Smartphone News and Reviews, Latest Cellphones, Accessories, New Launches, Specifications, Details with Image and Video from Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Moto, HTC, Xiaomi, Oneplus, Meizu, Sony, Lava, Micromax Yu Mobile and More.
Xiaomi is all set to launch its next-gen flagship phone, the Mi5, at an event on October 19 in China. The company announced the event on Weibo. The event may also see the launch of the rumoured Mi Band 2.
From what we know so far, the Mi5 will have a Helio X20 chipset and will not come with the Snapdragon 820 as production of the chipset has been delayed. Other features expected in the Mi5 include 5.2-inch Quad HD (1440×2560) AMOLED display, 4GB RAM and 16/64GB of Internal storage.
The Mi5 is also rumoured to sport a 16MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 8MP front camera and a battery of 3,030mAh capacity. A fingerprint sensor can also be expected as many new devices are now coming out with the feature. The expected price of the Mi5 is around 1,999 Yuan (Rs. 20,500 approx.)
You can also expect some news regarding Windows 10-powered laptops and tablets from Xiaomi. Earlier, the company stated that it would start production of its laptop in the first quarter of 2016. Follow this space for more on Xiaomi’s event.
Update: Sorry folks, it turns out the Mi5 will not be unveiled on Monday. The company denied the rumours on Weibo.
Lenovo has released an invite that doesn’t reveal much except that an event is set to take place on the 21st of October at 11 am in New Delhi. The event is most likely for the launch of Lenovo’s smartphones in India that include the Vibe P1 and the Vibe P1m.
The phones were unveiled at IFA last month, which also saw a host of other Lenovo devices such the iDeaPad, Moto 360, and Lenovo PHAB Plus.
The Vibe P1 smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 64-bit octa-core processor, 5000mAh battery, OneKey Power Saver and Rocket Charge. It also supports the 5G WiFi with its very own WiFi Boost. The talking point of both the P1 and P1m phones is the massive battery and quick charging capabilities.
The Vibe P1m sports a 5-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) display and is powered by 1GHz MediaTek MT6735P processor paired with 2GB of RAM. It also features a slightly smaller 4000mAh battery. One of the main talking points here is the massive battery and quick charging capabilities found in both the phones.
The expected pricing of the Vibe P1 is $279 (Rs 18,167 approximately), while the Vibe P1m is priced at $159 (Rs 10,353 approximately).
Mark 21st October on your calendars, because that is the day Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Premium are all set to make an appearance in the country. Yes, it’s the same day when the Google Nexus devices go on sale here.
Sony had unveiled these devices, along with Xperia Z5 Compact at IFA earlier this year in September. And now they are being readied to be launched in India. However, Xperia Z5 Compact may not make it to the country. No news of its arrival has reached us yet.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the worlds first 4k display equipped smartphone. Sony has also included a new fingerprint scanner at an innovative location, right on the power button. The company has not done much about the design apart from adding a matte finish on the Z5 and a ultra glossy finish on the Z5 Premium which will be available in Gold or Chrome. The remaining design is based on the use of metal as a structure and Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back of all the devices.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
The two phones are estimated to cost around Rs. 51,000 – Rs. 60,000. You can check out our hands on of the two devices here. Find the specs of Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Premium below:
Specification
Sony Xperia Z5
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Display
5.2 inch display
5.5 inch 4K Ultra HD
Resolution
1920 x 1080p
4k – 806ppi
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
Processor
Octa Core – 64 bit
Octa Core – 64 bit
GPU
Adreno 430
Adreno 430
RAM
3GB
3GB
Storage
32GB internal memory
32GB internal memory
Expandability
–
200 GB
Rear Camera
23MP sensor, F2.0 G Lens, 1/2.3 Exmor RS
23MP sensor, F2.0 G Lens, 1/2.3 Exmor RS
Rear Camera Video
4k
4k
Front Camera
5MP
5MP
Front Camera Video
1080p
1080p
Battery
2 days stamina with Qualcomm Quick Charger
3430 mAh battery lasting for up to two days, with quick charge
Operating System
Android 5.1
Android 5.1
Connectivity
4G LTE, Single SIM and Dual SIM
Single SIM and Dual SIM
Miscellaneous
Fingerprint sensor, Colours: White, Graphite Black, Gold and Green
Airtel has come up with its exclusive ‘iPhone Infinity Plans’ offering free 4G data worth Rs. 15,000/- for 12 months. Additionally, Airtel also announced today that starting this Friday, 16th October, the company will also be selling iPhone 6s and 6s Plus through 235 of its stores across the country. Out of these 57 of these stores will stay open the entire night so that customers don’t have to wait to get to lay their hands on the new iPhones.
Since Airtel is the only telecom network offering 4G data in the country, Airtel has clubbed the launch of the iPhones with its 4G data plans. All buyers of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will also be able to avail the iPhone Infinity plans, which include 60GB of free 4G data over twelve months. The company claims this will enable customers to save Rs.15,000 on their monthly bill.
For more details of the offers and plan, buyers can visit Airtel’s online store. In order to activate the Infinity plan, users can log on to offers.airtel.in from their iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
Google’s Nexus 6P has officially launched in India today. The company had sent out invites for the event starting at 11 am. The Huawei-made Nexus 6P and the LG-made Nexus 5X released ahead of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch that is set to hit the markets on the 16th.
The Nexus 6P will be made available exclusively for Flipkart. Pre-orders for the phones will start tonight and the devices will begin shipping from October 21. Those who pre-order the Nexus 6P will get a Chromecast dongle worth Rs. 2,999 from Flipkart. The devices can also be purchased later on from select offline retailers such as Croma, The Mobile Store, among others.
The Nexus 6P is priced at Rs. 39,999 for the 32GB, Rs. 42,999 for the 64GB, and Rs. 47,999 for the 128GB variant. The 6P features a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, with 3 GB RAM, a 3450mAh battery, and a USB Type-C port. The camera sports a 12.3MP sensor with laser autofocus, dual-LED flash at the rear and a rather impressive 8MP on the front. This pure Android phone will run on the latest Marshmallow operating system.
Our initial reactions towards the 6P were quite favorable. One of the main highlights of the Nexus 6P is the Nexus Imprint. The fingerprint sensor on the back is fast and fluid in accessibility, which according to Google only “gets better over time” as it learns more about your unique fingerprint. Another major improvement is the camera. The 12MP rear camera takes crisp and clear pictures even in low light due to the 1.55 micron pixels, which is greater than the iPhone 6s Plus.
Compared to the Nexus 5X, the 6P has a more premium look to it. It has a full-metal body, built out of aluminium with diamond chamfers around the edges. The metallic finish of the body is smooth and feels comfortable in your hand, but is heavier than the Nexus 5X, which comes with a plastic body. One concern that arose regarding the leaked images of the Nexus 6P was just how much the black camera bar on the top would put off users. However, on using the Nexus 6P, the bar seemed like a welcomed change and does not stick out as much as one would think.
The Nexus 6P is on the expensive side, but some improvements especially on the camera front make it worth buying if you’re looking at the market for premium handsets. As mentioned, the Nexus 6P will be available for pre-order tonight on Flipkart.
The latest devices by Google have finally arrived in India. Starting today at 2 PM, Amazon has begun pre-orders for Google Nexus 5X in the country. The smartphone will be finally available on the 21st of October.
The device was first introduced to us last month by Google in their official event, and is now marked at a price of Rs. 31,990 for the 16 GB variant and Rs. 35, 990 for the 32GB variant in India.
The Nexus 5X comes with a 5.2-inch FHD display, USB Type-C which allows almost 4 hours of battery post a 10-minute charging routine, and is available in three colours – Carbon black, Quartz white and Ice blue. The company will also be bringing in a range of covers to India, along with the handsets, priced at Rs. 2,800.
We checked out the Ice Blue variant. The back of the smartphone comes with a smooth matte finish. The size of the device feels just right in the hands.
On the camera front the smartphone comes equipped with a 12.3 MP rear camera and a 5 MP selfie camera. The smartphone is capable of capturing 4K and slow-motion videos, making this phone the most advanced multimedia Nexus device to date.
As opposed to the all-metal body of the Nexus 6P, 5X comes in a plastic body of size 147 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm, and weighs 136 g. The device also has Nexus Imprint, a fingerprint sensor located on the back of the body. A single touch of the sensor would power on and unlock Nexus 5X for usage.
It is further packed with a 2 GB RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset and OS Android Marshmallow 6.0. The stock Android is seamless as always; Google has provided minimal bloatware – a move which will be appreciated.
Huawei Nexus 6P and LG Nexus 5X
That’s all for now, we will be bringing you an in-depth review of the device shortly.
There’s brilliant news in store for Google fans out there – the new Nexus 5X goes on sale today at 2 PM on Amazon. The device was first introduced to us at a Google nexus event last month, along with Google Nexus 6P.
Google Nexus 5X
The LG Nexus 5X is priced at Rs 31,990 for the 16GB variant, and Rs 35,990 for the 32GB variant. We’ll keep you updated on all the latest news about Google Nexus devices. We also have the confirmed prices of the Huawei Nexus 6P which are Rs. 39,999 for the 32GB variant, and Rs. 42,999 for the 64GB variant.
Even the Nexus 6P will be available for pre-order on Flipkart starting right now, while the phone will go on sale by the 21st of October.
OnePlus has just announced on their Twitter handle that the open sale still continues. If you thought you missed the hour long window between 12-1 PM today, check again. There’s still time to grab that OnePlus 2 without an invite.
If you'd like to buy the #OnePlus2 invite-free, the open sale is still ongoing!
There has been some trouble in trying to log on to the site, most likely because of all the traffic it must be getting right now. But hey, don’t give up hope just yet if you think a OnePlus 2 is worth it. For specs, review and other details of the smartphone, click here.
Over the past few weeks, rumours have been on overdrive regarding Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S7. In our previous post regarding the rumoured S7 launch, we told you that the phone will come in two models, one featuring the new quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and the other having the octa-core Exynos.
There have been rumours in the past suggesting that three S7 devices will be launched instead of two, and that two of them will have the curved display (like the S6 Edge and S6 Edge+) while one will have a flat screen. These rumours, however, have been dismissed as of now. Latest speculation is that Samsung will have only two S7 versions, where one will be the ‘Edge’ version and the other will have a flat display.
However, it looks like the S7 will come in three CPU variants. If rumours are to be believed, the China and US model will receive the new Snapdragon 820 processor. Europe, Japan and South Korea will come with a Samsung Exynos 7990 processor and the final model, rumoured to have an Exynos 7422 will launch in India.
Samsung is looking to get ahead of its competition by having a January announcement and a February launch. The S7 will also likely be the first Android Marshmallow handset for the company. Follow this space for more on the Galaxy S7.
In keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative, OnePlus will start local production of its smartphones in India by the end of 2015. OnePlus will set up shop through contract manufacturing at ‘Foxconn’s Rising Stars’ factorywithin the Sri City Integrated Business City in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
“We are excited to add another significant chapter in our India journey as we look forward to starting local production of our smartphones within a year of our launch in the country. Local production will not only make our operations more efficient in terms of cost and working capital requirements but also help us in making our products available for sale much faster than ever before,”Vikas Agarwal said at an official event in Bangalore that saw representatives of the Government of Andhra Pradesh today.
He futher added that, “Ever since OnePlus debuted in India, we have been deluged with requests for invites to buy our products, with more than 5 million registrations worldwide for our latest release – the OnePlus 2 – alone! With the best of our intentions of fastening up the availability process, we have been constrained by a few supply chain related challenges in meeting consumer demands. The local production will help to address this issue and better cater to the fast growing demands for OnePlus products in India.”
Local production of OnePlus’ upcoming devices will start by the end of this year at the 60,000 sq.ft facility at Foxconn’s Rising Stars factory. The facility is likely to produce up to 500,000 units per month to fulfill the growing demand for OnePlus’ smartphones in India.
Rumours about a smartphone by the soft-drink company have been milling for a while now. Sources today suggest that there might be some truth to these rumours. Leaked specs of the smartphone, tentatively called Pepsi P1, are doing the rounds now.
The handset is expected to be unveiled on October 20th in Beijing and is expected to be priced at around $205. The specs of the device include a 5.5-inch screen and 1080 x 1920 FHD resolution. It’s powered by the MediaTek MT6592 SoC, and is equipped with a true octa-core 1.7GHz CPU. On the GPU front, the phone packs an ARM Mali-450 MP4. Internal storage is marked at 16 GB while the RAM is at 2GB of RAM. The main camera will be of 13 MP, with a 5 MP selfie camera. The phone will further have a 3,000 mAh battery with pre-installed Android 5.1 as its operating system.
It would be interesting to see if the company fares just as well in the tech world as it has been doing in the food industry so far. Only time will tell. So hold tight and let’s see where Pepsi takes us next.
Chinese mobile companies like Xiaomi have established a popular base in India and are doing really well. In fact, they seem to be doing better than most other established OEMs. One of the most important point of interest for electronic consumers is the after sale service. Knowing that there are plenty of service centres around for your device, among other things, is what drive customers towards that brand. So it’s even better when these brands come to your doorstep, take your phone, service it, and return it back to you at your doorstep.
This is exactly what Xiaomi India is now providing. The company launched the PickMi service in India. It is a doorstep pick up and drop service for all Mi products at Rs. 189. According to a Facebook post, Xiaomi announced, “PickMi service across India! We bring our service to your doorstep. Call us on 1800-103-6286 and avail our pick up and drop service for all Mi products for just Rs. 189.”
Xiaomi has been busy expanding its services across India. The company has been tweeting and posting updates on Facebook about new service centers being introduced. Last week, Xiaomi opened two exclusive service centres in Rohini and Daryaganj, New Delhi. And just yesterday the company tweeted the launch of a centre in Ambala, Punjab.
Miezu is also getting into the doorstep service game. The company plans on providing the service once it launches around 40 customer care centres across 20 Indian cities.
The focus on customer service by these Chinese brands is providing the right push and the right image for them. Xiaomi is already off to a good start and must now keep up the pace and deliver the goods, quite literally.
If you’re all gung-ho about the new iPhones hitting the country soon, here’s some news to get you more excited. Vodafone is offering special offers with the purchase of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
Customers will be able to avail free data and voice benefits worth Rs 8,885 for six months on the purchase of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Vodafone said in an official statement:
“Existing or new Vodafone customers can buy a new iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus and get a fully built Vodafone RED 1,299 worry-free plan free for six months from the time of purchase.”
The highlights of the plan include 3GB mobile internet, 4,000 free local and STD minutes and 1,500 local and national SMS. Vodafone clarified further that charges above plan limits will be 50p/MB for data usage, 50p/SMS and 50p/min for voice calls. Roaming, international calling and VAS charges will be extra according to usage.
iPhone 6s Plus
The iPhones will be available in India from 16th October and are priced from Rs. 62,000 to Rs. 92,000. Click here for hands-on, unboxing, specs and all other details of the new gadgets.
The newest Motorola device on the block, Moto X Style, was launched in the country last week, and is up for grabs starting 12 AM on 14th-15th October. The phone is mostly a style variant of the Moto X Play which was launched in India last month.
Moto X Play comes with changeable back covers available in different colours. This is a feature Moto X Style falls short of as its body is a single, non-detachable unit.The two phones are quite similar on the specs front with X Style not having much to add to X Play. If anything, Style is lower on the battery front with a 3,000 mAh bettery than Play at 3,630 mAh. Style is slightly bigger and heavier than Play and is priced much higher.
Moto X Style
The cameras of both phones are marked at 21 MP. The main difference is in the front camera – Style comes equipped with a flash in the front camera as well while Play doesn’t.
The rumored HTC event scheduled to take place on the 20th of October will see the launch of the HTC One ‘Aero’, also known as HTC One A9 smartphone. Leaked images from a couple of weeks ago suggested that the A9 will be an iPhone 6 doppelganger and is expected to come in six colours, one of which is quite similar to the iPhone 6s Rose Gold.
New leaked images of a dummy HTC One A9 handset tweeted by @OnLeaks confirm that the phone will definetely be an iPhone 6 rip-off. There are some obvious aspects to the design of the A9 that reminds one of the iPhone 6. The curved edges, the raised camera hump at the back, the plastic strips at the top and bottom, the speaker grill and 3.5mm audio jack are all reminiscent of the iPhone 6. Though, one difference is that the camera hump is centered in the A9 whereas the iPhone 6 has it in the top left corner.
It also seems like HTC is ditching the front-facing speaker and is going for a sleeker look. The home button will also feature a fingerprint sensor. Again, apart from the oval shaped home button for the A9, the rest of the front design looks very much like the iPhone 6. Moreover, The HTC One A9 is said to be 7mm thick, which is around the same as the iPhone 6 (6.9 mm).
As for the specs of the A9, the smartphone will sport a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display with 1080 x 1920 resolution and 441ppi, Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and Adreno 405 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage. On the camera front the A9 will feature a 13MP rear camera with OIS and a 4MP Ultrapixel front. The HTC One A9 will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
We’ll give you the full monty on the A9 once the phone is officially out. We’ll also know just how much the phone is ‘inspired’ by the iPhone 6 once we get a better look at it.
