In Q3 of 2018, Samsung was the global leader in smartphone market share. The South Korean company also launched its new smartphone in the Note series, the Galaxy Note 9. It is with the Galaxy Note 9 that Samsung could increase its smartphone sales even further. However, the other end of the spectrum reveals a struggling phase of the company. According to the reports, the company is planning on suspending operations in the Samsung manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China. The company produces mobile phones at this plant in China, to suspend its operation would lead to layoff on a massive scale.
It is the Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology plant, in the city of Tianjin, China, that the company plans on closing. The company, in all likelihood, will withdraw all its resources from this branch. A major cause of this is the decline in the overall smartphone sales, globally. However, the company representatives claim that they are only looking at the possibility of shutting the plant down. As of yet, the jury is still out on whether this Samsung manufacturing plant would close. The Tianjin plant was one of the major producers of mobile phone for the company, in China.
Almost five years ago, Samsung owned 20% smartphone market share. However, the competition from the likes of Xiaomi, OnePlus, and other Chinese brands, led 1% dip in the company’s foothold. Reports suggest that the Tianjin branch of the Samsung manufacturing plant produces 36 million mobile phones a year. If the company decides to suspend its operations here, it could lead to a major setback for the company. Regardless, it would be interesting to see the course of action for this plant and the impact of the decision on the company. .
It was on 23rd August 2017, almost two years after the launch of the Galaxy Note 5 that the Galaxy Note 8 launched. While the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 did make a debut, the company, for a faulty battery, recalled the Note 7. Despite the fact, the South Korean electronics still leads the smartphone market in 2018. At an event in New York, Samsung has launched the new Note series smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
Specifications
Sharing the same design as the Note 8, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 features a glass front and back and an AMOLED display. The smooth chamfered edges and the long aspect ratio are also the same as the last Note smartphone. The Super AMOLED panel is 6.4-inch 2960 x 1440 px 18.5:9 aspect ratio display. The front and rear panels of the Galaxy Note 9 use the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. The smartphone houses the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, right below the camera module. Previously, the fingerprint sat to the right of the camera module on the Note 8.
Samsung is big on AI this year, as are many other companies as well. However, Samsung claims that it is almost “impossible to take a bad photo” with the Galaxy Note 9’s camera. The AI assisted module on the Note 9 is a triple camera setup with two at the rear and one at the front. The primary camera has a wide-angle 12MP lens with a f/1.7 aperture and the secondary camera has a 12MP telephoto lens with a f/2.4 aperture. The rear camera is capable of taking slow-motion 30fps videos at 720p resolution. While the secondary camera is an 8MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with Samsung Experience 9.5 UI on top. The smartphone has two chipset variants, one for the US & Canada and the other for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The US and Canadian variants will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset and the Adreno 630 GPU for graphical performance. For the EMEA variant, the smartphone will use Samsung’s own Exynos 9810 chipset. For graphical performance, the Exynos chipset will use the Mali-G72 MP18 GPU. Both the Qualcomm and Exynos chipsets are octa-core processors.
The S-Pen has been in the Note family since the first Galaxy Note released in 2011. The S-Pen is a Samsung proprietary stylus which the company provides with both the Note and the Tab series. What makes the new S-Pen standout is its improved functionalities and Bluetooth connectivity. The S-Pen is now usable as a camera shutter trigger, making it easier to take photos and especially selfies. The S-Pen SDK will soon be available for developers to build their app around the stylus and integrate it seamlessly with their apps.
Pricing And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will be available starting from August 24th, in major markets including US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and in India. The base price for the Galaxy Note 9 starts at £899 (Rs. 79,534.53 approx) for the 128GB variant. The 512GB variant will cost £1,099 (Rs. 97,206.07 approx). Once the device is available globally we will provide our in-depth review of the smartphone, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, take a look at the official images of the Note 9 directly from the launch.
The trend of online multiplayer games has picked up the pace in recent years. One such multiplayer game, Fortnite, places a total of 100 players to compete against each other. The players land on a common map where they shall find resources and fight to become the last one standing. As a result, it has become one of the most downloaded games across all major platforms, making it an extremely popular multiplayer game. It was on 25th July 2017, when the game finally launched on a mobile platform. The iOS devices like the iPhones and iPads were the ones to first receive the game on a mobile platform. While the Android version of the game will initially be exclusive to the Galaxy Note 9, it will later be available on a few other smartphones. However, even the smartphones which support the game may run it on medium settings.
This list of smartphone compatible with Fortnite on Android leaked a while ago on Fortnite’s website. The list included the likes of Google Pixel, Huawei Mate 10, Razer Phone, and Nokia 6. Interestingly enough, the “flagship killer” OnePlus 6 was absent from the list. According to some reports, the new list suggests that most 2018 flagship devices will support the game. However, the default settings on these smartphones will be medium. On 9th August, Samsung has scheduled its Unpacked event in which it will unveil the new Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4. The game could be launching on the Samsung App store when the new Galaxy devices are unveiled. For the first month at least, the game might be exclusive to Samsung smartphone owners.
It is apparent with this list that most 2018 smartphones will be able to run the game easily. However, the fact which doesn’t seem fit well is that these devices will run the game on the medium setting by default. While this could just be the bare-minimum specs, we plan on digging deeper to find out more. So stay tuned as more on this will be soon available.
Apple may have had a major role to play in introducing the world to touchscreen interactive displays, in the form of the iPad. The Apple iPad later became the best selling tablets with 300,000 units sold on the first day of release on April 2010. However, the Apple iPad has since faced a fairly tough competition from companies like Samsung and devices from Microsoft like the Surface Pad. At the unpacked event, scheduled on the 9th of August in New York, Samsung will be unveiling the much anticipatedGalaxy Note 9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. A YouTube video released yesterday by the company gives us a complete walk-through of the device.
The most noticeable feature of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is its sleek and slim design. While it does share some aesthetic hints from the Tab S3, the significantly thin bezel on Tab S4’s display is just enough to set it apart. The S-Pen, appears to be different from the one Samsung plans to use for the Note 9 and looks thicker than the tablet itself. The other feature is its quad speaker-setup tuned by AKG. Acquired by Samsung, AKG is an Austrian acoustics manufacturing company. The tablet also supports Dolby Atmos surround sound for what Samsung calls “an immersive entertainment experience.”
The video also showed the new S-Pen in action, which is a Samsung proprietary stylus. The S-Pen made its debut with the first Galaxy Note smartphone in 2011. The video also takes us through a number of Samsung Galaxy Tab S4’s features. One such feature is the DeX mode, which allows the users to use their tablets in a desktop mode. The added accessory, which users may probably need to buy additionally is the Book Keyboard which works like Smart Keyboard found with the iPads. The other talked-about feature in the video, Daily Board, provides daily information and favourite photos with the device locked.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S with its slim bezels also has a massive 7,300 mAh battery. The device will be unveiled at the Unpacked event on 9th August along with the Galaxy Note 9 so stay tuned for our full coverage of the event. Meanwhile, you can take a look at the video that Samsung has released.
We continue our giveaways with the new upcoming Samsung Galaxy On8 Smartphone. The device will be shipped out to winners before official launch on the 6th of August. Stand a chance to win a device even before others can buy it.
One of the first smartphones to feature slow-motion video recording @960fps was the Sony Xperia XZ. Following Sony, smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Huawei also introduced 960fps slow-mo recording. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is about a month away from release. The company might announce the smartphone at the Unpacked event, scheduled for August 9th. According to the latest rumours, the Note 9 may not only feature 960fps slow-mo video capturing but it will also record twice as long videos as the Galaxy S9. The Galaxy Note series is Samsung’s phablet (phone-cum-tablet) smartphone offering. With the Note series, Samsung has kept productivity as a priority. However, with the Note 9, Samsung could be opting for a gaming oriented marketing strategy.
Before its launch, Samsung has already teased few features of the Galaxy Note 9 through videos posted on YouTube. These features include a larger storage space and battery. So we assume that Samsung could be launching the Note 9 in 128GB, 256GB, and possibly 512GB variants. The smartphone may also have a 4,000 mAh battery. Which should be enough for the smartphone to easily last a day. The Galaxy Note 8 was able to record slow-motion videos at 240fps at 720p resolution. Whereas the Note 9 may record 960fps videos at the same or possibly higher resolution. If that is the case, then Note 9 could be one of the best slow motion recording smartphones available.
Flipkart has also teased the Galaxy Note 9 on its website. This could mean that the Note 9 may likely be a Flipkart exclusive device in India. We have already seen renders for the Galaxy Note 9 which suggest that the smartphone will have a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Note 9’s 960fps video recording capabilities sound exciting on paper. However, we would need to test out the capabilities of the smartphone’s camera to see how it actually performs.
Arguably, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is one of the most anticipated smartphones by Samsung in 2018. Scheduled for 9th August 2018, Samsung could unveil the Galaxy Note 9 at the Unpacked event. There are other rumours which suggest there could also be a Galaxy Tab S4 unveiling at the event. So, before the smartphone and possibly the tablet unveils at the event, we have decided to round up everything we know about the Galaxy Note 9 so far.
Samsung unveiled the first phablet smartphone in October 2011, people were sceptical about a device with such a large screen. Later, in December 2011, that the Galaxy Note had sold 1 million units in two months. Clearly, the smartphone was a great success for the company. Samsung went on to release 8 versions of the Galaxy Note lineup. In 2016, Samsung launched the Note 7 which the company had to eventually recall due to issues with the battery. This led to severe damage to Samsung’s reputation and sales. In the year of 2017 however, despite several rumours of Samsung not continuing with the Note series, Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 8 which went on to become one of the most popular smartphones from the company. Samsung soon caught up in the race with a 20.5% market share in the first quarter of 2018. Now, the company is ready to unveil the 9th edition of the Note lineup; the Galaxy Note 9.
Galaxy Note 7
[section label=”Specification”]
Specifications
Rendered images of the Galaxy Note 9 revealed that it will feature a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Also, through these renders, we got a rough idea about the smartphone’s design. This smartphone could share a lot in common with its predecessor, Galaxy Note 8. There is only one noticeable difference between the Note 8 and the “alleged” Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The fingerprint sensor on the Note 8 is alongside the cameras, whereas, the Galaxy Note 9 features the fingerprint sensor below its camera setup.
Galaxy Note 9 Render
The display on the Galaxy Note 9 could be a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED panel with 2960 x 1440 px resolution. While there is no notch on the display, Samsung’s “Infinity Display” could make for an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Since the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 is already unveiled, we expect Samsung to use it for its front and rear panels. As Corning allows design-customizability, we expect there to be a special edition smartphone featuring such a panel.
Galaxy Note 9
Samsung debuted the company’s first smartphone with a dual rear-facing camera with the Galaxy Note 8. The smartphone featured a triple-camera setup. The primary camera had a 12 MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture and a 12 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. This time around as well, the Galaxy Note 9 could have a 12MP wide-angle sensor along with a 12MP telephoto lens.
Galaxy Note 8 Camera
Under the hood, the smartphone could run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset for the US and South Korean markets. For the rest of the markets, the smartphone might run on the Exynos 9810 chipset which is a Samsung SoC. There may be three variants of the smartphone with 6GB of RAM along with either 64GB/128GB/256GB storage which will be expandable via microSD card. Samsung has also released a teaser video suggesting that the smartphone could sport a massive storage, further confirming the rumours. The most exciting news yet, is that the smartphone may feature a vapour chamber heat pipe. This is a cooling system, which was also featured in the Asus ROG Gaming Phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16i8TH6lxmo
Samsung recently posted a video on YouTube which hinted at a possibly large battery for the Galaxy Note 9. So, we expect that the smartphone will have a 4,000 mAh battery with QuickCharge 4.0 support. Out of the box, the device could run on Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung’s Experience 9.0 UI on top.
[section label=”Pricing And Availability”]
Price And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 could start at a price of US $1,228 (Rs. 84652.18 approx) for the 128GB variant. This is quite close to the price of the iPhone X, which was launched in 2017. As previously mentioned, there could be three storage variants of the device and price may vary accordingly. However, leaks suggest that the 64GB and 256GB variants will not be sold in the European market. The 512GB variant of the smartphone may have a price tag of $1,465 (Rs.1,01,004.43 approx).
[section label=”New Features”]
New Features
Samsung also plans to launch the Galaxy Note 9 bundled with month-long exclusive rights for Fortnite on Android. So this means that smartphone could be marketed as a gaming oriented device. This also means that the smartphone could support Samsung Gear VR, which is the company’s virtual reality headset to offer VR-gaming with the smartphone. We will be closely covering the further leaks of the smartphone, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, you can go back to our first look and unboxing of the Galaxy Note 8.
Fortnite is one of the most downloaded games across all major platforms, making it an extremely popular multiplayer game. This interesting game allows up to 100 people to play in the game simultaneously, and hence is called a Battle Royal game. Fortnite thanks to its popularity has servers in almost all continents. While the game was initially available to play on desktop computers it was later launched for gaming consoles and iOS devices (iPhones/iPads). However, owners of Android smartphones and loyalists of Fortnite were left hanging as the company is yet to release the game on the uber popular smartphone OS. According to reports, to bank in on the popularity of the game , Samsung may tie up with Epic Games ( makers of Fortnite) to make the launch of the game a Galaxy Note 9 Exclusive. The phone is expected to launch in the second week of August 2018. It is expected that if this news comes true, the game will remain exclusive to the Note 9 and several other Samsung devices for one moth after launch.
Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, crossed US $2 billion through in-game purchases, especially the popular game currency V-Bucks . Now that the game might actually launch for Android devices, this news about it being a Galaxy Note 9 exclusive could come as a disappointment to other Android smartphone users. Samsung has already teased the S-Pen, an integral part of the Note series of devices. So there is a high likelihood that Fortnite could have an integrated support for the S-Pen. Moreover, Samsung might have plans to provide in-game freebies for those who pre-order the Galaxy Note 9. These freebies may include, V-bucks, character skins, emotes, and more. Again, these freebies is could lead to further disappointment for other Android users who have been waiting for the game for a long time.
Galaxy Note 8
For the first time Samsung will deviate from the “business” persona of the Galaxy Note and use gaming as a marketing strategy. Along with the S-Pen, Samsung also released a video yesterday which suggests that the smartphone could feature a larger battery. According to previous rumours, this could be a 4,000 mAh Li-Ion battery. This comes in two years after the massive Galaxy Note 7 recall was initiated due to faulty batteries that would explode erratically. The new Note may also feature the all-new Corning Gorilla Glass 6. We also predict that the smartphone could have two chipset variants, one with Samsung’s own Exynos SoC and other with a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. All the rumours hint at what could be Samsung’s best smartphone yet. However, the features which make the Galaxy Note 9 a good smartphone could also make the buyers pay a hefty price, and put the smartphone in the iPhone X price bracket of a 1000 US dollars. Here’s a video by Samsung teasing the new battery life for possibly the Galaxy Note 9.
Ahead of its launch on 9th August, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has already caught a lot of attention. There are a lot of rumours, leaks, and speculations about the smartphone. We already know about the all-new S-Pen and its Bluetooth connectivity. Now a leak suggests that Samsung will launch a 512GB storage variant of the smartphone.
In previous leaks of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, we saw a few of its colour variants, namely, Black, Brown, Lilac Purple, and Coral Blue. Some of the images also showed a few colour variants of the S-Pen as well.
Comparing these images with the Galaxy Note 8, we see that there is not a significant change in the design. There is only one noticeable difference between the Note 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. While the fingerprint sensor on the Note 8 is alongside the cameras, the Galaxy Note 9 features the fingerprint sensor below its camera setup.
Galaxy Note 8 Fingerprint
Samsung has been closely competing with Apple in terms of their flagship pricing. While the older Galaxy Note 8 started at a price of Rs. 67,900, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 could start at a price of US $1,228 (Rs. 84652.18 approx) for the 128GB variant. This is quite close to the price of the iPhone X, which was launched in 2017. There may be 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB variants of the device. However, the leak suggests that the 64GB and 256GB variants will not be sold in the European market. The 512GB variant of the smartphone may have a price tag of $1,465 (Rs.1,01,004.43 approx). We are hoping that the smartphone features the new Gorilla Glass 6 considering the price point of the device.
A general expected price point even for a flagship was close to about $600 – $700 (Rs. 41,000 to Rs. 48,000). After the launch of iPhone X, the price of a smartphone is now comparable to a top of the line laptop. Now with Samsung Galaxy Note 9, we are approaching new price points for smartphones, this smartphone price trend is a bit concerning. However, we can take comfort in the fact that mid-range smartphones are now offering flagship-like performance for a significantly cheaper price point.
Samsung has set a benchmark when it comes to all things computing related. From manufacturing displays to home appliances, Samsung has done it all. The latest innovation in their line up is 8GB DRAM which is essentially a Low Power type (LPDDR5). Made for smartphones, Samsung has focussed on integrating AI capabilities and 5G compatibility with this 8GB DRAM. Samsung also claims high data-rates for the LPDDR5 DRAMs. The announcement was made on Samsung’s news blog.
Samsung 8GB DRAM
The senior vice president of Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering at Samsung Electronics, Jinman Han, quoted:
“This development of 8Gb LPDDR5 represents a major step forward for low-power mobile memory solutions.We will continue to expand our next-generation 10nm-class DRAM lineup as we accelerate the move toward greater use of premium memory across the global landscape”
This is exciting news because a faster and better-optimized RAM module will allow smartphone manufacturers to integrate AI into their devices. And then we have 5G which Samsung claims will be compatible with the LDDPR5 8GB DRAM. Prior to this DRAM, Samsung had started mass producing the 8GB LPDDR4 DRAM back in 2014.
According to claims by Samsung, the LPDDR5 will have data-rates of up to 6,400 megabits per second (Mb/s). This, compared to the current DRAM in flagship devices, is almost 1.5 times faster. Samsung further claims that you can send close to 14 full HD video files (with a total size of approximately 3.7GB each), in a mere second.
The 8GB DRAM is also optimized to be less power hungry and work synchronously with the application processor. The LPDDR5 will achieve this optimization by lowering its voltage. Ultimately, Samsung wants to make the chip AI-friendly and better optimization will allow the DRAM to deliver better performance. The DRAM will also offer what Samsung is calling a ‘deep sleep mode’, which will essentially allow the DRAM to run on half of its usual power.
Back in October 2011 when Samsung launched the first Galaxy Note, it took the market completely by surprise. The Galaxy Note 9 was the first smartphone with such a large (by 2011 standards) 5.29-inch display. Since then, along with the display size, the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note series has seen a major overhaul. The latest smartphone in the series is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. And, it seems like the leaks for the device just keep on coming. The latest leak is by Evan Blass, showing a press render of the smartphone with the all-new S Pen. The leak was posted on Twitter in a reply to a tweet by Marques Brownlee, otherwise known as MKBHD.
The other leak was posted by the Twitter user Ice universe showcasing what is potentially the live images of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. In recent years, Samsung has stopped making major design changes to their smartphones and the Galaxy Note 9 may be following the same trend. Except for the placement of the fingerprint sensor below the secondary camera, there isn’t much of a difference between the Galaxy Note 8 and Note 9. This puts the previous rumours of a screen embedded fingerprint sensor to rest.
I once said, don't believe in exaggerated renderings, Note9 and Note8 are very similar, in fact, I am right. pic.twitter.com/gebEP3KApO
The Galaxy Note 9 may come with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2960 x 1440 px resolution and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The pixel density for the Note 9 could peak at about 514 ppi. Samsung has been using Corning Gorilla Glass for most of its smartphones and the Note 9 may also feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
There may be more than one SoC variant for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. There could be a US variant with a Snapdragon 845 SoC as well. The other could be an EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) variant with an Exynos 9810 octa-core chipset.
If the leaked images are anything to go by, then the camera setup for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 may feature dual rear-mounted sensors. This flagship could also feature an 8MP front-facing camera. This is similar to the camera setup found on the Galaxy Note 8.
Samsung Galaxy Note8
Samsung will have to make sure that the Note 9 packs a punch. Especially since the company’s market performance has been a little underwhelming despite the Galaxy S9 and S9+ doing well. The launch of the device is right around the corner on August 9.
In the latest leak from the company, Samsung has accidentally released an advertisement for the Galaxy Note 9. The news comes from the tipster twitter handle, Ice universe. The account shared a photo of a full-page ad of the Galaxy Note 9.
The page advertises the Note 9 as “The new super powerful Note 9”. Not sure where Samsung was going with that but the overall design of the smartphone though not new, still looks impressive. What is expected to be new, is the revamped S-Pen which will now feature Bluetooth capabilities.
A Galaxy Note 9 design render video was posted on YouTube. The video shows an elegant design which follows the same design pattern as the Galaxy Note 8. The only noticeable difference is the placement of the fingerprint sensor, which sits right below the rear-camera module.
The color variants suggested by the video are Onyx Black, Navy Blue, Lilac Purple, and Brown Gold. The Galaxy Note 9 might have a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with 1440 x 2960 px resolution and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The pixel density for the Note 9 could peak at about 514 ppi. The display will be protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The SoC for the Note 9 could vary from region to region. For instance, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) may see a Galaxy Note 9 with an Exynos 9810 octa-core chipset. Four of these eight cores will run at 2.7 GHz and the other four at 1.8 GHz. The second variant could launch with a Snapdragon 845 SoC, for USA and China.
The camera setup for the Galaxy Note 9 may feature dual rear-mounted sensors. The rear-camera setup is speculated to have a 12MP sensor with an aperture of f/1.5 and another 12MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. This flagship may also feature an 8MP front-facing camera. The primary sensor could have OIS capabilities and 2x optical zoom.
Samsung has been lagging behind the competition for a while. Especially after massive a sales dip last year. All eyes are glued to Samsung as the Galaxy Note 9 release is around the corner. Stay tuned to iGyaan for further updates.
The year 2018 has given the world a ton of exciting new smartphones so far. With smartphones like the OnePlus 6 and Huawei P20 Pro, the anticipation of what’s to come in the future is really high. OnePlus managed to essentially sell more than Rs. 10 Crore worth of devices in the first ten minutes during the OnePlus 6 flash sale. Then the Huawei P20 Pro came in and disrupted the market with a triple camera setup. Naturally, we had to compile a list of the top upcoming smartphones in the next couple of weeks.
1. Oppo Find X
The Oppo Find X is expected to release in India on July 12th and is expected to have a hefty price of Rs. 78,500. Oppo has managed to catch a lot of attention with the Find X. Even though it is not the first device without a notch and an almost bezel-less a display, Oppo Find X is still an exciting smartphone.
The way Oppo got rid of the notch, was by introducing a motorized part which eloquently hides the front and rear cameras. The Oppo Find X features a 6.42 inch 2340 x 1080 pixel display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. This translates to about 87% screen-to-body ratio.
The Oppo Find X runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset along with the Adreno 630 GPU. The primary camera on the Find X is in the pop-up mechanism, consisting of a dual camera setup with a 16MP 1/2.6″ sensor and a 20MP 1/2.8″ sensor both with an f/2.0 aperture. The primary camera setup will have Optical Image Stabilization. The front facing selfie camera is also housed in the pop-up mechanism and is a 20MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.
The Find X has two colour variants namely, Bordeaux Red and Glacier Blue. The interesting design of the phone make it one of the most exciting and worth top upcoming smartphones this quarter.
2. Vivo NEX
Vivo NEX
The Vivo NEX with a similar pop up camera design is expected to launch on 19th July in India starting at a considerably lower price Rs. 47,999. The Vivo NEX is yet another smartphone with an almost entire screen at the front of the device. Here, it uses the same concept of a motorized part for the camera only to achieve a notch-free and a nearly bezel-less display much like the Oppo Find X above. However, Vivo decided to only house the front-facing camera which comes out of the top of the phone and slides back in when not in use.
Vivo Nex With Camera Deployed
The Vivo NEX features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset which is paired with the Adreno 630 GPU. The smartphone sports a Super AMOLED 6.59 inch 2316 x 1080 pixel display with an aspect ratio of 18:9.
The camera setup on the Vivo NEX consists of dual 12MP and 8MP camera with f/1.8 and f/2.4 aperture respectively. The secondary camera is a single 8MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The primary camera on this device also features OIS. A motorized part in a portable device is a risky move, regardless, the Vivo NEX is still one of the most exciting upcoming smartphones.
The BlackBerry Key2 is all set to go on sale from 13th July in the United States and is expected in India Mid-End July. BlackBerry launched the Key2 on June 7th after the KeyOne incurred a price cut. This is again among the exciting upcoming smartphones, and the only modern smartphone with a full physical QWERTY Keyboard.
The BlackBerry Key2 has a 4.5 inch 1620 x 1080 pixels IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The Key2 is expected to launch in two storage variants; 64GB or 128GB paired with 6GB of RAM. The processing speed is provided by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset and the Adreno 512 GPU, faster than the SoC of the KeyOne. The Key2 sports a relatively large 3,500 mAh battery. An exciting option for those who love tactile feedback.
After being surrounded by rumors and speculations, the Nokia X6 is finally launching Globally on 19th July and is expected to come to India soon after. It could be among the top upcoming smartphones of this month. Nokia has tapped into the notch trend with the X6. Despite its premium look, the Nokia X6 was launched in China at a rather affordable CNY 1,499 ( Approx Rs. 15,500). Hopefully Nokia will keep similar pricing for global and Indian launches.
The Nokia X6 has a 5.8 inch IPS LCD display with 2280 x 1080 pixels and a 19:9 ratio. Because of the notch, the screen to body ratio of the Nokia X6 is approximately 80.3%. The device runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset and the Adreno 509 GPU. Powering the phone is a 3,060 mAh Li-ion battery.
Samsung is ready to launch a new smartphone in its Galaxy Note lineup. The Galaxy Note 9 is expected to arrive on 9th August and it is also one of the top upcoming smartphones. According to some reports,the Note 9 will follow the Note 8 in the design department but, there could be some minor changes in its aesthetics.
As suggested by the Twitter user Ice Universe, the S Pen for the Galaxy Note 9 could be first of its kind with Bluetooth connectivity and will users to control long-range self-timer, control music playback.
We can expect that the Galaxy Note 9 will have a 6.4 inch Super AMOLED display with at least 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, similar to the one found on the galaxy Note 8. Ice Universe also speculated that the Galaxy Note 9 will pack a 4,000 mAh battery.
Motorola claims that it has sold over 70 million G series phones worldwide and now the company is planning to release yet another G series phone in India, the G6 Plus. The phone is expected to be launched end July.
The Moto G6 Plus has a 5.9 inch IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Moto G6 Plus might launch in two variants in India, one with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The SoC on the G6 Plus 6GB variant is allegedly going to be the Snapdragon 660 ( for the Indian market) along with the Adreno 512 GPU.
The innovation in the smartphone industry has picked up the pace in the recent years. If 2018 is anything to go by, then the next few years will be very exciting for any smartphone enthusiast. So, stay tuned to iGyaan to also catch the latest tech news and trends.
A new leak about the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ has revealed the device specifications and expected the release date. This leak comes from a Korean website names Dubell which says that the Galaxy S10 and S10+ are all set to release sometime next year.
What makes this news even more eye-catching is that the S10+ will be equipped with a total of five cameras. Two of these cameras will be mounted at the front while the secondary camera setup will house three lenses. To get an idea of how the dual camera setup may look like we can take hints from the setup found on the Galaxy A8 and A8+.
Samsung Galaxy A8+
Although a dual front-facing camera setup is nothing new for a Samsung phone, we speculate that the camera setup on the Galaxy S10+ may feature some AI capabilities. A Twitter user by the name Ice Universe has tipped that the next generation of Samsung’s premium line of SoCs will be named Exynos 9820. As per the tweet, the Exynos 9820 will be an octa-core chipset with two cores of Exynos M4, two Cortex-A75 or Cortex-A76 medium cores, and four cores of Cortex-A55. The GPU paired with this chipset will be the new Mali-G76 MP18.
Samsung's next-generation Exynos 9820 will use the 2+2+4 DynamIQ architecture, 2xExynos M4 is the big core, 2xCortex-A75 (or A76) is the medium core, and 4xA55 is the small core. pic.twitter.com/3T5AUbcWhV
The Dubell website suggests that there will be more than two phones in the Galaxy S10 lineup, apart from the S10 and S10+. The cheaper variants are rumored to be released with a watered down version of front-facing cameras while the more expensive variants could have 3D face unlock capabilities.
Samsung’s sales figure show that the last couple of years for the company have been a roller-coaster ride. The company has not changed their design for the Galaxy S lineup since the S8 and the software has not seen any out-of-the-box innovations either. These may have been among the top reasons why their sales in the second-quarter suffered a dip. With the new Galaxy S10 lineup, Samsung will surely try to get back in the game. To follow this news further stay tuned to this iGyaan thread.
About six years ago, Samsung was the top smartphone vendor in India. However, this position has since been taken by many other companies. To tackle this, Samsung has expanded its mobile manufacturing factory to India. The President of Korea, Moon Jae-in along with our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendar Modi inaugurated the world’s largest mobile manufacturing factory in India owned by Samsung Electronics and located in Noida.
The manufacturing facility is spread across 35 acres of land in Sector 81 at Noida. The number of employees at this facility will increase to approximately 70,000 people most of whom will be Indians. It is also speculated that the factory is the largest factory in terms of the total number of phones manufactured in a month’s time. With the new facility, Samsung is expected to produce close to 120 million smartphones annually which is double the amount of its current production.
As of 2018, Samsung has two manufacturing facilities in India, the one is in Noida and the other is in the Sriperumbudur region of Tamil Nadu. Apart from these, the company also has five R&D centers and a design center in Noida.
Samsung had invested over Rs 4,915 crore for the expansion of the Noida plant. The plant is not going to exclusively produce phones but will also be used for producing refrigerators, TVs, and other electrical appliances which the South Korean company is known for. This plant was originally known for producing TVs during the early 1990s.
India is the second largest market for smartphones and makes for almost 10 percent of the global smartphone sales. The number of smartphone users in India as of 2017 was 299.24 million and this number is expected to increase two folds in the year 2022 to approximately 442 million. These statistics make Samsung’s factory expansion more significant if the company wants to regain their foothold in the Indian market.
