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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
Apple iMac Pro To Go On Sale From The 14th Of December At A Price of US $4999

The Apple iMac Pro launched back in June will go on sale on apple.com from the 14th of December. While all the details have not been released yet, the base model will go on sale for 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.

December 13, 2017
Unboxing The LG V30+
The LG V30+ has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 44990. The LG V30+ marks the end of 2017 flagship smartphones launch in India and faces steep competition from the likes of the Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note8 and the Apple iPhone X. Does the last true flagship of 2017 live up to the hype and expectations? Let’s unbox the device and find out.
- LG V30+
- Documentation
- Sim ejector tool
- Wall charger
- USB Type C cable
- LG earphones
Initial Impressions

The global variant of the LG V30+ retails with a pair of Bang & Olufsen earphones but, the Indian variant has the LG branded earphones which might be disappointing for some people. The LG v30+ feels like a flagship device with an ergonomic fit and the built quality. It has a glass sandwich design with a metal frame around it. The display goes almost edge-to-edge and the corners of the display are curved which is extremely pleasing to the eye.

It has a tall display and despite the slimmed down bezels, it might not be ideal for one-handed usage. The fingerprint sensor is quick and accurate although a rear-mounted lock/unlock button doesn’t seem like the ideal position.

Specifications

The LG V30+ has a 6 inch 2880 x 1440 px OLED FullVision display, LG’s first, with an 18:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. LG’s nearly edge-to-edge OLED display has HDR 10 format for a high level of colour contrast and as announced, the smartphone is Daydream compatible.

A big omission from the V30+ is the secondary display, which was a signature in the previous V series devices. Instead, LG has introduced a Floating Bar which displays shortcuts and can be disabled when not required.

The LG V30+ has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 4 GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 2TB via a microSD card. The LG V30+ has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810G rating for durability.

The LG V30+ is powered by a 3300mAh battery with wireless fast charging which supports 3.0 quick charge. The smartphone runs Android 7.1.2 with LG’s UX 6.0+ on top which offers a few customisation options.

The LG V30+ incorporates a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC powered by Bang & Olufsen with few sound presets like enhanced, detailed, bass and live. The smartphone also has support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology for high-resolution audio streaming.

Aside from the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which also doubles as a home button, LG has introduced few new security features in the LG V30+ such as facial and voice recognition. The voice recognition will even work along with the music playback.

The LG V30+ features a dual-camera setup at the back. As LG had announced, this smartphone has the first ever inbuilt camera unit to feature a 16MP crystal clear lens made of glass with an f/1.6 aperture and another 13MP wide angle lens with an f/1.9 aperture. The camera features laser detection AF, optical image stabilisation and electronic image stabilisation. On the front side, the LG V30+ sports a 5MP wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

Pre-order here

Watch Our Full Unboxing Here-
December 13, 2017
LG V30+ Launched In India At A Price Of Rs. 44990

LG V30+ was first unveiled at IFA 2017 in Berlin on the 31st of August. After slowly entering the US and European markets, it has finally been launched in India at a price of Rs. 44990. Pre-bookings for the LG V30+ will start from the 18th of December and will be sold via Amazon exclusively.

The LG V30+ has a 6 inch 2880 x 1440 px OLED FullVision display, LG’s first, with an 18:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. LG’s nearly edge-to-edge OLED display has HDR 10 format for a high level of colour contrast and as announced, the smartphone is Daydream compatible.

A big omission from the V30+ is the secondary display, which was a signature in the previous V series devices. Instead, LG has introduced a Floating Bar which displays shortcuts and can be disabled when not required.

The LG V30+ has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 4 GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 2TB via a microSD card. The LG V30+ has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810G rating for durability.

The LG V30+ is powered by a 3300mAh battery with wireless fast charging which supports 3.0 quick charge. The smartphone runs Android 7.1.2 with LG’s UX 6.0+ on top which offers a few customisation options.

The LG V30+ incorporates a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC powered by Bang & Olufsen with few sound presets like enhanced, detailed, bass and live. The smartphone also has support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology for high-resolution audio streaming.

Aside from the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which also doubles as a home button, LG has introduced few new security features in the LG V30+ such as facial and voice recognition. The voice recognition will even work along with the music playback.

The LG V30+ features a dual-camera setup at the back. As LG had announced, this smartphone has the first ever inbuilt camera unit to feature a 16MP crystal clear lens made of glass with an f/1.6 aperture and another 13MP wide angle lens with an f/1.9 aperture. The camera features laser detection AF, optical image stabilisation and electronic image stabilisation. On the front side, the LG V30+ sports a 5MP wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

Pre-order here

December 13, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 Will Be The First Phone Ever To Have An In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

The Samsung Galaxy S9, the next iteration in Samsung’s flagship ‘S’ lineup is expected to be launched in late February at MWC or at a special event in March. While there have been multiple rumours and renders suggesting that the Galaxy S9 will have a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, this new announcement puts everything else to rest. Fingerprint sensor manufacturer Synaptics just announced that it has begun mass production with a top-five original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to produce its new Clear ID FS9500 in-display fingerprint sensor.

While the announcement did not specify the specific OEM, it could be Samsung since it is preparing to launch the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ early next year. Considering that the company mentioned top 5 OEMs, it could be Samsung, Apple and Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei, Xiaomi and OPPO. There are high chances that it isn’t Apple since it is working hard on making Face ID the next big thing and is preparing to make it better on the iPhone X and other upcoming iPhones. Introducing Touch ID under the display will make Face ID almost redundant.

Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8

Samsung and Synaptics have a history of working together dating back to 2005 with the Samsung B310. Synaptics is a known Samsung manufacturing partner, and when it announced the FS9100 optical fingerprint sensor, there were rumours that it could come to the Galaxy S8 however, that did not happen.

Another giveaway is the mention of “infinity display” in the announcement statements. In the Synaptics press release, it mentions that the Clear ID fingerprint scanner was designed for phones with “infinity displays,” mentioning that term three times. Samsung uses the term “infinity display” to describe its bezel-less edge-to-edge display on the Galaxy S8, S8+ and Galaxy Note8.

Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy Note8

After so many rumours, it appears that Samsung will finally be able to embed the fingerprint sensor in the display and beat the existing industry leaders to it.

December 13, 2017
Xiaomi Mi A1 Oreo Update Is Coming Soon

Last week, it was reported that Xiaomi was looking for beta testers for Android 8.0 Oreo on the Xiaomi Mi A1. Now, the Android 8.0 Oreo beta update has started seeding to the beta testers and should be available to everyone by the end of 2017, as promised by the company.

The update is 1104.1 MB in size and right now is only available for beta testers. During the launch of the Xiaomi Mi A1, the company promised an update to Android 8.0 Oreo by the end of 2017, and it appears that the company might deliver on the promise.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 recently received a permanent price cut and is now available for Rs. 13999 on Flipkart and mi.com.

The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection along with an aluminium unibody build.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 8x ARM Cortex A53 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The pyrolytic graphite sheet will help in heat management as well, Xiaomi claims. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has an IR blaster to control appliances in your home or office. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.

Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery and 2A charging through the Type C port.

Even though the phone has stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Xiaomi has retained a few apps, such as the Mi camera app since the Google Camera app doesn’t support dual-camera functions right now.

The smartphone features dual sensors at the back, a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.2 aperture (26mm) and 12MP wide-angle lens with an f/2.6 aperture (50mm) setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.

Watch our full review of the Xiaomi Mi A1-

December 13, 2017
This iPhone X Clone Might Have One Thing That iPhone X Doesn’t

The Apple iPhone X was launched in September after months of anticipation and speculation. The iPhone X was a huge departure in terms of design from all the previous iPhones launched over the course of 10 years. While the design of the phone is extremely modern with thin bezels and a tall display, it has a notch on the top of the display which people love to hate.

iPhone X

However, as is with every iPhone, the iPhone X and its notch is well on its way to start the trend of notches on smartphone displays even though the Essential Ph-1 was launched way before and had a cyborg-like cutout on the display to house the front camera. A few days ago, we reported that the OPPO R13 phone might be the iPhone X clone you were looking for but, this new leak of a smartphone from LEAGOO might be the closest thing to an iPhone X yet. And, it has one thing that even the iPhone X doesn’t have.

The images reveal the design of what could be the LEAGOO S9. It is uncannily similar to the iPhone X and even has a fingerprint sensor placed on the back of the phone. While the bezels are thicker than the ones found on the iPhone X, the notch and the vertically placed dual camera resemble the iPhone X.

Unlike the OPPO R13, the LEAGOO S9 (tentatively named) has a fingerprint sensor, something which a lot of iPhone loyalists asked for from Apple. So, is this the ultimate iPhone X you were looking for? Let us know in the comments!

December 12, 2017
Face ID Rivals On Android “Stink”, Says Phil Schiller

Apple launched the iPhone X back in September with a number of changes in hardware and design from the previous generations. The most notable and talked-about change is the removal of the iconic home button and introduction of Face ID. While facial recognition and iris scanning has been prevalent in Android phones for years, Face ID brought mainstream attention to the facial recognition technology.

Ever since the iPhone X was launched, Huawei has come out and announced its take on Face ID and claimed that it’s much faster and more accurate than Apple’s Face ID technology. There have been rumours that Samsung is working hard on its iris scanning technology which will enable it to work even when it is too dark.

In an interview with Dutch outlet Bright, Apple’s Marketing Guru Phil Schiller has strong opinions about the Android rivals to Face ID. “They all stink,” he said.

They don’t work in all the ways we need Face ID to work. We’re very aware that through the years the simple thing, this Home button, that started as the way you click to get to the Home screen, grew into doing so many things for us. We added Touch ID, it took you to the multitasking screen, paged Siri, activated Apple Pay. All through this one mechanical button.

So for Face ID we needed the best way we know of to enable us to easily unlock our device with our face, in a protected way with the Secure Enclave, and support all these other things. We had to solve all of that. Other things that people have tried with face haven’t been anything like that. Face ID is a very unique implementation.

Face ID has been compared to OnePlus’s facial recognition technology on the OnePlus 5T even though OnePlus has conceded that its facial recognition is more for convenience than security.

Face ID has also come across a few stumbling blocks. Recently, it was cracked by an elaborate experiment with some expensive gadgets and a lot of time. With the bezels getting thinner and Apple investing so much in Face ID, it appears that Touch ID will slowly be phased out of remaining Apple devices, especially as FaceID becomes more convenient and more reliable.

December 12, 2017
This Could Be The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

In 2016, Xiaomi grabbed a lot of eyeballs with its then-futuristic tri bezel-less design of the Mi Mix. in 2017, it followed that up with a more polished and flagship phone worthy Mi Mix 2 and it appears that the Mi Mix 3 which will launch in 2018 might have a different design altogether. A new leak has revealed that unlike the previous two iterations, the new Mi Mix 3 will have rounded corners and a dual-camera setup.

In the image above, the most noticeable aspect of the back panel is the vertically placed dual-camera setup. Unsurprisingly, it looks uncannily similar to the iPhone X. The fingerprint sensor cutout appears to be at its normal spot and the ‘Mix Design’ text also reinstates that this could indeed be the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

Mi Mix 2

This is not the first time that Xiaomi will opt for vertically placed dual cameras as it was previously found on the Mi 5s Plus as well. However, the design implementation on the Mi 5s Plus was completely different from what we see in this leaked image.

Mi Mix

It is still early days for the Mi Mix 3 rumours and this image might as well be a prototype of the Mi Mix 3.

December 12, 2017
Apple Acquires Music Recognition App Shazam

Last week, it was reported that Apple was on the verge of acquiring of Shazam. On the 11th of December, Apple confirmed the acquisition of the popular music recognition app, Shazam. While neither of the concerned companies disclosed the value of the deal, a report by TechCrunch claims that the deal is worth US $400 million and that Snap and Spotify were potential buyers as well.

Acknowledging the acquisition, Apple said in a statement:

We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.

Shazam, one of the most popular music recognition app was launched back in 1999. Since then, the company has claimed that the Shazam app has been downloaded over 1 billion times and its users have used the app to recognise songs over 30 billion times. Shazam released a statement as well, seemingly confirming that the standalone Shazam app will continue functioning:

Shazam is one of the highest-rated apps in the world and loved by hundreds of millions of users and we can’t imagine a better home for Shazam to enable us to continue innovating and delivering magic for our users.

Shazam was one of the first few services that took advantage of AI and offered it to a broader audience. As Apple prepares to invest big in AI and make its AI assistant, Siri smarter than the competition, this acquisition might go a long way in doing so.

Google Assistant, of all the AI assistant, might be the smartest in terms of music as of now, but, with Shazam onboard Siri can definitely compete and even come out on top in the battle of AI assistants. Even some analysts believe that Shazam could add significant value not only with its own service but also by making Siri smarter about music.

Music is an important part of Apple’s business, particularly as the company prepares to launch its HomePod smart speaker. Slated for a late-2017 launch, the smart speaker will now be launched in early 2018. Apple Music, Apple’s subscription-based music streaming service has roughly 30 million subscribers which is not even a half of what its direct rival Spotify has. Spotify has 60 million paying users as of July and 80 million more on its free service.

Apple HomePod

Analysts are saying that this acquisition is similar to one that Spotify made in 2014 when it purchased a music intelligence firm called The Echo Nest. The Echo Nest creates technology that generates music recommendations which is one of the most important features of Spotify.

Apple’s entry into AI and now the acquisition of Shazam means that Apple is willing to take on Spotify for the number one spot. As of now, the Shazam app redirects users to either Apple Music or Spotify to listen to the recognised song but, that might change in a bit and that might lead to a potential user acquisition.

December 12, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 Iris Scanner Will Work In The Dark

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to be a revision to the Popular Samsung Galaxy S8 which was launched in early 2017. We have seen several leaks so far, including one which mentions a record-breaking screen-to-body ratio. Samsung Galaxy S9 may be an incremental upgrade as far as design is concerned but, there might be a few monumental upgrades as far as hardware and software are concerned. A new report claims that Samsung will upgrade the iris scanner on Galaxy S9 to 3MP from the 2Mp scanner found on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8.

An industry source familiar with the matter told the publication that the iris scanner in the Galaxy S9 will have an improved camera lens and functions to help it better recognise users’ eyes. This move, as much as it is an upgrade, can be attributed to the rise in popularity of Apple’s Face ID and Huawei’s unveiling of its own facial recognition technology.

The source said:

The iris lens will be improved to 3-megapixels from 2-megapixels of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to capture clearer images. The scanner will better recognize users’ irises even when they wear eyeglasses, move their eyeballs or are in a too dark or too light environment.

Samsung is expected to introduce the iris scanning feature in its upcoming mid-range phones as well, such as the Galaxy A8+. A leak revealed that the Galaxy S8+ will have an infinity display, which was exclusive to Samsung’s flagship phones so far. Introduction of iris scanner in the Galaxy A series might not be far-fetched.

Samsung Galaxy S8+

“Iris scanner is the safest biometric authentication (among iris, fingerprint and face recognition) and we will continue to improve the system for upcoming smartphones for safer banking transactions,” a Samsung spokesperson told the publication, without making any reference to the Galaxy S9.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to be launched at either MWC in February or at a separate event in March (similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+).

December 11, 2017
OnePlus Is Giving Away 10,000 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Tickets
OnePlus burst on to the scene back in 2014 with “flagship killer” OnePlus One. Three years on, the Chinese company is preparing to launch the Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T in India on the 14th of December. To celebrate 3 years in India, OnePlus is giving away 10,000 tickets for the upcoming movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Vikas Aggarwal, General Manager at OnePlus India said:

The OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition is dedicated to the OnePlus and Star Wars fans in India. We are humbled by the phenomenal response to our smartphones this year that has made OnePlus the best selling smartphone in premium segment and has reinforced the trust that our fans have instilled in us.

The tickets will be given away for the following cities, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi. In order to win the tickets, one has to simply:
- Visit oneplusstore.in and register your OnePlus IMEI number (If you have registered your IMEI previously, you can skip this step). Choose your city and confirm the movie date and time (tickets are available for 16th and 17th December at select PVR and Cinemax theatres). Click ‘Get It’ button & your ticket coupon code will be generated (Depending on availability)
- Step 2: Once the ticket coupon code is generated, follow the link to the Paytm website, to select from the available shows and complete the checkout process
The Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T will be launched on the 14th of December at an event in Delhi. While the hardware specifications will remain the same, there will be a few unique changes in the limited edition phone such as a red colour alert slider and a white coloured back panel.

There is no word on the pricing of the limited edition variant so far and the rest of the details will be announced at the launch event.
December 11, 2017
Samsung Galaxy A8+ Specs Leaked

Samsung introduced the first infinity display in 2017 with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ and also used it with the Galaxy Note8. In 2018, it is expected that the infinity display feature will trickle down to Samsung’s mid-range smartphones as well, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A8+ appears to be one of them. A new video reveals what the Galaxy A8+ will look like and the user in the video also goes through the specifications of the phone.

In the video, the user goes through the camera app and clicks a sample photo. There is a dual-camera setup at the front of the phone, which is a first for a Samsung device. At the front is a 16MP+8MP camera setup, the 8MP camera will allow for live focus portrait shots similar to the Galaxy Note8.

According to the video, the Galaxy A8+ will have a 6-inch 2220 x 1080 px display. We can expect it to be a Super AMOLED display similar to the previous generation Galaxy A phones.

Under the hood, the device will have the Exynos 7885 SoC, an octa-core processor with two 2.2GHz high-performance cores and six 1.6GHz low power cores, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which will be expandable via microSD card, presumably up top 256GB. The Galaxy A8+ will also have an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

Powering the device will be a 3500 mAh battery which will charge via USB Type C which suggests that it will support fast charging.

Another major change in the design will be the fingerprint sensor placement. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8, the fingerprint sensor on Galaxy A8+ is placed below the rear-mounted camera and it might hint at a major design change for the upcoming flagship ‘S’ and ‘Note’ lineup as well.

The back of the phone also houses a 16MP camera. Detailed specifications of the camera were not listed in the video.

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ is expected to be launched in January 2018 with the prices ranging from US $300 – US $350 (Rs. 21000 – Rs. 26000 in India)

You can watch the entire video here.

December 11, 2017
Xiaomi Mi A1 Receives Permanent Price Cut

Xiaomi launched the Mi A1 back in August at a price of Rs. 14999. Now, one of the best budget camera phones, the Mi A1 has received a permanent price cut of Rs. 1000 and will now retail for Rs. 13999.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 offers something different than the rest of the Xiaomi phones available in India or the global market. It has stock Android OS thanks to the Android One program which means that the Mi A1 will receive Android 8.0 Oreo and Android P updates faster than other OEM phones in the same price bracket. This gives the Mi A1 a slight advantage over its closest competitor, the Moto G5s Plus which also has similar specifications and price. The price cut may also be attributed to the competition from other smartphones such as the Honor 7X which also offers a dual-camera setup and is priced at Rs 12999.

Even though there has been no announcement for Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Xiaomi Mi A1, it is expected to be rolled out by the end of January 2018.

The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection along with an aluminium unibody build.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 8x ARM Cortex A53 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The pyrolytic graphite sheet will help in heat management as well, Xiaomi claims. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has an IR blaster to control appliances in your home or office. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.

Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery and 2A charging through the Type C port.

Even though the phone has stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Xiaomi has retained a few apps, such as the Mi camera app since the Google Camera app doesn’t support dual-camera functions right now.

The smartphone features dual sensors at the back, a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.2 aperture (26mm) and 12MP wide-angle lens with an f/2.6 aperture (50mm) setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.

At a price of Rs. 13999, there is a lot going on for the Xiaomi Mi A1 and with the holidays coming up, this might be the ideal smartphone for you to upgrade to.

Watch our full review to know more-

December 11, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 To Launch With The Same Display As The S8 In A Smaller Size Shell

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the most successful smartphone of 2017. Rumours and leaks pertaining to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and its bigger sibling, the Galaxy S9+ have just started to pick up their pace. A new report from a Dutch outlet has revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 phones will have the same screen size as its predecessors but, in a smaller body.

This report corroborates a previous leak that suggested that the upcoming Galaxy S9 devices will have a whopping 90% screen-to-body ratio. However, there have been rumours that the devices will sport a 21:9 aspect ratio display which, this new report quashes. It claims that the S9 and S9+ will have the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio with a smaller footprint.

This claim seems legitimate as the two new devices are expected to be an incremental upgrade over its predecessors rather than drastic new phones with a host of new things to offer. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to have a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED displays, respectively.

It has been reported earlier that the upcoming flagship phones from Samsung might be unveiled at CES 2018. However, Samsung came out and said that it is ‘unlikely‘ to happen, which means that the S9 and S9+ may be unveiled either at MWC in February or at a separate event in March, just like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.

December 11, 2017