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In September 2017, Apple held its annual launch event and this time around, had a few tricks up its sleeves. The company launched the Apple TV 4K, the Apple Watch Series 3, and then the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. However, that wasn’t the end of the event as the company launched the iPhone X, in a way reminiscent of the launch of the original iPhone from 2007.
The iPhone X represented a substantial design shift for the first time since the iPhone 6 was launched in 2014. A near bezel-less design, Face ID and a notch at the top which looked destined to divide opinions in a way only the “iOS vs Android” debate could. While the iPhone X is undoubtedly the most powerful smartphone in the market, the device has not been received that well in prominent smartphone markets.
Investors note from KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo says that the iPhone X has not been as impactful in China as predicted because of the notch holding the sensors for the device, giving consumers the impression that there is less usable space than on the iPhone 8 Plus. It is also expected that Apple will again launch three iPhones in September 2018 with all the three iPhones looking similar to the iPhone X rather than the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus.
Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the iPhone X will be “end of life” in the summer of 2018, instead of being retained as a lower-cost option in the following year. If this happens, it would be the first time that Apple has not retained the previous year’s smartphone to offer a wide range of iPhones available in different price brackets.
The iPhone X has been well-received by customers and critics alike. While there were initial doubts about Face ID, it has proven to be a good substitute for Touch ID, especially during in-app purchases. Apple has said that it believes Face ID is the future and even though a screen embedded fingerprint sensor is a reality, we might have seen the last of Touch ID on iPhones with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Xiaomi consistently launches smartphones in its native market and sometimes, these devices get a global launch. In 2017, the Chinese smartphone maker launched the Mi 5X in China and a few weeks later, the Mi 5X with stock Android OS was launched as the Mi A1 in India. The successor to the Mi 5X, the Mi 6X is expected to be launched close to mid-2018 and a new image reveals a key detail about the device.
The leaked image of the back panel of the upcoming Mi 6X reveals a dual-camera setup vertically placed. Similar to the iPhone X, it appears that the LED flash will also be placed between the two sensors. Apart from the dual-camera setup, the build quality looks to be metallic with an aluminium unibody design. There is no cutout for a fingerprint sensor which either means that the device will have thick bezels and a fingerprint sensor housed inside the home button, or an in-display fingerprint sensor.
Even though a fingerprint sensor inside the display for a mid-range device sounds outlandish right now, the smartphone is expected to be launched in mid-2018 which gives Xiaomi a lot of time to perfect the technology. If Xiaomi does go for a 16:9 aspect ratio, it might be a bad move especially if it wants to launch the device in markets other than China. The Indian market already has more modern looking mid-range smartphones like the Honor 7X. There are rumours that the Moto G6 Plus will have an 18:9 aspect ratio which will soon become an industry norm.
Xiaomi Mi A1/5X
There are no details about the specifications of the upcoming smartphone however, this could very well be the Mi A1 (2018) or Mi A2 as its predecessor, the Mi 5X was launched as the Mi A1 in India back in September 2017. Whether Xiaomi decides to launch it in India is a different case but, the popularity of the Mi A1 might inspire the company to launch a successor here in India.
It was a highly anticipated unveiling and one that would set the precedence for all the smartphone makers across the market. Vivo, one of the top five smartphone manufacturers in the world became the first company to unveil a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Not a prototype or a concept, a consumer-ready device with a fingerprint sensor placed inside the display.
Now, the company has made the device official in China as the Vivo X20 Plus UD. UD, presumably, stands for “under display.” While there is no word on the smartphone’s availability or price yet, it is expected to be priced at around CNY 3998, which is Rs. 39000 approximately. The smartphone will be officially launched on the 24th of January.
The Vivo X20 Plus UD is basically the Vivo X20 Plus, with a fingerprint sensor placed inside the display instead. It has a 6.43 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18:9 aspect ratio.
Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card. It is powered by a 3930 mAh battery which charges via a USB C port.
To the back, it has a dual-camera setup consisting of a 24MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and OIS along with a 5MP sensor. To the front of the phone is a 12MP sensor with soft LED flash and an f/2.0 aperture.
The technology found in the new smartphone is known as Clear ID and lets users OEMs embed a fingerprint sensor under the display. Synaptics has claimed that it has a failure rate of 1 in 50,000 which, for a first gen product, is admirable. Early reviews of the device are in and mostly paint a positive picture. People are praising the accuracy of the sensor while it is slower than other fingerprint sensors found on devices like the OnePlus 5T, it is hard to complain when the process feels so futuristic.
The in-display fingerprint sensor sits between the mainboard and the OLED panel where it illuminates the finger and then processes the beams of light. Hence, this technology will not work on LCD panels as the sensor looks through the dots of an OLED panel, and then recognises the fingerprint.
Xiaomi is expected to make a big announcement at the upcoming MWC 2018 and many expect it to be of the Mi 7. Xiaomi will launch the next iteration of its ‘Mi’ flagship phones in 2018 and the announcement could be made as soon as February. While one very important aspect of the upcoming device was confirmed by the company itself, there have a been a few conflicting renders and reports regarding some of the features that the Mi 7 might sport.
One such thing was the fingerprint technology. Ever since Vivo unveiled the first-ever smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor, there have been plenty of rumours of more Chinese smartphone makers adopting the Clear ID technology. A few weeks ago, two conflicting reports claimed that the Mi 7 will have an in-display fingerprint sensor while the other claimed that it will adopt Face ID-like facial recognition system owing to the popularity of AI. A new render appears to have revealed that Xiaomi will, at the least, not introduce a Clear ID fingerprint sensor in its next flagship device.
A new render of the Mi 7 has surfaced and it reveals that the device will have a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. The image also shows a horizontally placed a dual-camera setup on the back. Unfortunately, there is no image of the front of the phone accompanying this render which means that what we have so far, are just speculations. The Mi 7 is expected to have a 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a bezel-less design. It will be interesting to see if Xiaomi takes the Mi Mix route and house everything in a bottom bezel or have even bezels around the display.
The build of the smartphone appears to be made of glass which means that Xiaomi could finally introduce wireless charging in its smartphone lineup. Previous renders revealed almost zero bezels around the display and a small cutout on top for the front-facing camera and sensors.
Previous Mi 7 Renders
The company has confirmed that the Mi 7 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, and is expected to have either 6 or 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage which won’t be expandable. Thanks to the Snapdragon 845 chipset, the smartphone is expected to have some enhanced AI features like the Honor View10 and a facial recognition software could be one of the marquee features of the device.
The Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to have a 19MP + 19MP dual camera setup with an f/1.7 aperture and 4X optical zoom. To the front, it is rumoured to have a 16MP camera.
After we built our budget gaming PC, it was time to take it up a notch. With a lot more budget in hand, this is what we used to our build gaming PC with a budget of Rs. 70,000.
Corsair Carbide Spec 01
The cabinet we used for the build is the Corsair Carbide Spec 01. This one as well has a size glass panel to show off all the components of your PC and put LED lights in it for some colour. It is built to give a clean look to your PC and also has good cable management. It has seven PCIe slots with room for long graphics cards up to 420 mm long.
Corsair CX650W 80 Plus Power Supply
For a power supply, we have opted for another Corsair product, the CX650W power supply. For our powerful gaming PC, this was an ideal fit!
Gigabyte Z370M D3H Motherboard
This motherboard was the best one in our budget. It supports up to 8th Gen Intel Core Processors and has 2-Way CrossFire Multi-Graphics Support. This motherboard is futureproof if we want to upgrade to an i8 processor in the future.
HyperX FURY 8 GB RAM
To handle high-end gaming, you need good quality and quantity of RAM. We have gone for a HyperX Fury 8GB RAM for this build. Its low 1.2 volts draw less power from the system and keeps the PC cool and quiet. Its lower power requirements result in less heat and higher reliability.
Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD
The Seagate Barracuda 2TB hard drive provides ample storage and reliability for this gaming PC.
Intel Core i5 8400
The Intel Core i5 8400 processor fit in our budget and requirements. This PC build is shaping to be quite epic!
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060
To handle all the graphics, we went for the GeForce GTC 1060. It is currently sold out online so we will leave a link for an alternative GPU for your PC build.
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 phone also has a large 4000 mAh battery and fast charge capabilities, with long battery modes built into Honor’s user interface.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has a 6.4 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for added protection. The smartphone is powered by a massive 5300 mAh with QuickCharge 3.0 and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Xiaomi’s custom skin MIUI 8 on top. The phablet has a one-hand usage mode as well. Under the hood, the phablet has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, Cortex-A53 octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB onboard storage options. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the device and sits just below the cameras. The Mi Max 2 switches to dual-audio speakers when in landscape mode. On the optics front, the Mi Max 2 has a 12-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture, equipped with the Sony IMX386 sensor with PDAF and dual-LED flash. On the front, the phablet has a 5MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
One of the top budget earphones, the JBL C100SI Headphones have a great fit and a very good build quality. It has a 9mm driver and a 1.2-meter cable. The cable size is ideal for earphones as it allows you to rest your smartphone in the pocket without compromising on the comfort.
As smartphones get thinner, battery performance, unfortunately, takes a hit. In such times, a good power bank helps. There are plenty of power banks available in the market and a 10,000 mAh capacity is a standard for good power banks. The Ambrane 10,000 mAh power bank usually retails for about Rs. 1799 but, during the Great Indian Sale, it is available for Rs. 599 which is a steal!
The G5S Plus has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. The fingerprint sensor sits below the display and can double up as a single-navigation button as well and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The highlight of the device is the 13MP dual-camera setup 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. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 2.0 GHz octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 506 GPU, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card.
Huawei’s sub-brand Honor’s budget offering, the Honor 6X is a budget-friendly smartphone in the sub-15K category and offers a dual-camera set up as well. It features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display along with the Kirin 655 chipset and an octa-core processor. It sports a 12Mp + 2MP dual camera setup at the back and an 8MP front-facing camera.
The weekend is here and it is time to get the cash out again as we look at the top tech and accessories that are on discount right now. From wireless chargers to hoverboards, lots of exciting tech is available at a reduced price on Gearbest right now, and iGyaan brings you the pick of the lot!
Tochic Qi Wireless Charger
Wireless charging will soon become a norm in smartphones. While premium smartphones as of now, have features like wireless charging, there are rumours that more smartphone makers will implement wireless charging in their flagship and mid-range smartphones. The Tochic Qi wireless charger is available at US $10.99 and it has fast charging enabled. This is a great deal for a fast wireless charger!
Wireless seems to be the future of technology. When the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were launched without a headphone jack, it was predicted that this would be the end of the beloved headphone jack. Over the past year, more smartphone makers have decided to go the wireless route. The QCY wireless earbuds are truly wireless earphones and are priced at US $39.99 which is a great deal.
Hoverboards are a lot of fun. The Hiwheel Q3 Hoverboard has a 36V 4400mAh battery and nice LED lights for greater visibility if you are riding at night.
Smartphones have slowly become the primary mode of media consumption as well as gaming. As smartphones become more competent hardware wise, more people will start gaming on them primarily. That is where a gamepad comes into play. It gives a better alternative to touch controls and because it is just a regular sized controller, people can carry it with them everywhere. The MOCUTE Bluetooth gamepad is available for US $11 and is an ideal gamepad for anyone looking to start gaming on their smartphones more regularly.
Techies would understand the importance of a good backpack. This backpack has a lot of space, an outlet for a USB cable to charge your device and looks good. It is priced at US $ 36 right now and looks like a steal!
When Google launched the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL back in October, the company talked up their device’s AI capabilities. Apple, when it launched the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the iPhone X also talked about the AI capabilities present in its A11 Bionic chipset. The two big names in the smartphone industry set the trend of machine learning taking centre stage at a smartphone launch and companies like Huawei have followed suit since then.
LG has been going through a bit of a rebranding/rehashing of its flagship smartphone lineup lately. And it is now confirmed that the LG G7 won’t see an early release that its predecessors have seen over the years. Instead, LG will launch a refreshed version of the LG V30 at the upcoming MWC 2018 scheduled to take place from the 26th of February. This version of the LG V30 will have enhanced AI capabilities.
The device will have new technologies and functions and could carry an odd name for a smartphone, V30+?. This name kind of resembles a math formula and it’ll be interesting to get to know the logic behind this moniker. That is, if LG devices to go with this particular name. The reports suggest the smartphone will be a product of the partnership between LG and Google with Google Assistant-based AI functions.
The LG V30+ has glass on the back
So far, we have seen different implementations of AI from different smartphone makers. If LG goes the Google route, it will be interesting to see if the LG V30+? will focus a lot on music. Since the Pixel 2 phones have the Now Playing feature, the LG V30+? could implement that feature, and along with its superior HiFi Quad DAC, the smartphone could be a music-oriented version of the 2017 flagship from LG.
Pixel 2
Google also uses a lot of machine learning for its camera and has the best photography camera on the market right now. But, it seems highly improbable if the LG V30+? will come with such advanced machine learning capabilities that could potentially match up with the Pixel 2 devices. However, a tight integration of Google Assistant within the LG UI is a possibility or even a stock OS running LG V30+? could be announced.
OnePlus has just launched the new Lava Red colour variant of the OnePlus 5T in India, a few weeks after it was unveiled in China. While OnePlus 5T suitors might be rejoicing about another possible option to buy, there are a few customers who might be left with a sour taste in their mouths after shopping on the OnePlus store.
A few days ago, OnePlus shut down all credit card payments options on its official website after a few reports claimed that a lot of customers were facing issues after making payments on the OnePlus store. Affected customers reported cases of fraudulent transactions made without their knowledge, with one person saying someone ordered US $200 worth of Papa John’s pizza.
After an investigation, OnePlus posted a statement which will not ring a tone of good news in the ears of the Chinese company or the aggrieved customers. In its forums, the company posted the following:
We are deeply sorry to announce that we have indeed been attacked, and up to 40k users at oneplus.net may be affected by the incident. We have sent out an email to all possibly affected users.
The company confirmed that the severity of the problem is far larger than initially thought. It continues to state that this could have affected anyone who input credit card information on OnePlus’ website from as far back as mid-November 2017. During the investigation, it was discovered that one of OnePlus’ systems had been attacked by a malicious script that intermittently captured data from a user’s browser window.
While the infected server has since been isolated, it is unclear as to how much damage the infected server inflicted while its two-month-long active period. OnePlus says that credit card numbers, expiry dates, and security codes may have all been compromised. However, as a silver lining in the dark clouds, credit cards already saved on the site are apparently unaffected, according to OnePlus.
While the company took the opportunity and apologised to its customers, it is hard to imagine that the company’s reputation will remain unscathed after such a severe incidence. Whether the inability to make payments on its official website will have a huge impact on the sales, especially a few days after the company announced its record sales numbers of 2017, is yet to be seen. However, above the sales figures and record numbers lies the trust of a consumer, and that might be dented after such a huge security failure.
OnePlus recently launched the OnePlus 5T Lava Red edition in India. The new colour will only be available in the 8GB RAM variant and is priced at Rs. 37999, just like the regular Midnight Black colour variant. It goes on sale at 12 noon on the 20th of January via Amazon, oneplus.in, Croma stores and OnePlus experience zones in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi NCR.
With smartphones becoming increasingly similar as far as hardware as is concerned, smartphone makers need to find a way to differentiate their product from the rest of offerings in the market. And it appears that a “special edition” Red colour variant is the next big differentiator, that companies have identified. The Lava Red isn’t the only special edition smartphone the company has launched in India, back in December, the OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition was launched at a price of Rs. 38999.
It is a red OnePlus 5T. It looks and feels exactly the same as the Midnight Black variant except it is red in colour. The smartphone has the same matte finish on the back which makes it a bit slippery to hold but, otherwise it’s a very sturdy phone. Depending on which side you’re on, you’ll be happy or sad to know that OnePlus has retained the black colour for the front of the smartphone, something that a lot of people wanted in the Product Red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
The power button, volume rockers and the fingerprint sensor are also red in colour with the black OnePlus logo providing a bit of contrast on the back. There is a small camera bump on the back which means that the OnePlus 5T doesn’t lay flat on a surface which may bug a few people while others won’t even notice it. The headphone jack, USB C port and the single bottom firing speaker reside on the bottom of the smartphone.
We also unboxed the Xiaomi Mi A1 red colour variant and similar to the regular Mi A1, it has a metal build with a matte finish. The red colour dominates the back of the device and just like OnePlus, the company has retained the black colour for the front of the smartphone which compliments the red colour really well. The specifications remain the same as well for the red coloured Xiaomi Mi A1.
Just like it was for the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition, the specifications remain the same for the OnePlus 5T Lava Red.
The OnePlus 5T has a 6-inch Full Optic AMOLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution, 401ppi and an 80.5% screen to body ratio.
Under the hood, the OnePlus 5T has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded. Due to thin bezels, there is no place for a home button and the fingerprint sensor has now been shifted to the back of the phone and is placed right above OnePlus logo.
Powering the device is a 3300 mAh battery which supports OnePlus’ DashCharge technology. The OnePlus 5T also features facial recognition for unlocking the device. The alert slider retains its place at the top left side of the phone which can be used to switch between different modes of notification alerts.
The OnePlus 5T runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat with customisability options thanks to the Oxygen OS on top. The update to Android 8.0 Oreo update is coming soon on the OnePlus 5T as the beta testing has already begun.
One big change in the OnePlus 5T is in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 5, the OnePlus 5T no longer has a secondary telephoto lens at the back. Instead, OnePlus has decided to focus on the device’s low-light photography capabilities. The cameras do not have OIS and OnePlus has decided to go for EIS on the dual camera setup at the back. The device has a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 20MP sensor with the same f/1.7 aperture and field of view, ie no optical zoom. On the front is a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
The OnePlus 5T continues to be a strong offering in the sub-40K category with its flagship-like specifications and a modern design. With a new colour to the fore, it gives consumers an extra option to look at and for some people, a red colour variant is the ultimate deal maker.
A lot of consumers globally know Xiaomi as a smartphone maker but, the company’s smartphone lineup barely represents its prowess. One look at Xiaomi’s Mainland China website is enough for someone to realise that Xiaomi makes much more than just smartphones. It has smart home products, crazy electronic scooters and televisions as well.
The latest addition to Xiaomi’s list of products other than smartphones is the new Mi TV 4A. The Mi TV 4A offers a 4K display and is priced at US $375 (Rs. 23000 approx.).
The 50 inch Xiaomi Mi TV 4A comes with a 4K UHD display with a 3840 x 2160 resolution and a 178-degree viewing angle. The TV has a refresh rate of 60Hz and it also offers support for HDR10+ HLG. The device has a “frameless design” and incorporates Mi TV Bar with 10 speakers, 2 wireless rear satellite speakers, and a subwoofer. It also comes with Dolby Atmos audio technology.
Interestingly, the trend of AI and machine learning is bleeding into the television industry as well, it seems. The Xiaomi Mi TV 4A comes with AI support and can make recommendations. It has a UI called PatchWall and is based on Android OS which allows for content curation based on recommendations. The TV also has speech recognition and voice control, but, since it is only available in China as of now, it doesn’t work with the English language.
Under the hood, the TV is powered by a 64-bit Amlogic L962 chipset with four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores along with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage. As for connectivity, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4A has Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, three HDMI ports, two USB ports, AV in, Ethernet port, and S/PDIF audio output. There is also the new Xiaomi remote for controlling the TV which has infrared as well Bluetooth connectivity options.
At a price of just over Rs. 23000, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4A appears to be an excellent product. Sadly, as is a lot of other great Xiaomi products, this will remain a China-exclusive
LG’s flagship smartphone lineup’s future might be a bit hazy right now but, the company still believes that it has a strong foothold in the budget segment. That is, in its native market. LG was expected to launch the LG G7 at either the CES 2018 or MWC 2018 but, it looks like the anticipated smartphone is quite a few months away from launch. A recent report claimed that the LG CEO has instructed his team to rework on the LG G7 and come up with a completely rehashed version of the flagship device.
While the flagship smartphone plans seem awry for LG, the budget segment is consistently being targeted. The company has now launched the ruggedly built LG X4+ in its native market for a price of US $280 (Rs. 17000 approx.).
The LG X4+ has a 5.3-inch IPS display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution. It has an aluminium unibody design which has become a norm for budget devices nowadays. The LG X4+ has a design reminiscent of 2016 mid-rangers as the industry moves toward a “thin bezels and tall display design.”
Under the hood, the LG X4+ is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, Adreno 308 GPU for graphics, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It is worth noting that the storage will be expandable via a microSD card. The LG X4+ has built-in Hi-Fi DAC (digital-analogue converter) which LG claims, will offer good sound quality.
The fingerprint sensor is placed on the back of the device, it is, however, not clear whether it also acts a lock and unlock button like some of LG’s other devices. LG has also introduced a feature called Finger Touch that will enable users to take selfies and screenshots by pressing the fingerprint sensor. The LG X4+ carries MIL-STD 810G rating and it’s certified in six categories including impact, vibration, high temperature, low temperature, thermal shock, and humidity.
The device is powered by a 3000 mAh battery and it runs Android 7 Nougat out of the box. It is baffling to see OEMs still launching smartphones with old software, irrespective of the price point.
The LG X4+ has a 13MP rear-facing camera and on the front is a 5MP sensor.
At a price of RS. 17,000 the LG X4+ is better off staying away from the Indian market. If LG were to launch this device in India, it’ll have to priced at around Rs. 10000 for it to even have a chance of competing. At this price point, not a lot of people look for ruggedness in their phones, it is more about the performance and with Snapdragon 425 chipset powering it, a price of Rs. 15000 or thereabouts would be too much.
The budget segment of the Indian smartphone market is becoming increasingly congested. Brands like Xiaomi, Nokia, Motorola are consistently launching stellar smartphones and Honor has recently launched the Honor 7Xand Honor 9 Lite in the price bracket as well. Samsung is planning to take over the segment it once used to rule, and the Galaxy On7 Prime is one of the smartphones that the company will launch in this price bracket.
The Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime is priced at Rs 12990 for the 3GB RAM variant and Rs. 14990 for the 4GB RAM variant. The smartphone will be sold exclusively via Amazon and will go on sale on the 20th of January during the Amazon Prime Sale.
So, does the Galaxy On7 Prime hold any weight against the budget heavyweights like the Honor 7X or the Xiaomi Mi A1? Let’s unbox the device and find out!
Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime
Documentations
Sim Ejector Tool
Wall Charger
Micro USB Cable
First Impressions
The Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime has the standard 5.5 inch display with a metallic body. On the front is the standard physical home button which also houses the fingerprint sensor, along with two touch capacitive buttons for navigation. The device is not the sleekest to hold especially considering devices like the Honor 9 Lite or Honor 7X that possess a bigger screen in a similarly sized body.
Specifications
The Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime has a 5.5-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution.
Under the hood, the Galaxy On7 Prime will have the Exynos 7870 chipset, a 1.6GHz processor, and Mali-T830 MP1 GPU. The smartphone will be available in two variants, one with 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage and the other with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which will be expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card.
The Galaxy On7 Prime will be powered by a 3300 mAh battery. The physical home button on the front will house the fingerprint sensor as well.
With the new Galaxy On7 Prime, Samsung has also introduced Samsung Mall. The company has tied up with Amazon, Jabong, Shopclues and Tata CLiQ to provide buying links to products that a user might be interested in, from within the Samsung user interface.
The Galaxy On7 Prime will have a 13MP with an f/1.9 aperture on the front and back along with rear-facing LED flash.
The smartphone will be sold exclusively via Amazon and will go on sale on the 20th of January during the Amazon Prime Sale. Interested users can register for the device by clicking here.
Honor launched the Honor View10 globally on the 4th of December in London. It was subsequently announced that India will be one of the first few markets to get the device and at an impressive price of Rs. 29999, the Honor View10 went on sale from the 8th of January. The Honor View10 is the only smartphone in its price bracket that has such an emphasis on AI, something that is touted to be the future of smartphones.
Out of the box, the Honor View10 had facial recognition which had a few nifty implications such as notifications preview but, there was no Face Unlock. However, with the new update that Honor has started seeding for all the Honor View10 devices, the Face Unlock feature will now be active. This means that apart from the Apple iPhone X and the OnePlus 5T, the Honor View10 is also a smartphone with a proprietary facial recognition security system.
To enable Face Unlock, a user needs to first enrol their face by accusing facial recognition feature in the settings menu. Unlike the iPhone X, a user doesn’t need to rotate their face as the phone figures out the positioning between the face and the phone and adjusts the direction accordingly.
Apart from the impressive new Face Unlock feature, there are lots of new updates that revolve around the device’s AI capabilities. In the new update, there are features like AI motion detection in the front and rear camera, AI Zoom, Super-resolution imaging, and Smart Tips. Smart Tips features include knuckle gestures, smart assistance, wide aperture photos, and QR code scanning.
In the front camera, there is a feature called Change Background. It does exactly what the name suggests, before clicking a picture, a user can select from a set of effects as the background. It is worth noting that this feature is only available in the front cameras for now.
The update has started seeding and is scheduled to reach all devices by the 24th of January. You can check for the update by going to Settings < System < System update.
Razer, one of the most popular gaming accessories maker surprised everyone by launching a smartphone in late-2017. The eponymous device was marketed as a smartphone for gamers with high-end specifications. One of the most interesting aspects of the Razer Phone was its display. The phone from Razer is the only smartphone to have a 120Hz refresh rate (iPad Pro is a tablet and also has the 120Hz refresh rate).
It looks like the Razer Phone was not just a one-off experiment by Razer as a report claims that the company is planning to launch the Razer Phone 2 (tentatively named) in September. This means that an IFA 2018 announcement is likely. The “company insider” also claims that Project Linda, a concept showcased by Razer at CES 2018 could also make its way to the market along with the new smartphone.
Project Linda is a concept that Razer revealed at CES 2018, wherein the Razer Phone powers the whole laptop. It is a laptop shell with a cutout for the Razer Phone in place of a trackpad. Once the phone is placed inside the cutout, a USB C pin connect the laptop case to the Razer phone. Once connected, the laptop uses the smartphone’s hardware to function and the phone’s display turns into a trackpad. Everyone who covered this concept talked about the Razer Phone’s speakers being enough to produce sound out of a laptop which means that the laptop case does not have any speakers built into it.
While the concept is very interesting, everyone thought that this would remain a concept only, just like a lot of other concept products found in CES. However, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan teased on Twitter that it could be a consumer-ready product soon.
Considering that project Linda took about 2-3 months, and the design work only took about one of those months to be ready, it is possible that Razer feels the concept is ready to be turned into a product.
