Author: Vipul Vij

HTC U11 Plus Leaked In Images Ahead Of 2nd November Launch

HTC will be launching a new, or two new smartphones on the 2nd of November at an event in Taiwan. The main attraction will be the launch of the new flagship smartphone, the HTC U11 Plus. HTC has been hard at work on social media by teasing key components of the upcoming phone. New leaks reveal what the HTC U11 Plus what might look like when it is unveiled on the 2nd of November.

So far, from what HTC has revealed, we know that the U11 Plus will have thinner bezels than the U11 and a single camera at the back. The new leaked images reveal a design on the lines of the images that HTC put out on social media.

You’ll see it all on 11.02.2017. pic.twitter.com/vzYtKVdjK5

— HTC (@htc) October 24, 2017

There isn’t much known about the U11 Plus yet. The device is expected have a 5.99-inch 2880 x 1440 px display translating to an 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone will have minimal bezels and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Like the HTC U11, the Plus variant of the phone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. The HTC U11 Plus is expected to come in two variants – one with 4GBR RAM/64GB storage and second variant which will be a top end version will come with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The smartphone is expected to have a 12MP rear-mounted camera. On the front, the U11 Plus is expected to have an 8MP sensor. HTC will not jump the dual-camera bandwagon just yet and continue with a single camera at the back just like the U11 (as is visible in the teaser). The U11 Plus is also expected to be IP68 certified water and dust resistant. It is also said to support Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 and also include the HTC U11 Active Edge feature.

With the launch just a few hours away, it is wise to take these leaks with a pinch of salt and wait till HTC officially launches the HTC U11 Plus.

November 1, 2017
Apple iPhone X To Go On Sale On Airtel Store On 3rd November

The Apple iPhone X was out of stock within minutes of going up for pre-orders on Amazon and Flipkart. People who weren’t fast enough with the keys can breathe a sigh of relief, the iPhone X will go on sale on Airtel’s online store at 6pm on the 3rd of November.

As an introductory offer, Airtel is offering up to Rs 10000 cashback for people who pay using the Citibank credit card. This offer will be vail between 6pm 3rd November and 7am 4th November. Airtel Prepaid and non-Airtel customers can upgrade to Airtel postpaid to be eligible for the purchase and can choose from a plans that offer large bundles of high speed data and unlimited calling.

The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 px OLED True Tone Super Retina display. The phone runs iOS 11.1 and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery which charges through the Apple signature lightning port placed at the bottom of the phone or via wireless charging. Because of the all-glass design, the iPhone 8 also has wireless charging. Under the hood, the smartphone has the Apple A11 Bionic chipset with a neural engine, a hexacore processor, 3GB of RAM and storage options of 64GB, and 256GB. The small bezels mean there is no physical home button, which is now replaced with gestures for navigation. Siri is activated by pressing the now larger lock/unlock button. The iPhone X is also IP67 certified for water and dust resistance, and wireless charging.

The iPhone X has dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and it’s equipped with dual optical image stabilization. The sensors are both larger and faster, according to Apple, and the main camera is equipped with a wide angle lens and has an f/1.8 aperture while the secondary telephoto lens has an f/2.4 aperture. In between the two cameras is a quad-LED True Tone flash. Both the front and back cameras have the portrait mode. The rear cameras have the portrait lighting feature, just like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

The Apple iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone ever and is priced at Rs 89000 for the 64GB variant while the 256GB variant costs Rs 1,02,000.

November 1, 2017
Early Face ID Identical Twins Tests Show Mixed Results

The iPhone X will be available to buy in India and a lot of other countries from the 3rd of November. When the smartphone went up for pre-orders on the 27th of October, it was sold out within minutes, showcasing a 180-degree repsonse to the iPhone 8 got at the time of its launch. The big 5.8 inch OLED display with minimal bezels around it on the iPhone X meant that the iconic home button/Touch ID got the axe. It was replaced with Face ID, which Apple claims much more secure than Touch ID with the probability of someone else unlocking your iPhone X with Face ID being 1 in 1,000,000 compared 1 in 50,000 with Touch ID.

One question that came to everyone’s mind when Apple announced the Face ID was ‘what about identical twins?’ Apple even joked about it on stage and said that Face ID’s security is lower when it comes to identical twins. Now that a lot of outlets have had a few days to play around with the new iPhone X, videos of identical twins trying to fool Face ID were bound to surface online. So far, from what we’ve seen, the results are mixed with no definitive ‘Yes Face ID can’t be fooled’ or ‘No, it is very much possible to fool it with your identical twin’. Apple released a white paper a few weeks ago chronicling how the Face ID works, but, while it mentions a higher false match, it didn’t give any specifics.

The probability that a random person in the population could look at your iPhone X and unlock it using Face ID is approximately 1 in 1,000,000 (versus 1 in 50,000 for Touch ID). The probability of a false match is different for twins and siblings that look like you as well as among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed.

News outlets like Mashable and Tech Insider shared videos of identical twins trying to fool Face ID in different circumstances. Mashable’s test saw the other identical twin unlocking the iPhone X even though their face was not stored in the phone.

With both sets of twins, the other twin unlocked the iPhone X, even though neither one had registered his face with Face ID on the iPhone X. With the Franklin twins, we had both brothers remove their glasses and had the other brother register. Again, Face ID failed to tell the difference.

Tech Insider also ran the test on a pair of identical twins and saw an opposite result. In this case, the other twin was not able to open the iPhone X and vice versa.

With every technology, there is a chink in its armour. We will be nitpicking if we say that Face ID has failed on the basis of two or three videos and very few tests. Face ID has replaced Touch ID and people moving on to the iPhone X will have to make do with Face ID and so far, people without an identical twin have found Face ID accurate and easy to use (including us).

November 1, 2017
OnePlus 5T Portrait Mode Teased By OnePlus Co-Founder

The OnePlus 5T rumours seize to fade away. With a rumoured launch date of the 16th of November closing in, there seems to be a frenzy around the upcoming OnePlus 5T. Now, the co-founder of OnePlus, Carl Pei has taken to Twitter to inflate the anticipation around the rumoured OnePlus 5T.

https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/925042536124522496

In the tweet, Car Pei shares a portrait mode image from a OnePlus phone. He doesn’t specify the phone the image is taken from. The OnePlus 5, which was launched in June also has a dual-camera setup at the back which allows for portrait mode photos. However, with the curiosity around the OnPlus 5T, Carl Pei could be hinting towards the updated cameras on the OnePlus 5T.

Just like the OnePlus 3T, the OnePlus 5T is expected to be an incremental update rather than a drastic new upgrade in terms of hardware. The 5T is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset as it is the current flagship chipset. The dual cameras at the back are also expected to be the same as found on the OnePlus 5. The OnePlus 5T will have a 6 inch AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 x resolution which translates to an 18:9 aspect ratio.

The smartphone is expected to run Android 7.1.1 Nougat with OnePlus’ Oxygen OS on top. The 2017 flagship will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset with a combination of either 6GB RAM and 64GB of storage or a whopping 8GB RAM and 128 of storage which can not be expanded. The OnePlus 5T is also expected feature dual cameras on the back, one of the main cameras is a 20 MP sensor with an f/2.6 aperture, while the other is a 16 MP camera with an aperture of F/1.7 . The secondary telephoto lens is used for 2X lossless optical zoom and a ‘portrait mode’ for blurred background images.

Recent renders of the OPPO R11s also look very similar to those of the OnePlus 5T. It is possible that just like thge OPPO R11 and OnePlus 5, the R11s and 5T could share a very similar design.

OPPO R11s

November 1, 2017
Bluetooth Pairing To Be Faster On Android Phones After Future Update

Google is trying hard to reduce the time it takes to pair bluetooth devices with Android phones. A new update is going to make pairing some Bluetooth devices much easier. Starting with Google Play Services 11.7 on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and higher, users will be able to take advantage of the new Fast Pair feature. Fast Pair will make the process of pairing Bluetooth devices easier by scanning for nearby Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) broadcasts and prompting you to pair with them.

Once Fast Pair is enabled, Android will scan for BLE broadcasts close to the user’s device and discovers a Fast Pair packet. That packet is then in turn sent to Google’s servers to retrieve the device’s product name, image, and companion app. After that information is returned, a high-priority notification shows up on the user’s device and asks them to “tap to pair” to the device. That notification will display the product name and image that Google’s server returned.

Once the user taps on the notification, standard Bluetooth connection is established and the device is connected to the phone. After a successful connection, a second notification will appear with a link to download a companion app if the Bluetooth device has one.

It is worth noting that barely any pair of bluetooth headphones support Fast Pair now. As of now, only Google Pixelbuds and Libratone Q Adapt headphones support this upcoming feature. The soon to be launched Plantronics Voyager 8200 series wireless headphones will also support the feature too. Google is open to supporting more devices in the future and if you are a Bluetooth device manufacturer, you can contact Google here.

November 1, 2017
Apple To Drop Qualcomm Components From Future iOS Devices

Apple and Qualcomm’s legal battles appear to be trickling down to their business decisions. Reports suggest that Apple Inc has designed iPhones and iPads that would drop chips supplied by Qualcomm Inc. Two people familiar with the matter said that this decision will come ion effect for the 2018 iPhones and iPads.

The dispute arises from a change in supply arrangements under which Qualcomm has stopped providing some software for Apple to test its chips in its iPhone designs. Though Qualcomm has supplied Apple’s modems for several years, which help Apple’s phones connect to wireless data networks – Intel Corp has provided more than half of Apple’s modem chips for iPhones in recent years. Intel also recently acquired a firm that would let it replace more of Qualcomm’s chips in iPhones.

Reports like these are too early to definitively say that Apple and Qualcomm will part ways. The main reason if this happens, will remain a speculation as well. While the legal dispute can be attributed to pushing it further than it should have been, the in cooperation between the two companies is also a major factor that could lead to such a split between two tech giants.

November 1, 2017
Robot Dog Aibo Unveiled By Sony

After more than a decade when it was launched, Sony has announced its iconic robot pet brand with a brand new model simply called “Aibo” (model number ERS-1000).

It uses ultra-compact actuators that allow its body to move along 22 axes, and its eyes use two OLED panels to show a range of expressions. Battery life is rated at around two hours, with a three-hour recharge time. Sony claims that:

Aibo can form an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion.

Sony says Aibo’s behaviour is adaptable, with the dog seeking out owners, learning what makes them happy, and gradually growing accustomed to wider environments. It uses deep learning technology to analyse the sounds and images coming through the robot dog’s array of sensors, and uses cloud data to learn from the experiences of other Aibo units and owners. Aibo also now requires a subscription, which costs 2,980 yen a month (US $26 approx.) for a minimum of three years. This gives you Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, cloud backup, and access to the app’s features.

The new Aibo is available to pre-order in Japan and will go on sale on the 11th of January, 2018; there aren’t any plans yet to release it outside of Sony’s homeland. It costs 198,000 yen (US $1,700 approx.), as well as the monthly subscription

November 1, 2017
Unboxing The Sony Bravia OLED A1 KD-55A1 4K Android TV
The new Sony Bravia OLED A1 KD-55A1 4K Android TV is priced at Rs 364,900 for the 55 inch variant and Rs 464,900 for the 65 inch variant. Lets unbox the new Sony TV and see what all we get:
- The Sony Bravia KD-65A1
- Remote
- Cables
- Wall mount screws
- Table support
The Sony Bravia TV has built-in support for 4K HDR content and the remote comes with shortcut buttons for Netflix and Google Play, proving that companies also believe that not a lot of people watch cable or DTH television anymore.
October 31, 2017
Unboxing The Google Pixel 2
Google launched the next iteration of its flagship Pixel smartphone lineup, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on the 4th of October during a launch event at the Google HQ. The most interesting aspect of the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL is the tight integration of its software, hardware and AI. Google talked a lot about the importance of AI in the future and how the new devices take advantage of the Google Assistant. We have the smaller sibling of the two, the Google Pixel 2 with us which starts at a price of Rs 61000 in India for the 64GB storage variant. Let’s unbox it and see what we get inside:
- Google Pixel 2
- Sim ejector tool
- Documentation
- USB C to 3.5mm jack converter
- USB C cable
- Wall charger
The launch of the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL has been marred by the glaring issues with the smartphone’s display. However, most of the complaints have been directed towards the Pixel 2 XL for its pOLED panel.

The Google Pixel 2 has a 5 inch 1920 x 1080 px AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection. Powering the device is a 2700 mAh battery and it runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. As is with with every Google phone, the new Pixel 2 will be first in line to receive Android P update in 2018. Under the hood, the device has typical 2017 flagship specifications. It has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, 2.4GHz octa-core processor, Adreno 540, 4GB RAM and 64GB/128GB onboard storage. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device but, this time around the “glass window” is smaller. The two-tone colour of the phone is also reminiscent of the original Pixel from 2016. Google claims that the fingerprint sensor is the fastest on a smartphone. The Pixel 2 is water resistant as well.

Google has decided to go for a single camera setup similar to last year’s Pixel phones. The rear-facing camera is a 12.2 MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and 1.4 micron pixel size. On the front is an 8MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture. Google has introduced new features in the camera department like the addition of AR. You’ll be able to add 3D characters and emoji into photos and videos and see them move around as you’re capturing the scene. That includes things like a sleepy coffee cup, but also some recognisable characters. Google is going to be partnering with third parties to add in some famous faces. This year, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL use a technology called “dual-pixel” which divides every pixel into two.
October 31, 2017
Razer Smartphone Specifications Leaked In Listing Ahead Of 1st November Launch

Razer will launch its first-ever smartphone on the 1st of November.Ever since the announcement, there have been multiple leaks and benchmark listings of the Razer phone which have given us a glimpse of what the upcoming phone might come equipped with. In a new listing, the Razer phone with all the major specifications was up for pre-orders in a very similar leak to the OnePlus 5T.

In the image, it is visible that the Razer smartphone might have a 5.72-inch IGZO display with 120Hz refresh rate which reinstates that the phone is targeted at gamers. Another interesting aspect here are the speakers. With bezels getting thinner, the trend of front-firing stereo speakers apopears to be dying as well. The Pixel 2 XL managed to squeeze in stereo speakers with slightly larger bezels that its competitors. The Razer phone is listed to come with Dolby Atmos sound with dual front-facing speakers and amplifiers which are certified by THX. The previous leak didn’t clear the air around the camera setup. This image reveals that the phone might have a dual-camera (12MP + 13MP) setup at the back.

The smartphone might be powered by a 4000 mAh battery with Qualcomm QuickCharge 4.0 which will be ideal for people who game a lot on their smartphone. Under the hood, the smartphone is expected to have the latest and greatest specifications, The listing doesn’t reveal the chipset, which is expected to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, but, does show that it will have 8GB of RAM.

The listing currently shows that the device is out of stock and looks like it is not coming back in stock anytime soon. With all the leaks, we suggest you take this one as well with a pinch of scepticism and patiently wait for the 1st of November.

October 31, 2017
Nokia 2 With 2-Day Battery Life Launched In India

HMD Global has launched the much anticipated Nokia 2 in India at a price of Rs . The newly launched Nokia 2 is priced lower than the Nokia 3 and will compete with the likes of the Moto C and the Xiaomi Redmi 4A in India. The Nokia 2 is positioned as a transition phone from feature to smart phone for the Indian consumers.

The Nokia 2 has a 5 inch TFT display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution. Powering the device is a massive 4100 mAh battery which Nokia claims will give up to 2 days of battery life. Running the Nokia 2 is a stock version of Android 7.1 Nougat with a promised update to Android 8.0 Oreo. Under the hood, the smartphone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 chipset which succeeds the entry level Snapdragon 210 chipset. The Snapdragon 212 has a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz and is coupled with the Adreno 304 GPU. The Nokia 2 has 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. There is no fingerprint sensor and the phone will be available in three colour variants, Pewter/Black, Pewter/White, and Copper/Black.

The Nokia 2 has a rear-mounted 8MP camera with autofocus and LED flash. On the front of the Nokia 2 is a 5MP camera.

The entry-level smartphone will go on sale in mid-November at an average global price of EUR 99 (Rs 7500 approx.)

October 31, 2017
Amazon Alexa To Converse In Hinglish In India

It has been a long time but, tech companies have finally taken notice of the ever growing tech consumers in India. After finally launching the Echo smart speaker lineup in India a year after Amazon expanded it to global markets, the company is doing something India-specific with Alexa. Amazon’s AI Alexa, which powers the Echo smart speakers will learn to speak ‘Hinglish’. It is a popular way of speaking in India which is a mix of the Hindi and English languages.

Parag Gupta, Head of Product Management, Amazon India said:

We wanted our devices to talk, walk and feel Indian. Alexa is not a visiting American, she has a very Indian personality.

Tech giants like Google and Apple have also seen the potential of growth of its AI assistants and the advantages of training their assistants to understand the fluidity of language and culture in India. People will be more comfortable to interact with Siri or Google Assistant who sound more Indian than British or American. This doesn’t mean that Indians don’t understand British or American accents, it simply means that the more localised the Assistant sounds, the more intuitive and interactive Indian consumers will be with it.

Google took its first step towards such localisation of Google Assistant by introducing a Hinglish speaking version of the AI in instant messaging app, Allo. Apple also started hiring native Hindi/Hinglish speakers to refine the ‘Hinglish speaking experience’ of Siri. In the recently launched iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, a Siri user can in fact set its keyboard to Hinglish.

The Amazon Echo will soon be available to the public and it’ll be interesting to see how the experience of interacting with Alexa on a daily basis will be enhanced over the years.

October 31, 2017
Moto X4

Motorola announced the Moto X4 during the IFA in Berlin on the 31st of August. After much delays, the Moto X4 will be launched in India on the 13th of November. It sports a dual-camera setup and is rumoured to be priced at Rs 23999.

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October 30, 2017
Nokia 2 Specifications Leaked

There are several reports indicating towards the Nokia 2 being launched in India on the 31st of October instead of the Nokia 7. It is expected that the Nokia 2 will be priced below the Nokia 3 and sport low-end specifications but, with stock Android OS which has been a popular choice by HMD Global. Key Nokia 2 specifications of a device codenamed Nokia TA-1035 have been leaked online via an Antutu listing. The leak suggests that the upcoming Nokia 2 will compete with the like of the Xiaomi Redmi 4A and the Moto C Plus.

According to the listing, the Nokia 2 will have a 1280 x 720 px display but, the size of the display was not mentioned. Considering the standard size of smartphones these days, the Nokia 2 could sport a 5 inch 1280 x 720 px display. The chipset under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 which succeeds the entry-level Snapdragon 210. The Snapdragon 212 has a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz and is coupled with the Adreno 304 GPU. The Nokia 2 is expected to have 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card.

The Nokia 2 will run a stock Android version of Android 7.1 Nougat and it will be interesting to see if this phone receives an update to Android 8.0 Oreo. The listing reveals that the Nokia 2 will have an 8MP rear mounted camera and a 5MP camera on the front of the device.

October 30, 2017
Samsung And Xiaomi Make Up For 45% Of Smartphone Market In India

Samsung and Xiaomi together constitute 45% of the smartphone market in India in Q3 of 2017. The smartphone grew 37% (quarter on quarter) and 18% (year on year) to temporarily surpass the US for the first time ever as the second largest smartphone market in the world. The number one spot i still retained by China. According to Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, India’s mobile phone shipments reached an all time high of 84 million in 2017 thanks to a strong sale period of both feature and smartphones.

Samsung and Xiaomi together contributed to almost 45% of the smartphone market. This is the first time since 2012, that the top two brands have reached this level of combined share, signalling that key brands are ramping up their presence in India. Additionally, the quarter was marked with return to growth for local handset players such as Micromax and Lava in the smartphone segment.

Affordable mid-end segment (Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 15,000) was the fastest growing segment thanks largely to a strong performance of Xiaomi which contributed to almost half of the shipments. Three of the top five best selling smartphones in India were from Xiaomi alone.

Commenting on the findings, Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research said,

India continues to be an attractive destination for handset OEMs. With strong smartphone growth and a sizeable feature phone market for at least three to four years, OEMs in India can target a diverse set of audiences. This has allowed a number of OEM’s to still realise double digit growth in the feature phone segment in spite of being absent in the smartphone segment.

Chinese smartphone brands have a third consecutive year when their market share is over 50% in India. Indian brands like Micromax and Lava grew 41% and 24% (quarter on quarter), respectively, in the smartphone market after recovering from their all-time low performance after demonetization in 2016. Micromax Bharat 2 was the bestselling phone in the sub-Rs 5000 segment. Xiaomi, iTel, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus were the fastest growing smartphone brands during the third quarter which is largely due to the festive sales and attractive discounts.

Because of the strong performance of Apple, OnePlus, and Samsung, the premium segment (above Rs. 30,000) grew record three times (year on year) during Q3 of 2017.

October 30, 2017