The news is official, Apple will start to manufacture iPhones in their new Bangalore plant early April. The Taiwanese company Wistron Corp. will be doing the on ground assembly for Apple in Karnataka. The iPhones manufactured in India will be meant for the Indian market only and will not be exported at the time.
Apple in terms of manufacture has demanded a 15 year tax holiday from the government to start the manufacturing process, which is still being negotiated.
Apple will soon after launch Apple owned and operated Apple Stores in several major metropolitan cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Ahmadabad. Apple Stores will bring about reforms in Apple Care services being offered in India which suffer due to poor operation standards of Apple Resellers.
It is safe to say that Apple’s next iPhone, which is also the 10th Anniversary iPhone will be assembled right here in India for the Indian market. Whether this will affect pricing and quality standards is yet unknown.
LG’s G6 is already expected to drop the modular features as the next iteration is targeted for the MWC 2017 launch. The phone which is expected to run the latest hardware including Snapdragon 835, up-to 6 GB of RAM, will be available in up-to 128 GB storage options. The Verge has posted new images of the LG G6 claiming that they are actual images of the phones.
According to the publication, the LG G6 will feature a 5.7 inch display and have an aspect ratio of 2:1 with a thin bezel all around. The expected display to body ratio is more than 90%. The design is much more like the Mi Mix and also the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8 which too will have a dual edge AMOLED display.
The LG G6 nail continue to have the 3.5 mm headphone jack and will also feature the same rear setup as the G5, with dual cameras and fingerprint sensor placed at the back.
Whatever the case, some new exciting products are expected at MWC 2017 and we simply cannot wait.
Lenovo P2 as a smartphone offers an interesting mix of hardware and features, focusing more on the massive 5100 mAh battery which offers an impressive battery life on the phone which is just 8.3 mm in thickness. But, do the rest of the features match up with the price of the smartphone? And, is the Lenovo P2 worth your money? Let’s find out!
[section label=”Video Review”]
[section label=”Build And Design”]
Build and Design
The Lenovo P2 has a well built and solid, scratch resistant unibody aluminium design which should look good for long periods of time, if you don’t manage to ding and drop your phone a lot. The shell is well built and looks premium. The dual chamfers, one on the front and one on the back along with chrome accents around the camera, led flash and buttons makes the phone look clean and well made. The manufacturing of the phone is in India. So, Make in India for the win.
Design is very reminiscent with the phones we have seen in the past, with placements of the camera and led flash much like vibe phones seen recently, especially the K6 Note. If you liked the design on those phones, then the P2 does offer up improvements.
[section label=”Hardware”]
Hardware
The hardware is not top notch, with the Snapdragon 625 chipset based on 14nm tech offering octa-core at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU (similar to the Redmi Note 4) the Lenovo P2, is available in 3 GB or 4GB RAM options with 32 GB or 64 GB of Storage. You can add an upto 256 GB card but you lose the 2nd SIM slot on the hybrid tray (boo). The main camera is 13 MP with an f/2.0 aperture and the front camera is a 5MP shooter and the phone is powered by a massive 5100 mAh battery.
[section label=”Performance”]
Performance
The phone features a less powerful 625 chipset, so do not expect this to be a performance monster. The Lenovo P2 scores mediocre benchmark scores, and does decent multitasking Gaming experience is good , but no the best. The phone manages RAM well and despite a stock Android feel, some optimisations in the UI allow for smooth multitasking and everyday use, despite several weeks of usage.
The phone manages heat really well and we did not find the phone heating up extensively even when handling heavy tasks and high end graphics.
[section label=”Multimedia and Display”]
Multimedia and Display
The Super AMOLED display is a perfect example of technology trickling down to mid range phones. Super AMOLED, which is traditionally restricted to Samsung flagships, is now being used by Lenovo on their P2, giving it exceptional viewing angles and good depth of colour and brightness. The indoor and outdoor visibility is good and Black-levels are deep. The display does over-saturate the colours, a problem with most Super-AMOLEDs, however colour profile options allow for some basic changes. Switching to the Normal display mode in the settings shows some natural colours which definitely are flatter to the eye.
The viewing angles and colour quality of the display make watching videos and movies on the phone a great experience. You also have a decent speaker, but the included earphones are poor. Buy yourself a good pair of headphones (/earphones) to enjoy the good multimedia output from the headphone jack.
The P2 does not have Dolby support, and possibly the only phone in Lenovo’s arsenal to miss this out, Strange!
[section label=”Operating System”]
OS and UI
The Lenovo P2 runs on Android 6.0.1 out of the box, with a promised upgrade to Nougat in Late March 2017, which is a bit of a let down. You can expect to start hearing news of Android 8 around that time. However, it is good that the company has given a clear timeline of the updates.
The UI is fast and responsive and thanks to the RAM management stays that way for a long time. The UI is also close to stock much like their Moto phones, and the experience does feel much more like a Moto phone. Little bloatware is preloaded which can easily be uninstalled for those who do not need the unwanted Apps.
The Ui also has some interesting features, like using the Home button/fingerprint scanner for navigation and hiding the Nav-bar for a fuller-screen experience. You also have the ability to have two instances of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook installed so you do not have to log-out of apps and then log-in again. Helpful for those managing both personal and work social profiles.
[section label=”Battery”]
Battery Life and Charging
The Lenovo P2 lives up to expectations of a long battery life. Mixed with a 14nm architecture and a massive battery of 5100 mAh, the Lenovo P2 is a battery king. Expect 2 days of use for most advanced users and longer for average users. The ultimate power mode converts the Smartphone into a feature phone extending the battery life for weeks on an end.
[blockquote]The Lenovo P2 may be a truer battery and charging king [/blockquote]
The included fast charger is speeds up to the point where it delivers an impressive 12V 2A charge making the phone charge to a full in around 1.5 hours. When compared to Dash Charge, the Lenovo P2 may stay back in percentages, i.e achieving 40% vs 60% on the OnePlus 3 in the same time.
However, in real life numbers, it charges 2040 mAh of battery in the same time the Dash Charge charges 1800mAh and that too on a micro USB port. Lenovo has some interesting battery capability here.
Talk Time : 14 Hours
Screen On Time : 20 Hours +
Internet Browsing : 15 Hours +
Video : 10 Hours +
With the battery life, and optimisations, the Lenovo P2 becomes an impressive companion for travellers and media consumption junkies.
Netflix-athon anyone?
[section label=”Camera”]
Cameras
The Lenovo P2 has a 13 MP main camera which has a 21mm f/2.0 aperture equipped lens. Offering an impressive field of view and good depth of field. HDR works well and images look good in well-lit conditions. The phone also manages decent low light images, but you will find yourself using the flash a lot to get good pictures, if lighting is not adequate.
Colors can turn out flat, and images look definitely better on the Super-AMOLED display of the Lenovo P2 than they do on a LCD or LED panel at your home. The main camera also captures 4k video at 30fps, which allows you to get some high resolution video with a chipset that most manufacturers have restricted to Full HD. You also get electronic IS for video which is good for shaky hands, though, you lose some resolution and field of view once you enable this feature.
The front camera is good only is proper lighting, otherwise shots are over processed and noisy. For selfie-lovers the beauty mode cleans up most post processing needs. However, we found turning this off worked better for more natural and sharper looking images. Video on the front is restricted to 1080p and will come in handy for basic usage.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
Conclusion
The Lenovo P2 is designed for those who either travel a lot or forget charging their phone often. Features like a super fast charge, ora long battery life is a boon to a lot of people who work long hours too. Performance is good for most users but the phone is not designed for hardcore gaming enthusiasts and performance junkies.
The Lenovo P2 has a fast UI and some interesting features that can come in handy for new business owners like the dual apps and dual profiles on some social apps. The phone has excellent network strength, and works well with 4G and VoLTE. The hybrid SIM slot is a no-no for us but the option of buying the phone with a big storage of 64GB is an option. An option however, that is not currently on sale.
Another option to consider is that the Lenovo Z2 Plus which features a Snapdragon 820 chipset is now available for as low as Rs. 14999 which supersedes the value of the Lenovo P2 as a better price for spec ratio phone. Making the smartphone space more complicated than ever before.
Moto might be planning a revision of the Moto Z with a faster and more competent chipset. Sporting a Snapdragon 835 the new Moto Z leaked on benchmarking site GeekBench scoring 6207 on the multicore benchmark.
The RAM remains the same at 4GB which may just mean that the processor is the only area seeing improvements. Moto could be refreshing the lineup to keep in trend with the constant new arrivals slated in the coming few months.
Smartphones running flagship hardware are expected from Samsung, LG , HTC and even Nokia around the time of MWC, and this might be an excellent time for Moto to refresh their hardware and show off their abilities.
This could also be a completely revamped Moto Z phone with the same identifier running completely refreshed hardware. For now just the benchmark will do.
Fresh new information coming in for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8. New reports suggest that the new Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature an iris scanner along with an autofocus front camera. The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first big phone from the company after the failure and recall of the Galaxy Note 7.
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 is already expected around MWC in February sporting a large display to body ratio crossing 90% and a new buttonless fingerprint sensor that sits behind the display. Samsung is pulling all stops to ensure that the Samsung Galaxy S8, just like the Galaxy S7 is a huge success. The company will also be removing the 3.5 mm headphone jack and bundling wireless earphone inside the box of the Samsung Galaxy S8.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be available in two sizes according to reports, that include the 5.7 inch Samsung Galaxy S8 and the 6.3 inch Samsung Galaxy S8 plus. The phones will also see S-Pen compatibility and Samsung is expected to introduce the S-pen as an extra-optional accessory. Samsung will also launch more accessories, including a keyboard case and new s-window flip cases for the phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to hit markets including the US, UK and India in March of 2017 sporting a price tag of US $799 for the base model Samsung Galaxy S8. the phones will offer storages upto 256GB, something that Samsung has already done with the recent launch of the Black Pearl Samsung Galaxy S7 in select markets.
Moto’s next G series phone the Moto G5 Plus is headed to the Indian market early 2017. The Moto G4 was an extremely successful smartphone for the company and with the Moto G5 Plus, Lenovo owned Moto may be changing the design a little bit. Some leaks have already shown of renders of the phone and what appear to be leaked pictures.
However, some exclusive information gathered by iGyaan reveals that the Moto G5 is expected to show up with a Moto M style construction where the use of metals may be liberal. The Moto G5 Plus will sport a 1920 x 1080 p display with a 5.5 inch screen size. Running on a Snapdragon chipset the Moto G5 Plus will also come with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB / 64 GB storage options.
Moto will not be skimming on sensors as a new design fingerprint scanner will appear on the front of the Moto G5 Plus along with gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer and NFC capabilities. The Moto G5 Plus will also sport impressive battery life and turbo charging for a battery which will be 3000 mAh +.
The Moto G5 Plus will also sport a 12 MP main and an 8 MP front camera, both capable of 1080p video while the rear camera will offer manual shooting modes and slo-mo video capabilities. Moto will launch the Moto G5 Plus with Android 7 Nougat out of the box and will be updated to Android 7.1.1 soon after.
The Moto G5 Plus will launch at Rs. 14,999 and will be available in several variants, namely the Moto G5 plus, Moto G5 and Moto G5 Play , which will be launched in subsequent months with basic changes to specs. The Moto G5 Plus is expected to launch with two confirmed colour options of silver and gold along with a possible matte black variant.
The Taiwanese company HTC has launched the new HTC U Ultra and U Play which show a new design language for HTC. The HTC U Ultra and U Play also have a new AI which according to the company “learns from U” called the Sense companion. The HTC feature a secondary display like the LG V20, which helps the user to interact with the Sense Companion.
The Companion will work with Apps you use and information that you constantly use and add to your phone. The Companion app will also predict things like traffic, bad weather and other issues you way run into when you travel. The Companion is a deep learning AI and will learn overtime to give you the results that most importantly work with you. The Companion also uses 4 always-on microphones that allow for voice recognition.
The HTC U Ultra is a larger 5.7 inch display with a 2560x1440px resolution and a Super LCD 5 with Dual Display and Gorilla Glass 5 (64GB model) or Sapphire Glass (128GB model).
The HTC U Ultra features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset along with quad-core cpu setup offering up to 2.15GHz. The phone will be available in either 64GB or 128 GB storage capacities with 4GB of RAM. The U Ultimate will also offer flex storage with upto 2TB microSD cards (when available). The U ultra comes with a 12MP HTC UltraPixel 2 with 1.55 micron pixel size, with a BSI sensor PDAF and OIS.
The Front camera is a 16 MP shooter with 1080p video and a BSI sensor. The phone will be available in either a single sim or dual sim variant and will support all the latest networks including VoLTE and WiFi Calling. The HTC U Ultra is 7.99 mm which and features a 3000 mAh battery and Quick Charge 3.0.
The HTC U Play on the other hand features a smaller 5.2 inch display with a Full HD (1080p) Super LCD with Gorilla Glass. It will run on the MediaTek Helio P10 chipset and offer either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32 GB and 64 GB Storage options. The main camera is a 16 MP BSI sensor with 1080 p video capture while the front camera is also a 16 MP camera. The HTC U Play also has a smaller battery with just 2500 mAh of juice and 5V/2A fast charge.
The HTC U series also comes with biometric voice unlock using the 4 mic combination.
The HTC U series also includes a new U Sonic technology that is built into the in-box earphones, that use sonar to map out the users ear-drums and deliver customised sound.
Samsung has ended its Beta program and skipped the Android 7.0 update to directly seed the Android 7.1.1 to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge starting January. Samsung has traditionally been the slowest to roll over to the latest version of Android, and usually the next S series launch makes the update available. However, this time it seems that the company will start pushing the update on Jan 17th in a phased manner. Meaning, not all devices will get the update at the same time.
Android Nougat 7.1.1 was made dev friendly in November and the Google Pixel devices were the first phones to run this build of Android. The new update will bring some new changes to the user interface and also enable the new multi gender emojis.
Samsung was the first company to ship multi window in their large size phones, now with the official update the S series phones will also get that ability. Samsung had recently announced that the company will skip 7.0 and seed 7.1.1 directly to keep up with the competition, thus confirming this rumour.
“We have to ensure that our final rollout of the update is free of any bugs and, and can be pushed OTA without causing damage to the devices of users Data. We have taken proper steps to ensure the rollout is smooth and the Samsung Galaxy users are happy” – Samsung India spokesperson.
Samsung is also prepping for the launch of the Galaxy S8 and S8 plus which is expected to launch in the end of February with S Pen support and a larger screen to body ratio than before. The next major Galaxy phone should be launched at MWC 2017.
Xiaomi is all set to launch the Redmi Note 4 in India on the 19th of January. This launch will help Xiaomi replace the dated Redmi Note 3 with a new and more current Redmi Note 4. The Redmi Note 4 was launched in China in September
The Redmi Note 4 has a 5.5 inch LCD display which has good visibility indoor and outdoor, along with wide viewing angles. The front houses a 5 MP camera, and the rear a 13 MP shooter with decent colour optimisations. The Redmi Note 4 will come with MiUi 7 However gets a quick update to MiUi 8 once you boot the handset.
If you cannot wait for the phone to be launched in India, and want to avoid flash sales you can buy the phone here : http://igy.me/2jBBIyD The phones bought from China will support CDMA, but, when Xiaomi launches in India, the phones will be restricted to GSM, 3G and 4G LTE. The phone runs on a Deca Core Mediatek Helio X20 Chipset and has a whopping 4100 mAh battery. India might get a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset based phone, like previous launches.
Samsung has launched the third edition of the Samsung Gear S3 in India at a price of Rs. 28,500. Available in two models the classic and frontier, the Gear S3 also features IP68 water resistance, up to 4 days of battery backup, dedicated app store and built-in speaker and GPS.
The Gear S3 features Corning Gorilla Glass SR+, which is specifically designed for wearable devices to provide a tougher and more scratch resistant display. The Gear S3 features a case crafted from watch grade steel 316L, and has an Always On Display (AOD) and Super AMOLED screen.
Gear S3 has a rotating bezel that comes with new features users can accept or reject a call or snooze an alarm. Messages can be scrawled by finger on the screen to automatically convert to texts. The Gear S3 has a built-in speaker, and allows users to take calls, activate voice messaging and listen to their music. The battery lasts up to four days on a single charge according to Samsung which is a great improvement from daily charges in the previous model.
Samsung has also opened the SDK to developers to allow them to create apps for the Gear S3 and future Gear watches. Samsung Gear S3 watches work with Android and iOS giving iPhone users an Alternative to the Apple Watch.
Samsung is working on making the next Galaxy Note phone, after the tragic end of possibly the best phone of the year. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is said to be rocking the big comeback in 2017 with a 4k Super AMOLED display apparently to improve VR capabilities with a new Gear VR they are expected to launch alongside the Note 8.
Samsung has always considered the Note series it’s flagship and it appears that the company will not let go of it easily. The Note 7 had serious battery issues that caused consumers to doubt the reliability of Samsung products in general. Samsung will launch the Note 8 in Summer of 2017 in a bad up before the Apple iPhone gets a rumoured OLED overhaul.
Reports of the new assistant Bixby, launching with the Galaxy S8 expected in coming months will be another highlight of the Galaxy Note 8 smartphone.
Samsung will also reveal investigations into the Galaxy Note 7 fires and why they happened by the end of January, finally and hopefully putting an end to the whole scenario.
The Lenovo P2 sports a massive battery capacity of 5100 mAh and still stays at only 8.3 mm in terms of thickness. The P2 also sports a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080p Super AMOLED display along with a full metal unibody design. The Lenovo P2 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset with either 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM and storage options of 32GB or 64GB.
The phone is expected to launch between the Rs. 15000 to Rs. 20000 price mark. The phone has a 13 MP main camera and a 5 MP front camera. Lenovo has cleaned up the UI in the past phones and we expect the same with the P2. The phone does support dual-SIM capability with 4G and VoLTE and a microSD of upto 256 GB.
The massive 5100 mAh battery provides two days of un-interupted use, and the P2 will ship with a fast charger that will challenge the Dash Charge claiming to get a full charge on the large battery quickly.
The rumours are heating up about Samsung’s next flagship. Apart, from launching a larger variant of the S8 with Pen capabilities, Samsung is trying to recover from the Note 7 fiasco by bundling wireless earphones in the box of the next flagship.
Since Samsung is removing the headphone jack in the Samsung Galaxy S8, it would only make sense to include these wireless earphones, as Samsung fans may not be as forgiving as Apple fans.
This move could also lead to a possible trend of wireless earphones in boxes from other manufacturers. The earphones are expected to the similar to the Gear Icon X earphones, but with more battery power.
Samsung is said to increase the screen to body ratio in the Samsung Galaxy S8 making it closer to what we say with the Mi Mix phones from Xiaomi. Samsung Galaxy S8 will also feature hardware enhancements like more RAM , bumping it up to 6 GB and storage options all the way to 256 GB.
Samsung is also said to be focusing on Cameras and optics, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature some new enhanced optics according to reports.
Apple inc. will start manufacturing iPhones in Bangalore (Bengaluru) starting April of 2017 to expedite their promise of Make in India and to ensure their ability to open self owned and maintained stores in India. Apple earlier had planned to open their own flagship stores in several cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, but due to the government compliance of requiring manufacturing in India, the process was delayed. Tim Cook’s recent visit to India was a positive sign on the efforts of the Cupertino based tech giant, to fully initiate and integrate it’s services in the Indian market.
The manufacture of iPhones will considerably bring down costs of duties and taxes and will allow Apple to sell at competitive prices and at par with US price which is usually Rs. 10,000-15,000 cheaper. Apple will also bring their full suite of in store experiences, like training and Genius bars, to improve service and warranty standards in India, which have usually had mixed reviews.
Apple is selling large volumes of phones in India, and iPhone sales hit 2.5 million from Oct 2015-September 2016 raking in 9,997 Crore in revenue for the tech company here in India.
Samsung will launch a new CH711 curved Quantum Dot monitor at CES 2017, aimed at the growing gamers market. the Monitor will be available in 27- and 31.5-inch variations, and is scheduled for an early 2017 commercial release. The CH711 monitor has a 1,800R curvature and an ultrawide 178-degree viewing angle.
The design allows for the monitor’s horizontal and vertical positioning adjustment. The CH711 has 125 percent sRGB color coverage and 2,560 x 1,440 WQHD resolution. The monitor also features a “Gaming UX” allowing for precise corrections of colour brightness and picture along with presets for FPS, RTS, RPG and AOS game genres.
Today’s multimedia consumers, quite rightly, have high expectations and demand a truly cutting edge, totally immersive experience that realizes the full potential of whatever they are playing or watching, This year’s line-up of curved Quantum Dot monitors offers brilliant design, richer color and deeper contrast than ever before. We can’t wait to share them with the world at CES 2017 in Las Vegas.” – said Seoggi Kim, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business.
The included fast charger is speeds up to the point where it delivers an impressive 12V 2A charge making the phone charge to a full in around 1.5 hours. When compared to Dash Charge, the Lenovo P2 may stay back in percentages, i.e achieving 40% vs 60% on the OnePlus 3 in the same time.
