is currently available on only 0.3% Android phones, while iOS 11, which was launched in September is present in over 50% of iOS devices. For further context, here is the Android OS and the percentage of Android phones running it:
- Android KitKat (13.8%) – 2013,
- Lollipop (27.2%) – 2014,
- Marshmallow (30.9%) – 2015
- Nougat (20.6%) – 2016
Google definitely feels that AI is the future and is trying its best to spread the Google Assistant to as many phones as possible. It recently announced that the JioPhone will also support Google Assistant. This could mean that other feature phones could also be Google Assitant compatible in the future.

Google Assistant on Android 5.0 Lollipop has started to roll out to users with the language set to English in the US, UK, India, Australia, Canada and Singapore, as well as in Spanish in the US, Mexico and Spain. Google is also rolling out to the Assistant to users in Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil and Korea.

Google Assistant is a smart AI assistant that can carry out tasks on the basis of your voice commands. It can set reminders, make a shopping list and tell the weather.
December 14, 2017
OnePlus To Launch The Star Wars Limited Edition OnePlus 5T In India Today

The OnePlus 5T was launched in November with a tall display and thin bezels, something that was missing in the OnePlus 5. A few days ago, the company confirmed that it will be launching a Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T at an event in Mumbai on the 14th of December. Along with this limited edition smartphone launch, the company also announced that it will be giving away 10,000 Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie tickets across a few cities.

While not a lot is known about the phone, it is expected to come pre-loaded with custom Star Wars themes and a few design changes that will pay homage to the upcoming Star Wars movie and the franchise. Other than that, there won’t be any hardware changes from the OnePlus 5T which was launched in November.

What will be interesting is the price of the Star Wars OnePlus 5T. If the Chinese smartphone maker keeps the price similar to the regular OnePlus 5T, then quite a few people might be persuaded into paying the extra cash for something that will be an exclusive and limited edition. The OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition will go on sale from the 15th of December.

The OnePlus 5T has a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and an 80.5% screen to body ratio.

Under the hood, the OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded. Powering the device is a 3300 mAh battery which supports OnePlus’ DashCharge technology.

The OnePlus 5T runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat with customisability options thanks to the Oxygen OS on top.

One big change in the OnePlus 5T is in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T no longer has a secondary telephoto lens at the back. Instead, OnePlus has decided to focus on the device’s low-light photography capabilities. The cameras do not have OIS and OnePlus has decided to go for EIS on the dual camera setup at the back. The device has a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 20MP sensor with the same f/1.7 aperture and field of view, ie no optical zoom. On the front is a 20MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

December 14, 2017
Apple Confirms Face ID Is The Future

The iPhone X had a lot of changes that iPhone loyalists had been asking for. The beautiful edge-to-edge OLED display and wireless charging are some of the new features introduced. However, due to the reduced size of bezels, Apple had to remove the home button which also housed the iconic Touch ID. Apple replaced that with Face ID, its own version of facial recognition which has been prevalent in Android phones since the time Android 4.0 ICS.

Now, Apple has confirmed that it will just concentrate on Face ID for all its upcoming devices. It has announced a US $390 million investment in Finisar, a facial recognition technology company. Apple announced that it would invest $390 million (Rs. 2,513 crores approx.) in Finisar that it will use to build a plant in Sherman, Texas to make chips that will enhance many iPhone features such as Face ID, Animojis, and Portrait-mode selfies.

Jeff Williams, CEO at Apple said:

VCSELs power some of the most sophisticated technology we’ve ever developed and we’re thrilled to partner with Finisar over the next several years to push the boundaries of VCSEL technology and the applications they enable.

Finisar will use the funds to build a 700,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Texas to develop vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) chips.

Jeff Williams continued:

One hundred percent of the VCSELs sold to Apple from Finisar will be made in Texas. Consistent with Apple’s commitment to the environment, the company intends to procure enough renewable energy to cover all of its Apple manufacturing in the US.

This is Apple’s second major investment this week after it acquired the song recognition app, Shazam.

December 14, 2017
The Samsung Galaxy X Might Have Some Competition

AI and foldable phones are touted to be the new rage in the smartphone industry. The Samsung Galaxy X has long been rumoured to be the first consumer-friendly foldable smartphone. But, if a new report is to be believed, the Galaxy X might have some competition from an unlikely source. Microsoft might be working on a foldable Surface phone that will compete directly against the iPhone, the Pixel, and the Galaxy S series.

This news is surprising since Microsoft recently shut its mobile business. However, a blog has kept a track of Microsoft’s activity and recently came across a few patents which might suggest that the mythical Surface phone might be real after all. As seen in the image below, the design of the foldable phone looks awfully similar to a Samsung patent recently unearthed and the ZTE Axon M.

However, there is another patent to go with it which looks far more convincing and futuristic. The image below describes how a foldable Surface phone should function.

Now, here’s what that patent design would look like after a screen on it:

In addition to these images, the same source claims that the Surface Phone will be Microsoft’s revival of the Courier foldable tablet. The device will run an “Andromeda” OS or a custom version of Windows 10. It’ll also be stylus-friendly and may be built on top of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 platform. As for the overall size, each screen will apparently be slightly larger than 6 inches.

December 14, 2017

The LG V30+ Vs The Competition

LG finally launched the LG V30+ in India after globally unveiling it back in August. To many’s surprise, LG competitively priced the LG V30+ at Rs. 44990 and it will go on sale in India via Amazon on the 18th of December. But, as we move closer to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 which will, in all probability feature the new Snapdragon 845, has LG missed a trick and launched the V30+ a little too late?

let’s peg the LG V30+ against its competition and see which phone comes out on point:

Specifications	LG V30+	OnePlus 5T	Samsung Galaxy S8	Samsung Galaxy Note8
Price	Rs. 44990	Rs. 32999 (6GB RAM) Rs. 37999 (8GB RAM)	Rs. 53900 (4GB RAM)	Rs. 67900
Display	6 inch POLED display	6-inch AMOLED	5.8 inch Super AMOLED	6.3inch Super AMOLED
Design	Glass front and back Metal frame	Aluminium unibody	Glass front and back Metal frame	Glass front and back Metal frame
Resolution	2880 x 1440 px 537 ppi	2160 x 1080 px 401 ppi	2960×1440 px 570ppi	2960×1440 px 521ppi
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 835	Qualcomm Snapdragon 835	Exynos 8895	Exynos 8895
RAM	4GB	6GB/8GB	4GB	6GB
Storage	128GB, Expandable up to 2TB	64GB/128GB non-expandable	64GB, expandable up to 256GB	64GB, expandable up to 256GB
Battery	3300 mAh	3300 mAh	3000 mAh	3300 mAh
Primary Camera	16MP f/1.6 Primary + 13MP f/1.9 wide-angle	16MP f/1.7 + 20MP f/1.7	Dual Pixel 12MP f/1.7 aperture	12MP wide angle lens with an f/1.7 aperture 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture
Secondary Camera	5MP f/2.2 aperture	16MP f/2.0	8MP f/1.7	8MP f/1.7
Other Features	HiFi Quad DAC Fingerprint Sensor Facial and Voice Recognition Wireless charging	Face Unlock Fingerprint Sensor	Fingerprint Sensor Iris Scanner Wireless Charging	S Pen Iris Scanner Wireless Charging

In terms of specifications, there is very little separating the three phones, with the OnePlus 5T the clear winner if you’re looking for more RAM. The LG V30+ and Galaxy S8 provide the option of expandable storage while the OnePlus 5T runs close to pure Android OS. If you are an audiophile, then the LG V30+ should be your choice considering the presence of the HiFi Quad DAC. The OnePlus 5T loses out in the display department and thanks to a higher ppi count, the Galaxy S8 should have the most vivid display out of the three with the LG V30+ not far behind. If you are a creator and believe that the S Pen can genuinely contribute to the productivity of your day, then the extra cash for the Samsung Galaxy Note8 is justified.

At the end of the day, it boils down to what features you prefer over the other. If price is your main criteria, then the OnePlus 5T wins by a long shot but, if you can’t compromise on your wide-angle shots, then the Galaxy Note8 and LG V30+ should be the two phones you should consider.

Watch Our LG V30+ unboxing-

Watch our full review of the OnePlus 5T

Watch our Galaxy Note8 Unboxing-

Watch our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note8

December 13, 2017

Apple Registers Slowest Revenue Growth In India In Six Years

Despite launching one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2017, the iPhone X, Apple has registered its slowest growth in India in the past six years. According to the Registrar of Companies, Apple registered a 17% growth in revenue for 2016-17, which is slowest since 2010.

iPhone X

The Cupertino-based tech giant earned Rs. 11,618.7 crores in revenue during the 2016-17 period ending March compared to Rs 9,937 crores earned in 2015-16, which is a 17% growth.

Back in November 2016, the Indian government announced the demonetization of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 note. After that announcement, many rushed to buy iPhones and MacBooks within the first couple of weeks, but the spending spree fizzled out in the months between December and March both offline and online. In February 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook also conceded that the company was still facing the aftermath of demonetization.

iPhone 8 And iPhone 8 Plus

According to a report by Counterpoint Research, Apple sold 2.9 million units in India this year compared to 2.2 million units in 2016. While the iPhone X received rave reviews, the low numbers could be due to the less popularity of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

Another reason could be the rising price of iPhones in India. The iPhone X in the US market starts at a price of US $999 which translates to Rs. 65000. However, in India, it starts at Rs. 89000 which is pricey for the Indian market.

The iPhone SE 2, which is expected to be launched in early 2018, will be assembled in India. This means that it will be competitively priced in the country and might convince a mass population to go for the iPhone SE 2.

December 13, 2017

Author: Vipul Vij

Initial impressions

Specifications

Watch Our Full Unboxing Video Here-