Apple announced the tenth anniversary iPhone X along with the iPhone 8and iPhone 8 Plus at a launch event on the 12th of September. As good as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are, they just could not capture the imagination of the consumers like the iPhone X did. Billed as the true successor to the original iPhone launched in 2007, the iPhone X is the first major departure from the signature iPhone design we’ve become accustomed to seeing over the years. It is the first iPhone to lose the home button since the iPhone was first ever launched. It has a near bezel-less design and what is poised to be an iconic “notch” on top that houses the true depth FaceID cameras and all the necessary sensors. The iPhone x is available in two sizes 64 GB and 256 GB
Inside the box:
iPhone X
Documentation
Earpods
Sim ejector tool
Lightning to 3.5mm jack converter
Wall charger
First impressions
The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 px OLED True Tone Super Retina display. The phone runs iOS 11.1 and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery which charges through the Apple signature lightning port placed at the bottom of the phone or via wireless charging. Because of the all-glass design, the iPhone 8 also has wireless charging. Under the hood, the smartphone has the Apple A11 Bionic chipset with a neural engine, a hexacore processor, 3GB of RAM and storage options of 64GB, and 256GB. The small bezels mean there is no physical home button, which is now replaced with gestures for navigation. Siri is activated by pressing the now larger lock/unlock button. The iPhone X is also IP67 certified for water and dust resistance, and wireless charging.
The iPhone X has dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and it’s equipped with dual optical image stabilization. The sensors are both larger and faster, according to Apple, and the main camera is equipped with a wide angle lens and has an f/1.8 aperture while the secondary telephoto lens has an f/2.4 aperture. In between the two cameras is a quad-LED True Tone flash. Both the front and back cameras have the portrait mode. The rear cameras have the portrait lighting feature, just like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
India recently became the second largest smartphone market in the world, only behind China. For years, the mid-range smartphone market has had a plethora of phones offering top of the line performance at an affordable price. 2017 saw dual-camera phones entering the sub-20K segment while other phones continued to deliver the best in class performance with very little compromises. Let’s take a look at the top smartphones between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 that you can buy right now.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
Priced the cheapest in this list, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is by no means the cheapest in terms of specifications and performance. The Redmi Note 4 has a 5.5 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution. Powering the device is a massive 4100 mAh battery and it runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. Under the hood, the smartphone has a the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card. It has a rear mounted 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and records 1920 x 1080 px videos at 30fps. The front of the smartphone has a 5MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture which records 1280 x 720 px videos at 30fps.
Lenovo K8 Note
Another smartphone with a dual camera setup at the back, the Lenovo K8 Note is priced slightly higher than the Redmi Note 4 and offers stock Android OS and a guaranteed update to Android 8.0 Oreo. The Lenovo K8 Note packs the Helio X23 chipset with a 2.3GHz high-performing deca-core processor and the Mali T-880 MP4 GPU. The device has two variants – 3GB RAM with 32GB onboard storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB onboard storage which is expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card and features USB OTG support for added storage options. The phone features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display with a pixel density of 441ppi and a Corning Gorilla Glass with oleophobic coating for scratch resistance. The smartphone is powered by a 4,000mAh battery with turbo charge.
The Lenovo K8 Note has a 13MP Pure cell sensor mated with a 5MP Samsung BSI sensor dual camera setup and dual LED flash at the back. The phone is capable of depth mode effects along with 1920 x 1080 px Video capture. A 13MP camera with LED flash and an f/2.0 aperture sits on the front of the device above the display.
Xiaomi Mi A1
Stock Android OS with Xiaomi’s hardware and a confirmed upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo and Android P for Rs 14999. This seemed surreal up until August when Xiaomi launched the Android One Xiaomi Mi A1 in India with a best-in-segment dual-camera setup at the back. The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection and aluminium unibody build. Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery and 2A charging through the Type C port. The Mi A1 runs pure Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS. Even though the phone has stock Android OS, Xiaomi has retained a few apps, such as the Mi camera app since the Google app doesn’t support dual-camera functions right now. The phone 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 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.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 features dual sensors – 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture (26mm) and 12MP with an f/2.6 aperture (50mm) setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. Out of the two cameras at the back, the primary one is equipped with a telephoto lens and the secondary camera has a wide-angle lens. 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.
Moto G5s Plus
Motorola followed up the highly successful Moto G5 Plus with the Moto G5s Plus. With stock Android OS and dual-cameras at the back, it really is a toss-up between the G5s Plus and the Mi A1. The Moto G5S Plus has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection. The device is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery with included turbo charge capabilities. The Moto G5S Plus runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with little customisation done by the manufacturer resulting in stock Android OS experience. The smartphone has the Qualcomm 625 chipset, an octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button which sits below the display.
The Moto G5S Plus features rear-mounted 13MP dual-cameras with an f/2.0 aperture. The dual camera captures Bokeh, and selective focus shots, along with other capabilities of background replacement and exposure management. On the front is a wide angle 8MP camera with a single LED flash and a panoramic mode. The rear cameras capture videos in 4K at 30 FPS and the front camera records videos in 1080P at 30 FPS. According to Motorola, additional features such as Night Display and Quick Reply enhance the software experience.
Apple iPhone SE
The Apple iPhone SE was launched in India in March 2016, which should automatically make it a no-go. But, the good thing about an iPhone is the support it gets from Apple. The recently launched iOS 11 was made available to a phone as old as the iPhone 5s, which proves that the software of the iPhone SE will be up-to-date for another 2 years at least. If you miss the good old days of smartphones that were truly usable with one hand, then the iPhone SE is the way to go. The iPhone SE has a 4-inch 1136 x 640 px Retina display. Powering the device is Apple’s A9 chipset which can also be found in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhoen SE has a 12MP rear mounted camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a front facing 1.2MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture. The rear mounted 12Mp camera is capable of recording 3840 x 2160 px videos at 30fps while the front facing camera records 1920 x 1080 px videos at 30fps.
The Xiaomi Action Camera is a small, compact camera which records 4K videos and won’t break the bank as it costs Rs 7500. Let’s unbox the Xiaomi Action Camera and see what we get inside the box
Xiami Action Camera
Battery
Documentation
Micro USB cable
This action camera from Xiaomi connects to your smartphone via WiFi or Bluetooth and can be controlled through the companion app. The camera takes in a maximum of 64GB microSD card. The camera is powered by a 1450 mAh battery which Xiaomi claims will last up to 4 hours on standby and has a 2.4 inch touchscreen display for in-camera navigation. The camera has a Sony f/2.8 7 element lens with a 145º field of view. One unique thing about the Xiaomi Action Camera is that the lens comes equipped with a UV filter which is not easily found on budget action cameras. For stabilisation, the camera has a 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer which results in 6-axis electronic image stabilisation. Under the hood, the camera has the A12S Ambrella chipset for image processing.
Sony launched the Xperia XZ1 in India on the 25th of September at a price of Rs 44990 and went on sale the same day through both offline and online channels. The smartphone is available only in Black colour in India unlike its global variant which is available in Snow Silver, Horizon Blue, and Twilight Pink as well. The highlights of the new flagship smartphone is that the phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the 3D scanning camera. Let’s unbox the new Sony Xperia XZ1 and see what we get inside the box:
Sony Xperia XZ1
Documentation
Sim ejector tool
USB Type C cable
Wall charger
First look at the phone is enough to tell you that it is indeed a Sony smartphone. The rectangular build of the phone is reminiscent of the previous generation Sony Xperia smartphones. There is a thick forehead and chin on the phone which house the front firing stereo speakers which has become a rare right. The lock and unlock button also houses the fingerprint sensor.
The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection. The design of the phone is reminiscent of a lot of previous Sony flagships, dating back to 2013’s Xperia Z. The device runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and is powered by a 2700 mAh battery, which is considerably smaller than a lot of smartphones in the market. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, similar to the one found in XZ Premium, 4GB RAM, and 64GB onboard storage which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.
Sony has used its “Motion Eye” camera system in the XZ1. According to Sony, “Motion Eye” system uses a 1GB memory-stacked camera which has five times faster image processing than other smartphones. Ditching the trend of the dual camera setup, Sony went with a single camera at the back with a 19MP 1/2.3? Sony IMX400 camera lens with an f/2.0 aperture. Sony has pointed out that the phone’s 3D scanning capability is one of its highlights. The camera app includes features like Predictive Capture which will click the picture seconds before you actually hit the shutter button. Sony has used SteadyShot electronic stabilization for video instead of optical image stabilization for images. The primary camera can also record super slow motion 720p video at 960fps in addition to recording 4K videos at 30fps. On the front, the XZ1 has a 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and 22mm wide-angle lens.
For the launch offers, Sony is bundling a Quick Charge 3.0 charger in the box for a limited time while the buyers can purchase the Sony Style Stand Cover for Rs 2,490 which costs Rs 3490 originally along with the device. HDFC credit/debit card holders and ICICI credit card holders can also avail a 5 per cent cash back on purchase.
The new HP Pavillion Power 15 is a premium priced laptop which retails with a HP Odyssey backpack. Let’s un-bag the new Pavillion Power 15 and see what we get inside:
The Pavillion Power 15 laptop
Fast charger
Warranty card
Documentation
The HP Pavillion Power has a matte black finish and a large HP logo in the middle as usual. The laptop has a green accent and that continues on the keyboard as well which has a green back light. The speaker grille is placed above the keyboard. The track pad is large and made out of glass which is easy to use and has good pressure feedback.
The HP Pavillion Power 15 starts at Rs 77000 and the one we have unboxed is priced at Rs 99000. The laptop is targeted at gamers and professional content creators because of its power packed specifications.
With the festival of Diwali upon us, there is no better excuse to treat yourself or your loved ones with a new smartphone. If your budget is Rs 10,000 and not a single penny more, then here is the only comprehensive list you’ll ever need this season.
Lenovo K8 Plus
This phone retails for Rs 10,999 for the 32GB storage variant but, you can buy it right now for Rs 8,999 during the Flipkart sale. The Lenovo K8 Plus has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px IPS LCD display with three touch capacitive navigation buttons below. Powering the device is a 4,000 mAh battery and it runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Under the hood, the smartphone has the MediaTek Helio P25 chipset, a 2.6 GHz octa-core processor, Mali T880 GPU, 3GB RAM with 32GB onboard storage which is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. The device has an all metal unibody design and the fingerprint sensor sits at the back. The Lenovo K8 Plus sports a vertically placed dual-camera setup. One of the cameras is a 13MP Pure cell sensor mated with a 5MP Samsung BSI sensor dual camera with an f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. The smartphone is capable of depth effect shots, bokeh effect shots, and dual ISP images. On the front is an 8MP wide angle lens with an f/2.0 and an LED flash. Both the front and back camera record 1920 x 1080 px videos at 30 FPS.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A
With an excellent price-to-performance ratio, you can’t go too wrong with the Xiaomi Redmi 4A. At a price of Rs 6,999 it offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset with 3GB of RAM. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t always need 6GB or 8GB of RAM in a phone, 3GB can suffice if you are a light user or indulge in casual gaming. The smartphone has a 5 inch display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution. It has 32GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card. It is powered by a 3120 mAh battery and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box with Xiaomi’s custom skin MIUI on top. The Redmi 4A has a 13MP rear camera with an f/2.2 aperture and PDAF. On the front of the device is a 5MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture.
Motorola E4 Plus
If you are a fan of stock Android OS and a good battery life is your main priority, then you might want to consider the Moto E4 Plus. The device is powered by a massive 5000 mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat with very little customisation. The smartphone has a 5.5 inch LCD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 px. Under the hood, the Moto E4 Plus has the MediaTek MTK6737, 3GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. The Moto E4 Plus also has a fingerprint sensor which is housed inside the home button. It has a 13MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a 5MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture on the front.
Samsung Galaxy On5
Samsung Galaxy On5 is a budget offering from Samsung that has a 5-inch 1280 x 720 px display. It has a 1.3GHz Exynos quad core processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB onboard storage expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. The device is powered by a 2600 mAh battery and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Xiaomi Redmi 4
If you really want a Xiaomi phone and want a fingerprint sensor as well, which is not available on the Redmi 4A, then the Redmi 4 is ideal for you. The Redmi 4 has specs identical to the Redmi 4A with a 5 inch 1280 x 720 px display. It is, however, powered by a much larger 4100 mAh battery and runs the same Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box with Xiaomi’s custom skin MIUI on top. The Redmi 4A has a 13MP rear camera with an f/2.2 aperture and PDAF. On the front of the device is a 5MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture. Under the hood, the smartphone has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card.
The M6 Note from Meizu was recently launched and is expected to hit the Indian market in the coming months. The Meizu M6 Note was launched in three variants, the 3GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage is priced at CNY 1099 (Rs. 10600 approx.), 3GB RAM/32GB storage at CNY 1299 (Rs 12500 approx.) and the 4GB RAM/64GB storage is priced at CNY 1699 (Rs 16350 approx.). Let’s unbox the device and see what we get inside the box:
Meizu M6 Note
Documentation
Sim ejector tool
Micro USB cable
Wall charger
The Meizu M6 Note has a 5.5 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution. The smartphone is powered by a massive 4000 mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, and three RAM and storage options. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the physical home button which sits below the display.
The Meizu M6 Note has a dual 12MP + 5MP camera setup at the back. The 12MP camera has an f/1.9 aperture and the 5Mp camera has an f/2.0 aperture. The dual cameras at the back record 2840 x 2160 px videos at 30fps. On the front is a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and record 1080P videos.
Samsung recently launched a new Android-powered tablet for a price of Rs 17990 in India. Samsung, apart from Apple is the only significant smartphone maker to continue making tablets. Let’s unbox the new Galaxy Tab A and see what’s inside the box:
Samsung Galaxy Tab A
USB Type C cable for charging and data syncing
Wall charger
Documentation
Sim ejector tool
The tablet has a good form factor with significant bezels around the display.
The Galaxy Tab A (2017) has an 8 inch 1280 x 800 TFT display with a brightness of 480 nits. The tablet is powered by a 5000 mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box with Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI on top. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 16GB onboard storage which can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card.
In terms of optics, the tablet has an 8MP rear-facing camera with an f/1.9 aperture with an LED flash. To the front of the tablet is a 5MP camera.
One of the highlights of the Galaxy Tab A (2017) is the new Bixby Home support that brings Samsung’s AI assistant to the mid-range tablet. Bixby understands and responds to the user’s behaviour and routine to suggest content and apps based on usage and location, among other things.
Another Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale is here and as always, iGyaan brings you the top tech deals on smartphones right now.
Honor 8 Pro
Competitively priced, great performance, big battery, and a dual-camera setup, the Honor 8 Pro was launched as a competitor of the OnePlus 5. The Honor 8 Pro has 5.7 inch 2560 x 1440 px display which is ideal for media consumption via VR. The Honor 8 Pro has 128 GB of storage along with 6GB of RAM. The Honor 8 Pro runs on the Kirin 960 chipset which is an octa-core chip – four high-performance Cortex A73 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and four low-power Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.8Ghz. The phone also has a large 4000 mAh battery and fast charge capabilities, with long battery modes built into Honor’s user interface. The camera setup consists of two cameras, 12+12 MP shooters, where one is a monochrome camera while the other is RGB. The front camera is an 8 MP shooter with an f/2.0 aperture.
The OnePlus 3T, last year’s flagship is still one of the best budget smartphones in the market right now. With an excellent Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset and buttery smooth Android OS experience, the OnePlus 3T ticks almost all the boxes of a great smartphone. It has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display and runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with a promised update to Android 8.0 Oreo. During the sale, the OnePlus 3T will be available at a discount of Rs 5000!
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime
A budget offering from Samsung, the Galaxy J7 Prime has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. Under the hood, the device has the Exynos 7870 chipset, 3GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. The rear-facing 13Mp camera has an f/1.9 aperture and on the front is an 8MP camera with an f/1.9 aperture. The phone is available in two colours – Black and Gold.
Honor 6X
The Honor 6X is a budget offering by Huwaei’s sub0-brand, Honor. The phone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. The Honor 6X has a HiSilicon Kirin 655 chipset, octa core processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage which can be expanded 256GB via microSD card. On the camera front, the smartphone sports a dual 12MP+2MP camera setup and an 8MP front-facing camera. The device is powered by a 3340 mAh battery.
The Lenovo K8 Note features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display with a pixel density of 441ppi and a Corning Gorilla Glass with oleophobic coating for scratch and smudge resistance. The K8 Note is also splash resistant due to its P2i coating, although the resistance might decrease with time due to wear and tear of the nano coating. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device under the cameras. The Lenovo K8 Note comes in two colours – Venom Black and Fine Gold. The smartphone the MediaTek MT 6797D Helio X23 a Tri-cluster, 64-bit chipset with a 2.3 GHz high-performing deca-core processor and the Mali T-880 MP4 GPU, 4GB RAM and 64GB expandable onboard storage.
Xiaomi launched the highly awaited Mi Mix 2 with a tri-bezel less display in India on 10th October. It is priced at Rs 35999 and will be available via Flipkart and Mi.com in a preview sale on October 17. The original Xiaomi Mi Mix received a lot of traction in 2016 because of its tri-bezel less design and a front camera placed in the bottom chin. The Mi Mix 2 has been launched with 2017 flagship specifications, thinner bezels and will be available in Black and White colour variants. Let’s unbox the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 to see what we get inside the box:
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
Soft Case
Documentation
Sim ejector tool
Warranty Card
The Mi Mix 2 is much more compact than its predecessors. Unlike the Mi Mix, the Mi Mix 2 has rounded edges which make its more comfortable to hold in the hand. The Mi Mix 2 also has ceramic back, which means its a fingerprint magnet but, due to a darker shade the fingerprints aren’t too prominent.
The new Mi Mix 2 has a 5.99 inch 2160 x 1080 px LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Mi Mix 2 has a 12% reduced bottom bezel and a screen-to-body ratio of 80.8%. The device features a cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic speaker and ultrasonic proximity sensor. The device is powered by a 3,400 mAh battery which is considerably smaller than the previous generation Mix’s 4,400 mAh battery. The Mi Mix 2 runs Android 7.1.1 with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 9 on top. Under the hood, the flagship smartphone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, 6GB RAM and storage options of 64GB, 128GB or 256GB. A special edition Mi Mix 2 with a full ceramic body, 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage has also been announced. The onboard storage will not be expandable due to the absence of a microSD card slot. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the device just below the camera.
On the optics front, the Mi Mix 2 has a very unlike-2017 flagship single camera setup at the back. The smartphone sports a 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor with 1.25-micron pixels, an f/2.0 aperture 4-axis optical image stabilisation, 5-piece lens, and facial recognition. On the front is a 5MP which features facial recognition as well.
A new month means a new addition to our top tech series. We bring you top ten tech and accessories under Rs 500 for a budget shopping spree this festive season!
Portronics Phoni Retro Handset
The Portronics Phoni is a cool accessory to replace your traditional earphones with something more retro. The handset has a nice matte finish and a grey colour that screams old school. The inline button to end or receive calls is a nice addition and the coiled cable just adds to the whole “landline” look.
Philips ActionFit Earphones
The Philips ActionFit Earphones are an adequate replacement to the default earphones you get with your smartphone. The earphones get really loud and even at the highest volume, the sound doesn’t shriek or get tinny, which happens with a lot of earphones in the price point however, there is no inline mic for calls. There is an included carrying pouch which is a nice touch by Philips.
Kodak Power Bank
This red coloured small power bank can come in handy when your phone is at 2% and you still have a long commute left. The capacity is only 2500 mAh and that makes it possible for the power bank to be compact. The main purpose of this power bank isn’t to power your device during a long hike but, to charge it during these small commutes or when a meeting gets extended and you need to keep the battery percentage in your phone intact.
Live Technology USB Hub
The LT USB hub has 4 USB 2.0 hubs that work simultaneously. The hub is well built and is very compact. It serves its purpose well and at the price point of under Rs 500, you really can’t go wrong with this one.
Taslar cable Winder
If you hate the sight of cables dangling about on your desk, then these cable winders are an easy solution which won’t break the bank. Three wires can be organised with one winders and it retails in a pair. Simply attach it to the back of your desk or wherever your plug points are, put the cables through it and have an organised desk.
Portronics USB Speaker
If you’re on the hunt for a speaker which is better than what you get on your laptop but, won’t cost a lot as well then these USB speaker is a safe bet. The speaker gets adequately loud and the inline volume scroller controls the volume of the speaker instead of the source it’s connected to. Unlike a lot of speakers in the price, the sound reproduction isn’t tinny and the sound stage is balanced instead of being heavy bass, which a lot of times results in shaky sound.
iVoltaa Smart Car Charger
The iVoltaa car charger has two USB ports to charge your devices. The charger automatically adjusts the voltage received from the vehicle so that your connected device always charges at a constant rate.
MoArmouz AUX cable
The company claims that this 3.5mm AUX cable can take up to 10000 bends. The cable is tangle free and the 3.5mm pins are gold plated which results in better sound reproduction.
Aeoss Waterproof Sport Armband
If you work out with your headphones on, you need to carry your phone with you. Running or jogging with a phone flailing about in your pocket can be annoying and that is where this armband comes in. It is waterproof to keep your phone safe from sweat or rain. The armband is light and spacious enough to keep two phones together. The bright colours make it useful for people who like outdoor running in the dark.
Photron Universal Travel Charger
If you travel abroad a lot and struggle with the different output pins, the this one stop solution is ideal for you. The Photron Travel Charger has three detachable compartments for you to choose from and and they all attach back to form a small adaptor that is easy to carry and can be thrown into the luggage without worrying about breaking it.
GoPro has launched its new flagship camera, the Hero 6 Black for a price of US499 and Rs 45000 in India. The Hero 6 Black has the new custom G1 chipset which should result in better image processing and battery performance since GoPro has optimised the chipset with its software rather than picking an off the shelf chipset. This is a huge departure for GoPro as it parted ways with Ambrella, the company who has supplied chips for GoPro cameras for a long time. Let’s unbox the new GoPro Hero 6 black and see what we get:
Hero 6 Black
Host of mounts for the camera
Micro USB charging cable
Documentation
Battery
GoPro stickers
The GoPro Hero 6 Black records 4K videos at 60fps and 1080P videos at 240fps. The new GoPro Hero 6 Black will shoot 12MP photos, in JPG or RAW, and GoPro’s Wide Dynamic Range mode. But it will supposedly perform better in low light than the Hero 5 Black and offer better image quality in all situations. The GoPro Hero 6 Black will shoot 3840 x 2160 px videos at 60fps. Higher frame rates offer a smoother look and more importantly, they make it possible to create slow-motion footage. There’s also a better Wi-Fi radio inside that triples the transfer speeds of the last generation Hero, so you can get your footage into the GoPro app on your phone three times faster than previous generation GoPro camera. The GoPro has GPS, a 2-inch LCD touchscreen on the back, voice controls, and some instant-editing features for when you’re on the move. The new camera is rugged as usual and is waterproof to 33-feet.
When Time Cook took to stage to announce the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, there was an air of familiarity of what the two phones would be like. The names, however, were yet to be confirmed and the first image on the big screen confirmed that Apple would be skipping a whole ‘S’ generation and jump straight into the iPhone 8 era. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were revealed with a design so familiar that its hard to make out the difference between the previous generation iPhones and the 2017 iPhones by just looking at them. Let’s unbox the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to see what we get inside the box:
iPhone 8
Documentation
Lightning earphones
Lightning to 3.5mm jack
Sim ejector tool
USB wall charging brick
USB to lightning port cable
Initial impressions of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are very similar to the ones of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. This time around, there is a glass back which definitely makes the new iPhones a lot more grippy than the previous gen iPhones. Another noticeable difference is the True Tone display. True Tone display first featured on the iPad wherein the phone adapts to the ambient display and changes the white balance to maintain the vibrance and accuracy of colours.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will be available in Space Gray, Silver and a new Blush Gold colour. The devices retain their previous generations’ screen size ans resolution of 4.7 inch 1334 x 750 px and 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display, with the addition of True Tone. . Under the hood, both the phones have Apple’s A11 Bionic chip which so far, has blown the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset out of the waters, in benchmark tests at least. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have a 3GB RAM and 64GB pr 256GB onboard storage variants. The 1821 mAh battery in the iPhone 8 is smaller than the iPhone 7’s 1960 mAh battery while the iPhone 8 Plus has a 2675 mAh battery as compared to the 2900 mAh battery on the iPhone 7 Plus. Apple however, claims that the new iPhones will have identical battery life to their predecessors. There is also wireless charging this time around, thanks to the glass back on both the iPhones. The TouchID is still there right below the display and might as well be the deciding factor in some consumer’s purchase decisions over the iPhone X.
The cameras department is where Apple claims the biggest change is. The iPhone 8 has the same 12MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture with a few software upgrades and OIS. Apple claims the new camera is larger and faster than the previous generation. On the front is a 7MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture which records 1920 x 1080 px videos at 30fps. The iPhone 8 Plus features a 12MP dual-camera setup. The primary wide angle lens has an f/1.7 aperture and the secondary telephoto lens has an f/2.8 aperture. The new “Portrait Lighting” feature allows users to adjust the lighting for portrait shots. On the front is a 7MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture which records 1920 x 1080 px videos at 30fps. The dual-cameras at the back record 4K videos at 60fps.
The Amazon sale is on and there are a lot of computing devices up for grabs at an extremely good price. We take a look at the top deals you can avail on Amazon right now.
2017 Apple MacBook Air
The Apple MacBook Air for people who want to be a part of the Apple ecosystem but, do not need the power of a MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air has a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB LPDDR3 RAM, 128GB Solid State hard drive and, Intel HD Graphics 6000. The MacBook Air is light, portable and efficient. It usually retails for a price of Rs 77,200 but, during is available at a price of just Rs 44990!
Dell Vostro 3468 14-inch Laptop
The Dell Vostro has a 2.4GHz 7th generation Intel i5 processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive and Intel HD integrated graphics. It has a 14-inch screen which is ideal for multi-tasking and media consumption. The laptop runs Windows 10 Home out of the box.
Apple 9.7 inch iPad
The Apple iPad has a 9.7 inch 2048 x 1536 px display and will run iOS 11 after the update. With a big screen and iOS 11 features, the iPad becomes a great deal. This variant does not have cellular capabilities though. Under the hood, the iPAd has the Apple A9 chip and 32GB onboard storage. It usually retails for around Rs 28990 but, is right now available for Rs 19900!
Lenovo Ideapad 14-inch Laptop
The Lenovo Ideapad 14-inch laptop has the 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-7100U 7th Gen processor, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB 5400rpm hard drive and integrated graphics. The laptop runs Windows 10 out of the box and has a battery life of about 7 hours. The Lenovo Ideapad is available for Rs 34990 where it usually retails for Rs 45090.
Mi Router
The Xiaomi Mi Router has a speed up to 300 Mbps and 4 antennas to provide range up to 80 meters. It has 64MB of RAM that let’s you connect up to 64 devices, with 24 stable connections. Its available at a price of Rs 899, if you are in the market for a router, then look no further!
HP 15-BU004TU 2017 15.6-inch Laptop
The HP 15-Bu004TU laptop has the 2GHz Intel Core i3-6006U 6th gen processor, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive and integrated graphics. It has 15.6-inch screen and free DOS operating system. In terms of battery life, it has a battery that lasts about 4 hours on one charge and the laptop weighs about 2.1kg.
The Bose Quiet Comfort 25 headphones are without a doubt, one of the best premium headphones in the market right now. The active noise cancellation on these headphones is great and because the headphones are wired, it has a great sound reproduction as well. The Bose QC 25 retails for about Rs 25200 in India, but, right now, you can buy these headphones at a price of Rs 15119 which is a great deal for the quality of these noise canceling headphones.
The wire is detachable to carry them with ease and the carrying case which comes with the headphones makes it easier to fit these headphones inside a backpack. The ear cups are comfortable and won’t trouble you during long music listening sessions. The sound is a very subjective thing, hence, the ideal sound profile will vary from person to person, but, if you like a more balanced sound rather than a bass-heavy profile, then the Bose QC 25 are the ideal pair of headphones.
