The tablet industry has been going through a dwindling phase where Apple and Samsung are the only two companies consistently bring out tablets that interest the buyers. Samsung is continuing the trend of tablets with the launch of the Galaxy Tab A 7.0. The new tablet is Samsung’s most affordable tablet yet, priced at Rs. 9500. The tablet will be available across retail stores and Amazon from the 5th of January 5.
With the launch of the Galaxy Tab A, the South Korean tech giant also believed that the tablet industry will see a rise in 2018. Vishal Kaul, Director at Samsung India, said the segment has seen de-growth in the past quarters, but the company has been able to expand its market share:
Tablets are more of companion devices and we have been focusing on the various use cases of this form factor. The Galaxy Tab A 7.0 is our first 4G tablet in the sub Rs 10,000- category and we are confident it will do well.
With Galaxy Tab A 7.0, we are providing our customers a device that is the perfect blend of refined design, superior display great performance and non-stop entertainment.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A has a 7-inch TFT display with a 1280 x 800 px resolution.
Under the hood, the tablet is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via a microSD card. There is a physical home button on the front of the tablet with two capacitive navigation buttons on either side, similar to a lot of other Samsung mobile devices.
Powering the tablet is a 4000 mAh battery which the company claims will provide up to 9 hours of video playback. You might think the tablet was launched in 2015 because it runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box.
It has a rear-facing 5MP camera and a front-facing 2MP camera.
Tablets, over the past few years, have reached a state of obsolete where Apple appears to be the only company bringing innovation into its tablet lineup. Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab A 7.0 will enter a price segment where no other other prominent smartphone maker has a tablet, and that might be its best bet.
Nokia 6 was launched back in January of 2017 and was Nokia’s foray into the Android market. At the time of its launch, many felt that the Nokia 6 did not offer much when compared to its peers and especially its own price. HMD Global will hope to rectify its errors with the new Nokia 6 (2018) which was launched today at an event in China. The 32GB variant of the Nokia 6 (2018) is priced at CNY 1499 Rs. 14600 approx.), while the 64GB variant comes with a price tag of CNY 1699 (Rs. 16600 approx).
The Nokia 6 (2018) maintains the 16:9 aspect ratio but, get rids of the front-facing fingerprint scanner and the touch capacitive keys. This move is a bit surprising since other smartphone makers usually resort to rear-facing fingerprint sensors due to the lack of bezels around the display.
The Nokia 6 (2018) has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution.
Under the hood, the new iteration of Nokia 6 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset, a 2.2GHz octa-core processor, the Adreno 508 GPU, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage. The onboard storage can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor now sits on the back of the device while the capacitive navigation buttons are replaced with software buttons.
Powering the smartphone from Nokia is a 3000mAh battery that supports fast charging technology. The Nokia 6 (2018) runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box which will be close to stock OS.
The back of the phone also houses a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture along with a dual-tone LED flash. To the front of the smartphone is an 8MP with an f/2.0, and an 84-degree wide-angle lens.
There is no word on the smartphone’s availability in the Indian market as of now. If HMD Global does launch the device in India, the price of the phone will be a major factor as devices like the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Honor 7X are already well established in the market.
Alphabet’s Google, along with a few other security researchers published a document which chronicled two major flaws found in nearly all modern CPUs. The reason this flaw is much more complex than the usual software or hardware bugs is that it’s more than just a bug that can be fixed with an update. The flaw lies in the middle, at the level of the processors’ “architectures,” in the way all the millions of transistors and logic units work together to carry out tasks.
In the architecture of modern CPUs, there are unpenetrable spaces where data passes through in raw, unencrypted form, such as inside the kernel, the most central software unit, or in system memory carefully set aside from other applications. This data has powerful protections to prevent it from being interfered with or even observed by other processes and applications.
MacBook Pro
Meltdown and Spectre exploit critical vulnerabilities in modern processors. These hardware bugs allow programs to steal data which is currently processed on the computer. While programs are typically not permitted to read data from other programs, a malicious program can exploit Meltdown and Spectre to get hold of secrets stored in the memory of other running programs. This might include passwords stored in a password manager or browser, personal photos, emails, instant messages and even business-critical documents.
Meltdown affects Intel processors and works by penetrating through the barrier that prevents applications from accessing arbitrary locations in kernel memory. Spectre affects Intel, AMD, and ARM processors, which basically means that it affects anything with a chip in it, from mobile phones to thermostats.
iPhone X
In a response to this revelation, Apple has come out and conceded that its devices are not immune to the security flaws. In a statement, the company announced that all its macOS and iOS devices are affected but, mitigations are either already in place or in the final stages of being rolled out. Apple has stated that it has already dealt with Meltdown:
Apple released mitigations for Meltdown in iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2. watchOS did not require mitigation.
This is what the company had to say about Spectre:
Analysis of these techniques revealed that while they are extremely difficult to exploit, even by an app running locally on a Mac or iOS device, they can be potentially exploited in JavaScript running in a web browser.
Apple will release an update for Safari on macOS and iOS in the coming days to mitigate these exploit techniques.
In a nutshell, this means that while Meltdown is no longer a threat, Spectre remains the only major flaw which can be exploited and Apple will soon release a fix for that.
In late-December, OnePlus started teasing the launch of another variant of the OnePlus 5T. It was expected that the company will launch a new phone with a sandstone finish, that became famous thanks to the OnePlus One and OnePlus Two. On January 5th, the company launched the OnePlus 5T Sandstone White at the same price as the original OnePlus 5T.
The OnePlus 5T Sandstone White is essentially the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition minus the promotional bells and whistles. Right from the red colour alert slider to a different hue around the fingerprint sensor, the Sandstone White is the same Star Wars Edition but, for other markets. The Star Wars Edition OnePlus 5T that we unboxed, was an India-exclusive device hence, it is fair to assume that the Sandstone White variant won’t be entering the Indian market anytime soon.
OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition
The Sandstone White is no way close to what the OnePlus One looked or felt like. Even though the back is textured, it is just not as grippy as the original OnePlus One and its sandstone finish back panel. However, a textured aluminium back will always be grippier than a brushed aluminium back found on the original OnePlus 5T. This also gives OnePlus 5T buyers a different colour option other than the Midnight Black which has become increasingly common.
Apart from the Sandstone White, the OnePlus 5T in a Lava Red colour is expected to be launched in India in late-January. A new report claims that in order to utilise the holiday sales, OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 5T Lava Red in India on January 23rd. It also supports the argument by stating that Amazon (OnePlus’ preferred online partner) rarely launches a device on a national holiday or weekend.
OnePlus 5T Midnight Black
Considering the company’s pricing strategy for the Sandstone White variant, the Lava Red colour could enter the Indian market with the same price tag as its Midnight Black sibling. If so, then the new colour could well become the new fan favourite.
The Nokia 6 was launched back in January as HMD Global owned Nokia began to enter the Android market slowly. In India, the device was surprisingly priced close to Rs. 15000 even though it was powered by the Snapdragon 430 chipset, usually found in devices priced close Rs. 10,000. Apart from the Nokia 8, no other Nokia device was priced competitively including the recently launched Nokia 2. HMD Global would want to change in the coming months and a revamped Nokia 6 could be the first device to do so.
For weeks, there have been speculations that the Nokia 6 (2018) could be launched on the 5th of January in two variant, one with a 16:9 aspect ratio while the other one with an 18:9 aspect ratio display. A few images appear to have leaked of the former variant of the Nokia 6 a day before its apparent launch. The leak reveals a new accent colour of the Nokia 6 (2018) with gold rims on a black phone. The display of the smartphone in the images appears to have a 16:9 aspect ratio with thick bezels.
According to the recent leaks of the Nokia 6 (2018), the device will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.
To the back of the smartphone will be a 16MP camera and the front of the device will house an 8MP camera. Powering the device will be a 3000 mAh battery although there is no clarification regarding the charging port on the device.
The device will be running Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box which will be disappointing since Android 8.0 Oreo was officially launched over four months ago. The Nokia 6 (2018) will maintain the stock-ish operating system that Nokia Android phones are known for.
The date of launch of the Nokia 6 (2018) is still a speculation and there is no guarantee that these images are credible. More details about the smartphone will be known as we move closer to the imminent launch of the Nokia 6 (2018). Now, will that launch happen on January 5th or not is yet to be seen.
The Honor View10, launched in early-December at an event in London will go on sale in India on 8th of January at a price of Rs. 29,999. The price of Rs. 29,999 makes this the most affordable budget flagship available in the market right now. The OnePlus 5T and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 are priced at Rs. 32999. Registrations for the device started on the 28th of December and it will be available in two colour variant, Midnight Black and Navy Blue.
The Honor View10 has a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Honor View10 has minimal side bezels and thin top and bottom bezels.
Under the hood, the device has the Kirin 970 chipset with a Neural Processing Unit, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB onboard storage. The onboard storage can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom of the device along with a USB Type C port. The front of the device also has a home button which houses the fingerprint sensor.
The Honor View10 also has facial recognition which is becoming more prominent since the launch of the iPhone X. The facial recognition works similar to the Face ID on the iPhone X, the accuracy of which, will be extensively tested in the coming weeks.
Similar to the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, the Honor View10 also concentrates a lot on AI. For example, while on a call, AI will differentiate between the user’s voice and background noise to make sure the user’s voice is clearer. This is thanks to the presence of the Kirin 970 chipset which has a Neural Processing Unit on board.
Because of its facial recognition technology, the Honor View10 also has iPhone X-like animojis, which Honor claims are much more accurate than iPhone X since it tracks the user’s tongue as well.
Powering the device is a 3750 mAh battery and supports 5V / 4.5A fast charging. Honor claims the phone will be 50% charged in 30 minutes thanks to Honor Super Charge technology.
The Honor View10 has a dual camera setup at the back and has a single camera at the front. The back of the devices houses a 16MP RGB sensor and a 20MP Monochrome sensor with both having an f/1.8 aperture. The primary camera setup records 4K videos at 30fps. At the front of the phone is a 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
At an extremely competitive price of Rs. 29999, the Honor View10 will definitely test the resilience of the OnePlus 5T which has so far been a popular choice for people looking for an affordable flagship Android device. The Honor View10, just like the OnePlus 5T has a flagship chipset, dual cameras but, also has all the bells and whistles of AI, which are missing from the OnePlus 5T.
Apple has been in the news for the past few days, getting bad press over the Battery vs Performance slowdowns of the previous generation of iPhones. Although the company clarified its stance and revealed the intentions behind such a drastic step, consumers are still baffled and the company will have to do a lot of work in order to win their trust back. One step that the company took in that direction was reworking its battery replacement program.
One the 29th of December, the company released a statement announcing its new battery replacement wherein the charges of replacing an out-of-warranty battery were much less than what it was before. According to the old program, it cost US $79 plus taxes to replace a battery but, it will now cost US $29 plus taxes. While this seems like a reasonable trade-off for the consumers, the company might be facing a significant drop in iPhone sales in 2018.
According to Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz, customers opting for a battery replacement instead of upgrading an iPhone could be a “mild headwind” for iPhone unit sales, potentially resulting in millions of fewer iPhone purchases during the year. He believes that up to 78% of iPhone users are eligible to upgrade their batteries.
In our base case scenario, 10% of those 519M users take the $29 offer, and around 30% of them decide not to buy a new iPhone this year. This means around 16M iPhone sales could be at risk, creating ~4% downside to our current revenue estimate for C2018.
It is to be seen whether the sales will see such a significant hit because it costs less to replace a battery. There are many other factors that influence a consumer to upgrade to a new phone like new features, better camera, or even a new design.
Apple has said that a new battery in an affected iPhone will restore its old performance since the software tweak kicks in only when it notices a significantly degraded battery health. This was the prime reason behind Apple cutting down the cost of replacing an out-of-warranty. Apple has stated that the throttling of performance was never done to influence a consumer into buying a new iPhone but, there is no denying that it is an inevitable consequence of its actions. Perhaps, the company would have been better off by being transparent about such a huge issue and its steps to curb the side effects.
Samsung will soon launch its new Galaxy A8+ in India. Amazon India has listed the two devices which means that the device will be sold in India as an Amazon exclusive. However, the website doesn’t reveal anything related to the price or date of launch of the smartphone. But, with Amazon listing the device on its website, the launch of the phone might not be too far away. Although the listing only mentions the Galaxy A8+, the Galaxy A8 could also be launched in India.
In Vietnam, the Galaxy A8+ is priced at VND 13,490,000 (Rs. 38040 approx.) and will go on sale on the 6th of January. The Galaxy A8, on the other hand, is priced at VND 10,990,000 (Rs. 30980 approx.) in Vietnam. It is fair to assume that the two devices will be priced under Rs. 40000 in India and compete with the likes of the OnePlus 5T and Honor View10.
The Galaxy A8 and A8+ are the first budget-oriented Samsung phones to feature the infinity display. The Galaxy A8 has a 5.6-inch display while the bigger sibling, the Galaxy A8+ has a 6-inch display. Both the phones have a Super AMOLED display panel with a 2220 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
Galaxy A8
Under the hood, both the devices have an octa-core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa) processor while the chipset is still unspecified, it could be the Exynos 7885 SoC as found in the leaked video. The Galaxy A8 has 4GB of RAM with two storage options of either 32GB or 64GB while the Galaxy A8+ has two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Just like every other smartphone from Samsung, the onboard storage can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. Both the smartphones are IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and support Samsung Pay for contactless mobile payment.
Powering the Galaxy A8 is a 3000 mAh battery while the Galaxy A8+ has a 3500 mAh battery. Both the devices are charged via USB Type-C port.
One thing that might come as a surprise, especially for phones launching in 2018 is the OS. Both the phones will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box with Samsung’s own custom skin on top.
Galaxy A8+
The Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ are also the first of Samsung phones to have a dual-camera setup on the front. Both the phones have a 16MP + 8MP camera setup with an f/1.9 aperture. The Live Focus feature lets users chose whether the background should be in focus or blurred to a soft bokeh. The phone will switch between the two front cameras to get the effect the user needs. To the back of the phone is a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture and digital stabilisation.
At a price of under Rs. 40000, the two phones will face stiff competition from the budget flagship phones like the OnePlus 5T and Honor View10. The Galaxy A8 and A8+ do have an IP68 rating and front-facing dual cameras which the other two phones, and it’ll be interesting to see if these features will be enough to persuade consumers into opting for Samsung’s offerings over the others.
The Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) is expected to be launched soon. The specifications of the device were leaked a few weeks ago and then, a Russian e-commerce website listed the Galaxy J2 (2018) along with a few specifications. However, the most notable development in the saga of Galaxy J2 (2018) happened when Samsung listed a case for the device on its Russia website.
The listing reveals the same build and design of the Galaxy J2 (2018) which has been leaked over the past few weeks. Another aspect to note here is the capacitive buttons next to the physical home button. The design of the buttons is reminiscent of what we’ve seen from the software buttons found on the Galaxy S8, S8+ and the Galaxy Note8 devices. This further implicates the device listed on the website is, indeed, the upcoming Galaxy J2 (2018). The listing also reveals that Samsung will launch the device in an array of colours like Coral Blue, Gold, Pink and Black.
The device will have a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with 960 x 540 px resolution.
Under the hood, the device is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, 1.4GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 308 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of onboard storage which will expandable via microSD card.
Powering the device is a user-replaceable 2600 mAh battery. The J2 (2018) has dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE Cat.4 (up to 150Mbps down), and 802.11n Wi-Fi.
Both the primary and secondary cameras have an LED flash, according to the renders. On the back is an 8 MP camera and the front houses a 5MP camera. The device is expected to be launched in early-2018 in Russia with a subsequent global roll-out.
The OnePlus 5 and 5t have seen their fair share of ‘limited edition’ releases in 2017. In September, OnePlus teamed up with French artist and design, Castelbajac to launch the limited edition OnePlus 5 Castelbajac in Paris. In December, the OnePlus 5T Star Wars limited edition was launched in India. However, between these two limited edition releases, China saw the launch of a Lava Red colour variant of the OnePlus 5T.
OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition
It appeared that this would remain a China-exclusive and never see a global release, just like many other exciting products. However, the Chinese manufacturer might be launching the Lava Red colour variant of the OnePlus 5T in India on the 26th of January. According to a report, a “Source close to OnePlus ” has conceded that the device might be launched for the Indian audience as well.
OnePlus has identified the Indian market and is covering extra yards to make the Indian consumers feel special. The Star Wars edition of the OnePlus 5T was an India-exclusive device and the company went all-out to promote it. A new colour variant will give the consumers another incentive to buy the OnePlus 5T as no other brand, as of now, offers a red colour variant of its device in the same price bracket. The iPhone 7 and the Xiaomi Mi A1 are the only other prominent devices that also retail in a red colour variant.
The Lava Red colour variant of the OnePlus 5T will only be available in the 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant which is priced at Rs. 37999 in India. It will be interesting to see if the Indian consumers will have to cough up more money for the new colour.
OnePlus 5 Castlebajac Edition
Not just the Lava Red variant, the company will soon launch the Sandstone variant of the OnePlus 5T. iGyaan reported that a video uploaded by OnePlus on its official YouTube account hinted towards a new variant of the OnePlus 5T which will be reminiscent of the iconic sandstone finish on the OnePlus One and OnePlus Two. Now, it appears that the device will be launched on the 5th of January. The Sandstone variant will be launched in China first and it is expected that this variant will see a global launch soon, unlike the Lava Red edition. Stay tuned for more updates on this!
In the tech world, consumers recognise a brand through years of sequential sub-brand products. Companies like Samsung and Apple have consistently launched smartphones in their ‘Galaxy’ and ‘iPhone’ lineup. LG, however, might be in the works of shaking things up a bit with its upcoming LG G7 (tentatively named) flagship smartphone.
LG G6
An anonymous company official has conceded that the company is planning to rebrand its flagship ‘G’ lineup with the upcoming device expected to be launched at MWC 2018.
LG is preparing a new brand strategy for the G series in the first half of the year. Numbering the phone with a two-digit number and rebranding the phone with a new name are some of the options on the table.
This isn’t the first time that LG is renaming a phone from the company’s lineup. In 2012, LG launched the Optimus G and by 2013, just one year from the original launch, the company had decided to remove the ‘Optimus’ nomenclature and launched the subsequent smartphone with the ‘LG G2’ moniker. Similarly, the short-lived ‘Vu’ series was transformed into the ‘V’ series which was launched back in 2015.
Another company official from LG, while talking about the decision of rebranding, claimed that this decision on the cards:
Rebranding flagship models is nothing new, and Samsung and Apple have done so for their own flagships.
LG G2
LG flagship phones have historically flown under the radar thanks to the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy ‘S’ lineup and Apple iPhones. LG is also known to not invest too much in its smartphones’ marketing, where Samsung and Apple rule the roost. However, while Apple and Samsung only changed the numbering of their phone lineup, simply jumping from iPhone 8 to iPhone X, and Samsung skipped the Note 6 to jump to Note 7, LG’s change seems to be more core level based. The company needs to create strength around its flagship phones and by choosing a newer name that may help the brand connect with consumer better is what LG probably needs. The current lineup of phones from the company, especially flagships have suffered from poor recall value of the brand. LG may be starting a new marketing strategy, or simply making the name more approachable.
While the next flagship phone from LG, presumed to be the LG G7 for now, is just around the corner, it will be followed up by the mega launch of the Galaxy S9 and the S9+ and LG might need an extremely sound strategy to stand out during the new launches. The LG G7 is expected to launch with updated specifications and compete with the likes of the Galaxy S9 in the early part of 2018.
The LG G7 is expected to maintain the 18:9 aspect ratio and presumably cut down on bezels compared to its older sibling, the LG G6. Unlike 2016, where the LG G6 was launched with the Snapdragon 821 instead of the Snapdragon 835, the LG G7 is expected to be launched with the Snapdragon 845, same as the Galaxy S9 and S9+. LG proved with the V30 that it can produce smartphones with great cameras and the G7 is expected to further improve on that aspect. 2018 will also see 6GB of RAM becoming the norm in Android phones and the LG G7 could be a part of the clan and launch with at least 6GB of RAM.
Huawei Honor launched the Honor 7X in India at a starting price of Rs. 12999. Up until then, that price segment was dominated by the likes of the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto G5s Plus, both of which offered similar specifications and software experience.
Before the Honor 7X was launched in India, the Xiaomi Mi A1 was soaring high at a price tag of Rs. 14999 which was cheaper than the Moto G5s Plus, however, a few days after the Honor 7X was launched, the price of the Mi A1 decreased. In order to keep a level playing field, Xiaomi reduced the price of the Honor 7X to Rs. 13999 and right now, it is available for Rs. 12999 on Flipkart. With the price tag no longer a factor, let’s see which phone comes out on top.
Design
Hands down, the Honor 7X wins in the design department. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is not a bad looking phone but, when kept next to each other, the Mi A1 looks dated. The Honor 7X has a modern design with thin bezels and even though the company could’ve used the bottom bezel to house a fingerprint sensor instead of its branding, the Honor 7X looks sleek and more pleasing to the eye than the Xiaomi Mi A1.
Display
The Honor 7X has a 5.93-inch LTPS IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and 407ppi. The Xiaomi Mi A1, on the other hand, has a 5.5 inch LTPS IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution and 403ppi. Despite a taller display, the Honor 7X has a slightly high pixel count than the Xiaomi Mi A1. In terms of display, the Honor 7X wins the battle again thanks to its 18:9 aspect ratio which comes in handy while multi-tasking and content consumption in general. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has the 2016 standard 5.5-inch display which cannot seem to hold up against the Honor 7X.
Software
After photos and sound, software is the most subjective aspect of a smartphone. Just like some people prefer bass-heavy sound over a flat soundstage, some people prefer the bells and whistles of a custom skin over stock Android OS. There is no denying that the Xiaomi Mi A1 will always be ahead when it comes to software updates but, EMUI on the Honor 7X has come a long way since its inception as well. Both the phones offer a different software experience for different sets of people.
Performance
The Xiaomi Mi A1 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. The Honor 7X is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (for the Rs. 12,999 variant) which can also be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. Just as you would expect, bot the devices handle day-to-day tasks with ease although the 18:9 display makes normal usage much more fun on the Honor 7X. During gaming again, the display of the Honor 7X comes into play as it enhances the user experience while the Xiaomi Mi A1’s experience is adequate but, nothing to ride home about.
Benchmark scores tell a similar story. In Geekbench, the Xiaomi Mi A1 scores 883 in single-core and 4267 in multi-core set. The Honor 7X on the other hand scores 909 in single-core and 3511 in multi-core tests.
Camera
Photos are extremely subjective and the same case is in this comparison as well. Watch our full comparison for photo samples and decide for yourself. Here are a few sample shots from both, the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Honor 7X.
Honor 7X
Honor 7X
Honor 7X
Honor 7X
Xiaomi Mi A1
Xiaomi Mi A1
Xiaomi Mi A1
Xiaomi Mi A1
While specifications on paper might not tell the whole story, the two phones are a solid option in the price category. The Mi A1 has a dated design but stock Android OS while the Honor 7X has a modern design, thin bezels but a heavily skinned custom OS.
Specifications
Honor 7X
Xiaomi Mi A1
Price
[amazon_link asins=’B0784BZ5VY’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’igyaan-21′ marketplace=’IN’ link_id=’d3211805-ec8b-11e7-b2e3-2fce9ec0930c’] Starting At Rs.12999
Rs. 13999
Display
5.93-inch
LTPS IPS LCD
5.5-inch
LTPS IPS LCD
Resolution
2160 X 1080 px
407ppi
1920 x 1080 px
403ppi
Battery
3340 mAh
3080 mAh
OS
Android 7.1 Nougat
EMUI
Android 8.0 Oreo (Beta)
Stock Android OS
Chipset
HiSilicon Kirin 659
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
GPU
Mali-T830 MP2
Adreno 506
RAM
4GB
4GB
Storage
32GB/64GB (Expandable up to 256GB)
64GB (Expandable up to 128GB)
Primary Camera
16MP + 2MP depth sensor
12MP (f/2.2) + 12MP (f/2.6) telephoto lens
Primary Video
1080P @ 30fps
4K @ 30fps
Secondary Camera
8MP
5MP
Add-ons
Fingerprint Sensor
Tall display and bezel-less design
There is no doubt that despite being a little late to the OLED game, Apple has impressed its customers with one of the best OLED displays on the market today. Even though the display is entirely manufactured by Samsung, the iPhone X’s display was manufactured under extremely precise conditions all of which were controlled by Apple themselves. Apple has also managed to tune the display the offer up a heightened color balance, and no ghosting or burn in issues.
But, it seems like Apple is diversifying away from Samsung in an attempt to control their production standards further and increase output of the displays to meet demands for the next generation of iPhones, all of which are expected to use OLED displays. According to the Investor Korea, Apple plans to diversify OLED models this year. Sources said LG Display is likely to produce larger 6.5-inch screens, while Samsung Display will focus more on producing smaller 5.8- or 6-inch screens. LG Display will start production in the second quarter at its E6 plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The plant, consisting of two OLED production lines, has a monthly production capacity of 6 million OLED screens but its full-capacity production is expected to start next year considering its still low yield rate.
Apple is rumoured to move entirely away from LCD panels this year, offering only previous versions of the iPhone with the LCD displays. As users and owners of the iPhone X have appreciated Apple’s first OLED phones, the company is said to swiftly work to have ample production ready for the next generation iPhone.
After the launch of the iPhone X several manufacturers have shown off their phones via leaks, including one smartphone from Oppo which could very well also be the next OnePlus flagship the OnePlus 6. However, with FaceID being a feature made up of confusion and doubt this manufacturer has made the perfect iPhone X clone, complete with Notch and all. The phone also offers up the added advantage of the in-screen fingerprint sensor, a technology that was widely expected in the iPhone X, but never made it to the phone in time. The next iteration of the iPhone may see this technology, however, that has not stopped manufacturers in China from beating Apple to the market.
The Leagoo S9 pro as the device is named also uses the name of the upcoming Samsung flagship. The phone is rumoured to have a Helio P40 chipset complete with 8 GB of RAM and 64 GB of on board storage. The screen designed like the display on the iPhone X is of a 6.21 inch size in a form factor smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S8+ while still using an AMOLED display manufactured by Samsung themselves.
The Leagoo S9 pro is also rumoured to sport a 5000 mAh battery, however, that seems highly unlikely.
OnePlus is finally seeding the OxygenOS Beta 3 to OnePlus 5 owners who will be able to enjoy the face unlock feature that the OnePlus 5T features. A lot of OnePlus 5 owners were upset about the software based FaceUnlock being featured only on the OnePlus 5T and the company, as promised, has brought down the feature to the OnePlus 5 as well.
The FaceUnlock on the OnePlus 5T and now the OnePlus 5 allows users to unlock their phone as soon as they click the power button. While this feature is quick and reliable, it does not work at all in low light environments and it is not as secure as the dot encrypted hardware based FaceID unlock of the iPhone X.
The new update also contains several bug-fixes and improvements on 5G WiFi connectivity issues. and is available here.
For those not registered or interested in testing out the beta OS, the final version is expected to be pushed via an OTA update to owners of the OnePlus 5 smartphone, in the next two to three weeks.
